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Wow, it’s been a while; lots has happened in the thirteen days since I rambled about Beijing. Michael Phelps won eight gold medals, the Chinese girls gymnastics team got away with cheating, and the US once again topped the medal standings. In the meantime, back in the states, I went on our second vacation of the summer.

This time we traveled to former Olympic host city Atlanta, where I lived for about eight years of my early childhood life, in order to visit my brother, his wife, and their dogs. It was our first trip over there as a family and it was quite enjoyable despite driving 1600+ miles (and don’t start in on me about flying being as cheap as driving with the cost of gas; i’ve done the math and it’s just not true, especially when your car gets close to 40 MPG on the freeways). The drive out was pretty uneventful but did seem a bit long for the girls. Coming home was a completely different story…

If you’ve never driven interstate-20 in the southeast states that’s okay, google images serves us well… This is basically what you will drive through for the majority of the trip. The trees are slightly shorter and more dispersed in Texas and Louisiana, but it’s miles upon miles of this in Alabama and Mississippi (thanks to whoever i stole this image from):

So, what was the big deal coming home? Non… Stop… incessant (redundant)… ceaseless (repetitive)… unremitting (loquacious)… torrential downpour. Imagine being surrounded by 30-45 foot trees with a very low and very dark storm system unleashing (as my dad would call it) a gully-washer for two straight days. I can honestly tell you that we would have barely been able to make out the 18-wheeler in the photo above during parts of the drive. Not all of it was that bad, but out of the 13 hours we were on the road, about 10 of them were spent driving in wet and rainy conditions, but alas we made it home safe and sound, just a bit more wound up than I would’ve liked.

The day we returned, Dionna and I also celebrated our 9th anniversary! I don’t know the exact statistics, but i’m going to guess that they’d say we had a very small chance (20%-ish or less) of making it this far based on the circumstances surrounding our marriage, but by the Grace of God and an extremely loving, caring, and all around wonderful wife, here we are… one year short of a decade and growing stronger every year. We dropped the girls off at my moms and went to Dave and Buster’s for a nice meal and hours of game playing fun. I wish I could tell you the wonderful things I did for her on this trip and on our anniversary, but I must confess that there was so much going on at work, school and with this trip that I was a less than stellar husband this time around. Usually I have pretty decent and sentimental things planned, but I dropped the ball this year. I didn’t forget about it, it was just less than memorable. I’ve already apologize profusely for my lack romance this time around and will start planning for big Number 10 as soon as possible.

So you want to know about the anxiety attack? I had one… a real one… it kinda freaked me out along with several other people… it’s embarrassing, but it comes with good news too… but this is already long enough, so i’ll save it for a post in a day or two (Cliffhanger ).

I hope your two weeks without me were as eventful as mine!

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Category : Family, Friends, Sports, Vacation

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I brought this up a while back, but i should probably say it again:

I … am … fat(ish).

Dang it! See… i can’t even write it correctly. *sigh*… anyway, i’m overweight, it’s causing issues in several areas of my life (though obviously not in the baby making part of life *HIGH FIVES GUYS AROUND HIM*!), and its getting old fast. More accurately, its aging me fast. I have a few problems that a 27 year old shouldn’t have such as really jacked up knees flaring up over the course of this summer.

My lack of discipline is nine four fold:

* I love me some Pizza and Dr. Pepper (and cheese, mexican food, etc).
* I’m lazy when it comes to working out. I’m not lazy in every area of my life, but this is one of them. I enjoy working out, I just don’t enjoy the sweat and the working part of it. I like the adrenaline, though.
* My dad is fat(ish). I know that isn’t nice to blame it on genetics, but he didn’t exactly provide a good example for me growing up. I love him deeply, but he missed the boat on this one.
* My mom loves me too much. She does, and thats great. Growing up she made me eat my veggies, but nachos and quesadillas weren’t off limits when i was fending for myself. Now she tells me I need to lose weight, but her fridge is always stocked with DP despite the fact that she doesn’t drink DP (mom, i know you read… stop buying stuff for me…).
* I don’t really believe i’m fat. I believe i’m overweight and need to lose weight, but not to the degree of many people that I know, see and work with every day. As long as I think like this, its too easy to ignore.
* I work a desk job. In high school i wasn’t some buff athlete, but i was active. Street B-Ball, riding bikes, and general screwing around (TPing your pastors house is quite the aerobic workout… especially when your Youth Pastor thinks it’s funny to lay on the horn and drive off).
* My cardiovascular system sucks… and blows, but doesn’t do either very well. I know, it’s because i’m fat(ish), but I can’t do as much during exercise that I want to do, which discourages me and makes me feel like a loser. Who wants to feel like a loser?
* Xbox 360, PS2, and Freekick.org are far more entertaining than a punching bag (although of the workouts I have available, i do enjoy the heavy bag the most). When I have free time away from work, school, and family, these things call my name louder than exercise… almost like an addiction.
* Jesus didn’t work out. I’m going to toe the Church of Christ line here and say since it’s not mentioned other than in an analogy in the new testament, than it’s sinful (i.e. - instruments in church). He probably didn’t have to work out, he walked everywhere and built awesome stuff with his hands… and you know, he’s God… but lets not worry about that, okay?

