tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23391028001861260762023-11-15T08:54:43.161-08:00Falklife Thoughts and Happenings...Sometimes introspective, other times proclaiming, occasionally humorous.Falklifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16387059019535880829noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2339102800186126076.post-9458072925486039352008-08-17T23:46:00.000-07:002008-08-17T23:48:44.828-07:00My New Blog home...Hey any and everybody...I am moving my blog home over to wordpress...and it is<br />www.gunnarblog.wordpress.com There are too many people, smarter at software than me, that I know and who have gone that route...and thus I have too. I have MUCH more updated stuff there....Falklifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16387059019535880829noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2339102800186126076.post-18142572568758641052008-05-30T01:50:00.001-07:002008-05-30T01:50:39.891-07:00$34 Water<p class="blogTimeStamp"> Friday, May 16, 2008 </p> <table class="blog" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="30"><img src="http://x.myspace.com/images/spacer.gif" alt="" border="0" height="1" width="30" /></td> <td> <p class="blogSubject"> $34 Water </p> <p class="blogContent">Tonight, I waited on a table that ended up ordering 4 one litre bottles of our still water. For those 4 waters, their water bill alone on thier ticket was $34. I SOLD $34 OF WATER TO A STINKING TABLE. Sometimes, I can't tell if I love my job, or if it wants to make me cry.</p></td></tr></tbody></table>Falklifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16387059019535880829noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2339102800186126076.post-92177894694579341992008-05-30T01:49:00.000-07:002008-05-30T01:50:06.261-07:00100,000 Miles Hits Glorious Sunset High School<p class="blogTimeStamp"> Monday, April 28, 2008 </p> <table class="blog" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="30"><img src="http://x.myspace.com/images/spacer.gif" alt="" border="0" height="1" width="30" /></td> <td> <p class="blogSubject"> 100,000 Miles Hits Glorious Sunset High School </p> <p class="blogContent"> As anyone who is truly open minded knows, Sunset High School is the most glorious high school ever, producing the richest crop of alumni of any school in secondary educational history. Fortunately for me, I happened to go there.<br /> Anyway, driving my Suzuki Esteem home from work tonight, it hit 100,000 miles JUST as I was passing Sunset High.<br /> I think it was a sign:<br /> Sunset is solid, stable, and even as the miles add on, it keeps on cruising.<br /> Fantastic.<br />Also, the average salary of a Sunset Grad, I heard, is $100,000 annually. </p></td></tr></tbody></table>Falklifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16387059019535880829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2339102800186126076.post-39454494607522516322008-05-30T01:48:00.000-07:002008-05-30T01:49:03.061-07:00If I won the lottery...<p class="blogTimeStamp"> Wednesday, April 16, 2008 </p> <table class="blog" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="30"><img src="http://x.myspace.com/images/spacer.gif" alt="" border="0" height="1" width="30" /></td> <td> <p class="blogSubject"> If I won the lottery.... </p> <p class="blogContent"> Secretly, for about the last four months, I have fantasized about winning the lottery. (It helps that the Mega Ball or whatever-it-is billboard is right on my way home.) Granted, to win the lottery, it helps to play it, I am sure. But deeper than that, I have pondered the question, if I had a100 million windfall land in my lap, what would I do with it.<br />I think I know.<br />1. I would buy/pay for Stephanie Baker's house. (Of course she would get to keep it.)<br />2. I would pay off my brother in law's law school debts.<br />3. I'd give every last dime of the remainder to the National Debt.<br /><br />I'm serious. <br />I think I am just wacked out enough to do it.<br />My first concern, (and no offense to past lottery mega bucks winners who read my blog) but, I don't want my kid learning to live off of lottery money, so to speak. There is nothing wrong with having lots of money...I just want him to learn how to make it by providing value to people as opposed to it landing in his lap.<br />But even more than that concern, is the financial status of our nation. I would pledge all the rest of the money, get insance media attention for doing so, but ask every American to give whatever they could, from $1 to $1000...towards paying down the national debt and sending a message to our politicians that we cannot mortgage our future any longer as we have. (Actually, I pray to God it actually isn't already too late...it would take a miracle...I am fortunate enough to believe in miracles.)<br />I am absolutely devastated in my hopes while listening to all three of our current presidential candidates. We have a MASSIVE trainwreck heading our way economically due to the national debt, and we have for years, but none of them are stressing this much at all, it seems to me. Many of them seem to be coming up with programs, that while they seem noble, will only end up costing us even more money...that we don't have...so we 'print up more' and devalue our currency...etc, etc..and it is all one big whirlwind.<br />I think that myself, and other Americans, are really going to need to step up,and sacrifice, and say, "I will pay the taxes, and ask for minimal services/special interests in return." It will take a generation (or two) to live that way, in order to let the younger ones have the kinds of standard of living that we have enjoyed.<br />This all leaves me with a disheartened feeling for folks that could expereince some really hard times compared to the lives we have lived so far...<br /></p></td></tr></tbody></table>Falklifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16387059019535880829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2339102800186126076.post-41043277595537320522008-05-30T01:47:00.000-07:002008-05-30T01:48:14.438-07:00My $102 Mistake<p class="blogTimeStamp"> Sunday, April 13, 2008 </p> <table class="blog" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="30"><img src="http://x.myspace.com/images/spacer.gif" alt="" border="0" height="1" width="30" /></td> <td> <p class="blogSubject"> My $102 Mistake </p> <p class="blogContent"> Tonight, doing what it is I do at Morton's, I made an error, and served someone the wrong bottle on our wine list. The gentleman ordered a Malbec, a type of red wine from Argentina...and low and behold, we have a few different versions of Malbec on hand, and I did not ask him for the bin number on his bottle, even though he pointed at the one he wanted. Anyways, the bottle he presumes he tried to order costed $45..and I served him another bottle that sells for $147.<br />And I paid the difference.<br />My other option would have been to be written up. I was not down with that for a few reasons...one being that it was MY fault...Morton's didn't do anything wrong...I should have not been afraid to get that guy to be really detailed when ordering. I get intimidated due to my utter ignorance in wine, and the guy was busy talking to his table-mates, and I didn't want to bug him further...I assumed. A second reason is I just got started...and I don't think folks get too many $102 dollar write-ups under their belt...so I went ahead and paid it. <br />The way I am, (I can only imagine most people are, but I know from some friends, some people are NOT this way, ) but that $102 is likely going to be a PERMANENT lesson to me. I am so deal motivated in my buying decisions, so paying the balance on some cats super expensive bottle of wine left a serious tatoo on my brain. I don' care...I am triple checking that crap from now on!<br />As a side note, while the guy was drinking it, he could not stop talking about how good the wine was. I don't understand paying $147 for any bottle of culinary liquid, but, I guess that helps explain a 'fine' wine from a normal wine. He was enthralled.</p></td></tr></tbody></table>Falklifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16387059019535880829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2339102800186126076.post-84069686593039950882008-05-30T01:46:00.000-07:002008-05-30T01:47:38.469-07:00My New Job...and My Heart, Part 2<p class="blogTimeStamp"> Wednesday, April 09, 2008 </p> <table class="blog" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="30"><img src="http://x.myspace.com/images/spacer.gif" alt="" border="0" height="1" width="30" /></td> <td> <p class="blogSubject"> My New Job...and My Heart, Part 2 </p> <p class="blogContent">Ha! So I made it all through my testing, and I am officially on the staff at my new job. I am way down with that scenario.<br />True story, I got really nervous towards the end. I had some final stuff for Friday night, and during that shift, I got the living daylights kicked out of me. They gave me one more shot at it last Saturday night.<br />That afternoon, I showed up for work and took all my written tests, which I aced. (That really wasn’t what I was worried about...I was worried about actually running a shift on the Morton’s dining floor.) <br />Saturday night, everything went a TON smoother, and I was not perfect by any means, but certainly did well enough to justify giving me the offiicial chance to be a newbie and learn.<br />Truth be told, Friday night, after not quite making it, was kinda critical to me, because the very real thought did cross my mind, "Well, you gave it your best swing, and missed, time to pack it in." There was a definate part of me that didn’t want to come in on Saturday night, just to fail again. But I kept reading and rereading my last blog, and determined that was not how I was going to go down. Especially after reading some of the comments to my last blog.