The Hot Burrito

*whir whir whir*, I stared intently at the microwave as I watched my burrito cook. The gentle sound of the plate spinning inside and the soft hum of the microwave promising me a delicious and warm snack.

Life Update (Yes I still exist)

Hey Everyone!
      I finally sat down to make time to give you guys this update and I realized as I was going over my last posts that it has almost been a full five months since my last post!



I can't express how sorry I am to you guys about that. I can give you all the excuses I want but that's not good enough. Wow... five months, I'm terrible at this. But don't be down! I have a list of ideas that I've built up over that time and you can expect two posts a month for at least a little bit.

Life has been crazy busy, two big changes in particular have pretty much changed how I lived and also are responsible for why I'm able to boot this up again. But I was also in a class for all of January that I was studying and dedicating a lot of time to make sure I passed (which I did, applause, thank you)

So the two big things.

So last year I swapped my shifts at the casino and went to the Grave shift (midnight to 8am), now as horrible as this sounds (and trust me it was wrecking havoc on my life and body) I did it so I could get a full time job and have the ability to move out of the house. During this time I also moved in with a friend of mine for a little while, this helped with rent and also he lived a little closer to the casino so I didn't have to drive so far.

Well as time went on the Grave shift was slowly killing me and I fell asleep at the wheel one morning on my way home. No one got hurt but I banged my truck up a little bit. I took this as God's warning sign telling me it was time for a change.

Coincidentally a position had opened up on the day shift. The only reason I hadn't put in for it was I would have to work every Sunday and that would totally kill my chances of attending my Church since we don't hold a Wednesday night service.




Well after the accident happened I took the hint and swapped shifts again. I now work the day shift (8am to 4pm) and it's made a massive impact on my life. I've found I'm more cheerful in general and life as a whole is just a lot better, plus I got a lot more time for my beautiful (and ever so patient with me) girlfriend now (you know, on the days I'm not pulling extra shifts at the station, haha). Now that I don't have to worry about falling asleep at the wheel anymore I moved yet again and am back in St. Leon, the main reason I did this was so I could be closer to the Fire House where I got my start as a volunteer. So all in all, life is going good. Hope you're all doing well, and like I said I'll have new content coming out on here soon. So spread the word and get people checking out my blog again!

God Bless,
      Ryan

A Strong Tree

(This post I wrote was originally featured on my friend Moriah's Blog. You can read the original post here--- http://homeontheeriecanal.blogspot.com/2016/08/a-strong-tree-guest-post.html )

Have you ever been walking through the forest and suddenly come upon an absolutely massive tree? One that you don't even need to take a second look, just the absolute size of it and you know it's been around for a long time.
 
And with that long time of life you know that surely that tree has survived a lot to get where it is. Drought, floods, possibly disease, it's stood through storms and winds that knocked down other trees all around it. And yet, there it stands.

Life Update

What's happening guys?

     

    As you've probably noticed posts have been a little slow in coming over here. My bad, and I promise I'm going to try and pick up the slack I've been leaving on this thing.

A lot has been happening lately for me personally. The Fire Explorer program that I started way back last November is still holding together, we still only got the original 6 kids in it. But we're having a good time and hopefully once life settles down I'll be willing to tackle that a little more aggressively.

Homemade Potatoes

   Have you ever had fresh homemade mashed potatoes? I'm not talking Bob Evans or any store, I'm talking straight out of Mom or Grandma's kitchen made in front of you Mashed Potatoes.
    My mom makes the best mashed potatoes every Thanksgiving, they're rich in flavor and just straight up addicting. It usually doesn't last through the next day. The only downfall is they take time, a lot of it.

You Got My Back?

   We have a rule in the Fire Dept in those situations where we have to go in to a burning building, or even a building that maybe isn't burning anymore and we're doing overhaul but there are still some hot spots to knock down. Two in, Two out. You never go in alone, never without your partner. And your partner doesn't leave your side for anything, you go in together you come out together. That's just the way it is.
   I've been a Volunteer Firefighter for four years now, paid part timer for two, and I'll tell you this much. There is nothing quite like the sensation of walking into a room of a house or garage, and immediately being swallowed up by the smoke and steam. When it happens you can't see your own hand in front of your face, and I mean that in the literal.

A Quick Update

Hey Everyone!
  Hmm... 4 months and no new posts? Sorry about that! Life got busy with all the work and training I've been doing lately. Honestly there were times when I looked through my phone and saw a note for a new blog idea and would think, "Ah, I should get on this." But then I would get distracted and forget about it.

 But fear not people! I have lately had this blog sitting on my mind quite a bit and I'm ready to get back into it. Again, I'll probably be keeping it down to one post a month. Maybe two if you get lucky.

Just wanted ya'll to know I didn't forget about you and to keep an eye out for new posts in the near future.

God Bless,
       Ryan

Parasites

Have you ever sat there and watched a mosquito suck out your blood? Or maybe a tick that locked itself onto your leg? They come quietly (long as the mosquito doesn't buzz next to your ear) and then they latch on you without anyone ever noticing, next thing you know you look down and there is this bloated insect full of your blood. Full of your life.

My Child Are You There?

There once was a new family that was just starting out on their own. The Couple had just had their first child and had moved into a new neighborhood in a small town. The Father beamed brightly at his new son as he dreamed of all the times they would spend together as he grew up, oh the things he would teach him!

The Cornmaze

Several years ago, and when I say that I mean when I was around 10 or so, our family was on one of our annual vacations to New York visiting family. It was in the fall and all the leaves were changing colors and the air was cool. This particular visit we had the awesome pleasure of getting to see pretty much all my cousins, particularly my Cousins Josiah and Nathan and their family. 

