tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51952494448247098872024-03-13T08:22:50.356-07:00Johnny BraingerouslyA blog about whatever is on my brain... this could get dangerous.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13536178492899121377noreply@blogger.comBlogger56125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195249444824709887.post-8582188623535575222013-03-24T15:59:00.000-07:002013-03-24T15:59:12.236-07:00Creeper's Gonna CreepMy kids love to play Minecraft. I don't get it. It seems like a really dumb game with 1980's graphics. Minecraft has some kind of character called Creeper and there is a saying and even a song with the same title as this post. I am not a creeper fan, but I have been doing some creeping on my friends' Facebook pages.<br />
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Every year for the last 3 or 4 years, for Lent, rather than give something up (like my Catholic friends), I have added something. I have committed each year that during the period of Lent I would pray specifically for each of my Facebook friends.<br />
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Last year I did a bad job of being faithful with the commitment so I ended up praying for each friend on the last day. This year I wanted to do better and I did (a little). While the effort wasn't as focused as it was the first few years, I have prayed for several of my Facebook friends over the last few weeks, as they have come to mind. But with a week left before Easter, I still had many more to pray for.<br />
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Last night I went to bed with a bit of an upset stomach and this morning I woke up feeling the same. So I stayed home from church while my family went without me. I slept for a few hours this morning and even this afternoon. But in between sleeping, I worked my way through my entire list of Facebook friends and prayed for each one.<br />
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I prayed generically for everyone to be healthy physically, emotionally financially, and (most importantly) spiritually. I also prayed for some of the specific concerns that they had Inboxed me about. But I also spent some time "creeping" their Facebook profiles to see what they are up to and get ideas for how to pray for them.<br />
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I prayed for sick friends, their aging parents, and even their children who are sick. I prayed for sprained ankles, broken arms, broken toes, pneumonia, emergency surgeries, cancer diagnoses, cancer treatments, and life threatening trips to the ER.<br />
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I prayed for some who have struggled with drugs or alcoholism. I prayed for strengthening of marriages, healing of friendships, men to be better husbands and fathers, and women to be better wives and mothers. I prayed for teens to be able to stand even if they have to stand alone when faced with peer pressure and I prayed for them to be surrounded by friends who would stand strong with them.<br />
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I prayed for friends who have lost loved ones, friends who are expecting, and friends who have recently welcomed new humans to the planet. I prayed for a friend who blames herself because she stopped a friend to say "Hi" and then let him out of the parking lot before her only to see his life ended too soon when he was T-boned right in front of her.<br />
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I prayed for pastors and their spouses to be faithful ministers of the Gospel and for them to be encouraged when times get tough. I prayed for a friend who started doing Biggest Loser at work and lost 14 pounds in the first 2 weeks. I prayed for friends with new jobs, friends who need a job, and friends who are retired. I prayed for friends who are trying to raise the money to follow God's call on their life to become missionaries (shameless plug <a href="http://followingthefowlers.com/">http://followingthefowlers.com/</a>).<br />
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I prayed for young families, old families, teenage years families, college decisions, and empty nesters. I prayed for those who are single, married, divorced, in a relationship, and it's complicated.<br />
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In short, if you are my Facebook friend, I prayed for you today and maybe even a few times over this past Lent season. I'm not telling you all of this so that you can think that I am such a great guy, because I'm not. I don't want you to think that I am such an amazing spiritual person, because I'm not.<br />
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No. Why I am telling you this, and what I learned the most from this is that I need to be praying for my friends more than just this one time of the year. You all have way too much going on in your lives to only be prayed for during Lent. And besides... your needs don't just wait until this time of the year. You have needs, concerns, and struggles all year long.<br />
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So, I think this is the last time that I take up the Lent prayer commitment. Instead, I hope to commit to praying for my friends all year long. So, if you are reading this, and if you are my friend, and if you could use prayer, just give me a call or drop me a line and I'll be more than happy to pray for you (if you call, I'll even pray with you over the phone at that moment).<br />
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Oh, and one thing... would you pray for me?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13536178492899121377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195249444824709887.post-68295908288448079072013-02-14T19:52:00.000-08:002013-02-14T19:54:26.820-08:00ChromebookFor Christmas, I gave my 17.3 inch HP laptop to Nate. The computers (my old ones) that he had been using just weren't powerful enough to play Mine Craft smoothly. So he had begun to borrow my laptop anyhow. I decided that I would give him my laptop and put Linux on one of the old ones.<br />
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That worked well... for a while. Then the power cord for the old laptop went bad and it wouldn't charge the battery or power the laptop any more. This wasn't the end of the world because I have a laptop at work that I can bring home any time and use it for whatever I need. But I didn't really like carrying home my work laptop every night, especially because it tempted me to do work... first world problems, I know.</div>
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I primarily use computers at home to surf the web and do e-mail; though I have switched to doing almost all e-mail on my smartphone these days. I realized that I don't need a hugely powerful laptop or one with a large screen, like the one that I gave to Nate. So, I started looking around and decided that I would try a Chromebook. If it met my needs, I couldn't go wrong at $250. They even have a version for $199.</div>
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The Chromebook, if you aren't aware is basically a small laptop made by Google (about the size of the Mac Airbook 11). Only it doesn't run Microsoft Windows or some Apple OS or even some mainstream flavor of Linux. It actually runs some scaled down version of Linux, but to the user it just runs Chrome... the Internet browser by Google.</div>
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Everything that you do in a Chromebook, you do in the browser. It doesn't have a large hard drive or the ability to install software on the device itself. Everything is cloud based. I save all my files to Drop Box or Google Drive (though I can save some files locally on the small built in hard drive, or a thumb drive or SD card). You can create Word, Excel, and Powerpoint compatible files, but you must do it using Google Docs online. You can do g-mail or your normal e-mail, but you must do it online via the Chrome web browser.</div>
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The Chromebook is small, light weight and so far has excellent battery life. I really like that mine is quiet, because it doesn't have a normal hard drive, like we're used to, and it doesn't have a fan. The main limitation is that if you are somewhere that doesn't have WIFI available, then you are severely limited with what you can do on the Chromebook, because everything it does is cloud based in the Chrome browser. This isn't a concern for me because I rarely ever take a PC anywhere with me and if I do, WIFI is usually available. Google is getting better at making more things available in offline mode. This problem is minimized in that I can always borrow Nate's laptop or run to the office and grab my work laptop if I need to.</div>
