Lenten Photo Challenge: Day 18 - Celebrate - Part 3

Today is another day to celebrate special people with the Lenten Photo Challenge and this time I celebrate my Sunday Night Sci-Fi kids!

About two years ago, a number of the kids in this group did not have access to watch The Walking Dead. We on the other hand, had our TiVo DVR and had recorded most of the season they were unable to watch. So we invited them over to watch the series with us. It has continued to this day with us still watching The Walking Dead when the new season comes out. We also watch other Sci-Fi shows to fill the in between times and my wife and I have introduced them to such fantastic shows like "Firefly", Battlestar Galactica" and others that they have not seen. (...or really need to see!)

But it has become more than just a night to get together to watch Sci-Fi. It has become, at least for me, and I hope for them, a good way to cap off the weekend with friends, food, conversation, and fellowship. We have shared opinions, stories, a few secrets, and fairly large amount of laughs.

I really enjoy connecting with them in this comfortable setting where they can hang out, say what they want to say without being judged, (geeks should not judge one another..) and talk about their feelings and issues with the understanding that my wife and I will hold what they say in confidence. What happens at Sunday Night Sci-Fi (and is watched) stays at Sunday Night Sci-Fi.

These kids... and I really should not call them that... but for lack of a better term, I will, are my friends. Sure they were my daughters friends first but now they are mine too and I feel as strongly about keeping and cultivating their friendship as much as I do any adult friendship I have.

I have really come to look forward to our Sunday nights together and am just a bit disappointed when we have to cancel or postpone.

For me it is a celebration of many things. A celebration of geekiness, a celebration of friendship and celebrating the simple experience of hanging out together and sharing each others company.

(Note on the photo: Not everyone is present in this photo. Some of the group come and go depending on homework, work and other commitments. But no matter who is able to come over, it is a great time!)

Lenten Photo Challenge: Day 17 - Speak

What languages can you speak? I am so envious of people who have a very good grasp of another language other than their native tongue. My wife speaks French and even though she had not been around speakers of it very much, she is still able to understand it and speak it well enough to carry on a conversation.

I myself have always wanted to know another language. German and Spanish was offered in high school. I had no interest in speaking Spanish (and still don't) but had a great desire to learn German, but I was barely able to handle the English classes I was taking, so I could not see how in the world I could have even have succeeded in taking a German language class. I wish I had.

I took a beginning German class in college but it did not stick very well. I dabbled in some online/computer based courses but even those have limitations that can make commitment difficult.

Fast forward to when we became friends with some German exchange students and then our own time of hosting an exchange student from Germany. These kids (especially Wolf Burkhardt) became family to us and I cannot wait to see them again in their own country and speak to them in their own language.

To my advantage I found out that I am able to take one class a semester for free at Parkland College (Thank you Parkland!!) and I did not hesitate to sign up for the German language class. And the timing was good too. The class is being taught by a new instructor that is absolutely fantastic! I am actually learning the language!
My brain feels like it is being exercised like going to the gym! I love it.

I don't know why we Americans don't teach our kids to speak another language at young ages in school. I think it makes them a better person and I think it helps make them more of a member of the world.

It is not easy learning a new language, but I encourage you to do it. Lernen Sie eine neue Sprache! Sie werden es nicht bereuen.

Lenten Photo Challenge: Day 16 - Beloved

Today the word is beloved. It can mean many things. I have many beloved things in my life. But today the word beloved belongs to these furry children of mine. Gunnar and Astrid. These guys give me so much joy. They can also be a pain in my side but more often than not, they are my beloved "woofer pup" and "spazzy-pants".

My house would not be a home without them.

"The most striking feature of the correctly bred German Shepherd are firmness of nerves, attentiveness, unshockability, tractability, watchfulness, reliability and incorruptibility together with courage, fighting tenacity, and hardness."

