Tim here:

Did you know that there is a huge discrepancy between the new ways and the old ones? Well, not just one but many. One is this whole concept of being authentic.

What does that word mean anyway? I didn’t know I could be otherwise. I thought that, by default, I’m the real me. Even when I’m not. Right? Like even when I’m pretending to be normal, that’s the real authentic me, faking like I’m better than I really am. See, so even when I’m faking, I’m being real.

Now you understand.

But maybe that’s the whole point of the new authentic. Maybe somehow, somewhere, people got sick of trying to look normal. Maybe the crazy idea that everyone is different and that there is no one-size-fits-all “right” way to live is starting to gain some traction.

Hmmm. I’m not sure what I think about that. Social “norms” have some safety built-in. You know what people will think is okay, and what they think isn’t okay. So if you don’t want to upset anyone, you know how to behave. Without the ideal, what do you do? Be totally, like, authentic?

That sounds risky.

But it sounds nice too. What do you think? Do you show your true self on your blog, or do you keep it within the “norms”? Or are you actually normal?

There really is something special about a dog. Speak to them, and they’re ready to listen. Offer a little table scrap ,and you get a look like you’ve just given them the best, most awsomest, gift ever! If you really want to get them excited, grab a leash and stand by the door.

Dogs Love To Walk!

I went on a walk with my dogs this morning. The sun was rising over palm trees that I know are part of my soul. The sky was ablaze in a million shades of brilliant orange, pinks, greys, blues, and whites. The air was downright chilly, couldn’t have been above 57, maybe 58 degrees. Brrrr. Despite a crisp breeze, the surface of the Harbor was a flat calm. Looked like glass.

On a beautiful morning, with two pups slobbering and tail-wagging all over the place, it’s easy to be happy. Everything takes on a new perspective when your companion’s biggest concern is which tree to annoint, and exactly where. Watching something so silly be so important, kind of makes you just breathe.

Kind of like… maybe I make silly things important too.

Updated… see notes at bottom.

I’ve been watching some so-called social media experts speak today from Izeafest, a social-media and internet marketing event at Sea World in Orlando. I just turned it off… had all I can take.

It amazes me the kind of behavior we follow in this country. Notice I didn’t say the kind of behavior we “allow”, that would be bad enough! No, we actually follow these people. We listen to them.

I’m not even going to begin to try and duplicate the language I heard from these speakers today, but I was uncomfortable, and I’m a construction worker, and I was at home! I expect, or am at least prepared for, certain language in certain settings, such as in the bottom of a ditch on a 100 degree day, or at the DMV.

But live, from a paid speaker, at a professional event that attendees pay $300.00 each to attend? I’m shocked.

I was going to bring my Christian values into this, but I’m not going to. We are a country of diverse religious belief and background, but we are also a country of strong moral grounding. We know right from wrong and we know how to speak with respect and respectable language.

I hope that once the population as a whole comes online more and the online population begins to take on a more accurate resemblance to the “real” world, that we once again establish some parameters of respectability and decency in our word choices.

Additional thoughts a day later:

Kim says I’m always wanting to push my stuff off the page because I don’t like some or all of what I wrote.  In some ways that’s true and it’s because it’s not easy to cover every angle of a thought in a short post. 

My feelings about decent language won’t change, but I regret suggesting that we shouldn’t follow people who use bad language.  That may not be true all the time.  Language usage, like the rest of human expression, is subject to continual error.  But it doesn’t mean that the person, as a whole, is flawed in some horrible way.  They may very well be people deserving of “overall” respect.  But, given the chance, I would try and convince them that they would get further by changing the words they use and I think as a society we should stand-up for decency in public.

Kim just brought me a water. An hour ago, she was done with me. Such is life. You win some, you lose some, hopefully it works out in the end!

It’s usually my mouth that gets me into trouble. If I would just hush, things might go better. Of course, it’s usually my mouth that gets me into good things too. Live by the sword, die by the sword.

It’s the same way with blogging. Sometimes you write things you’re proud of. Other times, well, not so much. In fact, it was the constant self-censorship that played a huge roll in my withdrawal from the sport a few months ago. I got tired of worrying…can I say that?

Here’s the thing… I’m complex. Lot’s of men take pride in these words…” I’m a simple man.” Not me, cupcake. If I’m simple, then I must be one seriously dim lightbulb because I sure can’t figure me out. So, rather than admit to a major lack of intelligence, I’m going to go with being complex. Deeeeeep.

