Garbage Smells

In my house we keep the garbage in the garage. Usually it never smells all that bad, but after a while (especially on a hot summer day) it starts to really stink. Every time I go into the garage I smell the awful smell of old food containers, and overripe fruit. We’ll acknowledge the smell and say that the trash should be taken to the dump, but it usually take a while for someone to get the energy to. Our lives can be like that. As life goes on we often accumulate “garbage” such as anger, pride, greed, the list goes on and on. This garbage is sometimes detectible to us, the guy with anger issues will say to himself, “I got a problem, but it’s not that bad, I can fix it later.” As time goes by that garbage starts to reek, the angry man hurts those around him, the greedy man steels, the pride man makes everyone feel inferior. Fortunately we have Jesus for that. In this story Jesus is the garbage man at the dump; He’ll take our garbage, and give us a clean slate. That’s what the cross is all about when Jesus was on that cross He took our sins upon himself so we don’t have to live with them. We may have garbage on our life (everyone does) but we also have Jesus to haul it off and out of our life.

They Blew It!

They blew it! Lester pitched 7 shut-out innings, and Okajima gave up a two run homer to Giambi. Then Masterson loads the bases and Papelbon gives up a single to win the game. They really needed the win, and almost had it. Lester had a rocky start to the game and got back in his old groove and pitched great. The main problem this year has been the Sox bullpen. The new pitchers never really came through, and the old pitchers lost it a little. I guess this isn’t our year.

Can They Do It?

Can they do it? Even though I think the Angels will make it to the World Series, I’m still hoping that the Sox can. Lately since Manny left they have done much better and started to look like a winning team. The question is, is that enough? I have no doubt that they will get into the playoffs, they will at least make it as the wildcard. Lester starts today at 1:05, as he tries to finish the sweep against the Yankees who haven’t really played the same this year. If the Sox can seep the Yankees that will be a big boost into September, and also give them more confidence when they start the series against the White Sox. Hopefully by next week the whole Red Sox lineup will be back and healthy. Lowell is feeling well enough to play, and Drew could comeback Tuesday but won’t. While Drew is out Mark Kotsay will be filling in for Drew in right field. Kotsay has good numbers, this year he batted .289, and has 37 RBI’s making him a solid fill in. As the season winds down every game matters, and it won’t be as easy as it was last year, but it will be interesting to watch.

Some People Have Too Much Free Time.

Some people have too much free time. I’ve seen many people who are obsessed with a certain book of the Bible: Revelation. Revelation is basically a weird book. It is a prophecy given to John about the end of the world. Why people are obsessed with this book, I don’t really have a clear answer, but I do know this, don’t follow their example! I’ve seen many people- T.V. preachers, articles on the web, and my own peers. I’ve heard over and over how “the end of the world is coming”, “Jesus is coming really soon”…. the list goes on and on. What I always say is what Jesus said to us, “therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.” Matthew 6: 34. We are to use the time we have wisely. Jesus didn’t tell us to think about the future, he wants us to live in the present. Too many people fall into the trap of living in their future, and not focusing on the present, or learning from the past. The future is God’s responsibility, not ours. I believe the book of Revelation is a true prophecy given to John, and I do believe it will come true, I am neutral as to whether it comes true in our time. It could or it couldn’t it’s not for me, or anyone else on earth to say. Revelation is an interesting book there is no doubt about that, but we must do our best to read it as it is, a prophecy, and leave it where it should be- in God’s hands. Will it come true? Yes. When? (the answer I wish I heard more often) I don’t know.