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There is a Chromebook store where you can download 'apps' or 'extensions' to be able to add some functionality to the Chrome browser (Angry Birds, Mint, Evernote, Internet TV, Kindle Cloud Reader, etc.). The selection here is a bit limited, but it seems to be growing quickly, much like the Google Play store for Android phones a few years ago.</div>
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I really like my Chromebook and recommend it for someone on a small budget who is just looking for something to use to surf the web and send e-mails. You can do the other normal computing stuff as well, you just need to find the right cloud based solution for it, like Google Docs. One note of caution, mostly for older folks and you know who you are, just like any small laptop with 11.6 inch screen, you might want to test one out at the store to make sure that if the font is too small, can you adjust it to be big enough to be comfortable for you and still not make the display render everything else too wonky. </div>
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Check 'em out: <a href="http://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/devices">http://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/devices</a>.</div>
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I bought the Samsung Chromebook 3.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13536178492899121377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195249444824709887.post-56717160123197192732013-01-24T19:41:00.000-08:002013-01-24T19:54:05.521-08:00Who Is Jesus?<br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Our men's small group has started a study on the Gospel of John. Our normal leader asked me if I would teach for a few weeks and I said yes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">So tonight, I taught a Bible Study for the first time in a while. I have been teaching in youth groups for the last 3+ years so for the most part I have been doing most of the talking and mostly to people less mature in their faith than I am. Tonight was a little different as there were some more mature Christians present and I am rusty at creating the good dialogue over the passage at hand. I don't think the lesson was too bad, but the delivery was rusty.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The Gospel of John is so good because it really paints a picture of who Jesus is. It says in John 20:30-31 that is the purpose of the book, "Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name."</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">I made 3 main points or pictures of who Jesus is:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Jesus (the Word of God) is the Creator.</b> He was there in the beginning. Even before Genesis 1:1, Jesus was there.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><i>John 1:1-5, 14</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Jesus (the Word of God) is the Sustainer.</b> He holds the whole world (and more) in his hands. He is the Strong Force that scientists puzzle about that holds atoms together.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Hebrews 1:3</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Colossians 1:17</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Jesus (the Word of God) is Savior.</b> In him alone, our hope is found.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><i>1 Peter 1:23</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"> For you have been born again,not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">I don't know where you are right now. But where ever that is, won't you let the Word of God speak to you?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Do you need to know that he made you and created you because he loves you? Do you need to know that he has a purpose for you? Listen. I mean really listen. Can you hear him calling you?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Do you need to know that he can sustain you. Do you need to know that he has you in his hands? Do you need to know that what ever the struggle, he knows and he cares and he is there waiting for you to give it to him? Romans 8:28 tells us, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Do you love him? He loves you. Listen. I mean really listen. Can you hear him calling you?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Do you need to know him as Savior? Have you messed things up? Don't know where to turn? We have all been there. Romans 3:23 tells us, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." But Romans 3:24 continues, "and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." It is grace. It's a gift. There is nothing that you have to do to earn it. In fact, you can't earn it. Not even on your best day. Listen. I mean really listen. Can you hear him calling you?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">He's repeating Matthew 11:28, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."</span></div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13536178492899121377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195249444824709887.post-22646236229907563702013-01-13T18:55:00.000-08:002013-01-13T19:13:33.181-08:00Husbands Love Your WivesWhen the annals of history are published for our generation, I most certainly will not be in there as one of the greatest husbands of our time. Fact is I'm too selfish, lazy, and grumpy to even be considered. But I am trying...<br />
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In recent weeks and months, I have been doing a lot of thinking about what being a good husband looks like. Hopefully, one of these days I may get around into putting some of it into practice. I think I have settled on a mission statement for being a better husband: Love Her Like You'd Die For Her. Every time I come up with an idea of something that I could do to be a better husband, it boils down to that mission statement.<br />
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As I have been working through this, I've drawn insight from 3 main places -- the Bible, my experience (married almost 19 years), and the experiences of others. The Bible talks about marriage in a number of places. I'm going to share a little from the 4 places in the Bible that talk about a husband's responsibilities which have helped me the most.<br />
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Genesis 2:24<br />
<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%202:24&version=NIV1984">http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%202:24&version=NIV1984</a><br />
Genesis 2 tells us that a man is to leave his father and mother and unite to his wife and become one flesh. That is, the man is supposed to make the relationship that he has with his wife the most important human relationship that he ever has... more important than his guy friends, more important than his father and yes, more important than his mother. This is God's design for the marriage relationship. Many marriages struggle and even fail because this concept is not practiced. Can you see it? Love her like you'd die for her.<br />
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Colossians 3:19<br />
<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Colossians%203:19&version=NIV1984">http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Colossians%203:19&version=NIV1984</a><br />
Simply put, this passage says that husbands are to love their wives and not be harsh with them. What else can I say about that? Love her like you'd die for her.<br />
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1 Peter 3:7<br />
<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Peter%203:7&version=NIV1984">http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Peter%203:7&version=NIV1984</a><br />
This passage tells us to be considerate as we live with our wives and treat them with respect. The interesting thing about this verse is that it seems to indicate a negative impact of not doing it. Now, I don't really know what it means that something could hinder your prayers. But I do know that if I don't want my prayers to be hindered, then I'd better love my wife like I would die for her.<br />
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Ephesians 5:21-33<br />
<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians%205:21-33&version=NIV1984">http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians%205:21-33&version=NIV1984</a><br />
