Life is a Zig-Zag

I attended a small Christian college in western Pennsylvania where we were required to attend morning chapel 16 times a semester. Very few people enjoyed it. Partly because it was in the morning and it was forced and partly because the majority of the speakers in chapel were bogus. The message was rarely convicting or Bible-based and therefore soon forgotten. But there were some, every now and then, that would speak truth and it would stick with you forever. Today I am remembering a particular service where a Sovereign Grace pastor stood up and told us that, "Life is a zig-zag." In his presentation he mapped out for us the path that Israel took from Egypt to the promised land. When he showed how Israel went forward, then backwards, then sideways; it was quite baffling. Why would God do this to his people whom he loved and redeemed? Why not take them straight to Canaan? It would have been so much easier and shorter. Why did he have them fight so many battles? Why did he make them feel tired, hungry, and thirsty? The answer lies in the fact that the deliverance from Egypt and the wilderness wanderings were pictures of the  gospel and the Christian life. Like Israel, we were comfortable and at ease serving a cruel King whom did not know the LORD. We lived in a dominion of darkness. And like the people of Old under the deliverance of Moses our bonds to sin were broken when we believed in  Jesus the great Redeemer and fled to him. But the story wasn't over at the Red Sea and our lives are not over when we believe the gospel. There is still the hard and grueling trek to the promised land. The great truth that I heard that morning was that, for the Christian, this pilgrimage is never a straight line. It is always a zig-zag. Sometimes you will feel like you are regressing and going backwards and sometimes you will feel stagnant. These are the times of frustration. Of grumbling and murmuring against God and his servant. "Why couldn't you just leave me alone, I am not better now than I was before I became a Christian." "Where is the land flowing with milk and honey that you promised? All that I know is this desert wasteland."But we must remember that it is in these times that God is testing us. He is refining us and removing all of our dross, weaning us from the love of the World, teaching us to trust and depend solely on him. He sends us backward because we need to be sent backward. Trusting continually in Christ is foreign to us and God must teach us over and over again. I remember this message so clearly because I need it so much. Lately life seems stagnant, I don't feel like I am becoming more like Christ. I have been getting frustrated and angry because life seems hard. But I need to stop and remember that for the Christian, life is promised to be hard. And while it is hard, I must also remind myself of the staggering benefits that I have received from the gospel. I have the presence of God travelling with me day and night and the wonderful promise of glory before my eyes. If God is with me and for me, then I can meet setbacks and seeming diversions with joy and with confidence. Life is a zig zag because we need to learn much from God. We have so much sin and self-trust lying in the corners of our heart, that we must always be humbled by God. What about you? If life seems like a zig-zig... it is and that's ok. Just remember that God is with you and for you and will not leave you until he presents you perfectly on the golden shores of the heavenly Canaan.

Fading Glory update!

I apologize to all my fans (Heidi) for the blogging slump but am proud to provide you with my first update of my summer physical fitness goals. In case you forgot, I am out to dunk, run a 4.7, and lift 275 pounds. I decided to go after it one goal at a time. So here is a clip of me trying to dunk. As you can see I do not succeed, but I feel like I am pretty close. Also I am wearing like these weird adidas skater shoes that my wife picked up at the consignment store. I feel like if I was wearing real basketball shoes I could have made it. After all of these attempts (There were about 10 or so) I left feeling like I had pulled my groin muscle. While it was funny, it was yet another reminder of my feeble and frail physical state. I am out to try again today and will start doing some sprints today. So stay tuned for more fading glory updates. I expect that my next one will be a successful one.

Talby Wedding Interview

Wow! What a weekend. Getting to see all of my friends was such a blast and of course seeing Talby met and exceeded all of my expectations. He did several ridiculous/hilarious things over the weekend that only Talby would do. I will share some of those stories with you later. Yes, Talby provided me with about a month of material in just two short days. But for now, be contented with these up close and personal interview with this interview with GQ Talby.

Wedding Weekend

      Sorry MCN that it has been so long since I last posted. I have today off from work and thus I have some time to catch you all up on my life (because I know you are so interested). Well we just got back from a great wedding weekend where two of my favorite people got married, Andie and Andrew. The whole weekend was a blast.  There was golf, food, cards, video games, dancing, music, and a bunch of stories to go along with.
But the best part of course was the wedding itself. Seeing two people who love Christ and who both know that they were brought together by him was such a joy. Also seeing all of my friends from college was such a blessing. My friends have a strange ability to be both incredibly goofy and spiritually challenging at the same time. It seems like at a moments notice we can go from sharing stories and impersonating our old football coach to expressing what God has been teaching us in our lives. I truly believe that I have some of the best friends in the world. So with that I will leave you with some photos from the weekend.

The Beautiful Bride

Chris  being nice to Jo

Zach and Ahna

The bros in the old Pi Pew in Chapel

Dave being dumb

The bros at Rachels

Anxiety

Worrying has never been something that I have been prone to do. On the contrary, people usually think of me as carefree or careless. My Mother seems to have an endless supply of stories of me forgetting my football equipment, leaving my baseball glove out in the rain, or neglecting to do some important school project. Growing up, anxiety was the least of my concerns. But while I may have paraded this off as virtuous, I am now realizing that I never worried because I never really had responsibility. My parents took care of me in so many ways, that I was left to live a carefree life. But now that I live on my own, have to pay my own bills, have a wife to take care of, and a career to think about, I find myself worrying a little bit more. I am coming to see that as you go through different stages of your life, there seem to be certain sins waiting to entangle you. All this is to say that I have found myself a little anxious about my life and future and God seemed to place this devotion from Charles Spurgeon right in my lap. It was perfect for Lissa and I and we read it together several times because I thought it was so good. Enjoy....

"Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee."—Psalm 55:22.

