Larry –
He is a guy that has been passing out flyers for the pizza place next door. Since Jim is away this week, I am having him help me with the store. He comes across as a very energetic young man who is very honest and who is also very eager to earn money. He was born in Mexico and his mom is Mexican and his dad is Cubin – if I remember right. He is a very nice guy. He is also living at a men’s shelter for $45 per night – as far as I am concerned, it had better be a damn nice shelter for that price. Anyway, the folks next door told me that they had hired another guy from that same shelter who had stolen some money from them. They were insinuating that I should watch him closely. I quickly replied that anyone of us could be a couple of months away from joining him at the shelter and unless he has done something to earn their distrust, they shouldn’t be so hard on him. I received no response from them.
I will be the first to admit that I am sometimes a sucker. I am a very optimistic person. I tend to not dwell on a person’s past as much as their character. As such, I think that I am a very good judge of a person’s character. It makes me sick to think that people see this guy as subhuman. Call it what you want, but I think that they see his skin color before they see his eye color. I think that I will risk a small loss of product or money than to risk him going somewhere else and struggle for food, clothing, water and shelter. What are the chances? What are the odds? I think that they are in
His favor. After all, I am a slave to a God who was homeless as well.
By the way, if you are looking for an employee or know of someone who is looking for one, call me. Unfortunately I’m not sure if I can keep him busy everyday.
Irked : to make weary, irritated, or bored.
That wasn’t the word that I was going for. Meez gots bed grammer.
Once again my
wife has left me speechless. To say the least, I am irked (please replace with pleasently blessed). I hate sounding like a blubbering, love struck fool, for I am no longer in eighth grade, however her beauty amazes me. I am not referring to the physical form for this is blatantly obvious. What I am pointing at is her amazing ability to put into words the love of my king. I have known her since 1988 – the seventh grade and I have been crazy about her to this day. And yet through the years, she still surprises me. I want her to start writing books – which is her life long dream. Please encourage her.
Last night was very good. It was more than I could have expected – as usual. I do believe that there requires much more time with this bunch in order to get my foot in the door – so to speak
In other news....
The city of Phoenix is on the verge of starting a “simple” church. Brian and Kelly Burwick (my brother and sister in-law) are trying like hell to start a house church – very punny ‘eh. They defiantly have the “bug” of the spirit just like the rest of us. However, they have yet to experience a house church. They are strictly going at this via books (thanks to Wayne Jacobson and Wolfgang Simpson). They have an audience of about 20-40 people who are plugged into the old church system and prefer to only commit to Sunday mornings and the like. We came from this bunch when we left Phoenix. I know them well. There are so many that just need to take the red pill and see real freedom. This is going to be a daunting task to say the least. They will need your prayers in a bad way. Hopefully Gene will be able to see them while he is at school in Phoenix. These are exciting times.
“Jesus was a white guy with fair hair and a neatly trimmed beard. A white guy told me so.”
So today I am in a genuinely pissy mood (there is a complete difference between a pissy mood and a genuinely pissy one). Maybe blogin’ will set my mind at ease. Right now an 8 year old girl just figured out that her shoes are even louder than normal when she walks a certain way. So, God bless her, she is going to walk that way until she is out of the store. Do you ever have those days that every thing you do comes out crappy. That’s right I said crappy – pray for me! I can’t seem to do anything useful today. I think days like this are why God created beverages – the good ones – the ones that cost $7.00 at a bar but yet when you sit down in front of a stupid slot machine it is free?!
Poker night is tonight. That will help greatly. Good friends, very, very good beverages, lots of fun. Oh, the things that we will discuss. I think Jesus played poker or some form of it (maybe not the strip version – I hope). There will be at least 3-4 guys there that are not “plugged in” to the system that we call church. Poker night is, in my mind, only for them: to get to know them and their world and to attempt to be a part of their life if only in a small way.
“Hey, who didn’t ante in!!”
I got to thinking about what Joe had put in his blog about dreams. I dig it bro! I am ecstatic that he came across yet another apologetic.
It seems that the simpler things (childlike) in life, that we took for granted so many years ago when we “matured”, always point to our creator. Now that we are plugged into the system, life is a game of accepting one falsehood after another. The first few were really hard to accept, but you got used to it as the time passed.
Perhaps our ultimate reality has so many sheets of falsehoods covering it that the sheets themselves are now perceived to be reality and the ultimate reality is now perceived to be blurry sheets.
Does anybody know how to make a comment part thingey after each post? email me please - andrew@harvestfoodslasvegas.com
I found a cool website called studylight.org. It has some cool reference stuff in it. I got curious and started browsing the forums. Some were in depth and some were discussing weather or not to boycott Bruce Almighty. Things like this get me pissed off. Our culture has created a grotesquely large amount of “fat” Christians who’s only spiritual thought is to find a new and exciting way to separate themselves from the culture (a.k.a. the real world). What’s worse, when this fact is brought to their attention, they calmer to be the first to say that they are being persecuted in the name of Christ. It irks me that there are books out there that teach you how to tell a complete stranger about God while trying to not be confrontational. How to be confrontational without being confrontational – yeah man that’s just what I have been looking for – give me like five of ‘em. Oye-veh.
