Success.......

At age 4 success is . . . . Not piddling in your pants.

At age 12 success is . . . Having friends.

At age 17 success is . . . Having a driver's license.

At age 35 success is . . . Having money.

At age 50 success is . . . Having money.

At age 70 success is . . . Having a drivers license.

At age 75 success is . . . Having friends.

At age 80 success is . . . Not piddling in your pants.

There Is Nothing Greater Than A Child's Laugh

What a great time we had with our family over the Memorial Day weekend. Memories of making my granddaughter laugh.... it doesn't get any better than that.

(No comments on the big butt..... thanks Karen for focusing in so well.....)

Ahhhh...... Never Mind..... Forget I Brought It Up

"Oh cheer up Harold. We all make mistakes. It’s not the end of the world......... At least now you're a legitimate Non-Prophet organization..........."

That is EXACTLY what you think it is.....

Yes, that is EXACTLY what you think it is.... my second grandchild!  I am now a "papa" to AT LEAST two grandchildren.  I've told people that I'm 1/4th the way to my goal of EIGHT.  (Some people say that's mean.... considering I only have one child.) Okay, I know it's a lot of pressure for Ashley, but I figure if I set expectations high, I'll have a better chance of three or four...... something like that.

As I shared with my facebook friends, if you look really close, it appears that you can see some "Steen" in the baby's face.......I think.  Of course, that might be his butt... I'm not sure....

I know what you're thinking.  Reminds me of that joke -- "You're so ugly, if my dog had a face like yours, I'd shave it's butt and make it walk backwards."  Now, that's funny.

On a more serious note -- notice I said "I am now a "papa", and not I'm going to be a "papa".  That's because he (I'll use he for now) is already my grandchild.  Do you realize how much God has already invested in this child.  The minute those cells came together in the womb, He was already making plans for his life.  He is strengthening him through his mother right now.  He is growing in such incredible proportions, it's unbelievable.  When he breaths his first breath of air, he will actually be nine months old already.

God has already established a path that he wants my grandchild to follow, and is counting on his mom and dad, (as well as his "gigi" and "papa") to help him stay on that path.  He is forming his personality, he knows what his likes and dislikes will be, he has determined the level of intelligence and types of skills he will be capable of.  He knows what kind of athlete he will be.  He may have already picked out the lady that he will eventually marry, (if she's been born yet).  God has already begun to establish this plan.  Why would anybody consider this a piece of tissue that could still easily be thrown away?

I'm commiting myself now to start praying for this child to be blessed of God; that he will follow in the exact path the Lord has laid out for his life; that his parents will rise to the challenge of raising him with the love and discipline that is necessary to make him exactly what God what's him to be.  I pray that he will be a man of wisdom, discernment, integrity, truth and righteousness.  A man that will love God with all heart and mind, and be tender and sensitive to the things of the Holy Spirit.

As you can see, I'm looking forward to big things from this kid.  I want to be a big part of his life, and be able to invest what I have to offer into him.  (And yes, I mean more than a few corny jokes...)  After all, somewhere in there is a little Steen blood.....  Thanks Ashley and Paul.  You've made me a very happy "papa".  I love you and both of your children..... keep them coming.

Mother's Day -- 2011 -- In Memory of Mom.....

It's Mother's Day and a wonderful time to recognize all the mom's that work so hard at making their children's life easier and make them feel more secure.  I miss my mom today, and thought I'd go back in the archives (2/2/10) and repost a favorite blog entry I created during the last few days of my mom's life.....
I miss you  mom and love you dearly.  See you soon......
Terry

This morning I got the privilege of feeding my mother some breakfast. She's getting so weak, if she has to do it, she'd just rather not. I told her I had just made my "specialty" for her for breakfast. It was Honey Nut Cheerios, and I had added the milk myself..... I usually would get a good laugh, but now it was just a slight grin.... good enough for me. I told her if she didn't eat more, I'd have to try the "airplane ploy" on her. The one she used on us all these years. (It didn't work.)


