Just found this interesting....

Soooooo.......... A lot has been happening. So what does it take to get me to post again. Well, interesting stuff like this - coupled with a few minutes of downtime and a sincere need to curb my guilty conscience for not posting in awhile. Soooo, check this out. Post your responses, but be nice, o.k.???

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ibd/20091120/bs_ibd_ibd/20091120issues01

Ciao!

Motivation...

Sooo,
I've been doing a lot of thinking and praying about what it takes to push through to the next level in life. I'm also asking the same question I did about a year ago here.
There's an old saying, it usually has to do with weight loss & training for tri-athlons, and stuff, but it holds true for many things: You will never change anything about yourself that you are comfortable with. So, it goes without saying, if I have resolved to live with myself as the kinda guy who says, "pass me the chips" rather than the guy who says, "o.k., just one more set...." then am I somehow doomed to a life of failure.

However, what if that isn't the person God has called me to be? He wants me to be the best I can be, in all things - as a worshipper, servant, husband, father, son, brother. I am called to be a Godly example in all things, at work, and with my body, posessions & money. So, looking at those things, I often come up short - or tipping the scale the wrong way, as it were.

Walking in Grace

As with any struggle, or sin, as a believer in Jesus - He already nailed it to the cross - but I have to recieve and walk in that grace by faith. That means, I can't do it on my own.

Here's what I am NOT saying - I am definitely NOT an advocate for a "name it and claim" it "prosperity" gospel - and that isn't what I'm talking about here. I just want victory over these things I continually struggle with - namely that I settle for mediocrity in many areas of my life - such as my personal health (weight and appearance), my finances, attention to my family, and stewardship of our home (this is a biggie!).

The thing is, I'm always busy doing something - studying for school, doing stuff with the kids, and I am away from home from 6:30 am till 6pm most nights. So, I don't have very much time to waste - I just feel guilty that things are often left undone, and we always feel like we're playing catch-up.

What it really amounts to, is that I'm TIRED! There also always seems to be something new that we are obliged to participate in that we somehow know nothing about - camp registrations, sports practices, piano recitals, school events, parties the kids have been invited to., blah, blah, blah........ we can't keep up. So what are we to do? My normal response is to scramble to try and please everyone, and then feel guilty and condemned for not having been on top of it all. So, when does this cross over into the rhealm of sin, and when is it just Steve O. having a bad couple of days? (weeks or months?).

Autopilot...

So, I've been doing a lot of thinking and praying lately about my personal lack of fervor at times (read - lately).

For me, having grown up in church, going to a christian college, seminary, etc...... it is just too easy to "fake" it when I want to. I know all the right answers to give. I can even sound impressive if I choose. (Impressed yet?)

Don't get me wrong - I love the Lord. I am a follower of Jesus, I am very passionate about worship - about people diving in and enjoying a relationship with Him. But, I have to admit - sometimes (lately) it just feels dry. For me it has been too easy to just go through the motions. I am coming out of a short period like that right now. (Have you guessed) I feel like I have been on Auto-pilot so to speak rather than growing in the Lord. Worse yet, I have given place to a lot of cynicism and a very critical attitude that just stinks. I can really be a jerk sometimes.

But deep down, I so desparately want to be led by the spirit, to obey his every command. I want to passionately dig into His word, to fervently worship at His feet. I have let this apathy take over for far too long!

Sorry to dump on you... just had to put it out there!

Thoughts on the dangers of having influence...

Soo, here we go again...

I did a little post two days ago and Jason (one of my two faithful readers, but one of the only ones who actually leave a comment) reminded me about my old Fender acoustic. This got me to thinking a bit -then my mind wandered completely. I hearkened back to my days as a young youth pastor, and then back to my days as a young yout' - not-so many years, but several pounds and hairstyles ago...
(Cue dreamy harp music)

What struck me, is how I am still in awe of, and profoundly influenced by my old youth ministers from that day (One died and 2 others are "out of the ministry" - one is a school principal I think). I learned a lot about leadership, leading worship, setting goals, dealing with conflict and even "dreaming big" from one guy in particular I lost touch with several years ago. (Scott - wherever you are - I miss you, man - you meant a lot to me.) The reality is, I look an aweful lot like the people who influenced me early on.
(Fade to black)