Please excuse me. I’m venting.
Why do my people make this life that we live so complex that it is no longer attractive? Most people can’t comprehend the fact that Jesus’ main audience was the lower class. His life was documented by mere fishermen. The New Testament was written in every day language. There were no formalities about it. This ain’t rocket science. It is simple. So, why in the hell are there colleges (seminaries) that teach you how to make disciples? And what in Sam Hell is “ordained”? Peter said that we are all a “royal priesthood”. Not a select few of us.
I am gona go to take a nap now. Thanks for putting up with my box of soap.
If I were to do it all over again, I would be a professional deck hand.
I returned from my fishing trip with a new found energy. I don’t know what that means but I felt that I should say it. Being on the ocean for three days takes some getting used to. The boat sways every where. It is almost impossible to walk from one point to the next in a straight line. And you might as well forget about sleeping. Coming off the ocean is a whole new thing as well. Now my body is prepared to catch my self from the next wave except there isn’t one. I also wore a motion sick patch behind my ear and I think I overdosed by accident. I became far sided in one hour and I am still waiting for it to wear off. I still can’t read any thing less than 4 feet away so if this is screwed up, take a wild guess why. My friend told me that the patches are lace with a chemical like LSD. I have two left. I think I’ll sell them on Ebay.
I just read my wife’s blog and I cried. The past three years have been very hard and expensive. The past three years have also been the most spiritual rewarding. I know that jobs come and go as well as the stresses that come with them. However, this store has been the most spiritual rewarding job that I have had and it has been the worst job (financially) that I have had. Since I have been back, almost all of my customers came in and asked me about my trip. They even remembered my name. For me, that’s weird. I feel that God is reminding me about all the people that I know through this store and how much I care for every one of them. I also think that I became a “missionary” throughout all of this. By the way, I don’t like the word “missionary” because it brings a stereotype in my mind (it is a personal thing that I must deal with).
I also wanted to thank you for walking with us through this journey. The love that is shared – it is overwhelming. Never in my life have I found a person, much less a group of people, that share the same passion and wants that we do. Our God is good.
With much love,
andrew
Recently I came across an interesting website www.exmormon.org. I began to read some stories that were there (there is more than 100). I found one that had more references than a research paper for a master’s degree.
I don’t know about you, but I am rather confident in what I believe. My problem is that when some mormons confront me at the door I start shaking and politely turn them down. I’m weird I know but I despise confrontation about religion. I always picture me getting into a pissing match with someone and end up making what I believe in look stupid and only confirming to them that what they believe in is accurate. It is not what I believe that makes me this way but who I am. I feel that if I am going to be an effective farmer (a.k.a. seed thrower), there will be times that I will be confronted about religion. Right, wrong, or indifferent, I want to be able to spread some seed wherever I may roam. If the God I believe in is real, then I know that he loves those that even worship a different god. If this is true, then I can’t turn them away and be comfortable with it.
I am one who likes to see things for himself; therefore I am going to start my own research paper. I think it says in 1corith. 9 that although I am a slave to no one but Christ, I will make myself a slave to everyone so that I might see the world through their eyes (I don’t have my bible with me). Maybe if I can understand where they are coming from, I can have a more accurate target for my seed toss. Perhaps this will make me stronger in Christ.
If anybody is interested in joining me on this adventure, e-mail me Andrew@harvestfoodslasvegas.com
Next Month:
Owning a business is not a walk in the park. This is nothing new to me for I have been involved in small businesses all my life. However, this is the first time that I am the “boss”. This business has put more stress on me than I have ever had before. It also has been evident in my family life and my spiritual life as well. For the most part, I try (and often succeed) at not bringing my job home with me. But the stresses of the store sometimes get the best of me. I come home and I am no good to my wife and my kids. Somehow, my wife puts up with me and loves me in spite of my crappy attitude. She is my rock – a rare diamond in its purest form. My two boys love me just because – I think it’s one of life’s mysteries that I’ll never completely comprehend. I am blessed (translated = happy regardless).
Of all the stresses in my life – be it money, death, horror, whatever – I am in bliss. I am loved, I can see love, and I am held together by love. No matter what life throws my way, I am happy. God has blessed me in so many ways (Americans - I don’t just mean financially). It is funny, only recently was I able to see this.
Back to the business. I have one more month left to make this store happen. After that, I’ll be looking to survive somewhere else. I need your prayers badly. I would also like to see you guys walking through the aisles. Thanks for loving me and letting me see you guys love each other.
Email me, Andrew@harvestfoodslasvegas.com, I would love to hear from you.
Peace to you.
