Saturday, February 28, 2009

1 Samuel 28 Saul goes to a medium

In 1 Samuel 28, King Saul goes and visits the witch of endor. She was a woman who was known to perform seances to "raise" the spirits of the dead. Samuel was dead at the time. Samuel was the primary method in which Saul had received advice from the Lord. So Saul goes to the witch (as she is referred) and asks her to bring up Samuel. Lo and Behold she does. The primary question raised about this is whether it was really the spirit of Samuel who was raised.

I believe that Samuel really was raised. God allowed it to happen and used it to give Saul the word that the next day he would die along with his sons. I believe that these sorts of thing can actually happen, and are an area that we as Christians have to make a strong effort to avoid. Dabbling in areas such as tarot cards, mediums, horoscopes, etc. can not be a part of the Christian life.

Friday, February 27, 2009

Reflections on 1 Samuel

1 Samuel is one of the books in the Bible I have probably read the most. It begins with the calling of Samuel and ends with the death of Israel's first king, Saul. Along the way you meet this guy named David who ends up being pretty important.

So towards the beginning of the book, Samuel has been judging Israel for some time and he is getting old. His would theoretically take over for him, but it mentions that they are not doing a good job. So this means that before Samuel was Eli, but his sons did not do well (i.e. sinned very blatantly at the expense of worshipping God) then Samuel comes along and his sons do not follow in his ways either. So the Israelites ask for a king. Most of the times I read this, I think to myself, "I would have asked for something different too." In fact I might have asked for a king. The problem with the question is becoming a little more clear to me. Asking for a king was not asking to replace Samuel. Asking for a king was actually asking for someone to be over Samuel and the other priests. I wonder if God would have been upset if they had instead asked for a priestly family that did not turn from the ways of their father in the next generation.

The thing that interests me the most about this book is the swings in people's decisions. David seems sure that he will eventually be king. He knows that God will provide for him. Then all of a sudden he gets scared for his life and moves to Gath. The realness of David and his strengthening of his faith is very interesting.

Also, I can not decide what would have happened if David had gone to battle with the Philistines against Israel. The most common answer seems to be that he would have turned on the Philistines. It is never discussed so who really knows.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Even more instant news....

The bad jokes and puns continue on Make it Stop

Headline..... Breaking News

Blogger Causes Eye Rolling
Culprit Story

A local blogger, not to be named, has caused quite an uproar in cyberspace. This blogger is being investigated on two charges.
First charge: Using a bad pun in a blog headline
In reference to a cow beating the blogger used the phrase "Utterly disturbing." This is a clear violation of the rules regarding bad puns.

Second Charge: Blogger intentionally caused a bad joke to be written in his comments. What's worse is that he lead a local pastor to make the bad joke. I suppose that this could be considered practice for sermons... The bad joke used was "This is an obvious case of "Cow Tipping."" Have mercy on us unnamed blogger. Please stop the intentional causing of the bad jokes.

The intentional vandalization of the scenic information superhighway is like any vandalization of rock features or billboards along our nations interstate highways. This is a sad day.

On an unrelated note, American Idol Top 36 week 2 was a little better than week 1. I just hope the weird guy does not get voted through.

Monday, February 23, 2009

I like Facebook, but...

Facebook Fun

In truth, I am growing a bit tired of Facebook. I like the ability to have groups with common interests, but I only sometimes care what people type about themselves. It does provide some diversion when stuck in an airport.

My run on Saturday morning after the redeye flight was better than I expected. I was definitely a bit tired, but all in all I held together pretty well. 5.4 miles in 20 degree weather. Tomorrow morning I am hoping to get up and run.

Did you know the moon is an average of 238,857 miles away from the earth? I was a bit off on my guess for this one.

Friday, February 20, 2009

Do you ever feel like you are in a movie?

I feel like I am in The Terminal and I am Tom Hanks. Except rather than wandering around looking for luggage carts to turn in for quarters, I have wandered around looking for power outlets and looking at the artwork that is less than inspiring. I also sit here on the other side of the country knowing that in 5.75 hours Jason Pelt will pick me up from the airport and we will go jog. I know that this jog will be in a temperature approximately 50 degrees colder than I jogged in yesterday. I hope that those of you on the east coast sleep well tonight. I will enjoy a nap in a middle seat.

Mouthwash???

I am currently stuck in the San Diego airport awaiting a flight that will leave in approximately 7 hours. Luckily, they have free wifi. Yesterday i got to go on a pleasant jog starting in downtown and going a little ways around they bay (I think it is a bay). The most interesting part of my trip happened just a little bit ago. I went into the restroom to change from my work clothes. I stepped into a handicapped stall (because it is big enough to change in). There on the back of the toilet, much to my surprise, was a small bottle of mouthwash. I suppose if I had a bottle of mouthwash and I put in on back of a toilet in a public location, I would probably leave it there too. I just can not figure out why someone would leave it there, or have it out. Oh well. I have 7 more hours to wonder about it.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Another Admission

I have a favorite American Idol contestant for this year. I do not know who the other 9 of the top 12 will be. This has not stopped me from having a current favorite. Danny. I believe his story is that he is a church music director and his wife died ~ 4 weeks before auditions. He sings reasonably well and seems likeable. He and the blond lady who made the top 12 were head and shoulders better than everyone else in their group. I did not think the other guy who made it was good at all. Oh well. I did not vote.

