Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted. Been unbelievably busy with, well, stuff. Kids, work, kids, honey-do list, blah, blah, blah. It's amazing how fast time can get away from you. Perhaps the biggest news in the past week is the addition of our church website to the internet and our evangelistic outreach. Obviously I'm a tech geek and any chance I get to flex my geek muscles I do. My experience with web development is somewhat limited, but effective enough that I felt it high time to set up a website for the congregation. We plan to be up and fully functional by August 1 -- which means my time is running short. Hope I make it. If not, I'm sure I'll be forgiven. Check it out if you get the chance at:

http://www.rockbridgechurchofchrist.org

Nothing...But a Blessing!

I seem to have developed a slight case of writer's block -- I'm not surprised either. The last several days have been pretty intense at work and my mind has been preoccupied with wrapping my brain around stuff going on there. Perhaps the weekend's rest will help me to refresh. Plus, I'd rather take what little time I do have this weekend and focus on God's blessings...

R & R

Is it just me or have we just about gone over the ever-lovin' edge in this country? Again...lemme 'splain. We are in dire need of a dose of R & R here in America...and I'm not talking rest and relaxation. I'm talking Rights AND Responsibilities! The founding fathers of these United States have a firm belief that rights are God-given and that we all have those. Somewhere along the lines we began to believe that the government, not God, gave us our inalienable human rights. WRONG! The government is here (by God's design, I might add) to protect the rights we already have...BUT (and you just knew it was coming), we seem to have taken the whole misguided notion of rights even further down this path. At some point, we decided that responsibility was no longer necessary as well! The Apostle Paul wrote a great statement in his letter to the Corinthians that "all things were permissible, but not everything was beneficial" or helpful. AMEN! When are the politicians, the press and anybody else out there waving a "it's my right" sign going to realize that just because you can doesn't always mean you should?!?!

Here are few recent news stories that sparked this rant -- do you see what I'm saying?

Ky. Student Dies in 'Car Surfing' Stunt -- note the father's response at the very end of the article...

Allstate fires manager for Christian beliefs concerning homosexuality -- so much for diversity and tolerance!

Chuck Shepherd's News of the Weird -- check out the LEAD STORY...that's pushing the whole "inner child" thing a bit too far.

Patience, Young Skywalker

Oh how I need patience! I've been struggling for 5 or 6 months now to look for work elsewhere and I've come up empty-handed just about every time. This is probably the hardest it's ever been for me to find a job. All of my previous jobs, including my current job, have come pretty stress- and struggle-free. But now, nothing is happening -- absolutely nothing! I've probably sent a couple dozen resumes to different places and have received only one interview and, therefore, only one bite. But that was 3 or 4 months ago. I pray God grant me the patience I need so that I don't explode. It's times like these when you really begin to question your abilities, career choices, qualities, and whether or not you really have staying power or whether you're just a flash in the pan that's already burned out. But I know, God has a purpose for this waiting and I'm having a hard time waiting to see what it may be! God, grant me patience!

This is a Test...This is Only a Test!

I'm testing using a blogger tool called Bloggar to post. Let's see if this works.

We All Need A Laugh...

Need a good laugh? Then you must check out Bill Amend's comic strip, Foxtrot. My brother, Jason, turned me onto it right before Star Wars EP3 was released into theaters and it has brought me much joy and laughter in the days that have followed. But the mystery of why I like it may not be that deep -- Amend's comic favs are Calvin and Hobbes, Bloom County and The Far Side -- all personal favs of mine too. This guy is a "comic strip lover's comic strip artist". Each day on his website front page is the strip for that day and you can sign up to get them through websites like Yahoo's "My Yahoo" personal pages or UComics.com -- plus a 2 week archive. I'll always have a soft spot for a good comic strip. By the way, from now on, you'll notice a little icon in the lower left hand portion of my blog linking to Foxtrot.com. See ya in the funnies!

Have I Been Spared?

Well, the doctor gave me an evaluation that had two probable outcomes: either I have a kidney stone, or I have a seriously inflammed muscle. He couldn't say for sure simply because of the kind of pain I seemed to be having, the intensity, and the location of it. Right now, I'm just uncomfortable -- which, if memory serves, did happen first at least one time when I was attempting to pass my stone last time. Well, I'm not too concerned yet, but I'm not ruling anything out -- and neither is the doctor. He gave me 3 prescriptions: one for everyday use that helps with the pain, an anti-inflammatory for bedtime, and some general pain pills just in case I do have a stone and it begins to move and cause problems over the next week. I seriously pray that this all goes away because I do not want to go through that again. Check back with me next week to see how this is progressing.

