Oh, What a Year...

As is my custom every year, I participate in my own "tradition unlike any other":  My own version of the "Christmas letter".

This year has been a terrific year for me.  First, I got my SSI in March, which in turn led me to finally be able to file for and get divorced.  Trust me folks...that was one of the best things I have done for me this year.

The other best thing I've done this year is getting myself back on a healthy track.  From the weekly visits to see the wound care doc in OKC that would take up most of the day (and that's just the wait to get back home) to now the weekly visits at my nurse prac Kristy's office to go over my meals and such and encouraging me to keep dropping the lbs.

I'm excited to see what 2015 brings...as they say on the news, stay tuned.

To all my friends and family:  I love y'all very much and may y'all have a very Merry Christmas and may your 2015 be better than this year!!!

Robert

If It Sounds Too Good To Be True...

Forgive me if all of a sudden I channel my inner Admiral Ackbar (if you're a fan of Star Wars, you'll get the reference)...

The news today that after 50+ years of not doing business with Cuba because Fidel Castro may supposedly have missiles trained at us ready to go off at any minute, now we want to talk trade and reopen diplomatic relations with them sounds kinda fishy to me. 

Sure, it may mean we can legally get Cuban cigars, coffee, etc.; more of their baseball players can come over without defecting and seeking asylum somewhere and in return we can do what we can in the way of humanitarian aid and, probably to a certain extent, open up an avenue to preach the Gospel to the Cuban people...I'm still a little skeptical.

It's like that one kid in school that picked on you and was a bully and now so many years later wants to "play nice" after seeing the error of his/her ways because they had accepted Jesus and gotten married and having kids of their own and so forth.  You still have that thought in the back of your head, "Should I give them the benefit of the doubt and see where this goes or are they going to go back to their old bag of tricks?"

I'm glad we got people like Alan Gross back, but at what cost though?  Is it like one of those trades you see in the Major Leagues...who is the "player to be named later"?

It's going to be interesting to see what develops in these last two years of our current presidency.  Let's hope the GOP majority get around to doing more of calling out President Obama's bluff, otherwise we may be adding more grease to the slippery slope...

Note:  I'll do my annual Christmas post sometime before next Thursday...stay tuned.) 

Continually Giving Thanks...

Woo hoo!!! We've made it to November!!! One month closer to the end of another year, which means all the things associated with it. -- the weather getting chillier, we (hopefully) elect new people to replace ones we think aren't doing their job while keeping the ones that we know they are (and that's another entire post), I'll be one day closer to celebrating the day of my birth, we'll be celebrating and thanking our veterans, and remembering what we are thankful for.  And while we know we should be thankful everyday, there are still going to be posts where people will pick a different thing to be thankful for one day all this month. 

I may not remember to do it everyday, so I'm going to post what I am thankful for on one post (I may not have 30, but I'll work with what I got).

1.  I am thankful that God so loved the world -- that He so loved me -- that He sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross for our salvation. I am also thankful for the Holy Spirit and the work that He's doing in people's lives today.

2.  I am thankful for my family -- my parents, my brother Jeremy, my sister Stephenie and semi-brother-in-law Josh -- for showing me the unconditional love and for putting up with my mistakes and not holding them up over my head.  I am thankful for 4 beautiful blessings in my nieces (Kaitlin and Kensie) and my nephews (Charley and Jaxson).  I'm also thankful for my extended family -- those that I see often here in Western Oklahoma and my extended family in Burneyville, OK and in the DFW Metroplex.

3.  My First Christian Church family and my pastor Jeff McDowell for being Godly examples and being my church home for a couple of years now.

4.  My friends all over the country, whether we went to school together or church or from being involved in the community or whatever...I am thankful for all of you.

5.  I am thankful for my hometown.  Yes, Clinton has its qualms (very well publicized, I might add) but compared to other cities I have been in, there is nothing like being proud of being from Clinton, OK.

6. I am thankful for living in the greatest nation on Earth and the greatest State in the nation.

7.  I am thankful for my nurse prac and friend Kristy Baker and the work we are doing to getting me back healthy again.

I think that encompasses everything...right now anyway.  

Thank You...

I know on a day like today that those two words may not be adequate enough, but what more can you say to those firefighters, police officers, first responders who go into harm's way on a daily basis to protect and serve their community.

I know here in Clinton and in Western Oklahoma we are blessed with some great people working and volunteering in our fire departments, police departments, Sinor EMS and county sheriffs offices.  I know some people might disagree with me on that (especially the latter) and that's fine.

