Jubilee

On September 25, 2015, I lost my job with a company I'd worked for for just over 7 years. Actually, it was 7 years, one month and 1 week. I was hired on August 18, 2008.

Before being let go, I signed up for a men's retreat that I was hesitant to attend because I was ashamed at being unemployed. While I labeled my release date as "dooms day" where I was not really provided a reason for my release, I felt like I'd let my family down. I didn't want to be around my peers because I felt my shame would be on display.

As many men know, we subconsciously size each other up based on our accomplishments. This is apparent when you listen to men greeting and meeting men.

"HI, I'm glad to meet you. What do you do? "

" Oh, cool. Married? Kids? Where did you go to college? What's your degree in?"

This happened and I layer myself out there hoping someone there would have mercy on me and know where I could get a great job. I'd only been unemployed a couple of weeks (ultimately, I was unemployed 6 months, three days before getting hired).

One of the first people I spoke to was a man named Johnny Combs. His response baffled me.

"I'm not disappointed or sad that you don't have a job. I'm excited for you. I'm a little envious. You're in the best position for God to do what he wants to do. You're not focused on a job. You're focused on him. Additionally, we are in the year of Jubilee. In the year of Jubilee, God restores back to his chosen what was taken or given away. God is going to give you more than you could have hoped or asked for."

During my months on unemployment, I continued to feel depressed and downtrodden as no job came to me and guaranteed jobs I applied for disappeared without cause. Then along came an opportunity that from the day I saw their name, I knew I would get hired. No, knowing the job was mine did not remove any of my preparation or anxiety. As a matter of fact, the two days after my face to face interview in South Carolina, I had insomnia and indigestion with a healthy side of heartburn.

I've been in my position for almost 7 months and I'm reminded of the words spoken over me by Johnny. I'm also reminded of a prayer prayed over me right before I flew out to the interview. She prayed for an over abundance of favor.

I look at my job experience and I see a company that wanted to hire me after the first conversation but put me through the procedure because of policy. I see a company that corporately prays. I was amazed the first time I was exposed to it. I'm with a company that loves me and wants me to succeed and exceed not only my own expectations but also theirs.

So now, the Jubilee statement...

According to the internet, Jubilee is not officially recognized because of disagreement over whether the Jubilee year is year one of the next set of 7's or if there is a gap year to celebrate before starting over. However, there is a wide belief that the 120th Jubilee started on September 23, 2015.

I'm a product of this resetting and restoration that is talked about. My release was divine and my new assignment is divine as well. I am beyond blessed. I see it through a salary I don't deserve, a car that is completely paid for by the company including gas and maintenance. I see it through my peers which only lift me up. God is good. God is great. God does things in his time, his way and for his glory.

Lord, thank you for not letting me go. Thank you for taking me from a place where I was stagnant to the place I have hope and growth. All this is you.

Heirlooms

I was recently given something that I plan on turning into an heirloom at the request of my father.  The heirloom is an 1817 print of a bible from London.


While stationed in Connecticut, at the Historic Ship Nautilus and Submarine Museum, Groton, CT, my parents visited a local Book Barn with my family.  We would take our kids on a fairly regular basis because the atmosphere is so awesome.  The "store" looks like a little village in the woods with a house and a shed and a tent, etc.  Every building was filled to the brim with used books.  We would go out there and spend a few dollars so the kids could take home new stories to enjoy.  On this particular visit around 2007, while there with my parents, we came across a bible dated 1817.  The price was only $40.00 which my dad saw as a steal and made the purchase. 


Fast forward to Christmas 2015.  My father has had his parents living with him for about 5 years.  Well, my grandfather still lives with him.  My grandmother passed away March 2013.  My grandfather has been slowly passing out the more valuable of his belongings to his children so that he can have the satisfaction of watching them enjoy the items while he is still alive.  None of us thing he is passing anytime soon but he wants to make sure he has the opportunity to give things to the people he intends for them to go to.


My dad has been the recipient of most of the things my grandfather gives away because 1) he is the oldest son and 2) my grandfather lives in his house.  When he finds something to give away dad is usually the first person he sees. 


So this Christmas, my dad and I were in his library when he pulls down the 1817 bible and hands it to me.  He says something to the effect of....


Tim, this bible did not originate in our family but I think it should stay in our family.  This bible has a rich history that most likely included the Civil war and there are no telling how many different people have owned it.  We now own it and I'd like it to become a part of our family's legacy.  I am passing it on to you for you to share with and pass down to your children.


WOW!!!!!  What an honor!  We don't really have any heirlooms that I know of.  I have a couple of pocket watches that my grandfather gave me last year, but he purchased them.  I have a rifle from WWI from my wife's grandmother, but her grandfather purchased it.  I have a rifle from WWII but my father purchased it.  I'm not sure that I have anything that would qualify as an heirloom that was an heirloom before falling into my possession.


