My son makes me proud

Every now and then Ty and I get some alone time.  I like to take him out to lunch and spend some time finding out what he thinks about life.  Today we had a blast!  We got to ride around in my pick up truck, we usually don't get to do that.  We got to go by mommy's office and he got to bring a little life to the CPA's office while I was outside in the freezing cold replacing a car battery in Misha's car that broke down yesterday at work.  I fixed it!

>note to those that engineer cars - Is it really necessary to put the battery of the car in Fort Knox?  There were at least 3 different pieces of metal and plastic holding the battery in that had to be removed AND all were held down with different size nuts and bolts.  I thought

 these guys were supposed to be smart!  Gone are the days of simply undoing the cables and swapping out the battery.  I don't have an engineering degree and could come up with a better system than what they have designed.  It's called duct tape!

Back to my day with Ty.  We took Buzz Lightyear and Woody to lunch at Mama Kwans.  It just thrills me to hear my boy say "Mama Kwans".  We had to drive past Mama's because the turn lane was full so I went past to turn around and come back.  Ty freaked out pointing and yelling, "There's Mama Kwan's!"  He thought I was missing the turn and was trying to help daddy out with directions.  It was a proud moment for me, not only does he know the restaurant, he knows where it is located!  

Ty and I both know that Mama Kwan's has the best chicken tenders and fries on the beach plus the waitresses have watched Ty grow and have been waiting on him since he was just weeks old and they love him.  Mama's is part of our family's life.  It's not often that you see a dad

and a three year old out to eat together without mom there.  

I look forward to this ritual with Ty for many years to come.  The boys just need to get together every now and then and have boy talk.  Buzz and Woody enjoyed the trip as well.

Jude

This week Dr. Ergun Caner challenged us at Winterfest from Jude:

>  No Spectators

>  No Limits

>  No Surrender

It was good stuff!

Getting Blown Away by Prayer

As I checked in on Nathan's blog off and on today I have been blown away by the people in prayer for Tricia, the baby and Nate.  I guess what really is amazing to me are the total strangers that are commenting to Nate to let him know they are praying.  I'm also amazed by those that don't know how they stumbled on his blog but they did and are praying.  

I've posted on a youth ministry site I'm a member of as well as my seminary and more total strangers are praying.  

This leads me to think about those that don't know God.  How do they make it in life?  Where do they go when times get tough?  Where do they go when there is a medical emergency in their life?  Who do they turn to in tragedy?  I can't even begin to imagine life without my church family.  The comments on Nate's blog from total strangers has strengthened my belief that Christians, no matter where they are in this world, are truly brothers and sisters.

Several years ago we could not have gotten prayer requests around the world this fast or let this many people know to pray for a need.

I'm just blown away!

God is bigger than....

Please be in prayer right now for Tricia and Nathan, my niece and nephew.  Tricia is getting moved to ICU.  If you aren't familiar with what is going on with them or want to let them know you are praying or get the latest update you can go to Nathan's blog .

As I have been thinking about and praying for them the past few days two thoughts come to my mind:

>  It's time to fast and pray

>  The worship song, I can't remember the title or the artist, there is a line in the song that says. "God is bigger than the air I breathe..."  This is the truth, God is bigger than all of this, He is all powerful and all knowing.  Now is the time to realize Who God is and go to Him as the great physician and pray.

>  My problems don't amount to a hill of beans when I step back and look at life with the perspective.  I look at my family, Nate and Tricia, and see what they are going through, or at my friends, Tommy, Claire and Cathy Drake, and  that puts things in perspective.

God, you are sovereign, you are in control.  I ask for a miracle for Nathan and Tricia and the baby.  May your name be glorified in all of this.  Amen.

thinking bout my new pad

I've been thinking about my new house. Rick pointed out in a message recently that Jesus has gone back to the Father to get heaven prepped for us, believers, Christ followers.

I remember when I was a kid my cousin Jon was coming to visit us in Lynchburg, Va. I was excited about Jon's visit for a few reasons. First, Jon drove a sweet silver convertible sports car; I think it was an Austin Healey (sp?). Second, due to Jon's visit mom had baked an applesauce cake that I loved to consume as a child (and still do). Third, it was just going to be cool to have Jon at the house for a visit. Mom was busy getting the house ready but I just remember being really excited, I got that way whenever someone was coming to our house.

