Give Yourself Away

Watch Papaw's New Year's Resolutions.

"A new year's resolution is something that goes in one year and out the other." -Some wise cracker.

I don't really believe that, but there is some truth to it. But, if I did not think that change was possible, improvement was attainable, goals achievable, the New Year would not be worth celebrating.

I love new starts. I love the idea that one can dream, and then do the work it takes to attain that dream or goal. So what is this year's dream for me? What will 2010 bring?

I have to throw in the obligatory "lose ten pounds." That's just my tradition. Of course if I didn't gain it all back then I could never do that goal again. That would be kind of sad right?

There's usually some kind of "make more money" type goal, some lofty spiritual quest, and a highly challenging goal to create a certain number of paintings, songs, journal entries, etc.

What will make this year different? What will set this year apart as the one when I have the discipline to do the work, hang in there through the hard times, get going when the going gets tough?

Well, to start with, I'm writing it all down right here so that all ten or so of you reading this will know. So when you see me, please ask me how it's going. And I'm talking about in June or so. No, better make it around March. That's usually about the time my memory starts wearing thin.

Also, my whole church is in on it too. We've been challenged to declare a Mitzvot for ourselves this year. My interpretation if it is a worthy goal. Here is Pastor Dan's explanation of it.

My Goals for 2010 are:

Create a show that changes people's lives.

Integrate sharing Holt International's message that every child deserves a loving home at my performances.

Finish reading the Chronological Bible that I have already begun reading.

Lose ten pounds and keep it off by integrating better habits into my diet and workout regiment. Have been between 155 and 165 for most of the year on December 31st, 2010.

Give myself away by accurately recording what I experience, and by God's grace, create something uniquely beautiful, from it.

The most rewarding activity one can undertake in this life is to freely give of one's self. This is a wellspring of fresh inspiration, a renewal, a profound pick me up. When we follow Christ's example of generosity of self, we are rewarded exponentially.

What's Next?

So it has almost been a year since I began writing Start Somewhere. That has me thinking, what's next? Video blogs? Music Monday? Mammaw Monday? Tasty Tuesday? Where are we now Wednesday? Therapy Thursday? Funny Friday? Fitness Friday? Follow me Friday? Fix up your old furniture Friday? It's time to take it to the next level, and I want your input.

It all started with this gut feeling that I should write. Sometimes I would think I wanted to write a book. Other times I thought I should write songs. I've even considered that one day I might be one of those lucky people who go to exotic islands and get paid to write about their experience. But mostly I just knew that I wanted to improve as a writer; and to do that, I simply needed to write more.

My wife, Amanda, and our pastor, Dan Scott, had both encouraged me to write, and I was also inspired by my dear friend, Stephanie Kling.

So then Amanda's cousin, Jeremy Shore, (also a blogger) sat down with me and helped me set up my blogger account (which is free and easy) and off I went.

What have I learned? That writing regularly takes thought, discipline, and time. And that you might end up having to write whether you feel inspired or not. In other words, that inspiration often comes after effort. I've also learned how to post pictures, add links, that without spell check I can't spell exercise, and that I can proofread something ten times and on the eleventh time I will find a glaring error. Oh, and that I really do love the written word, even if it is my own rambling.

At first I said I wanted to write three times a week; that didn't last very long. But I am glad to have written as much as I have, and I generally consider the first year of Start Somewhere to be a success. Some months I have been more prolific than others. Some of you have commented, thanks. Some have become followers, thanks. Some of you have told me in person that you laughed at something you read or found something inspirational. And I thank you too.

If you have a reason that you like my blog, what is it? If there are some things you wish I would shut up about what are they? What could I do better? I'm not promising I'll listen, maybe I'm just curious. Nothing is off limits. Except nudity. You must be fully clothed while posting your comments.

If you have left comments about my blog on my Facebook status or in the notes section of my Facebook page, would you consider clicking here to go directly to my blog and leave your comments there? You can also get there by going to the news section at stacybeam.com. It just keeps everything in one place and generally creates a more interesting blog.

If you have tried to post comments to Start Somewhere and you have had problems, what are they? You may just need to get a gmail account, which is free and very easy. Just click this link and follow the directions.

Finally, I would also like to ask you to officially follow Start Somewhere by clicking follow to the right of my page. Then, share my blog with your friends if you haven't already. Got all that? If you don't do it I'm gonna send one of my Start Somewhere staff thugs to your house in the middle of the night.

I'm telling you, she'll do it.

I Believe

I believe:

That no paycheck is big enough to make me live a life that is untrue.

It's not just OK to be different, it's more fun most of the time.

Getting to do your dream is worth a lot of sweat.

That I am an artist.

January 29th, 2004 was the luckiest day of my life; because I married my dear Amanda on that day.

That dogs are a gift sent from God to teach us some of life's most important lessons.

There are a whole lot of things we could all just lighten up about.

There are a few things that must never be compromised.

That we live in the greatest nation in history.

Whining is a sin, and I'm guilty.

That relationships are the most important thing in life.

That I am worthy of my goals because God made me that way.

In God the Father Almighty,

Creator of heaven and earth;

And in Jesus Christ, His only Son our Lord;

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

born of the Virgin Mary,

suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified, dead, and buried;

He descended into hell;

the third day He rose again from the dead;

He ascended into heaven,

and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty;

from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

the holy catholic Church,

the communion of saints,

the forgiveness of sins,

the resurrection of the body,

and the life everlasting. Amen.

What do you believe?

Mammaw and Her Football

My Mammaw Nita Ann is a character among characters. When I describe her to my friends, they are often stunned in disbelief at some of the tales that have become commonplace in my family's lore. Among those suitable for public viewing are: the time she sent me an enormous window unit air conditioner via US Mail to New York City from Arab, Alabama. Or the time she led her girlfriends on an expedition away from school for the day. When the principal found them and drove them all back to school, he marched them into his office. But before he could get in behind them, she locked the office door! Then, they all took off again out his window! Or the fact that she can recite our ancestors by name, not only back to Arab's founder, Stephen Tuttle Thompson, but all the way back to President John Adam's favorite signer of the Declaration of Independence, Stephen Hopkins.

She has found her life's purpose in pouring herself into family relationships. The ways she has loved me and supported my career as an artist and musician are far too many to name, but you can suffice it to say, she started early and has never stopped. More recently her devotion has been shared with my nephews, Bo and Blake and niece, Shelby.

Just for the sake of this story, I'll use Blake as an example. Between her visits to Lake View Dialysis for treatments, she has found time to go to every one of his football functions, games, and practices. Literally, poor Blake can't sneeze without her there to wipe his nose and then brag to her friends at the Beauty Shop about how bravely he went about the whole thing.