So this post is about heirlooms but I must admit that since I just recently acquired the bible, most of this is going to be about the bible with updates (hopefully) as I obtain more information.


Pictures and more to come later.

Overflowing Dream

 

Before all of the details escape my mind, I want to flesh them out.  Friday night, 5/24, I had a dream.  The dream was very vivid.  Here is what I can recall now that I am writing it down four days later:

I find myself in my own home.  The home is in my opinion a Dutch or English style home made from round, cobblestone rocks or stones.  The house is two stories tall with a basement overlooking a vast expansive countryside.  The house seems simple and square.

While I’m in my home, it starts to rain.  The rain seems soft and comforting at first but then the rain picks up.  I don’t recall any wind or thunder, just lots of rain.  I am walking around my home when I notice that near the ceiling in one of the upper rooms, there is a small growing stain.  A closer examination reveals that the stain is due to water.  The stain is damp indicating it is recent.

As I gaze upon the leak, my heart begins to sink with the feeling that my beautiful home is damaged and that the water will only increase the damage.  I begin thinking of ways to repair the leak and the cost that repair might incur.  I soon begin to investigate further to determine what actually the issue is.  To my surprise and delight, I find that the home has a unique drainage system akin to the drainage system on a submarine. This system is quite complicated with many parts.  It’s a system that took quite a bit of engineering and time to accomplish.

 The roof gutters did not drain directly towards the ground.  Instead they drain inward to piping interior to the walls.  Unfortunately, the piping is not continuous.  I imagine that one, the nice interior walls were not there during the original installation and two, the non-continuous piping allows for de-clogging of sections as necessary without engaging the entire drainage system.  Furthermore, each collection funnel is actually collecting runoff from more than one drain.  This means that there are probably a dozen or so gutter drains on the roof and two or more will collect in one funnel.  This specific location is handling the water just fine with minimal splatter.  The splatter however is what I am seeing.  I make a mental note to install a splash guard once the rain stops.

Sometime later, I find myself in a lower room in a stressful situation again.  This time, I know something is wrong.  I am in a carpeted room on the lower floor and not only is the floor wet but the wet spot is visibly growing at a rate that would cover the entire room in a matter of minutes.  Instantly I am fearful that my home is about to be flooded.

I am not sure what to think about this new information.  I don’t remember the history on this house however I have that sinking dreadful feeling of loss as I see the cost of repairing whatever has gone wrong.  I go to investigate in the basement as my rational mind attempts to take over in finding a solution to the problem.

The basement of this home resembles a submarine bilge or a large building’s boiler room.  The main structure of the room is a concrete lined valley that leads towards a large open grate that appeared to drain away from the home towards a creek.  The entire room contained various grating and catwalks for passage around the boiler, pump and drainage components contained in the basement.  As I walk into the basement, I immediately know what the issue is.  The rain was heavier than I could see or imagine.  The funnel draining system was ineffective in the fact that each upstream funnel was flowing at its maximum capacity.  Several maximum capacity drains filling one funnel had caused it to overflow.  All of the funnels in the walls and in the lower level were over flowing.  The water buildup I’d seen in the bedroom was the overflow from one of these funnels running right onto the wall next to it, under the wall and into the room, showing on the carpet.  As each of these funnels, and there seemed to be dozens and dozens, overflowed, there came a buildup of water in the valley floor section as the water became more than the drain at the end of the room could handle.

In the midst of viewing what appears to be the beginning of a disastrous situation, I suddenly am struck with a vision from my past.  I remember this room.  It is the room that stays hidden from everyone.  In this room, I’d spent lots of time bringing in wheel barrow load after wheel barrow load of dirt.  I’d taken the dirt and I’d placed it all over the room.  The vision showed that the loads of dirt were small at first, only a shovel full or two.  Then later the loads had gotten so large that it would take days to bring in all of the dirt.  As the vision of this memory fades, reality fades back in and I am back in the basement watching the new story unfold.  Each of the overflowing funnels is washing away the dirt that is packed into all of the nooks and crannies of the room.  While the water is building up, the dirt is quickly and easily washed away.  The backing up of water is in no way due to the dirt but it due to the sheer abundance of water.

At this point, I wake up from my dream.  I don’t really have an ending to my dream, just that I woke up.  As I ponder the dream, knowing that God frequently speaks to people in the form of dreams, I feel like God is trying to tell me something.  My family has been in a dry season.  Oh there has been rain.  Enough to keep the crops alive, but not enough for them really to flourish.  I think the simplistic home in my dream resembles the simplistic life that my family leads.  My home has many rooms and is two stories tall.  Within the walls was an intricate labyrinth of drainage funnels.  I think this home represents the preparation that my family and I have taken to ensure that our lives can handle the storms that come our way, though little of that preparation involves finances.  I believe the rain represents the blessings that the Father is pouring out on my family.  I believe that the overflowing funnels represents the abundance of blessing that the Lord will pour out on my family.  A shower that is more than our most intricate engineering design can contain.  I think the basement represents our secret place of hiding.  It is the place we hide lies, sin, debt and shame.  It is the place that we’ve slowly filled up with the things we want to hang onto but know that we shouldn’t and somehow can’t seem to clear away.  The part of this dream that brings tears to my eyes when I think about it is the part where the waters that are overflowing wash away all of the dirt that has built up in the basement.  To me this shows that despite my hardest efforts to hang onto the things I know I shouldn’t hold onto, God is going to cleanse me.  He is going to wash it all away and still pour out his mercy, grace and blessing. 

