We Made It!

We made it. We made the trip. We were successful. We left Wednesday at 9:00pm and we arrived in Birmingham, Alabama at 8:00am. There were only a few minor hiccups. Evelyn got sick in Baton Rouge, so we had to stop for a clean p break. Other than that we made good time and the kids slept the whole way. Now we have to only make it back on Monday.
Once we arrived, my wife and kids went with my mom and I went to spend one day in Montgomery to visit friends. I met my friends Emily, Melissa, and Rob. It was so good to see them and to catch up. We were great friends in college. We did everything together and after 12 years it was great to see that things have not changed much.
Emily is married and has a 15 year old stepson. She is a teacher in Alexander City. She is a great teacher. You can tell she has a real passion for what she does. Through the course of dinner she would talk about her students and school, which shows how much she likes her students and her job. She seems to be a great step mom as well. I am so proud of her.
Melissa and Rob are doing great. They have two beautiful children. You can tell how proud they are of them. They are a great couple; they have been married for 10 years. They shared stories and we laughed. We laughed a lot.
We spent most of the night sharing old stories and some new ones. We had a lot of fun. It is so great to see the maturity in all of us. We are all married and we all have kids. We are older, and we seem to be wiser than we once were. It is fun to remember yet recognize and celebrate growth. I hope we all keep growing. I hope that when we see each other again, that nothing changes. Everyone was so happy. I am proud of them and I love them.
Well, I will finish my journey today as I head to beautiful Lake Guntersville. Wish me luck.

Our Big Adventure

Today is the day. It is a day that I spent a lot of time thinking about. I have both dreaded it and rejoiced in the day. It is the day that my family-yes, all four of us-will be traveling to Alabama. Now that doesn’t sound like a big deal but we are not flying we are driving. I can hear the gasps and laughs now. We have rented a mini-van (which I swore I would never be that person) and we plan to load up an leave Houston tonight for a 10 hour trip. Like I said, I am both nervous and excited. It will definitely be an adventure. Here is the time for all those that know me place bets on how far we will get in this trip. Some at work have said-all the way, Baton Rouge, Beaumont, and to the end of my neighborhood.
We are going to travel with my wife, myself and Evelyn-2, and Jackson-6 months. We have packed every conceivable form of entertainment. We have every Nick Jr. movie made in last year. We have a cooler packed with snacks and drinks. We have pillows, diapers, and a massive amount of wipes. You can never have enough wipes. We rented the car (I cannot say mini-van) yesterday. The rental guy and my wife inspected the outside for any damage, I laughed, because the damage is going to be on the inside. It will be a minor miracle if it comes back with no stains, no torn fabric, and in perfect working order. I guess the joke will be on him.
I am definitely making light of the trip. I am very excited. I will get to see my parents and more importantly they will get to see my children. I have always known that my parents were proud of me, but I cannot wait for them to see my children and see what kind of parent I have become. They have heard stories on the phone, but it will be different in person. This will be the first time they have met Jackson. I am proud of my children and care for them deeply and I know my parents will be proud of them as well.
There is no greater feeling than showing off your children. I love to show mine off. I think God feels the same way about us. We see examples in the Bible, especially with guys like David, Job, and others, of how God feels about his children. I hope as a child of God I can make him proud. I want him to show me off. I want to be labeled as His, “good and faithful servant.” I want to make God proud. I think if we keep that in mind it will helps us as we go about everyday life. We can ask ourselves, “Would God be proud of me?” Well, we are a few hours away from the big trip. I will give an update on how far

