Title of Most Recent Blog

It is amazing the impact people can have on your life in a short period of time. I am trying more and more to really pay attention to the people around me that actually take the time to be my friend. These people actually call me and email me and want to learn more about me and usually I act like I couldn’t care less. Why is that? I’m not sure…I think for a long time I have been afraid to make friends because I don’t like people knowing what makes me tick. I like being private and keeping to myself. It’s not that I don’t care. In fact, it is the opposite. This has affected me for most of my life: with friends, with girls, with my family, with school…With everything.

This is also the worst thing you can do with your faith. Lauren and I have been going to a Life Group on Tuesday nights with couples who are around our age and married. I was really shy at first and didn’t say much. I have started to open up a bit and it has helped me with my faith a lot. How can we grow unless we are talking about the things that matter most to us? We can’t. We are stuck with the thoughts that only we share with ourselves. That is no way to grow.

I have met some incredible people this year. People who I hope I will always be friends with and get to know more as the years go by. I have really tried to make the most of these relationships in the time that I have because I don’t know where people are going to be a couple years, or months from now. When I left Boston, I left some relationships with this pattern and they are still incomplete to this day. I don’t want to miss out on things in life because I am so closed off and inaccessible. I’m sorry if I have been this way with you and you are reading this. Please know that I am trying and please bear with me.

Please read my friend Emery’s blog. He has impacted me tremendously in the short time I have known him. He is going to do great things in his life and I am proud to know him and call him a friend.

Distracted from the Distractions

As most of you know, I have the most respect for Jon Foreman that one can have for another human. I was just on his myspace and came across his new blog. He is involved in the Invisible Children cause that is dealing with children soldiers of Uganda. Check it out. Also, check out his new blog on his site and he will tell you more about it. I just thought this quote was amazing:

"One cannot be free while others are in chains. One cannot be whole while others are broken. We cannot run from injustice - in doing so we are running from ourselves.... we would become frauds. Be the real deal.

This is the ironic twist- in caring for others you will become yourself. As you give yourself away you become richer, stronger. My example is the one who gave himself to death so that I might live. Our lives are too short to ignore the pain. It would be a lie to run away."

I can only pray to be this concerned with things that I do not come across directly in my American comfort zone. That is my prayer from this day forward. I cannot continue to pretend that I am doing all I can for the Kingdom by being a "good person." It's far from being enough and it won't leave me fulfilled.


James

Consumerism + Lawsuits = America

Check these out:

Walmart Employee Trampled

Family Sues


This pretty much sums up how I view America today. Needless to say, this is a horrific and unfortunate situation and I pray nothing like this happens to anyone in my family, or ANYONE at all for that matter. Having said that, there are two parts to this:

The first part is the fact that America's pastime, Consumerism, was on brilliant display this year on "Black Friday." I am a person who pretty much hates going shopping unless I know I am going to get something specific and get out. My sister-in-law was in town and wanted to go to the mall at 1 a.m. on Black Friday. Hmm...well, I did it and it honestly wasn't that bad. We left the mall at three, I woke up at 10 and we were back at it. Awful. There were some good deals but nothing that required me to trample over a pregnant woman to make sure I got it. Everyone should be appalled by what happened at this Walmart. It is a tragedy to say the least. Of the 2,000 people there, how many stopped to help and see what was going on? Maybe a handful. How many continued on with their ridiculous day? Most of them.

The next problem I have is that, less than a week later, there is already a lawsuit from the family.

"We’re going to be suing Wal-Mart as well as the owner of the mall, the security company, and we’re contemplating an action against the police and the county of Nassau, although we’re waiting to see what our investigation fleshes out about their involvement."

We knew there would be a lawsuit but I guess I didn't think it would happen this fast, and against that many people! Did they all really have something to do with this? I am not saying I wouldn't do the same thing, and I'm definitely not saying it is not warranted, but isn't it just like us (humans) to look for an opportunity to get something out of our troubles? I mean, spilling coffee on yourself and suing is one thing, but wrongful death?! (JOKE) I'm just saying...People in our society want to make a profit off their hardships and they feel entitled to it most of the time. I'm forming my thoughts on this as I type but I just don't think suing someone for millions of dollars is going to make you feel any better about the situation.

Really I am just saddened at both of these situations. What saddens me even more is when followers of Christ get involved in things such as these two examples. Anyone feel the way I do or am I being insensitive (on the lawsuit part)?

To Be Completely Honest

Why is it that people have to premise certain statements with “To be completely honest,” or “I’m gonna be honest with you,”...? Were they not being honest before they said that? Were they being “partially” honest and now they feel they are being “totally” honest? I don’t get it. Maybe it is a matter of people thinking some statements have much stronger implications and deserve “total honesty.” Why can’t we be honest all the time? Well, I know the answer to that: Because we can’t! We are incapable. So the fact that people feel the need to be “totally” or “completely” honest at certain times is them identifying that they can tell the occasional lie. It is them letting everyone know that they are sometimes dishonest, and this is not one of those times. It is fascinating to me. By the way, there is no such thing as “stretching the truth.”

