2006 – Jayzilla

My Greatest Fear

December 27, 2006 By jason Leave a Comment

Whenever I go away I get scared that my saltwater tank will back up and spill over or somehow stop working and when I come back I will find a dead tank. I never really worry about my freshwater tank. But when I got home today, that’s what broke.

I walked in and noticed the water was silent. I turned on a light and saw my large angel sunk and my big clown loach floating. The water was putrid, and there was rotten flesh floating around. Somehow, one of the angels made it. I set up a tank for him, and hopefully he’ll survive until I can get the old tank back up.

So I guess I’m looking for new fish again. I’ll probably get angels, but they’ll need tank mates. Any suggestions?

-j

My New Favorite Games

December 1, 2006 By jason Leave a Comment

At the retreat where I was last weekend, we spent most of our free time playing games, primarily board and card games. I was in heaven learning all sorts of games. I’m not sure why, but I love those types of games, and I want to stock up on the cool ones for when people come over or we have a game night. I thought I’d share some of them here.

Bohnanza
This game is pretty fun. It seems really simple and stupid when you hear what it’s about, but for some reason it’s a good time. There are various bean (“Bohne” is German for bean) cards of various values, and the idea is to plant bean fields and eventually harvest them for gold. The catches are you can have at most two fields at a time, and you must play the cards in your hand in the order they were drawn. An auction/trade time each turn makes the game pretty interactive. There are also a few expansion packs available to make the game a little more quirky.

Bang!
The Wild West meets an Italian card game. I think the most interesting aspect of this game was that the cards were primarily in Italian with English subtitles. That’s pretty sweet. Very out of American norm. In this game, each player takes on a role. You have at least a sherriff, deputy, renegade, and outlaw. Depending on how many players are in, you’ll have an extra deputy and several outlaws. The only role everyone knows about is the sherriff. You also have a persona, and each persona gives you a different special ability. Play the cards in your hand to shoot your opponents. The sherriff and deputy are on the same team. The outlaws are on the same team. The renegade is on his own team and wants to be the last man standing with the sherriff. If your team kills everyone else, you win. We played this with the High Noon and Dodge City expansions.

Shadows Over Camelot
Now THIS is a board game. I love medieval history, and Arthurian legends are my favorite, so this game is a perfect fit for me. Players assume the roles of several Knights of the Round Table and take turns going on quests. One twist of this game is that you actually play against the game. Each player’s turn involves performing an evil deed (the game’s turn, essentially) and a good deed. Save Camelot before it’s beseiged! The crazy twist is that one of the Knights is a traitor! Figure out who he is before he helps the game destroy Camelot. This was crazy fun.

If these descriptions even remotely interesting, I’d recommend picking them up. If you’re my family…Christmas is around the corner. Well, my family shouldn’t buy Camelot…it’s a bit pricey. I’ll get that one on my own from ebay after I sell my Playstation 3.

-j

What It’s All About

November 28, 2006 By jason Leave a Comment

I spent the weekend in Prescott, Arizona at a youth retreat put on by the national youth organization for my church. Usually we’ll get about 30-50 kids, and that was no different this time. At this particular event, easily three-quarters of the attendees were Christians. We learned how to “Walk Worthy” using the book of Haggai as our reference. We saw how the people of Israel began working on the temple after their return from Babylonian captivity, how they were discouraged and stopped, and how they were encouraged, repented, and began work again. We paralelled it to our own lives, and Luke Pavkov did an excellent job leading us in that study.

Saturday night we had some time of singing, some thoughts and special songs, and then finished up with more worship. That’s typical, and it’s always nice, but this night something was happening that I hadn’t experienced in a while.

We sang “Better Is One Day”, and while I played, I closed my eyes and really sang the song. As I heard the piano, other guitars, and voices blend in amazing harmony and listened to every word we sang, I began to be overcome with awe. One day with God really IS so much better than a thousand days anywhere else. When the song was over, I almost wanted to cry. I looked out and I could see each person that God had been speaking to that night. One boy had a hat pulled over his eyes, a girl was crying into her hands. God had been moving in some powerful ways between the Bible study and songs. That night was the culmination for one young man who needed to make a change in his life. After the program was over everone was dismissed, but no one left. We all sat in silence. God let me know I should talk to that young man, but he left the room suddenly. I didn’t know him, but I followed him out and saw that he was already talking to someone he knew, so I went back in. I decided to write a note to him and basically told him that I didn’t know his spiritual situation, but I felt compelled to let him know that God really desires a relationship with him, to be his friend and also his Savior.

