Sunday, Nov 20 International Thanksgiving Dinner Night at the Curry’s 5:00pm
Sunday, Dec 4 Christmas Kick Off Party with the Seniors at Southeast Christian Church 5:00pm
Friday, Dec 16 Service Project serving the Homeless of Salt Lake City 8:30pm Sandy
Father’s Day is the day to remember, honor and call your Dad. So, I did that today. Then I remembered how cool my Dad is. He may not seem very flashy or talkative or charismatic, but when people need help, advice or a loan, he is the one they come to. I think about how special my Dad is, having grown up in the Depression, served his country overseas in WWII, attended/graduated from USC in 1950, worked with Hughes Aircraft (on contract with NASA) on the Surveyor Program in the 60′s, designed his own house (which he still owns and resides in), raised 3 pretty competent and kind children, served in the life of the local church, developed a pretty consistent prayer life….and most of all, served, provided and loved his wife of nearly 60 years (and counting)… How in the world could I measure up to that example? I can’t. Happy Father’s Day, Dad. You’re the best.
So I took by Personal Retreat Day (PRD) today. My organization requires each of its team members get away once a month, to retreat, to quiet ourselves, get our lives in order, hear from God, etc. Today I went around the Kennicott Smelter Thing south of the Salt Lake, and into a community of Stansbury Park. I found myself navigating through the entire community, which I would have bet my life that I was driving through a Florida suburb! It was full of gulf coast condo/house looking things, all sea foam blue (or green). So I got out of there quickly, looking for some kind of place to unpack for the day. I had to then drive south to the community of Toole, which was originally called Tuilla, which Mr. Young named all those years ago. It was windy, rainy, dark, the clouds were grey and magnificent. I found the library and finally got the password to the internet, in which I had to show my id, sign, initial and swear not to look at bad things (not really). I found a couple laughing at me at one point, but when I looked straight at them, they both stopped and looked down. That’s how I was sure I was the object of their scorn, sarcasm or just plain Mormon put down fun. Anyway, after awhile I made it to Applebees to camp out for the afternoon. After entering the establishment and standing by myself for a couple minutes, with servers making eye contact with me or addressing me in any way (even though they passed by me), I turned around and walked out. I made it over to Cafe Rio. Not only was it a good call, but the manager gave me two points on my little frequent visitor card, which will eventually get me a free meal. It was a good day, even though I couldn’t take my eyes off a 60 something man in a white Rebbok work out top, along with cowboy stirrup things that jingled every time he got a refill. He looked like Richard Harris in Unforgiven! It was a good day to try to pursue God. I got a lot of fun along the way.
My Top Ten Favorite Restaurants/Places to Eat/Places to Drink Coffee in SLC
(NOT IN PARTICULAR ORDER)
Red Iguana
Tres Hombres
Cafe Rio
Pei Wei
Einstein Bros
Starbucks
Pie Pizza
Blue Plate Diner
Blue Iguana
Beans and Brew
Ten things I think might be true today, but I’m not sure….I’m not sure of much these days……
I like the snow, just not today
I need the sun, I need light…at least today
I like building things, as long as they can be less than stellar in someone else’s eyes, I’m not very good at building. It’s fun!
Casino Royale is still in my Top 10 Favorite movies
I like quiet, with my wife sitting next to me, or near me
I like my new Kristine Meuller cd
I’m completely tired, hoping not to keel over soon
Redbox is great
I want to work on my book at length, but there’s not much length to be found
I cry sometimes when I look at or think about my children. I deserve devil children, but God gave me something I don’t deserve.
A 17-year-old Somali girl who converted to Christianity from Islam was shot to death on November 25 in an apparent “honour killing,” area sources said. Nurta Mohamed Farah, who fled her village of Bardher, Gedo Region, to live with relatives after her parents tortured her for leaving Islam, was shot in the head and chest with a pistol. Area sources said they strongly suspect that the two unidentified men who shot her were relatives or acting on their behest. Farah was killed in Abudwaq District, about 200 metres from where she had taken refuge. Christian sources said Farah’s parents had severely beaten her for leaving Islam and regularly shackled her to a tree at their home. She had been confined to her home since May 10, when her family found out that she had embraced Christianity. (from: persecution.net)
I’m continually amazed where college students find themselves after high school and before entering the organized work force. It’s a strange land where a 20 year old finds his or herself, stranded, somewhat by choice, yet somewhat by lot. It’s a place of expectation. It’s a place that sees you exit organized church life. You discover you’re in a new land when suddenly… you get to make all the choices, you can eat what you want, when you want, where you want, with whom you want. You have very little accoutability. Your parents know you’re headed towards complete independance so they roll with things, since you have most of the power of choice now anyway. Yet there are those times when you need money or something you don’t have… that your parents still have. Hehe… There’s this uneasy tension for you. You’re trying to do it on your own, but because you’re not all the way there, some are not even close… you gotta suck up your pride and ask for help. But then, hours later, maybe minutes, when you’re in your car, having left the house and neighborhood you grew up in, you text your friends and you’re back rocking again in the college life again. Though this land breeds thrills and adventure, it also opens the door to many other rooms that hold potential danger. Because you’re pretty much on your own now, you think you can handle it. This is the moment of truth. Can you handle making difficult choices dealing with temptation, peer pressure, choices that can affect not just your present but your future? Your forever! Who knows how many angels are watching you, holding their celestial breath as you teeter on the edge of one slippery slope after another. This strange land has sent many, many back home to Mom and Dad, some even to a more permanent place. Somehow, this land of independance allows most of its sojourners to exit its borders in one piece. You are the lucky one. You’ve begun to define yourself for all the world to see, and judge. Will the time you’ve spent here been worth the money, time, stress, fear and boredom? Are the lessons you learned, that can only be learned in this srange land, will they be heeded in years to come? Or will you quietly find perhaps another land, a new land, to fade into and explore? So much is at stake in this strange land that college students abide in. So many enter its courts with promise and hope. So few come out of it whole and healthy, really mature in the important things. This land can develop skills and abilities in its inhabitants, potential applauded by others….. but will it produce character, integrity and a healthy fear of God? That’s a question for those living in this strange land….
