Plan your Journey

  Have you ever been on a journey and wound up in an unexpected place or circumstance? At first you think how did I get here. I am known best for circling a parking lot searching for the perfect spot to park. Just ask my wife and kids how annoyed they get sometimes. One will blurt out just park it.

  We have been to Texas many times for Lacey's surgeries. One particular time a year or so ago we had to drive home to Florida because of Lacey's lungs. It was not safe to fly back home. We left about 5:00PM headed out of San Antonio. The 20 something hour journey had begun. The plan was to drive about three hours to Houston and stop and be close to Texas Children's Hosptial in case we had an emergency. We had directions out of town and we started our journey. After 30 minutes of driving it felt like maybe our journey was headed in the wrong direction so we turned around and headed back to where we just left. Needless to say we spent an hour on a journey to nowhere. We were headed south when we should have been heading east.

   Why did we spend an extra hour on our journey? We didn't have an old school map. The rental van did not have a GPS. We were simply relying on signs, wrong directions and did I mention we called someone that was somewhat familiar with San Antonio and they helped steer us toward our journey in the wrong direction. We got to Houston but an hour later than planned. I simply failed to properly chart our exit out of town. My unpreparedness caused us to be extra tired and roll into Houston later than planned.

   I said all that to say this how many times on my Christian journey have I failed to plan my route with prayer, fasting, guidance from my pastor and mentors. Every time we don't plan our journey or our walk with God we become disoriented and head the wrong way.

  The first step in turning around and heading in the right direction on your journey is to stop for a moment, survey your surroundings and say to yourself I am headed in the wrong direction. Start your journey back as we did in San Antonio and get back to your starting point in your walk with God. Once we got back to town it all came back and we took familiar roads headed this time in the right direction.

  There is no such thing as I can't find my way back. We could have just stopped that night in San Antonio and gave up but we pressed forward. I remember how frustrated we were to know we had driven an hour for naught. God knows exactly where we are and if our journey is headed in the wrong direction. He knows what your frustrations are and how to turn them around.

My prayer is that a back slider realizes that their journey needs to circle back and pick up where they left off and move from their original starting point to a new dimension and direction in Christ.

Thanks for reading and God Bless

Pine Trees

   I really like pine trees. I see them Monday through Friday at work. There are several and the pine cones and pine straw is everywhere. They always bring back memories of growing up.

  I remember as a kid the pine trees at my grannie and papa's house. There were a few to the right of their house by the highway and it seemed like the perfect escape for fun and play. I remember my papa letting me help him cut wood one time with a two man cross cut saw. He had an old coke bottle with kerosene in it and the neck was stuffed with pine needles. It worked like a paint brush and he would go up and down the saw to lubricate it. Their woods were full of them and later after they passed the land was timbered to help pay medical bills.

  Pine trees milled into lumber and plywood  and they are a valuable resource for building. They can be found at any home building supply store. I saw a log truck this morning loaded with pine timbers and it reminded me of my uncle who had a pulp wood business in the 70's and early 80's and prompted me to write this.

  The next time you see a stand of pine trees remember these will most likely be timbered at some point and will need to be replanted with new trees.

Help replenish this valuable resource by planting a tree!

Auburndale girl's inspiring story

Auburndale girl's inspiring story

2012

We are almost a month into the year of 2012. What has happened so far?



Well for starters our church http://www.eaglelakechurch.com/ is in a month long journey of prayer and fasting. It is called The Spiritual Awakening. We have seen a great shift in our attitude concerning the things of God and his kingdom. God has poured out his blessings in healing, salvation and baptism. Last Sunday seven children were baptized. Two were filled with his spirit and one last Friday night.

It is amazing what happens when we become involved with something bigger than ourselves.

There is not a lack of God in the earth today. There is a lack of hunger to seek him. I see over and over people who are looking for love in all the wrong places. The Bible said God is Love.

My family has dusted off our family alter in our home. We will not be lulled off into so much carnal stuff this year that we forget that we were born to serve others. I have read one book this year and started another to work on my spiritual man. My wife has read two and is starting her third.

The scriptures said to seek him and you shall find him. Keyword is SEEK.

