ricky borba = christian hitman

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2010-04-22T20:19:00.001-07:00

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2010-01-04T15:20:00.000-08:00

Here's my favorites of 2009. I like to do my list a few days after the new year, because I'm an egomaniac and think more people will read it than if I did it on January 1st like everyone else. So, without further ado, here is MY list of everything 2009:

Movies

Favorite Movies of 2009:
Up In The Air
District 9
Taken
The Soloist
Star Trek
Tyson
The Hangover
Funny People
Inglorious Bastards
Zombieland
Avatar
I Love You, Man

Least Favorite Movies of 2009:
Halloween II
Transformers 2
Drag Me to Hell
Bruno (Couldn't even finish watching this actually)
Observe and Report

Favorite Movie of 2009:
Tie between District 9 and Up In the Air (but if you put a gun to my head, I'd probably pick District 9)

Least Favorite Movie of 2009:
Halloween II

Movie I'd Like to Kick in the Nuts if it had Genitals:
Transformers II

Movie I Saw That's Going to Win a Ton of Awards But I Didn't Care For Very Much:
The Hurt Locker

Movie I Liked that Completely Ruins my Credibility:
G.I. Joe

Movies I Didn't Care For That Much Despite Seemingly Everyone Else Liking Them:
Up
9
The Ugly Truth
Public Enemies
The Orphan
Paranormal Activity

Movies I Liked That Other People Seemingly Didn't Like:
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Terminator Salvation
Know1ng

Movie I Liked the First Half of but Hated the Last Half:
The Invention of Lying

Movie I Don't Want People to Know I Loved:
Crank 2: High Voltage

Movie That Made Me Very Uncomfortable Watching:
Last House on the Left

Movies from 2009 I am Really Eager to See Still:
The Informant!
The Men Who Stare at Goats
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Extract

Movie I Don't Need to See to Know it Totally Sucks:
Twilight: New Moon

MUSIC

Favorite Albums of the 2009:
The Prodigy - Invaders Must Die
Editors - In This Light and on This Evening
John Mayer - Battle Studies
Air - Love 2
Tiesto - Kaleidoscope
Muse - The Resistance

Favorite Songs of 2009:
The Prodigy - Take Me to the Hospital
Editors - Papillon (yes, spelled like that) and Bricks and Mortar
Snoop Dogg - I Wanna Rock
VAST - I Know How to Love
Chevelle - Sleep Apnea
Pink - Sober
Dead Confederate - The Rat
Death Cab for Cutie - Cath
Tiesto featuring Nelly Furtado - Who Wants to Be Alone
Imogen Heap - Canvas [Mark Eteson Re-Paint]
U2 - Magnificent
Silversun Pickups - Panic Switch
The Airborne Toxic Event - Sometime Around Midnight
Soliquid - Music is for Rich People
Pendragon - Indigo

Favorite Song I Listened to in 2009 That I Think Came out in 2008:
Jamie Foxx - Blame It

Favorite 2 Songs From 2008 That I Listened to in Africa in 2009:
Brandon Heath - Give Me Your Eyes
Hillsong - You'll Come

Person I'm Glad Did Not Make Music in 2009:
Amy Winehouse

Album from 2009 that did not Live up to the Hype of 12 Years in Production:
Guns n’ Roses - Chinese Democracy

MEDIA

Favorite Blu-Ray:
Star Trek (SO MUCH bonus stuff)

Best Website for Making a Music Station that Plays Only What I Like:
last.fm

Favorite Video Games of 2009:
Shadow Complex
Fifa '10
Fight Night Round 4
Rock Band 2
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Resident Evil 5
DJ Hero
Ghostbusters
Street Fighter IV

Favorite Video Game of 2009:
Tie between Shadow Complex and Fifa ‘10

Favorite New Gadget of 2009:
iPhone 3GS

Favorite Apps for iPhone:
Runkeeper
iSwapfaces
Cydia
I Am T-Pain
Logos
ESPN ScoreCenter
Chase Banking App

MISC

Worst Preaching Experience of 2009:
Roseville First Presbyterian because I forgot my notes

Favorite Preaching Experience of 2009:
Preaching at the Destitute Camp in Africa, which is home to all of the lepers, blind, lame, mute, deaf, handicapped and otherwise underprivileged. (And to be underprivileged in Africa is COMPLETELY different than being underprivileged here.) A man named Justin accepted Christ after I preached a sermon on Matthew 5, and that might just be my most treasured experience of my life, next to the birth of my children.

Favorite Pair of New Shoes in 2009:
Sketchers Citywalk Midnite (Color Black)

Approximate # of Miles Ran from May to December:
280

Pounds Lost in 2009:
18

Favorite Purchase of 2009:
Samsung 42' Plasma TV for the Bedroom

TV Show That Should Have Sucked Based on Recent History, But Totally Doesn't:
Star Wars: The Clone Wars

AFRICA

Best Thing that Happened to me in 2009:
Going to Africa for a Month

Thing (non-person) I Missed the Most While There:
Music (I didn't bring an mp3 player or radio. On purpose)

People I Missed the Most:
Duh.

Favorite Person I Met in Africa Over the Age of 3:
Rashidi Nyasinde

Favorite Person I Met in Africa:
Ephram (Doto)

Scariest Moment In Africa:
On the safari when we went off-course and tried climbing a hill in the Land Rover. I should have fallen off the roof, and the Land Rover should have tipped backwards, landing on me. There is no reason other than God as to why this didn’t happen.

Favorite Place to Eat While in Africa:
Hilltop

Thing I Can Still Imagine if I Close my Eyes and Think About:
Feeling the tops of all of the little kids heads as we walked. I would put my hand on their heads and pray for them, and I can still remember exactly how they're hair and heads feel. Coming in a close second is the smell of the village we stayed in. It’s not a bad smell at all, just very unique.

Thing I Learned Most While In Africa:
That God is not just my God, or the God of Lincoln, CA. He truly is the God of the universe. That, and I had no idea how good I have it living here in California, with a roof over my head, food on my plate 3 times a day, adequate medical coverage, education, family and friends.

Favorite Single Experience in Africa:
Helping Doto get the help he needed when he had malaria. A close second would be every time we did a kids club in Kamala.

Closing

Biggest Thing I Learned in 2009:
Despite being in college and studying to be a pastor, I have no idea what I want to do with that when I graduate in December.

2009-05-13T09:40:00.001-07:00

I do most of my blogging on Facbeook now. I don't know what I'll be doing with BorbaFett.net in the future, but since I use it for so many things besides blogging, the actual website isn't going anywhere. So if you have a Facebook account, look me up and add me. You can add by name (of which I'm still the only "Ricky Borba") on Facebook, or you can look up by email address, ricky@borbafett.net

Anyway, the reason for this post is because I'll be leaving for Africa on Sunday. I'll be gone 25 days. I do plan on writing about my experience on this blog once I return, along with some videos and pictures. So please keep myself and my family in your prayers! That we'll all be safe and stuff like that.

2009-04-29T14:30:00.000-07:00

My First Ever Sermon. (I call it the "Ummmm/Uhhhhh" sermon)

2009-04-01T14:55:00.001-07:00

If Star Wars was set in Dallas...

2009-03-30T08:07:00.001-07:00

Observations at 7:54AM on Monday March 30th, 2009

1. VAST is definitely my second favorite band. I'm not sure who was number 2 before I listened to their latest album, but they took over.

2. I'm in a really good mood today. Today is my favorite.

3. I love it when Kayla comes into bed with us at 3am. Even though it interrupts my sleep, it's my favorite.

4. I bought two mini-composition notebooks yesterday. One for my pocket and one for my nightstand, so when I come up with incredible ideas I can write them down on the spot. Three days ago I came up with the cure for gout, but forgot to write it down and couldn't remember later. But my mini composition notebooks are my favorite.

5. It's really windy up here. The past 2 days have reminded me of Chicago, even though I've never been to Chicago. Chicago is my favorite though.

6. I have not studied for this quiz I'm about to take in Western Civ II right now. Studying is my favorite thing to do.

7. For having only slept 6 hours I have surprisingly high energy levels. Having energy is MY FAVORITE.

8. Is there anything better than listening to 80's and 90's rap mixes while you drive to school in the morning? 80's and 90's rap in the morning is my favorite.

2009-03-26T23:50:00.001-07:00

Things I know about myself.

I probably shouldn't be writing this right now because I'm upset. But writing is therapeutic for me, so here goes. I just need to write this stuff down to make myself feel better about myself, as lame and stupid as that may sound.

I know I'm lazy. But I make up for it by working hard at the really important things in life.

I know I haven't been the best husband, father, son, brother, cousin, friend in my life. But I make up for it by loving the best way I know how, with everything that I have inside of me.

I know I don't always walk my talk. But I make up for it by at least trying, every day.

I know I don't own a lot of things. But I'd still be willing to give you the shirt off my back if you needed it.

I know I have a big mouth sometimes. But I make up for it by admitting I was wrong, asking for forgiveness and trying to learn from it.

I know I'm 31 and didn't have a clue what I was supposed to do with my life until last year. But I made up for it by never compromising what was important to me or forgetting what my true passions and desires are.

I know I come off as "black and white" sometimes. But I make up for it by doing my homework and sincerely believing in what I believe in with all of my heart.

I know I don't have a lot of time these days to give my true friends the time I'd like to. But I make up for it by letting them know all the time how much I love and appreciate their friendship.

I know I might come off as too care-free. But I make up for it by caring about a great many things.

I know I'm someone that isn't worth a damn to some people. But I make up for it by being valuable to everyone else I have a relationship with.

I know I come off as having strong opinions about my faith and how I let that guide my paths. But I make up for it by being sincere about it, and unwilling to change for anyone just to make them happy.

I know I'm not in the best shape. But I make up for it by spending quality time with my family, friends and children, enjoying everything life has to offer.

I know that I don't always know what I'm doing or where I'm going. But I make up for it by knowing how to get back on the path when I veer off of it.

I know I might not be someone that everyone wants to be around or converse with. But I make up for it by never allowing that to be the reason I stop caring about them.

I know I say things that might come off as hurtful sometimes. But I make up for it by knowing that it comes from a good place that was only intended to help you grow.

I know I'm selfish sometimes. But I make up for it by putting others first 99.9% of the time.

I know I might not get out of my comfort bubble that often. But I make up for it by participating in something that is greater than myself.

I know I struggle with letting my anger get the best of me sometimes. But I make up for it by not letting that happen very often.

I know I am a walking contradiction sometimes. But I make up for it by not allowing that to be a regular occurrence.

I know I'm human. But I make up for it by never forgetting that.

2009-03-14T20:18:00.001-07:00

I just don't want to be one of those bloggers that blogs for the sake of blogging. (If only I could have used the word "blogged" in that sentence, I would have used every form of the word "blog".)

For some reason, I feel like I'm suffering from creative writers block. I used to come up with 2 or 3 weird/creative/insightful things a day to blog about, and now I feel like I haven't had one of those inkling's in months. I really do contribute it to the fact that I am writing papers all the time for school. I have been concentrating on studying, working at school after school and then being "daddy" when I get home. So, the point is, is that I don't feel very creative or weirdly minded the past couple months. I'm also trying to raise money for my trip to Africa, make sure I remain balanced in my husbandly/fatherly/studently roles, and get in better shape too.

So I'm sorry for the lack of updates on borbafett.net. I enjoy blogging, and I enjoy knowing there's a few of you out there who enjoy reading my meanderings.

I guess one thing I have been thinking about since Friday morning when one of my professors asked it in class, is "If I could sit down with anyone in this world, living, who would I want to and why?" In class off the top of my head I answered "Steven Spielberg to talk about film", but that's a lame answer and I'm not even sure I believe myself. The thing is, I don't have a clue who I'd like to sit down and rap with. The easy answer is to say someone like Barack Obama or Kim Jong Il, but I don't care about politics and I'm not impressed with world leaders. I've also got to meet my fair share of celebrities and athletes in my life, so I can't think of any one of them either. There's probably someone that once I think of them I'll think to myself "DUH, I can't believe I didn't think of them immediately." But remember, the question is "living" person.

I hate to sound like my father, but if I hear my girls say "daddy" one more time today, I'm going to change my name.

2009-02-19T16:05:00.001-08:00

Excuse me, do you know which way the weight room is?

I'm 31. I see pictures of me at 21 and I cry. I see pictures of me from 6 months ago, and I think, Man, I was doing good for a while with the eating of the healthy and the exercising of the body. So now, on February 19th, 2009, I weigh a thick 168.5 pounds. I know, to some, that doesn't seem like much, but to me, it's out of hand. I weighed 174.5 when I moved to Lincoln last January, and got down to 159 last year just by eating healthier and running/biking. Now I'm back up to 168.5, and I'm not happy about it.

I can't complain though. (Even though I am kinda, huh.) My diet for the last couple months has consisted of about 4 gallons of soda per week, a lot of chocolate, doritios, pasta and pizza. Add the fact that I quit exercising, cold turkey, and you've got yourself a recipe for a nice little weight gain. I had deceived myself that I was looking pretty good, until Nicki got that damned 10.2 megapixel Nikon camera and took a few pictures of me. I looked at them and said "I think your camera is broken." And she said "You can't compare yourself to 10 years ago". Then I said, "Oh yes I damn well can." And she said, "You're still hot". And then I said "Honey I look like I ate a hobbit". And then she said "Oh, that reminds me, your mother called".

