Getting Lost in the Christian-ness of everything...

The more I interact with people both in Denver and in Texas, the more I wonder about what damage is being done by the Christian-ness of our culture. In my view, there's way too much Christianity and not enough Christ in our culture.

It has become way too fashionable to be a Christian. I know I'm decades behind. This isn't something new. But I see it more and more each day. We confess Christ with our lips, but our hearts are far from him. I'm certainly not immune to this either. But it's so disheartening to live in my own little sphere of influence and see so many people who call themselves Christians and don't even make the effort to go to church on Sundays. It's not about church, it's about Jesus, and I would rather you have a deep walk with the Lord without church than a fake reality with church. But it says a lot when your actions all week don't line up with Scripture and you don't even bother to attempt the most basic act of obedience to the Lord, which is to worship together with other people who call themselves Christians on a weekly basis. I'm not sure why we expect God to take us at our word when our actions are completely contradictory to His Word. Nobody likes to be called a hypocrite, including me, but that is what we have become. Fakers. Liars. Deceivers. I have more respect for the people who honestly say "I don't believe in that." At least they're being honest.

I don't pretend to have secret knowledge or a list of people who are truly Christians and those who aren't. I'm just as imperfect as the rest of us. But I have seen the goodness of God in how He has revealed Himself to me in the last few weeks through a variety of different channels, and it has made me realize how foolish I am by professing one thing and living out another entirely.

Nothing will EVER compare to the holy, perfect God I serve. Not alcohol, not clubs, not girls, not sex, not drugs (not rock 'n roll either). Not legalism, not doing good works, not service, not good grades, not a great job, not kids, not friendship, not kindness, not leadership, not money, not power. Some of these things are great, others not so great, but none of them holds a candle to a perfect God who created perfect fellowship through Jesus Christ and imperfect but uplifting fellowship with other people professing the name of Christ.

The most fascinating aspect of this is how enamored with New Age philosophy that people seem to be these days. I guess I just don't get it, but it has always made sense to me that there is RIGHT and there is WRONG. Plain and simple. There is not this pluralistic "right for me" garbage. This "right for me" heresy is contradictory on many levels, starting with the logical fallacy of making an absolute statement claiming that there are no absolutes (as you are implicitly doing if you say "whatever is right for me is right for me, and whatever is right for you is right for you"). Not to mention that in this "everything that i believe is true for me" stuff will inherently result in at least millions of contradictions among billions of people. If I say "God is this tree, not this rock" and you say "God is this rock, not this tree" the only rationalization for saying that they are both right is "everyone finds their own way." But this is an escape from logic, not an answer to it. It's the easy way out.

Too often today, this New Age stuff and other bizarre things get mixed into our Christian theology, and we call it good! Imagine if you had a recipe for spaghetti and meatballs. Now imagine if someone took that recipe and made dinner, except that they replaced the meatballs with chicken and the spaghetti noodles with rice. Imagine now that they continued to call this spaghetti and meatballs even though it is clearly chicken and rice. This is the sort of thing that we do with the Bible today, and yet we continue to call it the Bible!

In the spring of 2009, a company in New Mexico is going to publish "The Princess Diana Bible." The only problem is... they replaced "Adam and Eve" with "Aida and Eve," making the first marriage in Genesis a lesbian one. I frankly don't care if someone wants to publish a story about "Aida and Eve". But don't go changing ancient literature and trying to pass it off as the real thing. What an embarrassment. The company's Max Mitchell summed up the cluelessness of these people well: "There are 116 versions of the Bible, why is any of them better than ours?" Well, Max, because the authentic Bibles are the ones based on ancient manuscripts faithfully translated by scholars using their ACTUAL meanings in ancient Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic, not some fanciful dream you had last night. Imagine if I wrote a history of World War 2, telling it exactly as it happened, except that I claimed that the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor or that Germany defeated the U.S. Think anybody would stand for that? I think not.

Is it too much to ask for people to be honest about their faith and not hide behind popular Christianity? Obviously it is since I've hidden behind popular religion for most of my own life. We're all unwilling to say what we honestly believe. Let it be no more. Yuck.

Oh how long it has been

Wow, things have changed since I last blogged. I read over the last few blogs I posted, and it is hard to remember back to those events! And they were only 7 months ago!

How have things changed? I am not only not on the unofficial assignment at work that I mentioned in my last blog, I also have completed a 6 month project in the interim. Watermark Denver no longer meets in the Pastor's house. We now meet in a city auditorium that is much roomier than anything we worshipped in before. That's our second building since the Pastor's house. I'm now in my 2nd different community group at church since I last posted. I have probably met about half of my church friends since I last blogged. And one couple is married, with one not too far off from being engaged. I watched 2 of my closest high school friends get married, and I made a new friend through the process. I've also since reacquainted myself with an old high school friend I wasn't as close to before.

God has done some amazing things since I last posted. He has brought me a good friend from work who I can actually talk spiritual things with. He has given me a tremendous amount of favor with all of the people on my last project. I made a lot of great friends there in 6 months. I've been blessed with good reviews at work, though I expect even more of myself. God has revived my passions for His Truth and for conservative values through the most recent Presidential election. He has given me the passion for writing throughout my life, but only now is my passion for politics matching my passion for writing in order to potentially produce a book. In fact, I wrote a little over a page last night as a start for my book. I was quite pleased with it, but writing about politics is hard. The issues are so weighty, and the logic so deep, that you can't really get through much before the mental exhaustion sets in. I'm going to need God's strength just to get through a first draft.

I've also become inspired to work out consistently the last week or so. I'm horrible at getting into a workout routine, so this is big news. I'm concerned that I'm getting further out of shape, so that's part of the motivation. But there is a lot more to it. God has also helped me deal with issues of lust the last few weeks by bringing some awesome guys alongside me to battle with issues of purity and the heart issues underneath. I have gotten involved in my church, which has turned out to be a blessing in some unexpected ways. I now operate the lights and the presentation materials on the screen at many of our church services. I love getting to work with Nate on this because we don't get to hang out as much as I would like otherwise. I also have served from time to time in the kids ministry. It has been really cool to find out how God is using me in this regard even as He is clearly impacting me through these kids. God showed up in a big way a month or so ago when I was stressed at having to entertain new kids I had never met. But by the end, God had us playing as if we had known each other for years not minutes. I had 4 of the kids on me tackling me to the ground as I vainly tried to escape. That was a great scene for the parents to see as they came to pick up their kids, and it was one of the best experiences I have had in Denver. It all came together as those priceless kids told their parents, "I hope we come to this church forever!" All it takes is a little faithfulness, and God will turn it into work for His Kingdom. That was my lesson learned from that day.

I have never felt so grown up and prepared by God to face whatever exciting challenges await me. I finally feel like I can make it in the real world, doing real world things like paying bills, buying stuff for myself, dating, starting a family, etc. None of this will work without God along the way making it happen, but I'm really happy where I am right now too.

Work is really slow. Hopefully things will pick up in the next few weeks. I can't even comprehend how awesome things have been since Nov 1, but the period of time from Thanksgiving to New Years looks like it is turning out even better than early November! And that's in all facets of life. I have gotten a much-needed break from work. I'm refreshed and ready for the next challenge. I have skiing with one of my close friends in 9 days. I am home for Christmas in 2 weeks. I will probably be there for 12 days. I miss all of my close college friends, who I haven't seen in many months. Hopefully I will see them all over Christmas. And there's also one particular girl I can't wait to see when I get there.

The two snow showers over the past 10 days have been amazing, especially since I haven't had to be out in either of them! Though I did venture out in one, which was fun except for a 20 minute drive taking well over an hour.

Give me a shout if you have the time... I'm always looking to catch up with old friends!

I just realized...

that I will never, ever date a girl who thinks that tattoos or piercings are a plus as far as guys go. I discovered this while browsing my latest guilty pleasure... the personals women post on Craigslist. I never really understood the fascination with tattoos. I understand the rebellious aspect of it definitely (though I think that's a little silly), but I never got why having body art suddenly made someone extra attractive. That continues to puzzle me.

I'm not saying I would turn a girl down just cause she had a tattoo (though I just don't find it attractive at all, so it probably would be an issue). I'm just saying I never understood the weird fascination.

That seems random, I know, but it was just something I needed to rant about... I'm over it. Moving on to other things...

Long Overdue Report on Watermark Denver...

