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Hopefully the name of this blog speaks for itself. I envision it being one of humor, exhortation, random musings, theological discussion, sports, and things that impact my life and could bless yours. Sometimes it might be a verse or a funny story, a sports score that has me up in arms or a profound truth that has hit me. I pray you find your visit here blessing your heart.

Monday, February 23, 2009

My Dad


I wanted to take a little post and say thank you to several of you who were praying for my Dad this past week. He is back home and back to his old tricks. Some of you know how he can be, huh? Back in the saddle as they say.


For those that don't know, my dad was hospitalized for a few days this week for some chest pains and some headaches. He is fine and the Lord gets the glory for his complete recovery. Amen! However, I find myself pondering a situation that thankfully, I haven't yet had to experience. The possible physical loss of a close friend or family member.


I don't want to be dramatic or anything, but when you receive a phone call with news on the other end saying there is someone that you love dearly is in an ambulance, I don't care if it is for a hang nail or dandruff, that is scary! Maybe it is scary for me because I live so far away from so many people I love or maybe it is because I haven't fully pondered what it would be like to lose someone that is that close to my heart and it comes as a shock. Now that things are fine, I have been thinking about my Dad and the things that he means to me.


My dad is like no man I have ever met.
I guess Dads are like that.

He is a distinct mix of hot and cold, of hard and soft, of weird and wonderful, all wrapped up in sacrifice and love. He's a talker and he's a thinker. He's a giver. He does everything with 110% passion and drive. He's a disciplinarian and a big softie. He's learning and he's an educator. He's an optimist and he's a realist. He has been given much and is required much of. He has high expectations for others, but higher expectations for himself. He's not funny when he tries to be and HILARIOUS when he doesn't mean to be.


He's my dad.


He is the one that our infinitely wise Almighty God hand-picked and groomed for me and my siblings.

- The one who would know the marketing scheme for both a snowcone man and an "up and coming" singer.

- The one who can teach his daughter how to shoot a pistol and go shop for another daughter's prom gown (without Mom no less).

- The one who can encourage us all on to greatness in spite of ourselves because he is a big picture person and yet in tune with the tiniest details.

- The one who is strong enough to stand up to anyone and soft enough to cry about it afterwards.


This man is not perfect. He is only a man. Just like you and just like me. He will never be perfect and is not expected to be perfect. But he is the perfect father for me. I thank God that in all His wisdom, He chose this man to be the one who lead our family and taught us God's Word. He chose this particular man to be the one who helped me with algebra and with teaching my first Bible Study. He chose this man to be the role model for who I will choose as a husband and how I will work steadily as unto the Lord. He chose this man to be my children's grandparent (if He so blesses me in that way) and to be the one who loves my mother infinitely more today than yesterday but less than he will tomorrow. He chose this man to show me what a man growing in godliness looks like and how to accept the discipline when we stumble and fall with grace.


Some call him names like philanthropist, deacon, leader, entrepreneur.


Some call him names like Jr., Hoops, Boss, or Doc.


Some might call him names that might be unmentionable here.


I just call him Dad because when I read that Father God sacrificed everything He had for those He loved the most...


... I saw the resemblance.


I love you, Dad!
Glad you are OK!

Monday, February 16, 2009

Wanted: Dietary HoHos and a Toothbrush for Jabba

I know, I know... It is either feast or famine with me, huh? Three posts in one night. The other two were ridiculous but this one is serious.

Serious as heart attack.

I have seen it.

The Force must be with me for I have seen it.

What, you may ask, have I seen?

If you were Yoda, you would know.

(Crickets...)

The CD.

I have seen it.

Soon, Luke, you will see it, too...

Until then, dress up like Princess Leia and don't eat as many HoHos as Jabba the Hut.

It's just not pretty.

"Man Looks at the Outward Appearance..."



NOW... THIS IS MORE LIKE IT!!!

First picture in the 8th file.

PROMISE!

What is this, you may ask?

I call it a Rat Bat.

I don't know what it is but a friend sent it to me to cheer me up one day and it scared me so bad when I opened it up that I screamed a little louder than I expected which then made me laugh. For quite a while actually. I think I needed to vent some pent up emotion and this did the trick.

Isn't this the UGLIEST creature God ever made?

It is HORRIBLE looking thing.

It probably secretes something that some ridiculously smart physician can make medication which will cure cancer or maybe it is what God has put in charge of eating all cockroaches. Both VERY good things. Ugly on the outside, beautiful on the inside. Kind of like coal with a diamond in the middle. Or a HoHo.

See, man looks at the outside but God looks at the heart. (1 Sam. 16:7 - paraphrased)

It must be a very GODLY creature.

(I do still think it is ugly, though... good heart or not.)

Fried Rice with Coconut


Ok... I know you are wondering why there is a coconut leading the entry. I was tagged with some very explicit instructions from Jenn at Always a Texas Girl (See blog list to the right). It said to post the FOURTH picture from the FOURTH file of where I kept my pictures. Unfortunately for all of you, the FOURTH file happens to be of a work presentation about Childhood Apraxia of Speech. For those that don't know what that is (which I fully expect will by 99% of you), that is, in layman's terms, a motor speech disorder in which the mouth, lips, cheeks, jaw, teeth and tongue (oral articulators) "don't move right" just to put it very bluntly and succinctly. The specifics of the definition don't matter (in this forum). How does the coconut come into play?
When I make presentations for work or spend time teaching on a variety of subject matter, my presentations will not be boring. They cannot be because if they are, there is a very strong possibility that I would seriously drift off to sleep during the presentation. Don't question me here. I have fallen asleep in the middle of therapy before. (Just kidding.... or am I???) If it is boring for me, why in the world would I think it wouldn't be boring for them? I have to have some visuals or some significant and overarching analogy or something. For this particular presentation, my colleague and I took the previously developed analogy of Fried Rice that we took from another SLP and all the different versions to be had and made visuals for this. I have pictures of chickens, onions, garlic, peas, pineapple, pigs, shrimp, and green pepper along with COCONUT as possible fried rice compliments in this folder. Hence, the coconut picture in my FOURTH file as the FOURTH picture.
Having a blog really shouldn't be used for nonsense like this, eh? I could have totally smoked it if I had fudged and used a different picture from different number file. In fact, let's play a little chicken with that. I will now change the rules. I can do that. It is my blog. I now say, choose the .... the 8th picture in the 1st file OR the 1st picture in the 8th file.
I tag:
Jenn L
Mandy B
Amy M
Jodi M
Laura R.
GO.