Take that Bobby Flay!!!!

From our "Consumer Report" Department.

It was lunch time at work and I'm about two minutes drive from a grocery store. So more then often I'll drive over and look for something to eat or something to drink. Walking down the aisle I considered my choices. Juice, Soda, Diet or regular?, milk or maybe a water.

And then I found them, dozens of them. Energy drinks galore. Big ones, small ones, huge ones and even ones bigger then I think someone can finish in one sitting. They came in all different brands, flavors and advertising angles, some for men, some for women, many for kids. I'd heard rumblings and opinions on these for a while now so I looked into it.

Energy Drinks have been around for a long time. They use chemicals and vitamins that our bodies create in order to function at a normal level. particularly vitamin B6 and B12.

Taurine is a chemical found in the muscles of most animals and in Humans. It is created in the mitochondria of your cells. The mitochondria is used in the respiration of your cells and uses the chemicals to do its work in the muscles. The over consumptions of things such as Taurine does pretty much what alcohol and cocain do to the dopamine levels in your brain, eventually it causes these chemicals to stop in their production. Much like the UAW on strike against foreign cars, your body will stop the production of these chemicals. Which means when they are rushed out of your body with the rest of the effects of the energy drink, your body has to replenish its store. Which is one of the leading causes of that "crash" that is referred to when the consumer comes down from their "Energy High".

Why add chemicals, to what you already have. AS My picture of Bindy said last blog, its better to sleep.

Also when you look at a can of this stuff it doesnt tell you that it packs over 280 mg of caffeine per 9 ounces(roughly). Given that the FDA has put a ban on using any more then 65 mg of caffeine per 12 ounces of Soda. From my quick research I found that many nutritionists say that caffeine is benign, yet unhealthy in large doses. But I find that close to all of them warn against its use on a regular basis.

Now I'm not a scientist but from reading what I have today, and seeing the effects of it, from both my own use, and the effects of testimonies I've read on the web, I'm not touching the stuff again.

Bear in mind that I in no way intend to insult those that are frequent purchasers of these products. I'm not writing this to prove my intelligence, trust me it would not help.

The thing I find most interesting of all of my research is the label on the back of a can,

"These statements have not been evaluated by the food and drug administration. This product is not intended to diagnose,treat,cure or prevent any disease."

This product has not been tested, for its effects, its content, or the dangers of marketing it for children.

Hmmmm...........

Ah Spring

It feels good to ride in a car with the windows down. To walk out the door without having to look for my coat. And yet with that freedom comes all the work that comes with the weather being so nice. Yesterday after work Dad and I filled in all the holes that bindy had dug in the lawn.
I've gone for a bike ride, a jog, and even a long walk with Bindy. I've set a few goals for myself, one is to reach my weight goal by camp. Another thirty pounds, it doesnt seem all that bad now.
In just a weeks time all of the troubles that kept me up at night, have seemed to vanish. As the answer and the means have been supplied for each. And yet as I sit here typing I still feel like there is more for me to do.
I look at Pastor's list on his blog, and I've decided to have a hand in most of the things on it. You can put a big check on the church window as good and done. All we have to do now is to paint it when we paint the rest of the church. Mr. Thompson started it, I helped from the middle to the end, and the boys came in towards the end to finish it up. We learned a lot about patience with this job, for some reason that old putty just wouldn't come off.
I really enjoyed the singing, and thats about all I can say about it. It was a blast, during and after. Thank you guys so much for all that you did to make it great.

Good night for now.
Matt.

From our politically incorrect department.

A month or so ago during a family holiday get together I was called into a room full of upset mothers. You know exactly what I'm talking about, when something is said by a male or a child that makes every mother in the room yell in indignation. Like mud stained carpet, or a pregnant daughter.

The culprit behind this maternal anxiety was a discussion about myspace and the things my adolescent cousins had on their accounts. Both had listed themselves at 18 years old, neither of them were older than 13.

For those of you unfamiliar to the Myspace world, it is a network of blogs much like this one, but more popular. Each member has their own page with their own links to pictures, friends and comment boxes. You can decorate them with music files, pictures of yourself and of any kind of graphic you can pick the coding for.

It is inhabited namely by preteens, teens and many adults who still think that they are teens. Atleast that is what it started off to be.

