#sharonwoods, et. al.

Ben is scoping the lake for birds of prey. Jason's thinking, "Hiking is just another word for bullshit." #sharonwoods

I took Ben and Jason to Sharon Woods last Tuesday. We walked some trails, spied on some ducks through Ben's hefty binoculars, hopped a fence to go off the beaten path, and tossed pebbles at a sleeping snapping turtle in the hopes of him getting agitated and pulling himself out of the water. Ben ran into his old high school art teacher who was running the circle around the lake, and they talked for a while as Jason moaned about wanting to escape the heat and drink a soda. Now that Ben's done with softball, I have permission to take them with me as we explore different parks around Cincinnati. I'll probably take pictures each week and post them. Next week I'm thinking we'll go to Mount Aries. 

Tyler's getting married at the end of the month.
His bachelor party is the last Friday of August.
There's going to be a cook-out, gambling at the casino, and bar hopping.
I'm only going to be able to make it to the cook-out because of work.
I've decided that my bachelor party will be simple: bourbon, pipes, and laughter.
How can you beat that?

I'm not being a "diet Nazi" with this whole reformation thing. The last thing I want to be is one of those awkwardly buff guys. It just doesn't look natural. Besides, I enjoy good beer and good food too much to be too regimental. Such regimentation can easily blossom into an eating disorder, or something close to it. My goal is just to look less... ungainly?... and to be healthy. Really, that's what matters most. I don't have the consternation to spend two hours at the gym every day trying to sculpt my body into that of a Greek god. I would rather spend that time with friends and family, or reading a good book, or writing a good story, or just walking through the park and enjoying nature. There's such a thing as taking it too far, and reading the things written by bodybuilders (or those who are obsessed with their appearance) in online forums cements how much I don't want to be one of those guys. I just want to be healthier, and I like the feeling of endorphins releasing. Already people have noticed that I'm looking "fresher", as Brandon put it. But to prove that I'm not becoming too obsessed, this is what my dinner consisted of: a McDonald's box of nuggets, french freedom fries, and a diet coke. If there's any need for evidence that I'm not going overboard, that'll suffice.

I'm going to be bringing back the "sunday meditations."
The content will be my sermon notes from Westside Reformed's "Ephesians" series.
Be looking for those (if you're into that kind of thing).
Hint: the "sunday meditations" will be on Sundays.

I've been considering bringing this blog back to its original URL as "darker than silence." I want to make sure that when I do, I'm completely over everything that happened in June. This blog has been a sort of "venting mechanism," if you will, and when I go back to the original URL, any and every post pertaining to what happened in June will be deleted. I just want to be careful that once I switch back, I don't start "hoping" that Mandy will start reading my blog. I don't want the temptation of writing things to try and communicate with her since we're not talking anymore. That's why waiting until I'm over things to "go back" is so important. I know she cares about me, and she may try to see how I'm doing (I would if she had a blog), so I want to make sure I'm over everything before reverting to the old schema. So if you ever try to access this blog and it doesn't show up, just try the old URL.

Ben and Jason just finished their McDonald's.
Ben is going to play music, and Jason is watching "The Jeffersons."
I think I'm going to spend the evening reading Tolkien.
Yeah, I think that's a good idea.
Tomorrow I'll be spending the day moving Ams to her new apartment.
It's supposed to rain, so we'll see if we don't get soaked.

I've been going to The Anchor between shifts and meditating on Proverbs 3. A little "study tool" I've come up with is studying various passages from a variety of angles and writing out a paraphrase, Eugene-Peterson-Style, that captures what I believe to be the gist of the passage. They can be kinda long-winded, but that's my style. Here are three paraphrases from Proverbs 3:

"Do not let loving-kindness toward your neighbor and faithfulness toward God forsake you. Stay focused, so that you don't become distracted, and let loving-kindness and faithfulness flourish in your heart. In this way you will find favor with God and respect from men."

[Proverbs 3.3-4]

"Cling to the Lord with all that you are, putting all your confidence and hope in Him. You are dumb and short-sighted, so trust in His providence rather than in your own feeble insight. Seek to honor and glorify Him in all that you do, from the moments of solemn worship to your everyday, ordinary, run-of-the-mill life, and He Himself will direct your life both for your good and His glory."

[Proverbs 3.5-6]

"Do not glory in the illusion of your self-sufficiency and self-reliance. Revere God, being careful to obey Him. Repent of your sin and avoid sinning against God and your neighbor. If you do this, you will experience healing in your soul, being established and strengthened in your inner being."

[Proverbs 3.7-8]