Movin' on

My Grandma saw her last sun set on Chrstmas eve and met her Maker on Christmas day. The cancer that she had fought for months finally took her away. I drove to Del. with some of my family on thursday for the funeral. It was a fun and sad time for the cousins. There was the normal joking. The Aunts made sure we understood one thing: no explosives in the coffin. The grave side scene seemed like it was right out of a sad movie. The blue gray sky blew rain on people huddled around a grave with umbrellas and trench coats. Everyone cried as we shoveled dirt into the grave. And just like that, Grandma was gone.

While death is hard, it will allow some normacy in my family. Her illness took a lot of energy from my mom, and it left the home without much structure.

Anyone out there?

I've been wondering how many people actually visit this blog. So for next 7 days (until Dec. 30) if you visit, please leave a comment with your first name. If you want, tell what you liked best about the blog or a story about me and you.

A wild Goose chase?

So I started a new job. It is kind of a wild goose chase, except I don’t chase geese. I’m after chickens, and lots of them. Being at home for a while made me decide to try something new and exciting. In my case “new and exciting” means working 3^rd shift catching chickens. It is everything you could imagine and more. We catch chickens; way more than you would imagine. They guys I work with are rough. They have managed to integrate the same profanity into every sentence. I didn’t know an expletive could be made into a noun, verb, and an adjective. It is just proof that the English language is in a constant state of evolution. And I get paid. You would think that something as simple as catching chickens would pay $5/hr. But no, I get about $120 (gross) a night and spend 1/3 of the night sitting on the bus.

A wedding and a bumper

Yet another cousin has married off. This time it was Sim marrying Janelle. We had to go the whole way out to Middlebury IN for the wedding, but it was well worth it. The wedding was a simple, sacred, and really fun time. I rode with Sim to the wedding, except that he missed a turn and hit a fence before he got out of the lane. While I’m sure he wasn’t happy about it at the moment, give him ten years and it will be a good laugh. With the broken off bumper we took up a collection at the wedding for repairs: that $ will do a little for the front right corner of his Mercedes.

Cleaning and cooking

This past monday I got laid off work. A landscaper can only work so long until the work runs out and the weather gets bad. So now I'm at home doing what needs done. Right now what needs done is a lot of "motherly" things. My mom has been spending a lot of time in Del. with my dying grandmother, and I get the privilage of picking up all the loose ends that someone needs to take care of. So I've been house cleaning and making supper each night

Cooking is one of those things that I never learned growing up, but it really isn't that hard, if you know what you are doing. But it seems I operate in a constant state of confusion. "Where is the chili powder? Can glass go in the microwave?" So far I haven't done anything that has had strong negative concequences.

Why I am not a Mennonite

It’s kind of a deceptive title, because I am still a Mennonite. Maybe a better title is “Why I’m sick of Mennonites” But whatever you call this entry, here it is for all of you who have asked for it. I don’t feel like it is very clear or concise, but ask questions if they arise.

Over the past few years I have been noticing an increasing trend among the MC USA crowd. Many of them love to talk about being a pacifist, and they love to tell other people that they should become pacifists. I’m a pacifist; I strongly believe that the love of Christ is stronger than violence. But these people have meetings and classes on how to be good pacifists. People go to Washington to protest wars that violate their personal pacifistic beliefs. What makes me sick of Mennonites is this increasing focus on their pacifist status. A friend told me “what you focus on will consume you”. I think that’s true, in all this focus on being a pacifist, a person can loose track of the most important thing: Christ.

Recently I ended up at a service/rally at which Jim Wallis spoke. He was strongly promoting pacifism and morals as part as something that we should encourage in government. I agree. A moral and pacifistic government is a wonderful idea. But how he wanted us to get there intrigued me. He said that in a few weeks he was going to Washington with others to pray somewhere that would get them in trouble. His hope was that he would be arrested and thus draw publicity to what he was promoting. It would seem to me that he has lost a grasp on the purpose of prayer. It is of course not a show to demonstrate righteousness; it is powerful. Is praying to get arrested the way Jesus would change society? I think we are best off if we concentrate on becoming like Christ, he was after all the best pacifist ever.

