If you read my post from January 31, 2012, you know I'm currently tracking calories on an iPhone app called MyFitnessPal (www.myfitnesspal.com). Each day I log the calories I've taken in, list any exercise (which has been minimal, I'll admit), and see the results. I'm on a 2050 calorie per day plan so I can lose the excess weight I've gained in the last few years. My goal is to drop below that magic number I swore I'd never cross ... and then to hopefully maintain that new weight through the new eating habits I've learned in the process.
Yesterday as I was logging my dinner (spaghetti with meat, bread with butter, orange juice, and water), I noticed something interesting. Spaghetti in our house is loaded with calories.
We usually take some noodles from a box, boil them in water, add sauce from a jar, and some meat. As I input the ingredients into my iPhone app, they really started to add up. The total noodle calorie count was 1,200. The sauce added another 600 calories. The pound of hamburger was an additional 1,209 calories.
Divide the total calories by the number 6 (the total number of servings this meal made), and you eat 502 calories per serving ...
Now let's get to the trade off part ...
I'm not sure your thoughts on this, but 502 calories for a single serving of spaghetti seems like a lot to me. This really hit home when I started to compare it to some of the other goodness I've tracked during my nearly four weeks on this program.
For the same amount of calories in one serving of spaghetti, you could eat:
5/8 of a pound of BBQ beef
3 Hot, fresh out of the oven, homemade biscuits with peanut butter and jelly
10-1/2 ounces of Orange Leaf Cheesecake flavored frozen yogurt
2-1/4 cups of homemade banana pudding
2 full Twix candy bars (that's four individual Twix bars)
1-1/2 cups of Kroger Fun Munch Cookies-n-Cream ice cream
2-3/4 slices of Chocolate Bread
4 trail mix granola bars
8 donut holes
125 grapes
Now I don't know about you, but the options I just listed all sound much more enjoyable, and potentially more filling, than the single serving of spaghetti.
But alas, we all know you can't simply survive on junk food alone. You have to have balance in your diet, you need protein, carbs, natural sugars, and even a touch of salt. All of this can be found in the spaghetti. Not all of it can be found in the optional list I provided.
In the end, I obviously ate the spaghetti. I even had a double portion; which then shot me way over my daily allowable calorie limit. But I ate the spaghetti, the slice of bread, and drank my water and juice.
Today, however, I wondered exactly what options I could have traded; and made the list. Sometimes we do have to stop and take a look at what we could have had, what we could have done, where we could have ended up. Even if that looking is showing us some place we didn't want to be, someplace we would not be enjoying, someplace we are better off having avoided.
It is through retrospect, through taking a short timeout, that we truly understand how far we've come, how much we've achieved, how good our life truly has become. And if, in taking that moment, we realize we chose poorly, we took the wrong road, we ended up where we should never have come; we can adjust our trajectory and return to the proper path.
Each day we face a trade off. Each day decisions result in moving one direction or another. If you never stop to evaluate, how will you ever know if you made the right decision?
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
I'm Starving
We've developed a new term around our house; "American starving" ... when I say we, I mean our 15-year old was the first to use the term. One afternoon he told his mom, "I'm starving. Well, not actually starving, but American starving."
You see, in America we have it so well, it would be virtually impossible for the child of a middle class family to starve to death. To punctuate this point, look around you; go ahead, look.
How many of the people near you look like they've never missed a meal? How many look like they would benefit from fewer calories each day?
I weighed myself just after 2012 started and I had crossed a line I swore I'd never pass. It was the second line I'd created for myself, having passed the first line some 12 years prior; but this line was too far. Something had to change.
Being a new iPhone user (Sprint finally got the iPhone in November 2011), I found an app that would help me track my daily calorie intake and exercise. Not that I really intended to exercise much, but I could track intake easily, so I downloaded the app.
Three plus weeks into the process, including one two-week road trip for work, I've lost 17 pounds from my starting point, and I'm sitting at the milestone weight I swore I'd never cross, the weight that pushed me to start something in the first place.
However, it hasn't been fun. I've spent most of the past several weeks "American starving."
I had to complete a profile when I started, current weight, goal weight, how much I intended to exercise, what type of job I had (sedentary, somewhat active, really active), and how much weight I planned to lose each week. The app then created a daily calorie goal; mine is 2050 calories each day.
Now, when you consider an order of chicken tenders at any bar and grill (Chili's, O'Charley's, Applebee's, etc.) is 900 - 1,100 calories; you can see how hard keeping your intake below 2050 a day, especially when traveling and eating at those types of places because they are the only place open at 11 pm when you finally get off work, can be.
Even house salads, when you add the honey mustard dressing, can run 350 - 500 calories according to my app. Eatting "healthy," it turns out, isn't as healthy as we thought.
So, I spend many days being "American starving." It could be worse, I could actually be starving.
Tonight as you go to bed, make your gratitude list. And when you do, remember to be thankful you have only ever experienced "American starving."
You see, in America we have it so well, it would be virtually impossible for the child of a middle class family to starve to death. To punctuate this point, look around you; go ahead, look.
How many of the people near you look like they've never missed a meal? How many look like they would benefit from fewer calories each day?
