hair

I know that this may not seem very important to all that many people, but I've gone and done something to my hair. Actually I guess I should say, I haven't done something to my hair. I haven't cut it.

Now I know that to most people this may seem quite insignificant and a little silly, but for me that is different. I haven't gone more than 4 weeks without a haircut in probably 20 years. (holy cow, that looks like a long time now that I have typed it!) But now I haven't had a haircut in almost three months!

Yesterday one of my students actually said, "Mr. Harmless... You have cool hair." Wow, for an old guy, that is pretty amazing!

I don't know when I am going to cut it. Maybe another month or so, maybe not at all...

ivanhoe

Another one is on the way.

I know that I have no room to gripe, especially considering how others have suffered... But that last hurricane flooded our laundry room. And for two days we didn't have anything to cook with because all of the pots and pans were being used to catch the water leaking in through the roof.

I am so happy that I am not a homeowner, at least not yet. The thought of repairing a roof could depress me.

But I did enjoy the cascading waterfall in the laundry room. It's tinkling drips lulled me to sleep two nights in a row.

compatibility

fun game or dangerous word

Compatibility.

In the last week I have crossed paths with this word more than once. Most recently, I played a game called Compatibility. It is a game that was made for couples, and in this game you get to find out whether or not you are "compatible" with your partner.

Each player is given a deck of cards that is composed of various pictures and words. During each round of the game you are given a word and the players have to pick out 2 to 5 cards (depending upon the place in the game) that they feel best suit that word. They initially place their cards face down and then each couple will reveal their cards in order to see how "compatible" they are. It can be fun to play, mostly because it is always entertaining to hear why people picked out certain cards for certain words.

I also ran across the word, compatibility, in a book that I am reading. It is called Christian Living in the Home by Jay E. Adams, and in the book there is a subtitle that says:
The Myth of Compatibility.

He then follows with this paragraph:

"Compatibility is a dangerous word. It does not occur in Scripture, and the concept - as normally set forth in contemporary writing and as used in popular parlance - is quite misleading and unscriptural. The common concept of compatibility, when followed by Christians and non-Christians alike, can lead to disastrous consequences."

We usually see this concept coming up when single people are looking for a potential spouse. They are questioning whether or not they are compatible with this person or that person. Then they will meet somebody that they are "more compatible" with. And suddenly, before they know it, they are waiting for this perfect person, the ideal mate; the one that they have been waiting for their whole lives. It is their "perfect match" or their "soul-mate" that will magically complete them because they were "meant-to-be."

"The Biblical fact is that no two persons are compatible... We are all born sinners, and that means that we are by nature incompatible people. For any two people to be compatible in any true sense of the terms means that they first must become Christians and then work (by God's grace) hard at the task of becoming compatible. People are not born compatible, they only become compatible by the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit in their lives."

I would agree with Jay Adams on this one, but there is one thing that I am not quite sure about... I am never one to place personal experience up on a pedestal, but I know that my wife is the perfect complement to me, and that I am the perfect complement to her. I absolutely cannot imagine life without her, it just wouldn't be a whole life.

To be honest with you, I am not really sure how all of this ties together, but let me share with you some basic Biblical truths that I believe could apply, regardless of the situation:

Know that God is in control.

• "The LORD will work out his plans for my life..." Psalm 138:8a
• "We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps." Proverbs 16:9

Know that God is good.

• "You are good and do only good..." Psalm 119:68
• "O Lord, you are so good, so ready to forgive, so full of unfailing love for all who ask your aid. " Psalm 86:5

Know that God doesn't hide his best from us.

• "The LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, says: I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is good and leads you along the paths you should follow. Oh, that you had listened to my commands! Then you would have had peace flowing like a gentle river and righteousness rolling like waves." Isaiah 48:17,18

To the singles: May you grow in your faith today, and trust that God is in control and He will guide your steps.

