My blogs are few and far between, I realize. I do, however have a bone to pick...

I work at Chammps home of the best Fish and Chips in America (yes, it's just that good). Working at a restaurant as a server is not my biggest dream in life by any means, but while my husband and I attend school we consider ourselves very lucky to have jobs that work around our school schedules as well as our life schedules in general. Joel (my husband) works at P.F. Chang's but due to a recent Hepatitis A incident he is looking for a different job and hopefully has gotten one at one of the best restaurants in the Cincinnati area (Mesh). An employee of P.F. Chang's went to the Dominican Republic to visit his girlfriends family, he drank the water, and came back with Hepatitis. It's all very sad and heartbreaking because not only does he have hepatitis but this incident has affected the lives of every employee at that restaurant...

Here now, is where I stand on my soap box... If you can't afford to tip your server than you cannot afford to go out to eat. I don't say this because I'm a server, and I feel some bitter obligation to yell at those who are cheap, but your decision to cheat someone out of their livliehood is unacceptable. People coming from church on Sunday's are typically the worst. Christians have a reputation at most restaurants and most people don't want to work on Sunday's because they don't want to have to deal with the "church" people.

Servers work their tails off, and yes, they are there to make your outting as great as possible, but they are also there because they are single parents raising 2 to 3 kids, they are college students trying to pay their way through school, they are mothers going through horrible divorces, they are single fathers working to take care of their sons, they are addicts trying to work to overcome their addictions, they are people. These are just a few stories from the restaurant that I work at, imagine the stories from the millions of others. They are people.

I realize that when most of us go out to eat we don't even think about the person waiting on us, I never did. We expect our drinks right away, when we're done talking we order our food, we expect it out right away just how we ordered it (which it should be) and then we sit and chat for awhile as our server continues to make stops at our tables asking if we need anything... While your server takes care of you, however, they are also taking care of 3 or more tables at the same time, they are also doing what is called "sidework" restocking things in the kitchen, rolling silverware, running food, clearing tables, and making sure other servers are doing ok. It may not seem like it, but it's a lot of work rolled into a short amount of time.

I beg you now to take into consideration the person not just the server that is taking care of you. If you didn't know or have never been told, the acceptable and proper amount of money to tip is at least 20% of your total bill. Trust me, giving less than that can absolutely ruin a persons day. As Christians we have the opportunity to bless and be examples of Christ, your server will probably mess up at times, your food may come out cold, your drink may not be refilled immediately, but I beg of you...be kind, show love and compassion, don't get fired up and irritated, you my friend are not better than the person serving you, and I promise that you being cheap, your attitude, or your obvious disgust does nothing, nothing, nothing, but turn that person off, hurt them, and affect their entire day negatively. Remember, they are people, they are people. They're probably working 3 different jobs, and they don't need jerks coming in making them feel like they have no significance. WE HAVE TO LOVE!!! And once again, your words mean nothing unless you back it up with actions. A mother trying to support her children doesn't want to hear what a great job she did and what a great server she is, she isn't there for that. Although your positive words are encouraging they mean absolutely nothing when she looks at the amount of money you've left her when she has an electric bill due, and food to put on the table. If you can't afford to tip, you can't afford to go out to eat. It's just that simple. Love not just with your words, but your generosity and actions!

This is Tyler...My hero, my friend, but most importantly my brother! :) Today is his birthday, and he's turning 17, he's officially getting old and it's pretty crazy. If you don't know my brother, well then you should get to know him, because he's one of the coolest people to walk the face of the earth, he's high up their among many of the greats!!!

Tyler is not only cool, but he's ridiculously funny, we laugh for hours about some of the dumbest stuff, we beat each other up which usually means I've pinched him, punched him, or kicked him, and now he's doing whatever it takes to completley destroy me, all while I'm laughing and screaming at him to stop! :)

My brother loves Jesus, and that is by far the best thing about him. He has a heart of gold when he's not killing you with a lacrosse stick or trying to push you off of a tube while riding behind a big boat! :) I wish I could express in words how much I love my brother but I don't know how to describe it, Jesus has made our relationship what it is today, & I will remain forever thankful for that. God blessed me with the best, and my brother is simply the best!!!

I love you Bubba! Happy Birthday!!!!!!!!! :)