-Captain Max von Stephanitz

"The average dog is a nicer person than the average person."
—Andy Rooney (contributor, 60 Minutes)

"You think dogs will not be in heaven? I tell you, they will be there long before any of us."
—Robert Louis Stevenson (author, Treasure Island)

“Dogs don't rationalize. They don't hold anything against a person. They don't see the outside of a human but the inside of a human.”
—Cesar Millan (dog trainer)

"When the Man waked up he said, 'What is Wild Dog doing here?' And the Woman said, 'His name is not Wild Dog any more, but the First Friend, because he will be our friend for always and always and always.'"
—Rudyard Kipling (author, The Jungle Book)

"Man is a dog's ideal of what God should be."
-Holbrook Jackson

Photo Lenten Challenge: Day 15 - Follow

Today I was inspired by "Throwback Thursday" to make this my photo for the Lenten Photo Challenge.

It was a photo I took when I did a quick turn around to see if the kids I was responsible for were following me down the streets of New Orleans.

This was the last day of our Lutheran Youth Gathering trip when my wife and I and three other adults took a bunch of the kids from our church there for the National Lutheran Youth Gathering. We had just attended the Sunday services at the St. Louis Cathedral on Jackson Square and were heading back to the hotel.

It was an amazing time and I have some of my best memories from that trip. It was the second time I was there with high school aged kids following me around the streets of New Orleans.

And I get to do it again! In April I will be chaperoning over 80 marching band students from our local school as they visit New Orleans to perform in various places (one being the National WWII Museum) around New Orleans and getting some direction from some excellent conductors and instructors located there. It will be another amazing time!

But that is besides the point. These students were looking for someone to follow. Someone to plan, organize and direct these trips. Someone they could depend on to make it memorable and worthwhile.

I was happy to be that person. (with the help of others too, of course...)

I loved being their leader. The person they followed. And I am glad they had a great time and made great memories on that trip.

But I don't want them to follow. I don't want them to be followers but to be leaders. I wanted (and want) to lead by example so that they and others can become leaders in their own right with their own followers who will look to them for the right path, the right direction.

I don't like to follow. Sometimes I have to, but I would rather lead. And I want all of the young people I involve myself with to be leaders. Not followers.

Lenten Photo Challenge: Day 14 - Poor

I used to be poor. Or at least I thought I was.

I used to think that when I was a kid that my family was poor. I don't think my father ever made more than $25,000 a year.

I knew a lot of people that had more than we did in terms of nicer, newer homes. Nicer, newer cars, and nicer or newer clothing, furniture, TVs, you name it.

But in reality, my parents were children of the Great Depression and were just frugal and we made do with what we had and when the time and money were available, we bought new things. We really never needed for anything. We were far from poor.

I realized that when I went to college.

I was poor in college.

The photo you see is what used to be the Hardee's at Parkland College. And it was my source of food for a good year. When going to school at college, I had a part time job and worked maybe 15-20 hours a week and got the minimum wage just like everyone else. I did not have much money, and had to get a helping hand from my parents every once in a while. But I still did not have much money. I was so poor that the way I fed myself was to take enough money to buy myself three single hamburgers from the Parkland Hardee's each morning at around 930 or 10am. I would promptly eat one, and stuff the other two in my back pack. At around noon or 1pm I would eat another one, or if I was going to work that evening at the place I worked, I would eat both, as I could get food where I worked. Otherwise that third one was my supper. That was pretty much it. I would have a few groceries at my apartment, but those were slim pickings at best. That was pretty much how I fed myself for the better part of a year or more. There are other instances of how poor I was but this one sticks in my mind the most.

I was poor. Or so I thought.

My dad knew better. I can remember his words when I complained about not having enough money or having a car that was less than reliable. "Quit being so damned lazy and get out and find a better job, or work some more damned hours."

Yep. I wasn't poor. My dad was right.

I was frakking lazy. I was self-imposed poor. I had every opportunity to work more hours or find another job, but I was just too lazy.

I just did not want to work more or take the time to find another job, but I was willing to accept that I was poor and it wasn't my fault. I listened to him. I changed my ways and thanks to meeting a young lady, I made sure I would never be self-imposed poor again.

And here I am going to piss some people off, but this is my blog and my thoughts so, please allow me to continue.

I firmly believe that there are truly poor people in the world and they deserve our help when or where we can help them. But I feel that most of those people that claim poverty and being poor, are just like I was. Lazy, self-imposed poor.

They have the same amount of time that we all have, but chose to use it to wallow in being "poor".

I don't believe in welfare in perpetuity. It was never designed to be a lifestyle. I believe in loans, scholarships, and pay raises or/and extra hours and second or side jobs.

