Have you ever looked at pictures of yourself with your eyes closed? I always used to be concerned about how I looked. Never having seen myself until about a week ago. I don't get many pictures taken of me while I sleep. Not a strange as I thought it would be.
Blue raspberry is an entirely man-made flavor. Nowhere in nature is there a raspberry that is blue.
Squirrel peanut butter, for some reason, did away with the peanut on the top of their product. I bought it not only for the flavor, but because it was the one with the peanut on top.
Why do diet products, which contain sweetener 100 times more powerful than sugar, taste so bad? Like they need a teaspoon of sugar.
The average American consumes 8 gallons of ice cream a year. Vanilla is still the most popular flavor. (A claim I do not believe)
I went to a beautiful home for a party yesterday and it was ten times nicer than ours. But I was comforted by the fact that their paint job looked just as amateur as our own.
Harry Potter was on the cover of Entertainment Weekly for their fall movie preview. Only the day before Warner Brothers announced they are moving the movie to July 2009. Can anyone get it together? I'm just saying. Plus it sucks having to wait a whole eight months more.
My parents visit in three weeks. They've seen Emma twice so far. I'm going to have to train her with a picture to be able to identify them.
Xmas list: Harry Potter books in paperback. New shirts. New ties.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Thursday, August 07, 2008
I'm a loser baby....so why don't you kill me
I often wonder why things happen. Coincidence, fate, or a spiritual set of reward and punishment. All these reasons come together to color and cloud the way I look at my circumstances. I have, at different times, like everyone else, done the wrong thing when I should have done the right thing. Does my neglect of my own knowledge of right and wrong come back and bite me in the ass?
I tend to believe there are consequences for our actions. But are there, in this life, penalties for choosing to sin? It has been my experience that when I fall short there is an almost immediate circumstance or thing that happens. Is this all in my head? I'm a guy who tends to ask forgiveness, albeit genuinely and wholeheartedly, a long time after my actions, and I can't help but wonder if God does actively "discipline those he loves" in the meantime.
Case in point: I got lost on the way back from a movie and it took us twenty five extra minutes of driving. Then the next day Laurie discovers that she has made a mistake in booking our flights to get to Florida to take our cruise. The error will cost us at least $360. Now the conspiracist in me would say that those events in proximity to my bad choice would be quite suspect. But the normal side of me wants to chalk it up to those things happen. And I'm not really sure what to do with the spiritual side. I deserve to be reprimanded if I've screwed up and am blatantly disobedient. But is that in fact what's happening? Does God have a vested interest in correcting my behavior that manifests itself through apparent bad luck? We often chalk up good things happening in our lives to his blessing but is it so out there to consider that he still curses those who misrepresent him by their actions?
I believe the God of the NT is also the God of the Old, and while there is a new covenant he won't be mocked forever. When I choose to sin in the face of his love and sacrifice maybe I need a good kick in the head every once in a while.
To me though, the greater question has to do with my vocation. I want to work in a church full time and sometimes I feel my screw-ups jeopardize that ambition. Now I'm not naive enough to believe that pastors don't sin or that there aren't pastors in positions that are actively sinning. So am I off base in wondering why I am less worthy than they are to work full time for the kingdom? I'm an honest guy and that gets me into trouble sometimes. I admit when I fall short, I don't take credit for abilities I may or may not have and I get into uneasy territory when I publicly(as public as this blog is) discuss issues like this that may have details about my personal spiritual journey. But I never want to lose this penchant for self evaluation and this questioning spirit. And I want to share these things with others so they can look inwardly and with a sigh of relief say "Thank God I'm not the only one".
(Thanks to Beck for the lyrical title)
I tend to believe there are consequences for our actions. But are there, in this life, penalties for choosing to sin? It has been my experience that when I fall short there is an almost immediate circumstance or thing that happens. Is this all in my head? I'm a guy who tends to ask forgiveness, albeit genuinely and wholeheartedly, a long time after my actions, and I can't help but wonder if God does actively "discipline those he loves" in the meantime.
Case in point: I got lost on the way back from a movie and it took us twenty five extra minutes of driving. Then the next day Laurie discovers that she has made a mistake in booking our flights to get to Florida to take our cruise. The error will cost us at least $360. Now the conspiracist in me would say that those events in proximity to my bad choice would be quite suspect. But the normal side of me wants to chalk it up to those things happen. And I'm not really sure what to do with the spiritual side. I deserve to be reprimanded if I've screwed up and am blatantly disobedient. But is that in fact what's happening? Does God have a vested interest in correcting my behavior that manifests itself through apparent bad luck? We often chalk up good things happening in our lives to his blessing but is it so out there to consider that he still curses those who misrepresent him by their actions?
I believe the God of the NT is also the God of the Old, and while there is a new covenant he won't be mocked forever. When I choose to sin in the face of his love and sacrifice maybe I need a good kick in the head every once in a while.
To me though, the greater question has to do with my vocation. I want to work in a church full time and sometimes I feel my screw-ups jeopardize that ambition. Now I'm not naive enough to believe that pastors don't sin or that there aren't pastors in positions that are actively sinning. So am I off base in wondering why I am less worthy than they are to work full time for the kingdom? I'm an honest guy and that gets me into trouble sometimes. I admit when I fall short, I don't take credit for abilities I may or may not have and I get into uneasy territory when I publicly(as public as this blog is) discuss issues like this that may have details about my personal spiritual journey. But I never want to lose this penchant for self evaluation and this questioning spirit. And I want to share these things with others so they can look inwardly and with a sigh of relief say "Thank God I'm not the only one".
(Thanks to Beck for the lyrical title)
Friday, August 01, 2008
What's up
I have a friend who told me a story Wednesday night. When he was about fifteen, he had a weird feeling one night and his father told him to check himself over. He found (brace yourself) a tick in his wiener. So his Dad walks in to the bathroom with a lit match, which apparently will make a tick back out of the skin. Needless to say he freaked. The other guy we were with was cringing as much as I was when the story was told. Can you friggin' imagine?
We were at the home of friends tonight and they have a dog that will go into the garden and eat their tomatoes. He'll go in and pick just the right one, mostly green with just a touch of red.
I love a good thunderstorm. We were hoping for one tonight. It's great for just sitting and watching and listening. Tonight we had chicken that had been marinated for 3 days, fresh picked corn that was beyond sweet and tender, and a five layer chocolate desert. Oh and bread and butter. Sigh. I love food.
Positives: Homemade peach jam, next Wednesday, the bloggosphere
Negatives: being cableless, no volume control, sweating at night
We were at the home of friends tonight and they have a dog that will go into the garden and eat their tomatoes. He'll go in and pick just the right one, mostly green with just a touch of red.
I love a good thunderstorm. We were hoping for one tonight. It's great for just sitting and watching and listening. Tonight we had chicken that had been marinated for 3 days, fresh picked corn that was beyond sweet and tender, and a five layer chocolate desert. Oh and bread and butter. Sigh. I love food.
Positives: Homemade peach jam, next Wednesday, the bloggosphere
Negatives: being cableless, no volume control, sweating at night
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