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I decided to take a path off the normal routine of this blog and post one of my “devotional thoughts”…

Tonight as I mowed the yard I pondered the thought of blogging. God chooses odd times to tap me on the shoulder and give me these thoughts of posting Christian messages on my blog. Recently I’ve been thinking about “Why Do Bad Things Happen To Good People?” Several people I know have been struggling with this as they’re all good people and they feel like life’s just been not so great.

I personally have no complaints as I pushed the lawn mower in front of the house I own with a lawn mower I bought and listening to my iPod. Obviously, by that last statement, you can see that life can’t be all too horrible for me. So God’s provided for me a lot these last few months and yet it seems like my other Christian friends can’t catch a break!

I prayed last night for almost an hour talking to God about what has been on my heart. I prayed for a long time for my mother as she’s been seeking employment for some time now and hasn’t had any luck. I also focused a lot on a family that I’ve been praying for, for some time now. I named each of them by name and spoke to God about the issues they each were facing in life. In addition, praying for them all as a family and the issues that face them.

I kept asking God what was happening. I didn’t receive an answer, until this evening. I have to interject here that God has to has a sense of humor. I’m writing this blog post called, “Roses are Red” and the song “Above All” just began playing as I began to speak of the roses. If you don’t know the song, look up the lyrics, you’ll understand.

Back to the devotional. So I’m walking to the back and my attention is brought to my rose bush that is by my deck. I pruned it a week or so ago because the dead branches were getting out of hand and it looked quite ugly, even though it had several beautiful blooms. It was then that I began to get my blog post…

You see, our lives are just like this rose bush. When we meet Jesus and accept him as our savior we are planted in good soil and we begin to grow. We grow and as we form deeper roots in Him and grow as beings, pieces and parts of us begin to die. We become filled with dead areas yet still continue to bloom. A picture that is filled with dead branches yet beautiful buds. Well, the only way for us to bloom and grow even more is for God our Father (the gardener) to come and prune us. He cuts back the branches and exposes our true beauty.

You can almost say that our lives are just like this. The thorns represent the fact that even though we’re in Christ, we are not perfect. The dead branches represent areas of our lives where bad has began to develop. The pruning is the act of God removing these dead areas. Many times coming across to us as “God letting bad things happen to good people”.

If you think about it, as a gardener, if you prune that bush, are you hurting it? Maybe initially as the blade cuts across the bush, but the bush recovers and develops into an ever more beautiful creation.

Here is my Biblical basis:
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.”
-John 15:1-4

So for those of you facing some hard times in life. Remember that you’re only being pruned by the master gardener. He knows what to do and He will take care of you. Soon you will display your full beauty that God has created in you for the world to see, just han in there. I felt that someone needed to know this and read it. Whoever you are, I hope it helped.

God Bless All,
- J -

I’ve decided tonight to fill you all in on what I’m thinking and feeling for once. Instead of just giving the “run-down” of what went on this weekend, I’m going to give you highlight of events and what I felt this weekend. I’ll present each event in what you could call episodes. For those die-hard readers, the events are in chronological order.

“It’s Been Great”
I walked into Ashland for the last time on Friday morning. This feeling was exciting yet sad. I would be venturing off to reach new goals in my career, but yet at the same time leaving behind people that I’ve formed very close relationships with. I went about my day like normal, visited some of my favorite people, went to lunch with some friends, then closed my calls for the last time, and said my final goodbyes. I even went out and stood in the smoking area and took one last “smoke break” (as I don’t smoke, we joke because I stand outside with her as she does) with Marni.

I’ve left several companies in my day, but never have I had such a hard time leaving as I did with this one. Sadly my hands were tied and I couldn’t improve the situation any more that I did, so the only choice was to move on. Thankfully I left on a very good note with many people at Ashland and Unisys. It’s amazing how people let you know how much they really like you, once you announce you’re leaving. I think that maybe sometimes if we would let people know how much they’re appreciated before they announce their resignation, things would be different.

