Wisdom, Guidance, and Patience Needed

So last night at dinner a close friend told me he had a deal for me that I couldn't pass up. He's a realtor and has been very slyly moving his friends closer and closer to he and his wife by finding killer deals on houses in their neighborhood. He and our high school Pastor have ajoining back yards and now the house directly across the street is up for sale (it actually goes on the market monday). It belongs to the mother of one of our high school students, who is a buddy of mine (we got baptized on the same night). It is also yellow. Bri has always wanted a yellow house. I'm ready to move out of the bachelor pad on Burncrest (sad), as I can no longer stand the disorder that comes from living with 3 other guys and a cat. In addition, one of my friends from work is looking for a new place to live and we've previously talked about the possibility of me buying a house and him renting from me. The house is 1.8 miles from work.

There are so many signs that make this sound so right. I know there are a lot of possibilities and what if's and maybe I'm just excited about the potential. I need some time to pray and reflect and listen.

15 things i do when i should be working.

1. Blogging (apparently you do too)
2. www.myspace.com (posting and reading comments and listening to music)
3. www.imdb.com (internet movie data base)-tons of info about movies, tv shows, etc.
4. www.blockbuster.com (renting movies online that I found interesting on imdb)
5. planning my post-work work-out
6. daydreaming about ice cream (bar, cone, flurry, scoop, or “other” form)
7. jamming to mp3s on the iRiver (iPod hater)
8. talking to Bri on the phone
9. counting ceiling tiles
10. emailing from 5 accounts (dork)
11. laughing hysterically while listening to audio clips from www.ebaumsworld.com
12. watching minutes tick off the clock (this is very boring and I don’t recommend it)
13. talking to myself with a headset on to give the appearance that I’m working
14. conducting experiments to see how much coffee I can drink before using the restroom (very exciting)
15. looking for a new job

Authenticity

I’d like to start by saying Charlie gave a great message this weekend at Nexus on journey vs. destination. To sum it up: our focus and ambition should be on the way we live our lives and serve others along the way instead of “just getting our butt into heaven.” Which brings me to today’s topic, authenticity.

It’s easy to talk the talk. Anyone can do it. But to really be authentic when you “Christian” friends aren’t watching is something that takes time and an intentional mentality. It requires you to constantly review your actions, thoughts, etc. and question whether they are in-line with your beliefs. It’s fascinating to watch someone new in their faith walk transform from someone who just comes to a church service once in awhile to someone who earnestly seeks God and to meet others where they’re at. I know I went through it and I think a lot of the high school guys I volunteer with are experiencing the same thing. It’s great to see kids in their most vulnerable age who are not afraid to be themselves and not fear what others think.

Authenticity is key to the journey. Who are you when you walk out the doors of the church? Who are you when you are at work or at school? On Saturday nights? If you can’t be authentic before others, how can you be authentic before God?

Look what I can do!

Just as a little reminder, God puts his name on his creation from time to time. This time, it was on an alligator. Read the TRUE story here: http://www.wastedblog.com/viewcontent.php?AlwaysUseFrame=1&IdContent=3553 .

Assault with a deadly vegetable?

MONROE, Conn. - A 46-year-old man is accused of assaulting his wife with a carrot, causing her to lose sight in one eye. Roderick Vecsey is charged with second-degree assault and disorderly conduct.

Pamela Vecsey, 46, underwent six hours of surgery after being hit in the left eye with the vegetable Saturday night, but doctors were not able to restore her vision, prosecutor Stephanie Damiani said.

The couple was arguing when Roderick Vecsey tossed the carrot, Damiani said.
Roderick Vecsey told Judge Patrick Carroll that it was a terrible accident and was advised to remain silent.

The judge set a hearing for Thursday. Vecsey is currently free after posting $500 bond.

totally gnarly.

Cougar is the most talented surfing cat i have EVER met. just look at the fearlessness and determination in his eyes!

