Money is tight. I have not worked a normal schedule over the past few weeks. I have not been looking forward to my paycheck today. It arrives every Wednesday. I opened it up, dreading the $200 or so I would see. Instead, the amount is closer to $500, just as if it would be had I not left town for Thanksgiving.

This company has no idea what they're doing. They apparently thought I was supposed to be at work when I had already told them I would be gone. I e-mailed them the amount of hours I had worked. There is no reason they should not have known that I was gone. Yet, obviously, they thought I had worked when I had not.

For about 10 minutes I was going to keep the money, but realized that even though this company is not very smart, that's no reason to keep money I haven't earned.

But I really wanted to.

So tomorrow I have an appointment with the guy that hired me. I did not tell him why I wanted to meet with him, but I'm going to talk about this paycheck error and how it's representative of the things I dislike about working at this company. They don't have their act together, and I can't work at a place like this for very long. I'm not quitting, as I do not have another job to go to. But I intend to express my displeasure.

My friend Carolyn has been having a rough week and asked me to come visit her at the mall where she works. She's at a kiosk by herself, and I spent a few hours there talking with her, trying to cheer her up.

I've been to that mall a lot (for me, anyway) over the past few weeks, and in one of the nearby jewelry stores is a fairly attractive girl. I have admired her from afar, but have never had a reason to go into the jewelry store. And they were also closing whenever I was there.

Tonight, as I was preparing to leave the mall, Carolyn told me I should go talk to the girl in the jewelry store. They weren't terribly busy, so I figured "Hey, why not?" I walked over and started looking at some of the men's rings.

After a moment this girl came over and asked if there was anything she could help me with. I asked about the men's rings and she explained some of the terminology. Then she asked me what I was interested in, jewelry-wise. I decided honesty was the best policy and said I wasn't really there to look at jewelry...the reason I was in the store was to talk with her.

Instead of getting all weird (the way most girls do when you're honest), she said "Well in that case, what can I educate you about?" Ignoring the fact that she ended her sentence with a preposition, I moved down to the diamond display and we talked for at least a half hour about every possible thing I could think of relating to jewelry.

When I ran out of stuff to talk about, she would come up with more to discuss. It was fun. It took a while, but we were able to start talking about things not relating to jewelry. I got her name (Amanda), and asked if she liked movies. She said that she did, and then I asked if she would go see a movie with me.

Then things started to go downhill. She said she couldn't because she had a boyfriend.

Of course.

I almost said "That's fine. He can come along, too," but did not. She did say that if I had any other questions to feel free to come back. I quickly ended the conversation and left.

My retreat was perhaps a bit too hasty, but overall it was a fairly pleasant experience. I shall have to look for more opportunities like this in the future.

This post is for my mother.

I made it to Concord safe and sound.

Now it's time to say goodbye
To all our company
M-I-C (See you real soon!)
K-E-Y (Why? Because we like you!)
M-O-U-S-E

So I'm not sure what Mickey Mouse has to do with my visit to Greenville being over, but hey...whatever works.

It's been a good trip, overall, but I'm glad to be going back to Concord. Next time I visit shall be for Christmas.

This is the worst part of any trip. I'm not talking about the tearful, heart-felt goodbyes. I mean packing all my stuff, tearing down my computer, and putting everything in the car. And I'm also not a fan of long car drives.

We last had our picture taken as a family 6 years ago, according to my mother's count. Today we are having another one taken.

In our family portrait
we look pretty happy
we look pretty normal
let's go back to that

Apparently a former Candadian Defence Minister is claiming that UFO's are real.

No, I'm not making this up.

Not only are "ethical, advanced extraterrestrials" real, but the Bush administration is about to start an interstellar war. Probably because they like sending people to their deaths. And because Bush is a mean, mean man.

The thing that caught my attention is that this Canadian guy is not crazy. He's a reputable figure, and would be in a position to know this sort of thing.