Fear but don't be Afraid

Fear, but don’t be afraid, sounds crazy right? In the Bible we are told to “fear the Lord”, yet angels often say “don’t be afraid”. Fear of the Lord is a complicated kind of fear. It does not mean that God wants us to run from Him screaming our heads off - that would be pointless. On the other hand fear of the Lord isn’t just respect, it’s more than that. I was thinking to myself “what then is fear of the Lord, if it isn’t actual fear and it’s not just a sense of respect, then what is it?” Well I think I figured it out. Imagine you’re at the zoo near the lion exhibit, and it’s your job to feed the lion. You walk up shaking a bit, afraid that if you make one wrong move then you’re a goner, but at the same time you admire the lion for what it is. That is fear of the Lord. We must walk up to God, love Him, (we are called to have a personal relationship with Him), but we must remember who He is. When I was in Mississippi I got a great picture of God. We were doing our devotions on the beach and there was this amazing sunset to the west all the colors, pink, orange, purple, blue it was amazing; but to the east there was this huge thunderstorm several miles away we saw huge bolts of lightning flashing between the clouds (it was actually pretty cool to watch). God is like that, the same God that made the sunset made the storm. We are to love Him have a personal relationship, Jesus even called him “abba” which is the equivalent of “daddy”, but we are to revere Him before all other things and show ultimate respect before Him. As C.S. Lewis wrote of Jesus, “safe, of course He isn’t safe, but He is good.”

Rest for the weary

Ever felt like you just want to take a break? Ever wanted a vacation? (especially with the school work around midterms I could use one). Ever wondered where God was in your life? I’ve been there, and it’s a tough place to be. There are times when we are at a road block, where we wonder what we are supposed to do, and are frightened by the future. I’m going through lots of stuff now, and am faced with the question “what do I want to do with my life?” “Where will I go to school?” “What will I study?” The questions go on and on depending on the person, and those are just a few on my list. A while ago I used to just want to take a break from it all, chillax, but with life that isn’t possible. Luckily God is there for us. He calls us “come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon me you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble I heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11 28-29. Isn’t that great, when you are tired, worn out, or just feeling blue, Jesus will give you rest. You’re never alone, when you’re happy or sad, healthy or sick, God is there ready to give you rest.

Have you been to Athens?

Have you been to Athens? I was reading Acts 17, and how Paul went to preach in Athens. Some background info, the Athens were Greeks. Anyway Paul went into Athens to preach the gospel, and got a fairly positive result. But most of positive result was because the Athenians were into the “new thing”. It says it right in the scripture that the Athenians spent their time talking about the latest ideas. Religion to them is more of a fashion statement than a lifestyle. Paul walks through the city amazed that they have so many idols. I’ve seen many people of various faiths like this. They call themselves one thing and act in a different way. God wants Christianity to not be a dry religion, or the latest fashion, but to be a lifestyle that is to be experienced. Before I got serious about my faith, to be a Christian was to be stuck in a never ending ritual, church on Sunday, pray in the morning and at night. Then I realized, that was not Christianity, that was religion. When I became a Christian I realized that there are the same “rituals”, I’ve got the same schedule, but there is new life in it. When I used to look at the Bible it was a big book, now it’s a living history and God’s love letter. Paul was shocked, not at the fact that the Athenians were pagans, but at the fact that to them, religion was external and would fade when something new rolls by. They treated religion like the cell phone that got replaced by the IPhone. Christianity is not meant to be endured, but experienced.

What are you angry at?

What are you angry at? Many people have been led to believe that anger itself is a sin, which is not true. Anger is an emotion and is not a sin, but when taken too far it can become a sin. Just like other emotions, people can sin by taking jokes too far, or fall into sadness and look to the wrong things to feel better. Anyway, anger is not sinful, if you are angry you don’t have to slap yourself and beg for forgiveness, but it’s how you deal with your anger that matters. We are told by James that “man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.” Does that mean getting angry makes you awful? NO! It means that when you get angry and deal with it in an inappropriate way it does not bring about a life God wants for you. People do stupid things when they are angry. Anger when let out of control can turn into violence which hurts others, not always physical, but verbal, mental…. and God doesn’t want that to happen. God doesn’t want other people to get hurt, and us to drop away from Him. The next time you get angry, think “am I glorifying God with my actions, and if I’m not I should calm down and start to”.

That was fun

Well I had a good day. I got two hours of baseball practice in, about an hour and a half of hitting, and a half hour of catching. Aside from doing pretty well, I had the most fun when I caught for a young pitcher who was at the same field. My dad was pitching to me, and I saw the kid and his dad pitching so I said, “why not go over there?” I was slightly nervous (imagine it- a 15 year old nervous of catching for a 9 year old!), but he was the first real pitcher I caught for so I was happy to flash the sign strike inside and get into my stance. The kid was pretty good which I told him, he had good movement, and his location was pretty consistent, he threw wild pitches, but not too often. He also threw pretty fast around 50mph, maybe a little under or a little over, which I told him. The real joy of today other than having a good practice or having fun was that I gave him the joy of hearing he was good by a high school catcher. It’s along the same level of a college player telling me I’m pretty good. So I got to make one little kid happy, and I’ll say this to any Needham baseball players watch out!

