Matt Dabbs has tagged me. So now I'm supposed to tell you six weird things about myself. Actually I've already done this, click here. I was tagged by Lisa, my oldest. For those of you who didn't get to that post I reiterate my weirdness but I think I'll change #4 & #6.
1. The buttons on my shirt, my belt buckle, and the button or snap on my pants must all line up. I don't have OCD but this is just an occasion of weirdness.
2. I want to wear long hair. I had it long in college and would do anything to grow it long again.
3. I get up early every day (5:00 AM, seven days a week). I seldom sleep in unless I'm sick. I can't go to sleep at night if I sleep in. You know that OCD thing is starting to look real.
4. I still love peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, especially on hearty, whole grain bread.
5. I hate to sweat in nice clothes. I really hate it when my DW (the lovely and gracious Pat) wants me to do something Sunday afternoon that might require me to sweat. I feel I have to shower again after sweating. I would rather take a nap.
6. I have this really quiet side to me. I love to be around people. I love to be in meetings where we work together as a team in producing something (like curriculum or a DVD about our congregation). I sometimes start conversations with strangers at the store (depends on whether or not they are buying something weird that I can comment on - you know it takes one to know one). I sometimes go up to strangers to find out information. We saw a Harding sticker on a van at Sonics with no one in it. So I started to quiz all the folks sitting down at tables until I found the owners of the van. But occasionally I just want to go unnoticed or be by myself. Sometimes I don't want to talk to anyone. Weird perhaps, but my weirdness.
Since I tagged others earlier I won't be passing this tag on unless I come across someone more weird than myself. If I think of anything else that's weird about me I will save it for the next time this tag comes around.
Friday, February 16, 2007
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Valentine's Day
Happy Valentine's Day to the love of my life. You have traveled with me from Texas to California to New Jersey to Florida. I'm glad that God brought us together for this journey. May our love for each continue to grow throughout our journey in this life.
Monday, February 12, 2007
more on church buildings
A few years back I think some congregations got tired of spending such a big chunk of Sunday's contribution on their facilities when the building was used only three times a week. They wanted their facilities to be more practical and usable. After all, the church building is not holy or sacred. That's when auditoriums became gymnasiums and they started adding family life centers. The purpose was to get the most out of their buildings. They also thought they could attract more people to the building for evangelism. Think about having a basketball game after Sunday evenings services where the community is invited. I think they had a good idea I'm just not sure the implementation was right. Instead of revamping their use of the building maybe they needed to revamp their understanding of the building altogether.
William Willimon once quipped (I've forgotten where) that the church needs to be the church. It isn't an entertainment company, it isn't in the business of doing things that the world can provide. It is here to be the church. Mainline denominational churches in the 60s tried to be more socially relevant. Certainly some of the issues they dealt with are important to us as Americans and as individual Christians, but they became so focused on those issues that they lost their relevance as people serving Jesus here on the earth. Their evangelism suffered as a result. Willimon's book, Good New For Exiles, deals with some of the results of this focus (maybe that's where I read the quote I mentioned earlier). Some of the "conservative" evangelical churches today are trying the same tactic but with global warming and poverty. My guess is that these issues will dominate their agenda and they will become less relevant as a spiritual community.
We need to ask whether or not church buildings, social issues, or anything else takes us away from being the community of God. If we focus too much on this world and its issues then we become less than we should be. Perhaps the environment of a church building feeds our need to be relevant whether through social issues or through events designed to attract the community. If we are not willing to give up our buildings, perhaps we need some different thinking about its use. I don't like making it an exercise center or a place where we discuss social issues (although sometimes social issues do need to be discussed in reference to how we are affected as the church). We are the people of God and we gather to take the Lord's Supper, preach, worship, and tell the story of how God sent His Son to this earth to save us from the coming judgment. All that we do should be focused on that. All else is a distraction from our spiritual purpose.
William Willimon once quipped (I've forgotten where) that the church needs to be the church. It isn't an entertainment company, it isn't in the business of doing things that the world can provide. It is here to be the church. Mainline denominational churches in the 60s tried to be more socially relevant. Certainly some of the issues they dealt with are important to us as Americans and as individual Christians, but they became so focused on those issues that they lost their relevance as people serving Jesus here on the earth. Their evangelism suffered as a result. Willimon's book, Good New For Exiles, deals with some of the results of this focus (maybe that's where I read the quote I mentioned earlier). Some of the "conservative" evangelical churches today are trying the same tactic but with global warming and poverty. My guess is that these issues will dominate their agenda and they will become less relevant as a spiritual community.
