WHEN TIME DISAPPEARS

It's amazing how summertime for a teacher always allows a wonderful opportunity to track the events of the day, week, or month in a blog. I sadly checked my blog today to realize my last post was July 8th!! (Which did happen to be a wonderful celebration!) I know that life has been busy, but good grief! :)

I sit in my living room with Lala Belle watching Team Umizoomi, and I have so much on my heart and on my mind. I thank the Lord for a wonderful wife and 2 beautiful children who are growing up way too fast. I thank Him for what He is doing in our lives right now and how every day is one more chance to impact the world for Him.
The season of life right now seems to be prayer. I know that this is something God wants to develop in my life so that I can become a better prayer warrior for Him.
Why does the spiritual discipline of prayer seem to sometimes be so hard for us??? We love to talk to people on the phone, in texting, on facebook, and face to face. So why is it so hard to talk to God? I think the real reality and answers to this question are sad and disturbing.

1.) TIME
We would not dare say this outloud, but one of the biggest excuses is time. We simply do not make the time needed to have conversations with God daily. We might do it in the morning or when we put our head on our pillows at night. But how many times do our prayers start with a little bit of geniuneness and then turn into a distractive "what do I have to do tomorrow?" Or how many of us use prayer as a mode to put us to sleep. Wow! Check that one in a human to human set. How would you love for someone to come to you and ask you to have a conversation with them so that they could get to sleep easier. Any real relationship we have and want requires time. Same with God. An active/real relationship with Him requires time.

2.) LAZINESS
It's a sad moment in time when we set our alarms for early in the morning so we can spend time with the Lord, only to roll over and hit the snooze button because we just can't make it through the day if we get up that early. Again, it's kind of like having a lunch date and then standing your friend/spouse/etc. up because you just don't feel like going. I think we live in a world today that has been overtaken by apathy and laziness. We want to apply ourselves to different things, but it when it comes down to the continual commitment needed to succeed, we generally tend to give up or give in to laziness just because we do. I don't even know that there is an excuse that we try to attach to it beyond that. It is what it is.

3.) ATTITUDE
I would say many times that we fall into one of these categories: I am not good at praying, so why try. Or, I am way away from God right now, so there is really no sense in me even trying. I would just be praying to the space around me. We should all know that the Lord is asking us to cry out to Him. For many if not all of us, it should start with an apology and an understanding that we aren't perfect but we can be forgiven. Lay your heart out to the Lord. He already knows what's on it anyways. He is always chasing after us and we can never run too far away or find a secret place to hide. He knows.

4.) COMMITMENT
The final one on my heart is commitment. We don't spend time in prayer because it takes a commitment. If we really looked at how we prioritize things in our lives, many of us would hope that we put God towards the top. Yet if we did an inventory of our commitment to Him, it probably wouldn't turn out too good. Growing in our walk with Christ takes commitment. Commitment takes sacrifice. Sacrifice is getting up early to share in fellowship with Him. Commitment means resisting the urge to hit snooze and get out of the bed! Commitment means consistency. It's not different than wanting to quit a bad habit or get in better shape/health. It starts with a personal choice made. Is this something that I really want to apply myself to, or am I just saying it to make myself think I can do better? The answer will prove itself. If it's real, consistency will come. It is very hard at first, but consistency will come.

So where do you stand on prayer? Are you a prayer warrior? Is it a discipline in your life that you really want to do a better job at? I challenge all reading this to become a better prayer warrior. You may need to find some books to read or studies on prayer that can help with this. But go beyond reading and put it into action. As Nike would say, Just do it! No matter how good or bad you may think you are at it....Just do it!

I love the moments that I am able to spend time with the Lord and time just seems to disappear. I am not worried about anything but being with Him. It saddens my heart for the moments that I fall into one of the categories above and miss an opportunity to hang out with the One I love the most. There is power in prayer...start today!

Leaving a Legacy

As I click in to edit this particular blog, this was one that I had actually started at the present time. I think everything was so fresh at the time, I just didn't want to publish it at that particular time. But I hope that it's ok now. Quotes are the original and I will add more at the end.

