11 Days & Counting
So I really have been procrastinating on updating my blog. Most of the time I would think about it and that was about as far as I got.
There are 11 days left for class and I cannot wait. Every other week I’ve had two papers due and that is on top of my normal class work. For my Christian History class I had to write a paper on The founding of the Canon and the second Paper was on the Papacy. In my Theology class I had to write a position paper on The Destination of the Unreached and The Nature of Hell and the second paper was on Calvinism versus Arminian.
Friday and Saturday I had the 30 Hour Famine with the youth group in our church. So the 30 Hour Famine is where you basically fast for 30 hours from food and raise money for the hungry throughout the world. It’s a nation wide event done by churches and is done through World Vision. Friday morning begins the fast, we then go to either school or work, and then met up at church around 6 to hang out, focusing on God’s word and why we’re doing this and of course had fun. We had the option of sleeping in tents or a box to experience what it is like. As for myself I slept under the stars with just a sleeping bag. Anyways I put together a video of highlights from the famine and posted it below.
Afterwards on Saturday afternoon Jen and I went to the Lazy5ranch, which is like Lion County Safari, but better. The reason why it was better was because you could feed the animals as you drive through. Of course there were no dangerous animals, however the Emu’s were very demanding when it came to food. At one point two Emu’s were about in the vehicle trying to get to the food Jen had.
The past couple Sunday’s I’ve been playing paintball after church with my father in-law and yesterday was the first Sunday Jen was able to go. There’s a paintball field about 15 minutes from Church (Boss Paintball Field, Locust). So it’s real easy to shoot right on over there afterwards and really cheap on Sundays. I am so fortunate to have a wife who will get outside and get dirty with me crawling though dirt and mud, but then also still wanting to be a girl. I really have been blessed with a great wife. The past couple weeks I had some stuff going and just seeing her there for me was great. I sometimes forget and take things like that for me to remember.
So last night was the last night of Passover and we had Jen’s parents over for dinner. This was my first ever Passover Seder that I conducted. This is something that Jen and I really want to do yearly and we may even do it for our church next year or at least for our home group.
Till next folks…
31 Days Until Summer
I think I told some of you that I suppose to be going up to New York in a couple weeks. Well as of now I do not think that is going to happen until later because of hold ups on the clients end. I keep meaning to add this story to my post and I keep forgetting. I work in a community style office building. There are several businesses on the floor where I work and we share the secretary and the kitchen area and such. There is one particular lady who takes smoke breaks throughout the day (outside of course). I’m not exactly sure what she smokes, but whatever it is it has flavoring. I know this because anytime I get in the elevator after she has been it, it smells like cloves…ham cloves. Anytime I smell where she has been I think of ham and honestly she kinda reminds me of a ham and that maybe because she smells like cloves.
So Chip got home safely, he was the one in Afghanistan with the Navy. He said in his e-mail that he has been working on his honey do list that she has been saving for 15 months. This week I have my drill weekend for the Guard. I’m looking forward to it and then again I am not. The only reason I am not is because I have two papers due this week. A 2-4 page paper on the destiny of the unevangelize and the nature of hell and the second paper is 5 page paper on the Canonization of the Bible, how and the councils. Both of them are due Monday, but Saturday and Sunday I will not be able to work on them and I have my regular class work….come on summer. Besides the class work, class is going well. Christianity history is definitely interesting and my theology class is as well. I’m really looking forward to summer for the time off from school. School has really been taking up a lot of time from things I would like to do and miss doing. One such thing is mtn. bike riding. I was able to get out and ride Friday but that is only like my 3rd or 4th time riding since the new year.
Some good news, at least I hope so, over the weekend Jen and I filled out the paper work to adopt a puppy. We were originally looking into getting a german shepard mixed with a pit, but because of the restricted dog breed policy we could not and now we are looking into getting a lab and hound mix. We are just waiting on the homeowner to tell us what the pet deposit would be, if any. This is a big thing for the Evans family because for some time now I have been lobbying for a dog and it’s officially happening. Once and if we get the dog I will let you all know.Until next time folks.
Come on Spring
So we are moved out of the apartment and into the house. I took a few pictures of the new place but I don’t have them on me right now and will get them up soon. We still have a little unpacking to be done, but it is minimal.Spring is approaching here in NC and I cannot wait. I am tired of this winter stuff. It was fun at first, but seriously 5 months of the cold gets old. At least we could have gotten a bit more snow then a few inches. Then again I could be shoveling 26″ of it.
