Crash

Those kinder suprise things aren't have bad eh? We got one a while ago, and put it together, and it's a little shark. You can make it close and open it's mouth. I think it's pretty cool anyway. It hasn't swam away yet, which is probably one of the reasons I think it is cool. Yup.

Story time! It all started back last Sunday. Nope, it started a long time before that, when we first planned to throw a party for the youth on April the twenty eighth. Letting it slide throughout the month, we needed to make sure everything was still good on this last Sunday. Half the leadership at that meeting couldn't come, or would be late. Sweet. Reid and I decided to try to make it fly like a kite, at least the people part of it. Others dealt with decorations and such.

The day of Friday came at last. I was pretty stoked, cuz I knew it was gonna be a party, and it's the weekend, and that's about all that I needed. The best thing about this party thing was we kept it a secret. Nobody knew. Not even the sound guys. After hanging out with Jon all day, we went to the church...to discover that the sound guys still thought we were doing stuff we would have normally done on a normal Friday. Worship and such. To make this part better, that Andrew guy, you know, the one taking leadership of the youth group, he came, and the sound guys told him there was no worship team. So they are all stressed. I think it's kind of funny. We pull together anyone who walks in the doors to be our worship team. It was quite weird.

We pulled out announcements and such, and then Sarah implemented a genius idea to get everyone downstairs. But it didn't quite work. But eventually we got everyone downstairs. And the stress left. I think it went pretty well after this point. I mean, what a great way to started bonding with the guy who will be taking over, right? And his wife. Who can't have chocolate until she isn't pregnant anymore. Great fun.

Some of us headed over to the crevice afterwards, and that was fun. Kyle and my brother Matthew were to be arriving later.

Just then, disaster struck.

My brother arrives at last. He got a ride with someone elses parents from where Kyle's driving fast at night didn't turn out so well. He crashed into a tree. The rear of the car just kinda slid around and smacked the tree good. The car isn't drivable anymore. The tree hit the car in the rear passenger side, and that's where my brother sat. But he said he was okay.

But he isn't really. It did stuff to his neck and leg and such. Just this morning he realized that he hit his head too. Why did it take so long? I'm thinking it may be similair to when you go on a polar bear swim, come out, then don't realize where you're hurt for a while. Shock and such. He is now skteched out in cars...sorta. More jumpy anyway. And the driver, Kyle, doesn't feel like driving anymore. At all. There might have been another person in the car too, but I'm not sure. Nobody was physically hurt in a way as to die, but the crash messed with their minds a bit.

That's the 'new and exciting' stuff. Not very fun though. Kind of creepy.

Chapter 2

I didn't know I had created soo many posts... Sorry? Or maybe not. I get excited when I find people updated their stuff, and the more posts there are, the more things are updated. But maybe the posts aren't worth reading. Gasp, why did I say that? Some of mine prolly aren't worth it. Especially for their length. But I don't think I've read one post so far that I regret reading. Every blog is different, talking about different things, or maybe the same things, in different ways. People have thoughts that they want out there. Or maybe they jus want everyone to share in the joy or pain or plainess of their day. There are crazy reasons for blogs out there.

Alright, so guess what book I aquired today? And you have to guess before you read much more, k? So, to fill this space before providing the answer, Today I was at Mike's for a bit. Just a short while before I had one of the most real conversations I've had recently. Real conversations don't come up around Werner much. Prolly cuz he doesn't know much how to deal with them. And maybe he's a tad off the deep end. Anyway, we enjoyed deep fried fries while pwning computers who don't know the art of Mario Kart. We unlocked it all. Everything. Hmm...Now what?

The book is called Velvet Elvis. By that Rob Bell guy. A while ago Graham was advertising it (man, I don't think I'd know anything current if it weren't for you. Thanks) so I went to the church library to get one. But it wasn't there. But today the librarian was like,'Hey, you wanted that book before, right?' So I got it. Woot woot. So far, I don't know much about it, but it seems to be this guys thoughts on christianity. If someone painted a painting, and it schooled all other paintings, the painter of the painting cannot tell all painters everywhere that they can no longer paint. Painting is not for he sake of creating the best picture ever. That's about as far as I got. Woot, first page.

So, my weekend was a beach party plus. Yesterday, We built an amazing fort, waded out to an island, and such...Some went garage sailing while I worked. Okay. Then today we went back to the fort of ship likeness, went swimming, almost dragged someone in who didn't want to go swimming in the ocean voluntarily, however she seemed to want to be forced to. Weird. And don't throw rocks at people. It doesn't make them happy.

