Friday, December 24, 2010

Christmas story (according to matthew)

Matthew 1:8-2:12
8 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
 20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
 24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” 3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:
 6 “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
   are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
   who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

 7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
 9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Them

Have you heard of them?

No? Well thats surprising.  You should have.

Are you sure you haven't heard of them?

I'm quite certain you know who they are, you just don't realize it.

Maybe if I tell you a story you'll remember.

You say you don't have time for a story?

Nonsense, it won't take but a minute.

Alright, I won't keep you long I promise.

Just for ease of telling this tale I'll refer to them as a male and a female but the gender has nothing to do with it o.k.?

Good, here we go.



He was walking down Luke street on April 15, troubling himself with the path the world was choosing.  He passed many people and knew all of them by name.  Many smiled and waved at him, calling out hello.  Many more shouted insults at him and made obscene gestures.  The largest group of all however was those who ignored them.

As he continued down the street suddenly he noticed her sitting at a coffee shop.  She was the most beautiful person he had ever seen.  She walked with the grace of a queen and acted in a like-wise fashion.  She was perfect in his eyes and he immediately knew he had to have her.  Unfortunately she was one of the ones who was ignoring him.  He bided his time and decided to wait.

The next day he noticed her again, this time as she walked by him.  He smiled and said hello but she just brushed on by.  Again he let her go, knowing his time would come.

They passed on the next day as well, but this time he bumped into her causing her to drop the stack of papers she was carrying.  Sheepishly he helped her to pick them up while apologizing profusely.  She told him to pay better attention next time, turned and walked off.

They continued to pass each other day after day and she continued to ignore him as best as she could.  Never once did he grow disheartened though.  He even began writing a book just for her so that he could give it to her.  He knew that his time would come.

One day while passing her, he noticed she was crying.  He stopped and asked her why.  She shouted at him to leave her alone.  Her grandfather had just died and she wanted nothing to do with him.  He responded that he could help her.  She got up, slapped him and left.

For a long time he let her be.  Allowed her to calm herself and deal with her grief however she felt was best.  Then he decided the time had come to make another attempt.  This time things went differently.  He found her sitting on a bench sniffling again, on the brink of tears.  He asked what was wrong and she said she was lonely and that she was glad he had come.  She began to pour out how she had been thinking about him and how she had talked to her friends who knew him and how everyone had said that they should get to know each other. He just sat there smiling knowing he had finally won.

They talked for a long time and she apologized for all that she had done to him.  She admitted that she was originally scared of him and what he might think of her.  He said it was ok, most people were.  She admitted how much she disliked herself.  He assured her she was perfect.  She said he was to good for her.  He said that was nonsense.  At the end of their talk he asked her if she would marry him.  She was surprised at how sudden it was but she agreed.

Shortly after this conversation the couple got married.  Her closest friends were there and cheered wildly for her.  The ceremony was short and simple but forever locked them together.  At the wedding he gave her the book and told that if she ever felt he was not with her she could go to the book to find him.  She placed the book in her bag promising to remember it.

After the wedding they went on a very long honey moon.  They were madly in love with each other.  Never once did they fight.  It was the most romantic of times.  They wondered how they had ever existed without each other.  As the romance continued she began to rely more and more on him filling her heart with everything that he was.  She even began to read the book he had written for her, at times pouring herself into with a vigor she didn't even replicate in her studies.  They also talked almost constantly during this honeymoon and the talks were always good.

Unfortunately this unbelievable love was not to last forever.  Shortly after their honeymoon her mother died of cancer.  She took it very hard.  He tried to comfort her but she wanted nothing to do with him.  She even stopped reading the book he had written for her, even though she loved it so much.  She began to ignore him again and he just gave her time and space.  Eventually as her wounds healed she returned to him apologizing again.

She decided to invite him to move into her house so that they could live together forever.  She lived on a unique road.  It was the first one to ever be named John street.  Their house was the fourth one down the street but was number 8 for some reason.

After buying the house they again experienced a time of great joy where they couldn't get enough of each other.  They would talk day and night and never got angry with each other.  She also resumed reading the book he had given her, digging deeper and deeper into the layers it offered.

Again this was not to last.  One day she lost her job and blamed it on him.  She shouted horrible things at him and forced him out of the house.  He was very sad and hoped dreadfully that she would allow him to return.

Three days later he returned to the house and knocked quietly.  She threw the door wide open begging him to come back and live with her again.  He smiled and stepped inside.  She said that she was horribly sorry and begged for his forgiveness.  He forgave her immediately.  She said she was worried he would never return.  He reminded her that as long as she had his book he would always be with her.


For a long time they continued to experience their ups and downs.  Whenever something happened to her she would blame it on him and kick him out for a few days but when he would come back she would allow him home.  One day he found the door locked.  He looked in the window and saw her with another man.  He banged on the door but she ignored him.  He sat on the steps and cried for a long time. Eventually the man she was with ran from the home and she stepped out and immediately began begging for forgiveness.  He forgave her immediately.

Their relationship was horribly strained.  He would catch her cheating on him many more times.  She would blame him for things many more times.  However, he always loved her and that never changed.  Whenever she allowed him to come back he was very excited.

Eventually the relationship began to even out.  When something bad happened to her she would go to him for support instead of blaming him.  He found her cheating on him less and less.  There love also became less passionate but much more mature.  In fact they loved each other more at this point than they had ever loved each other.  Durring this time she began to uncover the secrets hidden in his book both by asking him and through discovering them for herself.  This brought endless joy to the couple.

They grew old together that odd couple.  Never once did his love for her falter.  And never once did she fully kick him out of the house.  A greater love was never to be found.