So, a few months ago, Blake and his teammates decided to take a game ball, all sign it, and give it to Mammaw. Well, she could not have been happier if the Queen of England herself had crossed the great pond with her Royal Entourage to Arab and declared her Lady Nita Ann Bentley.

It is a very special thing to be loved that way. I know. I've joked that she loves me so much that if I committed murder she would not only figure out why they had it coming, she might help me hide the body.

The point of this is to say that unconditional love is an extremely powerful thing. If you were not lucky enough to have a "Mammaw" like mine, just learn from her example and find a kid, believe in him or her beyond anything they could imagine, and watch what happens.

On Working Out and Pigging Out

Somehow I seem to be able to be simultaneously into working out and pigging out. It is the lover extremes in me that is not satisfied until I've either worked so hard that I can barely move or eaten so much that, well, I can barely move. What's up with that?

Last night Amanda made this amazing Indian dish called Chicken Saag-wala. Click on it if you want the recipe, she said to tell you that she halved the cream and added a can of diced tomatoes. I ate all of my portion and then some, then I ate way too many chocolate covered almonds for dessert. I asked Amanda to hide those things from me when she bought them.. seriously! and that worked until the other day when I was looking for something else and stumbled onto them. Once it is in my house I have trouble leaving it alone.

Monday's workout was a Crossfit standard called Filthy Fifty. Basically, you do fifty repetitions of ten different ridiculously hard exercises. You can click here to read more about the crossfit gym in Murfreesboro where I work out. I was still way sore from filthy fifty when I went in yesterday and did yet another tough one, -and now I can't wait to get back in there again tomorrow morning! Evan Satterfield and David Branch do an incredible job there. They really are "forging elite fitness" as their motto states.

Just because I like to go to the gym and work out pretty faithfully, does not mean I that don't have my struggles. I have put on and dropped the same ten pounds three or four times in the past five years. I make deals with myself, I'll be very strict until a certain deadline and then make up for lost time. I've even known a cheat meal to mysteriously turn into a cheat month if you know what I mean.

The only conclusion that I can draw from this is that there are certain habitual struggles that we may be saddled with for a lifetime. There will be ebbs and flows, but all I can do is hang in there and encourage you to do the same. If you get too down over a slip, you might not get back up again. And if you get too high from a success, look out! Temptation and/or failure may be right around the corner.

I guess I can be happy now that going to the gym is not the drudgery that it has been at other times in my life. How did I get to this point?

*First of all, I think I have repeatedly told myself over a period of years now that this is simply what I am going to do (regular exercise of some kind.) I will actually picture myself with gray hair and wrinkled skin schlepping my gym bag and pruny butt to go run or bike or lift weights when I am eighty-five.

*Then, if I get too bored or in a rut with a workout I will try something new. For instance, I had been lifting weights at the same Y for a year or so and was a little discouraged. So I decided to try a spin class. I liked it so much that I got certified as a spin instructor -and I got my membership free! But soon enough I got tired of that. I really think you need to do a more varied workout than to ride a stationary bike. Sooner or later I'm sure I'll want to try something different than I am doing now, even though that is part of why I like Crossfit. We always mix it up.

*Also, I'll sometimes buy a Men's Health magazine. Or just getting a new pair of good workout shorts or shoes can make me feel better about hitting the gym.

*Finally,I also get encouragement from talking to people who have it more together than I do. Like Amanda's cousin, Jeremy Shore. He is the real thing. If you look around, there is always someone smarter than you who would probably be glad to share what they know.

So, if you struggle with achieving a goal, start somewhere. You are not alone. The apostle Paul even said "Why do I keep doing the things that I do not want to do?" Pardon my poor paraphrasing. Everybody struggles, you win some and you lose some, but if you never try, well, you won't get anywhere.


This is a pig out that I will not repeat. Some friends and I went to Bolton's Hot Chicken and Fish on Gallatin Road in East Nashville a while back, and lets just say the end did not justify the means. (My end was on fire!)

Christmastime is Here

Have you watched A Charlie Brown Christmas lately? I could get a little obsessed with its music because I love it so much. One song in particular, "Christmastime is Here."

The song captures the strange melancholy that often washes over me in waves during the holidays. Somehow it is as if this flood of wonderful Christmas memories brings with it the painful realization that things aren't just right... I haven't accomplished everything I meant to by now, pretty soon I might be bald like Charlie Brown, there are loved ones with whom I will never share another Christmas dinner. The melody, with its odd chords paired with the sweet and beautiful lyrics together paints, in the foreground, the "Sleigh bells in the air, beauty everywhere," against a back drop of this unsettling, even disconcerting longing for something more.

This longing can feel like so many different things:
Why won't this stupid string of lights work?
Is everybody conspiring together to make me this mad?
Why don't I have enough money to really make this a great Christmas?
Why can't things be perfect?

Can I get a witness? Charlie Brown can relate.

I believe this longing is placed purposefully in our hearts by God. It is an awareness that we are yet incomplete. Inadequate to fulfill our own longing. We need a Savior.

The cartoon is as a near a perfect advent sermon as I have ever heard. Charlie Brown is depressed by all the trappings of the holiday season. In his frustration he turns to Lucy's "Psychiatric Help" stand and you know she only makes things worse! Finally, at the end, Charlie Brown pleads "Doesn't ANYONE know what Christmas is all about?" and we get to the point. Linus stands center stage and eloquently recites directly from Luke's gospel, the story of Christ's birth.

That is where we always must return. I'm not sure when "A Charlie Brown Christmas" airs in your area, but pay attention and watch it. It's great.

A Thanksgiving Memory

The first Thanksgiving I ever spent away from my family was one worth remembering. It had its highs: eating an awesome traditional Thanksgiving meal complete with my favorite orange rolls from All Steak in Cullman, Alabama, with a view of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and its lows: a visit from the NYC fire department, and a run in with an army of New York City's homeless population.

Truthfully, the opportunity to spend it with my dear friend Cindy, one of the best southern cooks I know, at her New York City apartment overlooking Time's Square, definitely took the edge off of any tinge of homesickness I may have been feeling. She planned to host all of our friends who didn't get to go home for the holiday in style. In her tiny apartment that had once been home to Fred Astaire, we rearranged furniture, brought in extra tables, and set the scene for what was to be an unforgettable day. I had even brought a dozen rolls from home to be baked fresh for the occasion.

Fifteen or twenty friends packed into the place that was steaming with the delicious smells of turkey, dressing, pies and casseroles. There was probably enough butter in that one meal to choke a whale, that's how good it was. Well, about the time we sat down to eat, we all start to smell smoke. Probably something on the stove...

No. I looked out the window and reflecting in the windows of the building across the street were flames! They are coming from the building next door! Connected to us! Well, all I could think of were my rolls that were still in the oven. Everybody evacuated the building except for me. When the smoke got too thick I donned some oven mitts, grabbed my precious pan of rolls, and hopped on the hundred year old elevator which creaked slowly down to the first floor. Then I ran out onto 44th Street where hundreds of homeless people were waiting for a Thanksgiving meal that was being served inside by the church on the lower floors of the building.

