Category: reflections

What to do while you’re single

Seriously. Why did I decide to “grow up” so fast and get a real job, mortgage and chains around my ankles that keep me from doing all the fun things I enjoy? I’m a twentysomething and I want to enjoy it.

Enjoy your space and your schedule. You are the ruler of your own domain. You have complete control over your alarm clock, your bed and your bathroom. Let your snooze alarm run for two hours with no fear of being yelled at. Enjoy sleeping without being kicked or having the covers stolen. Stay up late and sleep in—not every day, but enjoy living like a rock star when you can.
Do what you want, when you want, without explanation. Spend the weekend watching an entire series on DVD without leaving the house. Cancel your plans and don’t answer your phone. The rest of the world can wait. Eat popcorn and jelly beans for dinner. Just because you can.

Quit beating yourself up…

I think whenever I finish my “first official book,” I’m gonna write another one called, “Quit beating yourself up.”
I keep seeing over and over again how Satan continues to persuade us that we’re not good enough for God. That God can’t use us, cause we’re just a screw up. And we listen to Him. And we beat ourselves up over it. Over and over and over and over again.
STOP. Seriously. God didn’t intend for us to be legalistic about things so that we could mope around in missery all day because we’re not good enough for Him. No He gives us the law so we can know right from wrong. So we can strive to be perfect. But He knows, we never will. Otherwise – why did Jesus come and die on the cross? What was the point? It’s because Jesus was perfect. Jesus was the man that none of us can ever be.
And Satan dangles that in front of our faces and says, “You can’t live up to perfection. You might as well quit now. Just let the Pastor and Missionaries do God’s work. Cause you’re not worthy. You’d be a hypocrite if you tried to tell someone about God.”
Here’s what I read this morning that really goes along with this…

“Their sins and the evil things they do – I will not remember anymore.” – Hebrews 10:17
“With one sacrifice he made perfect forever those who are being made holy” – Hebrews 10:14
Underline the word perfect. Not that the word is not better. Not improving. Not on the upswing. God doesn’t improve; He perfects. He doesn’t enhance; He completes.
Now I realize that there’s a sense in which we’re imperfect. We still err. We still stumble. We still do exactly what we don’t want to do. And that part of us is, according to the verse, “being made holy.”
But when it comes to our position before God, we’re perfect. When He sees each of us, He sees one who has been made perfect through the One who is perfect – Jesus Christ.
From The Eye of the Storm – Max Lucado

You know why we always feel horrible when we mess up and screw up?
For one, its our conscience, but two – Satan loves to dangle those mistakes in front of us. All the time. When I screw up I just beat myself up – and from reading Xanga sites, everyone else does ALL THE TIME. But it’s not God beating us up. It’s Satan saying, “God can’t use you. You’re pathetic. You can’t control yourself. You’ll never amount to nothing.”
And then we’re defeated and don’t let God use us.
But you know what God says, “I leave 99 for you (Luke 15:3-7). I will stop everything and clean every inch of my house till I have you back (Luke 15:8-10). He will prepare the fatted calf for us when we go our own way (Luke 15:11-32), and the angels will rejoice!”
He says, “I have removed your sins as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12).”
He says, “I forgive all your sins and heal your diseases (Psalm 103:3).”
He says, “Because of my great love for you, you are not consumed, for My compassions never fail. They come new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23).”
He reminds us in Joshua 10, that even though we break our commitment with Him – like the Israelites, He will still chose to use us and perform mighty, mighty amazing works.
Don’t let Satan deceive you. God chooses you. God loves you. And God wants to use you.
Audio A puts it like this:

The Mistakes I’ve made
That cause pain
I could have done without
All my selfish thought
All my pride
The things I hide
You have forgot about
“They’re all behind you
They’ll never find you
There on the ocean floor
You sins are forgotten
They’re on the bottom
Of the ocean floor”
My misdeeds
All my greed
All the things that haunt me now
They’re not a pretty sight to see
But they’re wiped away
By a mighty, mighty wave
A mighty, mighty wave
“Your sins are erased
And they are no more
They’re out on the ocean floor
Take them away
To return no more
Take them away
To the ocean floor
To the ocean floor
To the ocean floor”