Ain't No Mountain High Enough

You know the song, and you can finish singing it if you want, but besides from being in "Remember The Titans" it also applies to this message. I was reading Acts 12, about Peter's escape from prison. As in the other posts about Acts, I've said that the Jewish council did not like the early church and the Christians. So King Herod decides to capture Christians in order to please the Jews. He had killed James and John (they were some of my favorite disciples) and he had captured Peter. He had Peter put in jail to await his trial, and the church was praying for his safety. It was the night before his trial, a night Peter feared could be his last, and an Angel came and told him to get up and led him out of the jail, and he was freed and safe. God will never leave you in danger alone, Peter was going to be put on trial and be killed, but God didn't leave him. Even in the darkest moments God is still working; even in the most trying times God is there by our side; the saddest moment in history, Jesus’ death, ended in triumphant victory as He rose from the dead. God takes no vacations, you may think it's over, or the end of the world but for God it's just the beginning. You're never too far from God to receive his help, cause there ain't no mountain high enough, there ain't no valley low enough.... for God to come to help you out.

Lets Go Sox!

Lets go Sox! I'm hoping that the Red Sox will win tonight, since Bucholz blew the game (that's probably the shortest outing ever!), we really need to win tonight. Byrd lost his last game against the jays, but that was just because the jays had great pitching that night. I hope Byrd can get a win. He is an interesting pitcher, his fast ball is around 86-88mph, and his change up is around 81mph, but he's got some movement, and not many runs were scored against him, so maybe he can get a win. Well hopefully we can beat the jays and stay on top for the Wild Card, cause the Twins are right at us tied for the Wild Card. Good news is the Yankees are back to being really bad being 5 games behind the Sox, and 10.5 games being the Devil Rays.

Why Does it Have to Hurt?

Why does it have to hurt? Why is there pain and suffering in the world? Unfortunately the answer to this question is not completely clear, and no one has ever found a "correct" answer, only God knows. But here's a guess. We can conclude from God's character that He did not create suffering in the world, but suffering invaded it. In the beginning God created a perfect world, but after the fall the world became a “good world gone bad.” But why then, doesn't God just "zap" it out of here? Well to take a line from Batman "why do we fall down Bruce? So we can pick ourselves up again". God is like a father to us, and in that way He lets pain in our lives, maybe so that we may be stronger, maybe so that His plan can be carried out. I learned on my mission trip that Hurricane Katrina was not created, but allowed by God; if there wasn't a hurricane I wouldn't be on the same mission trip, with the same people, and wouldn’t have walked away with the valuable lessons I learned. Also there would be no Lagniappe church, and there would be fewer people who turned to God in response to the storm. Even though terrible things happen, it doesn't mean that God doesn't love us or want to help us. Romans 8:28 tells us that "we know in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose." God works for our own good, we do not suffer because of random events, there is always a reason. Am I saying that the person lying on a hospital bed with cancer is being taught a lesson, or being punished? I don't know, and sadly no one knows. But I do know that God lets things happen for a reason.

He loves Us

I'm afraid the recent blog posts have seemed somewhat harsh. So I'm going to talk about God's love and grace. Basically God loves us. The sotry of the prodigal son tells us so. No matter where or how far you've gone God still loves you. Trick question: Who did God love more, Mother Teresa, or Hitler....Answer: NEITHER, HE LOVES THEM BOTH THE SAME! God made us, knows everything about us, and loves us more than we can imagine. He gave up His son just for us, even if there were only one person on earth, Jesus would die just for him. Think about it, how much would you have to love a group opf people to send your only son and watch him be killed, add to that you can stop it any time you want. God loves us, we may not think it, but He does. He loves us no less when we sin, and no more when we are good. If you think youa re to far out of reach, just turn around, and there He'll be, ready to accept you. God loves us, and more than we could ever imagine.

