Christmas Time

Well I am back (so to speak). Back for another addition to what I had hoped would be a daily blog, but obviously it has turned out to be just a page in webspace! There has been a lot of change that has taken place over the past four months. Change that has been hard to handle and change that has been welcomed with open arms. I must first confess that I am not one who is opposed to change and often times, I need change. But when it comes at you when you least expect it with the outcomes being drastically different, change can cause a great deal of stress. This semester (since I work in the academic world I refer to life in four categories - Spring Semester, Summer Break, Fall Semester and Christmas Break), has been the most challenging for me both as a believer in Christ, a husband, a friend, and as a professional. Serving as the lone athletic trainer for a football team can sometimes be more than a handful. Trying to balance life and work is difficult enough without having the added pressures of unexpected change.

The biggest change to take place has been the passing of Andi's mother. Karen went to be with the Lord on November 6th (coincidently my 33rd birthday). Andi, her sister and brother-in-law, and I were there at the hospice center minutes after she passed. It was a sweet precious time with family one that I will never forget. Andi is doing well considering she lost her mother, her best friend. I have had the great honor to weep and mourn with her during this time and it has honestly been such a blessing. Karen suffered from kidney failure and from bi-polar disorder. I only knew her for two and half years, but during this short amount of time, I never knew anyone as sweet and selfless as her mother. When she started getting sick last April, I knew that our time with her would be precious and that we should make every moment count. My fondest memory of my time with Karen were the two weeks she stayed with Andi and I after her stroke in April. She and I would have lunch everyday together, and I was her personal taxi service when she had to go to dialysis. She always was so grateful to me and bragged about her taxi service to the friends she made at dialysis. This Christmas will be difficult without her around. She made everyone laugh with her childlike innocence. I still hear her saying, "Oh Hi!!! How are you?!" I miss her.

The other major change in our lives occurred September 11th, no not the anniversary of 9-11, but rather the purchasing of our home. We entered the wonderful world of home owners this past semester and that has been more change that I could have ever imagined. Still it has been welcomed and exciting. Andi loves being our homemaker and she has done a fabulous job of making our house a home. We still have some painting to do, so I am sure the honey-do's will be abundant come spring time and summer.

So hear we are Christmas time!!! This is my favorite time of the year. It gets colder, there are chances of snow (maybe not here this year - but nonetheless snow may come for someone), and friends and family spend time together. We will be heading SA (San Antonio) on Friday as soon as Andi is finished with school. There we will spend time with her sister's family, and have the big family Christmas party on the 22nd. On Christmas Eve we will celebrate with her dad and step-mother, then it is back to A-Town for Christmas Day. My parents are coming into town tomorrow and will hold down Fort Gililland for us until our return. Mom will hopefully start some cooking and my Dad and Granddad will just hang out. Christmas day will be exciting as EVERYONE from my Dad's side of the family is coming to our house! Welcome to the home owners association! Abilene is half-way for everyone and what a better place to have it, besides we don't have to go anywhere! It will be fun. As soon as we get back from SA on Christmas Eve, I will get the smoker going and smoke a turkey for the feast! This will be my first smoked turkey so please pray that it comes out good!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL!!! WHOOP!

More Final Thoughts

I continue to be amazed at the people in my life. How so many unknowingly show me on a daily basis how I should strive to be more Christlike. My wife is my number one fan. She is constantly holding me up in prayer and I can sense her prayers daily. She is a woman who desires nothing more than to glorify God with all her life, including tireless supplication for her husband. Today, is my first full day off in over two weeks and I am excited that I get to spend it with the one I love the most, my Andi. She is so special to me and I love her with all my heart. I am so very grateful for her and her prayers. She is in my mind the essence of the Proverbs 31 woman.

FINALLY FINISHED

The toughest two weeks of my year have come and gone. Two-A-Days! And now we are down to the last seven days until the official start of our season. I am excited on many levels, and this year will be an exciting one I know for sure. The past two weeks (17 practices total), were very trying this year. It was during this time that I had to stop and fall on my face and seek God to give me the strength, the wisdom and the courage to face the challenges that were placed in my path. I am reminded in James Chapter 1:2-4, 12
"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may beperfect and complete, lacking in nothing."

v.12 "Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him." ESV

I pray that I will remain steadfast throughout all the trials of my life. I am so grateful for these past two weeks and what I have learned and will continue to learn.

Weekend Warriors Part Two

Well here it is July 15th and the summer is officially half over. Since my last post it has been a roller coaster of emotions for Andi and I. We have continued to spend every weekend in San Antonio. Her mother continues to grow ill both mentally and physically and because of her illness she can no longer live by herself, and it has been difficult to find placement for her. This situation in our life has once again shown us that we have to fully rely on God for the strength to endure. We are learning so much about ourselves, and together, Andi and I are growing closer not only to one another, but also to Christ. He alone will see us through the night and we will weather the storm that is surely ahead of us. Sure our summer has had great memories of good times and those are the ones that we are clinging to, yet it has also been field with those memories that will not soon be forgotten. Our hope lies completely in Christ and we are sure that His mercies are new daily. Andi and I have realized that we should stop asking the "why" but the "how are you growing us" questions. This has been where I have found peace. He continues to sharpen us daily as we face the difficulties of our future.

Proverbs 27:17 - As Iron Sharpens Iron, So One Man Sharpens Another.