There's a song that I'm putting here...it's a song by BeBe Winans and I think it's perfect for today.  Jesus said "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends" (John 15:13)  That would be the kind of love that would place itself in harm's way...a love for family, a love for community and a love for our country. 

To my friends who are firefighters, police officers, first responders and even my brothers and sisters in the military...THANK YOU!!!

It's Football Time...

As we get ready to launch into another football season and show our allegiances to whatever school we support, whether it be Oklahoma or Oklahoma State or whatever, here's to our friendships/relationships not exclusively hinging on Crimson & Cream or Orange & Black or any other color combination therein.

Also, I must say this...next Friday will start another season for the Clinton Red Tornadoes, this time with a new head coach.  And as I have done for several years ever since Facebook's been around, I will be providing almost up to the minute score updates. Now maybe this year, I can actually make it to at least a couple of home games. Therefore, I must say this...

If anybody for any reason thinks that I should not fill their news feeds with "RED TORNADO TOUCHDOWN" or any other relevant news regarding our high school alma mater, unfriend me now or forever hold your peace.  

With that being said...GO REDS/SOONERS/POKES/etc.

In the Case of Apple v. Orange...

Everyday we want to compare two scenarios that are quite the polar opposite of each other.  That is known as the "Apple vs. Orange" argument and it's been going on since practically the beginning of time.  I'm pretty sure Adam and Eve probably had that argument too at some point, but I digress.

Reason I bring this up...here are two different scenarios that are being weighed as I type this on sports shows around the country.

Apple:  Josh Gordon, Cleveland Browns wide receiver.  Been in trouble numerous times with the law and the National Football League for possessing and partaking of marijuana. He was suspended for one year for his numerous infractions of the NFL Substance Abuse Policy.

Orange:  Ray Rice, Baltimore Ravens running back.  Suspended for just two games for (supposedly) knocking his now-wife around in a casino. I mean, who is to trust that surveillance video anyway.  And you know my feelings on Tango Mike Zulu -- and the fact that at least in the Oklahoma City market they are being shown at a very late hour (12 Midnight) goes to prove that they don't deserve a primetime slot anywhere

While in my opinion both are equally as bad as the other...the people who will and who are going to compare the two suspensions will cry so loud a party foul it's not even funny. Meantime, you have a DB who has been fined/suspended six times for targeting a defenseless receiver and the fact remains 1) he has no intention to change his game plan and 2) the days of Jack Tatum or Jack Youngblood dang near decapitating receivers are over...as much as we like to react to a good "slobberknocker" or two.

With that said, to bring back an old saying....ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL?

Upon Further Review....

I've probably written a blog post with a similar title (I'll have to go back and look) but I just want to express my thoughts on a few things.

I'm probably going to make a few Charismatic/Full Gospel/Pentecostal folk mad at me for saying this, but I'm going to say it unapologetic.  There is a song I remember singing which goes...

Whose report will you believe?
We shall believe the Report of the Lord.

That's all well and good...but when you're faced with basically a life and death situation, that dog ain't going to hunt.

Take my current health situation as Exhibit A.  It's one thing to use that and continue down the path where the next thing you know I wind up as the Black Knight from Monty Python and the Holy Grail -- losing his arms and legs but he's saying "it's just a flesh wound"...OR I can control the quantity of my food intake, cut out certain foods, do more walking than what I do already (not just to church and back) and maybe this time next year have our friend Becky draw a slimmer version of me.

That's where I'm going to need your help in helping me stay the course.  Those of you who I am in Sunday School with at church...keep me accountable, especially on birthday breakfast Sundays.  I'm sure Nancy can tell me, it pays to have an accountability partner.

That's all I have for now...

Whatever Happened to...

I'm just pondering some things...feel free to comment on my musings.

1.  Whatever happened to "Real Journalism".  I'm talking the no holds barred, kick butt and take names journalism days of William R. Morrow, Walter Cronkite and Jack Ogle.  It seems as though the MSNBCs, CNNs and yes to an extent *Fox News forgot the bare essentials of journalism.  Instead of simply reporting a story, the networks want to throw something against a wall and see if it sticks (see Dan Rather).

*When I'm referring to Fox News, I'm talking about Fox News Channel not the local Fox affiliates.  They have their own little quirks, especially (if like our local Fox affiliate) they are owned by Sinclair which we found out in the 2004 election they themselves have a pretty radical tilt.

When a big story occurs, everyone wants to put the blame on somebody else.  "It's the liberales' fault" "It's the conservative's fault" "it's George W. Bush's fault" and so on and so on...

And don't get me started on Tango Mike Zulu...

