Gratitude

"The foundation of gratitude is the expectation of nothing."  The first time I heard this oft-quoted proverb was in Tennessee from a Major who works at the ANG Base I was temporarily serving at.  It really hit me like a ton of bricks, and daily it rings more and more true.  A very obvious example in my life stems from my guitar playing.  For the last year, I've been toting my acoustic guitar to choir practices and sunday morning services in the hopes that a few of the pieces would go well with a six-string.   Over the course of the last 12 months I was able to help out in this area while also honing my skills.  Considering I am still on the low end of a pretty steep learning curve, I think I won out more than the church in this arrangement, as several of the arrangements have really challenged me and forced me to improve.  Thankfully, though, they haven't kicked me out of the band or asked me to leave the guitar at home (yet).  Well, a week ago we presented our Christmas concert as a choir and I was blessed to play guitar as well on just 1 of many great pieces.  I truly expected absolutely nothing out of this service other than the joy of praising the Lord and a little satisfaction in (hopefully) a job well done.  The choir however, saw things differently.  Unbeknownst to me (and I think all the other musicians) the entire choir had pooled together some money to buy each and every one of us a gift certificate for a local restaurant.  It was a surprise, it was humbling, and it was a blessing. 

I've received a bunch of accolades in my life - most of them were hard-fought and specifically sought, usually for the purpose of retaining a position or gaining a higher one.  This sign of appreciation/gift however, will stand out for a long time to me.  I think I can say, honestly, that it was the first time that I truly, truly, truly expected nothing at all, and was blessed with an expression of gratitude.  It really meant a lot to me and I learned a valuable lesson from the event.  With Christmas 2007 almost completely in my "rear-view mirror" (we'll have had "Christmas" three times by the time it's all said and done), I look back at the gifts that have meant the most to me - all of them, without a doubt are the ones I didn't expect at all.  They were the ones I was most thankful for, the ones that showed the most graciousness from the giver.

 I agree with that Major.  The foundation of gratitude is the expectation of nothing.  Another way of looking at it is to say that we should give for the sake of giving, not for the anticipation of the reward; that comes from faith.  God bless you all in this season of giving.  In the end, I pray that you receive the perfect gift, Jesus Christ, who was sent to reunite us with our creator.  His birth, death, burial, and resurrection fulfilled the law that had enslaved us for millenia.  Do you want to be free?  He holds the key.  Merry Christmas!

The Family Christmas Plan

So, today I received an e-mail from my mom explaining the plan for when all 20 members of my family get together in a few days.  Overall, she did what she does best: direct and control (and of course, love).  Not only did she effectively divvy out their 7200 s.f. to the proper sub-families, but she also established standards (e.g. all toys, clothes, etc must stay in the appropriate room, kids room should be returned to its current status prior to departure, etc).  Additionally, there is no question as to what meals are covered, which are "potluck" and which ones are on our own.  I'm a guy that needs black and white - clear boundaries of operation and specific objecives.  I can operate with this e-mail in hand, without a doubt.  I give the directions two thumbs up!

Merry Christmas!

Finally!  A tree has been assembled and placed in our family room.  The nativity scenes are set and sweets are beginning to fill our deep-freeze as Rachel prepares for our Christmas Day drop-in.  Still, we've only gotten 1 gift and somehow we are going to get the rest tomorrow for our huge extended families in 6 short hours.  That should be interesting!

Praise the Lord our life has slowed down a bit at work and in school; now it's about to get spun up again with a busy travel and Christmas season.  I'm anxiously awaiting my final grades for this semester's schoolwork as well as my Christmas gift: my first laptop!  It's only taken me 10 years of owning a computer to get to this point - and it is definitely good timing!  I'm about to spend 5 weeks somewhat away from the family for a class and it will be good to have my own portable PC to video chat with the family and keep up with the blog.  Anyway, I hope everyone is having a really blessed holiday season.  May God grant you peace this December and New Year!

Shrek the Third

Shrek the Third, 2007 - PG

Mike Myers and his crew are settling in to what may prove to be a "Land Before Time-esque" franchise.  It has proven to be a successful formula to date, that is big fat ogres belching, farting, screaming, laughing, being sarcastic and in the end, learning something about themselves while building someone else up.  Same story - just more characters this time.  John Cleese somehow was able to get his Monty Python buddy, Eric Idle, into the picture as Merlin, the outcast magic professor, and Justin Timberlake even made an entrance as a High School loser.  I'm not sure what I thought completely yet, but I did enjoy it - of course.  The long dream sequence with Shrek was a bit overdone and almost scary, and some of the jokes have become a little tired by this third installment, but overall it accomplished its mission of making me laugh and occassionally feel a little gushy inside.  Especially after the last semester I had, the AF classes I took, classes I taught, music I've learned, business trip I had and lack of sleep, this movie was a great way to give my mind a rest!  My favorite line came at the end when a character was trying to make everyone feel good about themselves and then said, "And the only thing standing in the way of becoming that creature . . . .is . . . .you" This character then pointed to some random dude and everyone just about ganged up on him as though that were the guy standing in the way of their success.  OK, you had to be there.  I'm still laughing though.  My recommendation: wait until it's in the "2 for 11" bin at Wal-Mart to pick up a copy.  I know we'll have to if I plan on buying it on our budget!

So much to say, so little attention

I know that most folks don't have enough time to read full blog entries, so I'll try to provide the BLUF (bottom line up front - a phrase I recently learned from a fighter pilot friend)

So, here's the BLUF:

1. #3 is less than a month away!  We are excited with every kick and shove that protrudes from Rachel's belly, and the kids are just as excited as us!