As I was thinking, I remembered an event that happened about 11 Summers ago.
(Fade in to a panning shot of cornfields on a hot sunny day)

I had the surprise of my life one day in July, 1996 while I was standing under a tent in McComb, Il (at the Cornerstone festival) and Jason (yes, my "buddy" who leaves me snyde comments on this here blog thingy) showed up out of the clear blue. We got to hang out that week at C-stone and he was one of a handful of people who actually caught our show. Since he was camping I brought him back to my motel room so he could shower and he let me fiddle around on his guitar. He then made a comment I'll never forget. He said that all the years he had been playing he didn't realize how much he sounded like me on the guitar. In a sense, he didn't realize that I had been a musical influence on him. This of course blew me away, shocked and humbled me and I hesitate to share it now except to say that it stands to reason - the more we hang out with somebody, the more alike we become. (Can anyone here say the word "DISCIPLESHIP" ??????) I think that is the whole point.
(Fast forward to present day)

Though it is something I have known all along, now more than ever, I am humbled and just a little bit scared that I can have a powerful influence on the people that I am around. I have heard it said that our strengths are passed on to those we mentor, but our weaknesses at times are MAGNIFIED..... that is a scary thought. This means that my cynical, critical attitude - my know-it-all, agrumentative, opinionated, judgementalism - could not only be passed on, but magnified (if this is true...) in those I lead and mentor - and especially in my own kids!

I hope people catch the good stuff. I wish that I could say, as Paul did: "Follow me as I follow Christ..." but I can't always say that. I am pretty messed up at times.

I have a friend and mentor named Dan. Dan was one of my college professors, a pastor/teacher-type guy who was very down to earth. He even spent a few years recently as the college President. He made a little plaque - one of those shiny brass thingy's you get at a trophy shop, engraved with a saying that has stuck with me through the years and has really influenced me in ministry and life in general. He attaches this plaque on his pulpit wherever he goes. It reads:

"What on earth are you doing to these people...?"

I think that just about sums it up.
(Fade out...roll credits...)

Happy 4th!!!!!!!!

Soo, today we once again celebrate our freedom from the tyranny of British rule. Many people will go to the beach, the lake, and have backyard BBQ's.

Today, we grilled out at my son Darian's place - his treat. We were joined by his "friend" Rachel and her parents. Had a great time - and the burgers weren't bad either.

Also - very important news here - I made home-made Ice Cream with my new-found trusty "old" Home-made Ice Cream Maker - strawberry to be precise. It was just de-lish.

In other news: Joey Chestnut held onto the Nathan's hot dog eating contest title defeating Kobayashi in overtime! Every year they do this big contest at Nathan's at Coney Island N.Y. The "athletes" compete for the coveted Yellow Mustard Belt. Kobayashi had won for 6 years straight. Read my take on the whole thing from last year's post here.

What a great country we live in.

Cause I don't pay attention...

Sooooooo, I had yet another milestone go by. This is only slightly different though, and kinda sad, cause I'm so bad at it lately, but.........

This is my 101st post.

I posted pictures a few days ago - that was my 100th post.

This is my 101st post and yes, I'm wasting it complaining about how I was completely oblivious to the fact that my 100th post was a couple of days ago.

I promise to have something a little more reflective and meaningful soon. I can feel it stirring inside me, and there's a burning in my bosom.....oh yeah! I can feel it....

Tragic mothers day...

Soo,
This has been a blustery night followed by a rather blustery morning. There are tree limbs falling (no doubt weakened by our December ice storm).
I went outside this morning walking with our "lovely" dog Candy. She sniffed something in the yard - a dead baby bird next to a downed tree limb. I poked around a little more, there was another (dead) - under the tree limb. I looked up and there was a pile of damp straw on top of my van - with an other dead baby bird. I had just been out in my van 15 minutes earlier - so the limb must have fallen since. Alas, there is a childless mother bird out there somewhere...

One of *those* kinds of posts again...

Sooo,

I haven't been writing much lately. Too busy lately. Plus, mom is moving out from California! She's with us now - having fun! Krazy at work lately too. Aso, the dog ate my homework and my alarm didn't go off before I had a flat tire on the way during rush hour traffic.... That's all the excuses I can come up with. I'll be back to my old self shortly. Until then... Enjoy this pic.

