Lent 2020 Thoughts...

Hello and welcome to another edition of Keil's Comments.

Before I start talking about the subject at hand on this blog, I wanted to give an update on my mother in law Wanda in case you don't follow Sharon's Facebook page. Mom is doing extremely well, but her heart surgery that had been scheduled for tomorrow has been postponed. Apparently Medicare couldn't see the "benefit" of doing another surgery in the same hospital visit so today Mom is being transferred to a skilled nursing facility in Norman (why there? So she would be close to the folks doing her prosthetic leg -- Hanger Orthopedics -- could help her get used to it and help her in rehab) and stay there until Sunday then go back to the hospital and have the surgery Monday morning.

In the meantime, I have decided to scale back on my Red Cross duties for a couple of weeks while this unfolds so I can be the support that Sharon needs at this time.

Now that that's out of the way, let's get into what I wanted to write about on today's post.

For the last few years, I have shared my thoughts as today we enter the Lenten season on what it means for me. In fact, here it is...


As we start the Lenten season, you see posts on Facebook and Twitter of people announcing what they are giving up.  I say this every year...is it our business what you are announcing you are giving up?  Not really...it's really between you and the Lord.  It's the case of not letting the left hand know what the right hand is doing.  And it doesn't always have to be anything physical (if that makes sense) like meat, sodas, sweets, etc.  It could be something like giving up an hour of TV or computer time or whatever is hindering your walk with God.

I always hearken back to Hebrews 12:1,2 (New Living Translation)

1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.

We don't all have to walk around like modern-day Pharisees and proclaim what we are giving up for 40 days. Pray that during this season God will strengthen your walk with Him...and if it means going without a Dr. Pepper or a Braum's hamburger, so be it!!!

And in the meantime, I'll continue trying to work on me.

That's about all I have for now. Please continue to keep Mom in your prayers for healing and strength...and keep Sharon and I in your prayers also.

Until next time...

One Year Later...

Hello and welcome to another edition of Keil's Comments. Before I begin with my post, I want to direct you to Sharon's blog called the Whimsical Warrior. She usually has lots of good stuff on there related to anything and everything, kind of like this blog.  

Now to my thoughts...

A year ago I mentioned on this blog and on a video I posted that I had been dealing with some anxietal issues and I am taking medication to help with it. How have I been in that year's time? 

I have had my good days and I have had my "argh" days but the good days far outweigh the "argh". This past Tuesday was one of those "argh" days.

If you do follow Sharon on her Facebook, you know she's been having some issues related to lupus and having pain in her hips and neck. While she's been dealing with that, her mom Wanda has not been feeling well either. We were having to get schedules rearranged so we could get Mom in to see her doctor. 

Needless to say, I wasn't handling it very well. I even told Sharon when we were coming back from school "with you breaking down and Mom breaking down, I feel like I'm having a breakdown". Reason for me saying that is simple...I wished I could do more in making sure they are taken care of.

Good news here is that Mom's feeling better. Sharon's still in pain but it's manageable.

That's about it for now...

2020 Vision

Hello and welcome to the year end edition of Keil’s Comments. As I am writing this, I am almost at tears because we will be on the cusp of a new year/decade (for those of you who argue that tomorrow/next year won’t be the start of a new decade...SHUT UP!)

Anyway, I wanted to look back at the goals I set for this past year and see how I measured up since I wrote them as well as what I can do to maintain the momentum. Without further ado, here we go...

Continue to be the husband that God has called me to be and to improve in my listening and communication skills. (That is still a work in progress...and will continue to be so in this next year)

-- Keep up my weight loss...I'm not going to set a specific number but keep going down one or more pounds at a time. Also to keep up the progress in other areas of my health...  (I did great in that department but gained some weight back toward the end of the year. My goal for 2020 is to lose the weight I regained and keep it off) 

-- Stay involved with Community Renewal and the Red Cross, getting more experiences under my belt. (I got to host a block party this year and hopefully I will do more this next year. I have also gotten to do more with the Red Cross, including being the media guy for our chapter and training to be a DAT supervisor)

-- Be more involved in ministry at Immanuel and be open to where God will lead me there. (I got to go on my first mission trip this year to Ponderosa in Colorado this past August... and will be going back this next year. I am also as I am writing this post excited to be leading the men’s breakfast devotional on 1/11)

-- Be a great employee and do my job as unto the Lord. (I got to start cohosting Tradio and filling in on occasion, also producing high school football. Here’s to more of the same if not even more this next year)

That is all I have for right now. From myself, Sharon, Wanda and Spike, here’s to an amazing 2020!!!

