What’s Next?!?!

Since it is a new year and most like to look back, I figured I would take a look ahead to some things that will be happening this year.

1. I will turn 40.  Hmmm doesn’t seem possible
2. I will have a child in High School.  
3. Watching that child play High School football
4. I will have a daughter in Middle school.  Lord help me!
5. To be debt free!
6. All the unknown blessings and challenges that will come my way
7. 15 years of Marriage

Short list but I can’t know everything that will take place.  Just let it be known that this will be a great year in my life.

Nine words from the Women in our lives!

Well if you are married or in a long term relationship there is about a 99.9% chance that you have heard this words before men.  Now I can’t claim credit for them but I have certainly heard them all and more than once.  So without further delay here we go:

 

1.) Fine: This is the word women use to end an argument when they are right and you need to shut up.

2.) Five Minutes: If she is getting dressed, this means a half an hour.
Five minutes is only five minutes if you have just been given five more minutes to watch the game before helping around the house.

3.) Nothing: This is the calm before the storm. This means something, and you should be on your toes. Arguments that begin with nothing usually end in fine.

4.) Go Ahead: This is a dare, not permission. Don’t Do It!

5.) Loud Sigh: This is actually a word, but is a non-verbal statement often misunderstood by men. A loud sigh means she thinks you are an idiot and wonders why she is wasting her time standing here and arguing with you about nothing. (Refer back to #3 for the meaning of nothing.)

6.) That’s Okay: This is one of the most dangerous statements a women can make to a man. That’s okay means she wants to think long and hard before deciding how and when you will pay for your mistake.

7.) Thanks: A woman is thanking you, do not question, or Faint. Just say you’re welcome.

8.) Whatever: Is a women’s way of saying ^&%$ YOU!

9.) Don’t worry about it, I got it: Another dangerous statement, meaning this is something that a woman has told a man to do several times, but is now doing it herself. This will later result in a man asking “What’s wrong?” For the woman’s response, refer to #3.

So there you have it.

What is it worth???

I have been in a blogging funk and I really haven’t had much to contribute to the blogging community so I felt silence was the better option.  With that said, what is your most precious possession???

Well for me it is time.  Time is the true currency of our lives.  We trade it for everything we do.  Even money is traded for time.  We always say there is never enough of it to do what we need to get done.  We run out of it and wish we had more of it.  It never moves fast enough when there is some place we want to be and it moves too fast when we want to savor the moment.  We look for ways to save it but most of the time we waste it.  TIME!  Songs are written about and stories told about it.  It waits for no one and is always moving forward.  So we should be wise in how we spend it and who we spend it with.  We should make the most of it and enjoy every moment of it.

So with that I guess the blogging funk is over…. For Now.

I have a Dream???

In the wake of this historic election,  I have but one question to ask people.  When considering Martin Luther King’s ” I have a Dream”  speech did we just elect a man on the color of his skin or the content of his character????  Time will tell.

Truth is always better

To my friends who have children that are not yet teenagers I would like to give you some free advice.

My pastor always told his kids that he would find out when they would do things wrong because he prayed that Holy Spirit would reveal things to him concerning his kids.  I told the same thing to my oldest child and Helen and I pray for them regularly so God reveals things to us concerning them.  It is often very funny how we found out things about him.  It is never the same way twice and I have discovered that Caleb believes now that God will tell on him to us so it helps to keep him straight.  Plus we have always tried to encourage Caleb to always be truthful with us because it will always go better for him.  Today was a great example of how truth will save you a bunch of trouble.  I made a point to tell him so.  We discussed the issue, he was honest and that was the end of the discussion.  He was happy and so were we.  This was one of those occasions that made parenting good, because we communicated with Caleb and more importantly he communicated with us……  I wouldn’t trade these times for anything in the world.  It restores my faith that we are on the right track with our kids.  Hang in there parents….. If we don’t give up, we win in the end.

3 to1

Here lately I have been feeling like for ever step forward I have taken 3 steps back.  To be more specific I feel like a one legged man in a butt kicking contest.  Trying to focus and improve my life only to be challenged on seemly ever front to prevent progress.  I am not deterred or swayed by what has happened, I guess I am just trying to figure out when will my break through appear.  I understand Jacob had to wrestle with God all night before he received his blessing.  Just wondering how much longer until dawn.  So there you have it.  Brief and amazing.  Remember this, when it comes to blogging if you can be brief and amazing, then just be brief.

Why its great to be a guy!

I found this on the web and after reading it I found it to be oh so true.  Sorry ladies.

