If Jesus Was On Twitter, Would You Follow Him?

This has always been an interesting concept for me.  Now granted, I am the same guy who has mental visions of Jesus and the devil having break dance competitions on my shoulders to help me determine whether I do the right thing or the wrong thing.  But just think about it... Jesus would have some of the greatest things to retweet!

Weeping may endure for the night, but Joy is going to come in the morning.

In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he will make your path straight.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

And let’s not even get on his instagram pictures! I can only imagine his sunrise and sunset pictures.  I just completed my own personal collection of timepieces.  What if Jesus decided to do that with all the animals that he created?

When you sit down and seriously think about it, for those of you that have twitter accounts and actually use them, you don’t follow somebody that you don’t want to listen to or read what they have to say on something.  You don’t follow ESPN and not like sports.  You don’t retweet Mens Health and not care about getting or staying in shape.  So if you follow Jesus on twitter, then you must be interested in what he has to say.  You must feel somewhat convicted about the message that he brings.  At the very least, you’re curious about the eternal salvation that promises.  

So I ask you again, if Jesus was on twitter would you follow him?  What about in your life today?

Jairus Interlude - Easter Egg Hunt

Hey. Wwhhhaattt are you doing? I'm prob-ly sleep. I had a good day. I went to the Easter Egg Hunt. My KyKy came too. I did see a magic guy. No tention. Cute rabbit though. We did find eggs. That was confusing - CHEESE! {Who can focus on finding eggs when there's a camera waiting for my smile?} We had fun on the book bus - I got a new Thom[as] video. And then we had CHIPS! {We don't get those often so we took FULL advantage.} Everything after that is a blur ...

Patience requires... patience

I have always loved winter.  I love to ski, sled, build snowmen.  I drink hot tea and cocoa, along with enjoy snuggling while looking out at the snow.  Not to mention, I feel I look better in turtlenecks and sweaters, I’m just saying... But in Michigan, I do feel that the winters do have a tendency to “overstay their welcome”.  So it’s still cold in March, that is the month that comes in like a Lion and out like a lamb, or however the saying goes.  I can even get over the cloudiness and dreary days as we enter into spring.  “April showers bring May flowers”.  We all know the sayings, but the fact that I keep seeing snow flurries weeks after spring has officially began is a problem.

Just like the waiting for warmer temperatures in Michigan, waiting for that breakthrough can also be trying.  When I speak of “breakthrough” I mean it in a general term.  It can be reference to many things - your finances, your relationship status, family issues, even the movement of God in your life.  Regardless of what you are waiting for, waiting is not always an easy thing to accept.  

Anyone that knows me, knows that I’m not a patient person.  I would rather have something take place now and then be able to work on my plans after that.  I’ve always been that way, but I believe that in this microwave society that we reside in, I’m not alone in this feeling.  We would like for all of our needs and wants to appear right away.  We would like all of our problems to disappear by the time we get up the next day.  “Weeping may endure for the night, but joy cometh in the morning” Psalm 30:5. But where does it say that it has to be the very next morning?

I’ve learned, in my 37 years of life, that things don’t always happen right away.  I have come to realize that while the pain I may feel may ease and the discomfort I may have will cease, it takes time.  It wasn’t until I learned this that I was able to look at each day as an individual.  Taking things in stride and learning that it may take some time to accomplish what I would like to happen.  I won’t lie, I still play the lottery every now and again (especially when the jackpot grows to an astronomical number). Hoping for that millions of dollars to come to me so I’d be able to fix my cash flow problems and live a better life.  I also understand that when I don’t win, that I can look at it as a blessing.  There are some people out there that didn’t have a dollar to get a ticket to play, or if they did, it was their very last.  

While I’m still not a patient person, I’m patiently growing to accept the ways of my life.  I have a greater appreciation for what I need to work on.  I know that I cannot get everything I want immediately, and that is a good thing.  Sometimes, something better comes along, sometimes I learn from a missed opportunity.  In either case, I grow, and when that happens I can gladly say that I have developed some more patience.

Going Homemade

So I’ve always been a bit different from my peers and it’s only gotten worse as I’ve gotten older and even less accommodating. I say all that to say that because I know Homemade is so far from what my peers are into these days. In this microwave society in which we want everything done right now, ain’t nobody tryna make anything homemade. Meals are fast, unhealthy, and usually more than what we need. We try to make up for it by going on fad diets, doing extreme exercise programs, etc. Well no more around this household.

