I am forever blown away by the talents of my children. As we prepare to bid adieu to 2009, I’d like to share with you all something my daughter Sarah wrote. For the record, she is 13.
On the day of New Year’s Eve
The world is sitting, waiting
For the day we all believe
Has cause for celebrating.
Staying up till late at night
Watching on TV
Down pole to drop a ball of light
And then we scream, “Yippee!”
Another year is o’er and done
And we are satisfied
Recalling days of mirth and fun
And fear, and hope, and pride.
Another year has started up
A new age will begin
We drink from a newer cup
And cast the old to the wind.
May you find the cause to celebrate the ending of 2009 and the start of 2010. Happy new year from me and the rest of the Gonzalez family.
Merry Christmas from the entire Gonzalez family. As the end of 2009 approaches I hope you can look back and find the blessings in your life this past year. I also pray that you will be able to consider 2010 and what the new year holds for you.
I will be announcing shortly some changes to this web site and some of the projects that I have been working on recently. It will be sort of a refreshing of my online identity or, in more practical terms, a Christmas gift of a fresh outlook for me.
But that is for another post, at another time on a different day. Today, I am going to celebrate Christmas with my family. And I hope you do the same thing with yours.
It’s hard to believe that we are almost done with the first decade of our century. Even more strange to me is that we are within a month or so of 2009 coming to an end as a year. If I didn’t know better I’d say someone pushed the fast forward button on life toward the beginning of February and left it there until yesterday. And as I take a moment to look back on the year, and especially the day we are celebrating today, I can’t help but begin to think about some of the things I am thankful for.
Being thankful is not something that is reserved for one day a year in my house. In fact, it is something that I have tried to instill in my family through nightly “thankfuls” and through regular giving of thanks. It is a lifestyle that I think everyone should live lest we become bitter, cynical and “victimized” by circumstance. So for me and my house it is rather easy to recognize those things that I can be thankful for.
For example, I woke up early this morning and got out of bed to make a pot of coffee for my wife and I, and took a moment for myself to read my email, write a little in my blog and warm my legs with a little red fleece blanket. I was watching my dog sleep for a little while until my daughter Adriannah woke up, joined me in the living room, greeted me with a hug and kiss and began to watch TV.
In just the first few minutes of the day today I am thankful for:
- A beautiful, smart, funny, warm, loving wife
- An awesome tribe of beautiful, smart, talented children
- Having a home for my family
- Everyone in my family having a bed to sleep in
- Running water
- Coffee
- Cups to drink our coffee from
- Having a working computer
- The internet
- Email
- Warm blankets
- Wonderful, smart, loving, caring, beautiful children that love me
- Hugs and kisses
- A great dog
- A TV
- Electicity
Now of course these are more of the tangible variety of thankfuls. Still, these are all things I am thankful for just within the first few minutes of my day. There are so many other things to be thankful that extend beyond the tangible, like:
- Not having to go to work today
- Sharing today with family and friends
- Having the freedom and liberty that comes from living in the United States of America
- Being protected both at home and abroad by the most awesome of protectors ever, the US military
- Worshiping how I want, when I want and with whom I want
- The freedom and ability to have an opinion, and voice that opinion
The abundance of thankfuls in my life always seem to extend beyond the limits of one day a year. And while I am thankful for today and what it represents, I would offer this challenge to you: For the next 365 days, until next Thanksgiving day, see if you can find one thing every day to be thankful for and share that thankfulness with someone.
If you are anything like me, no matter how heavy life gets on you, you will always have something to be thankful for. May God bless you abundantly this day and all the days of your life.
Wow, what a day today was. There was drama, haircuts, cleaning, traveling, assembling, masquerading, trick-or-treating and lots of exhausting.
The day started out with my neighbor returning my dog. Why did my neighbor have my dog? Because my dog decided to dig a hole under our fence and invite himself into our neighbor’s yard. So in the midst of a cold fog, I was out shoveling dirt, reinforcing fences and making barricades to keep my dog out of my neighbor’s yard.
Did it work? Nope. By the end of the night he had managed to get past my barricade and dig another hole.
After that I took my son with me to get my haircut. Then we hit up Office Max to get a printer cartridge refilled. If you have an inkjet printer and would rather save money than spend money on the cartridges, go to Office Max. For $10 they will refill your black ink cartridge ($15 for color) and it only takes a few minutes. Not to mention that it saves you from spending $60 on a new one. Sweet.
