freedom

Evening falls on Veteran's Day and I sit here thankful for freedom.  Even more I am thankful for the freedom that Christ afforded me when he died on the cross.  I am free from a life of darkness and bondage.  Free to live in the grace of God. 

In the crockpot waits our dinner.  Honey chicken and baked sweet potatoes, also brussel sprouts.  I made pumpkin spice rice krispie treats that look ever so tempting.

It was a good long weekend for everyone here.  Saturday was full.  Austin spent some time at a nearby cemetery placing flags at the graves of veterans with some of the ROTC kids.  Blake participated in a wrestling tournament.  He wrestled three matches and won all three of them, winning first place for his weight class.  To say that the wins did not come easily would be scratching the surface.  He worked really, really hard for those victories, struggling with fatigue, self-doubts, pain, and a bloody nose.  But he persevered.  It was also nice to have our friend, the boys' Sunday school teacher, there for support.

Anyone who would doubt the value in the things we allow in our boys' lives has never truly seen these things first hand.  Our participation in wrestling continues to be questioned.  Austin's interest in pursuing a military career gets questioned.  And I stand back and just wonder what would cause someone to doubt the value in these things.  Certainly it is an assessment of surface things only and not an assessment that cares to dig into the heart of the matter.  Maybe more on this another time.  For now my eldest son needs a haircut and barber is one of my titles.