If you could fight through the stricken text above, you know the real reason, don’t you? I don’t take responsibility for my lack of discipline. I blame my situation, my surroundings, my upbringing, and everything but myself. But I have a plan; some of it you will see on here, starting with the One Hundred Pushup challenge that my bloggin’ buddy Blake threw down. We’re rolling with it this weekend.

Today, the fat me is dying, and the new me is emerging…

WHO’S WITH ME!?!

(cheers and applause, feet stomping and fist pumping, all that revolutionary jazz fills the air)

Good… now lets get started! … just as soon as i finish this Dr. Pepper.

Popularity: 8% [?]

Category : Culture, Enabling, Family, Fatness, Friends, Me Dang It!

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I need to:

* Weed-eat the yard since the lawn mower went kaput
* Find someone to fix my lawn mower
* If it’s not cheap, buy new lawn mower instead
* Meet buddies for breakfast
* Jog with said buddies after breakfast
* Library as always
* Meet with pastor of Church 4
* Read many pages of a book I’m currently reading

And much much more.

Popularity: 16% [?]

Category : Church, Eh... Whatever, Family, Fatness, Friends, Good Readin, Sundays

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At this point we have eliminated all of the easily visible churches in our immediate area - i.e. - within a few block radius of us - either through visiting, website, or general understanding about a particular denomination. Dionna jumped online to scour for other nearby possibilities and found one about seven minutes from our house that looked promising. The website was a bit fruiffy (fluffy/fruity mix) but nothing that turned me off theologically or aesthetically. Unfortunately there were no recent sermons posted, but all of the calendar items seemed to be up to date.

The initial impression of the church once inside was similar to that of the website. You could tell they spent time on keeping the place presentable without going over the top to try and impress. It had a bit too much feminine touch in some areas but wouldn’t make an average Joe feel uncomfortable. Our first interaction with humanoids was pleasant as well. I’m not sure if they knew we were new, but they acted natural and inviting.

We found our way to the toddlers area and we were treated with pleasant surprise #1 of the morning: Mac didn’t cry! She just walked in, albeit solemnly, and looked for someone to play with. The helper was great in getting a slightly older girl to “show her around” the room. It helped that they built a castle into the wall which even called my name (seriously, castles are awesome). I think we were in so much shock at Mac’s willingness to go without crying that we lingered a little longer than expected.

After we snapped out of it, we walked around the corner to Tristen’s area. I guess we were a little early and they were still having Sunday School (i’m not sure what they call it, but essentially that is what it is), which i found odd because we were only like five minutes early according to the times on the website. This made for quite an awkward exchange between us and the teacher (who we later found out is the children’s director). After we sorted it out and interrupted him far too much, we just kinda left her there in hopes she’d have a good time.

Now it was our turn. Walking into the back of the auditorium, we found ourselves in the proverbial coffee shop: donuts, tables, literature, and a catchy name (which escapes me now). We decided to go ahead and have a seat near the middle of the main seating section. Interestingly enough, the center aisle and the far left / right aisles were removed for more tables and chairs, inviting people to bring their coffee or other beverage of choice right into the main service, but allowing enough traditional seating room for others.

Enough about the atmosphere. I hate to say it again, but I have to… the worship fit right along with the website and the atmosphere: Very well put together, up to date, with a balance of tradition, solid musicianship, but nothing showy… This is a very good pattern I’m seeing here… There was a break in the middle to highlight the ongoings of the recently finished VBS through song, dance and video (+1 family focus). The end of VBS week was capped off with the kids putting packages together for missionary contacts in Chile (+1 missions).

