May wit never go unappreciated

Male customer after ordering scrambled eggs from the omelette station at Snelling Dining Hall:
"So how do you like your eggs in the morning?"

Girl working the omelette station:
"Unfertilized."

In a related story, I now have a crush on that girl.
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Martin: I have a question, Mark.
Mark: I have an exclamation point.

Although previous logic would suggest otherwise, I do not have a crush on him.

Shout outs:

Christ Church peeps, Crossroads weekend was quite amen-worthy!

Ethan, happy birthday; and in regards to your compliment on my fine phyisque...your mom has a fine physique!

Meghan Lloyd, I keep on hoping to run into you at Cups so we can chat chinchilla-like about Cherokee (alliteration attempted).

To random person who plans on buying me birthday present, Who's Line is It Anyway on DVD, Season 1, in wrapper, w/ price tag.

Mark Vinson, some Elephant jokes ; hookah night?

Mom, thanks for dinner, but I said "yes" to dessert, not "yes" to pie-in-face.

Lauren Royal, my connect-the-dot birthday dinosaur is up on the fridge being admired; my roommates' connect-the-dot pictures are all jealous.

Waylon, get rid of that cardboard belt...it's a waist of paper (ha)

Jessica Rogers, you read my blog.

To my preschoolers, I recently ran into one of my pre-school teachers Mrs. Gilbert at a Styx Concert, but she did not remember me....so I pooped on her head!!

How are we supposed to take compliments?

I ask again..How are we supposed to take compliments?
We usually react one of several ways when complimented:

1) Deny the compliment:
"You're amazing at tickling people."
"No, I'm not. There are so many better ticklers out there."

We poo-poo the compliment to appear humble, or because we don't know what else to say.

2) Gratitude:
"You're amazing at tickling people."
"Thanks. You don't know how encouraged I am to here that."

Although we may be hesitant to say thanks because that might communicate that we are aware of our gift.

3) Change subject or make a joke out of it.
"You're amazing at tickling people."
"Your MOM's amazing at tickling." (this isn't really supposed to make sense; this is just an example; no sexual inuendo here)

We are uncomfortable w/ the compliment, so joking about it makes the mood more comfortable.


I have issues with responses 1) and 3). Isn't downgrading or denying a compliment lying? For instance, if you are great at guitar, you pretty much know that you have some skill in that area. So if you say you suck at it, I'm going to think "you're just saying that. You don't really think that or you wouldn't play in front of people. There's no way that you are unaware of your talent unless you're ignorant and stupid." Yet this is our tendency whenever we are complimented. I think it's because we are so afraid of coming across as arrogant since we know deep down that we most likely deserved and expected that compliment.

There's got to be a better way of handling compliments other than false humility or awkward avoidance. We should recognize that God has graciously gifted us, instead of acting like he hasn't. And if any compliments are owed, it's to Him, not us. I think a solution is that when we are complimented, we humbly thank them, as we mentally thank God. That way, we're not being fake; they realize we appreciate the compliment; and thanking God allows it to not go to our heads as we enjoy Him more. (However, actually saying "No, don't compliment me. Thank and praise God that he gifted me" will come off holier-than-thou and you will be slapped)

Sola Gratia

I must confess I never would have been saved if I could have helped it. As long as I could, I rebelled and revolted and struggled against God. When he would have me pray, I would not pray. When he would have me listen to the sound of the ministry, I would not. And when I heard, and the tear rolled down my cheek, I wiped it away and defied him to melt my heart. Then he gave me the effectual blow of grace, and there was no resisting that irresistible effort. It conquered my depraved will and made me bow myself before the scepter of his grace.And so it is in every case. Man revolts against his Savior, but where God determines to save, save he will. God never was thwarted yet in any one of his purposes. Man does resist with all his might, but all the might of man, tremendous though it be for sin, is not equal to the majestic might of the Most High. --Charles Haddon Spurgeon/ Martin Davis

Babies...yummm

related thought: if corn oil comes from corn, and baby oil comes from babies, where does vegetable oil come from???

makes you think, huh

Epiphany part 2

It hit me like a flour filled tube sock the other day what people like Mark Driscoll, my mom, Steve Brown, and Stephen McGuire have said before.

[Mark Driscoll: "I don't care if you have tattoos and drink at bars, I just care that you love Jesus."

Mom: "the whole reason for not sinning is because that takes away from our relationship with God. We want more of him, so we don't want to sin."

Steve McGuire: "I have really just seen that what I need most deeply is to know and enjoy Christ, not as a means to something else, but as an end in itself. And as this happens, everything else seems to just fall into perspective."

Steve Brown: his entire scandalous freedom book]

My conclusion was that I need to not set my focus on motivations for seeking God; for I will always have self lurking in the background, and will often feel guilt which interferes with enjoying God. Yes, I should be mindful of my motivations, but they shouldn't be the object of my focus. Instead, I should simply make enjoying Christ my goal; everything else will take care of itself. How freeing!

Demetri Martin....

will be imparting his wisdom to me in 10 days at the Roxy in Atlanta.

Some wisdom from Demetri:

"The worst time to have a heart attack is probably during a game of Charades."

"Saying ‘I’m sorry’ is the same as saying ‘I apologize.’ Except at a funeral.”

"They say that you can tell man apart from other animals by his ability to reason. I think you could also go by last names. What's his name? Patches? Patches what? That's a dog. Don't waste my time."

Epiphany part 1

My Christianity looks like this: I want to be happy and I want to stop sucking at things (a.k.a. sin); and Scripture, good teaching, and life experience has taught me that Jesus is the only way I can achieve those things.

Some of my favorite verses are Psalm 34:8, and 2 Corinthians 3:18 because they tell me how to get what I want: happiness and self-improvement. I want others to be happy and to have hope that they can change so I actively want others to know Him. So my life looks pretty godly b/c I'm pursuing Jesus and sharing the Gospel often.

Even though all this is true, Jesus has now become a means to an end. He is not the goal, but the instrument used to achieve it.

Update on Martin

I get the question "How's life?" or "What are you doing these days?" or "What are you doing now that you've graduated?" pretty much daily. I hate that question mainly because it's such a hard and detailed question, yet it is almost always asked as simply a conversation starter (meaning they don't care THAT much). I'm very tempted to lie often and make up something, to entertain myself and make the question easier. Anyways here's an update on what's been going on in my life:

Job: At Snelling working in the stock room until the business venture I'm starting w/ my roommate gets going or gets denied (I will know in 3 to 7 weeks).

Roommates: They're different. But I'm glad I'm living with them. They drink a 6 pack/day which has caused me to drink 1.5/day.

Ladies: Still single. And no prospects.

Men: Still heterosexual. But I miss the Yellow House fellows.

Family: I still love them very much, but wish they would read my blog so they'd know that because I'm not good at telling them in person or out of person.
(they are all doing well. Dad's marriage is getting better; mom's more excited about her job and her newfound interest in Indelible Grace; Peter's making tons of money on ebay; Jonathan's busy)

Health: gained 8 freckles from recent Hilton Head trip meaning I'm that much closer to melanoma. On the bright side, I'm thoroughly enjoying my allergies.

Spiritual: I'm confused and depressed every morning. But there's a point almost every day where I love the fact that I belong to Jesus.



That's it. Later gators.

...and for my human readers, have a good day.