Beware of Little Girls

So last night in A.W.A.N.A most of the time was taken up by rehearsal for the Christmas music. Game time was going to be combined and I needed an idea so everyone could play together and have a good time. Well my teens love to play dodge ball, and my little ones always want to play dodge ball. But the idea of a 15 year old hurling a ball at ridiculous speeds toward a 4 year is probably not the 4 year olds idea of fun. So I changed the rules a little. Everyone who was older/taller had to throw left handed (Or for the southpaws, the opposite hand) I wasn't completely sure how well it would work, but I thought hey these aren't my children... J/K. I talked with the teens said if I see you pelt one of my wee ones, they'd be in some serious trouble.

(oh look a rabbit trail) Speaking of my teens, we have the best kids at our church I have ever seen. Our older ones willingly play games and include the young kids all the time. It's quite interesting to see the Warrior run full speed at the 15 year olds and tackle them quite effectively.

back on track here...

So here are the little girls I am referring to are Liver Pie, Sis and the Princess. (as pictured below)

Remember these faces should you ever come across them on the dodge ball field. They are extremely dangerous and should be considered lethal with a ball.

So here's how it went down. We all played as a group and had a blast. Sis was on my team (thankfully) and she was a fighter. She would run up to the line and nail anyone who dared get near her. And the way I remember it the Mad Monk had entered the game and was hitting people left and right, until his beloved daughter threw a ball when he wasn't ready. He did a really good three stooges impression trying to catch it but was unsuccessful. Sis Cheered! and grinned at me. I applauded from the sideline because her father got me out earlier, I was avenged!!! So in another game I had developed a nice side arm throw. It worked wonders on the teens. It would curve a little once thrown. Well the sneaky, Liver Pie had just thrown a ball that went randomly flying into the crowd (these were dangerous cause they came out of no where, no where meaning from about 2 feet off the ground from the cute giggling blondie) and I threw my ball trying to hit an older kid. I missed and it hit Liver Pie in the chest. She clapped her hands together catching the ball as if she meant to do it. I was in shock!!! Although at first she thought she was out but we had to explain to her that it was me that was out. She gloated the rest of the night, there wasn't a moment that went by when she didn't tell me that she caught my ball. Man, what do these parents teach their kids?

Stupid Dodge Ball!!!

Oh and the little princess who I am going to start a petition to get it changed to the little warrior princess. She wins MVP (Most Valuable Player).

This girl stayed in longer than anyone on both teams. I don't know if it was skill or size but she was good. see the pic below for a size comparison of the Little (Warrior) Princess.

I mean come on how do you hit her. She was bouncing and jumping. She even outlasted her brother in every game. I guess it could be her size. Although, if she ever figures out that she can't hit anyone from the back of the room, there will be no safe place on the court. The Princess even cried when we were done because she wasn't done playing and wanted to make sure their team won. Sounds like my wife when playing any game. Such determination.

But in closing I think these girls are very precious. Their parents ought to be proud of them. I know I am. I'm just more cautious now...

Angel Tree

This year Our company took on the Salvation Army Angel Tree. In short they find children who are in need of gifts for Christmas. Some of the children are in orphanages or foster care, or maybe the parents are going through a hard time, or even a single parent. We don't really know the situation but we are assured from the Salvation army that they do a little research so that we are not being scammed. I'm not sure people would actually do that but people surprise me all the time. So as I went through the names trying to find a boy or a girl to get gifts for, I came across a girl named Kaylene. I liked the name. We even named our dog Kaylee. So the named jumped out to me cause I liked. She had a list of needs and wants on there and I considered them to be reasonable for a 12 year old girl.

I had many thoughts about who this little girl was. I wondered what was her situation, what does she really need, what does she really like. Shelly and I thought for a while trying to come up with things to get her. On her card she had listed:

Want: Video journal

Need: Jacket

then it listed her sizes so if we wanted we could buy clothes for her.

