Thankful

It was really short but I am so very thankful for the time that we had with our oldest this Thanksgiving holiday. This phase of our lives with him – away at college living on his own – still feels very new. The time we have face to face with him is oh so very precious because it is so few and far between visits. After dropping him off at the airport this morning, we talked about what really defines this phase now: a series of hellos and goodbyes. The hellos are always sweet and the goodbyes are always bitter. But for me what makes the goodbyes a little more palatable is perspective. I realize that he is making his way in the world. He is pushing daily towards his dreams. In order for him to realize true adulthood and independence, he has to distance himself from the security of our decision-making. He has to develop his own clarity around situations. He has to decide what kind of man he wants to be and plant the right seeds that will manifest themselves in that man. It’s a thrill watching him grow and learn albeit painful at times as you want to protect your children from the pitfalls you didn’t avoid. But certainly we learned from our failures as well as our successes and I know he will do the same. I would never want to cheat him out of the nicks and bruises that sometimes accompany life. I know they’ll make him stronger.

He is a fantastic young man! Whatever small part of helping him become fantastic that I may have contributed, I am very happy for that and that’s all I need. He has my full support in whatever he feels like he needs to do, to do him. I know he’ll be great because in my eyes he’s already a winner and a big success.

Point Your Remote at Life and Click Away!

Saw a post from a new Facebook friend today and was inspired to write about it. She wrote that she wished life were a remote. That way she could play the easy times, pause the good times, fast forward through the difficult times, and rewind the memories. There is a lot of wisdom in that statement and words to live by if you let them be.

Challenge yourself to use ‘your remote’ on your life. On those rare occasions when life is giving it to you easy, just let it play. Relax and enjoy it while it lasts. Hit pause when things are going really well and take the time to take in the moment and thoroughly enjoy it. Because when you take a tally, those good times often seem few and far between. If life is kicking you in the teeth a bit, hit your fast forward button. Put your head down, gut your way through it, and get through it as fast as you can. You know times that will allow you to hit pause and play are right around the corner. But don’t forget to at least take a few things from those difficult times and learn from them. Maybe you won’t have to hit fast forward quite as often – for that situation anyway – in the future. Lastly, hold your memories and rewind them as much as you like. Don’t allow yourself to get stuck in the past – either awesome memories or not so awesome memories – but do allow yourself to relive those precious moments and maybe those moments when you didn’t make the best decision. Our past truly shapes our future so rewind when you have to and enjoy.

Embrace your life’s remote and make sure you always have fresh batteries in that bad boy!

A Thanksgiving Poem :)

Twas the day before Thanksgiving, and all through my mouth

Each taste bud was perky, not one had gone south.

Preparations for goodness are underway with care,

In hopes that St. Turkey soon would be there.


My taste buds are nestled all snug in my maw,

With visions of cranberry, dressing, and slaw.

My family’s together so that is what’s best,

But I’m gonna eat so much my tummy’s gonna say hi to my chest.

Road Trip!!!

It sure doesn’t seem like a week has passed already since Mandi and I returned from our weekend getaway. I don’t remember when the last time it was – probably back before kids – that she and I just headed out on the road together. We logged nearly 1600 miles in 3 days! That’s like driving straight from Clearwater to El Paso TX!! We made some awesome friends and saw some fantastic shows, but for me the best part of the weekend was spending so much time with my incredible bride.

We laughed so much over the 3 days that my sides are still hurting. Went down memory lane as we sang songs from back in the day as there are no lack of “70s, 80s, and today” stations out there. I’m pretty sure a couple of truck drivers got to see me doing the WOP and the Snake a few times. We ate, talked, and reconnected in a pretty awesome way. I highly recommend it.

We made some awesome new friends in Birmingham and in Nashville. Thanks for the memories guys, you all rock!!

We got to see Sam Bradley - accompanied by John Notto (the Man) - play in two different cities on consecutive evenings. We also had the pleasure of meeting his road dog, Dustin. Awesome dude! We hadn’t seen Sam together in about a year and a half and it had been about a year since Mandi had seen him play. All I can say is Whoa! He has really stepped up his game in that time and was phenomenal!! What an awesome talent and extremely cool cat to boot! The tour is so timely with the release of his latest EP, Zuni. Check it out!!

Big ups to our incredible friends for keeping our kids while we were gone. We don’t take that gesture lightly and we SO owe you. Totally willing to return the favor whenever you like.

I’m the luckiest man in the world and if you know Mandi, you know why!!!