A better man than me might have shared those rolls with the less fortunate, but frankly, I didn't haul them on that plane with me all the way from Alabama to give them all away. I'm sorry. Is that bad?

After about twenty tense minutes that felt like hours, we all got to go back inside. The fire next door had been put out and we all got to have our meals. Santa must have already passed by this point -sometime between the fire truck's sirens and the cross-dressing homeless guy who kept eying my orange rolls.

The point here is: You never know what your getting into when you break with tradition, but you might just end up with a great story to tell if your rolls don't catch fire or get eaten by a trans gender homeless guy.

Thank Some Veterans

Amanda and I spent a few days at the campus of LSU last week for my work. Most of you know by now that I play the organ for horse shows. This was the Louisiana Fall Festival.

One morning we got to campus a little early and decided to take a walk. We saw this beautiful American flag in a grassy field and were drawn to it. If you look closely you can see Amanda standing at the base of the flagpole and it gives you some perspective on just how big this flag was. The musical sound of the folds dancing in the fall breeze was just amazing.

As this week passed, with the news of balloon mom and dad pleading guilty, the poor bastard, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed who is being tried in NYC for the heinous acts of 9/11, the shooting at Fort Hood... I tried to pause a few moments and reflect on some worthy people.

Our great country enjoys freedom and peace because of our Veterans. Those serving now and in the past are deserving of all our gratitude and honor. I am humbled at the thought of their bravery. In the coming season of Thanksgiving, lets all be sure to thank a few more Vets post Veteran's Day.

When You Fail

When you fail, and it will happen, how will you deal with it? Will you lay down, find some friends who will say "Well... you didn't really fail, you were just a victim." Or will you change your standards to match your inadequacies? Or will you get up, dust yourself off and try again?

If you do not fail, you will not grow. If you constantly avoid failure, you truncate your potential. If you make the same mistake over and over, you are not alone. But if you decide that success isn't worth the effort, then you are wrong.

Change is possible, but it will not happen if you are not willing to confront the junk that is in place that facilitates the problem. Pastor Dan Scott preached an awesome sermon about this yesterday at Christ Church. Visit christchurchnashville.org and go to sermons to see it for yourself.

Lord, please give me the strength and wisdom to keep getting back on that old horse every time time I fall off.

Have a Plan

This weekend I attended a performance "boot camp" hosted by Tom Jackson, performance coach to the stars. He jokes that people have called him a cross between Tim Robbins and Ozzy Osbourne. I was thoroughly inspired.

He reminded us that nothing happens without work. He spoke to the delusional side of those of us with unfulfilled goals who say to ourselves, once I get my big break, then I'll do the preparation for my big show in front of thousands of people, or whatever that dream might be. He offered the sound advice that unless we have done that work already, the chances of our break falling from a silver lined cloud are about as likely as Jon Gosselin returning to Kate on the back of a beautiful white wedding stallion. I'm paraphrasing of course.

The weekend had its high moments, and its low ones. Watching Tom take a performance from totally ordinary to really cool with a few small changes was clearly toward the top. The lower end was a toss up between the pre-packaged honey buns and the guy who lost me when he made fun of Jon Mayer. Don't get me wrong, he's a brilliant vocal coach if you can just get past his product pushing and name dropping.

Back to the good stuff. Don't wait for somebody else to make your dreams happen. You have to take it step by step. There are no shortcuts. OK, very few. If you build your strategy around shortcuts though, you will fail. Then you will probably blame someone else.

What do I do now? Start building the plan for my show. If you want specifics, you can check out Tom's website, onstagesuccess.com. He twitters, blogs, facebooks, yea he's a pretty hip dude. Not to mention that this guy started World Vision, which has raised astronomical amounts of money for charity, and tour support for the artists who share the information at their concerts.

I also plan to begin sharing opportunities to support Holt International at my performances. They are an international adoption agency that I connected with over the weekend and will be talking more about in the future.

Honestly, I came away from the weekend feeling pretty good about where I am now. I also came away with better defined goals, and a plan for some things I have to work on. Like what to say to my audience, whittling down the "goulash" of music to really point to the most interesting parts so that audiences "get it," and mainly just doing that thing that may be the hardest thing in my life to do... plan. You could apply what we learned this weekend to just about anything you wanted to do.

Have a plan, work the plan, repeat.

My Book Reviews

I recently read my friend Melissa Richie's blog post titled Book Review. I liked it so much that it made me want to write a similar post here. A few of the books she reviews are Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, which I now plan to read, Dan Allender's Bold Love, and Tom Wolfe's The Right Stuff. You can link to her blog from here, just look under my Friends Online heading and click The Richies Three.

I went to the bookshelf and tried to get a true cross section of books I have read in the past year or so. In reading Melissa's blog, she was quite positive most of the time in her opinions. I wanted to get plenty of things I did not like to include here, then I realized, I tend not to read the things I don't like. Duh.

I am warning you, this is going to be long, and I am going to be as honest as I can be.

The Bible - God

To prove that I'm going to be honest, I'll begin with the One Year Chronological Bible. My friend JT Thomas gave this to me about seven years ago and I am only a little over halfway through it. I am almost to the new Testament and I often pray that the Lord will help me be inspired to continue reading, but I'm obviously struggling a bit with it. There are a lot of kings who "did what was evil in the sight of the Lord" lately and it is so hard for me to stick with it. I know it is my duty, and I will continue, and my official review is overwhelmingly positive, I know how it ends, but there are some tedious parts that one day I hope to understand, but right now... whew, it's hard.

The Brethren - John Grisham

I was not crazy about this book. I guess I read it because he is so popular and I wanted to see for myself what all the hype was about. It has been a while, so I do not remember too many details; but the main story line was about man who came up with a scheme to extort money from high powered gay men by corresponding through the mail and threatening to expose their secret. Don't get me wrong, it held my attention, but for the most part, I felt that even though his characters were compelling, and very believable, he presumed too much upon the reader's patience by going on and on and on, which I will attempt not to do here.

Same Kind of Different As Me - Ron Hall & Denver Moore

Again, here was a New York Times Bestseller that I thought was just Ok. It goes back and forth between the perspective of an uneducated and poor black man and a rich white art dealer who strike up a friendship and in doing so, the white man ends up learning life lessons from his new friend. The white guy's wife, Debbie, dies of cancer in the process. I thought it was a bit predictable and over sentimental. I enjoyed the black man's parts. He was well written.