I won’t tell you who he is in case he doesn’t want everyone and their brother (as if they read this blog) to know who he is, but Sunday morning he shared something with us that I can’t say I’ve ever really heard before. Usually if someone wants to share, it’s a testimony of their conversion experience. This kid hasn’t had a conversion experience yet, so I had no idea what he was going to say. He told us that the day before when we shared some things about us, that was the him that he shows people who don’t know him, but during the weekend God convicted him to tell us who he really is. For a while he had been feeling like he was going to be shot, though he didn’t know when or where. This fear crippled him at times. He’s 18, and the head skinhead at his school. He beats people up simply because they’re black or Mexican. His people do what he says. Earlier in the week, a few kids gave one of his siblings a hard time, and when he found out they were black he arranged to have them beat up after school. Two of them expressed remorse for what they did, but he didn’t care. He had some of his underaged friends beat up these guys, and he didn’t care.

This weekend something changed. He told us that he knows that if he died right then, he would go to Hell. He doesn’t want to go to Hell. God spoke to him in such a powerful way that not only did he feel convicted to give his life to the Lord, but he also did one of the hardest things he will have to do in confessing this life of sin to a bunch of strangers and friends. He bore his soul to us, and that was the best thing he could have done at the time. He no longer has to struggle with this alone. He’s tried to stop before but hasn’t been able to. He knows that the only way he can stop is through the power of the Blood of Jesus Christ. And now we all know that he wants to claim that power.

Like I said, that has never happened when I have been around. People may talk to someone they know one on one, but this was amazing. I’m not so sure I would have been able to tell a bunch of “good kids” that I’m a skinhead (I’m not, I’m just saying). Those of you who follow the Lord, please keep him in your prayers. I didn’t know him before this weekend, but I will be excited to hear his testimony of faith once he’s ready for baptism. With the influence he has in his school right now, I think the influence he can have as a follower of Christ will be awesome in the truest sense of the word.

That’s what these weekend retreats are all about.

-j

My New Nephew

November 21, 2006 By jason Leave a Comment

So I got myself a nephew. Actually, Amy got me one. His name is Aaron, and I think his middle name is Thomas after his daddy. He was born last night at 9:48. At this point I don’t know how big he is, but I do know he has a cone head and cries. Just like his daddy. I’m sure I’ll talk about him more as I get to see him again and spend some time with him. I am anxious to have one of those baby naps. If you’ve never had one, listen to me. Find a baby and take a nap with it on your chest. Instant sleeping pill, best nap ever, probably for both of you. Maybe I’ll get one of those on Thursday. I’ll also take more pictures when he comes home. These were snapped maybe 30 minutes after he was born.

-j

The Hidden Bridge

November 20, 2006 By jason Leave a Comment

From my daily deviotional:

In Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade when Harrison Ford goes after the Holy Grail, there is a final test where he has to take a step of faith to get to the Grail. He has to cross a chasm over what appears to be a bottomless pit in order to claim the cup so he can use it to heal his father (Sean Connery) from a fatal wound.The riddle he and his father have figured out has convinced him he must take a step out into the abyss – has to put his full weight into it – and as he does, sure enough, a bridge appears out of nowhere and his step lands on something solid that was not visible until the instant his foot came down on it in mid-air.All issues of faith are like this.It’s not enough to believe, you have to put your whole weight into it.And when you do, you risk falling, but you find something solid.

When I read that, I immediately begin to argue with myself. I know that is the type of faith I need – to walk out into nothingness hoping that somehow, some way I will not fall into it. But I’m so, so afraid that I will fall. Actually, what I’m afraid of, when it comes down to it, is that my faith is in the wrong place. Yes, my faith is in God, but is the decision I’m making the one He wants me to make? Is the abyss I’m about to step into the abyss where God is waiting with the invisible bridge, or did I make a wrong turn at the last tunnel?

I want to have that faith. I know that if I do I will have some utterly unbelievable stories to tell people as witness of God’s awesome power. Not only that, but there will be no doubt whatsoever that I was walking in God’s will once I see that bridge start to form under my feet. I think it’s important to note that it’s not blind faith. We have reason to go where we go, just like Indiana Jones knew he had to step out because of a riddle….he didn’t just come up with it on his own. God leads us places and brings us to points in our lives, so it’s not like we can’t even explain why we’re about to take that step of faith, even if the reason we have seems ridiculous.

Am I the only one who feels like this? I hope not…I don’t like being alone. At the same time, I hope there are others who boldly step out in faith this way. If you have, I’d like to hear about it. I’m not talking about things like I prayed about which car I should buy and God showed me. I’m talking about stuff like I felt called to sell every single thing I had to move to a crazy place and be a missionary, or even giving to the Lord in your need (how can I give financially to God’s work if I can’t pay my bills?). Stuff that was sink or swim, life or death. Those are great things to share, and maybe they can be used to uplift those of us who lack in our faith.

