How many times?

So, this morning I was getting Saraya ready, and she asked if she could take a CD with her to Dana's mothers house. I said yes, so she got it and opened it up and started spinning it around inside the case. For some reason she does this a lot. It is almost like she can't open one up without trying to spin it around. I quickly told her to stop doing that or she might scratch it and it would not play right anymore. And then I said, "how many times do I have to tell you!". To which she replied, "six".......You know, my mom used to ask me that question all the time when I was a kid, and I never thought to give her an actual number. The only bad part is that I am not sure how many times I have already told her that same thing, so I guess I am going to have to tell her 5 more times just to be safe.

Fathers day

Sunday was fathers day. As I was driving to church, I grabbed my cell and I called my Dad. One of the first things that he said was that a few days ago he was trying to figure out how old I was. He also asked how the "family"was doing instead of asking how Saraya and Dana were doing. The reason why he asked about both of them was that he was not sure how old I was, and he wasn't sure what my daughters name was or what my wife's name was. I am not sure he has ever gotten Saraya's name correct without me reminding him of it, and I can not even imagine not knowing how old my kid is. Though in his defense I am getting older, and he is even older than I am, and he does have 4 kids. Though I still do not believe that I would forget how old my kids were. It was a quick conversation that probably only lasted about 5 minutes. We talked about surface stuff, job, family, weather, the dogs, nothing really that deep. Then we said our goodbyes and I told him that I loved him. After I got off the phone with him, I was truly glad that I had called him and wished him a happy fathers day. Even though the last time we talked was probably about 10 months ago, and it was because I called him, I still meant the words I spoke when I wished him happiness on that day. I do wish that we could have a deeper relationship, that we could talk about deeper and more personal things, but I am thankful that we do have some kind of relationship, and I can only pray that one day before he or I leave this world that he will be able to have the relationship that a father should have with his son. Until then I will continue to accept him for who he is, and I will continue to thank God for being a perfect father. I learned early on in life that no man can meet all of the needs of another. By learning that, I have saved myself a lot of pain and resentment. I have also been able to see that other people are really not any worse than I am. We are all capable of some pretty bad stuff.

I don't know

Saraya and I were in the car, driving to her t-ball game yesterday, and out of the blue she says "Dad, are you thinking what I'm thinking?". I quickly thought to myself, It's highly unlikely that I am thinking the same thing a 4 year old is thinking, but what a funny question for her to ask. So I said to her, I don't know, what are you thinking, and she said "I don't know". So I guess we were kind of thinking the same thing.

A good Weekend

Lately our weekends have been at least as busy as our weekdays, but this past Saturday we got to have a relaxing day at the pool. Dana's parents only live about 5 minutes from us, and they have an in ground pool. That means that we can go over there just about any time we want and swim, and we don't have to take care of it. It's not as convenient as having a pool out in your back yard, but the fact that I don't have to clean it and fill it, and put chemicals in it more than make up for the 5 minute drive to get there. We spent all day there just lounging out on the deck and swimming. My mother came, and so did my brother Jason and his fiance Felicia and her 2 girls. A great time was had by all. Dana swam for a little bit and then decided she wanted to get some sun. I asked her if she put any sunscreen on, and she said no, that would defeat the purpose. She wanted to get darker. Well, she got darker, a darker shade of RED. She also did not think of the time she was going to spend on Sunday outside. She had already scheduled to take pictures all day long out at the park of church members, with the proceeds going to our vacation bible school. So she spent from 12 noon till 8 pm that night outside in the heat and humidity with a sunburn.
On another note, I have noticed that Saraya has been asking if she can have something by saying "should I". For example she will say "Daddy, should I have some M&M's?". First off, I think this is really cute, but I also think this is very astute. I am not sure what she is thinking when she asks this way, but by phrasing the question this way she is not assuming that she actually should have what she is asking for. She is actually leaving the decision on whether or not she should up to me. If she were to ask "can I" she is already assuming that she should have them, but still asking permission to have them. Can I?, is still a very good question and a very valid question, but to ask "should I" is so much better. I am trying to remember her example when I approach God with requests of my own. I have got to get it into my head that He not only knows what is best for me, but that He wants what is best for me, and equally important, that I always don't know what is best for me.

