Endure the Mundane…

 

Jenny and I are struggling a little. Not much is clear and, while I feel God is moving, He has not seen fit to clue me in on what is going on. It has been some time since I knew any of what my future would hold and almost all of MY plans for things have fallen to ruin.

This is where we find ourselves today. Things seem uncertain and we still maintain hope that one day God will bless us with the life we envision. For me that is a ministry leading people in a mission AND enough time to culture my family into well rounded, secure, and faith filled men and women of God that know I love and value them deeply. For Jenny it is security and a family closely bound by the time and experiences they share. Neither of us ask to be rich in money, but rich in blessings.

God willing that dream will be recognized some day.

It is tough to persevere through the mundane routine of life. When nothing seems to be happening and you are faced with a seeming eternity of mind numbing repetition. I am tempted at times to think that this difficulty comes from an ungrateful and malcontent spirit; Hebrews says it is not so abnormal.

32 But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, 33 sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. 34 For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. 35 Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. 36 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. 37 For,

“Yet a little while,
and the coming one will come and will not delay;
38 but my righteous one shall live by faith,
and if he shrinks back,
my soul has no pleasure in him.”

39 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.

Hebrews 10:32-39 (ESV)

 

In verses 32-34 the Author references a time when nothing was mundane for these believers. They had a defined focus and struggle. Their faith was actively challenged and their goal, and joy, was to withstand the persecution. This was one of those great moments of their faith tested and tried in an open and active way. There was no need of uncertainty, they knew the destination and the goal.

 

You may say, “they were being persecuted! That must be more difficult than day to day life.”

 

There are numerous scriptures that encourage the believers to hold on through persecutions and trials, so I would not say it is not difficult. But let us look at Romans 5.

 

3 More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Romans 5:3-5 (ESV)

 

It is easy to see again and again where Paul references the great joy that we share in our active suffering; it is here he explains why. Suffering is an active builder of character and hope, by nature it wells us up to endure and reminds us of God’s love. It forces us to lean on the Holy Spirit and gives us the opportunity to see God at work. After all we know that nothing is a catalyst quite like a martyr.

 

No the mundane daily life that the Hebrews had fallen into is where an entire chapter is spent exhorting believers not to give up. You can almost hear the readers asking, “What now for us? What's next?” It is easy to feel forgotten in the never ceasing tide of unremarkable time.

 

So the author of Hebrews says, “Do not throw away your confidence”. A trial builds in us a confidence in God that He is marching us forward in Faith and will be faithful in seeing the good work completed. When that easily marked period of time is over and we are no longer able to easily discern the footsteps we follow, then does our confidence start to wane. It is difficult to have confidence in what feels, at best, like meandering with no particular goal or, at worst, like standing still.

Yet again we are told to have confidence to endure. The Author lets us know that it is difficult to endure unremarked time but that even in this we are doing the will of God; if we endure. Even when nothing seems to be happening we are actively working out our salvation and living as a daily sacrifice. Then he reminds us of the promise.

Again we see the promise of Christ’s return given as our great positive motivation for working in the here and now. Once again this encouragement doesn’t come as a warning to not be found wasting our time lest God should judge us for our inactivity. No we are reminded to endure in confidence because, while the moment we share right now may be completely unremarkable and vague, a time is soon coming that will be the most remarkable thing ever.

Our risen King riding on the clouds in victory to end our daily struggles and strife and bring a final and complete joy and peace. An event that will signal the end of time itself. An eternal moment that is characterized by a remarkable God in a remarkably unhindered relationship with His people.

And then comes what is perhaps on of my very most favorite passages in scripture. In fact it is worth the repeating:

39 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.

Hebrews 10:39 (ESV)

 

This screams of a rally cry, a warriors cry to arms. We are not of those who shrink back, no as Romans 8:37 says

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

We will not be destroyed, how can we? Again Romans 8 says, “If God is for us who can be against us”? We are of the victorious, we are of those who have faith, who push forward and receive our promised reward. We shall not fail or falter but press on to victory in Christ Jesus, even through the mundane marching of daily life.

