Puppysitting

I puppysat today. Yes, puppysat. It's like dogsitting, except worse. His name is Popeye. He's a boxer/husky mix and has one brown eye and one blue. He loves to play and would bark when I wouldn't play with him while sitting in the recliner. I was working on my sermon and he insisted on attention being paid to him. I didn't have the attention to pay until he bit my toes.


Here he is pulling his innocent face. Pshaw.

Zoological Escapades

We went to the zoo. It was incredibly happy.

Elephants have dominant tusks just like we have dominant right or left hands.
I don't know what the percentage is for left-tusked elephants.

The polar bear posed perfectly and went swimming later - huge fluffy floaty thing with paws.

Ocelot that went up and said hello to the one laying down.


Mama and her cute little baby that held itself up with its arms and kept flopping it's little legs.

The white lions were sunning majestically. They thought the humans were quite amusing.

This little monkey was very depressed. You could see it in his face.


The fluffy black bear whose wild relative I just saw in Tennessee. Mel adored this guy.

The giraffe who chewed by chomping his lower jaw and caused me to imitate him. We decided they would be very hard to ride with their sloping backs.

(If he could he would - wave, Goodbye!)

Notes on Random Things

I love how it doesn't get dark until 930.

I love how I can read whatever I want, whenever I want.

I noticed my surgeon drives a Lexus.

You fool, don't you know you're neked.

I always laugh when I see a product that says, "Specially formulated."

If ever I get lost, I will leave a trail of gummy bears, not breadcrumbs.

I did not know you had to be 18 to buy super glue.

There ya go.

Summer Advice

To do right never gets easy. To not give in to your weakness is a choice. It's a revelation of your integrity. It's not easy to do right when you feel the temptation. Ask yourself, "How bad do I really want to keep the approval and smile of Jesus?" There are people who are watching your life. They will be disappointed. They look up to you. There are people who are watching you. Don't mess up because you will let people down. We need a few good men! By God's grace we can be. If you feel pressure, call your buddies. Pray with others. This is serious business. The devil's fighting. Don't give up! Grow. Be stronger. Choose inside you will not make provision for the flesh. -APB

Summer Things

So I went to Meijer with Glowbug, got groceries and laughed about lots of stuff. On the way out I saw a bumper sticker. I thought it was hilarious.

By the way, when you go to IHOP like we did. Don't get the Tuscan Chicken Griller. It has no taste. The chicken breast wasn't good quality. And the sun-dried tomatoes tasted like I was trying to chew and swallow something inedible.

Here's my buddy messing with his cell while we waited for our food.

Beware.

Poor kid didn't see it coming. By the way, that's the big blue guy himself, the Cookie Monster on his shirt. As soon as I saw him I thought, "Somebody get me some chalk." So I figure this little guy could be one of several things.

1) A homicide case for the local police department. Get the chalk and make an outline.
2) A child's mannequin for Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation exercises.
3) A warning to all eaters of cookies.

Any thoughts?

Open Mouth. Insert Fork. Smile.

Original flavor with strawberries.* I'd give it 4 out of 5 stars. (4.5 if you want to be technical.) I rate it so because of the taste and consistency, not necessarily the price. This particular cheesecake is pretty soft and creamy. I got it because I wanted to taste the original flavor, but not be boring. My tongue told me it was worth what I paid. I even saved 1/3 of it for later. It still retained flavor and form. Out of the quality cheesecake that I've eaten so far, it's up there in the top 3.

*The Cheesecake Factory

Best Way to Defrost a Refrigerator

Before I left the dorm I managed to snap this picture. Somebody decided they just didn't want to mop up the moisture. The folded paper towel on top has ink scrawled on it: "Please do not touch this!" Oh yes, and it's a public shower stall.

Your Grace

Finished Yancey's What's So Amazing About Grace last week. I really liked it. I'd give it 4 out of 5 stars. This book was amazing! (Pun intended.) I really would suggest that any Christian read it, especially those in ministry. My only critique is that he only talked about one aspect of grace, and that is unmerited favor. i.e., God's love and mercy outpoured to undeserving people. (Eph. 2:8-9) He makes no mention or implication of passages such as I Corinthians 15:10 or Titus 2:11-13. What I'm saying is, grace also includes enabling power. i.e., God giving us the power and desire to do His will.

I would re-read this book as well. It's that good. Yancey does an excellent job of pulling illustrations, quotes, and stories from all cultures and time to illustrate his points. He's got a chapter on forgiveness, a chapter on homosexuality, and so much more. Let me just quote extensively. I think that'll suffice:

"We're all bastards and God loves us anyway."

"I really only love God as much as I love the person I love the least"

"Romantic love is the closest experience of pure grace."

"The world starves for grace."

"I learn grace by being graced."

"Grace does not depend on what we have done for God but rather what God has done for us."

"God reserves the right to alter the rules of retribution."

"Paul harped on grace because he knew what could happen if we believe we have earned God's love. In the dark times, if perhaps we badly fail God, or if for no good reason we simply feel unloved, we would stand on shaky ground. We would fear that God might stop loving us when he discovers the real truth about us."

"Yes, he's very fond of me."

"Grace means there is nothing we can do to make God loves us more and nothing we can do to make God loves us less."

