Merry Christmas!!!

From the Hershner family!!!

Jump!

So last night Holly, the boys and I went to the mall and did a little Chic-Fil-A together and then dropped Holly off to get her hair done. Yeah let me just say, I think EVERYONE in Cincinnati was there! There should have been traffic lights in the mall just to move people along. Gotta love that last minute Christmas shopping!

Anyway while Holly was getting her hair done, the boys and I headed to the play area in the middle of the mall. And just like most boys do, (or at least like MINE do) they played until playing just wasn’t enough anymore. Apparently if danger isn’t involved, it’s just not as fun! So Owen (2 ½) saw Cole (4 ½) jumping off of the bridge and thought…that looks like fun and thought he’d try that. (You know that whole thing, “If your brother jumped off of a bridge, would you do it too? Well I’m pretty sure Owen’s answer is, “Yep!”) Well after Owen would jump, he would hit so hard that he bounced! So as I’m taking his picture, the woman beside me says, “He’s hitting the ground pretty hard” (hint, hint). And as I’m holding my phone to take his picture, I say, “Uh huh.” (Check out the guy in the orange shirt in the background. It caught his attention too!)

Why is that? Why do little boys like danger? One explanation that I’ve read about in the book “Wild at Heart,” goes back to the very beginning of man when God created Adam. John Eldredge shares that in Genesis 2:7, God creates Adam. Then in verse 8 God places him in the Garden of Eden. Therefore although Eve was created in the Garden, Adam was not. Eldredge uses this to indicate that this might be why men and little boys desire adventure and the wild, because that’s where it all began.

Regardless of the reason, unlike the woman beside me,
I was pretty proud of my little guy’s jump!

Reality of Christmas!

This video basically says it all, so I'm going to let it!

"The Shack"...I mean..."The Cabin"

I'm headed to where my heart longs to be most every day...the woods!!! Let me introduce you to "The Cabin!" This is kind of like my home away from home! If you are a friend of Trevor or myself then there's a pretty good chance you've visited the cabin! It's kind of like it's not official until you've met the cabin...well sort of.

I know it may not look like much, but this picture stirs up many good memories for me and the many friends that have visited! And...if you look closely you may see the next generation of stories that are soon to come!

What place stirs up good memories for you?

Santa Clause Is Coming to Town

I know there is a lot of debate out there as to whether Santa Clause really exists or not. Now granted I don’t know exactly where you stand on this or what your experience is with this, but I felt that there was a definite need to post this. So for those of you who struggle with the idea of the Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny or Santa Clause being real…I am posting this proof that Santa does exist!

Now I know exactly what you’re thinking and no…there are NO altercations to this photo! I just happened to get lucky and get this 1 in a million shot of the big man himself!

I am so setting cookies out this year!

Proud Daddy

Have you ever spoke or sang in front of people before? For some folks it is a scary thing to get in front of people to speak or sing. (My wife being one of these folks!) For me it all began when I was just a little guy. I can remember days and nights where dad would have all of his buddies over to play music and they would jam in our living room. Multiple guitars, both acoustic and electric would fill the house with sounds of vocals, violins and harmonicas. It basically depended on the night and the buddies that showed up. Although I didn’t play music at that time, me and Trevor (my brother) would run around in our underwear and dance to the music. Not the audience they were looking for…but it was fun for us!

Now that I’ve grown up some I don’t run around in my underwear “much” anymore. But one thing that I still enjoy is music! Well today I got the chance to appreciate some Christmas music sang by a bunch of pre-schoolers. My oldest son Cole sang at his Christmas concert / pageant and got to be on the “big stage!” Although he didn’t have a solo or special part, it was pretty special for “daddy” who got to watch and wave from a distance. While I was sitting there feeling proud of my little guy, it reminded me of how my dad said he felt when I was on stage. Neat how things come full circle sometimes! Here is a picture during the concert and one after.

Who are you proud of?

Have you let them know today?

The Only Thing

Several of you might have wondered, “I wonder why he has never mentioned God in any of his blogs…then again maybe you haven’t. But if you have, it’s because I have intentionally done this. However please don’t be mistaken. Because as the books “Esther” and “Song of Solomon” have never mentioned “God,” it in no way defines a lack of God’s presence! As good as my relationship is with the Author of life, I certainly have a LONG way to go! And if I can be transparent with you right now, I’d like to share a song with you that really identifies the heart of the one who authors this blog! (Listen)

Ronnie Freeman “The Only Thing”
http://www.myspace.com/ronniefreemanmusic

What song do you identify with?

Family Night!

Here is a small glimpse into a night at the Hershner household as the boys are INTENTLY watching Ice Age 3 "Dawn of the Dinosaurs!" I think Owen was a little scared, so he jumped up on mom's lap. Gotta love a movie night!

Don't forget to spend some good quality time

with your friends or family this weekend!

P.S.--This is random, but if you have an iphone

check out this website and you get to upload a free game each day.

http://appventcalendar.com/

The adventure continues...