So I meant to post this nearly a week ago, but I just haven't gotten around to it. I got lazy, then my week got totally crazy after Tuesday and it all just got lost in the shuffle...

Well, Watermark Denver had its kickoff dinner last Sunday night... it was definitely a good time. Smaller crowd than I expected, but that was okay given we were over at the Flemings' house with a finite amount of space (their home is beautiful and on a golf course... I'm jealous haha... though I do have a sweet view of the mountains).

I met a few really cool people at the Vision Dinner, and hearing Michael speak about what the church is gonna be about was inspiring to say the least (big understatement). I'm looking forward to the weekly Sunday night meetings (except this week, which we have off). There were some beautiful ladies there as well (didn't think I'd get through a post like this without mentioning that, did you?). Maybe my favorite person there was Michael Fleming's mother, though. She is just so open and honest and straight-to-the-point. Very cool.

Thursday, I met for breakfast at the Delectable Egg with Michael and Austin (another guy I met at the Vision Dinner). Sounds like we'll be meeting for breakfast early on Thursdays for the foreseeable future. I was really unsure about whether I would be able to attend (because I had no idea if I would be flying to projects or not), but God turned that thinking on its head on Friday.

Let me back up a second. I reluctantly volunteered on Tuesday to spend my Wed-Fri south of Denver doing some assorted administrative work for a client of ours. Well, that turned into a much longer role with the same project for the next few weeks. I'm excited because this gives me a chance to really establish a regular meeting and relationship with the Watermark Denver guys. I definitely need that right now. Prayer answered! On the other hand, I have to pay for it if I want to travel, which is a slight bummer. But I'm glad I get to stay in Denver for the short-term. I want to travel, but I still want to get to know my home city.

Speaking of home cities, I registered for a Colorado driver's license on Monday. I'm very sad to no longer have a Texas ID, but it had to come sooner or later. I hope the Colorado ID looks good... most states have IDs that look more like hard, plastic Monopoly Money than ID cards. Texas is just better.

Extreme Quiet Times, Part 1

If you've been around a church for any amount of time, you've learned a bit of "church-speak". And one of the most popular phrases is "quiet time." Quiet times are a regular exercise for the growing Christian. It's simply time set aside to get alone with your Savior and worship him. John Eldredge really got to the core of what a Quiet Time should be in Wild at Heart when he talked about how a Quiet Time doesn't have to be quiet at all. We get so boring in our thinking that the only way to get alone with God is to read a chapter of the Bible and we do so out of ritual rather than relationship and we get nothing out of it. Eldredge points out that his quiet times are not so rigid. It could be listening to music, praying, reading a Bible, etc. Anything to get him closer to God.

In an effort to really get outside of the normal Christian box, I felt a call this weekend to get away for awhile. And I really mean AWAY. I'm sure it partly had to do with my reading Wild at Heart this week, but it is also this innate desire I've had since I planned to move to Denver... I've always wanted to just escape into the mountains for awhile and explore. So, this Saturday, that's exactly what I did.

I know absolutely nothing about most of the Denver area, much less the Rocky Mountains. So I checked out Google Maps, charted a course that suited my interests, and headed out with nary a thought about what I was doing. I did prepare a little... I brought a bag with water and granola bars and some books (Bible, Holiness by J.C. Ryle, and The Case for a Creator by Lee Strobel). But part of my interest in this was to not to plan everything out. I've gotten tired of planning for everything to be safe. More about that later, but now back to my adventure...

So I plotted a course up through Boulder on 36, all the way through Estes Park. Once in Estes Park, I took 34 directly into the mountains. Specifically, I headed into Rocky Mountain National Park. It sounded like the place to go if I wanted to get away. And it was HUGE. Love it. With a little assistance from a Park Ranger (thanks!), I headed toward this little place called Chasm Falls.

I discovered that getting away into the mountains doesn't come cheap. It costs $20 per car per trip to be exact. Since the Annual Pass to the National Park is $35, it was a no brainer to get a $35 pass that lasts through April of next year. I plan on taking advantage of that pass a few times this summer.

After driving into the park a mile or so, I headed out on foot. After passing one closed gate, I was still on a paved road that opens during the summer (but not yet). While this was definitely an improvement over the city, this was nothing close to what I was looking for in terms of real wilderness. About 1/4 mile down, I got my first taste of real wilderness. I passed by a small herd of elk. They couldn't have been more than 100 feet from me. They stared at me the entire time I was in their sight. While I was taking a picture, the one constant thought in my mind was this: I am way more scared of them than they could ever be of me. Haha.

I strolled on by the elk. About a mile from the first gate, I came to another gate. The road continued off to the left. On the right, a dirt road led straight up onto the side of the mountain. This is what was blocked by the gate. Not having a clue what lay beyond the gate, I was instantly drawn to the dirt road up the mountain. Plus, that had to be where the waterfall was. All along my walk, from start to finish, I was up against large cliffs of rock on my right. Some were steeper than others. All of them I wanted to climb. I definitely will do that when I go back.

About a mile up the dirt road, I came to a sharp turn. What I found here was a river flowing down the mountain. It was a flatter, slower part of the river. I almost stopped there to read because the place was so peaceful. But I really wanted to find the waterfall, so I pressed on. The road continued back up the mountain but in the opposite direction of before (east). Shortly, it turned back west to continue up the mountain. I finally made it to the falls about 3 or so miles into my journey on foot. There was a short little trail that led to the falls. You could now hear the rushing water very clearly.

I turned down the little trail totally stoked at the complete silence around me. I didn't see anyone at all, not even a Park Ranger, the entire time I was on foot. It was awesome. I found myself thinking less and less about work and Denver and more and more about God and His creation. I quickly got to the end of the trail. Not happy settling for the short distance that remained between myself and the river, I began picking my way around on the rocks nearer and nearer the river.

I don't want to give the impression this was an easy decision. I had this bizarre fear of getting yelled at if I was discovered deviating from the trail. Even though absolutely no one was around. I was also a little worried about being alone with no cell phone service at all and venturing onto unsafe ground. But this was exactly what I was looking for... something not totally normal... something that pushed the boundaries of my comfort zone and made me take a few risks (even if they were admittedly small risks). So I walked out onto the rocks and into the middle of the river (on the rocks, not in the water). During this time, I also sat on a very open rock overlooking the river.

It was awesome. God is so good. And soooooo creative. You couldn't recreate this landscape if you tried. As I sat on the rock, I was led to prayer. I love those prayers that start out short and end up very long. Prayer for myself. Prayer for nonbelievers. Prayer for believers. My mind was away from everything I had on my mind this week. It was awesome. And then I got to read the Creation story in Genesis 1 and 2. At times I still felt a little like something wasn't totally right, but my day away from everything went a long way toward getting back in tune with God. It was a good day.

A Quick Random Thought...

I'm watching the New Orleans-Dallas NBA playoff game and I just heard a ridiculous Wendy's commercial. The woman in the commercial says, "If burgers were meant to be frozen, wouldn't cows come from Antarctica?" This question is stupid on several levels.

First of all, Wendy's should NOT be complaining about others' burgers. I love Wendy's, but I avoid their burgers at all costs. I go for the Spicy Chicken Sandwich combo about 95% of the time. No other fast food place has me avoiding burgers so frequently.

Second, if you are going to complain that others' burgers are not authentic, you'd better check your own first. Sure, I'd rather have a fresh burger than a frozen one (though I generally never think about whether the burger I'm eating is fresh or not). But I also don't want a burger that is square and flatter than a pancake. Wendy's has burgers that are both of those things. When I think of a good burger, I think of a burger that only needs ONE patty to reach 1/2 lb or more in size, not 2 or more. I think of a burger that I can hardly get into my mouth one bite at a time because it's so big. THAT is a burger. Not this flimsy, square crap I get at Wendy's.

In response to that ridiculous commercial, I offer one question: If burgers were meant to be square, wouldn't a cow be square around its midsection?

Toys, toys, toys...

I should mention first that these three "toys" or desires have been on my mind the past few weeks:

1. A bike

2. Skis

3. Sunglasses

Each of these I dream of, but I have yet to fit them into my budget (mainly cause I'm trying to throw everything I earn into savings and/or Dave Ramsey's "Total Money Makeover" (not as kooky as it sounds, I promise).

