Do not tell

I was thinking about something today. Have you ever been talking to a friend or someone and went to share something that was personal with them. People always ask that, "you do not tell." I find that to be funny, that when sharing with people we have to add, "don't tell." How would it change our world if when we sharing something with our friends, it ended at that. No need for anything to make us feel better.

bday

birthday. Chick-fila campout with Sarah Ryan and Jess. That's a good day.

My head is under attack.

First, I played football today after work, and my body is completely pissed. Before that I closed down the waterfront today at camp which is one of the most labor intensive days of the year which also beat the crap out of my body. But anyways back to my head being under attack. Yesterday I was at work and a buddy I work with Anthony, threw a Frisbee in my general direction, the only problem is I was unaware of it. At the last second he yelled my name, it hit me right in the forehead and set me flying to the ground. Today, I was climbing a ladder to put some stuff up in the Gym and stood up and hit my head on the corner of the heating unit which also sent me almost to being knocked out. Finally today during football, I went to dive for a flag and about that time my buddy puffer swung around and gave me a black eye with the back of his head. I do not think my head can take much more.

What do you worship?

I was listening to a podcast today, called "The God Journey". I would highly encourage anyone to listen to these guys, they are big time ballers. They buck the church, challenge you to think about things that are not the sugary world we are convinced we are in and take a real look at who we are as people in light of who God desires us to be. With that introduction said, they made a comment today on the show that struck a deep chord with me. "You become what you worship." Wow, that is a heavy thing to grasp, or maybe really easy to grasp, but quick to heavy the heart. What do you worship, I asked myself, Christ, Sarah, myself, Iphone, my stuff, desire to love and please my family, my pride, my stubbornness. All of these things began to flood my mind as I thought, what will I become. If I am in transformation of becoming what I worship, how far along am I, if I am going the wrong way, how do I turn around. I want to worship what is truth, not what will fade away with time. If I worship truth, then I will become truth to those around me. I will become truth to myself, a honest reflection of what I desire to be. But why then is it so hard to journey down the path of truth. Why is this a battle with everything around me,and in me, consistently pulling me in the wrong direction. Why? Because not facing truth is easy. It is easy to not face the truth that stares you in the face every morning when you open your eyes and look in the mirror to splash water in your face. It is easy to make a comment that you know might hurt someones feelings but make you look a little better. It is easy to keep quiet when you know you should say something. It is easy to let your words flow without a thought. As I stood still letting all of this soak into my mind, I felt like I was in the Matrix with a bunch of stuff floating around my head. I can honestly say, this one stopped me dead in my tracks and forced me to ask myself what I think we are all afraid to approach, "what do I want to become?" Honestly the choice is mine, I think that is what scares me the most. After I had collected my head and put the mush back on my shoulders, the weight of the statement, "you become what you worship" has taken different look to me. It is a soul stirring question that forces people to question who and what they are.

Tetris Continued

As I was unable to write in the detail that I desired, due to the fact I was standing in the driveway last night in NC trying to get enough reception to publish my blog, I would like to do a part 2. Today, you can see the picture of the two people dressed up like tetris pieces. One is at the ATM, which I found pretty funny. I had a few funny things happen to me in North Carolina. I was in a Starbucks with my mother in-law and my father in-law as well as my parents and Sarah, when we noticed a homeless guy who was sitting directly across from us with a magazine in his lap completely knocked out asleep. He was in and out for a while, he had fake teeth he took out so he could eat his bagel. Also, when Sarah and I were driving out of the city, another gentleman yelled at us, "get the !@%# out of my city, yeah get the hell out of my city". I had no idea the mayor was walking around that part of town. It made me laugh out load, it was a really fun day with the family, I really cherish those times.

Ansonville driveway post

I am sitting here in the driveway in ansonville bc service is not that
Great. It was a good day spent in charlotte hanging out with family.
I have a picture here of some people who were walking down the street
dressed like tetris pieces. They were awesome. I think that would be a
fun way to spend an afternoon. it will not let me upload the picture so I will add it tomorrow.

Constant Reminder

I am consistently reminded of what real conversation and real friendship can mean to an individual. Think about the last time that you had a really good conversation with someone. A conversation where you didn't think about what you were going to say next, but yet spoke with a freedom that was not worried about how what you said would be received. Those exchanges are very priceless. The opportunity to share your thoughts and heart with someone and to have them do the same is rare. I am just thankful for the chance to have that in my life. I have been reminded today of the people that love me for who and what I am... period. I consider that a true blessing that I do not deserve but am fortunate enough to have. Sometimes, it is worth a moment or two, to slow down, take a deep breathe and be thankful for what is around you, not what you are looking to obtain or go next.

