Is there any day better than Sunday?

Praising our creator.

Eating with family & friends.

Relaxing on the couch.

Playing tennis & roller hockey.

Clapton. Hammock. Zombies. Sis.

Friday was my lone day of spring break, so I left for home around noon on Thursday. It was my first time back home this term, so it was great to see my parents and sleep in my nice big bed. I had no plans for that night, and luckily, neither did an old friend of mine. So I treated her to some Starbucks (my first time there), and she treated me to a movie (against my will). We saw ‘Yes Man’ and had a great time doing so. After that we wandered around Calvin for a few hours and eventually ended up finding a nice cozy spot to sit inside of  the ‘cheese’, which we both agree looks much more like a legged fish (see picture). It was curled up in this awkward art that I had an interesting realization, I was experiencing seeing Eric Clapton all over again.

Let me explain.

When I saw Eric Clapton play the Van Andel several years back, it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. However, the feeling I remember most is that of inadequate appreciation. Here I am, seeing one of the greatest guitarists ever playing some of the most beautiful songs of all time, and all I can do is sit back and watch him play. This isn’t to say that it wasn’t amazing (because it was!), but it’s that this was a very rare and special moment in my life, and I felt like even though I was loving it, my brain wasn’t properly taking in just how blessed I was to be there. It’s like I was taking that moment for granted, no matter how hard I tried not to.

I have a handful of friends who cause me to have this same feeling whenever I am with them—and this girl is certainly one of those few. There are certain people who it’s impossible to not see God in. These people are infinitely entertaining to be around, and so clearly created with great things in mind. Luckily, I’ve been blessed with a life surrounded by these friends.

Moving on,

Friday I overslept, had pizza for breakfast(ugh), and after realizing the fact that it was sunny and 60+ degrees outside, I shook the dust off the hammock and had myself a lovely read in my backyard.

Check it out. Shorts. HA HAH!

Also, ‘Jesus For President’ is an amazing book. It is radically changing the way that I see government and myself as an American citizen. I’m sure there will be more on this book once I finish it.

Later that night I hung out with Brian, Scott, and Joe, and played some Munchkin/SSBB/Tetris. Simply wonderful gentlemen, I cannot wait to move back to West Michigan and spend more time with them.

Saturday I saw The Watchmen with Brian and Scott. I really enjoyed the movie, despite the overwhelming darkness throughout the entirety of it. However, had I not previously read the graphic novel, I feel that I may have come away not liking it. My advice: if you haven’t yet seen the movie, please read it first. Later that night I met up with my old friend again, this time for a pre-planned evening. We went to a play at our old high school because her sister was in it (she played a drunken actress lol). I was pleasantly surprised to find that I enjoyed myself. After that we went back to her school and watched ‘Planet Terror’ and ‘Death Proof’. There are few things better than a girl who wants you to watch zombie movies with her. After the movies we talked until 5:00am, and of course Clapton syndrome set in once more. My drive home at that crazy hour of the night was one of the best I’ve had in a long time. I just put ‘In Rainbows’ on quietly in the background and prayed out loud. I prayed for her. I thanked the LORD for blessing me with such a great friend. I prayed that she would live a life truly set apart, and that through her great things will happen. It’s a blessing to have someone to be thankful for.

After 2 hours of sleep, I stared at my alarm clock for a good 5 minutes, trying to figure out where I was and why I was conscious, and finally grabbed my bass and left for church. It was great being back there; the music was fun, although it was one SG and many neck bends short of my liking. I went to lunch with my family for my Dad’s 57th b-day. My sister is 3 months away from making me an Uncle, and this was the first time that I saw actually looking pregnant. I’m very excited for this coming spring. I feel that it will bring many more blessings.

musta been a dog person

I really don’t understand the way that some people think. Are some people really that irritable that they can’t stand a cat being in a small town’s post office, so much so that they complain that since the cat doesn’t pay taxes, it has no right to be in the institution. Are some people really so afraid of personal responsibility that they will sue McDonald’s for $2.9 million because they spilled coffee on themselves? Are some people so blinded by what they see as wrong that they will destroy a building and put lives in risk instead of loving the people and praying for alternatives to abortion?

As odd of a jump as it may seem, this reminds me of Israel and the Pharisees back in Biblical times. Both of their actions elicit a similar feeling of frustration from within me.

