Light of Truth and Hope

Audacity of Hopelessness

2009-01-07T23:31:00.006-05:00

I find it very sad that people have put all their faith and hope on a person that is no better than you or I. If you haven't figured out by the title I am talking about Obama. I want to state up front that I have nothing against the man. He is my president, I will support and pray for him. I may not agree with everything he does, but I battled the lines and voted so I have the right to complain when the time comes. With all that being said, I am talking about the Messiah complex everyone is attaching to him. Everyone assumes he is going to usher in a new era of peace and prosperity. A time when we would not be at war defending our nation from those who want to do us harm. A time when we, as a nation, would not be in economic turmoil and would return to be an economic juggernaut with the dollar being far superior to all other forms of currency.
I have dire news. This will not happen immediately. It may not happen in the next four years. How do I know this? Obama is human. Congress is also full of human beings. Human beings are fallen, and have missed the mark that is the glory of God. Remember when the Democrats took control a couple of years ago. They said they would not write anymore blank checks for Bush and Co. Except they did that. They said they would push for a time table and have our troops home soon. They tried to push and nothing happened. While everyone is caught up in the idea that Obama and the Democrats are going to save the country, let us not forget that the Republicans were not the only ones who helped the country fall to this low.
Sorry for the sidetrack, I was talking about the Messiah hopes everyone has for Obama. He can no more make peace in the middle east than he can make Swiss cheese without holes. He cannot single-handily save the nation from the downward spiral that it is in. His historic win is wonderful. I am glad to be in a country that decided to look past ethnicity and vote for someone they believed in.
I seem to be rambling, what I am trying to say is that our hope should not be put into flesh and blood. Human beings cannot be the basis of all hope. It seems that those who are truly looking for some hope are latching onto whatever they can. There is a hopelessness in America that has not been seen for some time. This hopelessness is derived from the fact that people have put their faith in the stock market and it has tanked. They turn to leaders and they have been disappointing. They are trying to find something that is going to make them feel good. Then along comes a man that is a really good orator. They latch onto him because they see in him something they have been looking for, hope.
As I said we should not put our faith in something that looks like hope, because it may not come. Our hope and our faith needs to rest solely on Jesus Christ. He is the only one that can fill the void in our lives. Hope needs to be seen in Christians who will stand up for those who are less fortunate. We need to take the light out into the dark corners of this great country of ours. The time has come for hopelessness to be vanquished. A great spiritual awakening is coming to the land. There are birth pangs of this awakening happening all over the place. Hopelessness will disappear, we will see a new era of peace. A time where the discussion of the day would be Christ centered and not centered on the latest happenings in Hollywood.
Oh, how I hope and pray for this great day to come when the Lord would be known once more throughout the land. I pray for the coming of the spirit to pour revival out onto all of the land. Come, Lord Jesus, Come.

Quick Update

2008-12-22T19:23:00.002-05:00

I've been told I need to update. I really have nothing new to say, except that I have graduated. I am still in Louisville. I am working on paperwork with the Board. We are surviving. If I have an interesting thought I want to share with the world I will write a new post. I now this is short, but the title says a quick update. So there it is.
Until I post again, remember what the imminent philosopher Red Green would always say: "Keep your stick on the ice."