2. Whatever happened to "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free..." That little sign of welcome on the base of the Statue of Liberty has all of a sudden been pushed out of the way because God forbid someone from Mexico or Cuba or somewhere in Central America decides they want to come to the US to build a better life for themselves and what do we do?  We stick them in military barracks in Ft. Sill, OK or anywhere else in the country, cut them off from the rest of civilization and make them, especially the children "political footballs".  I'm sure if a lot of our ancestors were treated then like the immigrants of today are treated, a lot of us would not be here. Am I right in making that assessment?

Those are just a few things that are weighing on my mind right now.  I'm sure if I think of more, I'll come back and do another post.  In the meantime, feel free to share this with your friends, your neighbors, whoever. 

It's Done...Now What?

As of this posting, it's been two days since the divorce was granted.  Now that I have had a little bit of time to actually think, the question comes up "Now what?"

I wasn't in any real big hurry when we separated to start another relationship...and now that I am officially a "free man" and available again, I'm still in no really big hurry.  Not to say that there aren't any prospects out there...I just want to bide my time a little more. Plus, thanks to the State of Oklahoma, if I want to marry again I have to sit out a 6 month waiting period, or as we say in broadcasting a "non-compete".

I know some people will say "it's sad that you had to go through that experience", but I say it's a relief.  She has been in and out of marriages so many times it's not even funny. One of her daughters even likened it to an addiction.  But I am glad that trial is over, I passed through victorious, no battle scars...

I do thank all of you for your prayers and your support this past month while the process played out.  Even though I was at peace through most of it, I did have some days where I was nervous but as Scripture says "all things work together for good".

That's about it for now...  

WE GET IT...NOW SHUT UP!!!

Since I've put out on my Facebook profile and other places that I am the chief writer/bottle washer of this blog, guess I better walk the talk and start putting stuff on here, huh.  Well, anyway as Jim Ross would say, "We're burnin' daylight"...

Lately I've been having to mute my TV lots more times than normal all because of all the political advertising/grade school-esque name calling.  You know what I'm referring to...

Candidate 1 (Jack):  "Joe's a doo doo head"
Candidate 2 (Joe):  "No, Jack's the doo doo head"
Jack (to Joe) "Yeah, well your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries"

And half the time, it's not the candidates themselves...it's some outside watchdog group (like in the case between US Senate candidates Rep. Lankford and T.W. Shannon) that's doing the name calling.  Even Dr. Tom Coburn (who they are running to replace) thinks this is getting out of hand.

(video courtesy YouTube/KOCO-TV)

I know it's easier said than done and difficult to execute, but can we at least have ONE campaign where the candidates state what their stance on issues are and state their voting record, and not attack the other candidate on what they have/have not done and revert to as I called it earlier grade school playground name calling?  PLEASE?!?!?!?!?!?!?  My sanity and my remote's mute button (and the batteries in my remote) will thank you!!!!

That's all I have for now...

For the Class of 2014...

This is my 1st blog post in a while only because I really haven't had that much to say...

Today's kind of a special post as we're beginning to get accustomed to seeing a lot of graduation photos in our Facebook timelines and Instagram feeds (which by the way, yes I am on Instagram @rjkeilok).  From Pre-K all the way up to college, pics of caps and gowns, Pomp and Circumstance, tears of joy and sighs of relief pop up from all over everywhere.  And in those ceremonies you hear speeches from the valedictorians and salutatorians and maybe an important dignitary or two.

If on down the line I am fortunate enough to be considered to make a speech to a graduating class somewhere, I would probably say something to the effect of this...

To the graduating class of 2014:

Well, kids...you did it!!! Beginning as far back as probably Head Start or Pre-K, fourteen to fifteen years of determination, sacrifice, and hard work have gotten you to where you sit today...with your closest friends in your caps and gowns, waiting for that moment when you walk across this stage, grab your folder, the prompt to change your tassel and be called officially a graduate.  Congratulations!!!

As you close one chapter of your life and start writing the next chapter, whether it be continuing your education at the university of your choice, or serving our country in the armed forces or immediately going into the work force, let me pass along some thoughts to remember.

First and foremost, remember who the Ultimate Boss is.  Proverbs 3:5,6 says "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him (one translation says "in everything you do Put God First...") and He will direct your paths." Make God your top priority and everything else will fall into place.

Secondly...listen to people you can trust.  People like your parents, your grandparents, your Pastor, the elders in the church.  Psalm 1:1,2 (HCSB) "How happy is the man who does not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path of sinners, or join a group of mockers.  Instead, his delight is in the Lord's instruction, and he meditates on it day and night."