Care, even though exercised upon legitimate objects, if carried to excess, has in it the nature of sin. The precept to avoid anxious care is earnestly inculcated by our Saviour, again and again; it is reiterated by the apostles; and it is one which cannot be neglected without involving transgression: for the very essence of anxious care is the imagining that we are wiser than God, and the thrusting ourselves into His place to do for Him that which He has undertaken to do for us. We attempt to think of that which we fancy He will forget; we labour to take upon ourselves our weary burden, as if He were unable or unwilling to take it for us. Now this disobedience to His plain precept, this unbelief in His Word, this presumption in intruding upon His province, is all sinful. Yet more than this, anxious care often leads to acts of sin. He who cannot calmly leave his affairs in God's hand, but will carry his own burden, is very likely to be tempted to use wrong means to help himself. This sin leads to a forsaking of God as our counsellor, and resorting instead to human wisdom. This is going to the "broken cistern" instead of to the "fountain;" a sin which was laid against Israel of old. Anxiety makes us doubt God's lovingkindness, and thus our love to Him grows cold; we feel mistrust, and thus grieve the Spirit of God, so that our prayers become hindered, our consistent example marred, and our life one of self-seeking. Thus want of confidence in God leads us to wander far from Him; but if through simple faith in His promise, we cast each burden as it comes upon Him, and are "careful for nothing" because He undertakes to care for us, it will keep us close to Him, and strengthen us against much temptation. "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee."

Books to have on your shelf

I enjoy reading. This was not always the case, for as a young boy I was highly uninterested in reading anything that was not sports related. But when God started working in my life, I became interested in reading the Bible. For a kid who grew up in church, I was shocked how little I knew about the content of scripture and once i started reading it I became fascinated with it. About the same time I began reading the Bible, I also began to like books that dealt with God and faith. I will not lie, my interest in reading books was gradual and was assisted by men like John Piper who serve as a bridge to the great minds of the past. I still remember reading Piper's "Legacy of Sovereign Joy," that was assigned to me my freshmen year at Grove City. The book was a brief biography of the lives and works of Augustine, Luther and Calvin. The common thread that Piper saw in all of their lives was a deep rooted joy in the goodness and sovereignty of God. I was actually interested in this book. I was shocked. The book was not written merely intellectually but had an interesting and pastoral feel to it. It rocked my world.

        My first book recommendation on the Man-Cave was John MacCarthur's 12 ordinary men and my second will be Piper's the Swan's are not Silent Series. There are 4 separate books (I think) Which deal with the life and times of 3 different Christians throughout history who were united by some common theme. The aforementioned "Legacy of sovereign joy," was about finding joy in a sovereign God and other books deal on topics such as suffering and fighting for doctrinal truth. I am so grateful for books like these cause they were the first ones that guided my steps as a Christian and taught me to be a discerning yet grateful believer. If you are a bored church-goer, check out these books. Piper highlights the theology and beliefs of the greatest and most influential christians in history. I guarantee if you read them your eyes will be opened to unchangeable truths that have been blurred out in our age and your heart will be strengthened to fight for those truths. It was books like these that took me from a box-score reading champ  and turned me into someone who was banned by his family from reading anything "theology" related on vacation. (P.S.- I still snuck a copy of Augustine's Confessions onto the beach! Thank you John Piper.)

The best last hole of golf ever

2 weekends ago, I went home to Pittsburgh to visit our family and our friends. During my time home I had the opportunity to play golf with two of my favorite people; my bro Andrew and my bro-in-law Dave. While we had grand plans of going to play 18 somewhere new, we ended up going to Frosty Valley which is our local go-to. Dave is a good golfer, Andrew is not, and I am somewhere in between the two of them. This day I was closer to Andrew than Dave. Andrew has one of the worst slices I have ever seen. He used to have to point himself almost 90 degrees away to get his ball to land in the fairway.
        Despite Andrew's golfing inadequacies it has always been one of his goals to beat me in golf. You must understand that Andrew and I are quite competitive when it comes to sports. He is my best friend but that does not stop us from getting unnecessarily heated over small and insignificant competitions. Games for nintendo 64, home-run derby at the batting cage at cool springs, checkers, wiffle ball, one on one basketball games, and corn-hole have all been taken far too seriously by us.

The most notable and shame producing event has been 2 on 2 beach football. We always guard each other and in these matches I have been driven to spiking a football, storming off the field, and elbowing Andrew in the face after he had his wisdom teeth out.

So while I usually beat Andrew in Golf with ease, this day was much different. I was shanking the ball all over the place and bro was actually hitting the ball pretty good. Entering the last two holes, Andrew had a 5 shot lead. Insurmountable right? We both got 4's on the last hole, which left us with the 9th hole to determine the winner. I was already conceding in my mind that this would be the day when bro finally beat me and I was prepared mentally to accept this. But the 9th hole at Frosty presents problems to people who have a bad slice....
      I stepped up to the tee box first and I was beginning my swing Dave cracked some joke and i duffed one off to the left. Because of poor etiquette I got a mulligan. I sliced one to the right where there is a set of train tracks then a vast abyss of rocks and wilderness which has stolen many of my golf balls. Surely this shot was to seal my fate. But by some stroke of Divine Providence my ball hit the side of the train track and shot back toward the fairway, bounced off the cart path, and landed right next to the fairway. A sign of things to come?
Bro was up next. He stepped up to his ball and said, "Bro, I am aiming way to left, I have to get this one into play." Aiming at the 1st hole green, bro proceeded to rip a huge slice over the track. It must have sliced at least 150 yards. "Frick," Bro blurted out. This was bad, but I still thought my deficit was too big to erase. Bro dropped and sliced another one over the tracks, "Frick!" Bro marches forward, drops again, and unbelievably rockets one over the tracks again. "Frick!!!" Now he is shooting 8 from the top of the hill. I had my opening.
       I shoot a 3 iron 60 yards from the green. Easy pitch and put and I have it. Bro, from the mountain-tops of frosty chips well over the green. This time there is no "Frick," but a nervous pace towards the ball. All I have to do is chip on and 2-put and I will have done it. But I chunk my shot into the sand trap, and have to pitch out. Bro chips on but leaves himself a 50 foot put. After two putting bro finishes with an 11. I have a 7 footer to tie it all up. All I could think about as I stood over that put was, "I do not want to have to listen to Andrew talking about how he beat me," and "If I make this, this will be the funniest hole of golf I have ever played." So with an "Arnold Palmer," like confidence I sink the put. I did it. 5 strokes in one hole. Andrew will have to wait yet another day. It was the worst round of golf i have ever played with the most hilarious finish. One of the many reasons I love competing and golfing with friends is stories like these. Thanks bro for the best last hole of Golf ever, may we have many more (With me winning of course!)

Fighting against the Fading Glory of Youth

God spoke these words through the prophet Isaiah: "All flesh is grass, And all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, Because the breath of the Lord blows upon it; Surely the people are grass." (Isaiah 40:6) WARNING: This is a great verse and I will not be doing it justice today. 
This verse has been in my mind because I just turned 26 a couple of months ago and am fast approaching the big 3-0. As I grow older, I am working more at my job and working out less. I can feel my body deteriorating. My physical prime quite possible could be behind me. I am physically experiencing the truth of Isaiah's words.