Now by saying this I’m sure I will arouse quite a response from some of you. That’s fine. I don’t mind responses. Please don’t feel like I am personally attacking you. If people want to focus on Peace and Justice they can feel free, my main concern is that they will allow their faith in Christ to be eroded. And of course, if you want to talk to me about my thoughts I am more than glad to.

You cannot serve both God and money

I've been thinking about money a lot recently. Being off work for Jury Duty and taking out a school loan have been part of that. After a while it starts to dominate your thoughts. And so I found comfort in this verse. If you play with the words you can make it say: Both you and money can serve God.

I may be going into debt, but I'm doing it because I want to serve God. I belive that God will take care of me (and I am not using that as an excuse to live beyond my means). I think the important thing to gain from my wonderings about money is that trust in God is the only way. We can't always see how things wil end up, but we can follow God's leading.

Fires and Jury duty

Big Flames In the Night Sky

A guy driving his car ¾ of a mile away felt an explosion and saw a ball of fire above this chicken house. I watched the fire trucks from my window. Now our unfortunate neighbor has to clean up and rebuild. All from a broken gas line.

In other news, I had Jury duty. On the second day I was put on panel of 36 people, and out of that panel I was chosen to be one of the 12 that sat on a jury.

The case was the District Attorney vs. a guy for drug charges. What made the case interesting was that the guy was “accidentally” arrested. The Police were doing a sting operation and he happened to fit the description of another guy they were looking for. When they pulled up, he ran into his house. They followed him in and found drugs in the house. If he hadn’t run he would have been released that night.

Jury duty has a bad rap, but it’s not all that bad. Sitting and listening to witnesses and detectives isn’t so bad. It was cool to be involved in the process of justice and to see how it works. I wish the lawyers would take acting lessons, they were incredibly cheesy. But all things told, we deliberated for 7 hrs and ended up as a hung jury

The couch potato fitness program

It Could Change Your Life!

Dr. Atkins led millions to and from obesity with his breakthrough "Atkins Diet". People's weight changed by doing what they love: eating meat. What a hero! Now that he has died from a heart attack we should all celebrate a date as "Atkins day". Maybe everyone could have off work to have family gatherings. Grilling could be the main event, but only meat that doesn't require a carb filled bun. I suggest we celebrate on April the first.

And now, after that introduction, I present my very own fitness program "The couch potato fitness program". After some in depth research and careful feild testing I have tailored this program to apeal to the group that I call "the couch potato". Most people on the CPFP have two desires: First, they want to get in shape. And secondly, they want to watch less TV. With my program they will accomplish both (or at least one) and come out looking better.

Here is how it works. You can watch as much TV as you want. Every time there is a comercial break, you drop down and do ten pushups. Its that simple. Generally you will do 60-70 pushups an hour. Within a day you will be feeling different and have a strong desire to change your TV viewing habits. I do allow one exception. When viewing TV in public places or at other people's homes you do not need to do pushups.

The program works. I have been watching the tube much less the last three weeks and feel much stronger. Yesterday I actually had two middle aged women say to me "you can be our bouncer" as we walked out of the court house downtown.

So there you have it folks! Better TV habits, a ripped body, and soccer moms all in three weeks!



Coming soon:
- Why I am no longer a "Mennonite"
-My thoughts about being on a Jury during a criminal trial

A tree and a very important person

About the tree: It is a stately fir that stands over 6' high. I saved it from a certain death in the chipper. Most Americans participate in the tree slaughter this time of year, so I protested by "saving" a tree. Ok, so let's be serious. What practical purpose does a tree serve? It marks the spot where the loot is stored. Bigger trees are bigger markers. But brighter trees can be seen at night. With this in mind I used a large number of white lights just incase a late night raid was needed.

About Sarah: She is a girl whom I highly respect. She is fun to be around, interesting to talk to, and of course highly intelligent. Right now we have a kind of mutually exclusive romantic relationship going on, and have been that way for almost a year. She enjoys words, India, and learning. Right now she is in India telling people things and writing me letters.