Timbuktu and Kalamazoo

Wow, its done. After three plus months of brutal, grueling work, it's done. Why did I do it? Why all those nights of 1-4 hours of sleep? Why all the anguish and hard work? Why don't I just give in and go the easy route? Was it for the grade? Was it for the praise of someone saying, "Well done on that paper"? Looking at what my grades will be, if that was the reason, I have failed. But what if it were for a different standard? What if the mere acquisition of knowledge were not my end goal? What if there was something else that drove me in this pursuit. A reality of a greater reward far beyond anything that can be grasped here on earth? Not a reward for achieving some tangible accolade from a mere human, but rather the words of the Almighty Creator of the universe telling one, "Well done thou good and FAITHFUL servant." That is why. That is the reason to endure. Then if comes into focus. The the long nights of work, the struggle, it is not because I want to ...

I never knew saying bye could be so tiring. I mean all I really did today was teach Sunday School, sit in a service and then eat and say bye to people. But after it was done I just sat in my chair and said, "Whew!" This coupled with the fact that I have to be up early tomorrow to go to camp leaves me unable to post as many of my little sayings and poems. So I shall just have to leave you with perhaps my favorite of them all. Start light, star bright, First star I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might.... Oh nuts....it's a satellite.

A little over a year ago I got a goat. This goat has been the source of entertainment and controversy since I first decided to own one. I even lost it for awhile this past spring much to the disappointment of some and the delight of others. But regardless of one's thoughts on the matter, it has generated interesting conversations. Conversation #1 New Youth Group Girl: Hey, He's got a beard! YG Girl #2: You mean you just noticed?! G #1: Yeah! G #2: You've just noticed after an hour? G #1: Yeah....it kinda makes him look like a goat. G #2: Huh?.....Oh, I guess it does.......but the ones on goat's chins are usually white. G #1: Yeah.... G #2: So we'll just let him get old and gray before we tease him. YG Girl #3: That should only be a few years!!! Conversation #2 Avido: OK....what are you guys laughing about? Youth #'s 1,2,3,4: Oh, nothing. Avido: Yeah, right. Y #1: We were just talking about what you look like. Avido: Oh....that again. Youth #1: I think you look l...

Mona Lisa's Mother: "After all that money your father and I spent on braces, that's the biggest smile you can give us?" Columbus's Mother: "I don't care what you've discovered, you still could have written!" Michelangelo's Mother: "Can't you paint on the walls like other children? Do you have any idea how hard it is to get that stuff off the ceiling?" Mary's Mother: "I'm not upset that your lamb followed you to school, but I would like to know how he got better grades than you." Albert Einstein's Mother: "But it's your senior picture. Can't you do something about your hair? Styling gel, mousse, something...?" Thomas Edison's Mother: "Of course I'm proud of you for inventing the electric light bulb. now turn it off and get to bed!" Paul Revere's Mother: "I don't care where you think you have to go, young man, midnight is past your curfew." Napoleon's ...

The porcupine may have his quills, The elephant his trunk, But when it comes to common scents, My money's on the skunk.

A tutor who tooted a flute Tried to teach two young tooters to toot. Said the two to the tutor, "Is it harder to toot, Or to tutor two tooters to toot?"

Hickory, dickory, dock, The mice ran up the clock, The clock struck one.... and all the others escaped with minor injuries!

Ah, life.......fun little things that come up and you get to decide, "Am I going to be upset with this or have fun?" Most of the time I think I have fun and such would be this case (As least for now). Getting ready to move. I decided this morning to put off some of the things I was planning and instead, start the consolidation and elimination process (this was most likely a good decision in that out of the 18 days until I move I will be out of town for 12 of them). The object of my attack this morning were three large plastic bins that contained varies papers and such. My idea was to see how much of these contents I really needed and I am happy so report my disposal of more than 50% of said contents. Were this the only point of note it would be blog worthy in and of itself (Avido threw stuff away!). However I am happy to say there is more! In the process of discovering long lost pictures and deciding if an email about scholarships for my freshmen year of college could be plac...

