Planning Our Walkabout

Walkabout:  to travel around to see what you can see. An Australian aboriginal concept

     Wife and I had some great conversations today about the two of us going on a walkabout of sorts…. taking an extended time away from regular activities and  going out to see what we can see.  I decided not to teach the construction classes again this Fall.  They could only offer me part-time, and it was just too much trying to juggle my regular construction projects and teach in the middle of the day.  So that completely frees up our calendar. I’m in the middle of a big remodel project currently, but that should be done some time in September.

    Here is where you come in.  Right now every detail is up in the air.  Not sure whether to head East, West, North or South.  I’m thinking continental United States, but if you live over seas and have a construction project you’d like to hire me for, drop me a note. , I’m not ruling out traveling out of the country.

      Timing is still also completely up in the air.  I’m thinking 5 months to a year,  Winter months are traditionally slower for me  anyway.  We are thinking about traveling in a truck w/ a camper on the back.  I am a self-employed carpenter/general contractor with 35 years experience.  My thought is  to find some projects along the way to pay the bills and stay  with people we know or worse case, in the camper.

    I don’t have a large pot of money I’m drawing from, so this would be one of those pay as we go adventures.

     In 1985 we did something very similar.  I’d decided to go back to school to take a course in marriage and family counseling in  Philadelphia, It was a 1 year course through CCEF.   We did not know a soul in  Philadelphia,so in order for me to go to school,  we flew out for East for a week, rented a car, looking for a part-time job and housing.  It was one of the most amazing weeks in my life.   Things didn’t fall into place until we stepped out of the boat. (remember the story of Peter stepping out of the boat?)

I’m feeling that same stirring 25 years later.

So, if this sounds like something you’d like to talk with us more about , either leave me a comment on the blog or shoot me an e-mail.

As always, thanks for reading my stuff.  DM

My Fork In The Road

     

     ” Integrity demands congruence between what I believe and how I act.” 

   Those words jumped off my computer screen last week.    Karen, a fellow blogger   was talking about  the tension in her heart between what she believes and  her  sometimes conflicting feelings. 

      Little did she know I was in the middle of my own test.

        Religious people are notorious for their  hypocrisy , that’s why her words were such a breath of fresh air.   There are    plenty of examples of hypocrisy in every  world religion.  It’s not just a problem in the Christian community by the way. 

  see this for example     But that’s not really where I wanted to go with this one.  

        A couple of weeks ago, my wife was going to be out-of-town for  a couple of days.  I asked her if she would be willing to be my accountability partner in my use of the Internet.    I’ve written in the past about looking @ inappropriate material on the  Internet here,  and here  so while I’ve been keeping a leash on this one, anyone who struggles with certain life issues will tell you, about the time you say, “I’ll never do that again,”  doesn’t  understand the depths of their own human depravity, hence my desire for accountability.

      Well, @ some point  while I was home alone,

Ever hear of the acronym  (H A L T)?  Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired)

       I rationalized to myself, while I had said, I wouldn’t look @ anything inappropriate, I never said I wouldn’t read something suggestive…so, you guessed it,  I stumbled. 

      If you see nothing wrong with filling your mind with sensual words and pictures then none of this will make any sense to you, and that’s fine.   (that’s  a bunny trail which will have to wait for another day )

     So now what?     I found myself dreading having to look into my wife’s eyes and telling her what I’d done while she was gone.  Sure I could have lied, but I’m a rotten liar and that would have only compounded  the situation.

    Then I thought about how to answer her inquiry in such a way that technically I didn’t lie.  ie. “I didn’t look @ any suggestive images..”  

       I know that sounds lame but I’m not the first person whose tried to pull that one…” but I didn’t inhale”   and “I didn’t have sex with that woman”

    This inner conflict went on for four days.  

       In the end, she did ask me and I told her the truth.   There were so many things  hanging in the balance in a situation like this.

  Trust,

 Integrity,

 A clear conscience,

 A healthy fear of the Lord,

The reluctance to humble myself

Self loathing,

Self respect,

The need for forgiveness

I was miserable those four days. 

 I can’t put a price tag on my  personal  peace of mind.

As always, thanks for checking up on me.   DM