Found out I’ll be going to New York for work mid April for about a week. My boss and I will be doing training in Poughkeepsie. I’m looking forward to it. While we’re there my boss is going to try and get either Yankees or Mets tickets….come on Yankee tickets. Also found out that next year I maybe doing some international traveling. My boss asked me what my two preferences would be and I told him Australia and Brazil. Brazil because I love the Brazilian people and the country and then Australia…well how often does one get a chance to go to Australia. The international stuff is still a year away so we shall see.
I finished my first half semester of class and finished with an A and B. This week starts my second half of the semester. I’m taking another Theology class and also a Church History class. I have a feeling this is going to be my most demanding semester yet. I have a paper due just about every week either for my theology class of my church history class. Plus I have quizzes at the end of each week and my normal lectures that I need to watch.
I haven’t really mentioned this at all and not sure why, but this week is our Easter Drama.We Followed Follow the Man is the Title and I will be playing Jesus. A woman in our church wrote it and Jen is helping direct it and Jen even has some stage time. Jen is the actor and I am no actor…how I got to be the main character is beyond me. So unlike typical Easter dramas where it ends at the Resurrection we are going to continue pass that and describe what happens with each of the disciples after the death of Jesus and after His return to the Father. I’m sure we will have a video of it and I will get copies out to everyone.
I did a little bit of 3D work on the side this past week. The pictures that look like they are hand drawn is a program (AutoDESK Impression) that will take the rendered drawings and convert them into hand drawings. I wish I could take credit for 100% of the work, but I can take credit for about 95%. The chairs and the speaker cones I found online. But the speaker casing/frame, curtains, door, the screen and projector, wall scones and room layout I did.
Until next time folks….
Moving Weekend
It’s been awhile since I’ve updated the blog. For the most part I am feeling better. I still have a small cough but nothing serious. Work has slowed down a little bit for the time, but will be picking up again soon. Sometime in April or May (dates have not been confirmed) I am supposed to be doing some traveling for work. We (my boss and I) will be training IBM in one of our software products and then I believe next year we will be doing some more traveling.
Last weekend was my first weekend back in drill (National Guard). There were some issues in whether I actually had slot/job there and I can’t say I am surprised. One, It is a brand new unit so they’re still getting their stuff together and second it’s the Army. Next month’s drill they’re supposed to have everything together in regards for a job for me. We shall see.
This week was my last week of my first 8 week classes. I’m guessing I’ll finish my Theology class with an A and my youth class with a B. This weekend is the big move out of the apartment and into the house. We were going to work a half day today and move the other half, but thanks to the rain we may have to postpone it until tomorrow. Which really stinks because we were hoping that Saturday afternoon we could be setting up the house and unpacking. Once we get setup in the new house I will get some pictures posted. Quick bio of the house: a 3/2.5 bath, brand new home, never lived in, two story house.
Besides that not a whole lot going on. I guess you could say that I live a pretty unexciting life.
Till next time folks…
It’s A Start
I’m starting to feel better so I ventured off to work today. Although I’m still congested I a lot better then two days ago. I cannot believe where the time has gone, but I only have 2 weeks left for my first 8 week classes. My theology class I’m doing great in. I’ve needed to write three papers so far “Those Who Have Never Heard Have They No Hope”, “What Is Man”, & “The Role of Women in the Church A Survey of Current Approaches” and aced them all. I have one more paper to write this week on….I’m not even sure yet. But I’m sure it’ll be a good one.
Being sick all weekend really put a wrench in the gears. We’re suppose to be moving in two weeks and we haven’t even started packing yet. Next weekend is a no go for me because I’ll be at drill. So packing will be done during the week I suppose. We really do not have a lot because during the several moves we have unloaded a lot of stuff that we did not need.
Till Next time folks…
Got another letter from Chip yesterday.