My point is, after seeing myself in those 10.2 megapixel pictures, I realized that while I am definitely not "fat", I am positively out of shape and soft around the edges. Lets face it people, I'm lazy when it comes to my body. So....

Yesterday I ran 3 miles, then did some crunches, then rode another 8 miles on the bike. I felt good. So I decided to keep that up. Not only that, but on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturdays, I'm going to go to my friend Justin's house and pump iron with him. My goal is to lose 15 pounds by the time I leave for Africa on May 17th. Almost exactly 3 months from yesterday. The reason I'm posting about it, is many:

1. When people see me, I want people to ask me how my workouts are going.
2. I want to look better in pictures.
3. I have sweet hair.

Reasons I feel like this time I'll be able to follow through this time:
1. I posted about it and now you're all aware of the fact that I'm trying to get in shape.
2. I do feel a sense of "my body is getting older and I need to start taking better care of it".
3. I have two precious baby girls that I'd like to be with for as long as possible.
4. Jackson Perdue did it, and he can't one-up me.

Reasons I feel like I won't follow through with it:
1. My schedule. With school, work, homework and daddy duty, I could see myself getting burned out.
2. I've never followed through before.
3. Pepsi is going to use real sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup in Mountain Dew from March to June, and they said it will taste even better.
4. I have sweet hair.

So that's it. The gauntlet has been thrown down. I've got a workout calendar, a workout buddy and some super sweet workout gloves. As of right now, I'm pretty pumped. (Pun intended). If things work out (again, pun intended), I'll post my before and after pictures in May. I'd post them now, but if I end up not making it through, I would have posted a hideously ugly and unflattering picture in vain.

2009-02-16T21:49:00.000-08:00

Dear Waitress at Tahoe Joes, I'm not sure I liked your tone...

Tonight Nicki and I went out to dinner with some friends of ours from the bay area, that are contemplating moving to Lincoln/Roseville. Nicki and I had spent the entire day cleaning, so by the time they arrived at 5pm, it was a welcome break. After chatting for a bit in our house, we all piled in the car and headed to "Tahoe Joes" (because the Cheesecake there is better than making love to my wife while simultaneously winning the lottery as Tony Bennett seranades us). After having some more chit chat, TJ informed us that Sandy's work was paying for the dinner, as part of their effor to woo her and TJ out to Roseville. (Her work gave her the company credit card for the weekend and told her to eat, drink and be merry). After hearing the wonderful news that dinner at an expensive restaurant was going to be free, I proceeded to order the most expensive item on the menu. Seriously. It's called the Tahoe T-Bone, and it's half New York Strip and half Filet Mignon. (I didn't know such deliciousness was even possible, but apparently some scientists figured out how to have two completely different steaks on the same cut, separated by a bone).

Fast forward to about 3/4 of the way through the meal, and I'm cutting one of the last bites of New York Strip from the bone. I dip it in ranch dressing (because really, who doesn't dip their steak in ranch?) and proceed to bite down on what I assumed was going to be a tender, juicy morsel of steak. What I got instead was a shard of bone stuck to the roof of my mouth, in-between upper anterior numbers 10 and 11. Instant blood, and it hurt. So I think I yelped in some sort of sissy manner, then grabbed the cloth napkin on my lap and began to treat the wound. Just then, the waiter came by, so I took the white, blood-stained napkin out of my mouth and asked him for some warm salt water, so I could take it to the bathroom and gargle with it. He looked perplexed, so I explained that thanks to the Tahoe T-Bone, I had an open wound in my mouth and it needed treatment immediately before I would die from dysentery. Moments later, he brought out a piping-hot, calistoga hot springsesque glass of salt water.

I got up, holding my volcanic temperatured glass of salt water, burning my hands deeper with each passing second, and headed toward the bathroom. As I turned the corner, a waitress whom I could only imagine had been watching me carry the glass from my table, literally jumped in front of me and said: "Where are you going with that?" (Raise your inflection on "going", as to make it seem like I was mentally retarded in the way you ask). I had to stop, swallow the blood saliva that I was planning on spitting out once I got to the bathroom, and reply with "I took a bite of steak and a shard of bone got stuck on the roof of my mouth. I'm going to go rinse with this now". To which she replied, "Ohhhhhhhhh, I'm sooooo sorry!".

As I rinsed and spit in the bathroom, I started thinking about what exactly she may have thought I was going to do with that scalding hot glass of salt water. I guess it was a fair question, but I didn't understand why she asked me in the manner she did. It's not like I was shirtless, carrying a dead squirrel to the bathroom.

Anyway.

2009-02-11T17:59:00.000-08:00

I am going to Africa!

2008 was an incredible year for me. It started off with Nicki and I moving to Lincoln in order for Nicki to begin her Chiropractic career. In the midst of that, I found a job doing video production at a Rocklin based company. We thought we were about to soar. Unfortunately, just a few months in for both of us, it became readily apparent that neither Nicki's nor my job were what they were billed to be. Long story short, I ended up getting laid off in May, and Nicki quit that practice to move onto another in December.

Along the way, I had applied for over 52 jobs from May 3rd to July 11th. I applied for things I was qualified for, over qualified for, not that qualified for and everything else in-between. Not one of them replied to me. Nicki and I were pretty discouraged to say the least. Our bank account was negative, and our rent was due. Things were pretty bleak. But something happened on July 11th. I drove back to Fremont to get some financial help from my church that we attended while living in the bay area. I went to breakfast with the pastor, and had one of those life altering moments. Over the course of pancakes and a few beers (just kidding about the beers), I heard God speak to me. I called my wife and my mother to see if they were on the same page with what I heard God speak to me, and in fact they were. My wife and mother, both without prompting or baiting, said the same thing God said. I needed to realize my calling in life, and become a pastor.

I started attending William Jessup University in August, just 4 short miles from my house. Turns out there may have been other reasons Nicki and I chose to move here, even if it was unknown to us at the time. WJU is a 4 year Bible-based College. I am enrolled in the Pastoral program and in 3 years (because I already had a year of Junior College under my belt! Wooohooo!) I will have a bachelor's degree in Pastoral Ministry AND Bible/Theology. For the first time in my life I feel like I'm at the right place at the right time doing the right thing.
Another incredible thing that happened to me this year was the unexpected and unbelievable desire to go on a mission trip. I know, Ricky Borba, going on a mission trip. Who would have thought? I was sitting in our school's bi-weekly church service while running the sound and light board. A student came to the podium to speak about mission trips (a speech I've heard 1000 times before) and I felt moved. I was totally caught off guard, and before the 2009 mission trip locations were discussed, I again heard God speak to me. "Africa". Normally I would have had a little dialogue with God, like "Are you sure you have the right guy here? ME?" but I didn't. I felt like I was being called. And sure enough a few minutes later, Tanzania, Africa was put on the screen as one of the places our school was going.

