My Part of the Conversation

Jimmy’s Blog has a cool feature that randomly places a Jack Handy quote at the top of the page each time the page loads. Whenever I need a laugh or a little pick-me-up, I go there and hit refresh a few times. Here are a few I really liked:

I’m just guessing, but probably one of the early signs that your radarscope is wearing out is something I call “image fuzz-out.” But I’ve never even seen a radarscope, so I wouldn’t totally go by what I’ve just said.

If you’re in a war, instead of throwing a hand grenade at the enemy, throw one of those small pumpkins. Maybe it’ll make everyone think how stupid war is, and while they are thinking, you can throw a real grenade at them.

Children need encouragement. If a kid gets an answer right, tell him it was a lucky guess. That way he develops a good, lucky feeling.

Dad always thought laughter was the best medicine, which I guess is why several of us died of tuberculosis.

And my favorite for the day:

Don’t ever get your speedometer confused with your clock, like I did once, because the faster you go, the later you think you are.

Well, I’m off to Lake Charles for a youth rally!

Blaine

Okay, so I don’t post every day. You thought, “hey, this is neat, this guy posts often.” Then you thought, “what a loser! Why does he have a blog that he never updates?” Well, let me tell you something, once a week is not “never”. You probably are wondering how I got in your head. Well, I kn0w what you are thinking, so don’t think about something you don’t want me to know you’re thinking about… Wait, did you hear me? Don’t think about THAT!!! Now we’re both embarassed.

In other news, I’ve got this big youth rally coming up really fast. Like 2 1/2 weeks fast. That’s incredible. I keep uncovering new details that need to be taken care of. Could one of those details be a nap? Not likely. But, a girl can dream…

Kate’s out of town for about a week. I thought I’d enjoy the quiet. I would, if it actually was quiet. We’re out in the country now, so if the old house isn’t creaking, the bugs outside are. Or the tree is making noise. Or the wind is making noise. Or an animal is making noise. Or a crazed-mass-murderer-evil-genius-that-just-escaped-the-local-asylum-that hunts-and-tortures-twenty-six-year-old-youth-ministers-who-are-alone-in-the-country is making noise. Tonight, I think I’ll turn the tv on in the living room (though I’m not sure I can sleep with all that noise).

Peace out, yo

Blaine

I thought since I have a lot of useless knowledge, I might do you all a favor and share it with you. I have been researching rumors on Microsofts XBOX console set for this fall. Here is what I know (or speculate) so far.

1. Name: XBOX 360- seems like a stupid name, but the sources seem legit. They didn’t want to be XBOX 2, since Sony will have PS3. They might seem behind everyone else… Makes a little sense… but 360? There must be a deeper meaning we’ll find out in May.
2. No Hard Drive.- well, at least not standard. Will probably be an add on- but everyone is freaking out about this. They shouldn’t. Let’s see number 3…
3. Network connectivity. Speculation is that you will be able to save your games on your computer’s hard drive through your network. Most people who have xbox live have computers sharing the connection, so they are already networked. This is a logical step of using the already existing setup.
4. Greater media usage- XBOX just released a Window’s Media Center Edition XBOX extender. this allows you to play your media from your computer through your XBOX. This has a lot of great applications, and it looks like this type of feature will be standard with the XBOX 360.
5. Superpowered Macintosh- yes, you heard me. Macintosh. The developmental kits that were sent out to game designers have 2 Apple G5 chips in them. The graphics card is likely the ATI Radeon 9800 Pro. This machine is fast. Real fast. This may change between now and when it comes out, but the multi-processor concept is apparently here to stay.
6. Wireless controllers- This is speculation. It was speculated years ago with game cube. Wireless at this point requires too many batteries for people to be really happy with them. I expect controllers to still have cords, but you will be able to purchase a wireless edition.
7. XBOX Live- More features and better utilized by the new system.
8. Release date- late October, early November 2005. Sounds kinda quick to me, but we’ll see. They don’t want to be the last one in the market again.

We’ll know official details in May when the big E3 convention is held. Until then, it’s fun to guess.

Blaine

Ever have things you always wanted to say, but never could find the proper context? Me too. Here are a few:

1. The truth? The TRUTH?!!! You can’t handle the truth!!!!
2. Purple lightnight? Now THAT’S a good sign!
3. I am NOT a committee!
4. Stop, or I’ll shoot!
5. They might take our lives, but they can never take our FREEDOM!!!
6. Are you feeling lucky, punk?
7. The great Blaine-o sees all…

And my final thing I would love to have the proper context to say…

“What? You’re actually listening to me?”

(Conseptual credit for this post is attributed to dave wasson, 2005, all rights reservered)

Sorry I haven’t posted in a while… I haven’t felt the creative juices flowing very freely. Anyway, there is something that’s been on my mind, and I want to share it with you.

I’ve been amazed recently at how much God loves me. I know, I’m a youth minister, and I should have that all figured out by now. But to be honest, the more I learn, the less I understand.

So often, I find myself teaching lessons on theology and life and practical stuff and let the true gospel go unsaid. Sure, every lesson doesn’t need to be a full explanation of Christ’s sacrifice, but the thought is often far from my mind.

So many people ask questions as to why a God who loves us could let bad things happen. Or how a loving God could let us go to hell. Or how a kind God could ever allow suffering. I don’t wonder those things. I wonder how a righteous and pure and innocent God could so freely wash me clean and call me his son. And how he could love me (so many times his enemy) so much that he would offer the thing that he loved most- his Son.

You see, I earned hell. I bought it. I paid for it. Paul says, “The wages of sins is death.” Wages you earn. If I go to hell, I get what I deserve. No more, no less. But, it also says “the gift of God is eternal life.” You don’t buy a gift. You don’t deserve a gift. True gifts come out of love from the giver. God’s love gives me what I don’t deserve: eternal life with Him.

But, that didn’t come cheap. It came with a tremendous price: His Son. I love Hudson very much. I don’t think I could ever love anyone or any group of people enough to give him up- even if it was a good cause. Yet God loved us so much, that He did exactly that. I don’t understand how it all works, why it had to be a sacrifice or why blood had to be spilled or why there is sin in the first place. I only understand what a tremendous act it was for God to send Jesus.

The older I get, the more I love God and serve Him out of my love for him. I obey Him because I know how much he loves me. But that wasn’t always the case. Hell is very real. When I was younger, I served him because I feared hell. Now, the more I know about hell and sin, the more I love God for what he did. It’s just like when I was a kid, I did what my dad told me to because I was afraid of his punishment. He wasn’t cruel or abusive, in fact I he was always very kind and tender. But, I still feared being punished, so I obey (well, not all the time). I knew he loved me, but that wasn’t my motivation. Now, when my father gives advice, I don’t follow it out of fear. I know it is an expression of love. My heavenly father is the same. When I once feared him (and rightly so), I know rejoice by obedience in the love he shows by giving me guidance.

I’m not perfect, and I don’t have it all figured out. My life isn’t easier because I’m a Christian and sin is often so appealing. But, I continue on, and thank God I get to be a part of the journey.

In HIM,
Blaine