The Gillespie Family

In Loving Rememberance

2011-03-13T20:09:00.000-07:00

It's been two years since my last blog post and so much has happened since then. March 14th, 2011, marks the two year anniversary of my Mother's passing.

With here passing I have come to realize how much I cherish the words she wrote and is the prompting for me to start blogging/journaling again.

Something I heard during this evening's sermon stirred me to start once again writing as I want to leave a recorded account of God's faithfulness in my life and a way to document life's events, because life is truly short.

Sitting at my Mother's bedside, waiting for her to Pass I was praying when the spirit spoke the following words to me, "Our life here on earth truly is a gift, brief as it is, and I thank you Lord for the comfort in knowing that Your Son died on the cross, that we will once again be untied forever."

My Mother was one of those people that drew people to her. She was the center of so many things in our family, a family (like so many) that became geographically dispersed and grew out of touch. Yet, you could always count on everyone reaching out and keeping Mom informed of the latest news and happenings.

Family Reunions and outings were also her speciality. My Mom understood the importance of life and the necessity to live and love everyday, while fostering our relationships. Some of the best times, after becoming an adult and having a family of my own, were the family gatherings back home. My Mom thrived on having her family together and there were some great memories made during these times:

Live is short, a gift from our creator, and how we spend the time given to us is our decision to make. The gift of free will is a gift God has given each of us. Whatever you do in life make sure that you spend that time doing what matters most.

The Magic of Being a Child

2009-02-16T10:08:00.000-08:00

I love watching my children discover the magic of the world around them. This past weekend the El Cajon Library sponsored a local Magician, Michael E. Johnson, for a magic show. Michael was truly a great entertainer, who handle the kids wonderfully, and added a touch of that subtle adult humor to keep us all laughing and entertained. My daughter Katie was selected for one of his routines and I so wish I had my camcorder to capture the amazement on her face when one foam rabbit turned into many.

As adults we understand the concept of mis-direction but the kid in me wanted to ignore and look on in wonder and amazement, just like my daughter. Too often life has a way of desensitizing our view and not letting us see the wonder of God that surrounds us in our everyday life. I hope I can continue an attitude of wonder and amazement, even when life seems to get the best of me.

Living Life Today with an Old World Feel

2009-02-04T20:59:00.000-08:00

This Picture is a current photo of the home I grew up in and the home my parents still live in!

I love going back home to rural Maine. Growing up in a small community was one of the better things that happened to me. Every time I fly back home and make the drive from the airport to my hometown I feel like I am traveling through a portal to another world. My parents home is one of the oldest in the town and was built in the mid 1800s, yes I said the mid 1800s. This makes the home more than 150 years old. Walking into the big old barn it is quickly evident that this barn's timbers were hewn by hand. Looking even closer you can see the notches and wooden pegs that hold the main timbers in place.

This picture was taken with a digital camera in full color, even though it might not look like it. Take a look at the fence posts and you will see the yellow insulators. It just happened to be an extremely overcast, gray, snowy day and with the added look of the weather beaten cedar shingles than you get the illusion of a lack of color.

Here are a couple of facts about my life growing up on this farm:

All wood heat - we cut and split 10-15 cord of firewood every year
My Mom baked everything we ate on a wood stove, yes I said wood.
We grew all our own vegetables.
We raised all of our own livestock, including cows (milked by hand), chickens, pigs, steers, ducks, turkeys, etc...
In the early days running water was a hand pump on the end of a big slate sink in the kitchen. Dad did put a pump in and plumping. The slate sink is still there today.
Spring fed well water that comes out so cool that it forms condensation on the outside of your glass.
All of our equipment for working the land (plows, harrows, mowing machines [for haying] rakes [for raking the hay], tethers, were horse drawn. My Dad modified the tongues to be pulled by a tractor while either me or my brother rode on the equipment to operate it.
My Mom either canned or froze all of the fall harvest, which was harvested by hand.
We had an apple orchard and Mom always made the best apple sauce and a variety of other apple products.
My Mom did all of her wash in ringer/washer, hand rinsing in a washtub, and hang drying.
During the cold months we pee'd in a chamber pot, all other times potty time was in the outhouse. The outhouse is still actively used today - oh, and it is a double seater.
Baths were in a galvanized washtub, placed in front of the cook stove, youngest to oldest, so it seemed I always had 'gray' water by the time it was my turn.
We had our own Mapple Sugar bush and made homemade maple syrup every year.
Rock walls separates the fields.
Homemade pizza night and Mom's McDonald's nights were my favorite.
As a teenager it was an hour drive to the nearest movie theater (A two-plex).
In the fall for fun we would take apples from the orchard and put them across the road and wait for a car to come by to 'splat' them.
Berry picking (blue berries, raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries) was tedious as we only had the wild kind and wild blue berries/strawberries are small.
Ice skating was on a beaver bog, that is still there today.
We never had a neighbor complain about us making too much noise because we never had any neighbors close enough to hear us.

