Still In The Middle of Finals

Well here we go again. I have a good friend who says, “it feels like I been in finals week for 2, 3, 4 months”. He will say this to explain just how crazy his life has been, is, and as far as the near future looks, will be. I smile when he says that because more than not he is explaining the lives of half the people he comes in contact with. My life is definitely not an exception.

On Saturday 1/28/06 Alasha got into a fight in the Ford Focus with a PT Cruiser and lost. She is ok and that made me very happy to hear. Jonah was not with her and by the time I got there she seemed to be pretty calm. This is big for her seeing as that was her first accident. She went on to work and I used the rest of that day getting things taken care of. We had a lot of help from members of the church and that helped to make things a little smoother, but I am still waiting to take my last final for a while and go on vacation. As I look into the future though, I don’t see it.

I took today off to do some work around the house to get us closer to moving and that has gone slowly but surely. The house is it’s regular Maxwell chaos and the garage was a war zone. I have since turned the garage into a better looking war zone and I am looking forward to going back out just a soon as Jonah goes back to sleep.

I do know that the one thing I can do to get closer to my last final is to ask those of you that pray, to pray. So here goes.
Could you pray for:
· Alasha to feel better ( she is kind of sore from the accident)
· Jonah to get the gunk out of his chest
· God to continue to give us opportunities to tell others about His redeeming love
· For us to give the burdens of moving, living, and raising an awesome little boy over to God so He can help us.
· Alasha at Starbucks
· Steve at PUMP church
· Our families back south and that we remember to keep praying.

If you could do that that would be great! Thanks and God bless.

Been Away!

Hello my friends,

It has been a while since I have written and there are a number of reasons for that. But just let me say what has been going on with this picture. This little man has been a BIG blessing and he continues to be. Please keep him and his parents in your prayers. He is getting over his first episode of Croup and Pneumonia. He is always smiling, crawling, starting to walk, saying more words and (brace yourselves) SINGING. Ok, so maybe I am a little anxious but he makes these noises that are so sweet. He puts himself to sleep. It is so cute. Also keep Alasha in your prayers, she is always cute; and she is transferring to the Starbucks at Eastport. She is excited about it and that means much better working hours for her and for us. Well that is all for now - take care and God bless.

Another Hospital Visit!

Well, well, well and again I visited a place I have visited all to often. Last night I spent at Legacy's Emanuel Hospital. I have had a nice trickle of health problems since I turned 30. Here is the thing, I know who holds tommorow and what I should do to prevent a lot of the things I go through and yet there I was again. Alasha and I were on our way to bed and my chest got tight. It felt like I was getting a bear hug I didn't ask for. It lasted only a few minutes and then I felt as if I had been in a good football game. We decided to be safe rather than sorry and go the emergency room. You see I have had this happen before and been diagnosed with Acid Reflux. In the past I have been given a clean bill of health when it comes to my heart but my family history makes most doctors nervous. So we waited a short time once we got to the hospital and a longer time once they checked my vitals and saw that I was in no immediate danger. We waited and waited and waited and.. ok you get it. Legacy was busy that night with a barage of different traumas. Finally the docter came in and told us something we were not expecting. He said that some heart problems might present themselves a little later and he did not want to send me home until they were sure I was ok so they were admitting me. I said ok and waited for them to find me a room. After entering the hospital at 1am I went to my room at 7:45am that morning. To make a long story much shorter, God is best (as they say in Africa) and I was fine. I had to get on a treadmill and walk really fast on a pretty good incline and they had me wired up like a professional sound system. I had fun with my docters and they said what ever was wrong with me had nothing to do with my heart. They also said that my blood work was pretty good and things looked good so they were releasing me. And they did.
Now I had started eating a little better and walking this week so my body is probably trying to revolt. However, onward Christian Soldier I say. I am going to keep doing what I had started and I have been given permission by the docters to do that as long as I take it easy at first. Well our church is awesome and they have been taking care of us. So thank you:
-Alasha because you are the best wife in the world and Jonah for coming to see daddy
-Amanda Peterson for coming over to watch Jonah at asleep o'clock.
-Kerry Lowery for checking on me
-PUMP church for prayers and phone calls
-Tucker's for dinner
-White's for calling about dinner
-Nicole for a funny call
-my brother and dad for their comedy (after they heard I was ok of course)
-Lanny Tucker for awesome e-mail communication
-Moly for phone call
Ok I could keep going but I wanted to take this time to say to anybody that reads this:

I love being a part of God's family. It rocks. God takes care of you like none other and I would have it no other way. I want to praise Him and thank my brothers and sisters in Christ for your support during this crazy time. Keep praying that I eat healthier and continue to exercise. And thanks again.

“54” Resolution

Well, here we are four days into the New Year and I am finally getting around to talking about my New Years resolutions. It is funny because I have already heard many different things about resolutions and a lot those things are very interesting. I’ve tried to take at least a little time to think about it and here is what I have come up with – “54” Resolution.
Now as you can see the number 54 is in quotations. For those of you that know me or have simply taken the time read any of my posts, you will notice that I am not the writing type. However, I put the number in quotations because I don’t actually have 54 resolutions. Here let me explain.
When I was in high school I played the beloved game of basketball. Our team was pretty good and most of that came from the fact that we had great coaching. And one of the ways our coach would prepare us was conditioning. And to me that means lots of running which is a dirty word. I loved Coach Grantham and still do. He was close to 60 years old back then and had been coaching for a long time. He had this particular “weapon” of choice when it came to running (there’s that word again) and it felt like he loved to use it. The weapon was called; you guessed it, a “54”. A “54” was a running drill from that other place. You started on the baseline (which is another word that frightens me a little even till this day) because that was the starting place of most running events. Anyway, you started on the baseline underneath one basket and ran all the way to the other end, all 94ft; and then you would run back, backwards. (My chest is getting heavy just typing this.) You had to do this 4 times in 54 seconds. The first couple of times I did it I was just fine, but after the 8th, 9th, and 10th time I was NOT fine. I can still hear coaches voice in my head, “pick it up Maxwell!” Now, for those of you that know me, you know that I am a “Double X” man. So like I said, running has the potential to be a bad word for me.
As I think back on running “54’s” I also remember getting to the fourth quarter of games and still having the stamina to play hard, to keep my hands up on defense and calling for the ball inside, to call out screens, to rebound, to take a charge, and most of all - to just keep moving my feet. I say that because I later came to realize that coach knew I wouldn’t make every “54” in 54 seconds, but he wanted me to give it my all and not give up. He knew the benefits of staying in the “race”. And that is what I am resolved to do this year. As Dory in “Finding Nemo” would say, “just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just…” you get the picture.
I know I need to loose a little weight, stop doing this and do that a little more. Those are the same things I needed to do last year with some added and some completed. I just want to stay in it. I don’t want to stop running. I want to put one foot in front of the other and see what exciting things God has planned for me and my family this year. I want to run today like it is my last day to run before the finish line is upon me. Don’t get me wrong, I look forward to many more days of running in this way. You see the prize I am running for is waiting for me at the finish line. It is cool to know you will get the prize if you just finish the race. And to finish you must simply keep running. The apostle Paul says, “25All athletes practice strict self-control. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize.” I want to keep working toward the day when I will finally be all that Christ Jesus saved me to be (Phil 3:12). And because of the hills and valleys I have to run, sometimes it reminds me of running “54’s”. However, for the prize of heaven I am more than willing to run.
If you finished this, thanks for sticking it out. I pray that you have a blessed New Year and if nothing else; just keep running the race. See you at the finish line when we get our prizes.