Author: Todd Carlson

Since my last update, I knocked out a few more projects at home.  Working on projects around the house, yard, and garage has always been a form of relaxation for me.  There’s something about puttering around on a project with my hands that frees my mind.  However, thank goodness I’m not returning to work as a hand model as these projects left my hands full of nicks, scratches, and spots that won’t come clean!

Today I brought a piece of metal garden art over to Sonny Jones Welding to have a few pieces tacked back on.  The owner, Sonny, has spent the past 52 years providing welding services to the people of the Big Country.  He offered me an orange and some grapes that he’d picked up on the way to the shop.  He was eager to show me around his shop and show me a couple of projects he was working on.  I obliged.  He seemed a bit lonely as he mentioned his son who had been killed.  We had a nice visit.  He struck me as a person with a kind soul.  As a bonus, the place smelled EXACTLY like my grandfather’s shop that I used to hang out in as a child– a fresh bouquet of oil, grease and rusty iron with a hint of smokey exhaust to boot.  Loved it!

Moments like this are possible because we corporately and personally trust the Lord to provide during our sabbaticals.  Had it been a typical week, I probably would have been too rushed to take the time to listen and visit.  That would have been a shame.

Previously I shared how this time has positively impacted my relationship with my youngest son, Brendan.  Here’s more evidence:  I asked him to help me clean the garage this weekend– a two day, messy project– and he said, “Sure! Sounds like fun!”  My sabbatical almost ended right there with a heart attack.

On Friday, Kirsten and I attended the last Wylie boys basketball game of the season.  Kirsten had been volunteering all season by helping the moms make motivational posters for the locker room.  It’s a nice outlet for her creative needs.  On Saturday, we, plus Brendan, had dinner at Ryan and Shelly’s house.  We had a super enjoyable visit.  Yesterday, I ran some used sporting equipment over to AYSA, and some unused building materials over to Habitat for Humanity.  (Almost bought an used loom for my wife while I was there… but the box of twisted wires and unlabeled parts next to the loom scared me off.)

One of the best parts of both of my sabbatical experiences was watching the expression on peoples’ faces when they ask about my day and I explain how I’m on a 30 day sabbatical provided by my employer.  Never had a dull conversation after opening that door– whether it be with the guy who made a sandwich for me at Jimmy John’s, or the gal who sold two Hardin-Simmons NCAA Div. III play off tickets to me, or the lady who cut my hair at SportClips.  Priceless!

On one hand, I’m really ready to come back to work!  It was a bit challenging hitting the pause button on a couple of projects.  But I made it!  And frankly, I miss being around the people at the office!  This time of reflection has been great.  I felt like I was perpetually behind over the past few years and it was tough to find the time and energy to think and process.  I’m hopeful I’ll be able to continue that feeling until at least Friday!

On the other hand, it’s been a wonderful 3o days!  My devotional time was meaningful.  My relationship building time with my family was awesome.  A laundry list of household projects got knocked out.  I feel fit and rested.  And a big “Thank You” to all who took care of things while I was out!

Going to Lowe’s!  Ha!

Those who have been or are currently on Sabbatical, will tell you that your idea of what your Sabbatical will be and what your Sabbatical ends up to be can be quite different!

My Sabbatical has been no exception!  I really thought it would be all about resting and reflecting.  Something quite amazing and surprising has happened.  But first, here’s some background:  My youngest son Brendan is living with us while attending Cisco College this winter.  A year+ ago, when he went off to Hardin Simmons, he just wasn’t quite ready.  When he hit a few bumps in the road, he wanted to try a different path.  He asked us to stand with him as he tried to become a professional video gamer.  He moved back home.  and worked diligently for several months trying to pursue that path.  He then came face to face with reality: being in the top 1% of anything is really hard!

During his gaming stint, he was playing 12+hours per day.  Most of those hours were in the evening and at night.  With my work schedule, we rarely got a chance to connect.  During my Sabbatical, this has all changed.  I’ve spent more quality time with Brendan this month than I have in the previous few years!  It took me a long time to figure out how to really connect with him.  Brendan loves to work with his hands.  He loves to build and fix.  He loves to talk politics.  And he is now learning to stay in shape physically.  But he really loves to work with his hands.