But my latest toy is FREE. It's called Skype. I love it. I videoconferenced this evening with Mo in Fort Worth. And it didn't cost us a thing! And I didn't have to buy anything since my wonderful iMac came with a built-in webcam, speaker, and microphone. Ahh the joys. Now if only I could convince the parents to get Skype. One thing at a time I suppose. This is why I love technology. Cause once in awhile a product comes along that makes our lives soooo much easier. Who wants to talk on the phone when you can kick back and speak at the computer and SEE the other person in real-time? Not me! So, I beg you all... get Skype and we'll chat. Live. Face to face. We'll make a day of it (okay, slight exaggeration... maybe).

Dr Strange-Food, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Store Brands

I went grocery shopping the other night and brought back all sorts of interesting food to eat. Now, that's not very exciting. But I did come to this realization that maybe buying the store brand makes more sense than paying extra for a name brand that tastes virtually the same anyways. This epiphany of sorts was brought on by my recent creation of a budget. I've become even more of a penny-pincher lately now that I know exactly where all my money is going on a monthy basis. So I've been motivated to save money by getting store brands. It has turned out well so far. Though I don't want to get too cheap. I'm worried I'll become consumed by my money and effectively worship it rather than the God who gave me this money in the first place. Reminds me of one of my favorite verses: 

"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money." - Matthew 6:24

Doesn't get much simpler than that. So which will YOU pick?

A Welcome Break From The Ordinary...

That's how I would describe last Saturday night. I've been something of a hermit since I moved to Denver, watching an untold amount of movies and spending a lot of nights relaxing at my place. While part of this is out of necessity (I'm still adjusting to having to focus and work for 8 hours straight, 5 days a week), part of it is simply because I have nothing better to do and I don't really know where to start to make the effort. That is changing a little, but it's still mostly true.

Back to the point at hand... Saturday night. So, my Saturday evening plans were UFC with my pastor and some other guys at a bar called the Fox and Hound. It's a place I'm very familiar with as I've been there a couple times before. Well, the other men didn't make it, so it ended up being my pastor and me (which I didn't mind since I didn't know the others anyways). 

I really had a good time. Michael (the pastor) is really into UFC, and Saturday night was no different. We watched 5-6 fights back to back while chowing down on some wings and nachos. While some of the fights were disappointing, the last 3 were amazing, particularly the fight before the main event and the main event itself. In the main event, St Pierre absolutely dominated Serra. It wasn't even a contest. But it was still fun to watch St Pierre in all his brilliance. Nothing like watching guys beat the crap out of each other with your pastor. A great night all-around.

A Refreshing Experience... The Evolution Monolith Exposed!

Once in awhile, you just need an experience that really kicks you in the tail and motivates you to speak. That's the sort of experience I had seeing "Expelled" tonight. I have 5 words for you: YOU...HAVE...TO...SEE...THIS. I would recommend that anyone go see this, from the hardcore atheist to the evangelical Christian. 

I think anyone reading this knows where I stand... I'm an evangelical Christian. But my joy in seeing the movie "Expelled" goes way beyond my Christian values. Sure, that is an important part. But what I love about this movie is that it makes some incredibly smart people look incredibly foolish, and it allows them to hang themselves (metaphorically, of course) with their own intellect. 

Side note: Anyone who enjoys Lee Strobel's books will like this documentary. The books are presented in much the same fashion whereby one interview brings up one point, issue or question that leads directly into the next interview, where the question raised is settled but brings up another interesting point that leads to another interview. If you can't stand Lee Strobel, you may not be a big fan of "Expelled."

Perhaps the most revealing part of the movie is the part where Richard Dawkins, the anti-faith atheist-of-all-atheists, actually admits he believes it is possible we humans came into existence because our planet was "seeded" with the precursors to life by a super-evolved race from another planet essentially. Does anyone not see the situational irony in this?!?! I can't even begin to describe all of the hypothetical questions and concerns raised simply by listening to this guy speak. Where did this supposed super-race come from? Why is believing in a super-evolved race we've never physically discovered any less farfetched than believing that God is, essentially, the equivalent of the super-race? Doesn't the essential definition of a "super-evolved race" fit in quite well with what it commonly postulated as the definition of God? etc. etc. etc. The intellectual inconsistencies abound in Dawkins' thinking. And that is just the beginning in this movie.

The suppression of scientific opinions inconsistent with neo-Darwinism. The stumbling, bumbling speech of Darwinists (and the fanciful theories presented) when asked the tough questions. The admissions that we don't really know for sure where life came from, despite many claims by Darwinists to the contrary. The realizations of the very scary implications of Darwinian theory. The huge holes in the theory itself. The monolithic nature of scientific thought in modern times. All examined by this film.

I won't claim the movie is without error. I think there is some ambiguity in the way the film presents the link between Darwinism and Naziism. I think that could have been clarified a bit more, though if you watch closely you can probably pick out what was the intention of the filmmakers. There are also some dramatic parts of the movie that are a bit forced when the material and interviews are dramatic enough themselves. But, by and large, the movie is both entertaining and informative, which is the necessary set of preconditions to a good documentary. The film doesn't appear to be overly selective in its editing, as has often been the largest criticism of Michael Moore's films.

In my experience, what is presented as the major theme of the film, which is that the academic and scientific communities have unfairly and unapologetically suppressed reasonable dissent to Darwinism (and freedom of inquiry in the process), is pretty accurate. 

My primary experience with the cultural clash over evolution is the "Darwin vs. Design" conference held last April at SMU's campus in University Park, Texas. Just as in "Expelled," members of the scientific establishment at SMU has no interest in allowing Intelligent Design any sort of forum on a college campus. Beyond their opposition to ID itself, they objected even to the mere presentation of ID (Google the event for the full story). In their arrogance, these scientists ran roughshod over any semblance of open inquiry, instead arguing with virulent rhetoric that the presenters of ID were idiots - despite the presenters' notable academic credentials. 

As they say, never let the FACTS get in the way of a great story. And Darwinism is, in fact, a great story.

Expelled!

I'm going to see "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed!" tonight. If you don't know what that is, it is a movie starring Ben Stein that reveals how scientists and academics are persecuted for expressing opposing viewpoints to the theory of evolution. Given how crazy pro-Evolutioners have been about silencing opposing views in my own experience, this should be quite a treat. I've been waiting for this movie to come out for awhile. I'll let you know how it is after I see it.

I'm going by myself, by the way. How exciting. Yet I don't really mind because I like alone time once in awhile and I'm hangin out with the guys from the new Watermark Denver tomorrow night to watch the UFC and have a beer. 

Yes, you read that right. The guy starting up a CHURCH in Denver organized a night of watching guys beat the crap out of each other while having a beer. Just goes to show you that us men of God can have a good time fellowshiping with each other in a way that doesn't bring dishonor upon the Lord. After all, Christians aren't losers who can't do anything without violating some sort of rule. Life with God was never intended to be dull and boring. And it isn't if you're doing it right.

Finally back from Core Analyst School

Well, I'm finally back on the blog after Core Analyst School wrapped up last Friday. I had a lot of fun the last two weeks, but the experience was absolutely exhausting. Having to be totally excited and meet people 24/7 takes its toll on you after awhile. All I did the last 2 weeks was sleep and meet people. I like people, but that's a little bit much. I was torn though because once I left I realized I would not see many of the friends I made for a long time, if ever. Especially the Europeans. Hopefully I will make a few trips over to Europe or they will come over here.

I went to Chicago with my start group on the weekend between the weeks of training. Chicago is so much fun. It quickly became one of my favorite cities to visit. Lake Michigan, Navy Pier, Millennium Park, and Lincoln Park were all AWESOME. And Chicago-style pizza is incredible. I'm not one for thick pizzas (in fact, I don't even hardly like regular crust anymore) but Chicago-style is a whole other experience. We went to Giordano's on Sunday before returning to training. That pizza was SOOOOO good. Like eating a cake made of pizza. Yum.

I had another odd mishap with my phone while in Chicago. My high school friends will totally understand how this happened because they have known me long enough to understand how klutzy I am with phones. So I got off of the L train in Chicago (basically the above-ground subway around downtown) and realized I was near Depaul University. 

I have a weird fascination with ballparks that are surrounded by high-rises. We don't have these in Texas, so it fascinates me. I saw Depaul's softball diamond and wanted to take a picture. 

