Summer Time

I have been told that I am a fun person by at least 5 different people.  The number is probably higher, but I’m trying to be humble here people. Since I’m a fun person, I know about having a good time.  We are about to enter one of the most fun times of the year. You guessed it- SUMMER! Summer is a great time of year. I remember as a kid getting so excited to be out of school and having the summer to do whatever I wanted. I would love sleeping in and staying up late. As an adult, I still work in the summers so staying up late and sleeping in are not exactly what I look forward to in the summers. I have found new ways to have an awesome summer. I want to share with you some sure fire ways to make sure you have an excited and fun summer.

1. Go swimming!!

Let me say it again. GO SWIMMING! This is the first step in having a great summer. The summer is meant to be a time where you swim. Swim in pools, lakes, rivers, or kiddy pools. Wherever you see a body of water, go jump in it and have a great time. My summer is not complete unless I swim and swim a lot. You will find unending joy from jumping into a cool body of water.

2. Eat meat cooked over a fire.

This is another no brainer. You want to have a good summer? Cook some meat on the grill. My favorite summer BBQ choice is pork steaks. God has truly blessed me with BBQ pork steaks. Go eat some burgers, brats, hotdogs, chicken, ribs, or some other kind of meat. This is a great way to have a yummy summer.

3. Go on a trip.

Is it really a good summer if you never leave the town you live in? My answer is no. Take some kind of trip. You don’t have to go real far. Just go somewhere. The last two summers my wife and I have taken long road trips to the east and west coast. Both were awesome trips and the highlights of our summers. This summer we aren’t going that far at all but we are going on two lake trips. Go do something this summer; don’t just sit at home. Go explore. Be adventurous.

4. Go to a baseball game

There isn’t much that screams summer more than baseball. Last summer was the first time in maybe 15 years I didn’t attend a St. Louis Cardinals game during the summer. I did go to the World Series in October that easily made up for the summer drag. Go to a baseball game. Eat a hotdog, and have a great time. If you don’t like baseball, who cares?  Go with a bunch of friends, and you will still have a great time .

There you have it. There are 4 ways to make sure you have a great summer. I’m sure there are more ways. If that’s the case, do those things too. Summer is awesome. Make the most of it.

P.S. Playing disc golf makes summer pretty fun too!

Parenting & Football

I believe I’m allowed to state my opinions. That is what the Constitution says. I have two topics I want to talk about.  One much shorter than the other.

If you have Twitter, a TV, or you have hearing and seeing capability you might know about Richard Sherman and what he did yesterday. During the NFC championship game yesterday, he made a play to help his team go to the Super Bowl. He made a great play. He is a great football player. The thing is though, no one is talking about the great play he made. People are talking about his interview after the game. I played football in high school.  I understand the emotions that come with the game and played with a lot of passion myself. However, the manner in which Richard Sherman chose to act was a classless act. He showed he has no dignity and no humility. It’s okay to be confident. It is not okay to be cocky. If I had children I would say to them, “That is how I don’t want you to act.” Let your actions speak for you, not your poorly chosen words. Now his team has an even bigger target on its back because of his conduct. All I can say is, go Broncos!

Now that I’m off that soapbox. I want to share what is really on my mind. This past weekend I watched a movie with my wife Cara about a high school boy. In this story, he is the life of the party. He is a popular kid that most people like. But, the thing is he has deep struggles that he covers up with drinking, partying, and relationships. During the movie, the viewer finds out that he lives with his single mom and continually asks his mom for his dad’s contact information. Eventually, he receives the information from his sister, and he gets to see his dad for the first time in 10 years. In the process, the boy finds out who his dad really is--  a selfish person who doesn’t really care about anyone but himself. This breaks the kid’s heart, and he spends the rest of the movie pushing everyone away because he doesn’t feel he is worth anyone’s love.  He does this because his dad never truly loved him, so no one else could possibly love him.   The boy eventually overcomes this thinking. The reality is that stories like these happen every day. Too many times kids are faced with an absent parent who never loves them, and parents who abandon them. It makes me sick. If you have kids, love them so much that it hurts. Our society is going down the crapper, not because of who the president is or who is in government, but because parents aren’t stepping up and being the parents they are supposed to be. They aren’t loving their kids the way God wants them to. I don’t care if you follow Jesus or not. Raise your kids! Love your kids! Teach them respect and responsibility! My parent raised my brother and I. Did they make mistakes? You bet. One thing remained. Love. I was always loved. My parents showed their love by teaching me how to be a good person, teaching me how to work hard, teaching me how to be respectful, and teaching me to love Jesus. I am a better person for it. I’m sure my parents wanted to give up or go crazy, but they didn’t. They knew they had a responsibility. If you are a parent or thinking about becoming a parent. Love you kids. Love them through teaching them right and wrong and  going to games, musicals, and dance practice. Love them by never giving up on them. Be the type of parent God wants you to be.