Leave Me Alone

I got pulled over today on the way to church.

Long story short, people were driving very slowly (40-ish) on Murray (speed limit 45), so I passed them (maxed out at 50 - and my speedometer is 2-3 mph fast). If you were a casual observer, it would appear that I was going "fast" relative to the other cars on the road, but that would also be (incorrectly) assuming they themselves were going the speed limit.

So I found myself on the side of the road. The cop's reason for pulling me over was "it looked like I was going fast." That's it. She didn't catch me on radar (in fact, I had just passed a photo radar van no problem), she didn't pace me. Her argument was "you blew by me and I was going 40." Yeah, I can see how that would happen. You were driving slower than the posted limit.

But she still decided to pull me over and make me late for church. Sort of reminds me of those old Celica commercials where the old man is yelling at the parked car to slow down. Or the one with the dog.

I knew from the time she walked up to my window she couldn't give me a ticket because she didn't have anything - and I wasn't doing anything. I've been careful about the latter and have a spotless record so show for it. Of course, she didn't know I knew this, so I played along.

The last time this happened in Corvallis (where cops are mean), I was kind of a jerk to the officer because she was kind of a jerk to me (accused me of trying to elude her even though I pulled off at the next street). This lady was nice enough, so I didn't call her on the absurdity of the stop. I even through in some meek, nervous-sounding apology to make her feel better about the job she was doing. I can only assume the reason she pulled me over was that she needed some sort of validation. She knew she couldn't give me a ticket for anything, so why bother with the stop? It was a pretty good performance, and maybe I should feel bad about that, but if she went on her way feeling good, well, who's to complain? I had a good laugh myself.

I don't disrespect police officers. I have friends who are cops and I know they are vital in our evil society. But I have a real hard time with getting pulled over because "it looked liked you were going fast." That's a waste of my time, the cop's time, and taxpayer resources. Go catch a real criminal - we have enough of them. Or if you want to pull someone over, get the soccer moms in their minivans swerving all over the road on their cell phones. They're the real threat. But please leave me alone.

I'm Back

Hello again. I've given up (or at least postponed) my ambitious plans for copying all my old posts, comments, and layout here before I wrote again. Got about halfway through my posts and ran out of time. Plan still is to do all that, but I don't want to put off writing in the meantime.

So what's going on? A lot. The last two weeks have been 12+ hour days at work, including Saturday. The big project going right now is building an inventory management system for our warehouse. This is a really fascinating project that I could write a lot about, something I plan to do later. The short of it is I've been designing a custom user interface for our volunteers to use while packing boxes. It's powered by touchscreen computers, barcode printers, and other nifty things. And it has to wrap up this week. Why? Hold that thought.

The other project getting underway is a complete overhaul of our website. We want to move it from the crappy/expensive current host to a more flexible in-house setup. But that requires re-creating every single page in the new system. Assuming I can even get the blasted thing running again....

Besides that, there's some cool stuff going on with phone systems, networks, and field offices. But, like I said, more on that later.

The reason I've been spending so much time on all this is because they want to run a pilot of the new inventory system in another week. But I'm leaving Wednesday for my trip to Indonesia. And if you've heard any news recently, SE Asia is a fairly happening place. So that should be exciting.

That's probably all I'm going to get off before I leave. I'm going to try writing every day of the trip, though I may not be able to post for a couple days at a time. But, again, more on all that later.

But, now, I'm going home. It's before midnight, and that feels good.

Technical Difficulties

Hey Everyone-

So....I have problems. Due to a server issue beyond my control, my blog is temporarily unavailable. I will be starting fresh here on Blogger, and, when I get around to it, importing all the old posts and comments. And updating the layout/design. But that will take quite a while. Be sure to update your bookmarks/RSS readers!

Matt

*UPDATE: You'll notice a bunch of old posts are showing up now. I'm slowly making my way through the manual import process. Posts first, then comments and pictures. I'm resisting the urge to post anything new before this is done.

