Growing Up.

Why is it that when we are young we wish we were older…and then when we are older, we find ourselves wishing we were young again? My children are just getting so big! My eldest–Jonathan, will be turning 11 this next month. He just completed a major writing project in school (a 1000+ page paper on President James A. Garfield) and has even begun asking me which vehicle he will be driving when he turns 16. WHAT??? I nearly fell out of my chair. Driving? Really? What has happened to the other 5 years he has to go? Is he really ready to throw them all away and skip to 16? Was I like that with my father as well? If I’m honest with you, I probably was. Here’s the thing…every day really is a gift from God. Let’s learn to be grateful for them all. Before we know it we will have wished them all away wanting to be at a different place in life. I think we would be wise to heed the advice of the Psalmist and learn to number our days. Life is just too short to always want to be at some other point in time. Think on this for a while!

The Orphan’s Dream!

Do I have a story for you…as most of you are aware, a couple of friends of mine who live here in Greenville, SC are doing one of the most amazing things I have ever heard of. This past summer Mike & Evelyn Pili took their family and traveled over 12,000 miles to the a southern island in the Philippines. The purpose of this trip was to begin the ground work of planting an orphanage. They spent nearly 7 weeks meeting with government officials, church leaders, religious organizations, business owners and the orphans of Southern Leyte. Their desire was to at least “spy out the land”, and possible make a purchase of some property. What actually took place was that men in high places blessed them beyond measure. The came home having received a very large — choice piece of land, having feed nearly 350 orphans three times a week, organized a board of elders to over-see the operation and received a commitment from numerous ministries to volunteer to serve and assist in one of many areas. To say they achieved their goals is a major understatement!

I tell you this story just to remind you that there are still people in the world who are more concerned with others than themselves. There are still those who will make major sacrifices to bless the lives of others! 

I am so very proud to call Mike and Evelyn friends. I pray their lives and commitment to the greater good would rub off on my life!

Madden 2009 – An Experience Of A Lifetime!

Alright, let me begin by saying yesterday was a day to remember. My son Jonathan and I have a deep connection through our enjoyment of all things technical. You name it, if it involves computers or wires or electricity — if it is a gadget or a game we probably have some knowledge of it. In fact, we might even have it. We just love to read and research and experience the latest movements in the world of creative technology. For years now, any time I have replaced a phone or PDA my son wanted my old one. When he was younger it was to pretend…but as he has gotten older it has been to learn and use whatever I was passing on to him. Well not to long ago we were able to obtain a Wii (the latest in gaming by Nintendo). You can read the post entitled A Boy & His Wii Little Faith to find out the great story surrounding the Wii. Anyways, lately we have been enjoying the sports games that Nintendo offers. A week ago I purchased Madden 2008 (last years NFL game) and we played it and enjoyed it and competed every free chance we found. The beauty of all of this was that the store we bought it from told me that if I would bring it back within a week, that they would put the full return value towards the new Madden 2009 NFL game. So that is what we did. Only, we returned the game yesterday and couldn’t pick the game up until today, because it officially comes out on August 12, 2008. However, there was one option…the store said they were going to open up at midnight last night to allow the “real fans” the opportunity to get the game 8 hours earlier than everyone else. I actually laughed out loud when the clerk mentioned this…because, I could think of a lot of better things to do at midnight than drive out to pick up a video game at a store! Like SLEEP! Well, Jonathan asked me to consider it…and he had a host of reasons why this would be a great idea. But I would hear of it. I told him he could get it tomorrow just like everyone else around the world.

That was my plan – and I was going to stick with it. Well, that was until I looked at the clock last night and saw the time – 11:09pm. Now my son was already in bed and fast asleep. He was toasty and dreaming (or so I assume). I was already in bed, relaxing, preparing to sleep…when it hit me. This could be a moment that my son never forgets. This could be an adventure of a lifetime. So I did what every good, fun loving dad would do…I got up, got dressed and snuck into my son’s room. He sleeps in a loft bed – so I flicked on the light and climbed up on top and began shouting, “GET UP! GET UP! IT’S TIME! GET UP!” Well, needless to say, he was startled, confused, disoriented and a bit scared! It was awesome. I drug him out of bed – helped him get dressed and then told him what was happening. He couldn’t believe it. He was in disbelief. 

So we jumped in my truck and hit the road. When we arrived the place ushered us in and took care of the paperwork and then directed us to a line outside. We waited. They gave us little bags of Combos (the snack crackers) to keep us satisfied until the game could legally be released. It was so exciting! Everyone in line was buzzing with nervous energy. And then it happened. They opened the doors and gave us our game! We were on our way back home by 12:08am. Only one last thing to do – yeah that’s right, we hit Taco Bell for the 4th meal! Grabbed us some mexi-melts and a tacos and were on our way back home. 

We played one full game and went to bed at 1:30am…which is when my son said, “Thanks Daddy! I love you so much. This was so much fun and I will never forget this.” 

And with that I close. An experience of a lifetime…for both of us! As my Daddy would put it, we were making memories!