Many Things Going Through My Head

Sometimes it just seems that there are so many things going on that it is hard to just focus on one thing and see it through. Ever been there? Sure you have. Today is a good day to get some work done, meet with some youth ministry folks and prepare for an all day meeting I have tomorrow away from the office.

Tonight it is DCA girls' soccer against Davidson and it looks like the weather has turned and it will be much cooler. I am looking forward to cooler weather and especially on the running side. I did a 10-miler today with some track work in the middle and my running buddies stayed at the track to support me. I was pleasantly surprised they did that. It is always easier to do those workouts with others there to support.

Continue to pray for Sondra's mom and Sondra and her sister Bronwyn. It has been a quick three weeks in many ways since Sondra's dad died. What an incredible life he lived. I miss him and I know that my missing him does not even compare to that of Sondra's family.

A little over two weeks to go until the marathon in Kansas City. Hope my legs come back. They normally do but who knows how it works the older you get.

HandyMan Can

Here it is Sat. night and we are all four at home together. Sort of nice to say the least. Yesterday started out with Sondra and Morgan headed to DCA about 4a for the Channel 4 Cool School event. A local tv station comes out and does a major pep rally and gives props to the school. It went over really well but they were sure tired come around 1130a. They dismissed school then and we all sort of napped around.

I had gotten up around 430a and run 20 miles leaving the house about 5a. It was pitch black so I ended up not being on the greenway as much as I had hoped. It was just too dark. It was a hilly course, but the temp was about 60 so it went really well. It is three weeks of taper now so maybe my legs will refresh and be ready to run a 330 on 10/18.

Shelbi came home last night in time for the DCA homecoming game. The game started well and went down hill big time in the fourth quarter and we lost. Fairly disappointing loss for the guys and the fans as well.

Today it was up and I decided to walk three miles on the greenway and then lift at the Donelson Y so Sondra and I both did our respective workouts and then headed to Panera. I love those Panera mornings with her. Please continue to pray for her, her sister Bronwyn, and her mom. It sure is hard losing those you love.

Hard to believe but I fixed our garage door and put new weather stripping on the back door getting ready for cooler weather. The garage door was a little more work, but I accomplished getting it working properly. Actually shocked all of us.

Saw our friend Jamie score two goals for Belmont today and have enjoyed just being home tonight. Our pastor and his wife provided our dinner tonight and it was delicious. Thank Raymond and Peggy.

Pray that we will get some rain in middle Tennessee. It is getting really bad here.

Thursday Already?

This week has been a whirlwind to say the least, but it has been great. We hosted the LifeWay National Youth Worker's Conference here in Nashville and had a great group of student pastors, leaders, exhibitors, breakout conference leaders, and general session speakers. I have the privilege of working with a great team of folks who pulled off a great event.

Looking forward to doing a little more normal life for the next few days. Sondra's mom seems to be doing pretty well and we are so appreciative to Nola and Betty, two of her sisters, who were able to come and stay with her. Her other sister, Rose, lives in New Zealand and has been a great support as well via skype, the telephone and through prayer. Please continue to pray for Joyce, Sondra and Bronwyn. I also ask you to pray for Bernard's brother, Gavin who lives in New Zealand too.

Sondra seems to be hanging in pretty well. Losing those you love is never easy but she is such an incredible lady. Shelbi is loving Union and is even trying to break it to us gently that she has met a boy. The motto around our house has always been, "boys are bad!" Enough said about that. The great thing is that I trust Shelbi completely. But I do reserve the right as the dad to remind her and Morgan that "boys are bad."

Morgan is hanging in and pretty much over the walking pneumonia phenomenon she had, recovered from a crashed ankle, and is back on the soccer field. They are playing pretty hard but finishing 2nd in most matches. Character building is painful at times.

I am in the throes of marathon training and will be glad to finish my 20-miler tomorrow and then begin the taper for the race which I have changed a little bit. Instead of running Detroit on 10/19, I am runnign Kansas City on 10/18. Cheaper for me to run that race since I can bum off of my brother and dad for lodging and transportation. Hoping to qualify for Boston. We shall see.

I love this picture of Shelbi and Morgan. What incredible ladies they have become. Thank God they are like their mother.

Live From Nashville, It's Saturday Night

It has been a pretty good weekend. Friday at work ended up being pretty busy in preparation for the national conference we are hosting this next week. All the plans seem to have come together pretty well and it looks like it is going to be a very good conference. It is one of those things that I have been working on for almost a year along with a great team of folks. Blog entries will probably be few next week.

We had soccer Thurs and Fri night and then today at noon. We lost Thurs., tied Fri. and lost today again. A bit unlucky today on a couple of plays. The girls seem to be playing hard. Maybe need a little more legs under them to play 80 minutes but we have had a lot of sickness and injury and our numbers are pretty thin. We do seem to be improving and hopefully will be ready for district tournament play.

Our youth minister and his wife provided us with dinner tonight and some other good friends provided us with dinner on Thurs. We also were provided dinner last Sat. night. I want everyone to know that how helpful and appreciated each of those meals have been. And the food has been just incredible tasting as well.