The Shack - William P. Young

I read this because our preacher recommended it from the pulpit and he has never let me down. It is an excruciatingly painful story of a man whose daughter is violently murdered. Don't worry, I'm not giving anything away, this happens very early in the book. Then he meets God in several different forms. Young has his weaknesses that I was happy to forgive in exchange for his profound insight into the nature of the Holy Trinity. This book helped me specifically through a difficult relationship when I needed to forgive a deep hurt. It is not for you if you cannot roll with supernatural things, a folksy and at times a bit exasperating writing style, or if you have no interest in the deep things of Christianity. None of those things bother me enough to poo poo this powerful work of fiction.

Harry Potter 1-7 JK Rowling

Melissa reviewed these books the same way I will. If you read them, you loved them, if you didn't, what in the world are you waiting on? If you are one of the Christians who disagree fundamentally with allowing children to read about such things, then I will bet you haven't read them yourself. Even though I sympathize with your position, I adamantly disagree and think you really should lighten up, read the books, then make your judgment. I was constantly amazed and inspired by Rowling's boundless imagination. The world she creates is so completely believable, so colorful, vivid, powerful, and so full of gut level wisdom. It teaches without preaching, it inspires courage, loyalty, and love. It goes beyond any earthly boundary without ever seeming far fetched. I didn't cry at the end, I sobbed. I heaved. I love these books.

Extreme Measures - Vince Flynn

Vince Flynn books are like the TV show 24 in book form. Mitch Rapp is Jack Bower without commercials or Fox's limited budget. My good buddies James Kling and Peter Thewes and I pass these books around like comic books. They are what we call "twaddle," or fluff, but I have to have one every now and then when I have been thinking too much. These books appeal to the conservative, the patriot, the adventurer. I honestly can't remember the exact story line of this one, but I can say with all certainty that if Vince wrote it, it's a page turner, it races to a breathless climax, and leaves you wanting more.

Angels and Demons - Dan Brown

Loved it. Same lead character from DaVinci Code, only without all the stuff about Jesus not being who he really is, and an even more dramatic ending. This ending may be the best of any book in the thriller genre that I have ever read.

Digital Fortress - Dan Brown

It is Dan Brown, but not as good as any of his other books. It was fine, but not worth a re-read.

Gone With the Wind - Margaret Mitchell

If there is a better work of fiction, in my opinion, I cannot recall it. It contains all of the things I like in a book. Great characters, heart-wrenchingly sad parts, humor, set in the south, epic. If you are from the South and haven't watched the movie, I cannot imagine why, and I guess I am not talking to you. The book tells the story that the movie did not have time or money to tell. There are more characters, more story, just more, wonderful, Gone With the Wind. Mitchell's description of these people reminds me of my ancestors. The "old guard" always made me remember my great grandmother Kennedy. The way these men and women persevered through terrible hardship and held strong to their beliefs and identity is a testament to the character of a people who were defeated and still forged on through unbearable difficulty.

One particular device that I would be mindful of if reading this book, is Mitchell's creative use of animals to quickly and accurately describe her characters. For instance, Charles Hamilton, Scarlett's first husband is compared to a "calf looking at a new gate." Then any time he comes back, the calf reference takes you right back to his character seamlessly. That white trash Slattery girl is called "rabbity." Frank Kennedy is referred to as "that hen in britches." Almost every character has his or her own animal that gives a quick, and unforgettable snapshot of the person, yet if you weren't looking for it, you would not even realize it.

An inescapable aspect of the book that also interested me is the relationships between black and white people. The way Mitchell portrayed Mammy was at once as a wise old motherly figure while also using terms that would now be regarded as demeaning and politically unacceptable. Which came first, I cannot be sure, but I believe that the people of the south and our rocky history of race relations have been influenced by this book for better or worse.

Some other reasons why I love this book:
Miss Melanie. You love her so much because she is so good; but you hate her right along with Scarlett because she's so damn good.
Mammy. She can literally do no wrong.
When news came that the Tarleton twins had died, I cried.
When Prissy bawled "Miss Scarlett, I's scared a' cows!" it made me laugh out loud.
Rhett. You respect him through all his juvenile efforts to come off as a rascal, because you know, deep down, he just loves Scarlett, the poor idiot.
Belle Whatling. Who doesn't love a generous, kind hearted whore?

Then there is the end. It is the saddest place we can imagine to leave our fiery Scarlett. Dripping wet, finally realising things that we as readers have known for some time, asking Rhett, "Where shall I go? What shall I do?" Here is the reason we still love this book. Mitchell knows, as we know, that Scarlett will do what she has always done. Through hell or high water, she will survive. And we all hope we would have the guts to do the same thing.

Rhett Butler's People - Donald McCaig

This is the sequel to Gone With the Wind that was authorized by Margaret Mitchell's estate. It is well worth reading, and is certainly the better of two sequels that have been written after GWTW. The other one, Scarlett, although very entertaining to me, was entirely different from Rhett Butler's People, and maybe a little less believable.

McCaig's book begins when Rhett is a child, follows through Mitchell's GWTW story line, all the while expounding more information from Rhett's perspective. However, as expected, it continues on past the place Mitchell left off. To the GWTW devotee who says there will never be another, you are right, but this book will have you believing that McCaig was privileged to have a posthumous conversation with Margaret Mitchell about some things she forgot to put in her first book. For instance, there are letters from Melanie to Rhett that are totally unforgettable, a son from Belle Whatling, and a dramatic ending set at Tara that make this book a winner.

Be The Pack Leader - Cesar Milan

For any dog owner, I would almost say this is required reading. You basically learn that you have the power and responsibility to train your dog to be a well-behaved member of the family or "pack." He basically begins with walking your dog regularly and correctly. From here, Milan explains how most all undesirable acts from your dog can be remedied. He comes from a unique place, because, as he says, growing up in Mexico, most dogs there have no problem obeying people, although they are often mistreated. Here in the US, we have confused the fact that dogs are animals, and we mistakenly treat them like one of us and end up paying the price in manic behavior from our pets. We have dogs that believe they are in charge of their masters, so they make everybody miserable, including the dog!

A New Earth - Eckhart Tolle

When Oprah had a whole class on this book, I was intrigued. I wanted to know what it was all about. I suspected, as a Christian, that there would be much that I disagreed with, but I had no idea what a bunch of baloney it really was until I bought it and read the first fourth. It struck me as something that could easily be believed if you have been hurt by people claiming to be Christians, but not acting like it. It is the same new age bunk that proposes all roads lead to god that we have heard a million times. It is Hinduism more than anything else, although Tolle would likely not agree. It is surprising to me that someone with as much sense as Oprah would fall for this junk. I could not finish it, so maybe it gets better at the end.

Congratulations! You finished this blog. If you would like to add your own review for one of the books that I reviewed, or if you have a similar or a differing opinion on anything I have written, I would love to hear what you think. You can post your comments here or email me at swbeam@gmail.com.