So are aliens real? I don't know. I have a feeling that very soon this guy is going to be discredited in some way. I think it's possible. God seems to waste nothing. When He has provided for me in the past, usually it's just enough to get by until the next time He steps in. I find it hard to believe that God would create this vast universe with millions of galaxies...and decide to put intelligent beings on one planet in one solar system.

I guess it could be true. But who knows?

Tryptophan is good.

So sleepy...

Apparently Jonathan missed his ride to North carolina, and had to ride on a greyhound. He just sent me an IM from his phone asking if I can pick him up. I can, of course...it's not a problem at all. The problem is that he hasn't called anyone else to let them know when he's getting here. Don't know why it bugs me, but it does.

1. Shower; get ready for day
2. Come up with questionnaire for Santa visits
3. Get hair cut at Wal-Mart
4. Drop car off, get some tires
5. Visit three Satna Clauses
6. Lunch w/Nate
7. Toss clothes into bag
8. Pack up computer
9. Toss clothing, computer, and cat in car
10. Quickly get into the car so cat does not escape
11. Drive home
12. See family
13. Set up computer, update blog
14. Sleep; prepare to make merry tomorrow

Finally, a post that's not overly spiritual.

I was getting ready to leave the trailer for a while and decided it would be a great time to tell my cat, Tabitha, of my plans for the next few days. I told her that she and I would be leaving tomorrow for Greenville and she would see some feline acquaintances of hers. Then on Saturday we will be coming back. I ended my speech with "Do you understand?"

I am not making this up.

She nodded.

I'm glad to know that other people have awkward moments, too.

I helped one of my housemates, Brandon, to run some errands yesterday. We talked about a lot of things, and one of them is about this guy Brandon knows of. This guy, let's call him George, is a musician. He released a CD last year and managed to sell 250,000 CDs. Yeah, that's a lot of CDs, but artists usually only make pennies for each CD they sell. The real money comes from doing concerts and selling merchandise. So let's say George makes 25 cents for each CD. I know nothing of what realistic rates are, so we'll just go with that. After 250,000 CDs, he has made $62,500. That's a decent salary for a year.

Then, however, Brandon told me that George wasn't signed to a record label. I asked how he sold that many CDs if he wasn't on a label. Bradon then said that George called up Wal-Mart and managed to get them to sell his CD's. He wasn't signed with any sort of label, major or independent. This means that he was entitled to the full cost of whatever he managed to sell the CD to Wal-mart for. He sold the CD to Wal-mart for about $12 each. Wal-Mart added their markup to it, and sold it for about $15. The cost to George for physically producing each CD was about $1.50 per CD. Let's round it down a bit, and it turns out that George made $10 per CD.

$10 x 250,000 = $2.5 million

That's a lot of money.

I had no idea that Wal-Mart bought music from individual artists. If they do it for CD's, then there is a good chance they would do it for other media. Like a DVD.

So let's say I make the films I want to make, and can't get a distribution deal. If I were able to get Wal-Mart to buy from me, then I could stand to make some serious money. And if I were to drop my price point to something where Wal-Mart could sell it for $10...then that would make it an impulse purchase. People could buy it without thinking twice about it, and that might drive up the sales to the point where it might get noticed. The big thing would be making something with enough quality that Wally World would buy it.

Oh, the possibilities.

One more thing. Certain words have been jumping out at me lately. They could be God speaking, or they could be reflections of my subconcious. The words in question are "hope" and "crazy." I don't have any conclusions to make, it's just something I thought I should note for future reference.

I hate being weird when it comes to spiritual matters. Usually being weird comes at the expense of accuracy. It's too late at night and I'm too tired to fully talk about it, but I find people that are out there spiritually to be a source of great amusement. Usually, though, they are dead wrong.

But let's be honest. I am slowly but surely headed in the general direction of being one of those weird Christians that I so dislike. Why do I have a problem with them? Because the odd things they do or say get in the way of what is important - the message.

