Late for me to be blogging anyway. I was out yesterday to learn about the new Texas Margin tax on businesses, an income tax that isn’t called an income tax. It’s crazy. As individuals we always want industry to pick up more of the tax bill but in the end, the increase flows right back to us. What we need are fewer taxes…meaning less government waste…meaning a miracle.
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I’ve got the Friday mentality today. I’m waiting on 5:00 so I can shut down for the weekend. Of course, the myth of shutting down mentally and physically is just that, a myth. Maybe I’ll sneak in a little extra rest at some point.
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We’re going to play laser tag for my nephew’s birthday party Saturday night. It’s a fun game and I’m looking forward to zapping everyone.
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Speaking of birthdays, my baby has one coming up next week. Last night, we took her and some of her friends to Joe T. Garcia’s to eat (yes, my little angel picked it out). She finally got her cell phone that she has long wanted. She held it for a minute looking at it and we could see her hands shaking.

It was a hard decision for me to give it to her but a conversation with a friend makes it much easier. He says he enjoys texting his kids 2 or 3 times a night when they are out with friends just to remind them he’s around. He says it’s been a great way to stay in touch with them using their way of thinking and technology.

Happy early Bday koko.

It’s interview day. I am having to replace two people in my accounting staff and am spending much time going over resumes and now bringing people in to visit about the position and their qualifications. It makes me wonder about people. I have already talked to a few. There was the sweet young lady who couldn’t get along with other family members and gets her feelings hurt if someone corrects her. There was another candidate who replied to an email that included our company URL but had no idea who we were or what we did because she didn’t take the time to look. Today, I will visit with 3 and maybe 4 people passing judgment on whether they are qualified to work here. It is a mentally draining process and, if no one appears as a good candidate, it will make for a long day.
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Sponsors are dropping Michael Vick like a hot potato. Innocent until proven guilty? I don’t think so and I don’t blame the sponsors. Vick’s potential involvement is a black eye to those who have paid him to use him image. In the end, I will be most interested to see what happens to his career. It seems the American public can easily forgive an athlete who had done wrong but can produce on the playing field. I’m not so sure Vick will be welcomed back but if he is, I would suggest he be sent to Cleveland so he can play with their endzone gang known as the dog pound.
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I’m out for a tax seminar tomorrow so no blogging will occur. Have a great day!

The theme for the class I taught Sunday morning was one that was a little difficult because it is something that I fail to do. The theme of “I Can’t Wait…” caused a few ideas to pop into my head before I read through the lesson to find that the idea was “I can’t wait until Jesus returns.” As a Christian, that is an idea I am intellectually aware of but don’t really think about very often. I’m so caught up in what needs to be done at work, mowing, vacation, school and so on that I never stop to think about Jesus’ return.

While mowing on Saturday and pondering the lesson for Sunday, a recurring thought was “Be still and know that I am God.” I think if I found more time to be still with God, Jesus’ return would be a more central, focused thought for me. I need to find the time, I need to make the time to be still with God.

When I was going to Colorado, it was all I could think about yet I really, really want to get to heaven but I think about so many other things.

“Be still and know that I am God.”

I hear you Lord.

It’s good to be home. After too many days away from my wife and my children we all came back together Saturday night (the kids were with grandparents and my wife was in lovely Abilene). It was a wonderful evening that caused me to think about how much I appreciate the 3 of them and how important they are in my life.
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The funny comment of the day Saturday came from my daughter. The kids had been at my parents and we met between here and there at a restaurant for lunch. The kids were sitting next to each other when my youngest spouted off something to his sister and her comment was, “Shhhh, we’re with dad now.”
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I remember my mom always saying how good it felt when she got a compliment on her child. I always assumed it was because they came so seldom, they overwhelmed her. Anyway, she was passing along compliments about our children from some of her friends and I was so proud of my kids. I suppose parents always wonder what in the world there children will do when they are off and about. My kids make me proud.
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It’s good to be home.

I made it to Las Vegas without too many problems. Our plane was a hour late leaving and I was starting to think I was in for another long, long day. Fortunately, we got going and made it here to find…rain.

After getting settled in, we (3 of my co-workers) headed to Hoover Dam and took a tour. It’s fascinating to think about the sacrifices that were made and the hard, hard work it took to build the dam. The highest paid worker was making $1.25 an hour – most were around 50 cents an hour.

