You Just Got Traded At Your Job

Now I know that many robshep.com readers are not NBA fans, but I also know that many robshep.com readers have a job. If you have a job, want to have a job, or will one day have a job then I hope you enjoy this despite it's inspiration.

Last Thursday was the NBA trade deadline. At the last minutes teams made trades to hopefully make themselves better. It made me think about why other jobs don't make trades and or run their business like a pro sports team. For example...

• Free Agency - In the job world if you leave a job for a better job your former employee gets nothing. In the NBA that's what we call free agents. Sometimes teams make trades because a player is going to be a free agent and is at the end of his contract. Which brings me to...
• Contracts - I wonder how much more productive people would be if they worked for contracts. If you sign a big contract but don't preform your boss or company has the right to cut you after the contract expires. But if you do preform it could equal a bigger contract.
• Trades - If there is someone that you want at your job instead of trying to steal them from their current job you have to trade for them. If they are really valued then you might have to give up a lot. You want a top level executive you might have to give up 3 mid level executives, two interns, and a janitor.
• All Star Games - Ok so I know that this works for sports because fans want to watch it, but how fun would it be to be a part of an All Star meeting? If you live in America then you could split the teams from East and West. Whatever you do for a job you are paired with the best from your region and compete to do what you do against other All Stars. If you work at 7-11 it could be Slurpee clean ups. If you work in an office it could be competitions to see who can work with difficult employees or figuring out a way for people to cook food at the office kitchen and it not stink up the entire office. If you are a teacher then you see what team can keep the attention of a 4th grade boy with ADHD and an over protective mother who won't put him on medicine. If you work at Waffle House then you could compete to see who can drop the food on the floor and pick it up before the costumers see it. Or you could have a teeth counting competition to see which team has the most teeth. I kid I kid. I like Waffle House.
• Off Seasons - Jobs don't have off seasons and I think they should. It doesn't have to be long but it would be nice to have a mandatory break where you rest and get ready for the next season of your job.
• Practice and coaches. Practice makes perfect but most jobs don't have a weekly practice. Most jobs also don't have coaches that make you better. You either get praise or you get in trouble

So that's my list. What did I miss? What do pro sports teams have that regular jobs should have?

Third Annual Robscars

Some people don't like the name Robscars and think that I should change it because it sounds like a disease. Some people don't really like movies and ask me why I review them on my site. Some people drink crack and smoke beer. The point is that the Academy Awards are on Sunday night and that means it's time for the Third Annual Robscars. At the Academy Awards they hand out Oscars. At the Robscars I hand out respect or disrespect depending on the quality of movie. This year I have added 4 movies to each category and then picked a winner. In years past I just picked a winner. And the categories are...

Best Movie I Saw in 2010
Toy Story 3
Inception
The Social Network
True Grit

And the winner is...Toy Story 3. If you think it's just a kids movie then I question the quality of the toys you played with as a youngster. This movie had great character development, and was full of emotion.

Second Best Movie I Saw in 2010
Date Night
The A-Team
Predators
The Fighter

And the winner is...The A-Team. Now some people would question why one of the losers from the Best Movie I Saw category wouldn't be nominated in this category. I say that it's a honor just to be nominated. This group of movies I didn't go see expecting to be great, but they all were. Out of all the movies I saw in 2010 I have re-watched The A-Team the most. It didn't do great at the Box Office, but it's funny, has sick nasty action, and didn't destroy everything I know and love about one of my all time favorite TV shows from when I was a kid.

Take One For The Team
Valentine's Day
Twilight Saga: Eclipse
The Backup Plan
Leap Year

And the winner is...Twilight Saga: Eclipse. This is the Twilight saga's second win in a row for this category. All four of these movies were seen because I love my wife and I took one for the team. Leap Year was lucky to be nominated because I managed to sleep through all but the first five minutes.

Worst Movie I Saw
From Paris With Love
Cop Out
Dinner For Schmucks
Killers

And the winner is...Dinner For Schmucks. I really like Steve Carrell and this was the only movie nominated that I really wanted to see. I knew the others weren't going to be good, but I gave them a chance because I love watching movies. Dinner For Schmucks should have been a 30 minute sketch on Saturday Night Live. It was too long, and lacked any major laughs.

Worst Movie I Didn't See
The Last Airbender
MacGruber
Mao's Last Dancer
Skyline

And the winner is...The Last Airbender. All of these movies are bad. You ask "how do you know if you didn't see them?" Just call it my movie-dar. It's like radar for bad movies. I can just tell.

Best Movie That Ripped Off of The Bourne Trilogy But Added A Girl Lead
Salt
Salt
Salt
Salt

And the winner is...Salt. The good news is Salt, staring Angelina Jolie won. The bad news is it was the only film nominated.

Movie I Didn't See But Still Questioned The Need For A Sequel
Cats And Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore
Saw 3D
Step Up 3D
Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married Too

And the winner is...Saw 3D. I have never seen a Saw movie but I know enough about them to know that Donnie Walberg from New Kids On The Block is in them not doing the New Kids Dance, and the main villain died in the third movie. They have now made 7 Saw movies. Seriously people stop going to see this franchise so it can RIP.

Best Comedy
Clash of The Titans
Grown Ups
The Other Guys
Date Night

And the winner is...Clash of The Titans. Oh wait Clash of The Titans wasn't supposed to be a comedy? That changes things. The winner is Date Night. This movie still makes me laugh. I quote it more than any other movie from 2010.

Commenter's Choice
For this category you get to pick the winner. What was your favorite movie of 2010?

How Will I Explain VHS Rentals To My Kids?

