Life is messy

It seems to me that life is messy. I think that's the way it's supposed to be. In order to live, we have to be willing to get dirty. I think it's a mistake to try to make life too clean.

For example. I really like to keep our yard neatly cut, and cleaned. I also want to raise boys that are responsible, and know how to work. I need to let go of the "neat" yard, and let one of them take on the responsibility to maintain it. If I keep that job, then he loses the opportunity to learn. If I let him have the job, then the yard may not look as good as when I do it myself.

My choice was to let go of the clean, and embrace the dirt. I did this in the spring, and now, the yard looks as good as if I had done it. Yeah, once in a while I have to point out a spot that he missed, but that's all part of the learning process.

By embracing the dirt, I got a clean yard. But I got way more than a clean yard, I gave a life lesson to my son. That is way more important than a clean yard.

Life is messy, and I know that I need to learn to embrace the dirt in more areas of my life.

Sleep is a Wonderful Thing

The past two mornings, I awoke before the alarm. Some people I know never use an alarm, not me. I have never been good about getting up in the morning. I may not sleep as late as my kids do, but I do like to sleep in a little. I try to get into work early to miss the morning traffic. Getting in early also lets me leave early to miss much of the evening traffic too. So getting up early is a big plus to the quality of my family life.

Getting up early is not a big plus to my sleep life though. I seem to get to bed too late, and then have trouble waking up in the morning. If I am dragging, it takes longer to get out of the house. Longer to get out, plus snoozing means more traffic. ugh!

To complicate matters, I have mild sleep apnea. I have recently started using a dental device that keeps my airway open while I sleep, and I think it is helping. I am still tired frequently, but not as bad as I used to be. This past weekend, I made a minor adjustment to the device, and it may have helped. Of course two days in a row does not make a trend, but it is a start.

For those of you who are blessed with good sleep, be thankful. Sleep really is a wonderful thing.

Better than I deserve

When asked "how are you?" Dave Ramesy (radio talk show host) answers "better than I deserve". I like that answer, and should probably use it, but I wonder if people realize it's significance.

No matter how bad things really are for me I can answer better than I deserve. I may not feel better than I deserve, but I know that I am better than I deserve.

How much better than I deserve? Infinitely better than I deserve. You see, I know that no matter what, I am not getting what I deserve. Romans 6:23 tells the whole story. Paul tells us that we are all sinners, and we deserve death. But that's not all. He goes on to tell us that we have a gift of eternal life through Jesus.

So, no matter what happens, or what I feel like, I am doing better than I deserve.

Not as tired as I thought

Sunday afternoon, 3:45 PM - I sit down for a little nap. Why do I need a nap? Well...

Friday - Troop campout. 45 minute wait at Lake Ray Roberts State Park to get in. 1/4 mile hike from parking lot to the campsite. In bed sometime after 11 PM.

Saturday - Got to sleep in! All the way till just after 7:00. Busy day for the boys, not too bad for me, even got a chance to work a Su Doku puzzle. Campfire at 8:00 - nice cool night. In bed before 11 PM.

Sunday - Up at 7:00 - Pack up, eat breakfast, haul all of our stuff out. Wait for scouts to pack up, Chapel service, then the drive home. Unpack, eat lunch, run to Sam's. It's now 3:45, and I'm quite tired. Sleeping on the ground for two nights is taking it's toll. Maybe I'll get a little rest before going to church. I don't want Mike to think that it is his sermon that is putting me to sleep....

So, I try to take a nap. Well, Josh (my 3 yo son) saw that Daddy was sleeping. Usually he would just jump on me, and try to get me to play. Not this time. He decided that Daddy needed the sleep, so he made sure that everyone in the house was quite. He did this by yelling at anyone who made any noise "Quiet Daddy's Sleeping". What a precious thing for him to do. It made me smile when I heard it. Of course he did it about every 10 seconds :-) or so it seemed. Well I did get a few minutes of sleep, and I guess God worked it out that I got just the right amount, cause I didn't even nod off during church. So at the end of the day, I was not as tired as I thought.

Trustworthy

I decided to start a blog to help process some of the thoughs going through my head. For my first entry, I'll share a Scoutmaster Minute that I gave to my Boy Scout Troop on Monday night. Some sad events at my church dealing with trust brought this story to mind, and I felt that I should share it with the boys.

Trustworthy; it is the first point of the scout law.

Let me tell you a story about someone who most of us would think of as trustworthy. This man used to be the pastor of a large church. Most people would think of a Pastor as a trustworthy man. He was about your age when this story took place.

Like many of you, Bill had the job of taking out the trash. In his house, the trash went out to the curb the night before trash day. Back then, people didn’t have these nice dumpsters with wheels, the trash was in metal trashcans, and he probably had to haul three or four of these to the curb each time.

Well the first trash day after Christmas is always a big trash day. There were lots of empty boxes, and wrapping paper. Bills dad had also asked him to take out the wreath from the front door. As it frequently is at that time of year in the north east, it was bitterly cold that night, and the ground was covered with snow and ice. Bill hauled out all of the trash, and had come back in the house. After he had removed his coat, hat and boots, his father asked about the wreath. Bill had forgotten the wreath. His dad told him to take the wreath to the curb.

Bill decided he would just put back on his boots, and run the whole way so he wouldn’t have to bundle up again. He stepped outside onto the front porch, and took down the wreath. He looked at that long trip to the curb, he was cold and tired. He looked next to the door, and saw the shrubs that were in front of his house. Bill decided that the wreath was “bio degradable”, so he tossed it behind the bushes, and went back into the house.

A couple of years later, his father noticed some holly bushes behind the shrubs growing in a circle. He asked Bill about them, and Bill came clean. He admitted to throwing the wreath back there. Well, his father dug out the holly bushes, and planted them in the yard. Every time the family moved, Bills dad moved those holly bushes too. By the time Bill was a man, those bushes were over 20 feet tall.

Bill had a long and successful career as a pastor. He is now retired, but I bet he still remembers the lesson he learned so well from those holly trees.

So scouts, remember that being trustworthy starts with little things like Christmas wreaths. You never know when your lack of trustworthiness in a little thing will grow into a 20 foot tall tree for all to see.