WhY?

Last night I got the message that someone a community had been praying for had suddenly passed away. He was the son of someone my mom works with at school in Mendota. Just over a week-and-a-half ago, Andrew was a normal, healthy 20year-old college student who had just finished finals. He had been home a few days and developed a migraine, which he had never had before. A short hospital visit was followed by violent seizures at home and resulted in him being flown to Peoria. He slipped into a coma and would only open his eyes while having a seizure. They thought he was stabilizing and then suddenly, he let go. The doctors were and are still baffled as to the cause of the illness. No one knows why. WhY?

Last night I was informed that a friend from church and softball had been up in Michigan to visit family for Christmas. His wife’s deranged ex-husband came to the house they were staying at Saturday night, with multiple firearms. He intended to confront the boyfriend of his former wife. When the home owner went outside to meet the man, he was shot in the chest on the front lawn. Our friend, Darren, tried to barricade the front door. The gunman (his former uncle), apparently fired through the door, hitting Darren twice in the femur. Once inside, the gunman allowed the women and children to leave, as well as Darren and his father, so he was rushed to the hospital. Doctors said that most people who sustain an injury of this nature to the femoral artery bleed to death, but Darren made it. The gunman then shot and killed the boyfriend of his ex-wife before killing himself when police arrived. Darren has had four surgeries so far. He is still in intensive care, on dialysis. It is unclear whether he will keep his leg. He lives and breathes sports and is an amazing multi-sport athlete. How do you cope with a tragic injury like this, not to mention the violent and senseless loss of those close to you torn away? Why do these things happen? WhY?

http://www.mlive.com/news/jacitpat/index.ssf?/base/news-19/1167064562302070.xml&coll=3

I started reading David Crowder’s new book, “Everyone wants to go to Heaven, but Nobody wants to Die,” last night. It just happened to be on top of the stack of books I intend to read next. It deals primarily with death, the resulting sadness it brings, the existence of the soul, etc. The first story David shared was of his friend Kyle Lake, who was electrocuted last October while baptizing a friend on Sunday morning in front of the congregation, including his wife and children in Waco, TX. Why would God allow this to happen? What message does this give to unbelievers…to believers? WhY?

Today I'm Thankful...

that Christmas songs are no longer on the radio.

Seriously, they're great for Christmas eve and Christmas day, but when you start playing them on the day after Thanksgiving and play nothing BUT Christmas songs until the 25th, you are crazy and annoying.

So thank you today, for playing ANYTHING but Christmas carols.

Changes

The way I see it, there are only two constants in this world-God and gravity. We lowly humans have managed to overcome the latter, but there’s no stopping God.

Last night at small group, Chris discussed the upcoming changes for Nexus and our weekly “small group” gathering. I think we are naturally resistant to change, as it comes with a touch of apprehension, stepping out of the comfort of familiarity, and a possibility of failure. But change is sometimes necessary. We could keep doing what we are doing, stay mediocre. Or we could step out in faith and hope and make a difference.

So over the next month, Nexus will transform from a weekly service at the church, to one monthly service and weekly gatherings of “house groups” to build what the church should really be-a community. Charlie will launch each series on the second Saturday of the month and the other three weeks will be spent focusing on the curriculum he writes for the house groups. Each group will meet at a church member’s home on designated night to better accommodate the busy schedules of college students. This means that our small group is no longer going to be small, but will open the doors to anyone who wants to attend.

I believe this could be awesome. Either it will be a catalyst for young adult ministry in our community, or it will fail. Regardless, we tried to spur growth and development. Onward Christian soldiers!

Christmas Card (cause i'm cheap)

The Year in Pictures

Ok, so it's not exactly a whole year, but I'm bored and at work and this is what I could come up with.

Texas Wild Boar Hunting in March. 13 pigs in one afternoon.
Packing more firepower than the PLO. The Yellow House, purchased in September. I need to post the before-and-after pics. Amazing.
The Georgia Aquarium in October for the Catalyst Conference.
Me and Bri at the Converge Conference in Peoria. Ain't she adorable?

small THINGS.

Why is it that the little annoyances in life all seem to come at you at once, usually during a fair-to-good day?

Example: Yesterday was a normal day at work (plus all the cookies, candies, nuts, etc. that come in to the department in a constant stream from the mail room). Not too busy, not too many "crazies" on the phone.

I was to meet with my high school small group at Starbucks at 7pm by the gym. I'd have plenty of time to go work out, shower, grab a protein shake or some food before the meeting.

And so it began.
The gym is 5.99 miles from work (thank you, mapquest). Normally it takes 15 minutes to get there at 4:30. Yesterday it took 52. No construction, no accidents, no explanation. Traffic was at a standstill for no apparent reason. Frustration is not the proper word.

