Things I learned at Home Group

I've decided to add a feature to my blog. I go to my home group almost every Monday and we talk about Jesus...well, we're supposed to, at least. Needless to say, regardless of how off topic we might get, I always come away with something. So I've decided to take the time to share weekly what I learn. However, I won't be going tonight, so I'll just share a couple of lessons from the past.

-Men in their twenties can be entertained, literally, for hours by what happens to small, solid objects when they're thrown into a fan while it's moving at full speed.

-It turns out that Deborah's Song from Judges 5 is supposed to be sung to the tune of Lord I Lift Your Name On High.

Give it a shot. It really kicks in around verse 24:

1 On that day Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang this song:

2 "When the princes in Israel take the lead,
when the people willingly offer themselves—
praise the LORD!

3 "Hear this, you kings! Listen, you rulers!
I will sing to the LORD, I will sing;
I will make music to the LORD, the God of Israel.

4 "O LORD, when you went out from Seir,
when you marched from the land of Edom,
the earth shook, the heavens poured,
the clouds poured down water.

5 The mountains quaked before the LORD, the One of Sinai,
before the LORD, the God of Israel.

6 "In the days of Shamgar son of Anath,
in the days of Jael, the roads were abandoned;
travelers took to winding paths.

7 Village life in Israel ceased,
ceased until I, Deborah, arose,
arose a mother in Israel.

8 When they chose new gods,
war came to the city gates,
and not a shield or spear was seen
among forty thousand in Israel.

9 My heart is with Israel's princes,
with the willing volunteers among the people.
Praise the LORD!

10 "You who ride on white donkeys,
sitting on your saddle blankets,
and you who walk along the road,
consider 11 the voice of the singers at the watering places.
They recite the righteous acts of the LORD,
the righteous acts of his warriors in Israel.
"Then the people of the LORD
went down to the city gates.

12 'Wake up, wake up, Deborah!
Wake up, wake up, break out in song!
Arise, O Barak!
Take captive your captives, O son of Abinoam.'

13 "Then the men who were left
came down to the nobles;
the people of the LORD
came to me with the mighty.

14 Some came from Ephraim, whose roots were in Amalek;
Benjamin was with the people who followed you.
From Makir captains came down,
from Zebulun those who bear a commander's staff.

15 The princes of Issachar were with Deborah;
yes, Issachar was with Barak,
rushing after him into the valley.
In the districts of Reuben
there was much searching of heart.

16 Why did you stay among the campfires
to hear the whistling for the flocks?
In the districts of Reuben
there was much searching of heart.

17 Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan.
And Dan, why did he linger by the ships?
Asher remained on the coast
and stayed in his coves.

18 The people of Zebulun risked their very lives;
so did Naphtali on the heights of the field.

19 "Kings came, they fought;
the kings of Canaan fought
at Taanach by the waters of Megiddo,
but they carried off no silver, no plunder.

20 From the heavens the stars fought,
from their courses they fought against Sisera.

21 The river Kishon swept them away,
the age-old river, the river Kishon.
March on, my soul; be strong!

22 Then thundered the horses' hoofs—
galloping, galloping go his mighty steeds.

23 'Curse Meroz,' said the angel of the LORD.
'Curse its people bitterly,
because they did not come to help the LORD,
to help the LORD against the mighty.'

24 "Most blessed of women be Jael,
the wife of Heber the Kenite,
most blessed of tent-dwelling women.

25 He asked for water, and she gave him milk;
in a bowl fit for nobles she brought him curdled milk.

26 Her hand reached for the tent peg,
her right hand for the workman's hammer.
She struck Sisera, she crushed his head,
she shattered and pierced his temple.

27 At her feet he sank,
he fell; there he lay.
At her feet he sank, he fell;
where he sank, there he fell-dead.

28 "Through the window peered Sisera's mother;
behind the lattice she cried out,
'Why is his chariot so long in coming?
Why is the clatter of his chariots delayed?'

29 The wisest of her ladies answer her;
indeed, she keeps saying to herself,

30 'Are they not finding and dividing the spoils:
a girl or two for each man,
colorful garments as plunder for Sisera,
colorful garments embroidered,
highly embroidered garments for my neck—
all this as plunder?'

31 "So may all your enemies perish, O LORD!
But may they who love you be like the sun
when it rises in its strength."
Then the land had peace forty years.

Movin' stagnantly on up!

I'm sitting down at work right now. I'm not working too hard obviously, so I'm using this time to write a little since I haven't got the chance to in a while. If you're reading this, then you're a pretty dedicated reader. I imagine that you've been checking my blog every day for the past month with high hopes of new content and then going away crying every time. And for that, mom, I'm sorry.

I start a new job on Monday, so that's pretty exciting. I'll also be making enough money to get my own place soon and feel like a real boy. So it's good times all around lately.

While I'm in this transition stage of my life, I figure I should impart some sage wisdom that I've gained in my few months working at a part time job.

Gentle reader who might still be in college, let me give you a little warning that no one thought to give me while I was still in school. When you graduate, almost everyone you meet will judge you by how much money you make.

I can't even count the number of times that people have talked to me at the coffee shop then asked if I was in school and then always gave me that, "aww, you poor thing" look whenever I told them I just graduated. They saw me as a failure at life just because I hadn't found a decent job six months after graduation. Me? I don't care what they think. Or, at least I don't want to care, but it's hard not to at least pay attention to them. It's something that I wish I could have prepared myself for.

I'm not defined by how much money I make or how highly respected my job is. I might not have made much money at the coffee shop, but I had a great time working there and I'm going to miss getting to see all of the people I met there all of the time.

Monetary value doesn't decided your worth as a person, so please remember that. I'm only 22 (nearly 23) years old. I have tons of time to move up in the world. I don't have to be that guy that lands the 6 figure job right out the door. I wouldn't know what to do with that much money anyway. It'd be nice if I were able to make that much money some day, but if I don't, it doesn't make me less of a person.

My main point is, if you're stressing out because you're about to graduate and have no idea what you're going to do with your life. Chill out! God's purpose for your life might not have anything to do with your actual job. That being said, whatever you do, be it tech support, coffee shop, clerk or manager, do it well and always pursue excellence.