While driving past a Blockbuster I thought about how hard it will be to explain VHS rentals to my kids. My guess is that by the time my kids can have a conversation with me (they are due April 21) Blockbuster will be out of business. To them the thought of having to drive to a store, and not instantly download or have it delivered to you in the mail will seem barbaric. Think about trying to explain VHS rentals?

It would go something like this...

Dad: When I was a kid we used to have to drive to the store to rent videos.
Reese and Hayden: We're surprised they had cars when you were a kid. Are you sure that you didn't have to walk up hill both ways in the snow to get these videos that you speak of (I envision my twins talking at the same time and being witty and sarcastic)?
Dad: No. But we did have to pay 5 bucks for these things called VHS tapes.
Reese and Hayden: 5 bucks? That's ludicrous! We buy movies for less than that today. What did VHS stand for?
Dad: I don't know. I never bothered to ask. I just know that we would get charged extra if we forgot to rewind them.
Reese and Hayden: WHAT?! What is this rewind that you speak of?
Dad: These VHS tapes would play and then you had to wait half an hour for it to rewind. Oh and it gets worse. These VHS tapes sometimes would get trapped in the VHS player and all the tape would come undone and it would ruin it forever.
Reese and Hayden: Dad it must have stunk to grow up in a world like that.
Dad: It did.

I feel kind of bad for Blockbuster. I mean at one time it seemed like such a sure thing. It did a great job of transitioning from VHS tapes to DVDs. Imagine if in 1998 or so that you invested everything in a Blockbuster franchise. You would feel like screaming "I'm the king of the world!" Just a few short years later and you see all of your competition shut down. They folded not because you were beating them but because of things like Redbox and Netflix. New things that are now apart of our lives.

I wonder what things that I bank on now will be irrelevant in a few years. Things change. Sometimes things change quickly. I was reminded about this when I read "Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God." When the author wrote this having lots of chariots and horses meant that you ruled the world. In the 90's it could have read some trust in Blockbuster, or some trust in Walkmans, or some trust in stirrup pants.  Things change, but God doesn't.

What product will your kids not be able to fathom?

Who Would Miss You

If you were to mysteriously disappear who would miss you? No one likes to think about spontaneously combusting into thin air, but if you did get beamed up into no where who would notice?

I asked my Community Group if Christians were to mysteriously disappear would anyone miss them.  After I asked the question my group sat in silence. I think they knew the answer and it wasn't great.

The truth is that Christians would not be missed from a lot of circles. No one would miss their movies or most of their music. A few people would miss the entertaining TV known as TV evangelists, but let's be honest they might not disappear with the rest of the Christians. I kid I kid.

As a Christ Follower I am convicted with the thought that if all Christ Followers were taken there wouldn't be many people who would miss me. I want to make a difference in this world. I want to make such a difference that people who don't have a relationship with Jesus would be impacted if I left.

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." - Jesus.

Mind Dump

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

• This past week while trying to fall asleep I felt a hand feel my face like a blind person does in a movie. You know when they say something like "can I see you" and then feel their face? It was quickly followed by "Who is this? WHO IS THIS?" It was a little scary. I quickly replied "it's your husband." Monica quickly replied with "Who is this?" I then said "it's Rob, it's Rob, it's Rob." She rolled over and went back to sleep and I was left laughing to myself.
• I wonder what she would have done if I said something other than "it's Rob." I am not daring enough to find out but it would have been funny if I said something like, "it's a mugger climbing in the bed to mug you."
• If Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson fell in love and produced a child it would be Lebron James. He is amazing. I wish that for his sake he wouldn't have left Cleveland. I think that he will have to win twice as many championships before people put him in the best ever category.
• Accidentally typing Twitter.com but minus the w is not as bad of a mistake as you might would think. Yeah, I did mistakenly type that in.
• Monica bought me one of Lecrae's CDs. Yes I still like to listen to CDs. I kept hearing about him from people but I had never listened to him. It took a few listens but now I am loving his stuff. It's just nice to be able to listen to quality rap without all the swears.
• I think the TV show "Private Practice" should be renamed "The Show That Makes My Wife Cry." My wife doesn't cry over much, but that show has made her cry three weeks in a row.
• Justin Bieber got shut out of the Grammy's, but he did win MVP for the NBA Celebrity Game on Friday night. He won despite the fact that his team lost the game.
• Speaking of Bieber I would never say that I like his music, but he won my respect with his Grammy performance. He had ninjas. Ninjas!
• We have 2 weeks left until Monica is at 33 weeks with the pregnancy. She can go anytime after 33 weeks.
• I am hoping and praying that she doesn't give birth next week. I am in California for a conference.
• Speaking of this conference Rev. Run from Run DMC and the TV show Run's House will be there. I have two goals at this conference...1. To grow closer to God 2. To meet Rev. Run. I'll keep you posted. The conference is Catalyst West and I am more than excited about going!
• I am going to help out at this conference as well as attend. My buddy, Chad Johnson (no not the football player), is the Catalyst Concierge. I can't wait to spend some time with him. He's the type of guy that if he punched you in the face you'd say thank you. He's that cool.
• Vote on the newest survery at robshep.com to decide which store is better...Lowe's or Home Depot?
• I jogged 3 miles on Tuesday, 5 1/2 miles on Friday, and 5 miles on Saturday. Now when I go jogging I don't wear official jogging clothes. I see people out there on the trails that have water pouches attached to their back like a proton pack from Ghostbusters, neon clothes, and short shorts. I don't want people to think that I know what I am doing or that I like it. Plus I refuse to do short shorts. I gave them up in third grade. Back then they were in style. I thank God for Michael Jordan. He made wearing long shorts popular.
• While jogging the Noland Trail on Friday I took a little rabbit trail. In other words I went the wrong way for about a 1/2 mile. I have jogged the Noland Trail 4 times and each time I think "I am lost." I don't remember a lot about that trail. This time I went the wrong way when the path split. I am so tired when I jog I don't really pay attention to where I am going. Plus I have an awful sense of direction.
• People often ask me if I get sick of eating Chipotle. Well, I ate there four times in a row last week for lunch and I LOVED it. I had four lunch meetings and all four of them picked Chipotle. I didn't complain.
• I love NBA All-Star Weekend. The Dunk Contest was one of the best I've seen in years! I really enjoyed watching the All-Star Game. Kobe Bryant got MVP!
• The funniest moment of the All-Star festivities was when Paul Pierce got booed. The weekend was held in LA and the fans let him know they didn't like him during the three point competition. When asked about the boos he responded with "I'm just wondering why they aren't booing Ray Allen." Ray Allen was standing right next to him and is also a Celtic. That's why that was funny.
• I bought a book from Borders last week. When I was checking out the cashier asked "would you like any chapstick to go with that purchase?" I thought that was a little weird so I asked, "Is chapstick a big seller at a bookstore?" She said, "yeah it is." I said, "why are people buying chaptstick at a bookstore?" She said, " I think the pages from reading all of those books drys out their lips." Three days later the entire franchise went out of business. Coincidence?
• So that's my list...what's on your mind this week?

