Grandma and Papa's Day Out

...There’s this excitement in the both of us, as we travel to pick up the boys for a sleepover. My mind starts to wonder what kind of visit are we going to have? Grandma has her list of activities planned… walks to the park, making play dough, coloring, story reading, and not to forget watching Thomas the Train. Papa always likes to drive to the log yard where they make log homes. It’s just what Papa does. Somewhere along the way we forgot you don’t really need a list of activities to keep a one and three year old boy busy. They seem to manage just fine all by themselves. Do these little ones do things on purpose, or are they just trying to get a reaction? “So tell me, what is that white powder on the top of your head, and down the front of your face?” as I stand at the bottom of the stairs looking up at one of the grandchildren. The playfulness of a child, or the stupidity, I’m not sure. Anyway, no harm done. In the background I can hear a voice, “Come And Find Me” as we shift to a game of hide and seek. We search for Auntie Jenny. “I’m down here,” a voice cries out from under a play pen concealing her. Smiles, laughter and young children, welcome memories of when we played games with our own children. Bedtime… let’s just say someone got to sleep in a tent that wasn’t outside. So it’s off to Church. Everyone’s buckled in their car seat, all two grandchildren, seems like more. From the voice of a three year old, Papa’s been given the buckling procedure, and safety instruction of the child car seat. We sometimes think that our actions don’t matter, or our words aren’t heard. Don’t fool yourself. I listened, as my grandson asked why at a certain point in the service, when everyone was clapping, someone he knew wasn’t. Someone is always watching and learning from us. It’s been said that all our children and grandchildren want from us is quality time. Parents also want the same thing from their children. God is no different. He doesn’t want quantity time, He wants quality time. This thought became real to me on the ride home from church. My son was sitting in the front seat beside me, as I tried to talk to him. I could see by his facial expression that he had no clue of what I had just said. That’s when I noticed the little white headphones coming out of his ears. That’s when I noticed the conversation was one-sided. So I wonder what blocks people’s heart and Spirit from hearing God. Little ones take in everything we teach them, I want to say curiosity, but it’s much more that that. It’s almost a trust, a faith like belief, that what we are teaching them is true. And they aren’t wearing headphones. So why did God create grandchildren? Was it to show us how fast life goes by? Or was it to show and remind us to have the curiosity of a child, a faith like curiosity. Grandchildren remind us how it was to be young. They will also teach you to have a faith like a child again. There are circumstances that want to block your Spirit, that part of you that wants to connect to God’s Spirit, when all we need to do is listen. The older I get, the more I should be able to hear God’s voice. This weekend reminded me of that, and this Papa is thankful to two young boys who helped show him how to listen. ‘Papa needs a nap.’



Isaiah 7:14
14 All right then, the Lord himself will choose the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel -- 'God is with us.'

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How's Your Wood Stacked?

I get a little uneasy at times when I hear people say God spoke to me, or God told me to tell you, you should do whatever it is they tell you to do. Then I wonder why God didn’t speak directly to me. I do believe God speaks to us. For me it’s not a voice, it’s more a gentle whisper. It’s the words in a song, or something that catches my eye, and something in my spirit is moved. And if I am listening, I will hear God speak. I would like to try a give an example. A few weeks ago my wife and myself, along with four other couples, attended an anniversary dessert night. It was a night where we got to know how each one met, and when they knew that their partner was the one for them. The host showed us around their home and shared with us some of the things that made this house a home. For some reason I was drawn to the fireplace, and thought it a little odd that summer is just ending and the fireplace already had wood in it ready to be lit. At the time I didn’t think too much about what I saw till a few days after. Something was stirring in me, almost an uneasiness. It was if God had spoken to me. I didn’t hear a voice or a whisper. What it felt like was a gentle nudge. It was a question that was being asked of me. I know that God is a personal God. He will meet you where you are at. His Spirit knows no boundaries. What I believe I heard that night is, “ARE YOU READY?” What I saw was a fireplace, and in the hearth was a neatly stacked pile of wood placed carefully there, just so, by the homeowner. Ready to be lit when the cold winter comes. Officially summer has just ended. Fire season and cold winter nights are somewhere off in the future, but winter is coming. Personally for me, it’s coming as I watch my dear mother waste away, and I feel I need to be ready for that day when we say our final goodbye. Winter is coming for us all, life is full of surprises and we all need to be ready, so that we are not caught off guard. Sometimes I hear people complain, or worse, they don’t even speak to their parents. I think, how sad. As I get ready for that final day, when I say goodbye to my mom, I am always thankful for God’s gentle whisper. There are many things in life we need to be ready for, so my mind wonders, how is your wood stacked in your fireplace, and are you ready for winter?
Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a right spirit within me. Psalm 51:10