Enjoying all this crazy beautiful weather has fully detered me from school mindset; something I'll need to make the teachers happy. I don't think I can go back and just settle into the routine again. Of course, that's what I think after every summer, when school comes in right after. Is it possible that a whole summer experience had just been encapsulated in one weekend? Maybe a normal one. But it doesn't look like I will be having a normal summer for a while.

Is it worth coming back to earth? There won't be crazy partying this next weekend as there was this one because of the main party bringer, whether he will admit it or not, will be attending his sister's graduation in Abbotsford. Looking ahead is hard though. You don't know what will happen. Except for small major things. That might not make sense, but it does. Like, some of my friend's leave for school in September. Alright, that is small now, but once it happens. It'll be like changing planets. I might be in a foreign country for about a month in the summer, but once summer is over and this new normalcy begins to set itself in place, It'll be more foreign than anywhere else I can go. That's my looking ahead right now. Pretty sweet eh? But so many amazing things are happening before that happens, so I don't want to look ahead, I just want to soak in the stuff that's happening now, like sun rays that burn your face, and enjoy it.

Gardening

So, today I had to mow my lawn. It's mine cuz my parents made me mow it. One day this whole house will be mine, and then it will be amazing. But right now, we'll deal with the lawn. I had to mow it yesterday too. Yeah, silly eh? Yesterday I mowed the grass outside the fence, and today was inside. And, mowing isn't as easy as for regular houses. We here live on a corner house. Yeah. That should give you a clue of how weird and cool my family is. Except for the dog.

But to get to my point, we used to have a strawberry patch. It made us strawberries in the summer, and they were delicious. We also used to have tomato plants. And a sandbox. And a decent swingset. Yup, when I was young, my backyard was pretty much amazing. You know what else there used to be? One of those plants that have the little fluffies on top. There are a whole bunch coming out of one plant, and you can break one off and use them for sword fights or...dusting...things...Do you know what I'm talking about? The stems could hurt your hands if you grabbed it wrong. Anyway, that plant got destroyed, probably to stop us from playing with it. We also had a fir tree right where the strawberry patch used to be. That's why the fir tree is gone. It made room for the strawberry patch. We also aquired a couple plum trees. They didn't turn out so well. And we have five apple trees, and one pear tree. And this thing that has about a million flowers, and even more bees.

So, maybe you can see that mowing the inside might have a million and two obstacles and such things to avoid. I decided to try under the trees first, cuz it's pretty tough under there. Heck, it's pretty tough anywhere...the grass ain't been cut for a while. So, I got up to where the patch of ground is that produced the beautiful strawberries. It doesn't anymore, but even so, when I looked, I had to go try to salvage the wreck. Back a ways, I used to help a guy named Mike Davis weed the church I used to go to's garden. It was sorta silly, cuz the pastor who was there before the pastor who got kicked out wanted the church expanded and such, and I think his wife wanted the garden and such, so expansion happened and a garden was built, and then they left.
It's silly cuz people are needed to tend gardens. And, fittingly enough, these people are called gardeners. They make plants look pretty. And everybody likes to look at pretty things.

I'm not a gardener though. All I was told was how to rip out the bad things. There are these tiny plants that Grow little white things at the top, prolly spores, and then they shoot away and make more. These were the main focus, so whenever I see them anywhere, then I really really really want to rip them out. They're bad and aren't supposed to be there...

Anyways, that majorly distracted me for a while. And, the lawn mower ran out of gas or something, and I couldn't find more, so the lawn is currently a wreck, kind of like how a five year old looks after they have just given themselves their first haircut done all by themselves. Unfinished.

There's lots of references to a gardener in a book that I read pretty frequently. It says we are vines, and some wise being who knows what he is doing is the gardener. A pretty good one at that. I'm sure all those mentionings of such things would make a lot more sense once these intracacies of the art are better understood, Wouldn't you say?

Everybody likes to look at pretty things.

Living Different?

Anonymous, I think I know who you are.

DEFEATED

Alright, now that we have this settled, You can come back and hear my stories. Like what happened today. I think the teacher that has been giving me the most homework (which I have an inability to do. Once I arrive at my house, or even just leave the school, garanteed nothing will get done on it. Affects the marks a tad.) has agreed to a deal where homework won't be relevent anymore. This will greatly reduce the amount of homework I will have in the future. This doesn't mean more free time really, because homework never really stopped me before, just better crap that says I pass.