Rabies

I have to inform everyone that I gave a presentation today at work on Rabies. Yes... Rabies. It was pretty sweet. So if anyone has any questions on the subject matter of rabies, please feel free to ask me below. I have a wealth of knowledge about a disease that do not really kill that many people ever anymore.

I saw a bear

So this may seem like a rather simple story, but I thought it was pretty cool. I went hunting this morning for deer although it is bear season as well. I took my climbing tree stand, a book I have been reading, and a thermos of coffee. It was a nippy early morning and I was in the tree before I could see five feet in front of me. The first hour or two was spent nodding off and waking up. At about hour three, I heard a crash and a bunch of tree limbs break and out of the clearing comes a bear. I have never seen a bear before while I was hunting so I was a little bit stunned. It cruised along and stopped for a moment to catch its breath and then went on its marry way. It was pretty cool, the bear was huge. I am glad I did not walk up on it when I was walking out in the dark with a tiny flashlight. I would have busted a cap in yogi.

We are conditional people

I have been reminded in the past week or so how conditional we are as people. We are bombarded daily with get this, and it will do this for you. Do this and you will get this. But I think this bleeds into daily life more so than anything. How often is what we do for others based on what we will get in return. It is a really hard thing to look at that in our own daily lives. I challenge you to look at how you respond to things people ask of you. It is pretty crazy to see how quickly our minds go to, "whats in it for me." I know that sometimes we do things because we love people and want to help in a genuine act of kindness. It has just really challenged me as a person when I watch to see what my first reaction is to someone when they ask for something or want help with something etc. We are built on a platform of gratification in our society and gratification is conditional. So how do we fight something that is the fabric of what we live in. How do we fight something that we know is not the "real" way of living. I think that deep down, no matter who we are and what we believe, we would rather not be conditional people.

I do not care who you are voting for, this is funny.

Okay, so I do not know who you are voting for. McCain or Obama... your choice. I have seen them both do a lot of stupid things as far as messing up the words they use when speaking to people. This video was sent to me today and I had to share it... funny.

Joe and I broke a Bed...

So my neighbor Joe(also good friend I work with at STC)got a new bed today from Ikea. I was helping him put it together and he gave me his old frame. I was going to use it with my current bed because have wood slats instead of metal across the middle so they dip in the middle and Sarah and I usually roll towards each other through the night. I brought the bed frame back to our apartment and put it together. Joe stopped by to see how it was going and about the time I finished putting the mattress back on frame. I hoped on to see if it felt any different than the old one. Also about that time, Joe decided to take flight and squash me. It was just about mid air of his jump that I thought... this could be bad, yep this could break the bed frame. Joe landed... the bed frame split in half. It was pretty funny.

The Power of a name.

So today I was reminded of the power of a name. The one thing that we outwardly truly possess is our name. Someone can assume whatever they would like, but at the end of the day we still have the same name. Have you ever been around someone that you have not seen in a while and you cannot remember their name, but they can recall yours. That is a interesting feeling. You feel special because they can recall what one thing that is yours, your name. It is a powerful thing to remember someone's name. Because, that says that you validate who they are, they are important enough for you to hold onto their name. It is a way to care for someone.

Wow what a Sunset

I am working this weekend at SharpTop hosting a YL group from Tennessee. I was driving around camp this afternoon and was thinking about a bunch of things that have been on my mind and looked up. Then I saw that. That is a beautiful thing right there. It made me stop and just be for a moment, so I thought I would share with you what I saw today.

When I get "old"

Today as I was sitting around with a few friends and my wife Sarah, she started to talk about what I was going to look like when I get older. We were sitting around with our friends new beautiful baby, Abbie. So the idea of age what an easy topic to grab onto. This is when I found out what my wife really thinks of me and what I apparently have to look forward to as an "old" man. At first I was thinking it was going to be a nice description, maybe I would have no hair or wrinkled skin or even an old man stroll when I walk. But I soon found out that my body is going to revolt against me in my wife's eyes. My ears are going to get really big, as well as my nose. My nose hair and ear hair are going to become out of control. My cheeks/jaw are going to sag or drop down a bunch. My eyes will disappear more so when I smile than they do now, they might even just be completely overlapped. Basically I am going to completely fall apart and begin to sag and wrinkle uncontrollably as al whole. Also, I will fart uncontrollably. (her words not mine) On the plus side she did not mention anything about the creepy old man hair that comes over your shirt collar, so I have that going for me. Which is nice.

The Man Cold

This is nothing less than amazing. I dedicate this one to Jacob and Kuban.

Perception is your Reality

We had the interns over tonight for "Intern Time". It was a pretty sweet time, we are going over a book, "Celebration of Discipline" by Richard Foster. Tonight we talked about Study, and Simplicity. It was a really neat time to hear from others and to learn a good bit. Something that I think became a theme between these two chapters was the idea of perception being reality. We as people, view our reality in what our perception is. I think it is that simple. The question I have been challenged with today is to truly look at what is my perception. What leads me to my reality, and how and where is it derived.

