A Letter To Miley Cyrus

Dear Miley,

Congratulations on your new album, the success of your last movie (The Last Song), and your final season as Hannah Montana. My wife still loves your song Party in the U.S.A. You are basically taking over the world. I don't mean this letter to be critical, but after watching part of your newest music video I have some thoughts. Now some would say why were you watching a Miley Cyrus video. I would say that I am a student of pop culture and you are close to the top of the pop culture pyramid. I would also say I was watching music videos (yes they still play them on TV) with my wife and your video just happened to come on. I digress...

Miley, you are free to make the type of music you like. As you know you are free to kiss other girls to shock fans at a concert. You are free to make videos that break away from your Disney image. You are free to do whatever you want, but just because you have the freedom to do something doesn't mean that you should.

I know you don't read criticism, and I know that you'll never read my little blog. I just wish someone close to you would point out how similar you are starting to look like Britney Spears. Instead of going down the road of Britney, Lady Gaga, or Katey Perry try something shocking like remaining wholesome. It's possible to be successful and not push the sexual envelope. Think Taylor Swift, or Alicia Keys. You have talent, but what set you apart was your wholesome image. Instead of pushing away the fans that you have try modeling for them what they can become. Give them a role model to look up to. They already have Britney. There's only one Miley.

Sincerely,

robshep.com

Pictured Above: Miley's new album cover and Britney Spears on the set of her 2008 video for Womanizer

Why I Hate Camping

Every once in a while one of my friends will say something silly like, "let's go camping."  My response is "why don't we use an outhouse just for fun? Why don't we chisel out a book using a hammer on a rock? Why don't we just save ourselves some pain and go to work on our vacation?" Humans have worked hard all their lives to not have to live outside. Going camping is like regressing in time. It's going back to things that we left for a reason. I say we leave camping in the past and spend our vacation days doing something relaxing.  The following are reasons why I HATE camping...

• It's outdoors and I'm not a big fan of nature. 
• Truthfully I don't think nature is a big fan of humans. If it was why is it always attacking us with allergies, poison ivy, and natural disasters? To spend long periods of time in nature is giving it more chances to torture you.
• Sleeping on the ground is inhumane.  I've gone camping and they wanted me to sleep on less cushion then what most people make their pets sleep on.
• The bathroom situation is scary.  I don't like going to the bathroom in the woods and my only alternative is a public restroom that is covered in disgusting.  Add to that the fact that no one feels safe enough to go the bathroom alone.  It's pretty much the scariest place to walk at night. 
• When I tell people why I don't like camping they often respond with, "well you've never been camping with my family." They then rattle off all the stuff they bring to go camping.  If it's really so great why do you need so much stuff?
• Bears. When I go on vacation I don't want to have to even think about being eaten alive. 
• Bugs. I hate bugs and bugs are everywhere when you camp.
• Speaking of bugs, I believe it was the great Jim Gaffigan who said "if it's so great outside why are all the bugs trying to get into my house?"  
• Camping is so miserable it makes the little things seem amazing. For dinner we ate hot dogs and mac n cheese.  In the real world, unless you are under the age of 12, that's nothing to get excited about.  Every time I've been camping people eat the hot dogs and mac n cheese and act like they just ate a steak from Ruth's Chris.
• There is no Chipotle.
• I like to take showers.
• I like to take showers and not have to wear flip flops...aka shower shoes.
• I like to take showers and not worry about getting a foot fungus if my foot slips out of my shower shoes.
• I think s'mores are overrated. They are messy and too much work for not enough enjoyment. Plus pulling out a yummy bar of chocolate is guaranteeing that you'll be attacked by a Bear.
• I once went with a group of friends who wanted to be manly and not use the public restroom.  The first time one of them dropped a deuce it missed the ground and went into his pants.  I don't even want to know how he cleaned that up with leaves.
• I actually like to hike.  It's my favorite part about camping. I don't do it often but when I have gone camping I enjoyed hiking.  What I don't like is the fact that I can't shower and I have to rest my tired body on a hard service known as the ground.
• I've been camping a handful of times. It's rained every time.
• I think movies tell us a lot about things.  You want to know the perfect scenario for a scary movie? Send people camping.  Think about how many scary movies start off with people going camping. 
• I dropped out of Boy Scouts. Going camping reminds me of my epic fail. 

Be Proud NOT Prideful

It's ok to be proud of what you are good at.

Every person is gifted in some area.  I believe it's how God has wired us.  At the same time no one possesses every talent and ability out there.  That means that some people are great at performing, but I bet they stink at administration.  Some people hate the thought of public speaking, but I bet they love the behind the scenes details. Every once in a while you will find someone with multiple talents and abilities, but if you look hard enough you'll find that they have an area where they are weak.

Whatever you are good at you should be proud of.  It's who God has created you to be.  The secret to being proud and not prideful of your abilities is to know where your talent comes from, and then to share it with others. 

I am confident in the abilities that I have.  I don't think that I'm the greatest of all time, but I know what I can and can't do.  The best gifts that I have are public speaking and creativity.  Those are the gifts that God has given me and I'm proud of them.  So it's my goal to be the best that I can be in the areas where God has gifted me.  At the same time I know where I'm not naturally gifted.  I know I suck at administration and the little details. I need other people...other people who know they are gifted in administration...to come along side me.  When they do we both shine in the areas where we are gifted. 