So, that about wraps up my story.

Haha, thanks, I like it too.  Do you know who they are?

See I told you that you would know.

Alright, you can get going now, I hope you enjoyed my tale.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hey everyone.  Thanks for reading this.  I know the style isn't the greatest but I really think that this does a great job of fulfilling its purpose.  Its a love story.  The greatest love story ever told.  If anyone can't figure out what this is about go ahead and send me a message on facebook.  There are quite a few hidden things throughout the story, so keep your eye open for them.

Until next time,
Godspeed.

Monday, December 20, 2010

That was fun

So tonight (well last night since its 1:30 am) I got to go back to my high school youth group to play and hang out like old times (it was supposed to be a reunion night). I had a really fun time getting to play with my good friend Taylor again, along with Brad and getting to play with a new guy (well I've played with him before and he certainly isn't new to the music business... but anyway i digress).  It was a blast and everything went really well.  I also got to bust out my drumset which is always a fun occasion.

Anyway as Taylor and I were off playing ping pong and then waiting for the service to start we noticed that the room was absolutely packed which was something we were not expecting at all.  I'm guessing there was probably between 60 and 70 people there, and maybe even 80.  For comparison when Taylor and I left this summer we were averaging about 30-40 on a good night.  I'm really happy that my youth group is growing again.

So part of the reason that I was so surprised to have discovered the large number of people there was that I honestly thought that the youth group needed to be restarted.  It had gone through an immense amount of change in the last two years, numbers where declining and the last vestige of what was once the core of the youth group was graduating.  I honestly could not see the youth group surviving the way that it was going but somehow it did.

I think that somehow is Adam Flora.   This is probably news to Adam but I've never really gotten along with him.  Its not that I didn't like him or think he was a great person, its just that he rubbed me the wrong way for some reason.  I guess our personalities didn't mix well.  However, after seeing what he has done with the youth group in the short time taylor and i have been away (along with the really surprising organization which is partially thanks to Andy) and a very nice conversation between myself, taylor, adam and jeff, i feel like  things have changed drastically and so has Adam.

Perhaps the best indicator that Adam has changed is the way he was talking about leadership and about his own past mistakes.  To me this wasn't Adam, however when he started talking about service leadership and how he had been trying to apply it in his own life my perception changed.  I never used to enjoy talking to him, again i'm not entirely sure why, but this conversation was actually really good.  (It was still tough to get a word in but hey, not everyone is perfect ;)  

Once again I'm really happy for what has happened to my youth group and for how much Adam has matured into a good leader and a good youth pastor.  This is something that i didn't expect happening for at least another year however I am very happy it has happened a lot sooner.

P.S.  I've learned that writing at 1:30am doesn't always make sense, however the general jist of this is a compliment to Adam so if anything seems contradictory to that it just because i'm tired while i'm writing this.

Friday, December 17, 2010

We

We ask
We think
We do
We blame

We ask why
We ask how
We ask did it have to
We ask will it last forever

We think too much
We think too little
We think if only
We think please stop

We toss
We turn
We hide
We shudder

We blame ourselves
We blame God
We blame the world
We blame another

But

Never once do we think ahead
Never once do we think back
Never once do we stop the thunder
Never once do we enlist another

yep poetry isn't for me but i was in a weird mood and felt like i had to write something and this is what came out... it honestly doesn't make sense, even to me very much, so yeah, it'll just kind of float away forever

Monday, December 13, 2010

Really?

So I'm a huge Philly sports fan (well in the sports that I actually care about) and therefore one of the main things I do when I'm bored is peruse the various sporting websites looking for information about the Phillies and Flyers.  Well I was making my mandatory 20th round today (since its essentially an off day with nothing to do) not expecting anything new to be there when all of a sudden I noticed this http://www.csnphilly.com/12/13/10/Phillies-among-three-finalists-to-land-C/landing_phillies.html?blockID=372509&feedID=704

I just figured it was some kind of cruel joke but decided to read it.  Apparently the Phillies really are in the Cliff Lee Sweepstakes.   I was pretty much amazed at this considering the Phillies were seemingly content to go into next season with what they had (and they would still be the favorites to win the nl, at least in my opinion).  That would be a legendary rotation and would easily make the Phillies the favorite for both this year and next year.

Anyway, now that I'm done salivating over that piece of information here's what I actually want to talk about.

Professional sports are ridiculous with the money they give to everyone.  Even the managers make upwards of 200,000 a year (more if you're on a really good team)  I mean honestly these people do not deserve this obscene amount of money.  What do they do that makes them worth so much?  Do they change the way we view the world (nope, and the normal salary for a physicist is around 100,000) do they attempt to cure the world of disease? Nope (salaries right around 100,000 again, maybe a little higher)  How about fight and die to protect our freedom? Nope.  Do they put out fires? Nope?

Now don't get me wrong, some of these people do great things with their money (take jamie moyer) but many just stash it away in material wealth.  What if instead of paying these players millions of dollars to play children's games they started paying to help the world.  What if instead of spending millions on stadiums they spent millions on homeless shelters.  What if instead of spending millions on equipment and specialized trainers they spent millions developing new technologies to help the sick.

What about a small step.  What if the fans refused to watch until owners start putting a spot for charity work into their budgets.... and make it at least 10% of the overall salary.  That would equate to about 15 million dollars from the phillies, and over 20 million from the red socks and yankees..... so almost 70 million a year from just three teams in just one sport.

Hey, this won't happen but I'm an idealist.  Imagine how much better the world would be if this were to happen.  Maybe people would actually be able to eat enough to keep from dying....

I feel sorry for all of those players who stockpile their cash.

I'll say it again--it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!"


Matthew 19:24