For you Veggie Tale watchers, that song is probably my favorite of all the songs that I have heard. If you have never heard of Veggie Tales - I feel you have missed out on some of the best vegetable cartoons of all time.
It has been a while since I have written down my thoughts for everyone to read (Sorry Mom). As you may know, I left my last ministry position at the beginning of February. In the time since that move things have drastically changed in my life. Janel has lost over 100 pounds, I have lost nearly 60 pounds, both the girls have turned a year older, I am now in the middle of training for a half-marathon (then a marathon next year, then an Iron-man.....I know its crazy). The time since February has been some of the most difficult times that I have gone through. I was at the point of leaving ministry for good, questioning whether or not God was still going to use me in ministry. But at the same time that I was questioning my call to ministry, God was in the works in an amazing ways. Unlike most employment opportunities, searching for a ministry position is does not depend on the school graduated from, how successful you were in your previous position, or even your accomplishments. Ministry is all (or should all be) about God drawing together a church and a minister. During the time since I left the last position in February, I have been looking for a new place to serve. The process has been difficult and frustrating at best. I went on several interviews at several churches, but something would always happen were the position would no longer be available - but none of the positions were filled. After every interview, I would get an email or phone call saying that the committee was having trouble making a decision and would need more time, or was not ready to hire someone at this point.
Looking back over the all the opportunities, I can see that they are not at all what God had in mind for me. Fortunately, God did have a plan for me. In April, I was contacted by a woman from a Presbyterian church in Hammond. They needed someone to teach the youth on Sunday Nights for youth group. Since I had no better plans in life, I agreed to go teach on an as-needed basis.
Little did I know what I would be stepping into. The group of students, parents, and volunteers were amazing! The first week I was there, I believe there were as many parents as there were youth. I have been back nearly every week since April, and things have not changed.
I am proud to say that this Sunday will be my first official week as the Christian Education Director, and I couldn't be happier. The church family is excited to support the youth and the children's programs, the youth are craving the word of God and to learn about the God. This is looking like one of the best places I could possibly be.
Here is the lesson for you - God is bigger than all those boogie men in your life. No matter the situation, God is not surprised about it, he has control of it, and he can get you through it - if you let him have control.
Friday, September 2, 2011
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Apple bottom Jeans, boots with the fur!
Before you ask, I do not own either of these. I just could not think of a catchy line to title the blog. I don't really have a life lesson for this entry but I did reach a milestone in my weight loss journey. Thus far, I have lost over 45 pounds and have begun training for the Louisiana half marathon, with the goal of doing a full marathon next year with my friend Dustin. Let me tell you about the milestone.
As is the case with most people that have gained weight, I have that one pair of jeans that was kept and hid at the bottom of the dresser drawer. You know what I am talking about, its that pair of jeans, dress shirt, or suit that was purchased before the weight gain, squeezed into until the buttons would no longer come together, and then was stowed away in the dresser to serve as a constant reminder of what once was, and to drive their victim (i.e. Me) to a binge of depression eating to comfort the feelings of sorrow which ultimately drove the waistline further from fitting back into the jeans.
Last night I was looking for a pair of jeans to wear to a VBS parents night, when I came across a pair of Aeropostale blue jeans that I purchased 4 years ago. If you have ever walked into an Aero store, the sizes only go up to a guys 36 inch waist, which in the real world is actually about a 34 inch at best. When I bought the jean I could barely fit into the jeans, or breath once I was in them. Needless to say, I wasn't wearing them for long before they found the bottom of the dresser.
As I was looking, I thought I would try them out. I really was looking for motivation to workout harder and stick to the diet even better. I was extremely surprised as they slid over my waist comfortably and then buttoned WITHOUT any sucking, grunting, or cursing! I could actually fit a couple of fingers between the jeans and my waist - which means I am can now go shopping at Aeropostale, and that I a weigh less then when I bought them. Here are some pictures to show what I am talking about.
There is one amazing thing in these pictures.......The soap that my wife keeps in the bathroom is awesome. Okay, just kidding! Before you get jealous, that guy in the pictures belongs to Janel. The jeans cost $34.50 at Aeropostale this week.
Until next time.
