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Daily Life

Bring Home My Baby!

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Three years ago, Joshua went off to college in Tennessee. We thought we would see him for summers and Christmas holidays, but he’s actually been very busy and seldom home. Last summer, he spent two months on a mission trip to Turkey. The winter before that, he was on a shorter-term trip to Germany. The summer before that, he traveled the Midwest as a counselor with Worldview Academy. This summer, he will pursue a research fellowship for his Physics major, so he’ll be in Waco, TX for ten weeks, studying with a Physics professor at Baylor.

Kayaking on American Lake

Kayaking on American Lake

As much as you expect your children to grow up and enjoy their own lives, you don’t necessarily want them to actually do it. Between weddings, mission trips, summer jobs and school, there just hasn’t been much time to connect with Joshua.

After he finished school this Spring, Joshua served as Best Man in a roommate’s wedding. Then there was a week of idle time before he had to report to Baylor.

“Bring home my baby,” Kathy insisted tearfully.

“It seems a waste, for only a week,” I growled, a little resentfully. Spending money always makes me a little gruff.

Joshua takes a fond farewell from his sisters ...

Joshua takes a fond farewell from his sisters …

But Kathy persisted, and Joshua hinted that he was willing to grace us with his presence, so I dug out my frequent-flier miles, and found him a flight home.

I’m glad I did. He seemed to have had a lovely visit, and we all got some time with him. It felt good to be a family with five kids again, even if a lot of the ‘kids’ are starting to be grown-ups.

A Boy and Two Moms

A Boy and Two Moms

I drove Joshua to the airport tonight, and he’s off for an adventure in Texas. I can’t wait to see him again (briefly) in August and hear all his stories of his life as a Texan physics researcher.

Project 365, Day 149
Tim

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Daniel, Family, Project 365

Blessed Daniel

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For the past several years, our church has celebrated graduating seniors with a special dinner and an opportunity for their parents (or in some cases, guardians) to bless them.

Three years ago, Joshua was eligible, but Kathy and I were celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary in Turks and Caicos. So we sent an email blessing and one of our friends read it to Joshua. They did a good job reading it (or so I hear) and so it is possible that Joshua felt significantly blessed, but I suspect that the whole experience was diminished somewhat by the fact that we weren’t on hand to actually do it ourselves (sorry, Joshua).

Last year we had the opportunity to give a blessing to Rachel, but at the time we weren’t posting many blog entries, so (as impactful as it might have been at the time) it is almost as if it didn’t happen (sorry, Rachel). As everyone knows, if a tree falls in the forest but the event is not chronicled in our family blog, it didn’t happen (and in fact, there is serious doubt cast on the existence of either the tree or the forest).

This year it was Daniel’s turn. He will soon be finishing his Low Voltage Electrician and Fire Safety Systems course at Clover Park Technical College, and so we are declaring him a high school graduate (with a little extra on the side). It was very fun for me (and hopefully not too painful for Daniel) to publicly reflect on some of his strengths and to ask God for His blessing in a few areas. My nephew Timothy and his wife and son, and my parents were also able to attend, which made it a bit more solemn (while at the same time, more festive).

This time we were all able to rally around Daniel and honor him.

This time we were all able to rally around Daniel and honor him.

As I wrote his blessing, one thing really stood out to me — Daniel is an Evangelist. He really cares about the people that God puts in his path — and he doesn’t make the (often unconscious) mistake of judging people’s worthiness. When I look at a lost person, I often look at them in a human, strategic way, determining whether they are ‘likely’ to accept the gospel or not. If I think that they can’t understand the gospel, or are hardened against it, or have some other moral handicap that will probably quench the gospel’s effectiveness, I am very unlikely to care about them or to tell them about Jesus. This is clearly not reflective of God’s heart, but I tend to think that way.

But not Daniel. His first ‘solo’ attempt at street evangelism paired him with a young man who didn’t speak more than a few words of English. Last Fall, Daniel spent several hours befriending a homeless man so he could give him a Bible. He is routinely embroiled in the strangest arguments about spiritual matters with the most unlikely young men in his class at Clover Park. Daniel is not ‘strategic’ but simply obeys the leading of the Spirit and lives out the gospel to a lost world.

I’m very proud of Daniel. I blessed him tonight in several areas with confidence and hope — knowing that Daniel loves God deeply and knowing God’s expressed plan from Philippians 1:6:

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

Congratulations, Daniel!