We need to ask whether or not church buildings, social issues, or anything else takes us away from being the community of God. If we focus too much on this world and its issues then we become less than we should be. Perhaps the environment of a church building feeds our need to be relevant whether through social issues or through events designed to attract the community. If we are not willing to give up our buildings, perhaps we need some different thinking about its use. I don't like making it an exercise center or a place where we discuss social issues (although sometimes social issues do need to be discussed in reference to how we are affected as the church). We are the people of God and we gather to take the Lord's Supper, preach, worship, and tell the story of how God sent His Son to this earth to save us from the coming judgment. All that we do should be focused on that. All else is a distraction from our spiritual purpose.
church buildings
When I was in Sunset (around 1975) a church in our fellowship was hailed as the first one to give one million dollars in a single contribution. That took a lot of sacrifice on the part of many in the congregation but it was for their building. It wasn't for evangelism (although I'm sure that they thought evangelism would be done as a result of their new building), it wasn't to feed or help the poor, it wasn't for overseas mission work, it wasn't for a children's home, it wasn't for a ministry, it was for a building.
Our preacher's group in North Jersey read an article from back in 1920s about a church in Nashville that built a new church building for $100,000.00 (back then apparently that was a lot of money - still is but in a different way). They hired a preacher that would help them raise the money. They were severely criticized because of their extravagance. A lot of the criticisms is that the money could have been spent on evangelism or benevolence.
A Christian friend told me of a big congregation that was building a new building. They were arguing about whether or not to put marble in a certain part. An elder stated during that discussion that nothing but the best should go in the church building. Nothing but the best for the church.
A friend of mine left the mainstream churches of Christ years ago and joined with the non-institutional group. I happened upon his email not too long ago and we corresponded for a while. Since he was in a group even more concerned about doing things the first century way, I asked him about justifying using church treasury money for the building. His answer was the usual - since we are commanded to meet together it can be inferred that we must have a place. I thought about that response over the years and think I've come up with a response. I would ask, "Were they commanded to give in the first century?" Then I would ask, "Were they commanded to assemble in the first century?" Then I would conclude, "They had the command to give and to meet together (which they did), yet they never purchased a building. Seems to me that if we are to exactly like them we would do well to follow their lead and not purchase a building." But I'm probably preaching to the choir here.
An interesting theory in a book not related to church buildings is found in Shane Hipps's book on the electronic culture (it's listed on my reading list) is that form communicates a message. The church building communicates a message by itself regardless of the message we may be preaching inside. The church building becomes the church. We go to church. Buildings suggest permanence. Buildings suggest belonging. "This world is not my home" is kind of hard to sing in a building that suggests we are permanent and belong to this world.
Matt Dabbs has a good post about this issue (click here). I don't know the final conclusion to this subject. Maybe we need to educate a new generation and hope that they will continue the discussion. Well, that's my blather on the subject of church buildings.
Our preacher's group in North Jersey read an article from back in 1920s about a church in Nashville that built a new church building for $100,000.00 (back then apparently that was a lot of money - still is but in a different way). They hired a preacher that would help them raise the money. They were severely criticized because of their extravagance. A lot of the criticisms is that the money could have been spent on evangelism or benevolence.
A Christian friend told me of a big congregation that was building a new building. They were arguing about whether or not to put marble in a certain part. An elder stated during that discussion that nothing but the best should go in the church building. Nothing but the best for the church.
A friend of mine left the mainstream churches of Christ years ago and joined with the non-institutional group. I happened upon his email not too long ago and we corresponded for a while. Since he was in a group even more concerned about doing things the first century way, I asked him about justifying using church treasury money for the building. His answer was the usual - since we are commanded to meet together it can be inferred that we must have a place. I thought about that response over the years and think I've come up with a response. I would ask, "Were they commanded to give in the first century?" Then I would ask, "Were they commanded to assemble in the first century?" Then I would conclude, "They had the command to give and to meet together (which they did), yet they never purchased a building. Seems to me that if we are to exactly like them we would do well to follow their lead and not purchase a building." But I'm probably preaching to the choir here.