I don't know if you feel like you have to be humble about where you are gifted. I don't know if you feel like you have to downplay your strengths so others won't think you are prideful.  What I do know is that it's ok to be proud of the gifts God has given you.  Give Him credit for your strengths and then lean on others where you are weak and you'll be proud but not prideful.

Movie Review: The Karate Kid

I'm not ashamed to say I LOVE the original "Karate Kid" movie.  It's one of my top 20 favorites of all time.  As a kid I loved imitating the crane kick, quoting "wax on wax off", and wearing my Karate Kid headband outside to play. Yeah I had the official headband!  It was just like the one Danielson wore in the movie. It came with the official Karate Kid t-shirt...that I also wore with pride.

After staring with his son, Jaden, in the "Pursuit of Happiness" Will Smith was trying to think of a movie franchise that his son could star in.  After watching Jaden practice Karate, Will pitched the idea to remake the Karate Kid.

Will Smith's version of the Karate Kid is essentially the same movie as the original.  They've changed a few things like moving the story to China instead of California, having the star actually be a kid instead of a 23 year old playing a teenager, and making the action impossible to duplicate by kids.  There is no way kids are going to be copying this films version of the "crane kick." It's amazing!

I think that if you are under the age of 20 and you don't have a deep attachment to the original you'll love this version of the Karate Kid.  The action is intense, the humor is family friendly, and the acting is top shelf.  It was too much like the original for me to really love it.  I liked it, but it felt too much like a copy of the real thing.  Most of the time when you copy a film it doesn't come off better the second time around. 

The Karate Kid is rated PG for a few a$$ words and some intense action scenes.  I give it one thumb up (but if you are under 20 I'd give it one 1/2 thumbs up for you.)

Rob's Rating System

Two Thumbs up = I loved it, worth paying full price, and I will own it on DVD.

*One and 1/2 Thumbs up = It's not earth shattering, but it's a great popcorn flick. If you like this genre of film it's worth paying full price. A definite DVD buy.

One Thumb up = An OK movie, worth a matinee showing, and I may buy it on DVD if I see it in the $5 bin.

Thumb to the side = Wait and rent it. I wouldn't be mad if someone gave me this DVD, but I wouldn't buy it.

Thumbs down = I hated it, wish I wouldn't have wasted money on it, wouldn't own it on DVD

5 Favorites: Talking Edition

I've been told that I'm passionate about the things I love. The following is a list of my 5 favorite things to talk about (in no particular order).

1. Movies
2. Monica
3. Lakers
4. Food - especially Chipotle
5. God, Church, Theology

I've given you 5 of my favorites now give me one of yours.

Perspective

Perspective is a complicated thing. For example...

• 36 is a really young age for a president, but a really old age for a pro athlete.
• A Chipotle burrito is a ton of food for one American to eat.  At the same time a Chipotle burrito is a ton of food for an entire family to eat in some countries. 
• 300 is a great number for a batting average. 300 is an awful number for a credit score.
• Fighting is a bad thing in marriage. Fighting is a great thing when it's for your life.
• 2 minutes seems like no time at all unless it's 2 minutes with a screaming baby. Then it seems like an eternity.
• A joke can be funny in one setting and the same joke can be inappropriate in another.
• Working a summer job in a fast food restaurant can feel like a waste of a summer. You are making minimum wage, you have to work instead of playing during your summer break, and you end up smelling like the product you are making.  Or working a summer job in a fast food restaurant could feel like a great investment in your future. You are sharpening your work ethic, you have a chance to invest in people and make them better, and you get a discount on yummy food. 
• Soap is a great thing to use when you want to smell better, unless you try to use it to make your breath smell better.
• The Bible has been used to change a lot of people's lives. The Bible has also been used to ruin a lot of people's lives.  Depending on how you've heard it makes a huge difference on your perspective of God. 

The point is that depending on your perspective some things can be either good or bad.  A lot of times in life our reality is based off our perspective of a situation.  What we perceive to be true is truth to us.  Even if it's not the truth we feel like it's the truth so we hold on to it. Have you ever heard a skinny person say they are fat? No matter what you say to them and no matter how they really look their perspective is truth to them. 

I don't think that I'm naturally a cup is half full kind of person.  It's easy for me to see the negative in situations, but I think that God has helped change my perspective on most things in life.  Because I have felt loved by Him difficult people become an opportunity to show love instead of a burden to put up with.  Because He hasn't judged me people who fall short of His standards become opportunities to show grace instead of judgment.  Sometimes He even messes with things like traffic. I hate sitting in traffic because it's a waste of time.  Every once in a while I'll be reminded to see that time as an opportunity to call a friend I haven't talked to in a while.  The more I get to know God the more He changes my perspective about everything. Perspective changes depending on whose eyes you are looking through.

What is your worst smell?

I like having a nose. I'm very thankful for the gift of smell.  There are however a few smells that make me wish I could turn off the smell feature. 

