The Way

Friday afternoon at work . . . and, I am finished with my presentation, have a somewhat full belly and am wondering why I am still at work. The right answer is, "because there is still work to be done", but I have to tell you that sometimes I struggle with just getting in and grinding it out. This afternoon falls into that category. My stomach has been sort of weird the last couple of days, so that might have something to do with it. I am staying at work and getting work done because that is the right thing to do. Sondra's dad went to the dr. yesterday for a visit and they ended up doing the chemo while he was there. Sort of caught us all by surprise but his dr. was going to be out the rest of this week and next, so they gave him the chemo through a newly implanted port. Pray that the medicine works on fighting the cancer. This weekend we hope to see Prince Caspian and I hope to see the back of my eyelids for a while as well. I think a nap is in order for both Saturday an...

I forgot to mention that on Saturday night while Shelbi and I were volunteering at the Paradise 08 event, I got pulled over. Evidently I failed to come to a complete stop at a stop sign in Linn Ville, KS. I handed the officer my license and registration and 10 minutes later he came back and handed me both items back and told us to have a safe night. Must have been a slow night in small town Kansas. We went and saw the new Indiana Jones movie last night and I give it a C, maybe a C-. It was fairly good up until the last 20 minutes or so and the ending was okay, but overall just really average. Harrison Ford was decent but is really showing his age. Thanks to the Gibb's family for the gift card to Regal Cinemas. We enjoyed the time out as a family. Sondra's dad heads back to the dr. today to determine when they will start the next round of chemo. And, today I had lunch with my usual lunch bunch and then a good friend who used to work with us. Larry Mizell is like a breath of fre...

My last blog entry mentioned Michael Y. playing tennis on Thursday and defending his state championship title and he lost in the quarters. I thought he played pretty well (he said he did not), but the kid he played was like a buzz saw. He eventually won the state championship on Friday. Michael had a good season and as I told him, "We are proud of you for who you are, not what you do." I am not sure he totally believes that but it is true just the same. I flew to KC on Friday and went up to mom's graveside to see the headstone that dad had placed in March. It is really nice and was good to be there. It was not hard to be there at all. I miss my mom, but do know that she is not in that piece of ground in Gallatin, MO. Shelbi had gone home with my dad the Monday after graduation so she and dad and my nephew Jimmy met me at Jose Pepper's (or something like that) for dinner. It was good to see Jimmy. He served in the army and is injured and unable to get clearance to work...

I am not sure I have much of this stuff called wisdom. I have been reading through Proverbs and James and know that asking for wisdom just makes good sense. I used wisdom in predicting that David would win American Idol last night. I have to admit that I preferred David Archuleta vocally over David Cook but do think David C. is the better entertainer. For all those of you who voted for David C, congrats. I think there were 97.5 million votes cast. Makes me wonder the wisdom of people getting so caught up in this whole American Idol stuff. I admit that I enjoy it, but last night's show was really lame. It should have been an hour long tops. Other wisdom involves Morgan today. She is scheduled to have her wisdom teeth removed this morning at 9. Pray for her as you think about it. I am sure that tonight might be a tough time for her. Our friend Michael Yokosuk defends his state tennis championship beginning today at 1030a. If he wins, he plays again at 3p today and if he wins then, he...

We so enjoyed all the graduation activities and come Saturday night we were all very tired. Even Shelbi had no desire to leave the house and hang out with some of her friends. Sunday was a good day at church with graduate recognition, a good lunch at Panera and a short nap in the afternoon. We ate La Hacienda with some good friends and then dad came back over to the house and we watched the Yankees lose together. Yankees losing is always good. Monday was a busy day. Our air conditioner had gone on the fritz so we needed to have that checked, I had meetings in the morning, a lunch meeting, and an afternoon meeting at the Gideon's headquarters. Some pretty exciting going on with the Gideon's that I am glad to be a part of. There is much on the plate today and this week. Dad and Shelbi flew back to MO yesterday and Shelbi is going to spend the week with him. Should be a good time together for them. I have much to do today so that is all for now. I did get a 10-miler in this mornin...

To say that today was a good day would be an understatement for sure. Shelbi graduated from high school today and then we hosted an open house for many of the influential people in Shelbi's life. Last count was about 65 or 66 people who came by to celebrate with us. It was good to catch up with some folks we rarely see any more to those who are very close to us on a weekly basis. We enjoyed Sondra's parents being here. Sondra's dad has done pretty well but is pretty weak and tired. It was great of Sondra's sister and niece to drive them down here to us for the graduation. They are planning on heading back to Missouri in the morning. My dad being here was pretty cool as well. When it came time for parents and grandparents recognition during the graduation ceremony, it was pretty glaring that my mom was not here with us. Tomorrow during our church service there will be another graduate recognition time and then I think they will all be over. It has been a good weekend and...

Well, . . . all things graduation basically. Shelbi graduates from DCA on Sat. but we have senior breakfast and awards tomorrow. Sondra's parents and sister and niece arrived around 6p today and her dad seems to be okay, just really weak. We are just so thankful that he was able to make the trip. Yesterday was a good meeting with a friend of mine from NAMB working on some possibilities of joint meetings for many of our shared constituents. Chad is a great guy and I think we were able to work on some very good things that will allow us to move forward together. We met in Chattanooga which is basically half-way between Nashville and Atlanta. Last evening I sneaked out for 9 holes of golf and enjoyed the time out. Today was filled with a couple of meetings and one of the highlights was getting to be around the former president of our company, Jimmy Draper. He is just such a great man and one that I am thankful I have gotten to listen and learn from over the last 15 years or so. Looki...

