Refocus...Being Bi-polar

I'm sitting in Chemistry right now realizing how much I hate engineering (sorry Jon). I'm wondering why I ever wanted to be an engineer and I think of the money. I am doing my budget to see what I need if I were to live on my own and I found that I can live off of what I make now and still have money to spend on the things I want. So why then do I want the money that is so associated with engineers. Because it's not enough. The flesh side of me wants to never have to worry about money, to always have everything I want, and that by achieving these things I'll aways be happy. The spiritual side of me wants to trust God in his plan (but first discovering what that plan is), never rely on my own means to survive, and serve him with out a lust for 'things'. Every Christian must have this bi-polar reaction to wanting what they don't have. I wish I had the guts and the knowledge to move into the woods with a tent and some tools and live for the rest of my life only going to town to buy clothes and more tools. This life is so full of unnecessary things that we don't need. Why do we need (not want) plasma screen TV's, 3 story houses for 4 people, one car for the summer and one for the winter, cell phones that play music and show pictures, alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, shampoo that makes your hair curly or straight, cloning research, abortion, wars against people we don't even know, and cars that park themselves (I'm sorry but that has to be the stupidest thing I have ever heard of). I will never be able to understand this world or God's purpose for granting us free will until I am able to look at it from his view.

Why...Cooper's Psalms

Why is everything so blurry
Almost invisible
Why am I in such a hurry
To achieve things so slow.

Why have you planned
What is not yet revealed
Why do I long to be informed
On things that are concealed

Why are these spiritual things
So difficult to grasp
Why can't we find the wings
To put things in the past

Why are they who I knew so well
Now so far away
Kept inside their perishing shell
Oh, the things I want to say

Why do I strive to love them more
Yet never see the time
I pray you'll never close the door
Make a forgiving heart of mine

To be loved, love
To be forgiven, forgive
To be a friend, befriend

Scary Movies...What a Rush

I don't know why I like scary movies. No one likes to be scared, caught off guard, or be paranoid but for some odd reason I enjoy it. I compare it to a drug I guess, though I have never been high, drunk, or intoxicated by anything other than morphine. When you are drunk (or high for this matter) you cannot control yourself, you vomit, and you don't remember any of the embarrassing things that will happen, things any normal conscious person would rather not have happen to them. This normally goes the same with other feelings that are unpleasant. Though there is always the person who actually likes these feelings (everyone at UK) and I seem to be one of those people when it comes to this. I blame Fox Mulder for raising me in this way, his passion for the unexplainable and supernatural has dwelled in me since I was little. Sneaking to get a peak of the X-files, that my parents wouldn't let me watch in fear that I would wake them in the middle of the night and want to sleep in their bed. Is this callous a bad thing though, or should I have some kind of fear towards the 'masks of Halloween express'?

I Always Feel Like...Somebody's Watchin' Me

Sorry if you’re not a Toby Mac fan then you probably didn’t get the title.  Anyways, have you ever just sat and watched people’s actions and judgments based on their facial expressions and body language?  I did today and it was really funny in a way.  On the infamous LexTran bus system there is usually a great number of people on the bus and everyone fights to sit down. Once seated and moving the bus goes silent except for the occasional friends that don’t care about peoples opinions of their crazy weekend of sinful enjoyment.  So today I sit next to this really oddly dressed guy.  Purple plaid pants, a black sports coat with patches and bumper stickers attached, and a pirate bandanna.  Not odd?  Re-evaluate.  As I turn to take a look around to see if I knew anyone on the bus, a sudden noise becomes present that was hidden by the rush before…. bagpipes.  This struck me as odd and yet again from the same guy.  

Just as I heard it and discovered the source this girl in front of me turns around and looks at him straight in the face, he (being the kind that cares not what anyone thinks right now) simply smiles and waves queerly at her.  She turns back around with a sigh and rolls her eyes with the intent of letting him know she was annoyed… he couldn’t hear her.  

Moments later the girl sitting next to this girl (bear with me) gets up and walks/jogs off the bus as if skipping to a Barney song.  I laugh inside, but the girl in front of me looks at her with a sigh and rolls her eyes with the intent of letting her know she was annoyed… she couldn’t see her.  