“The Table”
So, I borrowed the truck and headed to Oak Express to pick up my dining room table and chairs. I got them, and then drove home. Well, they weren’t secured so great, so I drove very carefully and got them home in one piece. I then unloaded the table into the garage (which was one huge table and wasn’t easy to get out of the truck by myself).

“The Phone Call”
I decided that I would call my girlfriend Beth and ask her if she wanted to go to the zoo on Saturday. Well, I somehow ended up talking to Beth, Ashley and Matt all at the same time. I laughed the entire time and it was defiantly a memory I’ll have of them forever.

Well, we talked for a while and I finally got on the road to Bainbridge and we hung up since I was on my way to their house. Then I get another phone call from their house. I guess there was an accident in Chillicothe on Route 23, so I was told to take the back-roads to get there. No problem, I’d hit Oar Rd to Kellenberger to 104 to Pleasant Valley rd to Vets Parkway to Route 50 to Blain Highway to Black Run to Route 772 to Harris Station. Yeah, instead I ended up getting detoured onto 35 West and then somehow hit a road and ended up driving through Pleasant Valley and then ended up on Vets Parkway.

Needless to say by the time I got to their house, I was a little late, but it was all good.

“The Zoo before The Zoo”
So, I was spending the night at Jim’s house, so I wouldn’t have to get up at 4:30 to drive to Bainbridge to drive back to Columbus to go to the zoo and then drive all the way back. So Friday night I spent time with the Rinehart Family (minus Jim, as he was working, like normal). So, Matt entertained us all, like normal. Then we watched Undercover Brother (very funny movie I might add). Afterwards we all went to bed.

“Wakey Wakey Eggs and Bakie”
As so the phrase goes, I awoke to Beth getting ready to cook breakfast for the family. I gave her a hard way to go, but she knew it was in fun. She made an awesome breakfast and then we left for our trip to the zoo.

“Lions, Tigers, and Bears… Oh My”
So, the zoo was awesome. I got to ride the boat ride and the train ride. The new Asia Quest exhibit is pretty cool and I got to hang out with Beth and Karen! So, that was very cool of Karen to score tickets to the Zoo so we wouldn’t have to pay. We took pictures (which I’ll post later) and had an all around good time.

“My Family”
Poor Beth got introduced to my entire family in front of a Hometown Buffet. Not exactly the way I pictured her meeting my family, but it works, right? So, we went there and had dinner. I think my entire family enjoyed talking to Beth and she seemed to not be scared off by them, so that was a big plus. She then got to see where I grew up and the house I grew up in. We visited with everyone and had a good time.

“The Music”
So, I decided to entertain Beth as we drove to Circleville by listening to my CDs and letting her find out what kind of music I listen to. The funny part was the Disney songs and me singing along to Toby Keith – The Taliban Song. She seemed to enjoy it, so that was cool.

“Mr. Matthew S. Rinehart”
So, I dropped Beth off in Circleville and picked up her brother Matthew, who we’ll from here on out refer to as Matt. Matt is quite the trooper as he put up with the family for several hours of them visiting and what not. I know it isn’t the most fun thing for a 13 year old, to hang out with a bunch of strangers that he doesn’t know. After they left we hung out and chatted a little bit. He got to know who I am and I got to know who he is.

It always amazes me how different kids are when they’re away from their family. Matt’s always very easy going and well mannered when he’s with me. His personality when he’s like this reminds me a lot of his dad, Jim. Who I’m sure if he’s gotten this far in reading this post is laughing right now and/or shaking his head. We finally went to bed around 3:00 AM.

The next morning I cooked breakfast and then we cleaned up the kitchen and got ready for a day of house hunting with their family. The trip I am sure was boring for Matt, so I’ll have to think up something cool to do next time he’s over.