My armpits hate me.

I listened to a Podcast the other day from howstuffworks.com about the difference between deodorant and antiperspirant. It said stuff about how the metal in the antiperspirant plugs up your pores and does not let the bad stuff out etc. It also talked about the long term problems that you can face when these things do not get out of your body etc. So now that you have the back story, I decided to try deodorant for a week or two. I tried Arm and Hammer, "naturals" with some mountain scent. Well it hated my armpits a bunch and made them hurt and burn. So I tried Toms, Natural Maine stuff... apricot scent... BURN BURN BURN. It sucked. So I took a day off from deodorant and went to the one place where you find all answers. Yahoo Answers. Then there was the answer, I am allergic to scented deodorants. I have used Mitchem my whole life. I also found out from Yahoo Answers, that Mitchem is the deodorant for people who are allergic to most scented deodorants. This leaves me with one last try in the deodorant world before I head back to the antiperspirants. Deodorant.. Unscented. I will let you know what happens... and yes, I just blogged about my armpits.

Estate Agent

I think you will all love this. Another one from "Man stroke Woman" odd name I know. This is from the same group who did the "may I be blunt with you" that I posted a week ago. The clown is my favorite.

Dork Time

Okay I am going to admit it today. I am going to be a dork, but I think what I am about to share is rather interesting a has made my brain fart numerous times this afternoon. So bear with me as I try to put into words what I have jumbled and grasped at in my head. I was reading today about something called, "Historical Structuring". This comes from a sociologist named Philip Abrams. He argues that, people are made by society as much as society is made by people. I read that and stopped for a moment to think about what that looks like in our world today. I think it is pretty amazing to apply that principle to say, MTV and look at the proteges from the "X" generation that were raised on MTV. It is very evident to me that society shifted people with MTV, but in return from that generation that came out of the MTV revolution, they tend to follow each other. People follow MTV, while MTV is paying close attention to see where they are going to go. But with that, people are running with what MTV has feed them... so who is making who. This gets me pumped up, I wish I was with my Buddy Scott right now, we tend to have really good conversations about stuff like this. I can just picture sitting on the front porch of Petra (building at Lake Champion, a young life camp I used to work at) in rocking chairs with Scott try to figure this one out, going back and forth with what ifs and but what abouts.

Below I am going to quote a part from what I read... I would love some thoughts on what comes to mind when you read it. I know what happens when I ask people to comment, a bunch of fraddy cats. (that excludes Patrick Allen, the posting Champion in my book, he is the leader on the leader board, do not worry Zach you are right behind him) But I would honestly love to hear what comes to your minds when you read it. Great things happen with a bunch of minds vomit out their thoughts for each other to read.

This is in regards to events of history, etc.

"At such moments, individuals stand forth as agents of history not simply because they possess a unique ability to act, but also because in them we see the force of the specific social conditions that allowed their actions to come forth. Individuals can "make their mark" on history, yet in individuals one also finds the convergence of wider socials forces."

That is some very dense stuff if you ask me. So I look forward to comments... if you comment, the next time I see you I will give you one of the following, a dime, a moonpie, or a dum dum.

Mario Party, Mario Kart, Friends, a good night

I have a short one tonight. I just spent the past six hours playing mario kart, mario party with Joe, Kuban, and Jacob. These are good times. Ton of Wii and good times with close buddies.

How are you today?

I just came in from taking my dog outside to use the bathroom before I go to bed. I usually take Maple out with my neighbor Joe with his dog Bear. It has become somewhat of a ritual. A few nights a week at least we take them out at the same time to "go potty" and get some energy out playing with each other. It is like two dads at a playground with their kids, at least this is what I imagine it to be like. It is a sweet time. We will talk about whatever is going on in our lives and just be real with each other. I think it is a neat reality check when you ask someone how they are doing and they actually tell you instead of says something like, "fine" as if you are saying hi and they hi back. I look forward to these talks and times of sharing that we have while watching our dogs play. It's something different when you can honestly relate and be open with someone. It is suspiciously freeing. The thought of two people sharing truths about their lives and who they are brings me to think about what it would be like if every time someone asked me, "How are you", I told them the truth. Whether it be good or bad, I answered in a way that was revealing to the real "Brad". I think we as the general public are afraid to answer what comes to mind when asked a question like that. I can honestly say that when someone says, "How are you", I have never thought in my head, "fine". There is always something more, even if it's small, its more than a one word answer. But why do I not share what is the truth in relation to the question. I am not sure. Maybe I am afraid to show who I am, maybe I keep my cards to close, maybe I am more concerned with what someone might think of me than to be honest. When it comes down to it, thinking about the time I get spend standing in an small grassy area in my apartment complex talking to Joe, watching Maple and Bear play like dogs on speed, I become very sobered to who I am, that is a gift to me.

