Stewardship

Here is a good post on stewardship and managing your money.

Basically, it reminds us that everything we have belongs to God and it is our job to manage it to the best of our abilities.

When I think of it this way it really removes a lot of my worries about money. I know what I have is because of God and I must just manage it to the best of my ability. So, if a car breaks down, or I have a leak in my backyard or we have medical expenses, I just need to manage it the best I can and God will take care of the rest.

Has Seth Been Kidnapped?

Last night at dinner Shelley and I wondered if Seth had been kidnapped and replaced by an exact replica. We had just gone through over 24 hours of excellent behavior with him making really good choices. He and I had spent a good part of the day out and about and he was an absolute joy. He did everything I asked and didn't complain when it was time to leave something he was enjoying. Then at dinner, he actually ate and this included spinach.

But, alas, not to worry. The aliens must have returned our little boy when we weren't looking because at bed time he went into what I like to think of as his "4 corners technique". If you aren't familar with this term it was an old strategy used in basketball games by a team that was leading and wanted to run as much time off of the game clock as possible. His techniques include wanting just "1 more story" read. How can a decent parent turn down a child that wants to be read to, correct?. But his favorite move is he announces with a look of impending doom, "I've got to poo poo". He then sits, and sits and sits on the toilet and when Shelley's patience runs out and takes him back to his room it is only a matter of minutes before the alarm sounds again, "I've got to poo poo."

I guess a good parent would be relieved that their child had not been abducted by aliens, correct?

Play Ball

Chase has a new saying, it's "Play Ball". This warms my heart and now I have to start working on him saying "Go Cowboys!"

Lordy, Lordy Look Who's 40

Yes, today is my birthday and I'm turning 40. This isn't my favorite birthday but I'm starting to get use to the idea of being 40. I have started thinking of turning 40 as instead of being the oldest of the young people, I'm the youngest of the old people. Not the greatest but it is the best I can do right now.

But, I am excited about this new chapter in my life and I am really looking forward to experiencing what God has planned for me. He has already started shaking things up and I can tell that this next year could be very exciting.

What was he thinking?

I apologize if anyone thinks this story is a little "blue" but it made me laugh out loud. Read the whole story here.

Mardin Azad Amin found himself in a tight squeeze last week when security at O'Hare Airport discovered a suspicious-looking object in his luggage. So Amin, 29, handled the delicate situation this way: He told security the object was a bomb, Cook County prosecutors said.

In fact, Amin was trying to disguise the fact that the black object -- resembling a grenade -- was a component for a penis pump.

Why would he do this? Because his mother was standing nearby and he didn't want her to know.

What does this mean for Interplanet Janet?

Pluto's status as a planet is on the chopping block, read the story here.

***Update***
Astronomers vote to strip Pluto of planetary status so we are down to 8 planets.

I'm a Book Reviewer

I've been contacted by a publicist for an independent book publisher and asked to read and comment on their new book Little League, Big Dreams. According to their press release it is "an intimate look at what has become the world's most famous youth sports event. One part Spellbound and one part Friday Night Lights, Little League, Big Dreams takes the reader behind the scense of youth sports today".

They even sent me a free copy of the book. I could like this new gig. So, if there are any other publishers out there that want me to comment on their books, send them my way...

Still Missing

Fox News Channel reporter Steve Centanni and freelance cameraman Olaf Wigg are still missing after being kidnapped by unknown terrorists in Gaza. This kidnapping is not getting much attention by Main Stream Media.

Michelle Malkin is asking her readers just to make a quick post in support of our missing Americans and to show their families that they aren't forgotten.

Another Tough Night

The last couple of nights have been tough around our house. Seth has chosen dinner time to test the boundaries. He is ordinarily a well behaved little boy but he has chosen dinner time to display blatant acts of disobedience. Last night I finally had enough and sent him to his room. This is a very severe punishment for him because he just hates being in his room by himself. As soon as I put him in there the screams of "No, Daddy, please no. I can't stay in here. Let me out" began and continued between his sobs. When he is in his room he doesn't just cry but he has deep, painful sobs that are very difficult to listen to. It just breaks my heart.

