My wife wanted to get the bathrooms cleaned and had already done one this afternoon. She was obviously tired and didn’t want to even think about having to do the other one tomorrow, so I offered to do it since I was probably going to be up later tonight anyways. I knew she was tired when she actually agreed to let me clean – which is something she doesn’t normally do.

I was excited as one could be about cleaning a bathroom, but it was a way I could really serve my wife, and so I was looking forward to helping her out in a very tangible way. My heart really was in the right place.

In the bathroom, everything went great. I had gotten the sink, the tub and even the toilet. All of them cleaned – almost sparkling! (“almost” being used in a generous manner there…but even so, very nicely cleaned) Then I went to clean the big bathroom window. I had been given a bottle of Windex and a couple of paper towels for this task. Simple enough, right? Spray on, wipe off. Circular motions and try not to leave streaks.

But when I get to the right side of the mirror, I almost hit something sticking off the wall right next to the mirror – my wife’s Scentsy aromatic warmer thingy. Well, it was in my way – I couldn’t clean the entire window with it there. So I did what any well-meaning husband would do: I pulled it out of the socket to clean behind it.

A couple of problems here, really. One, my wife had just changed the wax in the thing, so it was fresh and full. Full of hot wax, that is. Two, it had been turned on for several hours. Thusly the warming section, that would be the largest part of it that is the easiest to hold on to, was very, very hot.

So I pop it out. Really. It sticks in the socket really well, so I had to give it a little tug. Wax splashed all over my hand, the counter and even then some on the glass. Wonderful. Then I realized that the design of the thing made it rather top heavy and so you needed to hold it by the larger warming section, which was too hot to hold. So I managed to set it carefully in the sink without breaking it. Which resulted in the last of the wax spilling out into the sink.

Mercifully, the wax itself was not too hot and I didn’t burn my hands and it dried really quickly, which made it decently easy to get off my hands. Then, in cleaning the glass again I discovered that Windex, for whatever reason, actually did a reasonable job loosening up the wax to get it off the glass. And for kicks I tried it on the counter section as well, and it worked pretty well there as well.

It took a bit, but the bathroom is cleaned, again, now. With everything in it’s place. I won’t go into the details surrounding the brownish color of the wax, which was some sort of chocolate or fudge scent, but if you’re ever in our bathroom and find a suspiciously colored spot on the counter, know that 1) it’s not poop, and 2) it has nothing to do with my wife’s ability to maintain our house, but everything to do with the capabililty of her husband to help her with cleaning that home.

Gizmodo’s article (linked above) explores how Bezos seems to be freakishly smart. The writer almost sounds in awe of him.

As a younger man, I’m pretty sure my first reaction to reading such an article would have been, “Hey, I can be that smart! I can be that visionary!” My reaction today, though, was a much more relieved, “Thank God he is that smart – I definitely wouldn’t want to be in his shoes.” Why, you might ask?

I don’t need to be the smartest. In fact, getting a few more years under my belt has helped me understand that, really, I’m not the smartest guy. I’m smarter than many, more clever than others, but there are plenty of guys out there that can put me to shame. So what’s my problem, did I lose my ambition? Did I lose my drive to be the best?

No, I had a realization of a different sorts. The reality of it had been working through my soul for about five years now, but it wasn’t until the last year that I started picking up on it in my conscious mind. The realization? Simply this: God isn’t using me for my smarts or my genius, he’s using me and working in and through me because of my surrender to him.

I was reading my kids a story from “The Jesus Storybook Bible” tonight and I love this line in it:

Because the people God uses don’t have to know a lot of things, or have a lot of things – they just have to need him a lot. (p. 210)

And that’s where I am now. It’s taken me almost thirty years to even begin to grasp how much I need God. How much I need Christ. Therein lies my success as a man. And therein lies the seed of greatness. Not a greatness that will get me written up in an article that thousands/millions will read. Greatness that will win me esteem from a single One. I’m striving for seven words that will have no purpose if a man utters them, but will affirm my entire purpose if they are said by God, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”

If I can allow my need for Christ to permeate all that I am, then whatever I do, wherever God calls me, I will be able to live the Gospel and my life will be on that points to God and fails to draw attention to myself.

We decided to skip naps today and completely wear out the boys by whipping out the pool today. Mommy and Daddy had plenty of fun with the new camera as they went buck wild with the water. Good times were had all around! Check out the set of pictures I put together on Flickr!

In the meantime, Terra and I just acquired a new Camera – a Canon EOS REBEL T1i (that’s fancy speak for fancy DSLR). Yes we love it. here’s a sample pic:

he's not mischevious at all....

And this is the link to the first photo in my Flickr photostream with the new camera. Yeah, we’re taking a bunch more pictures now and I’m thinking I might have to upgrade my Flickr account if I’m going to keep using it like i have been…

The weather was really nice today so I took the boys out to Joyner Park. I’m
not really sure why they love playing by the wall so much, lol.

Not only are they snazzy looking shades….they’re safety glasses as well! I
love it when they get rid of old stuff at work….

Fixed peanut-butter and jelly tacos for the boys for lunch, and then topped
it off with something new for the boys: ritz crackers with american cheese
toasted on top. Benjamin finished Keaton’s