Bedlam ....

In a little bit I'll be in the pool for a quick 1000 M ( mainly to help curtail the extra stuffing I had) and them prepare myself for a great football game. I went to school at Oklahoma and my family have been avid fans of OU ever since. Recently my eldest son started in college ( which I assumed until last year would be OU) at Oklahoma State and this is our first experience with the true bedlam nature. Isn't it odd that things don't work out as planned? It is almost like even though your in complete control your really not, psych. Next time you feel things aren't going your way, stop and say thanks God, if you hadn't been in control things could have gotten really ugly.
Go Sooners.

Who Really Cares ?????

Recently during a trip to my company restroom doing ..well you know, another person entered
and relieved himself in another stall and walked out. No big deal right ? Wrong, on the way out he turned off the light, mind you I'm not scared of the dark or unable to operate in the dark. Was this unknown person being mischievous or just caught up in his own personal existence and not aware I was in there? I would have to say the later; I can't take credit for knowing much but I am aware when another person is in the room. Call it a disturbance in the force or my spirit rejoicing that another spirit is present, why then do some people go around cut off from being aware of others?
People have always been guilty of being fixed on there own problems and I 'm as guilty as any of dosing off occasionally, but come on we all know people so fixed on there own materialistic world that they don't notice their fellow man much less acknowledge them. If we feel our group isn't aware of us maybe its time to find a new group to be around. We are called to not only recognize our fellow man but also see his best qualities and build them up. We can easily be like the moon and radiate light but no heat. Let us try to emulate the Son and not only give off light but also heat.
Such is our case for being with others, we all need to be loved and recognized. Seek out those whose spirits are rejoicing that your there and not those who are caught up in the fake light of their own moon.

Flaming Golf Balls!!!!!

So far this week has been real busy and work has gone late most nights causing me to not have time to get on. With the Advent( no pun intended) of Thanksgiving things have been really busy and my wife has been prepping the house for a usual suspect. My eldest son came home this evening and everything was fluffed and primped for his arrival. My younger son was at work when he arrived and although they talk several times a day they were going to go out and listen to some music and talk when he got off. My daughters were by the way greatly anticipating( giddy with extasism would cover it better) his arrival as they miss him so much. To apise there time( we rarely watch any TV) we played mario party and set it for 45 turns (a long time!!). Once he arrived we had shouts of glee and rejoicing from both Mom and daughters and our Thanksgiving had officially begun. Later we finished our long game and went to bed . The homecoming son son stayed up and watched some TV while waiting for my other son to come home from work. With peace and contentment in the air I fell asleep next to my better half. My youngest son then woke me up and bade me to come to the door, Uh !!! Its 1:30 AM 24Nov05 sleepily I got up and proceeded to the door. A police officer was standing just outside and I knowing him greeted him and asked him in . "Come on in I said" my boys now flanking me in an odd moment of unknown authority. "Sorry to bother you under these circumstances but we need to talk" he said as he came in , " I found these two out at the lake and saw a paint can next to the vehicle and I was concerned they might be huffing " "upon asking the driver (my younger) if it was his he denied it " . He proceeded to check the car and found the cap to the paint can ( its a tough thing to be caught in a lie, especially when its the law). He had my older son drive back to the house as he was sure my younger son was drunk or something Conclusions can be more readily drawn when a lie has already occurred. Here is where I'm standing, the officer tells my younger son he could have arrested him for being out passed curfew( 18 and younger) but since he knows me decided to let me handle it. After thanking him for not doing what he could have and wishing him a good thanksgiving I sat down and had a conversation with my boys. To sum it up they thought it would be cool to douse a golf ball with spray paint light it on fire and drive it into the lake. I trust my boys like no other and give them a lot of leeway but there is a burn ban and they lied about the incident to the police. Owning up to any problem is most of the battle, confession is key in this world and without it your out. Respecting authority is fundamental and waying consequences before actions is key,
but driving a flaming golfball is impossible due to physics and the nature of fire. God gives us free will and a whole lot of leeway but it is probably best to keep the ball on the fairway.
Happy Thanksgiving

On Support....

I really am surprised some times that people may become aware that someone else is out there.
For the most part we post on these blogs to achieve a sense of existance(or indentity) if you will.
I never really expected anyone but myself to view what little babble I write. Then there was concern that somehow someone who knows me would come across this and I would have to be careful if that happened , but who cares ? Everything I put down is true and the names have been left out to protect the innocent. So I proceeded believing no person would see this or for matter care. Things never work out as you rationalize and someone notices which still blows me away because, who am I? I really do appreciate any commentary and enjoy commenting on other blogs.
It is very difficult sometimes to comment on things which may or may not actually be occuring. One can only rationalize that some of these experiences are from occurances or experiences from reality. For those who may live in a fantasy are authors of very compelling material that I will continue to enjoy. Mystery is on your side and alas there it will stay because life is a big mystery.
Thanks for the link and God Bless You.

Daddy I'm Bored ....

I just got home and my wife and older daughter were rushing out the door for Confirmation classes. My youngest daughter came and jumped on my lap and said "Daddy I'm bored and I need to get out of the house" . She has just gotten adjusted to a new class in T-1 and is feeling a little restless after finishing her homework. She asked if we could rent a movie or go to the new arcade that just opened up. I told her we would check the paper and see what's happening in this great city. After looking in the paper , we decided to go see a movie " Chicken Little" . She was really excited and we got ready quick cause it was 6:55 and the show starts at 7:00. We ran out the front door and crossed the street ( we only live 2 blocks from the theatre) hussled in the mall and down to the box window. After getting the tickets, she said she was going to pay for the drinks and popcorn and pulled out a crumpled $5. I told her she could use it for the arcade after the movie since our tab came up to $9 and she agreed. She and I thoroughly enjoyed "Chicken Little" and after the movie we tried to win a stuffed animal in the crane game at the arcade. We raced back home, got changed and read a book while sipping orange spice tea. She was definitely ready for bed and gave me a big squishee hug after prayers and thanked me for being her dad. If only every day ended like this I'd never have a care.

