No longer a fantasy hunter: Date Night

No longer a fantasy hunter: Date Night

Date Night

I took my true love out to dinner and a concert last night. We went to El Guapo's downtown and had some Mexican cuisine. I had Snapper Azul (it was not blue, so I looked it up later and found out it is a town in Argentina). It was grilled Snapper with green olives and capers over rice. We had ceviche, which is a kind of seafood salsa, but was more like a shrimp cocktail, as an appetizer. The meal was about $50, so I figured a $10 tip would be nice, but only had a $100 bill, 2 $20's and a $10. Vicki swapped me a 20 for the 10, so I left him 3 $20's and we dismissed ourselves. In swapping money I must have dropped the $100 bill, cause its gone and that's the only place I had my money out. Pretty great tip. We decided he must have needed the money worse than me.

After dinner we went to the Cains Ballroom to watch the Church Music Tour of the David Crowder Band. I thought since the tickets had section and seat numbers, that they must have set up chairs, in sections and rows, so when we saw the line outside of the door, we sat in the car and waited till the line dwindled down a bit, since it was a little chilly out last night. Wrong as usual. It was as usual at the Cains, open ballroom with stage up front and it was a sold out venue. No worries, though, we wedged ourselves to the front right of the stage (very close to the speakers). I looked around the ballroom all night to see if there was anyone anywhere that was close to our age. We were the only 50+ couple in the room. The first two bands on the tour were Seabird (a NickleBack wannabe, but really pretty descent). the second act was a duo. The lead singer was from San Diego, and he played the keyboards, guitar and sang. The other guy was a percussionist deluxe. This guy played with his bare hands at times, slapping the cymbals, standing up to bang a row of base drums like you might see in the symphony, and then turning around to shred the drum set. it was all we could do to occasionally look at the singer because the drummer kept you attention the whole time. Cool dude for sure.

Then, wow, David Crowder came out. This six man band was all dressed in suit and ties, possibly mocking "church music" but they really did look sharp. There music is some of the most worshipfull music of the modern day if you've never heard them, but they are also one of the most rocking bands in the contemporary music world. Lights, smoke, and very very fun. They rocked the house for almost 2 hours! Everybody was singing the music right along with the band. the kid behind me not only knew every word to every song, he even knew the little sounds David made between verses and was a pretty good singer too. Vicki and I sang right along with the band, even on songs were were not that familiar with, 'cause they had the words on a screen across the stage for us to read. The dance floor of the Cains has a little spring-i-ness to it so we bounced along with the young people all around us. I was sad because I forgot my camera, but I will say that it was without a doubt the funnest concert I have ever experienced.

No mas carne para this ambre

Well, I sat in my ground blind for 4.5 hours, got up at 11 and started walking around in the woods, stalking for deer. At 11:40 I saw some gray color and stopped for a closer look. It was a deer but I couldn't see if it had antlers. I can only take a doe, since I got my buck last weekend. After a few seconds she turned her head and I saw that there were no antlers. She was standing between two trees at about 80 yards up a little rise to the west from where I stood, but I had what I thought was an open shot at her kill zone, so I squeezed the trigger on my muzzle loader and it leaped in my arms, white smoke filing the air in front of me. there was a stiff breeze, so the smoke cleared quickly to reveal that the deer was still standing in the same place. Not what I expected to see. She should have spun, stumbled and trotted off, only to fall and breath no more. She was looking around to see where the noise came from, so I began searching my pocket for a re-load. before I cold get the pre-loaded cartridge out of my pocket, she spotted me. I was cammo-ed out so she didn't know that I was not a strange looking bush, but any movement would give me away. I know from experience that she will not stand and stare for long, so I moved ever so slowly to re-load my gun. The impossible thing though is you have to pull the long ram-rod out of the stock and push with all your might to drive the bullet down the barrel. With that she bolted, and was gone. I walked the distance, following a straight line of site to where she was previously standing and saw a fat stick that was recently broken. I'm only guessing that was the stick that either disintegrated my bullet or caused it to ricochet off into outer space or somewhere. No mas carne para this ambre.

Posting ... I'm not much of a journalizer.  Tonight my wife gave me the first fist bump without me having to beg.  She actually raised her fist to me.  I don't even remember what it was about, but it was awesome.  

I am trying to embed a video from my recent ski trip.  It's not very good, my mouth was covered by a neoprene face thing, but its all I got so check it out if you wish.

