My dad's eulogy for his Father

I wanted to share my dad's eulogy from his dad's wake service. As with my eulogy, this mode of documentation is not necessarily to broadcast on the internet for wide distribution, but rather to be a record of what a great influence my grandfather had on his family. I pray that my impact on my children and their children will be even a fraction of how much appachen impacted us.

Remembering our beloved Achayan

I remember my grandmother telling me that when my brother was born, her brother’s family came to visit and exclaimed how handsome the baby was. I did not think much of it then other than may be feeling a little jealousy within me.  But the other day my youngest brother-in-law stated that my father was photogenic. I never thought of it like that. Now I know why my brother was so handsome and my sisters are so beautiful. Look at him, look at the pictures of him, he is indeed handsome... and my mother is beautiful too.

We praise God for the divine grace that was present in the life of our beloved father.

The presence of you all as we bid farewell to him enriches that dear life further.

Even though, for the last few months he had to suffer much pain from the effects of prostate cancer and had to be hospitalized on several occasions, in the end, he was able to rest in the house for a week and enjoy the presence of all children and grandchildren.  God also enabled all of us to be with our father during this time and be on his side.

On Friday, February 22 around 11:30 am Rev. Daniel Thomas and Rev. Biju P. Simon of the Chicago Mar Thoma church along with our friend Kunju (Mr. Iype George) and Susy visited Achayan in the home and prayed and afterwards all children gathered around and sang his favorite Malayalam song and during that time he started his journey to the heavenly place. We praise God for providing such a glorious experience to Achayan and us.

A few hours after receiving this news, our beloved uncle T.A. George (our mother’s eldest brother) also went to heaven in Kadammanitta, Kerala. Our father and our uncle lived in the same place (next door to each other) for almost 65 years.  In Kadammanitta, friends and neighbors and the community are mourning for both of them and newspapers and posters are reporting both deaths.

We express our sincere thanks to all relatives, friends and fellow believers who visited achayan in hospitals, nursing home and our home and provided fellowship and support to achayan and us.

I 'd like us to sing a few of achayan’s favorite Malayalam songs and the ones that reflect our strong hope that we will meet him on that beautiful shore when Christ comes again.  

“Diviamayulla manavarae, Devam namukkai orrukkidunnu“
(God prepares a divine bridal chamber for us)

“Than kaikal kannuneer thudakkum
santhapangal pariharikkum
Lokathe neethiyil bharikkum
Soka pperumakal nasikkum”
(His hand will wipe away all tears, remove all sorrows, rule the world justly and
all suffuring and mourning will end)

“Yesu manavalan namme cherkuvan...madiya vanil vellippeduvan
Kalam asannamai preyare, orungam visudhiyode “
(Jesus the bridegroom will soon appear in the mid heaven to receive us, so beloved let us prepare ourselves)

Our father was the youngest of six siblings: 2 brothers and 3 sisters. His mother passed away when he was two and a half years old and his father, siblings and relatives raised his. They came from Ranni, Odikkandathil , an ordinary middle class family.

After school education he joined his brother at the Cheruvally rubber plantations and later married Annamma from Kadammanitta, Thokkanal family and established their home in Cheruvally. After a few years he moved to the Vaikundam rubber plantations (near Kulasekaram in Tamil Nadu). When I was about 2 years old, my uncle brought me and my mother back to Kadammanitta while achayan continued to work at Vaikundam. Later he moved to the rubber plantations in Trissur. As the children started their school education achayan moved back to Kadammanitta and worked in local rubber plantations and doing farming.

He sent all his children through school and college and insisted that we all studied hard. I remember him watching us in the night while we studied and made sure that we did not go back to sleep until we completed our home work and studies.

Achayan was just an ordinary farmer in mid- Travanore in Kerala. He struggled a lot during those years to put the children through a good education. I remember, once he fell into a deep well and was hospitalized for weeks. He developed chronic back pain from that incident and that was with him on and off till the end.

As I look back, my father was a true pilgrim (nomad). He moved from places to places. I remember going with him to most places he went (Vaikundam, Trissur etc.)  And later on he followed me to most places that I went (Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu, Bombay, and Chicago)

God gave him his beloved wife, 5 children, 10 grandchildren and 3 great-grand-children. He was blessed to see his legacy reach 4 generations. Our lives were forever influenced by his good qualities of life such as hard working, deep faith in God and a helping mentality.

For many years, achayan was a member of Kadammanitta Salem and Kadammanitta Kripapuram Mar Thoma churches. After moving to Chicago he continued to be part of the Chicago Mar Thoma church and later became a member of the Pentecostal faith.  He was a true man of God, who respected all servants of God and believers. He was respected by all in our communities in Kadammanitta and Chicago. He was diligent in helping families and friends who were in need, especially in Kerala.

During our earlier visits back home, achayan was the one who was making all arrangements as well as coming with us to various places that we visited. He also came with us as we drove around various places in US.

A few minutes before the end, his neighbors and relatives gathered in one of my uncle’s house in Kadammanitta and watched him via Skype. All of them were able to bid farewell to him even thogh he has unable to respond. As a token of respect and love towards achayan and our uncle, posters are displayed with their pictures and condolences and announcing funeral arrangements in our community in Kerala.

The wake service and funeral services are being broadcasted live and relatives and friends in Kerala and other parts are watching.
We praise God for the opportunity to share this blessed life of our beloved Achayan.

 “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. – 1 Thessalonians 4: 16-17.”

This is our hope and we will meet our achayan again on that day.

Once again, we express our sincere thanks to all relatives, friends, God’s servants and faith community who visited, consoled and supported us during these difficult times.

