Where Have I Been?

It’s been months since my last post.  I’ll be relaunching soon but for now I thought I’d catch you up on where I’ve been and what I’ve been doing….

1.  Marrying, burying, loving, serving, and crying.  I’m a Pastor.
2. Sinning, hurting, ignoring, and forgetting.  I’m a human.
3. Teaching, loving, being, laughing, crying, and experiencing.  I’m a parent.
4. Supporting, caring, coming alongside, loving, laughing, and pursuing.  I’m a husband.
5. Teaching, empowering, encouraging, training, exhorting, and disciplining.  I’m a coach.
6. Supporting, obeying, serving, being with, loving, and laughing.  I’m a son.
7. Laughing, loving, crying, experiencing, relaxing, and comforting.  I’m a friend.
8. Cooking, golfing (not much), walking, exercising (not much), and listening to podcasts.  I have hobbies.
9. I would love to be on Guy’s Grocery Games…as long as I didn’t have to make a dessert.
10. While talking about an emotional needs survey, Joe said, “Well, we all know mine would just be security and acceptance.”  You know, that’s how a 15 year old talks.
11. I remember getting cable internet when we first moved in to our house in 1998, sooooo fast.
12. I remember using an auto flush urinal at JFK airport…in 1997!
13. I remember telling a girl on my vb team that someone’s job is watching the red light cameras on auto flush toilets and urinals and deciding when to flush…and she believed me.
14. I remember eating Dinty Moore beef stew as a boy scout and it was amazing.
15. I remember eating Dinty Moore beef stew as an adult and almost dying.
16. We had fresh beans cooked on the beach in Erie.  They were amazing.
17. All of us separately tried to replicate it at home, none were successful.
18. I prayed with someone on hospice recently, what an honor.
19. Having buried a father and a son (not in that order), death is not foreign, uncomfortable or far from my mind.
20. Life is precious and each day an incredible gift.
21. I wish I treated it that way…all the time.
22. Time with my wife, alone, is precious and so enjoyable.
23. Watching the division in our country grieves me greatly.
24. Watching people get manipulated by media (traditional and social) saddens me.
25. The outrage police is tiresome as they rant on the topic du jour and move on the next week, solving nothing.
26. Watching someone passionately embrace a cause and truly work to make a difference is inspiring.
27. There are a lot of things I would like to improve about our church (carpet, stage, paint, etc.).
28. The fact that we are a real, loving, simple group of folks will never change.
29. The lack of understanding of emotional needs is the greatest unknown cause of pain in our society today.
30. It turns out that my bible is NIV 1984, compared to the updated NIV 2011, is highly coveted…who knew?
31. The No Agenda podcast would open your eyes more than you could ever imagine.
32. Hubris is a great threat to the make up of our world.
33. Simply crying with someone will make all of the difference with their pain.
34. A new restaurant in Penn Hills called “Fun” is amazing.  It’s so great to see.
35. In the spring of 2019 we are getting a Taco Bell…20 years since the old one closed.  That’s gentrification that I can get behind.
36. I do not want a dog massage parlor or vegan auto salon.
37. There are so many great kids in our schools.
38. There are a lot of “bad kids” in our schools…who need love, and discipline.
39. Please note that I put quotations around “bad kids” (see #25).
40. I’m in a slump making my own sausage, maladies of a “feel” cook.
41. I wish I could tell what is wrong when I my food doesn’t taste quite right…just a little more refined of a palate.
42. I would love to visit the American southwest.
43. I’ll be starting a podcast soon with two great friends.
44. I’ve been playing fantasy football since 1994.
45. I’ve won…once.
46. My girls volleyball team this fall is the most enjoyable team I’ve had…in years.
47. My family takes long walk together…I’m sure I’ll look back and appreciate them more and more as time goes on.
48. I pray with my kids as I drive them to school every day.  It’s quick, simple, and vital.
49. Everyone is a product of the hurts from their past…give them a break.