I hate to be so brutally honest but that is just the way I believe.

I believe there are truly poor people in our world. But I think they are being hidden and drowned out by the lazy, self-imposed poor.

Lenten Photo Challenge: Day 13 - Near

I love that most of my family is near by. Some are no more than 15 miles away from me, but excluding those that live in another state, I can travel little more than an hour in any direction and be at the homes of most of my family. But this is not about how near my family is to me.

It is about how near I am to the little town I grew up in. How near and dear it is to me.

I grew up in a little town called "Claytonville". And when I say small, I mean it.

small.

Like if you blink driving through it, you will miss it. Like total population of 50 small. When I was a kid living there, the population was maybe 70 at the most, and a good portion of those inhabitants were dogs.

What is in a town of 50-70 people? You would think not much but to me and my friends, it had everything. Sure it did not have a grocery store... although it did at one time. It did not have a gas station, unless you called the hand pumped tank that the grain elevator used a gas station. It had a garage, a post office, a church and a grain elevator when I was a kid. In it's past, it had a bank, a furniture store, apparently a train depot, grocery store, and a restaurant of sorts.

But then a fire burned a big portion of it to the ground and the little town of Claytonville never recovered. Who knows what it would be like if it has not burned. Maybe it and the neighboring town of Cissna Park would have grown together to make a sort of twin sisters town. But that never happened. As it is, the town has deteriorated quite a bit since I lived there. I suppose that happens to small towns where there is not much to offer. But there are good people there and it is a good little town.

What it did have was all kinds of opportunities for a bunch of imaginative and wild boys to run free and crazy and be boys and generally have a great childhood. If you look back into this blog I have written some entries about some of those adventures so I won't go into them in this posting.
Here's one
And another
or even this one

But that town gave me the best childhood I could hope for. And it still gives me memories and experiences. With family gatherings, visits with my mom, and I still have a couple of friends who live there, I am still connected to this little town. It is near and dear to my heart.

At some point in the future, I will not really have much connection with the little town of Claytonville. And this bothers me. I have deep affection for the town that gave me such a great childhood. Somehow I want to keep it near to me.

But until I figure that out, I will have to just go visit it.

Lenten Photo Challenge: Day 12 - Bless

I am blessed in many ways.

I have a lot to be thankful for, but if there is one thing I am most blessed it is my wife.

If it were not for her, I think I might not be where I am today.

She has blessed me by being my constant companion, my partner in crime and my guiding hand.

Together with her, I have a happy home and family, live in a wonderful town and have fantastic friends and enjoy some of the best things that life has to offer.

She has encouraged me in all that I do and helped me avoid those things that I should not.

Together there is nothing that we can't do.

I am blessed to have her.

(oh... and she is short.... and I appreciate her. A lot!)

Lenten Photo Challenge : Day 11 - Celebrate (#2)

Today is another day to Celebrate special people in my life.

Today I celebrate my kids, Julian and Cora.

They are pretty great kids. I know that most parents say this about their kids, and they should. Parents should be proud of their kids, but not just because they are their kids but because those kids have given them reason to be proud of them.

My kids have made me proud of them many times over.

They are smart, responsible, kind people that are fun to have around and do things with.

I like that they have found their passions and have a good idea of what they want to do in the future.

They have interests that are out of the ordinary and they are okay with that. They are okay having hobbies that most people don't. Historical Re-enacting, gaming, etc... (Cora flies her geek flag almost as high as I do!)

Each is talented in their own way. I wish I could sing half as well as Cora and Julian has surpassed me in shooting ability and knowledge.

I also really like that they still enjoy doing things with Cordelia and I. While it happens less and less often that we are able to do things as a family, we have a great time when we do!

I like that they have conviction in their beliefs and stance on issues. Cora has come to understand that you cannot be someone that people want you to be and that life is too short for drama and Julian grabs on to his interests with a passion that consumes him and has led him to face down those that would try change his belief and found them lacking.

I like that despite me being a goofy, geeky dad, they are not overly embarrassed by me. For that alone, they deserve a prize!

This is one of the hardest things to write about. There is almost too many things I can say about them that I can't actually put it all into words.

Suffice it to say that I am a proud dad and I celebrate that they are such cool kids.

