Life's Journey and Destination

Impressed by my wife

2011-01-07T06:34:00.003-06:00

I'm really impressed by my wife. Yesterday we went jogging after dinner. We have been doing 4min jog, 1 min walk, 5 times. But yesterday we tried something different, we just wanted to see how long she could jog. So we did our regular 5 minute warm up walk, then got to a nice walking trail so we didn't have intersections to deal with. We went for 10.5 minutes. Mapped it this morning. 1 way is .4mi, not sure on the accuracy of that, so I changed google map settings to km, which gave me 650 feet, which is 0.40 mi, so miles is a fine measurement. Oh yea, that is one way, so we aren't that slow. We went 0.8 miles in 10.5 minutes. I think this is great.

So here is the impressive parts, besides just doing that. There were several moments where she thought she wouldn't make it.

She didn't think she could run there and back, and was just planning to run there.
Near the end there was an uphill portion she didn't think she could do.
She thought she would have to sprint in the end to make it, but maintained the pace instead.

Also, for most of the run she had the dog leash, so she had that as well, and let me tell you, our dog isn't the easiest to run with.

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How to Improve Memory, part I

2010-09-14T06:15:00.004-05:00

I'm beginning to wonder what little tricks and tips there are to help me remember things. I know by practicing you get better, and I've read that is true for memory. I also think I do well when I write things down. But does that mean it will work for typing too?

So I want to learn Eph 5:8-10

"for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light ( for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord."

Ephesians 5:8-10

I would also like to remember life better. So maybe I can do that by blogging more consistently? Or maybe I just need to go back to the tried and true journaling.

Perhaps I will start by doing a bit of research on some "expert" tips and tricks for memory.

Another Bike Commuting update

2010-08-13T08:02:00.002-05:00

Well, I didn't realize how I would just stop blogging pretty much, then use this to track commuting.

Today was my first ride with a bike trunk bag instead of a backpack. It was great. My back wasn't all sweaty and the ride just felt better.

On Tuesday I bought a bike rack and bag from Tom's bicycle shop, but had trouble installing it my bike doesn't have any attachment points for a rack, and the p-clamps that came with it are too small for my frame. Ended up going for a walk with the family to ace hardware and bought some bigger p-clamps and some washers because the clamps had larger holes that the nuts could fit through. Went on well, took some work to get it level.

So now the problems I have with it. The bag doesn't fit on the rack if I have my saddle bag, not sure why, this seems unusual, though I haven't researched it. Also, the rack bag is much smaller than my back pack and my clothes arrived wrinkled. I read that I could roll them and that should help prevent wrinkles, but I'm tempted to upgrade to a larger bag. Currently I have the banjo brothers #01040, and I'm looking at upgrading to the #01070. The 1070 has bungee cords on top and side panniers, not too found of the side panniers, because I was thinking I may want to get real ones, and it requires more effort to attach and remove. But I do like the bungee cord on top to strap things down that don't fit in the bag.

My goal with the bag is to carry my lunch and clothes, so I want to be able to take it off and on the bike easily. But maybe that shouldn't be the solution. Maybe I should just take things out of the bag and leave the bag attached to the rack.

So many options.

Great Ride today

2010-07-30T07:38:00.003-05:00

Had a great ride today. I'm learning just how much motorists influence my ride. Everyone was really polite, and there were some people out exercising that exchanged "good morning" and a smile.

A bit warm, I do think getting rid of the backpack will help, but it is a surprising amount of money needed to get a rack and bag. Should be under $100, but over $70.

Made some adjustments to fit on my bike because after some long rides I wasn't feeling great. Actually the only adjustment I made was to move my seat to the front after watching and reading some articles on bike fit. I can tell I'm getting better at working with a bike too.

Anyways, got to work this morning feeling wonderful so I thought I would share.

Bike Commuting Link

2010-06-29T07:44:00.003-05:00

http://commuteorlando.com/ontheroad/animations/narrowlane/narrowlane.html

I know most are drivers, but please understand some of the challenges presented in this video.

Again failing to keep up with basic habits

2010-06-02T14:28:00.002-05:00

Ephesians 5:8-10

for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord, therefore walk as children of Light (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.

Learning move about parenting

2010-03-18T12:26:00.003-05:00

So I listened to a good radio broadcast from Family Life. Link It is on discipline. The point is to address the heart. Get the child to answer easy questions and admit disobeying. One thing that caught my attention is when they talk about how much you have to do it, and how exhausting it can be. So they offered this verse, which I think I'll work on memorizing this week.

Gal 6:9

"Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary."

I decide to add verse 10 after looking it up.

" ¹⁰So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith."

Galations 6:9-10

"Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith."

Gal 6:9-10

Verse 9 seems to say more about being a parent, but verse 10 really belongs with it, and I feel the verses still apply to parenting just fine. It might be somewhat harder to memorize, but not that bad.

Priorities

2010-03-17T07:18:00.003-05:00

So I was writing out some priorities I felt I should have in my life. I used a tree structure, and started with growth as the root. That branched out to spiritual, mental, physical. Spiritual and mental came together for memory. I can improve my memory by memorizing scripture which contributes to spiritual growth. Physical growth was boring and only went on to working out, which is something I should probably do, if you need any scriptural reasons just ask my brother, or consider you body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God. Mental growth had some more areas, but most overlapped with spiritual, one that didn't was learning new things, so keeping up with news, improving my vocabulary...

For some reason spiritual growth seemed to have the most, leading to fellowship, prayer, daily scripture reading, studying the scripture (which again lapsed with mental growth).

So after doing this I looked and was wondering where parenting fit in. I hadn't written it down yet. What about leadership in my family, and teaching others? Then I thought about the "With me" principle. These is basically that we are all on a road toward maturity, and we should be doing it with others. So all of these items should be done and encouraged with others. To make it all even possible I will need accountability.

This may not make much sense to people, but it was a fun little exercise. Still needs some evaluating. Like evangelism needs a place. But maybe that is simple an application that is done when studying and reading scripture.

I am to grow my relationship with God and with others.

Happy Sad

2010-02-18T08:01:00.001-06:00

Rom 12:15 "Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn."

Same event, as long as you know the person that died is in heaven in glory. But they will be missed.

Titus 3:7 "so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life."

New Project

2010-01-27T10:10:00.004-06:00

Need some design help. The main idea is a castle bed for Katie on her 3rd birthday. May end up waiting longer, not sure. I have a main structure idea and hopefully will get around to posting some pics of my sketches, or even screen shots of the model.

I have three towers that I'm not sure what to do with.

I've thought of boring things like shelves or drawers that will be useful for organizing things, but it would be nice if it was geared more to play. A tower is about 2ft square, so there isn't a whole lot of room to work with.

Maybe a ladder on the inside that goes up to a trap door to enter the top bunk?

Maybe a fireman's pole to slide down?

What other features are there to make this more interesting.

The reason there is no forth tower is that I plan to make a tunnel to a slide in the back right corner.

One tower I plan to cut windows in to climb up from the outside. This would be the main way of accessing the top level.

I would like to make a sliding door/secret passage, but not sure where to put it.

What about some board space? Chalk board, white board? Should I put a metal plate behind it so you can stick magnets on it?

What about doors? I was planning on making the front just an open arch, but kids seem to love doors. Windows to the outside of the house will be in the back center, so I was wanting to do some cut outs that would project a fun image inside.

What about a light switch that controls a rope light that runs around the inside?

Right now the design is for the top bunk to be empty, but what about putting a tower or room up there?

Climbing net? Maybe a rope bridge between two towers instead of a wood platform.

Fake fireplace would be fun, not sure where to put it, but probably in the lower section. Though that area I want for sleeping mainly.

So I could use some more ideas as I design this. I have a basic structure design that I like, but want to add more.

The Basics

2010-01-25T08:17:00.005-06:00

So what should some basics of Christian discipline be?

Scripture Memory

Reading the Word

Prayer

What else? Also, what are some reasonable goals, and then what is too much?

My guess:

Memorize a passage a week. Ps 53:10 is for this week. "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." NASB

"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me." ESV (matches the song better)

Would it be reasonable for a small group leader to expect and challenge the group to memorize a passage such as Ps 53:10 in two weeks? I think a month is too much time and doesn't offer a real challenge.

Reading the Word. Daily. Good place to start is 3 times a week I think.

Prayer, pretty much hand in hand with the Word. But probably more so than reading the Word. Pray with your kids, pray at a meal, pray before bed, pray when studying God's word, pray with a group.

Is it unreasonable to expect this from a Christian group? Why does this basic foundation seem to be such a challenge sometimes? Writing it down and looking at it, it seems so easy.

First Place

2010-01-15T07:39:00.003-06:00

Col 1:17-18 "He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also the head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything."

So I have been neglecting this blog, but I think it helps me memorize, so I decided to post. Went over the life response today, interesting question to answer.

In what specific area will you make Jesus first in your...

personal life

family life

professional life

social life

So it is a multi-part question, but I think it helps. Similar to making new year's resolution in my opinion, but at least this way it really matters.

Gift giving

2009-12-18T08:13:00.003-06:00

Talked with some guys over Thursday breakfast, and one had an interesting tradition. The adults don't exchange gifts, but they get together to provide gifts for a needy family. The justification is giving gifts between them has become too mechanical with a wishlist and pretty much just shopping for someone else. I like the idea of giving to a needy family for Christmas very much. It seems more like what Christmas should be about. It shouldn't be a chore to buy a gift for everyone on your list. They don't really even need anything, and it is reciprocated anyway, so over all there is no net change.

Tis the Season

2009-12-15T07:26:00.002-06:00

Well, it does seem to be a season where things become very busy. This morning I had my quiet time and saw that it had been over a week since I had it. I also thought about how I haven't been doing well with my scripture intake. Anyone else having trouble keeping their priorities straight?

So now I'm going to try and get back to spending time with God and His word. Things have been busy with Christmas parties and also a few times of me being sick which wasn't pleasant.

Hope everyone is having a good time this Christmas season. For some deeper thought, why do we celebrate Christmas or birthdays in general? I haven't researched it much, but it isn't from the Bible that I've seen. Going through the gospels this month looking at the Christmas stories. Read Mark 1 this morning and that is what made me wonder about celebrating Christmas.

True Knowledge

2009-11-10T07:43:00.003-06:00

During my time in God's word this morning I read Colossians 3. Specifically what stuck out to me was verse 10, "and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him-- ".

This stuck out because another memory verse is 2 Pet 1:2-4

So now I'm curious, and run a search for "true knowledge" on biblegateway.com

Colossians 2:2
that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God's mystery, that is, Christ Himself,
Colossians 2:1-3 (in Context) Colossians 2 (Whole Chapter)
Colossians 3:10
and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him--
Colossians 3:9-11 (in Context) Colossians 3 (Whole Chapter)
2 Peter 1:3
seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.
2 Peter 1:2-4 (in Context) 2 Peter 1 (Whole Chapter)
2 Peter 1:8
For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Peter 1:7-9 (in Context) 2 Peter 1 (Whole Chapter)

Interesting, so let's try a search of knowledge, this may be a bit long. 153 results found. A couple are from Genesis dealing with the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But over all the Bible seems to be in favor of knowledge. So why is blind faith a term that is associated with Christians? This should not be the case.

On a completely different subject, had a great ride into work this morning. A bit foggy, but over all good. I over dressed for the temperature, but that is just because I'm out of practice I think. I pulled over after the first 2 miles and took off my jacket, I still had a long sleeve base layer with a t-shirt over it.