My cousins had filled theirs with risque pictures of themselves, Symbols of a famous pornographic empire and sparkle butterfilies that change colors. These are cousins that I used to babysit often. While their mother and father would go out they would stay at our house, where we would watch movies and play board games, or go into town and laugh through the aisles of the local grocery store. The pathetic thing is, is that I can not call this abnormal for their age. A quick glance at the pages of their friends, and of other girls the same age or older revealed something out of a depiction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

The internet no matter what we may want to say about it, just isn't safe. It never was. It can be a tool of use to our churches, studies, and an easy means of communication. However left unchecked it can be the Devil's greatest asset, to both your mind and the lives of children.

As I mentioned before most blogs looked exactly like theirs, atleast the ones that I could look at before having to click away. These are children, just children. Mirroring the whoremongers, and "strangewomen" mentioned in the Bible.

Some reports are saying the men and women behind locking Internet Predators up are having more and more success using myspace. And this with good reason, because the predators are having more success. Myspace isn't the only blog type playground for kids. Sites like Facebook, Live Journal and many more provide instant access and venting space "for the frustrations of youth".

To me this problem can be solved by you parents. Make sure you know whats on these websites your kids are checking. Know the passwords to their internet accounts, and dont allow them any unsupervised time.

What good is it to have a word blocking agent on your t.v., pad lock on your door or even a strong say so as to what your children read if we let them run free on the web.

Do yourself a favor, Google for the statistics of childrens deaths due to internet stalking, read some of the stories of parents just like you. Hug your children, and then put the computer in a room where anyone can see what is being typed. The living room, kitchen alcove somewhere open. Use software that tracks where your children are going on the web. And at night before you go to bed, take the power cord with you. Not just the mouse, not just the keyboard. Remember those can be done without.

Strict? Maybe, but I'm taking these thoughts from a radio program done by christian parents, who have buried their children after some pervert had finished with them.

The world is no different from the one you grew up in. But technology has found new ways to get away with what you fear when you tuck your children in.

I grew up with this technology, my generation is what is making these sites so popular. It's just sad that to many parents show no care over what their children do. I'm not saying blogging is evil. Myspace, maybe, Facebook, no. But you have to pick up your Bible and draw that line.

Besides after hours web surfing should be avoided by anyone, think of all that sleep you could be getting.

"No wonder they call Him Savior!"

Last night at the L5 Concert, Glen Dustin got up and talked about his "bout with depression". Personally I dont believe in the conteporary idea of depression. Yes when people are tested they show chemical imbalances, but there is little that those pills are going to do for that sin in your life that you wont let go of.
But I got what he was saying about the troubles that are on your mind being so heavy that when you pray you just dont know what to ask for. I didnt even know where to start. Finances? Relationships? Goals? Work? I didnt know what to say to the problems I have in my life.
If you consult the great big book of useless Cliches it would give me this answer "Some people have a lot worse". But knowing that just makes me sadder.
Thanks to God's love and mercy though we dont consult that book. No nor texts not even anthologies of poetry. But we consult the word of God. And in that word you'll find answers to every problem, and solutions to every need.
So Some time last week I pushed everything off of my plate, I put off studying, didn't excercise, shut off my phone and just sat. I believe that the problems we have start from the sin we harbor in our lives. I knew that I had to have that time with God, but where to start? So I started off praising Him for the many things He has done in my life. How much I need him. Then it flowed, like a clogged drain I let all of the murky water of my sin, and my problems out into that empty room for my Lord to hear. Holding nothing back, from my concerns about the health and well being of others, all the way to sin. I asked for guidance, wisdom, mercy and compassion. All the time confessing how weak and useless I am without Him. I got up and I knew of the peace that the Psalmist mentions in Psalm 4:8. One that conjures of that first night of rest you had after you were saved. That kind of peace. Knowing that my Lord had me firmly, that I stood on that solid foundation.
The trick I think is not to let it build up over the day, month, week or year. But to go to Him immediately with your prayers, concerns, and yes even those things that sinfully worry us. To confess sin, and to take actions to never go back to that sin. I'm not going to say that every problem was solved, but I wont deny Him the deserved glory by not saying that He didnt provide the means over the next week. That conversation took a while, and it took even more out of me. My God works wonders. I hope I never forget that all my problems, are just opportunities to see the Father work


Hold nothing back, Take none of it with you when you go.