Story, Part 3

After calling Jude, Lily lay on her bed, wondering how Jude was doing. It had just been four months since his dad was killed by a drunk driver in a car wreck, and she hadn’t talked to him much about it. She didn’t want to force the subject, but felt like he ought to talk to someone about it, and wasn’t sure that he would do much talking without some prompting. She was glad that he wasn’t spending too much time by himself, but doing different athings with friends.

Lily got off her bed and walked into the kitchen, where her father was making dinner. She walked over to where he was by the stove and gave him a hug.

“What was that for?” Jack Maire asked. He leaned his head back to rest on hers, and smiled.
“Nothing really. Just felt like letting you know how grateful I am to have a dad like you.” She sighed, and continued. “I just called Jude. He couldn’t talk to me right now, but I just want him to have someone to vent to about his dad, you know?”

“Lily, that’s a great idea, but make sure you let him bring it up. Otherwise, he will feel pushed to talk about it. Oh, and do more listening than talking. But, I am proud of you for trying to help him out.” Lily’s dad knew that Lily wasn’t doing this just because “it was the right thing to do”, but because she wanted to and cared about Jude. It was that kind of caring, he thought, that made real friendships.

“Sounds good, Dad. Thanks for the advice.” Lily released her Dad and turned to the refrigerator. “What’s for dinner?”

“Oh, nothing special, just some shrimp fettuccine with fresh basil pesto.” Lily’s dad knew that was her favorite dish, and had felt like doing something special for her.

“Really? Dad, you are amazing. Just don’t scorch the shrimp this time, okay?” Last time he had forgotten to check the shrimp, and they had been rather hard and crunchy.

“You don’t have to remind me. I learned from my mistake.” He didn’t enjoy the food the last time, either.

“Well, I am going to take a quick nap. Wake me up when dinner is ready, okay?” As her dad nodded, Lily turned and went to her room, where she flopped down on her bed. As she started to doze off, she thought, I hope Jude is having fun at his poker party.

I'm a Convict

Yup, it's true. I am now a convict. I have been convicted, and that makes me a convict, right? Though, I won't go to jail for it.
Hehe...sorry my corny sense of humor. I have recently been convicted about many things in my life, and would like to share some of those convictions. These convictions all stem from things that were said or took place in my Navigator's bible study, InterVarsity, or at church.

• I won't listen to people cursing or taking God's name in vain without voicing my opinion ("Please watch your language around me...")
  
• I won't read books that strongly advocate immoral acts
• I won't stay quiet when others try to hurt people (physically or verbally)
• I won't agree with Darwinian evolution, even if my grades hurt because of it
• I won't watch a movie with ANY nudity in it, or anti-Christian themes
• I won't listen to music that encourages or talks about immoral acts
  
• I won't stand for racism, sexism, or hate (unless it is hating a sin)
• I WILL set aside part of each paycheck (different from tithing) to use to "Bless" other people

When one of the "I won't"s happens, I will do the following:

1. Voice my thoughts (“Hey dude, could you watch your language around me? Thanks!”)
2. Offer an alternative (“What about watching this movie? It doesn’t have any nudity in it.”)
3. Leave the area (“Guys, I can’t stay and watch this. I will see you guys later.”)

If you are interested in hearing more about WHY I was convicted about these things, just ask. And if you see me failing in one of those things, make sure you help me by reminding me.

My day today...

Last night I went to see the midnight showing of the new Bond movie, "Quantum of Solace", with some guys from my floor. It was an excellent movie, I thought, but I really enjoyed just hanging with guys from my floor. But this isn't a movie critique, and if you want one, you can ask.
So, after that, I got back to the dorm about 3 AM, then woke up in time for my 7:30AM computer lab. I had a pretty full day of class, and then was at work at 4:00PM. I work parking for the KSU football and basketball games, and got to work from 4 until 10PM, some of which was in snow/freezing rain. After that, I went back to my dorm room, got packed (to go home), took a warm shower, and typed this post.
Tomorrow, I have been asked to be at work (football game, this time) early, which means 7 AM instead of 8:30AM. I will work until 2:30PM, at which point my brother will pick me up, run me back to my dorm room, grab my stuff, and start towards home. If we get home in time, I will run to the barbershop and get a haircut, then get dinner and get ready to go see my sister in the high school play at 7PM. That will get over about 10:30 or 11PM, and then I will probably end up staying up and talking with my family for a while. I will also be doing laundry during this time. I will eventually go to bed (12 AM?) and wake up at 8:30 for breakfast, and then get ready for church. Church from 10AM to 12:45PM, then lunch. Next, I finally try to catch up on some sleep, and take a nap until about 4PM. I pack to go back to KSU, and then catch a ride sometime around 6 or 7PM, which places me back in Manhattan around 8:30 or 9. I unpack again, then go to bed. Then, on Monday, I start off at 7:15AM. The total amount of sleep I get from Thursday morning to Monday morning MAY (estimating generously) total around 20 hours.
You may be thinking I am bemoaning my life, my situation, and pleading for your pity. WRONG!!
What I am trying to point out through this post, is, that despite being busy, I can place all of my worries, my cares, and my hopes on My Savior, Jesus Christ. I don't have to stress, because I make time (I didn't mention it in there, but I do) for Him. I KNOW- not think, not feel, but KNOW that My God can do all things, and therefore can help me through this weekend. For all of you who want to hear more, just ask.

To God be ALL the Glory!

Saving Ryan - Part 2

Several people mentioned they would like to read more of the story. So, even though it is a work in progress, and I wasn't planning on posting this until next week, here is part 2 (of an unknown number of parts).

Later, in the evening, Jude’s phone rang again.