While I try not to use what are usually referred to as "colorful metaphors" I was thinking tonight about metaphors and some of the more interesting and "colorful" ones that have been used to describe those who are not......lets just say they might not display the same level of common sense as those around them. Here are some of them... "A few fries short of a happy meal." "Not the sharpest knife in the drawer." "A taco short of a combo plate." "He would be out of his depth in a parking lot puddle." "He's not playing with a full deck." "If its true, "What you don't know won't hurt you," then he is totally invulnerable." "He's not firing on all cylinders." Having driven a car for a day that was not firing on all cylinders, I have come to realize how harsh that last one is.

Ok, since I am not that great of a poet, I will just tell you about goop. Goop all-purpose-hand cleaner can be found in the automotive section and is a white substance that is very..........goopy. It is a wonderful help to those who like to work on cars and like to have clean hands. As my mother discovered, it can also be used for cleaning the hands of bad little children who liked to climb the pitch-covered pine tree in the front yard :) Today, however, I think I found a new use for goop. Cleaning motor oil out of hair. I say "think" because I still have to let my hair dry before I know if it worked. One thing I do know is that I will be in a different position under that car next time I change the oil.

If one has been paying any attention, one might have noticed I have not posted anything for awhile. There are a number of reasons this could be including the facts that I am not much of a writer to begin with so a blog is a bit of a stretch and I am getting ready to move. But perhaps the big reason is because I went hiking the beginning of this month and due to not taking care of myself before starting, came down so sick that I spent 2 and a half days in bed and the next few a zombie. So it seems like just now that I am getting things back together and not playing catch-up. But today something happened that changed all negative feelings I had following the last venture into the mountains. I SAW the mountains again (not that clearly, but the fact you could make them out is sometimes amazing around here). There they were standing tall and calling my name. Begging to be conquered....and so I shall (Lord willing). I have been looking forward to it since last summer. Starting on the west si...

I thought I would share a couple of pictures to give everyone a brief........snapshot of my week. Kayaking on Monday... ...barbed wire attack. Youth group on Thursday... ...goldfish attack. Need I say more?

Fresno, AP (Avido Press) This past week in Fresno, Ca there was a most startling development in the central valley energy picture. It is reported that there was the appearance of a 2 of the left side of the decimal at area gas stations! While this may seem like less of a development to readers in other parts of the state and country, and while the two positions directly to the right of the decimal were both filled with 9's it was a major development for an area that has been facing prices of $3.20+/gallon for the past months. Reporting to you from the heart of the situation, Avido

Have you ever come across a situation where you sit back and say, "God, why?" Because from your perspective there things are not working out. But then after you let God do what He wants, things start to work out. THEN, after a little while you sit there and say, "You know God, your way worked out so much better then the way I had in mind!" Yeah, its a really long story and it was really just a little thing but I still feel like saying, "PRAISE THE LORD!!!"

Logistics

You learn a number of interesting things working with Jr. and Sr. High students. Like there was a reason your mom always said, "Don't run with a straw in your mouth!" It made for an interesting night.

I feel blessed of God to have had the chances to travel that I have. And while I have definitely not been everywhere I would like, and trust me there are MANY place I still want to visit, I have had a few wonderful opportunities traveling to various parts of our blessed country. However, as I sat in the airport today watching the hustle and bustle of people and things going this way and that, I had a feeling that I can't recall having had for a while. As I watched my "littl' bro" go through security and walk off down the terminal headed for two months of trials and blessings on three continents I could think but one thing.... ...Lucky.

While I have complained before about the apparent prejudice against men's business apparel, I must confess that some days when I don't have anything too formal happening I do get to wear flip-flops. However I learned something today and as a good friend wish to pass along what I can so as to save others from my misfortune (my mother always said, "Smart people learn from their mistakes, wise people learn from the mistakes of others"). I am blessed to have at my desk a chair that is big and comfy and wheels around from here to there. This chair, being one that wheels around from here to there, has 5 wheels on the bottom, each of which has about 2 square inches of contact with the ground. When you take my weight and divide it by 10 square inches you come up with about .............ah................mmmm................ a good number of pounds per square inch. Now add in the fact that when one wears flip-flops it feels so good to flip them off every now and again...........

