Lesson in Grace

This past weekend, I was taught a lesson in grace...by my dog...and I failed. Lucy is a mutt. She was part of an abandoned litter. I got her for Jen eight years ago, for Christmas. We've been through a lot with this dog: First year: She ate our laundry room. Yes, I mean she actually ate the room. She ate holes in the drywall and door trim. Then, we repaired those things and repainted. She loved the smell of the paint, so she licked it all off. Year two: She cut her toe on the edging in the lawn. Saturday night. Doggie Emergency room. Stitches. $250. Year three: She ate a pair of Jen's eyeglasses. Frames...lenses...everything. Gone. Sunday evening. Emergency room. X-rays. $200. Also, two remote controls. (We have all "universal" remotes now, because no original remotes have survived.) Year four: She snuck downstairs and got into the Halloween candy. She ate the entire bowl...wrappers...boxes, popsicle sticks...everything. Visit to the doctor's office. $120. Year five: A pair of rubber gloves, a couple of kitchen sponges. Year six: An entire loaf of bread...more sponges...a kitchen spatula...a dishcloth...a frisbee... Year seven: We start noticing that we're going through toilet paper like crazy. Yep, she slurps it up off the roll...like spaghetti. Present day: We're getting ready to sell the house...so we're trying to clean everything, paint what needs to be painted, etc. One of the things we're trying to avoid is having to replace the carpet. We're hoping we can just get by with a good cleaning. So, we left Lucy in the backyard most of the day. While we were working, Lucy snuck into Jen's garden and ate all of her cornstalks. Not just the corn...the leaves...the stalks...everything. Of course, we don't notice at first...until she comes back into the house and hurls in three different rooms...six spots in all. Dark, disgusting, smelly stains. That was it for me. My patience had run out. If not for my sweet wife, I would have loaded the dog into the car and taken her to the Humane Society right away. I love this dog...she has brought me tremendous joy over the years...but I've just reached my limit on forgiveness. I'm tired of fixing or replacing everything she destroys. I'm tired of her doing the same thing over and over and over without learning to be better. I'm tired. And then I'm reminded: what if God felt the same about me? What if He said, "That's it Tim. I've had it. You're obviously never going to get it right. Time to get rid of you." Ouch. Grace. It IS amazing...and incomprehensible. And it's a lesson I have to learn...from my dog.

Eight Dollar Hot Dog

Saw this video on Shaun Groves' blog. Good stuff. Check it out.

Evie

Last night, a friend of mine passed away. She wasn't a close friend, but someone I've known for years. Actually, we used to sing on the same worship team at church several years ago. My, what a voice! Evie kinda kept to herself, which initially led me to believe that she was a bit of a snob. I didn't care for her much when I first met her...though I certainly respected and appreciated her talents. Sad how we can so easily judge a person based on so little information. Then, a little over three years ago, I started working for Compassion International. To my surprise, I saw Evie working here too. We shared the same passion for ministering to children in poverty...and I never even knew it! It wasn't too long ago that I heard Evie was diagnosed with cancer. Co-workers pitched in money to help with meals, medical bills, etc. We even sent the family to a Disney on Ice show. She has four kids. At our recent divisional picnic, Evie was there. I sat just about five feet from her. We looked at each other and smiled...but I couldn't bring myself to say anything. I don't think we needed any words that day. Though, in retrospect, I wish I would have said something. I wish I would have completely ignored the obvious and just said "hello." I've never been good at dealing with death or dying. Which is odd, because I've seen a lot of it in my life. Last night, Evie said goodbye to this world...and hello to her Maker. I pray that God will ease the pain her family must be going through today. I pray for her husband and children. In many ways, I envy her. At this very moment, she knows what it's like to bow in the presence of her Heavenly Father. She can hear the angels singing...worshipping God. And I'm sure she's singing along. My...what a voice.

A Little Family Pride...

