Wednesday, December 21, 2011

12 "Pains' of Christmas


This was an incredibly fast pace workout.  I hit a brick wall at burpee's but suffered through it to finish at 33:40.  By the 12th round the Hang Snatches were becoming difficult to even pull over my head.  All around...a great workout!

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Mark Driscoll On Yoga....

Deck of Death! 11-30-11


Incredible workout!  If you've never done a workout like this you're missing out.  This one will make your heart race for the entire workout.  I finished at around 32 minutes.  The action is non-stop as you keep going as each card is pulled.  If you fall behind you have to push forward as you make up the cards those in front of you have already done.  Quote of the day is from Lance Armstrong, "Pain is temporary, quitting lasts forever."

Monday, November 28, 2011

Monday's WOD 11-28-11






At first glance it looked like an easy workout.  When I was finished my legs were wobbly and shaking.  The next day my legs were SORE!  Ah, but as is the motto in CrossFit.."BRING IT!"

Sunday, September 4, 2011

On the park bench

This was a quote I found from Connor 1 year ago today.
So we're at the park today. Connor is sitting on the park bench with me and he says "daddy, I know 2 things that would make men happy" So I asked what it was...he replied "A comfortable bed and a clean bathroom". He truly is my son :)

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

You're Old!!!

Connor: How are you daddy?

Me: Good, why do you ask?

Connor: You look tired. I heard people get tired when they're old.

Me: I'm not that old.

Connor: YOU remember the 80's...so yeah..you are old.

Me: Good point. Go to your room so the old guy can sleep.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Marriage and Men: I Peter 3:7

Last night my lovely bride and I watched this powerful sermon by Mark Driscoll. Warning: He's harsh, upfront, and honest. Perhaps to honest. At the end of the video I asked my wife what she thought of the video. She replied, "it's a video every woman should listen to and every guy should watch." I agree.


Thursday, July 14, 2011

Look me in the eyes...

As I celebrate 2 years of training I've been trying to refocus and set new goals for myself. Then, I heard this blurb from Michael Jordan and it pretty much said it all.

"Look me in the eyes. Its ok if you’re scared, so am I. But we’re scared for different reasons. I’m scared of what I won’t become, and you’re scared of what I could become. Look at me. I won’t let myself end where I started. I won’t let myself finish where I begin. I know what is within me. Even if you can’t see it yet. Look me in the eyes. I have something more important than courage. I have patience. I will become what I know I am." Michael Jordan

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Mark Driscoll: Ashley's Tips for Daddys

Yesterday as Lauren and I were going out for dinner I noticed that "Perkins" was closed down. I'm not going to lie, and this might seem sappy, but I was really sad. Since the girls were very young I had taken them for breakfast at Perkins on our father/daughter dates. The girls would order their "Perky Bear Pancakes" and get chocolate all over their mouth and face. It was a place with a lot of good memories.

Dads, I'm not sure how many of you truly understand the role you play in your daughter's life. Daddy/daughter dates are so important. You set the precedent for the type of person they'll end up meeting some day...scary isn't it? Watch this lil blurb from Mark Driscoll...and...maybe you might want to consider some of Ashley's tips to daddy's....


Bill

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Evangelistic vs. Doctrinal Preaching —part one

Something to consider. Two different styles...but...what does scripture say about it? Do we teach to draw attendance or do we teach to those in attendance...would welcome your thoughts.

Evangelistic vs. Doctrinal Preaching —part one

Congregational Government is From Satan

This is from James MacDonald's Blog...interested to hear feedback on this...


NOTE: the tone of this post is intentionally aimed at influencing those who are engulfed in this system of church government that neither honors the Scriptures nor advances the gospel.

That’s right! It’s actually the title to a book I have had percolating in my mind for a long time. After almost 30 years in ministry I have come irreversibly to this conclusion: congregational government is an invention and tool of the enemy of our souls to destroy the church of Jesus Christ. So there, I have said the strongest part of the message first; now some commentary.

1) Congregational Meetings Are Forums for Division:
When church life is going well, the leaders of a church struggle to get a quorum for decision making. When things are going wrong, every carnal member lines up at a microphone to spew their venom and destroy the work of Christ in the church. I saw it growing up, and I have seen it since in churches that are fighting to survive and do something courageous for their future. Good people being held hostage by bad people, minorities hijacking the majority because a set of ‘by-laws’ get higher regard than the Scriptures. Satan does want to rip church unity to shreds like a devouring lion (1 Peter 5:8). He is accomplishing that again and again through a system of church government which elevates the fleshly and the worldly—often even those who no longer attend—to a status of influence equal to the most spiritually and biblically-minded in any congregation.

2) Voting Is Not Biblical
The right to vote may be an American right given by the Constitution, but it is not a kingdom right given in the Word of God. It may be a tradition of some wonderful streams of church history, e.g. Baptist, but it is not biblical. There is not a shred of biblical evidence for a congregation voting on what its direction should be, but many church members believe it is their ‘God-given right’ to stand in judgement over the Pastors and Elders that are seeking to lead them. Even Mark Dever, a personal friend, champion for congregationalism, and credible scholar admits, “But the functioning of a purely congregational system is both unwieldy and lacking biblical support. Instead the establishment of a body of elders to serve in the day-to-day leadership in spiritual matters, serving at the pleasure of the congregation, enables us to maintain both the traditional distinctive of congregational life and the clearly biblical structure of elders.”

