Two Men

Its the end of the year and I'm just sitting here thinking about the changes that have taken place ... and thinking about all that is in store in the future.  

And that made me start thinking about the Pastors. In particular I was thinking about their uniqueness and how they work together so well.  They are very, very different people with very different gifts, but they are so united in heart and purpose so much so that no one would be able to divide them - even if they tried.

Both Brian and I are beyond thrilled to have Dennis on board!  Let me tell you about Dennis.  I've known him now for 30 some years and you can't know someone for that long and not see them in various situations that reveal character.  Let me tell ya, Dennis is a man of integrity!  He made my short list of people I trust a long, long time ago.  I've seen him stand and do the "right thing" when it cost him great personal pain and loss.  I've seen him handle what could have been explosive situations and bring all the parties to a calm "agree to disagree" place.

Dennis is gifted in his preaching.  In fact, I don't even think of it as "preaching".  Its more like chicken soup for the soul.  Ha!  He will give me grief for that.  He just talks to you from the pulpit and his messages are always something that leave you feeling hopeful, and encouraged, and amaze you with simple truth.  I always leave feeling like I've just had a bowl of good old homemade chicken soup.  Nourished!

Oh, and he's gifted musically.  Did you know he played professionally?  He did.  And he probably still could.  I'm pretty sure the whole music program at our church rides on his shoulders.  And yet, he is never one to draw attention to himself but elevates others and their gifts.

And then there's Brian.  What do I say about the man I've been married to for more than half my life?    Obviously I've known him for a while now and have also seen him in more situations than I can count.  Even after all these years I am amazed at the utter and complete grace and wisdom he displays.  Most of it involves things that no one else will ever know about and are probably blissfully unaware of.  

No one remains an Associate Pastor for 32 years if they have an ego and are bent on serving self.  Brian is one of the most self-less people I know and he has proven that in our family and in the church time and time again for many, many years.

As I've watched him maneuver the transition at our church, all that wisdom has really come into play.  Unknown to most, he has set things in place to make what might have been a very difficult transition much smoother and less traumatic for the congregation.

And he is a gifted teacher.  Again, I don't think of his preaching as "preaching" but more of teaching.  One thing that still baffles me about him is his way of finding little treasures in the most obscure scripture and then weaving them into something profound and meaningful to life.  Or his way of taking a scripture you have heard for years and find something in there that he can mine out and bring new life to.  Brian has always said that the "why" is important.  Its important to know why whatever the message is about is important to everyday life.  I think he does a pretty good job of making scripture - sometimes those we've never given a thought to, apply to the things we all deal with on a daily basis.  

Oh, and both of these guys are goofy!  Ha!  They are both fun because they will jump in and make fun of themselves at the drop of a hat.  And that keeps us all on our toes because ... you just never know what's coming next!

A Buriff "Christmas Vacation"

It wasn't quite a "Griswold" Christmas at our house but it was far from a "Hallmark" one. 

We had celebrated with our family days earlier so we did have some great family time before ... well ....before the chaos..  

Since our family Christmas was over we kept Christmas Day pretty simple.  It was just going to be our youngest son and his wife and their new baby and my mother here.  I decided on a stress-free dinner and asked Brian to pick up some fried chicken from Kroger the day before. Kroger chicken is pretty good and that would prevent me from being in the kitchen slaving over the stove.  Mom was bringing her famous potato salad and her amazing pumpkin pie. Sounds great, right?

But things do not always go as planned.

Christmas morning mom called to tell us that her back went out and she was not going to be able to come. That was disappointing because we never know how many more Christmases we get with our parents but things happen ... oh man, do they ever.  Turns out, that was just the beginning.

Mom sent the food she had prepared with our youngest and we settled in for a quiet, laid back day..
 

Except...

Brian had not gone to Kroger to get the chicken.  He went somewhere else.  That became apparent when we sat down to eat.   It did sort of remind me of the scene in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation movie where they cut into the picture perfect turkey and it immediately turns to ash.  It wasn't as bad as all that, but It was really pretty horrible.  I'm not sure what anybody did to that chicken but man, it was the worst.  Logan kept digging through it to find something that resembled fried chicken.  He was not successful. 

Our daughter-in-law became sick after lunch (probably the chicken)  but found some relief in some over-the-counter medication so we hoped a little indigestion was all it was.  We all blamed the chicken. 


After everyone left, Brian and I visited a couple of people who can't get out and stopped by mom's to check on her.  It was nice to bring a little joy to some folks who see very little of it.  They truly are surprised, which is a big part of the fun, and they appreciate it so much. 

I'm not sure why we were so wiped out after that  but Brian and I crashed on the couch and watched some mindless TV.  To be truthful I can't even remember what we watched.  We were THAT tired. 

At some point Brian's sister called.  Turns out she had pranked us and we weren't even aware of it.  we're quick on the draw like that.  She had sent a package of baked goods for our family at Christmas.  The goodies have been sitting on the counter in the kitchen for the past week or so and we have eaten them here and there throughout the week.  I had intended to write her a thank you note to thank her and tell her that I'm a bit picky about fudge and hers was good.  Last night when she called she asked how we liked it.   We told her it was good and wondered why she was laughing so hard.  Turns out she had made the goodies - all of them, with crickets! 

