Reading Scripture

A friend of mine recently challenged me to read the same passage of scripture everyday. I read through it the first day and it felt very familiar. I could almost quote it. I kept at it, read it the second day and the third. Finally, on about the fifth day or so, I started to see new words in it. I started to read it instead of resting on what I knew it said. I would encourage you to pick out a book and a chapter and read it everyday or every other day over a period of a month. You will be blessed when you get past what you have always heard. Why not start with Phil. 2?

Reflections of my long weekend

I love having three day weekends. I wish my work week could be shortened to 4 days. I enjoy the extra time with my family and last week I was fortunate enough to have friends visiting. It’s always fun to spend time with an old friend and share each other’s family. We visited LSU, Mike the Tiger’s new cage, ate at Mike Anderson’s and went to the USS Kidd. The flags and the memorial wall downtown were even more moving to me when I saw them this time because of the recent loss of a young Marine, Ryan McCurdy. That would be another post entirely. I enjoyed taking pictures of the kids together. I was a little disappointed that I shot three rolls of film and came away with only three great pictures. But, I am proud of those three great pictures.

Church on Sunday with visitors was interesting for me. I thought the lesson was great and it provided some interesting conversation. I was happy that we all came away with something from that morning and from the entire weekend.

My Colts will not be going to the Superbowl – hmmm – I’m disappointed, but if you want to win, you have to play to win from start to finish. The Steelers wanted to win that one more than the Colts did I guess. I wish I could have willed them some of my desire for them to win.

Scotty’s aunt and uncle came over Monday and I loved showing them our new surroundings. I am so proud of how hard Scotty has worked and how much thought he has put in to everything. I was glad for him to be able to share it.

All in all, an awesome three day weekend.

Worth It

A little hard work never hurt anyone … We spent a long time working on our living room this weekend. It was a lot of work and I am very sore but in the end, it was all worth it. Now, I do have to admit, Scotty did all of the heavy lifting and most of the stuff that required physical strength while I vacuumed, dusted, painting trim and readied everything to be moved. Our “entertainment center” houses a lot of wires! I believe the entire weekend was a success. We have new paint, couches, curtains and a dining room table. But the best part was spending time working along side Scotty for something we both wanted and when it got difficult, I think we both pressed on because we were in it for the other person. Did I mention he worked very hard? Our “new” living room is almost complete (we need a corner table) and I am looking forward to spending time in it. My favorite part of it is that we accomplished it together.

I highly recommend

I have had the best time over the past 4 or 5 days playing games with Chelsea and Scotty. We have played Mad Gab, Uno and Name That Tune the 80s Edition. This happens after every Christmas. We play the new games for about a week or so and then we put them away until some other time when I have 3 days off in a row. I hope that won’t be the story this time. We have had so much fun laughing and relaxing. Chelsea is a very competitive player and always tries to chose an ally in her scheme to win. Last night it wasn’t a scheme to win as much as it was a scheme to make sure I didn’t win. The three us truly enjoyed ourselves and each other’s company. I am blessed to have a strong family. My favorite thing about the whole evening was hearing Chelsea say “Daddy” with the sweet little Southern accent. You can tell by the way she says it that she adores him; and I know the same can be said for the way he feels about her. I highly recommend spending some time cherishing your family.

Resolutions

Time to see what made the list this year.

First, I am going to spend more time with Chelsea. I already spend the majority of my time doing things for Chelsea, I want to spend some more time with her. She has a great sense of humor, she’s bright, she’s sensitive, she’s athletic and she is a very caring person. I am looking forward to the time we will spend together.

Second, I am going to try harder to give everything I do the time and attention it deserves. In other words, I am going to try to use my time wisely. Yesterday, I thought I was going to give up a few things; but them I ran down the list. Give up what? I like to do all of the things I do. Every responsibility I have outside of my family (and that thing called a J O B ) has to do with kids. Contrary to popular belief, I do like kids. I want to see them have fun and believe in themselves. So, I won’t be giving up any of those “extra” things I do. I’m going to plan Chelsea’s class party, cheer on the soccer team, give the Old Testament test and continue to plan and look forward to camp everyday.

Third, keep a thankful journal. I am going to (try to) write down 5 things each day that I am thankful for. 2005’s list would be a long one – surviving the hurricanes, a family member returning to church, becoming a home owner – really, the safe delivery of a little namesake and the health of his Mother, another healthy little one after so much worry, new friendships, growing closer to old friends … the list does go on.

What didn’t make the list?

• Get more sleep ( I already sleep too much)
• Start a diet (I did that two months ago to avoid the rush)
• Spend more time at work (they get a good day’s work from me when I’m there)
• Dust more (I might hire a housekeeper to do that)
• Work in the yard (allergic to grass)

The dream list -

• Read more
• Scrap book more
• Take a class or two
• Become super woman

Happy New Year !