Out of the Wilderness

Jesus in the womb, thought #4

Just like the rest of us humans, Jesus spent 9 months or so in his mother’s tummy. Here are a few thoughts He may have had while He was waiting to be born. Disclaimer: This is all made up, it’s not even hearsay.

“So let me get this straight. After I’m born, the future of the calendar will be based on time before me, and time after me? Gee wiz, talk about pressure!”

Music your heart hears

I love music. Growing up, I’d listen to it as I fell asleep. Family road trips included a Sony Walkman, a portable cd player, a minidisc player, or whatever music player I had at the time. I’m obsessed with it because of how it makes me feel, or how the perfect song at the perfect time can change, well, change everything. It’s “Eye of the Tiger” in a Rocky movie. It’s the Chicago Bulls theme song. It’s Queen’s “Save Me” in an episode of New Girl. It’s “Voices That Care” during Desert Storm.

All that to say, I’ve heard a lot of music in my 36 years. Lots of good music. But not often does a song compel me to drop what I’m doing, to change my entire outlook, to cock my head to the side thinking, “Really?” With those kinds of songs, it’s more than my ears hearing it, my heart hears, too.

Today it happened again. I was cleaning the kitchen, or fixing lunch, looking at the ceiling? OK I don’t remember what I was doing but that’s sort of the point. The song swept me out of my little house and for a second there, I was at church. Take a listen but be warned, you may need to be baptized after!

-Out of the Wilderness

Coke vs. Coke Zero

Good morning, folks. Just a quick question for you: if Coke Zero is advertised to taste like the real thing, then why not just make Coke with the Coke Zero recipe? The “zero” is to mean the younger brother of Coke has zero calories, making it the healthier option. But if they taste the same, why not just use the healthier formula for regular Coke? There are only 2 possible answers:

1. They actually don’t taste the same, so 2 different products makes sense.

2. Money. Coca-Cola can bring in more revenue by having 2 different products to offer customers.

I suppose I already know the answer, but if you are compelled to chime in, please do. Otherwise, enjoy this cute Coke commercial and get back to mowing the yard, ya lazy bum!

-Out of the Wilderness

The Reawakening: Part 6

A piece of advice that’s been pounded into my brain is that “it’s much easier to look for a job when you already have a job.” That definitely rings true. The problem for me right now is that I am comfortable in my routine. Yes, that’s a problem. Last night as I was showering after a killer game of basketball, I admitted to myself that I dread beginning a new job search. It takes so much effort and it doesn’t excite me to take it on. Ugh. I’m in a valley and coming in to work each day is dark and cold. Right now, I kind of get what Gill meant.

Fish weren’t made to be in a box. It does things to them.
-Gill from Finding Nemo

Walking the abandoned Ravenwood Golf Course – Nashville, TN

Rain, rain, go away. This week in Nashville has been a tough one where the weather is concerned. Most city league sports were cancelled every day, standing water all over the place, and we haven’t seen the sun in 40 days! OK, it’s not the flood, but it’s been rainy and dreary for days. Today, though, the rain held off long enough for the dogs and me to go on an adventure to a greenway we haven’t been to yet.

Like a bridge over troubled water.

The hour-and-a-half walk started off superbly. It was very scenic, including a bridge, flowers, a little stream, and more.

Not all who wander are lost. That’s mostly true for us. We were wandering, we weren’t exactly lost, but I was starting to think we were Lost

, if you know what I mean. There weren’t smoke monsters, polar bears, or Evangeline Lilly (darn it!), but I stumbled upon an abandoned golf course and country club.

It was quite eerie being out there in the great wide open. Grass unkempt and wild. Animal carcasses along the paths. Nothing neat or tidy like typical country clubs that take pride in their visual appeal. The further we walked, the more alone I felt. It was like a scene out of every horror movie, including a guy I kept seeing, who was clearly an axe murderer. See if you notice him in the pic below.

If he runs, we run.

That is to say, the second this guy starts running towards us, we take off. I kept whispering it to psych myself up. I know I’d be the slowest out of the 3, dang it! Again, I wish I had 4 legs. But no, I’m sure this person was a nice fellow just out for a stroll, but then again, so was Jin. Except yeah, he was a contract killer.

Good… good… good… good di-rect-ions!

All in all, I think we missed a turn somewhere to stumble onto this deserted golf course, which made our adventure pretty exciting. Check out the gallery for more pictures. And Evangeline, if you’re reading this feel free to comment with your digits!