+Susan Abraham +Abe Abraham +Jayne Abraham

Doing cartwheels with Appachen

My grandfather, M.A. Abraham, was called to glory on February 22, 2013. The following is the eulogy/remembrance I shared during his funeral service. I wanted to place it in this blog, so that I could share it with my family and friends. Someday, I want my kids to have this record of how great a man my grandfather was and to know that they're part of an amazingly blessed family. +Abe Abraham +Jayne Abraham +Susan Abraham

A few points/translations:
"Appacha/Appachen" is what we called our grandfather
"Veliya-Appacha" is what my kids called him (translates to great-grandfather)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On behalf of our family, I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for your encouragement and support over these past few days. Your presence today shows your sincere desire to honor, respect and celebrate our grandfather’s life.

For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Jason Abraham and I am the son of T.A. Abraham, and appachen and ammachi’s oldest grandchild.

My grandfather was a special man – but it took me years to find that out. Not because he wasn’t always a wonderful man, but because we had a language barrier that made it difficult for me to talk with him. However, as sad as it is that I have never had a full conversation with my appachen, he and I had a way of just looking into each other’s eyes which translated into an unspeakable love and respect. As I watch Isabelle and Evan interact, talk and play with my dad today, I am saddened that I didn’t take advantage of the time that I had with my own grandfather over the years. Fortunately, these last few months have been a time of connection and love shared.

In fact, over the past Thanksgiving/Christmas holidays, one of my cousins, Priya, coordinated our family to get together and have all of the cousins share memories with appachen and ammachi and how much he means to us.

I’m thankful for Priya who graciously translated for me as I shared with Appachen how blessed I feel for his God-fearing legacy. As Chintu said so beautifully yesterday, we can be proud to be part of the generational blessing we have that starts with appachen. He taught us in so many ways across different eras. From the oldest (me) to the youngest (Vinay), from Isabelle to Michaela, he treated us all as his most precious treasures. He loved to spend time with all of us – regardless of whether or not we could speak his language.
Some of my memories of appachen are shared across all of us. It seems to me that we grandkids have a fondness for parotta, and appachen fulfilled that desire by having warm parotta ready for us each day. I loved banana chips and appacha would have chips ready for us when we arrived from America. As Roy mentioned last night, I had the privilege of standing and watching my grandfather prepare a chicken for dinner and then letting that chicken run around the yard with its head cut off. I was also reminded last night about those steps that Roy mentioned and watching those busses flying by on the unpaved road with their horns blaring. These memories will always remain and will remind me of what a loving and caring man he was.

Even though we didn’t have long conversations, appachen never let that affect the relationship we had and his deep love for me. And without speaking hardly any words, he taught me so many lessons on being a man who loves the Lord. One particular lesson that I have learned was about prayer. He has prayed for each and every one of us, by name multiple times, throughout his lifetime. As you have seen and heard and likely experienced first-hand, Appachen was a true warrior for God. His prayers resonated in our home; his words of encouragement to anyone in need were a shining example of how a godly man lives and humbly seeks after God.

Appachen could pray [literally] for 30 minutes straight, which felt like eternity as a kid…especially when there was a Bulls game on that I really wanted to see. As a young kid, that was painful…but 25 years later, those prayers remain in my heart. Recently, over the past few holidays or when our family would get together for a special occasion, I started recording only one thing – when appachen would pray. His words, his fervor, his passion in talking to his Heavenly Father will always be an example to me.

Another memory of him is that his smile lit up a room. As my dad mentioned yesterday, he has an amazing smile…as I was going through the hundreds of pictures that we have of him, one thing caught my attention...Appachen has a truly inspiring smile. His eyes light up and there is true joy within his soul. No matter the circumstance, no matter the situation you could sense the joy in his heart. Not the fickle happiness that we may experience from time to time. But true joy – the gift of the Holy Spirit that comes from a deep and meaningful relationship with God.

And he had much to be joyful for. His five children have grown to be accomplished in more than one way – in the church, in the workplace and through their own families. Joy because he was blessed with ten grandchildren who adore him and miss him so. What a blessing for us as a family that he was able to attend two of his grandchildren’s weddings and see 3 great-grandchildren born into this world. What a blessing for my dad to have appachen attend and celebrate his own retirement.

Susan and I loved to see his eyes light up with joy over these last several months when we would bring his great-grandkids, Isabelle and Evan, to the nursing home to just sit in the bed with him, draw pictures, sing him worship songs or just simply give him a hug.

As I think back on the life that appachen led, I’m reminded of the simplicity of this life. No phones, TVs, running water, the basic things we take for granted here. His life consisted of his family and his faith. What a great reminder that we are placed on this earth for only one purpose – to worship and serve our Almighty God; a purpose I too often allow the unimportant stuff to get in my way of worshipping and serving our God.

Some very dear friends of ours shared a children’s book with Isabelle and Evan to help them understand heaven a little bit in light of Appachen’s passing. A short section in the book reminded me of the life that appachen led – “sometimes we think we need stuff, but it’s just more weight for us to carry. Our best stuff doesn’t weigh anything at all – stuff like love, family, friends, and faith. That’s where our real blessings are.”

I’ll end with this last thought - there was something much more important to him than his family – his God.

Appachen was a child of God. He believed in the gospel.  He could have hope in his dark hours because of the promises that God made to him through the gospel. I am thankful that his children and grandchildren read him the Bible even when he couldn’t those days in the nursing home and hospital. I am thankful that the gates of Heaven opened and Jesus welcomed him as his children sang praise songs and prayed together to their Heavenly Father. I am thankful that he is now seeing the fulfillment of those hopes in Heaven. He is no longer struggling. He is no longer hurting. He will never hurt or fear again. He is in the land of blessing and unending joy. And knowing that gives me great encouragement and peace. I encourage you to have faith as he did, and draw strength from the gospel as he did. We will greatly miss him, but what a blessing to know that his time here with us is only a “hallway” to the amazing celebration he’s experiencing in heaven for all eternity.