Hello everybody, I know you ask when I am coming home but I am still here having fun. I will be home soon. Today I was on the ANA base checking in with the civil affairs officer and checking on First Sgt Dodd’s truck I broke while he is on leave. They have to replace the drivers door. We had very high winds here 3 days ago where the cold air coming down from the Hindu Kush mountains met the warm air coming up from the south in Iraq. I saw roofs go that day. I felt like I could be the flying Nun in my booney hat. For those of you old enough to remember Sally Fields in the tv series help out the poor disadvantage younger generation. Any way I digress. The ANA base has a recruit training center attached to it and while my interpreter, Sheik, and I were walking to the motorpool we ran into a new recruit squad of 20 brand spanking new soldiers and the drill sgt was trying to teach them how to march Soviet style and it was h hilarious. I haven’t seen Sheik laugh so hard since I have been here. But wait it gets better. On the way back from the motorpool we run into them again and the drill sgt stops them in front of me. I say to myself what a golden opportunity I have here. So I tell Sheik to translate what I am going to say to these brand new soldiers and I want him to bellow it out like a drill sgt. Now being the nice kind guy that I am I start yelling at them for doing a lousy job of learning how to march. I then I tell them I expect them to be the best ANA soldiers there ever were! I popped them to attention and inspected them. I know you had to be there but these poor kids were scared of me while Sheik and I are trying hard not to laugh. I then finished my motivational speech by telling them they have to be the best of the best because I will be watching from the shadows and Allah help them if they don’t become the best. I played on their superstitious nature with the shadow part. You should have seen their looks. I then turned them over to their drill sgt and watched them march off and they were better. Sheik was rolling on the ground with laughter and he asked if we could do this again. Maybe we will and maybe we won’t. Live from Afghanistan Chief Petty Officer Submarine Service Charles E. Wisard, a man of many talents and I am trying to behave.
Mass Effect and Other Foolishness
It’s been busy lately so I haven’t been able to keep up with posting as much. Our new project at work is really picking up speed so I’m trying to keep up with that. I’m doing a lot of script writing (programming for AutoCAD) just so I can alleviate a lot of my work load. When I have had a moment to spare at work I’ve been working on another 3D project.
School is going well. I got a 97 on my last paper, in regards to the unreachable and there salvation. I’ve come to the conclusion that it is an absolute, not relative to a situation, that salvation is through Jesus. If even one person can get into heaven without knowing Jesus then Jesus’ death was for nothing. I believe if a man is truly searching for God with his whole heart God will shed more light in a way that he can know about Jesus (Jeremiah 29:13). Whether it be through a missionary, a vision, or an Angel God will provide a way for that man to know Jesus. John Piper said “I believe they’re all [the unreached or unreachable] lost, and will go to hell if they don’t hear the gospel. But they will not be indicted for not believing the gospel which they haven’t heard- they’ll be indicted for suppressing the truth they had.” God is sovereign in everything He does and will always do what is right. He is in control.
If you’ve read the news or watched Fox News at all you may have seen there story on the video game of Mass Effect. Typically I’m all for Fox News, they have good stuff. But this story they ran last week about the game was plain ignorance. They were making a huge deal out of a love scene in the game and called pornographic. They had some dumb woman on Fox, who had never played the game and I’m not even sure if she even saw the scene in question. She was on Fox to talk about how traumatizing this scene is to younger kids and it’s a problem and blah blah blah. First of the game is rated M for mature, so parents do your job and don’t let your kids play M rated games easy solution. Second of all I’ve played the game and I’ve seen the scene they were talking about and there is no nudity. Actually, if you turn on your local Fox channel you see worse stuff on any TV show after 8:00.
Is There Hope
I’ve started reading an article yesterday for my theology class that I need to write a critique on. It’s a very popular question and a very difficult question to answer. Do the people that have never heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ have any hope? No I am not talking about the hermit who lives in his mother’s basement. I am talking about the tribes deep in the Amazon. the Gospel is clear on what salvation is and how to obtain it, but not everyone has heard the Gospel. We were created in God’s image and Romans speaks of the moral law written into our hearts. So it’s only natural to be aware of what sin is. Just look at any 2 year old who barely understands the word ‘no’ let alone the Gospel of Christ. My paper is due Wednesday night and I still do not have a full answer for it. I do know this though, even when we were separated from God by our sin He found a way to restore that relationship and that was and is through Jesus Christ. I know God will find a way for those people and will not abandon them. This does not mean we are to sit back and let God handle it. We are called to actively spread the Gospel. There are many Christian missionaries looking for support in anyway possible. They are doing what we cannot or will not do so why not support them?
I got an interesting e-mail from one of my old bosses the other day. He lives in Miami and is looking for some AutoCAD consulting and some actual work in the future creating a block library and maybe doing some 3D stuff. I’ve casually mentioned to Jen that I feel comfortable enough with AutoCAD to possibly start my own business. Maybe this will be a way to really determine how comfortable I am with AutoCAD. I’m sure there are plenty of AutoCAD technicians who believe the samething that I do…so we’ll see.
