Day 68

Well I lost yesterday as far as blogging because I starting editing video stuff from tonight and when I looked at the clock it was 2 am.  Wow but the ministry moment will be so cool!  Hokie game took a lot out of me!  I was disappointed in how they played but so glad they pulled it out.  ECU always scares me, they are getting better and better.  I am impressed.  I have a long day tomorrow so I am going to finish my blog and go to bed.  Night!

ACC Week 2 Eric's "Predictions"

I wanted to start this last week but I got caught up in the excitement of going to the game so we will start with week 2.  These are my predictions of who will win each ACC game this week.  I am no where near good enough to predict the scores! Here we Go:

Rutgers vs North Carolina:  This could be an interesting game.  Rutgers has come a long way in football and each year has produced a pretty solid team.  Even through North Carolina has gone through a lot of trouble lately, I think they are an overlooked dark horse in the ACC.  I don't think people are giving them the credit they deserve and I think they are going to sneak up on some people.  My brother went to Rutgers, and I have about 15 friends that are Carolina fans.  I think it will be a close game, but my pick is the Tarheels of North Carolina.  Sorry Brett.

6 Stanford vs Duke:  Duke really disappointed me last week in the game vs Richmond.  I thought for sure they would pull it out but they just can't get over the hump and win the games they should.  Stanford is an awesome football team.  Andrew Luck is amazing. It would take a huge upset for Duke to win this game.  Although I would love for the ACC to get a signature upset and huge win, I just don't see it happening.  My pick is Stanford.  Sorry Ben.

11 Virginia Tech vs East Carolina:  This game scares me a lot!  I think that my Hokies look really good this year, but a couple of years ago when I had to sit with the ECU band, they really let me down.  ECU is an explosive offensive machine, but their defense is not very good.  My Hokies played an awesome game last Saturday in every aspect of the game but this will be Logan Thomas' first starting away game.  I think my Hokies have a good chance of winning every game this year but this will be the first test.  My pick is Virginia Tech.  Go Hokies.  Sorry Lucia, Ellen, Glen, and the rest of the people that I know who go to ECU!


North Carolina State vs Wake Forest:  This is the second in conference game of the year.  This could be an interesting game.  Although Wake Forest would a way to lose to Syracuse, I still believe they are much improved from last year.  NC State looks good this year.  I like Mike Glennon (not just because he is Sean Glennon's brother).  They have a solid team and should make a bowl game this year.  This could be a close game but my pick is the wolf-pack of North Carolina State. There ya go Julia!

Clemson vs Wofford:  This is an easy game to pick.  Clemson should put a hurting on Wofford.  If that doesn't happen then Clemson is going to have problems all year.  With that being said, my pick is Clemson.

CSU vs 5 Florida State:  Next week Florida State has a real game.  This week is just practice.  My pick is Florida State by a whole lot!

Virginia vs Indiana:  This is an interesting game.  Virginia looked really good last week and has made some vast improvements from a year ago.  I think they are going to only get better each week.  Indiana is more of  a basketball school than a football school but these are the games that trip rebuilding teams like Virginia up.  Still I think they will pull it off so my pick is Virginia.


Georgia Tech vs Mid Tennessee:  This shouldn't be a close game.  If it is Georgia Tech has a lot to worry about.  I like their offense but there defense has always had issues.  We will see what happens as the year goes along, but my pick is Georgia Tech by at least 3 touchdowns.  

Boston College vs UCF:  Honestly this game should be the best of the weekend.  These two teams should be very evenly matched.  Boston College let me down last weekend and lost unexpectedly.  I think they are the better football team but the university of Central Florida  is good. This one should be close and although my heart says Boston College, my head, and my pick is UCF.  UPDATE:  after watching a piece on September 11th and hearing what Boston College will be doing for their uniform tribute on Saturday, I think that will give them the extra spark they need.  My pick is Boston College in a close game. 

Well there you have it, my ACC picks for this week.  We shall see how it goes. Lot's of football tomorrow!  Can't wait!

