January 2012
3 posts
“My philosophy of life is that, if we make up our mind what we are going to make...”
– Ronald Reagan
“It is for us to pray not for tasks equal to our powers, but for powers equal to...”
– Helen Keller
“One ship drives east and another west
With the self-same winds that blow...”
– Ella Wheeler Wilcox “Tis the Set of the Sail”
August 2011
1 post
“He sat in the roadside Rest Area, full of angst & worry.
Why wasn’t...”
– Patrick Mead (@TravelingMead)
April 2011
23 posts
Happy! Easter!
It’s that time of year again!
Time for chocolate bunnies, colored eggs, and playing hide and seek with an imaginary bunny. Time for girls to wear pretty new dresses and boys to wear a tie that makes them look like angelic gentlemen…(if only for a few hours!) A special time of festivity and celebration that only happens once a year!
Oh, and the death of Jesus Christ on the cross and...
My Centennial Post
Hello everyone and welcome to my 100th blog post!
I began putting my stories, thoughts, quotes that make me think, videos and even a recipe online a little over 2 years ago and I am finally reaching post number 100!
This statistic is actually kinda weak…
Since March 9, 2009, over two years ago I have only manages to put out 100 posts and 44 of those posts have happened in the last 45...
Greatest Hist Collection
We had a pretty interesting conversation during lunch today as we sat in the back of our big box truck at a 7-11 and chowed down.
This scene reminded me of Donald Miller’s description of a memorable setting in his book “A Million Miles in a Thousand Years”. (Amazing read!) This was no ordinary location and places like that make the scene memorable. This whole paragraph does...
Empty
I have nothing for today.
My mind is blank and even the thoughts I have don’t go any deeper than a thought.
Nothing rises to the surface as anything that can be shared. Only random thoughts that I am sure have merit…just not now.
We have been working extremely hard and it seems that every minute is wrapped around God’s Care. I am not complaining. I believe we are building...
State of Mind
I love this song by Raul Midon! You need to watch this video twice to really appreciate it. The first time is simply to watch his hands and enjoy the music. He is an incredible musician. Then listen again and read the words below. This message is so important. He is singing about being rich…and it has nothing to do with money.
Used to sit and worry about the future Worrying about the...
God Calls an Audible
Here is the definition of the noun audible:
- a change of tactics called by the quarterback when the offense is lined up at the line of scrimmage.
It is an American football term that refers to a very last minute change of plans.
Today, God played quarterback on the God’s Care football team and decided to call an audible. As I wrote in my post on Thursday, we were very excited to be...
Failed
I failed yesterday.
I didn’t blog.
No one said anything to me about it. I didn’t get struck by lightning. I don’t face any fines or penalties, but still it was a failure.
Yesterday was a crazy busy day. We had a birthday party for one of the coolest kids in the world, my son, Seven. He is now officially 4. His actual birthday was Monday the 11th, but he would not accept he was...
The Anti-Blog
This is my anti-blog. I have been blogging everyday for the past 38 days and I have hit a wall. Most days I have really enjoyed blogging. I have these thoughts and ideas in my head and I like the fact that I have a place to write them down. I love the fact that there are actually people out there that want to read my quirky ramblings. Thank you all for taking the time to stop by this site. It...
Competition
I was talking to Brian today about other lawn care companies. How does he feel about them? Do lawn care companies get along with each other? Is there any cooperation and camaraderie or is it cut throat and dog eat dog? I was trying to get a feel for this new world I am living in and those who also inhabit this world.
Brian’s answer was perfect. We all work really hard and there is more than...
Belong
Exciting things are happening today with God’s Care Lawnscapes! Today we partnered with the International Rescue Committee and will be hiring a young Bhutanese man who has come to America as a refugee living in Nepal. I actually hope this is the first of many people we will be able to bring on board at God’s Care through the IRC.
I did a little research tonight about the struggles...
Rest
I could literally crawl into this picture and sleep in this hammock for days…
The past month or so things have been really busy at God’s Care Lawnscapes. The grass is growing and the weather has been nice so people want to spend time otside and want their yards to look nice. That is our job and at this time of year it is a busy one! Last week alone we worked over 80 hours! I am not...
Speak it!
We talk a lot in our world today. Sometimes the things we say are meaningful and sometimes they are not quite so meaningful. I heard a song the radio the other day called “Barbara Streisand” by a group called Duck Sauce. It is a completely pointless song and the only words are “Barbara Striesand”. Fun beat. Catchy tune. Easy to remember lyrics…
Other times we say...
God is Love
Within the last few months I have been introduced to the band Gungor. They. Are. Amazing! I was able to see them at the Red Letter Rock Fest on new Year’s Eve and actually got to meet the band at their merchandise table after their set. What a great group of people. I look forward to hearing them again at Catalyst Dallas in May. So Excited!
I want to share a fun song with you today by...
Unspoken Prayer
The other day, I heard a sermon about prayer. The main emphasis was that we don’t get it. We don’t value it. We sometimes make fun of it, but prayer is real and powerful. I do not disagree with these sentiments. The speaker used some video clips from the supper scene in Talladega Nights and Meet the Parents to show how prayer was depicted in our media today. It was funny and we all...