So during Sabbatical, we’ve done the following together:

• Changed the oil and filter in his car (He asked me to teach him how.  He did all the work.)
• Worked on the swing set service project over a few days
• Finished painting our fence
• Played basketball at Beltway in the mornings
• Discussed his progress in school and his plans for next year
• Ventured together with my wife on a new low sugar diet plan
• Drove to Dallas to pick up a new free weight set
• And today, we’re going to build a squat rack/lifting station together.  (Yes.  This means a trip to Lowe’s!)

It’s been amazing watching his confidence grow as he learns new skills and realizes what he’s good at.  It’s priceless to watch genuine internal pride show in the eyes of a son when a father says, “You do this.  You got this.” while building something.

Coincidentally, on the treadmill on Sunday I was listening to the Success Magazine podcast.  The lady being interviewed was talking about how to interrupt cycles of self doubt and anxiety and replace these with self confidence.  She said having strong self confidence is not a personality attribute; it’s a skill, a habit of thinking, that is learned by DOING things successfully.  It’s not something that is generated by thoughts or our mindset.  It’s something that’s generated by our ACTIONS.  Watching Brendan grow and become a self confident young man this year testifies to wisdom of her teachings.

In my devotional today, I read Peter’s words to the early church.  He wrote: “you, also like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house.” — a fitting scripture to sign off with this morning, don’t you agree?

I finally dove headfirst into my devotional, Walk the Talk.  I read 1 Peter through completely twice, and then I read though it again using the Message interpretation just to give me a different viewpoint.  Going through all of 1 Peter reminded me how much I enjoy reading the letters to the Christian community authored by Peter, Paul, James, John and others.  These letters are great reminders how important it is to provide encouragement to others who are facing difficulty.

And reading 1 Peter was a great reminder of the gratitude we all owe early Christians for their dedication to keeping Jesus’ message alive during the very difficult times of the early church.  Simply being a Christian was life risking decision.   We, as Americans, tend to view the words “life risking” from a spiritual or maybe even metaphorical viewpoint.  Following Jesus means ending our life and replacing it with a new one.  But in the early Church, following Christ meant you put your literal life on the line.  Becoming a follower of Christ was a whole ‘nother level of commitment!

The first section of the study, the focus is on verse 13-15. “Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.  As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.  But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do.”   Now there’s a standard to live up to– Just be as holy as God Almighty himself.  Never sinning!  Limiting my thinking to only spiritual things!

Are you encouraged or discouraged by these words?

Initially, I was discouraged– an impossible standard for me to meet.  But then the study defined holiness in a way that gave me hope and encouragement:  Living a holy life “is being passionately in love with Christ which colors the way I think and act.”  Definitely doable!

Todd

During my send-off Ray asked me what I’d be doing during my Sabbatical.   I said I’d be in search of peace and quiet!  A strong sign that I found it came on Friday when I had two naps!  Certainly a success to celebrate! (And repeat.)

It took me a bit longer than I thought to hit my Sabbatical stride.  I haven’t slept in much so far.  As a natural early riser, that’s always been a challenge.  Since I’m playing basketball on Tuesday and Thursday at 6:00 a.m., I’m getting up at 5:30 on those days.

Physically, I’m feeling great!  I’m working out steadily on top of the basketball, and we switched up our meal plan at home.  We’ve cut all processed sugar and most carbs since my Sabbatical started.  Once we got through a week without sugar high/low cycles, it’s been good.  We’ve tried a bunch of new recipes and all but a couple have been pretty good.

There’s been a lot of basketball in my life lately.  It’s a game I’ve always enjoyed playing and watching.  On Saturday, I watched the Minnesota Golden Gophers beat up on Rutgers.  The Gophers look to be headed to the NCAA tournament barring some calamity.  On Sunday, I watched the Timberwolves destroy the Bulls on NBA.com.  They’ve got an outside shot at making the NBA playoffs.  Tonight we’re headed to Graham to watch the Lady Bulldogs in the playoffs, and Tuesday we’ll catch Wylie boys v. Big Spring.

For my devotional, I’m doing a study of 1 Peter.  It’s called “Walk the Talk.”  I’ve been a little less diligent that I should be with it.  (Yes, I also get the irony in this statement.)  There’s a part of me that’s whining like a tired 6 year old: “But Daddy, I don’t WANT to walk the talk!!  A sure sign I better keep reading…

I’ll post again in a few days!