I weighed myself just after 2012 started and I had crossed a line I swore I'd never pass. It was the second line I'd created for myself, having passed the first line some 12 years prior; but this line was too far. Something had to change.
Being a new iPhone user (Sprint finally got the iPhone in November 2011), I found an app that would help me track my daily calorie intake and exercise. Not that I really intended to exercise much, but I could track intake easily, so I downloaded the app.
Three plus weeks into the process, including one two-week road trip for work, I've lost 17 pounds from my starting point, and I'm sitting at the milestone weight I swore I'd never cross, the weight that pushed me to start something in the first place.
However, it hasn't been fun. I've spent most of the past several weeks "American starving."
I had to complete a profile when I started, current weight, goal weight, how much I intended to exercise, what type of job I had (sedentary, somewhat active, really active), and how much weight I planned to lose each week. The app then created a daily calorie goal; mine is 2050 calories each day.
Now, when you consider an order of chicken tenders at any bar and grill (Chili's, O'Charley's, Applebee's, etc.) is 900 - 1,100 calories; you can see how hard keeping your intake below 2050 a day, especially when traveling and eating at those types of places because they are the only place open at 11 pm when you finally get off work, can be.
Even house salads, when you add the honey mustard dressing, can run 350 - 500 calories according to my app. Eatting "healthy," it turns out, isn't as healthy as we thought.
So, I spend many days being "American starving." It could be worse, I could actually be starving.
Tonight as you go to bed, make your gratitude list. And when you do, remember to be thankful you have only ever experienced "American starving."
Monday, June 6, 2011
Living for the Red Part?
If you follow me on Twitter or FaceBook, you know I've spent the last 5 days in the PACU waiting room of University Hospital in Augusta, GA. My father-in-law had a valve replaced and a stint placed in his aorta on Thursday. Complications from the surgery caused him to bleed all day Thursday; bleeding that could not be controlled by medication. As a result, around 11 pm Thursday he was wheeled back into the operating room so the doctors could surgically repair the bleed.
Fortunately, God's hand guided the surgeon and the bleeding was quickly controlled. Unfortunately, it delayed dad-in-law's recovery to such an extent he was not removed from the ventilator until Sunday late morning.
Sitting in a waiting room isn't much fun. Sitting in the same waiting room for 5 days straight is even less fun. I've had the opportunity to watch a lot of YouTube videos, and was really impressed with this Francis Chan video about life; "Living Eternally."
Chan really nails down what Christian's have missed in the modern age. In another Francis Chan video, he talked about how modern American Christianity has become, "add a little Jesus to your life" as opposed to the call of Jesus in Matthew 16:24-27 (The Message)
Jesus made it clear: we are not to live for today, we are to live today realizing our choices will impact eternity. I believe Chan's message is dead accurate to Jesus' teaching.
Francis Chan also references Paul's words from Philippians 3:10-16 (The Message)
I too get caught up in the "red part" as Francis Chan demonstrated in his video. Far too often my thoughts are of my next project, how I will pay my bills, where my next meal will be, or just too focused on all the inferior stuff. Far too often I'm more focused on myself than the world around me; a world God has commanded me to love and serve. I need to keep my focus strong, I need to reunite with the goals of God and then live each day striving to achieve them.
Can you imagine what our world would look like if everyone who claims the name of Christ also followed this same path? I have to admit, that is a world I'd truly enjoy living in. Wouldn't you?
Fortunately, God's hand guided the surgeon and the bleeding was quickly controlled. Unfortunately, it delayed dad-in-law's recovery to such an extent he was not removed from the ventilator until Sunday late morning.
Sitting in a waiting room isn't much fun. Sitting in the same waiting room for 5 days straight is even less fun. I've had the opportunity to watch a lot of YouTube videos, and was really impressed with this Francis Chan video about life; "Living Eternally."
Chan really nails down what Christian's have missed in the modern age. In another Francis Chan video, he talked about how modern American Christianity has become, "add a little Jesus to your life" as opposed to the call of Jesus in Matthew 16:24-27 (The Message)
24Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Those who want to come with me must say no to the things they want, pick up their crosses, and follow me. 25Those who want to save their lives will lose them. But those who lose their lives for me will find them. 26What good will it do for people to win the whole world and lose their lives? Or what will a person give in exchange for life? 27The Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory. Then he will pay back each person based on what that person has done.
Jesus made it clear: we are not to live for today, we are to live today realizing our choices will impact eternity. I believe Chan's message is dead accurate to Jesus' teaching.
Francis Chan also references Paul's words from Philippians 3:10-16 (The Message)
10-11I gave up all that inferior stuff so I could know Christ personally, experience his resurrection power, be a partner in his suffering, and go all the way with him to death itself. If there was any way to get in on the resurrection from the dead, I wanted to do it.Paul understood our life is temporary here on earth, but permanent beyond our time on earth. Paul knew what he said and did here in life affected his eternity. This from the man who called himself "least" among the followers of Christ.
12-14I'm not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don't get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back.15-16So let's keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us. If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision—you'll see it yet! Now that we're on the right track, let's stay on it.