“You ever get that feeling when religious people talk about Jesus that...”
– Donald Miller
The Butterfly Circus
I don’t know why, but this short film has been running through my head all day. I ran across this short film last year after Amy and I attended the 24fps Film Festival “Best of the Rest” night at the Paramount Theater. I was looking up one of the videos online and found it at the Doorpost Film Project. Films are submitted into this contest and placed in categories based on the...
Extravagant
The air is getting warmer, the birds are singing and the grass is green and growing. Good news for us lawn care professionals! I have been giving a lot of bids lately for lawn care service. We are one of many lawn care companies in Abilene. I don’t want to speak badly of anyone providing services because this is a hard, sweaty, dirty job and I respect anyone who is willing to work hard for...
Speak to My Heart
In July of 2010 I lost my job as Youth Minister. The economy had finally caught up to this little congregation and they could no longer support a full staff. My full time position, a part time college ministry position, and a missionary in Kenya were all let go. None of us had done anything wrong. There just simply wasn’t money there to keep us.
On the Sunday that the elders were going to...
My Friend Robert is a Tool
Have you ever had one of those days where you just felt like a loser?
Where you just had no self confidence and your thoughts were filled with doubts?
I am not necessarily talking about depression so much as I am just a down day. A funk. Just kinda being blah… That was my day yesterday and my blog post reflected the rain cloud that hung over my head. And then along comes Mr. Robert...
Parenting Fail
Have you ever had one of those days where you just felt like a failure as a parent? Yesterday was one of those days where I messed up so bad that I wanted to crawl in a hole and just hide from everyone. I need to tell you what happened.
Amy and i split up after church to get our kids from their classes. A divide and conquer mentality if there ever was one! I had headed out with Piper, Finn and...
1+1+1=1?
Does anyone else get confused by God? By the idea that we believe in one God and yet we talk about God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit? This issue is HUGE by the way and debates and conversations and arguments have been going on for centuries! I am not going to unravel the mysteries of this tension in a blog post. If you want some information on the many views on this subject go and begin scratching...
Greatest Compliment Ever
There have been a few times when I received an amazing compliment. Usually when a spectacular compliment comes along it is unexpected and out of the blue. It is actually when the other person doesn’t even realize they are giving you a compliment when the impact is felt the greatest. Strange, but true.
I remember one compliment I received while working as a computer teacher at a Boy’s...
Rilian Fre Voss
It is now time for the fourth and final child, Rilian Fre Voss. If you thought our other kids were special, Rilian will blow you out of the water!
Piper is a great climber, athletic, and graceful on her feet, but Rilian was able to kick a ball around the yard when he could barely walk!
Finn likes to make you feel special and loved, but Rilian can change your day with just a smile!
If you...
March 2011
25 posts
Seven Kalik Voss
“I need you to build me a helicopter”
“With the MegaBlocks?” I say.
“No. A real helicopter, so that I can go to the zoo.”
Welcome to the world of logic and reason filled with random “where in the world did that come from” ideas that can only be understood by my son Seven. I have never met someone who could talk so much. Ever since the time he...
Finn Tagnan Voss
Welcome to day 3 of the Week of Love. Day one was my beautiful wife and best friend, Amy. Day two was my one and only daughter and the most beautiful girl in the world, Piper. Now, day three is Finn, my favorite child.
Wait…Can I say that?
Is that true? My favorite?
Can a parent have a favorite? Is that allowed? Is that wrong? Does that make me a bad parent?
It is not true. He is not my...
Piper Mughain Voss
There is a certain sappy ooey gooey nature to the posts I am posting this week. I am not ashamed and I am excited to share all this with you. If you don’t like love then go somewhere else for a week or forever, because that is what you are going to get this week. This is the week of love…
If you do not know my daughter, Piper, let me introduce you to one of the smartest, fun, most...
Amy
This is my beautiful wife Amy Lynn Voss on the day of our wedding June 5, 1999. I am a lucky man…
I have no idea how God us together, like some kind of cosmic eHarmony matching personalities to fit together. Actually, it feels more like God had a way of putting someone with me that could tolerate all my junk and balance out my weaknesses. He found someone who understood me, who got me. Let...
Reservations of One
I love to sing. I love to be a part of a time of worship filled with lots of people, great music, loud, powerful, strong. My family is a part of a large community of believers in Abilene. I should be thrilled to be a part of exactly what I desire in a time of worship every week, but something is not right.
And that something is me…
I am self-conscious. If you look around the large...
On Earth as It is In Heaven
I am going to share something today I have never shared with anyone. It is an honest look at my “conversion experience” and the day I was baptized.
I was 11 years old and a preacher named Jimmy Allen had come to town to preach an evening sermon series from Sunday through Wednesday at our church. On the Tuesday night of this sermon series I gave my life to God and was baptized.
It...
Neighbors
This past winter, Abilene was blessed to experience a snowy winter wonderland! It was absolutely beautiful and our kids were thrilled to have snow (and not go to school!) As all who live in places that regularly get snow know, this winter wonderland has it’s downside. Soggy boots, cabin fever, and worst of all icy streets. Here is a picture of the icy street in front of my house:
This was...