I hope to regain my Hulk-like power

But before the glory of my youth fades like the flowers of the field, I am on a mission. Many people when they hear that I used to play sports in high-school and college, will often ask me questions like, "How fast were you? How much could you bench press? Can you Dunk?" These are often the questions that people lie the most about. It seems like almost any yinzer from the WPIAL can run a 4.5 or lower in the 40 if you ask them. But I don't want to lie about these things. I want to prove them before my body completely wilts. Just the other day my friend Paul asked me, "Jay can you touch the rim." I scoffed and I said, "Paul, I can Dunk." He then wanted to see it. At that moment I became afraid. I knew that if we went now, or any time in the near future that I would fail miserably. So my mission is this. To get in good shape, to accomplish my feats of strength and athleticism, and to have them video-taped. This way, when someone asks me about something I can not only tell them but show them. After I accomplish them, I can relax and let my body go forever because I will have proof. I will never have to go out to a basketball court to prove to someone I can dunk.
And so here are my feats that I want to accomplish this summer:
Bench Press: 275 pounds
To Dunk a Basketball
40 yard dash: 4.7

I will keep you in the loop as to how I am doing and hopefully by the end of the summer I will have achieved these goals. I will fight against the fading glory of youth one last time!

Back

After weeks of inaction, I am proud to say that I am back. I needed a break.  I was not feeling very inspired or motivated to write anything and the only things keeping my blog alive were the weekly guilt trips that I received from Talby. Surely guilt is no impetus for creative writing! (Shame on you Talby) Needless to say I was not providing my fans with the best and so I decided to stop for a while. But in my time off I found fresh inspiration due to two important observations. 

One: Writing in the man-cave is a good thing because it provides a connection with a lot of my friends. Distance and time has separated many of us but this is one way to share life with them even though they are not nearby. 

Two: Writing can positively influence others. It can make someone laugh and it can also be an encouragement. My wife has gotten so many comments on her blog about how it has been an encouragement to many of her friends. I also have read some of my friends blogs like the Kaye family and have been really blessed by them. And so I have come to learn that many times what God teaches us through our everyday life experiences will end up helping and blessing someone else. God has given us meaning and a message to tell and that is the reason we create, write, sing, and preach. Many people do not believe this and go on living un-inspired lives with no message to tell the world. I was reading a book by F. Scott Fitzgerald over the break and the main character Anthony Patch, in a moment of self-reflection, said, "I feel that it being a meaningless world, why write? The very attempt to give it purpose is purposeless." And so I saw, in contrast with this character, that I do have a purpose and therefore to write is not purposeless! And with this great revelation I vowed to make a triumphant return to the Man-Cave. So don't worry Talby Tuesdays will return.  My sole focus on Talby has creeped some people out and caused other people to ask me if my blog was a joke (I can't say I blame them) so I do want to focus a lot more on all of the wonderful stuff that God is teaching me in this life and hopefully share some of that with you. That's all I got for today! Look for more posts coming your way. 

Learn to Dress Like Talby

Talby and the Green Jacket

       I write this post with a tone of celebration because the man-cave has just gone over 1000 views! Thanks to all of my followers around the world (Yes I have viewers from Alaska, France, Germany, and Japan, who are these people?) who made this accomplishment possible. I didn't really know what to write about this week, but I do know that Talby is going to the Masters this week. Golf is a really fun sport if you are playing with your friends. There is a lot of time to talk, relax, and enjoy the scenery. It really is a great way to spend a day, especially when you are with Talby. However, Talby does have an uncanny ability to make you feel inferior when you are playing golf with him. That's partially because he is surprisingly good at golf. I am a much better athlete than Talby. All you have to do is watch Talby shoot a basketball or run a football rout and you will know that God did not create Talby with a normal amount of coordination. But somehow that all changes when you get on the golf course with Talby.

 It is rather frustrating to be honest with you. I experienced this when I went golfing with Talby one misty morning at Grove City. Now I had heard that Talby was a pretty good golfer from Andrew but, to be honest, I really did not believe it. Andrew is awful at Golf and so I thought, "It's all relative." But as we got to the course, Talby stepped up to the tee box and ripped a drive like 300 yards right down the middle. "Hmmm... lucky shot", I thought. After hitting my second shot into the sand trap, Talby dropped a 9 iron about 10 feet from the hole. I was impressed. After chipping on and two putting I took a 6 on the hole. Talby walked up to his put and nonchalantly  sank it. While picking up his ball, Talby uttered, "Birdie" as if it was no big deal. He was not surprised at all and I was crushed. The rest of the day pretty much went that same way. Talby won decisively.
In addition to this Talby loves to ask you what club you are hitting. For example, if you are say 220 yards from the hole, Talby will ask you, "What are you hitting?" I will respond by saying, "3 iron." Talby will say something like, "Bro, Are you serious?" Confused I will ask, "Ya, what are you going to hit?" And Talby will say, "Im hitting like a 7 iron here." Talby gorilla-like strength will humiliate you on the golf-course. But that's ok. Golf is the one sport where Talby can not only compete with his friends, but actually  dominate. When it comes to golf and our group of friends, Talby owns the green jacket and he will not be passing it down anytime soon. Congrats Talby and Congrats Man-cave nation on 1,000 views. May the next 1,000 be just as sweet!

Talby Wednesday: When will my reflection show?

Well this is a hurried post because Talby called me in a panic this afternoon. He thought that because I did not get a post up yesterday, that I must be seriously ill or dead. I am neither. I alive and well, I just didn't have the computer yesterday. So in the little time that I have today I want to share some very funny pictures of Talby. While it may not seem funny at first glance... take a closer look. In these three pictures you can see the reflections. One you can clearly see is Talbot, lurking around in his gray hoody. The others are fuzzy reflections of the photographer, Jake Patton. Jake was a roommate of Talby's and has had Talby fever ever since. On a visit to Aaron's house he took pictures of pictures of Talby. And some of those pictures have two Talby's, Double the fun! So in honor of Jake's masterful artwork and photography and in praise of Talby, enjoy these photos which beautifully encapsulate this mysterious man.

