Monday, November 27, 2006
Thanksgiving 4 (shortness)
I am quite thankful (to Jesus) that I get to work for a company that let me leave work two hours early today because of the blizzard that fell upon Poulsbo suddenly so that I could avoid wrecking or being stuck at work all night.
Thanksgiving 3 (lengthiness)
On Saturday the 25th of November, I observed some more of my father's work, which he pointed out to me. After this I took my brother to my church's other annual thanksgiving season event: The Cranberry Sauce Bowl.
The Cranberry Sauce Bowl is a soccer event which is generally set up for kids who are not often called children. It usually takes place at a city park. This year the city park fields were closed because of unusually high amounts of precipitation and saturated soils, so the game was held on the land of a family of church members who lived on relatively well-drained soil. I usually play the whole game through, but this time I only played for two points because I wanted to converse with my dear sister during the whole rest of the time. I am speaking of the dear sister who was became married this summer. She had just returned that morning from a visit with the family of her new husband. His family lives in Colorado. I have been told that this family is still duly (i.e. positively and with great magnitude) impressed with my dear sister. My dear sister told me that being married to her new husband is better for her than not being married to her new husband. She also told me that sex is heavenly, so I am quite happy for her. We discussed the topic which I discussed with my dad so late into the night and she cut the hairs on the top of my head so that they became shorter than they were before she began to cut them.
On Sunday morning, I arose at about five and loaded the Illuminate 2 and drove back to Bummertown just in time for work in the Seaside Church building. I had no idea that I would be driving in snow which slowed me down and impared my vision so that I read a roadsign incorrectly and took a wrong exit. I was somewhat distressed about the increased possibility of wrecking, but somehow, I arrived safely.
I suppose that that is the end of my thanksgiving trip story.
The Cranberry Sauce Bowl is a soccer event which is generally set up for kids who are not often called children. It usually takes place at a city park. This year the city park fields were closed because of unusually high amounts of precipitation and saturated soils, so the game was held on the land of a family of church members who lived on relatively well-drained soil. I usually play the whole game through, but this time I only played for two points because I wanted to converse with my dear sister during the whole rest of the time. I am speaking of the dear sister who was became married this summer. She had just returned that morning from a visit with the family of her new husband. His family lives in Colorado. I have been told that this family is still duly (i.e. positively and with great magnitude) impressed with my dear sister. My dear sister told me that being married to her new husband is better for her than not being married to her new husband. She also told me that sex is heavenly, so I am quite happy for her. We discussed the topic which I discussed with my dad so late into the night and she cut the hairs on the top of my head so that they became shorter than they were before she began to cut them.
On Sunday morning, I arose at about five and loaded the Illuminate 2 and drove back to Bummertown just in time for work in the Seaside Church building. I had no idea that I would be driving in snow which slowed me down and impared my vision so that I read a roadsign incorrectly and took a wrong exit. I was somewhat distressed about the increased possibility of wrecking, but somehow, I arrived safely.
I suppose that that is the end of my thanksgiving trip story.
Thanksgiving 2 (lengthiness)
This post contains a description of the activities in which I participated this last thanksgiving weekend.
I left work on Wednesday about 1/2 hour early and drove to my home in Sliverdale (Silverdale). I was quite tired because of a critical mistake that I had made the night before (running/walking ~4.5 miles to my community group in the dark, the cold, and the rain), so I went to sleep for a couple of hours. While I was sleeping, traffic conditions in the region of the road trip I had planned improved as multiple cars became reached their destinations.
Let me warn you: A bed is like a time machine; you climb into a bed and close your eyes at one time, and when you open them, you find that you have traveled in to the future! If you don't believe me, check your alarm clock at the beginning and end of your next bed rest. You will find that I am right, so be careful with your bed.
When I awoke, I cleaned my dishes and loaded the Illuminate 2 and drove it down to Bummertown (Bremerton) and loaded it with fuel. Then I travelled in it through Gag Harbor (Gig Harbor) to Monroe where my parents and my sister and my other sister and my brother and my other brother live. I determined that my car traveled ~30 miles for every gallon of gasoline that it had burned and I was quite happy about that.
Upon my arrival, my mother and brothers were in bed, but I talked to my dad about how in the world God might give me a wife. I won't tell you much about that conversation because I am annoyed by men who think that they know who they are supposed to marry when they really don't (did you hear the story about the lady who was approached by five or so different men, each of whom told her that God's will for her was to marry him (thereby implying that anything else would be disobedience)?). I will tell you that my father and I do not seem to conflict regarding what I should be doing regarding this matter. Oh, let me tell you a funny little thing that my dad said to me years ago: "You've gotta get married sometime--If you're gonna get married."
