Lost Links

I was busy last week and didn’t share any, but here are a few to get you excited about tonight. There won’t be an episode next Thursday, and the Finale is May 29th.

Recap/Summary of Last week: Cabin Fever

Jeff Jensen gives you more to think about. He loved Cabin Fever

17 Enduring Mysteries on Lost

Video clip of Evangeline Lily on Kimmel. Has an awesome clip of either tonights ep or from finale at the end. Worth waiting through Kimmel’s flirting, her eating a sub, the good Christian girl talking about how “loaded” she got at the party and dropping an F-bomb. I am sure Jesus is real proud.

What I’ve Been Eating

Since I know, of course, that all of you have been lying in bed at night wondering exactly what I have been putting into my mouth, chewing, and swallowing of late.

I am down to 194 lbs. I don’t know when exactly I started losing weight, but at Christmas, I was at 202.

Last year, because of cholesterol, I cut down on the bad fats but still ate/drank lots of carbs and sugars. I drank a lot of juice instead of soda (southerners, read: coke) because I didn’t realize how much sugar was in fruit juice.

This year I mainly drink water, some decaff tea, coffee, and, soda for eating out, occasional treats. But here are some things that have been pretty consistent in my weekly diet:

  • Tuna twice a week. Sometimes I mix in the mayo and mustard, lately I have been eating it plain with a fork. It’s easier to do that with when it comes in oil. I have come to like the Bumblebee brand.
  • Salad at least twice a week. Just had a good one for lunch today. Cauliflower, tomates, onions, celery carrots, sunflower seeds, almonds pieces, sometimes broccoli and red peppers. I always put olive oil and balsamic vinegar, no fat salad dressing.
  • Peanut Butter and something sandwich once a week. My favorite is banana.
  • We don’t eat fish every week, but cook Tilapia 2-3 times a month.
  • The rest of our diet is chicken stuff, sandwiches, and soups. Occasionally we make a taco salad.
  • I eat very little pasta and pizza and bread. Two of my favorite things.
  • I have even cut down on cereal as a snack/filler because of the carbs/sugar. Even the healthy stuff has sugar in it, and lots of carbs.
  • I munch on almonds and planet earth veggie/fruit chips.
  • I have a big water bottle that I sip on all day long most days.
  • I still splurge one or two meals a week. We can’t seem to avoid eating out for more than a week. Some days my carb cravings take over and I eat bread, toast, cereal and pizza, but it is limited.

Overall, I have made great improvements in my eating habits in the last two years. I will get blood work done again sometime this summer and hope my cholesterol and sugars are better.

I will talk about exercising some other day, but not because I haven’t been doing it.

Parenting Parables: Big vs Small Reward

Last Tuesday, the wife and kids went to the Bronx zoo with friends from church. Kids are so funny, just like small adults, really. The kids wanted to finish watching Curious George before we left, even though we were trying to tell them they were going to the Zoo (we didn’t let them). They knew they were going to the Zoo but were too into “Monkey George,” as Eva calls him.

Then, as I drove them up to H’s house, Sam was talking about playing with his train table. H has a cool playroom. Even though the Zoo (Bronx Zoo, mind you) was the big, exciting plan for the day, all Sam could think of was playing at H’s house.

You and I are like that. God promises us so much in the end (a lot now, too) but we get exciting about the little things. And little things that even impede or crowd out what’s most important. We focus on weak, short-term pleasure when God wants us to enjoy so much more.

One of my favorite quotes by C.S. Lewis is also quoted often by John Piper as he teaches on Christian Hedonism:

“…if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased. (C. S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans,1965], pp. 1-2.)

Weekend Reading

Great article on new Cubs OF Kosuke Fukudome from Sports Illustrated.

Evangelical Manifesto criticizes politics of faith. It’s about time, Hello?!

Who lives and Who dies in the event of a pandemic? Scary and sad thoughts.

Hilarious poem, to the tune of “Stand up, Stand up for Jesus”

Also funny, dialogue displaying the differences in the genders.

This old SNL commercial still cracks me up. It’s only the text, but hilarious.

One week left to give me money for MDA

If you would like to contribute to MDA, you would probably need to mail checks/cash soon.

If you write a check, make it out to “MDA.”

If you send cash, I can get you a receipt.

Of course, you can still donate online HERE.

I go to Jail in one week.  Thanks a lot!

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Take me out to the Ballpark

I have only been to a handful of MLB games live but they have all been great experiences. I hope to take advantage of living close to NYC this summer to visit Yankee Stadium and Shea Stadium (final year for both). Here are some of my memories of games I have attended. There is maybe one other when I was young that I can’t remember, also at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.

It’s so relaxing to be at a game. The food/snacks are great. When the weather is nice, it’s a perfect day.

Cubs at St Louis in 1990

  • I was young so I don’t remember everything but Maddux (my fav pitcher of all) pitched and Mitch Williams came in for the save. Ryne Sandberg (my fav Cub and maybe favorite player) hit his 30th HR of the season (finished with 40) into the left field bleaches just a few rows in front of me. I still remember watching that ball come straight towards me. I was 14 years old.
  • I got hooked watching the cubs on cable in 1989 when they won the NL East (pre-wildcard days).

Marlins at Atlanta in 1998

  • Maddux again, this time against Kevin Brown, when he was awesome. The Marlins were defending champions. It was an awesome pitchers duel. The fairly new Turner Field was beautiful. Klesko hit a sac fly in the bottom of the ninth to win it. I was sitting in the right field upper deck, looking at the top of the foul pole. Great game. Final was 1-0, I think. Definitely a one run game.

Wrigley Field in 1998

  • This trip was an adventure, but any pilgrimage should be. A buddy from HS was at GA Tech and had a job at Delta. He could fly for free and got me a cheap standby ticket. I will never fly standby again. I was at summer school at FHU, so I was going to fly from Memphis to Atlanta, and we would depart early the next morning for Chicago.
  • Well, first all, because of flying standby, I didn’t make it till the last flight out. Got into Atlanta after midnight and made it by subway to stay with my friend. (technically, I was supposed to stay at my girlfriend’s parents house, but the late flight mess that up). We left early but had more standby probs. With his ticket, he could get on, but I couldn’t We finally got a flight through Cincinnati.
  • By the time we landed in Chicago the game had already started. We made it by the 7th inning, in time to here Harry Caray sing. I think Sammy hit a home run. Jim Lefevre got ejected. The weather was perfect. We saw Hector Villanueva (only hardcore cubby fans remember this chubby catcher) in the stadium after the game. I think he had just been called up.
  • I bought a shirt and regret not buying a cap that day.
  • On the way home, they had open seats in First Class, so that made up for the early probs.

Marlins at NY Mets 2007

  • I got two free tickets for giving blood. Went with a brother from church. It was my first time at Shea. We were in the upperdeck in Right Field. Marlins won, but we saw a few homers. Josh Willingham (who I believe is a member of the church of Christ) had an awesome game. Not as exciting a game, but still fun. I bought my mets cap. Enjoyed a great Italian sausage with peppers and onions. Found a ten dollar bill in the men’s room.

2008?????

  • I am expecting a friend to come visit who is a big Yankees fan and will go with him. Hope to do the big tour and everything.
  • I have also checked for tickets for when the Padres play at Yankee Stadium, hoping to catch Maddux one more time. Peavy would be cool, too.
  • I am really hoping to see the Cubs play the Mets in September. Two favorite teams. Lots of favorite players. Cubs and Mets might be in pennant races in their respective divisions.
  • You can count on a report if I make to a game.