RickSpace

We just got done watching Mr. and Mrs. Smith which we are the proud owners of on VHS (yay)… It’s a cute enough movie, they’re hit-people, trying to kill each other, yadda yadda yadda.  So, that’s not why I love my wife.  My wife has a cold right now, which plays in later.

After the movie is over, Shaina looks at me and this is our conversation:

Her: “I’m a hit-person.  I kill people for a living.” 
Me: “And this cold, is that just an act?”
Her: “No, I got this cold trekking through Iceland trying to kill an Eskimo.”
Me: “You do realize that Iceland is actually mostly green for most of the year, right?”
…
…
Her: “Well, he was easy to find.”

I love my wife.

Someone who commented on my last post stated that it would be interesting indeed to hear the story of my becoming a Christian from the background of a liberal.  Before we go ANY further, let me state 100% clearly that I in no way think being a liberal and being a Christian are mutually exclusive.  There are beliefs and practices that some liberals as well as some conservatives embrace that are against the Christian message, but Christianity is not about beliefs, practices or merely a message.

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So… you have 2 cars, one of which you don’t trust (brakes are going out/gone, etc). You take the one you don’t trust to work, so your wife and child can drive the safe one. Your wife and you have been discussing just getting the brakes fixed and taking this car to the funeral because it IS much more comfortable. You listen to the brakes just GRINDING metal on metal for the whole trip to work. Because your relative has died, it’s finally time to buy a black suit… on your lunchbreak, you drive to the Goodwill because obviously you’re not buying a suit anywhere else. In front of the Goodwill, your car sits in the sun while you’re inside and when you come back out, it won’t start.

So, now you have a car that won’t start AND won’t stop, sitting in front of Poor People R Us (self-inclusive) in 110 degree (heat index) weather… in long sleeves and dresspants (first day in the past week or two you’ve worn long sleeves btw)… thinking about finances and realizing that if you tow the vehicle and get it worked on at all, you’ll not have enough money to go see your grandfather buried. If you leave the vehicle there, you may get it towed FOR you in which case you’re going to be paying an impound fee which you don’t want. You resign yourself to paying the impound fee when you get back, because you can better afford that after the next paycheck than you can ANYTHING right now. At this point is when the situation becomes religious (hence the demarcation of the post as religious)… you get down on your proverbial knees and pray to God for help… anything. You promise him that if you’re not supposed to take the car to Michigan (everything you had done and talked about all morning was in regards to getting the car ready to go on the trip) you won’t… you will do whatever He wants of you… anything… Dejectedly, you turn the key again just to wallow in the crank-crank-crank-die of your motor’s pathetic attempts at ignition… but the engine starts. Huh? Seriously?

Yeah… I don’t know if it was the prayer for help, the fact that the block somehow cooled down even though it was in that heat, mere coincidence, the promise not to take it on the trip, or what… but I guarantee I’ll not be taking the car on the trip, and I’ll be saying extra prayers of thanks.

I really think God knows when we simply cannot handle anything else… nothing more. One more straw and this camel will be a cripple… and at that point he either removes some burden, or he picks you up and supports you through. I was sitting in the parking lot thinking I didn’t deserve to have all this bad stuff happening to me all at the same time… truth be told, I don’t deserve the support and salvation that God gave me to help me when I was in a pinch. I am humbled.

My grandfather, my father’s dad, Robert Petersen, passed away Sunday (July 16th, 2006) morning. I have not heard when the exact time was nor what the actual cause was (not like any of that truly matters). He had been diagnosed with cancer in several parts of his body (skin cancer on his neck, bone cancer in his shoulder, etc) and was in an extreme amount of pain lately. They had him sedated to the point of unconciousness beacuse any time he came to, he was in pain. He slipped away while already unconcious and not really feeling pain and that was probably best. He was an incredibly strong, stubborn, caring and admirable man and he will be missed greatly by both his friends and family.

RIP Robert Petersen, Veteran of the USMC. Your family loves you and appreciates that you were… semper fidelis (always faithful).

Faith is not saying ‘I know God will deliver me soon’ when facing struggles. Faith is saying ‘I know God is providing this very moment’ and trusting that your struggle is part of your deliverance.

Somewhat longish update.. truncated/linked for those of you not on T3’s.
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This post will probably leave you with a sad feeling inside, so please do not read any further if you don’t need that sort of influence today.

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It’s that time of the year again. People look forward to Thanksgiving, Christmas and the New Years as times they can take days off from work, on either side of the holidays, and therefore have a larger chunk of time off from work. While I love the seasons and the festive nature of the holidays, I have grown to realize that I really hate vacation/holiday time.
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Okay, so in the spirit of what everyone else in the blogosphere is doing (trust me, I have to read the entire thing each week as part of my job) I’ll post a short list of things for which I’m thankful in absolutely no order.
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Do not ascribe to intelligence what can be attributed to accidental innovation.

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