By the way GO GIANTS!! I watched the Packer Giant game and it was an amazing game. Hopefully the Superbowl this year will not be a blowout.
Christmas and Velociraptors
Christmas was good. We had breakfast at IHOP with Jen’s parents and then we went home to open presents. A got a couple commentaries for school, which I desperately needed, some new music for my IPOD, and a bunch of other things. One present in particular stands out….quick rabbit trail. Sometime ago I pointed to a shirt I thought was really funny. It was a hilarious web-comic site I found called XKCD. Just like I have a thing for bears, he has a thing for velociraptors. Jen remembered that I liked it and bought it for me.
The Shirt:
School starts back up in a couple weeks and I’m starting two new classes. The first 8 weeks I’m taking History of Christianity and the second part to my Theology class that I took last semester. The second 8 weeks I’m taking a Youth Ministry class and then another Theology class, but this a 300 course the others were a 200 level course.
Updates
Boy it has been awhile since I’ve updated this beast. What has been happening lately, well I found out bears can climb trees faster then they can run and they can swim. So just by those two facts alone if you see a bear you’re done for. Go get’em tiger.
Last weekend we went to the renaissance festival. Fun time that was…really it was. We saw jousting, a guy with a cup over his you know what, a fire breathing guy, oh and we saw jousting. Overall it was a good day although next time we go I will need to make sure I have a 5 months savings. Once you pay to get in most of everything inside cost money as well…lots of money.
Tuesday was the most important day ever…actually, the most important day after the death and resurrection of Christ. Anyways it mine and Jen’s anniversary. Three years we’ve been married. Hard to believe that it’s been three years all ready, but it has. We weren’t really able to do anything really special like last year because of the ol’ mighty dollar. We did though go out for sushi. I’ve been really craving sushi for awhile and she found a nice little restaurant that has it. Two thumbs up for Jen.
This weekend we are going back to the creeper trail, but with the youth group. It’s been getting into the high 30’s lows 40’s. I can only imagine what it’ll be like in Virginia. My guess cold. Speaking of cold the first morning we woke up with frost we realized we had nothing to scrap it off with and the only thing I could find was an empty water bottle. I would like to say that I melted the plastic bottle down to a solid sheet of plastic and used that to scrap it, but we are under a burn ban. So I used the bottle cap.
I started my introductory to the Gospel of John class three weeks ago. One of the easiest gospels to read, but as the teacher say’s “it’s also the deepest gospel of them all”. This semester has really been kicking my butt though. On top of my lectures, I have my quizzes, my discussion board stuff, and I also need to write two papers. One of them I am working on now is the eight miracles performed by Jesus in the book of John. Did mention I also have my math class lectures. Believe it or not, I had to limit my riding to only weekends.
A couple days ago Jen put the house back on the market with BuyOwner and believe it or not we had a call tonight. He is interested in moving here from Ohio and wants his son to go and look at the house not this weekend, but next weekend. So we shall see where this goes. Sell house sell!
By the way because of this stupid Hollywood strike the new season 24 has been delayed. Stupid writers strike. Did I mention the writers strike is stupid.
so you think you can
Lastnight we went to see So You Think You Can Dance live show at the Bobcat Arena. Yes I said we, anyways we had a very good time lastnight. Watching it on TV is one thing, but seeing it live is a totally different experience. It is amazing what these people can do with there bodies.
Tonight is a very exciting night for me. Transformers the movie came out Tuesday so we’re having some people over to watch it with us. We’re going to BBQ some chicken and just have a good time. BBQ chicken, friends, and Transformers the movie…can it get any better.
I just finished out my Theology 201 class with a 95 and I registered for my Spring 08 classes the first 8 weeks is Theology 202 and Youth Ministry 201 and the second 8 weeks is Theology 250 and Church History 301.
Last week Quentin, the Youth Pastor, gave me permission to do a couple months worth survey lessons of the Old Testament major characters and events. I brought the idea up because the youth group is strongly lacking in Old Testament knowledge and I suggested the idea of doing a survey of it. During lessons they are asking questions of why the Jews did this, why did God do that, who is that. Maybe it’s because they’ve gotten so much preached from the New Testament by old the youth pastor who knows, but I hope the helps them understand a bit more.
I made another video lastnight. I’ve noticed in the last two videos I’ve made they come out blocky and a lower quality then what I uploaded them at. I am hoping to find another site to host them so they will not be so blocky.
