this is how i’m doing: in case you were wondering…

This happens to me every time I read practical books (my favorite kind);  I get a few paragraphs or pages into a chapter and I have to put the book down to ponder a nugget of knowledge on a grander scale.  This just happened to me again with Adler’s “How to Read a Book”.

“If the author uses a word in one meaning, and the reader reads it in another, words have passed between them, but they have not come to terms.  Where there is unresolved ambiguity in communication, there is no communication, or at best communication must be incomplete.  Just look at the word “communication” for a moment.  Its root is related to the word “common.”  We speak of a community as a group of people who have something in common.”

After I read that, I immediately began to consider it in context of the Church.  The Church is a community of people who have one thing in common;  faith in Jesus Christ.  We come from every age, race, ethnicity, and socio-economic background, yet we (the Church) all have the same thing in common.  If we look at local churches as being a part of the greater Church, then they all should be equal.  If the local body professes faith in Christ and evidence of this faith is present (the fruits of the Spirit), then the Baptist church next to the Pentecostal church next to the Bible church are all equal.  So, then how do I choose a church to be a part of?

I’ve wrestled with this for the better part of this year.  Could I be so arrogant to think that I will choose the “best” local church?  Is there even such a thing?  If they are a part of the Church, as I am, does anything else matter when it comes to deciding on a church?  What if I could look past all of the differences and see the one true commonality — I think it could make all the difference.

I’ve been considering proximity as my main factor, which should be interesting.  The four churches within a mile of my apartment (why so many??) are, in order of proximity: First United Pentecostal Church, Vineyard Christian Fellowship, Glennwood Church of Christ and Rice Road Church of Christ.  Definitely out of my comfort zone.

One day, we’ll all focus on being the Church instead of going to church.

The problem with going two weeks without blogging is that there is too much to catch everyone up on in one post; so I’m not even going to try.

I’m officially in Tyler now, using up my remaining vacation days from UNT and doing a little web work to keep me busy.  It has been great not having to work during this transition because it has given me the time to get my life sorted out.  I’ve already scouted out the neighborhood and found a few great running routes with some really good hills; this fall is going to be great for running.  I’m running another 5k in October at the UT Tyler campus and I’ll be shooting for a new PR of 21:00.  We’ll see how that goes.

Something really cool happened to me yesterday as I was moving out of my old place.  I was planning to donate my old bed to the Salvation Army (because they would pick it up for free) but they showed up 2 hours early yesterday and I missed them.  As I finished cleaning out my old place, and as it neared 5:30 (when the apartment office closed), I was getting desperate to get rid of this bed.  I couldn’t stomach the idea of throwing a barely used bed away so I walked across the breeze way with intentions of knocking on doors until I found someone to take it.  The first door I knocked on I asked the guy if he could use a bed.  Well it turns out he just moved from Mexico and didn’t have any furniture.  What are the odds of that?  He was shocked at the idea that a stranger would give him something like this for nothing and insisted that he give me something for it, so I traded my old bed for a Mountain Dew.  Isn’t God awesome?  When we loosen our grip on our stuff (and it really IS just stuff) God can put us in situations to bless other people.  That definitely made my day.

So you may be wondering, “If you gave away your bed, what are you sleeping on now?”  Enter bedinabox.com.  This All-American company is awesome.  I bought a queen-sized 11″ memory foam mattress with a goose down cover and it is absolutely amazing.  And at $499 (200 bucks LESS than the current price) it didn’t kill my savings account.  Check them out — you deserve it.

That’s it for now.  Later.

Sitting at Starbucks, drinking my coffee, listening to Bob Dylan’s “Hurricane”, which is not about strong winds and heavy rain, though I still couldn’t resist in light of the actual hurricane moving through Texas today.

Yesterday was my last day at UNT and to punctuate the end of my time in the North Texas region, I ran a 5K today.  With hurricane Ike nipping on our heels, the great people of Sanger, Texas came out to put on the 30th Annual Sanger Heritage Sellabration and 5K run.  Bad pun aside, it was a refreshing event, reminding me of my college days in a small town.  As the community was setting up tents and tables to sell their crafts roughly 40 runners gathered at the starting line.  With such a small field I was a little concerned about pacing, and getting lost.  Within the first quarter mile I was in about the 7th position.  I would hold this spot for about the first half when I started to pick up my pace.  I finished 5th overall and actually won my age group while also setting a new PR!  23:27 which was a 7:33 pace; I’m happy with that, but I can (and will) do better.  I’m just glad that none of the faster 25-29 year-olds decided to run this one

Now begins my vacation before I start my new job, that I don’t have yet.  No worries though

Me and my brother leading worship in Belize back in 2005.  I like to play the guitar upside-down to create a nice mirror effect in pictures.

As I was taking my diploma off the wall of my office to pack it up, I stopped to read it.  It says:

“Stephen F. Austin State University
Nacogdoches, Texas

Be it known that
Paul Jeffery James

having successfully completed the Course of Study as prescribed by the
Faculty and Board of Regents and having complied with all other
requirements of the University, has been declared a

Bachelor of Science

and is entitled to all rights and privileges pertaining to that degree.
In testimony whereof, the Board of Regents, upon recommendation of the
Faculty, has granted this Diploma, bearing the seal of the University.
Done this the fourteenth day of May, Two Thousand and Five.”

First of all, I had no idea what my diploma really said, especially the part of being “declared a Bachelor of Science”.  It makes sense I suppose;  I earned a bachelor of science degree, therefore I would be a Bachelor of Science.

Can anyone now tell me what “rights and priviliges” I am entitled to?  Can I show this thing at Starbucks and get a free latte?  Did I miss something at my graduation (that I didn’t attend)?  I’m really looking forward to becoming a Master of something someday.  What does yours say?