• I haven’t had a Mind Dump since last year. The pressure’s been building.
• Whenever a new year comes I like to make year jokes on Twitter. You don’t know year jokes? They are jokes like, “Listen, if you haven’t showered and you haven’t changed your underwear since last year it’s ok. It probably means today is Jan. 1.” Or “Tired. Haven’t slept since last year. Good night world wide web.” Or “Just ate chipotle for the last time till next year. It’s going to be hard to wait that long.”
• Have you seen the commercial for the Forever Lazy? It’s a zip up Snuggie.
• Okay, this is just silly. First off the name is too much. If you are attracted to a product called “Forever Lazy” then you are giving up on life. I mean I’m lazy from time to time but I don’t want to wear something that reminds me of it. Second off the commercial is ha-larious. They have people wearing them out in public and they have a line about needing to use the restroom. Apparently they have zippers in strategic places to make it easy to go to the bathroom. I think the line is “for great escapes when duty calls.” Enough talk. Let’s watch this commercial.

• I watched The Dark Knight on TV and then the next day Ten Things I Hate About You came on. It just reminded me how great an actor Heath Ledger was.
• Oh and yes I like Ten Things I Hate About You.
• The other day the wife and I went to a place called The Cheese Shoppe. I ordered my sandwich and it didn’t come with cheese. I added it. I figured it was only right to do so. I was also a little offended that I had to add cheese.
• Have you ever noticed how every time you are around someone who is sick they say, “I’m not contagious.” What is that? Seriously?! Germs are contagious and you are sick. I think that it’s a plan of doctors to keep them in business. They tell people they are not contagious so sick people go out and get others sick. Just a thought.
• My daughter is amazing at the v-sit.
• President physical fitness award here she comes. I mean…seriously…look at the picture.
• I stunk at the physical fitness test in high school. The v-sit and the pull ups did me in. Oh not to mention climbing that stupid rope.
• The Force is strong with this one?
• My son hasn’t quite figured out how to yield a light saber.
• He got that gift for Christmas and it’s been AWESOME!
• Fridays are my day off and we have the pleasure of watching my nephew. So on Friday it’s become my goal to teach my young Padawan nephew how to be a Jedi…
• We took the twins to their 9 month doctor’s check up. In the waiting area they were playing Bob the Builder. I can’t support that. A show about building things is going to make my kids ask questions. Questions like “daddy why can’t you build anything? I’m not ready for that.
• When we went in my kids were rock stars. They had to get shots and Hayden beasted his shot. He didn’t even flinch. He handled that shot like a man. My daughter on the other hand handled that shot like a woman.
• I’m kidding about that last dump. Both kids should have cried. I’m starting to wonder if Hayden has feelings in his legs. I’m still shocked he didn’t flinch.
• After the doctor my wife Tweeted the following, “Gotta love a 2hr doctor’s well check & they tell you your kids might have delays bc they dont crawl. Have you seen them high five?!?” That’s funny stuff.
• I bought new jogging shoes. I went to Point 2. It’s a great store because they test your running skills. I was basically told that my stride is jacked up. I don’t think the guy helping me knew what to do with my feet.
• Better candy M & M’s or Reese’s Pieces? I’m going with Reese’s Pieces all day long.
• @StevenFurtick is a quote ninja. He is one of my favorite bloggers and people I follow on Twitter. He tweeted the following, “I wonder how many times I’ve missed God’s YES because I didn’t push through someone else’s NO.” Those are strong words!
• Tebow!
• Or as auto correct on my cell phone wants to say Renowned.
• Did you watch that game last night? Next week the Patriots will be a whole notha challenge.
• My wife randomly bought YooHoo chocolate drink. Now don’t make the mistake in calling it chocolate milk. The box is very specific that it’s chocolate drink. That helps me drink it because it’s not sold in the refrigerator section. That’s right. That junk just sits on a warm shelf. Mmmmm.

Whew…I feel better now.

I don’t see it. Not the stink’n cute part. I don’t see that my son look exactly like a younger version of me without sideburns. For fun I pulled out an old baby picture and put it next to Hayden’s.

So what do you think? Are we identical?

My friend was flying on an air plane when they got a little air sick. Now for this story we will call this friend Enrique. I don’t know any Enrique’s personally so I think that name is a safe bet.  Anyway Enrique got air sick and what happened next is unfathomable to me. I cringe just thinking about it.

Enrique got sick and I guess didn’t have time to pull out the puke bag that airlines provide for you. Instead, Enrique puked all over his shirt and his man bag. Some would call this a purse but since the names and gender has been changed it will be a man bag, or murse (man purse) if you will.

