Good Enough For Me

I travel a lot of miles every week to do ultrasonic pole inspection projects. Sometimes I go as far south as the border of Mexico, and sometimes as far north as San Jose. The work is hard and challenging, but I enjoy overcoming obstacles and being productive, so I am thankful for the work. However, I noticed something changed last week. Schools are letting out for the summer and there are young kids everywhere I go. And not only are they everywhere, they are ripping around on electric E-Bikes like maniacs on crowded concrete sidewalks and busy asphalt streets.

Young kids riding E-Bikes are pretty scary because it’s so dangerous. But watching out for them also got me thinking about how hard kids have to work at school to get good grades and how hard it is for them to have to do homework every night. So I don’t blame kids for going a little crazy when they first get their summer break. I just don’t want them to get hurt, so I find myself driving more carefully and wishing I could join them by taking a summer break myself.

And that’s exactly what I’m going to do! My wife has also been working super hard to get her new charity off the ground, so we decided it was time for us to finally take a real vacation. It will be our first vacation in 4 years, and we are excited because we’re going to the island of Kauai. We plan to sleep in, visit a different beach every day, play lots of golf, and eat lots of fresh seafood. We’ve been there before and have so many great memories, but for some reason, I find myself feeling a little guilty about taking time off from work.

And that got me thinking... Hard workers are a blessing because for the world to survive, we need people to be productive. But working too much or too hard for too long can be counterproductive. In fact, I’m pretty sure when God gave us the sabbath day, a day of rest, He knew that the world was going to be a tough place to live and that we would truly need a break at times. So if God thinks it’s a good idea to take a break, that’s good enough for me!

Princeville, Kauai

May the light of God’s love shine upon you

And guide you where ere you may be,

Making lighter earth’s burdens and sorrows

Keeping your soul joyous and free.

                   ~ Gertrude Toole Buckingham, 1948

In Common

Since the beginning of the year, my work has been absolutely exploding.  It’s been a major blessing and jobs have been pouring in from the border in San Diego to San Jose in Northern California. But there is more work than I can handle at times, so I thought I would try to hire someone full time to help me.

I put out the word to people I know, and my wife posted on Social Media, but as of yet no luck. The one thing I keep hearing is that young people don’t want to work hard. Instead, they want to work from home, get paid tons of money, be on their phones and social media all day, and enjoy instant gratification. That might be true, and it might not be. I don’t like to generalize. But if it is true, then I would have to say that I don’t have much in common with the younger generation. I started working really hard when I was 16, and I’ve never stopped. I don’t mind driving, I don’t mind getting dirty, and I enjoy being productive. I especially enjoy challenges and learning new things. So what’s up with the next generation?

I found out this past weekend. My daughter and her husband took a short trip to Nashville for both business and pleasure. So my granddaughter, Andie, who is 15, is staying with us for a week. I have been driving her to school and picking her up and getting to spend some quality time with her. The more I get to know her, the more impressed I am with her. If she is an example of the next generation, then the world is going to be a lot better off than it is now. Andie is sweet and quiet, but she is also uncommonly strong and athletic, making varsity cheerleader as a sophomore. She plays piano, sings, and is a soloist in her school choir. She works really hard in school, makes straight A’s, and oh yeah… her goal is to become a pediatrician so she can help sick kids.

I was starting to think that I probably don’t have anything in common with the next generation. And I for sure probably don’t have anything in common with my 15 year old granddaughter. But maybe I was wrong, because yesterday morning, when I asked Andie about  her faith, she said, “Faith is very important to me.” You know what… we have a lot in common!

Be kind, don’t judge, and have respect for others.

If we can all do this, the world will be a better place.

The point is to teach this to the next generation.

~ Jasmine Guinness

Love and Sacrifice

Today is Mother’s Day. It’s the day we celebrate and honor our Moms, a day where we show them our love and take care of them for a change. However, I have a feeling that in most households Mom is still busy working, helping with the food, making sure everyone is happy, and cleaning up afterwards. It’s not our fault that happens… most Moms are just built that way. But still, we men should try to help out where we can with the chores and stuff, you know, so the women aren’t so busy.

My Mom certainly was a busy Mom. Unfortunately I can’t thank her because she passed away. But if I could thank her, here is what I would say… Hi Mom! I miss you and I’m sorry that I didn’t call you more often when you were still alive. But I want you to know that even though I didn’t call you every day, I always thought about you, because every single day things would happen that would remind me of you and all the things you taught me growing up. Every day still, I am reminded of the sacrifices you made so that me and my sister could have a chance at a good life. When Dad was shipped overseas with the Marine Corps, you stepped up and took a part-time job so we could eat. You hand made our clothes on a sewing machine, and when a neighbor boy was beating up a smaller child, you stepped in and knocked him on his butt. You taught me about strength and courage during hard times, and you taught me the true meaning of love and sacrifice. I thank you and I love you.