I thought that was neat, but a little more info about the girl would have been helpful. What does she like does she have a favorite color, does she like cartoon show or something? Here is an example if she like the Dallas Cowboys (okay not a great example) then I could get her a jacket with the Dallas Cowboys on it and she would just love it. Okay well anyway that's not the point of my post. I'm sure they do the best they can. So I tried to do the best I could. There was a 60-70 dollar range for the gifts you would buy. I though okay that sounds fair I guess. So we went shopping.

We ended up spending about $120 and were shocked that it added up so quickly. I guess your heart gets pretty big at Christmas time. As I thought about it more I realized what I had done. Since we have had 2 miscarriages this past year, I was substituting this girl as my own. My eyes were welling with tears as I talked to Shelly about. She then cried thinking about what we didn't have. We talked about it and decided to return some things. First of because we don't really have the money to be spending (we weren't spending that kind of money on our family's). Second because they had a limit in their original asking for someone to spend. We returned a few clothes and settled on about an $80 price range. Still over, but there were some things we felt we should get. So here's what we got her.

The video journal

new black fleece jacket w/ hoodie (girls love the hoodie)

Thumper pajamas

various candies in Christmas packaging ( Reese, Hershey, gummy life-savers)

Candy flavor lip gloss

A Bible (that's what it looked like)

Doesn't seem like much but the video journal was almost $30 and the bible was $25.

I wasn't sure about getting her a bible at first. I wondered if the Salvation army would approve, then I thought, I don't care. I felt that I should share the one gift that she needed. That is the gift that only God can give. I figured if the little girl was a Christian, how happy would she be when she got her own new bible that is leather and a pretty Burgundy. If she does not know Christ, then I must rely on God's Sovereignty to save her soul. We kept thinking, maybe we should write something in it or put some sort of list of verses for her to read. I did put her name in it and put the date and put that it was from the millers. After a while I wondered what should I have written that was not already written. How convincing can I be? Can I convince someone to choose Christ? Am I head of the Marketing department for Christ? Are we selling Jesus? (BTW this will another blog in the future)

I was reminded of this passage in Luke 16:29-30

But Abraham said, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.' And he said, 'No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.' He said to him, 'If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.'

So what I was able to give her was Moses and the prophets. I just pray that the Lord would reveal himself to her and she would come to know him through His word. This is all I can really do for her. Until she knows Christ she will never know true peace and love.

Abusing drugs and feeling great

So we are traveling down the freeway since about 6 last night. We stopped at about 11:30 and started back up this morning at about 8:30. Anyway back to the good stuff. I had full throttle last night to push me through the late part of the night. And in order to counter the high strung bouncing, I took a Zyrtec. Which always knocks me out. I sleep like a baby. So now I am so well rested i didn't need any caffeine this morning. Aren't drugs great?

anyway ladies, while your man is driving and he's getting groggy get him a full throttle! He'll be singing "Any Man of Mine" as loud as he can in no time.

Slighty annoyed

So the NYC Marathon was on Nov 4. I don't much about that run other than it goes through all the different districts or boroughs (I think they are called). You know what I do know about it. That Katie Holmes ran it. It's all over the place. Any news article you read there she is. I'd be impressed if she was doing it for some cause and was rallying people to put the support behind______ (name charity). Or if she had some sort of traumatic event that she recovered from, or if she had new running record or was in the top 10. She was asked why she ran and she said "I wanted to lose all the baby fat."

Media people make me sick. Why is this girl so important. I didn't get much info on Lance Armstrong. I did scroll down and find out who did win. A lady from England who gave birth 9 months before ran and won with time of... get this 2 hours 23 min and 9 sec. that means she ran every mile at 5 min 28 secs. FOR 26.2 MILES!!!. And who gets their picture all over the place Katie Holmes. Lets look at her time 5 hours 29 min and 58 sec. I'm not hating on her time or work by any means she held a 12:35 min/mile pace. That's not bad. Shoot, finishing isn't that bad. But why are we talking about her. She placed 34165th (does this get a th or nd?)

The male who won did it in 2hours 9 mins 4 sec.

okay so I'm ranting but I know what it's like to work hard and run in some of these races. A Friend of mine told me that you don't get you name in the paper unless you are like top 10. Or you have an extreme home makeover story that will sell papers. I guess I'm just sick of the media.