Please Let It Be Over Soon!

Eight years. That's how long it's been since the last time I had kidney stones. I have a baaaaaad feeling that they're back. Yesterday morning I started to get that twinge that I hoped to never, ever, ever, ever get again. At first, I thought maybe I'd just pass them without any further pain, but no luck. By this afternoon the pain had become increasingly intense and I knew that a Dr.'s appointment was in order. So it's off to find out what's wrong with me. What is it about being 30 that your body somehow seems to begin acting all crazy as if it can't stand for you to be well? I've been sicker in the past year than I think I have in my entire life -- of course it could just be a freakish coincidence. And who knows, maybe it's something else entirely, but I'm in pain and I've got to get it fixed. Thank God for medicine!

One Pleasant Aspect of My Job

For the most part, you'll rarely, if ever, see me talk about the specifics of my job. Even more specifically, you'll never see me talk about my employer. Nothing to do with fear of getting fired or anything, it just seems tacky to get online to the world and talk about someone in that way. Privately disagreeing is one thing, public smearing is out of line. But I digress...

I work in technology. Every day I manipulate ones and zeros to do my bidding (although once in a while it feels like the other way around). There are two sides to my role -- technical and managerial. Although I have always enjoyed the technological side of my career, it is the other side I rarely find fulfilling. But the one, perhaps, redeeming quality of the "other side" is working with people. My background is ministry. I worked as a full-time minister for about 6 years while pursuing a technological education of sorts. For the most part, I love working with people. I mean, it's not free of blemishes, but you have to be willing to accept that when working with people in any capacity. If there's one aspect to full time ministry I miss, it's the "people" aspect. If there's one aspect of my job that brings a silver lining to the cloud, it's the "people" aspect. I've got some good people around me; and for the most part, the clients we meet are good people too just looking for someone to fill a service for them. While there are some bad apples in the barrel, it's the good ones that keep you going.

Independence Weekend

Hope everyone had a great Independence Weekend! My family and I had a good one. It started Friday with me and boys going to see Madagascar -- a great animated film for the family. It wasn't the best I've ever seen, but fun, and the boys enjoyed it! Saturday my dad and I put down a stepping stone walk in front my house so that we would keep from walking through the yard and dirt (especially when it rains) and then tracking stuff into the house. My brother came into town for the weekend as well. He works for Freed-Hardeman University, a great 4-year Christian university! He and I have a lot of similar interests and he's just a great guy to hang around -- would do anything for anybody. On Sunday we had all the family over to our house for lunch and celebrated Mom's birthday with cake and a digital camera from us kids. Sunday night after church we had a fireworks show over at the church where Mom and Dad attend, Fountain Head Church of Christ. Food was good as well as the show. On Monday we pretty much slept in late, did nothing all day, and I shot off fireworks with my brother that night (and as Joshua said, they were "wicked dude!"). We finally sunk into bed around 12:30AM and I deprived myself of enough sleep for work on Tuesday to be worthless. Overall, a stellar weekend! Hope you had a good one too!

It's Really Not Political

Since the war on terror began, so many have been divided -- are you for the war or against it? It's unfortunate that the recent war has become pegged as simply a political device with no redeeming qualities at all. That's not to say that war is just bright and cheerful and pleasant, but there's so much negativity surrounding it that any positives, any progress is clouded and, at times, never known. War isn't what anyone ever wants (or shouldn't) but let's face the fact that we're there. And our men and women of service are pouring their hearts into what they are doing. Regardless of what political angles may be playing out in this war, many, if not most, of these young men and women do believe in the cause of freedom for which they are engaged. My question is are we willing to support them? Forget the war for a moment, they need support. The question of the hour is, do you support the troops? There they are, thousands of miles from home; tired; longing for a home cooked meal I'm sure -- would you want to hear that you're doing a terrible thing and completely unsupported by your own country? Absolutely not. So, what can we do? Write; email; here's a good website to look at to find a way to get involved:

www.americasupportsyou.mil

Take the time this Independence day weekend to let them know that you support them and appreciate them and their service. They deserve it!