As a Dog Lover and Health Enthusiast

As a dog lover, we take the good with the bad. We deal with things that were chewed, puked on, pooped on, or otherwise creatively ruined. In exchange, we receive the most unconditional love, the funniest entertainment, and, if you have a pooch, you may fill in the blank here.

We have a dog named Ginny Jackson. She is the best dog I know, even if she is mine. But this week I had to deal with two window panes that she broke. I was so mad, but I really had to be mad at myself. Here's where the health enthusiast part meets up with the dog lover.

Just like humans, dogs have needs. They need to be walked, stimulated, engaged, and led. They need to be a part of a healthy pack. Thank you, Cesar Milan. Most every problem we encounter with dogs can come back to this principle. She has been cooped up without proper exercise for a week or so, and this energy went to poking her nose so hard at the window that she broke it.



Here is a photo of us taking Ginny to her favorite pond at the City Park in Arab, Alabama while we were on a trip there. We do give her exercise often. Earlier this week she went on a bike ride with me. This can be a little dangerous, so consider yourself warned if you want to try it.



This is our friend finishing a half marathon. Since his wife is a little freaked out about identity theft right now, we'll call him Dr. Doe. We had a great time a few days ago cheering him on. Now, we got out of bed at 6:00 on a Saturday morning, but after the initial shock of it, when Jane and the kids got here and we all went to the race route and cheered on the runners, we had a great time.

This is pretty cut and dry. If you do not make room for healthy pursuits like exercising and eating healthy, even for the dog, you will deal with the consequences. You can get out in front as much as you can and make good decisions, or you can deal with your bad decisions later. Either way there is some suffering to be done. It is normal and can even be healthy.

This is life's yen and yang. It is the beauty and the mess. Without the bad, we cannot appreciate the good.

Confucius Beam say, "Get off your butt and walk, run, bike, or swim the dog! Or yourself! You'll be glad, it might take a while, but you'll be glad you did."

To Communicate, and How

Right now I am reading David McCullough's biography of John Adams. It is a bit tedious for me, but I am determined to get through it. As much as I find the history interesting, I think the thing that most intrigues me about the book is the command of our language that Adams and his contemporaries had.

These are the men who penned our Declaration of Independence. When I think about what passes for English now in comparison to their writing, I feel embarrassed. We do not hold our language up to the high standard that they did.

We treat our language the same way we treat our food. We drive down the road while stuffing a Gordita or Chalupa into our mouths after squeezing on a little red high fructose corn syrup Tabasco Ketchup mixture from a foil pouch and call it dinner. We txt OMG and LOL to our BFF's from our IPhone and Crackberry and call it conversation.

Our current poor language habits are no more communication the way it should be than those pathetic sacks of super high sodium meat by-products and white processed flour are proper meals. With all our education and twentieth century wisdom, I believe we can do better.

I am going to pick on my own kind here for just a minute. As Christians, you will find in the same congregation, those who will only read from the King James Version of the Bible but cannot put together a proper sentence. What's up with that?

OK, I like my fluff every now and then as much as anybody else when it comes to what I read, watch or eat. So I just want be aware that when I'm reading Twilight, eating Papa John's, and listening to SexyBack, I may not be rising to my ultimate goal as the wise and enlightened man that I long to be.

As a Southerner I want to preserve our unique culture and way of speaking as much as anyone; but I am afraid that many of us have equated a southern accent with a ticket to forget basic correct grammar. Then we wonder why we are sometimes perceived as backward and stupid.

There is no doubt that there will be errors in what I write, maybe even in this blog! I am working on becoming a better writer and, therefore a more effective communicator. I intend to teach my children, if I am ever blessed with them, to value and respect our language for what it is. After all, I think it is fair to say that words are something of extremely high value to our Lord.

John 1:14, And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.

If you can't communicate effectively, how can you expect to have any influence? And if you do not have any influence, what do you have? You could still probably get a Chalupa.

Rain, Rain, Soggy, Sloppy Rain

Lately I have been feeling a little soggy, sloppy, slimy. Just like everyone in the southeast. With this relentless rain and temps in the 80's for weeks in a row now, if I'm not getting wet from what's falling out of the sky, it's what's pouring out of me like Hoover Dam just busted open out from under my armpits.

Now Autumn is my favorite season, so I do have the consolation of knowing that at least the temperatures will soon subside, and hopefully we will be drying out a bit too. The other upside is that when the sun does decide to show it's beautiful face again, everything will be so green and lush, like a tropical rain forest in good ole' Dixie.

What a change from this time last year when we were all so parched that an eyedropper full of rain was as scarce as hen's teeth.

I guess this all boils down to the fact that, if you just look around and choose to learn, you can find something positive in every situation. I love the seasons. I think God gives them to us so we can better appreciate his creation. We get to see it in a full array of Fall color, the fury of a powerful lightening storm, the peaceful Winter snows, Spring's verdant bliss, and the lazy, hazy, crazy days of Summer. About the time one is coming to a close, I cannot wait for the other to bring something different.

Life is that way. If you are stuck, just hold on, keep looking toward heaven, and a new season will come eventually. You might even learn some patience in the meantime.

9-11

This is a day that forever take me back. A day that will always make me ache with sadness and swell with pride. A day that I still have nightmares about from time to time. This is a day that makes me so mad that I could easily justify the most horrendous torture imaginable if it meant bringing every last one of those pathetic murderers who knocked down our twin towers and killed our firemen and innocent civilians to justice.

I work out with a bunch of firemen and EMTs. I know that their wives worry about them every time they go to work. I know that they are some of the toughest guys I have ever encountered. I know that I do not have what it takes to do what they do. God has gifted them with a bravery and a sense of adventure that I envy and respect.

The men who walked into those buildings with the singular mission that was to save as many lives as possible were that same breed. Brave, selfless, yea, maybe a little rough around the edges, but when things get as bad as they can get, those are the guys I want backing me up.

Never forget. Never forget. Never forget the surge of patriotism that we all felt together, the fear we shared, the tears we cried, the painful hours we spent glued to the TV, the blood we donated, the ones who are still fighting the fight that began that terrible day, the ones who died that day. Never forget.

Find a Mentor, Be a Mentor

This happy little bundle of joy is Mugisha.

Last week I got to spend some time helping him and several of our other African friends move. Amanda and I met them while teaching ESL on Wednesday nights last winter at Christ Church. I hope I am an encouragement to them. I am truly inspired by them, and intrigued by their culture. In my attempt to enlighten them about the countless things they need to know as they continue to make the transition to becoming African Americans, I have remembered some of the people who have been important in directing my life.

My good friend Amanda Phillips always likes to get information in bullets, not paragraphs. So, in honor of Amanda, I will give a list of reasons why you should find a mentor and be a mentor.

1. There is no possible way you know everything you need to know about what you do/want to do. If you just look around there are certainly people who know way more than you who need to share their skills with you.

