Realizing Thanksgiving

We have so much to be thankful for.  The longer the time grows from my parents passing the more grateful I am for having them in my life.  More recently as in a month or so, I've had  more than just a couple of friends and relatives go home to be with Jesus.  That has me thinking quite a bit about all my friends and family that have gone before.  This Blog entry will possible be scattered a little and maybe even hard to follow at times but I promise I will do my best to at least tie it together at some point and actually make it as clear as I can.

This weekend my son and I went on a day hike with his Trail Life troop.  When we go on our hikes, whether with the Trail Life troop or just our little family, I try to have teachable moments.  We got to the hiking location late and had to play catch up with the troop.  I've always tried to teach the twins to be observant of our surroundings and even more so in the woods.  We have been on hikes and tracked deer down a wildlife trail and watched tracks in the different trails along the way.  Well this time we tracked the Troop.  It was quite fun to track the troop and even more fun to watch my son process what he was observing.  We tracked the troop to a "crossroads" of trails and lost the track.  I texted the leader of the hike while we were there.  We didn't hear back until we had decided to stay on the trail we were on, and walk back to the Nature Center at the park.  We got back to the center and then saw the reply text, that we were literally right behind them.  We did go back and catch up with the troop and hiked back to the Center again.  I typed all of this to tell about how walking through these woods with my son and some of his friends and their parents, how it reminded me of my dad taking my mom and me walking through the woods behind my home church and blazing our own trails.  It reminded me of when I got my first shotgun and my dad took me into the woods down from our house to practice shooting. I'm trying to bring some of the things my parents did for me to my children.  I didn't always appreciate what my parents did as much as I do now.  Yes I did appreciate it, but not like I do now and I definitely didn't show that appreciation the way I should have.  Until I come to realize the sacrifices they made so that I didn't have to do without, I didn't have a proper level of appreciation.  I'm not going to go through and type out everything my parents did for me simply because it would get very long.  Some of the things they did may even seem insignificant to many of you but to me it is now a big deal.  Many times they would sacrifice buying something they needed for themselves so I could have something that was a want.  I wish my mom and dad could read this and know how much I miss them and appreciate everything they did for me.  Better yet I wish I could talk to them for just another 15 minutes or so.  One thing I'd never do is to wish I could bring them back.  I know it sounds weird but follow me on this.  As much as I would love to have them back, I can not bring myself to wish them missing one moment of Heaven because of my selfish desires.  Now, I do wish they could see all these grand babies and great grand babies.  My wife and I were talking tonight about upcoming Christmas celebrations and how my mom and dad would be so very proud of their babies.  How mom and especially my dad would probably cry.  Then we talked about how we would probably be crying this year for the same reasons my parents would have.  

This year some things have changed. I have had to make some life changes so that I can be around a little longer.  This isn't to say that I can buy any extra time if it is time for me to leave this earth, but I can make what time I have on this earth more enjoyable and at least make an effort to be here as long as I can.  I'd love to meet my grand kids someday, if God grants me that opportunity.  The Joy that I get from seeing my great nieces is indescribable and I can only imagine what grands will be like one day.  I pray that I am doing what I can to teach my kids right so that they will pass it along to their children and their children for generations, regardless of what the World tries to teach them.  

As I mentioned I have made some life changes that will have an affect on the holidays this year.  I have changed my eating plan to become more healthy.  I have cut my carbohydrates drastically and began focusing more on fats and proteins.  My eating plan is not Full Blown Keto, but it is a combination of Paleo, modified Mediterranean, and Keto.  I've adjusted my carb intake to allow 50g of carbs per day, but I am usually staying well under that. I am really trying to shoot for 20g per day but that isn't ultimate, it's a secondary objective.  I want to be around 20 per day but I'm not upset if I hit 50, which is still in my healthy range.  There are a couple of way that my eating plan ties in to the rest of the story.  One, I am getting healthier and it is helping me be able to get out and spend more time in the wood with my family which I am grateful. Two, I have family and friends that are supporting me in my efforts to have a healthier life.  I am grateful for this as well.  If you have never been in this position then you can't exactly understand, but think of it this way.  We have been taught to eat a balanced diet of Carbs, Protein and Fats.  Then it went to Low Fat diets and sugars were added to the Low Fat foods. Until more recently Low fat was the way to go. Finally some studies are coming out about how fats aren't as bad as they first thought, it's the simple carbs that are killing us.  Simple sugars/ simple carbs are feeding disease across our nation.  The problem is we have been "Fed" this other way of eating for years now and it's hard to find options for me to eat as my eating plan provides, they way to good health for me.  Here is how this second point ties in.  My friends and family have been sending recipes and/or testing recipes so I can enjoy these holiday meals.  I'm not asking them to sacrifice their enjoyment just so I can eat, but they are doing it all on their own.  They are being proactive in these efforts to keep me on my healthy eating plan and still get to enjoy Thanksgiving and Christmas meals with my family.  I appreciate this more than I can ever effectively communicate it.  

