Things are larger than they appear...

Our Daily Bread

I always thought the Far Side comic about the rear view mirror was hilarious. The caption is "Things are larger than they appear". In the comic, there is a picture of a very large monster's eye in the rear view mirror! Yikes! hehehe

When we look back at our lives, God can appear much larger than we realized at the time. Looking back helps us truly see what was going on during the good times and the bad times. The most important thing is that we can learn to trust God more fully in the future when we see what really went on in the rear view mirror of our life!

Lord, I want to learn to trust you more from the many blessings I see in the rear view mirror of my life.

Foodie Friday

I am making some crock pot appetizers for my NYE party tonight. They are simple. Here are the recipes.

Chorizo Con Queso dip

Two large bottles of Frito Lay con queso dip

1 pound chorizo sausage

Fry the chorizo sausage. Drain well and place on paper towels to remove as much of the grease as possible. Mix with the two large bottles of Frito Lay con queso dip in a crock pot and warm. Stir regularly. Do not get this too hot. It will not taste as good!

Meatballs

1 jar of grape jelly

1 bottle of chili sauce

3 pounds of prepared meatballs (or make you own!)

Place the meatballs in a crock pot. Stir the grape jelly and chili sauce together in a bowl. Pour over the meatballs. Cook on medium heat for a few hours. Stir occasionally so all the meatballs are covered with the sauce.

Mini Smokies

1 bottle of chili sauce

1 can cranberry sauce

2 pounds of mini smokies

Place the smokies in a crock pot. Stir the cranberry sauce and chili sauce together in a bowl. Pour over the smokies. Cook on medium heat for a few hours. Stir occasionally so all the smokies are covered with the sauce.

Other Stuff

I had a nice time with my friends yesterday. We did the shopping for the party. We had a great lunch thanks to my best friend. We got the house ready for the party last night so we didn't have to work as hard today. We have some food preparation to do this afternoon and we will be ready to party!

My eye is trying to clear up a little, but it is not doing very well. I am confident things will work out. I have faith. I have a few more days to rest before going back to work on Tuesday.

Please be safe however you plan to spend your NYE. May you spend it with the people you care about the most.

Hang in there, my friends. I will be upbeat and steady. That is what I do...

Get right back on...

Our Daily Bread

I remember when I started riding my first full size bicycle. I could jump on and ride it, but I didn't know how to stop it gracefully because it was too big for me. I would ride under a tree, grab a branch and let the bike fall to the ground! hehehe

The devotional today is about moving forward. I liked the quote by Albert Einstein: “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving.” That is so true in our spiritual lives as the scripture discusses.

I also liked the section about getting right back on after you fall off the bike. Life has its up and downs. It is a challenge at times. I am thankful that I have grown in the past few months. The events of the past two weeks don't have me questioning God or doubting my faith or doubting myself. I know God is with me whether or not I can see the road in front of me (literally). I know he is working in my life and wants to do more. No, it is not always easy. Amazing things usually happen after you display faith during a difficult situation. Have faith!

Lord, I want to have faith in you and what you have in store for my life. Thank you and praise you in advance for what you are going to do!

Technology Thursday

I want to write a little about the bluray burner technology today. I bought an internal bluray burner for my desktop computer. The thing is pretty neat. It is fast. The special bluray disks are expensive, but they hold over 20 gig of data! Wow! I did a backup with one of those disks. It was pretty cool! I can also watch bluray movies on my computer since I have a 1080p monitor in my office. That is pretty cool as well. The prices have come down a lot since they first came out (and since I bought mine earlier this year). Check them out at your favorite computer store.

Other Stuff

I had a great time last night. I was pretty bored after resting all day. We met some friends at Club Diversity and then went to dinner at Calamity Janes. We had a great time. My hero met us there as well so we caught up on all the holiday news. Very cool!

My eye is not clearing up very well. I canceled my vacation plans yesterday. I am still working on getting all my refunds. One of my reservations was supposed to be non-refundable. I am sending in documentation from my doctor in hopes of getting a refund. Oh well. Stuff happens.

We are going to a nice lunch today and do our party shopping. I want to get the house ready for the party today so all we have to do tomorrow is a little cooking. We will see how it goes.

Hang in there, my friends! I will be upbeat and steady. That is what I do...

The Gold Standard...

Our Daily Bread

On the rare occasions that I watch TV, I am amazed by the commercials. There are some marketing slogans that have lasted the test of time. There are some that last a very, very short time. IMHO, I wish the creepy looking king on the Burger King commercials would fade away! Yikes!

The way of God has stood the test of time. Millions of people have proven it, documented it and lived it since Christ came over 2000 years ago. He is our common standard for the way we should live. Remember the two most important rules? "Love God" and "Love others as you love yourself". Too many times we get caught up in the details and forget the basics!

Lord, I want to follow your two simple rules.

Weight Loss Wednesday

There is hope! hehehe I will try harder after the first of the year. I managed to lose 2 pounds this week. Woohooooo! I celebrate the little victories! I will keep plugging away at it. I can do this! I will start walking and riding a bike next week.

Other Stuff

My right eye cleared up a little bit last night, but not much. I decided that I need to cancel my vacation next week since there is a good chance that I will need the vacation days for recovering from eye surgery. I will find out on January 12 what the next steps will be. We may try some more laser surgery first before doing the more serious physical surgery. I had that surgery on my right eye in 2009. It cleared up my eye sight (no more cloudiness), but it caused a cataract to grow very quickly. The cataract surgery didn't go as well as what I wanted. I will be upbeat and steady...

As far as vacation goes, I don't feel comfortable traveling alone to a new place with my eye sight the way it is. There will be other chances to travel. I already have a business trip to Orlando planned for the first week in February. ;-) I will plan some others as I am able to travel.

I want to praise God this morning for helping me work through some relationship issues. This is the last time I will have these conversations with someone that I was interested in. We will be friends. I will not repeat the unhealthy patterns I had with this person the last few years. God is good. God heals. God helps us forgive ourselves when we make mistakes that hurt others. Thank you, Lord, for helping me finally move on.

Looking forward to resting today. I am also gathering stuff for my NYE party. My friends are helping me with that as I am able to go shopping. I don't get tired, but it seems that my eye starts bleeding again or the blood that is in there swirls a lot when I do anything (like take a shower for example). ;-( It will be fine. I feel much better about things after spending time with friends last night (I especially want to thank my close friend, Fly bear). I thank God for them.

Hang in there, my friends! I will be upbeat and steady. That is what I do...

Not seeing very well

Our Daily Bread

I am amazed at the timeliness of these devotionals! I know you are probably tired of hearing me say that!

Please take a few minutes and do what the devotional suggests -- write down the significant events during 2010 including the good, bad and ugly! ;-) I had some wonderful events including several great trips, singing in Carnegie Hall, spending quality time with friends and family, ministering to some friends on their death beds, having multiple surgeries and issues with my eyes, difficulties with friendships and relationships, and finding myself still single (and not with the one I thought I was supposed to be with) at the end of the year. While it would easy to dwell on the things that didn't go (and aren't going) the way I wanted, I choose to dwell on the blessings that God gave me this year. God has shown his faithfulness and love during these times. He has helped me grow and mature. He has shown me his way is the best for me even when I can't see the road ahead of me. I will trust and have faith. That is what I do...

What challenges has God put in your life? I pray that you will make the same choice of trusting God's faithfulness.

Lord, thank you for your love and faithfulness. I want to trust you and love you more in 2011.

Disciple Two-sday

We are off for the holidays, but I want to write a little bit about the readings. We had to read all of Luke and all of Acts for the last class. I got through most of it. Here are my thoughts about Acts.

I had forgotten a lot of the events that I read about in Acts. I don't think we really study that book much because of the gift of the Holy Spirit that was documented in it. Many religions and churches are afraid to talk about that for several reasons -- abuse of the power, pride over having some of the gifts like speaking in tongues, and the chaos that can become of a church service! We will study this book a lot the next few months. It should be a blessing.

Other Stuff

My left eye is not doing very well. It started to clear up a little yesterday afternoon after a four hour nap. It started bleeding again and swirling the blood when we went to the mall and out to dinner. I do not understand. I took off work again today to rest. I will try to do that. At this point, I don't feel comfortable driving. I can sort of see a computer screen with my right eye. Writing this entry today is a challenge for me.

I still plan to have my NYE party with the help of the friends that are staying with me.

Hang in there, my friends. I will be upbeat and steady. That is what I do...

Not according to plan...

Our Daily Bread

I had a stark reminder about the topic for today's devotional this weekend. My left eye started bleeding again yesterday afternoon. Yikes! It got very, very cloudy very, very quickly to the point where I could not see out of the red haze that formed inside m eye. Scary? You bet. The doctor could not do anything about it yet except do an ultrasound on my eye and tell me to rest. "It should clear up on its own." The good news is that it is already starting to clear up. I can see images through the haze now, which is MUCH better than this morning (I am writing this about 5 pm on Monday).

So what did I learn? That my body and everything God gave me is his, not mine. Yes, I earned the degrees and the money to get me where I am today, but it was only through God's grace and power that I was able to accomplish those things.