<br />I have a few shifts under my belt, and there have been a few more ’humbling’ moments, but it takes time to get one’s rhythym established, learn the best, quickest way to do things, etc. (It is a fine, fine art at Morton’s.)<br />I also am working just a few lunch shifts a week at Red Robin. I worked one yesterday, and it was one of my favorite all time shifts there. I got to have a wonderful guy follow me and ’train’ him, (as if he needs it), and it felt good to come back right away and train somebody, just coming out of training myself. Also, Brian was managing that shift...and I just realized how much I dig that guy...and my other coworkers there. When I finally do go, it will be sad to me, because I so dig all of the wonderful people I work with there....from the servers, the buspersons, and I love so many of the kitchen staff. Nothing against Red Robin, but I now know that I know that I know what kept me there so long...the great people...and certainly not the job! And that is not meant as a slight...it is just the truth. I don’t knowingly have any enemies there that I am aware of, but even with people that I may not have ’hit it off with’ there, I can see the value in all of my coworkers there as people who have neat skills, abilities, cares, conerns, and giftings that, when pondered, are a delight to observe. In fact, the hardest part of my transition is not seeing everyone from Red Robin as much. Sometimes, when we see folks everyday, we can just get so ’familiar’ with them. But when I walked back in for the first time in a few weeks, and I saw Brian smiling as he saw me and asking how I was doing, I was able to see with a ’clear view’ how honored and blessed I have been to be able to work with the caliber of people I have worked with...and still get to, just on a much smaller basis!<br />My new coworkers will really have to blow me away to match that!</p></td></tr></tbody></table>Falklifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16387059019535880829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2339102800186126076.post-15754103604235514332008-05-30T01:45:00.000-07:002008-05-30T01:46:43.200-07:00My New Job...and My Heart...<p class="blogTimeStamp"> Sunday, March 30, 2008 </p> <table class="blog" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="30"><img src="http://x.myspace.com/images/spacer.gif" alt="" border="0" height="1" width="30" /></td> <td> <p class="blogSubject"> My New Job...and my heart... </p> <p class="blogContent">So, I have a new job, at Morton’s downtown. It is a rather high end restaurant. <br />I am learning a lot about how much I really don’t like change, and how I want to have a overly strong desire to ’be in control’ all the time, and not be in a position to fail.<br />Melissa, my great friend, helped me realize this.<br />Daren, one of the bestest friends I have ever known, sums the truth of the matter up to me when he speaks of ’settling for security over blessing.’<br />Part of me really wants to go back to Red Robin full time. While I am so utterly far from perfect, basically, I know the routine there, and I know I can do it. However, the potential is in place for me to possibly make a much more significant financial living working at Morton’s, and further myself as a person by learning new things! So, responsibility wise, wisdom tells me to keep the Morton’s thing up...but change hurts so bad.<br />I am halfway through training at Morton’s...in some ways, I have done great, and in others, if I am going to make it, I am going to have to get really clutch, really fast. They say 50% of job candidates fail out of training there. I think one guy just did last Friday. This freaks me out, because I am tempted to feel really ashamed to fail. And so many of my personal friends, and especially some of my friends from The Dirty, Dirty, Dirty Filthy Bird, have wished me well in this switch. (a.k.a, Red Robin.) The stress of it all this past week defeated me, to the point that I have not even been celebrating or having joy that I have a really great opportunity with this job that can tie in with so many of my personal dreams. (The restaurant is only open at night, giving me every day off to pursue entrepreneurial things, have good family time while working, etc.)<br />About four years ago, during a time of reflection, I asked God openly, "Show me something in my life You want to make better." The first thing that came to my mind was, to me, one of my biggest failures.<br />When I was 11 years old, I had one very clear goal in life: to be a major league baseball player. I was not much for playing with toys as a kid. I played ball in the yard...always. Even in the Oregon winter rain. <br />My baseball team got invited to a tournament where the first place teams from different little leagues had a one loss and your out bracketed championship. My team made it to the final game, which we ended up losing 1-0. In that game, I was up with the bases loaded, and two outs, and was facing, for the first time, a pitcher who threw a curveball. I struck out looking at strikes instead of swinging at strikes, and took the brunt of that loss HEAVILY on to my shoulders. My parents came to a pretty fair share of my games, but for whatever reason, they were not at that one, and after that game, I just really needed to get loved up on. For whatever reason, I historically felt that never happened. (And I was too ashamed to tell them I was the ’goat’ that cost my team the championship, so how could they!)<br />Now, I had not recalled that experience in a long time when the remembrance of it came to my mind. I beleive God let me in on remembering that to get this idea in my head: instead of always focusing on the results, focus and take joy in ’being in the game’ and ’taking a swing.’ Out of fear of failure, I didn’t swing the bat! But if you don’t ever swing the bat, you are not ever going to win the game for your team, either! <br />In life, ’pitches’ often come our way. Sometimes, just like the curveball, they can be pitches we have never seen before. If you are like I was at that moment, I felt completely unprepared, and I just froze. <br />Thus, my temptation right now, being at this new job, not being sure if I will pass all that I need to pass to stay on, (the game is in the balance) I am really, really tempted to not take a swing, by ’giving up.’ But reflecting like this, I realize that is not an option. I’ve gotta take a cut and go for it. This is a ’home run’ of a job for me if I connect...but I won’t connect if I don’t ’swing the bat.’<br />I still recall the first game of the season when I played Babe Ruth baseball years later. I was proud to be batting cleanup, and we had the bases packed with one out. Stepping up to that plate, I had one idea in my mind for the first at bat of the season...I was going to beat the living daylights out of that baseball. (Thus, I was swinging!) In fact, I did end up tatooing the crap out of that ball. Perhaps one of the top two or three hardest balls I can recall hitting. It was hit right into the first baseman’s glove, as a matter of fact. I recall him catching it more as an act of self defense than defensive prowess, to be honest, as it was going right at his face! (That is not a brag...honestly, that is how it went down.)<br />Now, the same result happened...in the unforgiving rules of baseball, and out is an out. In fact, the runner on first was off the bag, and so the play turned into a double play. However, going back to the dugout, instead of feeling like a failure, I had a HUGE grin on my face. I made an out, but inside of me, a truth existed: I tried my best, did it in no fear, and thus, had no regrets about that at bat. Could I adjust later and maybe reaim the hit? Perhaps so. But you know, I remember thinking, "Dang, I could NOT have hit that ball any harder." Acting in fear leaves huge regret, but acting out fear free, even when we fail, is so much more freeing. Experience and training and practice would help me redirect that hit for later opportunities...but if fear had me then, and froze me at the plate...I would have once again gone back to the dugout in shame.<br />Life can be goofy sometimes. I had really good grades in high school...mostly all A’s, but I did get one C...in typing! (Ironic that I now type 120WPM...). But my identity was not wrapped up in typing at all...so while I was a bit stressed about the hit to my GPA, in reality, I could have cared less about being identified as a good typist. But failing like I did that baseball game...that was how I wanted to define myself...and inside of that little guy that I was...it planted a psychological wound, I am sure.<br />So, as I believe God helped me recall that event, He helped me recall some other things too. Even though my parents were not there, my coach, who was not overly talkative with me, took a lot of extra time with me after that, and even called me at my house to encourage me. And I remembered some small, but great plays I made during that tournament. I think God wanted me to take that moment to heal that wound, and let me know that even when I ’failed,’ He was there to get me support. That no matter what it looked like, if my heart was willing to have it’s eyes opened, I would be able to see Him in it. And despite what any person ever tells me, I now know that I do. <br />This new job has all kinds of ’pitches’ that I have not only never seen...I have never even heard of them before. But I am making a decison now, even as I write this. I am not going to stand and watch them. I am going to ’try and smack the hell out of those pitches.’ If I connect, it is going out of the park. But even if I fail, I am going out with a grin. Because I am leaving no regrets on the table. No matter what the result, I know God is there to catch me. I don’t have to retreat in fear. If it is this or something else, I know it is time in my life to grow, and I will not settle for security over blessing. I am willing to take the risk, get in the game, and go for the fences. Life is not designed for us to hit a home run every time. (Which is a bummer to me, because I fantasize about that all the time.) But, no one hits the big one if they don’t swing.<br /></p></td></tr></tbody></table>Falklifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16387059019535880829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2339102800186126076.post-91744795266150924262008-05-30T01:43:00.000-07:002008-05-30T01:45:56.250-07:00The Bodyguard Movie Review<p class="blogTimeStamp"> Tuesday, February 19, 2008 </p> <table class="blog" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="30"><img src="http://x.myspace.com/images/spacer.gif" alt="" border="0" height="1" width="30" /></td> <td> <p class="blogSubject"> The Bodyguard...The Movie Review <br />Category: <a href="http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.viewCategory&FriendID=52684922&BlogCategoryID=14">Movies, TV, Celebrities</a> </p> <p class="blogContent">Do to sheer demand from people wanting to get far, far deeper into the 'Whitney vs. Celine' arguement, (if you can call it that..as has been pretty much determined, Whitney wins, hands down) I took the liberty of rewatching, for the first time since it came out, The Bodyguard, starring Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner. The following consists of my random observations.<br />1. The movie was WAAAAY worse than I remember it. It freaked me out. When it came out, it wasn't like I was in love with it, but I recall thinking, "Well, that wasn't too bad." Now, I watched it realizing, it was just plain bad, bad, bad.<br />2. Still, as real as that last statement, was, and while this can only sound mean, it is still true: Celine replacing Whitney in that movie would have made it 100 times worse. <br />3. I've seen and experienced women cussing, and to me, that happens in life, and I am ashamed of myself at how chauvinistic this sounds, but hearing Whitney Houston drop the 'F-bomb' repeatedly does not sit well with me. I couldn't take it. She dropped quite a few SH bombs as well, but it so did not fit my image of Whitney, whatever that is, and it horrified me. That is not fair, but that is the way that it is.<br />4. The 'unintentional comedy scale' is ran off the charts during the movie seeing Whitney's progression of attraction to Kevin Costner. <br />5. At the boxoffice, the movie was somewhat successful as I recall, and no offense, but it is easy to see how Whitney didn't get recast again...literally, her voice and music totally overshadowed that, and thus, I am assuming, drew the box office. Even a diehard Costner fan, if they are out there, couldn't be too up on this role for him.<br />6. What really messed me up is how I remember the movie to how it really was: I recall they never really admitted feelings for one another, then at the end, they get off the plain, and they smooch it all out...and it is 'super romantic-like.' In reality, like, 15 or 20 minutes in, they sleep together on a sudden urge after she points a really sharp Japanese sword at him and he uses it to destroy her expensive silk scarf at his trashy bachelor pad. And it happens kind of all the sudden. Ya. Right. That just destroyed the movie for me. Nowhere in anyone's wildest thoughts could Kevin Costner hook up with Whitney Houston so fast, without having dated or anything, and without even trying to 'win her over' in the least bit. I mean, seriously. From that point on, I felt really ill about my decision to review this film again...and we are at minute 15 in the movie or so...<br />7. I am not a big romance movie fan anyway, but for the love of God, there was no reason given that either one of them should even like each other, much less hook up. Please. <br /><br />In summary, this actually further strengthens my rock solid opinion that Whitney is a much, much stronger female singer to be a fan of over the comparatively inferior work of Celine Dion. To me, with Whitney in top singing form yet downgraded by a horrid script and poor acting technique, she still seems lightyears ahead of Celine, and one could only have bad thougts when pondering Celine trying to fufill the same role with an open mind. <br />Still, fortunately for me, I will never, ever have to review The Bodyguard again in my life. I strongly encourage and exhort all of you not to rent the film...you will lose money and time you can never regain, and if the music beckons you, all the videos are on youtube anyways.</p></td></tr></tbody></table>Falklifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16387059019535880829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2339102800186126076.post-69153892421533457912008-05-30T01:41:00.001-07:002008-05-30T01:42:57.581-07:00Epic Battle 1: Whitney Houston Vs. Celine Dion<p class="blogTimeStamp"> Friday, December 21, 2007 </p> <table class="blog" id="blog" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="10"> </td> <td> <p class="blogSubject">Epic Battle 1: Whitney Houston Vs. Celine Dion </p> <p class="blogContent"> I got impassioned about this the other day with people, but SERIOUSLY, how can anyone like Celine Dion more than Whitney Houston, music wise. (And SERIOUSLY, is there anything better than debating who is better amongst two singers you won't even willingly choose to listen to?) It is completely unfathomable to me. This is the true epic matchup: have Whitney sing 10 of Celine's songs, and Celine sing 10 of Whitney's songs, American Idol style and all, and who would win? There is no way that Whitney wouldn't take it all. For instance, Whitney singing "I'm your lady, and you are my man," (sidenote, that song is puke, but Whitney could make it tolerable due to her vast 'keeping it real' stage presence as opposed to Celine) while Celine tries to sing, "I'm Every Woman." I mean, if I heard her do that, I would just start laughing, where as when Whitney sings, it, like it or not, you believe she believes what she is singing, and you are not going to mess with that.<br />And, while I am convinced Whitney has a more enjoyable voice, it is the conviction that these two sing with that gets me. When Celine sings anything, it makes me feel like someone is pouring velveeta on top of my head. It's total cheese. Yet, Whitney, ever the saavy stage veteran as opposed to Celine, brings conviction with her voice and emotion. <br />Let's not even get into starring roles. Can you imagine (the train wreck) if Celine replaced Whitney in The Bodyguard? How horrible that would have been for us all.<br />Now, truth be told, there really is no way I am listening to either of them myself, currently. But what does concern me is I have friends I deeply care about, and some of them, through some sort of misguided cult-like or just lack of brain development, willingly choose Celine. To me, that is like having the choice of eating organic veggies vs. polluted vegetables...there really is no choice. Great, listen to Celine, if you want. But, why in the heck would you not listen to like, 20 Whitney Houston songs for every one Celine song.<br />I need Jesse Lewis to comment on this.<br />PS-Lets bottom line it this way...people pay money, they earned, for Celine Dion's music. Whereas, I would seriously give pocket change so as to not listen to it, if possible. Whitney has a few winner karaoke tunes. If I saw anyone karaoke Celine, and it was not out of sheer mockery, seriously, they need a solid friend to tell them what is up.</p></td></tr></tbody></table>Falklifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16387059019535880829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2339102800186126076.post-61212385895105179582007-09-11T01:44:00.000-07:002007-09-11T02:09:16.023-07:00Transition...It is really tough waiting.<br />But, knowing I have to be open, I need to press in more on what God is waiting on for me!<br />Unlike me, it seems God is not too moved by having to have certain things done by certain calendar dates, or what I, in my humanity, define as a life stage. For instance, currently a sparkling 31 years old, career-wise, there are some thing not going on right now that I would like to happen.<br />I believe an ignorant view, but the one I too often meditate on, is that God seemingly doesn't care about it, or at best, is indifferent to those feelings I have.<br />But I have been trying, sometimes successfully, and sometimes not, to press into the fact that God wants to bless me. I believe that there is a job out there that can thrill me and be designed made in such a way, that it helps me worship and bring glory to Him, in that it complements me as a person and the way I am made to function.<br />I just have no stinking clue what kind of job/career that would be.<br />I still have a dream...I want to own a truckstop one day. It excites me to no end. I marvel at the life of a trucker, a man or a woman who spends so much time alone, working hard, and usually, eating a crappy diet. (Oh, I have done too many cross country drives to want to imagine what it feels like to live ALL THE TIME on the diet I consumed while traversing the Eisenhower Interstate System.) All so that we can get what we want at Walmart or Winn-Dixie that day. I want to own an oasis for these awesome people, and my heart leaps at the honor I could someday have to serve them, and create a place of rest for them overnight, or maybe just for a few minutes as they fuel up and stretch their legs. <br />So, why don't I go work at a truckstop now?