Lenten Photo Challenge: Day 10 - Power

I believe in the POWER of prayer.

I am not an overtly religious person, and for better or worse, I keep my religion personal and to myself.

But ask me if there is any power in prayer and I will say, without a doubt, "YES".

I have seen it happen. I know it works and you will not be able to prove it otherwise to me.

There is POWER in prayer.

Lenten Photo Challenge: Day 9 - Wait

"Wait!" "Hang on." "Just be patient." "In a minute." "Please take a number." "Your call will be answered in 4 minutes."

No thank you. I cannot wait.

I will not wait.

And if I do have to wait, I will not like it.

No one really likes to wait, but I do it worse than most people. I accept that I cannot wait for things to happen and have little to no real patience and I make no excuses for this flay. But I do not consider it a flaw. Only part of who I am. If you know me at all, then you know this explains a lot about me!

I never have been very good at it. But it was not until about 20 + years ago that I realized that I was hard wired to make life happen for me instead of waiting or it to happen to me. I was discovering that the world had so much to show me and there were so many things to do and see that I could not wait for those things to be seen, be done or be part of. It was a point of contention between my wife and I early on as I had a tendency to plan things without consulting her. Not that she did not want to be part of the plan but because she knew I did not think through the planning process well or simply did not consult a calendar! I am still guilty of doing this from time to time but now we plan together much more, and in turn we are never without something to do, see or be part of.



Ironically, today I was deeply saddened by the death of one of the icons of Sci-Fi and the actor behind one of the most beloved characters of all time in Science Fiction history - Leonard Nimoy. "Mr. Spock" of Star Trek. And I am reminded of a line from the movie, Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan.

"Accepting Death - by understanding that every life comes to an end, when time demands it. Loss of life is to be mourned, but only if the life was wasted." - Spock

Time waiting is time wasted and in my world, time wasted is life wasted.

I will not wait.

Thank you Mr. Spock.

Lenten Photo Challenge: Day 8 - Place

Where is your place? Do you have a place? I don't mean a place were you live or a place where you work, but a place were you belong. A place that makes you feel perfectly comfortable and at ease and a place were you think you might just be making a difference.

My place is right in the middle of young people.

Ever since I had kids of my own, I knew that being involved in the lives of young people in my community was the place I belonged.

My son joined Cub Scouts as a Tiger Cub and when the opportunity for someone to take over leadership in the Cub Scouts arose, I jumped at the chance to be part of this organization that helps shape young boys into young men. This continued into Boy Scouts as my son advanced upward in his Scouting ranks and I was right there in the dirt with those Boy Scouts. Camping, merit badge work, service projects, you name it. I found my place with them.

Another opportunity arose when my daughter became a Girl Scout and my wife took over as leader. I needed to be part of that youth organization. I was maybe not as involved as I was with the Boy Scouts, but I supported them in every way I could.

At our church, my wife and I felt the need to be leaders of the High School aged Youth Group and we found even more rewards with this group of young people. We made two trips to New Orleans for Youth Gatherings that gave me, and I hope them, experiences they will never forget.

I even work my way into school trips and such... even going with a group of FFA kids to Washington DC for a week trip. Trips to the zoos or trips to Springfield. And in a few months, I am joining the PBL Marching Band on a trip to New Orleans as a chaperone.

And as I mentioned in an earlier blog, we hosted a foreign exchange student and soon our house became overrun with high school students coming and going from our house. I could not have been happier.

And now I am working at Parkland College and am heavily involved in the training and education of young people just starting off on their adult lives and I love it. I found my place even at work. And for that I am really thankful.

And to those young people who have let me be a part of their lives.... Thank you. You have no idea how much it means to me.

Lenten Photo Challenge: Day 8 - Remember

Nothing deep today... just a story of remembering.

Today, as most work days, I like to take a walk around the Parkland College campus to get some exercise and just get out of the office a bit. While doing so, I was remembering walking the same halls and stairwells when I was a student, fresh out of High School and trying to make a go of it as a college student. I was not a stellar student while studying at Parkland College but I did okay. What I remember most were the people I met, the friends I made and the fun I had trying out classes that were not part of my field of study.