So, complex…

• I can be ultra-religious and Bible thumping at one moment, yet want to post pictures of the great time I had drinking beers at the Parrot Head party the next. Is that complex, honest, or doomed to eternal fire?
• I can be a monster of money-hungry, power-driven, egotistic selfishness on Monday, yet by mid-week be settled into a nice easy routine of super-homeschool dad and family man. Maybe that’s only when it’s a full-moon. I’ll look next time.
• And let’s not even talk about my career. Whoa! (pronounced WO-uh!) It makes me think of a song… what is that song… “There’s something happenin’ here, what it is, ain’t exactly clear…(now I got it)…STOP children what’s that sound…” oh yeah it’s the Vietnam song. Well, my career isn’t THAT BAD… but I’ve bounced around a little lately. Way complex if you ask me.
• I can be nice, mean, smart, dumb, generous, selfish, funny, funny, happy, sad, ugly, not really, occassionally humble… you get the picture.

Blogging the Real You

So, knowing this, is it best to blog more of the big picture? Or is it better to keep your posts universally acceptable? Will those pictures of me and the Jimmy Buffet impersonator come back to haunt me one day? Will I try for a big job and lose it because of some off-handed comment I made on the blog? It could happen.

But what is the point of a blog if not an expression of who we really are? Isn’t it supposed to be a Weblog, as-in a log of our experience? An account of how we see the world as we pass by? What’s more important, getting that big job, or getting a chance to really be an individual…forgetting what the world says about it?

One of my favorite lines from the movies, and one that has oft got me into a mess, is “Damn the Torpedos, full steam ahead!” All things considered, it’s still one of my favorite lines.

Speaking of the real us…

How do you like the new look of the blog? We LOVE it! We were getting tired of the old look and I wanted to show off my abilities as a blog designer so I pulled out all the stops. The result is totally us and we totally love it. Did you see how the little file tabs up-top change color when you roll over them? Cool, huh?

If it comes up in your day-to-day, please let people know that I can design an awesome blog for them (or you) too! I could use a little stability!

So we’re back, and since it looks like we’re still good for the “forever” part, Kim and I will be posting away! Fair warning…

We have escaped like a bird out of the fowler’s snare; the snare has been broken and we have escaped.

Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

Psalm 124:7-8

Yesterday, as I was once again putting forth great mental effort toward trying to “figure out” how to play the hand we’ve been dealt this year (and causing a fair share of anguish in the process), Jacob was off by the seawall dealing with a problem of his own.

While fishing, this beautiful bird became entangled in his line, fell into the water, and nearly drowned. Jacob was able to save the bird from drowning, but in the process it became hooked through the skin on its head, right between the eyes. If you look closely in the picture, you can see the hook.

Jacob was alone and he did a great job of keeping the bird calm and trying to get close enough to get the hook out himself. But every time he tried to approach, the bird became scared and was endangering himself by jumping and flailing about. Jacob patiently continued in his efforts until Kim noticed through the window that something was wrong and she and I went to help him.

How to Get a Fishing Hook Out of a Bird’s Forehead

Step One – Gently cover the bird in a very large towel or a blanket, bigger is better because they tend to attempt escape! Very lightly hold the bird down so you don’t hurt him!

Step Two – Very carefully expose the hooked area and once the bird is calm, cut the hook. Don’t try and take the hook out in one piece, the barb could do more damage on the way out and the pain might cause the bird to really go batty. Remove the hook in two pieces, pulling the barb away from the wound, not through it.

Step Three – Inspect the wound. If this wound had been very bad we would have either used some antibiotic cream or ointment or in a serious case we would have had to transport the bird to a vet. In this case, the wound was clean and not bleeding. Since he’s a saltwater bird, we decided the best thing was to let him get back to the water and sky as quickly as possible. We hope that the water will keep his wound clean.

Step Four – Release him! After letting him go, this bird took awhile to realize that he was no longer hooked. Once he did, he flew away and since he didn’t crash, we think he’s going to be okay!

God Releases Us!

The whole situation reminded me of how God releases us from the traps and snares we get tangled-up in in our own lives.

Unlike this situation, where the bird was caught by accident, the devil has littered this world with traps, pits, snares, and nets with the full intention of trapping and killing God’s people. He doesn’t catch us by accident, he’s been planning it for thousands of years.

We have escaped like a bird out of the fowler’s snare; the snare has been broken and we have escaped.

Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

Psalm 124:7-8

If you’re caught-up in any of life’s traps today, I encourage you to calm down and let God release you. He is ready, willing, and able to set you free and you will soar on wings like eagles (Isaiah 40:31)!

Hello! Tim here:

I sat down last night to write my weekly post for Blissfully Domestic’s Blissful Home and I had one thing on my mind when I did. Food. We had just finished a great dinner (thanks, Kim!) and I was still basking in the warmth it brought to my life. You can read the post that resulted, all about dining rooms, here.

