Jamie Booth

Sharing

 

Today I was so proud of my son.  The weather was actually decent, so we headed to the park for this first time this year.  While we were playing in the sandpit a giant Goliath of a 5 year old girl attacked and took a shovel right out of another 2 year old girls hand.  The little girl, who had just been robbed, immediately started balling her eyes out.  

Without missing a beat Jack, realizing what just happened, walked over and offered his shovel to the girl who just had hers taken away.  I was blown away by his willing to share, but even more so by his realizing the desire to make the girl feel better.

Home Ownership

Amazingly I haven't burned it down yet.  Despite my tampering with electricity, messing with the furnace, and attempting repairs I have never done before, I haven't burned down Becky's and my new home yet.  

I am returning from a bit of a break from the blogging world.  This past month has been extremely busy, mostly because Becky and I bought our first home so my daily trip to Home Depot has replaced any type of writing.  Things are beginning to fall back into a bit of groove though, so I am hoping to be writing and reading more.

A few have been asking, so let me give a bit of an update.  We are fairly settled into the house.  Although we are still trying to figure out where everything will permanently go, there are no boxes left to unpack.  We are also starting to fix things up here, and there, so hopefully by the end of this week Jack's room will no longer be pink!  

A few have also asked what I have enjoyed the most so far about home ownership.  There are so many aspects of home ownership I enjoy, but the best is that we (Jack) can be as loud as we want and it doesn't matter as there is no one in the apartment below us to annoy by jumping, screaming or just running around.  

Some have asked what I think about all the responsibility of owning a home....my first reaction is that there is a lot!  I had to buy my first snow shovel, and use it on the day we closed on the house!  Fixing everything, opposed to calling a landlord.  And then there is that mortgage payment each month....that just hurt for the first time this week!  Ouch!

Heading West for Christmas

Pretty excited to be heading to Missouri with Becky and Jack for Christmas.  Both Becky and I grew up in Missouri, and our families are still there.  So, every year we take some time to travel back West to see them, and it is always a great time.  This year I am looking forward to spending some quality time loved ones, baking some Christmas cookies, riding some 4-wheelers, taking some down time to read, and just enjoying Christmas.

I am going to try to document some of my home town on this trip back, and perhaps share some of my reflections on growing up in small town Missouri here.  Stay tuned.

 

Jack Jamming On the Guitar

Becky and I have high hopes Jack will make it as a musician.  Here is a foretaste of what is to come....

If you can't see the video above, click here.

My Favorite Piece of Mail

I know I may be in the minority, but I am one of those people who actually likes getting mail.  I look forward to opening the mail to see if I got a card, a letter, or to simply read what is in the newspaper.  I even like getting bills, so I can pay them right away...alright now I know I am in the minority.

But of all the mail I get, my favorite piece of mail Becky, Jack and I receive is from our sponsored child in Rwanda.  A few times each year we receive a letter letting us know what is going on in the life of our sponsored daughter Uwineza Claudine. 

Some of her letters make me smile, some make me cry.  Here is the letter we received today...it was one that made me cry.  The last letter she sent us crossed with one we sent her in the mail, so this one is actually responding to some questions we had about Christmas, winter, and snow in Rwanda.  Claudine wrote it, but a translator translated it, and when they did they switched to the third person.

Your child Uwineza Claudine greets you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Claudine has been sick and hospitalized for 2 months now, she was operated in the stomach so she didn't study last term.  She is still in the hospital but she is recovering.  Her family is fine and taking care of her.  Claudine and her family are happy for the card you sent her.  Your child and her family celebrate Christmas every year on th 25th of December.  Claudine says that she knows snow [we asked her if it snows in Rwanda].  She likes going to Sunday School.  Lastly, she wishes you God's blessings.  Read: Isaiah 54:4-8

One of our family core values is generosity, another is love.  One of the ways we live those two values out is through sponsoring Claudine.  It is not much, but the support we provide her gives her a better opportunity to go to school, have adequate clothes, food and water, and so much more.

A Busy Summer

I am excited for summer.  Honestly, I believe this may be the best summer I have in quite some time.  But it is going to be busy.  For the few who may be interested in Becky's, Jack's and my travel plans....

This Sunday Becky, Jack and I leave for Creation Festival East.  We will be spending some time with some friends from the church, and enjoying some nice music in Pennsylvania for the week.  For this we be gone June 21st - 29th.

Then Becky and Jack fly back to Missouri on June 30th.  Becky is looking forward to seeing her family, especially her cousin Heather, who just had a baby girl.  She is also going to get to throw a baby shower for her sister Sarah.

From July 6th-10th I will be at SNED Kid's Camp in Rumney, New Hampshire. 

Jack's Birthday is July 17th...already getting ready for the 2nd Birthday Bash!  Details forthcoming.

Then I leave for a missions trip to Iquitos, Peru, on July 18th and will not be back until July 27th.