• Hospitals. Even when I'm in the baby section of a hospital I think it smells like death and dying.  Would it kill them to light a few fruity scented candles?
• Paper Mills. Have you ever driven by one? It smells like the sewer threw up.
• My belly button. Straight awful.
• Old people. It's not all old people, but it is many of them. I don't know why so many old people smell funny. It's either a mothball smell or way too much perfume.  I think they might be trying to cover over the smell of death...which is creeping up on them. 
• The smell of defeat. I hate losing.
• Nail polish remover. It's 2010...time to come up with a powerful remover that doesn't stank.
• Cigarette smoke. I don't judge people for smoking, but I don't understand how they can get used to the smell. Someone should invent odorless cigarettes.

So what smells smack you in the face?

Mind Dump

My brain feels constipated with thoughts. The following is a massive mind dump of all the random things going on in my head...

• Yesterday was Father's Day. God truly blessed my life with my dad. He does an amazing job of being interested in his kids.  He's also arguably the nicest guy ever created. When I asked where he wanted to go to lunch for Father's Day...he asked me where I wanted to go. I love my dad!
• I've also been blessed with a great father in-law. Not only does he rock an awesome beard, he also loves his kids with all his heart. I'm truly jealous of the beard.
• It's also my brothers first fathers day. His son is only 3 months old, but I can tell already that Jon's a great dad.
• I'm still excited about the Lakers winning their 16th NBA Championship. They need one more to tie the Boston Celtics. I may or may not have watched SportsCenter for hours on my day off. Yes it's the same show each hour, but I couldn't stop watching the highlights of the game.
• Lakers forward Ron Artest is crazy.  You may not remember, but years ago he's the guy who ran into the stands and attacked a fan after the fan threw a beer at him. After winning the title on Thursday, he thanked his mom, his hood, and then his psychiatrist. His rant ended by him talking about a song he recorded last June called Champions. You can watch it here. He's crazy, but I'm glad he's a Laker! 
• Multiple people have said to me that they think the NBA Finals are rigged.  I'll say two words that disprove that theory...Lebron James. Every NBA fan wants to see Lebron vs. Kobe in the Finals. The last few years Lebron has got monkey stomped in the playoffs. If it was rigged they would have found a way to get Lebron to the Finals.
• My wife finished the school year on Friday. It's was a sad day for her. She's moving to Kindergarten next year.  I think she's going to be the best Kindergarten teacher ever! 
• Speaking of my wife...she got the best massage of her life.  That says a lot because she's had a lot over the years. She is now a huge fan of Lorraine's SpaSalon in Newport News.  A fellow Waters Edge member gave the massage. Thanks Heather!
• Thumb wrestling...good. Toe wrestling...gross. Alan "Nasty" Nash won the coveted Toe Wrestling Championship last week. The final match was a real nail bitter.  I couldn't resist.
• This past weekend was the weekend for graduation parties. I normally get invited to graduations from Waters Edge Students.  I also normally go to one grad party, but Saturday was ridiculous. Monica and I got invited to 7 grad parties. 7 grad parties = 7 grad cakes. Yum. That's a lot of  grad cake.
• My favorite number is 4. I'm not sure why. I'm also not sure why you need a favorite number. I've been asked multiple times and I always reply with the number 4. Do you have a favorite number?
• Next week Monica and I go to the Jones Institute to talk about in vitro fertilization.  It was their only opening till August.  We don't really know if this is what we are supposed to do. We are praying for wisdom. We'd appreciate the prayer support.
• I'm really excited to listen to The Honeymoon Thrillers new CD. They are a new band formed by Nathan and Cary Barlowe from Luna Halo.  You might be familiar with Cary's music and not know it. He's written songs for TobyMac and Lady Antebellum.  I love Luna Halo's last disc. I can't wait to hear this band.
• First there was "Twilight." Then there was "True Porn Blood." Closely after that was "Vampire Diaries." Eventually the romantic vampire craze is going to get overexposed.  "The Gates" might be the start of the downfall. There can only be so many vampire stories right?
• Speaking of being overexposed...what's up with 3-D movies? I mean, do we really need Step Up 3D? Seriously?????
• We have a clogged shower. As I was standing in ankle high water I felt really gross. Then I thought to myself, "it's really not that different than a bath?" That thought helped me get through. Time to buy some Drano.

Whew...I feel better now.

Movie Review: Toy Story 3

Some movie franchises shouldn't have made a third film.  Think Karate Kid, Spiderman, Matrix, X-Men, and Shrek.  All produced good sequels, but fell well short when they became a trilogy. It's been 11 years since the Toy Story gang have been featured in a movie.  It's such a long period of time adults, who were kids when the original movies came out, are afraid that a third movie may taint everything they love about the film franchise.  Think Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. 

Have no fear, Toy Story 3 delivers in a HUGE way. It's creative, heart warming, and an incredibly well made movie.  I enjoyed Toy Story 3 a lot. The plot of the movie doesn't really matter.  What you need to know is that it's not the plot that drives these movies...it's the characters. Woody, Buzz, and the rest of the gang are back in arguable the best film of the franchise.

Toy Story 3 is rated G and is great for the entire family. I give it two thumbs up.