Project 365, Day 146
Tim

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Family, Games, Holidays, Project 365

A Cousin, Once Removed

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We spent the Memorial Day holiday with my nephew and his bride, and their new baby, my Grand Nephew. We ate delicious burgers, played games, went for a walk, scrounged a casual dinner and watched the beginning of the third Hobbit movie.

A 'quick' game of Robo Rally with my niece and nephew.

A ‘quick’ game of Robo Rally with my niece and nephew.

It was a delightful day, much enjoyed. I managed to win all three of the games, although not without a certain amount of mercy when I forgot to take my entire turn (or took an obviously-foolish action). We played Robo Rally, Star Realms and the DC Comics Deck Building game — an excellent way to spend a day off.

John spent some quality time with Rachel, who sprained her ankle yesterday.

John spent some quality time with Rachel, who sprained her ankle yesterday.

I needed to talk a walk before supper to earn some extra calories (and to make sure I don’t have to pay Daniel a forfeit for missing out on our exercise challenge). We did two laps around a nearby lake, and managed to put John to sleep (in spite of my wild driving). It has been a long time since I drove one of those stroller things.

A mostly-staged photo for the blog.

A mostly-staged photo for the blog.

During the walk, there was much discussion about whether little John Mark was a second cousin or a cousin once-removed to my children. Fortunately, the interweb helped us understand that my kids (Joshua, for example) are cousins once-removed from Little John (as Joshua calls him). I removed Joshua into the underbrush to underscore the point.

We are so thankful to have Tim and Sunny and little John with us here in Washington!

Project 365, Day 145
Tim

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Daily Life

23rd Squared

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Twenty-three years ago Kathy and I were married. We had recently finished college in Virginia and spent two weeks hurriedly throwing together the last details of our wedding. A number of Kathy’s girl friends from college came and worked for a whole week in advance, and the big day came together.

It has been a pretty good life, if I do say so myself. We have laughed a lot, raised five children, and been involved in many different kinds of ministry at various churches. We are both very hopeful that we will be able to grow old together, if the Lord permits (and if He doesn’t return).

For our 20th anniversary, we traveled to our favorite Caribbean island of Providenciales, but this year we just stayed home, puttered around the house, had a date at Lowe’s and went out for dinner at our favorite Thai restaurant. As Kathy remarked, “When your every-day life is as good as this, it is hard to feel deprived when your celebration is low-key.”

A few months ago, I stopped drinking Diet Coke. Well, technically, I only stopped buying Diet Coke. I can drink it if someone else buys it for me, but for some reason my friends and acquaintances haven’t been lining up to buy me my favorite soda. I keep dropping subtle hints (like this blog post) but it doesn’t seem to do any good.

My Sweetie is good to me, especially when she buys me Diet Coke.

My Sweetie is good to me, especially when she buys me Diet Coke.

As a ‘thank-you-for-writing-AWANA-software’ gift, Kathy gave me two twelve-packs of Diet Coke — it still brings a tear to my eye when I think of her thoughtfulness.

We also are celebrating Joshua’s homecoming this evening — he flew home tonight to spend a week with us before he rushes off to his summer-long research fellowship at Baylor University. It is such fun to have the whole family re-united, if only for a few days.

Joshua was tired from his travels, but cheerful and full of interesting stories, as usual.

Joshua was tired from his travels, but cheerful and full of interesting stories, as usual.

Welcome home, Joshua! Happy Anniversary, Beloved!

Project 365, Day 143
Tim

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Daily Life

AWANA Aftermath

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Yesterday was the Award Ceremony for our AWANA program — the final hurrah for a year of memorizing verses, playing games and performing skits. Our whole family is involved, with Sarah on the Drama/Serve Team, David splitting his time between Drama and Sparks, Kathy serving as an admin for the T&T program, and Daniel in Games.

At the end of the year, we’re all tired. We’re glad we had the privilege of being part of the AWANA program, and we’re even more glad that it is over. When we staggered into the house last night, we had just enough energy to eat supper and to get to bed.

These blend supplies stand as a monument to a successful Smoothie Extravaganza after the Award Ceremony.

These blend supplies stand as a monument to a successful Smoothie Extravaganza after the Award Ceremony.

For the summer, we rest. I know (by experience) that September will be here before we know it. Maybe by then, I’ll have cleaned up my smoothie supplies.

Project 365, Day 141
Tim

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