Thursday, June 29, 2006

shout at the devil


I think I’ve asked this before but I’m going to ask it again.

When do you think Satan was created, not a major point because all we have to understand was that he was created and now doesn’t see eye to eye with God, which is perhaps something of an obvious understatement.

I’m reading Josephus and he finishes his first chapter like this. “Moreover, Moses, after the seventh day was over begins to talk philosophically; and concerning the formation of man, says thus: (skipping to the ending)…He also made Eve liable to the inconveniency of breeding, and the sharp pains of bringing forth children; and this because she persuaded Adam with the same arguments wherewith the serpent had persuaded her, and had thereby brought him into a calamitous condition. He also deprived the serpent of speech, out of indignation at his malicious disposition towards Adam. Besides this, he inserted poison under his tongue, and made him an enemy to men; and suggested to them, that they should direct their strokes against his head, that being the place wherein lay his mischievous designs towards men, and it being easiest to take vengeance on him, that way. And when he had deprived him of the use of his feet, he made him to go rolling all along, and dragging himself upon the ground. And when God had appointed these penalties for them, he removed Adam and Eve out of the garden into another place.”

If Jo is “quoting” Moses then Satan, as the enemy of mankind, is created as such after he suggests Eve eats of the tree. We know that Lucifer as an angle has great power and responsibility and is prideful but could have been the “last straw” in his condemnation?

We're a Year Old!!!




Did y'all catch that our lovely blog turned the Big Oh One this month?!?!?!

We should have a special celebration.

Actually, I think we missed the anniversary. We technically turned 1 in May. But, that deosn't mean we can't celebrate now!

Monday, June 26, 2006

Bible time!

Alright Bible scholars, I have a question. Please read I Corinthians 11:1-16.
I stumbled upon this scripture and wasn’t sure what it means. Does this mean I have to have a hat on in church, or is it talking about hair?
Please explain. Thanks!

Friday, June 23, 2006

Open for Visitors



This is an invite to all the regular contributors...sorry not Commentors. Please come visit.

We are settled into the new place nicely. I wanted to share some pics of the most imporatant areas to the guys. The Backyard (BY) and the "Smoke Room (SR)" (a.k.a. back porch).

As you can see there are many nice places to pee. The entire back yard is private; I haven't found a place I can't just be myself.



The "Smoke Room" is a great place to relax away from bugs but still in the outside air. Given, it doesn't look like much from the outside.



I relaxed there a couple evenings ago with some new Tobacco from a local shop, a Coke ;-) , and the melodies from a fine singer Norah Jones. Smooooooth is all I have to desribe the occassion.



For those who don't mind a long load time, here are links to some panoramas of the BY and SR.



Customer Service from Hell

Some guy called AOL to cancel his service that he was no longer using. He recorded the phone call and the results are as hilarious as they are scary.

At work warning: in frustration the guys lets out a couple of curse words.


As seen on Break.com

Thursday, June 22, 2006

My First Article...Follow-Up



I checked the Our Families Magazine page today and saw that they had already posted the Summer issue of the pub with my article! I have the first feature!

I'm so excited!!!

River City Reviews



I have noticed over the last several months that Montgomery has no website dedicated to the review of local eating establishments and entertainment. In my frustration, I decided to create a blog titled River City Reviews, which is to be used exclusively for the review of local food, movies, theatre, and music.

The site url is: http://rivercityreviews.blogspot.com/

I emailed some key folks at WSFA and the Montgomery Advertiser to tell them they're welcome to use my reviews as long as they link to my page. I have just started and would really appreciate any links or on-air plugs they could give the site. At the moment, it's merely a fun, personal undertaking. But, over time, I hope that River City Reviews will become the go-to source for all things fun and enjoyable in Montgomery!

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Forget Freelance...I've Got a Job!

I have a job…ok so the freelance idea was a good crutch, but apparently not what God had in mind. This is however, the job I mentioned the other day.

I will be working for the state at the Okaloosa County Health Department as a Systems Administrator. Pray for me (and the county); I’m going to have 150 users. I’ll have assistance from higher-ups for a short time, and then I will be involved in hiring an assistant.

