Preview of Christmas No. III -- Dec. 27, 2008

Writing anything of a personal nature, such as this blog, would be missing the mark if I failed to mention the big birthday boy! December 27, 1996 Grady was born! What a wild year that was in Christmas memories!

Since We live in Cedar Rapids we actually become the center of all traveling activity. All our relatives live within three hours of us north, south, east, and west. I should correct that to "used to live" as Kim's grandparents have since moved from Burlington to Ames, but we used to be that "center of the universe" stopping spot.

Anyway, that year Kim could not travel so we had to have everyone come to our house. My folks came during Christmas, hoping Kim would produce a new little Larson while they were with us, but alas, they went home on Dec. 26th disappointed.

My In-Laws then came for Round II and Grady was finally born on Dec. 27. (I am not being so specific with the In-Laws because I don't remember the exact timing of their visit, just that my family left the day before Grady was born!)

All that to say that if Grady were still with us he would have been 12 today. I certainly wonder what he would be like but it is not to be. The Lord had better plans for that youngster so we celebrate with a heavy heart.

Now onto Christmas III, The Bowman Family! This, the final act in our Three part Christmas, is in danger as of this morning. The weather in the Ames area is producing ice today, making travel unsafe so Brian and Colleen might have to come and stay with us tonight but that is still unclear. I'm sure that would not be the first choice since moving from one "hotel" to another with three young children is not the ideal situation!

Also among the threats is the stomach flu. The two little girls had it earlier and Hayden picked it up yesterday. When G-ma talked to them on the phone this morning Hayden was not up yet so it was uncertain his current condition.

All in all, there will be at least some changes to the plans for Christmas III. More adventure!

I will let you all know what the outcome of this most exciting cliffhanger will be late next week. As for today, I am on call but, as history has borne out, it has been quiet. I'm hoping it will remain quiet but now that Father-In-Law has a high speed internet connection, I can do my work from there. That is a great relief on my mind.

Well, for now I will leave you but hope to have more to share in the coming days!

OH I ALMOST FORGOT! I posted another article out on Helium.com today about "The Unpardonable Sin". Check it out if you have time and, as always, I welcome any feed back!

Bye!

Twists Make Life Interesting! -- Dec. 23, 2008

As I took a look at my Paid Time Off (PTO) bank before the Christmas I decided to be frugal with the time I took off over the Christmas. (By the way, how PTO works is that I get about 13 hours of Paid time off every two weeks. This bank of time off is used for all time off purposes: Vacation, holidays, and sick days. You can use it however you choose but when it's gone, it's gone. I am allowed to accumulate up to 480 hours but, as you might imagine, that takes a LONG time!)

Anyway, back to the story. I had decided to just take the 25th off (actually this is a mandatory day off unless you get permission from your boss. Like who'd do that?!) and for our Bowman Christmas, the 29th and 30th off.

So I would be working Dec 24 and 26; and working Dec 31 and Jan 2. As time has drawn nearer I decided I deserved a four day weekend so I would ask for the 2nd off as well. What a great way to end 2008 and bring in 2009!

Then it hit me! WAIT! I cried, That means I only have ONE day to work next week! This is silly! In an impressive display of executive decision making I decided to scrub the whole time off thing and re-submit it taking the whole week off. I think it is a brilliant idea but only if the boss agrees to my request!

So this story is just another of those little twists that make life so interesting!

Bye!

Christmas #1 In Review -- Dec. 22, 2008

We had a most enjoyable weekend even though the weather was bitter cold and wind-blown.

We spent the entire weekend indoors but, unfortunately, my sister and her family had to go in and out. On the brighter side, everyone seemed to survive and have a good time.

We start our "Christmas Day" with breakfast, prayer and a traditional reading of Luke 2. We then open gifts and clean up a bit. The goodies are then laid out and the munching begins. We will have soup or pizza for supper but goodies rule the day. One thing we like to do at my folks house is to watch Christmas movies all afternoon. We watched 'White Christmas' and 'Elf' this past weekend. In the evening we generally will play games of some sort.

Later "Christmas Night" a few of us, my mother and me for sure, cap the night off by watching 'A Christmas Carol'. We particularly like the 1951 version staring Alistair Sim. I like several other versions but this one, for some reason, is my favorite.

Due to the weather, we had to follow the road reports to see if we were actually going to come home or not. As the day went on we decided to 'risk' it and made it home with no problems. It did not take us any longer than normal. There were moments where the snow blew pretty hard but no so as to create a complete white out.

