Whitlers vs. Food!

Monday, Stella had a routine doctor's appointment in San Francisco as a follow up to her cleft pallet repair when she was a baby. We decided to make a day of it and do something we'd never done. Josh and Sam love the show "Man VS Food" where Adam Richman travels the country and takes on the many fine eating challenges out there. He also highlights other establishments of culinary interest in different cities. So it was for sure because Adam Richman had been there...



And not because Paris Hilton had been there...



Our destination? La Cumbre Taqueria in the Mission district of San Francisco, the birthplace of (are you ready?) the BURRITO as you know it.



That's right, the burrito was born right here as a way to make a quick, hearty lunch that workers could take with them and eat on the way. This is where it all began.



This is where it starts, in a quick serve line...this is the way they've been doing it for years. You go through line and tell 'em what you want on your tortilla and it's all there. Steak, grilled chicken, beans, rice and a delicious array of homemade Salsas. Have you ever been to Chipoltle or Salsarita's? Well, this is like a real one of those. Like really real. Mmmmm...so gooooooood!









And yes, I could even order a plate that kept me on track with my eating plan.



AAaaaaaaah!











Then, off to the beach to walk off our awesome lunch!















A great day!

Sky Mall cordially invites you to pay good money to be ridiculous.

Fear, embarrasment, dry wall compound, vernal falls, friends and Donald Miller

A couple of years ago, Jimmy, Aaron and I took a day to go up to Yosemite and hike around. We had a great day and decided our last act would be to do the Vernal Falls trail. It's only 1.5 miles to the top...like, you know...up a steep hill. I couldn't do it. I made it about half way up. It was quite embarrassing. The guys were great about it. They could have gone on but chose to stay with me. We talked about losing weight, accountability, exercising together.

It's hard for friends to talk to friends about weight. It's hard to say, "hey, are you gaining some weight?" It's embarrassing. We figure it's none of our business. We don't want our friends to feel bad or shamed. And I have always tried to make myself open to input and my closest friends have made some awkward tries. The truth is, when it does happen, it does embarrass me. Joking actually does hurt a little. This subject goes deep for people that struggle with weight. It goes pretty deep for me.

Around this same time, we were doing a renovation project at our church. This is a 5 gallon bucket of drywall compound and they weigh about 67 lbs. We lugged them up and down the steps at church and they are really heavy. This is about the amount of weight I needed to lose. The thought of carrying this up Vernal Falls is insane but that's exactly what I tried to do.

Last Winter, some friends got the guts to talk to me about my weight. They wanted to help me and offered to help me with the funds to go on a specialized weight loss plan. I panicked. I told them no. I told them I felt OK the way I was and I didn't think a diet plan would work for me. I told them that I felt like I was the way I was. I freaked out a little. I was scared of change, failure and letting them down. They were sacrificing for me and I didn't know how to handle it. Finally, after coming down a bit, praying it through and talking with Amie, we decided to take them up on the offer.

I did it...I lost a 5 gallon bucket of dry wall compound between April and August 2009! And come to find out, it's not embarrassing at all for your friends to let you know you're LOSING weight. People mention it all the time and it feels great. I even had to punch 2 new holes in my belt. I was feeling good.


Then early in the Fall, I stopped being so diligent. I half heartedly continued the program with making little compromises here and there. The compliments kept pouring in and so I thought I was OK. When you're losing weight, you can feel it first in how you're clothes fit. As it turns out, that's how it happens when you're gaining too. Here recently, I started to notice a change. I weighed this morning and sure enough, I have gained some of my drywall back! Ahhh! I've gone back a belt loop.

So disappointed in myself. I let my friends who sacrificed down, I let my family who were so proud of me down and mostly, I let myself down. Enter Donald Miller. I read a new year's blog entry at hos sight inspired from his recent book, "A Million Miles In A Thousand Years." I won't try to 're-post' his thoughts completely (you can read that here) but I'll say his encouragement was to not make a new year's resolution but to write a better story with your life in the new year.

