Geocash...Geocech....Geocache......Looking for Hidden Treasure

It's hot and you need a pool! Gotta love those old Watson's commercials. Anyone else remember those? The truth is... It IS hot and so we put out our pool. Last year we bought one of those cheap, above-ground, slightly redneck (who am I kidding? Very redneck) pools. And we LOVE it. We don't care. It's too hot to care how unattractive and Sanford and Son it might look. Yesterday was opening day. We had a mini-celebration ceremony and the boys jumped in. It's perfect. For now. Last year, we had great luck at the beginning of the summer but as the summer wore on, and we were gone for missions or vacation, the pool suffered. It got cloudy beyond repair. It was pretty much a swamp by August. I'm going to really try to keep it looking purty longer this year. There is only one week (not 3 like last summer) where we will all be gone on vacation (and I'm not telling when that is due to all the robbers and theives that read this blog). Otherwise, someone will always be at our house so hopefully we can keep it looking nice. I can't wait for my first swim.

Had a great 4-mile run last night. It's still hot around 9PM but doable. It felt good and then I enjoyed cooling down by sitting on our deck and just talking with Susan. I love Summer nights. Susan has been doing great with her walking. She has gotten up at 6AM every morning to walk. I couldn't do it. I like my sleeping in too much. She walked 6 miles this morning. Very proud of her. She's a trooper.

So last week we hear about this new thing called Geocaching. Maybe it's not new. Maybe it's been around a while, but it's new to us. We have some friends who do it all the time and they introduced it to us. There's a website (Geocaching.com) where you can type in your zip code and get clues, including coordinates, to hidden treasures. Now, when I say "treasures" I just mean a random item you are looking for, not gold and jewels. You use your GPS device, plug in the coordinates and go a-looking. We decided to try it. We found on that was titled "Overton" which we assumed was Overton High School. When we read the clue, we realized it was Overton Road which is very close to us. We plugged in the coordinates and went for a drive. It led us to this gate on Overton Road that is at the entrance to the huge electrical towers/radiated horses field. We started looking around this gate for treasure. I'll admit I wasn't as into it as my family. I didn't even know what I was looking for and felt kindof silly looking around this random gate. Then I heard it. "I found it!"

It was Susan and she was holding it. It was a screw. Yep, that's it. A screw. Like a bolt. Like a thing you put wood together with. She had a huge smile on her face and was holding a bolt. The boys were all excited saying "let me see it". Did I miss something here? When did a bolt become exciting? And why is this treasure a bolt. So here's my family jumping up and down holding up a big screw and I'm off to the side trying to find the hidden cameras from the "Candid Camera" show that went off the air about 30 years ago. "That's it?" I said. My wife then explained how she knew that was it because this bolt was attached to the gate with a very small magnet which we then found. "O........K.......," I slowly said. We had also been told by our friends that if you unscrewed the top of the bolt, you would find a piece of paper. Say what? That bolt is too small for paper inside. But it was true. We took off the top and extracted a very small piece of paper that had last names on it. These people had all found the "treasure" and written their name. So we wrote ours as well. Now I have to admit that part was pretty cool. I started liking this "Geocaching" a little more. Apparently they are all over Nashville and some are boxes, cans, containers, screws, etc. But you know it when you find it. And now my family, and even me want to go look for another one. We actually did go look for one at a CVS but didn't find it. We'll try again soon.

Last week, Marlin Connelly spoke at our church. He always does a good job. He spoke on the parables of Hidden Treasure. The man finds a treasure in a field and sells everything so he can buy the field. And a merchant finds a valuable pearl and sells everything to buy it. It's fun to find hidden treasure. My boys get so excited when they find a penny on the ground. It's a real treasure to them. Apparently they also get excited to find a screw magnetized to a fence. But it was a treasure. They set out to find something and they did. It IS exciting. Heaven is a treasure. Actually it's THE treasure! It's worth more than any treasure that will ever be found here on Earth. And it's available to all of us. We don't have to look for it with coordinates or clues. We know where it is, but we do have to follow directions to get there. Bro. Connelly made the point how in these parables, these two people gave EVERYTHING away to get their treasure. How willing are we to give literally everything away? Would we give up all earthly possessions, materials, and relationships to gain the one eternal treasure?

The world was supposed to end on May 21. It didn't. Some believed it would and sold everything they had in preparation. Now, they were following a false teacher, but I have to admire their willingness to sell everything and trust in God. If I KNEW Christ was coming tomorrow, could I do the same? The truth is, I do know Christ is coming. Oh, I don't know when and nobody does, but I should be ready every second. I don't think God expects us to literally sell everything and lie in wait. But I do think he expects us to be ready at all times and never put importance on "things". Who cares how much I have or don't have here on Earth? As long as I have a strong relationship with God, I'm getting the treasure.

I can't wait for my family to huddle around Christ in Heaven (instead of a screw) and jump up and down because we found the treasure. One son already is. I'm trying my best to get myself, my wife, and my other sons there.

Feel free to join in on our jumping when you get there.

I love Griffin and I love God.

Keep runnin'. The PRIZE awaits. (Php. 3:14)

-Albert