Create In Me A Clean Heart

....I only know what the Lord has done for me. It’s been said that a leopard can’t change it's spots. Or once this way, always this way. You’ll never change, you will always be a… whatever. I’m so glad that I’m not a leopard. Life has often been called a road we travel on, a road that if we are not careful could take us in a direction we don’t want to go. Yesterday I got to travel a road that I traveled over 20 years ago. It was a road that took me from home to work, and as I sat in traffic around the same time of day that I would have sat so long ago, there was almost this feeling of familiarity to it. The stop and go, the merging in,the same buildings, even the sound of the train, as cars had to wait for the train to pass. As I looked, I couldn't help think that many be some of the drivers and their cars were the same. For those commuters nothing much had changed. For a brief moment I almost felt that for me nothing had changed, even though 20 years had passed. We’ve been called creatures of habit. In God's word we are told to be masters over the animals, I find it odd when people label us. I’m so glad that I’m not a leopard, that I can change. Life is tough, some of the roads are hazardous. In God's word we're told of a helper–someone to guide us. We are cautioned not to grieve God’s Spirit. We are instructed to meet with others in the faith. The road we travel may seem familiar but it’s us who change-it’s how we react when we are cut off, it’s our attitude when we're sitting in traffic too long. Sometimes we have to travel around the same problem till we get it right, or wait longer than we would like to. The road I traveled yesterday took me past where I worked so many years ago. I realized that I am not the same person. Something in my spirit reminded me that a Christian's journey is a daily journey, that the choices I make are important to God.


Genesis 1:28 (New Living Translation) 28 God blessed them and told them, "Multiply and fill the earth and subdue it. Be masters over the fish and birds and all the animals."

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Take Me Back

…What A Privilege. This past summer I had the experience of a lifetime. My wife, my son, and myself flew to Finland, my wife’s parent’s homeland, and Ireland, my birthplace. Finland wasn’t at all what I had expected. Beautiful landscapes, rolling wheat fields, the people looking so healthy. While in Finland we felt a little like we were in a relay race, that we were the baton in this race, as we were passed off to different relatives. There was a prize at the end of this relay that we were unaware of. Knowing what the prize is now, and the importance for us to finish this relay, has made me wonder what relay race are you in. Our prize keeps coming to my mind every time I think of Finland. My wife who had been corresponding to her Aunt finally got to meet her. She was a petite lady who had just celebrated her 90th birthday. So-o-o sweet. As we had tea and birthday cake she reminisced to my wife about her mom as together they look at old back and white pictures. This reunion was so incredible, as I stood of to the side and watched two family members who have never met come together. I was told later that Aunt had been praying for years, hoping that one day she could meet her sister’s daughter before she died. This small woman who had raised 10 children of her own, her prayers were answered. I was so blessed to see this happen, to be able to watch as they hugged for the first time all I could do was wipe the small tear from my eye. God can do far more that we can imagine. The race you are running is important, you may not know the out come at the starting line, or the importance of finishing .So much of what we are doing in life we unknowingly are doing on faith. You don’t have to be a Christian to be doing things on faith, I believe that we all have a hope inside us that thing are going to workout. Who would have thought that a little 90 year old lady would be my prize at the end of my relay race in Finland.

