Whirlwind…

As with most people in the past couple of days, I’ve begun to think about the past year. Whirlwind is one word that just seems to fit when summing up this past year. I feel like I have grown both as a person and in my faith. My best friend, Jeremy Chance, tweeted something about me that all of a sudden came up and I feel goes hand-in-hand with 2011. “Shawn: job, home, wife, child on the way.”

Since the beginning of senior year at Purdue I knew that eventually I would have all of these things, but definitely not in one year. I can’t take all the credit for this because I am blessed among men to have the wife that I do. I must also give all praise and glory to God. I worked hard, once I graduated from Purdue, to make the most of my life and my career, but looking back I know it was nothing short of a blessing from God. I mean, I was working a part-time job right out of college and preparing to get married. I had so many insecurities about wanting to be the bread-winner and provide for my wife and myself, but I first needed to humble myself into realizing that I was being provided for by the Lord. A blessing came in the matter of a phone call, asking me if I had an interest in a different job. I took it, and suddenly my income had grown increasingly, but sans benefits.

Now, by this time Darcy and I had already gotten married and now we were in need of benefits because, with all of our friends having babies, we knew that baby fever would soon have a grasp on us. After many prayers for both provision and direction, God provided the answer, and you know the answer if you regularly read my blog or know my story in general. On the same day, May 18, 2011, I was offered a full-time job with benefits AND Darcy discovered she was pregnant. God is faithful, always.

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning. Great is thy faithfulness.”

Now, with the start of 2012 I am just weeks, nay days, away from becoming a dad and Darcy and I will have a family.

I would love to hear your reflections on the past year so please comment.

Until next time, keep on dilly-dallying.

 

P.S. — Follow my wife on her blog It’s Me, Mrs. D.

Offended…

Last night, as Darcy and I were walking through the mall doing some last-minute Christmas shopping, we passed by Abercrombie and there were two models standing in front. Now, just leaving the story there is fine, but I forgot to mention that the male model was shirtless and just standing there. I wasn’t offended at first because I understand that it’s a marketing ploy, and a way to get people into the store, but seriously?! If I had any reason to go into the store, I don’t think that I would because I don’t need to see that, and I should mention that his pants were so low I could almost see his pubic area. Not needed.

Darcy and I continued to walk through the mall and when we came to Hollister it was the same thing. It’s a shame that a store must use models to walk around shirtless in order to get people into the store. I will admit that I used to buy a lot of Hollister and Abercrombie, but now you would probably have to pay me to get me to go into their store while the models are standing half-naked in front of the store.

I would love to hear your opinions so please respond.

Until next time, keep on dilly-dallying.

Adventure…

Let me start off by apologizing for not updating as much as I said that I would, but I do have my reasons. I told myself that I would start writing an entry every week for three months. Well, you see how well I did on that personal goal.

Looking back on the past year I’ve come to the realization that I have been truly blessed. I know that the Lord just wants to bless us, but I never thought that in a year I would be given a new job, a baby, and a house. It’s a bit overwhelming, really.

The baby is now less than 5 weeks away, and I can’t believe that the time from when we first found out to now has gone so quickly. Darcy and I are preparing, to the best of our ability, to be parents. As much as we read and attend classes, there is still something inside me that wonders if I will be a good dad. In one of our classes the teacher said that this is a normal thought, but I just can’t seem to shake it. I mean, 2 years ago I was just graduating from Purdue and didn’t know what my future held. I was staying up late, going to the bars, and hanging out with my friends and fiance (now wife).

It’s strange to even think that soon I will be telling people that I am a dad. Not only that, but I can’t help but wonder how strange it will be for my close friends and family to call me a dad. I feel like it’s a title that you don’t receive until you’re older. That sounds odd. Let me put it in a different way. Growing up most people have a primary male figure in their life and that is their dad. To me, the title ‘Dad’ is affixed to my father, Tony, and can I be able to stand up to the quality of fatherhood that I have, and do that same to my son/daughter? I’m not looking for an answer, but I felt the need to share this thought.

Don’t let this questioning fool you, I am VERY excited to be a dad! No matter what the sex of this baby will be, I am going to love on it like nothing before. It also puts things into perspective into how much the Lord loves us, and desires a relationship with us.

There are so many little things that I am looking forward too. Walking into my work for the first time with my son or daughter,  posting a picture of them as my Facebook profile picture, having a frame on my desk with their picture, and of course just being able to hold our baby and have it looking back at me.

Hopefully, the next time that I make a post it’s not after our baby  has been born, but obviously I can’t make any promises.

Until next time, keep on dilly-dallying.