My morning started with an early recognition that a pen and papers I had left in a shirt pocket had been washed. Ink had stained many of the clothes and possibly ruined some from wearing them at normal times. The papers I had ended up as little, wrinkled rolled-up balls that were useless.

I didn’t get much sleep last night but still felt pretty good when I woke up this morning and then, when finding out about the pen explosion, it was like everything went downhill in the blink of an eye. I didn’t feel good. I was disappointed, upset, mad. The day was already ruined. I messed up my clothes, my wife’s clothes, my kid’s clothes.

It is far too easy for something so insignificant, so little, a nuisance, to rule my day, to distract me, to change my focus and my thoughts. Yet, it only happens because I allow it to happen. I allow the insignificant to become significant, to grab my attention and thoughts.

Where will I focus today? Will I focus on the life-changing power of God or will I focus on material things ruined in the wash? Will I focus on being led to be a servant or being led to self-pity?

I apologize for the mental lapse and for the new Texas shorts that have an ink stain on them and whatever else was in the wash. It happened and will not change so the rest of the day, I will work to stay focused on what I have received, the love and mercy of my Savior, and I will try to glorify my Lord in all I do. That’s what I’m deciding will be my focus today.

I made it through the first day of April without being fooled. I still remember the biggest bite I ever took on April Fools. It was when I was still dating my wife. I had gone over to her apartment for a late dinner (I was still in public accounting and working late during tax season). We watched the news and I left right after the beginning of sports to the news that the Mavericks had traded for David Robinson. The sportscaster said to watch the end of the segment for all the details but I left to head home happy the Admiral was coming to town. When I got home the phone was ringing (pre-cell phone days) and it was my wife-to-be telling me it was an April Fools joke. I was trapped wondering if the trade was the joke or if she was pulling the joke by making me think there wasn’t a trade. I turned on ESPN as fast as I could and after watching for some time realized there was no trade in the works for Robinson. What could have been…
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Tonight is the big night for college hoops junkies like me. I’m pulling for Florida just because those five guys chose to come back and try to do something hard to do. I hope they pull it off.
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Our Bible class is studying the names of Jesus. Yesterday we talked about “shepherd” as a name for Jesus and the discussion turned to the 23rd Psalm. “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want…” Oh, how I wish I would live my life that way. I wish I would remember every second that He will guide me, I don’t need to find my own paths. I wish I would remember every minute that I have all that I need instead of wanting more.

I can only imagine the peace I would enjoy if I learn to live knowing the Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.

It’s good to be home again and good to see all the water falling from the sky. I feel for the people south of us who are battling flooded homes but appreciate the rain we are receiving.

I had a good, fast trip the last couple of days. My experience at A&M was great and I really enjoyed visiting with some bright kids. I hope I have the opportunity again in the future.

One of the best parts of the trip was stopping at the Czech Stop both going and coming back for some of their great kolaches.

On my trip from College Station to Salado, I took some back roads and saw some beautiful country. Green pastures, tanks full of water. It was an awesome and enjoyable sight.

Now, it’s back to the grindstone working for the man. Ha. It’s good to be home but I am thankful for the experience I had.

…the touch of my wife at bedtime.
…the joy of seeing my young daughter getting out of my truck in the morning looking more like a young lady.
…the joyous voice of my son.
…my bed.
…the routine of my life.
…watching a little TV with the kids.
…dinner at home – in whatever shifts we might be eating that night.
…the peace I feel when sleeping next to my wife.

I’m away from home and I don’t enjoy it. I’m excited about my day tomorrow but would rather find a way to do it sleeping in my own bed and seeing my family in the morning.

The good news is that our well was fixed and there is water at the house. It made leaving a little easier.

I trust my wife and kids know I miss them, am thinking about them and saying a pray for them tonight.

The rain was nice yesterday and I enjoyed seeing a lot of it yesterday. There was water standing in low spots on my way home, a welcome sight. How ironic though that we have no water at our house. I’m guessing at this point the pump has gone out. Our electrician (this might be where I should put an advertisement) came out and replaced everything he could and at 10:00pm there was still no water. It’s a long night when you don’t have water. I don’t know that it’s so bad not having it as it is knowing you don’t have it.

This morning was a bit off-kilter but a big THANK YOU is due my wife’s sister and family for letting us seek shower refuge at their house.

I hate leaving town when things aren’t right. Hopefully we can get this resolved today and back to a normal routine.
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Speaking of off-kilter, coming back home from my shower I pulled down our street to see a truck sitting across one of my neighbor’s driveway and partially in the culvert. It had demolished his mailbox and the brick ledge on both sides of his driveway. What a wake-up call.
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Having no water makes me start thinking about global warming and the other warnings I hear about dwindling water supplies. It makes me stop and think what kind of world we are leaving our children. It makes me stop and think what we need to do to be better stewards of what God has given us. I don’t have a position on global warming and think it has been overly-politized but I do wonder…
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Since I’ll be “guest-lecturing” tomorrow and the professor is picking me up at 6:15 in the morning (I usually don’t drag myself out of bed until 6:30 at the earliest), there probably won’t be a blog tomorrow. Until I write again, have a great day(s) and I hope your water is always running.

