Over the last couple of years, since leaving fulltime ministry, I’ve been on a crazy journey.  Trying to figure out where I fit, what my purpose is, and all of that jazz.  There’s a verse in the Bible that has constantly been ringing in my head…

But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth! ~ Revelation 3:16 NLT

I’ve always heard this passage, and never really thought it applied to me, because I “worked for the church”.  I mean, I ate, slept, and breathed church!  Certainly I was “hot”, right?  Well, I’ve come to realize that, for me, this verse has a much deeper meaning.  It’s caused me to look deeper into my thoughts on religion and God; and my views of calling myself a Christian.

Now then, before I continue, let me say that I don’t have it all figured out… this is more so just a journal entry on my progression into an unknown world for me.  Through this process… I’ve freaked out my wife, my friends, challenged my own beliefs of what “the church” is or is perceived to be, hung out at bars, met new friends, had lots of conversations, and through this I feel that I’m closer to God than I have been in over a year.

So… you know where I’ve been… now… this is where I’m at.

I’m currently not attending a “church”… at least not as most people would consider it.  I’ve tried to, multiple ones, multiple times.  With every attempt at “going to church”, I would not leave fulfilled… but rather, disappointed.  I didn’t come away with relationships that were challenging or fulfilling.  Instead, I felt alone and out of place.  So, instead of continuing to force myself to go through the motions and act excited about going to church… I just stopped going.  It should also be noted that my wife experienced this same thing, so this wasn’t just my decision.

Now then, here’s one of the questions that was raised at this point of decision… Does not going to church make me less of a Christian?  I don’t know.  But I can tell you I don’t feel fake any more.

Let me also say that I DO NOT BLAME the churches that I attended.  They are all GREAT CHURCHES doing AMAZING things, and I’m sure they have great people!  Please do not misunderstand me, what I’m doing is all about ME and MY relationship with God.

Continuing on… At the same time that I was honest with God about all of this stuff, I felt that He was telling me to dive further into my work.  So I did.  I started a Thursday night, after work get together and invited all the people I work with.  After all, I spend 80% of my time with those people… why shouldn’t they be the people I’m doing life with?  Why is it that we keep the people we spend the most time with at arms length?  Doesn’t make sense to me.   All of my co-workers are “Christians”, and we have good conversations and have a good time… this feels more like how “church” should be to me.  Don’t read into that… I’m not starting my own church.  That’s ridiculous.  But, it’s edifying, it’s fun, and we’re building meaningful relationship, and it’s certainly open to “outsiders”.

So… that’s that.  After all of this… I don’t feel “lukewarm” any longer.  Am I where I want to be?  Absolutely not.  But I am moving forward.  I’m being honest and up front with God and what I am… the good, the bad, and the ugly.  I’m not perfect.  I don’t have it all figured out.  But I’m closer now, than where I was.

• The freedoms that this great country affords me.  Specifically, to be able to openly disagree with people.
• Netflix on the Wii
• Can-Coozies (or “huggies” as they are referred to in Mississippi)
• Work to do
• My freelance work… it’s a good break from the norm.

I am excited about …

• Finishing this video I’ve been working on this week
• Working on a new product for my company
• The “workday release” tomorrow with my co-workers
• Sleeping well tonight
• Re-established relationships with my friends

1. Finding NCAA Football ’08 for $5.00 at Game Point.  Always good to have college football game to play.
2. Bottling the blueberry wheat beer this week.
3. Working on a new blog image today.
4. Hopefully getting a check from a freelance job this week.
5. Getting started on a new freelance job.

I am grateful for…

1. My job.
2. The talents that have been given to me.
3. My super-awesome wife.
4. The people I get to work with.
5. Coca-Cola.

Acoustic Kitty was a CIA project launched by the Directorate of Science & Technology in the 1960s attempting to use cats in spy missions. A battery and a microphone were implanted into a cat and an antenna into its tail. Due to problems with distraction, the cat’s sense of hunger had to be addressed in another operation. Surgical and training expenses are thought to have amounted to over $20 million.

The first cat mission was eavesdropping on two men in a park outside the Soviet compound on Wisconsin Avenue in Washington, D.C. The cat was released nearby, but was hit and killed by a taxi almost immediately. Shortly thereafter the project was considered a failure and declared to be a total loss. [via Wiki]

1. What time did you get up this morning?

8:13 am

2. How do you like your steak?

Medium.

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema?

Inglorious Basterds.

4. What is your favorite TV show?

Toss up between “Sons of Anarchy” and “Brewmasters”.

5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?

I’m pretty happy with Arkansas.

6. What did you have for breakfast?

Coca-Cola.

7. What is your favorite cuisine?

American.  But Italian is a close 2nd.

8. What foods do you dislike?

Brussel sprouts.  Liver.

9. Favorite Place to Eat?

Chipotle.

10. Favorite dressing?

I like Ranch.  It’s flexible.  When’s the last time you saw someone dip their buffalo wings in Thousand Island dressing?

11.What kind of vehicle do you drive?

’93 Buick Park Ave Ultra.  Gold.  Awesome.

12. What are your favorite clothes?

Jeans, a plain white tee, and my crocs.

13. Where would you visit if you had the chance?

Octoberfest.

14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full?

Depends on what’s in the cup.

15. Where would you want to retire?

In a cabin, back in the woods.

16. Favorite time of day?

Beer and video games time.

17. Where were you born?

Ohio.

18. What is your favorite sport to watch?

College football.

19. Who do you think will not tag you back? 

Who gives a crap?

20. Person you expect to tag you back first?

Please refer to Question 19.

21. Who are you most curious about their responses to this?

Please refer to Question 20.