Travels in February

Just got back from a traveling week-end to St. Charles where Vick, Ange, and I got to spend a little time and a lot of money with Shannon and Tyler Wheeler ... a cute young couple we know from that area.  First time we've seen them since the wedding.  We went to Ruth's Chris for dinner Saturday night.  It is amazing when your meal costs more than the air fare for three to St. Louis and back.  You can rent a small SUV for three days for half the price of your meal.  But 'WOW' is an understatement.  The only steak I have ever eaten that compared was a steak I got at another Ruth's Chris.  And the steak I ate was a steak Shannon ordered but did not eat because it was a bit overcooked.  She actually got another portion cooked to perfection.  What's crazy about the week-end is I ate healthy ... grouper, tilapia, mahi mahi ... oatmeal for breakfast, and ran on the treadmill saturday and sunday mornings.  But when we got home, I jumped on the scales and had gained 6 pounds since Friday morning.  I think I must have dieter's amnesia, forgetting the 4 pieces of sausage and the biscuits and gravy, and the waffle with syrup.  I did work up a pretty good sweat on the treadmill though.  

Vicki and I are leaving in the morning for a little drive to Winter Park Colorado (12 hours).  Warren and Nina Lehr are going with us.  Warren and I are going to ski for 3 days, while Vick and Nina do other stuff.  I'm excited.  The only problem though is that Nina said, 'Finally, Warren is going to ski with someone who can keep up with him.'  That is a little scary, because Warren is like in better shape than Lance Armstrong.  I'm packing two knee braces and a large bottle of Alieve.  I should knock off the 6 pounds and another 6 on top of that.  

Xanga Xanga, what happened to Xanga?

I just completely forgot about xanga.  I seriously forgot the word.  I tried to remember what it was, and could not remember anything about it at all.  I typed www.xanga.com and entered my user name and password and low and behold, the internet took me to a site I haven't posted on since 2007, after claire's 2nd birthday.  It blew me away.  does anybody still xanga?  I went to Amanda's xanga site and she posted something in september 2008.  OK.  Anyway.

bad dreams

I had a dream last night that I went to St. Charles, MO to see Shannon on her 21st birthday.  When we first saw her, we were shocked at how skinny she'd gotten, weighing only about 80 lbs!  Her and Tyler were into the fad-diet of eating only raw food ... nothing cooked, so vegetarian raw food only kinda people.  I really got in their faces and tried to convince them that they were going to die if they didn't start eating a balanced diet of protein and fat with their COOKED vegetable carbohydrates.  They would not listen to me.  I remembered the first time I fasted for 7 days ... water only.  No vitamins, no pain relievers for my headache.  My mom hastled me so bad ... she even cried, but I did not pay any attention to her.  But I still was frantically trying to convince them to eat.  I even tried to force feed Shannon with some peanut butter pie and ice cream but she would not open her mouth.   I woke up panting.  It was only a dream.

Reading (listening to) The Edgar Sawtelle Story ... 566 pages if you actually read the book.  Like 23 hours of audio.  A mute boy and his dogs ... his Sawtelle dogs (like a special breed his grandfather made).  Anyway, murder, ghosts, psychics, and dogs.  lots and lots of dog stuff, training, comunication, devotion, and who knows what the last 8 hours have to hold my attention.  It is a book that I can't wait to find out what happens next, but I don't want it to end.  If you have a year or so to read a book, I suggest you experience The Edgar Sawtelle Story.

I thought that I'd surely heard of the Sawtelle breed, but I wasn't sure, so I googled it, and do my deep disapointment, it is a fictional breed.  I wanted to get me one of those Sawtelle dogs, but there ain't no such thing.  :(

People have  been giving

me a hard time about not putting

pictures on my blog spot.  So, though these pictures 

have been uploaded on Facebook, I put them on my blogspot too.
My grandaught, Kate Weber, Amanda and Nathan's youngest.
Tinkerbell, I took a picture of the TV screen, zoomed in on Tink.  How cool is that?

This is my grandaughter, Alayna Frederick.  Alyson and David's youngest child.
This is the most beautiful woman in the whole world ever, My wife Vicki.
Angela and Kate in front of the window.  I just love them.

Why Do I ...

