Grace

I miss the days of my youth. Okay, some of the days - I can do without the whisper of memories - being stuffed in trash cans, crammed into school lockers, and openly mocked because I was tiny, unattractive, and good natured.

The theme is funny - looking, ha ha speaking, mostly - the conversation is about an embarrassment of blessings even though I am vastly ineligible. Let's discuss. Have you ever had something in your head that was exploding to get out, and yet was as absent as the Sun at midnight? The person who knows what is best for you, for everyone, in fact, and just purports opinions. I used to be that guy!

Experience has taught me that I know less than the next person - well maybe not less, but not any more. So the elephant in the room (on this paper) is screaming, "Why are you writing then, if you don't have superior intelligence, or an overwhelming experience?" The answer is simple. I need to express myself.

Expression comes to some in oratory, others in music, and many other facets of life. I can talk until your ears bleed, but I rarely get to a point. In my writing I can edit, rewrite, erase, and even use visual aids to get a point across. Am I assuming that I am a better writer than speaker? The answer is no - resoundingly! I just have the ability to be better, but that doesn't make it so.

There are people with which I wish I could hang out, or sit and talk to, or just follow around for laughs. I saw this story on Pinterest - click the link now, then come back and finish - I'll wait.
The story of Shane is a humorous reality - an example of how people love life.

My God made me to live and commune with Him here on earth. He gave me this twisted sense of humor. He has also shaped my growth as a man who truly loves to worship and celebrate being His follower. I have weaknesses, or failings, and miraculously through my booboos He can be glorified, exalted, and seen for the Great and Awesome God He is.

When Paul says he put childish things away when he became a man in I Corinthians 13, I see what he means now more clearly. We learn, grow, and thrive as children - and then we learn that things like blurting out conversations in private are not wise, or that if we don't pick up our toys they get lost or broken. We learn to fix our meals to keep hunger at bay, and we gravitate to people that make us feel love and comfort.

Paul told the Roman church to build up the weaker and Praise God  - and the Bible is to teach us -  Rom 15. 1-4. It is this example of building up my friends and family that I write to you - be glad, be active, and be involved. God loves you and wants you to talk with Him

Thankfulness

Humanity - what a cop out, an easy excuse. This is very hard, to see perfection all around and know that I fall as short as Eddie Gaedel (shortest ballplayer ever) in EVERY category. I see suffering and so much bleakness all around me - just to watch the TV commercials and see cancer, crime, the economy, and all other forms of evil resolutely ingrained into our thoughts - I am thankful that the Light in my Life shines regardless of my understanding or commitment at the time.

I can take the time to write, but never fully encompass all that I am thankful for in this blog, and it will take me a few days. This is my list, with a small explanation in accompaniment.

I am most thankful for Jesus, God's only Son, who gave me the supreme example of love by dying for me. Only because of Him can I have the hope of Heaven for eternity. I rejoice today and every day for the gift of Faith, Hope, and Love from the Lord. When I screw it all up, I am thankful for His promise to never stop loving me.

I daily Thank God for my best friend, my help-mate, my wife Pam. Her exploits of patience and Love are legendary at the Huntley Home. The short response is to say she is amazing, and I am so blessed to be with her. It is a fact that many have written me off, given me the gate, yet she still loves me and most days I can't see why.

My seven children - Jessica, Andrew, Laura, Bradley, Charles J., Douglas, and Karyl - every day I grow more proud of the adults they are, their feats and failures. and their growth as humans. They teach me almost every day and are always helping mew shape who I am.

   Jessica, how you have grown and made a beautiful family. I thank God for you often.
   Andrew, for your wisdom and strong character I thank God - you make me extremely proud to know you and your sweet family.
   Laura, God truly blessed my life with your family and the joy of watching you grow to be such a stable and beautiful woman, mom, and wife.
   Bradley, I thank God for your gentle servant-spirit --- you are an amazingly successful man and I am proud of you.
   C.J., I am sorry I screwed you up with a broken home, but am so thankful God has saved you from your heart problems for great things.
   Douglas, you are still young and I praise God for your attitude and strength of character. What a fantastic young man you are.
   Karyl, my baby, my miracle - in you I see so much of your mother, but the DNA attached to me often overwhelms us - you are a beautiful young lady who continues to grow in love and knowledge of your parents and your older siblings, carving a path of greatness.

I am so thankful for parents who have shown me that learning, growing, and trying to be better people is a lifetime responsibility. They raised me to be the Christian man I am. Still today as an older man I am vastly dependent on their wisdom, experience, and God-following character. When I grow up I do want to be like them, as they labor to be like Christ.

As parents go, I am also thankful for Pam's parents. They love completely and unconditionally, even though I am grafted into their family through marriage, they truly show love in that they did not choose me - they were stuck with me.

I thank God every day for the gifts He has given me - for beautiful sunshiny days I can be out umpiring baseball or even when I was coaching. Thank You Lord for the ability to talk to folks, any folks and make friends.

I am thankful for a family; aunts, uncles, cousins too numerous to name individually yet as a collective they have taught me, supported me, and even rebuked me to make me the man I am.

For friends who tolerate my silliness, my immaturity, and all my goofiness and yet still want to hang out and talk with me.

I am so very thankful for the mistakes I've made, the lessons I've learned. I need only think of the 'what ifs' to know that resentment and bitterness are not helpful. Things could be much, much worse, shining a beacon as evidence of God's providence in my steps even though I traveled the wrong path often.

The thankfulness in my heart is also extends to the opportunity for multiple chances. As I said in the beginning, I feel like I fail so often and see others walk through life without consequence. That is how I feel, even though my brain knows that is false. Maybe my next choice will succeed. I look back and see God's success in many of my choices.