The Self-Destructive Nature of Sin and Freedom from it

"Such are the ways of everyone who is greedy for unjust gain; it takes away the life of its possessors." Pr. 1:19
"The iniquities of the wicked ensnare him, and he is held fast in the cord of his sin." 5:22
"He who commits adultery lacks sense; he who does it destroys himself." 6:32
"For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the LORD, but he who fails to find me injures himself; all who hate me love death." 8:35
"A man who is kind benefits himself, but a cruel man hurts himself." 11:17
"Whoever despises the word brings destruction on themselves." 13:13
"whoever gets sense loves his own soul.: 19:8
The book of proverbs has much to say about life. It talks at length about how the law of God should be lived out in every day life and paints vivid pictures of the lives of the wicked and the righteous. It truly is a beautiful manual for godly living. The book also highlights themes that are not as common in the rest of the Bible. Let me clarify that. I think proverbs goes into greater detail on some topics than any book in the Bible. For example I remember reading through the book and noticing that God describes the life of sin as a hatred for oneself. I always knew that sin was a hatred of God and our neighbor but within these verses I saw that rebellion against God is a rebellion against our true identity as creatures created in the image of God. If you are an unbeliever and are living a life of sin: greed, lust, drunkenness, you really hate yourself. Satan will lie to you and tell you that you are really loving your self when you indulge in sin. But the sin will bind you, enslave you, harden you, make your heart heavy with guilt, and fill you heart with anger and unrest. And as you become enslaved to your desires you will keep craving more and more of sin but you will always end up wanting more. So why do people live this way? Why don't they come to their senses and see their misery? Because Satan also blinds. He prevents sinners from seeing their true condition. Those who are ruled by Satan know nothing else but the false, counterfeit and fleeting joys that he dangles in front of them. And so he takes people who were made in the image of God, who were made to know, obey and to love God and he teaches them to hate. To hate God and to hate the image of that God which is implanted in their own life. Has there ever been a crueler master?
And has there ever been a kinder and better master than the LORD Jesus? A master who frees us from this state and brings life abundantly? Who teaches and opens the eyes of the blind, who heals, who commands us to be happy and rejoice in him? A God who teaches us to love him and in so doing love ourselves. I think a lot of people in the Christian community would scoff at that statement. Many people are uncomfortable with anything that has self-interest as a motivation for serving God. But is that not what God says, "whoever gets sense loves his own soul," and, "he who finds me finds life." In Richard Baxter's book The Reformed Pastor, he begins by explaining to pastors that in order for them to watch over the lives of others they must first watch over their own lives. "He that bade you love your neighbors as yourselves, did imply that you should love yourselves, and not hate and destroy yourselves and them."
Look, I know that this blog is silly. I have a lot of fun with it. But in a moment of seriousness, I am going to use this to challenge you to examine your own life. Are you truly happy? Do you care for and love your own soul? If you are not trusting and clinging to Christ in Faith, you are headed down a self-destructive path and there will come a time when death will permanently solidify your misery. So turn to Christ now. He is a good King and He loves his people. His death and blood can cleanse you from all of your sin if you repent and believe in him. "The Vilest offender who truly believes that moment from Jesus a pardon receives."

He Speaks: An Exclusive Talby Interview

Talby Tuesday's so far has been all about other people writing about Talby. I have decided that this was not fair and wanted to give Talby a chance to use his own words and tell all of man cave nation what he is really about. So without further adieu i present to you the first ever man cave interview with Talby. (Note:This is not word for word because I could not write fast enough)