An interesting theory in a book not related to church buildings is found in Shane Hipps's book on the electronic culture (it's listed on my reading list) is that form communicates a message. The church building communicates a message by itself regardless of the message we may be preaching inside. The church building becomes the church. We go to church. Buildings suggest permanence. Buildings suggest belonging. "This world is not my home" is kind of hard to sing in a building that suggests we are permanent and belong to this world.
Matt Dabbs has a good post about this issue (click here). I don't know the final conclusion to this subject. Maybe we need to educate a new generation and hope that they will continue the discussion. Well, that's my blather on the subject of church buildings.
Thursday, February 08, 2007
The Joy of Service
The first picture just above this text is the disaster relief truck at the church building in Leesburg. It was supposed to arrive Monday evening but didn't arrive until around 11:00 AM on Tuesday. The picture just above that is the gang (composed of volunteers from four or five congregations) working. The picture above that is another truck at the Orange Ave. church in Eustis. The truck arrived around 11:00 AM on Wednesday morning. Another truck arrived Thursday afternoon (today at 2:00 PM). Then there's a picture with me working and the last one is the gang (members from the Eustis congregation, Sojourners, and senior class students from the Christian Home and Bible School) working, actually taking a break during their work. While we were waiting for the truck to arrive at the Leesburg church, several of us went to help a member of the Leesburg church in the devastated area. Most of the devastated areas have police or National Guard keeping people out. We got in because we were with a disaster relief group (they had signs on their vehicles) but we couldn't the house. The street where we thought the house was located was blocked off by workers. So we went to the house in front of us and carried their debris to the road so that it could be run through the chipper or picked up. It was great to help people in need. It was also good to work with so many good people wanting to help. I only wish I could have spent more time working. As it is I'm behind in my sermon study and other things I need to get done. But this was urgent and important work.
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Super Bowl Caps
For those of you naysayers about the article from Kent Anderson's blog on what they do with the losers' Super Bowl Caps, here is further proof from the New York Times. So you disbelievers can now become believers. It seems that many teams are known the world over as the Super Bowl champs.
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Cessation of miraculous gifts
For those interested in a rather long arduous study of whether or not the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit have ceased, Pulpit Magazine has an ongoing study by Nate Busenitz (click here). The series of articles are under the title "The When Question." Nate is contrasting the views of "continuationists" and "cessationists." Continuationists believe that there are still prophets today who receive some direct revelation from the Holy Spirit. Cessationists believe that revelation by the Holy Spirit (as well as other miraculous gifts) ceased some time after the apostolic age. I find the study quite illuminating because many of the arguments our brethren have used are used by some in the evangelical community. Anyway, just thought I would share this with anyone who cares to do some more reading on the subject.
The Swift Rule Super Bowl XLI
For all you Bears' fans, this article by Kent Anderson may give you some consolation. You can read his blog by clicking here. It is a blog about preaching but he had this little ditty about the Bears.
Where the Losers Won
Did you ever wonder what happens to all the hats that were prepared for the losing team at the Super Bowl or other such championships? Within minutes of the end of Sunday’s game, Tony Dungy, Peyton Manning, and the rest of the Colts were wearing hats declaring them to be the champions. But what about the hats that were prepared in the event that the Bears won the game?
Apparently those hats were kept under tight security until the end of the game when they were immediately shipped away before any of them could be sold on ebay. The hats were sent to an African village that has never heard of American Football. There, apparently, the Bears will forever be known as the champions of Super Bowl XVI (sic).
Small consolation for Rex Grossman, I’m sure.
Sunday, February 04, 2007
The Lord and the Storm
Disaster hit close to the Bliss home here in Central Florida. At least one tornado (and possibly 4 others) touched down and did a considerable amount of damage. At least 20 people are dead, thousands of homes and businesses damaged or destroyed, one church destroyed (the Church of God in the Villages), and who knows how many cars and trucks by the F3 tornado. The Church of God church building was built to withstand winds of 150 mph. Apparently this tornado exceeded this building's ability to handle high winds.