Whew...I feel better now.

"That's funny" said without laughing or smiling.

Do you drive a stick shift car or an automatic? I don't have a fat clue how to drive a stick shift car. I don't even know what you call it. Is it manual?

My brother is one of the few people who can make me laugh. I don't mean to be a laughing snob, but it takes a lot to make me laugh out loud. I often find myself smiling and saying, "that was funny" while no laughter comes out of my mouth. I hope that's not rude.

The other day we were laughing about a conversation we once had about driving a car with a stick shift. The original conversation went something like this...

(After making multiple stops after my sisters wedding and now driving approximately 37 miles per hour on the interstate)

Rob: I didn't know that you could drive stick shift. When did you learn?
Jon: I have never driven stick shift before. This is my first time.
Rob: What? So you just thought you could do this?
Jon: Yeah.
Rob: Shouldn't you have practiced or something? I mean I'm kind of scared now.
Jon: I'm doing good though right?
Rob: Yeah, but this isn't your truck. Did they know you couldn't drive stick?
Jon: They didn't ask. They needed this stuff thrown away so I borrowed their truck.
Rob: And you asked me to come with you?
Jon: Yeah.
Rob: So how did you know that you could do this?
Jon: I just looked at the gears and figured it out. I think we are in third gear now. I'm too scared to go out of third.

Now this conversation isn't an exact quote. It happened 11 years ago. He was 17 years old. I'm not sure if you will find the conversation funny. If you don't you can just leave a comment while not laughing that says, "that was funny."

Love Week and Old People

I like old people, but sometimes they scare me. They don't scare me nearly as bad as babies. At times they share some similar characteristics, but I don't hold them so I am not afraid that I will drop them. 

The thing that has brought a little bit of fear into my life when it comes to the elderly is that I have had a few awkward moments with them. For example...

A. The time I went to the hospital to visit an elderly church member and in the middle of my prayer for her I forgot her name and said and I quote, "dear God help this lady in her time." I then quickly said amen and in my haste to get out of their quickly I tripped over her IV.

B. The time I led a group of college students to sing Christmas carols at a senior adult home. In our first room I asked if the gentleman would mind if we sang a Christmas carol. He responded with and I quote "FEED ME!" I lost it. The guy started yelling it so loud that one of our college students picked up a spoon and started feeding him. I couldn't stop laughing and I was in charge. I felt awful when we left because as the leader I should have composed myself better, but I didn't. Sometimes I don't have an off switch and this was one of those times.

C. The first time I went to the hospital to visit a senior adult with Stu Hodges. Stu is now the lead pastor at Waters Edge, but back then he was youth pastor at Liberty Baptist. Now as the intern I had only been forced to do hospital visits one other time. It was with my previous boss who had recently changed jobs.  When I went with my previous boss he made me stand out in the hallway as he prayed with the senior adults. So when I go with Stu I naturally stand out in the hallway as he goes in. The first room he walks into had two senior adults and Stu said and I quote "Hi my name is Stu Hodges and this is Rob Shepherd." Only I was waiting in the hallway. Now I know that this doesn't really have anything to do with a senior adult, but that day we did see one trying to escape and he was wearing nothing but his hospital gown. He saw us, got scared, and then shuffled the other way. He may or may not have given us the full moon. 

This past Sunday was one of my all time favorite days in the history of Waters Edge Church.  Lead Pastor Stu Hodges led our church to invest in our community for Love Week. The idea is that in one week our church will show love by volunteering.  Over 1,000 opportunities were available and long before our sixth service we ran out of spots.

Courtney Hornsby leads the senior high girls Community Group at Waters Edge.  She called me on Monday and asked if my group of senior guys would join her girls at the York Convalescent Center.  This is a senior adult home. I was very excited to volunteer with my senior high guys, but as I already documented I don't have the best track record with senior adults. I was just a little scared.

Lucky for me this go around I was a little more mature. I didn't bust out laughing. In fact I had some great conversations.  My favorite part though was seeing our seniors invest in seniors. The girls brought nail polish and painted fingers and toes. Both the guys and girls played games, made small talk, and showed some love. It was a great night. I am more than proud of my guys and the senior girls. Enjoy some pics...

