Happy "Smoked" Thanksgiving Turkey

Well Happy belated Thanksgiving everyone! I hope everyone had a wonderful time with family, friends, and loved ones. I hope you had your tummy filled with delicious food. This year I was able to smoke a turkey for our families.

I started off with 14-15 lbs turkey and brined it for at least 12 hours in the following solution in a cook grade 5 gallon bucket.

2 Gallons of Water

2 Cups Kosher Salt

3 Cups Sugar

1/4 Cup Liquid Crab Boil

4 TBS Black Pepper

1 TBS Dried Rosemary

1 TBS Thyme

1/4 Cup Molasses

1/4 Cup White Wine (not Cooking Wine)

1/4 Cup Worcestershire

After brining, I washed the bird well, both inside and out with cold water and set it aside so I could dry it off. Once the bird was dry, i began to separate the skin from the meat,being careful not to tear the skin. I prepared a rub to lightly season the bird.

2 TBS onion powder

1 TBS paprika

2 tspn white granulated sugar

1 tspn celery salt

1 tspn pepper

1 tspn powdered sage

I lightly applied the rub both on and under the skin. I didn't make a lot of rub for that purpose.

I then heated up the smoker to 225 degrees and put the turkey in breast side down. I used a mix of apple and cherry wood for my smoke. After about an hour I then flipped the bird over breast side up for the remainder of the cooking.

After a couple of hours, when I thought the breast and wings looked brown enough, I wrapped them in tin foil to prevent burning. After about 7 to 8 hours, and the internal temperature of the bird reached 167 -170 degrees, I pulled the turkey out of the smoker, wrapped it all in tin foil and placed it in the microwave to rest for 30 minutes.

After the 30 minutes, I unwrapped the turkey and carved up all the meat. It was moist, it was juicy, and it was delicious.

Roaring Lambs. By Bob Briner

Growing up in the evangelical church, many people can fall into the belief that to really minister, to really be effective for Christ, you have to go into full time, professional ministry.  And the rest of us that aren’t in the ministry just support those doing the real work of God.  There is also the belief that some professions and occupations are lost to the world and that we should avoid them.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  Bob Briner reminds us that we are the salt of the earth.  For a lot of us that phrase has lost its true meaning.  When we hear about someone who is “the salt of the earth”, many think of someone who is a rather dull, slow, conforming individual – a hard worker, maybe honest but pretty tame, a loyal churchman who seldom does anything outside of the church.  But the salt that Jesus has in mind is stinging, biting, cleansing and preserving and is anything but dull, anything but tame.  Throughout history salt has been used as both a flavor enhancer and a preservative.  It doesn’t stop something from spoiling, it just keeps it good for longer.  That is what we are as Christians, a preservative to this world.  How many times have we heard people complain how TV, film, politics, media, art, and the theater have nothing of value and that they are corrupt?  But as Briner raises the question, how many Christian are encouraging their children to pursue a career in those professions?  How can those professions stop from being spoiled without a preservative?  Christians need to be that preservative.  We have all been placed in a career and been given a talent for a reason.  Can’t a Christian be an excellent businessman? Can’t a Christian be an inspiring painter?  Can’t a Christian be an honest, effective Congressman?  Though Briner focus is on different media outlets and seems a little dated, the message is the same in any profession.  We are the salt of the earth, and we need to preserve it.  We need to do everything with excellence for the glory of God.  I encourage any Christian to read this book if they are serious about becoming a more effective witness for Christ.

Love and Respect

This past weekend my wife and I had the chance to attend the Love and Respect conference at Woodside Bible Church.  Love and Respect is a book by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs that has spawned a conference, small groups and classes.  Crystal and I had already taken the class at church a little over a year ago, so when we heard that Dr. Eggerichs was coming to Woodside, we jumped at the chance.  The funny thing about marriage conferences (or even counseling for that matter) is that most people think of them the same way that they think of doctors or mechanics.  That if you are going to one, there must be some major problem.  But the truth is, almost everyone takes their car to a mechanic for an oil change or some other routine maintenance so that their car will stay in good working order and last longer.  And almost everyone “should” go to a doctor once a year for a physical to make sure everything is ok and you will last longer.  The same holds true for conferences, they can help keep your marriage in tip top shape.  Love and Respect is all about how God made men and women different and how we speak different languages.  For example, a husband and wife are going to a party and both tell one another “I have nothing to wear”.  Both said the same thing, but both meant something very different.  For the wife, when she says “I have nothing to wear”, what she really means is she has nothing “new” to wear.  For the husband, when he say “I have nothing to wear”, what he really means is that he has nothing “clean” to wear.  Both said the same thing, but both meant something very different. 

