Nathan Helmick

[Elon Musk @elonmusk]

It’s time.

[Nathan Helmick @NathanHelmick]

@Geraldini93 We should fire the GM as well. Todd Bowles was this bad when his contact was renewed. The NFC south has been terrible which masked a lot of under performance.

[Ben Sasse @BenSasse]

Friends-

This is a tough note to write, but since a bunch of you have started to suspect something, I’ll cut to the chase: Last week I was diagnosed with metastasized, stage-four pancreatic cancer, and am gonna die.

Advanced pancreatic is nasty stuff; it’s a death sentence. But I already had a death sentence before last week too — we all do.

I’m blessed with amazing siblings and half-a-dozen buddies that are genuinely brothers. As one of them put it, “Sure, you’re on the clock, but we’re all on the clock.” Death is a wicked thief, and the bastard pursues us all.

Still, I’ve got less time than I’d prefer. This is hard for someone wired to work and build, but harder still as a husband and a dad. I can’t begin to describe how great my people are. During the past year, as we’d temporarily stepped back from public life and built new family rhythms, Melissa and I have grown even closer — and that on top of three decades of the best friend a man could ever have. Seven months ago, Corrie was commissioned into the Air Force and she’s off at instrument and multi-engine rounds of flight school. Last week, Alex kicked butt graduating from college a semester early even while teaching gen chem, organic, and physics (she’s a freak). This summer, 14-year-old Breck started learning to drive. (Okay, we’ve been driving off-book for six years — but now we’ve got paper to make it street-legal.) I couldn’t be more grateful to constantly get to bear-hug this motley crew of sinners and saints.

There’s not a good time to tell your peeps you’re now marching to the beat of a faster drummer — but the season of advent isn’t the worst. As a Christian, the weeks running up to Christmas are a time to orient our hearts toward the hope of what’s to come.

Not an abstract hope in fanciful human goodness; not hope in vague hallmark-sappy spirituality; not a bootstrapped hope in our own strength (what foolishness is the evaporating-muscle I once prided myself in). Nope — often we lazily say “hope” when what we mean is “optimism.” To be clear, optimism is great, and it’s absolutely necessary, but it’s insufficient. It’s not the kinda thing that holds up when you tell your daughters you’re not going to walk them down the aisle. Nor telling your mom and pops they’re gonna bury their son.

A well-lived life demands more reality — stiffer stuff. That’s why, during advent, even while still walking in darkness, we shout our hope — often properly with a gravelly voice soldiering through tears.

Such is the calling of the pilgrim. Those who know ourselves to need a Physician should dang well look forward to enduring beauty and eventual fulfillment. That is, we hope in a real Deliverer — a rescuing God, born at a real time, in a real place. But the eternal city — with foundations and without cancer — is not yet.

Remembering Isaiah’s prophecies of what’s to come doesn’t dull the pain of current sufferings. But it does put it in eternity’s perspective:
“When we've been there 10,000 years…We've no less days to sing God's praise.”

I’ll have more to say. I’m not going down without a fight. One sub-part of God’s grace is found in the jawdropping advances science has made the past few years in immunotherapy and more. Death and dying aren’t the same — the process of dying is still something to be lived. We’re zealously embracing a lot of gallows humor in our house, and I’ve pledged to do my part to run through the irreverent tape.

But for now, as our family faces the reality of treatments, but more importantly as we celebrate Christmas, we wish you peace: “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned….For to us a son is given” (Isaiah 9).

With great gratitude, and with gravelly-but-hopeful voices,
Ben — and the Sasses

[Nathan Helmick @NathanHelmick]

@Lucas_Wiseman @Buccaneers GM should be fired for keeping him

[Nathan Helmick @NathanHelmick]

@PokerGO @WSOP One hour preview on YouTube ... They'll get sorted by then

[Nathan Helmick @NathanHelmick]

@DecodingFoxNews I would just point out that I love to hang out with famous and important people too. The question that warrants answering for ALL those on the list is why did they like hanging out with Epstein!

[Nathan Helmick @NathanHelmick]

@RepJackKimble Cannot tell if this guy is joking or an idiot...

[Nathan Helmick @NathanHelmick]

@GenoVeno73 @elonmusk @GOP @HouseGOP @SenateGOP He has every right! Same as you or me. If you are angry that they listened to him and not you, fair enough but that is what elections are for. Citizens have an absolute right to request actions of their government and it is beyond absurd to think Elon or anyone else cannot!

[Nathan Helmick @NathanHelmick]

@ANDRECthatsme Really is shocking how poor Netflix is at this ... Next time just pay prime video to host it for you clowns!

[Nathan Helmick @NathanHelmick]

@richvillodas Trying to understand why an official signaling TD isn't then a dead ball. That happened well before it rolled out of bounds. This should be fumble with no obvious recovery and Jets first down on the half yard line, no?

[Nathan Helmick @NathanHelmick]

@farzyness @60Minutes Didn't see it .. but Trump didn't show up and made a bunch of lies up about why he didn't. There was never a world where I voted for trump. But world's could exist that I don't vote against him. His cowardice over the last month of the election is what made my decision

[Nathan Helmick @NathanHelmick]

@realDonaldTrump Any paper towels??? We really need paper towels!

[Nathan Helmick @NathanHelmick]

@Brcremer His command was always controversial, even amongst his followers. The teachings of Jesus Christ are counter-cultural in any period you can imagine. The fact they are so liberating is a big part of why I personally believe.

[Nathan Helmick @NathanHelmick]

@DennisBackhaus @LivePokerRoom @MGMNH_Poker This is great info and important to always consider! FWIW my read is this event just seems heavily low buy-in events. While rake % is important a lot of a poker rooms costs I presume are fixed - doesn't matter if the buy in if $300 or $3000, AC costs the same.

[Nathan Helmick @NathanHelmick]

@MoneymakerTour @daytona_poker @MMTonyB @pokerorg @CMONEYMAKER @OmarShotMe @BRodPoker Great job and great playing with you Curt!

[Nathan Helmick @NathanHelmick]

@JoJoFromJerz This defies the reality of all those engagements. The interview was terrible. At the church he looked lost. Biden and his staff have lied to us about his mental fitness. There is no scenario I vote for DJT, but on Biden I think I'm out.

[Nathan Helmick @NathanHelmick]

@ashtonpittman IF the NY Times wasn't right, Joe Biden would be all over network television this morning. The issue isnt that he has a bad debate, it is that he appeared incompetent and inept. If that isn't the case he needs to be talking to reporters 4x a day to convince folks.

[Nathan Helmick @NathanHelmick]

@ClubProGuy @Lexi Rose Zhang almost wins $800k for charity of her choosing with closet to from 105 yards... Rose's career earnings to date are ~$1.3MM. Maybe they should have let her go 50/50.

[Nathan Helmick @NathanHelmick]

@CollinSherwin @mikegriffinFL Line looking pretty solid right now....

[Nathan Helmick @NathanHelmick]

@HeathMayo Ironically the fiduciary failure is in wasting Florida resources to pursue this foolishness. Clearly was a bad marketing strategy, but making bad decisions is not violation of law.