Simply a Gift

Randy and Paula Jacoby moved to Reynolds, GA in 1993 when Randy became Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Reynolds.  The next year they became the proud parents of two beautiful little twin girls – Ahnna and Abigail.  Although the family left Reynolds in 1999 when Randy accepted the call at First Baptist Church of Folkston, GA – I have stayed in touch through the years.   I just have a thing for remarkable families – and this family is definitely one of the remarkable ones.

A few years ago, the Jacoby’s adopted a little girl from China.   Addie is now a huge part of this family and because of the magic of Facebook, I have watched her grow with this family.    I have also thought many times as to where Addie would be if not for Randy, Paula, Ahnna and Abigail.   They gave this little girl a wonderful life.  They forever changed her present and her future.

Today the entire family  (including Addie) is back in China.  For certain, they are not taking Addie back. But they traveled during the holidays to bring back another little girl with them.   I have been following them the last few days from Jacksonville to Detroit to China and watched as they did a little sightseeing.  This morning I saw pictures for the first time of little Mia, who is the latest addition to this amazing family.

In looking at the pictures, maybe Mia looks just a little scared.  This little girl has no idea what is in store for her.   The truth is, just as it was for Addie, her present and future has been forever changed.  She will be loved unconditionally and all her needs will be forever met - beyond what she can even imagine.   She doesn’t know all that yet but from our perspective, it is very easy to see.

Her life will not be perfect.  She will laugh much but she will also cry along the journey.  Like the rest of us, she will experience disappointments and bumps in the road along the way.  She will experience illness from time to time and even separation from people she loves as time goes on.  But there is no way she could ever compare her new life to what her old life might have been.  And she did nothing to earn her new life.  It is simply a gift.

And that, my friends, is not only the story of Mia Jacoby but it is the message of the Bible.

Thanks to the Jacoby family for reminding me of that as we begin a brand new year.  Our present and our future have been forever changed.  We didn't earn it or deserve it.  It is simply a gift.

Go Get 'em Girl

We asked for it.

In fact, we raised our hand and willingly volunteered. “Nothing to it,” we said. We had done it three times before.

This time, it actually happened at a local BBQ restaurant. We knew the teenage waitress and her family through our church. We knew her mom and step dad were moving to Florida and we knew the girl would soon begin her senior year here. We also knew all were trying to figure out a way for the girl to stay here and not disrupt her senior year in high school.

We asked her a few questions while she was taking our order. While the ribs were being prepared, my wife and I talked. By the time she brought the food to the table, we popped the question. "Why don’t you live with us this year,” I think is how the question was asked.

Long story short, she did. Kylee Gallavan moved in with us in June 2011. A week from today, she graduates from high school. The following Monday the gig is over. Kylee will move to Florida for the summer and then on to college.

To say the year has been eventful would be an understatement. We are not as young as we once were. There have been some great times for sure. I don’t think Kathy and I would have ever gone to a Taylor Swift concert, if it weren’t for Kylee living with us. What a blast we had that night! We have met a lot of great teenagers that have been in and out of the house this year, causing us to have a new faith in the next generation that will be taking over when folks like us fade away. And the great memories go on and on.

But there have also been a few of what the Bible calls, “trials and tribulations,” along the way. There have been boyfriends and break-ups , long talks about life and the future and shorter normal teenager talks about cleaning your room and getting out of bed. There has been cozy love and there has been tough love. She’s seen us at our best and she has seen us at our worst. And we have had the same opportunity.

Our goal was a simple one. We strongly believe the greatest investments in life have nothing to do with money. We simply chose to invest a year of our lives in Kylee. As in all long term investments, potential dividends will come later.

Our prayer as she leaves is also a simple one. That she would know more and more as she lives out her life how high and wide and long and deep is the love of God.

I put this little slideshow together as a parting gift to Kylee.

We love you Kylee and wish you the very best life has to offer. Go get 'em girl.