The thing that interested me about this girl is the fact that I see her every morning, with a friend and her coffee mug so happy and joyful.  She is the loudest and most obnoxious person on the bus.  Not to mention it is 8:30am.  Her and her friend may not get a seat together but they will still carry on a conversation about what ever they feel like talking about or just make noises back and forth to each other followed by laughs as if speaking in code.  

Are you ever conscious that the things that you do are the same things that annoy you about other people?

To Whom it May Concern...Long Time No See

So I haven't had time to write anything for...well whenever the last time I posted was. But something has been irritating me today that I need to write on 'the wall that no one reads'. A lot of my Christian friends that I don't see very much anymore have been making themselves very distant from me and others but blame others for this distance. When people are talking to me, I try to give them my full attention and a sincere response rather than half-heartedly listening to them until they shut up and then apologize to my 'better' friends for the time I lost with them while listening to just another fellow Christians.

I think life at PMBC has just started do get back to normal a few soldiers smaller than before, but when at war you always lose a few. Some I am glad are gone, some I want to see really bad, and some I am waiting on. I had friends that left for their reasons (good or bad, I don’t know so it doesn’t matter) and I am now wishing them good luck in whatever God has them and want to know what God has been doing in there lives. This urge was recently set off by flipping through the channels and seeing Dave leading worship and I just felt like I had missed out on what God has been doing. So if this is you, someone whom I haven’t talked to in a while, let me cut the distance and find out what’s going on in your life. If you want to say something privately Pacnac73@aol.com is always being checked and if not just leave a comment telling me how God is working in your life.

UK 101...My First Day

First class in college just got over and it wasn’t too bad. I just don’t remember much about my high school chemistry class. Apparently I got the easiest teacher on staff so that should help out. Tolly-Ho could quite possibly beat out any other restaurant in the category of greasiest food and greatest menu. They have all the great American foods known to man…and Ale-8. You can’t beat it. The whole campus is wireless so I took my laptop to keep me busy until lunch and am now writing a post in the middle of a courtyard. Oh yeah and I just saw John Wiley, Kelli Barnhart, and Chandler Snyder. The campus is huge and it took me about 20 min. to walk to my class in sandals. Commonwealth is the worst parking spot in the world because it’s next to nothing. My weight training class will be easy to get to from there but all of my other classes are on the complete opposite side of campus. Oh well, I need the exercise and I need to find out where everything is.

Casting Crowns...Metaphorical Meanings

Has anyone ever heard the song 'Here I Go' by Casting Crowns? The message is so true to all of us at times. Throughout a routine day how many people would you say you see that you will never see again? How many people do you see that you have seen everyday? How many people have you shared the gospel with and of which of the two groups are they?

So many times we forget the reason we're alive, to spread the good news and give glory and praise to God. How do you know you will ever see those people again? Maybe you're the only Christian they know. We talk to strangers about the weather and other things that don't even matter, like the price of gas, it changes so much that there's no point in talking about it. But God never changes and neither does his message.

FAITH is starting up and I want to encourage all to take the class. This will be my first time attending the class and I'm excited to see how it changes my perspective and my conversations with strangers and other lost friends.

The Mall on Sunday...Sales, Food, and Albino People

Going to the mall on Sunday should be against the law. People go to eat, look at things they can't afford, and make fun of people for their nationality (which I'm going to start marking as other because of the confusion of my skin tone and natural hair color).

Today I went to Chao Cajun, greatest place in the mall. They have two combos where you can either pick two things for $6 or three things for $8. This guy says he wants the pick two; picks two meats, an egg roll, and rice (count 'em). He gets to the cashier and the guy charges him for the pick three. The man says "I got the pick two!?"... (He got 4 things) he was furious, "That's not what I asked for!" so the cashier took the plate to the trash and said "Do you want egg roll?" "YES!" the hungry man says, so the guy dumps the Bourbon chicken off the plate and walks back, holds the plate up and the guy says "It's empty!?" (He now has 2 things and rice). The cashier then holds the plate in the air and counts for this ignorant business man "One...Two...and Rice, do you want drink?" Then the guy just walked off.

