I have decided that in each post I am going to attempt to include my eating/running, my family's progress, house updates, and something God has shown me lately.
THE MUNCHIES
After a week of the new diet I have been feeling tired. I have found that I am not eating enough. I am going to work on this. I have been sleeping better until last night. This morning has been a struggle but I am sticking in there. Juliet has really been helping me to succeed in this new lifestyle. She has taken me to the grocery store and we picked up some different things, and she has probably done more research than I have. I seem to be losing weight so that is good. I have gone from 260 to 254 overall. That is still way too high but I am happy with the progress. I also know that most of the weight is probably water weight and is going to be easy to lose at first.
My running has been on hold since. Last week because the family was in town and I wanted to spend time with them but I plan on starting again today.
BABY BROWN
Juliet has been very tired this past week/weekend I have been trying to do as much as possible so she is able to rest. Friday I sent her to get a pedicure while I cleaned the house. I have felt the baby kick a few times and it is amazing. It blows my Mind that I am being blessed with this miracle. I know people have babies all the time but to me it still makes me feel special that I am starting my own family.
Nursery update
I am still in the process of completing the nursery. It looks awesome. The crown molding has been a nightmare, but I found a video tutorial this morning that I think will solve the problem.
I am still in the process of completing the nursery. It looks awesome. The crown molding has been a nightmare, but I found a video tutorial this morning that I think will solve the problem.
Things remaining on the nursery:
- Crown molding
- Quarter round
- Second coat of paint
- Change Receptacles
- New light fixtures
THE BROWN'S NEST
Yesterday I had my new riding lawnmower delivered. The funny thing about it was that I was not able to get it from the front yard to the bank. The key word there is "was". I purchased a angle grinder and created a new "gate" (see photo below) and solved the problem. I still have some work to do like a lock and a smooth open on it but it works for the time being. 
THE GREAT REVEAL
This weekend I was playing golf with my dad and we began talking about church and such and we came to the topic of tithing.
we talked about how It Is amazing that if you tithe faithfully God will bless more than you can imagine. It made me think how great God is and how he takes care of my family. It seems backwards if you don't know first hand. It seems like if you give more the less you will have (economics 101) 1-1=0 but in reality God's blessings are more like 1-1=1000. This made me think about where I have been and how my life has changed. God has always been there for me even when I wasn't following him. I just wish I would have realized it earlier in life. As many of you know I went to Auburn University and earned a Bachelors in Industrial Design. I graduated and was not able to find a job in that field, so I obtained a position at GEICO. I was extremely bitter that I did not find a job with my degree and found myself being miserable pretty much all of the time, but while I was at work I tried to keep on a happy face and to work as hard as I could to keep those around me happy and in a positive mood. On the inside I was miserable and nobody knew it better than my wife who almost on a weekly basis got to experience my mental breakdowns, along with the depression that I was going through. I tried everything to change what was going on, I filled my life with distractions, Running, Eating, Monster Energy Drinks(haha) etc... but I could never cheer up. I applied for so many jobs that it wasn't even funny anything from design jobs to an installation tech for a satellite company and do you believe I did not get a single call back?? This just made me even more angry. My wife even told me that she felt like I had lost all of the joy in my life and that it made her sad that I was no longer the joking, immature guy who always had a smile on his face and a pep in his step. Then it happened. I was on my way to work one morning and I decided that I couldn't make anything happen. This next part probably sounds cheesy, but it actually happened. I began to pray and I gave it to God. I told God that I couldn't do it alone, that I tried to make a change and to get out of my current situation. I also apologized for being selfish and ungrateful for all of the things he had given me (my wife, my family, a job that put food on the table, a roof over my head,etc...) and it told God that I was putting it in his hands and that I knew that he was going to take care of me when the time was right and for some reason he had me there and I would do whatever it is that he wanted me to do. I prayed this for weeks. Every morning I took time to thank him for everything he was doing in my life and to tell him once again that I could not do it without him and amazingly things began to turn around. No I didn't get a new job immediately, I didn't win a million dollars, I didn't come across a lost treasure somewhere. All that happened was "Nothing". My job got better and I finally got caught up (I had been behind for 4 months) my attitude began to change and I felt content and happy with what was going on. It took me a while to say anything to Juliet about what I was doing every morning on the way to work because I wasn't doing it for her, I was doing it for me. When I finally did tell her she acted as though she already knew. She said that she knew something was going on because she saw more of the "old me" coming around here and there. I had worked in my job unhappy for about 2 years with no change in sight and in a matter of 2 months things began to change. I told Juliet one day that I wanted to get God back as the foundation of my life again instead of him being on the sidelines.
