Better to live thru the windshield than thru the rearview mirror!

If we get stuck in the PAST we will be paralyzed in the PRESENT and never move forward toward our FUTURE…

PAST….These could have done it, but they didn’t

• In Valsetz, 2^nd grade, I had wandered waaayyy far away from Dad, slipped off a log into the pond….That could’ve done it, but it didn’t.
• Summer of 1971, on 99W between Corvallis and Monmouth, Suver junction, driving my cousin back to college in my ’62 Ford Falcon (3 on the tree 170 Special), rear-ended a big Mercury land yacht at highway speed, plowed my head right thru the windshield….That could’ve done it, but it didn’t.
• 1989-1990 so sick and doctors couldn’t find out why, losing weight, weeks off work, sarcoidosis in my lymph system and lungs….That could’ve done it, but it didn’t.
• Late summer 1991, doing my awesome version of break dancing, totally ripped my left calf muscle, on crutches for 2 weeks, get off crutches and a huge blood clot breaks loose and travels thru my heart into my lungs (%95 fatal pulmonary embolism)….That really could have done it, but it didn’t.
• Late 2006/early 2007 due to some extremely difficult ‘life circumstances’ I actually got to the point where I thought to myself ‘Maybe everybody would just be better off if I weren’t around’….That could’ve done it, but it didn’t.
• Late evening April 6, 2012 severe heart arrhythmia resulting in an ambulance ride to the hospital and having my heart shocked back to regular rhythm….That could’ve done it, but it didn’t.
• Any/all of those things could’ve done it, but they didn’t. I’m still here, I’m thankful, I have a future and I’m not merely ‘still standing.’ I’m going Onward Upward Forward!

PRESENT…I Am Thankful

• I’m thankful for the grace, mercy, kindness, goodness and favor God has bestowed upon me and my family.
• I’m thankful for my wife. She is tender and strong, funny and serious, easy going and fierce, easily moved to tears and not easily moved from her opinions, girly and can flip tires. She is…Perfect for me.
• I’m thankful for my children, for their spouses and for the grandkids they have blessed us with…I’m so blessed, so proud, so thankful for Michael, Kimberly, Matthew, Carli, Jed, Addie, Isaiah, Ezra, Zekie, Havalah, Sofia, Seth and Eliana….
• I’m thankful for great-grandparents, grandparents and parents that gave my brothers and me such a tremendous heritage of faith, integrity, love, stability, character and laughter.
• I’m thankful for my brothers Steve and David, their wives Jeannie and Traci and all the nieces and nephews and great-nieces that have sprung from them.
• I’m thankful for Vonnie’s family and the ‘genuineness’ and joy they bring to a pretentious and joy deficient world.
• I’m thankful for extended family that makes me laugh, pray for us and are always there whenever needed.
• I’m thankful for the literally thousands of friends we have all around the world, here in Oregon and in Washington Alaska California Idaho Nevada Arizona Georgia Montana Utah Colorado Texas Oklahoma Missouri Florida New Jersey New York Kosova Mexico India South Africa Japan Korea Germany Hungary Canada Thailand Hong Kong and More and More…..
• I’m thankful that at 58 ½ God is still at work in my life…Spirit, soul and body.

FUTURE….Onward Upward Forward!

• Vonnie and I are feeling the ‘familiar stirring’ that tells us God is up to something. We are praying and looking forward to at least one more ‘big adventure.’ Stay tuned!
• Looking forward to a fresh renewal of existing gifts given by God and a release of new gifts that He has in store.
• Looking forward to doing some writing...Should be fun!

It’s better to live thru the windshield than thru the rearview mirror!