Our next Christmas, the real Christmas (Dec. 25) will be nice too since we will just be at home and have no plans to venture out. Very relaxing. We'll head for Ames for Christmas III on Sunday.

Well, I'm signing off again. See you soon.

Bye!

Odds and Ends; Bits and Pieces -- Dec. 15, 2008

On Friday last I was able to put to rest the truck's registration problems. It was easy but it would have been a lot cheaper if I had not forgotten in the first place. I still need to pay my fine but I am driving legally once again. It's amazing how stressed I was the two days I had to drive before I was able to get the new sticker. I can't imagine ever committing a real crime! Oh, I forgot to tell you! I was pulled over on Thursday by a Cedar Rapids officer for the same thing but he took pity on me since I had just received a ticket on Tuesday. I was very relieved, to say the least. But now it's over until next year!

We are close to being done with Christmas shopping. A few more tidbits and we will be done. Kim went to town the other night and wrapped the gifts we had that she could wrap.

Kim made caramels on Saturday and we cut and wrapped those Sunday. I'm fearful that there will not be enough  tough since there are only 254, so there will be a little less for everyone this year! LOL! (We'll probably still be eating caramels in June!)

I made one batch of fudge so far and intend to make two more, probably tonight night. We don't have anything planned and it's snowed a goodly amount so fudge making sounds like a great plan!

We are looking forward to some family time! Friday night we'll be at mom and dad's for our "Christmas Eve" dinner, always good! And on Saturday we'll have "Christmas". Mom and I like to watch A Christmas Carol one night or the other so I have that to look forward to as well.

The following weekend, Dec. 28 to be exact, we are heading for Ames once again, this time for Christmas with Kim's family. We like to split our weekends so we can spend as much time with our respective families as possible. We feel that even a drive across town dampens the time with family and just adds another layer of stress that is not needed. When we stay for a whole weekend with one family we don't have to worry  about packing up and heading for wherever we're staying that particular weekend. It's one less thing to think about, thus less stress.

I plan to bring my laptop to Ames this weekend and try to keep up with the articles I have been writing. I got one more submitted and have one more almost ready to submit. I have a 90% of my articles that are in the top 25% which is so encouraging to me! I don't mean to toot my own horn but it is simply exciting and encouraging to have a regular good review! I was planning to finish it yesterday but I had to sacrifice my plans for the good of the caramels.

Well, I think that's all the odds-n-ends for now...

WAIT! I forgot. Our computer has started going south, and unless I miss my guess, it is not going with the intent to come home! I'm going to try to repair or reinstall the operating system and see if that fixes the problem. If it doesn't I really hope that the "users" have their valuables backed up! I try to stress that with them but it does not always work out that way.  We'll see. We really need a new computer but right now it is not in the budget. The funny part about this is that fact that the computer is really no longer just a luxury but a necessity. The kids do so much homework on it that it has really become a needful item. We'll see about that too.

Well, Bye for now!

Organization Failure -- Dec. 10, 2008

I am a person who likes to be organized. I should say, probably more accurately, I like the concept of organization. People who are organized, like my Father-In-Law, can find anything at a moments notice and never have to worry if the socks he just pulled from his drawer match. To be fair, I am organized too. In fact, if you asked me for any important document that I should have in my possession I'm sure I could find it in one of my many piles of documents. (Sometimes I'm really organized and I shove those piles of papers into a file drawer!)

Being the organized person that I am, I sometimes find I need help. Let me give you a recent example: I was driving home yesterday from work and knew I had to stop and get some air in one of my tires. As I pulled into the gas station I noted, with a touch of pride, that one of Marion's Finest was monitoring the intersection of Grand and 11th to catch those who might not be cognizant of their current speed or the color of the traffic lights. Very cool! I am a law abiding citizen so I knew I had nothing to be concerned with.

As I finished filling the tires I carefully backed out of the parking stall and with all the expertise of my 25 years of driving pulled out of the station and up to the light. I noted that as I did this the police officer followed me out of the lot.

As the light turned green I once again employed my best driving skills and headed the two blocks to home, again crowing to myself about my wonderful driving talent. Just then the officer's lights came on. He probably wants to let me know what a model of driving I have shown to the community at large! Anyway, I pulled over.

He then proceeded to inform me that my registration was out of date by more than a month and that I needed to get it corrected as soon as possible. I thanked him as he handed me back my proof of insurance and a beautiful citation as a reminder. It is so good when someone is willing to come along side you and  help you in areas you where you have a weakness, in this case my organizational skills are somewhat lacking and this officer was kind enough to help me to get on track.

