Spare the Spoil. Rod the Child

I'm at a point in my life where people are asking me the same question, the one question to which I do not know the answer: "what are you doing after you graduate?" Believe me, if I knew, I'd answer. I think I'd tell people out of sheer excitement that I actually know what it is I'm doing. But, alas, God doesn't work on Jason's time, so I'm still waiting for Him to reveal what it is He wants me to do.

About a year ago, I would have told you that I was either going into full-time ministry with the Navigators or teaching. Now, I'm not too sure about either. I've found that that's what happens when you make plans and exclude God in your planning. I've been turned off to both now. I'm just not sure if ministry is where God wants me and I'm absolutely sure that the classroom is not where I want to be.

On Wednesday, I took the bus to the movie theater. I got on across the street from Tempe High School, around 3pm. I hadn't been on a bus with so many high school kids since high school. It was terrible. They were loud, obnoxious, self-centered. One girl saw my little cigars and asked to buy one from me, and I said no. She then asked if they were already rolled, which is a stupid question, because that's how they come when you buy them. She then asked what it was, and that's when I realized that she didn't want tobacco. I was happy to get off that bus.

Fast-forward to yesterday, when I was catching a bus in front of Tempe High, where the basketball team was having a car wash. These fools (which is exactly what they were) would walk into the street with there signs, talking to people in their cars, almost trying to guilt them into getting their cars washed. It's a really fantastic way to get hit by a moving vehicle for a potential $5. One kid goes up to a car and says, "Hey, sexy mama." I was very close to giving that kid a lesson in respect. However, I wanted my lesson to be something to the effect of beating the hell out of him, so I decided to just sit at the bus stop instead.

Being around high school kids makes me wish it was once again socially acceptable to rod--erm, discipline--other people's kids. They have no respect for authority, or for anyone at all. I don't think the whole "Spare the rod, spoil the child" mentality is working. We need to go back to biblical times, and take what Solomon said in Proverbs 13:24 to heart:

Whoever spares the rod hates his son,
but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.

The Lord takes away, but the Lord gives

Last night, I was given a lesson about perspective. I worked at Harkins Theatre. I was scheduled to be an usher (theater cleaner) from 4pm to 12:30am (which almost never means 12:30, especially on a Saturday night). Some time during my time as an usher, I bent down to pick something up, resulting in a nice new rip in my nice used pants. So, I was walking around with my broom and butler (dustpan thing) strategically placed in front of me, and I was told by a team leader that I would be spending the rest of the night at door. As an usher, I would have been moving around, cleaning theaters, and interacting with my co-workers. At door, I stood in one place, took tickets, and interacted with the general public. I don't like working door.

Anywho, my legs were hurting for standing in one place for so long. I didn't even sit down on my break because I biked over to Target to get an energy drink. I was super tired standing there. I was hoping that I would actually get off at 12:30, so I could catch the last bus home instead of biking. But on door, I had to stay until 20 minutes after the last movie started (the last movie started at 12:50). I clocked out at around 1:15, went to get my bike, and noticed that my back tire was flat. I walked to the "convenience" store in Tempe Marketplace, and put my 75 cents in to get air (which is just criminal) to fill up my tire. I tried to fill up the tire, but the nozzle thing to put air in kind of came off, so my tire was un-inflatable. I parked it outside of PetsMart and proceeded to walk home (which, according to Mapquest, was a 3.59 mile walk).

As I was walking, I could have grumbled and complained to God, asking why all this had to happen. But instead, I thanked God that I brought my knee brace, because that walk would have been hell without it. And I thanked God that I brought flip-flops to change into, which I never do. Without those, my feet would have died. And I thanked God that my legs weren't tired anymore from standing still for several hours.

