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When I was a little kid, I loved spending time with my grandparents. As is the case with most grandparents, they let me do whatever I want. Whether it was eating a full carton of ice cream or playing with a machete, they let me get away with anything. When I would spend the night at their house, my grandpa would usually stay with me in the guest room. This was always fun because we would stay up late and watch Arsenio or Letterman. I also loved it because my grandpa always kept lemon drops in a candy dish next to the bed. During the day I would sneak in and eat a few, and I’d grab one before I went to bed and chomp on it until it was gone.

While this may sound heartwarming and touching, I’ve neglected to mention one little fact–a fact I wasn’t aware of until several years ago; a fact my grandpa didn’t even tell me before he passed away. You see, in my innocence, I thought I was reaping the benefits of a candy dish filled with lemon drops. In reality, they weren’t lemon drops at all. They were actually lemon cough drops that my grandpa would suck on before he went to bed. Instead of finishing them off, he would take them out of his mouth before he fell asleep and set them in the candy dish on the nightstand. Yep, I was chowing down on used cough drops.

My grandpa never stopped me or told me the truth. Knowing my family, it’s probably because he thought it was funny and didn’t want to ruin a very funny thing. In hindsight, it is pretty funny, but it taught me a lesson in why you should never take candy from old people.

[Photo Source: http://bit.ly/gSZra7]

Every January people make new New Year’s Resolutions. By February 11, most people have failed or forgotten about them. It’s no surprise that weight loss is one of top resolutions. Anyone who goes to a gym (people that aren’t me) can tell you that in the month of January, the gym is crowded, machines are always taken, and membership is sky high. Within a few weeks, things get back to normal and only the faithful few remain.

That being said, I’m hoping to put a weight loss plan in place this year that is more than just a resolution destined to fail. I’m really hoping to make this work.

My big goal is to lose 30 lbs by June 1.

Here is how I plan on doing it:

- No fast food or junk food (The only exceptions being special meals at work and healthy Subway sandwiches)
- No soda or drinks that add sugar (this includes regular and diet soda)
- At least 72 ounces of water per day
- Calories under 2000 per day
- At least 30 minutes of exercise 5 days/week
- Eating foods that are low in fat and high in protein
- Using the MyFitnessPal app to track my calories, exercise, and more (It’s FREE)

Another thing that I think will help me is setting smaller goals to get to my overall goal. Right now, I’m not looking at June 1. Right now I have my eyes set on March 1. My small goal is to lose 12 lbs by March 1.

Part of the reason I’m putting this on here is for accountability. At any time, feel free to ask me how my diet/exercise is going. I’ll be honest with you. And even if no one reads this, simply posting this will help keep me accountable to me.

I know there are some like-minded people out there hoping to do the same thing during 2011. If you’re one of those people and want to help keep each other accountable, let me know. There’s strength in numbers and I’m sure we can all help each other out. But just a heads up, if you do want to get in, you better be serious about it. I don’t want to work with whiners, complainers, or people who constantly make excuses :)

[Image source: http://bit.ly/hFOsxk]

I didn’t think I’d ever own an iPhone. In fact, I’ve been known to make fun of people whose lives revolve around their phones. I got a little tired of hearing, “There’s an app for that!” when I asked someone for the time or told them they dropped their wallet. However, after months of research, finding an iPhone that was cheaper than $30, and previewing “Angry Birds” a few times, I decided to take the plunge. On Christmas Eve, my new phone arrived at my door.

Fast forward a few days. My parents usually have 3 dogs at their house. This day, there were 4, three of which are under the age of two. When someone arrived at the front door and it was opened, one of the dogs, Lexus, ran out the door and took off. This is not a good thing. Lexus has gotten out before, but she never comes back on her own. Once she takes off running (and trust me, she can run) she usually runs until she has no idea where she is. She doesn’t come home. We have to go find her.

On this night, it was nearly pitch black. There was snow on the ground, ice on the streets, and the temperature was well below freezing. We thought we had seen the direction Lexus went, but after searching for about 10 minutes, we had no luck in finding her and thought she might be long gone.

I went to a different street and started walking up and down, hoping she would hear me and run to me. Nothing. After about 15 minutes I started to head back home. However, I had an odd idea that was worth one crazy last-ditch effort. When I had been messing around with my iPhone and looking at the free apps, I noticed there was an app for a dog whistle. I did a quick search and found it. Within a minute, I had the app downloaded and installed and was walking up the street sounding the whistle.

