I'm so excited and I'm such a nerd

not happy

I hate drugs. I don't want to have to take them. They rarely do what they are supposed to do without doing 10 other things they shouldn't. Well the last couple of weeks have been pretty tough. Most of you know that I've had health problems and chronic pain for many years. Recently things got a little worse and it became difficult to even hold my head up without assistance in some way. So in order to get through class and to actually be able to pay attention and study, I started taking Vicodin. An amazing thing happened. I felt pretty good. Better than that even, I felt normal. I could sit without agonizing pain. I could concentrate on the lectures and I actually was able to think through the pain and participate in the class discussions. These are good things....right?

Well today I went to the doctor to get a refill on the prescription. I assumed this wouldn't be a problem. It's the only pain killer that I've ever taken that has helped my back pain in the last 9 years. Yet the doctor wouldn't budge. He said he couldn't give it to me for chronic pain because he didn't know what was wrong with me. We'll doctors have been trying to find out what's wrong with me for 9 years and no one has been able to figure it out. So does that disqualify me from being able to live a normal life. I am obviously not addicted to vicodin. The bottle I've been using recently is from 5 months ago and I still have a half used bottle from 5 years ago. I simply take it when I absolutely need it.

So instead I get prescribed two the few pain killer I haven't tried yet. Both have all sorts of bad side effects. Yet these are deemed safe to take. I'm so upset. Yet what choice do I have? I've got to try them the only other options are to either curl up and never leave bed until they make me when they kick me out of the Sem or to walk around as I am until I collapse or push my body to the point until I perminantly hurt myself. If this happens I am buying a cain, quiting the sem, and going into medicine so that I can take care of myself and take out my anger on everyone else with witty sarcasm.

I'm just glad the new Ray Lamontagne album came out. It's calmed me down enough where I can think straight again.

El Cinder in Color

The Observant & the Anawim

Back in early spring I attended an emergent conference down in St. Pete Bch. One of the main artists was a singer/songwriter Preson Philips. He looked like a biker. He had a large orange beard and wore leather boots and a leather hat. During the breaks he'd lean against the side of the church and smoke his pipe. He didn't look like someone you'd expect to be leading worship. I liked that about him right away. His music was equally unique and far from what you'd expect from a typical worship leader. Just him and his guitar, Philips music was a raw as his open soul that flowed through his songs. This is some of the best music I have ever heard. You can download his album for free at presonphilips.com If you can, please donate some money to help support Preson. He deserves it.

Visitor

I found a Gecko in my bathroom today. He was really small, about 2 inches long. He even matched the color of my carpet. I saw him and thought I would release him outside. When I caught him, I cupped him in my hand. I must have used a bit more pressure than I thought because when I opened my hand, there were two things moving around. He was on one side, his tail was twitching away on the other. This was both cool and a bit disturbing. When I opened my hand a second time, he jumped out and ran into the printer I have on my floor. I hope he finds his way out, or I'll be taking a bit more of Florida home with me than I thought...except for the tail of course.

It's good to create

We recently went through sermon series covering "The body of Christ." The idea of this comes from the writings of Paul the Apostle where he stresses that all those who were baptized into Christ are part of the Body of Christ. Just as every part of the body has it's functions, every member of the Body of Christ plays a function and that each function is necessary for a healthy body.

So in this sermon series we focused on how all of us have a part to play, even if we don't know what it is yet. Everyone has something wonderful to give to the body of believers and the world at large.

Christ did an odd thing when he left this world. He demonstrated his divinity by rising from the grave. He showed his love, mercy, and forgiveness by his willingness to go to the cross and forgive those who put him there. Yet after all this, after he demonstrated the He was all we would ever need, He left and said we would be His representatives.

So when everything is going good, all the parts of the body are working right and people see Christ's love in the way we live. But when one part of the body isn't working well, the rest of the body feels the effects. This sermon series was designed to help people give thought to what gifts they bring to the table. So hopefully people can figure out what part of the body they are and how they can do it better, or they can give some thoughts on how they can maybe take a bigger role.

To help drive this point home, Pastor mike asked me to create a picture or silhouette of Jesus. He wanted to somehow connect people's names and functions onto his body in some way. I could have probably gotten away with just making a silhouette, but I thought it would be cooler to have his face and hands. So 23 hours later I ended up smelling like linseed oil and mineral spirits and I had my first painting done in 7 years.

I left Christ's "body," or robe, white and we attached multi-colored tags that had a line for a name and a section that said "I'm doing my part by...." I incorporated the colors of the tags into the lettering and in small amounts into the painting itself. After the sermon, people were asked to bring up their offering and their tag, I and Pastor Mike put the tags on the painting as quickly as possible. It turned out pretty well, it had a Gustav Klimt affect going on with flat clothes on a modeled body. I was pretty happy with the end result.