I had this thought a few months ago at Real Men: whenever I study the Bible and read of the Israelites following a pillar of clouds by day and a pillar of fire by night, witnessing the Red Sea parting and then walking through it themselves, and yet creating a golden calf to worship within only a few days of Moses leaving to go up Mt. Sinai, or the Pharisees memorizing the entirety of the Torah by the time they were 13, tying scripture to their foreheads, dedicating their lives to piety and devotion to the LORD, and yet twisting God’s laws to their own purposes and subjecting their own people to a law of rules instead of a law of love, and failing to recognize their messiah, the one they had been waiting centuries for, and instead crucifying him, I can’t help but think, “How?! How could these people ignore God’s word and the miracles that they had witnessed, and twist this truth into a religion?”

Yet, what separates the church today, and myself, from the errors of our predecessors? It’s a terribly frightening thought. How has today’s church compromised and strayed from the truth and instead created our own religion?

The biggest deviation from God’s true word that I can see is the church’s use of money(God’s money!). I don’t doubt that exciting youth groups and impressive buildings can attract people to certain churches, but isn’t there a point where money is better spent on feeding Africans or sending Bibles to China instead of on a new high def television or nicer sound equipment? Isn’t it ridiculous to hear a sermon on humility, servant-hood, and love, and then leave the church, get into your BMW and drive to an overpriced steakhouse?

These are by no means sins of which I am innocent. I will readily admit that society has corrupted my personal beliefs to the point where I may not even know that what I am doing is contradictory to the truth, God’s truth. I really wish that a third-party would step in and say, “Alex, look at your life. Now look at the life we are called to live. Lets help each other.” What this world needs is Christians who don’t just accept what their churches tell them, this world needs is Christians who question all of the norms in the church and in society, who live by God’s word, who love freely.

As Ghandi famously said, “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”

To my brothers and sisters in Christ: Please, let us help each other. If you see a way in which our faith has been compromised by our society or by convinience, then lets find out where God actually calls us to be. And if you see me acting in a way outside of the way I was created to, please(!) let me know. Isn’t that what the church is for? To help each other strive for the truth and to help the world see the truth.

If any of you have any other examples of how the church has deviated from what God called it to be, please post your ideas. I’m really hoping to get some interesting responses.

reflections and BEAR!!! hugs.

I suppose I made an early slip in the ‘post once a day’ thing. I’m probably one of the few who noticed though. Well, I guess I should remedy this…

My car is fixed. My original ignition coil packs somehow survived this long (they generally explode much sooner), but finally kicked the bucket when my engine ate it’s weight in snow on Friday. So $800 dollars later I have a working Jetta and an increased motivation to shop for a Subie.

I went into work for just an hour yesterday to organize things a bit for intern #2. It’s amazing how different the plant is when most of the lights are off and the place is empty. It’s also amazing how quickly you can get stuff done when there’s no one else there. So now I am officially done until April, assuming they don’t pull me in for inventory /crossfingers  .

This whole ‘vacation/layoff” thing seems to be going relatively well. My mind seems to dwindle rather quickly without the need to be productive. I’ve been finding myself staring at the floor for a minute or two quite often, or just zoning out when talking to people. Maybe my body doesn’t know what to do with all of this extra sleep.

One of my absolute favorite moments of…ever, is when we sing ‘Silent Night’ at my church on Christmas Eve. It’s always a capella and everybody holds these little white candles. They lights turn off and the pastor lights one persons candle, then the flame slowly spreads around the room until every candle is lit. Of course a large part of the reason I loved this when I was younger was that it was one of my few chances to play with fire. indoors!  The sancuary at Jenison Christian Church (where I’ve gone my whole life) is a big brick octogan, and at the pinnacle of the ceiling is a semi transparent skylight with a cross sitting above it. One of my most loved images is looking up into the skylight and seeing the reflection of all the little candles flickering. It’s my favorite part of Christmas, no question.

Interesting invention today (thanks to my girlfriend). The “BEAR!!! hug”. It’s when a girl hugs you from behind, as if she is shielding herself from the oncoming attacks of the godless killing machines so often lightly called ‘bears’. Of course this will only work if the guy is taller than the girl, but if you’re in a relationship where the girl is taller than the guy, GET OUT! that’s just not right.