The conference revolves around two concepts:….. you guessed it, Love and Respect.  Ephesians 5:33 says “However, each one of you also must LOVE his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must RESPECT her husband.” (NIV)  Notice that the wife wasn’t commanded to love her husband.  Why?  Because God designed women to love.  It comes very naturally to them.  Notice that the husband wasn’t commanded to respect his wife.  Why?  Because God designed men to have respect come naturally.  When Emerson asked 7,000 people the questions: when you are in a conflict with your spouse or significant other, do you feel unloved or disrespected?  83% of the men said “disrespected.”  72% of the women said, “unloved.”  Even though everyone one needs love and respect equally, the felt need differs during conflict, and this is the difference what Emerson calls pink and blue. 

The main concepts around this conference are summed up in three cycles.

• 
  The Crazy Cycle - Without love she reacts without respect and without respect he reacts without love.
• The Energizing Cycle - His love motivates her respect, and her respect motivates his love.
• The Rewarded Cycle – He loves regardless of her respect and she respects regardless of his love.

I would recommend this book and conference to any Christian or Non-Christian couple.  Even if you think that your relationship is good, read this book and make it a great relationship.

Capitalism, Zombies and the death of Steve Jobs.

I’ve been reading a lot about the death of Steve Jobs and the protests on Wall Street recently.  With both being at the top of the news headlines, I can’t help but think of the irony they represent.  Both are stories about the two sides of American capitalism.  I am a capitalist at heart.  I feel that Adam Smith was right that in theorizing that if there is no state or external intervention, that individuals (the market) would be able to dictate what products bring the most value to the market by how they spend their money.   If a product or a service is not satisfactory, the market will simply not reward (purchase) it.  People can say they want one thing, but prove what they want by spending their money on it.  Which brings me back to the death of Steve Jobs and Wall Street.  Fairness.  Capitalism is built on equality and fairness.  With no external forces (such as the government), a capitalistic market will balance itself out. 

Steve Jobs built Apple computer in his parent’s garage.  He built a big business and a business that most people would recognize as a good business.  A business that creates valuable products that people want.  Products that make life easier and sometimes more enjoyable. He built products that people weren’t calling for, but for products he wanted to use and that were game changing.  (see Mac, iPod, iPhone, iPad) And for this the market (the people buying his products) has rewarded him and his company for the products they have built for society.  Steve Jobs died a multi-billionaire.   And this was possible because the American capitalist system made it possible.

On the flip side, we have Americans protesting Wall Street by dressing up as zombies.    They weren’t protesting the New York Stock Exchange or the NASDAQ specifically; they were protesting the big banks and individuals that make up Wall Street.  They were protesting the unfairness in the market.  They were protesting a system that is rewarding bad behavior, irresponsibility, and a product that many see as creating no value for society and in many cases have helped degrade it.  While financial CEO’s and hedge fund managers are raking in record profit sharing checks, the people whose money they are supposed to managing, have seen their return on investment either stagnate or actually lose value.  We have a government that has given billions of dollars to these corporations that have let 401K devalue and created exotic, destructive derivative products and subprime loans that benefit no one but the corporation.  While many Americans can recognize the need for certain policies, it is those policies that still offend their sense of fairness and the concept of America as a meritocracy by basically rewarding destructive activities.  As many Americans see it, Wall Street is being rewarded with oversized compensation whether they actually create any value at all.  Many Americans look at Wall Street as being an academic version of a Casino.  Instead of people helping companies build more products that they would like to buy, by purchasing stock with hope that that company will use their money to produce more products or services people want to buy, they are being sold “financial products” that aren’t products at all.  They are gambles.  They are products that call for one group to lose money so that the “financial products” can make money.

For me one of the biggest lessons we should be taking away from these two events is that of the many reasons that the United States of America is the greatest country in the world, capitalism is one of those reasons.  A truly free market does not what the government to dictate market solutions.  A truly free market does not want the government to pick alternative fuel technology to back. (ie giving money away to back electric vehicles).  We know the market says it doesn’t like paying high gas prices and that it wants alternative fuel options, but we don’t need a government to tell the market what that alternative is.  How does the government know what is best for the future?  It can’t even do something as simple as BALANCE A BUDGET.  Most 8^th grade civic classes in this country could do that.  It really is quite simple.  You can’t spend more money they you bring in.  Dave Ramsey has been beating that concept into people’s heads for more than 20 years. Heck, God has been telling us that forever in the Bible.  Let the market decide what the best fuel alternative technology is.  We have had electric hybrid technology in the market for almost 10 years and it still holds a very small portion of the market.  The mass market isn’t buying it.  I’m not saying it isn’t the future, but it should not be the only avenue pursued.  My point is small business, big business, and capitalism is very good, but only to the extent that they are able to function in a system that dish’s out rewards for the creation of value.  It fails when rewards (bailouts) are given out regardless of any value a company or industry creates.  The rewards need to be able to be given to those that create value and give by those that receive the value.

A Dads (and Husbands) Guide to Walt Disney World

Having just spent sent six days in Florida taking our two children (ages 1 ½ and 4 years old) to the four major Disney parks there, I thought I would write down some of the lessons I learned as a husband and father.

General Lessons:

-Men, it’s all about the kids.  I know we are the one’s paying for the trip and we want to check out this show or ride that ride, but you’re an adult… get over it.  With young kids at least, let them dictate the pace and what rides to visit or not visit.  I guarantee if your wife and kids are happy, you will be happy. (Kind of like “happy wife, happy life.”)

-Prepay and schedule as much as you can in advance.  This isn’t as much to save a lot of money, as it is to LOWER YOUR STRESS LEVEL.  Walt Disney World is stimulation over load.  The sights, the sounds, the crowds, the heat, and the prices.  We purchased through Disney the flights, hotel, park passes, and dining plan.  With that it included all the transportation.  Because we purchased a dining plan as well, my wife was wise enough to make reservations for all of our sit down meals. Let me show you by doing all of this how we were able to eliminate our stress levels drastically.  While we were packing at home, Disney sent us luggage tags to put on all of our bags so that when we checked in our luggage at the airport in Detroit, we would no longer need to worry about it.  With the tags Disney provided, they picked up our luggage for us in Orlando and delivered it to our room.  Once we got to the airport in Detroit and checked in our luggage, we had nothing to worry about until we were in our hotel room.  Disney takes care of the luggage and they take care of your transportation from the airport to your hotel. (as long as it is a Disney property)  Once you get to the hotel and check in, you are presented you ‘key’ cards to the park.  Each member of your party gets their own card.  It is your room key, park pass, dining pass, and even charge card is you so choose.  Each dining plan is different.  We chose the one quick serve, one snack, and one sit down meal plan.  By doing this it eliminated all the stress of the outrageous prices of food at Disney World. On a previous trip my wife and I took on our own there several years before, we did not do this.  Because we are very conscious of what we spend, we did not eat very well.  Some of the least expensive food items at Disney World happens to be fried food.  Now don’t get me wrong, I love some fried food.  But walking all day in the heat and only eating fried food, not a good combination.  This time with the dining plan, because the meal was already prepaid, we just ordered what we wanted.  By prepaying and eliminating the need to constantly look at how much each plate is, you just order what you want.  It doesn’t matter if it is the $20 chicken finger dinner or the $38 roast beef mash potato dinner, it’s all a part of the plan.  Then when your trip is over, and you pack up your luggage, there is bag check in for the airlines right at the resort. So we brought our bags to the main building, checked in the airline and checked in our bags right at the hotel.  We did not see our bags again until we picked them up in Detroit.  So we were able to eliminate as much stress as possible.  Here is a summary: Book everything through Disney.  It will eliminate the stress of baggage lugging, transportation around the Disney properties and to and from the airport.  It will eliminate the stress of having to juggle airline carriers. Disney already has a great schedule worked out with the airlines.  Get a dining plan.  It will eliminate the stresses at meal time.  ( I know, I know. some people will say they can save more money by just purchasing food when they want it.  This may be true, but I guarantee you won’t eat as well (health wise) and you will have a lot more stress managing it. Plus if you actually order the good stuff, you break even or come out ahead) And finally make reservations at restaurants that you want to go to.  That way you don’t have to sit for 45 minutes to an hour or more just for a table.  The key is to eliminate as much stress as you can a head of time.  It will make the trip much more enjoyable while you are there.

