Stories my kids love to hear... Pt. 1 "The flamming marshmallow"

Recently my kids have been asking me to tell them stories about when I was a kid.  We started this tradition during the evenings when I'm home that I would tell the girls stories during dinner.  Its been a runaway success. More than I ever thought it would.  They think I'm the greatest story teller ever.  Little do they know that I come from a long line of story tellers!  My Dad, my brother, my uncle on my mom's side, my grand-father on my mom's side, my wife's dad, my wife's grandad and I'm sure generations that I never met. Apparently spinning a yarn is embedded deep within the DNA of both the Vickery's and Inzer's.  So, although I realize that I'm probably just an average story teller in light of my ancestors and contemporary family members, my kids love to hear me tell stories.  Now, the stories that my kids really like to hear me tell are not just any stories.  They always want to hear stories about when "I was a kid."

My upbringing was not quite Norman Rockwellian, rather a little bit more like "the Little Rascals". My older brother and I spent our school years living with our mother who was single and worked full time. There was always plenty of time for hi-jinks and mayhem.  During the summers we traveled to the Arizona desert where my Dad was stationed at William's A.F.B. outside of Phoenix.  In both locations we found friends, neighborhood bullies and plenty of adventure to occupy us.  Many of my stories come from these times. Simpler times. Very good times. Here is the first of what I hope will be many of these stories...

Camping has been a part of my life since I was a baby. In the countless 35mm slides that document my early years I've seen pictures of me with diapers on (and without) sitting around camp fires and the outdoors. Many of these early scenes were in the northwest part of the country where I was born. Later, many of them took place in the wilderness and mountains of Arizona. You see my brother and I would spend our school year in South Carolina with our mother. But once school was out we got to go out west. The old west!  Arizona.  The place that gave birth to the legends of Tombstone and Wyatt Earp. It was a great way to grow up.
 

Camping was just something we did with my dad in the summers. One summer, when I was around 7 years old, we were on one of our yearly trips to the mountains of Arizona.  We had setup camp close to a lake and were enjoying an evening around the campfire. You can't really have a campfire without roasting marshmallows, at least not if you have kids camping with you. So we were roasting marshmallows.  I use the term roasting lightly. Charring or torching might be more appropriate. You have to get close so that your eyebrows feel singed in order to get the end of the stick to the right location just outside that orange glow at the hottest part of the fire. Well, my older brother Shane had just achieved the perfect positioning of his whittled spear tip full of marshmallows. And as we were all admiring his ability to reach the perfect cooking placement he raised that heavenly harpoon and it burst into flames.  He immediately began to wave it around in the air to try to extinguish the ignited treats. I mean what kid wants chocolate, graham crackers and ash?  Well, as he soon found out, the more he waived them around the brighter the flames burned. With this realization he began to panic and started wildly swinging them back and forth. What all of us failed to see in time was the fact that I was standing directly in his path in my cutoff jean shorts. I was already about five feet off the ground by the time I realized that my leg was ablaze with burning goo. I of course let out a scream that no little girl for three counties could rival. Lucky for me my dad had seen all of this happen and had swooped in, picked me up and was carrying me to the nearby lake shore. What seemed like a forever at the time really only took about 3 or 4 seconds before I was thrown into the dark water and the flames were extinguished. As I realized that I was sitting on the bottom of the lake I rose to my feet where the water was about to my knees. I was in shock. But I doubt my eyes were near as wide as my brothers were as I'm sure he thought his short life was about to come to an end at the hands of my father.  Thinking back, I wish I had a picture of the look of sheer terror on his face more than anything.

Recently at a family gathering over the Christmas holidays we told this story again and all laughed hardily. No one laughed more that I did. Especially as dad summed it all up by telling us how somehow every time we went camping we managed to go through an entire first-aid kit.

