The week after a vacation always seems brutal to me. It seems I can be gone for a week but there is 4 weeks of work needing to be done. Yikes.

Next week, I head out for Sin City with 4 other employees to a seminar. It’s one place I do not look forward to visiting. The crowds, the noise, the endless lights. Fortunately, we are actually going to be in another town nearby away from the Strip. I do plan to make another trip to Hoover Dam. I’ve been once and it is an incredible site. The lake is beautiful and the drive is scenic.

Last night I took in the new Harry Potter movie with my family. I certainly didn’t understand all of it and the kids were a bit disappointed because of changes from the book (I haven’t read the stories). Even still, it was an entertaining movie with special effects at every turn. I’m sure the costume and makeup folks have a blast during these movies.

Pain and suffering are on my mind this morning. I read a poem a father wrote about the son he lost this morning and it makes me hurt for him. I wonder about His relationship with God. I read the questions he has but can’t imagine the pain and feeling that lie with those questions. I know so many others are feeling the same suffering and wondering where God is, what He is thinking. I think of the song “Blessed Be Your Name” and know I haven’t walked through the depths of suffering so many others have. I pray that those who suffer will continue to seek God and in time, their suffering will be lessened. I don’t know if it’s possible because I haven’t experienced the excruciating pain they feel, but I do hope for them. I do hope.

I love my vacation time in Colorado. It is a special time that gives me so many blessings.

I saw God in the peace of the river and the majesty of the mountains. I saw God in the power of a hail storm and the beauty of the sun setting over the mountains. I saw God in the quiet moments while listening to the sound of nature as well as in the noise of children playing and having fun. I saw God in the worship service on Sunday and in time spent in prayer.

I may be guilty of talking too much about the joy that abounds in the fishing and weather of my vacation and never really mentioning that one of the great joys is seeing the handiwork of my Creator. I love my vacation for so many reasons, one of the primary ones being that I slow down and see God.

I pray today that I will slow down and see God in Decatur as clearly as I did in South Fork. I pray that I will slow down so that others might see God through my actions. That’s one of the wonderful things about vacation, time to reflect and contemplate how to be a better Christian today than I was yesterday and how to glorify God more tomorrow than today.

Last week, I saw God, saw His power and His majesty and reflected on His amazing grace. I saw God and I know I will be stronger in the days ahead because of my time with Him.

I watched Braveheart last week where Mel Gibson’s character, William Wallace, leads a group of Scotsmen in their quest for freedom from England.

I spent the weekend hearing my son say how cool it would have been to be a part of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and talk about his desire to visit Boston and Philadelphia to see historical sites and learn more about our freedom.

I taught a class Sunday morning on freedom – the freedom we have through Christ – the freedom from sin and Satan that we have been given.

Each of these freedoms came with a price, namely the loss of life. Braveheart gave me a good feeling for a few minutes after seeing it. Our country’s independence is a wonderful gift that will last a lifetime. My freedom from sin is a treasure greater than anything, a sacrifice, a gift that will last through eternity.
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Today’s the day. My lovely wife and little angel should be leaving Searcy, Arkansas soon and this afternoon we will head north/northwest. I am E-X-C-I-T-E-D, excited. It’s been nice to have some time with my son at home while the girls are gone but I sure miss my girls and I am ready to see them. I’ve been ready to leave for Colorado but much, much more ready to see two beautiful women. It’s a great day.

July 4th always means fireworks but this year, July 1st, 2nd and 3rd have meant fireworks around our house. I think I’m going deaf.

My son and I are headed to the Fort Worth Cats game tonight with some friends. The Cats have always done a BIG fireworks show, one that I think rivals or surpasses the Rangers show. It will be fun if the rain holds off. Plus, I get a Kinkaid’s burger at the game. That’s living.

I’m mentally somewhere in New Mexico now. I’m trying to remember the things I need to do today so I can write them down but I’m struggling to get it on paper so I will remember it. I can’t wait. Fun Valley has to be one of my top 2 or 3 favorite places. I relax there. I focus there. I fish there. I take in God’s majesty and power there.

In case you can’t tell, I’m ready to be there.