I’m both scared and excited about the potential of this dream.  I am scared because the bible constantly talks about dying to this and burning away at that.  Like the dream, I am stressed and fearful of the damage that the water is doing to my home.  I know my life will most likely receive perceived damage as cleansing occurs.  I am excited because I’ve always wanted to be an active part of God’s will.  A part that I could see.  Not that I want to take any glory however I long for the biblical days of miracles and visual signs and wonders.  I don’t need proof to follow God, I just want to see it.  If I am in God’s will and receiving an outpouring of his blessing that overflows my “highly engineered” drainage system, then this is something that cannot be hidden even if I wanted to hide it.

Basketball Coaching For Dummies

So this is me.  I am a dummy when it comes to coaching basketball.  I think I am going to try it out this year.   I do not have any real experience even playing basketball.  I never played in school nor did I play in an out-of-school organized league.  I did live in an area known as "the hill" (the word at the beginning of that name was dropped and replaced by "the" as it would start fights unless you were black).  Living near The Hill, street ball was very common.  I did venture into street ball with my neighbors.  I mostly knew them and had report with them due to the fact that I ran track and could out run the majority of them.  I never was very good at street ball, but I never turned down an invitation to play.  Actually, for my 16th birthday I requested for and received a basketball goal that my dad mounted to the garage.  It was a magnet for the neighbors.  Most days that the weather allowed, you could find me out back with no less than 3-5 of the black neighbors playing basketball.  Once I actually obtained transportation (well into my 17th year of life) the crowds diminished.

So back on to me coaching basketball.  My knowledge of basketball mostly comes from watching basketball.  I enjoy going to Maverick's games and kinda enjoy going to my children's games.  To be honest, the environment kinda ruins it for me.  The kids games are in gyms that are crazy loud with ridiculous echoes.  To make matters worse, I have to help corral the other four children, all of which really want to run out on the court during play.  This year, my second son wants to play basketball.  I am going to attempt to coach his team.  I might say that this is the blind leading the blind, but I will try to stay one chapter ahead of the crowd.

I found an electronic copy of Coaching Basketball for Dummies.  I plan on reading it as well as a few other informational guides so I can NOT look completely stupid.  I took a shot at coaching for the first time last year with a t-ball team.  The difference?  I know baseball.  I played lots of baseball.  On the other hand, I love coaching kids.  I enjoy spending time out there.  It is fun for me, win or lose.

So here I go.  Head first into coaching a basketball.  I have not been approved by the league yet.  I don't know if I will have my own team or if I will assist someone else.  I do know that I kinda need to be out there because Jaedon doesn't respond like you would expect a normal child to.

I am kinda scared of the unknown but excited to be faced with the challenge.

Learn to coach a sport I myself rarely played.  Got it.
 

What I'm reading

I just finished the book, Why Guys Need God by Mike Erre.
This is an amazing book. I have never struggled with what it means to be a man but I have struggled with exactly how to raise my boys as men. This book, I feel, correctly identifies the many aspects of life a man deals with.
I identify with this book entirely. It is a must read for any man who wishes to ensure he is on the right path.

Men's Retreat

We arrived at about 4:15. I found a bunk and Mike chose to sleep beneath me.  Our first event was a welcome meeting followed shortly by dinner. I kinda feel lost here. I have attended Sojourn for over four years and I really don't know anyone. There are a few faces that I know the name that match, but I really don't know anyone.  I know Mike is following me around because I am really the only person he knows. I am really hoping to get in touch with God this weekend.

The first message talks about the trinity. The three roles of God and the three roles of man. God the father is the king. As a king we are to lead and provide but more than that, we are to protect and fight battles. Jesus is the son. As the son, we are the priest. The priest prays and worships and provides the spiritual atmosphere where the family can grow and thrive. The Spririt is the prophet. As the prophet of the family, the man's role is to speak life and rebuke death.

I think I am the best at being a king. I think I lead my family, provide for my family and stand up for my family in all of their battles. I think I am the weakest as the priest. I have not provided the type of environment that provides a spiritual safe haven.

I feel like God is telling me to come to him as a child.