I need to get better. To eat better. To relax better. To turn things over to God. To be a better steward of the things he gave me. Is God asking the same of you?

Lord, I want to be a better steward of the many, many gifts you gave me -- including my body!

Movie Monday

I had time to see a few movies this week due to the holidays. I saw Narnia again with a buddy. I saw Black Swan and Tron.

Black Swan

The music and acting in this movie were superb. The story line was freaky! I think it is more suited to Halloween rather than Christmas. The story line is about a delicate ballerina that is trying to dance both roles in Swan Lake - the Swan Queen and the Black Swan. The movie shows her transformation from the white to the black swan in all kinds of freakiness! Her relationship with her mother is also very, very odd! I give it 2 bear paws.

Tron

I saw the first Tron movie many years ago. It was OK. I don't know why I expected more from the sequel! It was OK. There were some neat special effects. The story line was ok. Overall, I give it 1 bear paw.

Other Stuff

I stayed home from work today to rest. I had trouble reading a computer screen when I got up this morning. After having my eyes dilated at the doctor's office, I didn't see any use going into the office when I couldn't read a screen. I am obviously doing better now. ;-)

My best friend and his buddy arrived yesterday afternoon. The visit has started off a little rough with my issues, but it will get better. They are very sweet and are taking care of me. I am very thankful.

Please say a prayer for me about my eyes. I will keep plugging away at keeping my eye sight. I literally can't see the road ahead of me. I will trust God for my next steps.

Hang in there, my friends. I will be upbeat and steady. That is what I do...

Busy weekend...

Sorry I didn't post on Friday and Saturday. I had a busy Christmas weekend with family. I plan to post regularly again this week. Oh, and don't forget the special edition entries from Ft Lauderdale the first week in January! ;-)

Our Daily Bread

"Refusing to the let the world corrupt you" -- Wow! I like that line from James 1:27! How easy it is to let our world corrupt us when we face a constant barrage of ads and reality TV shows and magazines all promoting the values of this world. It is difficult to resist. Difficult to remain in a state of prayer and thanksgiving. Difficult to keep focus on our mission here.

God can give us strength if we let him. Seems funny to me too. Being weak means that God can make us strong. It is soooooo counter-intuitive! I know I miss the mark many times every day. Please remember me in your prayers as I try to turn more things over to God.

Lord, thank you for being patient with me. I want to please you by serving you the best I can.

Sunday Friend

My Sunday Friend is my cousin The Painter. I spent Christmas Eve at her house. She is an amazing woman. She runs a successful business even though she has health issues. She constantly helps her friends and family, often giving more than she should of herself. Her family is very, very important to her as she didn't have a great family life growing up. I love and admire this special cousin.

Other Stuff

Today is the day! My best friend and a buddy of his are driving from St Louis to Columbus today to visit for a week. Woohoooo! Should be a fun week. I have to work the first few days of the week, but that won't slow us down too much. ;-)

I am also making an appearance at a birthday party for Flybear's grandfather this afternoon before I help serve dinner at New Life. Busy day. I am looking forward to it.

I also need to write thank you notes for Christmas presents. I am not used to getting presents so this is unusual for me. More important than the presents are the memories with the special people in my life.

Hang in there, my friends! I will be upbeat and steady. That is what I do...

The doctor will see you now...

Our Daily Bread

Even though I look as healthy as a horse, I have been a sickly person most of my life. In the past few years, I consider myself very fortunate if I can go a week without a doctor appointment of some kind! Yikes!

God is the Great Physician. He can heal your body AND your soul! Man created our sinful condition by disobeying God. God provided a means for that sin to be redeemed through God's grace of the gift of his Son. Let us always remember that gift not only at Christmas time, but all year round

Lord, thank you for the gift of your Son!

Technology Thursday

My topic this week is the Magic Jack device. For those of you that don't follow this stuff, the Magic Jack device is a USB device that plugs into your computer. It uses your computer and your Internet connection to make VOIP (voice over IP) telephone calls. You can make the calls from your computer or you can plugin a phone to the Magic Jack device to make and receive calls to any phone (mobile or landline). Please note that this is not Skype...

I have to admit that I was skeptical. I have used VOIP at work for several years now. The quality is spotty sometimes (at least with the tools I used at work). I plugged in my Magic Jack device, filled out the "sort of" simple forms to register, and then made my first call. The call quality was fine though I had to play with the volume on my phone so I could hear my best friend talking. He couldn't tell any difference in my call quality. That was cool.

The device costs about $40 at Target. That includes one year of service. You can buy additional years of service when you register from different offers. I bought the five year extension for $70. In summary, I got six years of phone service for about $110! That is the good news.

Is there a down side to this device? Here are some things you need to know. You must plug this device into your computer and your computer must have an Internet connection. I have several computers and a fast Internet connection. Check. The computer must remain on for you to receive incoming calls. I already do that. You can't (or it is not recommended) to use Magic Jack with an alarm system. I will have to work through that issue. I wanted to get the wireless notification system from ADT any way. ;-)

Here is the web site for Magic Jack. Check it out

Other Stuff

I got off work early yesterday and met a friend for a movie. After the movie, I went to Walmart to shop for the Christmas meal and to look for a present that Fly bear needed. I found the gift! Woohooo! I also finished the menu and got the groceries for Christmas dinner at my mother's apartment. I will pack all of that stuff up the morning of Christmas Eve for transport to northern Ohio.

I am off work today and tomorrow. Going to the movies this morning to see Black Swan. Eeeeerrrrriiiieeee! hehehe I will let you know what I think on Monday.

I hope you all are making your last minutes plans for the holiday. I wish you all the peace and love that only the gift at Christmas can bring.

Hang in there, my friends! I will be upbeat and steady. That is what I do...

Complicated relationship...

Our Daily Bread
Have you ever been in a "complicated relationship"? You might know the kind. A friend asks "what is the deal with you and so and so?" The answer "It is complicated". I feel that way about my relationship with God.

To me, God is Father, friend, teacher, enforcer, almighty being in the universe and so much more. He revealed himself in his Son and his Holy Spirit so my tiny mind could better understand the magnitude of his greatness. It is easy to blur the boundaries at times. I talk to God like a close friend at times with all the things that means -- talking, arguing, fighting, wrestling, respecting and taking some time away. I get so caught up in the friendship at times that I forget who I am talking to.

God revealed something else to me while reading this passage. I sometimes forget who I am talking to when I talk to other people! Each person is a child of God, someone that God made in his image. I need to treat everyone with dignity and respect (TEWDAR) because of that reason alone (even if the person annoys me or doesn't treat me well... hehehe). Wow! I need reminded of that often!

Lord, I want to treat each person like they are made by you... and they are!

Weight Loss Wednesday
I might need to change the topic of this day! Oh well. Things will go better after the holidays and after I can start walking again. I promise that I will practice eating better until that time. I did pretty well this week except when I didn't calculate my insulin very well. My blood sugar level went too low and I had to eat even though I wasn't hungry. That is not good. I will do better.

I am at 272.0 today. Back to my original weight. On the bright side, I have lots of room to lose weight now! ;-) I will keep working on it.

Other Stuff
I ran some errands and had dinner with Fly bear last night. We always have a good time when we hang out. I picked up the Honey Baked Ham and a red velvet cake for Christmas dinner with the VIP coupon I received in my email. Very nice. I need to pick up the rest of the dinner tonight or tomorrow morning. It won't be homemade, but it will be nice.

I get off work early today. I also have the next two days off. Woohoooo!

Hang in there, my friends. I will be upbeat and steady. That is what I do...

Almost like a Star Trek episode

Our Daily Bread

Sorry, but I am a fan of Star Trek. The devotional this morning sounded like a Star Trek episode - one of those darn parallel universe episodes! ;-)

We do live in two different universes - our earthly world and our heavenly world. We deal with the earthly world each day. We should also deal with and think about the heavenly world each day as well!

I want to praise God this morning for waking me up last night. I woke up with the sweetest feeling of peace and calm that I have had for a few days. If you read yesterday's posting, you know that I have been struggling with some spiritual issues of late. Like most folks, my relationship with God ebbs and flows as I learn to trust and obey and have more faith every day of my earthly life. I don't always count on having "feelings" when it comes to God. Sometimes you just "know" things are going to be OK. I thank God for the feelings this time because it is what I needed at the time to make things real to me.

My prayer for you today is that God will make things real to you each and every day in whatever ways you need.

Lord, thank you for your presence in my life even though I can't always "feel" it!

Disciple Two-sday

We have a three week break from the D2 class. I will share a few passages that meant a lot to me from the last few weeks.

One of the passages that stood out to me last week was Luke 5:36-39. It is the passage about new and old garments and new and old wine. I hadn't thought about this passage for a while. We talked about what it meant -- new wine and old wine. We finally decided two things. First, that people can get in a rut (old wine) and not want to try new things (new wine). For me, the old wine was my old habits and comfort zone. I would rather stay in my comfort zone and keep doing my old habits (even if they are unhealthy for me) rather than enjoy the new wine (and new life in Christ). Interesting thoughts.

Other Stuff

I had a busy evening. Went to dinner with some friends. Came home so I could finish my buckeyes (12 dozen, whew!). I also finished laundry, changed the sheets on my bed and did some other stuff around the house. I want to spend tonight with friends so I had to get all that stuff done so I wouldn't worry about it later in the week.

