So it’s been pointed out to me I haven’t written in my blog much lately. Well, no, I haven’t. It was a busy year end. I had some personal issues to tie up. The kids had lots of things to do. Time with my wife. Church stuff. And squeezing Aviation in there somewhere.
This year I’m going to try to take more time to write my thoughts down. More flying this year, more dates with my wife, more time with my kids, teaching my daughter how to drive. 
Wow, what a ride this year has been. I still can’t think of anyone I would rather ride the roller coaster with than my beautiful bride. We married 25 years ago, against some pretty amazing odds no less. We’ve had a lot of ups and downs in our marriage. Those who know this will find it surprising but we almost split up once. But God helped us heal ourselves and kept us together and here we are. The hills and valleys continue even this year but we’re stronger than ever.
Looking forward to the next 25!
Now I don’t want to brag but I think I have a pretty good marriage. But one thing I realized was that really, my marriage was on autopilot. Now, providentially it was moving in a good direction and there were no huge problems. Really though, I knew it could be better. What I realized, and this was back in January, was that I had stopped “dating” my wife. Also at that time I began to read about marriage after marriage that ended up in affairs or divorce, simply because the couple had stopped relating to one another. They had lost the connection. They “loved” each other but they weren’t “in love” with each other.
To that end I decided that even though we didn’t appear to be in any danger in the least, I was going to take steps to reconnect with my wife. As a start I decided begin dating her again. The approach I took was that I would plan the date, I would not ask her what she wanted to do, where she wanted to go. I was the man, I was pursuing her, I made the plans, I asked her out. Some dates were expensive, most were dirt cheap. Here are some of the dates we have been on:
The most productive dates with her have been just sitting and talking. One thing I learned in reconnecting with her is that many times she just needs me to listen and understand her. I don’t need to solve the problems she is encountering. She just needs me to hear her. My needs are more simplistic but believe me, with our connection getting stronger, those needs are being met many times over.
So guys, don’t forget to date your wives.
We just got back from Maui. I’ve never understood the big deal everyone makes about Hawaii but I have to admit, I really liked Maui. Unfortunately my daughter got sick while we were there, and she had a broken ankle before we left. Still we all tried to enjoy the island. My wife really liked it because the plants, the people, the houses, all reminded her of her homeland.
We’ll definitely be back.
I haven’t been able to update my blog lately because of my life lately. So, so busy. For instance, today started at 2am. Luckily I was able to work from home. 2 hours on the phone doing some maintenance work in Tacoma Washington. Then back to bed for a couple hours. Then off to work. As soon as I arrived… you guessed it, trouble in Tacoma. No one can print. Was it related to our maintenance work, you bet it was. One hour to diagnose and fix that problem. Before I even got done more calls started coming in. We’re having DNS issues. Two hours to track down and fix that problem. Then back to Tacoma, they would like a new wireless access point installed. 30 minutes for that. Some paperwork. Set up a virtual com port for our virtual VAX running on a virtual server. An hour for that. Two servers are way behind on security patches. One more hour for that. Throw in a lunch break and a few meetings and the day was done.
No it wasn’t, just before I leave there is trouble on a switch in Olympia Washington. It took 4 hours, working with local support up there to get yesterdays config loaded onto the switch.
Then the day was FINALLY over at 7:30pm.
Anyone see why I like to fly?
I’ve been grounded for almost a month trying to get over the Flu. My ears and lungs had finally cleared and I really needed to get some fresh air so I hoped in my flying golf cart and flew out to the links. Here is a video of the approach and landing at JB Golf (CN29).
Here’s another simple, practical tip on how you can show love to your fellow believers; do something for someone. Do you have a skill that would help someone? Do you have a truck that you can help transport items? Can you knit a hat?
Your Christian brothers and sisters have all kinds of needs and you are specifically gifted to fill one or more of those needs. Look around, talk to others, spend time together and find out what others need. When you become aware of a need, offer to help. The offer may be declined but be patient, polite, genuine, and persistent and soon you will be taken up on your offer.
Are you having trouble offering or even asking for help then you need to immerse yourself in God’s Word. God’s Word will give you the motivation you need. Think of what Christ did for you, is haling off a table in your truck any harder? Now get out there and do something!
"It is the word of God energized by the Spirit of God that brings about the change in our hearts we so desperately and continually need. The Christian must have the effectual working of the word in his heart if he is to minister to others." — Blog post from Christianity.com
I came across some photos of our timeshare dog, Rosie. I call her a timeshare dog because she goes back and forth between staying with us and a family from church. She mostly lives with them now but I can’t help but extol the virtues of this little dog.
Right out of the box she came with the ability to communicate with satellites.
She could speak sign language.
She stored easily and was VERY easy to transport.
Likes hanging with her homies in the hood.
Has her very own action figure.
Loves to read.
Can lay eggs.
EXCELLENT watch dog.
But mostly she is just always there to keep you company.
What a versatile dog!
Recently I became convicted that we as a church need to find new ways to show love to one another. To that end I will be emailing you with simple, practical tips on how you can show love to your fellow believers. Comforting one another is an amazing testimony for Christ. I recently ran across a passage in a book I was browsing online…
"Suffering can unite people in powerful ways because it reveals their common need for God. Divisions and conflicts often appear trivial in the face of suffering. Make room in your life for broken and grieving people."
Whether they are grieving over the loss of a spouse or loved one, dealing with children’s physical or behavioral challenges, or even just not feeling well, think and pray about what you can do to help. From providing meals or child care to simply listening to them share their struggles your willingness to come along side and share their suffering will point them to the source of true hope – Christ. Let your shared hope in Christ draw you closer together.
I flew to Farmington again today to play golf. This is the second time I’ve flown there in the past couple of weeks and both times it was cloudy and drizzly. That didn’t matter though. It is still fun to land on that grass, hop out, grab my clubs and play 9 holes. I’m the worst golfer ever but I do enjoy the walk.
Air Prayer 