Two lessons you learn only in life's storms

Two lessons you learn only in life's storms
"...Why are you so fearful?..."
Mark 4:40 NKJV
In the Gospel of Mark we read: "...He said to them, 'Let us cross over to the other side'...And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, 'Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?' Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, 'Peace, be still!' And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. But He said to them, 'Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?' And they...said to one another, 'Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!''' (Mark 4:35-41 NKJV). Here are two lessons you learn only in life's storms: 1) You must trust what God has told you. When Jesus said, 'Let us cross over to the other side' there wasn't a big enough wave to take them under, no matter how threatening. What has God promised you? Standing on that won't keep you from getting scared or soaked, but it'll keep you from sinking. 2) You must remind yourself who's in the boat with you. If the Lord can calm a storm, He can prevent one. So when He permits you to go through storms it's to show you that you don't have a problem He can't solve; that you may be powerless in the situation but He's not; and that through this experience you'll come to know Him in a way you have never known Him before. So learn these lessons well and come out stronger on the other side.

Owl City

Video for Fireflies - Makes me feel so happy - like playing with my cousins at 12 years old

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=60599540

Liberals make better music, but conservatives make better families. What does that make moderates?

Pay to Play

Broadcasters Fight House Bill Requiring Song Royalty Payments

WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--Broadcasters are vowing to fight legislation requiring radio stations to pay royalties to performers, even as the recording industry and artist coalitions say the effort is gathering steam.

The House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday passed a modified version of a performance royalty bill that gives some exemptions to small broadcast stations.

Broadcast radio stations now pay song royalties to songwriters and producers, but they don't pay performance fees for playing the artists' music.

In contrast, cable, satellite, and Internet radio pay performance royalties.

Under the House bill, the smallest radio stations - $100,000 in revenue or less - would only pay $500 a year for the rights to broadcast recorded music. Stations with $100,000 to $500,000 in revenue would pay $2,500 a year. Royalty payments would be $5,000 annually for mid-sized stations, with $500,000 to $1.25 million in annual revenue.

Large radio companies like Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings Inc. (CCO) and Cox Radio Inc. (CXR) would be required to pay negotiated royalties to performers for playing their music on the air.

Broadcasters have mounted an intense lobbying campaign against the bill. They argue that airing artists' music gives the performers the necessary promotion they need to sell their records.

The National Association of Broadcasters has garnered 192 House sponsors to a nonbinding resolution opposing a new performance royalty for radio, short of the 200-plus they had in the last Congress.

It takes 218 votes in the House to block a bill, and NAB is hoping House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., will be reluctant to bring the performance royalty bill to the floor if she isn't certain it will pass.


But supporters - the Recording Industry Association of America and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists among them - note that the bill has several high-powered supporters, including House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman, D-Calif.

2009 Country Music Marathon

Over the weekend, I "competed" in the 2009 Country Music Marathon. I ran alongside my brother-in-law, Heath, who flew in just for the race, and my good friend Christine with whom I had been training for a the past several months. It was a very emotional experience. One that I now understand I had entirely underestimated.

Going into the race, 10 miles was the furthest I had ventured in one consecutive run. I used Hal Higdon's, a brilliant man, training schedule, and his reasoning for only running up to 10 before race day was "the inspiration will carry you to the finish line." Little did I know how true this would be.

There was not too much out of the ordinary on Saturday. The only potential issue besides the 13.1 mile course was the fact that it was to be the hottest day of the year. A stifling 85 for the high...and in a city where all who had been training were accustomed to much milder weather over the last several months, it was becoming a big deal. I did not heed much of a warning concerning the weather - I had been hot before - and I survived that.

35,000 people ran on Saturday. It was the biggest year for the event thus far. At one point people were asked to shout where they had come from: Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, San Fran. I think being a local in this race meant being a minority.

It was hosted by Elite Racing - a company with multiple marathons/half marathons across the country all with the common theme of music. Different cities with different themes obviously...and Nashville's was shockingly - Country.

I loved getting to set up in my corral - runners were released in waves as the race started and each corral held about 1,000 of us. This was to prevent congestion at certain points down the path. It was a massive undertaking and something about it felt Biblical to me - a diaspora. We were all about to embark together on a journey that would test us each individually. Every time I'd look to my left or right, it was a new person - struggling up the same path with a different stride and pace.