I was reminded of Job. Not that my life is or ever has been as bad as Job's was, because it's no where near. But after Job lost all his family, livestock, house, money, he didn't respond by asking God what the big deal was. He didn't say, "The Lord has taken away." He remembered that what he had came from God and that God had the right to take it all away. And he said, "Blessed be the name of the Lord." If I had been focusing on the fact that I didn't have a bike or vehicle and had to walk so many miles, then I would have been angry, asking God why He couldn't deflate my tire after I got home. But instead of focusing on what God had taken away, I focused on what God had given me. And I wasn't even thinking about how much I didn't enjoy work. It is awesome to recognize just how enjoyable God can be if we recognize that He is our provider, and not some bully taking away our lunch money and giving us wedgies.

Milk? Meat? A diaper?

Warning: This post is kinda gross. You might not want to read this if you gross-out easily.

So, I've known for quite some time that ASU doesn't have the smartest students. My first hint: peer editing in English 102. One of my classmates, bless his heart, introduced his paper arguing for euthanasia with, "There are plenty of retarded of laws." It was then that I realized that my school will accept anyone with an income.

Another tell-tale sign that ASU kids aren't the brightest tools in the crayon box: toilets. I don't often go into the women's restrooms, so I can't say how they do, but I know that ASU men do not know how to properly use a toilet. When I lived on campus, a constant ritual would be to entire a bathroom stall with 2 paper towels, one wet, one dry. I had to do this to ensure that I wasn't sitting on the "present" left by the last person. I wanted to post a fake syllabus for the fake class, Not Pissing on the Toilet Seat 101. Week 1, lift seat. Week 2, aim. Week 3, final.

And it's not just in the dorms. I just moved from the Computing Commons to Hayden Library, because I had to use the restroom and, lo and behold,... well, I'm sure you can guess why.

I don't understand how people who graduated from high school don't know how to use the bathroom properly. If you've been out of diapers for at least 15 years, you'd think you'd learn some things.

I thought about drawing some spiritual analogy to Christians forgetting the basics of Christianity. And, while it seems I just did, I'm not going to go any farther than putting a link to the verse. Although, if the author of Hebrews had used a diaper-toilet illustration instead of a milk-meat illustration, I think it would have worked out fine.

High Steaks Sports

There's a commercial for some auto glass company that goes something like this:
Kids playing baseball
Kid hits baseball
Baseball hits windshield
Kids run
One kids comments, "Looks like mom is gonna get another box of Omaha steaks."
The commercial then shows the family getting a box of said steaks, because you get a free box every time you hire them to replace a windshield. This commercial implies that the kids have done this at least once before, and neither the kids nor the parents said, "Hm, you know how the windshield got broken last time? Maybe the kids should play somewhere else where there aren't any cars." Instead, the thought process is, in the voice of Homer Simpson, "Mm, steaks. *drool*"

I came home from school or work or something the other day, and I see cardboard in my window. As lovely as plain brown cardboard is, I didn't think that my roommates did it for decoration. Turns out the kids who are always playing soccer out in the too-small-and-too-close-to-apartments-to-logically-play-any-sports grassy area kicked their ball into our apartment via our window. Now, of course, when you break someone's window, your automatic response is to run away. The kids here, however, are smart and came back because we had their ball, and they wanted it back. So we know who did it (which wouldn't have been too hard to figure out because it's always the same kids playing anyway).

A couple weeks ago, those same kids with that same soccer ball hit our porch light, destroying our bulb, which we were too lazy or cheap to replace. There seems to be a trend here.

So, I go to a Bible discussion group yesterday, and on my way there, I see them playing again. I come home later and hear that they would have broken our porch light, had they not done it already. That's three times we've been the victim of kids playing soccer. Why are their parents not saying, "Hey, you know how you keep breaking other people's things when you play the same sport in the same place? Maybe you should go to the park right down the street. Or, you know, read a book or something that won't leave those fine gentlemen of The Underground walking on glass"? I think I know why: parents don't give a flying crap about what their kids do, as long as the kids aren't in their hair.

Now I'm not one to generalize. I believe that the only generalization that is true is that all generalizations are untrue. I know that there are good parents out there. And their kids aren't the ones getting attention because they're not the ones breaking windows. Why raise your kids when TV and the great outsides can, right? Why teach them not to destroy things, as long as they're not destroying your things? I just think too many people have too many kids and don't know how to raise them.