So I pulled my iPhone out of my pocket as I was walking down the stairs from the train to the ground. Unfortunately, my klutzy nature kicked into overdrive. The phone slipped from my hands. I quickly grabbed for it as it fell and I batted it up in the air. It headed for the left side of the staircase and lodged itself in between the edge of the step and the side rail running down the side of the staircase. And this staircase is metal with almost no holes. You could barely get a pen down into the hole where my iPhone landed, so you can tell the phone had to land perfectly to hit the hole. Just my luck. Anywhere else, and it would have just hit the stairs and stopped there.

My friends spent a good 15 minutes searching for the phone and trying to figure out how to get it out. I was a little bit worried my $400 investment was about to be lost forever. We really didn't think we could retrieve it. Thankfully, my friend Jessie has mad skills. She maneuvered the phone down onto the slanted part of the staircase underneath the steps and pulled the phone through the crack in between the steps with 2 fingers. Needless to say, I was overjoyed and praising God for that. I had prayed about this ugly situation as soon as the phone got stuck, and my prayer was answered.

The pictures here are of my fellow team members from our 2-week-long team project at Core Analyst School. These projects are the core of the experience, and we learn all about Accenture's methods by working through a fake project on this team. So I got to know these people VERY well. The first one is Cole from Toronto, Canada. The second one is Pavel from Moscow, Russia. The third one is Jannis from Frankfurt, Germany. The fourth one is Filomena from Milan, Italy. There was one more person on my team. Her name was Gabrielle and she was from the Zurich, Switzerland office. I didn't get a picture of her, unfortunately.

I could talk forever about each one of them, but I don't have the time or space to do so right now. So I'll just leave it at this: We got along really well and I really hope I get to go to all of those places to visit them!

What a day!

I had the most multicultural experience today, and I loved every minute of it. In fact, this week has all been very crazy and multicultural. Training is a whirlwind ride. This is mainly due to the fact that we are in Chicago, Illinois with 79% Europeans. That feels a little weird, but it is a good thing. Consider how my day went:

-I walked to training this morning with a woman from Spain.
-I work on a team every day that has 1 Canadian, 1 Italian, 1 German, 1 Russian, and 1 from Switzerland.
-I had a chat during a break with an Englishman.
-I have spent several meals and other time the last couple of days with a woman from Finland.
-I had lunch with a Swede.
-I walked back to the rooms after training with an Italian.
-I had dinner with an Italian, a Brazilian, and a woman from Poland. They didn't really know English either. That was interesting. But it actually made it better because everything that was said sounded really funny for everyone.
-I spent a lot of time talking to a Frenchman at our networking event tonight.
-I met and talked to several Germans later in the networking event.
-I went to the pub tonight with all Germans, and talked to one of them for quite some time.

Sure, I talked to several Americans throughout the day, but you can probably tell from above that I spent most of my time today talking to foreigners. All of my experiences were really fun. What a great day.

My English is getting worse by the day. I hear a lot of broken English, and I have to explain things in broken English as well. So I have begun to think and talk in broken English. Plus, I have started drawing out my "yeah" so now it sounds a lot more like "yaaaaaa". I'm turning European. Okay, that's a stretch, but you get the point.

P.S. Andy made fun of me for making a "Friends" reference in a recent blog post, but I have no shame about it. In fact, Friends has been very useful this trip. I actually purposefully inserted a Friends reference into conversation with a friend on the flight to Chicago in order to get conversation going with this attractive girl who was sitting next to me on the flight. Lame? Perhaps. But the move worked like a charm. She overheard the reference and made a comment about it. She said, "I think we could get along well since you like Friends." We ended up chatting for much of the flight. So there, Andy. Knowing far too much about Friends CAN pay dividends. Ha.

Fly to Chicago, End up in Europe

Speaking of that 9:30pm flight on Sunday night (see previous post), that was a fun flight. I was seated next to a pretty, nice University of Illinois-Chicago student for the flight. Interestingly enough, neither of us originally booked that flight either. She had gotten on the flight by virtue of the standby list. That was a blessing indeed.

Because the flight was so late, there were pillows and blankets in every seat. They even turned out the lights even though the flight was only 2 hours long. The dark cabin and pillows and blankets made the flight feel very much like an international flight.

The irony of this was lost on me until I got to Core Analyst School in St. Charles, Illinois (just outside Chicago). I arrived late last night. This morning, they gave us a few stats about the people attending this training. As it turns out, of the 150 people here, 79% are Europeans. In fact, only 15% of us here are Americans. It's a weird experience. That's why I felt like I had flown to Chicago and somehow ended up in Europe!

Meeting a whole bunch of people from a world away is awesome. I've met people from virtually all of the major European nations after only 1 day. It will be awesome to have contacts all over Eastern Europe and beyond. Haha.

2008: A Plane Odyssey

Sunday was a bizarre day. My flight to Chicago was supposed to take off at 1:39pm Mountain Time, so I arrived at the airport a little before noon. I was flying with 4 of the people in my start group as well. As the flight departure time approached, my friend and coworker Alex got this crazy idea into his head that he would offer to give up his seat if United would book him on a later flight (we were in no hurry after all) and give him a voucher for a free ticket.

True to form, United (which has horrible service according to many Accenture employees) overbooked the flight. I've never understood how this could happen so often in the digital age. But it does. I can't imagine a winning business model where flights are overbooked and then the airline hands out free round trip vouchers. That probably explains why the airlines all needed bailouts from taxpayers.

Anyways, all 5 of us volunteered to give up our seats in exchange for a free flight. We stood at the ticket counter for what felt like hours trying to get all of the logistics ironed out. The poor lady behind the counter had a heck of a time getting us another flight. First, there were only 4 open seats on a flight from Denver to Lincoln to Chicago. So she booked some of us to Lincoln and some to connect in Omaha. Then she was able to get us all on a flight to Omaha and then to Chicago. But then she realized that the flight was a Monday flight instead of a Sunday flight. Wouldn't work. So finally she booked us on a 9:30pm flight directly to Chicago.

By this time, it was 1:30pm. So, with 8 hours of time to kill, we settled in at a bar to watch sports. Some of us, including me, ended up hanging out in that bar for about 5 hours. Our time there was a little sweeter because of 2 things: 1) we saw a great Davidson-Kansas game, and 2) United gave us all $10 meal vouchers so our lunch was free.

Around 6:30pm, we were tired of the bar (and the bar was likely tired of us because all that was ordered the last few hours was a few beers). So we found the most deserted part of the terminal and considered watching Blazing Saddles on a laptop. That fell through, so we ended up watching hilarious YouTube videos. Finally, we had our 2nd meal of the day at the airport. I had a delicious Quizno's sub. Yum, yum, yum.

At 9pm, we finally boarded our flight and headed for Chicago. We didn't land until almost 1am Chicago time, and we didn't get to our final destination just outside Chicago till nearly 2:30am. What a day it was.

"Shoop, Shoop... Shoop, Shoop"

In case you're a little confused, the title of this blog post is a Friends reference. Still confused? "Shoop, shoop" is the noise Rachel makes on one of the Thanksgiving episodes to express her excitement about her upcoming skiing trip with her family (naturally, the trip never occurs and everyone is stuck spending Thanksgiving together... what a shock).

Thankfully, my "Shoop, shoop" skiing trip DID happen. Yesterday, 90+ Accenture professionals from SI&T (Systems Integration and Technology) headed up to Keystone in the early morning hours to hit the slopes for a few hours. Getting paid while skiing, networking, and eating for free has to rank among the best things I've done lately.

I hit just about every Blue ski run they had at Keystone at the 3 mountains there. Since I hadn't skied since last March and don't particularly love moguls, I took the day relatively easy on the Blues. I'm one of those skiers who loves the speed of the Blues but doesn't enjoy the bumps and jolts of the Blacks. A couple of times, I pointed my skis straight down the hill and absolutely flew down the slopes. What a rush.

One time, though, I got headed straight down the hill kinda by accident. I was trying to speed up a little, so I pointed my skis directly downhill. But when I got going fast, I didn't feel comfortable turning quickly because I was afraid the sudden change in direction would make me tumble forward over my skis. So I leaned back slowly and eventually hit the slope softly with my backside. What followed was the longest slide I have ever experienced. It was actually kinda fun. I must have skidded at least 50 yards downhill on my butt. It was the softest and longest crash I've ever had on the slopes. Somehow, my skis and poles stayed with me. As I was sliding down the hill, it felt like time was standing still and I was just gliding along the surface of the ice/snow.

