Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Quench my thirst with gasoline
First, who decides what "unconscionably excessive" is? A college student who is barely scraping by and the Attorney General of the United States probably have different opinions of what qualifies as excessive.
Secondly, why do we need the president to declare the an "energy crisis" in order to stop oil companies from exploting the American public. Of course, this section of the bill was demanded by Texas democrats who would have refused to vote favorably without this stipulation. So what we have here is Congress's typical show of pretending to act while not actually acting at all.
The only real answer I can see to the oil problem is for the consumer to find ways to decrease demand. However, we all need to get to work or school in the morning so I don't really see that happening. Maybe I'll start digging for oil in the backyard. Of course, I don't really own my backyard anyway.
Friday, May 11, 2007
The Light I Never Know'd
I succumed to Austin's constant whining about my fish. Austin is now the proud owner of four more fish. I think I'm gonna convert my tank into a turtle terrarium. My brother has a pretty sweet turtle set up in 50 gallon tank. While I won't be able to touch the 50 gallon, he's volunteered to set up my 20 gallon for a turtle.
Oak Hills afterprom tonight and tomorrow night. I just can't get away from that place. So, I'm leading some volunteers from the Navigators down there to help out.
Monday, April 23, 2007
I don't ask noboby for nothin...if I can't get it own my own
I got to hang out with my high-schoolers on Friday down at gameworks. It was a good time. I haven't done much, on a social level, with them in awhile. We paid 20 bucks apiece to own gameworks for the night. It's been forever since I've had some quality arcade time. Arcade games have gotten way too complicated in the last decade. I like the two or three buttons and joystick approach or even the "Time-Crisis" pedal and trigger method. Now-a-days you have these way over complicated controls and game options.
On Sunday I led a study with the same crew. I threw some spiritual stuff out there to them. We talked about "seeing the unseen" as Paul encourages in Ephesians. Most of them have never considered the goings on of the spiritual realm. I really don't know if I truly have either. I know a lot of people that seem to be very aware of the spiritual side of things. I have a lot of respect for this because the Bible is riddled with examples of God "opening the eyes of the heart" or causing mortals to see the spiritual realm with their physical eyes. This is a fun topic to try to explain to a group of high schoolers with a background in the mainstream church. Suprisingly, they were pretty receptive to the idea of spiritual things going on behind the scenes of our physical world.
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
I fought a bowl of oatmeal

ink that this organization actually has pure intentions. I really respect the leadership and goals of ASB. Consequently, I think I'm going to lead a trip next year. Friday, March 09, 2007
When the man comes around
I can't wait for this friggin cold weather to leave. I'm really craving some outdoors time. Robert Kleemeier and I are gonna have to hit up the fishing hole before too long. It's been forever since I've been fishing or done anything outside. We took a spritual assessment at Key Laborers a couple of weeks ago. The purpose of the assessement was to shed light on how you best worship and relate to God. I scored a 97/100 in the creation category. So apparently I need time outdoors. I can totally buy that. I really do need to find a job as a park ranger or something.
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
1.21 Gigawatts
There's beens some recent banter around my house about the new gold coin. Someone started up this crazy chain email calling all Christians to arms over the lack of the inscription"In God We Trust" on the coin. I like how it's no problem to get "Christians" all fired up over something like this but its like pulling teeth to get them to raise a finger to feed a starving kid or accept an outcast into their community. It makes you feel good about where the church is headed. That's all I have to say about that really. I'm sure Davie will have a much more prolonged rant coming in the next couple days. Oh yeah...the coin actually does have the "In God We Trust" slogan on it, it's just around the circumference of the coin where people with too much time and no purpose can't see it.
So, once again I'm in real danger of completely failing a class. This time...Organic Chemistry II. And unlike other times in my college career, it's not for lack of trying. This class is just rediculous and the instruction is terrible. I talked to the professor yesterday and she explained to me that in order to pass I would have to get a 77/200 on the final. That's doable right? You'd think so but that would actually be the best score (percentage wise) that I've gotten yet on an exam, in this class. I'm really pretty worried about it.
