Overwhelmed in 60 seconds

I wonder if I am so complex that I am so far different than other people? I mean I can turn on a dime and I just wonder if anyone else ever feels this way? Here's what I mean...

One minute things are great in life. Everything just seems to be moving along in the order that I prescribe and the sun is shining and all of a sudden... BAM. Something clicks and there I am... in an emotional and attitudinal shift. I can go from great to shotty in about 60 seconds. It's the unecessary pressure of life that gets me. The finances. I only know a few people that don't face the financial pressure of making ends meet each month (and if the truth be known most of them have financial pressures of their own). But what gives? I mean I've been to poverty stricken places... I know just how little you can survive on. And what's the deal with insurance? You pay these monthly premiums and never use the stuff. It's funny how you never need it and can complain about it but when something happens you sure are thankful that you have it. The relationships. Why do other people have to be complicated? Why can't every one else see things just like I do? That would make it so much easier on me and after all isn't it all about me? Personal walk with God. My favorite hymn says, "prone to wonder" and unfortunately that too often fits for me. I am so glad that He doesn't see me like I often see Him. I am especially thankful that He doesn't treat me the way I sometimes treat Him. In all things... God is good. The health. I still get hung up sometimes about why people get sick. Is it my fault if I get deathly ill? Is is a sin thing? Is it a combination of stuff? I just get frustrated when I hear about people dying with this disease or that disease. Addiction. I heard someone say this weekend, "Don't we all have an addictive personality?" In fact, that person was me. I know people addicted to work, sports, the almighty dollar, food, security, and a long list of other self-centered things. Why is it so hard to keep it simple? Baggage. I don't mean suitcases but the stuff that we carry around from our past. The pain, the hurt, the lonliness, the disappointment, the unfufilled dreams. Why can't it be as easy as just moving on? I hear stories almost daily of friends who just get stuck in their own pile of issues and my heart breaks for them.

I guess in my pity party this morning I am reminded that no matter how quickly I can go from great to terrible... there is someone else out there that has it far worse than I do. It's strange how I find that comforting. When I get overwhelmed in a moment I guess it is good medicine to be reminded that He said He would never allow us to face more than we were equipped to handle. I assume that's part of the spiritual maturity thing.

For a little bit of self-therapy today I say... "Don't grow weary. Be of good courage and strong when simply standing. God is beside us... all the way till the end."

Lean On Me

As I sat in my office early this morning, I was serenaded down the hallway by 30 plus women who are alive in the arms of recovery. I just sat and listened as they sang the old favorite... "Lean On Me". I was frozen in my seat, I couldn't move, all I could do was sit and listen... it was so beautiful. The actual singing was good at moments and not so good at other moments. I actually hate the song... I got over-exposed to this song when DC Talk covered it... they way overplayed it on the jukebox at youth camp and I am forever scarred.

Anyway, the moment was so real and so sincere and so full of new life. It was weird... I was paralyzed in my thoughts. I wanted to think about other things and get to work but all I could do was sit there until they finished. Lean On Me... that's where we all need to be... leaning and dependant on Him. I was just reminded as I sat there that I have been a little too dependant on myself lately. Ever been there? The place where you just do it for yourself instead of waiting on Him. If you at all like me there are just things in life that you'd rather just do than delegate them to someone else because it is just easier to do them yourself. Well, maybe that's the way many of us also approach our Heavenly Father. It's more of a hassle for me to involve Him than it is to just do it myself.

O.K. If it's just me that ever feels like that then immediately stop reading this and start praying for me... that may mean I am completely heathen. Take a minute this week, get still, and hum the little tune to yourself... "Lean on me, when your not strong..."

Update from Beijing

Alright... I never post twice in the same day but here's the latest on Trey Hardee. After 3 out of ten decathalon events... HE IS IN THIRD PLACE! American Brian Clay is leading, some dude from some hard to say country is in second place and then its TREY! Because I still haven't figured out what time it is there and when he'll be on I haven't seen anything but maybe I'll see it tonight. Also, I found this article by R. Melick in the Bham News and just wanted to let everyone know what kind of kid Trey really is... GO USA.