Jay: What is your full name?
Aaron: Aaron Kyle Talbot
J: Were you born and raised in Pittsburgh?
A: Yes... Well Bethel Park, but I guess you could say Pittsburgh
J: What important lessons did you learn from your parents growing up?
A: My Dad taught me to pick my battles when it comes to women?
J: What does that mean?
A: Well Jay, I think he was saying that there are some things that are worth fighting for but there are other things in life that are not as important. If you disagree with your woman on something that is not worth fighting for you can compromise and let it slide.
J: Ah, Interesting. What about your mother?
A: Oh she was always a big supporter of the rule, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." I notice an excitement in Talby's voice as he goes on to say, Oh don't forget about Grandma Miller, she always used to say, "there is more than one way to skin cat."
J: Elaborate Please
A: Well she was just saying that you need to be creative in life. You don't always need to use conventional wisdom. You can be free to create.
J: Ahhh, I see. Well, let's take a trip down memory lane here and re-visit your high school days.
A:Ok sounds good brew
J: Tell me about your football playing days... well first, when did you start playing football?
A: When I was a freshmen. Actually momma Tal was worried that her boy would get hurt. I didn't come in till after camp freshmen year and everyone hated me because I didn't have to go through camp.
J: So were you always awesome at football
A: Well.... I didn't know what I was doing at first. I didn't understand principles, techniques, you know the x's and o's of football. So my football coach ended up just lining me up at defensive end and told me to just go get the ball. And I did. I was pretty good at it. All the technique stuff came later but I had the raw talent.
J: Did you always wear a cowboy collar?
A: No I started wearing one my Sophomore year because my neck snapped back and I wore one to protect my neck.
J: Did you like how it made you look huge?
A: Well i was the only one on the team to wear one so I kinda stood out. I liked anything that made my noticeable to all of the girls who would be watching.
J: Speaking of girls, did you date much in High School?
A: I did. I had many. I would say 5 or 6. I mean I wasn't a serial dater or anything but I had my fair share of dates.
J: Tell me about your first kiss
A: Great Story! So it was 10th grade and my best friend was dating this girl and over time I got to meet her cousin. THe four of us would always hang out together. Winterbreak was here and, like all Bethel Park Kids, we went to the hotspot...... Bladerunners. We skated to slow songs like Savage Garden and KC and Jo-Jo and faster ones as well. During the fast ones Talby (He used the third person here) would weave in and out and do crazy tricks. But after a slow skate, when everyone was leaving the ice at the end of the night I went in to give this girl a kiss. She turned away and I was crushed. But then she asked me if I was trying to kiss her and I said Yes. She then put one on me and Talby was a shocked that she put a little tongue action with it. (He used 3rd person again)
J: Ok.... So tell me about the most Romantic thing you have done for a woman
A: Well Jay that really a tough thing to say. You know every girl is different and so I kind of change things according to their needs. Every situation is different so I can't say that there is one thing that stands out.
J: OK, back to High School, How much did you bench then?
A: I think my PR was 325
J: Impressive. What was your favorite High School Football memory?
A: I would probably have to say that it was my JR. year when we beat Baldwin in the playoffs. It was Halloween night and it was a mud-fest. It was raining and we had on our all orange uniforms. We looked like Pumpkins on Halloween! We ended up beating them in 3 overtimes. We won on a boot-left play.
J: Speaking of 3 overtime games, How did it feel to lose to me when I was a Senior at Upper St. Clair, and you were a Sophmore at BP
A: Well you know it was tough Jay. All i remember about that game was that it was really cold.
J: Did you ever think then that your one of your best bros was on the other sideline?
A: No. No I didn't. But God always has amazing things in plan. Who would have thought that crosstown rivals would one day become friends?
J: True, True. Before I move on from High School, I have to ask you about your participation in the musical. What was that like?
A: Sure. When I was a senior I was known mainly as the jock of the school. But what many people did not know was that I was a musical person. I sang in our choir and our choir director was always begging me to be in the Musical. But as you know Jay being a football player requires a lot of time in the weight room so i never had time for musicals. But after my senior year I had the time so I decided to go for it. I played the part of Gaston in Beauty and the Beast.
J: You know some people when they hear this, probably think that this tarnishes your manly/jock image. What do you say to them?
A: I know that there are some out there who would consider revoking my man card, if you will, but i would say that it actually made me more manly. I knew who I was and was not afraid to take on something knew and foreign to me. I was up for the challenge.
J: Very well, let's move on to college. Why Grove City?
A: Well I went there every year for a conference and I swore that I would never go there! But then I met Coach Smith and everything changed. I fell in love with the football program and he showed a lot of interest in me as a player so I decided to go there.
J: Give me three words to describe Coach Smith
A: Effort, Enthusiasm, and Effort
J:What is your favorite GCC football memory?
A: There are so many but the first one that comes to mind is when we were playing St. Vincent. Bro Dido threw a TD to number 10 and I hoisted Dido into the air in celebration. It was a timeless moment, eternal.
J:What is your favorite thing to do with the bro's
A: Euchre. With beverages. Especially if a certain bro is partaking of the beverages as well.
J: Who is the best Euchre player?
A: I am. Wait no. I take it back. Say Chris because he is the master of re-nigging.
J: 5 words to describe yourself
A: (After a very long pause) Rugged, classy (when necessary), thoughtful, Witty (I'm witty), Good-sport.
J: So after graduating Grove City, you went on to become a youth pastor. Tell me what the most satisfying thing about being a Youth Pastor is.
A: Well I would say it is the realization that I can't do anything without the LORD's help. That means both personally and professionally. And also that God can take all of my mistakes and all of the crazy things that I've done in life and still use me. He can still use me in a very powerful way to impact the lives of today's youth and draw them closer to Christ.
J: Let's look ahead a little bit. What are you most looking forward to in the future?
A: I would probably say re-uniting with the bros for gweedo's wedding. And also I have been working a lot on my post up game so probably competing and defeating some of the bros in basketball.
Talby goes on to Laugh uncontrollably for about 1 minute
J: What's so funny
A: My answer I'm just thinking about it. You're laughing too!
J: No, I'm laughing at you laughing. It's really not funny at all. You think you are hilarious, don't you?
A: Yes, this is true.
J: What advice do you have for the youth who are trying to become men worthy of imitation?
A: Well first I would say that you need to become a godly man. You need to walk with God. Godly men are the only ones worth imitating. Also I would say that it is ok to be aggressive, to be a man, to fight for something, to walk with a purpose, to wear your emotions on your sleeve. You know being a godly man is not just sitting in the pews with your hands folded. It's about getting up and doing something about it. It's about fighting. The world wants men to be cute, but I don't think that's what God wants.
J: Nice! Finally what has been your favorite Talby Tuesday so far
A: I dunno, there are so many good ones. I would probably have to say the first one. It was like the beginning of an era. It has become a legendary post.
Thus ends the words of Talby I hope you enjoy his words! Happy Tuesday and have a great week!

Talby Wednesday

      After about 3 months, the streak of Talby Tuesday's has been snapped. I did not get a chance to post yesterday because Lissa had the computer and I had to get up the next day at 3:45 for work. As much as I am devoted to Talby Tuesday, I just could not bring myself to deprive myself of the sleep. My broken streak, got me to thinking about the great streaks of all time. The first ones that come to mind are Cal Ripken's 2,632 games played, Brett Favre's 297 consecutive starts at QB, DiMaggio's 56 game hit streak, and most recently UConn Women's 99 game winning streak. And then I reflected on other great records in my own life. Ross McCracken and I currently have an unbeaten doubles tennis streak that has lasted almost a decade now, I haven't lost in NBA Jam or NFL Blitz '98 in 5 years, and I once won 15 hands of Euchre in a row. Which of these is most impressive, I do not know.

Then my mind drifted and I pondered if Talby had any streaks that he was proud of. I called him and asked him. He actually had a difficult time answering. He said something about Call of Duty, his winless streak against Dido in Madden, and eating two double burgers every day in college for three months. What Talby did not mention, and the one that I think is most impressive is this... From the time Talby started playing football (around 10 years old) till the last game he played in college he managed to successfully do something that very few people have done. For almost 12 years in a row, he successfully wore a huge cowboy collar that makes him look sooooo big. 136 games in a row the intimidating sports accessory was mounted on Big Tal's mammoth shoulders. No one at such a young age and for such a period of time has ever pulled off a streak like this. It is sad that the streak had to come to an end as Talby declined to play for various NFL Europe Teams because he likes America too much and wanted to pursue a higher calling as an efficient eating youth pastor. So as I was feeling the guilt of breaking my streak and letting my fans down, this post has actually been a great comfort to me. The best of men and the best of streaks have fallen over time. Even Talby had his cowboy collar wearing days cut-short. I guess all that we can do is be thankful for the success when we have it and remember it fondly when it is gone. Thanks for all the memories Talby!

Grace that is greater than all of our sin

       We all need reminders. That is something that i am continuing to learn the longer that I live. Lissa will definitely agree with this, as she is constantly frustrated with my inability to remember things that need to get done on time. But reminders are something that are most needed for someone who is a Christian. At the beginning of our faith life, we look helplessly to Jesus to save us from all of our sin. We confess that all that we have ever done in this life is garbage in God's eyes and we come in our sickness and poverty to the Great Physician who heals us from all of our diseases and declares us as "spotless" in God's eyes. When we first believe such a message there is wonder, awe, and love that God's grace could reach such sinners. But then we forget. We burden ourselves down with the weight of sin and try and do our good deeds to cover them up. Instead of looking anew to Jesus, we search within to muster up the zeal to "never sin again." This always fails. In our times of failure and doubt we need the Gospel. Everyday we need the truth of the Gospel. Which is why a wanted to post my favorite gospel hymn as a reminder to everyone that God's grace is greater than all of your sin. I hope the lyrics and this song fill your heart with hope and joy.