Either that, or they really like Omaha steaks.

You couldn't even pay me to see it...

So, I work at a movie theater and get to see movies for free. Since the beginning of July, I have seen The Dark Knight (4 times, and counting); parts of The Mummy 3, Pineapple Express, and Mamma Mia; Hellboy 2; Wanted; Wall-E; Get Smart; Kung Fu Panda; and Tropic Thunder; all for free. Needless to say, I enjoy watching movies for free.

Now, there are some movies I'll see because I don't have to pay for them, some I would gladly pay for if I had to (well, I suppose I'd willingly pay for them, at least), and then those that I won't be seeing even if they paid me to. Though I'd be making money, I wouldn't get my time and brain cells back. There are about 6 of those movies at the top of my head. Wait, no, just thought of a 7th. Here they are, and why I won't see them.

7) The House Bunny
This one's simple. It annoys me that we're so bombarded with sex nowadays that I just refuse to watch a movie revolving around the life and education of a former Playboy bunny.

6) Postal
I've never seen a TV commercial for this. You may not have even heard of it, and if you haven't, count your blessings. It's a comedy revolving around terrorism. I'm into the whole black comedy genre (not to be confused with black people comedy), but I don't see how George W. Bush skipping with Osama Bin Laden is in any way funny or remotely appropriate. I read that the movie opens with one of the hijacked planes from the 9/11 attacks crashing into the south tower of the WTC. The reason: the terrorist, actually wanting to take a trip to the Bahamas, were taken over by the passengers, which then crashed into the tower. I don't feel like I have to explain why that's not funny.

4-5) The Day the Earth Stood Still and Babylon A.D.
Anybody who's ever heard me talk about movies knows that I have a list of actors who shouldn't be in movies. Ever. Topping that list are Keanu Reeves and Vin Diesel. Why they continue to be cast is beyond me, but 2008 brings one movie from each. If I enter a theater where those movies are showing, it'll be to clean up after the people who wasted their money.

3) Religulous
From comedian and documentary-maker, Bill Maher, who brought us such classics as... um... well, he was on Leno the other night. He even voiced his political opinions and said that Hillary supporters are threatening to vote for McCain because they're upset that a woman didn't get the Democratic nomination, and thus are sticking it to the man by crossing party lines. That makes complete sense. It can't possibly be because they just don't like Obama. But, I digress...
In this film, whose title is derived from a combination of the words "religion" and "ridiculous," Maher interviews people of various religions, and questions their beliefs. I might be less opposed to it if he didn't do it in a sarcastic, demeaning, and just downright stupid way. He likens prayer to believing in Santa Claus. Watch a trailer and you will see just how ridiculous this movie is going to be.

2) Hamlet 2
It's not that they dared mess with a Shakespeare play. It's not that Steve Coogan's American accent is as laughable as my British one is. It's not even the fact that it takes place in that dump they call Tucson that bothers me the most about this movie. It's the blatant blasphemy. I just utterly refuse to watch a movie that has a song called, "Rock Me, Sexy Jesus."I watched Selma Blair kiss a big, red demon. I watched Angelina Jolie bend bullets. I even heard Pierce Brosnana sing. But I can't bring myself to watch this blasphemous excuse for a comedy.

1) Disaster Movie
I feel almost responsible for this. I chuckled as I watched Dr. Phil admit that he was worthless and Shaq make fun of his inability to shoot free throws. But I never thought that by watching that illegally downloaded copy of Scary Movie 4 on youtube would ever come to this. Unlike the Scary Movie franchise, Disaster Movie doesn't even care to spoof the genre of movies that it gets its title from. From what I've read, the only disaster movies that it actually spoofs are Twister (and their about a decade or so too late for that one) and Cloverfield, and it's debatable if that was a disaster movie (I'd say it's more of a monster flick). Instead, it spoofs movies that just came out, none of which older than a year old. It's obvious that they didn't even care to watch some of the movies, as we saw the trailer for this disaster as we were watching Hancock. And apparently, the impersonations are so bad that they actually have to introduce each character in order for the audience to know who they are trying to impersonate. Furthermore, this is not even a parody, as their spoofs are just reenactments from other movies done by bad actors, and having a cow or comet fall from the sky onto them (seriously? how is this funny?).

