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| when i was 13, i realized it was time to start shaving. i didnt have
any shaving cream so i snuck into my parents bathroom and went under
dads sink. ive seen him shave a number of times before and new where
everything was. i spotted a can of colgate shave cream, and extracted
myself from the premises with the missing toiletry being the only
evidence i was there.
i have never had to shave every day. i do it
now every other day and during my teenage years, i only had to do it
about once a week. when i was 18, i bought an electric shaver and used
that most of the time until i was 23 when i grew fond of shaving the
traditional way while in the shower. the electric allowed for little
cleanup needs, convenience, and speed but didnt give that fresh faced
feeling and didnt shave as close. using shaving cream and a razor gives
u those things but creates a big mess, thats why i made it part of my
shower routine.
that can i jacked from dad 13 years ago was
finally retired last night when it had no more to give. it seems to be
a miracle that it lasted this long and has been my go-to cream since i
started the shower shaving routine. i dont think its an embellishment
to say that can has gotten me through 1000 shaves. when elijah was
going from town to town prophecying, he stopped by a hut where a woman
and her son lived. elijah asked her to make him a meal but she said
that she has enough grain and oil for one more meal and then theyll
die. elijah insisted and she hooked him up. after elijah left, the
woman would always have enough oil and grain for another meal and they
never died of starvation like she expected to. i dont think God would
mind me saying my almost bottomless colgate can is much different. | | |
| i was wondering the other day how things would be if i lived during the
time of Christ. ive always had a good time bashing the pharisees for
their unwillingness to accept the lowly Jesus of nazareth as the Son of
God but would it have been easy for me to do that? pharisees were an
arrogant group though and their highest priority always seemed to be
being in the spotlight, hopefully being seen and heard praying or
making sacrifice. everybody knew about it when a pharisee fasted. but
if im living at that time and in that region, wearing my nike sandals
and gentiles jersey and im considered among the righteous, a believer
in moses law and a respecter of Gods chosen people and some dude comes
along claiming to be born of a virgin and mercy and love is now more
important than eye for an eye, how am i gonna automatically believe
Him. ive lived my whole life sacrificing spotless animals and taking it
easy on the sabbath even when my buddies ox gets caught in the ditch.
now this Guy is saying go ahead and help a brother out even if it is
the sabbath.
the pharisees were highly skeptical for 2 reasons i
think. 1 is that Jesus was stealing their spotlight and 2 He was
claiming life now should be lead a lot differently than the great moses
wants us to. i can understand 2 and im sure it would be hard for me to
change overnight too.
Jesus was raised by mary and joseph. mary is
a 14 year old girl claiming to be a virgin giving birth and joseph is a
poor carpenter that is stupid enough to believe his finace mary. so
they definately werent bright enough to teach young Jesus all He needed
to know in order to have meaningful conversations with rabbis. when
Jesus turned 30, He started His ministry. He went around the region
preaching Himself and healing people which was quite impressive so
maybe this is enough evidence for me to believe He is the Christ. one
problem is that i know the devil has power too and im sure theres been
many who claim to be the Christ while also having significant ability
to do some eye catching stuff. so how do i know that i would be as
enlightened as i am today about Him?
heres how: i mentioned i am
well versed in the law or old testament and the 4 major
prophets(isaiah, jeremiah, daniel, and ezekiel) go into great detail
about how we will know who is the true messiah. they pinpointed where
he would be born, the unsexually active mother, His name being called
emmanuel, and the financially challenged earth dad among many other
details impossible to blindly predict.
its a good thing the B.C. stephen is so smart. | | |
| thankfully u people know me and know that the title doesnt lead to a
post about adult films. my last name isnt as common as i once thought
since i recently saw a long list of americans with the same last name,
pulling away some of the smooth cache that comes with having a goofball
last name.
having the house is great and will be exponentially so
when im moved in and everything is taken care of. but theres one big
hurdle before i get to that point and its something i hate
doing...relying on people i dont know or trust. im currently waiting
for the electrician to put in the stove which is sitting in the garage
and to clean up the cable outlets and ive called him 4 times. 2 times
he said he forgot and one of those times he said he was on my very road
doing someone elses house and thinking he had something else to do
there but couldnt remember. my parents had rough times with builders
and now i am. i decided that doctors and lawyers are the only
professions in which if they screw up then the client is put in a worse
spot than construction dudes blunders. the difference here is doctors
and lawyers have educations while all u need to construct is a person u
know doing the same thing.