But here's my new goal I'm going to beat Katie Holmes' time. That's my new new Marathon goal 5 hours 29 mins and 58 secs and I have my own tragic story. I'm fat and have asthma and I'm overcoming it. So there take that!

stupid media!

I am a Genius!

So last night I was sitting on the couch watching Star Trek while Shelly was making dinner. We were having fish and she was going to broil it. The oven was set on broil and was heating up, Shelly was working on the other counter away from the oven. When suddenly we heard a loud squeak. I looked behind me then went promptly back to my show. It was a 2 part episode about Data and his brother Lore... I digress.

So Shelly says, "what was that?" I told her I thought it was her shoes on the kitchen floor. I looked and saw she was wearing no shoes. Then we heard it again. I jumped up from the couch and looked at the oven. It squeaked again.

I told Shelly, that there was probably a mouse behind the oven and he's stuck and he can't get out. The heating oven was burning him when he tried to escape. Shelly was really bothered by this, She said she doesn't want a mouse to cook in the oven. We had caught a mouse in the garage several weeks ago, and I figured that this poor mouse was his brother or something. I turned the oven off and sat and thought about how can I get this poor cooking creature out from where ever he was.

Then... I heard the squeak again. It was the teapot that was sitting on top of the oven. There was a little bit of water in it and it was squealing due to the steam. Shelly and I laughed and were relieved.

The moral of this story is just because you hear hooves doesn't mean it's a Zebra.

"God is enough"

If you haven't read my wife's blog I would suggest reading it here first. If you didn't read then I'll sum it up. I'll do the very short version because it's long and I'm not that great of a writer. We lost our second child. We were pregnant for a very short time and then it was gone. I wish I could say that it was easier this time but it wasn't. It grieves my heart. I have been upset on and off all week. I still get emotional. I'm sure by the time I finish this my eyes will be tearful.

I know that there's not much I can do about a miscarriage. There are some medical things that can be done to help hold a pregnancy but the decision is still in God's hands. Who am I to question the creator in his sovereignty? "Woe to him who strives with him who formed him, a pot among earthen pots! Does the clay say to him who forms it, What are you making?' or Your work has no handles?" Isaiah 45:9 I have no place to question an Almighty God. I can only examine my life, rid it of sin and continue worshiping a Gracious and Loving God.

The one thing I do have control of is my reaction. Do I glorify Him, or curse Him for the sorrow and pain? My only example is Job and this was his reaction when he lost his business and his children. "And he said, "Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD." In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong. " Job 1:21-22

God is good. He has given me so much. He has given me a home, a job, and Godly wife. He has chosen at this time to not bless me with children. I accept that. I can say God is enough, the following is from a sermon from John Piper. I want this to be my prayer and the desire of my heart regardless of what happens in the future.

"God is enough.
He is good; He will take care of us;
He will satisfy us; He will get us through this.
He is our Treasure;
Whom have I in heaven but you?
And on Earth there is nothing that I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail
but you are the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

God is most glorified in you when you are most satisfied in him in the midst of loss, not prosperity."

So I say to anyone who feels sorry for us, God is enough and we are satisfied in Him.

Happy Reformation Day

Below is Wikipedia's definition of Reformation day. I am wearing red today what color are you wearing????

