Waiting

"Now behold, there was a man named Joseph, a council member, a good and just man. He had not consented to their decision and deed. He was from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who himself was also waiting for the kingdom of God." Luke 23:50, 51 (NKJV)

"Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!" Psalm 27:14 (ESV)

It was a Sunday early in our marriage. We were visiting Emily's mom in Jacksonville. Emily's sister, Cathron, and her family were here also. Church was out and being hungry, we headed to Olive Garden for lunch. Most of Jacksonville's, at least Arlington's, after-church crowd also appeared to desire Italian for lunch; they were on the waiting list prior to our arrival. We were told to expect a 30-35 minute wait.

It seems like it was a warm day, so all of those waiting to eat, including the 9 or 10 in our party, were uncomfortably close to each other in the small vestibule . I enjoyed having some time to catch up with everyone, but this is a good time to reiterate some very important facts:

1. Everyone was hungry,

2. We had young children with us,

3. It was Sunday, after-church, and

4. We were all very hungry.

We patiently waited, even watching some who came in after us receive tables before us. When we were not seated (our party of 9 or 10) at the expected 30-35 minutes, a quiet discontent began to surface in all the adults of our party, except me. 45 minutes into our wait, the quiet discontent had grown into the adults of our party, except me, sharing critical comments that were clearly audible to those around us, as well as to the hostesses, whom they were intended to sting. A few minutes later the adults of our party (again, except me) were so disgusted, not just with the wait, but also with being misled about the length of the wait, they decided we were leaving.

It is here that I wish I could claim to suffer from some disorder characterized by crazed lunacy brought on by a lack of food, or crowds, or Sunday afternoons.

Leave?!? I was beside myself. We'd just invested nearly an hour of our time and patience to get a table and now we were leaving?!? We're the next party on the list, it's Sunday afternoon; where were we going to go to have less of a wait? Being a man of discipline, and willpower, I bit my tongue and quietly pressed through the crowded vestibule as these thoughts tumbled over one another in my head.

But once I was outside I (please remember I was hungry) my thoughts exploded from within in an attention grabbing verbal tirade that could be heard all over the parking lot. I stomped around in my madness, all the while blurting out my disbelief that we were leaving. As my blood boiled I turned my back on my party, still shouting, and headed for the car.

I don't know if it was because she was my wife, or if there was some sort of flipping of a coin, but Emily followed me out to the car. With the expertise of Jack Hanna coaxing a rabid animal into cage, she led me back into the restaurant. Our party was now seated. I humbly grabbed a chair on the kids' end of the table and surveyed the stares from the patrons at the surrounding tables. It was obvious many assumed I was out on a weekend pass.

We have a hard time waiting.

What are you waiting for?

Live Writer, Etc

Bored, I actually went to my Windows Live home page to see what was there.  Web surfing is the armchair quarterback's version of exploration.  Almost all the excitement, but without the intoxicating rush of adrenaline one gets just before death at the hand of some aboriginal you've angered, intentionally or otherwise.  Deftly wielding my mouse as if a machete, I find myself  looking through the viney clutter of sidebar ads at a new tool called Live Writer.  I've only skimmed the numerous tools it provides a for your blog entries.  Perhaps it'll inspire me to be somewhat more creative.  We'll see.  I would not recommend anyone hold their breath.

She & Him are playing in the background as I type (an mp3 album download from amazon).  She is Zoey Deschanel (she was in Elf).  Him is M.Ward.  It's a mellow, sixties-esque, indie/folk/country sound.  It's very mellow.  And very cool.  You can download a free mp3 from download.com, or just listen.

Karma?  My wife's a hoot.  Please don't worry too much for her (in this area, at least); she's not converting to hinduism.

Goodnight, Gracie.

Different Things

I don’t know why I’m posting anything. I’m tired and it’s way too late to say anything creative, inspiring, or humorous. Emily’s been awesome with her posts. I’m excited to see Melissa and Eric had a great vacation, as well as the O’Donnell’s, though I am, along with everyone else it appears, missing Robin’s posts. And the political landscape has changed with Cobra Commander entering the presidential race.