I am looking forward to this weekend and next week and the week after that... hehehe God is so good, even in times when we don't think he is really paying attention. ;-P

Hang in there, my friends. I will be upbeat and steady. That is what I do...

All Surrender is significant...

Our Daily Bread
I am not trying to minimize the surrender of Mary to the angel, the Holy Spirit and God, but I think all surrender is significant when it comes to our relationship to God. Why? Each surrender is God taking us where we are and moving us forward to a deeper understand and relationship with him. Pretty amazing stuff!

I have to admit that God is using this passage to talk to me: 38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her. I admit that no angels have visited me (at least that I am aware of) to tell me of great things coming in my life. I don't know of any major event or task that I am supposed to do for God. He asked me to do something that is very difficult for me at times -- be upbeat and steady. My personality is one that is great during times of duress and trouble. I am strong and reliable during those times. God is calling me to be upbeat and steady all the time. While no human can do this all the time, God used several scriptures and stories to demonstrate that I have a reason to be upbeat and steady - I am a child of God!

The last part of of that passage "May your word to me be fulfilled." also spoke to me again today (even though I read this passage week before last for D2 class). The desire of my heart is for God's Word and will to be fulfilled in me rather than my will. I am dealing with a bitter disappointment in my life. I am doing my best to move through the grief process while still being upbeat and steady and also remain the kind of friend that I need to be. Forgiving myself and the other person has been difficult for me. In my mind, I know that God has a plan for me. I am trying to rely on him for fulfill that plan. To meet the desires of my heart. To trust God to really do this instead of feeling like I have been trusting empty promises.

During this season of the greatest promise of all, I can do no less than rely totally on God for everything. I will trust. I will listen. I will let God move things from this silly bear's mind down to my fickle heart. That is what I do...

Movie Monday
I got off work early on Thursday so I went to see The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. I had heard mixed reviews online and from friends. I loved the movie! I thought it had the kind of story line and action of the first Narnia movie. I also gleaned some important messages from the movie as well that some folks may or may not have not have noticed.

The first one was when Aslan told Lucy "you underestimate your worth" Wow. I have been feeling that way a lot lately. It helped me snap out of my funk in that area of my self-esteem (which is usually abundant in most areas of my life!).

The second is that many times we do not realize who we are and what we are and what we have until it is brought to our attention. That was cool as well.

Was there too much CGI? Maybe. Were the new characters engaging? Definitely. I still think they could have trimmed 20 minutes or so from the movie without missing anything, but that is just my opinion. ;-)

I give this movie 3 bear paws. I recommend seeing it on the big screen.

Other Stuff
I had a great time at the home of my walking buddy last night. I finally got to meet one of her close friends that moved back to town recently. We had a great dinner and talked about some good old days. Very cool. I took one of my apple pumpkin streusel pies for dessert. They really liked it. ;-)

I started making my Buckeyes (homemade peanut butter balls dipped in chocolate) yesterday. I made two dozen for some friends. I will make the rest of them tonight and tomorrow night. I have a few other things to do around the house this week before heading up north for Christmas Eve and Christmas day. I am also looking forward to my best friend and his buddy, George, visiting next week.

I get to spend some time with special friends this week as we share our Christmas cheer.

Hang in there, my friends. I WILL be upbeat and steady. That is what I do...

What wondrous love is this?

Our Daily Bread

What wondrous love is this that God gave his only son for us!

I hope we can all take time to remember the true reason for the season - the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ!

Sunday Friend

My Sunday Friends this week are the two guys that had the going away party last night. I met them in the mens chorus several years ago. I have been in their home several times for potluck dinners and holidays. They are very gracious to open their home to friends and family.

They are moving to Austin, TX in the next few weeks for a job opportunity. Austin's gain will be out loss. I wish them the best in everything.

Other Stuff

To my ex: if you are reading this, I apologize. I wouldn't buy you a mandoline when we were together because I was afraid you would cut yourself. I bought one yesterday. I cut the end of my finger off! Yikes! I had to make a trip to the urgent care center to get it to stop bleeding. It is doing better this morning. I was soooo careful and still managed to cut myself. I will know better next time!l I loved the way it sliced the potatoes for my cheesy potato recipe! OH well.

The sermon at church this morning really spoke to me. I will figure out exactly what it means to me as I pray and ask God's leadership. I am still confused about some stuff. I will listen and will let God help that listening reach my heart. I thank you in advance, dear Lord.

Hang in there my friends. I will be upbeat and steady. That is what I do...

The heart of the matter

Our Daily Bread

Debby Boone (of "You light up my light" fame) had a gospel song called The Heart of the Matter. It was about 5 1/2 minutes long and talked about how a friend had moved away from God. The friend had forgotten the heart of the matter of life.

The devotional today talks about Jesus Christ being the center of the Bible and of each life on our planet. Everything in the Bible and everything in our lives do and should point to Christ. I never really thought about EVERYTHING in the Bible pointing to Christ. I guess I thought of God revealing himself through out the Old Testament so that mankind would be ready for the coming of his Son. I never quite put that all together.

My questions are: what about the folks that may never hear about Christ? Can Christ take on the form of different names in different cultures? I remember hearing preachers say that everyone that didn't believe in Christ the way we did were going to Hell. That really concerned me since I had friends that were Jewish, Catholic and Muslim! I did my best to tell them about Jesus. I don't know if they ever accepted him or not.

Lord help me understand having Christ as the center of my life. Help me tell others about his redemption from sin!

Simply Saturday

I had a nice evening hanging out with Flybear last night. He is working this weekend, so I won't get to see him for a few days. I love hearing the stories of his travels and the people he meets each flight. We had a nice dinner and did some shopping to get ready for this trip.

I am preparing some food for a going away potluck dinner this afternoon. Some friends are moving to Texas due to their jobs. We will sorely miss them. On the other hand, I love their house and would like to figure out a way to purchase it! hehehe

I ran some errands this morning and took a short nap. I needed that!

I plan to attend church tomorrow and go to dinner at my walking buddy's house tomorrow night. I love going to dinner at their place!

I am looking forward to the week. Work, family, holidays, time with friends and the arrival of my best friend next Sunday. We will get started early for getting on Santa's naughty list for 2011! hehehe

I am fortunate to have several friends to talk to about important stuff. A new friend gave me some insight on my spiritual struggle this week. I am trying to retain too much control over things in my life. I need to trust God and go with the flow. I have been praying about this using a prayer by Thomas Merton that I wrote about several times in this blog. My paraphrase right now is: I can't see the frickin' road ahead of me. What am I spoda do? Those of you that know me know that I am a doer. I usually know what to do and take appropriate action (though sometimes I take action without really knowing what to do!) hehehe Please say a prayer for me that I will trust God to know what to do and when to do it. I need to relax until He tells me my next steps. This is soooooo out of my comfort zone!

Hang in there, my friends! I will be upbeat and steady. That is what I do...

A busy week...

Sorry I missed posting again yesterday. I have been getting up late this week. I usually have time to post from work, but got busy again yesterday. I will save my Technology Thursday topic of "MagicJack" for next week! I will have time to review the device before then.

Our Daily Bread

When I read the devotional, I did the little exercise noted there:

Duane is patient and kind. Duane is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. He does not demand its own way. He is not irritable, and he keeps no record of being wronged. He does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Duane never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

I apologize that I am not all of those things. I never thought about putting my name in place of love in that passage. I guess I never I thought I deserved to be in the same sentence as "love". That was the little humbleness I have talking there rather than low self-esteem!

I have been struggling with loving some folks this week. Folks that weren't kind to me. Folks that didn't return my love or affection. Folks that tried to place all the blame for our relationship problems and their relationship problems directly on my shoulders. While I have done some very loving and unselfish things this year, I still struggle with being a "tit-for-tat" kind of Christian. You slap me. I slap you back. I struggle with loving others while still getting my own needs met. I am trying to rely on God more.

The last line also struck me hard this morning: Duane never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. I felt like I lost some of my faith this week due to some situations that I encountered. There are feelings of guilt for doubting God. There are feelings are anger that I thought I was trusting God and having faith only to have a few situations blow up in my face. I was sooooooo sure about something only to find out that I was totally wrong. I am reluctant to speak about God's plan for my life or to even seek it fervently in feat of being totally wrong again. I hate being wrong.... ;-p

Please pray that I will never give up, never lose faith, will always be hopeful, and will endure through every circumstance. In all honesty and sincerity, that is what I do....

Lord, you know my heart. Help me to know yours.

Foodie Friday

Here is the recipe I "adjusted" to make an apple pumpkin streusel pie. It turned out great when I made it for my dinner group last Sunday.

Apple Pumpkin Struesel Pie

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin puree

1 1/2 cups pureed apple pie filling (I took pie filling and pureed it in my food processor)

1 (9 inch) unbaked deep dish pie crust

STREUSEL TOPPING:

3 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. In a large bowl, combine pumpkin, pureed apple pie filling. Pour into prepared pie shell.

3. Bake in preheated oven for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a knife inserted 2 inches from the center comes out clean. Sprinkle streusel topping over the pie, and bake for an additional 15 minutes.