The next morning I arose at seven or so and ran about a mile in a loop (no particular destination). To run in daylight and without much traffic was nice. Upon my return I ate something and played multiplayer video games with my younger brothers until my dad wanted to show me the pictures of some work that he had been doing. During this computer time (for my dad's pictures and music and videos are inside of his computer) I noticed that the time of the meal was drawing neigh, I decided to begin housecleaning, for my mother had been working on housecleaning and the meal since the beginning of the day. The housecleaning was not completed even as my father's mother arrived from Monroe. We were joined by three other ladies from the same town for eating. After the meal, I drove my grandmother home and spent the rest of the evening doing visiting with my family and staying up way too late continuing to talk to my dad because we weren't through with the exciting topic of the night before.
Upon Friday morning I arose at seven or so again because I am used to rising at six. I remember that a particular church event took place on this day. It is an annual event called the "Pizza Bowl Split." It costs thirteen dollars. It involves eating normal pizza, which I can not do because I am a phenyleketonuric, and it involves bowling, which can be fun if I am with people whom I really like and who like bowling. It also involves helping children have fun, which I am not generally good at unless I actually know a fair amount about the children who need to have the fun. I have been to numerous children's camps and other children's activites and I always find that I am most helpful doing support work, especially technical work, or utilitarian setup/demo work (as opposed to decorating, cooking, craft time setup, etc.). So instead of going bowling and eating with my brothers (who weren't going because of reasons of their own), I decided to spend the time with my mother who was driving around the cities in which the Pizza Bowl Split took place because she carries the church credit card. Um, that means that I was traveling with my mother because of her company and conversation, not because of the church credit card. During this trip I found out that neither Target nor Mervyn's carry cheap slacks in my size.
This activity took longer than I expected it to, but I have found that I can bestow honor upon my parents by considering their activities worthy of my observation and consideration, so I consider that time as well-spent.
I believe it was upon Friday night that I watched Walk the Line with my father and oldest brother.
I left work on Wednesday about 1/2 hour early and drove to my home in Sliverdale (Silverdale). I was quite tired because of a critical mistake that I had made the night before (running/walking ~4.5 miles to my community group in the dark, the cold, and the rain), so I went to sleep for a couple of hours. While I was sleeping, traffic conditions in the region of the road trip I had planned improved as multiple cars became reached their destinations.
Let me warn you: A bed is like a time machine; you climb into a bed and close your eyes at one time, and when you open them, you find that you have traveled in to the future! If you don't believe me, check your alarm clock at the beginning and end of your next bed rest. You will find that I am right, so be careful with your bed.
When I awoke, I cleaned my dishes and loaded the Illuminate 2 and drove it down to Bummertown (Bremerton) and loaded it with fuel. Then I travelled in it through Gag Harbor (Gig Harbor) to Monroe where my parents and my sister and my other sister and my brother and my other brother live. I determined that my car traveled ~30 miles for every gallon of gasoline that it had burned and I was quite happy about that.
Upon my arrival, my mother and brothers were in bed, but I talked to my dad about how in the world God might give me a wife. I won't tell you much about that conversation because I am annoyed by men who think that they know who they are supposed to marry when they really don't (did you hear the story about the lady who was approached by five or so different men, each of whom told her that God's will for her was to marry him (thereby implying that anything else would be disobedience)?). I will tell you that my father and I do not seem to conflict regarding what I should be doing regarding this matter. Oh, let me tell you a funny little thing that my dad said to me years ago: "You've gotta get married sometime--If you're gonna get married."
The next morning I arose at seven or so and ran about a mile in a loop (no particular destination). To run in daylight and without much traffic was nice. Upon my return I ate something and played multiplayer video games with my younger brothers until my dad wanted to show me the pictures of some work that he had been doing. During this computer time (for my dad's pictures and music and videos are inside of his computer) I noticed that the time of the meal was drawing neigh, I decided to begin housecleaning, for my mother had been working on housecleaning and the meal since the beginning of the day. The housecleaning was not completed even as my father's mother arrived from Monroe. We were joined by three other ladies from the same town for eating. After the meal, I drove my grandmother home and spent the rest of the evening doing visiting with my family and staying up way too late continuing to talk to my dad because we weren't through with the exciting topic of the night before.
