OK. I was told today that I am a horrible blogger. Supposedly, when you mention that you hope to blog once per day, people expect you to blog more than once a week. Whatever! So here is day two. BTW I measure days in 168 hour blocks. it makes life more interesting and means that I am blogging once per day still. The length of my days can shorten or lengthen based on my wants or desires without any prior notice.
So we are in the middle of planning Cohort 2 of our YouthBuild Peoria program. This cohort is gonna be so much better than the last one. I am so excited about what we can accomplish with this program and who it can effect. I love that I am part of a program that helps people get out of poverty and build their lives instead of simply providing them with the means to stay poor forever. Hopefully we will help 30 more young adults get started with the lives that they have had on hold.
The Thanksgiving holiday was great. I love feeding people, so hosting this year made me feel great. I love when something I cook, build. or create comes out wonderful. Not to pat myself on the back or anything, but the turkey I cooked this year was one of the tenderest turkeys I have ever eaten. I tried lifting it out of the roaster and the breast meat simply pulled right off the bone. The legs and wings simply fell off the bird as well. It was great. And everybody ate a ton. That just makes me happy.
I have to go grocery shopping today. Not sure what dinner will be yet, but the grocery store is a great place to plan meals. I don't want to wait until another Thanksgiving to feed friends again though, so if anybody wants to be fed, leave me a message and lets find a time for you to come over and share a meal with my family. You can even put in meal requests. LOL, with the meals I cook, I probably don't even need advanced notice. I seem to have a habit of cooking for eight.
I hope this finds everybody well. God bless all of you and I hope to see all old friends again someday soon. I will try to not wait the full day before blogging again.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Monday, November 22, 2010
Day 1 (or so)
So my goal is to blog once per day. I know what people may be thinking, "You have already blogged today, give it a break." Honestly, though, I feel that the first blog was an intro statement and shouldn't count as my first day's blog. Therefore, here is my day one blog for reals!!
I have been thinking a lot today about my job and why God has placed me there. After some prayer and retrospection, I feel that it is a little on the obvious side that it was God's plan for me to be there and ultimately stay. He has not released me from there, so I can only glean that he still has something for me to do. I pray that I am vigilant enough to identify my purpose there when it arrives and fulfill the task laid out before me.
Thinking about my faith always leads me to thinking about how my life has led up to walking with Christ. For those who know me, you know it was a long, windy, often bumpy, broken in several places road. For those who do not know me, why are you reading my personal thoughts and feelings?
There are several people who helped direct me to a relationship with Christ and they weigh on my mind from time to time. One person who has been on my mind today has been my brother. I have been thinking about Aaron a lot with this being a Christmas without him here and hoping he is safe as he lives in a turbulent part of the world. I pray that he is comfortable, stays safe, dreams of his wife, and knows that we, here in my house, love him and keep him in our hearts.
Aaron played a big impact on bringing me to Christ. Ultimately, I am a person who needs convinced of things before diving in feet first. My relationship with my brother when he was a Christian and I was not, was a little strained. This is likely because I thought Christians were sad, lost, misguided, needy, and plainly wrong. On top of that, I loved telling them that and giving my worldly evidence to back it up. I still remember, with shame, arguing with him until he had tears in his eyes and had to leave the room. I actually remember feeling triumphant. How sad is that.
Anessa and I recently joined a small group. As in recently, I mean a couple months ago. I shared with them how much of a testimony it was to me to watch Aaron. Living in a worldly family with people who enjoyed arguing with him and pointing out how wrong and dumb he was had to be difficult. The point is, he never stopped sharing. He would live his faith in our faces. He would take opportunities to tell us about his faith. His courage made me think more and more "Wow, I wonder if there is more to this." I began to wonder what would keep him at this when there was so much adversity. Go figure, I soon found out that he was right, I was wrong, and there is a ton to this that would keep a man standing up to anybody.
All in all, I have never told him how big of a part he played in me coming to Christ. I guess I really should. Aaron, if you read this, now you know. If you don't read this, I guess I need to get on Skype and talk to you about it soon. This really wasn't what I had in mind tonight when I sat down to type, but oh well, that is the point of a blog. You just start typing and things just come out. Anyway, Aaron, I love you, stay safe, I can't wait until you come home (but don't come home until you feel that is what is best for you and your family).
To any other readers. God bless. Thanksgiving is coming soon. Try to think of your family and tell a member of your family one thing you haven't told them before. Who knows, it could make you feel better and it may be something they needed to hear.