A Moment of Love
I often listen to music while I mow lawns. Lately I have really enjoyed Pandora for my music listening pleasure. It has introduced me to so many artists I had never heard of before! I know I may be behind the curve a little here, but what a great service!
Anyway, I was listening to Pandora on a “Mumford & Sons” station and I was struck by a song. I became rooted in my steps and...
Tough Decisions
Yesterday we were faced with some tough decisions at God’s Care. A major miscommunication had taken place between us and one of our clients and it was about to cost us big time. The details are not necessary to understand that, in the end, this had the potential to cost us $1000 or more. This is not $1000 of profit. This was over $1000 that we had spent on plants for her landscaping. And it...
Follow the Leader
My thoughts have been all over the place the last few days, but I wanted to return to an idea I started a few days ago. I mentioned in one blog post about how I believe God has choices and then I went on in another blog post to talk about how I believed God created us in his image basically giving us the freedom of choice. I had another thought along this line that has continued to be on my mind...
Bad Day
Have you ever had one of those days? Where it seems like all the forces of chance and nature are working against you? Occasionally those days come up and today was not the worst day, but it was rough for sure.
I had one of those really bad days back in August. I am working for God’s Care Lawnscapes and really my job was just that of a grunt. I was lowest on the totem pole. Nothing much...
“The greatest enemy of hunger for God is not poison but apple pie. It is not the...”
– John Piper, A Hunger for God: Desiring God through Fasting and Prayer, 14-15.
Swim Team
When I was in high school, I decided to join the swim team. I would love to tell you that this is a picture of me, powering through a 200 meter butterfly race, but this is a picture of the Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps at a 2008 time trial. Any picture of me would have been pathetic. When I joined the swim team I was a chubby kid who lost 30 lbs of fat in the first month of practice. By the end...
What do you make?
I have been brought to tears by this video…in a good way! Watch it and then I have a few (very few) comments to make.
Wow…
I have always believed teachers make a difference in more ways than just imparting knowledge to people, young and…not so young. The brilliance in Mr. Mali’s view is that financial gain are no where on the radar when asked the question, “What...
Questions
Is there a limit to the number of questions a person should be allowed to ask in a day? Or better yet is there a cap on the number of questions a person can ask in a lifetime? I understand that asking questions is important in the development of children, but seriously, I think my son Seven is going to set some kind of record!
This topic is fresh on my mind since we just spent the past two days...
Remember the Reason
What a whirlwind of a day! Today started earlier and ended later than most and I am beat, but I wanted to make a quick post and share my thoughts for today.
The whole reason I wanted to do this Lent: 47 day challenge was to bring me closer to God.
- It is not supposed to be some discipline or torture or punishment to prove to God how much I love him.
- It is not supposed to be a “hey look at...
Message from God
The winter months of a lawn care worker is not spent mowing as much as cleaning…lots of leaves. Hours are spent every day blowing leaves, mulching leaves and bagging leaves. I never knew how much time and energy went into making a yard and landscaping look beautiful during the winter months! I now have a greater appreciation for a well maintained yard and also for those who perform this...
Rest: Day 7
I really try not to write any of my blog posts ahead of time during this Lent 47 Day Challenge, but I have honestly had this idea for today since day one. I thought about the significance of day 7 and about the creation story and how God rested on the 7th day and how that would make a cool blog post on the 7th day of my challenge.
But rest is hard to write about because I don’t think I...
We Are Not Robots
I don’t know what has happened in my house recently, but we have been invaded by things that my wife and I tried to protect our kids from. I wonder if I am in the right house when I begin hearing Hanna Montana on Piper’s radio, or “I choose you Pikachu” from Finn, or Barny’s “I Love You” song from Seven. I believe at this time there may still be hope for...
God is Not a Robot
If we were to ask some questions about God I am sure almost everyone would agree on the answers. Questions like:
How powerful is God? He is omnipotent.
Is there anything God cannot do? No
But then I asked this question to a friend:
Could God do bad things if he wanted to? And he said no… but I thought God could do anything?
Stick with me before you begin gathering up stones! I think we...
Healing
I stabbed my hand recently in a freak home construction accident. I was holding a sawzall in my left hand while pulling down a board with my right hand and when the board came loose my right hand came down on the tip of the blade. It was a pretty good cut! I had to go to the ER and get some stitches.
I realized something about wounds that day: different kinds of wounds require different kinds of...
Names and Faces
I once met a little girl named Faith and I became a complete wreck…
I was taking the youth group on a mission trip to Bayou La Batre, Alabama to help with clean up and reconstruction after Hurricane Katrina. One of the houses assigned to our group was an old historical two story house right along the waterway. The family living there had all but abandoned the first floor of the house and...
Convict Me
Amy and I love movies and just this week we watched the movie Conviction. Here is the synopsis from IMDB.com:
Betty Anne Waters (Swank) is a high school dropout who spent nearly two decades working as a single mother while putting herself through law school, tirelessly trying to beat the system and overturn her brother’s (Rockwell) unjust murder conviction.
I like it when the creators of...