Crowds

"After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands; and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, "Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb." And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, "Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever Amen." Revelation 7:9-12

A couple weeks ago, Dr. Gary Ott, who is without a doubt the smartest, most accomplished person I know, was giving a report at church of his recent trip to east Russia. He had gone to visit Rod and Margi Powell and brought back a report of the work there. That region is particularly interesting because of the sheer number of people groups residing in a small area - most of them unreached. If you ever have an opportunity to hear Rod speak, you'll hear him talk about the prophecy in Revelation 7:9 that someone from every single people group on Earth will bow before Jesus. You will also hear of the large number of people groups which have never heard the Gospel. It is at this intersection where they serve so faithfully in an increasingly unstable part of the world.

I always love hearing Rod (and in this case Dr. Ott) talk about this because it's such an amazingly powerful promise. And it's always coupled with a story of someone he recently saw experience God and His Word for the first time - and being the first person ever of that ethnicity to do so. Such an awesome privilege! And while I don't want to diminish the importance of the prophecy that people from every people group will be present in Heaven, something else amazed me this time.

Read the first half of verse 9 again. "After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues" It isn't just that we see representatives from every single people group before the throne, we see a "great multitude which no one could count." Stop. Think about that.

What's the largest crowd you can imagine? Personally, the largest crowd I've been in front of is about 25,000 at Creation. At one of the Luis Palau festivals, I've been in a crowd with 80,000 other people. My favorite concert DVD, U2 Go Home: Live from Slane Castle features a crowd of 160,000 people. According to Guinness, the largest turnout I could find was the 10 million people who show up to watch the Tour de France over its three week run. That's a lot of people.

I did a quick Bible search looking for the largest crowd recorded. In the Old Testament, 1 Chronicles 21:5 gives us the 1.1 million men of Israel who were battle ready. In the New Testament, Revelation 9:16 speaks of the armies of the horsemen as being 200 million strong. Revelation 5:11 speaks of a throng of angles numbering "thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand." If you're keeping score, that's several hundred million. What do all those crowds have in common? They were all numbered. But back in Revelation 7:9, we're given a glimpse at a crowd so much larger than any of these that it can't even be counted. We're told in verse 14 that these are the souls who have come out of the Great Tribulation - not even all of those who are present in Heaven.

So what does this mean? Be encouraged. I know the feeling of spending time sharing with people, only to see very little response. It's frustrating and demotivating. Some people go an entire lifetime without ever seeing a single person come to Christ as a direct result of their ministry. That does not mean that God is not working. Quite the contrary. We have a very clear promise that God in His grace is saving people from every nation, tribe, people, and tongue. And if that wasn't enough, the crowd of our brothers and sisters in Heaven will be so great that they cannot even be numbered.

Intense

Puns are almost never funny, but sometimes they take on a life of their own. My friend Justin has developed a habit of responding to anyone claiming something to be "intense" with "just like camping." What started as a stupid pun about tents, became a normal part of vocabulary. The analogy grew to include other things in tents, such as the circus. It got to the point where instead of saying something was intense, I would describe it as being like camping. This, of course, was funny. My roommate Joe would regularly engage in these jokes. But I had no idea how funny the joke really was until today.

We were all at a Memorial Day BBQ enjoying a beautiful yard, wonderful food, and a fierce game of bocce ball. One particularly close toss elicited a "this round is intense" comment from the people watching. This, of course, required the now obligatory "like camping" response. Someone also threw out a follow-up "or the circus." Cory, roommate of Justin, added a new one of "those windshield repair places in the parking lot." This thoroughly confused Joe as to why something so stupid would be considered "intense." He disagreed with this statement, arguing that while he could see camping as an intense activity, and the circus was obviously intense, a windshield repair station clearly had nothing in common with those. At this point he asked, for future reference, how one could determine if something met the requirements of being intense enough to be mentioned. After a long pause and a stare I realized this wasn't a joke. He actually completely missed the running pun for the last three months and assumed it was just an inside joke. My rather cautious reply was "ummmm, it takes place in a tent." About a second later when this realization dawned on poor Joe, the look on his face was priceless. Unfortunately for him, the look on everyone else’s' face was pure hysteria. Thanks for the hardest laugh I've had in a while!

