Tyler TX Facebook

Follow Donny on Twitter

Username:
Password:
  Remember Me   Forgot password?  Register
0-9  A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z  

Find or Refer a Contractor in Tyler

Vacation Bible School In Tyler Texas

June 21st, 2011

Tyler TX vacation Bible schoolWe here in Tyler are in the middle of Vacation Bible School (VBS), season right now. Churches all over Tyler are either just beginning, or just finishing their summer activities for area children. Summer programs for the kiddos have become culturally ingrained not on only in East Texas but around the country. I remember attending VBS programs as a child, sometimes at churches other than my own. Of course VBS is essentially a week long Sunday school class that runs from about nine in the morning until noon, (depending on the program). Such programs are popular with parents who are always on the lookout for summer activities for their kids. Church programs are great because they’re safe, secure, and the curriculum is of course formative for the student’s faith. They also have the side benefit of allowing parents a few hours of peace and productivity.

Vacation Bible School is usually a healthy mix of activities and lessons. One of the most popular curriculums this year is called “Pandamania.” Each day’s lesson takes a classic biblical story and draws out a simple theme. The five central stories are as follows: The Creation Story, Elijah vs. the Prophets of Baal, Jonah Runs from God, Jesus Dies and Comes Back to life, and God Gives Hannah a Baby. Numerous churches in town are using the Pandamania curriculum, including; Calvary Baptist Church, Central Baptist Church, Pollard United Methodist Church,Trinity Lutheran and Christ Episcopal Church. I may well be leaving someone out, if so I apologize. Pandamania, like most VBS programs is doctrinally non- sectarian in order to allow as a many different denominations as possible to use it.

There are programs running all through June and into July, all over Tyler and East Texas. My personal fav is Christ Episcopal Church’s, which runs all next week (June 27th through July 1st), from 9:00 am until 12:00 noon. For more information on the Pandamania program go to

http://pandamania.group.com/ . For more on Christ Church’s program go to their children’s ministry page at http://www.christchurchtyler.org/childrens.htm .

Will Texas Pass the Anti-Groping Bill?

June 20th, 2011

TSA Groping Bill in Texas

House Bill 41 is waiting in the wings in Austin. The bill makes it illegal for any “public servant” to touch a citizen “inappropriately” regardless of whether or not the citizen is clothed. Nicknamed the anti-groping law, the bill is of course aimed at the federal Transportation Safety Administration’s manhandling of the traveling public in the nation’s airports. If the bill does in fact pass it will put the state on a collision course with the federal government, who insists it will not change its regulations. In the past, Federal attorneys have threatened to shut down any flights whose security could not be verified. What does this mean? If Texas disallows the TSA’s violation of its citizens we’ll not be able to fly from Texas airports to other parts of the country?

At this point the whole bill is up in the air (no pun intended), due to procedural considerations. While advocates are confident that they have the votes to pass the measure, it’s unclear whether Governor Perry will add it to the special session call. The public clamor for the bill seems to be growing as even Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst is urging his superior to move it forward. Either way this could be a potential make or break for a Perry presidential run. Many potential voters could see his failure to add the bill as a lack of leadership, while other may object to his advancing the bill as radical, and disrespectful of federal authority. Personally I suspect that Texans of most political stripes would favor the legislation. The TSA is an enormously unpopular organization right now, and most citizens view it as power hungry and indignant toward the public’s objections. I suspect that Texas will not be the last State to consider such laws. Hopefully, if the dissent continues it will force the federal government to acknowledge what the rest of us already know; that current procedures are not protecting the public at all; they’re victimizing it further.

Benefits of a Tyler TX Gym Workout

June 14th, 2011

Tony Cruz CTC FitnessStudies have shown that about 1/3rd of cancer related deaths occurred because of a bad diet and a Homer Simpson type of sit on the coach watch TV lifestyle. By simply moving your body with some basic although brisk exercise you decrease your chances of getting:

Certain cancers:

  • breast
  • colon
  • endometrial
  • prostate

The short jog, cardio routine, or local Tyler Texas gym workout during your work lunch break is linked to a 50 percent lower risk of being told one day you have colon cancer.  The Journal of the American Medical Association discovered that a woman’s chance of getting breast cancer can be reduced by 18% simply by getting in 1 – 2 hours of a brisk walk in each week as compared next to women with sedentary lifestyles.

Another benefit of a workout routine like what is offered in the kickboxing classes at XTC Fitness and Sports is a dramatic reduction in cardiovascular disease chances. Cardio disease is the most common cause of dieing in the United States right now. Exercise almost guarantees you will not die of overweight cardio related issues because of never getting into a routine of daily movement.

Everyone dies eventually but heart attacks can take 30 – 40 years off your life if you are obese.

At this point your rational mind is likely convinced of some of the benefits of working out but your emotional side might still be thinking of how that ice-cream or Oreo will feel going in your mouth.

What you need is a trick to change up things just enough to cause your emotional brain to get on board with your rational mind.