I too get caught up in the "red part" as Francis Chan demonstrated in his video. Far too often my thoughts are of my next project, how I will pay my bills, where my next meal will be, or just too focused on all the inferior stuff. Far too often I'm more focused on myself than the world around me; a world God has commanded me to love and serve. I need to keep my focus strong, I need to reunite with the goals of God and then live each day striving to achieve them.
Can you imagine what our world would look like if everyone who claims the name of Christ also followed this same path? I have to admit, that is a world I'd truly enjoy living in. Wouldn't you?
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Waiting is Hard to Do
So my lovely bride and I made the drive from Lexington, KY to Augusta, GA last night ... Her father is having heart surgery today, so we came down to be here for that major event. Her brother from Michigan and his wife met up with us in Lexington, so we could all carpool down.
After arriving at 1 am this morning, we were awakened by my bride's parents at 4:30 as they were getting ready to head to the hospital for pre-op. We then lay back down for another hour prior to getting ready and heading out the door shortly after 7 am ... We arrived at the hospital in time to have a prayer session with my bride's father, mother, brother, sister-in-love, my bride, and me ... Her dad was then given his first round of sedation meds and rolled down the hall at 8:20 for surgery.
We headed to the surgical waiting area and found some seats to get settled in for the next 6 hours (the scheduled time for the surgery) ... Unfortunately, a few minutes later, a nurse came in and said a Cath Lab emergency had pushed our surgery back at least 4 hours. Oh, waiting is hard to do!
It seems to me we are often in "wait" mode ... Waiting on a paycheck so we can pay some bills. Waiting on God's answer to our "urgent" prayer request. Waiting on approval of that loan, that college application, that job promotion. "Hurry up and wait" seems to be the American model.
I'm not sure what has caused this "epidemic" of waiting ... Maybe in our effort to make life easier, we've become so successful at the "instant gratification lifestyle" we are actually moving faster than God intended. Maybe the waiting is God's way to show us He remains in control, and all our best plans are futile if He isn't included.
Regardless of the why, I sit here in a hospital waiting room this morning, waiting on another patient's surgery to finish so my father-in-law can once again be wheeled back for his procedure. And after that occurs, we will continue to wait the 4 to 6 hours it will take for his surgical procedure. And if that isn't enough, we will then wait the hour or more while he is in recovery, waking up enough the staff will let us go back and see him.
So here I sit ... Waiting is hard to do !!
After arriving at 1 am this morning, we were awakened by my bride's parents at 4:30 as they were getting ready to head to the hospital for pre-op. We then lay back down for another hour prior to getting ready and heading out the door shortly after 7 am ... We arrived at the hospital in time to have a prayer session with my bride's father, mother, brother, sister-in-love, my bride, and me ... Her dad was then given his first round of sedation meds and rolled down the hall at 8:20 for surgery.
We headed to the surgical waiting area and found some seats to get settled in for the next 6 hours (the scheduled time for the surgery) ... Unfortunately, a few minutes later, a nurse came in and said a Cath Lab emergency had pushed our surgery back at least 4 hours. Oh, waiting is hard to do!
It seems to me we are often in "wait" mode ... Waiting on a paycheck so we can pay some bills. Waiting on God's answer to our "urgent" prayer request. Waiting on approval of that loan, that college application, that job promotion. "Hurry up and wait" seems to be the American model.
I'm not sure what has caused this "epidemic" of waiting ... Maybe in our effort to make life easier, we've become so successful at the "instant gratification lifestyle" we are actually moving faster than God intended. Maybe the waiting is God's way to show us He remains in control, and all our best plans are futile if He isn't included.
Regardless of the why, I sit here in a hospital waiting room this morning, waiting on another patient's surgery to finish so my father-in-law can once again be wheeled back for his procedure. And after that occurs, we will continue to wait the 4 to 6 hours it will take for his surgical procedure. And if that isn't enough, we will then wait the hour or more while he is in recovery, waking up enough the staff will let us go back and see him.
So here I sit ... Waiting is hard to do !!
Monday, May 30, 2011
Memorial Day 2011
I have recently had the privilege of rereading the Gettysburg Address by President Lincoln. It is fitting to reflect on this address on Memorial Day.
We in America have unprecedented freedoms! However, those freedoms did not come freely. It is because of those who "gave the last full measure of devotion" we can worship any way we choose, enjoy freedom of the press and freedom to assemble, and enjoy the freedom to overthrow our government every two years if necessary.
Today, as you enjoy a day off work, as you fire up your grill, as you find the next, great sale; remember freedom isn't free. It is only yours to enjoy today because of those brave men and women, living and dead, who struggled so you may be free.
The Gettysburg Address:
Happy Memorial Day America !!
We in America have unprecedented freedoms! However, those freedoms did not come freely. It is because of those who "gave the last full measure of devotion" we can worship any way we choose, enjoy freedom of the press and freedom to assemble, and enjoy the freedom to overthrow our government every two years if necessary.
Today, as you enjoy a day off work, as you fire up your grill, as you find the next, great sale; remember freedom isn't free. It is only yours to enjoy today because of those brave men and women, living and dead, who struggled so you may be free.