Blown away by the winds of aging are the days of waiting for summer to hit so I will have some time to relax, just kick back and enjoy. I did not think that I had a lot to do this summer until I started working on the projects and was like, "O wow, there are a few things to do..." However, while I don't have a lot of time on my hands, I am enjoying two books that were given to me recently. The Unquenchable Worshiper written by Matt Redman is a description of one who wants to worship God. I just got it yesterday but the few chapters I have read God has already used to show me several things. God Is The Issue: Recapturing the Cultural Initiative written by Brad Bright (son of Bill Bright of Campus Crusade for Christ) is a call for Christians to not be surprised when an ungodly world acts ungodly. Instead of engaging the world on the symptoms engage them on the core issue, what do they think about God. I very much ...

Even though I just found out there was a much simpler way to do what I just did, playing with HTML/CSS is much more fun!

Incredulity is a 2' 8" 5 year old coming up to a 6' 1" 16 year old and saying, "Hey squirt, you want to go play?"

My parents had a friend that lived in Southern California who used to say that he didn't know if he could live anywhere else. He said that he would miss getting up in the morning and hearing the birds cough. Today, the National Lung Association released it's annual national air quality report. Most people would use this document to determine the best place to live. However, as I looked at it, I noticed that I moved from the 14th cleanest to the 15th worst ( incidentally, there are two other top 20 worst around where I live). Then, as if this is not enough, in the fall I am moving to THE worst place for air quality in the entire US. Maybe I should rethink this decision?

Today the sour cream..............went sour.

Be sure that when you read something that you actually read what it says..........it will lead to a lot less confusion. Avido glancing at ad on the way past: Hum...what is lubricating your computer....hum......WHAT?!?!? Avido going back and reading again: Oh! What is lurking in your computer! (Don't ask about the process of arriving at the former from the latter.)

Today I had an awesome time visiting a really great place . The visit really excited me (that was accentuated by the three cups of coffee and the coke imbibed throughout the day) about next fall. Well, excited mixed with great fear and trepidation! Yeah for grad school!

Why is it that society considers it OK for women to wear open toed shoes and flip-flops in the work place, but requires men to reserve such freedom for nights and weekends? Oh the inequity of the situation! And oh the bliss my feet will now enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (the flip-flops that is)

You are the pastor of a 900 member church. You stand on the historical foundations of the faith, you don't pull any punches when talking about the issues. You are known to your church and your community as one that believes the Bible and stands by what it teaches. So when a group of Muslims asks if they can use your facilities for a one time event, what would you say and why? How would Matt. 5:13-16 impact your thinking?

There are times in your life where you just sit back and think, "I'm old." Your mind recognizes the fact that comparatively you aren't really that old, but for whatever reason, your age just sounds old. These times are often punctuated with events that highlight the fact that something is not as it used to be. Maybe it is easier now, maybe it is not. Perhaps something costs you less now, more oft the opposite is true. One of these "events" for me is the fact that as we grow older, our metabolism changes. If there is one thing that I enjoy about this life it is friends and food (......what...???). Anyway, as I progress down this path called life, I find that there are more and more delicious things to eat. This, coupled with the fact that I am expected to eat as much as I did 8 years ago, and the decrease in metabolic rate has led to a most unfortunate trend. Now, I hear you laughing..............but I enjoy being physically fit so you can see how the interse...

While in reality's sake it has not been long since my last posting, it seems like it has been a very long time. While on the one hand not much has happened since I last published any thoughts, on the other much has happened (among which one of the most exciting was dealing with my first injury at a youth event -- he was fine with the biggest problem, aside from the four staples in the head, being the disappointment that they canceled the helicopter because his injury was not that severe). All other things aside, I come away from this hiatus in blogging with one very important lesson. While more and more it seems that the world is becoming automated and ones ability to use computers forms a direct link to ones success, it is important to distinguish between necessity and dependence. I took this break, not only from blogging but also from facebook and most uses of search engines at the suggestion of a friend. This friend is one who is always there for me even when I am trying to fig...

So I will be taking a leave of absence from the blogging world. I still find it interesting how much I have come to enjoy blogging. So, I will be back.....

