Family Tradition

Our entire family is coming to Honey Lake for a visit immediately after Christmas. One of the things I am most anxious to do is gather everyone together around our extra long dining room table and hear everything that is going on in their lives. I sent them all an e-mail yesterday and asked them to come prepared to update the rest of us, either informally or even by Power Point presentation.

There are lots of stories to tell. My oldest son Jim just got a huge promotion and will be responsible for establishing his company’s Oracle based implementation operation in Australia; Michael just founded his new Longleaf Solution Software Company and is making tremendous progress and already has a prototype; Jon is working hard on the Honey Lake Resort and Spa project and will have it open for business this spring; the spouses are heavily involved in numerous activities, some involving kids and some not, such as philanthropy, learning photography, riding horses, and so forth.

The grandkids have a story to tell too, such as virtually all of them are making A’s on their report cards, succeeding in cheerleading and sports, especially 11 year old Evan who won the Punt-Pass-Kick competition for the state of Oregon and appeared on national TV at the Seattle Seahawks game last week, the twins are learning gymnastics and ballet, Obo is learning to ride a bike, and not to be outdone Ryan just learned to roll over.

I will update the clan on my new book “Miracle on Luckie Street” and my plans for the Honey Lake Christian Youth Center. My wife well we might not hear from her about her endeavors. She is beyond terrified of talking in front of people including her own family. She said it makes her want to throw up just thinking about it. I gave up trying to figure out what’s up with that, and will let her pass since it makes her that crazy.

This year I’m flying my 89 year old dad down to our mini-reunion. I want him to tell us how in spite of his poor health and Parkinson’s disease, he drives down to an Indian reservation casino and plays quarter slot machines nearly every week, and how he has won one thousand dollars for each of the past two weeks, (I doubt he will update us on the weeks that he lost money).

It should be great fun and I hope it becomes a family tradition. As you can tell I’m really proud of my family. I have tried to instill in them a spirit of trying to reach “Beyond the Clouds”, (a phrase Michael adopted for his new software company), and for them to “be all they can be” in the short amount of time God allows us on this earth.

Time is a wasting and there is so-o-o-o much to do!

As patriarch of our little family it is my responsibility to teach, encourage, console, inspire, and lead my family. According to the Bible the man is supposed to be the head of the household.

“But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ. ”

No letters please, God set it up like that, not me. I know many modern day liberals don’t buy that at all, but all I can say is that I believe it and it has worked in my life. I see big smiles and happy faces on each member of my family’s face. I hear of their successes in every area of life and where there are stumbles, we have always managed to work through them together and even have laughed a little as we did, realizing that they are just as much a part of life as the successes, and are there to teach us that we must rely on our God in everything we do.

Most importantly I know that every last member of my family who has reached the age of accountability has accepted Christ as their Savior. That tells me I am on the right track in believing not just the parts of the Bible that my miniscule human knowledege and logic agrees with, but ALL of the Bible.

Thank you Jesus for giving us the Bible to show us the way that You would have us travel. Selah!

1 Timothy 5:8
But if any man does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.