A Thought

2008-04-15T13:10:00.004-05:00

Poverty. This has been something that has been discussed in a class recently. It is interesting to see how explosive a discussion of poverty can be. I have recently finished a book about squatters called "Shadow Cities: A Billion Squatters, A New Urban World." One of the things brought out in this book is that some of the people who are living in these squatter communities are quite happy. They do not care about property ownership, if offered a title deed they might take it. However, this would mean for some they would have to go deeper into debt. It is easier for them to live in an illegal city than in the legal one.
Many believe those that are in poverty stricken areas hate it there and want nothing more than to move out. While this is true for some, it is not necessarily true for all. I applaud those that have been able to get out of the poverty areas, yet there are those that are still there. It is heart wrenching to see these people in dire need of help. What is the answer for these people?
I have none. The reason I say this is because whatever model I come up with is from an outsider's perspective. I have not been in these communities. I would have an etic approach to all of this. The poor will always be with us. We do need to help, that is obvious. How far can one go without allowing the people to become dependent? This is a question worth pondering.
That part of the post was written about two months ago. Recently I traveled to Honduras with my Church and got to see some abstract poverty up close. While we were there we pondered the exact same question. How to help these people? There was so much that these people needed that it was impossible for us to even begin to scratch the surface while we were there for one week. We just had to think through what could possibly be done. One thought was to buy some land for them so they could be able to farm the land, turn a profit, and live better lives. I, of course, pointed out how this would not help the people.
They would not become self-sufficient as they should. Instead they would become dependent upon the church. The church provided the land, they should be able to provide the money for the crops, and then the money for the tools to harvest the crops. This leads to providing money to help them reach the marketplace to sell the crop. This is a never ending cycle of needing money from the church to do more . The argument could of course be that once they make money, they would begin to pay the church back. Of course, the time for Coffee to grow and be harvestable is a long time. Which makes the money that the church needs to get paid back harder to have all the time. Instead of the money staying in Honduras it would go back to the church which is backing the production. This means the poor will stay poor and the church will slowly recoup the losses. This does not work.
One of the problems I think several of us were having was we were not thinking like they do. While we see a problem with people leaving the village to get a better life and send some money back, they really do not. This is what has always happened, it is in fact the trend for the world. The majority of the world's population is living in the city. Rural outposts like the one we were in are becoming scarce. Some are becoming ghost towns overnight, while more and more squatter communities are rising.
What can be done to help those in abstract poverty like we saw, without them becoming dependent or staying poor? I do not know. Whatever the answer, those who are poor need to be involved and they should not be stereotyped as something ugly. Because the majority of them are not the way many people think they are.

Update

2008-01-10T16:53:00.000-05:00

Well, it has been a long time since I have updated. Not sure what has prevented me from doing so. Wait, I remember school, work, marriage, etc. Life happened. Let me try and catch everyone up to speed since July 25, my last post. Nothing really happened in August, other than school starting. In September, Rebecca's parents and sister came up for a visit during Labor Day weekend. We traveled across the bluegrass seeing various touristy spots. (Not really my cup of tea, as I am an off the beaten path traveler) October came and marked the passing of my grandfather. It was a very sad time as I was really close to him, we took the week off and went home for the funeral. I did not miss any school as it was during fall break, I would have missed school anyway. November came and we had our first thanksgiving in our apartment. After that was the crazy greed season at all the retail stores, lucky me I work in one. Christmas came and we were able to go home for a little while.
Now it is January and we are in the middle of planning an m-trip to Honduras in June. There are 19 individuals traveling, the ages range from 11 to 66. This is an amazing group. Things are coming together better than I had thought they would. We (Rebecca and I) have also been given the opportunity to go overseas by the end of the year for a 2-3 year term with the board. We are still praying through this and have a meeting with a professor and his wife tomorrow night to discuss it some more. That is all, I will try to update more this year. Yeah, right.

Providence rocks!

