Whatever Wednesday Writings - Family Prank

Pranks are a must to a healthy family. After all laughter is good medicine…especially when that laughter comes at the cost of paying someone back who is usually the one that dishes out the pranks and if you know our family, you know WHO that someone is.

As most of you know we had to put down our 14 year old Chihuahua, Señor Harjo this past month and every day since then the kids have been beggin’, it was a bit depressing because he has not been gone that long. Then it came to pass…I joined in on the beggin’…after all the pitter patter of his paws on the hardwood floors, his fancy dancing in circles when I come home…are no more. It’s quiet here….besides the continual pleading.

The repetitive pleading was beginning to wear on Darryl, so Darryl proclaimed that the ONLY way we were getting another dog was if M.O.M. retired so she can take care of it…thus prank on dad was initiated.

It’s always good to have friends in high places that can make things happen quickly, thus this very official letter of my voluntary retirement of 21 years was born…effective June 1, 2014.

We all sat down at the dinner table and I started the conversation with, “So does anyone else miss Señor?” The kids were like, “Yes!” I said, “Me too.” Darryl said, “Surprisingly yes, I do. I dropped some food on the floor and I was like Señor will clean it up and I catch myself looking out in the back for him.”

I said, “I thought about what you said if we wanted a dog then I would need to retire so I could be home during the day to take care of it, so this is what I did (I handed him the letter).

Darryl begin to read the letter, his chewing slowed down, he begin to get that look in his eyes, the look that moms usually give their kids, then he retorted, “Well I guess our goal of paying off our home in 5 years isn’t going to happen. We are going to have to go back to a 15 year note. We may even have to sell our house.”

To which I said, “Well that is a good thing, we have wanted to downsize. Now we can move to Westmoore and Darya can finish out school there, it really is a win-win situation for all of us.” Darya, was like “Yes!” All of three of us continued with all the benefits of downsizing, living a minimal lifestyle, having a pet and living happily ever after. At this point I thought of this scrapbook page I did of us.

We carried it past dinner and you could see the disappointment growing. I asked Darryl, “Do you still love me?”

No answer, just that look.

So I asked again, “Do you still love me?”

To which he somberly said, “It’s just that I thought something of such great importance you would have talked to me about it.”

I said, “I thought it had already been discussed when you declared the only way we were getting a dog is if I retired to take care of it, so that is what I did. I didn’t realize we needed any further discussions.”

It was time to inform him that he had been pranked by his daughter, son and myself and that the letter was fake. Darya video recorded his response and here it is.

Yes, he still loves me and yes we are getting a new dog!! Now we are working on getting two dogs, you know so they can keep each other company; after all it is scriptural (sort of)…

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 (NKJV)

The Value of a Friend

Two are better than one,

Because they have a good reward for their labor.

For if they fall, one will lift up his companion.

But woe to him who is alone when he falls,

For he has no one to help him up.

Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm;

But how can one be warm alone?

Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him.

And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

Whatever Wednesday Writings - I Love My Loser

This is an UPDATE from last week's post.

Time Magazine was laying out at our office and it caught my eye…the top 100 most influential people…singers, entrepreneurs, engineers, professional athletes, fashion designers....who design jeans that people will pay $2,000 for? Seriously? Okay, I am finished looking at the list. Obviously, the things that land you on that list and what God sees as influential are not the same thing. News flash, I know.

It is true God’s ways are not our ways and when we begin to truly follow His word it will always make people take note. They will either call you foolish or they will praise God to see Christlikeness exhibited.

God’s word says to gain your life, you must first lose it. To be great, you must first be a servant. To live, you must die. When we lose, it is actually a gain and that is what happened.

This past Wednesday, Mike and Darryl spend the day with their baseball team playing in the Class 5A Regionals, they got smashed both games, thus ending their 2013-14 season. After the first game was over the announcer came up to Mike and Darryl and said he has been announcing these regional games for fifteen years and had never witnessed what he witnessed that day.

Which was a team that played with all their heart despite the beat down they were taking.

They lost 15 to 0. 