The Little Rascals: The Complete Collection

A Tale of Two Cities...2010 in review

Image via Wikipedia

Now that we're a couple of weeks into 2011 I'm finally getting around to putting down some thoughts about what we've been through in the last year.
Really, to frame last year properly I have to go back to the end of 2008.  In October of 2008 my family and I were living in Mesquite, Texas. Things were pretty much the same for us as they had been for the last few years.  I was working for the same company that I had been with since 2003. We were able to have Shelly stay home and homeschool. We felt like that we were blessed. But really I had hit a glass ceiling at my job. There really didn't seem to be growth opportunities. We had a good church and the same few good friends that we had known for the last few years.  Life was by no means bad, it just wasn't very exciting or fulfilling.  But the really sad part was that we didn't even realize it.  We were in maintenance mode, stuck in a self preservation rut!  Life had become about keeping the kids healthy and not going into more debt.  Not bad things to be concerned about, but not quite what we were hoping for when we married.
So there we were with our heads down going through the day to day when two events happened that would put things in motion to cause change in our lives.  First, my company "merged" with a competitor.  Now they called it a merger but in actuality it was a takeover. My company decided to basically sell our division to the other company but they were too chicken to tell us employees what was really going on.
The other thing that happened was that my mother was diagnosed with an aggressive form of Lung Cancer.
I won't go into too much detail on either situation but to say that it made 2009 a very difficult year for me especially.  After a round of Chemotherapy and a summer of remission, Mom succumbed  and passed away on December 22nd of 2009.
Work was no where near as bad as loosing a loved one, but I was having by far the most difficult year of my career. All of the leadership from my old company had been replaced by people from the purchasing company. Managers were let go and everyone who knew me, and the reputation I had spent 5 years building up, were now gone or demoted back to new hire status. When you work in implementations, new hire status means you get the really crummy gigs. The ones with the longest travel. I myself had gone from being a senior consultant to being 'low man on the totem pole'.  So, I was back on the road full time traveling every week for 4 or 5 days a week. And to make it worse, I was working for idiots who knew less about their jobs than I did. On top of all of this in October of 2009 while working in my backyard, I dislocated my right shoulder so bad that it required two surgeries and a lot of physical therapy that lasted half way through 2010. The end of 2009 I spent burring my mother and wondering how things could get worse.
The one bright spot had been that I got a call from a recruiter who found my profile on Linked In and called me about a position with a medical center in Mississippi of all places. It was a supposed to be a step up and a lot more money.  This happened in early December.

So, there is the setup for 2010. Along about the second week of January I was driving back from South Carolina where I had been gathering my inherited furniture and stuff. (anyone from Texas will understand this next thought)  I remember looking around as I was passing through Mississippi and thinking, "how could I leave Texas for this place?"  I got back to Texas and went back to work.  I ended up having an interview with the medical center and it went well, or so I thought.  I waited and nothing ever happened.  So in my mind I wrote it off as a dead opportunity.  In the mean time, things continued to stay bad at work.  Some of you perhaps have read one of the first posts in this blog..."No Score and 7 years ago today". It was about this time in early March and in this environment that I finally came to a decision that it was time to leave my place of employment and find another job. Even if the economy was bad, I decided that I just couldn't stand it anymore.  Besides, recruiters were still calling pretty regularly. I followed up on one of these calls and I interviewed for a position at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas.  It seemed to be perfect and I let my emotions get wrapped up in that opportunity.  It seemed to be just what I was looking for.  I'd be off the road and at a well respected hospital with room to grow my career.  Well, after going back for several return interviews I got the cold shoulder.  I was upset and couldn't understand why they had strung me along if they weren't interested. It turns out that the recruiter actually screwed up my chances by not following up with them letting them know I wanted the position after telling me to "let him do the negotiating".  Don't ever use Tek Systems in Dallas for an employment recruiter!  So it was back to the drawing board. By this time in May I was beginning to think that perhaps I would never get out of this rut.  The thought occurred to me that perhaps God was trying to teach my something that I just wasn't learning.  I'd certainly heard plenty of well-meaning friends and preachers say something to that effect.  I mean why were things staying so bad for so long.  And why couldn't I get out of the work situation I was in?

In mid-June I got a call from the same recruiter that had called me about the position in Jackson, Mississippi.  Things had changed at that company and they were going a different direction but they still had my resume and were interested in talking to me about helping them implement a new software package.  I gave it some thought and said, "what they heck".  I still didn't want to move to Mississippi but at least it sounded like they appreciated my talents and abilities. So while I was on site with another client I set a noon appointment for a phone interview. That turned out to be one of the best decisions I've ever made. There is another post to this blog about those days so I'll just skip ahead to say that I started with my new job on Aug 16th of 2010.