So now I'm on this incredible journey before the journey, of getting everything in order so I can go to Africa and help out those in need. I want to be a light to those people, and to serve them the best way I can, for three weeks. I have no idea what and how God is going to use me for, but I know that I can't wait to get there and show Christ's love through my actions. I've never been the type of guy to get my hands dirty (I've never been a fan of the outdoors and I'm not the type of guy to work on cars and stuff) but for some reason, none of that matters when I think about doing a mission in Africa. I want to get filthy for the Tanzanians!

If you've read this far, I want you to know the reason I sent this letter to you is because I believe you can help support me in one of three ways, or possibly more.

The first way you can help is simply by praying. I need prayer for myself as I prepare for this incredible opportunity, I need prayer for my family as I will be leaving them for three weeks, I need prayer for finances so that I may go on this trip, I need prayer for me as I try to balance being a father, husband, student, employee and now mission trip attendee. Above any other need, I believe this is the most important way you can help me.

The second way you can help is by visiting my wife and kids if you live near my family. I'll be leaving for 3 weeks, so my hope is that some of you who live nearby can go to my house and visit, to keep all 3 of my girls company. It's hard enough raising two kids with two parents, and Nicki is going to be all on her own for 3 weeks. So if you live close to us, please give Nicki a call and check in on her. While in Africa, I will only have access to internet twice during the entire trip, and no access to a phone at any time. I would like to know that before I leave, some of you have committed to making sure my family will be alright.

Finally, I need your financial support. This trip is expensive. The amount to go is roughly $4000. The only way I'll be able to go is if God provides a financial way for that to happen, as Nicki and I simply do not have the funds to finance this ourselves. I want you to prayerfully consider donating (it's a tax write-off by the way!) I feel 100% certain that God wants me to go to Africa. There isn't any doubt in my mind. So please pray and consider whether or not you can help me out financially. If you can, and would like to, please click this link, which is a pdf file that you can print out and use to mail a check to the school. The amount you donate goes toward my "account". It's also tax refundable! (Don't write the check out to me though!!! Make it out to William Jessup University. All of the this info is on the form by the way) We are doing fundraisers and a couple of other things to raise money, but the primary source for everyone's funding is coming from this letter.

In closing, most of you know that this is extremely out of the ordinary for me, to travel and get my hands dirty. I can't even really explain it myself, but I heard a song that I think perfectly exemplifies how I feel about this mission trip. The song is called "Give Me Your Eyes" and it's about wanting to have the eyes of Jesus if only for a moment, to see the world as he sees it. Here is the chorus. I hope it inspires and touches you as it has me.

Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the broken hearted
Ones that are far beyond my reach.
Give me your heart for the ones forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see

2009-01-27T18:00:00.000-08:00

There are a few potential titles for this post:

1. Because I would walk 8 miles, just to be the man that....
2. These shoes were made for walkin....and walkin's what they'll do....
3. Having no car sucks...
4. My left hip hurts...

I have been without a car since November of last year. Nicki and I have been sharing the 4Runner during that time. It's been a headache to put it mildly. During my 5 week break from school, she would take the car to work, leaving me here all day with the girls. Now look, I'm not complaining about spending time with my girls, at all. What was hard, was the fact that it was winter, not allowing for us to leave the house (to go on walks to the park)on most days because of the weather. So, it was me, a 2 and a half year old and a 15 month old. Every day. Every. Day. There's only so much you can do. There's only so many times you can play Disney Princess Memory. There's only so many times you can read "Bubbles Bubbles Bubbles". There's only so many times you can watch Shrek and Tinkerbell. There's only so many days you can wake up, give the girls bananas and cereal for breakfast before all of your days start to run together in your head, making you feel like you're living the movie Groundhog Day. I have a point here people. Without the luxury of a car, you're stuck.

Now, what did come out of those 5 weeks with the girls was a total appreciation for single mothers/fathers. I'm telling you, when Nicki got home from work it was like a shift change at a blackjack table. I was OUT. I can't imagine what it's like to have children, and not have any time to pass them off to your spouse. Single parents have ALL of my respect and appreciation. What also happened is the fact that I promise I will NEVER complain about having a crappy car. Because you know what? A crappy car is better than NO CAR. I would GLADLY drive my 1998 Ford Taurus to pick up ~~Jessica Biel~~ Nicki for a date, rather than walking up to her door and then walking to our destination. I miss my tore-up-from-the-floor-up 1998 Ford Taurus. February 15th (the date we'll have the funds to fix it) can't come fast enough. I know later in life, I'll look back and see not having a car during this time in my life, especially while the girls were this young, as a blessing because I got to spend so much quality time with them. It's just right now that's tough.

I have the same schedule this semester as I did last semester. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays I have the luxury of driving the 4runner to school, while Tuesdays and Thursdays I have to find a ride home, if possible. Here's how I feel on Tuesdays and Thursdays. You've seen Dumb and Dumber. The scene where Jim Carrey walks out of that mini-mart, up to those guys he doesn't know and says "Big gulps huh?" (They stare at him, and don't say anything) then Jim Carrey says "GREAT! See ya later!". That's how I feel on Tuesdays and Thursdays when I have to ask for a ride. Example. Say I go up to a friend of mine, who's engaged in a conversation with someone else, or perhaps studying in the library.

Me: "So, Luke, whatcha readin/doin?"
Luke: "Well, I was just reading this chapter for CF2 and then I was going to"
Me (cutting him off): Sweet, can you give me a ride home?

I feel like a jackass. I know it's not that big of an inconvenience to drive me home, just one exit up from school, but it is an inconvenience. I hate having to ask, partly because I'm prideful I guess, partly because I'm 31 and don't have a car, but mainly because it's just awkward. I only see the people I'm asking at school. It's not like it's a job we're at from 9 to 5, 5 days a week. I feel bad. I just don't want it to get to the point where people start walking the other way from me after 1pm because they know I'll be asking for a ride.

