Friend or Family?

     When our kids were growing up they would bring their friends over to play, or get a ride somewhere. We tried to make sure that we made their friends feel welcome when they came over and welcome to come over anytime. If they were important to our kids then they were important to us. If nothing else we needed to see who would be influencing our kids and how it was happening. As best as I can remember there were very few people that we strongly discouraged either one of the kids  from hanging out with. There were friends, boyfriends and girlfriends.
     Cory brought home a few friends from school but mostly they were neighbors, teammates from football, Jr. Jazz or diabetes camp. There were a few that he brought home that when they left I couldn't shut the door behind them quickly enough.
     Nicole brought people home from everywhere. School, Jr. Jazz, Volleyball, Basketball and dance class. There were a few of them that I couldn't shut the door behind them quickly enough as well.
     In either case whether it was Nicole or Cory, we wanted to make their friends feel welcome. If you have been to our house more than once then you can be pretty sure that you are considered family. Some people are like sons or daughters and others are more like cousins. All are welcome, but not all have developed a close relationship with either us or the kids. There are even a few people that have never set foot in our house that I would consider them to be a son or daughter.
     We've had people that have or still are struggling with alcohol or illegal drug use that are welcome as a son or daughter in our home any time. There are ex-boyfriends and ex-girlfriends that are still welcome in our house  as a son or a daughter. Just because the relationship didn't go any further with Nicole or Cory doesn't mean we never want to see you again. People never cease to be important just because circumstances have changed. We are in each others lives for a reason and as long as I am around and you are too, our lives should be impacting each others in a positive way.
     When we go to Jesus and ask for forgiveness he doesn't first check to see if we use alcohol or drugs or whatever other problem we might have. When we go to him and repent and ask for forgiveness he adopts us as sons and daughters. We are now in his family even if we have problems that we need help with. We go through his door and we are family. What a great example for us to follow. If you come through the door of our house, you can bet you will be family, if you want.
     I want to know how work is going, about nursing school, about your day of snowboarding, camping, fishing, your trip to Vegas or Price. About your pregnancy. If it's important to you it will be important to me, maybe not as important to me as it is to you but still important. If you have a problem you need help with, we might be able to help. If you just want to stop by and say hello, do it.
     If you came through our door once, you were a friend. If we developed the friendship in some way, i.e.  talking, having you go with us to dinner or on a day trip, you are family. Stay in touch, we want to hear from you.
     Be blessed and know that we care about you.
    

Counting my blessings

     I have a shelf full of tickets. Not traffic tickets, they're Bronco tickets, Ute tickets and concert tickets. I have  a computer full of pictures of people, animals, flowers, sunsets, snow, ice, clouds, mountains and fields. All things I got to experience. On this computer that I store my pics on I have this cool little site called facebook that I can keep up with friends and make new ones if I choose.
     The tickets represent time spent doing something I enjoy. Football and music. The football is a minimum of four hours spent with at least one friend and or family member. The concert is a minimum of three hours spent with a friend and or family member. I keep the tickets not to say I went here or saw this. I keep them because each one represents a time that God has blessed me. On any given Sunday I am one of only 76,000 people out of how ever many billion people are on the earth to be at that spot doing something I like. Same with concerts. Only a small number of people can get into the building to hear the band. Each time I am with someone I want to be with to share it.
     Pictures. I have thousands of pictures thanks to digital photography. No more costly film development. Each one represents a time I was well enough to walk out the door and go for a hike. Each picture is something that I can share with someone else that can't hike due to age, health, finances or transportation. Each picture is something that shows how creative God is. A small flower no bigger than a pin head to a 12,000 foot high snow covered mountain with a mountain goat and her kid. I share it with someone else and God may use it to bless them or speak to them.
    Facebook. What an amazing way to keep in touch with people. It can be as curse as well if not used correctly. It can be used to encourage, to share important events both upcoming and already passed. It can be used to reach out to someone having a difficult time. It can be used just to say hi and bring a smile to someones face.
     Three simple things, tickets, pictures and a web site. In ten years there have been about 90 football games and or concerts. About 10,000 pictures and most recently a daily visit with friends on facebook.
All insignificant in the big scheme of things but each one represents a blessing from God. He knows I like football, music, hiking, photography and people. He blesses me because He loves me.
      I'll keep saving my tickets and pictures and sharing time with my friends and every once in awhile when life seems like it sucks, I will count my blessings and pray that God uses me bless some one else with my time, pictures or tickets or just a hug and encouraging word.

Twenty six Letters

I had a miniature version of this on facebook once as well but Toes said to put it on here too. 

Twenty six letters make up the English alphabet. With those twenty six letters you can combine them in hundreds of thousands of ways to make words. Depending on who you ask, there are approximately 200,000 words in the English language. We use 1,000 to 2,000 in our daily lives. I only use 100 to 200 'cause I'm a "man of few words." Not that I don't know more than 200, I just don't talk much. 

These words have enormous power to build up or tear down. To curse or to bless. To give life or to destroy. God spoke everything into existence. The moon, stars, heaven, land, sea, animals and you and I. He spoke blessing. We speak blessings over ourselves and others when we say things that build us up. Good job, I can handle this, you're so fun to be with. We speak cursing with phrases such as, I'm an idiot. you suck, how stupid can you be?  

How many times have we said something and regretted it later if not as soon as it left our mouth? How many times have we said something and brought a smile to someones face or tears of joy to their eyes? 

Someday we will have to answer to how we used these twenty six letters. Did we use them to bring joy or cause sadness. To encourage or discourage? 

Twenty six letters, individually not much to look at. Use them in certain combinations and they are very powerful. 

Have a blessed weekend.

Seven Notes.

I know this was on my facebook wall many months ago but now I can add more to it. 

Seven basic notes, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, Now add a few variations to each note in the form of sharps and flats. Go down an octave or up an octave. You now have the basic ingredients to write music. Some people were masters at putting the seven basic notes with their variations together and wrote symphonies. Others kept it simple and wrote songs like Mary Had a Little Lamb.

Country music, Opera, Jazz Classical, Rock, Reggae, all start with the seven basic notes but end up with entirely different results. They can be used to make you happy, relaxed, get you excited, make you sad. These seven notes and their variations have been used to write hundreds of thousands if not millions of pieces of music. All of them sounding totally different from each other. 

Everything good comes from God and music is one of the best gifts I have received from him. Both playing instruments and listening to others. It's amazing how something as simple as seven basic notes can be used in so many different ways and have such a huge affect on people.