2. It is guaranteed that someone around you is suffering because they do not know something that you could be sharing with them if you would just notice, and make them a priority.

3. Relationships, to me, are the most important thing in life. If you are mentoring and are being mentored, you are building on to the quality of your life and others lives around you.

4. You get paid for what you know, not for what you do. It is a way for you to know more.

5. A mentor is someone whose mistakes you do not have to repeat.

6. You will need good people around you when you get old. The people you mentor might be those people.

7. Being a mentor is a wonderful way that you can leave a legacy.




This is Bertha. They pronounce her name "Mmberta." That laundry basket was overflowing with not only laundry, but all kinds of very heavy things, and she was balancing it with no hands while walking!

Louisville

This is a post that somehow got deleted last summer. If it looks familiar, it was posted for a few days and then something happened that made it go away. But it is back for your winter enjoyment

Last weekend, we went to Louisville, KY for me to research the World's Championship Saddlebred Horse Show there. We brought our friend, Amanda Phillips along just for fun. (She's on the right, and my Amanda is the one saying to herself, when are you going to let us get up!?)

There was no shortage of fun to be had. Bardstown Road had some really cool shops where we spent the afternoon just looking around. First things first, we had sushi at The Dragon King's Daughter. It was excellent sushi at a great value. After lunch we stopped into Clay and Cotton. The Amanda's were looking for bargains, but all the colorful stuff in there put me in the mood to take pictures.




I believe these were rolls of paper. It might have been fabric; either way, I thought it made a fun pic.


















Then we went into this funky dress shop, but all I could look at were the Styrofoam heads wearing big hats.



This chick is pretty content with her hat. She knows she probably couldn't do much better with those wrinkles and that big beauty mark.














This girl looks like she really has something going on under her sparkly pink hat. She's got some big ole lips.















Speaking of big... This size L "reading is sexy" t-shirt was at a neat store called "Why Louisville." There were so many cool things in there I can't even begin to describe it. Maybe I can. They had a six foot tall wolf man dressed like a nerd, a box of Mr. T Cereal, some extremely colorful poodle watering cans, pretty much anything you would need.



This little elf man looks creepy, in my favorite kind of way. Like he might jump out from behind that glass and say, "At your SUUH-VICE!"









The KY State Fair was going on at the same time as the horse show. I have never seen such clean cows!





This horse show is the fanciest one I have ever seen. There was a brass ensemble in addition to the regular organist. And the same bugle player who plays for the Derby. It was truly a high falooting ordeal. You know, you might be surprised at just how much those Kentuckians know about horses! Almost as much as us Tennesseans.

Thanks to Jason and Lyndsy Hammil for graciously hosting us. And to Kent Moeller for the passes to the Fair and the Horse Show. We had such a great time!

You Might Stinketh

I noticed this little sign a few days ago and I started thinking; there are a lot of people who saw this sign and took it to heart! A brief explanation: I was at a big horse show and, by necessity, there are designated areas for such things.

Do you ever catch yourself noticing only life's manure? Unfortunately, I do. It's everywhere, and sometimes it seems to demand our attention. The problem is when we come to believe that we are somehow superior in our observations of life. Then, by focusing our attention on negative things, we slip into a bitter and jaded mentality, or a very crappy way of thinking.

John Calhoun was my pastor at The Lamb's Church of the Nazarene when I lived in New York City several years ago. He once preached a sermon on this topic that stuck with me until now. He said that it doesn't take a genius to point out the problems in a situation. They are easy to spot. That sounds simple, but if you actually begin to try to shift your focus away from the negativity as a habit, it starts to seem more and more profound.

What you choose to notice makes all the difference.


At that same horse show, we looked up one evening and the sky was like that beautiful scene from "Gone With the Wind" where Scarlett's dad, Gerald O'Hara, explains the importance of Tara. Now if Scarlett had been paying attention to some poop on the ground instead of listening to her father in that moment, she would have had nothing to say after Rhett delivered his most famous "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn" line. That's when she remembers "I know what I'll do, I'll go back to Tara!"

Pay attention to what you notice, and make sure it is not only manure. Think about it. You become what you focus on. As a man thinketh in his heart, so he is.

Maybe if you are not happy with the direction of your life right now, you need to consider what you thinketh, because you might just stinketh.

Happy Ending to a Happy Beginning

Yea, we had a grand opening for our Etsy shop about a month ago, and it went really well. The only thing that didn't go exactly as planned was that we were so busy making the grand opening into the huge, smashing success that it was, that we neglected to actually do the work of getting the stuff posted and available. So really, it was a grand preview for a grand opening that was coming soon.

Not a failure, just a slight miscommunication. It reminds me of a funny story that my Mamma likes to tell about me. As a kid, I had a reputation as the kid with the best Halloween parties in town, or maybe even in the whole of Marshall county. We had elaborate costumes, witches on pulleys that flew across the yard, cakes that burst into flames, once we even had a real headless horseman! Oh, and always, always, a casket with a "dead" person popping out. Huge fun right?

Well, one particular year, I had made all my preparations for the party, I may have already been suited up in my Vampire costume, that was almost always my costume of choice, and Mamma found me crying in my room. "What in the world is it?" She asked.

"I forgot to invite anybody." I boo hooed.

The story has a happy ending. My sweet Mamma got on the phone and called all my friend's Mammas. We had a big crowd that night, and my party was a success. Well, I did accidentally set the haunted piano on fire, (this year Dracula happened to get inspired to play a lot of minor chords on the upright piano in the haunted living room/dining room, and there had to be a candelabra and the best place for it to go was the little shelf where the music goes... there's a ledge above that that I didn't notice was right over the candle's flame.) We got it put out without having to call the fire department. Fortunately, my dad was on hand and he was a volunteer fireman at the time. You know this is all true. How or why in the world could I make it up?

In the photo, you see me re-living my past. Only this time I'm at a horse show on Halloween, and I'm getting paid to play those same minor chords I played while setting my poor parent's piano on fire. Sorry y'all. Does anybody else think I look like my Dad in this picture? I feel a little old looking at it.



I got in big trouble, but you know it was so worth it. What is a piano playing Dracula without a candelabra?

Back to the awaken shop. Today, you can go online to shopawaken.etsy.com and shop for our neat, one-of-a-kind, stuff. I really mean it this time. And just like the Halloween party, I pray this story has a happy ending to a happy beginning.

Drive-In Double Date

On Saturday night, we had double date night with our friends, the Phillips. We had all said that it would be fun to go to the drive in, so Amanda, true to form, had researched all of the theatres within a 50 mile radius. She knew what movies were playing, who would charge extra for bringing your own food, the mother's maiden name of the owners, and what they had for breakfast. We chose the drive-in at Lewisburg, TN. It is a neat, family owned operation with a sweet, red-headed girl attendant whose grandparents have owned the theatre since the 50's. It seemed like kind of a one woman show, as she cleaned bathrooms, took up ticket money, ($6.00 per person) and gave the pitch for the concession stand -and the inside scoop on anything else one might want to know, like which horse to bet on for the 2010 Kentucky Derby.