Rob's Rating System:

Two Thumbs up = I loved it, worth paying full price, and I will own it on DVD.
One Thumb up = An OK movie, worth a matinee showing, and I may buy it on DVD if I see it in the $5 bin.
Thumb to the side = Wait and rent it. I wouldn't be mad if someone gave me this DVD, but I wouldn't buy it.
Thumbs down = I hated it, wish I wouldn't have wasted money on it, wouldn't own it on DVD

Last Night

So what'd you do last night? For most of you it was probably a regular Thursday night, minus must see Television.  It's summer so all the great TV shows are playing re-runs. For the Shepherd household it was anything but a normal Thursday night.  Last night was game 7 of the NBA Finals. 

My night started by eating a Kobe burger.  My wife, Monica, and I went to a restaurant to celebrate a friend's birthday.  I saw a Kobe burger on the menu and I felt like it was only right to eat it.  I added bacon to the burger for Pau Gasol.  Everyone calls the Lakers big man greasy, so I thought I'd honor him and eat some greasy bacon. 

The game didn't start till 9:00 PM.  Around tip off some friends came over to watch the epic battle.  Now these aren't just any friends.  These are friends who don't really like the NBA or the Lakers, yet they cheer like they have been life long fans.  These friends come over to show their support for my favorite team.  It means a lot to me that they'd stay up till midnight on a school night.  One of them went all out to celebrate game 7. Here are some pics of the historic night...by the way the Lakers won!

Pictured Above: Jamey Menser - with his face painted purple and gold!

Pictured Above: Jamey and Courtney.  Jamey and Courtney would jokingly argue about which one was a bigger Lakers fan. 

Pictured Above: Jamey then revealed how passionate he really was for the Lakers.

Pictured Above: Courtney admitting defeat to Jamey being the number one fan. I mean how do you compete with this?

Pictured Above: Rob during the fourth quarter. It wasn't looking good for most of it.

Pictured Above: Kobe Bryant trying to figure out why Luke Walton has his own bobble head?

Pictured Above: Rob, Carlyn, Lindsey, and Courtney celebrating a Lakers victory. There was some loud yelling around midnight at my house.

Pictured Above: Jamey and Rob showing their support for the champs. I think this was my first time smiling all night.

Movie Review: The A-Team

I pity the fool who didn't love the A-Team in the 80's.  As a kid I absolutely loved the show! I had the action figures, watched Mr. T's cartoon because of it, and would regularly say, "I pity the fool." For years there has been talk of an A-Team movie.  I was incredibly skeptical until I saw the previews.  It's incredibly difficult to take an iconic show and turn it into a good movie.  Mission Impossible and the Fugitive are exceptions to the rule.  Most TV shows turned into movies become spoofs of the show.  Think the Brady Bunch movie, Starsky and Hutch, or Dukes of Hazard. 

I think the creators of the A-Team movie did a great job recreating the characters.  It's one of the better TV shows turned to movies.  The movie is funny, has ridiculous action, and a relatively good plot.  The movie is not an Oscar contender, but like the TV show it wasn't made for critics.  If you were a big fan of the show I think you will appreciate the movie. If you are looking for a good popcorn flick to escape the summer heat I think you'd like the A-Team.  If you are looking for an Oscar worthy movie...stay at home. 

The A-Team is rated PG-13 for intense action/violence, and a bunch of minor swears.  I give it one thumb up.

Rob's Rating System:

Two Thumbs up = I loved it, worth paying full price, and I will own it on DVD.
One Thumb up = An OK movie, worth a matinee showing, and I may buy it on DVD if I see it in the $5 bin.
Thumb to the side = Wait and rent it. I wouldn't be mad if someone gave me this DVD, but I wouldn't buy it.
Thumbs down = I hated it, wish I wouldn't have wasted money on it, wouldn't own it on DVD

It's okay! I'm A Limo Driver!

Over the weekend I had the privilege of driving some of our seniors to prom.  It's the second year in a row that a group of students has asked me to drive them to prom in the Waters Edge Party Bus.  I love that I get to spend a little bit of time with Waters Edge Students on a very special night.  I took them to dinner at Carrabba's.  Then we drove to the Hampton Roads Convention Center for prom.  The whole night was a lot of fun!

Pictured Above: Rob and the seniors posing in front of the Party Bus.

Pictured Above: Kyle rock'n a kilt, Rob, and Shannon

Pictured Above: Riley, Rob, and Prom King Brent

Pictured Above: Waters Edge Students hanging in the party bus

Road Kill

As I was driving by the freshly run over animal, I had the following thoughts...

• This probably wasn't the first time that animal played in the street.
• Whatever it was after couldn't have been worth getting smashed by a car.
• All animals die, but this one mistake is now viewed by thousands of people.
• It's going to take a while to clean the mess left by that bloody carcass.

I've never thought of this before that moment, but there are a lot of similarities between road kill and the mistakes we make.  Like the foolish animal we...

