Thursday, January 28, 2010

One Hundred

For the last three weeks, I have made some pretty major lifestyle changes. For one I'm eating healthy. To be more specific, I'm on a diet. Luckily for me I like healthy foods as much as unhealthy ones or at least almost as much. I do tend to "miss" certain things that I am currently not eating after a while. Usually this is where my weight loss fails to continue and generally the tide comes back in, bringing the fat with it.  So far I have lost fifteen pounds. This brings me to my second lifestyle change which is exercise. I get up at 4:45 AM every morning during the week and head to the gym. I have done this for a while in the past and after a while it has failed. Something is different this time. Something kicks me out of bed every morning. Something makes me say no to a cheeseburger and a milkshake. That something is inspiration and for me it comes in two sources. Certainly the biggest inspiration is our Father in Heaven to which I have prayed to give me strength and determination. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengthen me. Philippians 4:12-13. So far he has answered my prayers and then some. The other source of inspiration is earthly. This post is a dedication to him.

Normally I don't mention anyone's real name for obvious reasons but in this case I am, because Tommy wants me to. He has reached a milestone that he's proud of and he should be. I'm proud of him. Tommy Keener has lost 100 pounds as of this morning. I asked him how long it took and coincidently it is the same as my goal: One Hundred pounds in two years. His favorite answer when people ask him how he did it is "I don't eat so much" and as true as that may be the fact is he has worked his butt off for two years, literally. I saw him work like an animal today to get that last and final pound. Obviously the closer you get to the goal, the harder it gets. You have to keep pushing yourself. I'm up for that now. Tommy was about the same size as me when he started. Today, as Tommy would say, "not so much".

This morning Tommy Keener, the tall slender fellow he has become, is probably walking around eating a donut calling everyone "chubby" or "biggun". He has earned the right to do so if you ask me. Good job Tommy and God bless!

Friday, January 22, 2010

Rats, Desperation, Dawgs, and Dog Tired


Man have I been busy. There have been a LOT of subjects for me to write about, so I'll try to get a few into one entry here. I'll go in order with the title:

  • Rats. I have lived in my house since 1995 and have never had a rat until recently. I started seeing him a couple of weeks before Christmas. I have been trying to catch and/or terminate the rodent ever since. I immediately waged was on two fronts: "Bait and destroy" and "Ambush the Path". "Bait and Destroy" is simply a large traditional spring trigger rat trap baited with peanut butter placed where the rat would go but my kids and dog would not. It didn't work well for every morning the trap was sprung and the peanut butter licked clean. I think maybe my dog was going where it shouldn't. "Ambush the Path" is  a couple of those HUGE sticky mats that you put on the floor and when the rat steps on them they are stuck. I placed them behind furniture and in a storage closet by the hot water heater where I had seen some rat turds. They sat there for weeks before I caught anything and when I finally did I walked in to find our dog, a Shih Tzu, with all four feet stuck laying on her side whimpering. It was not easy removing the trap from the dog. Finally this week I was able to pinpoint the location of the beast's entry into the house. I then took the Spring trap, baited it and closed the door to the kitchen area just enough for the rat to get through. On the kitchen side of the door I placed the baited trap so that the little monster had to step on the trap to gain entry. The next morning I had success. It was a combination of "Bait and Ambush" that did the trick. It took me over a month to out smart a rat. The trap put the vermin out of my misery and I felt like the great white hunter. In case you're wondering, I am NOT talking about mice. I am talking about a 12-14 inch long RATS, tail and all. If they were any bigger I would be catching Possums.  The next day however my wife discovered that the rat had an older brother. This morning I slayed him as well. It was not a possum but it is getting close. We will see what happens tonight for I am now a rat killing machine.
  • Desperation. In my 43 years, I don't ever remember devastation like we are seeing in Haiti. My heart breaks for these people. There is pain and anguish on so many faces. There are so many orphans. There so much chaos that even the billions of dollars of aid cannot be distributed fast enough. God please give them strength.
  • Dawgs. We got a new Defensive Coordinator and a Defensive Backs coach. It will change UGA to a 3-4 defense as opposed to a 4-3. Very physical and it will bring the heat. I am happy with both hires and I can't wait for Labor Day Weekend. Go Dawgs!
  • Dog Tired. I have been getting up at 4:45 every morning to go to the gym and I have been working HARD!. In addition, much of my spare time has been spent volunteering at the church. With so much activity, my body is slow to adjust to the change. God has given me the strength to do it all so far. If it was all up to me it wouldn't be happening.