Friday, February 23, 2007
I Shruted it

Friday, February 16, 2007
Find your soul mate, Homer
Johnny Cash and The Simpsons...a match made in heaven. Monday, February 05, 2007
I say we nuke the site from space...it's the only way to be sure
Because of the added stress, I find myself continually wanting to drop extra-curricular/important things like ministry activities. I've worked very hard to change my perspective from school takes priority over all to God takes priority over all. The past few quarters were fairly easy as far as school work goes and of course co-op is always an easy time. So, putting God first was never all that hard. Now that things are more difficult, I find myself saying that it would be ok to put God on the back burner and hide from ministry for awhile. I don't think there's anything wrong with cutting back to accomodate both ministry and school but I think its also very important to keep in mind that God requires all of us, as living sacrifices, and he'll accept nothing less.
The flip side to this is that God's not a cruel slave driver. He knows our limits and keeps us satisfied. I'm hoping that by submitting to God that he'll lead me to his perfect middle ground.
Pretty good Super Bowl last night. The Colts definetely had it coming for awhile. However, I don't really have any allegiance to either team. Payton Manning bandwagoners make me angry and it would have be cool to see the Chargers win it all. The Bengals own it next year.
Friday, January 12, 2007
oh look a bighorn...that's why I come up here
Glen Eyrie is located above Colorado Springs in the front range of the Rocky Mountains. There was a fresh blanket of snow on the ground but it was not excessively cold. The air smells like pine and there are conifer trees everywhere. Large pillars of red rock fire straight out of ground hundreds of feet into the air. There are several trail that lead into the mountains at the base of Pike's Peak. The trails take you between and up the mountains with crystal clear creeks flowing freely between each hill. At the end of one trail there was a large frozen waterfall that the creek still flows behind. The waterfall itself is about a 50ft drop. Large icecicles had formed to cage the creek in. The Glen is home to all sorts of wildlife. Rattlesnakes, mountain lions, birds, deer and bighorn sheep. I was fortunate enough to come across a bighorn. It was probably the most amazing animal I've ever seen.
As if the property itself wasn't amazing enough, the Navigators owns and operates a freaking mountain castle! Apparently, back in the 50's the Navigators acquired the castle when it was donated by the Billy Graham crusade and several prominent, Nav alumni, businessman who wanted to give the Navigators a headquarters. The castle dates back to the early 1800's and still had much of the original furnishings and general decor. Rediculous. Normally, I'd question the ownership of a castle by a non-profit ministry but Navs uses this place for so many worthwhile causes that it seems more like a divine gift than the misallocation of ministry funds. Plus the castle is self-sufficient. It can be rented for business conferences and weddings so that it doesn't use ministry funds to stay in operation.
What a crazy amazing place.
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
In the interest of time...
Went to wing night last night out at Quaker Steak and Lube. That place is great. The all you can eat wings are awesome. Tons of guys went too. I wonder how many wings were consumed by our group alone. Hmm... I personally had around 25 wings. So...25 wings times about 45 guys equals 1,125 wings. Holy crap. Somebody's chicken farm is doin pretty well right about now. Quaker Steak and Lube also has a microbrewed beer. It's a dark beer that tastes a little like Bass. The only draw being the price. One beer was like 4.25. So, 25 wings, a beer and tip cost me like 18 bucks. Not the cheapest place in the world.
I tried the sauce on an atomic wing that we ordered. You would not believe how hot this crap is. There is absolutely no taste to the sauce. It's just burning. I took a little bit on my finger and put it to my tongue and I immidiately began to sweat. No joke. After about 20 minutes I could still feel my tongue burning. No one had the balls to actually eat the wing we were passing around. I wonder what that would do to your stomach?