Now this happened early in the flight so Enrique had to fly for hours with puke all over them. I personally would have asked to borrow someone’s clothes or just jumped out the plane from sheer embarrassment. No amount of wet wipes and napkins could clean Enrique up during the flight. And the smell…don’t get me started on the smell.

Because Enrique’s bags were on the plane when he landed he had to go to the first airport store he could find and buy an extremely overpriced tourist t-shirt. He couldn’t shower because he had a layover. It would be hours before he could officially wash off. Gag nasty!

Now I can’t fathom this happening. I have never puked. I’ve never hugged a toilet. I’ve never even been sick to my stomach. I would not be prepared for something like this. From now on though I think I might pack an extra shirt in my carry on bag just in case.

I don’t think through getting sick to my stomach in public because I’ve never experienced it.

Experience leads to preparedness.

Many people don’t want to experience pain or failure. We’d rather play it safe. The truth is that every person who has ever achieved anything worth talking about has failed and then learned from their failures.

We are so afraid to fail that we often allow our dreams to die, we miss experiences, and we miss out on adventure. I’ve failed gloriously. My failures are how I learn. The next time I do the exact same thing I do it better than before. I’ve told jokes in front of large crowds that bombed drastically. You better believe the next time I spoke I learned from that failure and told a better joke. I got reamed out by a parent for a mistake I made while taking students to summer camp. You better believe that I learned from that mistake. I’ve written blog posts that were so bad they stinketh. I’m talking Old Testament King James stinketh.

The point is that our experiences lead to being prepared. I hate failing but greatness requires it. Greatness requires failing and then quickly learning from your failure. It’s that failing experience that will lead to you being better prepared in the future. I’m scared to death to try new things. I’m scared of failing. But you want to know what? I’m more scared of missing out on life.

So I am going to fail and it will be as glorious as puking on yourself and sitting in that puke for hours while on an airplane. I’m going to fail, but I’m not going to allow the fear of failing to stop me from experiencing the life God has for me.

Are you afraid of failing? What’s the best puke story you know?

I grew up listening to rap. Before it went gansta in the mid 90’s, and before it became all about boats and hoes in the 2000’s, I listened to a lot of rap. Albeit it was mostly Christian rap. Specifically dc Talk. Their album Free At Last was a mainstay in my tape deck for almost three straight years. And yes I did write tape deck. I listened to that tape so much that it got tangled in the tape deck. I ended up buying two copies of it on tape and then I eventually bought it once CD’s were invented.

I listened to rap so much that I learned how to keep a beat. I can’t freestyle to save my life, but I can rap other people’s lyrics.

I say all of this because I was reminded of a video that I saw on Youtube. I hadn’t watched this video in over a year. It’s a couple of years old, and many of you who now frequent robshep.com have never seen this. I hope you get as big of a kick out it as I did. Enjoy.

Do you love or loathe rap music? What’s something that I may or may not know about you?

Overactive Holy Spirit Syndrome or OHSS is the mental result of many Christians who grew up in legalistic environments. Some common side affects of OHSS are…

• Thinking that everyone is watching you.
• Acting better in public than you do in private.
• Pretending to be happy even when you are sad.
• Feeling the need to do good works to make it up to God.
• And over analyzing every move that you make in fear that you might tick off the Holy Spirit of God.

Tom has OHSS. When Tom goes to large grocery stores like Cosco to get free samples he thinks through every move. Tom really wants two samples. There isn’t a rule about taking more than one sample but because he judges everyone, he knows people will judge him. What does Tom do? He pretends to see his wife and says out loud, “honey, do you want a sample?” He then proceeds to eat two samples, but he doesn’t feel great about it.

Samantha has OHSS. When it’s Samantha’s turn to pray during a small group meeting she feels like it’s her job to make sure everyone knows about the sins of others. She can’t accept God’s grace and refuses to repent so in an attempt to make herself feel better she often prays for the sins of others. Sins like, “Julie is sleeping with her boyfriend. Please God forgive her for she knows what she does.”

You might have OHSS if you experience any of the following…

• Justification of your judgmental thoughts because you think it’s how God must feel.
• Boycotting certain shows because of their lifestyle but then over looking other shows that you really enjoy even though they feature people sleeping around and or committing other sins.
• The need to call other Christians out for their theological beliefs.  If you are confident that your understanding of the Bible is the only understanding and it compels you to debate other Christians and put them down then you might have OHSS.

