....and you are...?

Have you ever been somewhere and someone walks up to you with a look of excitement and says, "HHeeeyy! How have you been? It's been soooo long... What have you been up to?"

I know you've been there. I was there the other day. My first thought, "Who are you?" It is so awkward trying to fake it. If only Calgon could take me away! I might see hundreds of people in one day, including patients, vendors and other work-related businesses. On top of that, there is church, grocery store, restaurants, etc. We also travel some with work and leisure so we're talking about the entire U. S. population. Ok, so I'm stretching it, but the people and places are endless.

I don't have a good excuse why I can't remember. But I always settle for the old favorite, "I remember faces, but I'm bad with names..." I mean really. What a poor excuse, but I use it all the time. I think it would be annoying to walk up to someone, call them by name, begin a conversation, and get in return a puzzled look and an awkward smile with a "...hheeyyyy....how ya been?" I wish I was better at it, but I'm not. Today I failed. The parting words this person used today was, "...and you helped me so much when I was depressed. Thanks for praying for me. Have a blessed life." Ah, epic fail for me.

I wish there was a crash course for remembering names. I guess I'll settle for a bad memory. Hopefully it won't count on the final exam.

How many times have we said, "If I only had a money tree..."? Or "...if I only made more money..."?

One of the most misquoted Bible verses ever is that money is the root of all evil. The money itself is not the root to all evil. Money is just a symbol of currency, it has no spirit, there is nothing good or evil about it. The love of money is the root of all evil. If someone does not have contentment about the amount of income they have then they are truly obsessed with money. No matter how much money someone has they will never have contentment if having money is their goal. Even Ted Turner once said he felt like a failure because he only had $10 billion compared to Bill Gates' $100 billion. People who want money fall into temptation and will never see contentment.

Income shouldn't be that big of a deal at all. Everyone enters this world with nothing, everyone leaves this world with nothing, so why are we so obsessed with getting as much money as possible in the middle? Don't worry about how much money you need to buy your children that Christmas present. Instead worry about the relationship with your child. Don't worry about your car, jewelry, or the size of your house. Instead worry about cultivating the relationship with your spouse. If you want contentment then all you need to be concerned with is knowing the God who provides everything for us.

I am trusting God to show me that it's OK to be content. It's my responsibility to be a good father and husband. To be there for them and not worry and trust in Him. I know it's going to be alright, but it's hard sometimes when it seems ends never meet. But if we look closely, things always seem to "fall into place". God provides what we need, not what we think we need. I should be content. I really want to live that way.

"But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs." I Timothy 6:6-10

It's Katie's Day!

Today we celebrate the birthday of my oldest niece, Katie. She is turning the magical age of 18 and I can't imagine where the time has gone. Just a few months ago she graduated high school and is now in college. There is no break in time when it comes to seeing the children grow. Time passes so quickly, especially as you get older.

I have a special bond with Katie as I lived with my sister and brother-in-law when Katie was a baby. I literally got to see her take her first steps, eat baby food for the first time, changed many more diapers than I want to count, and I even had the privilege of taking her to her first day of daycare. We also shared the moment of President Clinton's inauguration. Katie and I are very similar. We both like to cheat when it comes to playing games, like poker. We also like to drive fast, eat everything in a bowl with a spoon, and when we're talking about competition we both don't like to lose. We'll do whatever it takes to win or we'll lose interest and act like we don't care. We both like having a blanket, even in the summer. And we share glances all the time because we know what the other is thinking. Mischievous. "Canaille", my Cajun great-grandmother, Ma-Mom, would probably say to us.

She has always kept us entertained as she still has trouble pronouncing the word "cucumber" and other words. She's quirky. Smart. Funny. In Your Face. Hard Working. And much, much more. Since uncles aren't supposed to have favorites, I won't say it,  but she is definitely loved by me very much. I consider her to be very much like my own daughter. I am proud to say that I have had a hand in her Christian upbringing. At birth, my sister and brother-in-law asked me to be her Godfather. I take that responsibility very serious because I know how important it is to have a spiritual role model. Especially a positive male role model other than your own father. I continually encourage her to keep God number one in her life and she has done that throughout her life, and most important through the rough teenage years.

I will keep committed to helping her whenever I can because she is a special young lady. She has had her share of rocking the boat, but she is an all around good kid with a lot of wisdom. She has two very awesome parents who have definitely trained her according to God's word. I know our lives would not be the same without Katie girl in our lives. It still makes me happy that she runs up to me, just like she did when she was a little girl, and squeezes me tight when she hasn't seen me in a while. I hope she never stops doing that.