Benny Hinn has had a ministry that I've always respected. I may not agree with everything he says or does, but it is obvious to me that God uses him. You have to admit, though, that some of the stuff he does is kind of strange and does not lend itself to easy explanation to outsiders.

No one has ever asked me why Benny Hinn blows on people, and why it makes them fall down, but if they did, I can't imagine what I'd say. Yes, it's biblical for people to be "slain in the Spirit," but as for the blowing? Sorry, Benny, but that's strange.

I've only seen some of Rod Parsely's stuff in passing, but usually he seems to be asking for money, or telling people why a particular tape series (which is THEIRS for a small $50 love gift)will change their life forever.

But enough about them. I'm getting sidetracked. It's late, though, so it's okay.

Let's talk about God's voice.

Hearing from God has always been something that concerned me. When I was younger, I had all kinds of questions for my parents about how you heard from God, how you distinguished God's voice from your own, and all sorts of things along those lines. I realized a few days ago that this isn't exactly normal behavior for preadolescents. Even for those raised in a Christian environment.

When I turned 18, I received some money from an insurance settlement. I was looking forward to buying a computer with some of the money, and as I was looking through a computer magazine I felt as though God told me if I would wait past a certain date, he would give me a free computer. I wasn't sure if it was God or not, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to wait past that particular date.

However, God said nothing about delaying the purchase of a computer for my pastor, which I was planning to do with the tithe from the settlement. So I found a computer and ordered it. By the time it arrived, the card I used to pay for it had not been charged. I got the computer ready and gave it to my pastor. Still the card was not charged. Days pass. Weeks pass. The computer company never charged the credit card number they were given. So I got a free computer.

Later on after I began college, it all just struck me as being pointless. I began to pray and ask God what he wanted me to do. A few weeks later I was driving home from work when God spoke to me. I felt as though He told me to go to a Bible college in Charlotte where I had a scholarship, to get a job at a Christian radio station, and that I was to do it in 9 months.

Things didn't exactly work out like that.

9 months came and went, and I still hadn't gone anywhere. The Bible college where I had a scholarship closed down. The radio station I felt called to work at rejected my job application.

I was crushed.

Eventually, though, the opportunity to go to Charlotte presented itself. I joined Metro Charlotte Master's Commission. MC is a 9-month ministry training program, with more emphasis on hands-on training than on a formal education.

I'll admit I was wrong about hearing God on this occasion. Sure, I got the general idea of whatever he was trying to tell me right...but I was dead wrong on the specifics. I felt I was to go to a specific Bible college. That didn't work out, but eventually I went to a place that offered ministry training. I felt I was to go to Charlotte. Instead, I wind up in a city on the outskirts of Charlotte. I felt I was to work at a radio station. Instead, well, I didn't have any job at all for a long time. And I think I was just wrong about that last part.

There are more experiences I've had with God's voice, but I don't have the time or patience to list them all right now. As I've grown, I have learned to discern God's voice a bit better than I have in the past. I've been right more than I've been wrong.

So what's the point of this post? There are some things I feel God has been speaking to me, and I just want to record them here for the sake of posterity. Later I can look back and see if I was right or if I was wrong. Most of these are more "impressions" than anything else, though in a few cases God has clearly said something to me about it.

Without further ado, here is what I see as being part of my future.

Ministry
Full-time ministry is in my future at some point. I don't know how, when, why, or where. There have been some indications that it will be overseas, but I don't feel as though I will be a missionary...someone that lives full-time in another country, trying to win converts. Somehow healing will play a role in it. I've been told by several people over the course of several years, none of whom knew the other, that healing will be part of whatever I'll do.

Concord
I have been brought back to Concord for a reason. Several, actually. It's becoming clear that I am supposed to be involved with First Assembly's ministry to college students. At some point I will be leaving Concord. I don't know where I'll be going, but the next step in my life involves me leaving. I'm not sure where I will be settling down, but it won't be the Greenville area and it will not be the Concord area.

