T-minus 6 months and counting...(or an ode to the obx)

while we are actually now inside the 6 month count, i would be remiss if i didn't devote a post to it...i mean we do call or email one another and wish each other a 'happy calendar year' of the next trip...so this is only fitting. being inside 6 months means that you might as well go ahead and start organizing your tackle, you might as well go ahead and start re-stringing your reels, wiping down your rods, taking inventory of your lures (making sure to note the number of 'tarheel' gotcha plugs and bucktail lures you have and are going to need), and knowing in the back of your head that it isn't really going to matter what kind of heat you will be packing because you're going up against the master (many of us are convinced that one day he is going to have to answer to the fact that he 'sold his soul' to be able to catch fish the way he does...you know, robert johnson and the crossroads kind of thing).

the annual pilgrimage to the outerbanks of north carolina began my second senior year at asu w/ john essick and chris baxter. after the first trip it is a wonder we ever went back. we went over easter weekend of 1998 and ended up spending the first night packed in john's chevy blazer because he neglected to call ahead to make sure the campground would be open upon our arrival...once we finally got settled, we found our success at fishing and enjoyed days of that and great fellowship. i believe it was the following fall-break that landed our friend ryan kraska on the front page of a local outerbanks newspaper (he and josh jones and a few other of our asu crew had gone down for the long weekend...apparently it was big news to have boys from boone so far from home on the outerbanks). and so began the tradition of an annual trip from the mountains of north carolina to one of the most spectacular strand of beaches on all the east coast.

while some of the personnel has changed over the years (a note here: i would love to, at one point, have a trip that included ALL of the alumni, everyone who has ever done this trip...good times indeed), the idea has remained the same: commit to a week (we are able to take a longer trip now that none of us are in school anymore) every fall to reunite over some things that we all love dearly: jesus; fishing; breakfasts for a week at grits grill (the sunrise grill away from boone); one dinner at the black pelican (the chesapeake bay pizza is rediculous); fellowship; late nights on the avalon pier ; afternoons on the beaches of oregon inlet; sleeping 4-6 hours of every 24 hour period; hoping for that one prize catch; trying to out fish the guy standing next to you; trying to out trash-talk the guy standing next to you; finding yourself wondering if carl clawson actually may have sold his soul to the devil in order to be able to catch fish the way he does and then at some point knowing that it is an impossibility because you have just witnessed him sharing jesus w/ the guy who standing next to him (who has been drinking, talking trash about his wife and his job, and cussing up one side and down the other all day long)...and doing so in such a way that you are convinced that you have perhaps just seen exactly what it means to love people the way that jesus wants us to love them...i could certainly go on because it is all of these things and more: hunting red fish, schools of blues, emergency room visits due to treble hooks buried to the shank in your finger (only to return directly to the pier and keep fishing), hoping for runs of spot (spot heads are the preferred bait for bull reds), speckled trout, and any other species of saltwater fish that may happen by your lure or bait...

while there may be years that one has to miss due to being a newlywed, the birth of a little one, an unforseen job change, or some other such event- there is comfort taken in the fact that you can count on the guys being there waiting for you next year, w/ a seat saved for you at breakfast and a choice spot picked out for you on the pier.

see you in october.

A familiar road...(and a couple of other little things)

if you have taken the time to pray for my trip to asheville last saturday-thank you. if you have taken the time to pray for my grandfather-thank you...your prayers are appreciated. his procedure was successful, but more importantly my time with him was special. i had opportunity to catch him up on the day-to-day with the collins family and i also had a chance to speak with him about Jesus. it truly was a special time. your continued prayers are welcome. i have not had a day like the one i had saturday in a long time. actually, i can't remember the last time i have had a day like the one i had on saturday...

in fact, as i was nearing home on the return trip, i realized that saturday was about much more than just going to asheville to see my grandfather.

the road betweem boone and the asheville/black mountain area is a very familiar one. while in my (five) wonderful years as a student at ASU, i spent 4 summers working at one of my favorite places in the world-camp timberlake ...while there is much that could be said recounting those summers, we'll save that for another time. when something (like that drive) is so tied to such a large part of your life, it tends to bring you to a place of reflection...i understand that this has been a theme in my life recently, but as i said in my first post, it seems that this is one of those times in my life in which the Lord is teaching and challenging me...and it is a good place to be.

i think i'll spare you many of the details, but let's just say that in the hour and a half (each way) that it took to make the trip, there was plenty of time to recount each camp moment, each day off, each climbing trip to ship rock, each little chief ceremony, each staff meeting on the front porch of the big house, each sock war, each staff week, each opening day, each 'frisbee dive' during free time, each volleyball game, each difficult camper, each easy one, and each camp friendship...all in great detail. okay, i realize that this must seem like a good bit of detail, but let me assure you that it falls well short of what was actually going through my mind.

it was a time of reflection, a time of listening and a time of allowing the Lord to deal with some things in me that needed to be dealt with...and as i passed the turn for curtis creek and approached old fort, i was moved (okay to some tears)...moved by how constant Jesus is in my life; the fact that in the midst of those days, in the midst of the times when i was in the center of where He wanted me to be, in the midst of loving the people around me with His heart, and in the midst of relationships that i did not treat with high enough regard, hearts that i did not care for in a way that i should have-the Lord continued to love me; he continued to use me-for 4 amazing summers at timberlake, He used that time to grow me and prepare me for the ministry which i have been a part of for almost 10 years now. i was moved by conviction, moved by grace, moved by memories, moved by the fact that the Lord would choose a time in my life 10 years ago to teach me things about who i am and who He is...right now. while this was not altogether painless, it was altogether good. i look forward expectantly as i know the Lord is not finished with this refining process. and if you have suffered through this much of this post-thanks for taking the time.

on lighter matters-i made the drive to black mountain yet again. yesterday i drove down to meet my friend dan singletary for a day of fly fishing on the north mills river near the asheville airport. it was a great day on the river, a great time of fellowship, a great time enjoying creation in one of my favorite ways. thanks dan.

on the blood, sweat, and gears training front i have not been nearly as disciplined with my training as i need to be...we're working on it, though i don't have long to 'work on it' as the ride will be here before i know it (and probably before i am ready).

