Knock, Knock…anyone home?

Well to those who actually occasionally read my blog, I obviously haven’t been writing.  What excuse do I have?  Well, I could tell you about the 9 credits that I am taking this semester, or the 8 credits I am teaching this semester, or maybe the 20+ hours I am working every week, or maybe the wedding that I am planning.  But in all truth, while I do have very little time for certain things, the truth is, I have been lazy when it comes to writing.

This summer I was writing more, but that is becaue I put it into my schedule, right now I don’t have the time to write it into my schedule.  Since I don’t have the specific time, then I don’t remember to do it.  Honestly right now I am writing this post during a class I am in.

So I would like to update you all on some things in my life.

First off, the wedding planning is going well.  Invitations will hopefully be sent out in about a week.  Sarah has another shower this weekend.  I have to admit from the showers that we have had, we have gotten some pretty nice things and we thank everyone for the gifts.

Next, yes I am teaching this semester.  I have 4 sections of Introduction to computing.  They are going well.  It is an odd feeling knowing that I am teaching students things that the college feels they need to know.  So much so, my class is now required.  So that means if I don’t pass them they don’t graduate.  It is a weird feeling of power that I am not sure I like.  But I think that since I don’t like it, I will be more mindful of that power.

Classes this semester are going ok.  I am really enjoying Johannine Lit. and Old Testament 3.  They are enjoyable classes and I like the fact that both professors really know what they are talking about and have a passion for the classes.  I am also in Ministerial Counseling.  This class I am disappointed in.  As a Christian Ministries major, this is the only counseling class I am required to take and it is a major let down.

Work is going well.  Again, the amount of power that is given to me because I am now acting as the Director of Technology, is a weird feeling.  I have had this same power in other jobs that I have had, and it was weird then, and it is weird now.  Other than that, things are going as they have been.  It is stressful, but then again, I don’t know if I know how to function in a non-stressful environment.

Overall, my life is very hectic now.  I would appreciate prayers for Sarah and I as we are getting closer to the wedding and starting our married life together.
Well, there is an update on me for right now.

She Said “Yes!”

Not the beach I proposed on, but it was while we were on the Island

As of approximatly 4:10pm on July 24, 2008 Sarah St. Louis is officially my Fiance.  For those who would like details.  I went up to Mackinaw City to pick Sarah up so that we could go see a play over near Traverse City.  When she got off the boat, we went to a small city park and went down to the beach so that she could open her presents for her birthday.  I had her open her Mom and Dad’s first, they got her a scrapbook with supplies.  Then I had her open my present, which was the movie “The Great Mouse Detective.”  It was at that point that I had her turn around.  I took the ring out of my pocket and told her that I knew that she had wanted this last present for awhile, and that I loved her a whole bunch.  I turned her around, got down on one knee and asked her to marry me.  With only a slight hesitation to catch her breath from crying, she said yes.

So we will be getting married in 5 1/2 months, on January 3, 2009.  It has been a very nerve racking and exciting weekend.

Teaching Experience

So tonight I am starting a Series with the High School Youth Group.  I am looking forward to it.  I still haven’t come up with a better name for my first lesson, but I still have a couple hours.  I’m not nervous, I just hope that what I have to say doesn’t go unheard.  I was told of a study that says that 80% of students who go off to college lose their faith, and of those, about 70% lose their faith within the first 36 hours.  Why?  Because they don’t have a solid belief structure of their own.  They have been living thier life with mom and dad’s faith or maybe a friend’s faith.  They don’t have thier own faith.  So hopefully I can work on that with these kids.

Anyway, that is my rant for today.

Easy Life of an Intern…?

Yeah, so obviously I haven’t posted recently.

Why haven’t you posted Jeremy?