The Gettysburg Address:
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
Happy Memorial Day America !!
Learnings from God
It's been nearly eight months since I've posted, in part due to work, but also in part due to circumstances. It has been a tough eight months.
After losing both cars in the same week last fall (see my previous post, "Tough Week"), we limped by on the one 1996 Corolla we'd purchased for cash. While I was flying from job to job, it was rather easy to be a one car family. However, there were a number of jobs in Illinois, Ohio, and Kentucky where I needed to drive. In most cases, we wound up renting a car so I could get to and from work.
Finally, after six months of renting cars and paying money simply so I could get to work, I'd had enough. I decided it would be better to once again take on a car payment as opposed to continuing to spend on average $300 per month for rental cars. At least we'd be building towards our future by paying on a car we would eventually own.
It all came to critical mass when I would spend three weeks on the road, one in Illinois and two in Ohio. Because this trip fell near Derby weekend, rental cars were nearly three times their normal rate on my preferred Internet sites. It would cost nearly $1,000 for a three week rental!
Once again I began searching Craigslist and Auto Trader looking for a solution. We could buy anther cash car and hope it would be sufficient for my transportation needs. Or we could purchase a slightly more expensive car, say in the $10,000 range, and get a few good years out of the vehicle. With the small down payment we had, we would wind up making $250 a month in payments.
I found a couple of options and began driving around town looking at the possibilities. While our credit has taken a hit in the past several years, we were able to get financing from some national banks. Unfortunately, the banks were not willing to finance the $10,000 vehicles we desired to purchase. It seems a bank is willing to loan more money to a higher risk client because the vehicle has a better collateral rating as opposed to lending less for an older, higher mileage vehicle.
So after visiting several dealers, we wound up in Paris, Kentucky at a small town dealership. Once again we were moved from the $10,000 2002 vehicle to the $18,000 2007 vehicle. However, something was different this time. My wife and I actually listened to the sales pitch, and wound up signing a contract even though the monthly payment was nearly $100 more than we'd agreed upon prior to starting the search. We were now the proud owners of a 2007 Chevy Silverado Extended Cab truck!
I drove the truck to my first jobsite in Illinois and it was fantastic. I usually get very stiff when on a long road trip, but this truck was so comfortable, even after a 250 mile ride, I was still comfortable. It was just as nice the following week when I drove 350 miles into northeastern Ohio for my next project.
It was during that week I received a call from the dealership. The bank had denied the loan after further looking into our financials. As two self-employed people, we had given the dealership copies of our tax returns and the bank had taken a closer look. The income stated on the tax returns did not provide them with sufficient debt to income ratio. We had to find alternate financing or return the truck. Because I was in Ohio for two weeks, I told the dealership I would not be able to return the truck for another week.
A part of the story you will know if you follow this blog is back in January 2006 my wife and I committed to no more debt. We would pay off our existing debt as quickly as possible and not amass any new debt. Ever since September of 2008 when we paid off our Lexus, we had carried no auto debt. Even the three cars we purchased in 2010 were cash cars; two from the insurance settlement on the Lexus and one from income earned.
We now had decided it was acceptable to have debt, as opposed to continuing to spend money on rental cars, provided the debt was offset by the rental expense. It makes sense logically, even financially, but the no debt promise was not only to ourselves, it was to God. It seems that despite our human justification for taking on debt, God had other plans. It was a tough lesson to learn.
So on the Monday after my return, I once again was on Craigslist and Auto Trader looking for cash vehicles. Fortunately, another paycheck had come into our bank account, we would be able to pay cash for something, just not something as great as the truck we were about to return.
In the end, we would up giving the truck back to the dealership, handing them an additional check, and driving off in a 1999 Ford Explorer. I've had the Explorer for a week now, driven it to one Kentucky jobsite as well as around town. It isn't as comfortable as the Silverado, it doesn't get as good of gas mileage as the Silverado, and it doesn't look as nice as the Silverado; but it has no debt.
God has shown Himself to be faithful once again. Did we get the vehicle of our dreams? No! But in the three weeks we owned the Silverado, we only paid for gas and I was able to get to the jobsite in comfort. It was a bridge, in lieu of a rental car, to get us to the place we had the cash for the Explorer. God did show up and bless us, even though we lost a great truck!
Sometimes we don't see the full picture. Sometimes, however, God gives us just enough of a glimpse to let us know He is faithful, He is generous, He has our best interests in mind. Even if it doesn't seem that way in the midst of the moment, God is looking out for us!
After losing both cars in the same week last fall (see my previous post, "Tough Week"), we limped by on the one 1996 Corolla we'd purchased for cash. While I was flying from job to job, it was rather easy to be a one car family. However, there were a number of jobs in Illinois, Ohio, and Kentucky where I needed to drive. In most cases, we wound up renting a car so I could get to and from work.
Finally, after six months of renting cars and paying money simply so I could get to work, I'd had enough. I decided it would be better to once again take on a car payment as opposed to continuing to spend on average $300 per month for rental cars. At least we'd be building towards our future by paying on a car we would eventually own.