This just may be the most referenced passage from the Bible when it comes to the topic of marriage. As I read it, I only see one directive for husbands... to love your wives like Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. How did Christ love the church? He died for her.<br />
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You may ask... what about the wife? What's her job? Ephesians 5 (and the other passages too - if you read the surrounding verses) spells this out perfectly. The wife is to submit to her husband. Now mind you, I do not believe that this teaches some kind of caveman mentality where the husband should have some power trip over the wife. After all, the Ephesians passage starts out saying that we (as Christians, not husband and wife) should submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. This general principle for our relationships with other Christians also applies to our relationships between husbands and wives.<br />
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Also, Ephesians only has one command for the husband... to love his wife like Christ loved the church. Notice that the passage does not say that the husband is supposed to <i>make</i> his wife submit to her. However, I do believe that Ephesians 5 does have the recipe for how a husband can 'make' his wife submit to him. He must love her like Christ love the church. He must love her like he'd die for her. If she refuses to submit to the husband, then she will have to answer to God about that.<br />
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When I was in college, I once sat in a Bible discussion group about this passage. One of the young ladies in the group who was initially debating against the idea of submission for wives came to a realization that changed her way of thinking. She said that if her (future) husband would live and treat her in such a way that is consistent with his role as described in Ephesians 5, then she would have no problem submitting to him. If that was the case, then she would know that his every action and intention would be for her good, because he would be loving her like he'd die for her.<br />
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Do I have this all worked out? No. Do I know how to always practice loving my wife like I'd die for her? No. If I did know how to always do it, would I? No -- I already told you that I'm too selfish, lazy and grumpy. But I will keep trying. Pray for me in this area -- but make sure you're loving your wife and treating her with respect first. I don't want your prayers for me to be hindered.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13536178492899121377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195249444824709887.post-19651988122957471942012-12-31T18:37:00.000-08:002012-12-31T19:31:55.134-08:002012It has been one year since my last blog post. I can't really call myself a blogger can I? Well, I did sit down to write several blogs during this last year. But I never completed them. I think some of them were really good ideas and I'm bummed that I never completed them. I'll try to write more often in 2013. We are currently sitting down as a family to write goals. Maybe my personal goal will be to blog more frequently. For now, I will use the rest of this blog to look back on my 2012.<br />
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January: The attempt to find a job and move to Florida was in full swing. I spent many a night online submitting resumes and filling out applications. There were several that rejected me and several that I rejected. We knew that we wanted to move to Florida (well I had some thoughts about North Carolina). The house repairs, painting and remodeling would soon be in full swing.<br />
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February: Working with the middle school students at The Bible Chapel was a blast. I really love those students. I feel like I was doing some of the best teaching that I've ever done in February and March. I love to teach Biblical principles to youth. The spring of 2012 really felt like a time that I was doing something that God wants me to do.<br />
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March: This was probably the most awkward month for me. Plans to move to Florida hadn't really made any serious progress yet. But I was starting to feel like it was a foregone conclusion. I noticed that I started to withdraw from things in Pittsburgh. It was a self-defense mechanism. I didn't want the move to hurt so much. It really was the worst month of the year for me.<br />
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April: We put our house on the Market in April. We got an offer in 4 days. We didn't have a job or place to live in Florida yet, but we accepted the offer anyhow. It was a dreadfully wonderful experience to just throw logic aside and trust God with absolutely everything.<br />
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May: I got a job offer in Jacksonville Florida and headed south on May 15th after my last day at Dick's Sporting Goods. We found a place to build our new house on the 17th and a short-term rental on the 18th and I started my new job at Stein Mart on the 21st. The world was spinning fast in May.<br />
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June: We officially headed south with all of our belongings on June 1st, after Paige's last dance recital. We had closed on the sale of our house 2 days earlier. We also officially became members of our new church and jumped right into a small group. Small group is a great bunch of guys and ladies who we really love. I think we could spend every day with them, but they'd probably get too tired of us too quickly.<br />
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July: Perhaps the least eventful month of the year for us. The major event was that we hosted our first visitors from up north as Tammie's brother and his family came and spent the week of the 4th of July with us. We spent a lot of time at the beach :) I think July is also the month that our friends, the Olsons, took us out for a day of jet skiing. What a blast!!!!!<br />
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August: Early in August, out of the blue, I got a call from a corporate recruiter for DMEautomotive. Normally I just let unexpected calls go straight to voice mail but for some strange reason I answered this one. A few short weeks later, I started my new job. It has been a long time since I have learned this much, this fast at work. It is both exhilarating and exhausting at the same time.<br />
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September: The main event for September was a camping trip to Navarre Beach, near Pensacola Florida with our friends from up north, the Konrads (now living in Mississippi). There they told us that their dog was soon to have puppies. We asked if we could have the runt.<br />
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October: Perhaps the most stressful month of the year. Our house was scheduled to be done being built by the 31st. We didn't ever think they'd get it all done in time. But thanks to a bunch of great guys from small group, we had a very easy move to our new place in time for Halloween.<br />
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November: Our first full month in our new house. Lots of little things happened in November. New furniture arrived. I got a 60 inch HD 3D TV and DirecTV to watch the Penguins and Steelers (ok so not everything came up roses in 2012). Thanks to friends from small group, I had my first fried turkey for Thanksgiving. YUM!<br />
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December: Perhaps the best thing in December... NO SNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We picked up our dog, Cocoa. She is easily the best puppy that I've ever had. She is some kind of a Chocolate Lab mix. Everyone who meets her tells us that the mix is Doberman. I can see it in her coloring, but her sister had unmistakably German Shepherd coloring. We may never know.<br />
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There is way too much more to write about 2012. But you're certainly bored already. To be sure, God is good all the time and 2012 was no exception.<br />
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Wishing you a richly blessed 2013!<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13536178492899121377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195249444824709887.post-81236754084223297232011-12-31T10:24:00.000-08:002011-12-31T10:24:59.246-08:002011: The Good, The Bad, the Ugly, and the BeautifulIt's New Years Eve day. 2012 is just around the corner. I'm sitting at my computer reading FaceBook and working on my lesson on the first 31 chapters of the book of Job for church tomorrow... well, now I'm also blogging (blogging = procrastinating).<br />
