Finally relaxed

Today I finally got the chance to relax...it was indeed nice. Although I still had some things that needed tended to today, I got the chance to sit and breath and recover from what has been an exhausting last two weeks.

I am trying to learn the balance between staying busy-busy for the sake of school, work, Christ, etc-and keeping some time to just chill out a bit, refresh my body, and my soul.

I've got about three weeks where I have no school...except for one paper that needs to be written this week...I hope I spend my three weeks trying to push the disciplines of staying busy and relaxing. I need to fine tune both!

The bad morning

This morning I knew I had to be at Midas at 8:00 to get my car fixed. I was told yesterday it would only take an hour to an hour and a half to fix it SINCE I MADE AN APPOINTMENT.

I get there first thing in the morning, drop my car off, and decide to wait...a half-hour goes by...nothing, my car doesn't even move...so I decide to ask the woman working at the front desk if there was a problem or a reason they haven't looked at my car yet...

She tells me that there were about 6 cars left over from the day before and that they wouldn't be able to get to my car until later in the afternoon...she also said, "I wondered why you were just sitting there"

This is when I lost it...sort of...

So I said, "This is why people make appointments, to avoid this sort of thing. When you make an appointment, you make a verbal agreement to something." She had nothing to say to this...so I just decided...oh well, I guess I'll walk/jog home...in my FLIP FLOPS AND JEANS AND POLO SHIRT.

It ended up being over 2.5 miles to my house...and I had to sweat my butt off because someone didn't keep their appointment.

Not only did I pay $424.00 to get my car fixed, I got to sweat all morning running/walking home in FLIP FLOPS.

"Trust the Midas Touch"--Yeah, whatever!

Sorry Justin Ganschow

Justin,

This post is to you...although others may read it. I forgot to link you on my blog. No worries, you're where you belong now!!!

Finals Are Over

My sumer classes are finally done, well, two of them at least. For my third class I just have a 5 page paper left to write, but that's not due for a little over a week.

So I want to offer my apologies to everyone because I haven't been able to do much this summer because of class...but now I have like 4 weeks of no school, and no excuses, after I get this last paper done.

I hope all of you guys are having a great week!

She finally gave in...

Bethany finally did the right thing and started herself a blog. Now, she promises not to post meaningless things daily, but instead to write only when it makes sense to. So don't worry about reading pointless stories about her day, or about the toothbrush she finally threw away...she means business! You may have noticed that I added a link to my blog, you can click that link, or just click this one right here...

http://bethanygoodman.blogspot.com

Congrats, Bethany! I'm so proud of you! *Tear*

Summer School

Hooray for almost being done with summer school. I've got two finals to take, one paper to write, then I am done...

Which means, only 13 more hours to go...in the fall....though my courses are going to be rough...

Survey of Theology II
Interpersonal Ministry Skills
Communication of Biblical Truth
Hermeneutics

These four classes will bring about 25 papers to write this fall...Yippy!!

Maybe I'll just "Rob Bell It" and compile these papers and make a book out of them...and then a DVD series...and then I can turn them into sermons and sell them on iTunes...What a crook!!

Drive By Egging

Last night, Bethany and I decided to go on a walk around her house and neighborhood. It was perfect night for it, not too hot, not too humid, so I concurred we should go.

We walked for about an hour as we headed towards Main St. on Bradley's Campus. At this point Bethany remembered that she was almost out of milk, so we headed to a gas station to get some Skim Milk action.

Now, out of almost nowhere comes a speeding car towards us. Now normally I would think nothing of this since cars tend to drive on streets, but there was something different about this car from the onset.

As they got nearer to us, the felon in the passenger seat reached his right arm out of the car and hurled a foreign object in our direction. You may be asking yourself, "what was that foreign object?" Well, I'll tell you, it was an Egg. Now, we were not harmed by this egg, but instead splashed by it. The egg launcher threw the egg directly in front of our path causing the egg to explode by our feet which in turn splashed me on my legs and feet and Bethany on her legs and feet.

So to you, you egg launching criminal, I hope you enjoyed egging us. I was initially furious...Bethany immediately starting laughing, because, "We just got egged!"