2007-07-25T13:22:00.000-05:00

Well, as many of you know I got married. I do not have any pics, yet. When I do I will try to put some up. (That is for those who were not able to make it to the wedding). We have been in the apartment in the 'Ville now for a couple of weeks and a lot of things have happened. This past Sunday we moved our membership to the church we attend here in Kentucky. On Tuesday we made a trip to the Social Security office, so Rebecca could get her name changed on her Social Security card. (We had finally received the official copy of our license last week). After having a rousing wait of approximately 40 minutes, in a place that ... there is no nice way of describing the room or those in it, so I will not describe it. I'm sure there were some people there that were not as bad as they looked. I have seen worse at state fairs. Moving on, we get back to the apartment to grab some lunch before we go get our driver's licenses. We did not make it, because I got a call about a job interview that afternoon and then our washer and dryer showed up. This is a washer and dryer that we did not have to pay for, that's pretty sweet.
I go to my job interview and am handed the job without a real interview. The questions were along the lines of: "So you can work on what days? How does $8.50 an hour sound? Can you come in tonight for orientation?" Needless to say, I had the job because I showed up for the interview. I knew they were desperate for people and I was desperate for a job. It was a perfect fit.
We got our driver's licenses this morning, I am now an official resident of Kentucky.
God has worked providentially in our lives in the last week, and for this we are grateful and thankful. It truly is amazing to see how God works in our lives when we put full faith and trust in Him.

My New/Old Kentucky Home

2007-05-22T11:12:00.000-05:00

Well, I've moved from the top of the hill at Seminary to the bottom. I've been unpacking, looking for furniture, and a washer/dryer. However, I'm bored out of my mind because I do not have any classes and I am not working right now. This just gives me more time to not do anything at all. Needless to say I'm bored and will continue to be so until something happens, i.e. hopefully a job offer. I'm writing this because I thought I might update this, I have no news or anything to discuss. Just that I'm bored and I'm moved into the new apartment.

Wait a minute

2007-04-20T13:49:00.000-05:00

I had been doing some research for some papers on a particular people group (the Tartars of Russia) and had a thought. Maybe after Seminary, me and Rebecca should go to Alaska to reach the Russians that are there and then maybe go to Russia later. I'm not sure where that came from and I'm not sure why I'm posting it now. However, after looking at the the Web site peoplegroups.info I found out that in all of Alaska there are approximately 5,250 people of Russian ancestry. Out of those 5,250, approximately 900 claim Russian nationality. However, approximately 2,000 speak the Russian language. That's pretty cool, I have yet to find out if there are any churches being planted among the Russian people in Alaska. I'm still trying to figure out why I'm thinking about this and all that jazz.

Church Fathers

2007-04-06T10:11:00.000-05:00

You’re St. Justin Martyr!

You have a positive and hopeful attitude toward the world. You think that nature, history, and even the pagan philosophers were often guided by God in preparation for the Advent of the Christ. You find “seeds of the Word” in unexpected places. You’re patient and willing to explain the faith to unbelievers.

Find out which Church Father you are at The Way of the Fathers!

Post your results in the comments section.

