Bayou Allowance

You think your chores are bad?
Mine involve cleaning the gumbo pot, sweeping up Mardi Gras beads and of course feeding the gators.
What I have to do for 5 bucks a week.

Meet My New Bayou Gang

Representing we have Bonnie the Rabbit, Miss Betty, BBJ and Moma Cat...Word!
We are younger and more hip than my old Germany Posse.
We'll throw it down with any of ya'll.
Serious.

I Ain't Scared

Down here on the Bayou, they aint afraid to have 'angry' skies.

What's in a number?

The countdown has begun!
It's September 18th...on October 18th I will no longer be 24.
Or 25 really...
I ain't counting.

Catholics Run!

Reading 1
1 Cor 9:16-19, 22b-27

Brothers and sisters:
If I preach the Gospel, this is no reason for me to boast,
for an obligation has been imposed on me,
and woe to me if I do not preach it!
If I do so willingly, I have a recompense,
but if unwillingly, then I have been entrusted with a stewardship.
What then is my recompense?
That, when I preach, I offer the Gospel free of charge
so as not to make full use of my right in the Gospel.

Although I am free in regard to all,
I have made myself a slave to all
so as to win over as many as possible.
I have become all things to all, to save at least some.
All this I do for the sake of the Gospel,
so that I too may have a share in it.

Do you not know that the runners in the stadium all run in the race,
but only one wins the prize?
Run so as to win.
Every athlete exercises discipline in every way.
They do it to win a perishable crown,
but we an imperishable one.
Thus I do not run aimlessly;
I do not fight as if I were shadowboxing.
No, I drive my body and train it,
for fear that, after having preached to others,
I myself should be disqualified.

Sprechen Sie Jesus?

I was sitting in mass last Friday and listening while the priest was giving his homily and I had absolutely no idea what he was talking about. It was almost like he was speaking a completely different language or something. Then I remembered, "He is speaking a completely different language…I'm in Germany."

One of the coolest things about practicing our Catholic faith is that it doesn't have to be put on hold when you are away from your local parish. Catholic means universal. Our universal faith transcends into a universal language.

Although I had no idea what this local priest was talking about in his homily I knew exactly what was happening a few minutes later when he lifted the host and then the cup up and prayed, "Dieses ist mein Körper; dieses ist mein Blut." "This is my body; this is my blood."

It was the words of consecration and in German or in English I understood what was happening; Transubstantiation, at consecration the bread and wine become the body and blood of Jesus. Jesus was truly in my midst right there in Cologne, Germany; just like He is there when I attend a mass in California, Louisiana, or Arizona. Wherever and whenever the mass is prayed, one thing always happens - Jesus shows up, no matter what language is spoken. And that is why I am Catholic.

How many times have I sat through a mass at home when English was being spoken and paid no attention to what was happening? I let the priest's words fall on deaf ears because I had heard it all before; it was just background noise during an hour of my Sunday. Only in the last few years have I really been able to start to fathom the love Christ has for me in the Eucharist. Sometimes it takes meeting Jesus in a foreign country to be reminded just how close He always is during mass.

As I reflected on my experience I beamed to think just how cool it is to be Catholic and how I wish I could have the Holy Spirit's frequent flyer miles for just one day.

C'mon the Tigers?!

90,000 purple and gold people screaming for a team that massacred ASU did get my heart pumping.

But to be honest, I was more interested in the Louisiana natives.

c'mon the hoops!

Here mate! I biked 21.3 miles today...that has nothing to do with Celtic football but I think I have heat stroke so we will call it even.

Run, bike, faint

Back down here on the bayou I was reminded that indeed I was not in San Diego anymore as I went for a run. It was only in the 90's with 300% humidity, not bad at all! After the first 4 miles I stopped and thought to myself, self, you are about to combust! I could feel my inner core rising way past 98.6 so I walked for a few blocks and then ran like a pack of axe wielding midget clown were chasing me...That seemed to do the trick.
I was smarter today and just rode for 8 miles, only 3 cars honked and only 1 racial slur was yelled at me all in all, a good day.

Happy, But Oh So sad!

I'm happy to have arrived in Louisiana but oh so sad that crocodile hunter Steve Irwin died today.

What a kill joy.