What happened?

You may be wondering... What happened to Jacob? What's going on here? I'm confused!

Well, let me fill you in.

Apparently, while Jacob was hanging out with "the group", he was also secretly dating someone from HCC. Well, it's not so secret now. And he gave her a present. Honestly, it's a present that I don't want... a hickie. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! That makes me laugh.

So, I'm not going to play games or interfer. I'm going to take it as God closing a door to open another one.

Whatever. I've made a friend. No harm, no foul.

The ABCs of Christianity

"To Titus, a true son in our common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior."
- (Titus 1:4 NKJV)

Whenever we refer to the ABCs of something, we're talking about the basics. Blocking and tackling are the ABCs of football. Counting and adding are the ABCs of mathematics. Kicking and treading are the ABCs of swimming.

What about Christianity? What represents the basics of our faith? The ABCs of Christianity are grace, mercy, and peace.

Grace. Without grace there wouldn't be a Christian faith. Simply stated, grace is God's favor toward the undeserving. It's when we get what we don't deserve. God has purposed to treat us above and beyond what we could ever earn or deserve, and His grace is the key that unlocks every heavenly blessing bestowed on our lives.

Mercy. Although similar to grace, mercy speaks of God withholding the punishment we have earned as members of the rebellious human race. Because we're all descended from a sinner (Adam), we each have a sinful nature that requires judgment. Mercy is the means of escaping that judgment. Grace is getting what we don't deserve, and mercy is not getting what we do deserve.

Peace. The world defines peace as the absence of conflict. Any nation not at war is said to be at peace. God's peace is much more than a lack of conflict; it's a deep-seated sense that all is well in life because everything falls under the perfect control of our gracious and merciful God. His peace allows us to move through life without the friction that could burn us out.

So how do we apply this to our lives? We, along with Titus, need to have our hearts well-schooled when it comes to the ABCs of Christianity.

What are the ABCs of Christianity?

Discuss this devotional or join the GodSpeaks.com Fellowship Community at God Speak.

Copyright 2008 GodSpeaks, Inc.
All Rights Reserved

Quote of the Day

Remember always that you not only have the right to be an individual, you have an obligation to be one.

— Eleanor Roosevelt

Mr. Alaska

I have a new friend! I know... Go me for making friends! But I don't think this person is meant to be just a friend. Let me tell you a story.

About 2 weeks ago I received a message on myspace. Some very good looking guy commenting on my quote, and telling me that I am attractive which made reading the quote easier. Humm... odd... Whatever, I'll answer but be short. Although he is attractive, he lives in Alaska. But it doesn't hurt to be friendly. Plus! Plus, he has a lot of God and Christianity references on his page. Huge plus!

So I responded. Thanks, blah blah blah. I don't remember what exactly was exchanged in the messages. But next thing you know I'm corresponding a lot with this guy.

WOW! I just looked it up, it's only been since August 16th. Feels like forever. Anyway...I digress...

So, we've been e-mailing. Actually we don't e-mail really anymore. Now we text. A lot. Oh, and we talk on the phone. A lot. Which I really quite enjoy. Actually, I enjoy everything that I've gotten to know about Dennis and his life and his faith and his hope, ambitions, and dreams. What do we talk about you ask? Everything under the sun.

So here are some of his stats:

Age: 34

Divorced, with 2 young children.

Works as a Regional Manager for Pac Sun

Grew up all over (including CA) as his father was in the Air Force.

Love the Lord and lives to serve Him.

Passionate about life.

I'm liking where God is taking this.

To be continued...

Random Fact

Spiral staircases in medieval castles are running clockwise. This is because all knights used to be right-handed. When the intruding army would climb the stairs they would not be able to use their right hand which was holding the sword because of the difficulties of climbing the stairs. Left-handed knights would have had no troubles, except left-handed people could never become knights because it was assumed that they were descendants of the devil.

College Roomie and Lifelong Friend

My freshman year of college, I lived here. Middle window. My bed was by the window actually.
I lived in Yosemite Hall. Which, if you've ever been to Cal Poly's campus, when you first drive onto campus from Grand Avenue they're the first set of dorm buildings.

