April 2015

Getting ready for work this morning, I read a quick story about a homeless person in Charlotte, NC that gave all that they have this past week as an offering. And it started to get me thinking, if I was giving all I have or not?  The story has taken off, but it is about a homeless person that gave all that they had, which was $0.18 as an offering, but it was all they had.

We go about our lives, we drive to and from work and we see those that genuinely need help. Are we giving all that we have?  And I really struggled with this concept this afternoon. I thought about how much we are giving of our time to church, our finances to church and charity and our time to our kids and it probably isn’t enough. And I really wondered if I am giving all I have?

Today I had my yearly evaluation at work and I got what I expected, sort of. I got the level of evaluation as I expected, but the compensation was much less than I had hoped for. I was praised for my leadership and how an asset I am, the level that my team performs and in the manner that they carry themselves. I was commended for the work that we have done this past year, the fact that I manage two different departments and how it never seems to phase me when I am presented with last minute requests. Was I disappointed when I was told of my raise, sure. No, that isn’t fair, I was mad. I was really more disappointed than mad to be honest.

But today, something different was going on inside of me on my drive home. I quickly remembered the story that I read this morning and I wondered allowed, Am I giving, all I have? And I struggled with it. I wondered if I was holding on to things. I wondered if I was letting my disappointment cloud my judgement and gratefulness tonight that I have a job and a good family? And after picking up two really tired boys and getting them home, something happened. Baby B said his name. But, more importantly, he said his name correctly. This was borderline a miracle, as we have gone through speech therapy for him, we have spent the last year working with him on the pronunciation his name and tonight, he said it.

Tonight, as I read: Mark: 12:41-44, which is often called the Widow’s Offering from the bible, I am reminded of today and the bigger picture.

The Widow’s Offering

41 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.

43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

Tonight, I realized how blessed that I am. I realized that though I might not give all I have, I try to give all that I can. I give as much as I can throughout the month to charity and the church, ensuring that we have enough to live off of and the extra goes to others that have less. And tonight, I realized how the homeless person, though might have been embarrassed because was all they had, gave all that they could. Tonight, I give all I have, to those that need it. I give all I have to my family and friends. I give all I have to those that need it the most. But tonight, Baby B, gave me all he had, because tonight, he said his name correctly.

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So this is a few days late, but WE DID IT! That’s right, we raised over $1,000 for Make a Wish Foundation and I’m totally blown away.

This year we chose the Make a Wish Foundation for Eastern North Carolina as our charity for the boys birthday and I set a goal of $1,000 and we did it! I can’t believe that our friends and family donated that much money. We had decided on this charity, because for a few days, Make a Wish makes a child be just that, a child.

So as I type this out, I still am just blown away that we were able to raise $1,000 and really, it is over that, as my wife and I decided to donate another $500 on top of that and even though what we raised will not alone grant one wish, combined with a few others, we will be able to help a child.  And my goal is that as the boys grow up, they will be continue this tradition and more importantly, take an active role in wanting to help others.

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Happy Birthday to me!

I usually don’t do or say anything about my birthday and I don’t for many reasons. I don’t like attention, I don’t like being front and center in my personal life, because with my professional life I have to.  Today is no difference, I walked in and went straight into my office and closed my door. I just didn’t want to deal with my birthday today and I’m not sure why?

Baby B decided that he wanted to say Happy Birthday to me around 2:30 this morning, not my ideal present. But, I did get a lot of time with him this morning and spend a lot of time playing with him and rarely do I get that. And as I get older birthdays, mean less and have taken on a different meaning. Growing up as a kid, it is all about the day and what we can get. Now, it is how little attention that I can put on me and how can I hide in the background for the day.

Today, I’ve been successful in laying low for my Birthday, but I’m ready to head home and grab the boys and cook. But as I told the boys, no gifts, just a hug and a kiss is all that I need, even though they really wanted to buy me a steam engine from Thomas.

So for now, I quietly celebrate my birthday.

 

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Baseball fans, today marks the time of a new day a new season. A day of hope and promise, today is Opening Day!
It is the only day of the season, that everyone is in first place.

Normally, the day before the baseball season starts, I sit down and watch the classic, Field Of Dreams.
This year, due to Easter and family commitments, I was tied up, but I could not stop thinking about this one clip from the movie.



And I love this part:

And they’ll walk out to the bleachers; sit in shirtsleeves on a perfect afternoon. They’ll find they have reserved seats somewhere along one of the baselines, where they sat when they were children and cheered their heroes. And they’ll watch the game and it’ll be as if they dipped themselves in magic waters. The memories will be so thick they’ll have to brush them away from their faces.

Having played baseball the majority of childhood growing up, I love the game. The smell of the grass. The anticipating of a pitch. Do they bunt or swing away with runners in scoring position and a 3-0 count? The game of baseball brings back memories to all of us that played and as a Dad, I get to share this love with my boys and it makes be beyond giddy.

Today, we are all kids. Today we all have memories of when we were kids walking up to home plate in Yankee Stadium and thinking about what it would be like, to face a pitcher and hitting a fastball that was coming down the pike, right over home plate. You rock back and as you shift your weight forward, you connect and hit the ball over the left field wall and into the bleachers.

Today is opening day and today is going to be one of the best days of the year, because baseball is back!

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