9/11, the other pilot

This Sunday marks the 10th anniversary of the day the terrorists attacked our country destroying the twin towers. I don't know where you were on that day, but our family was at Disney World in Orlando, Fl. They shut the park down for safety reasons and it was a mass exit out of the park. In the parking lot, we listened on the radio as we heard details of the events that had just taken place. We couldn't move because of the log jam in the parking lot. We just sat there....speechless. Each plane we saw in the air caused us to wonder where the plane was headed and who was piloting it. We were confronted with evil. The trip was supposed to be meaningful, but we didn't expect it would be in this way.

I'm sure you have your own story of where you were on that day, much like the Alan Jackson song "Where were you when the world stopped turning?".

The video below tells the story of the man who at one time was scheduled to be the pilot of one of the planes that went into the World Trade Center. Listening to his story takes me back to the day that it happened and the difference between the day before and the day after.



As a Christian, I can only say 'Amen' to what he says.

Camping at Tugalo State Park, Labor Day

Our family enjoys going camping. We try to go 3-4 times a year. Usually Justin and I go with a tent at least once and we go as family in our camper a few times. Our location of choice is usually Tugalo State Park in Lavonia. It's on the GA/SC border and is about an hour North of our home. There's a good amount of stuff to do from fishing and having a campfire to playing tennis or miniature golf. There's also a field where you can play frisbee or soccer. Some may say that our camping is cheating because you still have water and power, but that's the only way Stephanie will go. :)

I jokingly call our camper our vacation home or lake home. It does sound kinda odd to say that when we camp we still have cable tv, heat, air conditioning, a refrigerator and access to a washer and dryer. It's still a relatively inexpensive way to get away for a few days and spend time together as a family . And when I say together, I really mean together. When we pass each other in the camper we bump into each other. Nothing like family closeness...especially when Justin hasn't taken a shower lately.

Oh yeah, add in there that we also take our dog Daisy with us and you can see that we have all kinds of fun. By the way, she started to chase a dog this time and broke her collar. When Justin and I were playing tennis she sent this text to me: "Daisy broker her collar. had 2 chase her around campground. nice man helped me catch her. hope u had fun w tennis". I don't think that she was smiling much when she sent that.

This year we had a small get together to celebrate Katelyn turning 6 at the campsite. It was kinda a last minute family party. We had given her gifts and had a mini-party at our house on her actual birthday on Thursday (she got a new bike!). We had some family over and had some cake and ice cream. Her Aunt Starlet brought some cake balls that were awesome! Her Uncle Shane and Nanny and Granddaddy were also there. When we asked her what family she wanted us to invite she said "not Aunt Wendy!". We looked at her kinda surprised and then she added: "she hugs too hard!". Her Aunt Wendy couldn't make it because of other plans (like I said, we planned it last minute), but knowing her, I have a feeling that her hugs won't be getting any lighter know that I've posted this, if anything they will get harder.

We really enjoy spending time enjoying God's creation. We didn't enjoy the rain He sent on Monday too much, but it's hard to complain when we need it so bad. We were prepared with a rain suit and poncho though. We were able to visit a local church on Sunday where a friend we used to go to school with is now the pastor.

Here's some pics of the weekend:

Katelyn's Birthday gathering



A new twist on smore's (snickers, we also had Reece's as well)


Justin showing off his Snickers smore


Sitting around the campfire:


This is how we broke camp on Monday. Thankfully, the rest of our trip was dry, except for all the time we spent in the lake, but that was getting wet by choice. :)


Katelyn displayed how each of us felt after the weekend. It was a great time, but each of us needed some rest.

This and That

Hope everyone is doing well. Here's some various items to put a smile on your face. Some of these I may have shown before. Have a good weekend. We'll be at our lake home this weekend (the camper).

giving a rabbit bunny ears





This picture of Winnie the Pooh is not in the kids books:


Walmart has raised it's low prices :)



Pretty sad :(



dog tucks himself in


wow, this is crazy


double backflip off swing, both amazing and stupid at the same time


love kids and ice cream


climbing a rope while hula hooping


Triple Play


As one who loves popcorn, I appreciate this:

Katelyn's growing up, and so am I

Well it was a rough morning at the Harrison household. The crisis: Katelyn didn't want to get her hair brushed. I'll leave out most of the details of the crisis and give you with a brief summary.

1. We only have so much time in the morning before we leave for school.
2. Katelyn wouldn't obey us.
3. We left later than usual for school, but still made it on time.
4. I learned more than she did.

We're into the second week of school and the kids have been pretty good so far, except for one rough morning last week, but that's another story. The picture above is from her first day of 1st grade, notice the smile and missing teeth. There wasn't much smiling this morning

There came a point this morning where I realized that this was not a 'quick' fix, rather this was something that was going to take a little while, even being late for school. After the usual "you're mean" and "you're hurting my feelings" we were able to make some progress. After telling her to get in the car, she ran to her room and hid in the closet. Up to that point, one of my primary goals was to just get her to school and move on. Obviously, it moved beyond that now. At that point I had to 'invest' in the relationship a little. I'm not going to say what happened in the room, but it ended with her crying and me holding her in my arms telling her how much I love her.