Turning Discomfort Into Comfort

I have decided that this summer I want to get into better shape. I started my routine yesterday, and it has been a painful two days. I started yesterday with a little jogging and some time in the weight room. It is amazing has easy it is to get out of shape, and how difficult it can be to get into shape. With consistent training I believe you can make what is uncomfortable now become comfortable later. You can change what you dream it could be, and make it what you expect it to be. That is my goal.
We have such a hard time with discomfort. We spend most of our days trying to make ourselves comfortable, yet we do not want to be uncomfortable doing it. We just want it to happen. I have come to realize comfortable can only be achieved by weathering the discomfort it takes to get their.
I preach this to our basketball players all the time. They all have a desire to be the best player, yet when it comes to the work it takes to be the best very few are willing to submit. Submission is hard, it means discomfort, even pain, but the prize is so great. Most settle or give up when they don’t see instant results. Look at all the fad diets, fad work-outs; you hear slogans like “in only 90 days”, or with “10 minutes a day.” If you really want to make a change or you want to be different, you have to submit for more than 90 days or 10 minutes a day. It has to be a constant, daily change. It is a lifestyle change.
The same is true with spiritual fitness. What if told God, I am going to be your servant for 90 days or 10 minutes a day? Would he be pleased? God wants us to submit not for a few days, but for the rest of our lives. It will mean a little discomfort, and possibly a little pain-but how sweet the reward is. Do not get me wrong, starting with 10 minutes a day, is better than no start at all. Submission has to be daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly.
I have decided I will weather the discomfort. Trust me, I am sore. I am going to rejoice in my soreness, for I know it will only last a little while, it I am consistent. Soon discomfort will be comfort, and it will be what I expect not what I want.

“He who ignores discipline despises himself. He who heeds correction gains understanding” Proverbs 15:32

Seniors 2009-2010

What a great time of the year. Tonight is our graduation and it will a time of celebration and joy. Those who are graduating will put behind them the high school years and begin the next chapter of their journey. I am very excited for those seniors who played basketball for me. They have been a great group that I am looking forward to following in their college careers and beyond.
We will be graduating 6 seniors (players) from our 2009-2010 team. Justin Foreman will continue his development at a prep school in Nevada. Nick Leonard will be going on to Baylor where he will no doubt do really well. Nick Shepherd will be playing basketball and continuing his education at Long Beach State. Anthony Brancato is going to Lubbock Christian. Ashton Fontenot will play football at Clark-Atlanta. Duke Phillips will get a chance to be a student athlete on the basketball team at Faulkner University. All have received scholarships of some value, and will benefit from a great college education at little or no cost to their families.
We also graduate three student coaches, Jon Scott-University of Texas, Elvan Young- University of Houston, and Eduardo Perme. I am proud of them all but I would say I am the most proud of Eduardo. Eduardo has some disabilities but has worked through high school and will graduate tonight. Eduardo is a great kid, with a great spirit. We have benefited by his presence. I am going to miss him the most. I am so excited to see what he becomes and I pray we have made an impact.
As excited as I am about their futures, I pray we have made a difference in their lives. We have tried to teach them to be servant leaders, give great effort-work hard, and put others ahead of themselves. I will not forget them, and I really don’t care if they forget me along as they don’t forget the lessons. The lessons are more important than those teaching them. I know they will do great, but I want them to great husbands, great fathers, and great men.

Clean Up

Today was the last day of school! Yes! We made it all the way! It is also housekeeping time. The halls are full of trash and trash bags, people are working to clean up the mess and clean out the lockers. It is amazing the things left behind, that go unwanted or considered trash. Clean up and clean out is good thing and something we all probably need to do more often.
I am reading a very good book and the chapter I finished dealt with the value we put on stuff, and how that value system is misguided. Stuff is not as important as we making out to be, we use phrases like “we need this” or “we have to have that.” I was reminded of this as I watched the kids throw things away that at one point they really felt like they needed. It was important at one time, but obviously not important at this time. It was stuff and it needed to be cleaned out.
I think cleaning out stuff is very important. The things we accumulate is amazing and yes at some point very important, but when the usefulness is gone, why not throw it away? Better yet, why not think ahead and realize we really don’t need the stuff anyways. I am talking about physical items, but can’t we do the same in our souls. Sometimes we need to clean out our mind and bodies. We even need to realize that something’s are unimportant and will only take up space.
I learned a valuable math lesson one time. Full can be represented as 100%. Full means that no more can go in the tank, and if when continue to fill it up something has to be pushed out. If God wants our whole-self then He requires 100% of the space. When we put stuff in the tank there is less room for God; He knows has only 80% of the space. That is what stuff does it takes up space; the worldly stuff occupies the space we have reserved for God. We need to evaluate how much space we have for Him. Then we need to do a little housekeeping and get rid of all the things occupying His space in our lives. We need to self evaluate our stuff because we only have so much room (100%). It is never a bad time to do a little house cleaning.