Nexus

There were 80 people this past weekend at Nexus. It was a lot of fun having to bring out more chairs during worship. And by the way, a special thanks to Brandon Dewitt for filling in last minute for us. It was an awesome night!

The Office

So just about everyone is talking about the Office on Friday mornings...And I have finally given in.

I watched tonight for the first time since the "sexual harassment" episode from months ago.

The show is hilarious...now those of you who are faithful Officer's need to let me know if tonight's episode was especially funny, or was it not as funny as it usually is...I would like to know!

Who You are (When No One's Looking)

I finished this book in 3 days. Take that Charlie...

I'm not usually one to finish a book in less then a few weeks, but this book was something else...

If you've never read it, you absolutely must. It is the greatest book I've ever read that talks about character and how to build one. It is pretty spectacular!

Obedience

I am re-learning that the old testament is all about obedience. Towards the end in the book of Exodus all the people start worshipping an idol while Moses is up on Mt. Sinai talking to God and getting commandments on a couple pieces of stone. All of a sudden God gets really angry and wants to kill all the Israelites who are down the mountain, and Moses has to help God change His mind. He does so, (which is amazing) and when Moses goes down the mountain he sees how disobedient the people have been.

This story reminds me of the truth that faith in God meant living a holy life of obedience to Him.
Today, it is a bit different. Certainly God requires obedience still today, but Jesus Christ offers even more grace. Thank God.

I am so Lucky

I am so lucky to have this girl in my life. She is encouraging, smart, has a great personality, totally gorgeous, great with young kids, great with older kids...pretty much, she is just great!! I am the luckiest guy I know!

These are some pictures from my brother's wedding back in April. We had a lot of fun that night! I think it was April, but I don't remember all that well...nonetheless, there we are!

Who you are (When No one's Looking)

Who You are (When No one's Looking) is maybe the best book I've ever read. I got it last night from Bethany and have about 40 more pages to read. It is a book about character, courage, discipline, vision, endurance, and all types of love. I have to say that this is probably one of the most influential books I've read in a long time and encourage anyone to pick this one up if you're looking for some instruction and encouragement to be better at the above said areas in life.

Today has been a personal desert day for me. I've spent most of my day reading, and praying...and I did a little homework this morning. I also ran into an old friend at Wal-Mart in Pekin and he detailed his experience playing virtual golf with Michael Jordan...unreal!

But anyways, go get this book...it is fantastic!

Loving and being loved.

Now I know this a bit strange sounding...but this movie falls into my Top 5 Category of all time. Maybe you have heard me say before that I don't even really like movies that much because I don't like to just sit for 2 hours at a time watching something...I get bored with that really easily if what I'm doing isn't very interesting. But this movie for some reason is different to me. I feel like Tom Hanks plays an awesome role in this movie. Everyone in America knows that he is Forret GUmp. But I think that he displays some of the most amazing character a person has ever displayed. He is an incredibly kind, nice, caring, thoughtful person who just wants everyone to be happy. And his work ethic was incredible.

Now I know that he was developmentally disabled, but he still led a terrific life. He loved and was loved. Aside from accepting the God of the Universe as Savior, isn't that what life is all about? Loving and being loved.

Chef Boy-Ar-Dean

So in case you didn't know, the great Charles Dean Two enjoys cooking. This has recently come to my attention yet again during the lunch ours at work when we take the time to eat. Charlie is on a boiled egg kick and has been eating them for lunch often as of late. The other day he bit into one of those eggs and remarked to me, "Wow, what a perfectly cooked egg" as if to gratify his desire to be a chef. He then went and showed Kerry, his boss and my second boss, and again quipped, "what an amazingly cooked egg."

So next time you see Charles, encourage him on his ability to boil an egg. More than that, applaud him for his cooking skills...There is much more to learn from him than just speaking skills and leadership development. This man can cook, and he is dang proud of it!

Graduation & the face

So I just found out that (actually yesterday afternoon) that I won't actually be able to "walk" at graduation until May of 2007. I will finish up my degree this December still, but I won't do the cremonial part until May...I guess that doesn't really bother me that much...I just want my degree and I don't really even care about graduation that much

Bethany is back...which is awesome because she is neat! Here is a picture of Bethany in New York that was sent to me from a friend (I won't reveal who so this person doesn't get stabbed)...