<br />Well, I want to own one someday. Working for one could teach me how to run one, but, unless I ended up in the right situation, I wouldn't exactly gain a whole lot of capital to reach my goal, which is critical. So, I am looking to get in sales, not only because that leads towards more of the skills I need to develop to own/run such a place, but also, I can generate more money to invest towards the end of getting a truckstop. <br />But what sales job?<br />I don't know...I apply, and apply, and apply. I grow weary of my job that has been a huge blessing to me, a restaurant where I work. I was a finalist for a job with a seemingly good company, but after making the final 10, didn't make the final 4, which was the number hired.<br /><br />I figure that was not the place for me! (Because they sure figured it!) God knows. <br />Tomorrow, I have to do the only thing I know to do at this point. Go out. Get honest with God. Let him 'speak' to me. While I am not trying to witchhunt failures in my life, I do want to determine if there are actions/mindsets in my life holding me back from the wonderful actions and mindsets He has in store for me. <br />Fellowshipping with my brothers and sisters last week, it was amazing as the theme came up repeatedly, 'rest.' Now, I am so tempted to make that be, 'Stop applying for jobs, sit there, and God will drop one in my lap.' I am not so sure that is what I am supposed to do right now though...but I am struggling to find the meaning of 'rest' in the midst of a job 'search.' I have a ways to go...Falklifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16387059019535880829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2339102800186126076.post-63289567590771087862007-03-12T21:52:00.000-07:002007-03-12T22:16:38.237-07:00Reflections from my 3rd Anniversary...I love/hate it when I come into touch with who I really am, and what I really think.<br />So, for our third wedding anniversary, I took my most excellent wife to Cannon Beach for an overnight, and a really nice dinner. I determined before leaving to 1) not watch or read about sports and 2) to give all of my time and focus to my wife and what she would like to do. That went great until she dozed off earlier than me, and I did not have the fortitude to resist turning on ESPN and seeing where my beloved Oregon Ducks were seeded in the NCAA tournament. And like anyone in addiction, (I am not kidding, or trying to be 'light' here...this truly concerns me) once I opened up that Pandora's box, I keep diving into it!<br />But, other than breaking my inner-vow, everything went really great. And I learned something about myself that 10,000 others likely have noticed or told me, but it got through to me ever so clearly.<br />Before going, I had this pseudo warrior/macho guy thinking, like, "Ya, I will be a good husband, and take my wife out, and really celebrate our anniversary." I made reservations at a phenomenal restaurant, got a nice room, set aside the 'quality-time,' all so that I could meet her needs. Sounds 'good' and 'moral' to me.<br />Frankly, after going, I realized I was the one who needed that time! (I am sure Danielle did too!) It was one of the best times I have ever had with my wife, and I can recollect tons of those times! I usually have 4 or 5 things going on in my brain at once, so it seems, and on the drive to the coast, we just started talking, and it was so good. Right before we left, Danielle found letters we had exchanged with each other before we got married, of "30 things we would like to do" in our lives. We didn't take those with us, but we took time out together at a coffee shop to update that list. I needed to do that! With her! I was pretty nuts about my wife before, but I am blown away at how much more I like her after going on this trip! She told me how much she liked dreaming with me about life, and I just wanted to cry. I can't conceive of why she likes me so much, but I have total trust that she does. Anyone who really knows me knows I love to dream and scheme...but with her, there is no one else that I get more satisfaction out of doing that with. Not even close. <br />I am realizing I put on some phony tough mask or something, thinking that I don't need to take time out like that, but that I need to do it for my wife. But it was so right, and critically healthy, for me. Just hearing my wife's heart was more than worth it all. The mindset I have had about that is worthless, stupid, unenlightened, and ignorant. <br />I made mistakes our first two anniversaries. Sure, it was tough to afford to do some things, but we merely went out to dinner, and we never had left town before. I realize for us, and the way we are built, even if finances are tight, I think it is a great idea to get out of our daily humdrum for at least 2 days and get a 'different view.' And what excuse do I have with such a beautiful coast 60 minutes from where I live? (Take that, my midwestern friends! ) ( I shouldn't be so hard on myself, when I lived in Kansas City, coming from Oregon, I truly was stumped to find a place worthy of going...seriously, what can compare to the NW?)<br />So, now, the message many who have cared for me, that likely tried to get across, has gotten across. To be honest, my thoughts convict me, because right now, I see them as prideful. I need rest too. I need to be with/hear my wife too. If we get to go away, it isn't just for her, so she can be OK, it is also for me to, so that I can be OK. I am not that tough/together/with it.Falklifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16387059019535880829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2339102800186126076.post-51872311682940154922007-03-04T23:30:00.000-08:002007-03-04T23:31:39.169-08:00Watching folks eat pigs feet and dog food<p class="blogTimeStamp"> Thursday, August 31, 2006 </p> <table class="blog" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="30"><img src="http://x.myspace.com/images/spacer.gif" alt="" border="0" height="1" width="30" /></td> <td> <p class="blogSubject"> Watching youth eat pigs feet and dog food. </p> <p>Last week, I had a fantastic time being able to share at a youth camp in Southern Oregon that a great guy, Tim, from Shady Cove Assembly of God invited me down for. Tim is like the essence of ultra-positive vibes, which can't help but make a person feel welcome.</p> <p>The camp theme was "gaining the victory." I was down with that. (I suppose the only alternative would be, "Gaining Losership," and I was not into that.)</p> <p>There were so many ULTRA-FANTASTIC young people at the camp. I have been to quite a few camps in my day, I would have to say, but never had I been to a camp where I saw the young people, in one contest, eat pickled pigs feet, pickled whole cocktail onions, limburger cheese, and dog food. These campers went after it with abandonment. I felt pretty odd being there to share on victory watching some of these folks pound that food away for their team to win. I mean, what do I have to say about victory that competes with that? I wouldn't even consider eating one bite of that stuff, and these guys went all out.</p> <p>Rumor has it their rooms stunk to high heaven that night. No joke.</p> <p>One guy, Riley, for bonus points for his team, drank half a bucket full of pickeled juices, buttermilk, spices, pigs feet, limburger cheese, pickles, ...it was barf making material. He couldn't finish it, and this young lady teammate of his grabbled the bucket, and finished off the last 1/4 of it like a champion after grabbng it from another guy. My gosh, she was impressive. Later, she barfed it all up.</p> <p>Anyhoo...I spoke on victory from the context of 'we' and 'us' experiencing it, as opposed to individual victory. It is my premise, and personal belief, after looking through NT scriptures, and many OT ones, that victory is overwhelmingly mentioned as a group collective as opposed to a invididual thing. We then applied these passages to how, when we are not all activiated in the Body of Christ, victory, truly, is a difficult thing to achieve. </p> <p>Having diabetes, I know what is like when one small group of cells in one mere organ of my body doesn't function...and what it can cost other body systems! It is a crappy disease for sure...it can cause amputations, poor circulation, heart complications, liver issues, I could go on and on and on...</p> <p>As the Body of Christ, are we perhaps experiencing some illnesses when we are not all heard, shared with, valued, esteemed, and appreciated for who we are? I am thinking so. "No <em>eye (singular)</em> has seen, no <em>ear (singular)</em> has heard, no <em>mind (singular)</em> has conceived of what God has prepared for those that love Him, but He has revealed it to <strong><em><u>us</u></em></strong> (plural, and written to the whole church of Corinth) by His Spirit."</p> <p>As individual Christians, most believers I have ever known come time and time again to where they need to know how much God likes/loves them, and our insecurities often tempt us to stress over that, causing crazy behaviors and reactions to those feelings as opposed to maturing responses to God's love. I know it all too well, from my own personal failures, truth be told. Yet, here in the word, we can find out how much God loves us...