When we told Evan that veliya-appacha was in heaven, he said two things:

        1) Susan likes to teach the kids worship songs and Evan has recently learned a song that he continues to sing the chorus to. During our bedtime prayer the night before Appachen passed, I reminded Evan to pray for veliya-appacha and that he wasn’t doing well. Evan looked me in the eyes and sang – “there may be pain in the night, but joy comes in the morning…” - It amazes me how God uses even my 3 year old to speak truth to me.

         2) When we told both kids that appachan was in heaven, Evan immediately said that he wanted to go there right then and there. Part of the reason he wanted to go there might have been because we mentioned that veliya-appacha was probably doing cartwheels with Jesus – but nonetheless, his desire to be with his veliya-appacha is shared by all of his family. What a blessing it is, as a family, to have that promise and hope that one day we’ll be doing cartwheels with appacha.  Dancing with our heavenly Father – a place where there is no pain, no fear, and no worry – just pure joy.

I swell with pride with the thought of how many lives that appachen has impacted. Just witnessing the wake yesterday and you all here is a testament to his strong faith and commitment to you all. However, I’m reminded that I should not be proud of my appachen as much as I should boast in Christ at the work he did through my appachen.

Thank you and God bless.

 

Have you experienced something wonderful?

Lately I've been thinking much more about how to take my Agency to the next level. Those of you that read this blog, as sporadic as it is, know me to be a fairly honest and fun guy. I try to include those characteristics into my business as well. However, after attending some meetings recently, I've noticed that the fun has turned into something...well, less fun. I've gotten myself mired into the details. I've worried about things that are not in my control. I've lost sight of why I chose to enter this great career...providing an experience while helping people realize the risks of everyday life and to realize their dreams.

I went to a restaurant awhile ago and I still remember vividly the attention to detail the staff showed. I had my car washed at a local car wash and I was blown away by the level of detail that my car received. These two simple examples were not about great service, they were truly an experience. I went away from those businesses and knew that there was a level of excellence that the owners wanted to show their customers. That business owner understood what his or her customers wanted. Sure, great food or a clean car was the ultimate goal...but the steps to get to that goal was what I remembered the most.

Have you experienced something that just blew your mind, made you walk away and think...wow, what an experience?

Leave a comment and let's talk about experiences.

Your SurePayroll Story | Jason Testimonial

Your SurePayroll Story |  Jason Testimonial

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I'm back!

I think I've proven my ineptness at being a good blogger...it seems as though my posts usually start out with the phrase: "well, its been ____ number of days/weeks/months since I last posted..." Pretty predictable, huh?

A few updates and I'll allow you to move on with your day:

1. 2010 arrived. I did not do so well on my Holiday Challenge. I will try harder.
2. Apple announced the iPad. I might get one. Depends on a few variables.
3. The Jason Abraham State Farm Agency opened on March 1!

March 1: This was the official opening date of the Jason Abraham Agency. As you may know, this has been a long process. The training and preparations started in May of 2008. In all honesty, there have been moments of doubt, there have been moments of frustration, there have been moments of anxiety - and now we are in the midst of the most wild ride we could imagine!

I have a team of three wonderful individuals who are driving the everyday activity in the office. We are slowly writing business...but more importantly we are making an impact in our community.

Lastly - this blog will continue to sporadically chronicle our family's re-root in Chicago...but now that we are here, I will probably start to blog more about Insurance & Financial Services related items. If you have any questions, please leave a comment and I will answer your questions to the best of my ability.

{Become a fan on Facebook...follow me on Twitter (@SFAgentJason) - link right over there...}

Holiday Challenge

I'm a regular reader of Carlos Whitaker (ragamuffinsoul.com) and one of his recent posts really intrigued me. As some of you may know, I'm into challenges...weight loss competitions really get me going, not to mention the prize money. Earlier this year (January to March), I lost a significant amount of weight. I had a commitment & challenged myself to create a healthy habit. Well, I created a healthy habit for 90 days, but after that, I made excuses to myself and fell off the proverbial wagon. My thoughts were, I can lose the weight real fast - let me have that donut with my sugar-laden coffee. For me, without the challenge or competition aspect, I really lose focus and find myself getting back into bad habits (starbucks drinks, over indulgence at the dinner table, desserts of all sorts, losing focus on God, losing focus on my wife and kids).

Well, Carlos, laid it out there for me and I intend to use this last month of the year to focus on three benchmarks (physical, spiritual and relational), and carry it forward into 2010.

You heard about that worship leader getting drunk that night and rolled your eyes…
That pastor who has been flirting with his secretary makes you nauseous…
You can’t believe they let their kids get away with that…

All the while, from Thanksgiving to New Years, you live the most hypocritical life imaginable.
You stuff your face with food till you can’t walk, multiple times, and gain some lbs. in the process.
You let your serving God replace your knowing God.
You ignore your family because you are too busy volunteering and helping someone else.

I see no difference between the first list and the second list.
So let’s stop using the holidays as an excuse to stop being healthy.
Let’s kick off this season with 30 days of physical, spiritual, and emotional health.

My three goals:
1. Physical - lose 10 pounds this month
2. Spiritual - memorize 2 verses per week, I'm planning on focusing on these, affecting my life now:

John 16:33, 2 Tim 1:7, Psalm 55:22, Isaiah 41:10, Proverbs 13:11, Luke 16:10, 2 Corinthians 9:8, Philippians 4:6

3. Relational - (admittedly, stolen/borrowed from Carlos) - go on 2 dates with my wife and daughter, each.

Twice a week I intend to update you all via this blog and/or twitter on my progress. Intrigued?

Ready? Set. Go. Here's to a tremendous December.
Jason

Why?

