This Dude Turned 73 Today!

 

Happy Birthday, Dad!

25 Years

I am blessed.

Today marks the date of my 25th wedding anniversary. In this post, you will not see any jokes about how she stuck with me or vice versa. No comments about any drudgery in the process or how much time it actually felt like. There won't be any of that in this post. It isn't because neither one of us could or couldn't make those jokes (and laugh them off... trust me... we can laugh!), but that simply isn't what I'm thinking about. 

An Honor.

For me, I consider it a genuine honor that God has allowed me to spend my life with this person. My theology dictates my understanding of how this world works: and it is a world orchestrated by a good and sovereign God. And my God, in His Sovereign Goodness, gifted me with a life shared with this one particular person... my wife Charity.  That God would bless me in such a way, lies outside of my ability to either comprehend or explain in any reasonable terms, and over these last 25 years this life together has increasingly been experienced as a cherished honor. 

She is.

She is my best friend: the one that I share everything with. We've traveled together through work, life, family, and love. We relate every story, unfold every experience... sharing both joys and sorrows. She's my TV watching buddy, my coworker in the kitchen, my business partner and partner in crime... She's my traveling companion, my couch counter-part, and my forever date. 

After 25 years, I can barely remember life before marriage, nor do I care to. I sense genuine confusion within myself when I try to relate to people who love the single life. I just don't get it. That isn't what is good... Good is what I have with her. 

Babe.

Babe, my life with you has been amazingly profound. I wouldn't trade a minute of my life with you for anything else. Even the darkest minutes and the hardest days have simply served their ordained purpose to bring life and light to our shared weeks, months, and now - years. 

I love you.

When Church is Done Right: It is Like Family

When you (plural) do church right, there are all sorts of things that naturally result. One of those things is that it becomes like family.

image source: http://www.movemelord.com/church-family-love/

There is Biblical Precedent for this:

• God is our Heavenly Father. (Luke 11:2-14)
• We are called brothers and sisters. (This is used countless times in the New Testament, one example is here: Philippians 3:13-14)
• We are adopted in to the family of God. (Romans 8:15)
• Jesus is our great older brother that we are "joint heirs" with. (Romans 8:17)

But any of us who have truly been a part of a local church, for an extended amount of time, will tell you that this is true experientially as well. 

But listen though... I am not purporting any lovey-dovey-feel-warm-and-fuzzy sentiment here! Family can be tough. We all have that crazy aunt and the funny uncle and the favorite grandpa and the annoying brother and ... well... you get it. But it is FAMILY. You keep getting together. You keep calling each other. You continue to eat together and hang out together and take family trips when you can... and when these things aren't happening, it feels broken. When a rift comes in and separates family, it just isn't right. 

And in the Bible, the Gospel Family is supposed to be together. We are not supposed to forsake the assembling of ourselves together (Hebrews 10:25). We are supposed to love one another (John 13:34) and care for one another and bear one another's burdens (Galatians 6:2). In fact, Jesus warns that the gospel will break apart many earthly families (Matthew 10:21, Luke 12:53), but as we are adopted into the family of God, we essentially have a new family... an eternal family. And this is why, when church is done right, there is a certain family experience that cannot be fully understood until you are truly committed to that church family. 

There are so many Christians that are missing out on these most beneficial and eternal experiences, simply because they won't commit. They don't know the joy of years of shared experience. They don't understand the deep feelings of love that can only come through the depths and the shallows of ministering together. Many don't even know what it is like to minster together, they have enjoyed being ministered to, but have missed the greatest joys and heartaches that can only come through the mutual burden sharing of the Christian community. They don't know the sadness of when a brother or sister leaves the family because they found another family that they like better. And they will never know the deep communal compassion of one who has not only shared a few Sundays, but has shared a life. 

If you are in a church, become a part of that church. Unless the church goes into an area of blasphemy or absolutely false teaching, commit yourself to them... adopt them as your family. 

twenty years

I have been married for twenty years... today.