Punishment

I read a news story today that reported on some vandalism done by about 25 teenagers. The vandalism was done to the house of the famous poet Robert Frost, when one of the vandals decided to throw a party on the rairly used property. As often happens, word got around quickly, and the party swelled to about 50 people. After a few hours and $100 in beer, things got a little rowdy. A chair got broke, and that started a frenzy of destructive behavior. 25 young men and women were brought up on charges of vandalising this historic place. This story so far is non to far out of the ordinary. The sentence that was handed down however is. It seems that the court decided to make all 25 of them take a short course on the poems and the life of Robert Frost. The thought behind this is that by knowing some about the man, and the contribution he has made to society, might make them change their ways and think twice about damaging others property. As if knowing about the life of this dead poet will some how change these young people from the inside out. The reality is that it wont! I don't care how great a writer someone is, they can not truly change a life from the inside out on their own. It seems very sad to me that these people thought that making these teenagers study Frosts' poem The Road Less Traveled, is going to have some everlasting change on someones life. But maybe they were not thinking that. Maybe they were thinking that making these kids sit through a few lectures on poetry from a guy that died before any of them were born, poems that they have already slept through once in high school, might be a much better deterrent than making them pick up trash on the side of the road. I am all for it if that is the case. Besides, the worst thing you could have done to me when I was in high school was to make me go back to school on my free time, which I had to do on many occasions, only then is was called Saturday school. If that is not the case though, I wish I could convince them that the only mans story that can actually change a person truly from the inside out, is the story of Jesus. His words are the only words that can remake a person. They are the words of life that can change a persons heart. All they will do, if they are lucky, is change some of their behaviors. I guess if you don't know God, a change of behavior is the best you can do.

Embarrassing moments

I was on MercyMe's blog, and Bart had posted a blog that told of one of his embarrassing moments. I enjoyed reading it and I also had fun reading all of the responses he got from it. So I decided to do the same thing on my blog. So here is one of my embarrassing moments. I hope you enjoy it and comment back with one of your own.

I was in high school, and on a date with my girlfriend. We were sitting in my Datsun (Nissan) truck, out in front of her house saying goodnight. Saying goodnight meant that we were kissing. She was a really good girl, so all we did was kiss. In fact to make sure that is all we did, she had a habit of keeping her arm in front of her chest as kind of a buffer zone. Well I kind of got used to knowing that her arm would be there, so I went to place my hand on her arm only to discover that the buffer zone was not in place at that time. My hand landed, fully cupping her right breast. It took what felt like a full 20 seconds for the sensation of my hand to reach my brain, but when it finally did I pulled my hand away, at the same time she pulled her body away, and then I blurted out the only thing that came to my mind at that moment. No, it wasn’t I’m sorry!! Or even whoops!! But instead I said those magic words that every high school girl wants to hear after a moment like that. I said “I thought it was your elbow!” Luckily she had a great sense of humor and we both laughed it off, and never told her dad who was a very scary guy that worked for the LAPD and always carried a gun.

I'm a smoker

Sunday after church Dana wanted to have the band and their families over for a meal. We just got a new grill, so she asked if I would smoke some meat for the occasion. Of course I was more than happy to do it, anything I can do for the band, (the backbone of the church) I am happy to do it. Well I ended up smoking 3 Boston Butts because we needed 2 for the band luncheon, and my mom wanted to smoke an extra one so we could eat on it for the next week. Well, through all of this I have discovered that I like smoking stuff rather than just grilling it. Smoking takes a lot longer. I have to start the night before, and then I also have to get up in the middle of the night to tend to the fire and the meat. Maybe that's why I like it better. When you smoke something it's a longer more drawn out process that you have to plan for a little. Grilling you just get out there and do it, and it only takes about an hour. It seems that with grilling everything is rushed, and you are trying to get the fire right, and then you have to get the meat and put it on, and then you are having to do other stuff, and people are coming up and bugging you, and your wife wants something, and then the kids need you for something, or in my case, the kid. It's just a blur of stuff going on, and among all of that you are expected to fix the meat to the perfect temperature for everyone, "I want mine medium, I want mine well, I want mine medium rare". You see, I'm not that smart, and my brain can't handle all of that stuff at one time. Well at least not handle it and enjoy the experience at the same time. I can really enjoy smoking stuff on the grill. I can do one step at a time, and most of the time no one else is around when I'm doing it, so I can just relax and enjoy the process. I'm not a morning person. In fact, some of my most hated memories of childhood was when my Dad used to wake me up singing some lame "It's time to get up" song. It wasn't that I had to get up that bugged me so much, it was that he was so happy about it that really ticked me off. Being that as it may, I don't hate getting up at 4 in the morning to tend to the grill. Yes I'm a little sleepy, but there's no one else up, and I can spend about 30 or 45 minutes doing my thing and then go back to sleep. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I like smoking on the grill. I just wish more stuff in life were like that. Where there was not a lot of other stuff going on, and I could just enjoy one experience at a time. Even the tough things are not so bad when you can just slow down and really work on it and get it just right. I love when the meat is smoked just right and is nice and juicy and tender. In the same way, I love when I preach and the message is just right. When the whole thing flows from the beginning to the end. When you are really able to get your point across. I love the process of writing a good sermon to. When I can get alone, without any interruptions, and craft it just right. When no one else is talking to me and asking me stuff. When the TV isn't on, and the radio isn't playing, and I can read and study and pray, and hear from God. I really need to make more times like that in my life.