I was blessed with the fact that from age 2 until age 22 I lived in the same house. (I know, I know, some are thinking, "what!?!?!?") So when you move out of the area that you grew up in (try about 350 miles out of the area) you are bound to notice a few changes in your surroundings. One thing that people would ask me was, "So how do you like it down there?" My standard answer was,"Well, I love the people but........its flat and brown." You see, I went from a location right on the edge of the foothills that has average rainfall of 33.8 inches a year to a place that I could be convinced has a elevation change, city wide, of 10 feet and that does have an average rainfall of 10.7 inches a year. But what this means is that even if there is just a little bit of rain you get puddles. A puddle that would take about an hour of torrential rain to create up north takes about 15 min of light rain down here. So today when we had a good steady rain I found myself in a ...

I have been thinking a bit this week about my reaction to the events surrounding my cousin last week. It was interesting that I have never felt that way before and so I am not sure how to respond. Sure there are times that I am angry with someone, but those I would classify as immature and ill founded and are usually not long lived. Note, the author is not expressing that he has reached any measurable levels of maturity or rational living, rather he is comparing the bases for specific reactions. But as I said before, this reaction was different. It was the sweet and innocent being bullied by another simply because the second is bigger. It happens every day but this hit close to home. It was a reaction of defense for someone that you love. But was it right? That is a question that I have asked myself much this week. Do I have the right to be angry about it? Is it right for me as a sinner to be angry with another just because their sin effected someone I love? However, there are example...

If anyone is interested a more complete story about what happened to my cousin . But I was pretty sure that they found the guy ...................?

I try not to be a angry and violent person, as a Christian I am not to be. I do take lessons in Tae Kwon Do but that is not so much for the purpose of know how to beat people up as it is just fun. So when I see news stories about something bad happening to someone and they want to hurt someone its like "Chill out, come on!" But then that story is about your cousin . Then you what to go hit something. It is good that nothing really happened, praise God that her coworker was there and that she will be fine. I think that it is also good that it was the dog that eventually found that guy and not me.

Some have classified this time in history as the "Information Age." Thus, those of us growing up during these exciting times could be classified as the "Information Generation." On a personal note, I like this much better then "Generation X." Something about not having a purpose does not sit well with me. (have they upgraded my generation status yet?) Anyway, a blessing or a curse of this Information Generation is the ability to communicate with people worldwide through places like Myspace and Blogger. I am perhaps a late comer to the whole blogging world and so I am discovering new things every day about this vast world. When I first started with blogger it was to play around with the HTML and CSS side of it but I soon discovered how much fun it was to write random things that perhaps a few people might read because they were bored. These last few weeks I have become distracted with another facet of the blogging/networking world. FACEBOOK !!!!! This won...

Growing up I had the opportunity to participate in an event, for children ages K-6th, called "Children's Institute," or CI for short. I first enjoyed it as one attending (I loved it!!!) and then later in my years (starting at the ripe old age of 14) as a teacher/assistant. It was in that later period of time that I came to meet many who became great friends and also learned valuable skills. One skill that I arrived with was the art of scissoring. One skill that I came away from the CI's having greatly expanded my knowledge in said skill, was the art of scissoring. For I soon learned that there are many decisions that might be necessary when it comes to the art of scissoring. How thick is the paper, what kind of paper are you scissoring, the durability of the scissors (yes you can break them), how many pieces of paper can I cut at one time, would it be faster to cut a couple of pieces or cut them all at once...... Yes the art of scissoring can be quite difficult. ...

You know that you are in the technology age when you are working with 3rd-6th graders and you have to tell them to turn off their cell phones for the Bible lesson. Thats right, no joke, true story.

As one that works with youth, I am always on the lookout for anything that might fit into the fun/slightly crazy/weird/fun category, especially games. Now there are the standard games like dodge ball and tag that are just your old standbys. Every once and a while (OK more often then that) I try and find something that will capture the attention of the kids and send them home talking about what a great time it was to ...(fill in the blank)... I think that I found one. What if I were to tell you that we played Monopoly for over an hour with 12 kids and everyone had a blast? Ok, what if I were to tell you that we played with a 462 sq foot Monopoly board and you were to bring your biggest stuffed animal as your token? It was so cool! Granted it took about 10 hours to set up and a bit of money to get the materials, but that was not even the best part. I spent about 4 hours that afternoon before youth group and went all over town asking for donations for prizes. I got 5 free combos from Taco...

