Being Grounded for Life

The other day my oldest asked me out of the blue, "What would you do if I became famous?" I only thought for a moment and then replied, "Keep you grounded." She gave me a look that said that's interesting AND stupid, Dad.

Now I didn't mean that she would never be able to leave the house (or the second floor for that matter). I meant that if she were to become famous, she would have many people and organizations trying to vie for her attention and/or money and they would seek to influence her. I would simply remind her of her promise to God that she made when she became a Christian and would work to still have her ear once in a while. Insulating her from the outside world would be nice initially, but the caterpillar will not turn into a butterfly if the wings can't spread and soar. She'll just fall flat on her face and wonder what happened. Now they aren't going to fly right away, there will be problems, but learning to fly includes learning not to fall (again).

Keep 'em grounded.

Should I be Jealous

So. I know it's been a while, so I better get back to posting something out here.

So, my oldest two children got to go the CIY and church camp this year and it really helped them focus more on their spiritual life. They got a week for each event. They were away from responsibilities of the household, with no real requirements except just to worship and learn.

So, should I be jealous? At this stage in my life, I don't have the opportunity like that just to worship and learn. I'm always dealing with being the husband, dad, brother, son, etc. I just can't drop stuff and go anywhere. I'm thinking of the emails I'd have to deal with at work, the phone messages, the stuff that just appears on my desk and that's just at work. Wait until I dig up all of the family stuff. Whew!

I believe I'm looking at this all wrong. I still have the opportunity to worship and learn daily and I just need to do it. David Heffren, an OCC student from our church, preached on James 1:22-24 today. It was simply titled Learn and Do. I was reminded that we don't have to just try to do things, we simply need to do things. It was hammer to the head. James laid it out for us and we just need to learn and do it.

Check the box

So, I finally decided to change my radiator out of my '95 Chevy pickup. It had a small hairline crack just below the upper hose area. Now, it had been this way for quite a while, but I was nursing it along with every "stop leak" I could find. Finally, it was timt to replace it. I had picked this great Friday, right before SheBob was to be born. It was supposed to be in the 70s.

It turned out to be a great day, but I ended up working late and missed being able to change the radiator. I had to do it on Saturday. Like most Saturdays in February, It stayed in the upper 20s and lower 30s. A cold day to work with water. Jordan came out to help me and we were making great progess. The radiator was out and the heater core and block were flushed with about 45 minutes. Jodi and Arden were leaving to go to a baby shower, so Isaac joined us outside. About 20 minutes after they left, I discovered that the fittings for the transmission cooler lines were larger on the new radiator. I didn't have anything I could use to adapt it or provide a temporary loop to get to the auto parts store as I was now without transportation. I called the parts store to see if they had anything and they looked and the little drawer that was suppose to have it was empty. He recommended that I try a hardward store. We have a hardware store with 2.5 miles round trip from home, so I called them. The gentleman on the phone assured me that they had some kind of adapter.

I went back outsire and started putting all of the tools away and getting Jordan and Isacc ready to walk the 2.5 miles to get the parts. took me about an hour to get it all put up. Jordan was getting Isaac from the truck cab and decided to move the box the radiator came in to a different location. After doing this, he came walking up to me with a smile on his face and said, "Hey Dad, what are these for?" He was holding a plastic bag with brass fittings in it. Sure enough, he had found the parts that I needed and had all along. 10 minutes later, the truck was running great, and warm.

This is a lot like what God does for us. He gives us everything we need. We just need to be diligent enoung to look for it and us it properly when we find it.

Rust or Blood?

Growing up in Clyde, KS, I had the opportunity to work for a couple of farmers. While working for Leonard Matson, I got to plow the wheat fields on a tractor without a cab. I remember hooking up the plow the first time and looking at each face of the plowshares. They were a deep rust color. (Ironic in that at the end of the season I had to cake them with grease.) After greasing up all of the fittings, I made the first pass and then checked the plow. I looked at the plowshares and noticed that they were shined up like mirrors. Amazing that just a little work had put a high polish on them.

Last year while at a home school conference, I ran across a book that had a quote by Martin Luther in it. I don't remember the exact quote, but it was something like don't let your Christianity rust, because the evil one will see this and know that he doesn't have any work to do in you.

When Christ was nailed to the cross, the nails and wood were red, not with rust, but with blood. He was not resting even up until his death. Praise God!!

Keep working in God and he'll make you shine at the end.

Welcome to my first entry

I've been talking at work and church that I wanted to do something called, "Sixty Seconds with Sarge!" It would be just some different little tidbits of knowledge or insight about how to get along each day. Most entries will focues on either a military or spiritual line, but they may apply to your day. Of course they may not and you have been given permission to not use that advice that day.



Enjoy the journey we are about to start.



Paul "Sarge" Swanson