Lessons From Sabbatical

Having been at Providence for over 21 years, I just finished my third sabbatical. As previously explained, sabbatical is a period of rest, research, and restoration for people in full-time ministry and other professions (like academia and counseling) so that they can avoid burnout and renew their creativity, passion, and effectiveness. Traditionally, a sabbatical occurs every seven years. The word comes from Sabbath (Greek, sabbaton; from the Hebrew, shabbath; lit. “rest”), which usually brings to mind the seventh day of the week, the biblical day of rest. Interestingly, the word is used for an entire year in Leviticus 25:1-5.

The Lord spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel… For six years you shall sow your field, and for six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its fruits, but in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a Sabbath to the Lord. You shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard. You shall not reap what grows of itself in your harvest, or gather the grapes of your undressed vine. It shall be a year of solemn rest…”

It wasn’t just for the land, it was for those who worked the land (virtually everyone in that day). It’s a good idea. And I’m so happy that Providence instituted it for full-time ministry staff from the start.
When I’ve run into people from church this summer, I’ve frequently been asked, “How’s sabbatical going?” I try to give a short answer, like, “Great!” But it never seems to suffice. So here’s one that’s a little more complete with the top seven lessons I’ve learned from sabbatical this summer.

1. I needed some extended rest.
I’m sure there are some who decry a long break (we provide a month after seven years, and two

Darla & I in a gloating selfie after breaking the paddleball record.
The beach was great (um, after the tropical storm that hit us hard)!

months every seven thereafter). I understand the sentiment. In fact you might be saying, “I’ve been working in my job for 20 (30, 40, whatever) years and haven’t taken so much as a vacation!” While that’s a little extreme (someone actually told me this!), the truth is I understand the skepticism of those who have never had a long break from work. I could absolutely do that too because I love my job! In fact, I kind of let this sabbatical sneak up on me and had to pry my fingers away from doing ministry at Providence. It took me about two weeks to just relax and stop thinking about all the things I needed to do.
Let me say it plainly: I needed this long break. Unknowingly, my attitude, focus, and energy was being affected by what has been an unrelenting last few years, the last one in particular. As the weeks wore on this summer, I could feel my brain decompress. I found myself reinvigorated for my calling and job. If you’re struggling, maybe you need a long break too.

Here's what it looks like today.

2. Building a house is not easy. 
Ok, so I already knew that. Let’s just say that Darla and I are learning this lesson even more! After unexpectedly selling our house and unsuccessfully looking for another, we decided (after a whole lot of praying and seeking wise counsel) in June to bite this thing off and build ourselves, so we bought some property near Edgemoor Road, about 15 minutes from Providence. Whew! Making decisions, finding and scheduling subs, and getting all the details worked out is why people wisely pay contractors. And we’ve really only just begun. Seriously, we feel like we're learning a whole new trade (and I guess we actually are).

Here's the goal!

I’ve also met some good people who I would have never met otherwise and have had some great spiritual conversations. I'm super thankful for friends who are helping us and for Darla who is doing most of the contracting (especially now that I have to go back to work)! She's really organized and I'm good at shooting the bull. A great combo!!

3. Writing a book is real work. 
I’m not a writer so maybe it’s just me, but this task is HARD. I spent several days this summer researching and writing about my dad. It is exhausting! And I feel the proverbial mountain I have to climb to get this book written just keeps getting higher as I write.

A 38-year-old Ken Sparks

Some of the hardest parts include these three: 1) interviewing key people who have first-hand accounts, 2) working through the piles of articles, videos, and statistics to find what I need; and 3) fact-checking all the stuff, especially regarding some of the important games I think need to be described (probably not for the reasons you think!). And it’s emotional for me! I can watch a video on him and be in tears.
The next one is related…

4. I’m reminded how blessed I am for the earthly father God gave me. 
Ken Sparks was a great man. He lived and died well. I pray I can be a steward of his legacy and be like him in so many ways.

5. It's great to see what other churches are doing. 

This is a church in Georgia that has a similar mission & vision
as Providence that we visited. And yes, that's Dara leading!

