Dude, Where’s My Car?

This weekend I went up to the University of Tennessee to visit some of my friends from high school that attend there now. It was a great weekend and it was wonderful catching up with everybody, things were perfect—until I tried to leave. I packed my things, and my friends walked me to the parking lot where I had parked my car, only to find—oh wait, IT’S NOT THERE!

Yes, my car was towed. In hindsight there were signs that said “Staff Parking Only” but apparently I didn’t see that when I parked there. I was not a happy camper. My friend drove me to the University Police where I was made to pay an astronomical fee and then told after waiting for what seemed like forever, I could get my car back. The police officer I was speaking with asked me, “Do you want to follow the police officer in your vehicle or ride with the officer to the impound lot?” This person had apparently forgotten that I didn’t have a vehicle—it had been towed! So by default, I said I would ride with the police officer–bad decision.

What...

Wishing and Waiting

Have you ever had the wonderful fortune of taking a trip to your local Department of Motor Vehicles? Well let me tell you, it’s a party! Make sure you bring something to entertain you and clear your schedule for the day because you’ll be there for awhile —regardless of what it is you’re there for. In my case, I was there last week just to renew my license. When I arrived there the lady gave me a number and told me to wait for my number to be called. So I waited … forever. Initially the lady was calling off numbers pretty fast, but then she disappeared—for an hour and a half! And you know if they had a television in the room or perhaps some reading material, I’d be good to go — but all that was available were free copies of the Tennessee Drivers Handbook. No thanks.

I was left hanging there, with no indication of when my number would be called. I just wanted to run up to the counter and say, “Hello! Do you see that I’m waiting here!” But something gave me the impression that none of them would have been...

Lessons Learned From Larry King

Okay, I admit it — I’m a news freak. I live for “The O’Reilly Factor,” always try to wake up in time for “The Today Show” and have literally found myself shouting at the television screen during a heated episode of FOX News’ debate show “Hannity and Colmes.” You seriously would have thought I was watching the Super Bowl or something. But I’ve always really loved “Larry King Live.” In a recent episode of this show, however, my interest quickly changed to disturbance and frustration.

The guest was a controversial comedian, who weighed in on everything from the upcoming Presidential election to other world events making headlines, to religion in America. What makes this comedian so credentialed to come on the Larry King show and talk about this, and, furthermore, why does anyone care? I don’t know — but then again I was watching too, so I digress.

What I found concerning, though, was this individual’s strong atheistic, perhaps even anti-Christian, worldview. For instance, he said in a video clip shown...

When the World Lets You Down

I love Facebook because I’ve found it to be a great tool for keeping in touch with individuals that I’ve lost contact with over the years. The other day I tried to do just that, and looked up an old friend of mine from work. It had been a long time since we’d seen each other, but I remembered him to be a real stand-up, positive, Christian guy. But I quickly found that his profile pointed to a person that was a far cry from the friend I once knew. As I scrolled down and continued to look through his page, my heart hurt at the realization that my friend seemed to have lost his way.

The situation I described isn’t uncommon, but it strikes you in a different way when the person in question is someone you held in high regard and looked to as an example, as was the case here. I felt disillusioned, saddened, and let down.

Similarly, I once attended a church that was turned upside down when a staff member resigned amid rumors of an affair. This was somebody that people trusted and looked up to, and they felt...

Winds of Change

This has been a whirlwind summer for me. I graduated in May and on August 21st I move to Cookeville, Tennessee to go to college at Tennessee Tech University. It’s just over an hour’s drive from where I live now, but still, I just feel like everything is happening so fast and I’m realizing that things are about to change—big time! I’m excited about all that is about to happen—I already spoke with many of the professors, and I have several friends going there with me, and I scoped out the restaurant scene there and found that there is a Fazoli’s and a CiCi’s pizza just a couple blocks away from the campus so I’m good to go (perhaps I should also find out where the closest gym is now). But I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little nervous also.

Change has always been hard for me to accept, because I don’t like feeling as though I’m not in control. But God always carries me through those situations and uses them to remind me that I’m not in control–He is! That’s the way it should be because His plan and...