Progress not Perfection

Are you perfect in every way?  I sure the heck am not.  I see my faults every day.  The thing is every one of us has imperfections that keep us from being perfect.  Everywhere you look these days there are pictures of perfect.   The media, advertisers, and society in general try to show us what we should look like and act like to be perfect.  The images on television, in movies, on billboards, and in magazines all portray perfect people in a perfect world.   They try to sell us on their products.  If we buy their product then we will look like the model or act like the model.  Fancy cars and money in the movies portray a perfect life.  The thing is that’s not real life.

Real life is far from perfect.  We are stuck in the everyday grind and we have to make decisions and choices that are far from perfect.  When we choose to eat fast food instead of a salad, or we don’t put a lot of thought or care into our wardrobe.  We say things to people that we shouldn’t when we get frustrated or we spend money on things we can’t afford.  We make it by pay check to pay check and we don’t have a mansion on a hill with 3 or 4 cars and a pool.  We are lucky if the one car we have even works. 

Real life has a tendency to slap us in the face.  It makes me wonder how God feels about our imperfect lives.  Does he understand why we are the way we are?  I fully believe that God doesn’t expect for us to be perfect.  If we were perfect then we wouldn’t need to be forgiven for our sins.  If we were perfect in every way than we would have set ways that we do things and a set way that we say things, our whole lives would be mapped out for us by us, and therefore our free will that God so graciously gave us would not be needed.  We would all be sort of clones going through the routine of life at the same pace and in the same way.  If we were all perfect, we wouldn’t have our own personalities, we wouldn’t own different cars or different houses.  Perfect people would all have the same amount of money and none of us would have to worry about our weight or height because we would all be the perfect size.  If everyone was perfect then there wouldn’t be a need for athletic events because every player would be perfect and it wouldn’t be competitive at all.  No I don’t think God minds that we are not all perfect, but I do believe that he expects us to make progress.

For a little over two months now, I have been eating right and writing devotions every night.  Some weeks have been better than others.  Some have been great and some have been downright frustrating, but through the whole process I have been making progress.  I have worked hard and I have lost weight.  I have made progress.  You see I believe that if we make progress through life than we are on the right track.  If we make efforts to achieve perfection then we are progressing.  If everyone progressed each and every day in their thoughts, words, and deeds then we would be one step closer to perfection.  If we took care of each other and set goals that are obtainable then we are making efforts, and efforts equals progress.

I may never be the ideal weight that I need to be for my age and height, but I will progress toward it. While I am working on that aspect, I am able to write my blog and keep God as the center of my life.  I am progressing not only in my weight management but also in my spiritual management.  I think that’s what it is all about.  We all need to progress, we all need to work toward our goals and keep God first in our lives.  God doesn’t care about us all being perfect because in his eyes we already are.  We were created in his image.  He just wants us to progress.  He wants us to work on feeding the homeless, growing in our faith, being kind to one another, treating our body as a temple, and not having a cloned personality but being ourselves and using the free will that he has gifted us with.  So I will work not on perfection but on progression.  I will work for me but most of all I will work for him.  I am perfect in his eyes and he loves me so much.  You know what?  He loves the perfect imperfect you as well!

Day 66

Today was a long day.  I didn't sleep well last night so I was really tired all day.  I got my Ipod fixed but it cost me a lot.  I wasn't going to exercise today but in a sitcom I was watching, one of the people was dealing with a weight issue and was going to give up but didn't, so that pushed me out the door and I walked four miles.  It was nice to get out and walk.  I am glad I did it! Tech plays ECU this weekend so we shall see what happens.  I am really tired so off to bed with me!

A is for Advent

A couple of years ago we started a program called F4J.  Friday’s for Jesus is the real name.  One Friday night a month, we have a youth led service followed by fun and games.  It is always a lot of fun and all the kids that provide the message do a phenomenal job.   Last December, we had two youth provide the message, one was a senior in High School named Josh, and the other was a sixth grader named Casey. 

Josh has provided many great messages over the years but on this particular night, Casey shined.  As she started to deliver her message, I was amazed by her poise, concentration, deliver, and preparation.  The message was about the season of Advent, and Casey had taken a lot of time to prepare her message.  It was concise and to the point.  I can remember walking away from that thinking that with the power and conviction that she delivered her message with, you would never believe that she was just a sixth grader.