My Mom always used to say “Nobody believes a liar.” True. I always used to scoff at her when she said it, probably because I had just been caught in a lie. Honesty is a funny thing. Not really, but learning that being honest is a virtue is an interesting process. I am always interested to see what age kids start realizing they don’t have to tell the truth. I suppose it starts pretty young and, depending on how it is handled, it will continue into adulthood. Oh, boy…can’t wait to have kids and have them start lying to me. Not gonna be good for them.

I used to think I was a “good liar.” What?! Why would anyone want to be a good liar? Well, it means that you can deceive people and keep a straight face. Yea, that’s what I wanna be good at. Ridiculous. I guess it is good for poker, but not much else. I just want to be someone who doesn’t seem like they are hiding something all the time.


“A truthful witness gives honest testimony, but a false witness tells lies.” Proverbs 12:17.


Nobody believes a liar! Simple as that.

That's What I'm Talking About

That’s what I’m talking about. You wanna know what I’m about to talk about? Not saying that’s what I’m talking about. I was at a restaurant the other day with some friends and there were multiple football games playing all at the same time. There are positives and some negatives that go on at a place like this. The majority of the people there are rooting for the team of the city that they are in. In this case, it is the Tennessee Titans. There are, however, multiple people watching, and cheering loudly, for their favorite team. This causes some confusion because once people start cheering the natural tendency is to want to know what is going on. There is a lot going on and it takes a lot just to concentrate on what’s going on in your game. Mentally unstable people should not participate in a game day restaurant like this one as their brain may explode and ruin it for everyone else.

So, the stage is set. Everyone is having a great time (if there team is winning) and eating and being merry. Except for the guy who is sitting by himself yelling “That’s what I’m talking about!” after every positive event in the game. First of all, he is sitting BY HIMSELF. He wasn’t talking about ANYTHING and then keeps letting everyone know that whatever happened in that game is precisely what he was talking about. It’s like he is taking credit for whatever just happened by letting people know that he said it first and then it happened. Maybe the reason he is sitting alone is a direct result of what he was talking about and his companion didn’t agree with him so they left.

Look…there are plenty of things you are allowed to yell at any given event. “Yeah!” “Go, Go, Go!” “WHAT?!” Endless possibilities…except for “That’s what I’m talking about.” Do yourself a favor and ease up. By the way…it’s kind of like telling someone they are all that and a bag of chips. Think about it.

One Road Says Hello, The Other Says Goodbye

Hey Hey. Just really bored right now. My wife is gone for the night on a big important thing somewhere that is not Nashville and I just realized that sometimes being alone is not the best place to be. I sometimes have mentioned that I enjoy being alone but I guess I am finding that every once in a while it is not too fun. Maybe this idea of hiding myself away has reached its ending point. I don't know what is going on tonight. It is a strange night indeed. So strange in fact that I am just writing aimlessly.
I have been making some subtle changes to my life in hopes of becoming a better indication that God is at work in my life. Some of the changes are not drastic and some of them are. I recently (within the past year) have made an effort to not fall into the big consumerism ditch. I used to be the person who had to have the best new gadget right when it came out without even thinking about it. I have gotten to where I don't think in those terms at all anymore but this week that old attitude has snuck up on me a bit. I have fended it off and am really trying to stay true to what I am becoming...a responsible adult.

Just a second ago I hit the spell check button and there were no misspellings found. Pretty proud of that.

Goodnight.

Sick of Being Sick?

Why is it that we (men, boyz) get sick and feel like it is the end of our time here on earth? Maybe this is just perception, or maybe this is actually what happens to the majority of us (men, boyz). I am writing this and I am a sick person at this moment in time. I actually, believe it or not, stayed home from work Monday and Tuesday because of this epidemic that is happening in my body. What’s worse is that my wife is not home to take care of me. See, right there is the problem. I get the slightest little stuffy nose and I revert back to middle school and want someone to make Maypo (better than oatmeal) for me. Really all I have is a cold. It feels like lupus but it is obviously less serious than I am making it seem. I am not one who craves attention, and I actually think that I shy away from it…but when I am sick, I want everyone to know about how hard a time I am having just living my normal life.

I took my temperature and, when it said 98.6 degrees, I replied with “Liar!” I don’t know what it is and I really have nothing definitive to say on this matter. Boyz, when women say that men are like children when they get sick, just accept it and keep laying in your own filth on the couch and watching The Cosby Show. For some reason that show is on at all hours during the day. It is amazing though!

Men try to act tough 98% of the time, and then once a chink in their armor hits (headache) they are dying all of a sudden. There is something to that and I totally admit that this goes on. I rarely get sick, and when I do it is a minor disaster. The point is that this will never change. Sorry ladies. I have nothing profound on this matter at all...


Really I am just writing this so you can all know that I am sick at this moment.