2019 Not-So-Corny Christmas Letter

Hello everyone and welcome to another fantastic edition of Keil's Comments.

It's the time of year that everyone looks forward to...getting recap letters from friends detailing almost anything and everything that went on in the past year.  Here at Keil's Comments, I don't go quite into detail, but I do my part in the "tradition unlike any other". So without further adieu, here's the 2019 Keil's Comments Christmas Letter.

Dear Friends and Family:

Well, we made it through another great year. Some of the highlights of my year --

I continued making strides in my weight loss. I made it down to 318 before gaining about 20 of it back while on a mission trip in Colorado (more on that later). I made it a goal to get to 200 lbs down and I was so close. I look to get to that goal in 2020...

This year I got to go to Colorado not once but twice. The first time was in June/July when Sharon, her Mom and I went to visit with Joe and his family. We had lots of fun and got to take in a lot of great Colorado scenery, food and great family time.

August was my second visit to Colorado, this time with a group of guys from church as we went to build a new deck on a cabin at Ponderosa just north of Colorado Springs. It was a great experience. I didn't go a lot as far as actually building but I did shoot video of the process (which you can see here)

This year was also the year I started to get to speak to a counselor about anxiety and getting that managed. I do well when I remember to take my medication.

I also this year wrote a list of things I would like to do between now and my 50th birthday in 2021. So far I have one major project knocked down which was to donate to the Clinton Public School Foundation -- we managed to raise $200 for the organization. (If you want to revisit the list, it's on my last post called The (Not Quite) Bucket List)

I also became more involved with the Red Cross this year. I got to help with three smoke alarm campaigns (Shawnee, Ada and Ardmore) and most recently becoming a volunteer spokesman for our chapter. This past Friday (12/13), I went back to Ardmore with our chapter Executive Director to meet with our new CEO Alice Townsend. She was very personable and a very nice lady.

Last but not least -- Sharon, her Mom and I got to host a block party in our neighborhood in September. It was a huge success despite having a little rain. I am planning to do more block parties this next year.

I look forward to doing more of all the above in the new year, as well as hopefully becoming a dad once again.

That is it for now. On behalf of Sharon, Wanda, myself and our dog Spike we would like to wish you a Merry Christmas and may 2020 be one of your best years yet!

Robert

The (Not Quite) Bucket List

Hello and welcome to another edition of Keil's Comments. I'm spending my Sunday multitasking...watching football and making sure Sharon gets a fresh supply of sharpened pencils but right now I'm taking a break to enter this blog post. So let's get crackin'.

If you follow me on Facebook, you may have noticed that I am doing one of their birthday fundraiser things...kinda as a way to pay it forward. I mentioned that it's part of a list of things I am hoping to accomplish before I turn 50 in 2021. Now before you say "ahhh, so you're doing a bucket list", it's not a bucket list!!! A "bucket list" per se is some things you want to accomplish before you die. I'm not planning on going any time soon. I'm either going to hopefully live til I get to be 100 or go when Gabriel blows that trumpet, whichever comes first.

Anyway...here are the things I want to accomplish in the 2 year time frame:

1. Become a Dad again
2. Go on an overseas mission trip
3. Teach a small group
4. Guest speak to Joe’s Christian Challenge
5. Be a mentor to someone 
6. Restart my podcast but maintain my blog
7. Continue in radio hopefully in a bigger capacity
8. Be a bariatric or life coach
9. Do more video content...maybe take videography class at Gordon Cooper
10.  Write (as in actually putting pen to paper) letters to people who have made a difference in my life
11.  Walk the 5K part of the OKC Memorial Marathon
12.  Walk the 5K part of the Williams Route 66 Marathon (Tulsa)
13.  Walk a 10K (6 miles)
14.  Go on a Saturday getaway with Sharon at least once a month
15.  Host more block parties w/ neighbors (2x/year)
16.  Go on a cruise
17.  Visit Florida and the Gulf Coast
18.  Visit Washington DC and Colonial US
19.  Visit New York City
20.  Visit California and Hawaii
21. Take my parents on a vacation with us
22.  Make a donation to Clinton Public School Foundation
23.  Go to an Oklahoma Sooner game (football and/or basketball)
24. Go to a Dallas Cowboys game
25.  Go to an Oklahoma City Thunder game
26.  Go to a Texas Rangers or Houston Astros game
27.  Buy a whole new wardrobe
28. (Long shot) move to a house with more room to roam

I am starting on 22 on the list right now...and that's the fundraiser going on over on Facebook. As soon as that is done I am going to work on other projects like walking the 5Ks and/or the 10K. I may not complete all these things in the two year period (like the trips) but at least it would be a start...and maybe put those on the other list -- that would be the aforementioned bucket list.

That is about it for now. Guess I will go back to sharpening more pencils.

Until next time...

Adding More Plates...

Hello and welcome to another edition of Keil's Comments.

I have been busy as of late, especially with my responsibilities at the Red Cross (hence the reason for the title of this blog post). I have been doing a lot of DAT response (Disaster Action Team) and making sure our vehicles are serviced and stuff. Now comes something that goes along with what I do for a living.

I went to the main Red Cross office in Oklahoma City this morning to talk with our Chief Communication Officer (basically the spokesperson for our organization) and expressing my desire to use my radio and blogging/podcasting expertise for the Red Cross.  As a result, she has named me the Volunteer Media Lead for our area which entails South Central and Southeast Oklahoma including Shawnee, Ada, Ardmore, McAlester, Duncan, Davis, Sulphur, etc.

I'll still work for KWSH and One Ten Broadcast Group, but I'll be sharing my talents to other stations and newspapers in our area.

That's about it for now. If you'll excuse me, I got to make sure the plates keep spinning...

Do You Understand What You're Reading? I Think So...

Hello everyone and welcome to another edition of Keil's Comments. Today's post comes out of an "eye-opener moment" for me so allow me to break the 4th Wall, if you will.

Sharon and I are doing a discipleship class at church called "Created for Connection", a marriage class taught by a great couple in our church Larry and Candace Roberts who put on a lot of marriage workshops and things for the church (plus Candace is a tremendous voice in our choir too).  Anyway, we missed the first week due to me being in Tulsa for Red Cross training and Sharon having meetings so we're catching up on reading so we can get back on track. 

I was telling Sharon last Friday as we were driving to OKC that I started to read the book and trying to get caught up.  She asked me if I learned anything from what I read. I couldn't say anything because I couldn't remember. I mean, I underlined (what I thought) were important statements in the book but when it came to the reading comprehension portion of the program, I had the "deer in the headlights" look.

Maybe my mother if she reads this can enlighten me...I don't remember if this occurred when I was in school or not but I felt like I failed, that I was doing good in getting in the material but when it came to putting the proverbial money where my mouth was, all you could hear was crickets chirping.

It's different when it comes to Scripture though...maybe because growing up in church hearing sermons and reading and hearing songs derived from the Bible you can kinda get what they're getting to -- and some of the songs I heard growing up if you hear them today you would think they were just dripping with cheese but to a kid or to someone who's new in the faith it's easy to understand.

In some ways, it reminds me of the story in Acts 8 about the Ethiopian eunuch who was reading a passage from Isaiah and one of the disciples Philip goes to talk to the guy. Philip asks the eunuch "Do you understand what you're reading?" (hence the title of this post) and the eunuch answers "I think so. How can I unless someone guides me?" (RJK paraphrase with a little help from the ESV but you get the idea)

Maybe that's what I need...for Sharon to guide me through the reading parts of the class so when it comes time to put the money where my mouth is, I would be ready.

This class will be going on on Wednesday nights at least through November. Hopefully by the end of the class I will have a better comprehension of how to connect with my wife.

That is it for now. May y'all have an awesome day and I will talk to you next time...