There are a few areas where it seems as though they are cycles repeating themselves. One area is with my job. I once had a job in Concord that I despised, so I quit it. Now I find myself in a similar situation. I have a job that I hate. Instead of quitting, I am staying with it because I feel quitting is not the right solution in this case. At least, quitting without having another job is not the right solution.

The Future
As I said, I feel like I'll be moving on at some point. I don't know where, or when, or for what purpose. I do feel like whenever this happens, it will happen quickly. The opportunity, when it presents itself, will not be something that I've planned on, but it will be obvious that this is the next step to take. In addition to these things happening quickly, they will happen relatively soon. I don't think I am going to be in Concord for an extremely long time. At least a year...but not a lot longer than that.

And that's it. Time will tell if I'm right about these things or not. While I am in Concord, I intend to make the most of it.

This entry is long enough. I have to work tomorrow, so it's off to bed for me.

My friend Nate had quite an experience at the new Starbucks.

Since myspace wants you to be a member to look at blogs, I've reposted Nate's story here in its entirety.

Ok. This is probably the best story with the religious right wing nut jobs I will ever have. So I go to Starbux yesterday, and there's these people holding signs and using a loudspeaker. They're saying Starbux supports sodomy, homosexulaity, etc. I get my grade latte with an extra shot of sodomy (a joke that got a good laugh from the employees) and sat down with Doug, Nathan, and Gabe (Carolyn showed up later). Regardless of how mad these people make me, I have decided to ignore them as I cannot confront them with pure motives...I know I am screwed up and cannot confront them like Jesus at this point in my spiritual journey...so we sit there and have our meeting.
As I walk out the door, the man points at me...ME...and says how I am probably going to flip him off or cuss him out and that (and I quote) "he seems overweight and fat...he can't control himself anyways."

COMPLAINT #1: PERSONAL ATTACK FROM THE RELIGIOUS NUT JOBS

COMPLAINT #2: NOISE POLLUTION...THEY ARE JUST RIDICULOUS

WHAT? Ok, first of all, I know I am (as my mom would say) big boned, husky, a bloated walking corpse...and I'm ok with that...but the guy verbally insulted (assaulted) me over a friggin' microphone in front of Starbux at the Carolina Mall. So, here's what the discourse was...enjoy (this may not be verbatim, but it's pretty darn close...also, it is only by the grace and work of God in my life that I didn't raise my voice or punch these people in the throat...praise Jesus...I told you I was screwed up)

Me: (I walk up to a woman protesting with the group) Excuse me, I don't want to interrupt this guy and be rude so if you'll let him know for me that what he did in yelling at me as I came out of Starbux was wrong. He insulted me and it was very inappropriate. Honestly, it kind of hurt my feelings.

Woman: Oh, ok. What is your name?

Me: Nate...actualy, I'm one of the pastors up at First Assembly.

Woman: My name is Mary Ellen. Nate, you're acting like a 10 year old. (starts to raise voice)

Me: What?

COMPLAINT #3: CONDESCENDING AND AGGRIVATED VERBAL ASSAULT BY THE RELIGIOUS NUT JOBS.

Mary Ellen (now has a name in the story): Your FEELINGS (caps indicates sarcasm/yelling from here on out) are hurt? Come on, Nate. We put too much stock in our feelings...you should know this...you CALL yourself a PASTOR. Also, if you have a greviance with him, go to him and dont come to me...you are acting like a 10 year old.

Me: Well, I disagree with you. I think Christ is concerned about our self worth; and my original intent was to not interrupt him, but I guess I will. (I walk to the man with the microphone...now it really gets good)
Excuse me sir, can I have a word with you in private, please?

Man: (pulling microphone far from his face): WHAT

Me: I just wanted you to know that what you said to me as I exited the building a minute ago was very rude. It was inappropriate to attack me like that and honestly, it hurt my feelings.

Man: YA KNOW, ONCE I SAID THAT I KNEW IT WAS WRONG. I HAVE SINNED AGAINST YOU. I AM SORRY AND I REPENT.

