I am beginning to realize that sleep has become a secondary
thing in my life.  I also haven’t posted a book in some time so I am way
over due.  Maybe if I get board enough
here at work today I can draw illustrated stick people pictures to go along
with the story.  Anyways, there were a
lot of people missing at Tikvat this weekend.  We still managed to get a
somewhat large group together to go out to eat though. 

After doing the normal talk an hour before we move, we headed to Stony
Point to eat at Chipolte Mexican Grill.  Doug, Joy, and I
went to Starbucks for some coffee while everyone else stood around and
talked.  Joel and I acted like security people for Joy.  People were
looking at us and wondering who she was.  You could hear people whispering
all around. 

After walking to the car, we found out that Joy and I had to be in Yorktown
for her work's Christmas Party so we headed straight there.  We didn't
have time to pickup Joel's car so he just took mine and was going to pick me us
up later.  So Joel and David dropped us off and they headed home to wait
for the ship to get back.  The food was terrible but the appetizers were
good.  The shrimp were taunting me the whole time though, but I managed to
stand my ground.  I had cell phone service
the whole cruise so once we were about 30 minutes from shore I called for the
return of my car. 

Once the car got there and we were on our way, we had to
figure out where we wanted to go and what we wanted to do.  By this time the group has grown to include,
Joel, Jane, Joy, David, and myself.  We
were originally going to go see a movie, and decided to stop by my house to get
movie times and let Joy change into some pants because she was freezing in her
skirt and flip flops.  The movie theater
choices were few and nobody was paying any attention to the choices so we
decided to go get Mr. and Mrs. Smith.  Joel
and I drove all over creation trying to find the movie and we finally saw it at
Best Buy where there was a growing line of tents and sleeping bags for people
waiting for the 8am shipment of XBox
360.  We got stopped while paying for the
movie by some workers who wanted to know if we did security and if it was for a
VIP.  We had them going real good and
decided to leave it at that.  We got back
to my house watched the movie and it was leaving time when I realized that we
still had to drive everyone to West Point to pickup the
CRX.  On the way there my car was
attacked by a buck on the interstate.  I
never knew they could run so fast.  He started
charging my car full force, but I luckily was able to avoid making some deer jerky.  While on the way to getting the CRX we were
doing some simple math and discovered that 3 people couldn’t really fit into
the 2 seat CRX so I took a detour through Gloucester which isn’t that bad.  It’s maybe 8 minutes longer if that.  I almost ran a stop sign on the way home
almost stopping in a field.  After all of
that I ended getting home at 2:30.  I wouldn’t have changed anything as we had a
blast.  

Wow all of that was just Saturday.  In an effort to get this story finished I’ll
abbreviate the day/night.  I headed to
meet Jeanie around 5ish and took a
small detour to meet Joel at Radio Shack. 
After meeting there only to find the cb’s we wanted didn’t have the
headset connection we needed, I left to meet Jeanie.  It felt like I was driving to the middle of
nowhere or as  she called it… the end of
the earth.  We watched a movie called “The
Chosen.”  I don’t remember most of it
because we both kept getting interrupted by the cell phone and talking to each
other.  It’s a good movie for what I
remember. Then we went to the store to get a few items to make dinner.  We were supposed to go with Stephen, Shawtie,
and Jane to go see King Kong, but there was something about going to see a 3
hour movie that night that didn’t sound so fun. 
I heard it was really good, but you don’t get to really hang out with
people and talk when you are watching a movie that’s that long.  Anyways we ate dinner and began to do the
very thing we didn’t want to do… watch a 3 hour movie.  It was quite ironic and funny.  Needless to say I was tired from the previous
day and dozed off a few times.  I really
needed a nap yesterday but never had the chance to get one.  Well after sleeping for a little while, Jeanie
tried to wake me up a few times but failed and Joel called like 3 times but I
missed it.  When she went to answer my
phone I woke up right away… at least that’s what I remember while I was a
sleep.  Joel, Stephen, Shawtie, and Jane
decided to come over and join us.  We
toured the house and were in amazement at the food stored there.  You could literally go grocery shopping for a
few families and still have a store of food waiting for the next shopper.  Why in the world do you need 16 bottles of
Mrs. Dash seasoning and 8 bottles of paprika? 
Jeanie ended up cooking more food for everyone while we finished
watching Forest Gump.  Around 1:30 I thought it would be a good thing to get
some sleep and head home… well in reverse order but you get the picture.  Then everyone else decided to do the same
thing.  There were even more deer out
there last night.  I stopped on the way
to get some gas, and proceeded to head home.   I was 2 miles from my house about to turn
onto Jefferson and I got a reply to a message I sent
Jane.  Luckily I read the message instead
of going when the light turned green.  If
I wouldn’t have hesitated I would have been hit on the driver side door by
someone who couldn’t even see out their windshield because of the frost on the
window.  The person literally stopped in
the middle of the intersection.  I had to
go around them to turn left.  So thank
you Jane for sending the message.  Well I
got home again at 2:30 and fell
asleep only to have to be at work at 7:30.   I wonder what tonight has in store for
me.  Narnia was mentioned sometime last
night…