Shelley decided to get out of the house and took Chase with her to the grocery store, leaving me home alone to listen to the heartbreaking cries coming from Seth's room. I sat at the kitchen table and just heard things like "Daddy, let me out", "Mommy, Daddy I love you", "Daddy, I don't like it in here."

This made me think about my heavenly Father and how difficult it must be to be him. I could easily have gone in, scooped up Seth, wiped away his tears and made all of his troubles go away. I had that ability but I knew that was not the best thing for him, he needed to learn the lesson I was trying to teach him. I just thought about all of the times (some recently) where I had called out for God's help and it seemed like he wasn't hearing me. But, I know he was listening but he can see a much bigger picture and he knows what is best and when it is time, he will come in, scoop me up and wipe away my tears.

Marathon Training

Tomorrow I start my training for my 6th marathon. It will be 16 weeks of the hardest training I've done. I've set a personal goal to try and qualify for the Boston Marathon which will require me to run a time of 3 hours and 20 minutes or better. Just for the record, my best time so far has been 3 hours and 37 minutes so I have set quite a lofty goal.

I will be posting updates of my progress.

DadBloggers

I am now a contributor to Dadbloggers. Dadbloggers is a blog where all the contributors are dads.

Read my first post here.

Baby Got Book

I thought this was funny. (If you are viewing this through some sort of reader you may need to come to my blog to watch the video.)

50 Marathons in 50 Days

As I am preparing to start training for my 6th marathon, I am amazed at this story. It is a story of a guy running 50 marathons in 50 days.

Video Sharing

One of the best investments we ever made was buying our video camera when Seth was born. I also invested in some video editing software so I could do a few more creative things. So, I have created several movies of the boys, all with background music, special effects etc. but, the biggest problem I have had is how do I want to share these videos with friends and family. Initially, I was making DVDs and giving those out to those who might be interested but that was a very time consuming process and the DVDs didn't always play on every type of DVD player. I tried creating MPEGs and AVI files and emailing them but these files usually proved so large most people's email blocked them.

I then started investigating video sharing sites like YouTube and Google Video and I really like these sites but they both had a few shortcomings that are very important to me. First, YouTube as well as most of the sites, have a restriction on the size of the video. Most have a 10 minute limit and a size of 100MB. My videos are often bigger than this so it would be of no use to me. Now, Google Video doesn't have the restriction and even has a special application you can use to upload larger files. But, Google Video has no mechanism to share videos privately. If you upload a video it is shared with anyone on the internet and Shelley and I have a problem with posting pictures or videos of our boys on the internet. It might be a little paranoid but better safe than sorry...

Well, I found a little known site called Fliqz and it allows me to share videos privately and I can even password protect them if I choose. They also have given me a method to FTP larger videos as well.

They are new and small in comparison to the other sites but they have been very helpful to me. I have had email exchanges with both the President and the Director of Promotions and they are very willing to help. I hope they hang around because I really like being able to share my videos in this manner.

God is Great, God is Good...

At meals Seth will often say the blessing and he always says the little prayer that I think all kids learn:

God is Great
God is Good
Let us thank Him for this food.

As I think about those six words "God is great, God is Good" I can't help think about how true they are. In a recent message at church we were taught to have an "Attitude of Gratitude" and I have really been trying to focus on that recently.

I am in the middle of a series of storms in my life currently but I have really been trying to have an "Attitude of Gratitude" and God continues to bless me. While the storms continue, God is still doing amazing things.

God is Great!

It's Hot, Hot, Hot

It has been a very hot summer. Today will be the 32nd day over 100 degrees and we will have been over 100 15 of the 16 days this month. But, whenever you talk about heat waves in Dallas, someone will always bring up the "summer of 1980". I didn't live here then so I decided to do a little research and find out how bad it was.

In 1980 temperatures were over 100 degrees for 69 days between June 23 and September 6th. On June 26th and 27th the temperature hit 113 and there were 29 days that either tied or broke record highs during that time period.

