This is why I'm hot...

I had a dream this morning that the world was coming to an end. For some unknown reason, the Earth had been knocked off its orbit and thrown closer towards the sun. As a result, we were all gonna burn.

In that dream, I prayed wholeheartedly that God would spare us from our impending doom. I think I may have even cried. It just seemed completely contradictory to what Revelations talked about. I actually remember feeling kind of mislead, as if God had somehow swindled me like an infomercial guru.

The most vivid detail I can recall was getting down on my knees and praying like it was about to go out of style.

Imagine the joy in my heart when I opened my eyes and I was laying in my bed.

Now, do I thank God for answering my prayer, or should I just shrug it all off on the count of my silly imagination and fears?

I won't lie, I've thanked Him multiple times already.

I think He appreciates that.

Jar

God...So Easy A Caveman Could Do It...

I guess I can just come right out and say it...

I have a short fuse when it comes to people using God.

Now, we all in some fashion use God for our own purposes from time to time, myself especially. What gets to me though, is when we use Him for insurance purposes, like those neanderthals from the Gieco commercials.

When there's an accident.

When there's trouble on the horizon.

When it's convenient.

Don't get me wrong, God wants us to go to Him when we are unsure and in need of guidance. It just seems to me that, at least in my own life, it happens more out of convenience as opposed to necessity. Ultimately I NEED to engage God, but WHEN I engage Him is something I exercise at my own will.

I think God intended for it to be this way, but it creates some issues.

How do we, here on this Earth, ascertain the meaning behind other people's actions? How can we identify their intentions? It's cliche, yet true, that we can not judge for ourselves the intentions of others. Although this notion brings me little comfort. I still struggle with it.

I used to think that this selfless act on God's part, seemingly blind trust in us, was just that: Him trusting us to "love" Him for the right purposes. But then I realized that it's not at all about trust. It's about God's assurance in Himself.

He doesn't need any of us. When we act poorly and in sin, it breaks His colossal heart, but He can still make through to the end of the day.

It's funny.

Funny how even in the smallest moment of the day, we can so easily forget how reliant we are upon Him, even if we acknowledge His existence or not.

I don't know. It's 4:30 in the morning and my body needs sleep, so you should take this post with a grain of salt. Or a heaping amount, whichever you prefer.

You may commence with the eye-rolling.

Jar

Sometimes you wanna go where everybody knows your name...

Time: 2:48 p.m. Eastern Standard

Place: Brew Daily's Cafe, Auburn

It's good to be home. Or at least in some place that resembles what you considered home to be. Although, it wasn't as if living at school took me across the country; I only lived a half-hour away. But rarely would I make the trek back into Auburn. I had no reason to, nor any desire.

Now that I'm done with school and living with a family I just met (so far, so good), I figured it would be good to return to my roots. At least the ones I sowed at Brew Daily's.

Nothing has changed in the months I've been absent.

My favorite table is still in place. The coffee is still top notch. And the same regulars are sitting on the couches, as if they never moved since I last visited. There's a few that I wouldn't be surprised if that idea were true for them.

It's a good feeling. Kind of like this...



Norm!

The greatest thing about my newfound time and availability for all five of you readers? More posts, more often!

Stay tuned...

Jar

F.I.N.A.L.S. (Fine. I Never Actually Learned this Stuff)

I took my last final today, and before I set my #2 down, I knew I had done well. Skipping a night's worth of sleep would not afford me anything less, of course.

Now that school's out, I suppose that means I'll have time to relax, right? After all, isn't that what a student's summer vacation is all about?

Eh, not so much.

I have a few days to catch up on a semester's worth of sleep before I start my internship with Grabill Missionary on the 20th. I just found out today that they were able to secure a family for me to live with during my time there. I'm excited about meeting them. I find that it's an incredibly selfless act to welcome a stranger into your home for an extended period of time.

Even more so when that stranger is me.

I'm not particularly nervous about how I'll interact with them. I think that I'm a pretty easy going guy.

My main concern is how I'll do with the church. Mostly because it's been a few months since I've even been active in one. After resigning at County Line before coming to school, I decided that God wouldn't be too upset if I took a sort of sabbatical from church. How long that sabbatical was supposed to last, He did not specify.

Either way, I'm about to venture back into the grind of what my life will be all about: church. More specifically, community.

It'll be good to recharge my academic mind, while strengthening my vocational one.

I believe that seasons like this are to be embraced. Too much of one thing for too long can lead to apathy. And we all know that's just the easy way out.

There's a quote that was shown to me not too long ago:

"That which is without period of rest will not endure."

I'll take that.

Here's a list of my goals for the summer, in no particular order:

*save as much money as possible*take a couple of online classes so I can raise my GPA*invest in some running shoes*run in them*actually use the calender in my Palm Pilot*remember that I actually have a Palm Pilot*increase in my knowledge and understanding of theology through contemplation and prayer*become a better dribbler with my left hand*just become a better dribbler in general*keep myself from raiding the $5 DVD bin at Wal Mart*along with Tyler, figure out the direction we want to go with PUSH*actually head in that direction this time*gain a working beginner's knowledge of photography*invest in the lives of the students of Grabill Missionary*

I hope your week is going well,

Jar

A Letter to a Friend...

Dear Driver's Side Hubcap,

Where did you go?

I was under the assumption that our arrangement was binding and for you to just take off without proper notification leaves me amiss.

I miss you, Driver's Side Hubcap. Think of the memories we shared.

The road trip to New York City.

The four different proms we attended.

The casual drives through Berne, Indiana. For no reason, whatsoever.

Sure, life together wasn't always as bright as rainbow sherbet.

The winter of '03. You remember the winter of '03, right? Yeeeaaahh, you do. We got up close and personal with each other during that time. How many times did we get stuck in a ditch? 3? 4? 8? But that's ok, Driver's Side Hubcap; even though you're extremely small in stature, and not intended for off road winter action, we still made the most of it.

You're sorely missed. Without you, Driver's Side Back Seat Hubcap is all alone. Don't even get me started on Passenger Side Hubcap. She's thinking about taking a leave of absence to grieve. Without you, we are incomplete and asymmetrical. And if you step far enough away from the car, she looks like she's winking at you.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, come home. Without you, Driver's Side Wheel is just plain tired.

Jar

Finals...

Sorry that we haven't been putting up any news posts lately. We are in the middle of a very stressful week or so of final projects and final exams. We'll be back in about a week. Talk to you guys soon.

Tyler