When I was about 1/4 mile away from my house, I heard a chain rattling and it came toward me. I continued pressing the button. To my surprise, Lexus came running at me from the backyard of a house. Every time I pressed the button to signal the whistle, she would stop and listen, and then come closer. Once she finally realized who I was, she ran with me all the way back to our house.

I know the story is nothing special, but I thought it was something fun to share.

[Photo source: http://bit.ly/dZu0yY]

On November 19, 2009, Derek Lewis put balloons in my office for my birthday.

Over 1 year later, one balloon still remains.

The yellow balloon you see above has survived an entire year. It still has plenty of air and looks to be ready to go another year.

Perseverance.

Awesome.

A few days ago I received an email from one of our writers. Upon receiving our magazine in the mail, this is what he had to say:

David,

I am just blown away by the sheer awesome-ness, relevance, and Christ-
centeredness of this magazine. I wanted you to know that. Please, if
there are more opportunities in the future where I could possibly be a
help or contribute at all to Randall House Magazines, let me know. You
are by far the best Christian Magazine I’ve ever been published in, or
read. And I mean that! Thank you so much for contacting me.

I’m not posting that to brag on our magazines or even to try to show how great we are. In fact, upon reading the email, I was shocked and humbled.

But what that letter did for my day cannot be understated. By taking time to express appreciation and gratitude, the writer encouraged me in so many ways. It was an encouragement to see a teenager be so encouraged by what we do. It was an encouragement to see a teenager so on fire for what he believes. It was an encouragement to know someone appreciates what we do. It was an encouragement to see what we’re doing at Randall House is actually making a difference.

Encouraging words go a long way. We often don’t realize the magnitude of encouragement until someone encourages us. It’s easy for us to toss out a compliment or meaningful word to someone. By just uttering a simple phrase, spending a few minutes on an email or card, or even sending a text we can change someone’s hour, day, or even week.

Take the opportunity to make a difference in someone’s day. Offer up a word of encouragement to someone day. Regardless of how simple it may be, it could be a world of difference!

Yesterday I mentioned I was going to do a giveaway for Casting Crowns’ latest album “Until the Whole World Hears.” Well, today is the day it’s going to happen…at least partially.

Thanks to Reunion Records, I have several Casting Crowns CDs to give out. For this contest, I’m only giving out one…or maybe 2 if the responses are really good.

Here’s how you win:

Whoever can come up with the best response for the following Top 10 List will win the album. The Top 10 category is:

Top 10 Signs You Know You’re at Church Camp

Keep it clean and appropriate. If you have the funniest, most creative, most realistic, etc answer, you will win the album.

All responses must be in by 1:00 PM (CST) Monday April 26, 2010 and feel free to submit more than one answer.

If your answers are good, they may appear in future editions of Horizon and Direction magazines.

Enjoy!

I haven’t written a blog since February 12. That has to be some record for me. There’s been a couple reasons why I haven’t. The main reason is work has been BUSY! Deadlines, new assignments, old assignments, etc are flying in like crazy and there’s been no time to post. The other reason is I’ve been experiencing extreme fatigue for the last few weeks and haven’t had the energy or brain power to actually attempt writing. But, since it has been awhile, I figured I’d write about something simple.

Here are some of the simple (and seemingly insignificant) things in life I am thankful for:

Starburst Sour Jellybeans
Otter’s Chicken
Hearing a classic U2 song on the radio (such as “Where the Streets Have No Name”)
An extremely comfortable sectional in my apartment
My beautiful TV
Good quality BBQ sauce
St. Louis Cardinals Baseball
The NCAA Tournament
Free stuff
Slickdeals.net
Free shipping at Amazon.com on orders over $25
Fantasy Football
Text messages
Classic episodes of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers on Saturday mornings
My lovely bass guitar
The contacts and people I’ve been able to meet through my job and even Twitter
Books
Christopher Nolan
Sleep
Buying/owning sports memorabilia
Turkey burgers
Optimum Nutrition Whey Protein
Southwest Airlines
Chick-Fil-A
People who let you out in a parking garage
Free movie passes
$1.50 movies
Redbox
The peppermints in Derek Lewis’ office
A clean apartment
Coupons
The song “One Shining Moment”
Toy Story
Toy Story 2
Toy Story 3 (I hope…)
Jack Bauer
Macs
The “Pants on the Ground” song
Texas Pete Hot Sauce
Buffalo Wild Wings
Vanderbilt basketball games
Coke Zero

