Prayer for 2014

The new year brings new commitments and a fresh start on goals and desired outcomes I have for my personal life and for my family.  Towards the end of 2013, I reflected often on how I might be able recharge my daily devotional time and engage with God on a more consistent and deeper level.  Oftentimes my daily quiet time feels like I'm just going through the motions, or my mind is on the day ahead, or I'm more focused on hitting the gym or heading out for a run to start my day.  I'm thankful God has transformed my heart and given me a passion to meet with Him daily in the still of the early morning (long gone are the days when I dreaded setting my alarm, now I look forward to setting it for 4:30a!)  Being the structured person that I am, I found myself looking forward to beginning a new Bible reading plan for 2014.  Two years ago, I ran across this 2-year Bible reading plan which I blogged about on New Year's Eve 2011.

This year, I'm looking forward to reading "Through the Bible Through the Year" by John Stott which was recommended to me by my friend/pastor Robbyn Abedi.

It's not your typical Bible reading plan with daily selected passages, rather this book is outlined in 3 parts (of 4 months each, with daily readings centered around a weekly theme covering the whole biblical story):

• Part 1: Creation to Christ
• Part 2: Christmas to Pentecost
• Part 3: Pentecost to Parousia (yes, I had to look this word up; Parousia = Christ's Second Coming)

My prayer is that this resource will launch me into a new approach to reading the Bible this year and awaken my soul daily as I open God's Word with anticipation and expectation that He will meet me and I will feel His presence daily.

Another resource I'm looking forward to reading daily is the new First15 from Denison Forum on Truth and Culture.  I have been receiving Jim Denison's daily devotional emails for 10+ years and would highly recommend to anyone to subscribe.

Happy New Year!

Family Covenant

In September our family attended the Family Encounter Weekend at our church which featured speaker Ted Cunningham leading sessions on marriage and parenting while the children's ministry team and youth ministry had their own separate sessions focused on spiritual growth in the family.  In one of our sessions, Ted shared on the importance of having a family constitution.  This struck a nerve with me as it convicted me on something I've been wanting to create/follow through on ever since I was first introduced to the concept of developing a family mission statement and family covenant.

Webster's defines covenant as a "formal, solemn and binding agreement...a written agreement or promise between two or more parties...".  Throughout the Bible, we are reminded of God's covenants with Noah and mankind (the rainbow in Genesis 9); with Abram (righteousness through faith in Genesis 15); and with Moses (The Ten Commandments in Exodus 20).  Covenants and family are clearly important to God, so shouldn't a family covenant with a purposefully stated mission statement be regarded as an essential part of every family?

The first step in developing a covenant is to identify your core values -- what do we as a family really believe in and value as guiding truths in our family's behavior.  In refining our covenant, I narrowed our  values down to those which could be connected with key verses in scripture that have spoken to my heart.  Next step is to craft the mission and vision statement -- what is our family's purpose, and what do we want our family to become.  The mission statement is a description of our family's fundamental purpose and should answer the question: "why do we exist?"  The vision statement describes our family's preferred future and how we will accomplish the mission of our family.  A good vision statement capture's your family's passion; it casts a vision of the innermost hopes and dreams you have for your family.  And lastly, to tie it all together, I came up with a family theme verse from scripture which I felt best summarized our mission, vision and values.

Admittedly, creating our family covenant was something I continually put off doing.  Once I set aside the time to focus on doing it, I truly felt energized by the Spirit to not only complete it but also create a document that we would proudly share in a prominent place in our home (near the dinner table) to serve as a daily reminder of our commitment to God and to our family.

The Legend of Pappy Van Winkle Grows

I first heard about Pappy Van Winkle bourbon on a Bill Simmons podcast back in 2008 or '09.  He was talking sports with Wright Thompson (ESPN.com columnist), and on the subject of bourbon.  Wright mentioned that if he ever walks into a liquor store and there's Pappy on the shelf, he buys it all out.  It's that good and yet hard to find.  Over the past 5 years or so I've developed a greater appreciation for bourbon, so naturally I was interested in taking up this quest to find a bottle for myself.  I remember going to Stellar Cellar, our neighborhood liquor store, and being surprised to see 2 bottles of the Family Reserve 15 year, which along with the 20 year & 23 year, are considered to be the top-of-the line bourbon made by The Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery.