And if we wait on the Lord we are promised to soar on wings like eagles. Have you ever seen a bird just about to take flight? There is the joy of a remarkable freedom.

10 Days and Counting…

 

So our relief quit on their second day of shadowing… Basically for us that means more days working until they can find someone to relieve us. Nine days is hard enough, but ten becomes on the extreme side of things. That being said, there are house parents here who went upwards of a month without a day off, Jenny and I can simply not accomplish that feat.

 

I think it little coincidence that today’s reading be one of my favorite sections of scripture, let alone one about perseverance.

 

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Hebrews 10:19-25 NIV

 

A few things in this passage really stand out to me. First the author of Hebrews, and it’s inspirer, say that we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place. I think this is something I need to be reminded of often. Not the I am called into the very presence of the King, not that I stand bare before His throne, that I am most aware of. I need to be reminded that I am able to do so boldly, with confidence, because I am a son speaking with His father.

Jesus, through His death and resurrection, open (and I like this part) and new and living way for us to enter the Throne Room of God. He stood between us to prove our purity and cleansed us eternally so we can have assurance in our faith and confidence in our relationship with God, even when we screw up.

Second, note that the author specifically says our hearts have been sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience. The Holy Spirit may convict us as a tool of sanctification (making us like Christ), but it also cleans away the condemnation of our sins and lets us live free of guilt. Something that no other religion offers. This is huge for me. What freedom God has offered us! I do not need to walk around with my head down constantly offering a mantra of apologies and begging for mercy. It was given on the cross and sprinkled on my heart.

That doesn’t mean we don’t apologize, God forbid, rather we are all the more ready to own our sins and apologize because of the great love shown us. The point is that after that moment, we need not worry with it, ever again. When we ask forgiveness for failing, God gives it, but I wonder if He does it with a grin, for all He sees is the blood of Christ, not shed again and again, but once for all.

Third, I love verse 24. Let us spur one another on towards love and good deeds. Ok, I don’t know how much you know about riding horses, but spurs hurt. You kick the horse in its side with poking devices attached to your boot to encourage the animal to go faster, and encourage it does. In fact, the process almost becomes a joy for the horse. You see as rider and horse become one and surge forward the horse begins to open up. Ask any horseman, the horse loves to run and is eager to show it’s speed. So it learns to take joy in those slightly painful urges.

I hope the analogy is clear. We are to spur one another on. We encourage, yes, and we do so in love and fullness of joy, but sometimes it requires something that may be slightly painful to endure. The fruit, however, speaks for itself. It does take too long to begin taking comfort and joy in those little reminders and be inspired to open our gate up and run.

Finally, once more the author reminds us to take our motivation in Christ’s return. The joy of working for a King coming back to take us home should inspire us to make Him as proud as we can. Just like any child works extra hard at a task, just to see his parents beam with pride.

 

If you’re a parent like me, you know it doesn’t take much work for us to be proud of our children. If we, who are evil and broken, feel so much pride in our children, how does God feel? Pretty cool huh?

 

And So We Wait…

We live in transition and thus we live in anticipation (or else dread). We are temporal and have never known the eternal so a time consciousness is all we can manage. And so we wait.
Jenny and I wait for family completion, we wait for being able to own a home, we wait for Sammy’s birthday party, and our days off, and just anything… So many of us live waiting.
Jesus told us not to worry about tomorrow, so we strive to wait in joyful anticipation of what God has in store, yet it is waiting.

We are moving into an apartment on campus and have a big home study coming up. We are super excited to get a good move on it and even more excited to have our family complete. The problem? We’re waiting. I laugh while I say this, but in all reality it does add some stress to my growing little family.

The point is we wait… A lot… it is, in fact, part of the human experience. Even Jesus waited 33 years before he started His ministry.