1. One mood all the time
2. You get extra credit for the slightest bit of thoughtfulness
3. You can quietly enjoy the car ride from the passenger seat
4. You are unable to see wrinkles in clothes
5. You can watch a ball game quietly with a buddy and not think he must be made at me
6. If another guy shows up at a party in the same outfit you will become lifelong friends
7. Wedding dress $2,000,  tux rental $100
8. Wrinkles add character
9. Phone conversations are over in under a minute
10. You don’t care if someone notices your new haircut or not
11. New shoes don’t cut, blister or mangle your feet
12. You don’t have to shave your arm pits or legs

That should do for now.

I’m Still Here….

Through sickness, lack, need and trouble, I’m still here

Trials, tests,failure and success,  I’m still here.

Weakness and strength, joy and sorrow, I’m still here

Victory and peace, turmoil and strife, I’m still here.

Firm and faithful, weak kneed and scared,  I’m still here.

Standing or sitting, running or walking.  I’m still here

Light or darkness, Rain or shine, I’m still here.

Bruised and beaten, hard pressed and trapped,  I’m still here

Through sin and shame, I’m still here.

I don’t feel victorious or much like an over comer, but I’m still here.

At times I haven’t done all I can to stand firm, but I’m still here.

I’ve been caught in the fire, but I’m still here.

I haven’t seen the light at the end of the tunnel, but I’m still here.

Ready to quit and give in, but I’m still here.

Under assault on every side but I’m still here.

When asked how I was recovering, I said, I’m still here!

I’m still here, I’m still here, I’m still here.  Unable and unwilling to leave the fight. I AM STILL HERE.

I will not be hard to find.  If I am in turmoil then I must be in the right place. 

I have been shaken, but I am still here.

Nothing can remove me from the hand of my God,  I can’t dropped, I can’t be kicked out, I won’t slip through the cracks.  I am still here. 

So there you have it.  It is not easy, but anything that’s worth having never is.

KISS MY A**

That’s right I said it…..  Helen and I had made a decision a couple weeks ago to take Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace course and since then all hell as broken loose.  I am still battling sickness,  Courtney has pink eye, my truck has left me stranded…. twice.  Had to put tires on the van after Helen got a flat.  I am sure there are a few other things that have happened to try and sway our stance.  The funny thing about it is, we have just laughed and declared that if this is the best the devil has then it ain’t good enough to deter our stance.  In times past if these kind of things happened it would derail us from pressing in.  I would retreat into my little shell and bark at the world to leave me alone.  Well I am refusing to back down and so is Helen.  So with that said, I have but one thing to say to the devil and it is.   KISS MY ASS!!!  We ain’t quiting until you return everything that you have tried to steal from us.  If this offends then oh well, I am tired of trying to make peace with the enemy.  I am looking for victory and I will have it.

 

MUSA OUT!

Selling myself short?!?!

When Helen and I talk about things we often come to the conversation displayed in my header.  You see I coach a Pop Warner football team.  Football has always been in my blood and probably always will.  This really has nothing to do with football in and of itself, instead it is more to the point of doing the thing that you are gifted to do.  Not many people have the opportunity that I have, and by that I mean taking a group of individuals bringing them together into a unit that functions as one.  Not only that but being able to evaluate what their particular strengths and weaknesses are.  Let’s not forget the drama of having to deal with 20 different personalities and the various challenges that can bring.  I guess for the longest time I have only been willing to accept that I was just OK or pretty good at somethings, refusing to believe that I could excel to be one of the best at a particular venture.  Don’t get me wrong, I am not looking for fame and fortune, just maybe the quiet confidence that comes with knowing you have done a great job.  Why are we so willing to believe that we are less than what God created us for.  Why do we fall into the trap that says I can’t be the very best at something.   If we are keeping our eyes on who put us there then He receives the glory for our accomplishments.  I was a walk-on and ASU, that means I didn’t have a scholarship to play football there.  Heck I barely had decent equipment to practice with, and as a matter of fact that is what I was there for, to be a “practice dummy” for the scholarship guys.  After about a year and half of that, I got tired of just getting beaten up on and I decided to elevate my game to the point where I was able to make the travel squad.  Which means I got to actually play on Saturdays.  From there I earned a scholarship, which was a source of great pride, especially for my dad.  By the time my Senior year came around I had an opportunity to compete for a starting position.  I did not get it, but I still got to play a lot.  Did I become content with everything that I accomplished or had I gotten the most out of the talent God had given me.  15 years later, who knows.  I would like to think that there was a little farther I could have gone.  The point is the day you stop growing and looking for ways to be better or do more is the day you die, maybe not physically but spiritually and emotionally.  I don’t want to conduct the rest of my life thinking could I have done one more thing to change the outcome of whatever situation I find myself in.  I hope this makes sense and leaves you thinking about your own lives.

That’s all I’m saying.