ELIXERS

I have been playing guitar for a few years.  I am notorious for breaking strings, until recently.  I have been playing a little less agressively and have noticed I spend less money on string replacements.

I tried the strings, ELIXER with no luck.  They sound great.  Really clean and fresh.  The only down fall is the 4th string, the B string had a tendancy to break very early in their life.  This is not just my problem, but it seems to be a defect in the product.  Everybody breaks their G string of ELIXERs.  

I gave up on them for that reason, until recently.  I'm giving them another chance.  We'll see how it goes.  If that G string breaks again though, I'm done forever with them.

Good luck ELIXER.  Good luck

Idiots and Harassment

Have you ever been on the receiving end of an uninformed person's rant?  Have you ever had to endure the painful ramblings of a person that had no idea what they were talking about?  It sure is tough to smile and nod to a person that obviously has no idea what he/she is talking about.  I remember while at college, there were a few people that had a tendency to speak up in class concerning the topic at hand, only to wade out into the waters of intelligent discussion and begin an idiot's attempt at proving a point that they don't understand at all.  I used to say about those people that when they opened their mouths, stupid fell out.  This happened more than once in my four years at VFCC.  It was a recurring thing for a select few people that I was sure to only to be a waste of a perfectly good cerebral cortex.  But I still had to remember that Jesus calls the fools to confound the wise at times.  And I had to remember that God didn't ask for us to always get our ducks in a row.  He only asks that we follow him and point others to him.  

I can live with stupid people.  I am one at times.  It is when someone's "stupid" idea leads them to harass someone else.  For example, the stupid idea that Women are inferior to Men.  We can deal with it only being an idea inside someone's head, but when that idea turns into gender discrimination and harassment it turns my stomach sour.  Or another example, the stupid idea that one race is superior to another.  We can overlook it when it is only a thought, but when it turns into racial slurs, harassment, and racial preference, it chills my blood.

Recently the public's eye is on the election.  Today is the day.  Time to vote.  Many people will vote for one candidate over another for reasons differing from the next person.  The reason you vote for one person is decided because of an idea or thought about certain issues.  Your idea is different than the next person.  Some people share similar ideas.  Others share very differing ideas.  But the fact is we all have a "notion" or "idea" that shapes our decision.  Some will think your idea is stupid.  Just like as if stupid is falling out of your mouth.  This is not a problem.  People will disagree, that is normal.  Even inside your very own home, you will disagree.  The problem comes when your idea starts to make you lash out at another person's idea.  

Debate is healthy, but harassment is not.  It is called voter intimidation.  And this is actually a crime.  But so many ideas are silenced by another because they felt it necessary to verbally/physically/emotionally harass the person till they gave up.  Many start to think, "is this really worth the pain I am going through?  Is my idea really worth this?  Would it be ok to give up; abandon my ideas so that I would not have to endure the punishment of people turning against me?"  Many give in.  Some grow ever so stubborn and push forward; receiving hate mail, rocks thrown through windows, slashed tires, or people they love turning their backs on them.  This is not a pain that anybody should have to endure.  No one ever should have to put up with the pain that is inflicted because their thoughts are not the popular one in that particular region.

Some say one person is the devil.  Some say another person is a fool.  Still others don't know what the difference is between reading and researching.  But that is the life that we live in.  People make decisions based on different things.  Some are followers, some are leaders, some go against the grain, some ignore it all together.  We must all respect the idea and thought of the next person even if we do not agree with it.  And we must not act out and hurt someone that does not share in our thoughts.

Trip to Atlanta

So I am in a mentoring group call the Cadre.  It was created by one of the greatest youth pastors in the nation, Jeanne Mayo.  She has been apart of some of the most dynamic and powerful youth groups to date.  She has spoken at many different seminars and conferences including the National Youth Ministers Conference (she is a regular speaker).  She has a great way of teaching others how to do youth ministry.

But most important of all, she has a heart for people.  She learned from someone (can't remember who) to make the person you are talking to feel like they are the center of the universe by giving them your undivided attention.  She is a master of really letting people feel like they are cared about.  She either really has a heart for people, or she is the best faker the world has ever seen.  My bet is on the former.

