A Slower Pace

If you thought that FEMA couldn’t screw a disaster any worse than their flacid response to Katrina, this news video clip will just astonish you.

Yes, folks, we PAY taxes which provides money to fund this inept agency and pay salary to a gov’t worker like that assessor.

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

At least for today, I am officially an Ohioan. See the declaration below.

Now granted, I don’t officially follow or watch the NBA. I started boycotting them after the 1998 strike because I did not want to support whiney babies who play a game for a living and make more in a day than I do in a year and complain about it. And, while I am a die hard Dallas fan, it’s not the Mavs but the Cowboys. However, I allow a little of that to spill over and I can honestly say that I routed for the Mavs for the entire 48 minutes of game 6. So technically I am a Mavs fan so therefore today I am an honorary Ohioan.

I am giving a shout-out to all the other honorary Ohioans today.

All that and I didn’t even have to move.

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

I heard this story on the way in to work this morning.

There was an old, wise indian chief who was walking along the path with his son. He was telling him how each tribe member had inside of them two wolves that were in constant battle. One wolf was good and sometimes gained the upper hand. The other wolf was evil and also sometimes ended up on top.

The wise chief replied to his son, “The wolf that you feed.”

Note for today — make sure you are feeding the correct wolf within you.

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

So here I am in the work week pre-dating a post that I should have written on the weekend. However, I was busy with the family traveling up to my daughter’s university for her testing, going to parent orientation, and wishing I could be a carefree student again and go back to a school with resources such as what my daughter will enjoy.

During one of the presentations, several sentences struck me as particularly focuses. They were the three guiding principles of the school and are incredibly impactful. They are also applicable to each one of us whether we are in school or out in the world.

They are:

I am going to incorporate that into my daily living. Because we all still aren’t done being the people God calls us to be. And we certainly aren’t done doing His work.

So get out there and be, do and learn.

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

Today was quite challenging at work. My boss is in Europe and there was quite a big issue that came up that went up the food chain. I ended up in a meeting with my boss’s boss’s boss working on an issue that had significant ramifications. Luckily, everyone focused on the facts at hand, gaps and risks, and possible solutions. There were no witch hunts or people thrown under the bus — quite a bit different than previous environments I’ve been exposed to.

But the day was challenging none-the-less. Multiple emergency meetings, efforts to keep everyone informed, documentation, and more communication. So when my last meeting ended at 8pm (luckily I called in from home — remember, Life-Work balance) I was ready to spend time with the family and decompress.

So pool time and splashing were the cure. I played in the pool for about an hour with K and D. And then spontaneously, I asked if anyone wanted to do a “field trip” to our favorite ice cream stop — Graeter’s Ice Cream.

Almost any day — hard, difficult, challenging, bad or just downright suckie — can be turned around with a little swimming and some ice cream.

And to top it off, I paused while swimming to watch a lone heron flap his wings slowly into the sunset. It was a scene of beauty that allowed me to just slow down and smell the roses. This evening, “a slower pace” really meant it.

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

The quick video below is some encouragement from a young boy who just learned how to ride his bike. And, interestingly, we can apply it to other areas of our life as well.

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

Fridays have always been a good day. I mean, what’s not to like — end of the work week and at the cusp of two days off for the weekend. And, for me, Fridays have become extra special because my son has been joining me serving breakfast at Wayside Christian Mission, spending time in my office at work, and then heading to an early lunch at one of our favorite places — Mark’s Feed Store. Mmmmmm……catfish and sweet tea!

So on our way to eat I exited work and hit the main street to Mark’s. Not even up to speed, I spotted a car in the #1 lane of the four lane road. I quickly slowed down and figured out that the car had stopped short of a water turtle in its path. One of the occupants had jumped out and was “relocating” the web-footed, hard shelled road blockage to safe grass on the side of the road.

I remained stopped in the #2 lane to provide a block and pick for the occupant so no traffic could get by and endanger them. As they returned to the car, I rolled down my window to give them some accolades and encouragement for taking care of the turtle.

Soon enough all cars and amphibians were safe and on their respective ways.

It sure was cool to see others looking out for turtles. See a previous post here on my affection for the little guys.

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

This morning, while reading my devotions with breakfast, it happened again. I turned exactly to the page in Scripture for the day. While that is always amazing to me (this is the third time it has happened – see a previous post here), I was not trying to get to the exact page and, even more interesting, it was in an Old Testament book that I rarely read from – Nahum – and don’t know exactly where it is in the Bible (although I know it is in the minor prophets section towards the end of the OT).

It was a cool way to start the morning.

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

I am post dating this post so it appears on the date my son and I went fishing.

To kickoff the Memorial Day weekend, I wanted to emphasize family time. We had a shindig planned with people coming over on Sunday and definite pool plans on Monday. But to kick it off with good emphasis, I woke my son up early Saturday morning so we could go fishing. We hadn’t been in a while and he had been asking. So we beat the sun up and packed up the poles and tackle, bought some live bait, and headed to a spot where a friend had some luck earlier in the month.

We arrived at Miles Park only to find the “old men chasing a little while ball club” (also known as the SPGA) had absconded with the park for the weekend. With the Senior PGA at Valhalla, Miles Park was rented for the parking and they weren’t allowing fishing. Lame and a total bust! (Another reason I don’t like golf.)

So plan B kicked in and D and I headed down the street to Long Run Park. It is a very scenic area with a large-ish pond (or small lake). A few fellow fisherman beat us there, but none had taken our favorite spot in an inlet with some downed trees. It must be a good spot though because as we pulled up we scared off a blue heron who was fishing the same spot.

Soon enough worms were on hooks and lines were in the water. The air was a bit chilly for just a t-shirt but perfect in an hour or two. The mist slowly rose from the lake and we could hear the occasional splash of a fish jumping for breakfast.

D caught the first fish — a smaller but nice bass (I think). It put up a pretty good fight and D was thrilled. I am proud of him because his dad is not a fisherman by any stretch of the imagination. I actually hate fishing and would be much more successful if they allowed firearms. It burns me that I can see my fish but can never coax them into anything more than just stealing my bait. So for my son to actually do well fishing is nice to see because he didn’t learn it from me — other than maybe how to worm a hook and how to cast. I am just one of those who pays my yearly donation to the Kentucky Fish and Game Dept (more commonly known as a fishing license to normal people).

However, as I was thinking about that quote for this post and smiling at my son’s luck and the scenery around me, my line drops down and I get a tug on my pole. Could it be that my “donation” this year might actually provide a dividend in the form of a captured fish? Sure enough, there was something on my line and it wanted to get away. Now in the past, my luck has always been to hook the spirited, energetic fish that provide quite a fight only to be removed from the water to reveal a tiny pipsqueek fish. This appeared to be another one of those times. So while I enjoyed the tugs and fight during the reel in process, I did not have my hopes up. I was genuinely surprised when I pulled out the largest fish I have ever caught — which isn’t saying much. I don’t know how long he was or how much he weighed but the catfish was quite a beauty. I did get a picture of it though thanks to the wonders of today’s technology and my cell phone camera.

Even a bad fisherman gets lucky every once in a while.

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

Someone’s reading my blog and has a sense of humor.

However, do NOT mistake one false prophet man’s mis-interpretation of Jesus’ return as if it is not going to happen. Technically, Harold Camping is right — he just is very wrong in his timing. Which is the sign of a false prophet.

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net