Thank you for asking Mr. Voice-in-my-head.  I haven’t been posting because life as an intern isn’t an easy one.  Not that I am trying to make excuses.  Ok, maybe I am, but that isn’t the point.  Last week Wednesday I was asked to preach on Sunday, so the end of the week was spent working on Senior High Youth Lessons that I will start teaching this week, and also working on a sermon.  I appreciate the opportunity to preach, I just wish it hadn’t been at 7:30 am.  The preaching went well, and I got some good encouragement about it and some good critque.  I finished up my first lesson yesterday, and had a meeting about it today, and I will teach it tomorrow.  Then I start work on the next lesson in the series.  The lesson is on the Story of Job, the lessons series is being tenatively called “Building Faith.”  The First Lesson is “Having Your Own Faith,” atleast that is what it is called right now, might have to come up with something better.  Next week will be “Faith Under Fire”, and the Following week is “Big Picture Faith.”  I’m looking foward to teaching again.  Anyway, time to head out and run some errands before I head home.

Peace Be With You All

Why?

Why are people stupid?  Why do people have to stick their nose in where it doesn’t belong?

Recently this has happened in my life.  A certain someone decided to state his opinion on something which he knows very little about.  In doing so, he caused a lot of stress and heartache on someone close to me.  Without going into detail, this person put doubts into someones head that don’t need to be there, because they are based on a false pretense.  It amounts to this, the person in question is very selfish.  If he isn’t happy, then he doesn’t think other people should be happy.  If he is happy, then other people shouldn’t be happy, because that will take away from his happiness.  Needless to say I am frustrated, which is why I am writing this post.  Luckily the people who this affected are talking things over and praying about everything, and things seem to be working out.  Not that these things wouldn’t have come up, but it wouldn’t have been in such and explosive manner.  They would have been talked about, prayed about, and eventually it would have been understood that there isn’t any issue, in fact, things are right in line how I believe God is leading them.

Sorry for the Rant.

What A Weekend

Well, I would just like to Congratulate two of my good friends Luke and Harmony Glashower.  It is now official, as of July 5, 5 years to the day they went out on their first date, they are now married.  I was blessed to be asked to be in the wedding.  I was an usher.  It wasn’t my first time being an usher, but I will say I probably had more to do than normal with this wedding.  I personally think that Groomsmen have an easy job.  They walk up with a bridesmaid, stand there looking important, walk back down with a bridesmaid.   An usher’s job is so much more important.  An usher makes sure that everything goes off without a hitch.  They are the Master and Mistress of Ceremony’s go-to guys.  When something needs to be done, they get it done.

In Luke and Harmony’s wedding, as an usher I was called on to light candelabras, Memory Candles for grandparents and walk those memory candles down to the memorial table.  I walked the step-mother of the bride down while the other usher walked the grandma of the bride down.  Once the wedding party was down the aisle, I walked back up to the front and then pulled a runner back down for the Bride and her Father to walk down.  Once the ceremony was over, myself and the other Usher dismissed everyone to go down to the receiving line.  All of that on top of the normal ushering duties of seating people on the proper sides.

I must say, it was a long day, but at the end of the night, watching Harmony and Luke Dance together for the first time as Mr. and Mrs. Lucas Glashower was reward for it all.

So I lift my glass to you Luke and Harmony, 5 years in the making, I’m glad I have been there to see you both grow and mature in Christ and in your relationship together.  May God bless your Marriage and your family.

Back and Busy

Well, that’s the group…Promise ‘08. We had a blast on tour. In Michigan, we went to Midland and Coldwater, we went to Delta, Ohio, and In Indiana, we went to Garrett, Terre Haute, and Kirkland. A week on a tour bus with 21 High Schoolers. Might not sound like a lot fun, and at time it wasn’t, but most of the time it was a blast. Spending two weeks with a group, and then having them all of a sudden not around, it feels weird. Everyone is back to their respective homes and continuing on with the summer. We are keeping in touch as best we can through Facebook and txting, but it just isn’t the same. To all of those on Promise that actually read this, you guys did an awesome Job.