Well, I'm done ranting about the general IQ drop making itself evident in the movie theater. Needless to say, if I go to watch a movie, it'll probably just be the one with the Batman again.

Sex is currency. She sells cars, she sells magazines

I read, on xxxchurch, about a new "reality" show coming out about one of the members of the 2 Live Crew. It's sort of a "Where are they now?" show, making someone who was sort of famous at one point in time sort of famous again. This show follows Luke Campbell as he has left the world of rap (I would advise anyone reading this NEVER to look up 2 Live Crew, who helped bring about the term "booty-shaking" and whose song titles I won't even post). What is Mr. Campbell doing now that his rap career is over? He's working in the pornography industry. And this is going to be a show, not on HBO or Showtime, but on VH-1, a station that used to show music videos.

When did it become OK to have shows that revolve around sex? It was once taboo for Lucy and Ricki to share a bed, and they were married. Nowadays, if you catch an episode of "Friends," it's pretty much a guessing game as to who's sleeping with who. It's getting so that I can hardly watch TV anymore (which isn't such a bad thing, seeing as how the quality of TV has taken a downward spiral, leaving only a handful of shoes I watch, anyway). And then there are movies. I swear, they add sex and nudity into movies just to lure people in. 300 was a great movie, but there were like 3 scenes with nudity, and they had 0 point in advancing the plot. The same with Wanted. And need I remind anyone of the shipwreck that was Titanic? And that got PG-13 rating! We've become so saturated with sex that these scenes are commonplace in TV and movies. Even commercials have started using sex in their TV spots (look up any Jack-in-the-Box or Axe commercial... on second thought, don't).

It's things like this that makes Ephesians 6 so necessary nowadays. There is a war, and we Christians need to be on our guard for this. Ephesians 5:3 says that sexual immorality should not be named among the believers (the NIV says that there shouldn't even be a hint of sexual immorality). That is an extremely high standard that God set for us, and seems impossible in a world where the phrase "sex sells" has proved true time and time again.

Lord Jesus, I pray for myself and my brothers and sisters, that we would seek you for gratification, knowing that anything that the world has to offer will only leave us wanting more. Lord, I pray that you would remind us that you are the only one who fulfills. I pray that we'd want perfection instead of the perversion of what you've created perfect. Lord, I pray for our sanctification, and that would be in the world, but not of it, living in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Amen

Where'd the Time Go

Ah! School starts up again in 3 weeks! I've had 17 first days of school, and the preceding one fails to make the upcoming one easier. The only good thing about it is that it's my last first day of school. It also helps that all of my classes this upcoming semester are on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I'll be working at the front desk and at Harkins Theatre on my days off. I am, however looking forward to all the Nav things going on this next year, which include, but is not limited to:

Camping trip
Freshman Bible study(leading)
Upper-classman bible study (co-leading)
Men's discussion group
Mexico trip
Halloween party!
Christmas party!
AZ Schools' Nav Olympics (co-leading)
Regional conference at Pine Valley
Graduation! (not Navs-related, but it's happening)

As far as what's been happening in the last couple of weeks:

I've lost my wallet
I left my clothes in a laundromat that didn't open again
I've been working a lot at Harkins, which is a bit of a pain in the feet
I moved from the 'Plex to the Underground (f.k.a. The Jungle)
I didn't do summer school due to lack of funds
I've watched A LOT of movies, including The Dark Knight (twice), The Mummy 3, Wanted, Wall-E, Kung Fu Panda, and Hellboy 2. And those are only the ones I've seen since I started working.
I started reading Every Man's Battle and continued (somewhat) The Grapes of Wrath.

So, yeah, that's been me since I got back from California. I'll try to update this more often, and I swear I'll write more about what happened in California eventually.