In looking back on this incident, I have a lesson I would like to share with you. There are cheaper ways to get organized than the $90 fee I was charged that has now helped me to make sure my bills are not tucked away for safe keeping. Out of sight is for sure out of mind!

Happy driving, from the Driving Master of Marion!

Bye!

Prolific Writing Weekend...Sort of -- Dec. 8, 2008

 

I completed another article on the Golden Rule and I have an article that I just need to polish a bit and it will be ready for posting as well. This last article is in regards to how I think President-Elect Obama's presidency will go based on his messiah-like popularity.  You won't be able to see this article for a while since it is a Market Place article which means if it is chosen I will get paid! Really cool! If I do not get chosen, it should be available for your viewing pleasure in a few days.

Check out the Golden Rule missive and let me know what you think. It was a fun write!

Bye!

God's BIG Quiz -- Dec. 5, 2008

One last post for today...

If you were to die today and stand before the Creator of Heaven and Earth and He should ask you one question, "Why should I let you into My Heaven?" How would you respond?

If you were to die today, do you know for sure that you would go to Heaven?

When God created the heavens and earth and everything in them, it was just as He wanted them. Things were perfect and the people He created literally walked with Him in fellowship.

But God did not create robots that would obey His every command and make His very wishes their commands, He created people with a will, the ability to choose, choice, freewill, if you will. They could choose to love and follow Him or to reject Him and disobey the rules He had set forth. Choice is the only way to prove love. Is it really love if you do not have a choice? If you are forced to "love" someone or something, is it really love? No, of course not! God built us with the ability to chose.

We took that choice and we rejected God, turned out backs on Him to go our own way. Thus, sin came into the world in which we all are partakers.

God is perfectly holy, we cannot even begin to comprehend what this really means but He is purity incarnate. This means that deviating in the slightest way, a "white lie" even, totally violates His holiness and condemns us to eternal separation from Him, or Hell. Think about this, one tiny, "innocent" white lie condemns us to eternal separation form God! If we move beyond a little lie...WOW! No excuses! God is perfect and demands perfection to gain Heaven. Who can attain to this level? No one can! This is bad news! Really bad news! How do we answer His question? The only answer, in and of ourselves is, we do not deserve to enter Heaven. We deserve Hell.

End Game!

Wait! A light! A light shines in the distance! What can it be? It is filled with hope, with good news! What is it? What is the good news?

God does demand perfection. There is no way around that, but He also knows we cannot attain to His standards so He made a plan. He Himself would pay the price He required of us and not only would He pay the price but He also would give it to whoever desired to have it.

Did you see that! He paid the required price and He then gives it to whoever wants it! What does this mean?

God knew we could not attain to His expected standard of perfection so He sent Jesus, both man and God, to pay the price. Listen to this:

Jesus died for sins and rose again the third day. Ten words that say it all! The good news!

Jesus did the work and paid the price for your sins and my sins and all He requires in return is that you trust Him, that His payment is sufficient to satisfy God's holy requirements and there is nothing more required. He paid it all and He offers you Heaven in return for your trust. Is that too much to ask in return for all He has done for you?

If you, having read through this, see your need for a Savior and you trust Jesus now that you have seen what He has done for you, tell Him so right now. He is with you and can hear you even if you tell Him in the quietness of your heart.

You could say something like this: "Jesus I know I am a sinner and I am in need of a Savior. I trust that what You did for me by dying on the cross and being raised the third day is sufficient payment for my sins. I am now trusting You for my salvation."

That was prayer! But it was not the prayer that saves you. The prayer is simply telling God you are now trusting Him. It is trust in Jesus and Jesus alone that saves you.

If you have trusted Jesus for your salvation today tell someone else so that they can trust in Him too!

If you have trusted Christ you can now answer both of God's questions with confidence and assurance! What peace this will bring into your life!

I would also love to hear from you if you took this most important of steps today. It would e a great encouragement to me to hear your story. Use the "Contact Me" link on the right to send me an email if you trusted Jesus today! Also I would be happy to try and answer any questions you might have regarding all of this information so please feel free to contact me.

The Mood has Struck! -- Dec. 5, 2008

Today, as noted in my earlier blog, I am up early and I have been been blessed with a desire to write, so you get a second posting today.

God is so gracious. I have been brooding for a long time how to insert myself more into my children's lives but as I thought of all of the things I could do with each one it seemed boring even to me so how could I expect them to enjoy the time?

This took me to a place that all of us should go when faced with a nagging problem (The first place for any and everything in all reality!): prayer. For a long time I have agonized how to reach out to my children and leave a legacy of something more than "Whose Line is It Anyway" and "Wife Swap". TV was becoming the legacy my children would inherit. A worthless, time-wasting legacy! (I DO watch TV and can watch too much also but I have been trying diligently to cut out some TV time, with a degree of success, I might add!)