He can use anyone

I am convinced that God can use anyone. I was reading Acts 9, which describes Saul's conversion, and it is proof that it doesn't matter who you are or what you've done God can use anyone. Chapter 9 starts with Paul on his way to Damascus where he is going to imprison the Christians there, and God stops him, and asks him "why do you persecute me?" Then He tells him to "get up and go to the city and he will be told what to do". When Saul gets up he's blind, and out of shock he doesn't eat or drink for three days. Then God calls up Ananias to go heal Saul when he arrives, but Ananias protests to which God says Saul his "chosen instrument". Isn't that encouraging! God can use a man like Saul, a murderer who set out to destroy Christianity and turn him around to build the early church and be one of the first missionaries! Imagine what God can do with you. You just have to trust Him, love Him, and obey His call. I think it's safe to say that a year before Saul's conversion he never saw this coming, and I know instances in my life where I never saw myself doing what I am now. God can use each and every one of us, and it doesn't matter how "far you've gone" you're never too far out of reach of God's love and grace.

Have You Seen Simon?

Have you see Simon lately? As I was reading the book of Acts I came across the story of Simon the sorcerer. The scene is set in Samaria, where Philip had been preaching, healing, and giving out the Holy Spirit to those around him. Then Simon, who was a popular guy in Samaria, walks up and is amazed by what he sees. You see, Simon is a sorcerer, and he thought he was all that until he saw the power of God. One interesting side note is that while Simon has this power it is not from God, it’s from the devil, so that's strike one right there. But Simon sees Peter and John (who were sent there when Samaria accepted the gospel), and he walks up and he asks for the ability to give out the Holy Spirit. Now when I come to this part I'm thinking, "Way to go Simon! Leaving the devil for Jesus", but there is catch to the story. He walks up and tries to hand Peter money, and Peter basically says "Who the heck are you? I don't want your money and you can die with it. You're not good; you are wicked and captive to sin!" The thing is, Simon did not want this power to help others, he just wanted it for himself to make a profit. How many people call themselves Christians, but don't want to help others and instead only seek to help themselves? Have you seen a Simon lately? A "look out for number one" kind of mentality? God doesn't want us to be greedy, He gave us this gift of life so that we may share it with others. Jesus said "no one puts a lamp under a bowl, but puts it on a stand for all to see". We are supposed to go out into the world, and share the good news but if we think we can keep our faith quiet, we may look into the mirror and see some of Simon in ourselves.

Are You like Stephen or Judas?

Are you like Stephen or Judas? Are you like Stephen who was not afraid to share his faith, and not ashamed of his saviour, or like Judas who was disappointed in Jesus and sold him out. There are two types of Christians, Stephens, and Judas's, who are you. Acts chapter 7 tells the story of Stephen's death. During Jesus's life the pharisees plotted against him, and they do the same against the early church, "so they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin" Acts ch6 v 12. In Chapter 7 Stephen is before the Sanhedrin, and on trial, so he gives a speech. He retells the Jewish history, and then attacks the Sanhedrin saying they killed the prophets, and they killed Jesus, so they started yelling with their hands over their ears, (when I read that I always imagine a bunch of kids with their hands over their ears yelling "lalalalala I can't hear you!). Then the dragged him out to stone him, and all the while Stephen looked up to Heaven and saw Jesus. Stephen was not a worldly man. He was not afraid of his faith even though he knew it could get him killed. He was not afraid of the Sanhedrin, and not afraid to call them out on the wrongs they did. And while he was dying he "looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God" Acts ch7 v55. Judas sold a treasure for a small fortune, and Stephen gave up a life for a new one. Stephen was not afraid, and all his life he was a 'godly man full of the holy spirit", and up to his death all he could think about was his saviour. Who are you? Are you like Stephen who is not afraid to say what he believes, or are you like Judas who hides in the back, and focuses on the world and what little it can offer.

That was a good movie

I saw "The Dark Knight" a few weeks a go, and it was awsome. The specal effects were great, and I think it was even better than "Spiderman". The story was kindof hard to follow, but over all it was great. If you havn't seen it you got to, but see the first movie "Batman Begins" first, or it won't make sense. Now I just have to get my dad to see it.

Why so much?