He says in all good stories, the lead character has to want something, events have to be set in place to get the character to change (he calls it an inciting event), there is pain, conflict, difficult choices and hardship that bring about a desirable resolution. So instead of 'losing weight', what do I want to do?


I want to climb dad gum Vernal Falls! For the story of my weight loss, this is my inciting event...letting you all know that this Spring, I will climb Vernal Falls and I'll go up all the way up. My friends have agreed to help me on a particular health program that provides a health coach to check in with you and give you keys to sticking with it. By the way, if you're at all interested in this plan...check it out here...yourweightgone.com. If you're Modesto local, I can even go with you to a meeting...lemme know.

I do not want to give up but I need help. I need friends that will ask me how I'm doing in living the Vernal Falls story. I'll try to post my progress here on the blog a bit more often.

And there are even more important stories than this that I want to write with my life this year but in order to write those, I want a healthier body to live them in. As I let go of fear and shame and embrace difficult choices, hardship, my community of friends and the joy of the Lord, living a great story is possible.

Sam Rocks!

If you're reading this on facebook, glonk "view original post" or go HERE to watch Sam rocking out...

ROCK! from Chris Whitler on Vimeo.

Some Kentucky pics

It was Sam's dream to bring into reality the pictures on the box, so we brought the Snuggies on the plane



All the grandkids with Papa at Christmas...









We did a little story telling tour in Louisville with the kids. This next picture is my old childhood house. When we pulled up, the new owners were coming home and let us look around inside! They did an awesome job restoring the house. I still remembered where to step on the stairs so they wouldn't creak, a great talent for not waking your mom (who had eagle ears) when coming home too late.

White Castle Stuffing...Merry Christmas to me!

Well, it's true. We went and did it! We made the famous White Castle stuffing for Christmas dinner. Oh my gosh, it was sooooo good. I just riffed off a simple recipe online HERE but I will show you the beautiful process in pictures here.



First, you get yourself a big suitcase full of White Castle hamburgers (best if you say "no pickles"). If you haven't had a White Castle, they are awesome. You know the 'sliders' craze going around at other fast food joints? Well, these are the original and the only ones that really slide down. They have an unparalleled steamy consistency...steam grilled with little chopped onions.

OK, sorry, I lost myself for a minute there. OK, so, you got your box of Castles...so, you know, eat a few and put the rest in the fridge...you're making this stuffing tomorrow.



Alrighty, it's the next day and your Castles have been settling and really sealing themselves together so take 'em out and break 'em up into little pieces into your pan. Then add chopped celery (a couple'a stalks), about 2 teaspoons of sage, two teaspoons of thyme, two teaspoons of black pepper and 3/4 cup of chicken broth.



You can just stuff it in the turkey (Safety tip: make sure you stuff cold stuffing into a cold turkey to avoid the salmonella) or bake it along side the turkey (what we did) at 350 degrees for about an hour. Mmm!



If you like stuffing, you should like this because it tastes like great stuffing. If you like White Castles you're going to like this because it's all a good Castle should be...oniony, steamy and savory. If you like White Castles and you like stuffing...you're going to looooooooooove this. With the turkey gravy...oh my gosh!

Two Christmas Concerts

First of all, if you're reading this in face book, there are a couple of videos below. So look over there and glonk "view original post" to see the real deal. Or heck, go here...http://thewhitlers.com

Our family is in Kentucky. We are here on grace alone. Some friends here did a facebook campaign to raise money and a generous donor in California paid for the rest of our tickets here. When I saw the best times to fly and that the dates lined up with Andrew Peterson's Behold The Lamb Of God concert at the historic Ryman auditorium in Nashville, I thought, "That's a nice thought but it'll never work to get into town and we'll never afford tickets for all of us!"

Then, another supporter gave us money to do something special with my Sister and her kids. To say they have had a rough year is an understatement. Then I thought, "Well, the money's there now but there is no way everyone's schedule will line up!"