Me: (sort of surprised but willing to push this further) Well thank you. Now with the same passion adn bravado that you used to insult me publicly, will you now use the same public display to admit your sin and repent for your sin? (I didn't think he would do it)

Man: (contemplated my request for a moment...raises to microphone to his lips) A FEW MINUTES AGO I CALLED THIS MAN FAT. IT WAS WRONG AND SINFUL OF ME AND I REPENT (pulling microphone away from his mouth and looking at me with contempt)...HAPPY?

COMPLAINT #4: PUBLICLY AGGRIVATED SIMULATED ASSAULT ON MY PERSON

Me: (surprised) Thanks. (starts to walk off)

Man: DONT WALK AWAY FROM ME WE AIN'T FINISHED HERE YET

Me: (turning back very annoyed) Excuse me?

Man: You offended me by going to that place (Starbux) and supporting sodomy!

Me: I'm sorry but I dont see how my choices for coffee attack you personally.

Man: WHAT'S YOUR NAME?

Me: Nathan Drye. I'm one of the pastors at First Assembly.

Man: WHAT FIRST ASSEMBLY?!

Me: Um...the only one in Concord...up the road?

Man: You mean the big brick building with the scholl that Frank Cantadore works at? (now, Frank is a great guy and the principal/AD of FACS for all of 3 months now)

Me: Yes, he's a friend of mine, actually.

Man: SO YOU SUPPORT SODOMY, AND YOU CALL YOURSELF A PASTOR? DO YOU SUPPORT HOMOSEXUALITY???!!??!! (punctuation marks used for effect)

Me: Man, I love homosexuals...every one of them

Man: SO YOU DO SUPPORT HOMOSEXUALITY!!!!

Me: I dont support their sin much like I dont support the sin you just publicly confessed. (to me, that was my favorite line of the day)

Man: HOW MANY HOMOS HAVE YOU LEAD OUT OF THEIR LIFESTYLE AND INTO THE ARMS OF CHRIST??

Me: What?

Man: I HAVE LED HUNDREDS...I DONT EVEN KNOW IF YOU ARE A BROTHER IN THE LORD!!!

Me: Look, I dont want to get into a debate with you about what you're doing out here. I just wanted to address your attack. I'm not belittling or angry at you for your stance, but you have continually yelled at me since coming out here (starting to walk away...I have had enough).

Man: (over microphone) NATHAN DRYE NATHAN DRYE NATHAN DRYE...PASTOR OF FIRST ASSEMBLY...FIRST ASSEMBLY SUPPORTS HOMOSEXUALITY...NATHAN DRYE NATHAN DRYE NATHAN DRYE...OUR FIGHT IS NOT OVER PASTOR...NATHAN DRYE NATHAN DRYE...OUR FIGHT HAS ONLY BEGUN!!!!! (continued screaming that I didn't pick up as we pulled out of the lot)

COMPLAINT #5: SLANDER AGAINST MY CHURCH AND PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT

COMPLAINT #6: PERSONAL THREAT (this is the big one)

So, we left and I tried to remain composed. I was soooo angry. When we got back I called the police department to make my complaints (complaints are kind of useless most of the time, but I figured at least it would add to the distaste for these people). The lady at dispatch told me that the Chief of Police was personally handling this incident and he will call me back. I gave her my information.

Chief of Police calls me back about 10 minutes later...I told him the whole story and made my complaints and also asked if there was anything I could legally do to help shut this thing down.

Then he told me something funny: HE WAS IN THE PARKING LOT AND HEARD AND SAW MY ENTIRE DRAMATIC STORY!!!!! Talk about God being in a situation.

Long story short, Cheif told me that my complaints are probably the most harmful to this organization, because I have the Chief of Police as a witness...pretty cool. He also told me that he was building a case against these people to shut their public action down within the confine of their first ammendment rights. I told him if I could help in any way to call me...he has my number on his speed dial (so he told me) because he will probably use my testimony.