Fun Day!

Soo, we are once again covered in snow. There's a good 10-14 inches out there. I thought I'd point out a simple bit of irony most of you are famliar with. You see, my kids have a snow day - a day off from school, and you guessed it - today was supposed to be my Friday off!

Why do I rant about this? I don't really know, except that I do sometimes enjoy some moments to myself - some peace and quiet if you will. That being said, I also love my boys and enjoy spending time with them- so, we had some fun today. Most notably, we played a lot of playstation, and we made a snowman - sort of. It was a really dry powdery snow, and it wouldn't pack - could hardly make a snowball that would go more than 5 feet. (Where's a mountain and a ski lift when you need one?)

By the way, when there's snow on the ground, nothing beats a Jeep Wrangler, they are soo choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up.

Back to the story...Our snowman looked more like a big lumpy blob - so we named him - 'Jabba the Snowman' - cute ain't he?

Well, off to be a dad again. Time to make some hot cocoa!

Proud Papa!

Sooo...,

(Have you noticed that many, many of my posts start with the word "Sooo..."?) (Oh, you have? Well, ......Soooo What!?!)

Sooo..., as I was saying before I so rudely interrupted myself... I am a proud father of some talented kids.


I haven't posted much lately because we are in the midst of practicing and performing "A Christmas Carol" - the cheesy musical version. You can catch the movie version on Hallmark this season - it's the one where Jason Alexander plays the part of Marley's Ghost. (I haven't been able to rent it yet because I haven't broken down and started a Netflix account yet - and everyone else in the cast has been perpetually checking this video out - and we've been out at night practicing - so we can't catch it on TV.


Cameron has a couple of parts - he dances with a "real" girl - and he is also a drunk in one scene.
He's proven to be a great performer!


Austin has a small part playing "Ignorance" (As in the two children "Want" and "Ignorance" that belong to every man) and he sings with the children's choir for a few numbers.



I am playing electric bass in "the pit." I only had to learn 105 pages of music for this one! But, I'm getting paid, so - I'll put up with the torture. Actually, I'm having a blast! Musicals are always a challenge for my limited (8th grade) music education but I keep getting asked to do more, sooo... what can you do?

Neat thing - Lots of the folks in "the pit" are from church - John our youth pastor is conducting and playing trumpet and Linda (the Pastor's wife) is our AMAZING pianist/vocal coach, also one of the flutes goes to our church.
Tim Sellers (Beth's brother) and Priscilla (our niece) are also in it. Priscilla has a great dance number with some other young girls- they are all so cute! Grandpa - (Ron Sellers) also has a couple of small parts and is singing in a lot of numbers. Marley's ghost is played by David Rain who was a friend at Jacksonville Assembly. There's a bunch of others too.



The awesome thing about it is that so many of the players are brothers and sisters in Christ - and we are all able to have an effect on the community in such a vivid and tangible way. Trust me, we are definitely in "sharp" contrast to many of the "characters" involved in our local theater. (Ahem.)


That's it for now, enjoy the pics - the lighting was bad and they were taken with digital zoom so the quality suffered a bit. They are from our "friends and family" night dressed-rehearsal.

Beautiful work to be done...

Sooooo.....,



Guess what we didn't do this weekend..... yep- still got leaves to rake. I spent most of the weekend trying to kill Bambi. No luck.



Today was beautiful, yet chilly. We went to church and stayed in. I did manage to grab a few photos. Enjoy the fall leaves.

Busy days off...

Soo... this is my weekend off. Yep. Yesterday went down like this. I get up VERY early these days (more on that later). I was in the shower by 6am. At 7 I dropped Beth off at work, then went with Austin and Bryce to their school for "Donuts with Dad" - cool! Of course, they were having a book fair in the computer center right next to the donuts and coffee - ($$$$$$$).