It is a great joy in life, every once in a while, to have days where something of importance and note comes to pass. While these days do not happen very often (which would only lead to the standard of 'importance and note' being raised), I am pleased to announce that not only did I have one such day, but now I have been blessed with two such days in a row! What great events have transpired to lend them such lofty designation, the reader asks? I mind not in indulging said person's curiosity. Friday Feb. 2nd 2007 A day that should be entered into the annals of great acts of heroism and bravery. A day that should be printed in red on all calenders from this day hence. A day that should be sung in the halls of great men when they need reminder of other great men before them. A day, that were it entered in to a search , would come up with the result..... On this day in 2007, Avido cleaned his desk!!! So maybe it does not score on the same level as the Germans surrendering at Sta...

Observation of the Day: I am weird........ ..............THANK GOODNESS!!!! Technology that needs to be developed: A computer printer that folds the documents into paper airplanes and shoots them to the part of the room that they need to go! Tip of the day: Next time you are going to barbecue, do it at night, the coals look really neat! But if you do it at night you might want to get a head lamp, it helps you see the meat! But you might want to put on shoes....while it is not freezing anymore, it was still a little cold last night. (I could not think of a title that would fit.............any ideas?)

When you get home from a trip at 1am, and see that your parents left the door of their car ajar, make sure the alarm is off before attempting to shut said door.

You know that you have been in the car too long when someone starts yelling "stop eating my antlers!!!" The bad part was we were not halfway to our destination :)

Mark 6:31-32 31 And He said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while." (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.) 32 They went away in the boat to a secluded place by themselves. If you ever feel that you come to a point where you need some time like this, may I suggest this place. My room was great (some other people I guess did not like theirs but...?) There are many nice little shops in town (which is VERY close) if you like that kind of thing. If you want something different, it costs $20, but this place is very interesting. If you go at the right time of year you have to stop and see these guys. They are ssssssssooooooooooooooo funny!!! And the best part about it all for me? I LOVE the pastor's and their wives of this !!!

Yes, if anyone was wondering from my last post, I do not spell very well. This defect can be negated by having people I know proofread what I write. This, however, is is generally restricted to papers and important letters. A blog is definitely not one of the above (also, if you have someone proofreading your blog they will not go online and read it thus decreasing the opportunity for them to comment!). The fact of my not having a proof reader can be compounded by being tired and/or stressed (which it was). However, with all this in mind, I once received a email about a study at, I believe it was, Harvard (I google'd it and could not find it so you know how much emails can be trusted) that concluded as long as the first and last letters of a word are correct, a person could jumble up all the other letters in the middle and a experienced reader could still make sense of the writing. So mbyae I shulod cnsidoer tihs an opotin. It wluod reeilve a lot of puressre and hlep me fcous on...

Telemarketers can be fun. I try and be understanding and stuff when they call because I know they get chewed out from time to time and so I try to be nice as I say no. Yes, sometimes I play with their minds by answering the phone in a weird accent or something, but still I try to be nice. Today was different. (A little background) Over the last few weeks I have been getting calls on my cell phone from 727-683-1126. I did not know where this was so I google'd the number. I found several references to the number, all of them very negative about their experiences with the company that used the number. "That is interesting" I thought. Today I had my chance to find out first hand. (The Event) They finally called when I was around and I had the chance to talk to a young man named Alex. Alex wanted to tell me that I had won a $100 gas card, $400 in airline vouchers and some other odds and ends. And you guessed it, they just needed the name of my bank to verify that I was the per...

I saw a movie tonight that is amazing. If you want something that will keep you entertained, on the edge of your seat and give you something to think about, watch this one. It has some more intense parts that may disturb younger children, but for others, enjoy!!!!

Me: OK, so who are the three people in the story we just read? Sunday School Student #1: King David! SSS #2: God! Me: And................ SSS # 1 and 2: Uh.... SSS # 1: Ee-ta- ball -ish? Me: What? SSS # 1: Ee-ta- ball -ish. Me: What verse are you reading? SSS # 1: Verse 13. Me: Ah, ...........that word is pronounced es- tab -lish . SSS # 1: Oh.