The Water Faucet

I was visiting with my accountability partner, about a month ago now, and I was bemoaning the fact that I just didn't seem to be coming up with any new blog ideas. In fact I had been feeling pretty dry for a while now with all the different roller coaster things that had been going on in my life. 

  His response to me was pretty simple, but it struck me upside the head a couple days later as I thought about it more. 

The Acorn

There once was a young man that had recently moved into a new home. He loved everything about his house and property except that he had no trees nearby to give him shade.
   One day he went out into the woods to find a plant near his home to provide himself some shade, as he walked he happened upon a small acorn. He picked it up and brought it home, and placed it into a small pot to let it start growing.

The Birthday Cake

There was a little boy not too long ago that had a birthday. He woke up excitedly knowing what the special day was and like all little boys knew that birthday's meant birthday cake. He eagerly ran into the kitchen where his mother was getting ready to mix his cake. 

   He pulled up a stool and looked over the counter top that was filled with the ingredients to make the cake. He looked at his mother and asked, "where's the cake?" his mother softly laughed and told him, "I have to mix these ingredients and then bake it together." The little boy following the logic that most little boys have responded, "Well cake is sweet and yummy, so are all these ingredients sweet and yummy too?"

Too Quick to Forgive?

A few weeks ago me and a friend were sitting down and talking about things going on, just catching up when at one point in our conversation the phrase came up, "I'm too quick to forgive sometimes."
  I admit it was me that said it, and any of you that know me well know that I am probably one of the faster ones to throw out the "hey it's all good, I forgive you." I absolutely hate letting anything sit for more than a couple days (much to the amusement of my friends sometimes after I say something like "I refuse to chat them for the X amount of days" and then end up trying to fix our differences that night)

 But as I went home after hanging out and I laid in my bed the phrase kept going through my mind. "Too quick to forgive."

Too quick? What kind of phrase is this? This is a phrase that has permeated our life and our culture, I've heard it everywhere in all sorts of different circumstances. But really, is this a valid phrase that we as Christians can be or should be using?

Life Update

Hey Guys,
    I know I've been slacking a little on the blog lately. (okay let's be honest this blog almost doesn't exist anymore, and I know you've all been tearing out your hair because you haven't been getting your daily dose of Ryan's life lessons, no? oh.. )

Life has been keeping me pretty busy as of lately, putting in a lot of hours at work and procrastinating with everything else. (should do a post on that sometime soon.)

Keep me in prayers as I'm still in the midst of the testing phase for the Cincinnati FD and the next test is the Physical Agility testing.

Stay Patient! A new post is just around the corner, I just have to find some extra time to finish reading up for it and then I'll get to work on it soon as I can, consider this an accountability post. If you don't see a post by the end of this week you all better start messaging me and asking about it.

If you have any particular topics you would want me to cover feel free to leave a comment and I'll see what I can do. I'm getting ready to update the blog pages again so if you don't see another post for a while that's probably why, I'll be updating the style of my blog with an added section for Theological posts and then there will be my normal devotional side.
  This why I can alternate weeks and gives me more time to get content for either side.

Hope you all are doing well!

God Bless,
      Ryan

It Is Well

I don't have much of a story today, but I wanted to share something that has taken me a long time to learn and put in practice. A twofold lesson today actually.

The last week has been pretty hard on me, without going into too much detail about the events that have happened in my life I'll tell you that it left me feeling lost and totally out of control. At times it left me on my floor crying out to God and asking him why things were happening that were so opposite to what I wanted that they were completely changing my plans that I had for my life.

Working Out

A few weeks ago I made the decision I need to lose weight and get in shape. Not just for my career and stuff but also for my long term health. I've really applied myself to getting in shape and trying to work out everyday for at least an hour. I walked into the gym absolutely lost and having no idea what to do or how to do anything. But I figured out a couple of the machines and read how to use the dumbbells and proceeded to start my workout. Those first few days were terrible, my body hurt, I sweated so much I looked like I jumped in a pool, and really I felt like just quitting and leaving it be. But as I kept it up it slowly got easier.

Keeping the Watch

~

There once were two young men back during the Roman Empire, their jobs were to patrol the walls of their small city and keep watch for any suspicious movement and upon sighting of an enemy force would sound the alarm to alert the city so everyone could get prepared.

 Day after day they would attend their training's and day after day their overseeing commander would remind them that they always much keep watch no matter how calm the times were. And indeed times were at a calm, there was a great peace through much of the Empire.

The Golf Game

~

There once was a young man that decided one day he wanted to learn how to golf. He went out and bought himself a set of clubs and he bought a nice of pair of golfing gloves and shoes. The next day he went out to the local golfing club and started practicing. He swung his club as hard as he could and hit the ball with all his strength. He stood there for about an hour, his ball flying off to the left and right, his club digging into the ground but they just wouldn't fly straight down the course like he wanted them to.

Building the Campfire

~

One year just a few weeks before Valentines day, there once was a Scout Leader that was trying to think of a fun way to teach them their lesson the next camp out. His boys were teenagers now and were getting to the point where they would begin starting their first relationships, he figured that since Valentines day was just around the corner it would be a good time to bring it up. 

As he sat down reviewing the material for the next camp out he realized that their next merit to work on was the Fire Merit. As he read through it he took particular notice of the different styles of campfires that the boys needed to build and how they had to build it. "ah," he thought, "there's an idea."