Vacation

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Source:https://www.dailyrepublic.com/files/2014/08/how-i-spent-my-summer-vacation.jpg

It’s hard for me to vacation…sometimes. Most of the time I’m thinking about what’s going on at my office and what’s happening with the business of the day. But this was a different vacation. It’s because I have a Staff that I trust and believe are going to keep doing what we have planned in the way that we have planned it. I believe they are going to do the right thing because our goals as a Staff are to do the right thing according to what we believe is God’s will by His Word and by His Holy Spirit. I have a wonderful Staff and I’m so proud of each of their accomplishments and the goals they have for a bright future at our church.

So how did I spend my summer vacation? We stayed home for most of the week and we did some things that we really needed to do. Then I spent some valuable time with my wife and my children. It was fun and it was needed–I think–for all of us. So what did we do?

Well, the first day of our vacation we slept in until we woke up naturally. It was nice. I’ve heard before that most men die of heart attacks when alarms go off first thing int he morning. I believe that’s true! Just think about being in that REM sleep mode and then all of a sudden an alarm goes off. Your dream of floating on clouds seeing all sorts of colors in the skies and hearing the birds chirping and then you hear the waves on the ocean and you’re all of a sudden on a beach relaxing…then the alarm goes off! It’s wretched any way you look at it! Pure wretchedness. In fact, alarms are so wretched that they should be buried twelve feet deep in the ground, because deep down they’re probably alright!

Then we went to Hawaiian Falls. It is a water park that is smaller than Six Flags Hurricane Harbor, but it’s just the right size for me. Did I go down any slides? Are you kidding me? Absolutely not! But my two boys did and they had the time of their lives. My wife and I spent time together in the lazy river just floating around in a circle, then the wave pool, then just sitting on the lounge chairs. Then our boys wanted to be a part of the annual ice dump in the wave pool. This is where they dump 2,000 pounds of ice into the wave pool. I sat toward the shallows during that part because there was too much traffic where the ice was being dumped, but it did cool off the water quite a bit. And, by the way, it was 108 degrees outside that day.

We also went to church at Chuck Swindoll’s Stonebriar Community Church. We were able to hear Dr. Erwin Lutzer, the interim pastor of Moody Church in Chicago, Illinois. He is an author, pastor, and teacher. It was a special time of worship for our whole family. And surprisingly, they sang all the verses of older hymns and had a choir that sang an old hymn. The musicians included a cellist, a pianist, and a pipe organist. It was amazing to see the pipes for the organ! I haven’t seen pipes like that in a church since that last time I was at the Dallas Symphony Hall. Absolutely beautiful time of worship.

I also had to do something that I really didn’t want to do. I had to go to a storage unit and pick up my twin sister’s belongings that I still have not been through over the last four years. I don’t really know how many boxes I need to go through, but my garage is now full of boxes…more than before. Let me put it this way: we cannot park our cars in our garage–yet. We will park our cars in the garage after we go through all the boxes we still have. It will work itself out eventually. What saddens me is that I saw an older wedding picture of my twin sister. She was absolutely beautiful. Her smile and her wedding dress was phenomenal in my opinion. It just fit her perfectly. If only her husband had been better than what he is.

Then my wife and I dropped off our Sons at a friend’s home and they have been with that family since Thursday afternoon. We have been kid-free since Thursday. We went to a movie, we stayed up late watching movies, we left for a pastor/wife retreat in San Antonio. It was a great time with our state convention family ministries. We stayed on the River Walk and it was just really a fun time for both of us. We took our time getting up this morning and heading home today. The traffic on I-35 is just as bad as it’s always been.

So now we’re home. I’m ready to be with my church tomorrow morning and looking forward to preaching the Sunday morning message. It has been a great week!

This is how I spent my summer vacation.

Charles Krauthammer, 1950-2018

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Source:https://am14.akamaized.net/med/cnt/uploads/2018/06/charles_wgty66.jpeg

It’s not that I always agreed with Charles Krauthammer’s assessments or commentaries. I have a profound respect for Krauthammer because he spoke his mind and expressed himself in such a way that he was well-understood. A Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, Krauthammer also served as a daily on Special Report with Brett Baier on the Fox News Network. It saddened me when I realized that he had not been on set for several weeks and then Baier told the audience that Krauthammer had been ill and was in the hospital for surgery. They were the best of friends from all appearances. Baier looked up to Krauthammer and it was evident to all who saw them on the same set.