This coming Tuesday members from the area churches of Christ will meet at the Leesburg Church of Christ to unload a truck that will arrive from the Disaster Relief Effort (click here) in Nashville, TN. This organization provides a variety of items for such a time as this. I'm looking forward to helping out and seeing this organization (and our local congregations) in action.
Our family from California and several from the Tabernacle congregation (and some from the Randolph congregation) called or emailed to see if we were okay. This destructive force hit only a few miles from our home. We slept through most of it. The storm woke us up about 4:30 AM but had been raging since before 3:00 AM. At the time we didn't know a tornado had touched down. I think we will be getting one of those weather alert radios for future use.
All of this brings up a question in my mind. We in modern times tend to downplay God's role in the destructive side of events like this but praise him for his protective role. In other words we are glad that God protected us from the storm but we hesitate to claim that he may have caused the storm. Why is that? We know that he can and does cause disasters to happen. In the Old Testament many of the disasters were used to discipline Israel. The faithful in Israel saw God in all that happened even the storms (Psalm 29). Even though we can't today claim to know what God is doing in the storm (because we have no prophet to tell us) we can still know that he is in charge even of the storm and its destructive force. James tells us to rejoice when trials occurs (Jas.1:2). The problem to me is that we haven't defined very well what is good and what is bad. We think that damage and destruction from a storm is bad but if the storm misses us that is good. Maybe we need to rethink our definition of bad and good, at least in regards to disasters.
We are quick to downplay any active role on God's part in a disaster but quick to play up his active role in protection. Is it because when bad things happen we believe God is in a punishing mode and we don't want to believe that he could be punishing us (or those around us)? As Job asked his wife, "Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?" (Job 2:9 NASU) What shall we think about disasters and God's role in them? Maybe we haven't seen the good that can come from disasters.
This coming Tuesday members from the area churches of Christ will meet at the Leesburg Church of Christ to unload a truck that will arrive from the Disaster Relief Effort (click here) in Nashville, TN. This organization provides a variety of items for such a time as this. I'm looking forward to helping out and seeing this organization (and our local congregations) in action.
Our family from California and several from the Tabernacle congregation (and some from the Randolph congregation) called or emailed to see if we were okay. This destructive force hit only a few miles from our home. We slept through most of it. The storm woke us up about 4:30 AM but had been raging since before 3:00 AM. At the time we didn't know a tornado had touched down. I think we will be getting one of those weather alert radios for future use.
All of this brings up a question in my mind. We in modern times tend to downplay God's role in the destructive side of events like this but praise him for his protective role. In other words we are glad that God protected us from the storm but we hesitate to claim that he may have caused the storm. Why is that? We know that he can and does cause disasters to happen. In the Old Testament many of the disasters were used to discipline Israel. The faithful in Israel saw God in all that happened even the storms (Psalm 29). Even though we can't today claim to know what God is doing in the storm (because we have no prophet to tell us) we can still know that he is in charge even of the storm and its destructive force. James tells us to rejoice when trials occurs (Jas.1:2). The problem to me is that we haven't defined very well what is good and what is bad. We think that damage and destruction from a storm is bad but if the storm misses us that is good. Maybe we need to rethink our definition of bad and good, at least in regards to disasters.