Hope...

i am on my way to asheville this morning to see my grandfather (my mom's dad). he is in the hospital there having a proceedure done that will hopefully remove much of the (extreme) fluid build up he's sustained over the past several months. he has been on oxygen for some time now and has been retaining vast amounts of fluid. needless to say, he has not been doing well. i am burdened by the knowledge that my grandfather does not know jesus...i believe he knows who jesus is, for sure, but has never felt the need to allow jesus to be the lord of his life. how do you tell one of the people you've looked up to the most as a child, one of the most self-made, self-sufficient people you know that perhaps it is time to consider that he may have a need for something greater than himself; a need for something that will meet him in the areas where he has fallen short his entire life; a need for a love that is life-changing and unlike anything he has ever known?

i pray for the courage to find the words, and the ability to love in a way that puts shape to the words that would come...

Blue Sky

every parent has those moments when they think, "right now, I am more proud of my child than I have ever been of anyone at anytime in my life..." There are those moments, when, in your eyes, your child has just shown a glimpse of brilliance, they have just made the perfect choice...

gresham is quickly becoming a huge music fan...david crowder band, matt kearney, veggie tales, jack johnson, sesame street...his taste of music is becoming quite broad! each time we get in the car gresham seems to already have his musical selection picked out and is quick to make his request...this morning, from the backseat, i hear, "daddy-i want to hear 'blue sky.'"

i need a moment here

little does my 4 year old know what he has tapped into. for it is, perhaps, a little known and unspoken fact that on those days following winter; those days when the weather is first starting to break; and signs of spring's eminence are evident; those days when the sun is shining in a deep blue north carolina sky...little does he know that the Allman Brothers Band is the only clear choice for music, and little does he know that 'Blue Sky' is at the top of the list of song choices...so, of course i tell him that is an excellent choice and gresham, brayden, and i listen to that wonderful song. twice.

so, now the boys are downstairs in preschool, i am upstairs sitting at my desk (they attend the preschool here at the church), trying to get these thoughts down before i get in to today's work...and here's the problem:

today is one of those days (a 'Blue Sky' day), that remind me of a time in my life when i would do one of two things: either be thankful that i had scheduled classes so that i was finished at noon and could go play all afternoon, or if my schedule didn't work out that way i would simply have to take a "vern collins" day, ditch everything i had to do and go play...i find myself wondering if "vern collins" days are still allowed...

perhaps after the work is done...then there's the arduous task of trying to choose between some time on the river, much needed training time on the bike (blood, sweat, and gears is only 78 days away),

or a little bit of time out in the woods bouldering with the dogs (pisgah and strider)...

what a glorious day, indeed. and how thankful am i that this is where i live!

reunion month

this has nothing to do with a high school or college reunion that i may have upcoming...actually this would be my 15 year high school and 10 year college year...oh my.

nope, rather, lately i have been in a place where i am being tormented by nostalgia; imprisoned by it; beat up by it...and it is quite a strange place to be. on the one hand it has been kind of enjoyable journeying down, "memory lane," so-to-speak; on the other hand it has been somewhat painful as well. i'm not sure how many of you are familiar with facebook (it is a, "social utility that connects you with the people around you"). it does not carry nearly the sketch factor that myspace does. i started an account initially because it was a great way to stay connected with kids to whom i minister...within the past year, though, it seems that more and more of more of my friends (ie -people closer to my age) are catching on (which is actually great because now i'm not 'that guy' who is old[er] and is 'friends' on facebook with a bunch of high school kids).

all that to say that the past couple of months my life has been one big reunion. it seems like a couple times a week i either find someone (on facebook) that i haven't talked to in years, or get a 'friend request' by someone who fits the same description. i have so enjoyed reconnecting with people that meant so much to me at one point in my life, but have lost touch with over the years. so when i say that i have been shackled by nostalgia, i mean this: all of this reconnecting has brought me to a place of spending a great deal of time thinking about the 'old days' and all that they were. i have thought a great deal about the people who were a part of those times in my life (i would venture to say both high school and college, for i've reconnected with people from both). i have thought about the things i thought i knew then, the things i learned about myself, about others, about jesus-during those times in my life...and here's the kicker; this is what has been so strange about the past couple of weeks-i find that i am STILL learning from these people that have meant so much to me over the years. as i have spent time recently in such a state of reflection, it has given me time to think about who i was at that time in my life, and how i related to the people in my life at that time. and this is where i find i am still learning. reflection can be difficult, but i think the Lord can use it to bring to light things He has maybe wanted us to learn for a long time. this is where i find myself and it's not such a bad place to be...

more on this later.
blessings-v