Tuesday, August 26, 2008

On The Campaign Trail

I am probably the most non-political person I know. And yet tonight I could be found volunteering at campaign headquarters. Who would've thunk it?

You see, my daughter is running for fourth grade student council at her school. Yesterday I helped her make posters and listened to her speech. Today we taped Tootsie Rolls on cards that say "Vote for Alisha - The SWEET Choice." (On a side note, I keep getting survey calls about McCain & Obama, but no candy from either side. Give it some thought, boys.)

No matter who wins, Alisha has run a clean campaign. And this is the first time I can remember being excited about an election!

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Oh Deer

This morning we saw a couple of deer grazing at the edge of the woods behind our house. That's the life for me - strolling along through a meadow, nibbling on grass, stretching out as the warm rays of the morning sun fall gently on your back. Not a care in the world...

UNTIL...

Strange men in orange vests come stomping through the woods, shoot you, stuff you and hang your head on their wall. Or maybe a pair of bright headlights blind you right before your guts are splattered across the roadside.

On second thought, I'm pretty content as a human.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Happie Birdie Baby

Today someone very special in our house turned 10! To honor this special occasion, I thought I'd follow the birthday girl's lead. Whenever it is one of our birthdays or mother's/father's day, she celebrates by wearing the honored person's favorite color. No one ever suggested she do this, it was her idea and a very cool one I think!

So today I wore a shirt and aftershave that I know are her favorites. While she was at school, I printed out a big "Happy Birthday" (one letter per page) on colored paper and taped them on the driveway. When she got off the bus, she looked down and grinned from ear to ear. Then she ran in the house, gave me a big hug and and took a deep breath with her nose buried in my shirt.

This, my friends, is the good stuff.

Sunday, August 17, 2008

I Smell Purdy

Pam and I have a pair of matching T-Shirts with some undocumented and almost magical powers. The first time I wore mine, I discovered that my manly man gel deodorant will chemically react with the shirt dye, turning the beautiful blue into a pukey yellow green. Amazing, and yet somewhat embarrassing in public. Nothing permanent, it washed out just fine.

I noticed that Pam didn't seem to have a problem with color changing, so today I decided to try wearing Pam's deodorant. Viola! No sweat, no stains, problem solved!

Well, there is one slight issue. Several times today I've noticed a wonderful floral aroma and stopped to wonder which lady around me was wearing such nice perfume. Then I realized, it's me.

Monday, August 4, 2008

Turtle Pickup Lines

"What's a nice turtle like you doing in a swamp like this?"

"You polish my shell, I'll polish yours."

"I know this place where we can get the best seaweed..."

As enticing as these conversation starters might be, the traditional turtle pre-mating ritual is much different. Here we find our suave young male (we'll call him John Turtlevolta) swimming up to our rather unimpressed female (Olivia Newturtle John). In his best "You're the one that I want, ooh, ooh, ooh, honey" move, he raises his front flippers and, with blurring speed, proceeds to slap Olivia repeatedly upside the head. We asked the info dude at the Missouri River Museum what the turtles were doing and he said, "Oh, he's trying to get her attention."

Ya think? I guess lack of subtlety isn't confined to the males of the human species.

Sunday, August 3, 2008

The Bible Told Me So...

Yesterday I mentioned our family bible reading time. Even this can be funny with our crew. Read on...

We are working thru Genesis and got to the part where Lot's daughters decided to get their dad drunk and sleep with him. We tend to kind of read right on thru the sex parts without much comment, so our youngest daughter didn't get the full implication when it said they would "lie" with their father. Then came verse 36 - "So both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father." Alisha's eyes grew big and her mouth dropped open as the pieces all fell into place. She shook her head and said, "Oh, that's just wrong."

Right answer sweetie, right answer.

Saturday, August 2, 2008

Walking The Talk

Long time followers of our ministry will know we have stopped producing our full newsletter in favor of shorter and more frequent updates. Ministry news is covered at pnpupdate.blogspot.com and personal news, family stuff and misc goodies will be covered here. I'll still have goofy stuff from my slightly warped view of reality, but there will also be some entries that are a bit more serious, like yesterday's. One former newsletter column was called "Walking The Talk" and featured simple witnessing tips. Today's post fits that category perfectly.

We have decided to read the entire Bible out loud as a family. Each day after a meal we set our plates aside and pick up our bibles. We go around table, each reading a verse and sharing a comment or explanation from time to time. Everybody loves this time together, especially our kids. Sometimes we even take our bibles along when we go out to eat. We've had many people stop by our table over the years and comment on how good it was to see our family pray before we eat, so I know folks are watching. I wonder what they think to see us doing a family bible study. Our motive is not to impress others with how "spiritual" we are, but if our actions encourage someone else to pick up their bible, that's pretty cool!

Friday, August 1, 2008

Here's Your Sign

While we were singing in Cedar Falls, IA at the Cedar Valley Sing we mentioned that our youngest daughter is interested in art, foreign languages, and sign language. A wonderful lady came up to our table afterward and told us she was was a retired teacher of ASL (American Sign Language). She spent a little time with Alisha and taught her some basics including "I Love You" seen in this picture. This considerate lady even came out to our Sunday night concert with a bag of ASL instruction books for Alisha to take home and study! God puts the neatest people in our path.

We ended our concert that night as always with a very powerful and moving song. You could feel the spirit of God so present in the room as the pastor came to the front of the sanctuary. As we took a seat in the pew next to Alisha, she turned to her mama and signed "Jesus died for me." With a tear in her eye, Pam whispered, "Yes He did." Then Alisha signed, "and for you, too." Alisha wrapped her arms around Pam and they shared big hug.

Folks, it doesn't get much better than that.