28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

Hebrews 9:28 (ESV)

Jesus appeared as man on earth to offer Himself the perfect sacrifice, afterwards He rose from the dead and appeared in heaven as our mediator with God, but soon He will appear again. No sacrifice, no lamb, but our Lord. This verse says we are to eagerly wait for Him. For a people so used to waiting, why do we struggle with this so?

I think as leaders we fail to bring the appropriate emphasis on our call to eagerly await His return. When we do, we use it as a fear motivator towards salvation. This verse says it should be eagerly awaited. Is it possible that we miss a huge positive motivation for every aspect?

The old hymns and gospel favorites talked a lot about our long desired home and the coming of our long awaited King. I think they had the right idea? What greater motivation to evangelism than knowing that Christ is coming a victorious King. We who have the light of the world should eagerly work towards earning the crown for THAT day and expanding the Kingdom. We should eagerly search His word and seek to know Him for our long awaited home coming, and we should be joyful in working out our own salvation.

Why do we not live in anticipation of the things of God? For those of us so used to waiting, it seems like a good skill to focus on.

Of course we could be much like Sammy and decide to run ahead…

Sammy has not had much experience at waiting yet…

Coming up in chapter 10 of Hebrews is one of the most compelling exhortations in the Bible regarding confidence in Christ. It is a call to persevere. Should we be surprised that a call to persevere should follow a call to eagerly wait?

Getting Ready…

 

Sammy’s birthday is coming up. His very first one. My baby is turning one year old…. That’s just wrong.

Never the less, we are still getting ready for the day. We’re excited that family gets to come in, and hopefully a good number of friends too. That boy just keeps getting cuter and I love him dearly. I Just wanted to share a quick picture I took of him the other day sitting on the kitchen counter top.

 

So I’ve been reading through Hebrews, and it has given me a bit on inspiration. I, like many other Christian leaders, believe that a systematic approach to Bible readings will yield more benefit than random reading. However, the most inspirational scripture I read today actually came from a devotional I read from time to time.

 

28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.

Colossians 1:28 (ESV)

 

I was struck by the words chosen here. We are to reach out both in evangelism and discipleship to all of those around us warning and teaching them, with all knowledge? Nope. With an encyclopedia of Biblical languages and tools memorized? Definitely not. No we are to do it with all Wisdom.

Wisdom is the ability to apply our knowledge, God also offers us all the wisdom we ask for. He indeed is our wisdom living and active inside of us through the Holy Spirit. The ability to use what we have, the way He created us to, empowered by Him, to reach those around us. If telling us we are without excuse was not enough, He goes on to lay their maturity in Christ at our feet as well. I don’t think we take the weight of God’s call serious enough.

 

Just a thought…

Little Bit Better….

 

Today has been a tad better; I’ve not wanted to quit so bad. They gave us a move in date at the Children’s Home, which is cool because it means soon we will be saving a good bit more money.

 

Mainly I am looking forward to only having two more days and then four days off where I don’t have to travel but do get to see my family AND friends. It’s like… Awesome!

 

Romans tells us that nothing can separate us from the love of God… not anything. That because of this we can rejoice in our sufferings because it draw us nearer to God. Hebrews describes faith as the substance of things hoped for, a trust so strong that it is the tangible presence of what hasn't happened yet. We are also told that faith comes by hearing and that is enabled by the Word of God. As we learn His voice and character like a sheep learns his shepherd then our faith grows and God shows Himself faithful. Again we are told that the Word of God is living and active, that by nature it is sharper than any blade we might conceive able to divide our seat of emotions, decisions and consciousness from our physical body; because, as we have been told, none can know the heart but God. And again, God knew us before He knit us together in the womb.

 

There fore we can say that due to God’s foreknowledge and providence we have a tangible trust, built in us by God’s Living Word and cultured by learning His voice, that causes celebration in hardships because we know that we are inseparably tied to our Mighty God.

Or so we are promised…

Is your trust so strong its tangible?

 

How could we do anything but rejoice if we have called upon the name of the Lord and so been adopted into promises such as these?

