They wandered all around the house looking for me as hard as they could and every time I could sense them growing a little bit frustrated I would make a noise and they would squeal with excitement and renewed vigor at this new clue. Eventually they found me and celebrated their win by dog piling on their daddy. It was a lot of fun!

It got me thinking, though, about my relationship with God. Sometimes I wish God would just reveal everything he wants me to do with my life and tell me how it is all going to turn out, but that wouldn’t make for a very fun or adventurous life, would it? Instead he gives us little pieces of the puzzle, shows us little glimpses of himself, and makes little noises so we can figure out which direction to go in next.

Jeremiah 29:13 says, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. ¹⁴ I will be found by you,” declares the LORD,” Elsewhere the Bible says, in Matthew 6:33 “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 7:7-8 says, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”

Whether you’re seeking God for a specific situation or just seeking him on a continual and relational basis don’t let yourself get discouraged when you don’t have every answer to every situation. Remember to seek him with all of your heart—and be honest with yourself about this—and listen for those little clues. And don’t forget what often feels like a game of supernatural hide and seek is not something that just ends in this lifetime but ultimately leads us to his immediate presence in Heaven where we will have a spiritual dog pile and celebrate like we never have before!

Thanks to bottomless popcorn and overpriced soda my son had to use the bathroom several times during the movie. Under normal circumstances I would be greatly annoyed at this because, although the kids got in for free, my wife and I paid a lot of money to see this movie–and I want to see ALL of it! However, this movie was all about a little boy growing up and leaving his family, home, and childhood memories behind. I realized how precious every moment is with my kids and how one day they, too, are going to go off to college like Andy.

It helped me understand why my mom cried when I went to college, when I got married, when I moved to Sandpoint, and again last weekend when our family flew home from visiting to begin packing to move to Alaska.

Something else it helped me do was form a better perspective on my time with them. I as I stood there for the millionth time watching Judah pee with his pants clear down at his ankles–something I think would be funny to do as an adult–I realized that there’s going to be a point when he doesn’t need me to go to the bathroom with him. While I may find that nice at the time I need to soak up every moment that my kids need me–even the annoying ones. Yeah, someday I won’t have to break up my kids from fighting, I won’t have to clean up spilled and wasted milk, I won’t have to wipe up sticky hands after a meal, or wipe poopy bottoms and I will definitely relish in their independence and laugh at other parents in that stage. But, there’s a clock ticking on how much time I get with my kids before they’re out on their own living their lives and even the annoying moments are subtracted from that time.

So, today, enjoy your day, dads! It’s all about you! Watch what you want to watch, eat what you want to eat, scratch what you want to scratch, and tell your wife that there are no bedtime headaches allowed on your day! But, remember, someday your kids might not be there to physically spend that day with you, so, enjoy every moment you have with them. Even the ones you’d rather not have.

We loaded up the car and Tamra grabbed my wallet for me while I went back inside to get a sweatshirt. By the time I got back to the car she had the kids buckled in and we were ready to head out. We were really hungry so I was trying to drive a little faster than normal since we live about 12 miles outside of town. We were rocking out to our favorite Planet Shakers album when about 10 miles into the trip I asked Tamra where she had put my wallet.

“Are you kidding with me?” She yelled as I tried to read her facial expression to determine if she was messing with me or not.

“No, I’m serious.”

“I sat it on top of the car when I buckled Judah in!” She yelled in mild disbelief that she had misplaced a crucial item of mine for the second time in two weeks (On her surprise Mother’s Day trip she got 40 minutes into the 8 hour drive before I called and asked if she had seen my keys which were safely nestled in her pocket).

We raced back to the house and fortunately found my wallet lying in the middle of the road in front of our house. After making sure everything was still in it we were back on our way—and even hungrier! We enjoyed our breakfast and decided to go to the Farmer’s Market and see the car show since Judah loves cars.

It was absolutely packed downtown and right as we arrived and began looking for a parking spot Elli vomited all over herself. Tamra and I looked at each other for a split second having a silent conversation about whether we should just go home or not. Then, three seconds later she vomited again which grossed Judah out so much he had to vomit in disgust. Just 10 seconds prior we were a happy family looking for a parking spot ready to enjoy a nice sunny morning at Sandpoint’s biggest annual festivity. Now, we had two kids in the back seat covered in vomit and wailing like sirens surrounded by thousands of people while traffic directors waived us on emphatically. Tamra and I couldn’t help but laugh.

We weren’t sure what to do. We were too far from home to make the drive like that. Even with the windows down the smell was about to make me join in the puke-filled fun. We pulled into a nearby gas station and bought some paper towels and began hosing things down. Since Elli is newly potty trained she had a spare skirt but no shirt; Judah just got it on his shirt and not on his shorts. So, now we had two shirtless kids running around in the grass happy as clowns asking when we were going to the farmer’s market.

We shot each other an “I’m still in if you are” look and agreed that we’d have to hit the nearby thrift store to find a couple of cheap shirts. One dollar later Tamra returned to the car with matching gray shirts and we were on our way again and finally enjoyed a wonderful day full of hot rods and overpriced local goods.

This ended up being one of my favorite family outings and taught me a valuable lesson: sometimes you just have to make up your mind to have a good time, because with kids, you’ll often have everything working against you.

If you live in the Sandpoint area your favorite blogger will be doing stand up comedy as part of the Dessert Theater Missions Fundraiser held at the Sandpoint Assemblies of God this Friday, March 12. The event starts at 7pm and the cost is $5. All proceeds go to fund various missions organizations.

Nick will be performing his brand of comedy sharing his humorous observations on kids and parenthood. Don’t miss it!!

Here’s my son showing some of his moves!