Okay, that was bad so maybe I need to quit complaining but I can't because it is still freaking hot.

Eat Ice Cream and Help Some Kids

Today, Thursday August 10th, participating DQ locations will donate all the proceeds from Blizzard sales to local Children's Miracle Network hospitals. Read about it here.

Shhhhhhhh, Chase is Sleeping

We are saying "Shhhhhh, Chase is sleeping" a lot lately, or at least whenever we can get him to sleep. He is having a lot of trouble going to sleep and then staying to sleep so things are a little crazy around our house. And, once he is asleep, we all go into "tip toe" mode, not wanting to make even the slightest noise in fear of waking him up because if we do, it might be hours before he goes back to sleep.

The only way we can get him to go to sleep is either by pushing him in his stroller or driving him around in the car. Last night I loaded him up in my truck for our nightly routine and we hit the roads of the Metroplex. It took nearly an hour of driving around and I was about to give up before I heard his gentle breathing turn into a quiet snore.

Once home I have to begin the difficult task of transferring him from the truck into his bed without disturbing him. I can only imagine a more difficult task would be disarming a nuclear bomb while wearing roller blades and covered in fire ants. Last night I had just completed the difficult task of unbuckling his car seat without disturbing him and was preparing for the move of pulling him out of the seat when our neighbors had the nerve to get in their car and start the engine. "Noooooo" I screamed in my head and I stood frozen as they pulled out of their driveway. I just prayed he wouldn't wake up. He adjusted in his seat a little but didn't wake up. "Thank you lord" I thought.

Last night's mission was a success but I know I will have to do it all over again tonight.

Runners World Turns 40

Today I was going back to work after getting my beloved Diet Coke from my favorite place, QT, when my cell phone rang. It was my good friend Paul.

Me - Hey
Paul - I was just in the store and saw that Runners World is celebrating its 40th anniversary.

Me thinking, "yes, kind of odd reason to call, though"

Me - Yes, I got my subscription in the mail last week and saw that.
Paul - Runners World is turning 40 and you are turning 40.

Me thinking again, "thanks for that reminder."

Me - Hmm, I didn't really make that connection when I saw that Runners World started the same year I was born.

Paul - And the same month.

Me thinking again, "thanks again for reminding me that my birthday is this month."

Me - Didn't really think of that.
Paul - You are in denial.
Me - Good bye

Note to self, don't answer Paul's calls any more.

Make a Better Choice

In our house Shelley and I believe in letting the boys make choices and learning that they must suffer the consequences of their choices. You will often hear us saying "Seth/Chase make a better choice." or "Seth/Chase choose something different." Well, to all of the "Pro-Choice" people, I just say "Please, make a better choice."

I have watched and re-watched the Elisabeth Hasselbeck video and I just don't understand the argument of Pro-Choicers. "It's the woman's body and she ought to be able to choose what she does with it." Well, she made a poor choice when she "chose" to have sex and now she must deal with the consequences. The little baby she created with her choice had no choice in the matter and it is he/she that we need to protect.

Oh, I know, "what about the 12 year old incest victim?" they will ask. Yes, that is an unfortunate situation but rape and incest only account for 1% of the reasons why woman have an abortion. My view is that the baby's life needs to be protected and allowed to be born and put up for adoption. While at the same time counseling and ministering to the victim. I don't see how taking the baby's life improves the chances of the victim of having a normal life, I just don't.

Here are some statistics.

40 million abortions since 1973
1% of those were because of rape or incest.
80% of abortions are by woman over the age of 20.
25% want to postpone childbearing
21% can't afford a baby
11% because the baby will disrupt job or education
14% partner doesn't want the baby


When they list leading causes of death, they don't include abortion. In 2003, the published leading cause of death was heart disease which accounted for 684,000 deaths. It is estimated that in 2003 there were 1.3 million abortions.

All I can say is we need to start making better choices.

Congratulations Troy and Rayfield

Today numbers 8 and 9 of Dallas Cowboys Hall of Famers were inducted, Rayfield Wright and Troy Aikman. I'm not going to go into the fact that a great franchise like the Dallas Cowboys only has 9 Hall of Famers, I'll save that for another day.