The Top 10 Signs You Picked the Wrong Valentine

10. During your date, more words are said through text messages than your mouth.

9. The card she gives you says your love almost makes her forget about her ex.

8. Her perfume reminds you of your 95-year-old grandmother and the smell of the Ape House at the zoo.

7. He informs you that your chocolate has been replaced by asparagus because “it’s cheaper” and “your hips are already big enough.”

6. Instead of buying you a stuffed animal, he gives you a stuffed squirrel he hit with his car a few hours earlier.

5. He tells you the date has to be over by 8:30 so he can pick up his “real” date.

4.Your date creates her own candy hearts with personal messages such as “LSE WGHT,” “IC UR FAT,” and “BAD BRTH.”

3. He schedules the date after February 14 so flowers are cheaper and candy is discounted.

2. As he walks you to the door he tells you that you look more beautiful in the dark.

1.When your date receives the check for dinner, he reaches for his credit card, pulls out his coupons, and asks if he needs to pull to the second window.

Today I’m starting my first day of P90X. I never thought an exercise program in a box could have so many components. Since receiving the kit (through Craigslist) last week, I have had to buy dumbbells, resistance bands, a door attachment for resistance bands, an extra resistance band kit that I now have to return, and a yoga mat.

Alas, I think I am now ready to begin. I fast forwarded through the first workout a couple nights ago just to get an idea of what I would be doing. From what I can see, it’s going to kick my tail!

However, I need to do this and I want to do this. Like most people, I hate going to the gym. I don’t mind it once I get there, but actually getting there is a task in itself. Plus, the gym always seems like a place of intimidation. It doesn’t help that the equipment in the gym at my apartment complex keeps breaking. That kind of limits what you can do.

So starting today, I begin my 90 day journey. I’m hoping to give it all I’ve got and come out on the other side feeling better, looking better, and maybe being a little sore.

A “fun” component of the program is taking a before and after picture. Don’t worry. I won’t be posting either online.

Well, here we go…

Last year I came up with 21 resolutions for 2009. Only about 18 were realistic. I was able to accomplish about 11 of them. This year I thought I would give it another shot. Some of these aren’t serious, but I’m hoping they’re attainable. As you can see, some are just plain fun. This list is more about what I would like to accomplish in 2010 rather than resolutions…but oh well, here goes (in no particular order):

1. Complete 90 straight days of P90X.
I recently bought the program on Craigslist from a guy who got it and decided he didn’t want to do it. I’m making it my goal to complete the system at least once and try to lose weight, add muscle, and tone up.

2. Read 24 books.
Last year my goal was 12-15 and I made it through 18, including the entire Harry Potter series. This year I’m going for 24.

3. Avoid all Twilight movies.
Yuck.

4. Attend a midnight showing of a movie.
I’ve only done this once (The Dark Knight). I’d love to do it again for Toy Story 3…if they have midnight showing for kids’ movies.

5. Lead 1 person to Christ.
The number may sound small, but you have to start somewhere.

6. Get published in a publication outside of Randall House.

7. Play Mario Kart online with at least 10 friends at once.
Interested?

8. Watch every DVD I own that I haven’t seen yet.
People are amazed at the amount of DVDs I have that I’ve never seen. I have a habit of buying great movies that are $2 at a used bookstore and never watching them. Time to change that.

9. Finish The Chronicles of Narnia.
I think I’ve read the first book 3 times and stopped the second book soon after. Maybe this year I can persevere.

10. Buy a 5-shelf bookcase and organize my DVDs.

11. Pay off 1 student loan.

12. Win over 100 tickets at 1 game at Dave and Busters.
I’m awful at those games. But I will beat you in basketball!

13. Consistently read the Bible and find a reading plan that helps me do it.

14. Beat 1 video game.
I’m not good at video games.

15. Serve others more

16. Attempt the Blazin’ Challenge at Buffalo Wild Wings
…and live to tell about it.

17. Give more money and stuff away than I ever have before.
Money is just temporary and stuff is just stuff.