And in another song like this:

I’m lost and broken all alone on this road
The wheels keep turning but the feeling is gone
when I fear I’m on my own
But you remind me i am not alone
You say..
“I’d leave ninety-nine
Leave them all behind
To find you
(For you alone) I’d leave ninety-nine
Leave them all behind
To find you”
It’s dark and lonely and the path is unclear
Can’t move my feet because I’m frozen with fear
And you say, my child, my child
I am always here, i’m at your side
“I’d leave ninety-nine
Leave them all behind
To find you
(For you alone) I’d leave ninety-nine
Leave them all behind
To find you”
“You’re never too far down
I promise you’ll be found,
I’ll reach into the mud,
Miry clay
Pursue you to the end,
Like a faithful friend,
Nothing in this world,
Will keep me away,
I’d leave ninety-nine
Leave them all behind
To find you
(For you alone) I’d leave ninety-nine
Leave them all behind
To find you…
To find you..”

Dancing till the break of dawn

So I just returned from the UMHB Welcome Week Dance. It was a lot of fun. I would estimate there were nearly 600 people at the dance, which is a lot for UMHB. I was there DJing but was able to get a dance in with Kelly “belly” Mitchell — my good friend Bobby’s fiance’. Good thing he lives and works in Oklahoma. 🙂

Some were calling it the best dance they remember at UMHB. I doubt that, but I’ll take the compliment. I haven’t DJ’ed there since 2003 (when I graduated) so I don’t have any idea what the dances have been like since then. And I also never went to a dance there unless I was DJing. So – we’ll have to check the blogosphere tomorrow and see what the word is on the net.

Update on my truck…

I also just found out that the light board on my rear left hand side is out. I replaced the right one a while back. I’ve had the break light out for a while now and finally stopped on the way home to buy a new bulb – which by the way, the Wal-Mart bulb selector for a 98 Chevy truck is wrong. And when I came home I took the cover off, only to discover that all three bulbs were fine – so looks like I have to replace another board.

Whew – another $40 down the tube.

I need to find a job and house where I don’t have to own a vehicle, don’t have to pay electric bills or water bills or cell-phone bills.

Sounds like either the mission field or bumming off my parents.

I’ll go with the first – but avoid the second.

Well, time to shower and hit the hay. I’ve got a long week ahead of me.

Oh one more thing – I got reamed at 8 a.m. this morning by my boss because he “just found out” something I told him the first of August.

Oh well – made church that much more enjoyable once I got there.

[]Deace.

Observations of a traveling Editor

Well here are some things I learned today running errands around Harker Heights and Killeen..

JB & Sandy in Austin are doing a radiothon to raise money for the Dell Children’s Hospital and the family center in the Cancer Ward. They’re trying to raise $200,000 between now and Sunday. If they make their goal the Lance Armstong Foundation will add an additional $100,000 towards the project.

You can donate online or make bids on their auction items at jbandsandy.com.

I don’t normally give a lot to charity, but cancer research and work has a special place in my heart because it effects everyone everywhere. I challenge you to make a donation. Then every time you’re in Austin and you see the Children’s Hospital you can say, “Hey – I helped build part of that.”

$10 a month is only 120 a year. But think about what $10 a month is – that’s less than it costs me to eat at Snuffers normally. That’s it. If you drink 2 sodas a day – that’s a week of sodas you could give up.

So go online or call 1-877-832-6947.

—

Sears is not a good place to park by if you’re going to Chick-Fil-A in the Killeen mall.

Since I was being generous and giving to the Dell Children’s Hospital, I thought I’d save some money and use some Chick-Fil-A coupons I won at the Chamber Mixer yesterday.