It was there that I took my first radio class, working at WPCD and falling in love with something that would eventually become my career. And I remember even further back, as a young boy listening to the few stations that we could actually receive in my neck of the woods, thinking that it would be really great to be on the radio or have a career in radio. Jump back ahead again to my days as a Parkland student and I remember being told to go volunteer at this little place called the Illinois Radio Reader, not just to help out but to get more practice reading script on the air.

Eventually that stint as a volunteer opened up the opportunity for me to take the role of director of the Illinois Radio Reader which in turn (after 20 years) opened the door for me to take a job back at Parkland College and the very same radio station that I got my start at.

Now I have in my office the little plaque that used to be on the wall of the WPCD studio that showed where former students had moved onto after their time at WPCD. For me it is a full circle.

Funny what a simple walk with remind you of.

Lenten Photo Challenge: Day 7 - Path

I often wonder how my life would be different if I had chosen a different path in life in terms of career, family, and even my beliefs and opinions on the world.

I think we all wonder if we are on the right path in life. Did we make the right decisions and choices?

For some people it is painfully obvious that they did not.

For others, it looks like the world is their oyster and every decision they made was perfect. (But I really doubt it.)

I think back and wonder... What if I had signed that paper that would have enlisted me in the US Army instead of going to college? What if I had moved to a larger metropolitan area when I left home for college? What if I had not gone to a certain bar on campus and met a certain girl there? What if I had not decided to take a chance on a new job after being in the same one for 20 years?

I really have no idea what my life would look like now or how it would be if I had made different choices years ago... and more recently too.

I like the way things have turned out. REALLY like the way my path had led me. And for that I am Thankful.

But what I do know is that I have encountered a lot of great people, who have been with me on some great experiences and I think that is what the best part about walking this path of Life. You never know who you will meet on the path and how they will affect your life.

Sometimes they will make the path easier to walk on, and sometime make it more difficult.

It's not the path, it's the intersections that matter.

Lenten Photo Challenge; Day 6 - Covenant

"Covenant"

I really did not know where to go with this word. This is the hardest word so far in the Photo Challenge. I know the meaning behind it and like the word "promise", it means that you will follow through, you will uphold your end, and you are committed to something. My wife wrote a wonderful piece about this word HERE and I won't dare try to copy something as beautiful as what she wrote.

So I will go another route. Much like the word "announce" that was the first word in this Lenten Challenge, the word "covenant" has much that same meaning for me. (Unless you are talking about the Covenant in the "HALO" game series and then we skitter off into a much geekier discussion...)

I have made many covenants in my life. Covenants to my wife, my family, God, work and to myself. When I make a covenant with someone, I fully intend to follow through with that agreement and should I fall short, even though I am embarrassed by my failure, I can at least beg for forgiveness from those I failed. I am rarely able to forgive myself. I am probably harder on myself than I need to be but that is just the makeup of my personality. There are things that I have failed to do on a personal level that I feel I should have accomplished and finished with success. Some of them are trivial while a few are broken covenants that I will never forgive myself for.

I make covenants with myself to challenge myself, to better myself, and to be someone that others can depend on.

--On a side note, the photo is the result of one of my covenants to myself. To learn a new language. I am struggling to get there, but I am getting closer!

Lenten Photo Challenge: Day 5 - Celebrate

During this photo challenge it appears that each Sunday, the word is "Celebrate". So I think that I will take each of those to celebrate special people in my life.

Today I celebrate --- Wolf Burkhardt!!

Wolf came into our lives in 20112 when we began on the adventure of hosting a foreign exchange student in our home. We had decided to do this after having such a great time with some other exchange students who were in other families around Paxton. We began our journey of "shopping for kids" on the hosting website and settled on this goofy looking German kid that according to his bio, would be a good match for our family. And damn, did he fit in. Like a piece of the puzzle. Like he had been a part of the family that we had just never met. I won't go into details of his time here because most of you know the rest of the story because you were part of it! And that is why I am celebrating him today in this Lenten Photo Challenge!

I celebrate him because he is one of the most outgoing, friendly persons I know of.

I celebrate him because while he is an amazing and fun individual, he is a very humble and concerned person.

I celebrate him because he welcomes all new experiences and opportunities that come to him.

I celebrate him because he wants to know more about the people and world around him.