I have been thinking a lot today about my job and why God has placed me there. After some prayer and retrospection, I feel that it is a little on the obvious side that it was God's plan for me to be there and ultimately stay. He has not released me from there, so I can only glean that he still has something for me to do. I pray that I am vigilant enough to identify my purpose there when it arrives and fulfill the task laid out before me.
Thinking about my faith always leads me to thinking about how my life has led up to walking with Christ. For those who know me, you know it was a long, windy, often bumpy, broken in several places road. For those who do not know me, why are you reading my personal thoughts and feelings?
There are several people who helped direct me to a relationship with Christ and they weigh on my mind from time to time. One person who has been on my mind today has been my brother. I have been thinking about Aaron a lot with this being a Christmas without him here and hoping he is safe as he lives in a turbulent part of the world. I pray that he is comfortable, stays safe, dreams of his wife, and knows that we, here in my house, love him and keep him in our hearts.
Aaron played a big impact on bringing me to Christ. Ultimately, I am a person who needs convinced of things before diving in feet first. My relationship with my brother when he was a Christian and I was not, was a little strained. This is likely because I thought Christians were sad, lost, misguided, needy, and plainly wrong. On top of that, I loved telling them that and giving my worldly evidence to back it up. I still remember, with shame, arguing with him until he had tears in his eyes and had to leave the room. I actually remember feeling triumphant. How sad is that.
Anessa and I recently joined a small group. As in recently, I mean a couple months ago. I shared with them how much of a testimony it was to me to watch Aaron. Living in a worldly family with people who enjoyed arguing with him and pointing out how wrong and dumb he was had to be difficult. The point is, he never stopped sharing. He would live his faith in our faces. He would take opportunities to tell us about his faith. His courage made me think more and more "Wow, I wonder if there is more to this." I began to wonder what would keep him at this when there was so much adversity. Go figure, I soon found out that he was right, I was wrong, and there is a ton to this that would keep a man standing up to anybody.
All in all, I have never told him how big of a part he played in me coming to Christ. I guess I really should. Aaron, if you read this, now you know. If you don't read this, I guess I need to get on Skype and talk to you about it soon. This really wasn't what I had in mind tonight when I sat down to type, but oh well, that is the point of a blog. You just start typing and things just come out. Anyway, Aaron, I love you, stay safe, I can't wait until you come home (but don't come home until you feel that is what is best for you and your family).
To any other readers. God bless. Thanksgiving is coming soon. Try to think of your family and tell a member of your family one thing you haven't told them before. Who knows, it could make you feel better and it may be something they needed to hear.
First Blog
OK, I have read several peoples blogs and have decided that I would like to join the world of blogging. So, without further ado, this is my first blog. As such, it will be an intro into who I am and what this blog will look like in the future. Note the title and web page of the blog, your comments are welcome and even encouraged, however, I did not ask for them and do not be surprised if they are summarily ignored!
First off, my name is Scott. I know, what an original and contemporary name. You are probably wondering if it was mispronounced or misspelled often when I was a child. Let me put those fears to rest. If you were really wondering that, I cannot help you here, please visit a counselor.
I feel that there are various things that define us, and those are the types of things that I want to include in this intro blog. I am a Christian. I am a Bears fan. I am pretty certain that those things are mutually inclusive, but I may be biased. I am a father. I am a husband. I own a cat and a dog. I love my kids, my wife, and my pets. I try to live for God. I love zombies and am working on a detailed plan to survive the coming zombie apocalypse.
I work as an Assistant Project Specialist for the City of Peoria's Workforce Development Department. More specifically, I tutor at risk, 18-24 y/o adults GED skills and construction. It is a very specialized skill set, but it does fit me well. I love my job. I sometimes am amazed I get paid for the job at all, let alone get paid well. I am so blessed that this is what God has chosen for me and I pray that I am vigilant enough to identify what God's plan for me is here.
I try not to take things too seriously. Some people would say that I take that way too far, but those people have issues. Once again, I may be biased in that opinion. I have no real deep personal scars or baggage. In the airline of life, I can go through the express check-in and would never need to pay for checked bags. I would likely be patted down every time, though, and it would likely not be by anybody that would give an enjoyable pat down.