Escape to Nature

2007-03-25T17:07:00.000-05:00

Not content with spending a beautiful day indoors watching TV or reading, I went out. Not content with the seminary campus, I went out looking for nature. Not content with the manmade parks, I went out. Out to the edge of the urban sprawl. Out to the Jefferson Memorial Forest. I went to read and admire God's providence and creation. To glory the King of Kings, I went out.
I arrive at the forest after getting lost with directions from MapQuest. I go to the Welcome Center, which is closed, and find no parking. Undeterred I entered the recreation center looking for parking. I found the lake; it is more like a glorified pond. Yet, big enough to be classified as a lake. I quickly find parking and then I'm out exploring the forest. I brought with me my backpack; in it are my notebook, Bible, and a book I hoped to read. I also have my water bottle. I will need it.
I walk down the road looking for a way down to the lake area, where people are bar-be-cueing, fishing, having birthday parties, spending time with family. They like me, wanted to escape to nature. I find my way down and notice benches by the lake, I do not head that way. I am looking for quiet and solitude. There are children playing and laughing on the playground. Loudly. I am not content with being by the lake. I set out on the first trail I find: The Tulip Tree Trail. Forty-five seconds into it, I hear no playground noise. I pass parents with their children, teaching them about nature. I'm looking for a secluded bench where I can sit, read, and reflect. At the end of the 0.2-mile trail, I find a shelter. It is occupied. No good.
I turn around and head back. Back past the parents, I just walked by. Back to the playground. I walk past it to a new trail. This trail will take me along the edge of the forest and the lake. It is beautiful. It is mid-afternoon and the sun is casting shadows of the trees on the lake. People are catching frogs. Little girls telling their dads that they want him to catch two. There is the smell of pine trees intermingled with the smell of fresh water intermingled with the smell of food cooking over a fire. I am happy.
This trail leads to a decision. Do I continue ahead to the Welcome Center behind a family of 6? Do I turn left and head toward the Purple Heart Trail? Or do I turn right and head up the hill to a new place, where there seems to be no one?
I turn right, because the trail seemed to be alone like I was. This new trail leads up away from the lake. Up a hill and into the words. The sounds of happy families fade behind. There is no road sounds. No sounds of civilization at all, except for the occasional airplane. The only noise that could be heard was the noise of God's creation. Leaves rustling. Squirrels scampering around. The quiet, almost inaudible trickling of a brook. Absolute joy.
This trail has taken me to another fork. One up the hill, the other a ridgeline. There is a bee circling the trail ascending the hill, as to say danger. I opt for the ridgeline path. I am not disappointed. The view is breathtaking. Rolling hills covered with leaves, fallen trees, and nothing man made. God's creation as it should be. This trail is circling around the top of the hill. Wait, is that another trail? One that looks abandoned? It is! I must take it.
This forgotten path is not too overgrown with thorn bushes. I press on. To my left is the forest, to my right a house at the bottom of the hill. I begin to believe the path leads there. I stop for a drink of water where the path descends the hill. Three females come up behind me and head down. I wait on them to descend a little.
I put my water in my backpack. I strap around me, tightening it up. I'm ready to go down. However, I notice the path does dead end at the house. I turn around and go back to the other path. Unfortunately, the three females did not notice this on top of the hill like I did. They are at the bottom.
I go back to the previous path. Still in my quest for a place to sit, read, and reflect. The path leads up the hill and comes to a T-intersection with another path. One leads down the hill, most likely back to the lake. The other leads back up the hill for what could be a breathtaking view. I go up.
Up I walk. Reaching the summit and view the lake and the surrounding woods. I say to myself, "This is beautiful." I turn to continue on the path and I notice the airport in the distance. Even in 600+ acre forest, the urban sprawl finds its way in. It bothers me just for a few seconds. I go down the hill and join the path I was just on. Back to the three-way decision intersection.
This time I opt for the Welcome Center. I head that way and look to my left and see a small clump of pines. "I want to sit beneath those," I say to myself. "After the Welcome Center." I head on. This trail is too close to the road. The cars passing by disturb the tranquility. The birds and insect noises are not enough to quiet out the road noises from motorcyclists revving their engines and cars with their stereo's turned up too loud. I get a headache.
I stop for a moment on a bridge that is over a small creek and listen to the sound of the water as it cascades down the hill. A motorcycle interrupts this moment. I turn and press on toward the Welcome Center. I reach it and I am amazed at how much noise there is at this time of day at an out of the way place. I cross the road, in hopes of finding a new trail. I did not, yet I stop and admire the war memorial plague in front of the flagpole. I take a short break on a trail dedicated to Kentucky park workers. I then head back to the woods.
Back across the road. Back to the pines that beckoned me earlier. I make it to the pines. I get off the trail and blaze a new one to the group. I find no real place to sit. The ground is covered in thorn bushes. I have to give up that dream. I head back to the trail. I head to the pavilion at the end of the Tulip Tree Trail in hopes that it is empty. It is.
Beside the pavilion is a path that leads up a hill; I decide not to take it. I leave it for another day. I sit down and do not read. I start writing. I'm there for approximately 20 minutes, when a family disrupts my peace. I thought they would go on another trail. They did not. They seemed to have no regard for my privacy. I finish what I was writing and I head back to my car.
My feet hurt. My legs are a little wobbly. I am hot and sweaty. It has been worth it all. I may not have done what I had set out to do. Yet, what I received was worth much more. There are more paths to explore. More things to do there. I leave them for another day. Today, I am tired and head back to civilization. Next time, I will bring my camera and friends.

