Since the title is a trinity of sorts, so will be the blog…a trinity of bullets

• I got an email the other day from the daughter of a couple we hiked the AT with who is a student @ the University of Florida. They are fairly well connected in the “Gator Nation” and she even has a few classes with some of the recently crowned National Champions. I think I may have mentioned this little fact in the past, but there have been 3 Heisman Trophy winners from Florida since the award has been given and all 3 have been quarterbacks: Steve Spurrier, Danny Wuerfful, and Tim Tebow. The father of the daughter we hiked the Trail with had a wild idea a few years ago to get some official NCAA footballs, have Steve and Danny sign them, and use them as a fundraiser for his son’s Boy Scout troop. After the fundraiser, he had several footballs left with those two signatures and has been holding on to them for the right opportunity. Well, now that Tebow is also a trophy winner, and arguably the most famous person in Florida, the time seemed right to try to pull off something incredible. As such, he approached me with the idea of having Tim sign the other footballs and finding some worthy causes to donate any money that came in by getting rid of said footballs. The causes we landed on were Tim Tebow’s dad’s ministry, Danny Wuerffel’s ministry, and Rainbow Christian Camp! So, the above mentioned email was to inform me that she met with Tim Tebow, had him sign the footballs, and gave him a copy of our two brochures: The Trailblazer and our personal brochure. So (for the second time in as many sentences), Heisman Trophy winner, national champion, and stand-up citizen Tim Tebow, now knows all about our work and ministry here at camp and we were even told he thought it all looked pretty incredible! Who knows, might be an open door for some cool ministry partnerships in the future.
• Melissa and I made a trip to Kokomo on Friday to pick up some dog food, look for some maternity clothes (for her, not me) and just spend some time together on my day off. Since we came up empty at most places we looked, we decided to stop by the ole Goodwill and check out the selection. After a half hour of coming up with nothing, except a couple books for $1.99 apiece, we were in line to check out, I heard a little lady come in and ask the cashier in a whisper if there was a maternity section, and it dawned on us we hadn’t even thought to ask. So, we jumped out of line, looked for some baby mama clothes (found some shirts with tags still on them from Target, where we had just looked and come up empty), and then got sucked in to the t-shirt aisle. After 5 minutes, I almost resolved never to buy another new t-shirt again, as you find the coolest stuff @ Goodwill. The holy grail for the day was an Irish green shirt for Mel that said “Your mom thinks I’m cool.” I stood there, almost breathless, and marveled at the creative genius that went into creating such a beautiful piece of art. I walked out with a red one showing a a little cartoon guy flexing that said “Welcome to the Gun Show.” Not quite as impressive as a “your mom” joke, but worthy of a mention nonetheless. If you’ve got a good Goodwill purchase story, let us know what you found.
• Friday was my monthly Sabbatical day (if you’re not sure what that means, it is basically a day each month set aside for nothing but growing closer to and developing a relationship with Christ, if you’re into that sorta thing), and I spent the bulk of the time reading, studying, and watching life go buy at the nearby Christian bookstore/coffeehouse. Amidst the flurry of people stopping by for a sandwich or cup of soup, I couldn’t help but overhear bits and pieces of a conversation between 3 sharply dressed rotund ladies a few tables away from my black leather sofa in the corner. The bits and pieces I’ll mention here related to a rather racist text message they all found quite humorous (a picture of our president with the Jefferson’s theme song playing in the background) and how disgraceful it was for smokers to go outside of a church and smoke, all while weaving parts of their daily lives working at the area Christian college into the dialogue. The longer I sat there, the more uncomfortable I became. There I was, sitting in what was supposed to be a “churchy” environment, surrounded by followers of a Savior who died for all mankind, even people who smoke and have different colored skin, and these ladies were brazen enough in their conversation they didn’t even tone down their volume. I wanted to do something, say something, throw something, just something. But, since I knew I wouldn’t have had anything nicer to say to them than they had for others, I held my tongue, read my book about caring for “the least of these” and prayed people never lump me into the same category as those ladies.  I could go on and on about this type of thing, but I’m afraid I’d say something I regret, so I’ll end with this: If you ever read or hear me say something that brings shame to the name of Christ, please call me on it. I don’t ever want to be that guy in the coffee shop bringing dishonor to Christ and giving people something to blog about. Am I the only one bothered by stuff like this? What do you think about all of it? And if you’re reading this and aren’t a follower of Christ, I especially want to know your opinion. Have a great day and give somebody a hug who doesn’t deserve it.

For those of you who might not have caught on to the clues I’ve been dropping of late, Melissa and I are planning to embark on another epic journey in late August of this year. We will be setting out on the trail of Parenthood. We found out a couple weeks before Christmas that we were expecting our first child and have tried to keep it under wraps these first few weeks. Now, at a little over 12 weeks, we’re letting the world know that a new little Wisley is on the way. The doctor says we’re due on August 24th and, if we’re honest, we’re almost as terrified as we are excited. Walking for 6 months surrounded by snakes, bears, and crazy hiker trash (I use that term affectionately) seems easy compared to what we’re headed for. Melissa will do great, I’m sure. She’s great at everything. She was also a fulltime nanny for a couple years so she has the baby thing down pat. I, on the other hand, struggle with even holding a newborn baby due to this petrifying fear I have of dropping him on his head (or her), not supporting his neck and watching his head fall off, or any number of other crazy, outlandish, but highly probable (in my own mind) results. So, I’m working on that and will hopefully be able to at least hold our little bundle of joy when the day arrives.

Speaking of special days as related to pregnancy, we went for our second doctor’s visit a week ago last Friday and got to hear our baby’s heartbeat for the first time. All the things you hear about before you have that experience and don’t think are possible for you are totally possible. When the nurse found the baby’s pulse in the middle of my beautiful wife’s belly, I thought we were both going to lose it! What an incredible experience. I was at a loss for words, and that is a rare thing indeed. Aside from the cool experience, it was our first real confirmation that we’re actually pregnant, aside from the 2 little pink lines. To this point, Mel hasn’t had any of the symptons that are typically associated with pregnancy. She hasn’t been overly emotional, hasn’t been nauseated, hasn’t had any morning sickness, and has pretty much felt like her normal self. That is a huge answer to prayer for us as she really struggled with the thought of being sick for several months straight. To be honest, the only thing she has struggled with has been the fear of getting fat! For anyone who knows her, you know that isn’t highly likely, but she is used to being in fantastic shape and worries a bit about losing that. However, in these past few weeks, she’s come around to the idea of having a pregnant belly and, speaking for myself, I’m quite certain she’ll be adorable!

So, there you have it, our big secret! I’ll try to keep you up to speed as things progress and yes, if you’re wondering, showering Melissa with gifts and praise would be wholly appropriate! Actually, to give you a chance to respond to this post, I’ll solicit any advice you might have for the parenting world. I know many people have things to say but won’t say them for fear of coming off as pushy and “know-it-alls.” so, now is the chance to speak up. It can be advice you got before you had kids, advice you wish you’d followed but didn’t, advice from your own experience, or just something you think would be a good idea anyway! It can relate to babies, new parents, or the price of eggs in Antarctica! This is your chance.