I am overweight. I have really been working on this part of my life lately, but find that I am lazy. This is probably why I am overweight to begin with, but I am just recently realizing all of this. I never knew how much this defined my life until recently. The realization, however, has really made me want to change my lifestyle. For example, I hate eating in the car and will avoid it if possible. How many times have I seen the fat guy munching on a hamburger in his car and thought, "No wonder he is fat, look at him gnawing on that burger. He can't even wait until he is home." I don't want people looking at me like that. I often skip desserts in public because I don't want anybody to think, "well of course he would want a piece of cake." I take ownership of my weight and am definitely not sad or upset about it. It is just a problem that I have identified and am working to change.
I like movies. I love music. I seem to really enjoy the music and movies that conflict with my growing relationship with Christ. Although as God works in my heart, I do find some things really turn me off more than they ever did. I love God, but sometimes wish he would stay out of my taste in movies. Just kidding God, just make sure I enjoy those that you eventually lead me to.
I do live to see my kids smile. They can make me angry, sad, happy, and nostalgic all in the course of five minutes. I love to spoil them and wish that I could give them everything they ever wanted. I am so happy I get to enjoy this gift of fatherhood.
I love my wife. We have been married for eleven years. I cannot believe that she is that OLD. She really does complete my life though. I cannot see myself in a life without her. I am looking forward to another eleven years even though she is going to be that much older!
Anyway, there is a ton more I need to write on here, but it is getting long and eventually my boss will walk by my computer and wonder what is on the screen. I hope this finds all of you readers well. If you enjoy the blog, click on some of the page ads. Oh, and read the ones I post in the future!
First off, my name is Scott. I know, what an original and contemporary name. You are probably wondering if it was mispronounced or misspelled often when I was a child. Let me put those fears to rest. If you were really wondering that, I cannot help you here, please visit a counselor.
I feel that there are various things that define us, and those are the types of things that I want to include in this intro blog. I am a Christian. I am a Bears fan. I am pretty certain that those things are mutually inclusive, but I may be biased. I am a father. I am a husband. I own a cat and a dog. I love my kids, my wife, and my pets. I try to live for God. I love zombies and am working on a detailed plan to survive the coming zombie apocalypse.
I work as an Assistant Project Specialist for the City of Peoria's Workforce Development Department. More specifically, I tutor at risk, 18-24 y/o adults GED skills and construction. It is a very specialized skill set, but it does fit me well. I love my job. I sometimes am amazed I get paid for the job at all, let alone get paid well. I am so blessed that this is what God has chosen for me and I pray that I am vigilant enough to identify what God's plan for me is here.
I try not to take things too seriously. Some people would say that I take that way too far, but those people have issues. Once again, I may be biased in that opinion. I have no real deep personal scars or baggage. In the airline of life, I can go through the express check-in and would never need to pay for checked bags. I would likely be patted down every time, though, and it would likely not be by anybody that would give an enjoyable pat down.
I am overweight. I have really been working on this part of my life lately, but find that I am lazy. This is probably why I am overweight to begin with, but I am just recently realizing all of this. I never knew how much this defined my life until recently. The realization, however, has really made me want to change my lifestyle. For example, I hate eating in the car and will avoid it if possible. How many times have I seen the fat guy munching on a hamburger in his car and thought, "No wonder he is fat, look at him gnawing on that burger. He can't even wait until he is home." I don't want people looking at me like that. I often skip desserts in public because I don't want anybody to think, "well of course he would want a piece of cake." I take ownership of my weight and am definitely not sad or upset about it. It is just a problem that I have identified and am working to change.
I like movies. I love music. I seem to really enjoy the music and movies that conflict with my growing relationship with Christ. Although as God works in my heart, I do find some things really turn me off more than they ever did. I love God, but sometimes wish he would stay out of my taste in movies. Just kidding God, just make sure I enjoy those that you eventually lead me to.
I do live to see my kids smile. They can make me angry, sad, happy, and nostalgic all in the course of five minutes. I love to spoil them and wish that I could give them everything they ever wanted. I am so happy I get to enjoy this gift of fatherhood.
I love my wife. We have been married for eleven years. I cannot believe that she is that OLD. She really does complete my life though. I cannot see myself in a life without her. I am looking forward to another eleven years even though she is going to be that much older!
Anyway, there is a ton more I need to write on here, but it is getting long and eventually my boss will walk by my computer and wonder what is on the screen. I hope this finds all of you readers well. If you enjoy the blog, click on some of the page ads. Oh, and read the ones I post in the future!
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