(I would call that a 'victory' myself), but we are going to need an US to figure that out. It takes more than me...it takes others...it takes a team...it takes an <strong><em><u>us</u></em></strong>. </p> <p>Another side note from camp: I have lived in Oregon for 22 years of my life, a native son of the state...and this camp was only 16 miles from Crater Lake...and I still have not been there. I need brain surgery, at times, I feel. The Rogue River is beatiful. This state truly has the most awesome geography. </p> <p> </p></td></tr></tbody></table>Falklifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16387059019535880829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2339102800186126076.post-80197361834855766522007-03-04T23:24:00.000-08:002007-03-04T23:32:48.399-08:00A-Team Marathon on TV LAND<p class="blogTimeStamp"><br /> </p> <table class="blog" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="30"><img src="http://x.myspace.com/images/spacer.gif" alt="" border="0" height="1" width="30" /></td> <td> <p class="blogSubject"> A-Team Marathon on TV LAND </p> <p>Man. The subject alone of this blog almost makes any words that follow unworthy to be allowed...but here it goes...</p><p>I rarely watch anything outside of duck football and The Office, but when I found out this was on, how could I refuse. Allow me to share these two story lines of episodes, so you can see how tantalizng this marathon really is.</p><p>1pm PST, Sunday-B.A.'s mom, (or to the uninitiated, Mr. T's character's mom) gets beat up by a bunch of crummy landlords. B.A. gets ticked, to the point of WILLINGLY flying in a jet with Murdock to get there as quickly as possible...they broke his mother's arm! (In case you are clueless, B.A. Baraccus NEVER, EVER willingly flew, he is afraid of flying. But apparently, you don't mess with his mom, who, epically, was portrated by the lady who played the oldest angel on Touched by an Angel.<br /></p><p>Long story short, B.A. kicked everybody's rear end who gave his mom a bad time. What a premise for destruction: "Lets have a bunch of two-bit hooligans break Mr. T's moms arm, and see Mr. T wreck vengeance on the world." For trivia notes, B.A.'s mom referrs to him as "Scooter."</p><p>Episode, 2pm PST, Sunday...OH yes, HULK HOGAN is the guest star...a bunch of Italian mafia thugs, with a pop who uses the word 'capice' are trying to take over a community center for boys, and Hulk teams up with his main man, B.A., and the A-Team, to have it out. At one point, they lure bad guys into a dark room, which is a gym, which happens to have several buff guys, including Jimmy 'Superfly' Snooka, to beat the crap out of them. Oh, this is TV Nirvana, I tell you. </p><p>Really, it opens our eyes to realize that The Saprano's, really, was spiritually conceived by the A-Team. Tough to grasp, but true perhaps. See, it turns out, that under the gym, the mafia guys have gold stashed.</p><p>Truth be told, the A-Team has horrible acting, (but it did improve as the show received increased popularity and budget.) Missing the Hulk Hogan episode...you missed a lifetime.</p></td></tr></tbody></table>Falklifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16387059019535880829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2339102800186126076.post-16593615242478997532007-02-17T01:15:00.000-08:002007-03-03T00:50:26.880-08:00Some thoughts on Colossians 3:22-24<sup id="en-TNIV-29531">22</sup><span style="font-style: italic;"> Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. </span><sup style="font-style: italic;" id="en-TNIV-29532">23</sup><span style="font-style: italic;"> Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, </span><sup style="font-style: italic;" id="en-TNIV-29533">24</sup><span style="font-style: italic;"> since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.</span><br /><br />I believe at the end of our lives, and a real big question we will be accountable to before God is, "Did you love." Man. It will be answered by our actions as opposed to our thoughts.<br />I am pretty convinced when I get there, there is going to be some folks who were African-American slaves in colonial America, and others in from other time periods, who will be revealed with some of the greatest inheritances of heaven, however that is. Undoubtedly there were many, who, while slaves in such an unjust way, determined in their heart, to do everything they did as unto the Lord, and as heartfelt as they could. This despite the fact that they were raped, abused, neglected, malnourished, treated as trash, and viewed as less than human by their masters/owners. I feel that those who were able to persevere in love towards God despite impossible circumstances, will be looked upon by many of us who have had vocational career choices...we could freely choose and train to be so many things, and even analyze what kinds of things we could 'love well' while doing, and we will be found wanting in an eternal capacity.<br />I am not a visual guy, but as I have asked God to speak to me out of this passage repeatedly, I often get a picture in my mind of a slave-woman in the South, who is out in the field, working in the sweltering heat, along side of her kids, who are forced into a grueling labor. She has had a harsh life even by slave standards. She is a physically beaten woman. And in this field, mustering all of the determination she has to sing to God, she loves Him, and that she is going to try her hardest for Him, because He is worthy. She recognized God as her Source, and His worthiness, despite horrifically unjust circumstances.<br />The first several times this happened to me, my eyes couldn't stay dry. Yes, I understand that image can touch anyone, (I hope!), but it speaks to me of the eternal reality of my day, period. I am blown away at the level of stewardship I must possess to walk in the freedom that I do. I may not be a slave, but just as Paul exhorted slaves, I must do everything as unto the Lord, and I need to work well for my human bosses, etc. With the job choices/freedom I have, it is essential, I believe, to be in a place where I can do things 'wholeheartedly.' And I am not so sure any of us have a day to lose when it comes to that heart effort. If I am in a job/place/family scenario where I am not doing things wholeheartedly, I need to reevaluate, or make decisions or changes to make wholeheartedness as unto the Lord the working reality in my life.<br />What if I work the hardest and diligently at the most noble of things, and did it without love? At best, it is merely religion. I want a relationship. I don't want it defined by my 'spiritual' activities, either. If slaves receive inheritances as rich as I believe they do from God while doing wholehearted work as unto Him while under master's who, in Paul's day, very likely participated in orgies, celebrated the slaughter of precious lives in the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Colosseum</span> in the name of entertainment, raped slaves, sold off their children, and we can go on and on..., what excuse do I have? Everything I do He is worthy of. Even if the job I have is for people I have little patience for, He is worthy. He is worthy of my affection in it. He is so worth it.<br />I don't want to show up on heaven's doorstep and not comprehend and live that to an increasing degree in my life.Falklifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16387059019535880829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2339102800186126076.post-84241742328804546052007-01-28T23:12:00.000-08:002007-02-17T01:09:52.306-08:00Proof That God Likes You Volume 1...The Tempurpedic Bed<p class="blogSubject"><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Proof that God likes you Volume 1...The Tempurpedic Bed</span> </p> So, for quite some time, Mrs. Gunnar Falk and I, Gunnar Falk, have been shopping for beds. We liked the <a href="http://www.tempurpedic.com/">Tempurpedic</a> Deluxe model...and they cost a fortune, but thanks to <a href="http://www.portland.craigslist.com/">Craigslist</a>, we found a new one for WAAAAAAAAY below market price.<br /><br />Man, it is worth every penny. If Jesus was born today, instead of gold, <a href="http://storm.prohosting.com/lewisham/frankin1.html">frankinsense</a> and <a href="http://storm.prohosting.com/lewisham/frankin1.html">myrhh</a>, I am convinced the wisemen would dump the myrhh and bring him a Tempurpedic. (Thus, proving their wisdom.)<br /><br />So, it is made out of material they claim is used for astronauts, to absorb impact or whatnot. It is apparent to me that astronaut foam rules. Because you are reading my blog, my thought is you have a lot of extra time on your hands. You should use some of that time to go to a bed store and try out a tempurpedic. What a difference.<br /><br />Ever since we picked it up, we have been sleeping so much better. And, moving from a queen size bed to a king size, that is so choice. I highly recommend that to anyone. If I could rule the world for a day, I would still share the same bed with my wife, but I would have my own zip code in it for where I slept. Having space is so cool, I can stretch my elbows out to my side without knocking her head in. (Unfortunately, that has happened before.) I don't have to sleep on the very side edge of the bed to feel like I have enough room. It takes away so much previously unrealized stress from the sleeping equation.<br /><br />To me, God was very real before I bought this bed. But now, owning one of these beds, it helps me comprehend God more, and how much He wants us to know how much He likes us. I don't know how it all goes, but I can imagine Him up in heaven, laughing with glee and delight over us, thinking, "I sure do like those guys down there...I know what I will do, I will give them an idea for a tempurpedic mattress...that way they can be better rested, and if they are better rested, that can help them all get along better..."