RAY MELICKNews staff writer
Jan DiCesare doesn't know how all this happened; how her son, Trey Hardee, went from this gangly kid who spent all his time playing traditional sports such as football, basketball and baseball, to this man who is halfway around the world today, preparing to march into Olympic Stadium tonight for the Opening Ceremonies of the Summer Olympics.

"I don't know that it has even sunk in yet," said DiCesare, from her home in Vestavia Hills. "Hopefully, we'll see him march in the Opening Ceremony, see him walk in with the United States team ... wow."

Vestavia Hills' Hardee, 24, will be competing in the decathlon for the United States in Beijing. He is still young for a decathlete, perhaps four years away from reaching his peak. But on the other hand, he's put up good enough numbers that he has to be considered a threat for a medal.

The decathlon is made up of 10 events that include running, throwing and jumping. One of the jumping events is the pole vault, which is where an athlete uses a long pole ... or a big stick.

"That vision the lady told me about, I didn't know what to think," DiCesare said. "It's one of those things you say, `That's nice,' and you tuck it away and don't really think about it. Maybe you tell the story once in awhile, but when you're watching your son playing football, basketball, baseball, and there's no `big stick' involved, you kind of forget about it.

"But one night, just after Trey signed a track scholarship with Mississippi State as a pole vaulter, I remembered. I looked at Trey and said, `Oh, my!'"

It was the pole vault that got Hardee scholarship offers from Mississippi State, Auburn, Florida and Arizona State. It was his ability to pole vault and high jump that convinced his coaches he might be something special in the decathlon.

"I knew the decathlon," said Mountain Brook track coach Greg Echols. "Trey's senior year at Vestavia, he was a heck of a hurdler, and the best pole vaulter in the state. And he was this big kid, like 6-foot-5.

"Most decathletes are big guys like that, guys that are tall and fast. And when they already know how to pole vault and hurdle - those are the two hardest events to learn. A lot of guys who can run and throw can't learn to hurdle and pole vault. But pole vaulters can learn to be throwers."

Hardee was winning without much effort, and Echols could see the potential that was being wasted.

One of the first people to really encourage me (in track) was Coach Echols," Hardee said. "He stopped me after an indoor track meet and asked me to listen to my coaches and respect what they were asking me to do in training. I'd never gotten any advice from the opposition before. It made me feel like that was really important.

"Then some other coaches started saying things to me like that, and I began to think, `Could all these respected track and field people be right? Maybe this is something I was meant to do.'"

DiCesare remembers when her son came home and announced he was going to be a professional pole vaulter.
"We laughed," she said. "We said, `Sure. But get a major where you can get a job and support yourself, too.'"

In his freshman year at Mississippi State, Hardee's coaches entered him in the decathlon. When State shut down its indoor track program, Hardee transferred to the University of Texas to compete for track coach Bubba Thornton, who had competed in the decathlon at LSU and is this year's Olympic track and field coach.

"Trey didn't set out to be a pole vaulter, much less a decathlete," DiCesare said. "There have just always been things in place. Only God could have written this story. I know we never expected it to unfold this way."

Even now, sitting in his room at the athletes' village in Beijing, working out at Dalian University, walking through malls looking at exotic foods, standing by the bay and thinking it's a fog rolling in, only to find out later it's industrial pollution, Hardee can't explain how this happened to him.

"It's hard to say how you go from being a child running around, climbing trees, to where I am," Hardee said. "There was always a family behind me, supportive and humbling.

"But for me, personally, I have always felt I haven't really achieved anything great because there is always something or someone better. Winning a state title was nice, but then came the NCAAs. Winning that was nice, but I wasn't the best ever. Then getting into the professional ranks was great, but nobody remembers an Olympic Trials second-place decathlete.

"I am always desiring to be better than I am, at anything - Scrabble, ping-pong, or track and field. My goal has always been to improve to the next best thing."

Hardee was asked how he would define "greatness."

"Greatness comes from being prepared when opportunities present themselves," he said. "I'm just doing my part to be as prepared as possible when the time comes. I know God has something special in store for me. It could be this Olympics, it could be the next. It could be off the track completely. I'm just along for the ride."

It's almost as if he never had a choice, as if this were simply his destiny.

Indeed, Hardee believes his success does not come from his own will to win, but "more to do with grace, mercy and love of God. Every time I turn around, I'm being blessed. Isaiah 40 says, `Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength, they will soar on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint.'