Hope everyone is having a good day and spending time reading God's word as well as talking with Him.

The Family

2009-09-28T07:35:00.003-05:00

Slow Fade by Casting Crowns

I am part of a wonderful family. My dad is there for me, and he taught me to be a man. So what can I do to improve upon what he has given me, and pass it on to my children?

I'm thinking one good thing would be a clear picture. So this would be modeling. I should be the one he wants to be like, not some athlete.

I also need to point them towards Jesus, and a lot of that should be done in modeling too.

I think most important to model is having time. A model needs to be observed. If I model a busy life where I don't spend it with my kids I am just wasting my life.

A Passion for Riding

2009-08-26T06:37:00.003-05:00

I don't think I have this. I enjoy riding, and I really don't like driving, so it is a wonderful mode of transportation. But I don't think I really enjoy just getting out and riding by myself. If I went out to ride with friends/family that is different, because I enjoy spending time with them doing whatever.

Now someone with more passion for riding then me is Jason Kearney. I think my desire is more to avoid the car. If I was closer I think I'd prefer to run/walk, but a bike gives me speed. It has other advantages as I think about it. A disadvantage is cost and time. Besides the initial cost of the bike, you need equipment for it, such as a pump. As far as time go you need to maintain the bike. This wouldn't be a big deal if I actually got rid of the car, but with a car and bike, the bike is just another vehicle to take care of. But as I thought about that, if I ran then I would have to take better care of myself, I wouldn't want to damage my knees. With a bike my knees are pretty safe, if the bike fits properly.

I didn't have a lot to say, but felt I should post before it becomes foreign to me. Maybe I just need to ride with others more often to build the passion. My little girl is almost 1, so now I need to get some infant bike helmets and we can go riding as a family.

What Should I Do?

2009-08-14T06:42:00.002-05:00

In the most general since your purpose is to glorify God.

How you go about this is the harder part. I would say one way is to invest your life in others. This is where stay at home moms really stand out. They realize the importance of children, and desire to spend time with them. Unfortunately so much time with kids can be really exhausting, so it is nice that others can spend time too.

I think one thing our culture lacks is the real feeling of community. The church has moms n' tots once every other week, which seems way too infrequent to me. But when our small groups meet, it is only twice a month, which in my opinion is pretty bad as well. fortunately it seems most small groups meet more often, but I'm always discouraged by the turnout.

Maybe my perspective will change when the kids are actually in school and have friends in the neighborhood. Though that seems far away fortunately. Sometimes I wonder how my kids will do in their purpose to glorify God. Right now they need so much more training it seems, but I don't know if that will ever change. I think I always feel like I need to learn more, so I look at others the same.

Some Small Things are Key

2009-08-04T06:50:00.003-05:00

So I just stared 1 Kings. Well, I found the first 18 verses to be pretty impressive. We did the story of Samuel for the four year old class a church a couple months ago, but I don't remember teaching them one important part of it.

Quick background, Hannah wanted a child, but hasn't had one. She is really sad and won't eat sometimes because she is so sad.
So, she prays and makes her petition known.
Now comes the part I think we skipped over in class. Verse 18 "So the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad." She doesn't have a child yet, but she is already happy. The lesson for the children was that when she got her baby she was happy, but this is totally different. She was happy before she had her answer. She spoke to God and then trusted Him. Now I'm curious how she would have been if she didn't have a son.

Good Link

2009-08-03T08:27:00.003-05:00

http://www.bikingbis.com/blog/_archives/2009/8/2/4275318.html

Talks about bike fit.

On a different note: On Thursday my car had a problem. On my way home, I shifted from 3rd to 4th and the stick shift went loose. Pulled in to a neighborhood, and some guys that were standing outside a house talking ended up helping me out. Took off the center console and found the connection between the stick and the cable broke. Did lots of searching online and couldn't find anything. Called Saturn about the problem and finally found the part is called a "shifter bushing". Well, Saturn sells the part for $40, but the part is on back order, so they can sell me the cable too for $220, and they will install it for $500. I think this is because to replace the cable you have to get to the transmission which requires more labor. Did some more searching online and found NAPA has the part for $20. Called O'Rielly's because they are closer, and they sell it for $25 but the one nearby doesn't have it in stock, but a couple others farther away do. So I went to NAPA, bought the part, installed the part in about 5-10 minutes. Shifted the gears great, and drove to work this morning.

Lesson from this: DON'T USE A DEALER. Useful for information, but their pricing is wrong.

But really, the bike fit link is pretty cool. Now I want to go home and see how my bike fits.

Choosing Your Battles

2009-07-28T06:36:00.004-05:00

So while I was mowing a couple days ago I was thinking about Sunday School. We have been teaching the four year old class for the past two months. Some of the behavior issues are truly amazing. So I was thinking on how I can raise my kids to be well behaved and obedient.

You have probably heard the advice that you should pick your battles, but while I was mowing I was thinking how that probably isn't good advice for a parent. Maybe for a child, but as a parent don't the battles involve obedience? Isn't that worth fighting for? If I want to raise obedient children, then I think I will have several battles to fight.

I met with a father of four, and he agreed for the most part, but mentioned that he believes the mother contributes about 80% to their behavior since she is dealing with them most of the time. So that means I need to get Wifey on board. This is mainly because my son is not doing a very good job listening and obeying, and I think that problem will wear us down faster than if we just spend the extra energy up front to deal with it now.

A Valley Set Apart

2009-07-19T13:57:00.002-05:00

Well, time to take a break in a place that means a lot to me. New Life Ranch is a wonderful place to be. So we will go there to spend some time with family, and some time relaxing.

There is also some thought about having my baby girl dedicated at this wonderful place. So if you want, reserve labor day weekend for a fun time.

Not too much else going on. Putting some thought into getting an iPhone, but don't really want the added cost. Playing some computer games, but probably need to keep that limited to the weekend. Need to try and exercise when on vacation, that is something that doesn't happen, but vacation is so short anyway, I just need to get out and hike when at NLR.

Excuses and Priorities

2009-07-17T06:25:00.004-05:00

Some excuses can be pretty lame, but others are actually valid. But they are both excuses. I think a big difference is recognizing your priorities. If you slept in one morning something has to give. Maybe you regularly get up early than needed and thus put a lower priority on sleep, but for times like this you have created some padding in your schedule to still do what is important. Maybe you make compromises and just grab a granola bar to eat at work, I've done this a few times. But how bad does it feel when you decide to skip your quiet time with the One who really matters? I've done this, and I usually end up regretting it.

Yesterday I received some comments about not missing workouts, thus not needing excuses. But is physical exercise really that much of a priority? What about mental exercise such as scripture memory? Is it harder to have the will power for that? I think so, if my mind is tired it is hard to do, but my mind can force my tired body to do things.

Is it just me, or do others put a lower priority on spending time with Jesus too?
How is this corrected?

Variables in Life

2009-07-16T06:40:00.002-05:00

Establishing good habits is great and all, but there are some variables that make it difficult. The variable that I find the hardest is children. There naps aren't really consistent, but more of a general time. You put them to bed, and hope they go to sleep. Then you hope they don't wake you up in the morning. These things aren't that common, and maybe if they were common it would be easier to work around.

The weather is also an interesting variable. This morning it is raining, but I was pretty sure it would be, so I was pretty much planning on driving instead of riding to work today. Though with the rain came a drop in temperature, so it is a little sad I'm not riding in the cooler weather.

Well, speaking of kids, I hear by baby girl, so I should probably go get her.

What are some variables that make good habits difficult for you? Or what excuses do you use to get out of your workout?

Keeping Records

2009-07-15T06:38:00.003-05:00

Well, now I'm not so sure about the myfitnesspal.com That requires a lot of work to keep track of how much I'm taking in and how much I'm putting out. So I'm not sure I'm going to be sticking to it. I have enough trouble entering my biking logs into http://www.tulsamillionmiles.com/ and that is only my biking information. Or walking. I think I entered that information in twice or so.

I think it is fun to try and track my food, but is it worth it. I think I would rather read. But I am forming some good habits, and I just don't know if this one is worth tacking on.

On a side note, has anyone hiked Turkey Mountain? I thought it was just for mountain biking, but I read on backpacker.com that it is a hiking trail too. So who wants to go hike it sometime? May plan to take the dog too.

Sorry Pange, but it is Wednesday, so that means it is time for a new verse.
John 15:7 "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you." Jn 15:7

Pretty easy verse at least. It seems to have some sort of rhyme with it, but I'm not sure. I think it is the you rhyming with you, so it has a weird flow (in a good way).

What a start for the day

2009-07-14T11:22:00.002-05:00

Well, for some odd reason the baby boy woke up at 5am and wouldn't go back to bed. So I got up with him, and should have done my quiet time, but didn't. So I don't have a memory verse for Pange. Wait, I can do this from memory. Joshua 1:8 "This book of the law shall not depart from your lips, but you shall meditate on it day and night, being careful to do all that is written; and then you shall prosper, and then you will have success." Josh 1:8

Ok, so now I'll look it up, because I'm pretty sure I messed up.
"This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success. "
Not bad, several word/phrase changes, but pretty good.

So I decided to check out this MyFitnessPal.com because it sounds interesting. I wonder how I put in my biking, and how much that is worth.

Fair Weather

2009-07-09T06:56:00.002-05:00

Well, it is raining pretty good this morning. No riding for me. I'm tempted to take commuting by bike more seriously, but there isn't much reason for it. I enjoy it, but I don't think I would enjoy it so much in the rain. I'm not really saving much money, I have a fuel efficient car and only go 10miles round trip.

On a different note, this weeks memory verse is Joshua 1:8. Memorizing scripture helps combat memory lose. So try to keep that mind active and exercised.

Oh What a Beautiful Morning

2009-07-07T07:37:00.002-05:00

Beautiful I say. started out in the mid 60's, ended in the upper 60's. Calm winds. Low traffic. I even got to see David this morning. Not sure why he was crying, but he got up over an hour early, so we got to spend some time together.

But there is one minor problem. See, I grabbed a nice long sleeve collared shirt this morning. Well, I hadn't tried it on before. I got it from my dad when he went through his clothes to free up some space. Well, the sleeves are too short for me. I didn't realize we had different arm lengths, but it makes since. So now I have to figure out if I want to wear my riding shirt, which is a nice blue short sleeve t-shirt, or endure tight sleeves, or I could attempt to roll the sleeves up (which I'm not sure how that would look). The t-shirt isn't so bad, I can get away with wearing it at work, the issue is the date with my beautiful wife tonight. I could have her bring me a shirt to wear. Oh the possibilities.

Back to the good parts. I was able to maintain a cruising speed of about 20mph. This sounds better than it was, because I pretty much stop or slow at every light, so I only cruise for less than a mile at a time.

Commute Update

2009-07-01T07:32:00.004-05:00

A beautiful morning today. Rode in this morning with a slight head wind, which dropped my speed some. I've been improving a lot. Before my average speed was around 16mph, this morning with the head wind I had 17.4mph. I can usually average 18-19mph now.

So on the way to work this morning I was thinking, should my goal be to get faster and use my commute for training, or to take it easy and enjoy the ride. I decided it should be both. I don't want to arrive at work really hot and needing several minutes to cool down, but at the same time I like getting faster. So I can push some, just not much. I think this is pretty good. I enjoy my commute, and it is only 5 minutes slower than the car. For those unaware, my commute is only 5 miles.