Do you ever have things that come into your life that just make you say, "Oh, boy!?" I love those moments and most of the time they come more often than I really clue into. I am looking intentionally to see these instances more often in the everyday doing of things. My wife and I spent a great time together last night doing some window shopping, massage chair sitting at Sharper Image and good eating at Carrabba's. I was looking across the table at her and thinking "Oh, boy!" the whole time. I still cannot believe that God in His goodness and grace allowed me to be her husband. And . . . that she got the short end of the stick. Grace on one part can sure be a drag on the other. My thoughts, not hers. I look at our two daughters and think "Oh,, boy!" They are the best. Shelbi will graduate this Saturday and turn a huge page to the next chapter in her life. I know we will still be very involved in her life but I cannot wait to see what all she becomes. I...

We enjoyed a great weekend with lots to do that included celebrating Mother's Day, AAU basketball, a good nap, running, cleaning, minor house repairs, and a host of other things. I think Sondra had a really good Mother's Day yesterday. The girls did a good job with cards and presents and Sondra got to eat at Calypso which is her favorite place to eat. We joked about taking her there on her special day and we sat in picnic chairs. Not to the nicest restaurant for ambiance but she loves the place. We decided to celebrate our anniversary today instead of yesterday so as not to mix Mother's Day with our anniversary. I think she figures she will get more presents that way. We plan on going to dinner after work and just enjoying one another's company. What a blessed guy I am. We have family coming in this week for Shelbi's graduation this weekend. It will be good to see our families. Pray that Sondra's dad will feel like making the trip on Thursday. He is doing okay b...

Yesterday was a rare Friday in town. That sure was nice. I am having to behave at work some now since my wife is working in the President's office for about a week answering phones and generally trying to look busy. Puts a lot of pressure on me to behave with her being in the building. After 15.5 years at LifeWay, I have a reputation among co-workers, so . . . well, anyway. In the afternoon I headed to McMurray Middle School to participate in a field dedication for a good friend of our family. Mr. Webb is the grandfather of some of our girls' good friends and in many ways they have treated Shelbi and Morgan like their own grandchildren. Mr. Webb taught for more than 50 years in the Metro Nashville school system and was the principal and McMurray for 29 years. It was cool to see him honored and many folks had really nice things to say about him. He is wonderfully, humble guy and I was glad to be a part of the crowd to honor him. Yesterday was my dad's birthday, my father-in-...

I had a couple of meetings today with area youth ministers who I greatly respect and count as good, solid friends. These two are good for me. They keep me honest and do not allow me to coast. I am not prone to coasting normally, but it is always good to be held accountable. I drove to Louisville late this afternoon and experienced rain the last hour or so of the trip and it is raining pretty good right now. I am hoping to squeeze in a 5-miler in the morning before heading over to Boyce College and teaching a youth ministry class there. I have a fun job. Getting to encourage and learn from others is quite the kick for me. Looking forward to being home this weekend too. I like home. I have some honey-do's to get done, but glad to be home to do them. Watching Idol tonight and predicting once again that dread locks is gone. He was totally awful last night and just wondering if the little girl vote sustains him again. He needs to go. Pulling for Archuleta.

I was up early today ready to head to the Y and out for a 12-miler. To my delight, I got to run with Journey Johnson who is a good friend and the exec. dir. of the middle Tennesse YMCAs. A very gracious guy who does a great job of keeping Christian in the YMCA. We have not had many opportunities to run together, so today was a special treat for me. The weather was absolutely perfect with 50 degrees and sunny and just really a great running morning. I had meetings all day at work today. It was good that the meetings accomplished some things which is always beneficial. After work I head over to the park to watch tennis and saw many of the DCA players who were in the district finals. Pretty fun to watch. I then headed home to mow the yard and have to tell you that it looks really good right now. I have a fairly full day tomorrow and then head to Louisville to teach at Boyce College early on Thursday and then back home for a DCA Board meeting on Thursday night. Turning into a pretty busy w...

I made it back safely this morning after a long flight that routed through Chicago and then back here to Nashville. The flight was uneventful and I watched The Bucket List. Not too bad of a movie. I only slept about 2 hours last night and then caught an hour and a half nap this afternoon. We also did Shelbi's baccalaureate service today and it was pretty good. Hoping to sleep well tonight. Glad to be home . . . and the conference went well in Hawaii.

Yesterday I did a 5-miler and then we headed to Wally World to buy snorkeling stuff and then headed to the North Shore. Big fun! Watched a few surfers at Sunset Beach, snorkeled in Shark Cove and swam with turtles and other assorted fish. Did a little cliff jumping (big step for me) and ate some good cajun grilled some kind of fish. Last night I met with some of the SS workers at Mililani Church and had a great time. They had used a book I helped write and were very appreciative of our work. Very humbling to say the least. Also had a great Thai meal last night before the meeting. Today I did another 5-miler and then we had a pre-conference meeting and lunch and are headed to little Hawaiian May Day celebration. Teach later tonight and tomorrow and then board a plane for home. Ready to get there.