Lastly, while you are striving to succeed in whatever you do from this point forward, it is OK to have some fun every now and again.  I'm reminded of a classic movie quote -- "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy."  Maintain a work/fun balance...just don't let one overrun the other too much.

Again, congratulations on making it to this point in your journey.  Keep your eyes on what's ahead, don't look back and most importantly...Put God First!

Play Ball...

Well, today is officially the opening day for Major League Baseball -- yeah sure, there were a couple of games in Australia and there was a season opening game last night in San Diego...but this is the day that really matters.  Today is the day that for the most part everyone is undefeated and hopes spring eternal to at least a decent season.

(One of my favorite Bugs Bunny cartoons -- "Baseball Bugs")

I'm not even going to try to pick who would be in the World Series -- that would be the equivalent of wondering who you would marry at age 4.  I just wish that all the teams do well...some better than others!!!

Good luck...and Go Rangers!!!

A Quasi-drought...

Greetings everyone!!!

Those who run more prominent blogs than this one can probably clue me in on something here...do y'all ever have days where you know what you want to blog about but by the time you get to sit down to post, your mind suddenly goes blank?  I have had those days...kind of the reason why I haven't blogged anything for a while until today.  There are some subjects that I know I want to talk about, but suddenly it gets sent to the furthest back burner you could imagine only for it to go cold.

Not making light of a real situation, but I guess you'd say that that would put me in a kind of a drought...much like we here in Western Oklahoma need rain and need it bad.  There's so much from my 40+ years on this earth that I can talk about...mostly good stuff.

For those who wait with bated breath for me to put up a new entry, thanks for your patience.  I know I haven't been as proficient as some, but thank you for understanding.

If you're going to do something, Do it right!!!

Rant time:  ESPN sports business reporter Darren Rovell tweeted a picture of the jerseys the Miami Heat are going to wear for their "Latin Night".  (You can see the picture here).  What gets me is that the National Basketball Association, in all their efforts to take their league to an international audience, instead of using the proper Spanish words for their teams, just throw "El" or "Los" in front of the team name and call it good.

WRONG!!!!  I'm sure my Hispanic friends and those who took Spanish in HS would agree with me on this, if you're going to do something to honor your Hispanic audience or reach out to your Hispanic fanbase, at least use the PROPER Spanish word for that team.

Examples:

Oklahoma City Thunder would be El Trueno de Oklahoma City

San Antonio Spurs = Las Espuelas de San Antonio

Miami Heat = El Calor de Miami

Los Angeles Lakers = Los Lagos de Los Angeles

Hopefully you get the idea.  This "El Heat", "Los Spurs" crap doesn't work!!!  In my mind, it makes the NBA look dumb and hopefully the new commish Mr. Silver can see that and change that pronto.

Quite the Challenge...

This week, our family got news that personally is kinda hard to grasp but we must work with the hand we're dealt with. 

We found out that my sweet little niece Kensie (Stephenie's daughter) has been diagnosed as being "mid-functioning" autistic.  It's really hard to fully explain, but I'll do my best.  She does know who her family is (me, her Mom, her natural dad, "Daddy Josh", her Me-Me and Pop Pop, "Uncie" Jeremy, etc)...it's just that on the educational side is what is giving her the most challenge.  


Onion Peel time:  It's rare that I do this, but what we're about to face with Kensie reminds me of some challenges I had to deal with early in my educational journey.  Those who grew up with me here in Clinton may know that for a time, I had to be in special learning disability classes and back in the early 1980's (yes I am dating myself) they didn't have much in the way of testing as they do today. It was there that I had a terrific teacher named then Nancy Paoli (she's known as Nancy Spencer today).  If it wasn't for her and for her assistant Marsha Taylor (who's now in Heaven), I don't think I would be where I am today.  In the age of Common Core, "No Child Left Behind", it's rare that you have teachers that actually care about your students like what I had when I was growing up.

It would be a "cop out" to give her and her family a mini-pharmacy and deal with it that way.  It would be another cop out to treat it like another battle in spiritual warfare (and long time friends of ours from the "old church" will know what I am getting at) -- pretending that autism is just another weapon the devil likes to use.  I'm glad I'm not in those circles anymore.  It's one thing to go all Gung-Ho, Rambo "I ain't got time to bleed", but it's a totally different thing to go "OK, here's what we're dealing with, let's develop a plan of action, let's work on the areas we know we can do ourselves and ask God to help us in areas that we need help with concerning this." Isn't that a little more civil than going at it with machetes, nunchucks, Kendo sticks and God knows whatever else?

