Today my grandfather has gone on to be with the Lord. It actually happened at 5:25pm on Tuesday July 13th just one week away from his 86th birthday. This is a bittersweet moment for our family as he has been suffering these last several months and his suffering is finally over. On the other hand, we will not see him again until we get on the other side of heaven. In his last hours, he got to see his brother, my brother, and my wife and I making it a precious moment in time. We appreciate everyone’s prayers for our family.

All of that said, I am finding myself not thinking about his death but his life, not thinking about his suffering but the happiness he has brought to my life. I am reminded of how when I was nine years old we used to stay over his house once a week. The night we choose to stay was Thursday night because that was the night that Buck Rogers in the 25th Century came on and we would sit and watch the show together. In fact, we would talk about the show, what we liked and what was cool, as well as what we thought would happen next week based on the preview. It was a great time that I got to enjoy with my grandfather.

I am also reminded of how he would always seem to lose at chess and checkers no matter how badly I played. And there was this game with that was basically a connect four in three dimensions that you had to get your color wooden ball into a row of four across, diagonally, up, or whichever. As God would allow, I just recently found the game at a game store (of course a bit updated but still the same basic game) and bought it.

I am reminded of waiting for him to come home from working in New York City when we lived in New Jersey in the summer time to go to the local Carvel stand where they served soft ice-cream in waffle cones. I have fond memories of waiting in line to order my large vanilla cone with rainbow sprinkles and my grandfather always teasing that he was going to take a bit. He never did, but it was a fun time.

So many memories and good times we had including going on vacations and just enjoying being in a hotel. And the corny jokes he would always have that made you laugh the first four or five times he told the joke. I can remember every time we would pass a cemetery he would ask “Why is there a fence around the cemetery?” The answer, “Because people are dying to get in.” Now after all these years, he finally has gotten his way in.

Godspeed Grandpa, you will be missed and yet I know I will see you when it is my time to go to heaven. Save a spot close to you for me.

With All My Love,

Pat

A couple of Sunday’s ago (January 17th), our church had a baptism during our evening service. The last baptism we had, I got baptized again because my pastor presents a very interesting take on baptism that I had not heard before and didn’t understand when I was baptized and decided to get baptized again.

We arrived at the church and had the children in the service because baptism is very important. James was antsy because sitting service is not quite his thing yet, but then again he is only seven years old. When the baptism started, I was positioned as an usher to help and James was sitting with me. He asked me a couple of quick things about baptism and I answered him. Then he turned to me and said, “The next baptism I want to be baptized.” I told him that would be fine because we had had a discussion a couple months back about having Jesus in our hearts and he asked Jesus to be in his heart.

While we were sitting there, my middle child, Abby came over and told me that she wanted to get baptized. This was a really cool thing to hear because I knew that God had been speaking to her about it. So, when she told me I was excited and just about jumped out of my seat. Then I asked her, “Do you want me to baptize you?” She smiled a smile I will remember for a long time and said yes. Since I had been baptized once before in my clothes, it did not bother me that I didn’t have appropriate clothing or a change of clothing. It also didn’t bother Abby because she didn’t have that either and just wanted to follow God.

As I was taking out my wallet and my watch, James tugged on me and said, “You mean I can get baptized now?” I told him yes if he wanted too and he said that he did. If it is possible to imagine how excited that I was that one of my children wanted to be baptized, try to more than double that with the fact that now two of my children wanted to be baptized.

Immediately I sent Katie to go and get my wife because she was teaching in Children’s Church and would not want to miss this. Of course, had we planned this, she would have been in service and we would have had a change of clothes. But this was a move of the Spirit moment and I was not going to let it go by just because of minor inconveniences.

Before I go any further, Katie, my oldest child, came to me a couple of weeks before her tenth birthday (2004) and asked if she could talk with the pastor we were under about being baptized. We scheduled a meeting and she impressed the pastor with her understanding of what baptism was and he knowledge of the day she accepted Jesus in her heart. Then she asked him if she could be baptized on her birthday which happened to be on a Sunday. I thought the pastor’s answer was so good. He said, “I will see what I can do as I have a little pull around here.” On Katie’s tenth birthday, I had the privilege of baptizing her.

Now you might be able to understand my excitement over the honor of baptizing my remaining two children and the fact that all three of them asked to be baptized and were not coerced or forced by mom and dad no matter. They simply wanted to follow Jesus. In fact, while James and I were waiting (because Abby was on the ladies side opposite us), he turned to me after someone gave a powerful testimony and said, “Dad if the pastor asks, I don’t have a story. I am just getting baptized because Jesus told me too.” I had to do everything I could to keep back the tears as I told him that was just fine.