Conversation Pieces

Sitting rather conspicuously on a bookshelf in our den is a large, brown bottle of salicylic acid. Next to it is a very old bottle of Davis rubbing alcohol. I’ll admit my wife looked at me warily a couple weeks ago as she watched me place them carefully on the shelf.

“What in the world is that?”

I think those are the words she used.

“Conversation pieces,” was my reply.

For the record, I did a little research on salicylic acid tonight. This is what I discovered:

“Topically, salicylic acid is capable of penetrating and breaking-down fats and lipids, making it capable of causing moderate chemical burns of the skin if at very high concentrations (such as near or actually the majority ingredient) within a solvent. It is capable of damaging the lining of pores in such cases if the solvent is alcohol. Caution should be exercised when handling large volumes of salicylic acid, and protective gloves are recommended for any repeat, prolonged exposure.”

The point being if you mix salicylic acid with rubbing alcohol, you have some rather potent stuff. Protective gloves would be very appropriate.

I ran into Leonard Whatley recently and he told me he had something he wanted me to have. I followed my retired Reynolds GA pharmacist friend out to his car expecting a chocolate cake or maybe even one of my dad’s old hats. Instead he showed me a couple of antique bottles. As soon as I saw them I laughed. I remembered a story he told me years ago that I have told hundreds of times all over the country.

In the late 1950’s, our family friend Sid got a bad case of the itch. The technical term for the itch is tinea cruris. For our purposes, it’s the kind of itch you are not supposed to talk about in public. Sid drove into town to Clay Whatley’s drug store (Leonard would later purchase the store from his Uncle Clay) and with a worried expression on his face told Clay, “I’ve got a terrible case of the itch. I can’t sleep at night and I’m keeping Eula Maude up at night too.”

Clay calmly walked in the back of the store and mixed up a concoction of salicylic acid and rubbing alcohol.

Actually he mixed the concoction from the very bottles that are now sitting on our bookcase.

But Clay had some words of warning as he handed it over: “Sid this stuff is hot. What you need to do is go home and fill your bathtub up with cool water. Right before you sit in the tub, you just dab a little of this on you. Sid, a little dab will do you. It won’t take much.”

Sid drove home, went straight to his bathroom and filled his tub with cool water. Right before he sat in the tub he dabbed a little on him. He stood there a moment and thought, if a little bit of this stuff will work I believe the whole bottle will work much better. He emptied the whole bottle and rubbed it in.

He sat in the tub and in just a few minutes, he yelled at his wife, “Eula Maude!!”

Eula Maude came to the bathroom door and asked him what he wanted.

“Go get the car!” Sid quickly yelled back.

“Sid, are you in the bathtub?”

“Eula Maude, for one time in your life, please do what I’m asking you to do. Go outside, get in the car and drive it to the back door. When you get there, honk the horn.”

Eula Maude quietly went outside, got in the car, drove it to the back door and honked the horn.

Sid jumped out of the tub, ran outside buck naked, jumped on the hood of the car, pulled his legs back and yelled, “Drive woman drive!”

And now every time someone sees the two antique bottles on our bookcase, I get to tell this story.

Conversation pieces.

If You Have a Swing You Have a Shot

The man nobody thought could win made one of the most incredible and creative shots in Masters Tournament history to win the coveted Green Jacket yesterday at Augusta National Golf Club.

I’m not sure how it played out in other living rooms across the United States, but in my living room it was about as fun as it gets. There was yelling, laughing and a few high fives flying as we cheered him on.

Bubba Watson won the Masters. And the game of golf just moved to the next level.

Bubba Golf, it’s called.

In a world of professional golf where most player’s swings are analyzed by expert “swing coaches” from every angle by all the latest technology known to man, Bubba Watson has never had a golf lesson in his life. He has no coach and has never asked anyone to analyze his golf swing on a video or computer.