There are so many things that I could blog about in regards to this anniversary. I want to say wonderful things about my wife... the wife of my youth. I could write of her beauty or her strength. I could tell you of the wonderful wife and mother that she is and continues to be and to excel at. I would be happy to wax eloquent of her great love for me and my great love for her. I would speak amiss if I failed to mention her spiritual depth and insight, especially as it pertains to her amazing ability to see through things and find the truth that is buried deep in the human heart: She is truly the best Biblical Counselor I know. If I told you of all of these things... I would only be scratching the surface of this multi-faceted woman that I am married to.

I could also tell you of our time together. Twenty years is not a short amount of time, you know. I could discuss the good days and the difficult days or the ups and downs of a real marriage. We are both sinners, but we said, "I do." and we meant it. As much as I absolutely love being married to my wife, we have been through some hard times: situations that have crumbled better marriages than ours, or so we thought.

I could tell you stories. The funniest, happiest, silliest, most ridiculous, most exciting, and most beautiful memories that I have are all associated with this one woman. I could tell you things that might crack you up or bring tears to your eyes, whether they be tears of joy or of sadness. I could share with you the places we've lived, the experiences we've had, and the challenges we've faced. We have parenting stories, traveling stories, job stories, stories of poverty, and stories of... well... more poverty.  We have seen sickness, sadness, and death, and we have seen these things together, in a true partnership in life.

O sure, there is much I could tell you... but there is really only one thing that I need to tell you, and it is this:
God  Is  Good.

My wife has been, and I am convinced will continue to be, a good gift from God, and I want to thank Him publicly for blessing me with this wonderful wife and granting me these twenty years.

Some Music Team Members zentangles...

Sam

Ashley

 (Also my son and my sister... )

A Great Decision

In October 1989, sometime near Halloween, there was a Ghost Rally hosted by the Lynch Fire Dept. I borrowed my dad's Chevy S-10 pickup, called a friend to see if they wanted to go, and then... called a girl.

Her name was Charity. I had had a crush on this girl for quite a while, but she was definitely "out of my league," if you know what I mean. It was a long shot, and I figured that at Ghost Rally would be casual enough that I could get a "yes" from this girl, even if she didn't actually like-like me.

She said yes... and she did like me.

I was eventually engaged to this girl (more than once). We were eventually married. And even though Halloween can be controversial (I guess) to some Christians, it has been redeemed for me. Twenty Five Halloweens later, we are still together and we are still getting ready to go on a Ghost Rally. I love her more now than I ever have, and I am fairly certain that asking her to that Ghost Rally was one of the best decisions that I have ever made.

For the last several years I have doctored up an old photo into a Halloween-themed image. Here is this year's rendition to celebrate 25 years.

Thinking about having this rap battle with my sister later...

I think that +Ashley Harmless and myself could have this rap battle... specially since we share a mama... !

Officially an Old Guy

It happened in one week.

I've always felt like such a kid, and I've always felt like I was on the younger side of life.  But then in one week it all faded.

On Monday, August 27th, I turned 40.  That's a big number to an actual young person.  I'm sure I could ask some real old people and they would tell me, "... Aw!  You're just a young pup!"  I think their perspective is just a bit skewed though.

The 40 by itself wouldn't have done it, but at the end of the same week I received a prescription for cholesterol medication.  I've had high cholesterol for a while, and even though I've worked really hard at getting it down with diet and exercise... since I've done next to nothing to remedy the problem through diet and exercise, the doctor felt like it was necessary to put me on some meds.  It was really high though.  triglycerides through the roof.  My blood was basically lard.

So this double blow of oldness has hit me.  I am just glad that I still have my hair and my wits.

There's No Use Cryin' Over

(and yes... At least as much went into the house when he dropped the gallon of milk.)

Future Personal Reunion

In the face of loss... sometimes I feel at a loss for words to bring the encouragement that I long to give.  I want to find the right words to lift them up and to lighten the burden.  I know that no words of mine will bring the correct consolation, but God's words are alive and powerful.  They are words of life, so I attempt to share those words.