For James to be willing to go into a baptism tank and have his head dunked under was a major thing as he hates to get his head wet. Sometimes it is a battle to get him to wash his hair during a bath. The rest of the body is fine, but his head and especially his eyes are just a big no zone. To baptize, James allowed me to, while he held his nose, to lower him backwards into the water and completely under. I was so proud of him. Then Pastor, who was as excited as I was, said, “Let’s dunk him again.” Well, that was a bit much for James and he screamed and just about flipped. Had this been a planned event, we could have had towels for James’ eyes or even perhaps his goggles, but this was a moving of the Spirit moment and I didn’t have those helps so that he was not interested in a second dunking by anyone. As his father, I knew that and was smiling at how brave my little boy was.

Next up was my daughter Abby. She came into the tank and over to Pastor. He asked her why she was there and she relayed about God gently encouraging her again and again to be baptized and today she finally decided to do what he was asking. I know that God was alright with my proud chest coming out. I asked the youth pastor if he would help baptize my teenage daughter and he was honored to do so. When I was sending her under all I could think was how amazingly blessed I am. I know that not everyone gets this chance and I am so privileged and honor to be able to baptize her and all my children.

When we got downstairs, James said the cutest thing. He told his mom that he got baptized because “The devil was after him and now he can’t have him.” Totally adorable.

In all, they expected to baptize 15 people and ended up baptizing 31. I understand that this is the norm whenever Pastor has a baptism because of his complete understand and teaching on baptism and the drawing of the Lord!!

Praise God! Katie was able to receive her new clarinet today. After months and months of waiting and donations to her cause from many within our church and even some internet friends around the world brought us to a point where we were so close we could taste it. Then with this year’s tax return, we were finally able to hop over the hump and bring the instrument home and into her hands. She was so cute because she had a hair appointment and we asked her if she wanted us to pick it up or leave it until tomorrow when she could pick it up herself and she was jumping in the car saying “Pick it up, pick it up.”

My wife and I walked into the music store with big smiles on our faces. With all that has been going on, we had not made any kind of payment in over a month and they were excited to see us come back. The cashier, who was there when Katie tried out the models to find hers, asked “Are you here to make a payment?” To which, my wife responded, “No, go get it!” You would have thought the cashier was part of the family as a big grin crossed her face and she hopped off to go and get it. A little bit later, and some swiping of the debit card, and the clarinet was in our hands. But not in Katie’s yet.

We picked Katie up from her hair appointment and she got in the car. My wife had the clarinet at her feet to make sure it did not get banged around. Katie had a grin from ear to ear as she asked, “Can I hold it?” Of course she can. We handed back the case and she opened it and this moment was like one of those moments in a movie where the adventurer would open the treasure chest just pulled from the bottom of the ocean to find a chest full of gold pieces. Katie’s smile could not have been bigger as she stared at her instrument and remarked, “It’s so shiny.” It was a very heart warming moment.

We arrived home and Abby was almost as excited as we were in knowing that her sister got her clarinet. And of course, she wanted to see it.

I must say that I am so thankful to God for my family and bringing this clarinet home and into her hands. When we placed this on layaway back in August, we had no idea what was about to happen. We didn’t know that the overtime that was promised and depended upon for the money to pay for the instrument would be cancelled. We had no idea that we would wind up in a car accident and have to get a new car. We had no idea that my grandfather would fall during his visit here the day after Christmas and need surgery and rehabilitation and a lot of love and care. We had no idea how God was going to move on our Pastor to take a special collection for Katie or how another Pastor we know who rents space in our church’s building would be moved to donate money to the cause or how some internet friends of mine from literally around the world would send money to help. It has been truly amazing ride that has brought us to this moment.

And I must brag on my daughter for a moment, because, well, because I am her dad and I think it is part of the job description. We placed the clarinet on layaway back in August and Katie had been such a trooper. She knew what was happening in the family and never nagged us about her clarinet or bothered us. She would only ask about every two weeks what, if any, progress was made on the layaway. And on the times that we had to tell her that we just didn’t have the money at that time, she just smiled and loved on us and knew that God would place it in her hand soon enough. I can’t express how impressed I have been in her and how excited I am how God is shaping her. I am just so thankful!

So, Praise God!! The new clarinet is home and in its owner’s hands and she could not be happier.

