A Tale of Two Hares...

So I dropped off my kiddos at the babysitter's to head to work this morning and while I was scooting across this little back road I noticed two rabbits chasing each other back and forth on the highway. From about 200 yards off it seemed funny then the closer I got the more the reality of a squishy bunny set in and the chasing seemed to turn into mass confusion. The rabbits were just running in circles at one point then started to dart to the right quickly reversing direction and heading back to the left. I (out loud) said, "little bunnies you better get committed!" They safely darted off the road and into a field of lush green grass. Then it hit me, "Jimmy, you better get committed." So often we are like these two rabbits running in circles, either playing or in total confusion not sure what to do or where we are going. It's time we get committed and here are a couple reasons.

1. People are watching.

Just like that other little rabbit that was simply following everything the other was doing we are leading someone. I had a gentlemen I hold in high regard shoot me very straight the other night and for that I will be forever grateful. He said, "Jimmy, the reason they aren't doing anything is because they are watching you." I, personally don't want to be the one to lead my team, family, and friends under the wheel of a car because I chose not to get committed.

2. Your dreams/goals matter.

I don't know what that looks like for you. I don't know if it's material things or the time freedom, but what I do know is that it's YOUR dream and you are the owner. The only thing that stops you from achieving your dreams is you.

3. Your family is worth it.

I wake up every day with two little blessings and a wife who puts up with all my faults. If I decide to quit I'm not giving up on just me but my family and their dreams some not even born yet.

Don't live life running in circles waiting for things to change or someone else to get committed, you get committed and achieve your goals. Commitment = Consistency and Consistency = Commitment.

Second Day of Spring...

Wow, Second day of Spring 2010 and we end up with 10 inches on our porch! So crazy! Then on Tuesday they are calling for highs around 65. Jim Rohn who I consider a mentor always said, "You have summer, then fall, then winter, then spring, then summer...WRITE IT DOWN!" Cycles of life happens but there are always constants that we can count on. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. His final comment on the subject was, "if you don't like it that's fine when you get your own planet you can do what you wish." I am constantly in awe of God. I believe that as far as I can remember these may have been the biggest snowflakes I've ever seen, yet no snowflake is alike. Amazing. Have you ever thought about the true splendor of God? I'm amazed as I read through God's word how no one who came in contact with the Father or Jesus left the same person. Wait, I guess there were some. They were the legalism of the time, the law experts, Pharisee's, etc. Even though Jesus constantly showed them miraculous things they were so blinded by the fact of the laws being broken they couldn't see the beauty in the Father. The beauty that He was now sending His Son to abolish what they actually treasured more than a relationship with God which is what was supposed to be the point. How often do we get caught up in the law (typically ones WE created) and lose sight of the fact that the reason we were created was to love the Father...don't overlook the snowflakes.

Man boobs...

Okay, let me just start if you are offended at this post I'm sorry but it's life...I found a picture that I thought was "appropriate" for my readers. Here's the skinny, I don't want my 30's to involve these. Just the other day I was in the kitchen fixing some supper for the kids and Caleb made me laugh and for some odd reason at that very moment I noticed more than ever a slight jiggle on my chest. Now, I'm not ignorant I understand I have developed some flab on my stomach but to feel my chest bounce a sense of fear and sudden anxiety overtook me. It was obvious that even though MY world stopped everyone else's didn't. Caleb had noticed the sudden fear over take my face and posed the question, "What's wrong daddy?". What was I to say I couldn't say, "well son, you're dad is developing man boobs and it's his only fear in life...", that just wouldn't have worked out well. So I began to laugh/cry again to make things better. Honestly, one of, if not my biggest fears is to have a gut so big that I lose sight of my toes. So, tomorrow starts my journey of dropping the weight. It starts with better eating and continuing the exercising. Pray for me and my loss of man boobs.

Thoughts on 30...

Okay so here I am, 30 years after God granted me my first breath and my mom held me tight in her arms. It seems to be a serious time of reflection to me today. What did my mom and dad think when they held me 30 years ago in an old hospital in Springdale? Mom reminds me often of how she hates the smell of tar because that day they were spreading tar on the roof of the old hospital and the smell along with labor was making her very noxious. My Aunt Cathy shared with me today her feelings of exuberance due to my head of red hair. Isn't it funny, I mean really. I have no fear of getting old. I don't desire to get weak or decrepit or die a slow death but age has never frightened me. I understand that with age comes wisdom and just one day closer to my eternal goal. For some reason this year, this day has honestly made me consider my previous 30 years. Tim McGraw has a song called "My Next 30 Years." Fittingly appropriate I listened to it this morning on You Tube and agreed with Tim. So anyways here's what I've learned in 30 years...

1. Life is not all about the goals but the journey you take to reach your goals and who you become along the way.
2. Two things that are most important on Earth. Credit Score and Integrity.
3. If God is for me who can be against me?
4. I am blessed and highly favored.
5. Speak life into every part of who you are; family, friends, job, yourself, etc.
6. Good books and audio WILL change your life.
7. Work Harder on you than you do at your job.
8. Drink more water.
9. Good health and nutrition is important.
10. Hug Ash and kids today b/c tomorrow's not promised.
11. Leave a legacy.
12. I am guilty but pardoned.
13. Who we associate with will effect our attitudes, goals, family, and income.
14. Butter still tastes good.
15. I control my attitude and my actions, no one else.
16. When I see the sun set in the west in all it's splendor at it's largest viewing, and darkness begins to set on my home, the sun, stars, and moon are only one tiny part in a vast space that God has set into motion perfectly and controls. Yet in all His splendor and creations He is most proud of me.