"How perfect is that for the decathlon?"

Lightning Strikes Twice?

A few months ago I wrote about witnessing a terrible motorcycle accident near where I work. You may remember that a motorcycle police officer was hit by a van whose passengers just happened to be two clowns. Well, a few streets over on the campus of where I work (The Foundry www.thefoundryonline.org) I was a first hand witness of another accident yesterday.

I was crossing the street with a few of our residents when out of the corner of my eye I saw a gentleman riding his bike... in a split second a van turned into him and hit the older man and flipped him over the hood of the van. I heard the man yell out and immediately the van gunned it! It was a hit and run right before my eyes. I was stunned and frozen in my tracks for a brief moment but quickly came to my senses. As the van sped off my attention turned to the man in the street. Someone started with him and I just reached down and picked up his bike and got them both out of the middle of the road.

The rescue unit and officers were on the scene quickly and fortunately the man was just cut up a bit... nothing major except his bike was messed up and we were all mad as fire about the person in the van making a run for it.

Here's the moral of this story... if you are the captain of any two wheeled vehicle or any mode of transportation with two wheels... stay away from me! The chances that you will be in some sort of accident may increase simply by being near me or Bessemer.

False Alarm

One of the more trying scenarios in a persons life is sometimes related to false alarms. For rescue services nothing can be as frustrating as repeated false alarms. I mean imagine, you get the call and your heart starts racing. You rush to the scene of a potential harmful environment... only to realize that a cat has set off the alarm. You get the idea.

Well, just as an update to those who are interested... our home offer was just that. A false alarm. I don't think the people were really interested based on the offer we received. So, here we are again... seven days into the process. No big deal and maybe next time I will wait a little longer before blogging about it. By the way, I mentioned that Karie and I had found a house that we really like in Trussville... well, the picture above is not it. Remember to "seize the day".

Life to It's Fullest...

When I was in college my mother sent me a letter (pre-email) and was basically doing her best as a mom to lift my spirits. First of all, she called me her "rough son". To this day I'm not sure if that was a compliment or a slam. Most importantly she told me that she loved my ability to "seize the day". As I have grown older that has really stuck with me. Truthfully, there are many days that I go through the motions only to realize that I didn't seize the day but rather the day seized me. I'm usually not in the best mooods after those days. But this morning Chris Hodges at Highlands made the statement that "Faith is an attitude". There was so much more to the message but I got hung up there. I truly want to live life like each day is the last one. Cliques like "leave it all on the field come to mind". And with that said... here's where we are at.

A2 lauched tonight and it was great to see so many friends. It was even more great to worship with Janet & Tony. I forgot how much I missed Chris' teaching. I truly love that guy. He's a true example of a man who strives for God's heart. A2 will make a difference in Birmingham.

We found a house. We call it the Highland House. This neighborhood is in Trussville and really is the entire reason we chose to sell our house and move out there. The exterior color of the house is terrible. The interior colors of the house make us sick... but the house itself is exactly what we've been looking for. It's a good thing that paint is cheap. Who knows... maybe we'll put an offer in? Speaking of offers, we are receiving an offer on our house tomorrow night! We are prayerful that it is along the lines of what we are asking. Only 6 days on the market and we have an offer! We'll see what will happen.

The job... those words are so not what is happening at The Foundry. I truly have found that next step in my life. I love the team I work with. I love the residents at The Foundry. If you haven't ever gone there... go to www.thefoundryonline.org

Olivia and Ella both have amazing teachers. They are already loving school. Ella asks if she can go back? I guess one day she'll realize she really doesn't have a choice.

Anyway, things are really rocking for our family. When you pray... pray for our house transition. Also pray that every day we will remember to "Seize The Day". I pray that you will.

Ever feel OLD?

If you are reading this then chances are... we are friends. News flash to all friends of Micah Andrews (We are getting OLD). Now let's keep it in perspective. For those of you a few years my senior you are probably offended. For those of you a few years my junior you probably agree. For those of you that are much older than me... you are laughing and thinking something like, "He has no idea." Granted you are all quite possibly correct. However, when Karie and I sat and watched 41 year old Dara Torres cruise in to a first place finish in the Women's 50 meter freestyle semi's it all came back to me.