Now you may notice that there aren't a lot of senior adults in the pictures. They didn't want to hang out with us at first. After about 15 minutes we got permission to go room to room and that's when the students shined. Oh and we were told after these pictures that we weren't allowed to take pictures. My bad.

I Want To Live In A World Where...

I want to live in a world where...

• Chipotle is diet food. And don't tell me that there are some things there that are not that bad for you. I'm talking about a burrito with extra cheese and a large Coke...can you dig it?!!!
• I have more hair on my head then on my back.
• joggers nipples didn't exist. I haven't had this very often, but the other day I went jogging in the rain. After five miles of jogging in soaked clothes I looked like Andy Bernard from "the Office"...

• jobs were on the college schedule. Summers off, a month for Christmas, plus a spring break. At a job you have 15 days of vacation and you have to request for time off. In college I took 2 or 3 classes a day. My afternoon was spent eating lunch, taking a nap, playing basketball, staying up till midnight or later, and then repeating it the next day. College schedule rules.
• I was as good at basketball in real life as I am at playing a basketball video game.
• movie companies would ask my opinion before they released movies. I'm not trying to be arrogant, but I feel like I could have saved some movies like Pirates of the Caribbean 2 & 3, X-Men 3, Superman Returns, Speed 2, both Transformers movies, and anything else that had potential to be great but failed miserably.
• I could take a nap for 30 minutes a day no matter what day of the week it was. I hate that I get slap tired some days. Or better yet...
• I don't get tired until bedtime.
• farts were acceptable and smelt like clean laundry. Most my friends have never heard me fart. I would hate to do it in public. It's hard work keeping it in. It's even harder work tyring to find a corner of the room where no one is standing and that is close to an animal or someone who is fatter then you and that you can blame the stank on.  If they were acceptable and smelt like fresh clean laundry it would make my life easier.
• babies never cried, spit up, or had to have a diaper changed.
• I was 6'3" tall.
• money grew on trees.
• the Super Bowl was a national holiday and no one had to work on the Monday after. I ate myself into a food coma and had a very hard time waking up the next day.
• I knew how to "Dougie" and I could teach others.
• I could teleport to hang out with friends.
• houses cleaned themselves.
• Red Roof Inn actually had a red roof. Whenever I pass one of these hotels it drives me crazy because the roof is never red.
• words that mean different things were never spelled the same. Like live and live. One is live and the one is live but they are spelled the same. Just in case you are not with me...I want to live to be old enough that I have experienced life, but not so old that I poo myself vs. I watched the basketball game live.
• people snored on key. How great would it be if snores sounded like sweet melodies?
• sweat smelled like Curve cologne. Amazing smell.
• I could eat what I want and never gain weight.

I wish I lived in a world where all of this stuff happened, but I don't. I can imagine it, but it will never happen. Instead of dreaming about things I can't change I need to spend some time working on some things that I can. I can live in a world where I forgive those that hurt me, love like God loves me, and inspire others to be better.  Maybe I'm a dreamer, but I think that we can change people's worlds.

So now it's your turn. What does your dream world look like?

Playing The Devil's Advocate . . . Kinda

Today's post is provided by Wes from wesdraws.com.  Wes has a great blog and was nice enough to do a guest post for me this week. What separates his blog from others is the cartoons that he creates to go along with his thought provoking posts.  Make sure you help him feel welcome and leave a comment. Oh and he is also the creator of the "Mind Dump" graphic at robshep.com. Love it!
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We often hear Christians talk about how Satan has attacked them in a weak moment causing them to commit an unthinkable sin (and, sometimes, not-so-unthinkable-sins). I believe 100% in the devil. I think he's very real and I think he wants nothing more than to see humanity destroyed and in torment. I also believe that there is spiritual warfare all around us, and that Satan is doing his best to cut us down. But sometimes I think we give that guy too much credit. I can't help but think sometimes that claiming " the devil caused me to sin" is a bit of a cop-out. And that leads me to what I want to ask you guys today:

Do you ever feel like blaming the devil for a sin(s) is a cop-out? Do you think there are things we can do to keep the devil at bay? In the end, doesn't it come back to us?

Perfect Date Bistro

Are you looking for the perfect restaurant to take that special someone to? Look no further then the Perfect Date Bistro. Okay ...well this is actually a video that we created and showed on Sunday at Waters Edge. It got a great response and I thought you'd like to see it. Enjoy...


This Video was originally a stage drama written by Vanessa Whitwell and was edited for video by Rob Shepherd and Phil Poteat. We presented this video as a part of our stand alone day called "Love Week" on Sunday, February the 13th, 2011.

Guest Post Monica Shepherd: Valentine's Day for Rob

Happy Valentine’s Day to the most amazing man I know. We alternate who plans Valentine’s Day each year, and this year it’s mine. I hijacked the blog to share 14 reasons why no other man would love me, but Rob does regardless. He’s a keeper.

1. I blow my nose constantly, every day, all year long. It grosses him out, but he still loves me. Sometimes I accidently leave used tissues in his car, but he still loves me.

2. I am not athletic. At all. Rob loves sports. I’ve managed to compensate by taking him to Lakers games, watching ESPN, knowing teams & players, and I know who Tony Kornheiser & Michael Wilbon are. I watch PTI even when Rob’s not home. I can’t shoot hoops with Rob or even attempt to play him at tennis or racquetball, but he still loves me.

