Five things I learned this week. 9.3.12
Posted: September 3, 2012 Filed under: What I learned this week | Tags: christianity, coffee, faith, football, football season, God, holidays, instagram, sports, three day weekends Leave a comment »Here are five things that I learned or was reminded of this week:
1. Common sense is not faith. Faith is not common sense.
2. When football season starts, all other sports (temporarily) fade into obscurity.
3. Running out of coffee makes me anxious.
4. Instagram doesn’t make me a pro photographer.
5. I love three day weekends.
What did you learn this week?
Five things I learned this week. 7.1.12
Posted: July 1, 2012 Filed under: What I learned this week | Tags: autumn, bacon, christianity, coffee, faith, fall, God, seasons, walmart, weather 4 Comments »Here are five things that I learned or was reminded of this week:
1. Bacon is good
2. When it is 105 degrees, finding some place cool becomes a quest.
3. Oddly enough, Walmart has the best selection of Keurig coffee.
4. It’s better to turn to God rather than run from God.
5. I’m ready for autumn.
What did you learn this week?
My dad and choo-choo trains.
Posted: June 15, 2012 Filed under: life | Tags: coffee, dads, family, fathers, fathers day, fear, horror movies, learning, life, monsters, movies, roller coasters, story, trains, vampires Leave a comment »
People say that the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree. If I am the apple and my dad is the tree, then that tree would be out on a hill by itself, away from the orchard. Unique and different. It wants to stand out and not be in a straight line with all the other trees. It wants to make a difference with style. It wants to be a hero.
My dad taught, and is still teaching me, how to be a man. One of the things he taught me was to be fearless and he did that in a unique way.
When I was six or seven years old, he gave me a cup of brown liquid and said ”Here son. Drink this. It’s like chocolate milk.” After sipping it, my face wrinkled up and my mouth burned. Coffee tasted nothing like the sweet taste of chocolate milk. It was bitter and new.
In that moment, my dad taught me to not be afraid to try new things.
When I was eight or nine, my father made me watch horror movies. The TV screen was full of vampires, monsters and guys wielding machete’s while wearing hockey masks. There were lots of people screaming and running for their lives. I was mortified. ”It’s not real.” he said, “There’s no such thing as monsters.”
In that moment, my dad taught me to not be afraid of the things that go bump in the night.
When I was ten, my dad took me to Six Flags. ”Do you want to ride the choo-choo train?” he asked. I was barely tall enough to reach the height limit. When the bar came down over my lap, I quickly learned that this choo-choo train was like no train that I have ever ridden. Choo-choo trains don’t climb up steep hills. They are safe, slow and happy.
When the choo-choo train dropped off that first hill and plummeted towards the earth, I knew that this was no kiddie ride. It was indeed, not a choo-choo train. It was the Great American Scream Machine, one of the oldest and fastest roller coasters in the world.
In that moment my dad taught me that life is a thrill ride. It’s full of ups and downs and that I shouldn’t be afraid of a little adventure.
I dont recall enjoying these things when they happened many years ago but over time I realize that this was one of my dads unique gifts. He taught me these things by putting me in the moment. He is fearless and has taught me to be fearless. The apple didn’t fall too far from the tree.
He leads by example.
He is one of a kind.
He’s my dad, my hero.
Five things I learned this week. 4.22.12
Posted: April 22, 2012 Filed under: What I learned this week | Tags: candy corn, christianity, coffee, creamer, exercise, fast and furious, God, grace, losing, milk, running, training 4 Comments »Here are five things that I learned or was reminded of this week:
1. Milk is not a good alternative to coffee creamer.
2. I crave candy corn when I’m running.
3. It’s nice to imagine God giving God sized hugs.
4. I’m the sorest of sore losers. I don’t lose with grace.
5. 2 Fast 2 Furious should have been left out of the Fast and Furious saga.
What did you learn this week?
The Pollenocalypse
Posted: March 23, 2012 Filed under: life | Tags: biology, birds and the bees, chemist, coffee, fuel, nature, plants, pollen, seasons, spring, trees, trees and plants, weather Leave a comment »We all should have developed an immunity to pollen by now. The same way we get used to the effects of caffeine and sugar. You would think that since we have been exposed to it for so long that we would, eventually, not succumb to the effects of it but that’s not the case.
