Homesickness

I had the privilege of being a guest on Family Life Radio in Arizona this week. It doesn't hurt that my brother is the co-host of the show, and his partner is one of my best friends. I can see God's hand in orchestrating my brother, Kevin's, move to Tuscon to co-host a morning radio show there. The radio station, KFLR, hired Lorri Allen first. I worked with Lorri at KLTV in Tyler, and we have been good friends ever since, even though she's a Longhorn and I'm an Aggie.
So, when KFLR hired her this spring and said she could pick her co-host, she chose Kevin, whom she knew through her friendship with me. The two sound great together and you can listen to them by going to www.myflr.org. Click the tab that says "find a station" and then the dot where Tuscon is on the map. That will launch your Media Player and you can listen to them in the mornings on your computer.
Kevin and Lorri called to talk on the radio show this week about homesickness. They talk about all kinds of interesting topics and homesickness just happened to be one of them. Kevin knows that issue is something with which I struggle. He knows it may take me two days to drive to a destination, but I can drive home in one day. After one day at Texas A&M as a college student, I packed my stuff and headed home. Dad told me to bow my neck and get back down there and I'm glad I did.
It's not that I have any great advice for dealing with homesickness, I just know about it. I've outgrown some of my homesickness, but while Kevin has taken exciting jobs in Cincinnati, Dallas, Austin, Waco, and now Tuscon, I've made my living within a rock's throw of where I was born, except when I worked at KLTV. To this day, I enjoy traveling, so long as I know I'll be back in my own bed in a few days.
In the interview, I told them that people today have better ways to stay connected than when I was younger. Now, we have cell phones and texting and Skype and Facebook. I would have enjoyed that technology when I went off to college.
Lorri asked me why I think we suffer from homesickness. I discussed how we are created to love one another and to be loved. Science has proven that we are "hard wired" to be connected to friends and family. Our brains were designed to find connections with others -- and with God -- and we thrive on those connections. When we leave our comfort zones, or the comfortable presence of our loved ones, we can feel it. It hits me when the sun sets and I'm nowhere near my home town. I've simply come to realize that that's the way I am.
I wonder if some of that homesickness is the realization that no matter where we are on earth, we're never in our true home. When we are present in the body, Paul said, we are away from the Lord. When we arrive in God's presence, we'll never feel misplaced, lonesome or homesick again. Kevin pointed out that maybe God allows us to feel homesick to remind us that we aren't ever really home. Not in this life. Jesus said our hearts should be in heaven. That's our true home.
We plan to go see Kevin and Lorri sometime this summer. I'm looking forward to seeing them, but I know I'll feel that tug while I'm away.

Memorial Day 2010

Ahh, summer time! Memorial Day is the traditional start of summer and you have to go swimming. So here I am. We got this pool for 80 bucks at Wally World. I put it under the patio cover to keep the water from getting so hot. Just one problem: this water is freezing!

Noah's Ark Found? Well Maybe

Chinese and Turkish Christians have shown photos and video they say is from inside Noah's Ark, 13,000 feet up on Mt. Ararat. The thing is, a former colleague of the team says there are spider webs in the video and there wouldn't be spiders in those conditions. He claims the whole thing is a hoax. Why would people want to dupe people like that? What could they gain? Why would Christians want to fool other Christians? I hope it's not a hoax, but I'll wait to see.
I guess Christians will always hope someone finds Noah's Ark. But such a find would require extraordinary proof. It would require verification from a neutral news team or some other group.

Through the years, several people have claimed to have found the Ark, but no one has ever been able to independently verify the claims.

If the Ark were found, it would be a solid, physical proof of our faith. We Christians believe the Ark story, and finding it would confirm our faith and solidify our beliefs. But if we never find it, we'll go on believing. After all, wood that old might not have survived this long, even in the frozen conditions of a mountain top. Some culture may have "borrowed" the wood for shelter or firewood, or Noah himself may have used it. I'll keep watching and hoping such a find is made, but I'll hang on to my faith without it in the meantime.

Mammatus Clouds

A storm passed nearby this evening and the mammatus clouds formed overhead. Rare and interesting clouds. My dad would have loved this.

Our Place in Spring

These yellow flowers are just wild weeds, but they sure are pretty this year. You'll notice the dogwood tree in bloom in the woods too.

Third Snow

It's strange to get this much snow here, and we keep expecting it to get really warm now that it's spring, but it's snowing again this morning. Big flakes, but they aren't sticking. The ornamental pear tree in the back yard is already white with blossoms. The Dogwood Festival was supposed to start yesterday, but it was raining and cold and everything got cancelled. The dogwoods are not yet in bloom anyway, but the red-buds, pear trees and tulip trees are out. I took a vacation day from church since it's spring break, so I've been enjoying watching it snow.

You Gotta Want It

I've been thinking about what my friend, David, said to me on a work trip about ten years ago. We were in New Mexico installing phone booths at convenience stores. As a side note, those have mostly gone the way of the dinosaurs now that everyone has a cell phone. Anyway, I had to loosen a big bolt to remove the old phone so we could install a new one. I pushed on the wrench and nothing happened. So I repositioned myself and pulled on it. Still nothing. I couldn't budge it. So, I went and asked David for help. He came over and strained on the wrench for a second and, sure enough, it loosened. He handed me the wrench and said, "You gotta want it."
The next bolt I encountered, I pushed harder, putting my weight into it. This time, I got it loose. I really wanted it. I didn't want to have to ask David for help again. So I tried harder, straining beyond what I thought I could. I had to want it.
I've used that catch phrase many times this past decade. It's simple, yet profound. It applies to nearly every endeavor. You can't loosen a bolt without putting your weight into it and you can't overcome any other challenge without really trying.
What challenge are you facing right now? You can do it, but you have to be determined to make it happen. You can't put half of your heart into it and expect to succeed. Losing weight, stopping smoking, getting some exercise, completing a course, getting a golf-ball in the cup, scheduling a regular quiet time -- no matter the challenge, you gotta want it to make it happen.
Last week, my wife was commenting on the challenges of spending quality time with our busy daughter. Guess what I said?
So, what do you really want? Do you want to be the number one influence on your children? It's going to take hard work and sincere effort. Do you want your children to grow up well-rounded, well-functioning, with good self-discipline and an old-fashioned work ethic? You gotta want it. I want my children to be spiritual. I want them to make good decisions. I want them to put God first in every area of their lives.
But this isn't going to happen if I only try half-heartedly -- I gotta want it. I have to make decisions every single day that push toward that goal. Some days it is every bit as hard as pushing against a rusted bolt, but I want it to happen so I strain forward, not looking back and not giving up. If I fail at one bolt -- one challenge, I may even ask for help and then try again on the next one.
Ultimately, my children will make their own decisions about God and about life, but I do not underestimate my influence on that. Some days, I would like to be lazy about it and just say what I want to say or do what I want to do. But I can't forget what I really want and that keeps me going.
It's a challenge to get my children up and to church on time every Sunday, but I'm very aware that half-hearted commitment will lead to half-way-committed children. That's not what I want.
Do you want to be a good parent? It's not easy. Do you want your children to be happy and successful? It's not easy. Do you want to instill your values in them? It's a challenge. You can do it, but you gotta want it.