Monday, November 27, 2006
I want to know what love is...do do do
Davie, Austy, Craig, Perry and I saw Casino Royale the other night. (No spoilers in here, keep reading) Definetely, the best Bond movie since Goldeneye. That's really not saying too much but hopefully this means that they'll be taking the series in a new direction. Daniel Craig did a pretty good job of portraying the rookie 00 agent, James Bond. I can't see Pierce Brosnan playing this role as well as Craig did. Casino Royale's Bond is very unfinished and much more human than in pervious movies. So yeah, pretty decent. A little sketchy in the plot explanations at times, but decent.
Crap. Mark Dantonio is leaving. Wow. 1.1 million a year plus a signing bonus at Michigan State. I bet UC wasn't even coming close to that. Good for him but that sucks for us.
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Insert lyrics from a song that no one has ever heard here
I've pretty much decided on two possible routes for my post graduation life. The first is to volunteer for Navigator staff by means of the EDGE corps. The second is to attend grad school at Ohio University. Of course, there is a good possibility that I'll do both but I'm not sure of the order. In either case, I think I'm ultimately going to end up at Ohio University. There's some definite advantages to being out in Athens. Emily's family lives about 45 minutes from the university and she'll eventually want to move away from our crappy city back to the country. My feeling is that I've had enough of the city too. I've found that I really wouldn't mind moving to the country and I'll still only be about 2.5 hours away from my family and friends. I'm also feeling somewhat called to Ohio University. The Navigator organization there is fairly new and just beginning to piece together a ministry. If God allows, I think that I may be able to help out in expanding that ministry. The only real question then is: What will be my role? EDGE corps would make ministry my job as well as my passion. I would have unlimited time to meet with students and try to give my life away to the campus. While I'm not afraid of taking this risk I do have some reservations about my education. If I'm on EDGE corps I cannot be in classes or have a job. This will push that magical day when I'll be done with school back even further. If I'm simply a grad student at OU I'll be finishing my eduacation but at the cost of my time. I'm sure I'll be busy as hell with my coursework and won't really have too much time to invest in ministry work.
I think what I'm most concerned about is the capacity of ministy that I'll be able to engage in once I'm away from the Navigator bubble. The Navigators uses its name and reputation to bring seekers in. That means that I don't have to go out of my way to meet people who are interested in pursuing Christ. After I'm done with UC, I'll be on my own. Eventually, I'll be in a workplace. I'm really worried that I'll burn out on reaching people once I'm away from my supporting ministry. It's so easy to fall into the "I don't want people to think I'm a zealot Christian. So I'll just sit here quietly" metality. At what point, do you make sure that people know you're different? If you're trying really hard to act like everyone else, how will anyone know that you're not like everyone else, at least in a spiritual sense. I'm really worried about my willingess to take risks.
Thursday, October 26, 2006
We ain't gonna take it
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. John 10:10
What the crap is a full life? I have to believe that it is more than getting good grades, being nice to everybody, going to church on Sunday,graduating from college, raising your kids right and retiring when you're 65. Where is the risk in all that? It's like society is saying "everybody keep your heads low, there's dangerous stuff out there that you don't wanna get mixed up in." John Elderedge makes an excellent point in Waking the Dead, when he points out that Jesus had two objectives. The first, make sure we all don't have to go to hell. The second, and the more important, bestow life eternal. If you read the gospel carefully, I believe there is a distinct difference between the two. I think we've been brainwashed into thinking that our real life will start after we leave this "meaningless" world. I bet to differ with this opinion. I think what Jesus meant by "life eternal" was life right now until eternity. So when I think about settling into the low risk, 9 to 5 routine, something inside of me absolutely screams not to buy it. Obviously, I'm gonna have to have a job. But I think that when my job, or getting a house, or raising a family, or going to church becomes the thing that occupies my passion then I've fallen right into the trap that has been set for me and squandered the gift of real life. So, maybe I'll get a job or go to graduate school or maybe I'll go on EDGE. All that I know is that I can feel God warning me not to buy what the world is selling when it comes to life.