Also, Happy Birthday to my brother. Hope the Lord has given you peace on what activity to pursue.

Going Along

2009-06-29T21:20:00.002-05:00

Things are cruising along. Trying to keep the good habits, but continue to focus on the purpose. Instead of being bogged down by having a "chore" to do, I remember that having order is pleasing to God. Taking care of the blessings He has given is important. Though I think we have too much stuff and could do better with what He has given. That is an area that still needs improving, but things are going well. It is a process, and for now I feel I'm making progress.

New Habits to Form

2009-06-26T07:37:00.002-05:00

So I'm working on my new habits, and last night wasn't so good. Actually, yesterday over all wasn't good for habits. It was a good day, but it started off with me waking up early and playing games, which took way too long. Which wasn't too bad, I was planning on driving my car, so I had some extra time.

Then that evening we didn't work out, or clean the kitchen. I did a little bit of clean up in the living room, but it could have used some more.

So I guess it is time to refocus. Talked with the wife and we think having Thursday and Monday off from working out is a good idea. So I still need to keep the kitchen and living room clean. Which really doesn't take that much time.

Things to do

2009-06-23T08:53:00.003-05:00

Exercise: Weight/strength training at night (M-F)
Clean up kids toys every night.
Clean kitchen every night.
Buy new bike saddle.
Plant trees. - have to buy them first. Also need the right time of year to do this.
Seal outdoor playset.

So there is the list of things to try and remember to do. Not much going on. I thought of writing down play with kids, but that is pretty hard to forget, they keep reminding me and we have a good time.

I think I missed my timing to plant a tree, but I need to look that up. I'm thinking of a peach tree, and something else. Not sure what that something else is though. I currently have a pear tree where I need to plant these. I originally had a peach, cherry and pear, but the pear was all that survived, I think some ants got to them and ate at the roots when I first planted them. So I'll probably need to prepare the lawn and put down a pesticide first so I don't have grubs eating it or something.

This weeks memory verse is 2 Timothy 3:16, but I decided to add verse 17 also because I previously had them memorized together and it feels strange stopping at the end of verse 16.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 "All scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work." 2 Tim 3:16

Last night Julie and I cleaned up the house and did a short ab workout. It was only 10minutes, and we used to do 30minutes. We have definitely gotten a little out of shape. But I really enjoyed the time with her. We got the kids to bed at 9, they have been staying up later than that, but we are trying to get them to bed earlier again.

Update for mid June already

2009-06-10T06:55:00.004-05:00

If you aren't reading http://blog.jasonkearney.net/ you really should. Right now free wheel Oklahoma is going on and I like reading about it. I'm thinking of going next year, but that also requires training. Also need to rope as many others as I can into doing it.

Lately things have been really busy. I've been spending my time with my wife and kids, and other family, but I have also spent it playing video games. Had my quiet time this morning which has been lacking. Just this month I have missed so many, I had a QT on the 1st, 3rd, 5th, and now today. That is pretty bad, but at least I had it today. And now I'm actually posting on this blog which has been even longer. If I was riding my bike to work I wouldn't be posting, but I used the last of the dog food this morning for her breakfast, so I need to grab a bag on my way home. Then I need to mow, so I didn't want to wear out my legs.

Over all things have been going really well. Work is a lot of fun, we have our new boards in that I've been testing and writing down needed changes. We have some good goals for the end of the summer, so I'm excited about accomplishing them. We have three old products that we are redoing and it is exciting, we are making some great improvements. The hardest thing is trying to keep the size and cost down while expanding the features.

Now that somewhat bad news. Katie's birthday is in September, and kids need to be at least one year old with good neck/head control before riding on the bike, so she won't be able to ride this summer. That is really sad. We need to get riding to train for freewheel next year. I also need to make sure I can take a child carrier trailer. That may be a deal stopper, but I think it is permitted.

I need to post some pictures of the kids, we have been having so much fun interacting. I'm really enjoying them growing up and developing more.

What's Next?

2009-06-02T06:32:00.002-05:00

Discipleship for Leadership finished with class on Wednesday. Now that class is over, I need to stay on top of scripture memory. I need to continue to review what I have learned, and add to it. I also need to apply what I learned, and an opportunity has presented itself. Not a happy one, but one of great need. Rick died May 29th. Rick is a member of my mini-church, so now we have his wife and six kids that are still here coping with what has happened.

Some of the ideas I have:
*Create a website to help track needs and volunteers.
*Take care of their maintenance (Lawn, car, home) for them.
*Help with chauffeuring the kids.

The funeral is this Wednesday, and I haven't gotten much done. I need to make this happen, but I'm not too sure how. My main concern is that to implement this is going to require work from the family, and it doesn't seem right to try and help but end up giving them a small burden.

I probably just need to try and be available. Maybe set up an evening where we can go over there and do whatever is needed, or get an idea of what is needed.

2009-05-22T07:54:00.002-05:00

Another recap.

Had a great vacation in Florida, did lots of swimming which I am really lacking. Hopefully this summer I'll be in the pool some.

I've ridden to work majority of this week, and it is wonderful. It will probably be pretty hot on my way home today, but it was a nice day riding in with 67 degree temps. I can really feel my muscles getting tired as the week goes on. I also think I need a new saddle.

DFL is almost over, we have one more day, next Wednesday. I don't feel I'm getting as much out of it as I was in the beginning. The call to discipleship and eternal perspective are really life changing.

Going on walks more with Julie in the evening, which is great. I would like to do some real work outs for my arms and core.

The kids are doing great. Both have really increased their food consumption this week which is a good thing. We hope David will grow some more and be able to use his big wheel he got for his birthday, even though it is for kids 3+ yrs. We need to push potty training David, but we are going for reading right now. Poor Katie isn't getting the attention she deserves. We need to play with her more and encourage her to crawl. Right now she just sits there so nicely and has a good time.

I really need to work on making a difference at church. I think involvement is key. Not just involvement, but also frequency. We need to spend time with others.

Need a project

2009-05-07T08:09:00.003-05:00

For some reason I love doing projects. I have plenty of things that need to be done, but that is more simple to do items. I enjoy designing. So I have been pondering what project to work on next. I have done several designs for an outside play castle, but I've agreed with the wife that they are too young now and won't really appreciate, so I need to wait a couple years. So then I thought of maybe pursuing the third car garage idea some more, so I looked at it and I can't find a way around the cost. So now I'm in to trying to free up some space in the house. I want to build shelves and organizers.

So the project I'm currently looking at is a built in entertainment center. Right now we have our TV and media equipment on a TV cart. Well, David is now pulling on it to turn on the TV, and this is of course the hazard you read about with kids pulling a TV down on them. So my thinking is that a built in will provide more stability and also look better. We could also think about getting an LCD TV instead of our CRT, that would really change space consideration. We also have the option to simply anchor the TV to the wall with some clips and straps.

On the subject of shelves, I think it would be nice to have some high shelves. Like 18inches from the ceiling. Well, 18" off of an 8ft height makes the shelves 6.5 ft off the ground which I think is a good height, but poor wifey is only 5ft tall. The main use I think would be decorations. Maybe some toys in the kids rooms could be up there.

On a completely different subject, the memory verse for this week is Romans 12:1-2 which several of you probably know, but I was surprised at how much of it I had forgotten. So if anyone knows of a good way to review memory verses I would like to hear it. My current thinking is to review 10 verses a day while learning a new one each day. The problem is that this limits itself to 70 verses for a week. If I went to monthly reviewing that is only 300 verses, and that requires me to be very good about reviewing each day since the next time I review that verse will be a month away.

To put some numbers in perspective:
52 weeks a year, but due to holidays and vacations we will make this 50 weeks for memorizing scripture. So memorize 1 passage a week gives me 50 verses known in 1 year. So weekly review works fine, but half way through the second year I already know too many verses. So maybe the key is to step up the daily review. Maybe if I review 20 passages a day, that gives me 140... still seems to be lacking.

Observe

2009-05-01T06:20:00.004-05:00

Ephesians 5:15-16

Being involved is work

2009-04-30T16:54:00.004-05:00

So I'm trying to figure out how I can be more involved in the church, and how to encourage others. Part of me wants to help out with the nursery just because there is such a need for workers there, but I feel I would enjoy working with the youth as a small group leader more.

All of this is pretty easy, but how do you get others to care? Why do people feel that participation in a baseball league is more important than equipping other believers with the knowledge of the Son of God. We are called to serve, not play sports.

Families seem so busy. I guess not only family but just people in general. It seems if we don't have something going on we are instantly bored. But at the same time you constantly hear about people needing more time to get things done.

So what can we do?

I Night in My Wife's Shoes

2009-04-25T15:53:00.002-05:00

So, had a terrible time going to sleep.
Woke up at 3am to babies crying and got up to calm them down.
Woke up again at 7:15 to spouse's alarm clock
Finally got up for the day after 8am to crying baby.

So, for the record, my night is usually going to sleep quickly, getting up to my alarm. Nothing between them. So, I now have some more empathy for my wife, but would really like to go back to my norm.

Beautiful Morning

2009-04-22T11:30:00.002-05:00

Beautiful is a good word for this morning. 63 degrees when I went out wearing my work clothes. Great ride, except for one stinky truck that I could smell when it was about 100 yards in front of me.

I really would like to do more biking than just commuting to work. But I think I need to tune up the other bikes so the whole family can go.

Now that I think about it, I have to do maintenance on all the vehicles. I think both cars need oil changes and could use an overall check up. Perhaps this weekend I'll have some time to handle that.

I'm thinking it is worth it to do the maintenance myself. I just need to get someone else to help out, it makes the work so much more enjoyable.

What about you? Do you maintain your own vehicles or take it in? Do you follow the recommended maintenance schedule or take longer between oil changes and other services?

Time of Quiet Listening

2009-04-22T07:56:00.001-05:00

Luke 6:40 "A pupil is not above his teacher, but everyone, after he has been fully trained will be like his teacher."

Who are your teachers? Mr/Mrs ________?
Who has a strong influence in your life? Oprah?
Who do you want to be like? Mike?

I know one teacher that I want to have is Holy Spirit.
John 14:26 "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you."

We need to spend time in the word of God, listening to what the Holy Spirit has to teach us. We need to know what Jesus has said for it to be brought to our remembrance. I've learned that a quiet time is not a bible study. A bible study (in my opinion) is a guided look at the Word of God. Instead of allowing the scripture to speak we are trying to make the scripture say something.

The Bible is the Living Word of God (Heb 4:12) For the Word to be our teacher we need to study it, not a lesson someone else made, that makes the author of the lesson your teacher.

In Discipleship For Leadership (DFL) we were encouraged to use our quiet time to do the homework, but after memorizing Luke 6:40 I realized I'm not having God as my teacher, but the DFL teacher. Now the DFL teacher is a great teacher and I don't mind being his pupil, but I also want to be a pupil to God.

So what about you? Do you follow someone's lessons such as "Our Daily Bread" or "My Utmost for His Highest" instead of having a time with just God?

Back to the original purpose

2009-04-21T13:53:00.003-05:00

So I started this blog with thoughts of life and now it turns out to simply be my random thoughts. Usually dealing with my own life, and not so much digging into God's Word.

So what do you the readers think? Should I change to a more focused blog or is everyone happy with whatever I happen to be thinking at the time? Not like anyone really posts comments, so maybe what I'm doing is fine. Maybe the question is whether or not I'm happy with it. I'm the one who posts. I recently looked back over some of my original posts and thought they were pretty nice. Not too sure what I should do. I have a journal, that I can use. Should I journal here, or there?