The first time I saw him on Special Report, I realized something of respect in the way that he spoke of the President. At the time, it was President Barack Obama. While there were those attacking the man, he attacked his policies–never the man. He never downplayed the Office of the President, rather, he built up the respect for the Office. He did, if I recall correctly, speak of how good of a father President Obama portrayed himself to be along with being a good husband to Michelle. Krauthammer had a way of correcting those on the stage with him who might try to attack the man instead of his policies as well, ever respectfully.

He also had a sense of humor. Even though he was bound to his wheelchair due to a diving accident in his twenties, it never seemed to stop him from loving life. From being a founding member of the Pariah Chess Club to going to baseball games to dining with the likes of George Will weekly. He loved life. That is what was witnessed when you heard him speak or when you heard him interviewed. Baier even spoke of his love for life when he did an hour-long special on Charles Krauthammer.

Even though his voice has been silenced after his fight with cancer, he set the tone for his death with his last article declaring that he was dying. In his eloquence and elegance, he let us know that he would not be able to return from the battle that he was facing. He was going to finish his race, and that he did.

Sunburned

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Source:http://www.actforlibraries.org/wp-content/uploads/sunburn-man.jpg

Nope! That is not a picture of me! I’m writing today to tell you about being sunburned. My wife and I have been vacationing with our two Sons and we decided to go to a water park today. It was really a lot of fun. There were just enough people there to be just a little crowded but not to terribly crowded. Except for the wave pool. There were so many inner tubes in the wave pool so the traffic was a little much for me. If I wasn’t getting squeezed after being surrounded by people on inner tubes in the wave pool, I was getting kicked in the lazy river by some kid swimming by. And it’s not really all that bad except one thing: everyone kept saying, “I’m sorry, sir.”

Now it’s not bad to be called “sir” by any means. In fact, I was impressed with how so many kids were so respectful. I don’t know if it was because I look old or because it looks like I gave them a hard look or something. I would say hello to lifeguards and ask how they were doing and they didn’t acknowledge me, so to hear “I’m sorry, sir” was welcomed. I would generally tell those young respectful kids, “No problem! We’re all having fun!” Then they would look at me with a confused look on their faces as to why I was speaking to them directly. How confusing. I was just trying to be polite to them as they were polite to me, but I understand that their parents most likely have told them not to speak to strangers.

Of course in a water park, you have to be careful with your eyes as well. There were some inappropriate bathing suits that some people were wearing. I had bathing shorts. Most guys were dressed in board type swim suits. However, some of the women–and I’m speaking about older women, older than me–were wearing skimpy swim attire. Totally inappropriate if you ask me. I think that the older we get the more we should cover up. However, I did have my shirt off because I wasn’t ashamed of myself after seeing some of the other dads that were present. (Yes, I’m fully aware that may have been derogatory or mean in some way, but I felt pretty good about myself after seeing some of those guys!)

We showed up thirty minutes before they opened. We were able to get a close parking space which was nice at the end of the day when we decided to leave. It was at that point that I realized just how sunburned I am. Even though I put my shirt on prior to getting inside the van the seats were so hot. I could feel the heat on my back and when I put on my seatbelt, oyvay! My chest and stomach were hurting. Yup! I’m burned! I’m not rare…I’m well-done!

Was it worth it? Well, my doctors would say that being sunburned is not worth it at any point. Rather, I should’ve put sunscreen all over my body and I should’ve been more conscious of the sun. Nowadays it seems that it’s hotter than when I was a kid. I used to just tan. Now I just burn. I will tan now that I’ve burned, but then I’ll probably start peeling and all of that mess.

In the meantime, I will be putting all sorts of lotions and body creams on my burn. I think it’s the right thing to do…like putting sunscreen all over your body prior to getting burned!

I’ve learned my lesson.