Amazed Admiration

They all want to come play!

Sometimes God overwhelms my soul with his creation. Caught in the moment of a sunrise or sunset on a far away horizon, can flood one's spirit with amazed admiration. Witnessing the power in a roaring river or the might of a crashing wave, reminds us of how weak we are in the great scheme of things. I experienced one moment like that right here on the ranch.

Forward Focus

     A black and white photo of a person tipping over on a tractor is stuck on the dashboard of my tractor. This mental image keeps me highly aware that tractors do tip over. When I get the slightest hint that the tractor isn't level, I start watching the front tires to make sure they are on the ground. The terrain at the ranch is rugged and rocky and as those front tires bounce along my stomach flipflops as the tractor tipping image comes to mind. The more the tires bounce the more fearful I become.

MOUSE ATTACK!

     Pain shot through my right hand when I gripped the steering wheel after my ten hour shift. I tried to recall why I had clinched the steering wheel with such force. Maybe, I was just getting old and my joints were succumbing to arthritic pain. Maybe it was because we were so busy at work and I had typed a lot more than usual. The pain had retreated overnight but quickly returned the moment I gripped the mouse with my right hand. I quickly realized my pain was not from too much typing but my joints ached from too much pointing and clicking.

What Does Your T-Shirt Mean?

    When I was a teenager, my friends and I used to go up to the custom t-shirt shop in the mall and peruse the selections of custom iron-on art. We could spend hours making the perfect selection to add a touch of our personality to our wardrobe. My favorite was a picture of a butterfly that said "If you love something let it go. If it comes back to you, its yours forever." Today I work in a technical field that doesn't acknowledge the term "business casual." Although we often dress in accordance with wardrobe guidelines outlined in chapter seventeen of  my book, The  30 Day Home Management Project, we work rotating shifts so one's casual Friday could be any day of the week. T-shirts and jeans are as commonly seen on Tuesdays and Wednesdays as they are on Fridays and slightly more common on  Saturday and Sundays.
    A t-shirt is like a walking adverstisement and there is always a lot of talk around the water cooler about one's selection.

First Day Back At School

   My son and I both fight to embrace the back to school theme in the middle of August. When I was growing up, school was always the first weekday after labor day to the first weekday before memorial day. There was no wondering about it. After the neighborhood's labor day picnic we knew the next morning was our first day back to the next grade. Our summers were sacred. Our parents had three months to schedule in the family two week vacation around their work schedules and our summer sports schedules. Every family seemed to take the obligatory two week vacation and our first assignment each year was telling the class where we went. I never recall a "stay-cation report." There was an adequate break to rotate all the kids through summer camps and plenty of  time to enjoy our summers of freedom spent mostly getting dropped off at the pool at noon and picked up in time for dinner.

The 30 Day Home Management Project

 <Click book to order>

     It's not hard to feel overwhelmed with the ongoing demands of managing a home and family. Even the cleanest and well-organized home may need some tuning  up in functionality. Is your family over or under involved in outside projects? Are you spending all your time organizing and cleaning and missing out on enjoying your home? Have you invited Jesus to hang out during the week or do you just go visit on Sunday? Who rules the roost? Are the chicks in charge?