Getting It Together

2009-04-21T08:31:00.004-05:00

Well, time to make some changes in my day to day routine.

Have Quiet Time in the morning instead of the DFL homework. DFL homework examines the scriptures with leading questions and doesn't really let the Word speak on its own. Do DFL homework at night.
Stop making excuses and ride the bike.
Start journaling each day to record opportunities to show the love of Christ. These opportunities could be taken or missed, but the idea is to be more mindful of them.

That should be a good start. I rode in this morning taking it easy. My throat is bothering me again and I'm uncertain why. But I finally decided that not riding doesn't seem to change anything, and I really enjoy riding. Had a great ride, mid 50s temperature, no wind, low traffic; all around very pleasant.

The journal idea came from the memory verse for this week:
Ephesians 5:1-2 "Therefore be imitators of God as beloved Children, and walk in love just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us. An offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma." Eph 5:1-2
How did I do? "Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; ²and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. " I really messed up the punctuation, but did well with the words, which makes sense. I have not written this verse out much so I miss a lot of punctuation just learning it orally.

The point of the quiet time is that I don't want to try to extract specific points from the scriptures, but to read the scriptures for what they have to say. DFL homework makes you examine the scripture with specific points to extract from it.

I would like to add working out somewhere, but I think I need to get these as a routine first then add workout in a week or two.

Finished Boat Bed Pictures

2009-04-15T21:06:00.002-05:00

Happy boy with his new bed, and a book. The door is closed, which he doesn't get to see this side of it much.

Here is the inside. This is where he sleeps. The door is down on the right side of the picture. The stairs up are already broken. I should have added a stronger edge on this piece, but that is pretty easy to fix, no real harm done.

Here is the top. This is a look at the captains quarters.

Here is a nice overall view of the boat which takes up so much of the room.
Looks like David didn't make his bed this morning.

So what has been happening

2009-04-15T07:49:00.006-05:00

Not sure why I haven't had time to post anything, but I've been meaning to. The boat bed is done and looks great. I've been trying to get some pictures to post here, but haven't gotten around to it yet. Angie and Jason did a wonderful job painting a faux wood grain. David loves his new bed, I have some video of him on it, maybe I can try posting that too. Though that won't be till the weekend when I transfer the tape onto my hard drive.

Started riding my bike again. My annoying cough that has been lingering is finally gone, so I don't mind breathing in the cool morning air. Today it was about 48 degrees, and I over dressed. I'm thinking just my work pants and not the windbreaker over them. Also a lighter top layer, I wore my yellow long sleeve pull over.

Easter was a great time, but very exhausting. We have way too much chocolate too. David loved it, but I think we had too many eggs for the kids. He would pick one up and try to open it instead of gathering them all first.

DFL is going well, but I think I need to have my quiet time on top of doing my DFL. This will require a lot more time, but I think it is needed. I have really missed have a more relaxing QT.

Our house is still somewhat of a wreck. Especially the garage. I need to get it cleaned up from the boat bed project. We also need to get our house cleaned up from having company stay with us. But hopefully that can get done this weekend.

The kids have been doing really well. Katie is sitting up easily, David is talking more and more, you can now ask him if he wants water or milk. Katie rolls over, but doesn't seem to be that interested in crawling yet.

Things have been pretty busy at home, and I need to take advantage of the time available to get things done. We have been failing at doing any workouts which needs to change. Hopefully this weekend we will get the rest we need and be able to get the house in order.

Pictures

2009-04-03T06:54:00.003-05:00

Well, here are some pictures of the Noah's ark bunk bed I have been working on with the help of others.

Here is a picture of the front side. The door way up top will have a hinged door on it, and the doorway on bottom will have a drawbridge type door.

This side of the structure will be against a wall, so the lower portion will remain open. The front top will have 1/2 inch diameter rope through the holes as rails.

So much happening

2009-04-01T10:20:00.003-05:00

Man, I'm so excited about this boat bed. I have it assembled with the help of Angie, Jason, Dad, and Papa. I finally decided what I want to do for the door and plan to put that on Thursday. Then I need to get some help and pull the thing apart. It has a coat of primer, but one gallon isn't enough to cover the thing. It only covers about 2/3rds.

Haven't been out on my bike recently because I have this annoying cough. I think I may have been a bit sick or something, but I'm not sure. It may just have to do with all the saw dust I've been breathing. But I'm done cutting, and the temperature is rising. So I should be able to ride some more. After I get my lawn mowed. We have had so much rain I haven't had a chance to get out and mow. The plan is to do it today after DFL. We should get home around 8:40pm. But if I don't do it today I may miss my opportunity because more rain is in the forecast for tomorrow/tonight.

The kids are doing well, but they have had some nose issues. David had an ear infection that is over with now, and Katie had a runny nose and hadn't been sleeping through the night. But I think we are all better, or close to it.

Birthdays are coming up now so my next two weekends are going to be busy. I'll need to recruit some help getting David's room ready, getting the mattress, and finishing the boat bed. But everyone I've talked to so far seemed interesting and available, so may try to arrange a full day at my house and feed people and have a good time.

Project update

2009-03-22T21:09:00.010-05:00

As stated earlier, I have some pics. The first pic is the step stool I'm making for him. I painted the inside blue, but I think I will go with white or a cream color so it is easier to see inside. The two pieces on the side are the tops that will be attached with hinges.

This next pic is an overview of the project. Moved my car outside to make room for all the material. You can also see my bike in the background that I added some reflective tape to.

Just some basic tools laying around. Miter saw, circular saw, jigsaw. The drill is in barely in the shot on the left. My other drill charger died, so I have to drill and screw with the same unit, which takes way too much time. I thought about buying another one to make things faster. But dad is planning on helping me out next weekend and will bring a drill.

The other pics are just a closer look at the two pieces I have so far.

The big thing on the left is the front of the ark. I think it is looking decent. I still need to add rails and a platform for it.

The big box on the right is the back end. I've started putting in the steps up to the second level. I have the rails here, and I still need to put the top caps on the rails. It has a platform, but it isn't screwed down yet. I decided the opening for the stairs should be a trap door so David doesn't accidentally fall down them.

The two main pieces will be connected with a sheet of OSB on the front that will have a 3ft x 3ft door that I plan to also hinge as a sort of ramp. I still need to cut some windows in the side of everything. I'll also make the top bunk between the front and back, this will be bigger than a mattress, 4ft wide and 7ft long. I plan to build a small cabin on the front of the expanse. The cabin will probably only be 4ft long. I think I have to go 3ft tall, otherwise I hit the ceiling when I try to put it in his room.

Okay, I now have a new respect for those with pics. It takes time to upload them, and then to get the formatting right.

Noah's Ark

2009-03-18T09:43:00.002-05:00

Well, I started the project last night. On Monday I went with a friend who has a truck to buy over $100 of wood. So last night I got cutting. I have a basic shell of the back end of the boat put together. Still need to add supports and the platform for it. I think I'll try to tackle the front section next, which in my opinion will be the hardest. The front will be slopped in two directions. It will slope up and out from bottom to top, and come in to a point. That back is just square, so it is pretty easy. When I was out shopping I forgot to pick up the screws, so I ran out of the smaller ones.

Not sure when I'll work on it next, but once my wife gets back I think I may take some pictures and post the work in progress. So far it doesn't look very good, but I think paint will fix that. Taking volunteers over the next few weekends to give me a hand.

I also need to assemble a playset we bought for David's birthday. By the way, that is what this is for. The Ark is a bunk bed. The plan is to have a 7ft long middle section, then put a second platform 4ft up off the ground. We are not doing a lower platform so David's mattress will just be on the ground, so if he rolls out it isn't a big deal.

The boat plans. The back is a 4ft wide by 2ft section. It is 4ft up to the start of the platform which is built by 2x6s. The rails will extend an additional 15 inches. I screwed up and forgot to add in the 6 inches from the platform for my rails, so they are really short. I may need to fix this and undo what I did, but hopefully not. The rails were supposed to be 21 inches up. I also plan to put stairs in here. They will be 12" wide and each step will be 9 inches in height and length for a total of 5 steps plus the top platform.

The front of the boat will be 4ft wide at towards the back of the boat, and 2ft long. I plan to put a climbing net over the side. I have also thought of putting a door in the deck at the front of the boat, but it may be crowded over there, so I may just put the captains wheel and nothing else.

The middle of the boat is mainly for the bed. I'll put a sheet of OSB across for the side of the boat and cut a door and windows in it. I'm thinking of doing a drawbridge design for the door, and having a wheel you turn to pull a rope to open/close the door. At the top middle I plan to build a little cabin that will cover half the top bed (4ft wide).

That is the plan. Not sure how to fix my rail situation. I'm just afraid that 15 inches is too easy to climb over. I'll probably just have to add a 6" extension. I'm trying to think of something I could turn it into to cover the mistake. Maybe cut it short, but a new rail on the outside of it and make it a shelf or bench. Hmmm, bench is a good idea. I'll go with that for now.

Why I ride

2009-03-17T15:58:00.005-05:00

Enjoyment.
Less use of gas and oil -> lower prices for all
Fitness
Financial Savings -> very little savings, unless I sell the car and don't pay taxes and insurance for it.

I do not support the idea of global warming. This is not a reason I ride. Another Link

Update

2009-03-11T14:26:00.003-05:00

Well, it has been a week. I feel I haven't had any time to blog about what has been going on. So, what is going on? Not much. DST messed me up. Now it is really hard to get up in the morning with outside being so dark. Hopefully my system will adjust soon.

Had some time to tinker with my bike a little. Cleaned it up, lubed the chain, front and rear gears/mechs, and the brake/shifters. It is pretty fun figuring this stuff out on the bike. I even trued up my wheels and did a decent job in my opinion.

Well, David's birthday is coming up and I need some help. We bought a used playset for him, and need to repaint it. Not sure when this will happen though since we will be gone the next two weekends. So I'm guessing we will need to work on it the last weekend of March. I also was planning on building him a Noah's ark bed. I have the plans laid out for the most part, and I'm trying to figure out the best way to do it. I need to buy wood, but already have some. I think I need to just put my car outside and get my materials organized. Again, I could use some help on this.

The outside patio is done. I paid to get it done, a 7x12 foot area for only $375. Pretty good deal. We have already had a cook out too.

Still need to look over the cars and change the oil, so if anyone needs their cars serviced maybe we can get together and do them. Maybe have a cookout too.

Not Mine

2009-03-04T21:24:00.003-06:00

So tonight I heard something interesting. The concept is that we become too attached to things that we wrongfully consider ours. For example, if a child has a plate we call it "their" plate, or they call it "my" plate. But it is really their parents plate.

The point is that this world is not our home. As Christians we have a future/eternal home. We take possession of things that are really just on loan from God and belong to Him. We say my house or my car, but really we should probably just be saying the house and the car. These things are God's. Yes, we are responsible for them, they are on loan to us so we are to take care of them, but we are to seek God's interests, and not our own. We should not live to pay the mortgage. Matthew 6:33, "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you."

Makes me wonder how much stuff I have that I shouldn't. Do I spend too much time maintaining things of no eternal worth? I think so, but other things such as a vehicle are useful to transport me, and the house to live in is needed too. Not sure about this computer, but it serves as a good means of communication.