Now here's my question: Who was teaching who in that moment? I would not have planned to have that happen this morning, I would've avoided it at all costs, I did try to avoid it, so did Stephanie, but there came a point where I couldn't. I think that in the midst of the situation God was teaching me more about Himself than I was teaching Katelyn. Let me explain that a little.

God has revealed to us everything we need in this age and the age to come in His Word. Many times we choose to go our own way and God corrects us. He'll do this in a variety of ways, sometimes when we least expect it. Because He made us, we belong to Him and the ironic thing is that when we do as He asks we are actually doing what's best for us. We of course are stubborn in our ways and ignore Him as if we are smarter than Him and know what's best. If you are a child of God who has confessed your sin and trusted in the finished work of Jesus on the cross, then He will discipline you. If you are not a child of God and are wandering in your own direction, you are in a dangerous place. God may get your attention in ways you might not expect it, but then again, he may let you live with your own choices.

I did not want to discipline Katelyn this morning, I just wanted to take her to school, but in the process, he taught me many things.

Like Katelyn, I have disobeyed and tried to go my own way
Like Katelyn, I ran from God, trying to hide
Like Katelyn, I did not want to own up to my sin
Like Katelyn, God pursued me because He loves me
Unlike Katelyn, God did more than give me a spanking, He sent His Son to be crucified.

Notice that this is true both for those who trust in the Lord the first time, but also for the believer who has been a disciple for a long time.

Being a parent is not easy. It is very challenging and can be very humbling. I'm sure that there will be more mornings like this morning. I have a long way to go and a lot to learn about being a dad. As I held Katelyn in my arms, I told her how much I love her, and realized that it's minimal in comparison to the love God has for me and has shown through the death of Jesus.

Definitely Grace undeserved!

This and That

A few short clips for you to enjoy:

Why won't he throw the stick?




Double Knockout
\


very cool cello



very Blueman Show like



Sports Funny and Sad. Some of you may get this, while some of you won't. I understand that.



Have a good day!

What do Osama Bin Laden, Casey Anthony, and CSI have in common?

Have you ever watched "Without a Trace", "CSI", "NCIS", "Law and Order" or any of the other crime shows that are on tv? How about any of the "Judge Judy" type shows on tv? Ever ask yourself why? We occasionally watch these shows, most of them are well produced and draw you into their plot. What are your thoughts on the capture/killing of Osama Bin Laden? How do you feel about the Casey Anthony case and the fact that the jury handed out a "not guilty" verdict?

I talk about this because I think we all have an inward pull toward having the truth revealed and justice being upheld. We don't want to see someone get away with a crime. We want them to serve their punishment. So we are pleased when they are convicted and killed. Likewise, we are concerned when they are let go, seemingly scot-free?

I will share my thoughts and ask you to think about yours.

Recently I've caught myself being drawn into the Casey Anthony murder trial. Has anyone else done this? I knew very little about the case for the past few years as we rarely watch the news... it gets depressing after a while. I haven't watched much of the trial either, but for the past week or so, I've caught myself looking at the highlights of the case, the story involved, the evidence, the lines of reasoning by the prosecution and the defense. All of those intrigued me. I ask the question: Why?

I noticed that the more I watched, the more entangled the story seemed to be. There were allegations of child abuse from the father and brother, there was lying on the part of just about everybody, there was 'alleged' adultery on the part of the father, there was the strange behavior of the meter reader, and more. Casey, the mother of Caylee, who was accused of murder, went as far as to make up a story of a fake nanny, a fake boyfriend, and a fake job at Universal Studios. On top of that she went out partying and got a tattoo of "Beautiful Life" after her child was missing. Not exactly a candidate for mother of the year. It was an extremely messed up case. In the end the jury came back with a "Not Guilty" verdict of first degree murder, aggravated manslaughter, and aggravated child abuse. They only found her guilty of 4 counts of lying. I do believe that the jury made the right decision based upon my understanding of the facts of the case. There simply wasn't enough evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Casey Anthony was the killer and because of that they reached a "not guilty" verdict. So here we have a little girl who was found dead with duct tape over her mouth in a plastic bag near where she lived and no one is going to pay for this? No, I don't believe that at all. God knows exactly what happened. He knows all and sees all. Those responsible for the death of Caylee will have to answer to the judge of the universe for their actions. There will be no excuses on that day. The surrounding family members with their problems will all be set aside and the person(s) responsible will have to answer. It will not be a nice scene.