Then, I talked to my Sister about it and everyone got off work and school and we even secured free hospitality in Nashville. Then I thought, "There's probably no tickets left."

So I went to the Ryman website and sure enough, they were sold out.

Then, I emailed Andrew Peterson.

Then he told me to contact his management.

Then they called me immediately and released 11 tickets for us to be able to go.

Then my credit card didn't work.

Then they said the machine had been acting up. They were fine for me to just mail a check!

So we went!

I couldn't believe it worked. I just kept waiting for something to go wrong and it never did. It was such a good show. A dream come true. And they ended the night with us all singing together “Oh Come Let Us Adore Him...” and then Andrew started us singing “Praise God from whom all blessings flow, praise Him all creatures here below, praise Him above ye heavenly hosts, Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen.” And by that time, the stage was empty and the only star was Jesus.

THIS is a video from the same show but last year...



The very next day, we went to another concert at Dad’s nursing home. It was so good to see him. There he was, sitting out with all the others waiting for the Christmas party to start. His face was priceless when we rounded the corner. We were the biggest stars in the world to him. We sat and listened to a small choir from a local church.

Dad is in advanced stages of a dementing illness that has stolen much of his ability to talk, walk, remember and care for himself. Recently, he got to the point where he needed more care than family could provide.

The choir director turned to intro the 3rd song and shared from his heart about Christmas. Then they sang. Then I noticed Dad was singing. There is no music, not even music at the Ryman, that is better than listening to a little choir with beautiful hearts sing to all of us in that nursing home about the joy and spirit of Christmas. It was so good to just be in that audience and be the honored recipient of such a regal gift. It’s too much. We had to turn that kind of glory back to God and sing to him ourselves. He has made this time possible. Again, the only star is Jesus.

Update 12/14/09

Merry Christmas from the Whitlers!

We trust that you are resting in hope, peace, joy and love this Advent season as we reflect on Christ's coming to the earth as a baby, his coming into our lives as Savior and his coming again to make all things new.

I'm writing this as we prepare to make the holiday trek to Kentucky to spend the season with my sister, her kids and my Dad. This was made possible by generous donors on both sides of the country. We are so thankful for God's provision through his people. Many of you know that my Sis and Father have both faced huge battles this past year and it is extra special that we get to share Christmas together.

Some highlights from the month and links you may have missed...

Airport Soccer - I have been weekly walking with my friend Jeff for probably two years now. We became friends through a local seminar for city ministries. Jeff is a part of a group from a downtown church that is trying to engage our impoverished airport community with ideas of development. They meet and work with neighborhood leaders. This is the neighborhood where some of the families we have met on South 9th Street landed when they got out of the motels. We are still in relationship with these families and this month I was able to take them to the Airport Soccer Tournament. This was a fun way for neighbors to spend time together. I went to just take some kids but Jeff recruited me, who knows nothing about soccer, to be a referee! You can see pictures from the day by CLICKING HERE.

South 9th Street - You can see recent posts and pictures from our continued work along this little strip of old motels in these links...

What a day on 9th St. looks like... Surprises
A beautiful opportunity... Honored Guests
A new friend's perspective... Bethany

Stella's Birthday - Stella is 4 years old! Her big day is December 6th Some pictures from her party HERE.

Prayer - We are hosting a Christmas party tomorrow night (Dec. 15) on South 9th Street with a local church youth group. They are bringing coats, gifts, cards, food and carols to fill up the street with cheer!

Pray for friends on 9th Street to be safe, find recovery and hope.

Please pray for the Sustar family on staff with us. They are gearing up for a 3 month family trip to serve with our partners in Thailand at Compasio. They need about $1500 still to cover their trip.

Pray for fellow YWAM Modestan and friend Aaron heading back to Canada for the holidays. He has some issues still to be cleared for his legal status in the US.