To the married: May you thank God today for what He has given you. May you repent if you have not been keeping up your end of the bargain. And may you seek forgiveness today for any harm that you have caused to the one with whom you are the most compatible

prior commitments

The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren
I know that I haven't posted about this book in awhile. I obviously wasn't trying to fulfill the challenge at the beginning of the book (to read through the book in 40 days). It was one among several books that I was trying to read at the same time, and this one made it to the back burner while I finished up some of the others.

So I picked it up again today, and since my students are taking a test right now, I thought that I would make a quick post about it. (previous posts can be found here and here.) I read it early this morning and this one paragraph just jumped out at me:

Nothing shapes your life more than the commitments you make. Your commitments can develop you or they can destroy you, but either way,they will define you. Tell me what you are committed to, and I'll tell you what you will be in twenty years. We become whatever we are committed to.
--Rick Warren

I don't know about you, but when I read something that impacts me, it usually impacts me in two ways. I hate to admit it publicly, but I usually think about how this affects other people first. I wish that I was the type of person that would always begin by evaluating myself first, but I just don't.

Just consider all of the things that people can be committed to. There are the big things like money, fame, fortune, and so on, but there are also the more subtle things like a commitment to feel good, or a commitment to have fun. These types of commitments could remain hidden for years, but don't be mistaken, they are just as destructive.

But just when I think that I have figured out what is wrong with everyone else in the world, the eyes start to turn inward, and inevitably the question is asked, "what are you committed to?"

Rick Warrens words are sobering when you really consider them: "We become whatever we are committed to." We could all go down the list of things that others have committed themselves to. We could line up the tombstones of people who have wasted their lives being committed to these worthless things. But can you ask yourself the question, "what are you committed to?"

jodely-bodely

I love both of my sons equally. I don't want there to be any question about that. But more and more, around the house, Josiah is being referred to as "my child."

It isn't that my wife has decided to disown him or anything like that. It is just that there are certain Josiah-like characteristics that are also Matt-like characteristics.

For example, from birth, Josiah has been a very laid-back kid. Doesn't take much to entertain him. A couple of hotwheels, a marble, and a little dirt and he is set. I totally understand. My mom used to say the same thing about me. My third grade teacher even put in my report card that I could make an entire circus out of a couple of paperclips. Even now, give me some new little present, and I am lost for days.

Now I would also like to think that it is because we share such an excellent sense of humor. Those that know me best know that I love to have fun and be funny. But there aren't many things that I enjoy more than listening to (and watching) a good Josiah belly-laugh. I could be having the absolute worst day in the world and a couple of those gut-chuckles will cure it every time.

I have noticed though that he can be quite mischevious. When you step out of the room, and he doesn't know that he is being watched, you can catch him "swiping" toys from Sam. And I know that he doesn't actually want the toys; he just wants to watch Sam get mad. You can see it in his face as he does his wobbly-bouncy sprint with the toy, it is almost like he enjoys it when other people can't get a grip. Now I personally haven't ever done anything just to make someone mad... Well... OK, that's not entirely accurate.

One thing that I know annoys my wife is our attention span, or lack of it! To concentrate on anything for more that 3 seconds is nearly impossible. Especially at the end of the day: ADD in our house means Attention Depletion Disorder. Our attentions are no longer a defecit, they just don't exist!

Because of this, in many of our "little meetings" I end up sounding more like an auctioneer than a parent.

"now look at me Jo, look me in the eyes... why did... Jo, Jo, look at daddy, Jo, why did... Jo, eyes, now look at... Jo, why did you... Jo, eyes, Jo, eyes... SOLD!"

I love that Jodely-Bodely. I can't wait to get home to see him.

today with a daisy

If you haven't checked it out, you need to take a peek at my wife's blog, A Day With Daisy. It's look has been updated, and she has gone with a theme.

I have always loved reading her stuff, but it just keeps getting better.

the mothman prophecies

It all started when I mentioned a movie to my laborers, Paul and Jared.