Related Posts

Katie’s Plays Some Solos

God is so Neat and Amazing

Katie’s Clarinet Let’s Bring It Home

My Daughter and God’s Anointing

God, Katie and Faithfulness

Music is in the Blood

Most of everyone who reads this is aware of what has happened over the last couple of weeks. However, for the benefit of those who are not aware, I am going to give a brief description of the events and then an update on the latest.

UP TO NOW

My grandparents arrived in Texas on November 21st excited to be visiting for the holidays. During the beginning of their stay, they seemed to be having a good time. That was until December 15th.

On Tuesday December 15th, my grandfather tripped over the curb because he is blind in he left eye and can barely see out of his right eye. The fall caused a break in the right wrist bone. We took him to the hospital and had him checked out. They placed a make-shift cast on his wrist and sent him home with a follow up visit with a bone doctor. The bone doctor saw him that Friday and placed a fiberglass cast on his wrist that would be on for six weeks.

Following the fall, my wife and I had a serious talk with my grandparents about returning home of coming to live with us. We cited the recent fall and asked them what would happen if this had happened back in New Jersey where the closest family is fifty miles away and on the other side of New York City. I even had a word from God for my grandfather that I shared this night. They unfortunately thanked us for caring and rejected our offer.

Things went well on Christmas day and we had a good time and a great dinner.

The day after Christmas was another story. My brother had taken my grandparents to visit with them. During their visit, my grandfather got out of their minivan and fell on his right side. My brother took him to the hospital and called me. I arrived at the hospital to discover that my grandfather broke the bone socket in the pelvic bone at the top of your leg bone (femur) where it forms a ball and fits into (an Acetabular Fracture). Very painful and required surgery to repair.

My grandfather was transported to JPS Hospital in Fort Worth, where he was operated on New Year’s Eve. All went well, however, considering his advanced medical conditions (high blood pressure, diabetes, blindness, dialysis, etc) they were uncertain of his recovery time. For a person of average health the minimum time was two weeks in rehabilitation followed by using a walker for several months with no weight put on the leg with the break. In my grandfather’s case, they estimated two months in rehabilitation followed by six months in a walker. This did not sit well with my grandfather, but like he had a choice.

On January 5th, my grandfather was accepted and transported to a local rehabilitation center close to our home. We spoke with the physical therapist and got a schedule of the rehabilitation program and how things would work. We further found out that grandpa’s supplemental insurance was good enough to get him a private room and at least 100 days of full coverage. This would give him a little over three months to get well enough to move around on a walker.

That brings up quickly up to date.

UPDATE

My grandfather is experiencing pain during rehab which is expected. However, he is responding to the pain by sitting back down and not continuing the exercise. The physical therapist had told us that one week into the rehab they had wanted him to be able to hobble around (with arm bars) on the one good foot. My grandfather told me that he is only able to stand for less than a minute and then must sit back down. He had complained to many that the therapists expect him to do all the work, which was exactly what we expected, but not what he expected. The short end is that if he continues this rate of improvement, he will be there much longer than several months.

In addition to this, the orthopedic doctor told him that he would not be able to ever handle stairs again due to his advanced medical conditions in conjunction with this break and the lack of ability to develop great strength in his arms (due mostly to advanced diabetes). This means that he is not able to return to his home in New Jersey and live there as it is one three levels with many stairs. The problem is that grandpa is determined to return home no matter what and live there. Something the family does not want because he drives and he can not see. My grandmother tells him when to turn or he takes routes he knows by heart. Very scary!

So that is where we are. Please pray for my grandparents that God enlightens them because they are not listening to us or the doctors. If God would break through then we can all rally around them like we want to and make their years fruitful and happy.

Love in Christ,

Pat

As promised, here is Katie playing on the clarinet some Christmas music and a standard piece.

Love in Christ,

Aquiman, The Dad (AKA Pat Aquilone)

References

Read Katie’s Clarinet Let’s Bring It Home

Read Katie’s Short Story So Far

Read God is so Neat and Amazing

Donate to Katie’s Clarinet Fund

God is so Neat and Amazing at times that it just makes me want to testify. So, here is what God did today.

I had just returned from the apartment to pick up my grandparents and bring them to lunch when I saw a pastor friend of mine from another church. I felt the prompting of the Holy Spirit to go up and give him a hug. The funny thing about this is that I saw this pastor a bit earlier but was in a rush and did not stop to chat. When I returned, he was still where I last saw him talking. I knew this was a Holy Spirit thing and foolishly thought this was perhaps for him. Why, because even pastors need people to pour into and love them and not always need something from them. I felt like this was perhaps one of those types of moments. I was wrong.