Not knowing the Killeen mall very well (cause who shops there anyways?) I parked at the furthest part of the mall I think from Chick-Fil-A. But by the time I walked it and walked back, I’m sure I was able to walk off at least a couple fries.

—

War is Real.

Being so close to Fort Hood I constantly come in contact with soldiers serving in the Army or other branches of the military.

I remember growing up and seeing WWII Vets and Vietnam Vets and others who had lost limbs in war. But today I saw two soldiers who had lost limbs (I would assume in Iraq or Afghanistan). They weren’t old vets in the twilight of their years, but these were kids my age, probably younger – who felt a call to serve and did.

It made me proud to think of the guys my age, like Jay Allman who have joined up, despite the reality that they’ll likely go fight overseas and come home missing limbs or possibly like Cindy Sheehan’s son. And I don’t want to get into that – but boy what a mess.

Should the ruler of the Free World be expected to meet every mother or father of someone killed in war? Why does Sheenan think she deserves a second chance to meet with the president? But if the president signs orders to send men and women to war, shouldn’t he be willing to face the families who lose loved ones following his orders?

I don’t know. If I was a political advisor I’m not sure what I’d tell the president.

My instinct tells me no. You don’t meet with her. And quite frankly I can’t believe one protestor is getting such attention. People protest outside the White House and elsewhere ALL THE TIME. It’s because of bloggers that have spread this thing everywhere. The Waco Tribune, KDH and TDT only started covering the story a day or two ago.

If you meet with one woman who protests, what would keep you from meeting with every other protestor?

Just because you’re upset doesn’t give you the right to meet with the president. Go through the proper channels. Don’t get upset and expect a meeting with the president just because you stand outside his ranch.

There are proper ways to do things, and I don’t think protesting at a ranch is going to get you anywhere – and shouldn’t.

Any wacko person with a cause could make the President stop everything and have to take time, away from running the country, to meet with him if you start allowing protestors to get time with the President.

OK – I went off a little there. Just a little upset. Calm down. Breathe – OK. We’re better now.

—

Well that wraps up this edition of traveling editor. Join us next time, same blog, same editor, different rants.

Cheap commitment

I’ve been debating the issue of commitment vs. spending money lately with several people and I’ve found a few articles that tend to back my theory.

Anyways, I’ve been thinking and theorizing that people need to be committed to your cause. It doesn’t matter how much money you spend, you need people committed.

Check out Creating Passionate Users for a whole list of reasons why.

You can have the cheapest equipment and put out a dang quality product or have a dang high quality organization.

Or you can spend hundreds if not thousands on equipment and software and gadgets, but if no ones committed, you won’t see any increase in productivity or the output of your group/cause. If there’s no commitment, why would anyone take time to learn to use your gadgets better?

DISD has given my mom a Palm Pilot and a laptop in the last few years to help increase her productivity. But my mom doesn’t care. I think she’s probably used the laptop once or twice. She doesn’t see any need for it anywhere.

Having a laptop or Palm Pilot doesn’t make my mom a great teacher. It doesn’t help her students get higher test scores. My mom’s a great teacher because she’s committed to excellence and bringing her students to a point of excellence.

My dad’s a great electrician, not because he has the lastest tools and equipment, but because he will wait and work and stay at any project until its completed and works right.

Saturday night before heading to bed I showed him the damaged cord on my laptop charger. He said it could possibly be soldered, but since it was midnight, I dismissed it and went to bed, knowing I’d have to find another way to run Powerpoint the next morning at church.

But instead of giving up like I did, my dad woke up at 5 in the morning and came and got my charger.

He used a simple knife, some plyers and knot know-how and fixed the tear in my charger.

By 6:30 a.m. my computer was plugged in and charging again.

It didn’t take any fancy equipment to fix, just a commitment to be better.

The City of Belton is overflowing with a large revenue bucket. They run a super tight budget every year, but you know how?