Assigning lots of work to take home isn't teaching the student much, in my opinion. Good work habit skills. But I'm pretty sure if I don't have them by now, It will be an excrutiating amount of work to gain them. Not worth it. Now, if that's all homework REALLY teaches, And if it's too late to really force someone to learn the habits of work now, why are a million homework assignments assigned? It causes more work for the student and the teacher. And marks are what they attached to it to force us to complete it. Really, I think the whole system is silly. I want to learn, not to prove I can work. There are better ways for that.

Now I just have to do the million things that I haven't done yet for that establishment of 'education'. Sweet.

But it's all good. Cuz Easter is pretty much hear. At youth, we decided to veiw a video about silence, so naturally it is titled noise. Just to throw you off, ya know. And it all ties in with Easter. Silence, reflecting, listening. There are some really good spots around sidney to just go and chill. And, finally discovering an upside to living in a town of seniors on an island they make you pay to get off of, Seniors like peace and quiet. Well, some of them. So, the town caters to that, and therefore we can go almost anywhere. Good places of solitude and such. Some of my friends have shown me their places. At my spy cell, I challenged those who attended to look for a solitary place, somewhere to find God and such, you know? I think so anyways.

And, with Easter comes chocolate, like with Christmas, presents, and with Halloween, candy. Our 'holidays' become commercials. Great. How about we don't celebrate how the commercial says we should.

Everyday that passes brings us one step closer to the end of the world. Why should a single day then be wasted? And what can be done to not waste days? I don't know. It's easier to change with the change, if that makes sense.

Vheissu

My good buddy Jon Leubert(say it 'Lou Bear) lent me a cd of a band that I sort of knew of. Just to keep you in suspense, I won't tell you what the band is. But I like it. Nice blend of sounds and noise and such. The title might give you a hint.

So I've wanted you get my thoughts down pretty much all weekend, but there was never anytime. And, as it always is, once you finally get to where you can put them down, they flee like rabbits, holding their little white tails high over their heads, mooning you as they scurry away. Oh, to be a rabbit.

Do all you remember that little board game called settlers? Well, it gets more complicated. One of my friends turned old, so people gave him presents to make him feel better. Particularily, an addition to settlers that deals with something that pertains to knights. You thought the original settlers was crazy? Oh man, they add three more resources, calling them commoditties. Pretty much upgraded resources, used for upgrading a whole new unheard of set of things. Aquisition of these commodities is through cities. Remember how a city got you two resources? Well, brick and wheat still work that way, but for the other three, you get one of the resource and one of the commodity. And there's more, but as long as you can play settlers, you should be good at the rest. Explains why I failed....

Alright, a few weeks ago I went to this men's breakfast at the church (and let me tell you, These guys know how to eat! Eggs and sausage and pancakes and poridge and such. Where does poridge come from anyway?) Oh and it was April fools day, because they put sausages in the poridge. Don't think I'm spelling that right. Oh well. Anyway, there was this guy talking from a tv(he was recorded from a promise keepers thing from a long time ago) and he said lots of cool stuff, but the one thing I remember was that he said something to the sounding like 'it only takes one man to start a revival'. And if we want to go with this stupid political correctness, one woman would do too. But that was implied wasn't it? Yeah, so that gives each and every person a higher thing. I don't want to say calling, because I don't think that is what it is. But it made me think that if any one of us can start crazy world changing things just by living for God...

Let's go back a little. David- Shepard boy. Youngest of 7 or something crazy like that. Became one of the most renowned kings of all time. Moses- Just some lucky guy really, who God set aside. So that's a tad different, but he still lived for God. His face came to shine with a brilliance that was not his own. Or how about Elijah? He did amazing things, but was it his fault? What did he do some that those became done? Elisha too. So he had a double portion of the same spirit, but still. And then, we get to a different type of astounding life style with Hezekiah and Josiah. Did not all of these people change the times around them? Yet, it was hardly them.

How did they then life to become like that, because that's where I'd want to be. I found something else pretty cool...At least, it adds to the changing mind...

"Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, "I gave birth to him in pain." Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, "Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain." And God granted his request. "
1 Chronicles 4:9-10

It almost seemed to not belong. I don't know what the prayer rules are, but this one didn't seem to match up to what I thought they were. Shows how little I know. But it allgoes together somehow. I want to be someone whose life does more than just come and go. Maybe I'm not a leader in the way some others are. Another reason I miss Rob a tad, is because we had some really good talks. Maybe they weren't very often, but when they came...He likes to analyze things. To figure them out. I don't care so much. But even if I did, it's still hard to look into a mirror and figure out what's looking back at you. He helped me figure out how I work a little. And that probably contribute to figuring out what that guy is the miror is supposed to be. Now, I know what I want him to be. But nobody ever changed anything by living their own lives. Not really true, but do you get what I'm trying to say?