We spoke about a couple of topics besides hugging and loving on one another. Then, I to be honest I can’t remember how, the conversation turned to speak about Katie and her gifting. At this moment, the pastor friend of mine mentioned that he had read the email that had gone out from my blog about the situation and had wanted to follow up on the email. However, as many know, a pastor’s life is just jammed packed with Godly goodness and he had just not gotten around to it yet. Of course, I told him that I understood and then he sowed into Katie right there on the spot. It was so cool that is blew me away when I stopped a bit later to think about it. God had held this pastor in place, because I whizzed past him earlier in a rush, so that he could bless my daughter. I mean how awesome is that! How cool is it that God so desired to bless my daughter to orchestra all of this. How sad was it that I thought I was the one that would be doing the blessing to the pastor. LOL!

Well, if that was not cool enough, this pastor asked if Katie would be interested in playing for his church some time. I told him that I was pretty sure she would, but would have to ask her (which by the way pastor, she said yes, email me). Of course, nothing is set in stone and God may have other plans that may change this which all of us involved would completely understand. But how amazing is it that God created the body of Christ to bless and love on one another just like this pastor did for my daughter and I. How great is it that our God doesn’t care what color, race, ethnicity, background, gender, denomination, non-denomination or any other division line that we could create and step across all walks of life welcoming all and blessing all and speaking to us to be Jesus to one another. The more I think about it the more Holy Spirit chills I am getting. God is so neat and amazing and I for one am glad to be part of the Kingdom!!

Love in Christ,

Aquiman, The Dad (AKA Pat Aquilone)

References

Read Katie’s Clarinet Let’s Bring It Home

Read Katie’s Short Story So Far

Donate to Katie’s Clarinet Fund

I am writing to for two reasons that center around my daughter Katie. She has been gifted with the ability to play music (be watching THIS website in the coming week for some postings of videos of her playing) on the Clarinet (read Katie’s Short Story So Far). She has excelled to the point where she is being held back by the plastic Clarinet (not a toy but a $1,000 clarinet made out of plastic instead of wood to make it less expensive) which she was supernaturally given by God a couple of years ago. If I may boast as a father for a moment, she was the number 1 eighth grader last year and now the number one ninth grader (has auditions and got the highest 9^th grade chair in the district Honor Band). She has excelled in every area when it comes to playing and will just sit and play for hours if homework and choirs didn’t get in the way.

And that brings me to the request for prayer part. We have a new Clarinet on layaway for Katie at a local music store. The Clarinet listed for $4,400 and they sold it to us for just under $3,200. Because I was working a bunch of overtime at the time we placed this on layaway, we were able to knock the initial bill down to $2,000. Then God did something awesome and had our pastor take an offering up at church which, with our addition, brought the bill down to $1,000. Since then (and that was about two months ago or more), we have only been able to put another $100 on it bringing the total outstanding at this point to $900. Please join in prayer with us that this last little bit will come in quickly so that Katie can have the Clarinet before Christmas if not much before.

In addition to praying for the funds to come in, I ask that you ask God specifically if you are to give and sow into this youths (15 years old) life as music and God have become the focal point in her life. She wants to go and attend music college (like Julliard) and play music as a profession and for the Lord (perhaps one in the same if God allows, and I believe that is where God is taking her). Any amount is helpful in achieving the goal of joining Katie with her new instrument. If God directs you to give, there is a button on the bottom of this page that will take you to Paypal to give (if that does not work go to THIS website and look on the right side for the donate button under the heading “Katie’s Clarinet”).

Whether you can give or not, I thank you for your prayers and pray that you and yours have a very happy holidays.

Love in Christ,

Aquiman, The Dad (AKA Pat Aquilone)

Note: There is a prayer request at the bottom, I just want to give you some background info first

My eldest daughter, Katie, has a gift and anointing from God for the Clarinet. I have been amazing to watch her grow in her anointing. For those who may not know (which might be everyone because I can’t remember if I have shared this before) here is a break down of what God has done so far and then a bit about what happened Sunday night.

