It would be nice...

Sometimes I think to myself it would be nice to win a million dollars, and I think about earning $50,000 a year in interest and just living off of that and the great things that I could do. I sometimes imagine ways to earn more money or some scheme, but I realized that all that is greed. Greed is Idolatry.

Hebrews 13:5 "Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.' 6 So we say with confidence, 'The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?' "

So, it reminds me that even though it would be nice to come accross a couple mil, God will never leave me and never forsake me. I'm happy and content with what I got... sometimes it's nice to dream, but I guess there is a point where dreaming becomes idolatry and greed.

This Weekend

This weekend was my 4-day weekend. Thursday, I took Faith to the park while Jodi was at school helping out in Grace's classroom. We had a good time, and Faith gained the courage to climb accross these poles with bases on them all by herself. Now, it's her favorite thing to do. One of my buddies just got back from Kuwait or Iraq, he's going through a divorce and he only has his kids once every other weekend. He's originally from near where I live and he came down to visit his family, and he and his 3 kids and mine all got together and went to the park together. The kids had a lot of fun together. Jodi made all of us lunches of sandwiches, yogurt, and snacks and brought them out to the park - she's such a great wife. It was a good time for all of us. Then we went back and I made some chicken wings for a party we were having with our Bible Study Group. I'm glad some people liked them cause I was afraid I would be stuck with 30-40 hot wings that probably only I would eat. Jodi and I had a babysitter and it was kinda nice to get out together without the kids. Grace and Faith are so good for babysitters, they just love em. The party was a lot of fun too, since I usually work on Sunday, I got to hang out with the guys and gals from our Homebuilders group and we played games, which I won a $10 Starbucks gift card and a free movie ticket... AWESOME!!!

Hefeweizen Steak Marinade

I was doing a little research trying to come up with a marinade for grilling my steaks. I found one recipe that had the steaks soak in beer for an hour. I also found another that used lime juice to help tenderize the meat. I figured since I had Hefeweizen that I would use lemon - cuz that's what I drink it with. This was probably the juiciest, tastiest steak I've had in a long while.

Ingredients that I used:
Steak about 1 inch thick
1 bottle of Henry Weinhardt's Hefeweizen
Lemon Juice or a Lemon
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 tbsp Brown Sugar
Sea Salt (Use a coarse salt or else it will dry out your steak)
Montreal Steak Seasoning
1 Pinch Italian Seasoning (mix of spices)
Butter (I used "Can't believe its not butter made with Olive Oil")

So, I marinated the steak in beer in the fridge for one hour. I added Lemon juice after the hour and let it sit for 30 more minutes in the fridge to work on tenderizing the steak. I drained out the beer and coated the steak in a thin layer of Extra Virgin Olive Oil and rubbed it into the steak. In a separate dish, I mixed 3 tablespoons of brown sugar, sea salt, Montreal steak seasoning and a pinch of Italian Seasoning. I patted that mixture into the steak and rubbed it in. I let the steak sit for 30 more minutes. I started up the grill and heat it up to 450-500 F. When I made it, I stuck the steak on the upper portion of the grill, because we had a little bit to wait for our baked potatoes to cook, I flipped the steak over after 10 minutes. After another 10 minutes, I opened up the grill and lowered the heat and allowed the steak to sit right above the flames for 5 minutes on each side. After that was all over, I brought the steak in and put it on a plate, put a teaspoon of butter (made with Olive Oil) on top, covered it with aluminum foil, and allowed the steak to sit in its juices for 10 minutes. The rest of the dinner finished right on time. The juiciest and tastiest steak with potatoes, and asparagus and it was awesome.

Today, I sliced up the leftover steak into thin slices. Sprayed some Olive Oil into the pan and heated it up over medium-high heat. After the meat was good and hot, I threw on some Mozzarella cheese and served it on bread with mayo. What a good steak sandwich... of course you could add onions and bell peppers for a Philly cheese steak, but I didn't have that stuff.

To Have More Kids or Not to Have More Kids

What is it about us men that make us so indecisive about having children or more children? I wasn't sure when to start having children with my first, I wasn't sure when to have another, and now I'm still not sure if I want a third. But, there was a time when my wife and I tried for a third. What has changed since then? Why has my outlook changed?

Before my wife and I got married we discussed our goals and dreams, and for some reason I envisioned having 3 children. That dream also included some sons. I am completely happy with my two daughters, but a small part of me still wants a son. I have no control over whether I have a boy or not, although they claim its up to the man it's really up to God. I am a little hesitant to try for a third child, because I don't need a son to be happy, but I would like a son.

Do I want a third child? What if I have a girl? I need to think and I don't know why men like me are so hesitant on having a child.

What are your thoughts? Help me if you can.

Looking Forward to My Next Weekend

My wife went on a women's retreat with our church. That meant it was just me and the kids at home. I wasn't really looking forward to my wife being away for 2 nights and 3 days, but it made me realize how important my time really is with my children. I really enjoyed myself; we went to the park, we went out for pizza, played together, read stories, and watched movies. I'm just glad the weather allowed me out of the house almost the whole weekend, or I may have been pulling my hair out trying to entertain my kids in the house. I even had time to do some chores, make meals (other than pizza and Mickey D's), and all the other stuff parents have to do for their children. I gained some respect for my wife and especially for those single parents out there that have to deal with taking care of their children on their own. I think that up until now I didn't realize how unmotivated of a dad I have been, not that I don't do fun things with them, it's just that all-too-often I expect my wife to take care of a lot of things that I should be doing as well, and I really hope that I can take this lesson and apply it to my life to become the father and husband that I should be. I'm looking forward to my next weekend so I can hang out with my kids some more.

Marriage Without Regrets

My wife is going through a study with women from our church using the book and study guide for A Marriage Without Regrets by Kay Arthur. I've only read parts of the book, you know the parts that my wife made me read, but those parts were insightful. The important part is that this book and study has been doing wonders for my wife and her attitude and behavior within our marriage. I'm amazed at the way she's been working to please me and in-turn has sparked that same sort of passion in me. If you've read the book or your spouse is reading it, let me know how it has affected you and your marriage.