I think this face should become the new "facebook" face...your thoughts?!?!

I'm a fundamentalist?

So while reading blogs today, I stumbled across a quiz that basically helps you to understand a little about yourself and your religiuos leanings....that being said I think this quiz is whack....but I'll show results anyways....



You scored as Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan.
You are an evangelical in the Wesleyan tradition. You believe that God's grace enables you to choose to believe in him, even though you yourself are totally depraved. The gift of the Holy Spirit gives you assurance of your salvation, and he also enables you to live the life of obedience to which God has called us. You are influenced heavly by John Wesley and the Methodists.
var img_str1="";img_str1="";
var result_str1="";
Fundamentalist
71%
Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan
71%
Emergent/Postmodern
68%
Charismatic/Pentecostal
64%
Neo orthodox
64%
Classical Liberal
54%
Reformed Evangelical
50%
Roman Catholic
32%
Modern Liberal
32%


Apparently I have some fundamentalist leanings....and apparently I think that liberal Christianity is going to lead to atheism...(Actually, on this one I tend to agree a bit, I might catch some flack for that) At least, I think liberal Christianity would tend to lead to more atheism than would coservative Christianity...What are your thoughts on the subject?!

I think those who are a bit more liberal might argue that conservatives blindly believe things and don't have any knowledge to back up what they believe. That conservatives aren't skeptical, and that they should be. I think that is poppycock, and even arrogant! (that's right, I just said poppycock)

Liberal thinkers are no better or worse than conservative thinkers...I think that modern liberal theologians are guilty of thinking they are better than everyone else...There is sometimes a certain arrogance that I catch (and sometimes am probably guilt of myself) from liberal thinkers....

Conservative theolgians tend to think they are always right, and are very fundamentalistic...not a good scenario either...

Let me say that I think I am somewhere in the middle of the Liberal views and Conservative Views on faith. And that I don't think there is anything wrong with either type of thinker!

I just got off the phone...

with my LADY!!!

She is still in New York having an awesome time!...I say "still" like it has been 3 weeks or something, but it's actually only been a few days...The girls are having a great time it sounds like

Something else hit me today...

After the remaining 3 weeks of summer school I have (9 semester hours this summer) I only have 13 credit hours to finish...

I will register on Wednesday this week and I will be done with school officially on December 11th. Graduation is soon afterwards and then I will be a college grad!!! Freakin crap!! It's aout dang time too!

I'm fairly certain that there will be several posts that contain similar excitements about being done with school in the near future...so now you know to start counting

Sundays

I love Sundays. Particularly this Sunday. I am getting a chance to rest. Life has been crazy these past few weeks. I fell asleep at 11:30, the earliest I have fallen asleep in a while. It as nice. Today I have watched the Cubs and done a couple hours of homework. Even homework feels like rest today.

At the moment Bethany is in New York with a couple of friends probably having the time of her life. But I can't wait for her to get back. It is amazing to me what going a few days without seeing her can do. It totally reminds me of what I have and how amazing it really is. Those it is healthy to go a few days every now and then without seeing each other, I really love it when I get to see her again!

Sparce

So I know my postings have bee quite sparce and even, few and far between. But this month has been absolutely crazy...I am taking 3 summer classes totalling 9 hours, and I am working just as much as I was before, maybe a bit more outside of work...Not making excuses, just explaining why there hasn't been much to read here lately.

But I am getting back into as a discipline. My life and relationships go much better when I use a place to purge my thoughts. So, I'm back at, trying for 5 a week!

The thing I wanted to post about today was that I just pulled out my guitar and played for a while. I was doing homework, and I wanted a break, so I pulled out my guitar, and looked up the music to Mr. Lincoln Brewster's newest CD.

To my delight the few songs I could find were easy to play, so I just sat in my room with my turtle Shelley and we jammed. More importantly, I got an excellent opportunity to connect with God and let Him speak to my heart and to calm me down a bit.

So to anyone who needs to calm down life a bit, I suggest singing a few lines to I Surrender. It has an amazing ability to re-focus me.