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As I'm reading FaceBook, I'm saddened to see that so many of my friends and family had a crappy 2011. As I'm reading Job, I'm encouraged in 2 ways.<br />
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First, no matter how bad your or my 2011 was, it is almost impossible to be as bad as just one day was for Job. Job was a very blessed man. He had fame and fortune. He had a good family, a successful business, and good friends who could and would see him through tough times. He had iPads, iPhones, HD TVs (plasma, LCD, and LED - just so he could really be sure which one was the best), and all the other latest tech toys. He drove a BMW 5 series on the odd days and a Hummer H2 on the even days. His garage also housed several Mercedes ragtops, a '69 Mustang GT, 3 different Harleys, and a '59 Studabaker that was currently being restored. His bank account was larger than Bill Gates' and his 401K was so large that they referred to it as a 4010000000K. Then in one day, in fact, in one half hour period it was all taken away from him. His vehicles were all stolen and taken to a chop shop. The government issued bail out that completely devalued the dollar and sent the market into a downward spiral. His children and their families were wiped out by a tornado. His tech devices were all fried by unexpected solar flares that caused high levels of destructive electromagnetic radiation. His banker funneled all his money into his own off shore account. In short, he was ruined. And if that wasn't enough, his body was soon to break out with the most painful and disgusting looking boils ever imagined.<br />
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Second, no matter how bad it gets, the proper response is to praise God for His goodness. I know. That doesn't seem to make sense. But the reality of it is that no matter how bad you or I have had it, it could be worse. Even in Job's case, it could've been worse; his wife could've died, he could've become blind of deaf, the list goes on. As in Job's case, it is normal and OK to question God as to why all this has happened. It is even normal and OK to tell God that you feel like it isn't fair. But, like Job, we must also give glory and honor to God for the blessings that you do still have and for having had the time and opportunities with those you have lost.<br />
<br />
So with all that in mind, I figured that I'd list my top 3 Good, Bad and Ugly thoughts from 2011.<br />
<br />
Good:<br />
1. We all have our health.<br />
2. The Steelers made it to the Superbowl.<br />
3. We had a great vacation to Disney this year.<br />
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The Bad:<br />
1. Had to go to 2 funerals this year (2 funerals too many).<br />
2. The Steelers lost the Superbowl.<br />
3. Didn't spend enough time with family and friends.<br />
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The Ugly:<br />
1. My step-brother, Amon died in November.<br />
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Thankfully, my Ugly list is limited to 1.<br />
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And finally we also have a Beautiful list to counter the Ugly list:<br />
1. Tammie and I have a new dream that we are actively pursuing. More to come on this later.<br />
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My prayer for you this day is that you can look back on 2011 and still give glory and honor to God for all of his goodness and that your 2012 is more like the end of Job's life. In case you haven't read the story, Job ends up more blessed and more prosperous than ever. To God be the glory!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13536178492899121377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195249444824709887.post-74955324829060983612011-08-20T11:06:00.000-07:002011-08-20T11:06:04.129-07:00It Has Been a WhileIt has been a busy summer of getting almost nothing done; including blogging. The last couple of weeks have included trips to Virginia and Washington, DC, attending the Washington County Fair (almost every night), working on my resume, interviewing for new jobs (both inside DSG and outside... no good leads yet), teaching Jake how to shoot guns, helping friends move and potentially preparing to adopt (can't really say much more about this yet).<br />
<br />
I'm behind on yard work. We're behind on getting our house ready for sale next year. I'm behind on continuing a conversation with a friend about buying property from him. I'm behind on getting into better shape. And we haven't been in the pool in weeks.<br />
<br />
But we serve an awesome God. We have been wrestling through several things this summer and have been trying to determine God's will for us in many areas. The coolest part is that we are more open to anything than we have ever been in the past and that has helped us to sense God's blessing in new and different ways.<br />
<br />
I think the next few weeks and months are shaping up to be an amazing ride for our family. My only prayer is, "Have Your way, Jesus. Have your way in our lives.."Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13536178492899121377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195249444824709887.post-24598563685231775402011-07-29T21:47:00.000-07:002011-07-29T21:49:17.790-07:00Life Is MessyLife is messy. So is Muckfest. I, however, don't like to be messy. "What is Muckfest?" you ask. It's only the most fun you can have with slime, paint, water, mud and almost 200 teenagers.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kbszweVZcCg/TjOI9NQjz6I/AAAAAAAAAKw/PwwN1hhk1GM/s1600/249237_10150267780694586_677004585_7451972_1483385_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kbszweVZcCg/TjOI9NQjz6I/AAAAAAAAAKw/PwwN1hhk1GM/s320/249237_10150267780694586_677004585_7451972_1483385_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Every year our church puts on an multi-day event called Teen Madness. The apex of the the event is Muckfest. Muckfest involves the teens painting themselves, sloshing in kiddy pools filled with slime, sliding on slip-n-slides covered in slime, sliding down a hill into a slime pit and wallowing in mud -- all contained in a giant mud pit that is being showered by local firefighters. When all is said and done, the kids gather in the parking lot and are showered off by more firefighters. The teens absolutely love it.<br />
<br />
This is the 3rd year that I've helped out with Teen Madness. Until this year I have never gotten messy at Muckfest. I usually stand on the sidelines and escort teens to first aid when they have too much slop in their eyes.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ma8Wrsn_9QY/TjONMKzIKaI/AAAAAAAAAK0/7SXJA-k1e50/s1600/229743_10150267776714586_677004585_7451927_6050849_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ma8Wrsn_9QY/TjONMKzIKaI/AAAAAAAAAK0/7SXJA-k1e50/s320/229743_10150267776714586_677004585_7451927_6050849_n.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>This year started out in much the same fashion. Then the students started coming to me all slimed up and asking for hugs. I know they didn't really want hugs. They really wanted to get me all slimed up too. So I gave in and handed out hugs.<br />
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So now I'm reflecting on the events of the night. Here's my takeaway...<br />
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Life is messy. The people around us live messy lives. The way I figure it, we have 2 choices. We can stand on the sidelines and watch them wallow in the mud and slime. Or, we can get messy with them and give them hugs.<br />
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Jesus chose to get messy. He got right there into people's messy lives. Philippians 2:8 says, "And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross!" Jesus got messy by hanging out with the messy people of his day. He was often hanging out with tax collectors, prostitutes, lepers, and other outcasts. He comforted. He healed. He rebuked. He encouraged. And most importantly he died on the cross for their sins and ours. Jesus got messy for them. Jesus got messy for you and me. Jesus got messy to make us clean.<br />
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Now, Jesus wants us to get messy to share his love with others. I think next year, I might have to step up my messiness.<br />
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Who wants a hug?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13536178492899121377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195249444824709887.post-17568931636566618342011-07-19T19:17:00.000-07:002011-07-19T19:17:16.437-07:004 Letter WordsI've had this post bouncing around in my head for a few weeks. I even had a debate with my wife about it.<br />
