A lazy Thursday night.

A friend who has since left Montrose asked me a few days ago "You're not going to be lingering in Montrose too long are you?". Those words were interesting to me, and the individual knows this, as my effectiveness should not be seen as moreso simply because I don't live in a city of millions. I have left Montrose on two occasions since I left here in 2001 for a life on my own. And each of those homecomings have been bittersweet.

I have on one hand the loss of friends; many of them have moved away from here and on with their lives. Either that, or they have started a life of their own with a spouse and a few kids to boot.

On the second hand I have learned much about myself, about the world around me that helps me to live a life that is content; independent of my location. I am also surrounded by family and a new heap of friends, from all walks of life. I am so grateful for the many people in my life right now.

There's a saying, many people have heard it I'm sure cheesily quoted in a movie (which the name escapes me right now......) -

- Wherever you go; there you are.

Now I don't know if my context is right (I think this is about two people always being together even when they are apart), but it applies in principle. I am where I need to be. There are no coincidences in this life. It is full of purpose and meaning. I gain purpose in working a job that , to some, might be a dead-end. I gain purpose in sitting in a room full of screaming, antsy teenagers. I gain purpose in putting off my education for a time. I gain humility in living with one's parents at 25 that it most assuredly brings. Humility, brokenness, honesty and love. They each are learned in the previously listed circumstances and through my encounter with each new day.

I say this because I am not in control of my life. My life rests in a place that should be obvious. If not, I apologize for being too vague for you.

Idea for a song?

Someone has to wonder
What happened to my brother
On a desert somewhere far away.

He's taken his time
Finding a home thats alright
Know he doesn't belong where he be.

Now he's broken his shine
Sold himself for a dime
Never wondering if what he is might need change.

And I know that you don't
Want to know how you are
I can see it in your absent stare
Yet I can't help but think
In that simple, slow blink
That you might have found a way out yet.

You are a scream
A metaphorical queen
'A anthem unto herself' the people sing.

Yet she's fooled herself
An imitation of wealth
For a fool thinks and does in their heart.

So she took a vow
To not be who they are
A woman left alone by the world
Should I run that way
For fear of an axe so small?
She don't know enough of love to persist.

Shove your love out the door
Though your aching and sore
Absent minded of the one you adore.

Manufactured in grace
This life you take you can make
An improvement if you just turn around

I love you my friend
But with your heart un-amend
You might find your lonely again

Look! Up in the sky, is that the Savior?!

I'm 95% certain that no-one reads this blog. But alas, I persist.

A thought struck me today I was going through my Google Reader. I subscribe to a blog called Paleofuture. It is a compilation of bygone eras and their respective perspectives on the future. I read this nearly daily. Mainly because it shows me how deluded we are as a species. The things we believe. Yet, in light of this, being a human myself, gives me pause to where we are going in our modern world.

In today's post, a tiny town in Michigan called Escanaba printed an article in 1980 about The Second Coming of Christ. They utilized the opinion of the Rev. Billy Graham from a 1950s excerpt. I won't belabor you with the details; you can read it yourself, but there was something in it that struck my attention.

The Rev. Graham states an idiom in Christianity (paraphrased from Matthew 24:6-7) that goes like this "There will be wars and rumors of wars. Keep your head about you." Basically; Don't Panic. He also states that the "return of the Jews to their homeland" will be a tell-all sign.

All that to say this:

"Why do we limit God?"

Is it our responsibility to worry about peace in Israel? The Israelis and the Palestinans obviously care. And we care because it serves our personal agenda at world domination. Yet, the "End Times" as its so weakly called (and defined) may never occur. Jesus promises to return. We have that as a promise.

Shouldn't that be all we need?

An Ode to the Spherical, Size 5 Ball

For those who read this and read my self-antiquated Myspace blog, will remember a blog a little less than two years ago. I talked about one of the greatest sporting events on the face of this planet. People in the U.S. get excited about the NASCAR Cup, the Super Bowl and the World Series. Not me. I get my sports rocks off for the FIFA World Cup, which is taking place in South Africa in 2010.

It comes around ever four years. A year when all the world focuses on one country for one month and watches the nations meet in an event a la Clash of the Titans. Although the majority of people in our 'great' country pass it off when it comes around, it is one of the world's greatest gathering of athletes (in my opinion).

Even now, with a few months over 2 years until the next occurrence of this event, excitement is overflowing in me. I went to the FIFA World Cup 2010 website, and lo and behold, they have the MATCH SCHEDULE UP!! Mind you, the teams haven't been picked yet, they are still in qualifying matches. I nearly pooed my pants from excitement.

I can't wait until June 2010 when the major networks will be shooting images of the modern greats into my home. Barthez. Ballack. Ronahdinho. Donovan. Adu. Zidane. And yes, even those freaking Italians that make my blood boil.

These people and the teams they play for make this event the worldwide phenomenon it is. Now I have to go buy a German national team jersey. I'm just so excited.

Easy as riding a bike.

Teenagers are an enigma. Their responses can range from mind-numbing ignorance to the immensely profound in a matter of seconds. Yet the ignorance that I see in the kids is complicated by my own ironic ignorance.

In the youth group at my church, we asked the kids to write down questions about life....anything they could think of. 98% of them were so deep they pulled at my soul. Did I think this deep when I was this age?

I'd like to think I did as a teen, but I remember being consumed with girls, video games and the fact that my facial hair looked awesome most of the time.



The urgency for an answer these kid's questions demanded were painful. Questions about God, interfaith relationships, the modern interpretation of the Book of Revelation and even the deceptively simple "Is Obama a Christian?". In each of their questions, I felt their urgency for an answer. Yet, at this age there is so much they haven't experienced. Our answers would mostly be a lot of pat answers and what seems like dodging the 'tough' answer.

Teens thinking is not fully concrete yet. They struggle with the dichotomy that being a teen presents. You are stuck in this No Man's Land between child's play and adulthood. How do you give a teen a sufficient answer without sacrificing the integrity of what you know?

Life is not cut and dry. Nor are answers to these questions got with any measure of ease.

The vehicle that my words are traveling is in need of gas.

I call this one, "Soul, two inches to the left."

Everyone sees movies, but everyone has that one film that makes them want to discuss it until they're blue in the face.

This is not one of those films. This film I am still processing, nearly an hour after coming out. My friends were asking each other, "Did you like it?" It's safe to say, my answer was fairly neutral to my friends.

I don't know how I feel about it yet. It may take me months and a few more views to fully grasp the gravity of its subject matter.

So it's safe to say, if you want a good movie to go to and be simultaneously confused, delighted and...... well, confused about, go see There Will Be Blood.

If you do go see it, take some time, cogitate. Then find a friend who has seen it (like me) and talk about it. I want help understanding it and to grapple with the subject matter. To bounce some ideas off of someone about it.

I like bouncing.

Somebody.....please explain.

I’m sure some of you have seen this, even if you don’t spend more than a few spare minutes. It’s one of those annoying ads that sits at the top of every myspace page. You get the fun little games, the silly ones like the one I saw a few moments ago, this is what it said:

Heaven or Hell?

What?