Anyway, I am proud to say that I was selected to be in her year long mentoring program called the Cadre.  This is a small group of youth pastors throughout the country that can be poored into by herself and one another.  There are monthly conference calls that sometimes include outside voices such as Doug Fields and other nationaly known youth specialists.  The cadre also includes two trips to Atlanta where we stay at Jeanne's house and learn face to face from each other and from Jeanne.  She has a way of speaking into people's lives like no one I have ever spent time with.

Our first trip is scheduled for November.  For a while I was not going to be able to go.  All I have to pay for is a plane ticket, but I couldn't afford it.  But the board has blessed me with the funding to travel to this retreat so that I can continue to develope myself into a better youth pastor, and better youth coach.  I won't let this trip slip into the background as just another conference.  This will be life changing!  Thanks Board, and Pastor Troy!

MacBook Pro Heat

So lately I've been having a heating issue with my lappy.  It get unbearably hot during even normal use (word, safari, itunes).  I have been getting concerned that this could pose a problem.  So last night I went snooping around the internet because I couldn't sleep.  I found many MBP users have the same issue, in fact they are designed to run hotter.  But 50C is not the 70C I hit last night.  Some people were complaining about run away programs running up the CPU, and others said their heating came from the latest update 10.5.5.  I tried to think back and I couldn't really tell.

One guy said he ran a "verify and repair permissions" on his HDD before and after any update to the OS.  He said he has not seen any problems in heat resulting.  So being the insomniac I was for the night, I did just that.  During the process I was hitting temps of about 50-55c.  Immediately after restart into the OS, the temp started to drop out of the sky!  Down to safe working temps of 40-45c.  Even right now I am at 36C.  Not bad.  A fifteen minute fix to keep my lappy cool and running fast.

Coffee with Jesus

Have you ever thought about what type of coffee Jesus drinks?  Is he a sugar and cream guy? or does he go for the flavor shots? or is Jesus more of the purest, black only?

I am not sure too much about what he likes, but I can tell you in the year that I have been in North East, he hasn't drank a single sip of the coffee I made for him... maybe he is a tea guy?

I like to get to the church early, before the rest show up and the day starts.  I like to have a cup of coffee and talk to God for a bit.  It's kind of a ritual for me.  A tradition if you will.  And traditions and rituals aren't bad.  They help to get us going, put us on the right track, make us ready for the day.  Sometimes rituals can have a bad affect by consuming your needs.  If a tradition becomes only a thing you do because you feel you must to please God, then a tradition becomes an idol to you.

So far I don't worship coffee.  Although I enjoy it, I don't worship it.  Coffee does provide a great avenue for you to get together with people.  It works for me to get together with Jesus.

unChristian: Foreward

Looks as if I am going to be entering a book like others I have read.  Condemning the way churches are ministring to this age of people.  I can see it coming... "We are leaving people behind in the dust, or maybe they are leaving us behind."  Although it does read to say that this is based on Barna's years of research on the topic.  And the writer is the president of Barna so he should know what he is talking about.  Others have said this is a good read, so here we go. 

Proton Accelerator LHC

So today they fired up the largest proton accelerator in history.  This 27km tube is designed to accelerate hydrogen atoms that have stripped of their electrons, turning them into just protons, to 99.99999% of the speed of light.  It then will send these protons around a the circle in opposite directions using magnetics and colliding them at 4 locations.  Sounds cool!

They hope to find out more about the origin of mass, and matter by recreating a "big bang" like energy.  They are also hoping to create mini black holes, so small that not even an atom could be sucked in, and lasting for so short a time, that it "supposedly" won't hurt the earth.

This sure sounds cool, and there are more scientists and countries involved to overlook a significant danger.  But one can get very apprehensive that if this goes dreadfully wrong, destruction on a biblical scale is likely.  So bend over and kiss your butt goodbye!  

I hope that they find some awesome and cool stuff.  Even if they "prove" crazy other dimensions, it just goes to show that this creation of God's isn't just a surface level playground, but a multifaceted.... (searching for a word)... thing.

This was just a preliminary test.  No collisions yet.  So you still have plenty of time to get your bucket list done.

Vacation

I am on vacation.  We survived Hurricane Hanna, wasn't too bad.  I actually slept through it.  Oh well.  Good thing I came when I did though, the airport still did shut down.  So we wouldn't have gotten here.  Is "gotten" a word?  Hmmm, I don't know.