I know someone who can do it better, but where to go so he can have the controls? One step at a time though. If change happened too fast, nobody would know which way was up.

World Savers

Do you know who I've been missing more and more recently? Maybe it's silly, but I miss Rob. I mean, I thought I only missed his humour. You have to admit, for a youth pastor, he's pretty funny. But...okay, there was neutral zone today. Lots and lots (well, not really, but having them under your gaurdianship makes them LOTS) of preteen children, mostly guys. Hard to get them to focus on stuff. Now, remembering back to back in the day, somehow Rob managed to get most of the kids focused. There was an energy that radiated that I really don't know how to recreate. It's still good though. Still lacking leaders. Still 'normal'. Is that good?

And while that's normal, everything is still changing. Maybe it doesn't seem as obvious anymore because we've been in transition for a while now, but things are still warping out of shape into a new one, just a puddle of gray till we discover what we're going to be. And I don't think we're even halfway through this transition. Alright, so Andrew will come, and that will be fun, but the change won't be over. He will be with a new child in the summer-something different. Then in September we lose youth, simply because they grow up and go to school and such. Minimum of two, prolly more- something different (well, actually it's relatively normal, but I know some of the people leaving quite well, and their gonna be gone for a while). But change is good, right? As long as we keep moving forward.

Now, don't get me wrong change. Change is great. Hard sometimes, but if you don't persevere through the difficult, then forward movement will not exist. If we weren't around to carry on through the transitional phase, then we would not know where our youth group was anymore. It isn't the same as it was six months ago. I don't know if that means we've moved more forward or more backward, or stay at the same level, just a different style at that level if that makes sense, but it is different. Not being present through the transformation would leave a person feeling out of the loop, you know, slightly seperated. I guess I'm happy to go through this part of the youth group's life, so that the rest will make sense. At least we didn't lose any momentum.

So yeah, in a desperate attempt (well, not so desperate. I'm just trying to make a segway) to spend time with one of these kids who are leaving in September, I shall accompany him on a trip of daring devotion and humane humanity(just loving using lots of weird words...). Most likely to the Phillipines in the summer to help them out over there. It's kind of a homemade mission. Just two guys going off to save the world. Now, as known by all who have participated in a trip with a mission, you would know it is costly and such. I don't want to ask for your money though. Just lend me your prayers for a time, for direction and finance and such (Michael Cronk too. He pretty much saved my life).

One more thing before I wrap it up. My mother decided that I don't respect her and my father enough, so in an attempt to increase my respect for them, they used methods that I did not (and do not) entirely approve of. And when I say entirely, I mean not at all. But, it did get my attention. Things that aren't the most pleasing tend to do that for me. Anyway, I finally got her to define 'respect', or at least find something else to define it for her. And it's pretty long. I haven't completed the reading of it yet, however...it seems as though it may be worth it.

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/respect/#1

If you wish to learn stuff about it, there you go.

Now I'm off to save the world that is near.

Josiah's Journey

Okay, I'm sort of carrying on the story, cuz it stays decent for some time. And cuz I misidentified the prophet guy. They called him Isiah son of Goaz I think. I also think I forgot how to spell.

So, finishing up Hez's life, he had some babylonian visitors who he thought he'd give the grand tour to. So he did. They left, and all was well. Or was it? This prophet guy asks Hez' Who were they?' "Visitors from the distant land of Babylon" 'What did you show them?' "Everything. I showed them everything" 'Well, Many years from now, those people will come and take everything from your country. It'll be pretty bad' But Hez doesn't really mind, Cuz when he is alive, he will be fine, peace times and all. Then he died.

And his son, Manessah (sp?) took over. This guy was pure evil. He redid everything his father undid. And he was reigning for about 55 years too. 55 years of infuriating God. Don't do that. It ain't going to turn out well for you. So God was pretty mad now, and He spoke of how he would make this people of Judah lke those of Israel, who were exiled. So, eventually Ness here dies, and his son takes over.

