First deployment for ‘26. Two and a half weeks in southern Texas near Mexico. Then February in Grande Prairie if you survive and that  paperwork all ends up okay. There will be a temperature difference.

Honestly, you’re a bit worried. Haven’t had the conditioning of hauling kegs this time, and Flame’s cooking has been wonderful, but not exactly low-calorie. Hitting the gym has been good, but it’s too little too late to play much of a factor. At least you’re subbing mid week thanks to the last-minute need – three days of really heavy pain to start it off before the weekend instead of all five. Hope no one got hurt.

It won’t take that long to get back in the groove, but the last thing you wanna be is the weak man on the team. Well, maybe this is what they get for not having you in the field for 5 months. 

Nah, it’s on you. 😂 Nice try. No one else is responsible for your fitness but you. Felt odd kissing Flame goodbye at home as you headed out. Brother-in-law will be picking her up today to take her home and you had to give her a key to lock up. 

Been with her four months and things are going well enough. You are seriously gonna have to level up to take care of her given her health concerns. It’s daunting, NGL. Both of you are gonna have to ‘grow’ so much. 

She’s gonna need to work and drive. Be more serious. You’re gonna need to cover her health insurance and everything else. Be even more serious.

She lives two hours away, and that’s not going to change until… then / if, and that isn’t soon. So much is contingent on growth.

And the Bible. Read Book of Proverbs with her. All to get to Proverbs 31. What you need in your other half. What you need to be for her, etc. It’s all there. It works… if the couple both does what they need to in order to mitigate future resentment.

Move towards God. Seriously, move towards Him. It’s cold again. Get into Acts. Pray for guidance. And mercy. This week is so gonna hurt. 😂

It’s time to push through.

Make every day productive.

The only blank slate is 2026, and today’s the first day back.

Bible. One chapter a day, minimum.

Busy? Hit it. No excuses.

Not busy? Get books. No excuses.

Finished? Gym. 3/week. No excuses.

Build. Build. And build some more.

Await the news about Ted. Pray you get to keep her a while longer.

Cover the bases. One last year before  you’re 50. Don’t hit that milestone while leaving anything on the field.

Be grateful for all your blessings.

Your year is yours. Choose well for yourself. 

Follow me wherever I go 😂😂😂

Eternally grateful for every blessing. No blessing is greater than Christ’s Salvation.

Being together with loved ones is always priceless.

So grateful to have her another year.

And everything else. 😋

…in life you treasure.

Like having to change a tire at three in the morning, only to discover that the spare tire is flat too. 😂

YouTube Church tomorrow morning it is…

Could always be worse.

2025 has been such a mixed bag. So many wonderful things. So many frustrating things. When the numbers are tallied… It’ll be a really good year when you’re looking back…

Frustration? Absolutely. But you can handle frustration. Can even laugh about it while you’re dealing with it.

You’re starting to give Acts the Romans treatment and leave it hanging.

2026 will be a wonderful time to stop doing that.

Tentative optimism for the new year.

It’ll be up and down like every year is. But chances are it’s gonna be more memorable than most.

Draw closer to God. Always in all things. And never stop trying because… you need the practice. 🤔

Try and get some sleep.

Morning will always come.

Still miss you.

Moving forward is rough sometimes. There’s so many things in transition. Things going well with Flame, but the road is long. Going slow. Trying to put God first.

Severing ties with some in your past was needed. Just basic respect for who you love now. There will always be prayer – until the day you die – but every Sunday is fine. No need for open channels. They don’t bring you much joy anymore, and don’t need to hurt you or her either anymore.

There’s no way to have said goodbye. You tried. It just sounded angry, and you’re not angry. Quite the opposite. But nothing could be said that hasn’t been said before. Just so miss the good times, and pray for her to find Home. It always meant so much to you. Always will.

Whatever the weirdness is going on with the main gig is wearing thin. Guaranteed work starting around late October was supposed to be the plan. Still waiting. Now you’ve had to crank the store back up. Annoying that money’s tight, but that’s what happens when everything dries up at once.

Gym workout schedule needs stability all the same too. It’s impossible to plan when everything is out on a limb.

Yet another period of time where stability evades you, but lots of amazing things are on the horizon.

Thinking about breaking down and just finding something here. And just like that, anger at that entire world starts flowing.

You just need more going on with the main gig. Keeping the store cranking short term. God willing, next year is gonna be a lot better, one way or another.

Just keep pushing through. Focus on God. Still not time for a rally. But it’s coming up… very soon.

Proverbs was wonderful. Hopefully Acts will keep the journey going.