travel/study

Man...what a couple of weeks. I think my brain has almost passed out. I have one more day of studying and exams and then I will board the plane back home with four more initials after my name. Is it worth it? Me not being with Nicole when her brother died and missing the funeral even? She seems to think so...she says I am taking care of the family by doing it.

I wanted to do this, but I was torn as well. Get it all done in a short amount of time and then focus on the roll outs and the details of the system when I return back to town.

It is going to be good. CUCM is a cool product and will be fun to work with...so I glad I am getting this opportunity. It never hurts to have a Cisco Professional level certification either!

So...tomorrow around noon Pacific time, I will be taking the last test to get my Cisco Certified Voice Professional certification and flying back into town! Woo hoo!

Wish me luck!

-r

adultery

Reading through Proverbs this morning, I ran across this...a sidebar in my Bible (the Strive edition for Men). It talks about the dangers of adultery...something every man has struggled with, struggling with or will struggle with at some time in their marriage. It was an issue back then, it is an issue now...check out the warnings below (first the scripture, then the sidebar):

Wisdom will save you from the adulterous woman, from the wayward woman with her seductive words, who has left the partner of her youth and ignored the covenant she made before God. Surely her house leads down to death and her paths to the spirits of the dead. None who go to her return or attain the paths of life.
Proverbs 2:16-19

If you've ever toyed with the idea of having an affair, you know how strong the allure of a new sexual conquest can be. That thrill of erotic pursuit can have a hypnotizing effect on guys - to the point that we block out all else, including common sense.
If you're under such a spell, this passage in Proverbs should act as a slap in the face. Something to wake you from your fantasy world.
Regardless of how smooth or calculating you think you are, you can't pursue an affair without destroying what you have with your wife. That's a given. Experts may tell you that relationships can be pieced back together after an affair. But things can never be the same as they were before. There are no 'do-overs' where faithfulness is involved.

-r

nomads

Having no house of your own is weird. Although, I drove by the house today and it is coming along...I will think about posting a picture of it sometime.

Three things about today that were cool...

1) The coffee tasted extra good this morning! :)

2) More coffee at the office...whenever Craig and I are at the office at the same time, there is usually coffee involved

3) Getting the B-ACD script working correctly on the phone system

Until next time...

-r

things

OK...going to talk about three things a little later, but an update on things first.
Sold the house last week and moved into a friend's house that is on the market, but empty since they are living in their new house already. Been there for about a week and a half...now it is sold and we have to be out of it by the 18th! What fun. Of course, we are going to be house hopping with friends until the new house is finished, which is about the end of May, first of June.
No worries though...God is in control.

Man...the storms the other night! Holy cow! Thought the windows were going to blow out from the wind and the hail...have to love that Oklahoma weather!

Here are my three things for today...or yesterday I should say!

1) Having time to go through some scripture with the Lord before work...misc scripture that talks about being just and merciful; but also Old Testament scripture that points to grace; God wanting us and our hearts, not the empty sacrifices that we offer in lieu of a right heart

2) Getting to have lunch with a good friend and talking about misc things and getting his input on issues

3) Getting a shampoo and haircut...gotta love the feeling of someone else washing your hair

Have to get to work...and watch the radar for that incoming weather! Sweet!

vacation

Sitting in Dizzy Beans coffee shop in Gulf Shores, Alabama...coffee is fair, definitely not Doubleshot.

I don't know if you have read lately about people wanting to be happy...no kidding? One of the ways they say to help with that is to journal everyday about things that are positive. Cool...I get that...focus on the positive. There are other things though...maybe filling that empty hole in your heart with the only thing that can fill it...God. Hmmm....novel concept. This Easter Sunday may just be the time to go to your local church to find out more about the Risen Lord. He fills me up every day...no matter how many times I mess up and what not. That's the beauty of grace. :)

Anyway...I still like the idea of thinking about the positive things in life. Journaling about them. There is a website/blog that does just that, Three Beautiful Things. Check it out.

Here are my three things for today:

1) Being awakened by the rising sun in Alabama after a good night's sleep

2) Having both of my boys curl up with me on the couch to watch Curious George while I drink my coffee

3) Seeing God's strength and glory in the waves of the ocean this week

Quick and to the point...I could list more, but I have to run to get the wife and kids after seeing a movie!