Last night on the way to work I realized that I felt great. Perhaps that shouldn't be such a bombshell to me, but emotionally speaking I was doing pretty good. Didn't have anything I was worrying about...I was optimistic about life in general.

During the course of the night, though, I started feeling sick. Most of the day today, I've felt bad physically and emotionally. It's strange how different you can feel from one day to the next.

Tonight I spoke at Underground, First Assembly's college ministry. I spent a lot of time at work last night putting together what I was going to say. I wasn't really satisfied with it until a few hours before we met. Even then, I wondered if what I wanted to say would come out coherently.

However, it turned out fairly well. There were some minor things about my presentation skills that bugged me, but considering this is the first time in more than a year and a half I've shared anything spiritual with a group, it was fine.

I have court in the morning; I was pulled for expired tag and an expired inspection sticker. I tried to get the car inspected but it didn't pass. Hopefully I can get a continuance.

Taking my computer to work with me last night was a success. I had something constructive to do, and it kept me awake most of the night. When I began to get sleepy I got up and walked around for a while.

Today I got a phone call from the guy at P&G that hired me. It had apparently come to his attention that I'm less than happy with my work situation. He asked me for details, and I told him about how disorganized everything is and how I had been treated. He told me that he had been unaware of those sort of things until recently, and that as of today my two immediate supervisors are no longer my supervisors. They haven't been fired...but I don't have to report to them anymore.

The founder of the company was apparently there, too, and wanted to talk to me. We discussed my schedule, and I agreed to go in tonight, even though I normally have Wednesdays off. He also mentioned something about putting me in a leadership position.

Either I've done a better job than I think, or they are really desperate to hold on to the people they have left. During the conversation, both the guy that hired me and the founder seemed genuinely concerned with the stuff that has been going on with my immediate supervisors.

The fact that they called me means a lot. It means that this company (at least at the upper levels) isn't quite as bad as I had thought. It also means that I'm probably going to have to stay at this job for a little while longer...so while this is good, it also means that my deliverance from this job is not quite here yet.

Last night I was scared half to death. When I get tired enough, I sleep without realizing it. This happened a few times last night. It was a nice night, temperature-wise, and my window was down. A little before 2:30 I blinked, and suddenly it was 3am. The radio was on, the overhead light was on, and I had drifted off without realizing it.

I had to use the facilities, so I got out of my car and walked toward a porta-john. I thought I heard something, and casually turned my flashlight to one of the empty houses. To my surprise, someone was there! This black guy walked out of a house, carrying a steel pipe under his arm.

Had I known it was a steel pipe, I would have just called 911 as fast as my little fingers could dial. However, it just looked like he was walking off the property with something. Still shining the flashlight, I walked toward him, and asked him what he was doing.

It turns out it's this 19-year old guy that lives near where I was. He got home too late and his parents had locked him out, so he was walking around. He was carrying a steel pipe for protection and carrying a beer with him. He said that he had noticed me on the way in and tried to wake me up, but I apparently didn't budge.

I talked with this guy for about an hour, and walked him off the property around 4.

Things turned out okay, but it scared me to death! What if he had been someone that wanted to do me some harm? I drifted off to sleep without realizing it. I have got to get another job!! This is dangerous!

In other news, I think I've figured out a solution to this "no computer at work" thing. I have two computers here in the house. I am going to put one in the car, and use an extension cord to plug it in to one of the power outlets at wherever I wind up. This way i can get some work done on some of the web site stuff that is piling up.

And hopefully it will keep me awake!!!

Well, that was anticlimactic.

They did not receive the stuff I mailed for the hearing. I had no witnesses.

However, things were much simpler than I expected. My ex-boss didn't show up (that I know of), and all I had to do were answer some simple questions. "What is your name? How long did you work for your employer?"

The decision will be mailed to me at some point in the future. Let's hope that the decision is in my favor. Or else I'll have to appeal again. Sheesh...

