Longing for....

Meaning...
Focus...
Clarity...

I don't know about you but, as I told my Impact Group last night, I've lost the meaning of Christmas this year. The last few years in Russia kinda protected me against the blatant commercialism of Christmas. I am now full-bore back into seeing this not so pretty side of our Lord's birthday celebration.

I'm trying. I really am. Probably due to "life stuff" right now just as much commercialism, I just can't see too far into this obviously deep-with-meaning holiday time. I guess the thing I should rejoice about is that the gift is still there even if I don't see it as clearly as I'd like. For that I am grateful. Even so, I'm longing...

F a t i g u e ! !

Don't nobody get me wrong. I LOVE having 3 sons. I love being married. I love recruiting and training teams to go to Russia to share Jesus with youth there. But.......I also love sleep which has been precious to come by lately. My awe for my mom and dad continues to grow. They did this with me and my brother for 18 years?

Speaking of my dad, Alzheimer's continues its relentless assault on him. I went to visit him last week and can see more and more that his days are numbered here on earth. Of course, as my dad would say, "aren't all of our days here on earth numbered?" Good point. Still though, I just can't help but hurt at the way the last part of his life has unfolded. While it does hurt, it has not been without purpose. So much good has come about in my parent's relationship, my family, and all of our faith that I cannot say that this has all been useless. No, it's been very fruitful actually. It's just that I am tired of it.

Speaking of being tired, did I mention that sleep is a precious but rarely experienced commodity right now? Oh yeah, I already said that. Well, it still is.

My apologies to my friend, Attorney Matt McReynolds, who took exception to my comment in an earlier post about Constitutional Law being boring. No harm intended. I guess I should have said Estate Law. Now that seems boring.

My baby brother turned 33 yesterday. That means........I'm old!

All is quiet. I think I can grab a nap if I go right now. Bye.

Why Do We Remember?

Tonight, we gathered with 13 or so friends from high school. It has been 17 years since we walked in our Docksides and Argyles, listened to The Cars on our Walkmans, drove our Firebirds, and solved our Rubik's Cubes. In other words, MUCH has changed. At the same time though, a lot hasn't. The loud ones are still loud (I should know...I'm one of those), the smart ones still smart, the funny ones still funny.

Undoubtedly, the most popular word spoken all night was "Remember" and it was usually followed by "that time when" or "that guy who". I can't help but wonder why those memories are recalled every time we get together. Why do we value remembering the names and telling the stories the way we do? NONE of what we said had any eternal value really. All were good for a quick laugh or a moment of nostalgia. What makes us do that???

I guess it has something to do with the fact that we share all those memories and names and events and experiences. I've lived in places none of those folks have or ever will. They've been educated in ways and have professions that I never will. What we share, we seem to feel free to speak about. Few would care if I started to spout about Ethnotheology and I would be equally bored if they brought up Constitutional Law. I'm glad we share what we do. Even so, I look forward to sharing more with them in the future.

I was also accused tonight by one dear friend of not having a controversial enough blog. Hmmm. How to respond to that...

One plus one is NOT two, no matter what you say!

Nah, I don't think that is what she meant....

I'm Back (sorta)

Have ya seen The Polar Express? I highly suggest it. My kids and some family and friends went to see it on Thanksgiving night. It was time and money well spent.

Did ya eat too much? Of course you did. Did you consider that you saw more food the last week than many (most?) people of the world see in a year? Just wondering...

I saw NO (as in ZERO) blogs updated during the Thanksgiving break. I saw one new one start but NONE updated. Does this mean eating has moved back above blogging in our list of favorite past times? I sure hope not.

Ken Jennings is OUT! It's about time and I feel fine! What is FedEx? What was he thinking????

December 1 is now here. Wow.

That's all. I'm out.