I’ve always been big on home cooked meals because it’s just something about it that is healing for me. From the cooking of the meal to the sitting down as a family and enjoying it, it just places me in a calm zone. However, while I may feel that way, I have certainly slacked & wavered over time. Getting married, having a kid, and then going back to work … they’ve all played a role in my wavering back & forth. They’ve all been my excuse for not being ale to do it or having time to do it. However, I’ve got to get it together especially since it’s frustrating when we eat out and it’s the same ol same ol – usually not even what I want. We’re just spending our hard earned money on this unhealthy stuff that’s ultimately shaving off minutes of our wonderful lives. So it’s time to get back to it and stick to it.

With all that being said, we’ll use this blog as our way of being even more accountable for our meals. It’s not going to stop here though. We’re big dreamers so we make big plans. I’d like for us to Go Homemade with just about everything around our house. I’d like to ingrain a system into our household in which we know that we’re eating healthy, saving money, and eventually debt free for the long haul [we'll do a Debt Free in 5 post soon].

Here’s my current checklist of getting to this point.

• Make 5 dinner meals a week preplanned on Saturdays and prepped on Sundays
•  Bean Soaking Saturdays 
• Randazzle Sundays 
• Make a meal planning template – include section for shopping list
• Schedule it on the calendar

• Make 5 breakfast meals a week preplanned on Saturdays and prepped on Sundays
•  Bake everything on Sundays

• Make Homemade Bread once a week 

• Complete a Debt Analysis to prepare for Debt Free in 5 
• Record all debt with monthly payments, fees, etc. 
• Record all income 

• Create a budget leading to our Debt Free in 5 
• 1 Goal is to be able to tithe our full 10% 
•  1 Goal is to be able to save 10% 
•  1 Goal is to be able to save Jairus 5%

Once we’ve really completed & mastered these goals of the kitchen and our finances, I’d love for us to move on into other parts of our lives. I want all kinds of homemade products around the house in nice little labeled containers. I’ve got plenty of recipes collected for this purpose too so I'm definitely looking forward to this journey, and I just hope I can stay motivated and encouraged through my mess-ups. Again, if you’re so inclined, feel free to check-in when I don’t post about it. I plan to have at least 1 post a week about my journey. I’ll update my Going Homemade list as I’m able to complete the items above. We ask that our Christian friends lift us up in prayer as we believe this journey will glorify God. And we ask the rest of you to please wish us much luck on this journey - luck doesn’t hurt.

Relationship Expert ... or NOT

We have all of these relationship experts out here and yet, relationships seem to be losing their ground all over the place. No respect for them at all. Folks actually embracing these “it’s complicated” statuses. What the foolishness is that? Life is complicated, you doofs, so move it along. You either are or are not in a doggone relationship. If you don’t want a title, don’t get one. I see no problem with that, but these random relationship terms that pretty much say you’re not really in a committed relationship - uhn uhn, get it together.

Anyway, let’s discuss all of these relationship experts. What makes you one? What type of relationships? Had a lot of romantic ones to compare? Just random? What? Cause honestly, I can’t figure it out. And even more, I can’t figure out why I (or anyone else) should listen to you. If you’ve been in THAT many relationships, I’m questioning your ability to commit and trying to figure out WHO keeps making the mistakes in your relationships. I’ve never been a relationship whoremonger so I don’t get that.

I claim no expertise at relationships. Matter of fact, I SUCK at it! I don’t have lifelong friends; they generally enter and exit in 4 year intervals - a cycle. I HATE cycles and try to break them when at all possible, but I cannot shake this one for the most part. There are a couple of folk, but the years still play a role on our closeness (usually growing apart to just the infrequent catch-up/nicety phone calls). And when I consider the couple romantic relationships, they were also on the 4 year cycle. Some people don’t even make it that long. I'm not even that close to my family ... Or at least not as close as I want to be with them in my head. And honestly, I don't even know how to get there. I love them & would do anything for those in that intimate little bubble of mine. The funny thing is that I’ve come to the point where I warn people when they start that “forever” “let’s be besties” “we’re sisters” talk cause I just don’t feel like dealing with that mess.

So you tell me, what makes a person a relationship expert? And why should I listen to them? Why should
you?

Best Foot Forward

“You only get one chance to make a first impression.”  Everyone I know has heard this expression before.  Whether you’re getting ready for an interview or a date, most people try to be on their P’s and Q’s when meeting someone for the first time.  Even for the first couple of times in a particular situation, we all try to make sure we have “our game faces on” so that our weaknesses are not shown.  The problem comes in once the honeymoon phase is over.  Once you have been at a job for a while, dated someone for a few months (years or weeks depending on the relationship) or have been a member of an organization for a little bit of time, the zeal and/or passion that you once had begins to fade.  You are no longer enamored by what first drew you to the situation.