The announcer, which is also the golf pro at Heritage Hills Golf Course, asked the fans to give the coaches and team “a round of applause because of the hustle, the never give up, and the class, which they showed in defeat.” Next, he came over to them and asked if he could purchase the entire team’s lunch for the day!

If you know anything about inner city schools, they don’t get a large budget, actually they don’t get a budget, so that was a huge blessing to Mike, Darryl and the boys…this was nothing but God’s favor on them! The neat thing was when the concession stand heard what was going on they did not allow the announcer to pay for their meals because they wanted to be a part of the blessing to our guys.

God’s favor did not stop there though; next, a lady came up and put 200 dollars in their hands so they all could eat on the way home that night.

Then one of the boys on the other team said the name of Jesus Christ in a non-glorifying way, he said it as a curse word. After the game Mike addressed the young man about it and explained why it was offensive to Mike because of what that name meant to him. Then later in the week Mike received an email from this boy’s dad who wanted to know if he could donate money to help the team out! Crazy. I know. That is just the God we serve, showing His faithfulness to His sons.

Finally, all these people sent emails to the Capitol Hill High School principal and the email from the local golf pro/announcer said that Mike and “his assistant” :) left a positive reflection on Claremore and the fans at the game. He went on to say in the email, “Mike Hinckley has become my favorite of all time. He gives love, praise, and himself to kids who are having fun, doing their best, making some good plays, cheerleading, but most importantly, teaching young men to respect themselves and the game that he must truly love.”

TV News 9 did a story on them last year and this year The Daily Oklahoman did a story.

I can tell you that it isn’t the game that Mike and Darryl truly love, but it is the Lord Jesus Christ who they truly love…and because of that love they can love on those boys and teach them character even through losing.

Their 1st season (2012-2013)

The cross is for losers. It’s true. Christ did not come to save the righteous but sinners. We are all losers, rather we recognize it or not, Jesus came to destroy self-righteousness. Nevertheless, because of the cross we are truly winners, because it is not our righteous, goodness, talents or abilities but Jesus Christ IN US that is the hope of glory.

"Thus says the Lord:

“Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom,
Let not the mighty man glory in his might,
Nor let the rich man glory in his riches;
But let him who glories glory in this,
That he understands and knows Me,
That I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth.
For in these I delight,” says the Lord."

Jeremiah 9:23-24

 "In God we boast all day long, and Praise Your Name forever." Psalm 44:8

Whatever Wednesday Writings - Rewired - My Man of Influence

A couple of weeks ago my main squeeze went to Oklahoma’s Baptist General Convention Men’s Retreat called “Rewired”. He told me they spoke about “being a man of influence” and what that is and what it means. Speaking from my perspective, my man, while he might not be tall in stature is certainly tall in influence. I don’t brag often enough on him (I don’t want him to get the big head), and I know he would tell you that he still has lots of flaws, but as his wife who sees him day in and out, I can testify he truly is a man of Godly influence.

In fact, every man is a man of influence, where the rubber meets the road is what kind of influence are you? At one point, my husband, was a man of bad influence heading down the wrong road with DUIs (driving under the influence) and being controlled by what he wanted in life, but praise be to God, he no longer is a man of bad influence. You can read here, how that radical change came about in his life.

Today, he is one of the most selfless, scripture driven people I know and he is mine! He is most definitely not just a hearer, but a doer. He is a man that loves Jesus first, then his family and others, always putting their needs before his own. I have watched countless men come to him for biblical counseling over our almost 18 years of marriage. He provides them wise, biblical counsel and prays with/for them and they come back often.

He also invests in student lives. First as the student pastor at our church, those male students who are seeking more always flock to hang out with him because of the truth of scripture that he speaks out in to their daily life; not to mention he is just a humorous guy and a big kid himself, which helps too! This past Friday night he took two of our male students to an outdoor concert with Christ honoring music. I’ve learned not to call it Christian music; if you are interested in why, ask and I’ll tell you. They spent about six hours together and he didn’t come home dragging and complaining that it took too long, the music was too loud, or any other type of complaint. It was the opposite, he came home excited about the relationships the students were building together and how he was a part of the work God is doing in their lives.

 

He also devotes time to shepherd students on the baseball field. That still just seems too crazy to even type the word baseball anywhere near my husband’s name. That is how I know all the things the Lord has done in our spiritual is a God thing, because Darryl and baseball just don’t go together, but they do now and only God could make this awkward match. I really need to take the time and capture how God orchestrated this craziness in our lives. It's always fun to go back and see how God takes you through valleys, because what we learned was that God wasn't trying to take something from us but He was leading us to something.

In this News 4 video, the head coach, Mike Hinckley talks about what he and Darryl (as he refers to 'his coach' lol) are working to instill in these young men through the game of baseball. You might not catch my husband in the video because he is in the background and he is close to the same height and skin color of the guys they coach, but he is the one with the solid maroon pullover on. Again, when the students ask, he is there to give Godly guidance, teaching them positive life skills can be learned through playing a game and that life is much more.

But even more, he is our spiritual leader in our home; he spends hours digging in the Word, pouring prayers over our lives and seeking God on behalf of our family. His faithfulness to our triune God has certainly influenced me to seek God more in my life. He will probably hate that I wrote all this about him, but I am one blessed wife! He certainly loves me as Christ loves the church, or at least I feel like he does. He irons my uniform every day for work (we are both looking forward to our retirement). He makes my coffee, starts my car, and loads it every morning before I go to work. He makes sure the oil is changed, my tires are good and that I have gas in my car. He does our laundry every week. He takes care of our home inside and out. I am sure at the point he got his last DUI that landed him in jail he never dreamed that God could use him or the mess of his life, but God specializes in transformation. Now as my husband stood before our church congregation this past Sunday, the Lord enlightened him that he is still “DUI” but this time it is much better, because he is now a “Disciple Under Influence”, which that influence being the Holy Spirit. My main squeeze is most unquestionably a man of influence and I am blessed to call him mine.

 “And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit” Eph 5:18

Whatever Wednesday Writings - No Pay May

I arrived home from work one day in April and my dear husband told me we were going to do a “No Pay May”. There were a lot of things I wanted to say to that but here is what I said, “Reallllly? What’s that?” I thought it meant we weren’t going to pay our bills. Wrong. He said, “We only pay our bills and purchase necessities.” He then went on to say, “I also saw where you can turn your hangers around in your closet and after a season the hangers that are still facing backwards you get rid of that stuff.” He is testing me now, feathers are getting ruffled, so I shoot back, “Where have you been? Where have you getting these ideas? On Pinterest?” He said the No Pay May was his idea, but he did see the hanger thing online. Humph. Really? Now my husband is many things –spiritual, smart, witty, humorous, strong, handsome, giving but he is not a rhymer. So I went to Pinterest to investigate, because I have heard of this type of bravery.  When I typed in “No Pay May” in Pinterest, pins of candles, Seattle skyline wall art, and Hunger Games key chains were some of the pins. Not what I expected to see, the only thing remotely to what my crazed husband was alluding to was a bill and payment checklist. Next I visited my popular friend Google and asked her about “No Pay May” and while she yielded 2.4 billion results in less than a second, none on the first several pages mentioned anything ludicrous as my husband was suggesting. So now I guess I have a rhyming husband on my hands. I didn’t mention that Jay was standing there with his big ears on listening to our conversation. Darryl then went on to say we are going to eat up everything in our pantry and freezers and we will only buy foods that perish, like milk, eggs, fruits, veggies and bread. I asked, “And the purpose of this is….?” He said, “To have a surplus at the end of the month.” To which Jay replied, “So you can spend it on me!” Of course.

I know it sounds like I am opposed, but I am not and I agree, but I am afraid! May is a long month and is also the month I like to go to garage sales because the weather is nice, you know to find treasures to refurbish and bring back to life. So I am taking a step of faith and obedience in May because I am that submissive wife. I will let you know how it goes. I know people have done this before. How did it go? Any tips you can give me?