M R Tool

Song Writing

2011-06-19T08:33:00.002-05:00

on saturday mornings i get together with a friend of mine and talk of life issues and our relationship with God. so one morning we were talking about God's love for us, and how it never fails. we decided to go outside on the deck and pray.

as i was sitting there and listening to him pray, the sun come out from behind the trees. i could feel the sun warming my face. so with my eyes closed i look up in the direction of the sun and let it radiate on my face. while enjoying the sun i got to thinking about our talk about God's love. i started thinking about the way God's love radiates to us, much like the sun on my face. this lead me to thinking about the moon as well. how it reflect the suns light to us in the dark night sky. and i compared that to our own lives, how we are to reflect the love of God with our lives. how we are the representation of Christ to the those that are in the dark.

when we finished praying i told my friend about what i was thinking. he inspired (and challenged) me to write my thoughts down, not just the details but how it might make a good song, so i did. i have never written a song before, so i spent a few hours working on it. then this last saturday we sat down together and put music to it and did some fine tuning. so here is the finished product.

On Bended Knee

I feel the sun, warm on my face.
Much like your lo—ving embrace.
Providing light all of my days.
So I can see all of your ways.

Chorus
You hold me in your mighty arms.
Where I am sure that none can harm.
You lift me up and set me free.
So I can kneel on bended knee.

The Moon reflects the golden sun.
My life replects your sacred one. (Jesus)
And in the dark the light shines through.
Your Love is shown always to be true.

Chorus
You hold me in your mighty arms.
Where I am sure that none can harm.
You lift me up and set me free.
So I can kneel on bended knee.

You hold me in your mighty arms.
Where I am sure that none can harm.
You lift me up and set me free.
So I can kneel on bended knee.
So I can kneel on bended knee.
So I stand tall on bended knee.

i do hope to get someone else to sing it, when i can get a recording i will post it.

The Fun Adventures Of Life

2011-03-26T23:11:00.002-05:00

life has been busy. tomorrow is sunday and i plan to spend at least 13 hours at church. i know what you are thinking. 'how can you worship God that long?' well i will tell you. i should be getting there about 7:30 a.m. for band and singer practice, as the sound person i am usually there for this. however we also put some different speakers in on thurday so i want to be there for the finial sound check. then i will have service to run. after that i will be working on some video stuff for the evening service, since it is the last sunday of the month.

we are doing a video testimony with one of the young married guys in the church. so i have been working on the editing, and having a great time at it. we are planning to do more videos, so the guys and i who have been working on the videos came up with some ideas. one is that the testimonies will be call 'Sketch Pad Stories' and with that i have put together some neat effects. i also have been working on some pictures for a production logo called '300 productions' which is based on Gideon and his 300 men.

work has been really busy as well. but i think that will need to be for another post. i am currently sitting at Village Inn with a friend so i will have to check in later.

Video Fun

2011-01-26T10:19:00.004-06:00

last friday we had out annual church banquet. lots of entertainment and fun, i, as always, ran sound for the church. some friends and i put together some videos, some are funny, some serious. here is the link to were they are. i hope you enjoy.

Ending 2010

2010-12-29T13:11:00.002-06:00

we the end of the year is nigh, i have been absent most of the year. it has been a difficult year with the kids, and being part of 4 weddings, changing jobs, etc.

the kids are doing well and though we have had are ups and downs, we seem to be getting through it all. i am loving the new job. i like working days and i am really busy, which is a nice change. i still have a lot to learn, and that is what i love the most.

i have decided that i do not want to start any kind of relationship anytime soon. i am leaving that in Gods hands; His plan, in His time. but that does not help with the loneliness and the depression that i experience. i have been depressed a lot this last year, and that is why i have not been writing.

plans for this next year:

-i hope to work towards getting out of debt.
-also my daughter graduates this year. i have that to plan for.
-some of my brothers friends and i are planning a trip to New York state this next fall/winter to see him.
-also i plan to start writing. i do not know that it will be on this site though. i have some story ideas that i really want to start working on. i just have to find the time to work on it. i have about 4 story ideas in my head, all of which would have to take place in different universes. one of them could easily turn into several books.

anyway, i hope ever one that is out there is doing well. i will try to be around more.

Life As Of Late

2010-10-21T02:36:00.003-05:00

I struggle against the waves to keep from going under. The gloom swirls around me, and joy fades like the setting sun. I fight to keep my spirits from the murky depths that pull me down with a thousand hands. Oh, how i want to surrender.

I know it has been a while. been busy, and depressed. life has been difficult, but i am getting by. on a positive note. i got a new job with the same company. i am going to days, and the other building. i will be getting off the phone and working desktop support.

Lego Friday

2010-03-19T02:01:00.002-05:00

this last week i picked up Monty Python and the Holy Grail Special Editions. and it has this really funny video.

Friday 3/12/10

2010-03-12T00:27:00.000-06:00

something from my childhood. it took me a while to find it.

Feb 26

2010-02-26T03:31:00.001-06:00

well February is nearing the end.

Billy

2010-02-19T06:54:00.002-06:00

Here is one from one of my favorite artist. it is rather mellow, and kind of sad.

Great Short Film

2010-02-12T07:05:00.002-06:00

this is from a short film my Joss Whedon, called Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog. really funny show. you can find it on youtube but it broke up in about 6 parts.

TGIF

2010-02-05T00:56:00.001-06:00

It has been a long week. now for a little fun.

Movie

2010-02-03T04:50:00.002-06:00

i have plans this friday to go and see Avatar. i am looking forward to it. not just because of the movie, but because i am going with a friend, a female friend. it is not a "date" as such. i am however really excited to be able to spend time with her.

Give Me A Break

2010-01-13T00:46:00.003-06:00

i did my breaks today. it was so much fun working on the car in the cold, and the wet. it took us 3 hours to get it done. that was with a parts run, i ended up needing to replace the caliper too. but i have new breaks on the car. it is good to stop quietly.

Cold

2010-01-08T01:50:00.002-06:00

well winter is in full swing around here. starting the week before Christmas, we got 11 inches of snow. then on Christmas eve it started up again, and dumped about 8 inches. in the following week we have accumulated about 6 more inches. all this would not be so bad if the temp would get up and melt some of it away. however the temps have been 20 degrees and lower for the last month.

the kids were suppose to start back at school this week. but it has been snowing and we have had highs around 5 degrees, so school has been canceled. i am so ready for them to start school again so i can get back on my sleep schedule. i think they are ready to get back to school too. the high for tomorrow is -5 degrees. and then there is the wind chill. i do not think i will be going anywhere after i get home from work.

Fridays Are Back

2010-01-08T01:48:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year

2010-01-05T05:54:00.002-06:00

i know it is the 5th already, but happy new year anyway. i have been gone from the site for more then a month now. it has been a very busy month and i will not bore you with the details. i did need the time off from writing. i hope to get back to it soon. i am however still alive.

Genesis Class Week 9

2009-11-23T02:22:00.004-06:00

Genesis 9:18-11:9 Descending to Babel

Genesis 9:18-29 - Noah and sons

Noah was a farmer, so he planted a vineyard, and low and behold he gets drunk. His son Ham walks in and sees him naked and tells his brothers. Ham did not act noble with his father and shamed him. The other two honored there father by covering him.

When Noah wakes and finds out what happened, he curses Canaan. Note that he curses Hams son, Canaan, and not Ham. In verse 1 God had blessed Noah and his sons, so the curse falls on Hams son. This is the son that would become the Canaanite people; which were enslaved and killed my Israel when they took the promise land. In the curse he also blesses Shem’s and Japheth’s descendants.

The Chapter ends with wrapping up Noah’s years at 950 years.

Genesis 10 - The Table of Nations

We have a listing of the descendents of Noah’s sons. Much of the lists are not an individual but a nation. Such as the list of Canaan’s descendents, they are the peoples that the Israelites were to destroy and remove from Canaan during the time of Joshua. This would be relevant to the Israelites as they prepared for the entering of Canaan at that time.

One man of note is Nimrod. He was a great leader and a mighty hunter. He is credited here for the building of Babylon and Nineveh and the surrounding cities. This too would be relevant to the Israelites in there future. It is likely that Nimrod was the instigator of the Tower of Babel and after the confusion of the languages he may have continued the work.