We were a little early, so we pulled into a big parking lot and popped the trunk where Amanda had packed away an amazing spinach dip (1 box frozen chopped spinach, 1/2 cup whole milk Greek yogurt, or sour cream, 1/2 mayonnaise, 1/2 an onion minced, 1 clove garlic minced, a little fresh parsley) with Rosemary and Olive Oil Triscuits, mmm, because we were all hungry. This was everybody's favorite. Disclaimer: the food we ate on this trip is not approved by Crossfit or the Zone diet. It was the weekend!

We happened to be in the parking lot of the biggest Goodwill store I have ever seen.



The Amandas did their own thing for a while, looking at books,



while Christopher found some interesting old vinyl records, yea, that's Reba Rambo. And I took pictures of things that I found entertaining.



This little "coach" looks like he had a long, happy life on some kid's shelf, but the only thing he'll be coaching anymore is maybe the cockroach races when the Goodwill lights go off at night.



We all agreed that this little baby doll sandwich gets the creepy award. If you peeled the little green price tag off the side of its head, I bet blood would spurt out and the head would spin.



Micheal Bolton, Beaches, yea, those were the days. Of what? Big hair, Bette Midler, and tight rolled, acid washed jeans.



Kermit's Grandpa's golfing buddy.



Somebody didn't care one bit for this poor little blue bear.

We had an amazing picnic of one of our favorites, Shrimp and Orzo salad, Tomato and Tuscan Bread salad, (both Ina recipe's which can be found on the food network's website.) Dessert was Amanda's famous Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies.

Then came the movie. No previews, no Coke or popcorn commercials, just straight to it. There was a little getting used to the sound, you tune in your radio to hear it, but there was a little buzz. The tiny bit of rust on the old metal screen just added to the cool factor, but the picture was a little blurry on top of that, but then that might have been our dirty windshield. I think it made us all cry. My Sister's Keeper is the story of a family working through the horrible ordeal of a child's dying of cancer. Beautifully acted, gut wrenchingly sad, my kind of flick.

The highlight of the weekend was really being with great friends in perfect weather and laughing our collective butts off. Thank you, Lord. I don't know what we did to deserve this weekend, but I'll take it and some more, please.

Horseshow Time

As long as I live, late August into September will be forever carved into my mind as horse show time. I grew up going to the Tennessee Walking Horse Celebration and the Racking Horse Celebration every year from the time I was born. It takes me back to sparkling chrome horse trailers, the smell of fresh hay and sawdust, saddle soap and fried food, thousands of horses and people... glory days.

My school notebooks were full of horse drawings and my brain was fixed on daydreams of myself riding around the big ring on my horse with a blue ribbon and cheering fans. Since I've become an adult, I have missed the Celebration just a few times, but even when I'm not there, these memories are so powerful that I'm sure if I never went back, it would still be a benchmark on my brain's emotional calendar.

The anticipation of seeing friends, the competition, the late night barn parties, and the occasional behind the barn mischief was something like mainlining adrenaline to my ten year old brain. So much of who I am now was being formed in those dusty alleys between barns and in the prints of horse's hooves.

I immediately think of my Mamaw Nita Ann and Papaw Harold. Their preparations began months in advance. They always had their big brown and white Pace Arrow motor home stuffed to overflowing with food, show duds, bill caps advertising the names of horses and stables, jackets embroidered in our stable's colors and our names on the front, -all necessary items for a proper Celebration, and that's really only the beginning. Even the golf cart had to be loaded up on the back of a pick-up truck, usually without any of us suffering serious injury, but not always.



Where am I going with this? Well, I guess I'm just thinking about how much those times mean to me right now. And whatever effort went into making them seems trivial when compared to the treasure chest of memories I have today. Yea, we were all utterly exhausted when it was all over, but I would not change a single thing. Maybe the stress of it all contributed to my Mamaw's current failing health and Papaw's heart attack and five hip replacements. But if I could ask my Papaw in heaven right now if it was worth all that effort, I am sure I know exactly what he would say.

"Hell yea boy! Them were some of the best times of our life."

I Love Roller Coasters/Turning Art Into Money

Sorry for that repulsive picture of myself in that last post. What was I thinking!? I thought it was funny at the time, but now every time I check my blog I think it is less funny and more just scary.

Today I worked on my new horse show CD, Swingin' in the Saddle. I want to talk about what I do, and how I got to do it. I know so many musically talented people who have almost forgotten that part of who they are. In most school music settings, the obvious realistic options for making money in a music related field are, school music teacher, member of an orchestra, opera singer, hmm, that's about it as I remember.

That is not the real world. People need music in all kinds of places. And they will pay for it! You just have to find those places, and be able to deliver what they want. Here are just a few of the places I have been able to turn music into money: parties of every kind, church, theme parks, dinner theatre, piano bars, country clubs, weddings, funerals, and last but far from least, horse shows. I played my first horse show when I was maybe sixteen in my hometown of Arab, Alabama for the local Park and Recreation's yearly fundraiser. Now, almost twenty years later, I earn 90% of my income from playing horse shows all over the US. The other 10% comes from church work, parties, and other miscellaneous gigs.

I guess what I'm getting around to is, if you just listen only to what you learn in school, and aren't willing to do something that isn't perfectly laid out before you with step by step instructions, then chances are you will not make much money from music, or any of the creative arts for that matter. Do not hear me saying that I didn't learn a lot in school, I am saying that in my line of work, and probably plenty of others, school is just a starting point for your education. You become the Dean of Students when you get that diploma. You must always be learning.

Right now I am reading Andy Andrew's book, "The Noticer." I think the main point he makes in this book is a principle that has been working for me for quite a while now. Opportunities are everywhere, you simply have to pay attention and notice what is going on around you. You have to be flexible, identify the voices in your life that bring you up, and then you must listen closely.

I can name a short list of people who have mentored me and they are all voices that I still hear often. They are like Andrew's character named Jones. They noticed me, and I noticed them. Then God added his blessing and I am thankful for that.

If you are an artist of any sort, find a place to do your art. Find the people who respond to what you do. Notice those opportunities, and those people who are trying to guide you toward the path that God preordained for you long before you were born. Yea, it might feel a little like a roller coaster ride, but I LOVE roller coasters!

Dealing With Soreness, and Cake

Something that it seems nobody really talks about that much when talking about fitness and exercise is soreness. The fact is, there is quite a lot of pain involved in getting healthy, relatively speaking. That is perfectly normal, and it will not kill you.