A Year Later . . .

2007-03-24T16:26:00.000-05:00

It's been a year since I went to Russia and had a life-changing experience there. It was during that trip that I felt a real call to that country. Just a couple of months later, Rebecca felt the same call when she was in Russia. Talk about providence. To commemorate this milestone, I will post some photos from that trip. Enjoy.

Memorial to the unknown soldiers.

Monument listing names of people politically repressed, i.e. died in prisons, camps, or simply disappeared, during the reign of Josef Stalin.

There were literally name upon names. This was just for the area around Ekaterinburg, not for the entire country.

This is a statue of Tsar Nicolas II and his family outside of a church built on the site of where they were brutally murdered.

One of the churches at the monastery dedicated to the Tsar Nicolas II and his family. It is built around the site where they were buried after their murder.

One of the children in the orphanage we went to, it was really cool.

Some more children at the orphanage.

The gang from the baptist college in Florida and myself in the most recognizable Russian Orthodox Church in the world, St. Basil's.

300: A Review

2007-03-17T13:19:00.000-05:00

You should know some things before going into this movie. It is based on a graphic novel; there are some fantasy elements in it. While the battle actually happened in history, however the movie is not historically accurate. Why would some of the best warriors in the known world at that time not wear any body armor? They may be the delta force of their time, but they are definitely not stupid enough to go against the biggest army of the time without body armor. There is also no mention of the sea battle that was going on at the same the 300 Spartans were battling it out. The reason for the use of only 300 Spartans was not really because the oracle said the army could not march, but because they were battling it out in a mountain pass. It only takes a small amount of forces to hold off an army of thousands. As said in the movie the Persians, numbers meant nothing. In addition, Xerxes is not stupid enough to send his calvary into a mountain pass; there is not enough room for them to maneuver.
While there are a number of historical inaccuracies within the movie, one cannot write the movie off for that. The battle sequences were well done, showing exactly what battle would have been like in 480 B.C. There is an ebb and flow in battle. There is a lot of violence, with a lot of dismembering of Persians. There is a beheading of a Spartan and several beheadings of Persians. Although, there is a lot of dismemberments in the movie there is not a whole lot of blood. The director, Zack Snyder, had the blood digitally animated so he could control it in each and every shot. This leaves the movie with the artistic look of a graphic novel, which is what Snyder was going for.
Cinematographically this movie looks beautiful. Each frame could be its own painting. It does have a small comic book feel to the visuals, but supposedly each shot is based off each frame of the graphic novel. With a few extra thrown in to help the plot line.
If you are looking for an epic movie that has a lot of heart-pounding action scenes, equally placed with dialogue then this movie is for you. However, if you are looking for a movie that is full of action-scenes, good dialogue, and turns into soft-core porn 15-minutes into it, then what is wrong with you?
The last thing to know before watching this movie is it is rated R not for the violence but because of the sexuality and nudity. The MPAA stated that it contains some sexuality and nudity. I do not call a lesbian, Persian orgy some sexuality and nudity. That is a lot of sexuality and nudity. Ten to fifteen minutes into the movie, King Leonidas goes to visit the Ephors and they consult the oracle. The oracle does her seductive dance topless. Well, not completely topless, she is wearing a cloth that is so sheer she might as well be topless. The very next scene starts with Leonidas talking with his wife that suddenly turns into a sex scene. While I am happy that Hollywood is showing a sex scene between a husband and wife, I did not need to see it shown so graphically. Let us not forget that at the end of the movie a council member rapes the queen. Thankfully, the director has the decency not to show this, he does show the beginning of it. Everyone in the audience knows what happened. I do not think I need to talk about the lesbian orgy scene. All that needs to be said is it is explicit.
What could have potentially been a good movie that I would want to own on DVD is not due to the nudity and the explicit sex scenes. If anyone has not seen this movie, know what you are getting into before watching it. Do not go and see it if you can help it. I do not recommend it at all.