<br /><br />I hope I can get along with all of you better now.<br />GunnarFalklifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16387059019535880829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2339102800186126076.post-69430347334441847072007-01-10T01:18:00.000-08:002007-02-16T16:54:13.713-08:00Building a company is hard work: My identity is humbled<p class="blogTimeStamp"> Tuesday, August 15, 2006 </p> <table class="blog" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="10"><br /></td> <td> <p class="blogSubject">Building a company is hard work: My identity is humbled </p> <p class="blogContent">For the past 5 months being in Portland, my man Nathan and I have been giving it a full time go making books. I really like Nathan...he is all out.<br />I have learned a great deal, transitioning into being much more entrepreneurial than I have been before. Grappling with giving up the security of the same paycheck every two weeks or so, and staying on edge, and getting creative have been the biggest rush. Realizing that being an entrepreneur is what I want to do, that has been tested repeatedly as 'everything has not exactly seemed to go my way.' Still, I wouldn't have traded the past 5 months for anything. Not even a never-ending supply of hot carmel corn. (Hot carmel corn is SOOOOO good.)<br />Nathan and I are beginning to realize that in the mean time, we are going to need to have side jobs in order for the business to make it. Every time we pay ourselves, lately, it has been taking money out of our marketing budget. (Nathan and I have a marketing philosophy: Don't do it to be cute or just be there...do it to increase sales.)<br />We are thinking of getting jobs waiting tables at the same place. Waiting tables, we figure, gives us the most flexibility to balance a business start up and making some income, time-wise. We want that flexibility to nurture our baby of a business, and not take from it in it's infancy, but allow it to grow and prosper. My problem, and my main lack of excitement over the whole thing, is my ego.<br />My ego doesn't want to wait tables, because of my college degree, and my top notch high school pedigree. (If you wonder what that means, please look into Sunset High School, in Beaverton, Oregon. The school flat out has produced the most insanely gifted and talented people on the planet...and I am not even talking about the ones that actually got good grades. Sunset 'failures' rock the house, so to speak. And don't get me started on the athletic dominance of my alma mater...) Being married to an awesome wife who graces me to work some long hours makes this whole thing even possible.<br />My ego wants me to be known as successful in the eyes of others, in work, and in life. My ego doesn't want me waiting tables anymore. Yet, my ego looks like it is going to get the dagger right in its gut.<br />Our publishing business tackles an exceptional niche in the marketplace, yet, I have learned, and am learning, that a great product is such a small piece of the entrepreneurial puzzle. There are legal setups, systems of production and marketing, sales follow through, communications, and wise and timely cash flow management to be in place. Working a side job, I believe, can help us fill in some having to pay each other in the mean time, which can be life-saving too.<br />What I am most concerned about is staying focused on our publishing business. Yes, I want to work wholeheartedly whereever else I work. But I want to maintain the energy, stamina, and passion for the publishing end too. I think I have been grown up for some time now, (at least, relative to myself.) The demands on me being focused and disciplined with my time are coming full steam ahead. Change hurts. In this case, I know it is good. I want to embrace it.<br />Attempting to grow in being focused, it has hurt the part of me that desires to be 'king of socialites' and 'at every function known to man.' I would say in time's past, I have made those things part of my self-imposed identity. That is having to change now, and it doesn't want to change easily. It is also hard for me to transition from coming home from the office and being free to do anything to coming home and needing to read or study the market to be the best we can be as a company. I have made progress...I guess I beat myself up for everything less than perfection.<br />Somehow, I will have to grip for the inner strength to handle it if I have to work a shift during a Duck game...which I can see coming. Oh, mercy on my soul. I am thirty, and one thing I ask...to have Duck season tickets, and just at least watch all of their games in the season. Getting paid money, no matter what amount, to work a job while the Ducks are playing, feels very dirty to me, as if I turned my back on my own soul, and on everything that is right. Maybe I can feel better if I read online gossip about shady characters who play for the Ducks, but as a true Duck fan, even though those things may be true, I choose to ignore them and instead read about all of the OSU Beavers who are totally screwing up. I am so open minded.</p></td></tr></tbody></table>Falklifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16387059019535880829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2339102800186126076.post-44102385201028100342007-01-10T01:17:00.000-08:002007-02-16T16:49:18.605-08:00What God has used vs. What is God's best for us Volume One<p class="blogTimeStamp"> Monday, April 24, 2006 </p> <table class="blog" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="10"><br /></td> <td> <p class="blogSubject">What God has used vs. What is God's best for us Volume One </p> <p>Lately, pondering the question of 'what I defend because God has used it' while weighing that against 'what does the Word of God say is the best thing for us' has kept me thinking.</p><p>What I mean by that, is there are tons of practices we as Christians often do, and we 'see' or 'feel' that God has used them to touch us or others. Frankly, I feel that I am pretty gung-ho about such things. I love it when God does stuff. However, it does not mean that those things are the best that God has in store for us. Unfortunately, I think it is often that we settle for them, simply because we ardently defend how God used them. We then have a hard time pressing in to asking ourselves, "Well, why did the apostles or Jesus do it that way instead of our way?" Too often, I think I dismiss it as mere 'cultural differences' while not embracing something Christ and the apostles meant to make clear to me.</p><p>For example, how we may practice communion. To be fair, and more than that, completely honest, I believe with everything within me, God's performed incredible changes in the hearts of people, performed miracles, (healings, etc.) in the midst of taking a cracker and juice to celebrate communion. For me to deny that should qualify me for serious professional help...I have witnessed too much.</p><p>But, <em><strong>where in the word of God</strong></em> does the cracker/juice thing come up as opposed to a meal? Let me submit this: <em><strong>never</strong></em>. </p><p>Depending on your translation, when Jesus takes the cup, He says, "Do <strong><em>this</em></strong> in remembrance of me..."</p><p>What was <em><u><strong>this</strong></u></em>?</p><p>Well, it was not only a meal. It was the Passover meal. In context, from the living Word itself, during a Passover meal, Jesus says, "<em><strong>Do this</strong></em>..." I also would also like to make note that in no translation do we see, "Contemplate doing this..." or "If you have a really large crowd, forget a meal, forget the passover, and once a month give them cracker and juice and say a bunch of pious words." Once again, He says, "<strong><em>Do this</em></strong>..."</p><p>(Remember, I seriously praise God for things in my own life I have had happen in the midst of communion with cracker and juice, I have forgiven people, had great reflections, seen mighty works done, etc. What we are getting at is, "But is there something even more by living the Word as Jesus asked?"</p><p>Borrowing language from Dedrick Bonhoeffer, (whose name I likely misspelled,) I am going to use the phrases 'cheap grace' vs. 'costly grace.' (In context, cheap grace is bad, while costly grace is what we should aspire to live.) To me, I am convicted of settling for only practicing communion with the juice and cracker/piece of bread format, which, truthfully, costs me about zero. Almost always, someone else prepared it, I walk into a gathering, we transition into communion time, and I partake, and go on my merry way.</p><p>What if I had to set aside a serious block of time, prepare a meal with others,and be intentional about sitting down with them to do what we were about to do. When we ponder forgiveness, I have to look all of them in the eyes across the table, and really know in my heart I have forgiven. I can't just generally scan over a crowd, and think, "I am cool with these people." I may have to look a brother or sister right in the face who ticked me off recently, and come to a decision point before partaking. The whole thing takes at least an hour and a half if not more, as we practice communion together and with God. In other words, I may have to miss the early edition of SportsCenter to do it. Also, I know the other participants rather well...well enough that our little quirks have all rubbed against each other, etc...leaving plenty of opportunity for forgiveness and heart change amongst each other. I submit that is a picture more in tune with a real or 'costly grace.' </p><p>For those who may think, "Man, that just gets a bit too close or crosses the boundary of legalism," let me submit this. I believe Jesus is love, and I believe He is mega-passionate about us to the point that for each and every one of us, He wants His very best. Why then, would He have said things in the context and practices of which He said them, not having that in mind. I think because the 'meal' method and practicing the Passover are the absolute best things for us! </p><p>(While not the direct point of this writing, other than Passover, I would encourage folks to read Acts 2:42 and other passages in the New Testament where eating meals together was a <strong><em>very</em></strong> common thing.)