I remember seeing the price was $64 and I hesitated to buy it as the store also had some of the 10 year Pappy on the shelf which was priced more in line with some of the other higher-end bourbons.  But I remember Wright speaking specifically about the 15 year so I grabbed it off the shelf as it felt like I had found a prized possession.  After tasting it, I understood why it was in such demand.  I remember going back to Stellar Cellar a few weeks later in hopes of securing that second bottle but it was long gone, so I decided to take home a bottle of the 10 year to compare, but it just didn't stack up at all with the 15 year.  And that was the last time I would ever see any Pappy on the shelf of a liquor store.  The cult following that Pappy Van Winkle had attracted was now in full force, and this article published on Grantland in 2011 verified this truth Pappy Van Winkle: The best bourbon you will never find in time for Father's Day

Fast forward to 2012; I discovered Stellar Cellar maintained a waiting list for their once-a-year shipment of the limited supply of Pappy.  No one knows exactly when it arrives or how much is allocated, but I got on their list, and was fortunate to receive a call from the manager in late November informing me he had a bottle of the 20 year if I was still interested in purchasing it for $144.99.  Merry Christmas to me from Cindy it would be.

This year it seems Bourbon Mania! has really taken Pappy to a new level as evidenced by this Mar '13 article in the WSJ.  In anticipation of the annual shipment this November, I discovered that there's a now an app which tracks the Pappy shipments by state:  Pappy Tracker app
And then there's this - news broke last month that $25K Worth of Pappy Stolen from Distillery and the follow up story that HuffPost ran on police finding a "person of interest" in the theft.

Having heard 2013 shipments to TN have already occurred, I stopped in Stellar Cellar this week only to discover that their limited supply has already been divvied out to those at the top of the waiting list - I'm outta luck this year.  Fortunately, I have yet to open the bottle pictured above from last year so I'll anticipate the next special occasion in the coming year to crack it open.  In the meantime, I'll continue to enjoy my growing collection of fine bourbons.  Some of my favorites include: Eagle Rare, Booker's, Prichard's, Blanton's, Bulleit, Knob Creek, and Maker's Mark.  Recently a twitter follower suggested Hudson Baby (the only bourbon made in NY), which has been a tough find, but now has been added to my collection after a visit to Buster's.  For a change a pace, I also enjoy Fireball Whiskey, Firefly Sweet Tea Bourbon, and Whisper Creek Tennessee Sipping Cream if I'm in the mood for a desert drink.  Which other bourbons need to be added to my collection?

Astrodome Memories

This morning I was disappointed to hear the effort to #SaveTheDome had failed in the election held yesterday in Houston.  On twitter, the hashtag #AstrodomeMemories already had a good collection of twets, so I started feeling nostalgic and tweeted out my top 3 memories.  On the drive into work, I couldn't stop thinking of other memories I had from attending events in this iconic Houston landmark.  I'll never forget these top 3 memories of mine from Astrodome history, as well as some other memorable events that I attended in the 20 years I lived in Houston.



1)  Oilers Pep Rally 1/6/80 - After the Oilers loss to the Steelers in the AFC Championship (for 2nd year in a row), one of the radio stations planned an impromptu pep rally to welcome the team back home in the Dome.  I was almost 12 years old and I can't believe my mom decided to take me and Barclay to this event.  I remember being out really late on a school night (I believe it was after 10p before the team actually arrived).  We found seats in the upper level and I remember thinking I had never seen the Dome so packed - truly a Standing Room Only event as I remember seeing people standing all throughout the concourses, and apparently there were thousands of late-comers outside of the Dome who were not allowed in.  We waited and waited, and then finally the team buses came streaming in.  Several of the players addressed the crowd to cheers, and then the unforgettable pledge from Bum Phillips, "Last year we knocked on the door, this year we beat on it, next year we're going to kick the SOB in!"  The following year was a disappointment and shockingly Bum was fired.  Just a few weeks ago Bum Phillips passed away, and I still got chills watching this YouTube video: Oilers pep rally with Bum's speech

2) Stratford wins State 12/23/78 - Led by RB Craig James, Stratford High School wrapped up an undefeated season by beating Plano for the State 4A Championship (there was no 5A at the time).  I remember several of their playoff games that year were held at the Dome and these were so much fun going to because it felt like we had the place all to ourselves since it was mainly fans from just the 2 schools in a 50,000+ seat stadium.  What was memorable about this game is that our family was driving up to Dallas on the day of the game to spend Christmas with the grandparents.  But we saw car after car driving south on I-45 with Plano flags that finally about half-way there, probably around Huntsville, my dad had seen enough and he turned the car around and we headed to the game!  And it was a great decision as we were able to attend this great game.

