Had a great time in the park tonight with Asa. The boy is fearless. He was climbing thing the 4-year-olds were scared of. We better buy some more health insurance.

So I’ve been trying to get be a little more healthy with my lifestyle. So, I got a bicycle on birthday and have been riding it as much as possible. The one time that this has come in handy is for Sunday morning. I generally have to be at the theater for church before Shannon on Sundays (to run lights, sound, do announcements or to just hang out). So I’ve been riding my bike.

This way I’m being healthy and plus we aren’t paying gas for two cars to go to the same location. So this last Sunday, I decided to ride my bike again…but I didn’t feel like riding all the way to the theater (it’s about 4 miles and pretty much all up hill). So I decided to ride my bike to the bus stop and take the bus to the theater.

I tell you all this to tell you this story. As I was waiting at the bus stop for the bus to show up (and trying to catch my breath), I started to evesdrop on these two guys conversation. They were talking about the usual things that you talk about while waiting for the bus: weather, women, and the sort. In there conversation, on guy begins to tell the other one how his father had passed away two months ago.

He stated it in the same way that you would say the sky is blue or the grass is green. I don’t know if he was just numb from the situation or what. But what caught my attention was where the conversation went from there. He started to talk about how his dad is in a better place now. Now I’m not one to place judgment on whether or not his dad is in a better place. So I won’t. What got me to thinking was the statement “a better place.”

We hear people say it all the time when someone passes away. This made me realize that there is a common thread among people. We understand two things. The overall state of being here on earth is pretty crappy, and there is a better place.

By this time I was sitting on the bus listening to the homeless guy in the seat across from me talk about his Louis Lamor book to a friend (my parents use to listen to Louis Lamor books on tape when we took long trips…wow that brought back memories). I started to think to myself, “If people already know there is a better place and that it’s crappy hear on earth, then I don’t need to point that out. In fact, to do so is kinda rude. My place is to point to the One who gets you to the better place. Better yet He can turn your crappy earth into a better place now.

“It was something I had thought of before…but it took God using a random man at a bus stop to remind me.

Sorry it has taken so much time to post an update on the state of the baby. Shannon and the baby are doing fine. We had a couple of scares with some bleeding, but everything is fine. We’ve had several ultrasounds and we’ve heard the baby’s heart beat. The doctors have said that everything should be clear sailing from here on out.

Shannon is currently at 16 weeks. Her nausea has gone away and she is feeling better than ever. We will have her next appointment in January and should find out the babies sex shortly thereafter.