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Monday, May 19, 2008

Walk To Jesus

My mom just moved in with us last night.  The kids were so excited.  My 4 year old son came up to my wife this morning and asked,"Is grandma going to walk with us to Jesus when the days over”.  My wife replied, “You mean when our life here is over?” Joshua said, “Yeah”.

I think it is such a neat perspective he has.  He thinks that we are all walking to Jesus together, and that someday we will literally walk to him together.  That is such a neat vision.  And from his comment it seems that he views that as the overall mission in life.  Now that my mom is a part of the family, he wants to know that she is going with us.  I think God has worked it out so that she will.

Friday, May 16, 2008

A Mother’s Day Homerun

This Mother’s Day was the best one I can remember.  I should probably share it with all you dads out there.  It was the evening before Mother’s Day.  I still had no gift and no ideas.  Actually, it may have been night; so I had no chance of getting anything in time.  I tend to procrastinate.  So I knew I wanted to at least be able to say that something was in the mail.  I started racking my brain for something she had said she wanted.

In general, I’m not a huge fan of holidays, but Mother’s Day is a little different.  One reason is that I have five children with my wife.  In my mind, she is the mother of all mothers:) Really, she comes up with so much for the kids to do.  She cares about their hearts and attitudes every day.  She deserves this little celebration. 

So then it hit me.  She had just asked for something earlier that week.  But what was it??? Oh Ya, it was this cool add-on for a Adobe Photoshop called “Totally Rad Actions”.  (We are both pretty big into photography.) Upon remembering her gift request, I also remembered that she said...uh oh..."the online download special was good through Friday”.  By now it’s Saturday night before Mother’s Day Sunday and I was going to have to bite the bullet and get it anyway at full price, but no.  When I downloaded it, I got the special.  Things are starting to work in my favor, but telling her something new is on her computer just doesn’t seem very illustrious.  I mean it’s not a physical gift that she can hold onto and feel and see.  It’s not something I can hold behind my back and say “Guess, which hand.” Something seemed lack-luster about telling her something new was on her computer, even though I knew she would really like it. 

Here’s what I decided on - A Quest for the Gift.  I had to hurry.  I only had about 5 minutes left of her tucking the kids into bed.  First, I typed this: “HAPPY MOTHERS DAY, CHECK IN YOUR BOTTOM CLOTHES DRAWER FOR SOMETHING SPECIAL (under the clothes).” I quickly printed it to fill a page.  Next, I typed and printed this: “NOW, GO TO THE COMPUTER AND GET ON FATHERSHEARTS.ORG AND CLICK ON THE HEART AT THE BOTTOM OF THE HOMEPAGE” Next, I had to do some quick web work.  I created a heart graphic, placed it on my homepage, and linked it to a new page that read: “NOW, I’M ASSUMING YOUR ON YOUR LAPTOP.  OPEN UP YOUR STICKY NOTE PROGRAM AND FIND THE NOTE THAT SAYS HAPPY MOTHERS DAY”.  This was a bit of an inside joke because I knew she would go to my computer first.  Next, I went to her laptop and quickly typed out a sticky note that read something like this: “HAPPY MOTHERS DAY.  YOUR GIFT ISN’T FAR AWAY.  GO INTO THE BASEMENT FOLDER ON YOUR DESKTOP AND OPEN THE MOM FOLDER.  OPEN AND ENJOY”.  I had to quickly create that folder and get all the Photoshop toys I had downloaded into that folder.  I quickly put her laptop to sleep and closed it just as she stepped out of the girls bedroom.

Sunday morning I managed to wake up and discreetly get the original typed page under the blankets right by her feet where she couldn’t help but notice them.  I then stayed in bed with her until she uncovered the annoying scratchy thing by her feet.  The quest began.  She really liked it.  I think the quest was more enjoyable than the gift.  And she really like the gift!  It whole thing has been a bit of a jolt to our marriage.  Hopefully, I don’t have “creative husband’s block” until next Mother’s Day.  I hope to do more stuff like this fairly often.  - Jesse

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

The Joy of the Lord is your Strength

There is nothing quite so attracting as joy.  Real joy is contagious.  It is sought after.  Joy is the outstanding quality of Christianity.  It is the testimony of God’s people that brings outsiders into the inner circle of fellowship with Christ.  On a resume, one would point out all the strengths that make them appealing.  The strength that makes us appealing is joy.  People will not be drawn to your testimony because of your bible knowledge or your discipline.  Joy is what people are looking for.  Let us seek the Lord for a baptism of joy, so others may see the true nature of our God.  Because he never loses his joy.

Saturday, May 03, 2008

Today is even Better

Yes it’s true