Early March ramblings

Life has been exciting here lately. For starters, we’re expecting our third daughter this summer. Naturally, this wonderful news comes with its share of considerations and lifestyle changes. I don’t remember the first or second having quite the same reality-shifting effect this early on. I guess the third time is the charm. Maybe it’s because I’m now drastically outnumbered by females in my own home. Maybe it’s because the third child will again change how often my wife can work. Whatever the reasons, it’s an adventure, and I’m looking forward to God’s faithfulness in it. We’re trying to make some adjustments to our lifestyle now so it’s not such a shock when suddenly our diaper expenses double.

Next on my mind is the wedding I’ll be officiating later today. This will be the second wedding I’ll have the pleasure of performing. This is one of the many joys of pastoring a young adult church. I’m excited for the happy couple!

Working out at home has gone pretty well for me so far. Working from home, I’ve been able to fit several sets of exercises in between the various work tasks I’m doing. I’ll keep the details of my workout quiet, as to not embarrass myself or solicit heckling. But in any case, the results have been good, both in general fitness, strength training, and weight loss. I’ve lost over 30 pounds now. I’m slowly increasing the number of reps in my sets. I’m happy about saving a little money each month from the gym membership fees. I’m also looking forward to some nicer weather which should make cardio a bit more reasonable.

I’ve been getting more active in tinkering with technology lately. Along with some of the WordPress-related trinkets I’ve done in connection with this blog, I’ve just started dabbling in mobile software development. I’m starting with Android since I have a phone and a tablet to try apps out on. I’ve got an idea or two rolling around in my head. We’ll see what comes of it.

I’ve got a busy weekend ahead. I should probably get some rest.

Leave a comment and tell me what you’re saving money on, and what you’re saving money for.

Bringing the gym home

Feb 2013This spring and summer, I’ll be embarking on a new adventure, something I’ve never done in my adult life. This year, I’ll be figuring out how to work-out at home. (dun-dun-dun) I currently have a membership at the YMCA, and I’ve been loving it. But with our third kid on the way, I have a feeling that getting to the gym (which is a 20 minute drive one-way) will become more difficult in the midst of other demands. I am certainly going to miss Wednesdays as I have known them.

I’m putting together a list of the essential equipment I’ll need. So far, I’m looking at a mat, 2 adjustable dumb bells and a pull-up bar (the kind that goes in a doorway). Please help me out by leaving a comment and telling me what else needs to be one my list. Keep in mind, I don’t have room for anything big. Maybe you have a favorite at-home routine you do. Please share! Thanks so much for taking time to comment. Now, on to the rest of my story. Continue reading →

Why I love Wednesdays

I’ve heard that some folks “call in sick (cough-cough)” on Wednesdays. Using simple math, I get that. I would much prefer working 4 days in a week instead of 5, and how much better to break it up into a pair of 2 day segments! Of course, working a normal 5 days a week is still better than the strange quasi “always-on” schedule I’ve subjected myself to for the past several years. But that’s another story.

I’ve never been one to abuse sick days. It’s just not part of my work ethic. Since I started working from home back in 2005, I’ve called in sick a handful of times, on days that were wrought with fever, chills, dry heaves, yeah, you get the idea. None the less, I have my reasons for loving Wednesdays. I’ve made Wednesday something special; my non-average workday. Here’s how:

Most Wednesdays, for the last couple years, I’ve met one of my spiritual sons at one of my favorite coffee spots. We’ll sit across from each other, each working on our own things, sometimes we’ll talk about specific topics or happenings, how to deal with a particular situation, and sometimes we’ll hardly say a word. It’s very relaxed, very low-key, and very enjoyable. We share life. A type of fellowship that I really appreciate. I stick around into the afternoon, I wrap up what I’m working on, grab a quick snack, and head off to the next act of my Wednesday adventure.

For the last year, I’ve been trying to take better care of myself, both in diet and exercise. One of the things that has really helped with getting to the gym is that I meet a buddy there. That accountability has been so good for me. After some cardio, weight training, and a round in the sauna, I feel like a new man. We love finishing the afternoon by taking some sustenance at Subway. Then off he goes to work as a leader at a youth group nearby, and I head home to my family.

After some time with the kids, and dinner, I finish up some work, kiss my wife, and call it a night.

Wednesday is my chance to turn my normal schedule on its ear; to change things up. Variety is good, diversity is good. When I get to do things differently, it helps me appreciate the normal routine.

What day do you look forward to during your work week? What do you do to mix things up and keep the routine from dragging you down? Leave me a comment.

Is “Blog-o-sphere” even a word anymore? (re-launch)

It was a different world back in March of 2007 when I started my WordPress blog. Blogs were fairly new and vivacious. Social networking as we now know it was almost non-existent. MySpace was becoming pretty popular, and everyone was curious who this “Tom” guys was that they were suddenly friends with. Everybody who was a somebody was blogging. Fortunately, I wasn’t a somebody.

I was a young mid-20s, married, full of dreams, not yet a father; I actually had some time on my hands. Such a faint memory now, in some ways. I have no regrets. I started blogged as more of an exercise in discovery than anything else. I wanted to see what it was like.

It was new. It was fun. I got a few comments. I also got a ton of spam. Annoying, ugly spam. It quickly became overwhelming. I let myself get busy, lazy or disinterested, threw myself into the process of life; family, work, ministry. More on that soon.

Today, I have something I didn’t have back in 2007: Necessity. Social networking has evolved, and while it’s grand fun to play around on Facebook, liking statuses (I think that word should be statii, btw), but I want a platform to reach further than my friends on Facebook, and more deeply than my followers on Twitter. By all means, I want to change the world, both in word, and in deed.

You may find a few things not working quite right, as I’ve imported some things from my old WP blog. Fret not, I’ll have things cleaned up shortly. I hope we can enjoy the journey together.

Livi takes on the dueling Santas for the cheese ball.

Mutual sadism rather than compromise

The Budget Control Act of 2011 was passed under the political environment of a partisan stalemate, in which Democrats and Republicans could not agree on how to reduce the deficit. It was thought that the blunt cuts of budget sequestration and sharp revenue increases would be mutually undesirable to both parties and provide an impetus and deadline to bring the sides together to solve the deficit problem.

Never underestimate the ability of your government to do “too little, too late”.

Tolerance used to be defined as a willingness to put up with the beliefs or practices of those with whom we disagree. Today, tolerance means we must accept the beliefs and practices of others as correct — or risk being called a bigot.

Eric Metaxas

Pickles and ice cream at Father’s House for the women’s bible study… Joy, what are you teaching these girls?!