Sorry for the novel but oh well.  Not many people seem to be reading my posts
anyways. 

Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed.
  - Alexander Pope

On a side note, I might be going to Colorado for the first
time next month.  Me and a friend of mine are planning on going
out there Jan 25th - 29th and visiting the Dudley Family (Old young
adult pastor).  They have been there for a while now and this will
be my
first time out there to visit them.  Sorry Ross, but the real
reason I'm coming to is to go Skiing!!!  Ski slopes here I
come!!!!!

Well it's been a while since I have last updated, and that means I am way over due.  This weekend was interesting.  I found out one of my best friends has joined the Army and is leaving in 4 weeks for basic training.  (Friday) My dad had his 53rd birthday and we had a bunch of people over to have some fun.  (Sunday) Messed around at "The Dwelling Place" or as it's also known as Campus 2 of the World Outreach Worship Center with the Josh and the M's.  It's a pretty sweet little setup for concerts and such with a full cafe.  We are about to open it back up as it has been shut down since the summer.  So stay tuned for more information on "The Dwelling Place."  (Monday) After work I had to go to the Chiropractor where I got my well needed adjustment and some good ole fashion Electro Shock Therapy.   They did this muscle stimulation that uses electricity to contract and release the muscle really fast.  At first it feels weird but it’s so relaxing.  Then last night Joel, David, and Josh came over and we watched some tv and I tried to learn how to play guitar.  Joel had me do some finger exercises and David taught me how to play this one song (can’t remember it), so now my finger tips are a little sore.  It's all good though, I have wanted to learn guitar for a really long time and finally decided I better just sit down and learn it.  Downside that means I need to buy a guitar…  (Unless someone wants to give me one )  Well I should probably get back to work here.  I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.
_______________________________________
Update:
A friend of mine is letting me borrow his guitar for a while!!

Today is one of those just plain nasty days.  Just to
think this was all supposed to be snow, and all we get is lousy RAIN!!!  If it’s going to be this cold all the time I
think we could at least get some snow to make it all worth the coldness.  I hate bad weather when I have to drive across
the tunnel.  The already bad drivers get
even worse, and the idiots seem to multiply. 
On my way to work today, I couldn’t figure out why traffic seemed to
slow down to 40mph before my exit.  Once
I got near, I saw the stupid interstate sign with a message on it.  Everyone was slowing down to read the dumb thing.  What is worse, a person talking on a cell phone,
or putting a sign up that gets everyone’s attention and takes it from the road
where it should be to a sign where their eyes should not be?  At least when I’m talking on my cell phone
and I need to pay attention to the road, I simply put the phone down or just
tune out what the person is saying to me until I can continue with the
conversation.  I think I'm going to take
off around 1pm today just because I
don't want to hit traffic and deal with the stupid people on the way home. 
That's the nice part about being on a maintenance support contract, I can
technically leave and go about anywhere and wait for things to break.  As
long as I have an internet connection somewhat near by I can get work done.  I also recently found out I can also work at
the Richmond office every once and
a while if I wanted to.  Any who….  I’m looking forward to seeing “The Lion, the
Witch, and the Wardrobe” tonight. 
Hopefully I won’t be disappointed. 