Ham’s descendents settled mostly in northern Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. Japheth’s moved north to the Black and Caspian Sea’s, and into Greece. Shem’s descendents settled between the two of them, mostly along the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.

Genesis 11:1-9 - The Tower

Everyone spoke one language, and they came together in the plains of Shinar. They decided to build a city with a tower to the heavens. They did this for there own glory and fame and to unify themselves. God came down and saw what they were doing and decided that, if they could do this as one people united that nothing was outside there power. Once again man reached out and tried to be like God, building up power and fame. God confused there language and they were scattered.

So Glad This Week Is Over

2009-11-20T02:22:00.000-06:00

Genesis Class Week 8

2009-11-16T05:41:00.002-06:00

Genesis 8 – 9:17 From Flood to Covenant

Genesis 8:1-14 - the water recedes

God remembers Noah and his family, and all the animals that were with him. God provides a wind to dry the earth and the waters recede. The ark settles in the mountain range of Ararat, not the mountain of Ararat as it is often thought. Almost 3 months later the mountain tops become visible. Forty days later he sends out the raven, who few back and forth until there was somewhere to land. He then sends out the dove several times until it brings back an olive leaf. Then he waits seven day and the dove does not return. After being on the Ark for about a year he opens the covering and the land is dry. About two months later the earth is completely dry.

Genesis 8:15–22 - coming out of the ark

God then calls Noah and his family out of the Ark, along with all the animals. They all come out and Noah builds an alter to God, and makes a sacrifice from some of all the clean animals. God is pleased, and make a promise to himself never to curse the ground because of man again, and not to ever destroy all living things.

Genesis 9:1-17 - God's covenant with Noah

God blesses them, and re-commissions them to be fruitful and multiply. He also sanctions the eating of meat, also that the fear of man would fall on all animals. God gives one restriction regarding blood in the meat. God also addresses murder here, connecting that humans are created in Gods image and that image is sacred; followed up with again the command to multiply.

God then makes his covenant with Noah and his sons, also with all the animals, that He will not destroy the whole earth by water ever again. He then gives them a sign of the covenant, the rainbow. We do not know if this was the first rainbow ever. Science would have applied before the flood as it does after. Rainbows are caused by light shinning through moisture in the air. This would have been the state of things prier to the flood as well, even if it had never rained there was mist. It is likely that the use of the rainbow was to be the renewal of an old symbol with a new meaning.

There are some interesting chiasmi (palistrophe) in the Ark story. A chiasmus is a literary device in which one half of a story or poem is a mirror-image of the other, giving a form A1BA2 etc.

A1. Noah and animals enter the Ark
B1. Flood increases on the Earth
C1. Mountains covered, all living things die
D1.Waters cover the Earth
E. God "remembers" Noah, God's wind blows over the waters
D2. Waters begin to recede
C2: Mountain-tops become visible, Ark rests on the mountains
B2: Flood recedes from the Earth
A2: Noah and animals leave the Ark

The other is in the timeline of the flood.

7 days of waiting for the flood (7:4)
7 days of waiting for the flood (7:10)
40 days of rain and flooding (7:17a)
150 days of water triumphing (7:24)
150 days of water waning (8:3)
40 days’ wait (8:6)
7 days’ wait (8:10)
7 days’ wait (8:12)

Football Is Over

2009-11-16T05:29:00.002-06:00

my son had his last game last night. i did not go because i was sleeping so i could go to work tonight. they were playing in a tournament. they had lost the first game that was on saturday. so last nights game was for second and third place. however it turns out that the team they played on saturday was all high school kids so they were disqualified, since it was a league of middle school age kids. so last nights game is now for first and second place, the bummer deal is that the high schoolers took the trophy for first place. well i guess you are wondering who won last night. as it turns out my sons team won the game. my son got to play center for the game since the teams regular center was injured 2 weeks back.

now all that is left is to return the equipment and have a banquet on tuesday, and football is behind us for this year.

Country???

2009-11-13T02:58:00.001-06:00

i am not much of a country fan but this is one of my favorite songs when singing Karaoke.

What It Is...

2009-11-13T02:16:00.003-06:00

it is life and you have to take it as it comes.

i have been having a busy go of things as of late. football is over after this weekend, and the kids are doing good. my daughter is having some trouble with 2 of her classes, two classes that i have never studied. those being chemistry and calculus. the kids mom has been in drug rehab and we have all been dealing with that. she is out now, and life has been far from easy. work is as it always is, work, nothing really to report there.

the holidays are upon us and it does not feel like it should be that time of year already. i am feeling very ill-prepared.

i have found that i lack the motivation to see things happen. it rather sucks to have the desire to see things through but not have the motivation to go after it. so i guess i really have nothing interesting to share. life is dull but active.

Walking And Talking

2009-11-06T00:00:00.000-06:00

Genesis Class Week 7

2009-11-02T03:07:00.003-06:00

Genesis 6:9-7 – Noah and the flood

Traditions of a catastrophic flood are found in many ancient cultures:

• Egyptian tradition: The gods at one time purified the earth by a great flood, from which only a few shepherds escaped.
• Greek tradition: Deucalion warned that the gods were going to bring a flood upon the earth because of its great wickedness; he built an ark which cam to rest on Mount Parnassus. A dove was sent out twice.
• Hindu tradition: Manu, warned, built a ship in which he alone escaped from the deluge that destroyed all creatures
• Chinese tradition: Fa-He, founder of the Chinese civilization, is represented as having escaped from a flood – with his wife, three sons and three daughters.
• English tradition: The Druids had a legend that the world had been re-peopled by a righteous patriarch who had been saved in a strong ship from a flood send to destroy man from his wickedness
• Polynesian tradition: Stories of a flood from which eight escaped
• Mexican tradition: One man and his wife and children were saved in a ship from a flood which overwhelmed the earth.
• Peruvian tradition: One man and one woman were saved in a box that floated on the flood waters.
• Native American tradition: Various legends, in which one, three, or eight persons were saved in a boat above the waters on a high mountain.
• Greenland tradition: The earth once tilted over, and all men were drowned, except one man and one woman, who re-peopled the earth

Genesis 6:9-22

The account of Noah and the flood starts in 6:9; some may argue that it starts with verse 1 with the corruption of the earth. However, versus 1-8 give us an introduction into what led up to the flood. Noah we know is of the line of Seth, he was credited as being righteous and blameless. Noah had a true love for God, thus he had a right relationship with God. He was blameless, but that does not mean that he was perfect. God knew his heart in comparison to the contemporaries, and chose him to be the path to salvation for the human race and animal kind.
God speaks to Noah and tells him that he is going to destroy the earth and everything in it. He is only going to spare Noah and his family. Noah is to build a boat and fill it with animals. The Ark is to be made of cypress wood (Gopher wood in some other translations. The word in the Hebrew is not a known wood) and coated with pitch. It was to be 450 ft long, 75 ft wide and 45 ft high. It was to have three decks and a door in the side. From the shape and dimensions of the ark it was not meant to be a high sea vessel but a floating barge.

The English word for the ship is ark; however the Hebrew word (tevah/ship) that is used for the Ark is not the same as the Ark of the Covenant. The word for the ark is the same word used for the basket that Moses was placed in and floated down the river. According to the dimensions of the ark, it was the largest ship on record until 1858 when the Great Eastern was built to 669 ft.

Genesis 6: 22 Noah did everything just as God commanded him.

Genesis 7:1-5

Noah built the boat and fills it with animals, one pair of ever every kind of animal, male and female, and seven pair of every clean animal. This is to repopulate the earth with all the animals. The point of the seven pairs of clean animals is for sacrifice after the flood. If Noah did not have extra of the clean animals that he would need in sacrifice, then it would be a long while before Noah and his descendants could make sacrifices to God, also to have new cloths. Noah was also to store all kinds of food and vegetation. We will find out that the earth was covered with water for about a year. In that time plant life would have also been destroyed. He was going to need food and seed to replant.

A common question is “how Noah got all those different types of animals on the ark?” Well, today we have hundreds of types of dogs. However most of them have only been around in the last few centuries. It is likely that Noah only took one set of dog, cat, horse, etc. and that they were breed into the species that we know today.

After loading the ark with every kind of animal and the food that was needed, he entered the ark and seven days later God brought the rain.

Genesis 7:5 And Noah did all that the LORD commanded him.

