Luke’s Notebook

Yesterday, James, Seth, and I met up with Grandpa Arndt at the new Golden Corral restaurant in Shiloh. It was the grand opening, and we had decided to give it a shot since it’s been one of our favorites. We had a great time there, and they had some terrific food.

In the evening, I went to the YMCA and had a really good workout. I think that’s five straight weeks with three or more workouts, so it’s nice to have that momentum as we enter the final two weeks of 2006. It sure helps me avoid losing ground with all of the holiday get-togethers, Christmas cookies, and such.

Well, I’m in the middle of converting a lot of Mini DV tapes onto DVDs. This is an expedited job that we got this afternoon, so I need to get back to that.

I’ve just been thinking recently of what I would all love to learn if I had enough time, money, and brain space.

Here’s what I would love to have a thorough (or more thorough) understanding of:

Court reporting

Avid 3D

Avid FX

Avid Xpress Pro

Adobe Illustrator

PHP (web-related)

AJAX (web-related)

XML (web-related)

CSS or cascading style sheets (web-related)

Macromedia Flash

Microsoft Visual Basic

In a lot of these, I have a decent understanding or I’m able to do a few things, but I would love to be really well-versed in them. There’s just so much to learn! I find myself getting so very interested in one or two thing, I dabble in those for a while, and then I shift to something else.

I’d love to at least be able to master one or two things and be able to do them really, really well. That’s what I’m focusing on with court reporting especially, as I’m continually studying that in my free time. I’m more effective when I’m able to focus on a couple of things and really channel my thoughts towards them.

Unfortunately, my brain just doesn’t do a great job of having a dozen different tracks going on at once, so I’d do well to simplify and do one or two things well, less I run the risk of spreading myself too thin and not being able to do anything well! Problem is, I find myself being interested in so many different things that it’s really easy to take a little bit of this and a little bit of that but without much to show for it.

It’ll be interesting to come back to this list in six months or a year and see what, if any, progress I have made on these different things.

In other news, last night John and I went up to the Y and got in a workout. Surprisingly, my neck and low back have still been bugging me pretty often. Again, I maintain that it’s not terrible, and I still think that they’ll heal up soon enough. It’s a little bit of a nuisance, but I’m not panicking yet. Once again, thank you so much to everybody who has been praying!

I’m going to try to give a brief recap of what I’ve been up to lately. Aside from the regular depo and video work, I’ve been making a strong effort lately to really cover some ground with court reporting. I’m still at the stage where I’m learning and studying all of the combinations of strokes for different prefixes, suffixes, word endings, and such. But I’m definitely making progress!

I’ve also been taking care of a lot of little tasks on the computer and around the house. It’s really satisfying to tackle things that have just been kind of intimidating for such a long time. For instance, on Sunday night, with Jude’s assistance, I finally figured out our setup of cables in the basement that connect to our phone system.

Yesterday, I had another YMCA trip, getting in another real good workout. So far, I’ve managed to stay true to the goal of three workouts a week, and that’s satisfying to be sticking with that after a month. I am definitely getting stronger as the weeks pass.

Also, last night a bunch of us went over to Grandpa Arndt’s house in Belleville in order to watch the Rams and the Bears play on Monday Night Football. The past few years, it’s been a tradition to go over to Grandpa’s house whenever the Rams play on MNF. Even though they’re having a bad year, it’s still a good excuse to get together and hang out with him. It’s fun!

Aside from that, I’ve just been enjoying life, day by day. Playing with chubs, playing volleyball on Sundays, thanking God for all of life’s blessings, dabbling with different website ideas. I’ve also been listening to one of Pastor Buck’s tapes (well, now it’s an MP3). Man, those are so encouraging! It’s so awesome to hear about his visits from angels and when he actually talked with God. Extremely uplifting stuff, that’s for sure. God’s love for us is so strong, so real.

Well, Christmas is less than two weeks away. We’re less than three weeks from 2007. Life is so neat!

I’ve been really kind of surprising myself the past several weeks with my different entries, because it almost seems like I’m writing the same substance over and over but just approaching it from all sorts of angles. As I was thinking and praying this afternoon, it’s like a light bulb went off in my head and I could just see how almost everything (even yesterday’s brief post about that heartbreaking case) ties together.

Two main things stand out. For one, simply to always be thankful. In the past couple of months especially, there have been many different scares or just sobering realizations, and when I really evaluate things, I just can’t believe how blessed I am. There should never, ever be any room for me to harbor any discontentment or jealousy. It’s really humbling to realize how good God is to us, and it makes me want to fight to hold everything lightly in life. Even if things were taken away from me, I would still be just extremely blessed.