I work for a moving company in the summertime, and when I found out that I was going to be traveling through the midwest, I decided to choose my own labor. After I left Cincinnati, OH, I made my way across Indiana and picked up my new employees.


At some point during the travels, I had mentioned a movie called "The Mothman Prophecies" that had freaked-me-out just a little. Well Paul decided to purchase this movie so that we could watch it in the hotel room, on his laptop.

Now, because I had been driving all day, while they were napping, I could not make it through the whole movie. But at one point I woke up to see both Paul and Jared crouching on the other bed saying, "Oooh man! that is freaking me out!" Then they would rewind the scene and watch it in slow motion, and start to freak out again. I laughed at them and then went back to sleep. I thought that I had heard the last of the mothman... but I was wrong.

I decided to ask Paul to come back with me. I had found that it was a whole-lot easier to bring my labor with me, than it was to try to find an agent in each new town that I went to, and hire some guy that I didn't know. Paul was also a better worker than most of the guys that I had hired over the course of the summer. So it just made sense to bring him with me. (I would have asked Jared to come too, but he was scheduled to go on a missions trip. He was almost kicked off of the smite trip... but that is a-whole-nother story in itself.)

As the summer rolled on, we traveled all over the place. We visited places like Florida, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and so on... We had a lot of fun, and met a lot of interesting people. ...very "interesting" people, people that are so "interesting" that they deserve a post devoted entirely to them. And right at the end of the summer, on the next-to-last trip, the mothman made a personal appearance into our lives.

We were traveling through Virginia, on our way back from the Baltimore-Washington DC area, when Paul, who was "napping" again, flinched. His window had been down, and some large bug had hit the mirror and splattered its innards all over Paul.

While we were discussing the disgustingness of bug innards being splattered all over anything, the moth showed up. It hovered momentarily between the two of us, and then it began to swoop at Paul.

Paul, with his "catman" reflexes, instantly jumped up onto his haunches, began to scream, and swing a pillow in the general direction of the moth. Unfortunately the general direction of the moth was also in the general direction of me. (It is never good to have someone swinging anything in your general direction when you are driving a large vehicle.) In defense of my life, I began yelling at Paul, and the moth, to stop before we were all dead on the side of the road.

Once things calmed down I took the next exit so I could asses the damages. There weren't any. Unless you consider the bug guts on Paul's shirt. We searched for the mystery moth but couldn't find it. We hoped that it was dead and began our trip again. This time with a couple of energy drinks in us.

When we were on the road again, I decided to call my wife and let her know that I was running a little late. Since it was already late when I called her, I figured that she knew that, but thought it best to call anyway. I got my cell phone out and chatted with her for awhile, when I suddenly felt something on my neck. something soft... (At some point I will need to get my wife to type out her version of this part of the story on her blog, because the next few minutes in the truck she was able to listen in on.)

I have to admit, I dropped the phone. And I'm not ashamed of it! I had a soft-ball size moth perched on my neck, and according to Paul it was getting ready to draw blood!

Paul immediately went into cat-man mode again. And above the screams, I started yelling, "Get the phone!" There is just absolutely no way that I would ever be able to describe the next few moments. There was insanity in the cab of that truck.

We pulled over again, found the phone (I just listened for the laughter coming from the phone). And once again began to asses the damages. I was still unable to find the moth, even though it had almost killed us twice. (Not that a moth could actually cause any physical damage, but because I almost wrecked from Paul trying to swat the moth and hitting me instead... multiple times.)

Paul spent the rest of the trip completely wrapped from head to toe in a blanket, even though it was the middle of the summer. The only thing showing was an opening for his mouth, so that he could breathe and/or bite the moth. The rest of the trip was fairly uneventful, even though we still had to make it the rest of the way across Virginia and North Carolina.

It is truly an event that I will never forget. Even though I try really, really hard.