Marvelous grace of our loving Lord, 

grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt! 

Yonder on Calvary's mount outpoured, 

there where the blood of the Lamb was spilt. 

Grace, grace, God's grace, 

grace that will pardon and cleanse within; 

grace, grace, God's grace, 

grace that is greater than all our sin! 

Sin and despair, like the sea waves cold, 

threaten the soul with infinite loss; 

grace that is greater, yes, grace untold, 

points to the refuge, the mighty cross. 

Dark is the stain that we cannot hide. 

What can avail to wash it away? 

Look! There is flowing a crimson tide, 

brighter than snow you may be today.

Marvelous, infinite, matchless grace, 

freely bestowed on all who believe! 

You that are longing to see his face, 

will you this moment his grace receive? 

what women want

TALBY & HIS MOM

TALBY'S ANGELS

'ello there, lads & lassies.

i hopped out of the shower to a text from jay requesting that i guest post the talby tuesday today.

(at the eleventh hour, but, hey, jay really wants to keep up with the high demands of his faithful readers.)

i'm jay's wife, lissa, by the way, & i'm honored to share some tales about the icon himself.

let me preface this by saying that jay has some fantastic friends.

my life has honestly been touched by each & every one of them.

we're so blessed & thankful that our friends are like family.

that being said, talby has always been one of my favorites.

it was like that from the beginning of my freshman year.

talbs has been the favorite of many other women, as well.

you see, somehow, talby always has a lovely lady on his arm.

that seems to baffle the other men.

that's why i'm here... 

to crack the case on what women want 

& to explain why talby always is so popular with the ladies.

let me set one thing straight: talby is no player.

he doesn't just date to date or lead women on because he can.

he's a gentlemen & always seems to attract some quality women.

this, my friends, is why:

1. talby is sincere, loyal, & enthusiastic.

2. talby is confident in who he is.

(and, let's be honest, he's quite the man to take 

the weekly jests on this post and the regular scoffing

in real life with such stride. props, t-man, props.)  

3. talby don't hide what he got.

(case in point: playing the video of himself starring 

as gaston in beauty & the beast in the lobby of the dorms.)

4. the guy can cook a mean onion omelet. 'nuff said.

5. talby is sensitive and kind-hearted.

(he had the sweetest things to say about our wedding on his 

blog - yes, folks, he had his own blog! - and picked up on 

things that had taken a lot of time & consideration. i think this

may be related to the sweet relationship he has with his mom.)

6. talby knows that a southern accent woos the ladies.

(even if he's just from "the promised land", pennsylvania.)

7. talby knows how to use various camping equipment in casual environments.

(see: head lamp story previously posted.)

8. talbs is shareful.

(like all the times he shared his hair buzzer with jay in college.)

9. talby is supportive.

(as jay mentioned in a previous post, he was always the first one 

to congratulate someone else and share in their excitement.)

10. talby is rugged.

(flannels, scruff, & boots. need i say more?)

the case has been cracked. just call me nancy drew.

here's to tuesday and talby!!

a little diddy about tal-biddy

hello devout talby fanatics,

i'm sorry that i'm not able to write tonight.

i just got back from anniversary weekend with the wife. 

happy listening!

i'm confident a version will be available for sale on iTunes in the near future.

talby mania > linsanity

Another Talby Tuesday is upon us. I'll have you know that I talked with the man himself last week for valentine's day and amazingly he had no plans for the night. He was just relaxing with ol' duke watching some tv. I watched some TV over the weekend and got the chance to watch Jeremy Lin and the New York Knicks beat the Dallas Mavericks. Lin really does make watching the NBA fun again.  Seeing all the fans and all of the "Linsanity" that is taking over the world made me pause and think "I have seen excitement like this somewhere before...". And then I remembered that long before there was Linsanity, there was Talby-mania. Yes, Talby has shocking basketball skills and he has a band of crazy fans. Let me clarify. When I say Talby has shocking basketball skills, I mean shockingly bad basketball skills, which makes sense because he was a wrestler. All wrestlers I have known have been very bad basketball players. My hypothesis was confirmed the first time I saw Talby shoot a layup. I was baffled, and found myself wondering, "How could someone who has at least a little bit of coordination make shooting a basketball look so bad?" I honestly thought he was joking when he consistently shot the ball (feet, not inches) wide of the hoop. While it troubled me, Talby was not bothered  at all. Everyone would get mad at him for being so bad during pick-up games, but he just laughed and ran around the court the whole time. Weird.

During our time at Grove City, they had an intramural basketball league and the league was split up into four divisions, A,B,C, and D. A being the best and D being the worst. Talby and his crew of fraternity brothers were obviously in the D league. While the games were horrible and the play was extremely violent, it was still great entertainment, especially to watch Talby play. Decked out in arm bands, and rocking some tight cut-off, Talby was the intimidator. Many times, when we watched Talby, we would get to see basketballs bounce off of his head, his ridiculous attempts at dribbling the ball down the court, and his usual air balls. It was a comedy. But during a very important D-Leaugue game, all the stars aligned and "Talby Mania" erupted.

It was kinda like this

Talby was on the bench as our Fraternity team was locked in a heated battle. All of the other Pi's were there and were demanding that Talby be put in the game! The team obliged and Talby entered center stage. Every time Talby got the ball we would all yell "Shoot it!"... and for some reason he listened to us. As Talby launched a deep three pointer, we were all expecting it to hit off the wall or the rafters. It was a ridiculously high arcing shot and the ball was in the air for at least 4 seconds. As it came down from the moon, it managed to hit nothing. Nothing but net. Cheers, Jubilation, and leaps for joy were seen all around. But that was just the beginning.
Late in the 4th quarter, the game was tied and Talby was again inserted into the game. With time winding down, there was only one person who was going to be taking the last shot. As Talby received the ball, his ears were filled with the ringing chorus of his friends screaming "Shoot IT!" Talby turned, and from beyond NBA 3 point range, shot the ball from the middle of his chest, rocketing it toward the heavens. By this time we had already started rushing the court. Why did we do this before we knew the outcome? Did we do it because of Destiny? No, we did it because it was Talby and we knew that there was no other way that this could turn out. The ball swooshed through the hoop and the buzzer went off. Talby turned around to see the fast-closing mob of fans and he promptly threw up the "Carl Krauser" X above his head. We swarmed him and rejoiced. Thus began the "Talby-Mania" and all of the tales that would be told in the years to come about his basketball skills. So remember, dear readers, as you watch sportscenter and see all the athletes tweeting about Jeremy Lin and Linsanity; that Before Lin there was Tal. May we all never forget that great night. May we never forget Talby Mania.