4. To make the streusel topping: In a small bowl, combine butter, flour, and 1/3 cup brown sugar. Stir until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in pecans.

Add some whipped topping and you have a wonderful treat!

Other Stuff

As you can tell from my Our Daily Bread entry today, I had an interesting week! I laughed, I cried, and I sang Christmas songs! I am fine. The Thomas Merton prayer keeps coming to mind. I am reading it several times per day to keep myself grounded and looking to God for faith, hope and direction.

I have a nice evening planned with a close friend. I have several things planned for the weekend. I am looking forward to some time off the next few weeks culminating in my next travel adventure - Ft Lauderdale. Woohooooo!

I realize that the holidays can be a challenge. There is pressure to be a superhero and get all the right gifts and look all happy and stuff when you really don't feel like it on the inside. I am fortunate that I feel like being happy on the inside almost all the time. Thank you God! Life has its challenges all year round. If you are having some winter or holiday doldrums, take a look around at all you have. Be thankful. Give to others. Tis the season.

Hang in there, my friends! I will be upbeat and steady. That is what I do...

Sorry I missed posting yesterday!

Got up late yesterday. Forgot to do my posting during the day. Please forgive me!

Our Daily Bread

It NEVER ceases to amaze me about how timely these devotionals are to my life!

The devotional today helped me realize that I have been submitting myself to several things/people that are not healthy for me in my psyche or in my spiritual life. It is so difficult to move outside of one's comfort zone even if the comfort zone is more like a battle zone! hehehe

For me, finding a LTR, eating and looking like I am all together all the time are the "idols" that keep me from getting closer to God. There. I said it. What I want to say next is "I am working on it." What I need to say is "God is working on me." There is nothing I can do to "work on it". I need to let go and let God work in me. What does God want to do in your life?

Lord, I want to put aside all things or people that keep me from getting closer to you.

Weight Loss Wednesday

Boing, boing, boing, my weight is bouncing around again. I weighed in at 268.8 today. That is about 3 pounds heavier than last week. I am doing OK considering I am not exercising very much because of my knees. I have been eating too much comfort food lately. The good news is that I have been reducing my snacks during the day at work or eating healthier snacks. A friend of mine agreed to walk the half marathon with me in the Spring. I don't think either one of us could run it due to health issues. We should be able to walk it with some training. We can do this...

Other Stuff

So the past few weeks have been difficult for me in my relationships. God is moving me out of my comfort zone (aka battle zone, just kidding) to a deeper faith in him regarding my relationships. I know what he has promised me. I know I need to stop trying to make things happen on my own. I know he has someone special in mind for me. I know I need to have faith and trust God more. I am a smart guy. I know these things.... hehehe I just need to execute the knowledge in my every day life.

I have the last D2 class of the year tonight. I will miss the group the next three weeks during the holidays.

I made plans to spend Christmas Eve with my aunt and cousin. I will spend Christmas day with my mother and sister. My best friend is visiting Columbus the week of New Years. We will have a great time... ;-)

I am trying to be patient with my friends. Several of them are having a hard time during the holidays. I thought I learned to be more patient and understanding the past few years. I guess not! DOH! My feelings have been hurt by more than one friend that I tried to help the best I knew how. Oh well. I guess I care too much sometimes. I don't know how to live any other way.

Hang in there, my friends. I will be upbeat and steady. That is what I do...

Time is the best gift of all

Our Daily Bread

The devotional is about spending time with God in order to really learn about him and his Word. Isn't that the way with all relationships? The only way to really know and understand someone is to spend time with him or her?

It also made me think of the holidays. I don't want to just give someone a gift card. I want to go shopping with them to spend time with them. Not sure the other parties are all in agreement on that one! Oh well. It is the thought that counts.

Lord, you are my first priority. Please help me allot my time accordingly.

Movie Monday

Didn't have time to go to the movies this weekend. I watched Children of Men on TV. I hadn't seen it. It is about the Earth sometime in the future. None of the women can get pregnant. There movie is about a woman who finally got pregnant and was carrying her child full term. She represented hope for the world. I never thought much about what the world would be like with no children -- no schools, no Santa Claus, etc. Hmmmm...

Other stuff

Didn't get to spend time with the special man last night. OH well. We are supposed to spend time together today. He had to work late last night.

I have the day off. I have three doctor appointments. Heavy sigh. Things are fine. These are maintenance checkups.

Had a great time at the dinner group last night. I love my little family from church!

Hang in there, my friends! I will be upbeat and steady. That is what I do...

Another silly story...

Our Daily Bread

The devotional today is one of the best known scriptures about the church or people of God. Each person has their own gift of the Spirit. It is through the combining of those gifts with each other in a church or group of believers that we feel the synergy that God intended for us! I have two stories about this.

First, a funny one. We talked about this scripture in college with some of my preacher friends (or wannabees at that time!). You can only imagine how the conversation may have digressed when we started discussing what parts of the "body" that each of us were. It is not very encouraging when the people around you think of you as the "ass" of the body of the church! Yikes! hehehe Oh well!

The other story is an important lesson that I learned in the ministry. There were some folks in my churches that couldn't do much at all. You wouldn't think they were an important cog in the machinery that made the church work or that they contributed very much. It was after one of them passed away that I found out that person donated the money so the church could afford a minister of music. The person had been paying my salary! We never know the role that each of us play.

Lord, I want to respect the role of each person in your church. We can't all be preachers or soloists!

Sunday Friend

My Sunday Friend this week is my youngest sister. My nickname for her is Sissy (not her real name). I tease Sissy about being a delicate flower. hehehe She has never been the strongest person I know in the way I think of a strong person, but she has her own strength that I hadn't realized until the last 10 years (see the "I want to respect the role of each person in your church" prayer above!).

She is a talented musician. She is a dedicated Christian. She talks about her relationship with God with her friends and family. She reared three children as a stay at home mother. She made things work when the situations were not very easy.

We are now going into a phase of life where we need to help our mother more and more. She stepped up to drive from Kentucky to Wooster, Ohio to stay with our mother after Mom fell and broke her arm the other day.

I am very proud to call Sissy my sister. I am more proud to call her my friend.

Other Stuff

God used the devotion this morning to also reinforce something to me. We all can have different roles in the lives of our friends. We can't be a lover or partner or spouse to each one of our friends. It is not right. It is not appropriate. There are some friendships where I am the older brother or mentor. There are some relationships where I am the mentee. Most of my relationships involve me showing my love and concern in ways that only I can. It is disarming for some folks that I can get through to them when few folks have done so in their lives. I care about people. They usually care about me.

A friend asked me the other day "Why do you remember so much stuff about me and other people?" We were discussing something when I remembered some seemingly unimportant fact or phrase. I explained that is one of my love languages -- I care about my friends enough to remember stuff about them. To remind them of the things I remember about them.

I have to admit that I even scare myself sometimes with my memory. My favorite server has a fiancee that works at the same restaurant. I had only met her once briefly about 8 months ago. When I saw her again at the restaurant last week I said "did you change your hair and your glasses recently?" She looked at me flabbergasted. "Why, yes, my hair used to be longer and I did get new glasses". I gave a timid apology as I explained that I had a scary memory at times... ;-p I don't remember everything about everyone. I do remember a lot.

I had a great day yesterday. I am looking forward to church, reading, cooking and going to my dinner group today. I am off work tomorrow. I hope to spend tonight and tomorrow with a special man. I am fortunate to have him in my life. Could he be the one? I don't know for sure. I want to find out.

Hang in there, my friends! I will be upbeat and steady. That is what I do....

Not sure about this one...

Our Daily Bread

I am not sure what I am supposed to get out of today's devotion. I guess I have never let myself be put down for my faith. I "fight" back with witty comments and eloquent debate! I can be an overwhelming opponent when pushed! hehehe

After thinking about this some more, I realized that I am supposed to pray for the Christian folks who are not like me. The ones who are timid in their faith or do not have the kind of personality to stand up to the critics of faith. I also learned that I need to be more sensitive to my responses in these situations. I need to let God send his convicting power via the Holy Spirit instead trying to convince the person on my own about how wrong they are! hehehe

Lord, I want to rely on you and your Spirit to bring others to you and not my excellent debating skills!

Simply Saturday

This has been a wild week for me. I am thankful that God gave me the strength to be upbeat and steady. ;-) It is amazing to see how He works in our lives. He helped me move on from an odd scenario in my life with the best possible results for everyone involved. God has been trying to get through to me for a while about a specific situation that I needed to address. I needed to change my mind and my heart. Instead of being hurt and bitter, I am relieved that we finally worked through this. Thank you, Father! I am excited about the future. I will not regret the past. God used me in this situation. I had my goals wrong and needed to realign them! hehehe

Today will be great (like other days!). I am meeting my walking buddy at Costco. I have a little surprise for her. I hope to take her to lunch for her birthday as well. I have work stuff on the actual day of her birthday. I miss walking with her.

I have some errands to do. A NYE party to plan. Some Christmas cards to send out. Some decorations to put up. And, meet my hero for some dark chocolate peppermint ice cream at Jeni's later! Woohoooo!

