November, 2008

Announcements — No Comments
27
Nov 08

Happy Thanksgiving!

So, this year, I’m fully enjoying every minute of this day. To say the least, I’m thankful beyond the day. I have so much to be thankful for this year…more so than any previous years.

This is how I feel today: If God had blessed me with a perfect-for-me wife, and had not blessed me with a beautiful child(ren), I would still have been so grateful.

This year, Lysha, Jadyn, and I, are staying home for Thanksgiving. No traveling, no making huge meals, etc. And, ya know…it’s a beautiful thing. Just being with my immediate family…the family that I’ve helped to create…it’s a beautiful thing. Who says Thanksgiving is to be composed of a huge meal (that we have to stress about if something goes wrong)? It’s not at all about the food and traditions…it’s about being thankful, and more so past the day itself.

If you’ve felt overwhelmed or too busy this holiday season, I encourage you to consider this next year. Trust me…it’s great to be peaceful, quiet, reflective, and to have time to be truly and completely thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving! May it be more than the day.

My beautiful wife, Lysha, on Thanksgiving Day, for dinner.

My beautiful wife, Lysha, on Thanksgiving Day, for dinner.

Life learnings — No Comments
13
Nov 08

My heart breaks…

Today, for our 0-18 Team Meeting, we did a service project at a local, Cincinnati orphanage. We did not just show up, work, and leave. We actually got the great privilege to interact a bit with a few of the orphans.

As several of us walked into the classroom, eight orphans came to each of us, hands drawn for a shake, and introduced themselves, all with a “Hi, welcome to [insert orphanage name]. My name is [insert name]“. My heart broke.

These are kids that have not been loved like most, which is why they’re [thankfully] being loved at an orphanage. The orphanage director told us that most children come to them with severe trust issues, and rarely look anyone in the eye. Some parents of these children have trained their kids not to look in the eye, because they believe their kids should not be treated with love, and therefore, will treat them as property (sexual, physical, mental abuse). After hearing this, it was so neat for me to remember that the eight kids that I had met had looked me straight in the eye. How sweet. How beautiful. Orphanages. These kids are living in the true meaning of love, and most importantly, freedom!

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