Catering so good our competition had to copy our menu...

I was recently surfing one of my local competitor's websites and noticed that his catering menu was a verbatim copy of mine. A lot of thoughts ran through my mind. I'm generally not pleased with someone else copying my hard work. Through some great counsel, I have realized that it should be a point of flattery. Doesn't the saying go, "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery?"

So here is the pitch: Holy Smokes BBQ catering is so good and so well executed that our competition's only choice was to copy our menu. At the end of the day the service that Holy Smokes provides is much more important than the menu that is suggested.

I don't want to be snotty about the whole situation so I will not mention the business name. If you would like to see it, just look for a barbecue restaurant in Dacula, GA. Check out the catering menu and compare it to what you see at: http://www.holysmokes-bbq.com/catermenu.htm . Please remember to give us a call at 770-963-0994 if we can help with any of your catering needs.

UPDATE: It seems that our competitor has removed our sample menus from their website. You can still see the remnants... after all, how many BBQ restaurants have chicken tortilla soup on their catering menu? Notice also how all of the items are under the same headings in the exact same order.

When it is Hard to Pray

Sometimes it is hard to pray. My wife gave birth to a beautiful little girl, but had complications again. Almost exactly the same scenario as our first child. My only prayer throughout her pregnancy was for a healthy baby and a great birth experience. Unfortunately, He chose to allow us to go through the same.

I've had trouble praying. I feel as though I've been let down. I know the truth... but it is difficult to believe. I'm so thankful that there are things in place that allow my wife to leave the hospital feeling good, but I think it is unfair that she had to have the difficulty. I ran into another dad in the elevator who had a new arrival at the same time we did. They are at home now. It is not fair.

I know my God loves me. I know He has a plan for me. I just wish he would review it with me so I would know what to expect.

Patient Anticipation...

I'm sitting in my wife's hospital room waiting to meet my daughter for the first time. I've finally embraced the idea that I'm going to have a little girl. It does not really matter at this point... she's coming whether I'm ready or not.

I feel God urging me to trust Him. I feel His Spirit quietly nudging me to believe His promises. He will not leave me nor forsake me. All of the things that I pray for and ask for, believe that I have receive them and they will be granted. This is great stuff, but I'm scared. My wife's life was in danger when we had our first child. I'm scared that we're going to have problems again. I can't imagine life without her, especially with a new baby. She has become such a part of me. But His lovingkindness stretches to the heavens, and His faithfulness reaches to the skies.

I so desperately want to have joy in this exciting time. I pray that God would grant me that joy now.

Review in Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Last Friday we received a glowing review in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. You can read it here.

Someone came into the restaurant on Memorial Day and ordered a bunch of food to take home. Not unusual for that day. Later Kenny received a call at the restaurant asking if she could do a review of our restaurant. Of coarse, we had to think about it... and promptly reply "Yes!" with much excitement.

So that's the story.

Fatherless

John Eldredge finally put words to the way I often feel. He describes our journey as men in his book The Way of the Wild Heart. He ultimately describes us as lost boys in grown up bodies looking for the answer to the question, "Am I good enough?"

I lost my earthly father in 2002 less than a year into my marriage to the one person who lives grace out before me more than any other. My father left me with the question, "Are you proud of me?" Really just a restatement of the previous question. Much of my life has been spent attempting to appeal to the pride of a man that didn't know how to show me how much he was. I find that I constantly seek the approval of my male elders. I'm constantly looking for what my dad didn't realize he didn't give me.

Please don't misunderstand; my father was a great man. He taught me incredible things like the power of honesty and how to fix a faucet. He taught me that I am capable of anything that I am willing to work for. I know that he loved me. I know that I miss him terribly and would love to speak with him once more. I often dream of that conversation only to wake to the harsh reality that I will not enjoy that pleasure this side of eternity.

I'm realizing, too, that I project these feelings to my heavenly Father. I wonder if I am good enough for Him and recognize that I'm not. I have trouble accepting His unconditional love and undeserved grace. I can not accept that I am, as Eldredge says, his "beloved son." I even have to sit in His place, knowing and understanding the love I have for my son, yet I can not accept God's. I struggle to believe that He is intimately involved in my life. I don't know what, but I know there is more to this relationship than, "Jesus died for my sins." That's great and all, but what is the point if there is nothing beyond that fact. Why would He save me and then just leave me out here to figure it out by myself? Why would my dad leave me here to figure out all of this stuff alone?

How can I raise my children when I have so many unanswered questions? When I am dead and gone, what is my son going to look back and remember about me? How am I going to screw his life up? Am I even capable of preparing him for what he is going to face?

The Wrong Reasons

Someone left a very interesting comment on a previous entry. They essentially asked if doing the right thing was still right if it is done for the wrong reasons. I can't claim to be all wise, but I have an opinion.

My son has a natural desire to do whatever he wants, right or wrong. I believe he knows the difference without me telling him. Often when I catch him doing something he shouldn't, he is looking around to see if anyone is looking... guilty conscience, I guess. Anyway, I have set up a set of consequences that my child will face if he does certain things that are wrong. You could argue that the only reason why my son behaves is because of the consequences he will face if he does not. That is true, but eventually he will do the right thing habitually. He will see that more good comes from consistently making right choices rather than wrong. So the short answer is that it is best to do the right thing no matter what the motivation is... in my opinion.

The person commenting also made mention of something like "the happiness you deserve" as a motivation to do right. I understand the premise of the question to be an underlying desire to receive the credit I deserve for doing the right thing. I believe that I am not promised happiness and that the only thing I deserve is condemnation. It is a tenet of my faith that helps me to remember that every gift and blessing comes from my Creator and I can take no credit for it.

The Right Thing

Doing the right thing is not fun. I might say that it is not always fun, but I really think that to our natural selves, it is never fun. Inside of me are desires to serve myself and my own needs. I sometimes care more about serving those desires than I do about doing what is right. There are also external pressures. Sometimes two areas of my life pull me in different directions and cause even more conflict. Those external pressures are usually a result of bad decisions I've previously made, but they are still a force to be reckoned with.

My evil desires and external pressures are always in conflict with the right thing to do. Add that to the fact that I'm still not going to feel great about making the right choices (because it is still not fun even though it is right), and the deck is stacked against me.

I do think that our Father in heaven is very concerned about my choices. I believe that he smiles when I choose to do the right thing. I've recently been able to see a friend who has made a string of bad choices start to own that and make some good decisions. I could tell that he had no fulfillment from doing the right things, but I was filled with joy when I was able to observe. I can only imagine the joy that our Father has when I do the right things.