3) Astros-Phillies NLCS Game 5 10/12/80 - This was the first year the Astros ever made the playoffs, and my dad had secured some company tickets in the grey SkyBox section at the top of the Dome for this game that would decide who went to the World Series.  Things were looking great -- 'Stros up 5-2 in the 8th inning with Nolan Ryan on the mound and 5 outs to go, then it all turned bad.  Phillies put up 5 in the inning to take 7-5 lead; however, Astros countered with 2 in the bottom frame to tie it, but ultimately lost in 10 innings.

The Astrodome holds many other great memories for me.  I figured I probably went to at least 130 Astros games over the years I lived in Houston, most occurring during the 10 year span of 1976-1986 when I was between 8 and 18 years old.  I saw Ken Forsch pitch a no-hitter in '79, Nolan Ryan's 4000th strikeout in '85, the MLB All-Star game in '86, and my last game was during their final season in the Dome on 4/17/99.

The Oilers would be next on the list for number of games attended.  I remember going to games and seeing Earl Campbell run over poor defenders.  I remember going to games during the Luv Ya Blue era with columbia blue pom poms and Krazy George beating his drum as the fans sung "Houston Oilers #1".  I remember buying season tickets (first time I ever had season tickets) for the 1993 season on the mezzanine level; in December of that year, I moved to Memphis and I remember watching the final home game of the regular season on 1/2/94 all alone in my apartment in Memphis thinking why did I leave Houston as the Oilers were headed to the playoffs.  The following year the Oilers imploded, fired Jack Pardee on the way to a 2-14 season, and the last Oiler game I ever attended was the final game of the season with my parents on Christmas Eve as Jeff Fisher picked up his first win as head coach in beating the NY Jets.  A year later news broke about the Oilers possible move to Nashville, which was made official before the '96 season.  The following year, '97, they made their move to TN and played their home games at The Liberty Bowl in Memphis and I was there for all of the games of course.

I remember going to a number of University of Houston football games, and cheering on the Longhorns when they were the opponent, and also going to the Blue Bonnet Bowl in '87 watching Texas beat Pitt; ironically this was the last Blue Bonnet Bowl game held.  I remember going to see the Houston Gamblers, led by Jim Kelly and the run-and-shoot high flying offense of the USFL in '84 and '85.  I remember going to the 1989 NBA All-Star game in the Dome.   

And it wasn't just all sports at the Dome.  I remember as a child always wanting to go to the annual Thrill Show and Destruction Derby.  It was always around my birthday in January and unfortunately my dad always had a major trade show to attend at this time so my mom would reluctantly take me on occasion. (She said it was always too loud and smoky in there for her!)  When I was finally old enough to drive myself, I remember going with my friends and realizing it wasn't all that entertaining and understood why my mom didn't enjoy going.  Also, the year that we went was tragic as the daredevil that dropped from the top of the Dome into a bucket of water was unsuccessful in his attempt and later died at the hospital.  I don't remember the Dome ever hosting another one of these events.  There were concerts too...the Texas Jamm in '84 headlined by Rush, Ozzy, 38 Special.  And I remember going to see The Jacksons on the Victory Tour in '84 with my mom.  There was Metallica-Guns 'n Roses double-bill in '92, and the Genesis concert in '92.

One more Astrodome memory was captured on film, who can forget watching the scenes filmed inside the Dome in the "Bad News Bears in Breaking Training".  One of my favorite movies from my youth and a few years ago I had to purchase the DVD.

Last weekend there was an "Astrodome Yard Sale" which attracted close to 10,000 people, all seeking out memorabilia including sections of astroturf and a limited number of pairs of seats from the rainbow section.  I understand that there may be an additional online auction held in the near future to sell the remaining items.  I hope this comes together because I would love to have a souvenir from this historic place in Houston's history.

Farewell Astrodome!

Here's a video of the famous scoreboard:
Astrodome scoreboard goes dark in 1988 to make room for seats

Disney highlights

We had a great family vacation at Disney World over fall break...6 days/nights was just about right in order to hit all of the attractions, but of course we could have used an extra day of relaxation at the Saratoga Springs resort!  The weather was perfect, but the secret is out on fall break being the best time to go there as the crowds were more than we expected.  I was so glad my parents wanted to join us for most of the trip and that they were able to share in the excitement of Disney with their granddaughters! 