Genesis 7:6-24

In Chapter 5 we find that Noah was 500 when he became a father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And one hundred years later the earth is destroyed. We have an exact time that the flood was. From here on out the record keeping of the Old Testament helps so we can know when the flood was.

We see that the animals came to Noah and obeyed him on getting on the ark. A return of Gods original plan for man to be over the animals, this was disrupted by the first couple when they obeyed the serpent.

Genesis 7:11-12 In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, on the seventeenth day of the second month—on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights.

From the above verses we know that the water burst forth from the ground and fell from the sky lifting the ark off the earth. It rained 40 days and 4o nights, talk about depressing. God shut up the ark, Noah could not do it himself, and all that was with Noah was saved.

Genesis 8:1 But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and he sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded

Hoping For Sleep

2009-10-30T00:48:00.002-05:00

i have not been sleeping much lately.

Genesis Class Week 6

2009-10-27T17:41:00.003-05:00

Genesis 6 – Starting over

There are three main factors in the text that led up to the flood. 1) Unspiritual marriages 6:2, 2) a deep evil twist of the human character 6:5, 3) Brutal violence 6:11.

Genesis 6:1-4

The population of the Earth was increasing. “The sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose.” From verse 2 we can figure that they marriages of the two were lustful, they married for beauty and not for spiritual character. Who are these ‘sons of God’? There are 3 theories.

The sons of God

1. The sons of God are Angels. This theory is a popular one and often used because the term is used in other places in the Old Testament in reference to the Angels. It is used to justify the “heroes of old” in verse 4. That there descendents were blessed with divine abilities. This is refuted by Jesus himself in Matthew 22:30

At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.

To further support this angelic interpretation the Virgin Mary became pregnant by the Spirit of God. It may be reasonable to conclude that the same may be possible for other heavenly beings.

2. The sons of God are political leaders. This theory was purposed by Jewish scholars in the middle ages, Psalms 82:6-7 is a support to the idea.

"I said, 'You are "gods" you are all sons of the Most High.' But you will die like mere men you will fall like every other ruler."

It based on the leaders of the time, the representatives of God, may have been corrupt thus escalating the influence of corruption in the human race. It would fit that leaders in the near east would have claimed divine status, such as the Pharaohs did, also setting up harems for themselves, as did Solomon.

3. The sons of God are the descendents of Seth. The righteous descendents of Seth may have started to intermarry with the descendents of Cain. Seeking relationships of lust and not righteousness. This fits with the flow of chapters 4-6 and connecting Cain to the flood.

So which is correct? Not sure, these are the ideas that we have. However the concept of the ‘sons of God’ is foreign to us today with the emphasis of Jesus as the ‘Son of God’. Most likely it made more sense to the audience of the time.

Years of man are 120

Verse 3 is often thought to mean that the human race would not longer have long lives like those of old. However this is mostly unfounded as many of the men in the bible still had long lives after the flood. Such as: Abraham (175), Isaac (180), Jacob (147), Aaron (123), Jehoiada (130), and Job (160+). It is believed that the 120 years was rather time remaining until the purge of the earth and begin anew. Just like God gave the city of Nineveh the chance to repent in the account of Jonah.

The Nephilim

Again it is vague as to who these people were, they are only mentioned in the bible twice, here in Genesis and in Numbers when the spies are scouting out the land of Canaan. There is a notion that they were super humans and giants. However in the first part of the verse 4 it states that they were on the earth then and after the flood. If the flood was a worldwide event then no one would have escaped that God had not set aside. So there is little chance that they serviced the flood. These Nephilim may not have been the supermen that they are thought to be, but the height of sinful men. The Nephilim may gave been seekers of glory and fame, who went out of there way to prove themselves by there deeds. One other thing to consider about these great men, is that if there were the descendants of angels then why is there no record that God punished the heavenly creatures for this corruption.

Genesis 6:5-8

God’s Sorrow

In verse 5 we see that mans wickedness got to the point that he grieved that he had created them, and his heart is filled with pain. Man had escalated in sin to a point that they were twisted from what God had made. That every though and inclination was evil. Man had corrupted the whole earth so that even the animals were to be punished. Gods plan is to start over, to un-create and recreate. Only one man was righteous and found favor in Gods sight, Noah.

Genesis 6:9-22

God had a plan

Once again it stated that Noah was righteous and we find that he has 3 sons. The rest of mankind was corrupt and violent. So God calls to Noah and lays out his plan for the destruction of the world. Noah did all that the Lord told him to do.

Through The Desert

2009-10-23T00:00:00.001-05:00

i will not be in the office tomorrow, and not having internet at home i posting the friday video a day early.

Bach To Friday

2009-10-16T03:55:00.002-05:00

i have a habit of whistling, mostly because i do not have a radio in the car and then i get songs stuck in my head. i like t whistle classical tunes. thurday afternoon my son asked me what songs Bach did. as it is i do not ever know who did what in the classical world. so here is a little video that i found that is really cool to watch.

Genesis Class Week 5

2009-10-13T18:21:00.002-05:00

Genesis 4 – Life Outside The Garden

Two Brothers Genesis 4:1-5

God, in his grace, gives humans another chance. He gives family a chance. Assuming that Adam and Eve were created full-grown, Cain, when he killed Abel might have been about 129 years old; for Seth was born soon after (v. 25), at which time Adam is 130 (5:3). Cain and Abel are the most significant children up to this point.

Cain – (Qayin) "With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man." (v. 1); it is credited to Cain as being the first born; he was a farmer like his father; made a sacrifice to God of some of his fruits

Abel – supposed to be the second child; was a herdsman; made a sacrifice of faith to God (Hebrews 11:4)

By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.

The sacrifices – From the end of Chapter 3 it would seem that God Instituted sacrifices when he made the skins of clothing for Adam and Eve. From verse 3 it would seem that Cain decided to bring an offering and Abel joins him. Cain’s sacrifice was produce that he grew. Verse 3 tells us that it was some fruit of the soil, and that he brought it to God as a sacrifice. The implication is that he just grabbed some produce and gave it to God. Verse 4 tells us that Abel brought the firstborn and fat portions, the choicest parts, of his flocks. Though it may have been Cain’s idea to give a sacrifice to God, Abel had the better heart in the matter.

1 John 3 12 Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother's were righteous.

Crime and Punishment Genesis 4:6-16

Cain is not happy that his little brother is getting the attention. His sacrifice is disregarded by God. Cain did not get the response from God that he wanted, and he becomes angry. It would seem that Cain might be angry with his brother but first and foremost he is angry with God. God then warns him that if he did the right thing then he too would be accepted. Either unwilling or unable to resolve his anger he turns on his brother as a scapegoat. His brother then becomes the innocent recipient of Cain’s faulty relationship with God. He takes advantage of his brother and strikes him down, spilling his blood on the ground. The farmer has now sown the earth with blood.

Cain is the first to whom sin is attributed. God presents it as a choice. Either we choose to sin or not to sin.

After he kill his brother in a field God confronts him by asking the rhetorical question

“Where is your brother Abel?"

"I don't know," he replied. "Am I my brother's keeper?"

God approaches Cain as He did Cain’s parents. Where Adam and Eve tried to become like God, Cain is playing God. Sin is escalated Adam excused his sin, Cain denies his. Adam hid, fearful of God, Cain rejects to take responsibility for his.

Again the punishment is swift and fitting to the crime. Cain is cursed and the already cursed ground will not produce for him. His livelihood is taken from him and his forced to be a wanderer (nad). Cain heads east into the land of wandering (Nod) and builds a city. Cain worried about his own safety from revenge, but from whom? Adam and Eve must have had other children (v 5:4) and they were starting to populate the earth. So he was worried about revenge from the family. God then marks Cain so that no one would try to kill him, but if anyone kills him he would be repaid seven times over.

The renewal – Genesis 4:25-26

Adam and Eve have another child about this time and name him Seth “God has granted me another child in place of Abel,” this is the third and last noted child of the first couple. About this time was when people started calling on the lord.