Finally, the week before Thanksgiving I decided I would just start something with Logan and see how it went. Here is what we do:

1) Watch a movie together (I KNOW! It's TV but that is not all we do! Pay attention, now!)       

2) We have a 30-60 minute Bible study and talk about how to apply it to our lives. This has been a terrific time! I am actually getting to know my son! He is a fascinating person! You all should get to know him!

Through this we actually have mission statement for ourselves and we are going to keep each other accountable to our mission statement!

Here is the mission statement Logan and I came up with ( I want to add one more part but for now it helps us to focus): "To love God, love people, and do the best we can in everything we do." Next week we are going to flesh out what those points mean. It is really cool! You might say it's a "mission from God"! :-)

3) We play a game that requires thinking. Chess, Othello, Mind Trap, Bible Trivia Pursuit, etc.  I want Logan to start using his God-given brain to think and this is partly how I am going about doing this. I also do not allow "I don't know" as an answer to the questions I ask him when we're doing our Bible study. This encourages him to think outside the box and it has worked! He really puts forth a brilliant effort to answer my questions! I am inspired and I think we are both growing! I am really loving this time with him! It is so cool! I praise the Lord for it because He has answered my prayer, at least in part.

4) I want to incorporate exercise into this as well but last night we ran out of time.

Now, as most of you know I have a daughter too. She is Alyssa and she is 16. She is not only 16 but she is active in school. She is not only active in school but she also has a job, a real job. She not only has a real job bit she has friends, friends not only from her school but from other schools as well. I think you get my point, she is very busy! This is daunting to my desire to spend some time with her too. I realize it won't work to do the same things with her as I do with Logan but I want to do something.

Prayer. Prayer. Prayer. If God gave me an answer for Logan He will give me an answer for Alyssa too. It will be different and not as much time in one sitting but it will be a good thing.  I'm praying, Alyssa! This means God will give me an answer! Stop rolling your eyes, young lady! You can't run from God's plan! tee hee!

Well, I am done for now. I need to pray and get a dose of God's word before I run off to the office. Maybe even some breakfast in the mix.

God is so gracious! In my next post I will tell you more about this Guy!

Bye!

A Real Wake Up Call -- Dec. 5, 2008

It is currently 0500. For you non-military types, it's 5:00 AM. Note the AM part. It is early and, yes, I am up. This is not by choice but when one is on-call one can be summoned at any moment by the magic of the pager. Its heart-stopping, nerve-shaking tones drags one from the deepest, most pleasant dreams into the harsh cold reality of Friday morning! But no matter. Now that I am up I decided that I would stay up since the alarm was set to go off at 5:45 anyway.

Speaking of Friday morning, in just under two hours I will be off of call for another four weeks. If you care to look on the calendar this puts my next call rotation during our visit to Ames for our Bowman side of Christmas.

Speaking of Christmas, this time of year becomes hard for me to focus at work. It's almost like vacation in the fact that I know I have several days coming up in the near future where I will be off for various holiday festivities and I find myself at odd times counting the minutes. However, the boss has had a great number of extras for me to be working on this past year so the times I get to spend counting the minutes (in these, now rare moments, minutes actually feel like hours! I wonder if this is a phenomena akin to wind chill--it says it's -3 degrees below zero but it feels like -120! We could call it..."On and ON" as in, "This day is dragging "on and on!" The On and On factor today is 2. For every minute you stare at the clock today, it feels like two hours.") is considerably lessened!

In reality, I don't mind being up early. When everyone is in bed it is a lot more peaceful. At night you can get a lot of traffic and even just the feel in the air is of unsettled chaos. But in the early hours of the day, once you get out of bed, the entirety of life seems a bit more peaceful and rested. Once I manage to pry the sleep-coated eyelids open and the heart starts beating again, the early mornings are really a nice time.

(It must be really cold outside, the furnace has kicked on three times in the last 30 minutes. That is such an encouragement to go out and go to work! Brrrr! Or as Alyssa used to say, "BOOOO it's code!") tee hee!

So long for now. Stay warm!

Bye!

Interesting Writing Site -- Dec. 4, 2008

 

If any of you out there would like to boost your writing check out this site:

http://lab.drwicked.com/writeordie.html

I just discovered it and it looks cool. I have not tried it yet but I plan on trying it and I will let you know what I discover. Sometimes we need a push, I ALWAYS need a push, so this could prove to be a good tool...

I'll let you know!