Are You Serious?!!

So, I was browsing through some movies on Netflix tonight, and I came across a movie called, "Help! I'm a Boy"...and the title is enough for me to know I may never watch this movie. However, the picture on the box might just deter me first. Frankly, I'm disappointed in Netflix...

Stuck on the Roof

I love Fall. There are many things about it that make me enjoy the season. Of course the beauty of the trees changing colors, pumpkins and candy at Halloween, and cooler temps are all wonderful things about Fall. However, there are few on this planet that actually look forward to raking leaves. Of course, if you ignore the leaves, your grass dies and your neighbors aren't happy on windy days. I will say that my wonderful wife does the majority of the raking, or has so far. I think it's because I do the mowing during the summer and she is OCD and can't handle the "messiness" of the yard. :) I love her.

Anyway, today my job was to clean out the gutters... Needless to say, I was not excited about it, but, again, it had to be done. I borrowed a ladder from a friend because it was an extension ladder that would let me climb right up onto the roof. I should preface the rest of this by saying I'm not a huge fan of heights. Our house is no mansion, but it's higher than a chair. I got up the ladder and on the roof with little issues. I cleaned out the gutters, though, that was no party either.

Then...I had to get down. If you've ever climbed a ladder and dismounted it, you know that the challenge is mounting again. I could not do it. I was scared to death of...death...by falling off the roof. I tried a couple maneuvers and Sonia tried to help coach me, but to no avail. I was stuck. It was a good 5-10 minutes before I finally got it figured out, mustered up some courage and got down (no, I'm not blogging from the roof).

As I reflect on it now, it made me think about how I approach certain situations. I feel like I'm often stuck on the roof. Do you know that feeling when you just know the right thing to do, and yet you can't move on it? I can't tell you how many people I could have talked to about Christ's love for them. I can't tell you how many lies I could have avoided. I can't tell you how many people I've let walk away when I knew they just needed someone to talk to.

Get off the roof and grab ahold of that ladder. I can tell you it's a good feeling when you get down and gravity is no longer your worst enemy. What's stopping you?


In fact, if you know the right thing to do and don't do it, that, for you, is evil. ~ James 4:17 (The Message)

Hmm...

Took this picture in Wisconsin at a gas station on the pump. There's two things wrong with this picture:

1) "BORKED"????? I can't tell if this person actually meant "broked" or if they were making up a word. Either way, it's worthy of three underlines and two exclamation points, so it must be something special. My best guess on this is that the dyslexic hillbilly didn't have anything else to do, so someone told him to write this note and were too busy to proofread it...

2) "RecIEpt" is indeed spelled RecEIpt. I remember a little jig in elementary that went, "I before E, except affter C..." Either the peson writing this didn't realize there was a "C" in the word, or they didn't go to elementary school. I'm not trying to be mean, but seriously folks...

It's a good thing I didn't really want the receipt. What are your best guesses as to the meaning behind this note?

Observations from a Scary Place

It's a scary place to be. The dentist chair. I had an appointment the other day to get some fillings and I just happened to notice a couple of things. Here are my observations:

NOTE: Some of this may be disgusting or whatever. If you have a queasy stomach, read until you can't take it...or don't read at all. ;) It's a dentist office and we all know what happens there. Ok, let's get on with it.

1) It's pretty amazing how much they try to make a torture room look welcoming. Next time you're at the dentist, take a glance at all the things there that really don't need to be there, but add something to the room to make you feel a little less stressed. My dentist office had a small garden outside the window and some bird feeders. It was a small fence-enclosed area, but a nice touch nonetheless. Plus, there's a window right in front of me...an extra that I will not take for granted. At least I can see what freedom looks like...

2) Piggy-backing off of point 1, a TV in the dentist chair is the best idea since Super Nintendo (actually Super Nintendo in the chair too would be awesome)! Not only was it cool to watch some sports and calm my nerves a little more, but it gave the doctor something to talk to me about before drilling my face off. It was a nice moment of connecting before the drill came out.

3) It's always a bad sign when the hygienist hands the doctor a syringe and then places her hand on your shoulder to pin you down. You know that's going to hurt. I'm sure it would hurt more if I jerked my body up as he was pushing the syringe in. I'm going to move on now before I pass out.

4) I actually prefer going to the dentist for a filling over a bi-yearly clean. It's straight down to business, they numb your face, and there's not a ton of poking and scraping. It's drill, scrub, replace, dry, and buff. Done and done. I had two this time and I was in the chair for about half an hour. Not too shabby. Sure they threw in the usual, "brush more, floss more, blah blah blah...", but it wasn't so much that I wanted to stab them in the retina with a toothbrush. Also, you don't have to wait for the doctor to get to everyone else. He/She is the one working on you, so when the procedure is done, you're good to go. Nice.