Until next time God Bless and lets see 2012 be the most powerful year for the Kingdom of God.

Where is the Burden?

I have been thinking lately about how many people are hurting and need someone to share some hope and love with them.

It seems like with such an abundance of technology that everyone would be happy and have more friends than they know what to do with but it is just the opposite. There is more confusion and loneliness than ever. You can hear and see it in the words of FaceBook and other social media sites. We are guilty of isolating ourselves and spending hours on trivial sites.

There is a cry in the world today to be accepted and and to have a since of belonging. You can see it in the way teenagers and adults engage in certain types of activities and behaviors.

When are we as a Christians going to get back to the basics of caring for our world and fellow human beings? Have we decided to just give up on people and ride out the storm without trying to rescue anyone along the way?

I think it's time to be more like Christ and rekindle the fire that was born in us we when were saved and allow the tears of compassion to flow again.

If you have stopped caring about people my prayer is that God will renew your passion for a fresh burden. There is no greater reward either financially or other that compares to seeing someone without hope be set free by the power of God.

My family is so blessed. We've had a life changing experience over the past 11 years. As I look at two sisters I see two couragous young ladies. They are best friends and they have been by each others side every step of the way.

I am amazed at how God has has given Lorann a compassion for children like Lacey. She started high school this year and she is working toward becoming a neo natal nurse. She is already taking courses in that direction. She will make an awesome nurse!

Lacey is so amazing. You would not believe how she walks now. She is full of wisdom and humor.

Thank you again Dr. Song and the staff of Seattle Childrens Hospital for making Lacey's dream come true.

My Church Family

Today I want to take a look at a common phrase used in many churches. It's called "My Church Family". We hear it often to describe our fellow church goers.

After a recent event at our church I was moved to asked myself is this just a phrase I use?

Our Bishop and founding Pastor's son and granddaughter were in an accident and both were ejected from the vehicle. His son was airlifted to the hospital with multiply fractures and a severe laceration to the back of his head. He will remain in rehab for a while. His granddaughter was badly bruised but sent home the next day to recover. All of this on the heels of a stroke he had in January of this year. Are you starting to feel what I mean when I say "My Church Family".

When the news came last Tuesday my heart was broken for this family. I went to the hospital immediately after work and his wife took me back to see him. He was on a ventilator, neck brace, stitches in his head and heavily sedated. I wanted to find a place and ball my eyes out. I really took on the meaning of "My Church Family" and allowed the hurt and pain of this family to penetrate my soul.

Webster's Dictionary states the definition of Family as: kin, tribe, folks, group or relatives.

The Bible tells us to bear ye one anothers burdens. The next time you hear "My Church Family" remember that when one member hurts we should all hurt as Christ intended.

I have accepted the burden of this family on my heart and will not be satisfied until my brother and sister in Christ are completely whole.

Please keep them in your prayers

God bless
Tim

The Power of a Vision

I have a passion for photography! My first camera that I can remember owning was a Kodak 110. I don’t remember how old I was but I think I was around 13 or 14. In those days there were no digital cameras or for that matter not even a computer. I had the camera at Disney World in my shirt pocket. It was about an inch thick by about 4 inches long. I was jumping up and down on the rope bridge at Tom Sawyers Island and out came the camera just out of grasps reach and bubbled all the way to bottom of the pond. It may still be there some twenty five years later.

Cameras were a passion of my fathers. Some where from the early 1900’s and some were modern day. I am privileged now to have the collection since his passing. He even had a dark room at one point and developed some of his own pictures.

I find Photography fascinating and visually intriguing. You can never take two pictures just alike. Even of the same subject. You may have intended for one thing and something else shows up in the picture oblivious to you when you snapped the lens. It’s not always easy to explain or describe something you have seen. You may have seen a mountain with a beautiful white snow capped top and a small stream at the bottom and a deer standing in front of this magnificent scene. I gave you a visual description but there is no way I could ever do it justice like a picture could.

Jesus said without a vision my people parish. We must have God driven vision in our daily lives. We must continually be looking through the eyes of Christ.

As I become older my vision is not as good as it was in my teenage years. I now have glasses because of stigmatism. I don’t see as good at night as I did 20 years ago.