Secondly, I just have been wanting to have no acceptance for anything that would come between me and God. The very least I can do is to make an honest effort to be as Christ-like as I can be in life. Though I’m always going to be flawed and sinful by nature, I want to have zero tolerance for sin and to constantly battle to be as obedient as I know how in all things, both large and small.

These two things really run hand in hand. Knowing how many blessings I have in life, it just makes me so grateful. I can never pay back my debt that has been forgiven, but what I can do is live my life as a living sacrifice to Him.

Romans 12:1-2

1Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual[a> act of worship. 2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Ephesians 4:20-32

20You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. 21Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

25Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 26″In your anger do not sin”[d>: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27and do not give the devil a foothold. 28He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.

29Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Luke 10:2:

He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.”

I’m very encouraged. I just want to be a worker for God. We have a shortage of workers in the world, and I just want to do my part, to let God do what He will with my life. It doesn’t have to be fancy or impressive. As long as it’s exactly what He wants me to do, that works for me.

I just finished working on one of the saddest cases I have ever come across — a police interrogation of a heartbroken young guy just a few hours after learning his girlfriend was murdered at her home.

My goodness. To think, this actually happened. This isn’t a movie.

I can’t even imagine…

Romans 12:21

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

John 16:33

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.

Despite the evil in this world, God is still very much in control. What a comforting thing to realize!

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about fundamentals in life and how crucial it is to more or less master a lot of different traits or tendencies in life.

I have wanted to resolve in my life to at all costs avoid becoming tainted, defiled, watered down, cynical, sarcastic, hardened, or “wise to the world.” It’s just so sickening to see people — especially Christians — who have a distorted or defiled view of different things in life. People who might acknowledge God with their words but will then promptly go and take part in gossip or being vulgar or bitter or envious or cynical. I have been guilty of this myself, and I hate it. I think it’s a terrible witness, and most seriously it’s disobedient to God.

Honestly, I would rather be devoid of any special gifts or talents if I could instead be pure of heart, like a child. There is nothing admirable about being able to on occasion gossip, become cynical, bitter, envious, or sarcastic. There’s nothing noble about being able to join in when people are in the midst of telling vulgar jokes.

I just… I want to have these things far removed from me. I want to learn the fundamentals in life. What good does it do if I know all about Jesus, yet I’m constantly hurting Him by my attitude, by my actions, by how I treat other people, by how I think of other people? How can I be a light if I can’t even get these simple things under control?

It’s kind of disheartening to see what’s accepted even in Christian communities, as far as what kind of behavior, topics of conversation, activities, et cetera. I don’t want that. Truth can so easily get watered down the point where people don’t even take it to heart. They don’t realize how much God hates sin, how much we are sinful by nature, and also how great God’s love is for us.

I am by no means one to talk from a position of authority. There’s a big-time sinner behind this keyboard. I just pray that God will give me clarity and simplicity. I want Him to strip away things that have tainted me. I don’t want to hold on to a trace of anything that would not be pleasing to Him. It’s not worth it. Nothing can compare to the closeness that we can have with God, and if there is anything that would be a hindrance to that, I just want to throw it out.

God, would You please just clean house in me? Anything that is not in perfect alignment with Your will, please take it from me. I know I can be stubborn, but I’m willing to give up even the “okay” things if You are wanting my attention for something else. Just take it all, and please don’t let me stray from the basics. Please sharpen me and help me be unstained by the world. I don’t want to become diluted. I don’t want to settle for “okay” if You are calling me to excel.

I have no intention to pick a fight with the world. At the same time, obedience to God should be my top priority, and I need to be willing to turn my back on something of the world if it offends Him. I know it’s impossible to serve two masters. I can’t be pleasing the world and also pleasing God. Something has got to win out, and I just want to choose God in every situation.

These things are much easier said than done, but what you’re reading is just from my heart. I’m nowhere near perfection, but I can honestly say that I want to raise my hands and offer everything to God and let Him choose what to give back to me.

To me, it is extremely exciting to think, “What if?” What would happen if I had no other goal other than to please God in all that I did? What would life be like? What an adventure, but what an awesome experience it would be to let God be in charge and be my source for everything. I’d encourage anyone reading this to do the same thing. In short, be willing to simplify, to travel light, to give up anything and everything for God’s sake. Let’s find out what would happen if we dared to do everything unto Him. It won’t be regretted.

