Archive for the ‘Ramblings’ Category

Pulled Pork

Wednesday, September 30th, 2009
DC Deli Pulled Pork PoBoy

DC Deli Pulled Pork PoBoy

My family and I were camping last week in Door County and Monday happened to be a rainy day, so we decided to hit a local restaurant for lunch.  After we drove into Sister Bay and walked around the marina we ended up at DC Deli for a quick lunch. We chose it because we wanted a sandwich and it was labeled a deli, but it also helped that it was next to the local confectionery and I had a sweet tooth that needed some comfort.  We were immediately greeted with a smile and allowed to seat ourselves.  The service from the time we entered the door until we left was friendly and attentive, which always earns huge points in my eyes, especially with 3 kids.  As we went through the menu I was told about the specials, of which the first item was a Pulled Pork PoBoy.  The server, Candice, told me the sandwich consisted of house-smoked pork, slaw, tomatoes, and Creole Mayo on a French baguette with Fries. I was hungry and it sounded great, so I went for it along with a local Wisconsin beer called Spotted Cow.  When the food arrived the PoBoy was beautiful and thankfully made the way pulled pork should be made, dry not drowning in sauce.  The pork was smoky, tender, and had a generous serving of coleslaw that was sweet with a little bitter bite, just the way I like it.  This sandwich was what all should strive to be, perfect! If you happen to get to Door County, go to Sister Bay and stop in DC Deli, it is well worth the trip.

Door County Deli

Door County Deli

Door County Deli
531 Bayshore Dr., Sister Bay, WI
920-854-4514
TripAdvisor Website

Crap! Now I am hungry for another one.

Patrick Swayze’s death put me in a funk.

Tuesday, September 15th, 2009

When I learned that Patrick Swayze died it put me in a funk. I am not a Swayze fanatic, though I did love Red Dawn and many of his other movies.  What did happen is that his death triggered a lot of memories of the death of my Dad. Dad also died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 53 on September 12, 2002. The similarities in Swayze’s death and my Dad’s have caused me to reflect upon his life and remember how much I miss his counsel. He was diligently there and willing to assist in anything that I may need his assistance in resolving.  Currently, I am working through some big decisions that will affect my family and others and his ear and words would have been a great comfort. I guess I was wallowing in my self-pity and needed something to reset my thinking. Well it came from my daily reading as defined by YouVersion (http://www.youversion.com/) on my BlackBerry during my commute. It included Luke 7, which demonstrates that Jesus did and does have compassion for our situation. H is empathetic and is moved to meet us in those moments.  I must remember that the same compassion He showed the widow He will show me and we are to show to other.

To say that the funk is gone would be a lie, but things do look clearer.

Discussing Heaven and Hell

Wednesday, August 19th, 2009

I keep finding myself in conversations discussing what is to come, promises of heaven, and the certainty of hell.  The subject is something that I am all too familiar with and have been more than eager to jump right in the middle of it with my absolutes and practices rebuttals.  This has came all too easy, with my years of absoluteness and closed minded training that I received in a Christian denomination that’s focus was on health, wealth and having all the answers.  I can’t tell you how many times that I have been through Revelations 21 and marveled as a child the descriptions that were derived on the materials and architecture of heaven. As I’ve grown older and my faith has matured to the point that I believe I can say it is my own I have come to believe that so much of the conversation around heaven and hell is an exercise in missing the point.

Let me be clear that I do believe it is natural and I myself enjoy wondering and discussing what it may be like one day.  But, should our focus be on the wonder of heaven or the absolute destruction of hell?  I am inclined to say no.  I believe the Gospel teaches us to focus on loving God and people.  Our hearts and actions should be focused on bring heaven to the earth now and bless people around us now.  Shouldn’t our consuming desire is to serve our God, Love God, and serve those that He loves, which is tough, because that is everyone. If we could set our minds on these things wouldn’t our lives be complete? Wouldn’t heaven become no less important, but no the focus of our existence and allow us to invest in our responsibilities now? Shouldn’t heaven be a bonus and the real prize is true fellowship with our Lord Jesus?  When I stop and think that I have been chosen and pursued by God to be in relationship with Him I am not sure what Heaven is or Hell is really matters any more.

Rambling Apology

Wednesday, June 17th, 2009

This is going to ramble, so be patient with my writing.  I would also like to openly mention that this is not an excuse, but an open apology with some explanation to my actions and behavior.