What a time. Too bad ski season is nearly over.

A Few Great Quotes and more...

I read these quotes from Michael Fleming's Watermark Denver blog today, and I loved them so much that I had to share them here. No surprise here, though. Jim Elliot was a stud. Talk about a man filled with the Spirit.

“Father, make of me a crisis man. Bring those I contact to decision. Let me not be a milepost on a single road; make me a fork, that men must turn one way or another on facing Christ in me. “

“We are so utterly ordinary, so commonplace, while we profess to know a Power the Twentieth Century does not reckon with. But we are “harmless,” and therefore unharmed. We are spiritual pacifists, non-militants, conscientious objectors in this battle-to-the-death with principalities and powers in high places. Meekness must be had for contact with men, but brass, outspoken boldness is required to take part in the comradeship of the Cross. We are “sideliners” — coaching and criticizing the real wrestlers while content to sit by and leave the enemies of God unchallenged. The world cannot hate us, we are too much like its own. Oh that God would make us dangerous!”

-Jim Elliot

These quotes really speak to me right now. I'm inundated by stories of people I know drinking excessively and doing all sorts of goofy stuff and it just makes me sad. It really does. But I'm surrounded by it all the time and I freeze up and I don't ever say anything, rock the boat, or upset the status quo. And that bothers me. I see people so clearly missing the boat on Jesus and His abundant life (John 10:10), and yet I don't say anything.

I definitely do want to be someone who gets along with anyone, but I also don't want to be someone who hides the truth when others really need to hear it. My favorite verse about this is Proverbs 27:6 "Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses." Lord, let me never be a friend who is a willing party to someone's death (Proverbs 19:18) because I was unwilling to speak the Lord's wisdom into his/her life.

On a lighter note, I'm pumped that I'm feeling a little more like a Colorado resident now that I have finally purchased my first pair of ski pants. I always borrowed them before, but now I have my own! I needed them (as well as gloves and sunglasses) because a bunch of people from our Denver office are headed to Keystone for a day of skiing tomorrow morning!!! Early wake-up call (5:00am), but it's definitely worth it for a day of skiing, especially when the office is covering the cost of lift tickets! What a great idea for a "Community Meeting". See ya after I get off the slopes!

Reed

Shout to the Lord (and maybe a Shout Out to others too)

Ever had that feeling like you're on top of the world? That's about where I am right now. It's incredible. I'm in such a good mood that I prayed to the Lord that He would push me out of my comfort zone and make me a little uncomfortable to bring me back to reality. If I could be on Cloud Nine, this would be it. God is so good. Stress about the difficulty of the job has sufficiently subsided, so now I look at this as college with an added degree of difficulty and class from 8-5 every day but with the opportunity to go out with friends any night of the week.

The last few days have been awesome. I already blogged about Easter, so I won't rehash that. And Monday was nice but not too eventful. Today has been awesome. I spent virtually the entire day laughing at one thing or another due to my hilarious and unpredictable Start Group. We are crazy silly. And yet today was still one of the most productive days we've had yet in training. We worked really hard AND we had fun. Incredible. I would try to explain what was so funny and awesome, but it was too complicated and I'd ruin the context and probably not explain it clearly enough if I tried. So I won't. The icing on the cake was tonight. I just got back from seeing a Sneak Preview of "21," a new movie starring Kevin Spacey and Kate Bosworth about MIT students making a fortune in Vegas by counting cards at Blackjack. It was a very good movie (Kevin Spacey was awesome... again). Plus, this is the first time I've gotten to really hang out with my co-workers outside of work. It was a lot of fun, and the Cherry Creek area is pretty nice.

P.S. Denver has the best radio station ever created. It's 95.7 FM. This station plays all of the classic pop songs you heard 10-15 years ago when they were popular and never thought you'd hear again. Yes, they finally have a good 1990s pop station somewhere. I have heard everything from Return of the Mack to Don't Speak to I Need A Girl on this station, and I've hardly had time to listen to it! Sweetness.

P.P.S. Gotta give a shout out to Andy, my friend and fellow conservative warrior over the past few years. Don't be too anxious to leave Texas! But when you do, stop on by and hang for a little while.

High Altitude Cooking and High Octane Worship

High Altitude cooking is tougher than it looks. Especially when the directions on the package are more than a little ambiguous. I've made frozen corn 100 times, and it's come out perfect every time. But the package decided to be really confusing about high altitude cooking, so I butchered the frozen corn last night. Ugh. And this isn't the first time I've miscooked (I don't know if that's even a word, but if Roger Clemens can make up words, so can I!) something since I arrived in Denver. Some things I've cooked have come out just a little undercooked due to the goofy altitude.  And each time I realize immediately afterward that I needed to cook differently because of the altitude. It's gonna take some time to get used to being 5280 ft above sea level...

This morning was the most incredible morning for me in quite some time. It is Easter after all, so no surprise there. Let me back up a little to give you the full picture (and by you I mean the random 2-3 people who search Google and happen upon this blog since I don't think anyone else reads it).

So God has really burdened my heart to reach out to my fellow New Joiners at Accenture ever since I knew I was coming to Denver. And the burden has only increased since I got to Denver. The burden upon my heart was so deep this week that I invited my co-workers to Easter services at a church north of Denver. Those who know me well will know that people-pleasing is such a struggle with me that I usually have to know someone pretty well before I ever start talking about God with them. While God is slowly breaking those barriers down, some do still exist. 

So it was a big step for me to even invite people I hardly knew to a church I knew nothing about. While there was not much reception (more indifference than anything) to my offer, the Lord has worked mightily in bringing me together with Jim Crouse, and this is a great example. Jim and his fiancee Kelly had been looking for a church to attend for Easter and Jim and I agreed to check out this new contemporary church north of Denver called Northern Hills Christian Church (FYI: I know Jim better than I do any of the other people I work with because we carpool to work every morning).

You must also know that I struggled a lot this weekend with worry about whether the church we would be attending would be a solid, Biblical church. I think I've gotten overly cynical over the last few years. I was turned off by the Pentecostal thing. In addition, I've heard a lot of stories lately about churches that seemed legit on the outside but were corrupt from within. Plus, I've been fortunate enough to hear both Joel Osteen and Benny Hinn preach on TV over the past couple weeks. While I have limited knowledge of their ministries, what I saw on TV was essentially identical to what I'd ever heard about them.

I'd heard they preached a "Health, Wealth, and Prosperity" gospel that essentially ignored sin and basically preached positive thinking. Furthermore, and this was true of Benny Hinn especially, it seemed the message was directly tied into convincing you that the right thing to do to please God was to give money to their corresponding ministry. And the promise was that you would be blessed many times over because you gave money. This simply isn't a Biblical message. Does God bless us when we walk faithfully with Him? Sure! But He isn't some cosmic genie who is bound to multiply our wealth when we give to Him. And He also allows trials and difficulties to enter the lives of those who are earnestly seeking Him. In fact, it is promised to us in Scripture that we will face persecution on account of Christ when we follow Him (See 2 Timothy 3:12, "In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted"). So the message is only half-complete when these preachers preach.

This knowledge of lost churches, churches that didn't suit my style and my knowledge of how unchurched Denver is led me into way too much cynicism in regards to Northern Hills Christian Church. I was really, really worried this would turn out to be a church where really weird things happened or that the message of Christ would be robbed of its power in this church. Neither turned out to be the case. 

God really convicted me in my cynicism using this church today. Northern Hills was neither crazy nor dead. It is very much alive. And it is radical in the Watermark sense. It is evangelical and boldly proclaims His Truth in a way that reminded me very much of Watermark. I could go on and on about how similar to Watermark in Dallas it was. The lobby with the modern architecture and the coffee shop (See the picture provided).  The open feel. The shape of the building. The number of people in the service. The audio/visual tech. The full worship band. The music and sermon only service style (except that Northern Hills served communion as well). But, most importantly, Northern Hills is like Watermark in that it faithfully presents the gospel message of man's sinful nature and God's redeeming grace FOUND ONLY IN JESUS. The Spirit-filled message this morning was amazing. It was all about "Where is your hope found/focused?" Basically, is your hope in stuff or in the one whose name is Jesus? (Side note: In no way does this change my desire to pour my heart into God's ministry through Watermark Denver. I'm just psyched to see that there is another solid church nearby.)