22. Bird watcher? Bird shooter?

Both.  Now if birds could shoot each other… that would be fun!

23. Are you a morning person or a night person ?

Night.  Definitely night.

24. Pets?

Yep.

25. Any new and exciting news that you’d like to share?

I found Chimay Ale on draft at a local pub.

26. What did you want to be when you were little?

I wanted to join the Air Force.  Still would, if I could.

27. What is your best childhood memory?

A lot of good memories in Civil Air Patrol.

28. Are you a cat or dog person?

Dogs.  Big dogs.

29. Are you married?

Yes.  Thank God.  I would not do well as a single person.

30. Always wear you seat belt?

Yep.

31. Been in a car accident? 

Yep.  Nothing major though.

32. Any Pet Peeves?

People that down my country, but haven’t experience a single minute outside of it.

33. Favorite pizza topping ?

Pepperoni and Onions.

34. Favorite Flower? 

Ummmm… no.

35. Favorite ice cream? 

Moosetracks.

36. Favorite fast food restaurant?

Rally’s or Taco Bell.

37. How many times did you fail your driver’s test?

Passed on the first try.

38. From whom did you get your last email?

Facebook.

39. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? 

I suppose it would be Sears, because that’s the only credit card we have.

40. Do anything spontaneous lately?

Went out to dinner last night.

41. Like your job?

Yep.

42. Broccoli?

Only if it’s raw.

43. What was your favorite vacation?

Mexican Riviera.

44. Last person you went out to dinner with?

Dane.

45. What are you listening to right now?

“The Good Stuff” – Kenny Chesney (on Pandora)

46. What is your favorite color?

It varies… but I’m usually into earth tones.

47. How many tattoos do you have?

None.  I’d like to get one… but I can’t decide what to get.

48. How many are you tagging for this quiz?

Zero.  Please refer to Question 19.

49. What time did you finish this quiz?

I’m not finished yet.

50. Coffee Drinker?

Oh yes.  Love it.  (Answer to Question 49:  4:04 pm)

Here’s a bit of a review (sorta).  I saw the commercial on October 26th for the Red Dead Redemption add-on “Undead Nightmare”… and was like “Whaaaaaaaat?!… Zombies in a cowboy game?!  Yes, please!” So, I bought it right then.  For $9.99 on the PS3, who could turn down some good zombie killing, right?!

Back in COD: World at War… Nazi Zombies was is my favorite mode of gameplay.  However, in RDR:UN, the zombies are WAY more intense.  So far, with a team of 4 people, the longest that we’ve lasted is 15-minutes, and 11 waves.  Most of the time, it’s around 4 waves max.

The key success, that I’ve found, is playing with the right people.  People that will back you up, and go after the coffins (they have the goods in them, and are the only way to get more ammo).

Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.

Ronald Reagan

The terms “the whole 9 yards” came from WW2 fighter pilots in the South Pacific.  When arming their aircraft on the ground, the .50 caliber machine gun ammo belts measured exactly 27-feet (9 yards), before being loaded into the fuselage.  If the pilots fired all of their ammo at a target, it got “the whole nine yards”.

An economics professor at a local college made a statement that he had never failed a single student before, but had recently failed an entire class.  That class had insisted that Obama’s socialism worked and that no one would be poor and no one would be rich, a great equalizer.   The professor then said, “OK, we will have an experiment in this class on Obama’s plan”. All grades would be averaged and everyone would receive the same grade so no one would fail and no one would receive an A….

After the first test, the grades were averaged and everyone got a B.  The students who studied hard were upset and the students who studied little were happy.  As the second test rolled around, the students who studied little had studied even less and the ones who studied hard decided they wanted a free ride too so they studied little.   The second test average was a D!  No one was happy.

When the 3rd test rolled around, the average was an F.   As the tests proceeded, the scores never increased as bickering, blame and name-calling all resulted in hard feelings and no one would study for the benefit of anyone else.

All failed, to their great surprise, and the professor told them that socialism would also ultimately fail because when the reward is great, the effort to succeed is great, but when government takes all the reward away, no one will try or want to succeed.

Could not be any simpler than that.

My name is Lt. Aldo Raine and I’m putting together a special team, and I need me eight soldiers. Eight Jewish-American soldiers. Now, y’all might’ve heard rumors about the armada happening soon. Well, we’ll be leaving a little earlier. We’re gonna be dropped into France, dressed as civilians. And once we’re in enemy territory, as a bushwhackin’ guerrilla army, we’re gonna be doin’ one thing and one thing only… killin’ Nazis. Now, I don’t know about y’all, but I sure as hell didn’t come down from the goddamn Smoky Mountains, cross five thousand miles of water, fight my way through half of Sicily and jump out of a fuckin’ air-o-plane to teach the Nazis lessons in humanity. Nazi ain’t got no humanity. They’re the foot soldiers of a Jew-hatin’, mass murderin’ maniac and they need to be dee-stroyed. That’s why any and every every son of a bitch we find wearin’ a Nazi uniform, they’re gonna die. Now, I’m the direct descendant of the mountain man Jim Bridger. That means I got a little Injun in me. And our battle plan will be that of an Apache resistance. We will be cruel to the Germans, and through our cruelty they will know who we are. And they will find the evidence of our cruelty in the disemboweled, dismembered, and disfigured bodies of their brothers we leave behind us. And the German won’t not be able to help themselves but to imagine the cruelty their brothers endured at our hands, and our boot heels, and the edge of our knives. And the German will be sickened by us, and the German will talk about us, and the German will fear us. And when the German closes their eyes at night and they’re tortured by their subconscious for the evil they have done, it will be with thoughts of us they are tortured with. Sound good?