I was fired from my job at Cold Stone Creamery back in August, the day after turning in my two week notice. I filed for unemployment, and my claim was denied. I filed an appeal and the appeal is today at 2pm by telephone. I'm nervous that my witnesses will not show up. I called them today to remind them and got voicemail for all of them. Let's hope they check their voicemail before the hearing starts.

Well...off I go.

One thing I've wanted to do for a long time is earn something called A+ certification.

It is "...a CompTIA certification demonstrating competency as a computer technician."

Today I bought a book that should help me study for the exam. If I successfully pass the certification exam, it will go a long way toward proving to people that I know what I'm doing with computers, and help me to get a computer job that pays decently.

I am also looking at different strategies for becoming more active. I've tried a lot of things, but have never been able to stick to anything. This is something I've struggled with off and on for years, and I'm determined to win this fight. The question is: how?

I have to work tonight and tomorrow night. I'll probably also work on Wednesday. And Sunday night. I can get as much overtime as I would like right now, so I'm going to do everything I can to make some extra cash. After all, I've got two missions trips to pay for.

I need a laptop computer so that I can work on personal projects while I'm at work.

In a few hours, I'll be boarding a minibus to attend the A/G's district Youth Convention. I'm not really that thrilled about going, since two sets of friends are coming into Concord this weekend. I don't mind going to youth convention...I just wish it was a different weekend. I'm probably going to see some A/G people I've met at Youth Camp. Other than having to wear earplugs virtually the whole time, it shouldn't be so bad.

I have things that need to be done before my departure, so I should probably do them.

Recently I feel that God has told me to do something that is, in my opinion, pretty dumb. However, it's not my job to decide if this is worth doing or not. 'Tis not mine to question why, 'tis simply mine to do and die.

I'm doing my best to change this kind of fatalistic attitude, but it's not something that happens overnight. I've been trying to think of the various places in the Bible where God tells someone to do something. How often does failure occur? I can't really think of one.

Sure, you can argue that when the prophets of the Old Testament did what God told them, preaching for the people to repent, and they failed because the people continued to live in sin. That's a totally different issue.

Here are two examples.

Noah
Noah is out one day minding his own business when God tells him that he's planning to DESTROY EVERYONE except for Noah. And two of each kind of animal. And whoever Noah can convince to join him on the boat. Catch: Noah has to build this boat. It is theorized that rain had never happened before this time in history, so as Noah tried to get people to believe him, he ran into a bit of resistance. Years (and years and years and decades) go by. Noah builds his boat, packs up the animals and his family and then gets inside the boat. Then the rain falls. A lot. The whole earth is flooded. Ten days into the voyage, the boat sinks! Noah failed. The rain goes away, and Noah's family exits the ark to begin anew.

Elijah
Elijah the Tishbite (Tish to his friends) was a man of God that opposed the evil regime of his day. While the king and queen were trying to lead Israel away from God, God was trying to lead the people back to Him. One day Elijah is out minding his own business when God tells him to challenge the king to see which God is real...a god named Baal or the omnipotent Yahweh that we've all come to know and love. So Elijah throws down the guantlet, Ahab accepts, and they have the contest.

They decide on something really easy. Each group is supposed to build an altar with a sacrifice on it. Whichever deity answers by fire is the real God. Like I said, piece of cake. So the followers of Baal go first. Baal has 400 priests, and they begin to chant, begging for fire from above. When the first chant ends, they chant some more. And then they keep on with the chanting. They cut themselves to show that they're serious. Still no fire.

Tish thinks this is great, and starts to make fun of them. He tells them to speak up...maybe Baal is busy doing something else. Or maybe he's just (maybe) false...not really a deity at all. Finally, hours later, Baal's prophets give up like the wimps that they are. So now it's Tish's turn. First he calls for water, to soak his altar. He digs a trench around his altar...and pours so much water on his sacrifice that the trench is filled. The altar is soaked. There is water all over the place.

Tish prays a very simple prayer. Basically he says "God, show these people that you're real." No chanting. No cutting. No praise and worship standards. Immediately fire comes down from heaven and consumes everything. The trench, the sacrifice, the stones of the altar.