Reformation Day is a religious holiday celebrated on October 31 in remembrance of the Reformation, particularly by Lutheran and some Reformed church communities. It is a civic holiday in Slovenia (since the Reformation contributed to its cultural development profoundly, although Slovenians are mainly Roman Catholics) and in the German states of Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia.
On this day in 1517, Martin Luther posted a proposal at the doors of a church in Wittenberg, Germany to debate the doctrine and practice of indulgences. This proposal is popularly known as the 95 Theses, which he nailed to the Castle Church doors. This was not an act of defiance or provocation as is sometimes thought. Since the Castle Church faced Wittenberg's main thoroughfare, the church door functioned as a public bulletin board and was therefore the logical place for posting important notices. Also, the theses were written in Latin, the language of the church, and not in the vernacular. Nonetheless, the event created a controversy between Luther and those allied with the Pope over a variety of doctrines and practices. When Luther and his supporters were excommunicated in 1520, the Lutheran tradition was born.
Within the Lutheran church, Reformation Day is considered a minor festival, and is officially referred to as The Festival of the Reformation. Until the 20th Century, most Lutheran churches celebrated Reformation Day on October 31st, regardless of which day of the week it occurred. Today, most Lutheran churches transfer the festival, so that it falls on the Sunday (called Reformation Sunday) on or before October 31st and transfer All Saints' Day to the Sunday on or after November 1st.
The liturgical color of the day is red, which represents the Holy Spirit and the Martyrs of the Christian Church. Luther's hymn, A Mighty Fortress is our God is traditionally sung on this day. Lutherans customarily stand during the hymn, in memory of its use in the religious wars of the Sixteenth Century.
It is also traditional in some Lutheran schools for schoolchildren to hold Reformation Day plays or pageants that re-enact scenes from the life of Martin Luther.

Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reformation_Day

Biblical or Extra-Biblical

Recently I have been analyzing what I believe and why I believe it. For most new Christians they will rely on what their pastors or other Christians tell them. This is not necessarily a bad thing unless these people are sharing their own convictions. As we grow and study Scripture more we soon find out why people have told us these things. But sometimes you come across issues that aren't specifically spoken of in the Bible. I'll name some pretty hot topics that Christians now debate and some even will separate over: (no particular order)

1. Homeschooling
2. drinking alcohol
3. going to movies
4. natural childbirth
5. Bible translations
6. women wearing pants
7. anyone wearing shorts
8. color of the church carpet

This is just the list of ones I can think of off the top of my head. The question is, which rules on these issues are our personal convictions and which ones are revealed to us in Scripture.

I myself have found my own answers to all these. But I won't share them here. I'd rather not have a debate on my blog. But if you'd like to know more about how I feel, you can ask me anytime. I'd be happy to tell you how I feel. But here's something that I won't do. I won't attack you for not agreeing with me. I won't stop talking to you and I won't question your salvation because you feel a different way.

Here's what I will do: encourage you to study more, show you where and how I came to that belief, and if I feel so strongly about a certain issue and I feel that you are wrong... (did you hear the drum roll?) I'll put you on my prayer list and leave it up to God to work on in your own heart and continue showing you charity. I can not change a man's heart only God can do that.

I think we need to be cautious in our lawmaking. We do want to make rules to help protect us from our sin or temptations to sin, but we do not want to become legalistic or Pharisaical in our rules. I think that Satan is excited when we take such strong stands. He knows he can use our pride against us so that we will be busy attacking and sometimes hating our brethren that we lose focus on what is really important which is Glorify our most Holy God.

"Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth." 2 Tim 2:15

Return of the Star Wars

SO as some of you may have read or been told there is a Star Wars TV showing coming soon. From what Lucas tells us, it's going to be about the droids. Translation: It won't be about anything people really care about. Don't get me wrong, I love Artoo (R2-D2) and Threepio (C3PO) I think they are great characters and they serve their purpose. Excluding the annoying parts that threepio was given in the newer episodes, they were okay. But a series set on just the droids, yeah I'm not excited about it. Why not make a show that based on the young Jedi and recast Luke Skywalker (if Mark Hamil won't do it) training them. Or better yet let's follow Boba Fett so Lucas can finally show us why he's supposed to be the greatest and most feared Bounty Hunter of all time. Or Young Obi-wan before episode 1. Or go way back in time when the Jedi fought against the Sith when Yoda was young. Wait isn't that what we enjoyed seeing was the Jedi battles or did everyone just say, "Wow, I love those droids they should make a show on just droids how fun would that be?"

Well I found this little comic in some forums it made me laugh, because this is what we would probably get if they did something other than Droids, Think of that show The O.C. or Summerland (insert cheesy teen TV show on the WB) and cross it with the Star Wars Universe.