Life is good. I am looking forward to the holiday, to my vacation to Ft Lauderdale in January, and to my work trip to Orlando in February. I have some more trips to plan, so stay tuned!

Hang in there, my friends. I will be upbeat and steady. That is what I do...

Love me tender, love me tough...

Our Daily Bread

The title of this posting is a derivation of the old Elvis Presley song Love Me Tender, Love me True. I could have used that title as well! God is true in his love for us!

Sometimes we need tough love. We need the kind of love that shakes us out of our downward spiral, whether it is abusing drugs, abusing food, abusing alcohol, abusing or using people, etc. We need someone to help bring us back to our senses. I am fortunate to have several friends who can get through to me when I am not listening to God and his will for my life. Thank you, Lord!

God knows what is best for us. We have choices. Make the right choices so you can live a "no ordinary life" and also avoid the bad consequences of bad choices!

Lord, thank you for being there to lead me on. I want to make the right choices for my life so I can serve you better.

Foodie Friday

Do you like hummus? I started eating hummus many years ago after a friend made a homemade batch in his kitchen one afternoon. I never tried making it on my own until this week. I have a close friend in my dinner group that makes it regularly, so I texted her when I had a question. Here is the recipe I used for my lemon garlic hummus:

Lemon Garlic Hummus

Ingredients:

1 15 oz. can chickpeas or garbanzo beans

1 teaspoon minced garlic or 2 cloves garlic, crushed

3 tablespoons lemon juice

3 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Drain chickpeas and set aside liquid from can. Combine remaining ingredients in blender or food processor. Add 1/4 cup of liquid from chickpeas. Blend for 3-5 minutes on low until thoroughly mixed and smooth. Place in serving bowl, and create a shallow well in the center of the hummus. Add a small amount (1-2 tablespoons) of olive oil in the well. Serve immediately with fresh, warm or toasted pita bread, or cover and refrigerate.

I usually serve this with flavored pita chips or multigrain chips. My friend makes fresh toasted pita chips with a little garlic button on them. Enjoy!

Other Stuff

I had a nice evening celebrating my friend's birthday last night. The conversation we had with the server at Cheesecake Factory was hilarious: My friend "No singing". Me: "LOTS of singing!!!" hehehehe We sang Happy Birthday despite his plea for no singing. hehehe The cheesecake plate had "Happy Birthday" written on it in chocolate syrup. Life doesn't get much better than that. hehehe We also had a nice talk about things going on in our lives. I hope I made his special day special for him.

As some of the fallout for my large project being deferred until January or February, I have to work some this weekend on a few lingering tasks that still need to be done before the upgrade. I have one of those activities tonight at 9:00 pm. Not a big deal.

I plan to get my Christmas preparations caught up this weekend. I also have a lot of reading to do for my D2 class.

Please say a prayer for my mother. She fell in her kitchen yesterday and broke her arm.

Hang in there, my friends. I will be upbeat and steady. That is what I do...

Cooking up a "no ordinary life"

Our Daily Bread
I have been highly motivated to cook more since getting involved in a dinner group at church. Most of the cooking experiences in my kitchen have been great. A few failed. Why did they fail? I usually didn't follow the recipe correctly or I added my own flair to the recipe!

According to today's devotional, our spiritual life has a proven recipe that has worked for thousands of years -- "Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. " Very cool. We get into trouble when we don't follow the recipe or we add our own flair?

Does this mean we are little robots? No. Almost every recipe has a "season to taste" instruction. God allows us to season to taste without messing up the entire recipe! How cool is that?

Lord, thank you for the proven recipe for my life. Thank you for letting me add my own seasoning!

Technology Thursday
I noticed that Verizon Wireless is promoting their 4G network now. They plan to have it rolled out nationwide in the next two years. What does that mean? 4G stands for Fourth Generation. It is the latest iteration of the data network offered by large wireless phone carriers. Sprint already has a 4G phone available. Verizon only has a few wireless Internet connection devices right now. The exciting part for Central Ohioans is that Columbus is one of the test areas for the new network. We get to experiment with it first hand! Woohoooo! When the phones are available, you should see much faster Internet access and downloads on your mobile phone or devices. Very cool. Keep watching. Other providers are rolling out their networks as well.

Other Stuff
D2 class was interesting last night. A seemingly simple chapter turned into some very good discussions! It was great! We have a lot of reading to do for next week. I will start on it tomorrow night.

I am taking a close friend out to dinner and a movie for his birthday tonight. I am looking forward to helping make his birthday special.

I am not as busy at work now since my big project was delayed until February. We are still working stuff and moving things forward. Very cool.

Hang in there, my friends! I will be upbeat and steady. That is what I do...

Living low, not on the down low...

Our Daily Bread

I was not familiar with the phrase ODL or on the DL (on the down low) until a few years ago. As I understand it, it means that someone is doing something discretely that they don't want other folks to know about. Is that the way we are with our relationships with God at times?

We can let earthly and human things distract us from God, like our pride or the things we think are on the down low. God sees everything. There is no down low! hehehe

I got this from the devotional today -- live humbly regardless of your lot in life. Whether you are a king or pauper, talented or just average, rich or poor, live humbly.

Lord, I want to be your humble servant. I don't always do a good job of either things.

Weight Loss Wednesday

Well, I managed to lose the weight I gained over Thanksgiving. I weighed in at 265.4 today. That is a loss of a few pounds since last Wednesday. I have lost about 6.6 pounds overall. I will keep working at it. I found out that I can walk on a treadmill, walk in a pool, or ride a stationery bike for exercise. I am not allowed to walk at the convention center for a while until my knee heals up. I miss my walking buddy!

Other Stuff

Big news: my upgrade project for this weekend was delayed until January! There was a silly reason for the delay, but it is what it is. I can relax this weekend and finish my Christmas decorations. I also need to plan a NYE party.

Hang in there, my friends! I will be upbeat and steady. That is what I do...

Big, fluffy comforter...

Our Daily Bread

Winter time arrived in Columbus during the past week. It is very cold at night. It is difficult to leave the warmth of a big, fluffy comforter in the morning!

We can also act that way with God. We can get so caught up in BEING comforted that we find it hard to get out from under God's big, fluffy comforter! hehehe

This verse meant a lot to me:

2 Corinthians 1:4 -- He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.

Wow! I have written about one of the purposes of my blog -- to show others that while I have a "no ordinary life", I also have my struggles. My prayer is that I can pass on the comfort that God has shown to me to others in need. That is what I do...

Lord, help me to show you comfort to others when they need it most.

Disciple Two-sday

The chapter this week describes the mobile temple that God told Moses and the people of Israel to build. Lots and lots of excruciating details in these scripture passages! Here is what I learned from my reading so far.

God is a God of details. Yes, he knows the details of what he wants. He knows the details of what he wants from us. He expresses it to us if we will listen. He acknowledges our obedience if we do it in the right spirit. Israel did that and remained the people of God. That is pretty amazing stuff.

We start into the New Testament readings next week. That will be amazing as well.

Other Stuff

I love technology! I received a CD with the pictures from my MRI yesterday morning. I received notification from my doctor that there was nothing serious in the MRI. There were a few cysts and a little arthritis. He recommended staying on the anti-inflammatories, ICE, and refrain from my convention center walking for a while. I can walk on a treadmill, in a pool, or ride a stationery bike for exercise. That was a relief!

I didn't get out of work until 8:00 pm last night. The good news is that I figured out what appears to be the last major problem identified by the testers. My coworker also figured out his last major problem. We will talk more today and finish our last lab before the upgrade weekend. We need to refine the documentation to make the production rollout go smoothly. Whew!

I plan to take off work on time tonight. I need to do some stuff around the house as well as make snacks for the D2 class tomorrow night. It means a lot to me to make something instead of buy it. I am funny that way sometimes. hehehe

Hang in there, my friends! I will be upbeat and steady. That is what I do...

People can change...`

Our Daily Bread

In my special edition blog posting last week, I mentioned one of the reasons for this blog -- to let others know that God can work in your life to transform your personality at any age. Today's devotional also talks about a people that changed.

The people at Thessalonica once worshiped idols until they heard about the living God. They turned from their idols to server Him. What a transformation! Their transformation was a witness to the neighboring areas around them.

I ask you and I ask myself -- what idols do you worship today? Do we even realize it? Could it be relationships (like a partner or boyfriend), a job, a home, vanity, etc.? Let us pray that each of us finds the idols in our lives so we can stop worshiping them. We can then focus on the living God and transform our lives!

Lord, help me identify the idols in my life. I want to turn away from them and turn to you.

Movie Monday

I had to work most of the weekend, so I didn't get a chance to go to the movies. ;-( I thought I would write about one of my favorite movies - Everafter.

Everafter is a retelling of the Cinderella story staring Drew Barrymore and Angelica Huston. Great flick! I loved the approach they took to the whole story. I also loved some of the memorable lines:

"Just breathe..."

"How can someone love a pebble in their shoe.."

Listen for those lines in context during the movie when you rent it from NetFlix or RedBox.

Other Stuff

I have the MRI on my right knee this morning. It is feeling much better, though I still have issues with putting on clothes. I will see what the doctor says.

