Howdy,

Lot of quotation here today, but I’ve been reading Dave Ramsey and his daughter Rachel Cruze’s book, Smart Money Smart Kids, which is good, so I thought I’d pull some excerpts on giving.

And, no need for a disclaimer on this because I’m not a pastor of a local church; your giving doesn’t pay my salary. (Maybe someday your reading will, but I’m still working on that.) Nevertheless I wouldn’t mind seeing your generosity and blessed openhandedness being used in the world for the Lord’s work.

Without the full context of reading chapters or even the whole book, I’ll do my best to cobble a few quotes for some flow of thought. At the very least there will be some ideas if you have kids or grandkids. Dave and Rachel take on topics with a back and forth voice in their shared book, so I’ll give you a hint on who’s dropping the gold.

Dave: “If you want children who are less selfish; if you want children who view wealth as a responsibility, not a meal ticket; if you want children who look at the future as a bright place; if you want children who function with a spirit of abundance rather than a spirit of lack, then you must teach them that they don’t own money — they are simply managers, or stewards of it” (82).

Rachel: “That doesn’t mean I never struggle with a selfish thought — I’m a fun-loving natural spender, remember? It just means that even when I get distracted by selfish things, I can always go back to the starting point for my family: giving. Unfortunately, it’s a counterculture message that many young people just don’t get. … sometimes called ‘Generation Me.’ … Having a selfish mentality is a big obstacle for a lot of people. It’s definitely something your kids either already struggle with or will face one day. That’s because they are growing up in a culture that is obsessed with me, me, me. … I’m not saying that every young person in America is selfish and greedy, but let’s face it: The act of giving isn’t always the first thing they think about. But when your kids grow up in a house where giving is a priority, they start to see themselves differently because they see other people differently. Other people become significant, and doing things for others becomes a priority. The antidote for selfishness isn’t a theory; it’s an action, and that action is giving” (84). Continue reading

Howdy,

Continuing to edit (and add to, write inside) the Jake Jones story. From chapter seven, here’s what’s “new” with the novella:

Continue reading

Howdy,

We are winners.

My youngest brother, David, and I beat my taller brothers, Christopher and Casey, in a Best of Seven Spike Ball on the beach face off. A Championship.

Second annual.

Winners. Champions.

To tell you the truth, I actually don’t remember who won the Spike Ball ‘Chip last year, but they said that David and I won the tallied series in our first year, and I’d tend to believe them on that.

This time around, capturing the title was a battle of epic proportions, a struggle of wills layering in tension for a real nail biter, both teams turning in a gritty performance–literally, as it played out on the sand and ocean waves washing into our court–but David and I “never gave up hope” and will be looking for a three-peat next year, as we sincerely hope and truly intend to make the brothers trip and time together an annual thing extending far into the future.

It’s a winning weekend.

—Billy

Razzing. Winning. Spiking.

Howdy,

Continuing to edit (and add to, write inside) the Jake Jones story. From chapter six, here’s what’s “new” with the novella:

Continue reading

Howdy,

Don’t forget the … !

Don’t forget the … tickets! Tickets to the big game. Tickets to the special concert. Tickets onto the plane.

Don’t forget the … keys! Keys to that second vehicle, the one you’re driving tag team with someone else who’s relying on you to go pick up. Keys to the vacation cabin in the woods at the end of a snaking mountain road. Keys to the boat been launched but bobbing at the dock, waiting for its owner to check his pockets a fourth time. Pat. Pat. Pat. They’ve got to be here.

(Don’t forget the plug to keep that bobbing boat afloat.)

Don’t forget the … gas nozzle in the SUV tank. The warm Pepsi can in your friend’s freezer. The finished wash in the washing machine. The ice cream in the grocery bag. The dirty diaper in the car baking in the summer sun. The coffee maker’s auto-brew. The buttons on your fly.

Have you done that, any of those things? What a terrible feeling or nasty mess. I get nervous and sweaty palms just thinking it could happen …

Don’t forget the …

Uh, let’s be more positive. Remember the …

The … nucleus.