For example, when I was dating someone, there were certain things I would do to make sure that I was always on the top of my game.  I bought little gifts, condo stayed clean (relatively), my dress was always on point.  After a while though, I started taking them for granted and being lazy in my overall approach to the relationship.  They always say “the same things you did to get her are the same things you’ll need to do to keep her”.

The same can be said for the professional world.  How many times did you complain about Mondays, or a crazy week, or looking forward to the weekend, when you first got a job?  Especially in this economy, most people are ecstatic to have job.  But before too long, you found yourself wanting to “call off” from work.  Take your lunch break and wish that you could extend it past your 30 minutes or hour.  

The truth of the matter is that when you first start something you are enthusiastic about the possibilities.  And when things start to become routine or commonplace, the luster begins to dull and you find yourself becoming bored with it, sometimes even resenting the very thing you yearned for, for so long.  Your “representative” stops showing up and the real you appears.  The difference between that person and you is the difference between success and failure.  And sometimes, it can be a very thin line.  As I grow, I have tried to minimize that difference, and to an extent, it has worked.  

I’m only 3+ years in as a husband, but me and my wife have been dating for over 7.  I admit, the “getting to know” phase of our relationship is very VERY small, but every now and again, I attempt to do something completely random (that I may or may not have done in the past) to keep her guessing.  I try to make sure that she’s never quite sure of what I’ll do next and that does help me.  But it can also be a let down if I don’t do anything at all too often.  So that helps me to stay on my toes as well.

The best thing to do, and the hardest sometimes, is to remember why you longed for that person/item and hold on to it.  And then imagine what you would do if they/it were no longer yours to have.  What if you lost your job, lost your loved one, no longer belonged to your organization?  Would you change?  Would your drive decline? Would you be a better or worse person?  If so, then you might want to do whatever it takes to make sure that it never happens.

2013 POA: Creating Something

At the beginning of each new year (or the end of the old year), most people commence to making resolutions and attempting to commit to all of these random “I’m going to change” ideas. Were you one of them? We were not. We don’t do resolutions because it’s a rarity that they’re kept. Instead we attempt change at all times of the year whenever the mood strikes us. However, we’re very easily distracted by new ideas and therefore usually end up STILL putting things off until some random time in the future. This blog is a perfect example of that!

We planned this blog to debut on our 3rd Anniversary back in September and had a 40 Day Challenge all lined up to start. Well, we DID begin the 40 Day Challenge. We did NOT get the blog up & running NOR did we complete all of the challenges. We did get our TableTalkN twitter musings going though. So we decided we’re going to get it together and get the site done for Christmas - Nope. Well then New Year’s Day - Nope. HA! We suck. Not really, but we just couldn’t make up our minds. We finally did it though so here we are.

Today, (on our Dating Anniversary) we begin this public journey of love betterment (that’s what we’re calling it). While we’re still hashing some things out (because one of us is a perfectionist and we’re both BIG dreamers), we promise to just keep it real as we keep moving along. The things we’re hashing out are usually minor, decorative issues but they can quickly become major evolvings of Table TalkN. Once the site is up & flowing, there is no limit to what we look to delve into (podcasts, radio, events, etc.). No worries though, we’re committed to this and you are welcome to call us out if we begin to slack.

Before I go on … Check out the About TableTalkN pages to the side over there. Thanks.

Now to this 2013 Plan of Action:

We have a LOT of plans and look forward to seeing them all come to fruition, BUT that’s within the ultimate plan. This year, we’re taking mostly baby steps with a few frog jumps here & there. The plan just consists of what we plan to focus on each day & those few frog jumps by the month we plan to jump. The Daily Foci will begin next week as this week we’re freestyling it.

Daily Foci -

Sundays: FREE DAY

Mondays: Jesus N Fam

Tuesdays: Work N

Wednesdays: U.R.S. N Relationships

Thursdays: GetN Fit

Fridays: Family N Life

Saturdays: ReviewN

[Our Daily Foci are just subjects that we will focus our posts around for that day. It is not necessarily the subject of the post though. For instance on Tuesdays, we will be posting about working, but not your work day normals. We’ll spotlight some entrepreneurs, discuss working relationships, have a few funny work day stories, and sometimes just provide some work day distractions.]

Frog Jumps -

March: TableTalkN Website Launch

June: Graduate RoundUp

September: Anniversary Love Challenges

December: Holiday Projects

There may be more than what’s planned, but I’d hate to lead you on so let’s just deal with what we KNOW to be truth.

Keep in mind that the site will evolve as we evolve so don’t be all up in airs if some post sounds contradictory to a previous post. You never know what the day will bring so we choose not to stay locked in some silly box. Just keep your boxes to yourself please & thank you. You could always recycle them too :)