Random Thoughts

Here are a few more pics of Avery. I have been working on a video that I will try to get up by next week.

_____________________________
Stress-
The sum of the whole is greater than the sum of the parts on a good team. I think stress works the same way. A bunch of little stressors can appear much bigger when clumped together.

Everything for a reason...

Last week on a plane I met a woman with an amazing story. She was in a bad car wreck three years ago that left her surprisingly with no injuries, but the MRI’s revealed that this non-smoker had a grapefruit size tumor in her lung. If she had waited a few weeks longer the cancer would have spread and she wouldn’t have been on the plane next to me.
After finishing this story she said, “Everything happens for a reason.”

This popular phrase sounds nice, but I just don’t think I can agree. It would be tough for me to see the reason for some of the atrocious acts in our world. Though I do think that every moment carries with it the potential for something good to come out of it or in spite of it. There might not be a reason while someone experiences something bad, but I do think something good can come out of it.

What say you, does everything happen for a reason?

She's here

On Thursday at 1:52 pm Avery Ellen Norsworthy joined us. Lindsay and Avery both are doing well at home now.
Avery weighs in at 5lbs 14 oz and stands (or lays down) at 18& 1/4".

Here are a few pics that I am sure will be followed by plenty more.

Olympics...

Since everyone is posting about the Olympics, I guess I will succumb to it also.

The favorite to win the 100M hurdles according to USA Today is none other than ACU Alumni Delloreen London. In my first semester at ACU (where I pretended to be a polevaulter) I finished a workout on the track and went into the weight room to get in a post-workout lift. I began with benching 225 lbs, which I thought was a respectable weight until I sat up from my first set and looked over to my left and saw Dello benching the exact same weight as me. Under most situations having a girl benching as much as me would hurt myself esteem, but not when it’s a world class athlete.

Her husband, Lincoln London, has also run in the Olympics and more importantly is a great guy, except that he always calls me “Skywalker.” They have one daughter (as of a few months ago when I last talked with Lincoln- whose coaching now). Her name reflects her amazing athletic pedigree. I cannot spell it b/c its in their local dialect, but I know her name means what her mom is striving for this week, Gold.


-Are the new swimming suits everyone is wearing similar to a corked bat?

_______________________________________
-Tomorrow we go in to have Lindsay induced, so I will post some Avery pics soon after.

Pressure Washing

As we prepare to move to Texas and sell our house (hopefully) here in Florida, I did some pressure washing the other day. Pressure washing cleaned off almost everything that covered my driveway and sidewalk. Thankfully it removed the dirt that covered the concrete, but I wasn’t as pleased when the pressure washing allowed me to see a massive crack in my sidewalk that until then I didn’t even know existed.

Isn’t that just like life? Pressure and stressful situations remove the pleasantries that often mask some really beautiful traits that we often don’t see and unfortunately pressure can also shows some character flaws that we gladly keep hidden. When in stressful situations you get a clear shot at your true character including the cracks that you try to hide. In the new Batman movie, the Joker seemed to think the same thing. If he put chaos into peoples' lives he thought their cracked humanity would show (remind anyone of a book in the Old Testament?).

Thankfully plenty of people still have amazing character that shines even brighter in pressure situations.

Forgiving

A Christian is someone who forgives.
Non-Christians forgive too, but to follow the forgiving Christ we must be forgiving Christ-followers.

Jesus said that the greatest commandments are loving God and loving people. Most can love those who love them, but Christians are to love those who don’t love them. Often those unlovable enemies are those who have wronged them and need to be forgiven.

Here are a few thoughts on forgiveness
-Forgiveness is a daily choice, not just a momentary decision.
-Forgiveness (and forgiveness’ end-reconciliation) doesn’t always go the way you want and even that needs to be forgiven.
-Often forgiving gives the giver more than the recipient.

Is there a more define act of Christians than forgiving?

She's almost here

Next Thursday Lindsay is scheduled to be induced. It's amazing that Avery is almost here. Here are a few pics from these last few months as we waited on our little Angel.