As is the case with most people that have gained weight, I have that one pair of jeans that was kept and hid at the bottom of the dresser drawer. You know what I am talking about, its that pair of jeans, dress shirt, or suit that was purchased before the weight gain, squeezed into until the buttons would no longer come together, and then was stowed away in the dresser to serve as a constant reminder of what once was, and to drive their victim (i.e. Me) to a binge of depression eating to comfort the feelings of sorrow which ultimately drove the waistline further from fitting back into the jeans.
Last night I was looking for a pair of jeans to wear to a VBS parents night, when I came across a pair of Aeropostale blue jeans that I purchased 4 years ago. If you have ever walked into an Aero store, the sizes only go up to a guys 36 inch waist, which in the real world is actually about a 34 inch at best. When I bought the jean I could barely fit into the jeans, or breath once I was in them. Needless to say, I wasn't wearing them for long before they found the bottom of the dresser.
As I was looking, I thought I would try them out. I really was looking for motivation to workout harder and stick to the diet even better. I was extremely surprised as they slid over my waist comfortably and then buttoned WITHOUT any sucking, grunting, or cursing! I could actually fit a couple of fingers between the jeans and my waist - which means I am can now go shopping at Aeropostale, and that I a weigh less then when I bought them. Here are some pictures to show what I am talking about.
There is one amazing thing in these pictures.......The soap that my wife keeps in the bathroom is awesome. Okay, just kidding! Before you get jealous, that guy in the pictures belongs to Janel. The jeans cost $34.50 at Aeropostale this week.
Until next time.
Friday, July 8, 2011
The world is my oyster
Have you ever been to an amusement park and seen a pearl diver? One of those places where a person will dive down, gather oysters and then you get a surprise as to what size pearl will come out of the shell. Have you ever wondered how those pearls got in the oyster. Unfortunately, oysters are not born with a pearl, they actually produce the pearl as a way of removing an irritant that gets into their shells. When piece of sand or small rock gets into the oysters mouth, they produce saliva to coat the particle and it eventually turns into a beautiful pearl. So when you see a lady wearing a real pearl necklace, try not to laugh to hard when you remember that she is wearing oyster saliva around her neck.
Anyway, I say all that to say this. I was on a run this evening and I got one small piece of something in the toe of my shoe. Normally, one little particle wouldn't even be noticeable, but I was running in Vibram five finger shoes and I don't (can't) wear socks with them. Therefore, that one little piece of something quickly became a problem and ended my run much earlier than I was hoping for. I now have a small blister on the pad of my big toe - NOT COOL!
As always, these things in life make me think about some life lessons. Sometimes in life, we get small irritants in life that just rub us the wrong way. At that point, we have the choice of either doing something to get rid of the aggravation or we can ignore it util it causes an even bigger problem. Often when we do something to get rid of the thing that is aggravating us, we end up with our own pearls to share with the world. Take for example, Patience. I was always warned as a child to not pray for patience because God would grant it in a way that I would not like. Well, I did pray for patience and God gave me Morgan. I love this child to death, she is truly a good kid, but she does push my buttons very efficiently. We are working on me being more patient with her and others, and one day that "pearl" is going to be amazing.
Don't let those small things in life get under your skin, choose to figure out a way to get rid of it. That way you can have your oyster, and eat it too!
Anyway, I say all that to say this. I was on a run this evening and I got one small piece of something in the toe of my shoe. Normally, one little particle wouldn't even be noticeable, but I was running in Vibram five finger shoes and I don't (can't) wear socks with them. Therefore, that one little piece of something quickly became a problem and ended my run much earlier than I was hoping for. I now have a small blister on the pad of my big toe - NOT COOL!
As always, these things in life make me think about some life lessons. Sometimes in life, we get small irritants in life that just rub us the wrong way. At that point, we have the choice of either doing something to get rid of the aggravation or we can ignore it util it causes an even bigger problem. Often when we do something to get rid of the thing that is aggravating us, we end up with our own pearls to share with the world. Take for example, Patience. I was always warned as a child to not pray for patience because God would grant it in a way that I would not like. Well, I did pray for patience and God gave me Morgan. I love this child to death, she is truly a good kid, but she does push my buttons very efficiently. We are working on me being more patient with her and others, and one day that "pearl" is going to be amazing.
Don't let those small things in life get under your skin, choose to figure out a way to get rid of it. That way you can have your oyster, and eat it too!