This year I am giving thanks for friends and family, and most of all God's provision for me and for all of them.  There will be more things coming in regards to my health goals including at least one fundraising hike next year (more about that later).  For now, Thank You God for Your divine providence.  Providing me with what I never imagined needing and removing what I do not need.  

I pray for each one that reads this blog and realizes the Blessings God has granted you. Enjoy this Holiday season and give thanks.

God Bless YOU!

(and I hope there is something in this mess of a blog to Bless you and provide you hope)

I Can Only Imagine

Well, we watched the movie "I Can Only Imagine" tonight..... and here I am, should be sleeping but instead I'm clinging to a keyboard and contemplating every word.  The past couple of weeks have been a little tough.  It started with no apparent reason and then flash banged when a couple of folks passed away.  One of the folks that went to be with Jesus, I don't really know.  I claim that his brother is a fishing buddy of mine that just hasn't made it on a fishing trip with me yet.  I hold on to that because it's nice to pull for the small town guy that makes it.  Eric Church lost his brother and even though I know I don't know either of them, I feel like I do simply because they are from my wife's hometown.  I share in the pain that Eric must have in the loss of his brother.  Then at the beginning of this week a brother and sister duo that I have known and been friends with for literally as long as I can remember lost their dad.  With every loss I reflect on my mom and dad.  Then I spiral to grandparents. Then eventually it always ends up back in second grade when I lost one of my sisters, and all the emotions become a whirlwind and I'm pretty much paralyzed and just pretty much a worthless mess.  

I've also been having some spiritual moments this week.  I'm excited to see what growth comes from my home church that holds a special place in my heart.  I'm excited for those that passed on to Glory, because of what they are encountering.  There are so many things pounding around that I can hardly keep track of them.  And just as I had gotten to a low point, God has put people, articles and media in my path to lift me back up again. 

See, I Can Only Imagine was not just any song.  The music of Mercy Me crossed lines on the Charts. It was revolutionary.  Folks that had not wanted to hear the Gospel, heard it! Some for the first time and they looked deeper into it.  God moved.  People were affected.  All by one song.  One God inspired piece of music.  I remember when I had my moment of coming back to God, I stood in my driveway and played several Christian songs, over and over and over..... I Can Only Imagine was one of them.  I sang as loud as I could and I'm sure what neighbors we had at the time thought I had lost it all, when I was really right in the middle of re-finding it all.  This was a time that I found myself constantly in the Bible and listening to preachers on the radio.  One of the most influential preachings I heard was the story about the line of people that preached and influenced another preacher that eventually influenced Billy Graham.  This was also the sermon where I first heard about where Billy Graham had to make a decision.  He came to a point where he either had to believe the Bible to be TRUE or he had to walk away, he couldn't do both.  So he Believed!

As we traverse this series of Earthly Deaths, we are reminded of Everlasting Life. " For God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not parish but will have EVERLASTING LIFE".  "God did not send His son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him".

Some day we will not have to imagine the Glory. Some day we will be awe stricken at the appearance of Jesus. We will be amazed by all the glorious wonders of Heaven.  We will see a Kingdom built not by human hands.  One day we will bow before our mighty King and rejoice with the Saints that have joined Him before us.  Until then we are called to celebrate the name of Jesus, spread His Gospel, and be in the world and not of it.  Tonight, even though I have a sad heart.... I also have a joyous heart!  I am Praising God for the influences in my life.  I am Praising God for the celebration I know people are encountering.  I'm Praising God for my Family, my Church Family, and the Grace that has granted me the gift of Eternal Life.  A gift I am not worthy to receive, but God came as a man and gave Himself up as the ultimate sacrifice so that all my sins are covered and I appear flawless in His eyes.  Only a loving God would do that for me.  And not just for me, but for anyone.  All we have to do is accept the most difficult yet easiest free gift ever.

"I can only imagine........will I stand in Your presence or to my knees will I fall, will I sing Hallelujah will I be able to speak at all.......I can only Imagine...."

Thank You God for loving us so much that You have provided us with One clear path to You! Thank You that in the face of sadness You shine a much needed light to point us to peace and comfort.  Thank You for Your promises that do not waver and give us something sound when nothing around us seems stable.  You are our anchor.  Thank You Father.