The Way

So . . . it has been awhile. I have no excuses. I just have not blogged. Let me try and do a quick catch up here. November - the whole family flew to Phoenix, AZ to be support Mark in Ironman AZ. He did an awesome job in some really cruddy weather (rainy and cold) and completed a complete IRONMAN on a broken foot. He is a beast! We had a great Thanksgiving. Sondra and I traveled to east TN and enjoyed our time with Mark's family on his grandparent's farm. Wil had a birthday the end of the month. What a great young man. We are blessed to have him in our family. December - we all headed to KC for my nephew's wedding in early Dec. It was great to see family and attend the wedding. James (Jimmy) and Megan had a beautiful wedding (officiated by my dad) and they live in the Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex now. Beautiful couple.  - Mark had his tonsils removed which is a big deal at 5 and a horrible deal when you are 26. He was down for a couple of weeks.  - We all spent so...

Sometimes I get more than I aimed for. I realize that is a terrible way to start a blog post and to end a sentence, but it is very true. Sondra will always be the one that I out punted my coverage on. As a young teenager, I made a list of what I would look for in a wife and then I met Sondra in college. I looked at my list, wadded it up and threw it away. She was and continues to be more than I ever had dreamed of as a mate. Then God gave us two daughters. I have written much about each of them. Shelbi and Morgan are truly delightful, wonderful and far more than I ever dreamed gifts from God. Sondra and I made some mistakes along the way in rearing them but we intentionally purposed to help them love the Lord their God with all their heart, mind and soul. As they grew and matured and headed off to college, God brought a couple of young men into their lives. Mark grew up as an east Tennessee boy where I think they got indoor plumbing about the turn of the century. ;-) He and Shelbi...

One of my favorite memories of being a dad while Shelbi and Morgan were young girls, were the times that they would take their own money to the store to buy something. Most of the time it involved something Barbie but sometimes it would be something like rocks. You know those bins of rocks that were so mesmerizing for young eyes. So many small things in a various array of colors. It was always a "fun" time trying to help the girls understand their options based upon the amount of money they had to spend or the packable space still left in the '95 Saturn. (Still driving that beast by the way! I know you are jealous.) Invariably, the question, "How much does it cost, daddy?" followed by, "Do I have enough?" Sometimes when they did not have enough, I would make sure that they were covered. It's what we dads do sometimes. It was in those times that I realized that I was investing in their lives not only for the "here and now," but in hop...

I realize that is has been almost three weeks since the wedding for Morgan and Wil and it is time for me to give you a little insight to what happened. I want to explain it in just a few short words - God-honoring! Beautiful! Humbling! FUN! God-honoring: Wil and Morgan have been a wonderful example of how to honor one another in a dating/engagement relationship. It has been a joy to watch them interact; learn one another; and figure out how two people who are different temperaments and personalities learn to accept one another just as God designed them. Beautiful: Okay, so I am a biased dad, but Morgan was just beautiful. She glowed. She beamed. She was just . . . well, beautiful. My mom always said that I would have made a beautiful girl and since Morgan has a tendency to look like me, I take mom's words as a compliment. Wil looked fairly handsome himself and to watch him watch Morgan walk down the aisle was pretty awesome. (I had a great vantage point.) Humbling: It wa...

It has been a sort of busy December but an incredibly relaxing one for sure. There is some big news to pass along, so here goes. Back before Thanksgiving, Wilson approached me about "meeting for breakfast" one morning while I was on vacation. I said yes, and knew that this conversation was going to lead to some pretty serious conversation about Wilson's and Morgan's future together. We had a great conversation that morning at Panera and I was able to share with him that we have been praying for him long before we even knew who he was or what he looked like. It was an expensive conversation for me and a nervous one for him. :-) On a mid-December weekend he planned a trip for Morgan and he to jet away to Washington, DC to meet up with some friends and just enjoy the sites in DC. Morgan was not aware that many of her friends would be meeting them there so that was a nice surprise once they arrived in DC. They explored the city, saw many of the great sites there ...

How is it that time goes by so quickly? I remember when I was a kid, my mom and dad would talk about how quickly time goes by and I would sit and wonder, "what the heck! Time doesn't go by quickly, it has taken me ALL MY LIFE to get to be 12 years old!" But now . . . my perspective has changed. Time does by quickly. And I realize that more just about every day. So . . . since my last post, here are a few things that have happened. This is big news! Over Labor Day Weekend and after 29 plus years, Sondra and I said, "so long! to our waterbed." I can a bit of a slow adopter, but 29 years was enough. It was a good bed. She had sprung a leak or two over those years but that bed served us well. It must have weighed about 5 million pounds so I am sure there will be less stress on our floor joists. Our new bed arrived and we both seem to be sleeping pretty well. We are in the process of finding some new bedroom furniture too. Not my favorite pastime but pretty much...