Even more exciting was when we brought Ty home. We had to prepare a nursery, gather all the things together that we would need to give Ty the space he needed. I remember how special it was when we first carried Ty into the house and put him in his bassinet.

As Rick talked about Jesus getting heaven ready for us to come home I turned it more personally. Jesus is in heaven right now building me a home and I will get to spend eternity in worshipping him face to face. Jesus is both the architect, he is designing the place, and the contractor; he's building the place. What will the place look like? I have no clue and my puny little finite mind probably couldn't begin to even grasp what my place will be in heaven will be like.

Does that blow you away? Jesus, if you are a believer in him, is in heaven right now getting a place ready for you! The creator is creating a home for the created. And I can't help but think that he is just as excited, probably more excited, about us coming to our new home as I was a child when someone was coming to our home. Jesus is excited about you spending eternity with him. Why? Because he loves you!!

Mom and Dads, when was the last time you told your son or daughter how much Jesus Christ loves them? Not because they earned it, not because they had to do anything to deserve his love but that he simply loves them because he is love. Here are some verses to read with your son or daughter about God's love for them: Romans 8:39; Ephesians 2:4; I John 3:1; I John 4:8 - 10. Perhaps you could break these verses up over the next week and read one together each day and talk about the verse together. Share what the verse means to you. Use open-ended questions to get your teen to talk. If they stare back at you with a blank look on their face, don't worry that's normal. Start small and be consistent and in time you will see that conversation will become easier for both of you. Think of something you can do special for your teen because you love them, not because they have done anything special or done anything to deserve something special, but just because you love him. Take him and some friends to a movie, take her out to eat at her favorite restaurant, take her to the ice skating rink in Currituck and skate together, play his favorite video game with him.

250 more till party time!

250 more hits and you can join me right here on this blog for the first ever blog parteeeeeee!

Merry Christmas!

We had a great visit with Tricia and Nate in Durham last night and this morning. We got to go out to eat together (my hobby) and then opened our gifts (we did the draw one name thing). I scored big time! I got a Spider Man radio controlled helicopter from Gail. It is some kind of sweet! It was good to see Tricia and spend some time with her and Nate and the crew.

Currently I'm sitting in my living room by the light of the Christmas tree after attending the Christmas Eve worship gathering at church earlier this evening. Misha is channel surfing between It's a Wonderful Life and A Christmas Story. The smell of a pumpkin pie baking in the oven is wafting throughout the house. Sasha (our dog) is laying at my feet. Ty is all snug in his bed with visions of presents to open dancing through his head.

Does it get any better than this? It is the picture perfect Christmas Eve.

As we drove home tonight from the Christmas Eve gathering Misha asked Ty, "Do you know why we celebrate Christmas?" Ty responded happily, "Open presents!" I have failed as dad and a pastor! Just joking, the kid is 3 give em' a break! We then explained again the birth of Jesus. So again we asked him what we were going to do to tomorrow? Ty answered, "Open Jesus' presents!"

My favorite part of the movie, A Christmas Story, was just on. Ralphie told his mom that he learned a dirty word from his friend so Ralphie's mom called the other boy's mom. You can hear the kid getting yelled at and whooped over the phone. Ralphie just threw out a name, it wasn't even true. I love that!

So from all of us here in the pumpkin pie smelling Lawrenson home we wish you a Merry Christmas!

Two totally random thoughts

• When the hit counter reaches 1,000 we will have a blog party right here on this very blog site.  Who will bring the Chex Mix?
• In the spirit of Hanukkah I had Matzo ball soup for lunch today.  Now first of all I love Matzo ball soup.  It is great on a cold day or when you are feeling puny.  When I was in the store the other day I picked up two cups of instant Matzo ball soup.  I thought that would be great to have here at the office for lunch.  First of all there were only two Matzo balls in the instant soup cup, so I made both.  Second it was probably the nastiest thing I have ever eaten (and I've ate dog before).  The Matzo balls were like Styrofoam.  So just a word in passing and note to self, "Don't eat instant Matzo ball soup!"