Here is a picture to bring back a few memories for me. At first glance it resembles my two boys, Cole and Owen. However when you look at the picture a little closer you should notice the cut off jeans and the old green station wagon in the background. Yep, early 80's! Good times!

In this picture Trevor and I had just got done doing some Pete Rose dives through mud puddles left behind by a storm that passed through the night before. Not sure when mom took this picture, but it has accurately captured the hearts of both Trevor and me…“Go for the adventure!” So much so that I think we forgot to eat!

Although a lot of things have changed since the 80’s…I still have the desire for adventure! And if given the chance, I would join these little boys and take another Pete Rose dive with them!

Not sure where I wanted to go with this post,
except to recognize that this little boy’s adventure still continues!
I hope yours does too!

It's Skyline Time Tonight!

Every year about this time, things have a tendency to spin out of control. Gifts to buy, house to clean, decorations to put up, parties to attend, dinners to make, MORE gifts to buy…and all of this with a smile to hide the stress of it all. Well here is a story about a family that has decided to do things a little different this year. Instead of falling into the same routine year after year, these children have decided to think beyond themselves and get to the heart of what Christmas is really all about!

Erika(14), Emily(14), Sami(9) and Josh(6) (all siblings) have decided to try and raise $1,000 dollars to buy presents for terminally ill children at Children’s Hospital! They are calling this effort, “Creating Smiles for Kids!” This is not a school activity or an idea their parents pushed on them. This idea came from when one of them was a patient at Children's Hospital and when leaving, she left with a deep sense of need to do something for those children who couldn't leave! Currently they have already teamed with Chic-Fil-A and are now teaming with Skyline (At Beechmont and Salem) TONIGHT between 5 - 8pm!!!

Here are the details for those of you in the

Cinci area that would like to help:

Who: Erika, Emily, Sami, Josh
What: Fund raiser for terminally ill children
Where: Skyline (Beechmont and Salem)
When: (TONIGHT) Monday, December 7th between 5 - 8pm
How to help: Simple! Enjoy some Skyline tonight at this location and be sure to write “Creating Smiles for Kids” on your bill and Skyline will donate 20% to their cause!

Thank you Erika, Emily, Sami and Josh for helping me

see a greater side of the Christmas season!

Christmas Decorations

I didn't have time today to write what I wanted to say, so instead I'm sending a little humor your way. Here's a story from someone named Kerry:

"Good news is that I truly out did myself this year with my Christmas decorations. The bad news is that I had to take him down after 2 days. I had more people come screaming up to my house than ever. Great stories. But two things made me take it down. First, the cops advised me that it would cause traffic accidents as they almost wrecked when they drove by.

Second, a 55 year old lady grabbed the 75 pound ladder almost killed
herself putting it against my house and didn't realize it was fake until she climbed to the top (she was not happy). By the way, she was one of many people who attempted to do that. My yard couldn't take it either. I have more than a few tire tracks where people literally drove up my yard. Kind of feel like I gave in to the man by taking him down but my neighbor did confirm to near miss accidents on the busy street next to my house. I think I made him too real this time, so it was fun while it lasted."

--Kerry--

Ahh...Christmas memories

Alright, I have to be honest with you. Yesterday’s post about “O Holy Night” was not actually by me. But for as bad as it was, it almost has 200,000 views which isn't too shabby! I found it on youtube and thought it would be a fun hello for Dec. 1st to kick off the Christmas season!

Hey, let me ask you this. Since Christmas is what…23 days away, what are some of your favorite memories or traditions that you and your family used to do? Do you have any good stories worth sharing?

Well for me I remember we had a 50’ foot Christmas tree in our living room one year. (Well it seemed like 50’ when I was little) Anyway I remember we had it set up and all I could think about was finding this “Big Bird Sesame Street Jacket” underneath of it for Christmas!!! This jacket was the hottest item in my opinion that year! (And no it wasn’t my senior year) Anyway on Christmas day as we were opening presents there was a box sitting on the floor that had my name on it. It was all wrapped up and was exactly the right size to possibly be hiding this 1 in a million jacket! When my mom handed it to me I tore it open, hoping this was the jacket that was going to make me the coolest kid at my school! I opened it up and sure enough it was a Sesame Street jacket!!! However…as I turned it over it was...Oscar the Grouch! WHAT!!! Now I was going to be known as “The Grouch” of the school??? I wish I could say that I eventually came to my senses and realized that it cost my parents a lot of money and they tried their best…buttttttt…yeeaahhh……not so much.

Right behind me was a fireplace that my dad had started earlier to keep us warm on that early morning. (Yeah, you’re already ahead of me) Well as soon as mom and dad left the room I opened the door and threw it in and closed the door. My mom came into the room and saw the fire blazing and asked, “Where’s your jacket?” Let me just stop things there. Needless to say…funnier now!

Anyway if you get a chance,
send me good Christmas story that you have!

