Author: Family Friendly Daddy Blog

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dad from day one: Jack’s First Crush, Taylor Swift

Week 23 (5 months).

I recognize the fact Jack is a pretty low maintenance baby, but one thing that typically is never easy with him is getting him to fall asleep when he needs to.  It’s just that he has so much fun when he’s awake that he doesn’t want to miss out on the action by sleeping through it.

The few rare times I’ve actually seen him just fall asleep on his own were after my entire family had exhausted him all day from non-stop playing.  But as far as just day to day life, when it’s just him and my wife and I here at the house, I would say that helping him fall asleep is more than slightly harder than solving a Rubik’s Cube. Because I know for a fact I can solve the Rubik’s Cube in less than five minutes each time- getting Jack to fall asleep, on the other hand, often takes at least twice or thrice that long.  And even then, there is no guarantee he will actually enter Sleepyland.

Through a strategy my wife invented and perfected, and that I do my best to emulate, Jack must be wrapped up into a “baby burrito” (tightly in a blanket). Then he must be rhythmically rocked in long, quick swoops.  If done right, and he is tired enough, Jack becomes hypnotized and soon stops fighting the “sleep monkey”.

But occasionally, when Jack is crying too fiercely, we have to bring out the special weapon: Taylor Swift.  For pretty much all of Jack’s life, the CD we have kept in the stereo is Taylor Swift’s newest album, Speak Now.  Jack will fight through the first half of the first track, “Mine”, but usually by the middle of the second song, “Sparks Fly”, Taylor has sung him to sleep.

When I say this, I’m not saying this to be “cute” the way people thank celebrities or inanimate objects on their Facebook  status or Twitter (like ““Dear Starbucks, what would I ever do with you?”); instead, I literally mean what I am about to say.  If somehow for some reason Taylor Swift stumbled upon this “dad from day one” post, here is what I have to say:

“Dear Taylor Swift, thank you for recording Speak Now.  Not only do my wife and I really like it, but it is very soothing to our son.  You have helped us get him to go to sleep more times than we can count.  We think he has a crush on you.”

 

Also, don’t forget that tomorrow night (Wednesday, April 27th, my friend Diana will be a contestant on Wheel of Fortune.  She gave me the idea for my upcoming “dad from day one” spin-off.

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If Jesus in Deed Never Rose from the Dead, Would Christians Be Jewish Instead?

Whether He is Lord, lunatic, or liar, Jesus Christ is still one miraculous (living) legend.

Depending on how you look at it, Christianity is either A) a hokey cult which spun off of Judaism over 2,000 years ago based on a false prophet who was not actually born of a virgin, or B) the continuation of Judaism which is mainly embraced by those who are not actually Jewish, but instead, as the Apostle Paul put it, “grafted in the vine”.

If it weren’t for Jesus raising from the dead three days after His death or at least people believing that He did, then Protestants, Catholics, and Eastern (Orthodox) Christians worldwide would have a completely different religion all together.  Without Jesus actually being the prophesied Messiah of the Old Testament, there would simply be no Christ in Christianity.  We would still have the Old Testament, though.  And we would still be waiting for the actual Messiah to show up.

What if Jesus really wasn’t the Messiah?  Even if He was simply a fictional character who either never existed or was simply a liar, Jesus would still be the most miraculous man to ever walk this Earth.  Why? Because today, nearly 2 billion of the world’s 7 billion population identify themselves with some form of Christianity. According to Wikipedia, Christianity is still the most popular religion of the world, and that’s not even counting the millions in “underground churches” in places like China.  In other words, it would be simply miraculous that a man who never actually raised from the dead could influence so many millions of people for more than two millennia.  It would be a deceptive and tragic miracle, but still it would be a miracle.

Imagine what an impressive hoax that Christianity would be if Jesus was in deed not the Messiah, and most relevantly, if He simply died like any other Jewish man and never came back to life.  Imagine what a miracle Jesus performed if He never even was who He said He was.  I would have the say that Christianity, in that case, would be the biggest waste of time and energy in the history of the world.

Least importantly would be the question proposed in the title: If Jesus never in deed rose from the dead, would we Christians be Jewish instead?

What religion would Americans and Europeans have accepted, if not Christianity? In the event that the Messiah truly has not arrived yet, would the same Judeo-Christian God be the God we would have embraced, along with the practices of Judaism? Who would we worship instead?  Or what would we worship instead?

Without Jesus actually being the Son of God who conquered death and paid for the sins of mankind by dying on the cross, then raising from the dead, it not only means we are without an eternal hope of salvation- it means a lot of people, for over 2,000 years, have been serving a false, yet still miraculous god.

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Currently Uber Popular Status Update Phrases: Forwards About Religion, Politics, and Knowing People

You think email forwards are so 1998?  Think again.

There are two kinds of people in the world: Those who constantly send email forwards and those who are annoyed by them.  Of course these days, email forwards have morphed themselves into a more relevant version- by showing up as the offender’s status update on Facebook and/or Twitter.