If you or someone you love might be suffering from OHSS than I have a solution for you. GRACE. Just one dose of the Grace of God and it will rock your world little country girl. In no time you will…

• Do the right things out of love instead of fear of being judged.
• Show compassion to those who struggle with sin.
• Speak the truth in love and not in condemnation.

But that’s not all. Not only do you get the Grace of God, but you get His eternal love.

How much would you pay for this Grace? $50? $100? More you say? Well for one amazing payment of Jesus’ life you can receive this Grace for free.  That’s right. There is nothing you can do to earn God’s grace. You can’t argue with the results. Act now. The Holy Spirit is standing by.

The truth is that I’m not only a spokesperson for OHSS, I’m also a client. I’ve been legalistic multiple times in my life. Have you ever suffered from OHSS?

2011 is quickly passing us by. Before it goes the way of the Go-go I thought I’d look back at some of my favorite things that made up the year 2011…

Favorite Movies

• Fast Five – I am still shocked that this movie is on the list. I am not a fan of the Fast movies. I went into this movie with really low expectations. I left feeling like it was the best action movie of the year.
• Super 8 – if the Goonies and ET had a child it would be Super 8. I loved this movie!
• Moneyball – this movie was a little slow and it was about baseball, a sport that I don’t really care about. Somehow I left loving this movie!
• Captain America – sure this is no Dark Knight, but it’s the best superhero movie of 2011. Yes that means I think it’s better than Thor, and X-Men First Class.
• The Help – okay, this isn’t a movie that I would own on DVD (unless my wife really wanted it), but this was one of the best pictures of the year. The acting is great and the story is captivating.

Favorite Albums (Yes I still listen to albums)

• Needtobreathe – The Reckoning. Needtobreathe is my favorite band and they came through in a big way. This is the best album I’ve heard in years. LOVE it!
• Mat Kearney – Young Love. If it weren’t for the fact that Needtobreathe came out with an album this would be my favorite by far. I love every song!
• Switchfoot – Vice Verses. It took me a while to get into this album. Mainly because it came out around the same time as Needtobreathe’s. After taking some time to listen to it I feel like it’s one of Switchfoot’s best to date.

Favorite Blog Posts (Some people post their most popular posts. Popularity doesn’t always mean the best. Case in point the number one movie of all time is Avatar and I wouldn’t put that movie in my top 50)

• Awkward Things That Will Definitely Happen If You Work With Humans.
• The Pain Before The Miracle.
• The Song Grenade Is Catchy As All Get Out And It Reminds Me Of Jesus.
• I’m Glad I’m Not A Baby. 
• Our Twins First 24 Hours.
• I Want To Be Like Ludacris.
• I Need A Laundry List.
• First Annual Blogging All-Star Challenge.
• Crave That Food Like A Baby.
• An Interview With Jesus.
• Jesus Messed It Up.

Favorite Videos

Favorite Memories

• My twins being born on March 30, 2011.
• Meeting Rev. Run.
• Meeting Andy Stanley two different times.
• Celebrating ten years of marriage.
• My dad filming the part of Abe Lincoln’s doctor in the new Steven Spielberg film Lincoln. Steven Spielberg!

Favorite Food

• Chicken Fajita Burrito with mild salsa, corn salsa, and lots of cheese from Chipotle. I probably ate at Chipotle 100 times in 2011. That’s not an exaggeration. It’s actually an understatement.

Favorite Books

• You Lost Me by David Kinnaman.
• The Grace Of God by Andy Stanley.
• The Christian Atheist by Craig Groeschel.
• EntreLeadership by Dave Ramsey.
• Quitter by Jon Acuff.
• 31 Days to Finding Your Blogging Mojo by Bryan Allain.

Traveled

• California
• Atlanta
• Chicago

Firsts In 2011

• First time I changed a diaper, fed a baby, and burped a baby. Oh and there was that first where I attempted to see if my son would latch on to my nipple to try and eat. He was crying really hard. I didn’t have a bottle ready. I was desperate and I thought it’d be funny…oh and he didn’t.
• First time I jogged a 10K.
• First time I got peed on by a baby.
• First time I rapped at a holiday service at church.
• First time I watched the Dallas Mavericks win a championship. That was not easy.
• First and second time that I got re-tweeted by Jon Acuff. The first time was for the blogging All-Star Challenge and the second was for a post about his book Quitter.
• First time I had a summer intern. B-Rad was AWESOME!
• First time I watched The Walking Dead. I got the first season on DVD for Fathers Day.
• First time I drank Mtn. Dew White Out. This has become my drink of choice in 2011.
• First time I became a Tim Tebow fan. I started rooting for that guy to win in 2011.
• First time I got inducted into Awesometown.