Fast Food Conspiracy

As is evident, I often question the aptitude of most of the claimants I deal with on a daily basis. Today however, I was taken aback by the actions of the employees of a McD store in Florida…
An elderly couple from Tennessee was vacationing in Florida and decided to stop for a bite to eat. As the woman was sliding into her seat, the under-railing of the table, which was not properly secured to the table top caught and ripped her skirt. Her husband went up to the counter and informed an employee of the incident. The young lady said she’d get the manager and walked through the dining area and knocked on the office door, between the two restroom doors. She did not go in, but returned to the claimant’s table and said the manager would be with them in five minutes. After 10 minutes passed with no manager, the gentleman went back to the counter and told a different employee he was still waiting to speak with a manager about the situation. This guy also proceeded to pass through the dining room and knock on the same office door, only to return with the same response, “he’ll be with you in five minutes.” And again, five minutes passed with no manager.
Now fed up, the gentleman decided to take the matter into his own hands and knocked on the manager’s door himself. As he waited for an answer, an employee walked out of the adjacent men’s room carrying a ladder and asked the claimant if he needed assistance. He told the young man that he was waiting for the manager. Confused, the employee said the manager would not be in there, because that was not the office and was, in fact a storage closet.
Now upset, the claimant got the restaurant owner’s name off of a plaque and asked for a phone number. Another employee said the owner would call him the following day. So, he waited. No call. He returned to the restaurant with a camera to gather evidence. An employee changing the garbage saw him taking pictures (although they had already replaced the table) and as the claimant was walking back to his car, the guy stopped him and said the owner was inside and wanted to talk to him. The claimant hesitated, but decided to go back in and settle things.
Again, he was asked to wait for the owner. And then he was told the owner was now too busy to talk with him. So he filed a claim.
All this for $25. I wrote him a check.

of wolves and deer...

some of my wildlife photography is still posted on the Wildlife Prairie Park web-site. check it out.

http://www.wildlifeprairiestatepark.org/Members/Member's%20Gallery%20Winter%2005.pdf

You need to know:

Things I like	Things I hate
10. Water shoes	10. Words that aren’t spelled like they sound
9. In-dash dvd players with touch screens	9. Watermelon seeds
8. Holiday pay	8. Fake laughter (usually while on the phone)
7. Ice cream with candy bars in it	7. Chewy potatoes
6. Zombie movies	6. Messes
5. New car smell	5. Rabbit fur (allergic)
4. Post-workout laziness	4. Burlap
3. Chicken	3. Non-sanded wood decks
2. Cougar (my cat)	2. Insurance claims
1. Bri (girlfriend, not cheese)	1. Dodge Neons

the cosmic battle

Last night I went to a small gathering of people from a church in East Peoria. The group is going through a video series on truth and the topic last night was evil-where did it come from. It got the wheels turning...

One of the main arguments atheists or non-Christians keep in their arsenal is if God created everything, and everything is therefore good, where did evil come from? Humanists also believe that mankind is inherently good and that evil is some un-natural apparition that comes about from corrupt society. They say that if man was left to his own devices and could focus on just pleasing himself, that there would be no evil. And finally, if there is no God, we are the products of evolution and natural selection.

While I am by no means an expert, this area has always interested me because of the way the public/secular education system preaches evolution and philosophical theories as truths. Here is an attempt to address questions raised by the humanists…

Our first account of evil in the bible is the story of Cain and Able, where the former slew the latter. Before the fall in the garden, there was no evil in man. So I agree with the humanists that man was originally inherently good. Evil was introduced in the form of sin through self-awareness after satan tricked Adam and Eve.

If man is still naturally good, why is murder a part of every society, “civilized” or otherwise? And if evil is the product of corrupt societies, as the humanists claim, what makes those societies corrupt? People, right? There is no other alternative. If we are inherently good, why do we have a conscious that tells us that doing “evil” things is bad? By their school of thought, there would be no need for a conscious. And if we are simply the products of evolution, natural selection would have weeded out individuals with the genetic makeup for having a conscious-those individuals would not have been able to kill in the wild to survive. It is completely contradictory.

If the only meaning in life is to please and care for the self, why do we put more value on the life of a human than the life of a fly, or a flower, or anything other than our own species?

