Adventures Together

Last weekend was my daughter's 14th birthday. We did something to celebrate that we had never done before. We went out of town on an adventure. I had a work-related meeting in Savannah the day before her birthday, so I talked her into skipping school and going with me. We left on Thursday and drove down. Friday morning we explored River Street and then headed to Savannah State University. During my meeting, she stayed with the staff of the financial aid office and worked on her homework. Afterward, we were free for the next few days.

I had room reservations on Hilton Head Island with a beachfront view. It was so cold when we arrived, I wasn't sure we would be able to do anything except look out at the ocean. The wind was ferocious and I heard it all during the night. However, I awoke on Saturday morning to the sound the waves in the distance. :)  It was her birthday and she was up 7 a.m., eager to tear into her gifts. (I think that day and Christmas are the only two days each year she will voluntarily get up!)

The day was hers and I was her chauffeur and sidekick: chocolate, chocolate chip pancakes at IHOP, a visit to the Maritime Museum on Port Royal Sound, a search for the perfect Hilton Head sweatshirt, shopping at the Tanger Outlet (where somehow she ended up with two more sweaters), corn dogs and fries, an hour strolling on the beach with temps in the 60s, a birthday cake with Grammy and Pop singing on speaker phone, and an evening watching HGTV. 

It was a great adventure, but we were ready to head back home the next day. The highlight of the trip home was stopping in Athens to have an early supper with my son. In just a few short days, we were refreshed by seeing a new place, playing together, and spending one-on-one time to celebrate.

Romans 15:32 that I may come to you with joy by the will of God, and may be refreshed together with you. 

Helpers

On New Year's Day, I drove to the store for supplies and my dad rode shotgun. Along the way, I asked him to tell me the best place to have my car's brake pads replaced. The next day he was calling around getting prices for brake pads and rotors. It wasn't long until he volunteered to do the job while I paid for the parts. That was never my intent, but in the end I also knew that no one would do a better job than he would.

He traded cars with me on Thursday and started the process of taking off the wheels and identifying exactly what needed to be done. I was able to help him on Saturday. I don't know much about car repair, but I am a good helper. I hand him tools, move lights, get parts, fetch water, clean up and generally ask too many questions. However, I learned a lot and it made the time pass so quickly. Today I realize that I know how to set the foot pounds on a torque wrench, where to put the jack under the chassis, not to touch the new rotors with bare hands, and that I remember the words to all of the old country songs played on WCON 99.3 from Cornelia.

The best part of being a helper is spending time with the person you are helping. I repeat, the best part of being a helper is spending time with the person you are helping. I bet God thinks the same thing when He helps us.

John 14:26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.

New Year, New Decade, New Je Ne Sais Quoi

It's 2020, the year with multiple meanings. It's the beginning of a new year and a new decade. I think most people would like to toss out the old and press the restart button on a variety of things. Perhaps it's human nature to never be quite satisfied with the status quo. We look back and wish we had done some things differently, wish we hadn't eaten quite so much over the holidays, wish we were in better physical, mental, and spiritual shape, that we had aspired to learn something new, and had organized the house as if we had it all together and had our lives figured out.

The term 20/20 is used to express visual clarity or sharpness of vision. I know that's what I want in everything that I do. Many people choose a word for their year, so I thought I might try that this year. I used the Dayspring.com quiz to answer 7 questions to help me find a word for 2020. Based on my answers, the word was Abide. That's given me a lot to think about. I'm going to write it down and dig into that word and the Word. I'll be looking for visual clarity.

Habakkuk 2:1-3 I will stand my watch and set myself on the rampart, and watch to see what He will say to me, and what I will answer when I am corrected. Then the Lord answered me and said: "Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; but at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.