Friday, July 1, 2011
Love Hurts, and scars. Love wounds and marks
Today I experienced one of the most traumatic things in my entire life. Mind you, I have witnessed my wife going through 18 hours of labor -and before all the mothers say "YOU didn't go through 18 hours of labor," watching your wife is not at all easy (you ladies say some pretty mean things that you have selective amnesia about later), I have lived through one of the worse natural disasters in history with Hurricane Katrina - which included living in a house with 15 people, 5 animals, 1 bathroom and zero electricity, and a pregnant wife for a few days until we decided to try to get to my family in Florida, I have been through death and loss of family members and ministered to families in the same circumstances. But today had to be one of the worse I have ever gone through. I took both of my girls to the doctor for their check ups...BY MYSELF.
Before you roll your eyes, I have always taken the girls their doctors appointments, and I have no problem doing so. Janel is not a fan of doctors, doesn't like shots, and since my schedule is more flexible, I have taken the girls to the doctor all but 1 time in the combined 6 years of parenthood. Today was different then all the other times I have taken them to the doctor.
This was Madison's 1 year appointment, so I expected for her to be getting shots - smartly, I gave her Tylenol before going into the office to help off put the pain and fever - what I was completely unaware of was a new "fun" activity they do at this check up. On top of the 3 regular shots they gave her, there was also the finger prick tests for blood hemoglobin or something like that (I was in a daze when she was trying to explain it because it was the last thing they did, and I had already seen 4 needles, of which I am not fond). This test consists of them stabbing Maddie's finger and squeezing out 2 tubes of blood. Of course this caused my beautiful child to turn into the spawn of Satan and scream continuously for the next hour.
Morgan, I thought, was going to be easy as pie. A 5 year check up is normally just to make sure she can hop on one foot, speak full sentences, and is toilet trained. This would have been excellent, if Janel and I had not been concerned about her petite size. If you know Morgan, you know that she is small for her size and has actually been getting picked on at school for this - please pray for her and us as we work through this in her life. I asked the doctor about it, and she decided to do a thyroid test. Sounds great, except for the part where they draw 3 viles of blood from Morgans arm. Imagine this, I am holding Morgan in an MMA body triangle, with my arm over her shoulder across her body to keep her still. A nurse is holding each arm to keep them still, another nurse is holding a screaming Maddie, and a nurse is holding Morgans legs between her knees and is about to stab Morgan in the arm. If you were not counting, that is 5 grown adults to control 2 children that combined weigh 52 pounds. It was a freaking circus in that room.
The best part of all of this was, I paid $50 in co-pays in order to have the pleasure of the experience. You should have seen the eyes of the kids that were in the waiting room as we walked through after we were finished. I believe I heard one of the parents saying "see what happens when you misbehave at the doctors office," but I may be wrong.
I love my children, and to see them go through that was difficult for me, but I know that it needed to happen. So as the band Nazareth tells us "love hurts, and scars, love wounds and marks" but sometimes it is for the better.
Until next time.
Before you roll your eyes, I have always taken the girls their doctors appointments, and I have no problem doing so. Janel is not a fan of doctors, doesn't like shots, and since my schedule is more flexible, I have taken the girls to the doctor all but 1 time in the combined 6 years of parenthood. Today was different then all the other times I have taken them to the doctor.
This was Madison's 1 year appointment, so I expected for her to be getting shots - smartly, I gave her Tylenol before going into the office to help off put the pain and fever - what I was completely unaware of was a new "fun" activity they do at this check up. On top of the 3 regular shots they gave her, there was also the finger prick tests for blood hemoglobin or something like that (I was in a daze when she was trying to explain it because it was the last thing they did, and I had already seen 4 needles, of which I am not fond). This test consists of them stabbing Maddie's finger and squeezing out 2 tubes of blood. Of course this caused my beautiful child to turn into the spawn of Satan and scream continuously for the next hour.