Here’s the strange thing. My first interview was my last day at AP. My second interview was today at 1:30 (exactly one week after we pack up the house). I got a call from them at about 4:30 as I’m writing an e-mail to a guy at Lockheed Martin asking for his help on another job.

I’m going to need to refresh my brain a bit, before I hit the ground. Luckily, I will have to go through a security screening before they can officially hire me. It could be as many as 3 weeks before I’m actually working. Hopefully that will be enough time to “brush up” a little and do a little fishing with old friends.

I’ll be going down there first thing tomorrow morning to fill out some paperwork and such.

I’m soooo excited. God is awesome! I kept praying He would make things work out perfectly, and He made everything work out better than I had imagined.

How’s Thomas doing btw? Does he have that job yet? I hope so, I’ve been praying a lot for him as well.

I’ll let you know more as I know it.

Hey Jamison, can I call you if I get in a pinch?

Ex-coC Support Group




To make a long story short, I went online to Wikipedia and looked up church of Christ. The write-up they had was actually very accurate. They also included links to online coC resources, including Apologetics Press.

However, one of the related groups under the Former Members and Internal Critical Views section led to this website.

I just thought I'd pass it on as an interesting study in why the coC is losing people. Maybe we can glean some good info from it. Some of it's not so good, I'm sure. But, it's interesting to see why some folks have left.

Monday, June 19, 2006

How 'bout that?

Well we are officially moved in, and we are in pretty good shape. I now only have a garage to organize (I managed to fit my car in it today...yaaaah!). The rest of the house has little things that need to be done, but in all it is about as organized as this temporary abode will become.

Oh, this is funny in a strange sort of way. I've had no second interviews on any of the jobs I've interviewed for in the past 8 months (I interviewed for about 10 or 12). Well, I had a phone interview on Monday of last week (my last day at AP) with the Okaloosa County Health Dept (OCHD-a state job even though it's a county department). Today, I'm dropping the little one off for an introductory partial day (11-5) at daycare. Suddenly, I get a call from them asking me to come for a second interview. I ask the lady if I can call her back because it's a bad time. She's like sure they really want to talk to you again. Here's what weird. I know both times I sounded like I could care less about the job; I had pretty much decided I wanted to stop looking and just work on my freelance business. With all the other places I interviewed, I was generally excited and overly cheery trying to impress the employers. If I have future interviews, I'm going to take a who cares attitude. Apparently it works.

Thursday, June 15, 2006

The Churchwarden



Nay, this isn't a religious post. It refers only to my Father's Day gift.

Yes, Luke and Noah are contributing to their Dad's occasional smoke nights with Uncle Jamie.

This is my dream pipe. Came in the mail today. My lovely wife is allowing me to open it up early. I even get to break it in early!

In any case, I know it's but a small thing, but quite exciting to me!

The pics don't really do it justice. If you can imagine this pipe as almost 11 inches long, then you have it!

Well, he finally did it.



Chuck left yesterday. He, Jodi, and Alexandra were slated to stay with us last night, but got their packing finished in plenty of time to head on down to Florida.

I remember coming back from Summer Break in, I believe it was 95/96 and finding that Chuck was gone from Faulkner. He was the first of us boys to "leave". Then, he was married. Another first.

Now he's really gone and it's weird.

I saw him at lunch yesterday and we talked a bit. He seemed a little sad, but the great joy of moving close to family made it seem not to exist. But, I know the feeling. You're so happy to take on the new life, but you mourn the pasing of what you left, even if it's in some small way.

In any case, Chuck and his family are in for a great adventure now and I think they'd appreciate our prayers. And with that, I'll once again wish them Godspeed...

Sunday, June 11, 2006

Resolution to the "Name that Company" Game

For anyone who cares...I've decided to name my company (drum roll)

Lasting Graphics

The beauty is, both of these URLs were available:

LastingGraphics.com
and
Lasting-Graphics.com

I could not believe it. The other great thing is there is not a company in all of Florida named Lasting Graphics. I don't say this often because I fear I may wrongfully give creadit. But, I believe God had a hand in this. I don't know how he did it or why he waited to help me with the name, but I'm glad he did. Keep praying for me (and thanks for the past and future prayers); I've got a long road ahead.