1 Thessalonians 5:25

"Brethren, pray for us." And by "us" I mean "me." Without getting into too much detail, I'm going through some personal hardship and have to make some very difficult decisions. Please pray for wisdom, strength and resolve to do what must be done. Thank you.

Couches

We now have couches! Actually, a couch and a loveseat. Our first pieces of furniture. And, of course, obtaining them was quite an adventure. They came from Dustin's old roommate who was moving and needing to get rid of them. We've been trying to pick them up for some time, but haven't been able to secure a truck at any of the right times. We needed to get them on Saturday, though, because they were needed as bedding (more on that later). Desperate, we called everyone we know with a truck, and finally found someone who was available to loan theirs out. William.

To say William's truck is old and beat up would be an understatement. It's an old Toyota from the 70s or 80s, we really don't know. Yellow with a rusted out bed. No power steering and a carburetor that just didn't want the poor thing to start. Brakes that howled at the very thought of you stopping. Hopefully you get the idea. Joe took the brave job of driving, and we eventually made it to the place. The couches were loaded in with minimal destruction to the house, and we threw a tarp over them because it was raining. But we didn't have any rope. The thought was to tuck the tarp under the couches and their weight would told the tarp on. This was a flawed assumption. A couple miles down the road, the tarp is flapping in the wind. We pull off and re-tuck it. Another mile and it's off again. This time as we're fixing it, someone pulls up behind us and asks if we have a tan couch under there. Yes, we do. "Oh, well your cushions are back on Walker." Joe runs off to retrieve our cushions about a 1/4 mile away in the middle of the road. Without fail, the entire way home, that blasted tarp came off every couple miles. We stopped almost 10 times driving across town to fix that thing. No matter what different technique we tried, it didn't make a difference. So if you're moving anything with a tarp, remember ropes!

A Few of My Favorite Things

The other day as I was walking through Lloyd Center on the east side, heading to the food court to try and justify my use of their parking lot, I saw one of my favorite ads in the window. A couple months ago, Lenscrafters, the glasses place, started airing these ads which promised a "30 day unconditional happiness guarantee." Nowhere in the ad were glasses mentioned. No conditions were stipulated. If you weren't paying attention, you wouldn't even know what the ad was for. All you would know is that if you go to Lenscrafters, you'll be guaranteed happiness for 30 days. Unconditionally. Amazing. They've since changed the ad to include references to glasses, but as I walked past their store, they had a giant banner in the window proclaiming the availability of 30 days of unconditional happiness. I really need to stop in there one of these times. Finally arriving at the food court, I overheard a larger gentleman at the bakery order a salad. "Good for you," I thought to myself. Salad is a good move. Then, much to my amazement, he proceeded to order six cookies. I wish I could describe the manner in which he ordered those cookies in a written medium. The closest I can get is to say that he was in a wild frenzy. I'm not so sure the salad is going to balance those out for you, buddy. Only in America.....

The One That Doesn't Make Sense

Hey everyone. Sorry for not updating in a while. I know you all are constantly checking for new posts, waiting with eager anticipation for the next window into my life. So here you go. Anyone watch Friends? I don't really, but I seem to have seen all the ones that people talk about. One of my old roommates had them on DVD, so every once in a while I'd see a couple they were watching. But anyway, there's this one where Phoebe's smoke detector won't stop going off. This is that story.

