Apprentice2Jesus

Transitions of Life

WARNING: Shameless parental bragging about to commence.

I have decided I will probably spend the next 5 years of my life crying constantly. I cry a lot, anyway, but this is a time of life where transitions are really touching me. Last year it was my oldest son getting married. This year, my second son is graduating high school.

He is a theater fanatic so we’ve had high school musicals and plays for four years. A few weeks ago he finished his high school career playing Gaston in “Beauty and the Beast.”

Last night he had his last choir concert. His choir director was interviewing to be the high school’s choir director when Josiah was “Curly” in Oklahoma as a freshman. When the choir director saw Josiah on the stage he told his wife, “That’s a young man I want to develop. He’s got something.”

The choir director has poured his talent into Josiah and last night it was shining. Josiah had received a superior rating and was named to the all state high school choir. To reward him for the achievement, the choir director had Josiah sing a solo piece from Handel. The singing was amazing, but it was what happened right before that filled my heart with such thankfulness.

The high school choir was seated on the sides in the auditorium as the elementary all star choir was on stage. As the elementary choir was leaving the stage, Josiah made his way unannounced to the stage for his solo. As he came up, the choir just exploded in applause for him. They hooted and hollered and cheered. I could not have had more love and pride for my son than in that moment. His high school career was culminating and he was being recognized by his peers as having done his best through his time at the high school.

Of course, I cried. I couldn’t even clap. I was blown away by the response of the choir members.

He received other awards for his work in the choir last night as well. But the biggest award was that amazing response from his peers as he made his way quietly to the stage.

I’ll cry at his graduation. Then, my youngest son will make his way through the rest of his high school career and I’ll cry a lot more.

Maybe I’ll invest in Kleenex stock for the next several years.

New Puppy

I can’t help it. Here are some pictures of our new puppy, Monty. He’s absolutely adorable.

Monty

45

Today is the day I turn another year. It is the day I face squarely and say, “I’m ready.”

Or, it’s the day I fall to the floor and curl up in a little ball and start sucking my thumb.

On the backside to 50 now.

It’s actually a great place to be in life. One son is married and doing well. Our second son is getting ready to graduate high school. Our youngest just turned 16. It’s a great place in life. I’m grateful.

Legacy: 5 Generations

Five generations are alive in my family right now and it’s pretty special. My grandmother, Worldia Yarnell. My mother, Ruth Thompson. My sister, Mary Gaull. My niece, Amanda Spear. My great-niece, Caitlyn. What a joy!

The Trip to Alabama

Over the past week I’ve been on the road to Alabama, in Alabama, and coming back from Alabama as we celebrated our oldest son’s wedding. On the road down I had my two other sons (Terri had already flown to Alabama) and I picked up my parents in Kansas. We then drove two days to Alabama.

That part of the trip will be a treasure for me. I treasured as many moments as I possibly could during the time. I do not want to forget being with my parents for two days uninterrupted. Conversation has always been easy between myself and my parents. Two straight days of driving didn’t hamper that. We could talk the entire time, and probably did!

They have always been heroes of mine, so having the opportunity to have them to myself for a couple of days (along with my two younger sons) was a priceless time for me. We could talk about life, the Lord, politics, family, and so much more. This was a part of the country they had not seen before, so it was a treat to show them beautiful country. One of the biggest treats was seeing the cotton fields and my dad saying, “I’ve always wondered about cotton. It would be fun to pick cotton.”

Then, we get to my son’s church where the wedding is held, and there is a cotton field behind the church! Dad went right out and picked some cotton.

Wedding Slide Show

These are just some shots we snapped. The professional ones will come later!

The Wedding

Tomorrow I have the privilege of performing the wedding for my oldest son. I will attempt to do so without crying all the way through the ceremony.

It was last week, I’m sure, that my wife and I looked down at this new infant laying between us and thought, “How could we have so much love for one human being?” But we did. And we’ve done so three times with three amazing boys.

It was just six days ago, I’m sure, that I’m chasing this toddler down the halls of some mall. He is just learning to walk, but he’s always been in a hurry. So, he doesn’t just start to walk. He starts to run. And I’ve been trying to catch up since that day.

It was just five days ago, I’m sure, that I’m watching him dribble a basketball when he wasn’t even 2. Then, he’s hitting a ball off a tee playing with boys 2-3 years older than he is. I’ve got major league contracts on my mind. I’ll be his agent. My future is secure.

It was just four days ago, I’m sure, I’m watching him play baseball and soccer and learning that knives are really cool.

It was just three days ago, I’m sure, I’m watching him go to high school. We have homeschooled all this time, but then we put him in public school and he thrives. I find him a job working for a garage and he’s never quit working.

It was just two days ago, I’m sure, I’m watching him graduate high school. He has made it through. We are swelling with pride.

And now, he’s in college, working on his own business and marrying a wonderful young lady. One week and it’s flown by.

I am incredibly proud of the man he is becoming. I am thankful for his love for life. I can’t believe this day has come. Tonight I am incredibly thankful man. The Lord is truly good.

Wedding Bells

The past couple of weeks have been horrendously busy. The next week takes it to a whole new level, but it’s worth it. My oldest son, Joshua, is getting married on October 9. He met his fiance, Lisa, at school in Alabama. Joshua has always been in a hurry, so it’s not much of a surprise to me he’s getting married while still in college. (He also started his own company. He’s also been incredibly busy all his life as well.)

I get to perform the wedding. My hope is I don’t bawl like a baby all the way through. (Just most of it.)

These are great times of celebration and I am incredibly thankful for three amazing sons. (My wife gets all that credit! Honestly.)

There probably won’t be much writing here for awhile. But you’ll know why.