It's been over a week...

And I gotta say, not much has happened. Sorry that there is such a delay. I was sick most of last week. I missed work Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday - my poor wife had to have an Eggo waffle for dinner on Valentine's Day because she wasn't feeling too great either - so neither of us felt up to cooking. We did, however, celebrate the next night. My aunt took Levi for the night, and I took Crystal out to Deep - a modern Japanese/sushi restaurant in town. We had a great night. She got me a couple shirts and a pair of boots for Valentine's Day, and I got her a pearl set (necklace, bracelet, earrings) and a new outfit for work. She has to wear black every day to work, so I was trying to get her something she could wear to work, but still have fun in also - it worked out alright. Saturday we stayed in most of the day...we still weren't 100% healthy, and we had a party that night. That evening we went to LaPine to see my grandparents. My 84 year old grandpa finished his doctorate degree this year, and we all got together to celebrate it. I've been fairly skeptical about him spending so much time and money on this degree at his age, but I feel differently about it after this weekend. It wasn't hurting anyone, and if that's what makes him happy, then I guess I can't be upset about it. We also took the opportunity to say goodbye to my aunt, who is heading to Africa in just over a week now. We all got her stuff that is fairly easy to pack. My mom got her a locket with each of their pictures in it. My uncle - her brother - got her a journal, and my sister made her a bracelet with symbols to represent her, her husband, and their son. So, here I was Friday, not having anything for her, and not really knowing what I could give her that would pack easily, and be a reminder of me and my family. So, I wrote her a song. It was pretty simple - just one, four chord progression all the way through, with a slight variance every third time - but I think I got the point across. My wife types up the lyrics, and we printed them on a sheet of fancy paper, and sealed it with sealing wax, and a stamp with our last initial on it. It turned out great. She'll be able to pack it easily, and read it whenever she feels home sick, or questions her calling.

Well, I got smacked!!

Ok Phil, I'll come up with something to post here, though it may be short. School is going well a month into the winter term. I got a 94% on my midterm of my architectural class. Oh, ok...I got it.

I had a conversation with some people at my church Sunday night after the Super Bowl. We are going through the life of Paul on Sunday mornings, then re-hashing the sermon that evening. It was a little different with the Super Bowl that day, but out here on the west coast the game was over early enough to get it in anyhow. At any rate, God hit me with what may be my greatest weakness in life. It was definitely a hard moment, and hopefully will be turning point in my life. God smacked me in the face with one word: ENTITLEMENT. He brought to my rememberance a guy named Mark Williams who is a state oversser in my denomination. At any rate, he has the Bible memorized cover to cover - chapter and verse. God spoke to me that there is no way you can accomplish that AND feel entitled to anything. So many times I come home from work and crash in front of the television. I may only intend to sit there for a few minutes - maybe through a Sportscenter, but it rarely works out that way. I may see something else on that I want to watch, or I may go from the TV to the computer. At any rate, I never end up doing the things I should be doing. I have conditioned myself to believe that I am allowed to veg for a while because, after all, I have worked hard all day, and I deserve it. Entitlement never got anything - except in the way. Only God is truly entitled to anything. He deserves my praise, my worship, my time and my devotion. He is the only one worthy of any of it. I am praying that God takes those feelings of entitlement away, and that I will hand over the title to my soul more completely every day.