Rainy Days

I've never been a fan of rainy days.

As a child, rainy days weren't really a good thing. Sure, sometimes you got puddles to jump in, but in general it didn't make things safe. It canceled the picnic. It temporarily closed the roller coaster. It postpones the baseball game. It makes it more dangerous to drive.

At least snow has the ability to cancel school when we got enough of it. Rain only caused my school to close once: my freshman year of high school, when the roof leaked so bad the entire top two floors flooded. So, they released us, but not until we got there. But even then, I had to walk home (just under 4 miles, as the crow flies) ... dodging pop-up downpours as I went. Yeah, what fun that was. And when I got home, there wasn't even snow to build with: only wet pants to take off and smell.

I'm just not a big fan of rainy days.

Today was a rainy day in Findlay. Downpour on and off in the morning. And apparently, Findlay can't handle that kind of rain, because we lost power this morning. Which delayed the start of my work week. And then coming home from the grocery store, the rain and wetness must have decreased visibility, because the guy across the street almost backed into me as I was driving down the street.

Rain, rain, go away ...

When Technology Fails You ...

So, I went to load my Dynasty mode on NCAA Footbal 2005 today for the Gamecube. And my file was corrupted! I was about to go after my fifth straight national title with the Buckeyes and challenge the all-time record for consecutive wins, too! I was so sad!

I ultimately decided to start over, this time with Army.

Oh well

Coincidence? I think not

So, the other day, Rachel, her mom, and I were shopping at Kohls. Now (and this might be hard to believe, for all you guys out there) I wasn't really in the mood to look through women's clothing and/or shoes. So I wandered off on my own.

After a good bit of time (which would have probably felt eternally longer had I been with them in the women's section), I get a text asking where I am. I reply with a text stating that I am in mens.

However, upon entering it, I learn that the default for the keys 6367 (which gives you "mens") is actually "odor" on my phone.

So, you want mens, but get odor.

So mens=odor

Coincidence? i think not

iTunes and Music

I love iTunes. I hate DRM and I'm often described as a copy-leftist, but I love iTunes. I love being able to buy just one song and be over-charged for it. I love that no longer do I have to shell out 13-18 bucks to buy a CD, when I only want 1-3 songs on it.

A little bit ago, I got a $30 iTunes gift card as a thank-you. To date, I've only spent about half of it. I've enjoyed the freedom to let a song come to my mind, let me think "I really wish I owned that song" and then go and buy it ... without actually spending a penny of my own money!

Anyways, I'll list the fifteen songs I've purchased, so you can get a taste for how odd my music likes are, then see if you can offer any suggestions for good songs I'd enjoy owning as well. Here they are, in order of when I purchased them:

1. Made to Love, by Tobymac
2. Searchlights (Indoor Soccer Remix), by Falling Up
3. Love Addict, by Family Force 5
4. Fully Alive, by Flyleaf
5. You Never Let Go, by Matt Redman
6. My Savior, My God, by Aaron Shust
7. Open Wounds, by Skillet
8. Anna, by Ellery
9. Your Owls Are Hooting, by Showbread
10. Time After Time, by Spoken
11. Rise Up, by Disciple
12. Everything You Ever Wanted, by Hawk Nelson
13. The Invisible Hook, by House of Heroes
14. Remember the Name, by Fort Minor
15. Pride (In the Name of Love), by U2

I really, really, really hate Stupid "Christians"

Pet Peeve 1: Christians who view Christianity as a "Get Out of Hell Free Card"

Pet Peeve 2: Christians who protest/picket an event without actual knowledge of the event, the patrons of the event, or the Biblical principles they think they are representing.

Pet Peeve 3: People who can never see the forest for the trees, or the trees for the forest.

You know what, just watch this:



and visit the horrible website

The Great Misunderstanding

There seems to be something that gets lost in translation when an imperfect people (that's all of us, folks) try to represent a perfect being, and explain what and why He is.

There seems to be something that gets lost in translation when people with an agenda (that's all of us, folks) try to explain what exactly a being that is 100% love expects and wants from us.

Ryan asked a question tonight at jOURney. I'm not going to quote it exactly, but I'm going to try my best to capture what I believe was the intent. He wanted to know (in the context of Acts 11), how to respond when God asks us to do something that is outside of our norm. When we've spent years doing things a certain way, and then suddenly, God asks us to change.

How can we know it's really God? How can we know that a change is needed? Why wouldn't God have stopped us before if he wanted it a different way?

My thoughts are that the truth is, we have a misunderstanding of God. And we've thought he was a certain way. That his way lead to a certain stance. And when we start to see Him more clearly, more perfectly, more accurately, we have a need, a desire, to change the way we've done something.

Maybe that change is to be more accepting. Or perhaps it's to be less accepting. I've known people on both ends of that spectrum who claim to be representing the almighty. Hell, I've been on both ends of the spectrum, on both parts of reception!

Maybe that change is to accept that we're just sinners, and that's how it is, and we can't be perfect. Or maybe that change is to accept that we need to strive to live for more than just sin and mediocrity. Again, I've lived both ends of that spectrum.

Maybe that change is to listen more, and advise less. Or to advise more, and listen less. Or maybe that change is to ponder less and act more, or act more and ponder less. Or so many things, that upon reflection, I almost feel bipolar, or at least spiritually bipolar.

