Traveling

Tonight… I saw something that I will take with me for a long, long time. Have you ever seen someone get hit by love so hard, they are in disbelief? I saw it happen today. esohn80, knugget or gusgus can share their story sometime, I guess.

But really… I think God’s will was being done tonite. On earth as it is in heaven, you know?
Tonight, I saw God’s word being played out in how OAKs loved their leaders. We conspired… oh yes, it was quite a conspiracy. We took the time to figure out each individual leader’s needs and desires. Weighted, schemed, probed and snuck around… oh yes, the OAKs went above and beyond the call to complete their mission. (hahaha… ok, I’m being overdramatic now.) But we took the time to really meet each one of the leaders where they were. By ourselves… I don’t think any one of us could have pulled it off individually. But as a group, wow… we really pulled through. Dad, is this what you meant when you asked to be Lord in our lives? I’ll end with some of the Word that popped up in my head while LOVE smacked our leaders upside the head…

A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

I’ve been making some progress in killing the agressive driver. It’s interesting though… the different things that come to your attention after you start going out of your way to be a gracious driver. When you try to avoid rushing your drive and losing your patience. I’ve gotten my eyes opened to alot of things… alot of places where hypocrisy has crept in and staked out a spot. I’m not going to say I’m a gracious driver. I am going to say I’ve been trying and these are just some thoughts.

I’ve noticed there’s alot of places where I’ve gotten annoyed, but there’s definitely a line between legality and courtesy.

Like for instance… dealing with the switching of lanes. When you switch lanes, legally, you are supposed to signal. Make sure you have enough space and then switch into the desired lane. But how about cutting people off? Have you seen when people pull into the fast lane at a slow speed and make the person traveling in that lane hit the brakes? How about entering/exiting on the highway? People see the exit… they see the long line of cars… so they keep driving until they see the exit and then they cut in right  in front of the exit or entrance to the highway. Legally, there is nothing wrong with that. But how about all those people who’ve waited patiently in line for the exit? Each one waiting “pays” when you cut in. Every time you save a little time by doing this, some schmoe ends up waiting just that little bit longer… That schmoe would be the one who made the retarded resolution to tame aggressive driving. 😛 Even better… how about those that know the lane they are in is about to end… but they stay on it… and stay on it… until they are practically on the shoulder… then signal to get in? Is that any better? Driving on the shoulder is obviously illegal. But part of me wonders… would it be legal to switch lanes into the lane that is ending and drive all the way up to the shoulder and then switch lanes again? (I’ve got a devious mind…)

How about passing? As far as the US is concerned… passing is for the left lane. Passing on the right lane is definitely a no-no. But here’s something to gnaw on… what if someone (who obviously doesn’t understand what a passing lane is for) is cruising on the left lane? Tail-gating is a legal iffy… not to mention a safety hazard. I don’t think that using your horn nor high-beams is appropriate… is it? Is it a gray area when dealing with passing on the right? I really dislike having people pass on my right. It makes me nervous to have cars zooming past me on both sides when I’m in the middle lane. Yet, I catch myself doing this all the time. Is it illegal? Is it ill mannered?

Horns and highbeams. Ah… the crux of the problem. By the time I need to warn someone, I usually don’t have time to use the horn. But too many people use it to express anger and irritation. So much so that I’m sometimes uncertain of when is the right time to use the horn. So far I’ve used it when someone tries to make the wrong turn down a one way street… or someone is distracted when the light changed from red to green.

Rearview Mirror usage… what is that thing for? Do I really care who’s behind me? Well… maybe if I’m cruising on a one-lane street and someone guns the engine behind me? Is it only for passing, switching lanes and parallel parking?

Random thoughts.

Love isn’t something that we can view with the naked eye.

It requires us to put on the eyeglasses of faith, clean out the irritating particles of cynicism… and focus intently.