5) One of the worst things in the world is having to deal with a numb face for a few hours afterward. I literally was watching the clock every second to see how much longer it was going to take. You feel like everyone is staring at you and you're always wondering if there is drool coming out of your mouth that you can't feel. Also, it's really hard to talk to people and smile as part of your lip is dead. I looked in the mirror a lot wondering if the lip was swollen.

6) Expensive...period.

Those are my quick thoughts and observations. All in all, this visit wasn't too bad. Of course, I'm not going to pencil one in every week, but it's doable at least once a year. :)

Now go brush your teeth!

As If Love Weren't Enough

When storms approach, when people cry for help, our God listens.
When lies control, when tension arises, our God listens.
When the poor need help, when money is tight, our God listens.
When it seems like too much, when the scars throb with pain, our God listens.
When good times are great, when bad times are imminent, our God listens.
When fear grips us, when apathy is our lifestyle, our God listens.

How does He listen? He loves.
How does He provide? He loves.
How does He help? He loves.
How does He encourage? He loves.
How does He heal? He loves.
How does He bless? He loves.

Sometimes in life, we go about as if love weren't enough. We complain, we fear, we worry, we cry. It's okay to admit it. I do all of these from time to time; even a lot of the time. But why? God is love. Isn't that enough? Shouldn't it be enough? Life is hard, and no one said it wouldn't be. Even Jesus made it clear that it would. It's hard because we made it hard, not because of God. Decisions are made that don't make us happy. But God is love and He doesn't make decisions that hurt us.

So how are you living? Are you living as if love weren't enough? I forget sometimes that the love of God is plenty enough.

The Irony of an Introvert

I'll tell you what, people who are introverts are interesting. Some would say that I am. I would say that I am...sometimes. I often tell people that I am an intro-extrovert. When I am in certain situations, I need to hold back, observe, and reflect about everything. In other situations, I like to live it up, be loud, and be the center of attention.

The funny thing is that I have different feelings at different times about being alone. You see, an introvert likes to be alone sometimes...most of the time. It doesn't mean that introverts are depressed, bridge trolls, who don't know how to socialize. Sometimes, it just feels good to relax and keep things to myself.

Here's the irony:

-I like to be in neighborhoods/subdivisions with people around...not in the country with no one within 5 miles of you.

-I like the roads to be driver-less and hassle-free...a country road would be nice any day.

-I like having a few good friends and not being everyone's friend...it's much simpler this way.

-I like to be in youth ministry where hanging out with lots of middle school and high schoolers is awesome.

-I'm not a huge fan of big parties and/or large groups of people (most of the time).

-I'm a huge fan of going to professional/amateur sporting events.


Again, I tell you I am an intro-extrovert. Any questions?

Why Do...

Why do:

...3-prong electrical outlets look like block heads who are appalled, or scared, or dead? And why do we have to stick prongs in their face? Is there a group out there, like PETA, who looks out for the electrical outlets? What about PETO? Who's on board?

...People misspell/misuse words on commercials? I can understand we are not all perfect and not all English majors or grammar freaks, but if you are spending big money and hiring people to help, shouldn't there be a standard of excellence we are upholding? For example, I saw that commercial the other day where a girl walks by and the guy uses his camera phone to zoom in to see her and the girl across from him texts him and says, "...YOUR a pig!" For all you grammar wizards out there, this should actually be "...YOU'RE a pig!" Grant it, we are in a texting and IM world, but like I said, where's the standard in the professional world?

...TV stations put full episodes online for people to watch? Don't they know that this is the very reason people get addicted to shows? Ok, so this one is actually awesome. Sonia and I have been watching Lost and are addicted. They have seasons 1, 2, and 3 online and since we missed all of that, we are starting from the beginning. If you can spare a couple weeks of your life, catch up on this show or any other online show and you won't regret it.

...good deals have to come with a catch? The new iPhone is coming out in 12 days. You may or may not have heard that the cost of the phone has been cut in half and is supposed to be twice as fast on the internet (if your area has the 3G network). Awesome, right? Wrong. They are increasing the cost of the REQUIRED data package by $10, which means an extra $120/year. So, in all actuality, you will be paying MORE than the people who bought the original iPhone for high cost. I guess with newer things, you have to expect more money, but why tease and manipulate the common folk by saying it's half the price and twice as fast? It's probably twice as slow... And yes, I'll probably still get one, damn it...

...quality cars break down and crappy cars continue to last and get crappier? Sonia's car is a Buick and seemingly in pretty good condition. Mine is a Geo and looks like it's going to rust into nothingness. Her car continues to have costly and annoying problems, while mine keeps running and rusting. I really don't think it's because it's a Geo. It is kind of ironic, though.

The End.