It all came to critical mass when I would spend three weeks on the road, one in Illinois and two in Ohio. Because this trip fell near Derby weekend, rental cars were nearly three times their normal rate on my preferred Internet sites. It would cost nearly $1,000 for a three week rental!
Once again I began searching Craigslist and Auto Trader looking for a solution. We could buy anther cash car and hope it would be sufficient for my transportation needs. Or we could purchase a slightly more expensive car, say in the $10,000 range, and get a few good years out of the vehicle. With the small down payment we had, we would wind up making $250 a month in payments.
I found a couple of options and began driving around town looking at the possibilities. While our credit has taken a hit in the past several years, we were able to get financing from some national banks. Unfortunately, the banks were not willing to finance the $10,000 vehicles we desired to purchase. It seems a bank is willing to loan more money to a higher risk client because the vehicle has a better collateral rating as opposed to lending less for an older, higher mileage vehicle.
So after visiting several dealers, we wound up in Paris, Kentucky at a small town dealership. Once again we were moved from the $10,000 2002 vehicle to the $18,000 2007 vehicle. However, something was different this time. My wife and I actually listened to the sales pitch, and wound up signing a contract even though the monthly payment was nearly $100 more than we'd agreed upon prior to starting the search. We were now the proud owners of a 2007 Chevy Silverado Extended Cab truck!
I drove the truck to my first jobsite in Illinois and it was fantastic. I usually get very stiff when on a long road trip, but this truck was so comfortable, even after a 250 mile ride, I was still comfortable. It was just as nice the following week when I drove 350 miles into northeastern Ohio for my next project.
It was during that week I received a call from the dealership. The bank had denied the loan after further looking into our financials. As two self-employed people, we had given the dealership copies of our tax returns and the bank had taken a closer look. The income stated on the tax returns did not provide them with sufficient debt to income ratio. We had to find alternate financing or return the truck. Because I was in Ohio for two weeks, I told the dealership I would not be able to return the truck for another week.
A part of the story you will know if you follow this blog is back in January 2006 my wife and I committed to no more debt. We would pay off our existing debt as quickly as possible and not amass any new debt. Ever since September of 2008 when we paid off our Lexus, we had carried no auto debt. Even the three cars we purchased in 2010 were cash cars; two from the insurance settlement on the Lexus and one from income earned.
We now had decided it was acceptable to have debt, as opposed to continuing to spend money on rental cars, provided the debt was offset by the rental expense. It makes sense logically, even financially, but the no debt promise was not only to ourselves, it was to God. It seems that despite our human justification for taking on debt, God had other plans. It was a tough lesson to learn.
So on the Monday after my return, I once again was on Craigslist and Auto Trader looking for cash vehicles. Fortunately, another paycheck had come into our bank account, we would be able to pay cash for something, just not something as great as the truck we were about to return.
In the end, we would up giving the truck back to the dealership, handing them an additional check, and driving off in a 1999 Ford Explorer. I've had the Explorer for a week now, driven it to one Kentucky jobsite as well as around town. It isn't as comfortable as the Silverado, it doesn't get as good of gas mileage as the Silverado, and it doesn't look as nice as the Silverado; but it has no debt.
God has shown Himself to be faithful once again. Did we get the vehicle of our dreams? No! But in the three weeks we owned the Silverado, we only paid for gas and I was able to get to the jobsite in comfort. It was a bridge, in lieu of a rental car, to get us to the place we had the cash for the Explorer. God did show up and bless us, even though we lost a great truck!
Sometimes we don't see the full picture. Sometimes, however, God gives us just enough of a glimpse to let us know He is faithful, He is generous, He has our best interests in mind. Even if it doesn't seem that way in the midst of the moment, God is looking out for us!
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Tough Week
It's been a tough week. It started out well, with the opportunity to fly back to Vegas for the weekend. I was working, but it is always a blessing to be in Vegas (I still call it 'home')! So Friday morning we packed the family into the Jimmy at 5:10 AM and headed to Louisville so I could catch my SDF-PHX-LAS flight on Southwest.
Things went well in Vegas, but when I left, one key piece of the project was left unfinished. I felt a bit unfulfilled leaving once again with remaining work, but the parts I needed to complete the work were not available. It turns out they were found late Tuesday, having been onsite all weekend. Ouch!
About the time I'm receiving an email from the Vegas team telling me the missing gear was found under a desk in their green room, I get a phone call from my lovely bride telling me she is stranded on the side of New Circle here in Lexington. I'm sitting at home, having worked through the day via email on finding a solution for the Vegas team. I'm also stranded because our $1 car had died the previous week, so my wife is driving our only functioning vehicle.
A frantic call to the neighbors allows me to borrow their car (one they've borrowed from a friend for a few weeks as their car is in the shop for body repairs) so I can at least pick up our youngest from his bus stop while my bride waits for the tow truck to pick her up and bring the vehicle home. Having no money, well hopefully enough to pay the tow fee, we feel towing the broken vehicle home is our only solution.
As I'm driving the borrowed car from the neighbors, I decide to call our mechanic. He has stated in the past he is open to allowing payments on repairs, so I hope he will be open to some arrangement today. He is, so I call my wife and have her divert the tow truck to the mechanic's and the youngest and I will meet her there. We actually make it to her spot on New Circle just as the tow truck arrives, so my lovely bride, our youngest, and I drive in the borrowed car; following the tow truck to the mechanic's shop.