<br />
Warning: this post may make me seem a bit more liberal than I really am. The views expressed here may not actually represent the views of the writer. I'm just throwing thoughts out there.<br />
<br />
Why are cuss words bad? First, let me say that I don't cuss. We try to shelter our kids from such language. One time our daughter came to us and told us that she heard the "s" word on TV. When we asked her what the "s" word was, she responded, "stupid." We knew that we were doing our job.<br />
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Recently our kids were at a Pokemon tournament at the local library. After the fact, we found out that the event was not chaperoned adequately. Our kids (ages 13, 11 and 9) told us that they heard the "f" word from a few teenagers at the tournament. Well this time they really did hear the "f" word. Thankfully they knew it was bad, even though they didn't know what it was slang for.<br />
<br />
Forget that I don't know why kids that age were using that word at a public library. Why do people need to use that word at all? I know people who use it every 3rd or 4th word. Does it really add to the conversation that much?<br />
<br />
But here is the question that I'm really wondering... what makes some words worse than others, even though they mean the same thing? Why is sh-- worse than poop... pi-- worse than pee... da-- worse than darn. One word in each of these sets is acceptable; one isn't. Why?<br />
<br />
I know parents who would never let their kids use the "f" word. But these same kids use "fudge" or "freaking" in the same context in a sentence. What's the difference? When I hear the word "fudge" or "freaking" used in those contexts, I think of the other word, so why not just use the other word?<br />
<br />
I also know a few good kids who post "WTF" on their FaceBook posts. And some who will even say "what the f" in conversation. Why is that acceptable? Why can you allude to the word, so long as you don't actually say it... even though your hearers think and even in one sense "hear" it?<br />
<br />
2 Corinthians 10:5 says, "[W]e take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." Words are spoken thoughts. Can you use 4 letter words and take every thought captive?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13536178492899121377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195249444824709887.post-16359166139339339792011-07-09T19:11:00.000-07:002011-07-09T19:11:51.356-07:00HondaA couple of years ago, I picked out an used 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan for my wife. It had low miles and was at a good price. Tammie had been wanting to get back into a van. So I got her one.<br />
<div><br />
</div><div>I picked the Grand Caravan because, in my mind, they invented the minivan and none had surpassed them yet. But I was wrong... they were no longer the king of the hill. They had been surpassed by the Honda Odyssey and Toyota Sienna and maybe even a few others.</div><div><br />
</div><div>She has hated that thing. It wasn't too bad for the first year or so. But over the last 2 years, it has been in the shop for one thing after the other. The crazy thing... with all the trips to the shop, we tried 3 or 4 different garages... and EVERY time (I kid you not) when they found out what was wrong, they told us, "Yes, these vans are known for this." I think the only those vans were not known for was being reliable.</div><div><br />
</div><div>The last time the van was in the shop, Tammie asked the guy which types of cars he saw the least. His first answer was Mercedes Benz. Well, we're not getting one of those. His second answer was Hondas and Nissans. Tammie soon fell in love with the Odyssey. So today, on a whim, we stopped into South Hills Honda and looked up Ron Paree.<br />
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Now, I have to tell you, we didn't think that we would be able to work a out a deal today. We figured that between what we still owed on the Caravan and what it was worth, given all the problems we've had with it, that we'd be too negative such that it would be cost prohibitive.<br />
<br />
Two things happened today that shocked me. 1. Tammie said that she didn't want a minivan. I think she's tired of the soccer mom stigma that comes from driving a minivan. 2. South Hills Honda came through. We picked out a 2008 Honda CR-V all wheel drive with 27K miles. I don't know how they worked out the numbers, but they were able to hit our payment and the price even included a 5 year 75K miles 100% warranty with no deductible (we didn't want to get nickle and dimed to death like the Caravan was doing to us).<br />
<br />
So we are now a 2 Honda driving family. If you're looking for a Honda, head over to South Hills Honda, look up Ron Paree and tell him that I sent you. Tell him if he doesn't give you a good deal then Tammie will stop making cheesecakes for them.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13536178492899121377noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195249444824709887.post-26562028441417194532011-06-29T19:07:00.000-07:002011-06-29T19:09:52.199-07:00Losing MeI used to love Major League Baseball... even way back in the 80s when the Pirates were bad. When I was in college I would jump on a bus to downtown Pittsburgh and take in a game by myself. I watched every game on TV that I could.<br />
<br />
Once, I even wrote a letter to the owners of the Cleveland Indians (David and Richard Jacobs) and told them to hire me as the team's manager. At that time, the Indians were one of the worst teams in baseball year after year. My main selling point was that they couldn't do any worse. I never heard from them.<br />
<br />
But then 1994 happened. 1994 is the year that they played almost all of the regular season and then went on strike; ending the season and canceling the playoffs. It was the year without a World Series. It was also the last year I ever watched Major League Baseball. It was at least 10 years before I ever went to another game. Since then I have been to less than 10 games... and I haven paid to go to a single one. Every game that I have seen was because I was given free tickets. I haven't bought a single MLB licensed product. Major League Baseball absolutely lost a fan in 1994. And who knows... my kids aren't baseball fans now. Maybe they would be if I still was.<br />
<br />
Now there's the National Football League. My current favorite sport. I will spend the entire day on Sundays watching games. Now they're on strike. Strike/lockout I don't care what you call it. It's a bunch of millionaires arguing with billionaires over how much they should get paid to play a game.<br />
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Keep it up NFL. You're losing me.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13536178492899121377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195249444824709887.post-72767046307717638942011-06-22T19:51:00.000-07:002011-06-22T19:51:50.535-07:00Summer Is Upon UsToday is the second day of summer. Summer is, by far, my absolute favorite season of the year. I want to say that it is the busiest time of the year, but it isn't entirely true. Sure, there's grass cutting (which I haven't done in almost 2 weeks) and other things to take up all the time. But my busy summer seems to be taking the theme of spending entire afternoons and evenings in the pool - yay!<br />
<br />
Problem is... spending so much time in the pool leads to not getting much done. As already mentioned, I'm behind on the grass cutting, though I plan to cut it tomorrow night. But it has taken me away from spending time on the computer (not a bad thing) and blogging (again, not a bad thing). Chilling in the pool also has me behind a bit some of the outside tasks that need to get done to get the house ready for sale next year. And finally, just hanging in the pool isn't quite the exercise that I need to be getting to continue to my goal of losing 10 pounds. Guess I need to spend more time throwing Paige and Nate across the pool to get my exercise in.<br />
<br />
Maybe the exercise that I really need is throwing Jacob across the pool... ya, that doesn't go so well.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13536178492899121377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195249444824709887.post-22888799734854868322011-06-11T06:29:00.000-07:002011-06-11T06:29:26.366-07:00Different...Today is the day that we celebrate our 17th anniversary. There were a bunch of different things that we did in our ceremony that I don't think I've seen anything like them in any other ceremony. I thought I'd list a few of them out.<br />