Just the tip of the iceberg…

now that it's out of my system i can laugh...

as soon as i posted the previous message, i got an email from a friend in the property unit that said:

"I got a new McHell loss in, customer shot the COD with a pistol because he was upset with his service….no video or witnesses"

gotta love that..."i said no mustard!! kapow kapow kapow. Take that you metal box that produces the simulated voice of the person that can't push the right buttons to make me a 99 cent disc of horse meat!"

I also watched a surveillance video yesterday of a mickey dee's employee spitting in the face of a customer through the drive thru window because he kept changing his order. His response: after trying to come in through the window after her, he charged into the store and made several attempts to lunge behind the counter yelling that he was going to put a bullet in her head.

seriously people, there is more to life than greasy, low-quality, carb-laden, artery-clogging, eat-and-poop food.

Do you ever stop and just take it all in? I’ve been doing that a lot lately while on the job. As I’ve mentioned before, this job in claims is kind of like taking a canoe out on the sea with one oar. Sometimes the waves are overwhelming (usually floods the boat with claims after a weekend) and the rest of the time (the majority of the time), I paddle in circles. Therefore, I spend several hours each day whacking myself in the head with the oar thinking, WHAT AM I DOING HERE? I hope there is more to my future than sitting at this desk, talking to these hillbillies about how a McNugget broke their only remaining tooth.

So…
1. I’m an outdoors personality trapped in an environment of florescent sunlight, ozone spewing copy machines and formaldehyde-laced office furniture and carpet.
2. I’m a people person, but I’d like to be impacting lives in a manner that doesn’t involve fraudulent rednecks and a telephone.
3. I have come to hate the “golden arches” and any fast-food joint with a new found passion. I didn’t eat there before and now I cringe every time I pass one. “Over 99 billion served,” huh? How many billion sued because they are unemployed, uninsured, and think that everyone else owes them?

My canoe has a leak? Anybody have an extra paddle?

and is it friday yet?

What's your Theological View?

You scored as Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan. You are an evangelical in the Wesleyan tradition. You believe that God's grace enables you to choose to believe in him, even though you yourself are totally depraved. The gift of the Holy Spirit gives you assurance of your salvation, and he also enables you to live the life of obedience to which God has called us. You are influenced heavly by John Wesley and the Methodists. Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan 89% Emergent/Postmodern 75% Neo orthodox 75% Fundamentalist 61% Charismatic/Pentecostal 61% Classical Liberal 57% Modern Liberal 54% Reformed Evangelical 46% Roman Catholic 32% http://quizfarm.com/test.php?q_id=43870

19 days...

In honor of July 25th, 2006, the release date for Season 1 of the Animaniacs on DVD...

(for those not well-versed in the greatest cartoon ever created, Pinky and the Brain are scheming lab rats)

Brain: It proved that radio was a powerful tool. And now, Pinky, the advance of technology has brought us an even more powerful tool. Do you know what that is?
Pinky: Ummm... the rubber band?

Brain: Do you realize what we will do with this pollen, Pinky?
Pinky: Ummm... open a boutique?
Brain: Yes, that's it. We'll open a boutique and sell ladies' clothing and pollen.

Brain: Pinky, are you pondering what I'm pondering?
Pinky: I think so, Brain, but if we didn't have ears we'd look like weasels.

Brain: Pinky, are you pondering what I'm pondering?
Pinky: I think so, Brain, but burlap chafes me so.

Brain: Pinky, are you pondering what I'm pondering?
Pinky: I think so, Brain, but where are we going to find a duck and a garden hose at this time of night?

Brain: Pinky, are you pondering what I'm pondering?
Pinky: I think so, Brain, but where are we gonna find a tattoo parlor that's open at this time of night?

you have got to be kidding.

All of us have braced ourselves for the coming onslaught of claims after the holiday weekend. We are currently in the calm before the storm, but my boss just came over with a claim he assigned me. It reads:
"Clmt alleges becoming ill after eating 4 double cheeseburgers. He says he can no longer drink alcohol like he used to or have sex."

seriously, why is this MY problem?

it's going to be an interesting monday/wednesday.