American Idol...here I come!

Well...it's officially December! For some of you you're dreading the fact that it’s December and are still trying to wake up from the Triptephan over Thanksgiving. For others, you are excited and listening to Christmas music, putting up Christmas lights, Christmas trees, making hot chocolate, burning wood in your fireplaces, watching Christmas movies, burning Yankee candles to remind you of Christmas, making some hot chocolate and possibly…already making cookies!

I may not be doing all of those things, but one thing that I have been doing is singing some Christmas songs. As most of you know…I love to sing. So I’ve recorded and posted on youtube…me singing, “O Holy Night.” Pitchy in a few places, but overall not too bad.

Let me know what you think!

Saying Goodbye

Well it's official!!! Last day of November means last day for these crazy beards! Maybe not for everyone, but certainly for me. I have to be honest. It was a fun ride until it started to feel like a broom on my face when I tried to sleep on my pillow at night. Plus it felt a little weird shampooing my hair AND my face! Felt a little bit like Teen Wolf…if you remember what that even is!

All in all…good time with good friends…worth it!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

This is the time of year that we tend to focus on all of the things that we are thankful for. I’ll be honest…a lot of thoughts, memories, faces and experiences come to my mind. Heck just this week I have had the chance to further friendships from California and North Carolina!

Monday night was a good chance to hang out with Sean and Sheyenne, playing some Settler’s of Catan and pounding down some sliders from White Castle at 11:00pm. (Sounded like a good idea at the time.) Love you guys!

Then Tuesday hanging out with Steve from NC, eating at Butterbee’s and playing some new game of Monopoly with cards till 12:00am. Leave it to Steve to find us a new game! Love ya bud!

That’s just the first 2 days this week, so I’m looking forward to being with family once I finish this blog! As always, I’m sure I’ll return with stories. Just might not be able to share all of them with you.

Be sure to enjoy your families this holiday and don’t forget to be thankful! We only have family and friends for a short time!

Love ‘em this week!!!

Who Am I?

Who am I? Have you ever confronted yourself with this question? I’m not talking about an audible question that you ask yourself and then quickly answer...only to look around and see if anyone saw you talking to yourself. I’m talking about a more in depth look inwardly as to who you really are! For instance if I asked, “Who are you,” could you define yourself by more than just a first, middle and last name? If so, how would you define yourself…the core of who you really are?

I am pushing for these answers in my own life. Granted I know myself pretty well after 33 years of being Clayton Hershner, but there are so many unknowns as to what I am REALLY capable of. I mentioned one of my goals being skydiving in a previous blog, but that is just one of the ways in which I hope to test myself and see exactly what and where my boundaries are, where each of my weaknesses lay, and where each of my strengths reside! I am going through my goals for 2010 and it has pushed me to look at this from a professional viewpoint, but also from a personal vantage point. I want to reveal these areas in my life so I can be confident of who I am! The tested, tried and true version of who I am…not just who I THINK I am! This kind of confidence I’m talking about is described by Maximus Decimus Meridius in the movie Gladiator, played by Russell Crowe.

In case you are not familiar with this movie: Maximus lost his wife and son to a corrupt emperor who now confronts him in this scene, unaware that this gladiator is Maximus...whom he despises. When asked his name, Maximus responds not only by revealing his name, but by revealing “Who he is!” Notice that he defines his identity through his full name, by those he leads, by the allegiance of the one he serves, and even by his pain! He has been tested and tried by life in many ways and confidently reveals “Who he is!”

Do I believe we should all go out and be gladiators, testing our limits in order to better define the core of who we are…you tell me. Because I will say this! As I encounter difficult seasons in my life, the ones I turn to first are those who have bravely fought through life’s battles and have intentionally weathered those storms!

Because of this I choose to be a gladiator!

Time To Celebrate!

TIME TO CELEBRATE!!! I finished the book “Wild at Heart!” If you’re not sure why I’m celebrating the fact that I got through a book, you’ll need to check out this blog:

http://claytonhershner.blogspot.com/2009/11/accomplishment.html

So how am I going to celebrate? Holly and I are going to be spending some time with some close friends of ours tonight! Actually the visit with them wasn’t planned for the finishing of my book, but the cherry sparkling (non-alcoholic) wine is! Even if it’s a small step forward…celebrate it!

What are you celebrating today?

Novembeard's 11-19-09

First of all let me say, “I AM SHOCKED!!!” I thought for sure I would at least have 1 comment from yesterday’s blog about the tree. Seriously, does everyone put up a Christmas tree the week before Thanksgiving??? It’s funny because I remember when I was younger we put it up like the week before Christmas and Trevor (my brother) and I said it had to be a live tree!!! It just wasn’t Christmas with a “fake” tree. Funny how things change huh.