“I need my real estate license”
So, we looked at a bunch of houses. MUCHO HOUSES. I saw so many bi-levels though that I thought I would puke. If you own a bi-level and you’re absolutely in love with it and this post disgusts you, then deal with it and join some “I’m in love with my bi-level house” club and you all can hate that last few lines together. Anyways, we looked at a bunch and hopefully Jim and Sarah have found something that they like.

“Sneekers, Snook, and Silliness”
Well, tonight I went to The Snooks house with Shawna and we had a great visit. I laughed my butt off, let me tell you. There was one point where I thought I was going to hack my lung up. Then I started choking like Ashley… but that’s a whole other story, most of which only the Rinehart siblings, minus Ashley of course, would laugh at. If laughter is truly the best medicine then just walking into the Snook’s house within fifteen minutes you should be fully cured of whatever is ailing you.

Well, I wrote all this and this wasn’t much different than what I normally write, I know. So you may ask, if you still want to read after all that stuff I’ve posted, “What are these emotions and feelings you are talking about?”

I for the first time this weekend felt, accepted. Something that I’ve looked for so long. I’ve never felt accepted amongst people, but for some reason this weekend made me felt like I fit in somewhere besides my family.

I also felt like I had a bigger family. I must commend the Rinehart family for putting up with me as long as they have. When we were running from house to house it felt like I was just one of the family. Which, technically, if you think about the age differences in their children, I would fit right in, sort of. The only downfall is that I was born five months after they were married, but who counting, right? ☺

I guess that feeling of being “one of the family” is another form of acceptance, but I must say thanks to Jim and Sarah to always welcoming me into their home and for all the stuff they’ve helped me with since I moved.

That’s all the happy happy joy joy stuff. Now, I must share the other emotion that I pulled from the mix bag. I was greeted by this line in my e-mail (and if you didn’t mean for me to share this, I’m sorry, but I’ll leave you anonymous anyways).

“I miss you already.”

I was sitting in a chair at someone else’s house when I read that line and I’ll be honest it took some strength to not cry. It was like I missed everyone but it didn’t “sink in” until that moment I read that line. I can only pray that God takes this broke piece of my heart and put it back together. I need to get my calendar out and call everyone I know and just start filling it up. I need to make a point to not lose contact with this wonderful people I’ve made friendships with. Well, to the person who wrote that, I miss you too. As you can see it breaks my heart to not be at the office anymore, but as we both know, it was for the best. I pray for you constantly, hang in there…

Well, I’ve wrote enough now to compose a small novel. I’ll write about my first day on the job and life tomorrow. Goodnight everyone.

God Bless You,
- J -

I think that word best describes the way my last few days have been. It’s a constant roller coaster! I feel like I’m going a hundred miles an hour in every direction possible. I guess I should being with last Saturday, and leave a huge post for you all to read!

Saturday
This began with me waking up early to wash the Pontiac Grand Am. Then afterwards I took my shower, gathered everything I needed for the day and headed out for Greenfield, Ohio. After a, nothing short of, spirited drive through several counties, one farmer’s market, one town festival, one car show and what felt like three million detours, I was pulling into Mitchel Park. I paid my entrance fee and parked the car so I could go watch the game.

As any good baseball game is, it wasn’t on time. So I sat and shot the breeze with the Rinehart’s while we waited for the games to begin. Well, we watched two games, annoyed the heck out of each other, lost some keys, found some keys, laughed at six guys put up one tent that took 30 minutes which was identical to ours which was setup in five with only four people… haha, good times.

Afterwards, my girlfriend, Beth and I headed off to talk for a little bit about our relationship and some life issues and what not. We went to the historic Yoctangee Park and sat next to the water and talked. I won’t go into details, but we had a good talk and the outcome was awesome. So, after we got things settled, we decided to go get dinner.

Well, we decided on Buffalo Wild Wings. We arrived, ordered our food and sat down. After we got our food we were talking and eating. Suddenly we could no longer hear ourselves for the live band that was playing in the back. Beth and I weren’t big fans so we finished up and left. Afterwards, we headed back to her house. Here we found her mom, brother and sister waiting for us. So, we then sat and watched Matt play with the new EyeToy he got for his Playstation 2. Quite funny.