I'm excited. MORE TO COME!

Oh, and check out my graphic...

Chinese Christians


As most of you know, my sister along with her husband and much of his family are in China. Officially they are there as English teachers, but unofficially they are missionaries, teaching the Word to the Chinese.

It is illegal for Christians to worship outside of officially controlled Protestant churches. It is also against the law for foreigners to specifically mention Christianity to any Chinese unless they are asked about the religion.

Unofficially, the government generally overlooks any missionary movement due to the countries need of English teachers. As long as my sister and others do their teaching quietly, they have not been bothered.

Recently a worship service in a private home was raided by the Chinese police. They detained 28, and took their Bibles and notebooks. Many of these people were released after paying a $200 fine. Others are still being held, and names have not been released. There are some reports that the preacher of that congregation has been beaten severely.

All of this took place in Shanghai, the city where my sister currently lives. Please keep her and that family in your prayers. The work has never been without danger, but it appears things may get worse very soon.

My sister and her husband are coming back to the states this summer for about two months. However, they are planning to return to China and keep up the work there. Please continue to pray not only for their safety, but that the work may continue there.

Saturday, June 10, 2006

The brotherhood of us...



Last night was grand. Mysteries of the universe and our inner spaces were unraveled. Spiritual and religious issues were challenged, which ironically brought more peace. Friendships between the 3 of us somehow grew tighter, seems as though 12 years of friendship was built upon each other just for that one night to happen. As you know, many nights in college were spent on the floor of a dorm room, candles as the only source of light, and life was discussed... ah life.
Chuck mentioned something last night that honored me beyond honor. Only because the smoke night was at my house maybe. But he said "This reminds me of the nights in college." and twas true. It had that feeling. That feeling we all try to recreate. That feeling we had that we try to mimic nowadays yet try too hard. You can't go back and you can't MAKE that feeling come back, it just has to happen; and it did.

The night started out in typical male-fashion. Burgers on the grill. Don’t let anyone tell you gas is better than charcoal. Bunk! I tried to convince Chuck that these burgers were in my top 10 of my whole life. (He made the burgers) but he didn't buy it, but see the picture; can you deny their beauty? They were so grand. and delici-oh-so. I then remembered I bought a watermelon for this occasion. We divided the 1/4 melon slice into 3 and enjoyed a fun summer treat together, wordlessly. Chuck then drop-kicked his melon rind and it exploded all over his foot. He didn’t expect it, but I did. I then took the long knife and showed off my Samaria sword skills. The camera was there, so we all had a grand-ole-time acting afool with knives and fruit. Chuck even tried his hand at the old sword. Watermelon has an amazing ability to fill you up. So Josh and I then compared bloated bellies. Not sure who won, you be the judge. I am almost certain Sip is holding his in. I, on the other hand, and poking mine out very much. I will always win the most hair contest though. You'll forgive my messy hair and unkept-look. At least for now, I am not caring much about how I look. I find it more refreshing and gives me a more joyous outlook on life. It may seem silly, but I now catch myself purposely messing my hair up.

Fear not friends… we all peed many times in my backyard. Sometimes we gathered around a beam of moon light shining through the trees and honored the moon light with our urine.

So to work some of the fullness pains off, we walked for a bit around the neighborhood since I have a neighborhood conducive to walking (If you can dodge the occasional golf cart). After the walk we sat to smoke a spell. Chuck had some Yachtsman that really caused many a buzz. Hard-to-stand-up kind of buzz.

Everything seemed really fascinatingly boring (Or interestingly uninteresting perhaps?) when you smoke it. Bricks, concrete, wood grain, etc... tis kewl. The conversation turned to me, and I told the men things that have changed in my life, thoughts, feelings, etc, particularly related to religion and how it is hard to believe that churches we go to and religions we practice today are the same as those in the Bible that we all claim to emulate... Alot of it was hard to bring up and put into out-loud words, but since we are of like-mind, my men related to me and we discussed it further and came to no certain conclusion, yet I felt at peace all the same.