On a side note, one of the ladies I work with has brought in
a 3 ft Christmas tree that has the fiber lights in it and has placed it on top
of the cubes here in the office.  It sits
on the corner of my cube.  I should bring
in a big menorah.  So if I can find one
that plugs in instead of using candles I’m bringing it in. 

Have you ever wondered what am I here on this earth for?  You find yourself searching for your place in this world, trying to just fit in, but why?  God called us to be different, set apart from the things of this world?  Why do people even read the word if they don't even attempt to apply it to their lives?   Why subject yourself to going to church and learning about a God you aren't worth dieing for.  Have you ever really thought about it?  If someone was to put a gun to your head and told you to either denounce God or Die what would you say or even do?  Are you really so in love with God that nothing else matters?Can you honestly say you are willing to die for God?For those of you that say yes to that question, would you really???

And we wonder why we don’t see the miracles and the power of God moving in the body of believers today like in the days of the early church.I asked God, “Where is your power like in the book of Acts” and He asked me, “Where are my disciples? “I hope all of this really makes you think.Take some time to pray and seek God over the next few weeks and evaluate your life and your walk with God.Ask Him to purify your heart and bring you into a closer walk with Him.It’s time we as believers begin to take our place in His Kingdom and accomplish the word of the Lord.

16 Then the eleven disciples left for , going to the mountain where Yeshua (Jesus) had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him – but some of them still doubted! 18 Yeshua (Jesus) came and told his disciples, "I have been given complete authority in heaven and on earth. 19Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

This should be an ongoing effort in each and every one of our lives.We should constantly be making disciples, teaching them the word of the Lord and sending them forth to do the same.Imagine what would happen if you took 12 people for 3 years and poured into them like Yeshua poured into his 12, then set them forth to do the same.Think of the multiplying effect you would have on the world!If you can’t do 12, try 2 or even 1!The world can’t be changed over night, but you can help do it one person at a time.It’s time we become World Changers and begin living the word of God that we claim to follow.The early church were World Changers how about you!!

Ok, I have been trying to cut down on the number of posts in an effort to make it easier for people to follow me.  But this one actually made me mad enough to post it.  If the idiot reading porn to children wasn't bad enough now someone has taken things WAY TO FAR with the Bible....  I do not share the views of this following post and am highly  upset that someone would be perverted enough to even go to this level...

Erotic moments from Bible..

BERLIN (Reuters) - A German Protestant youth group has put together a 2006 calendar with 12 staged photos depicting erotic scenes from the Bible, including a bare-breasted Delilah cutting Samson's hair and a nude Eve offering an apple.

"There's a whole range of biblical scriptures simply bursting with eroticism," said Stefan Wiest, the 32-year-old photographer who took the titillating pictures.

Anne Rohmer, 21, poses on a doorstep in garters and stockings as the prostitute Rahab, who is mentioned in both New and Old Testaments. "We wanted to represent the Bible in a different way and to interest young people," she told Reuters.

"Anyway, it doesn't say anywhere in the Bible that you are forbidden to show yourself nude."

Bernd Grasser, pastor of the church in Nuremberg where the calendar is being sold, was enthusiastic about the project which is explained online at www.bibelkalender.de.

"It's just wonderful when teenagers commit themselves with their hair and their skin to the bible," he said.

