Category Archives: Charecteristics

And they lived happily ever after …

Charecteristics, My Life, Relationships, Thought

“He sits on a park bench while the rain pours down. He stares blankly at the emptiness of the darkness before him. The rain serves as the tears he is to numb to shed. The rain flows like blood from the open wound in his chest. His heart has been ripped from his chest, crushed beyond recognition, and shoved back into the gaping hole with no delicacy.
The rain – freezing rain covers him … drowning him … shrouding him in despair. He is too numb to notice. Life has been taken from him… joy yanked from his life… happiness blotted out of his sight. His hands hang down … open … weak. He could not hold on. He could not protect. He could not save. He could not be the man she needed him to be.
If this was all, it was still too much. He still must tell the boy. He has to tell his son. He must tell his son his mother is dead.
—————
No, it did not rain that night. No, there was no park bench. There was only a hospital parking lot curb. It was a cold October night. The feelings, the pain, the despair was very real. There are no words that could adequately express the feelings of that night. There is no way to convey the feeling deep inside my chest. Yes, my chest. Yes, I am “that man”. I am the husband, the father of these words.
That night, I did two of the most difficult things of my life. I had to let go of my dear sweet, wonderful wife. I then had to tell our amazing son she was gone.”

This is an excerpt from a previous post of me describing the night my wife died. That night was over 6 years ago. The night … the feelings … the events … all still vivid to me.

Somewhere along the way in our history, perceptions became skewed about marriage. Far too many view marriage as “the goal”, “the finish line”. Once we reach this point, life is “happily ever after”.

For those whose calling is to be married, life BEFORE marriage is “preparation” for the journey. Becoming one flesh is the beginning of the journey. Marriage is where the new life begins as the two single souls join to become a new unit … and new “entity”. The married couple is a new body. Just like a body has different parts performing different functions, Husbands and Wives, each contribute their unique skills and talents to the new entity. The married couple must work together to function. Most importantly, the entity needs to have a heart to survive. That heart, is GOD.

The body needs food. The body needs activity. The body needs water. The body needs sunlight.
The LIVING WORD gives life to our spiritual body. Doing the work GOD has for us … keeps us active … strengthens us. The LIVING WATER of Christ sustains us. Living in The Light .. the SON Light is crucial to our growth.

Ponder on these things …

…transmission paused…

Today, I stood in my kitchen

Charecteristics, My Life, Thought, , ,

Today, I stood in my kitchen .. I broke down and cried.

Every moment, I fear for my son’s safety. I want to protect him. I know I can not protect him from “the world”. But, I want to protect him. I could not protect Lucenda from an “incurable” auto-immune disease she was born with that lead to her death. It was horrible watching her slip away before my eyes. I fear what my son will encounter “out there” in the world. I fear what the world is, let alone what will be down the road.

Today, I stood in my kitchen .. I broke down and cried.

I have seen so much hatred from people who claimed they “cared” about us. I have been the subject of numerous direct attacks because I will NOT accept lies to support an “agenda”. I have been called a malicious, hateful person … because I refuse to step aside and let lies and hatred prevail.

Today, I stood in my kitchen .. I broke down and cried.

My heart hurts for the parents who have these fears .. PLUS the fears for their children’s lives just because of their skin color. I looked at my “friends list” recently. My friends are as colorful as the rainbow … some are hard-headed, some are foolish, some are amazingly gifted, some are lovingly caring, some are clueless, some are all the above and more.

Today, I stood in my kitchen .. I broke down and cried.

We are called to to “GO and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Jesus said that the greatest commandment is to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” And the second is “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

..end transmission..

Seek the Truth

Charecteristics, My Life, Rants, Thought, ,

One consistent thing I was taught growing up: Seek the truth.
In school, I was taught to read and study.
In church, I was taught to read and study.
In various jobs, I had to read and study.
Research. Learn. Grow. Expand.

When something is “shared” on Social Media. Yes, I research. I look for the truth. When something posted is contrary to truth .. even partial truth, I call it out. I do not sugar coat.
I have been called hateful and malicious and spiteful. While those calling me these things were displaying the very actions they were assigning to me.
I have used the term “christian” with a lowercase c to describe some people recently. People who use the word to defend their actions.
Being CHRIST-like does not involve hatred, or malicious actions. If you put a man, a party, a group, an ideal, a “claim” above demonstrating the Love of CHRIST, you are NOT CHRIST-like. We are called to LOVE one-another .. to support one-another.
Also, God created us each in HIS image. HE gifted each of us with different and special skills and talents. We are PARTS of the body. You cut off part, the body is NOT complete. When the organs of the body do NOT work together for the GOOD of the body, the body does NOT function properly … and can lead to death of the body.
Medical professionals are trained. Law enforcement personnel are trained. Military personnel are trained. A cook is trained. A farmer is trained. EACH of us have our areas of expertise. NONE of us have ALL the answers.
We Are Not GOD!

..end transmission..

My Favorite Animal

Charecteristics, My Life,

I have always loved animals. Growing up, we had all sorts of them. There was even the “farm years” with pigs, chickens, goats, a cow, a horse, and a dog. Most of my life there has been at least one cat in my home.
Choosing a “favorite” animal could be a struggle for some people who love animals in general. Honestly, it took me all of maybe 15 seconds to choose which animal I consider my “favorite” animal .. the rabbit.
Why do I consider the rabbit as my “favorite” animal? It is rather simple actually. Because my wife was my bunny rabbit. No, not in the literal sense. You know how people tend to develop “pet names” for each other over time. We had a few for each other .. depending on the mood or situation at the time.
It was very early in our marriage when we started our first set of “pet names”. I would call her “Hug-A-Bunny” and she would call me “Hug-A-Bear”. Of course, we would say those names in some silly voice most of the times we said them.
We grew up in a time when Looney Tunes were not yet deemed a bad influence on children. Rather often, snippets of various “Toons” would just so happen to fit various moments in life. One night, as we lay down for bed, I quoted the mad scientist talking to Bugs as they fell asleep. I said “Nighty Night Little Raaaaabit”. She responded with “Nighty Night Little Bear”. Over time, those phrases evolved into “Nighty Nite Hug A Buunnnny” and “Nighty Nite Hug A Bear”.
Our first website I created was called BBPLACE. That stood for Bunny Bear Place. We often talked about me opening a restaurant and calling it BBPLACE. There was even a time we talked about a small craft shop of the same name.
Early on, we began collecting bears and bunnies. I even searched until I found an ink stamp that had both a bunny and a bear in its design. It became our “logo” of sorts. You could say we have a small stock in the Build-A-Bear company as well.
This past spring, while at Lowe’s (one of my weaknesses) I purchased something that now resides next to the front door to greet all who come to the door. It is a 2’ tall brownish stone statue of a rabbit. She is always with us in our hearts and memories.
My favorite animal most certainly is the rabbit because it reminds me of the most beautiful woman in the world, my dear wife, Lucenda.

..Nighty Nite Hug A Bunny..