that being said, God hooked me up bigtime
with this house considering the price, land size, and probable resale
value. not to mention xan whos gonna help me with the monthly costs by
living in a room.
ull see im currently watching the n word but thats
a lie. i actually watched it the other day but thought id say something
about it. its a documentary involving celebrities, college professors,
harlem residents, stanford kids(who tripped all over the questions
mostly), and a couple white dudes discussing the origin, evolution, and
meaning of the n word. i enjoyed watching it but theres no way to come
to a conclusion based on what they all say cuz they all had different
feelings about it based on how often they heard it growing up. so i
suggest everyone have my opinion on it and that opinion is that theres
no reason to ever say it. rap music has helped changed the
pronounciation(a vs. er) and the definition now being more of a buddy
or just some dude regardless of race. even with the new definition
though its still too close so the only time it comes outta my mouth is
to preserve the integrity of the rap im currently listening to be it
from speakers or in my head. | | |
| "I answer the heroic question 'Death, where is thy sting?' with 'It is here in my heart and mind and memories.'" -- Maya Angelou
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the saying "God works in mysterious ways" is an easy way to stop wondering what could possibly going through His head up there. its so very easy to thank, praise and worship when things go well. moms birthday was 3 days ago so u would think she would be on my mind alot more than usual but she wasnt and the reason is cuz she continues to be on my mind almost constantly no matter what day it is. thankfully, im positive that life goes on for her and shes happy on the streets of gold. her death was easily the most traumatic and heartbreaking thing ive endured but i always knew Gods hand was on the situation and continues to be. i assume He knows that many lives were touched by hers and would continue to be if she were still here. being the encouragement and witness that she was would seem to be enough to keep her alive for another 50 years if that is indeed the goal the Bible makes us believe. on the other hand, i have a dear friend who recently started to make decisions based on Gods desires rather than his own. he decided that he should spend money better and a few days later he got a raise. he changed his thinking on how to conduct dating relationships and soon after, he gains a girlfriend who sees things the way he does and he loves her alot more than any other hes had. God saw someone change their mind this late in life cuz they knew it was right and He proved they did the right thing by blessing him like He did solomon. solomon asked for wisdom and since he could have asked for riches and chicks but didnt, he still got these goods. God has always been on my side. good things happen to me 99% of the time. if theres a tough situation looking at me, it always works out for the best. if i pray for something, i always either get it or my favorite, i get it in a different and better way than i expected, even in the last coupla months. the reason is cuz since i was 13, ive prayed hard for the things God would want me to have such as wisdom, discretion, and Biblical fruits. when i do pray for something just for me i include the desire that whatever happens be Gods will. so why does mom have to be somewhere else when here on earth, so many people would be happier? God works in mysterious ways, meaning i have no idea but i trust its the right thing cuz God has proven over and over His ability to see whats best ahead of time. | | |
| yesterday was 9 years since moving to tennessee. i spent the day thinking about what would be, had we never moved. i probably woulda finished high school at palmetto high even though i never went there. in 10th, i stayed at home three days a week and went to a small presbyterian church for the other two but near the end of the year the parents were discussing palmetto high although i would have objected so i could keep playing basketball for community christian. when i graduated i probably woulda went to manatee community college for a year or two and then south florida in tampa trying to recruit daaaaave the whole way. it gets interesting to think of the people situation though. had i stayed in florida, daaaave would remain my best friend and the iveys being very close but erik, becky, matt, sammie, and the rest either moved away or fell off the map. odd to think about life without jeff and xan and the multitude of girlfriends(multitude being only 3). moving certainly didnt help the family, ill tell ya that. money was never a concern in florida since dad always had good jobs but we moved here and mom took on the majority work load, got cancer twice and died. she was not happy living in tennessee even though shes the only one that wanted to move. she wanted out of the rut in florida and wanted to be near her parents, both understandable reasons but she thought dads drawings would sell and everything would work out. she didnt see the pain with building houses and being in time share as long as she was. i have no idea if cancer woulda happened just the same in florida, i suppose it would have except that mom took on alotta stress here in the smokies. and of course the untimely, yet cancer-causing death of my dear fatz. crazy how much has happened since the move. dad said not too long ago that hes never felt at home in tennessee like he did in florida and i totally agree so i try to surround myself with people that dont have accents and think this whole mess about southern hospitality is crap since u take it in return for the ability to say what u want since if ur not sickeningly friendly and have opinions then ur not fitting in. this makes me respect the tennesseans that i know all the more who do not maintain the stereotype. well done kristin, amie, lauren, mitchell, and whoever else. | | |
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