My Anniversary

Today, is my anniversary.

Not the normal kind of anniversary celebration.

Normally, you celebrate anniversaries of marriage. Or a child being born. Or even moving day.

Today is none of those.

Two years ago today, at 1:30 PM (Central Time), I had a heart attack.

You can read about the experience here, here, here, here, and here.

I've re-read these blog posts today. Not that I've forgotten a moment of those days. But, to remind me just how blessed I am.

I'm thankful to be alive. I'm thankful to be in good health.

I'm glad to have you as a friend!

Anniversaries--100 Words

Anniversaries.

Do you like anniversaries?

I do!

Today is my one-year anniversary. Columbus Day, 2008. A day that will live in my infamy. At 1:30 PM, while holding my 8-month-old son, I had a heart attack.

A real one. One of those the TV commercial describes—“1/3 of people about to have a heart attack feel fine” kind-of-heart-attacks.

Fine to heart attack, in one heartbeat.

The Bible says, “Life is just a vapor.”

I didn’t see my life pass before my eyes. I didn’t have a near death experience.

Today, one year later. I’m fine.

Oops. Probably shouldn’t say that.

Terror--100 Words

Terror.

That word is always on our minds at this time of the year.

9/11/2001 did that to us. No, we will never forget. At least I won’t.

I still remember thinking that we were under attack. By some unknown people.

However, for some of us, terror is more than an anniversary to remember.

Young children sometimes have night terrors.

People in Iraq face the daily terror just by going to the market, or worship, or their home.

Unemployed people face the terror of an unknown future and dwindling bank account.

What “terrorizes” you?

Failure? Death? Health issues? Job? Family?

To My Best Friend

If history holds true, today will be a low "hit" day on my blog. That's okay. People are going to church, many of my regular readers will be leading in worship. Bill will be preaching, while his grandson sits and listens (hopefully, he'll be listening). Rick will be sharing from his missionary heart about the love of Jesus for all people. Camey will be hearing her hubby share the Word in a different place, and she will be listening to God's voice and understanding dreams. Heidi will be praising God and celebrating the forgiveness of sins past. Will, Michael, Karma, Bernard, Kath, Haf Dozen, and many others will be sharing Christ in their own gifted ways. Please know that I'll be praying for you as you worship and lead out in worship.

And, if you take the time to stop by to read my blog, I am most thankful. For you to pause long enough to read this, you really touch my heart in a special way.

Today as you read, you'll read about my best friend in the entire world--my wife, Tonya.

It's a special day for us. Today, November 30, we celebrate our anniversary. While the years we've been together are short, they have been wonderful and cherished. They have been enjoyed. They have been memory-makers every day. They have been the best of days. They've been the best of times. They have been days filled with love.

Every year since we married, Tonya and I have traveled somewhere special for our anniversary. Well, that's not quite true. The places haven't always been special, our time together has been what made the trip special. It was always just the two of us. And, that was all we thought we needed.

This year, things are a little different. This year, we have a little one climbing and crawling and exploring and touching and laughing and smiling and loving. So, this year, we'll stay home. We'll just spend time together as a family.

And, I'm thinking, this may just be the most special anniversary that we have had. The focus will be on each other--and the life God brought together. And, in truth, that's all that we should focus on anyway.

Happy Anniversary Sweetheart--I love you more than words can say.

Thanks for the joy you brought into my heart. Thanks for the happiness. Thanks for patience. Understanding. Loving. Forgiving.

Thank you for being you.

That's exactly what God knew I needed.

Memories of a 9/11 Volunteer

9/11.

A day that changed America.

A day that changed my life forever.

There have always been those days. You know the ones. The ones that change history or that change your life or both. 9/11 is one of those days in my journey through this world.

On September 11, 2001, I was serving as a pastor in a small town in south Alabama (or LA as we like to call it—Lower Alabama). I was also serving as a chaplain/firefighter for our volunteer fire department. We had a great fire department. We had wonderful men and women who were committed to helping our community in any way possible.

The day had barely started in our office when a friend called to ask if I had seen the news. Of course, I hadn’t. I was at work and we didn’t have a TV in the office. I turned on the Internet and thought it strange how long it took for my favorite news site to load. After a minute or so, I understood why. A large photo of the first tower took up the screen. Within minutes, the second tower was hit, then the Pentagon, then the crash in Pennsylvania.

All of that was happening in New York City, Washington, DC, and Pennsylvania. Trust me when I say that more than miles separated my small town from those locations. Our people were simply country folks. Good people, just vastly removed from the large city and acts of terrorism.

After 20 minutes or so after the second tower was hit, my fire department pager activated. We were told to come to the station, prepare the trucks, and wait for further instruction. That was a strange request—one I had never heard before. I rushed to the fire station and was greeted by a dozen or so other volunteers. We waited for our assistant chief to arrive. When he did, the town’s police chief also came. They had news for us. The President had ordered the immediate landing of all commercial aircraft. All aircraft were to land safely, but quickly.

That was the problem. There was one plane in our region that couldn’t be accounted for. We were activated because we provided protection for a small airfield about five miles from our station. We were activated to be ready for a potential crash as had taken place in Pennsylvania. No one knew, in that moment, what would happen the next moment.

Within a short period of time, the plane was located, and it landed in Atlanta. We thought our duty would be finished, but no, that was not to be the case. We were needed to help at several area businesses and schools. Remember what it was like on 9/11? We were all panicked over what might happen next. Were there more planes? More terrorists? More attacks on the way?

I was assigned to protect the local high school. The school was in lockdown, as you can imagine. I monitored the doors and the hallway, watching for anything suspicious going on. Of course, nothing happened. Well, frightened parents did rush to the school to check out their children. Children did cry. I stood watch. And I cried.

Life changed after that. America stopped to worship and attend church. At least for a few days, maybe a week or so. Then, it was back to normal for so many.

James 4:14 is one of my life verses. James wrote, “Life is but a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away forever.”

9/11 brought the truth of that verse to life for me.

What are your memories of 9/11?

If you have blogged about it today and would rather link us to your site, please feel free to do so. If you’d like to cut and paste what you’ve written, that’s fine to.

As you have a moment, please share your thoughts about this day.