The men in my life

I wanted to write a tribute to the men in my life, and tell you why they’re my heroes. 

#1 —  My husband
He is my ultimate hero.  I’m amazed by how much he’s grown since we met.  He loves God with all his heart and is totally submitted to His will.  He has never stopped loving me and has been faithful to me in a world where that is not always the easiest thing to do.  He has taught me to open my heart and to love unconditionally.  For all these things and more, he is my #1 hero.

#2 –  My son
My son is my hero because he has shown me that there is innocence and purity in this corrupted world.  He has brought me a kind of joy that I’ve never known before.  Sometimes it feels like my heart is going to explode because it can’t hold all the love I feel for him.  He gives my life meaning because I know that I have a huge influence on the kind of man he will become.  I don’t take that lightly. 

#3 – My dad
My dad is my hero because I’ve never questioned his love for his family.  He has always worked hard to provide for us.  He has always tried to give us the best.  He’s also my hero because of how much he loves my mom.  Theirs is one of the few marriages in either of their families that has been successful.  I’m thankful that I have parents to show me that I can stay married for better or for worse, even though most people seem to ignore that part of their vows.

#4 – My dad-in-love (father-in-law)
My father in law is my hero because he has spent years serving God faithfully, always doing what God asks of him even when it may not be what he wants to do.  He believes in the importance of family and has instilled those values in his children.  He has been a great example to his son both spiritually and as a man.  I owe him greatly for showing my husband how to be a great father and a loving husband.

Rainbow over Devil’s Peak

The above picture was titled “Rainbow over Devil’s Peak” by the photographer who captured it.  I just love the fact that it is called this.  Rainbows are such beautiful creations of God.  It’s amazing to see the vivid colors that suddenly appear in the sky.  I have one question for you though.  Have you ever seen a rainbow but after the rain?  Rainbows only show up after the rain subsides.  And in life and in nature, the rain isn’t always a subtle, calm process.  Most of the time, it’s joined by storms, thunder and lightening.  So, if you’re going through the rain of the storm, just hold on because it won’t be long until you see that joyous rainbow.  It’s just over the Devil’s Peak.

Closed Doors

My son Gray started crawling a few weeks ago, and now he’s really on the move!  I was doing some things around the house this morning going in and out of different rooms.  I normally keep all the doors closed so that he doesn’t get out of my sight and get into something he shouldn’t.  Every time he would see an open door, he would start to make his way over to it.  Then, just as he reached it, I would close it.  This happened several times as you can probably imagine.  It made me start to think about something.  That’s exactly how it feels sometimes when we are searching for God’s will in our lives.  From a distance we see a door that appears to be open, but when we finally get to it, it closes.  Maybe God is just trying to keep us from getting into something that we shouldn’t.  We have to keep trying though, because one day we will reach a door that isn’t closed, and just like a child, we’ll be amazed at the possibilites we find.

Finding the reader within myself

All my life, I’ve disliked reading.  But unlike some who don’t like to read, I’ve always wanted to be able to enjoy it.  I just can’t seem to stay focused.  I’ll read a couple of lines, and suddenly find my mind wondering, thinking about what I’m going to do when I reach my stopping point in the book.  I really feel like I just haven’t found the right book to stir up my passion for reading.  So, I’ve decided I’m going on a search for that book.  I’m thinking about trying one of Nicolas Sparks’ novels.  So, if anyone out there has any suggestions, feel free to let me know.

Here’s a tip

I don’t know about you, but I believe the act of “tipping” is getting seriously out of control.  A tip is supposed to be something you feel you should give in addition to the cost of a product because you received excellent service.  I don’t believe it should be that you are required to give a certain percentage of the cost of your meal to a waiter or waitress to pay their salary.  If that’s the case, then why are we paying so much more to eat in a restaurant than we would to eat at home.  It’s supposed to be for the service, but no, the owners of these establishments are making pure profit while we feel responsible for the fact that they are only paying their workers two dollars an hour!  Something just doesn’t add up here.  If you pay attention, you’ll see that when you have a party of 8 or more and the “gratuity” is automatically added, alot of times you don’t get very good service.  Why do they need to give excellent service?  They already know they’re going to get a tip.  Don’t get me wrong, I give a tip most of the time.  If a waiter or waitress does an average or above average job, I tip accordingly.  But if I have to wait 30 minutes for them to greet me, then another 30 for them to take my order, in which they get wrong and bring me the wrong food, never refill my drink, or are just plain rude, I don’t think so.

Oh yeah, and what’s the deal with these “tip jars”?  Everywhere you go, whether it’s Starbuck’s or a gas station, they have a tip jar.  And if you pay with a credit card there’s always a place to add a tip.  What am I tipping you for?  I’m paying for the product, you’re getting paid to do your job!  That’s like me working at a law firm, and when the attorney asks me to bring him a file, I ask for a tip.  That sounds crazy doesn’t it because I’m just doing what I’m getting paid to do, right?  Well, there you go, that’s my opinion.

Modern day burning bush

Have you ever had God just absolutely blow your mind?  Isn’t it an awesome feeling?  So many times we try to find God’s will, and we expect him to reveal it in a certain way.  Only to have him show us in a way we would have never imagined, but yet it is as clear to us as if He would have sent an Angel to tell us!  It’s a wonderful feeling to know He is in control, and He knows how to speak to us!  It doesn’t always have to be a burning bush, even when he speaks in that still small voice, we just know.