Today I went to American eagle, gayest place in the mall (behind Abercrombie and Hollister). They have clothes that you can't buy but can try on because they are too expensive. They also have random rich families that can afford the whole store but have no common sense at all. This little boy is staring at me when I walk by him, then we turn round to leave and now his sister is to. As we pass them she says to him "Maybe he's just half albino."..............Are you serious?!?! A) I'm NOT albino- My skin is actually slightly darker than Jennifer’s arm.
B) Albino's have red eyes- Has no one seen the Princess Bride??
C) There is no such thing as half albino- How can something be in between pale with white hair and red eyes, and white with hair and eyes??

I hate the mall!

Arlen Griffis...Custodial Specialist Extraordinaire

This guy I work with thinks he’s a professional janitor…which is true because his profession is, well, a janitor. Anyways this guy thinks he’s the real deal. The only thing he does is take out trash and tells you what he thinks you should be doing and how to do it. He inspects everything, and usually never misses anything. As we were setting up for Todd and Jenn’s wedding, we walked past the front foyer and he noticed one of the lights outside was broken. Suddenly his attention was caught and set on one thing, getting someone else to fix it. (The next quote deserves to be on Taylor’s wall of quotes) he looked out side and yelled in his redneck accent “Oh my goodness, an act of vandalism!?!? Oh man, I’m gonna have to tell Dale about this! Oh man!” (Dale is in Atlanta at this time) He props the door open with a table (I’m standing right inside the door as he does this) and proceeds to run to the scene of the crime. Turns out some one (a tree limb) had run into it and it fell out of its fixture. Good times.

Wally World...The Life of the Legend

So yesterday was Wally’s 36th B-day.  Tell him happy Birthday next time you see him.

Cave Run Lake... Untold by T.W.

Something Taylor didn’t hit on about the camping trip was that I bought a bb gun at Wally World jus before we left. We got there and decided we’d see how accurate and powerful this thing was (750 fps with a scope that needed no adjustments). We were putting holes through pieces of tree bark before hank rolled by as I hid it in the back of the jeep. Later Dustin, Sok, and I decided we would try to hit a marshmallow off of a stick, with a backstop made of the holy, holey tree bark. As I positioned myself to take the first shot Dustin says your not going to shot from that close are you…so I backed up, when Sok says you can’t hit it from there…so I stayed. I was confident that this scope could not have changed. I took aim, waited for it, and shot. The next thing I heard was natural, the pop of the gun, but after that there was a snap of a tree branch (I didn’t aim at) followed by a loud pop. As we stood there stunned, a light came out of a tent about 50 yards in the forest shining in our direction. We quickly ran and hid the weapon. Apparently the tip of the gun had been bent upwards when I put it in the jeep, oops.

Wally World...The Life of a Legend

Wally loves soft drinks (along with his daily KFC, BK, and Lays Chips), Coke or Pepsi in particular. A few days ago I told him he should start drinking water because Coke is bad for him. He stopped, looked at me and simply said “Nothing wrong with me.” Then the next day he came in with diet coke. I said “Wally, why do you have diet today.” he said, “better for me”, chuckled, and continued to direct the radio as it sang 80’s music.

Wally World...The Life of a Legend

This is an intro to my new addition to The Cracker Barrel, this will be a weekly maybe daily post on my good friend and fellow employee... Wally. This man is hilarious, intelligent, and probably the most athletic person I know (he could probably beat Travis in any sport). He does things throughout the day that crack me up, amaze me and put my abilities to shame each and every day. Post a comment telling some story of Wally that you thing is funny or just amazing and I'll be the judge of appropriateness.

Poor Man...Kill The Pride/ Be Thankful

Have you ever been driving down the road or walking down the street and seen a homeless man (sorry all you female activists but I've never seen a homeless woman, although I'm sure they exist)?

