Favorite Sayings - Friday's Five

Today is my introduction to a couple of fun different concepts. I've recently joined a writing group on Facebook, and the ladies are helping me get back into a routine with my blogging. Each week Kelly at Mrs. Disciple hosts a Friday Five link-up. This week's topic is favorite sayings.

Also, for the first time, I'm using stock photos on my blog. The same ladies introduced me to sites which provide images for free (no credit needed) or free-but-with-credit photos. Either way I was excited (and a bit scared - you'll see in a few moments) to search for pictures to go with my favorite sayings.

If any of my fellow bloggers are interested, I'd be happy to email you the links. Or else I can do a link-share post with all of their recommendations. 

Now, on to the main event. Ladies and gentleman I present to you Sammy's Sayings. Somehow that doesn't have the same ring as Justin Halpern's book title Sh!t My Dad Says.

• If ya gotta poop might as well do it on company time.

This saying has become a favorite amongst government workers, especially those who have complained until they received ultra plush toilet paper in their stalls.

Jay, however, can't get behind (ahem) the phrase. Before his self employment, he was on a crew building new homes. Construction porta-potties. I hope the rest goes without saying.

• I wouldn't sh!t you, you're my best turd.

This is my far my favorite response to the disbelief expressed in the colloquialism "You're sh!tting me?!"

My apologies for the profanity. Somehow "You're crapping me" just doesn't sound the same.

 

• Let's kick the tires and light the fires big daddy!

This gem is from the movie Independence Day. The characters portrayed by Will Smith and Harry Connick Jr., along with their fellow Air Force pilots, are being briefed on their alien @$$kicking mission.





The sound quality is horrible, but this is the only clip YouTube had to offer. Maybe one day I'll do a video clip myself. Or a video clip of myself saying it. 

This is my go-to phrase for pumping myself up and getting the blood flowing before a big race. Or a little race. Or any type of running that I get excited about.

Speaking of running...

• The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start.

This quote is from author and marathoner John Bingham's book No Need for Speed: A Beginner's Guide to the Joy of Running.There are definitely times when lacing up those shoes, and making the first step is the most difficult - in training and in life.

And finally I can't forget about my favorite quote from the book For the Love by Jen Hatmaker. God's will for my life (and yours) summed up in 3 small phrases:

• Be Kind. Be You. Love Jesus.

What are some of your favorite sayings? Movie quotes? Lines from a favorite book which have stuck with you over time? 

A post script: I'm sorry if my use of photos, and words on photos has been distracting. I've had fun playing around with images (both stock and photos I have on file) and adding words to them. Please feel free to speak up if you have any words of wisdom to share about how to best integrate these things into my blog.


photo credit: Ladies & Men via photopin (license)
photo credit: Neighbor via photopin (license)

Acne, Baby Poop, and the Suffering Servant

This post was originally published on this site in 2013. My life-position is much the same and I continue to need the reminder. I hope you can benefit from it as well.

I'm not sure where the idea got started that God's main purpose is to make His followers comfortable got started.  Jesus certainly didn't live a plush, cushy life.  He was born into a working class family and in the last days of His life here on Earth He was abandoned by most of His close friends, to die a horrible death.

Maybe its a lesson I need to better learn, because its a topic that's come up in a lot of books I've been reading lately.  Whether it be giving up material possessions (Radical by David Platt) or giving up my pride (From Blushing Bride to Wedded Wife by Marla Taviano) or even stepping out of my comfort zone (Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall &Denver Moore) the call of Christianity is to put off self and serve.

Having said all that, I understand my writing comes from a position of great blessing. I'm not  struggling from week to week wondering how I'm going to cover the bills.  (When my parents were in this situation, they made a careful effort to keep my sister and I in the dark.)  I've never been orphaned, abused, or homeless.

Sure I've had heart ache.  There was that time I rebelled against God and dated someone I knew I shouldn't.  While I can't be certain that ache outbreak wasn't a smite from God, it certainly cleared up once said bad boy dumped me.

I've lost beloved grandparents, who'd lived long full lives and died of illnesses brought on by old age.

My one experience with true pain - that moment where God has to hold you because you don't have the strength to stand - ended in a beautiful miracle of God.  My sister, at the age of 27, suffered congestive heart failure after the birth of her first child.

She spent several days in Cardiac ICU and had to have pounds of fluid drained from around her heart.  While her husband and my parents stayed spent as much time as the hospital as they could, I stayed at home with her 6 day old baby.  I'd never baby sat, or even really been around small children.

My best friend was knocking on death's door and I was alone, with no one to comfort me but this creature that kept spitting up and pooping.

And the Maker of the Universe.

I have no clue why we got a miracle.  Why God chose to resort my sister's health leaving behind no ill effects.  But I know without a doubt God used those days to change me.  He opened my eyes to my ability to serve despite experience or even willingness.

I can only pray that the next time one of those devastatingly painful moments come - I'll better know how to rely on Him for strength and wisdom.

The Perfect Weekend

What does the perfect weekend look like?

At one point in my life I would have said hanging out with friends all weekend. In another season of life would, spending the weekend with my darling would have been the ideal.

These days its a good mix. Take this weekend: Friday I spent the evening hanging out with a couple of my girlfriends at a charity fundraiser. 

I spent Saturday morning sipping coffee, had an afternoon nap, and woke up just in time to make my pot luck dish and head over to Lori's house for our Disciple 3 meet-up. 

Today I attended church with my parents, followed by fellowship and Bible study with the CrossTalk ladies I love and admire. After church I hit the greenway for an 8 mile run, then the grocery store to grab some fresh food for dinners this weekend.