-For those with younger children, BRING A STROLLER.  When the kids get tired, and they will, you don’t have to carry them. 

-Buy good walking/running shoes. Your feet and back will thank you.  If you don’t run or don’t already have a nice pair of walking shoes, go get fitted and buy them.  Not just the cheap target or payless brand, but a pair that you have a professional watch you walk and fit you with a good pair.  They will probably be a little more, but they are worth every cent.  Once you’ve had a good fitting comfortable pair of shoes for a long walking trip, you won’t regret it.

-Bring sunglasses, sun screen, and a hat.  The sun can be brutal.

-Help your wife.  It is your job to be that guy behind the scenes making sure everything is going smoothly.  Make sure everyone else is having a good time and they are stress free.

-Go to bed early.  They kids will be worn out at the end of the day and should fall asleep as soon as you can get them in bed.  Make sure you go to bed right after them.  A quiet room will help everyone sleep better.

-Speaking of bed time, let the kids tell you when it’s time to go to bed.  Not necessarily verbal, but you know your kids best and can tell how soon you have until they start to melt down.  For example we planned on staying at both Magic Kingdom and Epcot late so that we could watch the fireworks.  The kids could not have stayed up that late.  We didn’t talk about the fireworks, but they were tired and we ready to leave, so we did.  Everyone was happy.

-Smile all the time and don’t argue with your wife.  Again this is about the kids.  If it looks like you are having a good time, it will allow the kids to feel free to enjoy themselves as well.  And then in the end everyone is happy.

-Take breaks.  There a number of playground type things at all the parks. Use them.  Let the kids literally run around and get out the pent up energy they have from waiting in line and sitting in the stroller.  While they play, you can finally sit and take a breather.

Parks:

Walt Disney World:  This really is the happiest place on earth. There is so much to do there.  This is probably the best park for younger kids.  Make sure to check out some of the shows or short movies.  It gives everyone a chance to get out of the sun and into some A/C. 

Epcot:  There are some fun rides here like GM Test Track and Soarin.  But most of Epcot is very educational. From technology and agriculture to the many different cultures of the world in world showcase.

Hollywood Studios:  There aren’t as many rides here but there are a lot of shows. And for guys none is better than Lights, Motors, Action.  This is a 30 minute stunt show featuring lots of cars drifting, doing burn outs, jumping ramps and precision driving. You don’t want to miss it.  For the smaller kids, check out the Toy Story Midway.  It was our daughter’s favorite ride.  Also check out Tower of Terror and Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster.

Animal Kingdom:  This is pretty much a zoo but a lot more fun.  The main ride to see here is Kilimanjaro Safaris.  You ride on a truck through basically an open zoo with roaming animals. Also check out Dinosaur and Expedition Everest.

Food:

The sit down restaurants are very good at Disney.  Our favorite was Boma at Animal Kingdom Lodge.  It was a buffet but everything was so delicious.  It was a selection of Indian, Middle Eastern and African inspired dishes.  We also visited Liberty Tree Tavern in Magic Kingdom.  This was a pleasant surprise.  It was like thanks giving dinner.  Served family style, you get a salad, green beans, mash potatoes, gravy, mac n’ cheese, stuffing, turkey, roast beef, and smoked pork loin, oh and desert too. Epcot probably has the most amount of sit down restaurants you could ask for.  Almost every country in world show case has a nice sit down restaurant.  We ate at Teppan Edo (Japanese steak house) that our daughter loved watching the food cooked in front of her.  We ate at San Angels Inn (Mexican).  Very good.  And we have also eaten at Marrakesh for some delicious Mediterranean food.  Best lamb shank I’ve ever had.  Those are just the one’s we’ve tried.  Spend a little time reading up on what Disney has to offer, and you won’t be stuck eating chicken fingers every night.

I hope this helps any of the guys out there getting ready to take their families to Disney.  If you have any questions please leave me a comment.