This weekend I was playing golf with my dad and we began talking about church and such and we came to the topic of tithing.
we talked about how It Is amazing that if you tithe faithfully God will bless more than you can imagine. It made me think how great God is and how he takes care of my family. It seems backwards if you don't know first hand. It seems like if you give more the less you will have (economics 101) 1-1=0 but in reality God's blessings are more like 1-1=1000. This made me think about where I have been and how my life has changed. God has always been there for me even when I wasn't following him. I just wish I would have realized it earlier in life. As many of you know I went to Auburn University and earned a Bachelors in Industrial Design. I graduated and was not able to find a job in that field, so I obtained a position at GEICO. I was extremely bitter that I did not find a job with my degree and found myself being miserable pretty much all of the time, but while I was at work I tried to keep on a happy face and to work as hard as I could to keep those around me happy and in a positive mood. On the inside I was miserable and nobody knew it better than my wife who almost on a weekly basis got to experience my mental breakdowns, along with the depression that I was going through. I tried everything to change what was going on, I filled my life with distractions, Running, Eating, Monster Energy Drinks(haha) etc... but I could never cheer up. I applied for so many jobs that it wasn't even funny anything from design jobs to an installation tech for a satellite company and do you believe I did not get a single call back?? This just made me even more angry. My wife even told me that she felt like I had lost all of the joy in my life and that it made her sad that I was no longer the joking, immature guy who always had a smile on his face and a pep in his step. Then it happened. I was on my way to work one morning and I decided that I couldn't make anything happen. This next part probably sounds cheesy, but it actually happened. I began to pray and I gave it to God. I told God that I couldn't do it alone, that I tried to make a change and to get out of my current situation. I also apologized for being selfish and ungrateful for all of the things he had given me (my wife, my family, a job that put food on the table, a roof over my head,etc...) and it told God that I was putting it in his hands and that I knew that he was going to take care of me when the time was right and for some reason he had me there and I would do whatever it is that he wanted me to do. I prayed this for weeks. Every morning I took time to thank him for everything he was doing in my life and to tell him once again that I could not do it without him and amazingly things began to turn around. No I didn't get a new job immediately, I didn't win a million dollars, I didn't come across a lost treasure somewhere. All that happened was "Nothing". My job got better and I finally got caught up (I had been behind for 4 months) my attitude began to change and I felt content and happy with what was going on. It took me a while to say anything to Juliet about what I was doing every morning on the way to work because I wasn't doing it for her, I was doing it for me. When I finally did tell her she acted as though she already knew. She said that she knew something was going on because she saw more of the "old me" coming around here and there. I had worked in my job unhappy for about 2 years with no change in sight and in a matter of 2 months things began to change. I told Juliet one day that I wanted to get God back as the foundation of my life again instead of him being on the sidelines.
The next part is the miracle. Can you believe that once I decided this I was asked not long after to become a Deacon at my church? I got a programming job without having a degree in it, and I am making more money? I have been blessed with a home to share with my beautiful wife, and now I have a baby on the way? Let someone try to tell me that God doesn't exist or that he doesn't answer prayers. God just had to take a stubborn old mule like me - put my entire life on hold, and bring me to my knees before I would look up and focus on what was important, HIM.
On a side note: I was shown later a small glimpse of God's plan when I found out that even though I was miserable I gave hope and I kept a coworker of mine going during a time that she was struggling. It is amazing to me that God always has a plan and I was there for a reason.
I am sorry this post is so long, I promise that I will make them shorter in the future. I just felt led to post my story this morning.
You go, brother
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