Now that my Mom is gone, I find myself looking at my wife in a new light. I notice she has a lot of the same traits. She loves to do for others, take care of others, and sacrifice her own wants and needs for others. She is strong but gentle, passionate yet compassionate, smart and humble all at the same time. So yesterday, I made it a point to thank her for all she does. I tried to explain to her why she is such an amazing Mom. It starts with how much our kids and grandkids love her, but it goes much deeper. She lives her faith and sets a bold example for everyone around her. Not only has she done a great job of taking care of me, our four kids, and our seven grandkids, she also donates tons of time to help foster children as well. She is a tireless advocate for doing what is right, she won’t take crap from anyone, and I’ve never seen her back down from a fight. She truly exemplifies love and sacrifice every day by fighting for those less fortunate.

And that got me thinking… Having a hard working Mother that taught me the true meaning of love and sacrifice, helped me to find a hard working wife who shares those same wonderful traits. I definitely received a double blessing there, but wait… hang on a minute… I’ve been writing this for way too long and I need to get off my butt and go get some chores done, you know, cause its Mother’s Day!

Mama...I donut know what I would do without you!

A Mother’s hug lasts long after she lets go.

~ Anonymous

Things Change

I have been through a lot of adversity in my life, as I am sure you have as well. It is a natural part of being human and sharing this world with so many other people. However, things changed three years ago. When you throw in a three year long worldwide pandemic on top of all the regular problems that life throws at you, things can seem utterly hopeless at times. I admit that I have felt lost, sad, and very angry way too often the past few years.

However, things change. That too is a natural part of life on this earth. I can remember back in 1988 hearing an advertisement on the radio while driving my truck to work. It was a simple 30 second recording by an organization that was asking for volunteers to help erect a new Cross on top of Battle Mountain in San Diego. I answered that call, spent six months putting in hard physical labor to get that project done, and it changed my life dramatically for the better.

Last week, things changed dramatically for me once again. And once again, it was a simple 30 second announcement on the radio that I heard. I was driving down Antonio Parkway in Rancho Santa Margarita, heading off to work on a very cold morning when I heard it. Someone from the Center for Disease Control was announcing, “The federal Covid-19 Public Health Emergency declaration will end on May 11^th, 2023”. They went on to say, “The United States mobilized a historic response to the Covid-19 pandemic. As a nation, we now find ourselves at a different point in the pandemic, with more tools and resources than ever before to protect ourselves and our communities.” In addition, the reporter covering the story said that as of May 11^th, 2023, Los Angeles and Orange Counties will no longer be issuing color codes to alert the population as to the severity of the pandemic.

When I heard that message, I immediately pulled over to the side of the road. I know it sounds silly, but that message hit me hard, in a good way. It was like a light bulb was turned back on inside of me, both illuminating me and warming me at the same time. I sat there behind the wheel for a long time thinking, smiling, and then offering up a very heartfelt prayer of thanks to God for always being with us, always caring for us, always loving us. Things had changed once again, but God never does.

The light of God surrounds me.

The love of God enfolds me.

The power of God protects me.

The presence of God watches over me. 

Wherever I am, God is with me.

~ Norman Vincent Peale

Father, Son and The Holy Goo

I would like to think that I am strong and not afraid of anything. That I have the strength to build a home for my family, and the courage to protect my wife and kids from anything and anyone. That’s a real man, right? But here’s the truth, I freakin’ hate spiders!

It probably started when I was a teenager. I worked on an avocado ranch and the spiders that hung out in the avocado trees were huge! I would be walking through a grove and all of sudden my face would be covered in a giant nasty spider web. I just knew some big fat brown spider was crawling up my back to bite me in the neck. I had never-ending nightmares about those creepy, nasty, ugly, little beasts.

In my twenties, I rode dirt bikes, and often went on camping trips to the desert and Mexico. On one trip to Guadalupe Canyon, we slept on the ground in sleeping bags. But I woke up in the early dawn with a severe earache. It was so bad, I had to load my bike into my truck and head back to the US. When I arrived, I went straight to urgent care where they gave me antibiotics for an ear infection. But by midnight, I was in extreme pain. One half of my face was paralyzed, I couldn’t see very good, and I couldn’t hear. So I was freaking out. I somehow managed to drive myself to the hospital, where I was given antitoxins because they said I had been bitten four times inside my ear by a brown recluse spider. Like I said, I hate spiders!

Throughout most of my life, I have been involved with lighting maintenance, electrical work, and pole inspections. In all three of those endeavors, I encounter spiders everywhere I go. They hide inside light fixtures, junction boxes, ground vaults, and underneath pole base covers. I just can’t seem to avoid those nasty eight legged creatures, so I am trying to accept it and deal with it. But I gotta say, I still hate ‘em!