"Why?" - noun: a question concerning the cause or reason for which something is done, achieved, etc.: a child's unending hows and whys.

Each and every day I am asked a question by my daughter and more often than not, I do not react well to the question. To me, as an adult, I seem to be more caught up in the fact that the question is rather silly. I forget too quickly that a three year old's mind is still forming truths and opinions. That every new visual or experience is a wonder and causes various levels of excitement.

Earlier today, my wife attended the first "parent-teacher" conference for Isabelle. She called me afterwards to share the information that she received. They told her that Isabelle is a very attentive, social child, who loves to sing for the class any new song she learns. She enjoys talking about her grandparents and the adventures she has living with my parents. She finds books on her own and chooses to either "read" them herself, or have the teacher read them. She is a very detail oriented child who notices everything - even down to the minute details of which teacher is in charge of crafts that particular day. She also loves to ask "why", a lot. The part that surprised me is this: apparently teachers love that! They appreciate a child who is attentive to the details and wants to know more about what is going on in their world. Teachers like to see a child who will not give up if the first answer to a question is not satisfactory. They love teaching, answering questions...

Knowing my reactions to Isabelle's questions, I was ashamed of the way I've been as a father. There have been times when I would just answer her with the basic, "that’s the way God made it"…which I now realize probably sounds like this: "it is what it is, now stop bothering me". Isabelle's learning and development is paramount to me, and my interest and subsequent answers to her questions are to be more loving. One of her latest questions had me rolling with laughter - we were driving to church and she noticed some cell phone towers, the conversation went like this:

Izzy: "dada, what are those?"
Me: "cell phone towers"
Izzy: "but there are no cell phones on that tower…"
Me (trying to suppress laughter and figure out the right way to answer): "no honey, cell phone towers allow us to make calls by sending out little waves that you can't see…"
Susan: "what dada is trying to say is that we don’t know the answer and that’s the way God made it, would you like to listen to some music?"

In the business world it's easy for me to accept some things as "that's just the way it is" and move on and I'm sure I apply that mindset to my life as a father and husband. I realized something else - asking "why" shows your vulnerability - and that's not always a thing to look down upon. Showing vulnerability like a child shows you're willing to learn, willing to listen and be coached. It shows that you're willing to challenge yourself and rock your world - because you don't know what the answer is going to be. For a child that's easy, right? They are just starting to learn shame and have no concept of applying shame when asking questions. Everything to them is new and exciting and worthy of a question.

Then I started thinking about my life as a Christian - I don't ask "why" enough…I don't make myself vulnerable to God. I don't seek God's answers to my questions consistently enough. By that, I mean I don't spend the time alone with God asking Him my questions and presenting Him my thoughts. Christ wants me to continually ask Him questions and to rock my world with His answer. Just like Isabelle, I want my curiosities answered and our Father wants to answer them.

So, how often do you find yourself asking "why"?

January 2009 Update and NEWS!!

There are fewer things in life more precious than children. Susan and I have been blessed with Isabelle for the past 3 years and never could have imagined the amount of love and joy that we have experienced with her. She has certainly caused excitement, not only in our lives, but in the lives of others. She stretches Susan and I in ways we couldn't imagine (from frustration and despair, to love and pure joy). As a parent, I'm most proud of my girl when her teachers tell us what a joy she is to have in class, that she was helpful with others and was obedient. As I witness her wide-eyed joy of listening to her various teachers, I know I have an inquisitive, challenge-seeking, and friendly kid. Last week I attended Isabelle's gym class and noted how attentive she was to the words her instructors were saying. She would follow their instructions and showed me how excited she is to learn. When the instructors asked the kids to get back to the "red circle", Isabelle was the first one there, sitting almost literally on the instructor's lap! (Teacher's pet definitely comes to mind!) I continue to learn about Isabelle's tendencies, her moods and her level of activity and look forward to so many more "firsts" that will happen over her lifetime.

I say all this because we are now expecting our second child on August 1st and I can't wait to enhance my education as a father! God has stretched me in ways I never would have imagined as a father of one daughter. My daughter continues to teach me more about myself and I'm looking forward to continue to learn with this next child.

Will this year be even more challenging in various ways? Sure. But I hold confident to the fact that we're not doing this on our own. I was encouraged yesterday morning by a devotional by James MacDonald: The Harder the Times, the Closer He Gets. The part that really made me stop in my tracks was this verse: Hebrews 7:25 - "Consequently, [Jesus] is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him, since he always lives to make intercession for them." Jesus has already interceded in prayer for me. Before I pray for my wife, daughter and baby, business, and community, He's talking to His Father on my behalf!

Finally, some of you may be wondering - what ever happened to the Jason Abraham State Farm Insurance Agency? Well, we're still waiting for an opportunity to open itself up. This has really been a challenge for me personally to wait patiently, there have been times that I have grown ever more anxious for the chance to open my doors, but as I get more anxious I'm constantly reminded that nothing I do is going to change the situation. God has a time and a plan for me…its as simple as that. I just have to remember that.

Thanks for reading...have a great 2009.

Happy New Year!

From the Abraham Family to all our friends and family...have a blessed New Year. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we enter a new, exciting and surely a challenging year.

Holiday Economy

I came across an article that detailed the spending habits of Americans and thought about sharing with you, just in case you were interested.

For the past 10 years (1997 to 2007) holiday retail sales have gone from about $388 Billion in 1997 to $474.5 Billion in 2007.

In 2007, the average consumer planned to spend more that $800 on holiday related shopping and more than $100 on themselves. I thought the breakdown was interesting:

• $469.14 on family
• $94.69 on candy and food
• $90.13 on friends
• $49.76 on decorations
• $37.45 on acquaintances (teachers, clergy, babysitters)
• $32.21 on greeting cards and postage
• $22.79 on co-workers
• $20.53 on flowers

For us, as a family, we have allotted a certain amount of money to gift-giving each year. Our credit union makes saving for the holidays a little easier by allowing us to set up a "holiday fund account" where we can deposit a certain amount of money from each paycheck. In November, we can withdraw that balance and use it for Christmas gifts.