Projects are like goals, they have the ability to give great satisfaction upon successful completion. Today I finish the first of three youth events I have been working on since last April. Though there were many times that I wanted to find the nearest cliff and jump, my friends, family and God kept saying "just keep pushing." I can't thank them enough. All I have to say is praise be to God for making it all happen because it was definitely not me! There was something else I wanted to say..................(what was it?)......................ah..................(oh yeah!).....................YYYYYEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ough! Ough! Ough! Yeah, Baby!!!.......................ah hum, yes...........well, thats all.

I don't think that I will need to trim my nose hairs for the next twenty years....................I just stuck my nose in a box of peppermint tea!

Peas porridge hot, Peas porridge cold, I don't think I'd ever eat it Nine days old! Today I reaffirmed a certain dislike and discovered another two. I try not to have many things that a dislike, but of the few (OK, you can stop laughing) things that I dislike these are defiantly to be counted. 1) (the reaffirmation) Crawling through attics wearing a jacket, not for the warmth but because of the fiberglass insulation. 2) (discovery #1) Upon reaching the site in the attic where the work is to be done (which I might add is aways at the furthest possible spot from the access point) discovering that you do not have the tools you need. So you have to make the trip back out, over and under all those things that want to poke, grab and hit you. 3) (discovery #2) Upon accomplishing the project and successfully extracting oneself from the attic, discovering that ones cell phone (which was used to communicate with the other person working on the project) has fallen out of one's...

I don't think that it will ever cease to amaze me how fast one can go from feeling so good about something to feeling so bad about that same thing.................or how much much it can help just to talk to God about it.

Goals, they have the ability to give intense satisfaction upon completion or utter depression when ignored. I was thinking today, "why are goals so hard to accomplish?" Then the thought came, "Ah! Goals are intrinsically difficult (thats why you have to set them). I don't like to do difficult things (I am basically lazy), therefore that is why goals are so easy to ignore!" Sometimes I lie there on my bed at night and think, "Oh, shoot! I meant to get that done today. Well, at least I had fun while I ignored it!" Then I just turn over settle down in my pillow as the fog gathers I hear a faint "baa" in the distance. Of course there are other times that as I lie there, depression sets in because what I ignored was actually important and I let someone down with my forgetfulness/procrastination. So the question that everyone is asking..."How are you doing on your goals today?" I don't know, I am having too much fun ignoring them.......

A big Thank You to all you who might have visited this blog due to the ad on Lasselanta's blog. It was really quite cool to see the hits on my blog pretty much double over night :)

Fat Free Sour Cream

Mom: "Yes! That is how the song goes!" Me: "Ah, I don't think so." Mom: "That is the way I learned it in 9th grade! And anything that I learned before you were born is correct!" Me: ".................ah...........yeah.....................OK." You can never argue with a woman (especially a mother) and win.

Have you every just sat there and looked at the moon? On a night when it is cold and clear. When the moon is full and it seems you could just reach out and pluck it from the sky. The beauty is..........awesome. My pastor once said that the true meaning of that word had be taken away by pop culture. Awesome = awe inspiring He was right. I use the word in the pop sense of "cool" or "neat" but it is good, once in a while, to step back and use the word for what it means. Tonight was one of those nights. As the moon hung there in its silver spender, bathing the whole countryside in its crisp clear light. The song was playing... "Who am I? That the Lord of all the earth, should look on me with love? Would want to know my hurt?" My God is....................Awesome

Today I offer a little advice for all who may be engaged in tech support for alarms systems. Say a guy calls because the fire alarm is going off for no reason and you give him a possible fix. When he asks that you hold so he can talk to you again if it does not work, don't hang up while he is gone, please. Because you can take it from me, it is not fun to listen to the fire alarm for the next ten minutes as you wait for another tech support person because the first fix didn't work.

So, while I don't think of myself as being old it seems I am well on my way down that road. I can't say I never had warnings. (1) There was that day I discovering you couldn't spend all day reading the books that you wanted to read. (2) Then there was that thing about the naps you never wanted to take now looking pretty nice (but you don't have time for them now). Now this morning I have found another childhood dream has began to fade. Remember when you used to beg and beg just for the chance to stay up until midnight. And then, oh the joy of that rapturous thought, the day came when your parents even entertained the idea that you might stay up all night...........well............I think that I see the faint glow of the setting of another childhood fantasy. Or perhaps it is just a drug induced haze from the six shots I let the girl at dutchbros talk me into..........