Kiddos

It's hard when you have kids not to compare the two. Olive was my first. She is probably the most easy going kids I've ever known. She goes with the flow and is always game for whatever we are doing. Olive is also very petite. When she was an infant she was not an aggressive eater. We felt victorious just to get an ounce down her. She ate about every 3 to 4 hours, and even then we had to make her eat. She still doesn't eat that much. She has good eating days and bad. She also has pretty much slept through the night from the moment she was born. We would wake her up at night for nighttime feedings, but other than that she didn't wake up. Even when she graduated from the crib to a toddler bed it was an easy transition for her. She just went with the flow. Olive has never slept in our bed. She sleeps in her room and doesn't even require a night light. She is small, but she is tough, surprisingly rough and independent. Always has been.

I know Titus is only a few days old, but he doesn't exhibit any of Olive's traits. Well, he may be tough he definitely has shown some toughness. For the most part though they are polar opposites. First of all Titus eats like a horse. In his very first feeding in the hospital he ate 30ml. Since then he constantly drinks 2 to 2 1/2 ounces a feeding. Instead of eating every 3 to 4 hours he wants to eat every 2 hours! This means the night time feedings are double what we were use to with Olive. Also we don't have to wake him up to eat, he wakes us up. At first I wasn't sure if hunger was the reason for him waking up, but alas it is. He weighs more than Olive did, is taller than Olive was and requires more than Olive ever did. So far he doesn't seem very go with the flow. He seems to have his own idea of what he wants. The one thing, as stated before, that he and Olive both seem to have is toughness. Olive never cries when she gets a shot and so far Titus hasn't either. He didn't even cry when the nurse was beating his back trying to make him cry to clear his lungs. He just looked at her like, "Is that all you got?"

With all that said I am not complaining. He is perfect. Olive is perfect too. I am probably the luckiest Dad in the world. Thankful.

Titus Roman Templeton

Dear Titus,
We are greatly anticipating your arrival. I haven't even met you yet and I love you deeply. You are my son. I can't believe you are arriving in 5 days. There has been so much preparation for months. Your Mom, sister Olive and I have been talking about you so much. Olive is ready to be a good big sister to you. Mommy and I are ready to see your face.

There is so much I want to teach you. So much I want to share with you that I'm busting. I need to be patient. I don't want to push you into my interests, but of course I will encourage it a bit. I promise not to push you too hard. Whether you play football, basketball or baseball is up to you. You can be into music, art or whatever. I will support you.

The most important thing I want share with you is Jesus Christ. I've been praying since I knew your Mom was pregnant with you that you would know Christ at a young age, follow him all the days of your life, and that he would use you in a mighty way. No matter what occupation you choose to be Christ can use you. The sky is the limit. I believe in you and you can be anything you want to be. It takes hard work and effort, but I will teach you that as well. It won't always be easy, but it's worth it.

I will always be there for you. Even when you mess up, I will love you. Sure, I will get angry at you and you will at me, but what I want to establish is love and respect through discipline. Discipline isn't a bad thing. The Bible is clear that God disciplines his children because he loves them. He wants to ensure they make the right choices that lead them to his will. That's all I want, I want to help you make the right choices. I don't want you to obey me because of fear, but because you love me. So just know even though I will disipline it is because I love you deeply and want the best for you.

Oh Titus, I just am so ready to hold you. I want to pour myself into you and hope that you only get the good things. I pray that you grow to be a better man than me. I can show you so much, but I hope you go further than me. Be a better man than me. I have a lot of flaws, and you will get to know those soon. I will fail you, I will mess up, but I will do my best to correct those failures and mess ups. We are in this together. We are family. I am honored to call you my son.

I love you and I will always be there for you.

Love,
Dad

Forgotten God Part 1

The book "Forgotten God" by Francis Chan is highly recommended. Recommended if you want to be challenged, stretched and changed. I've read it once before and now are small group has decided to read it together. I figured even though I've read it I will go through it again just in case I missed something. Missed something....lol Yeah I definitely missed something. I just finished Chapter 1 and I already feel as if this is a different book than before. I am not sure that I internalized it in my first go round. Reading it with my small group and having group discussions will hopefully help all of us have deeper understanding and walk with the sometimes forgotten person in the Trinity, the Holy Spirit. 

At some point in history Christians quit focusing on the Holy Spirit. If you read the book of Acts the Disciples and these first Christians were rich in the Spirit. They didn't have all the knowledge we have now concerning the spirit, they just experienced it without abandonment. Jesus told them that one would come after him that was the same as him, another comforter and counselor. They believed him, they received the Spirit and the walked in the Spirit. As stated before, at some point Christians quit relying and even teaching about the Holy Spirit. Oh sure He is mentioned. But He is mentioned in a flippant way. "We are Spirit filled", "Walk in the Spirit", things like that. But where's the experience? As we quit experiencing the Spirit it seems as everything else got diluted as well. 

The Disciples got to experience Jesus physically. Wow. Sometimes I wish I could experience that. Wouldn't that make things easier? Having Jesus as your personal guide, you couldn't make a wrong move right? Well, as we know even having Jesus there physically the Disciples still sinned, made mistakes and sometimes fell into the "I don't get it crowd." However, having Jesus physically there man, what an experience. But the scripture say that the Holy Spirit dwells within us and it is clear that the Holy Spirit is God. So as Christians we need to understand that God lives in us. The same God that empowered the Disciples lives in you. He hasn't changed. He is here, in you and in me. So I am going to try and stop looking at it as Jesus isn't here physically. It doesn't matter. Because if I believe that the Bible is the infallible and flawless word of God, then I must believe Jesus when he said he was going to send a Comforter and a Counselor, one that is the same as he. (Reference of Jesus speaking of the Holy Spirit from John 14).

I believe it. Now I want to experience it. This was just Chapter 1. Whew. Are you ready small group? 

Here we go again..

As you can see I have tried several times to be a "blogger." If that is even what it's called? I started this blog several years ago when a friend was overseas, and then tried to blog again when I was a Youth Leader. It didn't last either time. I really love to write though and I found in the past when I was able to keep a journal and write down some of my thoughts, feelings, prayers and just ramblings, that it was a good outlet. It is the only way I really know how to be creative. I am not an artist. I can't even draw a stick figure. The one thing I have been able to do is write.

With all that said I am going to try this again. Arlie, my wife, is encouraging me to do it as well. I wrote in my profile section that life is a journey. So I guess I am going to try and share my journey with you. If no one reads, it's okay. This is more for my own growth personally, emotionally and spiritually. If you do read then welcome to my life. Maybe we can both learn something.

God bless.