So anyway...yeah, we have quite a long journey ahead of us with Kensie.  And we need all the prayers and support that we can give and get.

That is it for now.  Until next time... 

Humility...Pass It On!

What is it with the national sports media (read: the so-called "Worldwide Leader") and their quest to squash the "little man" also known as our Oklahoma City Thunder and Kevin Durant?

In an interview on Grantland, KD told the interviewer, Bill Simmons, that he would prefer that he'd be known as "The Servant" instead of "Slim Reaper" because in his words he'd rather serve the fans, the ushers, etc. and not be served.  While we here in Oklahoma love that he is being humble and wants to be called as a "servant" -- because after all Jesus said it himself...

If anyone wants to be first, he must be last of all and servant of all -- Mark 9:35 (HCSB)

 the aforementioned Worldwide Leader wants to espouse the philosophy taken from another Okie -- Toby Keith:  "I wanna talk about me, wanna talk about I, wanna talk about number one oh my me my, what I think what I like what I know what I want what I see..." 
especially when it comes to that little basketball franchise down in South Florida.

Another thing they asked today that grinded my gears so to speak..."Will Russell Westbrook's return hurt Durant's chances for MVP?"  If nothing else, it should help it.  Because after all...KD and Westbrook (as well as rest of the team) work as just that -- A Team!!!!  Wow...a group of 12 men working together?  What a novel concept!!! (Ok, more than twelve if you count coaches, support staff, front office folks, production staff, etc. -- but you get the idea!)  As they have espoused all along..."Team is One".  Not 5 different egos working 5 different angles...One Goal!!!

Apparently, some people in Bristol, CT and Miami, FL haven't grasped that philosophy.

You know...being humble does have its advantages.  Try it...you'll like it!!!

OK...I'll get off of my soapbox.  Until next time...

Les Miser-Rob...

My apologies for the awful pun there, but it's something I feel like I need to address.  This is one of those "raw emotion" posts so bear with me...

I HATE NOT HAVING A SIGNIFICANT OTHER!!!!!!!  

Looking at the pics from the Valentine's Banquet last Friday...even though I had a great time, I still felt like there was something missing.  I didn't have anyone there with me to get "Lost in the '50s" with...

I know, hate is such a strong word but in this case it fits, because I absolutely hate not having that girl I can call in a moment's notice and say "let's go to the park" or bounce blog ideas off of or enjoy a movie or concert with or, most importantly, pray and read the Word with on a daily basis. 

I do have friends who are females that would qualify, but most of them live outside a 50 mile radius of Clinton...in Mangum. Oklahoma City. Tulsa area. McAlester area. Little Rock. Not like I can get in the car and be at their house in a minute or less.  And some that I know here locally...we grew up together so they know how I was raised and how I "tick" for the most part.  

I know it's easy to say "trust God and wait on Him for your mate", but as I've found out (the hard way)...if you find someone and they basically treat you like crap, it takes a long time to regain any sort of trust to ensure you don't want that to happen to you ever again!

Again, I'm just putting this out there...laying the cards on the table so to speak.  Until next time...

Let's Do the Time Warp Again...

Earlier this evening, our church held a Valentine's banquet at the youth building in downtown Clinton.  The theme was "Lost in the '50s".  I immediately thought of the above song because it talks about a time when tent revivals were one way to reach souls (before the advent of Christian television and Christian radio as we know it).

We had an excellent time. The food was great...we had hamburgers and hot dogs catered in from a place here in town. Here are a few pics from the evening.  The rest are on my Facebook page.

A Sound Mind...

View from the sound booth 

This is one of those weeks where I get a sudden burst of energy and excitement -- not that I am energetic or excited anyway whenever Sunday rolls around,  but the Sundays that I am honored to run the sound board for the worship service gives that extra "oomph", for lack of a better term.

When one works that mixer board...you feel a great sense of responsibility to make sure the vocals blend together, that they can hear the instruments and not drown each other out because ultimately in the words of Big Daddy Weave, you have "An Audience of One" and you're leading a congregation of 200-250 people in worship!

No pressure....

Sir Apropos of Nothing...

Today's post is one of those "let's throw something on the wall and see if it sticks" type posts.  Seriously...I may have something that sounds good at the time -- even if that time is at 1am and I'm trying to sleep but the brain is going 90 miles an hour, but by the time it gets to me getting ready to come here to post it...it's gone.

I know...Seinfeld had a great career start on stuff about nothing. Who knows...maybe this will go somewhere.  Don't know where, but somewhere.

Power and the Pagentry...