3. I stink at video games (except Dr. Mario and Tetris). While playing Call of Duty Black Ops, I run around like a lunatic with my head looking straight up or down because I can’t control all of those buttons. I get killed constantly. Rob just laughs and is happy I try.

4. I spit like a man. I can seriously win at a long distance spit contest. I spit out car windows and as we walk along sidewalks. Rob finds it disgusting, but he still loves me.

5. Rob’s memory is that of a steel trap. I, on the other hand, remember nothing. I don’t remember gifts he gives me, past dates, facts from movies, or anything, really. This might offend some spouses. He knows & loves me regardless.

6. Rob hates the idea of me going to the bathroom. Sometimes I forget & leave the door open. He walks by & cringes or yelps. He still loves me.

7. Most nights I tend to wait until Rob gets settled in bed, and then I ask for of the following items: socks, a glass of water, medicine, or lotion. My bad. He does it with a great attitude (even puts my socks on) and still loves me.

8. While I sleep, I drool like a crazy person. There are literally drool stains on my pillow and when I wake up, my cheek is wet. He loves me regardless.

9. Rob has snored for years and years, and I wake him up to roll him over to make him stop almost every night. Circa December, I have started snoring due to my pregnancy, but Rob has never woken me up once to make me stop. He loves me.

10. Rob is very passionate about things that he loves and hates. He hates lima beans, cottage cheese, and mayonnaise. I eat and love all three of those things, but he still loves me. He loves Chipotle and could eat there every day, but I could never eat there again and be happy. He still loves me.

11. I can’t stand, and even mock, Sylvester Stallone in the Rocky movies, which happens to be one of Rob’s favorite movie series. He’s begged me to watch it and give it a chance, but I can’t bring myself to do it. He still loves me.

12. I am mildly obsessed with teen pop music such as New Kids on the Block, and Rob not only tolerates it, but he took me to a NKOTB concert last year. That’s love.

13. Rob says at night I have a move called the tuck & roll, where I tuck the blankets under my side then roll over. This causes the blankets to yank off him and he can’t pull them back because I’m rolled up in them. I also press my freezing cold toes against his calves at night which he hates. He loves me the most.

14. I’ve tried really hard not to complain during this pregnancy because we begged God for this, but I am falling apart physically! I have carpal tunnel, nasty stretch marks on my stomach, swollen feet, Charlie horses while sleeping, and I waddle. He massages my hands & feet, ties my shoes, puts my earrings on, and does everything else my gimp hands can’t do. Rob seriously thinks it is all beautiful.

Even though most people would run the other way, Rob loves me unconditionally and extravagantly. He is my favorite person, best friend, husband, and two months (or less) away from being a great father to our two babies. We are each other’s first loves and Valentine’s Day is every day in the Shepherd house. Love you bubby!

Why You Should Like Valentine's Day

I used to not like Valentine's Day. I used to say things like I don't need no Hallmark holiday to show my woman that I love her. I also used to be naturally romantic.

Before I was married romantic ideas came easy to me. I would dream about one day taking romantic walks, making romantic dinners for the woman I loved, and doing lovey dovey stuff like writing poems. Then one day I got married and it's like the wellspring of romance dried up. Now I try to think romantically, but after point 2 seconds my mind drifts to something important like if Zack Morris and Kelly Kapowski are still married or if beans really are good for you heart. I mean did someone just put that in a song because heart rhymes with what happens after you eat beans or is it really good for your ticker?

A few weeks ago a friend of ours wanted to watch "When Harry Met Sally." I've avoided that movie for my entire adult life, but I just made them watch a movie about a guy who spends an entire movie buried alive in a casket. I felt bad so I gave in and suffered through watched "When Harry Met Sally." The movie wasn't as bad as I had built it up to be, but I did think it was slow. There was one scene in the movie that stood out. Sally (played by Meg Ryan) is talking about why she broke up with her boyfriend. The conversation went something like this...

Sally: And Joe and I used to talk about it, and we'd say we were so lucky we have this wonderful relationship, we can make love on the kitchen floor and not worry about the kids walking in. We can fly off to Rome on a moment's notice. And then one day I was taking Alice's little girl for the afternoon because I'd promised to take her to the circus, and we were in the cab playing "I Spy" - I spy a mailbox, I spy a lamp-post - and she looked out the window and she saw this man and this woman with these two little kids. And the man had one of the little kids on his shoulders, and she said, "I spy a family." And I started to cry. You know, I just started crying. And I went home, and I said, "The thing is, Joe, we never do fly off to Rome on a moment's notice."

Harry: And the kitchen floor?

Sally: [sadly] Not once. It's this very cold, hard Mexican ceramic tile.

You see in the movie they talked about romantic ideas but they never acted on them.  It made me think about why I like Valentine's Day. Sure I don't need a holiday to show my wife love, but it helps focus my unromantic mind on my wife.  I don't need Christmas to buy her presents, but I still celebrate Christmas with her. I don't need a birthday to eat cake, but I still eat cake on her birthday. The point is that I don't need Valentine's Day to be romantic, but I am thankful for it because it helps me celebrate my wife.
 
So what are your thoughts about V-Day? Love it or leave it?

Winners of the "Can You Say Contest" Contest

Last week I hosted a contest. The silver controller to my PS3 went missing and I asked for theories to what happened to it. Now I have good news and bad news. The good news is I found the controller. It mysteriously was sitting on top of my PS2 which is located upstairs in the guest bedroom. I don't have a fat clue how it got up there, but I'm glad I found it.  That's the good news. Now on to the bad.  The bad news is that even though there were a lot of really good theories as to what happened to the silver controller there can only be one grand prize winner. The winners are...

