This Sunday officially starts the season of Advent. It is one of my most favorite traditions. It is not something that I grew up celebrating, but one that since being introduced to, I love.

Advent is about slowing down, preparing the way, remembering what this season is all about. As a man who will soon celebrate the last birthday of his forties, I am learning a little more about taking in as much as you can, while you can

I love the lines from the movie City Slickers as quoted in the book The Body by Charles W. Colson

"Value this time in your life, kids, because this is the time in your life when you still have your choices. It goes by fast.

When you’re a teenager, you think you can do anything (and you do.) Your twenties are a blur. In your thirties you raise your family, you make a little money, and you think to yourself, "What happened to my twenties?"

In your forties, you grow a little pot belly, and you grow another chin. The music starts to get too loud, and one of your old girlfriends from high school becomes a grandmother. In your fifties, you have a minor surgery – you’ll call it a procedure, but it’s a surgery. In your sixties, you’ll have a major surgery, the music is still loud, but it doesn’t matter because you can’t hear it anyway.

In your seventies, you and the wife retire to Fort Lauderdale. You start eating dinner at 2:00 in the afternoon, you have lunch around 10:00, breakfast the night before, spend most of your time wandering around malls looking for the ultimate frozen yogurt and muttering, "How come the kids don’t call? How come the kids don’t call?" In your eighties, you’ll have a major stroke, and you end up babbling with some Jamaican nurse who your wife can’t stand, but whom you call mama. Any questions?”

Ok, so hopefully I don’t end up like that, but I am not taking any chances ;-)
May you have a blessed Advent Season

Poem Leo Buscaglia - Only you can Make the difference

Leo Buscaglia is an author that I have followed for a long time. One of his quotes is:

"Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around."

-Leo Buscaglia

I have always loved his writing, but even more his speaking. he is a bit eccentric, with one central message LOVE. I found this old piece that is a great snap shop of his work. During these holidays may we take his message to heart.

Don't be afraid to go where you've never gone and do what you've never done, because both are necessary to have what you've never had and be who you've never been.

"I cannot always control what goes on outside. But I can always control what goes on inside." Wayne Dyer

Where does the time go.....

I came back to see it has been along time time since I last visited. I have no guilt about that, life does that from time to time. I have been busy with college, church family and life but all is well. I ran across a saying tonight that spoke to me about life and the dreams we dream, it reads:

“Disturb us, Lord, when
We are too well pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we have dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.”
Sir Francis Drake



Dear God, help me dream big and not be afraid to leave the dock.

"Whenever I want to think hard, I need a river to help me lighten the load."

Sun Rise

This morning’s sunrise was one of the most spectacular that I have seen in a while. It was not bright like many are, but instead presented like a painting it was just amazing.

10 new members !

WOW,

This is the best description I can think of talking about Sunday.

10 people came forward to join the church. It was overwhelming to say the least.

After service we talked about the building off Counts Massie, the spirit was one of progression, unity and boldness. There was a unanimous decision to seek a lease and move the church at North Little Rock. I have since spoken with some of the members who were not there, so far I have not had anyone against the move.

I am so grateful to be a part of this period of time at the church.

;-)

“During prosperity you are annoyed because the dog and cat won’t eat the expensive canned food you buy for them; In a recession you are delighted that the dog and cat won’t eat the expensive food; and in a depression you begin to look thoughtfully at the dog and cat.” - unknown

A great story from, "the caffeinated priest"

facing fears

I stood, in blue gym shorts and the pale t-shirt, featuring the Clarke Middle School owl, on the grassy field that was, in 1982, the spot for gym class volleyball. Mrs. Cook had imparted all that she could to us--the way to hold your fist when serving the ball, how to bump, how to set, how to keep score. Now all that was left was actually playing. There were enough girls lining the court that it was a fairly safe bet that I wouldn't have to actually hit the ball, that if it came towards me, I could duck out of the way and let the more athletically inclined girls do the heavy hitting.

Dodging the ball, steering clear of it's fast descent into my personal space, was a skill I developed. And while I could usually serve the ball and even get it over the net on occasion, volleyball, like so many other sports in my life, stood as an icon of fear. Because unlike mini-golf, where failure to hit the ball where it belongs only impacts me, team sports such as volleyball, impact other people--people who have hopes and expectations that revolve around the concept of my being able to return a serve or get a ball over the net. And perhaps even worse, is that in volleyball, once the opposing team discovers that I suck, I become a target. Hit the ball to the pudgy one in pigtales--she can't hit it back they say. And suddenly ball, after ball, after ball comes flying over the net, right into my little corner of the world, while I stand, helplessly ducking.

You'd think I'd have remembered all this when I said yes. You'd think it would've stopped me. But when two of my favorite boys on the planet suggested that I join their beach volleyball team, I said yes before the floodgate of memories had the chance to surface. I paid for my team insurance and Ms. Cook's class never crossed my mind. I loaded up on tacos at our team fiesta before the start of the season and only noticed how great the team shirts were. No, memories of the 6th grade volleyball experience were buried deep in my unconscious...until yesterday.

Yesterday, I donned a new uniform--black sweats and a red t-shirt with a new logo: the Deviled Eggs. And I took my bare feet down to the beach and in the Chicago cold of May found myself playing volleyball. And I missed a lot of balls. And the boys on one team--they did target me. But this time it was different. Because my teammates cheered when I hit the ball, even when it went flying off the court. And because I served 5 serves that they couldn't return. And earned us a total of 6 points. Take that Clarke Middle School!

In the end, the Deviled Eggs won all 4 games we played. (Take that boys who targeted me!) And it was great fun. And I was still scared. But I did it. And next Friday I'll do it again. And step by step, volley by volley, those old voices, those old fears, grow quieter and move farther and farther away. Step by step, volley by volley, I find I'm less inclined to duck.