Photograph

So there is this song by Nickelback (Motto: “All Songs Sound the Same or Your Money Back!”) called “Photograph.”

It is a nostalgic song about finding a photo of his old friends and recalling the good times they had and missing them, while realizing it is time to say good-bye to that part of his life.

This song is kind of strange for me, because it brings back memories of friends that I had, but I don’t miss them since most of them were really not good people to be around and the things we did were really not things I would approve of now.

*How is it that you aren’t in jail?*

God looks after fools and drunkards.

Maybe it isn’t entirely true that I don’t miss them, maybe I just miss being young and free with no responsibilities, no issues that keep you awake at night praying for wisdom, trying to figure out what exactly you are supposed to do in THIS situation….it really sucks.

One thing though that I know I miss is my family. I live 650 miles from half my family…to be honest it is the half I actually like also. (Ha ha, just kidding, the truth is I can’t stand any of you)

I know some people might not believe what I’m about to say, some people might think that I am merely using hyperbole, but let me assure you that what I am about to say is absolute truth.

My family was and is better than yours.

We were, and still are, closer than you could ever believe. I attribute that fully to my wonderful parents who refused to let us degenerate into bickering siblings who whined about the others constantly and did our best to get the others in hot water with the authorities.

We actually liked each other. We spent so much time together that we became friends. I know that is rare. When we grew older we still enjoyed spending time together. We had weekly game nights until I moved away; I look forward to seeing them when I head back to Pennsylvania at Christmas and in the summer.

When I listen to the song I miss those days when we were all under the age of 16 playing Fox and Rabbits in the snow, Billion Buck Baby, making a see-saw while camping, pushing a log down the road and “dancing” to the beat it made.

I don’t want to say good-bye to that part of my life, I want to cling to it, but we are all older with kids and cats, jobs and bills, houses and cars, and of course, we are missing the ring leader of it all, the person who taught us how to play Fox and Rabbits, who allowed us to have water fights in the house…when our father was gone for the evening, and the one who encouraged our corn on the cob sword fights….again when our father wasn’t there :)

When I think about this world, one of the cruelest parts to me is that it forces people to move so far apart sometimes.

Last Saturday Sister #3 and I were walking down the front stairs to a house, front steps that had always seemed a little wrong to me for some reason, when she piped up, “These stairs remind me of the stairs on Smithson.”

That was it, they were the same faded red paint on concrete, but they were too big. I had gone up and down those stairs so many times, that these stairs which reminded me of those stairs felt wrong since they were slightly off.

I miss living in that house, I miss riding the sofa cushion down the stairs, turning the attic into a haunted house, sitting on the front porch in the summer listening to my mother read the Prydain Cycle to us.

I guess I just miss being a kid.

Wholly Yours

This is my favorite song of the moment, I have scoured YouTube looking for decent videos of the song, but none of the ones I found do it justice. So, here are the wonderful lyrics, enjoy them and figure out your own way to listen to this fantastic song.


I am full of earth
You are heaven’s worth
I am stained with dirt, prone to depravity
You are everything that is bright and clean
The antonym of me
You are divinity
But a certain sign of grace is this
From the broken earth flowers come up
Pushing through the dirt

You are holy, holy, holy
All heaven cries “Holy, holy God”
You are holy, holy, holy
I want to be holy like You are

You are everything that is bright and clean
And You’re covering me with Your majesty
And the truest sign of grace was this
From wounded hands redemption fell down
Liberating man

You are holy, holy, holy
All heaven cries “Holy, holy God”
You are holy, holy, holy
I want to be holy like You are

But the harder I try the more clearly can I
Feel the depth of our fall and the weight of it all
And so this might could be the most impossible thing
Your grandness in me making me clean

Glory, hallelujah
Glory, glory, hallelujah

You are holy, holy, holy
All heaven cries “Holy, holy God”
You are holy, holy, holy
I want to be holy, Holy God

So here I am, all of me
Finally everything
Wholly, wholly, wholly
I am wholly, wholly
I am wholly, wholly, wholly
Yours

I am full of earth and dirt and You

---Wholly Yours

David Crowder Band

Pid Pid!! Come Back!!!

If that isn't enough.....

One for the Road

I'm not sure whether to laugh with them, laugh at them, or cry.

Speak of the devil!

Ten 23

Hey, it is October 23rd!!

Ten - 23!!

This matters to probably no one who reads this blog except myself.

Anyway, it is Ten - 23!! Yay!!! Punk Rock!!!

A Blog Conversation

Recently I posted a post of such brilliance and wonder that all who read it were amazed...all except for one person who chose to remain anonymous and post comments filled with grammatical errors and mispellings. Since this induhvidual chose to not name himself, I will supply a name: Pid Pid.

Pid Pid:

I have a question?

If priests proclaim the marriage union and its great and God's plan for men and women to procreate, then...why can't priests marry?

The hypocracy starts within


Me:

Absolutely, I'm sure glad I'm not a Catholic.

I don't see at all what bearing this has on the post though. Could you enlighten me?

Pid Pid:

First sentence.

Pid Pid:

enlighten-your must seek the light my friend.

Me:

Sigh, I never thought the day would come that I would defend the Catholic church, but here goes.

Paul states that it is better for a preacher to be single like he was in order to devote all of his time to God and the study of Christ.

The Catholic church in its infinite foolishness took this a few steps...and a jump...and a skip...too far and declared that none of of the priets can be married after they put on the collar of doom.

There is no hypocrisy (please note the spelling) involved since to be a hypocrite is to say one thing and do another, the Catholic church has declared that their priests are married to the church, but all the other Catholics should go forth and multiply. There is abolutely no hypocrisy here at all, just large amounts of stupidity.