I got to visit a wide variety (regarding style, tradition, and size) of churches this summer. All of them hold to God’s Word as true, all were fantastic (I tend to not be critical), and I learned things from each of them. I collected lots of printed material, shot lots of pictures and video, and made lots of notes. It seems I always heard from God when I went to worship, regardless of the church. That in itself is a lesson! I love that God uses so many churches who do things so differently to reach all kinds of people. I felt kinship with them all. I look forward to discussing with our staff and elders some of the things I experienced that might help us be better at Providence.
But all that visiting other churches makes the next lesson I learned even clearer...

6. I love Providence Church more than I ever knew.
I really do. The church is a group of redeemed people who have covenanted together to accomplish a mission. I love our people. I love our covenant together. I love our mission. I feel more committed to Providence than ever before! The really cool thing is that our church grew (over last year’s numbers) while I’ve been away! That shows what I already knew: Providence (unlike some churches) is about much more than merely following a man (unless the man is Jesus!). There aren't many pastors who stay at churches for 21 years (my 101-year-old grandmother who was a pastor's wife is still amazed), and there are even fewer who can honestly say that there's no church in the world where they'd rather serve than the one they're at. I'm so grateful. I can't think of a godlier group of elders, I can't think of a better staff, and I can't imagine a better group of people than those at Providence. What an awesome spiritual family I have! I have missed being with my church this summer...a lot!

7. I love my wife profoundly. 
Of course, I already knew this. But this break has given us significant time together. I’ve never gotten tired of her and she never gets on my nerves (I don’t think she could say the same of me!). As cliched as it sounds, she really is my best friend. We laugh together a lot. We are totally on the same page spiritually. We work well together and compliment each other’s giftedness. She has been through more hard times in the last year than any other year in our lives, and has come through looking even more like Jesus. I am amazed by her and more in love with her than ever. I made a great choice 29 years ago to ask her to be my wife. I had no idea how great. God had something (read: everything) to do with that.

There were many more lessons learned that I could tell you about like, "Life is possible without social media," "Sugar-free gummies cause violent stomach problems," "The beach isn't fun in tropical storms," "Extroverts need people around," "Abstaining from reading/watching news makes you happier," "Beagles like skunks," and "Ticks & mosquitoes suck" (there are stories for all of these!). And many other good things happened this summer. Among them, I read some good books, hiked some great hikes, made some great new friends, ate some good food, caught up on sleep, got to watch a lot of baseball, and (most importantly) spent some great time with Jesus. Thank you Providence, for allowing me to have this time!

We've Moved!

Well, kinda. I'm still at Providence, we're still in West Knoxville (actually Farragut instead of Karns now), but we're not finished moving. That's because through a crazy set of circumstances we've decided to build a house.

Here's the story...well, first some backstory:

From the time our middle child, Duncan, left for college almost five years ago, all our kids started telling us we needed to sell our house in Karns and downsize or get out in the country or buy an older house with more character or something. We just laughed, because we didn't have any desire to move, much less take on a fixer-upper project. Besides, why did they want us to sell the house in which they grew up? Go figure. So through continued prodding, we tippy-toed into the idea, thinking how it would be nice to have a smaller home, or a house away from a major highway, or something with a big garage where I can work on stuff. This curiosity gained momentum as Darla started seeing how much houses were selling for and some of the cool places she found on realty websites (like Zillow, etc.). Many of you may be familiar with this phenomenon. Once the train gets moving in that direction...I think you get my point. For the whole beginning part of this pursuit, I was dubious and unenthusiastic about moving. Secretly, however, I was thinking about all the appliances that were wearing out in our house that needed to be replaced. I was thinking about how every surface needed to be upgraded and about all the repairs that were needed. And it WOULD be nice to have a decent garage! So the song goes.