So I'm already way behind. I got through just over half of my workout before I had to hit the showers. After getting dressed, I couldn't find my wallet. Not in my pocket, not in my coat, not in my car. I didn't panic because I’ve left it on my desk at work before. But now I had no method of purchasing nourishment.

On to Starbucks to meet with the guys. We normally meet at Northwoods, but there was no service due to the upcoming Christmas program. One guy out of four showed up. We hung out anyway and some other kids from Dunlap happened stop in. Oh, well.

This morning, Cougar meowed at me approximately 63 times while I was getting dressed because he was hungry. I fed him. He didn't like the food and didn't eat.

Today is casual day. They didn't make an announcement or send an email. Apparently no one told me.

All simple things. Life is funny. As soon as life isn't looking, I'm going to kick it in the...

Truth.

On Sunday, Eric concluded the series on truth at Reality (the high school ministry). It amazes me that people can have such varied definitions of what “truth” is.
Can simply believing in something make it true? Can the truth change with time? Can two people have conflicting definitions of what is true and both be correct? Is there an ultimate truth? Where does it come from?

True=that which is real.

Simply believing in something does not make it real (i.e. Sorry kiddies, but just because you believe a 250 pound elderly bearded man is going to squeeze down your chimney this weekend, doesn’t mean it’s going to happen).

There is only one truth; however people perceive and interpret it relative to their language, culture, etc. Therefore, disagreements about what is true from one person to the next can occur. Whose angle on the truth is correct?

What we perceive as the truth shapes our beliefs, values, and ultimately, our actions. I think that is why our generation seeks reality so much. We want what is real to be revealed.

Any religious person should testify that the ultimate truth comes from God and Christians know that it was and is constantly revealed by His son.

You don’t have to simply believe in it, you can sense it, see it in others, live it out. In a world shaped and steered by what a few influential individuals believe or mold evidence for (think philosophers, evolutionists, dictators, etc), we need constant reminders that the ultimate truth trumps all.

GCIC Christmas Party.

Friday night was the company Christmas Party at the Par-a-dice Hotel in East Peoria. The food was great, but the highlight of my evening was the following:


Picture this lady. She is the DJ's wife.

Now picture her lip-synching, "Don't you wish your girlfriend was HOT like me? Don't you wish your girlfriend was a FREAK like me?"

No further explanation necessary.

P.S. This actually happened.

KEEP PRAYING...

for Randy!
http://fogparty.blogs.com/fogparty/

I got a card from the department this morning and my boss wrote "Happy Birthday Dwight" in it.

bonus: We get out at 3pm today for our 7pm Christmas party. I am not going to question it.

I just hope we all get bathrobes as a gift. That would be MUCH better than cash.

Movie Review

I watched an intriguing movie last night: “Devil’s Playground.” It focuses on that critical period of life between 16-20 something, when children leave the protection and watchful eye of the family and explore the world in shocking ways. Sounds like typical America right? However, this film has a twist…the fledglings are all Amish.
The featured community is located in rural Indiana, and is inundated with the typical horse-and-buggies, one-room school houses, horse-drawn plows, plain clothing, etc. Much is revealed about the beliefs, family structure, and social network of our Anabaptist neighbors.
When teenagers in the Amish community turn 16, they are expected to venture out into the “english” world for a period called “rumspringa.” They are free to buy and drive vehicles, get jobs, consume alcohol and drugs, date, dress “english,” listen to music, watch TV, etc. Rumspringa parties would put any college town party to shame! They often draw thousands of Amish kids in from across the country.
This completely undermines the Amish’s main focus: to remain removed from the world in order to stay closer to God. The family comes second, only to God. They believe that relying on modern conveniences (like electricity or machinery) would take the focus away from family cooperation. However, since following Christ is a decision that only an adult can make, they put it in the hands of these kids. Come back to the church and leave the world behind, or be lost.
While there is a lot of pressure on the teens to join the Amish church, get baptized and settle down, 10% choose to not return to the Amish lifestyle. Those that do not return home may still have limited contact with their families, while those that join the church, but then decide to leave are banned forever. This film was certainly eye-opening, and I recommend it if you can tolerate some harsh language.

life is like...

It's that time of year when attorneys bombard their clients with boxes, baskets, and buckets of chocolates, candies, and cakes.

There is a table about 11.7 feet from my desk where the secretaries lay all the day's bounty out. Every time I get up to grab something from the printer, I can't help but graze on the cornicopia of carb-laden delights.
Which gets me thinking: who is the mad candy-maker-guy who sits in his sugar lair thinking, "what crazy thing can I put in the middle of this chocolate mass?"

Seriously, I've had 4 or 5 pieces of chocolate from a mixed box of whatevers this morning, and I have no idea what was in the middle. It could have been dog treats and ear wax for all I know.