Please pray for safety and that God will make us a blessing to our friends there. Pray for our upcoming travels. We'll be in Kentucky until January 6th.

Support - If you would like to support our work financially, all donations are tax deductible when made out and sent to: YWAM / P.O. Box 3000 / Garden Valley, TX / 75771-3000. Our name must not appear on the check but include a separate note stating the gift is for the Whitlers in Modesto, CA.

There is also an auto-withdraw form available with instructions on how to set up monthly support for our work. If you have any questions, feel free to email cwhitler@gmail.com. We'd love to hear from you.

Thanks so much!

Here's how to find us online and other ways...

Family site/blog - http://thewhitlers.com

Whitler podcast (some new Christmas stuff up)- http://www.gcast.com/u/cwhitler/main

Comedy Podcast - (with a few holiday selections) - http://www.gcast.com/u/cwhitler/partinthemiddle

Amie on Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/amiehw

Chris on facebook - http://www.facebook.com/badyouthspeaker

YWAM site - http://ywammodesto.org

YWAM blog - http://ywam-modesto.blogspot.com

Chris on Twitter - http://twitter.com/badyouthspeaker

Josh and....Sam vs. Food!

Alrighty, it's the habanero salsa challenge. Josh thought of it. If you're reading this on facebook you can Glonk on "view original post" or Glonk here for Vimeo... http://vimeo.com/8111331

Josh and Sam vs. Food from Chris Whitler on Vimeo.

Honored Guests

He approached me with hesitation because we don't quite know each other. He has unusually bright eyes for someone stuck on South 9th Street. Most who live there wear their years like an old, heavy coat that's too big. He does not. There is some light and a little hope. He pulled me over out of her earshot to ask me a question. "Hey, I was wondering something. I missed her birthday, it was a while ago, and I was wondering if you guys would be able to help me get a cake for her?"

They are stuck right now. Stuck down on 9th. Stuck because they don't see a way out. Stuck in addiction. Stuck because they choose to be. Stuck from ignorance. Stuck from fear of the unknown. Stuck because it's all they've known for years and years. Just stuck. They live in a motel. Everyday they survive. But, they have a plan. It is a broken plan. It's a bit dysfunctional, but it is a plan. And they are working it for what it is and things are getting a little better. He really wants to get her off that street.

She's been on 9th street for around 12 years. They have been years of abuse, soul-tearing violence and addiction. It is really hard on South 9th Street.

"It has to be chocolate and I want it to say 'Happy Birthday Honey Bunny,'" with a bit of an embarrassed smile. "Can you help me?"

I told him that I thought I could and we made our scheme. "We'll be right here Wednesday at noon. If anything comes up, call me."

I called a woman in our church that likes to bake and who could actually write on a cake and have it be legible. She happily accepted the challenge. "I'm not professional, it won't look like at the store." It was beautiful. We picked it up and headed over to our spot on South 9th.

In our work, 6 times out of 10 something goes wrong. People can be difficult to find and a little hard to pin down. Planning can be sketchy as most days blend into the next. And things happen. We usually set a time for how long we'll wait for an arranged meeting to materialize. We decided we'd wait 20 -30 minutes. Right around 12:05, she walked out of the mini-mart and was coming past our van. I got out and said hello. He wasn't with her and I didn't know if I should say anything about our surprise so I made some small talk.

She smiled, "Ok, I know there's a surprise...what's going on?"

I laughed and told her to get in the van and we'd go down to the motel and find him. She got in the front seat and Aaron started driving. I pulled out the cake from the back seat and set it in front of her eyes. 'Happy Birthday Honey Bunny' She squealed and started to cry.

Back at the motel parking lot, she jumped out of the van and invited everyone there to her "birthday party". Everyone gathered around and we sang to her. She cut her cake and served her guests. "Thank you for coming to my party" as she handed each friend a piece. And for a moment, she was laughing like a girl.

We were honored to be guests at such a party.

You know you go to a restaurant often when...