The 1997 Bucco's

It's that time of year again. Spring training is upon us and baseball fans everywhere are filled with optimism as all team begin anew with a blank slate. As a Pirates fan I find myself again saying that this will finally be our year. Oh don't let me fool you, I have no aspirations of the bucs being pennant contenders or even making the playoff. When I say this will be their year, I mean that this will be the season where they win more games than they lose. This has not happened since that fateful '92 season where Barry Bonds failed to throw out Sid Bream at Home plate and cost the buccos a chance at the world series. Those were the high times for Pittsburgh baseball. They had star power with names like Bobby Bonilla, Barry Bonds, and Andy Van Slyke. They also had characters like Don Slaught (The ultimate Pittsburgh name to say!) and Mike Lavalierre. But ever since that summer night back in '92, the bucs have never been the same. They lost their stars and they lost a lot of games, over a lot of years. Their roster was so bad in '94 that their all star representative was no namer Carlos Garcia. While the trend of decreasing talent continued, the Buccos magically almost put together a winning season in the summer of 1997. Because they were a mishmash of old journeymen and young prospects the team was referred to as the "freak show." What the team lacked in talent, they made up for in character. Who could forget, "sweet" Lou Collier, Kevin Polcovich, the "alligator wrestler" Bruce Aven, Kevin Young, Turner Ward,  Mark Smith, and Ricardo Rincon?

That year was the year that the bucs came closest to having a winning season. They battled but they ended the year 5 games under .500. Since '97 the Pirates have not even been close to flirting with .500. The state of Pittsburgh baseball has been so bad that the Post-Gazette did a week long tribute to the '97 Pirates, the team that 'almost' had a winning record. Sad. But, I do admit that that was a great year of baseball. Rooting for a "freak show" of a team that had no stars and a ton of character gives me so many memories and things to talk about with my fellow Pirate fans. I have come to terms with the fact that the Pirates will probably never again have the star power like they did in '92, but maybe just maybe they might get a team that has the right ingredients to make a run at....... a winning season.

Last year the Bucs gave us hope again. After beating the Red-Sox the Pirates were over .500 and PNC Park was rocking. I have never seen so much excitement over Pittsburgh Baseball, than when Michael McHenry hit a walk-off 3 run homer to put the Pirates in first place of their division. But soon the excitement faded away. I went on vacation and while I was gone they lost 10 in a row. They ended like 18 games under. But again that team, along with the '97 team, gave fans a taste of hope and the thrill of optimism that has been buried for years. This year, the Bucs have a little more talent. Andrew McCutchen and Neil Walker are two All-Star caliber players (unlike Carlos Garcia) and they have a decent starting pitching staff. Hey, it's still spring and the season has not started yet so I can joyfully and confidently say that this could very well be their year. Season prediction: 82-80.

A Twilight Talby Tuesday!

Thanks to Chris Rich for giving me a week off and providing some great Talby material. I was not here to experience this story but my wife was and she says it is one of her "favorite" memories from Grove City. So read on and see what Talby has in store for you today...

I want to thank Jay for letting me make a guest appearance on the Man Cave blog because I truly can see this blog going places!

In light of a recent purchase of mine I will be writing about Talby's incredible musical ability and his headlamp. There is a connection… I promise.
Many of you know, (and some of you may not ) that Talby is a very good guitar player.  Recently, I have made it a goal of mine to pick up and learn the guitar.  In learning, I recently went out and bought a guitar.  During the process of purchasing a guitar I referenced a true guitar connoisseur… Talby.  I must say that he has been a big help in this whole process, so I start this story with a minute of thanks for his help.
First, Talby has a coal miner-style headlamp and, aside from it being a weird thing to own, there is nothing special about it. Except for the way that he uses it.
While in college, I had the opportunity to go on mission trips to Guatemala with Talby and other friends.  Talby led worship for many of our pre-trip meetings and devotion time in Guatemala. His guitar playing abilities and vocals were such a blessing. But there was one particular night that turned an ordinary pre-trip meeting into a legendary tale. Yes, this was the night when the “Legend of the Talby Headlamp” was born.

Let me first begin by saying that, for those of you who know Talby, you know that he is quite the genius in his own mind.  He has many ideas and and they are always the best.  Well, Talby had one of those great ideas when he decided to “set the mood” during one of our pre-mission trip meetings. Talby decided he was going to shut off the lights and lead worship in a manner that everyone could worship in their own way and not worry about people judging them. Ahhh, “Great Idea Talby!” you say, but herein lies a great problem even for Talby.  How can one read his music in the dark?  Talby didn’t blink for a moment because he had A MINER STYLE HEADLAMP, OF COURSE!  So there he was with a headlamp strapped to his head at the front of a classroom in the Grove City College Hall of Arts and Letters with all of the lights out and 25 of his peers attempting to worship while trying to block out the idea that he had a headlamp strapped to his head so wherever he looked a beam of light would shine.

If you ask most people, this is a genius of an idea and a  great story.  But there is more.  A week later Andrew, Talby, and I were walking from our lower campus apartment to the classroom where we were going (about one mile) for another meeting. As we were walking up the stairs to enter the building 2 minutes before we were supposed to start the meeting that was beginning with Talby leading worship, Talby realized that he forgot the headlamp.  The response of Andrew and I, "don't worry about it we will be fine without it.". Immediately Aaron fired back letting us know that we would NOT be ok without it and that the headlamp was a key part of the worship time that we did at the beginning of every meeting.  Talby didn't think that there was any other way to worship.  So he handed the guitar to Andrew and took off running back to the apartment.

12 minutes later Talby came running back into the room, 10 minutes late for the meeting, sweating like crazy and breathing so heavy that he couldn't even sing.  But, the headlamp sure did make the worship awesome.