Monday, February 16, 2009

Yet Another Clint Question

7. What is your opinion about church’s that use signs such as “God Answers Knee Mail” or “Sign Broke… Message Inside”?

I think that if there is no event in which they could be advertising, then why not put a comment on a sign. I suppose a different side of this question would be if a church puts a message up that says, "Where will you be after the rapture?" or "Repent or Roast!". Now that would be interesting. I am not saying I would support these signs. Just saying it is a different side of the question.

In truth it seems to me a good sign would likely provide encouragement for a believer and cause reflection for some non-believers. Notes like "God answers Knee Mail" probably fit the bill well enough. So go ahead and put them up. It is fine with me.

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Happy Birthday Mr First President

Saturday morning I competed in the longest race of my life. Previously in my life the longest race I had completed was a 200 meter dash. I did this while a Junior in High School. I won the heat that I competed.

The other competitor...
I had the competitor in my sites at mile 3. After the water station at 4 I passed the competitor but with ~1 mile to go the competitor passed me and never looked back. This was an 8 year old girl. I also got beat by some ladies in pink outfits. I did however beat the girls who chit chatted the whole time. Also, I beat the guy who pushed a stroller the whole time. I finished in 62 minutes 17 seconds. I finished 490 out of 659 competitors and in my age bracket I finished 71 out of 78. My pace was a blistering 9 minutes 44 seconds per mile which I am actually pretty happy about. I think I could keep that pace up for a lot longer. So the first victory goes to Iceman who I saw for the first couple of minutes of the race and never saw again. You win this battle...

On a different note:
My entry for this year's Pelt NASCAR driver competition is Grg Biffle. I think he has a cool last name.

BTW. Thanks for all those who supported me in the polling place.
Who will finish finish ahead in the George Washington Birthday 10K?
Results:
Iceman - 3 Votes
Maverick - 4 Votes
We'll call it a draw - 2 Votes


Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Review of Inflight Movies

First Movie on cross country flight was Beverly Hills Chihuahua. Though this movie was basically absurd. I actually enjoyed watching it. The human characters were basically pointless, and the animal characters were sometimes silly. In particular their was a herd of wild chihuahuas that I could have done with out. I suppose they would not have been able to have CGI mountain lions without them. I would not watch it again, but I am glad I saw it... sort of.

Second movie on the flight was Flash of Genious. This was based on a true story. Basically little man takes on The Man and wins. After losing his family and 12 years of his life fighting The Man. What I want to know is if they would make a movie based on a little man getting crushed by The Man. If you like plot twists or unexpected endings this is not the movie for you. The middle was depressing. Corporate greed is depressing. Interesting story, but I wish that geniouses weren't so strange. It was an ok movie. I will not watch again and would recommend if you want to know more about this story to look it up on Wikipedia.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Iceman... The Underdog

Now I know the sample size isn't very big, but Iceman is looking like the underdog. I think he is going to use this to his advantage. Please vote for him. I believe he might beat me by a few minutes. This is why we run the race.

Tomorrow I fly to San Diego. Next week I need to do a better job of running consistently. This week has been tough.

If you the reader were going to recommend memorizing a few Bible verses, then what would those verses be?

Monday, February 9, 2009

In Preparation for this weekends race...

I just ate a cup of ice cream. George Washington Birthday 10K this weekend. Trip to California and back before Saturday. I am going to predict a 10K finish of 55 minutes. I believe that is a little better than 10 minutes per mile. So I may not be able to pull it off. Any guesses from someone else?

Still reading Ezekiel. Also started rereading 1 Samuel. Let's just say Ezekiel is not the easiest book of the Bible.

Tomorrow I commute all the way to Stafford. The 15 minute commute will be very nice relative to the 70 minute commute I normally have. I feel more relaxed just thinking about it.

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Movie Review: "He's Just Not That Into You"

Wow. I thought this movie was terrible. Luckily, Amanda and I agreed it was terrible. The funniest part of the move was an "interview" they did with characters not in the movie. (Not sure if they were real people or not) They kept adding bad character after bad character played by big names. There was no chemistry and very few funny jokes. Not only that, but at least one of the ending parts made no sense at all. The values displayed were not good. As a guy, the movie made me feel like I needed to tell Amanda that I wasn't like the guys in the movie. Not that she didn't know, but the movie was just that depressing. Also the popcorn was definitely not fresh.The only redeeming part was the Twizzlers were good.

Goodbye $21.

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Long Run

After a long run this morning, I am again look for suggestions. What do you do about a sore knee?

