Thursday, December 31, 2009
Christmas 2009
Here are a whole bunch of pictures from this year's Christmas. Start with a little Christmas gathering with our friends Bill Emeott, Jeff and Abbey Land. Then Christmas morning at our home after Santa visited and then with my parents. Enjoy and have a great new year.
Monday, December 28, 2009
2009: The Year of Gifts
Sorry if this seems a little incoherent, but I am a bit confused. Not sure where am I. I was in Springfield, TN living in a my home. No, no, I think I was in Orange Beach, AL renting an apartment. No, that can't be right. Maybe I am in Franklin, TN staying in someone else's home rent-free. Huh?
Wild year. One that is hard to encapsulate in a post. Shannon and I were talking on the drive to my parents for Christmas of what we did together in each of our 8 past Christmases. I could not remember last year, but Shannon remembered that our friends the Joneses watched Jacob, my parents watched Ava and Shannon and I took a "stay-cation" taking day trips to different parts of Tennessee. "That was last year. Just 12 months ago?" I replied. It seemed so, so long ago.
So much has happened in 12 months that it is hard to believe it all occured in the same year. Not just living in 3 different places, but our mindsets. In Springfield, knowing only that we didn't know what our future direction should be. Going to Orange Beach in hopes of finding that answer, but unsure of when and how that answer would present itself. In Franklin, with a clear vision for our future but new challenges in our new lifestyle.
So many people tell you that time flies and that your life, especially with your children, passes too fast. Maybe I will hold that view at some point in my future, but I am 34 now, with a 7 1/2 year marriage, a 5 year old and a nearly 2 year old. My verdict: time is just creeping on and it is great that way. Jacob at 5 years of age, ready to start kindergarten in less than a year; yea, that sounds right. Hasn't flow by to me. Nearly 8 years with Shannon; I seems longer because I can't imagine life without my wonderful soulmate.
One thing I am probably going to regret later is using this quote from an 80s movie. At the end of Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Ferris says: "Life moves pretty fast. You don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." Everyone seems to agree with the sentiment of how fast life moves, but many don't apply the solution Ferris suggests. You have to make a concentrated effort to look around to keep your perspective. By looking around, I mean really thinking about what is happening in your life. Going back and trying to recount how you got there, like Shannon and I did trying to remember our past Christmases. But not just now and then, but fairly regularly. Sometimes looking at the big picture but other times looking at the immediate past. It is something I try to do, and I testify that it generally works.
I confess that some periods of your life are a bit more "ordinary" than others which makes it harder to recall, but that also means there are periods of your life which are quite extraordinary. 2009 has been that year. The greatest gifts I received this year, in order:
1. Jacob's salvation.
2. Seeing the healing of grief in Shannon's life
3. Receiving direction from God on moving to First Baptist Nashville and our new family direction.
4. Having a wild and unpredictable year which made my 12 months of living seem like 2-3 years of life.
My worst fear apart from the death or harm for my family is having a life without abundance. Without fullness or depth or excitement or challenges or opportunities or goals. A mundane existence where the days blended together and your life feels like it is flying by you without you making an impact on it or it making an impact on you. 2009 was anything but my worst fear.
Predictions for 2010? Yea, right. Could I have predicted 2009? I won't even try and make a fool of myself by doing that. But that is the fun of it. I don't know what is in store and I can't wait to find out.
Wild year. One that is hard to encapsulate in a post. Shannon and I were talking on the drive to my parents for Christmas of what we did together in each of our 8 past Christmases. I could not remember last year, but Shannon remembered that our friends the Joneses watched Jacob, my parents watched Ava and Shannon and I took a "stay-cation" taking day trips to different parts of Tennessee. "That was last year. Just 12 months ago?" I replied. It seemed so, so long ago.
So much has happened in 12 months that it is hard to believe it all occured in the same year. Not just living in 3 different places, but our mindsets. In Springfield, knowing only that we didn't know what our future direction should be. Going to Orange Beach in hopes of finding that answer, but unsure of when and how that answer would present itself. In Franklin, with a clear vision for our future but new challenges in our new lifestyle.
So many people tell you that time flies and that your life, especially with your children, passes too fast. Maybe I will hold that view at some point in my future, but I am 34 now, with a 7 1/2 year marriage, a 5 year old and a nearly 2 year old. My verdict: time is just creeping on and it is great that way. Jacob at 5 years of age, ready to start kindergarten in less than a year; yea, that sounds right. Hasn't flow by to me. Nearly 8 years with Shannon; I seems longer because I can't imagine life without my wonderful soulmate.
One thing I am probably going to regret later is using this quote from an 80s movie. At the end of Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Ferris says: "Life moves pretty fast. You don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." Everyone seems to agree with the sentiment of how fast life moves, but many don't apply the solution Ferris suggests. You have to make a concentrated effort to look around to keep your perspective. By looking around, I mean really thinking about what is happening in your life. Going back and trying to recount how you got there, like Shannon and I did trying to remember our past Christmases. But not just now and then, but fairly regularly. Sometimes looking at the big picture but other times looking at the immediate past. It is something I try to do, and I testify that it generally works.
I confess that some periods of your life are a bit more "ordinary" than others which makes it harder to recall, but that also means there are periods of your life which are quite extraordinary. 2009 has been that year. The greatest gifts I received this year, in order:
1. Jacob's salvation.
2. Seeing the healing of grief in Shannon's life
3. Receiving direction from God on moving to First Baptist Nashville and our new family direction.
4. Having a wild and unpredictable year which made my 12 months of living seem like 2-3 years of life.
My worst fear apart from the death or harm for my family is having a life without abundance. Without fullness or depth or excitement or challenges or opportunities or goals. A mundane existence where the days blended together and your life feels like it is flying by you without you making an impact on it or it making an impact on you. 2009 was anything but my worst fear.
Predictions for 2010? Yea, right. Could I have predicted 2009? I won't even try and make a fool of myself by doing that. But that is the fun of it. I don't know what is in store and I can't wait to find out.
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