Ireland … We all have roots, some good some bad. Roots nonetheless I was just a little nervous going to Ireland it had been 43 years that I had walked there. Someone once said that when you go back that far you can be disappointed in what you find. That place where we played as a child, no longer exists or we wouldn’t feel welcomed in a country that is no longer home but still holds deep feelings inside. I will be forever grateful to my cousin who showed us Ireland and some of her landmarks. But more that that showed me and thought me the importance of family. That each part is needed. This Blog was given to me as a gift for fathers day its taken some unexpected turns its helped me to realize how important each one of us is .In a funny kind of way it’s given me a voice I never thought I had and I’ve come to realize that I can never be complete as I try with Gods help to build this house. Not many people have the opportunity to travel to their birthplace with their wife and son. We’ve rediscovered family, history and culture. Every were we went we were welcomed and hugged often. There is a move of God maybe a renewing that I never new as a small boy .We were privileged to tour one new church with over 700 hundred members and growing as people are curious to know what is going on in side this new building. There is defiantly a hunger for more in Ireland.

1 Corinthians 13 (New Living Translation)
9 Now we know only a little, and even the gift of prophecy reveals little! 10 But when the end comes, these special gifts will all disappear. 11 It's like this: When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child does. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. 12 Now we see things imperfectly as in a poor mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God knows me now. 13 There are three things that will endure -- faith, hope, and love -- and the greatest of these is love.

‘You can take the boy out of the country but you can’t take the country out of the man.” Author unknown.

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When I Grow Up I Wanna Be Just LIke You

Do you ever have that thought that just stays with you? Some newscasts are full of stories where relatives are arrested, two brothers, a father and son.
Or stories where an elderly person is taken away in handcuffs. And the thought comes to mind, what the children see the adults do, the child will do it more. We can only do the best with what has been given us, and if we don’t, someone else suffers.

When my wife and I give gifts to our children, we love to watch the facial expressions light up, when they open their gift. For the giver of the gift, it’s really what it’s all about. Sometimes we ask them to close their eyes really tight. Now open them. Usually a picture is taken to capture the moment.
This body we are in, is only temporary, and when we die our spirit will go up to heaven, where we will be given new bodies. I would like to think that my death is going to be like a big party celebration, where I am told not to peek, keep your eyes closed real tight, and wait till everyone is in position. O.K. now you can open them. Can you picture the expression on your face as you look around heaven at all your loved ones, the ones that went on before you. The Bible clearly tells us that heaven is a place that angels are real, that the battles we fight are in the spiritual realm, that things are going to get worse as the end gets closer.
Some have tried to predict when the end will happen, but NO man knows that for sure. It’s all there in black and white. You can read for yourself. It’s like having to do your homework for yourself, and not getting your girlfriend or wife to do it for you. Remember when you were in school and you were given an assignment that you were interested in? You put an effort into learning the assignment, you studied, you had the answers, you were confident, and when class started you were excited. There was a kind of peace that was inside you.
And when the teacher asked a question, you were ready with the answer. Jesus is our teacher. We will be held accountable for what we have done with the time we have been given. We Christians, myself included, get so caught up trying to figure out what we have to offer, what our so called gifts are, that we give confusion in us time to steal moments. When all we are called to do is be the best husband, best wife, best person, and not get so caught up in that other stuff.
Do you remember a show called, ‘Welcome Back Kotter?’ The show was set in a classroom. There was this one student, his name was Arnold Horshack, and whenever Mr Kotter, the teacher, would ask a question, Horshack in excitement would raise his hand straight up, popping out of his seat, and would yell “ooh ooh oooh!” As to say “Mr Kotter, please ask me, I have the answer.” When I am asked the question, how I did as a Dad, I want to be able to raise my hand straight up, as I pop out of my seat in excitement yelling, “ooh oooh ooooh! I have the answer.” I want to be able to say I did the very best with what you gave me.

