Margaret M. Presutti

Harmar Township

Margaret M. Presutti, 88, of Harmar Township, died Saturday, July 11, 2009, at the home of her daughter in Pickerington, Ohio. She was born June 14, 1921, in Verona, to the late George and Sophie Skeren Vinovac, and was a lifelong resident of this area. Mrs. Presutti was a member of Our Lady of Victory Roman Catholic Church in Harwick. She is survived by daughter, Kathy (Robert C.) Green, of Pickerington; son, Leonard A. (Andrea) Presutti, of Rockport, Mass.; and two grandchildren, Robert C. Green II and Christine L. Green. She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Leonard Presutti; a brother, Frank Vinovac; and two sisters, Rose Woltz and Ann Goberish. Friends will be received from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday at the CHARLES B. JARVIE FUNERAL HOME INC., Cheswick, 1607 Pittsburgh St. Christian Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 1 p.m. Wednesday in Our Lady of Victory Church by the Rev. Al Zapf with burial to follow in Deer Creek Cemetery, Harmar Township.

Both of my grandfathers fought in WWII – William Ellsworth Green & Leonard Presutti. I tip my hat to all those who serve and I say thank you!

We also saw The Fast and the Furious today. What can I say except that it is a total guy movie!

I also finished the book Twilight today. Good story. It may be a romance, but it is full of enough actions and vampires to entertain any man or sci fi fantasy fan. Good story. Well written.

Lucilees was awesone. Large portions for homemade breakfast is absolutely unbeatable. The prices are a little higher than I’m used to, but we had beignets and a huge biscuit that were both delicous. Not to mention that our omelettes and breakfast burrito were large and extremely tasty!

New Belgium is an awesome small company. They treat their employess extremely well and they are responsible stewards of the environment. This means that there are days off, great benefits (a trip to Belgium to tour breweries after 5 years and a bike on your 1 year anniversay), free beer for employees, and their production process is a true testament to sustainability and stewardship of the earth. I was impressed. They use wind and methane for power. They recycle the water used to make beer. I was very impressed.

The entire place is also fun and personal. They give out free tours and free beer samplers. You can send post cards to anywhere in the world for free from their lobby. At the end of the tour you get to go down a freakin’ sweet slide! And the best part – the employees are happy and pleasant!

The only problem for me: I don’t really like their beers Go figure. A company that I actually love and I don’t really like their product. It’s nothing personal, I just don’t like the taste. For some reason it just doesn’t taste like real beer (keep in mind I prefer drinking Guiness and Boddingtons).

Budweiser is really just a big corporation that wants to make a buck. Their brewery is huge. Their horses are cool. They donate tons of money and are environmentally responsible for the most part. But no matter how you spin it they are still large, corporate, and looking to make a buck. And their beer is beer. Nothing special

I really enjoyed today. It was a heck of a lot of fun.

Here are some verse to meditate on:

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might; for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol where you are going.

Ecclesiastes 9.10

The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD.

Proverbs 16:1

There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand.

Proverbs 19.21

Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established.

Proverbs 16.3

Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened unto my words, nor to my law, but rejected it.

Jeremiah 6.19

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

Jeremiah 29.11

The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.

Psalm 37.23

The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.

Psalm 37.31

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Proverbs 3.5-6

1. Life has been busy as we’ve had some friends move back from England
2. Work (both personal and professional) has been quite busy.
3. Nothing has really changed in the economic world. Still the same old Keynesian garbage. I do have some things to say, but the time hasn’t been there.
4. I’ve been spending between 1 and 1 1/2 hours everyday doing the P90X workouts

What is this P90X deal? It is basically a workout program designed to get you ripped in 90 days. As of this morning I have completed 5 of the first 6 days. That means I’ve done workouts for chest/back, plyometrics, arms/shoulders, yoga, legs/back, and abs. They are all good, solid workouts. The hardest? Plyometrics by far. A close second is the ab ripper followed by yoga only because they involve things that I’m bad at – strong core/abs/balance. The other ones were all great workouts, but I already lift so they weren’t devestating like Plyometrics.

After completing the first five days I can say a few things that I like and dislike about the program.

What I like:

1. It’s as hard as you make it. Any of the workouts can be adjusted to any skill level and you go at your own pace
2. You need very little equipment (chair, pullup bar + dumbbells or resistance bands)
3. There’s a lot of variety (resistance, yoga, stretching, plyometrics)
4. The workouts focus on balance of mind/body and teach discipline
5. It really reminds me of wrestling workouts in high school
6. Even the guys on the videos screw up from time to time – and they struggle themselves!

What I don’t like:

1. You’re going to spend at least $100 for equipment to start
2. It takes up time
3. I’ve only been doing this a week, but you’re not going to get “ripped” unless you cut back your diet at least a bit. An hour of working out everyday will trim, tone, and build muscle but if you don’t cut out the crap you won’t lose the fat.

If you’re thinking about doing P90X, I think you should. Take it slow and go at your own pace. Always push yourself to get a little better! If you don’t then this workout will do nothing for you.

And, generally speaking, If you’re thinking about excercising then I think you should. If you want to lose weight then eat less and move more.

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must belive that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. -Hebrews 11.6

This is very challenging because it is something that I struggle with deeply. It’s just hard to have faith. I find that it is so much easier to lean on myself, on knowledge, and a plethora of other things. But the truth is that our only security comes from Christ.

I have recently found myself not trusting Christ and not having faith. This economy is a mess – not only in the US but worldwide. Our money is slowly becoming worthless. Our freedoms are slowly being taken away. Our morals are eroding.

It’s scary if you don’t have faith. This world is corrupt and hard. We are fragile and so small compared to the rest of creation. We are at the mercy of others and nature. It’s terrifying without God.

So this will be my new daily challenge: To fully put my faith in Christ, trusting in His sovereignty and goodness.

If you don’t get the analogy, if you don’t get what this means, ask me and I’ll explain it to you.

Do I actually believe this? Absolutely not! I hate war, I hate death, and I have no desire to ruin the lives of anyone. I wholeheartedly believe that God wants none to perish and all to enjoy life. I believe that life is sacred, that life is precious, that life is special, and that life is to be cherished. I want all people to live in freedom and liberty with no fear of war and destruction from the outside. I wish every person perfect health, long life, and great prosperity. So what did my statement encourage? It encouraged two other men to strongly suggest their opinions. What followed was a lively discourse (a discourse filled with serious statements ebbed with hilarious one liners) on how we all thought war should be carried out. And not only war, but how we thought government should be run! It was a good and fun conversation that somehow managed to peaceably bring politics to the lunch table!

Should I say outlandish things? Maybe I shouldn’t. Maybe the crazy things I say from time to time are nothing short of offensive and irritating. Or Maybe, just maybe, the crazy things I say are just what people need in order to spit out their opinions without shame or thought. It seems that in the moment when people are presented with the truly outrageous, the amazingly tragic, the unbelievable, or the unimaginable do they react with their true feelings and their true response. In that moment – that very fine, raw, ugly, gorgeous moment – a glimpse of a person is available that is rarely seen by anyone at anytime. That is the moment when the base of their character is revealed, when their heart’s reaction is placed on the table.

Maybe saying something outrageous only makes me look like a fool. Or maybe, just maybe, saying something outrageous ocasionally allows me to see who people really are, what they really think, and what they really believe.

Maybe I’m wrong for saying things like this, but for some reason I like it. Maybe I should temper my personality, calm it down, and take the this edge off. I don’t know. I’m still deciding.