My question to you all: how do you save for Christmas? Do you save a certain amount of money each month in anticipation? Do you hope for a year-end bonus to pay off the debt you incur from using credit cards? Do you not buy Christmas gifts?

More interesting tid-bits:

• The busiest shopping period of the year is between 12/17 and 12/23...not Black Friday or Cyber Monday
• In November and December of 2007, consumers accumulated $12.8 Billion in NEW debt...that's 16% of the total debt accumulated that year...1/3 of the consumers were still paying off the debt from the 2006 holiday season!

Lastly, now that Christmas is upon us I am continually reminding myself that its not about the hustle and bustle of shopping or even spending time with family and friends. There are implicit joys of the holiday season and those should not be lost during all the craziness: Watching my daughter's eyes light up right along with all the Christmas lights and decorations...Her pure excitement of simply shoveling snow with me and building a snowman was awesome...Helping Susan and I wrap gifts and bake cookies. She is my model for pure joy and happiness.

Christmas should not be about how much you can spend or finding just the right gift for someone. Christmas is about Jesus being sent to earth from heaven to bring light to a dark world. It's about our God sending his only Son to save us from His coming wrath for our sins. It's about sharing with co-workers, family and friends the true meaning of why we have this holiday season. To me, it's about the joy of Christ, love of Christ and peace of Christ.

Hope you all have a blessed Christmas...

Update...

Its been a long time (November 7th, in fact) since I've posted anything to this blog. For those of you waiting with baited breath, sorry. You can breathe easier now. For those who haven't been waiting, well, surprise...here's an update!

Susan and I have had a very eventful week and are looking forward to an even more exciting weekend! Let's do a quick recap:

Last Saturday - we took Isabelle downtown with Sibi, Ninit and Alexis and experienced the windows on State Street and had a nice lunch downtown at Macy's. Even though it was freezing, the girls had a blast and loved the chance to spend time together.

1. Sunday - We were immensely challenged the previous week to be more obedient to God and took a couple of huge steps of obedience. For several years we had both been wanting to take this step, but always have found a way to talk ourselves out of it. Well finally the opportunity presented itself and we took the plunge. Give me a call or send us a note to get more details, if you're interested.

2. Monday - I woke up and went to work. After work I had a "blindspot check" with a friend. We practically have known each other since 2nd grade, and have shared so many experiences together. The interesting part for both of us is that we even though we know so much about each others' lives, we rarely tried to dig deeper into our relationship. This was more a symptom of my personality. After hearing a message at church (by Pastor James MacDonald), we both were interested in checking our lives and sought out a way to find the blindspots in our lives. We dig deep about our roles as leaders in our families, workplaces and really try to help each other see the blindspot.

3. Tuesday - as a result of our blindspot check, I woke up earlier than usual and spent some time in the Word. I believe as a direct result, I had a great (!) day at work. Even though I've known that spending good, quality time with the Lord everyday was essential, I was really good at not focusing on that aspect. I'm praying that I can create a persisent and consistent time in the Word and experience more great days at work. Also, I went Christmas shopping with Susan and got a gift for myself...the Dark Knight DVD!!

4. Wednesdsay - I woke up...went to work...and came home...it snowed here in Chicago, so Isabelle, Susan and I went outside and built our first snowman as a family. Here's a picture:


5. Thursday - I woke...went to work...and went to the Bears-Saints game!!! What a game! Daniel Manning ran back the opening kickoff for a touchdown, Mike Brown had an interception, the Bears kicked a game-tying field goal with 0:00 seconds left, and then won in overtime with a field goal. The guys I went with had a blast and we got to know the people that were sitting around us. To go to a game with friends is a great time, but to make friends and create a "system" during the game was just as fun. The people that were sitting in front of us were really cool people. For example, when the Saints were on offense and they faced 3rd downs, typically the fans get on their feet and make as much noise as possible. Well, for some reason the Bears D wasn't stopping the Saints, so "Joe" and I decided to sit during the next 3rd down. Lo and behold! The Bears forced a 3 and out! We sat the next time the Saints were facing 3rd down...and again, it worked. Soon people around us saw this and were into our "system" too. It was a cool study in understanding human interaction.

6. Friday - woke up with no voice and toes that were still thawing out. Went to work, came home and got to play with Izzy. Susan spent most of the day baking a cake and cupcakes for Izzy's birthday party. What a great wife...she cares so much about us in ways that I often take for granted. Ever since we've moved back to Chicago, I have marveled at the way she has taken to the transition. Even though I know she works hard and has to balance so much, she rarely, if ever, seems flustered. She's a wonderful woman and I'm proud of her beyond words can express.

7. Saturday - tomorrow morning. God willing we wake up and drive back to Bloomington for the day. Most importantly, it's Izzy's 3rd birthday! The reason we are driving to Bloomington is because I get to take part in the commencement at ISU for my MBA. After almost 3 years, I get to celebrate with my cohort and family for this step in our lives.

8. Sunday - I'll have pictures and a recap of Izzy's party next week.

Thanks for reading this long post. This past week has truly been one of the most eventful and "memory creating" weeks in our lives...just thought I would share it with the 2 or 3 of you that are reading.

re>rooting is pretty cool.

{11.07.2008} Friday Melange - Halloween Fun

The craziest election season for most of us is over, thankfully. In the midst of all that was Halloween. It's a strange day...some folks go all out with their decorations and parties and we, as parents, have to explain to our daughter that on this ONE day of the year - it's OK to accept candy from strangers. Either way, Isabelle had a blast. Today's post will be a simple photo-journal of our first Halloween back in Wheaton...enjoy.