-r

thanksgiving

Well, another Thanksgiving is here. I am thankful I am not cooking the turkey this year, I really didn't want to mess with it this year. As a matter of fact, I do not think I am going to eat any turkey this year either. Imagine that...no turkey. Now ham on the other hand...I will eat that. :)

Couple of things I just wanted to drop...

My son just not obeying today...just basically snubbing his nose at me. Frustrating. Then it hit me. I wish it hadn't really, but it did. The words in John 14:15...

"If you love me, you will obey what I command."

So this is how God feels when I am disobedient...sort of. Much more enhanced I am sure. How can I get so bent out of shape when my sons are disobedient when I do the same thing to my Father? If that isn't a slap in the face.

This morning as I am lying in bed awake...just praying to the Lord. Thanking Him. Thinking about what if I am the one to pray at my brother's house over the Thanksgiving dinner...what would I pray? Then it turned into...if I am thinking about what I would pray in front of other people...why can't I pray that right now? It isn't about what I pray in front of other people...it is what is in my heart and what I talk to the Lord about myself. When no one else is around. It is just me and Him. A relationship. That is what a lot of people do not get about Christianity...and that is a fault of ours because we have not explained it well enough I guess. It is not about religion, it's about a relationship.

OK...the things I will leave with...the things I am thankful for...in no particular order.

My kids
My wife
My brother
My house
My job
My church
My friends
My life
My faith
And most of all, my savior, Jesus Christ.

Be thankful...be thoughtful...

-r

long time

Hey there...long time, no post. It seems that is what I write every time I update this blog. I stink at keeping it updated. I should see it as therapeutic , right? Whatever.

I am supposed to be getting a lesson ready for my small group this Sunday night and I haven't even started that. I am so pathetic. :)

Life has been going on...boys are getting bigger, I'm getting bigger! :) I am starting to get back into the exercise routine...it is hard though getting up at 5am to do some exercise before going to work. It will payoff in the end though, right? I should feel better too, right?

Nicole is running the half marathon this Sunday...here is a link: Tulsa Route 66 Marathon

Anyhoo...my life is pretty boring on the details. When I think of something better to write, I will. Until then...upward and onward.

-r

misc

Sitting here in the good ol' Days Inn in Nevada, MO...listening to my Pandora station called Project 86. If you haven't checked out Pandora...you have to...imperative. I also found about another site like it called last.fm, but I haven't done anything with it yet. Just caught the link on another guy's blog.

Nevada, MO...bet you are wondering why I am here in this booming metropolis. Home of Cotty College...an all girls college. That's not why I am here. :) I am here installing another Cisco Unified Communications Express system for a client that has a branch office here. Ate at a place tonight called Cherry Street Cafe. Pretty good food...I had some kind of Tortellini that had some basil sauce with walnuts and such. It was good. It was in a building that used to be part of a historical hotel. Nice. It seems that the town closes around 7-7:30 though...weird. There were a couple of places that were open, but not much. We drove around and checked out some cool old houses after dinner then came back to the hotel...by about 8:30pm! :)

I have been traveling around a lot lately...Memphis, Shreveport, Dallas...it's been fun. For the near future though, it seems that I will be staying in town. Still installing the systems, but not out of town like recently. I like to travel and see places, but I do miss the family when I am gone. It is weird going to bed at night not having kisses from the kids and wife...

Well...I have some reading to do. Going to close down and take care of that before I get some rest. I really am going to try and keep this updated on a more timely basis. Riiiiiggghhhht.

-r

blog-o-rama

Here I am sitting in my favorite coffee house...studying. :(

I just wanted everyone to know that it is a beautiful day outside...and I am studying. Bleh!

At least I had some good coffee!

-r

checking in

I thought earlier this evening...hmmm...maybe I will have time to blog tonight, the wife is away doing the bunco thing.

Then I catch up on a few issues from work. Then...let's blog. First, I haven't checked the blogs I used to read in a while...think I will do that.

Now, I am here...and I need to go to bed. I'm tired. So much for blogging. I will leave this tidbit though:

Check out this book. I am actually listening to it, but it is good stuff so far.

The Slumber of Christianity by Ted Dekker

Thanks for listening...reading. Whatever.

-r

life

Sorry no posting lately...life has been going on and not in the virtual world here. Just life.

This past week I have had two friends lose a parent to cancer. Of course, it brings up more memories of my mother dying of cancer in 2005. Cancer sucks.