"As I sit in my quiet kitchen, praying for my wonderful bride of 8 years and her family huddled up a few minutes down the road, I try to imagine what more than 50 years of marriage looks like. How many memories with a bride are packed into 50+ years? How many wonderful memories with children galore are packed into 50+ years? Places seen, endless conversations, mishaps and hilarious moments that will never be forgotten. This is only the tip of iceberg in trying to imagine or probably attempt to relay what it's like.
My wife's loving Papaw, Jim Bagwell, passed away tonight. I do not have the memories that my wife has of her Papaw. And that's exactly how God wants it. God blesses everyone of us with people in our lives that influence us, that grow us, that help us become who we are in our lives."

This is one of those moments where I wish I would have continued writing. This, to me, is what blogging is about. Capturing the moment, in the moment. That's why I hate it so much when I have to go back and play catch-up. It's not "in the moment."

It has been a couple of months since Papaw has passed, but we know that he is dancing with the Lord and that brings us joy. I am thankful for family and the many opportunities the Lord puts before us. I entitled this "leaving a legacy" because I once heard a wise man talk about living life. Do we live our lives day to day just doing what we do and passing moments away, or are we living our lives to leave a legacy? When I am gone, will there be footprints left here on earth that I have left. Not the footprints of money, trophies, possessions, etc.... But footprints of how my kids raise their kids because of what they learned from daddy. Footprints of the former kids that I have taught and who they grow up to be because maybe I made a little bit of difference in their life when they were in 7th grade. Or the most important to me, the unknown footprints that we may never have seen or will see until the other side. The footprints from the folks that we smiled at when we were in line at the grocery store. The footprints from the folks at the park who saw us love on our kids and decided to do things a little bit better at their house. Or the footprints from the folks who should everyday see Jesus Christ in the lives that we live.
So I challenge you today. Are you living your life in routine day to day, or are you living your life to leave a legacy?

CELEBRATING 8 YEARS OF MARRIAGE

As I sit and type this, I am still in amazement that it has been 8 years since Shannon and I said "I do". How time flies when you are with the one you love. We have enjoyed so many wonderful memories together and pray that the Lord blesses us with many, many more.
We decided to add to those memories this weekend with a nice romantic anniversary getaway. The wife had no idea what the plans were and I wanted it to be a big surprise. She is a huge control freak, so to be able to keep her antsy was very fun. But she was a very good sport as well. No peeking or probing or trying to mess with anything. She went with the flow and had a good time with it.


The only directions that I gave her were to dress casual for Friday, have an overnight bag, and casual dress for Saturday. I had arranged for the kids to stay with mom so that this could work out. A huge, huge thank you to mom and dad for keeping them!! We love you!
So we headed out on Friday afternoon to the mystery palace. :) The mystery palace happens to be Treasure Island Bed & Breakfast on Lake Logan Martin.

A wonderful couple named Earl and Lillie Hardy open up their home and do a wonderful job. We reserved the Anniversary Suite to enjoy all of the luxuries that go with it. As we headed toward our palace, Shannon had absolutely no idea where we were going. Her two guesses were
1.) to see the kids...WHAT???? :) and ....
2.) Back to Cedar Grove where we got engaged and married.
That would have been a cool detour but neither were correct. As we happened further into Pell City, she put together that it would have something to do with the lake. We arrived and met our hosts and got to check the place out. It was a very nice house with a beautiful view of the lake.


The suite was very awesome as well! We unpacked, checked out the lake view, and then headed to dinner.


We didn't have to travel far to our dinner target. I decided that we would try a place called The Tavern of St Clair.