BALANCE

Our daughter Victoria was a competitive gymnast for a number of years. She was exceptional! I think Mandi and I were more nervous watching her compete than she was. During her floor exercise she would get so high in her tumbling passes, watching her fly around the uneven parallel bars was major white knuckle time, and seeing her head down the runway at top speed and then pop that vault and twist and turn her body in ways I could only dream of – yikes! But the event that was the wildest for me personally was the balance beam. It’s so unimaginable that not only could she walk across this 4” wide, 16.5’ long beam but she could jump, tumble, dance, and kick without falling off. I think that was the event that she had to work the hardest at in training. Clearly the key was for her to develop extraordinary ‘balance’ and strengthen her ‘center’. When she competed she had to maintain that focus and balance with the crowd cheering for other competitors at other events, music blasting from the floor exercise, coaches and parents encouraging her, etc. So not only did she have to balance her body, she also had to process out all of the distracters around her.

In life, one of my biggest challenges is finding and maintaining the right balance. Balancing quality family time, work requirements, physical fitness, coaching, etc. is seemingly a daily challenge. When I get out of balance I know pretty quickly because I “fall” in that area(s) of my life that I’ve neglected. Much like Victoria would fall off the beam – not very often :) - if she got out of balance up there. This would happen typically if she let a distracter come in and take her off her center. She would get up, regroup, regain her center and balance, and finish the routine.

I think the bottom line for me is, keeping a healthy balance in life is a ton of work! But it is well worth it. If I get out of balance, life will let me know quickly. All I have to do is get up, dust myself off, regain my center and balance, and finish the routine!

Numbered!

While none of us know how many days we have on this Earth, what we cannot dispute is that they are numbered. I say we make each one count. Reality is that everyone of us has obligations, commitments, duties, and responsibilities that certainly can consume a lot of each day. In the midst of that reality, I'm challenging myself to at least carve out SOME time in EACH day to spend doing the things that I love and that I am passionate about. I'm going to spend some time each day laughing out loud, singing at the top of my lungs, loving on my wife and kids, and spending time with my Maker.

Make your days count because they are numbered. Commit at least some time each day to the things that you love and that you are passionate about. Who's with me??

Making an Impact!

Just had to share about the incredible time I had in East TN last weekend. Was blessed to be invited back to the church that Mandi, the kids, and I attended for about 6 years while we lived there. Impact Fellowship in Maryville. It was so cool seeing so many familiar faces and let me tell you, Impact Fellowship is doing "it" right. So excited for them.

So I flew up on Thursday. Greeted at baggage claim by my friend and pastor, Greg. Have one of those friends that no matter how long you are apart, the instant you see them it's like no time has passed? Yep that's how it is with me and Greg. After retrieving my bag, his awesome wife and my dear friend - aka my sister from another mister - pulled up. We loaded up and headed to their place. Now they live in the country straight up and for those of you that know me well...um anyway. :) It's so beautiful out there. There are no photos that do justice to the natural backdrop behind their home. It's like the most awesome postcard you have ever seen with a little touch of Heaven mixed in. As we pulled up, the boys had a nice fire going outside and they whipped out the hot dogs, chili, cheese, chips, and other goodies. Yep we cooked hot dogs over an open fire. Those were simply some of the best hot dogs I've ever eaten. After dinner we headed to the basement where it was just me, Laura, Jacob, and Andrew. We had a little "pre-rehearsal, reunion, get your praise on like hot-buttered popcorn", jam session. It was so much fun.

On Friday I got up and headed out for a little run. After making up a rather long and steep hill, I hit the main road. About 50 meters down the road I encountered about 4 dogs running around with no leashes. SOOOO I quickly turned around and headed back to the house. Stopped in to see Valerie, Connor, and Savannah on my way back. What a great family. Miss them so much but it was so good to see them. Hope I get to see Danny next time. Got caught up on a little work - boo! - and then Greg took me to lunch at El Jimador. Probably my family's favorite Mexican restaurant of all time. We had a great time catching up and Greg dropped some serious knowledge on a brother that I will always keep and cherish. That evening the rest of the band and praise team came over and we got our eat on again with some BBQ this time and then headed down for rehearsal. Wow what a great rehearsal we had. Probably one of the best I can remember from the like trizzilion rehearsals we had together in the past.

Saturday was a pretty chilled day. We did grab some Bella Roma pizza for lunch. Another Team Jackson favorite and Laura busted out with this pot roast that she had been cooking since the night before for dinner that was completely and totally off the chain. Wrapped up the evening watching TN football with Greg until we couldn't stand it anymore. :( Another tough game for the Vols. But I didn't really care because it was cool just sitting and hanging with my pastor. You know what I mean?

Of course Sunday was just incredible. The usual early morning start to go get set-up, rehearse, and then have church. The band and praise team are so talented and so committed and it is always an honor to sing with them. We had a nice lunch right after the service and I had a great time catching up with old friends and making some new ones. We held back the tears as we said goodbye at the airport. Although the sun was basically going down and Laura did have on some big ole sunglasses. Hmmm, LOL.

Oh yeah and of course we made two different trips to Sonic for fountain drinks while I was there.

I could write on and on and on but I won't. It was great!

The Howards are a special family, they took me in and I felt right at home from the first second I was there. So excited for Impact Fellowship and the wonders you all are going to see. Hope to see you all again soon and God bless.