It’s hard to be cynical about status updates that tell you to repost if you know someone who has had some kind of sickness or disease.  There’s nothing funny about that.  Then they are the ones telling you to repost if you believe in God, are a Christian and proud of it, etc.  Next are the ones telling you to repost if you support the military.  Then it starts getting really generic… repost if you have a family member (like a brother or mom or cousin).  Or if you’re proud to be from the South.  Or if you realize that it’s okay not to like President Obama anymore and you want him out of office.  If all else fails, make your status update a forward about gas prices- because man, that’s truly original.

I guess the question is, at what point in the downward spiral of all-encompassing status update forwards is it okay to be annoyed by seeing them?  I can’t be annoyed about finding a cure for anything; that’s a given.  We all want to find a cure for all diseases in the world as we have all been affected by the loss of someone close to us.  So I’m okay with that one.  And I guess I’m not supposed to be annoyed about the “proud to be a Christian” ones, because I’m not ashamed to be a Christian- but I would be ashamed to post “I’m proud to be a Christian and if you are too then you should repost this”  as my status simply because I’m the kind of person who is annoyed by email forwards:  I’m ashamed of forwards, not my beliefs- whether they’re religious, political, or whatever.

But I think it’s okay to be annoyed by the ones about having a cousin.  And the political ones.  And definitely the ones about gas prices.

To do my part, I am sharing my current Facebook status update with everyone:

‎- Please copy and paste this as your status if you know someone, or have heard of someone who knows someone. If you don’t know anyone, or even if you’ve heard of anyone who doesn’t know anyone, then do still copy this. It’s important to spread the message, even if no one knows anything about anyone. Oh, and the hearts. ♥ ♥ ♥ For goodness sake, don’t forget the hearts. ♥ ♥

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dad from day one: Today I Become a Thirty Year Old Dad (Plus, Why You Should Watch “Wheel of Fortune” A Week From Tonight)

Week 22 (5 months).

I’m not the kind of person who doesn’t want people to know my age.  I think it’s because I’m such a chronological person- I love to keep up with dates.  It’s important for me to remember where I was and what I was doing at each stage in my life.  For the first months of Jack’s life, I was 29.  But at 8:37 tonight, I will officially turn 30 years old.

Amidst all the other major age milestones like 16,18, 40, 50, and 60, I vote 30 as the most monumental.  Being thirty means not being seen as a kid anymore- it’s a true milestone of adulthood. It means I have now lived through three decades and have made enough mistakes to learn from them and live wiser accordingly.  Being 30 means having graduated through a decade of “notknowingness” (my 20’s) and being propelled into a life of definite direction.

I don’t know that I would call this a bittersweet moment.  Sure, I’m a deeply nostalgic person so I always miss the past, but I say despite all the blessings so far, it only gets better from here.  I couldn’t have known that 30 would come during such a transitional time in my life.  Aside from the big move and welcoming my first child into this world,  it’s now that my writing career is officially beginning.

Since August 2005, I have been “blogging for free.”  (Though actually, during my 4 months of unemployment I was hired to write a few stories in a publication format, like this story I wrote about a local businessman.)  But this morning, on my 30th birthday, I will be mailing back two contracts to Parents.com up in New York City for two different stories they assigned me to write.  They gave me the titles, now I write the entire bodies.  And how did they find me?  “Dad from day one.”

I thank God for this opportunity.  And at this point, I still haven’t gone public with what all is going on with my secret “dad from day one” spin-off.  But it is why, in case you haven’t noticed, I bought the web domain names “nickshell.com” and “dadfromdayone.com”.  It’s part of an important effort to establish my name as an author, as my name will soon be part of a well-trafficked  byline.  (The reason I originally bought “scenicroutesnapshots.com” is because at the time, in December 2009, “nickshell.com” was already taken- but it recently and conveniently just came available again.)

A few weeks ago on my Facebook wall I asked my friends for their help with naming my upcoming “dad from day one” spin-off.  The winner was Diana Jung Taub, who sent her idea to me privately.  Though the time isn’t prudent now for me to reveal the name of my spin-off, the time is prudent for you to meet her, on national television.  A week from tonight, on April 27th, Diana will be a contestant on the legendary game show, Wheel of Fortune.  So go ahead and check to make sure what channel and what time it comes on in your area.

Coincidentally, her son was born just a few weeks before my son Jack William. Diana’s son’s name is Jake William, and like the genetic miracle which my Jack has encountered, her son also has blonde hair and blue eyes, despite the fact that both parents have dark brown hair.

Her son, Jake, again.  Not Jack.

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Currently Uber Popular Status Update Phrases: One. Word. Sentences.

I. Am. Trendy.

Would you like to make a very mediocre event into something seemingly noteworthy?  Thanks to one word sentences on your Facebook status updates, it’s not only easy, but it’s super trendy and cool!  Just condense your message to three words, then put periods after each word.  For example, you just watched a snazzy episode of Glee and you want everyone to know it- but you want to make them ask you about it.

For your status update on Facebook, and/or on Twitter, just type “Best. Show. Ever.”  Then a few people will start asking you, “What show?”  Shortly after, through follow-up comments, you will be able to tell everyone how Glee or Grey’s Anatomy has “changed your life”.

It’s that easy to become that cool.  Some other proven one word sentences you can try…

“Worst. Week.  Ever.”

“Crazy. Amazing. Blessed.”

…and my personal favorite…

“Superglue.  Eyelids.  Mistake.”