Unfortunately, I experienced some sort of incident right at the turn for mile 2, when something happened to my knee (still waiting to find out). I was in moderate pain at that point but kept pushing through thinking, man up and shake it off.

At mile 8 the pain grew unbearable and I had to stop. It was like trading in every minute I had been training for 3 months and getting nothing in return. I stopped at a Medical Station on Music Row for some Advil. It was strange stopping along the side and watching the herd travel on without me. Being used to running alone or with one person, when I stopped, everything stopped. However, everyone kept moving - and as I watched each person go by I envied their time. I knew their finishing time was going to be better than mine and it killed me. It wasn't fair to me that the 50 year old man or jiggly fat girl was going to post a better time on the half-marathon than me. I knew I had to make it happen. Git-r-done.

At this point, Christine was the only one left with me and I told her to keep running as I was in for a long finish. 5 miles left to go.

I can honestly say that the spectators pushed me through the finish line. Given the magnitude of the race (35,000 runners and an estimated 100,000 spectators along the course) and the fact that we were in Nashville - the spectators were everywhere and extra friendly. Initially, it was weird to have randos yelling for us to keep running but as time grew on, it was essential. The spectators included my parents, sister, and friend Michael who were stationed along the course - at a certain spot where we passed by twice. It was incredible to think that all of these people - the bands, the volunteers, the cheerleaders, the people of my city, and families from others were there for support. As time went on, each time someone yelled, "You're almost there" or "We're so proud of you" it was to ME.

The last 2 miles were hellish. People were visibly in pain. Myself included. Not only was much of it in a dry spell of spectators, it was uphill again. Any runner knows that the slightest hint of an incline can be one of the biggest mental challenges in training. Picture Lion King - Wildebeest(that is correct spelling boothe)-trampled Mufasa. That was my feeling.

Anyway, to make a much too long post a little longer, I eventualy finished. The race ended with people dropping like flies, out of heath exhaustion, general exhaustion, and just being out of breath. I remember counting 4 ambulances along the course as people succombed to the heat. Sadly, one 25 year old guy died after finishing the half-marathon. Reasons are still unknown but the gravity of his death was a sobering realization of the preparedness that is necessary for running 13.1 miles.

Currently I am awaiting an MRI to determine what is wrong with my knee, and what I will need to do to fix it.

Getting over over-consumption

The End of Excess



I've linked an article that I read when I picked up a March issue of Time Magazine. The cover features nothing but a red button showing "Reset" with a white background. The author of the article is the host of public radio's show Studio 360 and a former columnist for time. It is a very interesting look at the changing social, political, cultural, and mindset of a post-recession America. I think he hits the nail on the head in a lot of ways.

Priorities

What's the 'take away?'
""A man may do his work with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then he must leave all he owns to someone who has not worked for it.""
Ecc 2:21
In business we talk about the 'take away'. It's your net profit, your bottom line reward. Here's a truth you need to know before they tag your toe, arrange your funeral service and lay flowers on your grave: when you live for yourself and fail to fulfil God's purpose for your life, the 'take away' is not worth the investment. Solomon writes, "So I turned in despair from hard work. It was not the answer to my search for satisfaction in this life. For though I do my work with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, I must leave everything I gain to people who haven't worked to earn it. This is not only foolish, but highly unfair" (Ecc 2:18-21 NIV). Or as author John Capozzi puts it, "The executive who works from 7 a.m. till 7 p.m. every day will be very successful. He will also be fondly remembered by his wife's next husband." The day is coming when all the stuff you've striven, strained and stressed out to acquire will make no difference. Your résumé and job title will no longer impress anyone. No one will care what clothes you wore or what cars you drove, except your relatives who plan to wear them, drive them or sell them. If you're wise you'll plan to exit this life with a 'take away' that involves these three things: (a) Satisfaction, that comes from having fulfilled your God-given assignment here on earth. (b) Success, that's measured in terms of eternal rewards, not temporal ones. (c) Security, that comes from knowing Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour. These are the only 'take away' worth living for!

ExtraORDINARY JellyBEANS

Backwards kick step in warehouse = awesome.

