something I read

Ecclesiastes 3 1-8 (New King James Version)

Everything Has Its Time

1 To everything there is a season,

A time for every purpose under heaven:
2 A time to be born,
And a time to die;
A time to plant,
And a time to pluck what is planted;
3 A time to kill,
And a time to heal;
A time to break down,
And a time to build up;
4 A time to weep,
And a time to laugh;
A time to mourn,
And a time to dance;
5 A time to cast away stones,
And a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace,
And a time to refrain from embracing;
6 A time to gain,
And a time to lose;
A time to keep,
And a time to throw away;
7 A time to tear,
And a time to sew;
A time to keep silence,
And a time to speak;
8 A time to love,
And a time to hate;
A time of war,
And a time of peace.

...

what did one snowman say to the other?

At the helm

Life is a series of choices. It's not the ones that you made yesterday that matter. And the ones you'll have to make tomorrow don't exist yet. All that you can ever do in your life, is make the decision you make now. Sometimes you feel deathly afraid that what you choose will be wrong. How will you ever find out? Is failure something to fear? I know failure, but I dont regret failing. Sure, failing sucks, but I dont regret the things Ive tried to achieve. I dont regret closing my eyes and walking ten steps.

Jeremiah 29:11
11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Whatever the choices we make in our lives may be..... they somehow work for the best.

One of my favorite sunset spots.....

....is just down the road from my house. It's located at the top of an overpass, and I drive over there every now and then. When I'm lucky I get to witness a wonderful sunset. the canal below always gleams brilliantly because of the water flowing lazily through, and because of the countless shards of glass that line the dirt slopes of the canal. the land to the other side of the freeway is cleared so that it can be some sort of water overflow area. often times there will be a miniature lake waiting for the sun to set over it. The phone lines hang and compliment the sky. There is a sense of nostalgia in watching the sun set in this place. I took a few pictures while I drove past the other day. See?

if it happens that you fail, remember this....

Love is a risk you make.
You give someone your heart to break,
Your eyes, your trust, your dreams to take.
Now you can run, but for your sake:

Don’t be afraid of all the pain.

Love is not the paths you’ve crossed.
Love is not the heart you’ve lost,
The time you’ve spent, or what it cost;
Love is not a bitter frost.

Love is not that you might fall,
But what you stand to gain.

LOST?

so the newest developments in lost are pretty crazy. A commercial airing during the showing of Lost started last week, and also appeared this week. this weeks episode had lock and mr eko finding yet another hatch on the island, and unearthing another demonstration video for a surveilance station. this video was distributed by the hanso organization, apparently. during the commercial break following these discoveries, a curious commercial appeared. this commercial seemed just like any other commercial at first, and had a slight history channel feel to it. it lasted roughly 30 seconds, but its ending was quite interesting. the commercial sported a website, and was paid for by a familiar company (hanso) there was a website, and a number.

the website listed was
http://www.sublymonal.com
and the number was 1-8777-hansorg
i may have listed the number incorrectly however...

in our endeavors to find out what the heck this means, we went to the website first, and found a ring of monitor looking squares. this appeared after a convenient loading bar, and the site was run completely in flash. (this wards off the viewing of the source code by us clever computer dudes.....) the ring contained six monitor like squares, and were arranged around the word obey. they rotated, and a hyperlink finger appeared on one at a time. a puzzle it would appear. after clicking the first monitor 4 times, it turned green, and the ring spun again. the next monitor needed to be clicked 8 times, and as most lost fans will guess, the remaining monitors needed to be clicked 15, 16, 23, and 42 times respectively. after the clicking of the monitors, another flash scene came up.

the next screen was simply an answer that invoked more questions. a screen flickering with the words
"code:" and then
"heir apparent"
over and over and over again....

below this was the line "sublymonal message unlocked"
and barely visible below all of this was a link to another site.
http://www.thehansofoundation.org

before moving on, i would like to note that the top of the sublymonal page had a particular group of letters capitalized. "subLYMONal" obviously this spelling was intentional. also in the commercial that aired during the lost show, was a small print saying that the commercial was sponsored by sprite. the soda. the "lymon" remix of the spelling of subliminal is a convenient partnership between the soda company and the lost peoples...it is a cross between lemon and lime. i would suppose.....i would also note the sprite's advertising campaign is "obey your thirst", so...ya.


after clicking on the link to the hanso foundation website, i was greeted by a friendly lady directing me around the site. there are several restricted areas on the site, and i was eager to read all of the information provided, and to open all the secret places more importantly....
the place to start evidently is the newsletter signup area. when you click on this they ask for a user name....type whatever you want because it doesnt really matter...after you enter a name you will recieve a message (apparently from some hacker of the hanso foundations "website") from some lady named persephone. she will ask if you can read what she writes...type yes (after clicking on the bar) "y" also works... if you type something stupid...(for the fun of it) she will simply say bye bye and leave....anyways, after answering yes you will be prompted for a password. giving any wrong password results in her saying to call the number on the commercial. if you call the number at 42 minutes of the hour, you will get a message from persephone telling you the password. i have also heard that calling at 15 after works as well...there may be other times that this call will go through properly also (maybe 4,8,16, 23?) anyways, the password you are told to use is "breaking strain." if you use this password when she asks you to, you will be "logged in" to the site...this enables you to see other info....