A little rant

2007-02-28T13:28:00.000-05:00

All right. I have had it with those emails that tell you if you love Jesus then you will send this email to 500 people and he will bless you. Or, if you really love your family send this email to everyone of them. I just got one a second time, probably from the same person I'm not sure. It starts off talking about untimely death. It proceeds to quote Galatians 6:7, "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows." The email then goes on tell stories of people dying after certain events. It starts with this one: "JOHN LENNON: Some years before, during his interview with an American Magazine, he said: "Christianity will end, it will disappear. I do not have to argue about that. I am certain. Jesus was ok, but his subjects were too simple, today we are more famous than Him" (1966). Lennon, after saying that the Beatles were more famous than Jesus Christ, was shot six times."
Now most people that know some sort of history of the past two decades knows that John Lennon was shot in 1980, that's 14 years later. Coincidence? Most likely. There are several other examples, but this one is stupid. Is there a good chance that Lennon was misquoted? Sure. Was what he said or quoted as having said wrong? Yes. However, I do not believe a person should take Galatians 6:7 as meaning if you mock God you will die soon after saying it. This is not what that text is saying.
Look at the context of the verse. While it does say that one cannot mock God, the next verse says that one who sows according to one's sinful nature will reap destruction from that nature, the one who sows from the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. It is not saying that those who sow sin will die because of it, because we all will die. Those who sow and reap from their sinful nature and those who sow and reap to the Spirit will die physically. While those who sowed to the Spirit will live on in heaven, those who sowed according to their sinful flesh's desire will not. This is what is being said here.
These verses are found in the midst of Paul's discussion about bringing a brother or sister in Christ back into the fold when they are found to be in sin. After these verses, Paul discusses doing good to all people, especially those who are believers.
This type of attitude of blaming Lennon's assassination on his quote in a magazine 14-years before, is reminiscent of what happened after he said it. People burned their records, told them they were going straight to hell and so forth. Is it any wonder they fled into the hands of Eastern mystic religion?
Whatever happened to showing our neighbors we love them? Whatever happened to doing good to all people? John Lennon is most likely in hell reaping what he sowed, because Evangelicals in America pushed him away from Christianity more than they know. You think you are doing good, but sometimes you really aren't.

