Super Mom

Spring/Summer has come quickly and with it lots of new business, which is fantastic. The only problem is I can only do so much by myself. Matt is set to join the business when he graduates, but that is still a month away. My first earthly priority has shown no interest in helping me again since her last Longscape outing. So I moved on to the other female in my life, my Mom. Never afraid of any task she stepped up to provide some much needed assistance. Without it, I simply could not have gotten the projects done. Thanks so much for help.

Pine straw has been on the docket a lot lately and so that is what I needed help with. She has now helped on three such jobs covering 1.5 days, one of which was the same that Rebecca helped with last year. On the first day we put out 95 bales between two yards. Today we added another 30 to our resume.

Lot of straw.

Client decided they wanted some shrubs removed before we put down straw.

Finished product.

What a trooper.

Who wouldn't want to help with this project?

And yes it is as steep as it looks.

All tuckered out.

Looking in all the Wrong Places

I'm in the book of Luke right now and came to Chapter 2. I almost skipped over since it was the Christmas story and we're not to Thanksgiving yet. My personal policy is no Christmas 'til after Thanksgiving. But, I figured I could break my policy for the bible. The part that stuck with me that day was Jesus being left at the temple (Luke 2:41-52). I don't remember ever being left anywhere as a kid. The closest thing I can remember is Mom not being able to find me in a department store. We were with some other people, I think my Mom's side of the family, so I'm sure she thought I was with another adult. I remember wandering around having a good time when over the store intercom came something along the lines of "Brett Long your mother is waiting for you at the front of the store." I did as the voice commanded and was reunited with a worried mother.

So I can see how Mary and Joseph could lose Jesus. I'm sure they had other children at this point and they were not perfect like their savior brother. I bet when they were rounding up their kids, Jesus was always last on the roll call since he never caused any trouble and like the bible says they assumed he was with family. When they realized he was missing it took them 3 days to find him. My Mom got concerned when I was missing for a few minutes, so 3 days to Mary must have felt like a lifetime. They would be arrested for child neglect today. Anyways, when they finally found him he gave his famous response  "Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" 


When I've read this in the past I usually think about how spiritual and smart Jesus was even at 12 years old. This time I started to think about when we are looking for Jesus in our lives. So many times I look in the wrong places or make it more difficult than it has to be. Jesus is not hiding from us. He has made it quite clear how to find him. We are the stubborn ones who continue to look on our own. Whether you are seeking for the first time or just trying to learn more, we have all we need in the bible. You may find hints in other places, but to truly know him you must go to his word. When we find Jesus I feel we will ask ourselves the same question: "Why was I looking (in all the wrong places) for Jesus?" The answer is this case is the most obvious, right where he told us he would be.


"You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." - Jeremiah 29:13

Old Times

I'm going to back track a little. We had our first overnight visitors this past weekend. David and Emily came to spend a jam packed weekend with us.

As soon as they got here on Friday, we headed to Samford for a volleyball game. Rebecca had to shoot the final home game of the season. It was David's first volleyball game to see in person. The girls lost unfortunately. We then headed to Jim and Nick's. This has by far been the restaurant we've frequented the most. Partly because its so good, but also because we can walk to it. After stuffing ourselves with cheese biscuits we came back and settled in for the night. We ended up watching our wedding video since it was the only DVD we've unpacked and it was sitting by the TV.

We had to get off to an early start Saturday because Rebecca had to shoot the NCAA Southeast Regional Cross Country Championship at Spain Park. We got Panera Bread for breakfast. While their bagels are good, I don't get the "desiring of them" quite like the females in our group. Anyways, it was a beautiful day so I didn't mind going out there. David and Emily got their long run of the week in while we took pictures of people running. Also we got to see Matt, Mom, and Nathan and Ashley Taylor as they came to watch Matt's girlfriend, Loren, run for MSU. She did very well setting a new personal record and the MSU girls came in 5th overall. The Samford girls came in 10th. It lasted til about noon. After lunch and showers we headed to some furniture stores for the Franci to look at bedroom suits. Our evening activity took place at my parents house to watch MSU vs. Alabama, since they have cable. To make us feel like we were at the tailgate we took the TV on the back patio and watched the game as we sat around the fire. I had a blast combining the two settings. However, I did catch lots of flack for my split allegiance between the two teams. It is something I have dealt with since my freshman year and shows its head every November. I know in my mind it should be an easy decision to ditch the Tide for the Dawgs, since I spent 7 years at MSU and met my wife there, but in my heart the struggle is still there. My loving wife did not let my struggles go unnoticed all weekend. My determination to cheer for the Dawgs did not last long as the game got one sided pretty quick. Another year to work out my issue.

Some are cold than others

Rebecca's usual reaction to football.

We continued to put a dent in our bagel supply then headed to church. David Platt spoke on missions and evangelizing and how we are all called as Christians. Not just the gifted and not at some date in the future, but right now. Afterwards we tried a restaurant other than Jim and Nicks. Our final stop was Red Mango for frozen yogurt.

The fun and busy weekend quickly came to a close. It was like old times having them over for the weekend and I'm sure there will be more to come.