The new iPhone 4S

As an iPhone 3GS user, I was excited about the new iPhone that was going to be announced this week.  But instead all of the cool new features and amazing things that it can do being the main thing I took away from the announcement; it was how well apple promotes itself.  Somehow they are able to take the most mundane and average of statistics and make them seem earth shattering and revolutionary.   Now don’t get me wrong.  I love my iPhone.  It is probably the single best technology device I have ever owned, much less cell phone.  I still think it is the best mobile device out there, even better than android. (Here are just a couple of reasons: http://dontbuyandroid.tumblr.com/)  But boy does apple know how to toot its own horn.  You’d have thought that the invented the wheel or something.  Now the improvements to the iOS is something to be impressed with.  The new camera capabilities, iCloud, reminders, Wi-Fi sync and most importantly a PC Free backup and management.  We all know there are flaws in apple products, but they all just seem to work.  How can a company like Microsoft produce revolutionary technology, and dare I say, sometimes even a better product then others in the market but have such a low market “fan” base?  But Apple with all of its restrictions and closed environment, draw the attention and adoration of so many technology fans?

The Winning Attitude. By John C Maxwell

The Winning Attitude is a little bit of common sense, lots of biblical wisdom, and examples and applications that really make it come alive.  Maxwell suggests that your attitude may have more to do with your success and how people perceive you then you ever thought.  He covers many different points including:
-Seven aspects of attitudes and how they can affect your life.
-God thinks more of us than we do ourselves.
-Do not allow your attitude or others to put you in a box and limit your potential.
-Four rules to remember when you have attitude problems.
-Failures are needed on the road to success.  It is impossible to truly succeed without failure.
-Four outward causes of our attitude problems.
-Eight choices we can make to improve our attitude.
-Five things to learn from prayer in Psalm 25:1-10
No one controls your attitude but you.  Don’t give other that much control in your life.  I know things happen in life that get us down, but it is how we choose to view those things and how we choose to react to it.  This was a great book and I would recommend it to anyone.

It's OUR fault

“The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt.  People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance.”  Cicero,  55 B.C.

How many times a day do we hear how Washington is out of control, How Washington can’t balance a budget, How the economy is so bad, How the Democrats want to spend other people’s money, How the Republicans are a bunch of greedy rich people.  Do you know what all those people in congress, the senate, and the White house have in common?  They were ELECTED.  They didn’t magically get those jobs.  WE THE PEOPLE elected them there.  It doesn’t matter if you voted for them or not, or didn’t vote at all.  They were elected.  We have been call the greatest nation, the wealthiest nation, but we are so over our heads in debt, we don’t know what way is up.  Debt used to be a bad thing.  Only “poor” people used to be in debt.  Now debt is a “tool” that everyone is told to use.  But that is not what God says.  Proverbs 22:7 says “The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is slave of the lender” (ESV)   God told his people to be a nation of lenders, not a nation of borrowers.  Many people continue to look to the government to bail them out.  Our recovery will not begin until we have a declaration of dependence on the Almighty God.  North Point Community Church is doing a series entitled the Recovery Road.  I encourage everyone to watch this series. 



 

http://www.northpoint.org/messages/recovery-road

Letters from Dad. By Greg Vaughn

Bless. Your. Family.  This book is an account of how Greg got a group of men together that he trusted, and asked them if they wanted to go on a journey to learn how to bless their families, and how it turned into a worldwide ministry.  It started when Greg realized he had nothing from his Father.  Not even a simple letter. And how he and a group of men decided to bless their families one letter at a time.  As a man that is continually striving to be the man, husband, father, son, and friend God would have me to be, this book was amazing.  This whole book revolves around how as a man of God, we can bless our families each member at a time.  This really touched me.  It's not how you can be a blessing to your family, but how you can bless each one of your family members.  I highly recommend this to any man that wants to leave a lasting legacy with his family.

