It's Been Awhile

Busy,busy,busy. This more or less sums up my life since my last post.Her are some highlights:
1) Zak and CC closed on their house
2)Kris dog has learned the sit command--he also gained 5 lbs.
3)My body is finally clear of kidney stones after 3 surgeries.
4) Josh spends more time in Chicago than he does at home.
5)I now drive a truck rather than my bicycle or motorcycle.
6)I spend more time working at Zaks than I spend on my own.
7)The leaves are off the trees and now the lights from the new street in our backyard shine in my eyes when I watch tv.
8)Turkeyfest has come and gone.
9)Swine Flu is a real deal
10)Who Dey has become part of my everyday language.
11)I finished painting at my moms house after 8 months of delays.
On my day off today, I'm cleaning carpets, cutting grass, and raking leaves



Who Dey,
Steg

To Follow Or Not To Follow

In this pic Lyd chooses to follow Zoey at the campground. She, by faith trusts the dog and chooses to follow. Throughout most of our lives we live day to day trying by ourselves to take control of everyday life. We seem to take things for granted and become daily problem solvers.We get bogged down with struggles and frustration causes us to lash out at loved ones and others. Why do we think we can fix ourselves and others? We spend way too much time worrying and being concerned with what our neighbors are saying and doing. Much of our time is spent on ourselves. It turns out that most of us are selfish. We want our lives to be better than others.
Wow, have we missed the boat or what? Instead of leading lives all about "me", maybe we should reevaluate. We should take that leap of faith, listen and read the word of God, and follow him. We should work thru him with others , by not just focussing on our own problems. We need to use the gifts that God has provided us with and use them for the good of the world. We need to stop being so self centered and help others. We need to stop worrying and start praying.
How come it's so easy the think and write down God's plan , but so hard to execute it? I need to pick up my cross and follow Jesus. Sounds like a plan thats worth following.

Blessings
Steg

Life Is Good

Life in the Steg Fam is good.Our granddaughter is growing up so fast and has brought much love to the fam. Life is good.
Josh and Jessie are working with the infants at church and making an impact on the small ones. Life is good.
Jessie is carrying our grandson and due after the first of the year. Life is good.
Zak and CC are recovering from the flu(whew) and making an impact on Jr. High kids by mentoring and teaching. Life is good.
CC is a new addition to our family this year. Life is good.
Krissy brought 20 of her students to serve at the Prom and working in student ministries helping impact our youth. Life is good.
Lori and I are working at church doing alpha. I think I benefit as much as our table participants do. Life is good.
The purpose of this post is not to brag about my family. I am doing what I think all people need to do and that is looking at how God is working in our lives. I want to keep God as the common denominator that continues to be a working force in my life. By surrendering our lives to God and giving him all our worries and concerns in life, and remembering he doesnt put anything on us that he cant handle, we can continue to serve him and be a possitive impact on other people's lives. Life is Good.
Take some time everyday to see if your Life is Good With God. Make the change. Its not too late.

Life is Good
Steg

Fall

It's that time of year when squirrels are gathering nuts(see picture) getting ready for winter. Football is in full swing(who-dey). Temperatures are cooling down and we can see the end of grasscutting in the near future. Last night I heard there is a chance of snow next week.I celebrated a birthday yesterday and the day was perfect with the kids, parents and wife watching football on a nice cool day. It doesn't get any better than this.
As it gets darker earlier and the time changes, the days just slow down. Our bodies also adjust to the shorter days.I seem to sleep better because there are less distractions. Snuggling up around a fire presents perfect peace to me. I'm going to build a fire right now.There is nothing like the smell of campfire smoke and the warmth that accompanies it.I can't believe how cold it was on my motorcycle just a short time ago. Its time to warm up. Later

Blessings
Steg

Hunger

As many of you already know, I was hospitalized last week with kidney stones. One was too large to pass so I had surgery to have the stone pushed back up in my kidney. A stent was placed in the kidney down thru the bladder. This keeps the huge stone in the kidney so urine flow is not interrupted. The morphine,demerol and stronger drugs as well as being put under for surgery have messed up my system. When I came home last week I puked all over the driveway, Which brings me to my point. With the stent rubbing on the wall of my bladder,kidney, and peeing blood, my appetite has been nonexistant. Don't get me wrong, from a weight standpoint I'm not complaining, but the constant queezy feeling is getting old.
This burger,consistimg of 4 quarter pound patties,12 onion rings, and 8 strips of bacon makes me dry heave. Give it a week. My surgery to blast the stones is scheduled for tomorrow. Hopefully next week I'll give one of you a call to share this burger with me. Any Volunteers? Say a prayer that the stone blasting goes ok so I can make it to the Prom.


Blessings
Steg

To Spank or Not to Spank

ATTENTION: This blog is not encouraged nor endorsed by any members of the Stegman family.It is strictly the opinion of the writer.


I am a supporter of spanking an unruly child. Let me point out the steps I take prior to the act. They are:
1. tell the child what they are doing wrong and ask them to stop.
2.tell the child the consequences that will happen if the behavior continues.
3.pull the child aside in private. No public humiliation. Explain to child why you are inforcing this discipline, tell them you love them, bend them over, and in a controlled manner let them have it. Tell them you love them and leave them alone to process.
4.Never strike in face, limbs. Buttocks is the target. To assure extra protection cover your kids back with you other arm to protect the kids kidneys.If the child jerks you will hit your arm instead of their back.
5.Make this a team effort with you spouse. If kids see disagreement on the punishment it will confuse the issue.
6.Always point out how you dislike and upset that the punishment is carried out.
7.After the spanking occurs, the punishment is over. Go back to normal activities.
8.You only dicipline your own child in this way! If you're having problems with another persons child return the child to the parents and express your concerns. Walk away. Your job is done .It is the Parents responsibility to discipline.Never forget this!

Why am I blogging about this? I saw some guy on tv telling how he never ever spanked his kids and thought it was a phase all kids go thru. Bullying, striking others, other acting out things that kids do are not phases. They are the beginning of bad habits that can lead to tragic results. Now this father is visiting his adult child in prison.

Nobody's perfect. These are just my thoughts. I cant believe I'm pushing the publish post button after commenting on this subject. This is my opinion and I'm sticking to it.

Blessings
Steg

Old News/Budget Cuts/Me

I don't know about you, but I'm sick and tired of hearing about budget cuts. After all, budget cuts are what cost me my job. All areas have been hit by these cuts and that helps take the sting out of my unemployment. It reinforces the fact that "Its not about me."
This concept is what I have struggled with for most of my life. I think I can honestly say I'm living evryday now constantly thinking what I can do for others. I need to volunteer more and make sure I don't fall back in my old ways. These past 6 months have really helped me grow.
Like I always say 'Quit Whining". I think I blogged about this some time ago. Have a good day and focus on doing something for someone else today.

Blessings
Steg