I will have a very busy work week. I am ahead of schedule from the upgrade project last year, which is good. I have some more issues to figure out. Whew! I am looking forward to my diversions this week. I have my D2 class on Wednesday and I am taking a friend out for his birthday on Thursday.

My song went over pretty well last night. I sang "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" at the Advent service at King Avenue. It is an alternative, progressive service, so I did something progressive. I accompanied myself by playing a single note on my keyboard using the pipe organ voice. It was haunting to hear that one tone throughout the song. I am glad it went over well.

Please say a prayer for my eyes. I try not to complain. I tried contact lens last week in order to see better. They didn't seem to help much. I am not sure if I want to go down the road of no line bifocals or what I want to do. I will figure out something.

Hang in there, my friends. I will be upbeat and steady. That is what I do...

Looking ahead...

Our Daily Bread

The devotional this morning gave me some insight into Advent. I always thought was in preparation of Christmas, the birth of Christ. The devotional also mentions that the early church also celebrated Advent with an eye towards the return of Christ! I thought that was cool. We can prepare for the coming of Christ-- in his birth and his triumphant entry back to earth!

It is very easy to forgot about the coming of Christ. It has been thousands of years. When will he return? Known of us know, though some try to predict. We should all look towards the skies each day in anticipation even if it doesn't happen in our lifetime.

Lord, I want to celebrate your birth and look forward to your return.

Sunday Friend

I am writing about another work friend today. I am fortunate to have several in the workplace. I call this one the runnin' mama. hehehe She is an inspiration to me with her positive attitude, her hard-working approach to getting things done, and her genuine concern for her friends and family. We can talk about anything, including our relationships. She is married with two children. She runs for her exercise even though she doesn't always feel like it. I admire that, too. Her smile can light up a room. I am very thankful to have her in my life.

Other Stuff

I worked about 11 hours yesterday on my big project. I was exhausted when I got done working. I did a few quick things around the house, then went to bed. I feel better this morning. I need to do some more work today. We are WAY ahead of where we were last year for this upgrade. I need to keep focused. ;-) I also need to have some balance this week to reduce the stress.

I am heading to early church, then do my Bethlehem on Broadway shopping. I don't want to forget with my busy schedule this week. I would like to get some reading done today if at all possible. I am also singing at the Advent service tonight. I hope my song goes over well. I am doing something creative. hehehe

Hang in there, my friends! I will be upbeat and steady. That is what I do....

Doers, not just hearers...

Our Daily Bread

One of the things that I really like about the Methodist church is that they are doers of the Word, not just hearers. We are regularly encouraged to give of our time, talents and money to serve others. I like that since I am a doer!

God revealed his kindness and love to us because of his mercy, not because of anything we have done (or will ever do). Thank you God for your grace!

Simply Saturday

I think my biggest issue with "doing" is my motivation. I know I should do things for others and not expect anything in return. I find that difficult in all situations. A big part of the odd relationship issue I had this week was caused by my unreasonable expectations of the friend because I had some nice things for him. Yes, I need to do a better job of loving. Yes, I need to keep my own needs in mind when I am interacting with others. I also need to rely on God more for meeting my needs instead of demanding they be met from friends who I think might "owe me". I know that is only human. God calls us to be more than human. To be Christ-like. I will rely on him

I have to work on my big work project today. At least I get to work from home in my sweats instead of going into the office. That is more convenient. I will take Sunday off. I will be working most of next weekend to get the upgrade done. It would be a great Christmas present to get it all finished. ;-)

I need to do a few things around the house today like laundry and dishes. I would like to finish my Christmas decorations, thought a scaled down version of my usual decorations. I don't have the time or energy to make it all happen this week.

I attended the Joy! concert last night. It was nice. Great job, guys!

Hang in there, my friends! I will be upbeat and steady. That is what I do...

It's a good thing...

Our Daily Bread

Martha Stewart made the phrase "It's a good thing.." famous. I thought of this saying when I read the devotional this morning. Recognizing the diversity of each person is a good thing!

I have always known these things. I guess the diversity of each person has become more evident to me as I have taken the time to care more about each person in my life. Not that I didn't care before -- I care deeply about my friends. I am talking about really understanding and accepting each one where he or she is in their life. I hope they can accept me where I am in my life. We have so much to learn from each other!

Lord, help me take the time to care. To know others. To treat them as I want to be treated.

Foodie Friday

The recipe this week is for my cheese potatoes dish. As you know, I love potatoes! I made this dish for a couple of dinners the past few weeks. I love them! I hope you like them, too.

Cheese potatoes

3 pounds Yukon gold potatoes (other types of potatoes will do)

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (I used a mix of parmesan, romano and asiago)

Black pepper

Olive Oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 9X13 glass casserole dish with Pam or other non-stick spray. Was potatoes thoroughly and trim off any spots. Slice them very thinly. Place a layer of potatoes in the dish, lightly sprinkle with olive oil, add a little pepper, and sprinkle some cheese. Repeat the layering until you fill the dish. I usually don't put cheese on the top layer until the end. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 60 minutes. The potatoes should be fork tender when done. Uncover, sprinkle the remaining cheese on top, and bake for another five minutes until the cheese is melted.

This makes 4 - 8 servings depending on the size of your portions. Enjoy!

Other Stuff

I am thankful to say that the devotional this morning spoke to me again. I talked to my friend last night. The one that I had the odd issue with this week. After thinking about how things sort of got out of control, I realized the things the devotional talked about this morning. We talked things out. We are good. I am very thankful to have this friend in my life. I will do my best to not have this kind of conflict again. I hate it when we fight! ;-)

I stopped by Costco last night to check into glasses or contact lenses. It took a lot longer than what I wanted, but I walked out with some contacts to try. I probably won't wear them today. I will try them on Saturday (and maybe Sunday). I am not sure I want to do this.

Thank God! The IBMer and I figured out several issues yesterday. Woohoooooo! Just a few more known issues to fix. I will probably have to work this weekend, but it will be worth it to keep the project on schedule for next weekend. I can't complain too much. I found out on Wednesday that my employer is sending me to Orlando again next month for a conference. Orlando in January. Tough gig...

Hang in there, my friends! I will be upbeat and steady. That is what I do...

Ahhhhhhhhh....

Our Daily Bread

We all need refreshment at one time or another. I never really thought about needing mental and spiritual refreshment until I read the devotional today. I have taken "mental health days" off work here and there. I would usually go to the movies or catch up on my DVR recordings. ;-)

The kind of refreshment I need to learn more about is the spiritual refreshment. Frankly, I have been trying to hard to be more Christ-like. What does that mean? I have been doing too much on my own instead of relying on Christ for strength and wholeness. I am not going to say "I am going to work on that". ;-P I am going to say "I will ask Christ to help me trust him more, rely on him more".

Lord, thank you for the refreshing rain of your Spirit and your love.

Technology Thursday

I bought a new toy this week. It is my Christmas present to myself. ;-) It is a Sony bluray player that has built in wireless networking. The wireless networking enables the bluray player to download the play content from the Internet such as Pandora radio, Youtube videos, and NetFlix videos. The player also loads mush faster than my previous player (which is over two years old now). I think I will put the old in my bedroom. I might also give it to a friend. Not sure yet.

There are several new models from Sony, Magnavox, etc. that have this capability. If you are in the market for a bluray player, I recommend you consider this option!

Other Stuff

My knee is feeling a little better, but both of them are still swollen. I try to keep them elevated and iced as I can. I miss walking with my walking buddy. ;-(

The odd relationship issue I mentioned yesterday took a turn for the worse. Apparently, I am supposed to make this person a high priority in my life, but he doesn't think I should be a high priority in his. This is funny to me since we are just friends. This is also funny to me since he told me recently "never make someone a priority when you are only an option." I will follow that advice. It is a bad sign when a person stops talking to you after you try to discuss these types of issues. I am not putting all the blame on him. I could had acted better. We both could have.

Another busy day at work. I hope to have time to stop by Costco tonight. I also want to work on the song I am supposed to sing at the Advent service on Sunday night. I guess I need to figure out what that song will be first! hehehe

Lastly, I am feeling better today even though I am tired and stressed. I can do this.

Hang in there, my friends! I will be upbeat and steady. That is what I do...

Not a crutch or a walker!

Our Daily Bread

There were a couple of points from today's devotional that spoke to me. I thought it was timely that there was a reference to a crutch since I may need to use crutches in the next month or so! Yikes!

First, Christ is not a crutch or a walker or anything else that just props us up to move on our own power! Christ wants us to rely on him for our strength and power. He is more like one of those cool motorized carts at Walmart! hehehe It is through his strength that we can be strong.

Second, I like what the scripture said about it being a privilege to serve Christ. Wow! How often do I forget about that! Like every day! I am sorry to say that I have a poor attitude about this sometimes. It is like "God, you are soooo lucky to have a servant like me!" Yikes! I will do better about remembering who is lucky.

Lord, thank you for the privilege of serving you. Please help me do a better job of it.

Weight Loss Wednesday

Sooooo the long weekend and Thanksgiving holiday took its toll on my weight loss this week. It didn't help that I injured my knees. I am not supposed to do my exercise walking until we figure out what is going on with the right knee. ;-(

I weighed in at 269.0 this morning. I am at 3.0 pounds lost overall, though I gained back a little over 3 pounds since the weigh in last Wednesday. I will keep plugging away at it.