Happy Easter

I was scared that today was going to just be April 12, 2009 for me. I have scheduled two lunches and zero church services. It did not really hit me until last night that I was not going to be in a church today for the first time in probably my entire life. Even when in Italy - we went to church on Easter (not understanding a word of the service). Instead of panicking now at 8:46am I sluggishly grabbed this book sitting next to my bed and dove into it this morning. I'm sharing this because it struck me - even more than some of my past Easter services in English...Reinventing my Easter Sunday from bed this morning:

Wide Awake by Erwin McManus
Chapter 3 - Adapt

"Many of us need reinvented lives. We are living a rerun and we need fresh stories, maybe some new characters to enter our story. When you get up in the morning, maybe you feel that your life is just a show waiting to be canceled, an endless rerun with worn out story lines and superficial characters. If you are going to engage in a journey with God, if you are going to follow the God who created you, if you're going to explore mysterious, dangerous, unknown, uncertain places - then you need to know how to reinvent yourself. You have to learn how to adapt."

Later on in the chapter

"When you face challenges and obstacles, you have to learn how to either overcome them or adapt to them. Wisdom guides you to the best choice. To adapt is not to surrender but to become unstoppable. It is the difference between being a boulder or a river. Many of us see virtue as being immovable.
Yet in times of crisis, it is our willingness to be adaptable that distinguishes us. Conviction is a popular excuse for rigidity, but faith should actually make us more pliable, not less.
What we find in all these invidivuals through whom God has written biblical history is that faith gives you the confidence to adapt to your circumstance while never compromising your convictions.
You either adapt when you face circumstances you cannot control, or you allow them to become the boundaries of your life. They will establish the parameters of your freedom, define your limits, and diminish your dreams - and that is where you stop. I may not know anything about you or your life journey, but I know this. You can't control the context from which your life story is being written, but you can control the content."

Whether or not this is your Easter or your April 12th, 2009. This is true.

And here's where I would like to stroll every single Easter Morning.

Dayvan Cowboy

by boards of canada

Pumped

Never been more excited for Earth Day

Daily Routine

Wake Up
Shave
Shower
Dress
Commute
Park on level P3
Ride up the elevator
Enter office
Check e-mail
Make coffee
Work
Lunch
Work
Leave office
drive home
enter house
sit on couch
run
eat dinner
watch tv
sleep
(repeat)


This is my routine. I do this five days a week and have been doing this since October. Just let me premise this with the fact that I am very happy with my job and excited about the opportunities it offers. All the people I work with are awesome and I have been afforded a lot to experience high quality individuals in an exciting work atmosphere.

However, being a 23-year old kid sometimes flares up and the corporate life overwhelms me. This probably happens a couple (2-3) times a week and is very short-lived. I began thinking about this when it occured to me one day around 12:30pm that a year ago I was cruising up and down the west coast on spring break. And at the present time I was currently sitting in a chair eating lunch on a paper towel alone in the breakroom.

Quite a change of scenery - one that is all the more frightening when I think about how fast the time has gone. People would always say that -man time has flown by- and everyone nods in response...but I don't think it really mattered how fast time was going until now. After all, I know time flies when you are having fun...but isn't it supposed to slow down when you are working? I guess not...

I started thinking back over the last 6 months since I've started working and what also frightened me is my inability to remember it. It is filed away into one of those Bruce Almighty file cabinets in my brain. Literally, what do I do on a weekly basis that is memorable? What, if anything, is creating memories? I find it hard to fathom that the main things I remember occured over Thanksgiving, Christmas, and a day I took off in February. Little to nothing that occurs in my life is memorable during a week - unless some part of that routine I wrote earlier is changed. Is this bad? Or is this something to get used to?

Part of me feels like I really dove into this whole corporate thing way too early - and part of me feels like I'm nervously freaking out for no reason - am I placing too much value on free time as a 23 year old or too little value on time at a desk as a 23 year old? I guess there is value in both but I'd like to live a memorable life and I definitely don't want to wake up 10 years from now remembering a couple days of each of those years...