Why do so many things come up the week I’m trying to leave for vacation? I hope for a somewhat peaceful week (you’d think I would learn) and then – WHAMMO – a thousand little things come up. The good part is that I’m going on vacation. I’m leaving in 4 days. 4 days! Mentally, I’m halfway to Colorado which doesn’t help me get things done at the office.
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All of our “regular” preachers were out of town yesterday so one of our Elders spoke to us in the worship service. He did a really good job and it was good to hear from one of our leaders. I certainly appreciate those men.
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What’s up with the Rangers? They are playing some pretty good baseball right now. Kam Loe is smoking and Marlon Byrd has come out of nowhere to make some great plays and provide a lot of offense for the team. It seems a bit late for a run and I certainly don’t believe it will last at this point but it’s fun to see. All this while Blalock and Tex are on the DL. Hmmmm.
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Did I mention it was only 4 days until I leave for vacation. 🙂

Hopefully this is my last meeting as a Grand Juror. One last day of listening to stories of the dregs of Wise County.
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I saw the oddest sight yesterday. A bright orb in the sky shining light on me. I was puzzled but someone told me it was called “the sun.” It was fascinating.
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7 DAYS. 1 WEEK LEFT. Next Thursday I’m headed to lovely Colorado, to what might be my favorite place on earth. 7 days of relative peace, fishing, mini-golf, total relaxation. I will enjoy each day.

I’ve got so many things to do and it doesn’t seem there is time to hold it all. One might ask why I would stop to write this if I’m running short on time and I would have to agree it’s a good question. It’s also a good time for me to take inventory and try to turn what seems to be a mess into a manageable workload.

I struggle to get off the wheel, to quit trying to run faster and to start running smarter. I need to take time to build more relationships and strengthen the relationships I have. I need to hear people better and find out what is going on in others’ lives.

I can’t control life but I can control my response to what happens. I will work on that today and see how tomorrow goes.

Did we really pack up a town and move it somewhere close to Seattle? I heard about houses flooding in Granbury overnight and wonder when it will let up. I hope no one else is hurt or killed because of the high water.
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A single digit is really helping me think about something other than the rain. The digit is 9 today and it is the number of days left before I leave for Colorado. I am so ready to breathe mountain air, take a walk with my wife surrounded by mountains, play mini-golf with the kids and feel the first trout on the end of my line. I’m ready for a burger and a malt at the cook shack and pizza in Creede. I’m ready to see some of God’s most wonderful (in my estimation) creation. 9 days.
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9 days. I think I’m already getting “short-timer’s syndrome.” It’s going to be hard to think about much more than vacation for the next few days.

In case you didn’t notice, it rained a wee bit yesterday. I got home yesterday afternoon and thought I had bought lakefront property. Water was almost everywhere, rushing down the creek, coming over the road, dropping from the sky. It was about a foot from our front door as we helplessly watched. After several prayers, the rain let up and the water drained off pretty well.

There is more rain in the forecast today and tomorrow. I’m not sure how much more we can take. So many people have had to endure flooding recently and while I appreciate the rain we’ve had, we really need a break. I will be in prayer all day that what rain we get is manageable rain and that no one has to endure more trouble because of the water.

I’m praying for protection for everyone today. I’m praying that even though our possessions are really nothing, meaningless in the picture of eternity, that God will still protect us from damage and harm.

Yes, baseball season for my young Roger Clemens/Albert Pujols is over. We wrapped up with a tournament in Lancaster this past weekend where we came out on the losing end overall but played some of our best ball of the year. The best part for me was seeing my son have a really, really good tournament defensively (playing 2nd and pitching) and offensively. It’s fun to watch him and see the improvement game after game, year after year. It’s what he enjoys and he makes baseball fun.

My daughter is thrilled baseball season is over. She, on the other hand, gets up at 6:00 three days a week to work out with the cross country team. Other than getting up early, I think she really enjoys it and I really enjoy watching her run. I go with her on the 3 days and walk the track while she and the other girls stretch, jog and get ready for their run. I appreciate their dedication to being as good as they can be and I am proud of my angel for working as hard as she does.
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In the past, I have been a current events fanatic – always watching the news shows, reading papers and current event magazines, interested in politics and world events. I’m not that way anymore. I don’t watch the news every night, I don’t go get a paper everyday, I don’t peruse the Internet to keep up with what’s happening. I think two things have come together to change my focus. One, we seem busier as a family. Two, I spend more time thinking about things more eternal in nature. I spend more time finding myself in thought about God and in prayer. Now, I don’t spend near as much time doing those things as I should but I hope to keep getting better.

There’s really nothing to that comment other than a personal observation and, after thinking about what I wrote, I’m certainly not patting myself on the back. I only say it because I was thinking this morning that as each day passes, I want to be closer to God. I look back at my life lived so far and see how off-course I have been so often. I want to be on-course from this day forward. I know their will be struggles but I want to hunger and thirst for God. I ask that you will pray for me that I may stay on that journey and be focused on my Creator and Savior.