What astounds me is the various communication methods we have. I mean recently we've got all this computer junk like AIM, Facebook, I remember when it was email and the phone. Back in the day (well way back in the day), there were just people crazy enough to run from place to place to give each other messages, then we got the idea of mail, then email (what does the "e" stand for?), and phones, then cell phones (those come in handy), and now all these computer methods that I'm just finding out about. It's funny how " old fashioned" I am, all my friends are asking me to use Facebook, and I'm still using email! All this stuff, it makes it too complicated, I just need to chill.

We can all act like that

I was thinking about Acts chapter 5 verses 1-11, and how Ananias and Sapphira died, and I thought to myself "isn't that kind of thing 'old testament'". And that may be an "appropriate" first response God did that kind of stuff before Jesus came, but it can't be the only one. Ananias and Sapphira died, but it was because they lied to God, and they lied because they wanted to appear holy. They held back some money from a sale of property and said they gave it all. God is not mad because they kept some money back, all He requires is 10%, but He was mad that they lied to appear more holy. Sometimes I can find myself going around and saying the "right things" to appear "holy" to other people or "important". But that is not what God wants. It was not the greed of Ananias that killed him, it was his lie, it was the fact that he thought he duped God. He thought he could kill three birds with one stone, he gave money to the church, he kept money for himself, and he made himself feel important. We all can get caught in that trap, trying to appear like our lives are completely together and every thing's fine. Trying to show people how close to God you are, when really you're in a spiritual rut. We all are like that sometimes. Our society is so focused on being something you're not, that we don't know who we are. Greed didn't kill Ananias, pride did, and pride is the worst sin of all, it's the worst because when you're proud you won't admit it, and when you won't admit it you'll never see it, but God always does.

How could this happen?

How could the Sox have lost so badly to the Jays? The Jays were a last place team in the AL East, and we lost two in a row. The first game I understand how we lost cause Roy Halladay is a great pitcher, but we had our ace up yesterday, and he gave up 15 runs! With Beckett that just doesn't happen, especially when he is up against a bad team. Also what's with the offense, there will be games where the Sox score tons of runs, and then the next day barely any!

If they could do it, why not us?

If they could do it why not us. So many figures in the Bible have just picked up their stuff to follow God's call, to name a few, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and the disciples. I can't really see where I'm at, and sometimes that can be frightening. Sometimes when you can't see the way, it can be kindof scary- not knowing where you're going, and when God doesn't answer you directly you can get nervous. That's where I am. I'm at a fork in the road, or a crossroads of life, a where do I go now? point in time, which is what I'm asking. The only thing that can really get anyone through is faith and hope. Faith and God, and hope in the place He leads you. WHen you ask "Now what?", ask God, and listen, He won't leave you.

That's weird

Well my friends did it. They got me on michael jackson. I found a CD in my dad's car (why did he have it?), and I downloaded it to Itunes and am listening to it now. As much as I would like to not say it, but it's not that bad, actually some of the songs are pretty catchy, like they would be easy to workout to or run to or something like that.

Where am I going?

Ever had a plan for the day, and seen it fall apart? I guess I thought I had a plan, and that's falling apart. God does a lot in our lives. If we go outside His plan for us, He'll act in some way to bring us back on track. There have been many instances in my life when I tried to vere off, go my own way, and do my own thing. But God, He didn't stand for that. James talks about this in chapter five, he tells us to not plan out our lives, to let God work in them. Ultimately, God has a plan for our lives that will lead back to Him, and His will.

Part Two of the Previous

As the title suggests this is part two in "We All Need Help". This is a second take at the earlier message cause I feel that I now understand it a little better. Basically we all need help. We cannot live out there on our own. The devil wants to get us, and is trying to fool us into believing that we can "rough it". I'll admit it, when I'm tempted to sin I don't always ask God to help me, cause the devil go me fooled. But the truth is we do need help. If you're tempted and you ask for help, God will read it like a SOS call, He'll rush in top help you. 1 Corinthian 10:13 "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." Isn't that great. You may think you are some sort of freak, but you're not, that is a lie from the devil. And NO temptation is to strong for you, and God is faithful. When you're in a fix, call to God and ask for help. It's a guarantee He'll be there to help you out, and show you the way out of trouble.

