But did you die?

I consider myself to be a good dad.  I am around, I help with homework, and I generally like to be with my kids, but I am constantly trying to be better. I regularly screw up, so I try to learn from my mistakes. I regularly get things right, so I try to learn from my triumphs. Here are five things I've learned recently. Laugh with your kids.   This week we were making Christmas lists when my daughter said she wanted to get me a "butt that will fart on daddy."  I know!  Gross right?  My son though that was hilarious and they have been laughing about that for days now.  Laughing with them (even when it is disgusting and slightly inappropriate) validates that they are worthwhile.  We all like to be funny and to get a response from those we care about.  Laugh with them, even if the joke doesn't make sense. Think about what it looks like to others.   This week one of my biggest screw ups was when we were out shopping at CVS.  The k...

Happy Thanksgiving folks! As promised here is the second part of the prologue for the upcoming Jonah book.  In this section we introduce the other two main players in the book.  I hope you enjoy and know that I am so thankful that I have you all to encourage me and give me feedback.  You can reread part one here . *****             The town of Khorsabad was located on the outskirts of the Nineveh province.  It was a rural town that once held a mighty fortress.  The town was in the midst of rebirth.  One could see new construction alongside of four hundred year old homes.  It was a town of transition with a population that was ever fluctuating.  The staple of the town, fishing, had been dwindling ever since several factories were built to the north, but the factory did bring several jobs, which was why the town was growing for the first time in a generation.  Along the western side of the town r...

Helplessness is one of my most hated feelings.   We all want to feel like we have the power to effect the things around us, right?  One of the things I hate the most is when I know there is nothing I can do about a situation I am in. My wife Courtney and I had to deal with feelings of helplessness from January 2012 to September of 2012 This was the time we were preparing for and welcoming Seth, our youngest son. Seth's pregnancy was extremely difficult.  At seven weeks we went to the emergency room, thinking Courtney was having a miscarriage.  Then, beginning in the second trimester, we had to go to specialists two to three times a week because of abnormalities during the pregnancy.  He ended up being delivered early, and by the grace of God was healthy.  Then, when Seth was almost 2 months old he contracted RSV which made it difficult for him to breathe.    He had to spend several days in the Pediatric ICU to recover.  These were very ...

Several months ago I had an idea.   I found myself skimming over whole passages in the Old Testament and I began to wonder why. Are they boring?  No. Am I missing the context?  Sometimes. Is it because they were stories that I had heard hundreds of times?  Yep. I then realized that there are probably plenty of people like me, people who find it easy to skip whole sections of the Bible because they were stories they had heard before. I began to wonder if there was a way I could help myself and others read these stories with "with new eyes." The idea that I came up was to retell these "old stories" in a new way; a way that hopefully people could relate to.  This is the first section of the prologue in my upcoming novel based on the book of Jonah.  I hope you enjoy and would love any feedback. ********************             He looked at himself in the mirror.   When did I get so old?  The p...

How many things do we do out of habit? Really think about it.  Many activities may have a purpose (like brushing our teeth or taking out the garbage) but do we really think about what we are doing?  Are we doing them with a deliberate purpose? This week I was wrecked.  I have been taking a Bible study on the book of Isaiah and had been finding it quite interesting.  If you get through this short history lesson I will explain why I have been lamenting.  The gist of the book was that the Israelites had been treating God like trash.  This book is split into three parts. Part one: screw you, God They made their sacrifices and checked the boxes that they felt they had to do to be "good" people, but went ahead and did whatever they wanted afterword.  They worshiped other gods and, as a whole, only followed the letter of laws that God gave them.   They missed the point. Part two: lay in the bed you made God had given them chanc...

Have you ever experienced something you wish you could forget?   I feel that at some point we all wish we could make the rough patches of life fade away.  I wrote this after considering this idea, "what if we could make ourselves forget?"  Timothy had a rough day and these events lead him to accept the almost too good to be true offer that would allow him to use these bad memories to catch those responsible for causing them and as payment, allow the memories to be suppressed .   Unfortunately (and of course) there would be repercussions to recalling and eventually suppressing them, especially when we accept that even the bad things that happen make up the tapestry of our lives. ++++++++                   Timothy Jackman had a rough day, but at least it was over.   He could feel the stress leaving his body as the shower’s warm deluge beat on the back of his head; the wa...

My daughter asked me today why people throw cigarettes onto the ground.  Without thinking I responded, "It's because people are horrible."  Then I thought about what I said. Is that really true? Do I really think people are horrible because they litter? Is it because they smoke? Am I any better? I started reflecting on the things in my life that make me horrible.  I yell at the dog.  I've skipped class.  I've lied to people I love.  Hell, I've thrown a hamburger wrapper out the window (when I was alone of course). Does that make me horrible? I get frustrated at politicians.  I blow off the needy.  I miss church. Does that make me horrible? I've fought with others.  I ignore phone calls.  I posted mean comments. Does that make me horrible? That's when it hit me.  I am as horrible as everyone else.  There are not "levels of horribleness."  The Bible says "Since we've compiled this long and sorry record ...