Just something I wanted to share. Hope you guys like reading my posts. I would like to post more often, but struggle with finding the time. Maybe blogging isn't even a good use of my time, maybe I should do it less, but I think it helps sort out some of my thoughts. I enjoy thinking out loud.

So much to do in so little time

2009-03-03T09:45:00.003-06:00

Life is going pretty well. Life is also busy. I'm trying to figure out how to do what I want to do, but still have a peaceful life that I don't stress about things. My day seems consumed by work and kids.

I'm guessing everyone feels this way. Yesterday was pretty nice, I had some time to read even with the kids running around. Didn't have much time to read, and it was frequently interrupted. Had time to clean the kitchen too. Fun times indeed. But when do I take time to work on my bike. That seems to be a weekend thing. During nap time I guess.

New temptation

2009-02-21T21:02:00.005-06:00

Well, maybe not what some expect. But for no good reason I am interested in this bike. Not sure why I want this, but it is a good price and looks to be a nice bike. For now my road bike is fine, but for some reason I'm interested in a new one. For the record, the bike is the allant

The Soho is also interesting. It is about twice the price, but has a belt drive system and internal gear hub on the rear.

So today I had some time during the kids naps to play with my bike. Noticed I had two teeth broken on the front middle gear. All the other gears were starting to show a little bit of wear. I lubed it and tuned the derailleurs. Not very good at it yet, it took me some time and I'm not sure if I even improved anything.

But back to the trek bike. Looks nice right? I think a lot of the temptation is fenders. I looked and asked around and it seems my bike won't fit any fenders. I'm not even sure if I need fenders. I don't really plan to ride in the rain. I also like the idea of having a rack on the back, but again I don't know if I would even use it. I think the only valid desire for it is a more comfortable ride.

Still learning

2009-02-17T09:35:00.003-06:00

Eternal Perspective
This is what I've been looking at this week for DFL. Matthew 6:33 is the memory verse, but you need the verses before it to understand what "these things" are. Luke 6:20-24 I believe is the passage we are looking at. I think this has really helped me to endure the difficulty of getting a driver's license. I think without studying this so recently I would have been annoyed by the tag agency server crashing when I try to renew my license.

Bike Care
I do not maintain my bike properly. I need to invest in some cleaner/lubricant for my bike and be better about it. Probably should do something for my car too, it is more expensive though.

Bike clothing
I'm still trying to figure out why my arms get so hot and sweaty. my hands get cold, but that is fixed with heavy gloves, my torso has the wind to cool it off, but my arms just sit there being hot. Maybe I just need to not wear the long sleeve under the jacket. I think this stuff will be worked out over time.

Marriage
I can do better. It sounds better in my head. Let me try rephrasing that... "I can do more for my marriage." That sounds better right? My marriage is great, but it can still be improved. I think a lot of that requires the eternal perspective. I need to focus on what really counts. Let the little things go, but also do little things that help. Maybe a better way to say that is to deny myself. Luke 9:23-24

Blogging
Somewhat fun, but hard to fit into the schedule. I think doing themes is a good motivation to make posts, but just doing random things like this is harder. Hopefully I can pick a theme soon and get in a good routine. I like blogging because it provides an opportunity to think things out and reflect.

Time
So much time, yet it is so easily lost. Lost may not be the best word. Maybe wasted. Time is so easily wasted.

Fun turned to necessity

2009-02-13T09:48:00.005-06:00

Well, I've started racking up the miles on my bike. Then yesterday it turns out I don't have a choice. I learned that you don't get a 1 month grace period for your drivers license. Mine expired in January. So I had to go to the department of public safety to get a certificate that allows me to renew my license. This simply required my old license and my birth certificate. Fortunately we had the birth certificate.

This morning I ride out the opposite direction from work to the Department of Public Safety. Wait 40minutes, spend 1minute to get the certificate, then head to work. On the way is a tag agency, so I swing by, but they don't open till 9 and it is 8:40. So instead of waiting I decide to head into work and just get the license at lunch. So now here I am. The tag agency is less than 2 miles from work, but also the wrong direction for lunch. It is somewhat exciting to not really need my car. But I did drive it illegally Monday through Wednesday. I just hope we continue to have nice weather so I can stay on my bike. That or I have to get some fenders for it, if that is even possible.

Perspective

2009-02-12T08:53:00.002-06:00

So for DFL we are looking at having an eternal perspective. This is really interesting when looking at Luke 6:20-26. My first thought is how comfortable life is for me, and how that could work against me, but at the same time it isn't. It is about what we pursue. Matt 6 should go along with this. In Matt 6:33 we see that God will meet our needs if we seek Him.

Intimacy

2009-02-10T06:47:00.002-06:00

Intimacy in a closeness sense, not sexual. The concept of intimacy within the church isn't something new, but the practice of it is. People don't open up enough, and I feel that is because there is a lack of contact. To open up to someone and truly know them you need to spend time with them. Our small church group meets twice a month. I think that this just isn't enough.

I meet with a group of guys for Friday lunch and that is better, yet I still have trouble getting deeper with them. We would rather talk of politics or scripture that we are working with.

What about within the family. The marriage creates a trust that should be a solid foundation for building an intimate relationship on. But if you don't spend time together you become more like roommates who see each other in passing. That is one reason Julie and I are trying to go to bed and wake up at the same time. Because that time together in the evening and morning is important. Our lives are full of distractions that can pull us away from each other, and we need to make decisions that can allow intimacy to grow.

What do you think? Am I completely off base? Can you relate to this?

Morning not so routine

2009-02-09T10:24:00.002-06:00

Still trying to figure out the morning schedule. Had my meeting this morning at 6:30 and we left around 7:35. So that timing worked out well. i showed up about 10min late though because my car battery was dead this morning. I left my lights on when I came home Friday, but I turned them off then, but I guess it was too late. I didn't think it would have been.

How much time do other people take in the mornings. Last week Julie and I agreed to get up together at 6:30, but that hasn't worked out very well for me. I haven't gotten much of my DFL homework done, so something needs to change. I think I'll have to go back to waking up before Julie. Not sure yet, but obviously I have to wake up earlier on Mondays for the meeting.

The issue we are working through is going to bed at the same time. But if I get up an hour earlier then we won't be going to bed at the same time, and we did this for a few days and it wasn't helping the relationship at all.

Time is short

2009-02-04T12:47:00.002-06:00

So this morning Julie and I tried a different routine. I was driving to work today, so I had a few extra minutes to be home. We calculated that I need to wake up at about 6:30 to get to work on time whether biking or driving. Well, I'm not sure how this is going to work. David woke up with us for some reason. We just let him cry because he wasn't supposed to be awake yet. I just didn't have as much time as I was wanting, but it was nice to go to bed at a reasonable time with my wife and get up with my wife for a change.

But the real issue to be addressed is why I drove to work. Basically I need my car to go out to lunch on Thursday and Friday, but Thursday and Friday have nice warm mornings compared to today. So I drove today and will leave my car at work, and drive home Friday.

So, I need to figure out how to get faster on my bike so I can quickly go 2-3 miles to lunch, then back to work without taking time away from my lunch break. I'm thinking this may just require training. It could be that simple. I need to push myself to go faster, but how do I do that without arriving a mess? Currently the weather is good for biking at lunch, but it will get hot.

Whatever, I don't need to dwell on this very long, there are other things that I need to do.

15 minutes makes a big difference

2009-02-03T08:06:00.005-06:00

So I started meeting with Andy from church on Monday mornings as part of DFL. So I decided to wake up at 6 instead of 6:15. Monday was pretty rushed because we met at Starbuck's but we are thinking of meeting at IHOP instead so we can enjoy breakfast and not have to rush through it at home.

Well, today I get up with the plan of biking to work. Look at the weather forecast, it is already above freezing. Last night it was forcasted to be 26 degrees. So I was very happy to see it 8 degrees higher. I prepared everything last night so I wouldn't make a lot of noise and wake others up. That helped, because David woke up coughing at 6:05. I really think that extra 15minutes this morning helped make my morning calmer and more enjoyable. I was able to have my morning quiet time, eat breakfast, prepare my lunch and feed David. Things went pretty well. But now in order to get 8 hours of sleep I need to be asleep by 10pm. That is going to be pretty hard.

Now to leave you with this week's memory verse.
Luke 14:26
"If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple."
Luke 14:26

New Week, New Month; Now What?

2009-02-02T07:25:00.003-06:00

As I was lying in bed last night I was thinking how I'm not doing very well on some of the goals I had for this year. I'm not reading the books I was wanting to get read. I wasn't exercising as planned. Things just got busy when DFL started.

I'm thinking I need to readdress my goals and get motivated again. I haven't talked to my wife about it yet, but I think just briefly going over them at the beginning of the week and at the beginning of the month may really help us get done what we want. Unfortunately this sounds more like a business meeting. You meet ever so often to address what you have gotten done, what you are doing, and what needs to be done. So I hate to say it, but it sounds like meetings are a good thing. We all know they are when they provide lunch, but maybe they have a benefit besides the free food.

So I should talk with my wife so we can go over our objectives and decide how to achieve our goals for this year. Maybe we can make shorter goals and even create a reward system based on achieveing those goals.

Some goals I would like to do:
QT everyday but Monday - started meeting with a guy early Monday morning
Workout twice per week
Read 5 minute theologian 5 times/week.
Finish "Basics of Bible Interpretation" this month

Not too sure how to handle rewards. It would be funny to reward junk food for working out though. So I could use some help here. How do you guys motivate yourself? How would you reward yourself for some of this stuff?

My thinking is a structure like this:
If I meet GoalA for the entire Month then I get to enjoy RewardA at the beginning of the next month.
Is there a better structure? I though about doing based on a week, but that seemed way too short sited. But my thinking was also good rewards, if I dumbed down the reward then I could do that on a weekly basis.

Please leave some ideas in the comments.

Being not Doing

2009-01-29T06:28:00.003-06:00

So last night I heard something I thought was really great. "God is more concerned with our being than our doing." This is in the context of glorifying God. 1 Cor 6:19-20 says "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore, glorify God in your body."

Sometimes it is hard to figure out what the best thing to do is. We are limited creatures, and we have limited resources. We must decide the best way to use what we have. Should I give my money to help the homeless, buy my kid a new toy, support missions? These are tough issues, but what is really important is where your heart is. Don't be concerned so much with what to do, but why you do it. When you go to work, it is to glorify God, but I reason that I go to work to get money. What I do at work is greatly affected by why I think I'm there. It is true in other areas. The internal heart issues effect what you do externally. So if I can internally focus on glorifying God and loving Him and my neighbor, then I will make the right decisions.

Outdoors

2009-01-21T06:31:00.003-06:00

This January has seemed pretty warm to me. I don't know about anyone else, but I really want to be outside more and more.

I have less desire to play video games and more desire to go camping, hiking, biking, or even just go out for a walk. Speaking of walking, I went for a nice walk to Wal-mart with the kids. I received some pretty good looks. I had Katie in a stroller, and David in the baby backpack. I can understand this looking pretty humorous. But we had a good time. I wasn't able to fit all the groceries I needed, but I was able to get most of them on the stroller.

A challenging song that I have been thinking of recently is "What if I Give All" by Ray Boltz.

My struggle with this is I'm not sure where planning fits in. We have a few thousand dollars just sitting around waiting to replace our air conditioning system because it is so old. Does God want me to give that money instead of just letting it sit? What about projects I'm thinking of doing? I'm thinking of building a third car garage onto the house, would it be better to abandon my wishes (Luke 9:23) ? Probably. I guess I shouldn't mess with that project. We really do have so much stuff around here, and I'm betting anyone reading this could say the same.

