I learn more and more with each passing day of my life. One thing I have become particularly thankful for as I get a little older is my family's heritage. I have much to be proud of when it comes to the fabric I was cut out of. I am especially thankful too that my wife has an amazing heritage. I have written previously about my wife's father who is one of my heroes and I could easily write a journal of my admiration for my mother-in-law and I am sure I someday will. Today though I want to honor Ruth's grandpa, John David Hilty.
There are many admirable things that stand out to me about Grandpa Hilty. A couple of years ago, some family members met one evening for dinner. I have long known that Grandpa Hilty was a wonderful farmer, but that night I learned something that taught me just how great of a farmer Grandpa Hilty was. Grandpa Hilty was honored in a farmers gazette many years ago because he was the first farmer in all of Ohio to yield 100 bushels of corn per acre. This is amazing in and of itself, but it was increasingly impressive when I learned that Grandpa Hilty accomplished this on virgin soil (soil that had never been commercially farmed before.) I will always remember Grandpa Hilty as a very wise man and a man with an amazing work ethic. When I think through the children, grandchildren and great grand children of Grandpa Hilty, I see a group of people, who like Grandpa are very smart and are very hard workers.
Another thing that stands out about Grandpa Hilty was how much he loved Grandma. I have fantastic memories of Grandma helping Grandpa and Grandpa helping Grandma, and it was great seeing how they preserved through life together because of their great love for one another for 62 years of marriage before Grandma Hilty passed away just a few years ago. This love that Grandpa exhibited did not just end with Grandma, but it over flowed to all of his family. I will always remember Grandpa Hilty being a man who has encouraged his family to make restitution one with another and a man who loved every person in his family.
Grandpa Hilty is a man of valor. Grandpa Hilty was a soldier who fought to protect the freedoms that we enjoy today. I never one time heard Grandpa "toot his own horn" about his accomplishments while serving in a war time, but I am positive there were many. I would have never known that Grandpa Hilty was the recipient of a Purple Heart except for the fact that my wife told me. I also never heard Grandpa complain about his time in the service even though I am sure that his time was far less than enjoyable. Additionally, I have never heard Grandpa talk negatively about the politics of our day. I always had the feeling that Grandpa was so proud of the greatest country on earth that he didn't feel it necessary to bash modern policy or any politician from either side of the aisle. Grandpa Hilty is a great Patriot.
There are so many other great things that I could tell you about Grandpa Hilty and anyone who ever knew him will miss him so very deeply.
John David Hilty April 5, 1918 - July 23, 2011
Monday, July 25, 2011
Monday, July 18, 2011
Getting closer (321.6 pounds)
The best things in life often come with challenges. Think about it, in order to get to the scrumptious morsel of crab meat, you must take on the tedious and at times painful task of opening the shell. To save money by working on your own car, you must spend time and energy reading a repair manual only to almost certainly come up short on some very important detail. To become the father you want to be you must be selfless and long-suffering. To become the husband that you need to be you need to love the Lord and love your wife more than you love yourself.
There are many examples of things that are very difficult, painful, annoying or heartbreaking that we encounter in life that require perseverance in order to get the full reward. I mentioned in my very first blog entry some of my own struggles. I am making positive progress with regards to some of my struggles. One area that I really feel like I am progressing in is my relationship with the Lord. Please let me tell you that at times this is a real struggle. I really enjoy reading, but my appetite is often greater for other books than it is for the Bible. My desire to talk to the Lord is increasing, but it still isn't where I want it to be. I am becoming more eager to share the greatness of the gospel of Jesus Christ when given the opportunity and I am getting better day by day at the challenge of denying myself. You see, I have a desire to have a constant, minute by minute relationship with my Lord. I am not where I want to be, but every day I am getting closer.
I am excited that I have lost weight for another week. Yes, the weight loss is slowing a bit, but the end result is my focus not the temporary result. I will take a 2.6 pound loss because at a pace of around 2.6 pounds per week I will still be under 300 pounds by Labor Day!
There are many examples of things that are very difficult, painful, annoying or heartbreaking that we encounter in life that require perseverance in order to get the full reward. I mentioned in my very first blog entry some of my own struggles. I am making positive progress with regards to some of my struggles. One area that I really feel like I am progressing in is my relationship with the Lord. Please let me tell you that at times this is a real struggle. I really enjoy reading, but my appetite is often greater for other books than it is for the Bible. My desire to talk to the Lord is increasing, but it still isn't where I want it to be. I am becoming more eager to share the greatness of the gospel of Jesus Christ when given the opportunity and I am getting better day by day at the challenge of denying myself. You see, I have a desire to have a constant, minute by minute relationship with my Lord. I am not where I want to be, but every day I am getting closer.
