25 posts tagged “howard”
I don't think I've ever recorded that Howard was accepted as a candidate under care under our denomination's local presbytery. (You can check out his funny photo on the link above).
This month also marks one year from finishing up the remainder of the massive 106 units towards graduating with a Master's of Divinity from RTS. It's been a long journey. This is our 9th year and we can finally see a dim light at the end of the tunnel. This upcoming 10th year tackling this degree is probably going to be the toughest, not in languages (which was the hardest peak of his seminary experience) but with his time. TWO very in depth week-long summer classes, ELEVEN whopping units (plus a field seminar for no credits, total of 5 classes this fall, did I mention he still has to work full-time too?), 3 GINORMOUS (Taryn promises this is in the dictionary but did I spell it right?) exams to take that have nothing to do with his classes (English Bible, Catechism and one other that I don't remember) and thankfully just 3 classes left in his final Spring semester. Makes me tired just thinking about it but I'm glad I'm not doing the reading and the writing and the studying. Just the supporting and praying. I'll take that anyday!
We had a double celebration because Easter happened to fall on the same day as Howard's last year of his 30's! Yep... 39 years of life and very thankful for it..
Howard is pretty syked (yeah, I know, a very 80's term) about doing the FIVE ASPECTS of MANHOOD with 5 young men and their dads! Since this curriculum, http://www.fiveaspects.com/catalog/five-aspects-young-c-23.html highlights five characteristics of manhood, we came up with the idea of recruiting 4 other guys between the ages of 14 and 16 (to add to the Howard and Steve combo) to do the study with them for 5 months/5 meetings. Then, during their fifth meeting, celebrate by having dinner together at the FIVE GUYS burger joint (much like In N Out). They kick-off with their first meeting this month with the first aspect of manhood!
THE FIVE ASPECTS OF MANHOOD:
Lord of the Earth - from dependent to decision-maker
Husbandman - provider
Savior - protector
Sage - from a fool to a wise man
Glory of God - from follower to leader
IF all goes well this first-time around, he hopes to repeat this again in about 5 years when the time comes for Chris and Sam to be launched toward manhood!
HOME SWEET HOME
He was 100 years old. 100 years old! I looked at the patient's chart and thought that the registration clerk screwed up the birthdate. But it only took one glance across the hospital room in the ER last night to check my thought. He was bald, wrinkled, and older than the North Carolina hills. I sat next to him and started throwing questions at him-not about his medical condition-but about his life. His work (he drove an 18 wheeler truck until he was 91 and he still drives a car) his loves, his religion, his diet and many others. My storm of questions probably aged him another year.
I then asked him "What was the most significant invention that shocked you over the last century?" It wasn't his answer that shocked me back. It was the small ingredient he mixed into the answer that marked my mental muscle with an impression about home. He looked me in the eye and said, "Son, my dad told me when I was a little boy that some day I might just see an amazing thing. Some day a man just might walk on the moon. And you know what? My dad was right. And when that day came and that man walked on the moon-that was something! That was something! Even compared to the air machine-that's what I call it- my dad was right. A man has walked on the moon!"
I was born in 1970 and I missed that man walking on the moon. What I didn't miss in his musings was the fact that this man's dad planted a seed of wonder in the mind of his son. That seed of wonder was planted in the field of the home.
FROM ALL THE COLES... MAY GOD RICHLY BLESS YOUR HOME!
Answers to our annual Family Trivia Game:
Who loves to spike his hair in imitation of his older brother? Samuel
Who loves going to swim practice to watch the team swim? Taryn
Who likes to eat all the chocolate chips in the bag without permission? Howard
Who takes pride in being able to crack his/her feet many times in a row and make a rythmn or song with the cracking noises? Stephen
Who has music or an audio book on at nighttime? Paige
Who insisted on buying a pair of nice cowboy boots to wear? Christopher
Who reluctantly shares clothes with other members of the family? Alleyn
HOME SWEET "CAROLINA" HOME
As your eyes trot across the computer screen in front of you, West to East, I'd bet that you are reading this in your home. As our family has traveled West to East, we have rested our roots in the homey soil of North Carolina for two years now. What is a home?