I would highly encourage you to try it out sometime. The food was so delicious. It looked too that Shannon and I had hit the jackpot coming to dinner here a little early as well. About half of the tables were already reserved. So I would encourage anyone who wants to try it and doesn't think they will get there early to make a reservation. Shannon and I both ordered steaks and baked potatoes for dinner. Wonderful!! We also had lobster bisque, which is Shannon's favorite and happened to be the soup of the evening. We also had spinach artichoke dip as an appetizer. It was a great dinner experience.
We then headed back to the suite to settle in for the evening. We stayed outside and watched the sun and the water for a few minutes. I had also brought a movie, so we got comfortable in our king sized bed and enjoyed the movie...........

We will pick back up on Saturday morning. :) Shannon and I were able to sleep till 8:00 which is unheard of at our house. We were both actually awake at 6:30 by habit, but had no problem hitting snooze on the internal alarm clock. I spent time on the deck reading as Shannon entertained conversation with our hosts Earl and Lillie as they cooked us morning breakfast.


When breakfast was ready, we sat down and enjoyed the meal together and had a great time of conversation. The meal was awesome and the conversation was great as well.


They are an awesome Christian couple who use their bed and breakfast as a ministry as much as a place of enjoyment for those able to make reservations and attend. After breakfast, we packed our stuff and said our goodbye's. It was an awesome getaway that we will cherish for years to come!!


I love you Shannon and I am so glad that the Lord has blessed me with a wonderful wife. May we enjoy many more romantic getaways in the future. PC

MOTHER AND FATHER'S DAY 2010

Although this one is a little late, it's one that I think is very important. Shannon and I are both very blessed to have wonderful parents to model for us what family and marriage is suppose to be like. We take a moment again to say a big thank you and we love you!! As we entered the world of marriage with kids, we had no idea what it was truely going to be like. Do any of us??? :)

I can tell you that it has been an adventure that we have absolutely loved. Kids bring a dimension to your world that is indescribable. They can take a bad day and turn into one of the best days ever in a blink of an eye. They can also send you from smiling to pulling your hair out in .5 seconds as well, but we will not focus on that today. :)

I am thankful to have a loving wife who loves me 2nd to her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. She is a wonderful mother to our 2 kids and always works her hardest to help us make it as a family. She fulfills the role of mom to the nth degree and my kids are blessed to have her as a mother.
My prayer everyday as a dad is that I can always be the man of God that the Lord wants me to be. To teach my children how to grow up loving the Lord and wanting a relationship with Him. When we take a second to really reflect on the responsibility that comes with being a parent, it can be a very scary thing. Yet I think that there is no better blessing in life than to put your whole heart into your kids and help shepherd their hearts.

I pray that my kids will be able to one day have a family of their own. I hope that they can look back on their times of growing up in our household and say....as TobyMac would say...

Love is in the house and the house is packed
So much so I left the back door cracked
Mama always said it's a matter of fact
that when love is in the house the house is packed

Our world today is seeing more and more families not making it,so I pray right now that you protect your marriage and fight for it. Put Christ first in your marriage and make a conscious effort daily to walk with Him as you walk through life with your spouse and your kids. The passage below is one of my favorites that I keep as a reminder of God's command for us as parents to our children. May it bless you as well.

Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
Deuteronomy 6:5-9

GO TWO NINE!!!!

We have 3 specific teams/folks that we pull for in the Whitt household......

If it's college football time....ROLL TIDE is the constant theme, decked out in our Julio jerseys and yelling, many times a little too much. :) What did they do in 2010? NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!!!

If it's college basketball time....LET'S GO DUKE is the constant theme, decked out in our Duke shirts or JJ Redick jerseys with our good luck signed basketball somewhere very near us. What did they do in 2010? NATIONAL CHAMPIONS AS WELL!!!

We are not big pro anything around here...not football, basketball, or baseball. The only other thing we really stay tuned into is Nascar. Now I know many folks will say that Nascar is not a sport, but I challenge anybody to strap into a car and run 200 mph with 40 cars all around you for 3 to 4 hours straight. Bet you get a different opinion after that. Plus if you have ever seen it up close and personal, you might change your mind as well. I have been fortunate enough to be able to see races from the grandstands as well as about 15 ft away in the pits at Bristol Motor Speedway. It is a boys trip/ritual taken every year in August and it's a blast! Last year was the first year in 7 years that we were not able to make the trip, but I am hoping that we will be able to get back on track to the track this year.