Alright, enough about yesterday! As promised here is an update on the beards around the office. Everyone keeps asking me, "What does Holly say about your beard?" Well…when I first started it she was kind of dreading the whole process, but now that it’s filling in she’s getting used to it and doesn’t mind it as much. This leads me to the second question that I get which is, “What do you think about it.” My answer: “It’s growing on me!” I don’t know…I guess I’m looking forward to getting it off of my face for the most part, but there is a small part of me that will miss it. Kind of weird for someone who’s not a big facial hair guy. Anyway, here are the pictures of the “Novembeards!”

Hey if you are doing this or know someone that is, tell me about it!

Top (Left to right) Gregg / Brian / Matt

Bottom (Left to right) George / Me / Sean (CA)

What do you think?

I'm not sure where you stand on this, but I came home last night and saw something that caught my attention. Now before I go on, I need to warn you! What I am about to describe may not be for everyone. In fact this may make some of you reading this feel a little uneasy or upset, while some of you may run home to make some hot chocolate, start a fire and watch Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. Here's how it went down:

I got home last night and saw something that wasn't there the day before. In fact when I saw it, (if I'm being honest) it kind of drew me in. It was as if I were a moth to a flame. I walked in our front door and immediately my shadow was cast on the door behind me. This 7 1/2 foot object was taking up a large portion of my living room, but for some strange reason I was okay with it. When I was younger it was typical to see a live one of these in our house. Yes for some it's a little premature but it is...our Christmas Tree!

I may be setting myself up, but let me know what you think:

In your opinion when is the best time to set up a Christmas tree?

Accomplishment!

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 18, 16, 17, 20. Cole has been trying to count to 20 for the past month or so and got there this way! Well after some hard work and persistence, Cole is now able to count from 1 – 20…in the correct order! As you can see from the smile in this picture, my boy was pretty excited and proud of his accomplishment! So Holly, Owen, Cole and I celebrated with a round of Frosties from Wendy’s! Seriously, what’s better than a chocolate shake? (Besides a real one!)

It got me thinking. What are you working towards in your life? Are you working towards something to accomplish…besides just making it to Friday? Even if it’s a small step forward, I am convinced that we need to set goals for us to accomplish. Cole counted to 20. Honestly for a 4 year old that’s not a huge step. I mean it was something he needed to be able to do, but it’s wasn’t huge. When setting goals I think we sometimes think we need something monumental or BIG! I’m not discouraging that, but I think smaller goals are just as important. If we always set these BIG goals ahead of ourselves, we can get discouraged with the climb and walk away thinking, "I can’t do it!" And we believe that! But if you read my blog labeled, “I haven’t been able to yet,” then you’ll know that this is a lie! It’s not that you can’t, it’s simply that you haven’t been able to yet. BIG difference!

For me, I’m not a big reader. I wish I liked reading more than I do, but I don’t. So one of my goals is to simply go through several books this year that will help me sharpen myself towards becoming the man that I need to be! So far I’ve completed one book and I am currently going through 2 others. Not a big step you say? You’re right…for some! But for me I’m intentionally stepping forward with a goal in mind. One of my bigger personal goals is to go Skydiving! Not a big step you say? Now you’re just flat out lying! Actually for me it’s a HUGE step because I’m scared to death of heights, not to mention the falling and possibly hitting the ground part. It may not get me over the fear of heights, but it will be my approach to come face to face with one of my fears. Again, it’s my attempt to step forward.

This last part is important too! When you accomplish a goal you need to celebrate it with someone, even if it’s a Frosty from Wendy’s!!! As big or as small as your goal is, celebrate it! Don’t diminish your work and write it off as petty. Be proud of your accomplishment and celebrate it! Who knows, you might inspire someone else in the process!

Your turn…what’s one goal you have?
Now how and when will you move forward to accomplish it?

Tyler

I have been teaching and leading children for a while now! I have been doing this fulltime since 2003 and have witnessed some amazing changes within the lives of families and children! In some ways I have even watched these children become young men and women! And although there are SO MANY people that I am proud of I wanted to share a quick story today about a boy (excuse me) young man named Tyler.

I met Tyler in NC, who happened to be a 4th grader at the time. He has what doctors refer to as…a lot of energy! (Much like myself at times!) Tyler was an individual who had the attention span of a fly. It really didn’t bother me too much except when it came to him listening and paying attention. While someone was teaching, Tyler seemed to always revert back to what he likes to do best…talk! He was one of the children where all of the teachers knew his name because they had to call it out a lot.

Well one year I remember being at camp with Tyler and he DID NOT want to be there. He didn’t keep it a secret either! He refused staying at camp another night and tried to make his point by not eating any food. I tried everything, but he wasn’t budging. Later that night I saw something in Tyler that I have never forgotten to this very day! That night there was a young girl who was getting baptized in the pool at camp. It was somewhat dark outside so the pool was lit up and students lined the entire span of the pool in order to watch. Directly across from me was Tyler, sitting on his knees, focusing on what was happening. As this girl was being baptized all the other kids were clapping and talking, but not Tyler. I noticed that Tyler had tears in his eyes and was smiling, as if to understand the deeper meaning at hand! From that very moment on, I have never looked at Tyler the same!