Favorite Bloggers

• Jon Acuff.
• Tyler Stanton.
• The Good Greatsby.
• The Seeking Pastor.
• The Handwritten.
• Ironic Mom.
• Knox McCoy.
• Tyler Tarver.
• Ricky Anderson.
• Clay Morgan.
• Steven Furtick.

So that’s my look back at 2011. What are some of your favorites from the year that was 2011?

The problem is that Tom Cruise went Oprah crazy. I’m talking jumping on a couch and talking crazy. Most people that I know never saw Mission Impossible 3. MI-3 gave me way too high of expectations for MI-4.

I liked the fourth Mission Impossible but I didn’t love it. I think they did a great job of giving the franchise some new life. They introduced some new characters and brought back some others from the past movies. The action is stellar and there is more comedy than in the previous installments.

There is nothing wrong with MI-4, but there is nothing that makes me love it. It’s a good action film, but it doesn’t compare to the third film in the franchise. One thing that I thought was a little odd is that Tom Cruise character seems to be a little less confident and a little bit clumsy. This is his fourth go around and at one critical point he acted scared to do what needed to be done. He has never shown a hint of fear. I also thought that in the last action scene he should have just quickly finished off the bad guy and then finished his mission. That guy seemed to give him a lot of problems.

MI-4 is rated PG-13 for action violence and one swear word. I appreciate the fact that there was only one curse word in the entire movie. That’s rare for movies these days. I give it one thumb up.

Rob’s Rating System =

Two Thumbs Up – A great film worth paying full price.

One Thumb Up – A decent attempt and worth seeing at a matinee price.

Thumb to the side – An ok film, but wait for video.

Thumb down – A stinker of a film. Don’t waste you life seeing it.

Did you see MI-4? If so what did you think?

• Lose one pound and keep it off. It sounds small but most people gain a pound a year. If I do this every year I’ll lose seven pounds by the time I’m 40.
• Go to the gym one time. People like to set lofty goals like “go to the gym every day.” That’s great but if you set a New Year’s resolution to only go to the gym once you will feel oh so great about yourself every time you go because you are destroying your goal.
• Not poop my pants. Now that’s a resolution I hope I never break.
• Brush my teeth twice a day and floss 2 weeks before my dentist appointment. I don’t have a problem brushing every day, but I stink at making time to floss.  I figure that if I can floss two weeks before I go to the dentist they will not tell me that I need to floss more. I’ve never had a cavity but they always reprimand me for my lack of flossing.
• Not eat a single Twinkie. I haven’t had a Twinkie in probably ten years. I figure that if I eat one in 2012 my life is going in the wrong direction.
• Think about doing some sit ups.
• Avoid movies with sparkling vampires.
• Read a book a month. Now that I have kids I read children’s books on a weekly basis. One book a month will be nothing. Those jokers are only a few pages longs. Heh heh heh.
• Watch more TV. Not a lot more, but I’d like to watch more NBA basketball than I did last year.
• Go to bed every night.
• See a lot of superhero movies. Including The Dark Knight Rises, The Avengers, and the new Spiderman. The jury is still out on whether or not I’ll go see Ghost Rider.
• Learn another language. It’s not that hard. you just have to pick the right language. I’m fluent in American, “yo, what up?” I’m also fluent in Australian, “G’day, mate.” And I’m learning English, “hello guvnor.” Did you know that Randy is not a good name in England? I think it means naughty.

Now listen, you only have 3 days to finalize your resolutions. Think it through. Plan ahead. Aim low and you can be one of the few that keeps your New Years Resolutions. Or…

You can set a realistic goal and come up with a plan on how you are going to keep it. I am thinking about running a half marathon in 2012. It won’t be easy but I plan on running it with friends. We will see if I can keep this goal.

Do you have a New Year’s Resolution?

1. My wife has said “Heck To The No.”
2. I have a roll on the back of my neck. I like to call this my speed bump. You can’t notice it unless I’m bald.
3. Some other bald guys have told me that I have a long way to go.
4. I don’t know how I’ll look bald.

So what do you think?

The reason I ask is because my wife has lifted her ban. She wanted good family pictures with me having hair. Since we have those she says I’m good to go. So…vote.

Below is poll for you to vote on. It’s anonymous so you don’t have to be embarrassed to say how you really feel.