• Summer 2007 – Katie, with Mom and Dad in tow, goes to a meet the band night. The purpose is to take all incoming seventh graders who want to be in band and help them find their instrument. We came in and immediately the band director said that Katie was perfect for the Clarinet (which as it happens is the instrument my mother played and was second chair in the state of NJ). Katie sat down next to the man who had the clarinet as he held up the mouthpiece and told her to blow into it but don’t be surprised if there is no sound or it sounds funny because no one can make a note on the first try. Well, Katie blew in it and made a note. The man quickly put together the whole clarinet and put it back to her and asked her to do exactly what she just did again. She did and he fingered it and played a short tune. Katie’s face lit up like never before and I, dad, knew that we found her instrument. Little did we know that we had gotten the attention of all the instructors because apparently to make a sound right off the bat is really rare. The band directory said to the man, “If you don’t sign her up for clarinet your fired.” Knowing the band director as I do now, I know she was kidding. So, we found that Katie was made for the clarinet.
• August 2007 – Clarinets are expensive (well, they may not be but I didn’t have the cash for it) and the store that was supposed to loan us the clarinet and have us make payments declined us. They declined us because of our credit however they told the school that credit would not matter because they looked at it as the school was backing all the students. When we went to get the clarinet, they told us otherwise. So, here I was standing there knowing that my daughter needs to have her clarinet and not able to buy one. I prayed one of those heartfelt tearful prayers to God to help us somehow. My wife is on this FreeCycle group and she suggested we post on there that we had a need. So, we did and for the first week we heard nothing. I reposted it and the next day we got and email from a lady not far from us. Her daughter had an old clarinet that she used when she was in Junior High and High School and has since moved on that she was willing to give us. You can imagine my glee and praising to the Lord. So, we had a clarinet.
• Beginning School – We had the clarinet in hand just a couple of days before school started, but it needed some work. We took it to the repair shop and they said two weeks but they would try and get it done sooner. Katie started band and sat next to a friend and watcher her and everything she did. Well, it did take just over two weeks to get the clarinet and we finally picked it up on a Friday night. Katie practiced what she had observed all weekend and on Monday had a chair test (for those who do not know a chair test is a competition to see who is best and where you fall in the band where first chair is the best) and she got first chair. God’s anointing and gifting was so strong in her that she picked up the clarinet with ease.
• Private Lessons – We signed her up for private lessons because we heard that students who have private lessons do better than those who don’t and it was obvious to her mother and I that Katie was on to something and tapping into something that God was doing in her. Her private lessons instructor, who is a graduate student in music on the clarinet, told us that Katie has the natural ability and talent on the clarinet that college students have and that she has to focus on stepping down her skill for the band. In other words, a college professor and band director would love her even right then but she needs to learn how to walk through the easy stuff as well. I wish I could tell you that I was surprised but I was not because I already knew.
• Seventh Grade – Katie continued to grow in her ability and won several awards and accolades with her playing including being first chair all year except for one chair test she was sick for (and if you are not there then you get last chair). She even had a solo competition that she nailed a division 1 on which is the best you can get.
• Changing Aspirations – Prior to picking up the clarinet, if you asked Katie what she wanted to do with her life she would have said something with athletics because she loved athletics. Since picking up the clarinet, she has not been interested in athletics. In fact, she told us just recently when she discovered that there is a school for the musically inclined that she wants to go to Julliard for college. This is a total departure from what she once believed but totally in line with what God is doing in her life.
• Symphonic Band 2008 – In their Junior High they have three total bands; the seventh grade Beginner Band, the next step up Concert Band, and the top band called Symphonic band. At the end of every school year, the students audition for placement in the bands. Really they are auditioning with the hope of making Symphonic Band and if they miss then they get into Concert Band. The Symphonic Band is primarily made up of the 9th graders (Katie’s Junior High is 7th through 9th) and a few 8th graders here and there. Katie auditioned because she wanted to be in the better top band and she nailed it. She was sooooooooooo excited.
• Summer 2008 – Most kids when the summer comes takes off and don’t do anything that is like school work. Katie spent many days playing the clarinet and even asking us to get her other books of music to play and she would sit and just play for hours and hours.
• School Starts 2008 – Katie couldn’t wait for school to start so she could get back to the band. And she continued to do very well for her grade level although she would come home upset that she had 4th chair. Never mind that she was the best 8th grader or that she was better than many of the 9th graders. She was upset that she was not first chair. I told her that perhaps God was having her be in 4th chair so that she could help others and something clicked inside and she over time became an encourager for others in the band.
• Honor Band 2008 – The district has an Honor Band that you can audition for made up of the best 8th and 9th graders in the whole district. Katie could not wait to try out and was even a bit nervous. I prayed over her and anointed her with oil before she went in and she got in the band. In fact, she was the best 8th grader making her the number 1 eighth grader in the district. You can bet that Dad was boasting. I told Katie, “Dad can boast, you need to be humble” knowing how important it is for her to maintain being humble before the Lord.
• School Year 2008-2009 – Katie continued to excel with her instrument and achieve more accolades. The neat thing for me is that everytime she would do something new, she would run in to play for us. Couple that with the fact my middle child, Abby, is playing the Euphonium, we have music a lot around our home. During this time God spoke to me and told me one night when I was praying “You failed.” I was shocked and he told me that I was failing as a father because I was not using my God assigned right as the head of the household to protect my family. When I inquired what God meant, he told me that as head of the household it is my job/requirement to pray protection, blessing, etc over my family. I began praying every night for God to bless my family and specifically over Katie for God to increase her anointing and he has. She is getting better and better every day.
• Symphonic Band 2009 – Katie again tried out and made Symphonic Band.
• Summer 2009 – Katie continued to play her instrument.
• Beginning School 2009 – Katie has become an example that her Band Director is using with the new seventh graders to show them how to be all that they can be. In fact, the band director had Katie play and showed the seventh graders her sheet music which was all marked up and noted on as any musician can tell you and told the seventh graders that she wanted to have some “Katies” in that class. Katie is excited.
• Honor Band 2009 – If you asked Katie she would say that she made mistakes, but not ones you or I could tell. She tried out for Honor Band and received 2nd chair to a student that while in the 8th grade has been playing for over 5 years. In other words, put up against everyone at her level, she is the best. And they say that the one who beat her only barely did and they have much more experience on her. Again pointing to her anointing.
• Some Notes – I am so proud of Katie not only because of her gifting and her abilities. I am proud that she is becoming a leader in her class and yet remaining humble. That she always believe in her classmates and lifts them up. That she is an encourager and a good friend. And that doesn’t count the fact that she reminds me of my mother who went to be with the Lord in January 1998 every time she plays.