By the way, the music was phenomenal too. It was like being back at Passion. Songs like "Mighty to Save" and "Everlasting God (Strength Will Rise)." Right songs for the right moment.

Another awesome moment was during communion. I was feeling a little too focused on the tradition of the last supper. So I prayed that God would make the importance of communion real to me. God's answer to my prayers usually spans more than a moment or a day or even a week. But in this moment, His answer was instantaneous. He placed the image of opening Christmas presents on my mind. Specifically, he focused my mind on the mountain bike I got when I was a kid. Let me explain.

I am incredibly blessed. My parents are generous beyond any sound measure. Christmas is filled with gifts and every toy or gadget I could ever want. It really is a special holiday for more than just the gifts given and received, but my point is this: I've never suffered from a lack of abundant Christmas gifts. And, perhaps more than any toy, my bike always sticks in my mind. 

I loved that bike like few other things I've ever owned. There is nothing that opens a suburban boy's mind to fun and adventure more than a bike. To a young boy like me, it was like taking flight. It opened all sorts of possibilities to me. My territory was no longer defined by how far I could walk or run. The question was now this: How far can you ride?

I treasured that bike like few things I've ever had. Sure, I did a lousy job of taking care of it, but the memories I have of exploring on that bike will stick with me forever. I can't even count how many times Adrian and I (and some other friends as well from time to time) rode bikes through the trails from the lake in Stone Lakes into Timberlake. That is freedom for a pre-teen boy. Every time riding through those trees and bushes was something totally and completely different. And so it is with Christ. Each day is different and exciting in its own way.

Why is all of this important? I want to give you a sense of just how awesome God made communion to me this morning. When He placed the image of Christmas and my new bike in my mind immediately after my prayer, He was telling me that what He did for me on the cross (which we remember in part through the communion I was partaking of) is of even greater value than all of the Christmas gifts I could ever receive. It even tops all the bikes in the world. His death on my behalf on the cross is of more value than anything that has ever happened in all of eternity. This is what Paul is saying when he says in Philippians 3:8 that "I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of know Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ."

If you know Jesus, may you experience joy today and beyond that surpasses all of the Christmases in the world. If you don't know Him, I pray that you will come to know the God who gave Himself for us on the cross to save us from ourselves and defeated death by resurrecting Himself on the 3rd day. He's worth more than all the bikes and all the other things in this world.

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!!!

Quick Thoughts

"From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and HE DETERMINED THE TIMES SET FOR THEM AND THE EXACT PLACES WHERE THEY SHOULD LIVE. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps even reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us." - Acts 17:26-27.

This was part of the Journey devotional this morning. How powerful. Not only does it apply to me and give me assurance about where I'm at right now (Denver) and why I'm here, but this is incredibly timely in another sense. I have a close friend who's going through some trials right now employment-wise and is trying to decide whether to pack up and leave everything familiar for the great unknown in another city and state. So this verse definitely speaks to her situation as well. Crazy. But the timing of God always seems a little crazy to us with our limited knowledge of the big picture.

In other news, training is going really well. It's all group activities and coding, which I happen to like. And we make each other laugh all the time. It is super laid-back. And we're ahead of schedule, so there is less pressure to rush. Okay, gotta get back to getting ready for work! 

My unusual day...

Well, today was a bit absurd. Yes, yes it was. Quite a few little things went wrong. Like how I got a nail in my tire that ruined not only the bottom of the tire but the side as well. Talented nail! So I had the wonderful experience of pulling over into a parking lot and changing a tire. I'm getting too good at that because I have the worst fortune with tires. They hate me apparently. I went ahead and got two new tires, so hopefully this is my last tire purchase ever in this blasted car (I just recently got two front tires, so now I have 4 new tires on my car). When I say "I got two new tires," I feel like a driver in NASCAR. Just FYI.

Anyways, the foolishness didn't end there. I went to Wal-Mart to use my gift card (thanks Aunt Jackie and Uncle Larry!!!) to get a new phone (let me know if you want my new number) and Jerry Maguire. Stupidly, I stepped into the cash-only self-checkout line and then realized I was using a gift card. Of course, I had to call over an employee to cancel the order. Then, I went to another self-checkout and I had to call the same employee back over to approve my purchase of Jerry Maguire (its R-rated). I had forgotten about such restrictions. Finally, I had no idea how to use my gift card, so I had to call the employee back a 3rd time to show me how to use the gift card (which turned out to be a simple process). I felt stupid walking out of Wal-Mart.

Speaking of stupid and Wal-Mart, I was at another Wal-Mart last night to get the phone and movie but gave up due to the poor planning at Wal-Mart. At 10pm on Friday night, they had only 4 checkout lanes open! This despite the 25 people standing in each line waiting to checkout. Surely they could have pulled one of their many attendants in other departments to help out with the chaos. Being impatient, I did not wait around in line.

My day was pretty much summed up today when I tried to get gas as I was leaving Wal-Mart. I pulled into a nearby Diamond Shamrock/Valero (sign said Diamond Shamrock, system said Valero). Of course, there was only one open gas pump. As I pulled around to get to the open pump, a truck pulled into the open space. The truck was completely facing the wrong way and made about a hundred turns to get to the right side. Stupid truck, haha.

But overall my day was pretty nice other than those goofy screwups and sitting in Discount Tire while they put new tires on my car. I got to catch up briefly with Alyssa. I got some scripture memorized. I went grocery shopping (and now have real food to eat at my place). I now have a home phone!! I got several loads of laundry done. More coming tomorrow.

I was browsing through my Bridge City Scrapbook today and thinking about the similarities between my experience in Bridge City and Denver thus far. In both cases, I jumped totally into the unknown on the Lord's guidance. Enjoying Denver and its newness reminded me today of how much I loved exploring Bridge City last summer with all of my new friends there! I miss yall soooo much! I can't believe we are nearly 1300 miles apart! Don't worry... we'll be together again before long.

One little thought of advice: Never watch Jerry Maguire by yourself on Saturday night in a totally new city and state. It's just not smart. I love that movie so much, and it has so many classic moments, but man does it make you think of relationships. Yikes.

My Love/Hate Relationship with AT&T

I think the title is pretty self-explanatory for anyone who has ever done business with the phone monopoly monster known as AT&T. But for those who haven't been initiated yet (but will at some point due to AT&T's inevitable pull), I shall elaborate.

You might remember that I got an iPhone in January. I set up my service on January 22. Setting up service then was already a hassle because it was 2 days before the end of my billing cycle. Naturally, AT&T had no interest in pro-rating the cost of the plan for the 2 DAYS I had left, so I got a full phone bill shortly thereafter for around $150 including one-time changeover fees etc. (Side note: I have discovered also in this whole ordeal that AT&T does pro-rate your services if you change them in the middle of the month. This is inexplicable given what I just said above. AT&T DOESNT PRO-RATE THE PRICE WHEN YOU CHANGE YOUR PLAN, BUT IT DOES PRO-RATE YOUR SERVICES RECEIVED THAT MONTH. What a racket! Immoral? I think so! Especially when you have to change the plan because THEY SCREWED UP! Read more below to get the full picture of what happened).

So, I digress. So I set up phone services over the phone on January 22. I remember this call very vividly because it stuck in my mind as one of the most enjoyable, least painful customer service calls I've ever made. We all dread those calls, navigating the endless automated number system, being transferred a minimum of 3 times per call, and repeating every last detail of your entire account to each new person you talk to. My favorite annoying example of this was dealing with Cingular (now AT&T) when I was still on my parents' plan. They never asked me the same personal detail about my parents to verify my identity. One time it would be my mom's last 4 digits of her SSN, one time it would be the billing zip code on the account, another time it was the billing address. Every time I would memorize one of these, they inevitably would ask for another one I had since forgotten (Murphy must have been spinning in his grave).

I have digressed yet again. So I had this wonderful call on January 22 to set up my iPhone. It took only a few minutes, and I actually enjoyed talking with the representative on the phone. That should have been a big red flag in my little naive mind that this was WAY TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE.

So I was checking my bill online a few days ago, and my bill was about 40 dollars more than normal. So I looked through my bill, figured I had used too many media messages (that cost an arm and a leg) and paid the bill anyways. But as I continued to look through the bill, I discovered that my rate plan was horribly and hopelessly messed up.