In closing, I have been busy and now you know why. To all you Dawg fans that might read my BLOG, I want to make a recommendation for some good reading. This comes from a writer that blows away everything we get from the sports columnists at AJC(Atlanta journal Constitution). To make it sweeter, it is written by a lady that knows more about football that most of us fellows. She is ALWAYS on top of the UGA football scene. I don't know how she does it. Here is her blog: theladysportswriter

That's all Folks - God bless

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Save the last dance for "T"


Youth is where we learn so many lessons in life. Betrayal, humility, regret and remorse are among a few. I am reminded of a homecoming dance in high school that took place at a school across town.

My buddy, "D" we will call him, had it bad for a girl, "SC" we will call her. She went to the cross town school and she had an "on again-off again" boy friend, in which she was going to the dance with. D had been stirring things up pretty good for the couple and they were on the edge for sure. D had to get to that dance and would stop at nothing to make it happen.

D was a fun guy to be around because he was always getting into something over his head. I simply couldn't resist hanging out just for the pure entertainment value. You also never new what was on his agenda because he was a snake in every sense of the word. If Eddie Haskel from "Leave it to Beaver" was reborn, he would pierce his ear and call himself D. There happened to be a girl, "T" we will call her, that was quite smitten with D and he very much knew it. She was an awesome girl, pretty as can be and much too good for the likes of D. A Volunteer at the local retirement home and the 4th Annual Farm City Festival Queen, she was a sweetie some might say. Still, the girl can't resist the bad boy can they? Nevertheless, she asked D to the dance and he didn't hesitate to accept because he certainly had nothing to lose.

Shortly into the dance, SC and her boyfriend have the usual fight and he storms off with buddies to try to score some beer. Obviously, he too was also a bad boy. D didn't waste a second to swarm all over SC to console her, all the while leaving T sobbing by the punch bowl. D was certainly a jerk and even I was amazed when he left the dance with SC, after bringing T all that way.

There was a nice fellow named "P" at the dance that was about as sharp as a bowling ball, but a big physical freak. P reminded me of "Moose" from the "Archie" comics, a certified knuckle dragger but good as gold. When he saw T crying by the punch bowl he went to see if she was OK. When she told him what D had done, P was all over him, quite literally. To make a long story short, D got what he had coming and T came out OK in the end. I didn't actually see the massacre but I was told that besides a broken forearm, D had two broken ribs, a concussion and a fractured jaw. Bystanders said T broke the ribs herself with a swift kick to the gut. I didn't particularly care for T myself because she was from the wrong side of the tracks. Plus I knew she wasn't very bright for pursuing D in such a way to begin with. D, the poor son of a gun, just didn't know any better.

T was very popular gal and learned a good lesson that night as did D. I hear she ended up marrying a doctor shortly after she graduated from college. D is somewhat of a celebrity himself. You can see his picture on the Georgia Department of Corrections website. From my understanding he was a purse snatcher with an addiction to prescription pain killers. Ironically P is a corrections officer at the same facility. Life is funny huh??

So, Lane Kiffen has just left Tennessee by the punchbowl and hauled ass to Hollywood with USC. I can't wait until P catches up to him. Karma is a wonderful thing.

I am certainly no Tennessee fan. However, I am an  SEC fan and have said Kiffin was an imbecile all along. So to my SEC friends to the north, you are better off without him and I wish you a speedy recovery. By the way I think D is a Tennessee fan. The last time I saw him he was wearing orange!.....Go Dawgs!!!!

