Wednesday, September 17, 2014

My Bucket List

I first wrote My Bucket List about three years ago and have made it a tradition to re-post it each year since. This year My Bucket List has taken on a new meaning for me...I considered making changes to the story but decided against it other than some minor updates. For the first time in my life I have had to consider the true meaning of a Bucket List. As I read through the original draft I realized that little has changed...most importantly the end. I hope you enjoy this short journey through my life.


I turned 57 years old today. I had a thought early this morning, what if this is the last birthday I will ever have? What if 58 is just a number divisible by 2?

So throughout the day I pondered over my Bucket List. There wasn’t much pondering, you see I have never had a Bucket List. So the task last year on my 57th birthday, was to create my own Bucket List.

I scratched my head and put teeth marks in the proverbial pencil as I mused over what would be number 1 on my list. Minutes then hours passed with nothing rising to the surface. So I changed strategies, I thought about the things that I have already accomplished or have been blessed with, things that may have been on a bucket list if I hadn’t already experienced them.   

Family always comes first to mind. I was born into the most incredible family 57 years ago. I still see them every week, we still talk and hug, and we laugh and cry together. We grow old together.

I have lived in the Great Northwest, the South Pacific, the east coast and the great state of Texas. I have fished for rainbows in the Russian River and went snorkeling along the Coral Reef.

I have served my country and been called a U.S. Marine.

I went to school with Mark Twain and Thomas Edison and tasted college for a short while. I have read Tolstoy, Dickens, Stephen King and the Bible.

I have eaten at the Ritz Carlton and Taco Bell, both on the same day.

I have had money in the bank and I have sold Coke bottles so I could buy a pack of smokes.

I have been high and I have been so low that all I could see was the bottom.

I have run marathons.  I have crawled across the cold floor on hands and knees, unable to stand because of pain.

I have gone from a 34 waist to a 38 waist and back to a 34 waist. (it is okay to applaud here)

My favorite teams have won the Super Bowl, and the Stanley Cup. I have watched a perfect game and caught a foul ball.

I have listened to Vivaldi, Miles Davis and ZZ Top, all in the same afternoon.

I have tasted Opus One in Napa Valley and drank a Lone Star beer with Willie Nelson while sitting in the Recovery Room.

I have seen every episode of Seinfeld at least three times.

I have fallen in love and out of love. I have made love on a beach and on a mountain top.

I have had two wives, two ex-wives and six children. (Maximized the limit on both of these!)

I was with four of my children when they took their first breath.

I was with my father when he took his last.

I have done everything I want to do... almost. At the end of the day my Bucket List only had one thing written on it, you.
I believe if you are reading these words then you and I have at least met somewhere along the way. And I don’t know if I have ever told you the story about Jesus. You see, He is the reason I made it to 57, I know without Him I never would have.

So, on my Bucket List I wrote just one thing,
1)      Tell someone about Jesus.

I think that someone is you, so here goes-
God loves you so much, and has since the very beginning of time. God can see everything from the beginning to the end; everything, every day and everybody in between. God knew that we would never love Him as He loved us, and He knew that would mean separation forever and ever. So God sent His Son down from the heavens, down to earth. We called Him Jesus, teacher, King and Messiah. 
And then we killed Him. 

And when He died He took all of your sin and all of my sin;  He paid the price for them. He paid the price of admission to an eternity with God. 

He did it for you and me. 

And then He said all you have to do is believe, He would do the rest.

If you were the only one in the entire world, He still would have died for you.
Do you believe?
Thanks for listening. 
Thanks for helping me finish my Bucket List.

Random Thoughts

Hold My Hand

If you were to ask any of my children what colloquial truisms they recall their father uttering as they passed from toddler to young ad...