Random Conciseness

I was at McDonald's tonight...man that stuff is bad for you...and I ordered the McDeal which was the two cheeseburger meal... Anyway I am sitting down and went to put my straw in my drink when I realized that they didn't give me a straw. They were really busy so I didn't think anything of it and went and asked for one.

As I was enjoying my meal I overheard a man next to me and he asked where his straws were. Then the guy with him said, and I quote, "You probably have to ask for those too. Napkins, ketchup, salt...if you want something round here I guess you have to ask for it."

What the crap is his problem? What the crap is our problem? Heaven forbid that if we want something that we have to ask for it. I didn't complain today but I bet if it were a different day I may have and I know I have done so before in similar situations. Where do we get off expecting so much? Is there something wrong in our head?

Well there is with this guy...

For some reason Karim Diab trained for two years to be able to withstand below freezing temperature water for an hour. And he didn't move around to keep warm...nope he stood still and he beat the previous record by 15 minutes. Hats off to you my Russian friend, now that communism is gone you can do whatever you want...and you chose standing in water for an hour. Way to go.

Well It's Official...

Ok, I think the apocalypse may be coming.

First the NHL and the dumb lockout. A bunch of greedy owners versus a bunch of greedy players who couldn't figure out a way to share millions of dollars, what a sorry bunch. Now Major League Baseball and the whole steroid thing. Now these guys are making money too, lots of it. However they are cheating for that money, taking it from people who work hard all their lives to play baseball for a living.

I grew up playing and watching baseball and out of all the sports I love it the most. I once had a childhood dream to play pro. Obviously that didn't happen or the name of this blog would be something like The Slugger Speaks or something dumb. Now baseball is a sport that requires many different skills: speed, accuracy, hand-eye co-ordination, concentration and so on. When I was growing up and playing I wanted to do all those things to the best of my ability and there are guys playing AAA and AA that are doing the same, wanting a chance to play with the best. But steroids is taking the best away from the game.

Sure home-runs are exciting to see simply because of the awe of how big of a feat it actually is. I mean hitting a ball over 500 feet ain't easy by any stretch of the imagination. And to be able to do it all natural is astounding. Same with being able to push a car up a hill by yourself. But if you knew that I was doing it with a Mack truck it wouldn't be as cool would it?

There should be strict steroid testing in every sport. If there isn't there will always be the question looming over every athlete, "I wonder if he's on the juice..." Sports is something that is fun to watch because people can do amazing things, make amazing plays, but if they use steroids to do it doesn't that mean that anyone can do it?

Growing up...Do We Take It Too Seriously?

This is something that I have been pondering over for a while now, the subject of growing up. Some things that I have observed over the last couple of months in my own life and the life of others has prompted me to ask this question.

Do people really "grow up", or do they just take themselves too seriously?

Now I know that we do mature and that is something that is definitely needed, but to what extent? There are things that we need to take more seriously such as financial matters, family, etc, but does that mean that you have to totally revamp the person that you are? Or is that just something that we think that we have to do in order to be successful in life?

Do you know any friends that you had in high school or college that are totally different now then you once knew them? I know I do and sometimes I get the feeling that they kind of look down on me a little bit because I am not as "mature" as they are now and it frustrates me.

What brings this on? Well marriage is a big one and the most common that I have seen. I know people that think they automatically grew-up because they got married. What's the deal? No more guys nights, no more dumb jokes, and the list goes on.

So I'd like to know what other people think about this cause it's something that I think is a big issue. Thanks,

Sorry We Didn't Mean To...

So is that one little phrase, "We're sorry, we made a mistake" be all that the US has to say to Italy after all that transpired this weekend? "Sorry we didn't mean to shoot one of your secret service cars...or Sorry we didn't mean to kill one of your agents and injure the journalist that was rescued by him from her captors.

Well it's been a couple of weeks/posts since I have written anything controversial or anything that is conversation worthy in a while. However as I was sitting home and watching CNN this story came on and I immediately thought BLOG.

So incase you don't know what I am talking about, an Italian journalist that was being held hostage was rescued from her captors by Italian secret service agents. And as they were making there way to an airport they came to an American check point when the soldiers manning that check point opened fire on the car injuring the journalist and killing the agent that had rescued her.

Now the facts of the event in question seem to differ between the two nations. The Italian journalist and secret service say that they were driving toward the check point and then were fired upon by American troops. The US maintains that the car was speeding towards the check point and ignored waving hands and warning shots, leaving them no choice but to fire upon the car.

So who are we to believe here? A journalist that just escaped from being held hostage, or the US army? Well the majority of people are probably going to go with the army. And you know what, I don't nessacarilly think that they were in the wrong completely. There are hostile conditions that they are working in and for all they knew it could have been a car bomb. However was the check point that they were manning a permanent one or one that had been made hastily that would give the appearance that it may give the impression that the journalists captors were trying to stop her?

Yes there are many things that both parties could have done to potentially prevent the incident. I guess what gets me is the failure on the US's part, so far, to admit any kind of responsibility for the occurrence. All they have said is that they were sorry. Is that enough? Should that help the Italian people and their government knowing that the US sends their condolences?

Should the US maintain their side of the story? Or maybe work in co-operation with one of their strongest allies in Europe (Italy) and maybe own up to some stuff? Or do they have to maintain their position that whatever happens in Iraq is the "right" thing?

God is Awesome!!

Well it's officially posted. I can now talked about the fact that I will once again be traveling for Bethany Bible College this summer!! And I have to say that I am super excited to be doing so! I am actually, to be more specific, the team leader of ALIVE and I have a really great team. I have to say that it was hard to keep all this in since I have known about this stuff for a month or so.

For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about, I am part of a worship band that my school sends out each summer to different summer camps. There are three other teams apart from mine. One other worship band, a drama team and the brand new servant team.

You know that excited feeling that you get in your tummy before something big happens? Well I have that constantly all the time now! It's great! I love traveling, but more then that I love the camps that we go to and the kids that I get to meet. The best part about doing it a second time is that I may have the opportunity to re-connect with some kids that I met last summer. And as a youth pastor in training I know how crucial it is to have constant relationships with teens and so I am expecting God to do great things this summer! Praise God from whom all blessings flow!!

PS - I would really appreciate any prayers that you guys can give between now and the end of August for this subject. All of our teams have a great chance to impact teens lives for the kingdom, so just ask that hearts would be being prepared already. Thanks.