Then from August 2nd (which is Becky's Birthday) to August 8th, Becky, Jack and I will be in Florida attending the Assemblies of God General Council.  We will probably hit up Disney while we are there as well.

And then to cap off the summer we have Mega Sports Camp at the church from August 10th to the 14th.

After all the business of this summer, I think I may need a vacation :)

Priorities - My Top 10

Earlier this year I sat down and revisited my list of priorities.  At that time I knew that some changes needed to be made.  I still struggle with living out the priorities I have written out, but I am doing better.  In fact, this year has been the most balanced year I have ever had.

Here are my priorities.  They maybe different than yours, but I imagine there are some similarities. 

1. Relationship with God - Gotta' put my relationship with God first.  This is not the time I spend at the church, but time developing my personal relationship with God.

2. Becky and Jack - I love my family, and spending time with my family.  They make life fun and full of joy.

3. Church & Ministry - Making sure I am spending my time wisely, and doing the most important tasks first.

4. Personal Growth & Study - Trying to spend more time reading and studying this year than I ever have before.  I am already seeing the fruits of making this a priority.

5. Finances - Really trying to be sure I am doing the best I can with handling my money, and using my families finances to live out our core value of being generous.   

6. Fitness - This is where I need to do a better job of living out my priorities.  I have been to the gym more than I ever have been before, but not nearly as much as I should be going (as some of you have noted!).

7. Key Leaders - I am really trying to do a better job of coming alongside key leaders and involving them in the process of what we are doing in childrens ministry at the church.  This ties in to priority number 3, but I at least for the next year, or two, I wanted to keep it distinctly different.

8. Friendships - Trying to take more time to slow down and spend time with friends.

9. Writing - Trying to take more time to write, even if it is just random thoughts here and there.  You are reading the fruit of this priority right now.

10. Global Issues - Finally, getting more involved in global issues like child poverty.  Currently I am working with a few different organizations around the globe.

This is my list.  It may not be the perfect list, but it is what is important to me at this stage in my life.  What is important to you?  What are your priorities?  I would love to know.

Straight C's & T's

Jack received his first report card today, and he got all C's....and T's.  For those of you who might not familiar with nursery school grade card lingo, there are only 3 options...C for Can Do, T for Trying and N for Not Yet Introduced. 

If an A is worth 10 bucks in high school, and a B is worth 5, what kind of reward do you give a one year old who gets a T on their report card?

 

Family Values

Values.  We all have them, and we all live by them.  No, we may not have thought through them, or written them down, but we all value certain things, and our choices reflect our pursuit of those priorities. 

Wanting to be sure we are making the right choices and pursuing the right goals,  Becky and I want to establish some set values for our family to live by.  So, we sat down and talked, and here is what we came up with.  Not necessarily a final list, but it is a start. 

humility...We want to remember we are nothing special, not above any task, and that all we have comes from God.

generosity...We want to be generous with our time and resources, always giving to our church, community and other worthwhile causes.

courage...We want to have the courage to pursue every God given dream for our lives, even when it is uncertain how we are going to do it.

love...We want to be examples of Christ like love to one another, and to others.

Again, this is our starter list.  What are we missing?

Five Amazing Years

Five years goes by fast.  It is hard to believe that Becky and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary today.  In thinking back over the past few years I realize that there are lots of things I love about my wife.  Here are just a few of those reasons...

1. Becky sees the potential in others, more than they see it in themselves.  After a particularly tough day when things did not go as well as I would have liked, Becky is always there to support me.

2. Becky makes every day, and every situation, fun.  There are some people like myself that don't necessarily like being the center of attention, but it we do like it when there is someone there to keep things fun, and my wife is always good for a few (dozen) good laughs.

3. Trustworthy, dependable, reliable, truthful...they are all a little different, but they all describe Becky well.

4.  Who wouldn't love someone that has cool nicknames like Beckatron, Becko and The Hacker?

5. She cannot teach a lesson, or pray, in kid's church without crying because she loves the kids and God so much.

6. Real.  Becky is the most real person I have ever met.  I don't think I can say this just because I know her better than anyone else, I can say it because it is true...in fact, it is one of the first things that I ever noticed about Becky.

7. Becky is extremely patient...it is one of the reasons we have made it 5 years.  As someone that has about a billion quarks, patience on the part of my spouse is absolutely mandatory, and Becky has it. 

8. She's brave.  Anyone that can watch scary movies and still sleep at night is braver than me!

9.  She is a genius.  She tries to play it off, but she is actually one of the smartest people I have ever met.  She is never wrong, which means she means she has so many opportunities to say to me, "Ha, I told you so", but yet she never says it.

10. She can read people.  Becky is great at seeing through people's acts....including mine, which means she keeps me real with myself. 

Again, these are just a few of the things that I love and appreciate about my wife.  There are dozens of others, but some of those are probably a little too scandalous for a public blog :)