What a difference!  There were so many things that changed for us when we decided to take a leap of faith and move to Mississippi. 

1. First was my Job situation.  I had forgotten what it was like to actually enjoy going to work.  The people I was working with were glad I was there and seemed more pleasant to be around. And now six months into this job I've already received a promotion to program manager over a great team of folks. Plus, I am now able to be a Dad that is going to be around. No more missing all those simple but important moments that happen around the dinner table and while you're tucking your kid into bed. 
2. Second had to do with my girls.  The neighborhood we lived in back in Mesquite was fine we thought. But when we moved into our new neighborhood we immediately saw a difference.  We knew every family on our street by the end of the first week here. And on top of that there is a little girl my kids age that lives directly across the street from us. I guess the best way to describe how this has changed our lives is in what my oldest daughter who has Asperger's syndrome told us. She said she prayed for some friends and now she has one. If you know anything about asperger's you understand what a miracle this really was. Now, our kids bounce in and out of her house and she does the same to our house. I'll just sum it up by saying it's really a great neighborhood where we actually know and like our neighbors. 
3. Another great thing is how my wife is so much happier than she was before.  A few weeks after moving here we met a great family that homeschools and sees many things the way we do. My wife and the mother in that family have become fast friends.  Their practically inseparable. All because we listed an extra refrigerator we had on craigslist and they responded.  Talk about a God directing your steps...
4. The last way is definitely not the least in this list. It has to do with how we feel God has brought us to a new church for such a time as this.  Our church back in Rockwall, TX is a wonderful church. And we had been there for almost 15 years. We were married while attending there. Our children were dedicated and baptised there. And we have lifelong friends and mentors from there. Some of whom we are still very close with. But sometimes you just have to get out of the nest if you want to really fly.  That's really what I feel God is doing with us here. We've started attending a great new church called Highland Chapel.  It's a church plant that is less than a year old. But we really feel like its home already and love the vision and excitement of what is going on there.  I think this could actually be the main reason we are here.

I left out a lot of details. Some because I just don't recall them right now. Some because it would really make this blog post into a documentary and very lengthy. (if it's not already) But the main thing that I'm taking away from 2010 is this.  God isn't finished with any of us yet.  And he's not punishing any of us for our past failures or how stupid we've been.  So what if you aren't the fastest learner.  God used some pretty stupid people in the Bible.  He even had a donkey speak when it was needed.  He can use us and he's still looking to do just that.  He can turn things around. Don't think he can't.

Two cities.  Dallas and Jackson.  The book is now closed on one and a new chapter is underway on the other.  I wonder if it's really Dallas and Jackson or is it this earthly city and Heaven?

Letter to Dad

Dear Dad,
I'm writing to you as part of your birthday present. You're getting 70 different gifts. One to represent every year you've been on this earth. This letter will just be one of them.

I'm really glad that we are all spending this Christmas together. If there's one thing that I've re-learned over the last year it is that family is important. You've always been there for me but this last year more than most I've really appreciated knowing that you're there. As an adult with my own family to support and take care of I often think back to when I was growing up. I know you didn't have the easiest of roads. Of course that in itself isn't that unusual. But what you did with what you had is one of the things that has always inspired me. I often wonder if I could have left home and joined the Airforce at 17 years old. Or if I could have made all those cross-country trips with the pregnant wife and the crazy weather. I'm pretty sure I would have had trouble with the snow in Minnesota and having to plug-in my car engine in Alaska. These are all some of my very favorite stories.

When I think of all these things that you did I realize that because you faced them and overcame them, I was given an example to follow. The times in my life that I've come up against challenges that I didn't know how I'd get through, I always had a picture of bravery and strength to look back on would give me a hope that I could make it through. I can think of no better gift that you could have given a little boy who really needed guidance. I know you weren't able to be around as much as you liked. But you always made the effort to be there even when others didn't want to let you.

I've learned that life seldom follows the path that we think it should or hoped it would. So, I'm glad you taught me through example how to make the best of what comes our way. It's a lesson that I hope to pass on to my girls.

