You Never Really Know

You ever have one of those experiences where your life flashes before your eyes? This was one for me a couple of weeks ago. The below article is from the January 17 Beacon Journal:

Norton man killed in crash in Wayne
CHIPPEWA TWP.
CHIPPEWA TWP. - A Norton man was killed Tuesday morning in a two-car crash on state Route 585 just north of state Route 94 in Wayne County's Chippewa Township.
Dead is Robert Johnsen, 54, the Wayne County post of the State Highway Patrol said.
The patrol said the accident occurred at 6:51 a.m., when William Baechle, 39, of Dalton, who was northbound on Route 585, lost control of his car while crossing a bridge.
Baechle's car slid left of center and struck head-on the southbound vehicle driven by Johnsen, the patrol said.
Johnsen was pronounced dead at the scene by the Wayne County coroner, and Baechle was taken to Akron General Medical Center.

The significance, you ask? Well, route 585 is the road I drive to work at Smucker's. And I normally am driving through the spot where the accident occurred at right around 6:50. It just so happened I was a bit late that morning. But I was struck by the fact that this could have been me! I was just like this Robert Johnsen, driving along minding his own business when BAM, it's over.

Life is very fragile, I'd better be sure I'm enjoying and making the most of it.

"Life Means So Much"

Chris Rice

Every day is like a bank account,

and time is the currency.

So, no one's rich and nobody's poor

We all get 24 hours each.

So how are goin' to spend,

Will you invest or squander?

Keep on tryin' to get ahead,

Or help some one who's under?

Teach us to count the days,

Teach us make the days count.

Lead us in a better way.

Somehow our soul's forgot,

Life means so much.

Life means so much.

The Sun Did Come Up ... Somehow

Man alive, the Buckeyes got smoked on Monday! I still can't believe it. I'm afraid it will be awhile before they get to the National Championship again. But, as this post's title says, life does go on. I guess if they had to play such a bad game, I'm really glad they didn't do it against you know who.

I think you can learn a lot about life from sports. Somehow I think the OSU players got a little full of themselves after they beat Michigan, and they badly underestimated their next opponent. I know I'm prone to do the same in my walk with God. I can get happy with myself, especially if I've been victorious over a temptation or done something well in ministry. But as soon as I lose sight of God, I'm in trouble. Romans 12:3 -- "Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment."

My wife has her tonsilectomy this Friday. Praying that it goes well, and is successful in ridding her once and for all of the dreaded strep throat.

We went bowling with the Nye's (friends from Katie's school) last night. It was fun, but we might as well have been at an Eminem concert. Loud rap music, lights, smoke (I guess since people can't smoke anymore since they passed that law, they pipe it in through the air ducts) -- I could barely roll the ball straight. It was fun though, many laughs were had.

That's all for now. Happy '07!

Now Bring us Some Figgy Pudding!

Yes, it's Christmas, and as you can tell, the songs of the season are on my brain ... and bring some right here! We won't go until we get some, we won't go until we get some ..." Come to think of it, I don't want anyone to bring me figgy pudding, at Christmas or any other time of the year. It sounds pretty nasty!

I hope all you readers (2, 3? :)) have a wonderful Christmas, and can personally celebrate the truth of Christ's coming. Unfortunately, not everyone (probably the majority of the people around us) can. Just last week there was a "20/20" special on "The Mystery of Christmas". It was your typical secular documentary on Christianity, trying to debunk the key beliefs of Christianity -- the virgin birth, the deity of Christ, the accuracy of the Biblical account of Christ's birth, etc.. It was frustrating to watch. I kept yelling at the TV, but I don't think they heard me. I wondered, why don't they ever have a documentary on "The Mystery of Mohammed", or the "Really Weird Visions of Joseph Smith", and put other religions under the microscope of presumption and doubt? I think I know why -- because it's the truth in the Bible that threatens the strongholds of Satan. Satan doesn't want the lies of other religions to be attacked, but rather believed! Aside from my frustration, this show also strengthened my resolve to know Christ more than ever, to live a life that pleases Him and spread the truth.

I am truly thankful at Christmas for the gifts in my life -- most of all, a relationship of love and acceptance with Christ, something I do not at all deserve. I am also thankful for my dear wife, my cute kids, and the priviledge of serving Christ with the youth group and in other areas.

Thanks for reading! So, I leave you with the ending of "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire" --

And though it's been said

Many times, many ways

Merry Christmas

To you.

Is Anybody There?

If you're still looking at my blog, you are one persistent little critter! Updates come on this blog like a rain shower in the Sahara -- VERY rarely. But thanks if you do, otherwise this typing would be all in vain.