What God sees in people is exactly how photography works. The person or thing being photographed does not know what is being viewed from the lens. Only the photographer knows. Only God knows what he sees in us. You and I may see a person and say that would not make a good picture but God looks at the individual and snaps the lens of hope on that person. The next time you see a homeless person, a drunk, a drug addict or someone that doesn’t look like good subject matter remember God has the view through his lens.

Laceys Home

Lacey and my family made it home safely on Tuesday night. She is doing good. Her incisions look good. She has rested up for the past couple of days and has enjoyed being back home.

I can't wait until the weekend. It's been a long week and I am ready to chill out and rest.

Take Care,

Tim

Lacey is Coming Home

Lacey was released from the hosptial on Saturday afternoon. She is recovering at the hotel and they will be flying home tonight. She is feeling much better than the two days after surgery. Each surgery is always different as far as the recovery goes. As I said in the prior post it is amazing what the VEPTR has done for her.

I got home on Sunday and was very jet lagged. There is no place like home and sleeping in your own bed.

Thank you for all of your prayers!

Take Care,

Tim

Lacey's Surgery

Well it's that time again and Lacey had surgery on her back this past Wed. in San Antonio, Tx.

The surgery went well. They had to do a little more than expected so her recovery has been slower than normal. Lacey has great doctors and nurses here that take very good care of her.

She has not been out of bed for the past two days. Usually after day two she is a lot better. We are hoping tomorrow is her turn around day and she gets out by Sunday.

I am amazed after 24 surgeries of what accomplishments have been made in her life. She is such a strong child but this time she was really emotional about it. I guess because she is almost 10 and it seems to her that it will never end. I would gladly take her place as almost any parent would do.

You would not believe how she is walking since surgery on her knees. She uses a walker but in a store or at home she is taking off walking without it. We would never have dreamed of the success on her knees. You have to remember this a girl who never walked until she was eight.

She told her mother and I Sunday that we were the two best parents in the world to take off work and be with her during her surgeries.

We are a blessed family!

Tim

It's been a while

It's been well over a year since I posted anything on my blog.

I didn't run away and yes my Internet and computer were working. I will say it was a lack of commitment.

I have been thinking lately of two cousins that have been a big inspiration to me. I don't get to talk to them very often but this past weekend I left a voice mail for one of them to call me in hopes to meet up with him while he was in our state.

Today at lunch (now yesterday) my phone rang and it was him.
We talked a good 30 minutes about our kids, our jobs, church work and a host of other things.

I realized that if you and I are not careful we will let the busyness and lack of commitment rob us of a lot of great things and friendships in our lives.

For those of you who have checked my blog over and over to find nothing new. I commit to you something new.

PS

Lacey is doing amazing! Her surgery on her knees worked! She is walking with a walker and walking about 10 feet without it. There will more to come on her progress.

Thank you Dr. Kit Song and Seattle Children's Hospital. We will forever be grateful for what you did for her.

Until the next blog

Tim

Lacey's going back to Seattle

Lacey, her mom, and her nanny(Tammy's mom) are headed back to Seattle tomorrow until Dec 16th. She will be getting her cast off, her braces put on, water and physical therapy everyday except Sundays while in Seattle. We are excited and they are going to try to get her to stand.

It is supposed to snow tomorrow and Sunday in Seattle. They are excited about that since it has not snowed here in our town since 1977.

Please keep them in your prayers so they have a safe flight.

Friendships

This past weekend my wife and I ran into some friends at the mall who have been friends of ours for over 18 years. They have all moved away and we were shocked to run into them. They were in town for the Thanksgiving holidays to spend time with family. We were so thrilled to see them and their children and to see how they had grown. We reminisced about old times and talked about the latest news in all of our lives. It was such a wonderful time. I told my wife when we left how much I missed them after just spending a little bit of time there in the store with them.

That night I began to think about the friendships in my life and felt compelled to write the following about friendships from my prospective.

There are two types of friendships

Friendships for life

This is a friend that you will be connected to in some way all of your life. You may only see them or talk to them occasionally or everyday. They can be family members, a co-worker, a church friend, a high school friend or etc.

