Fooseball is de devil!

I'm writing this post mostly for therapy. It has been a trying month for my family. Not in the traditionally trying sense but still. The temptation for me is to really dwell on these things and ball it up in my psyche. I usually release frustration by taking a bat to my garage.
But I've received a gift in the last few days. It's a new way to look at things. Not as God not making things go the way I want, but searching for the parts of my life to be thankful for. For everything that doesn't go my way or inconveniences me or makes me question where all this is leading, there can be a resolve to endure, to persevere. Life is life.
Now that is not to discount spiritual warfare or the fact that as Christians we are under constant attack. But I now embrace the opportunity to deal with my personal "demons". To grab them up by the neck, understand them for what they are, smile at them and release them to someone bigger.
Positives: Free Ben and Jerry's, "Mercy Came Running", finding a house sitter
Points of Concern: Emma's passport, barfing dogs, Laurie's fever

Two minutes for Holding

In two weeks I will be in Canada. With family, friends and people I pretend to care about. I cannot explain how much I value being home. Canada, New Brunswick, Moncton and my old house. I love my life but if I could live through college again, I would.
What era of your life do you cherish most?
What do you want your life to look like in five years?
Where would your ideal vacation spot be and with whom would you spend it?

Wanton ramblings

I've never quite understood camps. You get out of comfortable surroundings on purpose, expose yourself to insects and generally hang with a bunch of people you only see at camp. My family, for all my formative years, never went to beulah. But now that I'm away and gone, they buy a cottage. As does my sister. And all my college friends go there.
Last night I broke a glass from our new set. It was one of the nice heavy bottomed kinds. I almost cried. The reason I didn't is because I'm so used to things like that happening to me. Or in my life. Ask my wife and she'll tell you, if there is a jagged edge, I will find it. If there is a curb I will trip over it. If there is something improperly balanced, I will drop it. If it hangs low or out or over, I will hit my head on it. If there is a company having a poor service day, I will be there at that time. If there are traffic lights they will all turn red. If there is a slow driver, I will be behind them. If there is any way to be unlucky, unfortunate, clumsy, hurt, bothered ignored or exasperated, it will occur in my life. Lots of people say it is all in the way you look at it. My friend Mike and I think I have a mutant unluck factor. Regardless, it has made me a cynic and quite angry. At the world, at God and sometimes at people who don't have these things happen. Don't get me wrong, I realize how good I've got it. But I really feel that I need to talk to someone. A child of God shouldn't feel this fatalistic all the time. I'm not depressed, just resigned to a life of unmet expectations and that can't be good.

Lifestyles of the middle class and anonymous

I love Itunes. I just finished a cd for laurie and we found songs she hasn't heard in years. So finding a job is tougher than anything i have ever done. I'd rather learn a new language. I'd rather get punched in the stomach. Hard. After having just eaten.
The guys in my small group are in management and in talking to them I've discovered the reason the american workforce is so miserable. Greed. A few men want it all and anyone under them will suffer to get it for them. My company espouses customer driven promises, pledges and goals. And yet everything they do says the exact opposite.
Whenever we go away one or both of the dogs gets sick or resentfully craps on the carpet after a certain amount of time. We leave july 11th for moncton and I can already see the stains. I've become more flatulent in my old age. It's disconcerting.
I think I want to start a new ministry at the church. It would involve going down to the local homeless shelter and playing games and starting relationships with them. Hey, it's a start.
Positives: pork tacos from Chipotle, Risk night with the guys, my new camouflage shorts
Negatives: the silent voice of God, back pain, wearing white to work.