The First School Christmas Play

2008-12-14T22:31:00.000-08:00

That first Christmas play, for some of us (me) I have no memory of it (thank you God), for others it may have been something a bit frightening. I mean think about it. Here is a group of pre-K kids who are all under five, us parents wanting to be PROUD of our little bundles of joys, encourage them to get in front of a horde of Paparzi wanna be, photo taking, video recording, yelling crowd of parents. Who, by the way, are all vying for that Ultimate photo opportunity spot.

So looking at this scene from a child's point of view it is a wonder that they can even get up on the stage, let alone perform. My little one is on the right and her reaction is so funny. As they go up to the mic the two Cats have the line, "But it is dark in here." The first girl says her line, than bolts back to her spot on the stage, to which my daughter starts to say her line than realizes she is alone and turns tail (literally, she loved her Kitty tail) and does not finish her line. Too cute.

Thanksgiving wishes

2008-11-22T22:11:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving is quickly approaching and it is a time to spend with Family, loved ones, and friends. A time that we reach out to our relationships, eat too much food, have a good excuse for being lazy, and hopefully reflect on the many things we are thankful for.

Thankful, according to Wikipedia, is a positive emotion or attitude in acknowledgment of a benefit that one has received. All of us have received something, no matter how small and it is our attitude that defines our outlook on life. Are you thankful?

...always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. - Ephesians 5:20

Is it too soon for Christmas?

2008-11-16T16:01:00.001-08:00

This was fun last year and this year JibJab, along with OfficeMax, have updated and added new dance moves to everyone's favorite Elf Yourself competition. My two little girls get the biggest kick out of seeing their Mom and Dad dance across the stage.

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Of course I needed to have a bit more fun, so decided I would add my parents into a video of their own. So here they are, along with their dog Max, showing off those Christmas disco moves!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Watch out - My teen just got her license

2008-11-12T20:54:00.000-08:00

Oh that wondrous feeling of freedom, the bliss of independence, that life marker we all remember, receiving our drivers license and heading out on our own for the first time. My daughter made a decision to wait until she was 18 to apply for her driver's license (as a parent I had no problem with this). Today her step-mom took her over to the DMV and less than 30 minutes later my daughter was coming back smiling and radiating confidence, or maybe that was fear? We all remember feeling excited, nervous, or more or less just plain scared but man what an adrenalin rush.

I am proud of my daughter, who continues to work hard while going to college and being the best she can be.

Twitter - Connecting to people online

2008-11-09T19:32:00.000-08:00

Twitter - the next social myspace phenomenon? Who knows but one thing I do know that in the few short months I have been using this micro-blogging site I have turned acquaintances into friendships. Meaning that in the past I would see someone and while passing would, say hi, how are you, what's going on...to walking out of our way to engage in meaningful conversation that does not need the usual introductory phrases to get going.

One of our associate pastors and now someone I can call a friend, recently posted on his blog about a vision he had for our Church. His vision is one of a community that shares when together but also continues to grow and share while apart, using a twitter or another such medium.

Recently when responding to a group of fellow servants I wrote this about twitter:

"Now, for the last mention and that is the online community, which seems to be growing at Journey. The example I will use is Tara's husband and we all know him from his Service Hosting, Rod Kaya. Rod was someone that I would see, maybe say hi, he'd say hi back, and than we would go on our way. Through the online world of blogs (RodsProd provides some wonderful insight to the behind the scenes of Journey), Facebook, and Twitter Rod and I discovered that we had much more in common than either would have guessed (Sports, Gadgets, Books, etc...). Now when we see each other we have conversations, not just passing greetings. Also, with something as simple as Twitter when I see my online friends in person, instead of wasting valuable time trying to catch up with their life happenings I can get straight to the point (e.g. how was the trip? You lost to Todd on Fantasy Football. So you like Target Orange Slurpees? You are a Phillies Fan) well, you get the point. "

Want to see what I am doing, just look in the right hand column to see my twitter updates.

Lastly, I want to share this two minute and 25 second video on twitter in plain English, enjoy and I hope to see you on twitter:

The Great Pumpkin

2008-10-23T21:34:00.000-07:00

Okay, I didn't get this idea myself but the below PowerPoint presentation is based on an idea I got from an old family friend Marko. He used to bring these wild, zany, crazy, whacked out (you get the idea) presentations in to our Middle School group and the kids loved them. To be honest, as an adult, I think they are pretty cool too.

So, get a pen, keep score, and see how well you remember the cartoon we all saw as kids, "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown!"