First, Izzy had a "Fall Party" at her school the week before Halloween, so she had the opportunity to wear her Lion costume...as you can see, she loved being a Lion:
















On Halloween, the weather was unbelievably warm, so Susan decided to switch Isabelle's costume from the Lion to a Ballerina so as to avoid an overheated child:




Finally...there's the loot:

Putting politics aside and understanding history...

After a long, long campaign and after I have been very critical of the Obama campaign and the man himself...I have to say that Barack Obama has run an amazing campaign. The sheer fact he is the first African-American President is amazing enough. What about the fact that he is *only* 47 years old, that he is a lawyer, that he is the most liberal Senator in the US Senate? Despite those facts, he was still able to win the Electoral Vote. What about the fact that as recently as 5 years ago, there were no African Americans in the US Senate? Wow. He has transcended the typical voting demographics and became the 44th President of the United States.

As recent as the 1960s the African-American population was being denied their rights and still being persecuted. There is still racism today prevalent in pockets of the country, people still will have ill feelings towards Barack Obama just because he is black. However, tonight we can say that our country has grown a lot. This election has shown us that this country is moving to become a much more diverse country, where the "majority" vote is not what will steer the direction of the country. Hispanics, Asians, African-Americans, Whites...all of these people groups will have their voices heard more loudly through the next few years...

My personal politics do not agree with what a President Obama will espouse, however, I do hope he is a good President - for the sake of the country. Regardless, history has evolved tonight and we were blessed to be a part of it...regardless of what side of the aisle you were on.

Goodnight...tomorrow we wake to a new world.

Election Night 2008

A recap of Politics 2008 and random thoughts from this historic day:

• I voted. Did you?
• Don't believe the exit polls, that's been proven over and over.
• Why are people so angry? Stop hating and just vote and let the next guy vote.
• Turnout is amazing. People are very excited this year for a historic event.
• We've seen some election day fraud. Black Panthers intimidating voters in Philly, wet ballots in Virginia, ballot machines malfunctioning, military ballots being delivered/sent late, random callers from both parties lying to people and telling them that their polling site has changed, and who knows what else? Share with me any other stories you might have heard or events you actually witnessed.
• Chicago has become the center of the nation - and will become moreso if Barack wins.
• I got free Starbuck's coffee today just because I voted!
• I enjoyed an almost 10 month email conversation with a good friend. We challenged each other, irritated each other and I believe taught each other a lot about the opposing views. I'd be interested to know how much your political views have grown or changed over this election cycle. Did you engage in the political process? Did you have a conversation that might have changed your vote? Did you read something that might have swayed your vote or made your choice more concrete?

Finally and most importantly: I believe our God has a plan that will be made more apparent tonight. I might have opposing views to the potential winner, but I know that God has plans that are far greater and far more amazing that anything these politicians can promise.

Goodnight - enjoy watching the election results and don't get too crazy out there.

{10.24.2008} Friday Melange. Fair Warning: Politics enclosed.

With 11 days left in this most important, life changing, life altering, harrowing Presidential Election season, I have decided to talk about it in my blog. I realize that this subject is taboo for many and I feel that way for the most part. However, this year we have seen unprecedented levels of attention placed upon this election. Potentially, the country will be electing its first minority President, which is an incredible feat, one that cannot be diminished. There is no doubting the ability and the commitment that Obama has displayed during this campaign. He defeated a candidate, Hillary Clinton, whom many believed was to be the first woman president. Instead, Barack Obama came out of one speech in 2004 and has grasped control of something many would never have believed to happen in this country as recently as 30 years ago.

Anyway, I sent the following email to some of my friends the other day and have decided to turn it into a post:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is from a Democrat journalist regarding the current state of affairs in journalism and his take on the credit, housing, economic crises - and the media's response to it. A good read…regardless of your choice for President, or your personal feelings. http://www.ldsmag.com/ideas/081017light.html

This past week has been a great example of the media's bias: Joe Biden said some truly amazing things about the future of our country if Obama is elected and it was not the top story of that day, aside from the DrudgeReport…what was? The fact that Sarah Palin and the RNC spent approximately $150,000 on her clothing as part of the campaign. Ignoring the fact that the Obama campaign has purchased a cable channel, donated over $800,000 to ACORN, spent millions on airing a 30 minute infomercial, and now at least $2 million to stage a huge election night victory party at Grant Park, which, by the way, taxpayers of Chicago will be paying a portion of, due to the necessity of having Homeland Security and police forces there.

CNN's lead "label" everytime I flip to that channel is "Is Sarah Palin hurting McCain?" - where is the question about Biden? Obviously he is hurting their campaign, which is why he has been muzzled and only allowed to speak at rallies, with no questions taken from the press. When Palin was kept away from the media, she was labeled as "hiding" and having "Vlaidmir Putin" style secrecy. Where is that same analysis of Biden? CNN clearly distorted an article on nationalreview.com as "evidence" that even conservatives think she is incompetent, during an interview with Palin. While the article, in full context, was saying that as a strike against the media…CNN won't apologize or retract it:

Griffin said to Gov. Palin: “Governor, you've been mocked in the press, the
press has been pretty hard on you, the Democrats have been pretty hard on you,
but also some conservatives have been pretty hard on you as well. The National
Review had a story saying that, you know, ‘I can't tell if Sarah Palin is
incompetent, stupid, unqualified, corrupt or all of the above.’”

This is a complete distortion, a falsehood. The full quote from the National Review’s
Byron York shows he was in fact dressing down the media, NOT Gov. Palin.
“Watching press coverage of the Republican candidate for vice president, it's
sometimes hard to decide whether Sarah Palin is incompetent, stupid,
unqualified, corrupt, backward, or — or, well, all of the above.”