"Grace alone melts ungrace."

"Christianity has always insisted that the cross we bear precedes the crown we wear."

"We're all oddballs but God loves us anyhow."

"I began to understand that every gay person has heard the message of judgment from the church - again and again, nothing but judgment."

"Grace dies when it becomes us versus them."

"Grace has about it a scent of scandal."

"It is the saints who have a sense of sin."

"Christ accepts us as we are, but when he accepts us, we cannot remain as we are...Every call to
conversion, includes a call to discipleship, to Christ-likeness."

"What God wants is not a good performance, but my heart."

"Blue jeans made a person spiritually suspect."

"The solution to sin is not to impose an ever-strict code of behavior. It is to know God."

"Dispensing God's grace is the Christian's main contribution."

"Every word we say or action we take should reflect God's grace."

"The United Nations reports that over ten thousand people starve to death each day, and most of you don't give a sh--. However, what is even more tragic is that most of you are more concerned about the fact that I just said a bad word than you are about the fact that ten thousand people are going to die today." -quoting Tony Campolo


And there's so much more...So just read the book. You'll be a better Christian for it.

Pomp & Circumstances

I like Edward Elgar. He seems to offer something to every graduate. You know - that somewhat annoying Pomp & Circumstance. It kind of represents the slow, agonizing way in which you get your diploma. It even has words! Dah. Duh-duh-dah. Dah-duh. Da. Duh-da-dah-duh. You get the point. And then they filed out to March of the Priests - uplifting, but not motivating. May I suggest something more along the lines of Super Mario Bros. Theme or perhaps something upbeat like, It's Over by Hawk Nelson, or We Shine by Stellar Kart.

My niece Briana, happened to sit with me and wasn't afraid of being happy for a photograph.

Neither, was Krista (Melissa's cousin), who is a closet philosopher if you just give her some Italian food, coffee and a book title.

Speaking of Italian food. I am still full from Buca di Beppo's. I rawther enjoyed the Apple Gorgonzola, Cesar Salad, Ravioli, Spaghetti, and Coconut Cake. Here we are, minus the white tie and black mortarboard.


Right now, I'm distracting myself from packing. Moving out of the dorm for the summer on Monday. Accordingly, I went dumpster diving for cardboard boxes a minute ago.

[Sorry. No photograph there.]

My Day in Pictures

First, I had my Junior Interview with the Ministerial Faculty this morning. Here's me with my Bible and Portfolio. Notice the tie. I employed color psychology on this one.

After the Concert on the Carpet, (which included an incredible song from "The Incredibles") we went across the river...

and partook of smoothies.

...and searched for books, and coincidentally, good book titles.


My favorite part of the day? I'll leave you to decide.

Postscript: I avoided a minefield of duck poop to take the skyline picture.

IT'S OVER! It's Over! It's over. It's over.

My 5" stack of paperwork for Spring 2010 semester. (Classes include: Daniel/Revelation, Systematic Theology II, History & Literature of the American Holiness Movement, Choir, Greek IIB, Romans & Galatians, Wisdom Literature, Practicum in Drama Ministry)


Comments:

Ryan: That, my friend, is pretty serious
Cortney: Oh my word! I have no idea how big mine is
Chelsea: Nice...That's a lot of paper...That's pretty powerful.
Brennan: Wow. Is that all from this semester?
Jon: That looks humongous
Melissa: Wow. Blog-worthy picture. I believe GBS professors are single-handedly destroying the enviroment.

Hug!

Sam: Good afternoon. I see the assassins have failed.

Rose: Yes, we had a long talk over coffee. They feel under appreciated and want more hugs.

Sam: Tell them I'd be willing to negotiate some increase in PDA's.

Rose: They said they want a Build-a-Bear and four tickets to Barbara Streisand

Sam: What?!? Who do you think I am? The queen of America?

And I've been thinkin a lot...

I feel like a pregnant woman in these last 3 weeks of school. "Push! Push! PUSH."

This Catchphrase

I would like to talk about a whiny catchphrase that seems to have caught on even among Christians, particularly my generation. Many seem to talk about how their life sucks. (Dictionary: informal "be very bad, disagreeable, or disgusting") While I want to balance my response between something like, "Grow up" and "Aw...Let me give you a hug," it seems that such comments are made by people who do not necessarily have a strong biblical perspective. And I say that carefully. I readily admit my tendency to react against something and hold too strong of an opinion [which is immunity to being told you're wrong/paper, rock and scissors they all have their pros and cons]. I also think that it's wrong to compare ourselves to starving kids in Africa (to borrow a cliche) and tell ourselves to buck up because we have it so much better than so many people! (Which is why I kinda get annoyed when people term Nick Vujicic's story as "inspiring.")

Irregardless, nevertheless, notwithstanding, I would like to proclaim a dehortative on the phrase, "My life sucks," and place it against the cohortative, "I will bless the Lord at all times, His praise shall continually be in my mouth." It's a tough balance. Sometimes there is the gritting of teeth. I leave room for sympathy. I exclude all "giddy happy-go-luckiness." But there is something at stake here - our attitude. Prayer is important. I have found that Psalm 34:1 is not a cure all, but it is a proper focus. And if we want excellent, Spirit-led lives...then why not?