When we got home we had to get to work cleaning out our truck. That is because today we went to Morgan Hill and picked up a new bunk bed set my wife found on Craigslist for Alaynah and Adriannah, who broke her bed a few weeks. The new one we got is a “T” style bunk that sits on top of a desk at one end and a bookcase and dresser at the other. It is a beast of a bed, but strong enough for out two daughters. I know this because it literally took me a total of six hours to put it together. 
Of course in the middle of that assembly marathon, I had to get the kids ready to hit the streets in full costume. I took them this year because Sandi had to drive to Hayward to pick up Alaynah from a Halloween party she was at. So at about 7:00 or so I left the house with Lucy Ricardo, Captain Hook, a leopard and Buzz Lightyear in search of huge sacks of goodness and sweets. And boy did we find it.
It was a great night with a great take. The kids got loaded up on candy, we got our exercise, I got a break from building the bed… it was a great hour. And it was a great day, if not way more exhausting than I would have liked. Still, it was totally worth it.
I hope your Halloween was as cool as ours.
Today is Labor Day in the United States, a day when Americans celebrate the working people, and our work in general, in our country. As is my usual, I would like to wish every working person in the world a happy Labor Day today.
Something that I do want to do different this year, however, is that I want to stress that labor in this country, or in any country for that matter, does not necessarily mean paid labor. There is plenty of work done around the world that is not done for someone that is paying you to do it. Like parenting. Or mothering, to be specific.
Most mothers are the real workers in their households, whether she is a single mom raising her family by herself or a working mom who rushes every morning to get the kids out of the house on time for school before heading to work or even a stay-at-home mom who tends the house and family during the day. And it is my opinion that of all the mothers that labor every day, without weekends or vacations or days off or bonuses or even thanks, the mothers that seem to be the hardest working yet most overlooked are the stay-at-home, homeschooling mom. To you I want to wish an enormous happy Labor Day. The work you do is hardly ever noticed and even less seldom recognized. But the work you do cannot even be described, let alone appreciated to its full value. You are the truest laborer there is.
And to my wife, who has been staying at home AND homeschooling our five kids since my oldest was four years old, I want to not only wish you a happy Labor Day but I also want to offer you a great big thank you for all the work you have done over the years and continue to do every day. It is not at all easy to do what you do (I know I’m not cut out for it, that’s for sure). Your patience, kindness, grace and love are tested everyday, without thanks, without appreciation, without a pat on the back… but every day you stay in the fight. Every day you labor, intensely, to provide for our home. And though your work does not come with a paycheck it will someday come with a giant pay day. For your labor carries with it a return far greater than money. I just want you to know that without you our family would not be where it is today.
So today my wish is that we all enjoy our day off. May you rest, celebrate and take full advantage of your day to celebrate the work you do.
The barbecues are probably hot and the meat is probably marinading as the day pushes forward into the afternoon and evening. The celebration and revelry will be abundant today for sure. But as we fellowship around the fire, sipping wine and scarfing down the grilled meat, it might be a good idea to reflect on why we have today off of work and why we are enjoying this time with our friends and family.
To all families and people who have lost loved ones on the battlefield, today my thoughts and prayers go out to you. But even though today is a day set aside to remember those that have paid the ultimate sacrifice in war it is my belief that we should not wait an entire year to remember our heroes.
For families who have lost loved ones there isn’t a day that goes by in which they don’t think about that person. And while the pain of loss, and the memory of loved ones lost, does diminish over time remembering our loved ones is important. So today think about those who have laid down their lives in the service of their countries and remember those they have left behind. And throughout the year try to keep in mind that for some families memorial day is every day.
Every day men and women around the world offer their lives in service to the United States and her allies. Every day they should be remembered.
Man I wanted to barbecue today. I have been waiting all week to get my grill on and when the morning came I got all kinds of excited at the prospect of eating seared and seasoned beef cooked over an open fire. Apparently the weather had different plans.
The day started out gloomy and cold, but I have seen that before and was holding out hope that I could actually end up BBQing later in the day. But the stupid fog bank never lifted and I ended up spending the entire day wanting grilled meat and getting nothing at all resembling grilled meat. Crap.
And no, I can’t grill tomorrow because I will be at a party all day for my nephew. So Monday better be my day for grilling because Memorial Day weekend just isn’t the same without some fired up meat.