Father, I lift up my hands to you. Lord, pick me up. I want to rest my face on your shoulder. Wrap your arms around me. Show me your warmth. Father, as you hold me, comfort me. I confide in you all my weaknesses. Lift me up. Carry me. I am a man who is built to lead and have all of the answers for my family. Lord, I humbly come to you, as my children come to me and ask you to lead me.

After the service, we moved down to the amphitheater for a dose of outdoor worship. Man it was awesome. There is something amazing about the sound of men worshiping together.

Afterwards, I opted to return to the bunkroom and read. Periodically people would come by and give me updates on the Ranger's game. I think me not having a cell signal is a blessing. I know I would have been distracted throughout the service and the worship that followed. I went to bed about 23:45. I won't say I went to sleep. Sleep mostly eluded me. Someone must have cold when they came into the room. I am fairly certain that someone turned the heat on. I was uncomfortable and sweating all night. I was struck with a chill around 5:00. Someone else must have been hot because I felt like the the air conditioner came on. From 5:00 to 6:00 was sweet blissful rest. My alarm went off at six so I got up. I read out on the patio while taking in the brisk mountain air. I heard what I feel was a raccoon chattering.

After one of the lessons, during a small group session, one of the men in my group looked at me and said that he felt the Lord impressing on him to tell me that I have a visionary spirit. He further described what he felt that meant. I didn't write it down so I don't remember all he said.

Lord, show me what this word means. I don't understand but want to live in you word. I want to live in your comfort and presence.

The second message ended with two questions: Where in your life do you operate out of an orphaned spirit? and What area of your life does a Spirit of adoption control?

I don't fully see how to apply these questions to my life. I tried to think of what might possibly fall into these categories but nothing seems to fit. I feel like I may have a small amount of mental blockage due to the terms used. Having lived I'm a Christian home all of my life I have never felt like an orphan.

Lord, help me to see how these two questions apply to me. I want to identify my fault so they can be corrected. Additionally, I want to highlight the areas of strength so they can be utilized more.

The last session ended with this question:

What two ingredients are necessary for a victorious, successful, and joyful life regardless of your situation?

I felt like the main ingredient is companionship.

We need companions. After Adam was made, God said it was not good for man to be alone. More than just our wives, man needs the companionship of other men. Men who can offer opinions, insight, comfort, and support. Men who will not judge but will help and pray.

Other ingredients are remembrance, reachability/discipleship and confidence (or the removal/rejection of doubt).

Our group also asked the question of, what fuels victory in our life?

I really enjoyed the retreat. I didn't want to participate in the games they offered. I instead chose to read my book.

Adventures of Boy and Girl: Car Shopping

Pressed down, Shaken together

Luke 6:38 NIV

Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

This scripture has been mentioned at church two weeks in a row.  Each time I hear this scripture, I can't help but watch a mental video of a memory from my childhood.

The church I would have called my home church before I got married (at which point my wife and I together chose a home church) would have been 1st Assembly of God, Atlanta, Texas.  This church had a long rich history in that community dating back to the beginnings if the city.  At the time my family joined the church, the pastor of the church was a firey old man named Leon Morrow.

Getting back to the point, the above mentioned scripture was one of the scriptures that Pastor Morrow used. Each time he used that scripture, he couldn't help himself and would yell as he quoted it. Pastor Morrow was a small man and his suits always looked way too big. His hands were losing a battle with arthritis and he showed his age which I believe was in the seventies when I knew him. As he read/quoted that scripture, he would hold his hand out to his side as in a worshipping fashion, twisting his wide open hands. He would begin to yell out the words of the passage and eventually his eyes would close. Additionally, as his blood pressure rose, two blood veins would become visible on his forehead creating a "v" in the center of his face. I have many, many memories from my time at that church. I couldn't help but write down this memory since both times our current pastor read this verse, I heard Leon speaking the words in my head. vers

Blog app

So I recently discovered that the site I randomly blog on now has an app. Here is just a random blog to test out the app. Nothing fun. Just testing. 

