Cooper and Tatum love to play together, even when Cooper swings "T" around by her ankles on the gravel or T knocks over Coopers plastic cup towers. When they both play together they usually make up imaginary people, friends, bad guys and so forth.

The other day I was claimed the evil villian b/c I really didnt want to play with them after work. I was tired and not ready to "play". They don't care if I am tired and they will annoy the heck out of me until I play. I eventually revert to tickling them until they cannot breathe. By that time I am ready to play b/c there laughter is so worth it. So I am the tickle monster named "Billy". Josh usually doesnt want to roll around on the floor and tickle. Josh usually wants to eat dinner, but Billy would rather not eat, but build big pillow forts and scare all the people of Lala Land.

Some adults have no imagination... rolling on the floor with their kids is not their "personality".

Here are few examples of the ways we subsitute our role as a parent for superifcial ways of entertaining our kids; buying them stuff, putting them in a little league, intentions of being the "cool" mom, taking them to church, putting them in front of the tv.

Here are a few common excuses you here from Parents, "They just wont listen to me"... "I have alot of things going on right now im just stressed"... "I told them not to do that"... my favorite one is, "they got that from their "Daddy".The fractured relationships between parents and kids is by no means simple, but I would propose this solution.

Dream. Your imagination is a terrible thing to waste. Our imagination allows us to do something we think is totally pointless and do something someone else thinks is priceless.

I am starting a church, this is not necessarily my first option. I get tired just thinking about how many times I would have to speak.. all the weekends I would lose... the stigma of being a minister in Parker County... and dragging my wife and kids through peoples unlofty expectations. I don't think Weatherford is God's gift to Texas, I didn't grow up here, and didn't expect to raise a family here, but I've met some genuine people here. I've shared life with those people and have been intrigued to see how God uses people in small places to make eternal impacts.

There are more different types of people in Weatherford than I thought, yet many Parents resisted those differences for their kids out of a fear of Gods will. Not all of them ride a horse, play football, talk with a draw, hunt deer, shop at "Pennys" and drive pickups. So, I will continue to play along here in Weatherford, and when I have a hard day I might move on, or I might get back on the floor and play.

In the same way, I encourage you to find someone who you think has a pointless life and play their game. Listen to their story and play along. You might be the vilian or might just change the world.

The flimsy measuring tape.

I am a tool.

I had a chance to measure some things over the holidays. For instance, we need a new bathtub due too the stains, from the previous owner, coming through the bathtub paint. Note to self, next time we buy a house beware of the painted bathtub trick. Anyways, I was trying to measure the dimensions and what not, but my measuring tape was too flimsy for a half way accurate measurement. I was slinging that deal everywhere and almost sliced my finger off. Its frustrating to use a tool that loses its integrity. Its just weak period

This is the reason I am a tool. For those of you who do not know the popular phrase for people who miss the target and hit the gallery is "a tool" or people who bleed maroon and want to send a legend to an early grave (followed by claps and whoops) is a pretty good defintion of "a tool".

I could'nt get an accurate measurement of what I needed this Christmas. I felt like a product of my experience. The only thing I could do was try and stay as focused as possible. It was a tough though I kept bending and flopping.

My family and I watched and listened in on this Christmas Eve program at the local Church. When the communion came around my older brother gave my 3 yr old daughter a cracker from the passing tray, which triggered me having to give my son a cracker. Then the dominoes began to fall because who can eat a dry flour tablet without something to wash it down. When the juice got passed, there was not hardly any of the half shot glasses of grape juice left, so I had to give my juice to my son and luckily my daughter got distracted coloring with the golf pencil on the tithe envelope. Not long after, and about an hour and a half into the show the kids and parents were praying for Christmas to be over, or at least the Parents were. The kids just want Santa. Productions are so overrated when you have a three year old packed in a pue for over an hour. To make a long story shorter, the reason I am a tool is... I sit and make fun of these hanus productions year after and year without doing my part. Majority of these places do horrible jobs of creating places for a community to gather around together and celebrate the reason.

My new years resolution is take my flimsy tool and restore it. I may be "a tool" and miss the mark frequently. Its just time to stop making fun of a lack of integrity in other people tools and use my tool. My Pastor friend told me the other day that I was frustrated b/c I was not using my gift. He said, "People have tools that God gives them and when you don't use them, you get frustrated."

I guess I need a tool to help me take the big a** plank out of my eye.

Our bodies get old and our thoughts can seem to bend and flop. In the same way, in our youth, we may not be experienced or knowledgeable enough to use our tool. All the while Jesus promised us he would restore the world and would make all things new.

We are His tools, unlike my mesuring tape he can restore our integrity in exchange for our devotion to His work... His kingdom... His plan.

We are His tools, and He gives us wisdom, strength, and knowledge beyond our age.

I want to be His tool. I will probably be called "a tool", hopefully just like Noah or Job or David or Shadrach or all of His other tools.