Happy Birthday Carson

Hi there, head over to www.teamcrusher.com to submit your story or sign up to run a triathlon in memory of a child.

Today is Carson's Birthday.  He would be 5 today.  I am not sure how I feel.  This entire last week, I have been like a balloon that has a hole in it, a very small hole.  A hole that does not pop the balloon, but doesn't let it hold air for very long.  I don't ever feel totally empty, but never full and when I do fill up a little, it doesn't last.

Carson was a child that set our family ablaze with love.  He had an infectious smile, a giggle that never quit and snuggles that turned the worst day into something bearable.  I miss him dearly and talk to him daily.

I really wish that our family could celebrate with him, hug him, kiss him, high five him and have a real party with him.  I know that he will be there, but not the way I want.  I am selfish and that's ok with me.  I wish that I had more than a sticker, but this is where we are at.

All of the sadness of today does not take away from the fact that I am extremely thankful for the time I had and would not trade it for the world.  It is not often that a parent gets to spend an entire lifetime with their child.  For those parents, I salute you.

We are in a club that we didn't ask to be in, we are part of a select few that people deem extra strong.  I do not know how strong I actually am.  I find that the times that I am the strongest are the times that I can let my emotions and feelings win.  Daily I am too weak to let my emotions show and to let my emotions win.  I am not usually strong enough even on my own to let my feelings win.  I would invite you over the holidays to make sure you take time to be strong and own your feelings. Let them win and help you cope.  

Spend time with your family, cherish them and recognize that everyone will feel the loss differently. Be open to letting everyone else be strong the way they need to be as well.  Talk about your child, talk about your loved one and remember in a healthy way.

Also, to honor Carson today, invite someone you know who has lost a child to check out www,teamcrusher,com and submit their story.  I would love to put more names on my bike.

Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Birthday Carson!  We love you.

WE BUILT A NEW WEBSITE!

Go check out www.teamcrusher.com  It has everything you want to know!

Blizzpocalypse and Nail Painting!

Team Crusher - Isaiah's Story

Good morning!

https://youtu.be/pYTQDtegeuc

What is wrong with this generation!?!?!?!?!?

If you have a child that has passed, you can either mail your story and stuff to:

Team Crusher
2220 W D St
North Platte, NE 69101

or you can also email me at thedadwhodads@gmail.com

OOOOOORRRRR you can hop on the facebook page and send it there!

Romans 1:25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator--who is forever praised. Amen.

The whole chapter is great, I mentioned this verse, but This kind of applies to the whole chapter.

I see this as something that is so true in society today that it is incredible.  There used to be a belief that God could handle our problems.  We used to be bold and stand up for what was right because we stood for and worshiped an almighty father.  I am not sure when we decided that we, as a people, were more powerful and could take care of ourselves, but we can't.

I am a youth leader at a church and what I see happening to kids and adults alike, is that stuff takes over.  We worship stuff.  We worship the money that gets the stuff.  We worship the time that we work to get the money that we worship to get the stuff that we worship.  We worship the athletics our kids are in because that is where they learn character and morals.  I call GARBAGE on that one.  Do you know what a kid's number one influence is?

Their parents.  No matter who you dump your kids off with, no matter how great you treat them or how poorly, they learn the most from you.  So, when you look up from your phone long enough to ask yourself, "What is wrong with this generation?" You can look right back down and see the answer.  They are simply following you and what you worship.  If you would like to know where God went, the answer is nowhere.  We are simply too busy worshiping other things to notice that He is still hanging around.

There is only one thing, one being who has been here from the beginning and will be here until the end.  Why wouldn't you put your faith in the one permanent, the only eternal, Jesus?

When I married my wife, I thought that I was going to have to devote myself to nobody but her.  I thought that if my every waking moment revolved around her we would get closer.  False.  We both were seeking Jesus together and as we got closer to Him, We got closer to each other.  Once I stopped worshiping our marriage or worshiping my wife and started worshiping the one who created her, then and only then did our marriage get significantly better.

When we had kids, I thought that they would take over my whole life and that they would suck every second of energy from my body and that I would worship them like they were my whole world.  Well, that gets very tiring and they don't learn anything except that they are more important than everything and they become entitled.  You want to know what is wrong with the next generation?  They are too busy following our examples.

The generation of entitlement is only a product of a generation of soft parents and adults who have misplaced their worship.  Where did the humbleness go?  When did we become better than our creator?

My hope through Team Crusher is that we can start to find our creator and worship him through training, racing and remembering.  If it weren't for our Lord Jesus Christ, there would be no hope that we get to see our angels again.  He wasn't responsible for taking them away, he is responsible for making a way for you to see them again.

I look forward to a new update next Tuesday.

Fishing For Kids

Balancing Act: Family, Working, Training

This week, I have been thinking about balance.  There are many new things happening in our lives right now and balance seems to be what we are always seeking.  Just when we get comfortable or at least make peace with the balance we have, it seems like we shake things up.

For years, I was the working parent and Julie was a stay at home mom.  With 5 kids, that only makes sense.  This usually made it so I worked too much and Julie complained about it.  I would try to not work as much, Julie would say thank you and inevitably I would go back to working too much.  If people asked me my priorities, I would tell them that God came first, then family and work in the number 3 spot.  If you looked at my life and how I was living, you would see clearly that work was number 1, family in a distant 2nd and God was somewhere on the list.

I really wanted my priorities to line up with how I was presenting myself and how I was living.  When we got called to our new home, and new job, I told Julie that we were going to make significant changes.  I made sure that the new church understood what my priorities are and that I would do my best to live them out.

It worked well for a while, but then Carson passed away.  Everything changed.  Now, Julie has 2 jobs, I am working full time, the girls are in daycare, the boys are both in school and I am training for an Ironman.  To say that things are different is an understatement.  It's like we have gone a complete 180.  We have new balance issues, for example, it is more difficult for Julie and I to deflate and chat after the kids go to bed because I am usually ready for bed between 9 and 9:30 since I am usually up at 4:45 to train.  So I am going to make sure that I am intentional about making time for us to chat, for us to hang out and for us to be happy around each other.

This morning, during my shower, there was a spider that climbed down the wall from the ceiling.  He was very diligent, doing everything right, making sure he felt everything that he was going to walk over, a piece of dust here, some water spray there, the top of the tiles, you know, spidery things.  Well he was so very diligent and very focused on what he was doing.  So focused that he did not see my hand coming to squash him.  It reminded me that I can't get so focused on on thing that I ignore everything else.  Something else will come and smash me while I am not looking.  I really don't like that.

Remember, if you would like to be part of Team Crusher, your child's name will go on my bike and I will remember them whenever I train and on race day.  I will also pray for your family each day.  If you want to be part of this, send your story and a picture of your child to 2220 W D St  North Platte, NE 69101.  You can also email me at thedadwhodads@gmail.com

It's Almost Supper TIIIIIIIIIIME!!!!!!!