Crazy Love

Lately, I have had a blast re-connecting with old friends on Facebook. I know... 99% of Facebook users were probably born after 1980, so I am definitely in the minority here. But my generation is catching on.

This morning I met one of my old friends for breakfast at United. He lives in Yukon, but comes to Woodward once a month on business... and has the entire time I've lived here. This I never knew, and probably would have never known, had it not been for Facebook.

The times have changed... but more importantly I have changed, and so has my friend. When Darren and I left Arapaho High School we threw caution to the wind and lived fast and hard. Back then our conversation would have consisted of something quite different than our conversation this morning. Today we discussed, of all things a book! That's right... "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan.

Friends... today I rejoice in the fact that I have been arrested by God's "crazy love" and... so has my friend!

Limited View

Yesterday afternoon I completed yet another step of the journey toward becoming certified as a private pilot. Upon leveling off at an altitude of 3500 ft, Randy (my instructor) handed me a view limiting device which I slipped on over my glasses. Up until this moment I had been trained to navigate by the horizon, but now my view was literally limited to a set of gages directly in front of me. For the next 30 minutes Randy instructed me to perform turns to various coordinates by trusting nothing but the gages. There were times when it seemed as though the gages were lying to me... my mind literally was in conflict with what the gages were reading... I was experiencing spatial disorientation. But since I know the gages do not lie, I trusted them rather than my own deceived intuitions. Friends, this brought a new meaning to the phrase... "Living by faith instead of sight."

In a very real since, we live out life under a view limiting device. Many times along the journey, we come to a places of uncertainty and we aren't sure which way to go, or what to do next.... we become spiritually disoriented. These are critical moments because the decisions we make here affect our destiny. Our tendency is to go with our gut, but doing so could be disastrous. There is a different way... a way that is safe and sure.

Proverbs 3:5-6... Trust in the Lord with all of your heart, and lean not to your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your ways.

Today, while you journey, you may loose your way. You will know what to do, but your intuition will challenge you to do the opposite. Don't do it! Like properly calibrated avionics, God never lies. Trust Him and enjoy the journey.

I'm Inspired

I'll admit that I am more than a little weary of hearing all the hoopla over an African American man becoming President of the United States of America. I could care less about the color of a man's skin... I am much more concerned about the content of a man's character. My hope is that Barrack Obama is more than a sauve politician, a passionate orator, and a brilliant campaigner. Time will tell.

Whether a fan of the man, or not, one cannot overlook the fact that his journey is inspiring. His rise to the highest office in the land reminds each of us that America is still the land of opportunity... that in America, if a we make the right decisons and are willing to work hard, we can be what we want to be. Unfortunately, many will settle for far less.

So... today, as I wonder what the outcome of his leadership will mean for America, I applaud him. No doubt little people told him he couldn't do it... that he didn't have what it takes... but he didn't succomb to the doubting discouragers. He must have rather chosen to surround himself with people who shared a common belief... a belief far greater than an African American should be elected... a belief that he espoused a set of ideals that were good for America. Today, because he set and stayed a specific course, he will be given the chance to test his ideals.

As I watch segments of the celebration (probably replays) I will not see a America's first African American President... I will see a man who, because he lives in America, had the opportunity to come out of no where to be President of the United States, and he took it.

I'm inspired.

The Family is Growing!!!!

I overheard a phone conversation between Brenda and Tish the other day... well at least I heard Brenda's side. It went something like this... "You're pregnant!" followed by "I thought you might be pregnant." Yep folks... the family is growing. The next little Hayes is due to enter the world on Agust 30, 2009.

The discovery has caused Tish to stress just a little... something about the thought of having two little ones in diapers at the same time... go figure. And I'm stressing too... something about Brenda reminding me that we really need to get our house built before next Christmas so we can have ample room for what will be, by then, FOUR grandchildren. To say the least, 2009 will be busy and very intresting.

I am a blessed man... great wife... great kids... great grandkids (not literally)... great life.

Just A LIttle Ditty Before Heading To The City...

Got a little time before Brenda and I head for the city so I'll post a little ditty...

Thanksgiving week is family time for us... BIG TIME. For many years we have traveled to Paden, Oklahoma and stayed the entire week with Brenda's parents. Over the years the family has grown from a few to several and, this year, Scott, Tish, Bree, Jarrett, Shane, and Ashley were there for the entire week. We had a blast!

