Food induced coma is over.... now what?

These past couple days was a feast like I hadn't had in a while. On Thursday we went over to spend the day with some dear friends from church and ate like kings. That wasn't enough celebrating though.. my Brother and Sister in law came over from Ohio later on Thursday and we ate some more not to mention our own Turkey feast on Friday. Let me tell you I think it was the best turkey Beka has ever made. I don't need much on turkey day - just stuffing, sweet potato casserole and a bird. We had a great time but I feel like I need to get to the gym to redeem the last part of the week and get a head start on next week.

Growing up a pastor's son my family never had a lot but mom and dad always made sure that we had a great dinner and time together. Because we didn't have a lot we didn't waste ANYTHING. I admit that it has turned me into a bit of a food Nazi. I hate wasting food, heat, energy, money, ____________, _____________. It has turned me into a bit of a pack rat as well. I find it very hard to throw stuff away especially of there is sentimental value attached. I still have a shirt that my youth group gave me as a going away present from 15 years ago.

This morning I woke up and found that not only the mashed potato's and the stuffing (no not the stuffing!!) and the turkey all got left out last night after someone made a sandwich and fell into a coma without first putting away the leftovers. I surprised myself with the feeling of loss that came over and soon after the anger.

After shutting everyone out for a couple hours to mourn the loss of my precious leftovers I realized that I had been thankful for the wrong thing. The stuffing didn't get up this morning and make my bed or do my laundry. The mashed potato's didn't iron my pants or sit at my feet during a movie. The turkey didn't keep me healthy or pay the penalty for my sins. Don't get me wrong, there's something special about sitting at a table filled with food that God so graciously gave me a job in order to pay for it. And there's something comforting about curling up in a lazy boy and watching the Lions get their butt's handed to them every year after the feasting but there is nothing like looking past the food to see whose at the table to enjoy it with you.

Don't let Black Friday leak over into the weekend. Think about what you're really thankful for!

Eight Crazy Nights!!

If you're anything like me you don't make "Date Nights" a priority like you should. In a perfect world Beka and I would go out every Monday night and catch a movie and dinner but more often times then not we think about it the day of and feel bad for asking a sitter on such short notice and we end up getting a Redbox movie and eating some pizza.. at home.

I was reading Christianity Today's Marriage blog and came across a post with Eight great ideas for date nights.

What do you do for fun with your "Date"? Where do you like to go and how often?

Here's a couple excerpts from the blog but go here to read the entire article.

Take in a local show or concert. Your town is probably teeming with gifted and creative performers at the local high school or college. So check to see what's playing. It's less expensive than the "professional" versions and often just as fun. At the end of the evening, share your favorite moments of the performance. Then "go back in time" to your own high school or college days and reminiscence together about your favorite school event or memory and why it was so special. Or see if you can guess some of the clubs or activities your spouse was involved in.

If you have children, ask them to plan your date! Earlier in the week, ask your kids (or friends, if you don't have children) to think of something fun for you and your spouse to do. They get to choose the restaurant and the activity. Then after your date, you and your spouse can give a "report" back telling about the funnest, funniest, or most special part of the evening.

Freebie Friday #1: "Get Crackin'!"

This weekend I’ll be at a fellow youth pastor's ordination around Cincy but I wanted to send out a freebie for something I'm starting on my blog called freebie friday. If you have a freebie to pass on feel free to leave a comment and I will use it in the future. Today's Freebie is from getcrackin Pistachio giveaways @ 5 on Friday's Follow http://bit.ly/fumJG and @getcrackin.

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A Christmas Carreyol

One of our favorite things to do as a family is go to the movies. We have a great theatre (Cinemark) outside of town which is really clean and the chairs lean back which is nice. It's also about 4 bucks cheaper per ticket than the one closer to our house. We usually try to go to the matinee to save a few bucks and tonight we went and saw Disney's "A Christmas Carol".

Like most I like Jim Carrey and this movie left nothing to be desired in all areas. The story for the most part stayed with Dickens but I'm sure you could point out any differences if you're looking for them. The effects were so real! I remember being wowed by "The Polar Express" (which is hard to believe that was 5 years ago!) but it doesn't take an expert to see that there have been some major upgrades in real-to-life after effects in the last few years. Because it was so real, the scary parts (like this Jacob Marley shot above) became too much to bear for any toddlers in tow. Any concerned parent covered young eyes and ears for the better part of the movie and two families walked out. There is a shot during this scene shown above where Marley's jaw breaks and looks like something out of a SAW movie. They nailed "creepy" in regards to the ghosts personalities making them appear to be "tripping" and mentally unstable giving off the idea that they were long-term tormented souls.

This is not a slam on Disney. I was mostly satisfied with the film but would strongly urge you not to take any children younger than 9-10 to see it. Give it a look without the kids and see for yourself. Overall the story was very good and heartfelt especially towards the end. Bob Cratchit and family could have been more endearing. The film focused more on Scrooge (Jim Carrey) and could have paid better mind to the other characters but it's not a deal breaker. My only beef with Disney is the advertising to a young audience where this film is clearly geared for adults.

CAPTION PLEASE

No offense to this guy but this is why I don't let Cam touch the Gameboys on display at Walmart..