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As I already mentioned in my previous post, we responded with "Yes" when others normally respond "I do."<br />
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Unity Candle - We had a unity candle. But we did something neat with it. I took my candle and Tammie took her candle. Together we lit the unity candle at the same time. But then, after we blew out our individual candles, I gave mine to her mom and dad and Tammie gave hers to my mom and dad.<br />
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Vows - We wrote our own vows, but we used a passage from Ruth 1:16-17 to write them. Here's the inspiration for our vows, "Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me."<br />
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Rings - We copied a scene from the movie, The Scarlet Pimpernel, for our ring ceremony. Too much to explain, you'll just have to rent the movie.<br />
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I Will Be Here - My brother, Pete, played my 12 string guitar and sang this song by Steven Curtis Chapman in our wedding.<br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Reception - I refused to kiss on demand when people clanged their spoons on their glasses. In fact, at one spot when the clanging was especially loud, I excused myself to the restroom. Oh, and there was my friend, Will, who clanged so loudly/hard that he broke his glass.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div>One other interesting fact - It was a sunny, hot and humid day. It did not rain at all that day... except for about 10 minutes during the ceremony. It was just perfect enough to ease the humidity. And honestly, if someone didn't tell me that it rained, we never would have known. It was sunny otherwise.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13536178492899121377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195249444824709887.post-54698943026802075182011-06-09T19:51:00.001-07:002011-06-09T19:51:50.976-07:00A Drop in the BucketOver 18 years ago, I struck it rich; not in money. Somehow, I convinced Tammie that it would be a good thing for her if she agreed to marry me. And 17 years ago this Saturday, June 11, I convinced her that saying "Yes" was the right thing to do. Apparently I was a much better liar or a budding used car salesman back then ;)<br />
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An interesting fact about our wedding: we didn't use the phrase, "I do." Instead, when prompted by the pastor with the question, we gave the response, "Yes." We took the Biblical passage in Matthew 5:37 literally.<br />
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Matthew 5:37 New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)<br />
37 Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.<br />
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17 years is something to be proud of these days. But it is just a drop in the bucket for what we've committed to. We committed to 'until death do we part' and we mean that. I got the better end of the deal on that one. Tammie is by far and away easier to live with than me.<br />
<br />
When it comes to our marriage, I like to think of it in terms of a football analogy. I often tell others that I out kicked my coverage on this one. For some reason she has chosen to run slow enough for me to stay in the game. I love her for that, among many other reasons.<br />
<br />
Happy anniversary, Babe!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13536178492899121377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195249444824709887.post-56266659308810736362011-05-31T19:08:00.000-07:002011-05-31T19:08:39.324-07:00PoolWhen I was young, I always wanted a pool. We lived in the middle of nowhere. We had 2 neighbors and one house down the road a bit. Of the 4 houses we were the only ones without a pool. I felt so deprived. Truth is I grew up very, very spoiled. A pool was pretty much the only thing that I wanted that I didn't get.<br />
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That memory drove me. I was pretty sure that I would have a pool as an adult. 1. I wanted to satisfy that desire and 2. because I wanted to spoil my kids. Two summers ago we finally bought one. It was a surprise for the kids. We bought the pool during the week that they were all away at summer camp. They loved the pool. For the rest of that summer we could hardly keep them out of the pool.<br />
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Last year was a different story. For what ever the reason, I had to threaten or bribe the kids to get them into the pool. I think the primary complaint was that they hated having to put waterproof sunscreen on before getting in. I also think they got bored in the pool with just the 5 of us, or some subset variation. It got so bad that for the last month or so of the season, I had trouble keeping the pool from turning green. The water was too stagnant; not enough water churn.<br />
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This year, I hope to have better usage of the pool. We need to make a better effort to have friends over to swim with us. If you read this and are our friends, you ARE invited. Feel free to call if you want to come over.<br />
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Hopefully the pool will be open in a few days. I plan on putting everything together, filling with water and adding the opening chemicals tomorrow night.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13536178492899121377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195249444824709887.post-12062169706913390932011-05-27T19:09:00.000-07:002011-05-27T19:09:16.333-07:00CampingWe're going camping. I love to camp. I hate to camp.<br />
<br />
When everything is going right, camping is one of the purest forms of enjoyment that there is. Two years ago we went camping over Memorial Day weekend. Just about everything went perfect. The weather was great. Cook Forest State Park was beautiful. We all caught some trout and cooked it up. We met some camping neighbors who were a lot of fun and who have kids the same ages as ours. It was the absolute best camping experience that we have had as a family.<br />
<br />
The previous camping trip was almost the complete opposite. We arrived at the camp grounds in Tionesta on Friday night. We unpacked the truck and set up the tent. Then it started to rain. It rained non-stop until Sunday morning... just in time to take down the tent and pack up to head home. The showers and restrooms were absolutely disgusting. The only saving grace for that trip was that we spent most of the day Saturday at Tammie's aunt and uncle's house in town. Their whole family was home for the holiday so we had some great company.<br />
<br />
The time before that, we went to Coopers Rock State Park with some friends. The first day there was pretty nice... until the niece of our friends (who was on the trip) was discovered to have lice. The second day there was a decent day until it started to rain that night. It rained so hard that night that our tent sprang a leak and we (and our stuff) were getting wet. One of our kids was very young at this point and she cried all night long. We woke up early on Sunday and packed up in the rain and headed home soaked and wet. This was the absolute worst experience that we've had as a family (camping or not).<br />
<br />
So what will this trip be like? It almost depends on the hour that you check the weather. One report says sunny and hot (near 90) all weekend. One says 20 - 30% chance of rain all weekend, but sunny otherwise. One predicts scattered thunderstorms over the weekend. And one even predicts 40 - 60% chance of rain every day of the weekend. So what will we get?<br />
<br />
One thing, those friends that we met 2 years ago will be there this weekend and we'll be camping next to them again. We have cots this year' my back will be very happy. I have a shade canopy that is large enough to cover our tent, so if it rains we should be able to stay dry. I have packed my huge tarp, which I now always bring to hang between trees over the tent in case it rains hard. So we should be comfortable if it rains. I'm just hoping that it doesn't.<br />
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I love to camp. I'm just not sure that camping loves me.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13536178492899121377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195249444824709887.post-60550464189969653712011-05-24T19:45:00.000-07:002011-05-24T19:45:43.683-07:00Headaches...I am working hard at getting healthier. I've been running, playing basketball and playing racquetball. Probably some time soon, I'll be adding some weight training. I'm also working at giving up caffeine and artificial sweeteners. Finally the last thing that I am working on is lowering my triglycerides.<br />