A) Poor Man- I saw a homeless man today, and it broke my heart as always. I've heard so many stories about how you are not supposed to give them money because they'll go and waste it on what ever made them lose all their money in the first place. I have come to one conclusion. Read the sign. If it says they want food, give them food. McDonald's 'Arch cards are great. I think the card is free and you can put money on them and then give them to someone like this. If it says money... well it kind of comes to a debate. How do you show someone the love of Christ yet help their addiction (I realize that not all homeless people have an addiction)? A New Testament will not provide them lunch but is probably the best thing you can do for them besides adopt them into your family. I challenge you all to stock up on arch cards and NT's, and hand them out to the next homeless people you see, they really need it.

B) Killing The Pride- We will never know what it's like to have nothing. The husbands job in the family is usually to provide the money for the family. It is a pride thing, to try make more money than your neighbor, or to be the one that your family depends on. When this money is not earnable and your family begins to suffer, it kills your pride. These men stand out in the street with a sign that basically says 'I have nothing'. Every person that drives by looks at them with judgment, taking for granted everything that they have. When they see him, their empty gas tank does not amount to the emptiness in his life. As I drove by listening to my $300 iPod, driving my $3,000 car, talking on my $100 cell phone, with $3 worth of gas left in my tank, I could only sit there and think about all that I have. How ironic that the one time I needed it the most, I had no cash. This man was holding the sign in front of his face to keep whatever piece of pride he held onto. He did not want to be seen doing this but who would hire such a man.
We have so much pride in the things we have that we aren't satisfied with what we have. We are constantly upgrading and renovating. My neighborhood is notorious for renovating, you cannot drive down the street without seeing a truck that is moving in furniture, landscaping, or building on to the house. My challenge on this point is to just thank your parents for what they do for you, and thank God for blessing your family.

Gangstaz On Da Streetz...At 3 in the Morn.

So my last post told about my window and how I have kept it attached to my car for he past 2 months. Well it finally caught up with me. This morning my parents walk in my room and wake me up with the words every driver wants to hear, 'Your car has been robbed!' both dazed and confused not realizing if it was a dream or a reality, I just sat there in my bed trying to decided whether or not I should pinch myself. I rubbed my eyes instead and realized it was all too real. I went outside to find my entire radio ($170), my iPod ($250) with 850 songs on it ($45-purchased songs), and my FM transmitter ($80) are all gone!?!?!? Wow so we can say I was a little upset, and tired and grumpy al in the same morning. Needless to say we tried everything to get my window fixed as soon as possible, (tomorrow). Lesson learned-The world hates everything and has nothing good to contribute to anything, it looks for wrong things to do. The guy/girl that did this has probably walked by my car every week and was just waiting for me to unroutinely leave all of that stuff in there together, it worked. Lesson 2- Hire a security guard or 2 (so 1 can sleep) my very was parked under a street light (seriously... directly under one). Lesson 3- 'Watchful Neighborhood' signs are lying.

Rain, Rain Go Away...'Be Still' (And Listen to God)

Ok so tonight I was at a graduation party at Kara York's house and it started pouring. I wasn't thinking about it in the rush to go close windows that my window was closed but yet has many holes and is rather useless. When I went to leave, my interior was soaked. I was extremely angry and did not know any way to solve my dilemma. I quote Jeff Foxworthy in saying 'duct tape fixes anything'...EXCEPT FOR IN THE RAIN!! My window has been covered in duct tape for about a month now and it is starting to melt away. I went into Jennifer's house to get a towel and...yes duct tape (it takes faith) to try and fix the problem on my own...apparently God did not want that. As I began to dry and cover the spots, the tape decides it wants to run out...there's not any there except for what covers the cardboard circle...INFURIATING!! So I go in to try and use one of Duckt's brothers...Masking, and he's not a heavy duty guy. As soon as I stepped out the door to go finish the job, it begins to rain profusely, cats and dogs, MONSOON. I run back inside with my nerves about to explode and decide I'll just go home anyways. I get in the car and it dawns on me...pray. Oh yeah I remember that thing, it's worth a try. So I did, I prayed that the rain would stop, hey he's done it before on an ocean why can't he now, and it didn't stop. So I prayed at least don't let it damage anything in my car, he answered that one I think. So I decide to do a little praise and worship with myself and the first song to be played on my iPod was 'Praise You in this Storm'?!?!?!?!?!? WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?!?! I wasn't listening to that song. Anyways I quote the song 'Once again, I say Amen,(finish praying) and it's still raining' hmmmm was there some reason those words stuck out...maybe it's because I JUST DID THAT. 'And as the thunder rolls, I barely hear you whisper through the rain, 'I'm with you' Pray...Then listen ~peace

Natural Disasters...God or Satan

This post is for comments, I want to get a healthy discussion going here. Why do natural disasters happen? This topic has always been an interest of mine and I'm just wondering what others think. Is God punishing us for something we've done wrong? Is Satan doing something to turn people from God? Is God trying to show he's still in control? WHAT'S GOING ON!!!!

Comment Away

Talking to God...Becoming Completely Honest

WOW!! Ok I've been looking for a job for like... a month, and I couldn't think of anywhere to work that I would enjoy... so what better place than church and what better job than a custodian. I decided I would do this if it was what God wanted for me. Keith Walters is moving to Cali. which opens up a job, so I asked... yesterday (I know I procrastinated just a little). The guy said 'I don't know, there is already someone that is supposed to come in but we haven't heard from him yet, leave your name and number and we'll call you.' So I leave with a good attitude and just started praying, 'God, I don't know if this is what you want me to do during college but I need a job and you are the only one that can get me one since I don't even know where to start and I know you will provide in some way...' So today as I'm leaving church a different custodian comes up to me and says 'Are you Nick?' 'Why yes I am' he said 'Be expecting a call soon because tomorrow is this guys last day to show up, if he doesn't we need someone hired ASAP' Can you say all-powerful? I had no clue that was the situation and once again prayer proves to be the solution to all problems.

Walking With Jesus...Porter's 'The Passion of The Christ'

I recently had the honor to be in the church's Easter play. I was a dual-role actor, the blind man Barnabas, and a Roman guard. In other words Keith healed me and I was so grateful that I helped kill him(or as the Gospel of Judas would say 'Jesus told me to when he healed me'). The experience was very odd. I have never seen The Passion so I have never seen a graphic depiction of Jesus' death, but in being a guard I gained an appreciation that I had never had before. Jesus died for my sins, in other words my sins killed him(I killed Jesus), and in the I helped kill 'Jesus'. The carpet burns and cuts did absolutely no justice to the actual torment and pain our Lord went through on that day. This experience gave me an all new perspective of the death of Christ that will forever change my view of Easter. In order to attain this new perspective I have also been reading John McArthurs 'The Murder of Jesus'. It is a book that goes into further detail using all the gospels and prophesies involving Jesus' betrayal, trail, death, and resurrection. There is also some commentaries sections throughout. The section that is really getting to me is the scene in the garden. Jesus' praying was so intense it made him bleed from his pores. This was explained by a physical sickness common to stress and lack of sleep, but the commentaries I have read from many authors suggests the torment he was having was from the dreading of the physical pain and humiliation he would face the next day. Why would the God of all creation fear pain and humiliation? I think he is speaking of the wrath of God (the turning of his back on his Son) when he says 'this cup' not the atoning sacrifice he was about to provide.

Spring Break...The Return to The Routine Day

Now that Spring Break is over we all come back to continue our routine, boring, traditional, day. My wish for all of the 10 that went to Destin, Florida with me, will continue their daily time with their Savior and will continue leading the Student Ministry for as long as the church will let us. What makes me sad yet happy is that, that trip will probably be our last 'thing' we do together before we disperse into the real world. The last time we will see each other for who we really are (living together for a week). Yet at the same time it is to disperse the good news of Jesus Christ into the real world. The past week was good though some of us got sick of each other we are still just as close if not closer. I hope that when we all go off to school that we will keep in touch and remain accountable to one another. I hope that you will find a church home near where you are that preaches scripture and not only feel good text. I will be praying for all of us that we will not give in to temptaions that we will be so influenced by in this new environment and that when we return to see each other their will be nothing we would regret doing after it all. We talked about everything we want to change in our lives now is the time to put all of that into action.

Spring Break...A New Perspective

As many of you know we, the senior class of '06 at Porter, are taking a trip to Destin Florida over Spring Break. One thing I want to do one day is to just go out to the beach one night and look at the stars... it's something you can't do very well here in Lexington. I want to look and listen to the ocean... something we don't have in Kentucky. I want to appreciate everything God has created that I take for granted every day. I want to challenge everyone who reads this to try and see creation for what it is... God showing us his greatness so that we will be left without excuse when we say we didn't know he existed. It's like the fast talk on a radio commercial or the tiny words on a T.V. screen, except it's slow-moving so we can understand, huge so we can see, and glorify God because of it. It's hard sometimes to just sit down outside, (especially for me because I have the attention span of a new born), and enjoy everything God has created for us to enjoy.

Don't Waste Your Life...Being a Scientist

For those of you who have never read John Piper's book 'Don't Waste Your Life' it's a good read but it could be a lot shorter than it is. Piper tends to describe a ton and uses a bunch of analogies that are unnecessary, but that is beside the point, his book made me come to an astounding conclusion today in my Physics class. We were watching a film on how 'Life', or creation, has affected the world we live on. It started by speaking of the usual evolution theory along with commentaries by a few scientist's. In the end they discovered that life is destroying itself. That blue-green algae are eating away their own environment, black holes are consuming theirs, and humans are destroying theirs. They claimed to have found the simplest form (or oldest form) of life in the farthest parts of the Earth (which in itself is an idiotic phrase because the Earth is round... how do you go to the farthest point, anyways) they claimed that these early forms of life could could have started the evolutionary process in which humans eventually descended from. Now take into consideration these cells they were describing looked like a sea horse. In my opinion it takes a lot more faith to believe that we came from a seahorse, this is when I stopped watching the movie and started looking at these scientist's for the idiot's they are. In speaking of our planet being the only one (out of all of the ones we know of) that could sustain life, they never even came across the fact that there could be a higher power that created this 'Life'. They showed a picture of the earth from the moon, it looked like an ant on a 1,000 acre farm.

Our sun, the center of our galaxy, is a star. There are an infinite amount of stars, which means there are infinite galaxies around those countless stars, and scientists still believe they all came from ONE, atomic-bomb-like, explosion that happened over billions of years ago. It kills me that educators are leaving out so many details. Lee Strobels book 'The Case For a Creator' has taught me a lot while reading which is probably where the following argument came from. In order for the 'Big Bang' theory to work there would be tons upon tons of dust and ash from that explosion on earth, and every other planet, where ZERO life could flourish, and scientists still believe that life came from this. I don't understand how people who are supposed to be the most educated and intelligent people in our culture cannot see the simplest realization there is, that God is in control. Every time they make a prediction, hypothesis, or theory, it is more often than not, proven wrong by the same evidence the idea was formed from.

Respecting Your Colors...During 'The Pledge'

One thing that makes me furious, is watching people during the pledge. Some stand like they're supposed to, some sit, some keep doing whatever they were doing, and some even go as far as to talk through it. I think the reason it makes me so mad is the fact that we are in a time of war as I am writing this. We are almost getting to the piont of treating our soldiers with as much respect as we did during Vietnam. During the Vietnam War, most Americans were against it so when the slodiers came back from the war, we treated them like they weren't even citizens. We left them out on the street without their homes, which is why there are so many Vietnam veterans at the V.A. Hospital today. I just hope that all of you who read this respect your country, not because of the way they look at God (trying to get him out of everything they possibly can) but because it is a good thing to do.