I saw Rayfield Wright play but I really don't have any memories of it. But, I did get to watch almost every game Troy Aikman played and it was a pleasure. I got to see Troy at his very best and very worst. Unfortunately, I don't think Dallas fans truly ever appreciated what they had in Troy Aikman. Even when he was winning Super Bowls, fans criticized him for not being mobil, not throwing enough touchdowns, etc. He just wasn't as flashy as some of the other quarterbacks playing but those other quarterbacks weren't winning Super Bowls either. I always remember thinking that the fans won't appreciate what they have in Troy until he is gone and that is what is happening today. It has been 6 years since Troy played and Dallas isn't anywhere near to finding the next Troy or Roger Staubach. We had to wait 10 years after Roger to find Troy so we may have a long wait ahead of us. Even if we never find another one, we were truly fortunate to get to watch him play.

Again, Congratulations Troy and Rayfield!

Elisabeth Hasselbeck

Yesterday on The View, Elisabeth Hasselbeck clashed with the other hosts regarding her opinions on abortion and "the morning after pill". Her views were classified as "extreme" but I think she did a good job standing her own even though she was out numbered. Here is the video.

Swimming Lessons Year 2

Last night Seth began his second year of swimming lessons. You can read about the first day of swimming lessons last year here. This year was a lot different from last year for a lot of reasons.

First, last year we went through the City of Euless and this year we are using the YMCA. Seth doesn't like change so I started preparing him by telling him that this year we would be at a different pool and he would have a different instructor. But, I would still be in the pool (so I thought) with him and everything would be ok.

Last year with the City of Euless the parents actually were in the pool with the children helping the instructor. Well, as we were waiting for the lesson to start at the YMCA, I noticed none of the parents had their swimsuits on. "Uh oh" I thought. "Things must be different here".

So I began trying to prepare Seth by telling him there might be a chance I won't be in the water with him. "I want to go home" was his response. "This is not going to go well." I thought.

Sure enough, the instructor called the children to the steps of the pool and the parents were not invited. But I was pleasantly surprised that Seth just walked into the pool with no questions asked. But, I was the only parent to sit poolside, though, but it really worked out for the best.

There are only five kids in the class and they sit on the steps as the instructor takes each student out and works with them. Seth did really well when she was asking him to do something he had already done but if it was something new, it always took a little coaxing. I just love our little cautious boy.

This program isn't as "kid friendly" as the City of Euless. The instructor didn't tell the kids her name and she didn't get their names but I was quick to tell her Seth's so she could call him by name. Also, they don't get stickers after each lesson either. But, there might be the possiblity that Seth will learn more with this program because he did really well.

BR - 549

If you know what the title of this post is referring to then more than likely you were born prior to 1970 and you grew up in the South. Now there could be some exceptions but I imagine this is mostly true.

If you don't know, it is the phone number to Junior Sample's Used Car Sales on Hee Haw. Now, if you don't know how BR-549 could be a phone number then you definitely were born after 1970 and probably didn't grow up in a small town.

The other night I was channel surfing and I landed on an old episode of Hee Haw and I was immediately taken back to when I was 12 years old and visiting my grandparents. I believe Hee Haw came on at 6pm on Saturday nights and at this time you were guaranteed that my grandparents television would be tuned into it. The only exception might have been if an Arkansas Razorback football game was on.

As I watched Hee Haw I found myself longing to be 12 again and visiting my grandparents.

Both set of grandparents lived in the same small town in Arkansas with a population of about 600. Despite the fact that they only lived a few miles apart the visit to each set of grandparents would be completely different.

At one grandparent's a visit would involve feeding the cows, shellin' peas and eating banana pudding. At the other grandparent's it would involve shooting birds with bb guns, blowing things up with firecrackers and climbing trees.

Despite the fact that the visits would be different I always enjoyed our time there. But, I never really appreciated it. Now, some 28 years later I can look back and at least have fond memories, I just wish I had the opportunity to have some more.