While you may be sitting there thinking that there is no lesson to be learned from this story, I assure you, there is.  Talby teaches us that great men have great ideas… in your own mind at least. And when you have an idea, you believe in it, stick to your guns, and follow through.  While other worship leaders use a standard lamp that clips to your music stand and has a swivel neck when the lights are out, Aaron teaches us that there is always a better way.  And the headlamp is clearly the way to go.  There is nothing better to set the mood (and get a few laughs).  But, hey, when you have a great idea and promise to shut the lights off for worship you always follow through if you want to be known as the one and only Talby!

"Wearing a headlamp while leading worship...... Brilliant!"

V-Day

I would like to remind all of my male readers that tomorrow is Valentines day. Yes, I know that you think the holiday is stupid and was created by Hallmark to make money, but I am sure that your significant other does not feel the same way. So make sure that you plan on doing something!

By the way, remember when valentines day was cool because you got to make homemade mailboxes for all of your classmates/ valentines. The coolest thing i did was make a giant paper mache hershey kiss! Anyways, I have work tomorrow night so I have somewhat of an excuse to not go all out. Liss and I are planning on catching a movie (the vow) and getting some coffee. While it is low-key, I know that this is what Lissa will enjoy. This will be my second cheesy romance movie this week. Lissa made me watch the Notebook this week. I really liked it.  Confession: When it comes to romance movies I always initially scoff but sometimes/most times I end up liking it. So stay tuned for my review of "The Vow." Happy Valentines Day to all, and get ready for Talby Tuesday tomorrow. Could it be a special valentines day edition?

"I will cause your name to be remembered in all Generations."

Good morning! I am able to write this morning because I am working nights at Chick-Fil-A and I thought that I would use this opportunity to catch up on some of my posts. Lucky for you. This morning I was reading Psalm 45 and I had a thought that I wanted to share. Verses 16-17 caught my attention: "In place of your fathers shall be your sons; you will make them princes in all the earth. I will cause your name to be remembered in all generations; therefore nations will praise you forever." This particularly stood out to me because of a conversation that I had the other day with a man who does campus ministry in Virginia Beach. He shared with me how he and his team have had to think creatively on how to reach our generation because we are so different than the previous one. During our conversation we both agreed that it is a great comfort to know that no matter what is changing in our society or in the world, the power of the Gospel never changes.
I think we need this reminder because often times Christians can be guilty of having a pessimistic spirit about the world and the direction that things seem to be going. For some reason, when people think about the past they remember all the good things and forget about all the bad things. Therefore, their generation becomes the greatest generation or the Reformation is the golden age of Christianity. Don't get me wrong, there may be valid and truthful claims when people say such things. Today's America does seem more openly sinful in some areas than in the past. The Reformation was an age where God bestowed his spirit to bring about a true revival and for those things we can be thankful. I am just bothered when people see the society and the church of the past as this "high point" in history and succeeding generations as rebellious children. Sometimes it comes across as if the world were in a hopeless and irreversible tailspin. But are we hopeless? Are the effects of sin irreversible in our day? No. We still have the same Savior, the same gospel, and the same promises. Which is why I think that the root of this negative spirit is a lack of faith in the promises of God. In Psalm 45 God promises that in every generation he will cause his name to be remembered and that he will always raise up people to proclaim his truth. And he promises that his praises will resound from all of the nations. When i think about this I am filled anew with hope. If I cling to this promise with all of my heart and plead to the Father to be true to his word and cause his name to be praised, how can I despair? What reason do I have to believe that God will not cause his Gospel to flourish and for society to be positively impacted by its presence?
Now, I do not know what the future holds. Maybe the world will continue to get worse and worse. But even then we can still rejoice that God will be faithful to his promises. He will, in every nation, save sinners and bring them into his Kingdom. As long as the earth endures, Christ will be worshipped and praised by new believers. And if the world seems to be mired in darkness, it shall still never overcome the light. The flame of the Gospel shall never be put out. I think these verses ought to make us filled with joy and hope for the future: "In place of your fathers shall be your sons; you will make them princes in all the earth. I will cause your name to be remembered in all generations; therefore nations will praise you forever and ever."

Wedding reunions and Talby

    Another week goes by and yes another week where I forget to post anything between Talby Tuesday's. What is becoming of me... I am happy though because Talby Tuesday's is definitely not growing old with my viewers. On the contrary, more and more people are checking in to the man cave to read about and adore the matchless Talby. So what is in store or this week? I have a rather funny story for you (In my mind at least) that happened about a year ago when all of our friends got back together for  Chris' and Johanna's wedding. Once you graduate from college you obviously do not see your friends as much as you used to. There is no living together, eating together, or playing nintendo 64 together. Over the years friends lose contact and drift apart, but weddings are one thing that consistently brings everyone back together. Besides getting to celebrate the marriage of two of your friends, eating good food, and dancing; weddings provide a great opportunity to reminisce with your friends and catch up on what's been going on in each others lives. Which is exactly what happened when our friends got married in lovely Lancaster.

 Everyone was there for the weekend and we were all graciously invited to the rehearsal dinner. Over dinner we all shared stories from the past (again over half of them centered around Talby) and also talked about what was going on in the present. While Talby laughed heartily as we all told old tales, he was relatively silent about what he was up to in the present day. But then after about a year of not seeing Talby he decided to fill us in on the most exciting things that had happened in Delaware and all the new things he had experienced and learned upon leaving Grove City. So what did he share with us?  During a pause in the conversation and, entirely un-provoked, Talby added these words in a dead serious tone: "Bro (Talking to me and or Andrew) I've been super busy with meetings and stuff for work, so I've completely had to change the way that I eat." At this point the whole table had stopped talking and was focused on Talby: "Ya, i've really had to work on it but I've gotten super efficient at eating food. You'd be proud of me." Yes, the last year of Talby's life had been centered around and highlighted by how he had gotten better and faster at eating food. Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. An awkward silence ensued (How do you respond to that) then I looked at Bro Andrew and we laughed so hard that tears rolled down our eyes. I don't know why it was so funny and I know that you definitely had to be there, but seriously how ridiculous!

Talby had a meeting this night: He blew out his candles and ate the cake in 30 seconds.

Oh, and this gets me thinking as well. If Talby is the master of eating food efficiently I may have an idea. If we add a bunch of stuff to Talby's schedule he will be forced to learn how to eat even faster! If we load him down with an incredible amount of work and tasks (Just imagine how fast he would have to eat!), I think he could become a serious contender for the 4th of July Nathan's hot-dog eating contest.

Watch out Kobayashi, you better hope Talby doesn't get any busier!