Reflections of the Father of the Bride Again (part 2)

Today I have not spent much time thinking about the wedding. Too many other things on the old "To-Do" list that have been screaming for my attention all day long. Yesterday, however was a different story. My daughter gave me her handwritten wedding program on Monday. I looked at it and said, "No problem! I can do this!" So thinking I could knock it out in a matter of a half hour or so, I went at it. It took all of about 3 minutes to realize that "no problem" had become "no clue!" But by the end of the day, someone who knew what they were doing rescued me .... and the programs were printed. Now they have to be assembled. But that is a task I am passing off to someone else to do!

This reminded me that I need to be more careful in "counting the cost." (Jesus talked about this in Luke 14). So often I start something before "counting the cost" that is involved in completing the task. I think if I were to SLOW down and "count the cost" involved before rushing into things - I might just save myself a lot of heartaches and headaches! And probably the same is true for you!

Thanks for stopping by ...

pj

Reflections of the Father of the Bride, Again! (Part 1)

In just five days I will be walking my daughter down the aisle. Where has the time gone? The following words of Bob Carlisle's song, Butterfly Kisses sums up pretty well how I am feeling about things today.

Butterfly Kisses

There's two things I know for sure:
She was sent here from heaven and she's
daddy's little girl.
As I drop to my knees by her bed at night
She talks to Jesus and I close my eyes and
I thank god for all the joy in my life
Oh, but most of all
For butterfly kisses after bedtime prayer;
sticking little white flowers all up in her
hair; "Walk beside the pony, Daddy, it's my first ride."
"I know the cake looks funny, Daddy, but I sure tried."
In all that I've done wrong I know I must
have done something right to deserve a hug
every morning and butterfly kisses at night.

Sweet 16 today
She's looking like her mama a little more everyday
One part woman, the other part girl.
To perfume and make-up from ribbons and curls
Trying her wings out in a great big world.

But I remember
Butterfly kisses after bedtime prayer; sticking
little white flowers all up in her hair.
"You know how much I love you, Daddy, But if you
don't mind I'm only gonna kiss you on the cheek this time."
With all that I've done wrong I must have done
something right to deserve her love every morning
and butterfly kisses at night.

All the precious time
Like the wind, the years go by.
Precious butterfly.
Spread your wings and fly.

She'll change her name today.
She'll make a promise and I'll give her away.
Standing in the bride-room just staring at her.
She asked me what I'm thinking and I said "I'm not
sure-I just feel like I'm losing my baby girl."
She leaned over...gave me butterfly kisses with her mama there,
Sticking little white flowers all up in her hair
"Walk my down the aisle, Daddy-it's just about time."
"Does my wedding gown look pretty, Daddy? Daddy, don't cry!"

Oh, with all that I've done wrong I must have
done something right.

To deserve your love every morning and butterfly
kisses-I couldn't ask God for more, man this is what love is.

I know I gotta let her go, but I'll always remember
every hug in the morning and butterfly kisses.

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

Yet Another "BIG EVENT" Is Coming!

In just six days, my oldest daughter, Emily will be marrying her fiance, Matt (who apart from being a Cleveland Browns fan is a GREAT guy!). Having just gone through this process (back on June 29th my youngest daughter, Kate was married - to some guy named Ryan - whom we have grown to love very much!), it is with joyful anticipation that I look forward to Sunday!

Across the course of the next several days ... I will be posting some blogs again under the title of "Reflections of the Father of the Bride." You can consider it the sequel to my postings back in June leading up to Kate's wedding. I hope you stop back!

Until then . . .

pj

You Need to Go on a Date!

As you begin the weekend - let me suggest you take your spouse (or boy/girlfriend) on a date. Dinner and a movie is always in order. I'll leave the choice of restaurant up to you ... but let me suggest the movie choice. Last Friday I highly recommended the movie Fireproof. The movie stars Kirk Cameron (Growing Pains) and is about a firefighter and his troubled marriage. Well, I saw the movie today. And now I must VERY highly recommend it to you. Whether you have the most solid marriage on the planet -- or you are about to make a call to an attorney (or you are simply not married or even attached at the moment) - this movie is a MUST-see! It is entertaining. It is funny. It is moving. And it points to the One whom life is all about! So, grab your honey's hand -- or call a friend and go see Fireproof. But be sure to take a few tissues with you ... your eyes just might start sweating (as mine did - it was awfully warm in the theater!!!).