One passage, in particular, that has brought comfort to me and I hope will bring comfort to others is found in the Old Testament in the book of II Samuel.  It is the account of King David and the loss of an infant child.  While the baby was still alive David is fasting and praying.  He seems so distraught that his servants are afraid to tell him that the baby has died.  When David sees them whispering, he figures it out and asks them.  Once they confirm this, here is what we read:

Then David arose from the earth and washed and anointed himself and changed his clothes. And he went into the house of the LORD and worshiped. He then went to his own house. And when he asked, they set food before him, and he ate. Then his servants said to him, “What is this thing that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive; but when the child died, you arose and ate food.” He said, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, ‘Who knows whether the LORD will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’ But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.” 

(2 Samuel 12:20-23 ESV)

That last sentence has brought great comfort to many who have lost children over the years.  "I shall go to him, but he will not return to me."  I love what the ESV Study Bible adds at this point.

Some interpreters understand David to be saying simply that he, like the child, will someday die.  But "shall go to him" seems to indicate the expectation of future personal reunion.

I completely believe that is what David had in mind, "... the expectation of future personal reunion."  It reminds me of another passage where Paul tells us that we are going to catch up to those who have gone before us.

For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words. 

(1 Thessalonians 4:15-18 ESV)

Jesus also refers to death as being asleep or at rest.  One day we will wake together in glory.  We will know and be known.  So, as Paul commands, I seek to encourage those who are hurting with these words and ideas.  We will be together again.  It is a future personal reunion.  

The House of Mourning

"It is better to go to the house of mourning

than to go to the house of feasting,"

 (Ecclesiastes 7:2 ESV)

In the last two weeks I have come across this passage of scripture without intending to.  The first time was during a movie called, The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry.  It is a Christian movie that my wife found on Netflix.  Here is a bit about it from the movie's website:

Best buddies Dustin (Jansen Panettiere), Albert (Frankie Ryan Manriquez), and Mark (Allen Isaacson) are twelve year old boys looking forward to a summer of fun in 1970.  When Dustin mows the lawn of seventy-five year old Jonathan Sperry (Gavin MacLeod), a man he has seen at church, a unique friendship develops.

What happens the rest of this summer is something Dustin and his friends will never forget!

The movie is not being released on DVD until May 4th.  It was a really good movie, but I am only mentioning it because one of the characters, Mr. Sperry, uses this passage in a teaching moment with the neighborhood boys.

The second time I encountered this verse was on Tuesday.  I had dedicated myself to trying to read some of Spurgeon's sermons over Christmas break.  The next sermon on the list was using this passage.  Spurgeon asks the question though, is it really possible to say that the house of mourning is better than the house of feasting?  Sure, there are those sinful houses of feasting that leave a person empty and the house of mourning would be better than that.  But what about those good houses of feasting?  Those joy-filled family feasts that my mind rests so easily upon around this time of the year.  Or those times when my soul is feasting upon the joy that comes from the felt presence of the Lord.  Is the house of mourning really better than those?

The Preacher, referring to King Solomon, tells us why this house of mourning is better:

"...for this is the end of all mankind,

and the living will lay it to heart."

 (Ecclesiastes 7:2 ESV)

Do you see his reasons?  This is the end of all mankind, and if the living will really take it to heart, there will be a much greater benefit than you might find in even the best of the houses of feasting.

I am reminded of this again today as my brother-in-law and his family head out to the funeral services of his grandmother.  From all accounts she was a woman of great faith.  We are praying today that God will use this house of mourning in the lives of the family.  Maybe they will take it to heart.

Christmas Movie 2010

My wife loves to start traditions.  In 2004 she came up with the idea of going to the theater each Christmas season to watch a movie.  This tradition stuck, so each year we plan a Christmas Movie Day; complete with eating out, getting snacks, picking the perfect movie, and going to said movie.  Here is a list of the Christmas Movie Days we have had as a family each year since 2004.

• 2004: Polar Express
• 2005: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe
• 2006: Happy Feet
• 2007: Bee Movie
• 2008: The Tale of Despereaux (which is also a great book)
• 2009: Up!

This year the movie that we are picking out is The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawntreader.  As a child, this was my favorite of the Narnia books.  I loved the different little islands that they traveled to and the imaginative nature (thanks to C.S. Lewis) of the residents of each of these islands.  I have read a few decent reviews of this particular movie, so I am already looking forward to it.

I mention all of this because TODAY is Christmas Movie Day 2010!

Black Friday marks opening of new resale shop

image via the Commercial News

Black Friday marks opening of new resale shop

That's one of the headlines on today's edition of Danville's Commercial News (Newspaper).  Which resale shop is that?  Why would I be mentioning it?  Because it is talking about my wife's parents!

The Commercial News article starts like this:

COVINGTON, Ind. — Duane and Donna Lathrop have turned their hobby into a business with their new venture — Double D Resale — which opens on Black Friday.

The resale shop is outfitted with furniture, appliances, home collectibles and other “what-nots” the couple has been accumulating through shopping trips to estate sales and auctions the past few months.

“Our date night is at the auction,” Duane Lathrop said.

(Read the rest by clicking here.)

I've been on those "auction date nights" and I have to say, they can be fun.

Lightning Storm

Last night there was a lightning storm passing just south of us.  I didn't realize it was going on until I looked outside because there wasn't any thunder.  As soon as I saw it, I grabbed the boys and took them outside.  We marveled together at this minuscule display of God's infinite power.  Just another example of how God has given us his creation to enjoy Him!

The video quality isn't good, but the lightning is amazing.



Keep in mind that the lightning had already been going on for quite some time before the segment and it continued on for quite some time after I quit recording. I told my boys that I had never seen an ongoing series of lightning like this before.  They, of course, said the same thing.  :)

it might be a little pool...

I love the first 10 seconds of this video!

Weekend to Remember!

My wife and I are getting ready to have a weekend to remember.

Ok.  Now that I lost 50% of my readers... What I am talking about is the Family Life Weekend to Remember. I have had several different people trying to talk me into going on one of these for quite awhile, and I finally gave in!  

I have heard great things about this conference, and in an age when marriage is being attacked on all fronts, something that supports marriage is a good thing.  I will let you know what I think about it when I get back.

my couple of tadpoles

I went out to the church to put add some branches to the burn pile.  While we were there, my boys discovered a pond, teeming with life.  Literally hundreds of tadpoles.  So, I snapped some pics of my little tadpoles looking at those hundreds of tadpoles.

Here is the little church "pond"

They spent the entire 30 minutes that I was there in this same position.

I wish I had a better camera with me.  the colors in this picture were so vibrant.

Click this one to enlarge, so you can see the hundreds of tadpoles in the water.

Being boys, they cannot resist picking up the tadpoles.

Asking him what they felt like, "well... wormy."

When Love Has Now Become A Proper Noun

The sonnet is a form of poetry made famous by Shakespeare. The typical sonnet consists of 14 lines.

The marriage dance requires only two.
So dare I talk of love in such a way?
The man is me, the woman must me be you,
But love is here and now this love must stay.
It entered in when we did least expect,
Though embodied in a man so long ago.
That love in us He seeks now to reflect
So I see you when I see him still more.
Now from above its given hands and feet,
It has a heart and breathes with its own lungs.
It moves and grips us when our eyes do meet,
And fills with wordless songs our souls have sung.
This marriage is enveloped all around,
When love has now become a proper noun.

(Written for my wife in honor of our 14th anniversary.)

14 Years of Marriage

The Floors

After a short debate over light or dark, we settled on dark and the floors were stained yesterday.  They still need varnished, but these pictures can give you an idea of what they will look like.

All thanks to my Father-In-Law!