But it also caused me to stop and think about our family meals together and when I did, I have to say, I was just floored with thankfulness. We’ve been blessed with schedules that allow us to eat all of our evening meals together and many of our lunches and breakfasts, all around our big giant table, which I made out of a pile of lumber.

Kim and I tried to guess at the numbers (I like numbers) and we figure that over the years we’ve had a meal together as a family more than 95% of the time. Each time, we bow our heads together and thank God for our meal. We’ve often prayed for sick family members to feel better, sometimes those family members were of the four-legged or swimming variety.

I guess the point of me writing all of this is just to say how thankful we are that we’ve been able to do this and to encourage anyone who can make adjustments in life’s busy schedule in order to gain that evening meal together that it is so worth it! You’ll never regret it and as the years pass it just becomes more and more precious.

More and more entertaining too now that the boys eat more than me and we have tribal battles every night to decide who gets the most food! My winning record is taking some hits… (but that may not be a bad thing!)

What about you? Does your family gather around the table every night? If not, do you have any tips for those whose schedule just won’t allow it? Let us know in the comments!

Life is crazy sometimes. Unexpected things happen. Good things. Bad things. Sometimes these unexpected events are loners, they just happen in life all by themselves. Those are generally of only passing interest. Like “oh, that was nice.” or “remember that bad week back in 05″.

But sometimes they come in packs. If it’s a pack of good things we call it “good times” or “a great year”. If it’s a pack of bad things it’s like an evil horde out to devastate us! We get all bent out of shape then. It’s like “COME ON! what else is going to go wrong?” It can be a little bit disconcerting, if you know what I mean.

Two Questions

Is it really bad? – As a Christian, I have to ask myself this. It’s not really at all easy for me to just call something that happens “bad”. The reason is that my Bible says that “all things” work together for the good of those who love the Lord (our house) and are called according to His purpose…which we most certainly are.

So is it truly bad? Can I say yes and say I believe my Bible at the same time?

Where is my focus? – When I’m in a “and the hits just keep on coming!” kind of whiny mood, where is my focus? Not trying to be preachy here, just explaining how my mind works. My next thought is another Bible verse…”focus NOT on that which is seen, focus on that which is unseen…”. The Word is saying that I should focus on eternal things.

But even in this life we tend to focus on one thing at a time and not see the big picture. What ELSE is God doing in the midst of all that is going on? What other things are happening that are great? What about the really big things like family, and health, and a safe environment?

So, it’s hard to be too upset about those so-called “bad things” in light of what we know is good.

Take A Walk

I don’t think I’ve ever had a hard time learning from God when I try. It’s as easy as walking outside. Romans says that everything about the Creator can be learned by looking at what He created. The world is just a huge book pointing us to God and his ways. A walk outside with a prayerful heart will always result in a lesson.

Yesterday morning I was walking and not really thinking too hard. I was just walking along and enjoying the morning and thinking what a lucky dog I was to be living in such an amazing and wonderful part of the world. As I breezed by some trees on the side of the sidewalk, one of them caught my eye… actually there was two.

A Cabbage Palm, and a Strangler Fig

Despite the unbecoming name, a Strangler Fig is an amazingly beautiful tree. Similar to a Banyan in appearance, these trees can develop over years into magnificent and sprawling structures that just totally bring out the kid in me. I just want to climb it, and sit under it, and go inside every little hidden cave of it’s root structure.

The Cabbage Palm on the other hand is a bit more ho-hum in my opinion, but a nice tree in its own right. What happens when the two meet is an amazing example of how life works sometimes. The Strangler Fig starts growing on the palm, not in the dirt mind you, but up higher on the trunk. It then starts to send roots down the tree into the ground, eventually wrapping all the way around the trunk.

The process takes years and while it happens you see both trees. But eventually you don’t see the Cabbage Palm anymore. At first it is covered up and invisible, then eventually it just dies away and all that is left is an amazing and beautiful tree that is much more magnificent than the palm ever could have been.

It’s not that the palm wasn’t pretty or nice. God made it beautiful. It’s just that the palm wasn’t the “finished design” that God had for that little piece of Earth. It was a stepping stone, but not the final outcome. He had bigger plans.

I think life is very much like this sometimes. Sometimes things we thought we liked, things we thought were “fine” have to pass away in order for the new thing that God has in store for us to come to pass. Sometimes they are stepping stones, building blocks, but not the finished product.

So I encourage you to remember that He works tirelessly and constantly for your future and that we can have faith that things that seem bad are just building blocks. One day, sooner or later, we’ll be able to see how they were used for our good.