Long story short...we put the house up for sale and asked a reasonable price that I believed did not need to be lower. Good friends were our realtors, and they almost immediately got a bite. This older couple from out-of-town who had great credit wanted it—especially the wife. "Whoa! Are we really doing this?" I asked. They signed a contract and so began all the (many) inspections for their VA loan. Meanwhile, we started scrambling to find something. Truth is, we saw that our house wasn't so bad after all, and that it would be extremely hard to find something already built that we would be happy with. After looking at several different houses we were not feeling good. One of the most difficult things (and kinda funny) is that Darla kept extending the search area. So after praying about it (seriously) I gave her a limit. Any house we consider must be LESS than 20 minutes from Providence. For the next month, she almost daily sent me listings of houses that were 26 minutes, 23 minutes, 21, 25...you get the point. We had some stress in our marriage over it! Virtually every time she called me and said, "I may have found us a house!" I would reply, "How far from Providence is it?" and she would avoid the question and say something about it that she knew I'd like. "It's got a great garage!" "But how far is it from the church?" It would drive her (and me) crazy! Then, of course, we would find something we liked but it would be way over our price range. I would remind her of that and she would get frustrated. I think our wonderful realtors were getting frustrated with me too (although they promise they were not)! Truth is, I would have been frustrated with me!

Thankfully the couple wanting to buy our house backed out, citing one of the inspectors who had pointed out some minor things that they didn't even ask if we'd fix. They probably just found something they wanted more. Whew! I loved our neighborhood and neighbors, I liked our pretty private back yard, and I like Karns—a community that we had been a part of for 21 years! In my mind, this was all God telling us, "I don't want you to move." We happily decided to stay. Good thing, too, because my Dad soon became very sick and passed away a few months later, and several other things happened that made 2017 an extremely hard year.

But God was really saying, "I don't want you to move...YET."

So now, here's the story.

Over a year later, we were at church on Christmas Eve, when after the service a couple we love approached us and asked, "Y'all wouldn't be willing to sell us your house, would you?" We had invited them over for dinner many months earlier and we may have mentioned at the time that our kids wanted us to move. They told us they loved our house and yard and neighborhood, that their daughter went to school at GCA which is one mile away, and that they had been looking for a house to no avail. "Would y'all just give us a price?" 

Later that week, we invited them over to talk, we agreed on a price and it was done. 

Meanwhile, another good friend who goes to Providence was looking for land upon which to build a house, and found some that had been for sale and tied up in a complex family for years. He began to work hard to clear the obstacles and made an offer to the family to buy the land. He had mentioned it to me back when we were looking to move. We mused about how great it would be to be neighbors (he also likes to work on cars) and how nice the land was (woods two miles from Providence!) and other stuff. But after the sale of our house fell through, the idea faded. But he was still working on it. Months later his efforts paid off and the family sold him the land. Not knowing what was going on with us, he asked me if I thought I'd ever want to revisit that idea to build on some land. I said, "Actually, funny that you should ask..." and told him what happened. That all transpired (I may have gotten some details out of order) WITHIN ONE WEEK! Now Dara, our youngest, had just moved to college and we were empty-nesters. 

But building a house is expensive and we can't build one in a couple of months (when we'd have to get out of the house). So we asked another couple in our church who "just happened" to have bought a project house as an investment that they didn't have specific plans for yet, if they would consider renting it to us. They graciously said they would. This also happened that same week! I'm noticing a theme here, are you? Yes, that's how it seemed to us, that God was indicating it was time.

Again, long story short, we had a HUGE moving sale to off-load all the junk we (like most American families) had acquired as three kids had grown up,  closed on the house, and moved out to our temporary home in Farragut. 

As we pursued purchasing the property two miles from the church, things were becoming a bit tangled, and it had to do with some deed restrictions, neighbors, uncertainty about a graveyard on the property and encroaching Hardin Valley development. Also, our good friend, who was wonderfully helpful (and rather surprised that we were really going to take him up on his offer), was sweating whether or not we were going to be able to do it for a reasonable price and in a reasonable timeframe, as the restrictions hindered our plans.

As we were feeling (for the first time) a little hesitation about the plan, Darla looked on Zillow again. And wouldn't you know it? She hit paydirt. Or, um, dirt we would pay for. Yes, she found a piece of property, 15-17 minutes from Providence (about the same time-of-drive we had from Karns), that was like a little slice of my beloved Jefferson County home! It has a long access to a country road just off of Old Emory Road, just outside Knox County near Oak Ridge (but is actually a Clinton address). We prayed and researched and prayed some more. We found a house plan we like that is smaller than the house we had (3 bedrooms and 2.5 baths, instead of 5 bedrooms+1 bonus and 4 baths). And hopefully I'll get my garage workspace!! 

Oh, and one more "God-timing" thing? This "just happens" to be the year I have a sabbatical, which gives me some much-needed flexibility this summer to get things started.

Ok, here's the quick "So what?": God's timing is right. He is sovereign. As his children, we are wise to simply ask him to show us his pleasure and will. Then, once we recognize and diligently test it, we should move. Sometimes literally! 

"But," someone might ask, "what if you get neck-deep in this build and the economy stumbles and/or Providence decides they want a different pastor and/or you and/or Darla get sick and/or you realize you can't afford this home and/or..." Yep. We've struggled with some of those questions and more. Discerning God's will for something as this-worldly as where we will live is no exact science. It's not like discerning whether God wants me to cheat on my wife (his word is quite clear about that). It's more like applying points of biblical wisdom: will this help/hurt me minister to the Providence flock? Is this unreasonable or enslaving debt? Is this a good investment? Are we motivated by pride or self in this? Or are we motivated by bringing glory to God? Are we placing our hope and desire on this world or the next? These are the important questions that matter. 

I'll try to give updates as we work on our new house. Pray that God will help us be good stewards of what he's given us and listen to his wisdom.

Garden 2016

I like gardening. Let me rephrase that: I like getting a garden started. Every year I plan, plow, fertilize, till, prepare rows/hills, plant seeds or plants, water, and cage what needs to be caged. But then June comes, and I'm away for a couple of weeks (to go camping and/or on vacation and/or I speak somewhere and/or go on a mission trip). It never fails. During that time away from home, the weeds take over. So much so that it would take an unreal amount of work to beat them back. And that's when the heat of summer has set in.

Let me go ahead and say it: I hate weeding in the heat of summer.

So this year I am taking extra pains (during the cool of spring) to prevent weeds. I'm laying down recycled, brown, craft paper and mulching on top of it. I'm hoping this will keep most of the weeds from growing at all, and the most persistent will be sparse enough to be dealt with relatively easily.

I've spent more money this year than ever. The paper has cost about $21 (the big roll of brown recycled type that painters and contractors use from Lowe's is the cheapest), and two yards of mulch cost $44. I also bought a couple of cheap bales of wheat straw for the watermelon and pumpkin area. Other than that I think I've only invested the cost of plants, seeds, and a bag of fertilizer.

I've learned over time what grows well in our garden, and perhaps more importantly, what we will and will not eat. And some stuff is simply cheaper and better from the store and produce stands like corn, okra, bell peppers, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and carrots (in my opinion). I've grown all of those before, but it's just much easier/cheaper/better to let someone else grow them.

I've got poor, clay soil that doesn't drain well. Three or four years ago I brought in a big load of topsoil. I probably need to have a 4H agent or UT Ag come out and test the soil. I'll probably need to mix in some lime and organic compost, and perhaps some sand. The little fence is to keep the rabbits out! They almost wiped out my sweet potatoes two years ago, and I had to replant. Wascally wabbits!

Here's a video of the garden. Forgive the poor quality.

Parenting Leaders

My kids and my godly and active 98-year-old grandmother. She still
plays the organ for her church. Talk about a woman who has made a
 difference! I am so thankful for her example and faithfulness to God.

I want to do everything I can to grow a strong family. This is my number one responsibility. If you're in a family, it's yours too. As a believer, I live to bring glory to God by making disciples. If I don't do that at home, what does this mean? I don't want to waste my life and I want my family to make a difference. Darla and I are raising our kids to be world-changers in their own ways, however God wants them to do that. Parenting is a huge challenge and we're not out of the woods yet! I recently told a friend that one probably shouldn't write a book about parenting until one's own kids are adults in order to be able to prove the strategy works. Ultimately, as with all other things, "it is God who works in us..." (Phil. 2:13), so we can't take any credit at all. It is with prayer and fear that I write (and preach) this! God please have mercy and provide grace to lead my family to walk in your ways.

We're currently walking through the gospel of Luke as a church. Of course, Jesus is the subject; and Luke's perspective on him is unique. Among other reasons, he's the only gentile Bible writer. He's also a keenly observant doctor, and a great story teller to boot.