Things have been going pretty well. You probably read on Kristen's blog about our anniversary trip to Tennessee. Great, great time. What a blessing to be married to such a wonderful (and real purdy, as they might say in Tennessee) woman. Proverbs 18:22 -- "He who finds a wife finds what is good." 10 years ... man. Then home from the mountains for Thanksgiving and a nice long weekend back with the kids. So that was your basic amazing week.

And this trip was of course preceeded by the classic triumph of the Buckeyes over Michagan (Bobby's spelling :). Awesome game, and a great time with the YG. Audrey gave us all a good reality check at halftime -- good stuff on our desire to share the Gospel. Buckeye fans -- enjoy these games -- there may not be another team like this one for decades. I've watched Buckeyes football for 25+ years, and haven't seen anything even remotely like Troy Smith. Probably won't again!

Now it's on to Christmas. I think my heart longs to know and grow in Christ, but the world around me seems to pull on me, just like gravity. Pulling me down to less important and wonderful things (dare I say it, things like the aforementioned Buckeyes!) than knowing God and serving Him. As a leader, I am struck and humbled by how many times I need to teach myself the same lessons that I am preparing to teach. I know I am not worthy of doing anything for God unless He enables me. I knew that the change in jobs would require me to make some changes in how I manage my time if I was going to honor my priorities (Christ, Kristen and the kids). But I find myself too often living under the deception that I can get away with the same routines. Zig Ziglar says that the truest definition of insanity is to keep living the same way and yet believe that things will change. If Zig's right, then count me insane, and in need of God's spurring onto a life lived with consistent purpose.

Well that's enough for now. I'll try to post again in '06.

The Usual

Hello all. Just a quick update --

Smuckers is going well. It's definitely weird being in the position of learning new things. There are plenty of challenges at Smuckers to keep me running. Everyone is pretty nice, especially my boss. I am all but sure that he is saved -- I need to ask him. It's been tough adjusting to the longer drive and work schedule, but I think we're getting there. My wonderful wife has been very accomodating and helpful in this transition.

Salt Fork camping was great a couple weeks ago, except for the scads of yellow jackets flying around. They even stung little Karlee on the face! I think the highlight was going horseback riding as a family. Katie loved it -- she would have rode that horse all the way back to Akron if they'd let her. There was this meadow we rode through that was full of wild flowers and butterflies. It was beautiful -- like we were the Ignalls family (Little House on the P) riding to our cabin. There were seriously hundreds of butterflies all around.

I'm looking forward to going to the men's retreat at CP. I'm hoping and praying my brother (not sure of salvation, definitely not walking with Christ) comes too, but I haven't heard back from him. Kristen has been gracious enough to let me go -- thank you dear! You are the bestest!!

Will post #12 in the near future!

#10 -- Encourging Words

Yep, it's my 10th post. I know this is big news but don't get too excited.

I wanted to share an e-mail I received from a co-worker at Roadway (my former job as of this Friday) last Thursday. This was a big encouragement to me:

Clint, I may not be able to make your "Good Luck Lunch" today. But I wanted you to know I really enjoyed working with you over the years. The thing that I will remember the most about you is your "Christian glow". Back in 1996 when I first met you I didn't understand the "Christian glow", I was just one of those people that went to church. But now that I've had a chance to grow, I sure have a great respect for how your little light shines. I hope you understand what I'm saying.

This is what I wrote back:

Thank you for the kind words, Dametra. I'm glad you think my light shines, I hope others saw it too. If there's anything good in me, it comes from a personal relationship with Christ. He's the Way!

That e-mail meant a lot to me. One thing I regret about leaving my current job is that I feel I wasn't the strongest witness for Christ there. But I guess God was work in spite of my timidity. Praise God!

It's sort of fitting that I start "jammin" at Smuckers right after Labor Day, when school should start. In a sense, it'll be back to school for me, having to learn all kinds of new stuff. I'm just glad I won't need a hall pass to use the bathroom.

Take care you all! Thanks for reading.

With a Name Like Smuckers ...

it has to be good. Yes, it's official, I am leaving my current job at Yellow-Roadway (the big trucks on the highway) to work at Smuckers. It has been an exciting and trying couple of months seeing this all play out. It was a very difficult decision, because I've been at Y-R for over 10 years and had the chance to do some pretty neat things there.

I definitely prayed about it a lot, and I'm confident that I have made the right choice. I'll be learning a completely different computer system and programming language, so I'll need to be on my toes.

It's been a busy and fun summer so far. Hard to believe there's only about two weeks of it left! I'm anxious to get the missions week started. I feel like I haven't given it the attention it deserves in planning, but I am still hopeful that it will be an awesome week.

I will try to send my next update BEFORE October!! Thanks for reading.