Concentrate, JC, Concentrate! No, procrastination is way too much fun. I've been reading bloggers today at the same time as researching Pastoral counseling. Kinda worked, kinda didn't. I'm still coughing and have that ear infection and concentration is hard. *sigh*

I just put some more bloggers on the list so that I wouldn't forget to look at them. See I have this pattern of looking at my blog and then going down the list of friends. Problem is, there are a few bloggers out there that are passworded that I didn't originally link to that I kept forgetting to go to. Thus I lost track of some friends. So, I've added them to the list with the [pwd] designation. If you didn't want your name there, you can always tell me so. I figure with the pwd that you are protected. Anyways... It's a way to keep me in touch with everyone.

Oh, I was just thinking of someone who I haven't seen in my internet circles in a very long time. Janene (Miss Rosy originally on the RI) has dropped off the face of the internet. I wonder where she is and how she's doing....

Camera happy!

Tree and sun
Originally uploaded by jcforgod.

I just bought a digital camera a couple of weeks ago. I have just now uploaded some of the pics to flickr. Enjoy!

For some odd reason I've been listening to country music alot more in the last 6 months or so. The other night I was listening, and it really started making me homesick for the country. I was raised semi-rural (we lived in towns smaller than 5,000 and usually on the edge of town) and so was almost a country boy. Now that I'm living in a city of 150,000 and have assimilated the college culture of coffee shops, late night movies, etc. I occaisionally find myself longing for the more rural life.

I would love to live in a smaller town, on an acre or so, with a shop and a garden, rabbits, and maybe some goats. I can see myself doing things that I remember my dad doing but I know that some of those activities would suite me well. I'd like to make chairs and clocks, grow my own veggies, chop my own firewood, and be able to live off of a little piece of land. I don't think I could be a farmer, but I wouldn't mind living in the country.

So yeah, that's what Country Music is doing to me lately...

As far as my sickness goes, Mom was right. I have a sinus infection that is being treated with Amoxicillian. I've taken four pills and am starting, mind you, just starting to feel a bit better. I called Mr. S. last night about getting an extension on my paper (1/3 of the class grade), but had to leave a message. He called me this morning and told me that he knew that I was genuinely sick and wasn't going to penalize that. I can take as much time as I need. So that was an answer to prayer.

Now just to get better so that I can catch up with all the different things I have missed. I did make it to class today - big achievement!

Life has kinda come to a standstill for me this past week. Friday I was starting to feel ill and then it hit me full force on Saturday. I don't think I've ever had a sore throat that made it so hard for me to swallow, as well as make me brain dead. So I didn't go to church, or any of my classes. Problem is, I also haven't been able to do any homework. Today is the first day that my brain is halfway working, but I really don't know how much homework I'll be able to get done.

Currently I'm sitting in the student center waiting for laundry to get done. I figured that washing my bedding would help against a relapse.

Let's see... I've got a stance paper due tomorrow in Pastoral Skills, a greek test, a quiz to make up, a paper due in Pastoral Counseling - one third of the total grade, and a tone of reading. Stressed out? Yes.

One of the good things though, is that I have an interview scheduled with Pastor Nate up in Everett (still need to figure out that spelling) for May 8th after church. That's right after Steve and Liz's wedding on the 7th, so I'll be in town. I'm looking forward to it.

Well, I'm going to go check my laundry and then try to write that stance paper. tata

Now I'm scared. AFter posting that rant about profound thoughts, I now have to live up to the bar I just set! *laughs* Okay, I can do this! Profound thoughts...

Ryan and his wife had me over to dinner and a movie on Friday. After the movie we started talking about all sorts of different subjects. Ryan thinks deeply and we have some very interesting conversations. One of the concepts/ideas/things we talked about was whether you had to agree with everything a person believed in order to receive knowledge or ministry from them.

One of the examples I was playing devil's advocate with was what if I was a pastor who didn't think abortion was wrong, say in the first trimestor. Would you be able to receive my ministry once you found out about it? Or another example would be that I'm Baptist or Lutheran or whateve and don't believe in the gifts of the Spirit, yet I have a great grasp of the Bible, etc. Can you receive a teaching from me? How about if I didn't believe in a literal 6 day creation? Or take C.S. Lewis - I have heard that he was a Theistic Evolutionist. Now in his case, we don't know how much brain power he put into researching that and from what I know, it really doesn't permiate his writings. Just because I don't believe in Theistic Evolution doesn't mean I have to throw out everything he says.