I came home late Thursday night and found Joe still awake. We started talking, and I was rather annoyed by a single beep emanating from somewhere every minute or so. He said it had been going off all night, and I was determined to make it stop. I started with the smoke detector in the hallway outside the kitchen. We're constantly having to press the quiet button on this one because the slightest little thing sets it off. Literally, you pre-heat the oven, and opening the door - with nothing in there - will set the thing off. It's nuts.

So I'm on a stool fiddling with that one, and I hear the beep, but not in my ear as it should be. It sounds like it's coming from down the hall. So I head to Jonny and Dustin's room where Dustin is sleeping, and am pressing the button as I hear the beep from somewhere else. At this point we don't know where it's coming from, so we spread out manning each smoke detector in the house. Turns out it was the one in Joe's room all along. Thing is, there's no reason for it to be beeping. It's hardwired in to the electrical system, so it doesn't have a battery to die. I remove it from the ceiling and find out that it does, in fact, have a battery for backup purposes. I remove it, assuming it's low and it's just letting us know. As it's sitting on my desk not plugged in and without a battery, it beeps again. This doesn't make sense. There is no power going into this smoke detector. There is nothing enabling it to beep. But it won't stop. Even when it's completely taken apart on my desk, it's still beeping. Just like that episode of Friends.

Cliffhangers 2

Not again! I started watching 24 about halfway through this season purely for the social interaction. Everyone I know gathers at someone's house each Monday evening to watch this show. So I started going. I'm not terribly thrilled with 24. It's full of technical impossibilities and a general ignorance with the way things really work. But then again, so is most all of TV. And 24 really hooks you in. Each episode ends in a total cliffhanger. If you're not familiar with 24, it's a "real time" show. Each one hour episode represents one hour in a day. Each season represents one 24 hour day. Each season stands alone - there's no connection between them (or so I've been told). And they're very careful to end each episode at the worst possible place to force you to watch next week's. But tonight was the 2 hour season finale, so all our unanswered questions were, well, answered. And there was a pretty good resolution. But then, with 2 minutes left in the show, they start a new plot line! All the nerve! You can't have major events go down with 2 minutes left in the season, then expect us to be happy until January when you pick it up again. Uncool!

Blogging the Bible

My homepage is MSN. I like the splattering of information on every topic imaginable. I'm usually only there for as long as it takes me to type in the address of the place I'm going, but every once in a while, something catches my eye. Today, under the ever-popular "Who was Mary Magdalene Really" banner, I saw a link named "Blogging the Bible." Basically, this Jewish writer for Slate realized he didn't know what was really in the Bible, and that he should read it. Obviously, he's approaching it with some degree of skepticism. But I still find it fascinating to read someone's thoughts as they encounter God's Word. I think it will be really interesting to see what happens when he gets into the New Testament. Anyway, if you're interested, his blog is here.

Relativity (or The Curse of Being Goal-Oriented)

Be ye forewarned, this is a long, late-night post. Coherency of thought not guaranteed.

I was thinking about relativity today. And don't worry, no physics discussion this time. More of how we perceive the passage of time. I was driving back from the beach yesterday with a car full of sleeping passengers, meaning I spent a lot of time looking out the window. And it reminded me of when I was a kid on road trips. I remember long drives to Colorado, particularly during the boring Wyoming stretch, looking at the Rocky Mountains in the distance stirred the boredom - it looked like we were barely moving. But looking at the tall strands of whatever was growing in those fields right next to the road made it look like we were really moving. Same thing yesterday. Looking into the distance at the mountains, we were crawling along. Looking at the trees lining the highway, we were cruising along at 75 mph. This is obviously not a new observation.

At the same time I was pondering where I was going in life. My plans, my dreams, and what was keeping me from getting there. Because I'm incredibly deep and thoughtful (or more likely some neuron misfired), these lines of thought intersected resulting in this analogy. I noticed a similarity between the way the scenery moves by and the way my life is passing. It's all in where you're looking. At the end of the day, I'm usually left feeling like when I'm looking at that first row of trees by the road: we're really moving. Weeks and months can feel like that sometimes too.