Again, I know this probably will not change your vote, but this might give you a glimpse as to why I have been so adamantly against Obama with this election. The media's treatment of one candidate or another shouldn't change your politics. However, it is causing many millions of people to create an image in their minds about the current state of affairs and causes them to gravitate to this message of "hope and change" -when it may truly end up being "more of the same". People seem to forget that for the past few years, the Congress in charge is Democratic and they have lower approval ratings than Bush, but is that reported as heavily as Bush's numbers? It seems like it simply is a coronation, aided and abetted by a media organization who chooses to ignore the negative news that would affect Barack and the democrats.

There are so many aspects of this election that I feel has been hidden by the media and not brought to the attention of America. Unlike people who are interested in finding information about the candidates, millions of Americans rely on the media to inform them of these candidates…this year it has been shamefully apparent that the "fix is in".

{10.10.2008} Friday Melange

So this is the end of the 2nd week of of our re>rooted lives in Chicago. What a difference! To highlight the developments of our transition, here are a few key details:

1. We are not alone. We moved into my parents' house in Wheaton and after 7 years of marriage and living in our own place, there are quite a few differences here. For one thing, we have a dog here (Mandy), who I swear is being treated better than Jayne or I have ever been treated! =) The dog is loved, but it's still a dog. There are times when she gets too excited to see one of us and takes a leak on the floor...we thought we were done with potty training! She also is a beggar...she sits and waits for the scraps to fall off Isabelle's plate. Anyway, watch for more updates on the adventures in the Abraham household.
2. Its a long drive. I average 75 miles a day now driving back and forth from Wheaton to Chicago. On average it takes about 50 minutes to get from point A to point B. Some of you have heard me talk about the 15 minute commute we had in Bloomington...oh, how much I took that for granted! When it rains here, oh my gosh. I forgot how plain stupid people become. It took me one and a half hours to go 24 miles this past Wednesday evening. Some people apparently think the rain is a cause for stupidity and it causes us sane people to sit in our cars for hours on end.
3. Working in Chicago is definitely eye opening for me. As a suburb kid, while I lived in the Chicago area, my jobs were always in the suburbs. The office I now work out of is in one of Chicago's neighborhoods (Lincoln Square). For lunch, I walk to one of the local joints instead of driving somewhere. I'm getting used to the thousands of cars, cabs and the busses, and actually paying attention to the "Do Not Walk" signs. I've seen a wide assortment of human beings, not so human beings and pigeons. Its been a fun 2 weeks so far, and I'm looking forward to more.

That's it for this Friday. Sorry for missing last week...I was thinking of doing a post about the economy, but decided that the news was too dreary. The news continues to get worse, but I figured that after 2 weeks, I could post about something lighthearted and mundane.

Last couple of items>

• Looking forward to a fun weekend coming up, we get a chance to spend time with some friends that we have missed...
• Susan heads back to Bloomington for a couple of days to get some work done there and she's taking Isabelle with. So that leaves me with my parents for a couple of evenings...good political conversations with my ultra liberal dad. Should be good times. Pray for both of us.
  
• 10/18 is the last wedding we have the privilege of attending this year...
• Oh...and my head is still shaved. Yeah boy.

{09.26.2008} Friday Melange

This is it...my last day in Bloomington, IL. As I've mentioned in an earlier post, I knew this day was going to be bittersweet. On one hand, I am so happy to be finally moved back to Chicago, on the other hand, I'm sad about leaving a great town and community.

So, in that vein, I will share a (cheesy alert! cheesy alert!)..."Letter to Bloomington/Normal", from the Abrahams.

Dear Bloomington/Normal,

Thank you for all you have taught our family and allowed us to experience in the last 4 years. When we moved here we had never seen so many corn fields and yet so many new houses. We had never seen so many pickup trucks and yet so many business professionals driving said pickup trucks. We had never watched the 5 o'clock evening news that started with stories about "nice things" rather than the number of killings or robberies that might have taken place throughout the day. We had never seen a huge, modern, corporate complex, literally surrounded by farmland and cows.

Its obvious you're doing something right. From the old timers in town we heard stories about all of the expansion over the years and yet even in the 4 short years we've lived here we've seen even more expansion. For example, when we moved here there was no Starbucks, Krispy Kreme, Rosati's, Meijer, Potbelly, Noodles & Co., Hollister & Co., or nice mall. Now there are three Starbucks, two Rosati's, a Meijer, 2 Potbelly's, 2 Noodles & Co. and a very nice mall with great stores. We felt at home, while not being "home".

It was here in Bloomington that we as a family celebrated Jason's and Susan's 30th birthdays, our 5th wedding anniversary and most importantly the birth of our daughter Isabelle.

We helped plant a Harvest Bible Chapel in Peoria, and made lasting relationships there. We both made significant contributions to State Farm via our jobs, and built great relationships there as well.

We've lived in 2 houses, met great neighbors and had great conversations with friends over the dinner table. Our lives will never be the same because we had a chance to slow down and experience community in a different way. We took part in local events and again experienced the genuine "goodness" of people.

Again, thanks for allowing us to make this our home for the past four years. We will always have a special place in our heart for this town.

With genuine love and gratitude,

The Abraham Family.

Oh, and by the way. The re>ROOT is now complete.

"Texting automatically removes 10 IQ points"

The title of this blog entry is a quote by Paul Saffo, a technology trend forecaster in Silicon Valley. The New York Times published an article last week that illustrates the dangers of texting while doing various activities and the actions being taken by the government.