Luke chapter 2 gives us the only inspired look at Jesus' childhood. That's it! Yeah, there are some apocryphal legends written much later…but none are reliable. And yeah, we can make some assumptions (some do)…but it’s conjecture. Here's everything we know about Jesus' childhood:

Luke 2:41-52 (ESV)

⁴¹Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. ⁴²And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom. ⁴³And when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, ⁴⁴but supposing him to be in the group they went a day's journey, but then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances, ⁴⁵and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching for him. ⁴⁶After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. ⁴⁷And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. ⁴⁸And when his parents saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.” ⁴⁹And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?” ⁵⁰And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them. ⁵¹And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart.

⁵²And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.

This passage isn’t so much overlooked, as it is missed in it’s intent. So many times growing up, I heard this story in Sunday school, along with the aid of felt boards and coloring pages. The focus was usually on the point that someone made a mistake. Must have been Mary and Joseph 'cause Jesus didn’t sin. Well, that’s not what it’s about. 

The PRIMARY reason the Holy Spirit inspired Luke to record was to show that Jesus–from age 12–understood who he actually was: the unique, begotten, Son of God. To claim to be God’s Son is to claim to be God. Throughout Jesus' life on earth he insisted he was the Son of God. The Jews understood that this meant Jesus was equating himself with God: "He was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God" (Jn 5:17-18).  This often made the Jews try to kill him, and that’s ultimately why they did. Luke records this in chapter 22 (NASB): 

^66…the Council of elders of the people assembled…saying, ⁶⁷“If You are the Christ, tell us.” But He said to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe; ^…& they all said, “Are You the Son of God, then?” & He said to them, “Yes, I am.” ⁷¹Then they said, “What further need do we have of testimony? For we have heard it ourselves from His own mouth.”

That's the main thing Luke wanted us to know. Jesus claimed to be God. Because he was. He knew it from at least age 12. When he told Mary that she should've known he'd be in HIS Father's house, he wasn't using a metaphor, as in "God the Father of us all." He used a first-person singular possessive pronoun. "MY Father's house" (emphasis mine). "God really is my very Father and I am his literal Son."

There is a SECONDARY reason we have this story: 

The Temple is significant to God. This is a big deal and it is something that we don’t “get” today. Jesus was drawn to the temple, because the temple was, is (during Jesus' day), and will be important in God’s plan. When Jesus was left behind in Jerusalem, he went to the most logical place—God’s house—the central place of Jerusalem and the very reason they journeyed there for the Passover in the first place. Even more the temple was the center of earth for activity related to God. If one wanted to worship, seek, learn about or interact with God, this was the place to be. The temple pointed forward to Christ, it was the center of much of his ministry activity, and it's where he will return one day. There's more that I mentioned in the sermon and you can hear it here if you want. We will see more of the temple's role as we continue in Luke.

There is a TERTIARY (a third priority) reason I believe God revealed this story, and it happens to be the point that many feel is the most practical–and that's why I'm posting about it. It's what got the most discussion after the services. Several people asked for me to make it available. Here it is.

The home is key in the formation of a leader. We get a very honest snapshot of the family in which Jesus grew up. There are seven observations I made from Jesus’ family that I want to incorporate in my own family, and I encourage you to do so too. 

1. Devotion. Jesus was a part of a devout family that didn’t miss the passover and other customs of the faith. They made worship & religious observance a priority.

• Is your family marked by spiritual devotion? Is this your priority/identity? 

2. Community. Jesus’ family was well connected in their community of family, friends, and neighbors. All of this was faith-centric. So much so that Mary and Joseph assumed Jesus was in the band of them traveling together back to Nazareth. 

• Are you committed to building deep friendships and relationships with people who are positive influences? Where do you go for that? This doesn’t just happen. Relationships must be pursued. This is hard for Americans—we must see the importance of community and take initiative. Small groups, MANday Night, Engage, and many more opportunities exist at Providence.

3. Trust. There was apparently a lot of trust and freedom. Jesus was probably always in the right place and they didn’t become alarmed until a day after leaving Jerusalem. Now, all ended up ok, no one was at fault. If anyone, the parents should have made sure to check on him! He did the right thing by going to the one place they should known he’d be. Observation: they had a trust in him that resulted in freedom. 