So today. I couldn't find anyone to give me a ride home. Thankfully it wasn't raining. It was cold, yes, but the sun was out. What makes walking those 4.6 miles hard, is the 23 pound backpack I have on, and the 13 pound laptop I carry. That's not exactly the best situation. I know it could be worse, like people in third world countries, I get that. But what sucks is that the backpack and laptop aren't strapped tight to my body, they sway and bounce. By the time I've walked about halfway, my shoulders start aching, and I start crying. (One of those is true). Today was funny though. I turned my laptop on, opened my MP3 player, and set it to play my entire "Alternative Rock" folder on random. That's about 6000 songs. Can you guess what song it played FIRST? "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" by Green Day. Are you familiar with the lyrics? Here they are:

I walk a lonely road
The only one that I have ever known
Don't know where it goes
But it's home to me and I walk alone

I walk this empty street
On the Boulevard of broken dreams
Where the city sleeps
And I'm the only one and I walk alone

I walk alone
I walk alone
I walk alone
I walk a

My shadow's the only one that walks beside me
My shallow hearts the only thing that's beating
Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me
'Til then I walk alone

Seriously. Either God has a sense of humor, or my laptop is a living breathing organism that was aware of my situation, and decided to have a little fun with me. I laughed as if to say "Welp, that fits". It was a funny moment. To make it even funnier/worse, when I got home, guess what Kayla wanted to do IMMEDIATELY? That's right, she wanted to walk to park that's another 1.5 miles from the house. So we did. I'm Superdad.

I'm complaining about not having a car. But as I was walking today I was reminded (by that little voice in my head) that I do in fact have the legs and feet to walk. I was reminded that I'm healthy enough to walk. I was reminded that I live in a country where I can walk safely. I was reminded that I was walking home to two beautiful baby girls that were waiting just to see me. I was reminded that I at least have one working car that I get to drive to school the other 3 days of the week. I was reminded that I was getting some exercise in the process. I was reminded that there are parts of this country where it's 20 below zero right now, not the bareable 52 degrees I had the luxury of walking in. So yes, I get it. I'm a lucky/blessed guy.

It does suck not having a car though.

2009-01-15T11:19:00.000-08:00

One of the most significant accomplishments of my life took place today.

I beat Fallout 3. After over 80 hours of playtime, I finally beat it. I'll go on a limb and say that this game is probably the single most involved game I've ever played. The genre of this game is called a "Role Playing Game". Meaning, you decide every course of action and method of accomplishing tasks. For example, if one of the quests is to rescue someone, you could do the quest as is, go and rescue them. Or, you could go to rescue them, run into the person holding them captive and then decide to take a payoff instead of rescuing them.

It's incredible. You gain and lose karma all throughout the game. Every discussion you have has ramifications on this karma system. Every person you kill or don't kill affects it. If you decide to steal some food, you get negative karma. If you decide to donate money to one of the two churches in the game, you gain karma. You can decide to go through the entire game as a positive karma'd person (as I did) or you could go through the game as a neutral or negative karma'd person. I'm satisfied with how I chose to play, as a nice guy, but I think it would be way more fun to be the jerk, and say things to make kids cry, blow up the huge nuclear bomb in a town populated by innocent people and killing and stealing from whomever I run into.

This game introduced me to the RPG genre, as I'd never played a game like it before. So now, I want to go get a few other games like it and play those. It's really fun being in control of my own destiny, and choosing how I want to solve problems and quests. One of the reasons it took so long for me to beat it though, was because of these quests. I wanted to make sure I didn't miss anything, so I played the game while simultaneously glued to the Fallout 3 website on my laptop. I feel like doing that really made the game more fun, as I knew how to gain certain things and not miss anything during the game.

So now that I've invested 80+ hours into the game with the goal of beating it, I'm going to go back to one of my old save files and start doing some things I avoided during my first run through. Things like building grenades made out of radioactive coca cola and throwing them at people. I'd also like to sneak up to people and place live grenades and mines in their pants, them watch them walk away and explode. I'd also like to walk into a town where I'm known for being a good guy, and start blowing people away with my shotgun. I'd also like to do a couple of the bad karma quests that I avoided too.

Now, I know what you're thinking. 80 hours already?! When did you have time to play that while you were taking care of the girls and stuff? The majority of my playing time came between the hours of 10pm and 2am. Since I've been on Christmas Break, I didn't have to get up early and pay attention to a lecture, I only had to get up early to pay attention to my two kids. ;)

2009-01-09T17:50:00.000-08:00

So here's the deal. For the past day I've been trying to get wordpress working as my template for borbafett.net. The sad reality is, that I don't know how to fix it. I need to spend some more time tweaking it before I set it live. I thought I'd be okay with the fact that I had my new layout up, despite there being quite a few problems. But the more I thought about it, the more it disgusted me to the point of violently beating my dogs while singing the theme song to The Jeffersons.

I'll continue to tweak things and get this website cut over to wordpress, as I really can't stand the sight of my site right now. I wish blogger had some more options and bells and whistles, but it doesn't. Matt Smith was right everyone, he tried getting me to go to wordpress about a year and a half ago, right after my sex change.

Anyway, if you need me I'll be playing and finishing Fallout 3. I'm probably about 40 hours into that game, and only halfway done with it. I've never done drugs in my life, but I imagine this is what addiction feels like.

2009-01-04T17:35:00.001-08:00

Don't hold me to it....

But I think I'm going to go with this design as my new website: http://www.wordpress.borbafett.net

I'm still working out the kinks and stuff, but I think this is my favorite design.

2009-01-03T16:44:00.001-08:00

i think i fixed it.

2009-01-03T16:10:00.001-08:00

now i'm confused.

2009-01-03T15:51:00.001-08:00

things are going to look a lot different soon...

2009-01-01T20:24:00.000-08:00

My (first) Annual Top/Favorite/Least Favorite Things of 2008 List

I was driving home from Monterey today. It's a 3 and a half hour drive. Point being, it's a really long drive. So, I listened to a lot of radio today. And wouldn't you know, just about every radio station was having a top songs of 2008 countdown. Radio stations are SO clever. If your radio station is 92.5, then you have the top 92 songs. If you're station is 106.5, then you have the top 106 songs. Anyway, those countdowns inspired me to blog about my own favorites this year. Enjoy.

Favorite Movies I watched for the first time in 2008:
JVCD
The Dark Knight
Wanted
Step Brothers
Wall-E
Tropic Thunder

Least favorite movies I watched for the first time in 2008:
The Happening
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Seven Pounds
Prom Night
The Darjeeling Limited
Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay
Transporter 3
Be Kind Rewind

Best movies I saw in 2008 that don't even come out until 2009:
Gran Torino
The Wrestler

Best Movie I'm going to see tonight that came out in 2008:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Movies that disappointed me but didn't necessarily suck of 2008:
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Semi-Pro
Righteous Kill
Cloverfield
Burn After Reading
Quantum of Solace

Movie I'm still trying to figure out why I didn't like it:
Leatherheads

Movie I agree with and want people to see, but didn't like that much:
Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed

Movie I don't agree with and want people to see:
Religulous

Movies I didn't like or dislike:
Iron Man
You Don't Mess With The Zohan
The Incredible Hulk
The X Files: I Want to Believe

First ever "scary movie" that truly creeped me out a little:
The Strangers

Favorite Songs of 2008:
Underworld - Best Mamgu Ever
Muse - Map of the Problematique
Kevin Rudolf - Let It Rock
Ne-Yo - Miss Independent
One Day as a Lion - Wild International
Brandon Heath - Give Me Your Eyes
Kings Of Leon - Sex On Fire
Silversun Pickups - Three Seed and also Rusted Wheel
Quiet Village - Desperate Hours
Snow Patrol - Lightning Strike
Sigur Ros - Inní mér syngur vitleysingur
50 Cent - Get Up
Nelly Furtado - Say It Right
Coldplay - The Entire Viva La Vida Album

Song that I hate that I like:
Kanye West - Love Lockdown

Favorite TV Series that came out in 2003 that I started watching in 2008:
Arrested Development

Favorite thing Kayla says:
"Stop talking mommy"

Favorite thing Brielle says:
"Thank You!"