It takes over our worlds and smothers us. And unless you work for a drug company or Kleenex, it makes your life miserable.
It’s not a disease or a zombie uprising. It’s the great pollenocalypse.
Pollen arrives each year with a bang. It covers our lawns, sidewalks and cars with that greenish/yellow hue. Our pets turn yellow. Our children turn yellow. It’s springs version of a winter snow storm. It blankets everything.
Of course pollen has it’s purpose. The birds and the bees and all that. You know the story.
But it seems a bit excessive. Why is there so much of it? It seems like such a waste of good pollen.
What if there were alternative uses for pollen other than the reproduction of trees and plants?
I’ve thought of a few:
Turn it into fuel. With fuel prices rising, wouldn’t it be nice to use our excess pollen as an alternative to gasoline. Surely there is a genius chemist or biologist out there who could invent the technology needed to do this. I’d be the first to buy a pollen powered car.
Donate it to tree-less countries. There are remote, third world cities and villages that do not have trees and plants. I’ve seen them on TV and magazines. Those poor kids sitting on the sidewalk without a tree to climb or without a lawn to walk through in bare feet. What a horrible way to grow up, in a life without tree houses and yards. A life without running through sprinklers or swinging from rope swings. This could all be changed if we gave our excess pollen away.
Use it as artificial flavoring. It already resembles sugar or salt. The same chemist and biologists that turn it into fuel could turn it into something sweet or savory. Imagine adding pollen to your morning coffee or adding a pinch of pollen into that casserole you’re making for dinner. I’m sure pollen has good nutritional value as well.
With daily pollen counts in the thousands, most of our pollen is going to waste. What would you do with it all?
Waffle House Culture
Posted: March 12, 2012 Filed under: faith, life | Tags: christian, christianity, coffee, culture, faith, food, God, grits, waffle house Leave a comment »If you don’t live in the south, you may not know what the Waffle House is. If so, then you are missing out on a true staple of southern cuisine.
For someone who has never heard of it, let me assure you that it is not a building made out of breakfast pastries. It’s not a magical place where elves live and happily create magical waffles while singing and dancing.
It’s a place where humans live. It’s where we go to have feel good food. Food like greasy bowls of grits. Hash browns that are loaded with everything under the sun. Mediocre cups of coffee and golden brown, buttery waffles.
It’s where we go to step into a different culture. The Waffle House culture.
The Waffle House culture is unique. Waffle House people like to stick together. You’ll often see the same people there every time you visit. It’s where they congregate. People who work at the Waffle House will often hang out at the Waffle House, even when they are off duty. People even get married at the Waffle House.
The Waffle House is not for pretty people. If you want to see pretty, perfect people, then you might want to drive on by. The Waffle House culture consists of imperfect people. Real people. People that are full of life but have flaws and hang ups. Waffle House people will accept you for who you are.
I once chatted with a Waffle House cook. He talked about his family and how he and his son were estranged but he always had a smile on his face. And when I asked how his day was going, he always answered “Blessed”.
“The food was great”
“Bless you.”
“Where did you learn to cook?”
“I was blessed.”
And when all the food was cooked, he would slide into a booth by himself with his big King James bible and a pack of Marlboro’s.
Thats the Waffle house culture in a nut shell and it mirrors our own culture.
We don’t want to fellowship with perfect people because perfect people are fatally uninteresting. To be perfect is to be fake. It’s an impossible achievement.
We surround ourselves with imperfect people like ourselves. People that struggle. People that have hurts and deficiencies. People that we can learn from and rely on.
There was only one perfect person in this world and He didn’t come to be with perfect people. He came to be with imperfect people.
If he were to visit today, I’m sure you would find Him at the Waffle House, drinking a cup of coffee and munching on a piece of chocolate pie. Because that is the kind of culture He came to be a part of.
And just like the cook that I met that day, we would all be blessed by His presence.
Five things I learned this week 2.26.12
Posted: February 26, 2012 Filed under: What I learned this week | Tags: coffee, Dogs, God, lawn maintenance, squirrels, weather Leave a comment »Here are five things that I learned or was reminded of this week:
1. Know how much coffee I have left at home. Being out of coffee on Saturday morning is an unwelcome surprise.
2. Georgia weather is wicked bi polar.
3. Sometimes you just have to cut the grass in February.
4. My dog hates squirrels and cats.
5. God is faithful!
What did you learn this week?