3) Eldership Is Sometimes Unpopular
Elders are responsible to “shepherd the flock” (1 Peter 5:2), which is often a very dirty job. Calling out sin, dealing with those who have fallen and seeking their restoration (Galatians 6:1-4), these responsibilities put Elders in positions where doing the right often means doing the unpopular. To then force the Elders to submit to a referendum on their actions is crushing to good men and destroys the work of God in a church. Rather, coming under a group of godly men will always be the best opportunity for a church to live in submission to God’s Word and Spirit. In recent years we have seen many churches taken captive by a few vocal people who, like Alexander the coppersmith exposed by Paul in 2 Timothy 4:14, do “much harm.” The Elders spend the majority of time trying to keep these blasphemous enemies of the gospel in line and often finish their term of leadership crushed by the weight of unrelenting criticism.

4) Congregationalism Crushes Pastors
Statistics tell us that Pastors move every 2-3 years and that a pastor typically leaves a church because of 8 people. If you wonder how just eight people can so resist and refuse and ruin the calling of a gifted and trained messenger of the gospel then you have not spent much time in congregational settings. Just one elder’s wife, or one women’s ministry director, or one chairman of the building committee can consume a pastor and erode the support he needs to serve the church well. A lot of the men writing today in favor of congregational government defend it as a tradition, and are so effective as leaders that they are able to suppress the inevitable uprising of carnality—but that is not so in the vast majority of small congregationally-stifled churches. I could retire now if I had banked a hundred dollars for every time a Pastor wept to me on the phone or in person about the crushing weight of a local ‘church boss’ who would not listen to Scripture or reason or God’s Holy Spirit. Many of the Pastors who have come into Harvest Bible Fellowship these past years have come seeking a new model of church government that frees them from the tyranny of the untrained and untrainable.

5) Priesthood Not Eldership of All Believers
A significant plank in the platform of biblical protestantism has been the priesthood of all believers. This is the idea that all of us as followers of Christ have equal standing before God and do not need a clerical intermediary in our relationship with the Lord. Sadly, though, this has led in many congregations to the Eldership of all believers—where each person, regardless of training, giftedness, fruitfulness, experience, etc., considers their thoughts about the future of a given congregation to be of equivalent value. Satan uses this expectation to create in people a demand to be heard, an insistence that their thoughts on the future of a church—no matter how quickly formed, or singularly held—receive validation equal that of a Pastor/Elder. When the vote takes place people are polarized, and factions sit back and wait for the plans they did not support with their vote to fail. (Sadly similar to the way most people view a president for whom they did not vote). It’s impossible to reconcile that process with:
Hebrews 13:17 “Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give an account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.”
Down with congregational government. Not the people who believe in it or appreciate its history, not the good or bad people who try to function well in a bad system—down with the system itself. Let’s send congregational government back to hell where it came from. It’s unbiblical, unhealthy and too often a tool of Satan for the discouragement of good Pastors, godly Elders, and local churches everywhere.

You are welcome to engage in this discussion. Let’s stick to biblical defenses of congregationalism (which should be a short section) and anecdotal evidence of its effectiveness. I expect also to hear from Pastors who have suffered under its tyranny.

Monday, June 13, 2011

US News Ranks the Top Diets...Where They Went Wrong...

Original US News Article: The article made a pretty major mistake, in my opinion. It didn't cite any references or studies in its criticisms of Paleo.

1st and 2nd rebuttals to the US News Article: This is what the original article should have included but didn't. Dr. Courdain makes a wonderful case for Paleo along with independent research and citations to other studies that were done. Paleo may not have a national spokesperson to carry its torch but as a Paleo man I can speak to it's validity.

Enjoy!

What will you teach your children about alcohol?

Thoughts?

From Vertical Church Blog

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

A Note From Connor...

Elaine found a note Connor wrote. I can't begin to express how this note made me feel...

"My hero is my dad because he cheers me up when I am angry or sad. He is my hero because he warns me when I am about to do something wrong. My dad is my hero because he taught me to never give up. I learned that I can be just like him."

Words can't express how I feel...but it sure is nice to be a hero to my kids :)

Bill

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Paleo

These are some great links to visit about Paleo, food for Paleo, and Paleo as part of our life. Enjoy!

http://thepaleodiet.com/

http://robbwolf.com/faq/

http://whole9life.com/

http://everydaypaleo.com/

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/paleo-diet-research/

http://www.stevesoriginal.com/store

http://www.nativemeats.com/index.php

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/cheese-unhealthy/

http://www.paleofood.com/

http://paleodietlifestyle.com/paleo-diet-recipes/

Monday, January 10, 2011

Cheap Tips Say Alot

I remember my time in college and all the odd jobs I did to earn money. One of my first jobs was as a waiter at a pizza parlor. One of things I use to dread was working on a Sunday after church. The restaurant would be packed, which was great for pizza sales, however the tips were terrible! One could argue it was my service, doubtful since I rocked it as a waiter, but instead it was something much more dreadful...cheap people. On this point I have a couple thoughts.

1. If you can't afford to dine at a restaurant where a tip is required then don't go! That's what fast food places are for.

2. As I said before I dreaded working on Sunday's. Quite honestly the Sunday afternoon crowd was terrible at tipping and often creative in how they tipped. For instance, I remember having a family leave me a "track" instead of a tip. I've heard of recent events where a "track" which looks like money is left. Really? Not to long ago I was at a pizza place with my family and witnessed a table of 10 people with lots and lots of food. The tip left...$2.00. From what I saw the waitress worked her tail off. As far as testimony goes it's a sad one left for the waiter/waitress and often a turn off toward Christianity.

Be mindful, and tip according to service, but most importantly remember that these servers are hard working folks who deserve your respect and a well earned tip.