It's a most wonderful time of the year

Ty is such a blessing and adds a certain level of excitement to the Christmas season in our home.  He loves to see the Christmas lights and sing Christmas songs, he is not much interested in his gifts under the tree, he hasn't even messed with them.  But the boy is thrilled about Christmas.

Five years ago I would have never guessed or even could imagine having a son to celebrate Christmas with.  As Ty and I "watch the snow" (it's imaginary) fall I'm amazed that I'm Ty's dad.   God gave us an incredible gift when he gave us Ty as a son.  Ty is a gift, we didn't "deserve" to be his parents, God didn't have to bless our home with Ty.  With this incredible gift came unbelievable responsibility, we are responsible to raise Ty to know God, to teach Ty how to love others, to disciple Ty.  With this incredible gift and unbelievable responsibility comes tremendous potential.  There is no telling what Ty will do with his life at this point, he could be president, he may be a doctor or a pro-baseball player, or the manager of a retail store.  Fact of the matter is there is potential and we as parents have a huge role in helping Ty discover God's purpose for his life.

Parents what are you doing to with the incredible gift God has given you in your children?  What are you doing with the responsibility?  What are you doing to help your son or daughter achieve their full potential, to be who God wants them to be?

Christ followers God has given you and incredible gift in salvation.  With that gift comes tremendous responsibility in sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with others.  Can you even begin to understand the potential your life has when you live out God's purpose for your life?

It's a wonderful time of the year, a time to remember the gift, Jesus Christ.

Communication shift in discipline

I'll never forget an event I watched unfold at Bush Gardens amusement park in Williamsburg, Va.  Now Bush Gardens, like most amusement parks, is supposed to be a place of fun and enjoyment, not stress and strife.  I was standing waiting for some students to check in with me and a family walked by, mom, dad, son and daughter, the perfect picture of the American family with one exception, mom and dad were yelling (I'm not exaggerating) at their two kids.  The son and daughter looked so happy to be spending this quality time with mom and dad.  I can't remember what they were yelling at their teens about but I do remember it was over something silly like a cheeseburger or something that really didn't matter in the grand scheme of things.

Now I don't know about you but when someone yells at me I do one of two things:

1.  Ignore them

2.  Yell back

These are my natural reactions and I'm sure that is the way most of us would respond.  I know that there are some folks that would respond by shriveling up and crying, those would be your more sensitive types (that's not me), but that is their natural reaction.  But what do you think these two teens were doing while mom and dad railed on them verbally in front of a few hundred strangers?  They were ignoring their parents.  They had shut down.  Mom and dad were wasting their breath and made themselves look like they were very inadequate when it came to their parenting skills.  I told them as they walked by, "Enjoy your day at the park."  I don't think they heard me because they obviously forgot where that they were in public.  (I couldn't resist)

Something I have discovered is that most parents that yell, I don't mean raise your voice to get a child or teen's attention, were yelled at as children.  Those of us that live here at the beach have seen these families at the Food Lion many times, they all stand in the cereal isle yelling at each other about cereal.  

First of all if you are a yeller you need to stop.  TODAY!

Second I think we as parents need to realize that as kids grow our communication style must change.  Ty's three so most of our conversation is me telling him what he needs to do, especially when it comes to matters of discipline.  As Ty grows older I'll need to communicate differently.  When Ty moves into his teen years I need to have conversations,  two way communication.  Are you communicating with your teen or constantly lecturing them?  I guarantee if you are lecturing them they are shutting out 99.9 percent of what you are telling them.  The trick is working in the same topics you would use in lecture form into topics of conversation, use questions and listen to opinions.

There is a great article on Crosswalk.com about this very subject.  Read and enjoy!

Get your sushi rollin'

Today is Ashton's birthday.  Ty was invited to the party.  One of the bonuses of being Ty's father is that the parents were invited as well.  While the kids played I learned to roll sushi with Wayne, and Larry B. also joined in on the fun.  Rolling sushi is much fun and then eating the sushi with chopsticks was much fun also.

So to Ashton I say, "Happy Birthday!"

To Wayne and Larry I say, "keep the sushi rolling!"

I now have a new hobby to add to my list.