Marriage today is struggling. Divorces, adultery, misconceptions, etc are plaguing not only the marriage itself but products of those marriages (my generation and the next). My hope in this poem is to highlight the most frequent and problematic issues marriages face today while also pointing to Jesus as the ultimate healer, redeemer, and restorer of every marriage. Whether single or married, my intention would be that this poem would allow you to look more deeply to Jesus to either better your current marriage, or prepare for your future marriage.
When you do web design for a living you start to realize that it is ALWAYS feast or famine. There never seems to be a comfortable steady stream of work. Projects fly in all at once and before long you have this list of “To-Do’s” that is almost crippling. The problem is that you are afraid to say “No” to any project that has a dollar amount affixed to it because you don’t know when projects will just suddenly stop coming in – which does happen, if only momentarily.
After 3 years of being self-employed I’ve started to get used to this roller coaster but I’d like to get into a rhythm where I learn to ride the coaster and it becomes a joy instead of a nightmare.
Right now I’m working on 3 websites, one that has a logo project attached to it. Two PowerPoint projects. A mega tour launch for one client which requires a boat load of graphics and a plethora of new page designs. In total I have booked around 250 hours of work this month. But, around 50 hours of that will be unpaid hours going to and from clients offices, phone calls to take initial requests for projects and back and forth emails from prospective clients as well as day-to-day maintenance of running two businesses. Booking clients for DJ events and making out invoices and doing taxes.
Being self-employed is not easy – but I’m really not complaining. I don’t have to set an alarm in the mornings. I get to set my own hours – which translates to me working all the time – and I don’t have a boss, I have clients and that is much different than having a boss – even though I always had great bosses when I worked in the corporate world.
Anywho, I better get back to work, I just thought I’d make a quick post while waiting for some files to upload.
I’ve been doing the Paleo Diet 30 day Challenge for almost two full weeks now. I feel great. I’ve lost weight, but most importantly I’ve learned new/better ways to cook the foods I love. I used to make a great pot of chili that I added about a cup of ketchup (High Fructose Corn Syrup) and of course most chili has thickening agents like flour in them.
This recipe has no flour or artificial sweeteners.
Ingredients
3 Large Onions Diced
2 Green Peppers Diced
12 Large Tomatoes seeded and cut up into chunks
2 Jalepeno peppers – seed and chop one finely
1 large mango diced
2 Pounds Ground Beef
4 Table Spoons of Chili Powder (I use the kind that comes in a bag. It’s normally with all the Mexican/Spanish spices)
3 Table Spoons Onion Powder
3 Table Spoons Garlic Powder
4 Cloves fresh Garlic – Minced
1 Tablespoon of Mediterranean Sea Salt
2 Tablespoon of course ground pepper – (Any pepper will do)
Cayenne Pepper – only use a dash or else it will be really hot.
Handful of cilantro, rinsed and chopped
4 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
Directions
In a large pan pour olive oil in until it coats the bottom of the pan. Not too much, but enough to sauté a large quantity of vegetables.
Add all veggies and mango – except tomatoes
Add all seasonings
Cook for about 30-45 minutes on almost medium heat stirring often. You want your onions and green pepper to be translucent. This base is what give the chili it’s sweetness.
Add in the tomatoes and let simmer for another 30 minutes or until the tomatoes really start to break down.
Put in your two pounds of lean high quality beef – like Laura’s lean 92/8 beef or Nolan Ryan’s 90/10 and stir the meat thoroughly into the vegetable mixture.
Cook on a low heat for about 30 minutes until meat is browned and then let simmer at the lowest heat setting for another hour to allow the flavors to marry. If possible, store overnight and eat the next day – that’s when it’s best and thicker.
A couple friends of mine and I started a 30 day Paleo Diet Challenge on January 2nd. The diet will run through the 31st of this month and requires you to give up processed food and caffeine. So what can you eat? Most fruit, but they say eat mostly berries. Lean Meats, so no bacon or pork products – and nuts. So that leaves you with no bread, no dairy, and no sweets. Today is day 6 of this diet and I don’t feel any lighter. I sleep really well at night, but I can’t see any weight loss – which I think is why it’s so hard to spot weight gain!