We are quick to downplay any active role on God's part in a disaster but quick to play up his active role in protection. Is it because when bad things happen we believe God is in a punishing mode and we don't want to believe that he could be punishing us (or those around us)? As Job asked his wife, "Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?" (Job 2:9 NASU) What shall we think about disasters and God's role in them? Maybe we haven't seen the good that can come from disasters.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Bowling for fun
It seems like this congregation is testing my athletic ability (what little remains at least). We went bowling as Loni pointed out on her blog. My first game was a 126 which isn't too bad considering I haven't bowled in 20 plus years. My second game went much better. I found my groove about the third frame and got 3 strikes in a row. The score board above the lane flashed my name and a turkey. I wonder where they got the idea to call three strikes in a row a turkey? I did a Google search and found out that around the turn of the 20th century during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays bowling establishments would offer a turkey to anyone who got three strikes in row. The name stuck. Anyway, I finished with a 160. It was the second highest of the night. One of the guys who used to bowl in league and probably averaged 200 plus bowled a 168. The last game they turned out the lights with blue lights on the pins. It's called Cosmic Bowling. I couldn't line up on my spot and my bowling went south. I was doing really lousy (my forearm was getting tired by now as well) and then they turned off our lane. We were bowling by the hour not the game. We had a lot of fun being with our brothers and sisters from the congregation. It was great to be with adults (no kids allowed!). I think I'll do some weight lifting for about 6 weeks before we go again.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
His & Her Spatulas
This post is inspired by Lisa's His & Her Ice Cream Scoops. The spatula on the bottom is a woman's spatula. It is quite useful It flips burger, pancakes, French toast, and all kinds of things. The one on the top is a man's spatula. It has a cover because it has sharp edges (I know because I've cut myself trying to pry apart frozen burgers). It came with directions (directions actually appear to the male spirit because we want to prove that we're not as dumb as those who need directions, so anything with directions is considered a challenge to us), which I've lost. It has a bottle opener, which is good for those bottles of Coke that are sitting in the cooler in lots of ice (yes I know that other men use it for other kinds of bottles). It can do a variety of functions - meat tenderizer, slicing into meat to see if it's cooked properly. Oh yes, it flips burgers as well. So it's a man's spatula because it's dangerous, provides a challenge, and just looks like it takes a man to operate (at least that's what we men think). :-)
Monday, January 22, 2007
Off Kilter
While Pat and I were at Epcot we just happened upon a band playing in the World Showcase area. They were specifically in the Canada area. One of the guys had an electric bag pipe and they all wore kilts. Their name - Off Kilter. They were great! Click here for their site. The guy with the bag pipe did Amazing Grace to close out their session. Fortunately for me they had CDs on sale at a kiosk next door. Unfortunately for me the CDs cost $20.00. I just ordered four CDs from BMG and paid $35 (with shipping). I think I will add them to my Christmas list and let someone else spend the money. But these guys were a hoot.
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Paul & Sandie - This one's for you
Thanks for calling Pat on her birthday. Paul told Pat that he goes into work early to read family blogs. So I thought I would say hi. For those reading who may not know Paul and Sandie, they are our daughter's in-laws (Lisa's in-laws). Since being asked to leave Tabernacle they were extremely supportive of us. They started sitting with us up front during services. They called or wrote or dropped by every now and then. During hard times you discover the true nature of those around you. Paul and Sandie are spiritual family and proved to be very good friends. We love you two and appreciate very much your love for us. We are proud that Lisa married into your family. We know that our good relations will continue, we just hope we get to see you a little more in the future. You both know that you are always welcome in our house and we hope that Disney is on your list of places to visit. We are only about 40 minutes away. We can be great tour guides since we know our way around (at least a little bit). Thanks again
Monday, January 08, 2007
Basketball
Last night I played basketball for the first time in at least 20 years. I was sure I would be huffing and puffing during the first game but I didn't. Anyway, in an effort to get the men together and to invite their friends we are playing basketball twice a month after Sunday evening services. Now we can afford to do this because our PM services start at 5:00 PM (yes you read that right!).
10 of us got together last night and played for almost 2 hours. We each shot a free throw and the first five to make a free throw was team one and the others were team two. After each game we shot free throws again so the teams were different each time. We played to 21 (had to win by at least 2). Each basket was 2 points unless shot outside the 3 point line. I was surprise at how well I did considering I'm 53.
The youngest guy was about 25. The oldest was about 62. Three of us were over 50, I think everyone else was under 40. What a blast I had! I'm looking forward to the next game night. It would be nice if our group grew and we got a lot more outsiders to come and play. All for the glory of our God.
10 of us got together last night and played for almost 2 hours. We each shot a free throw and the first five to make a free throw was team one and the others were team two. After each game we shot free throws again so the teams were different each time. We played to 21 (had to win by at least 2). Each basket was 2 points unless shot outside the 3 point line. I was surprise at how well I did considering I'm 53.
The youngest guy was about 25. The oldest was about 62. Three of us were over 50, I think everyone else was under 40. What a blast I had! I'm looking forward to the next game night. It would be nice if our group grew and we got a lot more outsiders to come and play. All for the glory of our God.
