I want to start this post off with an apology to the followers of this blog, as I have not written a post in a few months. I have also been rather dark on social media, so some may be wondering how I am doing. The fact is I just have not felt like writing or posting on social media. There are several reasons for this some of which I will elude to below and others only God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit will know.
Before I get into the details, how about A Recipe for Hope? You take…
- A Pinch of Faith
- 2 Teaspoons Full of Love
- 4 Cups of Prayer
- 1 Cup of Trust
- 4 Ounces of Kindness
- 2 Cups of Forgiveness
- 1 Bucketful of Laughter
… and you mix them all together being careful to leave out judgment, lousy attitudes, pride, bitterness and/or any other negativity. Be sure to make the recipe your own and adjust the measurements as needed to fit your daily needs. I urge you to do your best to serve it abundantly every day by sharing with as many people as you can. I pray you are better at it than I am on most days as I have to admit some days those negative ingredients get into the recipe and ruin the whole thing for me and those around me.
Keeping with the theme of recipes and ingredients, today marks 437 days together with April. I have no doubt that God brought us together. One of the first things April and I did was read, Ron L. Deal’s book “The Smart Stepfamily: Seven Steps to a Healthy Family” In the book, Ron talks about blending a family in a crock pot and not an Instant Pot, which is hard giving our society of instant gratification. I just wonder sometimes what ingredients is God putting in my crock pot.
As God keeps our crockpot on low and adjusts the ingredients over time, I am guessing it will take years to cook to the point that it is edible. Adjusting my recipe and ingredients to pair better with April after being with Melinda for almost 25 years has not been easy and will continue to take time. I cannot speak for April, but I think she may feel the same.
You then mix in April’s three younger children and my two adult children and you find out that Ron was right, blending a family is difficult and takes time. There are also outside ingredients that try to get into your crock pot and spoil the whole recipe. One of those ingredients is April’s ex. I have never experienced anyone like her ex. In my opinion, her ex tries to spoil our family crockpot, but I have faith in God. I know that He is in Control and God will make sure the ingredients in our family crockpot will come together, but maybe not in ways we can envision.
During the first two weeks of July, April and I did some traveling. We went from Chattanooga, Tennessee, to Savanah, Georgia. Did a day trip over to Hilton Head, South Carolina, then headed to Destin, Florida for a few days before heading home. We rewatched Forest Gump while in Savanah since that is where some of the movie was filmed. That stirred up some feelings. Megan house-set for us and watched the dogs while we were gone. All in all, it was a great trip. I would not hesitate to revisit any of those locations again.
Today, Melinda would have turned 50. It is a date that we had talked about on several occasions. I especially remember giving her a hard time about all the Over The Hill decorations I was going to get her and I remember the stern warnings that I had better not. God had other plans as it turns out and he took Melinda home a few years before she would turn 50. It is times like these that I remember Isaiah 55:8, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.” I have faith that God knows what ingredients need to be in my crock pot and for how long. Melinda’s passing still hurts from time to time like when I rewatched Forest Gump and he kept talking about his Jenny. It stirred up emotions I had not felt in a while.
Today marks 33 days until Megan says, “I Do“. Megan got engaged a while back to Brandon. As a dad, I have a lot of mixed emotions, but mostly I am excited for her. I can not wait to see what ingredients God puts into their crock pot. I pray He will fill it with faith, love, prayer, trust, kindness, forgiveness, and tons of laughter and keep all those negative ingredients away.
Today marks 191 days until I exit (retire) from TRS. My current plans are to exit TRS at the end of January 2024 and start a new job/career in Feb outside TRS. Everyone keeps asking me what I plan to do. I keep telling them I do not know. I am praying about it. I know God has a plan for me. It is a little bit scary as I have been at ESC Region 12 for over 20+ years and all I have ever really worked in is K-12 education.
If you can not tell there has been a lot going on in my life. I have been on an emotional roller coaster of ups and downs. I believe God still has even more in store for me over the next six months to a year. I believe He has set my crockpot on low and plans to continue to fill it with faith, love, prayer, trust, kindness, forgiveness, and laughter and keep out all the bitter ingredients that the Devil tries to throw in there out. Psalm 27:14 states “Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.” I believe this is God’s way of saying keep your crock pot on low and let me build the recipe.
I pray that you let God be the chef of the recipe and let him control the ingredients that go into your crock pot. No one knows the number of days God gives them so be diligent with the ingredients you put into your crock pot and the crock pot of others. Use your days to put ingredients such as faith, love, prayer, trust, kindness, forgiveness, and laughter into your crock pot and others. I pray that you are protected from others that try to put judgment, lousy attitudes, pride, or bitterness into your crock pot. Most importantly, I pray that you know Jesus and if you do not that you will before your days run out and your recipe is done.