He just goes out on the course with an enormous amount of raw talent, takes a huge swing and has a lot of fun.

I discovered several months ago when I started following him on Twitter, that there is much more to Bubba Watson than the game of golf though. His faith oozes out of him like honey out of the comb. He will tell you quickly that the game of golf is the fourth item on his priority list. His list, by the way, goes like this: Christian, Husband, Daddy and Golfer.

In that order.

Bubba Watson’s stage suddenly got much larger yesterday as he joined the ranks of other famous Christian athletes like Kurt Warner, Jeremy Lin and a guy by the name of Tim Tebow. I happen to think it’s kinda cool.

Actually I think it is really cool.

I learned yesterday that Bubba and his caddy have a saying they use quite often on the golf course. Quite often because his free-swinging ways cause him to end up in places other golfers with the technical swings never find themselves.

The caddy reminded him of that saying yesterday during the second hole of the sudden death playoff after Bubba hit a big hook in the trees on historically the toughest hole at Augusta National.

“If you have a swing, you have a shot.”

I think I just got the title to my next book.

No telling how many folks I encounter that immediately hang their heads and throw in the towel when their ball is in the woods in the game of life.

The “ball in the woods” in life comes in the form of such things as layoffs, illnesses, death of loved ones, financial crisis, depression and loneliness.

I know there are rare times when the ball is directly behind a tree and you really have no shot. In those cases you take your losses and you move on. But in the majority of cases, you still have a swing.

And if you do, you have a shot.

Visualize it, trust your instincts and keep swinging. And don't be surprised at all the energy you get from the folks around you that will sincerely cheer you on.

The Dog Poo of Life

Bubbles Mountain, located in Acadia National Forest in Maine, is 872 feet tall and is for most folks an easy hike to get to the top. But for me at least - it did take some effort.

I was told it would take 20 minutes to get to the top. That was probably close to being accurate. The goal was to hike to the top and enjoy the spectacular view and to discover the mountain top experience.

There were six of us that climbed the mountain. The trail was rocky and a little treacherous and for much of the way we had to go in single file. Treacherous in that some of the path was straight up and a fellow my age could easily sprain an ankle or break a leg or even a neck. The people with me were in the same boat.

But we reached our goal, the top of the mountain. It was definitely a gorgeous sight and there was at bit of accomplishment that we all made it up in spite of the obstacles. The mountain top experience was real but it was temporary. We spent a few minutes looking around and taking pictures and then it was time to head back down the mountain which was someone easier than the trip up.

Just as the end was in sight and our little excursion was almost done and we were walking out of woods - a not so funny thing happened.

I stepped in a big pile of dog poo. That could only happen to me.

I made an attempt to scrape it off my shoes before I joined my five companions in our vehicle but the shoes were not dog poo friendly. The treads were new and deep and dog poo was in every tread. And the odor I brought with me was not appreciated by the other folks in the car.

I finally got back to the hotel and tried to clean the shoes. I got most of it out of the not so dog poo friendly shoes but not all of it. A little bit of dog poo goes a long way - so I put the shoes in a bag and sealed it up. A couple of nights later I got the equipment I needed to clean the shoes and I was back in service with my not so dog poo friendly Nike’s.

Now to the point.

Life is an incredible journey. The mountain top experiences are wonderful but the prize is always in the journey. Sometimes there is dog poo in our path. We surely want to avoid it if possible but sometimes we just step in it. We are negatively affected and the people around us are negatively affected. And it can take some time to get over it.

The choice we have is to not let the dog poo of life rob us from the beauty of the journey.

It is definitely a choice we make.

A Very Good Dog Tired

I’m not sure where to begin writing about our travels up and down the coast of Maine this past week but there are several story lines. Although the vacation had been planned for months, it could not have come at a better time for my wife and a couple of her siblings. The funeral service for their mother was held a few days before we began our little journey. The only missing link was that the youngest sibling and her hubby were not able to make it.