Acting Out Your Salvation...The 180 Change

We all know you can't lose your salvation, but someone always disagrees. The latest arguments at church have been about a stand on salvation that states you cannot lose your salvation, but that with salvation comes a change in which you live, eat, and breath God. This 180 change gives you the want to learn about God and the need for the knowledge of the Bible. How do you know if your salvation is real? Through the fruit of your faith. The greatest example in my opinion is Paul's conversion. Talk about a 180 change this guy went 540 from a profession of killing and persecuting Christians to a profession of learningand teaching God's word. In Acts 9:4-9 "He (Paul) fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him Saul, Saul why do you persecute me?" later it says in verse 9 "For three days he was blind and did not eat or drink anything." I wish my salvation was this dramatic, and it was in a different way. I had been saved years earlier but it wasn't until a few weeks ago until it took full force, or until it had matured enough to see God's will for my life/time at that point. I had an experience one night that I cannot explain, I was getting home late (I don't remember why) and I was exhausted. As I sat there trying to get to sleep I felt the urge to read/sort my sermons from Sunday mornings. In doing this I found a short commentary, I read it and it led to the greatest experience in my life. I got a whole new perspective on my salvation. I now have the desire that I didn't have before to read different opinions on scripture, different practices within our diverse religion, and learn all I can possibly learn about God and his kingdom. The whole basis for the thought of having a dead salvation is being saved but doing nothing with it. How do you know that you are saved if you have nothing to prove it other than a date written in a Bible. We need to strive to increase God's kingdom and show the world his love. Don't have a dead salvation, let it lose and listen to God's 'still small' yet extraordinarily everlasting voice that is telling you what he wants for you each and every day.

Abortion and Cloning Part 2...God's Will

This is a story that I was just recently informed about that really puts into perspective the derangement of abortion. Those of you who have been going to Porter longer than I, probably know this story. There was a young man who made the mistake of having pre-marital sex, and in God's gracious, just, merciful, and flawless will, the girl became pregnant. She wasn't going to be able to support a child so she decided to abort/terminate the child developing inside of her. The young man desperately told her that if she went ahead and had the child, he would take care of her and raise her, she wouldn't have to do a thing. The mother thought this was a pretty good idea so she did it. Today we see this young girl every Sunday and Wednesday as happy as can be, ignorant to the fact that she would not be here if it wasn't through the loving grace of God through her father.

I have no doubt in my mind that God does not have something HUGE in store for that little girl. God has a purpose for each and every 'fetus'/'embryo', that we end every time we abort a child. We as Christians cannot be pro-choice, this refutes our reputation of being loving/caring people of God and makes us look like we don't care what goes on in our world, that we have no want or need for the sinners around us. If we are to win people to Christ, how will we do so if we don't show that we love even unborn children. We should show love for all while staying true to our beliefs. We need to show that if we get rid of abortion, we won't have a need for cloning. I read an article today about how some scientists say 'the reason we are cloning is to harvest people for parenting.' As a people we have gotten so sinful that we as a culture do not want to take part in sex anymore. I know that sounds weird since sex is a sin but that is only when outside of marriage. We are leaving the process given to us by God and are trying to birth children by test tubes rather than by conception. Sex is a pleasure given to us by God, but now we are becoming so sinful that we are rejecting the things he has given to please us, and are making our own methods of creating offspring.

Whipped...Degrading 'The Manhood'

As most of you who read this blog (not many), you know I spend a lot of time with my girlfriend. Some tell me I'm 'whipped' others see it as dedication to make her happy (that would probably just be the girls and/or married men). I try to do everything possible to make her happy even if that means canceling my appearance at the church gym to play a little ball, if I've already promised her we would do something. I try to do all the gentleman-style acts like open the car door (although I must say Niccy B. is a pro at that one), call her beautiful at least twice a day, and purchase all that fatty foods (I don't have the money for) that make her happy. In fact some of the people that say I'm 'whipped' have girlfriends of their own now. Now I know they haven't been dating nearly as long as Jenn and I but they spend just as much time together. I suddenly think they have realized what I've been doing all this time, building. When you tell a girl she's beautiful, she'll come to you when she's feeling... not so beautiful (trust me it happens, even when they're gorgeous), when you open the door it shows you care about them before yourself, and when you buy them fatty foods... well I don't know what that will do in the long run besides make them into the food but hey, it puts her in a good mood for the moment (haha Just Kidding). I guess the point I'm trying to make is this, although being whipped is something that makes a man feel inferior, it makes all the difference to the girl you're waiting for if you've practiced the skills needed to be a husband. To care for her, support her, listen to her, please her, and most of all be there for her whenever she needs you, not just when you don't have something planned with 'the guys'. If you're one like me who prays for their future wife to be perfect for you and your family, I hope you'll want to be everything she prayed for.