If you haven't heard, what my mom thought was just not feeling good back in November turned into an case of Acute Leukemia. A very deadly and fast moving form of cancer. The doctors didn't really recommend treatment, as they thought she probably couldn't make it through. The cancer was throughout her body --- blood, lymph nodes, stomach, etc. Maybe 2-6 weeks to live. As time progresses, that number looks to be a pretty good window of time for Peggy Jane Steen, my incredible mom.

It's NO fun watching mom lose her strength to talk (we all know how she likes to talk!).....lose her strength to walk..... and begin the involuntary muscle twitches. I know it's not fun having them either.

I have a whole new respect for people that have gone before me..... caring for parents or elderly going through illness, etc. It's only been 5 days for me and I don't know how some people do it. My hat is off to all of you! Obviously only the Lord can give the strength needed for these privileged jobs.

Mom is still mom though. I told her yesterday morning I was going to get a shower. I could barely hear her, but she made it clear there were plenty of towels and I could get a fresh one. (Always looking out for others...especially her boys.) See mom has this thing..... you never use a towel twice. NEVER should you dry your face with the some towel that just dried your rear end the day before. "I don't care how clean that rear end was.... it's still touching your face!" That's mom. (Notice how I kept the language clean?)

She tries to get to the bathroom at night without ringing "the bell", because dad and I need our sleep...... she doesn't want to bother us. Such is the legacy that mom will be leaving behind soon. One that will live on in our hearts forever.

Dad is dealing with things as well as could be expected. He understands that God is ready for mom, and dad's not going to take on somebody like that in a game of one-on-one. He knows he'll lose. He's giving her up freely. However, it doesn't make the thought of living without her any easier to imagine.....

Dad is still dad.... I saw him eating supper by himself with a single bulb lamp pulled up beside his plate on the kitchen table. You see, that light only had one bulb. The overhead light had four bulbs. That's like..... four times as much electricity not being used....... Dad knows his four boys will be there for him as best we can. But nothing will take the place of that lady that's been on his arm for 57 years......

I thank each of you for your prayers and support during this time..... Some things are NO fun!

Let's Slow Down a Little and Enjoy This Spring

Apparently this is a Catholic driver......

This is NOT What Easter is About..... But it IS Funny....

....... That's the Last Thing I Remember

I've been working out at the gym for some time now, and have really not seen the results I feel I should for the effort I put in.  (Apparently, I have this adverse reaction to pain.)  Just as I'm getting to the point where the weight and rep should benefit me, I stop.  I guess....well..... I guess because it HURTS!..... (I'm sure there's a spiritual application in there somewhere, but that's for another day.)

Anyhow, I thought I'd take a weight lifting class called "Body Pump", with the idea of creating some accountability and discipline to help me get past this little pain thing....  My goal is to look like this....

What's so funny.... it could happen!  We all have to set our sights on something, right?  (Okay, I'll start with the gotee.)

So, I go into this class, and realize it's.... 95% women.  Obviously, this creates a strong opportunity to be humiliated...... on so many levels.  I won't even begin to count all the ways.  HOWEVER, I'm making this thing work.... I just keep focused on two things --

ONE, make sure I can lift more weight that 90% of the women in the class, and

TWO, make sure I don't make eye contact with the other 10% that can lift more than me.  I mean, after all, I don't have a mom to go home too if I start getting bullied..... That's all I need is to upset one of them....

By the way, do you realize how hard it is to type a blog seeing through only one eye?  Until the swelling goes down, I'll probably keep these things short.....

I know, I know, I don't know what happened.  I was just trying to encourage her.  All I said was, "Hey, I noticed you had really nice form on those squats......".  That's the last thing I remember. 

Croc Found in Iowa River.......

Below is a picture of a croc found in a river near Conesville, Iowa.....

Hey!  At least I didn't use the one about their state tree being the telephone pole.....

Never Underestimate a Turkey......