The reason for this post is to just say congrats to my favorite driver Kevin Harvick, not only for winning the Coke 400 race at Daytona this weekend, but for turning things around in 2010 and having a shot to win it all and dethrone Jimmie Johnson. I have been a Harvick fan since 2001 when he replaced Dale Earnhardt after his tragic passing at Daytona. For whatever reason, the 29 and my family seem to have this weird little bond that's pretty cool.

When Shannon and I got married (which was on a Saturday), we were on our honeymoon in FL and actually came inside for lunch (on Sunday)and I turned on the race to watch for a few minutes. It was awesome to watch him win that day in Chicago. That was the beginning of a common trend for us.

When Caden was born on April 22nd of 06, what was going to be a fun evening of letting my little man experience his first race with dad, turned sad very quickly. He was rushed to the NICU and had to stay there for over a week. I remember the emotions of that day. I remember visiting hours being weird and how hard it was for me to go down and see him hooked up to all of those machines. I just couldn't do it, but felt that I had to at some point in time. I had settled for waiting for the next day when Shannon and I could go together. Shannon was exhausted and asleep by early evening, but I couldn't get my mind to stop at all. So I turned on the tv and had completely forgot about the race. They were racing at Phoenix and when I turned the tv on, there were about 40 laps left. I remember sitting there in the chair and saying to myself how awesome it would be for Kevin to win one for my little man. And sure enough, he came on at the end and won! I know it's stupid but it brought tears to my eyes. It at that time also gave me a reason to go talk to my little man in the NICU and conquer something that was very hard for me to conquer earlier that evening.

The last and most recent connection, which was about 2 years ago came during a very tough time in our lives. Shannon and I were in Dallas on a business trip of hers. We took Caden and he and I spent the entire week together in the hotel room and the pool. It was so much fun. As we were getting ready to go on Saturday morning, he got a hold of Shannon's straightening iron and burned his hand really bad. We didn't know how bad until we got to the hospital. He had a 3rd degree burn on his hand/fingers and we were going to have to stay at the hospital in Dallas until the beginning of the next week. The incident in and of itself was very emotional and probably the toughest thing that Shannon and I have been through together in the 8 years that we have been married. She was 7 months pregnant with Laura Grace which didn't help things at all. But again, I remember her getting to sleep exhausted from the day and me being wide awake with my mind running rampant. Very very similar to the evening of the day Caden was born, I turned on the tv and the race was on. They were in Phoenix, same as when he was born, and for a few minutes in life, I wanted to watch him win another one "for us". And so he did. :) It was a nice memory in a time of fear and crazy emotions. Caden has come on to be just fine and we still have a story to tell to this day.

Now I know that Kevin Harvick has no idea who we are, and could probably care less. But it is fun to have a little connection like that to our lives.
I also know that Kevin Harvick is not the strength that gets us through our days or our tough times. My Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was the strength and rock during these tough times. He was the one to give us the will and strength to keep going and know that in the end, He will take care of us. So please know that I know that.

So back to 2010. I am hoping that the 29 will help us pull out the trifecta of champions this year. How awesome would that be?!?!?!
It would make 2010 a year to remember as far as the Whitt sports go. But if he doesn't pull it off, we will be there to pull him on next year. GO 29!!!!

CELEBRATING ON THE 4TH...WELL 3RD, 4TH, AND 5TH!

We first of all want to say thank you to all of our military folks, active and non-active, who risked and are now risking their lives daily to allow us the opportunity to have the freedom in the United States that we have. I think that we take our freedom for granted way too much in today's society. So, I want to take a moment to pray for our military and to let them know that we truly appreciate them.