It has been very busy here. Colette (Emily’s sister) and Warren were here last week. The boys had a fantastic time spending time with their cousins out at the cabins of Hanna Park, as well as Elise. Emily’s mom captured some of Anna-Kate’s and Elise’s time together. The week before that the boys celebrated spring break with various nights spent away from home with friends or at Gramma’s. Several times while at Gramma’s they’d head out to mow just as the rain came in for the afternoon. They are either very lucky or budding meteorologists.

As Emily posted, this past weekend we attended a marriage conference hosted at our church. Emily and I have our moments of conflict (another of Emily’s posts), but I did not truly see the need for us to attend the conference, save for the time we’d get to spend together. What an encouraging message of the sacredness of marriage. Wow. I don’t want to say he wasn’t convicting, because he was; it’s just that it was 100% guilt-free. No matter the state of your marriage, I can’t imagine not walking out of there standing a bit more upright and closer together. Our church has posted the audio. It’s well worth hearing.

Pupa and Nana are visiting this week. Again Emily beat me with her post. Emmett is enjoying some time out at Hanna Park with them again tonight. Tomorrow night, we’ll be at the Y for rock climbing, the Cummer Museum and Gardens for a little sophistication, and then off to one of the boys’ favorite restaurants, CiCi’s, for dinner.

Largest Loser; Phase One is Over

April 2nd we wrapped it up. Curtis took home the big money, losing 41 pounds (about 20% of his body weight). Donnie, a sleeper til the last few weeks, ended up losing about 35 lbs (15%). Ray and I lost about 30 lbs each (13% and 14% respectively). Bob brought up the rear with a loss of almost 23 pounds (10%). He admitted at the end that 20 lbs was all he planned on losing, not believing the rest of us would even come close. All together, the five of us lost almost 160 pounds in the three months of the contest. It was much fun.

Phase Two starts the 10th.

Sowing & Reaping

John-Thomas will be climbing in his first competition this weekend. Being in Gainesville, we thought we'd look up Mike, his godfather, and catch up some while we were down there. Em tried calling with no success. So tonight, I googled and googled for about twenty minutes trying different keywords until I tracked down what I hope is a good email address. But he's now in California.

Mike and I went to high school together. For quite some time, I'd say we were best friends. Mike gave me my first Bible. No big gospel spiel, just a simple challenge, five minutes a day. I never succeeded; it was more like five minutes a month. Only recently have I managed his original proposition. Still, God used his concern for me to plant the seed that others would harvest. In fact, when Mike and Tami were married, quite some time ago, Mike introduced me at the rehearsal dinner as his 'heathen friend'. It was greeted by a bunch of nervous laughter by Tami's Southern Baptist family.

God blessed Mike with charisma. He'd make friends instantly whether in a boardroom or working with at-risk kids. I've never known him to hold back; he has always been daring and honest, and appreciated for it. I've missed much of his adult life, but the little I remember from high school (it's been fun reflecting on all the stuff we did: powder-puff cheerleadering, publishing an underground newspaper, working on the literary magazine, drama, plays, multiple classes, near expulsion our junior year, prom, skipping school to go to Vero, etc, etc), coupled with the times we've caught up over the years, God has always been with him, throughout multiple challenges and blessings. I've forgotten how much I miss him. I hope it is a good email address.

* * *
It was five or six years after Mike gave me that Bible, that I gave my life to Christ (as much as a dead man can offer anything!). Emily patiently and carefully led me toward Him, as my eyes were gradually opened. A million little things had to fall in place, and they did. God is good.

* * *
So who planted the Gospel in your life? Who harvested? Are you still in contact with them? Not just that, but in whose life are you planting? Harvesting?

Piper on the "Prosperity Gospel" (pause my music first)

The Weight Gain Buddha

Donnie's the buddha's buddy this week. I'm down to 194.2 lbs after a week of not losing anything. I'm excited about the weight loss, but the contest itself has been just as much fun.