Rocky takes a bath!

Summertime is in full swing and there's barely a night we are home and not out doing something on the town. Splash pads, taking advantage of free kid's meals at local restaurants, VBS, we try to soak in as much fun in the two months off before school starts back as we can. With all the fun though, there's still chores that need to be done at the house even if we don't get to them until midnight. With that in mind I have been meaning to tell the story of Rocky's bath a few weeks ago.

Rocky is more like a puma rather than a house cat. He's dark gray with a giant frame that when fully stretched out is the length of a small child. When he parades around the house you can see his muscles flex and if ever he decides to take a nap on top of you in the middle of the night, you know it. Alex tends to be his favorite sleeping buddy since that's what Alex does best; laying around playing video games and napping. It was because of all this togetherness that Mandy & I decided it might be a good idea to give Rocky a much needed and long overdue bath. That's what lead us to scooping him up and soaking him in a sink full of water at 11:00 p.m. one night.

What we didn't consider however were two important details. The first being that due to a recent rampage around the house in which several items were broken, Rocky was not winning any awards for cat of the year. The destruction caused was so severe that I proclaimed that should one more thing come up broken, Rocky would be living a life of complete freedom outside with the other wild animals. The second thing Mandy & I neglected to do was tell either of the boys what was about to take place. We just scooped up the cat and went to washing. So to set the scene; Mandy & I are huddled around the kitchen sink. I've got Rocky by the scruff and forcing him into the water, Mandy is doing her best to cover every area in shampoo, and Rocky....well Rocky has gone full beast mode and is screaming his head off. It must have sounded like a fire truck was barreling through the yard and about to park itself in the middle of our kitchen, because Alex hears all the noise and comes running into the room ready to save his favorite pet from whatever trap it was caught in. What happens next is pure chaos as Alex sees me holding the cat under the running faucet, immediately remembers the threat on Rocky's life I made earlier in the day, and has a come apart!

"NOOOOOO!!! BROTHER!!! DADDY'S DROWNING ROCKY!! AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!"
"HE'S KILLING ROCKY JUST LIKE HE SAID HE WOULD!!!!!"
"WHAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Off to his bedroom screaming and crying the cat's name all the way there!

I must remind you that the first reaction every parent has when seeing their child in distress is to stop what they are doing and immediately try to make things better....but we can't do that because we are still fighting this puma who has all his claws and is screaming as loud as the seven year-old that just ran out of the room. Honestly it was like trying to wrestle a raccoon and comfort a puppy at the same time.

"ALEX!!! GET BACK IN HERE!! WE ARE JUST GIVING HIM A BATH!! HE'S NOT DROWNING"
"MEOOOOOWWWW. RAAAAAR. REOOOWWWW"
"WHAAAAAAAA!!!! POOR ROCKY! I LOVE HIM!!!"

The bath ends and the moment he touches ground, Rocky takes off like a bottle rocket sliding on the hardwood floors and slamming into every wall and door until he finally found a place to hide for the night....and I mean he stayed there for the entire night and most of the next day until he was 100% sure bath time was over. Aaaahhh the joys of having a pet and a seven year-old mini me.

There's Not A Friend!

I'm turning 42 this year which seems like a mistake, because in many ways I feel like I'm still in my early 30's. Recently I was talking with a friend about people we have known and where they may be now. I knew a kid in high school that was heavier set, wore glasses, and carried this massive backpack around all day which garnered him the name Turtle. I saw him almost every day for 3 years and then he moved out of state to go to college and I never saw him again. For about five years I worked at a grocery store in 7-Points in Florence. It's where I met my future wife and many of my best friends. I'd work nights during the school year and days during the summer. By the time I left I'd worked in every department of the store and it felt like those days would last forever. I still run into some of those guys from the store every now and then, but I've lost touch with so many of those that I thought would always be around.

This past week within minutes of dropping Adam off at Maywood Christian Camp, he was with his buddy from Huntsville that he only gets to see during this one week of the year. They were in the same cabin for the 3rd year in a row and immediately ran off to toss the football like the year between their last game of catch never happened. I think about friends that have faded away into the background of life, many of which are now just characters in stories I tell, and I wonder where they all went. Inevitably when these times come a song pops into my head and reminds me of the one friend I'll never have to wonder what happened to..."There's not a friend like the lowly Jesus, no not one, no not one" (Johnson Oatman Jr. 1895)

Neck deep in change

My oldest son Adam was playing golf with a friend last week when something unexpected took place. They were at a hole that featured a good sized water hazard that lay directly between them and the green. Intent on making it over the pond on the first try; Adam's friend stepped up to the tee, planted his feet the way he'd been taught, focused on the ball, swung as hard as he could...and was stunned to see the ball never moved an inch. What did move though was the club which left his hand, sailed through the air several yards, and splashed down in the middle of the pond. If this wasn't shocking enough, the young man then let out a scream and began taking his clothes off. According to Adam; one second his friend was lining up his shot and the next he was diving into the water wearing nothing but a pair of boxers and a frown.

As hilarious as this may sound it reminds me of men like Paul who once lived as Saul until a few moments with God changed his life. The Bible speaks of Peter whom couldn't believe his ears when Jesus told him that soon he would deny the Son of God three times. If you think about it, it only took a split second bite into an apple to change our entire history.

As the saying goes; nothing ever changes until it does. We should guard ourselves against any mistakes or lapses in judgment that might suddenly leave us in a moment of weakness. Remember to focus on our faith when things are going our way and not just when we find ourselves neck deep in trouble...or using the example above; in over our head in the middle of a water hazard.

Alone With Christ

Recently my cousin told me the story about how on a trip last month to visit family in Jacksonville, Fl. she was given the gift of alone time. This may not seem like much to some, but as a stay at home mother of three; a few hours to just be by herself was a priceless opportunity. So where did she go? Well in spite of the fact that it was pouring down rain outside, the wind whipping all around her, the sun completely hidden behind the clouds with no sign of breaking free any time soon...my cousin went to her favorite beach and had just as much fun as she would've had it been a perfectly clear summer's day. As she wrapped up her story, she told me about how much she talked to God and how nice it was to almost feel him listening.

Jesus often took time out from his teachings to step away from the crowds and talk to Father God. Matthew 14:23 mentions such a time saying, "After Jesus said goodbye to the people, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. It was late and he was there alone." It really sounds like a simple goal when you say it out loud doesn't it? Say it with me, "I'm going to take a few minutes of each day to talk to God." The problem is that like with most goals, life gets in the way and before you know it today's To Do List's become tomorrow's regrets. So what do you do if you can't find an empty beach and friend to pick up your responsibilities for the day?

Like any goal worth achieving, alone time with God is something you must fight for in spite of the obstacle's Satan puts in your way. Tomorrow morning skip the snooze button and earlier wake up to pray. Cut the television off at 10:00 p.m. rather than midnight so you can read your bible after the kids go to bed. Time spent in prayer doesn't have to a once in a lifetime event. With a few tweaks