The Weekend Of Our Discontent

Well I am at a loss for words so this will probably be short. The Gators fell to LSU Saturday night in a good game that came down to who made the fewest mistakes. The Broncos on the other hand were crushed by San Diego, not because Chargers are such a great team, but because the Broncos made mistake after mistake. Turnovers, bad tackling, and their inability to stop the run made the Broncos look pathetic. It is not too late to turn things around, and I think Denver has the personnel to do it, but they need to focus on the fundamentals and finishing off their drives by putting points on the board. Maybe this defeat will motivate the Broncos to come back after their by-week next week and be the team I know they can be. So next week I will have to cheer for another team, which I believe will be the Cowboys as they try to humble the Patriots. Did I just say the Cowboys? I must really be distraught.

For all my fellow Broncos fans out there, keep your chins up and your sunglasses on.

Have a great week.

First Night Out

So my wife and I were able to go out for dinner and a movie last night. This was our first official date night since early June before Bryleigh was born. Definitely no regrets over the last four months, but it was nice to get out with just the two of us for a few hours. Of course, we found ourselves talking about Bryleigh most of the time and how weird it is to think of ourselves as parents now. It can be a struggle and our lives have definitely changed, but I would not change having Bryleigh in my life for anything in the world. Having a child really helps you put things in perspective and helps you see what is truly important in life.

At this very moment as I am writing this blog, I am also changing my fantasy football lineup for tomorrow’s games. I am going head to head with my good friend Barry Leathers, and unfortunately for him, he will be going down hard tomorrow. Today is also the big game between Florida and LSU. Losing last week really hurt, but I am sure Florida will come back today and show the nation who should be ranked number 1. Then tomorrow the Broncos can show the nation who the best team in the West is as they mangle the Chargers, which by the way is the team everyone said would win the West and be a lock to make it to the playoffs. Don’t you just love football season?

How can I be so confident in my teams? Well I saw an Orange sunset last night!

The Week In Review

I thought I might start a weekly post during football season to share my thoughts on the week’s highlights and of course the Broncos journey back to the playoffs. This is probably not the best week to start since the Broncos just lost to the Colts today and the Gators got a wake up call from Auburn last night, but you have to start somewhere.

So I will start tonight with a short post to lament the Broncos loss to the Colts today. It was not totally unexpected since the Colts have had the Broncos number the last few years, and the Broncos have not been playing up to their potential so far this season. The Broncos were in the game the first half, but limiting the Colts offense for all four quarters is almost an impossible task for any team. The best any team can do is to outscore them offensively, which the Broncos did not do in the second half. Of course, the Broncos turnover on their own 20-yard line and allowing the Colts to run on them for 229 yards on the ground did not help.

I still see the Broncos winning the West and hopefully improving enough to beat the Colts and Patriots in the playoffs. Am I dreaming a little, well maybe, but it is a long season and as any NFL fan knows, on any given Sunday any team can win. So watch out Patriots, Colts, and anyone else who gets in the way, because this January there just might be a re-match in the big game between the Broncos and the over-rated Cowboys!

Just a few kudos for today’s standouts:

Brett Favre for breaking Dan Marino’s record. It may not always be pretty but he gets it done and he is one tough redneck.

Daunte Culpepper for showing the Dolphins they might have let go of the wrong QB.

Arizona Cardinals for humbling the Steelers. Maybe the Steelers should have picked up Kurt Warner.

Peyton Manning for playing well against two of the best corners in the league. He is a force to be reckoned with.

And finally our own Brandon Marshall from UCF who has been a stud all season and the highlight of the Broncos offense. Can anyone take this guy down after the catch? He has already earned the nickname little T.O. around the league. However, at 6’4” and 230 pounds, I would not call him little. Hopefully he does not inherit the same bad attitude and chip on the shoulder that Terrell Owens has. Check out last week's performance: http://www.nfl.com/goto?id=09000d5d802a62b9

I'm sure that there will be better news next week for the Gators and Broncos as they take down LSU and the Chargers.

For anyone reading this that is new to football or just does not have a favorite team, my advice is to always view the world through Orange and Blue sunglasses. I am pretty sure God is a Broncos fan. Why else would he make sunrises Orange and the oceans Blue?

Have a great week!

Blessed

I know it has been a while since my last post, and that is mainly for two reasons. The first is that I have been very busy with work, beginning another semester of college, and spending time with my wife and baby Bryleigh. The second is that outside of those tasks, not much has been going on, nothing that would interest the readers of this blog anyway. However, there is an advantage to not having a lot going on in your life. It helps you to stop and appreciate all that you have. It is so much easier to focus on what you do not have or what you really want and think you need. Yet we rarely consider how blessed we are each moment of our lives. Just living in the United States is a blessing that most of the world never gets to experience. Not just the higher socio economic status that we have, but also the many freedoms that we so often take for granted. Sure, it is easy to find someone who seems to be blessed more than you are, but how often do we focus on the much higher percentage of those who have so much less than we have and would love to be in our shoes?

Last night as I sat in the recliner feeding Bryleigh, I was moved to consider all of the blessings in my life. I first thought of Bryleigh and what a blessing she has been to me, as well as the rest of my family. Not just because she is such a great baby, but also because she helps me to focus on someone other than myself. She reminds me of the joy of serving others and of how God loves us unconditionally even though we do nothing to earn or deserve his amazing love. I also noticed my dog Shylah lying by my feet and thought of how blessed I was to have such a great dog. Who else other than God could look past all of our weaknesses and failures and love us unconditionally without holding any record of wrongs? On the other hand, it would be great if we could show God the same kind of unconditional love that we get from our dogs. Just a thought.

