JRMITCH85 Uncategorized

No Electricity

It is hard to imagine what it would be like with no electricity. Shortly after I woke up this morning, the power company shut off the power to make upgrades, replace hardware, something…

I never realized how much in my morning routine is dependent on electricity. If only I could ensure that I was as reliant upon God in the morning, I am sure that I would be better off each day. We take so many things for granted that can be taken away, but God doesn’t leave us or forsake us.

Maybe I should have plugged into the Almighty rather than find a Starbucks for its wifi so I can send this blog.

JRMITCH85 Ramblings

Picture Day

Today was picture day. My son went in very dashing with his hair styled, thanks to mom. This is a moment that gets captured in time,  a moment that we can look back and see him forever just as he was a week before he turns three. It is a time of excitement, because it is another picture, which serves as a reminder that God is blessing my life. As I walk down the hall, this new picture will serve as an important reminder that God is good!

My earliest memory of picture day was sometime in elementary school, probably 3rd or 4th Grade, and I was simply excited to get the comb they handed out to everyone to make sure our hair was alright. Other than the comb, there wasn’t really any excitement behind the day. However, now as I look back at the pictures on my parents’ wall I am reminded that I am important, I am loved, and I come from somewhere. This is a reminder that God’s provision for me is not only in the immediate past and future, but I have a history that I can look back upon to see that God has loved me through my family.

Similarly, in the Old Testament, we hear of the building of altars. These were their pictures, reminders that God watched over them, helped them out, and/or saved them from trouble. They could go back and look at these sites and recall how God helped them out. No matter what, GOD loved them! God loves you too!

JRMITCH85 Character, Ramblings

Happy Veterans’ Day 2010

I am proud to thank all of those who have put so much on the line. I am thankful that men and women have willingly signed up for our armed forces. I am thankful for generations past, that have laid their lives on the line so that we can walk in freedom. I am thankful for so many who have sought the greater gain of society above their own personal gain. To all men and women who have answered the call of service, I freely grant you my sincerest gratitude.

I pray for the day when these brave souls no longer have to put their lives in danger. I pray for their safety today. I pray a blessing upon all of their families, and I thank them for their sacrifices as well. Let us all take a moment to pray for those who have given us so much, and those who continue to give.

JRMITCH85 Character, Decisions, Faith, Ramblings

Illness Ignored

I am just getting over an illness that I could not understand, nor could I kick it until I decided that I needed to change the way I was living to allow my body to fight it properly. I went about my day, working and playing as if nothing was wrong, staying up late, eating whatever sounded good to me at the time, and not paying any mind that my stomach was upset, and living in this manner aggravated the symptoms, and I felt worse. Eventually, I got tired of feeling sick, and realized that if I wanted to get better, I would have to alter the way I was living, and maybe even go see a doctor. (Strangely enough, even at 31 years of age, I still have an uneasy feeling about going to see the doctor.) Eventually, I stopped eating whatever, and went on a diet of foods that were easy on the stomach, I went to bed earlier, I rested when I could, and I gave my body a fighting chance against whatever the bug that was attacking my system. Now, I feel better, and am taking it easy, sort of.

I missed the opportunity to truly enjoy spending time with my son, because I wanted to be able to just fight through this sickness. Because I fought taking a step back, I ended up going through the motions in our play and not fully engaging in the way I want to engage him. If I just would have taken a day to allow my body to rest, I’m not saying it would have been better immediately, but I wouldn’t have just been “blah” in the precious time he and I had together.

Many things in life are like this illness. Whether it is our habits, routines, addictions, lust, sloth, our current emotional state, mental health, physical health, any number of vices, or our lack of spiritual well-being, all of these can contribute to our illness. This illness affects the type of person we are with our loved ones, it affects our ability to work, and eventually it breaks down our physical, emotional, and spiritual bodies, until we are defined by our illness. It starts with something manageable, with something that doesn’t rule us, but because we convince ourselves that we can control it, we lose control without ever knowing when we have reached that tipping point.

