The Richest Man on Earth

Turning 60 is kind of a big milestone in my life so I decided to stretch my birthday out over several weeks. For starters, I went on vacation to Kauai with my wife and stayed in a beautiful rental home. While there I played 60 holes of golf in one day with a close friend who was also turning 60. When I got back I played in a family sponsored golf tournament and enjoyed a party afterwards at my Father-in-law’s house with most of our family members. And then this weekend my wife and I hosted a party at our beach house for another small but close group of friends.

Our beach house is very small but since we are right on the sand, having a party outside is usually really fun (as long as the weather is good). We spent several days getting ready for the party, buying and installing two large rotating umbrellas on the beach, cleaning all the beach furniture, painting the front gate, planting new trees and flowers, fixing numerous problems inside and outside the house, multiple trips to Costco for the food, prepping all the food, etc. etc. It was a ton of work for both my wife and I, but we love hosting a party and we love our friends, so it was definitely a labor of love.

However, we knew the weather was going to be questionable on Saturday. But we had put in so much work we didn’t want to cancel the party, especially since most of the people had already committed to coming. The party was scheduled for 1:00-6:00pm and sure enough the clouds came in at 1:00 and the rain began at 2:00 and it pretty much rained the whole rest of the day. To top things off, the traffic on the 5 freeway on Saturday was absolutely miserable causing a headache for most of our guests.

So picture about 30 people huddled together under a tiny overhang, trying to stay dry but failing. It was cold, wet and windy and it wasn’t going to let up. At one point I looked around at this crazy group of people surrounding me and thought to myself… I am so blessed to have these people as my friends! They drove for hours in terrible traffic to stand out in the rain and eat wet food and yet they were still smiling and laughing. I guess the only thing that didn’t get ruined was their awesome attitudes and I also guess friendship must mean a lot to every single one of them. I don’t have a fancy car and I don’t have a big house and I don’t have a ton of money, but on one rainy Saturday afternoon last week…I considered myself the richest man on earth!

Just a small portion of the many people I am blessed to call my friends!

You can always tell when people are good friends because they are
having  way more fun than it makes sense for them to be having.
~ Anonymous

Like A Rock

We just got back from Kauai where we were on vacation for a couple of weeks and have to say my wife and I had the best time ever. The weather was gorgeous every single day and the beautifully decorated house we rented on the Makai Golf Course was super comfortable and fun…and maybe the best part was that we got to spend every day together, 24/7, having fun and enjoying our 20 year anniversary and “second honeymoon”.

Back home I am normally up at 5:00am every day getting a head start on my workday while my wife sleeps in a few more hours. But while we were on vacation I made it a point to stay in bed every morning so I could wake up next to a woman who deserves every ounce of attention I can give her. We got used to waking up together quite late in the morning, and sometimes we even stayed in bed and watched movies until noon. It was so fun and so relaxing compared to our normally crazy and hectic lifestyles. You know what they say in Hawaii, “Go Slower….no…More Slower!” (I saw that written on a sign near our house.)

We came back to the mainland on the “Redeye Flight” on Friday. We timed it so that even though we were back home we would still have a couple of days to transition from vacation mode to work mode. When Sunday morning came, my normal routine would have been to get up early, write a Monday Message, go to church, and then play in a Sunday Halo Baseball Game. However, this Sunday I felt like I needed to do things differently. Technically it was our last day of vacation so I decided I would stay in bed until she woke up so she would still feel like we were on vacation. Well, I woke up at 8:12 and was pretty proud of myself for sleeping in that late. As I laid there really quiet and still so I wouldn’t wake up my wife, I figured it probably wouldn’t be much longer (although she was sleeping like a rock). I started thinking about work and then transitioned my thoughts back to our vacation, which was much more pleasant. It got to be 8:30am and I figured she would be awake soon, so I remained really still so as not to disturb her. Before long it was 9:00am. I tried to keep my mind busy but by 9:30am I began to wonder if she was ever going to wake up. By 10:30 I had exhausted all the memories of our vacation and it was a real struggle just to keep still. Finally at 11:10am, I can happily report….she finally woke up!

I remember reading a passage recently in my Max Lucado Study Bible about how much easier it is for us to sacrifice for someone else, if we simply remember the ultimate sacrifice that Jesus made for us. Now I’m not saying that having to lie in bed with a beautiful woman is any kind of sacrifice, but it was kind of tough to lay completely still for over 3 hours and not accidentally wake her up. I was just trying to do something nice and I didn’t expect anything in return, but on Sunday evening when I came home from my baseball game, I received a very special reward. She gave me a rock as a thank you gift, engraved with some very touching words. All I can say is, “When you make a sacrifice for someone you love, it never, ever ends up feeling bad.”