At 8 I came back and picked up Darian and Cameron to take them to the dentist - in Springfield. No cavities or other surprises ($$$$$$) thank you Lord! Since they were missing school and their regular lunch period, we stopped and got double bacon burger combos from Wendy's. (If you can find a greasier sandwich, you're in Mexico!) This is a picture of Cameron at Wendy's - "Look ma, no cavities!"
I then got to spend money on a new big fat knobby tire for my Jeep ($$$$$$$) - we had a flat Thursday. I am also changing the brakes - so I went and bought them too ($$$$$$). I then went to Home depot and a couple of other hardware stores to get more stuff for our basement project. (more $$$$$$$$). All told I was home for just a few minutes to walk the dog before I went back out and picked Beth up from work. Whew!!!! What a long - busy tedious EXPENSIVE day!

Today - (Saturday) it is cold and drizzly (kind of a spitty rain). I was up early again - then napped - then rushed out for Austin's final soccer game. Because of the rain - and a short roster for both teams (due to the cold rain I'm sure) they played short halves. Austin's team went scoreless, but gave up three. For that reason, we were glad it was short. Kind of a bummer to have the final game in the cold rain - and with a loss. Too bad for our team - but perhaps they will do better this spring.

Austin saw quite a bit of action today. He does a great job as defender and is great at tackling the ball from other players. He is also very good at passing the ball to his teammates. We are very proud of him.


I am now off to work on our basement - the plan is to finish up with the drywall and taping this weekend. This includes some duct work and more (minor) electrical. I also need to change the brakes on the jeep - maybe it will warm up some later.

Sunburn, Football & "Vanilla"

Sooo....



Busy day today!



We watched Bryce's first football game (they lost 12 - 8) - they did well all things considered. Very hot out. We all got some sun.



BIG NEWS ALERT!!!!



Today is Austin's 9th birthday - we got him a hamster cage and all the trimmings. Not much fun looking at an empty cage though - sure they're fun, and we can spin the wheel and all - but still...



So, we stopped off at the pet shop on the way back from the game and picked out our newest member of the family - May we present: Vanilla, "The Wonder Hamster" (Tada!)



Bye for now. (Yes, hamsters do smell bad!)

Allergies

So, we're doing some work on our house, namely in the basement. Guess where our CAT spends most of her time. Guess who's allergic to the furry beast.....yep, me. (My son Cameron is too!) Makes it difficult to spend much time down there, especially while stirring up dust and debris. Now, we wear masks. With my mask on, I think I look a bit like a surgeon. Mom, arent' you proud? At least I look like a doctor...

This is what the inside of your nose and face looks like.

(If you are a man, with sandy brown hair and your face is cut open)

Actually, the task is quite fun - even with a mask on. The boys have been a big help - cause it's fun to break stuff. If we break it - well we kinda bought it already - demo really is the fun part. We'll be finishing that up tomorrow, then we will build some walls, put up some drywall, who knows in a couple of weeks we could make the basement habitable for beings other than the furry variety. The cat will have to go someplace else. By the way, she looks funny with a mask on.

Yes, I am REALLY out of touch...

So, I have a confession to make here. Listen up everybody....now here "this" - I am incredibly, unquestionably, horrifically out of touch with the world. There, I've said it. Soo glad to have gotten that off my chest.



Now, to obviate the point:



I watched the American Idol Finale (Part 1) tonight. "So what?" You ask. Well, this is the first time I've watched Idol this entire season. Fact is, I haven't watched a single episode since Clay and Ruben - or was it Ruben and Clay - I can't remember who won.



Since I'm in the confessing mood, here are a few others I'll fess up to:

• I've never watched an entire episode of Survivor - don't know what all the "alliances" are all about - and I really don't care.


• The Apprentice? Huh?


• Definitely never seen the O.C. or Desperate housewives (I'm not some kind of chick y'now)

As for more "manly" fare (gulp, here goes - my true friends already know anyway)

• I don't watch football - but have often watched the Superbowl just for the commercials (kind of like watching the American Idol finale just cause it was on.)


• Don't follow baseball either - who was in the world series last year?

So, there you have it! Confession is good for the soul. Now you know how sheltered I am.



Small footnote: For those of you who watched the Idol thingy - I really enjoyed watching Paula on painkillers - it seemed to get worse as the night went on. I think at one point she congratulated Jordin Sparks for her "vocal voice" which was "really on tonight."