That's right.  Crickets.  Those nasty little bugs that crawl around in the yard and chirp loudly.  Now it was my turn to feel sick.  Thankfully no harm was done.  Apparently if you are allergic to shellfish and eat crickets, you can have the same allergic reaction.  Our daughter-in-law if HIGHLY allergic to shellfish and the goodies were on the counter throughout Christmas Day.  Thankfully she did not eat any. 

Speaking of my daughter-in-law ... 

About 9:30 p.m. my son called to tells us that he was taking her to the Emergency Room.  At 1:30 a.m. he called to say they had admitted her. 

And as I type this, we are waiting for her to go into surgery.  NOT what she needs with a newborn baby.  

So yes, our Christmas was a memorable one.  Not in the way we had hoped, but memorable. 

We are blessed to have a great family that enjoys each other's company, good or bad.  We are there for each other.  And my sister-in-law had better be watching her back because I'm not afraid to seek revenge for those dang crickets. 

  

Mile Markers

Its been an eventful week around here.  So eventful that it got right past me without my notice until I got a few messages of congratulations that made me go, "oh wow, its been TWO YEARS already?""   Where does time go?   Two years ago I began a new chapter in my life.  It was actually a bit more than two years ago, but it was all "official" two years ago.  That was when I began working for 88 Tactical of Ohio. 

Sometimes I still sit back and wonder how in the world I got there.  I sure didn't plan it. Not by any means.  And it surprised a lot of people, but none more than me! 

When I found out that I would be working at the new range in town (another long story), I told a friend of mine that I would be working there.  He responded, "Oh, you'll be working with Phil Chaney." 

"Who?"

"Phil Chaney."

"Never heard of him."

"Oh he's this big tactical guy."

"Ah, he's probably a jerk." 

We all have met guys like that, right?  They think they are all that.  They are a dime a dozen and I am not impressed with them much at all  Then I went to work at the range and found a copy of Phil's bio laying around.  It mentioned things like "Retired Marine Chief Warrant Officer 3 with over 25 years of specialized training and instruction."   It mentioned that he had been hand selected to train Force Recon Marines.  It stated that he was the Special Missions Close Quarters Battle Instructor for the 1st Special Operations Training Group and the Chief Instructor for the Close Quarters Battle Sections for MCSF.  Somewhere it also mentioned that he had earned the Bronze Star w/ “Valor” device (OEF), Navy/Marine Corps Achievement Medal w/ “Valor” device (OIF), Meritorious Service Medal (OIF), and Navy /Marine Corps Commendation Medal.  It also talked about how he was the Chief Instructor for the Ohio Tactical Officers Association and was responsible for training SWAT in Ohio. 

And I thought, "Wow, he really is a big tactical guy.  In fact, he's the real deal He's the guy all those other guys want to be." 

The first thing I did was to schedule him as a guest speaker at our TWAW meeting. He agreed!  Then I got a call from the range telling me that he was really sorry but he would not be able to be there because he would be in New York training the NYPD but that he would be there the following month. 

WHAAATT??  He's doing WHAT?  Who does that? 

The next thing I did was to make it my priority to get in to as much training with this guy as possible.  I figured I that someone like him wouldn't be around here too  long so I'd better get some training with him when I could. 

And I found out that not only is he a true American hero (he will kill me if he reads this) and not only is he a phenomenal teacher, but he is a truly nice guy.  In fact, he is surprisingly soft spoken and kind. 

So imagine my utter surprise when he asked if I wanted to work for him at 88 Tactical.  I think I vaguely remember saying , "yeahhhhh... is that a real question??"   That was in late October and in December I received the blue patch as an Apprentice. 

88 Tactical works on a colored patch system, much like martial arts.  Blue is Apprentice.  Green is Instructor.  Tan is Lead Instructor.  And Black is Senior Instructor. 

There are some amazing guys on our team.  Some Special Operations guy, some SWAT guys, one Ninja (he is actually a ninja and goes to Japan to study with the Masters and is a 10th degree Black Belt in whatever martial arts the Ninjas do).  We have an amazing Tac Med guy who wrote the curriculum that SWAT in Ohio uses for Tactical Medicine.  And then there is me - a 56 year old grandma.  Ha! 

The 88 Tactical Leadership Team

To be honest, it took me a good 6 months to get my head around the idea of working with those guys.  It was an honor. It was a blessing. And it was terrifying!   I got some grief from some people who felt like they were more qualified and should have been chosen.  I was told that they would no longer be 88 Tactical, that they would be 87.5 because I would bring them down.  Some were joking, others not so much. 

I can tell you that no one at 88 Tactical treated me as if I didn't belong.  They have been nothing but respectful.  I've learned a lot about leadership from Phil.  He is my boss but he is more than a "boss".  He is a LEADER.  There is a difference and anyone who has ever worked for the two different varieties can tell you there is a world of difference. 

Then last December Phil surprised me at our Christmas party and presented me with a Green Patch. 

Its been a wild ride for sure.  Not only do I teach classes but I help take care of some of the administrative stuff.  Phil will call at any time with something that needs attention and I do my best to get right on it.  I've been accused of never telling him "no".  Well, actually, I have told him "no" a time or two.  But I try to limit how often I do that.  I count it a blessing to be able to work alongside such talented men and to be treated with the utmost respect by them.  They treat me as if I'm valuable and pay me well so its my pleasure to do what I can to help out.  

And THAT is why I missed the two year mark - I"M TOO BUSY!