The Gagging of Babies

2007-02-23T17:51:00.000-05:00

I was perusing the BBC News European home page today, because it is the only Web site I enjoy that gives me truly international news, and I came across a story about a hospital in Yekaterinburg, Russia that were gagging babies to keep them quiet. There were two stories on this topic. The first was the initial reporting of the incident that happened earlier this month, actually it was caught on someone's camera phone earlier this month. The second story was talking about the plight of orphans and the otkazniki-children abandoned at hospitals by their parents.
The initial story was telling of how this patient at Hospital No. 15 in the city heard muffled crying of babies. When she went to investigate the noise, she found a nursery just down the hall from her where babies had tape over their mouths to keep them quiet. These children were just a few months old. The nurses said they did it because they were making too much noise for them to work. The children were abandoned because the parents could not take care of them for one of several reasons: financial reasons, alcoholism, drug abuse, or they just don't want them.
This tragedy is one that is found all across Russia, the tragedy of abandoning babies at a hospital not the gagging part that truly is horrible. The UNICEF representative for Russia and Belarus said this incident is a first for him, however the problem of otkazniki is one he has been pushing Russian authorities to address, they have remained silent. Maybe with national and international outrage on the abuse at Hospital No 15 they will finally look into this issue. Here's an excerpt from the story:
"Hospital staff are trained to care for the sick - they are not trained to deal with the cognitive and emotional development of babies," he (the UNICEF representative, Carel de Rooy) told the BBC News website.
"This has serious implications both for the development and long-term health of the child."
Given the potential for damage to these babies' make-up, why do they get left in hospital? The answer, Maxim Gareyev explains, is lack of resources.
"We simply do not have enough children's homes in Sverdlovsk [the region around Yekaterinburg] and Russia in general," he says.
"These babies get left in hospitals but there are no funds or trained medical staff or special facilities for caring for them.
"Of course, the hospitals make space for these babies but the problem is that in the first year of life a baby needs to be cuddled, it needs to be talked to, if it is to develop as a human being."
What is the answer for this problem? Well, there obviously needs to be more staffing at hospitals to take care of this and for there to be more orphanages in Sverdlovsk and the whole of Russia. However, that may not be enough. The true answer to this problem is found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. When the life/heart changing message of the Gospel is presented and people turn 180-degrees to follow Christ and become believers the social problems will begin to disappear. I am not spouting liberation theology, at least that is not my intent, I am saying that in time, how much time I do not know, there is a change in the lives of the believers to where they will not want to abandon babies in the hospital. There is a challenge before believers to take the gospel so incidents like this will not happen, however we are not going like we should. There should be such an outpouring of people wanting to go to all the nations that mission boards will have to turn people away because there is too many applications not because local churches are not giving.
The local church needs to partner with workers overseas and here in the states so that they can minister more effectively in their areas. This partnership should entail praying for the workers, giving to the workers financially, and going to visit the workers and help out when they can. Why do we not take care of the widow and orphans like we should? Throughout the Bible we are told to do so, yet we do not. Why? The early church used to take in babies that were left to the elements so that they would not die. Why does the church of today not do this? Why are we so concerned with internal things and less concerned about external things? Of course I speak of the church here in the West. I wish I had an answer to these questions, but I do not.
If you want to read the stories yourself go to the BBC Web site and look for the story.

Friggin' Cars pt. 3

2007-02-20T16:41:00.000-05:00

Well, I did some work on my car this afternoon. Hoping that I could fix it. It is somewhat better, but I do not believe that it is completely fixed. Instead of running really, really rough and almost dying on me. It is instead, I don't know exactly how to describe it, surging. If that makes any sense. I'm not sure if that was the fuel injector cleaner working or not, however it did run for fifteen minutes without trying to die or actually dying. Which is a vast improvement. Whether it was the fact that I changed the air filter or the fuel filter from earlier or the fuel injector cleaner doing its job. It is doing much better, however, it is still not so good. So to recap, my car is leaving the ICU. The condition has been upgraded from critical to improving. There's still a long row to hoe and my car can use the prayer. You laugh, but I have prayed for my car the last two times I have worked on it. So far, I'll I've got was a car that was improving. It is working if you want to believe or not, so there.
In other news, the planning for the honeymoon which I thought was beginning to hit a snag with airfare to Vienna being so expensive. However, I know a guy who knows a guy and is getting me cheaper airfare. And there was much rejoicing: Yeah.