You know, usually when someone tells you they have a family member that's "really talented", you might think, "Yeah, yeah...whatever." Well, at the risk of falling into that category, I do want to tell you about my 15-year old neice, Shayne. I didn't even know was interested in music, but last week, she recorded her first song with a friend...and in my opinion, it's pretty good. She shows really good vocal technique and the hook is pretty strong. Good writing. I love good writing. I know it may sound silly, but I'd love it if you would at least listen to her song on myspace and leave her a comment. Trust me, it would go a long way for her. Check it out! Thank you so much!

Money Pit

My wife and I have decided to sell the house. So, as any potential home-sellers do, we brought in a realtor to look at our house and give us an assessment of what needs to be done. New carpet, paint the exterior, stain the deck, repair a section of the driveway and clean...clean...clean. Mostly stuff that we already knew. So we started. Over the past month, we've managed to paint the exterior of the house, move out a LOT of stuff. We've cleaned til our hands are raw...packed up boxes upon boxes of accessories and items that we can afford to do without for awhile...and even painted some interior walls. We're making a lot of progress. But wouldn't you know it, all of the sudden, things have started happening. The microwave just blew on us. $160 repair. The oven broiler went out too. $200. We were moving stuff out of the attic and I slipped off the rafter and onto the drywall below. Of course, that cracked the ceiling in the main hallway...so now that needs to be replaced. And once it's repaired the entire ceiling will have to be repainted. Well, the ceiling pours into the great room, so it's not like I can just paint that section, I have to paint it all...to get it to match. Ugh. Oh, and we just got an estimate on the driveway repair...$1600. I'm reminded of the movie, Money Pit. And I'm starting to get scared!

Six Months

This past Friday, my little baby boy Morgan turned six months old. I can't begin to believe it. Six months. I've been a daddy for six whole months. Before he was born, people would say, "Oh your life is about to change!" I had no idea. I thought they were talking about sleepless nights, diaper changing and fussy temper tantrums. Those things are all true, but I was expecting them. No, the change I wasn't expecting was the one that's taking place in me.

I never thought I could love anyone the way I love my son. I can't stand being away from him for any period of time. I absolute live for his smile...his giggle. I can't wait to hold him in my arms when I get home from work each day. Some days, I can't make it without calling home to hear how he's doing...or at least looking at pictures of him. I love his smell (well some of the smells aren't as pleasant as others!) I love how he recognizes me the second I walk through the door and greets me with a wide open-mouthed smile. I love how he examines my face with such a serious look when I'm holding him. I'm absolutely and totally in love.

And I don't think it ever hit me before just how difficult it must have been for God to give that up for me. Oh how He must have loved His son Jesus! To have a perfect son who touched so many lives...stayed pure, maintained righteousness, defended the poor and the needy. What dad wouldn't be proud? Yet, in the midst of all that love, God allowed His one and only son to be beaten, mocked, teased, tortured, abused, punished and ultimately murdered for me.

Not to offend anyone out there, but there is no one...no one on this planet I would give up my son for. I simply don't love anyone enough to make such a sacrifice. Yet God did it for me. And He did it for you too. That's amazing love. That's beyond comprehension. That's God being what only God can be.

I love being a daddy. I thank God for the miracle that has changed my life for the past six months. I look forward to the years of hugs, wet kisses, boo-boos, temper tantrums, dirty diapers, and sleepless nights to come.

Old Man Eyebrows

It's finally happened. It's official. I'm old. You know how I know? My eyebrows. I have old man eyebrows. What the heck happened? Most of my life, my eyebrows have been so thin that they barely showed up at all. When I was a news anchor, I used to have to darken my eyebrows with a pencil to get them to show up on TV. (Yeah, there's a secret I probably shouldn't be divulging.)


But now, I've got these wild, wiry projectiles protruding
from my forehead like some kind of sagebrush on steroids. I'm Andy Rooney, Mark Twain and a rockhopper penguin all rolled into one! Ack!

It reminds me of a line from the movie City Slickers:

"Do you know what I found yesterday? Hair in my ear.

I'm losing hair where I want hair and

getting hair where there shouldn't be hair.

I found four big fat ones on my back;

I'm starting to look like the fly."

-Billy Crystal in City Slickers

Dang. Getting old sucks. And, apparently, it gets pretty hairy.