I'm thinking I need to take a good look at my possession and try to eliminate all the clutter. I could sell it and give the money away.

For those who are interested you need to have Luke 9:62 memorized today.
And Jesus said to him, "No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." Luke 9:62

Corrections:
But Jesus said to him - not bad, just the "And" should be "But".

DFL assignment 2

2009-01-16T08:07:00.004-06:00

So the first memory verse was Luke 9:23-24
And He was saying to them all, "If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself, and come after me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it. But whoever loses his life for my sake, he is the one who will save it." - Luke 9:23-24

The new memory verse is Luke 9:62
But Jesus said to him, "No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." - Luke 9:62

What do these verses say about being a disciple?
What does it mean to deny yourself?
Is this a standard we need to meet?
If so, do we measure up?
What is required of a disciple?
What is the cost?

These are just some questions we discussed in the class, so have fun trying to wrap your mind around this.

Random ramblings

2009-01-14T09:11:00.004-06:00

Well, I biked in this morning. It was a struggle to bike or not. I have some work for a class tonight and I haven't done it all. Hopefully I can finish before the class after work. It is amazing how little time it feels like I have. I'm not sure how others have time for things. I don't work out, I don't watch TV. I think the kids just keep me busy.
Here is my week:
Sunday is church and clean house or do other choirs/projects
Monday evening I spend with friends, it is pretty much my day off from the kids. Though I help with feeding dinner and David is always interesting in whatever game we play, so he usually sits on my lap. So maybe not my day off, but Julie sure tries to make it that way, David just won't have any of that.
Tuesday evening is date night, but we are thinking of switching this with Thursday so Julie can do some exercise program at church.
Wednesday evening is the class at church that just started up last week. We have this evening available sometimes to do choirs and other things.
Thursday is Julie's night off, so I am with the kids that evening.
Friday is the weekend. There is actually time available here.
Saturday is time to relax or do projects.

So I'm thinking my blogging is boring, and I may try to put some real content in here. I may make it a good place to post my ramblings on the class I'm taking. It is a very challenging class, so it would be good to blog about I think.

Quick Bike review. About 35 degrees this morning, wore same as yesterday plus bike shorts under athletic pants, the padding was great. Also I wore a my coat shell to protect from the wind with my thinsulate gloves over my thin gloves. My upper body was very hot the last mile. I unzipped the coat shell and took off the thick gloves which helped a lot. The first three miles were very comfy. Oh, I forgot, I wore my ski goggles too which worked really well. Next time I should probably do without the shell at this temp. It was supposed to be mid 20's but wasn't.

Bike commuting update

2009-01-12T08:22:00.002-06:00

Rode to work today. It has been a long time, so it was hard to get up and out so early. Left the house just after 7:00, arrived at work about 7:40. The temperature was about 40 degrees, started at 39, then ended at 41. It was dark for all but the last mile when it was gray.

Clothing:
feet: Polly-pro socks, regular socks, NB tennis shoes - comfortable
legs: new cycling base layer, wind breaker pants with insulation - comfy
torso: long sleeve wicking shirt, yellow long sleeve fleece - comfy
hands: new polar tec gloves - cold
head: borrowed balaclava pulled down to chin, glasses; tried goggles, but that fogged glasses, could have tried goggles no glasses. wind made eyes water, otherwise comfy

Time to really go for it

2009-01-08T07:22:00.004-06:00

Julie and i got the privileged of being able to be in Discipleship for Leadership. It is a special group at church that will meet once a week for 20 or more weeks. We are very excited. To get in the group your mini-church leader has to recommend you, the elders have to approve you, and all the mini-church leaders get to comment too. So it is pretty exciting to be in it now.

Before we went to the orientation last night we weren't really sure we were ready to do this. It is a big commitment. If you can't make a meeting they try to reschedule it so everyone can be there. You have memory verses to do, and a pretty big assignment (recommend 30 minutes a day). All of this doesn't sound so bad, but we were late to the first meeting. When we got to church we knew Katie was stinky so we went to change her, but she had a blowout. Some was even in the car seat.... So very nasty.

Well, after going to the orientation we got fired up and want to do this. We are very excited. Now we just pray for focus and endurance. We want to be hot for God, and no longer satisfied with par. The standards we have currently been living with are too low, it is time to learn and live by God's standards.

First task: make 35 observations about what a disciple is, does, the cost, etc, based on Luke 9:23-24. Don't you dare share any observations in the comments, I have to do this myself. I should be done with it tomorrow, so you can share then.

Also, memorize Luke 9:23-24 which isn't that hard, because I used to have it memorized, so it comes back quickly.

Discipleship
Luke 9:23-24
And He said to them all, "If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake, he is the one who will save it."
Luke 9:23-24

That was my version, let's see how I did.
And He was saying to them all, ---not too bad, present tense and I used past
"If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow me. -----need a comma after himself, and no comma after daily
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it." -----pretty good, forgot to capitalize My

Overall I think I did well. I would encourage anyone reading this to start memorizing scripture, it is actually pretty fun. Now if you really want a challenge, you can also make 35 observations about discipleship on the passage.

Going Around Sick

2009-01-07T06:11:00.002-06:00

Is it terribly rude and inconsiderate to go to work with a cold? I thought I was getting over it, but I still blow my nose and have a sore throat. It started last Thursday, so it has almost been a week, and I have worked Monday and Tuesday. I hope I haven't gotten anyone sick. But should I take off work? I'm still able to get work done, I just don't want to make everyone sick. I don't have a whole lot of interaction with others, so I would hope this limits any exposure.

The reason I go to work is that I have been off so long, well that was the reason, but now that I have gone to work I feel I continue to show up so I don't have to spend vacation days.

On a slightly different note, we have a leadership orientation class at church this evening and I really want to go to that, even though we are thinking we might not do the class this go around since we are so busy with the kids. Would it still be worth going to if we are possibly contagious?

Lord of the Sabbath

2009-01-05T06:49:00.004-06:00

Reading Luke chapter 6 this morning. The sabbath was very legalistic for the scribes and the Pharisees. They would challenge Jesus when he would perform miracles on the day.

The Sabbath is to be a day of rest, and we are told to remember it. Well, I usually do projects or other work like clean the house on Saturday. I don't really see this as honoring to God. So I'm struggling a bit to apply and be obedient to God's word. Any suggestions? Do I need to just do it and stop doing so much work on Saturday and make the projects more occasional. I probably have time for Saturday to truly be a day of rest. I guess I should look more up on the Sabbath and try to really understand it. Comments on this would be appreciated.

Memory Verses:
Rom 12:1 is memorized, so now it is time to get John 14:21. So on Wednesday we should switch to the next weeks verses, 2 Tim 3:16 (which I pretty much already have), and Joshua 1:8 which sure sounds familiar.

Update for Christmas time

2008-12-30T08:25:00.005-06:00

Well, things have been great and a bit chaotic. It is amazing how much easier things are when I have my regular work schedule. I haven't been doing my quiet time, or memorizing scripture. That is pretty sad. I really need to make a better effort to work on what is important on my days off from work. I need to make a stronger effort, but usually when I get off on my days off it is because a kid is awake and needs attention. It is easier to do in the morning than trying to do it during nap time. But if that is the time available then that is when it should be done.

What about everyone else? Do you find it easier on your regular routine days or is it easier on a day off when you have more time? I could see it being very different without kids.

Starts Up Quick

2008-12-19T06:55:00.002-06:00

So I finished Deuteronomy and decided to read Luke since it is the Christmas season. Man it jumps right into it. So much is going on. Zacharias receives a prophecy but doubts so he is punished by being mute so he can't really explain what is going on. His wife Elizabeth conceives. Then Mary is visited by the same angel and given a prophetic message. She believes the message and commits to serving God.

Then Mary visits her cousin Elizabeth who is filled with the Holy Spirit and blesses Mary. Then Mary praises the Lord. She hangs around for a few months then goes back home. John is born and named John instead of Zacharias after his father or any family name for that matter. Then Zacharias is no longer mute and prophesies praise to God.

A few important little details that are pretty cool:
45Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!"
man, if Zacharias was in the room this may have stinged a bit.
63He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone's astonishment he wrote, "His name is John." 64Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue was loosed, and he began to speak, praising God.
Go Zacharias. Now he steps up. Elizabeth had just said his name was John and the people thought her crazy and asked Zacharias what he thought. Apparently Zacharias wasn't in the room to know about Elizabeth wanting him named John. This amazed the people when both parents said his name is John.

Man this stuff is exciting. And this is just the prophet of the Most High. Wait until the Most High is actually born. Then the two get to meet.

Slacking off on Memory Verses

2008-12-18T06:34:00.004-06:00

Not sure why I have started slacking off. Things haven't really gotten that much busier. But moving on.

Obedience to God, Rom 12:1 and John 14:21

Use the first two days of the week to memorize Romans 12:1 and the next two days for learning John 14:21, then review both the rest of the week. Also, each day of the week review the first two verses learned. 2 Cor 5:17 and Gal 2:20

Romans 12:1 Read the context of Romans 11:32 - 12:2
questions to ask while learning the verse:
What is the right motivation for yielding ourselves to God?
What is sacrifice?
What is worship?

This is pretty much all taken from the Topical Memory System. I feel I need to reference it because most is a direct quote.

Obedience to God
Romans 12:1
"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship."
Romans 12:1

For some reason I don't actually have a lot to say myself, so have fun with the homework.

Blessings

2008-12-17T07:01:00.006-06:00

Deuteronomy 33 has a record of Moses speaking to each tribe. He is giving a blessing to the tribes before he dies. This seems somewhat common, but it is surprising that it is done just before death. Think how many missed a blessing due to not dying of old age. The book "Raising a Modern Day Knight" speaks of having celebration type events to commemorate certain milestones along the way of becoming a man. I think the blessings could have a good part to play in this.

The book speaks of how today's culture is more turbulent and confusing for boys. By laying out a path with milestones it gives a son better confidence and a stronger sense of identity. Some example milestones would be turning 13, or just the onset of puberty, turning 16 and having the freedom of a car, high school graduation, and marriage. I really like the ideas presented in this book, and I feel it is also easy to incorporate scripture into this thinking. As a man we are told through scripture about how to live. Ephesians is a great book on the Christian life. As they grow people need to gain responsibility and freedom. I think most would agree with this. As a parent your job is to raise adults, not big kids.

What do you guys think? Does this culture make it harder? What about lawsuits... they define who is responsible for what, which tells me our culture isn't doing very well guiding children to be responsible adults.

Tough decisions to be made in everyday life

2008-12-16T07:07:00.002-06:00

Today is date night. But the roads are still pretty much frozen. I'm pretty sure my wife would like to get out of the house, but is it going to be worth it? I should have a better idea after I drive into work. the roads weren't real terrible, but it was only me in a light weight car. I would think a heavier vehicle may be harder to control.

Hmmm, I just thought of a pretty good date idea. It isn't too far from home, so hopefully it won't require a lot of driving.

Winter is here

2008-12-15T06:43:00.002-06:00

I can't imagine bike commuting today. I woke up this morning, checked the weather to see that it is 15 degrees Fahrenheit. You would definitely need to cover all the skin. If anything is exposed I think it would be very uncomfortable. On top of that is the possibility of slick roads. I'm not worried about the bike losing control, but the car losing control next to me.