(Note:  as of this writing, the Opening Ceremonies haven't been aired on TV yet, but doesn't mean I don't have thoughts about it)

Well, as I write this, the Winter Olympics have begun over in Sochi, Russia (which is 10 hours ahead of us here in Oklahoma), so that means most of the events will have already taken place and you will probably know most of the results before they air on the NBC family of networks thanks to Twitter, Facebook, etc.  But moving on...

I always have this visualization whenever the Opening Ceremonies take place...bear with me as I get emotional just thinking about it now.

First, a little background from Hebrews 12: 1,2

1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Imagine those grandstands full of the saints that have gone before -- Abraham, Issac, Jacob, the Apostles, Elijah, our grandparents, our parents...children that didn't make it to full term, you get the idea. David's leading some sort of praise band...

Then as they do in the Olympics, all the saints arrive by country. Argentina...Brazil...France...Germany...Israel...Japan...United States, etc.  And as the last of the saints file in, God gets up to speak and says how proud He is of us and how proud He is to call us His sons and daughters and then He says the words we all want to hear.  "Well Done, good and faithful servant.  Enter into My Joy" as the Angelic Host lead us to our new mansions.

Oh, that will be a Glorious Day.  Can't wait to see it...just don't want to see it right yet.

That's all for now.  Enjoy the Games everybody.  Until next time...

National Signing Day Memories...

well, today is the day that the new class of high school kids sign a very important piece of paper that says "yes, I will come play for your school". Ohh, that brings back one big memory for me.

The one (and so far, the only) NSD I covered while working in radio was the day Trent Smith signed his letter of intent to play for the University of Oklahoma.  There were only three members of the media observing the signing at the Clinton High School library....someone from the Clinton Daily News (I can't remember if it was Rod or someone else), a photog from NewsChannel 4 and little ol' me representing Wright Wradio.  I remember asking him "do you think you can bring the championship attitude to the University of Oklahoma?" May I remind you, he was one of  John Blake's last recruits at OU before Stoops took over the following season.  And the rest is history...

So to the new group of Sooners/Cowboys/Bulldogs/Hurricane/etc., congrats on one of the biggest days of your football playing career.  Now that that is out of the way...bear down, finish your senior year of HS strong academically, keep your head together and more importantly, don't be stupid!!!

Today's Episode -- A Look Back...

In honor of the 10th Anniversary of Facebook's founding, a lot of people today have had their activity memorialized in a 60 second video.

It's interesting to see how our lives have been chronicled all these years.  We have had good years, we have had ok years and we have had years that we hope to God that we don't ever want to replay.

All in all...we've made it through and for the most part, we've been made stronger.

Thank you, Facebook...for allowing us to connect with long lost friends, classmates, family, make new friends and (in some instances) find that special someone.  Happy Anniversary Facebook!!! Here's to at least 10 more!!!

Sorry for the short post...just throwing something together last minute.

Until next time...

Today's Episode -- Easier Said Than Done...

Do you ever have those times when you're reading and studying something in the Bible, whether it would be Jesus telling you to Love your enemies or deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Me and you're like "uhhh, yeah...easier said than done, Lord".  Our Sunday School class talked about another such case yesterday.

We were studying the Book of James and he starts off with one of those "easier said than done" moments.

.2Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.

Last I checked, no one has invited me to celebrate their business tanking or their car getting repo'd or anything like that.  Anyway, one of the verses that we were discussing was this (bold italics are added emphasis)...

 19My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.

 "But God...do you know how hard it is to not tell someone off after they have lied to you and about you and you want to go execute a Stone Cold Stunner or whatever?"  As Jesse Duplantis would say, "that's your problem...your 'but's in the way!!!"

I'm just as guilty of the "easier said than done"s as anybody else.  God knows how many times I've wanted to do something only to get talked off the figurative ledge by someone saying, "Now Robert are you sure you want to do that?"...especially when I want to go full "big brother" mode on somebody.

I'm sure I'll have more "easier said than done" moments to talk about as we go along on this daily blog, but this is one of the big ones that I struggle with.

That is it for now.  Until next time...

Today's Post -- That Pretty Big Game...

Not the official logo...

You probably have heard all the talking heads on ESPN, NFL Network and all talk about all the lead stories of that pretty big game over in New Jersey coming up on Sunday...everything from how huge this game is for Peyton Manning, whether he can cement his legacy with a win, if Richard Sherman can maintain his "Mouth of the Pacific Northwest" status, if Marshawn Lynch can continue to be a beast mode, why Marshawn isn't talking to the media, so on and so forth...