Katrina...Losing Everything

Today I was watching the Discovery Channel during my off time for EBCE/internship(for all you who don't know what it is). Make fun of me all you want for being a nature nerd but sometimes I just like to see all the cool stuff God can do with simply his creation (and sometimes how mysteries are solved and other 'cool' stuff like that). Today was weird because the first story was about a man who had fallen over board in a storm with his friend, he was saved and hi friend died, but then it went straight into another story that moved me in a strange way. This was about a 12 year old boy named Donald, living in New Orleans. He was an inspiring new artist, drawing everything from realistic landscapes to unbelievable fantasy characters. His family (himself and his mother) did not own a T.V. or a radio and did not know about the incoming storm. The waves hit their house, breaking a window and instantly flooding the house. Neither knew how to swim and the water was rising. His mother frantically grabbed him and held on for dear life as the water rose. As they waited, Donald remembered saying to his mother, 'we're not going to make, it we're going to die'. Moments later his mother's grip became loose, and he watched her slip down into the water. He watched his own mother drown to death not knowing how to save her. All he wanted to do was die that second with her, so he let go of the light he was holding onto, and did not take a breath before diving down into the water. He held his mouth closed for as long as he could. He began to black out and remembered seeing himself in heaven, with his mom. Then a picture came into his mind, 'given to him by his mother', it was the way out. He pictured the window that had been broken by the waves, without thinking he swam under water (without going back up for air) and out the window. The boy who didn't know how to swim was now on top of his home waving to other survivors for help.

If this story does not make you feel blessed I don't know what will. I too have been in a situation where I thought I would lose my family but God got us through that (if you want to know about it let me know and I'll post it). I can only imagine what my life would be like now had I lost my mom and three youngest brothers. The kid was 12, his whole life ahead of him, and now has to live the rest of his life without the things he grew up with, without any of his drawings and artwork, and most of all without the one person he loved most, his mother. This to me shows how blessed we all are.

Abortion and Cloning... The oxy-MORON

Yesterday I was helping Jennifer with a report on Roe vs. Wade. Now I know that's kind of a broad range of topics but obviously being a girl she had to pick the baby topic to do her report on. Upon doing a little picture search to find 20 images for the report I came across some things that are unexplainable. Diagrams of how they get the baby out, showing scissors going into the mother and cutting off the limbs of these babies or, as anti-life (pro-abortionists) citizens like to call them , fetuses. I hate that word because it makes it sound like an organ or bodypart rather than a living, breathing, laughing, moving, growing, creation of God. I just can't fathom the concept of killing your own child because you don't want the responsibility of raising it. God set adoption in our minds so that we wouldn't have to do this. Some say 'well what about victims of rape and insest', have the child and set it up for adoption if every time you look at that baby makes you remember the torment you had to go through that resulted in it's birth.
the one thing that gets me every time I think about this topic is John 3:16. 'For God so loved the world, that He gave (killed) is only Son... for the sins of the world'. Does this verse even have an impact on our society today. Everyone is killing there 'only child' and it doesn't mean a thing to them. And if killing children isn't enough we want to play god even more, so we try to create a child... after we just killed one? WHY!! If we are killing babies that are unwanted by there parents and then creating ones for couples who can't have children, do you see a solution. It just seems stupid to me to do both of these things in the same world.

Simon Says...The True 'Brutally Honest' Man

A few days ago I watched American Idol. Every time I see it I love Simon even more. He doesn't care what the audience or his fellow judges think about the person singing, he doesn't care about how old they are or how good looking, he just listens to them sing. Usually I agree with his stand with most of the singers. The whole point of the show is to find the best singers out there and get them signed. Simon does a very good job, in my opinion, of getting the right people into the finals. I am eager to see who will be in the finals.

So this is my first post on my first blogsite after my first 'revival night' by myself. I used to think this stuff was really stupid and for people who don't have any life what so ever, but further meditation on the concept of 'blogging' has made me rethink this stuff to the point where I wanted to make one of my own. This site is pretty lame right now but soon I will at least have links on here. I think this is a really good way to stay accountable for things and let out your feelings and thoughts about topics for all of the 'bloginators'. I look forward to making another blog although I probably won't have as many things to say about theological issues... yet.