The post also wasn't even debating whether or not sinners go to church, we all freely admit that, it is the fool who thinks that he is better than we are standing outside pointing at "hypocracy" (sic) not understanding grace at all.

So, please, tell me what your comment has to do with the actual post or just go away.

Thanks for reading!

****Silence for a few days****

Pid Pid:

your an ass bag

Pid Pid:

This blog sucks anyway, I only stopped by here because the blog about midget clowns was giving me an error page.

********


So, you can see the normal progression of an anonymous internet blog poster.

1). Make wild and moronic statements that only slightly tie in to the original post

2). When queried about said wild and moronic statements, act as if the other person is dumb

3). When show how wild and moronic your statements are, reply with an insult

4). Then proclaim how dumb the person who refuted your wild and moronic statements is

5). Proclaim your undying love for midget clowns

You could add one more thing to the list, throughout the entire conversation, show your poor grammar skills and inability to spell.

Well, I just have to end on this:

Pid Pid:

This blog sucks anyway, I only stopped by here because the blog about midget clowns was giving me an error page.

Lyricalness

*So, I hear you are re-thinking the "No lyrics except in extreme cases which are defined by me" rule.*

Yeah, there are some good, helpful lyrics out there, and it saves me from having to think something up to write, I can just slap a few lyrics up and be done with it.

*How clever, what were you thinking of doing first?*

"Too Sexy" I think....

*Definitely a classic.*

House of the Sick (or Stop Being so Stupid! You Stuck-up, Self-Righteous, Arrogant.....)

“Churches are filled with hypocrites! That is why I don’t go to church!”

I’m sure you have heard that before. The person blazing with self-righteousness, defiantly daring you to prove him wrong. Sometimes they even throw in that churches are just in it for money and that pastor’s are greedy. What amazes me is that each time someone spews out this torrent of stupidity; he acts as if no one else has ever come up with this argument before. Are we supposed to just gasp in amazement, clasping our hands together thanking the good Lord that someone as wonderful as you has deigned to share your wisdom with us?

So you say that people in churches say one thing and do another? That pastors preach that we should all be holy, and yet they are not holy? That every day someone in the church sins?

Perish the thought that someone as great as you would have to walk amongst us mere mortals! How do you do it? How do you stay so perfect? Teach me!!

Christ told us that He has come not for the righteous, but for sinners, not for the healthy, but the sick. His people are sinners, His chosen are the sick. Churches are filled with sinners. This means that not everyone will be perfect all the time. This doesn’t mean that we are all hypocrites, although, in some cases, we are being hypocritical, and instead of just bailing on us, maybe try some of this brotherly love thing that some guy named Jesus talked about. Imagine if He had just bailed on us rather than suffering for thrity-three years BEFORE dying on a cross like a common criminal. If HE could stoop so low and lovingly to do this for us, how can you be so selfish and self-righteous?

I have yet to meet someone who refuses to go to church and is a true follower of Christ. They are so messed up on the concepts of God’s Grace, God’s Holiness, and God’s Wrath. If he truly understood mercy he would realize that while the church might be filled with hypocrites, he is the worst of them all.

We are commanded to worship with a body of believers. Jesus Himself spent Sabbaths at the synagogues which were run by Pharisees and Sadducees.

Quick history lesson:

The Pharisees were called out by Christ to be hypocrites and “white washed tombs.” The Sadducees allowed money changers to flood the Temple. And Christ went to these places of worship, are you better than He? When He came upon the Temple with moneychangers and merchants in it, did He go off in a huff saying, “These people just care about money, come on Peter, we will go have church on our own!”

Not really. We are not called to be solo, whining that churches are not what we want them to be. We are called to make a difference, to declare the truth to sinners, both in the church and outside of the church. Running away like a whipped, scared puppy is not fulfilling the Great Commission….unless I’m missing something somehow.

So I guess the question is, do you actually believe that you have a plank in your own eye? Do you actually see that you are not perfect? Do you believe that you are better than Christ Himself? Do you not understand that you are a hypocrite sometimes as well? You are no better than anyone else and to believe otherwise will only lead to your eternal destruction.

*And make you look foolish here on earth in the meantime.*

Squirrels are Evil Creatures

One of the funniest stories I've heard in a while......this is David Crowder talking by the way. He lives in the Dr. Pepper house, I am so envious.

First Time for Everything

Well, I've been going back and forth about whether or not to post this. The one side of me says, "Yes! Tell the people about a CD they should buy! It is great!"

The other side responds, "Not everyone likes the same stuff I do, I would hate for someone to waste their money."

Fortunately I have come to realize that if you don't like this CD you deserve to have your money wasted.

The David Crowder Band

These guys are great. The CD in particular of theirs that I like a lot is A Collision or (3+4=7). Lots of good stuff on there.

The songs each have a distinctive flavor to them, unlike some bands that have a certain style and are a one-trick pony, these guys change their sound to fit the mood of the song they are singing. I was going to go through a few of the songs to give a feel for their flavor, but then I found that the band had already done that themsleves. So here is a link to a copy paste job since it can be hard to find at their site.

A Collision - Song by Song

If I only get one gift for Christmas I want A Collision, I think it is that goodof an album.

*If I get two gifts, the second one better be a new 3-wood*

Go ahead, scratch your head in perplexed amazement after listening to the clips. post your comments that you are suprised that I would like this music....it's ok....really.....

*You people don't know me at all.*

You Must Watch This!!!

I feel kinda bad since they worked so hard on this, but it is so funny!