Days like this make me want to get the house better insulated too. We purchased some windows from Window World, but they aren't going to be ready to install until January.

Saturday Morning

2008-12-13T06:44:00.002-06:00

Well, here I am on Saturday. I really messed up Julie's plans with my own selfish desire to play Battlefield. She has been wonderful and adapted her schedule for me. Still need to figure out what to do with the kids while we play. I'm thinking Katie may just be on the floor, and David could play in my lap... maybe. Maybe I'll let him use the mouse. That would be a challenge. I wonder if there is a keyboard button to fire. I still think it will be a lot of fun. I just don't know why Katie didn't sleep better tonight.

Traditions

2008-12-12T07:03:00.004-06:00

So, it seems one of my favorite Christmas traditions is getting started this weekend. Battlefield 1942 lan party. Everyone should celebrate this tradition around the world. Lan parties are a fun way to spend time together.

Next will probably be the massive amounts of food tradition and then the gift exchanges start. Actually I think we have a gift exchange this weekend.

I look forward to all the festivities. I'm not too keen on gift exchanges because it is typically an item of little use, but they are still fun. More for the social interaction. I've gotten some nice gifts before.

Hopefully with the holidays coming and me being of work in a couple weeks I'll be able to continue to be disciplined and work on memory verses, working out, and continuing to have a quiet time. Maybe I'll even take time to write in this blog too.

Improving Christmas

2008-12-10T07:00:00.003-06:00

Gifts for Christmas aren't really gifts. They are somewhat required... doesn't that take away part of what a gift is?

Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday because there is family and food. It is a nice restful time. I think Christmas should be a wonderful time too, but I think we(as a culture) focus too much on giving gifts. I know this is supposed to reflect the great gift of Christ. We started drawing names which helps with some of the chaos, but I also think I receive too many gifts. Us kids need to get the parents to lay off or something. Or maybe gifts aren't even the problem.

Maybe it is just me, and I took too long to start shopping. Maybe I have a problem and it is unrelated to the culture and events. Maybe it is simply a need to change my attitude. Maybe I simply get annoyed with all the traffic on the roads and all the people in the stores. It even makes grocery shopping harder.

Do others think there is a problem?
Am I crazy? Yes, but am I completely off base on this topic?
How can we improve Christmas?
Help me out here.

Other Ideas

Marriage is great

2008-12-09T16:05:00.002-06:00

Marriage is indeed great, and another wonderful part of it is that it can get even better.

I recommend:
Mistletoe for Marriage - 25 days of comfort and joy
Family Life

Due to being so busy I haven't been doing very well with the Mistletoe for Marriage assignments.

For December 3

Dear Julie,
I love you so much. I love you for who you are and what you do.

You are a wonderful daughter of God. I feel so fortunate to have you as my wife. I love you very much and probably don't say it often enough. Or maybe I just say it too casually. The words are still true even if I do a poor job communicating it. Hopefully I do an adequate job of communicating it, especially without using words. Love requires action, and I plan to continue to show you my love.

You have been so great to me. You are a beautiful, loving and serving wife. You are a caring and loving mother. I love to see your face when I come home from work. You are warm and welcoming. I enjoy talking with you and hearing your insightful view in matters. Thank you for helping me think things through better.

I am COMMITTED to you and look forward to continuing our life together. Merry Christmas.

Love,
Bobby

P.S. In the final sentence "life" is intentionally singular. Think about it.

Order in the Chaos that is Life

2008-12-09T06:54:00.004-06:00

So, Julie is done with her women's Bible study. So that means it is time to go back to the memory verses with her. And at the same time we are trying to work out at least 3 times/week. The thinking for the workout was after David went to bed, but we are feeling that we are too drained at that time. So we are trying to think of a better time.

I'm afraid that will the holidays coming up so soon this great plans we have just won't work out. On top of it all I would like to try spending 10min a night cleaning the house. It has been a long time since our bathrooms have been clean, and I'm pretty sure I could get one done in 10 minutes.

Then another piece I would like to add to my chaotic life is encouragement. I want to encourage others, and I try to, I just feel the words I use don't seem to come across that way. Maybe I really just need to work on communicating better.

So with the holidays coming life gets more chaotic, and to make it more of a challange since it isn't once already (sarcasm), we are trying to accomplish some additional goals. YAY!

Balance Work and Vacation

2008-12-08T06:58:00.002-06:00

Too much vacation. The problem isn't the vacation, it is how much there is to get done at work. I plan to take off a week after Christmas, but I still have vacation time, I just don't think I can spend it due to the amount of stuff I need to do at work.

Also, it is hard to get going once I get back to work after being gone so long. Too many things left in the air that I have to get back to juggling when I return. I look forward to the vacation, but it would be nice to have these projects done as initially planned.

All well, I'll do what I can, but I'll enjoy the vacation.

Worry

2008-12-05T06:45:00.004-06:00

So, I have anxiety issues. It is something that just adds stress to my life that I don't need. yesterday when David got up from a second nap he had some weird bumps on his face, so we thought maybe he got some sort of bite while he was in his crib. We checked the crib and didn't find any bugs or anything, so we took pictures of his face and watched him for a bit. The bumps went away within 10minutes and weren't that bad to start with. We also checked his belly and back for maybe some sort of allergic reaction to something, but fortunately found nothing.

Well, during bath time I noticed some more bumps on the back of his legs. Then I noticed a whole lot on his little left butt cheek. Well, this was a bit freaky, so I called Julie in to look at it and she didn't know what ot make of it either. We cleaned him off and got him out of the bath and paged the doctor, but now I'm pretty sure it went wrong because we haven't heard back yet. So last night I was very parinoid. I would have liked more time to watch him, but felt he needed to go to bed. So I put him to bed and turned on the monitor. I was about to get in the shower when I thought I heard some weezing, so I put on a robe and called Julie and grabbed David. Who was completely fine. I'm pretty sure everything I'm so worried about is just in my head messing with me. So I prayed with David and Julie after I got him up. It helped me relax a bit. David was up a little more just hanging out, I checked him again and it looked like the bumps were going down a bit so I read to him and put him to bed again. Now I'm trying my best to wait and not wake him up since he went to bed so late, but for some reason I still worry about him.

Busyness of the Holidays

2008-12-04T07:02:00.002-06:00

Well, I quit WoW. This should give me a bit more time for holiday happenings. I'm not sure if I'll start up my subscription again or not. While I was active I wasn't spending much time with the family or getting much done. So now I have a bit more time and a bit more money. Time will be gone with everything that is happening. Hopefully we will setup the Battlefield 1942 lan at the parents' house.

That is one reason why I love laptops. To go to a lan you just bring a small bag, get there, plug in power and mouse and you are ready to go. So much easier than a desktop. Yes they are more costly for the same performance. Yes the screens are smaller. Why is there such an obsession with large screens? It is my computer, I could understand wanting a bigger screen if others were watching, but I'm sitting about 18 inches from it. I don't need a big screen.

For those who are following along on memorizing scripture, Julie is almost done with her women's bible study, so then I'll get back into the Navigators topical memory system verses. But for now I'm going by an old list of memory verses I want to learn.
Topic I chose for this was missions. I feel that by thinking of missions this verse should easily come to mind.
Reference: Matthew 28:18-20
"Then Jesus came to them and said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.'"
Matt 28:18-20

Short term goals

2008-12-02T07:04:00.003-06:00

Well, Julie has a short term goal to lose 5 lbs before Christmas. This is great, I'm so glad she is actually making goals for herself. I'm going to join her in her fitness, not the losing of 5 lbs. I would rather gain weight, but I could use the training and exercise.

Unfortunately this reminds me of my goal of memorizing scripture which I have already got messed up with. I think that is my biggest problem with the holidays. It messes up any routines I have.

Last time I was working on:
Judgement, Romans 14:12
"So then, each of us is to give an account of himself to God." Rom 14:12

Yeah yeah, I know it is easy, but it is on the list. It just gets balanced out by the new one.

Matthew 28: 18-20
"Then Jesus came to them and said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.'" Matt 28:18-20

Now that is going to be much harder. So now I have some more motivation to spiritually exercise since Julie is wanting to physically. I just don't want to fail at my job as being priest to my family. I think this is one area where most men fall short. But reading Romans 14:12 you really don't want to have to stand before God and give an account of how you were too busy with hobbies/entertainment to train your family.

2008 Thanksgiving Review

2008-12-01T06:35:00.002-06:00

Had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend with the in-laws at NLR. Julie's brother drove in on Wednesday, and I worked Wednesday, but got off at noon. That was crazy. I have no idea why we got off so early, but I'm pretty happy about that. We enjoyed a nice meal with Travis and Beka and all the kids. Then we headed to the ranch.

Thursday morning was the "Casserole Crawl". This was 5k that was organized by some NLR staff. And this was to be the 4th time, so it was fun to partake in this. Julie's family isn't the most athletic, so it was great when Julie, Travis, and Beka did it with me. Little David even came along. I brought my child carrier backpack that Julie got me for my b-day. It was great. The pack with David gave me a decent workout so I didn't feel that the walk was boring at all.

We had a good Thanksgiving meal at about 1pm. Then sat around for rest of the day.

Friday morning the ropes course was opened up, so the four of us went over there with Abigail and David. We did the 4 person zip line while some others held David and Abigail for us. It was a lot of fun. Later that day we had an outing to town. Had mazzios pizza for dinner and strolled wal-mart. Oh, and somewhere in this day we had a 1 mile walk.

Saturday the weather changed. Morning started out nice but it got colder throughout the day. Not a lot happened here, I did take the dogs out for a run on the trails. I have no idea how long it was, but it was pretty good distance. I guess this would be a good time to mention that we brought our dog Sandy along for the trip. The dogs ended up breaking out of the fence every night. It wasn't just a cleaver escape or anything, they literally broke the pickets to get out.

Sunday was mainly spent packing up and coming home. David, Katie, and Sandy all slept on the way home. It was a good trip. We just need to remember to bring Sandy's tie out stuff so she won't be escaping all the time.

A few highlights:
David and Abigail had a great time together. They played together really well and had fun.
Somehow all the kids were asleep for the Thanksgiving meal. This wasn't even planned.
We were active!

Start of Vacation

2008-11-26T20:36:00.003-06:00

Yay, time for a relaxing long weekend. Work was pretty great, they let everyone go home at noon, so it made for an earlier break. Pretty cool, spent some time with Julie setting up more Christmas decorations. Julie's justification is that we will be out of town this weekend and can't set them up.

Now I'm out here with some family, and a bunch of little kiddos. So far things are going well. Had a good trip. Glad I brought my laptop. Not really for this right here, but for the football games. I'm not into sports. So this will give me something to do. Though I'll probably not use it, but instead play with the children.

Attempted schedule change

2008-11-25T15:35:00.002-06:00

This morning was a little different, I had some friends over last night to game and left the kitchen somewhat of a mess so I could get to bed. Well, that was a mistake. I didn't realize how bad of a mess the kitchen was. It took me too much time to get it cleaned this morning, so I wasn't able to write in my blog this morning, but I planned to post during my lunch break. Well, lunch was a bit busy but now I have some time. Basically I need to figure out a good time to post. I don't think I can continue with mornings because I need to leave early when I bike. Granted I won't really be doing much biking until after Christmas, but it would be fun to develop a routine. I'm planning on gaining some time by quitting World of Warcraft again. It is amazing how much it eats into family time.

With this new found time I plan to spend it with my family, or maybe reading, or posting. I have plenty of things to do with it. Hopefully I can keep the house in decent shape too.