Got a couple new books.  "I'm fine with God... It's christians I can't stand."  :rants about certain things that some christians do that give the rest of us christians a bad name.  I also got "UnChristian"  :a few friends of mine recommended this one.  Not sure the theme, but it'll be a good airplane read.  I'll let you know.

Mourn

Well a buddy of mine has told me he is going to be a daddy.  It pretty cool, the whole daddy thing.  I don't have kids yet, but Danielle babysits a little girl named Hannah.  Don't tell her mom, but I secretly think she's my little girl ;)

Little babies are awesome and they bring so much joy, but the crazy thing is that right after I got the news from him, I started listening to a podcast entitled "Blessed are those who mourn" from the beatitudes.  The beginning of the sermon talked about how a young couple was pregnant and had a miscarriage.  Talk about crazy.  One minute I am full of excitement and the next I am getting depressed because of the story this guy is telling me.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.  The point is, we need to join in the celebration of new life with others.  Which is easy.  But also join in the mourning of those that lose something... 

crazy huh?

Roofing and Reroofing

So yesterday was the last day of roofing for me, for at least this year and hopefully forever.  It was in erie, a 2 story 12-12.  One of those that are right next to the other houses, and hardly any room to move around.  It had 3 dormers and a two porches that were all messed up because somebody doesn't know how to install rubber.  We tore off everything and dried it in; shingled a little.  It was a long day.

Today I feel as if I have been hit by a boeing 747.  My eyes are heavy and my arms are sluggish.  If I needed to move anything today, forget it.  I am spent.  But I have so much work to do at the office today, no time for a break.  Youth Advance is coming up, this weekend (YIKES!!), and there's the normal wear and tear of Wednesday and Thursdays.  It seems as if it never stops.  It never quits, and that is exactly what life is like.

It is funny because in college I thought I was going to change the world right away.  I was going to be the Youth Pastor that nobody has ever seen.  Awesome and amazing.  Dynamic and real.  Relevant and challenging.  New-school and Old-school.  I am the One... or maybe I am just one of the many.

It is funny that we are fed the line that we are special, other, different, better, or something...  We are told that we are extra ordinary, and we are abnormal.  But the fact is we are normal.  Kind of depressing actually.  We are normal, we are the same, we are one of the masses.  And I have been trying to understand that.  "I thought God wanted me to change the world?!"  But to change the world, do I have to be different than the rest?  Do I have to be that hero?  Or is it ok to just be me, who is just like you, and them?

Roofing is about strength, finesse, and knowledge.  And when you tear off a roof and put another on, you rely on your own strength to get the job done.  But ministry is totally different.  Sure I went to school for equipping of the right tools.  But this is a battle not won by my own strength.  No matter how hard you try to change the world, I realize that I am going to fall short of my dreams.... I need to accept I am just one of the many, and God might then chose to use one of those many to change the world.  It seems to be the story of the bible.  The nobody, is used to make a huge difference.  And in the end, they still are a nobody but in a world that was changed out from underneath them...

Maybe I will be one of the many that God chooses to reroof the world.  Maybe not.

reDUX

The word redux means to bring back to prominence or importance that which has been forgotten or pushed away.  Basically it means bringing something back to the front burner.  Sometimes I think we tend to forget the importance of things and replace them with something exciting and new.  

Kind of when a junior-higher gets his first girlfriend.  His friends get placed on the back burner of importance.  He forgets those that strengthen him and those that will hold him up.  He turns away from his closest companions for a pretty smile.  He might not know the girl well, but in his mind she is all that matters.  I have seen this too often, and regrettably it also happened to me too.  But when all comes crashing down, those back burner friends are the ones you go running back too.

  

The back burner items in adult life and more importantly as a Christian seem to be a little more potent than childhood friendships.  We as adults tend to place family, friends, and rest on the back burner as we continue to cook our lives with the drive for success and accomplishment.  Rob Bell says that as Americans, we worship at the alter of success.  He says that we find our self worth in what we produce.  He later attaches the concept of rest and sabbath, and bringing back to importance rest and refreshment with family and friends.  A redux of sabbath.

Other areas that need a redux are more difficult to talk about.  They need more time to explain and careful wordings to not be mistaken.  But I leave it to you, what other areas in the Christian life need a redux of importance?