After dinner Tuesday night, my wife and I spent the next hour or so pushing the motorcycle up and down the hills in our neighborhood, trying to 'roll start' it. The motorcycle has only been ridden once this year due to the battery having died over the winter. Despite our efforts, it never turned over. We were truly without a vehicle.
The following morning our youngest gets a ride to his bus stop from the neighbor and my lovely bride walks 2-1/2 miles to the nearest bus stop, so she can ride the remaining 2-1/2 miles to her office. I 'tweet' and Facebook our predicament, and by late afternoon a friend has offered his truck to us for the next two days; as long as I have it back to him by Friday afternoon, I can use Barry's truck. This at least provides a short-term solution to our transportation.
I also learn Wednesday afternoon that the motor on the Jimmy will need to be replaced or rebuilt. Replacing it with a used motor will run $2,500 or rebuilding it will run $4,000+ ... neither option fits our current strained budget!
Hoping the $1 car will be an easy fix, I negotiate with the mechanic to swap cars in his garage, provided he will still allow us to make payments on any repairs. However, in a review of our limited funds later that afternoon, my bride and I decide to use the borrowed truck and a $12 tow strap from Wal-Mart to tow the $1 car to the shop; deciding we'll tow the Jimmy home the next night. It was surreal driving away from the shop late that Wednesday evening in a borrowed truck while our two vehicles sat outside side-by-side.
Early Thursday morning I run our youngest to his bus stop, return home to pick up my lovely bride and get her to her office, and then head up to the mechanic's to give him the keys to the $1 car and let him know of our plans. I handed him the keys and he sent his crew outside to take a look. I was told to expect a call later in the day.
Before I was even home, I received a call from the mechanic saying the $1 car also needed a new motor. The timing chain had slipped, bending all the rods. Wow! In two days we've lost both cars ... how discouraging is that?
I called my wife and she immediately went into a back room at work and prayed. I was too stunned and numb to pray much, but throughout the week had been sending up short, "God we need Your help" type prayers. It made me proud to know my bride's initial response in the midst of this crisis was to turn to God! Shortly there after, my wife called and we decided to have the cars towed home and would try to survive the next two weeks (I leave town for two weeks tomorrow) without any cars.
Shortly after that phone call, I received an email from the company I've spent a good part of the past three months working with, saying a large payment was going to be deposited to our account on Friday. I immediately offered a "Thank you Jesus!" prayer, forwarded the email to my wife, and then called her to tell her to check her email.
After we both celebrated on the phone, I began checking Craigslist, eBay, and Auto Trader; looking for cars we could purchase for cash. Our mechanic had contacted his preferred towing company and our two vehicles came on one truck. Before taking them off, the driver asked what I intended to do with the vehicles. I told him I really had no idea and he offered to buy them. I called my wife and she agreed it might not be a bad idea to sell them. I sold the Jimmy, the $1 car, and our broken Windstar (which had sat in the driveway for the past year) to the same guy. The few hundred we got for each was added to a portion of the paycheck I'd just received to provide us with enough to get something cheap, yet reliable.
I spent all of Thursday and Friday looking at Internet sales ads, emailing and calling leads, and even driving in the borrowed truck to go look at some. Everything I found simply wasn't a good fit. Finally, late in the day my lovely bride sent me a text saying her boss' son had a car and because it was for us, he would drop the price $600 off his asking price. I quickly called him up, and went to look at the car as I was on my way to drop off the borrowed truck.
I have to say, the car was clean! There were no tears in the seats or headliner. The carpet was also clean and there were no cracks in the dash or steering wheel. The trunk was clean and the car had its spare and jack. The engine cavity looked clean as well. The owner's manual was even in the glove box. Either someone had paid a lot of money making this car look very clean or someone had really taken good car of this car over the previous 14 years.
However, due to limited time, I didn't drive the car. I did talk it over with the seller, who said he didn't like selling to people he knows, so he wanted to let me know everything that was wrong with the car. He mentioned that occasionally it has trouble starting (possible starter in the future?), the tires have significant wear, and he had recently changed the timing belt but had not finalized the tension on the belts so there was an occasional squeal. I'm paying cash, and my mechanic had told me that in this price range if the car ran I was in good shape, so I thanked him for the information and passed over the money.
I dropped off the truck to Barry and then our oldest took me and our youngest back across town (he and his wife had come for dinner Friday night) to pick up our car. We arrived just as the sun was setting, so I needed to use the headlights. I turned on the car and the headlights, while our youngest played with the radio. On the drive home, I noticed the battery light was on. Our youngest checked the owner's manual and it said to have the battery checked. We made it home, and I showed the car to my bride, our oldest and his wife, and our youngest (who had already seen it as we drove home).
The next morning we got up early to take our youngest to a school club event, and the battery light was still on. When we arrived at the school, we found his group and parked while we waited. Suddenly, I couldn't start the car. The battery was dead. I found someone who had cables and we got a jump. My bride and I immediately headed to a parts store that provides free battery checks and learned the battery was at 0%, but still good; it simply wasn't charging. The store associate then tested the alternator, and sure enough, it had a bad diode.
