tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43672082886843060222012-01-18T09:01:45.702-08:00...because life is worth writing about.Josh Simmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16451772839341208779noreply@blogger.comBlogger301100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4367208288684306022.post-23536342964680554062011-10-20T06:04:00.000-07:002011-10-20T06:11:14.641-07:00

Did you ever go out to eat and secretly (or unsecretly) study other couples to try and guess how long they’ve been married? It’s interesting to see the chemistry in all its different levels among them. The older couples are quiet and composed with sporadic conversation throughout the meal. They seem to be totally relaxed and at peace, sometimes almost too relaxed, as I’ve witnessed several

Josh Simmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16451772839341208779noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4367208288684306022.post-23660675312907203752011-09-19T07:14:00.000-07:002011-09-19T07:14:28.296-07:00

Did you know that most people who choke to death do so in the bathroom... alone? (I presume that most of these cases involved men since no women I know dare to enter this room without a herd or two behind them.) Recently, I read of a near-death experience of a man who got a piece of a pork chop lodged in his throat. Guess where he was heading? Luckily, he passed out on his way there, alerting

Josh Simmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16451772839341208779noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4367208288684306022.post-13990594456503451852011-08-16T07:20:00.000-07:002011-08-17T13:04:39.453-07:00

The other day as I was watching ESPN, the news ticker at the bottom of the screen caught my attention. It read, and I'm paraphrasing, "Albert Haynesworth suspended for the final four games due to conduct detrimental to the team." A few minutes later the full story aired and the details left me bewildered, angry, and confused. This guy was a two-time pro-bowler (which means he's really good) and

Josh Simmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16451772839341208779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4367208288684306022.post-79288409569397309052011-01-26T06:25:00.000-08:002011-01-27T10:19:10.173-08:00

My dad loves to talk about my sleepwalking adventures. Whenever and wherever there are parents reflecting and conversing about their kids, my dad will somehow find a way to be in there throwing and tossing my stories around like pancakes. (Sometimes my dad doesn't realize that others may not want my pancakes, but he serves them anyway.) In any case, yes, I was a sleepwalker. And yes, the stories

Josh Simmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16451772839341208779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4367208288684306022.post-5320412164369452822010-12-14T12:04:00.000-08:002010-12-21T07:03:38.701-08:00

My family has a tradition. We always get our Christmas tree on Black Friday. It's the earliest you can get one before all the needles fall off just by looking at it wrong. (The week of Christmas I try not to look directly at the tree - always out of the peripheral.) Not only do we get it the same date, but we also get it from the same place which is about thirty minutes away - without the tree

Josh Simmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16451772839341208779noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4367208288684306022.post-55659887582405770012010-07-05T11:58:00.000-07:002010-07-07T06:45:18.337-07:00

What do you do when your golf club leaves your hand and is flying over hundreds of people? Do you grab a 6 iron and pretend it's not yours? Do you yell, "Fore!" and just hope that everyone gets out of the way? Do you justify your inaction with thoughts like, "At baseball games, bats and balls find their way to the stands all the time, and people fight each other to get them. Isn't this the same

Josh Simmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16451772839341208779noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4367208288684306022.post-53609699601998474642010-06-12T12:12:00.000-07:002010-06-14T08:18:37.317-07:00

Standing nearby were six stone water jars, used for Jewish ceremonial washing. Each could hold twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus told the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” When the jars had been filled, he said, “Now dip some out, and take it to the master of ceremonies.” So the servants followed his instructions. When the master of ceremonies tasted the water that was now wine, not knowing

Josh Simmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16451772839341208779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4367208288684306022.post-83561005388180543182010-03-20T09:36:00.000-07:002010-03-23T07:02:50.974-07:00

One of my all-time favorite games to play as a kid was Kick the Can. Basically, there is one person who is "it," and everybody else hides. Once you're found, you have to go to the "prison" (base) and hope and pray that someone rescues you by touching the can or ball before the person who's "it" does. Playing the game, I remember hiding and the feeling of not wanting to leave my spot. I didn't

Josh Simmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16451772839341208779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4367208288684306022.post-76788153468972576662010-03-01T12:16:00.000-08:002010-03-02T09:52:17.466-08:00

This past fall my six-year-old daughter, Morgan, joined a soccer team for the first time. If you've ever seen my daughter, you know that she's petite - in the two percentile to be exact. With sports, she's got to work a little harder than the average to compete. When we showed up to the first practice equipped with shin guards, water bottle, and a shiny pink and white soccer ball, I wasn't sure

Josh Simmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16451772839341208779noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4367208288684306022.post-38349860381642809352010-01-11T10:35:00.000-08:002010-01-12T07:31:50.325-08:00

So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: How long will you refuse to submit to me? Let my people go, so they can worship me." Exodus 10:3 To this day, whenever I hear or read the story of the Israelites being held hostage by Pharaoh, my mind automatically starts shooting off questions like, "Seriously, Pharaoh, the plague of boils and