     It was during the GCC blood drive. I had just left with mish and as we were walking back to the car. I saw something interesting going on at the other end of the parking lot. There was a pair of figures scraping and chipping away at a mess in the parking lot. They were standing directly behind the GCC van (the white one… if you must know) and one was trying her best using a small collapsible plastic shovel while the other was… well, let’s just say going at it manually. They were trying to dig the van out from a packed-snow, semi-icy mess. Now your average plastic shovel can take on snow of the powdery sort quite easily, but it’s far less of a match against ice and firmly packed snow. Now, I’m not the most charitable of people. But I have to admit, I was impressed by their persistance and maybe a bit of me was rooting for the underdog. So I popped my trunk and lent them my rusty-heavy-duty-well-used shovel. They even returned it… nicely wrapped in a bag.

Bryn Mawr ladies, my hat goes off to you both.

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.“

God-Dad, I’ve screwed it up again. Forgive me. I keep letting this stupid crap kill me. A little bit at a time, but I’m dying all the same. Help me again, to walk this path of grace and mercy. Help me to remember that I’m dying… each day I live, is one day closer to death. May I choose to die each day for you. Each day, to pick up my cross and follow after you. Thank you for what you’ve done so far, but don’t stop, I’ve got my eyes open and seeing this evil in my heart. Take it out. Bring out the scapel and cut that black thing out. I’m tired. May your will be done. In Jesus name, Amen

I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

On those few occassions where I didn’t say “I’m sorry” then hurried on with my life or passed by on the other side of the road, I’ve come face to face with the wisdom of those who are without. Those who are downtrodden and down their luck so to speak. There are many things we really want, but when we really stop to think about it, what do we really need? What is necessary and what is luxury?

They remind me. That money is a tool. It is something to be used for God’s glory. I think it’s something I’d like to forget. I’d rather bury it and just keep it. So, I hope you don’t mind as I try to turn your world (and mine) right-side-up again and God-willing, show you a bit of God’s glory along the way.

First of all. If you are reading this, yes, this very xanga post. You are rich. Most likely you have a roof over your head, clothes that fit, and food to eat everyday. When was the last time you’ve felt the bite of hunger? ( Forgive me, those who are taking part in a fast. ) You have some sort of disposable income that you can save or spend on something other than the daily needs outlined above. I doubt there are many of us like the lady with two pennies that Jesus commended. So instead… that puts us into the category of the rich-camel… possibly someone who likes rich people. How many of us know the Lord’s prayer and use it to love our neighbors? daily bread. Jesus didn’t pray for riches. And He certainly didn’t pray for poverty. We have all these things going on in our lives. So much things to do, places to go, plans to make. Who is this Lord, you keep talking to? Who’s your God? Who’s your Master?

To one of God’s creations, one person made in God’s image. 10 dollars and 15 minutes of your time are priceless.

(For those who want to know: No, I don’t give money to them. But you can buy them food, right?)

Alright… I’m sick and being sick brings out my selfish side. So the bible is getting read and I’m not up for writing a long post. Yeah…
Instead, how about something to shift the gears a bit?

Reader Poll

1) Can a guy be high-maintenance?

2) Is love best defined as action, feeling or perspective?

—————- Online Tidbits —————-
Making a rukus about a brother! (Follow-up)
Spring break: Walmart-style!
Family by death.
Noah’s Ark full-scale replica
No more dogs a la mode?
Loneliness a killer?
Terror-proof Jets in progress.
Nice guy theory gets a kick (Contains offensive language.)
Army body armor stance gets complicated…
Death in the waters of the carribean
Myspace as an investigative tool
Thai political turmoil and followup
Sunscreen companies under attack for misadvertising

—————- EDIT 1.0 (Videos courtesy of TheREALDanielBay) —————-

1) What’s that last cop say? (Any translators out there?)

2) I wanna take up jump rope too… hahahhaha

This time it was my pastor… Pastor Young!

He was sick and had a scratchy voice. I was walking around his house and he called me by my name into his room. I walk in and he starts talking to me. I have no clue why, because I don’t really know my pastor like that. I don’t even know if he knows my name. Anyway… he’s talking to me, and then falls backward off a balcony into a large body of water. He seems to be floating on top of the water and after a bit, I figure out that somehow he’s landed on a surf board and he’s just drifting on it.

So strange.

Any Joseph’s out there?