We did not purposefully start our 4th of July celebration a day early. It just happened to end up like that. We borrowed a huge waterslide from Debbie and Ken Lambert (THANK YOU SO MUCH!!) We had actually had it for a couple of days for our kids to play on. Well on Saturday, my sis and sis-n-law brought their kids over and we just had a big ole playday in the backyard. The weather was awesome and the kids had a blast playing together as usual. Here are a few pics below of the fun.

I know that our kids are blessed to be as close as they are. They stay together throughout the week at our parents houses and yet they can still get together on a Saturday and still have a blast together. I think that's awesome!

On Sunday, the 4th, we went to church and had an awesome worship service. I really enjoy it when we have services where we are all together. It, to me, makes our church feel complete.
Afterwards, we went to mom and dads for one of the most relaxing days that I have had in a while. We took the slide over so the kids could keep on playin. We had some awesome food and I ate until I was stuffed and then some. The kids played hard and then went down for a late nap. It was fun to just hangout as adults and lay in the pool, or lay under the shade and read, or just sit on the porch and chat and enjoy each others company. I really love my family and thank the Lord everyday for the blessings He gives us. Below is some of the Sunday 4th fun.

We decided to keep the party going on Monday by going to AL Adventure. Mom has purchases season passes and takes the kids every week, but we actually had a day off to go join the fun as well. It was a blast!!! I was able to take my two and let them play at the "big kid" park. They don't normally get to do this when they go, so they really enjoyed it. They were able to ride with mom and dad down the big slides and we just had a great day together. The park was so much fun that both of our kids were snoring by the time we got onto the interstate. :) Love my family and love when we get to experience fun things like this past weekend together. Hope all had as much fun on the 4th, before and after, as we did.

But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children – Psalm 103:17

TRUST AND OBEY

Psalm 40:4 says, "Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust."

I have a little book entitled "Hope for Each Day" by Billy Graham. We actually picked it up at the church yardsale for next to nothing, and it has happened to be one of the best little treasures that I have ever stumbled upon. It has a verse and a 2 to 3 paragraph story for each day of the year. Nothing superduper fancy that sticks out about it at all on the outside, yet the words coming from within are powerful!! Example:

The most recent title is "Trust and Obey". What's the first thing that comes to your mind? For me, it's the hymn. I bet I have sung the words to that hymn 1000 times since I was little.

Trust and obey, for there's no other way, to be happy in Jesus.......but to trust and obey.

Such simple words, yet how many times do we fall on our faces because....
1.) we don't fully trust
2.) we don't obey

I love the story that is mentioned because it so applies to all of us. He talks about one day when his kids were little, someone gave his little boy a dollar. Upon first instincts, the boy says, "Here dad, hold this for me" and he runs off to play. A few minutes later he comes back and says, "Dad, I better keep my own dollar" and takes it back to put in his own pocket. Well we all know how this story is going to end because we have all probably done it before. The boy comes back with tears in his eyes and says "Dad, I lost my dollar. Can you help me find it?"

I say that we have all probably done this before, but how many of us are actually doing it right now in our lives at this present day? We say, Lord please handle this matter, and then when the Lord doesn't act in the timeframe that we want him to act in, we decide that we can take matters into our own hands. And I would say that everytime we end up like the little boy in the story, coming back to say "Lord, I messed it up. Can you help me because I am in trouble?!!?"

Obedience begins with a listening heart. If we are not pursuing God daily, how do we know what He is asking of us to be obedient about. How many times does God impress something upon our heart and we become too afraid or too lazy to act on it? Have you ever felt God telling you to move/act in a moment, a right then and there moment, and you feel yourself starting to sweat and your heart starts beating 90 miles an hour? It might be for you to go pray for someone or with someone. It might be a moment where you need to stand up and give a testimony right then and there. He might impress on your heart to call or email someone. It might be that you need to go ask for forgiveness or tell someone that they have hurt you, and you need them to know so you can forgive them and ask them to forgive you. These are just a few to throw out there, but God calls us to be obedient.

I pray that we will all be able trust God in all phases of our lives. To trust Him to protect, to trust Him to provide, to trust in the fact that He knows what's best for us and will always love us. So today is a call to trust and obey.