<br />
In the past, I have had high cholesterol issues. Last week at a health fair at work, I had my lipid profile tested. The numbers were closer to being normal than they've been in a long time. Basically if I can get my triglycerides in check, the other numbers will be in the normal range. That's exciting to me.<br />
<br />
But I'm having a problem with headaches. Usually that would be normal for someone giving up caffeine. Except that I made it through the whole weekend with no caffeine and no headaches. The last 2 times that I had horrible headaches have come directly after playing basketball or racquetball. I can tell that the source of these headaches is in my neck and shoulder muscles. As soon as I can get them to relax, the headaches go away.<br />
<br />
Visiting the chiropractor helps because he twists my neck and puts electric stimulation therapy on the muscles that makes the muscles relax. But I want to work my way away from the chiropractor. I need to figure out what I do while playing sports that causes the tightness. And I need to figure out how relax those muscles on my own.<br />
<br />
Any ideas?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13536178492899121377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195249444824709887.post-57238024840658933472011-05-21T19:37:00.000-07:002011-05-21T19:37:37.815-07:00Men Who Stare at GoatsWow! Could they actually make a dumber movie? Answer -- I don't think so.<br />
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A few years ago we watched "Don't Mess with the Zohan". Both of these movies are of a genre that we don't usually watch. But every once in a while, we'll watch one of them. The Zohan movie, though a bit crass, was actually funny. But "Men Who Stare at Goats"... not quite.<br />
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3 words... Don't Watch It!!!!!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13536178492899121377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195249444824709887.post-2874088987824845142011-05-18T19:44:00.000-07:002011-05-18T19:44:39.498-07:00Behind in ScheduleA few weeks ago, I set a goal to lose 10 pounds before my next wedding anniversary. Basically I've gained 10 pounds since I've started working at Dick's Sporting Goods, 3.5 years ago. But I haven't been faithfully working at losing the weight. I am down 2 pounds, but I'm also about half way to the target date. I need to get working at it. To get to my goal, I'm going to have to get really serious with diet and exercise.<br />
<br />
Well tonight I did a good thing. We took the kids to a birthday party at Krispy Kreme. They had free donuts. I spent the entire hour and a half there and didn't have a bite, even though I was extremely hungry. Not only that, but I came home had a small dinner and then did 2 miles on the treadmill. I realize that 2 miles on the treadmill isn't very difficult, but remember that I hate running. It is good on my part that I am actually working on my goal.<br />
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24 days and 8 pounds to go. I can do it.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13536178492899121377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195249444824709887.post-48866349863909923902011-05-14T18:52:00.000-07:002011-05-14T18:56:20.034-07:00BBQWell, we grilled out again tonight. Paige actually asked me to put my homemade BBQ sauce on her burger. So I decided to try to mix a batch of it again.<br />
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In my first go round of it, I applied the ingredients to the meat individually every time I flipped the meat. Tonight, I actually mixed all the ingredients together in a bowl. It turned out quite tasty.<br />
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The first time around, I sprinkled minced onion spice and garlic salt on the meat. Then I squirted and brushed on some Heinz ketchup. But I still felt like something was missing. I told Paige that every BBQ sauce needs one thing... something sweet. Since Jacob had just made snicker-doodle cookies the day before, we just happened to have a mix of cinnamon and sugar sitting in a bowl on the kitchen counter. It was the perfect final ingredient to the sauce. I know, there is probably a real BBQ recipe out there that this resembles. But the point is that I haven't read any of them, so this creation was all my own. It was good enough for me and tasty enough for my picky kids. Paige especially loved it.<br />
<br />
So tonight, I made a sauce. I put some ketchup in a bowl and sprinkled in some minced onion and garlic salt. Then I added cinnamon (more than you might think to overtake the ketchup flavor) and sugar. Stirred it all up and gave it a taste. Yum! But I wasn't finished yet. I needed Paige's thumbs up. I got 2 of them. She loved her burger with Dad's BBQ sauce.<br />
<br />
Next time I should probably take measurements for the ingredients.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13536178492899121377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195249444824709887.post-44931788304513605572011-05-13T17:37:00.000-07:002011-05-13T17:56:39.174-07:00A Tale of Two DealershipsFirst things first... if you're in the market for a vehicle and Chevrolet is your brand, check out Washington Chevy and look up my friend Wil Barkey (<a href="http://www.washingtonchevy.com/">http://www.washingtonchevy.com/</a>). Unfortunately for me, I don't like GM vehicles and will <i>probably</i> never buy one again.<br />
<br />
This time around I was shopping around for 40 MPG. Just about nothing else mattered, besides it not being a GM (or a Prius). I had done some shopping around on the web and pretty much settled on a Honda Civic since the 2012 models boast an impressive 39 MPG. For the record, a little over 3 weeks into owning the Civic and it is averaging 35.6 MPG, combined city and highway (mostly highway). I'm pretty happy with that, especially when you consider that I was getting 16.5 in my truck.<br />
<br />
So when I was looking at the Civics, I went to Washington Honda (<a href="http://www.washingtonpahonda.com/">http://www.washingtonpahonda.com/</a>). Before you go any further, my recommendation is... ABSOLUTELY DO <u>NOT</u> BUY THERE. First off the salesman flat out lied to me. I asked him about the other nearest Honda dealership so that I could find a specific color; I like black cars and they only had silver or blue. Also, the model he was trying to put me in had leather interior. The guy told me about the closest Honda dealership... one that was about 40 miles away. I knew that there was one about 15 miles, or less, away. So I asked him about South Hills Honda (<a href="http://southhillshonda.com/">http://southhillshonda.com/</a>). He told me that it was an Acura dealership. I didn't call him out on it.<br />
<br />
Then I stayed while they looked at my truck and worked up the numbers. When it all came out, Washington Honda was $100 a month more than I wanted to pay. I told the man thanks. He said, "That's it? We can't find middle ground somewhere?" I told him that we were $100 off and that there wasn't a middle ground that made me happy. So he let me walk out the door. I was off to South Hills Honda.<br />
<br />
When I got to South Hills Honda, I asked where the new Civics were. They pointed me in the right direction. I walked out to them and saw a black one that didn't have leather interior (had all the other major bells and whistles, though). I walked back to the sales room. When a salesman approached me and asked if he could help me, I handed him all my papers (owners card, payoff statement drivers license, etc.) and told him to work me up numbers on a trade, my Titan for the black Civic. He was a bit flabbergasted that I didn't want to take it for a ride.<br />
<br />
So I told him about my experience at the other dealership and that, in my opinion, Honda had a black eye. I also told him that they had 1 shot to hit it out of the park or I'd never own a Honda. He was appalled about what had happened and said he'd do everything he could to make it right. He had me tell the sales manager the story, who was shocked as well. When the numbers came in they were only about $20, not $100, away from my target payment (the difference in leather and non-leather interior is only $1000 which is only about a $20 a month payment difference). I told them that they were close and we'd have a deal if they could meet me in the middle... $10 a month difference. They did. The experience at South Hills Honda was very pleasant. And... they have free inspections (for all of my vehicles) as long as I own my Honda... a pretty nice perk.<br />
