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I am blessed with a super cool wife. Thursday evening while I was mixing at my studio, Traci was at was at home planning a night away for us. When I got home she told me that on Saturday, we were going to drop the girls off  with her mom and dad and head to Shreveport for a night away. She is great a coming up with cool things like this and arranging all the details. Jen was generous enough to hook us up with a super nice hotel room and “Gandma and Poppy” were more than willing to let the girlies spend the evening with them.

From Quitman It took about 2 hours to get the Shreveport LA, home of the “boats”. Riverboat casinos that is. We checked in, went across the river, walked around at the super cool boardwalk, ate at Saltgrass Steakhouse, played 20 minutes and 10 bucks of penny slots, enjoyed some Cold Stone Creamery Coffee with Heath bar, and was in bed by 10pm. It’s sad. We are such party poopers. We were away from all responsibility. No kids. No early morning appointments. Staying in a place known for late nights and crazy people. Bed by 10? Well, we like the quiet I guess.

We woke up Sunday, ran a few miles on the dreadmill, ate breakfast at the Hilton, and headed home around 9:30 to spend the day chillin with Add and Kam, watch the great games of the day, and eat 10hr slow cooked pork butt sandwiches. Awesome! Today, back to work. Ugh!

It is very sad and disturbing to see the latest rash of crimes in our area. As of this morning, 7 churches have been lit on fire, not by the Spirit but by arsons. How sad yet deeply motivating this can be.

Sunday evening, my sis Jen called in grief as she saw a church on the corner of our street in flames. I ran out the door and down the street to witness this myself. News about other church burnings in the area have recently consumed the local headlines. As I ran down the street that night towards the crime scene, my Jack Bauer sense kicked in. “Maybe the bad guys are still there!” I pondered hopefully yet hesitantly.

I was the first one on the scene, called 911 and watched helplessly. I didn’t see any bad guys. Police and firetrucks poured in quickly shutting off nearby streets and setting up for the all nighter that was to follow. I took this pic about 30 minutes after I got there. The church was destroyed, or shall I say church BUILDING was destroyed. I have been very impressed as “We are not done; Christ is bigger; we are praying for the people who did this; it’s just a building”  has been the theme of the interviewed and affected church members.

Maybe this is part of the plan. Many things that men intend for bad God uses for good. Basically the gist of the Bible: “God overcomes evil with His love and goodness”. Did He, is He, will He use this? Absolutely! Light the fire!

So many things could be said about this picture. I saw this in the parking lot at school and it made me cringe. From King David’s passion for it, to the masses that have died because of possessing, promoting or even reading it. Recently I have been moved and motivated to grow more in love with it. The answer to the meaning of life recklessly neglected by most. How sad is it when we are not be moved by this common site here in America?

2009 has been a great year for my family. We have come out of numerous “throw your hands up in surrender” moments and have been embraced by the loving hands of God time and time again. This time last year we had no idea what to do next or how we would eat the next week. With my job layoff right before Thanksgiving 08 and running our no-income-producing coffee shop, the only thing we could do was to keep focused on our awesome baby girls and other positive aspects of our life while steadily seeking the guidance of the Father. We sold our home and anything else we could just to lessen the monthly expense and to just make it another day.

2009 has brought great jobs, church and a cozy Tyler home. While we are in no means out of this financial valley, I feel peace. Real peace.  Every single month our budget shows us to have an overwhelming negative balance. With 2 kids in full time day care, a gross credit card debt, 2 car payments and mediocre incomes, it’s not easy. Actually it impossible. It’s very difficult being the leader of a family that fails financially. It’s a thought that has hindered my sleep too many times. My family, my responsibility, my burden.

Or is it? We are instructed to place all of of our burdens on the shoulders of Christ who is far more capable to carry them. We are told to “Trust in the Lord with ALL your mind, heart, and soul.” EVERY SINGLE MONTH of 2009 our financial cup has been overfilled by Jehovah Jireh (My God the Provider). From studio and graphic design projects on the side, to gifts from family members and friends God has provided every time. One of the greatest things I have learned in 2009 is to… Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart, mind and soul because every good and perfect gift is from Him. How AWESOME He is!

Tuesday, a fresh day. All the things I wanted to do Monday will just be added to the fun of Tuesday! Not exactly. Addi still looked a bit weak and pale from yesterdays festivities and she said she was still “a little bit sick” so I let her stay home. Traci took Kam to school. I figured I might still be able to do a few things I wanted to do. I packed Addi in the car to make a trip to Target to get a few items and I got a call from Kam’s teacher saying that she had pooed all over her clothes and that I had to come get her. Great! So now both tiny tots are home screaming at each other, banging on drums, and fighting over books. Fantastic! So much for my few days of alone time. Fortunately I love the heck out of these tiny things and love it even when they disrupt my plans. Here is a pic of Addi this morning before our Target trip. She was happy she didn’t have to go to school today.

I have 2 shoe options. Work or running. Work shoes are lame. Running shoes are super cool. Very important and versatile. New running shoes instill mystery and increase my motivation to run. Trust-worthy, broken-in and familiar shoes give me security on long runs. Old running shoes are slid on bringing back many great memories of miles and are typically super comfy and are great for trips to the store or loafing. The eldest are used for stomping through the yard while mowing or on muddy work days. I love running shoes. Traci and I bought each other new ones (Mizuno Wave Rider 12) for Christmas. Yippie!

Today’s 1/2 was a personal best for me at the ever popular Dallas White Rock 1/2 marathon. The conditions were great. 50 degrees and misty/cloudy. I was a bit apprehensive since I haven’t been eating as lean nor running as much as I have been wanting to the last couple of weeks. The bigger, more organized races have a new “wave” start which is fantastic. Basically when you register for the race, you state what your average pace will be then on race day they set you up in large groups or “waves” with runners of a similar pace. This is great because you don’t have to spend the first 3 miles dodging walkers which is a BIG PEEVE of mine with more community type events such as the Turkey Trot.

So, today. 8am. American Airlines Arena, Downtown Dallas. Exciting and almost overwhelming. I started at a super comfortable pace, slowly increasing my stride and the next thing I knew, I pass the 3 mile marker. I couldn’t believe  how fast the race was feeling. A few miles of Dallas downtown. A handful of miles of swanky neighborhoods. Then it was time for the last 3 miles.

This last, downhill stretch was on one of our favorite running spots in Dallas, The Katy Trail. Awesome. I spent a solid 2 miles of this trail on a “runners high” which for those who have not experienced it, is when your focus is on only the good things of running. The pounding pain of your joints induced by your hour-plus run on the wet and damp concrete goes away. The chill that has caused your muscles and tendons to be tighter than normal over the 10 miles becomes irrelevant. It’s as if all negative aspects of running subside as your adrenaline makes your heart smile and your steps feel as light as air. Not to mention a mental block to increase my pace as I flash by people I’ve only seen the back of during the previous miles. Seriously awesome.

Mile 12. My right calf quickly tightened mid stride causing an instant back-to-reality smack to my run. I caught the cramp before it rooted by extending my right leg with an obvious stretch to keep the muscle loose. Whew! All good. Then again. No way was I going to have the best race of my life only to end up with me curled up on the side of the trail rubbing out a calf cramp. No way. I began to pull back a bit as I felt it twinge again, only now from the left leg. Boo. With even more determination to finish the last 1/2 a mile, I ran with the least amount of calf muscle force as possible using mostly my momentum and straightened legs. Silly for sure. At 1 hour 40 minutes and 48 seconds, I finished. Average pace, 7:33 minutes per mile. I surpassed my goal of 7:45. A great and surprisingly memorable race day for me. I loved it.