These types of friendships play an important role. They will always have some influence in our lives. When we see them it will be just as I described about seeing our friends over the weekend.


Friendships for a season

These are friends who been in your life at one time or another. It could have been a teacher, a coach, a peer, a person in a town you lived in and has since moved away.

Although you will probably never talk to them again or see them they played a valuable role as a friend at a certain time of your life. Their friendship meant a lot and when you think about not seeing them it makes you feel sad.

Both of these types of friendships have a place in your life.



What are the characteristics of friendships?

1. Memories : They contribute to a lot of memories. You have fun together. You cry together. You laugh together. You hurt together.



2. Honesty: You are honest with each other even if it hurts.



3. Confide: You can share your deepest secrets without the fear of it being told.



4. Unconditional: Friends give of their time and listen without expecting anything in return.



5. Disagreements: You can disagree in friendships and still have a relationship.



6. Forgiveness: There is forgiveness in friendships when things are done or said.



7. Others first: In friendships you will put your needs aside and your friends first.



8. Caring: Friends care about each other and are concerned about the welfare of them and their families.
   
   
9. Supportive: Friendships will be supportive and help you in difficult decisions.



10. Encouragement: Friendships will encourage you and help you in times of need.

As I was writing these thoughts I began to think of the many friendships in my life and to all THANK YOU for being a friend!

There have been so many that I could not list all of the people who have helped me in one of the 10 areas above.

I encourage each and every one of you to cultivate the friendships in your lives. As I reach the middle of my life I see even more the need for friendships.

Lacey's home

Lacey and Tammy got home yesterday afternoon. They were really tired and have rested a little today. Lacey was very glad to be home. She said I really don't like the city of Seattle.

Thanks Again for all of your prayers

Laceys coming home!

Just a quick note to let everyone know Lacey is coming home tomorrow. They leave tonight on the red eye and get home at noon.

She went to the doctor today and he is very pleased with her progress. We can't wait to see them. I will post more pictures when she gets home.

Update on Lacey Sunday 11-11

Lacey give Tammy a little bit of a scare yesterday. Her right knee started popping Friday night and yesterday morning. At first they thought her plate may have come loose. They took her to the hospital yesterday. They checked her out and everything seems to be ok. Not sure what the popping is about. She will see the doctor on Tuesday for follow up. They are scheduled to fly home on Tuesday night so please keep her in your prayers.

Don't fall asleep on me

I have done the night shift at the hospital for a while now when Lacey has her surgeries. Last year in the fall she had one of her rib expansions and did great. I was very tired and exhausted. The Christus Santa Rosa Hospital in S.A. Texas has day beds in the PICU units.

The night after this particular surgery I fell fast asleep. When I would hear the nurse or RT come in I would lay there and not get up as I usually do. When they would leave I would fall right back to sleep. The next morning she was talking and I called her PaPa to let her say hi. With her witty humor the first thing she told him was my dad didn't do anything last night but sleep. I started laughing. Needless to say I have never lived it down and now I make sure she sees me in the middle of the night.

That leads me to this story. The morning of this surgery in Seattle while Lacey was in the pre-op area waiting without prompting she looks at me and said hey Bud don't fall asleep on me this is a serious surgery so I asked her to repeat herself and videoed it. She's picked up the word bud and that made it even funnier.

I am so amazed at how she always tries to have a sense of humor even in times like these.

Update on Lacey Tues. 11-06 8:43 PM ET

Lacey was discharged this afternoon from the hospital and back at RMH. Her mom said it was like turning on a light switch when she left. She was so happy to get out after just a day. We are counting down the days now for her arrival home.

Update on Lacey's Surgery Today 11-05 7:39ET

Balloons from Special Friends!

Garden at Seattle Childrens Hospital!

Lacey had her cast removed today and her knees stretched some more and a new cast. She now has a bar at the feet and the knees. They also made molds for her legs for her braces. The doctor got another 5 to 7% correction on both knees. They both were 90% and now the left leg is around 13% and the right leg is around 23%. They will improve even more with therapy. Her vitals were a little rocky this afternoon but has improved. She will stay the night in PICU. As expected she is in a lot of pain again.

Thanks to all of you for your prayers.