People who drive Escalades don't rake their own yard

Apparently, I've got "gratitude issues."

Yesterday, Kim and I visited a church for the second consecutive week. We're currently "church hopping" after having moved to a new locale just over a month ago.

To put it bluntly, the pastor and his message dinged me pretty good. He talked about gratitude and the ways that we show it (or, in my case, how we don't). I was convicted. I may have teared up at points. It was humbling.

Later that afternoon, we attended to some much needed yardwork; specifically, leaf raking and removal.

As we were toiling away in our yard, a car drove by. Not just any car. It was a fancy new-ish looking Cadillac Escalade. I sighed. I complained. I said to myself: "I bet people who drive Escalades don't have to rake their own yard...they have people who do that for them."

Apparently, I'm a slow learner.

My strengths are also my weaknesses

They say that our strengths can also be our weaknesses. The attributes that make us admirable and fun to be with can also be tragic flaws that cause us to accidentally alienate ourselves from everyone we love.

I fail at lot of things. I'm pretty good at failing, truth be told.

Uplifting, right?

Michael Jackson said it best when he said: "I'm starting with the man in the mirror." (He was probably doing some bizarre before he said it and, most likely, he went back to being absurd as soon as he was done. That's okay. Rest in peace, Mike.)

With that said, I've got some confessions to make.

Keeping up with the Kardashians: Marriage isn't a fairy tale

Whether you cared to know or not, you've probably found out about reality television star Kim Kardashian's recent divorce from NBA basketball player Kris Humphries.

In a statement on her personal website, she posted the following:

"It just didn’t turn out to be the fairy tale I had so badly hoped for."

Hearing about her divorce and her subsequent response causes me to go through a gamut of emotions. It makes me sad, because divorce is always sad. It amuses me that there are people that shallow and "lacking of depth" (and famous for absolutely no reason) in the world. It makes me angry for a multitude of reasons.

But it's not all for naught. There's always a lesson. In every defeat, there are victories.

You can learn a lot from a Kardashian.

You don't know Jesus

The title of this post is also the title of a song by the Scottish post-rock band, Mogwai. It's a title that's always stuck with me. I imagine that was the intent when they chose it. 

It's a pretty song. Listen.

Oddly (or appropriately, depending on how you look at it) enough, the song is an instrumental tune and has no words or lyrics. I actually kind of enjoy the fact that this is the case. It allows me to use my imagination regarding the meaning behind the song.

I'd like to give it a stab.

Quitters never win

Ever wanted to just give up? We all have. It might be a job that you hate. Maybe it's a relationship that you are either bored with or just don't have the strength to endure anymore. It could be a diet or an exercise program.

Either way, you've been there. 

I've been dealing with "burn-out" lately in my own life. I've been praying like crazy that God would either grant me the serenity to patiently undergo my current plight...or get me the heck up out of Dodge!

Today, neither seems to be an option. I don't have anything else to run to. My patience is limited and quickly expiring. 

Maybe that's how God wants it.

Sometimes there's no escape. Sometimes there's no comfort either. I know that sounds dark, but I don't mean for it to be. Sometimes we just have to learn to suck it up, go through it without any help and finish strong.

If you're down in the dumps and ready to call it a day, here's something that may be useful. The following is a checklist that I stole borrowed from a website called boxingscene.com. As silly as it may sound, it's a website for boxers, mainly amateur. The checklist is meant to be motivational for boxers who are thinking of quitting.

You may not be stepping into an actual ring any time soon, but I believe it is relevant, nonetheless. Without further ado:

The Church is like a ninja

Calm down. I'm not being sacrilegious. Not on purpose, anyway.

The church gets compared to a lot of things. The Bride of Christ. The branches of the tree. Etc, etc, ad nauseum. 

Those comparisons are scriptural and I mean not to denigrate His word. However, the church has become something. It's evolved and taken on a new life that it never had before and perhaps was never meant to have.

We all know that Satan seeks to kill and destroy. He wants to devour you and ruin all that you love. He uses a multitude of weapons that are in his arsenal. Things like TV, music, relationships...rush hour traffic. 

Is it possible that Satan uses the church to infiltrate our families? 

Top Ten Fun Things To Do in Gloucester, Virginia

As of tomorrow, Kim and I will have officially lived in Gloucester, Virginia for one full week. That's right. We're veterans now. We pretty much know everything there is to know about the area.

I decided to share our newly acquired wealth of information with those of you who have lived in or around Gloucester for some time now, as well as with those of you who were thinking of visiting.

America loves top ten lists, right?

Here is my top ten list of fun things to do in Gloucester, Virginia: