I have a small confession to make. Last week, while I was away with the Army I got into trouble. Someone actually pulled me aside and gave me a brief talking-to about my behavior.
I was walking through the PX (Post Exchange), chatting with my wife about what I was shopping for, when someone stopped me. He was in civilian clothes, so I didn’t know his rank, but his tone had definite authority...
The other day my wife sent me this picture of my son Caleb. Apparently he was finishing his chocolate milk when all of a sudden it plummeted from the kitchen island and spilled all over the kitchen floor. She turned around to get a towel and when she reappeared to clean up the mess there was Caleb, drinking the milk off....
For the past decade I have traveled for the Army. I’ve been around the world and had the pleasure of serving with some amazing people. Throughout that entire time, my wife has stood by my side while never actually going with me. The thing about the Army Reserves is that all my trips require me to leave, then return home. In the Army they call it TDY (temporary duty) and a steady season of TDY is one of those things that can really make or break a marriage.
I recently made a long drive from Ohio to Washington D.C. and I need to be honest with you; it was the ugliest drive I've ever seen. It was like God had reached down and painted the entire landscape of the nation gray. There was no sun, there were no clouds, just a gray back drop to the country side that was quite forgettable. The trees had no leaves, there was no evidence of anything that could have even possibly bloomed. There were piles of old snow, riddled with dirt and grime.
There I was - smack dab in the middle of what was supposed to be an easy demolition project. We were finally removing the 1970's classic drop ceiling from the kitchen. The idea sounded simple enough, remove the drop and replace with new drywall. The hope was that it would leave the kitchen feeling more open and more inviting.
Yesterday marked the 6 month anniversary of me giving up alcohol. Yup, 6 months sober and it flew by. I simply can't believe that I've been serving with the Next Step family for that long, nor can I believe how much I've grown in that time period.
Well, we are one day into lent and I have already flubbed at least once. I didn't mean to, actually I did mean to - I flubbed on purpose. The pizza was right there and it looked delicious. I don't regret it, but it got me thinking about how much I will waffle on my lenten promises. What makes some years better than others? How do I negotiate the next 40 days so that I can arise a Lenten champion?
This weekend at Ginghamsburg we did something we don't usually do; we brought in a guest speaker. Not just any speaker, a big time name in the Christian world. This type of move comes with a certain risk/reward. If he is great then it was worth it, but let's be honest, you only get 52 weeks in a year. No one wants to have a bad week. So the risk is as equally as big as the reward.