The iPhone data plan comes with 200 text messages free per month. Knowing this would be too few for me, I did my research. I found that I could pay 10 dollars extra a month and get 1500 text messages (which is like unlimited to me since I don't send that many). But the rep on the phone convinced me I could continue getting 1000 per month for less than 10 dollars, so I stupidly listened to her after doing my research (Side note again: When I properly do my research, I always find something better than I get conned into at the store. Words of Advice: Do research and stick to your guns with these sales people). So everything seemed fine until this month, when I sent an amazing (for me) 1,049 text messages. Thanks to all my friends out there for inflating my numbers. lol.

Instead of giving me 1000 text messages for around 8 dollars, the rep had added 100 International text messages to my account for 10 bucks. That was either the greatest sleight of hand ever or an honest mistake reading 100 as 1000. Talk about the most useless plan ever. I almost never travel internationally, so I would essentially be voluntarily handing over 10 bucks a month to AT&T out of charity. What a racket, I say.

So, since I wasn't getting the text messages promised, I was only covered for 200 of the 1,049 text messages. So I was paying a 0.05/message rate on the other 849 text messages. Do the math and you get 42.46, which is why my bill was so high. I don't often get really mad, but this just flat-out pissed me off because I was misled so badly. I am thankful to the Lord that I didn't get time to talk to a representative till this morning when I wasn't so hopping mad.

Here is the small ray of sunshine in this dark cloud; the small amount of love in a whole heap of hate. I called AT&T this morning, the rep apologized for the other rep, changed my account to the correct plan, and credited my account for almost all of the scam charges. Its amazing how easy it can be when you know exactly what you're doing! This rep restored a little bit of my faith in AT&T, and AT&T owes him big-time for dramatically improving my customer relationship with AT&T.

One of the big topics I've covered at work the last few days is Customer Relationship Management, and its importance to successful business. Its very true that maintaining relationships with existing customers is far cheaper than creating relationships with new customers. Yet so many big companies fail badly in this regard. AT&T is no exception.

First Day at WORK... and the next 2 days as well

My first few days at work have been phenomenal. They really have.

First, I must stop and say a couple of things. I'm working for Accenture as an Analyst in the Systems Integration & Technology (SI&T) Growth Platform in the Technology Architecture (Tech Arch) division. Beyond that, I really can't say that much about work due to confidentiality and privacy policies. So don't expect to hear anything related to specific work projects on here.

What has made my time at Accenture so far so great is the group of folks I am starting with: Jessie, Jim, Sonja, Alex, and Nick. We have all developed an incredible rapport after only 3 days... should make the next 12 days of work entertaining!

Sure, it hasn't all been sunshine and roses. I don't think anyone gets excited by days and days of training. But it sure could be a lot worse. I think Accenture is going to provide the type of challenge I need to grow individually. And Accenture seems unbelievably awesome to work for, with the nicest, most committed people I know.

To give you an idea about how close my group has gotten in just 72 hours, consider this: Alex, Jessie, Nick and I spent an hour or so after work today having drinks and tacos, discussing all the weekend plans we need to make. I'm not talking the normal stuff you do on weekends. I'm talking skiing, biking, exploring, and anything else to experience Denver to the fullest. And we already have no qualms about spending that much time together.

Our SI&T group has a meeting/excursion to Keystone in a couple weeks. Skiing! Can't wait.

The Moving Process

Moving to Denver was such an ordeal, at least in some ways. I enjoyed it, but man was it long and hard. Picking up furniture, loading all my stuff in a U-Haul, and the worst part, cleaning my Dallas apartment. What an annoyance. But thats just part of the deal. Once the furniture was loaded, things got so much easier.

The drive to Denver was as easy as a 900 mile drive over 2 days through barren country. I've never seen country as barren as Western Kansas. It's worse than driving between Wichita Falls and Amarillo. Thats how barren it is. But road tripping with my dad was a welcome event since I haven't spent all that much consistent time with him since I left home for SMU. We stopped for a night in Salina, KS and drove into Denver the next day (March 5).

Movers moved all my stuff into my apartment (and set up the couch) in about 90 minutes, a far cry from the afternoon my dad and I spent loading stuff into the truck. Talk about a great investment. Not sure I'll ever move myself again. I spent Thursday afternoon alone in the apartment assembling the coffee table and setting up stuff. Much of what I brought I had never seen because my mom bought me a bunch of stuff right before I left.

God threw us a little curveball last weekend. Dad was supposed to fly out Friday morning, and Mom was scheduled to fly in Friday morning. But of course Dallas-Ft Worth got a freakish snow storm like we hadn't gotten in years, in March of all months. Southlake got 3 inches of actual snow, and Denton got a half foot or more of snow. This all happened Thursday, but it cancelled Dad and Mom's flights going opposite ways. So Dad stayed an extra day and Mom got to Denver a day late. Dad and I went to see Semi Pro. That is possibly the worst movie ever made in cinematic quality. But it did have some really funny lines ("I wish you were still a washer!" was the best). I wish it hadn't been totally obscene during some scenes though.

Dad left EARLY Saturday morning (we got up to go to the airport at 5 am). Mom wasn't scheduled in until 12:40 pm, so I went back to the hotel, got ready, and then spent hours setting up my apartment. Mom's plane was further delayed till 1:30 pm. After lunch, we spent the afternoon getting the apartment further up to speed, particularly the kitchen, where I had no idea what to do.

After a late start Sunday, we went to SuperTarget and got a ton of stuff to completely outfit the apartment. After getting the apartment completely in order (finally), I took Mom to the airport.

A note about this briefly: Saying goodbye to parents is always hard, but it was even harder in this case. I think I could have gotten through it somehow if they both left at the same time, but having them leave at different times made it so hard. It's much harder to have to say goodbye twice in 2 days. As excited as I am to be in Denver, I miss my parents and sister a lot!!!

Sunday night, I chilled, made Tuna Helper (and overstuffed myself), and watched Vertigo. What a bizarre movie. I really liked it, but it sure was bizarre! Jimmy Stewart is awesome, by the way. By the time I finished the movie, prepared for my first day, and read the Word, it was late and I only got about 6 hours of sleep.

These are some pictures of my apartment I took to show everyone a small snapshot of what it looks like. The rooms are pretty self-explanatory. I like to joke that my apartment looks "metrosexual," but that's a little extreme. Everything looks fantastic... its just nothing like any of my apartments before, and my friends will be able to tell. But I am moving up in the world, and perhaps my apartment should have a little sophistication!!

The Last Few Days in Dallas

My last few days in Dallas were incredible and wildly busy, hence why I haven't posted since February 25. As a result, everything I say about the last 10 days will be somewhat abbreviated since I have forgotten many of the details of the blur known as February 26-March 4.

The last few days I spent in Dallas were incredible. It was like birthday, Christmas, and New Year's all rolled into one. Or something like that. Anyways, I got to see a whole bunch of people I will miss. Everyone from my "Married Group" friends to Alicia to Chris to the Bible Study guys to Adrian to Lulu and John. Amazing.

I spent Friday evening with Adrian. He suggested we check out an Early Christian Art exhibit at the Kimbell Art Museum, and I'm glad he did! I got an awesome chance to explain to Adrian a lot of what I've learned from scripture. And the art was pretty cool too. We then went to Joe T. Garcia's. That place never gets old, and I am already missing it! Yum, yum, Mexican food. Last, I got to check out his new huge LCD TV and Blu-ray player. Problem is, now I'm tempted to get one myself soon!

The best night of the last couple weeks was, by far, Saturday night, March 1. I had a great time hanging out with Andy and Isaac and completing our first board meeting ever for the Mustang Post Foundation nonprofit. I thought that I would spend the rest of the night with Isaac having some quality "guy time." Instead, I was totally bamboozled by a surprise going-away party at Matt Wideman's parents' house! I should have picked up on the clues. Jess made the dessert for the party while we were at Isaac and Jess'. Then every single person at the party parked directly in front of the house (Rule #1 of Surprise Parties, guys: Park somewhere other than directly in front of the house). I even made a comment as we were walking in that the GMC truck outside sure looked like Russell's (which it was). But, of course, when you're throwing a party for Barney Fife, it doesn't matter. I still didn't have a clue. And that was the best part.