Saturday, January 06, 2007
The "Bob" Diet
In July 2005 (the month I was asked to leave) I weighed over 240 lbs (probably close to or over 245). This morning I weighed myself and I'm at 217.4 lbs. With the stress I experienced over being asked to leave, I didn't eat much for a couple of months. In September I noticed that I was below 230 lbs. So I determined to keep it up. Here are my principles for the "Bob" diet.
1. I don't eat in the morning until I'm hungry. I'm up at 5:00 AM every morning. I have a sip (yes just a sip) of juice. Just enough to rinse out the morning breath. I put on coffee (about 2 mugs' worth). I used to put 2 or 3 spoons of sugar in as well as creamer. I have weaned myself off the sugar. I switched to light cream instead of creamer (Tom Shuff told me that Dunkin Donuts uses light cream and that's why everyone loves their coffee - including me). However, here in Florida you can't buy light cream in the quart size so I'm using half & half. So I have coffee in the morning and nothing until I'm hungry. I take some 7 grain cereal (or something nutritious) with me to the office. I usually wait until after I do my daily Bible reading and Greek vocabulary stuff to eat. By then I am hungry (usually around 9:00 AM).
2. I try to have a nutritious snack sometime after breakfast. I usually get hungry again a couple hours after breakfast. Fruit or 7 grain bars.
3. I eat lunch when I'm hungry - not until then. Usually around 12:30 or 1:00 PM. I take lunch to the office. Sometimes leftovers, sometimes a sandwich, or whatever I might find in the kitchen.
4. I again have a nutritious snack a couple hours after lunch because usually I'm at least a little hungry then.
5. I can't control dinner time (not complaining, because our schedules are hectic and who knows when it will all come together), but I'm usually blazingly hungry by the time it comes around.
6. I will eat dessert later on in the evening. Usually I'm hungry again by 9:00 PM or so.
7. I try to not eat sweets during the day. By eating fruit or a 7 grain bar I control my sugar intake and my sugar highs. I think this has helped regulate my hunger.
8. I want to eventually make sure that I don't eat anything after 9:00 PM each night.
9. I also drink more water now. But I need to drink even more.
10. I also limit my portions during the three main meals and try not to eat seconds (I saw a sign at a gym one time that read, "It's not the minutes you spend at the table, it's the seconds.").
11. I weigh myself almost every morning. I know that other diet plans say to weigh yourself only a couple times a week but I've found more motivation to keep up with my plans by weighing myself every morning (before breakfast).
12. I've started walking every morning after I put the coffee on. I'm hoping to eventually start riding my bike and maybe even get a Total Gym.
So that's the "Bob" diet. Simple rules, simple plan. I haven't lost loads of weight but I have lost over 25 lbs and kept it off. I hope that the beginning of next year finds me under 200 lbs. I mention my diet because I was reading a planning guru's blog and he talked about his diet. I think I've done a better job than he in losing weight. At least I'm headed in the right direction.
1. I don't eat in the morning until I'm hungry. I'm up at 5:00 AM every morning. I have a sip (yes just a sip) of juice. Just enough to rinse out the morning breath. I put on coffee (about 2 mugs' worth). I used to put 2 or 3 spoons of sugar in as well as creamer. I have weaned myself off the sugar. I switched to light cream instead of creamer (Tom Shuff told me that Dunkin Donuts uses light cream and that's why everyone loves their coffee - including me). However, here in Florida you can't buy light cream in the quart size so I'm using half & half. So I have coffee in the morning and nothing until I'm hungry. I take some 7 grain cereal (or something nutritious) with me to the office. I usually wait until after I do my daily Bible reading and Greek vocabulary stuff to eat. By then I am hungry (usually around 9:00 AM).
2. I try to have a nutritious snack sometime after breakfast. I usually get hungry again a couple hours after breakfast. Fruit or 7 grain bars.
3. I eat lunch when I'm hungry - not until then. Usually around 12:30 or 1:00 PM. I take lunch to the office. Sometimes leftovers, sometimes a sandwich, or whatever I might find in the kitchen.
4. I again have a nutritious snack a couple hours after lunch because usually I'm at least a little hungry then.
5. I can't control dinner time (not complaining, because our schedules are hectic and who knows when it will all come together), but I'm usually blazingly hungry by the time it comes around.