When I was a small boy growing up in rural Missouri, my parents asked me, "Where have you been?" quite often. Sometimes the inquiry was because I had been away from home without specific permission; sometimes because I was away longer than I had permission; and, sometimes they wanted to hear about my adventures. Here is an update on some of my adventures the past couple of months -  Since mid-April most of my adventures have been around Nashville. There were a couple of trips but they were mostly uneventful We made a quick trip to Panama City Beach, FL mid-May to support Mark in his 70.3 triathlon. The water was rough so they cancelled the swim. He got a good finish and we had a ball with him and Shelbi. Sondra and I celebrated our 29th wedding anniversary that same weekend. Morgan graduated with her Master of Social Work from the University of Tennessee and my dad and cousins came down to attend the graduation and hang out for a few days. It was great to have ...

Many who read this know me pretty well. Others of you have a tendency to know me through conferences, projects, or some even through creeping on me and my happenings via Twitter or Facebook. Some times I write something rather pithy, or report on what has been happening in our family, work, or even some kind of fitness adventure I have embarked upon. There are times that I struggle with what to write, what I want to reveal or even to just ignore hoping that somehow I do not write something that would be offensive; too self revealing; or just plain stupid. The filter that I try to write through does include a lens that I hope will be informative and especially encouraging. I do not always hit that goal, but that is a desire of mine. This post is one designed to point out some of the struggles I contend with practically every day I am alive. At its' root, it is addiction or addictive behavior. At times I masquerade it well and at other times, I am blatantly out in the open with ...

Yesterday, Sunday, August 11th, was Shelbi and Mark's 1st Anniversary. What a whirlwind the week was leading up to their wedding, and what an amazingly quick year it has been since that wonderfully, great day. This past week we were blessed to have Mark and Shelbi at the house for a few days. I have to tell you that it is very exciting to see how the two of them are honoring God in their lives and relationships. Sure makes a dad proud. It also pretty much marks a year that Morgan and Wilson (Wil or Wil P. as I call him) have been officially dating. I am not sure if I have introduced Wil to my blog readers but I guess if Morgan is going to keep him around for a year, I better do some introductions. Wil and Morgan met at Union and both graduated this past May. Wil graduated with a double major (best I remember) in history and I think biology. He is smart guy. He knows alot about alot of things but does not come across as a know-it-all by any stretch. He is his own person which I...

So the last two weeks have included a lot of in the car trips. Since I was driving I got to throw my bike in the back so even though I did alot of driving, I did some a couple of fun rides as well. Morgan and I headed out to Chattanooga for a World Changers project and enjoyed some time together along with visiting some great ministry sites. I host Ben Trueblood and Eric Geiger for some of the sites and really enjoyed spending time with them. Both of those guys are great guys who got to see students in action helping others. It was alot of fun. Over the weekend, our family met up in Rome, Ga for Shelbi's 23rd birthday and we had a great weekend. I got a nice bike ride in over to Berry College and Winshape, we ate cake, Mark and I played a little golf and we attended church together on Sunday. It was such a blessing for all of us to be together! On Sunday, I headed towards the mountains of North Georgia to meet with a great church and help their staff work through some cla...

So why does someone with so much going on not stop and blog about it? Laziness and excuses come to mind. Since I last informed you of the Turner happenings - Morgan graduated from Union University w/ honors. She gets her looks and personality from me but thankfully her brains from Sondra.Wilson, her beau, graduated as well and I think we may see alot of him this summer. That's not a bad thing (for the most part). ;-) We moved Morgan home and moved one of her classmates in for a couple of months for an internship here in Nashville. The housing that had been arranged fell through and we have a spare room. Jordan is fun to have around and doesn't eat much. I have made a few trips but can't remember where I went so I guess it has been too much lag time since. Work is busy! World Changer and P2 Missions projects are up and running after 2 weeks of training. It was my first go around with the training part of getting summer staff ready. It is a very involved and focus pro...

Here we are at 2013 and how amazingly quick 2012 was in so many ways. A year ago today, Shelbi and I were in San Francisco "on one last trip before you get married"excursion. She was not even engaged yet, but this dad knew, that by year's end, Shelbi would add a new last name. We had a great time out there and in April, Mark popped the question and in August, well, if you follow this blog at all, you know that we enjoyed a glorious day at Mark and Shelbi's wedding . 2012 brought on some new adventures for us as a family too. We said so long to Evelyn in May (the Chinese student who spent the school year with us) and said Hello to Alysha Cook . She has been with us since July and we are thankful that God put us all together. She has picked up a new name while here so if you see her, just call her Lily. I took on a new role at work and am excited to see what God allows us to be a part of in making a difference in cities. Actually, I get back at it Jan 2. It is a f...

