FIGHT!!

Last night/this morning at about 02:00 I was awakened by the neighbors below us. We rarely visit the people who live directly below us (and by rarely I mean never) as opposed to our neighbors that live in the apartment to our left or right. I don’t know much about them other than the fact that it is a female who has one male toddler. She lives by herself but has her boyfriend over to spend the night on occasion.

Last night she fought with her boyfriend. Loudly, not physically but verbally, and here are some of my observations about said fight.

1) The “F bomb”, I don’t think so many bombs had dropped since operation Rolling Thunder in Vietnam.
2) The repeated question, “What the F* did I do!?!”
3) “Get out!” “go sleep on the couch!”
4) Yelling

After listening to them fight last night I realized how well Kaci and I fight. Granted we are not perfect and are still working on how to fight with each other we still have a basic concept of how to fight. Here are some of our rules… (although they aren’t official we try to stick by them as best we can)

1) No yelling (although I do raise my voice sometimes, mostly when I am frustrated, but I don’t yell)
2) No swearing (duh)
3) Listen (again duh)
4) Admit when you are wrong
5) Stay on topic, no jumping around, address the issue at hand, if there are other issues save it for another (more appropriate) time.

Kaci and I don’t “fight” very often, although we do have some disagreements, we do our best to listen and try to understand one another. Kaci is really good about not letting things that bother her fester which helps our relationship a lot.

Plus I think it helps that we are 100% committed to one another and not simply sleeping together. I think that when you are committed you tend to look at arguments and disagreements with more of a long term perspective in mind.

Some great advice that was given to me by Ryan “Elder” Tow was learn how to fight, it makes sense, I mean sooner or later you will fight about something, and it is best to know how to fight when the situation arises. (so you don’t wake up your neighbors at 2:00am)

Lata,
Ryan

The Power of a Loss

People have been making a huge deal lately about Jon “Bones” Jones and rightly so. He is undefeated in the Octagon, and has won all of his matches in an impressive fashion. He has been considered the best at 205 yet he hasn’t fought for the title. He has defeated top notch competition in his climb up to his title shot, yet he hasn’t faced the ultimate opponent, a loss.

Jon Jones (Throwing the knee)


People underestimate the power of the loss, and I can’t think of a better example than Lyoto “the Dragon” Machida. Machida climbed the UFC’s light heavyweight ranks undefeated, and handily dispatched all who stood before him… UNTIL, he fought Shogun. Shogun beat his leg to a pulp for 5 rounds and Machida was unable to mount any sort of offense. He lost the fight even though the judges thought otherwise. The judges decision led to a rematch, and this time Shogun left nothing to chance and KO’d Machida in the first round. The undefeated “Dragon” had fallen, and the invincible was suddenly mortal.


Lyoto Machida

The fact that the undefeated champion fell is nothing spectacular, and it was bound to happen sooner or later, but what may have been harder to predict was the mental toll that it would take on the now defeated “Dragon”. He has fought once since his defeat, and he lost… again, to a game Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, but he didn’t look like he had improved from his former self. The question is why? The competition did not evolve that much in a year, he wasn’t suddenly “left behind”, so what happened? I would say that Machida was beaten both mentally and physically. Losing when you are undefeated can have dire consequences and is often times a greater test than any worthy opponent. Shogun mentally defeated him the first time, he broke the Dragon, and in the second fight he simply swept up the pieces.



There have been other instances where a fighter comes back better from a loss, as seen in the case of GSP, or Randy Couture, and that is why they are true champions. Jon Jones may be one of those true champions but only time will tell.



Until Next Time,
Ryan,

p.s. Don’t get me wrong I think Jon Jones is a great kid, he has an amazing humble attitude, and is soft spoken, I’m just saying he may be a bit over-hyped as he has yet to face the test of a loss.

Since my last update...

Working Out

Well I am working out now, just getting back into it really. I started Saturday, we did a ton of reps with light weight. I was literally sore for four days afterwards. Sunday we did cardio just 30 minutes on the elliptical and every five minutes we do a 30 second speed burst. (that was ok). Wednesday I attempted the leg routine but sprained my glut on the first set of lunges, and it is really REALLY sore today, so I did another 30 minutes on the elliptical did some leg extensions and called it good.