• Trust begets freedom which begets more trust… This goes both ways. Kids, show yourselves honest and trustworthy, and parents will give more freedom. Parents, trust but verify and reward with freedom. Your job is to make disciples of your kids, unleashing them into the world to make a difference. That means parenting is in many ways the act of releasing. Catch them doing good. Sometimes let them fail. Point it out in love. Give them the privilege of consequences. Praise like crazy when they show character, honesty, trustworthiness. We brag & nag way too much about performance, not character!

4. Understanding Scripture. He was amazingly well-versed spiritually and engaging even as a pre-teen. No doubt his home was Bible-CENTERED. This is something a kid must have a hunger for themselves. And you can kindle the fire.

• Demonstrate a sincere love for the Bible. 

-Let them see you read it. -Let them hear you quote it -Let them see you live it out.

-When they’re young, read it to them. Discuss its meaning. (Jesus Storybook Bible)

-When they’re older take them to get their OWN Bible. (We spend hundreds on phones/games/clothes, let’s spend dozens on the greatest book..that changes lives.) 

-Encourage time alone with God. But NEVER force-feed or make this negative. 

-Don’t let someone else be the primary source for their Bible training. If they go to private school, let them teach you—you learn with them!

-Always talk about having a biblical worldview. And demonstrate having it. 

5. Learn from Mistakes. His parents didn’t communicate or check on him as they should have. They panicked, worried, and fretted as most parents do. They seem to shift the blame on him a bit. But Mary obviously “got it” later. She told Luke about it. She treasured it!

• You’re going to make mistakes. Utilize them! Don’t over-react or think you’ve doomed your kids. God has grace! He used imperfect parents to sharpen his Son, he will use you. Get over your mistakes and laugh about them later!

6. Obedience. After this episode, Jesus was submissive to his earthly parents. And his parents (Mary at least) told Luke about his full and complete obedience, in spite of the fact that he was God's son (read: "God in the flesh"). Imagine parenting THAT kid! 

• Like Jesus, submit to your parents! Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. " Honor your father and mother" (this is the first commandment with a promise), "that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land" (Eph 6:1–2). Until you’re independent, you’re under God’s command to submit. Unless they ask you to do something that God has forbidden, you only need to obey. You never get too old for this principle. The kind of submission may change, but you are always their child. Honor them! There are exceptions, but in virtually all cases, no one loves you more! This principle of obedience to parents has been ignored by our culture. 
Parents, it is important for you to be strong early. Kids need parents! You’ll have opportunities to be friends later (and much more so if your kids learn obedience).

7. Continued growth. You never finish growing. You never arrive. You can always be a better parent, just as you can be a better person. Your family isn't static. It's either getting healthier or growing toward dysfunction. Your kids aren't stuck in place, they're growing closer to Christ or running from him. 

• Never stop learning! Never quit. Never take a break. Always make things better. Always ask God to help you do your best. He will. Even the bad times will be used for his glory and your good.

The home is totally under attack in so many ways big and small. Fight for it. This is where leaders are made. Once again, there are no accidents with God. He wanted his Son raised in a spiritually-devout, community-connected, trust-based, Bible-centered-and-literate, authority-honoring, continually challenging/improving family, preferably with a mom & a dad. He went to great lengths to make this happen. Mary & Joseph were normal people who had challenges but had to make it work. You are too. You can too. Don’t buy the world’s lies about today’s new definition of family. In Jesus’ home there were important supports for spiritual growth. These are things that you can have in your home. This is how leaders are formed. This is how world-changers are forged.

Hear the whole message here from January 3, 2016 entitled, The Truth of Jesus' Childhood.

Feeding Birds

I really only have one person for whom to buy Christmas gifts. She basically takes care of the gift-buying for all others (with my occasional input, of course). I have to badger her to find out what she wants for Christmas, because for the first couple of months I begin badgering, she says, "I don't want you to get anything." Yeah, right. Truth is I WANT to get her gifts, and I really want her to be happy–maybe even surprised! This is a great challenge for me. If it were just one main gift, that would be hard enough. But of course I need to get a card, and there's all the little stocking stuff (that's the hardest of all for me)! And I also need to find little fun less expensive gifts.

