90. What it takes to change your oil

Changing the oil in your car isn't as hard as you might think.  Is it work?  Yes.  Is it hard?  No.

I started changing my oil when we moved into our house 5 years ago.  Here's a quick tutorial for how much/little work it takes to do it.

I walked over to Advance Auto parts and spent $28 to get this stuff.

Here are the tools that I use.  A jack, socket set and oil pan.

That is all that it will take to change the oil in the car and the van.

First, you will need to jack up the car to allow you to get under to release the oil. Then get your pan into place.

Next, you need to do is open up the cap on the engine so the air can get out to allow the oil to flow freely.

After doing that you will need to unscrew the drain plug. (For a wonderful tutorial for how to locate and remove it check out this "expert".)  After it is loosened it can be done by hand pretty easily.  Just be careful when unscrewing it because remember, there is oil ready to drain out immediately after it is removed.  If you forget, your arm will be covered in oil which smells and is difficult to scrub off your arm.

After the oil is all drained you can then put on the oil filter. (To identify the oil filter, just open the box of the one you just bought.  Look at it.  Now look under your car and find something that looks like the one you just took out of the box.) All you have to do is unscrew your old filter and put the new one on.  Use the same caution removing the oil filter as you did with the drain plug.

After you have replaced the drain plug and put on the new oil filter you can put the new oil in.

When you are done with that, replace the oil cap and you are done.

For recycling oil, I just fill up empty milk jugs with the old oil and bring it back to Advanced Auto where they recycle it for free.

This goal is done.  I know I won't be driving over 3,000 miles in the next 52 days.  Heck, my car has only driven 2,400 miles since August 19th.
I know it isn't the most interesting of posts, but I figured this was a better way to say I was done with this goal than to just have a generic post stating that I had changed my oil.  That would be boring!
Time to start ticking off more goals.  Not too much time left!

7. Invite someone to church

Finances, Religion and Politics.  Those are three things that don't often go well as conversation starters if you don't know where the person you are talking with is coming from.  It is hard being a Christian in a secular world.  Inviting someone to church is a lot harder than I originally thought.  I knew it would be different.  It hasn't been something that I have done before.  I have seen some people at church bring friends along with them very comfortably, but I just never got up the opportunity nerve to do it myself.  Until Yesterday...

I was in the lunch room there was a teacher discussing not being comfortable with the church that she attends and that she was looking for a place that she would feel comfortable in.  I listened in for awhile (That's about all a guy can do in a teacher's lounge where there are usually over ten women and normally only one guy) and found that what she was interested in resembled the atmosphere of our church.  I decided to end my silence and mentioned that our church might be the type of place that she would fit the needs that she was looking for.  I described the atmosphere and did my best to let her know that she would be welcomed at our church. It was nothing earth shattering, just an invite.

I have no idea if my invite will be used.  I do know that it took me a few minutes to get up the nerve to even bring up the invitation.  What is wrong with me?  The Great Commision tells Christians to go out and spread the word.  I struggle even bringing up attending a church, to someone who is looking for a church!

I believe I have satisfied the requirements for this goal to be done, but I am more happy that I have had the experience and this post to help internalize my issues with sharing my faith.  Songs like "Not Ashamed" should feel more like a way to live than just sounding like a cool popular song.