We all text to communicate; its become even more easy with unlimited text message plans. I love the fact that I don't need to have a direct conversation, I'd rather be able to ask or answer a question and move on. There are times when texting has gone out of control for me: recently a friend and I exchanged 80-something text messages to discuss some issues in the news (not while driving, thankfully). I only have a 250 text plan, but have found that that is not enough anymore. To illustrate this, these numbers just blow my mind: In June of 2005 people texted 7.2 billion times - wow. How about June of 2008? 75 billion text messages were sent and received. Amazing. This is according to CTIA - the Wireless Association.

The reason I'm writing this today is because I've found that I am texting (& twittering - which is different from having a nervous tick, but not by much) more and more on the road. After reading a few articles and hearing about the train accident in California this past week, I've decided that I will not text or twitter while driving anymore. In this fast paced world, we've all become more and more accustomed to being able to communicate at any time, anywhere. With the popularity of the iPhone and its many useful features, I've found that while texting or trying to communicate instantaneously is simple, it is also becoming a much more dangerous activity. Especially when you consider all the other drivers texting while driving.

Several organizations have done some sort of research on the effects of texting while driving; this is what the UK's Transport Research Laboratory found:

• Texting behind the wheel impairs driving skills more than being drunk or high
• Reaction times deteriorated by 35% (which is worse than being drunk @ the legal limit - 12% worse reaction time)
• Drivers drifted out of their lanes more often - steering control was found to be 91% worse

This is all just to say that I would implore you as my friends and family to drive safely, and quit texting as you drive...whatever you have to say can wait until you pull over.

{09.19.08} Friday Melange

When I started this Melange idea, I promised you various topics...true to that, here is a topic many of us don't consider, Insurance and the Economy.


Insurance has taken a prominent place in the American headlines this week with the struggles and eventual bailout of AIG. AIG was one of the world's largest insurers, basically the world's insurer for corporate risk. Many have wondered why allow this company to be bailed out, as opposed to Lehman Brothers, or any of the other investment banks or other major corporations? My belief and important to understand: insurance plays an immensely vital role in our economy.


Over the past few months we have seen a situation that no one in this generation of Americans have seen - a meltdown of Wall Street and the effects on Main Street, USA. You know the names by now: Countrywide, Bear Stearns, IndyMac, Fannie & Freddie, Lehman Brothers, AIG...not to mention Merrill Lynch, WAMU, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs who have all lost billions of dollars and have laid off thousands of employees.


Why did the Federal Government bail out AIG? The common understanding is that this company was a lynchpin for the rest of the world's economy. AIG had themselves spread throughout the world and their complete demise could have been a disaster for the world economy. Here in the US, AIG and the other insurers play a very important role within this economy, that I have just recently learned about.


Insurance does what you think it does - protects and helps manage risk for everyday life situations. However, it also helps this economy move forward (information from the Insurance Information Institute):


Property/casualty (auto, home and commercial) insurance allows those who are the victims of accidental loss to recover financially through the payment of claims for property damage and injury. When property/casualty insurance claims are paid, funds are transferred to local businesses in the form of payment for goods or services. Among those that receive the most revenue are auto repair shops, building contractors and the health care community.


Life insurance helps households manage their finances in the face of death and disability by minimizing disruption to a wage earner’s dependents. Annuities reduce the likelihood that a retiree will run out of money. By providing a measure of financial security to individuals, life insurance products help stabilize the economy.


Insurance companies also contribute to the economy through their investments. As part of the financial services industry, insurers act as financial intermediaries, investing the funds they collect for providing insurance protection. Total assets of property/casualty insurers totaled $1.483 trillion in 2006. Cash and invested assets were $1.229 trillion, or 83 percent. Life/health insurer total assets totaled $4.723 trillion in 2006. Cash and invested assets of these insurers amounted to $2.874 trillion, or 61 percent.


Insurers contribute more than $250 billion to the nation’s gross domestic product. Their taxes include special levies on insurance premiums, which amounted to almost $15 billion in 2005, or 2.3 percent of all taxes collected by the states. They are also very large employers, providing some 2.3 million jobs, or 2.1 percent of U.S. employment.


According to the US Deptartment of Commerce, of the major industries in this country, "Insurance Carriers" (as a subset of Finance and Insurance) ranks 5th in terms of Revenues generated ~ $1.4 trillion ~ (behind industries such as wholesale trade, manufacturing, retail trade & ahead of health care, construction, information and many others).


If you've read through all of this, congratulations! You now know much more about insurance than you ever hoped to know.


If you've read through this and found you've learned something, please leave a comment!

Abraham Family Values

I have been really challenged after reading a friend's blog about their effort to create family value statements for their family to live by. Dave Steinbeck is the Community Life/Teaching Pastor at a church in Eureka, IL. Before that, he was an analyst at State Farm and a co-worker of Susan's. For those of that have visited our second house in Bloomington (the one we just sold), Dave is the master carpenter that created that beatiful deck in our backyard.

Susan and I have had the privilege to spend some time with Dave and Heather (his wife) and their children. I can tell you that we have been blessed and challenged by knowing them, and now I have been challenged again.

In case some of you are link-shy, let me summarize a little of what Dave wrote:

• What are the values that your children will take away from living in your household?
• Are there certain phrases and truths that define your family?
• He pointed out Proverbs 6:20-22, which tells us why this is so important: My son, keep your father's commands and do not forsake your mother's teaching. Bind them upon your heart forever; fasten them around your neck. When you walk, they will guide you; when you sleep, they will watch over you; when you awake, they will speak to you.

When Susan returns from her trip, and we get some time to just sit and talk, we will create a list of values that we want Isabelle to live by and know. In the meantime, take a look at Dave's post...maybe you'll be inspired to come up with a list of your own.

This doesn't have to be a list of values that you create just because you have kids - if you are engaged or newly married, this would be a great exercise to go through with each other to really establish your relationship and to define the journey you are starting.