</p></td></tr></tbody></table>Falklifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16387059019535880829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2339102800186126076.post-77772765700827313482007-01-10T01:15:00.000-08:002007-02-16T16:46:11.403-08:00Exclusively Belonging to Segregated Christian Groups<p class="blogTimeStamp"> Monday, February 27, 2006 </p> <table class="blog" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="10"><br /></td> <td> <p class="blogSubject">Exclusively Belonging to Segregated Christian Groups </p> <p class="blogContent">Over the past several years, one thing that has been a strong, strong caution in my spirit, I believe, is what has too often been my practice and the practice of many others of exclusively belonging in segregated Christian groups, shutting out the other wonderful expressions of Jesus that the rest of His body has to offer.<br /><br />What do I mean by that? Let me give you some examples:<br />I am a 16 year old who is an absolutely devoted attendee of my youth group. Lets also submit that I am totally nuts for Jesus. The youth group has every cool bell and whistle that youth ministry has to offer....video wizardry, a big budget for big events, fiery preaching, etc. But with school, sports, family life, etc, I go to church on Sunday morning and all, but the real main time I connect is on youth group night. But because we are a 'youth' group...unwittingly, others are excluded. Senior citizens certainly may feel like that is not a place for them. Married couples with kids...well, they are busy...those younger than high school, well, if the insecurities of the high schoolers and or youth leaders pop up and make them feel unwelcome, they are not going to stick around. Thus, except for a few 'leaders,' our youth group ends up being a gathering of 14-18 year olds. There is nothing necessarily 'wrong' about that, but I would like to submit it is a far, far cry from the best, and that, if it is the only connection to church life a 14-18 year old sees in their week, it is actually a horrible tragedy. Nowhere in the new testament does Paul, Jesus, or any of the authors of scripture lay out trying to segregate the gathering of the saints according to age, race, economic background, or gender that I know of. (To be open, when they fed the widows in need daily, they were feeding them, not necessarily 'having the church gathering' so to speak.) Why did the authors not do that?<br /><br />I would like to submit that they saw the importance of the full expression of Christ being crucial, and that if we do such things, we hinder that from happening. To the point that it did not cross their minds to put it in ink! Even if you have the best group of 14-18 year olds on the planet, one thing that age group will lack, which all of us who have lived through that will know, is wisdom. Wisdom can come supernaturally from God, and also, is learned over time from God. Time is not on the side of youth, in this case! Yet, if our 'youth' gatherings don't have those who can share and equip with true fruit-bearing wisdom from God, isn't that scary? Don't our youth need to be in contact with people like that before they make major decisions like get married, pay thousands for college, move out, enlist in the service, etc?<br />"Yes, but it could hurt our outreach if we don't have that really 'young person's feel." I am sooo sorry to hear that. But let me ask you this: who cares more about non-Christians, you or Jesus? And if you answered Jesus, don't you then think that a true representation of His body is in order if the lost show up? I mean, isn't it Jesus that we need?<br />Another point, lets flip it if younger than high schoolers don't show up. Man, it grates me if we as the body don't learn to appreciate the Body...that we are not a respecter of persons, but we highly respect Jesus sharing through <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">ANY</span> part of His body that He deems fit at the moment...and God, forgive me, for any time I did not heed You by ignoring You through a vessel that didn't fit my grid of being pertinent at the moment. <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Would we want to even take a chance</span> that the youth of our church could develop such thoughts? Or forbid, not realizing we may be <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">training</span> them to have those thoughts by our actions?<br />Now, just to be clear, let me say this: it is soooo not wrong to belong to a men's group, a ladies group, a youth gathering, a senior citizens group, etc. In fact, that so often can be really healthy, and good. I belong to such gatherings. <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; text-decoration: underline;">But what is best is when that is not how I exclusively meet, but even as I gather with those, I belong all week to a place where different ages, sexes, and races in the body of Christ can be heard and known, sharing together, welcomed and accepted.<br /></span>I think that while most of Christianity woud agree and say 'yes' to my last statement, the hard, hard question I think we need to ask is personally, are we exclusively in 'categorized' gatherings, and do my practices back up that statement, in real life. <br />This line of thinking can be taken to many other gatherings....for instance, churches that gather in a racially mixed area but that predominantly gather with just one race, denominations as a whole, any gatherings with age perameters, and even focus groups with great motives, such as recovery groups, when those awesome saints never get to contact parts of the body that are not recovering in that particular area. (I totally believe in meetings that have specific areas of focus...what I am getting at, to be clear, is when that is all I gather around, and thus, become ignorant of the rest of the body. I believe in focusing. But I believe in accessing the greater body, as well.)<br />Does anyone else out there share a hunger like me to see Christ revealed in ways I never have before through His body? Does anyone else hunger to know the intimacies of Christ that maybe a group I have never given much time to or thought have tracked and come to know? Has anyone else ever had the thought, "I have never really taken the time to reflect on what God is saying through the female sisters of Christ in my area/the Hispanic lovers of God in my community that I know/the older saints who have lived life before God and seen Him provide/the youth of my area and the dreams and aspirations God is putting in them...etc.<br />It takes time. It takes deliberate acts. It may very well take change in me. I signed on to know God and His body...not just the side of God that is revealed in my economic/social/racial/gender-specific/age categorized background. How about you?<br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">As a side note, I fully recognize and happily so, that God has used such gatherings.</span> He certainly has in my life. I thank God for that! However, I am not afraid to come to a point where I recognize what God has used, and <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">I still ask of Him, "What is Your best, God, and what do You want to do in my life and the life of others."</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; text-decoration: underline;"><br /></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table>Falklifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16387059019535880829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2339102800186126076.post-67737014603049479962007-01-10T01:14:00.000-08:002007-02-16T16:24:51.117-08:00I and Myself vs. Us and We in Worship Music<p class="blogTimeStamp"> Friday, February 17, 2006 </p> <table class="blog" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="10"><br /></td> <td> <p class="blogSubject">I and myself vs. Us and We in Worship Music </p> <p class="blogContent">Well, here is something that could cause deep thought I hope, but it may cause weird reactions unless I am clear...so hopefully, I can be clear!<br />There is NOTHING wrong with the book of Psalms, (obviously.) In fact, the Psalms are great! What they do, I have noticed, is given us many a tune to sing where the words "I" and "Me," etc are used, and what they don't do is give a lot of examples of songs where groups sang together <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">over one another as unto the Lord</span>, using words such as "Us" and "We."<br />Contextually speaking, I think one has to keep in mind, that for many, many, many of the songs, David wrote them from a perspective of being alone. He was on the run, or raising sheep in the fields, etc. Nothing wrong with that when it is true. Also, I believe he wrote many of them in the 'tabernacle of David' a.k.a., a tent with the arc in it. While others were in there, many of them were written, rightfully so, on his personal experiences with God. (Thus, "I" and "myself", words like that, etc are going to come forth.)