I celebrate him he can make friends where ever he goes.

I celebrate him because I was able to talk to him about a country I have a deep interest in and he could respond with first hand knowledge.

I celebrate him because unlike many of his fellow countrymen, he is not afraid to say he is proud to be a German.

I celebrate him for his wonderful sense of humor.

I celebrate him for being more American than some Americans I know.

I celebrate him because he inspired me to learn a new language.

I celebrate him because he was part of what set my family back to our normal routine after being on hold for a long time.

I celebrate him because he gave me a German family that I now belong to.

I celebrate him for being part of my family and being like a son to me.

Thank you Wolf!

Lenten Photo Challenge: Day 4 - Joy.

No one is ever unhappy when they are holding an ice cream cone.

It's the little things in life that give you joy.

To me, Joy and Happiness are two separate things. Closely related to one another and each affects the other but they are separate things in my view point.

Joy is fleeting. Happiness is enduring.

Having joy does not necessarily mean you are happy. I know many people who find joy in small things and activities, but overall, they are very unhappy people.

I think I am a happy person and I can wake up in the morning ready to face the day because I have created for myself, and surrounded myself with things, activities and people that are a joy to have, do or be around.

Things that bring me joy:

Playing with my dogs.
Teaching someone a new game and having them say it was the best game they have ever played. (Until the next game I show them!)
Playing a game, whether I win or lose.
Discovering a new wine.
Discovering a new wine.... with my wife or friends.
Making Campfire Coffee. (It's capitalized because its a THING in my life>)
Discussing the minutiae of some historical subject with my buddy Rick.
Hearing my daughter sing. (I am so jealous of her talent!)
Watching my son shoot guns. (I am jealous of his talent too!)
Teaching someone how to shoot a gun.
Hearing a church congregation sing a hymn just right that it gives you chills.
Having a clean car.
Having a clean house.
Studying a new subject.
Making something from an idea in my head.
Re-connecting with an old friend.
Fire and Wines.
My Sunday Night Sci-Fi kids... and hanging out with all of the kids that I call friends.
Eating an ice cream cone.
.... and on and on and on.

Not a single one of them requires a ton of work or a ton of money. They are the little things that bring me joy.

And they create for me a happy life.

Lenten Photo Challenge: Day 3 - Alone

I have no idea what it is like to be alone. I don't mean the kind of alone where you are by yourself at home, or at a restaurant or movie theater, but the kind of alone where there is no one you can depend on to be there when you need them.

My wife is always with me. Even if she is not physically near me, she is always with me. When I make a decision or plan, her voice is there advising me. And most of the times I listen... Sometimes, to my regret, I don't. :)

I have a big family and they are the type of family that will have your back and be there in an instant when you need them. Even my father who passed away five years ago is still with me if I take time to hear him.

I have friends that are the best that someone could ever ask for. They are fun to be around but most importantly I can turn to them for help and support.

All of these people are my foundation and my support system and with them I will never be alone. They are part of my pack. And for that I am grateful. Incredibly grateful.

But I am sure that there are many people I know that do feel alone. And I probably have no idea that they feel that way. But I am here to tell you that if you feel alone, please let me know. If you are one of those people that make it possible that I never feel alone, I want to return that favor. I want to be part of your pack.

No one should feel alone. No one should be a lone wolf.

** Note on the wolf photo. Obviously it is not mine. But if asked what something thinks about when they hear the word "alone", often they think of the "lone Wolf", out alone in the wilderness. But they are not. Wolves are social creatures that depend on their pack to survive. They might seem as though they can survive alone, but they cannot. I can relate to the wolf.

Photo source: Here

Lenten Photo Challenge Day 2 : Look

How do you start your day? Do you look forward to it? How do you look at your day? The 24 hours that you have. You have the same 24 hours that everyone else has, but you will spend it far differently than anyone else, all because of how you look at it.