Uploaded on authorSTREAM by chip.gillespie

Walking On Water

2008-10-18T10:10:00.000-07:00

With today's digital imaging this may not be the real thing but I think that if I had just been ejected from a high speed boat I would also be doing my best to get out of the way. Is this a modern day Peter trying his best to walk on water?

Bent Image

2008-10-08T21:15:00.000-07:00

Okay - this is way too cool not to post. The folks at Bent Image Lab use what they call, "Tilt-shift lenses sit off-center of the film (or sensor) plane of your camera to produce photos with extremely limited depth of field, giving the effect of a macro shot of a tiny scene. When the effect is matched with the surreal speed boost of many stills strung together into a time-lapse movie."

This produces an amazing affect on the reality we are seeing before our eyes - ENJOY

Bathtub III from Keith Loutit on Vimeo.

Kassie's First Field Trip

2008-10-01T22:14:00.000-07:00

Kassie is enjoying her first year in school, or pre-school. Today she got to take part in her first field trip and went to a local farm for some fun and pumpkin picking at Victoria Gardens, Lakeside, CA. My family back home in Maine always seem to be amazed that we live in such a large city but have farms so close by.

From Kassie's Field Trip 10.01.2008

For the Grandma's

2008-09-15T20:11:00.000-07:00

This post is for my family and specifically the Grandmas. Katie and Kassie have been working hard learning their Sunday school lessons and their Sunday school songs and wanted to perform (in their best dress) for Grammie (Jenny's Mom) and Nin (Chip's Mom). They even insisted on 'formal' wear for the performance. I'm not sure if they would be America's Got Talent winners but in my show these two little girls are the Star Attraction!

10 Classic Film Comedies for a Well-Rounded Geek

2008-09-13T15:35:00.000-07:00

They just do not make them like they used to. This is a listing of some of the funniest movies of all time and the best part about these movies? You can watch them with your kids, have some laughs at some of the best slapstick comedy on the planet, and not have to worry about the rating.

Of the ten Classic Film Comedies listed I have seen five and will be checking out the others the next time I am at the video store.

World Vision and Walk Their Walk

2008-09-06T22:01:00.001-07:00

This is the second year Jenny and I have participated in a very worth-while cause called Walk Their Walk. This effort was started by someone in our local Church, who after spending twelve days in rural Zambia, witnessed first hand the beauty and hope of children living in dire circumstances.

The first annual Walk Their Walk was held on Saturday, September 29, 2007 at Lake Murray Regional Park in La Mesa, California. With nearly 200 walkers and volunteers present walktheirwalk successfully raised $27,215.25! The money raised was directed to help build Siantete Basic School in Twachiyanda in Zambia. Please view photos of construction here.

If you would like to provide a donation to the efforts for improving the lives of children, living in the poverty stricken country of Zambia you may visit the team's online giving page at: http://www.firstgiving.com/jennifergillespie

The Procrastination Flow Chart

2008-09-05T15:12:00.000-07:00

Okay - have you been looking for the ultimate decision matrix, flow chart, what am I going to do with all of this time on my hands, guide? Look no further. Below you will find a graphic representation of years of research into complex algorithms and scientific studies to determine the ULTIMATE process flow for the bewildered and confused. Do not take this lightly, this graphic is a geometric representation of a step-by-step solution paradigm with flow lines for the purpose of leading you, blah, blah, blah. I think I'll just finish this post later....

The Little Drummer Girl

2008-09-03T19:05:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we took a family trip north to Bakersfield to visit family and friends. Bakersfield is the city my wife used to call home, before moving to San Diego, and both her brother and sister still live there. It is always nice to visit family and see friends and all enjoyed are last holiday weekend of the summer.

As you can see, Katie was excited to play Uncle Jesse's drums and what a drum set it is!

First Week Of School

2008-08-28T16:04:00.000-07:00

Wow - Katie is getting to be such a big girl and this week is one of those life marking milestone weeks, she started her first year of school. She was so excited on her first day and continues to look forward to going to school everyday (yes, I know it has only been four days). Our hope now is the excitement of learning and being in school stays with her but we know too well that, like all things new, the excitement tends to fade overtime.

Today, Mom picked Katie up from school and she was bubbling over and could not wait to go to school tomorrow (Friday). Why? Her teacher (Mrs. Dziaks, pronounce Jucks, like trucks but with a J) said that she would have homework to do over the weekend! This will be Katie's first official homework assignment and Jenny was wishing she could have recorded the conversation to play back a few years down the road when Katie realizes that having homework over a holiday weekend might not seem 'fun'.

Camping - A Dad's Perspective

2008-08-23T15:38:00.000-07:00

Camping and the great outdoors, I do not know what the draw is but kids sure seem to love camping. Maybe its a chance to just goof off all day long, go hiking, cooking out, smores, or the many other things that camping offers.