So can we apply that to the pro-choice pastor? The liberal preacher? Where do we draw the line?

With the abortion issue, I would have some problems sitting under a pastor who didn't believe in the sanctity of life. After discussing it with him and if I discover he won't consider other views, I'd be leaning towards leaving his church.

My focus in discussing this is more to draw a line and know where the line is going to be, than to say that such and such is wrong. What are the issues that you can let go and what are the ones that totally discredit a person from speaking into your life? I've had to start thinking about this with all the different viewpoints I receive here in college. I have my standards and even if they are crossed I can weed out the good from the bad.

So there's my profound thought for the day or week or such.

I've always wanted to have one of those blogs where people come to be enlightened or encouraged by some sort of profound thought. James is one of those people who seem to think deep thoughts and be able to type them up and publish them for the world to see, and on a fairly regular basis. It's not that I don't have deep thoughts, it's just that I have a hard time putting them into coherent and persuasive language. That's why I've stayed away from the Debate board on the RI. That's why this blogger is more of a place to put what I'm doing and what's going on in my life than my opinions or an expose on anything.

I believe in transparency (to a certain extent of course), but of late I have had a really hard time getting those thoughts out. So instead I post jokes, or tell you what I'm wearing, or do some sort of creative writing. I want to get past that. I want my blogger to become a writing pad, a place where I can muse about anything and maybe even start some discussion.

Most of my readers are friends from many years and they've seen my various cycles of writing. I've been gloomy at times. I've been self-pitying. I've written joyful posts. I've written things that might have been profound. I've done a lot with this blogger. And yet... Somehow I feel I may have sold myself short, thinking that the thoughts that run through my brain aren't worth anything. "No one cares what I think about this or about that" can be found running around in the recesses of my cranal cavity. I know this is false, but yet, it still can stop me from writing.

To this I say: Never more will I stop the thoughts from appearing on screen/paper! nevermore will I think my thoughts are trivial and not worth a penny! From now on, you shall be regaled with the thoughts from the wells of my thought process.

The Men's List:

Finally, the guys side of the story. We always hear "the rules" from the female side. Now here are the rules from the male side. These are our rules!


*Please note... these are all numbered "1" ON PURPOSE!


1. Learn to work the toilet seat. You're a big girl. If it's up, put it down. We need it up, you need it down. You don't hear us complaining about you leaving it down.

1. Sunday = Sports. It's like the full moon or the changing of the tides. Let it be.

1. Shopping is NOT a sport. And no, we are never going to think of it that way.

1. Crying is blackmail.

1. Ask for what you want. Let us be clear on this one: Subtle hints do not work! Strong hints do not work! Obvious hints do not work! Just say it!

1. Yes and No are perfectly acceptable answers to almost every question.

1. Come to us with a problem only if you want help solving it. That's what we do. Sympathy is what your girlfriends are for.

1. A headache that lasts for 17 months is a problem. See a doctor.

1. Anything we said 6 months ago is inadmissible in an argument. In fact, all comments become null and void after 7 days.

1. If you won't dress like the Victoria's Secret girls, don't expect us to act like soap opera guys.

1. If you think you're fat, you probably are. Don't ask us.

1. If something we said can be interpreted two ways, and one of the ways makes you sad or angry, we meant the other one.

1. You can either ask us to do something or tell us how you want it done. Not both. If you already know best how to do it, just do it yourself.

1. Whenever possible, please say whatever you have to say during commercials.

1. Christopher Columbus did not need directions and neither do we

1. ALL men see in only 16 colors, like Windows default settings.Peach, for example, is a fruit, not a color. Pumpkin is also a fruit. We have no idea what mauve is.

1. If it itches, it will be scratched.

1. If we ask what is wrong and you say "nothing," we will act like nothing's wrong. We know you are lying, but it is just not worth the hassle.

1. If you ask a question you don't want us to answer, expect an answer you don't want to hear.

1. When we have to go somewhere, absolutely anything you wear is fine... Really.

1. Don't ask us what we're thinking about unless you are prepared to discuss such topics as baseball, the shotgun formation, or monster trucks.

1. You have enough clothes.

1. You have too many shoes.

1. I am in shape. Round is a shape.

1. Thank you for reading this: Yes, I know, I have to sleep on the couch tonight, but did you know men really don't mind that, it's like camping.