 

With this in mind, I will share another video with you that brings me joy. Sammy learning to smack his lips.  

 

Sammy smacks his lips

Tough…

 

Some days are just tough… the girls have been almost non-stop complaining and attitude and it is about all I can do not to snap at them. Jenny is worn out because of it and even though I got extra sleep it has worn me out too. The baby is not feeling good so he is being needy and really I just want to go home.

 

Ok enough complaining. I wanted to share another video with everyone. A little back story first.

 

We went to Burger King with our best friends one Sunday. As we we sitting there enjoying our yummy whoppers, Jenny is allowing Sammy to play with her straw explaining, “he doesn’t know how to use it yet.” She then asks, “How do Baby’s learn to use a straw?” At this time Sammy sucks coke up the straw pulls back in surprise and it goes all over both of them. Being the huge help that they are, our friend said, “Like that.”

 

Needless to say Jenny took the straw out of the cup to let Sammy play with it. He grabbed both ends and started doing this little dance. Kind of like you see the loony-toons do with a cane as they dance of stage. It was terribly cute. Later that evening and ever since Sammy has decided it is a good dance to do, thus the straw dance,

 

And there it is…

 

Hope you enjoyed the show and now back to reality…

My First Video…

 

So other than sharing an embedded YouTube video once, I never have made a video post. I am happy to report that trend ends today. I had several videos of Sammy on my phone and decided I would try and move them to the computer and share with everyone.

 

I do not get near the time to work on my photography that I used to, and while I miss it, I also notice that I manage to get plenty of photos and videos of Sammy. I think that is pretty cool myself.

 

I was listening to a song the other day that talked about finally finding the joy in life because her daughter was her birthday present and everything was going to be fine. It made me realize how easy it is for me to get caught up in some “life” that I want to have and forget that, in all reality, I am living the good life right now. I have a beautiful wife an an amazing little boy, and a soon to be wonderful daughter. I am blessed.

 

Rather than wishing for more time to enjoy it, perhaps I should just enjoy it….

 

Samuel Loves the chasing game…

Radically Redeemed?

 

 

       Sammy loves to fly. His trust is complete and he knows that his mom and dad will not drop him. As he soars up into the air he allows himself a hovering moment of pure life. Why? Because his trust is radical and he has laid everything in loving hands. George Macdonald said,

       “To be trusted is a greater compliment than to be loved.”

       If you’ve ever had your trust broken, you know how true that is. Yet trust remains a vital part of the act of living. No one can achieve the joy of life without the risk of trust. Yet once you let down your walls, once you open the dusty doorway to forgotten trust and clear away the cobwebs of hurt, then things can get radical.

      We were, as humans, all entrusted with a great amount of life, potential, and purpose. We broke and continue to break that trust with God. Yet God provided a radical way to restore that trust.

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:14 (ESV)

       The incarnation shows how radical God was willing to be to reach out to us, but he requires and equally radical response.

       When you compare the roughly 82% of well over 200 million Americans claiming the Christian faith and the epidemics of divorce, abused sexuality, rampant drug use, and fundamental misunderstandings of love and the family you discover that, as Christians, we Americans have missed the radical life. As I see it there are three categories of Christians; the Committed Christian, the Professing Believer, and the Radically Redeemed.

 

 Committed Christian

       The Committed Christian is a very pious and dedicated soul. Constantly serving and participating in religious exercise, the Committed Christian appears the model church going Christian. In fact, most are. These are generally good people very dedicated to their religious practice. Yet as committed as they may be and as hard as they may work many seem to be missing the pure life and infectious joy of the Christian life. This can be seen in the vast number of good Churches and the incredibly small number of growing Churches.  They just don’t seem very radical.

 

Professing Believers

       We’ve all seen this group. This is the person who has a loose claim on Christianity yet cares little to display and sign of faith. It is the Professing Believer that does the most damage to the Christian name. You see, as they claim the faith and fail to truly believe or trust in it, they many astray by profaning the name of Christ with their life styles. We often call them hypocrites, though at times we may all fit that moniker. The only thing radical in this persons life is their commitment to themselves.