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

A Lesson in Judgement, Humility, and the Love of Christ

Here is yet another reason that ANYONE is welcome at Rock Bridge Community Church. I can admit that if they will open the doors to the likes of me and change my life, then anyone else is welcome too. We strive to be Christ like. Let me repeat a sentence with one simple change that holds all the truth. I can admit that if He (God) will open the doors to the likes of me and change my life, then anyone else is welcome too. No one is too "bad" to give their life to Christ. There is none too evil. The book of Luke is abundant with examples of Christ reaching out to those who were self condemned or condemned by others. If you open your heart to hear what the word of God is telling us, it's as clear as a bell. Here is yet another example:
Jesus Anointed by a Sinful Woman  ( LUKE 7:36)
      One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to have dinner with him, so Jesus went to his home and sat down to eat. 37 When a certain immoral woman from that city heard he was eating there, she brought a beautiful alabaster jar filled with expensive perfume. 38 Then she knelt behind him at his feet, weeping. Her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them off with her hair. Then she kept kissing his feet and putting perfume on them.
   39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know what kind of woman is touching him. She’s a sinner!”
   40 Then Jesus answered his thoughts. “Simon,” he said to the Pharisee, “I have something to say to you.”
   “Go ahead, Teacher,” Simon replied.
   41 Then Jesus told him this story: “A man loaned money to two people—500 pieces of silver[i] to one and 50 pieces to the other. 42 But neither of them could repay him, so he kindly forgave them both, canceling their debts. Who do you suppose loved him more after that?”
   43 Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the larger debt.”
   “That’s right,” Jesus said. 44 Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Look at this woman kneeling here. When I entered your home, you didn’t offer me water to wash the dust from my feet, but she has washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You didn’t greet me with a kiss, but from the time I first came in, she has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You neglected the courtesy of olive oil to anoint my head, but she has anointed my feet with rare perfume.
   47 “I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.” 48 Then Jesus said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.”
   49 The men at the table said among themselves, “Who is this man, that he goes around forgiving sins?”
   50 And Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

Nuff said!

Monday, January 4, 2010

The Grout, the Cheesecake and the Nose Goblin.

< WARNING - some graphic content is not suitable for some readers >

So it has been a while since I posted, which means for the most part that I have been busy with a mix of Holiday Cheer. Today, without getting very fancy, I will catch you up on some of the noteworthy things that have transpired over the last few weeks:

  • For three plus weeks, my wife and I, along with some help of some awesome friends, have remodeled our kitchen. It looks fantastic and we are loving it. It was a small narrow kitchen complete with 1978 compress board counter tops and drawers that worked as well as a derailed train. We replaced the counter tops and tiled new ones in and did a great deal of carpentry and painting. We put down a temporary floor that will do until we tile the kitchen and dining area this spring. It was a lot of work and my body still has not recovered.
  • Christmas came and went. It was very nice this year as my ultra cool mother-in-law and good buddy Ethan came up a spend the holiday with us.The kids racked up and Alisha and I got an awesome kitchen. ( I also got some great XBOX 360 games.) We had a dinner party with great friends to break in the new kitchen on Christmas day.
  • The week between the holidays, I had a very minor surgery on a toe.( I almost passed out and vomited during the procedure - what's up with that?) The rest of the week I volunteered with decorating the new ministry building at Rock Bridge Community Church.
  • During a recent message at church, the pastor made a statement that he rarely sees things that people do that astonish him yet the work of God astonishes him on a regular basis. I tend to agree. Until the following Monday as my daughter and I are pulling into the parking lot at our local Hobby Lobby. ( yes we are the artsy fartsy kind of folk.) As we pull in to park, the car directly in front of us had a fellow in the passenger seat that did not seem to notice us pulling in, as his pinky finger was submerged into his right nostril to the hilt. I said to my oldest daughter who was in my passenger seat "Look at this guy picking his nose." No sooner did she look up, when he pulled out a keeper and proceeded to dine on it. Yes, this grown man of about 45-50 years old, ate a booger in broad daylight in front of all who witnessed. Needless to say, I was astonished!
  • My good friend and Pastor G (Gus that is) went to New York between the holidays and when he returned brought back some cheese cake for those who put in special requests. Now this is authentic "Cheesecake de New Yorke" and is to die for. It was also my first time tasting this heaven in a box. The problem is that I got it on Sunday afternoon after church and after lunch. The following Monday(today), I am committed to starting a diet and making some real changes in my lifestyle. Yesterday was certainly not today and I attempted to eat the whole cheesecake before bed time. I managed to get down two thirds in about 6 hours in an act of pure gluttony. I didn't want such a fantastic desert to go to waste and no one else in the house yesterday liked cheesecake. I hope my oldest daughter will finish it off today. Nevertheless, when I woke this morning, my esophagus felt like it was still packed with cheesecake and it was all I could do to not vomit. I am so glad I didn't think about booger man.
  • The Dawgs whipped the Aggies in the "toilet bowl" and showed us that we are indeed better off without Willie Martinez because we had our best defensive game of the season. I see promise for the 2010 season and I have high expectations. As of now, the SEC is break even in bowl wins/losses. I would love to see the Tide roll all over the Longhorns.
That's what's been going on for the last few weeks. Starting any day now, we will begin setting up Rock Bridge Community Church in Chatsworth, Georgia. There's lots of work to be done and I am stoked to get things going! Happy new year folks!! To all a fantastic 2010!