Morgan, I thought, was going to be easy as pie. A 5 year check up is normally just to make sure she can hop on one foot, speak full sentences, and is toilet trained. This would have been excellent, if Janel and I had not been concerned about her petite size. If you know Morgan, you know that she is small for her size and has actually been getting picked on at school for this - please pray for her and us as we work through this in her life. I asked the doctor about it, and she decided to do a thyroid test. Sounds great, except for the part where they draw 3 viles of blood from Morgans arm. Imagine this, I am holding Morgan in an MMA body triangle, with my arm over her shoulder across her body to keep her still. A nurse is holding each arm to keep them still, another nurse is holding a screaming Maddie, and a nurse is holding Morgans legs between her knees and is about to stab Morgan in the arm. If you were not counting, that is 5 grown adults to control 2 children that combined weigh 52 pounds. It was a freaking circus in that room.
The best part of all of this was, I paid $50 in co-pays in order to have the pleasure of the experience. You should have seen the eyes of the kids that were in the waiting room as we walked through after we were finished. I believe I heard one of the parents saying "see what happens when you misbehave at the doctors office," but I may be wrong.
I love my children, and to see them go through that was difficult for me, but I know that it needed to happen. So as the band Nazareth tells us "love hurts, and scars, love wounds and marks" but sometimes it is for the better.
Until next time.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
If the shoe fits.....
Over the past 75 days, a lot of things have changed in my life. My youngest daughter turned 1, my oldest daughter turned 5, Janel has passed me in the weight loss challenge (she has lost nearly 80 pounds), and I have lost 40 pounds (which puts me under 200 pounds for the first time since I moved to the land where everything is fried and/or covered in a cream sauce known to the rest of the world as New Orleans).
There are lots of benefits to having lost this much weight. I am sleeping better (imagine Janel sarcastically saying "You had trouble sleeping ever in life?"), I do not snore as bad - as indicated by the healing of the bruises on my ribs from my wife trying to get me to stop in the middle of the night, clothes are fitting better, and I can play on the floor with my children without needing a forklift to get up after. One of the benefits that has me giddy (yeah, you read that correctly) happened over the weekend. I was getting dressed to get to my friends wedding on Saturday, and I noticed that I had to redo my tie several times. I had to keep adjusting the tie SHORTER. Before I started losing weight, the only reason I would wear a tie was to hide the fact that my belly was stretching the buttons on my shirt, and therefore would have to make the tie very long to reach over my stomach and touch my belt buckle (which is the proper length for ties). But on Saturday, I noticed that I had to shorten the ties because they were hanging too low. This was one of the great accomplishments of the journey so far.
I know that is kind of a silly thing to be happy or excited about, but it was important to a guy who wears ties as part of his occupation (which, ironically, I promised my mother I would never do because I use to hate when she would make me wear a tie on the holidays). It got me thinking about how things fit. My clothes are fitting better - no long ties, stretching buttons, bulging pockets, or using the last hole on a belt because I am eating and exercising correctly and taking care of my body. As people created in the image of God, we fit better when we are living harmony with his will.
I see people everyday both in ministry settings and at Starbucks (which is also a ministry setting) that do a lot of "covering up" to make themselves appear to be happy and put on the facade that they think everyone wants to see. When in reality, their lives are in shambles, their marriages stink, they are unhappy in their jobs,etc because the manner in which they are living is in complete discord with what God has for their lives. Whenever I see someone that is giving in to some kind of addiction - drinking, shopping, drugs, whatever vice you can think of - I always wonder what they are trying to hide from everyone seeing.
This world is full of so much hurt, pain, and "long ties" because WE are trying to live OUR lives, not the life that reflects that image of God in us. If we could start living in accordance to what the Bible show us as right, we could have a lot of shorter ties in the world
There are lots of benefits to having lost this much weight. I am sleeping better (imagine Janel sarcastically saying "You had trouble sleeping ever in life?"), I do not snore as bad - as indicated by the healing of the bruises on my ribs from my wife trying to get me to stop in the middle of the night, clothes are fitting better, and I can play on the floor with my children without needing a forklift to get up after. One of the benefits that has me giddy (yeah, you read that correctly) happened over the weekend. I was getting dressed to get to my friends wedding on Saturday, and I noticed that I had to redo my tie several times. I had to keep adjusting the tie SHORTER. Before I started losing weight, the only reason I would wear a tie was to hide the fact that my belly was stretching the buttons on my shirt, and therefore would have to make the tie very long to reach over my stomach and touch my belt buckle (which is the proper length for ties). But on Saturday, I noticed that I had to shorten the ties because they were hanging too low. This was one of the great accomplishments of the journey so far.