Two years later he is murdered(this happened a lot with Israel's kings. But the assassinator became king instead of the king's son.) And all the people killed the assassinators, making Josiah, the king's son, into the king. And he was 8 years young. Now, he was doing something with distributing the temple money for repairs and such, something I'm sure another king did before, cuz I remember seeing it, When one of the guys working for Little J found the book of the law. He brought it and read it to our young king, And this distressed our young hero quite a bit. He wept and tore his clothes. Then he sent some people to find out what God was going to do to them, because of all the things that their fathers had done and lead the people to do. And the prophet lady(I think it was a lady) said' God says all this will happen. Judah will be plunged into turmoil, but since you wept and tore your clothes in my presence when you discovered the wrong that had happened, you won't have to see what I will do to these people.' Then Josiah went and pwnd the idols and falseness and everything that the people had been following instead of God. The bronze snake, he destroyed it. He destroyed all the high places, all the asherah poles, all the false prophets, everything dedicated to the false Gods. It was written that he followed the Lord with all his heart and all his soul and with all his strength, just as Moses had commanded. He didn't turn to the right or the left. Quite an amazing kid. He died in a fight with te pharoah of Egypt. And then the kings get bad, and I'm pretty sure God lets Judah become as Israel is. I'll letcha know if there are any other people worthy of mention in this here my blog.

And I'm learning to Drive!! Woot! So if any of you have advice for learning all that cal, leave one here. Greatly appreciated.

When It Rains, It Pours

Not true around here. Maybe somewhere else where I've been but not here. Here it's just been wet for the past few days.

So, I don't know anything about weather. I could tell you about Mcdonalds.
#1. I'm not the janitor.
#2. I didn't get fired. Not yet anyways.

Apparently these thoughts floated abouts. Don't know how or why, but it doesn't really matter now does it? And I don't want to talk about Mcdonalds anymore.

Let's talk about day light saving time. I was actually really looking forward to this time. Lighter evenings, longer days...So we get a bit screwed up around the beginning. Whatever, it's worth it. But I get up to do papers, and my leg is gimped. It's fine if I stay still, but you've got to walk to do papers. Go to sleep again, and it's fine upon awakening. Now the eyes just hurt. Why? Who knows. But they don't hurt when closed. Then the head. This day was a painful beginning to a day of saving light. We started a drama type dilly today too. That may have been why the head hurts. It's all about Easter and such, with Jesus and Judas and Gaurds and Pilate and Mary and Mary. Not A bad one. Poor Jesus gets hammered with shots from the gaurds though. Filling in for Jesus is kinda tough. Haha, just wait for the real one to come in. Muahaha.

Now, I honestly thought I had more words to say, but they've vanished. And as I look at the clock, It says it is almost ten, but in reality it nears the eleventh hour. Apparently I'm going to fail Socials too. Sweet eh? I love it when the teacher let's you know these things. You know, cuz if they don't, it's not like it's important or anything. Rebelling against the system just isn't working. So I should rest, so at least I'll fail well rested.

But I just remembered a cool story I read the other day, so I have to tell you. Turn with me in your bibles to 2 kings, chapter...I dont know the rest. Somewhere near the end. Right after Israel becomes exiled from their home. There was an interesting thinger right after that too. But I'm trying to get to the reign of King Hezekiah. Or something like that. He was a cool king, In fact, the best one Judah had after they split from Israel. He followed God like David did, and he destroyed the things that lead ythe people astray, the alters on high places and the asherah poles and such. So, the Assyrians Destroyed most of Judah's fortified cities, and then sent some guy named sennacherib to Jerusalem I believe it was, with lots of men. This cherib guy said, 'come with us so we don't have to slaughter you. No one elses gods have saved them, so what makes you think yours can?' But the people stayed quiet, cuz the king told them to. Then the rib man came back again and saaid the same thing pretty much. Both time Hez took the stuff before God, then Elisha came and said 'God heard you, and you'll be fine. Just stick with Him and you'll be fine'. So he stuck. And God killed the assyrians enough to make them go away. Quite the cut too. Almost 200,000 I believe. And Hez lived happily ever after. Til' he got sick. Then Elisha came and was like' Yo man, The Most Holy of the Holies says that you'd better put your place in order, because you ain't gonna recover'. Something like that. Then our pal Hez goes to God saying' Remember me, Remember how I walked with you, Remember how I followed you in everyway'. Then Elisha returns and says' I got another message for ya. God heard your pray and says' You shall recover, for I am adding fifteen more years to your life. You're going to see many things you wouldn't have seen if you died when you would have.' And they're all good things too. That's about as far as I am in the story now. I shall continue it along more tonight. And, if any of you wish to join me in mine and mike's travelling through the Bible in one year type thing, lemme know. You can skip ahead to where we are or something and we'd have a whole group of goodness.

Awesome Possum