I think I need to evaluate things in my life more often and try to deal with them quicker. We have so much stuff in our house that we are trying to sell now which is good, but we have held onto some of this stuff for so long and we don't know why. A lot of it is stuff that came with the house that the sellers left. Other things are upgrades we have made, like our fireplace.

Thanksgiving is coming

2008-11-24T07:11:00.005-06:00

Well, now that I think more about it, I should have chosen a more appropriate memory verse than Romans 14:12. Thanksgiving Holiday is great. You don't have to mess with gifts (shopping, purchasing, wrapping, delivering), but you get to meet with family and have a relaxing time. I do think too many people put too much effort into the food preparation, but I'm not too sure how to fix that. Well, I've run out of time, so I'll make this entry short. We got some lights up on the house and plan to do the big decorating for Christmas after Thanksgiving, but part of me thinks due to this Thanksgiving is being lost in the business of preparation for Christmas.

Judgement
Romans 14:12
"So then, each of us is to give an account of himself to God."
Rom 14:12

I did it.

2008-11-21T06:55:00.002-06:00

Setting small achievable goals is fun. I was able to post ever weekday this week. For some reason that makes me happy. I was really surprised that I actually had a lot of text too, not just some short paragraph.

Back to the verse memorization theme I've been using. Julie is wanting to wait a couple weeks until her women's bible study is over, then she will join me in learning the scriptures, so I'll try to grab some different verses and not go through the book for a couple weeks.

Romans 14:12
"So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God."
Romans 14:12

But wait, there is more. Since this isn't from the book (I don't think it is at least), I have to come up with my own topic so that it can be remembered when discussing that topic. Looking at this verse I see judgment and accountability. So if others actually read this I could use some suggestions here.

On a complete side note I find it strange that judgment isn't spelled judgement.

Baby, need to go.

Culture Shift

2008-11-20T07:22:00.002-06:00

I was reading in exodus last night in bed. I think it was close to chapter 26. It spoke of consecrating Aaron and his two sons for the work of a priest. It went into detail about the clothes they are to wear, but then it went on to a consecration ceremony. Reading this is pretty weird.

Sacrifice a bull and poor some of it's blood on the alter. Take it's liver and kidneys and burn them on the alter. Then get rid of rest of it by burning it outside of the area.

Take a ram and sprinkle it's blood on the sides of the alter. Put some blood on the right ear lob, right thumb, right big toe. Cut the body in pieces and burn it.

Take another ram and perpare it for food. Aaron and his sons now eat this at the entrance to the tent of meeting.

When I read that i was thinking of how different things were. Could you imagine being there for this? I don't know if I could handle the sight of all that blood. But then I thought about it some more, and this was the culture they were raised in. It wasn't really all that different, it was part of their lives. I think I lose a bit perspective sometimes, and reading this helps put in perspective what our sin does. We are sinners, and it requires blood to be made clean. This isn't just a figure of speech, it requires blood. The life of Christ was poured out as an offering for our sins.

Daily

2008-11-19T06:20:00.004-06:00

Well, I've been trying to write something on this blog five times a week, and I'm starting to wonder if I should simply focus on one aspect instead of making it simply about life. For now I'll probably continue to keep it general. This allows me to jump around in my thinking which I do so well.

I like the topic though. I can focus on a certain item at a time. For example I've been working on scripture memory. So now I need to discuss reviewing memory verses. In the past I have always done it on my own, but the navigator's book recommends having a partner to test with. This would be really useful especially in getting it word perfect as suggested. I think this would also have the benefit of keeping Julie involved without being so directly on her.

I know it is Wednesday and time for the new verses, but I don't think I have established the proper pattern with Julie, and I can't leave her behind. She is still working on getting the verses word perfect, and I don't want this to add any stress to her life, so I'll take it easy and try to establish more of a routine in memorizing, then hopefully we can really go for it.

A few things the book suggests and I think I have posted on, but are worth reviewing. On each scripture it isn't about just knowing the words. It is about knowing the word of God. The point of a sentence is to communicate meaning, and when memorizing scripture you better know what it means. So knowing the reference is important so you can look it up quickly and demonstrate that you are not using it out of context.

You should know the context of the verse. Not just the surrounding verses, but also putting in perspective the culture, current events, political setting, and what audience it was meant for.

You should know the meaning of the verse. Reading other translations can help, but I find it a bit confusing on getting the verse word perfect.

Study the verse. Why is it in the bible? Why is this author using it? Who is the author writing to? Why did he say what he said this way? Is there cultural relevance?

Discuss the verse. This really needs to be in prayer to God. It is His word you are trying to learn, so discuss it with Him. But also talk about it with others, especially if the meaning isn't really clear.This discussion can help encourage others to grow spiritually, and could help equip the saints (Eph 4:11-12).

I'm thinking I need to be making these posts in the evening and not the morning. But at the same time I have time to relax and think in the morning. It just seems that I don't have as much time as I need to get everything done. This would be even more true if I was still biking in the mornings.

Sin and Confession

2008-11-18T10:08:00.002-06:00

I don't know about rest of you, but I enjoy having Julie in my life. It is wonderful to have someone that I can be so real with. Even with my family it isn't the same. But with my wife I let her know me. All the good and all the bad. It is a wonderful thing to be able to talk to someone about specific sins I have done and be able to be encouraged.

Sometimes I wonder why I feel so protective around others. Why I hide things I feel shame for. Would I be rejected? I doubt it. Is shame really so bad that it has to be avoided? Even to decrease the closeness of a relationship? Would the relationships in the church be better if we truly opened up to others? Probably. Am I willing to step up? Not yet.

The weekend

2008-11-17T06:32:00.003-06:00

Well, this weekend was great. Got to go do some camping with family and had time to play video games (yes, it was World of Warcraft). The camping was nice just to get away from things. But once I got back the house still needed a lot of work. So I actually did some work around the house. Not nearly enough, but did some. Hopefully this week or at least over the weekend I can get some more done.

On to more important things. Let's review.
Christ the Center, 2 Corinthians 5:17; "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come." 2 Corinthians 5:17

Now it is time to start working on the next verse. Actually this should have been done Friday Saturday, but I haven't gotten started with Julie on this yet.
Christ the Center, Galatians 2:20; "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." Gal 2:20

Man, I didn't do very well on the Galatians verse. I didn't even spell Galatians right, I spelled it Galations. Yea for backspace right. I don't know about the rest of you, but I consider it a sign of respect when capatilizing the references to God. Such as "Son" or even pronouns like He or Himself.

Busy

2008-11-14T08:09:00.002-06:00

Well, wife and kids are out of town without me, so I'm doing what I can to stay busy. This mainly involved playing video games. I'm thinking Julie is going to be okay with attempting the scripture memory, so now I have to be really sensitive to how she is doing since she doesn't really want to be doing it. I really don't want to turn her off to the idea. But at the same time I doubt it will make things worse. Neither of use have been even attempting to memorize any scripture.

So we are working on 2Cor 5:17
The topic is Christ the Center, the reference is 2 Corinthians 5:17, the verse is "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come.", and reference again is 2 Corinthians 5:17

Context of 2 Cor 5:17

2008-11-13T06:18:00.004-06:00

Time to look at the context of a verse. 2 Cor 5:17 was written by Paul to believers in the church of Corinth. Second Corinthians addresses unity to Paul's ministry and offers perspective on the ministry of the gospel.

So today we need to read 2 Cor 5. But focus on the verses surrounding the memory verse.

Christ the Center

2 Cor 5:17

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come.

2 Cor 5:17

Oh, and baby update.

Katie went in for her two month checkup and was 22", 12lbs 6oz.

Slight change

2008-11-12T21:07:00.002-06:00

I'm wanting to be a loving husband and try and get my wife involved. Looking at the benefits of scripture memory how would I not try and get other involved.

But she likes the NIV version, and a lot of the older verses from childhood I know were NIV.

Christ the Center

2 Corinthians 5:17

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come.

2 Corinthians 5:17

Christ the Center

Galations 2:20

I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

Galations 2:20

Starting the plan

2008-11-12T06:20:00.003-06:00

So this week I'll start for real. Which isn't really fair since this is a review. I pretty much already know these verses. The plan is the first two days of the week to focus on 2 Cor 5:17, then the third and forth day to focus on Gal 2:20. For rest of the week work on both.

A few things to help memorize the verse is to say it aloud, pray about the verse, read other translations to help get the meaning of the verse. Think about how the verse applies to self. Always include the topic and reference when saying it.

Once you know the verse the book recommends you write it down from memory. I actually prefer to write it down first just by copying it from the Bible.

Christ the Center

2 Corinthians 5:17

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away, behold, new things have come.

2 Corinthians 5:17

I actually did that wrong first. My problem is a lot of these older verses were memorized as NIV and some as NASB. Well, I think I'll stick with NASB for now on, so I have to relearn some verses.

Christ the Center

Galations 2:20

I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

Galations 2:20

I know I said this yesterday, but then I decided to follow the actual book, so we can look at context tomorrow. When I say context I basically mean a quick look at the book itself and the chapter specifically. It is important to know who wrote it, and who it was written to, and try to understand what was going on at the time. Reading the chapter helps to understand what was being talked about at the time when the specific verse was used.

* picture taken from navigators.com

Benefits of memorizing scripture

2008-11-11T20:21:00.002-06:00

So I'm rereading through the topical memory system, and the very beginning goes over some points that are worth noting.

Here are a few things the book mentions scripture memory can help with: Overcome worry, victory over sin, confidence in witnessing

I don't know about everyone else, but those items right there are enough to get my interest. But the book goes on to mention what the system is for. It helps memorize and meditate on scripture effeciently, apply the verses to life, review the verses to be able to recall them later, and continue memorizing beyond the verses covered.

The system groups verses by topic so they can be recalled by thinking of the topic the verse speaks of. The verse I picked to start with Eph 4:11-12 isn't actually part of this. I may start with the system's verses tomorrow. It recommends a pace of two verses/week. which I thought was hard, but it really isn't that bad.

So what topic does Eph 4:11-12 refer to. "And He gave some as apostles and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ." Eph 4:11-12

One of the topics listed in the system is "Be Christ's Disciple" which I feel is a good fit for this verse since it deals with equiping and using our gifts. So according to the system you are to say the topic, reference, verse, reference. So...

Be Christ's Disciple

Ephesians 4:11-12

And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ.

Ephesians 4:11-12

How things can add up

2008-11-11T06:53:00.003-06:00

Typically I don't like how things add up. For example, I pay $15/mo to play a game. Yes, a game. well, $15 isn't that bad, but that is per month. So in one year I am spending $180. I could do some stuff with that kind of money.

But beneficial things add up too. That is what I'm really wanting to get at. I'm wanting to take scripture memory more seriously. If I can memory a verse once a week then that is at least 50 new verses a year. What do you think about that. So feel free to join me on this adventure.

Ephesians 4:11-12

Now I have a great book on scripture memory, unfortunately I lost a bunch of the memory verse cards, so I'm thinking I can use this blog and may palm pilot to do this with. But the concept is that you don't just repeat the verse over and over, but that you study it. For now we will simply look at the verse itself, and hopefully tomorrow we can look at the passage to provide some context. It also helps to write it out instead of just reading. And also reading aloud gives you the audio feedback to help in memory also. I've always struggled with the reference, but the book recommends to do the reference scripture reference, and this has been a huge benefit.

The book I'm refering to is "Topical Memor System" from the Navigators