I got home around 2ish, put away groceries, showered, then settled in for a little screen time and NFL football. I split my attention between the tied Colts/Panthers game and Percy Jackson's Sea of Monsters. Currently, Jay is napping on the couch next to me, so I took the opportunity to do this blog on a full-size keyboard.

While I can think of a few scenarios which could make this weekend better, I consider it a great blend of down time and socialization. As my mama's favorite band Alabama would say, That's Close Enough to Perfect for Me.

What have you been up to this weekend?

What does your perfect weekend look like?

Linking up with Jaime for Stream of Consciousness weekend.

Books, Books, Books: A Three Things Thursday post

After focusing on what I haven’t been doing in Tuesday’s blog post, I thought I would switch it up and share something I’ve been stellar at these past few months. READING. Every year on Goodreads I set a yearly goal for myself.

In my first year of tracking (2012) I surpassed my book-a-week goal, reading 64 over 52 weeks. The next year I upped my goal to 75, and fell just 2 short. Last year started off slow, but then I picked it up and finished with a respectable 59.

This year, I set my goal at 60. By April I was over half way there (counting audiobooks). At this point, I’ve consumed 101 books, with 58 of those being actually read by me (either a print or ebook). Barring anything horribly tragic in the next couple of days, I think I’ve got this in the bag.

Currently Reading

1. I’ve been on a roll lately listening to autobiographies (in audiobook form, of course) of comedians as well as humor essay compilations. I mostly listen during my commute, or while doing mindless data entry at work. These lighthearted tales keep my mood upbeat despite the mundane.
   
   Photo credit: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25154938-neil-patrick-harris
   
   
   Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography by Neil Patrick Harris, read by Neil Patrick Harris is no exception. He had to alter the Choose-Your-Own format for the audio structure, but his team did a good job with their workarounds. Of course having him perform the books, rather than just a straight read makes it enjoyable as well.
   
2. My current fiction read (Kindle loan from my library) is Sea of Monsters – Percy Jackson & The Olympians, Book 2 by Rick Riordan. I’m only a couple of chapters in, so I can’t really speak to this particular story, but I loved the first book.
   
3. On a more serious front, I’m also reading Simply Jesus: A New Vision of Who He Was, What He Did, and Why He Matters by N.T. Wright. I try to always have a non-fiction Christian book in the stack. This is a bit weightier than I am accustom to, but I enjoy his writing style. Having never read Wright, I trust his words based off associations with others I’ve read including Scot McKnight and Timothy Keller.

What are you reading these days? Have you finished any must-reads which I need to add to my list?

{not much} training tuesday

Over the summer, I took a break from running. My training buddy and I hit the heavy weights in an attempt to gain muscle, using Jamie Eason’s LiveFit program. The first phase of the plan calls for no cardio, then a gradual reintroduction in phase 2. 

Sandwiched between the two phases, my cruise allowed for a week of activity but not necessarily exercise. The kayaking and the stand-up paddle boarding were done at more of a leisurely pace, instead of something which got my heart rate up or really fatigued my muscles.

Phase 2 called for lifting 6 days a week which made the scheduling of other workouts difficult. Even if I had been able to find the time, the workouts were such that my energy suffered as well. Jay and I played basketball in our community’s common area, but otherwise I didn’t get much cardio in.

Instead of progressing to the cutting phase of LifeFit, I decided my efforts would be better spent finding a routine I could stick with. Phase 3 of the program is very intense and is focused on leaning down for a special event. Looking over the diet plan to accompany the workouts, I knew I didn’t have the motivation to stick with it.

I switched to Body for Life, which involves lifting 3 times a week and alternates upper and lower body. Sprinkle in a few runs here and there, and I had a good routine going.

Until Europe.

Given the limited accessibility to electrical outlets to charge devices, I didn’t track every day/step we walked. I did, however, attempt to log at least a little bit of each town so that my Garmin log, and subsequent maps, would reflect our travel.

A rough estimation, I’d say on non-bus days we probably walked between 3-6 miles a day. Unfortunately I did no running while we were gone because I had neither the energy nor familiarity with the streets to pound the international pavement.

Paris offered a bike tour, but it was more a leisurely jaunt than a training session. Hiking the glacier at Jungfrau definitely got the heart rate up, but at only a mile or so each direction, it lacked the umph Jay and I are used to in a hike. The view, however, did leave me breathless.

 Photo credit: me or Jay. I can't really remember.

See those black dots on the lower right? Those are people. Seriously.

Upon my return to the United States, I brought back with me the bola. (Note: not actual Ebola, but rather the pet name I gave to the nasty infection clogging up my head.) I spent a week sleeping off my virus + jet lag, only reporting to my job for a 12 hours that week despite the stack of work awaiting me.

Errands filled up this past week –getting a haircut, catching up with my discipleship group, and of course the meeting I had with the associate pastor of discipleship regarding the not-to-be Sunday school teaching position.

 I’ve ran 4 times since I’ve been back from vacation, with my mileage totaling just under 16 miles. This includes my not-so-stellar 6 miler this past Sunday. I suppose you could consider this a 500+ word excuse as to why a 4 time marathoner had trouble with a run that lasted just over an hour. 

Thankfully my attitude stayed in-check during the run. It gave me confidence that if I have the follow through to complete a 6 miler in 80 degree weather, under hydrated and wheezing from the early-fall allergens then I can finish 13.1 miles respectably in 5 weeks.

What are you training for these days? 

Do you have any big events on the horizon – athletic or otherwise?