Sights, Sounds and Smells?.....

Happy Monday everyone...hope you all have a great week!

A few months ago Isaac began having stuffy noses.  Our pediatrician suggested we get a humidifier for the room where he sleeps.  So since he sleeps in our room, it is in there.  When we first started using it we would run it on low and it did not seem to be working well.  So the doc told us to run it on high.  On high, this machine is kinda loud.  Now sounds do not bother me, little keeps me from sleep...except when I cannot shut off my mind.

When I would wake up in the morning I would hear the sound of that machine and it would trigger a memory in my mind....yet the memory never fully surfaced.  Until one day the light went on...it reminded me of a particular time in my youth.  Many of you know that I was in band in high school and we traveled a good bit.  Always staying in motels, they would put four of us in a room.  As young men would do we would rough house (yes I borrowed that phrase from my parent's generation) and the room would soon be too hot.  So we would crank the air conditioner all the way up, and it was loud.

My mind connected the sound I now hear each night with that one from my childhood and brought up a really nice memory of good times.  I am constantly amazed at the power of the mind.  We have truly been created in an unbelievable way.  The connections that are made to memories in the mind sometimes baffle me.  Sounds are a big one, the slap of a baseball hitting a glove, the bang the screen door would make at grandpa's house or well you fill in the blank.

Our minds seem to be constantly making new connections.  The smell of grass that is freshly cut, the first note of particular song or the sign on a building you drive by regularly.  All these things go into the story of your life.  Some of the memories that are drug up can be painful and perhaps we would rather forget them.  The only thing we can hope for is that we keep making new memories and as the painful ones fade the new ones overshadow them with joy and happiness.

Whatever happens they all go into making you who you are today.  Be thankful, keep living and always be loving!

GOD LOVES YOU!

A Reminder

Not too long ago a friend reminded me that I had not updated my blog in a while.  Yikes was he right.  Perhaps a better place to catch my thoughts and random ruminations is by following me on Twitter...@joshuawhitson.  No promises about the depth or wit...it's just me.

Another reminder of how harsh reality can be sometimes came to me this past week.  I was reminded of how selfish and inward focused most people are, it seems to be one of the uglier sides of ministry and church leadership that all we ever hear about is complaints.  It makes me wonder whether we are missing the point of the Gospel and Jesus' very life.

It would be absurd to consider that it is just in this realm, because it is not.  The world is filled, to capacity at times, with people who are only interested in making themselves happy, often at the price of others happiness.  They use people and dispose of them like they are meaningless.  The shame of it all is that relationship and community is the one thing all people seek, but we are too often willing to walk from one relationship to the next, because the grass always seems greener over there.  The problem is though, when you get to the grass you think is greener...you are there.  And you were part of the original problem....

It is safe to say that I have been burned more than once in this arena.  I think I am a people person, I like to please and maintain good relationships, often to a fault.  I tend at times to over invest in people, even when it seems to keep blowing up in my face.  I have yet to learn the task of not taking it too personally, but what is the alternative....do I withdraw and treat people coldly and with contempt?  Do I become cynical and bitter?  I cannot choose those options, so I will stay the course and love and care for people the way I want them to love and care for me, and let whatever happens...happen.

GOD LOVES YOU!

Most Important Day of My Life?

So I'm sitting here and my wife is watching American Idol that she has DVR'd. I am working on my lesson for Sunday, and at times my mind wanders to what is happening in the TV. It is amazing just how many people sink all their hopes and dreams into this one event. One lady said this may be the most important day of my life.

I had to pause and consider that for a moment. How many of us are pinning all our hopes and dreams on that one and important day, the most important day of our lives. Here is the reality, today is the most important day of your life. Today is the only day we are promised. Today is the day to make the most important, to make the best. It is not graduation day, the day you turn 16, 18 or 21, it is not your wedding day or the day your children are born, the most important day is today.

So go...do good, love with reckless abandon, and be faithful to what God has created you for!


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My Next Thirty Years....

Seems like there is a country song that starts like that. About two weeks ago I turned 36. I can safely say that 40 no longer looks as old as it used to...I would say that this depresses me but it does not. I have seen a lot of things and done even more in my first 36 years, I wonder what the next 30 or so will hold. I am immensely blessed and cannot imagine life any differently. Every time I think about how green the grass looks on the other side of the fence I am reminded that this is the side that God intends for me to be on.