Perfect

Latest Man Points handed out today

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/COMBOSR-Brand-Releases-prnews-14553226.html

COMBOS(R) Brand Releases Manliest Cities in America Rankings With Nashville at Top and New York at Bottom

Manly Study Highlights


Nashville is the Mecca of manliness. With its high number of NASCAR enthusiasts, popularity of hunting and fishing and concentration of BBQ restaurants, the Music City stands alone atop the mountain of manliness.
Despite high ratings in the "bowling" category, New York City ranks 50th out of 50 in the study due to low scores in manly indicators such as "fishing," "home improvement" and "drag racing."
If you're in the Midwest and looking to enjoy a game with a cold beverage, look no farther than St. Louis, which has the highest concentration of sports bars in the country.
Grand Rapids, Mich. has more monster truck rallies, per capita, than any other U.S. city.
Philadelphia and Chicago, with low scores in the "hunting" category fail to crack the top 25 (ranked 30th and 46th respectively).
The men of Oklahoma City know how to snack with gusto. Their city owns the highest purchase rate of salty snacks, such as COMBOS®.
Got chainsaws? What about hammers and power drills? The men of New Orleans do. The "Big Easy" boasts more hardware stores per capita than any other U.S. city.

The Manly Methodology*

The rankings were determined using 50 of the largest metropolitan areas as defined by the United States Census Bureau, which includes a central city and the surrounding county (or counties).

Each metro area received a manliness rating between 0 and 100 based on how well it performed in each of the study's manly categories. Factors used to determine the manliest city rankings included the number of U.S.-made cars driven in the city, number of sports bars and BBQ restaurants, number of home improvement and hardware stores as well as manly salty snacks consumption. All data was adjusted by the current population of the cities to arrive at "per capita" figures, providing an accurate comparison between cities of varying sizes.

"America's Manliest Cities"

1. Nashville, Tenn.
2. Charlotte, N.C.
3. Oklahoma City, Okla.
4. Cincinnati, Ohio
5. Denver, Colo.
6. St. Louis, Mo.
7. Columbus, Ohio
8. Kansas City, Mo.
9. Indianapolis, Ind.
10. Toledo, Ohio
11. Memphis, Tenn.
12. Richmond, Va.
13. Columbia, S.C.
14. Orlando, Fla.
15. Dayton, Ohio
16. Salt Lake City, Utah
17. Milwaukee, Wis.
18. Minneapolis, Minn.
19. Cleveland, Ohio
20. Detroit, Mich.
21. Jacksonville, Fla.
22. Phoenix, Ariz.
23. Birmingham, Ala.
24. Grand Rapids, Mich.
25. Tampa, Fla.
26. Harrisburg, Pa.
27. New Orleans, La.
28. Las Vegas, Nev.
29. Pittsburgh, Pa.
30. Philadelphia, Pa.
31. Louisville, Ky.
32. Atlanta, Ga.
33. Providence, R.I.
34. Dallas, Texas
35. Buffalo, N.Y.
36. Rochester, N.Y.
37. Baltimore, Md.
38. Boston, Mass.
39. Houston, Texas
40. Seattle, Wash.
41. Sacramento, Calif.
42. Miami, Fla.
43. San Diego, Calif.
44. Oakland, Calif.
45. Washington, District of Columbia
46. Chicago, Ill.
47. Portland, Ore.
48. San Francisco, Calif.
49. Los Angeles, Calif.
50. New York, N.Y.

A word from the Australians (2)

Night vision (2)
"I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness."
Isaiah 45:3 NLT
Sometimes God doesn't tell us why because He wants us to know Who. In Psalm 23, David goes from talking about God, "The Lord is my Shepherd," to talking with Him, "Thou art with me." What happened in between? David learned that no matter how dark the way is, the Lord is there to guide us. He discovered that it's better to walk through the valley with God than stand on the mountaintop alone. God doesn't always light the path in advance, but He promises, "When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown" (Isa 43:2 NLT). When you feel like you're out of your depth or in over your head, claim the promise! Job had many unanswered questions, but when he began to understand the difference between reason and relationship, he told God, "I...heard about You before, but now I have seen You" (Job 42:5 TLB). When you can't find the reason, trust the relationship. God won't fail you. Contrary to what you may think, darkness isn't always the work of the enemy. Sometimes it's one of God's best teaching tools. "About the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea...And when they saw Him...they were greatly amazed...beyond measure, and marvelled" (Mark 6:48-51 NKJV). You get to know the Lord by going through storms with Him. The Psalmist said, "To You the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to You" (Ps 139:12 NLT). So instead of running from your problems, ask God to develop your night vision, to show you "the treasures of darkness...hidden in secret places" (Isa 45:3 NRS).