6. I will eat dessert later on in the evening. Usually I'm hungry again by 9:00 PM or so.
7. I try to not eat sweets during the day. By eating fruit or a 7 grain bar I control my sugar intake and my sugar highs. I think this has helped regulate my hunger.
8. I want to eventually make sure that I don't eat anything after 9:00 PM each night.
9. I also drink more water now. But I need to drink even more.
10. I also limit my portions during the three main meals and try not to eat seconds (I saw a sign at a gym one time that read, "It's not the minutes you spend at the table, it's the seconds.").
11. I weigh myself almost every morning. I know that other diet plans say to weigh yourself only a couple times a week but I've found more motivation to keep up with my plans by weighing myself every morning (before breakfast).
12. I've started walking every morning after I put the coffee on. I'm hoping to eventually start riding my bike and maybe even get a Total Gym.
So that's the "Bob" diet. Simple rules, simple plan. I haven't lost loads of weight but I have lost over 25 lbs and kept it off. I hope that the beginning of next year finds me under 200 lbs. I mention my diet because I was reading a planning guru's blog and he talked about his diet. I think I've done a better job than he in losing weight. At least I'm headed in the right direction.
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
My new look
Some folks here at Mt. Dora feel that I have fit in quite well. They wanted to do something for me that would make me fit in even better. They gave me western boots for Christmas. You can see for yourselves just how western these boots are. Of course we will have to call them southern boots since we are on the east coast. Anyway, now I really look like the "crackers" of Florida.
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
My Accent
| What American accent do you have? Your Result: Boston You definitely have a Boston accent, even if you think you don't. Of course, that doesn't mean you are from the Boston area, you may also be from New Hampshire or Maine. | |
| The West | |
| The Midland | |
| North Central | |
| Philadelphia | |
| The Northeast | |
| The Inland North | |
| The South | |
| What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz | |
I was exploring other blogs and ran across a link with a quiz that tells you what kind of accent you have. Apparently I have a Boston accent. Let's see if I can explain this. I was born in Colorado, raised in 5 states (Colorado, Texas, Washington, Kansas, and California), schooled in Los Angeles (2 years), lived in San Diego (1 year), schooled in Texas (2 1/2 years), lived in New Jersey (28 years), married to a Texas gal who also lived in Burlington, Massachusetts (outside of Boston for 6 years) - okay, I got my accent from Pat (my wonderful wife of 30 years)! She lived in the Boston area for 6 years, developed her accent, and then gave it to me. Seriously, I wonder if the Boston accent includes people from Northern New Jersey. I hope no one tells the folks here in Mount Dora, Florida that their new preacher has a Boston accent. They might wonder where I've really been for the last 28 years. I was sure that I would have been a more neutral accent. So click the link and take the quiz and tell me what kind of accent you have.
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Aiden Robert Mackey
Even though Lisa has posted a picture of Aiden Robert Mackey, I thought I would do the same just to keep in practice of uploading pictures. Kevin was born in California and his two kids were born in North Dakota. Here is Aiden's big sister, Alexis. The first is obviously taken when she was born. The second is a more recent photot. She's a cutie. One of these days I may get to meet her. It's hard to believe that my youngest sister, Andra, is a grandmother - twice over!
Saturday, December 09, 2006
Tis the season to be jolly
It's that time of year again. Pat loves the Christmas season. We just finished putting up the lights around our new (rented) house. We've had a couple of traditions in the Bliss household. The first began in Northern New Jersey, On the second Saturday after Thanksgiving (oftentimes the first Saturday in December) we would get up early, make some hot cocoa, put it in a couple of thermoses, and drive to a tree farm in Pennsylvania. On the way we would count the number of cars coming back with trees. Maybe we would sing some songs or listen to Christmas music (usually everyone else but me, I focused on driving). Once at the farm we would begin our search. Sometimes it would be very cold, sometimes rainy, and sometimes slightly mild. Sometimes we would argue over which tree and sometimes we wouldn't. Sometimes it would take us hours to find the right one and sometimes we would find one in a relatively short time. Once we moved to Southern New Jersey we found a tree farm within 10 miles. We kept our tradition alive. But once the kids began to go off to college, our trips to that tree farm grew less and less. We finally we went to the farm stand about 1/4 mile down the road. We usually found a good tree so we were happy. Pat discovered icicle lights and talked me into climbing onto our roof and stringing the lights. So we've been hanging those icicle lights ever since. And we have continued the tradition right here in Florida. I put up a little fuss over doing it but I'm happy to make Pat happy. So we are jolly this season, even though it was 75 today (and probably will be on Christmas day).