Dear Iceman,
Part of me would like to apologize for jogging so slow. Another part says I prefaced our running agreement with the statement, "I am fat and slow" and thus have no need to apologize. Either way, I am just as fat and slow as originally advertised. So I suppose I get credit for honesty. Too bad honesty doesn't make my legs move faster. Maybe as time progresses I will get faster. I make no guarantees.
-Maverick

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Umm... About Yesterday's post

I think it may convince me to not post any more late night blogs. It seems that I can just go on and on after 11. Also, I am not sure I will use any more blog ideas that I come up with on a run. I may stick to what I know best. Of course people may stop reading when every post is on booklights. By the way, has anyone ever bought a book light only to find out when the batteries eventually die that to replace them is actually very expensive. It turns out it is often easier to just buy new ones.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Why I should run with an Ipod Reason 1

Before I get into the reason... Temp 29 feels like 19 and I definitely thing it felt close to 19. I was a bit chilly. Though I suppose that continuing to run in this weather with shorts and a thin running shirt over a t-shirt or underarmour shirt will mean that I will continue to get cold sometimes.

The reason I should wear an IPOD when running is that I have too many "creative" thoughts otherwise.

Prosecution's Evidence A:
An excerpt from my thoughts.
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It is clear that tonight a battle was fought between a burger king dinner and an unsuspecting human. This must be the case because no one would litter so obviously in the middle of a suburban neighborhood street. I can only assume it went something like this. Whopper Value meal (WVM) had thought about its independence for days now. It had seen other whopper value meals be taken through the window only to be lost and never heard of again. It was time WVM took a stand. The unsuspecting orderer of WVM was none other than Brytsh M Pire. He had always been angry at his parents about his name. They had been sure he would love it and would become a famous historian or politician or... well something big. His name to this point though had only led to a lifetime of eating fast food once a week. He always ate at Burger King. He ate there because if he couldn't have a name he liked, then he would at least have a hamburger his way... right away. Also he liked the occasional runaway onion ring that ended up in the bag. Today would be a little different though.

Upon being chosen as an order by Mr Pire WVM including medium drink and medium fries with a runaway onion ring decided it was now or never. Today would be their Declaration of Independence. Once transferred out the window they would begin... Operation Frosty Spill. As Mr Pire was driving home things seemed normal until he went to take a drink. An ice cube immediately fell down his shirt. This had never happened before and was definitely not his way. He tried to take another drink, but this time ice cubes continually blocked the straw hole. He tried again and the straw mysteriously misses his mouth and jabs him in the nose. Distracted he looks down at the cup and looks up in time to swerve from narrowly missing a parked car on the street next to a completely empty driveway. During the swerve Medium Soda is launched to freedom out the window, but sadly does not survive the fall. Not knowing the state of their co conspirator Medium Fries and Whopper seize the opportunity and begin to make their way out of the bag. Stray Onion Ring latches himself to the gas pedal while medium fries pelts Mr Pire. Clearly startled, Mr Pire does what any of us would do. Before being hit by the onions from Whopper he grabs all the food attacking him and stuffs it back in the thin brown bag. Assuming that he must be sick and thus not wanting to eat this he considers his options quickly and decides to hold the bag out the window until he gets home just in case. This would have been a good idea except just then stray onion ring swings up from below the seat line onto his lap. Startled he reaches for onion ring and pops him into his mouth. Independence has been gained by the rest of WVM.

But freedom was not all it was cracked up to be for WVM. He looked around and though he had always been told that all windows lead back to the pasture, all he could see was black top. "Fortunately" his concern didn't last long because the neighborhood fox who usually caught rabbits came strolling up.
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So you see it is clear that my thoughts are rather strange and I need more creative outlets. Next week maybe I will tell the following story I thought of next. "Local Foxes Carjack Old Lady So they can go Use BK Drive Thru" This would make the odd news for sure.

Monday, February 2, 2009

OK.... I admit it

Confession of the evening: I like to read the odd news headlines. I don't really care about the articles. The headlines are interesting enough. For instance...
1. Lost Thief Holes Up In Bank Lavatory
And why wouldn't he?
2. Its a Catastrophe for the Apostrophe in Britain
Somebody actually wrote this article.
3. Tortoise Thieves make Quick Getaway
Very clever...

Anyways, every day at lunch I scroll over the odd news headlines just to see what is there.

No running today. Definitely tomorrow. I plan on getting signed up to use my work gym. Also, we bought a treadmill off of Craigslist. Have I mentioned we are on Craigslist all the time. Some time ago Amanda made our home page the Craigslist Free Page. People put some great stuff on their too. I like looking at them almost as much as odd news headlines. I really like it when they are completely random like "2 Free Spider Monkeys" (these are always taken off quickly because I believe they are aginst the rules of Craigslist) or tonight we have a "egg cartons!" (clearly, an appropriate use of an exclamation point). The other day I saw a free firewood posting. I opened it up and the first sentence actually says, "You chop down." So wouldn't that just be a free tree...

Goodnight.