We all need help

We all need help. Satan's sin was he tought he was God. He wanted to be God, and he passed that sin on to us. We all need help, we all are stuck in sin, and are in a mess. But sometimes I have found that we don't ask for help, we say "I can handle this", or "I don't need God's help". We all want to take the place of God in our lives. We want to run our lives, and live them the way we want to. This is not a rant saying "Oh you guys are horrible", it's a statment that I have found to be true in my life, and in the lives of others. If someone thinks he can go on his own steam, good luck to him, but he won't go very far. We all need help, and sometime it can be hard. We want to be center stage, and take the wheel and drive, but really that's God's job.

We all think we are good

I've been thinking and elaborating on a message I heard a man preach on my mission trip. It came from the story of the rich young ruler. At first I thought i got it, a rich man comes up, and is sad that he can't go to Heaven cause Jesus says so. But it's a little more, the reason why he is wrong is a little more. I missed the fact that he came up to Jesus when He was talking to the children, so already he has it in his head he is better than the children. He then calls Jesus good. He calls Jesus the "good teacher", good back then was a different word, it was a word only associated with God. This rich man walked up to Jesus, and may be calling Him God (which in that matter he is right), but the fact is, he is calling Jesus (who he believes just to be a Rabi) good. He thinks a Rabi is good, and why? Because the Rabi keeps the rules, they make the rules, they keep the rules, so they are good. Like God who makes and keeps the rules a Rabi is good, and guess what, Mr. rich man says to Jesus "I kept those commands since I was little" Which translates to "Hey Jesus, I keep the rules, I'm good too!" He is calling Jesus who is a Rabi good just because he keeps the rules, and he is saying to Jesus that he keeps the rules and is also good. And then Jesus drops the bomb. He puts this so called goodness of this man to the test and asks him to obey one more rule. NO IDOLS. This man puts his money before himself, and does not therefore keep the commands. This man, he's just like all of us. Sometimes we think we are good or better off than some people. But only God is good, and we should put Him first, and drop our idols.

Talk about shocking

Wow, I check out my blog, and see who's commenting on it, and I see three comments instead of the original two, so I check it out it I see who and what a surprise! It's my old youth leader! If he reads this post, I just want to say "I hope you got the email I sent you, and thanks, and keep reading Tay Tays Random Blog, and also I didn't know you had a blog, and I think I'll start reading yours, and also could you spread the word about my blog, I'm trying to get more readers" Thanks again. I didn't expect that and it was nice to be surprised, it's amazing how God can bring us together, even though we are separate. That's the way the church was supposed to be too.

My Favorite Recipies

Besides from loving baseball and Jesus I also love to cook. Here are three of my easiest and best tasting recipes. I'll post many more in future posts.

Garlic Pasta: You'll need pasta, chopped garlic (use fresh not jarred), olive oil, butter, and salt to taste. Boil the pasta, and at the same time melt some butter and oil in a small pan and add the garlic and saute until done. When the pasta is done, drain it and mix it with the sauce.

Red Pepper Pasta: Pasta, jarred roasted red peppers, garlic, parsley, hot pepper, cream, olive oil and salt to taste. Boil some pasta while making the sauce. Put red peppers, oil, garlic, salt, parsley, and a little hot pepper in a food grinder and mix until smooth. Add the sauce to a pan and cook on medium low, stir constantly! When the garlic in the sauce is cooked through, turn the heat down to low and stir in cream until the sauce goes from red to red-pink. When the pasta is done drain it and mix it with the sauce

Chicken cutlets: You'll need chicken breasts, a hot pan of olive oiul, bread crumbs, flour eggs. These are pretty simple, clean the chicken breasts and cut them into thinner strips. Dredge them in flour, then egg, and then in bread crumbs. To cook them put them in the pan of oil, and cook each side until the chicken is done. Note: Do not dump vats of oil in the pan, you are pan frying not deep frying. You need only about half a centimeter of oil in the pan! These cutlets go great with my garlic pasta, you can chop them up and mix the pieces of chicken in with the pasta.

That is why he's good!

Jon Lester may be my favorite pitcher next to Josh Beckett because of his amazing improvement and ability to locate his fast ball. He went from a guy who needed strike one to get a guy out, to a guy who can get us a shut out and easy win. He has come so far and really helps our team out. GO LESTER.

