A funny moment any parent can relate to

Labor Day 2007 Balloon Classic in Colorado Springs

Grace and Matt feed the chipmunks in St. Elmo, Colorado

Grace's fancy hair!

Daddy/Daughter hike in Garden of the Gods

(By Matt)

Something funny happened this morning that I just had to share. I'm laughing now as I think of it. It was early... for me anyways... around 6:45 a.m. and I had just rolled out of bed, bleary-eyed to spend a few minutes with God.

I put on one of my favorite worship songs, God of Wonders, real quiet so as not to wake the family. I'm lost in worship and reflection, swaying and singing with my eyes closed in the living room when in the background I hear a toilet flush and my daughter, Grace, blurted out, "Daddy, I don't have to wash my hands 'cause I only went pee. I didn't poop."

As you can imagine, I was no longer focusing on my God of Wonders but on my daughter that had just rolled out of bed to use the restroom. I responded, "Grace, wash your hands anyways."

"But daddy, I only went pee, I didn't poop."

"Ok, Grace."

Back to my God of Wonders. I began entering back in to worship and as soon as I had my eyes closed again..."Daddy, what are you doing?'

"I'm singing to Jesus because He likes it when we sing to him."

Grace replied. "Oh."

Once again, I close my eyes, quicker this time, and sing the words out loud, "God of wonders beyond the galaxy...".

From her perch atop our stairs Grace inquisitively implores, "Daddy, Larry is a cucumber right?!" With this, I lose all train of thought and can barely contain my laughter. I keep my eyes closed, back turned to Grace, a smile creeping across my face as I slowly crank the volume knob up to try to focus on the song and drown out any more interruptions.

I force myself to sing the next line, "the universe declares your majesty, you are..."

Again, a bit louder this time, "Daddy, Larry is a cucumber right?!" Now, any chance of ignoring her is out of the question. I do the only thing a parent can do. I turn off the music and motion for Grace to come sit in my lap. I give her a big kiss and answer her most important question. "Yes, honey, Larry is a cucumber and I love you."

Confident in my love and knowledge of Veggie Tales she looks deeply in my eyes and says, "Yep, he's a cucumber. I love you too daddy."

I think that has been my best morning devotional ever! Thank you Lord for little interruptions that truly remind us of what is important. That modeling prayer and worship for our kids is so important but so is being available to them for early morning hugs and kisses.

I love you so much Grace!

–Daddy

Do you ever forget the value of your time?

Sam is a beautiful butterfly!

Is their anything better than a cat nap?

Sam loves his designer glasses! ;)

What can I say? He's a cute kid.

A dad and his boy!

Hmmm...I think there's a resemblance.

(By Matt)
I know I do. I can go for days and days and get caught up in the mundane tasks of my job and find myself going through the motions at home. Warm the babies bottle, clean off your dishes, get off the computer before your wife notices how long you've been gone and haven't been helping with the kids...on and on and on.

And then something happens. You get a glimpse into the preciousness of your time. I was walking with my 1 year old son Sam to the park by our house. Just a dad and his boy enjoying an early spring evening when all of a sudden I just stopped in my tracks and stared at Sam. I was struck by how beautiful this little boy is and how much life he has before him. A whole lifetime yet to live. I began to think about life and relationships and how precious they are.

If I died tomorrow would Sam ever know how much I loved him? Has he felt every day of his life the love I truly have for him? Have I held him and given him enough hugs to last a lifetime? I came to the realization that you can never do enough loving. There is no such thing as too many hugs or "I love you's."

I am inspired to make each day count. To thank my heavenly Father for the privilege of raising a beautiful boy and a loving girl. Thank you Lord. Help me to never be to busy and caught up in life to show love to my children and invest in the lives of other people. Help me realize that no amount of busyness will ever take the place of intentional time spent with those I love. Thank you for blessing me so richly. For the laughter and the hugs and the "Daddy, will you snuggle with me's?"

Sam, Grace—I love you with all of my heart!

My first race since high school, a fresh insight into scripture

(By Matt)
On August 19, 2006, I ran in the Pikes Peak Ascent, a 13 mile uphill climb that ends on the mountain top. It was my first official race since running in high school track. I had trained for it for the past few months and knew I could do it as I have climbed the hill before. But something happened on race day that I hadn't planned for. 

I was struck by the buzz of the pre-race atmosphere. We all had a big hill to climb and in just moments we would be striving the best we could to attain the summit. Some would dash up ahead only to fall back after losing steam. Some would find a comfortable pace and steadily plod their way to the top. Others would falter and drop out all together. It was interesting watching all these people of every shape and size all there for the same reason—to climb that hill! We knew at the top there would be rest and a gold medallion that they would put around our necks. They would say stuff like "well done" and "great job" and we would be able to sit down finally! 

On the journey up the hill I couldn't help but think of those scriptures in the Bible that talk about pressing on toward the high calling and running toward the goal to win the prize. [Philippians 3:14 (CEV)-I run toward the goal, so that I can win the prize of being called to heaven. This is the prize that God offers because of what Christ Jesus has done.] In the microcosm of a single 4 hour race, I got more of an understanding of those verses than the hundreds of times I have read them out of the Bible. 

Thank you God for giving me the strength to run the race and for the insights into Your Word.