It is very easy to become jaded and angry with ourselves, our lives. Even angry and jaded with others and situations that we really can't do anything about. (Even though we can but we can't see a way to do it.) So very often we don't look forward to the day that we have been given. The day becomes jammed packed with all kinds of things that demand our attention. We get frustrated and sometimes the day gets lost to us. And then we collapse in bed looking forward to the bliss of sleep but dreading getting up in the morning. I have been there. And sometimes I am there. I have been told by many that I always seem to be having a good time at what ever I am doing. I can't say if that is true but I certainly do try! I am not sure when, but at some point in the past I realized that I need to look at each day as a gift and make the most of it. That was impressed upon me in a big way a few years ago, because you can never know when you will not be able to look forward to another day. But there is also another reason... in a very geeky way.

I was inspired by, of all people, William Shatner. Yes. James T. Kirk himself. I was listening to an interview with his nephew I believe, and he was asked what it was like to be close to William Shatner. He described Shatner as having more fun than anyone else he knew. Everything is fantastic to Shatner. Everything is a wonderful experience, it is always the best he has ever had, even if it is a simple glass of lemonade. He is happy to be alive and looks forward to the next day. I am sure there are many like him in this world that have that same enthusiasm, but for a geek like me, I look up to him as role model... After all, he played CAPTAIN KIRK! And to a geek like me, that is all the incentive I need.

So I take a cue from the man himself. William Shatner. I look forward to each day and I look to have as good of a day as possible and try to revel in every experience. I don't always succeed, but I try!

Live Long and Prosper my friends and look forward to a great day!

Lenten Photo Challenge: Announce

Very often we hear people speaking their mind and announcing to the world what they think or feel about things, events, and people. The internet, Facebook, Twitter and all sorts of social media give people who might not otherwise be heard, a platform for speaking their mind. Much like a radio station allows it's on air personalities a platform for them to perform. The difference... most of the time... is that there are rules or guidelines to what you can or cannot (or are not supposed to at least) say on the airwaves. Some of those rules and guidelines are being tossed to the side and as more and more people ignore or overstep them, the fewer people are going to respect them in the future. On the internet, many people seem to feel insulated and will say things that they would never say to someone face to face. Words have meaning. Words have power. Whether stated as an opinion, in jest or as fact, when you say things, someone is going to hear you and assume that what you say is what you believe. I do. When you say something to me, I will take you at your word. I am someone that believes that when you say you will do something, you will do it. When you promise something, it will happen. When you say you will be somewhere, you will be there. But oh so often I am disappointed. People say words that they don't mean. They don't follow up. Words seem to be cheap now a days. Just look on the internet at all of the anger, hate and spiteful words are tossed around. But there are some good words used there too. Words used to inspire, uplift, comfort, and for knowledge. What I am getting at is that we all have a voice and we should be mindful of how we use it. And as far as I am concerned, if you say something, I am going to take you for your word. To that end, I am going to use this initial photo challenge to announce what I am doing for Lent. I think that when I state it and put it out there for the public, I am held more accountable to hold to what I have said I will do. Each year I try to add or change what I do for the Lenten Season. Here is my 2015 challenge to myself. Some are ones I have kept for a long time and some are new ones. Each one has a reason for being there and if you are curious why, just ask.

So... in the next 40 days I announce that I:

- will not eat any potatoes or foods with potatoes (harder than you think...)
- will not add white sugar to anything I eat or drink
- will not eat bread (as in slices of bread or rolls and such)
- will not eat candy of any sort (this is a big one for me!)
- will fast for 24 hours once a week
- will not drink soda pop
- will read at least one chapter from a book during the work week (I find that I have really dropped off how much I read)
- will partake in the photo challenge generated by ReThinkChurch.org
- will join my wife and daughter at the gym 3 times a week
- will go camping at least once during this Lenten Season
- will finish at least two projects I have been working on that are taking up way to much space in by basement

There... I have said it. Now I must follow through.

Rethinking Lent....

It has been a long time since I have written anything in my blog, or hell, even looked or thought about it, but the Lenten season is coming and I thought this that I should use my blog to participate in the ReThink Church Lenten Photo Challenge. I really enjoyed doing it a couple of years ago and it seemed well received so I think I will do it again. The photos and opinions will be my own unless I need help from the outside world and interwebs. This is not really for anyone but myself. I never used to take the Lenten Season very seriously, but over the last few years I have begun to rethink (See what I just did there...?) it and this challenge is something that I will add to my ever growing list of things I do or not do during the 40 days of Lent. So read along with me on my photo challenge, or even better yet, do it with me!