Bad alternator? This wasn't on the list of issues I'd received the previous night. Now what? I talked it over with my wife; do we keep the car and fix it, or do we give it back and keep looking? I had sent a TON of emails over the previous two days to sellers, and that morning several were beginning to respond.
After a few minutes of talking, we chose to purchase a new alternator and try to fix it ourselves. I know just enough about cars to be able to replace an alternator, especially because this alternator was right up front and easy to access. We put $10 gas in the car (it was running on empty by now) while the engine was running and came home. Our neighbor saw the hood up and couldn't believe what we were experiencing. My bride and I spent the next hour working on replacing the alternator (successfully!) and then I called a friend who is a mechanic and asked him if I could meet up with him so he could check the tension on my belts.
While there was no squeal or chirping, we have to drive to Louisville on Monday (I'm flying to Houston for two weeks), and I didn't want to cause any damage in that round trip because of loose belts. My friend met us at his church and took a quick look, giving his approval at the tension.
Later in the day, we added wiper washer fluid (the tank was completely empty), and noticed it was leaking. Another item that didn't make the list Friday afternoon. A new wiper fluid reservoir costs $65. For now, we will simply go without wiper fluid, but that can't last long. Winters in Kentucky require use of a lot of wiper fluid, all the junk that is thrown up on your windshield from the other vehicles on the road needs to be removed frequently while driving.
So, it's been an emotional roller coaster week here. One thing that has been constant is we have a God who loves us. Too bad that love doesn't also mean that we don't have to face these emotionally challenging situations. I guess our lesson this week is that God is faithful, despite our circumstances. Faithful to still be there for us, faithful to always have our best in mind (however, realizing that best might be delayed until we are made perfect in His presence), faithful to be our source of hope.
God is faithful! Everything else, we just have to take day-to-day.
Things went well in Vegas, but when I left, one key piece of the project was left unfinished. I felt a bit unfulfilled leaving once again with remaining work, but the parts I needed to complete the work were not available. It turns out they were found late Tuesday, having been onsite all weekend. Ouch!
About the time I'm receiving an email from the Vegas team telling me the missing gear was found under a desk in their green room, I get a phone call from my lovely bride telling me she is stranded on the side of New Circle here in Lexington. I'm sitting at home, having worked through the day via email on finding a solution for the Vegas team. I'm also stranded because our $1 car had died the previous week, so my wife is driving our only functioning vehicle.
A frantic call to the neighbors allows me to borrow their car (one they've borrowed from a friend for a few weeks as their car is in the shop for body repairs) so I can at least pick up our youngest from his bus stop while my bride waits for the tow truck to pick her up and bring the vehicle home. Having no money, well hopefully enough to pay the tow fee, we feel towing the broken vehicle home is our only solution.
As I'm driving the borrowed car from the neighbors, I decide to call our mechanic. He has stated in the past he is open to allowing payments on repairs, so I hope he will be open to some arrangement today. He is, so I call my wife and have her divert the tow truck to the mechanic's and the youngest and I will meet her there. We actually make it to her spot on New Circle just as the tow truck arrives, so my lovely bride, our youngest, and I drive in the borrowed car; following the tow truck to the mechanic's shop.
After dinner Tuesday night, my wife and I spent the next hour or so pushing the motorcycle up and down the hills in our neighborhood, trying to 'roll start' it. The motorcycle has only been ridden once this year due to the battery having died over the winter. Despite our efforts, it never turned over. We were truly without a vehicle.
The following morning our youngest gets a ride to his bus stop from the neighbor and my lovely bride walks 2-1/2 miles to the nearest bus stop, so she can ride the remaining 2-1/2 miles to her office. I 'tweet' and Facebook our predicament, and by late afternoon a friend has offered his truck to us for the next two days; as long as I have it back to him by Friday afternoon, I can use Barry's truck. This at least provides a short-term solution to our transportation.
I also learn Wednesday afternoon that the motor on the Jimmy will need to be replaced or rebuilt. Replacing it with a used motor will run $2,500 or rebuilding it will run $4,000+ ... neither option fits our current strained budget!
Hoping the $1 car will be an easy fix, I negotiate with the mechanic to swap cars in his garage, provided he will still allow us to make payments on any repairs. However, in a review of our limited funds later that afternoon, my bride and I decide to use the borrowed truck and a $12 tow strap from Wal-Mart to tow the $1 car to the shop; deciding we'll tow the Jimmy home the next night. It was surreal driving away from the shop late that Wednesday evening in a borrowed truck while our two vehicles sat outside side-by-side.
Early Thursday morning I run our youngest to his bus stop, return home to pick up my lovely bride and get her to her office, and then head up to the mechanic's to give him the keys to the $1 car and let him know of our plans. I handed him the keys and he sent his crew outside to take a look. I was told to expect a call later in the day.
Before I was even home, I received a call from the mechanic saying the $1 car also needed a new motor. The timing chain had slipped, bending all the rods. Wow! In two days we've lost both cars ... how discouraging is that?