Favorite video games of 2008:
The Force Unleashed
Fallout 3
Gears of War 2
Pain

Video game I REALLY wished blew me away but ended up leaving me utterly disappointed:
Metal Gear Solid 4

Game that got overly repetitive and eventually boring:
GTA IV

Biggest thing I learned in 2008:
Total surrender AND the meaning of true friendship.

Least favorite class I took at WJU:
Spiritual Dimensions of Leadership

Favorite class I took at WJU:
Christian Foundations 1 and The Gospel of John

Favorite picture of 2008:

Favorite Purchase of 2008:
61' Samsung DLP HDTV

Favorite gift of 2008:
This laptop

And that's about it. If I think of anything else, I'll come back and add stuff.

2008-12-30T12:27:00.000-08:00

A couple of years ago I was in a movie...

It's called "Death Row" (See above). Besides me, it co-stars Todd Bridges, Joe Estevez (Emilio's dad and Charlie Sheen's uncle) and a DJ from bay area radio. I think you should all make an effort to rent it or netflix it. It's probably the single most important film ever made in the history of cinema. That, and within the first ten minutes I get my throat slashed and hacked (I know a lot of you who read my website genuinely don't like me, so that should make you happy.) by "The Killer" (yes, that is his official name in the credits). Just for fun, I went on IMDB today to read some reviews of the film. Here are a few of the highlights...

"This is the worst film I have ever seen. My friend and I enjoy watching horrible films and making fun of them, so in that respect, we had a good time. The writing, acting, directing, location and editing were unspeakably horrible." (Obviously, he's excluding my acting here. That's safe to assume)

"A rating of 1 is a compliment." (Well, if we're rating on a negative scale, then yes, 1 is incredible!)

"The fact remains though, that this is only good by Quiroz standards - which is not saying a lot. Death Row is a pretty bad movie, it's just not as bad as I had expected it to be." (See, this guy said it's "good".)

"There’s so little gore, it’s hard to even call this a slasher, and the killer is the antithesis of the textbook invincible, faceless horror villain; this guy is irredeemably vincible and faceful. Plus, his whole plan doesn’t make a lot of sense. He goes through way too much effort to convince everyone over and over again that he’s not the killer. After the first 10 minutes, they never doubt him, yet he continues to play it up when, given that he has the element of surprise and that all of the prisoners are in handcuffs, he could just walk in and start blasting away. Granted, making the movie about 20 minutes long would be a gamble, but I'm willing to take that chance." (I agree with everything here. I'm not in the film after the first 10 minutes, so making the film 20 minutes long would mean that I'm in half the film)

"Okay, let's see. What do we have here... a woman cut in half, a man pushed through a jail cell like he were in a potato cutter, a couple of dudes in an electric chair and the most horrific of all... Jake Busey chewing the scenery until there is nothing left. Death Row will please most gore lovers." (Finally! A genuine positive review!! Too bad it's for a different movie called "Death Row")

So if those reviews weren't reason enough to put this movie at the top of your queue, watch the trailer. (Which I'm in) http://www.pumpkinpatchpictures.com/DR_Trailer_QT.mov

2008-12-27T14:47:00.000-08:00

It's A Wonderful Life...

It's been a wonderful Christmas. I've never experienced the kind of connection with God that I have had this Christmas, and it came from being completely broke (financially). Nicki and I have had a really hard 2008 in terms of finances. Long stories short, I was laid off, her job didn't pan out, I started school and she started a new job. We didn't have money for a Christmas tree, gifts, or anything. And through all of that, God was able to allow me to focus on the real meaning of Christmas, him.

Because of my appreciation and gratitude towards his provisions in my life, I decided to preach during Christmas Eve, to my family. I kind of felt God telling me that he wanted me to say a little something, but I had no idea what. Fast forward to Christmas Eve, I found a few hours alone at my mom's house, and wrote a message. I still wasn't sure if I was going to go through with it or not though, because as you can imagine, talking to your family about religion and things isn't exactly sugar plums and candy canes. But I did it anyway, and out of that obedience, something wonderful happened. After I gave my message, my cousin's girlfriend gave her life to the Lord and became a Christian.

I had to walk to my mother's house next door to get something, shortly after Kristen became a Christian. And as I walked, I had the most incredible realization. That despite not having any money at all for Christmas, despite not being able to give any gifts to anyone, I was able to give God a gift, my obedience, which in turn brought Kristen home to Him. It was a really beautiful moment for me. And now, I'd like to paste the message I gave below. It's as I wrote it, with notes to myself and things like that in it, so I'm sorry if it's a bit confusing. I just wanted to share this story with you all because you never know what can happen if you remain open and obedient to God. There isn't a gift on earth that has equal value to Kristen becoming a Christian, and I am so thankful that God used me this holiday season bring me closer to him and realize the true meaning of Christmas:

It's not about gifts, but it is about a gifts.

Talk about not having any money this Christmas, and how it forced me to truly put into action the words that so many of us say every year around now, and that is "Jesus is the reason for the season". I can barely remember what I got for Christmas last year, let alone years past. I can barely see my penis anymore because it has shrunk by a huge margin, it's bad but I'm dealing with it. remember what I've bought people in years past either. Every year around the end of November, we all partake in the same tradition. The tradition of shopping till you drop. The tradition of spending more than you should. The tradition of trying to get that one last gift on Christmas Eve before the store clothes. Traditions that bring us away from the real meaning of Christmas. Now don't get me wrong, had we had money this year, we would have been doing the SAME thing. But I believe God wanted me to learn something about him this year by taking away the most common way for us to lose focus of what Christmas means.

By the way, just so we're clear, December 25th is not the day Jesus was born. Most scholars think he was born in the later months of the summer, around September and October because the shepherds were still tending their sheep at night. It would have been far too cold in December in Bethlehem for shepherds to be tending their flock. December 25th was just a day that some other "gods" were said to have been born on, so that's how it was chosen.