None of us likes to think we need  other people and programs to get us doing something but in reality we are like robots and we easily find ourselves in bad habits causing us to do the exact same things day after day.

You can quickly trick your body into doing some good by using one of the most valuable weapons in your arsenal, your will power.

Our will power is often squandered and put aside as we allow the path of least resistance to often times make our decision up for us.

By changing your environment and getting into a gym setting with class mates who have the same goals as you do you assist in getting your emotional side on board with your rational mind.

Having the encouragement of class mates and a kickboxing instructor with you for the entire workout routine helps you do what your emotions don’t want to do.

Go ahead and admit it, you may have the will power but you don’t want to use it to workout.

You can cheat these emotional thoughts that rob you of a healthy lifestyle by changing your environment and thereby changing your emotional mind.

Before you know it 30 days will have past and you will have a new routine in place of your trip to the food store, couch and TV.

Go by XTC Fitness on Broadway next to The Diner and pick up a workout class schedule today.

No Matter How Well Tuned You Think You Are You Still Need to Workout

June 9th, 2011

Tyler TX GymI used to have a BMW M5 that I only drove every once in awhile. I noticed if I let the car sit too long things simply didn’t work as well and occasionally I even had to take it in to a mechanic.

When I took the car in one day to Mike Pile BMW the mechanic said, “You haven’t been driving this car lately, have you?” He explained to me that this car was built to be on the road and shouldn’t be garaged for too long.

I was actually hurting the car and its performance by keeping it in the garage and only driving it on special occasions.

Just like that M5 I used to have, your body was designed to exercise and move on a daily basis. When on multiple days you park your body in a Lazy Boy recliner and do not move eventually you will destroy your engine.

Most of us are sick and not feeling in tip top shape because we are like robots doing the same thing each day with no real change refusing to stir the water in our body with exercise and action.

Your body over time becomes a stagnant pool of disease and unhealthy garbage heaps of chemicals and bad choices.

Eventually your body will not have the ability to exercise at a local Tyler TX gym because of heart disease, arthritis, and other disabling worsening diseases.

By getting the water moving in your body and beginning to exercise at a local Tyler TX gym you will see many powerful effects on your health.

By understanding that people are basically robots and simply do the same typical things each day you can understand that unless a drastic change is made in your environment you will likely keep doing the same things.

Most of us are simply laying down sheets and sheets of the same road on top of each other as we do and make the same habitual mistakes over and over again.

Your rational mind likely knows what to do but your emotional side simply cannot get yourself out of the habits you do almost everyday that keep you from moving your body.

A little trick and cheat to getting your emotional brain to do what your rational mind has been telling you is to change your environment.

By getting involved in a fitness program at a local Tyler TX gym you are changing your environment. You are surrounded by people who all have the goal of moving their bodies and exercising their way to a healthy lifestyle.

The fitness instructor is your personal trainer as well as everyone’s in that class. You get the guidance and moral support of your peers and an expert in the field of physical fitness that all works as an amazing trick to subtly trick your emotional mind into doing what you your rational self had known for years.

So take action and change you environment, as this is a direct shortcut to reprogramming that robot in everybody that is doing the wrong thing day after day.

XTC Fitness is one of many Tyler Texas gyms but offers more options and a flexible schedule when choosing a suitable fitness class. Tony Cruz XTC Fitness gym offers Kickboxing classes, Yoga classes, Zumba Classes, and more throughout the day.

I personally go to the fitness class this Tyler TX gym offers during my work lunch hour each day.

XTC Fitness is located on Broadway in Tyler right next to The Diner. Go by and check them out or visit their website here: XTC Fitness

Bodies Allegedly Found in Texas Prove to Be a Hoax… or Something

June 8th, 2011

Alright, this has to be the weirdest story of the last few days. It made national news yesterday that a mass grave containing thirty dismembered corpses (including children), had been found in Hardin, Texas. Turns out, the story wasn’t even remotely true. Police investigators were in fact acting on a “tip” from a psychic who claimed there was a mass grave on the property under investigation. Uh… there wasn’t. Authorities stated that the not so clairvoyant, had accurately described the home (inside and out), and the property, but there were no bodies to be found anywhere. The little evidence of foul play on the premises turned out to have a more mundane explanation.

From what I’ve read, the property owners are truck drivers and were out of town at the time of the investigation. They were understandably rattled by the events. The big question for me is; how is it that a suggestion from psychic can bring down such an overreaction by state officials? Seriously?! Are we really putting this much stock in the visions of a local seer? I guess police are now trying to determine whether the tip was actually a hoax or simply a false alarm. Given the reliability of the source, it makes very little difference in my opinion. I would remind any would- be psychics out there, that the ancient biblical punishment for false prophets was stoning. “But we don’t live in biblical times you religious nutcase!” Yeah, I know it was just a joke, not unlike taking tips from spiritualists.

Admittedly I’m being trite. Hopefully (or maybe not given the nature of the story, I’m not sure), there’s more going on in the background than what we’re seeing on the surface. If not, I’ve got to say, I don’t have much confidence when an overactive imagination can cause so much turmoil.