musings on being thankful in the wee hours… morning or night, I forget which…

I’m up late again. Or really, really early, depending on how you look at it. Either way, bed is something that I find myself anticipating falling into. When I’m sleepy. Now, not so much.

Its not insomnia, its that my brain is in the “on” position; perhaps it got stuck there because I’ve been in research & analysis mode for the last few days. Then after I got home from work & everyone else went to bed, I stayed up to ponder. Think. Plot. Write. I’m on my last paper for class #4 of my masters program (4 classes out of 12, for the souls that are keeping track. Bless thee. But I digress…)

I don’t trust my midnight writing, but I can live with my midnight data analysis… because there’s always an editing & re-editing that happens to clear up any of the dust bunnies left in the papers by my late-night activities.

Done writing, my brain kept going. That’s ok. I will roll through some thankfulness.


I’m thankful for me & my brain. The way I think. How everything somehow ends up looking like a teaching/learning opportunity. That I don’t make snap decisions. Or say everything that is on my mind. Or turn the direction of my life over to the unstable groundhog that wants to drive my life by the seat of my emotions (obscure “Groundhog Day” reference. Just remember, “Don’t drive angry.”)

I’m thankful for the Word that dwells in me richly. For the stabilizing & transforming influence it has upon my tempestuous, out-there thought processes. For the Living Hope that is resident in Christ, the One I can (& do!) put my hopes & dreams in, knowing for sure that I won’t be disappointed.

I’m thankful for my parents – they still love each other, & they live what they believe… loving people in practical ways. Investing their lives in a manner that I hope to emulate, long term.

I’m thankful for my wife, theBean, a woman that I thought I understood, but have only recently realized that I may never fully “get” her… & being 100% comfortable with that. (make that 93%… I’m working on it.)

I’m thankful for my kids. All 3 of them. Pasty, iDoey, & theWeez: a greater 3 have never been found. So different, yet with similarities that evoke memories of those dearest to me. Sometimes I even see myself there.

I’m thankful for friends – without whom the joys of this life wouldn’t be nearly as high, nor the lows so bearable. For listening ears, kind hearts, compassion, & desperate prayers, offered both for & with me.

I’m thankful for a church family that I would love to be a part of, even if I wasn’t the person charged with leading & pastoring the incredible people that have grown from strangers to family.

I could go on; the more I write down ‘thankful thoughts’ the more they rush into my head like a strong, cool, refreshing dip in Tahoe.

But I won’t. Continue that is. It’s late, & I will sleep.

Thank you God for Your provisions for me – I can truly say that what I have, where I am, who I’m with… Your lot for my life… has fallen to me in pleasant places.

Life is beautiful.

a phone conference & other musings on a Tuesday…

Just finished with a 2 hour phone conference call. I’ve had conference calls before, but this is the first one of this type, with 80 other people. The Good News was that there was a feature on the phone program used for the call that would allow all 80 people to mute their phone line (so background noise from each persons’ environment wouldn’t be projected to all on the call. The Bad News was that the instructions for muting were wrong. Not just inaccurate – but wrong. In order to mute the line, we had to press the # key, something the instructions specifically said NOT to press.

Fortunately, when it comes to technology & instructions, I usually follow the “if it doesn’t work, try anything that you’ve found that works on other applications,” method. And it worked. It was a little bit fun to hear assorted (& anonymous) intra-office conversations from those that thought their line was muted. But I am easily amused.

Thanks for the invention of Speaker Phone. I toughed it out for the first 45 minutes because the background noise & distractions were minimized that way… but an ear can only take so much. And both of mine reached their limit.


Reminds me of my days as a reception for PERS. I worked there before Al Gore’s nifty “internet invention” had caught on, so there were quite a few incoming calls… in the years I did the job, I worked it out that there were an average of 650 calls a day.

I still remember the day I got a headset to replace the handset. Almost wept with joy.


It’s January 5, & my thoughts turn to… filing taxes. Go figure.


One of the more challenging relational issues I have with the ladies of my family is their propensity to spontaneously make decisions to do something without having taken adequate time to prepare for their ensuing actions. Spontaneity is fine with me, as long as it can be… planned out. Hmm.

I wonder if being spontaneous is tied to being an Extrovert.

When I think about it, I’m amazed they put up with me. Perhaps they just work around me.


TheWeez turns 13 tomorrow, which means I now have 3 teenagers. In this season of life & parenting, I find myself shooting up more & more quick prayers… especially when talking about the proposed future of Pasty. IDoey’s driver’s license countdown. TheWeez… being beautiful, witty, & loads of fun… & 13 going on 22.


As if you were already tired of hearing this: I have added yet another kettlebell exercise (the Figure 8 w/hold,) to my repertoire, bringing me to a grand total of 5 exercises that I do in a row before my body says, “Done.” My goal is to work up to 10. Can I get a “Booyah!” ?


Me & theBean were given a fantastic 2 night stay in Tahoe, which we’re taking advantage of this Friday & Saturday. Sweet!

Life is beautiful.