The home is the place where we can cozy up to a computer screen and drink in the stories and episodes of others to enrich our own experiences. The urgent, screaming demands of work or school or shuttling others to and fro can be left outside as we enter the doors of our homes. We have compassion for the home"less" because we know that God made us with a sense of place and belonging. Once inside, we rush to open the doors of those we love to share life with.
Two of my teenagers now lock the doors of their rooms playing "hard to get." The Fall kicked our first parents out of their garden home and our kids now kick their parents out and seal them out with fig leaves shaped like doors. After a rap on the door they open up to me and let me into their respective rooms-another home within a home. If I'm particularly lucky they even open up the rooms of their heart for dad to dance and delight in on the other side of the threshold.
The home, after all, is all about availability and vulnerability. We "make ourself at home" because it is at home that we really learn to live and love and cry and fight and eat too many potato chips at midnight. We ready ourselves in our homes now for our eternal home. The seven of us dart here and there like hummingbirds in our home as our hearts and wings beat passionately driving us to the ordinary and extraordinary events of life.
But every once in awhile you'll catch all of us tuckered out from the adventure just lying around the living room. Our bodies lie layered over each other stretched across couches and ottoman as we laugh and grump and rest and LIVE-right there in that central room of our home.
As the daddy of this home, I praise God for giving me Alleyn, Taryn, Stephen, Paige, Chris, and Sam-along with so many of you-as we share life together. Thankful for these riches, home is a sweet, satisfying home.
-Howard
*come on back in tomorrow for Alleyn's Angle
Steve turns 14 today! The beginning of a new year of adventure for him. We went out to dinner last night just with him by himself. As usual, breakfast in bed as well as no school unless you count art class and swimming, school.
Today also marks the END of Hebrew and foreign languages for Howard! His test was HARD and he said that Hebrew 3 was by far THE hardest course he has ever taken. We are glad to be over the hill with the languages and hope that Howard's final 3 semesters prove to be less formidable even if he will be taking more credits at a time than usual. But, we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. It's getting a little brighter each passing semester!
The much anticipated race that H and S have been training for is finally over! The best news about it was all the proceeds when to support research on Batten's disease to an organization called Garrett's Wings. We have friends actively doing that in California so it made the race even more meaningful for us all. (Hey Allios, you are always part of our prayers here on the Eastcoast).
On the left are videos of Steve lapping Howard during the swim(H did well but reiterated it was his toughest part of the course), then coming in from the semi-hilly bike portion (Steve's hardest section) and finally at the finish!
Oh, by the way, Steve got a medal for coming in 3rd in his age division of 13-15 year olds! That's a great way to remember his first ever competition and he is so thankful to have had this memory with his dad.
Howard and Steve caught Uncle Matt "in the act" working hard at Taco Bell today!
Another birthday celebration. Grandma Cole turns 61 years young today. Matt and Howard singing Grandma a special song they practiced together for her.
- Taryn survived DRIVER'S ED!!! Her and Kat are very happy to be done with that. Now, they just need to wait patiently till they can team drive together for the behind-the-wheel part; 6 hours of observing each other and 6 hours actually driving. They say they may be called the end of September or early October. Of course, they wished it would be sooner.
- Stephen's been working hard. We got an update from his missions team group. Here's a quote and the gist of what's been happening out in West Virginia.
We are having a wonderful week! Our group fellowship, our team's work ethic, and our ability to have meaningful conversations with the homeowners of the house we are working on has all been very encouraging.
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Paige was supposed to do a gymnastics camp all week but when she got there, no one was even close to her age. So, we pulled her out. Thankfully, we were able to get them to agree to gymnastics lessons in the Fall instead. She is really looking forward to that! The last time she took gymnastics was about 3 years ago with her cousin Olivia. It's been a long time coming to finally get to do something she loves so much again!
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Chris and Sam are sad to see their week of basketball frenzy come to an end tomorrow. They said they would love to do it for another week if they could. I'm glad they are not because I really miss having them around although I don't miss the mess they make when they are around :o)
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Howard did 500 yards non-stop today as Paige prodded him on to keep swimming more! That's double what he needs to do. It's been a quite a journey getting to this point. He never imagined he could really swim as well as he is now. His thought on this was "someday when we're older and don't think we can do anything new anymore, we're going to make a list of our "can't dos" and try them anyway!"