Up & Running

Friday morning: I’m not sure how it initially started, but it is going. I remember telling my oldest son this past weekend that if he wanted to go running, he would need to do it at 5:00 in the morning because that was the time of the day where the temperature was less than 100F. Monday morning, I roll over and am startled by my son standing at the edge of my bed asking me if I am ready to go running. “What? No, I’m not ready to go running. Maybe another day, Bud.” I am sure he was sad when he walked away, but slink back into the dark and off to his bed he went. A couple of days later, the same thing occurs. This time when he wakes me he asks if today is the day we can get up and go running. This time while mentally a little more coherent to what he wants to accomplish, I am physically not up to it. The night before had been a late one and 5:00 came quicker than I needed it to. Thursday at work I started thinking about how my son was reaching out to me, asking me to lead and encourage him to participate in exercising activity. As a junior high and high school student I participated in many different sports. Cross country was my favorite followed by track and field, football, baseball and chasing girls. Zak has taken a liking to basketball and baseball. I continually push him to be better and offer pointers on how he can be better. “What if I turn him off to personal improvement because I am not participating in exercise with him?” Thoughts like this plagued me. I determined that the only real way to get him going is to get up and lead him. He has always been large for his age. Not overweight, just taller or faster growing than everyone else in his peer group. The last thing I want to do is give him the wrong impression about exercise which could hurt him later on in life. We got out of the US Navy three years ago this month. Since my separation from the service, things have picked up pace. My family grew to include 5 children and a large dog. I drive 25 miles one way to work every day (and if I come home, 25 miles back home). I decided to further my education by getting my MBA (which hopefully I will complete next spring). The school work has taken away any extra time I thought I might have had. I do the best I can to give my family any extra time not spent working, schooling or sleeping. Personal time is a rare commodity around my house. So all that being said, I kinda felt like not only was my son trying to take my advise and get better but maybe he is reaching out to his extremely busy father looking to bond. So bond we did. I told him last night that as hard as it would be, I was going to get him up at 5:00 so we could run some laps around the neighborhood. He was good with that and at 5:00 I poured myself out of bed to prepare myself for a run I hoped turned out better than I expected. Zak got up and got dressed faster than I did and was ready to go. He really has no clue about distance running (distance being anything farther than home plate to 1 st to 2 nd to 3 rd and back home). I haven’t measured it, but I think that my block is about 300 yards for one lap. I walked him around about half way and started leading him in stretching. He constantly asks questions. Most of them are memory type questions. Tidbits of information that hand out on a frequent basis which he likes to turn around and quiz me on later, “Dad, you pointed out some signs on the road the other day. What did they mean again?” or “Why do you think the Wii game Crash Bandicoot is called Crash Bandy-hoot?” These are questions I have answered several times before. Most cases I have already answered them that day. I let him talk and then ask him, “Zak, how many laps do you think we should do?” “I think we should do 5 laps.” I okay it and after stretching off we go. I failed to mention that Maverick, my 85 lb black golden retriever/poodle mix (Golden Doodle), wanted to go with us so I have him on a leash running too. We near the end of the first lap and I can hear Zak starting to breath hard. Maverick and I were taking it easy on Zak. We would have gone much faster, but we didn’t want to burn him out or leave him behind on the first trip. As we cross the line, I say, “There’s one lap.” And around we go for the next lap. As we are nearing the end of lap two, Zak says, “Dad, I lost count. Is this lap 3 or 4?” I give him a laughing response and tell him that we are coming up on two laps. As we get about a third of the way into lap three, I ask, “So, Zak, do you think you can make it to 5 laps?” “Oh yeah, Dad, I think I could probably do 10.” I tell him to calm down and let’s just worry about 5 for the moment. We make the turn you could call the “home stretch” part of the lap and Zak stops to walk. Now he told me during one of the previous laps that his PE teacher had told his class that once you start running never stop. You can continue to slow down if you like, but don’t stop. When I notice he is walking, I encourage him to keep going and I slow down to his new slower pace. As we cross the line indicating the end/beginning of a lap I tell him we can walk. We do a cool down walking lap and then stretch some more. Then we head home. I’m not sure how he felt, but even as short and as easy as this morning’s run was, I felt great. I sent him off to the shower as I, myself prepared to clean up for the day. I think that I will start getting up and working out again. The wife is working pretty hard to convince me to finally pull the trigger on a treadmill for the house. I have wanted one for quite sometime but have never quite been able to swallow the grand needed to purchase a quality device. I think a M/W/F morning jog will help both of us out. Who knows, the wife might join us too. After all, I am just making laps around the house.

Dream Cars

..................................So, I decided to put up a list of my dream cars. The Lotus is at the top of my list. I know that I will own at least one of these one day, but not all. It would be awesome to own them all. I think the one that I will end up with is the pickup. Mostly because I have the support of my wife on that one. She sees a practical side to it. I went to a dealership in Jacksonville, Fl right when this truck was released. The dealership had one showroom model and that was it. I have been in love with them ever since.

None of the others vehicles I like have any practical sides at all. Next in line is the GT-R. This car has been one of my favorites in racing games for years. Nissan finally made a real one and then made it available for us to buy here in the USA. Bringing up the bottom is the 370Z. I have only recently fallen for these cars as I own a Z31. There are many, many other cars out there that I am most certain would whet my appetite, but this is my top list.
....................................So, just a little history. I have loved the Lotus since I was a kid. I remember watching an engineering show, learning about how fast the Lotus would go and how it was made. I have watched the generations of Lotuses (or is it Loti) over the years. The model priced and shown here is my favorite. I know it is not American Muscle. It would actually leave almost everything that qualifies as American Muscle in the dust. This baby only has a 4 cylinder engine but can hit over a hundred miles per hour before the best American Muscle can hit 60 mph.

