ENDO

Its like riding a bike. One of those phrases that makes sense only to people who know how.

Roll mental camera...

I was 8 or 9 and was of course a master of the BMX bike. My dad bought one for me at an auction. It was a total wreck of a bike that had spokes on the front wheel and a cool mag like in the picture for the other. The frame had a cool urban paint job, or more commonly known as spray paint.

I was riding down a hill by my house with some friends. One of them said to me that you could stop the bike by sticking your foot on the back of the front tire. I just had to try it.

The result was the front tire stopped but the rest of the bike, including myself, continued to move forward. The bike lingo for that picture above is called an "endo".

So there I was vertical on my front wheel and having no idea what to do next. My balance didn't last but a second and I came crashing back to earth with a thud.

I often believed things that sounded good, right or logical. I paid the price for many of those times. I currently try to make sure I see past the glossy cover and dig into the actual truth. That has saved me a lot of backside if you know what I mean.

Do you check Snopes before you believe an email you read?

Guilty of believing whatever you read?

LIKE A WEED

Both of my boys have been growing like weeds. They are definitely in a growth spurt.

Roll mental camera...

Between April of my 7th grade year and September of my 8th grade year I had a massive growth spurt. I grew from 5'8" to 6'4" in 6 months. Yes it hurt like crazy and I have the stretch marks to prove it. I was like a shrinky dink in reverse.

I went from being an already pretty tall kid that was way pudgy to a fairly thin bean pole nearly overnight. I have since reclaimed my pudginess, for posterity sake of course.

Growing pains hurt for the body as well as the soul. I have been dealing with the growing pains of trying to be a better person. Trying to shed old habits and take on better ones is not easy for me. External change for me has never been a problem but internal is a whole other story.

Is your soul ready for some growing pains?

How do you deal with them?

Remember shrinky dinks? I guess you would put them in the freezer if you wanted them to grow

WILD TANGENT

Ever had one of those days where no matter what you do you can't seem to get to finish the task at hand?

Roll mental camera...

I am a junkie for OPEN. I download stuff for freedom farm and a bunch of other things I am involved in. But today I have been trying to download the WHY series for a friend of mine.

The computer on the other hand decides that it is just too full to take any more.

LOW DISK SPACE

So I stared searching and saw that my documents and settings folder was almost 60 gigs. That is absolutely huge and so I knew something was wrong. Problem is I know enough about computers just to be dangerous. So I called my brother-in-law who is the wizard of all things computery.

I thought I would go off on this wild tangent to possibly be of help to any others who may be dealing with a bulging hard drive. Try these three small applications.

They cleared out 37 gigs of crud out of my hard drive.

CCLEANER
ADVANCED DISK CLEANER
FOLDER SIZE

THE DRAGONFLY

So have I mention that my wife takes some great pictures before? If you click on the picture and look at the big version you can really appreciate more that just a nice picture.

Look at the the wings and how intricately they were designed. It is hard for me to image God as a massive all powerful being when I see such delicate perfection.

I envision Him sitting a work bench with his tools building the wings like an artist making a leaded glass window. Taking his time to make sure they are just right.

I know He could just snap his finger and create but I don't think He will mind if I think of him as a master craftsman just working in his shop.

FRIDAY UNSCRIPTED

I used to love to watch the "Carrol Burnett Show." I would like to say that it was because Carrol Burnett reminds me of my mom (which she does) but in truth it was because of Tim Conway. All of his crazy characters really cracked me up and still do. I found this video and I hope you like it as much as I do. Have a great weekend.

AWE

Do you remember that first time in your life that your heart skipped a beat and you couldn't breathe.

Roll mental camera...

I posted before on my first Roller coaster ride The Big Dipper. Climbing into the seat I though was an accomplishment all on its own. I was scared to death.

But when it started moving up the first hill and I heard the all familiar clack, clack, clack, a new emotion started to develop. We got to the top and and right as it started to whirl down the other side it hits.

AWE

I don't remember feeling it before that moment. Once you feel it it is hard not to want it again. I have had it many times since, accepting Christ, getting married and the birth of my sons just to name a few. Awe is one emotion I never really get tired of.

When was your last AWE moment?

Are you in need of another?

SHAG

I have the new age shag in my house now but it doesn’t compare to the 70s version I grew up on.

Roll mental camera…

The picture doesn’t quite do justice to the carpet that was in the house I grew up in. Ours was much shaggier. I always felt like I was entering a jungle when I came in the house. Secondly it looks way to clean.

I can still hear my parents scream as they stepped on one of my jacks or dozens of other small pointy toys that were hidden among the ever growing mounds of shag. I swear that carpet consumed things. It hid bits and pieces like an old man’s beard.

I always found myself lying around trying to find all the hidden treasurers that the carpet was keeping locked away. I felt like a monkey you see at the zoo cleaning the fur of another monkey. The carpet always had something new to give.

I look at this two ways. I am the shag that is full of junk and is in need of a good cleaning. Or… God is the shag full of endless treasure that awaits anyone who looks for it.

Depends on the day which way I see it.

Are you the shag or is God?

Do you hide the junk or search for the treasure?

Did anyone else have cool orange shag like me?