I know that is kind of a silly thing to be happy or excited about, but it was important to a guy who wears ties as part of his occupation (which, ironically, I promised my mother I would never do because I use to hate when she would make me wear a tie on the holidays). It got me thinking about how things fit. My clothes are fitting better - no long ties, stretching buttons, bulging pockets, or using the last hole on a belt because I am eating and exercising correctly and taking care of my body. As people created in the image of God, we fit better when we are living harmony with his will.
I see people everyday both in ministry settings and at Starbucks (which is also a ministry setting) that do a lot of "covering up" to make themselves appear to be happy and put on the facade that they think everyone wants to see. When in reality, their lives are in shambles, their marriages stink, they are unhappy in their jobs,etc because the manner in which they are living is in complete discord with what God has for their lives. Whenever I see someone that is giving in to some kind of addiction - drinking, shopping, drugs, whatever vice you can think of - I always wonder what they are trying to hide from everyone seeing.
This world is full of so much hurt, pain, and "long ties" because WE are trying to live OUR lives, not the life that reflects that image of God in us. If we could start living in accordance to what the Bible show us as right, we could have a lot of shorter ties in the world
Saturday, June 25, 2011
You have to live with choices
Today I made the conscience decision to wear blue underwear. Why? Well, because I liked the powder blue color and because they were clean. I also made the choice to eat some Cookie Crisp Cereal - a correctly measured portion of cereal for those that are wondering if I fell off the weight lose wagon. I have lost 40 pounds over the past 2 1/2 months all based on the choices to eat better and to actually workout.
Choices surround us on a daily basis and most are of no more significance than ensuring that I have a underwear on for the day - Mom's always want you to have on clean underwear if you were to ever get into an accident; I do not know why but that is important to Moms - or to make sure that the belly stops growling in the morning. But there are some choices that leave a lasting mark on our lives and on the lives of others. Who you marry or date, what you do for a living or where you studied in college are all choices that can have a major impact on the rest of you life.
I recently was struck by the fact that choices can often have painful consequences on not just one persons life but have a far reaching effect on many people. I will not tell you about the person or the situation that I am referring to because I wish to respect their privacy, and they are the ones that have to live with those decisions. I will tell you that in this one situation, two people were faced with the same problem but responded in vastly different ways.
For one person, they chose to meet the challenge and conquer the statistics that faced them. In one of the ultimate turn lemons into lemonade stories I have see in my life, the choices that were made in the midst of a very confusing, life-altering situation have led to this young lady being an inspiration and example of what good choices can lead to. As she continues to defy the odds by shear will and determination, I know that she will go on to be successful.
On the other hand, the other person has made choices that have alienated them from every person that was important to them. I have watched as they have tried to fill the void left from the choices to walk away from everyone and everything, but it is painfully obvious that they are just hiding from life. They have put on a face that everything is peachy, but holistically they are in a tail spin based on the choices they have made.
The point here is that our choices are not always as insignificant as blue or green underpants, Cheerios or Cookie Crisp. Often, life altering choices need to be made in the heat of the moment. I can't tell you what choices to make, but just know that if you only base those choices on what you want like a selfish child, you will most likely end up pushing (or running) away from those that love and care for you and want to help you.
Make good choices, based not on the impact on you, but based on the impact on others.
Choices surround us on a daily basis and most are of no more significance than ensuring that I have a underwear on for the day - Mom's always want you to have on clean underwear if you were to ever get into an accident; I do not know why but that is important to Moms - or to make sure that the belly stops growling in the morning. But there are some choices that leave a lasting mark on our lives and on the lives of others. Who you marry or date, what you do for a living or where you studied in college are all choices that can have a major impact on the rest of you life.
I recently was struck by the fact that choices can often have painful consequences on not just one persons life but have a far reaching effect on many people. I will not tell you about the person or the situation that I am referring to because I wish to respect their privacy, and they are the ones that have to live with those decisions. I will tell you that in this one situation, two people were faced with the same problem but responded in vastly different ways.
For one person, they chose to meet the challenge and conquer the statistics that faced them. In one of the ultimate turn lemons into lemonade stories I have see in my life, the choices that were made in the midst of a very confusing, life-altering situation have led to this young lady being an inspiration and example of what good choices can lead to. As she continues to defy the odds by shear will and determination, I know that she will go on to be successful.