Other Stuff

I got a call from the doctor's office. We scheduled my MRI for Monday morning. I will take it easy until then with elevation and ice. There is usually some swelling after a long work day. At least it doesn't usually hurt. I can also get down on my knees again to pray.

I had an odd relationship issue this week. To make a long story short, I had an expectation of a friend that he would make me the same kind of priority that I made him. He is not particularly special to me. There is no chance of a romantic relationship. I thought we would be close friends. He doesn't understand the concept of priorities. He also doesn't understand me. My friends are a high priority in my life, regardless if I am a high priority to them. I take time to text them back during a busy work day. I take the time to go Black Friday shopping even if I have so many things to do that I don't know how I will get them all done over the weekend. I express concern when I can tell there is something going on with them. I will do better about adjusting my expectations so I can accept people where they are and be the kind of friend I need to be. I am very, very fortunate to have close friends that love me for who I am. I want to be that kind of friend to others.

Another busy day work coming up. I should get off work in time to attend D2 class tonight. I will see how that goes. Whew!

I have not been feeling like myself. I think some of my health issues are affecting my mood and attitudes. It will get better. I am handling things better than usual during this period, but still not as good as I want. I am only human. I am trying to trust God during this time more than ever.

Hang in there, my friends! I will be upbeat and steady (as best as I can). That is what I do...

WWBBD?

Our Daily Bread

Sorry, the title is an odd reference to the first South Park movie - What Would Brian Boitano Do? hehehe The devotional today is much more serious. Not only what would Jesus do, but what DID Jesus do.

Jesus died for your sins and mine on the cross. He rose again victorious over death. He ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of God. Talk about "no ordinary life'!

Our big question is: how will we react to what Jesus did for us? We all make choices each day. We all can chose to live for Christ or not. It is that simple. Yes, we all fall. Yes, we all make mistakes. The key is to get right back up and keep trying. Each time we sin it becomes easier to sin the next time.

Lord, I want to be more like you. Please help me make better choices each day.

Discipleship Two-sday

The themes for the two chapters this week are Justice and Compassion. To be frank (and I usually am), I am just not getting these two topics. I will finish reading and studying tonight and maybe a little bit before class tomorrow night. The scripture passages are all over the Old Testament. I am not connecting to the language in the passages. I will have to pay close attention tomorrow night in class!

Other Stuff

I went to the doctor yesterday to look at my knees. There is just a bruise on the left knee. We are going to do an MRI on the right knee. There might be cartilage damage. It is feeling better, but still gimpy. I will blog about my experience.

I had a nice evening with Fly bear. I always enjoy spending time with my close friend.

Busy day at work yesterday. Today will be the same. We are counting down to the upgrade weekend. Whew!

Hang in there, my friends. I will be upbeat and steady. That is what I do...

My hands are not empty...

Our Daily Bread

The timeliness that God displays to me almost every day when I read these devotionals never ceases to amaze me!

I was a little "down" over the weekend. I was going through some tests and wasn't doing as well as what I wanted. Yes, God was there to strengthen me. He was there to forgive me when I failed. We had a talk this morning about helping me break my rebellious spirit when I find it necessary to do things my own way. I am not trusting enough. Not having faith in the promises that God made to me. I know that is just human. I have been working so hard to be a better child of God. When I listened, he finally got through to me that I have been trying too hard instead of relying on him more. DOH!

So what is in your hand today? I found some wonderful friendships (even though I don't have a boyfriend or partner). I found a great job (all jobs have their faults). I found a wonderful home (even though it needs maintenance and repairs regularly). I found health that is good enough to do the things I need to do (even after the Triple Axle I did off the palette at Target on Friday). I found so many things that God has strengthened me to do and have. In Christ alone will I glory. In Christ alone will I have faith and trust.

Your hands are not empty either. Take a look. Don't let the failures of the past or the worries about the future ruin the present.

Lord, thank you for being my strength and hope.

Movie Monday

I had time to see two movies this weekend: Megamind and Burlesque. Quite different movies!

Megamind: Megamind was sort of a typical Dreamworks "let's learn a lesson from the characters" kind of movie. It was cute. It had some very funny moments. It also had some odd moments. In short, the story line is two aliens make their way to earth when their planets explode. One finds his way to a rich family and has the best of everything (and turns out good). The other one lands in a prison and is raised by prisoners. Guess what? He turns out bad! Go figure! Their rivalry is not really one -- MetroMan, the good guy, always beats Megamind, the bad guy. You will have to see the movie for the ending. I give tihs movie two bear paws.

Burlesque: Seeing and hearing Christina Aguilera sing the songs in the movie was worth the price of admission. It is a good thing. There isn't a lot more there! There is a love story. There is Cher losing the club. There is her gay assistant (Stanley Tucci, grrrr, who I had always hoped was gay!). The dancing, songs and music are very cool. I give this one two bear paws as well. Oh, and there is an Best Song Oscar moment for Cher that wasn't too bad. ;-)

Other Stuff

My knees are doing better. I tried to take it easy yesterday. I kept them elevated via a large pillow. I can do more on my right knee this morning than I could yesterday morning. I will be careful. I will take it easy. I will schedule an appointment with the doctor.

I did some reading for my D2 class. I need to look at the chapters some more after I finish reading everything the first time. I am not getting some of the scripture readings. I will read the book closer to get more understanding.

More fun at work today. We plan to upgrade our next lab this week. We are still on schedule to do our production upgrade on Dec 10. Whew!

Hang in there, my friends. I will be upbeat and steady. That is what I do...

What do you treasure?

Our Daily Bread

"Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be." Matt 6:21 In modern day language, I translate this verse as "whatever is a priority to you, you will spend you time on it". Whoa! I learned something about this during my Walk to Emmaus. When someone says, "I am sorry, I don't have time for you" or more subtlety "Oh, I am soooo busy, you wouldn't believe it", they are really saying "you are not a priority to me". Why do say this when it sounds sort of mean?

Look at your own life. Don't you "make" time for the things or people that are really important to you? You drop everything when a close friend needs your help. You make time to spend with a family member at the hospital. You carve out time in your schedule for that special event at church that means a lot to you? We all do it. It is important to recognize that we do it and set out priorities correctly.

Lord, I want you and your will to be my priority. Please help me do that every day.

Sunday Friend

My Sunday Friend is a close friend from St Louis. I will call him the Longing One. I met him the same weekend I first met my best friend face to face. We talked a lot and found out we had a lot in common. We kept in touch over the years. We visited each other at different times during our friendship. We have the kind of friendship that we can pick up at any time and remain close even if we haven't spoken in a while. He tried to keep up with my blog, which means a lot to me.

I call him the Longing One because he has always longed for the kind of long-term relationship that God had for him. We were not meant to be together, but we could always talk about our spiritual lives and our relationships. He has been with his current partner for a long time now. I am so happy for both of them. I wish them well and pray for them as they continue to grow together as a couple. I am so proud of him and am blessed to have him in my life. He prays for me to be patient as I am waiting for my special man to come along.

Other Stuff

My right knee is doing a little better today after elevating it and alternating ice and movement yesterday. I will take it easy again today. I am still having major issues with it. The xrays showed no fractures according to the doctor at the urgent care center. I will schedule an appointment with my doctor tomorrow. The bruise on the left knee is coming out now. ;-( It is tender, but not sore. It is sort of embarrassing explaining that I injured myself in a tragic shopping accident. ;-p It is what it is!

I watched football yesterday and did some reading for D2. I have to admit that I did a lot of stress eating. I will do better today. ;-(

The testing continues. I am doing my best to pass this one. I can only do this with God's help.

Hang in there, my friends. I will be upbeat and steady. That is what I do...

Am I going to be tested on this?

Our Daily Bread

The devotional today was another one of those "oh, that is nice. Someone will get a lot out of this (but not me)" devotions! hehehe You know how those usually end up for me! I get more out of them than many other days!

The two main things I got out of the devotional are: trust God all the time and look forward to life and the afterlife. I thought it was amazing that the sports caster wanted to talk about his relationship with God instead of talking about his "no ordinary life". Wow! It would have been so easy to yearn for the good, old days. The second message was from the scripture about whether to leave this body for heaven or to stay and do more work for Christ. Wow! I thought that was cool as well.

Lord, help us spend our days doing your work knowing that we have a wonderful place to rest for eternity.

Simply (sore) Saturday

This verse spoke to me in a different way today: 2 Corinthians 5:8 "Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord." I would rather be away from this earthly body today. Ouch! I hurt both knees when I fell at Target yesterday. The left knee is sore, but not in too bad of shape. The right knee is a different story. I can walk on it, but that is about it. It is stiff, it doesn't bend easily and trying to rest on that knee to put up Christmas decorations hurts like heck. I will call the doctor later this morning. Did I mention ouch?

God told me that I would have something odd happen to me before the end of the year. I thought it was going to be another eye issue. The eyes aren't in great shape, but I am getting by. I plan to get glasses so I can see better. I am not happy about that, but it is what it is.