“Hey, Lily, how’s it going?” Lily Maire was Jude’s closest friend.

“It’s going alright, Jude. How are you?” Her voice rang with a kindness and sweetness Jude didn’t hear often.

“I’m good. I’m just getting ready to go over to a friend’s house for a poker party.”

“Oh, so this isn’t a good time to call?” Jude felt he ought to talk to her, and wanted to talk to her, but knew he ought to go over to Ryan’s like he said he would.

“Yeah, not so much. But, I would be glad to give you a call back, say, tomorrow evening?”

“Sure! That would work. Have fun at your poker party! ‘Til tomorrow night!”

“Yeah, I will try. Talk to you soon.” Part of Jude wanted to talk to Lily then; about a lot of things. He wanted to tell her about wanting to witness to Ryan, and ask her what she thought. He wanted to just talk… about the weather, about theology, about so many different things. But, Jude knew that if he was going to make any progress with Ryan, he wouldn’t do it by talking to other people about him. He dug his wallet and keys out from under the piles of books and movies on his bed, and headed out the door.

As he came down the stairs, a voice from the kitchen said, “Jude, will you be here for supper?”

“Not tonight, Mom. There’s a poker party at Ryan’s place in a few minutes, and I think we will just have pizza or something over there. It is okay if I go, right?” Jude thought he probably ought to ask.
“I guess that’s okay. Not too late, though. We have church tomorrow, remember. And you have an early morning Monday with work, right?” Jude worked in a computer store, and part of his job was opening up each morning at seven. The worst part was the hour- long drive to work.

“Yeah, sounds good. And I don’t have too early of a morning Monday. See you later. Love you!” Jude slipped on his sandals and went outside to his car. As he got in, he thought about how great of a mom he had, that would let him hang out with friends at a moment’s notice. She hadn’t always been like that, but ever since Jude’s dad died, she was a little bit more relaxed with Jude.

Saving Ryan - Part 1

This is the beginning of a short story I am writing. More to come later - feel free to comment.

Jude Taegan sighed as he sat on the floor and sorted through his bookshelves.

So much sorting to do before college, he thought. He wondered whether or not four years of education were worth the work and effort, not to mention the thousands of dollars he would have to pay. I don’t even know what I want to study! Maybe I should wait a few years and then go to college. He knew that despite all his worries and reasons not to go, God wanted him to go. Why else would God have provided the scholarship that took care of half of his tuition?

As he started to remind himself of this fact, his cell phone started to vibrate and dance on his desk. Jude rocked himself on to his knees so he could grab his phone, and then sat down with an “umph!” “Ryan Crestman Mobile” scrolled across the screen as he hit the talk button.

“Ryan! Dude, what’s happening?” Ryan Crestman was Jude’s best friend, next to Lily.

“Jude, hey! Not much. You coming over later tonight?”

Oh yeah, the poker party at Ryan’s. I think Mom will let me go.

“Yeah, sure. 7:30, right? And no gambling for money, no beer, and no sex, right? I mean, you didn’t invite anyone who would have anything to do with any of that, did you?” Ryan knew how Jude felt about these things, and Jude was trying to be a good influence on Ryan.

“ Course, dude. You know I’m not into that stuff. And if anyone tries to do any of that, they’re outta there, ‘kay?”

Sweet! I am glad that I am at least keeping him from getting into that stuff, Jude thought. But is that enough? “Alright, man, see ya then.” Jude needed some time to think about what to say.

“Yep. See ya.” As Jude tossed his phone on his bed, he heard a voice say, Jude, you need to talk to him about Christ. If you are a true friend, you would want him to be around in heaven, not just on earth.

Jude knew the voice was right, but it was hard to talk about that stuff. He didn’t want to push Ryan away, because that wouldn’t do any good, would it? Jude decided to worry about that later. He had to fit all the stuff he was going to take to college into two boxes right now.

Death in Literature (Class)

Friday in my American Literature class, we started reading and discussing “Death of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller. For those of you who haven’t read it, it is basically about a salesman and his struggles for success in the work world. We talked about how tough losing a job is, the feeling of failing to provide for your family, and the emotional and psychological stress that joblessness can cause. In the book, Willy, the salesman, is contemplating suicide because of this “failure” feeling. My professor brought up the topic, but seemed to say that the idea of that was somewhat absurd.

What an outrage! I felt like he was completely dismissing Dad, which I had talked to him briefly about at the beginning of the semester. Dad’s career was plagued with unemployment, but, like Willy in “Death of a Salesman” it wasn’t his fault. More than one boss fired him because they were worried he would take their job, or because they just didn’t like him. When Dad was let go in January of 2005, he couldn’t handle it anymore. Satan used that loss of a job to destroy Dad’s self-confidence as the breadwinner of the family. Satan was allowed to blind Dad from relying on God for the needs of our family. Dad felt that the best thing for him to do would be to take his own life, so that he could at least provide through the life insurance what he felt he couldn’t through a job. The loss of a father is no small thing to be dismissed, and that what I felt my professor was doing.

Later, as I thought about things more, I realized that my professor couldn’t relate, and even though he knew most of what was going on, he probably wasn’t sure or comfortable trying to talk about that. So, I wasn’t outraged anymore, I just felt mellow because I started missing Dad again.

But, life continues…especially in Christ.

The Beginnings of a Blogger

Ah...this reminds me of the days long ago when I had a Zanga site. Writing random blog posts, before the days of Facebook. After a while, I got rid of my Zanga, but now, feel like writing to my friends a bit more often. For your information, some of this will be my thoughts, other parts will be my writings (poems, stories, etc). I don't know how often I will update, but will try to make it weekly-ish.