On the other hand, the other person has made choices that have alienated them from every person that was important to them. I have watched as they have tried to fill the void left from the choices to walk away from everyone and everything, but it is painfully obvious that they are just hiding from life. They have put on a face that everything is peachy, but holistically they are in a tail spin based on the choices they have made.
The point here is that our choices are not always as insignificant as blue or green underpants, Cheerios or Cookie Crisp. Often, life altering choices need to be made in the heat of the moment. I can't tell you what choices to make, but just know that if you only base those choices on what you want like a selfish child, you will most likely end up pushing (or running) away from those that love and care for you and want to help you.
Make good choices, based not on the impact on you, but based on the impact on others.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Absolutely!
One thing that we can count on these days, is that we really cannot count on anything. I mean, one constant in life is that for at least 17 weeks a year the world would be revolving around the gridiron and pigskin. I have employees that would literally throw money at me not to schedule them during game time of their favorite teams, and are nearly in tears if they are scheduled any time close to the Superbowl. We may not even have a season if the owners and players cannot learn to play nice with each other.
Unfortunately, in life there are only a few things that can be counted on for everyone (even the death and taxes thing is somewhat questionable - ask Enoch and Elijah, and for the taxes you just need to find a really smart tax accountant). I was reminded today that the one thing that every one can count on is the unconditional love of God. No matter how badly we screw of this life, and no matter if we ever come to the point of recognizing that we need a savior, God will always love and care for us beyond what we ever deserve. As I was (and still am) processing this thought, I can remember several times in life where I either didn't want to, or where not ready to forgive someone for what they had done to me; God on the other hand has never withheld forgiveness from me. In fact, before I get to the point of asking for forgiveness for the things that I have done, He has released me from it through Christ Jesus. For most the idea of an unconditional love is a completely foreign idea. To think that some one could love us in spite of anything that we do, baffles the mind because we are looking at it from a human point of view. As humans, even the people we love the most have the ability to disappoint us to the point of hatred, but with God this can never happen. God loves us unconditionally because he created us, he formed us, he knew us even before Mommy and Daddy had feelings for each other. We are created in His image, formed by his hands, and for those that have given their lives to Him, we are the benefactors of the sacrifice of Jesus to give us eternal life. How could he not love unconditionally love something that He is so intimately involved with?
It is good to know that as least one thing in life is constant and unconditional. When people, government, friends, family, and even professional sports leagues fail all around us; we can turn to God for a consistent source of unconditional love.
I hope that you have come to a point in our life where you know and have experience the unconditional love of God, which only comes through a personal relationship with Christ. If you have not, I encourage you to contact me and we can talk about this life changing decision.
Unfortunately, in life there are only a few things that can be counted on for everyone (even the death and taxes thing is somewhat questionable - ask Enoch and Elijah, and for the taxes you just need to find a really smart tax accountant). I was reminded today that the one thing that every one can count on is the unconditional love of God. No matter how badly we screw of this life, and no matter if we ever come to the point of recognizing that we need a savior, God will always love and care for us beyond what we ever deserve. As I was (and still am) processing this thought, I can remember several times in life where I either didn't want to, or where not ready to forgive someone for what they had done to me; God on the other hand has never withheld forgiveness from me. In fact, before I get to the point of asking for forgiveness for the things that I have done, He has released me from it through Christ Jesus. For most the idea of an unconditional love is a completely foreign idea. To think that some one could love us in spite of anything that we do, baffles the mind because we are looking at it from a human point of view. As humans, even the people we love the most have the ability to disappoint us to the point of hatred, but with God this can never happen. God loves us unconditionally because he created us, he formed us, he knew us even before Mommy and Daddy had feelings for each other. We are created in His image, formed by his hands, and for those that have given their lives to Him, we are the benefactors of the sacrifice of Jesus to give us eternal life. How could he not love unconditionally love something that He is so intimately involved with?
It is good to know that as least one thing in life is constant and unconditional. When people, government, friends, family, and even professional sports leagues fail all around us; we can turn to God for a consistent source of unconditional love.
I hope that you have come to a point in our life where you know and have experience the unconditional love of God, which only comes through a personal relationship with Christ. If you have not, I encourage you to contact me and we can talk about this life changing decision.
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