The Calm in the Storm

Well, I know that it can be a bit strange to leave a job in the middle of it and making good money. I ask myself at times "why did I do this?" Yet there is a voice, the Holy Spirit saying that I did the right thing knowing what was going on. I know it is not perfect, though I have thought about how everything went and realized I could not continue in that situation. I will not go in to much of the particulars.

The reason I say this is that when God asks you to go a direction that might not be comfortable for you or even a place where it might be a hard road, do you continue down the easy? In Psalms he says that,

Some went down to the sea in ships, doing business on the great waters;    they saw the deeds of the  Lord , his wondrous works in the deep.    For he commanded and raised the stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea.    They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths; their courage melted away in their evil plight;    they reeled and staggered like drunken men and were at their wits’ end.     Then they cried to the  Lord  in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.    He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed.    Then they were glad that the waters were quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven.     Let them thank the  Lord  for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!    Let them extol him in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders.

Psalm 107:22-32

God raised the storm yet he still saved them. Sometimes the storm is to show his grace. So when you are in a place of hardship, know he is there. Christ will always be where you are, his plans are great.

Denton in the Olympics?!?!

What, you mean there is an Olympian from Denton, TX? Yes there is, his name is Jordan Malone.

Photo from Dallas Morning News / Rick Bowmer/AP

He is a short track speed skater, now representing Denton, TX in the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi. I am a big fan of the Olympics and have been waiting to watch them since they have been airing commercials. I like the different stuff they do, like speed skating, curling, and most of all, hockey. Now I know there are teams out there that might have the numbers to beat some of our guys, but hey, we are the USA, we are always climbing to the top, so get excited! If you need more encouragement check out Jordan's official website here.

Go and support Denton, Get yourself a Greenbelt Ale or a Quakertown Stout from Armadillo Ale Works, sit down at one of our great local bars, like East Side Social Club and lets GO DENTON!

NOLA

As you all know, my life is and has been a bit crazy. This shouldn't surprise anyone, I am always doing some strange outing, eating new things at new restaurants (check out Denton Traveler). Now recently I had a chance to experience New Orleans, or NOLA. Now that was an experience.

Let me tell you, New Orleans has some of the best food with great people. They are very pleasant, interesting, and fun. We headed out to a little jazz bar one night and had a great time. Great music and singing, you should hear this guy's version of Purple Rain by Prince. This experience made me think of how we experience events. This was truly amazing to me. On the other hand, some just were not as interested. Now I am all about meeting new people. I met his sister, brother, and nephew. They were just as fun s everyone else I met.

We also went to one of my favorite places, Café du Monde. This is a need to go place in New Orleans, this is the place binges are created as an art form. Everyone needs to head out there to see the great food they deliver, even if it is only pastries. But one of the best places was Mother's Café. The food there is awesome, true to the New Orleans flavors and southern cooking at it's best.

So, that is what has been going on this month. Hope everyone is having a great new year.

New Year's Realizations

I know everyone has new year's resolutions, many deal with getting fit, starting something, being more of something. Now I am not saying that is a bad thing, just that there is a tendency to put everything into that basket. I think that there should be more than that. Why do we think that we can change this, change us. This should be something that should be looked at in a way that can glorify God.

My wife and I have decided to start eating better and being more active, okay she decided. But not that I am disagreeing that we need to be healthier. But I do know we need to seek a healthier life in relation to God and Christ. I think this year I am going to start a spiritual fitness. Finding things in life and trying to be more proactive to my spiritual life.

And with that I am hoping to be more involved, find things to do that will lift my community and "be more awesome" as Kid President would say, but doing it in a way that will shine the light of Christ. So, I am loosing some of my middle mass, and gaining some in the mental and spiritual areas.

You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus,  and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

-2 Timothy 2:1-2 ESV

The Good Stuff

Ok, so, I have this knack for fixing good food on the fly, mainly with stuff we have in the fridge. Well, today I am going to share the love. Here is what you can do for a few bucks and have lots of leftovers. If you time it right, you can get some great deals. First, find some meat on sale, get a good amount of it. Next, go to the canned food aisle grab some beans, corn, and some other veggies. Next hit the fresh veggies, grab some potatoes, an onion or two. Also grab some beer (warning: this is for the broth, so if you are getting a good beer, it will be somewhat wasted, yet it makes for a tasty end) and some broth (no need for any specific, whatever you want). Chop the onions and sauté them (with oil) in the pot. then cook the meat. Let the meat cook, you can also do this in a separate skillet, and then add. Now you can use some different things to thicken the broth, if you want, there is no need to do it if you like a thin broth, I like mine a little thicker, I use flour and oil to make a roux.
Then I take my beer and pour it in and get some water to top it off to make my nice comfy stew. Now if you want to spice it up, during this process add some spices, I normally go with the cayenne pepper and chili powder, and salt and pepper is always needed.. So that is my simple stew.

Time to Slow Down

So,  I am always thinking about how God works. God has shown me this week that life is unpredictable. It never has our timing, always God's timing. I am always needing to go faster,  go for all the speed I can, though God tends to slow me down.
I have customers that tend to slow down and remind me that life should be slowed down and have time with family. My mom grew up on a farm that I use to go to every once in a while, but you have to slow down and watch to see what is actually going on. This word tends to want instant, even my new business is focusing on the instant connected world. Christ wants us to rest in him, sometimes that means slowing down, smell the air after the rain.
I know that in this connected world we tend to want to go faster, more instant. But the best things are things that are made with love and take time. It took Christ three days to rise, it could have been done faster, he could have been in there a few minutes, but out of love he endured for three days. SO take a moment to slow down, smell the roses, spend time with your loved ones.

The Burkett Situation

Ahhh, it was almost 6 months ago today my bride and I headed down the isle with aspirations of hope and love. But as with life came the struggles, many of them just your normal, everyday things, work, school (she is a teacher), and when things could get done. I now have a house over my head and new horizons for what to do with my life. Now we are together trying to wrangle 3 cats, a job and sanity, but doing it well together. 

 Now the main reason I have started this is to keep everyone up to date, and have some fun stories to tell. First off, we recently had a 2011 Jeep Patriot, my first Jeep. I was happy, it had everything I wanted. Well, in July we went to the Mary Kay Seminar and had a blast, our plans after that included a trip down to my family's lake house. 

Now I am not sure what happened during that week to cause this, but as we are going down 35 near Saledo, TX, we hit some nice wonderful traffic. Where is this coming from, why is there traffic on a weekend? Well, my wife, now in the driver's seat, notices when she is stepping on the gas, there is no "GO". Well I get out and check, there is some black stuff leaking from the car. We had just passed the rest stop and we are sitting, no forward motion at all.

So we call up the roadside at about 3pm, 2 hours later we figure out a place that can pick us up and get us to a nearby Jeep dealer to check out the car and get it fixed. Needless to say, they call us the next day and inform us that the damage is not covered under warranty. Well, that is just a stick in the ear, so we call Huffines in Lewisville to advise them of what is going on, they offer us a great deal on a new car and now are riding in style. But, now we are known as "The Burkett Situation" at that dealership. 
This was all said to get to this point, we were taken care of and trusted that God had a plan, even in the hot summer car, there was a plan, and it worked out.