I called my wife and she immediately went into a back room at work and prayed. I was too stunned and numb to pray much, but throughout the week had been sending up short, "God we need Your help" type prayers. It made me proud to know my bride's initial response in the midst of this crisis was to turn to God! Shortly there after, my wife called and we decided to have the cars towed home and would try to survive the next two weeks (I leave town for two weeks tomorrow) without any cars.
Shortly after that phone call, I received an email from the company I've spent a good part of the past three months working with, saying a large payment was going to be deposited to our account on Friday. I immediately offered a "Thank you Jesus!" prayer, forwarded the email to my wife, and then called her to tell her to check her email.
After we both celebrated on the phone, I began checking Craigslist, eBay, and Auto Trader; looking for cars we could purchase for cash. Our mechanic had contacted his preferred towing company and our two vehicles came on one truck. Before taking them off, the driver asked what I intended to do with the vehicles. I told him I really had no idea and he offered to buy them. I called my wife and she agreed it might not be a bad idea to sell them. I sold the Jimmy, the $1 car, and our broken Windstar (which had sat in the driveway for the past year) to the same guy. The few hundred we got for each was added to a portion of the paycheck I'd just received to provide us with enough to get something cheap, yet reliable.
I spent all of Thursday and Friday looking at Internet sales ads, emailing and calling leads, and even driving in the borrowed truck to go look at some. Everything I found simply wasn't a good fit. Finally, late in the day my lovely bride sent me a text saying her boss' son had a car and because it was for us, he would drop the price $600 off his asking price. I quickly called him up, and went to look at the car as I was on my way to drop off the borrowed truck.
I have to say, the car was clean! There were no tears in the seats or headliner. The carpet was also clean and there were no cracks in the dash or steering wheel. The trunk was clean and the car had its spare and jack. The engine cavity looked clean as well. The owner's manual was even in the glove box. Either someone had paid a lot of money making this car look very clean or someone had really taken good car of this car over the previous 14 years.
However, due to limited time, I didn't drive the car. I did talk it over with the seller, who said he didn't like selling to people he knows, so he wanted to let me know everything that was wrong with the car. He mentioned that occasionally it has trouble starting (possible starter in the future?), the tires have significant wear, and he had recently changed the timing belt but had not finalized the tension on the belts so there was an occasional squeal. I'm paying cash, and my mechanic had told me that in this price range if the car ran I was in good shape, so I thanked him for the information and passed over the money.
I dropped off the truck to Barry and then our oldest took me and our youngest back across town (he and his wife had come for dinner Friday night) to pick up our car. We arrived just as the sun was setting, so I needed to use the headlights. I turned on the car and the headlights, while our youngest played with the radio. On the drive home, I noticed the battery light was on. Our youngest checked the owner's manual and it said to have the battery checked. We made it home, and I showed the car to my bride, our oldest and his wife, and our youngest (who had already seen it as we drove home).
The next morning we got up early to take our youngest to a school club event, and the battery light was still on. When we arrived at the school, we found his group and parked while we waited. Suddenly, I couldn't start the car. The battery was dead. I found someone who had cables and we got a jump. My bride and I immediately headed to a parts store that provides free battery checks and learned the battery was at 0%, but still good; it simply wasn't charging. The store associate then tested the alternator, and sure enough, it had a bad diode.
Bad alternator? This wasn't on the list of issues I'd received the previous night. Now what? I talked it over with my wife; do we keep the car and fix it, or do we give it back and keep looking? I had sent a TON of emails over the previous two days to sellers, and that morning several were beginning to respond.
After a few minutes of talking, we chose to purchase a new alternator and try to fix it ourselves. I know just enough about cars to be able to replace an alternator, especially because this alternator was right up front and easy to access. We put $10 gas in the car (it was running on empty by now) while the engine was running and came home. Our neighbor saw the hood up and couldn't believe what we were experiencing. My bride and I spent the next hour working on replacing the alternator (successfully!) and then I called a friend who is a mechanic and asked him if I could meet up with him so he could check the tension on my belts.
While there was no squeal or chirping, we have to drive to Louisville on Monday (I'm flying to Houston for two weeks), and I didn't want to cause any damage in that round trip because of loose belts. My friend met us at his church and took a quick look, giving his approval at the tension.
Later in the day, we added wiper washer fluid (the tank was completely empty), and noticed it was leaking. Another item that didn't make the list Friday afternoon. A new wiper fluid reservoir costs $65. For now, we will simply go without wiper fluid, but that can't last long. Winters in Kentucky require use of a lot of wiper fluid, all the junk that is thrown up on your windshield from the other vehicles on the road needs to be removed frequently while driving.
So, it's been an emotional roller coaster week here. One thing that has been constant is we have a God who loves us. Too bad that love doesn't also mean that we don't have to face these emotionally challenging situations. I guess our lesson this week is that God is faithful, despite our circumstances. Faithful to still be there for us, faithful to always have our best in mind (however, realizing that best might be delayed until we are made perfect in His presence), faithful to be our source of hope.
God is faithful! Everything else, we just have to take day-to-day.
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