On Rebellion*******^+

Many things can be said about those who choose to rebel. In a way we all rebel to some degree or another and Americans are well known for their rebellions. But what of those who continue against all odds to rebel for whatever reason. I mean you have those that will rebel at the drop of the hat, don't care what its about or what the cause I'm rebelling! How about those who choose to make a statement by dressing like their favorite sports star or celebrity. How about those that rebel not buying a certain product or label. How about those who speak out on a cause someone else is already covering or manning quite well. Americans can show their disfavour by speaking out against their country and after all it s okay cause of where we are. Rebellion is really in American blood; "I don't have to follow what anyone says cause I'm my own man " we all seem to say. What of Christ and where do our loyalties lie with him ? Can we really be goats each beating his own drum and grazing on what we wish? How about being a sheep . In doing what the Church says aren't we really following along behind the saints before us. If Americans really want to rebel, drop the materialistic propaganda and join in the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. Rebellion never felt so good!

Tea at bedtime....

My daughters have an interesting bedtime routine. We have always read to all of our children, the boys who are in college and high school read voraciously. The girls take a more enjoyable routine of cuddling up with Mom and Dad and a cup of hot tea. My older daughter (6 grade) loves getting to quietly sip and savor her tea(vanilla almond) as she reads. My younger daughter(first grade) loves being read to and when the tea(orange spice) is the appropriate temperature she slams it down without a care. I can't thank God enough or for that matter my wife for giving me the chance to experience what most guys will never get to experience. If I die tomorrow I won't complain because I've had tea with princesses and been blessed with memory to know it wasn't a fairy tale.

I can mess up the easiest things!!!!!

You scored as Goofy.

Your alter ego is Goofy! you are fun and great to be around, and you are always willing to help others. You arn't worried about embarrassing yourself, so you are one who is more willing to try new things.

Goofy 81
Peter Pan 75
The Beast 69
Pinocchio 69

I messed up the transfer. HU Yuc !!

A Spouse in Need........

At a recent meeting of my fellow philosophers, a question was brought up about what we would do if a this situation arose. The situation is that you notice your buddies spouse is messing around on him;do you tell him? Of course you can only be a percentage of sure unless your the one doing the messing around and then you would be 100 percent sure defeating the reason for speaking up. There was an element of uneasiness in the comments and most said to one degree or another that they would for sure say something otherwise leave it alone. To be sure, if your buddy found out that you knew he would probably be upset with you when he found out. I simply said in absence of extreme conditions I would not say a word which was not received very well. I have to give the benefit to the spouse because A) I don't know her very well. B) This matter is between husband and wife. C) it is none of my business. There is an element of trust between man and wife that no man or woman should interfere. The Spirit of God should be at the heart of Christian marriage. It binds the two into one and when problems occur and they do, the Spirit suffers. Communication of the heart has to occur or the marriage will die. Nothing I can say or do will repair the life of the Spirit. Truth be known the buddy has already felt the loss of chemistry long ago, his spouse was in the same boat. Feeding the soul is each person's responsibility and a spouse is responsible for helping the other side along not detouring them. It all begins with the Supper of the Lamb and we all need it now. Be faithful to God receive forgiveness for your sins and everything else will follow, something like a Shepard and his sheep.

Is That Really Such a Good Idea?

We had been in Saudi for nearly 2 days and were staying at an abandoned track stadium. Our unit had live ammunition and we had set up checkpoints and done drills to prepare for a possible attack. One particular afternoon a Saudi officer of the royal marines came to talk to one of our commanders. He said he was preparing a mock attack with his highly trained marines and wanted to see if we could respond correctly to it. I'm afraid its not possible our commander said, we can't just do a mock exercise. The Saudi said that he was assuring his men won't get to physical and only had blanks in their weapons. They will begin within the hour and we will stand up in the stadium and watch. Our commander said (alarmed at this point) you can't do that you have to call it off! The Saudi said why do you want me to do this ? Our commander remarked that our men have real ammunition and were kind of jumpy right now. The Saudi cancelled the exercise immediately. Being prepared sometimes means asking questions in advanced. God has given us the ability to reason so go ahead and ask, the day is coming are you prepared?

A Wave in the Right Direction.....

I've always been accustomed to waving at other people. Living in a small town were visibility is an everyday thing and working for a public COOP, you get seen a lot. Waving sets the public aware with you and lets them know we recognize them. Recently I took a trip to update my license which required a 700 mile round trip, when I'm in my private vehicle I have a hard time remembering that I'm not in my company vehicle. To make a long story I am addicted to waving at people and sometimes things( yes I said things). I've caught myself waving at signposts or stopsigns while preoccupied with other things. On my trip I tried to not wave as to try to control my need and sure enough when I would go through a small town someone would wave and before I knew what happened I would wave back. Reflexive or ingrained I'm not sure but I know it's in me and I can't control it. We want to know the unknown and be familiar with the unfamiliar, God designed us that way, in his image and likeness. You can run but you can't hide from it, and given time you can see it others you pass on the street. Go ahead give in and wave you know you want to.