Pretty dramatic stuff.

I would say in both cases that the chance for failure was pretty high. In both cases, though, the men heard accurately from God and God came through. God did the impossible. Even though, to be honest, what they were trying to do was pretty absurd.

So how 'bout it? Is this the norm, or the exception? Biblically speaking, are there cases where someone is falling God's orders and fails miserably? Please post comments and help me out.

Another month, another Lark News update.

Sorry, but...duh.

And so I suppose this means that the good news is that there is no news. Oddly, I'm not too happy about it. But oh well. At some point it shall happen.

Read the passage in full here.

Emphasis mine.

For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.

1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge.
5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
6 Surely you desire truth in the inner parts ; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.
7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you.
14 Save me from bloodguilt, O God, the God who saves me, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
18 In your good pleasure make Zion prosper; build up the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then there will be righteous sacrifices, whole burnt offerings to delight you; then bulls will be offered on your altar.

via Breitbart:
Vivid Entertainment Group, a major adult video producer that already offers high-resolution still images, video clips and footage from "voyeur cams" through its Web site, now plans to shoot shorter films specifically for the iPod and other portables.

"It could be a huge percentage of our business," says the company's chief executive, Steven Hirsch. "People love watching adult movies and to be able to carry an adult movie in your pocket is a powerful tool."

Wow.

Terrible, probably unintentional, and quite funny pun. You'd think someone working in the porn industry would avoid turns of phrase like that.

The last time I posted was almost a week ago, and I did 4 posts in a day. Since then I've really felt no compulsion to write. I don't exactly have anything on my mind to write about now, other than to say that there are certain things suitable for putting in a public space like this, and there are things that shouldn't.

For the past few days I've been doing a lot of thinking about issues that don't lend themselves well to public blogging. So what can I write about?

I had a job interview yesterday. It was at the local wing zone, and I think it went fairly well. It seemed to kind of fizzle at the end because of my availability. They need someone to work on Sunday nights, and after the first of the year I will not be able to do that. The owner seems to be a nice guy, and apparently he and the manager go to the same church. I don't know what church that is, but I'd be willing to bet it's a Baptist one.

If I do come on board with them, he's looking for someone that can eventually become a store manager. I'm not sure if I want to do that. All I'm looking for at the moment is a job that will let me get decent pay and allow me to pursue other things in my off time. At Wing Zone there will be a substantial time committment. On the bright side, I'll be making what I used to make as a manager at Cold Stone. After 90 days I'd get to participate in profit sharing, and that would come out to an additional $250 a week, more or less. The big thing is the time committment, though. 40 - 50 hours/week.

I've done that before at Cold Stone, and it's no fun. I had no life. Of course, I was also taking 22 credit hours that semester...and so it was basically work, sleep, and school. Blech.

I have also been working on updating the web site for Fruitless Pursuit Films. I found a design that I like; now it's just a matter of coming up with content.

There are a lot of web sites I need to work on. Woodbrook Village needs more of a site than myspace, I have to redo the Escapades in Chocolate site, and I'm going to make a web site for 75, the new coffeehouse place that First Assembly's college ministry is starting. Fortunately two of these sites are for money.

I'm supposed to be speaking at the weekly college-age small group thing next week. If you check out the college ministry link, you'll see that it's official...on the schedule and everything. Golly. I'm not sure exactly what I'm going to say at the moment. I'm thinking about something about how Jesus interacted with "sinners." He enjoyed being around them and they enjoyed being around him. We'll see if anything develops.

I have some e-mails to write. Then I might go catch a movie. Or not. Who knows? I just know that I need to get out of the house. I woke up at 1 and I've been here all day, sitting at the computer.

Question for discussion: When you feel God is telling you do something that you feel is silly, how do you determine if it's God? I know a decent number of armchair theologians visit this blog, so I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts. Check out the link on the right on posting comments if you have problems posting.