I love my Z. I like all Z's. I am not really a fan of the Z's of the 90's. In my opinion, the older the better. That kinda changed with the release of the 370Z. This car is beefy, cool and super fast. I am not sure how other car companies sell cars. Nissan makes several lines of cars that will cause other cars to stop and cry, but the other car companies manage to sell their cars for 2, 3, and sometimes even 5 times what the Z sells for. And Z's last longer.

The GT-R is just flat out AWESOME!!!! This car makes me drool just thinking about it. This car is a video game concept come to life. I read that it has been available oversea for several years now, but was just now made available over here.

912 Guam, Wake Village, Tx

On to house number two.

This house is located in a suburb of Texarkana, Texas. Wake Village is a small suburb that has all of the streets named for places, people, ships, airplanes, or battles from World War II. The street that I lived on was Guam Street. This was my parents first house to buy. I guess it was a good place to start.

It was a converted three bedroom one bath home. The third bedroom used to be the garage. I guess you would think that was cool if you don't mind the water heater being in the room that you sleep in. I don't know what my parents paid for that house. I do remember that the guy who sold us the house was someone that we went to church with. We used to play in the pews after services so that mom and dad could talk with the realtor.

I don't remember the move, but I remember getting the house ready.

My room (and Phillip's as we shared a room up until just before I left for the Navy) was decorated with antique cars. The walls had wall paper that came halfway up the wall, there was a wallpaper border, and then there were cut-outs from the wallpaper that were sporatically stuck to the upper half of the wall.

I don't remember what Bek's room was decorated in, but I remember her having a whole lot of stuffed animals and dolls that were put up in the corners of the rooms in corner hammacks.

We didn't have a dining room table for a while. I can remember having pizza on a large cardboard box in the dining room many times.

At this house we had our dog, Fortunatis McGruder (Nat) and aquired a few more dogs that came and went. We had Buckeye, who was my uncle Joe's dog. We had a black cocker spaniel. I don't remember her name. Lastly we had a small black dog, a pomeranian I think.

We lived at this house until I was in the sixth grade. I had been attending school in Texarkana because my mother decided to get her teaching degree and the school I attended in New Boston would not let her student teach there. The closest school that would allow it was Liberty Eyleau. This was ok as the schools that we attended we could walk to.

Back to the house. This house did not have any air conditioning. We had window units in every room and the heating came from a gas furnace that was in the floor. For years after we moved out of the house it was an inside joke that you got little boys Legos for Christmas so they could be fed to the furnace.

This furnace was in the middle of the floor in a small hallway that everyone had to walk over. You could not go from one room to the other without stepping on or jumping over the floor furnace. It had a cover that was probably three feet by four feet with a waffle like grid. I wonder if my cousin still has a waffle scar on the bottom of his foot. I remember one winter he came to visit and didn't know about it, or didn't listen, and walked across it, burning his foot pretty bad. Anyways, the furnace was in a pit that was about three feet deep. Anything smaller than about one inch by one half inch would find its way into the furnace. Pencils, pens, crayons, and legos were often found melting and/or burning in the funace. During the summer when we didn't need it, there was a rug that covered it up.

My siblings and I spent a lot of time alone in this house. No, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Mom and dad both worked multiple jobs and we tended to be a home alone while they were at work. I remember seeing mom a few minutes a day so that she could give us a check for pizza.

We got a VCR while living in that house. It was this huge silver thing. The special thing about the VCR was that it had remote capabilities. Unfortunately for us kids, the remote was corded and didn't reach the couch. One of us had to sit on the floor near the television so that we could fast forward the commercials when watching things we had recorded.

I remeber breaking our first window while living in Texarkana. My brother and I were out in the back yard playing catch when I missed the ball and it went right through the window.

I am sure if I sit here long enough, I can think of another three pages of stories to talk about when thinking of the house on Guam Street.

The next house we lived in was in Atlanta, Texas.

Memories

Last year my wife's grandfather Truett Worley passed away. I only got to visit with him a few times as we lived several states away. His wife Betty has been sending out these emails where she is going through old memories, sharing them with her family. She says she is doing this so that everyone can know the Truett that she knew. She shares pictures, stores, lists of things they owned or did, and sometimes she sends out quizzes to see what everyone knows.

I thought that just for fun, I would start writing down some of my memories and I wanted to start with houses.

I guess that it is kinda spawned by the thought that as of today, I could be the owner (well, with a mortgage) of a new home within three weeks.

Well, without further ado and maybe no one to read, I start talking about all of the houses that I have lived in that I remember living in.

The first house I lived in is affectionately called the grey house. It is located in New Boston, Texas on what is left of my great-grandfather's dairy farm.