You may never know the impact that you've had on my life and by extension the lives of my wife and kids. I suppose none of us ever get to know those sorts of things. But I want you to know that it's significant and I'm so very proud to be your son.

So, you're 70 and I'm about to be 40. I'd say we've got a good 10 to 15 years at least of golf and memories to build. And I can't wait to enjoy it with you. So you better come out and visit us in Jackson.

Love,
Your third born son
Arron

A Hero of the Faith

On Thursday of this week my wife called me in tears. Grammy had been taken to the hospital and was unconscious. It didn't look good. Now Grammy is an old woman of 80 something years and very frail. She has been in a declining mental state for a number of years even if her physical health has been pretty good. Nonetheless, I knew that this would probably mean the beginning of the end of her time with us here on earth.


I had recently been through something very similar with my own mother when she was diagnosed with advanced lung cancer in Oct of 2008. It was very hard on me at the time so even though I didn't have the same immediate tears that my wife was experiencing I remember the flood of emotion that comes when facing the potential loss of someone that you've known your entire life. Someone that you've come to take for granted as just part of your life…part of your paradigm…part of who you are. My wife has no exposure to her maternal grandparents so this is the first time she's experienced this. Its gut wrenching at best. I liken it to being punched in the stomach emotionally and you suddenly can't breathe. It's a terrible feeling and I wish very much I could take it from her so she wouldn't have to experience it. But alas, it is as much a part of life as losing baby teeth, first loves, or having children. We are ultimately made up of the sum of our experiences and this is one she has to experience to become.
As I was reflecting upon all of this from 1500 miles away in Madison, WI. I began to think of the person that Grammy was. And I was left with these thoughts...she was amazing and she is a Hero of mine.


Elva Hand Inzer experienced so much in this life. You won't find her in the Guinness book of records. There is probably not an article on her in Wikipedia. And CNN won't ever have her on their list of unsung heroes. But her story should be told. She was a wonderful combination of the American dream and God's plan for us. She married young to Lavern Inzer after his time serving our nation in the U.S. Navy during WWII in the pacific theater. They went to seminary together and then moved to northern Nevada to be Baptist missionaries and church planters. Together they preached and planted most of the Baptist churches in the region and were active there for almost 50 years. Our family all loves the stories of Lavern driving to 3+ different churches that were sometimes 100 miles apart on a single Sunday to preach. I especially like the stories of him riding on the trail with the cowboys and preaching to them as they drove the cattle. These are all great and inspiring. But what doesn't often get told is of the support system that it took to make that possible. That support system was Elva. She raised four children and took care of Lavern as well as the other duties that a preacher's wife had. If you know Baptist churches you can just imagine…Sunday school teaching, pot luck organizing, prayer group leading, choir singing, VBS planning, and the list goes on and on. Hers was a role that was behind the scenes and away from the accolades that many of us crave. She was constant and steady. What is that ole' saying? "Behind every good man there's a great woman". In this case it certainly was true.


I only really got to know Grammy over the last decade since her and Gramps (Lavern) finally retired and moved to Dallas. I fondly remember her smile and laugh and getting hugs from her every time we'd all be together. She liked spicy foods and ice cream. She loved life and her children and her grand children and her great grandchildren. And I love the fact that my two girls got to know their great grandmother. That is rare in this day and age. I just hope that they will someday appreciate the legacy of faith and faithfulness that she passed on to them. I certainly have come to understand it appreciate it.

Today on the way home from church we got the news that she had passed and gone on to be with the Lord. I was reminded of that scripture in psalms that talks about how God is touched by our passing from this life. "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints." Psalm 116:15
She will be missed but we know she is now at peace and is starting to be introduced to her reward for all that she did during this life. I imagine that there are few in heaven that will be rewarded as much as her. She is certainly rich. Congratulations Grammy…you finished the race…you won the fight. I know that you'll be cheering the rest of us on.