Jim arrived around 11:15 and we talked with him for a bit. A little later Sarah and Jim went to bed leaving us kids up. We ended up just talking and annoying each other, but it was all good. I laughed a lot which was nice. Oh, and if she happens to read this, don’t forget Ashley, “um, THREE”.

Sunday
Well, I slept through two alarms and three phone calls. I don’t really remember too much about Sunday except that I did see my friend Hope, and then dropped some BIG NEWS on some people. Which, we will announce later.

Monday
Work, and that was that. Then came the party. I went home with Shawna Pierce and she fixed dinner and Kelly and Dave Snook joined us for dinner! Shawna and Kelly met me when I was 14 working for S.Y.A. (Youth Camp). We became friends but then drifted apart as time went on. Shawna kept in good touch with the Snooks and then when Kelly found out I was working with Shawna she wanted to get together so we could catch up. I have to say, it was like old times. I laughed non-stop from 5:45 – 10:00. It was the BEST time ever!

Tuesday
Well, nothing too much here. I worked. Then went home and then went to dinner with Tony and his family. Afterwards I went to my Mom and Grandma’s house to say hello!
Then I came home and wrote Beth, called Hope and talked to Karen online and then went to bed.

Wednesday
THAT’S TODAY! Well, I worked… that’s a given. I’m now home, chatted with a few people, wondering where a few people are and that’s that! So now, dinner, maybe a movie or something to that effect. Who knows.

Well, that’s what’s been going on. I’ve gotten you all caught up. Now maybe I can hold myself to updating on a daily basis. Well… I’ll try at least.

Peace Out,
- J -

So today has been a surprisingly excellent day. More on this later…

Night,
- J -

p.s. – yes I’m just now getting home at 4:10.

I know, I haven’t posted in a while. So I figured I’ll make this one worth while. I am sure as I begin to write it will turn out to be some huge long post and then I’ll get complaints that I posted too much… lol.

New Furniture!
Yes, as some of you know, I made a few purchases a week or two ago at Sofa Express and Oak Express. I picked up the furniture from Sofa Express (which is a whole story in itself), and there are pictures on my Flickr account of the furniture. I would post pictures on here, but I don’t feel like it. Plus, since the only camera I have is the Canon Digital Rebel the pics are HUGE and I don’t feel like resizing and all that junk. So, if you really want to see the furniture, then go click over to my Flickr site. I will be getting the dining room set that I ordered shortly (or as soon as I can get JR’s truck).

Day to Day Life
Well, there’s not much to tell here. I’m working and that’s about it. I started walking around my neighborhood (which I didn’t do tonight, due to weather). It’s a nice 2+ mile walk that gives me time to clear my head and relax. This weekend I think I’m going to get to go to a friend’s baseball game. He’s playing in a tournament in Greenfield, Ohio and I think I’m going to go. Also, I just might get to go on a second date. Me being busy, SUCKS, when it comes to trying to date. So, I’ll let everyone know how that goes. Oh, I also cooked dinner tonight. I made Mashed Potatoes (and not the ones out of a box that look like dry snow flakes), peas, applesauce, and biscuits. Yeah, it was a vegetarian dinner, the only meat I had in the freezer was hamburger patties and that didn’t seem to go with the other food.

Friends
I got to say that I have some pretty awesome friends. KG, JR, HV, TM, and many more. Here’s the latest on what’s been up with some of my friends (many of which are reading this blog, lol).

Last Saturday I went over to TM’s house and went swimming with his family, which was quite cool. I actually managed to pull off flipping underwater (which if any of you know me, you know that I’ve NEVER been able to do that). I finally got to meet his wife in person and his two kids. They a very sweet family and I enjoyed every bit of it. His kids are pretty young, but I love kids at every age, and they are quite cute. I also had dinner with them and showed him my Apple Laptop as he is an avid fan of the Apple Macintosh line of products. That was a fun evening. Hopefully we’ll be able to do that again sometime.