<br />However, today, when we gather, we have the INCREDIBLE honor of singing songs together unto the Lord. Not only that, it is one thing for me to contend for the faith required to sing a phrase such as, "I love the Lord..." but it is a completely different experience, while in the midst of a group, to sing "We love the Lord" when I am singing to God while with my brothers and sisters. Perhaps a brother earlier in the week stumbled, and I took his confession that he gave before the Lord, and we look at each other as we sing, "We love the Lord." I think massive life-giving faith is infused in such a circumstance. Or maybe there is sister in the crowd, and do to my own ignorance, I have not thought very highly of her as a full sister in Christ before. <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">But I am looking at her while singing and recognizing her highest identity; as one who loves God!</span> Perhaps different cultures are worshipping together, and because of prejudices I harbor, I think what they do is a little funky. But if I think about singing the worship songs while using the words "We" and "Us" in stead of "I" and "Me," I have to address those ingnorances and prejudices in myself. I think examples like those given give us a way to have more depth during our musical worship times.<br />Furthermore, I don't think it is any kind of stretch to submit that if we replaced our completely personalized songs to reflect a body worshipping together more, we are really expressing serious faith and singing life into one another as we sing our tunes. I, for one, would be all for that.<br />Now, once again, for clarity, using the words "I" and "Me" is totally biblical. In fact, if I am alone in the car, that is the route my own singing is going to take. But in the midst of groups, having taken personal forays into the 'We' and 'Us' words instead, I honestly believe my faith has peronally soared, simply because I am contending while singing/praying for much more than myself and my own relationship with Christ, but with/for my imperfect brother and sisters (I include myself in the imperfect) that all be part of the body of Christ perfected in His image. <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Oh, the joy and release of getting free of myself and singing to my wonderful God and over my awesome brothers and sisters!</span><br />Ephesians 5:18b-19 says, "but be filled with the Spirit; <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">speaking one to another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs</span>, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord. (ASV). Paul, here speaking to the Ephesians saints obviously with the context of when they are together, encourages them to speak to one another in song. <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Note this just does not say, "encourage yourself and your own spirit-man"</span> but one another.<br />Minimally, one could make a strong appeal for more "We's" and "Us" words in our musical worship practices.<br /></p></td></tr></tbody></table>Falklifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16387059019535880829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2339102800186126076.post-85710818409748671822007-01-10T01:13:00.000-08:002007-02-16T16:18:25.667-08:00Long Sermons that Bore<p class="blogTimeStamp"> Thursday, February 16, 2006 </p> <table class="blog" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="10"><br /></td> <td> <p class="blogSubject">Long Sermons that bore... </p> <p>I had this thought that for the last 2 years, has been mindboggling me. Matthew 5-7, the 'Sermon on the Mount', in which, at the end, Jesus basically says, "Hey, this is the key foundational stuff here, if you get it, you are building on the right foundation, etc. Anyway, using my most excellent wife as a listener, I read it outloud, and, trying to be fair, read it REALLY, REALLY slow. It took less than 19 minutes. So, the most foundational message, the 'sermon' that uncountable 45 minute and above sermons have been preached on, was likely shared in less than 20 minutes.<br />Did Jesus perhaps have a different view of how long it takes to preach a message than we do? Did He get consumed with 'preaching', per se, and did all of our 'need' to prolong and glorify our expositions actually come from historical Greek thought and not our Lord Himself? (In the Greek, what is often translated as preach can simply also be translated as proclaim. I have a feeling that I can proclaim something without having to wax eloquent for 45 minutes.) </p> <p>Those are some fair questions, I think. I have heard many GREAT sermons, and benefitted from them. But I wonder if <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">more benefit</span> could be gleaned in my life and the lives of others if we looked at structures and habits we have in our practice of following Jesus if we went about some things in a different way.<br />In I Corinthians, Paul gives great insights into <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">how</span> the church should meet. It seems very different than the way believers often gather today. And it sounds <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">MUCH</span> more interactive.<br />Allow me to quote from 1 Corinthians 2, with a few sidenotes. "No <span style="font-style: italic;">eye (singular)</span> has seen; no <span style="font-style: italic;">ear (singular)</span> has heard; and <span style="font-style: italic;">no mind (singular)</span> has conceived of what God has prepared for those who love Him. But He has revealed it to <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">us (plural)</span> by His spirit. (Thank you for allowing me to borrow some of your insights into this verse, Frank Viola!)<br />Do you have any hunger to find out what God has prepared for you, assuming you consider yourself amongst those that love Him? Yet, do you also feel that you are lacking in relationships and mutual sharing in a healthy Christian community? <span style="font-style: italic;">Can I submit you need Jesus, and to find Him, you may need to find an 'us.' </span>It is not necessarily 'negative' at all to listen to sermon after sermon...but if that is the totality of our Christian life and gathering, then we will suffer. And I believe we have. We all need to be a part of a community where all can share as the body of Christ coming together. Christ is the head, not a series of sermons from one member of the body of Christ. Christ has decided to express Himself through the whole body, and not just one part on 90% of our Sunday services. (Personally, I leave a ton of room and grace when an out-of-town ministry experience comes in...they are, if you will, a part of the body that really hasn't been heard from in awhile, and it can really catapult the local body to good stuff.)</p> <p><br />In 1 Corinthians 2, (and the whole book, really) this concept of everyone's part being essential and important, <span style="font-style: italic;">sharing during gathering times,</span> is found all over the letter.<br />It makes my constant habit of only hearing one or two people share whenever I gather with other saints seem empty and void of the fullness of life that I believe Christ wants to express.<br />I Corinthians 14:26...read that verse. What does it say? How is your/my life different from that?</p></td></tr></tbody></table>Falklifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16387059019535880829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2339102800186126076.post-47211092781516845102007-01-10T01:08:00.000-08:002007-01-10T01:13:12.447-08:00Books I have been reading (from Feb, 2006)<p class="blogTimeStamp"> Friday, February 03, 2006 </p> <table class="blog" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="10"> </td> <td> <p class="blogSubject">Books I have been reading.... </p> <p class="blogContent">Hello there peoples. For my first practice blog, I will be writing out my latest reads.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">True Fellowship by Art Katz</span>. (This book can actually be read for FREE by going to www.benisrael.org.)<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Anything by Frank Viola</span>...I have recently read them all, for like, the 5th time. His website is www.ptmin.org. Two of my favorites, although it has been hard for me to choose, are <span style="font-style: italic;">Knowing Christ Together</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">Pagan Christianity</span>.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Books that have the most riveting stories you have EVER read </span>are at<br /> www.goodcatchpublishing.com, and you can see some of the books GCP has available. They are fine reading.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Anointed for Business </span>by Ed Silvoso rocks the planet as we know it.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">To Train A Child</span> by No Greater Joy ministries. This book has made me think to no end! Priceless work, and it has inspired me for sure to be a better parent!<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">I Corinthians and Galatians.</span> Galatians is supposedly Paul's first letter, and I am trying to go through the apostolic writings in a more chronological way currently, while doing history reading along side of it, to get a clearer contextual picture than I have had before. I Corinthians has always been a returned to again and again favorite, and in the midlater chapters, Paul really draws out, to him, what it looks like when the church gathers.<br /><br /></p></td></tr></tbody></table>Falklifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16387059019535880829noreply@blogger.com0