Why Do I …

 

There are a lot of people who have a hard time with Christianity, and I can see why.  In many ways, it is a paradoxical life.  We sin, but the god who judges us also forgives us.  We love him for that, yet we continue to sin.  No one but Christ Jesus is perfect, but he makes us so, but yet we are not.  If I were to base my devotion to God on the actions of people, I don’t think I’d want to be associated with Christianity either. 

It is much more logical to do life dedicated to a cause than religion.  “We are all on one journey, with one destination, one goal: to conquer cancer.”  The “morality” of religion is excellent, and we should aim high, but Noah and the ark?  Moses and the parting of the red sea?  Adam and Eve in a garden?  Jesus and all his miracles?  He rose from the dead?  Are you kidding me?  Love is good.  Peace is awesome, but don’t ask me to pray to some mystical creator. 

On the other hand, how did the universe get into such synchronization?  It looks kinda chaotic, but the moon orbits the earth, always facing the sun, while the earth rotates so perfectly and precisely, that you can set your watch by it.  It oscillates so slightly so that we enjoy four seasons every time the earth goes around the sun.  And all of the stars we see are pretty much right where they were 2000 years ago.  Egyptian astronomers from 4000 years ago looked at the same sun and moon and planets and stars that we see today.  God did that.  It could not have just happened.  He did it, and he recorded it and he gave it to us. 

He made me too.  He breathed and low and behold, here I am.  Here you are.  We didn’t just happen, any more than it just so happens that earth has one moon.  And wow, my thoughts happen.  I know they do.  I tell my wife, or I type them out.  Where did they come from?  Sure, electric impulses surging through the brain, but my thoughts are not random, there is synchronization.  Pictures, or words, sentences and paragraphs, outlined magically.  Education or learning helps, but what’s that all about anyway?  What made me think I needed education?  I THINK because God made me.  He made me into a thinking person.  He gave me … and everybody else, the ability to think … to think on HIM, And then to tell someone.  To write it down, type it out and communicate with him.  He had to have a purpose.  Maybe he made me so that we could communicate. 

Ultimately, my thoughts are to be His thoughts.  That is partly His purpose, I guess.  For me to be like Him, which happens because I get to know Him.  I experience Him through reading the testimony of Him … His word.  The Bible is His word, Christ is His word … I guess then I am His Word.  I am the testimony of HIM.  His purpose is for me to be the testimony of Him.  A living testament.  Wow, I am to be the New Testament!  Maybe that is why Paul said, not to be controlled by wine, but by the Spirit of God.  To let the word of Christ richly dwell within me. 

Why do I do what I do?  Why do I get up in the morning, go to work, go and play, read, rest, eat, drink, love?  Why did I raise a family, love my children, teach my kids all that stuff, and take them to church?  I guess I do what I do to be a testament of God and His Glory.  I don’t think I a very good picture of God, but getting better and better at it is what life is all about.  It is why we live. 

A kung fu master asked his student how he could climb out of a 10-foot deep hole.  The student contemplated the question as they do in kung fu, but could not come up with the answer.  The master told him, ‘you first dig a hole 3 feet deep, and try to jump out.  Once you master that, you dig it a foot deeper and then try to jump out.  You continue until the hole is 10 feet deep and keep on until you master that hole as well.’

Sanctification … the life of a believer is like that.  We fail, over and over, but we keep trying until we succeed, and then dig a little deeper.  Giving God the glory with every success.  And, our success is measured in how we give god glory.   

Future Blog Possibilities:

·      Lonely out in space   … no

·      Make sense .. God does

·      Pray …

Joy In the Morning

I will exalt you, Lord, for you rescued me.  You refused to let my enemies triumph over me.  O Lord my God, I cried to you for help, and you restored my health.  You brought me up from the grave, O Lord.  You kept me from falling into the pit of death.  Sing to the Lord, all you godly ones!  Praise his holy name.  For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime!  Weeping may last trough the night, but joy comes with the morning.

When I was prosperous, I said, "Nothing can stop me now!"  Your favor, O Lord, made me as secure as a mountain.  Then you turned away from me, and I was shattered.I cried out to you, O Lord.  I begged the Lord for mercy, saying, "What will you gain if I die, if I sink into the grave?  Can my dust praise you?  Can it tell of your faithfulness?  Hear me, Lord, and have mercy on me.  Help me, O Lord"

You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing.  You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy, that I might sing praises to you and not be silent.  O Lord, my God, I will give you thanks forever!

Psalm 30