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.

Another Installment of Gabe Gabs!

I don't think our family is unique in the fact that a lot of interesting conversations take place at meal time. Clearly we are unique though in that our family is beautifully, racially mixed. Meal talk and our family make-up combined to bring out an hilarious quote from our 9-year son Gabe once again.

We had Mandi's birthday dinner on Saturday at a great Mexican restaurant we found near the house in Clearwater - Poblanos. It has not completely taken the place of our beloved El Jimador in Maryville, TN but they are working on it. Somehow we got into a conversation about skin tone and someone made the observation that often times a person whom is racially mixed can have a darker skin tone than someone who is not racially mixed. So anyway out of no where - I did see the wheels turning before he spoke though - Gabe busted out with "You know that may be true but Africans, now they're ALL THE WAY BLACK". It was just too funny!

One more little nugget came out last night at dinner. Mandi and Victoria were talking about something and apparently Gabe didn't think that Victoria was displaying the proper attitude about it. He told her that her "attitude was unacceptable". (Something we have have told both of them too many times in the past) LMBO, this kid is 9. Where did he come from????

BOOTSTRAPS

My friend Mike P. posted a funny tweet yesterday asking "if anyone had some bootstraps he could borrow". I knew the question was rhetorical but of course I sarcastically replied that I thought the whole idea was for one to "pull themselves up by their own bootstraps". Well later on I got to thinking about that. The metaphor of 'pull yourself up by your bootstraps' has been around for a long time, meaning to get better by one's "own unaided efforts". I agree whole-heartedly that I am the captain of my own ship - what, did I just use a navy analogy?! - and that I am responsible to work hard at being a better me.

But I also know that I am blessed to have a few people in my life that I can call on any time to help me pull up my bootstraps and/or to Mike's point, let me even borrow theirs if need be. Because there just are those times, circumstances, and challenges where my own efforts fall short and just aren't enough.

True friends are really hard to find, for me anyway. I count it a privilege to have those faithful few that I can count on no matter how badly I have screwed up, how egregious my mistake was, or if I just need a little hand with that last inch to get that "boot" up. Very grateful for the 'bootstrappers' in my life!!

What Have You Done For Me Lately?!

I woke up this morning with the thought that "every day is an interview". Each day I should be 'on my game' and reinterview for the important "jobs" in my life. My jobs?: husband, father, brother, son, friend, and business leader. Each day I need to remind my beautiful wife through words and deeds that she made a good choice in choosing me 23 years ago. I need to reinterview and be on my best game as father to my children. As brother to my sister - my only sibling - and son to my parents and Heavenly Father. I have to renew my commitment to my friendships and be true to how I presented myself at the 'initial interview'. I must continually add the value I sold to my profession and daily add that value.

The song by Janet Jackson "what have you done for me lately" from back in 1986 - yikes - had some wisdom to it. Every day is an interview. Dress to impress and be determined to win at all the jobs I've been blessed to possess!