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If You Search For Me

….. There’s this old Gospel song that comes to mind, “We Call On Him,” and I wonder why for some people they only cry out for comfort, and pray as a last resort. My Mom once said, I raised you and someone else gets to have you. There are lessons all around us. Spiritual lessons, I like to call them. Lessons the Holy Spirit gives us, just because. Sometimes I just shake my head and cry. Let me try to explain. At church I usually sit in the same area, usually in the middle section close to the back. That way when my son walks in with his young family, I get to look at them, and get a hug. This past Sunday when they came to church they just walked by, and I missed the hug, and the smile, and the strong embrace. I hadn’t changed seats, or moved to a different location. Maybe he didn’t see me, or he needed to take care of his young family. It wasn’t long till he was standing right beside me, all 6ft.2in. of him, with his smile and strong embrace. And I marveled at this life, as parents, we raised. People seem to have no need for God in the so called good times, and they just walk right past him, but when trouble comes they cry out, “Lord Help!” God doesn’t change seats. He is always there waiting for us to come to Him. He is the same yesterday, today and forever, and he is waiting for us to move close to Him. He is a God of love, and will not force his way into your life, if you don’t invite Him in. Many years ago, I was 18 at the time, someone who cared for me very much, my girlfriend at the time, now my wife, gave me a Bible to read. I had grown up in a Christian home. We celebrated all the holidays- Christmas, Easter, went to mass on Sunday. Even though I did all the required things, it wasn’t till I started to read the Bible and experience how timeless and true are it’s words. I am so thankful that my parents tried to teach me about the holiness of God. Each one of us can hear God speak, there is a move in our spirit that wants to shift to the things that please God. As a young man of 18, I read this verse in Romans. It was about the inner struggles of man, the inner struggle of one’s spirit, and as I was reading the words I couldn’t believe that someone else in a different time was battling with their own inner feelings. It was almost like I had written the very words I was reading. Here it’s almost 40 years later, and now, these feelings have turned into emotions, as I watch my dear mom battling old age, and dementia, a disease that robs a person of their spirit, memory and will to live. I don’t know if it’s that way for other people with this disease, but it is for my mom.
I have gone through some of the things that life brings, marriage, births, loss of love ones, loss of jobs, little ones growing up around me, now raising their own family.
Once again, I find myself reading from Romans. As I struggle with the emotion and pain, as my dear Mom loses her memory of me, I somehow feel that I have been given a way out, and oddly enough, my prayer is a prayer of thanks. I have to hang onto the hope that was planted in me at an early age, that even death can’t separate us from the love of God. There is something so strong fighting inside us telling us lies, trying to confuse us, trying to make us believe that we are beyond God’s love. When all we need to do is be still and know that God is God, and one day I will see my Mom in her new body in Heaven. Some days my Mom doesn’t even remember my name, but she usually finishes our visits by saying, “God Bless,” because in her spirit, there is still some fight left in this Spirited Irish Lady.


Romans 8:38-39 (New Living Translation)

38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love. Death can't, and life can't. The angels can't, and the demons can't. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can't keep God's love away. 39 Whether we are high above the sky or in the deepest ocean, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

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Conflict of Interest

....I haven’t given much thought to log house construction lately. My thoughts are if my dreams can’t come true maybe I can help someone else’s dream happen. As I am learning to let go of some of my dreams, and reflect back, I’m also thankful that I am not where I used to be and with that said, I’m not where I want to be. I only know one thing, the privilege of where I am, is a gift –a gift of grace and a gift of hope. Sometimes we can allow negative thinking to do it’s thing. It’s almost as if we allow our armor to be penetrated. If you have been reading your Bible, you will remember that we are cautioned about evil, and the need to wear all the armor that is at our disposal. Evil is like that sin or weed waiting to germinate, wanting to take root in your life and kill all the good that is growing in you.

Philippians 4:8 (New Living Translation. 8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, let me say one more thing as I close this letter. Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

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