But I tend to be a big picture person, so I spend a lot of my time looking back at those mountain ranges. And sometimes I get frustrated because it doesn't seem like things are moving anywhere. I look down at my speedometer and am clearly going fast, but when I look at what things I'd like to have done/passed, I get a different story. I know the solution is to not spend so much time gazing out the windows and judging life that way. Instead I should be focusing on the stretch of road right in front of me and let the speedometer be the only true indication of the rate at which things are moving. (you know, a little Proverbs 4:25) I know I need to develop more patience and diligence in my life. Contentment with what I'm doing now and not obsession over where I would like to be.

Sooner or later you hit one of those mountains off in the distance. You're there, and you start your climb up. If you've ever climbed a mountain (or even a big hill), you've had this happen: it always looks more direct than it ends up being. It looks so simple - just straight up. But in reality there's dozens of ups and downs, twists and turns. What looked like a single mountain ended up being a bunch of foothills and a big mountain. But you finally get to the top of the pass and see that little green "summit" sign on the side of the road right before you start the downhill. That mountain is over. From this vantage point, you can clearly see the next mountain. It's as deceitful as the last one, riddled with switchbacks and illusions of an easy climb. But every once in a while you are greeted with an even worse sight. Sometimes you do see the road leading up the next mountain, or at least part of it. You see all the foothills you have to pass, you see the treacherous turns with no guard rails, and you see that as you move deeper into the mountain range, each subsequent mountain is quite a bit larger than the last.

This describes where I am now. That last mountain of getting a degree was a pain. It should have been a lot more straightforward than it was. It should have been done a year ago. But now it is. And from the top of this mountain, I clearly see the next, probably named something like Staff Mountain. I think a lot of people break down or are eaten by bears on their way up its slopes. At this point I only see the foothill named New Staff Training, but I'm sure there are plenty more. And the road named Support Raising looks to be the meanest stretch of road I've ever seen. I long to reach the top of that mountain, but I find myself wondering if I can make it. Actually, I know I can't. And honestly, that scares me a little. I know people travel this road all the time. I know when I reach that next mountain I'll look back on this one and laugh. But that's big picture me talking again. The same me who about this time decides to stop looking at the difficult road ahead and instead look off to the side again. Now it doesn't look like I'm going anywhere.....

I need to be looking somewhere else.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:1-3

Help, Please

Ok, so here's the deal. New Staff Training is going to end up costing almost $4,000. The vast majority of that will be charged to my account and paid for later once I start raising support (in August). The only part I have to come up with in advance is $500 for my plane ticket. The last time I tried this Internet donation thing (Katrina) it was hugely successful, so I thought I would give it another shot. If you're able, I would really appreciate your help. I'm not using the Crusade online donation thing, or running this money through them, so it's not tax deductible. The reason is that in the Crusade system, I buy the ticket up front and get reimbursed later. But I don't have the $500 in advance, so that's not going to work. Thanks in advance for your prayers and support!

Anyone, Anyone?

Bueller? Ok, so I need a picture of me. I don't have any. I'm always the one behind the camera. But I'm doing a lot of stuff now that's asking for a picture of me. So if anyone has any good ones they'd like to share, pass them along. Or if you know someone who might want to take one. Otherwise, my roommates and I will probably come up with something a little more....humorous....than these forms are intending.

Public Transportation 2

Just a quickie because someone scheduled a meeting very early tomorrow morning. So I rode the MAX again today because it's just so convenient! And so much more air conditioned than my car is currently! I had a seat this time, so I was able to avoid any unwanted bodily contact. What intrigued me on this particular occasion was a guy standing in the "joint" section of the train. He was standing there, rocking out to his boombox. Yeah. In the age of iPods, even a Discman, this guy was all about the old school. Cause what's the point of listening to music if everyone around you can't enjoy it too?