First Snow, In Fall

2009-10-10T09:27:00.002-05:00

well we have not reached the middle of october yet and we are already getting snow. i awoke this morning and i was making breakfast, my daughter headed out on the patio for her morning cigarette she starts to whine about there being snow. so i poked my head out of the kitchen to see a good amount of snow on the ground. so i finished making breakfast and my coffee and headed out to clean off the car.

i am not ready for winter yet and this snow stuff really sucks. i do not mind the cold, but i really dislike the snow. i guess i will be working this next week on getting somethings done for the oncoming winter. tomorrow my son has a football game and it is suppose to snow then as well. this is going to be a fun weekend all the way around.

Finally The Week Is Over

2009-10-09T00:00:00.000-05:00

ok so i was shown this the other day and thought it was great. i hope you all enjoy.

Genesis Class Week 4

2009-10-06T01:23:00.002-05:00

Genesis 3 – The Fall of Mankind

The garden in jeopardy – Genesis 3:1-7

We do not know the time laps from the end of chapter 2 and the beginning of chapter 3. It could have been the next day, or it could have been a hundred years later. However the Stage is set, act one has commenced; our characters are introduced, queue the protagonist.

Chapter 3 we are introduced to the serpent. Verse one tells us that the serpent is the craftiest of all the creatures. The serpent speaks, and has a recorded brief conversation with the couple. He asks a seemingly innocent question. He does not outright call God a liar but he twists his words to imply that He is lying to them. After a reply from the woman he challenges Gods Truthfulness. He attacks the word of God head-on and questions Gods motives of withholding the fruit from them. He plants the seed of doubt in her mind.

After reevaluating the fruit and deciding that it was pleasing to the eye and useful for gaining wisdom she took and ate and gave some to her husband, who was there also. They then obeyed the animal, the opposite of what God had set up, and willfully disobeyed Gods command. The fruit did gain them knowledge, knowledge of the fact that they were naked. They are no longer innocent, they are vulnerable. So then try to cover up what they had done and make clothes out of fig leaves.

The garden lost – Genesis 3:8-19

Act two opens with God on the seen. The man and the woman hear God walking in the garden. And they hide, “Oh No! Dads home!”. God calls out them with a rhetorical question “Where are you?”, as if God did not already know. They come out and ashamed of there nakedness they report that they were afraid and hid. God asked the man out right did you eat and disobey me? The man who was silent in the last scene now tries to sidestep the question and shifts the blame back to the woman. It is telling in his language that he also want s to blame God for giving him this woman.

God then turns to the woman, asking for her side of the story. She answers the question acknowledging that she was tricked by the serpent. Here the oneness of the man and the woman is torn apart. The serpent is not given the chance to defend itself.

Punishment is dealt out swiftly in reverse order. Unlike the serpent, the man and woman were not cursed. The punishments of all three are twofold.

The serpent is cursed to crawl on his belly and eat the dust, and that there will be enmity between the serpent and the offspring of the woman.

Genesis 3:15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."(This is the first prophetic scripture pointing to Jesus.)

The woman is punished with increased pain in childbirth. Not that childbirth is the punishment but that it would be more painful. This does not imply that Eve had already had children but it also does not rule it out either. The second punishment is that she would have desire for her husband and he will rule over her. This is not to imply that women are inferior to men. This punishment is based around the domestic environment. The phrase “rule over” is the same as God is ruler of the universe and we are to rule over the earth and the animals that is described in chapter 1 and 2. We are responsible for there care not to lord it over them.

The Man is addressed in verse 17 and is rebuked for having listened to his wife and not the word of God. Here the earth is cursed. In chapter 2, man is given meaningful work, now he will have to work the whole earth and the ground will not yield it fruits willingly. Work has now become drudgery. He is also faced with mortality, the fact that one day he will die. Likely mortal before, rebellion against the creator of life forced death to become the center of our existence.

Expulsion from the garden – Genesis 3:20-24

The final scene demonstrates Gods love for the couple. Though he is forced to remove them from the garden and the tree of life, also the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he provides for them coverings made from animal skins. Now the animals that were entrusted to the man’s care are now to be there source of clothing. Conflict is the result of human rebellion. Human questioning of the divine intent and motive propels the world into disorder, alienation, and struggle. The human couple tragically alters each of their relationships: 1) there relationship with their creator; 2) their relationship with each other; 3) their relationship with the rest of the created order.

There is hope in chapter 4 of renewal with the first recorded birth.

Alone At Work

2009-10-02T01:56:00.000-05:00

so i am the only person on the help desk tonight.

Genesis Class Week 3

2009-09-29T03:13:00.001-05:00

Genesis 2:4-2:25 – The Garden

The relationship begins, Genesis 2:4-7.

Chapter 2 opens with what is sometimes called the second creation story. This is not a contradiction of the first account but a supplement to the account of chapter 1. There is a shift from the theocentric (God-centered) view of creation in chapter 1 to an anthropocentric (Human-centered) view of chapter 2.

Chapter 1 creation story introduces us to an all powerful God (Elohim), the “generic” name of the Supreme Being. In Chapter 2 we are introduced to “the Lord God” (Yahweh Elohim), His personal name. This is the first step that God takes in revealing his desire to have a relationship with us.

Chapter 2 starting in verse 5 states that there was no vegetation on the earth; this can be taken to mean that it would fit into the early part of day 3. It continues on that there had been no rain and the Earth was watered by: Springs (NLT) Streams (NIV), Mist (KJV). The ‘watered by streams’ is a constant theme in this chapter. This account then moves to the creation of man, followed by the garden. This is most likely to express to the audience that the creation of the garden was for man, continuing Gods desire to provide for our needs.

In verse 7 we are told that God makes the first man from the dust of the ground, and that God breathed the breath of life into him, an intimate portrayal of God giving us life. We know that the first man was called Adam from the Hebrew word for earth (Adamah), which makes the Adam the first “earthling”. Adam is both frail (being made of dust) and empowered (inbreathed by God). In chapter 1 we know that humans are the only creation that God spoke to, in chapter 2 humans are the only creation that has the breath of life from God.

The Garden, Genesis 2:8-14

God then plants a garden in the east, in Eden. “East of what?”, again we have to look to the original audience, the Hebrews who are coming out of Egypt, so we can speculate that the garden was east of Egypt. Then he puts the man in the garden, and God waters the garden with springs. There are only 2 trees mentioned by name in the garden, all the others were pleasing to the eye and good for food. The location of the garden is then described as being at the headwater of four rivers.

Man in the garden, Genesis 2:15-17

God puts man in the garden, and gives the man a purpose to his life with three instructions. Work the garden and keep it (vocation), you may eat of any of tree in the garden (permission), but do not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (prohibition).

Not good to be alone Genesis 2:18-25

It is stated in Genesis 1:27 that man was created “male and female”. Here we get a personal view of the start of the human race. God knew that it was not good for man to be alone, so he created all the beast of the fields and the birds of the air and brought them to him to name. Among them there is no suitable helper found.

God then causes Adam to sleep and removes a rib and creates an appropriate counterpart. God creates woman, a new creation, yet sharing man’s own essential nature. When Adam wakes and sees his wife, he is excited.

Genesis 2:23-24 “At last!” the man exclaimed. “This one is bone from my bone, and flesh from my flesh! She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken from ‘man.’”

This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one. (NLT)

Earlier God gave the man vocation so he had meaning to his life, now he gives him a companion to bring joy. Just as we are given the pattern for the work week in chapter 1, here we are given the pattern for marriage. One man and one woman joined as one.

Tangerines

2009-09-25T01:27:00.001-05:00

just a funny song.

Genesis Class Week 1 & 2

2009-09-22T00:04:00.005-05:00

as i have mentioned before i have started teaching a class on sunday mornings here is the first two classes rolled into one.

Genesis Introduction

“We have more traditionally been taught to think of Genesis as the account of how human pain originated. Perhaps we have been more concerned (i.e. self-absorbed) to try to make sense of our pain than spiritually sensitive enough to read Genesis as the explanation of the pain that we brought to God.”

Genesis - The Beginning of Faith
Rubel Shelly Page 14

The Beginning:
There are 5 beginnings in Genesis.

1 Genesis is the beginning of divine Self-disclosure
God reveals Himself in his creation

Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

2 Genesis is the beginning of a unique relationship between God and his human creations.
God reveals His image in us, creating us in His image male and Female.

Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

3 Genesis relates the beginning of tension between God and the men and women created in his image.
Such a unique relationship is filled with negative as well as positive possibilities. We have the freedom to be faithless or faithful; greedy or gracious. God will not coerce His creation; He will not achieve his will by force. He is sovereign but he is not a tyrant.
If we seek Him, we will find Him. If we want to know his will for our lives, He will make it known. If we want to share in His purposes for human life, He will see to it that we are not left in the darkness of confusion.

Matthew 7:7-8 "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

4 Genesis is the beginning of God’s Pain over our situation.
The tension between our partnership with God and our freedom to go our own selfish way has caused Him pain.

Isaiah 59:2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.

5 Genesis is the beginning of the revelation of divine grace.
We introduced sin into His Eden. And then we saw God for what he really is, a gracious and compassionate God.

Romans 3:23-26 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

The Creation Hymn – Genesis 1-2:3
Creation is described as taking place in six days. There are eight acts of creation, each introduced by the words ‘and God said…’

The creation Hymn is told from the perspective of an observer watching God create. The creation is not described chronologically, for example light and darkness are explained before the sun, moon, and stars. However the account is one that we can understand from the perspective of ancient man to the scientific mind of the 21st century. There is no explanation of biology or geology, or any other science. We do not know when creation took place (other then in the beginning). And other then God speaking the creation into existents, we do not know how God went about creating the universe.

The Creation Hymn is written as prose. There is a poetic structure of the first week, where day 1 corresponds to day 4, day 2 to day 5, and day 3 to day 6.

Prose is writing that resembles everyday speech. The word "prose" is derived from the Latin prosa, which literally translates to "straightforward". Prose is adopted for the discussion of facts and topical reading, as it is often articulated in free form writing style. Thus, it may be used for books, newspapers, magazines, encyclopedias, broadcast media, films, letters, history, philosophy, biography, and many other forms of communication.

Day 1 Light and dark Day 4 Sun and moon and stars
Day 2 Sea and sky Day 5 Creatures of water and air
Day 3 Fertile earth Day 6 Creatures of the land; land animals; humans’ provision of food.

The Structure of the account of each of the six days.
In Genesis 1:2-2:3
1. Announcement “and God said”
2. Command “let there be,” “let [them] be gathered,” etc.
3. Report “and it was so”
-a descriptive phrase telling what God did
-a word of naming or blessing
4. Evaluation “it was good”
5. Temporal statement “there was evening, and there was morning--the __day”

The origin of the world and of life was no accident. There was a creator: God
God made everything there is.
All that God made was good
The high point of all God’s creative acts was the making of mankind
Mankind is distinguished from all other creatures in two respects: he alone is made in God’s own likeness; and he is given charge over all the rest.
God’s six ‘days’ of creative activity followed by a ‘day’ of rest, sets the pattern for out working life.

Because There Is No Moon

2009-09-17T23:14:00.002-05:00

this song has been running through my head a lot lately. i hope you enjoy.

First Game

2009-09-15T07:05:00.004-05:00

this last sunday was my sons first football game. i went even if i do not know anything about football. and i was ready to watch the game and cheer them on. then i got asked my the couch if i could run the time clock. i told him i would but someone would need to teach me what i need to do. i know how it is scored, but i do not know when to stop the clock. well i found out in a hurry. i watched the game but i did not watch the game. i know you are all wondering who won. well the other team did, but the boys had fun.

something else happened on sunday that i just found out last night about. my daughter quit her job. so last night she was out looking for a new job.

In Honer Of

2009-09-11T00:12:00.002-05:00

it is September 11th. it has been 8 years, and i will never forget that day.

Life In A Car

2009-09-09T06:32:00.002-05:00

yesterday afternoon i spent 3 hours in my car. with picking up both kids from school getting my sons football equipment, and then taking him to practice. then i had my daughter drop me off at my tuesday night study. yes that means that my daughter has her license now. we went on thusday morning last week to take the test. but i am starting to feel like all i do is drive.

also in order to get my daughter to school on time in the morning. she is dropping me off at night at work, then picking me up in the morning so i can take her to school. it is rather weird not having my car at night.

Not Knowing

2009-09-04T00:02:00.001-05:00

i did not know that the soft cell version of this song was a cover, but i like it.

Busy

2009-09-03T01:42:00.003-05:00

so i have been really busy as of late, or as usual. and since i do not have internet at home anymore i am limited to post only from work and church if i get online. i am taking tomorrow night off, and in the morning i am taking my daughter to go and get her license (sigh). she wants to take the car and drive by herself, starting tomorrow. i had to told her no, she was upset about it. then i had to explain to her that we have to share the car, MY car and i have things to do too. i told her that she would get lots of time driving by herself when she starts taking me to work next week. then picking me up so i can take her to school in the mornings. all pending her getting her license.

this weekend i have my son, and i told him that i was going to start teaching him to drive. he is 13, the same age his sister was when i started teaching her. i am starting to teach a class on sunday mornings as of the 13th. i am really nervous about it. i have never taught before. the class in on Genesis, my favorite book of the bible. i have been trying t prepare for a little over a month now. i hope that i do well.

Long Week

2009-08-28T01:46:00.001-05:00

it has been long week, it feels like it has been a long time since i just rock and rolled.

Sleep

2009-08-25T04:29:00.003-05:00

must have sleep. i have totally hosed up my sleep schedule. friday i fell asleep during the day like normal. then got up and did my running around. friday night i fell asleep again about 1 am and woke up at 3am then fell a sleep again at 8 am, just to wake at 1 pm. then fell asleep again at 6 pm and woke at 8 pm. then stayed up all night and most of the day. finally getting to bed at 1 pm and woke up at 9 pm and went to work.

so this morning when i got off work i went and got 2 new tires, i got home around 11 somthing and into bed at 11:30. got a call at 11:45 to move some couches for a guy that i know. i do not know why i did not say no. but as it turns out the guy that called is the guy that leads the DnD group that i am a part of. he also happens to be the brother-in-law of the lady that i really like. also i was moving the couches with her father and brother. we moved 4 couches and then had lunch. at her parents house with her mom.

oh and now her brother is joining the DnD group and since they live just down the street from me i am going to pick him up and take him to DnD on fridays. what i would really like to know is how i keep getting wrapped up with her and her family. the reason i say that is even though i really like her, she does not seem interested in me. so i am trying to keep a safe distance in order to protect my heart from getting hurt. i guess i really need to learn to say no.

A Pirate Song

2009-08-21T02:33:00.000-05:00

Swinging On A Star

2009-08-14T01:15:00.001-05:00

Job Interview

2009-08-11T01:06:00.003-05:00

well i applied for another job, and internal job. friday i got an email from the supervisor of that department for a phone interview. i am suppose to have the interview today. i am really hoping that i goes well.

***Update
well i had the interview. i do not think it went well. there was a lot of questions that i have not had to deal with since college. and some that i had never even heard of. they said i would be hearing something, but i doubt it will be for a second interview. such is life i guess.

Fire Alarm

2009-08-10T04:37:00.002-05:00

the fire alarm went off today at work, about 2 am. so we all left the building and stood in the parking lot for about 30 minutes. while cops and the fire dept showed up. it was a fun break away from work. we blamed the new guys that is working with us this week. one of our regular guys switched to days for the week to get some training. so the guy that he shares a desk with is working with us overnights. it really made for an interesting night.

More Prayer

2009-08-08T19:04:00.002-05:00

i was on facebook tonight, and found that a couple that was part of our church many years ago son is also in hospital again. he has had ongoing medical problems with his heart. i am not really sure at to his age, i have not seen or talked to them in a few years. but i think he is about 4 or 5. it you could all lift him and the family in prayer i would appreciate it.

Prayer For An Online Friend

2009-08-08T10:06:00.003-05:00

i have a friend online. we have never meet other then online, and that only through blogs. as it turns out her and her family could use some prayer. from what i know, her sister is in the hospital with cancer. i do not know much else about the situation, but please pray for the family, thank you.

Psalm 120
A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem.

1 I took my troubles to the Lord;
I cried out to him, and he answered my prayer.
2 Rescue me, O Lord, from liars
and from all deceitful people.
3 O deceptive tongue, what will God do to you?
How will he increase your punishment?
4 You will be pierced with sharp arrows
and burned with glowing coals.

5 How I suffer in far-off Meshech.
It pains me to live in distant Kedar.
6 I am tired of living
among people who hate peace.
7 I search for peace;
but when I speak of peace, they want war!