Grand Prize = Mark Carr. Mark the robshep.com stickers are coming soon. As soon as I get em I'll get one too you.

Second Place = Angie Clark Kenny. Angie, leave a comment to let me know how you would like me to get you a copy of "Sun Stand Still" by Steven Furtick.

From the Kindness of My Heart = Ok this wasn't a part of the competition but Derek Melpass left a comment saying he really wants a copy of the book. Derek, let me know the cheapest and easiest way to get it to you and I will get you a copy.

Third Place = Everyone else. Please don't read that as a cop-out. I loved the comments. I wish everyone could win, but then it wouldn't be a very fun contest. Please try again if I do this again. Oh and the prize for third is mad respect. For those that participated...you have earned it!

I'm Backing Up Backing Up Backing Up Cause My Daddy Taught Me Good

I like knowing people who know good videos on Youtube. Phil Poteat showed me the following video this week. It's funny, but then someone went and auto-tuned it to make it even funnier. It's worth watching the whole thing. Oh and I think the tune is pretty catchy.



You're welcome. Now the tune of "I'm backing up, backing up, backing up cause my daddy taught me good" will be stuck in your head all day.

Hurt People

I am reminded on almost a weekly basis that there are a lot of people who are hurting.

I received an ugly email not too long ago. The person who sent it apologized the next day. They apologized point 5 seconds before I hit the send button on a kick butt reply email. My email was about to destroy their email and the mean things that they said. I felt like I had such a solid reply it would have caused them to not only apologize, but also buy me a lifetime supply of Chipotle.  Oh wait I am about to have twins...change that to buy me a 2 year supply of diapers for the twins and one Chipotle burrito for myself. Oh and something nice for the Mrs. as well.  It was that good of a reply email. 

I was literally reading over my reply email one last time when the person who sent the email came into my office.  The first thing that they did was apologize for their email.  They apologized before I had the chance to send my awesome reply email.  They then told me about how they were hurting.  Hurt people hurt people. Hurt people hurt others with their comments. When you hurt you are not yourself. Their email now made sense and I was glad I never got to send my epic reply email. 

This was just one of the many hurting people that I came in contact with that week. I have a friend who is going through an awful month.  He's hurting.  I know a couple who just went through the same in-vitro fertilization process as Monica and me except that it didn't take. They had to travel for three hours for their treatments and it didn't take. They are hurting. I know a homeless lady who in tears told me about the emotional pain she was dealing with.  She's hurting.  There are a lot of hurting people.

Right now I'm not hurting, but I've been there. Since I'm not hurting now I want to help others who are. One day when I'm hurting again I hope someone will be there for me.  Would you say that you are hurting or in a place to help others who are?

Oh and I kept a draft of my reply email just so I can read it again. It really was epic.

Worst Album Covers Of All Time

I posted this in 2009. I stumbled upon it the other day and I thought that it needed to be reposted. The following are the worst album covers of all time.  Let the hilarity begin. Oh and which one is your favorite?

Jim Post album title: I love my life.

Rob's comment: With a mustache like that who wouldn't.

I hope for their sake this title was an innocent mistake.

First Question: Whose idea was it to not wear shirts for this album cover?
Second Question: What is the guy in the middle looking at?

Short shorts have gone out of style for guys but the Jazz hand is never uncool.

All my friends are dead, so I decided to share my depression with the rest of the world.

This is oh so wrong.

The flowers were a nice touch. They make her look less terrorist like.

Knowing that her daughter would feel a little insecure about her nose Mom decided to make sure all the attention went to her hair.

The one armed drummer from Def Leppard has nothing on this lady.

Can You Say Contest?

Last week before my Student Community Group I discovered that I was missing my silver controller for my PS3. A lot of weeks a few guys come over early to play video games and this is when I discovered it was missing. The last time that I saw it was the week before at Student Group. Now we have had a few people look at our house because it was on the market, and I host two Community Groups (one adult and one student), but I don't think any of them would have taken it. So the question is what happened to the silver controller?

Before group started the guys in my group tore up my house looking for said silver controller. This was a Christmas present and they aren't cheap. Plus only one person can play if I don't find this controller. The guys looked in lamps, under couch cushions, and in every cabinet in the kitchen. They then came up with some pretty funny theories as to what happened to the silver controller.

Here's the contest...come up with the best theory as to what happened to my controller and you will win
Grand Prize = robshep.com sticker.
Second Place = "Sun Stand Still" by Steven Furtick. It's a book.
Third Place = Mad respect.

Leave a comment and the winner will be picked and announced on Friday. I'm looking for something that is creative and or funny. Go!

Mind Dump

My brain is constipated with random thoughts. It's time to free up some space with another Mind Dump...