It was delicious.

sometimes life kicks you in the gut, steals your last breath, and leaves you standing in shock-the choas of the world drowned out by the words you dread to hear...

please read the post "the email" on Randy's blog.

Pray for God to place his hands on him.
To heal him completely.
This world needs him.
He helped save me.

A typical day in the life of JRG.

Finances have been really tight since moving into the new house (empty room=empty pockets), so I was excited and hopeful for the prospect of a new roommate. Kyle, Jess, and I had joked around Wednesday night about what I would do if the new guy was really weird or old. I assured them he seemed “cool” from our emailing back and forth (whatever that means).

The prospect was to meet me at the house at 5pm yesterday, which required me to cancel my gym appointment. If you know me, this is a BIG deal. As of 5:40, he still didn’t show. I was a wee bit miffed, but was still confident he’d show up.

He called a few minutes later to say he dropped the transmission in his car and had to go pick up a rental, but would be there shortly. Eureka!

The doorbell rings. I answer.

The gentleman on the doorstep was not exactly what I had pictured as the person at the other end of our email conversation. I’d say he was closer to 50 than 40 years old. He was very nice and polite and we had a wonderful conversation about cats and engineering software. But I don’t think it would have made for a comfortable housing situation, with my younger sister living upstairs.

I had to inform him of our collective decision this morning.
Back to the drawing board!

ok, seriously, enough is enough.

there are 12 claims in my inbox.

i just got an email that we are now going to insure 600 Little Ceasar's across the country.

they hired one new adjuster-who probably won't start handling any claims for 2-3 weeks.

the senior adjusters are even complaining there are too many claims and too few adjusters.

i'm loosing it.

why do i have to pay for some stupid kid who hurt himself skateboarding on church property?

why must i tolerate being yelled at for 20 minutes by some guy who spilled tea into his truck cd player?

why does every other meal served at mcdonald's contain a hard object that breaks someone's last remaining tooth?

why are people such terrible drivers?

why am i working here?

What is it about the weather?

Totally random thought as a precursor to coffee:

Have you ever wondered how or why the weather affects our moods? Why is it that when it's hot and muggy, the crime rate increases? Why do cloudy or rainy days make us depressed? Warm spring days make us happy and crisp autumn air refreshes us. I don't have an answer, but I wonder if there is something embedded in our psyche that sets the tone of our day simply by looking out the window in the morning.

What if we lived in a world with artificial environments? If the concrete jungles gave way to our entire civilization living in a bubble. It could happen-I heard on the news just yesterday that NASA wants to establish the first base camp on the moon. How then would the overall mood of society be affected by constant temperature, humidity, weather, etc.?

Today.

I received 6 new claims this morning before 10:30am. 7 is the record for the most received in a day. We'll see if it's broken this afternoon. argh.

On a lighter and brighter note, after not receiving a single response to my classified adds on myspace and facebook about my available room (and being unable to stretch my meager earnings to pay the monthly bills and mortgage), I posted it on www.craigslist.com yesterday morning. I had 4 inquiries this morning and am meeting a potential renter tomorrow after work! I was more than a little hesitant to opening my home to the public, but this guy's a project engineer downtown, so I think it's safe.

i hope he likes cougars.

T4-your claim has been TERMINATED!

My old roomie sent this to me this morning. AWESOME!

2nd season.

It’s back to reality after a long weekend (4 cold, snowy days) of deer hunting. I shot some more great video for this year’s DVD. Thursday I sat in the “War Wagon” with my dad and uncle all day because it was too frigid to sit in a tree for more than an hour. Pictures of this heated, tactical monstrosity are soon to follow. My uncle Dave missed two bucks that afternoon, both of which are on video.

Friday we were snowed in, along with the rest of the state of Illinois. We managed to crawl out of camp around 2:30pm and wallow through the 18” of snow to our stands. All I saw was a coyote.

Saturday the deer were sitting tight after the blizzard. There were lots of tracks crossing the open fields-evidence of their nighttime travels and feeding. We sat in the wagon again all day and only saw one deer, a nice 8-point.

Sunday morning broke the monotony. I had only been in the tree about 45 minutes-an hour (which is a long time when it’s 4 degrees out), when I spotted 4 deer working their way toward me through the forest. It turned out to be a group of does. I had two tags, so I decided to take one or two. I fired at the first animal, but it didn’t react in a manner to suggest it had just been shot at. All four of them just stood there. After a quick decision, I fired at the second deer, which ran a few steps and then started walking slowly again. I fired a third shot, which brought her down.

About 30 minutes later, my uncle shot a doe. My dad got one 45 minutes after that. And finally, another kid that hunts with us shot a doe later in the morning. So in all four frigid days of second season, all the action occurred in approximately 3 hours. The freezers are full, so I am happy!

(I’ll post some pictures soon)