Here are a couple of recent things:

• August 12, 2009 – Katie’s private lesson instructor and her band directory have informed us that Katie is being held back in her ability to advance because of the fact that she has a beginner plastic instrument (not that you can tell by looking at it) and that she needed to get a new wood based clarinet. So, given that I had a bunch of overtime and promised to have overtime for the foreseeable future, we placed her brand new clarinet on layaway. The instrument came to a total of over $3,100 and we were able to put enough down to get the remainder to be $2,000. Katie was so excited.
• August 23, 2009 – My Pastor announced in church that they were going to take a special offering for Katie for her clarinet. It made Katie’s day and in fact she told me later on the phone, because I was away on business, that this was the best day of her life and that it was better than Christmas or her birthday. The reason this was so cool is that she recently learned about tithing and offering and she was seeing God move for her in response to her faithfulness. When all was said and done, she had another $1,000 to put on the clarinet bringing the total down to $1,000.
• Sunday November 8, 2009 – This brings me to what happened Sunday night. We had a concert at our church by the Joshua Experience lead by Larry Randall. They played and were fantastic. In fact, this is the second time they came to play at our church and Katie was in heaven watching them. This was my first time to see it because I had to work last time. Well, after the performance, Katie wanted to ask Mr. Randall a question but was nervous about doing it. I knew that there was something more to this meeting so I brought her over to him. She asked her questions and I bragged on her for a bit. Then he asked to pray for her and prayed for an impartation and that she would get her new clarinet soon. I was so excited to see someone with tremendous ability impart to my daughter. It was so totally a God thing and so totally awesome. PRAISE GOD.

This brings me to the prayer request. At the time we put Katie’s clarinet on layawy, I was getting a bunch of overtime and it seemed like no time at all that we would have this instrument in her hands. Well, that was not to be the case. Shortly after we placed this on layaway, my overtime was cut. In addition to that, we have had a series of events that have sucked out our money (like the dryer going and needing a replacement) which have made paying off the clarinet very difficult. Katie has been good as gold in that she has not pestered us or asked more than about once a week or so. In fact, she is being so good that it affects me even more. God has provided leaving only $900 left. Please pray that this money comes in swiftly so that we can get this instruments into her hands and she can continue to grow beyond where she is at. I know that God is doing something big here and I know that somehow he will provide the money. I just ask that everyone connect their faith with me that God will provide the money suddenly and swiftly for her.

Trey Morgan had a great post about being fathers (click here) and it got me thinking.  Partly because it was on the heels of “Bring You Dad to School Day” at my son’s school and partly because I have seen so many people in our “Modern” times where the father is absent or not wanting to get involved.  Take the following as examples:

• One little girl was crying the whole time the dads were there because her father didn’t come (I don’t know why).

• Another child asked another dad sitting next to me, “Why doesn’t my dad care for me enough to come?”  Ouch!!  And how do you answer that.