• How long do you put deodorant on? My wife says I put it on for way too long. I use a spray and it's a good 2 seconds, but I don't think that's too long. I've got to make sure I cover everything so I don't stank.
• Have you noticed that Nicolas Cage is in every other movie? He's made a lot recently. I read that he filed for bankruptcy and is working hard to get some money. If he's not careful people will stop paying him money to make movies. His last few have looked kind of sketchy.
• I used to hate watching the San Antonio Spurs play. For one they are rivals to the Lakers. For two they used to be so boring to watch. They played my favorite team the Lakers last week. I didn't enjoy the fact that they beat the Lakers, but I didn't mind watching them play. What changed you ask? Ginobili's hair. He has the same haircut as I do...short with a nice bald spot in the back. I can relate to that.
• A contest is coming tomorrow. It's only the second contest I've ever done on robshep.com. The prize is of epic proportions. Ok let me make sure your expectations are realistic. I'm a pastor, my wife is a teacher, and we are weeks away from birthing twins. The prize isn't that great, but don't tell anyone.
• My favorite Super Bowl commercial = Doritos where the guy made the grandpa come back to life.
• Your favorite Super Bowl commercial ='s?
• The halftime show by the Black Eyed Peas got a HUGE mixed reaction. Some loved it and some hated it. I like it a lot. I thought it was full of surprises, energy, and the lights were amazing. I enjoyed it a lot better then the last few. It wasn't perfect, but it was really good in my opinion.
• I lived in Ft. Worth for two years and it was fun seeing all the coverage of the Super Bowl on ESPN. They had a booth in Ft. Worth and we used to go to that location all the time.
• Speaking of that location...while living in Ft. Worth I started watching the TV show cops. Why you ask? Well one day I saw our neighborhood on the show. I've only watched it 3.5 times and two of those times featured my neighborhood or close to it.
• I really think that the thing that will kill me in this life is a vivid dream. I have them and they feel so real I end up doing crazy things. This past week I had a dream that I was in an elevator and I had to hold my breath because it was filled with water. I woke up because I was holding my breath. Luckily for me I've heard that you can't die in a dream. It scared me to wake up and be out of breath.
• That next day Monica shows me a clip from Ellen. One of her producers had a dream he was diving and he dove out of his bed and now he's in a neck brace. I am now scared.
• I recently discovered Tyler Tarver's blog. I think that when he's not blogging he's a teacher. I can't decide if he's funny or a little bit crazy. Either way he'd be a fun teacher. I discovered him because of this video. I'd try this but I'm too afraid I'd get hurt.
• So our house didn't sell. It's been on the market since September and nobody liked it enough to put down an offer. I personally think that the people who looked at our house but didn't want to buy it missed out. I've had a lot of good blog posts because of this house.
• Do we really need a "Big Momma's House 3?"
• I'm excited to go to lunch with Steven Latham this week. He's on staff at a great church...Lifepoint. Great church with a great staff.
• I now introduce to you the most epic pop up book in the history of the world...

• This AMAZING pop up book was given to me from Melissa, Whitney, and Brett Horton. When I saw it my first response was that my kids won't be able to read this until they are 16. This book is epic.
• The best compliment I got last week was from the guys in my Student Community Group. They told me that I am getting good at Call of Duty. Now that was the best compliment because A. I stink at that game and they are all really good. B. It was a down week for compliments.
• 43 people became Christ Followers at Waters Edge yesterday! WOOOOO! It was an awesome day.

Whew...I feel better now.

Things That TV Doesn't Tell Men About Their Pregnant Wives

You may or may not know that I get really nervous talking about girl stuff. Not girl stuff like trying on clothes, throwing parties where you buy purses, or talking about "The Bachelor." I'm talking about girl stuff that guys can't understand.

I've always avoided this type of conversation. When two girls forget that I don't want to learn about girl stuff and they start talking about it I go to my happy place. This is where I pretend to listen, but on the inside of my mind all I'm thinking about is a Chicken Fajita Burrito from Chipotle.  Mmm...Chipotle. Sometimes though I'm so grossed out that I can't hide the look on my face. Thankfully my wife knows how awkward this stuff is for me and she not only doesn't talk about it, but also tells other girls not to. 

Enter my wife getting pregnant. Up until this point I avoided going with her to the girl doctor.  This is not saying that her doctor is girly. It's the name that I give the place that she visits to check on the health of our babies.  This is perhaps the most awkward place for a guy to visit. The only thing that comes close to me is when I forget that the mall puts girl's undergarments right next to a certain exit.  When I make the mistake of parking near this entrance to the mall I feel like I've entered a foreign land and I don't have a passport.  I keep my eyes down and I walk as fast as I possibly can to get through it.  Oh and the aisle at the store that contains girly hygiene products is one that I avoid like the plague.  I get nervous when a girly product commercial comes on TV. If I ever run for President my platform will be that products that only relate to girls should be shown only during Soap Operas, Oprah/The View, and The Bachelor.  I digress. 

I personally believe that the girly doctor is a place that no man should ever visit. The stuff they do in there makes me say audibly "I thank God I'm a guy." I know that girls are thinking that I'm a big wuss, but this stuff just freaks me out.

Now since my wife has gotten pregnant I've been exposed to a whole lot of information that I didn't know existed. Most of my information on women being pregnant came from watching TV. I knew that they gained some weight (for the record I think my wife looks beautiful pregnant). I knew that they waddled. I knew that they scream, "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT' at the father during the delivery.  But there are a lot of things that TV doesn't prepare men for. 

• Carpal Tunnel. I didn't have a fat clue that many pregnant women get Carpal Tunnel.  Monica wakes up with pain in her hands. She can no longer open bottles and she wears two braces that look like what Michael Jackson wore in the video for Black or White. Just in case you forgot what that looked like...

• Leg cramps. I didn't have a fat clue that pregnant women get leg cramps. I woke up circa 4:30 AM to Monica crying. She couldn't reach her leg and it hurt something fierce. I started to massage her leg and it felt like a Gremlin was burrowing out of her calf.  Just in case you forgot what a Gremlin looks like...

• The mysterious pregnant line. I didn't have a fat clue that women get a line on the center of their belly that looks like the Equator on a globe. Just in case you forgot what the Equator on a globe looks like...

Now I don't think that I am alone in the fact that girl stuff is straight freaky. In fact there are probably some guys that will think that this post is full of too much information. But if that is you then I hope that I've shed a little light on what you can expect when your wife gets pregnant. This is the stuff that TV doesn't tell you about.