The main event at this annual gathering is eating... not just on Thursday, but every day. In my humble, but accurate opinion, there is no better food to be found than that which is found in Cora Nell's Kitchen during Thanksgiving week. I missed out on Sunday and Monday... so I don't know what was on the menu, but I got my fill each of the other days...

• Tuesday was Pa's lip smackin' ribs & fixin's with Nan's "to die for" sauce
• Wednesday was a crawfish boil... a new tradition started by Andy & Shane
• Thurday was traditional dinner complete with the family's famous chicken & noodles
• Friday was Bubba Burgers... Jalapeno, Onion, and Regular
• Saturday night... another round of Bubba Burgers

Like I said... for us, eating is the main event.

As I reflect on the week and recount the many things I am thankful for, I am reminded once again that I am a blessed man.

Let's Play Tag...

Dawn tagged me, so play along will you?

1. Link to the person who tagged you.

2. Post the rules on your blog (copy and paste 1-6).

3. Write 6 random things about yourself.

4. Tag 6 people at the end of your post and link to them.

5. Let each person know they have been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.

6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

6 Random Things About Me

• I have a serious need for speed... I like to move fast... really fast. I honor the speed limit, but dream about piloting a jet. I guess for now I'll just have to get my kicks @ 110 miles an hour in a Cessna 152.

• By nature I am an introverted loner. Over the years I have disciplined my self to "open up" but occassionally I relapse and return to my own little island. Fortunately, the longer I live the less often this happens.

• I am a nail biter... a habit I despise but have a difficult time not doing.

• I become infuriated when self-righteous people assign motive to me or anyone else.

• I use large finger nail clippers to clip skin off of the callouses on my feet... drives Brenda crazy.

• I would like to be a flight instructor if, or when, it becomes apparent that I no longer need to be pastoring.

I tag Shane, Ed, Les, and Tyrel

95 Knots With No Lights...

Well... after taking a few weeks off, largely due to adverse wind and weather conditions, I have resumed my flight training and now have 2.1 hours of night flight in my Pilot Logbook. And I must say... flying at night is one incredible ride! There is just something about piercing the air at 95 knots (109 miles per hour) with no lights.

In many ways flying at night parallels the life of faith. Just as a Christian must live by faith and not by sight, or even feeling, a pilot must fly by the instruments rather than by sight or feeling. If a pilot disregards the instruments, for the sake of his feelings or intuitions, he is inviting catastrophy into his life... literally he is flirting with disaster. Likewise, the Christian who forsakes a life of faith, for a life of feeling, invites less than God's best into his life... literally he is flirting with spiritual disaster.

Well.. enough preaching... back to my story.

Last night I had to do my pre-flight inspection in the dark. Yes I used a small flash light, but even so, the inspection demanded additional dilegence from me. After I had finished, Randy (my instructor) and I buckled up, cranked 'er up, and taxied toward Runway 1-7. After completing a pre-flight run up, setting the heading indicator, and making my call... "West Woodward traffic, Cesna 5453 Mike departing 1-7, West Woodward"... I positioned the aircraft in the center of the runway, firewalled the throttle, lifted off, turned off the landing light, and sped off into the wild black yonder. Exhilarating!

We stayed in the flight pattern for about an hour and did several touch and gos. Since the regulations require a simulated electrical failure, a couple of the approaches were done with no landing light. Up until that moment I had thought 95 knots and no lights was a rush, but I must say, approaching the ground at 70 knots (80 miles per hour) with no lights is even more intensely so. Let me just say this... the ground approaches really, really fast and... you can't see it until you touch it.

I am pleased to say that one of the best landings I have made, to date, was made in dark last night. I am not sure why, but maybe it had something to do with focus. Yea that's it... since it was too dark to see anything that might have otherwise distracted me, I was forced to focus all my attention on the only thing that really mattered at the time... gently flying the plane onto the runway.

In life, too often we are so distracted by the insignificant that we are unable to focus on the significant. In flying, this will take you out... as in get you killed. In life, it may not get you killed, but it will none-the-less take you out.

Oh... there I go... preaching again...