You know everytime I think of blogging and what I am going to blog about, I really don't have the time to do so. It is aggravating at times, and then I also think...priorities. What are my priorities? Am I spending time on the things I need to? Case in point...I made sure I spent some time in the Word this morning before I logged onto my computer. If I don't do that first, I end up spending too much time on the computer and then I cannot open my Bible and opening my Bible and studying or just reading is more important in the scheme of things than getting on my computer to browse or post to the blog or whatever. OK, I am rambling. :)

Anyway, I read Romans 8:28-39 today and was doing a little study on it. Comforting passage of scripture. When things are just not going well...you are suffering through things, like a death of someone or sickness or whatever, this is a passage to check into. God has good things planned for us, sometimes it is just hard to remember that in the midst of things. Another good scripture is just before that one in Romans 8:18. It is all perspective.

Gotta run...

thankfulness

Thank you God for Your unfailing love...

I love you too!

-r

stuff

OK...so it has been a while. I have been busy...very busy.

I had all of these thoughts running through my head that I wanted to post. I was in the shower thinking about things. Then I logged in after my shower and start perusing other people's sites...I am not sure if I remember what I was going to blog about. :)

I know one thing was this:

I was cleaning the shower before I took one. It was dirty. Very dirty. I had to scrub hard. It got me to thinking about spiritual applications. How we always try to clean up our lives...we can work hard at it, not even really noticing that we are working on it ourselves. The thing is...we don't have to. Now, don't leave just yet. I am not saying we don't need to change, that is what repentance is all about. We make a 180 degree turn. We change. For Christ. And He is the one that does the cleaning. We can't. He doesn't even have to scrub...that's power man. It also reminds me of the part in "Voyage of the Dawn Treader" by C.S. Lewis, where Eustace had turned into a dragon because he was so beastly, but then he changes...and that causes him to want to change. Make since? :) In comes Aslan. Takes him to peel off the dragon scales to return to his 'boy' self again. He finds something like a zipper and quickly unzips it, only to find that as he steps out, he is still a dragon. Bummer that. So he tries again...same thing. Several times until Aslan says that He needs to do it and tells Eustace to turn around. With a nice big motion of His paw, he digs the claws in and rips the scales off of Eustace. It hurts, but not for long as the scales just come apart. There is Eustace in what looks like new skin...Aslan lets him take a bath in the coolest water...it stings right at first, but then is the most refreshing bath he ever has. Good stuff....Jesus does the work, it may hurt, but not for long...as everything is as new. But at this point, you have a responsibility. Turn your life around. Do not conform to this world...not that hard really. Your priorities, your focus changes. You focus on Christ. As much as you can.

Another thing I was going to write about was something similar. I shaved tonight...the entire face. Didn't leave the goatee...I shaved my whole face. Feels weird...but it is like getting a fresh start. It's nice. I could write more, but I am tired. So I will leave it at that.

Until next time...

route 66

OK...first day of vacation this week. Boys are watching Elmo's World on Sesame Street and Mommy is at work getting her classroom ready for this year. So, the boys and I will be hanging out today. I think we are going to Sam's and run around a little bit. Just boys stuff...

I wanted to share these pics since I took them, just haven't had the chance. I took them on the way back from Edmond, OK one night on our way back home from the in-laws. There is history here. First is the Round Barn in Arcadia. Then just outside of Arcadia is a sign I took a picture of...it basically says it was the east boundary of the land run of 1889 in Oklahoma. History...cool stuff.

I'm off to get the boys ready for the day with Daddy!

-R

era

It was the end of an era this evening...ok, only about 4 to 5 years, but still.
We had to cut this tree:

Down to this:

Sad...but it was growing out of control...the roots were starting to go down the side of the house into the backyard. Not good.