Quitter. By Jon Acuff

This was a very good read.  It is a big departure from his previous two books.  As Jon puts it, "we have become the 'I am a _____, but I really want to be a ____.' generation."  Such as "I'm an accountant, but I really want to be a chef."  He talks about how he went from a serial quitter (8 jobs in 8 years) to how he finally reached his dream job.  He gives lots of good examples on how you can go from a J.O.B. to something you really love.  The biggest thing I took out of this book was that we need to fall in LIKE with a job, while you work on finding/building the job you LOVE.  I also found this review of the book on Amazon.  I think she did a much better job of describing the book then I did. She writes:

I feel like a jerk telling you to read this book. I loved reading it but hated the implications. Jon Acuff cuts right through all the crappy excuses that we put between us and our dreams. This book haunts me a month after I finished it. I can’t fritter away time on the internet anymore with a clear conscience. I wake up earlier so I can take time to write and focus my thoughts for the day. I find myself trying harder and doing more work at work. It sucks. I miss my life as a slacker.
Acuff writes from his own experiences not in a show off way but in a clever way that gives him credibility. I laughed and cried a little, but in a cool way, not an overly emotional wreck kind of way. Acuff is ridiculously likable which is probably best for him because if I didn’t like him, I might try to kick him in the shins for suggesting that a work ethic in your current job will help you prepare for your future dream job.
If you’re taking time to read this review, you obviously have time to read something more substantial like a book. Go ahead and buy Quitter. Read it yourself. Give it to your whiny friends who can’t figure out why they’re not living their dreams. Call your brother or sister and read it to them over the phone. Give it to your kid in the basement who thinks it’s normal to live with parents 10 years after graduating from college. You could also do what I did and give this book away with a break up note to your boyfriend, gently implying the relationship is doomed because he won’t put away the X Box and become a grownup. So yeah, buy Quitter once, buy it twice, buy an entire case of books. I know you know people who should read it. My guess is you might be one of them, too.

Gazelles, Baby Steps and 37 other things Dave Ramsey taught me about debt. By Jon Acuff

Another humor book by Jon.  Nowhere near as funny as "Stuff Christians Like", but if you know Dave Ramsey and have listened to any of his shows for a while, you get a small chuckle out of this book.

Too Christian, Too Pagan. How to Love the World without Falling for It. By Rick Staub

I really liked this book. It was very refreshing to read a book that doesn't encourage you to further remove yourself from the people Christ came to die for.  Rick talked about some practical ways that he has used in his own life to be in the world, but not to be a part of the world. He talks about how through our actions we can bring and show Christ to those around us, no matter where we are.  He also talks a lot about how to be able to influence those around us.  People need to see Christ’s love.

Actually caring

Within the next couple of weeks, our church will be kicking off neighborhood groups.  A neighborhood group is a group of members/attendees of Woodside Bible Church that live in close proximity to one another, regardless of which campus they attend, to foster relationships, help each other grow in faith, and serve our neighborhood and communities with the message and love of Jesus.  Crystal and I have volunteered to help host and lead a group for our neighborhood.  This has made me a little nervous and is forcing me out of my comfort zone.  I can no longer just be the guy that lives in that house over there.  I have to get out and meet people.  I’m not exactly the most outgoing of people, so this is going to be a challenge.  As we’ve been preparing to get our group underway, I’ve really been thinking a lot about how I come across to people.  Do they think I only have an agenda?  Do they think I’m phony?  The other day I came across a video blog by Penn Jillette (from Penn and Teller) about an encounter he had with a Christian.  For those that don’t know, Penn is an atheist.  As a Christian I pray that I will have the same effect on people as this man did to Penn. Be honest, be real, and actually care for the people that Christ died to save.

Treasure Island. By Robert Louis Stevenson

Though I didn't physically read this, I did listen to the audio book while at work. I enjoyed the change of pace of an older book.  I enjoyed hearing about the adventures of Jim Hawkins and now I know where the character Long John Silver came from.  Some of the themes covered in the story where interesting such as religion vs. irreligion and temperance vs. drunkenness.  All in all a good coming of age adventure story.

The Lost Symbol. By Dan Brown

Finally some fiction.  As you can tell, I do enjoy self-help style books.  But I also enjoy a good fiction and Dan Brown is one of my favorites.  His style of writing is very easy and reads as if you are watching the movie in your head.  He builds a fiction story surrounded by actual facts.  His books always seem to come with a little controversy.  This book once again involves the Freemasons and their member that are in high levels of the United States Government.  Robert Langdon returns to find himself in the middle of a plot in the heart of Washington D.C.  Though Dan will not win any literary awards for this book, it is a great rollercoaster of a ride.

