Just Me and My Thermos

Spring

andrewellison — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 22:26:36 +0000

It’s here and gone so quick… I’ve been trying to capture a few pictures of the season.

It has helped me even in my prayers to remember all that I see is my Fathers handywork, and Solomon was not arrayed like one of these.

Stick a fork in my blogrimage

andrewellison — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 01:48:14 +0000

Well, it’s nearly finished.

I hope you have enjoyed seeing lots of bizarre morning hair-dos and hopefully some encouraging thoughts here and there.

I just got a haircut from my wife.

Not bad for free, eh? She says its “cutting edge”…

Thanks for taking this trip with me.

God bless and make the most of 2011!

The dog days of spring

andrewellison — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 19:03:55 +0000

Not much to say other than Coda really wanted to go with me on my bike ride. And I am not standing on my head for this picture.

the back nine

andrewellison — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 01:18:50 +0000

I used to be a caddy for a few years starting in middle school. When I started, I knew nothing about the game. My parents didn’t want their kids being lazy all summer, so they would take me and my older brother to the caddyshack around 6:30 am. We would check in with Mohammed the caddy master, who would send us over the bridge to the pro shop. There we sat on the bench waiting for a member to hire you. If you were a higher ranked caddy, you would get a loop (18 holes) quicker.

I never knew how the day would go. Sometimes I would get a really good tipper, and be ready for another loop. But usually, I was tired and would get back to the shack. During the loop, I might have one or two golfers I was attending to, suggesting clubs or just cleaning them, replacing divots of turf they may have ripped up, or just running after their cart (without the bag fortunately.) Some summer days it would be so hot you had to soak your towel in water and put it on your head to stay cool.

By the end of the 9th hole, we’d get to stop at the halfway house for a hot dog or a gatorade, and then move on. This was the back nine, or last half. It was always a challenge to stay focused because of the fatigue, but the course got more interesting, and it was important to keep your eyes open to see where the ball landed. Sometimes those last two hours seemed like forever, and I’d start to wonder why the member had a ball retriever, an umbrella, and two dozen clubs in his bag. When the last hole wad finished, we would head over to the clubhouse and fill out our paycard for gratuity. Suddenly, it all seemed worth it talking a twenty dollar bill plus your flat fee back across the bridge. I also learned to avoid the older caddies playing poker for money at that point.

I learned from these members that money cannot buy you a good golf swing, and that kindness was far better than money. I also learned a little of hanging in there.

OK, hope you enjoyed my tangent.

So my friend recently started a computer/ job skills class at the rescue mission downtown. On Friday nights we go down and work with some guys just getting out of prison. One gentleman I recently worked with went in nine years before I was born and just got out. He got his masters degree while doing time, learned swahili and became a paralegal. Now that he is out, his possibilities are big, and I am so happy that he is getting a second chance.

This is what the front door looks like at the building:

It’s hard to see what the crest says, but it is the YMCA logo, and has Mind, Body, and Spirit inscribed in the triangle. The book has John 17:21 inscribed in it- “that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”

Catching up…

andrewellison — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 01:29:53 +0000

It has been a good week, a week of pushing to get things done, and to do things well. And oddly enough, it has been a very peaceful week. Glad for all that is happening in my life.

Your eyes will see the king in his glory: they will be looking on a far-stretching land.

Isaiah 33:17

gnarly

andrewellison — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 03:12:20 +0000

Are we there yet?

andrewellison — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 21:39:11 +0000

…the Lord says: ‘In your patience possess ye your souls’ (Luke 21:19). He did not say: in your fast or in your vigil. By patience I mean that patience which is of God and is the queen of virtues and the basis of manly valor. It is in itself – peace amid strife, stillness in the midst of storm and an impregnable position for those who have acquired it, St. Gregory of Sinai (Texts on Commandments and Dogmas no. 84)

Change

andrewellison — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 03:08:04 +0000

This is what my day looked like today. Once upon a time, my day would have looked very different. Not waking up early. Not doing something I liked to do. Not moving forward. Just stuck. Stuck in a rut, stuck in a mortgage payment, stuck in my own problems I didn’t know how to be free from. Stuck in wrong assumptions about myself. Then, I thought I had gotten free, only to be stuck in a worse situation. Despair.

In one of my weakest momests, someone who means a lot to me told me not to quit and that they would be praying for me. From that point, the pain started to teach me something, it started almost pulling me towards God. I came to a point where I knew I had to start trusting Him and following what I knew to be true. I put ‘fleeces’ out and they came back to me as answers.

I’m pretty happy with what God has put in my life, but I don’t want to stay here longer than I’m supposed to. This is where God has me, but when He wants to bring in new things, I desire to be ready to hear and accept it. Change is good!

It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings. Proverbs 25:2

Day 17

andrewellison — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 01:17:13 +0000

Well, I just wanted to let you know that sometimes I look like Astro Boy in the morning (minus the rocket feet and metal speedo.)

Today was day seven of no coffee. I ordered a black tea at a coffee shop and the barista said that was very posh of me and I explained I never thought I’d give up coffee. But it’s not so bad – so far I can live without it. What does posh mean? And… what can’t YOU live without?

Taco Tuesday

andrewellison — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 02:44:51 +0000

there’s a mugshot quality to today’s bedhead installation.

Not much to report, but I’m thankful for new customers. I was referred to a shop on 8 mile where english is the second language. I had a good conversation with the foreman who goes by Uncle Mike. We got to talk faith for a moment, and it was one of the highlights of my day. The other being taco Tuesday, where we almost never have leftovers.

Who has ever seen Ernest Goes to Camp? My kids loved it..