Back to school!

Why are there always those dumb back to school commercials? I mean is it some kind of weird mean joke? Here I am sitting down and chilling in front of the T.V. and I see some ad reminding me of the school year in three weeks, do I really want to think about that? I mean work, and more work, who needs that in the summer?

Why?

How come the Red Sox can score 10 runs in the 1st inning, and manage to lose that lead? How come they can be so good in the begginning, and lose it all? I mean I am a Sox fan and all, but sometimes they jsut stink! What happened to the 07 champs? Why can't they jsut win for once?

I am amazed

What constantly amazes me is how God can work in our lives. He can take a bad situation and turn it to good. I learned that on my trip and from the Bible. The thing about suffering and pain is it isn't that God causes it to happen, it's that He lets it happen. It is through pain that we persevere, that we grow stronger. He let Hurricane Katrina happen so that places like my church and people like me can help others and live out the gospel and help them. Sometimes when your life is crazy you just have to wait it out a while and ask what am I supposed to learn from this, or how will this change me, or how does this bring me closer to God.

He loved and He served

I was reading John chapter 13 today and found something interesting. The first verse is just before Jesus is about to wash his disciples feet, and it says He is showing the extent of His love to them. I found it interesting because of how it applies to today. We as Christians sometimes feel like we must talk about the gospel, we feel that we need to tell people about it. But really if we are to follow Jesus's example we must live it. If you are a christian reading this think about how you became a christian, was it because someone told or showed you. I remember I was drawn to Christianity because the love I was shown, not told about. Think about it this way, if you were hungry would you want your friend to talk about a sandwich or give you a sandwich? If you truly want to spread the word of God to a friend, then live it.

Thriller

Well I'm pretty much doing nothing so I was on the computer and saw on msn video "darth vader doing thriller", and well it was weird. I decided to watch the real "Thriller", and I now have a new definition of weird. I just have one question though, how did michael jackson get his voice to be that high pitched, I mean did he go through some sort of surgery on his voice or did he accidently breath a lot of helium when he was little?

what's up with the sox?

Why are the Red Sox not doing as well this year? I mean we dumped a couple bad players and got some new good ones, shouldn't we be winning? And what's up with Clay Bucholz, he was so good, and the pitching coaches messed him up. His fastball is junk, all he has going for him is his curveball. He was way better before. And Manny! He was such a good hitter, we should have kept him for the rest of the year. Jason Bay is okay but he can't make up for Manny's bat. But that trade is in the past, so oh well. Sometimes I just don't get it. We won a world series, and after that the best we can get is going to be the wild card. What happend?

wow that was good

I usually only like italian food, but today that's changed. So I was working at my church helping out with the VBS, and my dad takes me to this sub shop called Mighty Subs. I'll recommend it, if you live in the Needham area, look it up they have a website, www.mightysubs.com. Here's a tip, if you're out with a friend split a large, but if you're by yourself get a small. It's family owned, the subs are huge and pretty good.

my mission trip

Wow, I just had a life changing experiance and I said nothing about it! Last week I was on a mission trip with my church down in Waveland Mississippi. It was awsome, the people down there had ntohing but they still had hope that God would help them. All these people go on about New Orleans, but New Orleans is okay, it's the small towns in Mississisppi that need help. If you want go to Lagniappechurch.com and look around (that's the church that we stayed at during the trip), you can make a donation or even sign up your group and plan a trip down to help. it was awsome I learned a ton about myself and about God. It was good to help people.

why my name is Tay Tay

I guess I have a weird name, but that is not really my name, it's jsut a nickname. My friends called me Mr. Tay Tay after a teacher mr. Taylor (why I do not know), but it was soon shortend to Tay Tay. Why this exactly matters I don't know, for all I know no one probably cares but anyway incase anyone wonders "why is this guy called Tay Tay?" that is your answer.

New Blog

Well I've got a blog, I'm kindof new at this, and I don't really know who will ever bother to read my blog, but my friends said it would be funny if I got one so here it is. I guess I should write about stuff. Well not much happened today, but I did just get back from a mission trip down to Waveland Mississisppi, so that was cool. Well until something happens I guess I'm off.