This Christmas, I did pretty well and I feel really good about myself! In the "little fun less expensive gifts" category, I got a couple of vintage-looking, mason-jar-like bird feeders (and a bag of birdseed) to hang on our hummingbird feeder hooks.

Darla loves watching and feeding the hummingbirds, but they're only around during the warm months. I thought she'd also get a kick out of watching different kinds of birds in the winter. I even got her a Backyard Birding magazine! The gift was a hit! My immediate worry, however, was: will any birds come use the feeders? Turns out, they LOVE it. I am watching them have a feeding frenzy right now as I type. I'm also enjoying learning about what all these little guys are. Here are the ones that have been on the feeders just the last 30 minutes this morning:


• Carolina Chickadee (shown here)

• Red House Finch (shown here)

• Tufted Titmouse (shown above on the deck rail, and below on the feeder)

• Carolina Wren

• Red-bellied Woodpecker

• Northern Cardinal

• House Sparrow

Until just now (when I looked them up) I didn't know the first four of those seven species existed! Birds (of the non-huntable variety) have never been an interest of mine. I guess now I'm officially an old geezer. Truth is, we should never stop discovering and learning more about God's creation. It gives us more motivation and opportunity to praise him and be in awe of his wisdom.


Of course these pictures are not very good.

I'll try to add some better ones later.

Addition:
Today I was able to identify some new birds:

• Pine Warbler (a yellowish bird that is now a dominant fixture at the feeders, picture below)

• A grey bird with a white underside and a black mohawk (I think it is a White-breasted Nuthatch).

• Dark-eyed Junco (a little round dark grey bird with a white underside)

I didn't have a clue about any of those last three until looking them up. Ok, I'll admit it. I'm officially an old man now. I kinda like bird-watching.

Update (1/6/2016):
I was inside studying today while lots of bird activity was going on at the feeders. Suddenly out of the corner of my eye I saw a shadow and heard a loud thump outside. I got up thinking one of the birds had hit the window. But on the deck with a Pine Warbler in his talons was a Broad-winged hawk! I grabbed my phone and snapped this picture before he flew off with his prize into the woods for a mid-day snack.

I've got to say, it was pretty cool to watch. Yeah, there was a little regret deep down that we had created a cafeteria that provided easy-picking for the hawk, but that's nature. Hey, hawks need to eat too!

Update (1-9-2016)
Just saw a Downey Woodpecker on the feeder.

Update (1-20-2016)
We had a couple of Rufous-sided Towhees and a big Dove visit the feeder today and stay a while. The Dove stubbornly gorged out on seeds ignoring all the attempts of the other birds to spook him away.

Here's a picture:

You can see a female Cardinal and a House Sparrow waiting in line for the hungry dove to finish. As you can see, today we have snow, which has only made the feeders more popular.

That's fourteen different species of birds (most of them new to me) that have come to the feeders in less than a month. That's pretty cool. Watching them reveals to me God's creativity on display in the beauty, diversity, and harmony of these different species.

Bad dad? Or brilliant? Probably neither.

What have I done? After 3 years of my daughter's nagging, praying, searching, begging, and saving money, I've let her to buy her first vehicle: a 1982 Jeep J10 Loredo pickup. She could not be happier.

As it sat when we bought it.
See the missing fender flare?

Ever since I came home with my Wagoneer a few years ago, she's been in love. She wanted mine, and when I told her that she wasn't getting it (and after her mother said, "no more Wagoneers" in this family) she was determined to buy an old truck. Since she turned 15, I have been inundated with her near daily texts with links to trucks and we have seen many of them. Then she sent me a link to this Jeep J10. She particularly likes J10s because they are basically a Wagoneer truck! Long story short: the guy wanted $5000k for it, we talked him WAY down, she handed him the money and we now have it.

 She could not be happier about this old truck. You would think it is a brand new car. But it is far from new. Mom says it's a piece of junk. There's a long list of things needing attention: like the fuel level gauge or the speedometer that don't work. The hood is covered with pink polka dots of bondo where the previous owner began to repair dents from some hail damage. The metal fender flare was ripped off when the previous owner had a tire blowout (it's in two prices in the bed). The mirrors are mismatched. But all the really important things work: it goes and stops and all the lights work. Amazingly, it doesn't leak!