So,,,they may serve a purpose after all.

Beth & I spent the weekend at our favorite getaway spot (a rustic cabin overlooking lake Barkley, KY). We did the usual - lots of nothing, reading, eating, T.V. and I also got to fish a bit. Friday, about noon we noticed some "wild" (feral) cats roaming about. (The technical name being: catus a-priori domesticus formerum et wildus en presentum -or catus wildus, for short.)

It should be worth noting - I am NOT a cat person. I don't mind seeing a cat now and then - from a distance - a great distance. In this case though, I actually thought it was cool. These cats weren't bothering anyone like most catus domesticus, (or, housus catus) - they were out "in the wild". By "bothering" I mean the usual - meow for this, meow to be let in - change of mind - meow to be let out, meow to be fed, always under foot, meow to be petted, scratch your eyes out to let you know you're petting them wrong. In other words - you know, bothering people. These cats were different - they were living out the dream. We identified at least three different cats within close proximity - two tabby-like grey striped ones and one that was brownish striped. I was then reminded that the feral (catus wildus) population in the state of Michigan is so large that they actually have a hunting season for the buggars - no joke.
Back to the story at hand. We were watching these "wild" cats among all the rest of nature, and we were reading and stuff. A little later we heard a loud THUMP! A bird had flown into the window near where I was reading. I watched as this little bird just writhed in agony. I then got to thinking - "Oh, I'm going to have to clean that thing up later or it will be crawling with bugs in a couple of hours, drat!" But, then a miracle - the little birdie seemed to shake it's head as if saying - ow! Then he stood up, started stretching his wings. It looked as if he would be o.k. Yes, the little birdie had a close call- but he was going to be all right! Whew! And then......
One of the wild cats pounced on him, and carried him away in it's mouth. Well, at least I hadn't had to clean it up. And hey, no sorry cat-person was having to cut his hand opening a can of food for that guy tonight.
A little while later me and Beth heard another familiar THUMP! This time it was near the dining room. We didn't even look. I later saw a brownish looking catus wildus sneak off with something in its' mouth toward the trees nearby. Just cleaning up the neighborhood I guess.

Apparently these wild guys new the drill - think of it: THUMP! Dinner's ready! What a life, eh?

By the way - here's my favorite cat picture. Nice huh?

Shhhh....be vewy vewy quiet.....

Sooooooo...... we live in Illinois. We grew up in California. (Me and Beth - our older two remember California and our younger two - well, let's just say they don't realize how culturally enriched their live have become yet.)

This afternoon, we visited with some friends from church. Our friends live on some farmland about 15 miles outside of town. Just a little place in the middle of about 20 acres of timber with a "pond" (1.5 acres of surface water - I probably couldn't hit a baseball across it.)

We did something very "Midwest" today. We "Hunted" mushrooms. For my West coast friends - yes you read that correctly - we "hunted" mushrooms. Before you laugh - we had a blast! (Yes, of course there were bugs, and poison ivy and afterwards we checked ourselves for ticks.)

Apparently this mushroom hunting is quite a thing out here. In my nearly four years of living out here I've heard people talk about it but never had anyone show me how. When I heard that my friend Cameron was into it, and could just open his door, walk a few feet and start "hunting" for them, I said - let's go!

We were actually looking for Morels (someone suggested they weren't technically "mushrooms" - I don't know the difference, it's all just edible fungus to me.) However, this distinction is probably important to someone out there. They are said to be exceptional table-fare if properly prepared. (Soaked in saltwater overnight, breaded and deep fried - served hot). I have never had the opportunity to try any - and probably won't - we didn't find many, and I didn't bring any home with me. Not to worry - there's plenty more popping up all the time and now I know where to "hunt" for the skwewy things.

BTW - this is what a morel is s'posed to look like. We didn't have that kind of luck.

Here's to keeping a promise...

So, my wife and I made a solemn promise to ourselves regarding our Saturday off together. As I mentioned in an earlier post - I only get every other Saturday off. These Saturdays are a valuable commodity - and as such, shouldn't be wasted. I should also mention that for some strange reason - it got cold again. So, we made ourselves a promise.

We promised ourselves that we would sleep in and not feel guilty about it! So, that's what we did.