—Billy

Remembering. Writing. Living. 

Howdy,

Yesterday—beside wishing a happy Memorial Day and issuing a well-deserved ‘Thank You’—I told you I’d recount how my family and I boldly (a titch of crazy) visited beautiful and super-season, tourist-packed Yosemite National Park on the Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend. Today is the day.

As was Saturday.

Saturday was the day to go.

I never thought I’d write that: that the Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend would be the day to go for a leisurely and mesmerizing tour of world-renowned Yosemite—with three kids: one being a kamikaze three-year-old and another a touch shy of turning one, not to mention the Wild Kratt six-year-old (the “Green Guy,” as opposed to Kamikaze being the “Blue Guy,” and if you don’t know what I’m talking about you can either check out Wild Kratts or a few of the recent family photos from this stage, in which Jasper and Titus spend most of their time chasing creatures and their powers as Martin and Chris Kratt—a crazy part to all this is that I remember watching the Kratt brothers with my younger brothers when I was in school, and the guys (green and blue) have as much energy and enthusiasm now as I remember they ever had: good for them).

Anyway, Yosemite (a great place for critters, by the way—and later, Sunday, we saw a mountain lion a few miles from camp as we were driving home at dusk, as it crossed the road in front of us, slinking, bounding, in total control, the way cat’s can be …), on Memorial Day. On Memorial Day?

Why’d we do it. How’d we do it? Would we do it again?
Continue reading

Howdy,

Happy Memorial Day, and thank you to all those who have served and sacrificed.

Tomorrow I’ll tell you about how we were bold (crazy) enough to visit beautiful and tourist-packed Yosemite National Park on the Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend …

—Billy

Reading. Writing. Living.

Howdy,

I love honey.

So do my boys.

Well, two out of three. So far.

Because Riah isn’t one year old yet, and honey’s one of just a few (chewably-appropriate) foods that are on the list of don’t feed to infant until he or she is at least one year of age: along with popcorn and cow’s milk.

But I suspect our little Surf guy will also be one for honey, because Riah is already showing quite the interest and delight in “the flavors.”

And because honey is fantastically and delightfully delicious.

It’s even advised as a reward and treat and warned as a stomach-turning and serious caution, and I thought since it’s a Sunday morning I’d offer just a few Scriptures from Proverbs about tasty, but sticky, honey.

Proverbs 16:24 — “Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.”

Right?

24:13 — “My son, eat honey, for it is good, and the drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste.”

Don’t think my sons will have any difficulty taking this verse to heart or being obedient to its instruction.

Continue reading

Howdy,

Continuing to edit (and add to, write inside) the Jake Jones story. From chapter five, here’s what’s “new” with the novella:

Continue reading

Howdy,

Yesterday, Thursday, May 25, 2017, Jasper wrapped his first official school year, finishing his last day of kindergarten …

He really did have a great year. As a parent, it’s crazy to see his growth.

Physically: at the end of a school’s year, kids that go in as kindergartners, seventh graders, freshmen, seniors, or whatever level in-between are different than the children that begin in the fall—taller, faces more mature, generally changed from the young ones starting the new season.

Mentally: Jasper willingly took on the challenge of undergoing his education in a foreign language—dual immersion Spanish-English, with 90% instruction in kindergarten year being en Español—and his progress in a second language is beginning to show itself to be quite astounding. We are both very pleased and generally amazed.

Twice in the last week we’ve had Spanish-speaking mothers of children about Jasper’s age relay to us that his Spanish is very good—his ability to carry a conversation with them as an adult and with their children, his accent sounding natural, and his vocabulary being good or at least level appropriate. Like I said, it’s amazing to use, and we are pleased for him. The latest person to tell us this was yesterday when a mom of one of Jasper’s classmate told us she was impressed. (Translation: that little white boy in class is getting it!) She said she’d noticed how he was working well within the language when helping in the class and in speaking with him.

Continue reading