Fajitas, Dumpster Diving, and Tow Trucks

Last night was the weekly Chuck Fields hangout. He's my BFF. Duh. I like to look at my life and wonder how in the world things have fallen into place as they have. You know that verse in Ephesians that says "to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine"....yeah, well God has done that with me. Back to Chuck Fields. He is 41 and the man and we met at Hope Point probably but I also bought a house a few years ago down the street from him. So we hung out a lot and now we like to sing "My Buddy" together on our Teddy Ruxpins.

Last night we ate at Monterrey, of course, then he needed to find some boxes for his daughter b/c she's moving out of her dorm. We went to Ingles to no avail (they were way rude to me....see if I ever ask a huge cooperation for a favor again. jerks) so we left. As we were pulling out we saw a glorious cardboard box that seemed to be in mint condition across the road.....in a dumpster. I pulled in and we opened up the huge door on the dumpster. We hit the jackpot. This dumpster was filled with terrific treasure. We pulled all the boxes out and put them in my car (did I mention that Chuck is also the head elder at Hope Point). As we were leaving Chuck said liquor stores were the mecca of cardboard boxes so I pulled into the front of a store like an idiot. This is what happened:


Me: oh man, I think liquor stores close at 7

Chuck: what are you doing? Drive around back to the dumpsters.

Me: Oh yeah, I forgot that's what we're doing now. Sorry.


He was right. Jackpot. That dumpster was just waiting for us to arrive. My favorite sentence of the night: "Grab that Bud Light box. They're the best!". Chuck was so happy. Before we get to Chucks house we go by Roger's (the accountant at Hope Point who is very intimidating but also the nicest, jolliest, tallest, baldest guy around) to get something. I make Chuck give him my monthly expense report b/c I am a baby and get scared around him. Anyway, we get in the car to leave and my car won't start. Everything just went black. Nothing.

Chuck is a member of AAA so he calls a tow truck. Meanwhile I walk around the neighborhood and talk to a few folks who live there that I used to teach with. It was great to catch up. Then Chuck and I laid in Rogers driveway and admired the almost full moon with the clouds flying past it. I was caught in a moment as Roger walks out and asks what the heck we were doing. I asked if he wanted to join us on the cement. He declined.

It ended up just being a battery. On the way home I was thinking about what a fun night it was. I love dumb nights that you would never script. Chuck and I got to hang out for a long time; I saw some friends from Oakbrook; had some delicious chicken fajitas; got a brand new battery; and got to dig through some dumpsters. That's what I am going to do on my next date. Lucky girl....way better than dinner and a movie.

My Savior, My God

Everlasting God

After a guy at Wofford told me he saw my video on You Tube and I was extremely confused I found these. I am wearing my favorite shirt. Thats why they sound so good, I think. Wait, they might sound bad. I don't think I am allowed to say that I am awesome. Enjoy.

Greatest Nickname Ever

When my friend Jason Burkhead was in 10th grade the varsity baseball team brought him up from JV to play in the playoffs. Now, you must know, Burkhead might just be the coolest guy around. He's about 5'6'' tall, 140 pounds, has a huge afro and laughs all the time. He will also kick your rear in any sport or hike. Just invite him along next time you go to Table Rock and he will destroy you. Anywho, before the game both teams lined up on the 1st and 3rd base lines to get their names called out. Everything was going as planned for the announcer that night until he stumbled upon the tongue twister - Jason. This posed far too complicated a problem and he did what anybody would do in his situation....just make up a ridiculous fake name. So instead of saying "Jason Burkhead" this is what came out:

"J.....Ja......Ja.......Jaba Barslar!!"

That's right. Jaba Barslar. Of course everyone laughed and called him that the next 3 years of high school. How in the world did the guy get Jaba Barslar out of Jason Burkhead? Who knows. Some things are just too awesome for our explanation. So please tell Jaba hi next time you see him.

Doing it

I think I may have had the most fun 2 weeks ever. Here is a recap:

• Leading worship 5 times in 5 days including Hope Point, Wofford, Upward and Ninety - Six (that is a town. It's named 96 because thats how old everyone is there and also thats the population.)

• Going to Jason and Deb's wedding. It was awesome. I didn't know if I would know anyone at the rehearsal dinner but there were tons of people I knew there. AND the people I didn't know were awesome (Jason's friends are neat) and I know them now. A highlight of the dinner was when I asked Jason's 200 year old grandmother, who was hilarious, if I could have some honey bees. That's when she rubs her fingers on your forehead, giving you goosebumps, and making you immediately fall asleep. I got $20 from Jason's Dad for asking her.
  

• Hitting 3 homers in one night. I was a man among boys that night, ladies and gentlemen. I do not hit home runs so 3 in one night is a feat. One was a grand slam. I was happy.
  

• Josh Ridings Day. I lead worship at Upward every Wednesday, where I used to work. I am known for wearing flip flops, jeans, t shirts, and a hat. So last Wednesday I walk in and everyone is wearing flip flops, jeans, t shirts, and a hat. It was 7:45 am so I didnt think anything of it. I dont think that early. But the HR lady got up and announced that is was Josh Ridings day. They gave me a gift and told me how cool it is to see God using me big time. It was sooooooooooo much fun. I have the coolest life ever. No one there should like me b/c of what a punk I was when I worked there. But they love me. It was yet another reminder of how mysterious the ways of God are. I love going to Upward.
  

• Ron and Frieda. I have had much more time with the Ridings lately and it makes me happy. My parents are the 2 most fun people on earth.

• Babysitting Harlan. My nephew. He lists the things he loves when he first wakes up and I make the top 5 every time. I watched him Monday and he was asleep when I got there. So when he awoke he was surprised to see me instead of my sister coming to get him. He said, "Doggy, Sock, GUITAR" when I walked in. Top 3. (oh yeah he calls me guitar sometimes). He loves me and my Dad tons.
  

• My house being painted. Yay!! I love my house. By the way, anyone is welcome to come see it anytime and tell me how awesome it is.
  

• New Subs at Hope Point. Those are the speakers that make the low noise. Anyone who sits in the front 3 rows is in for a surprise now. They will be rocked.
  

• Writing songs. I wrote 2 songs tonight with my good friend J Crowe and I think they're pretty good. I like writing songs with 2 people and J Crowe is one of those people. Shag is the other.
  

• Lowering the temperature 1 degree in my house. It used to be 71 and now it's 70. That's Fahrenheit. It feels delicious in here.
  

• Playing paintball. I haven't played paintball in 15 years. I playing with Jason and his friends from Chicago and Indiana before the wedding and it was AWESOME. I didn't know the beauty of hitting someone over and over with a ball of paint. I loved it. Running around, shooting people, yelling, twisting ankles, eating pizza, sweating tons.....what more could you ask for? Nothing.
  

I apologize to all the other awesome things that happened lately that I forgot to mention. This has been a sweet time lately. I have felt closer to the Lord these past few weeks than usual. I have been reading Zeph. 3:17 a lot, which says, "The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.". I spend a lot of time singing. It is fun to think about God singing over me and rejoicing.

I have been blown away lately at how much fun my life is. Dig it.

Letter #2

Letters, we've got letters, we've got stacks and stacks of letters. Letterrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrs. Okay. This is thing #2: I think I am hilarious. I really do. Lots of times I can barely finish a story I am telling b/c I am laughing so hard....also, lots of times no one else is laughing. I have no idea why b/c I am hilarious. Here are some examples:

• My friend Ben was here last night and we all went to bed. We told him to lock the door when he left then I thought about how weird it would be to wake up this morning with the door wide open and a raccoon sitting in our lazy boy reading the paper. (actually Scratch WaterHorse said this but I am hilarious for stealing it and using it as my own material).

• DayTrain and I were driving around town the other day and saw an Acme Grocery Store. We talked about how this is where the coyotes in our town buy explosives, rockets, roller skates, parachutes, etc....(actually that is combo #1).....to chase down the roadrunner problem running rampant in Spartanburg. I laughed so hard I almost wrecked.
  

• I hear that USC is requiring all students to have laptops for class now. I thought about how if I was still there I would refuse to spend $1000 on a new laptop and I would carry around a huge desktop everywhere I went. Can you imagine me carrying around a tower, screen, keyboard, mouse, tons of wires, and extension chord? I would be all sweaty and noisy as I set up my rig for every class. Oh man that would be awesome.
  

I just wanted to let you know that if I get stranded on a deserted island I would be okay b/c I would be laughing the entire time. Except for when I was crying, you know, b/c it's a deserted island.

2 Things

First thing: Why is being disciplined so hard? More importantly why is sin so easy? Why can't going outside to pressure wash my house with Clorox be as easy as watching SportsCenter? What if waking up at 7 am and reading my Bible was just as easy as sleeping till 11. That'd be nice. Is everyone inherently lazy or just me?

Every time I do kick it into gear I feel great. I just finished totally renovating the inside of my house and now I'm slowly working on the outside and I love it. The house looks great and I'm saving money. But it was hard. That's my big question: Why are good things (productive things) so hard and unproductive things (bad things) very easy? I don't have to try to be unproductive: it comes very naturally.

Every time I am praying or leading worship or getting ready to do something for the Kingdom I feel sin attacking me harder. Sinning for me is very easy. I may just be the most undisciplined person in the entire world and that is a fact. But I have done some things to fight and I recommend them to anyone:

1. Get some friends. One real good one will do. Tell that friend what you are struggling with. Be completely honest and real. There is something so freeing about confessing your sins out loud to someone who loves you.

2. If you are a man you should look into www.covenanteyes.com or http://xxxchurch.com. These are programs that help you fight the porn battle. I don't know much about XXXchurch but I have read tons of good stuff about it. I use Covenant Eyes. It tracks where you go in the internet then sends a detailed report to 2 accountability partners of your choice. So it has totally taken away the option of messing up on the computer...which is a very nice feeling. By the way if you are a guy and are standing firm in this area - watch out. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8). Pornography might be the grossest, worst sin around for guys but it is just so easy. Take that option away.


3. Read. Turn off the Braves game (they're going to lose anyway) and pick up a book. Straight Reading Rainbow style. I suggest Knowing God by Packer, Mere Christianity by CS Lewis, anything by Spurgeon, and Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller (don't hate...it's a good book). If that stuff is too deep for you then read some Garfield you baby. It doesn't matter what you read....just read. It is good for you. (oh yeah....read your Bible.)


4. Pray a lot. Be honest with God. He knows what you're thinking anyway. Praying is a very churchy word that means talking to God. So talk to Him. Then listen to what He's saying to you. It's pretty mystical but it's real. C.H. Spurgeon, England's best known preacher for most of the second half of the 19th century, said:

Do you feel the world entangle you? You may struggle against this evil so long as you please, but if it be your besetting sin, you will never be delivered from it in any way but by the blood of Jesus. Take it to Christ. Tell him, "Lord, I have trusted thee, and thy name is Jesus, for thou dost save thy people from their sins; Lord, this is one of my sins; save me from it!"

5. Don't forget that there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Where sin increases, grace increases all the more. I'm not saying that we should continue willfully sinning and therefore cheapen grace. We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? (Rom 8:1, 5:20, 6:1, 2). Don't overwhelm yourself with guilt....sin has lost it's power because of Jesus. When you fall down, get back up and continue the fight.



Those are just things that have been very good for me. I have to fight everyday to do what is right, pure, and holy. I want to be disciplined in all areas of my life. I believe that there is a Good which means there is a Bad (or Evil) and I believe that Evil doesn't like Good. Henceforth the Evil will fight any Good that is around. That is why when I am praying or leading worship or whatever I feel evil creeping up behind me. The good news is that Good wins over Evil. Resist the devil and he will flee from you (James 4:7). All we have to do is rely on Jesus. I do not have this figured out at all, by the way....or I'm not very good at it. I still like things I should hate and I don't do things that I should do. Doing what's right usually isn't very cool or easy. This is just what I have been thinking about lately. I'll get to thing #2 later...it's way funnier than this one.