Over a year ago I started placing dynamite to pillars in my life and in mid-September of last year I blew the final charges.  I was unsure at the time why I as was hell-bent on destroying all around me and severing ties, but I am starting to have a better understanding.

I had fallen under the notion that I needed to eliminate the majority of my relationships, specifically those that formed from within the church.  I was convinced that those relationships were the source of much of the strife in my life and were causing me too much pain and confusion. My logic was sound and followed the same advice my surgeon had given me a few months earlier, “The mass is not normal and will only shorten your life span. Therefore, you should remove it and give your body a chance to be healthy.”  So, methodically I started to pull away from those I once had trusted, even those few considered to be confidants. It was difficult to cut ties with some, but other it was too easy. What I was really struggling with my ability to trust anyone.  And much of my anger was directly related to people that I expected to act like Jesus, but I somehow forgot that they were as broken as I am.

Since many of my targets were in the church it soon became the target, as well.  I became frustrated and critical of the church.  At first my criticism was shared with the couple of people I still trusted, but eventually turned to anyone that would listen.  In time my “critiques” became malicious and I started to believe that it was justified.  I wanted to continue with the church as an important anchor in my spiritual growth and community, but it was becoming too painful because of my self-serving anger.  As I tried to continue on in the church the wedge continued to go deeper.

During this time I found myself desiring to be closer to God. Not in the same manner that I pursued him in the past.  Previously, I had sought to understand and dissect God, His church, His people, relevancy, etc.  I had poured over all the latest emergent writings, the latest pop culture church leaders’ blogs and some classic writings in search of clarity and wisdom.  The fact was I wasn’t really seeking God, but falling into the trap of discovery for discovery’s sake and not for a means to truly change my heart and my life.  And what I learned in this storm was all my newfound knowledge did little to assist me in this moment.  The clutter of writings, videos, and podcasts only left me unsettled.  In frustration I gave up and continued attending church (I had moved my family to a new church where we didn’t know anyone).

One day during a service I went to pray and it was heavy on my heart to pray, but I couldn’t bring a single thing to my tongue or my mind to say.  It was frustrating at first, but I continued in silence.  When the words of Psalms 23:1 – 3 came into memory; The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.  He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters.  He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. I would love to say it was like a bolt of lighting and it all became clear, but it wasn’t.  It took some time, but I finally got a clue.  My soul was seeking silence not more education.  I needed to be still and just know that He is God.  This one thing started to change my heart.  It made me give up and stop looking for how to fix people around me, the church, and myself; I was learning to just be.

I have started to learn how to truly forgive loved ones, people that had hurt me, and myself.  I constantly remind myself that my relationships and the church are made up of the one thing that will always fail us and are so short from perfect, people.  I have also learned to accept the fact that my relationships would always be flawed and I am bound to get hurt, as well as hurt others, as I am sure I have.

If you are reading this and where one of the individuals I hurt, I am truly sorry.

Sundays

Sunday, September 21st, 2008

Sundays have become my favorite day of the week. I have gotten to where I look forward to it each week. It is the one day of the week where Em and I do our best to not set a schedule or make many plans. This wasn’t intentional at first, but we have now made it part of every week. This has become a great opportunity to hang out with my kids and make dinner with Em. The kids love the dedicated time to watch football, play video games, read, eat a meal together and review homework. I would highly recommend it as a part of your week.

Rough Year

Wednesday, September 17th, 2008

It has been rough year and I pray it is coming to a close. I am so tired and jaded.

Last summer, 2007, projects at work were at full steam and one of my grandmothers passed away, Anne Jones. It was a little bittersweet, since it was in many ways the last connection to my Dad’s family. With her passing it also brought back a lot of memories of my Dad. But I was able to bear down and get through and return to work within a couple of days from her passing.

Since then, I have been through some personal turmoil brought on by friends and family. The kind of things that just don’t go away. Those things that dig into your soul and change you even though you try to not let it.

There has been more changes at work than I can ever go into here. Some changes have been positive, but many have left me frustrated. I still believe things are resolvable and never as dire as they may feel in the moment.

I was diagnosed with an abnormality in my right lung in late winter of his year. (see previos postings under surgery) I had to have a large section of my right lung removed. The procedure required 8 weeks of rested recovery, but only just starting to feel normal.