My friend Jes asked me to post my daily menu which has proved harder than I expected cause I’ve been so busy, but, my days consist mostly of this:
Breakfast:
3-4 Eggs scrambled with onions
Snack – Cashews and Pineapple
Lunch:
Grilled chicken breast
Avocado
Mixed veggies – squash and zucchini
Dinner:
Fajita meat, brisket or some type of beef. I love beef. It’s what’s for dinner.
Vegetables – broccoli and cauliflower
I have not been weighing every day. In the past I have found that to be detrimental. If I see no progress I get very discouraged instead of just digging in and realizing that it is going to take time. I plan to weigh once a week and be happy with whatever weight loss I have. Loss is loss.
What do I miss most? McAlister’s Sweet Tea. I used to drink 4-5 glasses a week. I would order it half sweet half unsweet and I plan to get some on Superbowl Sunday. That will be my first “cheat” day after this 30 day challenge is up.
But… this “diet” is supposed to become a lifestyle. I’m still trying to mentally wrap my head around never having dairy or sugar or bread or anything artificial again for the rest of my life, but maybe I can cut those things back to like 10% of what I used to eat. So the occasional half-and-half and cup of coffee instead of 2-3 cups every morning. I’ve spent 36 years learning how to eat poorly, it’s going to take some time for me to figure out how to enjoy eating like this. Variety is the spice of life and right now mine is lacking variety for sure – but part of that has been because I have been really watching my carb intake as well. The fruits that I have eaten have been in moderation just so that I don’t get too many carbs and I burn the fat a little faster.
For now, wish me luck, I need to get below 300 pounds this year. It’s been too long that I’ve put this off… too, too long.
“2011 was a rough year. I’m glad to see it go” – this was the sentiment one of my close friends when I asked him about the New Year and I have to agree…
When I look back over 2011 it is a jumble of work, school and more work. I started the year with the goal to lose some weight, but I only stayed the same for the entire year. I got a personal trainer for 3 months and realized that personal training is worthless without a serious diet change – and I changed my diet, just not enough and not consistently enough.
Work was a nightmare. I worked for Denton Bible Church for the first 8 months of the year and was self-employed running both http://www.eddierenz.com my web design business and http://www.soundandshow.com – my DJ Business all while juggling the financial responsibility of Dallas Theological Seminary – which cost me about $5000 out of pocket which might not seem like a lot, but when you have to pay $600 a month on a self-employed/part-time church worker budget it can be a real burden.
As far as actual income for 2011 I did pretty good. I made almost the same Salary that I made with Texas Instruments but I still don’t have health insurance and I sometimes miss the security of that weekly paycheck, but, there is nothing like being your own boss. There is a thrill that comes with not knowing if you are going to make any money for the next month and literally living by faith and watching God provide week after week, month after month. I live a very nice life and the challenges that I face are mostly self-induced.
Some of the Highlights from 2011
1. Found Author Harlan Coben and have enjoyed reading his books.
2. Re-Branded my Web Design business to Chemist Creative.
I plan to kick off the New Year with a 30 Day Paleo Diet challenge. This year I’m doing it with friends and we have consequences for cheating. How do you stick to a plan? Accountability with consequences. Our consequences is 30 burpees for every cheating incident. If you don’t know what a burpee is you can check it out here:
I’m also doing Crossfit which is definitely a challenge for me. Well, I think it is a challenge for everyone that does it and the real challenge is being mentally tough and pushing yourself beyond your limits. Here is a quick video so you can get the idea of the ridiculousness of these workouts:
While personal training pushed me to my limits I don’t think it pushed me like these Crossfit workouts have pushed me. Plus, you are doing the workouts with other people and so there is a community aspect to the workouts.
By the end of 2012 I’d like to look like Alistair Overeem… who by the way defeated Brock Lesnar pretty effortlessly last night in UFC 141.
Big Goals for 2012
1. Reach a Goal weight of 300
2. Pay off all miscellaneous debt
3. Visit Jimmy in Shang Hai
4. Run the 8 Mile at the Turkey Trot