Well, Katie....it's your day! Happy Birthday!!

Happy Birthday Vicki.

The later 1970's are the years where I can begin to remember my childhood. Some really good memories I have are times spent with my sister growing up. At the time, I know that I was her punching bag. I know I helped perfect her bowling-ball-flying-across-the-living-room skills by being her target. It only hit me once...in my knee. I was also glad to be a chunky kid otherwise I would have fit into the dryer (gas dryer I might add) and set for an hour. And you know those old Sears dryers were HOT and built to last! Living with her was torture at times, but I had my share that I gave back to her. I can still remember pulling her toes as she would climb up the ladder to get into the top bunk bed. As she would beat me I would yell for my Mom and inevitably my Mom would blame it on her. Go Mom. There were also endless Uno and Sorry tournaments where we were the only players. And seeing who could arrange the Rubik's cube the fastest. Fun times.

After all these years, we still manage to talk to each other. As a matter of fact, we are very, very close. We are closer than I ever thought we'd be. We've been through a lot and grown even closer as we get older. Other memories that I like to think about are staying up late watching The Midnight Special with Wolfman Jack and Solid Gold with Rick Dees. Her endless patience in watching me play Pac Man on my old Atari (which I still have boxed in storage) for hours and hours. Two words---Brady Bunch. Hopscotch outside in the dirt when her clog got stuck in a wet spot and she flipped forward on her face. As I stood laughing at her she grabbed her clog and hit me square in the forehead. The nosebleed at the levee in Henderson makes me laugh so hard. The Sonny and Cher act that no one could beat. I could go on and on and on. There are a lot of memories that I don't think about every day. It's not every day that you take time to think of why you should appreciate a sibling. While sometimes were tough for us, I'm glad we had each other.

My sister is literally a super woman. She has always been a great friend to all of her friends. She is the one everyone counts on to cook a meal or meals for the sick or someone who just had a baby. She is the host at most of our family functions, including long time cook for Thanksgiving, the most important time of year. We depend on her to make suggestions and decisions concerning our health and well being. I secretly call her Dr. Vicki and I don't think my Mom likes that.

Today we celebrate the day of her birth. I won't disclose her age because she definitely doesn't act it. She is such a good person and we love (well, we accept) everything about her. That's what family does. Love each other just the way they are.

Happy Birthday Vicket!

Love,
Baretta

Praise You In This Storm.

I drive over 2 hours each day to get to and from work. Every day. 5 days a week. Some days it can get plain nuts in the car alone. Just me and the radio. Just me and my cell phone which doesn't get reception within 40 miles of my house. Just me and my snacks. Lots of time to think. I tend to pray a lot in the car. And listen. Sometimes. Sometimes I get selfish and ask a lot of favors.  

I was thinking today, why is it that we tend to pray more when we need something? It's like never speaking to a loved one for an extended period of time, then suddenly calling them out of the blue saying, "Hey, what's up?". Your loved one would probably think, but never say, "What does he want now?" That is the difference between a loved one or friend and God. God is always waiting for us to talk to Him. We think we can pull it off all by ourselves, but it won't turn out exactly how we expect. That's guaranteed. We go into the battle of the day or an event in our lives without checking our armor. We cannot be fully prepared without God. Believe me, I've tried. And failed.

But man, when there is a need or someone sick or dying, the praying does not cease. Prayers of 'I want this and I want that' start pouring out if we're faced with a difficult situation. Where are those prayers when we've just received a bonus at work or received a raise in pay? Or when we finally catch up on our bills? (I'm still waiting for this one). Where is God in the midst of the "new car smell"? We all know we've been there. We might be there today. Do we thank Him enough? Where do our prayers of thanksgiving fit in?

These past two weeks I have prayed like nobody's business because we have a very ill family member in my wife's family. He is fighting for his life as I write this post. But I can tell you this, I know God has our loved one right in the palm of His hand. He is improving slowly every day and I thank God for it. In this storm I want to be reminded that we are to praise God in all things. All things. Storms are sent into our lives for a reason. To build our faith and trust in knowing the storm will pass. I know He is with us through every storm and will ride it out with us. Umbrella and all. He's got it covered and we need not worry. Because we are not standing in the rain alone. And I know he will still be there when the sun shines again.

"I'll praise you in this storm

and I will lift my hands

for You are who You are

no matter where I am

and every tear I've cried

You hold in your hand

You never left my side

and though my heart is torn

I will praise You in this storm."

---Casting Crowns