Rain, Rain Go Away

Well at least I'm having a better day than this person. Today we had a nice downfall of rain. Normally I love the rain, it's great sleeping weather and it cools everything down. But today was not good. First of all I was late to work cause I could barely get over 20 miles an hour down the road. On top of that it didn't stop until I got to the door of my building. I park about 5 blocks away from my building in the ghetto daily parking lot. hey it's 1.50 and I'm getting exercise. Well the river (streets) I had to cross were about 2 inches deep so I was soaked from the knee down, also the tiny umbrella I had didn't work for all the rain that came in sideways, so my waist was wet as well.

So with all my soaking I thought well I'll be okay I'll dry quickly. WRONG!! The people in the building keep it at a cool 65 degrees year round. So after freezing for about an hour or so I got permission to go home and change.

I can see why babies cry, cause it feels great to be dry again.

I feel it and see it...

Today I feel great!!! of course, this week I have Friday off because I work a 9/80 schedule (I work four 9s and get every other Friday off). But I feel great today and I have plenty of energy. Last night I ran 3 miles in 28min and 33secs, a first for me to be sure.

But last night my running shorts felt a little more loose than normal, and today my pants that fit me well, not are getting droopy and saggy. That's a great sign, because I have been feeling very discouraged lately because my weight hadn't dropped yet. Hopefully the fat is being replaced with muscle. Also Jonathan said he could see a difference in my gut, he said he didn't recognize me from across the hall earlier at first. Now that I have looked in the mirror I do see a little bit of change, it kinda seems like I'm getting taller.

So I'm super excited, and ready for more changes.

oh and the guy who gave us so much trouble in my class, well he's still not high on my list favorite people in the world but we managed to do our project without his help. I just hope the teacher lets us grade each other, but if not I hope my grade isn't affected by his actions and choice not to work.

A Liar and a Thief?

In my conquest of attaining my bachelors degree, there are certain courses that are required. Operation and Quality Management is one such class. In this class we review how "operations" work and how to ensure quality without losing quantity. Seems pretty self explanatory (which it is) Until you actually have a product to work on... Okay so I was assigned to a group with a guy and another girl in my class. For some reason DBU (Dallas Baptist University) loves to have you write papers and work in groups. Our project was to come up with a flowchart of a company of our choice, an overview of the company and make any changes we thought that would help improve the companies structure. The guy in our group suggested we work on Dell. I figured sure why not I don't know much about Dell, might be interesting. I did however suggest we do a more simple company, but I figured this guy may have some insight on it that I'm not aware of. The girl in our group wanted to work on Pianos, like Steinway. We decide to give in to him because he seemed earnest about Dell. So we go our separate ways to find info and research so we can put our info together later.

The guy in our group came back with a slide-show he told us he made based on the research he found. He said he has pretty much completed everything we needed and that the girl and I should change it around and we will be ready to present it. I showed them what I had found, about 8 websites and 3 PowerPoint's. The girl in our group was going through all of our info when she pointed out that one of the PowerPoint presentations that I found was an exact copy of what this guy said he worked on. (he had changed the names to his of course) I decided to confront him on it. I told him I have the same PowerPoint presentation that you said you made. He decided to correct me and say, "oh I didn't say I made it, I said I got it". The girl and I looked at each other both thinking the same thing. yeah that's not what he told us earlier. This is what you get in these so called groups which we are required to do in each class.

Here is the interesting part. The school is supposed to be a Christian university, I realize it's a Southern Baptist school but I expect that normal morals like the Ten Commandments are pretty clear to most Protestants. No stealing, no lying... Anyway this guy actually did profess in class to be a Christian during our "get to know you" part of the class and he's probably in his 40's or so. Not exactly the behavior I would expect from a grown man, who claims Christ...

So anyway the project is due tomorrow and he wants to meet tonight to finish it. I haven't decided on what to do. I am certainly not looking forward to this.

Why am I not tired?

Okay so today I ran my own 10K (6.2 miles for you non-runners or people who don't have conversions chart readily available). I was able to do it in 1hr 25min. I rested for about an hour or so, and then headed to my second job. I work with Peter Franz in my spare time. My current project is doing some painting in some older store fronts. I've just spent the last 4 hours or so paining non-stop. For some reason I'm not tired. I've even taken in about 2000 calories and I need about 700 more to get my daily needs. I figured I'd be pretty much dead today after this. Hmm, better not jinx it. I'm sure going to have to focus on resting tomorrow. But that's what the day was made for: resting and worship. Let's hope I don't try both at the same time.

Marathon (It's a bit long i know, but so is 26.2 miles)

Some of you may already know that I am training for the Cowtown Marathon, but I thought I would talk a little about for those who are interested (or just have nothing better to do). So far I'm doing good on my running schedule, Last night I started running outside. It felt like a much better workout than inside on the treadmill. Nice to get some fresh air and feel the wind blow, (and smoker's smoke and bugs buzzing me).

ASTHMA
Yes I'm a runner and I have asthma. Scary isn't it. This has been a struggle with me since I can remember. My parents had a horrible time with me when I was little cause I would wheeze and hack and cough, this was before all the advancements we have now. I remember my Dad holding me in the bathroom with the hot shower running to try to make the air more humid. It's a blurry memory but J remember wanting to just close my eyes and sleep. My mom even told me recently that I had a hood or bubble thing over my crib when I was little (This was news to me). I played soccer when i was older but the coaches always held me back, afraid "I'd die on them" as they put it. It happened even more in high school. So now I'm running I'm actually running. This is a huge accomplishment in my life and you know what. I'm doing great, no major problems so far and I feel good. I sometimes wonder if I could have played more sports or ran sooner. But now I'm tackling my Goliath. This is going to be a great milestone in my life I'm sure I'll be quite emotional when I cross that finish line. Because I will not only have just run a marathon, but I will have slain a giant that I have lived in fear of my entire life...

MARATHON

The Marathon is race that is 26.2 miles. I don't plan on finishing first. I'd have to run like a 6 min mile and that ain't happening. Currently my mile that I can hold is about 13:20 min mile. Not great but hey I could finish the Marathon (hopefully) in about 5 to 6 hours. My ultimate goal is to run without stopping (walking). Next will be just to finish before the 8 hour timer is up. I'd love to get to a 11 min mile. that would be awesome for me but I just don't have enough time to train that hard so soon. Normal people who are already are fit train for 13 weeks, I think I had 24. Okay enough about all the runner mumbo jumbo.

SPARTANS
I looked up where the Marathon actually came from and to save everyone the long story and accurate details; basically the Spartans were fighting the Persians (Battle of Marathon), and the Spartans won. They sent a runner to the near by city to tell them of the news. Now If you know any thing about Spartans, you know these guys are tough and rough. So this guy runs about 26 miles and gets to the village yells out "NIKE" which is Greek for victory. Now for the really encouraging part for me. He fell over dead right after he yelled. Great huh? SO now my goals have changed since learning this information.

1. don't die
2. keep and eye out for Persians (you never know)
3. don't stop running
4. finish before they close the race 8 hours.

I figure if I don't die I'll be doing better than the Spartan did...

My First Blog

Can you just hear the Star Wars Fanfare playing in your head when you read this. Hmm maybe it's just me. Man I have so much to post about and I'll will definitely be on top of it on a daily basis. Please feel free to comment and answer the poll to your right, I really would like to know how well I am doing at this.

Lets see whats happening today.

I got a FLU shot and I am getting used to eating an apple with the skin. I get a lot of flack for peeling my apple from fellow co-workers. "The good part for you is the peel" they would say. I just look at them and say can I eat my fruit my way? At least I'm eating fruit what I wanted was a Snickers or Twix bar. I think I made the better choice with or with out the peel. Oh man speaking of things I want to eat... i should make another list.

Oh I'm going to put another feature on my blog it's my fit day. I use that website to help me factor calories. I need about 2700 a day for my training i.e. running, SO anyway for the fun of it you can see what I eat everyday, just click the link and then find what day it is and you can see what I ate. Oh and for a fun game if you see me eat something and i don't put it on my fitday feel free to harass me profusely. Speaking of which now I'm hungry. mmm chicken, asparagus, and beans with a nice banana. Weird eating all this healthy stuff and exercising you'd think I'd be thinner. hmmm guess we will just have to wait and see. Good Journey, be well, and may the Force be with you, always...