We flew into Boston about a week ago, rented a Suburban and after a few hours in downtown Boston, the six of us headed north. We have laughed a lot. A whole lot. And I have eaten more lobster and blueberry pie in one week than I had my entire first 57 years.

The scenery was breathtaking and although each night’s stay was planned, if we saw something that caught our eye, we pulled over and enjoyed it.

As in all of our journeys, if we just take the time to look, there are life lessons that jump out at us along the way.

I couldn’t help but notice it took effort to get to the most beautiful sights. Whether it was the hike we took up south Bubbles mountain, the treacherous and very long walk on the rocks to get to to Breakwater Lighthouse, the hour line we stood in for the best lobster roll in Maine or breaking and pulling the final shell off the delicious lobster, you find the best only after much effort.

Just as in life.

As time permits, I will write about some of our experiences. I’m sure I will mention such things as Lynn almost breaking her leg, Kathy dropping her phone in the toilet, the little “witch is in” desk clerk that turned out not to be a witch after all and the importance of having “dog friendly’ shoes when you hike up a mountain.

And there were all the places we ate and the ratings we gave them. Who knows - some of you may want to try some of the places as well. Maybe I can help.

Then there is the agony of waiting outside all the little shops with other men from across the country as the ladies browse and shop inside.

Additionally there are over 800 pictures - and video footage to boot - so there is a video tribute of this trip that must be done.

Although we don’t have the luxury to do so, this was a vacation where you need another vacation to recuperate. We are all dog tired.

Kinda like the “dog tired” when we arrived at the top of the mountain and saw the incredible view of God’s creation.

A very good dog tired.

My (almost) Very Own Hannah Kasulka

Thank goodness for technology such as TiVo and DVR.   I will definitely be utilizing my DVR Saturday night at 8pm.  There is a huge conflict on my television calendar.

The Georgia Bulldogs will kick-off the 2011 season against Boise (as in Idaho) State.  I plan to watch every play like I have for past 39 years since I began my secondary and other important worldly education in Athens.  The game could be very ugly or very pretty.  Nobody knows for sure.

And at the same time a movie will be showing on NBC called, "Game Time: Tackling the Past."  I happen to know the outcome of this one will be pretty. Not just pretty because I have read the reviews but pretty because my (almost) very own Hannah Kasulka will be playing the role of cheerleader Allie Jacobs.

And I happen to know Hannah is pretty - as in "drop dead gorgeous” pretty.  I hope you will excuse my “undertaker” lingo.

I've been at most of Hannah's important life events. I was there at her birth 23 years ago.  I said a few words at her baby dedication a few months later. I think I was close by when she took her first steps. I even introduced her to a large banquet crowd when she was a little girl when she ran across the stage and jumped in my arms.  There have been more than a few dance recitals I attended as she was growing up. I closely followed her modeling career and would whisper to whoever was next to me, “I know this girl,” when I would see her picture in magazines.  I smiled when she graduated with honors from high school and beamed with pride a few years after that when she graduated a semester early again with honors with a Business Management degree from Georgia Tech.

I have known since she was a child and said many times to whoever would listen, "This girl was born to be somebody."

I was not at all surprised when my (almost) very own Hannah Kasulka left everybody and everything familiar after her college graduation and moved alone across the country to LA to pursue her dream in acting.  And I smiled again when a talent agency quickly picked her up and I began to see her get a TV role or two or three along the way. In fact she has just shot another movie that will be coming to the big screen soon entitled, “What To Expect When You Are Expecting” starring Cameron Diaz.

But in the mean time, as Hannah’s acting career is ramping up, Saturday September 3rd is a big night for me.   At 8PM the 2011 edition of my very own Georgia Bulldogs will be debuting on ESPN and at the same time my (almost) very own Hannah Kasulka will be debuting as Allie Jacobs on NBC. 

If you haven’t figured it out yet, I am planning on watching both.