 

Radically Redeemed

       Finally we get to those often considered strange, naive, or too extreme by their Committed brothers and sisters. These are the people that bring strung out drug addicts with the smell of alcohol hanging like a deep funk to Church with them, not by words or promise of help, but by the blazing purity of their living. These are the people that dream of Churches without walls, nations burning as one with the fire of God, and mountains moving at a word. These are the people that weep at the pain of prostitutes, sacrifice their dinner money for the hungry, and give of their over laden schedule to be a family to the lonely. These are those so radical in their love, purity, and passion that they make us feel uncomfortable just by being around. We are not the only ones to be uncomfortable around the radical;

 

3:1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

John 3:1-5 (ESV)

       Talk about radical and you must reference Jesus as the ultimate example, and no one for over two thousand years has made people more uncomfortable. Nicodemus was a Pharisee and Committed man of faith. He came to Jesus in the night, uncomfortable to be seen with him during the day, and he greeted him with a profession of belief. Jesus immediately responded with a call to be radical. The idea of being born again, made completely new, was so foreign to the Committed Pharisee that he was truly dumfounded and missed the entire point.

       We, however, are in no place to judge Nicodemus for we to often completely miss the point. In the midst of godly house work, we miss the Master pointing us to the Harvest. In the pursuit of dedicated practice and religious improvement we abandon our first love for a task list. Rather than a life characterized by blazing purity of joy, we live subjugated by the burden of religion. We have been called to a radical transformation.

       A candle can not work itself aflame it must be set on fire. A city on a hill is not seen for it’s buildings, but for the lights that must be turned on. We can not work ourselves into radical redemption, we must be redeemed, so why do we persist in believe that the existence of one so freely redeemed must be working to keep it? How can we be so confused that rather than loving the redeemer, we set work in His rightful spotlight?

        “I thought we showed our faith through works!” Indeed James does tell us that we show our faith with our works. Our radical and complete trust and focus on our redeemer is shown in the overflow of our activity. Our actions do not define our faith, they pour out from it as examples of a definition that should be plainly seen in our living. Paul says,

 

12:1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

Romans 12:1 (ESV)

 

       We are to live completely laid out in the loving hands of God. Floating in the air of complete trust knowing our entire fate and livelihood is in the hands waiting to catch us. Only in the release that comes with finally believing that our Father will not drop us, can we enjoy that hovering moment of pure joy. Radically Redeemed? In a world where 9 out of 10 quotes on trust is an admonition not to, this type of living is radical indeed. Yet it is not without reward. Those who lived Radically Redeemed were said to have turned the world upside down, proclaimed joy in their suffering, and looked forward with peace and passion to their final home coming. They LIVED and then went on to Life.

       So then the question remains, which are you? Committed Christian, Professing Believer, or Radically Redeemed?

What A Smile…

 

 

I took this picture with my cell phone. Then I edited it in picsart. I love the picture because of the purity of Sammy’s smile, but the full color version had horrible color and poor clarity. I think the sketch effect does alright at preserving his smile, without detracting too much. Of course I do still have the full color version for all of the detail.

 

I am actually getting to post this from a computer again, I will grant you its at work, but still. I have been taking pictures with my camera, and do have some good ones, but I have not had time to do the post processing yet. I am really hoping that once we move on cottage it will offer enough extra time to accomplish some on those goals.

 

We are on an extra long set this time around, but the good part is that we will get Sammy’s birthday off now. It is Feb 26th, so that means we also get that Sunday off. I am super excited about getting to have Sammy’s first birthday with his Sissy and all of our friends. It should be a lot of fun, and a good opportunity for me to use my camera again. It is incredibly hard to believe my son is a year old now. I keep looking at old pictures and videos and he has grown SO much. It makes me sad that my little baby is growing up, and more than that, it is happening so fast.