• Of the 20-30 kids in my son’s class only five parents showed up.

• Of the over 700 students in the school only about 100 parents (which was dads, granddads and moms when the dad was not present) showed up.

What does all of this say about our families?  Trey Morgan said it best when he state, “It takes more than sperm to be a dad, it takes a man to be a dad.”

I just pray every night that God makes me the man that my kids need and my wife deserves.

Just about two weeks ago, on September 30th, I got into a car accident with our one and only car. I believed the light was green, but when every other car (about 3 deep across 3 lanes) comes at you, you realize that it is most likely you who was wrong. In either case, I headed into the intersection at about 40MPH when I noticed these cars coming toward me and immediately attempted to swerve to the left and hit the brakes. This did not stop me from impacting into the front driver’s side of a Honda Element and crushing the whole front end. In addition, I pushed the Honda and myself into a Ford F-350 who in turn crushed the back end of the Honda. My car took a good deal of damage to the front, hood and passenger side as I hit on the front passenger side and then slide broadside into her car. The good news is that NO ONE was hurt.

Immediately, I got out of the car and called 911 to report the accident and informed them that while we were still in the middle of the intersection at least one car needed to be towed. I also called my wife, who was a bit shocked to say the least. Following that, it was time to answer a ton of questions and wait on the police man (who was from Fort Worth Police department and very nice) to finish his report. At one point while I was waiting, I turned around and noticed Jim, a man from my church. In my slightly shocked and dazed state, I had thought it such a strange coincidence that he happened to be driving/walking by on the day I had my accident. Obviously he had come to help me.

This brings up an interesting testimony. A little while back, when we were at another church, my wife and my six-year-old (then three-years-old) broke down (about $3,000 worth of broke down) and were in the middle of traffic. My wife called me and I was stuck at work and could not help because everyone who could have given me a ride had left for the day. I told her to call the church and to our surprise she did not get a warm welcome. In fact, she spoke with the Pastor and his response was very negative when all she was asking for was a ride back to the apartment so that she didn’t have to try and walk home in the middle of after school traffic with a three-year-old. Since that time, we have found an absolutely great church. However, I can imagine what must have been going through my wife’s mind when she could not find someone to help me and placed a call to the church for help. In this case, our wonderful church administrator immediately got a hold of Jim, who is Mr. Fantastic when it comes to fixing anything at the church, and he came to my aide, a significant difference from our last experience.

Jim arrived on the scene as the police officer was still taking statements and asked me what happened. I informed him and then he proceeded to wait with me. As time passed, the police officer assessed the damage and called for a tow truck to take away the Honda. The Ford had a small minor dent from the accident and my car was demolished, but still drivable (sort of, there was metal and plastic rubbing the tires if you turned). Eventually, the police officer finished his part and gave me a piece of paper with his badge number and the police report number. Then everyone left except for me and Jim.

I called my insurance company to find out what to do next and as I was on the phone, another man from my church named James (I know James and Jim) happened by and stopped to help us. The reason this was so amazing and so totally God’s hand in this picture is that James operates (and I think owns) a transport company which has, as James was driving, a three or four car trailer. As I am talking with the insurance, I find out that I have to get it towed myself and then they reimburse me the money. The insurance offered to get the towing service for me, but God had already provided one with James. God is so amazing to set this up to help me in my time of need and I was tremendously blessed by James “happening” by.

We got my car over to Service King for assessment and potential repairs. At this point, the insurance company took over complete with getting us the rental car that we had on our policy. From the time that Jim arrived to help me until I was settled into the rental car was about four hours and the whole time Jim never left my side as a constant help and anchor in the midst of our storm. I am so thankful to God for having a great man like Jim there who is so willing to drop what he had going on to help me at a moments notice. And to top it off, I got to witness Jim in action sharing Jesus with the car rental man and let me tell you Jim is going to be having a lot of people come running to him in heaven because of his savvy way of sharing Jesus. He had this man very engaged in wanting to know about Jesus.

Then as quick as the accident happened, I was pulling out of Service King with the car rental on my way home. I had hoped to still try and make it into work, but I had hurt my right leg when it smashed into the center console and it was beginning to throb. I did go to church that night and received some prayer for my leg.