I think, as long as Peyton does what he normally does, doesn't get rattled, can find Wes Welker (the pride of Heritage Hall HS) in the open, the ground game is established and everything, I believe Denver has a good shot of winning.

A lot of people outside of the state of Washington aren't giving Seattle a snowball's chance in Hell, whether it's because they don't like that big coffee chain up there, or that they still carry the grudge against Oklahoma City for stealing their NBA team or the aforementioned Jimmy Hart/Bobby "The Brain" Heenan wannabe.

So...who do I want to win the game.  I'm going to pick those Broncos. My score --

Denver 31  Seattle 17.

(As an aside, everyone in the Clinton area is invited to a Soup dinner/dessert auction at First Christian Church after our morning worship service. The auction benefits our church youth and their summer trip)

Today's episode -- Catching Up...

My apologies for missing yesterday's post.  As I mentioned on my Facebook status, I had a little bit of a headache but it felt like I was getting the classic Mark VII Limited logo (pictured) impressed on my head.  For the younguns out there, Mark VII Limited was the production company of Jack Webb, star of the classic TV show "Dragnet" and producers of "Emergency" and "Adam 12".  The above clip is what they would use to let you know who produced the show, followed usually by the logo of Universal Studios.

It's a little better today...of course I did take an generic Aleve this morning.

That's all I got for now. Until next time...

Today's Episode -- Why Should Our Neighbors Have All the Good Eatin'...

Before I go on with the topic Du jour, yes I did take my title of this post from a Classic Christian song called "Why Should The Devil Have All the Good Music" -- which is another topic for another day...especially if one wants to comment on the Grammy's the other night. But I digress...

A few years ago, I was involved with a group that was looking at ways to ensure Clinton's progression for the foreseeable future.  The new fire station was one of those projects...and if'n we can ever get that thing open, it'll be a step in the right direction.  One of the other areas that we addressed was in the area of business development.  We're seeing some fruits of that labor with the new Hutch's complex, the new and expanded "Domino Dave's", the Water Zoo and the new La Quinta that's being built.

Not meaning to sound like a child who isn't satisfied with his toys and wants his friend's toys also, but while it's good that we're getting the Hutch's and have the Water Zoo and such, we still could use a few more businesses...especially in the restaurant aspect.  We see the Rib Crib's and the Billy Sims' and the Boomtown Grille's in Weatherford and Elk City and we're like "we wouldn't mind having that too"...even though we have good restaurants like Branding Iron and TC's and Montana Mike's and Gayla's as well as the McDonald's and Braum's and such.

Whatever our City Council and our Chamber need to do to lure businesses into town, whether it be a fresh start up or encouraging someone to expand their business to Clinton...lets do it!!!  Work out all the logistics -- land or buildings, tax breaks...cross the T's, dot the I's, all of the things!!!!  Not only make it more enjoyable for those of us who have lived here for a while, but for those who want to make Clinton their home.

That's what I got for today...back with another edition tomorrow.

Today's Episode -- BS Intolerant...

I manage to be pretty tolerant on a few things...slow check out lines, traffic lights that have minds of their own and what not...but there is one big thing that I am pretty intolerant about.

You hear of high fire danger in the news all the time, well today was one of those "High Fire Danger" days as far as figurative "bovine droppings" go. (I try to keep it PG rated but you get the idea)

First was the friend request for a "Jack Mehof" which got promptly deleted and blocked. (Go back and read through my timeline today)

Secondly...tonight the Oklahoma City Thunder is honoring our Military Servicemen and women during their basketball game.  And...the "Derp-lahomans" (to borrow a phrase from another blog) were out in full force. "I served in the military, why didn't I get a ticket?" Cue facepalm... The ones who probably are going to the game tonight are stationed at Tinker or bussed in from Ft. Sill or Altus or whatever and, based on the attitude of those "Derp-lahomans" are a hell of a lot more deserving to go than them.  Plus, if history holds form...some new recruits will be taking their oath of service right there on the court (which I would say ranks up there with responding to an altar call to give your life to Jesus)

Third thing...whenever you lose someone you were pretty close to, you expect it to take a while to go through a grieving process.  Apparently, some people would rather you "suck it up" or "get over it" than to let the stages of grief take its course -- whether you've lost a family member or as in the case of this weekend, a friend or someone you might know through this little thing called the World Wide Interwebs.  Jeremy and I went through this when Libby (Jeremy's girlfriend) passed away a few years ago.  I was expected to try to find somewhere to go when we were moving from our old place on South 5th to our current location. (It's well documented on this blog...look under the 2011 tab)  Anyway, we were in the midst of that when Libby died and Jeremy and I had to take a week away from that to take care of everything, which included the road trip to Kentucky.  Bottom line...one does not immediately "suck it up" or "get over it".  It takes a process...and to those people who say "get over it", pray to God or whatever deity you believe in that my left foot of fellowship never meet your seat of learning and I go all Adam Vinatieri on you!!!

