The Secrets to my Success!

         Last week Sprint had some kind of failure in their connectivity which restricted my text messaging. It's amazing how much I rely on my texts to communicate these days. I had at one point even considered going out to purchase a new phone just to accommodate. Text messaging is like an addiction to most people, myself included. It pained me to call people on the phone, which in return made me realize something about myself. I hate talking to people! Yes I know it's rude, but conversation has shortly become a nuisance to people in this day and age. Why speak when you can send an email or a short text message? 

     I got the opportunity to travel to Philadelphia, PA this past week and as much as it pains me to travel out of town I am grateful that I get these chances to see things (for free!!!) that I would normally never get to see. Here is Philly there are some pretty interesting place to visit. First off this was "the place" that our country was formed. So to look at it now it is hard to imagine a bunch of men sitting around a table or probably a pub saying let's just form our own country. I mean think about it. Here these guys were willing to take on the world's largest and one of the oldest superpowers at the time. If only they knew then that we would be bailing Britain out of two world wars 150 years later right! But to walk around the same area and footsteps as George Washington, Ben Franklin, and John Hancock, the world’s most famous signature, and take all of that in was pretty moving. Not to mention that the place I am working is right next door to the PA Masonic...

I was very reluctant to give out this recipe but here you go. SERVINGS: 10PREP TIME: 10 MINUTESCOOK TIME: 20 MINUTESTOTAL TIME: 30 MINUTES INGREDIENTS: 2 lbs Frozen Corn 16 oz Cream Cheese, softened 1 stick Butter, ½ cup), divided ¾ cup Heavy Whipping Cream or Half-and-half 1 tsp Garlic 1 tsp Pepper 1 tsp Salt ¼ tsp Chili Powder ¼ tsp Paprika ½ cup Diced Canned Jalapenos, no juice 6 slices Bacon, chopped (optional DIRECTIONS: I cook my corn on the stove top with 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) of the butter and let it get nice and crispy. You might want to drain the butter out after. In a saucepan melt your cream cheese, remaining 1/2 stick butter, cream, and seasonings and stir until it becomes smooth, then add diced jalapenos and bacon. Once you have the corn and sauce cooked, mix together in a large serving bowl until combined. HELPFUL TIPS: In the summer time I use corn on the cob and cook it on the grill with some hickory wood, and it adds a good flavor to ...

         How arrogant can one man be? Here I am telling anyone who wants to read it about how I forgave my wife. This was the woman that God gave me, to protect, lead, and most of all love. But here I was bragging in a sense about how hard it was for ME, like she owed me something. Who was I to do such a thing? I had forgotten about the man I had been for the last 8 years. I had sat in the spiritual passenger seat while my wife tried to be the glue of my family and when it all broke down I blamed her. Well let me tell you about my wife:

     It was July 19th and I sat on a bench in the Grapevine Mills mall with three tickets to the Aquarium in my hand. I called my wife and asked her to pray for me. I was so scared I was shaking and my stomach started to hurt. I thought several times of changing my mind and running away. But as I prayed and thought of my wife praying for me I knew I had to trust in God and man up. It was admittedly awkward at first getting to meet Avery for the first time. She was grown and she just thought I was this random guy. I hadn’t spoken to her in person for her entire life and I can only imagine what was going on in that little head of hers. But at the end of that day I felt so relieved to have finally met her. It made me think of my girls back home and how much they were alike. It also made me ask myself why? Why did I run from this little girl who was funny, and beautiful and awesome to be around? I guess I would have to compare it to how we run from God. It is our own fear...

               Sometimes to get over the past and to move on you have to turn around and hit it head on instead of running from it. I had so much pain and anger built inside of me that had taken up so much of my heart that there was not much left to give. I’ve come to understand that Jesus can help you repair the wounds and heal the scars if you let him. But that is something easier said than done. I had to face my fears and address these issues that I had let secretly rule my life in one way or another if I was ever going to get through life. But like all things it had to start from the top down. The barriers I had built up between my wife and I had to come down. That was a wall that was going to take a lot of time and effort and still does to this day. But to love my wife I had to first love myself and to love myself I had to own up to my faults and fears by addressing the people who had caused me pain.

          I was hurting inside and angry at the world, I had lost my drive. I love my wife but I wasn’t respecting her, there were skeleton's in the closet that needed to come out. But like all things God wanted me to start somewhere that would give me some confidence again. I felt this overwhelming urge to get my life back on track, so I went full board and stepped up to the task. I felt a new motivation in life and I began to focus on my diet, my health and my body. I started hitting the gym and eating the right foods in a little over 6 weeks I had managed to drop almost 30 lbs and quit smoking. I was proud of myself and so was my wife, but as I started to change there were others around me who were not meeting my needs as friends and a good support group. All the changes were not enough to satisfy my heart’s emptiness.