Please note, everything is down hill from Yosemite. But to go back...it's all uphill. Let me tell you, I had calves of steel after that year. Key word, had.

This gal. She was my roommate for three of our four years of college. That's right, we lived together for 3/4 of our college career. And I couldn't have asked for a better roommate.
Look Mom, we ironed!

Everything was a story. Everything still is a story. Melissa's stories always make me laugh. Always! Like the picture above, she was all gussied up and ready for a date. After they dinner they went for coffee. He ordered a mocha. And he asked her what he was supposed to do with the foam at the top.

Idiot! He didn't know you're supposed to make sure you end up with a mustache!

Melissa has a fun spirit. Always singing and dancing around the long narrow room. What you can't see in this picture is that Melissa is dancing around with Kaitlin. Kait came down and stayed a few nights. She was in, like, 4th grade or something.

And boy howdy! Someone was a phone hog! That was a pretty typical position to find Melissa in. Luckily I didn't get a lot of phone calls. And we had call waiting.
Ok, this picture. You have to swear to secrecy that you will not tell her exists on this page. She honestly doesn't even remember me taking it. Melissa was a little, ah, inebriated. After picking her up from a party, and walking from the parking lot to our room she had to go. First of all, it took 30 minutes to get from the car to the room. Stopping every 5 feel for "whoa nelly that's a far far way to go" and sitting on the asphalt. I laughed the entire way.

'Cause I'm supportive like that.

Once upstairs, well, it's easier to just strip down than pull the pants around your knees. Right? And then since you can't stand straight, you fall. And laugh. And almost pee your pants.

But your pants aren't on anymore. Geez!
Remember you swore you won't tell her this picture is here! I'll hunt you down if you do.

Melissa and I were the same major and graduated the same time. It was a great celebration.
Because we were done with school.

2 weeks later. Melissa Morrison became Melissa Gleason. Now Melissa is Mommy to Macie and soon to be #2 name not annouced little boy child.

And they live in Southern California. Which means that when I visit Kaitlin I'll be visiting Melissa.

And then I'll get to hear more stories.

As I remember them, and feel they are important, I'll share some of those stories. In fact, remember when I went to Washington D.C.? Well, it was to visit Melissa and her family.

Good times!

Izzie and the Beeping

So my new baby, the camera, has a sound feature. When the subject is in focus, it'll beep.

Izzie... She's not a fan of the beeping. I've turned it off, but now the sound is ingrained in her brain!

She freaks out. It's kinda funny...!




Look at her trying to get away. Then she didn't want to be held. Then she panted like crazy.

At least she kinda posed with grandma...

Quote of the Day

Love is not blind — it sees more, not less. But because it sees more, it is willing to see less.

— Rabbi Julius Gordon

Random Fact

Only 1 in 2,000,000,000 will live to be 116 or older.

Quote of the Day

Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties.

— Erich Fromm

Sunday in Fresno

Today, I ventured out of the house, out of the area and drove to Fresno to spend the day with Paige. I had a wonderful day, full of eating, shopping, worshiping, and fellowship.

Dog House Grill - you have equaled Firestone with the side salad and fries, and you're much closer than SLO.
Fashion Fair, Fig Garden, and River Park - I love you and your stores!
The Well - a place that God is moving and doing good things, wonderfully simple yet filling service!
Paige - I love you my sister! Thanks for letting me hang out with you all day!
Coleman - Thanks for giving up my sister all day.

Alright, I think I need to start thinking about bed.

Thank goodness tomorrow is a holiday.

And I have the day off...

Random Fact

Michael Jordan makes more money from NIKE annually than all of the Nike factory workers in Malaysia combined.

My New Baby

I have a new toy! And look, it came in a plain, unmarked brown box... Wonder what it could be...
NO! Gosh! Get your head out of the gutter! Although, that would be quite the supply by the size of that box...

It's my new camera! Look at what's in that box...

And the pile of loot that came out of the box.
It's been a lot of fun playing and learning how to use the new camera. I've got a Nikon D60. It's pretty cool, and fancy, and kinda complicated.

The one thing I don't have a picture of... the actual camera. Guess I'm too busy playing with it.

Let me know if you notice a change in the quality of photos that you'll be seeing on my blog.

And well, actually I've had the camera now for almost a month. I'm so far behind!

Run out of Material

Oh my word. I have noticed that I've run out of pre-programed posts.

So, I guess I need to come back and do a little maintenance. Come up with some new material. Fill you in on what's going on in my life. Etc.

I'll get to work. I've got pictures to post. Trips to report on. Family to give updates on. Things that are new.

Alright. Check back soon. Check back often.

Random Fact

The "dot" over the letter "i" is called a tittle.

Quote of the Day

We become what we think about all day long.

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

I've become Friday? I've become half of a couple? Hummm.... better think harder...

Random Fact

Nutmeg is extremely poisonous if injected intravenously.

A.A.A.D.D.

This is the story of my life. If you know me, then you know I that I suffer from is disorder...

Thank goodness there's a name for this disorder. Somehow I feel better, even though I have it!!

Recently, I was diagnosed with A.A.A.D.D. - Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder.

This is how it manifests:

I decide to water my garden.

As I turn on the hose in the driveway, I look over at my car and decide it needs washing.

As I start toward the garage, I notice mail on the porch table that I brought up from the mail box earlier.

I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car.

I lay my car keys on the table, put the junk mail in the garbage can under the table, and notice that the can is full.

So, I decide to put the bills back on the table and take out the garbage first.

But then I think, since I'm going to be near the mailbox when I take out the garbage anyway, I may as well pay the bills first.

I take my check book off the table, and see that there is only one check left.

My extra checks are in my desk in the study, so I go inside the house to my desk where I find the can of Coke I'd been drinking.

I'm going to look for my checks, but first I need to push the Coke aside so that I don't accidentally knock it over.

The Coke is getting warm, and I decide to put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold.

As I head toward the kitchen with the Coke, a vase of flowers on the counter catches my eye - they need water.

I put the Coke on the counter and discover my reading glasses that I've been searching for all morning.

I decide I better put them back on my desk, but first I'm going to water the flowers.

I set the glasses back down on the counter, fill a container with water and suddenly spot the TV remote.

Someone left it on the kitchen table.

I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV, I'll be looking for the remote, but I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table, so I decide to put it back in the den where it belongs, but first I'll water the flowers.

I pour some water in the flowers, but quite a bit of it spills on the floor.

So, I set the remote back on the table, get some towels and wipe up the spill.

Then, I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do.

At the end of the day: the car isn't washed, the bills aren't paid there is a warm can of Coke sitting on the counter, the flowers don't have enough water, there is still only 1 check in my check book, I can't find the remote, I can't find my glasses, and I don't remember what I did with the car keys.

Then, when I try to figure out why nothing got done today, I'm really baffled because I know I was busy all day, and I'm really tired.

I realize this is a serious problem, and I'll try to get some help for it, but first I'll check my e-mail....

Pretty Bird

Once upon a time, a bird found me. That's right, I didn't find a bird, a bird found me. After walking in the back gate after work one day, I walked under a tree and heard, "Hello." Ok, who's playing a trick on me, or saying hello from an upstairs window? No one. Wow, that's a bright colored bird in that there tree. Not a typical finch that I normally see. "Hello." Oh crap, it's the bird talking to me.
After calling my brother and telling him there's a parrot looking bird in our tree, I stood watch. Chris rushed home, and we figured how to get the bird out of the tree.

Pablo, as we named him, became one of the family. We found a cage on e-bay. We bought him toys, and food, and treats. He was one of us. But the dogs didn't like him much.

He even learned things from us. One day, he nipped at my finger and I called him a "mean son of a bitch". He then mimicked me for a couple minutes, "son of a bitch, son of a bitch." Oh, it was good fun.

He was a fairly good bird. And we miss him. Due to lack of... responsibility... Pablo got loose and bad things happened. I won't go into details.

And that was a fun chapter in my life.

Quote of the Day

In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, for in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.

— Kahlil Gibran