• Make the same mistakes more than once.  We think we get away with it, but eventually the truth will come out.  When it does the damage will be messy.
• Bad choices are never worth the consequences.  In the moment my brain will justify my negligent behavior.  It focuses on what I want while blinding me to the dangers of what I'm going after. 
• From time to time we all make stupid choices.  The truth is if we don't change our behavior we will get caught one day.  When we do all will see the stupid choice.  Whether it's Tiger Woods, Jesse James, or you...we can't hide foolish behavior forever. We may get away with it for years, but eventually it will come out.  When it does it will be a spectacle for all to see.
• When we do get caught it will take a while to clean up our mess.  If we change our behavior eventually people will forget the foolish decision that we made.  I mean nobody talks about Kobe Bryant's scandal in Colorado anymore.  But it takes years of changed behavior to undo one foolish choice.

A Sheep in Wolf's Clothing

I felt like I was in the middle of a legion of soldiers gearing up for battle.  The atmosphere was electric. The battle cries were unanimous. The problem was I was rooting for the enemy.  Last Thursday my wife, Monica, and I went to Boston to see game 4 of the NBA Finals.  Being a HUGE Lakers fan I felt like a sheep in wolf's clothing.  I was nervous that at any moment the crowd would eat me alive. 

I debated on whether or not I should wear a Lakers jersey to a Boston Celtics game.  I decided that I would wear a jersey but I would cover it with a green polo.  As soon as we got to our seats I unveiled my jersey.  Throughout the night there was some playful heckling from the Celtics fans around us.  At one point, after a Lakers score, Monica let out a "WHOOOO."  The fan next to her told her, "you might want to try to contain those. I'll do my best to protect you."

The game was an amazing experience. Even though the Lakers lost the game we had a blast.  Speaking of the loss, as soon as the game was over I pulled back out the green polo and covered my jersey.  The Celtics fans around me applauded my move. I think I won their respect with that move because they kept telling me how smart I was to cover my jersey.

Pictured Above: Rob giving the Celtics a thumbs down.

Pictured Above: In the hotel with my green polo

Pictured Above: Unveiling my true colors

Pictured Above: Monica at the NBA Finals

Pictured Above: The start of the unveiling at the game

Pictured Above: Rob folding the green polo. It would stay hidden until the Lakers lost.

Pictured Above: Rock'n a Lakers jersey in the TD Boston Garden

Pictured Above: Rob and Monica

Pictured Above: The game! The Celtics fans love to yell things like, "Kobe Sucks," "F#$k Kobe," and "Ugly Sister." That last chant was to Lamar Odom who is married to one of the Kardashian sisters.

Pictured Above: Pau shooting free throws to the chant of "USA." The Boston fans were pretty witty. He's from Spain.

Pictured Above: Monica and Rob after the loss.

Even though they lost the game it was an amazing experience. I just hope the Lakers win the series! 

Back to the 80's

Did I somehow accidentally take a ride in a Delorean that had a flux capacitor and was powered by 1.21 gigawatts? I think I've woke up in the 80's. Today the A-Team and the Karate Kid are opening in theaters nationwide.  At the same time the Lakers are battling the Celtics in the playoffs.  I'm not complaining...the 80's ruled! I just hope today's versions live up to their predecessors.   

The soundtrack to our lives

Music plays a HUGE role in movies.  The right song can make a scene. Whether it's a symphony score, a ballad for a romantic scene, or rock for an action scene music plays as big of a part in a movie as the the actors.  What would Rocky be without the classic score playing as he ran up the stairs? What would Jaws be without dun nun, dun nun, dun dun dun...? What would Ghostbusters be without "Who Ya Gonna Call" blaring in the background?

If my life was a movie I think the following songs would be playing in the background...

• Beautiful Day by U2 - one of my all time favorite songs. I could see this playing as I wake up in the morning. For some reason I'm a morning person and for the most part I feel every day starts off beautifully.  
• Superman by Luna Halo - I love the line in the song, "I can't be everything, but I know the one who can. I can't be your Superman." I often have to remind myself that I can't be all things to all people. Sometimes I'm going to let someone down.  I'm not perfect, but I know someone who is.
• Jesus Freak by dc talk - This is the song that I want played at my funeral. 
• Every Little Thing She Does is Magic by Sting and the Police - Whenever my wife, Monica, walks in the door this is the song that should be playing. 
• Live by Faith by Chris Rice - "I can't feel you moving inside, I don't hear your voice whisper in the night, and I've never seen you with this eyes, am I fool." I love songs that wrestle with doubt. Faith if believing even though you can't see.  I have and will wrestle with believing in God. At the end of the day I have faith that God is who he says He is and that He'll do what He says He will do.  This song would play during times of doubt in my life.  

What song would be a part of the movie soundtrack to your life?

Things I blame on others...

• I blame liking owning certain songs on my wife. Sometimes I get nervous someone will try to revoke my man card by questioning a song that I like.  Lucky for me I have a wife. When someone gets in my car and you know Beyonce, Kelly Clarkson, or New Kids on the Block are blaring from my stereo I can say..."my wife likes this song" and then quickly turn it off. 
• Farts, gas, poots, fluffs, or put puts...it doesn't really matter what you call it I will blame it on someone else.  I know everyone does it but I live with the motto "whoever smelt it dealt it." If I do let one slip I will I hope to God that it doesn't smell.  If it does I will wait till someone responds and then hit em with "whoever smelt it dealt it." Works every time.
• There are times when I feel like I'm right and my wife feels like she is right.  We both can be a little stubborn.  Entering our second year of marriage we found that we often wasted time arguing debating about pointless things like who left the iron on.  One day we just decided to start blaming things like this on other people. It's our way of saying, "I think I'm right but it's not worth arguing about."