As for me, now I buckle down and finish out the summer in my job and internship. Which has been kind of hectic since I got back and we have SSI on campus. Also I am in a wedding this coming weekend. That’s right, the rehearsal dinner is on July 4th and the wedding on the 5th. So my holiday weekend is going to be spent with friends at their wedding.

Well that is all for now, just thought I would let everyone know what I have been up to.

Peace Be With You All

Mackinac Island and Promise

I had the privilege of going up to see my fantastically beautiful and loving girlfriend up on Mackinac Island this last weekend.  It is the first time that we have seen each other since she went up there to work about a month ago.  It was a great time and I was so happy to see her.  We were able to spend both Friday and Saturday together, thanks to her friends.  It was really hard leaving, knowing that I won’t see her for a little over a month again.  The picture above is when I got on the ferry to head home after Sarah and I’s teary goodbye, yes I even cried.  The picture below is of Fort Mackinac.  Both were taken with my new phone, pretty good quality if you ask me.

Now this week and next week I am helping with Promise.  This week I am helping in the evenings after I get done at my internship.  While next week I will be going on tour with them running the sound for all of the shows.  Promise is an auditioned group of High School students.  It is a full choir and band that spend one week on the campus of Great Lakes Christian College learning all of their music and drama parts.  Then they spend a week touring throughout Michigan, Indiana and Ohio.  So next week my updates to the blog might be even more spurratic than they currently are.

French Military Victory…

No really, it wasn’t a mistype, France actually won a military victory.

Over the last 18 weeks or so, I have been involved in a game of military conquest set in the early 1900’s.  I was the commander of the French armies.  Among my enemies were England, Russia, Austria-Hungary, and Turkey.  It was a long and hard fought battle, but when the smoke cleared, France stood as the clear victor.  I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to all of those involved in the conflict.  Well done.

For those that are interested, here is the final map of the game, France(Light Blue) wins with 19 supply centers:

The Making of a Martyr

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is being charged as one of the masterminds in the 9/11 attacks.  He stated in court on today that he was looking for the death penalty.

From MSNBC:

“Yes, this is what I wish, to be a martyr for a long time,” Mohammed told a military judge who warned that he faces execution if convicted of organizing the attacks on America. “I will, God willing, have this, by you.”

Here is my thought.  Death isn’t a punishment for these people.  They are extremists who believe that when they die a martyr, they will get 72 virgins in paradise.  Now, I don’t believe they will, I believe they will be burning hell, but that is my belief.  Their belief is different.  So would killing them be the right thing to do?

I know that a lot of people died on September 11th, and the people who planned this should be punished.  However, death is what they are looking for.  So I think something else should be done.  How about we castrate them, cut off their hands and feet, make sure that they are alive, and then air drop them back into the cities and villages that they came from.  Maybe prior to all that, we broadcast over to their homeland them being forced to have adult relations with each other, then castrate them, chop off their hands and feet, make sure they are medically sound and ship them back over.  Granted, that would be persecution, but it wouldn’t be martyrdom.

Ok, I know that is harsh, and probably fall into the category of Cruel and Unusual punishment.  But let’s think outside of the box here.  If they are looking for death and that is what they want, don’t give it to them.  Instead try humiliation, a friend of mine said give them the best medical technology known to man and make sure they live for a long, long time.  I don’t know if I want to put that kind of money into them, but there you have it.

This however raises another question.  If these guys are looking for death because their religion says if they die as a result of an act against infidels, why haven’t the other leaders come forward.  I think a one-way ticket to heaven would be good incentive to turn themselves in.  I think this is where we realize the flaw in the beliefs.  The top leaders, pound into the minds of those below them that if they die in service to their god, they will be rewarded in heaven…yet you don’t see the leaders lining up go on suicide missions or turning themselves in after doing “service” for their god.

Starts to make you think a bit doesn’t it.

My 2 cents