Sparkling Cherry Wine - Chateau Chantal

This past weekend, we were able to share a bottle of Sparkling Cherry Wine from Chateau Chantal with some of our family.  This Sparkling cherry wine is made from 100% Montmorency cherries.  It has a lot of sugar but isn’t overly sweet.   I think the bubbles help bring out some of the tartness of the cherries. It drinks very easy and has a smooth, refreshing after taste.

Better Dads, Stronger Sons. By Rick Johnson

This book talks about what it means to be a man and what it means to be a father.  Rick gives a very sobering look at what a man of character looks like, pit fall that almost all men trip on, and what we can do to be the father God intended us to be.  Though there is definitely some worthwhile advice in this book, it isn’t the most profound book out there.

Labor Day Weekend 2011 BBQ

This past Saturday I smoked some pork butt and a slab of baby back ribs.  Crystal and I had both of our families over for a BBQ.  This was my first attempt at pork butt and I am very happy with the way it turned out.  I first started with two 4 pound pork butts. Friday evening I made a brine to put both butts in to soak in overnight.

The brine consisted of:

1/2 cup salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 qts cold water
3 tbsp dry rub mix
2 bay leaves

Add salt to some cold water and stir very well until all the salt is completely dissolved. Then add the brown sugar and your choice of dry rub and stir well to combine. (I will show you the dry rubbed I used shortly) I put a plate on top of the butts to make sure they stayed submerged overnight and placed the container in the refrigerator.  In the morning I removed both butts and dried them off with paper towel and applied my rub.

Dry rub:
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp ground pepper
1 tbsp paprika
1/2 cup brown sugar

After the rub was applied, I had already prepped the smoker to a temperature of 225 degrees.  I used Hickory wood for the smoke.



After a couple of hours of smoking, I began to prepare the baby back ribs.  The night before I used the same rub and applied it all over the ribs.  I then wrapped them in saran wrap and put them in the refrigerator over night as well.  To prepare the ribs to go into the smoker, I removed the saran wrap and applied a little more rub, and then I placed them in the smoker.

Continuing to keep the temperature at 225 degrees, after a couple more hours the pork butt finally reach an internal temperature of 190 degrees.  I first pulled out the baby back ribs and wrapped them in tin foil and let them rest for a half hour.  Then I cut them up individually so that everyone could take as many as they wanted.

After I wrapped the ribs, I went back to get the pork butt.  I also wrapped them with tin foil and let them rest for a half hour as well.

After the meat had rested, I begin to pull the pork apart with a couple of large serving forks.  I could tell that was going to take a while, and since everyone was getting very hungry, I decide to chop the rest of the pork.  And it was delicious.  We took some of the pork, put it on a hamburger bun, put some BBQ sauce on it, topped it off with some cole slaw and the top of the bun, and BAM... a delicious BBQ sandwich.

Lessons learned:
- I will probably cook the next butts to 200 degrees to have the muscles break down even more so that pulling the meat apart will be easier.
-I will purchase some insulated food gloves and some bear claws to make pulling the pork apart easier.
-Have more people over to enjoy the food.

I hope everyone had a safe, happy and relaxing Labor Day weekend.

Boundaries. By Dr. Henry Cloud

This book explains how God created everyone to have and respect boundaries. Those boundaries can be physical, emotional, and mental. There are boundaries between your spouse, children, family, friends, coworkers, God, and even yourself. The book explores many reasons why boundaries are broken, or are never set in the first place. It discusses the consequences of not setting and respecting boundaries and how to establish them in a Godly manner. This is a very insightful book and would recommend it to anyone.

2009 Peach Cremant - Forty-Five North

Our latest tasting from our Traverse City Adventure was a 2009 Peach Cremant from Forty-Five North.  Though this is fruit wine, it is not like most other fruit wines I've had.  This was not as sweet as I was expecting which was a good thing.  It is light, refreshing and there is a slight sparkle to it. There is lots of peach and some green apple flavors coming through with a slight bite. I would recommend this to be served with a dessert like apple pie or cobbler.  Crystal and I both liked this wine.