Casey has always had a maturity about her that was years above her actual age.  She holds herself to a level above others her own age.  We added Casey to our Youth Leadership Team as a sixth grader.  She is only one of two youth that have accomplished that since I have been at the church. 

Casey has grown up at our church and I can remember when I tore my calf muscle two years ago, before she was even in youth group, getting a huge hand drawn get well soon card from her.  Her heart has always been in the right place.  I knew when she got to youth group that she would be such a positive and thoughtful addition.  Throughout her year as part of the youth group she has delivered F4J messages, created slide show presentations, gone on every trip we have offered, and attend youth group regularly.  She has made church a priority in her life and that is something that I wish I could get all of my youth to do.

Last December, we celebrated the Advent season.   My celebration of Advent last year started with the message that Casey provided.  She truly understood and articulated what the season is all about.  As we celebrated the coming birth of Jesus Christ our savior, we also celebrated the coming of age story of a sixth grade youth.  Casey will provide leadership for many more years to come.  I will always remember that advent season, what a truly magnificent way to remember the birth of a leader.  I want to thank you Casey for your love and devotion to Jesus, your church, and your youth group!  

Day 65

What a hard day.  I worked out at church and walked the lake.  Unfortunately, I had my I pod in my pocket at the church and forgot about it, it fell out of my pocket and the screen shattered when it hit the ground.  It was very upsetting.  I hope to find a place tomorrow to get it fixed because I really need it as I continue this journey.  I really count on music.  I am tired so I am going to head to bed, but I will talk to you tomorrow!  Thanks as always for reading!

When It rains, it pours…

Today there was a ton of thunderstorms that rolled over Raleigh.  When I got to work this morning I didn’t have an umbrella so I had to drive up and throw my stuff down under the awning and then park and run to get into the church.  Just as I was getting out of my car a huge blinding flash of lightning followed by a loud clap of thunder scared me to death.  It rained off and on all day.  There were periods of light rained followed by heavy down pours and lightning and thunder.  In between there was sunshine and blue sky.  It was a crazy weather day. 

The storms today got me thinking though.  Often we associate storms with “bad weather.”  This made me think about the rainy days that we have had in our lives.  We have storms very often in our lives.  These are times when things are going badly or we have said or done something wrong, or when no matter what we do things just don’t work out for us.  Sometimes these storms are small like a drizzling rain.  They are a little annoying but easy to handle and we don’t get too wet, or mad from them.  They usually clear up pretty easy and life dries up pretty quickly.

Other times our storms are more like a harder rain.  The problems are bigger and the rain hurts as it falls.  We get really wet or mad and it is hard to get dry.  Often we allow these storms to last a long time and they seem to last a longer time.  If we are lucky we have a friend with an umbrella that is there to help us and keep us from getting too wet from this storm of life.

The hardest storms are those that last all day long.  They are down pours that soak us to the bone.  The problems that coincide with these storms are often loud and angry kind like thunder and lightning.  It is often hard to dry off from these storms.  The problems from a storm like this one often linger for a long and we have to clean them up and fix them just like the wind blow branches or debris that is created from a heavy long thunder storm. 

Yes often our bad weather of our lives cause storms to happen.  But just like natural storms that bring water to the world to help plants and things grow, our storms do the same for us.  We grow from each storm that we have.  Our problems have solutions and learning those solutions help us to grow wiser and stronger.   We need those storms to help us get through life.  They may not be pretty, some of may have more than of them then others, there is not always a direct answer to the storms of our lives, but there is always the calm after the storm.  There is always blue sky and sunshine after the rain.  We always have that to look forward to no matter how long the storm lasts.

Accepting God into our lives and talking to him about our storms, also known as our problems, he will always provide a rainbow to follow after the storm.  If we keep him close and understand that with him in our lives we will always find shelter from the storms of life, we will make it through any storm that life throws at us.  We are often told to put on the full armor of God but in this case all we need is the umbrella of God’s love to shelter us from the storm.