Now as you continue to work your muscles, your body adapts. You will become more efficient at recovery. But there have been many nights that I wake up and am shocked at how hard it is to waddle to the bathroom because of the squats, lunges, box jumps, or whatever I did the day before, or even two days before! Climbing up the stairs to get into bed can feel more like scaling Mount Everest, and sitting down, particularly the descent, whew!

I have a motto, one of many, but this one I made up all on my own as best as I can remember. It is, "Life is hard, once you realize that, everything else gets easier." Basically, there is a corner that every person can choose to round. It is when you look around and notice that there is not a single person born into this world that escapes pain. We convince ourselves that ours is unique, somehow worse than other's, or that nobody would understand if they only knew how bad we really had it, but that is a bunch of bull. You are not alone in your pain. And you can withstand far more than you think.

So I have taken a lot of Ibuprofen in my life. Lately I have been going for aspirin instead because Evan, one of my Crossfit trainers, made the point that the very inflammation that Ibuprofen treats is important to building stronger muscles. I'm really simplifying what he actually said, but I think that is the long and short of it. I'm not saying you should pop a pill every time you have a little ache, I'm just sayin' sometimes you've gotta have something.

So if you want to see your body change, don't kid yourself. There is no getting around the soreness and pain. But I believe it is worth it. To me it is like this; do I want to suffer a bit now on my terms, or have my body break down on me because of under use and suffer later? I'll take my medicine now, thank you. When I can do something about it. I know there are no guarantees, but I'm putting my money on working hard for a strong, healthy body now rather than waiting to see what will become of my "temple" by coasting along.

Yea, I just ate a piece of cake. But I have not had dessert all weekend, and this thing has been sitting in there since Amanda made it on Thursday. I had some cake with ice cream. You just can't have it ALL the time. Make it the exception and not the rule. I'm not saying it will be easy, I am saying that it can be done.

I have heard that even a bad picture is better than no picture, so there you go. There is a picture with this post.

Crossfit Chronicles

Today I did something I haven't done before. On Saturdays, some of the really committed crossfitters go out to a local park and do insane workouts. I normally go to a weekly class where I am generally toward top of my class with regard to the amount of time I complete challenges and/or the weight I can lift. Today, however, I was solidly at the bottom of my class, but I still felt great. (Well, like really close to puking, gasping for air, and fire coursing through my legs great.)

At the risk of this blog becoming a little like an Andy Griffith episode where Opie, Andy, Barney or somebody always learns a lesson, there is a lesson to be gleaned from this. You gain strength and confidence from being with people not as strong as you, but you might gain even more from being with people who are much stronger than you in a particular area.

Our warm up was to run up a hill. Not a small one either. Then, the workout was to partner up, and sprint up that hill. At the top of the hill, you keel over and breathe very hard for three to five minutes, then walk back down that hill. I was with Matt and Mike this time. They smoked me, but they encouraged me and did everything they could to build my confidence and never point out my relative weakness.

Then I ran with Jason. I got off to a great start, a little ahead of him! But about halfway up, he breezed my ass like I was standing still. By the last ten yards, it would be a stretch to say I was running, but in my heart and mind, I was running like there was a bear on my heels.

Then, back at the bottom of the hill, you partner up again, pick up weights, from ten to thirty-five pound dumbbells in each hand, and run as hard as you can up that hill. This time I was with Jill. Now the ten pound weights were a hot commodity and they were gone when it came to be my turn, so I ran with twenty-fives against Jill, who had slightly lighter weights, but was ahead of me the entire time. Yea, I was totally beaten by a girl, but all I got was yells of praise and encouragement about how good I was doing.

You have to put yourself in an environment where you are challenged and encouraged if you want to succeed in anything. It teaches you how to act when you are on the other side and you have the opportunity to be patient and encourage someone who may not be as strong as you.

You have to look for opportunities to excel, to be great. You have to step up to the plate and take a swing and be ready for whatever happens. One thing is absolutely certain; you will never do it by settling for the status quo. You have to start somewhere.

Back to Basics

With all of the great produce that is in season right now, and having over half of a lean, local, organic, grass fed cow in our freezer, I've been thinking about food and health a lot. I have also felt a huge amount of energy and been so encouraged by my workouts at Crossfit Murfreesboro.
Link
Thank you, Evan Satterfield and David Branch.

That gets me to today's blog topic. I'd like to get back to the primary value of this blog as it relates to my passion for health and nutrition.

In the last few months, I have gained muscle and lost fat, but more than that, I am stronger and can do things that I couldn't do before. Now when you read that I did that; I can imagine many of you saying to yourselves, "Whoopty doo, good for you," with a proper amount of sarcasm. But, when it's you, it is so much different. When you can walk up the stairs and not be winded, when you can fit into your clothes better, when you see a different person in the mirror, it changes everything.

I cannot give enough emphasis to the value of a healthy lifestyle that includes strenuous exercise and smart eating choices. I want to scream: "Do not believe that you are incapable of being fit!" That is a lie from the devil that will rob you of the best version of yourself. You may not be a lanky supermodel, but you can always improve.

When I was in Junior High School, I was chubby. I wore "huskies." Is that supposed to make a kid feel better? Husky!? I say why not call em' what they are. They're for fat kids! In my house, like most houses, where I grew up, we ate pretty much whatever we wanted. Even if that meant picking up a Snickers, or a bag of greasy chips for an after school snack. If we wanted it, we ate it.

In their defense, my parent's parents were close enough to poverty to remember true hunger, and that memory runs deep enough to pass down for generations. Now, except in rare situations, in the USA, even the poor have enough food to eat, and machines now do much of the physical labor that once kept us healthy. We equate food with so many things besides what it is: fuel. We exchange it for comfort, love, attention, celebration, mourning, reward, entertainment, or a remedy for boredom. You can fill in the blank.

We have to call a spade a spade here. Something has to change, or the next generation will go right on eating themselves to death the way we are! If we don't change, we are sure to lose the very thing we trying to gain when we choose to indulge in crap, and that is, quality of life.

Now, I still have room to improve, but I am pretty fit. And I know that when my health improves, my productivity in every other area of life improves, not to mention that I'm able to have more fun because I have more energy!

So are those extra 20, 30, 50 or more pounds you have by not exercising and choosing bad foods really adding to your quality of life? Are you ready for your heart bypass surgery or diabetes diagnosis?

I really mean for this to be inflammatory. I want you to think. I want you to know that eating healthy and exercising can be much more satisfying than the alternative. It takes work. Basically, it takes stepping out of your comfort zone into the scary unknown. Is that really so bad though? What we fear is almost always worse in our imagination than it is in reality. Start somewhere.

In the photo my Mamma and I are grabbing an opportunity to sweat a little at our family's Fourth of July bash. I am so proud of my Mamma. She has been working out at her local gym, while balancing a full time job and caring for my Mammaw. And she is seeing results.