Thou Shall Prosper. By Rabbi Daniel Lapin

A book based on Jewish wisdom and how the Jewish people have been raised to view money. It attempts answers why Jews are disproportionately financially successful compared to any other religious or ethnic group in the world.  So many people think that money is the root of all evil. This is a misquote of 1 Timothy 6:10. “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils.  It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.” (ESV) The book is broken into 10 chapters of advice, beginning with the idea that “business is moral, noble and worthy”, and concluding with the warning to never retire.  This is a fantastic read and I would recommend it to anyone interested in a psychological view of money and wealth.

Restless Soul - Old North State

For the past several years our family has traveled down to North Carolina to visit my wife’s extended family for a week in early July. (Her Mimi, Cousins, and Aunt) And since Crystal and I are big fans of our local Michigan wines, we thought we would pick up a couple of bottles of local North Carolina wine.  Last night we just happen to open one of those bottles.  We chose Restless Soul from Old North State.  This is a red table wine with a blend of merlot, cabernet sauvignon, and chambourcin.  This was a smooth wine and easy drinking.  It has some fruit notes, a little bit of spice and wsa slightly earthy but with little to no tannins.  Though I think Crystal enjoyed this wine more than I did, it is nice wine.

Information Storage and Management. By EMC Education Services

This was the text book I read through in preparation for my EMC Certification test I took this past February. It was a good review for me. And yes, I passed.

Michigan Wines. 2010 Murmur - Left Foot Charley



For the past two years, I have taken my wife, Crystal, up to Traverse City, MI for a long weekend as birthday present.  No kids, just the two of us.  Both times we have stayed at The Inn at Chateau Grand Traverse on the Old Mission Peninsula.  It is gorgeous.  It is a self-serve bed and breakfast. There are 6 rooms for adults only.  Very relaxing, very quiet.

The Old Mission and Leelanua peninsula’s are home to 25 wineries and vineyards.  While on our last trip there this past August, we stopped at most of them and purchased a bottle or two from each. When we got home we had about a cases worth of wine from all the different wineries we visited.  The most resent bottle we opened was the 2010 Murmur from Left Foot Charley.  Here is a little history about Left Foot Charley.  Owner/winemaker Bryan Ulbrich and his wife Jennifer have been operating Left Foot Charley since 2004.  They do not have their own vineyard, but instead have partnered with several of Northern Michigan’s top vineyards and use their grapes to make LFC wines.  The LFC Winery and Tasting room are located in The Village, formerly the Northern Michigan Asylum.  Don’t worry, it is no longer and Asylum and has been beautifully renovated and is home to a community of homes, artists, restaurants, retail, a bakery, coffee houses and roaster, and now the LFC winery.

But enough about the winery, on to the wine.  As I mentioned before, we just opened a bottle of the 2010 Murmur.  Murmur is a white table wine blend consisting of Vignoles, Riesling, Traminette and Chard.  This was a very refreshing wine.  Though it does have Riesling in it, this wine was not too sweet for my palette.  At room temperature, I was able taste a lot of the different flavors going on.  There was a little acid to help balance out the sweet of the Riesling.  There were definitely pear and apple flavors going on.  One of my favorite things about this wine was the crisp, clean after taste.  All in all this was a very good white table wine good for an appetizer wine or just to sit back and relax and sip on.



Stuff Christians Like. By Jon Acuff

This is very funny stuff.  Having grown up in the evangelical church most of my life, this is a very funny perspective on what it can be to live in that culture.  He has a great way of being able to laugh of some of the silly and stupid things we can do in church culture. If you have grown up in the church like I have, and you can laugh at yourself, do yourself a favor and check his book out. With "Jesus Jukes" and "Metrosexual Worship Leaders", you'll be laughing in no time. His blog can be found at http://www.jonacuff.com/stuffchristianslike

New Year's Reading

Back at the beginning of the year, I thought that I would do a new year’s commitment of reading a book a month for the year. So far I have been able to do just that.  I will be posting a short review of each book as I finish them.

My First Post

Well, it had to happen sometime.  I finally have made a blog.  I'm still figuring out what types of things I'm going to be posting. But I know it at least will start off with a little bit of everything.  A little bit of family, a little bit of faith, a bit of business, some good food and BBQ, maybe even some video game stuff. I have a lot of different interests.  I hope some of it will be a blessing in your life.