Looking forward to a good day of worship tomorrow and then I will be getting ready for exhibitors for our conference later tomorrow as well. If you are interested in our conference click here.

This has been a different week for sure. I have had numerous meetings that would not have happened had I been in Malaysia as was previously planned. I am glad that I have been in Nashville to be around my wife alot more than I would have. She is such an amazing woman and I know that she is grieving her dad's passing. She is truly amazing though and is jumping right back in to teaching. I am thankful she has that going on right now to keep her mind occupied.

Shelbi called yesterday and we had a great conversation about some decisions that she is needing to make regarding college, etc. It is cool that she calls and asks for advice and I think I was able to help her think through a few issues that had not really made it to her frontal lobe yet. What a great young lady she is.

Morgan is really recovering from her walking pneumonia phase and is back in soccer but probably only about at 85-90% strength. She missed some school last week of course due to the funeral, but she is doing well.

I have been running alot this week, planning for our national conference that begins on Monday and am really excited about it. What a great team of folks to work with here. Check out the conference here if you are interested in what we have going on. I thnk it is a strong lineup and am praying that folks will be encouraged and strengthened.

There is a lot of travel coming up in the next few weeks too so I am glad I am home for the next couple to get some things done and to be around to provide support for my wife. Pray for her as you think about it.

Looking forward to some soccer this weekend and my brother and his wife come back through Nashville tomorrow on their way back to MO. They have been hanging out in Gatlinburg this week on vacation.

What about those stinking gas prices? We are reducing the amount of driving that we are doing and quite honestly I am a little tired of having to bail out companies that have operated on bad business principles. I think it is time for all of us to live within our means. How about that for a last minute blog rant?

Back in Nashville

The events of last week have been hard to fully get my mind around. A week ago this morning, Sondra's mother called me to say that Sondra's dad was doing poorly and the drs. had done all they could do and that her father had just a few days to live. We got Sondra on a flight to KC and then a car ride with my dad to Bolivar. Her father passed on Tues. am and then all the things that have to kick in for funerals and burials took place. Sondra and her sister Bronwyn just did a great job of taking care of their mother and all the details on that end, while I became to go to guy here in Nashville to tie up loose ends, try to nurse Morgan back to health from walking pneumonia and get Shelbi ready to travel from Union in Jackson.

The week went really well, but I have to admit that I am pretty trashed. It is amazing how you kick in and just get through stuff and then get on the other side and are completely worn out. I know that Sondra has to feel even more tired than me. I know that she hurts for the loss of her dad, worrying some about her mom, and then just all the emotional stuff that comes with grief. I have to say that my wife is just an amazing woman. I watched, stepped in, stepped out, encouraged, hugged, cried, laughed, and numerous other things and just saw my wife handle things beautifully. I would appreciate you praying for her for the next while as she begins to get her mind and heart around the death of her dad.

Yesterday my brother and his wife came through Nashville and stayed with us last night. They are headed to Gatlinburg for a few days of vacation and it was great for them to come and stay with us. He also brought a cedar chest of my dad's that dad built in shop in high school. It is a great old cedar chest and I am honored to have it.

Remember my dad as well. He has been struggling with some pretty serious stomach illness since late May and is currently seeing a specialist and on some different meds to get him cleared up. He is not overly well right now but hopefully they can get it figured out.

Enjoying some cooler weather in Nashville. We only got a little shower yesterday from Ike. We need rain.

Missouri Update

Morgan and I headed out of Nashville about 730a and right in the middle of traffic. We made it to Jackson and Union University and picked up Shelbi, filled up the car with gas, and headed back on the road. It was a good trip up to Bolivar with few delays. Had one short detour due to an accident and made a couple of stops for breaks and lunch and made it to Bolivar about 5p. Everyone here is doing really well. We enjoyed a good dinner provided by one of the church members and are sitting around laughing about stuff Bernard would be laughing about with us.

Tomorrow looks like possibly a rainy day but it will be good. We head to the funeral home at 11a and then pick up Sondra's aunt from Atlanta early afternoon. Visitation is from 6-8. Looking forward to seeing many people we have not seen for years and it will be a packed 2 hours at least. My guess is that two hours will not be long enough for everyone to get through.

Pray for Joyce Holmes especially at 11a on Thursday and for Bronwyn and Sondra. Thanks so much for praying.

Plans for Dr. Bernard Holmes

Visitation will be on Thursday evening from 6-8p at Wellspring Baptist Fellowship, Bolivar, MO.
Service will be on Friday, Sept. 12 at 1pm on the campus of Southwest Baptist University in the Mabee Chapel.
Because of Bernard's heart for missions and discipleship, he has requested that in lieu of flowers that donations be made to support Global Encounter Ministries, India. Please send and make donations payable to: Wellspring Baptist Fellowship, PO Box 474, Bolivar, MO 65613 and indicate for Global Encounter Ministries, India.

My brother-in-law, Phil wrote a great note about Bernard on his facebook page and you can read that note here.