-j

My New Pet

November 8, 2006 By jason Leave a Comment

gecko I’ve been thinking about reptiles lately. I don’t know what started it, but I do remember when it started. I was in Fish Tales and saw some geckos for sale. I didn’t realize they were fairly inexpensive. I thought “Now this is a lizard I could keep.” I decided to table the discussion and pick it back up later. But I almost went home with a gecko.

Today I was talking to a guy at work and his wife. They mentioned they had a bearded dragon. She said the dragon is very social and likes to hang out with you. They also have a gecko. I asked her which one I should get, and without hesitation said to get the dragon. So I started checking out bearded dragon info.

So I might be getting a new pet. I’ll probably wait until I have less pets (Lucy is probably going to live on a farm. No, a real farm, not the farm your parents said your puppy went to while you were at school. Pepper is going to Granny H’s). But I suspect sometime next year I’ll have a lizard. I may start with a gecko anyways because they’re smaller and cheaper, but it would be cool to have a lizard I can hang with.

Stay tuned.

-j

Old Friends

October 30, 2006 By jason Leave a Comment

I’m going to wax philosophical for a second. There is only one thing I hate about life, and that is meeting new people. Before you get all excited and call me antisocial, hear me out.

Everyone likes to take the easy road. Well, maybe not everyone, but for the majority of people, wouldn’t you think folks would prefer to just sort of glide along? Not that we don’t have ambitions, just that the ambitions wouldn’t take a lot to accomplish. I would love to be fluent in Portuguese, but I’d prefer it not take years to happen. Let’s switch gears to more morbid things. If you could live your life without experiencing the deaths of others, wouldn’t you prefer that? Death is a part of life that we all have to deal with, and people deal with it every day, but I’m sure most of us would rather not have to.

That kind of sets the background for a thought I had the other day. it’s a recurring thought that pops up from time to time. I suppose I could change my original statement to be something like “I hate meeting new people, getting close to them, and then leaving them.”

I was driving home from work one day last week and started thinking about some friends I made in college. When I first started, it didn’t take long to find a group I gelled with. There were only about 6 or 7 of us, but I would say we were pretty tight all the way through OCC, and even stayed connected for a little while after that. I am still to this day indebted to one of them for allowing me to live with him in Buffalo while I worked at an internship he got me for three months. When I moved back to Richmond, I managed to get in touch with another one, but we have since lost touch again.

I’m a very social person, and I love having a few close friends. I don’t like leaving those friends. I am finding myself in a similar situation at work. There are a few of us that, were we in college or without families, would probably hang out constantly. A few have already left the company. I really would prefer to spend the rest of my professional life working with these people. But I know that probably won’t happen, and it makes me a little sad to think about.

My friends mean a lot to me. I don’t want to keep having to make new friends and then one day having to leave those friends. Fortunately the internet is an amazing way to keep in touch, but even then you can lose it. In case any of you has happened across this, Mike, Greg, Marie, Jon, Shelly, or Jeremy, I still think about y’all from time to time, and I miss you.

-j

My Halloween Costume

October 16, 2006 By jason Leave a Comment

It’s about that time again. The one day a year when people can dress like morons and not get in trouble or be made fun of. Last year I got some fang tips and latex ears and made a convincing werewolf, minus the bad facial hair. Some of the kids who came to my house asked me if the ears were real. I didn’t know whether I should be offended or feel complimented. As you can’t really tell from the picture, I was also wearing my high school jacket. Without the shaggy beard, it’s hard to tell that I was going for Teen Wolf, a la Michael J. Fox (one of the best bad movies ever). I can also tell you from that experience that denture cream tastes really, really gross.

I considered doing this again this year, but I was going to kick it up a notch. Last year I bought a bald cap and some fake hair that I was going to form into a hairy face that I could glue on. I also got better tips because they don’t need denture cream, and everything was half off after October 31. However, I don’t think I want to do the werewolf thing again. Even though if I had to be a monster, I would like to be a werewolf. I’ve never figured out why, but they’ve always been my favorite.

This year I had a different, possibly better idea. It could either be really great or really bad. While I have a think for werewolves, I have an even greater affinity for Superman. But they don’t really make Supes costumes for large men. So I thought it would be funny to get one anyway. I’d answer the door in a too-small-for-me Superman outfit, shaggy hair, unshaven face, with a cigarette in one hand and a cheap beer in the other. I would be washed up Superman. The image of this is hilarious to me. Obviously I would look like crap. I also realize that I probably won’t do this because it would border on embarassing. The kids would never come to my house again. But like I said before, that’s the one day people can (are almost expected to) dress like morons and get away with it.

-j

My Favorite Fast Food

September 20, 2006 By jason Leave a Comment

I know fast food is bad for you, but sometimes it’s necessary. When I have to grab a bite and run (which means drive), I always look for the cows. You know, the ones that can’t spell chicken.

That’s right, I’m talking about Chick-Fil-A. I don’t know how many of you have this chain, but it’s by far my favorite. The only non-chicken meat you can get there is sausage in the morning. Let’s talk about their morning menu for a second. Now, I’ve never considered chicken a breakfasty food, but if you slap it on one of those delicate, buttery buscuits…heaven. My favorite breakfast from there is a sausage burrito. Try one the next time you drive by in the morning. Make sure you get a packet of the awesome jalapeño salsa. Best salsa around, hands down.

Now the rest of the day, they have chicken. And also chicken. Grilled, fried, fingered, and nuggeted. Mmm…nuggeted. Let me tell you, McDonalds boasts all white meat in their nuggets, but Chick-Fil-A actually has real chicken (and it’s white meat). You can see the meat strands when you bite it, none of this processed, molded chicken food business (reminds me of government cheese). Plus, I don’t find them to be as greasy as other chains’ nuggets.

Then we have the waffle fries. I *love* the waffle fries. I have never gotten them cold, like at other fast food places I’ve been. They’re so yummy. And you know they’re real potatoes because they still have the skin! So good. Just try and figure out how they cut them to have the little holes. It’s a brain twister!

Something new they have these days is a “hand spun” milkshakes (whatever that means), and I hear they’re very good, but I can’t see getting a fast food meal and topping it off with a giant shake while I’m also trying to lose weight. We’ll wait on that one.

To put icing on this already delicious cake, they’re closed on Sundays because the owner of the chain is a Christian and feels the conviction to be closed on Sunday to allow his employees the chance to worship, if they choose. I think that’s pretty cool, and the chain obviously doesn’t suffer from that one day less of revenue.

If you don’t have a Chick-Fil-A, I have probably just bored you. But if you do, I suggest checking them out. They have healthier options as well. I bet their grilled chicken sandwich (which comes on a wheat roll) is probably pretty healthy, and you can always substitute a fruit cup for the fries. Oh, and their tea is real. None of this brisky stuff. Good times. I could go on, but I’m about to get off of the computer.

I have way too much time on my hands.

-j

What Would Jesus Do

September 19, 2006 By jason Leave a Comment

Every once in a while the devotional thought I read in my morning email is particularly excellent, and this is one of those whiles. When it’s all said and done, I want this to be what people say about me, though it’s kind of hard to do sometimes.

What Jesus would do
by John Fischer

“Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel he had around him.” (John 13:3-5 NLT)

He could do anything; so he served. What a radical thing.

This is a highly unusual cause and effect and one that sets Jesus apart from the rest of us. Here you have described what secular sources today would call the ultimate in self-realization. Jesus knew who he was, where he came from, and where he was going. Oh, and on top of that, he had authority over everything. “So …” and what follows is the last thing we would expect. Put this level of confidence and authority in the mind of any average human being and I don’t think the natural consequence would be to see this person purposely taking on a servant’s role.

So what does this say to the rest of us? It says we need to do the radical thing. We need to use our personal gains to serve others.

Self-realization is in high demand today. People spend a good deal of money, time, and effort trying to achieve it. Counseling, exercise, meditation, and yoga are just some of the things that have been employed in the pursuit of this goal, but arriving at it is, at best, elusive. If you found something this hard to get, wouldn’t you want to keep it?

Jesus showed us something different. He used his self-realization for someone other than himself. This was the essence of Christ’s example. Finding yourself gives you the privilege of giving yourself up for something greater.

Later on, Jesus said he did this as an example to his disciples so they would learn to serve each other. If Jesus, being our master, used his self-realization to serve his disciples, then what does that say about us? Are we greater than he? It doesn’t stop with us. This is the way God’s economy works. Whatever we receive becomes a benefit for someone else.

When it comes down to it, in Christ, we have all the things that Jesus had. Our “self-realization” is really liberation from self in becoming like Christ. In Christ we have authority in the Holy Spirit, and we know where we came from and where we are going, so I guess that about settles it. Time to strap on your towel and get busy serving. That’s what Jesus would do.

-j

My Greatest Fear

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My New Favorite Games

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What It’s All About

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My New Nephew

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The Hidden Bridge

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My New Pet

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Old Friends

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My Halloween Costume

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My Favorite Fast Food

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What Would Jesus Do

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