<br />
So if you're in the market for a Chevy, help out my friend Wil. If you're in the market for a Honda, check out South Hills Honda and Ron Paree. In either case, tell them that I sent you.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13536178492899121377noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195249444824709887.post-62824739187976272182011-05-11T17:46:00.000-07:002011-05-13T13:49:22.437-07:00To Be or Not To Be...A few years ago, my sister-in-law told me that I was weird. True that may be. Actually she didn't tell me that I was weird. She told me that I talk weird.<br />
<br />
It might be a Pittsburgh thing. It may be a Pennsylvania thing. Maybe it is even more common than that. She corrected me for dropping the phrase, "to be" from sentences.<br />
<br />
I would say things like, "The grass needs cut." When I really should be saying, "The grass needs to be cut." I didn't even realize that I was doing this.<br />
<br />
But now, I try to make sure that I say "to be" when appropriate. But that's not where it ends. Now it drives me nuts when I hear other people leave out those 2 little words. It's like nails on a chalk board to me... and <i>everybody</i> does it!<br />
<br />
Phew! I got that off of my chest. This blog needs posted.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13536178492899121377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195249444824709887.post-34708830739587906422011-05-10T17:16:00.000-07:002011-05-10T17:16:03.033-07:00I forgot to mention...Back in my blog post about OBL, I forgot one thing.<br />
<br />
I am extremely thankful for the work of the Navy SEALs and ALL of our military, past, present and future. I forgot to mention that in my previous post. It was not intentional. I have several friends and family members who either have served or are currently serving in the greatest military ever. I cannot express my thankfulness for their service enough. I live a great life. My family lives a great life. We are free to worship an awesome God. All because of the men and women who heeded the call.<br />
<br />
Proud to be an American... Land of the Free, Because of the Brave!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13536178492899121377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195249444824709887.post-64340577291049511502011-05-08T10:14:00.000-07:002011-05-08T10:18:11.151-07:00Happy Mothers' DayEpilogue: The [Mother] of Noble Character<br />
<br />
<div>10 A wife of noble character who can find?<br />
She is worth far more than rubies.<br />
11 Her husband has full confidence in her<br />
and lacks nothing of value.<br />
12 She brings him good, not harm,<br />
all the days of her life.<br />
13 She selects wool and flax<br />
and works with eager hands.<br />
14 She is like the merchant ships,<br />
bringing her food from afar.<br />
15 She gets up while it is still dark;<br />
she provides food for her family<br />
and portions for her servant girls.<br />
16 She considers a field and buys it;<br />
out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.<br />
17 She sets about her work vigorously;<br />
her arms are strong for her tasks.<br />
18 She sees that her trading is profitable,<br />
and her lamp does not go out at night.<br />
19 In her hand she holds the distaff<br />
and grasps the spindle with her fingers.<br />
20 She opens her arms to the poor<br />
and extends her hands to the needy.<br />
21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household;<br />
for all of them are clothed in scarlet.<br />
22 She makes coverings for her bed;<br />
she is clothed in fine linen and purple.<br />
23 Her husband is respected at the city gate,<br />
where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.<br />
24 She makes linen garments and sells them,<br />
and supplies the merchants with sashes.<br />
25 She is clothed with strength and dignity;<br />
she can laugh at the days to come.<br />
26 She speaks with wisdom,<br />
and faithful instruction is on her tongue.<br />
27 She watches over the affairs of her household<br />
and does not eat the bread of idleness.<br />
28 Her children arise and call her blessed;<br />
her husband also, and he praises her:<br />
29 “Many women do noble things,<br />
but you surpass them all.”<br />
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;<br />
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.<br />
31 Give her the reward she has earned,<br />
and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 7.5pt;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/versions/?action=getVersionInfo&vid=102"><span style="color: blue;">New International Version 1984, ©1984</span></a> (NIV1984)</span></i></b><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 7.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 7.5pt;">Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by</span></i><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 7.5pt;"> </span></i><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 7.5pt;"><a href="http://www.biblica.com/"><span style="color: blue;">Biblica</span></a></span></i><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Reference: <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs%2031:10-31&version=NIV1984">http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs%2031:10-31&version=NIV1984</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I'm so blessed to have a Proverbs 31 wife! My kids are so blessed to have a Proverbs 31 mother!</div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13536178492899121377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195249444824709887.post-10508226157072539112011-05-06T19:27:00.000-07:002011-05-06T19:29:59.459-07:00Just Call Me AngelI love that car commercial (I think it is for the Toyota Highlander) where the parents were singing "Just call me Angel of the morning, Angel..." That song is stuck in my head all the time. Sometimes, I look for opportunities to just belt it out at the top of my lungs.<br />
<br />
Last week, Jacob had a robotics class at Carnegie Mellon University. While Nathan I were walking around the campus getting snacks for Jake and the rest of us, we were goofing around, joking around and saying silly stuff to passers by (mostly me). At one point, I was a few steps ahead of Nate and as I walked passed a campus police woman, I said to her, "I think someone's following me." She got a good chuckle out of it. Nathan was pretty embarrassed by it.<br />
<br />
Since he knew where we were and where we needed to go to get back to everyone else, he started walking ahead of me. So I just kept saying and singing strange, punny things. One guy heard our dialog (mostly a monologue with Nathan replying "Dad!!!!...") The guy kept looking back and laughing. Finally the 3 of us got to our building at about the same time. Just before the guy entered the door, I started singing, "Just call me angel, of the morning." At this point the man was completely in the building with the doors closed and we were still outside. The man turned around, opened the door and sang with me, "Angel..." Tammie and Paige saw it all happen. We all got a good chuckle out of it.<br />
<br />
Tonight the whole family went grocery shopping at Giant Eagle. I was walking through in my usual manner singing along to the music that was playing on the store music system. Paige was utterly embarrassed. She was begging me to stop. Finally <u>Angel of the Morning</u> came to mind so I started singing it. Paige was really embarrassed. So I took it one step higher. I changed the words a bit. Instead of:<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px;">Just call me angel of the morning ANGEL</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px;">just touch my cheek before you leave me, baby.</span><br />
<br />
I was singing:<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px;">Just call me angel of the morning ANGEL</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px;">just brush my teeth before you leave me, baby.</span><br />
<br />
or:<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px;">Just call me angel of the morning ANGEL</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px;">just floss my teeth before you leave me, baby.</span><br />
<br />
Paige loved it and for the rest of the shopping trip joined me in singing it.<br />
<br />
My kids complain that when I'm goofing around I embarrass them. I think it's my job as a dad :)<br />
<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13536178492899121377noreply@blogger.com0