I have been remiss in blogging the last couple of weeks and some of you have been unable to sleep without the aid of reading my blog late at night. It usually helps people right off to sleep. Last week was a bit of whirlwind with a trip to Atlanta for a Transform event where I had the privilege of learning alongside of some great youth workers. We covered many of the "basics" in student ministry that I have the arrogance to overlook too many times. It was good to be reminded of the simple things in ministry that tend to make the most impact. On the backside of that trip, I went through Rome, GA to see Shelbi and Mark; catch one of Morgan's roommates who plays soccer for Union play against Shorter College and then get home late Sat. night. Sunday was quick with church, meetings and packing for the D6 Conference in Dallas Mon-Weds. It was good to be able to spend some time with a couple of ministry friends, Shelby Baucum whom I have mentioned earlier, and Gene Wilkes w...

Milestones. You know those events that come along that force you to "put a stake in the ground", "set up a marker", and cause you to remember. I can be a little nostalgic at times and especially when it comes to family and specifically our daughters. I tear up just thinking about them, their accomplishments, and how quickly time passes by in life. Today, "Janjuary" 11th, Morgan turns 20 years old. She came into the world a little after 3am on a cold, January morning in Nashville, Tennessee. It was a pretty remarkable entry for me. When Sondra went into labor with Shelbi I was in FL at camp (see that story here ), so all the lead up to birth was new to me even though it was my 2nd time to witness birth. Morgan made a great entrance and has been entering everywhere since pretty much the same way. She has a quiet demeanor, but is full of life and is hysterical. She is accused many of times of being just like me, and in many ways she is, but there are n...

Here is the quick rundown on what all Morgan and I accomplished today. Productive wise - not much. Making memories and enjoying the city - quite a bit. Slept in a little, grabbed breakfast at the hotel, climbed in the car, drove to Candlestick Park. I remember it for many great football/baseball games; Morgan says, "Hey, they finished up the Amazing Race here." On to Golden Gate Park; drive along the ocean; Presidio; Golden Gate Bridge; Vista Point; Marin Headlands (see pic); Golden Gate Seminary; quick Starbucks run; Muir Woods; Fisherman's Wharf (Boudin Sourdough bowl and clam chowder); seals at Pier 39; Coit Tower; Lombard Street; Painted Ladies (Full House kids and fans will know them); Haight/Ashbury District (60s love in); Los Pinos (local Mexican that was truly amazing); back downtown for Ghirardelli Square and hot fudge sundae (we split one). Back to the hotel. We mixed in a Skype conversation in there with Shelbi and Sondra too. Good times. Sleeping in and on to ...

Earlier blog entries mentioned that the Turners have been pretty busy as of late. With the Nashville Flood , the flurry of "events" like Mother's Day, Dads' birthdays, 25th Anniversary kind of stuff, this has been a pretty crazy month so far. One of the events that happened this past Saturday was pretty much a milestone for not only Morgan, but for the Turner family as well. A few months ago I posted a blog entry on Turning a Page and you can read that one here if you missed it or have forgotten that wonderful piece of prose. Saturday, May 15 was a really big day for Morgan. She culminated her high school career in an hour long ceremony that one of the best graduating services I have had the opportunity to witness. (I might be a little biased since I had a great seat and a small part in it.) With the flood, baccaluarate was combined with the normal graduation ceremony. Jeff Pratt did a great job of talking about parents packing a suitcase that begins to close as the ...

Has it really been 18 years ago that we were sitting at dinner with good friends of ours (about 7 folks we were pretty close to) when Sondra excused herself from the table and hollered for me and then quietly instructed me "to bring me some towels, I think my water broke." Me being the calm, cool collected individual that I am, and this was our 2nd child, mildly panicked and got some towels from our friend, Barry (we were at his house) and thus began the late night out for the birth of our Morgan. Sondra and I farmed Shelbi out to some other friends and made our way to Baptist Hospital where we settled in for a night of rest. WRONG! I flopped around on the floor like a fish out of water while Sondra laid in the warm bed hooked up to a monitor and other stuff they hook delivering moms to. After the nurses kept coming in to check on the progress and to really just keep us from resting, Sondra progressed rapidly and the nurse called our #1 doctor, Richard Presley (always joked w...