Happiness and Joy Beat Discomfort

Last night was a great night. We had some of our favorite people over for dinner-the Sutton posse. I call them a posse because there are a lot of them. There is Darla (mom), Marissa (8th grader), Kylie (7th grader), Brady (4 years old), and Katelyn (3 years old). Of course there is dad-Reed. Reed currently took a job in Alabama, where he is currently living. Darla and the kids have stayed behind in Houston to sell the house and finish school. They travel in a pack; you can’t find one without three others following. They drive a cargo van everywhere they go. They are a great family or posse. I love to be around them because they are so much fun.
I have to tell you a little about myself to understand the rest of the story. (no, this is not a Paul Harvey story). I am a pretty private person, very independent, a loner, I value my quiet time, and probably the most important thing is I value my space. I do not go out much; I do not do a lot away from work. This to those that know me the best will find it shocking that I had a large group like the Sutton posse over to my house for no special reason. However, I love to see my wife happy and more importantly my daughter happy. So, to have the Sutton children to play with my daughter makes her extremely happy, and to have Darla visit with my wife makes her very happy. It does however cause me to be a little uncomfortable.
Last night there were kids everywhere, and they all wanted to do something different. Ok, the truth is they did not want to sit on the couch like me and quietly watch television. Darla wanted to visit with my wife, and I know they needed a break from kids; so I was left as the entertainment for the kids. Do not get me wrong, I love kids, but they were everywhere. To make things worse, as anal as I am, they would get it out, I would pick it up, and then they would get something else out. I think it became some kind of game. At one point, I look over and Kylie is lying on my favorite couch wrapped in my favorite blanket; wow some nerve. I thought they were moving in!
I was uncomfortable, even to the point that I had to go outside for awhile; but I think God was teaching me a lesson, because it was lightning pretty bad, so it was not a great night to be outside. As the night wore on, I felt my discomfort leave as I watched all the smiles in the room. I learned that sometimes doing what is uncomfortable is ok, when others around you are happy. I think everyone was happy last night. At the end of the night I was happy, mostly because everyone else was. Happiness and joy can be contagious and it got me last night. Happiness and joy can overcome discomfort- it worked for me.

Do Overs

Is there such a thing as a “do over?” I started to think about this question this weekend. I think the best answer I could up with is yes and no. Not a great answer, but it is all I can come up with. I will explain how I came to this profound conclusion.
This weekend and young man with whom our basketball team competed against died tragically in a car accident. I only knew him from a distance. I had seen him work-out in our gym and even talked to him on occasion. I watched him play and even shared some time with him at an event honoring him and another player. He seemed like a great kid, well spoken, and intelligent. He was going to play basketball in college and looked to have a promising future. He died too early. He does not get a “do over” in this life, yet because of the legacy he left behind and the lives he touched, those who knew him will be changed, So, yes they get a “do over.”
I met with a few 8th graders today. I know this is a rough time for them, and they cannot see it that way just yet. They really want to grow up, yet they are not sure just how to do it. In that process they are making a lot of mistakes and burning several bridges along the way. They will not get a chance to “do over” the 8th grade. It only happens once. (We hope). They will however get a chance to be ninth graders next year, a chance to “do over.” I wish them a lot of success.
Everyday we encounter moments that are defining. We have choices, options, but for every choice there is a consequence or multiple consequences. We fail to realize that there might not be a “do over.” That is why it helps define us. We have split seconds to make decisions that can affect us, and others. We have to make decisions. We have to understand that not everything comes with a “do over.” We also have to be alert to the decisions that others make because that might be our “do over.”
The greatest “do over” in life is the forgiveness of sin. God sent Jesus to die on the cross for the forgiveness of sin. He gave us a “do over.” God gave us the Bible as our guide to make our “do over” count. We have to be alert; we have to change with the consequences in mind. We will never know if that is our last “do over.”