It's a Matter of Perspective

It's been said that men are from Mars and women are from Venus. Well, I can't confirm or deny that statement because I haven't been to either place;-) What I do know is that the Lord knew what he was doing when he made man and woman. Take for example the picture at the top of this page. What do you see? Most women will immediately spot the baby that is in grave danger. I know this is just a picture but in reality, just the thought of one of their loved ones in danger is a reason for the heart to race and the palms to sweat. It's a God given response that is perfectly natural. I guess that most men will see it as well. I did after a quick look at the lake. But now, if you will, look at the picture at the bottom my post. What do you see? Most men will immediately spot a perfect day relaxing on the lake in a boat. I know I can hear the water gently slapping the sides of the boat now. No stress, no worries, just some of the biggest fish in the lake flopping around at my feet. "Man, I wish I were there now:-)" What does this prove? Nothing:-) JK! We are exactly the way our Lord made us to be. God gave men and women each a different perspective. However, he did give us the same picture to work with. It's each ones job to meet in the middle and to share the blessings from each view. Psalms 139:14-16
(PS-It's the same picture)

Emma.com

OK, I'm back by demand from my five year old. When she found out that Isaiah had his own "blog", she wanted her own one as well. As before I will try to let her "talk" for a minute and then try to steer the conversation to an end. I hope you get a laugh because she is always saying or doing something around here that makes us smile.

So, Emma, what do you want to talk about?

"My friends."

Well, tell me a little about them..

"They play with me, pepperoni pizza, and dog and bone with me at school...and I threw up at school"

You did?

"yeah, I threw up in the trash can when we were doing the honey bear race.."

Huh, I didn't know that....Do your friends ever do anything funny or goofy?

"Umm, yeah, one time Marcus pee peed in his pants at school." (I think marcus is a code name for Emma, because I had to take "marcus" some fresh pants and underwear to school the other day)

--Real quick--When Emma was a bit younger she had alittle pp'n problem. We thought that if we would confront her when she had pee'd, it might help her to remember to go to the bathroom. On one particular occasion she had been too busy playing and went in her pants. When we confronted her and asked if she had pee'd in her pants she said the traditional "no", so we pressed the issue. Here is how the conversation went: Emma, who pp'd in your pants? (not wanting to get in trouble herself) "Ummm, Hannah did." Emma, if Hannah pp'd in your pants she is going to get in big trouble. Did she really pp in your pants? "Ummm, no sir." Well then who did. (With a pause to think) "Ummm, Isaiah did." Emma, how did Isaiah pp in your pants when you still have them on? (no answer) Emma, if Isaiah pp'd in your pants he is going to get in trouble. Did Isaiah really pp in your pants? (not wanting Isaiah to get in trouble) "No sir" Tell me Emma who pp'd in your pants. So Emma, who pp'd in your pants? (Now an even longer pause to think who she could blame that wouldn't get in trouble) She replied, "JESUS DID!!!" I couldn't contain my laughter.

Well, I lost Emma's interest during my rambling, so I will close for her. Our children really are a blessing from the Lord. We just have to take the time to see the pot of gold that lies at the end of the "pp mist" rainbow:-) Blessings from the waywardsoncamehome.

Isaiah.com

Isaiah asked me to type in a blog for him today so I told him I would. So I 'm typing this strait from him to the computer. I asked him what he wanted to talk about and he said, my life. So here it goes....
My life is like being a rich man because we have a pool and a t.v. in our van. It's like being the only one in the world. I have lots of friends. Ones name is Emma. She is my sister. She is nice to me, she tries to cheer me up when I get F's on my papers at school. I have a family that is great. My dads name is Scott. My my moms name is Rachel and I have another sister named Hannah. She (Hannah) is a blabber mouth. She always blurts out my answers from questions from my mom. (OK dad giving help to steer the conversation now) Question: What do you think the word supercalifragilisticexpialidocious means? Answer: I think it's a fairy tale word meaning heeheee "I don't know that is a long word." Question: What does chivalry mean? Answer: "It means your cold", "very, very ,very, cold" Question: What is pumpernickel? Answer, "a pumpkin that looks like a nickel" Question: What is love? It means to kiss somebody and make out with them (oh dear!) Question: What is a bookworm? "A worm that is super smart, that has a big brain" I told Isaiah he had to end his blog so he said "And that's my life" There you have it. I think this might be the first blog ever from an eight year old. It should give us some insight to how an eight year old thinks and what it was like at that age. Blessings from the waywardsoncamehome.