Let me fast forward you to Tyler now. Tyler is now 16 years old and is seriously…I mean this with all my heart…one in a 10 million!!! Honestly, any parent would be proud to call him their son! And although I am not his dad or even the one who deserves any credit, I still feel a deep sense of honor, love and pride to be someone that has helped lead him in his life! I KNOW in my heart that he will be, and IS ALREADY…“a man after God’s own heart!” He loves the Lord and he genuinely loves life and the people in it! A very rare find for someone who is 16!

How about your child? What do you see?
Hyperactive? Strong willed? ADD? ADHD?

I hope when you look closer, you see what I saw during that North Carolina summer night!
I hope you see a future "Tyler!"

Here’s to “doing what I do!”

Novembeard's 11-12-09

Okay so we're 12 days into "No Shave November" and it's time once again to give you an updated picture of us grizzly boyz.
Actually after I took these pictures, I thought I saw some resemblances. Do you see it or is it just me?

Let me know what you think.

(Couldn't find anyone I resemble)

My New Roommate

Today Matt (Student Minister) moved into Paula’s (Pre-K Minister) and my office today! We are making this change in order to better align Children’s and Student ministries so that we have a stronger long term plan! We hope to daily put our heads together, dream and assemble a game plan that has an intentional end in mind! It’s really been pretty exciting for us all!

What’s been exciting for you today?

Article

Each day I post something that has caught my attention for that particular day and so I share about it. Well today, since I live in Cincinnati, OH, something has caught my attention that I thought I would share with you.

What do you think about it? Or do you even care? I would love to hear your responses regardless where you stand. Here is a link that describes what I’m talking about.

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20091110/NEWS01/911110333/%20Godless%20%20billboard%20greets%20I-71%20drivers

I haven't been able to yet!

One thing we are doing with our family is removing the words, “I can’t” from our vocabulary. The biggest reason for this is so Holly, our boys and myself will see life as one big opportunity! A place where anything can happen! It’s been fun trying to teach a 4 ½ year old not to say, “I can’t!” Because at this age, there are a lot of things that are difficult to do! So instead of saying, “I can’t,” we say, “I haven’t been able to yet!”

Well Cole has had a difficult time tying his shoes lately and has said, “I can’t” a lot within the past couple of months. I keep telling him, “Cole it’s not that you can’t, because one day you WILL be able to!” ‘When you say the words, “I can’t,” that tells me that you have given up on trying!” ‘Instead say, “I haven’t been able to yet!”

True story, he came home from being at his grandparent’s house and was getting frustrated at tying his shoes. He held his shoestrings and said, “I ca...(he stopped himself then began again)…Daddy, I haven’t been able to do it yet!” You talk about being proud! I smiled from ear to ear and told him I was proud of him not giving up! He still continues to remind me every day that, just because it hasn’t been done doesn’t mean it can’t be done! Pretty cool!!!

Remember it’s not that you can’t,
it may simply be that you haven’t been able to yet!

"Art" by Owen

A typical morning for my wife and I is our youngest son wakes up and crawls into bed with us. We don’t mind it as long as he lies still, but that never happens! And it’s not just the fact that he crawls into bed, he’s got to WEDGE himself in between us with his cold little feet! Now I love my son, but cold feet on a warm body…someone’s gonna get hurt! Okay, not really. But seriously! I mean even when you’re exhausted, hibernating in a cocoon of blankets, trying to get that last half hour of rest before your alarm goes off and someone touches 2 ice cubes to your bare back…you’re gonna move! In fact there are some days we wake up as the letter H…my wife and I lying on polar opposites of the bed with little “Cold Feet” himself lying long ways in between us. (Seriously...it’s not funny)

Well that wasn’t the case this morning. Instead Owen decides he’s going to "go potty,” which he’s now learning to do all on his own. - (By the way, when do we quit cheering for people when they "go potty?” ) Well while he’s in the bathroom he decides that he’s going to try putting on some of Holly’s makeup. As you can see from the picture, it’s more art than anything. But I don’t know what worries me more, the fact that he put makeup on his face all by himself, or the fact that that he did it so well! Actually our reaction to this little face painting escapade ended in us laughing and taking some fun pictures.

So as this has brightened up my day some, I thought maybe it might do the same for you. If not there’s still the idea of getting someone to cheer for you after you “go potty" today!

Trick or Treat

Here’s a picture of Cole, "Skeleton Pirate" and Owen "Curious George" doing some Trick or Treat’n last week. I dove into the KitKat's and the adult sized candy bars! Is that bad...taking candy from a baby?

Hey does anyone out there have any good stories from your night out?