From a Dad's perspective (and I am always trying to change this) when I think camping my thoughts turn to packing, loading the car, setting up the camp, erecting a tent, and the list goes on. I must admit there were several times (like when we did not have metal ground stakes for the tent) that I became very, what's the word? frustrated. I thank God for such a patient and understanding wife, who kindly reminded me in a moment of frustration, "Look at the girls and how much fun they are having." That little reminder was all I needed to put things into perspective and to realize that: 1) do not sweat the small things, and everything is small; 2) We are camping in the city, WalMart is only 10 minutes away (my wife went and got the extra things we needed); 3) Having several days of pure family time is well worth the extra effort!

We had a great spot, right on the lake, and everyone had a fabulous time.

As you can see by the pictures Katie was proud of her snail shell she found by the lake shore and of course my youngest is the 'ham' in the family, as noted by the unprompted poses in each of these photos.

Elevator Phsycology

2008-08-16T12:14:00.000-07:00

It is amazing, yet predictable, how influenced we are buy those around us, which makes for a very good reason to be sure you know the company you are keeping! We seem to take on the habits and characteristics of those we are most close too and that is why we must carefully and purposefully choose the people we are friends with. There is strength in numbers and the bonds formed in close friendships will keep us united during the storms of life.

Of course we all know the old saying, "You cannot pick your family, you can pick your friends, just do not pick your friends nose!"

1 Corinthians 15:33 (NKJV) says, "Do not be deceived: Evil company corrupts good habits."

The below video, from the classic show Candid Camera, truly emphasizes the undo influence felt by even a stranger.

The Tooth Fairy is coming to the Gillespie's

2008-08-15T10:04:00.001-07:00

Katie's First Lost Tooth

We knew they day would be coming soon and today was the day! Katie has had a loose tooth for the past couple of days and today it came out, she is so proud of herself. Now the ongoing discussion is, "How much money does the tooth fairy bring for that first lost tooth?" We want it to be a bit special but at the same time we do not want to set a precedent that would be expected on subsequent teeth.

We asked Katie how much she thought it should be and her response, "How about 30 bucks!" Wow, I know today's dollar is not worth what it used to be, inflation is on the rise, and we are in a recession but 30 bucks?

Kassie's (my three year old) response to her sister's lost tooth, "Holy Cow!" Very appropriate.

My wife posed this question to her Mommy friends and got all sorts of answers back, ranging from conservative to way out there.

We are going to have to talk this one over with the tooth fairy and see if we can come to some fair terms but I am thinking a nice crisp five dollar bill should work.

Hilarious Signage

2008-08-10T22:30:00.000-07:00

I know, we have all seen a gazillion pictures with whacked out signs and these signs are not really any different but these are just as whacky and even make you wonder, "Do people who create these signs have any common sense?"

Still, I get a chuckle out of reading these signs and I'm sure a few of these are 'photo chopped' but you still have to give kudos for creativity.

Enjoy.....http://tinyurl.com/6qbw4b

Craig Groeschel: Lifechurch and IT!

2008-08-08T21:23:00.000-07:00

If you haven't heard about IT than you just have to check out the notes that MaxiMeyer put up on his blog.

Craig Groeschel: From Life Church TV presented at the Leadership Summit. Our Church, Journey Community Church, was a host site and Jenny attended the two day conference. Craig presented concepts from his new book IT. The basis behind this is How leaders can get IT and keep IT.

What is IT? Craig doesn't know but he explains how you can walk into certain Churches, or places of worship, and something seems just a little bit different...the seem to have "IT" - you just know that God is present.

So Check out Mark Meyer's blog to get some good notes about IT - well worth the read and who know's, maybe IT is right around the corner for you.

The Idiot Test

2008-08-03T21:50:00.000-07:00

Okay - this is one of those tests that just make you want to persevere through. I mean, really, who wants to be considered an idiot? We know that we are all the smartest, most intelligent people on the face of this planet and this web site is just the test you need to prove it.

Be warned, one mistake and you will have to start all over again. I only need the help of my very intelligent wife to make it all the way through, after it became obvious (I think the laughing and under-my-breath griping may have been a hint) that I needed help to make it through!

Click on the link to play: THE IDIOT TEST

Have You Ever Googled Yourself?

2008-08-02T09:55:00.001-07:00

Okay - yes I have Googled myself just to see what comes up and since breaking into the blog sphere (which is hosted by Google), Facebook, and now Twitter I have seen the number of hits directly related to me increase a lot.

Obviously (being a guy) I like technology and finding out about the latest gadgets and gizmos. Speaking of the latest, if you haven't heard about Slydial, check it out.

My wife was shopping with a friend yesterday and was at the outlet stores when they wandered into the Big Dog store and she saw this t-shirt and she just had to get it for me.

So, if you haven't Googled yourself try it once, you may like it!