Friday, December 01, 2006
Weird is as Weird does
In the spirit of faddishness, here is my list of weird things about me (I was able to use a zip compression program to do 2 months of prayer and research in about 2 minutes).
1. When I dress, the buttons on my shirt, the buckle of my belt, and the button on my pants must all line up. Don't know where I got this from. I remember seeing Roger Moore in a James Bond movie and all three of these were not lined up (yes I noticed it!). I thought, that looks bad. To this day every morning I make all three line up.
2. I want to wear my hair long! How long you ask? Long enough to have a ponytail. I thought my retirement job could be as a tour guide for a historic site where long hair would be a plus - I would look authentic.
3. I get up early (5:00 AM) every morning (all seven days) and go to bed late (usually after 11:00 PM). I don't want to miss anything.
4. I'm nervous about flying. In the 80s I used to lay awake the night before a flight and sweat bullets. When my Mom's Mom died (Grammie) I let my fear of flying get the better of me. I've always regretted not flying out, mostly for my Mom's sake. Pat and I flew almost once a month since November of 2005. I actually think I'm a little less fearful these days.
5. I hate to sweat in nice clothes. Even nice causal clothes. I will avoid doing anything that will break me out in a sweat while dressed this way. But if I can go change to jeans and a t-shirt, I don't mind at all. In fact, I enjoy sweating when properly dressed.
6. I tend to play the devil's advocate in Bible study (not always but occasionally, okay more often than I am willing to admit). It doesn't matter where I go. If I'm in a conservative congregation I tend to play up liberal ideas. If I'm in a liberal congregation I tend to play up conservative ideas. I don't rock the boat, I just jiggle it some to make sure everyone is holding on tight.
Well that's my list. Pat you are now tagged if you haven't already thought of this. Of course your list will be short (yes I do know how to score points with my wife of 30 years). I won't tag my son (Trey), because he's dating right now and I'm sure he doesn't want the young lady he's dating to know that he's got anything weird in his personality. Of course he should keep her away from his family's blogs so she won't find out about all our weird stuff. Who knows how she might react.
1. When I dress, the buttons on my shirt, the buckle of my belt, and the button on my pants must all line up. Don't know where I got this from. I remember seeing Roger Moore in a James Bond movie and all three of these were not lined up (yes I noticed it!). I thought, that looks bad. To this day every morning I make all three line up.
2. I want to wear my hair long! How long you ask? Long enough to have a ponytail. I thought my retirement job could be as a tour guide for a historic site where long hair would be a plus - I would look authentic.
3. I get up early (5:00 AM) every morning (all seven days) and go to bed late (usually after 11:00 PM). I don't want to miss anything.
4. I'm nervous about flying. In the 80s I used to lay awake the night before a flight and sweat bullets. When my Mom's Mom died (Grammie) I let my fear of flying get the better of me. I've always regretted not flying out, mostly for my Mom's sake. Pat and I flew almost once a month since November of 2005. I actually think I'm a little less fearful these days.
5. I hate to sweat in nice clothes. Even nice causal clothes. I will avoid doing anything that will break me out in a sweat while dressed this way. But if I can go change to jeans and a t-shirt, I don't mind at all. In fact, I enjoy sweating when properly dressed.
6. I tend to play the devil's advocate in Bible study (not always but occasionally, okay more often than I am willing to admit). It doesn't matter where I go. If I'm in a conservative congregation I tend to play up liberal ideas. If I'm in a liberal congregation I tend to play up conservative ideas. I don't rock the boat, I just jiggle it some to make sure everyone is holding on tight.
Well that's my list. Pat you are now tagged if you haven't already thought of this. Of course your list will be short (yes I do know how to score points with my wife of 30 years). I won't tag my son (Trey), because he's dating right now and I'm sure he doesn't want the young lady he's dating to know that he's got anything weird in his personality. Of course he should keep her away from his family's blogs so she won't find out about all our weird stuff. Who knows how she might react.
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