When people use their gifts

My wife and I attended a concert at her mother's church this weekend. A friend of ours, Cathy Perry, was performing. It was a great show. It always does my heart good to see people using their gifts and doing what God so obviously created them to do. Cathy not only entertained the congregation, but she led us into God's presence in worship of Him. She and her husband Trey have been friends with my wife since High School. I got to know them soon after I began dating my wife. Cathy sang at our wedding, and they both have been very dear friends of ours. I only regret that, as with a lot of my friends, I can't see them as often as I'd like.

I think of her music as contemporary southern gospel. Something like the Martins, I think. Anyway, she had me crying several times, with the personal testimony that she interspered between songs. Her sweet spirit really shined through. I told her afterwards that the only real constructive criticism I could give was that she really needs to use a little more cow bell. Maybe when her ministry gets big enough for her to hire an entire band, I can try out for it. I can play a mean cow bell. Almost as good as Gene Frenkle, I've been told.

All that aside, it was a great show, and Cathy and Trey are great people. Go check them out if they are ever in your area. Better yet, get with your pastor and book them! http://cathyperryministries.com/

A good book

Disclaimer: As I write this, there are fourteen to twenty kids yelling in the background. Okay, there are only four but it sounds like a lot more. So if this post is kind of rocky, well it's only halfway because of my normal scatterbrainedness.

Anywho. On to the topic at hand. A good book. I love sitting down with a good one, I'm trying in my spare time to write a good one. I've succeeded in writing a very rough draft of a somewhat mediocre one. I love fiction in particular, but every once in a while someone will turn me onto a good non-fiction one.

For Christmas my wife bought me a book by one of my heroes. It's somewhat autobiographical, but the main focus seems to be the empire he built and how he watched it nearly crumble.

It's called "Me, myself, and Bob". It's by Phil Vischer, the creator of VeggieTales. I'm only a third of the way through, but can already whole-heartedly recommend it. It's an easy read, but with a lot of depth, insight, humor, and honesty.

http://www.amazon.com/Me-Myself-Bob-Talking-Vegetables/dp/0785222073/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198956860&sr=8-1

Merry Christmas!

A belated Merry Christmas. We've been out making the family rounds. We made two versions of our Christmas card this year, and this one was my favorite.

Peace.

Things I love about my wife

Sweetheart,
Merry Christmas! I have written down a number of things I love about you. I wrote 31 of them, one for each day of the month:

Things I love about you:

1. Jesus in your heart. You love God and it shows because of your love for others. You are rightly recognized by others as a Godly woman. I love you.

2. Playfulness. To watch you play with the boys, tickling them, teaching them to have fun just by playing on their level brings a smile to my heart every time.

3. Your beautiful eyes. Brown eyes have always been my favorite. I love the shape of your eyes and your large pupils—like you are taking everything in. I can easily imagine you as a curious, wonder-filled little girl.

4. Diligence. You tie up those loose ends and stick things out to the end. You bring order to the chaos of life, and especially to our family and home. We would all be so lost in disarray without you.

5. Your intellect. I am so amazed at how you put your whole mind to something. Reading books on how to rear children, and how you study me so that you know me and end up buying me the perfect gifts. (And I will always be a little jealous that you got published in a scientific journal and I probably never will.)

6. Friendliness. You reach out to people and smile. You bring joy just by being you, and when you enter a room the mood always brightens. You have friends because you know how to be one.

7. Modesty. You always dress tactfully and behave in ways that do not draw inappropriate attention. This is an example to others, especially our boys. They will learn what a lady is by looking at you.

8. Trustworthiness. People confide in you because they know they can trust you. You are discreet, careful with what you hear and know. If you are ever out of the loop, it is mainly because people don’t gossip to those who don’t gossip back.

9. Acceptance of my family. Thank you for loving them. You spend so much time with them, and have truly opened your heart to them. You are the girl I always wanted to bring home to mama. I know that they love you too and regard you as a daughter.

10. Grace and Poise. You are a model of grace, beauty, and gentle charm. More and more I am seeing you become the woman God created you to be.

11. Nurturer. The way you nurture our children. You truly have a mother’s heart toward our boys, providing for, protecting, and teaching them. I could not have chosen a better woman to bear and rear my children.

12. Worshipper. To see you raise your hands inn worship of God is a delight to my soul. A woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. I praise you!

13. Forgiving. I love how you always forgive me. I need that.

14. Strength. I know the move and starting over was hard, but you have borne it all patiently, with a strength that I admire. We left our house in Albany, but because of your heart and hard work, our home has continued to be wherever we are together.