This house is a small two bedroom one bath that my grandfather built. This house is still standing, although it is currently not located where it was when I lived in it. The name of this house comes from the color of the outside. My grandfather used what he had and what he had was ammunition crates. The interior of the home had pieces of these ammunition crates nailed up as walls. When I lived there, there was sheet rock nailed over the wood. I learned about the ammo crates many years later when the home was turned into a storage shed.

There was nothing fancy about this house. The floor was always cold as it was just one layer of tongue and groove wood with linoleum or carpet. The house is pier and beam set on cinder blocks. The exterior of the home had shingles covering as much as possible. If you can imagine a quaint little home in the woods with the wood shingle siding look, that was our home except it didn't look cool. Grey shingle sides, grey shingle roof and to try and stay a little warmer, there was clear plastic stapled to the windows.

I don't regret or resent living in this home. It is my beginning. As I look at the home that my parents purchased last year and the home I will be purchasing soon, I like the view of where I started.

My brother and I shared a room as most brothers do. The first bed I remember in that house was a single twin with my head on one end and Phillip's head on the other. Later, we upgraded to a set of bunk beds that I believe my parents still have stored somewhere. Our room had the bunk beds, one dresser, a long toy box called a "barnabus box" two old wooden school desks and scores of toys.

At this time my sister was not born, though she would be born and spend the first few years of her life in this house as well. I remember my parents telling me and my brother that we could talk to our little sister by talking into my mom's mouth. She used to sit on the couch and lean her head back and open her mouth and we would tell Bek (my sister) stories about what we had done that day.

We lived in that house until I was in the second or third grade. I remember being in the fourth grade and introducing myself to a new student as living in Texarkana which is where we moved next.

About 15 years ago, one of my aunts decided to build a home near where the grey house was located. I guess there was to much history in this house to just tear it down, so the decision was made to move it. This was actually quite a large task. Several telephone poles were brought out and laid underneath the home. This was possible as it was pier and beam so you could crawl underneath it completely. The house was lifted, blocks removed and lowered down onto the poles. The rest looked like a country version of what the Egyptians did to move heavy blocks. Chains were tied around it and a dozer and two tractors were hooked up to pull it. We quickly learned that the house was too heavy and the walls were not strong enough to take the stress of the pull. So, we set out to lighten the load. All of the sheet rock was pulled out. This exposed the walls containing the stencilled ammo crates. Some complete walls, all appliances, and all plumbing fixtures were removed in the hopes of creating a lighter load. Eventually we were able to get it done. As the house began to roll across the yard on the poles, we would take one pole from the back and take it to the front. It was crude but it eventually worked. The house used to be about a hundred yards from my grandparents home. It now sits just about directly behind and is used to store various items including old appliances, hand tools and attic style keepsakes.

I will have to take a picture of it the next time I am out there as well as see if mom has any pictures of the house the way it used to look when it was in its original location.

Death Scare

Yesterday, I go a little of a death scare. I found out that my Aunt Doreen, one of my mother's sisters, passed out while working at Wal-Mart.

Upon arrival at the hospital, they diagnosed her with a possible anurism, but said they could not confirm it because their facility was not capable of performing the test.

The hospital found blood pockets in her skull and a mild amount of swelling.

She was then airlifted to a larger hospital about two hours away. There the neurosurgeon said they hoped it was an anurism because they are easy to fix.

He performed a "dye" test, found the anurism, and put a "coil" in it. To insert the coil, they sent a line up her leg into her brain. She was in a drug induced paralitic state during the procedure.

The blood on her brain, the dr. thinks was due to another anurism bursting. He could not tell for sure. She is not in the clear yet. My aunt is looking better, however she is required to stay in the hospital for 14 days to be watched. The dr. said that brain injuries take the longest to heal and there is a two week critical window where more problems can occur.

I have not hear anything today, but I know that in a case like this, no news is good news.

Rule #1: God is in control.
Rule #2: Act like it.

Love-Hate-Love-Z

This thought is about my car.

I own a 1985 Nissan 300zx Turbo GLL. It is black over gold. Now I will go into all of the masculine details. It has a turbo charge V6, all leather, all digital/electronic. It has an upgraded stereo system that someone stole the faceplate off of and automatic climate control. It sports 4-wheel disc brakes and Kumo tires.

Now the not so fun stuff. This car which I have name The Scorpion was born and raised in New England. This means there is some rust. There are some scratches and dings on the body, but nothing major. The engine is currently suffering from a knocking noise that I believe creates a condition that prevents the engine from running sometimes. As just mentioned, there are times where the scorpion just decides to not run. This usually happens when I need to drive it. It came with a retractible antenna that doesn't raise due to the motor not working. No antenna, no radio. CD's only, oh, wait, no faceplate, no music, period. There is a vacuum leak that I haven't been able to chase down. I think the fuel sending unit is going bad. The turn signal doesn't reset after you turn, the windshield wipers don't do intermitten, the side mirrors (which are electric) don't operate from the switches. There is a leak in the power steering system that requires the system to be topped off every so often. There is a grounded wire somewhere that cause the battery to drain if the car is not driven at least every three to four days.