It was difficult to give up control of where they were placed. It was also a little disappointing that it wasn't filled up any more than it was. Yet it still serves a theological point. The body of Christ will never be complete until the final day. There are many that he still wants in his family, many who still need to discover his love. It's a good reminder to share the message of His love with other people.

This was a great experience for me. Like I said, It's been about seven year since I painted. I felt alive and in a creative fire. I hope I continue to find and make time for this kind of stuff in the future.

"I'm sailing! Look at me! I sail!"

Well I have to admit, I've been down here for almost a year and I haven't done too many "Florida things." I haven't even been to the beach very often. I don't even have much of a tan. Yet, I have been able to do some fun things in recent months.






Around Memorial Day, Jeremy came down to visit me and we ended up at Clearwater beach. We went Parasailing. It was pretty sweet. We got up there about 800 ft. The view was awesome. Here are a few more pics from it:

Cool Guitar

Mission Trip

So it's been a pretty awesome couple of weeks. One of the big highlights was to go on a mission trip with my high school kids down to Immokalee, Fl. It was pretty sweet. You might even say it was Mantastic. We did a lot of awesome things. We did a lot of work at a food bank sorting canned goods. We moved about 7 tons of cans. I got into it....literally. It was good to work so close to my kids and compete, sing songs, and stuff.

We also worked a few days with an organization called Ihope. We helped clean out FEMA trailers to help get them ready for this year's hurricane season. Besides that, we worked on Nina's house. She was living in a house with substantial damage from last year still. Her house was essentially gutted from the rain damage. Her roof leaked, her steps were rotted, and she had no kitchen sink or cupboards. During our time there, we replaced her roof and helped build a new deck and stairs. It was pretty sweet because it was great to help Nina and it was my first time roofing.

We also spent a day in working at the Guadalupe Soup kitchen. It was a truly humbling experience. We arrive around 8 am in the morning and there was already many people lined up in the front of the building waiting for lunch. For many people this is the only meal they get a day. In the back of the building there was also a ling. Many were waiting to take showers as they did not have any plumbing at home.

We live such lives of luxury while others can't feed themselves or provide for their families. The people at the Guadalupe center never complained about what they were eating. They were just happy for the food and the showers. Many of these people lived in two room houses with eight or more other people. That was crazy to think of. I get cramped in my little house all by myself.

I wish I would be content with much less. I wish I would be more giving and less self-serving. Yet I am sure that I'll slowly forget my experiences on the mission trip. I'll slowly feel less guilty about spending money on useless things and will want way more than I have. I'll forget how good it feels to give and want to hang on to what I have. I hope I'm wrong. I hope that this mission trip has changed the way I'll live, what I set my priorities on. I guess only time will tell.

A Mustach Moment

It's comming....

"It was a good day.....for Ted"

Last week a few of Nate's friends from STL came down to visit him. Let me just say, it was a good time. We all hung out for a few days. One of the Days we went to the aquarium in Clearwater. Let's just say it was sweet. There was rumor that one could pet stingrays and see and possible touch Manatees. Let me tell you there were not Stingrays at the present time and there were never Manatees.

We decided to watch the dolphin show which was pretty sweet. We waited for a while because it started raining. Then we had to watch an angry dolphin blow water in the air in protest because of the rain. It was intense....the dolphin anger. Yet soon, his love for his purple hula hoop calmed his soul once more and he was ready to perform.

During the time we waited for the act to begin, they asked us to guess the girth of the dolphin from one side of his dorsal fin to the other. I inspected him from one angle, moved to the other side of the pool and checked him out from another side. A girl came by and asked if I had a guess. I said, "47 inches. No! 49! But I'm probably two over." The girl gave me a look like, "You're on crack" or "wow, right on." Then she walked away.

So right when the show was about to begin, they called the dolphin over, attached the measuring tape to his fin, and had him spin the tape around himself to be measured. The young lady took the microphone and announced, "He measures in at 47 inches." I turned to my friend Liz and said, "That's what I guessed at first!" Luckily, no one else was even close, so I got to go down and pet the dolphin and feed him some fish. It was quite possibly the best moment of my life. It was amazing. It was a good day.....for Ted.

My Dad

As many of you know, my Dad is a published poet and is the Poet Lariat of Grand Rapids. On Sunday He had a large article written about him in the Grand Rapids Press. I'm very proud of Him. Read it if you get a chance.

Nalduik Bloodeye in Color

And All The Peoples Rejoiced!

Well, I've got a new computer. I can once again hold my head up high in Star bucks when I'm working on a sermon or a paper. I can also cancel my cable and watch all the good stuff on the on line. I could play some WOW if I so chose to. I could also listen to my music while working on GIMP. Oh yeah, I could probably use a web cam now and not have everything freeze up on me (very bad for on line role playing).

What is going on?

So the other day, I was driving home from work taking the same route I've been driving at least once a day for the last 7 months. I look to the right. I see the botanical gardens....then the park...then...WHAT!!!!! an apartment complex????????? I swear I've never seen this string of apartments in my life. Never! Yet, there it is.