I'm all for taking personal responsibility, but sometimes it's just better to blame someone else.  Agree or disagree?

Good friends wear Lakers jerseys

I know a lot of you who read robshep.com aren't Lakers fans...or even sports fans for that matter. I apologize for all the Lakers stuff as of late. I'm just a little excited about my favorite sports team being in the Finals. It will end soon I promise. Stick with me though because this post isn't really about the Lakers. It's more about how awesome my wife and friends are. A great sign of love is finding interest in something someone else loves just because they love it.  This past week I felt the love from my wife and friends.  

For game 1 and 2 of the Finals my wife invited some friends over to watch the game. Now 99% of the people that came over don't really like Basketball. They come over just because we are friends. Some of them even humor me by wearing Lakers jerseys, learning the players names, and cheering when the Lakers score. Even though the Lakers lost game two watching the first two games with friends was a lot of fun. It reminded me of how blessed I really am. Here are some pics of the fun...

Pictured Above: Friends watching game 2

Pictured Above: Monica surprised me with Lakers balloons for game two

Pictured Above: Monica surprised me with Lakers colored flowers sent to my office before game 1. The card simply said Go Lakers

Pictured Above: Monica surprised me with one of my all time favorite foods...Cookie Cake

Pictured Above: Rob and Jamey rock'n the jerseys. Notice how Jamey wears his like the NBA Players...no under shirt.

Pictured Above: Monica, Rob, Lindsey, Courtney, and Jamey

Pictured Above: Monica made a great spread for game 2. She's awesome!

Mind Dump

My brain is constipated with thoughts. The following is a mind dump of all the random stuff going on in my head.

• I saw a commercial introducing the new 4G for a cell phone. Apparently that's a big deal. I still can't find anyone who can explain what was so great about 3G. Speaking of G's whatever happened to 1 and 2 G? Did they exist and no one talked about them or did they just skip on up to 3G? I'm going to wait until they come out with 7G for a phone. I probably still won't know what a G is, but 7 is God's number so I figure I can't go wrong. 
• Question: "Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars? I could really use a wish right now (wish right now, wish right now) - Airplanes by B.O.B. might be the hottest song of the summer. 
• I had a great time speaking at Waters Edge on Sunday.  I talked about a subject that I'm not real confident on...God's will.  I was telling someone that in ten years I may give a talk on the same subject and it would feel very different.  I don't claim to have God figured out and there is no way I have His will figured out.  After all He's God and I'm not.  I received a lot of very nice feedback about the talk.  I love WEC and I'm honored to be a part of what God is doing there! If you are interested in listening to to the talk you can do so by clicking here.  It should be posted by noon today. 
• So Thursday night my wife, Monica, and I are going to see the Lakers play the Celtics in game 4 of the Finals. I've never been to a playoff game before and I've never seen the Lakers play in Boston. I'm checking off some bucket wish type things this week. 
• My mom is so cool. After reading my blog last week she came up with the idea to give me my birthday gift early...money towards the game. That's a great gift! My birthday's not till August but this is one gift I won't soon forget about.
• I'm nervous to wear my Lakers jersey in Boston. I don't really want to get heckled. Boston is known as a walking city because not many people drive. Our hotel is only a half mile away from the stadium. I'm just nervous that wearing them would rile some crazy Celtic fan up on our walk to the hotel. Monica and I talked about her bringing a big purse and putting the jerseys in her purse after the game. 
• I told my wife that she may see a New Kid on the Block at the game. She loved them growing up. They are pretty big fans of the Celtics. I know this because I went with her to a concert a couple of years ago. There were only 6 guys in the sold out stadium and 5 of them were the New Kids on the Block. It was way too many women in one building. At one point all the New Kids wore Boston Celtics jerseys. Even though I loathe the Celtics it was the highlight of the concert for me. 
• This Saturday is a busy day for me. My friend Jamey Menser is eating in his first competitive eating competition. When asked if he'd been training he replied, "I've been training for almost 31 years for this." He likes food, but to win he has to not only eat more than anyone else he has to eat at least 20 hot dogs. That's a lot of wieners. 
• At some point on Sat. I really want to see the A-Team. I think this movie looks A-Mazing. 
• On Sat. night I'm taking 12 seniors from Waters Edge to prom. I'm driving them in the WEC Party Bus. This is the second year in a row seniors have asked me to do this. I love that I get to be a small part of their big night. 
• I'm really sad to see the NBA season end. It means we are entering, in my opinion, the most boring time of year for sports. I don't mind baseball, but I can only take so much of it. Luckily football will be back soon. 
• I was asked recently what I would eat if I knew it was going to be my last meal. They wanted me to pick appetizers, main course, and dessert. I'd start with some Buffalo Chicken Dip. Then I'd eat a Chicken Fajita burrito from Chipotle. I would be drinking Mt. Dew and finish it off with a milkshake from Chick-fil-A. Hey, if it's going to be my last meal I'm going out with a bang.