Mentors

This post is about mentors. We've all had them. At least I hope that everyone can say that they've had one.  I've actually been blessed enough to have had several in my 39 years on this earth.  Some I sought out.  Others seemed to just appear even if I didn't know I needed them. One such individual was a early and extremely formative mentor in my life.  In fact, I doubt I'd have any of the blessings that I sometimes take for granted without his undeniable influence on me. This man recently turned 80 years old and I wasn't able to be there to celebrate with him or tell him how much I appreciate him.  Now I hear that he has fallen ill and is in the hospital back in my hometown of Anderson, SC.  So let me take this opportunity to reflect on what he meant in my life.
Allen "Bud" Putman.  It's probably not a name you've heard before.  He's not famous outside of a few thousand or so junior high and high school band students who went to school in upstate South Carolina. If you "google" his name the only mention you can find is his time in the mile at "The Michelin Midnight Flight" mile run back in 2002. (He was 71 years old and ran it in 8 minutes and 23 seconds.  That's pretty darn good!)
For many he was a teacher.  For some of us he was a light.  For me he was an example.  Sure he taught me how to play the trumpet which opened up a world of opportunity to acheivement, recognition and the realization that I was talented and special. But more than being my Jr high and High school band director, Mr Putman or "Bud" as most called him had the conviction and compasion to take me to church knowing that I was lost without Christ in my life.
Mr Putman had been my older brothers band director so we knew him well by the time my older brother started high school and I started jr high.  My mom was a single mom raising two boys so Mr Putman took a special interest in the two of us and saw that we were ships without a rudder.  Now my older brother was always responsible and did the right thing most of the time. But I was a different story. You might say I was  in danger of "drifting".  It's not that I was a bad kid, I just craved attention a little too much and knew that acting a certain way was a good way to get attention.  And to be honest, I was pretty good at crossing the line without getting caught.
Mr. Putman saw an opportunity to use music as a way to get us to be a part of the "youth orchestra" at New Prospect Baptist church.  My brother and some of the "cool" older kids were going to do it so I wanted to go along.  Man was that the right decision! Mr Putman had been asked to be the interim music minister at the church and so he was able to bring in a bunch of us kids. It eventually led to me meeting some of my best friends throughout Jr High and High school as well as me getting involved in youth choir which in turn led to me getting saved. I also learned that I could sing pretty well. Have I mentioned before that I went to college on scholarships for singing and playing the trumpet?  I met my wife while in college.  The chain of events that have basically made up my adult life were all set in place because of the actions of this man. 
I know that none of this is coincidence.  God had a plan for my life.  But Mr Putman was the instrument that God used to bring that plan into action.  And not just for me, there are hundreds of boys and girls just like me with similar stories.  I could tell story after story of him taking the time with me to instill little nuggets of wisdom or provide guidance and sometimes correction when it was needed. Believe me, I needed it a lot.  My memory is flooded with images of almost Rockwellian type scenes like when he would pile more kids that are now legally allowed in one vehicle into the infamous "Bondo Buggy".  A 70's era maverick that was only supposed to hold 4 people but we somehow were able to cram 7-8 kids along with our musical intrument cases and usually a few music stands to boot.  Most of us were what you might call "underpriviledged" so we had no ride to anywhere.  He would just scoop us all up and take us to whatever event the band was playing at.  And when it was over, if our parents weren't there he'd pile us back in the bondo buggy and take us home one by one.  It wasn't just after school either.  I remember many a Sunday morning piling in the back of that car to head to church and then home again after sunday school and the 11 o'clock service was over.  And since he didn't know a stranger, it usually meant that you had to sit around and hear several stories told the way that only Bud Putman could tell 'em.  I didn't realize it back then, but I watched and I learned how to be a man of character and compasion in those times.  He would live it out right in front of us.  It wasn't in lectures and lesson plans, it was in a life lived with conviction and principle.

I don't know why we wait until its almost too late to tell people how much they mean to us.  It's not on purpose.  Perhaps its because we take them for granted.  Maybe its just that we get busy living our own lives.  But I know that I would be remiss if I didn't take the time to say how much I revere and love that man, Allen Bud Putman.  You sir, are a "Mensch" as they say and I am eternally grateful for you.  May your reward be great in heaven.  And may you know that you are loved by many here on earth.

What's Been Going On?

It's been a while since I've posted to this blog.  I've been a little busy.  Crazy summer is almost a cliché but it really has been one around the Vickery home.