15. Beauty. I love your exquisite features, your long legs and wide hips. Your body is beautiful!

16. Passion. You are an exciting, alive person, courageous and caring. Life with you is an adventure.

17. Eye for décor. Our home is beautiful because of you. Your sense of style and aesthetics has brought beauty into my life. (I also believe this is why our previous homes sold so quickly.)

18. Generosity. You give of yourself and your things. I think about the woman you gave money to in Dairy Queen and the clothes you gave to Deidre. And your time. You are always giving your time. You bear good fruit and give it away.

19. Honesty. You are transparent, fair in all your dealings, and up front with your feelings. You help keep me straight and make me want to be more like you in this area.

20. Honor. Specifically, the way you honor your parents. Your esteem and love for them is so evident. From calling your daddy to ask how to do something to seeking support from your mama. I pray our boys are as respectful and loving to us when they are grown.

21. Humility. You probably don’t believe that half these things I’ve written about you are true. Which only proves them all the more.

22. Your interests. In particular, the Amish fascination. I am so glad you got to indulge that this summer. Most people would take a vacation in the Bahamas.

23. Supportive. Your support of me—as a person, my hobbies and interests, even through my weaknesses and limitations that are so hard to understand sometimes. I always feel loved and supported by you. I’m so glad to have you on our team.

24. Attention to detail. It may drive me crazy sometimes, since I’m not a detail person. But you always catch things that would (and do) slip right by me. I can count on you to give me good and wise counsel, knowing you will see what I can’t.

25. Thriftiness. You amaze me with your shrewd stewardship, always finding bargains and getting the most for your money—from buying Salvation Army clothes and Goodwill toys, to cutting coupons for the supermarket. It puts my mind at ease to know that you are always so careful with our family finances.

26. Humor. Your wonderful sense of humor. You are the funny one. You have a quick wit and a playful, friendly humor. Proof that you don’t have to be offensive to be funny.

27. Loyalty. You are intensely loyal to your friends, which is why you tend to keep them. You prove that loyalty by staying in touch and making that extra effort that most people are unwilling to make. I am forever thankful that I became your friend.

28. Servant’s heart. You are always serving our family and others. Running errands, cooking for others, helping with church activities (Cubbies, the Christmas float, the nursery). I remember when we volunteered as Young Life Leaders together. Watching you serve has always encouraged me to get out of my comfort zone and try to serve too.

29. Your mannerisms. For example; the way you hold your finger on your nose and smile, when you find something amusing. (Yes, you do that.) Certain things you say. Facial expressions and little movements that define you in an instant. I find them adorable and endearing.

30. Patience. I know we wear it thin sometimes, but you have been a paragon of patience with me and the boys. Thank you for your longsuffering, selfless endurance. You have waited patiently on the Lord, and I believe with all my heart that He is going to bless you for it.

31. The very thought of you. There are two passages of scripture I think of when I think of you. Ephesians 13 (the love chapter), and the virtuous woman section of Proverbs 31. You are that perfect help meet from God for me. I bless and praise you. Our children will rise up and call you blessed. The agape love of God is real. I have seen it, in your face when you love on our children. I have felt it, in your arms.


“Many daughters have done well, but you surpass them all.”

I love you,

Your ever-adoring husband

A Key Turning

Well, I've finally decided to start blogging, about two years into the fad really. Which is pretty much the way I follow most trends.

The first decision to make was, of course, that of a title. And now that I have it, I guess I should explain it's relevance. (For the hordes of loyal readers that are sure to find their way to this cyber doorstep.)

Back in '05 I wrote a short story entitled "A Key Turning". It was for a fiction writing contest for the local paper of the town I was living in. And lo and behold I actually won. Since then I haven't sold a single word, but I write on. And should I never sell another word, I'm actually quite pleased with that one accomplishment. It was an inspired story.

I mean that literally. On the way to work one day, soon after I had noticed the contest announcement in the paper, I saw in my mind's eye a seabag lock. What is that about? I wondered. And I heard His voice as clear in my spirit as I've ever heard anything, "That's for your story." Soon after that I began writing it. It's about the things that keep us locked up inside, and the way we can be free. Mostly it's about forgiveness.

Now that I'm blogging, I can see all kinds of symbolism in the simple artifacts of lock and key. It's the way that shackles are removed. It's the way we enter our homes. Jesus has given us the 'keys to the kingdom'. When people talk about some crucial method of attaining a goal, they describe it in terms like, "the key to victory is..." And I've even heard folks talk about a key turning point in their lives, etc.

And those are the kinds of things I want to blog about. The things that have opened doors for me and are 'Key' in my life: God, family, friends, humor, art, and inspiration.

Here we go....