Whew...I feel better now

Mind Dump

My brain feels constipated with thoughts. The following is a mind dump of all the random stuff going on in my head...

• How often should one floss their teeth? I floss every single day...for two weeks leading up to my dentist appointment.  Up until that point I pretty much forget to floss. Let me know how often you floss on the new survey at robshep.com.
• I think a lot of non food items lose their flavor.  Case in point toothpaste.  I don't feel like toothpaste tastes as strong when it gets to the end of the tube.  It's wasteful but I open a new tube of toothpaste before I have to roll the tube from the bottom just to squeeze some out.  I know you don't eat it but I feel the same way about soap. When I get to the end of a bar of soap I don't feel like it cleans or smells as good as a brand new bar.  I don't think soap can get dirty but something happens to make it not make me feel so fresh and so clean. 
• My wife is Awesome! I'm a BIG Lakers fan, so in honor of game 1 of the NBA Finals she...
• wore Lakers colors to work (she's a 4th grade teacher)
• surprised me with an arrangement of purple and gold flowers. She sent them to my office and they came with a card that simply said GO LAKERS
• bought me a Full Throttle energy drink, so I could stay awake and watch the game.
• invited friends over to watch the game.
• made my all time favorite snack Buffalo Chicken Dip. I'm telling you, I'd eat my left hand if it was made out of this stuff. I'd try to resist, but after a nano second I'd cave to the yummy goodness that is Buffalo Chicken Dip!
• bought my favorite type of cake...cookie cake. I love em! She had it specially made with Go Lakers written on it in icing. 
• I think a sign of true love is finding interest in something that someone else loves just because they love it. My wife does an awesome job of that. She went above and beyond to make game 1 of the NBA Finals special.  It makes me feel a little bad that I don't show some love to sparkling vampires...aka Twilight.
• Speaking of the NBA Finals Monica and I are talking about trying to get tickets to see them play in Boston.  I have a goal that I want to see the Lakers play in every NBA arena. Going to see them play in Boston would knock off one arena that I haven't been to.  There's no guarantee that the Lakers will make it back  to the Finals anytime soon. Kobe Bryant, their best player, is getting older.  When Hall of Famer, 5 time NBA champion, and all time Laker great, Magic Johnson retired it took the Lakers 10 years to get back to the finals.  I don't know if we will really go through with it or not.  It would take away some vacation funds, but it might just be worth it.
• Ok last thing about the Lakers...my pastor Stu Hodges is good luck. He tweeted about it here. He's not a big sports fan but to my knowledge he's watched parts of 3 Lakers games in his life.  All three equaled victories for the Lake Show.
• Tonight I'm planning on going to see Phil Poteat (Director of Worship and Production at Waters Edge Church) preform at Uno's in Newport News.  If you live in the 757 you should too.
• Have you seen the commercial for the new diapers that look like jeans? The concept is ridiculous, but the commercial is pretty funny.  The tag line is "the coolest you'll look pooping in your pants." You can watch it by clicking here.
• Have you ever lost Facebook friends? When you have more then ten friends it becomes hard to know if someone de-friends you. I just happened to be looking at my profile page and I noticed I lost two friends. I don't have a fat clue who they were or why we are no longer Facebook friends. I think Facebook should give you a de-friend update: So and So de-friended you because ____.  When you de-friend someone it could give you options like de-friend so and so because A. they post too much B. they send you annoying things like Farmville updates C. They didn't "Poke" you back D. Other. 
• I was blessed with not one, but two Spicy Chicken Sandwiches from Chick-Fil-A this week.  I signed up for a coupon for one at the Patrick Henry Mall.  Chick-Fil-A is so top shelf.  They had a special VIP section for everyone who was lucky enough to reserve their free coupon. We got t-shirts, sat in a VIP section, and were treated like VIPs by our very own hostest.  It was wicked awesome.  The next day the owner of the Kiln Creek Chick-Fil-A surprised the WEC staff with some Spicy Chicken Sandwiches, Sweet Tea, and Brownies. I love the new sandwich! My preference is to eat it with pepper jack cheese and Chick-fil-A Buffalo Wing Sauce. If you didn't get to try a free one they go on sale Monday.

Whew...I feel better now

Today I Wear A Lakers Jersey

It's not always easy being a Lakers fan.  Sure we have won the second most NBA Championships.  Sure we have one of the leagues all time best players.  Sure we have the greatest coach in the history of the game.  There are a lot of great things that come with being a Lakers fan, but it's not always easy.  Case in point...