Now, they are building a suspension bridge that will go over the Colorado River below the dam. It’s incredibly high above the river and I cannot imagine the people who are working on it now. I certainly wouldn’t want to be at the top and I wondered how comfortable I would be driving over it when completed.

We begin our training seminar tomorrow – 3 intense days. I’m taking all of my savings to the casino tomorrow night and try to build a college fund for the kids. Not really. I hope to catch a show Thursday night, either the Blue Man Group or Cirque du Soleil. If anyone has recommendations, I’m all eyes.

I didn’t sleep well last week and I’m feeling the effects of it today. The brain isn’t churning much out (yes, I know some of you think that is the norm but it’s worse than usual).

I watched the playoff of the golf tournament yesterday. It came down to the last hole of a 4 hole playoff and to the last putt. I’m not a fan of watching golf on TV but it was a good ending. Plus, there wasn’t a football game, baseball game or race on.

This week will generate the talk about Barry Bonds breaking Hank Aaron’s home run record. I don’t know how people in baseball will handle it but based on what the talk has been so far, it won’t be handled well. Will the commissioner be there? Will they finally use an asterisk in the record book? I wonder what would be happening if Barry was more media and fan friendly. Would the uproar be half as loud? For me, I think it’s all about the image he has projected. He may not have hit that many home runs without steroids but others were taking them and not hitting that many so he definitely has some skill. Steroids have put a black eye on the game but the game let it happen.

Go Rangers! Will they trade Tex, Sosa, Gagne, Otsuka, Lofton? Cowboys camp starts tomorrow. Those stories should be enough to drown out the home run chase a little bit. I hope.

A friend had their car broken into and some of the contents stolen yesterday. Theft is so frustrating because it comes into our secured space and takes something from us. When I lived in Ft. Worth, my truck window was smashed and contents stolen two or three times and it happened in my driveway while I was sleeping not too far away. I’ve known others who had their house broken into, even a deeper penetration of what we consider a safe place.

As we talked about the break in last night, I was reminded again that our stuff isn’t really ours. It is, but it isn’t. We have been entrusted with things but it can be taken from us in a instant. I take the dollars I work to earn and send them off to someone else for my house, my car, clothes, food, etc. Yet, a tornado could wipe away my house, a wreck could total my car, a thief could run off with all my clothes (he would need some big friends) and on and on. As much as I think my stuff is mine, it’s only temporary.

Of course, I’m leading to the idea that we all have different abilities and the capability for different responsibilities and all of our efforts need to focus on the Creator and Giver of life itself. The only thing, the one, single thing we have is a gift in the form of His son, a Savior who has presented us with the only thing we really need. The cars and money and houses and stereos and everything else will be lost from us at some point but there is one thing we have been given that lasts. Yes, we can lose the gift Jesus gave us by ignoring it and turning away from it but if we will grasp it, hold it, cherish it, use it…it is ours to keep.

It’s my favorite song. Many years ago I just loved to sing it. I remember it being one of the main songs I used when rocking my babies to sleep. As I have come to know grace, to feel it and understand it, the song remains my favorite. Before leaving for vacation, I went on iTunes and did a search for Amazing Grace. There were hundreds of versions by various signers and I started downloading. I think I have 11 or so different singers and versions of it. Ruben Studdard (one of the American Idol contestants) does a great version. Chris Tomlin and Jars of Clay both encapsulate the song with different arrangements that are beautiful. Willie Nelson lends his country touch and Bob Seeger and Arlo Guthrie really get folksy with the tune. The Dropkick Murphys put a rocking rendition together that is like nothing I’ve heard before.

My favorite by far are the Royal Scottish Dragoons. I’m not sure what Dragoons are but they play a mean bagpipe. I’ve told my wife when I have a funeral that I don’t want much but I do hope she can find someone to play Amazing Grace with bagpipes.

It is such a blessing when we can recognize grace. I don’t think I did for many years but I feel it in waves today. I’ve heard people say that those who have sunk the deepest may understand grace the most. I don’t know if it’s true or not but believe there have been times I’ve sunk deeper than I ever want to go again and I am confident that grace rescued me.

I’m so thankful for the grace of God. I pray I will never take it for granted, that I will rejoice in the healing power of it and that I will give it freely, as freely as God shares it with me.

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.