Oh that I would never be dull.

Weekend Warriors

In May I sat down with my staff and we discussed our summer schedules for the office. As we all discussed our summer plans, I casually made the comment that Andi and I were just going to be taking a couple of weekend trips this summer and a big vacation next summer. Little did I know just how wrong I was, it has been every weekend! We have been on only two planned weekend trips, the others (since May) have been unexpected trips to San Antonio to take care of Andi's mom. We have had great times and we have had rough times during our weekend excursions. I can't wait for the fall to get here so that we are in a normal pattern of life! Andi and I are definitely enjoying the summer, but we miss the time with our church family and a weekend to relax!

Continual Change

The older I get, the more I realize that change is an everyday part of life. Change, for the most part is good...some would even go so far as saying change is GREAT! Yet, there seems to be those who are resilient to dramatic change and they want everything to stay the same as it has been since the "Leave it to Beaver" days. Unfortunately we don't live in this sort of mythical world. No, our world is in a constant state of change. We are either growing or we are shriveling our minds and bodies. Growth is change, and growth (no matter how you look at it is good - often great) leads to a stronger understanding for the call that God has placed on your life. One of my favorite illustrations of this is found in Philemon. I am a big fan of redemption and this short letter from Paul is all about growth and redemption. Philemon had every legal right to punish Onesimus for running away, but through the Holy Spirit and Philemon incredible faith, Onesimus was forgiven and redeemed. Onesimus changed, he became a follower of Jesus Christ and his life was changed forever. As we continue to walk this path of life, we will be in a continual state of change. Some of us will change in ways that are not pleasing to the Lord, and others will grow closer to Him daily. Oh how I pray that I am sharpened everyday by the men in my life, to encourage me to change and to be the man God has called me to be.

Golf and Friends

On Monday night Andi and I went over to another couples house for dinner. It was so good! The food was amazing! Andi and I love being around this couple, they are a great example of how to love on people and we love getting to play with their daughters (2 and 1). After dinner we all set down for a nice game of no limit hold-em (no buy in mind you!), and let me tell you, the Gilillands were hot that night. Andi and I seemed to get all the cards. Unfortunately, we were not the big winners for the evening, nevertheless it was great food and fun with our friends.

Yesterday I played golf with one of my favorite buddies. It was nice and relaxing as we battled through Diamond Back, bad shots, and the ever increasing heat and humidity. There were great shots such as my 30 ft (+) putt for par, and Tim's stellar tee shot that saw the ball go straight up and back down, right in front of where he had tee'd it up. Great memories. One of my favorite aspect of the day was just having the time with Tim and sharing. I think he said it best in a recent e-mail: "As much as I will enjoy reading your blog, I much prefer our times together face to face in engaging conversation." How true that is. When was the last time you had engaging conversation with a loved one or a friend? Make some time to engage them in their interests and listen intently to know their heart and mind. Trust me it will bless you beyond your imagination!

Overcoming

Overcoming great odds or even small odds can sometimes cause a man to struggle with the question, "is it worth it?" My answer is, of course it is worth it. We are reminded in James 1: 12 "Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him." (ESV) Isn't it amazing to think of how much Christ loves us? His grace is so refreshing and it is this grace that gives us the hope for enduring the trials. Overcoming odds is a theme that we will all endure throughout our lives. Let us take captive our thoughts and remain steadfast under trial. I know that we will be more richly blessed when we have overcome the odds.

One Year Anniversary!

I can't believe that it has already been one year of marriage. A good friend of mine told me the other day, "the first year was my toughest". I would have to say that this has been a great first year! Andi and I started our year at Lake Tahoe and celebrated our year at Inks Lake. Tahoe was fine accommodations, and Inks was fine camping at its best (rain included, free of charge!). We had a blast a year ago and just as much fun camping. I will admit, the water at Inks was a good 40 degrees warmer than Tahoe! We didn't see any mountain lions or bears on this trip, just deer making their way through our campsite. No rock climbing in Yosemite, but we kayaked the lake, had a great time on a jet ski, and hiked thought the pink granite park. The simplicity of camping was relaxing and a breath of fresh air. We powered down our phones at 12:00 AM on Thursday and didn't power them back up until we got back to Abilene. I am so grateful for the stress free weekend we shared together. Often times we don't take time to be in God's presence the way I believe He intended it to be, in nature. I am so grateful for the love of my wife. My anniversary gift from her was a journal that she had been keeping for me from our days of dating. I had given her the exact same gift on our wedding night, a journal that I had been writ ting to my wife for four years. It was crazy that we were writing to each other at the same time and never even knew it. What a blessing Andi is in my life. It is my prayer that we will continue to grow together and be a blessing to others. I can't wait for the next 50 plus years!

What a Year!

I can't believe that it has been almost a year since my one and only post on what I thought was going to be a daily regimen of writings. Unfortunately, this eager ambition of my mine to be the next great blogger of our generation never manifested into existence. So here we are, one year older and wiser.

Andrea and I are quickly approaching our 1 year anniversary and it has been a fun year. Our honeymoon to Lake Tahoe and Yosemite was awesome and I highly recommend it to all who love to travel! We have the cutest little house here in Abilene and we are looking at possibly buying our first home. Andrea was hired on full time with AISD and will continue to teach 3rd grade in the fall. We both love our church and are excited to be in the midst of God's will for our life!