The boat’s finally back in the water!!! My good friend, Kenny, and I took a trip to Concord, NC on Saturday morning to pick up the boat. It’s all repaired (kudos to the Bass Pro Shop – the nearest Tahoe dealer - for EXCELLENT customer service!) and it turns out it was NOT the engine, but simply a starter and wiring harness – good news!!!
We tried to get in the water Saturday afternoon, but the weather had other plans. Determined to “try it out”, I took Kenny, Brian and Chris and our kids to the lake after church on Sunday. To be fair – it wasn’t ALL of the kids – but there were nine guys and Brian’s daughter, Hannah (the princess of the outing and the most daring of the daredevils on the tube!) We had a blast!!! We did “crazy guy stuff” all afternoon – swimming, jumping off of big rocks and riding on the tube… Kyle (who’s six) even took “two for the team”, getting stung twice by hornets! In true “trooper” spirit – he hung in there without complaining about it.
Kelly was gracious enough to feed us (and the rest of the crew – wives and kids) when we were done (have I mentioned that she’s an AWESOME cook?!?!?!) She didn’t even complain when I called at 5:30 to “ask” if she’d mind if I invited another four or five people to dinner!
So…. I’m done (I hope!) with boat stories, and on to other things that are going on. As a teaser, Will came home Saturday after a two-week stay with his Poppa Bill in Michigan. He’d been to a baseball game (several, actually) and brought five baseballs home with him…. Stay tuned for my take on his story and about being intentional.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Monday, June 23, 2008
Daddy's Little Girl!
'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.’ (Matthew 25:12 NIV)
Words can’t describe the feelings as I watched my 15 year old daughter, Lauren, as she traveled with my wife, Kelly, and me to Guatemala two weeks ago on a medical mission trip - for both of them, their first trip abroad for missions work. Lauren's a typical teenager - lots of friends, a busy social schedule, messy room... typical stuff.
I’ll admit (and so should she!) – Lauren’s spoiled. She needs for nothing and wants for little. She’s encountered homelessness, hunger and difficult living conditions before, but nothing to the degree that she did in Guatemala. And through it all, she didn’t complain. She didn’t whine to go home. She didn’t complain about the heat. She worked her tail off, with 22 other people, in a remote village in Southwestern Guatemala, learning to do things she’d never done before, to make a difference.
How proud! It’s not an original thought (I got it from Bryan Plyler, who’s our pastor at The River Church), but – did you realize that the main thing that separates us from the people living in the remote village in Guatemala is where we were born? They’re in substandard housing and, in some cases, homeless because of where they were born. They haven’t heard the Good News of Jesus Christ because of where they were born. They don’t know what it’s like to have plenty of food to eat or to have access to medicine and medical care whenever they need it because of where they were born. There’s so much we take for granted…
Back to Lauren… As a parent, we watch our children grow up (and ours are growing up way to fast!) and hope that we’ve taught them all of the “right things.” I’m not about to claim total success (after all, she’s a 15 year old teenager!) but, I saw things in my daughter while in Guatemala that I know I didn’t possess at her age. I see a young woman growing up and making choices that puts a smile of the face of this father, and on the face of her Father in heaven!
Words can’t describe the feelings as I watched my 15 year old daughter, Lauren, as she traveled with my wife, Kelly, and me to Guatemala two weeks ago on a medical mission trip - for both of them, their first trip abroad for missions work. Lauren's a typical teenager - lots of friends, a busy social schedule, messy room... typical stuff.
I’ll admit (and so should she!) – Lauren’s spoiled. She needs for nothing and wants for little. She’s encountered homelessness, hunger and difficult living conditions before, but nothing to the degree that she did in Guatemala. And through it all, she didn’t complain. She didn’t whine to go home. She didn’t complain about the heat. She worked her tail off, with 22 other people, in a remote village in Southwestern Guatemala, learning to do things she’d never done before, to make a difference.
How proud! It’s not an original thought (I got it from Bryan Plyler, who’s our pastor at The River Church), but – did you realize that the main thing that separates us from the people living in the remote village in Guatemala is where we were born? They’re in substandard housing and, in some cases, homeless because of where they were born. They haven’t heard the Good News of Jesus Christ because of where they were born. They don’t know what it’s like to have plenty of food to eat or to have access to medicine and medical care whenever they need it because of where they were born. There’s so much we take for granted…
Back to Lauren… As a parent, we watch our children grow up (and ours are growing up way to fast!) and hope that we’ve taught them all of the “right things.” I’m not about to claim total success (after all, she’s a 15 year old teenager!) but, I saw things in my daughter while in Guatemala that I know I didn’t possess at her age. I see a young woman growing up and making choices that puts a smile of the face of this father, and on the face of her Father in heaven!
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
It's Warranty Work!
Well, the boat saga continues. However, today, I recieved some potentially good news. According to the repair shop, it appears that the engine was not damaged. The wiring harness and the starter are definitely fried, but - according to the repair shop - the engine shows no signs of being run out of water. (Now, admittedly, I'm a bit suspect.) Speculation by the repair shop is that the starter engaged but, without the necessary electrical circuit, the engine wouldn't run. The starter spun (and spun, and spun, and spun), destroyed the starter bearings, generated LOTS of smoke... Now, you ask - how in the world did the guys at the marina confuse a "starter" running and an "engine" running? No idea... However, the plan - at this point - is to replace the harness and the starter and then run the boat. They've taken the engine apart, looked at the various gaskets, sleeves, cylinders, etc. (hereinafter knows as "engine parts") and determined that the engine is in "new" condition, and has NOT been run out of water. More importantly, they've confirmed that it's all covered by warranty, and that - if there is any engine damage - they'll fix it. (Yeah!)
The latest estimate is a week from Saturday... (June 28th) Will I have the boat for the 4th of July weekend? Stay tuned!
The latest estimate is a week from Saturday... (June 28th) Will I have the boat for the 4th of July weekend? Stay tuned!
Monday, June 2, 2008
Progress?
Some good news (I hope!) Will and I took the boat to Concord, NC to the Bass Pro Shop (the nearest dealer for the Tahoe boat line.) The initital experience was great - good customer service and some hope that we're looking at 3 weeks of downtime (not 6, as I originally thought.) I'm not holding my breath, but hoping to be surprised! I'm also hoping that by Friday the whole "who's responsible" question will be resolved. In the back of my mind, I'm still expecting the call that says "It's not a warranty issue....so pay up!"
After dropping the boat off, Will and I spent a couple of hours hanging around the Bass Pro Shop looking at all sorts of "guy" stuff - fishing gear, boat stuff, hunting supplies... (I even called my buddy Bryan and offered to bring him the perfect $45K 2-seater Bass Boat he's been looking for, since I had the truck with the trailer hitch with me...) He didn't answer....which may have been a good thing....
Not a bad day. Believe it or not, I'm not totally obsessed with this boat thing. I'll feel better once they've confirmed it's covered under warranty, and I'll share lots of other things that are going on!
Stay tuned!
After dropping the boat off, Will and I spent a couple of hours hanging around the Bass Pro Shop looking at all sorts of "guy" stuff - fishing gear, boat stuff, hunting supplies... (I even called my buddy Bryan and offered to bring him the perfect $45K 2-seater Bass Boat he's been looking for, since I had the truck with the trailer hitch with me...) He didn't answer....which may have been a good thing....
Not a bad day. Believe it or not, I'm not totally obsessed with this boat thing. I'll feel better once they've confirmed it's covered under warranty, and I'll share lots of other things that are going on!
Stay tuned!
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