Is it just me or is this a historic low point for television. Seriously. What shows are actually worth watching? It is hard to believe that just a short time ago we had classic shows like Lost and 24 on the air. Now we have what?

Remember the show on NBC last fall about the aliens that crashed on earth and looked like humans? They tried to assassinate the president and then an airplane teleported from Florida to the desert somewhere. Yeah, I tried to get into it and I can't even remember the name of it right now. That's not a good sign. I was hopeful for The Cape this week, but that was mostly a letdown.

Sure, Grey's Anatomy is still going pretty strong (including an incredible finale last season) and at least there are some good comedies still like The Office and 30 Rock, but I am really doubtful The Office can survive without Steve Carell. I have heard that Dexter is amazing, but premium channels are a different story. Maybe Off the Map will be good.

Basically, unless it's Shark Week, there is nothing worth watching.

Here's the deal, cable networks. You have 3 months until my contract with DirecTV is over. I suggest you figure this out pretty quickly.

Wouldn't it be great to have somebody pay you to go on dates? Wouldn't it be even greater if somebody paid you to go on dates and thought of truly out-of-this-world date ideas for you? This is the epic life of The Bachelor.

Every season, ABC sets these people up on the most incredible dates imaginable. On tonight's episode of The Bachelor (yes, I'm watching it with Mary right now), this guy went on one of the most epic dates of all time. He picks her up for the date and drives her to the middle of nowhere. They then take a little stroll down and dirt pathway in the dark carrying a lantern. After a bit, they come to an over-sized, industrial power switch. He asks her to flip it and they see an entire carnival light up in front of them with workers and everything.

Can you say "unrealistic expectations"? It's no wonder these relationships never work out. Nevertheless, I am going to be launching a feature on this blog called, "The Bachelor Dates". We'll discuss the latest totally ridiculous date on The Bachelor (assuming I actually watch it) and then try to figure out a real life version of it. So here is tonight's scenario.

The Bachelor version:

1. Drive to remote location
2. Take lantern-lit walk down dirt pathway
3. Have her flip a sweet-looking, oversized power switch
4. Enjoy your own private carnival

Real life version A:

1. Go online and figure out somewhere within a 45 minute drive (but not closer than 15 minutes) that has some type of carnival games or similar activity
2. Don't tell her where you are going until you get there
3. Have a blast

Real life version B:

1. Wait for a clear night with a full moon (you're going to need the light)
2. Drive to a remote location
3. Take a lantern-lit walk down a dirt pathway
4. Arrive at an area of games you set up in advance (solar powered lighting solutions that were set up a day before, fun little games like bean bag toss and ladderball from Target)
5. Bonus points if this happens near a body of water (just be careful of the wind)

Good luck with this one, guys.

Normally he uses his hands. Not for this meal.

Do you have "go-to meals"? The ones that seem to always be good and always satisfy? Most people probably call them "comfort food" but I like to this think of them at "go-to meals" (probably because I love sports). Here's one of my favorite go-to meals. As you can see by the picture of Andersen above, it's a hit with the boys. Strangely, I have never been a fan of macaroni and cheese (or mashed potatoes or spaghetti, maybe one day I'll have a post about foods that everyone seems to like except for me), but I only really ever had the Kraft version, so I was very excited when I stumbled upon this recipe from Simply Recipes. It passes the two most important tests of a recipe - it's easy and it's really good. I have played around with it a little bit and it has never failed. I have tried it with ham (like the official recipe),which is great, and it's also good with hot dog in it, but like every other food, it's best with bacon. It's not the best macaroni and cheese in the world (that would be found at Wood Ranch), but it's amazing for how easy it is.

Sometime in the next few weeks, we are expecting a call from our social worker telling us that we have finally been approved as foster parents... something like seven months later. It has actually been a great process filled with a lot of learning and training, but it has also been quite a long time. You can check out all of our foster care updates on our family blog.

Before this whole process started, Mary and I shared the same longing to help kids. We didn't really know how, but we knew it was something we really wanted to do. I remember in those days I would often get overwhelmed by the incredible amount of kids in need all over the world. I've always dreamed of sponsoring hundreds of kids through World Vision or opening an orphanage or something amazing like that, but it's just not realistic. Unfortunately, when you dream so big and get overwhelmed like that, it is easy to simply not do anything. You think, "Well because I can't do everything, I just won't do anything. Because I can't help everyone, I won't help anyone." Then came the idea of foster care.

Through foster care, I feel we are given the unique opportunity of really helping one kid at a time. I don't have the time or the money to help all the kids out there in need, but I can do my best to help one kid at a time, for however long God allows us to take care of them.

Just a few hours ago, I would not have been able to articulate that feeling so well. Fortunately, I often listen to sermon podcasts while I drive to and from work, and today I listened to a recent one by Andy Stanley called "One, Not Everyone". He wasn't talking about foster care, but I think he described the heart of it perfectly (or at least he described why I love the idea of it). He hopes that everyone would commit to helping one person or one family or one class of students, instead of being overwhelmed by the "everyone" and not doing anything.

Can you imagine how much better the world would be if instead of spreading ourselves thin trying to help everyone and do everything, we focused on "one" and went all out trying to help them? Think about it. Would you rather know that everybody kind of likes you or that one person absolutely loves you?

I can't wait until God gives us the first "one".

Welcome to a blog detailing an epic life. Not that my life is any more amazing than anyone else. No, I believe that every life is epic. Every life tells a great story. Some parts are happy and some parts are sad, but every story is epic.

In the final verse of the book of John, in the Bible, John writes the following, "There are so many other things Jesus did. If they were all written down, each of them, one by one, I can't imagine a world big enough to hold such a library of books." If somebody sat down to write my biography one day, I hope they can end it the same way.

It's an epic life. This blog is some of the highlights.