My kids and I spent our first trip out to the lake here in the south.  We had a ton of fun.  I could not get Baylee off the boats and all AJ wanted to do was ride on the ATV.  Check out the pics below.

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This was a day sponsored by the Jordan family from Oak Leaf Church.  They were so gracious in allowing us to hang with them and be a part of their weekend.  We ran the boats all day so I know it wasn’t a cheap day for gas.  They were a great example of Southern Hospitality.  Tnank you for the great memories Jordan family!

OK, I confess I have been real busy lately and have not had the time to write anything worth while. I am one of those people that when I blog that it is usually something that I have been thinking on for a while. My buddy Jonathan blogs like he’s giving you a twitter update. I’m not that way but I had to take a moment and confess something to you because maybe you have been feeling the same way to.

Here I am writing on message about faith and here is what happened this week. I got stuck with about 1500 hundred extra in bills and my last fill up cost me over 80 dollars. I was ticked! I was upset and I was being a baby because of my assumption of my family not seeing the same things I do. I confess that I am lacking the faith for God to take care of us. Even after all that He has gotten through already.

Alright, I feel better already. Of course now I have to work on it. As I heard a quote from James today “Faith without works is dead”. My emotions will show where I am at. Got something you need to confess?

As I am writing this the family (Heather the kids and myself) have just got done having lunch together. We were in the kitchen talking, singing, and laughing. These are the things that remind me of my mom and dad. Growing up my Saturdays were filled with chores, sweat, sunburns, just plain old work. They were also filled with laughter, hugs, play, fun, and just plain love.

By writing this I will be going against the typical culture enmeshed family but this view comes from my past and a awareness of families today, that doesn’t sit well with me.

I see so many families spending their weekends: running to birthday parties, running errands, going to multiple soccer, baseball, football, cheer-leading, and whatever travel sports there are. What I don’t see is dad’s teaching their kids to do lawn work or taking the kids golfing with him. I see a lot of us (including me) spending too much time picking up after our kids rather than have them do it. I see housekeeping hired out because people have run out of time yet we complain about our shrinking budget. I see families allowing their little league coaches to teach values yet we don’t take the time to get to know them. I see a lot of us buying into the philosophy that the busier we keep our kids the better off they are. I see….a country that looks a lot different than it did 30 years a go before we had all this.

What would it look like if we managed our schedules so that we actually took a day off to hang with the family at home and not worry about what we could be doing down the road?

If you think this is hard you’re right! Culture doesn’t want you raising your child they would rather have that job. Unfortunately, for us, the world is not being run by nice people but by a prince. And this guy knows what makes us tick and he’s not out for our best.