And while we're at it, you would think that Jesus was born in 0 AD, right? BC meaning before Christ, so the natural thought is that the day Jesus was born would be 0, because in 500A.D. a Roman Monk named Dionysius Exiguus The creator of the AD timeline) miscalculated the date of birth when he was preparing a calendar to calculate what days future Easter's would take place on. By the time people caught the mistake, it was far too late and it was not corrected.

Moving on.
It's not about gifts, but it is about gifts.

So does anyone know the first mention of Jesus in the bible?
Genesis 2:15
"And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring (a) and hers; he will crush (b) your head, and you will strike his heel."

Do you know that throughout the entire Old Testament, Jesus is mentioned many times by people who lived hundreds of years before his birth? Did you know that in the book of John, it says that Jesus was with God in the beginning? It's hard to imagine that, but it's right there in the very first sentence of John chapter 1, and the following two verses:

1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning. 3Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood(a) it.

Any time you hear the phrase "life" or "the light" in the New Testament, it is referring to Jesus. Jesus was right next to God from the beginning, which by the way doesn't mean the beginning of creation, but the beginning of everything. It's beyond our comprehension.

So, what does that have to do with gifts?
Both answers are found in one verse. Does anyone have any idea what verse that is?
16"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,(f) that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Ask to hold Kayla and Brielle.
Now, I don't think anyone in this room would doubt that I love my two girls with all my heart. I don't think anyone in this room would doubt that I wouldn't do ANYTHING for these two girls. I would lay down my own life for them if I had to. I would do anything possible to ensure their safety, and well-being. I love these girls more than I love my friends, Star Wars, video games, my wife, myself and so on. These girls mean everything in the world to me, and my life would feel incomplete without them.

But I'll tell you what. I don't love them the same way Jesus loves them. I don't love them the same way Jesus loves me. I don't love them as much as God does. And you want to know why I know that? Because I could never do what God did. I could never offer Kayla or Brielle's life to pay for my sins give me eternal life. And more than that, more powerful than that, I could never give Kayla or Brielle's life to pay for the sins and grant eternal life to billions of people I've never met across the earth. People that not only do I not know, but people that despite my giving of Kayla or Brielle's life to pay for their sins, the majority of those people would still choose to deny the fact that my daughter's life did in fact pay for their lives.

And that's exactly what God did for us. He gave his ONLY son, so that we may have ETERNAL life. Are you following me here? Christmas isn't about gifts, it's about gifts. Two gifts, specifically. The gift of God, Jesus Christ being born on earth as a human, giving up his power and authority in heaven to do so. And the second gift is the gift of HIS life, for our sins, so that we may have eternal life. That's what Christmas is about. That's why we gather as a family to open gifts and love on each other. To celebrate those gifts.

Having no money this year has afforded me the luxury of really being able to attention to the awesome gift that God gave us, by sending his son. And I know we're all family here, I know we all love each other. But the truth is, I don't know where all of you stand. I don't know if all of you have accepted Christ as your personal Lord and savior. I think it's assumed that all of us have, but the truth is that I don't think any of us could stand up here and go person by person, verifying whether or not that person has accepted Christ. And if you haven't, I urge you to do so. I pray that you're able to see the real meaning behind Christmas, to see the real gift we can take home tonight. And you know what the best thing about that gift is? It's free. You don't have to do anything except ask Jesus into your heart. I want to be in heaven with all of you. I want to know while I'm here on earth, that my entire family is saved.

In closing, I'd like to point out a passage that talks about the glory of the God we serve, Jesus Christ. It's from a book in the bible that people don't read from that often because it's full of crazy imagery. The book of Revelation. This passage is talking about the return of Christ, otherwise known as the second coming, when he will take all of his believers back to Heaven with him, from earth.

11I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. 12His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. 13He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. 14The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. 15Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. "He will rule them with an iron scepter."(a) He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. 16On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:

KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

17And I saw an angel standing in the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birds flying in midair, "Come, gather together for the great supper of God, 18so that you may eat the flesh of kings, generals, and mighty men, of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, small and great." 19Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war against the rider on the horse and his army. 20But the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who had performed the miraculous signs on his behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped his image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. 21The rest of them were killed with the sword that came out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh.

THAT is the Jesus we serve.

2008-12-24T10:19:00.000-08:00

Religulous...

I watched Religulous with Bill Maher last night. I had been wanting to see that movie since I first heard about it. It's a documentary, and the premise is that Bill, an atheist, goes around trying to find answers (and when he does he shoots them down) about why religious people believe in their religion. The movie is 2 hours, and I'd say the first hour and 15 minutes are spent knocking Christianity.

I'm all for open discussion, and people like Bill Maher questioning why we believe what we believe. I am not a fan of Bill Maher, and I think he has an agenda against Christianity and religion in general, but I found that I wasn't appalled with him, as I thought I would be. What I was appalled with, was the lack of knowledge and answers that the Christians he interviewed possessed (or not possessed if that makes more sense).

Within the first 10 minutes of the movie, Bill is in front of about 10 Christians, and the basis for his argument is that "The gospels are NOT an eyewitness account of Jesus, and that they were written by men who had never met him, decades later". He also said that the bible does not mention a "virgin birth". Not ONE of the men (at least in the movie, I'm not sure if their answer to that was edited out) disputed that. Not one of them. They stood there dumbfounded. For the first time in my life, I found myself yelling at the TV screen (well, besides when I'm watching the 49ers). I couldn't believe that the preacher of the church Bill was at, didn't dispute Bill's claim. (For the record, the Gospels, and a lot of the Bible for that matter were written by men who did in fact walk and talk with Jesus. Those books are absolutely an eye witness account. And the bible does in fact mention a virgin birth, in both Matthew and Luke. )

Later, Bill interviewed a senator from somewhere, a Christian senator, and asked him if he believed in evolution. The senator, to my extreme surprise, said he did. Again, I was completely shocked. While the Bible isn't a science book, it clearly states in the FIRST chapter of Genesis that God created everything. The planet, stars, plants, animals, humans, oceans, etc etc. God created all of it. So again, it was sad to see a Christian senator say that evolution was how we came about.

I realize that if Bill had interviewed someone (and maybe he did but didn't include it in the movie, in order to portray Christians as idiots) who could explain their faith better, he would have asked questions like "Well how do you know the Bible is true?" Again, not one person in their defense of their faith quoted the verse from 2 Timothy that says "EVERY scripture is God breathed and useful for teaching".

Bill then interviewed a TV evangelist that said "money and riches will come as a result of serving God". This was perhaps the most ridiculous and frustrating interview out of all the Christians he interviewed. This pastor was so far off the mark that he actually began to quote fictitious scripture. (Again, Bill could have edited this interview to his liking, removing accurate things this pastor said) This pastor didn't really have answers either, and the answers he did have were so far off base with the basic principles of Christ followership that it fueled Bill Maher's own thoughts on religion and why it's ridiculous.