Today, JR and I went to lunch today at the Asian Star. I, who normally hates ALL ASIAN FOOD (which is almost an oxymoron if you know anything about my genetic background), wanted to go today. So, entertainment book coupon in hand, we headed over to get some food. I was after the following:
- General Tso’s Chicken
- Honey Chicken
- Crab Rangoon
- Any American Looking Food

Well, I got what I came for and it was very good really. JR had a plate full of stuff that I had no clue what it was and he seemed to enjoy it… whatever… lol. Then we came back to work, and worked. Which can I say, if anyone ever wanted to taste what it feels like to die and go down south (and I ain’t talking Kentucky or Australia ) Then you could come and see what my office is like. It seems that the AC was broke today so we’re in the basement, no windows and no AC. I was about ready to die of the heat.

Random Thoughts From The Heart
To move from talking about friends, I’ll post a little bit of what’s been on my mind lately and the beginning has to do with a friend.

JR and I have quite an interesting friendship. You see I’m friends with JR, his wife, his middle daughter and son. Then to make things more interesting I’m dating his oldest daughter. Yet I have friendships with all of them and it’s not weird. So, that’s quite cool. JR’s not only been a great friend but also a great Christian example for me. I watch his perseverance in life and sometimes just am awed by his strength to carry on. I would have to say that after knowing him as a person, friend, Christian, husband, father, and father of the girl you’re dating; he’s defiantly made the status of “hero” in my book. If I grow up to be half the man, husband and father that he is, I will consider myself to be very lucky. Thank you for being my friend.

I’ve also been on the net reading what’s been going on with the kids I used to know that we no longer speak. I guess it’s one thing to hurt for the lost, but it is another to hurt for the lost that you at one time personally knew. The drugs, the alcohol, the premarital sex, it’s all very depressing. That’s why I’m all about the no smoking, drinking, and premarital sex. I know many have this opinion that drinking is ok, and for you, maybe it is. I’ve just never seen one ounce of good come from it; I just don’t believe it something that a Christian should be into. Don’t get me started… we’ll save that for another day.

However, it’s like, what do you do though? You can’t talk to these people because they won’t listen. It’s just not cool to believe in a God that doesn’t accept the things that they do. Too many rules, regulations and things to live by. Heaven forbid that we do something for someone besides ourselves, that we live for someone else (aka GOD). I guess that is why I’m not so popular amongst many. I don’t believe in the whole let’s go to Bible study, curse like we’re playing a part in a ‘R’ rated movie and then we’ll follow up our great study by getting buzzed at the bar around the corner (or heck, why go that far, we’ll just get buzzed right here at the Bible study).

I guess all I can do is pray that God changes them. I can pray that someday they’ll open their eyes before they ruin their life altogether. It’s just kind of depressing, that’s all.

“When I look to the sky, something tells me you’re here with me, and you make everything alright. When I feel like I’m lost, something tells me you’re here with me and I can always find my way…” – Train
Sometimes, I feel like this about God. Just think about it, I’m sure you’ll get it sooner or later.

So, that’s some of what is on my mind and heart this evening. There’s a bunch more, but I’m up to three pages in Microsoft Word, so I figure it is time to give it a break and post.

Thanks everyone for reading, I’ll try and keep this thing updated more. PLEASE COMMENT.

Night and God Bless,
- J -

Wow, so I’ve been super busy. It’s finally came to a lull on this beautiful Thursday. Let’s begin back at the beginning of last weekend.

Saturday: So, I got up at the crack-o-dawn and rushed through my morning routine to get to choir practice on time. We practiced our musical and had a good time as we always do. Then following this, I went to the new Saturday’s hair-cutters (which I DO NOT recommended, as my sideburns were not even after he finished cutting my hair). I did something different, cut ALL my hair down to a “Number 2″ length.