Thanks so much for praying for us. Morgan and I will head to Jackson in the morning to pick up Shelbi at Union and then make our way to MO.

A Life Well Lived

This morning about 615a, Sondra's dad and my father-in-law, Dr. Bernard Holmes met Jesus face to face. Sondra was able to be with her daddy when he passed away. We so appreciate the prayers and concern for our family. It will be later today before any arrangements are made and as soon as I know them, they will be posted here.

Please pray specifically for Joyce, Bronwyn, and Sondra. There are many details to be settled in the next few days. Morgan and I will leave Weds. am and drive to Jackson, TN and pick Shelbi up at Union University and then drive on to Bolivar, MO where Sondra's parents live.

Thanks again for praying.

Sondra's Dad Update

Quick word on Sondra's dad. We got word yesterday that he was not responding very well to some treatment they were trying and this morning got word that the drs. feel as though there is nothing they can do for him. They are giving him just days to live. Sondra is flying up this afternoon to be with her mom, dad and sister. Please pray for all of us as we walk through whatever it is that God has planned for us. It seems just a short year ago that we were beginning this walk with my mom. I know through that experience that God's faithfulness with sustain us.

Shelbi begins her college classes today under a different cloud than we would have hoped for, but none of this stuff ever catches God by surprise.

Thanks so much for your prayers for our family.

Whew!

It is Saturday and I am home from a quick trip to Orlando and Rock the Universe at Universal Studios.

Thursday ended up being a really good day taking Shelbi to Union and getting her moved in and set up and ready to go. We were blown away when we pulled up at the dorm and faculty and staff members began grabbing stuff and moving her in. I did not carry one box to her room! They set a great tone for her college experience by being there in the rain moving in student after student. I was greatly impressed. We did all the set up stuff you need to do like hanging curtains, making beds, hanging stuff on the walls, hooking up computers and tvs. I made a couple of runs to find some shelving but we settled for something from Wally world that works just fine.

Union does a worship service as the day closes and then you say goodbye and drive home and the students stay busy with all kinds of activities. As the worship concluded I sat there reflecting on the last 18 years and all that we had done to help prepare Shelbi for this step. I have to tell you that I feel pretty good about her being prepared and ready. The goodbye was good and there were tears shed. Long hugs, kisses and a few tears. The drive home was really pretty good. We did not have to pull over to cry but we did slow down driving through some pretty strong rain. After a while we even turned on the Vandy game and listened to them beat South Carolina. I love it when Spurrier loses.

I am ready for bed and church tomorrow. We are a part of a new college-age class start beginning tomorrow. I am excited and am glad that I am the assistant. Looking forward to see what God does.

College Eve

We sit at home tonight enjoying one another's company. We take Shelbi to Union University tomorrow to embark upon her college career. And, I guess for the rest of us to embark upon life without Shelbi at home anymore. Will probably be a big adjustment for all of us I am sure.

We grilled chicken, hash brown potatoes, zucchini, and will eat some Miss Daisy pie later and just enjoy being around each other. We have to pack some stuff up tonight and then just laugh and maybe cry a little bit too.

I do have to say that it is hard to believe that 18 years has gone by so quickly. I was thinking about teaching Shelbi to walk, ride her trike and then her bike, teaching her to catch and throw and swim and . . . on and on. I am incredibly blessed. Sondra is such the great mother and I am not too bad as a dad. It is comforting to know that what we intentionally set out to do long before we even knew God would bless us with kids, has come about fairly well. Shelbi is ready to go. We have invested wisely in her and have had so many people partner with us to rear both she and Morgan. We are blessed.

Pray that we will have safe travel to and from Jackson, TN tomorrow. Pray that the move in will be as painless as possible and that Sondra and I will be smart enough to pull over if we are crying too hard as we attempt to make it back to Nashville.

Good times. Bittersweet, but right.

September - Here Already?

Is it just me or is this year flying by? I headed out this morning for a 12-miler since my running schedule is going to be off this week due to travel. I usually do not do long runs on Mondays. I did an easy 5-miler yesterday before church and then we headed to church and then to MTSU to watch the women's soccer team from Belmont play MTSU. Our friend Jamie plays for Belmont and we wanted to see her play. Belmont won 1-0 on a really hot afternoon. I think it got to 96 yesterday and we sat out there and cooked.

After running this morning it was waffles made by my wife and we had a friend of ours over, Julie, who is one of my former students from many years back. Great young lady who is currently living in DC but moving to LA next month. It was really good to catch up with her.

I have been intriqued and encouraged that Gustav has simmered down and is not causing as much damage as he could be. Still not good and praying that the levees hold in NOLA as well. I have many friends who evacuated and we have been praying for them.

Later today we head out to eat and celebrate my birthday which is actually this Thursday but will Shelbi moving in at Union on Thursday we decided to celebrate today. Should be good times. This is going to be a busy week with an all-day meeting away from work on Weds., college move in on Thursday, and I head to Orlando for work on Fri./Sat.

Wishing everyone a Happy Labor Day today.