Then came the message. The story of this church visit isn’t really what the message was about or even who spoke. The pastor was there, but taking a break and letting a member of the congregation preach before he heads off to the Philippines for six months. Rather it was what the pastor said in the introduction when he stated that the speaker had been learning under the pastor for the past couple of years. The church not only encourages their staff to take on mentors (which i’ve heard before) but *gasp* they actually do it!! (+1 Discipleship). To top it off, they had a meeting afterwards to discuss further involvement in Chile and another country (+2 missions).

There were several other pluses to this church and only one evident “minus,” but it is such an insignificant thing that it would never keep me from coming back (they need a lot of help in the A/V department). But it is still far too early to tell seeing as we haven’t heard the pastor preach and have only experienced one week’s worth of the people. But by far, church # 4 has had the most promise of any of the other places we’ve visited. We’ll definitely be back soon and often to get a better feel for everything.

This past Sunday we saw more familiar faces and enjoyed visiting a church we used to serve at. I’ll be back at some point to let you know how it went. Thanks for journeying with us.

Popularity: 20% [?]

Category : Church, Culture, Empyreal, Enabling, Family, Friends, Pastoral, Sundays

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First off… Congrats to Jonathan and Meredith on their new baby boy!

Now, enjoy the slideshow of Branson 2008 (click to view larger, nicer versions):

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Category : Family, Friends, Photos, Vacation

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I know i know, it’s technically not even summer yet (June 21st, i think), but I can’t think that way. I’m 27 years old, but i still see summer as a break of sorts, especially now that I’m back in school. I tend to check out mentally, focus on nothing but entertaining myself or my kids, which is needed from time to time… But i know my history, and even before vacation I could sense that I was slacking… So i need to get back on the proverbial saddle and get to trekking along again… on the docket (in random order as they come to my mind):

1) Exercise: This goes without saying, doesn’t it? i mean… i’m fat… and don’t want to be… One of the things I’ve always wanted in this area is a Heavy Bag/stand… I got it for Birthday/Father’s Day. We set it up the week before we left and I used it a couple of times. Had a lot of fun. If you get a nice rhythm going, using your whole body, it’s a pretty good balanced workout in and of itself… strength and cardio… So i know i’ve never had any good excuses, but really, now i’m out completely.

2) Personal Journaling: Blogging is personal, but there’s far too much insanity to release to the world. Journaling is a good practice, but its tough for me to keep it up.  Even once a week would benefit.

3) Reading: I like to read fiction and non-fiction alike. I have the resources to read both (library, amazon gift cards, etc)… One of each per week is easily doable, one of each every two weeks is more likely… I picked up “Emperor: The Gates of Rome” from the library… five chapters in and i’m not impressed with the writing. I’ll give it one more night before I try something else b/c I dig historical fiction and the Roman era. But, as far as Non-Fiction goes… not sure, going to browse through Amazon.com today to determine what to use my Birthday gift card on. Something that isn’t at the library…

4) Fatherhood and Husbandry: Family Bible times, weekly walks with the girls, meaningful conversations, and quality entertainment (dates, family movie nights, etc.). I can’t ignore my number one responsibility no matter how often the XBox calls my name (yes i have it back… well, they sent me a new one, but its back).

There are others (house work, finding a church), but i think thats a good start… if i pack my docket with too much, i’ll just give up and play soccer on the 360 all the time.

So keep me to it…

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Category : Church, Current Events, Eh... Whatever, Empyreal, Family, Fatness, Friends

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So, I dunno about you guys, but our friends come up with nicknames for each other that are less than flattering…. the main ones:

Fat Damon - For the guy that looks just like Matt Damon, only fatter.

Frosty the Redhead - For the redhead who, when he finally decided to grow his hair out to normal guy length (as opposed to an almost buzz), we discovered that the he has a very high number of white and silver hair despite being in his 20s.

The Quiche - For the guy who used to say his last name was “Kieschnick - spell it just like the food” … he never actually paid attention to how the food was spelled. 