And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. – Mark 16:15-17 KJV

Imagine for a moment…

Frank is a young man. A college student. He’s studying hard and doing his best to juggle the responsibilites he has. Sometimes he gets a little overwhelmed. Life got a whole lot harder when, seemingly all of the sudden, he found himself on his own in a big world.

Mom is not there to take care of him.

He’s surprised by the realities of life. The choices he has to make seem neverending and never seem that simple. He’s trying to deal with studies, finances, and planning his future; all while trying to maintain a social life.

Don’t even get him started talking about that! He could write a book about the challenges he faces trying to navigate through the crowd.

Take it a step further…

What if Frank is a grown man, with a family? Or a kid in high school? Maybe it’s Francesca and she’s a single mom?

The point is that everyone, not one person exempt, goes through times of questions, doubts, fears, or needs.

When that happens, people often start looking for something. They know, for sure, that somewhere out there is the answer to what they seek. Where do they turn?

That’s right. Google. Millions of people every day type the questions they have into a search engine on the screen of a computer. They might even use a cell phone or PDA. But they are searching.

“I want to say prayer daily” is a real search that led a real person to Forever…Wherever! Isn’t that amazing! What an opportunity!

At that point in time, at that moment, that person was seeking to get closer to God. They wanted to know one thing “how do I do it?” And they found this blog! Yikes!

I sure wish I knew how they felt when they left. I pray that they found something, maybe in our post “The Power of Prayer” that encouraged them on.

Be a Light!

Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. – Matthew 5:5-17

Consider the power of your blog! Imagine that! What if you wrote in your blog every day, for the rest of your life? What would happen? I can tell you.

You will attract seekers. Many of you don’t read up on search engine optimization. You may not have even heard the term. It’s about how to get people to your blog. The bottom line is that all the little tips and tricks help a little, but the content helps a lot!

The more content you have, the more people will find it. The more appropriate to a “search phrase” your post title is, the more likely someone who really needs that post will find it.

Besides, don’t forget, there is a Guiding Hand. Remember? Sort of like Field of Dreams; you build it, they will come.  He will lead them to you!

Would it be worth it, if you put all that effort into your blog, if one person was touched? What if one person, just one, was led to Christ through your words? What, exactly, would that be worth to you?

I’m shaking my head, because the answer is beyond words.

Preaching Nacho thing?      

Maybe you don’t feel comfortable writing preachy stuff like I have above. That’s okay! You can still make a serious impact! In fact, I think it’s just as important to lead by example as it is to preach, if not more so!

You know what our most common search word has been lately?

Nachos

That’s right! Nachos. Irish Nachos, to be exact. Kim wrote about her Irish Nachos (praise the Lord and sing hallelujah!) last week for Tasty Tuesday.

That post has drawn in more search engine traffic than any other because Sunday is the big game, and becuase the Travel Channel had a show on great bar food recently that sent thousands out in search of Irish Nachos.

Two things happen. First, Kim helped some people out. Some people were looking for how to make this awesome dish and they found her pictures and her recipe! How cool is that?

Second, people found our blog. So isn’t there a chance, keeping in mind that Guiding Hand, that they would have surfed around a little bit and found our Daily Thanks, or a link to another great Christian blog? Maybe my Mom’s blog…Sweet Tea for Surrendered Sisters would really change someones life! Breaks me up a little to think of it, to be honest.

Pray and Remember

So you should do two things, constantly, forever, always, no matter what, without a doubt, for sure…

1. Pray for God to use your blog to reach people!

2. Remember the impact you can have on the world! Imagine the impact we can all have together!

Imagine!

If you’re reading this blog and YOU are that person seeking, please contact me by email.

If you’re another blogger and you have a story to tell or encouragement in this regard, please let us know in the comments. 

Yup…that’s right…it’s 2:30 in the morning and I’m too tired to make my very first entry into what will certainly become a world renowned champion of blogs worth a darn!  That’s because I had to work through the major deficiency in techno-savvy that was needed to get this whole thing rolling.  Now just so I don’t sound too slow…that did involve getting our own domain, hosting it, and creating our own blog on the site.  And I had to make the beautiful photo header you’re staring at.

Forever, wherever!  If you’re wondering, it’s the promise Kim and I make to each other every time we raise a toast!  With a gleam of excitement and adventure in our eyes we raise our glasses and each say our parts…she starts with “Forever!”, and I hint to the travels ahead with “Wherever!” – Cheers!  Sweet, huh.  So when we decided to do a website that would cover the gamut of our interests and endeavors…family, creative pursuits, travel, thoughts on stuff, and maybe sometimes work…we figured this was the best name we could have picked… Forever!  Wherever!