Word from the Australians

Night vision (1)
"Who is among you who...fears the Lord...yet...walks in darkness?"
Isaiah 50:10 AMP
God promises us peace, but not smooth sailing or immunity from life's problems. The Bible says you can "fear the Lord...yet...walk in darkness and...trouble" (Isa 50:10 AMP). Check your Bible: (a) Job lived an exemplary life yet he lost everything. Troubled and perplexed, he cried, "God has blocked my way [and]...plunged my path into darkness" (Job 19:8 NLT). (b) Jeremiah, after preaching to a rebellious people who beat and imprisoned him, said, "Oh, that...my eyes [were] a fountain...I would weep day and night for...my people" (Jer 9:1 NIV). (c) John the Baptist was puzzled about why his cousin Jesus, who could raise the dead, had left him to languish in prison. So he sent him a message asking, "Are You the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?" (Luke 7:19 NIV). (d) Paul suffered so much he "despaired even of life" (2 Cor 1:8 NKJV). Faith is like film; it's developed in the dark. Dark days make us lean on God in ways we normally wouldn't. The truth is, if our faith was never tested we wouldn't be motivated to pursue God and draw closer to Him. The hymn writer wrote: "When darkness seems to hide His face, I rest on His unchanging grace. When all around my soul gives way, He then is all my hope and stay. On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand." It's easy to praise God when your health is good and your bills are paid. It's when light suddenly turns to darkness that we discover what our faith is made of and where our trust truly lies. It's in those seasons that we develop night vision!
Soulfood Bible Readings
Gen 10-12, Matt 18:21-35, Ps 61, Pr 6:16-19

I'll tickle ya...

Taxi to the Dark Side

Recently I saw a documentary called Taxi to the Dark Side. I had no clue what it was about - it only popped up on a netflix advertisement for something that might interest me. The title was intriguing as well. An hour and 45 minutes later this documentary ended up having quite an impact on me. It follows the story of an Afghani man whose job as a taxi driver was misconstrued as a person of violence. The perspective broadens to truly unearth a lot of evil things that occured to POIs or PUCs as they were called. I was surprised that I felt what I did. Without getting political, I will say that it raised some questions in my head.

Warning:Material is unsuitable for immature people.

The preview is rated G.

Continue reading if you work for the government...









Government Agents: USA # 1! I love America! Red, White, and Blue - these colors don't run!

Concerning Offices

- One's garb is always to be in accordance with the office's standard dress code. This is a fact that should be known before the first day of work... in order to prevent under or over dressing

- Establishing oneself as an early riser in the beginning is better than establishing oneself as a late arriver unless bearing coffee, doughnuts, or bagels.

- One is to get psyched on the way to work with a series of carefully chosen tunes or morning public radio

- Elevator doors should be held. Followed by eye contact and a friendly greeting when others enter. Eye contact after the doors are closed can be awkward.

- Upon arrival, one is to always turn the lights on in the lobby. To forget is absent-minded

- Mail is to be dispersed in a timely fashion.

- There is no such thing as a stupid question, unless you ask it too late.

- One is to position himself at the urinal furthest from the bathroom entrance according to age.

- If someone's door is shut, slide the paper under the door to prevent awkwardness.

- Cell phones are to be placed on vibrate. Facebook and google chat on silent.

- Personal sites are to be visited only in moderation. With quick access to Outlook and work-related sites just a click away.

- One must be mentally prepared to eat lunch alone until confidence is gained to invite others to join.

- If asked to perform duties outside of one's expertise, the answer is always an enthusiastic yes.

- Although sometimes requested, time off is granted not demanded.

- Small talk is just that: small. Do not add unnecessary depth to conversation.

- Use of sarcasm in the office is still establishing itself. Heed caution: it varies on corresponding ages.

- One is to always empty the coffee upon departing the office. To forget leaves a burnt coffee pot. And a tarnished reputation.

- Leaving the office is to be celebrated again with a well-prepared mix... regardless of departure time.

More to come as time goes on.

Presidential Approval Ratings

Courtesy of the Wall Street Journal

Canada Attacks!