I thought maybe it was new construction. Nope! The buildings are older and are occupied. Then I thought perhaps there was foliage in blocking the view from the road. Nope! Not that either! It is clear by the poor condition of the lawn and the weathered fence that this simply isn't the case. The only option is that it has always been there or I jumped to a parallel reality where the only difference is this apartment. Oh yeah....I saw a rooster hanging out in front of it today. Lent is getting long....

El Cinder

El Cinder was an early member of the Nexus League. He was instrumental in rescuing Dog and Yhhric when they were in the process of being hung in Meldui. As the ropes were tightening around Dog and Yhhric's necks, El Cinder actually cut the nooses with his arrows. From that time on, Yhhric considered El Cinder his master and spent every opportunity learning at his feet.

El Cinder was eventually killed by Jakos Grandrock. He sacrificed himself to spare a village from destruction as Dog, Yhhric, and Dirkus helplessly looked on. To this day, Yhhric still wears El Cinder's cloak in remembrance of his fallen master.

Lord Christian

Lord Christian is one of the greatest heroes of Solroc. He played a major part in ending Bane's first rise to power in the Emerald Age. Somehow he has survived throughout the centuries and has resurfaced to create the Nexus League. He is currently striving towards Bane's final defeat.

The Coward, Nolderon

The transmuter, Nolderon, was one of the early members of the Nexus league. Yet, his thirst for power was greater than his quest for freedom from the rule of Bane. When the opportunity arose, Nolderon betrayed his friends, and lead The Empire to the hidden fortress of the Nexus League. As a reward, it is suspected, Nolderon was given great power and was turned to a lich by Bane himself.

Elisia

So far, the Druid Elisia's past is shrouded in mystery. At the battle of Zyrintoc, She came to the aid of Yhrric during an encounter with The Soulless. She sought him that day as a mentor. Since then, she hasn't left his side.

I failed my saving throw!

Olthea

Yhrric revisited

This is the same drawing as below. I painted it with the Gimp2.2.

Yhrric

I hope I didn't make a mistake.

I did it. I bought it. I hates it that I bought it, but I did. I had a $25 gift cirtificate to Wal-mart and picked up Lost season 3. I wasn't too happy with it when I watched it on TV. There were too many commercials and It didn't hold me as well. I did watch most of the first two seasons on DVD, so maybe I was too spoiled. But, the episodes I did see of the first two seasons did seem to have less commercials and better breaks. I guess we'll see. I'm contemplating not watching season 4 or reading any of your blogs until it comes out on DVD.

Now That's Dramatic

SO VERY DRAMATIC

Time, the past has come and gone

More and more I am amazed at how quickly time passes us by. I am even more amazed at how much things can change in a year, how much I have changed. The first half of last year was one of the worst of my life. My A.D.D. kicked into high gear, my back was doing worse than it had in a while, and all the struggles in school had left me feeling as if I had wasted the last couple years of my life. Last year was also a year of great loss: my sweet grandmother, Matt's wonderful mother(my aunt and second mom), and my faithful friend, Shadow.

The middle of my year was a mix. It was Marcy. She really forced me to take a good look at what I was working towards and to figure out if it was right or not. In many ways it tore me in two. In the end, thought, I had to trust in God to let her go so I could continue following the path He had placed me on. Though it was rough loosing her, I am glad that I felt the warmth of her light, even if for only a season. She taught my heart how to love again.

Oddly enough, the second half of '07 was one of the best five months of my life. I love Florida. I love the people God has placed in my life. They lift me up and encourage me constantly. I feel as if I am nearly complete. I see accomplishment where I thought would be failure. My health is returning to me. I feel more like myself, more balanced, and more in tuned with God's plan than I have felt in years.

As always, I thank God for all those people He has placed around me, old friends and new. If I have any new year resolutions, I think it would probably be to draw closer with friends and family and to try and live a less self-focused life. I guess we'll see how it goes.

Movie Night

SO I saw a couple of good movies the other night. The first film is entitled "Once." It is awesome! The film's two main characters are musicians in real life: The Frames' front man, Glen Hansard and Eastern European pianist Marketa Irglova. It's like watching a live acoustic concert. The music is amazing. The acting is charming. So Watch it. It was so good, I bought the sound track the day after I watched it.


When I got home from Nate's house, I flipped on the TV and found one of my favorite films was on. It's an Italian film called "Life is Beautiful." I was a little disappointed that it was doubed. I enjoy the subtitle experience.

The film is a comedy placed during WWII in Italy. The main character, Guido, spends the first half of the movie doing crazy antics, tying to win the heart of his love, Dora. The second half, he uses his antics to try and convince his son that the concentration camp that they are in is part of a giant game that they have signed up for. Its touching and hilarious. You should check it out.