I still have many goals in life and many things I would like to do. I do not always want to have to live paycheck to paycheck and wonder how we will meet each month’s bills. However, if I let that be my focus then I know I will miss so much along the way and may miss what God is trying to teach me. I just hope that in my daily life, I can live out Philippians 4:12 (I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation). The blessings I have in my life are far superior to anything money can buy and have a far greater return.
I hope that when you think about your life, the word that comes to your mind, as it does mine, is blessed.

Thankful

I know it has been a while since my last post, and that is mainly for two reasons, both involving my new baby girl. The first is that I have been very busy with work, finishing this semester of college, and spending time with my wife and baby Bryleigh. The second is that outside of those tasks, not much has been going on, nothing that would interest the readers of this blog anyway.
However, there is an advantage to not having a lot going on in your life. It helps you to stop and appreciate all that you have. Last night as I sat in the recliner feeding Bryleigh as she looked at me with her loving, innocent eyes, I was moved to consider all of the blessings in my life. I first thought of Bryleigh and what a blessing she has been to me, as well as the rest of my family. Then I glanced over at the dog who was just looking back at us with her puppy dog eyes and thought, wow, God has even blessed me with our awesome dog Shylah, who loves Bryleigh, Stacy and I unconditionally and lives just to try to please us. Just goes to show that God is great not only in meeting our needs, but is also involved in the little details of life that make it so enjoyable. Of course, my wife has been awesome in taking care of our baby and going the extra mile to not only meet Bryleigh’s needs, but also spending quality time with her stimulating her little mind which is like a sponge soaking up all that it can.
So while I am as busy as I have ever been, and finances are beyond tight, God is still blessing us and I know he has a plan for us now and in the future. I know that life can bring stress and worry and it can get you down if you let it. However, just like most everything else in life, we can choose how we deal with the circumstances of life and whether we choose to view the glass of our lives as half-full or half-empty. As for me, I choose to view my glass as filled to the top. Sure there are many things I would like to have, many places I would like to go, and many things I would like to do, but when I look at my life in proper perspective, I realize how truly blessed I really am. Even in material wealth, most of us have more than 75% of the world’s population. However, the things I treasure most cannot be measured by mere socio economic standards, because they are the priceless gifts of family and friends. In that area of my life, I am a very wealthy man indeed.
Each new day we are given is truly a gift, and the word that best describes my outlook for each day and hopefully the attitude of my heart is, “thankful”!

Summer Fun

So it is summer again, which down here in Florida means lots of heat, rain, and bugs. However, it also means time with family while the kids are out of school, vacations, theme parks, swimming, etc. For me, one of the things I look forward to each summer are the big summer blockbuster movie releases. Of course, there are disappointments every year, but there are always a few really good movies that make it worth your time and money. This summer was looking to be one of the most highly anticipated summers in a while, and is being referred to as the summer of the sequel. I believe there are fourteen sequels scheduled for release this summer. A good friend of mine has said that he is disappointed that Hollywood cannot come up with anything original. On the other hand, I am a big fan of sequels if they are are done right. Some of my favorite movies of all time are sequels. Movies such as the Star Wars films, the Indiana Jones trilogy, the Vacation films with Chevy Chase, the Star Trek movies, and most of the Marvel Comics films, just to name a few. Can you really get too much of a good thing?

I have been lucky enough to see most of the big movies thus far this summer, although with the arrival of my new baby girl, that will probably change. Some of them have been somewhat of a letdown from the hype that they have received, but today I saw a film that not only met, but exceeded my expectations. That film was Transformers, with one of my new favorite actors, Shia Labeouf (Pronounced "Shy-uh La-Buff"), who is also slated to star in Indiana Jones 4 next summer. The movie is non-stop action and comedy from beginning to end. I know you have probably seen some other films that were based on a cartoon or toys that ended up not being very good or even completely lame. Forget your past experiences however because Transformers will not disappoint. If you are not completely satisfied after seeing the film, see a theater manager and mention my name for a complete refund. Sure, he will just laugh in your face, but I would love to hear all about it sometime. But as the famous preview voice announcer guy always says, “If you see only one movie this summer, you need to get out more.” Oh, wait a minute that was my line. He would say, “If you see only one movie this summer, see Transformers.”

With the price of movies these days, you really have to choose wisely. I would highly recommend Transformers for a fun summer afternoon, or a nice evening out. It truly is more than meets the eye!

Friends

In keeping with the theme of things I am thankful for, I thought I would write something about all my friends who have been there for me throughout the years, as well as those whom I have known for just a short time. Of all the things we have in life, friends are one of the great gifts that make life enjoyable and help us to live it to the fullest. To have no money or earthly possessions would be sad, but to have no friends would be a far sadder thing indeed.

I have been blessed throughout the years with some great friends. Friends who I could always count on to be there for me and support me no matter what I may be going through. Much of what I have learned in life about self-sacrifice and unconditional love has come from my friends. Just as our parents model behavior for us in our early years, our friends do the same throughout our lives. I have been blessed over the last seventeen to eighteen years to have friends who modeled what it means to be a follower of Christ. I just pray my daughter finds the same type of friends who encourage her to be all that God desires for her to be.

I was reminded of how great it is to have friends over the past two weeks as some of our friends have come by to see our new baby and have brought us dinner and gifts. I hope they all know how much it is appreciated and how much we love them. Even friends we have not seen lately have made a point to come and share with us and we are very grateful. Some of our friends are separated by great distance, but they are close in our hearts. Thank you all for all you do and for who you are.

To all of my awesome friends, you know who you are, I am eternally grateful to have you in my life. I am truly a blessed man.

I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy. Philippians 1:3-4