I am excited that I have lost weight for another week. Yes, the weight loss is slowing a bit, but the end result is my focus not the temporary result. I will take a 2.6 pound loss because at a pace of around 2.6 pounds per week I will still be under 300 pounds by Labor Day!
Monday, July 11, 2011
What though the odds be great or small (324.2 pounds)
There are so many things in life that bring me enjoyment that I have not been able to do ever since the time that I really started getting big. Some of those things are:
* riding rides at amusement parks, fairs and carnivals - when a normal sized person harnesses in the harness makes a series of several clicks as it locks in and tightens. With me, if I could fit in the seat I would hear click (just one...) I never felt comfortable about CLICK, I wanted many clicks just in case "click" gave way.
* Racing with my family in go-carts - My family all enjoy riding these and this will be great.
* Going in to a restaurant and not worrying if they place you in a booth or at a table
* Not having to worry about my seat assignment on an airplane. One time I was flying to Dallas, Texas to visit a friend and I booked two seats as to not be an inconvenience to the person I was sitting next to. The ticketing agent asked me who the name was on seat 1 and I told her my name. She asked me who was seated in seat 2 and I once again told her my name. I told her I was a big dude and I needed two seats. She then informed me that I could book 2 seats, but she could not guarantee they would be together... I then proceeded to cancel my ticket request. It sure will be nice not to have to bother with that.
There are a bunch of other things that came to mind, but there is one thing that I am looking forward to as much if not more than any of the rest. I used to go to every single Notre Dame home football game and also traveled to many away games. A few years ago, I really got to thinking how unfair it was that I would go to a game and take up all of my seat and half of my neighbor's seat. As a result, I stopped going to games because I did not feel right about making someone else uncomfortable. Well, I anticipate that by opening weekend of this year, I will be under 300 pounds. I will not go to every game this year and most likely will not travel to any away games, but when I walk to my seat in Notre Dame Stadium if I am able to attend a game this year my sense of accomplishment will be great. As the song goes, "What though the odds be great or small" sometimes it really doesn't matter the size of the mountain you are up against, it is about your faith that can move that mountain.
Well, since the clinic was closed last week, I weighed in today and lost 6.8 pounds in the last two weeks. That is a slower weight loss than a lot of two week periods, but I am thrilled about losing an average of half a pound per day.
Oh yeah, one more thing... GO IRISH, beat Michigan!
* riding rides at amusement parks, fairs and carnivals - when a normal sized person harnesses in the harness makes a series of several clicks as it locks in and tightens. With me, if I could fit in the seat I would hear click (just one...) I never felt comfortable about CLICK, I wanted many clicks just in case "click" gave way.
* Racing with my family in go-carts - My family all enjoy riding these and this will be great.
* Going in to a restaurant and not worrying if they place you in a booth or at a table
* Not having to worry about my seat assignment on an airplane. One time I was flying to Dallas, Texas to visit a friend and I booked two seats as to not be an inconvenience to the person I was sitting next to. The ticketing agent asked me who the name was on seat 1 and I told her my name. She asked me who was seated in seat 2 and I once again told her my name. I told her I was a big dude and I needed two seats. She then informed me that I could book 2 seats, but she could not guarantee they would be together... I then proceeded to cancel my ticket request. It sure will be nice not to have to bother with that.
There are a bunch of other things that came to mind, but there is one thing that I am looking forward to as much if not more than any of the rest. I used to go to every single Notre Dame home football game and also traveled to many away games. A few years ago, I really got to thinking how unfair it was that I would go to a game and take up all of my seat and half of my neighbor's seat. As a result, I stopped going to games because I did not feel right about making someone else uncomfortable. Well, I anticipate that by opening weekend of this year, I will be under 300 pounds. I will not go to every game this year and most likely will not travel to any away games, but when I walk to my seat in Notre Dame Stadium if I am able to attend a game this year my sense of accomplishment will be great. As the song goes, "What though the odds be great or small" sometimes it really doesn't matter the size of the mountain you are up against, it is about your faith that can move that mountain.
Well, since the clinic was closed last week, I weighed in today and lost 6.8 pounds in the last two weeks. That is a slower weight loss than a lot of two week periods, but I am thrilled about losing an average of half a pound per day.
Oh yeah, one more thing... GO IRISH, beat Michigan!
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