Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Still Alive... And Well?

I haven't been around to a good brain dump session in almost 2 weeks! So this one will probably cause a good deal of scatter shooting.

Every time I peel a layer off myself some other flaw rears its ugly head that I must come to terms with ... anyone else feel that way? It disrupts my walk, my marriage, my friendships and my work. And it is frustrating.

I rarely have the patience to recognize that everyone must go through a refining process from time to time when they are discovering how jacked up they are ... and the love of Jesus is enough. Look around - all this and Jesus too?

An old friend hunted me down and we connected on the phone last night. Alex Glass. The better half of our acoustic group in college that went by the name of Glass Weazel. Guess who the Weazel was?

Alex was the only person during my time at Ohio Northern University that shared Christ with me. I remember getting upset with him refusing to sing one of my songs that reflected my jaded views on religion. I though he was NUTS!

Not to mention my sacrifice in accompanying him for his song about prayer! The nerve! To be honest, I would do anything to record and Alex is one of the few that had the patience to deal with me.

It was seriously Flanders and Homer living directly across from each other in the freshman dorm. But we could both play and he was a great singer. And even though I probably made his life miserable, he was always there to jam, talk, hike, or whatever. A good friend is what he was. And he planted a seed. I'm still baffled at how he endured my tirade for 4 years as we played to hundreds (thousands?) of people on the Tundra.

Last night as we both found out we're each alive and well, he also got to witness the full rebirth of someone he never gave up on even as far from the cross as I was.

He found me on a blog somewhere in cyberspace. Now we can share our walks, our awesome wives, beautiful children, and exciting travels that separated the past 11 years. (Chalk that up as one good reason for the Internet and one other reason why I journal digitally.)

And those layers? Well ... let's just say I'm ready to press on. It may be the end of the world as we know it, but I feel loved. And that's enough for me.

Ok ... enough sappy, anecdotal crap. Wake up readers and learn something ... Gmail Theater: Why Use Gmail? Thanks to Good 'ol Billy Boy for sending this one ...



If you want a Gmail account, shoot me a note and I'll forward an invite to your old, decrepit email.

And here are some Transom Links:
Ok ... here are some Interactive Transom Links:
  • I can't tell which side of the argument this shirt represents ... can you? CLICK HERE.
  • Definitely check out the entire Woot! Shirt Reckoning List.
  • And I will ship you a free FaceWash from ProSoap.com (Right, Billy?) if you can interpret this binary ... 01001101 01100001 01100100 01100101 00100000 01110101 00100000 01101100 01101111 01101111 01101011
Daily Manna from the 'Net for Tuesday, November 25, 2008 Daily Manna XML Feed

Then I said: 'O LORD, God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and obey his commands, let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father's house, have committed against you. We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses. 'Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, 'If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.' Nehemiah 1:5-9 NIV | Listen

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think it says..."Jerry is awesome, Jerry is the best, Jerry is a rock star....even in jest. And when he gets a Fosters, he puts the others to rest. So find a pondering question, and put Jerry to the test."

You have been served.

Jerry Welch said...

Mr. Self, what you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone on this blog is now dumber for having read it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.

The competition is still alive!