I pulled out the mandolin for a few quiet, slow tunes which my brothers gladly sung whilst I played, to which I am thankful. I like to play, but I hate to sing and play, and love it when someone will sing along, thanks guys...

Must else was discussed, but if you weren't there you may never know of it, tis the nature of the smoke night, friends.

Chuck will be missed. He leaves this Wednesday, but I foresee us all smoking at least once a year together until the day we die... of lung cancer... kidding.

Friday, June 09, 2006

Computer applications

The computer teacher at my school is leaving so there will be an open position here at the school.
If you or anyone you know wants to teach computer applications at my schoolo, tell them to holler my way.

Not a great blog, but it was on my mind and figured I'd put it out there. Ryan, maybe your bro-in-law in Mobile would be interested...

Jamison

Thursday, June 08, 2006

My First Article!!!



My dear wife called a moment ago and informed me that Dr. Donnie Hilliard, Director of the Cloverdale Center for Family Strengths, had called asking for a picture to accompany an article I had submitted to Our Families Magazine.

Yea verily, I'm being published!!!

The article is titled "Staying Married: Advice from a Short-time" and will be in the Spring/Summer 2006 issue of the magazine! This is a great step for me. I can now list that I'm published in query letters, resumes, and on applications of all sorts! So, I'm happy...

That’s Martel Pace and his bride on the old issue cover.

On a side not, I also found out I'll be teaching an English course in the fall at Faulkner! More excitement to come!

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

Good News For Brewster

I got my new position. I'm officially the new copywriter for my company. They are planning to revamp pretty much everything. They are completely redoing the website and I'll be writing all of the copy for that. I will be rewriting all of the letters/statements that we send our customers. I am completely in charge of our intranet program, and I'll be creating new marketing ventures. Right now it's completely about writing copy, but they seem to be pushing me towards design as well.

I'm a little nervous about the gig, just because it is new and I know it will be a lot of work. But it's exciting too, and nice to know they like me.

Plus it came with a nice fat raise.

Monday, June 05, 2006

Official Word

I just learned that I will not be working for Brad. Major bummer! I think I'll be doing Discovery as freelance work. I'm about to go find out if that's the route Kyle wants to take or not. I'm not sure what God has in store for me. It may be a lot of kneeling and meditation. Just keep praying for me.

Thursday, June 01, 2006

Grandma at Gunpoint

If you looked up “little old lady” in the dictionary, you’d probably see a picture of my grandma. She’s as tiny as a tack, and just as sharp.

A few nights ago she was robbed. While sitting on her couch watching TV a young man broke the glass on her door and barged in. He laid a pistol against her temple, laid her down on the couch and asked for all her money.

“You can have all the money I’ve got,” she said, “but I only have $2.50.”

The robber grabbed her purse, rummaged through her wallet and found that she was telling the truth. Disgusted, he took the $2.50 and moved her to the bedroom. He threw my grandmother onto the bed and covered her head with a blanket while he began looking around for valuables.

She began screaming as loud as she could for help. The dog began to bark loudly. The thief went to the other room hoping to find something of value. When he left, grandma got up quickly, found her jewelry box and hid all of her more expensive jewels.

Jumping back into bed, throwing the covers over her head again, she asked the thief as he walked back into the room,

“Son, have you accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior?”

He said he didn’t want to hear nothing about that and told her to lie still.

Grandma returned for her screaming for help and began to also pray for safety. The thief found the jewelry box and took a handful of the leftover cheap costume jewelry.

He then asked my grandmother if she had a car. When she answered in the affirmative he told her that she was going to drive him to an ATM so that she could take out some cash for him.

“An AT…what?” she asked. “Son, I don’t have any idea what you’re talking about.”

Sure enough, as the thief looked through her wallet again, he saw no sign of any bank card.

Exasperated, he left the house and fled to safety, with $2.50 and some cheap costume jewelry.