The Long Way Home

Well, if there was anyone that had a head start at the Christian life it was me. I was born in the "sleepy little town of Pascagoula Ms." --you can hum the Ray Stevens song now if you know it;-)on a warm--o.k. mom--a sweltering hot summer night in August of 1975. My dad was a recently "sold out", surrendered Baptist preacher in search of a pulpit to proclaim the Gospel in and my mother was, as I just found out for the first time two days ago, a new believer herself that very same year. Right out of the starting gate I had a jump on the Christian life that many people do not have with Godly parents. So as a young tot I heard the gospel from every angle possible. One of my very first memories that I can recall is sitting in my daddy's lap in a church service. I can still remember it vividly. He was sitting with his leg crossed wearing plaid polyester pants (BTW yuck! I guess that was the style then heehee) and I was sitting in the little hole created by the cross of his legs. Man that was the best seat in the house! Although my dad might beg to differ, I was perfectly content to be there. There was such an blissful, innocent, comforting, peace there. Looking back now I can see why. I was ignorant of the corrupt sinful world that I was in and I was within arms reach of the only security that I thought I ever needed. It wasn't too long until that cozy lap was replaced with a pew as my daddy found a church to serve in and I became an official PK (Preachers Kid for those who aren't one:-) Now, growing up as a preachers kid has it's pros and cons. After all, not everybody gets to swim in the baptistery when there daddy's filling it for the Sunday services. (man I think I can still feel that whoopin;-) But on the con side you learn to play the religious game really well, as do alot of so called Christians that aren't PK's. You can answer all of the questions, know how to sound sincere in the presence of the brethren, sing in the choir, and even pray a perfect prayer. After all isn't this the expected character of the preachers kids? Now I wasn't just a player in this sham game, I was the star athlete. I knew all of the plays and even a few trick plays as well. I had years of watching the team and memorizing the playbook. I only had one problem. The same problem that everyone else in this world has and that is: "for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God". Fifteen years I played the game flawlessly until one day at a youth retreat in Texas/Louisiana I was faced with the reality of the penalty of my sin and I asked the Lord to forgive me and save me--and He did!! This however was not the end. My years of imitating the real thing caught up to me and perverted my new walk with Christ. I had to learn the true shape and form of myself. It's not easy thing to do to truthfully face yourself and identify exactly how far short you really have fell and to let the Lord change you. So as the Lord began to draw me closer to Him and show me these issues, I didn't like what I saw. So just like when the Lord called Jonah, I got scared and began to run. I got into all sorts of things--stuff that a follower of Christ has no business doing. Now the leash of God's patience is just shy of His umbrella of grace. He's not going to let us go where His grace cannot cover us but there is a limit to just how far he will let us go before He will intervene. I was running headlong to the outskirts when the lease ran out and boy was it an abrupt stop.;-) Thank the Lord, because I would probably still be running today. I was talking to my wife the other day about this issue of the "boundaries" of God. Far too often we see this fence as a barrier to our freedom instead of as a wall of the Lord's protection for us. This is what God intends it to be. It was in March 1995 that the Lord arrested me with His love (LOL) whether I liked it or not and I began to understand the grace of God. I can't begin to explain the goodness that God has shed on me since then. The Bible says that His mercies are new every morning. He has filled my heart with such comfort and joy and has blessed me with so many things. Now have a beautiful wife (Rachel) and three children (Isaiah, Hannah, and Emma). All three of the kids have cotton white hair just like I did when I was little and Isaiah is a spitting image of me. So as you can expect it's kinda a surreal feeling now when we go to church now and they fuss over who gets to sit in my lap. I pray that they too learn the lesson that I did that the only place of true peace and security is in the lap of our Lord and that they don't take the long way home like I did.