Sunday Morning Rain

Its raining this Sunday Morning. And for once in a long while, I'm just up in the quiet peacefulness of it all without rush. The kids are still asleep and so is my wife. The rain is gently falling...

You see, our church had planned a church-wide family picnic today, so we are only having one service. As luck would have it, or maybe providence, its the late service. The picnic is supposed to follow. I hope they had some sort of contingency plan. The rain show no sign of letting up. A quick check of the radar indicated much more rain heading our way.

We really have been blessed with the rain. The drought we suffered over the last couple of years has been broken. The grass in the yard is green. There are no burn bans. I have no complaints.

The picture above was taken on a Sunday morning. It wasn't raining, but it sure was peaceful.

Long Day and Thoughts of Rest

It has been a long day. Up, dressed and out of the house by 0530; not back till 1730. That makes for a long day. Keeping these kind of hours, coupled with the flurry of end-of-school activities with my boys has left me a tired man. I can tell when I get tired on the inside. My thoughts become more random. My attention is shorter and I contemplate temptations much more than I should. I seem to cut out time in the Word. Prayer time suffers. Rest is needed. An interest is needed... Fishing? That's exactaly what I was thinking...how long till the weekend?

These rods were stacked against the door to our cabin during the Galveston trip. Great memory!

Saltwater Fun

Oh its been awhile...since I blogged. Sorry. I've been really busy. You know, being busy means I have a lot to talk about, but little time to talk about it. That's kinda paradoxical, ain't it? What? you looked at the picture and asked yourself, "How do you call that busy?" Hey, I take my recreation seriously too!

Last week, I had the opportunity to go to the Gulf coast and fish Galveston Bay with a guide. That was my first guided trip. I loved it! We got two days on the water wade fishing and chasing speckled trout under seagulls.

The two reds I'm holding up were caught on the first day. I was wading a large flat called Starvation Cove, fan casting when the first one hooked up. What a fight! As soon as the fish took the lure, line was screaming off the reel. He ran straight out toward deeper water. After he slowed, I turned his head and started cranking. About the time he got to within ten yards, zzzzzziiiiiiiiipppppp, out he went again!.

This lasted for awhile, until he got tired. Upon reeling him in close, he didn't have the energy to run out any more, so he ran in circles around me until we was spent. Heck, I was spent. For a moment, we just stood there looking at each other. Wisely, I placed him on a stringer before attempting to retrieve the hook. Too cool! I was tired and excited all at the same time.

After I regained some composure and repositioned the bait. I cast out into the same area. BAM! The second red hit. The fight was on again.

Two red fish, two casts. That is a great memory of my first wade fishing trip. Both fish were 26 inches long. I can't decide weather to mount them or eat them. I do know, however, I want to take my boys wade fishing - soon!

Stop and Smell the Geese?

It has been a while since I last posted, sorry. There is simply too much going on. We have been so busy that I am afraid even the closest relationships have been affected. Hopefully, by God's grace, we will find the balance soon. Beyond the twelve projects on my desk at work, the youth building addition to the church, spring housework, end of year homework, friends getting married, showers and parties, birthdays, Mother's Day, etc., etc...

You know, while I was driving to work this morning, I spotted these baby geese. God used the moment to speak to my heart about family as the parents quickly shielded the babies from my view. He reminded me of the true simplicity of the life He has asked us to live and the lightness of His yolk.

I actually almost missed the moment. You see, I was driving to work, engrossed in the things of the upcoming day. I had to stop after I passed the geese, turn around and go back to get the picture. In fact, I had to wait for the babies to be revealed. Maybe I need to slow other things down a little too...