So farewell ol' tree...your branches won't keep me up at night because the wind is blowing them up against the guttering. :)

rudeness

OK...as a follower of Christ I need to love people. All people...not just some, but all. But, man, that is so hard sometimes.
Let's take yesterday for example. We go to Jason's Deli for lunch...and so does half of the city. OK, maybe not half of the city, but at least a lot of people from some tennis tournament. I am not sure if it was a tournament for tennis or a bunch of tennis players at a tournament on being rude and selfish. No excuse me here...no hello there. Just constantly pushing, standing around and stepping in front of everyone else just to get taken care of.
Is it me? Am I the one being selfish when I think the people are being rude because they are cutting me off to get something and not saying excuse me or anything? I mean, I got over it and thought...hmmm...there is a lesson to be learned here. Patience maybe? Not sure...
I do know this. Most of these people are hurting inside. I am to be their light, their example of Jesus. And I fail at that a lot. I just pray that I can do better.
When people are rude to me...just smile. Think about the fact that they could be dealing with things that I am unaware of...that I could never know. But...being there with a smile...a hello...just sharing happiness, maybe they will remember that. Maybe they will ask why I am happy...why I have the joy I have.
Next time I am surrounded by the rudeness...I pray that I reflect Jesus and not get irritated. He wouldn't have.

-R

eotw

It's the end of the world as we know it...and I feel fine.

Israel defending itself...as it should. The US being criticized for standing behind Israel for defending itself...typical. The French cowering in the corner crying because Israel defended itself...predictable. Iran & Syria behind the Hezbollah actions...more than likely.

But, lest we forget...North Korea. China saying, well we don't think they should fire missiles, but they have the right...wink, wink, nudge, nudge.

Me? I just keep singing...

It's the end of the world as we know it...and I feel fine. :)

time

So...wow...where does the time go? Been twenty days since I last blogged. You would think I would have more to talk about than that...well, you are right. Just don't have the time to do it as I would like. :)

Here are a couple of things that have been rolling in my head/caught my eye/made me go: hmmmm.

Started reading a little Thoreau. Walden. These two blurbs caught my eye:

Most men, even in this comparatively free country, through mere ignorance and mistake, are so occupied with the factitious cares and superfluously coarse labors of life that its finer fruits cannot be plucked by them. Their fingers, from excessive toil, are too clumsy and tremble too much for that. Actually, the laboring man has not leisure for a true integrity day by day; he cannot afford to sustain the manliest relations to men; his labor would be depreciated in the market. He has no time to be anything but a machine. How can he remember well his ignorance — which his growth requires — who has so often to use his knowledge?

I like that last line. We work so hard to stay ahead that we can't learn from our own ignorance or mistakes...next line, I am sure you have heard this one:

The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation.

How profound is that statement today? And this was written back in the mid-1800's. I know...nothing is new under the sun...read Ecclesiastes 1...oh here:

Ecclesiastes 1:9-11
What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which one can say, "Look! This is something new"? It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time. There is no remembrance of men of old, and even those who are yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow.

Although, I have not read Walden in its entirety yet, I agree with him on those points to an extent, but. There is always a but, isn't there? :) From what I have read regarding this work, he seems to go to extremes on his points, so I will be anxious to see what else he states in the writing. I do believe we make ourselves too busy at times though.

OK...what else have I seen that caught my eye? Ah, yes...I get an email every Monday Morning from Roy Williams from Wizard Academy and he had this to say a week or so ago:

"You can be anything you want to be," was once the anthem of America. But we seem to have twisted that sunlit dream into a shriveled demon that whispers, "Hurry, hurry, hurry and you can be everything you want to be." Too much to do, too little time. Tossed and turned by a too-much world, we're as tired as a termite in a yo-yo. And all along, we were just trying to find our way home. "Why am I here? What is my purpose? Who are my people? Where is my tribe?"

Another issue of being busy...are we seeing a theme here? Too busy for this...too busy for that...too busy, too busy, too busy.

And yet, I have found the time to post this blog. :)

Food for thought. Enjoy your day. Give God thanks that you even have the day, for He is the one who controls the days you get. What will you do with it?

pilgrimage

Studying the book of Genesis in the Bible right now...starting to wrap it up actually. Last night I went over the death of Jacob and his blessing of Joseph's sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. Before that it talked about the meeting between Pharaoh and Jacob. When Pharaoh asked Jacob how old he was, he said, "The years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty. My years have been few and difficult, and they do not equal the years of the pilgrimage of my fathers." (Gen. 47:9)
Pilgrimage. Another word for life. Just a thought...

This life is a pilgrimage...a pilgrimage to our home. You see, I am not a citizen of this world any longer, ever since I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior. I am now a citizen of heaven. A son of the King. ("But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ"...Phillipians 3:20)

What is the purpose of my pilgrimage? To be more like Christ. And how is this for encouragement in that process?:
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." Hebrews 12:1-3

I need that encouragement often...because I feel that I fail often. I am not saying I walk around moping that I fail...Jesus came to give me life, abundant life (John 10:10)...not a desolate, always grieving, always in despair life. His grace is sufficient...it's a hard thing to wrap my mind around sometimes and, yet, so easy a concept.