Just Say No

It’s “NO SHAVE” NOVEMBER time!!! Yeah I’m not real excited about growing a beard, but here it goes! I wish I could tell you there was some spiritual, well thought out reason for doing it but it’s actually much simpler than that…peer pressure! George (River Campus Minister) asked me about it and I agreed, as long as he did it. Then I talked with Matt (Student Minister) and he has also agreed. To be honest it feels like a sentence that I’m serving, hence my picture! So from Nov. 1st – Dec. 1st I’ll be doing my time!

I’ll post a picture each week and give you glimpse of what peer pressure does to a person! Hey that’s it! Yeah, I’m teaching people to “JUST SAY NO” to peer pressure! You know what…you should grow one too! What...it worked on me.

Hello...

…That’s basically how I answered the phone yesterday evening about 5:45pm. It was a number that I didn’t recognize, except for the area code. (419) is the area code where I grew up so I had some thoughts of who it might be, but I wasn’t sure. So after saying, “Hello,” I began having this casual conversation with someone who I really wasn’t even sure who they were! (Has that ever happened to anyone else?) Well after about a minute of talking, I began to make out who the voice belonged to. If I’m right, I haven’t talked to this person for over 3 years…and things did not end on good terms. I was right, it was my brother!

If you have been keeping up with these blogs at all you would know that this is John, my half brother. I’m not about to write the entire story as to how things got unaligned, but let me just say, “This was a HUGE step!!!” And the strange thing is that it was an easy and pleasant conversation to have, even after 3 years of no contact whatsoever. Let me just say, it was a very cool surprise!

3 years ago, a situation involving guns and police, is now transitioning back to a family reuniting, loving and talking once again! The ONLY reason that things are healing this way…(and I believe this with all my heart) is because of the common ground we share and believe…Jesus is LORD of all! Although things are not completely fixed or healed yet, it’s cool that I am able to write and tell you that things are heading in this direction for the first time in over 3 years!

That was something worth sharing!

"I Do"

"Anyone can face difficulty,

but only few stay to finish the course."

Someone very close to me could have quit his marriage a while ago...and many would argue he had good reason to. But more than a year later, he and his wife still choose to move forward, to love each other and to forgive one another!

I am very proud of him and his wife and believe this quote belongs to them!

Just Another Day...

This past Friday was unusually warm for the end of October in Ohio. A warm front pushed through and bumped temperatures up to 80 degrees! So Holly, the boys and I decided to head down to the Ohio River to enjoy some fun in the sun! I set up a fishing pole to tight line, but the wind was blowing too much to tell if I was even getting a bite so I took it down. This opened the door for plan B.

With the woods right behind us we took the boys on a little hike and found some firewood that we started picking up to use for a fire. (Hey picking up wood might not sound exciting to you, but for boys under 5 it WAS!!!) We weren’t just after any type of wood though! It had to be wood that was dry and ready to burn! If you have never been down by the river and noticed the wood, much of it is dry on the outside but wet on the inside, from being soaked by the river. You can tell this by the weight of the stick or log. (Probably more info than you needed!)

All of a sudden…there it was! At first I just stared at it without making a single move. I looked at Holly, who was right beside me, then quickly looked at the boys to see if they saw it too. It was HUGE and even seemed a little dangerous at first! But being the man that I am, I quickly ran towards it…grabbed it…and it lifted me off of the ground! That rope swing was AWESOME!!! Holly and I both took turns swinging on this rope, yelling to the boys, “Hey watch me!” (Almost as if our children were the adults!) They didn’t even care because, to them, breaking sticks was more fun. So Holly and I kept taking turns, seeing who could swing out the farthest. We did this until our hands hurt!

At the end of the night we asked Cole what his favorite part of that day was, he said, “Picking up firewood!” (Surprised?) The best part for Holly and I had to be the swing! But I think more than that, it was our ability to look back and know that we made a day worth remembering for us and for our boys! And because of that, October 30th, 2009 will no longer be...just another day!

Are you beginning to see what the keys to a great adventure are? For us it wasn’t a financial investment. It wasn’t even well planned or thought out. It was simply looking for a way to be free, have fun and willing to be a child-at-heart!

All of us will leave “today” behind as we step into “tomorrow.” It’s up to you to decide how it will be remembered!

Let's Go Krogering

In my attempt to make life as an adventure for my wife, my boys, myself and for those around me...I went to Kroger this past week with my boys. Yeah I know what you’re saying, “Kroger is such an adventurous place that they should charge admission because of all the uncontained excitement that people feel when walking through their doors!” Okay much the opposite, but here’s the story:

We needed to get a few staple items in order to have food for the following week. It was kind of a drag because we didn’t feel like going to the store, especially with a 4 ½ and 2 ½ year old. So to change the situation I made a treasure map! I put dotted lines on a piece of paper with an X for the treasure. Then at the top of the paper I added the items that we needed to pick up. With excitement in my voice I told Cole and Owen that we were going on an adventure to find some treasure at Kroger and they were going to lead the way! So we all put on our toboggans, because every good detective needs a “cool” hat right?

You should have heard these little guys yelling, "MILK," BREAD," BOLOGNA DADDY," as they ran to these items! It was a little embarrassing because people were looking at me as if to say, “Why would he let his boys (with winter hats on) run wild like this! With my winter hat on too, I just smiled and followed my boy’s excitement! Cole made some wrong turns when it came to finding the deodorant, but I followed him anyway. I followed closely behind him in case he needed my help, but I wasn’t going to do it for him. See I gave him this role and I didn’t want to take it from him. After he found the deodorant we all walked away with a fun and memorable day trip to Kroger.

I’ve come to realize more and more that some days come with adventure, but many do not! So the next time your day needs a little more spice, it might be up to YOU to create the recipe for adventure!

Wild at Heart!

I’ve been going through a book called, “Wild at Heart,” which has really helped me step up my game in a lot of ways, as both a husband and a daddy! It has helped me to see that every day is full of adventure and can be exciting if I let it be. Here’s how my boys and I unveiled an adventure from 10.25.09.

Last night Holly, the boys and I went to watch our nephew (Andrew) play in a football game. Andrew is in 2nd grade and is going through his end of the year tournament in order to win “The Super Bowl.” As exciting as it was to watch 2nd graders run around the field chasing each other, my boys, Cole and Owen (4 ½ & 2 ½) didn’t find it as impressive as the unexplored woods and neighboring pond that sat right behind us. In fact, Owen (2 ½) yelled out, “DAHDEE…WAHERR” when he saw the pond!!! But since that wasn’t why we were there, I had them sit down beside me so we could watch a 2 hour game together…Well if you have or have had children this age you will understand that this is NOT how things played out! In fact after about 5 minutes of this they were ready for something else and ADVENTURE was calling their names! And if I’m being honest, it was calling my name too!

We headed over to the pond together where we scarred out some bass from their mossy coverings, beside the bank. We would stomp on the ground and the fish would take off, leaving a wake behind them. The boys were impressed by this and Cole basically jumped around the whole pond thinking there was one every 2 feet! Then we headed to the woods! Now getting to the woods was not exactly easy. It meant that we would have to go down a BIG hill! It was so big that Owen wanted to scoot on his bottom so that he wouldn’t fall down the hill. But Cole and I were ready for the adventure so we ran, letting gravity do its thing as our legs did their best to keep us from kissing the ground. Cole’s momentum was so fast that his legs couldn’t keep up…and down he went, tearing both layers of his pants and even the skin on his right knee. I thought it was bad at first but then realized his pants saved him from most of the damage. After we got to the woods and explored as boys do, we left taking with us some cool memories and stories from our adventure of being together!

Let me ask you a question. Are you more like Cole or Owen in this story? Like Owen, do you prefer to take the safest route when it comes to difficult or scary situations in life? Or are you like Cole, where even though a situation is tough or scary, you are still willing to go full speed ahead in order to explore new and uncharted territory…even though it means you could fall or fail? I’m not here to say that one is better than the other. But I will say this, as you look at this picture, Cole is pretty proud of his scar! In fact he was so excited to show his teacher at school today because, to him, it wasn’t just a cut or a scrape. It was his proof to everyone that he had been on an ADVENTURE!!!

What proof do you have from being on an adventure today?

The Artist

I'm not an artist by any means! Well that might be an overstatement because I can draw some pretty sweet stick people! Alright even though I'm not an artist, my wife is! She can draw, paint and sketch almost anything really well! For those people who really know art, they can point out exactly what painting belongs to which artist. They can look at a painting by "Monet," a color splashed canvas by "Van Gogh," or a masterpiece by "Michaelangelo" and identify those paintings accurately!

Same thing for those who really know music! For me, if someone just gave me the intros to these next songs I could easily nail down who the artist were. For instance, give me the guitar intro to Lynyrd Skynayrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama,” the stomp clap intro to Queen’s “We Will Rock You,” or even the high hat intro to Vanilla Ice’s, “Ice Ice Baby” and I could easily tell you who those artists were! (“Alright stop, collaborate and listen, Ice is back with my brand new invention…WOW I don’t’ know what’s more embarrassing, me writing these lyrics, or the fact that you just sang them and could have kept on going!)

What I want us to see is that each of these artists have a style all to themselves, which is how we usually identify their work. I believe the same can be said about God! If God truly is the Author and Creator of all creation as the Bible points out in Genesis, then everything that has been designed (including us) HAS to reveal the Designer…or “The Artist!” David says it this way in Psalms 19:1-3:

“The heavens declare the glory of God;

the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Day after day they pour forth speech;

night after night they display knowledge.

There is no speech or language

where their voice is not heard.”

My question to you is...

"What will YOU find today that identifies “The Artist?”

Answer to yesterday's blog is...

Yesterday I posted a poem entitled, "Saved" and gave some options as to who wrote it. The answer is D: “A prison inmate.”

