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.