I've been reading President George W. Bush's book, "Decision Points", and ran across an interesting story this week.

President Bush had invited the Saudi ruler, Crown Prince Abdullah, to his ranch in Crawford, TX, for some Middle East peace discussions.  They were not going well at all.  In fact, the Prince was about to abruptly leave for home.  The President wisely asked him if he would like to see his ranch before he left, (knowing the Prince loved his own farm).

As they reached a remote part of the property, a lone hen turkey was standing in the road.  They stopped the truck, but the bird stayed put...... and would NOT move.  How frustrating and embarrassing.

"What is that?" the crown prince asked.  The president told him it was a turkey, saying "Benjamin Franklin loved the turkey so much he wanted it to be America's national bird."

Suddenly the president felt the crown prince's hand grab his arm.  "My brother", he said, "it is a sign from Allah.  This is a good omen."............... The talks continued as planned, with any tensions melting away.  For the rest of President Bush's presidency, his relationship with the crown prince was extremely close.

Let's keep an eye out for "turkey's" in our path today.  We don't know if it's that stubborn person that frustrates us at work, the person that always seems to be a hinderance to what we see as progress, or just that embarrassing situation that we'd rather not have fallen into......

There could be a divine reason or purpose that God is creating to sharpen your character, slow you down to line up with HIS timing,  or test your faith to show what He can do through an unlikely circumstance.  Let's look for our "turkey's",  thank God for them and embrace them today. 

If you don't cross the "t" or dot the "i", how do you know which one it is......

I was driving home from church yesterday and we pulled up to a red light and stopped behind a Honda SUV.  I said to my wife, "I would HAVE to fix that. That would drive me crazy!"  She looked up and said, "fix what?"  I said, "the word HONDA on that SUV...." She said, "I don't even see HONDA anywhere...."
The metal wheel cover had the large letters HONDA on it, and it was crooked!  Come on!  Would that bother you?  I mean, how tough would it be to just spin that piece a little bit clockwise?  There, now I feel better.

Okay, how about when somebody on facebook sends you an invitation for an event and asks if you're attending?  Don't you feel an obligation to respond, even if they live 1,000 miles away and really didn't MEAN you?  Come on... if you don't respond that little red number in the upper left corner is going to keep driving you crazy.  It glares at you saying, "Here's something not done!  Nanny nanny boo boo!"  Just respond and be done with it.  That's what I do.  Now, I really feel better.

I could go on....... but you get my drift. How you handle the details in your life tells people a lot about you.  (I haven't decided what yet.) 

Church Gossip

Mildred, the church gossiper and self-appointed monitor of the church's morals, kept sticking her nose into other people's business.
Several members did not approve of her extra curricular activities, but feared her enough to maintain their silence.  She made a mistake, however, when she accused Henry, a new member, of being an alcoholic after she saw his old pickup parked in front of the town's only bar one afternoon.  (It had broken down and he was after a tow truck).
She emphatically told Henry and several others that everyone seeing it there would know what he was doing.
Henry, a man of few words, stared at her for a moment and just turned and walked away.  He didn't explain, defend, or deny.  He said nothing.  Later that evening, Henry quietly parked his pickup in front of Mildred's house..... walked home.... and left it there all night.
You gotta love Henry!

No way would I take a FULL year sabbatical....... that's just plain lazy!

Okay, I know it's real close.... man, where has a year gone!

Anyway, I'm back by popular demand......  Okay, popular request....... Okay, it wasn't really popular either.... and it wasn't actually a request.  Somebody just asked me what the name of my blog was....

Hey, that's enough for me.  I knew deep down they were a dry and thirsty soul, looking for some refreshment that could only be quenched by my fountain of thoughts........ okay, trickle.

I hope to be more frequent, with shorter entries that are quick to read.... if I can.  I know you're busy.  Plus I'm getting older and can't keep one train of thought too long anymore.....

I guess I'm done.  Not much of a splash after ALMOST a year.  But I look forward to connecting again.
God bless.