I love this car. I have had so much fun driving this car. I fell in love with this type of car when I was 15.

My family has always been interested in its history. My family is one of those families that has a family tree program so we know who all we are related to. I think that maybe some 10 or 15 generations back, my wife's family might meet up with mine. Anyways, during this research process, dad met this guy, Marcus Davis. We hung out with Marcus on a fairly regular basis, thinking that we might be related somehow. During that process, Marcus wanted to sell his jet black 1988 300zx. It sat in our yard and driveway for several months. I used to get in it and play with stuff and think of how cool it would be for me to drive this car. Dad didn't see it that way. Marcus ended up selling it to someone who one month later totalled the car and only paid him $100. Marcus told us he wished he had've sold it to us. I have wanted to drive one of those cars ever since then.

Fast forward many years. We moved to Connecticut with the navy with only one vehicle. The second having been sold to pay for the move. I went 10 months with only one vehicle when I finally go tired of being stranded at work or at home. I started searching and I came across my Z on an auto sales website. It was rekindled love at first sight. Maybe I shouldn't have gotten it, maybe I did the right thing by getting it. I guess only God will be able to tell me when we meet up in heaven. I have driven this car for just over two years now. I am hooked. I know that if I had've gotten that 1988 as my first car, I would still own it now and probably would own another.

Right now the Z is parked in front of the house because it decided that it didn't want to drive on a regular basis. I started taking the minivan to work and making a schedule with my wife so that we can share the same vehicle. I hate it. I wish that my Z would work. I did a little shopping for another vehicle as the wife periodically tries to convince me to sell off the car and get something else. We always seem to come back to the Z and just get it fixed. We have come around again and I am going to take it to get looked at so that I can know how much I have to save up to get it fixed. I don't ever want to sell the scorpion. I will be a very happy man if I am sixty years old and I can go out to the garage that is specifically built for one car and drive out the scorpion with the T-Tops off on that beautiful day.

Time will only tell how close to that I get. We currently live with my in-laws because we cannot afford any kind of rent/house payment. God will take care of us. He has so far and I know that he will continue in the future.

Thanks for reading.

The Closer

Last night was my first night to close at Papa John's. I have been working at Papa John's as a delivery driver for about a month now. Hours have been crappy and the tips don't make it any better, but its a job. I am still "the new guy" but as one co-worker put it, "You are a part of us now. No one called you 'the new guy' after the first week. We call you Tim. That should say a lot. Most new people we don't bother to learn their names until they have worked here a few month. People just don't last long."

So, first night to close. Got home after midnight. Wow, it has been a long time since I worked that late at any job. Papa John's is just my part-time job. I have a real job. Not that delivering is any less of a real job, but I also have a "day job."

It wasn't stressful. It wasn't really difficult. It was just long. I didn't think that closing the store would take that long. I did work at Wendy's when I was in high school. I guess that it does take a while to close down a place like that. There were only two of us. Me and the shift supervisor who is 8 years younger than me.

I guess I have to say I like working there. I am learning the neighborhood better, and I get to drive all night long. Well, that is I get to when it is my turn to make deliveries. I still haven't hit that jackpot night where I make over a hundred bucks in tips. They tell me that it will come. Right now I am hoping to move up in the food chain and get better hours. The better hours would be doing two or three nights as the closer vise five nights as the extra. More hours and more tips as the closer.

Well, I guess that is all for now. I am kinda tired from getting home that late, but I am sure I will be ok. The day job provides all of the coffee I can consume whether it is healthy to or not.

Our upcoming President

So, I like most of the Republicans in this country have been thinking about the election we just had. I feel like so much is going to change for the worst. I know that the new guy is going to have new ideas and should change things that are supposed to make our country better. I just don't feel comfortable about it.

Well, God hears us even when we don't talk to him and he knows what goes on inside of us. Keeping that in mind, God had a sermon prepared this past Sunday that I feel was written just for me.

I will start with Romans 13:1

Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.

Wow. Really. Even horrible one's?

We all know how liberal the new guy is and what he talks about doing. God tells me that I am supposed to submit myself to that authority anyways.

I will have to take this up and finish it later. I have more and I want to do more, but work just came by.

Test Drive

Ok, so my wife has been doing this blogging thing for a while and I thought that maybe I would take if for a test drive. I originally created a screen name so that I could go and view and comment on the blogs that she writes. This actually feels weird. I don't know who is going to be reading this. I don't really mind, but it is a wierd thought to think that an unknown number of people could take a look at what you have written. Maybe that is why we do this. I am sure that as I get in the groove, I will be able to write more.

Right now my oldest son is in my office working on his homework. Ahh the joys and pains of scripture memorization and simple addition.

His scripture is Romans 12: 1-2

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will.

I like that.