Tony Wheeler dot Net

• I still have some selfishness built in. It is interesting to give yourself entirely to the needs of a ‘helpless’ person. You are on call 24/7, no matter what your agenda is. Thankfully, I have a professor who apparently is okay with late work.
• When Sophia cries, my heart breaks. I can only imagine how God’s heart feels when we are crying. I know it is good for babies to cry some, but man is it tough to let her cry. The third night she was home, I tried letting her cry for 10 minutes to see if she would go back to sleep…that was possibly the longest 10 minutes of my life.
• Mr. Pamper is a rich, rich man.
• The inventor of formula, also a rich man.
• A lot of babies are born with back problems. Apparently I was one of them and so is my daughter. She doesn’t like to be put down on her back. Ha! I’m pretty sure she spends more time in someone’s arms than in her bed.
• I would do absolutely anything for my daughter. Including but not limited to: Staying up all night for feeding/changing/rocking, take care of some of the worst smelling ‘nappys’ that I have ever smelled and doing whatever it takes to know that I love her and that God loves her. Perry Noble shared some things that he was going to tell his daughter, including sharing the gospel with her. I did that one night. That was a life changing experience for me. I hope that it is a life changing experience for her, as well.
• No matter how frustrated I get when she is fussy, I can’t help but smile and get the warm fuzzies when I look at her angelic face.
• Sophia is a restless sleeper and she puts her hands up over her head a lot…we call it the “praise Jesus” pose. It is probably the cutest thing, ever!

Just a few thoughts….Man, I love being a dad. It is kinda like getting married, it is a for better or for worse kinda thing.

Gotta go…doodie calls.

“The Father did not send Jesus to redraw maps, or refine worldviews, or redeem music. He came for people, spiritual beings who sin and hurt and die.”

–Earl Creps in Off-Road Disciplines: Spiritual Adventures of Missional Leaders

I’ve been slowly making my way through this book that was sent to me in order to do a review. It is a heady book. I recommend it so far!

Been a whirlwind week! Our daughter was born this past Friday at 3:24 AM. Mom, baby and Dad are doing well. I knew that I had wacked out sleep patterns, but until you are waking up every couple hours to either feed, change or just snuggle your child, you have no idea what wacked out sleeping is!

Not much to write about right now..just wanted to assure you all that I am still around! Just been busy being a daddy. Honestly, best thing ever! You think you have a concept of God, but watching your child be born, holding her for the first time and finally getting to bring her home…amazing! A glimpse into the heart of God, if you ask me!

I’ll be posting regularly again soon..hang in there!

Pretty stinking funny Southpark style Mac vs. PC commercial.

Check it out here.

• We are 8 days away from Sophie’s due date. I love that girl and can’t wait to meet her. Every time the phone rings, I’m nervous that it is going to be my wife saying, “Let’s Go!” I’m sure that day will come soon enough. God has been gracious in the health of both of my ladies and I am thankful.
• Do you ever feel like you are burning the proverbial candle not from both ends, but right from the middle? I think I’ve got some beeswax in the closet, I may need that to patch me up.
• I started my final final class for school and as much as I thought I could skate through it, I cannot. That is really a bummer! Only four more weeks, though. I’ve made it through this many, don’t think its as big of a deal as I think. Sociology, not as much fun as it sounds.
• Did I mention that I am pumped for our daughter to get here? I can’t wait to hold her in my arms and tell her that I love her.
• We have a few people close to us that are sick right now. Prayers appreciated.
• With the help of a friend, I’m rebuilding the carbs on my bike tomorrow. I can’t wait. I haven’t ridden in a couple of weeks and it is gorgeous outside. Also feel like I need a memorial run for a fallen brother.
• Seeing some friends tomorrow. Excited to hang out and dine together. They moved closer to us, so that is nice!
• Have some serious things brewing in me. Some vision that God is laying on me that I am excited about. Haven’t put any of the details out to anyone yet, not even my wife. That is scary. Be praying for me in these talks that I can convey what is on my heart to others. I’m pretty good at talking, but personal vision is something that is scary to talk about because it is so personal. I’ve got to talk to several different people in my life about this and honestly that freaks me out a bit.
• Pretty cool opportunity for some leadership development came up today. Praying and talking with the wife to see if it is something I need to do.
• Sophie is coming soon!
• Bought a few thousand books this week. That is a lot of work to check, list and store each of them. The life a bookseller! How fun!
• Very emotional time in our lives right now. You always hear about how pregnant women are emotional, but I gotta say that dads get pretty stinkin emotional. I need a hug and a good hot bath.
• T-Minus 8 days and counting!

That is about it for now. Pretty random. Thanks for tuning in. I’ll resume regular postings with some meat one of these days, but it is just crazy in our lives right now.

I got a call yesterday that no one wants to get. One of my friends passed away on Friday after being involved in a motorcycle accident. This was a dude who I met while working down in Orlando and who became like a brother to me. Those who knew him couldn’t help but love him. Bear was a big teddy bear with a story about everything. He loved his family and most often worked 2 or 3 jobs to support them. His favorite holiday was Halloween. It wasn’t for any demonic reasons, but for the show of it all. He loved to be involved in the show of it all. One of his big dreams was to operate a haunted house and also to have a hearse limo. He wanted to build me a motorcycle shop on part of the planned property. I spent a lot of time talking with Bear and hanging out. One of the cool things about Bear is that you always knew where you stood with him. You knew when he hated you and knew when he loved you. In the time that I knew Bear we talked a lot about spirituality. Bear was really open to talking about spiritual matters and I loved talking with him. Honestly, I think he believed in God and Christ just as much as he believed in the Native American spirituality. But sadly, that doesn’t get a person in Heaven.

Bear was born on December 5th, 1973. Those of you who have hung with me long enough, know of my respect for Walt Disney, who shares Bear’s birthday. Bear was a great dreamer, always dreaming and thinking of something. I’m inspired by dreamers. I’m inspired by people willing to work hard for what they want. Thanks, Bear for inspiring me to go out there are make something of myself.

I haven’t cried in a long time, but yesterday I cried a lot. I went in to share with my wife and I couldn’t speak for a bit. She, of course, started crying before I could say anything. She only met Bear once, but was deeply moved and could only say that we need to do something. I’m not sure what that is yet since we don’t know any details of arrangements. I couldn’t help but praying for his family a lot yesterday. Bear was really a huge family man who took care of his family in many ways, so I’d imagine that we will do something for them.

I guess this is one of my ways of mourning. I’ll miss you, Brother Bear.