Maybe I've just reached a place on my journey where I don't need to focus on the destination, because I know it. But I need to focus on the journey towards it. And because of that, I reflect on the path I've taken so far, and I'm afraid I've misrepresented God so often, and over corrected so often, that I just hunger to find the right spot, and I'm not even certain that spot exists.

Or maybe ... maybe faith is about maybe. True faith is about accepting maybe, and understanding that we'll never understand in certainty. And that the great misunderstanding, is that we can understand it all.

Utinni Update

I've already got her negotiated down to our 8th kid being named Utinni. And that if the 7th/8th or 8th/9th are twins, we get to name them Utinni and YubYub.

She cracks so easily. By the time we're actually in a position to start a family, I have no doubt I'll be able to negotiate my way to an even more attainable Utinni.

Good Food, and Good Friends

As I posted a little while back, I've been in a funk. I struggled with work, I felt no forward motion in many areas of my life, and I was frustrated that my wife couldn't get a job. I hadn't been blogging because I didn't want to just emo all over the place. I know how Quinn gets around Emo, and I didn't want to have to face that.

However, I think the corner is being turned. The black cloud of funk is being lifted. The ... well, I'm sure you can think of a better cliche than I can.

And it all revolves around what I should have figured in the first place:

Good food, and good friends.

This past Wednesday, Rachel and I made the trip to Ada to have dinner with the Hoseks. We'd made a bet a few years ago, and I finally got him to pay up. We went down, had dinner, played boche ball, and talked with another married couple for a few hours about the struggles of early years in marriage, tight finances, and all sorts of topics. It was a really good way to break up a week.

Then, this past weekend was STE National Officer Advance. It's always a blessing to see and interact with those guys, even if i couldn't do better than second place at a poker table. Even if Krispy Kreme donuts are better than Dunkin. There was plenty of bonding, plenty of laughter, and plenty of growth. Not to mention the fact that Shan makes a wicked awesome steak, Skyline is awesome for lunch, and LaRosa's isn't bad for dinner.

The funk is lifting. I can feel it. Good things are gonna happen. Rachel's got a job. A full time job. And I've got hope for my job that something soon will break and be good. Very good.

I can see a light that is coming for the heart that holds on. There will be an end to the struggles. But until that day comes. Still I will praise you.

Jawa

Rachel says that (if we meet certain conditions) I can name a child of ours "Utinni" (as in what the Jawas say).

That rocks.

Widowed by the Church

So, last week at jOURney, we looked at Acts chapter six. We looked at how the early church took care of their widows, and we asked who the modern day widows are that we need to look after. I suggested those who have been "widowed by the Church". Those people who no longer feel welcome as a part of the body of believers because of an action, inaction, attitude, or words of someone acting (knowingly or not) as a representative of the Church and of Jesus.

This week, we looked at Acts chapter seven. We looked at the final speech of Stephen's life, and Trevor asked "why do bad things happen to good people". This seems to be a common theological question debated ... well, probably since before Moses. More specifically, he asked us to ponder why certain people die at times where it seems as if they had more to offer, more to give, more ... life.

One suggestion offered is the answer that "we're all deserving of death, no one is really that good". Before I continue, let me say that I understand the theology behind this. Romans, we are all sinners, worthy of death, no one is good, etc. I get the theology.

But this line of thinking is exactly how someone becomes a "widow of the Church".

It's perhaps the easiest way to get someone there.

Think about it. A young woman just lost her husband in a car accident. A mother lost her 22-year old son at war. A two-year old loses a battle with cancer.

And the people affected, The young widow, the hurting mom, the confused family ... they go to the Church, or to someone who represents Jesus, and they ask them about their tragedy. It could be as simple as "why", or "how could a 'loving' God allow this to happen", or any form variant.

And imagine the reaction you get when you answer the question with "everyone deserves to die. no one is actually a good person. we all sin. want to pray and accept Jesus as your savior?"

Now, I can't speak for you, but I would not want to be associated with the person who gave me that response at all. And I certainly wouldn't want to worship the same God they do, nor would I want to hold on to the hope they hold on to. Anyone who ever associated themselves with that "Jesus" would always bring back bad memories, and possibly even repulse me. This person has effectively been widowed by the Church, no longer feeling welcome, or loved.

(As a tangent, do people with this point of view feel hypocritical when they talk about abortion? My experience teaches me that most folks with the above point of view, where we all just deserve to die because God is perfect and we sin, are also anti-abortion. But, if that living being that is a fetus is just a sinner (original sin, right?), then what tragedy is there if it dies? It's just there to die, so there's no tragedy right?)

Are we (and I'm including myself here, I know I've said dumb, hurtful things in the past, and done so when representing Jesus) so ignorant as to never realize the impact of our words to a hurting person, to a person in need, to a person we are to love? Are we unaware of how we widow people away from us?

The flood of emotion I get from this sort of behavior and thinking is a wide range. There's anger, confusion, embarrassment, and so many others. Why do we get so focused on the eternal, that we lose sight of the here and now. Why do we get so focused on "winning people for Jesus", that we lose sight of loving them. And not just loving them because Jesus says to, but loving them because that's what they need, and what we'd want if we were them.

I'm rambling now ... hard to do when you're typing and not talking, but I'm doing it. So, I guess I'll cut this off now, but might add another post on it later.