Rain 8/7/2009

2009-08-07T05:39:00.002-05:00

it has been raining most of the night, and i have been watching the lighting from my desk by the window. i decided to go to the store for lunch today and it was a light rain, no big deal. but as i left the store it was poring. so i am soaked. i do not work far from the store, about 3 blocks. so it was still poring when i got back. so i am finishing my day soaked at work. but at least i am nice and cool.

Something I Stumbled Apon

2009-08-07T03:36:00.002-05:00

i was sitting at home when i heard this song on Pandora.com. i want to send it to my boss next time i call in sick. which is never.

Brain Scrubbing

2009-08-06T06:05:00.002-05:00

i want my brain scrubbed. i was chatting with a friend to night on facebook, and he was drunk. his typing was bad but i understood what he was saying to me. as a by-product of his being drunk he told me things about his past that i really do not wish to remember. so right now i would really like to pull this information out of my head and forget it. alas i will not be able to. i may not be able to sleep for a day or so.

New Toy

2009-08-06T03:59:00.003-05:00

last saturday we ordered some new toys for church. one of which was a wireless lapel mic. i got it tuesday, but i did not have a chance to test it out. so i tested it wednesday after midweek. it was so much fun. now i am waiting on the video converters then the real fun begins. because then i have to lower the projector and screen. and tonight i am having a really bad time typing.

Pics Of Me And My New Hair Cut

2009-08-02T19:29:00.003-05:00

now i have never put pics of myself up here and never intended to. however i thought i would share these.
most of my friends that have known me for any time at all are not surprised when i show up at chruch with this kind of thing.

However my friend in Seattle saw the pics and heard what i did and want to fly out here, slap me around and finish the shaving herself.

it will most likely not last to long anyway, with the rate my hair grows it will even out soon enough.

Inside Out

2009-08-02T09:51:00.001-05:00

have you ever put on an article of clothing and realize much later that it is inside out. this happened to me the other day. luck for me it was not an article of clothing that anyone would see. but the other day i put my underwear on inside out and did not notice until the end of the day. it was not embarrassing only because no body would have noticed but me, but i did fell rather silly for having done it.

TGI Friday

2009-07-31T00:01:00.000-05:00

i am so glad that is friday, it has been a long and irritating week. of which i do not intend to get into. but here is a movie clip song, from one of my favorite movies.

Radiator

2009-07-26T22:48:00.002-05:00

so i have been under the impression that my radiator was leaking. i have seen steam and smelled anti-freeze. however it turns out that it was the radiator cap that had gone bad. well i got that replaced and a full flush of the fluids. i hope to return the radiator i bought. so in the long run i got it fixed and the fluids flushed and found out that the hoses are in good order. when i get the $80 back for the radiator then i feel like i am going to be ahead.

Sleeping With Lions

2009-07-24T03:48:00.001-05:00

Automatic Soap Dispensers

2009-07-21T02:14:00.002-05:00

they installed new automatic soap dispensers in the restrooms at work. most might think this is nice to have, but they are set over the sink. so if you are not careful as you are getting your hands wet or rinsing you will set off the dispenser and get foamy soap sprayed on your arm. twice i have almost ended up with soap on my arms. kind of annoying.

Accidental Run Ins

2009-07-19T07:36:00.003-05:00

nothing much to say yet but i only just woke up. but last night about 11 i went to the store and accidentally ran into a good friend of mine, Pinakidion. as it happens i have not seen much of him this last year, with the kids living with me and his buying a house and all. we see each other at church most of the time and get to talk about 5 or so minutes when there. so we got to catch up some last night while standing at the end of the frozen food isle.

A Horse

2009-07-18T21:52:00.003-05:00

i have a horse as of last night. actually it is a magical item that summons a horse. yes i am a geek, and i play DnD (dungeons and dragons). i do not play computer games but pen and paper is great. last night we were playing and after the encounter we found a item that summons a magic horse. so i asked to have it. my character is a dragon born, meaning that i am part human and part dragon. so i am big and strong and scary, not to different then real life. but i am also and invoker, which means that i cast magic. i have a lot of fun with that, i am a range attacker, which allows me to sit back and case spells for far away. i can do a lot of damage if i get good rolls. however i do not roll very well most of the time, hitting my target about 1 in 4 times. yeah i think i need some loaded dice (hahaha). but i have fun playing, even though i have only been playing for a short while. but the important thing is that i have a horse.

Getting A Late Start Today

2009-07-17T16:02:00.000-05:00

Child Free

2009-07-15T03:03:00.002-05:00

last night both of the kids went to their mothers for the night. and maybe for the next 2 days. so i am home all by myself. i am looking forward to that.

Henry The Eighth

2009-07-10T00:00:00.000-05:00

here is Hermans Hermits with Henry the Eighth.

Turtle On The Loose

2009-07-09T16:45:00.002-05:00

we are all moved into the new apartment. so today we let the turtle loose on the floor. this is the first time that i have done this since i got him about 3 years ago. i think he rather liked it. i kept trying to hide under the desk, and once when i got up and walked across the room he took of running. he is surprisingly fast. it was fun watching him walk around. however we do still have some unpacking and arranging to do but the move is done thank the lord.

300

2009-07-07T12:44:00.002-05:00

today i post number 300. with that i also tell you that i am also off work all week. why? i am moving tomorrow, packing today, and i just needed time off. i am only moving across the hall of my apartment building. moving into a smaller apartment. both of my roommates are now gone. i am not looking forward to moving but it is a part of life. the worst part is the transfer of the utilities. i have to pay transfer fees for the gas and the electricity. i really feel that the utilities companies is a joke. they hold a monopoly. there is no other chooses for gas or electricity. but that is not important. i also found out that a friend of mine is going to be visiting her sister this weekend, she lives in tennessee. i did just see her 2 months ago, but i am hoping to get to see her again. the details still have to be worked out.

Stuck In The Head

2009-07-03T08:25:00.001-05:00

so the other day i had this song pop in my head, so why not.

Band Practice

2009-07-01T18:14:00.002-05:00

no i am not in a band. i myself do not play and instrument. however i am a big lover of music. one of the reasons that i love working sound for the church. sometime it is a drag, but most of the time i do not mind it. tonight is practice for sunday. having the band play in service is mostly new and we are working out the details how it all works together. but i have a issue with the organization of the group, or the lack there of. also the fact that half of the singers and some of the band members are not there is a bit annoying. grant it we have 2 drummers and 2 bass players. more then anything i get annoyed with the singers not showing up then expecting to sing on sunday when they have not practiced with the group. i suppose i the notion that if you are not there for practice you should not participate. maybe to many years of playing sports and that was the policy. oh well. i just felt like ranting while i was sitting here.

House Cleaning

2009-06-26T17:47:00.003-05:00

my daughter has been back from all her traveling now for about a week. and since she has been back she has been cleaning the apartment. this is something new, since she was young she has been very slobbish. she has been doing laundry and cleaning the bedroom, and the kitchen. she has even been keeping the bathroom straight, it is rather strange. it would be nice if she kept up with it, it is rather helpful.

A Little Grease In Your Life

2009-06-26T00:01:00.000-05:00

so i was sitting at home and songs from grease popped into my head. not that strange really. i always have some song running through my head. sometimes even when i am sleeping.

Friend

2009-06-22T16:04:00.003-05:00

i posted last week sometime about a friend that came into town. i had hoped to see her, but it was not looking like it was going to work out. well she extended her stay this last weekend and i got to see her yesterday, sunday. we went to a natural kind restaurant that she loved when she lived here. then we just hung out and talked. we had a good time just visiting.

A Little School House

2009-06-19T05:11:00.001-05:00

well it is friday again and here is a little something different. though not really from me i suppose.

Bowling

2009-06-18T00:26:00.002-05:00

i went bowling tonight with friends. it was a good time. i have not bowled in about 6 months, and i feel pretty good about the out come of my games. the first i was stinking it up during the first of it, but found my groove by the 9th frame. and turned a barely 100 game into a 125 game. one of the ladies, and several others, though was going to lose to her. i however won. my second game i was still working on my groove and ended with a 132. one of the guys decided that he was going to try and compete with me. he scored a 147. i was just there to have fun so i did not care. my 3rd game i had another guy trying to compete with me. and he was always with in a few pins of me. but my the 8th frame i took the lead and finished with a 166, only 5 pins short of my highest score. i do not know why everyone decided to compete with me, i am not that good of a bowler. but i am happy with my scores, win or lose.