I've got buyer's remorse and I'm not even the buyer—she is. I feel like a totally foolish parent. Maybe this will be a lesson. Only thing is I'm stuck with picking her up and figuring out how to get the thing home when it breaks down at the most inopportune times. But it will serve as a lesson in life for her. How to fix cars, how to make something better over time, how to settle for what you can afford...or at least, that's what I'm telling myself.

Ok. Sure I like it. It's cool. It's black and loud and tough and just cool. It is actually quite original except for the engine: its straight six has been replaced with an AMC 304. Ok, I don't care who you are, that's just cool. The important things work, but there are many problems. Broken speedometer, gas gauge, air conditioning, and some needed body work. But the old thing has very little rust.
She's got big plans for the big thing. She's already given it a name: Truck Norris.
Happy Father's Day. 

Back Home!

Ahhhhh.
There's nothing like almost three weeks in Asia to reveal the many virtues of home. And there are many virtues! [If you haven't read about our trip to the Himalayas (and you would like to), read the previous 18 posts, starting with this one from August 22nd.]

Oh how I love that our airport has wooden rocking chairs! It
just says, "Welcome home."

The trip back was long. Busy airports, many lines and searches (we traveled on 9/11!), and crowded planes. All was relatively smooth until, yes again, Chicago. Sorry folks, they've got problems. My daughter got stuck there in June and had to spend the night in the terminal, our luggage got lost there on the trip to Asia, and the people who work there are particularly cantankerous. Chicago, surely you can do better than that. This time we had a bit of a layover there after flying in from Abu Dhabi. After being told our gate, we saw it was changed shortly after we arrived, and after going to that gate, it changed again. We were sitting where we could watch the Thursday night NFL game on TV, right across from our gate. Madison laid down to sleep, while Jesse and I stayed up. Three times, Jesse went over to check to make sure the gate didn't change and the flight was on time. We saw no personnel, so we figured it was delayed. We were even watching pilots we tagged as ours dawdling and taking their time. There was no announcement over the intercom, except for a few individuals who were called to check in at the desk. Our boarding time came and went. Jesse went over again to ask what was going on and then we got the news: We missed the boarding. The plane was still sitting there and they wouldn't let us get on. What!? After all this time (over 40 hours) of travel and we miss the last leg!? The American Airlines (yes, I'm naming names), particularly the "supervisor" with whom we tried to reason (who's last name, printed on his name tag, was, appropriately, "Butt") would not budge. And the plane was unmoved, right outside. We watched helplessly as it was towed out and rolled away. I'll spare you the rest of the story. Madison called his new bride (from whom he has been separated for almost as many days as he has been with since the wedding) to break the news (not good). Jesse was too upset to rest and spent the night trying to get us a quicker way home (he did). I laid down on the floor and went to sleep. It is what I do best. I awoke the next morning to find that we were booked for a USAir flight to Charlotte and then to home (thanks, Jesse). That part went by quickly with a friendly USAir staff that got us home a little earlier than scheduled. Finally, about 51 hours after we started the journey home from Nepal, we had arrived. There are few sights I have learned to appreciate more than looking down on the Smokies, and the wonderful little Knoxville McGhee-Tyson Airport. Ahhh.
A petty, emotional list of things I really don't want to think about for a while might include: American Airlines, Chicago, rice, curry, lentils, and body odor. A petty, emotional list of things for which I am thankful would include: beef (yes, I ate a Five Guys burger after coming home), clean water out of the faucet, clean restrooms, MY [clean] BED, ice cream (yes I went to Marble Slab after coming home), southern hospitality, traffic rules that are actually obeyed, and air conditioning.
On a not-so-petty (but still emotional) list of things for which I am profoundly thankful, I would start with my family. In particular, my beautiful and wonderful wife. I missed her sooooo much. When I got back, we just talked. It was so good. It was like a very thirsty man downing a long drink of water.
I also look forward to sharing with my church family. It is going to happen this Sunday. I pray this will be more than just a trip report. We learned a lot, and have much to share.