The capture/killing of Osama Bin Laden a few months ago made news headlines everywhere. The man responsible for the 9/11 attacks on the Twin Towers and many other terror attacks was found and killed. What was your reaction to this? Was there a sense of relief? A sense of Justice delivered? A sense of pity? If you were like me there was some of all those emotions.

When the news of Osama Bin Laden broke I was in my bathroom brushing my teeth about to go to bed. There was an alert that important news would be coming from the White House shortly. I didn't have a clue what it could be. Stephanie said "Is Mrs. Obama pregnant?". For the next few hours we stayed glued to the tv as the President explained the raid in Pakistan by Seal Team 6 and the capture and kill of Bin Laden. There was celebrations in the streets, congratulations throughout the media, a sense of American pride, and a feeling of relief. I was one who felt the relief of this extremely dangerous man no longer around to cause harm. The man who was the mastermind behind numerous attacks on American soil was now no longer a threat. Not long after I felt relief, I felt pity for him. He faced the judgement of Americans and others who were hunting for him, but ultimately he faced the judgement of God. I don't think that high fives and celebrations are a way to "love your enemy". Please do not think that I am saying that we should simply shake hands and hug someone who kills our other neighbors. I'm not saying that at all. I'm simply saying that maybe instead of celebrating the death of someone, someone who rightfully deserves death, we should mourn over the fact that his death is necessary, as I believe it was. I firmly believe that the President and Seal Team did the right thing and at the same time am hit with the weight of the tragedy of the situation.

We all want justice to be manifested. This is even more so when it's something personal against us. It's easy to follow something from a distance, brush it off and move onto something else, but when it's personal it's not that easy. For example what if Osama Bin Laden had killed your parent, sibling, or child in one of his attacks? What if one of your kids was murdered or raped by someone? A sense of justice appears within us even when something small occurs. When someone cuts you off in traffic it's easy to blame the other person and point out their fault. It's so easy for us to look at tv shows, and real events like Casey Anthony and Osama Bin Laden, as well as personal offenses against us and seek justice. It's harder for us to look at our own lives and demand the same type of treatment. You see, we have offended those around us. We have committed numerous crimes against others, some of which were found out, many of which were not. How are we going to answer for those crimes? Is saying I'm sorry good enough? What would it look like if Casey Anthony and Osama Bin Laden said "Yes, I did everything you said, I'm sorry, I'll try my best to do better, I promise". It wouldn't matter much. A good judge would not let that slide, they would not let the offender go free no matter how sincere they were because the punishment would need to be paid.

Personally, I view every offense we make not only a horizontal offense against another person, but a vertical offense against God as well. Nothing will escape the eye of God and every person will have to give an account before Him.

Are they deserving of justice, yes, but so are we. How are we going to answer for that?

Do we think that God owes us only good and won't hold us accountable for our thoughts and actions? If so, are the unanswered murders always going to be unanswered, with no one brought to justice?

Are we going to try to do more good things to outweigh the bad, hoping to be 'good' enough? And how 'good' is good enough, is that something we decide on relative terms?You might be 'good' compared to Osama Bin Laden and Casey Anthony, but compared to God are you really 'good'?

I'm not sure how you would answer those questions, but here's how I do:

God's standard is perfection. I was created to be perfect and live for God's glory in relationship with him. I turned from him, taking him off the throne and putting myself on the throne. I decided I was a better judge than him and deserved to rule. While God could have left me in the pig sty covered in sin, he didn't. Jesus came to earth lived a perfect life and died a perfect death to bring me back to God. Through his sacrifice on the cross it's no longer about being good enough, it's actually realizing that I fall way short of being good enough. Being brought low because of my sin was the most uplifting thing that happened. Rather than being told how good I was, I was shown how great God is. The justice I deserve was laid on Christ. I'm trusting in Christ for the forgiveness of my sin and my aim is to live a life of gratitude that reflects that.

Would you want to have a teenager? :)

Would you want a teenager living in your home? Some of you have already been through that stage of your life. Later, I plan on posting some pictures and reflections on Justin finishing up middle school. In this post though I only want to say a few things about some of the advantages of having a teenager. I'll try to stay away from the disadvantages. :)

As you can see from the picture, we now have our own lawn service. Granted we get what we pay for, but still it's nice. We have help getting things moved around the house, from groceries to lawn supplies, an extra set of hands helps.

Recently we added some pine straw to our house and had big time miscalculated what it would take resulting in 9 extra bales of pine straw. After talking with some new neighbors a few houses down from us, they agreed to take the remaining bales. Justin and his cousin Eric walked the bales down to their house. That was pretty cool.

Yes, there's extra dishes (lots), extra clothes (lots), and more activities to be involved in (cross country, basketball, church youth group) but that's ok, it's worth it. Plus we get that unique sense of humor that only a teenager can provide.

We're proud to have a teenager in our home and pray that he will continue to grow into the man that God wants him to be. We also pray that we'll be the parents that God has called us to be.