Conflict Resolution

I grew up bringing the New Year with firecrackers and staying up all night long! So the other night Jess and I were talking about our plans for the holidays and I shared with her that I could not wait for new years so that all of us could pop fireworks! She replied that we were not going to do that. She believed fireworks should only be popped once a year… you know that celebration in July! So here was a little conflict and I had no idea how to resolve it.

Then Paper, Rocks, scissors came to mind… yep this is what was on the line: If I lost, we would only pop fireworks once a year but if Jess lost we would pop them twice a year. I knew my wife was a risk taker just because she married me, but she wanted this to be done through one round… not best out three! (The norm)

So the pressure was on!

Of course you can guess the outcome since I am blogging about! And yes, she will tell you that I psyched her out! That some how I confused her in this wonderful and easy game!

So if you want to come over to my house on the December 31 we will bring in the New Year with a huge BANG! So come and be a part! just bring your own fireworks!

His Grace is sufficient

I don’t think I have ever talked about my family, but I can’t stop thinking about family during the Christmas season. Today I heard a retired marine talk about his marriage of 40 years. I started thinking of when I am going to celebrate my fortieth; it’s going to be in 2041. That’s in 34 years! This man broke down in the middle of his speech to his bride and said the most meaningful thing… He said it was by the Grace of God that he was where he was. He just was so grateful that God still deemed it fit to use him! Then it hit me… everything that God gives us is by His kindness. When I am experiencing challenges in life, I may be focused on or feel God’s kindness, but I know it is always there. My prayer is that God may open the eyes of my heart to continually be able to see His kindness. The other lesson I learned was to never feel complacent with my attitude towards my Christian maturity. Just like this 60 year old, I don’t want to stop learning! So after hearing him talk about his family, it made me appreciate my family. When Jessica and I were awaiting the birth of our daughter, Gabriela, we were overwhelmed with gratefulness to God for giving us the opportunity of being parents. We realized that our marriage and family was a perfect example of His wonderful GRACE. We wanted to always be reminded of this, and that is why we gave our daughter the middle name of Grace. That is what Jess and I can hold on to, and Gabriela Grace is a constant reminder of His kindness.