Random thoughts...started by one word. Pilgrimage. How can I make my pilgrimage more meaningful for my boys? What spiritual legacy will I leave them? I pray that it is a process that benefits them and helps them on their pilgrimage.

golf

Golf is a brutal sport. Brutal in the fact that I cannot defeat it. :) I do love to get out there on the course and play a round when I can though. David and I played Thursday...a guy named Scott joined us and played the course with us. We were at White Hawk in Bixby. Good time had by all, but man do I stink at golf! Except for the 16th hole...I actually made par on that hole. The rest of them though...not so good. Bogey, double bogey...triple bogey. Just call me Humphrey. Scott did give me a couple of pointers in my grip of the club...corrected my hitting the ball to the right, especially my PW. Now I have to work on my aim...after playing a while and standing to correct your errors, when you actually correct them in the proper manner, you have to modify your game.
I wish I could play more...I would probably get better. Practice makes perfect, right? Maybe I can head out to the driving range more often this season. I need to do something.

Rain...can you say, rain? Lots of it. You see, here in Oklahoma, we have been in a drought lately. Serious drought. We have been in a Fire Alert/Burn Ban for the past couple of months it has been so dry. Well...I think all of that is changing. Yesterday we received about 1.2 inches of rain...today, I would say about the same of not more. Ponca City has been worse...yesterday they got 3.2 I believe and still getting more today. We did need it, that's for sure. The ground has been so dry though, that the rain is not soaking into the ground as fast as it is falling. Which causes some flooding in the streets and creeks. But, I think it is getting in the ground fairly well right now though...we still have standing water, but the ground is lapping it up as quick as it can...you can already see things turning green again...pretty cool.

Kids. What can you say about the kids, I say to myself. I just got out of their room telling them to take a nap. Don't know if they are going to though. They are so wound up. We bought them new baseball hats today...Evan got a Sooners one and Ethan got a Pokes one. Uncle D will be so proud. Of Ethan's hat that is. So, of course, they wanted to wear them to bed for their nap. Nothing doing we said...you can have them back when you get up. Now I think they are thinking...hmmm...get them back after nap, huh? Let's just not take one...yeah. We get the hats back, everyone's happy. They are getting crazier everyday I think.
It is pretty cool though, how they are growing up. New challenges daily though...with discipline and how to handle things. We have to start thinking about getting that thumb out of Ethan's mouth. He doesn't have it in there constantly, but too much I think. If I say something to him about his thumb being in his mouth, he will take it out for a second, but then Evan will stick his thumb in his mouth and then I look back at Ethan and his is back in too. See what I mean...crazier. But, it is getting more fun to interact with them though. The other say we let them try something called 'Veggy Booty'. Some kind of weird rice cake type chips with seaweed and other nasty stuff...but healthier than Cheetos. :) They liked them. They thought since I picked them up for them that they were daddy's chips. So when Ethan wanted more...he said he wanted more Daddy's booty. Great. Tell that one to the neighbors. I want Daddy's booty...that will go over real well. The life and times of 2 year old twins. Interesting. Never boring.

I gave in the other day at the store. Couldn't help it. There they were. On sale. Taunting me. Winking at me in their blue packaging. I couldn't resist...2 for $4. That's a deal brother. So I grabbed a package...I thought that it was better to get just one at $2 than to get two at 50lbs, if you know what I am singing. But, I did it. I bought the bag of Oreos. I had the intention of taking them to work because I wouldn't eat them all at once there. Just a few here and there when I was in the office. I even put them in my car to keep them out of my house. That didn't work. Last night, I heard them. The sirens' song of the Oreo's. Circe warned Homer, but no one warned me. I went to the car and there they were again in all of their chocolatey beauty. Of course, my wife had to have a few since I brought them in. I didn't think she was happy with me at that moment...dangling that chocolatey goodness in front of her. But, it happened. I opened the bag. We ate half of the bag of Oreo's. In one sitting. Me more so than her. They were good. Very good. But now I remember why we don't buy them at the store. I will eat them if they are in the house. Quickly. As if they will never make more. I need to join OA. "Hi. My name is Ray. I am an Oreoholic."

-R