In the Spring my wife was released from her job of 5 years do to discrimination. There is a lawsuit pending at this time. The stay has heard the charges and giving us a letter of agreement and the right to sue.

This summer has been a wash, since the average work week has been roughly 60+ hours. Beyond the crazy work schedule I lost my mom’s mother, so my last surviving grand has passed. This required another rush trip to Texas and doing my best to support my mom. Just a couple of weeks from my Grands passing Em lost an uncle unexpectedly.

The positive thing was an unplanned pregnancy and a new beautiful baby girl, Maddy. My family remains by my side through all of this and continue to support me. I am so fortunate to have them there when I return home everyday.

God please stop this roller coaster I need to ride the merry-go-ride for a bit.

sent from my iPhone

Back at Work

Tuesday, May 13th, 2008

I returned back to work last week after being gone for 8 weeks. It was a long week, especially since I was dead tired by 2pm each day. I managed to push through and make it a full week. It was a busy week attempting to get up to speed with all that has changed within Tribune Interactive over the past few weeks. I was pleased to find that my team did a great job keeping things up and running with few incidents. I am not sure they really need me anymore. Well it feels great to be back in the swing of things, now to get my blog part of my normal routine again.

Almost Myself . . .

Wednesday, April 9th, 2008

It has been almost 4 weeks since I was released from the hospital and I am finally starting to feel like myself. I have almost weaned myself completely off the Vicodin and made the switch completely to Ibuprofen. It has been over 24 hours since my last Vicodin and I am really pleased about it. I have been able to get out of the house and become more mobile; which I am so thankful for. My incision is completely healed and surprisingly doesn’t look too bad.

The signs that I am returning to normal is am feeling so cagey and starting to build to-do lists and plan my days. I am also starting to make good use of my days, such as cataloging my CD collection. Now if only the weather would cooperate I would sit out on the deck and get some sun.

Weddings Redneck Style

Thursday, March 27th, 2008
Redneck Wedding
I found a new show that completely cracks me up and scares me on CMT called My Big Redneck Wedding. The show follows textbook rednecks as they prepare and have their weddings. The show is hosted by Tom Arnold and his commentary is hilarious. Up to this morning I have witnessed wedding party mud bogging after the I Do’s, a groom hunting hog for the reception, horse-poo throwing, wedding halls decorated with stuffed animals and hay.This is a must see weeknights on CMT and here is a preview video.
 

From My Chair

Monday, March 24th, 2008

Well, I have been home for 10 days from the hospital 10 days and I am so ready to get out. I am stuck in the house until tomorrow when I visit my Surgeon and have the staples removed and get a check -up. I hope that some of my pain comes under better management and he gives me the okay to get out of the house from time to time.

What I have learned sitting in my chair in the past week is there are only a couple of channels on all of cable that is worth anything. They are the History Channel, Discovery and the BBC. I am not sure why I pay for the bazillion channels. I am flabbergasted that many of the channels that exist even receive commercial endorsements. My favorites this week are Ax Men, Cities of the Underworld, Nightmare Kitchens, and of course MythBusters.

I have also been able to get in some reading (currently reading some Donald Miller and Palahniuk), serious game playing on my PSP (Rainbow Six Las Vegas and Untold Legends), and serious puzzle time.

Needless to say I am ready for things to get back to normal.

Rockin’ the Vote

Wednesday, March 19th, 2008

Hollywood and Politics

Sunday, February 10th, 2008

I have always had concern with Hollywood and their influence on politics in this country. Hollywood has an incredibly strong voice that can be used to sway the opinion of many American people. Unfortunately, this will most likely come off wrong, but I am not sure there is another way of saying this, but a large portion of people are not willing to make their opinion and are unwilling to do their own research to form that opinion. Here lies my concern; celebrities can garner the attention and publicity because of their status, which can persuade the weak minded and star-struck individuals.

Ryan Reynolds

I say all this to put into context something I read this morning that really made my morning. One of my favorite current actors is Ryan Reynolds. He voiced his opinion to Entertainment Weekly and I can’t say that I can agree more. Reynolds said, “When it comes to politics, I think the best medicine is for most celebrities to have a steaming-hot bowl of shut the f— up.” In this quote it is noted that Reynolds is in the process of becoming a U.S. citizen, mostly so he can vote. (Entertainment Weekly – February 15, 2008)

In my opinion this is well said.