at the end of the message you get about being logged in you will see a picture of a monkey...who is mad...now is a good time to go visit Joop's corner...where you can send a message to her(or him?) and get a little more info about some stuff. you will be taken to a flash "puzzle" where you have to click on both circles to connect them...just click all the circles and lines will shoot out from them and connect...eventually after the painfully slow thing, you will see some secret document and stuff revealing information....

after visiting joop, cruise over to the executive bios, and you can unlock more secret information by finally using the password obtained from the sublymonal site (heir apparent) in a field that appears above a portion of Mr. mittlewerk's bio. this will show you a picture and some other stuff....


also, at 15, and 42 after each hour, on the hanso site, the timer up top turns into an obey sign and is a link to the sublymonal site...incase you started at the hanso site and were confused as to where to find the next password or whatever...

all in all its some pretty crazy stuff, and its kinda cool too.
props to the lost folks.

The Greatest Story Never Told

Another chapter, read and gone;
I guess it didn’t ring a belle.
Another story that can’t belong,
Another tale that I won’t tell.
You know it’s sadness when you just can’t cry,
Feel like a minnow in the sea;
You know it can’t work, but you don’t know why,
Just want the world to let you be.

I’m floating above the ground,
Trapped inside the deep blue folds.
The water’s falling, and it makes no sound;
I’m searching for the greatest story never told.

Nothing solid where you can stay,
No place to rest a weary head;
The earth beneath you just melts away,
Your empty stomach can’t be fed.
I’d trade this music for some happy words,
I’d take a smile for this frown.
I’m just floating on these empty words—
I’d give anything to come down.

I’m floating above the ground,
Trapped inside the deep blue folds.
The water’s falling, and it makes no sound;
I’m searching for the greatest story never told.

Just how it goes.

"'Cause now again I've found myself
So far down, away from the sun
That shines into the darkest place
I'm so far down, away from the sun
That shines the life away from me
To find my way back into the arms
That care about the ones like me
I'm so far down, away from the sun again"



Away from the sun
3 Doors Down.

something astonishing

“An orange,” she said, “I’d really like an orange.” “A ride,” he said, “I could really use a ride.” And in my astonishment “wanna do that one again?” I said. She was walking across America, and he was walking across Pitman’s fields. I went walking around the chapel checking the doors. Her name was Judy, his was Matthew, and mine is plastered everywhere.

She was walking across America in order to minister to people who don’t go to church. She went through eleven pairs of shoes on the way, and while she was wearing through one of those pairs she was thirsty, and hungry, and she thought to herself….“an orange would be good.” And so she walked and said this thing to herself, and to God.

He was walking around aimlessly after school without a ride. He had no phone, and wanted to call home. “This sucks,” he thought, and said, “God I could really use a ride home.” And he continued to walk.

I was not walking at all. I was sitting just below our church’s sanctuary, in the chapel. I was playing the drums and jamming with some friends and family.

Then something astonishing happened. A man on a bike rode up to her, and she didn’t even hear him approaching. He talked to her and asked her about what she was doing walking. She said she was walking across America, and told him where she planned to go for the day. He bid her good luck, and started to ride away. “Oh ya,” he said, “almost forgot.” He tossed her an orange and rode away.

And then, something astonishing happened. There on the ground in front of him was a cell phone. He picked it up and opened it. “God loves you” said the background, and he called for a ride home. After he made the call home, he Looked through the list of people and found one labeled “mom,” and gave it a ring. The mother was across campus by the pool; her daughter must have dropped the phone.

And then, something astonishing happened. A man and his son walked into the chapel while we were playing. “Sounds good,” he said. None of us had ever seen them before. “You guys are gonna minister through this music.” He prayed with us, and mentioned that God was the reason he was able to walk down there and pray with us at that very time. Then he walked back around the corner and left. And I never saw him or his son again. Then I said to the guys, “wanna do that one again?” And we did. When our jam session was over, I walked around and checked all the doors. They were locked.

It’s amazing how God works through all these simple things. Everyday events turned into something astonishing. My little brother started a band with his friends, and they play good music. Matthew got his ride home. Judy went on to preach to countless churches, including my own. “I write clever words on paper” and slowly they turn into music, even if no one has heard their sound. A friend of mine from the band has an amazing voice and a wonderful gift of faith. Even though he may not know it, he ministers to people through these things.

I cant prove that Noah’s ark is up in some frozen mountain, or that the ark of the covenant is hidden in a secret location. I can’t show you David’s sling, and I can’t show you a ring engraved with the words “this too shall pass.” I can’t show you the orange or the cell phone, and I can’t show you the man and his son. I can’t show you God, but I sure can see him myself.

Quote from a friend

"If we aren't given obstacles, how do we know we can overcome them?"

-Mark

Music says things better I you can, sometimes.

"I throw up my hands,
Oh the impossibilities;
Frustrated and tired,
Where do I go from here?
Now I'm searching for
The confidence I've lost so willingly;
Overcoming these obstacles,
Is overcoming my fears."


"Everyone knows I'm in over my head, over my head
With eight seconds left in over time, she's on your mind,
She's on your mind...."