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
When the deal goes down
Friday, October 13, 2006
These aren't the droids you're looking for
"Parky Sucks", carved by Austin Lubbers
"Elder Sucks" , carved by Doug Schmaltz
Smashed pumpkin, carved and then smashed by Rob Kleemeier
"Bush/ Cheney '04", carved by Doug Schmaltz
"The People's Pumpkin", carved by Rob Kleemeier
knifed pumpkin, stabbed by Jon Meyer
The contest is judged partially by audience noise. So if one of your good friends enters a pumpkin which plainly has no right to be in the contest, your friend has as much of a chance to win as anyone. He'll probably have an even better chance, than anyone else, if your friend brings five of his friends to be as obnoxious and loud as possible during the judging. All of the forementioned pumpkin designs were entered into the contest and made it to at least the semi finals before being removed by facist park officials. However, the point is not to win the contest but instead to beat out as many people, who put their hearts and souls into this contest every year, as possible. Is this crual and unjust? I say no. Is it cruel and unjust when it storms at the end of an otherwise beautiful day? Of course not, it just happens. It's been happening for a long time and will continue to happen for a long time to come. It's the same idea with our campout antics. Everyone knows to expect it now because it has been happening for as long as anyone can remember. yeah Creepy Campout '06
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
There's a Calm Before the Storm...
I went to a meeting at church last night (Northern Hills United Methodist). There's some crazy stuff that's starting to happen there. First off, the church is finally looking at modes of outreach to the community. I've been pushing for some Vineyard like, servant evangelism stuff and God has started to break down barriers. Also, we approved a new ministry last night that blends the Buddist Zen tradition of meditation with Christian belief. Essentially, this ministry will focus on meditation as a means of communicating with God. I'm probably going to try it out. I could use some time of just sitting still and doing nothing but being quiet.
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Everybody's Workin for the Weekend
I have notice one problem however. There seems to be some confusion about how often we leave our house and at what time between us and the girls upstairs. I noticed this because one of our female neighbors parked in the driveway yesterday. But instead of parking next to Dave and I to allow us to pull out of the driveway, she parked behind both of us. So instead of blocking no one in, she chose to block two people in until she decides to leave. This is kind of a big deal since I leave for work at 7:30 in the morning. Consequently, I had to try to shimmy (in a Jeep Wrangler) my vehicle out of our driveway. It took all of my driving skill to not hit Dave or the girl's car. This process took at least 5-10 minutes and I ended up being late for work. I shoulda snapped a picture of the situation to post on here. From now on, if I have to park in the driveway, I think I'm just gonna park at the very end so that nobody can park behind me.
I'm leading small group for the first time, this year, tomorrow. It's gonna be a good time. Davie and Robby are in my group this time. It's almost a revival of guy's group. It would be a complete revival if Austin Q. Lubbers hadn't ran off and joined Monday night.
Things to look forward to: Creepy Campout Oct 13 and 14th
Alice in Chains Nov 9th
Fall Conference
Turkey Day Race
Monday, July 10, 2006
you like dags?
How bout that World Cup? It sucks to be that French dude that missed the penalty kick. He's probably not gonna go home for awhile.
Davie and I went to a NIN concert in Indianapolis last week. It was sweet. The pit was outta control and there were strange liquids flying through the air at all times. Then you have the occassional liquid on the ground that gets splashed onto your legs. I only got hit in the face once. Some dude jumped up and gave me a shoulder. I was kinda pissed for a second and thought about pushing him but I decided not to when I thought about how many people he would probably run into when he fell forward.
I had Testacular IV at my house on Saturday. The fights were pretty lame, especially the Ortiz/Shamrock fight. It was rediculous. The ref stopped the fight way to early...rediculous. I want our 40 bucks back. Apparently, the was a good fight involving undercard, Jeff Munson. However, since the Arlovski/Sylvia fight went all five rounds, we didn't get to see all of it.