Some times I wish I knew the future, how certain things will work out but perhaps it is best that I do not. Here are some things I hope for in my next 30...I hope I am a good dad to Isaac. I hope I am a better husband to Olsa. I hope I can be faithful to the calling God has placed in my life. I hope I am honorable and treat everyone with the respect they deserve and need. I hope more than anything though that the love of God that lives in me never departs and is always available when the world needs to see it the most.

May your day be blessed!


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Happy Birthday my son...

I think it may be an extreme understatement to say that life is going to change today. For many years my wife and I have been anticipating a child. God has now blessed us now with a son. Today we will make the trek to the hospital and Isaac will be delivered via c section. We covet your prayers that everything goes well. This week has been a blur for me, so much I needed to accomplish, yet my mind was not quite on anything.

Stress has also become a more prevalent feature this week. I have not always dealt with it well, but am doing my best. I am humbled by the notion that in just a few hours I will be holding my baby boy. I will be holding a blank slate. A life that God has given to Olsa and I to mold and make. To love and care for, to prepare for life. Now that is scary!

I fully aware of the many people in our life that will love him too. People that will walk with us along this path and support us in the process. I know this will be an adventure, and I can't wait to get started. If you follow me on twitter (@joshuawhitson) check regularly for updates starting around noon, and I will also post to Facebook with pics and messages. Again pray for us.

At this moment more than any, the words of Robert (one of our leaders at CP) come to mind. "When a baby is born, it is a sign that God has not given up on us yet." Today this will happen many times here in Nashville, and so God is continually renewing his creation. But this one is a little more special...at least to me!


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What now....

Well another baseball season has come and gone. September will go down as the worst in Red Sox history. When people think of great gaffes, no longer will they think of Buckner and him letting the ball roll through his legs at first base. Instead they will talk about the great collapse of September 2011. Where the Red Sox blew a 10 game lead in the wild card standings and missed the playoffs.

More than once today someone has said to me....there is always next year. Which is true, the sun still came up this morning even after watching that train wreck last night. And yes there is always next year, and if Epstein wants my input I have a few suggestions as to how to put a better product on the field next year. Task number 1 (in case he reads my blog) is pitching, Papelbon needs to go. We also need one or two more starters and some better mid-relief. Even though Aceves did a good job, he cannot do it all.

This morning though was a test of who are true followers and who are merely fans. Today as I picked out what I was going to wear I made a choice to wear my Red Sox t-shirt and I also donned my Red Sox visor. Because if you support a team, you support them when they are winning and even more so when they are losing. I have already received some flack for the loss (from my family mostly) but a blown chance at the post season won't drive me away.

So now what...I am thankful for football season. I have lots to watch and 3 fantasy football teams to keep up with. The real issue will be what to do once football season is over....but it won't be long and the pitchers and catchers will be reporting again. As the playoffs move forward I guess I will support Rangers, hoping they beat both the Yankees and Rays.


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Two Years

Facebook randomly picks old status posts to show you. Right now it is trending 2009 on my profile. My status on this day two years ago was...Well, the brace is off, and I sure am a lot weaker than I remember. 12 weeks in a back brace may have allowed my back to heal and strengthen, but the rest of the muscles in my torso went to mush....I am relieved to have it off though.

The picture here is of me in that brace at Stallworth Rehab Hospital. In reality 2 years is not a long time, but it feels like a lifetime since that long summer. Days like today, with these reminders, I am extremely thankful for many things. I am thankful for my health. I still have many aches and pains, especially when the weather changes but overall I am in good shape. I still remember many of those people who I rehabbed beside that were not going to get much better. Puts things in perspective.

I am thankful for my friends and family that walked along side Olsa and I as I healed. Those who made things, wrote things, and were just present, all of this I am thankful for today. I am most thankful for my wife and her help and constant care during that time. Why things happen will or may always be a mystery. And I guess I could certainly question why that tree fell at that moment and changed four lives forever, but I know the end result. The end result is that in the midst of the bad things in life God was and is glorified.