So many things get in the way of being the best us! Whether it is something that happens to us, or something we do to ourselves or others, we are susceptible to contracting this illness. When it eventually hits us, and it will hit us, what is our response going to be? Are we going to try to just live our lives as if we are in control of the symptoms? This is our pride surfacing. Most All of the time, we have an out. We need a doctor to guide us through the maze, to help protect us from ourselves. We are not able to do this on our own. A change needs to happen, and Jesus is here for us, so let’s not ignore the fact that He chose to dine with us, not the scribes and pharisees. (Mark 2:16-17, Matthew 9:11-13)

We are all sick, don’t ignore it, dine with the Physician tonight.

JRMITCH85 Uncategorized

Bear Grylls Did Alpha

JRMITCH85 Decisions

With One Hand Tied

Yesterday, as I was playing with my son at the park, he insisted that we bring his football along. With this I clearly had no issue, and pride bubbled over in my heart. He carried his ball around with him throwing it around and yelling, “Touchdown!” The only problem came when he decided he wanted to play on the equipment, climbing the stairs, and going down the slides, he wanted to take his ball. While he has a high level of coordination, many of the playground elements require two hands. I implored him to drop the ball so he could use both hands, but he refused because he wanted to keep the ball with him on the slide.

I think many of us go through life like this. We want to multi-task and carry so many things with us no matter what we are doing. At times we walk through life with one hand tied behind our backs, or in the case of my son, one hand carrying a football. While we continue about our lives and daily tasks, we may not realize how much these things slow us down. Things, thoughts, worries, emotions all can slow us down, if we let any of them master us.

I am thankful that I don’t have to carry these things with me, but am frustrated that I willfully often carry more than I need or should. Let us resolve not to be mastered by the things of this world, but cling to the Almighty God, and give them over in prayer.

JRMITCH85 Uncategorized

Guy Fawkes Day

Guy Fawkes Day
The anniversary of the famous Gunpowder Plot
 

Remember remember the fifth of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason why gunpowder, treason
Should ever be forgot…

 
November 5th marks the anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot, a conspiracy to blow up the English Parliament and King James I in 1605, the day set for the king to open Parliament. The anniversary was named after Guy Fawkes, the most famous of the conspirators.

Guy Fawkes amd King James I. Source: Arttoday.com
The unfortunate conspirator Fawkes appears before his intended victim.

Uprising of English Catholics

It was intended to be the beginning of a great uprising of English Catholics, who were distressed by the increased severity of penal laws against the practice of their religion. The conspirators, who began plotting early in 1604, expanded their number to a point where secrecy was impossible.

The group included Robert Catesby, John Wright, and Thomas Winter, the originators, Christopher Wright, Robert Winter, Robert Keyes, Guy Fawkes, a soldier who had been serving in Flanders, Thomas Percy, John Grant, Sir Everard Digby, Francis Tresham, Ambrose Rookwood, and Thomas Bates.

Brought to Light by Anonymous Letter

Percy hired a cellar under the House of Lords, in which 36 barrels of gunpowder, overlaid with iron bars and firewood, were secretly stored. The conspiracy was brought to light through a mysterious letter received by Lord Monteagle, a brother-in-law of Tresham, on October 26, urging him not to attend Parliament on the opening day.

The 1st earl of Salisbury and others, to whom the plot was made known, took steps leading to the discovery of the materials and the arrest of Fawkes as he entered the cellar. Other conspirators, overtaken in flight or seized afterward, were killed outright, imprisoned, or executed.

Fireworks, Bonfires in England

Among those executed was Henry Garnett, the superior of the English Jesuits, who had known of the conspiracy. While the plot was the work of a small number of men, it provoked hostility against all English Catholics and led to an increase in the harshness of laws against them. Guy Fawkes Day, November 5, is still celebrated in England with fireworks and bonfires, on which effigies of the conspirator are burned.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2005, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

Read more: Guy Fawkes Day — Infoplease.com http://www.infoplease.com/spot/guyfawkes.html#ixzz14SFXNE2k

 

JRMITCH85 Faith, Ramblings

Election 2010 Postmortem

First of all, I have friends that are happy, I have friends that are sad, but most have some sort of mixed reaction to the results from last night. I am proud to say that I have friends I disagree with, and that no matter where we stand on any of the issues, we can still be friends. (Just like a lot of people don’t like the fact that I am a Laker fan, but they’re still my friends, right?) However, that is the hardest thing for me to see during these election cycles, my friends, the people I love, divided over this person or that person, this proposition or that proposition. The great thing about this country is that we are free to see things differently than somebody else, but that in all reality we are a lot more alike than we are different.

“If we amplify everything, we hear nothing.” -Jon Stewart

Certainly, many think that one solution is better than another, and we should be able to have a certain amount of civil discourse to discuss the merits of each other’s proposals. However, neither side is generally willing to complement some one from the other side of the aisle. Pardon my opinion that the concession speeches I hear seem utterly disingenuous. It is hard to hear that LOSING CANDIDATE wish WINNING CANDIDATE well and think that it is genuine, especially since we have heard the two candidates bash each other’s heads in with their negative advertisements for the last six months. (This is an another issue I despise, and am sad that it is the most effective strategy. Negative advertisements work, which is why they get used most often.)

I hope and pray that we as a people rise up and make this statement from then Sen. Obama ring true in our hearts.

“There is not a liberal America and a conservative America — there is the United States of America. There is not a Black America and a White America and Latino America and Asian America — there’s the United States of America”

If we join together and work for the welfare of all people, and we all get together and push, the United States of America will be “One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” However, if we are going to allow our partisan politics divide us, we will not progress as a nation, and will fall short of the ideals to which we cling.

As for me, I will pray for these leaders. Not that they personally succeed or fail, but that we as a nation are able to bring hope to those that lack hope or options, and that we as a nation succeed together, not by standing on the backs of others. I truly believe that a non-zero sum is possible, and that through honest leadership, and the leading of the Holy Spirit, we will be blessed. I am not going to wait until my team wins to pray, I am not going to bicker, I am not going speak poorly of my leaders, but I will pray, I will fight for truth, and through it all I will strive to be a voice for the Kingdom of God in this place.

JRMITCH85 Hope, Ramblings, Uncategorized

World Series Champions?

This blogging thing has worked out well for my favorite professional teams. Yesterday night, the San Francisco Giants actually won the World Series. This group of young core players with colorful nicknames like “The Freak” and “Black Beard”, surrounded by a group of veteran castoffs from other teams, was able to make it past the Braves, beat the supposedly unbeatable Roy Halladay and the Phillies, and knock around the Playoff Pitching Ace Cliff Lee to beat the Rangers to take the World Series in 5 games. Humm Baby! Go Giants!

Giants Victory Celebration

To be honest, I had almost lost hope that this was even possible, especially not this year. However, it goes to show that sometimes anything is possible. This year I got to put away all the disappointment that has come at the hands of the Dodgers and in 2002 at the hands of the Angels. This year living in LA is a little more bearable. All kidding aside, it is nice to see that the Giants finally have something to hold against Dodger fans when they start taunting me.

However, the Giants showed me that the past doesn’t have to define the future. Neither does our past define our future, greatness can be attained no matter how much failure we have encountered. God has a beautiful future for us, dive in, and don’t let your past define who you are. YOU could be a champion! Dive in.

JRMITCH85 Decisions, Ramblings

Monday Morning (Halloween Edition)

Sunday was Halloween, the holiday filled with candy and costumes and tired parents. I include myself in this mix. My almost three-year-old son really got the idea of trick-or-treating a lot more this year than last year, and he has a better understanding of the greatness of candy.

However, neither of us were really prepared for the effects of the candy. It was nearly impossible to get him to take a bath, brush his teeth, or stay in bed on Sunday night. While he eventually did crash, the sugar high had to end, I felt as if I was dealing with a completely different kid.

This frustrated me and tired me out a lot more than usual. However, I also knew that there was an opportunity and an obligation to walk the line between grace and discipline. This is probably the line God walks with us, or at least me, a lot!

Monday morning was difficult as I had to get him ready for school, and myself ready for work. We dragged, I was tired from the battle, and he was tired because he didn’t get as much sleep as he usually does and he had a night of a lot of activity. We were both extremely cranky, and probably would have done better with another hour of sleep, but then out of nowhere, he gave me a hug.

That was love and grace as if directly from the Almighty God.

We continued to forge on and finished getting ready, and although we continued to struggle, and it took three times longer to get through the door, non of that matters because, I KNOW I AM LOVED, and I have the opportunity and responsibility to respond to the love of God, by loving my son.