The Kids Are Back

2009-06-15T04:11:00.003-05:00

well both the kids came back this weekend. my daughter was not suppose to come back until this next week. however with some breakdowns in communication she no longer had a ride back from her sisters. her sisters live about 460 miles away on the other side of the state. as it also works out i had other things going on this weekend so was not able go and get her. so my roommate drove out there and got her for me. i paid for gas and after 15 hours they got home sunday morning about 5 am. my son came home from camp saturday afternoon. i was working the concession stand at the College World Series that day, and my friend that drove down there as a counselor got back before i was done, so they went to relay for life. that is were i picked him up. ironically, the two guys that brought my kids back home are brothers. i think it kind of funny.

so my son had a really good time at camp. he has come back with a new interest in the bible. it is really touching, i have had to stop myself several times from crying with joy at his asking questions. saturday evening he was in the living room reading matthew, while i tried to get a nap.

my daughter was bored most of the time with her sisters. but she got to see her nephew be born. she is glad to be back. she is also decided not to be a vegetarian anymore. while she was visiting she did not tell her sisters that she did not eat meat. so she just ate what was there. she has decided to continue eating meat.

i volunteered to work the concession stand at the College World Series for a fund raiser. i am working it again on thursday. it was a lot of fun but a lot of work. i made about 200 nachos. and not just the chips and cheese nachos, but with meat, lettuce, onion, black olive, jalapenos, salsa and sour cream. they looked good but i was not about to eat anything, not because it was bad stuff, i was just not hungry. working with food does that to me. i think i would make a rather skinny chief. but then it would be the first time in my life that i was skinny. i also started with a group that plays dungeons and dragons on friday nights. this is the first time that i have ever played dnd, i have played other role playing games. i was fun, i look forward to getting to know the rest of the group. i was invited to the group by the sister and brother-in-law of a friend to the group. as it turns out i also knew one of the other guys, and he helped me with a lot of how to play. so that is this weekends updates.

Woo Hoo

2009-06-12T00:01:00.000-05:00

here is a little something different.

Traveling Friend

2009-06-10T23:24:00.002-05:00

as it i posted yesterday, my friend flew in today. she flew into Des Moines instead of Omaha because it was cheaper. but as it turns out she was not able to get a rental car. so she was stuck in Iowa until her parents could pick her up. so i would seem that i am not going to get to see her. kind of a bummer.

Visitor

2009-06-10T05:20:00.003-05:00

i have a friend coming into town today from Washington state. she has not been back here in almost 2 years. the sad thing is that she is coming back because her grandmother died. but i will get to see her before she heads out to her parents. i am very excited that we will get to hang out together, even if it is for one night.

Joining A Group

2009-06-09T04:03:00.002-05:00

as if i do not have enough to do during the week, i have joined a Dungeons and Dragons group that meets on friday night. i have never played Dungeons and Dragons before, though i have played other role playing games. so this should be fun.

Mashed Potatoes

2009-06-05T02:28:00.005-05:00

my roommate made dinner tonight for him and a friend. when i came home from practice at the church they where finishing up dinner and starting a movie. he offered me some food. when i looked at the pan of mashed potatoes, i thought, something is a muck with these. after a few minutes he asked me if i new how to make mashed potatoes? i responded that i did. he then asked me about the pan of potatoes. he then continued to explain how he made the potatoes. as it turns out he did not drain the water from the potatoes when they were done boiling. so they were watery. so we continued our discussion about how to make them properly. as i was leaving tonight i told him that he had just made my blog, and so he has.

Burnt Toast

2009-06-05T00:01:00.001-05:00

friday video. once again a video from my daughters friend.

I Don't Know

2009-05-31T19:12:00.002-05:00

i am not sure what i am feeling.

today my one roommate is starting to move some of his stuff out. my daughter is packing to leave tuesday for 2 weeks at her sisters. my son will be gone in a week for camp, and the other roomie is still waiting to hear about alaska. one of my good friends is leaving for cambodia tomorrow, we had a going away part today for her. it feels like everyone in my life is going to be gone. i do have other friends, but i am starting to feel abandanded. i have even spent lots of time with others for the last few weeks working on the building, but i have not spent good time with anyone. right now i feel like an island. i just feel so alone, however i do not want people around. i know that the later part is because i am having a pitty party for myself.

i am feeling a little better after talking to a roommate. he helped me to see that i really enjoy helping other people, being useful. talking while helping him carry a mini fridge down stairs. any way i have somethinking to do, but here is something to think about.

"Sing to God, sing praise to his name, extol him who rides on the clouds - his name is the LORD and rejoice before him. A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families, he leads forth the prisoners with singing but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land. Psalm 68:4-6"

Been A Long Week

2009-05-29T00:42:00.002-05:00

with all the work at the church and working memorial day and having both the kids for the last 2 weeks. and then i am looking to move next month, here is a little song that is kind of mellow.

Heart Sick

2009-05-27T02:47:00.000-05:00

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but the longing fulfilled is a tree of life. Proverbs 13:12

there are many things in life that we all desire. whether they be money, relationships, children, houses, jobs, success, etc. in the end we are all looking for happiness. there have been times in my life that i have felt heart sick. the feeling like the one thing that i want is just out of reach. i have come to find that what i desire often times will not make my life any easier, better maybe but not always. what i am coming to find is that they only thing that makes me life better is my relationship with God. i have had resent events work out in my life that points to God working. the feeling of being led to do things that seem out of the norm for me. beyond that, just letting God take care of things. not that i do nothing, but i put myself out there and allow God to guide my life. this does not change what it is the i desire, and God does not always give me what i want. but being surrendered to His will helps to put my heart and mind in a place where i feel good about my needs being met.

what i have to work on now is; not taking control when God is working things for my benefit. this is the real challenge. to often i see God working and with my over analytical mind i think i can figure this out. in essence i am saying 'thanks God, i can take it from here, i don't need you any more'. and then i fall flat on my face, like having the rug pulled out from under my feet. not that God is vengeful, but what is faith without surrender.

it has been my experience that God gives us little victories to keep us following his will for our lives, until the time He gives us what is meant for us, not always our desire but what is needed. however if we allow satan to bully our minds into thinking that God is preventing us getting what we desire, or He is not working fast enough, or to our best interest. these are some of the lies satan tells us about God and His control in our lives. a friend of mine wrote a great entry about the lies we tell ourselves that destroy our beliefs. her way of dealing with the lies is with scriptures. so with that i will end with this.

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back from captivity. Jeremiah 29:11-14

The Last Of Days

2009-05-25T05:16:00.002-05:00

sunday was a day of lasts. it was the last weekend at the old seventh day's building. so it was the last time that i had to set up sound, put out signs, put song books out, turn on lights, and unlock that building. so i have a new building to open and turn on lights. but i should not have much setup to do at all. everything is mounted, so i only have to put up the mics and turn everything on. it should be great. i am hoping that all the work i am putting in will pay off.

Happy Memorial Day

2009-05-25T02:50:00.003-05:00

happy memorial day. i am here at work. so far i have done more work then i do on a regular night. but that is more to do with the fact that i am here by myself. though i have had 2 phone calls and made one to a user that was having password issues. later i will be sleeping, then i might run up to the church for a while. then back to work. make that 3 calls so far, all from the same guy though.

tonight i had dinner with 2 friends, twin sisters. there birthdays are this week, so i invited then over for dinner. thinking that it would be just the 3 of us hanging out and having dinner. as it turned out i had to pick up my son sunday afternoon. one of my roommates cars broke down this morning, so he was home. then my daughter and the other roommate's girlfriend showed up, then my roommate came home. so we had a full house. we still had fun. played some cards and talked, had dinner and cake.

28 Hours

2009-05-23T21:15:00.002-05:00

this week i have put in 28 hours at the new church building. coming to a grand total of 69 hours for the last 3 weeks. you might think that we were building a new building with all the time it is taking. but for the last 2 days we have been working on the projector and screen. we have been working on mounting them to the ceiling that is about 20 feet up. today we got it completed. now that all the major projects are out of the way all i have left is small finishing work. i hope to be done soon. as a side note. a friend of mine and her twin sister are having there birthdays this week. i think they should have chosen a different weekend to do it. but that is not my chose. anyway i have invited them over for dinner on sunday. i just found out that they are going to come over, it should be fun. sadly i have to work memorial day. however i did volunteer for it, so i have only myself to blame. but at double time and a half, that is nothing to sneeze at. so i have to run off to the store and get some food for tomorrow.