I asked the girls to share their top 3 favorite memories from their first experience at Disney.  Taylor liked the rock 'n roller coaster (starring Aerosmith) and the American Idol experience at Hollywood Studios, and she enjoyed both the Princesses and Lilo & Stitch character meals and getting many pictures/autographs from her other favorite Disney characters (21 total) throughout the parks we visited.  Nicole also really liked meeting the characters as well as Mickey's PhilharMagic 3-D show and a number of the various rides at Magic Kingdom (Dumbo, Aladdin's magic carpets, mad tea party, astro orbiter to name a few).  Cindy enjoyed seeing the excitement on the girls' faces when meeting the characters, and she loved the Fantasmic show at Hollywood Studios.  And as for me, Animal Kingdom was my favorite park as I enjoyed the 2 shows there - the Festival of the Lion King and Finding Nemo musical; and loved the Expedition Everest roller coaster and the Kilmanjaro Safari rides there.  Also, Space Mountain is still the most thrilling ride at Disney World, and Tower of Terror and Splash Mountain were my other favorite rides.  Disney World is quite the adventure and one that everyone should experience at least once in their lifetime.  The way in which it continues to grow, I'm sure we'll be making a return visit someday!

Bound for the most magical place on earth

Our much anticipated trip to Disney World begins today and it couldn't have come at a better time with the sad week we had in losing Sunshine last week.  Taylor and Nicole are most looking forward to their first visit to the Magic Kingdom.  At ages 10 and 8, we believe they are at a great age to remember the experience.  I went to Disney World for the first time in 1976 when I was 8 years old, and my first visit to Disney Land was in 1979 (age 11).  My second trip to Disney World was in March 1995 when I met my parents there for a long weekend trip.  Not sure the occasion other than my parents were likely scouting the place for a future trip with their granddaughter Emily.  I remember spending most of our time at Epcot; a day at MGM Studios (Animal Kingdom wasn't open yet), and 1/2 a day at the Magic Kingdom.

My last trip to Disney World was 15 years ago in 1998 when Cindy and I joined my parents along with Vicki, Paul and Emily.  Emily was 5, and Cindy and I were still newlyweds.  Vicki posted this picture on my facebook page the other day wishing us a very merry trip.  I remember all these trips well and I'm looking forward to making some new memories with my girls and my parents who are meeting us there today.

Goodbye Sunshine

The moment I have long dreaded has come today.  Sunshine, our dog of 15 years, is being put to rest today.  The past several months have been difficult seeing her struggle with the onset of dementia and her loss of interest in being the highly sociable pet that we fondly remember.  Last Monday I believe God opened my eyes to this realization and He began preparing me to let her go.  After Cindy and I came to an agreement that “it was time”, it became more and more evident that our decision and the timing was right.  We shared this with the girls last night and we all shed tears, and hugged on her knowing that this was for the best for her.  We prayed and asked God to be on the lookout for her tomorrow.

In the summer 1998, during our first year of our marriage, we became proud “parents” of Sunshine.  Cindy didn’t have a dog growing up but fortunately for me it wasn’t a hard sell when I told her that I wanted us to get a dog.  When I was growing up we had 3 dogs (not all at the same time), and my favorite was our cocker spaniel named Sunshine.  So without hesitation I began searching the paper for cocker puppies and this led us to a breeder in Brighton, TN.  We chose the cutest puppy with reddish-blonde fur and named her Sunshine.  For the first 5 years of our marriage (until Taylor and Nicole came along), Sunshine received all of our attention; after the girls arrived, she accepted her place in the family as no longer the center of our attention.  We struggled with the news that Taylor had pet allergies but we managed this condition the best we could without seriously considering getting rid of Sunshine.   As she got older, Sunshine battled numerous ear infections, which ultimately led to the removal of her left ear canal in ’08.  Of course she had to wear the “cone of shame” during her recovery, but ultimately this surgery, and a change in her food diet, resulted in minimal future skin and ear infections for her.

They say a dog is man’s best friend.  I believe this to be true because of their genuine loyalty and how they teach us about unconditional love.  When I think of Sunshine, I’m going to remember all the years of enjoyment we shared with her.  We’ll miss you girl…