A little of this and a little of that

Ok, so its been awhile. Been pretty occupied with doing nothing with my spare time though. I have come to two different realizations lately that I will share.

1. What does it mean to be home?

The other day, Bethany went to Tulsa with her father to visit her Uncle Tim in the hospital. Olivia went along and Abigail and Makayla went to my parents. To my knowledge, this was the first time I have ever spent alone in our house. I'm always used to being by myself away from Arkansas. As a matter of fact, I am currently in a Holiday Inn Express in New Orleans on a project in which I'm the only one working. Fun times I suppose. What was strange about being at the house by myself was that it felt no different that the way I feel right now in this hotel room. Home is more abstract instead of a material subject. For me, "Home" does not exist unless my family is present. So, times in which all of us are together, That's Home. My house is just a pile of bricks, siding, lumber, and sheetrock without them in it.

2. .....So help me...WhatsHisface?

Well, the inauguration of Barack Obama is around the corner. I'm not going to get on a rant on how the bishop that is giving the opening prayer at the inauguration is openly gay. I'm not going to rant about the fact that this bishop will not pray in Jesus Christ's name, like all the prayers for every presidential inauguration since George Washington. I'm going "what the hell" over a group of athiests that are suing to get "so help me God" taken out of Obama's presidential oath. Barack is very insistant on keeping it in his oath, which I applaud. Apparently, this is the same group of athiests who lobby to want "Under God" taken out of the Pledge of Allegiance. Come onnnnnnnnnnnn.......... Why are athiest so sensitive? Christians get accused of being intolerant when athiests push their ideals on people all the time. I hope Obama fights this and utters the words "So help me God". After all, he will need His help. You know what I realized about this? Athiests try to extinguish God from everything, and then when bad things happen; 9/11, Katrina, etc. they say "Where's your God now". When we tell God to get out of our lives, should we really expect him not to have contempt for this country?

Another wake up

Today I learned that a man that I went to high school with was killed in a car accident. He was not a close friend, as I do not even remember the last time I ever saw or talked to him. As I look at his facebook page I do wish that I would have built a relationship with him. When half of you're friends have status updates related to grieving his loss or praying for his family, you know he will be missed and he was definitely loved. Unfortuneately, it is instances like this one that give people wake up calls on life. It is instances like this one that remind us that we sometimes take this time on Earth for granted, because we never know when one moment might be our last. As my old man likes to say "People are too concerned about the end of the world, when it is the end o f the world for many people every day". Pray for Brian Stapp's family. Pray for his fiance. These people have lost a bright light in their life, at a time when he will be missed the most.

Support the Troops

So Bethany is planning on sending a care package to her cousin Todd that is over in Iraq right now. Started to get interesting in how all that works. Apparently you just get your soldier's addy and take it to the post office, they'll inspect the items and send it on. Not sure as far as cost to send, but I'm sure its not too bad, even if it was steep it would be worth it still to send some items out there that remind a soldier of home while they are defending our right to protest the war they are fighting..... Enough with politics though. If there is a time to send a soldier a token of appreciation and love, it is right now. I have a sense of guilt that they are over there without family and here I am with mine. If you don't have anyone in mind to send a package to, there are many sites that can help you send packages to an assortment of different random soldiers overseas. Check this link out to get started. /http://www.anysoldier.com/ . Actually a way to support the troops eh?

Where to Start

So I'm 25, I have three little girls, and I have a wife who I'm blessed to have. I can't believe I tricked her into marrying me... So basically, I have a future that will be full of drama, dead teenage boys, and the quintessential desire for some type of "man cave" in order to escape Hannah Montana histeria and Fancy Nancy. Even though those gray hairs are sprouting as I speak, I would not trade my life for anything else in the world. I really hope to keep this thing active with random thoughts and events from my life, so to start I want to share an realization I had earlier this year. It was the point in which I found out one of, if not THE purpose that I was put on this Earth. It was the point in which my wife and I stepped in to become adoptive parents to our children. It was a bit of a rough year, but worth all the heartache, worry, and anxiety. Rewards come to the faithful, and in a world in which it seems as though evil prevails much too often, God delivered us the wonderful family that we have today.

I realize that this has been a year of epiphanies and crossroads. I have been told that about the age of 18, one begins to become the man they'll be for the rest of their lives. I think its the truth that its the start, but there is always transition, always revelations, and always manifestations of the Holy Spirit that shape a man's life and journey. I intend to share these experiences with whoever is willing to read them. Thanks for coming by. -Alex