Here again is the trailer for the movie. Enjoy it -- then go see the real thing!





Thanks for stopping by ...

pj

Beware You Don't Miss the Obvious!

Recently, someone set me a video that I found quite interesting. If you have a couple of minutes, please watch the following. Then scroll down and read my comments (but do NOT read my comments before viewing the video).














Now, I must confess I missed the obvious on my first view. I was so busy and intent on counting the passes ... that I missed the gorilla! Funny ... yes, but sobering too. Why do I say it's sobering? For this reason: So many of us are so intent on making a living here on earth --- going to work, running our kids to soccer practice, doing our grocery shopping, etc. --- that it can be very easy for us to miss the obvious. And what is the obvious? Simply that this life is only the first of two lives that we will live AND that this life is by far the shorter and more brutish of the two. So all this to say - DON'T LOSE SIGHT OF HEAVEN! Make choices now that will have consequences then! Really, what is even 90 years on earth compared to an eternity in heaven?

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

What - The Philadelphia Phanatic a Threat?

I have seen many sport's mascots across the years. The Pittsburgh Pirates' Parrot, the Penn State Nittany Lion's Lion, and the Lancaster Barnstormers' Cylo - just to name a few. But I must confess that my all time fav is the Phillies' Phanatic. He is just so adorable and so entertaining!

Last week, when authorities found some suspicious looking packages outside of Citizen's Bank Park in Philadelphia, the evidence trail led right to this furry green fan favorite. Here's what happened.

Several hours before the Phillies were scheduled to play the Atlanta Braves last Wednesday, the Phanatic was involved in the shooting of a commercial. The ad showed him launching some heavily wrapped hot dogs from a hand held launcher. When the shooting was all done, someone mistakenly left three of the duct-taped hot dogs laying just outside the ball park. When they were discovered, the bomb squad was called in and the hot dogs blown up. Only after doing so did authorities discover that their bomb threat was three measly doggies. Frankly put, the Phillies' execs who made the call might have been somewhat embarrassed, but they defended their actions (to call in the bomb squad and evacuate the workers who had already arrived at the ball park) as the right thing to do. In their words, "It turned out to be nothing. We could have gone over and picked it up and thrown it in the trash and been done with it. But if we had been wrong, somebody might have lost an arm."

The moral of this story is that not everything is as it appears to be. What authorities saw as a possible bomb was in reality routine ballpark fare - nothing more. Sometimes as we look at life and life being lived all around us - we can be tempted to think "This is it! This is reality!" This "what-you-see-is-what-there-is" approach to reality has a label. It is called "naturalism." Many people in our world today have bought into this view of our world. However, not everything is as it appears to be. And although it may appear that this world as we experience it is all there is to reality - we know from the Bible that there is another realm .... another dimension that exists that we cannot experience with our normal physical senses. But that does not make it any less real! The supernatural realm is just as real as this natural world in which we live and move and have our being! For an interesting read about this, take a moment and read the following passage: 2 Kings 6:8-17.

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

The Better Way!

I just read a story that got me slightly peeved. No, better said, A LOT PEEVED! It concerns Washington Mutual's (a.k.a. WaMu)new CEO, Alan Fishman. Now if you have been following the news, then you will know that WaMu has the distinction of being the largest bank to fail in U.S. history (at least to date!). Now listen to the following information that I just read on the Internet:

"After just 432 hours on the job -- during which time he presided over the complete collapse of the company -- Fishman stands to collect more than $19 million in pay.

That's right: $19 million for 18 days work, or an annualized rate of $385 million. $1.05 million per day. $44,000 per hour. More money than most people will make in several lifetimes, all to watch one of America's largest banks spiral into failure" (from article titled, WaMu Richly Rewards CEO Failure, posted on www.fool.com).

So how does that make you feel? A bit peeved? All I can say is that this situation exposes a big part of the reason we are facing the economic crisis that we are facing today. And it is not just greed on the corporate level (although that is a significant factor). It is greed on every level. All of us can be tempted toward greed. As followers of Christ we must learn to put off greed and put on contentment in its place. Paul the apostle puts it this way:

"But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness" (i Timothy 6:6-11).

So let's flee from the "love of money" and pursue the virtues mentioned by Paul. And as we do, let's purpose to be CONTENT! It is the BETTER way!

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj