The First Boy I Ever Loved

I took a walk today. The weather was lovely, and I enjoyed getting some exercise. Brian, one of the residents at Shepherds, stopped me during my first lap. You see, Brian loves to chat, and he loves to ask questions. So, if you get stopped by Brian, expect to be tied up for awhile. =D

We talked about lots of different things, but just before I went on my way, he asked an important question.

"Did you call your dad?"

At first, I wondered why on earth he cared whether or not I talked to my dad. Then, it clicked: Father's Day.

I assured him that I had called my dad, and he seemed satisfied. I asked him if he had called his dad. Brian shook his head.

"I don't have a dad," he said.

My heart broke for him. Here's a guy that was so concerned about me calling my dad on Father's Day, yet he didn't even have a father to call. I wasn't sure how to respond.

When I continued my walk, I spent a lot of time thinking about fathers. There are so many people in this world who don't have a father for one of many reasons. Maybe their father passed away. Maybe their father left the family. Maybe they don't even know who their father is. It's a sad and terrible thought. My heart hurts for those people.

But God has given me a father. I am so blessed to have my dad. He is such a special guy. He has given me more than I could ever list. Yet so many times, I take him for granted. Why is that? Why do we so often treat our most meaningful relationships so flippantly?

Well, today I want to show true appreciation for my father and the role he plays in our family. So, I made a list:

#1 - I love my dad because he likes to kid around and be goofy.

 

Dad likes to tell jokes (even though they may be corny), tickle us, irritate us by wearing his "Carl" glasses (think "Up," folks), and pretty much do just about whatever it takes to make us laugh. He likes to have a good time and see us happy. I like it when he's successful at making us laugh because you can see that makes him happy. He gets a little smile on his face that seems to say, "See that! I was funny!" I'm chuckling just thinking about it. And laughter is a huge part of our family, so keep making us laugh, Dad!

 

#2 -  I love my dad for his love of sports.

 

I'm pretty sure without Dad I never would have developed a love for baseball and basketball. I love it that there is almost always a sporting event playing on the TV at our house. My love for the St. Louis Cardinals and college basketball can definitely be tracked back to my parents. I love that we go to games and also enjoy playing these sports together. I love that we share the same competitive spirit. However, the boys in my family are still working on developing my love for football. The way I see it, the only thing football is good for is the background noise for my Sunday afternoon naps. =D

#3 - I love my dad for taking our family on fabulous vacations.

 

My siblings and I are spoiled. Seriously. We are so lucky to have parents that love to take vacations. A lot of families can't or don't want to take vacations, but we make them one of our highest priorities. You see, some of our best memories have been made on our vacations, and I believe our family is as close as we are because of the time we spend with just one another.

 

I hope when I have a family of my own that I can continue to apply our family's vacation philosophy. I want my future family to be as strong and as close as ours is. Thank you, Mom and Dad, for giving us the opportunities to explore new things, develop a love for travel, and knit together a strong family bond that will continue throughout the rest of our lives.

#4 - I love my dad for his calm, easy-going personality.

Dad is so patient with all of us. He rarely gets truly and completely mad. He is calm and gentle, tender-hearted and caring. He wants to give us the very best, and he deeply cares about what's going on in our lives. He will drop everything to come fix my car battery or pick me up and take me to class when I'm stuck at Panera (long story). He's just a go-with-the-flow kind of guy.

It's kind of hard to post pictures to show this trait because really in most of his pictures, Dad's pretty even-keeled. But I thought his easy-going trait would go along well with the idea that he's able to roll with the punches and take on our family's incessant teasing with a good amount of grace.

Because after all, when you and your son end up with the same pajama pants on Christmas morning or you happen to be mistaken for Buddha while in China, what else are you going to do, but laugh?

 

#5 - I love my dad because he LOVES his family.

 

Dad works to make money for us. He does the up-keep on our house. He fixes our cars. Have I mentioned the man knows how to fix just about everything (which is relieving and frustrating all at the same time)? He helps with homework. He takes us to church. He pays for us to go to school. He takes us on trips. There are a bunch of other things I could add, but you get the idea, right?

 My dad is also a godly man, which is the most important quality of all. He is constantly trying to grow in the Lord, and he encourages us to do the same. Just recently, my dad started doing a Bible study with my younger brother. It melts my heart when I walk past Ben's bedroom and I see them studying the Word together. It's really something special.

My dad loves my mom, and my parents provide a fantastic example to my siblings and me of how a marriage should work. We are so blessed to have them and to be able to learn from them. I pray all four of us will work hard to mimic their pattern.

So, thank you, Dad, for all this and more. I am so thankful God gave me you. Love you, Dad!

To My Fellow Writers

Because writing very rarely just comes to you. Because writing can be irritating, frustrating, and painful. Because in a world brimming with words, it's often impossible to find exactly the right one. Because being concise is so tricky and getting to the point can be difficult. Because you fight the stereotypes of writing being easy, nerdy, or something of the past. But mostly because you write with passion about the things you love and the things you hate, because you write to somehow make sense of the things in this world, and because writing is so much a part of you that without it, life would never be the same.

Here's to you, writer. May you continue to find inspiration all around you.

My Friday

Things I did today:

1. If you ever need a smile or a laugh on a Friday afternoon, do what I did today and go with a group of Shepherds residents to their session with a therapy dog. They love that little guy! Meet Sergeant Pepper.

He jumped. He ran through a tunnel. He sniffed out a hidden box of birch (Don't ask me! I have no idea.) Basically, whatever he did got a huge round of applause.

Pepper got lots of love from the residents. Here's one of my Shepherds friends, Dennis, petting Pepper. He later informed me that he was not a dog person and he would much rather have a horse. Go figure.

 

2. Lesson learned: Never read the Food Network magazine while eating your frozen pizza that you had to microwave since you don't have an oven. It's sure to make you discontent. See example here.

And here's what I ate.

Very reminiscent of the pizzas we had in our school cafeteria in elementary. I guarantee you I loved them back then, but when you're looking at delectable burgers and steaks, that poor pizza really loses it's appeal.

3. Most importantly, I finished my design project that I hinted about earlier this week. Today, a brand-new blog for Shepherds College went live with its first post!!! I am super excited! I've been working on the design of this blog for the last three days. I really think it works beautifully with the marketing design the college has already put to use. Not only did I get to design the blog, but I have the privilege of posting on it for the next four weeks. I feel quite honored. So, without further ado, go check out www.shepherdscollegeblog.blogspot.com and let me know what you think. Please share with others and spread the word as we are working hard to get this blog into the mainstream with a good number of followers. Thanks for your help!

A Day in the Life

"So, what is it you do all day, Megan?"

For those of you who may be wondering that question, this is the post for you! No, I'm not fetching doughnuts or making endless pots of coffee. I'm doing what I love!

My day begins like most people's do. I wake up, get ready, attempt to tame my hair, eat some breakfast, and head for my office, which is exactly one floor below where I live. Quite the commute, I'd say! I check my e-mail, and then the day really begins.

I've been doing a lot of writing lately, which I love. I've written two stories about the graduation festivities that will be included in Shepherds fall newsletter. Yesterday, I wrote a press release about the 2012 Commencement that will be sent to local newspapers and national magazines.

Today, I interviewed with a faculty member from Shepherds College. I will be writing biographies for several of the faculty of Shepherds College, so I need to get lots of information about these individuals. The bios will be posted on the Shepherds College website.

I've also done a lot of design work in the last few days. I've been working on a special project for Shepherds College, and hopefully, it will be ready to go by Friday. I don't want to spoil the surprise quite yet, but keep checking back for the announcement of this new feature for Shepherds College!

After work, I usually crash in my room. Remember that commute? It's a killer! Anyway, the afternoon crash usually consists of doing my devotions, surfing the Web, and eating dinner. In the evenings, I go shopping, do my laundry, hang with friends, watch movies, or attend Bible study.

Last night's Bible study was once again really great! We studied Malachi 2. It went along the same lines as Chapter 1, but this week, I really considered the responsibility leaders have to make sure their "flock" is going in the right direction. Typically, people will apply this to pastors, which is true, but really it should be a challenge to any of us who are in leadership positions.

I think of myself with my little Cubbies. Am I leading them in the right direction? Do they see the love of Christ through me? When I lose my temper and speak a little shortly to them, how much does that hurt my testimony? It's quite scary, but highly motivating to make sure you're not leading others astray.

I'm kind of bummed because Bible study is canceled next week, but that just means I'll appreciate it all the more the week after that. Gotta soak it up while I can! =D

Anyway, that about sums it up. This has been a day in the life of Megan. Thanks for watching.

Ice Cream with a Friend

Dairy Queen Night with my Gayle! I taught her to eat french fries with her ice cream. =D

Serving Leftovers to the King

Note to Self: Before going to bed, always double-check alarm clock.

I'm feeling rather irritated with myself today. I'm embarrassed to admit that I missed church this morning. It certainly wasn't on purpose, but I still missed church. While I had set my alarm clock for the correct time, apparently I failed to turn it on.

This makes me feel mad and a little guilty, but mostly just disappointed. I was thoroughly looking forward to trying out a new church this morning, and I missed the opportunity. I really wanted to be in church and enjoy the music, the preaching, and the Christian fellowship.

I am struggling to find a church here that fits me well. I've visited three different churches now, and none of them seem quite right. I think I'm being a bit critical, but it's difficult to find something that can compare to my home church. I think that's what I want. Something that makes me feel like I'm at home at Brown Street.

Today, I was going to try a church in a neighboring town. I've met some of the members of this church through Shepherds and also through a Bible study I attended last week. Here's why I was looking forward to trying that church this morning:

Last Tuesday, I was invited to a Bible study for a college age group. I so enjoyed it! It was exactly what I needed. The group was such an encouragement to me. It consisted of about 25 young people. It was very much discussion-oriented, but everyone who shared their thoughts seemed to be really grounded in their knowledge of the Scriptures.

The study consisted of time spent in the Word, prayer time in small groups, and time spent in praise and worship to God. I was deeply impressed. Everyone felt so at ease with one another, and many people were willing to share their thoughts or pray aloud. It was what I envision for our college age group back at home.

The passage the study focused on was Malachi 1. This was like a slap in the face to me because our college group back home is finishing up some chapters in the book Crazy Love that coincide perfectly with this passage.

Side note: If you've never read Crazy Love by Francis Chan, go out and get it right now! This book is so thought-provoking, humbling, convicting, encouraging, life-altering. Read it now! Seriously, I'm not even joking.

Back to the previous topic, Malachi 1 is all about Israel offering God the bare minimum and being totally okay with it. They're not giving their best, and God is fed up with it. The scary thing is that Israel does not even recognize this offense. They are completely unconcerned with giving God their very best.

We look at this and think, "What is their problem? Can't they see that what they are doing is sin?" But then it hits you that we do exactly the same thing. We may not be sacrificing blind and lame animals, but we are shirking God of the time, money, devotion, and love He deserves from us. We read a quick chapter in the Bible, so we won't feel guilty about not doing our devotions. We spit out a super-fast prayer before meals because "we're supposed to." We go to church because that's what God wants, right?

Yes, God does want us to read our Bible and pray and go to church, but not if we're only doing it to fulfill a requirement. He wants us to WANT to do those things. Do them out of love, not duty. And He wants us to give the very best we can, not just the bare minimum.

When our Bible study group broke up into small groups for prayer, each person was very honest and specific about one area in their life where they knew they were not giving God their best. It was humbling and encouraging all at the same time. We took turns praying for one another and asking God to help us improve in this area during the next week.

I really appreciated this time and this group of people. I look forward to going again this Tuesday. Please pray for me as I work on improving my prayer life. This is the area I chose to focus on. And think about yourself, where are you giving less than your best? How can you give more to God?

The Best Part of Waking Up

I could easily make this post about the Shepherds College grads since I spent the evening at their Commencement Celebration, but I figure I'll be writing about them tomorrow after the graduation, so I will save my thoughts 'til then.

I thought I would tell you a little bit about what makes mornings so special here at Shepherds. It's not the sunrise (although that's probably beautiful, but I'm not up early enough to confirm that). It's not breakfast. It's not the coffee (unless it's hazelnut-flavored). My favorite thing about mornings at Shepherds is the "good morning" greetings from the residents here at Shepherds, especially the ones from Gary.

In my first week here, I've quickly learned that Gary always makes his morning rounds. Around 8:00, Gary will come to our office building and greet everyone with a smile, a "hello," and a handshake. Sometimes I even hear him praying with some of the people on staff.

He has a real ministry, and I for one, am quite touched by it. I think tomorrow morning I may just have to get up and find Gary, so I can get a "good morning." Otherwise, my day just won't feel right.