Todd

As I mentioned previously, my service project has been helping co-workers with some things around the house that they’re not able to do for themselves.  Today marked the completion of one such project.  With the help of my son, Brendan we finished a swing set for 3 little boys.

If you’ve ever assembled one of these, you know the feeling of satisfaction (or relief) upon completion.  There were missing parts, extra parts, and instructions that had confusing uses for parts.  We also learned Lowe’s doesn’t carry parts that are measured in the standard system for threads and diameters, and in millimeters for lengths.  Who in their right mind would combine standard and metric on the same bolt?  Pick one, please.

About 60% of our time was spent staring at the instructions trying to make sense of them.  We debated strategy, employed some red-neck engineering, and chipped away at the project until wrapping about 11:15 today.  Problem solving at it’s best!

Addison and I really enjoyed helping our co-workers.  We’re grateful that they allowed us to help.  What we’re doing isn’t new to DIG.  Over the years, I’ve seen of DIG’s people pitch in and help–many times.  We’re family.  We take care of each other.  That’s what we do.

Addison and I would like to continue helping our co-workers.  If you have a project around the house that you need help with, please let us know.  Or if you prefer, you can let Ray know and he’ll gather some basic information from you and connect you with the right people.  If it’s something we can tackle, we’ll rally the troops, and git ‘er done!

I think the people benefiting the most from my sabbatical are owners of Lowe’s stock!  So far, it’s been atleast 2 trips per day to Lowe’s.  And Since I go back to work on March 1, I won’t be visiting there as frequently… a sure negative impact to their bottom line.

Since my last post, I’ve felt a little bit like Tigger–hopping around all over the place.  Addison and I have knocked out a few more “handyman” projects.  On Tuesday, we gave a much needed haircut to some shrubs for a co-worker.  And I spend a bunch of time in my garage staining and finishing a shelf destined for another co-worker’s home.  On Wednesday, Addison and I painted a garage door for a lady who tragically lost her husband in December.  Today I’ll be replacing a broken toilet valve and installing the aforementioned shelf at a co-worker’s home.  Hopefully on Saturday, my son Brendan and I will be tackling a swing set.  Next week will bring a return trip to help the recently widowed woman with a little more painting and a few other things.  I see several more trips to Lowe’s in my immediate future!

I’ve always enjoyed working with my hands.  There’s nothing like the feeling of seeing something broken restored.  Or seeing the before/after of a household project.  The results are so tangible.  I like to think working with my hands is a way that I honor my father and my mother’s father.  My dad was a diesel mechanic who later worked for a natural gas pipeline company as a repairman.  He was an accomplished “do-it-yourselfer”.  He could finish a basement, do a valve job on a car, or shingle a roof.  My grandfather was a farmer.  I have vivid childhood memories of his garage.   50+ years of farming meant he had accumulated a treasure trove of nuts, bolts, parts, and metal objects of all shapes and sizes that were housed in old coffee cans or strewn about on an old, oil soaked workbench.  His farm was quite a distance to the nearest repair shop, so he learned to fix just about anything.

On the fitness side, things are moving nicely–mainly by playing basketball on Tuesday and Thursday morning at Beltway.  I’m glad Kris joined in because those twenty-somethings we’re playing with are darn hard to keep up with!  And Jeff Stewart convinced me to do Zumba on Tuesdays at 5:30.   If you want some entertainment while working up a nice sweat, just come watch me try to Zumba.  Jeff can comment on his own efforts.  Maybe I’ll be able to coordinate my hand and foot movements by the end of the month.  Maybe.

Next week, the service projects should be pretty much wrapped up.  So I’ll focus on my devotional and catch up on some reading.

For those Tigger fans out there, TTFN!

One word describes Day One so far.  Fidgety.  30 days in front of me, and I’m fidgety.  Nervous. Antsy. Uneasy. Anxious.  Agitated.  I shouldn’t have looked up the word in the dictionary!  Oh, well…

As much as I’m looking forward to this time of peace, quiet, reflection, service, and rest, I think it’s a bit natural to be fidgety right now as I’m confronted with 30 days of planned silence.  Silence doesn’t come naturally to me.  (Not exactly a shocker.)

As I pause life for a moment to intentionally listen, what will I hear?  What words will be spoken to me?  What impressions will be laid upon me?

It’s the unknown that makes me fidgety.  And on Day One, has plenty of unknown and plenty of fidgety.

(Oh, that’s right!  I signed up for this!)