Consistency

I am not a very consistent blogger as you can probably tell.

Homelessness and the Holidays

What is Christmas about?
First of all, it is a time to remember Jesus' birth and give thanks to God for such a wonderful gift.

Second of all, it is a time of giving. Santa Claus is based on a real person. A real generous Christian man from Turkey.
Whether it is by dropping some change or bills in a red bucket of the Salvation Army or helping out at a local food pantry, this season is a great time to remember those who have less than us and to give back from what God has blessed us with. This reminder can really hit home when paired with the book I just finished reading.

Waterbrook Multnomah gave me this free book to review, called Under The Overpass. It is actually on old book but this is an updated version with a couple additional features.

Mike Yankoski, the author, was a middle class Christian college student. He felt nudged, called, or whatever term you like to use, by God to gain a better understanding of homelessness and to minister to homeless people. He did this by spending 5 months homeless. He found a friend and some supporters who sent them for 5 months with nothing but a backpack with some books and the clothes on their back and a sleeping bag a guitar to 6 different cities in the U.S. to live with the homeless, as the homeless live.

This book tells some of their stories and gives great insight into the culture of homelessness. Not only that, it challenges the reader to act. Not only is there homelessness all around us, along with other needs, but there are similar and some different or more intensified needs all over the world.

It challenges me not just to let myself be comfortable in accepting God's blessings and praising him for them but to also use them to bless others, even when it's difficult or uncomfortable.

I would definitely recommend this book to others. As far as the updated edition, I think it is mainly a marketing ploy to get people to read basically the same book. However, on one hand I am glad they are trying to get more people to buy this book. It is definitely a good book for many people to read. On the other hand, in my opinion, the additions to the edition did not really add to the book, although it was nice to hear a little more about the author's life after the journey of homelessness.
I think the previous ending makes a good point and an effective challenge that might in some ways be lessened by the additional material.

Read the book. You can get it from Waterbrook Multnomah directly online or various other stores.

Laptop

Kelsey helped me get my laptop to boot up. It hadn't been responding at all to the power button.

Now I have to figure out what I want to get off of my laptop before it totally dies, and where to put the things I get off of it.

My wonderful wife, Kassie, took care of the main part of the youth group tonight. All I had to do was the music. It was nice to have a break.

Dream Car!

Many people, especially guys, I would say, have a dream car. For some it is a Mustang, Corvette, Lamborghini, Cadillac or something else expensive. I must admit, the first car I remember really liking was a Camaro. After that, though, my tastes changed a little bit.

I went from Camaro to Neon to Metro. After that, I just stuck with metro but wasn't too interested in cars for a while. I ended up with a Lumina as my first car, given to me by my parents as a wedding gift. I am pretty sure a lumina is nobody's dream car. It wasn't mine. But I enjoyed it while it lasted.

After that started giving us problems we were in the market for a family friendly vehicle and ended up with another vehicle from my parents, their Dodge Grand Caravan Sport. They gave us a great deal and we really appreciate.

Around the time we got the van, we were thinking it would be very convenient and maybe even "necessary" to have a second car, and because of the deal we got on the van, we could afford to spend a little on another cheap car. I started looking around. Then somebody brought up the reality of paying insurance on two cars, which kind of mitigated my idea of getting another car.

Then, I realized that to have a second car would not only be convenient, but if I could find one with good gas mileage, it could save enough money in gas to pay for the extra insurance. Now back to my dream car.

As I said, I liked the metro. Well, I continued in the vein of economy cars but started liking more boxy cars, like the VW Golf which is generally out of our price range. I then saw a Ford Festiva. I liked it. Well, I thought I liked it. Then I learned more about that specific one that was for sale, and liked it less the more I new about it...this is wrong and these window decals and this might have to be fixed...you know the deal. So I kept looking. After looking at a Ford Aspire, a couple Metros, and trying to chase down a Yugo, I found another Festiva.

To make a long story short, I got a 1991 Ford Festiva, royalish blue with pink stripes along the sides. It has a few aesthetic problems, but seems to be mechanically sound. And it's a stick. I have never regularly driven a vehicle with a manual transmission. I have, however, learned to drive a stick a couple times, never getting completely comfortable.

I spent a little bit of time yesterday re-learning the stick, and it went pretty well...I would say smooth, but that was not necessarily the case, as I imagine is true for most people learning stick.

In summary, I got my dream car, and I am excited. Hopefully I'll get the Title transferred and get a plate for it tomorrow.

Also, I am looking forward to Kassie's dad helping me clean it up a bit.