You remember that in back on June 17^th I went under the knife for a second procedure on my right shoulder.  The ROM or range of motion just wasn't coming back so the doctor suggested that they could help it along

by doing what they call a "manipulation".   After that I was to do no travel for another two to three weeks so that I could use "the rack". (See previous post for a picture)

During those weeks I was going to PT everyday and trying to do what I could for work to keep my numbers up.  We were always under pressure to be "billable" as much as possible.  So even though I had a medical reason for not traveling I was still expected to stay billable.  It wasn't fun.  You end up having to take all of the 'garbage' assignments that no one else wants.  Anyway, it was during this time that I got a call from a recruiter that I had talked to back around the time when my mom passed away last December. 

The opportunity that I had originally talked to him about had basically fizzled into oblivion and I had all but forgot about him.  I had even interviewed for other positions that were local to Dallas since then so this recruiter and the organization that he was recruiting for was completely "off my radar" as they say.  Since things at the Big Orange hadn't really improved but rather gotten worse I was eager to see what he was presenting.  I learned that the same organization that I had talked to him about before was now going in a different direction but had come back across my resumé and were interested in talking to me again.  This was on June 28^th that I talked to him.

The very next day, June 29^th I had a phone interview with a new Director at the University of Mississippi Medical Center who was putting together a team to implement a HCIS or Health Care Information System called EPIC.  That interview went well and she said she wanted to have me come in for a face to face.  Well, I was due to go back on the road for the Big Orange so it was very tricky setting this up.  That same week on July 1^st I had a lunch interview with a former colleague of mine named Tom who was offering me a job as well.  I was very interested in what he was offering so the UMMC interview moved to the back of my mind.   Tom was aware of the Big Orange's reputation so he asked me to check into the non-compete that I had signed.  After some investigation it was determined that it would probably result in a fight if I took a job with Tom.  That pretty much killed that because Tom wasn't willing to pay court costs if it came to it and I couldn't afford to.  Needless to say, this really ticked me off.  I already felt like an indentured servant and now it was made plain that in fact I was.  It could have been the proverbial "straw that broke the camel's back".

The next weekend I went on a vacation with my family to Camp Allen in Navasota, TX.  We attended a camp for special needs kids that we've been a part of for about four years.  Our kids really love this camp put on by Joni and Friends and so we wanted to go and have a good time and reconnect with some friends we hadn't seen in a year or two.  A few days into the camp my youngest who has Type I diabetes became ill.  Not being willing to chance the local ER we drove her back to Children's Medical Center in Dallas and she was admitted and stayed in the hospital for 5 days.  She's fine now, its just one of those things you go through when your kid has Type I.  This was the first week of July.  The next week I went back on the road and then on July 16^th went down to Jackson, MS for an all day interview process with UMMC.  

The next week I was back on the road and midway through that week I got the feedback that UMMC liked me and was probably going to make an offer.  Well as you can imagine my head was spinning and I had no idea what I wanted to do or what I should do.  It was all happening so fast.  So I talked to the wife and we decided we needed to get away and talk and think and pray.  So where else do you go when you need to do that but Longview,  TX.  My wife's sister and family live out there and our kids were missing their cousin's so we though a road trip sounded like fun.  We packed up the kids and took off for a the weekend.  I even left work early on Friday (don't tell my old boss, he he)  So its July 23^rd and we're driving the two hours out to east Texas from Dallas when the recruiter calls and conferences me in with his boss.  They think I'm about to get sent an offer and they want to know if I'll accept it.   I'm talking to them while driving down I-20 so I tell them this is not a good time.  They tried their best to press me for an answer (guess they wanted to protect their relationship with their client.  It's a big account for them).  But I stood firm and told them I needed the weekend to talk and pray with my wife about it.  I don't think they were expecting that answer.  But hey, that's how I roll.  Anyway, They reluctantly gave me the weekend to decide.   Apparently no one communicated this to UMMC because after spending the evening with my wife's sister's family playing games and having some fun I received an email with an offer letter in it.  Geesh….now the pressure is on.  They even had the nerve to give me exactly what I asked for in Salary and relocation benefits.  I wasn't prepared for that.  I mean I told them a big number I thought so that they wouldn't ask me if it wasn't right.  Did this mean it was right?  Did this mean it was God???

