Neighbor Fail

It has come to my attention that I don't really know my neighbors in
my building very well...or I guess I should say "at all."

I only really know my neighbor directly across the hall,

none other than famed Springfield filmmaker

Brandon Goodwin.

Other than him, I know that there is:

1. a guy with an annoying small dog upstairs and down
the hall a ways,

2. the lady right above me who it sounds like rolls
an ancient metal office chair around a lot,

either that, or sleeps in an ancient hide-a-bed

and constantly opens and closes it,

3. the guys at the back of the building in one of the

basement apartments that smoke weed all the time

4. and the middle-aged lady who limps
and always has an ankle brace on

--she's really nice, by the way.

There's also this cute girl who looks to be about my age who lives on
my floor, one unit down and across the hall. I've said hello to her
twice before, and only then because I was walking past her in the hall
or holding the door for her. I think if I run into her a third time in
one of those "hello" situations, I'll have to introduce myself. It's
only common courtesy.

I used to wonder why I never introduce myself to neighbors when I move
into a new place, always thinking there was something wrong with me
for not being the outgoing new neighbor. Today, I discovered a good
reason not to immediately take that first step:

Yes, that's right. A COURT SUMMONS for my next door neighbors. I'm gonna make extra sure I lock my door from here on out. It is only a rent issue, and not a criminal type thing, but still....come on people.

This doesn't exactly give me a bunch of confidence for meeting all my neighbors. I should just suck it up and get over it. Maybe I'll go say hello to that girl down the hall...

when it rains, it pours (freezing rain)...

it's no secret that i have strong negative feelings about the quality of work that the road crews in springfield do. not only do they not salt the roads prior to ugly winter weather....they don't even salt them AFTER ugly winter weather!!

case in point: the bridge on kimbrough connecting trafficway to chestnut expressway was a SOLID SHEET OF ICE when my dodge stratus skidded to a halt nestled in the crook of a previous wreck in a black toyota suv. i feel so bad for the older couple in the suv--i was the second person to hit them within 10 minutes. the driver's side of their vehicle was smashed to bits by a black bmw that had skidded an additional 75 yards or so along the bridge after careening around the bend on the martin luther king, jr bridge. in addition, their rear left tire was flat because of the same incident.

by the time i skidded into them, there was no more damage to be done. they actually told me they wouldn't even claim anything on me because i "didn't do any more damage than had already been done". thank God for kind-hearted people.

the only damage done to my car was the left mirror being popped off. now it's just hanging by the wires that control the mirror. surprisingly it still works :-)

also, the front left hubcap is chipped and the tire is bent in a 2 inch length along the radius. i think my alignment may be off too. dang it.

i guess it could have been much worse. i'm surprised my car didn't get scratched up or anything!

now comes the waiting game til i can get it into the shop to get an estimate on repairs. i don't even care if the mirror looks pretty--as long as it stays on my car. oh well...i guess you just have to take it as it comes.

anyways, i hope everyone has a fantasticly merry christmas, seeing as it is now christmas eve!! happy christmas!!

well well well...

so it seems i haven't blogged for over 6 months...

i want to say i'm sorry. my sister especially has been guilting me about it. and i know that "guilting" isn't a word.

well a lot has happened in the past 6 months. i have grown to become a lot better at the job i mentioned getting in my last post. it has also gotten colder since may. my car has crapped out on me multiple times, i am a single male again, i have started doing improv once more, i have been to 5 more weddings since i last posted, i am still tall, i have gained back about 8-10 pounds of the 45 that i lost since graduating college, i have learned a lot more about my personality and how i relate or don't relate to God, and i have noticed a few pure white hairs on both sides of my head.

all in all, a very interesting couple of months. are there regrets? of course. but man i'll tell you, i wouldn't trade the experiences for anything. that's what makes life interesting. i'm still excited to see what the future holds, because i realize i still have no idea where God might lead me in the future. i only hope i can keep a positive outlook on things, and i also hope i can get even closer to God. He's got the inside scoop on everything, so i figure it's a pretty good idea to stay tight with Him.

i will say that i wish i would spend more time with friends. if anyone reads this and i haven't hung out with you in a long time, hit me up!!

so friends, i'm going to do my absolute best to keep up with this blogging. oh goodness. i'm gonna go eat some cookies.

p.s. - i can't wait for christmas! :-D

i have a job!

a real job! i can't believe it; i just can't believe it. God is awesome! and on top of that, everyone on staff at north point has expressed just how excited they are that i was chosen for hire.

btw, the position i now hold is "media coordinator", meaning i get to edit videos and do all kinds of fun stuff like that! and i get paid for it!! i'm soooo excited!

in addition to all that goodness, i get to stay in springfield, near my beautiful girlfriend, whom i love so very much :-)

thank you, thank you, thank you, God.

wow. i mean, wow.