2. Tomorrow I graduate my fourth class of students this year!  They are definitely a class act!

3. Still no Christmas tree up - that's how busy it's been

4. Christmas concert this sunday will finish off a very busy guitar-playing and choral season.

5. Paul Johnson was named GT's head coach - we'll see how it turns out; he comes with good credentials, though so did Chan Gailey.

6. Finished grad work for this semester, now I just wait for my grades (please pray)

7. A recent AJC opinion article stated that "abstinence only campaigns can't be trusted" - what in the world are we coming to?

Oh well.  That's it for now - not a typical blog entry, but I thought it was fair to bring you up to date.  Soon I'll be setting up a page to track my monthly utility expenses in my search for the lowest bill during a time of too much consumption!  God bless.

Third Day / Jars of Clay / Rome, GA

We had the privilege of going to the first show for the Christmas Offerings tour with Third Day and Jars of Clay last night in Rome, GA.  It was a blast (of course) and we met up some friends from TN to make it even more fun!  6th row on stage left was perfect - Rachel had the aisle in case she started going into contractions; thankfully that didn't happen and we got to see the whole show.  The baby did get pretty excited, especially with the bass drum the JoC lead singer bangs like its nobody's business! 

OK, it seems important to provide a more critical review than just "It rocked!", especially considering this was our fifth full-fledged Third Day concert.  So here it is:  All in all, the audience was deeply ministered to - as is the case at every Third Day event.  It is impossible to walk away from these guys, whether they are singing or playing or just chilling by the pool and not be ministered to.  I've had more time with them than most fans (in and out of the concert hall) and I can speak of this as fact.  The concert on Thursday night, though had some glitches.  I believe that they were almost completely due to two factors: 1. it was the first night of the show 2. the Forum in Rome, GA looks older than me.  Number 1 seemed to be the apparent reason for most of the problems.  For instance, the words during one of the songs were completely out of synch after the first couple verses.  The soundguy, to his credit, worked feverishly to get the right words up on the screen, however it was at times a little distracting.  Additionally, Brad Avery's awesome story about the adoption of their fourth daughter was followed by a complete darkout that seemed to contribute to an out-of-synch intro between him and the keyboardist.  During Little Drummer Boy, by Jars of Clay (and this may be my own audible deficiency), the lead singer took to the xylaphone like it was nobody's business, yet for some reason, I couldn't hear it save my life!  Nonetheless, the crowd loved the song and got to its feet by the end.  I think the oddest flub of the evening was when Mac tried to direct the follow spot over to Mark Lee so that he could be introduced.  Instead of following the lead's directions, the spot stayed focused (I think on Brad) and just sat there.  Mac had to tell the dude about four times before he started pointing to the operator and waving the light over to Mark.  It definitely disrupted a bit of the concert flow. 

 You know what, though, most of these issues really pointed to one thing: This was a live show!  It was not Milli Vanilli and things happen when musicians actually peform rather than pretend.  I hope that noone gets too offended by this post, as it is written, "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another" (Prov. 27:17).  The concert definitely rocked, regardless, and I'm anxiously awaiting the Spring tour dates so I can scoop up some tix for a few close by shows.  God Bless!

We are all over the place!

Rachel's in Missouri, the kids are in Georgia and I'm in Alabama - at home.  I got back this morning after the awesome Third Day/Jars of Clay concert we went to last night (check out my "Reviews" page for more info).  I finished a correspondence class today after taking the fifth and final test - PTL!  I turned in a term paper and book review for one of my grad courses.  Now I just have three exams and one more term paper to finish the semester.  It wouldn't be too bad except that I'll be working 12-hour days for the next two weeks straight.  Hmm.  I guess that's life, just like the tides, ebbing and flowing, over and over again.  We have a lot of exciting events coming up including the birth of our third child, the Christmas holidays (and substantial mental, physical and emotional break that will come with it for me) and a five week class that I was selected for that will hopefully make me a better officer.  I'll let you know how that works out.  Please pray for us as we continue to tackle life at breakneck pace!  Peace!

Speaking of Mediocrity

Georgia Tech met UGA today at Bobby Dodd Stadium, only to be outdone, for the seventh year in a row.  Thus, another mediocre Tech season ends.  No BCS bowl.  No championship ring.  No screaming throngs at the corner of Bobby Dodd and Cherry St.  Yet, they are going to a bowl (though there are almost enough bowls at this point for every Div. 1-A team to make it) and there may be some on staff who still have their ACC championship ring, when we shared it with the only in-conference loss to FSU (1998).  This match has become so mediocre as far as football games go, the UGA-Florida rivalry is easily considered stronger and more pumped up.  I don't know what should happen to Chan.  Everyone knows that all Tech fans really want (besides a share of some championship or a BCS bowl) is a "W" against the Bulldogs.  His contract isn't expired yet, though it may be worth the buyout to get some fresh blood in there.  We don't lack talent.  We don't lack a playbook (though I'd like to see the option come back in full force).  We don't lack the facilities.  We don't lack the fans.  We lack the "W's" and that almost always comes down to a lack in leadership.  Whether it is in the special teams coach, the quarterback or the manager,  the Head Coach sets the tone for the team through their leadership.  The most successful franchises in NCAA history are not marked by their star performers, but by their head coaches.  Hopefully Tech will find either the right man for the job, or the motivation Chan needs to step it up.  May God bless Chan Gailey and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets!