Scary Moment

The last part of our trip home from vacation contained one of the scariest moments I have ever had on a plane.
We were on a flight from Tampa to DFW, been in the air for about 15 minutes. Then there was a loud boom, and the plane shuddered. Everyone gasped, but then the plane just kept on course. No one knew what happened.

So, what happened? An engine blew!!!!! The pilots eventually told us that there was an engine failure and we were turning around for Tampa. The fire trucks would be waiting. They had to shut down all air traffic and we actually landed on the takeoff runway because the pilots didn't want to risk circling for the landing strip. Later, while waiting in the terminal, Michelle saw the plane being towed and the back end was charred black.

While in the air, it took me a few minutes to grasp that something was wrong. At that moment I began to pray. I wanted to live, but if God wanted to take me, I was surrendered to His will. Then I thought, should I stand up and shout out the gospel to all these people on the plane? Then I was thankful that my daughters hadn't caught on that something was wrong. They would have panicked.

I thank God for getting us down and home safely. And I also thanked the pilots for doing a great job landing a plane with a blown engine.

At least life is never dull!

Vacation 2010

Last week was vacation time. I intended to blog and stay in touch while on the trip, but was completely unplugged. No phone, no internet. Probably, a blessing in disguise.

We spent 7 days on a cruise through the Caribbean! It was a wonderful trip. While we were only gone 7 days, the travel schedule required me to miss 2 sundays in a row. This is the first time I have ever done that in my pastorate. A break is always a rejuvenating time, but it also reminds me of my love for what God has called me to do, the place the Lord has led me to be, and the people to whom I am called to shepherd. All that to say, I had a great vacation, but I am glad to be back.

The great part about our cruise was the minimal expense. Michelle earned a trip for 2 through her Arbonne business. For minimal cost, we added the girls and turned it into an incredible family vacation. We got to travel the seas, visit a tiny Island called Labadee, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel. There was never a dull moment and we got to spend some incredible time together as a family. What a blessing!

There were many highlights. In the Grand Caymans we got to swim and snorkel with stingrays. The girls absolutely loved it. Petting and feeding these incredible creatures was an awesome experience.

I am thankful to the Lord for my family and the bonding time we got to spend together.

A Memory is Worth a Thousand Toys

You always hear the famous phrase “a picture is worth a thousand words” (which I don’t think is true) but I have a new phrase. “A memory is worth a thousand toys.”

This was our first time to do a family vacation during the winter. We have done most of our vacations in the summer time. This year we wanted to try one in the snow!
This meant that our vacation was close to Christmas. You remember Christmas – all the presents. Our girls are 4 and 8 and are really into the presents. But, I’d be willing to venture a guess that 20 years from now they won’t remember their presents, but they will remember the great time we had as a family on vacation.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not saying that you shouldn’t give kids presents – I am not that big of an idiot(I think). But, giving a kid a present is not nearly as lasting as giving them a memory. Our kid’s don’t need toys, they need us to be and interact with them. And the great thing about our vacation is it was family centered.

We traveled, ate, played, and did everything together. They will remember the long trip and the things we saw together as we entered the mountains. They will remember the times we played in the snow, together. They will remember the sledding, the skiing, the bible studies, and all the things we did, together.

The purpose of our vacation was to spend some uninterrupted time together. I thank God for the opportunity we had to get away and enjoy His creation and one another. It was a time that I will never forget.

Vacation

What a great time we had on vacation! The mountains surrounding South Fork, Colorado were absolutely stunning. The snow was fresh, deep, and perfect! The girls loved it all and had a fantastic time.

We arrived at our cabin after dark and immediately discovered that we had to dig our way in through the snow. I have never seen this much snow before. We couldn’t even open the door. That was a good sign to a great week.

The first day we all bundled up and just played outside in the snow. Snow is such a novelty to us as Texans. We get half an inch of sleet and ice, cancel school, and go outside and play, hopefully before it all melts away.

In Southfork, we woke up to temperatures 10 degrees below zero and the high around positive 18. I loved it(for a week).

That afternoon we went sledding. There was a huge hill and we had a variety of different types of sleds. It was tough walking up that steep hill, but the payoff was well worth it. It was a blast. It was almost as fun crashing into the fresh powder as coming down clean. Hannah and Michelle had the best wipe-out!

The next day we ventured to the Wolf Creek Ski Area. The girls went to ski school, and mom and dad got to hit the slopes. The last time we skied was after Michelle and I had just got engaged about 13 years ago. But we picked it up quickly and had a great time skiing the mountain.

After Hannah recovered from a little altitude sickness, we all skied together. I was so impressed at how well both Hannah and Emily picked up skiing. They did awesome! Maybe we have some future Olympic skiers in our family.

Hannah was absolutely fearless. She quickly wanted to tackle some fairly difficult blue runs and loved it. She even liked crashing and sliding down the hill on her bottom.

Emily stuck to her green run, but was blazing fast. She amazed me at her confidence and skill for a four year old.

I also have to mention the deer. The backyard to our cabin was the Rio Grande National Forest. Every day a herd of mule deer would come into the yards and streets looking for something to eat. We all had fun watching the deer tromp through the snow.

I could go on and on. We made smores, played games, talked about the mountains, went for walks, and had a great time.

We can’t wait to do it again!