Josh Simmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16451772839341208779noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4367208288684306022.post-19590388967635407842009-12-20T12:03:00.000-08:002009-12-21T09:25:55.411-08:00

When I was around twelve, I had gone to the beach with my youth group for a weekend retreat. As we were throwing the Frisbee around, I heard a bunch of commotion coming from the boardwalk. When I looked, I saw this large group of twentysomethings laughing and pointing at something. It looked like whatever it was must have been behind where we were. I started looking around to see what it could

Josh Simmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16451772839341208779noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4367208288684306022.post-47355658496752673662009-11-12T11:34:00.000-08:002009-11-13T09:44:53.268-08:00

Did you ever witness the ever-familiar scene of a dad in a pool stretching out his hands for his son to jump into them? I've found myself poolside several times watching this very event unfold and the same things seem to come to mind. "Why is it so hard for him to jump? He's right there. If his arms are stretched out any farther, they'll turn into limp pool noodles floating in the water." I try

Josh Simmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16451772839341208779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4367208288684306022.post-44302449390009607442009-10-20T08:07:00.000-07:002009-10-30T09:24:45.472-07:00

Did you ever go to a public pool or attend a pool party and not see at least one kid - or adult for that matter - doing a cannon ball into the water? (For those of you wondering how or why a kid would throw black, iron balls into a pool, you really should get out a little more!) The cannon ball I'm referring to is a diving technique in swimming. Unlike competitive diving techniques, however, its

Josh Simmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16451772839341208779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4367208288684306022.post-62856612110977201882009-09-08T08:45:00.000-07:002009-09-09T07:50:00.773-07:00

Did you ever ride with someone who loves to hunt? I used to ride with a guy who was a big deer hunter, and every time we would come up to an open field he would start poking and twitching his head around like a chicken. He would be driving, mind you, but that didn't matter. The risk of driving into a telephone pole or another motorist would have been worth it, especially if he actually spotted

Josh Simmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16451772839341208779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4367208288684306022.post-78231043574318742862009-08-23T13:14:00.000-07:002009-08-25T08:03:55.123-07:00

What do you daydream about? When you allow your mind to pull over at a rest stop or go on a mini-vacation, what does it think about? My mind usually goes straight to Kung-Fu. Well, I don't really know if you could call it "Kung-Fu." It's kind of my own version. I call it "J-Fu." It's a mixture of all the fights and battles I've ever seen all coiled up in one. Can I tell you how exciting and

Josh Simmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16451772839341208779noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4367208288684306022.post-3997993056121928792009-08-04T19:30:00.000-07:002009-08-06T05:02:13.891-07:00

Parallel Two: Both require a thorough investigation.Have you noticed that pretty much every food item in the grocery store has something positive marked on the packaging? It doesn't matter if the product is really good for you or not, you'll usually find either what it doesn't have or the single healthy thing it does have marked in some bright colors close to the brand name or title. You don't

Josh Simmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16451772839341208779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4367208288684306022.post-11460161534704041022009-07-22T10:32:00.000-07:002009-07-30T10:52:58.331-07:00

A couple weeks ago, I went to the doctor to get my test results regarding my cholesterol. I have to tell you I went in feeling pretty confident. I was pretty sure he was going to tell me that I was fine, and I could keep doing what I was doing. One of my biggest weaknesses is food. I love being able to eat whatever I want to without gaining any weight. (I can hear some of you snarling at me

Josh Simmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16451772839341208779noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4367208288684306022.post-42382733868270890182009-06-29T16:12:00.000-07:002009-06-29T12:27:59.831-07:00

When I was about 10, I had to sell candy bars to help raise money for the cub scouts. As I left my house to go door to door, I had an amazing idea. I would drop the candy bars near the houses and sidewalks so people wouldn't have to buy them. You know, Bob comes out to get the morning paper and discovers an extra delivery. Shirley hears a knock on her door and finds two Milky Ways on her welcome

Josh Simmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16451772839341208779noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4367208288684306022.post-63721811226059138712009-06-16T07:57:00.000-07:002009-06-16T08:27:40.273-07:00

One day as I was sitting in a drive-thru, I noticed the driver behind me was moving her arms around like she was hitting something or someone. I quickly realized that it wasn't a someone that she was swatting at, it was a bee. What did I do? I did what anyone else would do. I nestled deeper in my seat and adjusted my rear and side view mirrors to get the best view, because I knew the

Josh Simmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16451772839341208779noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4367208288684306022.post-36123123240489318632009-05-29T12:00:00.000-07:002009-06-12T06:39:55.408-07:00

When I first started dating my wife, I would do anything not to embarrass myself. But as many of us know and have found out at least a few times in our lives, that is an impossible task. The most humiliating moment came at a movie theater soon after Nicki and I started seeing each other. We had gotten our seats and were comfortable, when I decided I would go out and get us some popcorn and a