Until yesterday morning that is. I was taking a shower and as I reached up to grab the shampoo, I saw a huge brown “Daddy Long Legs” spider just inches away from my hand. That scared the holy crap out of me and to make it worse, he had a large web with a ghostly brown glob of something in the middle that he was guarding. My first thought was to spray him with water and wash him down the drain. But then I noticed something… there was a tiny little baby “Daddy Long Legs” spider scurrying up the web to back to Papa. I stood there for a moment, looking at that big spider, the ghostly glob of goo, and the little guy running like a demon to get back to the web. And I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t kill them. For some reason, all I could think of was the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

And that got me thinking… It really is stupid and silly to be afraid of spiders because, in a way, they are just like us. They have to create a home, and they have to protect their wife and kids. I can so relate!

If you wish to live and  thrive,

let the spider run alive.

~ Old English Proverb

The Power

I find myself offering up a prayer quite often these days. In fact, most morning when I leave before sunrise to go to work or to go play golf I enjoy voicing a prayer out loud, especially  as the sun rises. I am all alone, don’t have to feel embarrassed, and sometimes I even picture Jesus sitting next to me… and we talk. Okay I talk, but I believe he listens. And I believe He cares. Funny thing is, as I pray and the sunrise bursts forth over the tops of the hills, so does a feeling of calmness within me, combined with happiness.

Call me crazy, because I admit that I never used to pray very often as a young man. But as I’ve gotten older two things have changed in my life.

• One – I appreciate the blessings that I have a lot more these days because I’ve been through enough hard times in my life to recognize when I have it good. So I feel grateful and want to express my gratitude in prayer. Doing so makes me feel good, and happy as I mentioned above.

• Two – Being older, I have a lot of friends my age who are going through health issues and some of them have even lost loved ones recently. They need all the help they can get so I put them in my prayers and let them know I am praying for them.

However, I am having a problem with number two above.  There is no way for me to know if my prayers are doing any good. I mean I am just your average Joe. I am not a pastor, I am not super smart, I don’t have any special power, and I don’t even know if I am structuring my prayers in the right way. Sometimes my prayers are answered the way I hope. Other times a friend stays sick, or a relative dies, and I feel really sad.

Until today, Easter Sunday, that is. As I was reading the book of Psalms in my Max Lucado Study Bible, I saw that Max added a sidebar note. It will forever change the way I look at prayer, which is to say that I will never stop praying and never stop believing that my prayers are heard.  

Since the power of prayer is in the One who hears it and not in the one who says it,

Our prayers do make a difference!

                                                                                                      ~ Max Lucado

Hold On Tight

It seems like just yesterday that we met. I don’t know if it was her captivating smile, cute dimples, or infectious personality that attracted me to her so much. But what I do know is that when I fell in love with her, I fell hard!

She warned me, “Once you kiss me, you will never stop”, and she was right. And the moment we told each other how we truly felt, we were constantly together, never ever wanting to be apart, holding hands, holding on tight. I think that both of us were so thrilled to have found true love, that once we found it, we wanted to make sure that we didn’t lose it. And maybe that’s why after nearly three decades, we are still madly in love with each other, still holding hands ever so tightly, and still never want to be apart.

Yesterday was our 28^th wedding anniversary. So I made sure there was a fresh rose on her nightstand, an anniversary card propped up against it, and an anniversary present hidden in the back of my truck. The present was an issue though. After 28 years, I feel like I’ve given her just about every creative gift that I could come up with. So this year was a struggle, until I overheard her on the phone. She was telling a friend about her new charity venture that involves creating suitcases filled with clothes for Foster Kids. The tremendous excitement and passion in her voice fired off a light bulb in my head. So this year, instead of buying her a gift for herself, I decided to give her a gift for her charity, a suitcase filled with clothes and toiletries for a young child. I hoped it would be both a show of love for her and support for her passion and I lucked out. She loved it… and held on to me tight for a very long time.

When you first fall in love, it can take your breath away and give you goosebumps all over your body. Later on as you share life’s struggles, sort through problems, and enjoy good times together, love will often mature and create a special, long lasting bond that can’t be broken. That’s how I feel about my wife these days. It might be because 20 years ago I nearly lost her to a life threatening lung disorder, or it might be because she has always had my back when I needed it most, or it might just be those cute dimples that pop up when she smiles. All I know for sure is that life can be a bumpy road, so no matter what... I’m gonna forever hold on tight!

Speaking of bumpy roads, as I drove to a job site yesterday, I called my wife just to tell her I love her and miss her. Sounds silly right! But as I heard her say “Love You” when she hung up the phone, a lighted traffic sign on the side of the intersection switched to say, “Love You”.  Love can be crazy right!

Love… is the perfect bond of unity.

Colossians 3:14