The rest of the night at the party was completely amazing, from burgers to Catchphrase. They even did a Toast (that turned into a Roast) about me. There are so many stories from that night alone I could probably write a book about it. Truly amazing job, all you sneaky party planners and guests who totally fooled me! Three cheers to y'all: Matt and Randi, Isaac and Jessica, Ryan and Holly, Charles and Lauren, Russell, Andy, Tucker and Kelsey. And, of course, Mr. and Mrs. Wideman.

The next night, I had dinner with Alicia at Cantina Laredo. I chose that spot because I hadn't been there in a couple years and wanted to make sure I ate there before I left. Alicia looked absolutely stunning, and she and I had a great time. Now that is one phenomenal girl.

Monday, I had lunch with John (sorta) and Lulu at Patrizio's. John didn't time everything right, so he had to get his food to go and leave for a doctor's appointment. But he and Lulu and I had a good time nonetheless. Many memories over the past 2 years with those two. Many, many, many.

Monday afternoon and evening, my dad and I drove around, picking up furniture for my new place. Lots of frustration with moving and plenty of effort, but it was successful. I had dinner with the entire family at Campisi's that night, which was a perfect ending to my time in Dallas. I had to go back to the apartment after dinner to clean it up, which was not a perfect ending. Cleaning is the worst thing ever when you have to do a bunch of it at once.

More to come soon, including pictures from my first few days in Denver! Right now, I'm off to go pick up my mom from the Denver airport so we can go get some stuff to finish getting my apartment ready.

Nervous, excited, overwhelmed, but still chugging along,

Reed

Indescribable

Indescribable isn't just the name of an amazing Chris Tomlin worship song that's been spinnin' in my CD changer for a little while... it is also the only way to attempt to describe how I'm feeling right now (notice the irony). 

Seriously, though, it just truly hit me that exactly two weeks from this moment I will be going to bed after my very first day of work at Accenture. And, in exactly one week, I will be laying down for my final night of sleep in Dallas as a Dallas resident for who knows how long... That's crazy. I'm really doing this. I am completely stress-free right now because everything I worried about the last couple weeks is out of the way. Furniture has been purchased (more will be purchased soon) for my new apartment, I have all the ID I need to verify my employment eligibility, all my utilities are set up, I'm mentally ready to move, I don't feel any stress about moving from the only metropolitan area I've ever known, and I'm not scared of the unknown before me. Life is good.

We had the most amazing Bible study Sunday night. I wonder where this was over the past 4 years. I've always had solid Bible studies, but these last two have taken the cake! Last Sunday, we discussed not only the amazing qualities of God and Joseph in Genesis 40, but we also tackled the "Healthy, Wealth, and Prosperity Gospel" issue and spent a long time discussing the merits of 5-point Calvinism, TULIP and the healthy tension between predestination and free will. Next week, my last with these awesome guys, we will be discussing Tongues. Boy, do I have some experiences to show with that! Haha I knew God would be using the bizarre week that was YFN in some amazing ways!

Also, I was fascinated to hear that Denver is rated by Forbes as the Most Lustful City in America (judged by per capita condom sales). I definitely don't have that subject figured out (in fact, I struggle with it like most guys), so perhaps maybe God will use this "thorn in my flesh" as He did with Paul to reach other people dealing with lust. 

One Little Anecdote I Forgot

I forgot a rather funny little story from Wednesday morning's fellowship with the Watermark Denver men. 

Before fellowship, we were all getting something to drink from the Watermark coffee shop. While chatting, we were talking about Denver. Michael Fleming started discussing the people going to Denver and started discussing how incredibly blessed we are that God is really surrounding all of us with other folks who want to pursue Christ in Denver as well. He went on to talk about how God has specifically blessed us with an incredible amount of single women joining us in Denver. This was a lot funnier in the moment, but he looked me dead in the eye and made some comment about how I had better get ready for all the single women up in Denver. That was slightly awkward, but it was truly funny because I was the only one he could say that to in our fellowship group. Of the 6 guys there, 4 are married and 1 is engaged and getting married in May. So apparently I get to hold down the fort as the only single guy in the group.

Here's the truly astonishing stat: Michael looked at me and stated in a totally serious manner that we could have as many as 30 single women serving with us up in Denver. 30! That isn't all that many if you're at some big, established church. But that is an incredibly large number for a church that is just starting and has only about 70-80 people total who want to get involved. Truly amazing that our biggest group of people in Denver starting out is clearly single women. Now I won't be the only single guy in our church starting out, but you have to like the odds anyways...

I have a phrase for that and many other things: "Praise the Lord."

WM Denver Men's Fellowship

I cannot begin to describe how amazing this morning was. I'm sure glad it was amazing since I had little interest in getting out of bed at 5:40 am (especially since I got less than 4 hours of sleep) to do anything. What did I do this morning? I joined Michael Fleming and Craig Kubicek (the new leaders of Watermark Denver) and some other guys for some fellowship, time in the Word, and a challenge. It really was amazing. Spending time with those guys will make any man want and desire to be an absolute warrior for the King. I get fired up every time I listen to them talk. I spent about 2 hours with them from 6-8 am.

We left the meeting with a challenge: We are tasked with coming up with the top 5 things we want to accomplish this year. The Lord was just pouring things into my heart this morning after Bible study, so I nearly have a Top 5 already. But the one that grabbed me the most was the idea or dream of being a YoungLife leader in Westminster, CO. YoungLife doesn't have a branch in Westminster yet, so part of me is ready and roaring to get one started. But I think right now that would be putting the cart before the horse. I need to establish a network with YoungLife volunteers first. If anything has come across to me LOUD AND CLEAR from the Lord lately it has been that I need to be faithful in the little things first. Then the big stuff will come.

By the way, the Watermark Denver website is watermarkdenver.org. Check it out.

In the name of patience, I leave you with this: Philippians 4:6-7.

I'm out,

Reed

More Pictures... this time of my possible new furniture!

Now that I have posted pictures of my apartment bare and white (see previous post), let me introduce a little color to this new world of mine. And I do mean COLOR. My mom and I found some pretty nice stuff to brighten up what would otherwise be a dull and colorless apartment. So check these out.

The picture at the right is the only picture I have of something I'm likely to buy, so here it is. I didn't ever think I'd have an L-shaped couch but, let's be real, this one is AMAZING. Its not too old-school, nor is it too modern and funky (I hate the extremely modern and funky stuff, FYI). It's perfect. And my living room happens to have two big walls, so this actually will work! I love that this will sleep two people, not just one, which means I need people to come and VISIT ME so they can enjoy the wonders of sleeping on this couch. Its really, really comfy too. And whenever I move, I can toss the other pieces if I need to and keep just the regular couch part.

I would show the other pictures, but its stuff I really don't plan on getting, so why waste anyone's time?

Till we meet again,

Reed

Pictures! Long Overdue Pictures!

Finally, I have gotten around to posting some pictures of my new apartment. The pictures at the right are taken from the actual apartment I am renting beginning March 1st (I won't move in until March 5th). These pictures were taken on the morning of February 9th, 2008 at the Estates at Tanglewood. 

The first picture, with my Mom unknowingly posing for the camera, is the kitchen. The cool thing is that the kitchen is fairly big (not long and skinny like the kitchens I've been used to) and it has a magnificent bar countertop shown in the pic. The bar counter there looks out over the living room, creating a great sense of openness to the place. The kinda place I would host parties in if I spent more than 4 nights there a week. 

The second picture is of the long, skinny walk-through bathroom in my new place.

The third picture is of my future computer room. This should give you an idea of how much space I'm going to have. Downtown I could get 620 sq ft. In the apartment shown that I have rented, I get 836 sq ft for cheaper. If you don't know how much square footage 836 sq ft is, trust me, it is a ton for a single guy.

The fourth picture is my view of the Rocky Mountains. Yes I get a mountain view from my new residence! It and the fireplace cost extra, but oh well. Its not an opportunity I would ever have again if I move away from Denver! Click on it or any of the other pictures for a better image view. My iPhone doesn't have zoom, so the mountains look a lot smaller than they actually are.

So there it is... my future place. Doesn't look too glamorous right now, but trust me it will. My personal decorator (aka Mom) has selected some awesome furniture to deck out this place with. Of course, she doesn't pick really cheap stuff and this furniture is my first major purchase with my own money in my life. To be fair, the stuff she found was amazing and most of it was a really, really good deal. I will be posting pictures of some of my prospective furniture soon.

Till then,

Reed