Suddenly our relaxing weekend away wasn't so relaxing.  We still had a good time and I'm glad we were there with family to discuss it and I certainly appreciate their wisdom and encouragement and them praying for us. 

We talked about it.  Prayed.  Then we talked some more. Then we prayed some more.  Finally I just said, "Let's sleep on it".  So we did.   We had been asking each other what percent we were each at.   75%....82%.....90%

It would appear we were going to actually do this crazy thing.  After praying one more time we decided to step out in faith.  Yes, that's what I said.  It was a step of faith.  

I handed in my resignation at work the following day while I was on the road at a client.  My boss called me later that day to introduce herself and ask my why I was leaving.   Yeah, you read that right.  She had been my manager for well over a month by this time.  I'll refrain from throwing them under the bus.  Mostly because I'd be tempted to run over them in it and back up a few times.

The new job wanted me Aug 9^th.  I asked if I could wait one more week because I had a brand new client that I didn't want to leave in a bad place.  They agreed.

So, fast forward to now.  Aug 24^th and I've been here in Jackson working while Shelly and the girls get everything packed up at home.  I'm going back and forth on the weekends to help of course.   Next week we close on our new house in Jackson and move our stuff and our family here.

Like I said, its been a crazy summer!   But we're excited to see what adventure lies ahead.  Who knows what God has in store here.   Sure its going to be a great career move.  Sure its more money which will be good for my family.  And yes I won't be traveling anymore for work so I'll be here for Shelly and the girls every night.  These are all blessings for sure.   But I wonder what God is really up to?  There's always a reason behind his moves…..we just have to make sure we pay attention and listen to figure out what that is.

A Creator, a dad and a gifted child

As a parent of two beautiful daughters who are 6 and 9 years old, I find myself encountering things that make my heart swell with pride quite often.  Just about as often as I find myself reminding my girls "that I brought them into this world, and I can take them out of it" or some similar saying that I probably learned from my father.  Or was it a Bill Cosby comedy routine?   Hmmm...
The point is that I love being a father and I am constantly amazed at the wonder and life that they each were endowed with by their loving creator.  Things that I certainly cannot take credit for.  People say all the time, "Oh they take after their mother" or "She's just like her daddy".  I suppose that on some level that is true.  I certainly see their mother's beauty in them.  Stubbornness too!  (Love you dear) chuckle, chuckle...

Sometimes though one of them will say, or do something that is one of those moments that just makes me sit in awe because I know its a spark of the divine showing forth.  Its as if a glimmer of recognition of her true Father-in-heaven comes to the surface.  Last night was one of those moments with my youngest.

We call her "tunia bug" and she is, despite all the challenges that she's had to face in her young life, full of a grace and maturity that is beyond her years.  She embodies the little girl "princess" persona that most little girls her age aspire to.  Yet she also has a capacity for love and God's truth and grace that blows me away every time she let's it shine forth.  It's because of her maturity and her thirst for God and his word that I sometimes let her journal at nighttime.  Its sometimes a source of contention because she would rather do that than go to bed when its bedtime.  And she's only six so she doesn't always have the truest of motives when she asks.  In spite of that, I've felt that there's something there that needs to be cultivated and nurtured so I've given her permission to do so often when she asks.

Here is what happened:  I came in to her room to turn out her light and make her finally "go to bed" after receiving the look from mommy because she was still awake when mommy came back from a trip to the store.  I went in to say one last "goodnight" and she asked me if she could show me the song she had just written.  I said sure.  She then sang to me the sweetest few lines.

"I Love the snow when it gets played in. And when the rain falls down. And I love sunny days as well."

There was a peace and presence in her room.  I knew what it was.  Or should I say I knew Who it was.  My little girl was tapping into a gift that had been given to her by her heavenly Father and He had showed up to see her use it. I'm sure it was because he was blessed by it.  I was too and I knew it was one of those special times that are all too rare in the hurried pace of modern life.

Understand, its not because the words were all that profound. The words on the page were misspelled the way most 1st graders would. Neither was it because the melody was so pure. It wasn't even because her voice was like that of an angel.  It was in my opinion, simply a Father delighting in his child.   I guess you could say both fathers were delighting in their child.