Four are left. Florida, UCLA, Ohio State and Georgetown. The games over the past weekend have been really good with some close games coming down to the final minutes/seconds. I’m pulling for Florida and imagining a Florida-Ohio State matchup although I’m not sure OSU can get by Georgetown. It’s good stuff. I’m just concerned that the championship game may interfere with 24. Egad.
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I heard a great sermon on prayer yesterday. Prayer is something that perplexes me at times because too often I’m afraid I am asking way too much for myself. Other times, I feel like I am not asking for enough. I am thankful because I believe God does listen to my heart more than my words which are inadequate and knows what I need and will give me what I need when I don’t know how to say it.
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Some of you know I am heading to Texas A&M on Wednesday to speak to some of their Ag-Business classes (guest-lecturer is the official term they use). I’m excited for the opportunity and nervous also. I’ve put together a PowerPoint presentation (with lots of help) to use so I look a little more advanced. I think the most challenging part of the day will be to be ready at 6:15 A.M. when they want to pick me up at the hotel for breakfast. If you know me, you know me rolling out of bed by 6:30 is a feat of epic proportions so being ready at 6:15 strikes fear in me.

My son suggested a talk consisting of “boo Aggies, boo Aggies, boo Aggies, Hook’em Horns!” but I’m not sure that will go over well. He also thought I should wear one of my Longhorn t-shirts – most likely the national championship shirt. It’s great to have his support.
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While I’m off to Aggieland, my daughter will be heading to San Antonio this week to compete at State in a UIL Science competition. She had to spend a couple of Saturdays testing to qualify and now is going for the gold (I’m not sure what they get actually). They leave Thursday morning and will spend the day traveling and then touring the Alamo and Riverwalk. On Friday, they get to go to Sea World and then the competition and drive home on Saturday.

I’m so proud of her and know she will do great representing her school and herself.

Growing up, we played a game called Wahoo. It had something to do with moving marbles around on a board and I remember a picture of an indian on the game board. I’m sure it would be politically incorrect today but it was a fun game.
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It’s Friday. Another Wahoo. It’s been one of those weeks I’m glad is almost over.
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Wednesday night, one of the young men in the youth group spoke to the class about leadership. It was obvious he was a little nervous – up and talking in front of his peers about an important topic. He spoke about servant leadership, about Jesus coming to earth to serve and about our need to serve. I’m not sure I would have ever put that together when I was in high school and was impressed by him and his willingness to serve as a leader among his peers.

There are a number of kids in that group that exhibit the same leadership qualities in many ways. They all encourage me and remind me of what I need to do to serve them.

That’s what I’m feeling the ability to write about today. A short night of sleep, a stressful day at work and humidity are all conspiring against me to be creative. Such is life at times.

I hope the rain will reach us but it isn’t looking promising according to the weatherman I heard last night. I’ve seen a few sprinkles here and there but nothing worthwhile.

On Letterman last night, a recent graduate of Duke University was demonstrating his invention, the Beer Launcher. The premise is that you can stay on the couch, press a button on a remote and the a mechanical arm will retrieve a beer from the refrigerator and then launch it to you while you never move. It worked well but it makes you wonder about the kid and his college education. I guess the fact that he graduated from Duke with an engineering degree offers some promise that he will create something more beneficial for society eventually.

Have a great day.

I’m meeting with some guys I share Rangers season tickets with today so we can start picking our games. It’s an elaborate but fair process and I’m looking forward to watching baseball again. It’s a sport I never had much interest in growing up but as you may know, my son loves it and because of that, so do I. While my passion for the sport has grown because of him, it has also grown because I have learned to enjoy different aspects of the game. One of the most interesting things to me is how it is both a team sport but also a very individual sport. To some degree, most sports are the same but I think baseball exemplifies the individual/team aspect more than others. The team relies on the individual to make plays but the individual has to make the play on his own. There’s no one blocking for him when he hits, there is no one setting a screen when the ball is coming his way. It’s up to the individual to perform to bolster what the team is wanting to accomplish. I’m getting excited for what I once thought of as a very boring game.
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I heard they found a 12 year old boy who had been missing in the woods or on a mountain somewhere in the last day or so. I obviously didn’t catch the whole story but when I first heard about it, I thought about my own 12 year old and how she would survive in those circumstances. I know the parents must have been scared to death and I’m thankful the story ended on a good note. That young boy must be courageous and very relieved to be back home.
I like good endings.

I saw a clip on the news this morning about a video shown on YouTube bashing Hillary and supporting Obama. Obama claims to have nothing to do with the ad and I have no reason to doubt that. What really stands out to me is that the vicious attacks are beginning and may now even be coming from outside the campaigns, attacks created by individuals who have the technological tools to manipulate what we see on the internet – for free.

It strikes me that the political battle often becomes a battle to tear opposing candidates down rather than build their own candidates up. I hear so much about the bad things the other candidate has done or will do but I don’t hear as much about what their candidate has done or will do.

Sometimes the Christian battle is too similar. I hear about what everyone else is doing wrong but not enough about what God has done right. I hear people tearing down others but failing to build up our Savior.

I hope my heart is in the right place. I hope people hear me building up the love and saving grace of Jesus, the only thing that will save them, instead of tearing down others. I realize Satan is the battle we face and that Satan throws so many obstacles in our way. I realize there is a spiritual battle going on around me all the time. What I believe I have to stop and ask myself at times is “where is my heart?” Am I putting my focus and energy in fighting Satan or am I putting my focus and energy in wrapping myself in the armor of God?

I don’t know that I’m clear in what I am trying to say today but hope you will hear the message God wants you to hear. As for me, the battle is on and today I will lean on God to help me overcome whatever I might face and to show those who are lost that there is hope, there is a glorious future that awaits them if they will only take hold of His hand and follow His will.