It is time for me to get political, put the kids indoors

I think Neal Boortz should run this country. If you do not know who that is and live in the Triangle Area, NC, then tune into 101.1 he is on everyday from 10-1. But that is a whole other topic that I do not intend to write about today. Today I would like to talk a little about some politics issues. I heard a very interesting fact today that really made me think. It also made me wonder if we as a nation had the same principles as the earlier democracy, if this would still rein true today. Our government's approval rating is right at 22%, and this hops up and down a few percents here and there. The percentage of officials who get reelected year after year is 95%. This is a problem. What this says to me is, we do not trust the people who we put in the government, but we keep them there year after year and wonder why nothing changes. It has recently dawned on me the true power of a vote at a local level. These congress men and women who go to washington determine what passes and fails. I know that sounds pretty elementary, but I think I have overlooked this is the past. There is power in who we send. Of course the president can veto, but what gets to him is determined by those voting on the bills. But back to my main point, if the people do not get flushed out of washington and bring some in who care and are not comfortable with the 95% reelection rate, what can we expect to happen. If you are invincible, why not get money for yourself, take bribes, have special interests, put band-aids on things, leave it for the next generation, don't look at the real problem that everyone can see in plain daylight. I mean what is the problem, it's only bad if you get caught...right?

Cha Cha

If you have never heard of Cha Cha, it is time to become educated. My friend, Jacob told me about it the other day. If you text 242 242, you can ask them any question you want and they will have an answer. From if acorns are bad for you, to the difference in rain fall in Argentina and Spain in the winter months. So tomorrow you should try it out and ask a question, it does not cost anything just a text message. You can really ask them anything, you should try to stump them.

Ol Benny

So tonight I want to hit on briefly the other B. Franklin quote that I posted the other day.

"to know all is to forgive all"

I think this is any interesting quote. To forgive someone is a pretty big thing. To be able to look at someone who has wronged you and to say, I forgive you, I let it go. Not it's okay and I am going to think about it for a while when I see you, but it is behind us and over, buried and dead. So with that said, I think the idea to forgive being the result of knowing all is pretty powerful.

If I was a dog I would have a metal pillow

So today we are driving home from Iron Station, NC. Maple is a very good road tripping dog, never has to pee or poop, always waits till we get to the final destination and can sleep anywhere, anytime. Today on our 4 hour trip, she decided to use the bottom part of my handlebars for a pillow. This is not a comfortable way to sleep, I mean come on really?

p.s. Jon Allen, if you are looking at this... you can see your present.

"The Scootch"

I have a insight to the world of being married today. I am going to talk about the "scootch" which has plagued men for ages. Scientifically proven, woman are a billion degrees when they sleep and men are usually at a mildly comfortable level if not a little warm. I like to sleep with the fan on and usually do the leg kick out over the covers to maintain the perfect temperature. If you get a little hot, throw the leg outside the covers and bam, temperature neutralized. If you are a little cold, pull the leg back in a again the temperature is once again balanced. I have practiced this technique for years. Well when you put a wife in the mix, the whole world changes. I have found that when my wife falls asleep her body rises to temperatures that are not human, in fact I am pretty sure that could melt steel. But the completely confusing part to this mystery is that my wife still thinks that she is cold. So much so that she has too come try to steal what body heat I have to counteract what I believe to be a chemical imbalance, which tricks her to think that even though she is 1,000 degrees already, she actually thinks that she is -32. With this in mind I will explain the "scootch". I will be sleeping, and all of the sudden wake up because of two things, one my butt is about to fall off the bed and two because I have broken into a horrible sweat. This is because when my wife gets cold she begins to scootch over to where I am and I scootch away, all the way till I almost fall off the bed. I wake up and tell her or push her back to her side of the bed and in a sleepy voice, complain about all the open real estate that she has on her side of the bed and that I think her skin is going to make me melt. She responds to this by saying, I am freezing. What the crap!*? This is a battle that will be fought for the rest of my days. The "Scootch", helping men everywhere sweat off water weight because their wives are 1,000 degrees when they sleep.

This is a good one

This will be the first of a few that I am going to post. These are amazing.

My Sleep Walking Story

So I have another sleep walking story. This one is kind of funny and quite odd. I remember it a little bit to know that it really happened, but I am not sure what motives I had etc. I woke up the other morning remembering getting out two tee shirts from the closet during the middle of the night. One I put over the headboard and the other, I left folded on my night stand. No idea what in the world I was thinking.

Iron Station here we are. Also I have another sleep walking story

We just arrived in NC. It is late and we are sleepy.
I have a funny sleep walking story that I will tell tomorrow. It would
Be to hard to write from my phone. I know this is a crappy post. But off to sleep I go.