On the first day He was betrayed, brought before the religious leaders of the day and stood before those that hated him, accused of committing crimes that He did not commit. He did not defend himself against His accusers and did not hold them in contempt. He knew what He had to do and what He had to endure to bring to completion His mission. For His resolve He was forsaken, lied about, teased, mocked, beaten, humiliated, spat on, cursed, laughed and murdered. On the first day He died.
On the second day, while in the tomb prepared for Him, He battled against the enemies of God, taking back those that had gone before He had come. On a mission, He didn’t waver and kept the commandment given Him by His father. On the second day He battled.
On the third He did something He promised He would do yet none gave Him the slightest chance of accomplishing – He conquered death, rose from the grave and took back the dominion man had given Satan over us. He took His place as the resurrected son of the most high God and began the last events in His ministry that would ever see Him in person. On the third day, He rose again, conquered death and brought victory to all those that would call Him savior.
As we enjoy the festivities on this day – the candy, the bunnies, the eggs, the color, the food, the family, the friendship and the fellowship – I pray that we remember that today is a celebration of life, rebirth, grace and victory. Christ died for all.
Yes, all, the whole of humanity. Saint and sinner alike. Actually, mostly for the sinner since all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. He died for the murderer, the cheater, the adulterer, the fornicator, the liar, the thief, the blasphemer, the rapist. He died for the man that cannot control his eye or his mouth. He died for the woman that has sexual inclination for another woman. He died for the disobedient child and the rebellious parent. He died for mankind, so that through His shed blood we could be cleansed of our sin and once again be able to fellowship directly with God the father.
Through grace we have been saved by faith. Faith that Christ was born of a virgin as the only begotten son of the living God. Faith that He walked the Earth as a man. Faith that He was betrayed and crucified. And faith that He ultimately rose again on the third day.
There is no earning salvation. There are no prerequisites to it either. The person that you are right now, the success or the failure, the dirty or the clean, the broken or the complete… you are exactly who Christ died for. Because God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that whoever believes in Him would not perish but have everlasting life.
Even if you are not a Christian or are resistant to the message of love that embodies who Christ is, my prayer today is that you remember why we celebrate the day we celebrate today. May God bless you, whoever and wherever you are.
Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!
I am not much for celebrating holidays with the word “saint” in the name of it, but since today really revolves around beer, green cookies and more beer, I thought I would participate.
Not to mention the fact that today is one of my cousins’ birthday (happy birthday Rachel *waves*). So that, plus the fact that I get to break out the green font, means that today is a day to celebrate.
Go have a beer, preferably a Guinness (because it sounds Irish) or a Heineken (because the bottle is green) and celebrate the day with a shamrock, some corned beef & cabbage or just plain old St. Patty’s day tomfoolery. It only comes around once a year. Enjoy it.
Today is President’s Day in the United States, a day in which we bloody Americans celebrate the king pin of democracy in our land, the President of the United States. The reality of this day, however, is that it is really a celebration of George Washington’s birthday.
I really haven’t studied President Washington as much as I should have but there are a few things about the man that I find fascinating and totally worthy of having a day all to himself for. He was the typical American trying to live the typical American dream and he painted an example of how all men should live when it comes to defending your place, taking care of business and being selfless. I will say that I am not fond of everything about him, but for the most part, if I had to go to war, I would love to server under his leadership.
Much of what I based my opinion is taken from the stories about him as a young man, a soldier, a warrior, a politician, a businessman and a land owner. He was involved in all of these things from a very young age and stayed that way until he died after living a very long and rewarding life.
One look at the life of George Washington, though brief, outlines some of the more significant characteristics and experiences he had. He was homeschooled, he took up surveying at an early age (which ultimately led to him knowing the terrain upon which he fought way better than his adversaries), he took an interest in politics and the happenings of the day and he became involved in military service of a very young United States (actually, the US hadn’t really become the US when Washington was at his younger age).
He was a cunning warrior on the battlefield but he lost a significant number of battles in which he fought. Yet he fought still and won the most meaningful battles when it counted. He was selfless in politics and service. He was against partisanship. He was for his country and its people.
Looking on the President that was George Washington I can’t help but want for all presidents to find their similarities to President Washington and tap into that when serving.
Regardless, today celebrates the birth of our country’s first president and, in some way, all presidents since then. To all of our surviving presidents I say thank you for your service and patriotism. Though was may disagree with much of your service or many of you decisions, you still have had a job that few really want to take on. You deserve this day. Enjoy it.