Following this I ran back home, changed clothes, and gather my stuff for Matt’s Birthday Party. Then I headed out for the hour drive to Chillicothe/Bainbridge for the party. For those of you who wouldn’t know, Matt is a friend of mine, who turned 13 on June 23rd. His party wasn’t until the following weekend, July 1. I guess it’s kind of complicated on how I came to know Matt. I was first friends with his Dad, Jim. Jim introduced me to Sarah his wife, and their three children Beth, Ashley, and Matt. Well, I visited a few times, but mostly hung out with Jim and Sarah. Then I dated Beth once, and started hanging around more, but this time in a more “whole family aspect” and that’s how Matt and I started talking. So… there’s the long history for anyone interested on the background.

Anyways, back to the story. I get to the party and all the 11-13 year old kids show up. I attempt to play volleyball, which was comical in itself. Espically when I spiked the ball and fell on my back… VERY funny. We also played dodge ball and I tormented all the kids in the good “older teenager” fashion. We took the kids snipe hunting and just had an all around good time.

Sunday: Again up at the crack of dawn to get to Sunday School. I had never attended the class, so it was interesting to say the least. I’ll give it a few weeks before trying the adult Sunday School class. Afterwards I was in the Highland Baptist Choir performing “Our Flag Was Still There” in honor of it being 4th of July weekend. Afterwards I had lunch with my family and my aunt and uncle. From here we went over to the east side Oak Express where I ordered my NEW DINING ROOM SET. It should be in stock this week… so I’m excited. Then following that I went to Sofa Express and ordered MY NEW LIVING ROOM AND BEDROOM SET. I’m pretty stoked, I’ll be taking delivery of this on Sunday of this week. I then went home and that was that.

Monday: Crazy day at work, is all I have to say. Then they said there was a TORNADO watch for Dublin, at 4:50… I took off so fast that it would make your head spin. I got home before 5:30 and waited for Hope to arrive. She showed up around 6:30ish and we decided that the weather wasn’t so great, and we would stay in for Red White and Boom. We ordered Pizza Hut pizza for dinner, MISTAKE. We never got it, so I called the automated number after 2 HOURS. The said, “Your order got canceled because it went to the wrong store and they forgot to place a replacement order.” I managed to get my entire order FREE. HAHA! Then we ate dinner and that was Monday.

Tuesday: I got up at a somewhat decent hour and headed over to my Mom and Grandma’s house. We had a small lunch together and I did laundry. Around 4:30 I took off and headed for Chillicothe to Sarah’s Parents house (aka, Jim’s In-Laws) for dinner. I ate there, with the table where Beth and Matt were sitting. Ashley joined us a little later… and with the three of them at a very small table, it NEVER is a dull moment. Afterwards we went outside and set off “Fireworks” (which consisted of some confetti, sparklers, smoke contraptions, and pop-its… still fun). After this we went to the parking lot of McAllister’s dealership to watch the fireworks for Chillicothe. I hung out with Ashley, Matt and Beth most of the time… again very funny. The fireworks were great, and I enjoyed the music. After this we hung around, waited for traffice to die down and then we took off.

Wednesday: Well, my day began around 3:00 AM where I think I got food poisioning. Yeah, that wasn’t a fun morning… All I have to say is that I didn’t get to go back to bed until 9:30 AM… Soo… that was about all of what Wednesday consisted of.

TODAY!: Well, I worked, like always. Then I’ve come home to clean house and all I’ve got done is make a few phone calls and post on here. So, tonight will consist of cleaning and running to Mom and Grandma’s for a bit to get my clothes that I left there (doing laundry and didn’t have enough room in the basket to get them home).

Well, I’ve given everyone plenty to read… ENJOY!

God Bless,
- J -

So, I wanted to wish you all a happy and safe 4th of July. I’m going to a fireworks show with some friends, so that will be cool. I am also having a cookout back at my Mom and Grandma’s house. So that’s about it. I’m tired, but I’ll try and post in the morning about the weekend/week I’ve had so far.

Later,
- J -