I think the knee problem will be a big challenge for me. Things have been going very smoothly for me since I made the promise to "be upbeat and steady". It is time to be tested. Having knee surgery on my right knee, if required, would be quite a challenge for me. I saw what kind of challenge it was (and is) for my mother since she had her knee surgery last Friday. I will blog about my diagnosis and the experience if it happens.

God is also working with me about being strong enough to break my relationship patterns of the past. We identified them over the past three years. I recognize the behaviors. I need to adjust my behaviors accordingly. Some examples:

1. I will be more "friend-like" instead of a longing ex-boyfriend for Ying. We still talk too intimately at times. That is inappropriate.

2. I will not flirt with my new buddy. We are becoming close friends. Nothing romantic. Not friends with benefits.

3. I will not display anger and angst towards Yang. I figured out that at this point in our usual pattern that I start asking "What are we?" I wrote about that question a few months ago on Wee-way-shun-ship Wednesday if you remember. In the past, I would not get the answer I wanted, so I would get angry and make Yang angry in the process. Not good. I don't have to ask the question this time around. I know the answer. We are close friends who are trying to find God's will for our relationship. That is enough for me. Being in his life, regardless of how big or small the role, is enough for me now.

I remember in school that I asked this question a lot: "Am I going to be tested on this?" If the material was important for me to learn, the professor would say "Yes, of course". I am asking God the question that any human would about life lessons: "Am I going to be tested on this?". It is important to learn and practice all the lessons that God teaches us. It is important to study. It is important to get tested. We may not always pass the tests, but we keep studying and learning and moving forward. We CAN pass the tests with the power of God energizing our lives and subduing our stubborn wills. We CAN live a victorious life. A life where we don't know what we want to do more -- be in heaven with God or continue the honor of serving him in this world.

I will be upbeat and steady. This is not a Thomas the Train "I think I can, I think I can" statement. This is a "with the power of God, I can stand in his glory and be the kind of man he wants me to be". In Christ alone will I glory...

Hang in there, my friends. I will be upbeat and steady. That is what I do...

Black Friday, but not in my heart...

Our Daily Bread

God has really used this devotional site to speak to me in the last year. I am so thankful for the messages I read every day. The devotional today is no exception. The scripture is the basis for a favorite sacred art song - The Lord is my Light. I love singing that song!

So how does one get to the point in his or her spiritual life that one "pants for God like a deer panting for water". Wow! I had a few short-lived periods like this in my life. They were way too short. I want to get back to that state of mind somehow.

What am I doing to continue growing? First, I put meaningful scripture passages in obvious places during my day. I read them almost every day to remind me. I write this blog so I read and write about my devotional each day. I am taking a Disciple class at church in which I study several chapters in the Bible each week. I also made a commitment to pray more and talk less (THAT was an adjustment!). I will keep trusting and having faith in God. I will do my best to move forward in my relationship with him. That is what I do...

Lord, help each of us to trust in you to be our light each and every day.

Special Edition: Black Friday

I had a nice day with my family for Thanksgiving. The meal turned out great. Everyone seemed to enjoy the time together. I got the mess cleaned up at my mother's apartment and then drove home to rest.

A good buddy wanted to shop the Black Friday sales this morning. I was crazy enough to go with him! We got up at 3:00 am. Made it to a horribly long line at Target before they opened. We bought most of the sale items we wanted and got out of that craziness about 5:05 am. We picked up a gift for my buddy's mother at Sears. We went to Walmart to check out the sales there. We got out of there very quickly compared to Target! We also stopped by Meijer, Home Depot and then had breakfast at Mimi's Cafe. We finished off our shopping extravaganza at Target (again) and a different Meijer store (they had a special item the first Meijer didn't carry). It was a great morning deserving of a late morning nap! After lunch, my buddy helped me carry the Christmas decorations up from the basement. I will spend this evening and tomorrow putting up the trees and other decorations. I will post some of the pictures on here.

On a sad note, I fell off of a pallet while picking up a box. My foot got caught in the corner of the pallet. I fell and landed HARD on my knees. My left knee took most of the impact, but I twisted my right knee in the process since my right foot got caught in the pallet. Ouch. Did I mention Ouch? OH well. It hurts. I will put some ice on them and alternate with heat. I am limping a little bit. I should be OK.

Hang in there, my friends! I will be upbeat and steady. That is what I do...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Our Daily Bread

As expected, the devotional is about being thankful. Yeah, yeah, we hear that everywhere this time of year! hehehe Just kidding. I want to share two things with you about this devotional.

First, I had forgotten about the Proverbs passage associated with the devotional. These verses, though out of order, really spoke to me. I am a smart guy that likes to figure things out. As a 51 year old man, I am also at the age that finding meaning in life can be a challenge at times. I don't struggle with that much because I always try to fill my life with meaningful activities. ;-) Here are the verses from Proverbs 3:

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart;

do not depend on your own understanding.

6 Seek his will in all you do,

and he will show you which path to take.

2 If you do this, you will live many years,

and your life will be satisfying.

The end of verse 2 is amazing. Your life WILL BE satisfying. Is that a great promise or what?

I also want to share with you the lyrics to a song by John Bucchino called Grateful. My prayer is that we can all be grateful today and every day, if we have all of these things or not.

I've got a roof over my head

I've got a warm place to sleep

Some nights I lie awake counting gifts

Instead of counting sheep

I've got a heart that can hold love

I've got a mind that can think

There may be times when I lose the light

And let my spirits sink

But I can't stay depressed

When I remeber how I'm blessed

Grateful, grateful

Truly grateful I am

Grateful, grateful

Truly blessed

And duly grateful

In a city of strangers

I've got a family of friends

No matter what rocks and brambles fill the way

I know that they will stay in the end

I feel a hand holding my hand

It's not a hand you can see

But on the road to the promised land

This hand will shepherd me

Through delight and despair

Holding tight and always there

Grateful, grateful

Truly grateful I am

Grateful, grateful

Truly blessed

And duly grateful

It's not that I don't want a lot

Or hope for more, or dream of more

But giving thanks for what I've got

Makes me so much happier than keeping score

In a world that can bring pain

I will still take each chance

For I believe that whatever the terrain

Our feet can learn to dance

Whatever stone life may sling

We can moan or we can sing

Grateful, grateful

Truly grateful I am

Grateful, grateful

Truly blessed

And duly grateful

Technology (and Thanksgiving) Thursday

I made the buy recommendation to my aunt for her camcorder. I selected the Sony DCR-SX63 Flash memory Handycam Camcorder. Here is the link to it on Amazon.com.

Let's review the questions I posed a few weeks ago to see how I came to this decision.

What kind of picture quality do I want (regular or HD): This camcorder does a great job of regular picture quality. My aunt doesn't have an HD TV so the HD mode would be overkill.

How long do I want to shoot video (battery life and memory considerations): This camcorder can shoot from 4 hours to 11 hours of video to the builtin 16 gig of memory. The model also has slots for SD or Memory Stick cards. The coolest part is that you can offload the internal memory to the memory cards, then keep shooting, OR you can shoot directly to the memory cards.

The battery life is not quite as good as what I would like with the included battery. Other available batteries can be purchased with a much longer shooting time than an hour.

Where do I want to play the video (DVD on my TV, Youtube, etc.)

This model comes with computer software and a USB cable that enable you to transfer the files and burn them to DVD so you can plan them on a regular DVD player. You can also hook up the camcorder directly to your TV with another included cord.

Do I want to hold the camera or mount it on a tripod? (size and steadiness requirements)

I chose this camera because it has advanced image stabilization for the times when you don't have a tripod. I think that is necessary!

Do I need zoom? If so, how much?

I selected this model because it has 60x zoom. That is incredible. Everyone needs zoom. ;-)

How much do I want to pay?

My aunt wanted to pay less than $300. I started my search on Amazon.com using the search option to filter by price ($0 - $300). Very cool. You can select other filters as you review the options. I selected the optical zoom as well.

How much do I want to pay for recording media?

DVDs are very cheap now for burning the videos to disk. The extra memory cards are also relatively inexpensive compared to what they used to be. I think the most expensive accessory is an extra battery (the more powerful version).

Ease of use (Do I have to be a rocket scientist to use this thing?)

This model was rated by many buyers as easy to use. The controls are clearly marked and they make sense. Very cool.

So that is my story and I am sticking to it! ;-) I hope this example of how to pick a camcorder will help you find a great bargain on Black Friday!

Other Stuff

I got off work later than I wanted. Most folks left early due to the holiday weekend. I worked overtime! Oh well. My only concern was getting to the Honey Baked Ham store before they closed (and everyone else at Polaris converged on the store!). I picked up my ham and my Thanksgiving meal at Mimi's Cafe. Very cool. It will only take me a few hours to warm stuff this afternoon.

I also managed to get some laundry done, look at a friend's laptop that is having issues, and do the camcorder research for Technology Thursday.

As usual, I am doing fun stuff with friends and family to relax and enjoy my "no ordinary life". I am having dinner with my mother and sister today. I plan to go Black Friday shopping with a buddy tomorrow. Walmart and Waffle House! Woohoooo! I hope to get my Christmas decorations up this weekend and see a movie or two.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving, my friends! I will be upbeat and steady and thankful. That is what I do...