Throughout the movie and his interviews with various people (Christian and non alike) Bill quoted scriptures from the Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Qur'an and others, using those specific scriptures to prove his point. What Bill did was exactly what everyone does who wants to prove the bible as flawed. He pulled one verse, out of context, amongst surrounding verses that continued to explain that particular verse, and used it for his argument. Unfortunately again in the interviews, these Christians couldn't answer Bill's question because they didn't know the rest of the verse.

He also brought up the "fact" that Jesus' story was borrowed from many different stories of gods from different cultures. He started using examples from Egyptian gods, Greek gods and Muslim gods. He said that the story of Jesus blended from this guy, that guy and others. Not once did Bill theorize that perhaps those stories were written after the bible, or that those stories (interpreted by men thousands of years later who were hired to decipher hieroglyphics) could have been interpreted wrong or off base. Bill Maher took those stories as fact.

My point to all of this, is that I think it's EXTREMELY important to interpret the bible, to know and understand it, and to most of all, defend your faith and have answers and responses to the types of questions Bill Maher and others ask. The bible is not full of contradictions. The bible was written by men who had first-hand contact and conversations with God and Jesus. It is infallible, and can provide answers for the types of questions that men ask. The problem is, we don't take the time to learn it. We go around with our basic knowledge, and think that's good enough. It's not. We need to be dedicated to the Word, to study it and embed it into our psyche.

There have been men far more intelligent than Bill Maher that have asked similar questions. The problem isn't Bill Maher, or people like him who denounce religion and Christianity. The problem is with Christians who have never bothered to do anything more than go to church on Sunday and listen to some pastor preach. The problem is with Christians who misinterpret and twist the bible in order to fit their own personal agenda. (As in Christians who say things like "God hates fags") The problem is with humans, not the bible, and not God. Humans mess it up. Humans twist and make religion into the hateful, warring thing it has become. My God, the God of the bible is a loving God.

And to close, I need to clarify that in NO way do I think I have all the answers and in NO way do I think I'm any better than the people interviewed in that movie. I just feel that I would have been able to explain and answer my stance and why I believe what I believe, and what I believe, in a different manner than them.

It's extremely important for Christians to be able to have answers for the types of questions Bill Maher asked. It is, in my opinion, inexcusable for me to remain silent and not argue the fact that Jesus was born of a virgin, and that the gospels were in fact first-hand accounts of Jesus' life. It's not ok for ME. I want to bring others to Christ, so I need to be prepared for those types of questions.

2008-12-23T10:52:00.000-08:00

My vote...

For worst children's story/nursery rhyme is: "The Old Woman Who Lived In A Shoe"

I guess I'd never really paid attention to this little nugget before. However, today Brielle walked over to me with it in her hand and gave it to me and said "book", which is her precious way of asking me to read. So I popped open that little 4 page book, and read the following story:

There was an old woman, who lived in a shoe...
She had so many children, she didn't know what to do...
She gave them some broth, without any bread...
Then scolded them soundly...
And sent them to bed.

THE END

Really, that's the end. I thought maybe some pages were missing. But this is one of those little hard cardboard books, so no chance of pages missing. So then I sat and pondered what the meaning of this poem could be. Was it written to dissuade young women from having too many children? Was it written to show the pitfalls of living in a shoe? Was the old woman a metaphor for a worldly super power and the children representative of warring nations? And since the version I read to Brielle had rabbits as the main character, was it reflective of rabbits in general?

So I googled it. And found an even more disturbing version. The version I found was the original, written in 1883. Instead of scolding them soundly, she "whipped them all soundly". Interesting. Let me get this straight, let me see if I understand. You have an old woman, whose husband is either dead, at work, or out playing golf. She's really frustrated because all of her kids are hungry. So, she gives them soup, without bread. Did she not give them bread as punishment? Did she even have any bread? We may never know. After the children eat, and are somewhat content (based on the illustration) she either A) scolds them for reasons unknown, or B) whips them for reasons unknown, then sends them to bed. That's it.

I think the old woman probably felt under appreciated. Whether the father was alive or not, I think the old woman just needed some "me" time. Perhaps one of her children could have offered to cook dinner instead, while the old woman run upstairs to the 4th lace and took a breather. Whatever the case, the old woman didn't have control of her emotions, and her kids suffered for it. I like to think that after she whipped and scolded them, her husband came home and gave her the business.

2008-12-18T16:20:00.001-08:00

And then there were none.

I know, it's been a weird month for my blog. First I say I'm done, then the next day I flip-flop. Then I post a random SpongeBob video. I know. Weird. Well, there's good reason. I was in finals for the past few weeks. I've studied more books and written more papers than I care to remember. But now, that's all over with. I'm done. I started school 17 weeks ago, with a hunger to learn more about God, to increase my knowledge of the Bible, and to become a better follower of Christ. Incredibly, all three have happened.

It was a sobering experience, going from the work world to the school world. It took me a good 2 months to get into the flow of things. I thought by having worked in the "real world" the last 7 years of my life, that I was going to have no problem with this "school thing". I had no idea just how much time and energy it consumes. Studying, writing papers, doing projects and everything else you can think of. It was frustrating at times, having to come home and continue working, when I had been used to coming home from work and being done. But I'm not complaining, so don't get me wrong. It just took a minute to adapt. 17 weeks does seem like the perfect amount of time to be in class before a nice long break though. I'm glad the break is here.

So now I have to start working on my trip to Africa. Before the clock strikes 12am Saturday morning, I have to have the draft of my support letter and 60 contacts that I will send it to. I haven't worked on it at all because A) I forgot, and B) I was in finals and forgot. So, tomorrow should be fun. I need to come up with $4000 to go on this trip. So if you get one of my support letters, I hope you realize you are important to me, and that I really do need your support with either: prayer, money, or taking care of my family for 3 weeks while I'm gone by making sure Nicki and the girls aren't too depressed that I'm gone. ;)

Here are some things I plan on doing during my four and a half week break: (In no particular order)

1. Beating "The Force Unleashed"
2. Watching "The Empire Strikes Back" in HD
3. Start running again. 3 days a week.
4. Mow the lawn in my backyard. Actually, clean my backyard entirely.
5. Read all of the Gospels once.
6. Teach Kayla and Brielle calculus (but I'll have to learn it myself first. this may be a tad lofty)
7. Update this website more frequently
8. Help Nicki advertise for her new office so she can start raking in the big bucks
9. Use periods at the end of every sentence when I do lists.
10. Get into a fist fight

And then, there's this: Star Wars the Silent Film

2008-12-11T19:54:00.001-08:00