Josh Simmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16451772839341208779noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4367208288684306022.post-52505025260404673912009-05-13T10:18:00.000-07:002009-05-14T09:08:51.660-07:00

The summer after I graduated from high school, my brother and I and some other friends went to Italy. We had 17 days, and all 17 days were accounted for, planned for, filled up...until we found Lake Como, that is. We were traveling by train and as we were coming down from the Swiss Alps, we saw it - the most amazing place. We all just looked at each other knowing that we were all thinking the

Josh Simmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16451772839341208779noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4367208288684306022.post-34455720384639408772009-04-22T10:24:00.000-07:002009-04-27T12:29:15.088-07:00

Last Christmas while I was shopping with my family, our youngest daughter Mackenzie decided to spontaneously leap out of her stroller for an afternoon jog through the very crowded mall. At first I stood there in total disbelief at what just happened; it was almost surreal...I mean, even for a two-year-old, who just gets up and starts running for no reason with absolutely no warnings or signs.For

Josh Simmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16451772839341208779noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4367208288684306022.post-48368400486372912692009-04-01T10:51:00.000-07:002009-04-03T14:07:14.064-07:00

What is the most annoying sound to you? What's the sound that makes you go to a unhappy place? For me, it's my alarm clock. I hate that thing. Don't get me wrong - I need it. I count on it. It saves me every day. It keeps me employed and my kids in school, but the sound that comes out of it is horrid. (The people who make alarm clock noises must really hate life. We all should be praying for

Josh Simmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16451772839341208779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4367208288684306022.post-25230071791694397842009-03-18T08:42:00.000-07:002009-04-03T08:14:16.260-07:00

There is this space between what I want to be, what I should be, and what I'm supposed to be that frightens, confuses, and sometimes paralyzes me. It's the space between Genesis and Revelation. Between "There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" to Jesus spitting out lukewarm Christians. It's the space between grace and judgment. It's the space we live in right now. "What

Josh Simmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16451772839341208779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4367208288684306022.post-56508664184010495552009-03-03T07:56:00.000-08:002009-03-03T07:57:00.196-08:00

I have a confession to make. At my wedding, when I was told to repeat the vows, I wasn't fully there. It was all kind of hazy, weird - not like I thought it was going to be. Maybe it had something to do with all the booze I was drinking a couple hours before (just kidding, Honey...and Jake [father-in-law]). Seriously though, the only thing that was going through my mind was my voice not cracking,

Josh Simmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16451772839341208779noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4367208288684306022.post-57314927572299575222009-02-14T18:28:00.000-08:002009-02-14T18:29:47.879-08:00

I'm going to share something really personal. I can't find a deodorant that's nice... you know, to my pits. At first when I try one it's fine, at least for the first few hours, but then itching and then burning follow. It's horrible really. A sad story. A man who can't find a reliable deodorant - one that won't keep burning him. So there you have it, a window into my dark, red places. You'll

Josh Simmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16451772839341208779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4367208288684306022.post-20569914635693409582009-01-30T06:31:00.000-08:002009-02-01T17:30:41.656-08:00

Many of you know that I can't stand bananas. I can smell one from a mile away. I blame this banana hatred on my mother. She would pack one in my lunch nearly every day through elementary and middle school, and it would make everything else in my lunch taste like - you guessed it - banana. To this day, if I pass someone eating one I sometimes gag. One night I made the big mistake of eating one in

Josh Simmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16451772839341208779noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4367208288684306022.post-37635596832872147272009-01-21T10:20:00.001-08:002009-01-22T10:18:22.784-08:00

There is this balance that i'm trying to live in - a balance I wish others would try to live in as well. It's the balance of caring and not caring and knowing what we should be caring about in the first place. I tend to care too much about what others think. I would admit to you that I am closer to one side of the scale...not good. But there are others who would fall on the complete opposite side

Josh Simmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16451772839341208779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4367208288684306022.post-46494567951944499922009-01-03T16:10:00.000-08:002009-01-06T18:43:20.111-08:00

I have this issue, chances are you have it as well...one way or another. It's the issue of everybody else and the impact they have on how we act, what we say, how we think, and what we do. For me it's the most annoying thing i deal with as a human. It's annoying because i wrestle with it constantly. I care way too much about what other people think and say about me. Right now, writing this blog,

Josh Simmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16451772839341208779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4367208288684306022.post-44993022519454766112008-12-30T11:22:00.000-08:002009-01-05T09:03:48.412-08:00

It was so cold, no one wanted to get out their camera to snap photos…but we did (a few anyway). As we were planning our young adult Christmas event, we just knew a part of the night had to be dedicated to helping those who weren’t going to have as nice of a Christmas as we were going to have. So we decided to go out and buy $550 worth of gifts for kids and have a gift wrapping station that would

Josh Simmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16451772839341208779noreply@blogger.com0