*** I do not share these same views ***
Taken from the following: http://today.reuters.com/news/newsarticle.aspx?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyid=2005-12-05T164449Z_01_DIT560275_RTRUKOC_0_US-EROTIC-BIBLE.xml

This weekend was long but fun, after service on Saturday Amy wanted to go see Christmas Lights up in DC, so a bunch of us decided to join her.  We picked up Rebekah on our way up the Jonathan's house where we met him, Jennifer, and Mel.  Then Mel's cousins joined us as we headed to DC to look for lights.  First we stopped for some Indian food where we all ordered way too much.  After that, we ended up going to see the tree in front of the White House and sang Christmas Carols which was funny.  We even got to see a little snow mixed with ice and rain while there.  Once we all got really cold we headed back to Johnathan's house for a while before heading back home.  Around 1:30 or so we decided to stop by Steven's apartment and visited with him, Dave, and Nick while Brandon talked from the other room.  We stayed there longer than we planed before heading home.  I think I made it in at 4am and got 2 hours sleep before I had to get up for church the next morning.  I have to be there way early since I run sound for them.  It's not too bad as I do get paid for it.   I ended up making it most of the day.  We went out to lunch after the second service and then I went home talked to my parents who I haven't seen or talked to in a long time, mostly because I haven't been home and around 6ish I passed out from exhaustion.  I ended up sleeping for 12 hours and now I'm here at work trying to finish up on a few things left over from last weeks trip to the DC area. 

Food for thought, not sure if I would follow it but it's good enough for a laugh:
Ambition is a poor excuse for not having sense enough to be lazy.
  - Edgar Bergen

Ok this story I find disturbing....  Why oh WHY would you read Porn to a six-year-old???

Man fined for reading porn to six-year-olds

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - A Swedish drama student was fined 2,400 crowns on Wednesday for reading pornographic stories to a group of six-year-olds as part of a theater project on children's sexuality.

A Stockholm court ruled that the stories the man had read out were deeply pornographic and completely inappropriate for the age group, newspaper Dagens Nyheter said on its Web site.

It said the stories were about children having oral sex with each other.

The man's lawyer told Swedish radio that he would appeal against the verdict as he had not meant the stories to be seen as pornographic and had not acted with intent.

Taken from the following: http://today.reuters.com/news/newsarticle.aspx?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyid=2005-12-01T161038Z_01_DIT158208_RTRUKOC_0_US-SWEDEN-PORN.xml

Travel is fun, but I miss home and friends.  Well a few came up to visit me so I don't miss them.  Right now I'm sitting her waiting for a few phone calls.  There is nothing worse than working at a customer site and being stuck because you don't have the information you need.  If I can get these two issues resolved, then I will be done and can go home early, but as it looks now we won't be leaving until Friday afternoon.

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Update...  One of the issues is now resolved, and I am half way through the second one.  Once I get this last issue resolved I will be on the home stretch to getting out of this place.  A few more hours left in this work day so we shall see what happens.  Either way we have to leave sometime tomorrow.

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Going back to the hotel was fun today, we took the short cut through The Gallaria and attempted to cross 8 lanes of traffic durning Rush Hour.  I almost got hit by a car.   I didn't think the lady was going to stop.  Did I mention there are no crosswalks going towards our hotel?  Next time I am going to bring my car.  My co-worker's wife is making him go get furniture while we are up here. So we are going to try to do that tonight.  On our way in we noticed our truck was boxed in by cars.  We might be able to get it out with a 800 point turn. 

WOW today was really windy and wet.  Luckily it wasn't too bad when I got off work this afternoon as we decided to walk back to the hotel.  The building I'm working at is connected to The Gallaria, which is a mall.  We cut through the mall and eventually made it outside directly accross from our hotel.  It's been raining ever since then with high winds.  Then I had a friend of mine call me out of the blue.  He's on his way to Pennsylvania and remembered I was here in Tison's Corner and decided to stop by and meet me for dinner.  This is good as we don't have a car while we are here.  All we have is the 14ft truck that we drove up here in.  That's not all too bad, but most of the good eating places are built into the malls and there is somethign about fitting in a 6ft clearance with a 13ft tall truck that isn't fun.  Work went well today except we ran into some power problems.  It seems the people who did the purchasing didn't know what they were doing so we have a few problems here to work out, but nothing major.  We did as much as we could today and will have to pickup things tomorrow.  I think I might go swimming for a bit later tonight.  I'll have to see how I feel later and depends how long my friend stays before he heads on.