"Barnabas agreed and wanted to take along John Mark. But Paul disagreed strongly, since John Mark had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in their work. Their disagreement was so sharp that they separated." Acts 15:37-39
I've been on both ends of this situation.
I've done something, out of my own hurt, that caused someone to say, "We're not compatible as friends," and they moved on.
Even though, I wasn't given any more than two texts to explain myself.
I tried to apologize four and a half months later - after seeing them at a race on Thanksgiving Day -- after they asked me not to contact them anymore (and not thinking about the implications of that) and they claimed that they filed a stalking and harassment claim against me with the County Sheriff's Office.
At the same time, there have been things that I haven't agreed with, but I've not separated myself from my friends.
However, I've removed myself from various situations so that I wouldn't be a stumbling block.
Tony Dungy, in today's entry, "Free to Disagree", of his "Uncommon Life: Daily Challenge" book asked, "When you disagree with a coworker or friend or spouse or pastor, how do you handle it? With grace and understanding or with anger and bitterness? Do you force that person to accept your way? .... And your witness may be impacted too; others may see you or Jesus in a different light if you can't handle conflict."
In the first situation, I realize that my witness with that individual is likely damaged forever regardless of who is right or wrong. (In that situation, a friend of that individual gossiped things to me which caused me a certain amount of hurt.) I have to hope and pray that the other Christians in that person's life will one day to be able to be sure that they've accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.
In the latter situation, that happened as late as earlier on the evening of October 10.
It was a situation that I was having an issue with, but I didn't want to be a distraction to a cause that is going to do, I believe, a great thing in the lives of others.
And the situation is eternally insignificant, but I'm still working through being friends with people who are friends with someone who caused so much pain in my life the last year and a half.
I'm getting better at it, but if there's a possibility that I wouldn't handle a situation in which I might not be able to control my emotions - or, in this specific case, if I was phony around somebody that I had an issue with, then I would be completely in the wrong.
So am I handling conflict in my life well enough?
I don't know. I guess only time will really tell, but I have to have my emotions under control with Waverly being in her last year at home before going off to college.
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Houston - Spring, Texas; October 9, 2012
I got off the beaten path, didn't I? Wow. I have some catching up to do.
I met a new friend last Sunday afternoon and after reading their blog (that they haven't updated since about the same time), I was motivated to get back to the task of writing out some of the things that are or have been going on in my life.
Today's entry of "Uncommon Life: Daily Challenge" speaks to a topic of "More Valuable Than A Picasso", but the uncommon key is: "What do you consider of eternal significance in your life?"
To me, the bottom line is one's salvation.
And then, on, October 9th, I went to bed. I got up, this morning, October 10th, and re-read part of the entry that Dungy wrote -- and realized that it was very similar to what Pastor Randy Harp at North Park Baptist Church had to say on Sunday.
Dungy was writing that "society places value on objects, on wealth, on the size of our houstses, and on the number of cars in our garage. Society emphasizes things like resumes, trophies, awards, and winning simply for the sake of winning."
He added, "Society has inverted the things it considers valuable with what God intended for us to place first, the ones He says should guide our lives."
I would agree with that. I've met a lot of people who are like this.
But Bro. Harp, in speaking about being part of a community and why some people aren't, asked, "How many people, in their last moments of life, ask for others to bring all the awards, trophies and things that they accumulated here on Earth to their bedside?"
The answer, of course, is probably no one. They ask for their family and friends to be close by when they pass.
Dungy wrote, "And so our calendars are often empty of time with our families. But whom will you call to your bedside in your last hours of life -- your banker or your stockbroker? Or your loved ones?"
That answer is painfully clear.
A friend of mine stated in a Facebook comment, "Wait until she finds out what a big deal YOU are."
The individual that said that I consider to be a good friend, who I do some race announcing for a race or two of theirs, and I know exactly what vein she was saying it in, but really I just want to try and be a big deal for God, if I can.
My daughter already is. And for that I'm so very thankful for.
Hopefully I have some time left to catch up. Or, at least, that is what I strive to be able to do.
I met a new friend last Sunday afternoon and after reading their blog (that they haven't updated since about the same time), I was motivated to get back to the task of writing out some of the things that are or have been going on in my life.
Today's entry of "Uncommon Life: Daily Challenge" speaks to a topic of "More Valuable Than A Picasso", but the uncommon key is: "What do you consider of eternal significance in your life?"
To me, the bottom line is one's salvation.
And then, on, October 9th, I went to bed. I got up, this morning, October 10th, and re-read part of the entry that Dungy wrote -- and realized that it was very similar to what Pastor Randy Harp at North Park Baptist Church had to say on Sunday.
Dungy was writing that "society places value on objects, on wealth, on the size of our houstses, and on the number of cars in our garage. Society emphasizes things like resumes, trophies, awards, and winning simply for the sake of winning."
He added, "Society has inverted the things it considers valuable with what God intended for us to place first, the ones He says should guide our lives."
I would agree with that. I've met a lot of people who are like this.
But Bro. Harp, in speaking about being part of a community and why some people aren't, asked, "How many people, in their last moments of life, ask for others to bring all the awards, trophies and things that they accumulated here on Earth to their bedside?"
The answer, of course, is probably no one. They ask for their family and friends to be close by when they pass.
Dungy wrote, "And so our calendars are often empty of time with our families. But whom will you call to your bedside in your last hours of life -- your banker or your stockbroker? Or your loved ones?"
That answer is painfully clear.
A friend of mine stated in a Facebook comment, "Wait until she finds out what a big deal YOU are."
The individual that said that I consider to be a good friend, who I do some race announcing for a race or two of theirs, and I know exactly what vein she was saying it in, but really I just want to try and be a big deal for God, if I can.
My daughter already is. And for that I'm so very thankful for.
Hopefully I have some time left to catch up. Or, at least, that is what I strive to be able to do.
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Houston - Spring, Texas; August 21, 2012
Today's entry was titled, "The Power of Your Platform".
"The power of your platform is greater than you think," said Tony Dungy, in today's entry in his "Uncommon Life: Daily Challenge" book. "You have an opportunity to influence people for good. Teachers and coaches may have a more obvious role in motivating their students and players, but everyone can exercise influence in someone else's life.
"And you need to allow yourself to be influenced positively by others. Everyone needs to be aware of their platforms and the power that they hold."
I read today's entry before I left for work this morning.
After reading it, I took the time to leave my daughter a note of encouragement on the refrigerator door. (She was still sleeping. The last week for awhile that she gets to sleep in before school starts next week.)
I just wanted her to be assured of how much I believed in her, but also to remind her that she had the opportunity to be an influence in the lives of her friends.
In my job, I also have - on occasion - the opportunity to mentor younger workers. And I don't even feel as if I'm 45, but in all reality I've been in the work force for 28 years. Therefore, I hope that I have a little bit to offer.
My advice to a 24-year-old recently was that they needed to look for another role that maximized their potential while, of course, still ensuring that they were gainfully employed. At that young age, it is beneficial to be doing something that adds skills to their "tool chest", as we sometimes like to say.
The other times that we can be an influence is when people come to us to seek answers to solutions or to seek our assistance in collaborating to move some project or cause forward.
In those cases, it is like Dungy said, "...you need to allow yourself to be influenced positively by others."
Just the fact that somebody takes the time to ask you or me for our opinion or input is not only a sign of respect but also one of encouragement and renewal of our spirit for the belief that they have placed in us.
Good stuff.
"The power of your platform is greater than you think," said Tony Dungy, in today's entry in his "Uncommon Life: Daily Challenge" book. "You have an opportunity to influence people for good. Teachers and coaches may have a more obvious role in motivating their students and players, but everyone can exercise influence in someone else's life.
"And you need to allow yourself to be influenced positively by others. Everyone needs to be aware of their platforms and the power that they hold."
I read today's entry before I left for work this morning.
After reading it, I took the time to leave my daughter a note of encouragement on the refrigerator door. (She was still sleeping. The last week for awhile that she gets to sleep in before school starts next week.)
I just wanted her to be assured of how much I believed in her, but also to remind her that she had the opportunity to be an influence in the lives of her friends.
In my job, I also have - on occasion - the opportunity to mentor younger workers. And I don't even feel as if I'm 45, but in all reality I've been in the work force for 28 years. Therefore, I hope that I have a little bit to offer.
My advice to a 24-year-old recently was that they needed to look for another role that maximized their potential while, of course, still ensuring that they were gainfully employed. At that young age, it is beneficial to be doing something that adds skills to their "tool chest", as we sometimes like to say.
The other times that we can be an influence is when people come to us to seek answers to solutions or to seek our assistance in collaborating to move some project or cause forward.
In those cases, it is like Dungy said, "...you need to allow yourself to be influenced positively by others."
Just the fact that somebody takes the time to ask you or me for our opinion or input is not only a sign of respect but also one of encouragement and renewal of our spirit for the belief that they have placed in us.
Good stuff.
Monday, August 20, 2012
Houston - Spring, Texas; August 20, 2012
As the morning bleeds into Monday, August 20, I realize that I've failed to keep up with the goal that I had to write every day while working my way through Tony Dungy's "Uncommon Life: Daily Challenge".
The title of the devotional is "Prayer Warriors". I know a few of these people. It is something that I admit that I am not. If I can stay focused and pray for more than five minutes, that is a huge accomplishment for me.
Recently, I think I mentioned that I needed prayer and I reached out to a fellow athlete to help me deal with some anger that I harbored.
The verse at the top of the devotional for today is this: "You have been deceived by your own pride. . . . You should not have gloated when they exiled your relatives to distant lands. You should not have rejoiced when the people of Judah suffered such misfortune. You should not have spoken arrogantly in that terrible time of trouble." ~ Obdiah 1:3, 12.
Dungy wrote, "It's easy to rejoice in the misfortune of someone who has wronged us. Praying for and blessing those who persecute us, as we're called to do in Matthew 5:44 and Romans 12:14, certainly aren't the natural responses."
Indeed, they're not.
And I did not rejoice in another's misfortune. In fact, I was asked to help. I responded and was very honored to do so, and still to this day am (and hopefully always will be).
There was separate hurt that another, though, opened the door to that troubled me. It caused me to feel taken for granted and taken advantage of.
Dungy also added, "But we've got to work hard to see that the people we disagree with have the same good qualities we do."
Actually, that is something that I've never doubted. Problem is that I was never allowed to learn what those really were or are. I wanted to. I politely waited my time in trying to find out for myself, but I never experienced them.
He also stated that "In his twenty-one-verse book in the middle of the Bible, the prophet Obadiah clearly proclaims that even if we feel the situation warrants it, God does not want us to relish the misfortune of others."
And again, I didn't. I prayed to God and asked for him to bless that individual in the decisions that they needed to make in their life.
And since a situation caused for me to lose my ability to witness to them, I also prayed for somebody else, who lived their faith consistently and in action for that person to see, to be made available to be a witness of God's love to them.
Even I never understood why I seemed to be the one that the person called out to or upon.
Dungy's "Uncommon Key" states this: "Are there people you aren't getting along with today? Is there something specific you can do to soften your heart toward them and then pray -- meaningfully -- for them?"
The obivous answer to both questions, for most everybody, is "Yes".
The title of the devotional is "Prayer Warriors". I know a few of these people. It is something that I admit that I am not. If I can stay focused and pray for more than five minutes, that is a huge accomplishment for me.
Recently, I think I mentioned that I needed prayer and I reached out to a fellow athlete to help me deal with some anger that I harbored.
The verse at the top of the devotional for today is this: "You have been deceived by your own pride. . . . You should not have gloated when they exiled your relatives to distant lands. You should not have rejoiced when the people of Judah suffered such misfortune. You should not have spoken arrogantly in that terrible time of trouble." ~ Obdiah 1:3, 12.
Dungy wrote, "It's easy to rejoice in the misfortune of someone who has wronged us. Praying for and blessing those who persecute us, as we're called to do in Matthew 5:44 and Romans 12:14, certainly aren't the natural responses."
Indeed, they're not.
And I did not rejoice in another's misfortune. In fact, I was asked to help. I responded and was very honored to do so, and still to this day am (and hopefully always will be).
There was separate hurt that another, though, opened the door to that troubled me. It caused me to feel taken for granted and taken advantage of.
Dungy also added, "But we've got to work hard to see that the people we disagree with have the same good qualities we do."
Actually, that is something that I've never doubted. Problem is that I was never allowed to learn what those really were or are. I wanted to. I politely waited my time in trying to find out for myself, but I never experienced them.
He also stated that "In his twenty-one-verse book in the middle of the Bible, the prophet Obadiah clearly proclaims that even if we feel the situation warrants it, God does not want us to relish the misfortune of others."
And again, I didn't. I prayed to God and asked for him to bless that individual in the decisions that they needed to make in their life.
And since a situation caused for me to lose my ability to witness to them, I also prayed for somebody else, who lived their faith consistently and in action for that person to see, to be made available to be a witness of God's love to them.
Even I never understood why I seemed to be the one that the person called out to or upon.
Dungy's "Uncommon Key" states this: "Are there people you aren't getting along with today? Is there something specific you can do to soften your heart toward them and then pray -- meaningfully -- for them?"
The obivous answer to both questions, for most everybody, is "Yes".
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Houston - Spring, Texas; August 1, 2012
I'm learning a day is what you make of it.
I'm learning that I need to express myself to be happy.
I'm learning that I can allow situations in my past to totally torpedo the good things in my life that make me happy.
I am going through some adjustments in my employment that are challenging. I'm gainfully employed and very thankful for that, but the changes are really testing me.
The last couple of days have been. I had chalked it up to "post vacation malaise", but it is more than that and I know what it is.
There is some deep-seated anger in my life.
Tonight was track night. I almost didn't go. That anger almost kept me from a number of very, very good hours.
Before I set foot on the track, I spoke to my sister, whose business is speaking with a race that I have some involvement with, about that potential opportunity. It was a great conversation.
I saw one person that is local that I don't get to see often. Just the day before I had received an e-mail from them and we had a chance to talk - and laugh - about some of those things shared in that communication. Direct, yet unexpected feedback.
I talked to one individual about a work situation that I experienced today to an organization that I'm working for and where they received some medical care that I knew about. This person and I haven't had a chance to speak at length in quite some time. I was appreciative of what he had to share with me.
I got to see an out of town visitor that has become a very good friend since June a year ago.
And before I left that track to have a late dinner with friends, I talked to a race director friend for about 40 minutes to discuss some things about their races.
And one of the most important things is that I asked another friend to pray for me this evening.
Not only, as believers, do we need to pray - for ourselves and others, we also need others to pray for us.
Before I left for track, I sent a text to my best friend that I would be there -- and why I would. I had told them earlier in the day that I wouldn't and to share with our out of town visitor that I would miss them this trip because of my weekend commitments.
I read today's entry in Tony Dungy's "Uncommon Life: Daily Challenge". The title was "Encouraging Intercession". The verse was as follows:
"Pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity." - I Timothy 2:1-2.
It hit me sqaure in between the eyes. I had logged on to Facebook - before I left - and the person that I knew that I was going to ask to prayer for me was already at the track because he had posted a picture. I commented that I would see him shortly.
And I spoke to him there and I shared the source of my anger, without sharing any specific identifying characteristics, and he said that he would pray the next week - and see where the Holy Spirit led.
Before I left on the flight home from Anchorage Sunday night back to Houston Intercontinental, I saw a friend had posted something and not knowing exactly what it was I sent them a text and told them that I would pray for them. And I did on the plane before we took off (because if I didn't I would be asleep soon.)
Dungy writes, "It's a good habit to put into practice. Prayerfully lift up friends, give thanks for the people in your life, and pray for leaders whether you agree with them or not. And take it a step further. Let them know that you prayed or are continuing to pray for them. What an encouragement that may bring."
I try to as much as I can; that is, pray for friends and people - and situations - that I'm aware of. I'm not very good at telling somebody that I have prayed for them. While it may be a source of encouragement, I'm more concerned about me inadvertently bragging, "Look at me and what I did for you."
It is like I told the friend who I asked to pray for me, "When I announce races (and the like), people think I do that for my edification and self-esteem." I told him, "No, I do it for theirs actually." And I have fun doing it.
That deep-seated anger has robbed me of that fun and joy too often recently -- and I need a little help overcoming it.
I'm learning that I need to express myself to be happy.
I'm learning that I can allow situations in my past to totally torpedo the good things in my life that make me happy.
I am going through some adjustments in my employment that are challenging. I'm gainfully employed and very thankful for that, but the changes are really testing me.
The last couple of days have been. I had chalked it up to "post vacation malaise", but it is more than that and I know what it is.
There is some deep-seated anger in my life.
Tonight was track night. I almost didn't go. That anger almost kept me from a number of very, very good hours.
Before I set foot on the track, I spoke to my sister, whose business is speaking with a race that I have some involvement with, about that potential opportunity. It was a great conversation.
I saw one person that is local that I don't get to see often. Just the day before I had received an e-mail from them and we had a chance to talk - and laugh - about some of those things shared in that communication. Direct, yet unexpected feedback.
I talked to one individual about a work situation that I experienced today to an organization that I'm working for and where they received some medical care that I knew about. This person and I haven't had a chance to speak at length in quite some time. I was appreciative of what he had to share with me.
I got to see an out of town visitor that has become a very good friend since June a year ago.
And before I left that track to have a late dinner with friends, I talked to a race director friend for about 40 minutes to discuss some things about their races.
And one of the most important things is that I asked another friend to pray for me this evening.
Not only, as believers, do we need to pray - for ourselves and others, we also need others to pray for us.
Before I left for track, I sent a text to my best friend that I would be there -- and why I would. I had told them earlier in the day that I wouldn't and to share with our out of town visitor that I would miss them this trip because of my weekend commitments.
I read today's entry in Tony Dungy's "Uncommon Life: Daily Challenge". The title was "Encouraging Intercession". The verse was as follows:
"Pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity." - I Timothy 2:1-2.
It hit me sqaure in between the eyes. I had logged on to Facebook - before I left - and the person that I knew that I was going to ask to prayer for me was already at the track because he had posted a picture. I commented that I would see him shortly.
And I spoke to him there and I shared the source of my anger, without sharing any specific identifying characteristics, and he said that he would pray the next week - and see where the Holy Spirit led.
Before I left on the flight home from Anchorage Sunday night back to Houston Intercontinental, I saw a friend had posted something and not knowing exactly what it was I sent them a text and told them that I would pray for them. And I did on the plane before we took off (because if I didn't I would be asleep soon.)
Dungy writes, "It's a good habit to put into practice. Prayerfully lift up friends, give thanks for the people in your life, and pray for leaders whether you agree with them or not. And take it a step further. Let them know that you prayed or are continuing to pray for them. What an encouragement that may bring."
I try to as much as I can; that is, pray for friends and people - and situations - that I'm aware of. I'm not very good at telling somebody that I have prayed for them. While it may be a source of encouragement, I'm more concerned about me inadvertently bragging, "Look at me and what I did for you."
It is like I told the friend who I asked to pray for me, "When I announce races (and the like), people think I do that for my edification and self-esteem." I told him, "No, I do it for theirs actually." And I have fun doing it.
That deep-seated anger has robbed me of that fun and joy too often recently -- and I need a little help overcoming it.
Friday, July 27, 2012
Talkeetna, Anchorage and Seward, Alaska, June 25, 2012
When we checked into our hotel Tuesday evening, we were told on check-in that the toilet wasn't refilling as fast as it should. It worked, they said, but that for the inconvenience (it really wasn't), we were provided with two free breakfast buffet coupons.
Safe to say, we planned our day around being right there when the buffet opened at 5 a.m. to be able to safely make our way from Denali to Talkeetna in time so Waverly could go ziplining.
That's right, I said, "Waverly," and not me.
Not that I don't have a spirit of adventure, because I do, but it is something that she wanted to do when she first looked at things to do on the trip and it was also a fair trade-off for her to have an activity all by herself as she waits on me at races.
Up until the drive south, we hadn't yet seen Mount McKinley because of all of the cloud cover and bad weather. However, we were treated with numerous opportunities to see the largest mountain in North America, especially on the drive on the 14-mile spur road back north to Talkeetna.
While Waverly ziplined, which she did for the first time since youth camp the summer before in Tennessee, I got two hours of solid sleep in the car. Wonderful
She had a great time as she often does.
We almost pulled the trigger on taking a flight up near or around Mount McKinley. And while I had the money (in cash on me), it was a study on whether it provided enough meaning to us compared to the other activities that we had planned and would continue to do during the trip.
While we definitely determined it would be cool to do, it actually didn't compare to the hot air balloon ride that Waverly took when she was 10 years of age during a weekend vacation to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where I worked one summer for about four months.
Needless to say, we didn't. We drove to Anchorage for lunch at The Moose's Tooth Pub & Pizzeria (some really, really good pizza), filled up with gas and then headed south on the Seward Highway towards Seward and the Kenai Penisula.
As I have stated before, we know where we need to get to - to stay for the evening - but we make things up in between. We stop at the places and things that we think are interesting and don't look back.
I thought about trying to get over to Kenai and down to Homer, but we stopped for some tourist information and I saw something that was rather unique.
We took a short detour to go through the longest tunnel in North America - 2.5 miles long - that would take us to Whittier, the gateway to Prince William Sound. What was interesting about the tunnel is that it is used by both vehicles and trains. It was originally built for the railroad in the early 1940s, but opened to vehicular traffic in 2001.
Whitter is called the "strangest town in America" because it could seem very claustrophobic from the rest of the world. It is primarily a commercial fishing area and is used as a jump-off point for cruises to explore a number of glaciers - up to approximately 30 - in Prince William Sound. And PWS is best known as the site of the 1989 Exxon Valdex oil spill.
You could go through the tunnel at the bottom of the hour and return only at the top of the hour. The rest of the time on the clock is used for railroad traffic. So unless we went in and right back out, for $12, we were there for about an hour.
Once we were done, we drove straight to Seward, checked in to our hotel and then explored the town. Seward actually has no fast food. No McDonald's, Burger King or KFC, which actually isn't a really bad thing. There's a Safeway grocery store, three gas stations (Shell, Chevron and a local company) and a lot of local businesses. The iconic Iditarod Trail actually begins here, even though the dog race itself starts in Anchorage.
We drove around the small town and found the Mount Marathon trail. It is a point of about 3,000 feet in height that hosts a very, very difficult Fourth of July race each year. I don't think any time soon that I'll be giving up my announcing assignment on the Fourth for the Bud Heat Wave ... but maybe some time.
Today was another day where Dungy's devotional didn't necessarily have too many parallels with what we did today.
The title was "Disbanding the Me Generation" and the verse - from 2 Timothy 3:2 - was, "For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred."
I think I passed the money test (earlier)! Actually, that was an exercise in using money wisely I thought.
"We are living in a time when people refuse to see where God is directing or listen to what God is saying," Dungy also wrote. "And we perpetuate our focus on self through Facebook, Twitter, MSpace, and on our own individual blogs. They all reflect our insatiable desire to express ourselves, to tell others what we think, what we do, and where we go.
"They all highlight our desire the world to oursevles -- to lift ourselves up and to somehow feel the world's affirmation."
When I read that I'm thinking to myself, "Is that what I'm doing?"
I dialed back my thought, looking inward, and said, "No. I have people in my life who enjoy knowing some of the fun, neat things that I get to do in my life. That's all."
There have been a number of times, though, where I've examined the purpose of what I've posted before and, yes, some of them have gotten me into trouble. But instead of people trying to understand why (and what was behind it), they simply assumed it was directed at them when - in fact - it was me working through some hurts of my own that I had already worn out with a number of people.
Nonetheless, it is a good check to ensure why we are doing what we are.
So what's behind this post? I'm just trying to challenge myself, live life to its fullest, be a good father and hopefully be a little bit of who God hopes that He wants me to be.
Safe to say, we planned our day around being right there when the buffet opened at 5 a.m. to be able to safely make our way from Denali to Talkeetna in time so Waverly could go ziplining.
That's right, I said, "Waverly," and not me.
Not that I don't have a spirit of adventure, because I do, but it is something that she wanted to do when she first looked at things to do on the trip and it was also a fair trade-off for her to have an activity all by herself as she waits on me at races.
Up until the drive south, we hadn't yet seen Mount McKinley because of all of the cloud cover and bad weather. However, we were treated with numerous opportunities to see the largest mountain in North America, especially on the drive on the 14-mile spur road back north to Talkeetna.
While Waverly ziplined, which she did for the first time since youth camp the summer before in Tennessee, I got two hours of solid sleep in the car. Wonderful
She had a great time as she often does.
We almost pulled the trigger on taking a flight up near or around Mount McKinley. And while I had the money (in cash on me), it was a study on whether it provided enough meaning to us compared to the other activities that we had planned and would continue to do during the trip.
While we definitely determined it would be cool to do, it actually didn't compare to the hot air balloon ride that Waverly took when she was 10 years of age during a weekend vacation to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where I worked one summer for about four months.
Needless to say, we didn't. We drove to Anchorage for lunch at The Moose's Tooth Pub & Pizzeria (some really, really good pizza), filled up with gas and then headed south on the Seward Highway towards Seward and the Kenai Penisula.
As I have stated before, we know where we need to get to - to stay for the evening - but we make things up in between. We stop at the places and things that we think are interesting and don't look back.
I thought about trying to get over to Kenai and down to Homer, but we stopped for some tourist information and I saw something that was rather unique.
We took a short detour to go through the longest tunnel in North America - 2.5 miles long - that would take us to Whittier, the gateway to Prince William Sound. What was interesting about the tunnel is that it is used by both vehicles and trains. It was originally built for the railroad in the early 1940s, but opened to vehicular traffic in 2001.
Whitter is called the "strangest town in America" because it could seem very claustrophobic from the rest of the world. It is primarily a commercial fishing area and is used as a jump-off point for cruises to explore a number of glaciers - up to approximately 30 - in Prince William Sound. And PWS is best known as the site of the 1989 Exxon Valdex oil spill.
You could go through the tunnel at the bottom of the hour and return only at the top of the hour. The rest of the time on the clock is used for railroad traffic. So unless we went in and right back out, for $12, we were there for about an hour.
Once we were done, we drove straight to Seward, checked in to our hotel and then explored the town. Seward actually has no fast food. No McDonald's, Burger King or KFC, which actually isn't a really bad thing. There's a Safeway grocery store, three gas stations (Shell, Chevron and a local company) and a lot of local businesses. The iconic Iditarod Trail actually begins here, even though the dog race itself starts in Anchorage.
We drove around the small town and found the Mount Marathon trail. It is a point of about 3,000 feet in height that hosts a very, very difficult Fourth of July race each year. I don't think any time soon that I'll be giving up my announcing assignment on the Fourth for the Bud Heat Wave ... but maybe some time.
Today was another day where Dungy's devotional didn't necessarily have too many parallels with what we did today.
The title was "Disbanding the Me Generation" and the verse - from 2 Timothy 3:2 - was, "For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred."
I think I passed the money test (earlier)! Actually, that was an exercise in using money wisely I thought.
"We are living in a time when people refuse to see where God is directing or listen to what God is saying," Dungy also wrote. "And we perpetuate our focus on self through Facebook, Twitter, MSpace, and on our own individual blogs. They all reflect our insatiable desire to express ourselves, to tell others what we think, what we do, and where we go.
"They all highlight our desire the world to oursevles -- to lift ourselves up and to somehow feel the world's affirmation."
When I read that I'm thinking to myself, "Is that what I'm doing?"
I dialed back my thought, looking inward, and said, "No. I have people in my life who enjoy knowing some of the fun, neat things that I get to do in my life. That's all."
There have been a number of times, though, where I've examined the purpose of what I've posted before and, yes, some of them have gotten me into trouble. But instead of people trying to understand why (and what was behind it), they simply assumed it was directed at them when - in fact - it was me working through some hurts of my own that I had already worn out with a number of people.
Nonetheless, it is a good check to ensure why we are doing what we are.
So what's behind this post? I'm just trying to challenge myself, live life to its fullest, be a good father and hopefully be a little bit of who God hopes that He wants me to be.
Denali National Park, July 24, 2012
Tuesday found us spending the majority of the day inside Denali National Park as we took on two or three trails between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m.
We passed up taking a shuttle into the Park past Savage River (or mile 15 on the Park Road). The time commitment that it was going to take in addition to giving up control - of going from point-to-point at our pleasure - kept us from buying shuttle tickets or a tour package.
Neither one of us is the type to spend 11 to 13 hours in a park viewing scenery. Maybe that's a little bit of a weakness.
We were perfectly content, however, to explore the trails near the Savage River and then hike approximately 1,700 feet up Mount Healy.
Both the Savage Rock and the Mount Healy trails challenged us a little bit.
Nonetheless, we enjoyed the time - with a little bit of a slower pace - and reminisced about the hiking that we did in Yellowstone (2007), Glacier (2010), Kona (2011) and Yosemite (2012) over the years.
Earlier that morning, I read the day's entry from the "Uncommon Life: Daily Challenge" devotional that talked about "An Infectious Love".
Dungy's "uncommon" key was that "God's passion for you is enthusiatic and real."
He also made reference to people that "seemed to bring a childlike passion to almost every setting they are in".
I'm not a Debbie Downer by any means, but I'm not "that" type of individual either. I wish I was, but often times the world sees that type of person as fake. And not genuine. That isn’t how I would like to be perceived.
But what Dungy was pointing out is that God wants us to communicate with Him.
I did while we were out on the trials: In thought. I couldn’t help but think of – upon seeing more of the Earth’s natural beauty – the worship song that we sing, “Our God is an awesome God, / He reigns from heaven above / with wisdom, power, and love; / our God is an awesome God.”
The other treat - as Waverly was ahead of me on the trail towards the top of Mount Healy – really was her having more of the childlike spirit as she was singing some of the songs from camp that even I was familiar with.
We passed up taking a shuttle into the Park past Savage River (or mile 15 on the Park Road). The time commitment that it was going to take in addition to giving up control - of going from point-to-point at our pleasure - kept us from buying shuttle tickets or a tour package.
Neither one of us is the type to spend 11 to 13 hours in a park viewing scenery. Maybe that's a little bit of a weakness.
We were perfectly content, however, to explore the trails near the Savage River and then hike approximately 1,700 feet up Mount Healy.
Both the Savage Rock and the Mount Healy trails challenged us a little bit.
Nonetheless, we enjoyed the time - with a little bit of a slower pace - and reminisced about the hiking that we did in Yellowstone (2007), Glacier (2010), Kona (2011) and Yosemite (2012) over the years.
Earlier that morning, I read the day's entry from the "Uncommon Life: Daily Challenge" devotional that talked about "An Infectious Love".
Dungy's "uncommon" key was that "God's passion for you is enthusiatic and real."
He also made reference to people that "seemed to bring a childlike passion to almost every setting they are in".
I'm not a Debbie Downer by any means, but I'm not "that" type of individual either. I wish I was, but often times the world sees that type of person as fake. And not genuine. That isn’t how I would like to be perceived.
But what Dungy was pointing out is that God wants us to communicate with Him.
I did while we were out on the trials: In thought. I couldn’t help but think of – upon seeing more of the Earth’s natural beauty – the worship song that we sing, “Our God is an awesome God, / He reigns from heaven above / with wisdom, power, and love; / our God is an awesome God.”
The other treat - as Waverly was ahead of me on the trail towards the top of Mount Healy – really was her having more of the childlike spirit as she was singing some of the songs from camp that even I was familiar with.
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