Bald Chin - Which I disagree with, but i’ll live with it for now… supposedly my chin looks bald when I have a day or two old “shadow” … i dunno, i’ve been shaving since middle school, so I doubt it… I think it was Frosty’s way of coming up with something… anything… to call me…

ShortyToes - Which is just a play on a last name, but sounds funny

So, I need your help with a new one for a long time friend… It’s down to two. Here they are, and the reasons… :

Baby Killer - He said he’s probably voting democrat no matter what, but he doesn’t want to talk about it because he’s tired of people freaking out over the abortion issue…

Herpaic-J - Yes… like herpes… because he had a pimple in his nose and a fever blister that lasted a while.

(note: he neither kills babies, nor to my knowledge does he have herpes… but those are beside the point)

As it stands now, we’re gridlocked at two votes a piece. Let me know what you think…

and even better… what are your less than flattering nicknames?

Popularity: 21% [?]

Category : Eh... Whatever, Friends, Me Dang It!

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My first Division 1A game has come and gone with a happy ending: A 31-21 win for UNT, their first of the year and the first of the Todd Dodge era. I got a nice view of the whole tailgating scene… games of bean-bags, washers and parking lot football, grillin’ and beer bongs on the frat side of the parking lot. Country music, families, and canned beer on the alumni side. After about 45 minutes of walking around in the lot, we headed into the stadium to find a nice first-come-first-serve 10$ general admission seat on the fifty yard line… Not a bad deal really. A college football game for 10$ and you can sit basically anywhere you want other than the season ticket seats or the student section.

After a pretty boring first quarter, the second brought two interceptions returned for touchdowns and an amazing two yard pass that turned into a 100 Yard touchdown reception. Pretty sweet quarter. The rest of the game was pretty competitive, and UNT’s Defense actually turned in a very good performance. If “our” defense continues to play this well perhaps Dodge can have a respectable season after all… well, respectable in the sense that they win more than just one game…

All I had was my camera phone, and i couldn’t get any good shots… so, here’s the only three that were even halfway decent. But hey… It was dollar hot dog night.

Popularity: 21% [?]

Category : Football, Friends, Sports

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Tomorrow I am going to my first Division 1A College Football game… oh wait… now its called the “Bowl Championship Division”or some such … goofy… so… here it is:

CLICK AND BE AMAZED!

Okay, so it’s not Texas A&M v Texas Tech, or LSU v UK, Or Stanford v TCU even… but, its still Div 1A dang it! Barely. I know … but don’t rain on my parade alright?

Go Mean Green.

Popularity: 20% [?]

Category : Football, Friends, Sports

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Reflections on a recent Sunday Morning at FWBF
Reference: Mark 2:1-11 

I’ve had a few days to chew on the service brought forth Sunday at Firewheel Bible Fellowship, and its starting to take a different shape than I would’ve thought Sunday afternoon. As I’ve alluded to, the past few weeks have been tough for me and my family. Nothing insane or damaging long term, but a difficult few weeks. Selfishness, high stress, complaining, short tempers, ignoring spiritual needs, ungrateful thoughts… and as the head of the household, it all starts and ends with me.

So I’ve been fighting this, and at times it’d feel lonely. Yet I have friends who I confide in and men I meet with on a weekly basis so we can live out the principle laid out in Proverbs 27:17. As our pastor told the story that I have heard 1000 times, my heart sunk. Four guys, willing to go through so much trouble so that their broken friend may have the chance to find healing. Four guys willing to carry a mat up the side of a house, cut a whole in the roof, and slowly lower the paralytic to the feet of Jesus…

And Jesus says something quite amazing in verse five: “When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”… did you catch it? When Jesus saw THEIR faith. While we must all make the individual decision to accept and believe in Christ, Jesus see’s all of their faith…

The faith of four men carried the faith of the fifth and redemption and healing were found. It struck a chord because there are times, despite having friends and a wife who are more than willing to carry my faith, i still struggle with loneliness. But God also gives me perspective and is quick to remind me of the blessings He has given me… true friends who are not only willing but DO carry me when I am faltering. Through encouraging words, prayers, phone calls, emails and gTalk chats…

To those who carry my mat… thank you with all my heart… it’s much needed.

But now the question remains. Who’s mat am I carrying? Am I doing enough for those who have crossed my path? Do I have what it takes to be the type of friend that Jesus can look up through the hole in the roof and say “Because of your faith…” …

Who’s mat are you carrying?

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Category : Church, Empyreal, Family, Friends

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