You see, Dara is an incredible athlete but the swim just a few minutes prior to that really made me think. I forget the names (its a sign of aging) but some girl breaks the longest standing Olympic swimming record which has stood for 19 years. The previous record holder had that world record for 19 years. The race was the 800 meter women's freestyle... 16 lenght's of the pool, held by Janet "somebody" (no disrespect intended, just can't remember). The girl that breaks that long standing record was like 2 years old or something when Janet set the record. As Karie and I watched that together I said, "That Janet lady is only two years older than you." Boy was that stupid... here again, my judgement has also lapsed in my growing number of years.

Anyway, I guess old is all about perspective. All in all...my hats off to Dara Torres. She's a new mom and 41 and oddly enough, swimming for GOLD. About all I do these days is dig for a little gold!

So, tomorrow night Karie and I will be cheering on the talented and somewhat old Dara. Go USA!

The Final Countdown...

Well, not only is it one of the greatest 80's tunes by Europe but it is also the theme for 4412 Dolly Ridge Road. The home that Karie and I have loved for the past nine years is officially on the market. We were blessed with a wonderful home... not too big, not too small but much like the infamous bowl of porridge... it was just right.

Anyway, time to move on. T'ville, we're a comin'

2008 Olympics

Well, I have always heard the saying, "it's not what you know but it's who you know." For the first time in my simple life I actually know someone competing in the Olympics... and he's a big time player!

About seven or eight years ago I had this lanky, good looking kid in my youth group named Trey Hardee. He was a quiet and yet seemingly solid young man whose family I adored. In fact I had the priveledge of marrying his older sister, Eden, and her husband Josh a few years back... he's a fighter pilot and I must say that it was one of the most memorable weddings that I have ever been a part of. Josh and his Navy buddies are men among men.

Anyway, Trey graduated from Vestavia then went on to Mississippi State on a track scholarship and eventually landed at the University of Texas. He grew as did his talent and abilities and Karie and I have followed him closely through the years.

Anyway, Trey made the Olympic Team and will be competing in the Men's Decathalon on August 22nd throughout the day. Say a prayer for Trey and watch him as he competes for the gold!

First Day of School

Well, it has finally happened. My nest is empty! I no longer have a child not in school. Today, Karie went back to school, Olivia had her first day in second grade and my baby Ella started K4. This was a big day for Ella. If you know her then you know how shy she can be. Her K4 class is just like regular school. They stay all day, eat in the lunchroom, do work/activities, have snack (which ironically was my second favorite subject in school... my favorite was girls), have PE and all kinds of stuff. So the test was early as Karie dropped Ella off for the first time...

And as my baby girl would have it... she walked right up to her teacher and told Karie goodbye (with only a slight hesitation) and began her young academic career in fine form. She's an Andrews' so I don't know what I would have expected otherwise. I just hope she takes after her Uncle Joel.

After school when I asked her how her day was... she replied, "we painted, played on the playground, and I want to go back tomorrow"... to which I replied... "it's a good thing."

Oh, and by the way... Karie and Olivia also had great days. Liv is my social butterfly and once she warms up she's good to go. I can hardly believe she is a second grader. Oh well, somebody's getting old (but don't tell Karie I said that).

Seasons

As I get older it seems like the seasons run together more and more and they sort of blend together. In Alabama we have the standard southern four seasons... hot, very hot, not so hot and finally somewhat cool. But these seasons are not the ones I've been thinking about lately.

In an effort not to sound too "artsy" or soft, there is a song that I like from the musical RENT. I've never seen RENT and don't know much about it other than the song titled "Seasons of Love". It talks about how we measure seasons... by cups of coffee, by the number of sunrises and sunsets, by friendships and relationships. I have become aware more so lately in my life that there are definitive seasons in each persons life. There is the season of singleness, the season of marriage without children, the seasonal change into parenthood. Our jobs have seasons, our passions have seasons, our habits and routines have seasons. Things in our lives come and go. Friendships in our lives will come and go. It is a part of the process of life.

My recent reminder is that in all seasons... one thing remains. God is the constant. Whether I'm feeling close to Him or far away from Him... He never changes. Whatever season you are in... be reminded that He makes it much more simplistic than we make it. He just wants us to know Him and walk with Him... no strings attached.