Each of the employees has made commitments to make the city better. Sure they’re not getting super raises each year, and they could be making more money elsewhere, but they are committed to a city they love and enjoy working for. They stay and make Belton a great place to live and work.

Brian Bailey a staff member at Fellowship Church Dallas writes this about his church’s new commitment and mission statement, COFFEE.

“I would much rather invest resources in first-class staff. Hire the right people with the right skills, and they will allow you to accomplish more than you could imagine, for less.”

That sounds right up my alley.

Get people who know what they’re doing and are committed to their cause. Reward them for their hardwork and watch your productivity and output skyrocket.

Reporting death

The Iraq memorial from Basra

I’m never a huge fan of writing stories about death, but yet at the same time I’m intrigued by them.

I’ve written several in my short journalism career and it’s never been easy to do, but I don’t shy away from them either.

My first story was about two students murdered from my University. It was an odd story, because like most murders there wasn’t much information about it. And as a reporter for a college newspaper it was difficult to get local authorities to give me much information. But I was out to get every ounce I could and probably annoyed some people along the way.

The second story was about the first soldier from Belton killed in Iraq.

I also wrote a brief story about a soldier who named Belton as home, but lived in Kentucky with his family at the time of his death.

Today I discovered a former Harker Heights resident and Fort Hood soldier was killed in a plane crash Saturday.

I debated on telling the story. It ran on the AP wire, but neither of the local papers apparently noticed or cared to run it.

But I felt differently. Here is a man who served his country and likely died of a mechanical failure in his plane.

I was sure he had some sort of ties to Harker Heights and I’m sure people would appreciate knowing. So I write…

Former Heights resident killed in Georgia plane accident
Jonathan Blundell
Editor

Former Harker Heights resident and Fort Hood officer, Col. William Powell (Ret. US Army) was killed Saturday afternoon at approximately 3:39, when his single-engine, Beechcraft 35 Bonanza went down in a field outside Trinity, Ala.

Powell was killed on impact, while the passenger on-board was seriously injured and rushed to Huntsville Hospital by helicopter.

According to witnesses, the plan was coasting at a low altitude and no engine noise was heard shortly before the accident.

“You could tell something was wrong,” witness Danny Moore of Prattville, Al told The Decatur Daily News. “The plane rolled over and went nose down, tail up. It went straight to the ground.”

Powell’s wife, Patricia, who lived with Powell in Harker Heights between 1990 and 1992, while Powell was stationed at Fort Hood, said she wasn’t sure where William may have been headed, but assumed he was taking the plane for a test flight.

“Each year he takes the plane to Decatur for its annual inspection,” Patricia said. “When he went to pick it up earlier in the week, they had found something wrong with it and he waited till Saturday morning to pick up the plane. I believe something went wrong mechanically during the test flight and that caused the accident.”

Patricia did not know the passenger, but said she was sure he was a mechanic who may have worked on the plane.

Patricia also said she believed William found something wrong after take off and turned it around to head back to the airport.

According to initial reports by the Federal Aviation Administration, the plan crashed shortly after takeoff but no cause of the accident has been released.

Butch Wilson, an air safety investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board told The Decatur Daily News that the plan was still in good condition after the crash.

“The cockpit and engine area are crushed. But there was no fire and it didn’t hit any trees coming in.”

Wilson was unaware of any flight plan and also noted that the plane’s fule tanks were empty.

Investigation into the crash by the FAA and NTSB could take six months before a final report is complete.

The accident was one of eight fatal airplane related accidents in the U.S. over the weekend, including one accident Sunday in Houston.

—

I’m waiting to hear more from the NTSB and FAA hopefully, but the little information I pulled off the web is likely all I’ll get.

I also hope I can find Powell’s obit to give more of the human side of the tragedy.

What do you think? Should newspapers report death and accidents? Should local papers who normally focus on happy chearful tea parties give the same coverage to death and accidents? What do you think makes news and who should decide?