Reading

I am currently reading “A Game of Thrones” which is a good book, but long, and I am not a very fast reader. (well not as fast as Kaci anyway). I am also reading “Doctrine” by Mark Driscoll, it is really good, he has some insights in to parts of doctrine I haven’t really thought about. While I enjoy Doctrine it is very dry and deep, so it is hard to take large chunks of the book at a time, but it is enjoyable none the less. Last week I started reading (at B&N) “The Virtue of Selfishness” by Ayn Rand, interesting indeed, I always enjoy listening to atheists speak of ethics, when there is no real moral authority. While I do appreciate her views on capitalism she goes a bit overboard with it I think. I am excited to continue this book the next time I am in B&N.

News Stuff

I have kind of followed the Egypt thing with some vested interest, but I ultimately realize that God is the one who takes down and brings up leaders. I have found the Wisconsin labor union strikes much more interesting. I may write a carefully worded blog regarding my views on it. (I’m sure Kelsey will be thrilled)

Self Control 2011 Update

Still chuggin along with “Home TV Free Feb” although I had a dream I messed it all up, but dreams don’t count I guess. I still miss TV, and have got to watch some this past week at “The Pound” (The Pound = A house where 4 of my friends live as roommates. Oh and three Dogs live there as well (Thus “the pound”)) I watched some “Top Shot” along with my favorite show “The Office”. Anyway, I still miss waking up Saturday mornings and playing video games.

Gaming

Board games—We have played a lot of “Dominion” which is just an awesome game, Kaci and I have two sets, and our friend Derek has all the expansions which means that there are endless possibilities as to how the game could be played. Kaci and I have also enjoyed “Stone Age” we are still getting the hang of the strategy piece though. Video Games—As stated above I haven’t been able to play video games, BUT!! I have read articles about them, specifically “Dragon Age 2” and “Elder Scrolls Skyrim”, both look like awesome games! So it bums me out that I can’t play. Oh well, I still need to beat Dragon Age 1 before I can really look at Dragon Age 2.

Married Life

Not gonna lie, this month has been a bit harder than some of the other months, but I think that is good to an extent. It has opened up some good conversation between Kaci and I and it has ultimately made us more holy. (which is the point, right??) I am still in awe of what an awesome woman Kaci is. She is in a constant state of reflection. If she is annoyed by something she immediately looks at what she could do to change it, instead of yelling at me, or blaming me. We have been trying to cut back on our spending recently, which is never easy, but Kaci is always finding deals and ways we can save money. She recently got $75 in free food (yeah, amazing I know). Also she is a great cook!! (and by great I mean amazing). I know, my wife is awesome. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that Kaci and I had an amazing valentines day (really though it was three days), we had some great Pizza (made by me, and not frozen, from scratch) great steaks, great mashed potatoes, a great time reading together, a great time playing games!! it was amazing!!

Church Stuff

Overall it has been great! Developing new friendships and relationships, keeping old ones, deepening community, loving and worshiping Jesus. Yeah, I love my church.

So that’s about it, oh, and Kaci and I leave for Florida Wednesday!! Yeah! Vacation time sucka!

Because that’s the way the cookie crumbles,

Ryan

TV Out, Stress In

This month is "Home TV Free February", so Kaci and I ceremonially unplugged our TV on the evening of 01/31/2011.

To be honest I thought it would be hard to be at home without TV, I mean Kaci and I both keep pretty busy throughout the week, and when we are home we can simply read. I was right. It is hard but managable, however, what I didn't plan on was the increased amount of stress.

As it turns out I use the TV to unwind/relax, and with out it stress just seems to build. I have tried reading, and relaxing with my eyes closed, but nothing really seems to be able to relax me like watching an episod of the office for the thousanth time.

I think my dependance on TV has really shone through this month, and I may need to consider fasting from it on a more regular basis so I am not dependant on it. I am also going to start working out with a buddy of mine, so that should help too.

That is all... FOR NOW!
Ryan,

2 Levit 2 Quit

I have been reading through the Bible in a year Chronologically, and I am currently in Leviticus.

One of the more interesting things I am finding is that a good chunk of "The Law" regarding clean and unclean things are for the health of the Israelites. Things like, "don't touch dead animals" and if someone has a skin disease they are considered "unclean" and have to be quarantened. What did this do? It kept people healthy, disease couldn't easily spread, or be contracted. God didn't want people to horribly die, so he took care of them, by building a health program of sorts into the law.