God is SOOO faithful!! last time i visited my blog, i was without residence. well that changed. big time.

on monday, april 28th, i was driving around searching for a place to live; apartment, room, street corner with a tent on it. all were way too expensive for what i could afford working part time, and all required at least a 48 hour application processing/background check period. none of that really helped me much. it wasn't until i called one of my friends from church to see if they knew of anyone renting out a room that God really led me right where He wanted me.

as it turns out, this guy happened to be leaving in the middle of may and would be gone for three months up to rhode island for navy chaplaincy training. this meant that he needed to find a person to mow his lawn for the summer. also, he had an extra bedroom that was not being used.

long story short, he told me that i could move in immediately, and live there rent-free for the entire summer (til about mid to late august), and all i would have to do is pay utilities and mow his lawn. wow. WOW.

God is so faithful. not only did He provide for me at just the right moment, enabling me to lean on Him and trust in Him completely to provide for me, but He did so in such an amazing way. i am now able to live for under $100 a month. incredible.

add to that the amazing opportunities i've been given in the past week or so at north point, and i can see even more clearly that God has me in His hands in such a powerful and all-encompassing way. i never have to worry about where i will live, or how i will pay my bills, or what i should do with my life. placing all of my efforts into pleasing God and living fully for His will, i can never fail.

thank you so much, Lord.

nowhere to run to, baby; nowhere to hide...

i have 2 days--2 DAYS--to find a place, move in, and clean out my old apartment. i am FREAKING OUT.

***
God, i really need your help right now. i know that you are the same as you were yesterday, which is the same as you were a few weeks ago when you provided enough money for me to pay my bills, and you're the same as you were when you provided me with an income.

please don't let me lose hope now.

i'm trusting you; help me remember that you're faithful in all things.
***

if anyone who reads this knows of a place that i could move into in the next day or two, that'd be wonderful. i would be so grateful.

cheezing it up...

so i'm going to osceola cheese factory tomorrow. i have an interview with a church in lee's summit, mo, and that's where we're meeting...at least initially, since it's the easiest thing to find in osceola. lee's summit is just outside of kansas city, for those who don't know that. they have an open children's pastor position, so i sent them my resume. i don't know how i feel about this place. i've been there before, and it's a good church, but i hesitate to say that i may already feel that this is not the place for me. obviously i'm trusting that God will lead me to the right place, and more importantly that He WON'T lead me to the WRONG place.

i'm pretty bad at all this faith stuff. it's difficult. the one and only thing that's so comforting about this entire situation, though, is that even when we have little or no faith, God is still faithful to us. as long as i'm seeking Him and His will for my life, i can't go wrong. He's taken care of everything--and it hasn't even happened yet.

that is extraordinarily comforting and reassuring.

i only pray that God will make it abundantly clear to me whether this place is for me or not. the thing is, i have no idea how to model a children's ministry. sure, i participate in one aspect of the children's ministry at north point (specifically, portraying a recurring character in the dramatic element of the curriculum), but i don't know the first thing about the other aspects of an effective children's ministry. i know God will give me the ability to do whatever He's called me to do; i'm just not sure that children's ministry is that thing. i know that God has called me to minister to youth....but whether that is specifically teenagers, or whether that could also be children's ministry, i'm not sure. i'm just trying to leave myself open to any possibility.

on the other hand, i know at least the basics of how to structure an effective youth ministry. by no means do i consider myself extremely knowledgeable, and i know that there are things that are most certainly going to take me by surprise, but i could definitely make a go of it.

i also have another prospect...an assembly of god church in avon, indiana. that's just west of indianapolis. google map it if you don't believe me! the way they describe themselves, they sound an awful lot like north point. that's probly the most appealing thing about them. i'd be lying, though, if i said that was the only appealing thing. it just seems like a welcoming church. there are other things that i can't quite put words to yet, but they make me feel good about this place. i kind of hope it works out, even more than the other places i have on the burners at this point, even though it's the furthest away from each of the places in the country where i have family or dear friends or my girlfriend. i just feel like if i was ministering at this place, everything would be right. i don't know why i feel that, especially since it's so far away. i guess the good thing about its location is that it is right near indianapolis (cool city), and it's half way between springfield and pittsburgh, so i could easily make about a 7 hour drive to either of those places, either to visit my sister, or to visit my family.

i need guidance.

God, please guide me. give me strength. i'm so close now (at least it feels that way)....help me endure through the end of this trial. and thank You for providing for me. i love You.