If you’ve been keeping up with my blogs, you might remember me talking about a friend of mine who is currently serving time in prison. “Jess” is the name I’ve given him on my blog. I just received a letter from him yesterday and he sent me some pictures which I’ve tried to photograph with my iphone and post for you here. (Not the best pic, but I felt the visual was valuable) Anyway here is a picture of him and three other guys that he has become friends with during his time there. He has been encouraging these guys a lot lately which has now led to them studying Scripture together and praying together! “Jess” mentioned that one of the guys recently asked him, “What do I need to do to become a Christian?” (A follower of Jesus) Pretty amazing, especially for “Jess” because he has seen this as confirmation that God is still willing to love, forgive and use him, despite his shortcomings, failures and mistakes!

With God as the lens through which he views his life,
he now responds to his current situation with these words:

“God has taught me about unconditional love and the fruit of that being grace, mercy and forgiveness.” “I have grown closer to the Lord and I’m a much stronger person because of it. I am humble, grateful, and blessed to be where I am today. My attitude has changed and my values of life are now prioritized and I owe that all to God.”

What lens are you using to see your situation today?

Poem entitled "Saved"

"Born into darkness as black as night,
no answer for my sin.
Down from heaven came The Light
and cleansed me from within.
He gave his life and paid the price
with every drop of blood he shed.
What once was darkness as black as night,
was now stained crimson red.
The Temple was destroyed and placed in a tomb
where forever he would stay.
But, three days later he rose from the dead
and rolled the stone away.
I had to die in order to live
so I plunged beneath the sea.
No longer stained crimson red,
my soul had been set free.
He clothed me from my head to my feet
in wool so pure and white.
I never would have survived the dark,
if it hadn’t been for The Light."

Who do you think authored this?
(Choose one below)
A) A friend from college
B) My Grandmother
C) Me
D) A prison inmate

...I'll have the answer in tomorrow’s blog

Gone Fishin'

This past Sunday I decided to take my oldest son Cole out fishing with me. Before we left the house, I talked about the ADVENTURE that we were about to embark on and how he was going to lead the way! (Cole is only 4 ½, so I knew it was going to be an ADVENTURE!) He immediately got dressed and was ready to go when he and his brother Owen, who’s 2 ½, got into it. After I separated them, both were crying. Cole still continued to get dressed and I told him, “What you did was wrong wasn’t it?” With a sad face he stopped and looked up at me saying, “Yes.” I followed by asking him another question. “Do you think you should still be able to go fishing after you just hurt your brother like that?” As tears began filling his eyes, he said, “No” and began to cry harder. At this, Holly and I looked at each other and were a little taken back by his answer! We didn’t expect that answer from our 4 ½ year old! Before we almost broke out in tears ourselves, I knelt down and talked with him.

I have learned SO MUCH about God through my privileges of being a parent! What I learned in that moment was this:

Like Cole, even when I get excited about the adventures of being with “Daddy” I easily become distracted by life, quickly forget about the invitation and totally screw things up! It’s in those moments that reality sinks in and I acknowledge that I’m not much wiser than a 4 ½ year old. However the way that I chose to “discipline” – (correct & train) Cole that day was due to my understanding of who God is! Although in my immaturity I mess things up, God (lovingly) still invites me into each day, knowing that there is more for me to see and to learn from! That’s how I want to be a daddy to my boys!

By the way, YES, Cole and I still went on our adventure for that day! Although we didn’t catch any fish, it’s all he talked about for the rest of that night!

Hallmark

Yesterday was a pretty cool day. I received several cards fom children between the ages of 4-5 years old which made my day! The first part of the card read like this: "I like you as my Children's Minister because..." and here's what followed that phrase.

You are good to me--Nathan
You give me a hug--Logan
You make pictures for us--Jacob
You give me hugs--Matthew
You teach kids--Isaiah
You give me hugs--Hayden
You are kind to other people--Cole (my son)

What else can I say, "pretty cool!"

Brown County Fair

Here's a picture of me and Cole at the good ole Brown County Fair last week! We are close to being at the very top of the Ferris wheel in this picture. No big deal huh? Well then apparently you're not afraid of heights or at least "fair rides!" Cole actually did better than me on this because I'm not a big fan of heights, especially being on a rickety, 2 bolt secured, put together in one day, Brown County Fair, Ferris Wheel. Yeah, I could barely hold my phone still to take the picture.
I started off good and was even rocking the cart back and forth at the beginning until I read this on the cart in front of me: "Danger DO NOT rock carts!" WHAT??? Are you kidding me? Yeah that makes me feel real good! Because when they stopped us at the "very top" my cart was rocking and all I could think about what was why they had to put that sign on there in the first place. Some ole boy probably got on this ride after loading up on some elephant ears, funnel cakes and cotton candy, then rocked his seat right off those 2 bolts! (See my hands are getting sweaty all over again!)
I guess some new words of advice from me are, love your family, take lots of pictures and enjoy the ride. "Just be sure to read the signs!"