No More Tears, No More Pain, And No More Fears.

2009-05-22T15:51:00.003-05:00

on monday i was at a bible study, as i am every monday. as i sat there i realized that i had a friend that was in need. i also did not want to be there on monday. so i decided to leave before things got started. as i was driving down the interstate i called him, and we decided to hang out together. we ended up going to a lake here in town, man made that is, and go for a walk. as we walked the lake trail we talked about how the both of us were doing and feeling about things in our lives. then we started to pray together. as he was finishing he said something that triggered the memory of the song below. the song i heard on the way to his house.

i looked back on that night of hanging out and talking and praying, also the perfect way that the song worked out in our talk and my hearing it. i feel led by the spirit that night. led to leave the study and join my friend, led to the song that was so relevant, as i listen to it again i know that the trials of this world are temporary, and i am encouraged to strive for that day. the day there is no more tears, no more pain, and no more fear. i hope you enjoy the song.

I Hate Being Sick

2009-05-21T00:19:00.002-05:00

so i have a cold. got it last week. i would like to return it, but i do not know were i got it. one of my co-workers is know out sick, and he is off for the rest of the week and part of next week. it started out like allergies, but i think it is more then that. so i have not been feeling like posting a whole lot. plus other then working on the new church building and working and running the kids all over the place, i have not had a whole lot to talk about. though i have to tell you that i filled up the gas tank yesterday before coming into work. on my way into work tonight i noticed that with in 24 hours of filling up i had driven 97.5 miles. almost a hundred miles in a 24 hour period. and that is with sleeping and working 8 hours and working 3 hours at the church. when do i have the time to drive that much in a town as small as omaha. and i have only been on the west side to the town. i spend way to much time in my car.

Plus One

2009-05-18T16:07:00.002-05:00

i am now again plus one. my son is now living with us again for the next 2 weeks until school ends. the kids mom moved to a new apartment and is quit a distance from his school. so am i as a matter of fact, however i at least have a car and can drive him to school. what this means is that i have also had to adjust my scheduled at work so that i can get them to school on time. i really do not like doing that either. i know she is trying to do what she thinks is best for herself and the kids. as a result she has a tendency of inconveniencing my life.

Rock Concert

2009-05-16T08:51:00.002-05:00

last night i went to a rock concert with my roommate and a group of other friends. there was 7 of us total. there were 4 bands 2 of them i had never heard of and still do not know who they are. but i did get to see Killswitch Engage and Disturbed. it was a great show. loud, and sweaty, and i am sore. i am starting to get my voice back. i got to mosh for the first time in my life. now i have to go and work most of the day at the new church building. it is going to be a long day.

Friday And I Am Off

2009-05-15T00:16:00.002-05:00

well it is friday and i am off for the night. i have been working at the new church building for the last two days and i will be there most of saturday. but i have been able to help with framing 2 walls and running electrical to the ministers office and putting in insulation. tomorrow they begin the dry wall. this saturday we are hoping to finish up some of the sound stuff and put up the projector and screen. so here is a lovely video and song for you all to enjoy.

Thunder

2009-05-13T16:11:00.002-05:00

we have been having thunder storms for the last few days. and it has been great. i love sleeping while it rains. even the thunder and lighting do not bother me. but yesterday the coolest thing happened. i was laying there in bed half asleep, when there was a loud crack of thunder. i think it must have been close by because for the first time ever i felt my bed shake from the force. i thought it was so cool. i was reminded that God is powerful and in control.

this morning at work about 4:30 there was another storm coming through and the sound of the rain beating on the windows behind me was fantastic. it was hard to stay awake during the on-slot. by the time i left work it was clearing up and this afternoon is warm and mostly sunny, the humidity is starting to get bad. i hope the night is nice.

What The Squirrel!!!

2009-05-11T22:21:00.002-05:00

so i was on my way to the monday night bible study when i smelled rubber and heard a strange thumping noise. as it turns out i had a flat tire. so i changed it out and got on my way. but this really sucks. mainly because i do not have the money to fix it, my tires start at about $120 a piece. i know that is ridiculous, but when i bought the car it had low profile wheels on it. well i just God will provide.

Busy Work Weekend

2009-05-10T07:06:00.003-05:00

well our church is not the proud owner of a building as of this last thursday. i think i mentioned that on thursday we had a picnic there at the new building. and that was when the work began for me. i started moving all the sound equipment over that we had in storage for the last year. friday was another work day. one of my roommates is a an electrician and works with his father. his father has been in bands and working with sound equipment since before i was born. so he and i started friday looking at what was going to be required to get the system overhauled and up and running. so we started pulling things apart testing the equipment and devising a plan. as it happens the former church owners had left some speakers and the sound system. saturday was the work day. we fixed a few of the mic plugs in the floor. pulled down the old speakers, and put up ours. changed out some lights. ran about a hundred feet of speaker cables and cat 5. connected out sound system and fitted and mounted the mic into the lectern. then we got to play with it and try to EQ it all. there is much work yet to be done. however we are getting there.

today i already set up for church and shortly have to take my daughter to work, then i am having breakfast with a friend from tennessee who is headed out of town today. then i hope to call my mom on the west coast, and then sleep as much as possible today just to go to work tonight. then the crazy week begins again.

New Building

2009-05-08T03:58:00.002-05:00

yesterday out church bought there first building yesterday. so we had a picnic to look at the building and hang out. i set some sound equipment and played music. i spent most of the night talking to people about the sound system and stuff. i am headed there tonight to work on the sound system and make sure that things work, and figure out what we need. it was a good night but i was busy the whole time. i may be there all weekend working on things.

Something Different

2009-05-08T00:01:00.001-05:00

it is friday. and here is something different. i have always liked crooner music. it is crazy to think the this guy is my age. i hope you enjoy. this is one of my daughters favorite songs.

Ambiguous Post

2009-05-05T18:17:00.003-05:00

today i am in a funk. i am not sure as to why exactly. i am a little stressed. one of my roommates is moving out in the middle of the month and then it will just be two of us and my daughter. i am worried about affording our place. i am still trying to work out the whole ex-wife thing and her trying to move.

on top of that i am feeling really alone. the strange thing is that i spend almost every night hanging out with groups of people. i have a bible study on monday, tuesday and wednesday. sunday i am at church, and this thursday we are having a picnic at the new church building that we just purchased. there is not end of the people that i am around. though it is not uncommon for me to feel completely alone in a crowd. furthermore, i am really tired of being single. i know that no relationship will fulfill my every need, but i want to have someone that is special to my heart. that we have a mutual claim on. someone to hold hands with, and bicker with. to tease and talk to and share my feeling with. i really dislike feeling this way. not because i am a man and should not profess such things, but because i feel empty and useless.

i suppose that i see my roommate and his girlfriend, and how happy they are together. and almost all my friends are married and have families. and knowing that i have this unrequited love for someone. the grass is not greener comes to mind. but regardless, being in my own head is not a safe place for me to be.

Have A Good Weekend

2009-05-01T14:05:00.002-05:00

it is friday and i just woke up. so you know what that means. that's right it is time for the youtube video of the week. i have been listening to Christian music, as i have told you all. my daughter is not really to fond of the idea, but the other day this song was on and i had it kind of low. she asked me to turn it up, because she likes this one. so maybe it is starting to seep in.

Upside Down

2009-04-30T03:14:00.002-05:00

well the tell the truth, it has been a really trying 2 weeks. still dealing with the ex and the kids. living my life and trying to survive it all. i have not been around much this week because i have not wanted to share about the stuff that is going on. there is much that i will not talk about. but it would look as if i have sidestepped the ex moving to Arizona. i told her that i would not approve of her moving to Arizona. since she will most likely not to go to court and try and get the judges approval, i am not to concerned now. she is still talking about moving. she told our daughter tonight that she was thinking of moving to a smaller town that is about an hour from were we live. as inconvenient as that is it is still better then moving across the country. i have been blessed with many good friends that have proved to be a support for me in this time.