Best April Fools Caption Wins a Prize!

Keep it clean. Keep it fun. Best April Fools Day Caption wins a prize! This should be really easy.

Eric

the passing of a friend and teacher

Dec. 30, 1938 - March 30, 2008

Dr. Gilbert Wayne Stafford, 69, died peacefully Sunday morning at his home in Anderson, Ind., surrounded by his family.

I never felt comfortable calling him "Gil," even when he asked me to... he had earned the right to be called Dr. Stafford. He read my papers, listened to me rant about things I knew so little and was always quick with a word of encouragement when I was ready to walk out on seminary. I'll miss him. He's the only church of God writer I've required our staff to read. When I had a "Big" question about what was going on in Anderson, he always took my calls, he always listened. I'll miss knowing he's there.

He knew and admired my dad... our dad's knew each other... his brother and I shared a friendship... I liked that...

The passing of a friend... of a teacher... hold him close Lord... set him free.

thanks for his part in our lives.

life... it's a family thing

I don't know the people in this picture, but they've dominated a good part of my thoughts and prayers for a month or more. My first cousin Jeannene is married to a good man named Rusty- the woman in this photo, Tonia, is his daughter, with her husband Steve, one of their boys and dog, in front of their American dream- the home they built for their family.

Tonia's in a coma and has been for weeks. She suffered a cerebral hemmorhage and now fights for her life while her boys: husband and sons, wait... can't begin to imagine their pain. Don't know them... but they're family... sort of... we seem to have family salads these days. It's not all one course- a little more mixed up than when we were kids -but it's all good. Life's a family thing. Plenty of families are hurting and crying out for hope. I just have a connection to this one- and so I pray.

Tonia's husband has been amazing, keeping family and friends current with a running blog- you can read it at: Tonia's Blog.

Each Christmas Jeannene and Rusty send us a Christmas card- last Christmas it was of their dream home, nearly complete. A place big enough for all their family to come together. Most years it's a photo of their kids- more likely their grandkids- more specifically their grandsons: 10 in all if I remember right. Debi and I laugh together looking at their blessings and after the hundreds of other Christmas cards are down, Jeannene's usually remains, all those little boys... what a miracle.

Two of them have a mom who needs prayer. When you read this, say a prayer for Tonia- her family needs her whole and home. Pray for her husband- he needs strength for the days to come. Lift up her sons- can't imagine how they miss their mom. Pray for my cousin Jeannene and Rusty- don't know how you watch a daughter go through this- but they are and they need our prayers as well.

If you've done that- take a minute to pray for your family... maybe it's like mine... a little mixed up, with people in it you've never met. They could probably use your prayers today. Every year... almost every time we talk, Jeannene invites us to come and visit... we always say: someday. Life's fast. Someday quickly slips away. My life would be so much the better had I taken the time to know this part of my family. It would be so much easier to reach out to Tonia, her husband and boys, had I done it while they were well and whole. Now I reach out in prayers for healing, strength, restoration... hope...

join me, it's a family thing,

Eric

We Can Do Better

Check This Out

Not wanting to jump from a post on positive personal development to taking pot shots at an easy target... but this doesn't seem like the smartest move on the planet earth. Makes me wonder about all those long waits to get searched at the airport or waiting to cross the border in TJ with my valued US Passport... that was made in Thailand?

outsourcing...

timely advice

"Work hard enough at your own self improvment and you won't have time to be critical of others."

or something like that... it was in a bunch of quotes I read the other day... I believe it. I believe living by it could change me. It could change the world.

This was the last of many waterfalls we visited Tuesday morning... Multomah Falls. Absolutely beautiful. Snows are melting in the mountains, it was raining... water was everywhere and the falls were full... guess that's what a waterfall is all about, rivers being full when they hit the cliff and overflowing... falling... water falls. It doesn't take much effort, gravity takes care of it all- the running downstream, the falling, the violent impact... the water just falls.

Critical comments, negative attitudes, refusing to believe we can, come just as easily. It's easy to believe that our situation, society, life... pulls us that way.

Positive attitudes, faith, working at our own self improvment takes effort- we've got to swim upstream -against the way of most of the world... but even water can fall, it only takes gravity. Change requires a choice, it takes faith, determination, a willingness to think, to dream, to work for the best in our selves- to pull it out -building one day on the next. Believing.