Upon Friday morning I arose at seven or so again because I am used to rising at six. I remember that a particular church event took place on this day. It is an annual event called the "Pizza Bowl Split." It costs thirteen dollars. It involves eating normal pizza, which I can not do because I am a phenyleketonuric, and it involves bowling, which can be fun if I am with people whom I really like and who like bowling. It also involves helping children have fun, which I am not generally good at unless I actually know a fair amount about the children who need to have the fun. I have been to numerous children's camps and other children's activites and I always find that I am most helpful doing support work, especially technical work, or utilitarian setup/demo work (as opposed to decorating, cooking, craft time setup, etc.). So instead of going bowling and eating with my brothers (who weren't going because of reasons of their own), I decided to spend the time with my mother who was driving around the cities in which the Pizza Bowl Split took place because she carries the church credit card. Um, that means that I was traveling with my mother because of her company and conversation, not because of the church credit card. During this trip I found out that neither Target nor Mervyn's carry cheap slacks in my size.
This activity took longer than I expected it to, but I have found that I can bestow honor upon my parents by considering their activities worthy of my observation and consideration, so I consider that time as well-spent.
I believe it was upon Friday night that I watched Walk the Line with my father and oldest brother.
Thursday, November 23, 2006
Thanksgiving 1
My worship pastor has a consistent tendency to include somewhat rhetorical questions with the list of worship songs which are to be played in church. I have included several of these questions below:
"Do we have anything to be thankful for, I know it sounds trite, but when was the last time you truly felt thankful? Is it because you've nothing to be thankful for, or are we all still lying on the grocery store floor blue in the face to get our way? God loves a grateful heart."
I have included this one because quite a number of us have seen children who fail to respond well to the goodness of their parents, and we think to ourselves, "The ungrateful little whelp, after all that is done for him! I am glad that I don't throw temper tantrums like that."
But you've got to think:
2 Peter 3 says that people somehow manage to forget the previous judgements of God so that they can say that God is slow in bringing the judgement which is hanging over them, even though God is being patient for their benefit. So if you are not a Christian and you know that God is calling you to humility and gratitude for the sacrifice of Jesus, go to those both of those places--at once!
On the other hand, if you are God's child, do not be ungrateful by denying God's:
"Do we have anything to be thankful for, I know it sounds trite, but when was the last time you truly felt thankful? Is it because you've nothing to be thankful for, or are we all still lying on the grocery store floor blue in the face to get our way? God loves a grateful heart."
I have included this one because quite a number of us have seen children who fail to respond well to the goodness of their parents, and we think to ourselves, "The ungrateful little whelp, after all that is done for him! I am glad that I don't throw temper tantrums like that."
But you've got to think:
2 Peter 3 says that people somehow manage to forget the previous judgements of God so that they can say that God is slow in bringing the judgement which is hanging over them, even though God is being patient for their benefit. So if you are not a Christian and you know that God is calling you to humility and gratitude for the sacrifice of Jesus, go to those both of those places--at once!
On the other hand, if you are God's child, do not be ungrateful by denying God's:
- Wisdom--by telling Him that you know what you need better than He does
- Power--by assuming that you don't have what you think you need because He can't give you what you think you need
- Love--by thinking that God is withholding good gifts from you because He wants to punish you for sin or to see you suffer (Hebrews 12 indicates that suffering is discipline which is to result in your sanctification, not punishment for sin which has already been laid upon Jesus).
Thursday, November 16, 2006
The Integration of Choice and Election (simplified)
I used to be quite confused because I couldn't understand how anyone could be to blame for failing to choose Jesus (which the scripture clearly teaches) while at the same time God receives glory for being gracious and choosing the people whom He is going to save, excluding all others (which the scripture also clearly teaches).
During my first year at Washington State University, a calvanist minister came to the house that I later moved into and admitted that we all get to choose Jesus or Satan, sin and death! Now is when you are all supposed to draw your breath in quickly because of your suprise. After he said that, I began to think of this little line of reasoning, and before long it was finished.
I know that this line of reasoning is quite simplified and that is has been torn apart by sharp people like James (whom I haven't had the pleasure of speaking to in some time) and Warren, but I don't remember how they did it. Perhaps they will comment.
It works like this: We all must choose. Choosing Jesus brings glory, honor and immortality. Choosing pride, sin, or anything else brings well... Satan, sin and death in Hell.
Now a believer might read this and think to himself, "Well then, why doesn't everyone just choose Jesus right away?"
Inconveniently, this choice is not a free choice because all of the people who are making this choice now are influenced by sin which has been programmed to preserve itself by the one who knows that Jesus will smash sin if He is chosen (Yes, I know that He will smash it later anyway). So the sin inside of people is a serious impediment to logical decision making -- so much so that the choices which are made can be predicted correctly in every instance. I.e. because of the sin that is in them, people will always choose pride, self, Satan, sin, death, anything but Jesus. But Jesus is not to blame because Jesus did not choose Satan, sin, or death or anything else for anyone (alright, He did choose death for Himself once, but not for anyone else).
Conveniently, Jesus has decided to be nice to some people whom He chose beforehand. These people are sometimes called the elect. Jesus opens the eyes of these people so that they can see reality (kinda like the eyes of Elisha's servant were opened) and they are given wisdom to know where pride and sin and so on will take them. Then they choose Jesus and they are translated to the kingdom of light.
How it is that Jesus is able to save people is another topic.
During my first year at Washington State University, a calvanist minister came to the house that I later moved into and admitted that we all get to choose Jesus or Satan, sin and death! Now is when you are all supposed to draw your breath in quickly because of your suprise. After he said that, I began to think of this little line of reasoning, and before long it was finished.
I know that this line of reasoning is quite simplified and that is has been torn apart by sharp people like James (whom I haven't had the pleasure of speaking to in some time) and Warren, but I don't remember how they did it. Perhaps they will comment.
It works like this: We all must choose. Choosing Jesus brings glory, honor and immortality. Choosing pride, sin, or anything else brings well... Satan, sin and death in Hell.
Now a believer might read this and think to himself, "Well then, why doesn't everyone just choose Jesus right away?"
Inconveniently, this choice is not a free choice because all of the people who are making this choice now are influenced by sin which has been programmed to preserve itself by the one who knows that Jesus will smash sin if He is chosen (Yes, I know that He will smash it later anyway). So the sin inside of people is a serious impediment to logical decision making -- so much so that the choices which are made can be predicted correctly in every instance. I.e. because of the sin that is in them, people will always choose pride, self, Satan, sin, death, anything but Jesus. But Jesus is not to blame because Jesus did not choose Satan, sin, or death or anything else for anyone (alright, He did choose death for Himself once, but not for anyone else).
Conveniently, Jesus has decided to be nice to some people whom He chose beforehand. These people are sometimes called the elect. Jesus opens the eyes of these people so that they can see reality (kinda like the eyes of Elisha's servant were opened) and they are given wisdom to know where pride and sin and so on will take them. Then they choose Jesus and they are translated to the kingdom of light.
How it is that Jesus is able to save people is another topic.
Helmsman Strategies
I typed most of this entry several days ago and hesitated to publish it because it sort of assumes that I know things about driving that other people do not know, but Chris from Seaside told me this morning that he thought that I should publish it, so here it is.
Although my driving has a number of critics (e.g. Josh from the UCBin Pullman, Pat from Seaside Church, Chris from Seaside), I have been informed that I have had the benefit of a superior driver's education class (i.e. superior to the driver's education classes of those complimenting mine). For this reason, I would like to share several driving tips with you:
- When driving at night, avoid directly into headlights which are attached to cars which are traveling toward you. Instead look directly at the white line to your right. Try to keep your car just to the left of it. Of course, if you are tailgating the car which is in front of you, be sure to pay attention to its brake lights too. Oh, and watch out for traffic control signals and signs.
- When waiting at the front of a queue in a left had turn lane, keep the all the wheels and tires of your car pointing straight ahead of you. Restrain yourself so that you do not point the steering wheels to the left until after you have already driven the car into the intersection. This increases the distance between your path and the car parked in the left hand (or left foot, for that matter) turn lane of the street you wish to enter. This can also keep you out of the path of the oncoming traffic to your left if you are rear ended.
- If your car is covered with snow or ice, be sure to clean this ice and snow off of the transparent surfaces so that you do not become the next lazy, yet destructive person to smash into a pedestrian because he was unable to see out his car window.
Thursday, November 02, 2006
Which Button Should I Push?
The other day I was walking by a lady who works in the same building that I work in. She was staring at her computer and speaking out loud, "Which button should I push?"In as much as I am always trying to be funny (kinda like now) I seized the opportunity thusly:
"Well, if you want to be married, you should probably push the big button marked 'COMMIT.'"
"Oh, and if you are a conservative or a pro-lifer, you should probably not push the big red button marked 'ABORT.'"
I suppose that I should have ommitted that last conditional.
Go therefore and do likewise... After you have read all of my other blog entries.
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