Sacrifice is a part of life. It's supposed to be.

It's not something to regret. It's something to aspire to.

~ Mitch Albom, The Five People you Meet in Heaven    

Life is too short for Khakis

My wife and I are on vacation in Kauai this week and we’ve noticed this area is definitely a melting pot of people from all over the world. As we sit on the outdoor lanai of our vacation home overlooking a golf course, we can watch all types of people go by; including walkers, joggers, bicyclists and of course golfers.

After about an hour, my wife made an interesting observation that a lot of golfers are dressed really sharp and stylish. We had been watching the Masters Golf Tournament on TV earlier and she really likes the tight pants, bright colors and fancy belts and shoes that pro golfers wear and how much better the clothes are from the old days when all the guys wore Khakis. It took me a few minutes to think about it, but then I realized she makes a good point. We might be from different parts of the world and different cultures, but nothing is stopping us from having some style and being the best we can be…and it’s not just about clothes…

Find your own style, any style, and make it one that is unique to you.

Let’s be real... Life is too short for ugly Khakis and plain shoes!

Learn to play an instrument and sing for your family and friends.

Or maybe try your hand writing a mushy poem.

Cook a meal with gusto and have some fun in the kitchen.

And if your spouse asks you to take her out to a nice restaurant, don’t sweat the price.

Play a sport no matter what your age and no matter whether you’re good at it or not.

Or…Go hiking and make sure at least 50% of it is uphill.

Volunteer at a local Charity or Church.

Or stop by a hospital and visit a stranger in need.

Strive to be open minded and be well rounded.

And if you have an opinion and don’t be afraid to voice it

Take your family on a surprise trip to somewhere they have never been.

Or lead them to a grassy spot where you can lie on your backs and check out the stars.

Get out of your comfort zone and learn how to do different things.

See the world and be seen…and while you’re at it, say what you mean and mean what you say!

She finished by saying, “Life would be more interesting and fun if we displayed our love of life with style.” I don’t know if she’s right but I have to say she makes a good point. Life is too short to wear Khakis!

Jordan Spieth - A man with style!

A man can be short and dumpy and getting bald,
 but if he has fire, women will love him.
~Mae West

No Spring Chicken

My wife and I haven’t had a real vacation in over four years. So with our 20^th wedding anniversary coming up the first week of April and my 60^th birthday coming up the second week of April, we decided it was time to head for the island of Kauai for two weeks to celebrate both of those momentous occasions. Plus we truly needed some time to relax and forget about the stress of our busy lives.

 

We spent the first two days at a Marriott Resort near the airport.  Immediately upon arriving the humidity coupled with the warm Hawaiian sunshine convinced us that we had made a good decision. About the only problem with going on vacation was that we were leaving all of our children behind. You know how it is when you’re a parent…it’s hard not to worry about your children even when they are fully grown. Just as I was thinking about our kids and hoping they were all okay, there was a knock at the door and a bellman dropped off a chilled bottle of champagne and an anniversary card from our thoughtful kids. What a nice surprise!

 

After two days we headed north to Princeville where we rented a small house on the Makai Golf Course. That is where we are right now as I write this Monday Message and it’s an absolutely beautiful place to relax. We are overlooking the expansive lush green of the second fairway but we can also see the bright blue ocean off in the distance.

There are birds singing all day long and a rooster crows loudly each morning.  We don’t even mind the noise because it sounds like we are living in the jungle, which come to think of it, we are! Late in the afternoon on Easter Sunday I took a walk around the outside of the house to check it out and I accidentally surprised a mother Hen and her two baby chicks. She got scared and started running away, squawking at her little chicks to follow her. But the little chicks kept falling behind, so the mother hen would have to stop, run back, squawk at the little chicks again, and then continue on. I didn’t mean to scare them but it was interesting to watch that mother hen go totally into protection mode for her little baby chicks. Again I was reminded of what it’s like to be a parent who loves and cares for their children.

 

As I walked back into the house a thought flashed in my head. While Easter is traditionally a celebration of Jesus rising from the tomb, it’s also a great time to celebrate the fact that God not only proved His love for his son Jesus, he proved his love for all of His children at the same time…including us. That means that even though we may grow up and we may grow old, we will always have a heavenly parent who is in full protection mode for us at all times. I’m not happy about turning 60 because it means “I ain’t no spring chicken any more”, but I am happy that I have a heavenly father who may squawk at me if I get out of line, but also watch over me with love and compassion all the days of my life.

Why did the Chicken cross the road?
Because her kids were on the other side!

 

Every evening I turn my worries over to God.

He's going to be up all night anyway.

                                           ~Mary C. Crowley