My God Why Have You Forsaken Me?

Have you ever felt like God didn't give a rip about you? Have you ever felt like God could care less if you succeeded or failed? Have you ever felt like God was the mean kid on the playground who used the beam from the sun through a magnifying glass to torch innocent bugs after he plucked their wings, and you are the innocent bug? Have you ever mixed your toothpaste up with another product like shaving cream, lotion, or Nair and realized it after you started brushing your teeth? If that's you then you are not alone.

I was perusing through the book of Psalms in the Bible and I saw a familiar verse. "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Now this verse is familiar because Jesus said it while dying on the cross. What I didn't know was that this verse was originally quoted by King David in the Psalms, and that it's the most quoted Psalm in the New Testament. Now don't zone out here because a point is coming that I think is pretty interesting.

Two of the biggest names in the entire Bible are King David and Jesus. One could think that God would treat them a little different then the average Rob.  Both David and Jesus asked God why He forsook them. Forsook or forsaked? How about they ask God why he had forsaken them? The point is that there were moments in their life where they felt like God wasn't there for them. I've been there.

There are times when you need God and He seems silent. There are times when it would help if God would just speak audibly. There are times when I've become so frustrated with God because He seemed distant. If this quote from David and Jesus teaches us anything it's that it's okay to question God. It's okay to get frustrated. It's okay to wonder where God is. You can cry out to God but don't you dare give up on Him.

It would be nice if God gave us special treatment, but if David and God's own son went through hard times then it's a safe bet that we will to. The thing that separated David and Jesus from everyone else is that they didn't give up on God. He didn't come to their rescue on their time table, but He was still there. He didn't save the day like they thought, but He still came through in the end. He allowed them to cry out, but they didn't give up. Don't you dare give up on God.

Punctuation Police

One of the many things that I enjoy about my job is the fact that I get to be creative. I'm not saying that I'm the most creative person ever, but I do enjoy using my creativity at work. This past week Phil Poteat and I were assigned the task of writing a script for an idea that our programming team had. It was called Punctuation Police. Phil got attacked by the bubonic plague and wasn't able to come into work. I prefer writing videos with other people.  This was my first solo writing attempt. Luckily for me Phil was miraculously healed from the bubons (not an official name) and was able to direct and edit this video. It got a good response on Sunday. Enjoy...


Larry T plays the punctuation police and he did a most excellent job!

Why Bad Things Happen To You

I was recently asked to post a blog about why bad things happen to good people. I don't claim to be an expert on this. I don't claim to have the best answer. I don't even claim to admit that I once went to see "Run Away Bride" by myself in the movie theater. It was in college, my dad worked on the movie, we had a dollar theater, and it's a good movie...back off. I digress. The following is my opinion of why bad things happen to good people.

• In America many people have an entitled works base view of God. Many people believe that if we are a good person (going to church, eating your vegetables, washing behind your ears, and not killing people) then God owes you something. The problem with this view is that the Bible teaches that we are not good. None of us are good. We are by nature selfish. We have all sinned and fallen short of God's standard. We don't deserve good things. We deserve hell, but because God loves us He gives us a way out. We can find forgiveness in God. But God doesn't love us because we do something good. We should do good stuff because God is good. The truth is the fact that we have anything good we should be thanking God. When a parent gets sick and dies it's awful, but how many people don't have good parents? When a couple can't get pregnant it's an awful experience, but the fact that they are a couple is a blessing. Many people would love to be married and are not. The point is that God doesn't owe you anything. He gave His son to die for us. That's enough. Everything else is a blessing.
• Bad things happen because we live in a fallen world. It didn't start off broken, but man chose to disobey God and we have been feeling the consequences ever since. We live in a world where people get sick, pain happens, hearts get broken, and good people go bald. This doesn't make it easier to go through but it gives a reason on why bad things happen. The world is broken.
• God gives people the freedom to make decisions. People make bad choices. People make decisions to drink and drive, cheat on loved ones, and make movies like Gremlins 2. It's awful. Because of this freedom some "good" people will be hurt. When a person makes a selfish decision someone gets hurt.
• There are consequences to our bad decisions. The Bible talks about God disciplining the ones He loves. I don't think that this is why September 11 happened. I'd chalk that up to man having the freedom to do stupid stuff. But I do know that there are consequences to bad choices.
• There is more going on in this world then what we can see. This world is physical, but the Bible talks about a spiritual world. Now I don't think this is like Ghostbusters, The Ring, or The Sixth Sense. Those are movies. I also don't think this means that the Devil is to blame for all things bad. We make so many bad choices that I often think the Devil doesn't need to intervene. I really don't know what the Devil's activity looks like, but I think it plays a part in this discussion. 
• We don't know the reason. If you read the book of Job from the Bible it doesn't make a lot of sense. The first part is easier to understand but then God starts talking and it's like do what? Luckily for me I had a professor in seminary that explained some things. I don't remember everything he said, but I remember that he taught that God didn't give Job a reason for his suffering. In the end He offered him a relationship instead of a reason. Sometimes we don't know why. I don't think I'll ever know why God allowed us to get pregnant three years ago and then took away our baby at 8 weeks. It was a miracle that we were pregnant. We knew it was a miracle from God and we were more than shocked when the doctor told us we lost the baby. God didn't want to teach us a lesson. He could have used any other method to do it. God loves us and I don't think that He caused that pain in our life. God held us and has now used that situation to allow us to be a blessing to others, but I don't think that's why it happened. It happened. Until I get to Heaven I'll never understand why on that one.  I'm so thankful that God held us during that time.