• Most my friends gave up on the NBA after Larry Bird retired. They tell me how lame they feel the NBA is on a regular basis. To make matters worse if they did root for a NBA team it would probably be the Celtics. To counter I tell them how white they are.  I know it's not a great comeback coming from a white guy, but seriously why are all white people Celtics fans?
• The games don't come on till 10:30 PM during the regular season.  I know they are a West Coast team, but baseball games and football games find a way to have games on at a decent hour of the day  in the East Coast.  I fall asleep at 10:30 no matter what's going on.  Because I get so tired it really feels like a mild form of torture for me to stay up till 1:00 AM to watch a game. 
• Tickets to games cost a bazillion dollars.  Add to that the fact that VA doesn't have a team so I have to spend extra money to go see them play in some other teams stadium.  That means I'm cheering against the home team.  A Mav's fan once looked me in the eyes and said "I think all Lakers fans should be shot!"
• It's the third most popular sport in America.  Football gets all the love. Baseball is considered America's past time.  Basketball has more love than hockey, but that's not saying much because hockey's a foreign sport.  No offense hockey fans.
• To show my support I wear Lakers jerseys.  I have 7 jerseys.  Wearing a jersey is not an easy thing. Many people consider them to not be fashionable.  For most jobs they are not appropriate work attire.  When I wear mine in public I get the strangest looks from people.  By the looks of some you'd think I was wearing my underwear over my jeans.

Today the Lakers start their quest for their 16 NBA Championship.  To show my support I'm wearing a Lakers jersey.  I may get joked on.  I may feel uncomfortable in nice restaurants.  I may lose some cool points from whoever keeps score of cool points. It doesn't matter to me.  The Lakers are in the finals and that means that today I wear a Lakers jersey!

Accidents

I pulled my car over to the side of the road to see if I could do anything to help.  The look of shock covered every one's faces.  In the middle of the road lay a lifeless motorcyclist. Seconds before I arrived he was hit by a car.  The driver of the car didn't know how to respond.  She was pacing back and forth crippled by fear, shock, and guilt.  Accidents happen, but sometimes accidents can be costly. 

At some point all of us are going to cause an accident.  It may not be a car accident, but there will come a time when we will hurt someone else with our actions.  Like texting while driving, the cause of our accident maybe a stupid mistake that we could have prevented, but none the less it's still an accident. 
I had this thought a few months ago and it came back to me after I passed the motorcycle accident mentioned above.  Where do we go when we've caused an accident? This thought was originally inspired by a verse I read in the Bible. At one point in history God gave His people a list of rules to follow.  One of the things that He mentioned was that if a person accidentally kills someone else then they should flee to a safe zone.  They needed to stay in that safe zone for a certain amount of time before they could return home.  I think we need some safe zones after the accidents we cause.

What if we had a safe place to retreat after we messed up? What if we had a safe place where we could go think about our actions and the consequences?  Having this place wouldn't take away the hurt and pain we may have caused but it would hopefully give us a chance to not make any more stupid mistakes for a while. We need some safe zones after we've hurt our loved ones.  We need some time to let them heal.  We need some time to change and come back a better person. 

I don't have any great answers on what a good safe zone should look like.  For me it happens everyday for 15 minutes.  Each morning my time with God is my little safe zone.  It's a place where I can reflect on the mistakes I've made, hopefully change, and then leave a better person. It's safe because I go there to confess my mistakes and I feel the burden of guilt lifted off.  I know I won't be judged there. I know I'll find forgiveness there.  I also know that's where I find the courage to talk to someone I've wronged and ask for their forgiveness. 

The truth is accidents happen.  The question is how will we respond when they do?

My Greatest Gift Is Questions...

I don't have that many gifts that make me stand out.  I wish I had athletic ability but unless you count being good at sports video games I'm nothing to brag about.  I can carry a tune, but not for long.  I love to sing but my voice is nothing to brag about.  I do however have a few gifts and I'm thankful for what God has given me. 

One of those gifts is my desire to ask questions.  The reason I think this is a gift is because I don't know that many other people who are constantly asking questions.  In fact most people ask very few questions. 

I think that asking the right people the right questions is one of the greatest ways to learn.  When I am trying to get to know someone I ask a lot of questions. In fact sometimes it can come off as a interrogation. I think asking questions shows you are interested.  It shows you care and it shows that you want to grow.  I ask people that I look up to how they got to where they are at.  Think about it...sometimes the right words by the right person can change our life.  What if the reason we get stuck in a rut is because we aren't asking the right people the right questions.  Questions like...

• What makes a good spouse and am I one?
• What do my kids need from me to one day become healthy adults?
• What am I doing that I need to stop doing in order to become who I want to be?
• In order to get to where I want to be what do I need to start doing?
• What does a relationship with God really look like? I think God is Big enough to handle our questions. The problem is most of us don't ask any questions to Him.
• Who can give me advice to do what I do better? For example...before I started blogging I asked Ben Arment (mega blogger) for advice.  He told me that blogs were hard to keep up and that I should start a private blog for a while and see if I like it.  Before robshep.com became public I wrote on a daily basis.  I liked it so I made it public. 
• Did I use my time wisely?
• Why do I keep making the same mistakes?
• What is something I do well that I should be teaching other people? One of the best ways to learn and grow is to teach others.  All of us have something to offer someone else, but do you know what it is?
• Who can I encourage? If I'm down one thing I try to do is encourage or bless others.  It helps someone else while at the same time it blesses me. 

Asking the right people the right questions can save you a lot of time and effort.  How many times have you had to redo a project because you didn't ask the right people the right questions? How many times have you been surprised by how bad a job somebody else did because you didn't ask the right person the right questions.  Maybe if we asked the right people the right questions we could save ourselves a lot of time, money, and heartbreak.