I love you, you are blessed even in difficulty, I believe in you, you will succeed, God is for you, He knows your heart, hug your loved ones, laugh, live. Looking forward to the next 30 with you.

Snow Days

So my job pretty well rocks. I get the opportunity to impact hundreds of lives of students while having a blast doing it, and, I get snow days. I'm like a little kid again. Everyone's praying for no snow and or ice and I'm just saying BRING IT ON! Okay, maybe not the ice but you know what I mean. We have had one of the coldest winters I can remember since I was a little kid. I haven't seen snow stay on the ground this long in years. With another "chance" of a snow tonight it might mean another snow day or two to finish out the week. Sweet. The high on Friday is 5...yeah, I said 5. Wow...looks like I'll be hitting up my new found Atari. Sure I could spend 300 bucks on a system or 50 bucks for 2 with 43 games and joysticks and paddles...yeah...that's right. Brad Paisley is right, welcome to the future. We thought that was intense and when Pit came out the graphics were astounding! Now we play games that are so life like I feel guilty for shooting someone. Anywho. Hope all is well in Blog land for anyone bored enough to have followed along this far. Good day and God bless. I mean that.

Spinning is for GIRLS!

So this was my comment when I told my good friend who had started a spinning class in the summer. He and another close friend told me that I needed to get my large rump on a bike and see what I thought. For those who are clueless a spinning class is a class where a group of girls gather in a room and ride bikes. Or so I thought.... My buddy I was speaking has lost over 60 lbs just in this spinning class alone so I was a little inquisitive to what really went on in the room. Recently Ash and her friend Amy joined a spinning class at the gym. She came home the first night and was sore for a week solid before she went back to her next class. After the second class I think she went 3 times that week. She's addicted. Now, I'm out of shape but I'm not dead. I bike once a month whether I need it or not, and periodically I go to the gym and walk around looking at all the cool machines, sometimes I'll hit the punching bag just to make sure I still got it. Then I'll go back to the locker room and head home. So last night we worked out mom picking up the kids so we could go to spinning class together. I got there at 3:45 shot baskets for 15 minutes, then went to the pool and continued my triathlon training (more about that ludicrous thought later). After 20 minutes of nearly drowning in the pool (okay 10 minutes swimming, 5 minutes in spa, and 5 minutes changing clothes), I hit the weights. I thought since I was fixing to do a little bicycling I had better stay away from the lower body. It's important to note that I do the duck approach. I tend to circle the machines checking out how difficult it looks then after I see other ducks on it I will lower and eventually land on the machine. I kept peering over my machines noticing that all the people entering the spinning class were of the opposite gender. Ash showed up changed and I boldly walked into the little bike class. Now, I left out some important details about spinning class that everyone else did too. There is an instructor in the front on a "stage" with her own personal bike. Sure she looks harmless but you might as well give her five stars slapped right on her shoulder because this woman is a General of the biking world. So we hop on our bikes and Drill Sargent cyclist woman hits her ipod and says, "let's warm up!" After about a minute I was sitting on my bike, still peddling, legs throbbing, while she yells from the front "everyone up, everyone up!" Exaggeration stops here. I couldn't...my legs were mush, Ash peers over at me after about 3 minutes and says, "are you serious this is still warm ups!" I was serious. I wanted to quit...no joke. It hurt. After about 15 minutes I look around the room and the only other person sitting as they spun as much as me was a woman who had to been approaching 60! After the class was over I went up to the instructor and thanked her and told her I could have done it but since I'd had such a rigorous work out before hand not knowing what to expect I had obviously over done it. Then I explained to her and the other ladies that those weren't really tears I just sweat from my eyes when I work out.

Every Choice Matters...

What a whirlwind the last few days have been! For those who have not heard Tobias Lyon's name let me share the story in brief. Tobias Lyons, 25 asked a 14 year old girl for sex and another for nude pictures. He worked for Tree of Life Preventative Maintenance Inc. in Fort Smith, Arkansas. They just so happened to have a program called Reality Check that also "taught" abstinence. Tree of Life is a faith based organization which even added great value to the media. Such headlines came out as, "Man who Preached Abstinence Arrested for Sexual Indecency" (italics added by me). Tobias, according to research was just married in June 2009. Now, let's look at the people impacted by one persons decisions. The young girls, their parents, his family, his young wife, the schools, Reality Check Inc. in Lowell that is in no way even tied to them, our schools, the entire river valley community, our community, the church has even taken a hit because of the tie of a faith based incorporation, and not to mention the thousands of students who may now not hear our message because of his stupidity. You tell me every choice doesn't matter? I tell the students in every class that I teach it's not just your future you could be ruining by bad choices but hundreds and maybe even thousands of others. Here is a prime example. I am in no way defending Tree of Life Preventative Maintenance Inc. because this isn't the first bad choice they have made either but I do stand strong in defense of what we here at Reality Check Inc. in Lowell, Arkansas do within our public schools. We teach abstinence as one part of our program along with the ability to set goals, boundaries, that you have worth and value, and know that you have someone that believes in you. Here's the skinny, what we do is changing the lives of hundreds and thousands here in Northwest Arkansas. I fully believe that most people don't have ANY problem with what we teach but merely that we teach abstinence. I feel strong that it's more of a "word association" problem too. It's not that they aren't intelligent (for the large majority) enough to understand that you are not going to get a STD/STI or pregnancy if you aren't having sex or using drugs, it's that they are afraid of a "christian" message. Let's be honest, "christians" or not the truth is the truth. 2+2=4 will always be true, believer or not. Our message isn't do this or burn, or do this and we "guarantee" you this. Our message is about a choice, your choice, and yes, every choice matters because it's your future.