Keeping the tradition alive... Thursday, May 08, 2008 |
I actually started this blog about two weeks ago and just finished it today. Therefore it is long and pretty much all over the place. I also may have repeated myself, if I have I am sorry. If I haven't then it by the sheer power of awesomeness which I poses in spades.
I don't blog that much. Also, having written too many pages for school in the last week, I realized that I have been really avoiding the blog writing for some time and with good reason. The semester is over, and after having one of the busiest ones of my college experience, I am abnormally glad to have accomplished it. Further, I packed more work into this period of time than I normally do, and strangely my grades improved because of it. When I am not challenged, I become disinterested and ultimately forget to turn in assignments which leads to bad grades, but when I must constantly do work, I am able to get it done and rarely forget...I think that it is the Savage way.
Also, to my utter disappointment and dismay, I am the last of my family to continue working for The Salvation Army. It is strange because anyone who knows me well has heard me rant against certain aspects the organization. The fact is my decision to keep going is two-fold. First, it would be a dumb decision to leave when I may have to change locations in the near future anyway. I would have little time to start work elsewhere. Second, I have been given the opportunity to minister in a way over the last year that I truly believe is effective. Regardless of the politics and the the Salvation Armyness of the job, I truly believe that God has some good work to do through me here. So I stay, but I am bewildered at the fact that my parents have left and I have not. Who would have thought?
Good Times, Bad Times
The Pens... :-)
The Cavs... :-(
Indiana Jones :-D
The people who went to see Indiana Jones with me (This is where I would type an extremely angry face if I knew how)
Indiana Jones
A few thoughts on the state of our nations young people, specifically in regards to their movie going habits.
First, they are all dorks....every single person save a select few were the biggest morons I have ever seen. At least one in every ten as dressed in a fedora and bomber jacket. The most egregious part being that they were terrible matches to the Indiana Jones costume. One guy wore a light tan bomber jacket with a gray and frumpy fedora...what? As I continued through the evening, I became more angered by the innate dorkiness of these people. I wanted to go around and in one swift double move hit their hats off their heads to show them how dorky they all were and then punch them in the fact to show how mad I was at them.
Then there is the loud group that never really grew up. These are the "frat" type guys that yelled obscenities and were generally obscene throughout the time we spent waiting for the film to commence. They also started the clapping...oh the clapping. There was once a day when a good cheer for the beginning of a legendary film was a good time. Now, however, the clapping has become another outlet for immature frat guys and dorks alike to share a moment of pure ridiculousness together. They clapped when the pre-show trivia screen came on. They clapped when the previews started, and again when all subsequent previews began. Again a good swif punching in the face was in order.
That all being said it was great to see Indiana Jones. The franchise has been one of my favorites throughout my childhood and still is to this day. Remarkably this movie felt very much like the older ones. It was a little more stylized Harrison Ford is twenty twenty years older, but remarkably did not look or act accordingly. I was amazed at how agile he was, and I looked closely in some parts to see if it was actually him. Of course some stunts were done by stunt men, but gee... Long and short it was a good time and I throughly plan to see it again as soon as I can. I wish another one was coming out tomorrow.
Me
I have been in the midst of pretty significant change. One of the things that I have noticed is that personality comes out when change happens. When life is more than just a comfortably road that we can coast on, the true person is revealed. I have long known that I have a pretty significant cynical streak. I am also an optimist...go figure. I have found myself literally struggling with these two personality traits as I deal with a significant challenge in my professional life. I am at once a leader with the idea that all will be well with a reassuring confidence in the innate goodness of people, and a cynic with the desire to be subversive and shrewd in my dealings with people. Strangely enough, both sides have a significant place in my situation, and I am glad that I am able to see these two sides work in tandem. Without the dichotomy of sorts, I do not think that I would be able to deal with the specific pressures placed on my situation.
Also, this situation has also provided fuel to anger at the established church in general. Again, I find myself using the cynicism and optimism in tandem. I realize I can't stand in judgment of anyone. I realize that I don't have the answers. I also realize that things are messed up. I realize that we have fallen disgustingly short of the calling that God has given His established church on earth. We have become the Pharisees. We have become the enemies of the gospel. And we should know better. What will it take to humble the church? What will it take to strip away all of the pretense and get back to what it means to be followers of Christ on this earth? I have my ideas, but they are probably no better than a million that have come before mine. Perhaps this current situation will give me the wisdom to know how to approach this in my own sphere of influence, as small as it may be. You know, I often think of following Christ as being gentle, humble, and almost meek. But is there a time when the temple needs to be cleared with a whip? And, do any of us have the right to do so? I really like the thought of punching people in the face. Don't ask me why. I have never actually done it, but when I see it sometimes it makes me think that it would feel really good to do so. Sometimes I think that could be the answer, but I know better. But, there is no getting around the fact that Christ got his hands dirty when He needed to, and he did so with the people that claimed to be right. Who knows; maybe I need to be punched in the face.