Ok...Soapbox is put away....for now.  Until next time...

Today's Episode: On Christ the Solid Rock I stand...

For those who may know me through Tumblr or the Radio Dead Air chat, please bear with me for a few minutes as I share some things that are on my heart.  

Most all of us have had a little over 24 hours to digest and to think about and talk about what all went on as far as processing the sudden passing of Justin aka JewWario.  Lindsey touched on something that struck a chord with me.  She talked about different coping strategies.  I'm going to share mine for a few minutes.  I do want to preface by saying that I realize that some people may not espouse the same beliefs as I do and that's fine.  I am not one to bop you over the head with a Thompson Chain Reference Bible and say "Thus Saith the Lord" and sound like a backwoods Kentucky preacher.  I do though want to share how I have coped with this so far.

This morning, as I have done every Sunday morning for as long as I can remember since I was a child, I got up and went to the church just down the street from my house.  It's a church that I've called my church home for a little over a year now and I must say that I am comfortable being in that church and fellowshiping with other brothers and sisters.  

In good times, in bad times, as the old hymn states, "whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say 'it is well, it is well with my soul'".  Is it hard, on days like this weekend, to say "God I'm leaning on You to help me through this situation"?  You know it.  Do I?  Most of the time.  Am I saying I'm the perfect Christian?  No.  There has only been one perfect person walking the Earth that I know of, they nailed Him to a cross.  But He didn't stay there.  Right now He's seated at the right hand of the Father praying for us.

Again, I am sharing with you how I have dealt with this in my own life.  You may be dealing with it in other ways.  It's not my place to say whether you're doing right or wrong.  If anyone does want to talk with me, I'm open.  My Skype ID is rjkeil38.  If you're not friends with me on Facebook, look me up.  I am @ rjkeil on Twitter.  Feel free to cuss, discuss and cuss some more.  I promise...I won't use a Bible as Mjolnir!!!

Today's Episode: Speechless in Western Oklahoma...

I wasn't hardly planning on doing a post today...but at the time of this writing, I am speechless and shocked right now.  And it's not the good kind of speechless and shock.

I just received word that an internet reviewer (not one of the ones I spotlighted yesterday, but he has done work with the group I mentioned) Justin Carmichael aka JewWario had committed suicide this past Thursday.

Words can not express how shocked and saddened I am about this.

All I'm going to say from this point is...pray for Justin's family, his friends and colleagues.

Wow...

Finding a Niche...

First blog post of 2014...and it's on what I think is a very complex subject.

I watch a lot of videos here on the Internet and read different blogs and stuff, and it seems that the people have found their niche in what their blogs/web shows, etc. are supposed to be about.  Some examples:  

Atop The Fourth Wall -- hosted by Lewis Lovhaug, a guy in Minnesota who takes really bad comic books and points out the flaws in the editing and the drawings and is quite entertaining.

The Nostalgia Critic -- a character who takes different pop culture favorites and adds insight and interesting little tidbits that either want to make you go up and thank him for bringing that up or to punch him in the mouth for ruining it for you forever.

What the (Bleep) is Wrong with You -- a weekly schadenfreude during a Monday night webcast called "Radio Dead Air" where the hosts comment on news stories from around the world sent in by viewers of the show.

(all of those by the way can be found on That Guy with the Glasses.  Radio Dead Air can be seen on Monday nights here)

Anyway...all of those have found their niches.  Me, on the other hand...finding mine is, to borrow a line from Garth Brooks, like trying to rope the wind.  As you have seen on this blog and everywhere else, I go anywhere and everywhere with this.  I blog about sports, about life, comment on what I see on the local news (I doubt someone in Podunk, PA would want to know what goes on in the Oklahoma City market but I comment about it anyway), I'll throw in some Scripture sometimes to keep you (and me) on our toes.  I'll blog when I'm sad, blog when I'm happy and sometimes blog about something when I want to go introduce someone to the five-fold ministry...and I don't mean the one outlined in Ephesians either.

It's been suggested that maybe I should do this on a daily basis.  Being that when I do do this, it's when something is weighing heavily on my mind/heart.  Not saying I won't do it, but it is a strong possibility.

That's all I've got for now.  Until next time...