Before I go on, to understand how much of a blessing the next point is about getting a new car for us is, I need to tell you a couple of things. For starters, Vicky had to show me where the transmission fluid goes and why it is important. I knew about the gas tank, the windshield washer fluid and where the oil went, but I had very little idea about anything else. Vicky, while shocked because she grew up in an area where all the guys at least knew cars, laughed as she explained some of the basics. Of course, her knowledge was limited as well. So, in the past, whenever we would look for a car, we had to rely on the Holy Spirit to tell us which car was for us. That is actually a good thing to do, but sometimes the flesh can get in the way and confuse the issue. To counter this, I asked a friend of my at church named Mitch if he would at least go with me when I look at cars because I didn’t want to wind up with a lemon, because as nice as our old minivan was, it was in a major accident and the airbags did not deploy lending to the fact that there was more wrong with the used car when we bought it then they told us. Mitch agreed to help me.

Now it was up to finding out what the insurance was going to do and we were very happy about that. The reason is that almost two years ago Vicky was hit by a man who ran a red light (several witnesses confirmed this) and then he tried to flee the scene but God stomped on his car and it fell apart as it tried to leave. We found out that the man that hit her did not have insurance. And to make matters worse, when we called in our claim we found out that our insurance was canceled. There was no one who could or would cover the car and the almost $13,000 note still on it. I did try and reinstate our insurance because the money was there, but they would not do it because they knew the car was in an accident. Following that experience, this one was a very welcome blessing.

As good as it was in the unfortunate situation, we did have a little bump in the road. The original estimate that the insurance gave back to us for our car was very low. So low, that I doubted that we would be able to get another car with what was left after the loan was paid off. After a detailed examination of the quote, we discovered several inaccuracies. For example, it said we had a six-disc CD changer, but subtracted money because it said we did not have a CD/Radio system. It also subtracted for not having captain’s chairs and we did. And this was just the beginning. In speaking with my insurance representative, he decided to go back and rework the numbers. When he returned we received another $1.000 in our pay out which was a welcome change and we were very thankful for everyone’s prayers that helped move this situation in our favor.

After all the insurance paperwork was done, a check was sent and all that remained was for us to acquire a new vehicle. We really needed a minivan since we are a family of five and my youngest is still in a booster seat. So, I spoke with my good friend Mitch who deals with cars every day to see if he could be my eyes and ears and assessor of the potential vehicles so that I would know what was a good buy and what was not. I had explained to him about the prior bad credit due to the totaled car that was officially listed as a repossession. Mitch told me that we were going to go to a place that he knew and trusted because he knew the owners. Furthermore, he said that we were going to try and see if we could get it financed with a national company that would greatly help my credit. I agreed, but to be honest I was doing my best not to doubt that I would have a chance at a regular loan. Our last car, the minivan that was totaled, had to be financed through one of those “Note-and-Tote” in house deals because the banks would not touch us.

We arrived at Texas Motors Ford in Fort Worth and I was introduced to several great people who work there. The atmosphere was awesome and I never felt like a dollar sign which has happened to me before like the time the salesman told me to let them repossess the current car I had so that I could buy his. This place was not like that at all and I got the impression this was they way that they were and it was not that I had arrived with Mitch that I got this treatment. I worked with a man named Curtis at the dealership and we looked at a beautiful 2008 Chrysler Town and Country minivan. I took it for a test drive and just loved the car. But again, I was doing my best to smack down doubt that I would be able to get the vehicle and trying not to get too excited about the minivan as I drove it. But it was a sweet ride and looked really sharp with the SVU/minivan redesigned look about it.

Following the test drive, I really struggled a lot to keep my mind focused on the possibilities that God could have been opening up especially when it took so long. To add to my tension, at one point I had to do an interview with Jimmy, the finance gentleman. I knew how my stuff looked on paper and honestly had little hope and the longer it was taking the less hope I had. I was really trying to keep up my spirits, but it was not easy. After what seemed like an eternity, Jimmy came out and asked me to follow him. When I got in his office, he told me that we had good news and that he was able to find me a loan with payments only being $32 more a month than I was paying making it affordable. You could have just about pushed me over with a feather at that moment. I was in shock in a very good, exciting, elated way.

When all was said and done, I drove off of the lot with a new (used) 2008 Chrysler Town and Country that rides like a dream. I had already spoken with my wife about the car because she had a previous engagement that she could not break and she was excited, but not near as excited as when she got to come out and see and drive the car. We are truly blessed with this car that will provide us with a great many years of service.

All in all, I could not begin to tell you how much we are thankful to everyone and to God for all their help. Even though this was a bad situation, God’s hand was constantly involved with it from Jim coming to stand by my side to James who happened to be driving by with a car carrier to Mitch helping me find just the right car and being lead by the spirit to have me try and get a regular loan to everything in the middle and the things that I don’t know about that was worked for us and in our favor. My family and I are truly blessed and we are thankful.