HopeForYourFamily

It has been almost a full three weeks since my last post. As I was reflecting on why this is, it occurred to me. My life has been really full. Not in a frantic, can’t slow down, can’t catch up, I’m running ragged and feeling frazzled kind of way.

Full, as in: I just finished a great meal at Lambert’s Cafe and enjoyed every bite. I spent several hours on the beach and at the pool today with my family and friends and we had a great time. (Our vacation last week was tremendously refreshing!) Went to the movies last night with a good friend and enjoyed another good rendering of comic books to big screen. Working hard with my wife to help our son master potty training. My wife and I drawing closer together as we share our lives with a friend. Managing a full case load at my counseling office, but still enjoying a 45 hour work week. Getting more involved with my neighborhood as we try to re-establish good leadership in our neighborhood association. Stepping back up to lead worship on a regular basis at our church. Generally enjoying summertime with my family. And the list could surely go on.

So, for now - I am full and content. And posting on my website has somehow taken a back seat. But I’m back at it now, so look for me to get back into a rhythm of offering weekly insights into better relationships and general living. Tune in tomorrow (Tuesday, June 26) to WAFB at 7:15 for my Parenting 101 segment on the MySpace/Facebook generation.

ps - OOOPS!!! The Parenting 101 segment is always at 6:15 am, not 7:15 am. Hope I didn’t throw anyone a curveball with my typo. As soon as WAFB.com uploads the interview video from today, I will post it on my Parenting 101 page.

Last Friday I had an opportunity to take the son of some good friends of ours with me for an afternoon at the Bluebonnet Swamp. They are basically family to us, so he is like a nephew to me. I was looking forward to the afternoon for several weeks, since we first discussed the possibility. He is always a lot of fun. He is a very smart boy, and, frankly, you never know what he is going to say. However, the truth is, I really felt like I was doing something for him more than he would be doing anything for me. He loves bugs and critters and wildlife, and had never been to the Bluebonnet Swamp. This was an opportunity for me to share something with him that he was sure to love. Little did I know how much I would learn from him!

Even though I love casually strolling along the path through the swamp and woods when I go by myself, for some reason I felt compelled to move along more quickly with my buddy there. I guess I wanted to be able to show him all there is to see. To put it simply - he went at a much slower pace. At first, I felt a bit frustrated. As Willy Wonka put it, “There’s so much time and so little to see! Strike that. Reverse it.” (more…)