This to me is awesome. I always thought that "The Law" was put in place to point out our sin, (and it was) BUT it also a way in which God takes care of us. Even in the Law we can see God's love for us. Granted we have moved beyond the "clean" and "unclean" part of the Law as Jesus has now paid the ultimate sacrifice, as detailed in Hebrews and Romans, but it think that it is good to know that even we didn't have Jesus, God still showed his love to us (humanity) through the law.

That is all,
Ryan

Give it up 2011

So my wife and I have been doing No Junk Food January, with some success. Although I have not hit my workout goals, I am eating healthier, AND I am working out some which is good. Due to this success Kaci and I have decided to give up one thing per month in 2011.
This is what we have so far:

1) No Junk Food January (give up junk food)
2) Home TV Free February (No watching TV at home)
3) Home Meal’s March (No eating out)
4) Early Bird April (Wake up early EVERY DAY, still tentative)


So we still have about eight months to go. If you have any ideas let me know. (also if you could make it semi rhymie that would be great also).

Peace!
Ryan

The Tucson Massacre that was Obviously Caused by Sarah Palin… NOT!

The shootings this past weekend in Tucson Arizona were horrible. A nine year old girl was killed, along with six (I think) others, and several others were wounded. It sickens me to think that someone would ruthlessly fire into a crowd while trying to assassinate one politician.

What also sickens me is when people point the finger. When the columbine massacre happened it was the fault of bullies heavy metal music and guns. When a teenager is repeatedly violent it is because they weren’t properly socialized as a child, and most recently when I man attempts to assassinate a congresswoman and murders several people it is the fault of Sarah Palin. Really folks? Really?? Where is the line? When do we point the finger at the person who pulled the trigger? When does it come back to them? Because it seems to me that the things that take the most heat are not the ones who should be held accountable.

Now lets take a look at the logic behind some of these arguments.

Columbine

After the tragedy at Columbine heavy metal rock groups were in part blamed for the violence that took place. Among other things, Bullies, Guns and Heavy Metal were also blamed for what happened. I would say that probably thousands of kids each year are bullied, thousands more listen to heavy metal music, and thousands more have access to gun(s). So why aren’t there more of these shootings? I mean if those are the things that are to be blamed, then why aren’t there more shootings? They should be right? I mean if these three things mixed together is an explosive combination then why isn’t it happening more often?

Violent Children

I will keep this one anonymous as the child involved was a minor, but my knowledge is based on first hand accounts.
I heard a story of a child who was repeatedly violent and was sent before a judge. When the child’s (teenager) defense attorney gave his defense he said that the minor had been home schooled, and therefore was not properly “socialized” and was unaware of how to function in normal society. Really? Awesome, so if that holds true I could be as violent as I wanted because I was home schooled right?? Wrong! I am, and should be held accountable for my actions. Additionally, thousands if not millions of kids are home schooled each year, so why isn’t society MORE violent.

Tucson

Because Sarah Palin had crosshairs on some of the districts where the Republicans were campaigning hard against Democrats it is obvious to me and everyone else that she caused this young man to murder innocent people. Oh, wait, NO! What the heck?? I’m a Conservative and the cross hairs didn’t have that mystical magical effect on me. It didn’t make me want to shoot people, and even if it did it doesn’t mean I would do it. There are millions of conservatives out there, and if Sarah Palin really did have this effect on people because of her election map then we would be looking at a civil war not at a one time shooting of a mad man.

The fact is, the people who do these things are mentally disturbed and possibly demon possessed. How can we hold anyone responsible except for the people who commit these crimes? I’ll admit society has it’s short comings. We are sinners, and we are sinned against just as we sin. There are consequences for our sin (namely death), and when God looks down and judges all of humanity He will not excuse sin, He will not justify sin, he WILL punish sin. So why do we try to excuse these things away? Why do we try to pass the blame? Have we lost all sense of personal responsibility? Stop pointing the finger and take responsibility.

I thank God, that he sent his son Jesus to die on the cross that his perfect blood will pay the price for my sin, and the sin of others who believe and confess that Jesus is lord. Even with that said, there are earthly consequences to my actions, that I must take responsibility for. I just pray that I am man enough to accept that responsibility for my actions and the actions of my family.

Sincerely,

Ryan