An Open Letter about Love

2007-02-14T10:33:00.000-05:00

Dear Friends,
I am writing this letter in response to comments I have been hearing and notes I have read on Facebook. Why do a lot of you hate Valentine's Day? I'm not saying that I love it. It really is not one of my favorite days of the year, however I suck it up and take it like a man. That is I wait until the last minute to do anything. However, for those of you who hate this day, hate it because you are alone. While you will never admit this it is true.
The friends that I have who are single fall into one of three categories. Category one are those who do not want to look for a relationship right now and are content. Category two are those who say they do not want to look for a relationship but secretly are and they are not content. Category three are those who are looking for a relationship and will not be content until they have one. While there is nothing wrong with being single, I myself was single for 23 years before dating Rebecca (those doing the math will realize that was how old I was when we started dating), there is something wrong with your attitudes. Those who are content have a good attitude. Those who are not looking and not content generally have a good attitude. Those of you who are looking and will never be content until there is someone in your life, generally have a bad attitude.
While I will name no names in this letter, I want to make sure I am talking to you. Also be aware that this letter is not directed toward anyone but to all of my single brothers and sisters in Christ. I have word of advice for all of you who have this bad attitude. Get over it. Those that I am addressing this to are adults. Start acting like adults. Shut up and get over it. So you do not have anyone, suck it up. You can read all the Christian dating books that tell all about how to find someone all you want to, I did not. Nor did I have any desire to do so. If you think those strategies will work for you then do it. If you do not think they will work for you then don't do it.
You want to know what worked for me. Prayer. I prayed a lot for God to send someone to me. Especially, during my first year at Seminary. It was stressful, for those who are there or have been there you know what I mean. There were nights after spending all night locked in my room writing a paper I would get on my face and plead with God to send someone. God answered the earnest pleading of my heart. For those who are about to take this route or those who have tried prayer and may not have given an earnest pleading, don't lost hope.
Until the Lord sends someone to you, deal with your loneliness by fully relying on the Lord to be your constant companion. It was during those times where I was struggling with my loneliness and pleading earnestly to the Lord that I grew in my walk with him. He taught me a lot and he can do it for you.
Maybe waiting for the right person will work for you. Maybe calling off dating for a while will work for you. I do not know what will work. However, if you feel the stress rising and the loneliness getting a little too much, fall prostrate on the floor and pour your heart out to God. Allow God to work in you. Allow yourself to get close to Him. I know this just seems like rambling, however take this advice to heart and open yourself and allow the Lord to work with you. It is amazing to see what will come of your earnest pleading with Him.
Blessings,
Philip

Friggin' Cars pt. 2

2007-02-11T16:29:00.000-05:00

So, I changed my fuel filter on my car. Spilled not a small amount of gas on the parking lot here at Seminary. That did not fix the problem. Instead of running smooth after a while. It ended up dying, alot. Last time it died, there was smoke coming from the engine. The oil level is good, it is time for an oil change by two miles. However, it could either be bad spark plugs or the timing belt is bad. I really need someone to make a house call. I think my dad needs to make a run up here to help me fix my car. I would really, really appreciate it. Even though it probably will not happen. My hands smell like gas, the area around my car smells like gas. This just stinks, in more than one way.
I hate my car right now.

Friggin' Cars

2007-02-10T14:54:00.000-05:00

So, I try to figure out what is wrong with my car. I think it is the fuel filter, I'm pretty sure that it still is the fuel filter that is causing so much trouble. However, my dad and future father-in-law said it could just be water in the line and to put some HEET in the tank and see what happens. So I just did that and the car did not want to run. It would run for a little while and then all of a sudden act like it was starving for fuel. I called my dad while standing outside doing this and he said that it is most like the fuel filter. So, I called Pep-Boys thinking maybe they have someone that can come out and fix my car on the spot. Because of the engine not wanting to run, the vacuum to the breaks is not getting there which makes stopping a whole lot of fun. The guy informed me that the cars must come to them. I informed him this was not possible. He then quotes me a price on how much it would be to change the fuel filter. It is actually cheaper to change it myself.
Friggin' cars. This is the time when I wish the city of Louisville had a really good metro system. I know the bus system is good, but I'm talking like subways and street cars even. Along with the buses and taxis. This is driving me crazy, my car has been sitting for about two weeks and nothing has been done with it because it has been too cold. It is supposed to be warmer tomorrow, but who knows. Hopefully it will be so I can go buy a filter and fix my car and hopefully that will be it. I wonder if Auto Zone makes house calls? I should call them. The photo is what I want to do to my car right now, if only I had a sword like that.

First of many

2007-02-09T16:28:00.000-05:00

Well, I decided to start this just for the fun of it all and b/c it could have long term effects for my future ministry. To start this blog I'm going to share some quotes from the 3rd Floor Manly quote board.
"I'm crazy like a cat, that's why my friends call me whiskers."
"Mmm . . . Irish"
"Stoops ain't Stupid"
"Whoa! That's Wet."
"Butterscotch is crack!"