Long Overdue....

Amazing to think that exactly three months ago today was the last time i wrote in my blog. There have been a lot of things that have happened in those three months....

• Ruthie and i spent a night out in Ottawa, IL at "The River Loft"... just the two of us... it was very cool (thanks Mary)!
• Spent some time in Savannah, GA at an event for XP's at Savannah Christian Church... the event was worth it if only because i had dinner at "The Lady & Sons" (it is so NOT over rated)!
• Had an opportunity to travel to Louisville, KY for a convention, made a bunch of new connections and an invitation to submit a chapter for a book on diversity in the local church!
• Performed a wedding for a young man that i have known for almost twenty years... (Zach was really little when we first met and i was much younger)
• Watched my oldest son pack-up his room in anticipation of leaving for college, who for the first time in 15 years will not be "bunking" with his younger brother...
• Spoke with small group leaders about how to become great storytellers...
• Celebrated the birthday of the hottest woman i know just this week (this, of course, is the same person i spent some time with out in Ottawa, IL)....
• Ate Aurelio's Pizza at 1959 prices (their 50th anniversary).... a "Fiesta" size pepperoni & cheese pizza....$6.95!!!
  

With summer coming to an end there is a tinge of sadness but still, i am excited about the fall! There are so many new opportunities and challenges to look forward to in the next few months...

Yep, this was overdue and it's time to get back into the swing of things... i can hardly wait!

Test driving the "vacated" nest....

This past week, we have had a taste of life without our "big" boys at home and just our two "little" ones around. i guess you could say a partially vacated (not even "empty) nest experience! i must admit it's a ton quieter and quite a bit less rushed. In many ways it's a bit of a preview to life with a couple of older kids out on their own and a couple of younger ones waiting in the queue for their day to "launch".

This has caused me to think about my older boys quite a bit... they have both been for the most part "lab rats"... sorry there really is no other way to describe them! We have tried a bunch of stuff out on them just to see how they would react or how it would work and i'm happy to report that after all these years and multiple mis-steps, they are still alive!

We think (and i stress think) for the most part they are fairly well adjusted kids... of course, every parent thinks that of their kids right? You know the old... He-seemed-like-such-a normal kid-until.... Our guys love their parents, their grand-parents, their siblings, their church and of course and most importantly their God. They look out for one another (sometimes to a fault), they back one another up and they will blow the whistle on one another (to trustworthy adults) if need be. All this is good, i think... however, i am still amazed that fairly normal children would result from my input (their mother is normal, i on the other hand... well, talk to my wife).

Still, i look forward to their coming home late this week, they will no doubt have very funny and very serious stories to tell about their time away and it will get sort of "nutty" around here all over again but that's okay, not having everyday be "nutty" seemed so far away all those years ago...

Sibling Rivalry?

My "little" brother Ken and his family are coming to spend the Memorial Day week with us... this will be the first time he has been to our new home near Chicago since we moved back to the area a few years back and the first time our families have been together since we spent a few days at Disneyworld last Spring (my brother works for THE Mouse. i am looking forward to him being here for a number of reasons... most of all because i really like Christy (his wife) and my niece (who calls me "the other" uncle Bobby) Julia is a hoot!

My brother and i are several years apart in age but when we were kids we still spent a ton of time together. Probably the funniest thing i remember about my brother is the fact that as a kid i didn't even know that my mother was pregnant with him until the day she went to the hospital to deliver him! Seriously... i was clueless!

Neither of us had a "dad' in our home growing up and so consequently (even though i didn't realize it at the time) since i was older, i sort of became like a dad... at least for the time i was at home before going off to college. i must admit i was clueless about that too!

i think i can honestly say, i never considered or thought of Ken as a "pest" or as a "hindrance" to my cool-ness factor. He was (and is) my brother and it was simply accepted that if my mom or one of our other aunts or uncles couldn't be around to take care of him... i did.

That's just the way it was.

My mom was real clear about another thing too... she made it real clear that under no circumstances was i to ever lay a finger on my brother! No matter what he said, no matter what he did... i was to never hit him. Truthfully though... i think he had my back on that one most of the time... because i remember there being a couple of times, i clocked him!

i can honestly say that in spite of me, he turned out to be a fairly normal person :) Which just goes to show just what God can do despite what how much we may mess things up!

Amazingly Strange...

This week, one of my sons is in Haiti helping to build a medical clinic and a school. He got a last minute invitation to join a team of people heading there last week, when another person was denied medical clearance by a physician. The trip was all paid for, his passport was up to date and his grandparents were leading the team.... how could you say anything but "Sure... i guess!?!"

i got to thinking about this kid and his willingness to go, and to help at the drop of a hat and wondered... "Is this the son that i helped raised?!?" He along with his siblings really do love to serve... they complain sometimes but for the most part they love to help people. i continue to be humbled by this when i see it. And to be a bit honest it scares me a little bit because i know both of my boys are headed in the we'll-do-whatever-go-whereever-no-matter-what-the-personal-cost... i say that not because i am this dad sticking out his chest... but because it is humbling to realize... it seems my guys get it.

It's what every parent really hopes will happen and wants to happen, then what do you do when it does happen?

i spend most of my time trying not to think about just what these guys are headed into.... my oldest is going to end up making a difference in an urban center somewhere in this country loving on people that would be called ..."the least of these". My other son is going to end up half way around the globe in some country where they don't have near the standard of living we do here in the United States, loving and serving people who have very little in the way of material possessions but more love than can be imagined!

The strangest part in all this is that Ruthie and i would readily admit in a way we didn't see this coming... but it's pretty cool to watch these boys becoming men who are learning to love and live with their hearts on their sleeves.

And while it's also a bit scary (especially for me... i am the worrier), we can't think of a more incredible blessing.

Amazing Friends....

Have you ever had a friend in your life who simply amazed you? Not in bad way of course but rather someone whose life was just amazing! The funny thing is this... most of the time friends like that don't even know that you think their lives are a marvel. In fact, they usually seem to go along like everything is pretty normal. They don't pretend to be something they aren't, the majority of the time they live by the credo WYSIWYG.

i have a friend like that, he is staying with my family this weekend. He'd probably be embarrassed if i told him any of this..."your life is amazing" stuff. i have known him since we lived in Canada, as a matter of fact the friendship that my wife and i grew into with he and his wife is one of those sorts of friendships that i trust will transcend time, space and (prayerfully) eternity.

The night my wife went into labor with our first born son, he and i stayed up playing a Nintendo (yeah that's right ... the original 8 bit deal....none of this Wii stuff) game called Nobunaga's Ambition right up until the time we called the OB/GYN and made our way to General Hospital (really that was the name of the hospital). When we finally did go to the hospital they were among the very first people we had come and meet our new little one! All along the way while we lived in Canada our friendship grew into this amazing thing. He in some ways became another brother to me (no disrespect Ken... you're still my favorite brother). Our kids actually refer to him as "uncle" although my youngest doesn't quite fully get why they do that and instead calls him "grandpa". Probably the most exciting thing for me has been watching his growth as a person of faith, a husband, a father and a leader. It is one of those things that if you let it, can just happen and you'll miss it if you don't pay attention.
i guess the thing that i love the most about friends like this (and truth be known... we all have them) is you never have to say stuff or be something that you aren't. i mean you can absolutely be yourself and it's completely alright. i love that.

At any rate it has been great to get to spend sometime with him and i hope that next time his wife (whom i've know since she was in High school) and his children will get to come our way again and spend some time with us.

i will continue to be amazed as i watch from where i am, his life and his leadership impact grow and grow. It's been great and i trust will continue to be, just being friends.