Self-Indulgent Blog Post

Hey internet,

I'm writing today just because I feel like talking about myself. I try as much as possibly to avoid doing that, or at least to bring it back to a point every time, but today, I'm actually just indulging myself and writing a post entirely about me. So if you don't read blogs that are just about how people's days or weeks or months are going, that's totally fair, and you're welcome to ignore this post if you want to and read some of my juicier stuff. But if you're the type of person who's happy to hear about what's going on in someone's life that you may or may not know in the real world (this being the internet and all) then I encourage you to read onward as I babble a bit about what's been happening with me lately!

I've been pretty excited recently about a big project that's coming up for me in the not-so-distant future. For the last couple of years, I've really wanted to move out of my parents' house. It started off because I was sick of living with them (ah teenage angst, aint it grand?) but I quickly realized that was a crappy reason to move out, and got over it, deciding to persevere and endure their quirks out of love. It was only when I realized I really want to live in community with other Christians that I felt God giving me the thumbs-up I needed to start planning to move out. I prayed about it a lot, and something really exciting came up that's going to be a real game-changer for things around here. Along with two (or possibly more) of the other guys who lead youth group at Emmaus, I'm going to be starting up a sort of missional community in the Verdun area of Montreal, since like 90% of our teens live around there. Our goal will be to grow together in our faith, and to disciple the teens and offer up our space as a safe place where they can hang out, have barbecues, game nights, Bible studies, etc, all while doing what we can to be a blessing in that neighborhood.
So that's super exciting, and things are starting to pull together a little bit- there's three of us definitely on board who share the same vision, we're planning on moving out July 1st 2012, and I'm actually making tons of money right now, which is a comfort, since I know things will be financially tight for the first little while.

Another thing that's exciting is that school's almost finished for this semester! I have about three weeks of class left, then a massive break for Christmas. What's best about it is that even though things are picking up in terms of work-load, I still don't feel overwhelmed by school, and probably won't until next semester! God's blessing me with peace and rest. I'm very excited about Winter break, because it will mean extra hours at work, extra time to work on music, extra time for friends, and a bizarre sleep schedule! Might try out the whole 28-hour days thing ;)

As a treat for those of you who actually took the time to read this post through to the end (or tl;dr'd it and skimmed down to here) here's a sneak peek at what to expect in the next couple of weeks!
- "A Servant's Heart"
- "Worship: More Than Just The Same Old Song and Dance"
- "A Critical Analysis of the Physics of Luke Cage"
- A guest post about Thanksgiving from Carl Jones!
- Music?!
- Much, much more ;)

Guest Post on Carl's Blog!

Hey guys!

Nothing new here today, but I did do a guest post for my friend Carl Jones, so you should go check that out!

http://youthguy07.blogspot.com/2011/11/guest-post-tom-zalatnai.html

The Problem with Mind-Reading

So Tom and I thought it'd be cool to have a series of posts about the pros and cons of super powers.

I know that a lot of people think mind-reading would be awesome, but I'm here to prove them wrong.

It's pros and cons time.

Pros:

No one can lie to you. You can interrogate a super villain and find out where he's hiding his death ray and how to destroy it. You can ask the Russian spy who his contact was, and no matter his answer, you'll find out. You can discover the secret identity of your arch nemesis.

You wanna find something out? There are easy ways of manipulating thoughts. If I say "Don't think of an elephant." What do you think of?

An elephant.

Comes in handy, like I said, for interrogations.

That's about it.

Cons:

There are two possible scenarios: Either you can turn it off or you can't.

If you can't, the problem is pretty self-explanatory: Thoughts are chaos, you hear what everybody's thinking at all times, it's a nightmare. It's like an overwhelming cacophony of uncensored thoughts, an deafening circus of judgments and non-sequiturs. Sooner or later, you'll go mad. You won't even be able to hear your own thoughts.

Second scenario:

You may think you can handle it, but truth is, you can't. You forget that we have emotions. More specifically, doubt. You'll tell yourself you can use your power for good, and not for your own needs.

But trust me, you cant.

One day, your friend will say something, you'll doubt him or her, and then, before you know it, you'll tap into their thoughts. You'll start using it over and over again, and you'll eventually stop trusting people. Ever.

You know the saying "Ignorance is bliss?" Yeah. It applies here.

Eventually, people will find out.

You: Hey, how was the concert?

Friend: What are you talking about?

You: Good enough to skip our plans?

Friend: How did you find out?

You: to yourself Crap... He never told me... Forgot about that.

That's when your status of "hero" turns to "stalker".

Let's face it, reading people's thoughts is invading their privacy. You will no longer be the dude (or dudette) who saves the day, but rather the creeper (or creeperette) who listens in to your thoughts.

No one will want to come near you, you'll end up alienated, isolated because your attempt to do good backfired. Kinda like in The Incredibles.

Okay, assuming you can turn it off, assuming you're not taken away by emotional conflicts and your cover's safe and you find out some kick-ass info about a super villain. Then what?

Let's face it, mind reading doesn't allow you to do much. You can just find stuff out (which, if you're a decent cop, you can also do). Mind-reading is a dead-end.

And by the way, Professor X's powers go beyond mind-reading, so he doesn't count.

Besides, what kind of a name could you find for a superhero who reads minds?

Yours truly,

OJM

Pre-service Ramblings

Good morning internet,

I got up an hour early this morning (derp, derp, daily savings) and really feel like just throwing out a whole bunch of thoughts, so where better to do so than here?

I'm leading worship this morning at Emmaus Anglican Church. Weekends where my team leads are usually the craziest in terms of workload- long practice hours, lots of prep the night before, and getting up extra early (even moreso today!) to be at the church early for more practice! It's always a neat reminder for me of how much I love serving at church, because I think about the amount of time that goes into it and I realize that nobody would do that unless they loved what they were doing or were getting paid for it. I think that's what is so beautiful about doing service for the Lord- it's not something you can do without being genuinely into it, which means that His servants are super committed and love the cause!

That's all the time I've got this morning! Maybe I'll do a full post about this later...

How Great the Pain of Searing Loss

I was reading through Job earlier before I fell asleep (it's been a long week, give me a break) and stumbled onto a passage near the beginning that really spoke to me, so I thought I should share a bit.


Job Loses His Property and Children

 
13 Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house; 14and a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, 15 when the Sabeans[c] raided them and took them away—indeed they have killed the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell you!”
16 While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants, and consumed them; and I alone have escaped to tell you!”
17 While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three bands, raided the camels and took them away, yes, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell you!”
18 While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, 19 and suddenly a great wind came from across[d] the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people, and they are dead; and I alone have escaped to tell you!”
20 Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped. 21 And he said:

      “ Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
      And naked shall I return there.
      The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away;
      Blessed be the name of the LORD.”
22 In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong.

How amazing is that? In the midst of all this bad news, crappy thing after crappy thing, Job broke down, but instead of whining and complaining and blaming God for all of it, he mourned healthily and in a way that glorified the Lord! That takes such a crazy amount of faith and character- to acknowledge that something sucks and is hurting you, but to praise the Lord in spite of that and not jump to the conclusion that He doesn't love you or something. I see that happen too often, people losing their faith and hope in Him because something horrible happened and blaming Him for their suffering. But suffering doesn't come from the Lord, instead, through Jesus we have freedom and salvation from that suffering, redemption and a knowledge that there's so much more.

So if you're feeling hurt or upset or are grieving or mourning, take some time to praise God and keep your heart in a good place! Also, today is Comment Day, so leave a comment! Would love to hear from you! Am also totally ready for the disappointment of seeing no comments on this post, haha. Prove me wrong!