Last night, Paul and I went to the YMCA for a good workout. I can definitely tell I’m getting stronger in my legs, shoulders, and chest muscles, and it’s a good feeling to have increased stamina and just to be able to lift more.

One thing that’s been kind of perplexing lately is my weight. Just two weeks ago, I was 186.5 pounds. Today, I am 192. In that time, I’ve had six or seven really good workouts, I’ve been running a lot, and I’ve also been eating really well! So I’m a little bit confused as to what gives.

I know I’ve been hitting the protein pretty hard and trying to gain muscle, so perhaps the added weight is strictly muscle? I don’t understand how it could really be fat because I’ve still been pretty conservative about what I eat, I’ve been having a higher percentage of protein, and I’ve been doing a lot of cardiovascular work to burn off calories!

I’m not terribly concerned, but I am a bit puzzled. If I had to wager a guess, I would think that a large factor is the added protein has been converted into muscle, which obviously is heavy. I have been working really hard to build up the big muscle groups, so it could be that it’s working and this is one sign of it.

Anyway, I’ll see what happens over the next week or so. I know it’s a mistake to be a slave to what the scale says, but to be honest it can be hard to not buy into it! I’ve got to remember that there are plenty of guys my height who perhaps weigh 20 pounds more than I do but are in terrific shape, and that’s definitely where muscle comes into play. I shouldn’t be too worried about what the scale says if I’m actually becoming stronger, thinner, or more toned.

Perhaps it’s a mistake on my part to use the scale as a barometer to tell how good I’m doing. I suppose it just doesn’t tell the whole story, especially when you’re trying to put on some muscle.

So we’ll see where this goes. I can’t believe the idea that I could have actually lost ground over the past couple of weeks. I’m probably just not used to looking at more than the scale to gauge how good I’m doing.

On the calendar in our attic bedroom here, Mark and I have a Bible verse for each month. I just looked at December’s, and it is Matthew 6:33-34. The translation was much different than I what I usually remember the excerpt as. This is what it says:

Your heavenly father already knows all your needs. And he will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern.

I really like that translation because it underscores that our primary concern should be living for Him. So often, it’s so easy to put that on the back burner while we worry about our family life, our job, or our friends. But God promises that if we put Him first, the rest will be taken care of. God knows our needs, and if we would just humble ourselves and trust that He does, then things can work out beautifully.

In other news, this afternoon Mom, Paul, Mark, James, and I went out to eat at a Mongolian/Chinese/Japanese restaurant in Belleville. Mom and I had been wanting to set up a lunch date at some Chinese place, and it worked out for us to all go there. It was really good! I actually tried some sushi for the first time ever — and I lived to tell the tale. It was… okay. Not as gross as I would have imagined, but at the same time certainly nothing to write home about. Or maybe…

Dear Ma and Pa,

Today I ate sushi.

Give Snoofles a hug for me.

XOXO,

Luke

Not so much.

Okay…

I’ve still been receiving a lot of spam comments. They get to be quite a nuisance to have to wade through! So, I’m trying to step up the efforts to ward them off.

From now on in the comment box, there is a field that must be left blank. Please don’t enter anything in there, or your comment will never see the light of day. It’s simply an effort to try to outsmart those spambots, which so far have done a pretty good job of getting their comments in.

So, in short, ignore the new field. It’s more or less bait for the automated scripts that will fill in every possible form field. We’ll see how it works.

God is so good. In August of 2004, we found out that our then-nine-year-old cousin Jenny had been diagnosed with leukemia. She has been through chemotherapy, radiation — the whole nine yards. We’ve made a point to pray for her pretty well every night, that God would heal her and restore her health.

Fast-forward two-plus years. Just a few days ago, Jenny had the treatment tube removed from her chest, and all signs point to her being completely healed! Praise God! Of course, the nature of cancer is that it will sometimes go into remission or hide for a while before resurfacing, but this is awesome news just the same, and we will continue to pray for her, that God will keep her healthy and strong.

What great news, though. Let’s make sure we appreciate all the times we don’t have to be visiting someone in the emergency room, the intensive care unit, or something like that. We are so very blessed!

I went to the downtown Belleville YMCA tonight for the first time since June or July. I had a pretty good workout there, although I didn’t have time to run. I’ve been trying to make a point of getting in three thorough workouts each week, and so far I have managed to stick with that for the past several weeks. It’s definitely a good habit to get into!