 

Any way, I have a few videos that I will be posting over the next couple of posts. I am sure many of you have caught one version or another on Facebook, but I wanted to share them here incase you missed the others. I may even get a few new ones to share.

 

If you all want to we can start a project where you give the subject matter to me as a photo challenge and I will go out and do my best to capture it. I think it would be a lot of fun, and a big help to me. If you have any ideas please just drop me a line at livingthez@gmail.com or post a comment here.

He's gone Home...

February the 6th at 6:25pm my Pappy went home. He is walking with Jesus and will never worry about another pacemaker replacement. I just wanted to tell you a tad bit about him...

Kenneth Dennison was born March 23^rd, 1926, inside what is now Mammoth Cave National Park. He was adopted and raised in poverty. He collected ginseng in the park and trapped foxes for money so his family could buy clothes. He dropped out of school in the 6^th grade to work in a labor camp, and later passed his GED after only a years worth of study. He served in World War 2, held the line at the battle of the bulge, rescued his brother from a concentration camp, provided for an orphan, and returned a hero. State side he married, raised a family, while caring for his brother; reorganized and revolutionized the job corps program, made several presentations in Washington DC to the labor department, was placed over inspections and problem solving for all the job corps, he even had a senator on speed dial. Kenneth Dennison was a Church Deacon, Elder, Teacher, Camp Speaker, and a mighty fine singer. The man's life reads like a movie; yet none of his many accomplishments compare to one thing. While his given name was Kenneth Dennison, to most of us he was known simply as Pappy, he is my Pappy, and my hero.

            A simple, unwavering, and powerful love for God, His family, a job well done, and all of those around him make up the hallmark of Pappy's life and that is what he will be remembered for. Somehow with all the greatness in his life, Pappy was a simple family man full of integrity and an undeniable love for God.

That is my Pappy.

I, sadly enough, do not have a picture of him with me, though I will post one when I get home. I do however have a picture of exactly what made me smile and laugh not 10 minutes after my Pappy passed.

This is an old picture of Sammy I found on my Mom's computer. It amazes me that 19 days from being 1 year old and I still feel about as much wonder looking at him as I ever did. I love that little guy, and his laughter, and knowing he is happy, will always make my day.

I hope that is the beginning of me being like Pappy.

A Horrible Wait...

Pappy is still holding on. Not that he is doing better, just still holding on.

I feel horrible because I cannot stand being nearly 200 miles from the rest of my family while this is going on. That feels to close to wishing he would go on and let go.

It is just that the waiting is really difficult. I've heard no other news as to how he is doing, but Jenny and I are on stand by. Thankfully my boss will allow us to go at any time.

I am trying not obsess over it and to focus on better things. That in mind I thought I would share a picture of Sammy and my Grandma.

24-48...

I was told today that Pappy most likely has 24 to 48 hours left. His breathing is becoming shallow and a labor during the day and seeming to ease a bit at night.

My brain has been an absolute wreck. I am having real trouble coping with the girls, or with myself.

On top of this I have a migraine... bad... and one of the girls caused Sammy to have his first black eye.

I felt even worse because a resident's mom died today and we weren't allowed to say anything. So I just sat there trying to be normal and thinking about Pappy.

It has been a rough day, but I wanted to use this moment of therapy to keep everyone up to date.

Hazaa...

We made it back from Kentucky and lost a tire in the process. Its all good, God provided some pretty awesome blessings to account for our need. Enough extra money just randomly appeared for us to get all four tires replaced; and given they were held together by grace alone it was very needed.

On top of that we are getting a promotion, and got some very good news in some other very important areas. God is really being very awesome to us.

That being said, I'm very close to loosing my Pappy. They don't expect him to last the weekend. I am supposed to preach the funeral, a big honor but very difficult one.

It is difficult to do such an amazing man justice. The biggest thing that can be said about him? He was a man of God. My example and my hero.

The picture today is Sammy cheering. He does it when you say, "touchdown!". Just a reminder that God is still worth cheering for.