We can.

blessings,

Eric

hanging out with Debi

Debi- in front of our rented Dodge charger -cruising the Columbia River Gorge

We've been married over 28 years and we still have a lot of fun together. Speaking in Portland this week and Debi was gracious enough to join me for a few days. She laughed when she saw the rental car: called it our "G" car... not exactly sure what that means. It's a fierce looking Dodge Charger. Not a bad little ride.

We hadn't been off the airplane for an hour and we decided to head up the Columbia River Gorge and count waterfalls. Drove the old historic road out to Multomah Falls then returned by way of the 84. Stopped at every fall, hiked up a number of them, took lots of "fall" photos. Got wet. Got cold. Had Fun!

I'm blessed... still love hanging out with Debi and most of the time she still loves hanging out with me. Eating dinner in a student dining hall at the college, then spending the evening in a class as a "guest lecturer." Mostly just answering questions for the instructor. We'll cover some important stuff... but in the back of my mind I'll see Debi at the waterfalls and smile.

Sometimes the sidetrips are the best part of life.

blessings,

Eric

mi familia

Wil Denton, my dad - hugging his grandson, my nephew, Phil Hamer

I'm in Mexico this morning getting ready for my nephew's wedding. He and his fiance, Dalene, chose to get married near the water, at the Marriott, not far from Siempre Para Los Ninos, our orphanage in TJ. My dad didn't get to come, so some of us gathered for a bit of family time with mom and dad before making a run for the border... it's the kind of stuff our family does... do what we can to include mom and dad in all the big events, even when they won't remember them an hour later. We want to be with them. Looking at this photo from my phone this morning I realized that Phil will remember.

Someday he and Dalene will look back on their final moments before marital bliss- taking time to hang out with grandparents. Dalene's grandmother came all the way from S. Africa for the wedding... friends have gathered from across the country, around the world, and the family continues to grow. God's Good.

Hope good things are happening in your family today; that it's growing. At dinner together last night, laughing, someone said we looked like a gathering of the UN... that's OK with us.

congrats Phil and Dalene!

Uncle Eric

Do You Froogle?

It's easy- in your browser type: www.froogle.com. (the period at the end isn't necessary) You'll see a screen that looks a lot like google- in the search window type the name of any product you've thought about purchasing and presto chango- there's a list of the entire internets marketplace and the price listings for the savvy comparison shopper. For example- let's try one together -check out the deal of the day in my side bar - look to the immediate right on your screen. Click it and you'll find the DeWalt 36v Lithium Ion 4 tool cordless combo kit at a crazy low price. Then take the name of the tool kit - DeWalt DCX6401 - type it into froogle and you get something that looks like this.

Pretty cool! Test it out on a few things. What's on your desk? What kind of shoes are you wearing? What kind of computer do you have? Check their replacement value, then be ready to shop with the power of the internet at your fingertips... unless of course you lose them to one of the two very cool saws in the DeWalt kit!

Imagine if you could froogle your friends, your fiance, your church... that'd take the mystery out of a whole bunch of up and coming challenges. God keeps that part of life a mystery, for good reason. Think of the number of people we'd ignore because they just didn't seem of value to the world. The value God places on each of us is why we celebrate Easter. He loves us so much He was willing to give His Only Son, Jesus. No froogle necessary- you and me -no Higher Price has ever been paid for anything in all creation.

Things and people... we get our values confused - not God. We value things, spend our lives chasing them. He values people, created us and gave everything to redeem us. What a great God. What a Loving Father. What a Fantastic Reason to Celebrate Easter!

blessings,

Eric

ps
be careful with those tools!

easter.com

Preparing for Easter begins long before Christmas. Sometimes it entails mailers, phone calls, daily prayer... it always is a time for introspection and personal evaluation... it's The Story all history hinges on... don't know why it never occurred to me until today- but in preparation I typed www.easter.com into my browser- I was redirected to... Hallmark!

Easter.org is a church in Minnesota... a collection of other .somethings following Easter run in their own random ways... left me thinking about my heart this Easter, my personal preparation.

When Jesus told the disciples one of them would betray Him, something incredible happened- they looked around at each other, then to themselves and finally spoke the question of their hearts out loud: "Is it I, Lord?" They weren't even clear if they'd betray their Lord and they'd been preparing for that moment 24/7 for 3 years- weve got just about three weeks.

Easter. Prayer always helps me. This year I may do a little additional searching as well. Hallmark can snag the domain name but they can't mess with The Miracle. We're invited to get ready... I want to be ready... together, we can go to Easter.

blessings,

Eric