With Each Sunrise, We Start Anew

“We can only appreciate the miracle of a sunrise if we have waited in the darkness”

Good morning. It's another beautiful morning in St. Joseph Missouri. It's going to be 51 degrees today! I woke up this morning at 6:30 AM to pray and do my devotional time with the Lord. I stopped around 7:00 AM to watch the sunrise. A sunrise is such a beautiful thing. It's hard not to think about the glory of God's creation. In ancient times a sunrise was also the beginning of a new day. The Bible says, sorrow lasts but for a day, but JOY comes in the morning. It's good that we get a fresh start everyday, even when we feel we have screwed up. It's like we get to reboot the computer and start over. I'm reminded of God's goodness when I watch a sunrise. Salvation is like a sunrise. The dawning of a new life. A life full of JOY, PEACE, VIRTUE, HOPE and LOVE. It's like a fresh start, a clean slate. You know what I mean. Sometimes I get so caught up in the days activities that I forget how good God has been to me. But in the morning I see the sunrise and I'm once again reminded of God's goodness.


My goal:
To spend more time outdoors in God's creation.

Peace,

Joe

A Week Before Finals

This is the final stretch. Only one more week until the big "F" FINALS!!! It's a scary thing in the life of a student. Expesically when your final is comprehensive. Ouch! How can any one person retain all that information? I just hope that I pass all my classes this semester. It's been one rough semester, let me tell you. I had Genetics, Chemistry, Algebra and English. That's seventeen flippin' hours. Plus I was working thirty-two hours a pay period. Which is every Saturday and Sunday. I know this just sounds like I'm ranting. It pretty much is just me ranting but it feels good to get this off my chest. I feel better now.

What else is new? My friend Patrick is a Marine now! I know it's crazy just to type those words. Skinny Patrick is now a Marine. He got this idea over the summer and never told me about it. Three months later he's gone. I can't explain it. He just decided one day to make a HUGH life change, a few months later BAM he's in boot camp.

Sorry about this RANDOMNESS but I have to go pound my brain in and study for my Genetics test tomorrow.

Peace out!

Joe

Top Ten Chuck Norris Facts

These Chuck Norris Facts are all true. You can't make this stuff up.

Top Ten List: Chuck Norris Facts

#10. Chuck Norris once ate a whole cake before his friends could tell him there was a stripper in it.

#9. Scientists have estimated that the energy given off during the Big Bang is roughly equal to 1CNRhK (Chuck Norris Roundhouse Kick)

#8. Chuck Norris doesn't actually write books, the words assemble themselves out of fear.

#7. If tapped, a Chuck Norris roundhouse kick could power the country of Australia for 44 minutes.

#6. The grass is always greener on the other side, unless Chuck Norris has been there. In that case the grass is most likely soaked in blood and tears.

#5. While urinating, Chuck Norris is easily capable of welding titanium.

#4. Wilt Chamberlain claims to have slept with more than 20,000 women in his lifetime. Chuck Norris calls this "a slow Tuesday."

#3. Chuck Norris can drink an entire gallon of milk in thirty-seven seconds.

#2. Every time someone uses the word "intense", Chuck Norris always replies "you know what else is intense?" followed by a roundhouse kick to the face.

And number one is...

Some people wear Superman pajamas. Superman wears Chuck Norris pajamas.

Top 10 List: Funniest Ways to Say You Have to Poop

Yesturday when I went over to the Mental Health ward at the hospital (I was delivering medications) I over heard a conversation between a doctor and nurse. The doctor just finished evaluating a patient and the patient apparently said,

"Doc, I haven't turned a turd in three days."

The doctor had apparently never heard this saying before and found it hysterical. So in honor of that doctor I dedicate this Top Ten list to him.

Top 10 List: Ways to Say You Have to Poop

#10. Drop doo-doo depth charges.
#9. Going to Donkin Donuts.
#8. Drop one from the poop deck.
#7. Drop a wad to the porcelain god.
#6. Smoke a brown dooby.
#5. Free the chickens from the coop.
#4. Make a constipation proclamation.
#3. Drop the kids off at the pool.
#2. Back the big brown caddy out of the garage.

And last but not least...

#1. Drop the Browns off at the Superbowl.

Thanks Burger King!

I was so bored today that I went to the Burger King website where I got my very own pet moustache. Thanks Burger King! You can get one too. All you need is a picture of yourself. This is how mine turned out! Get one for yourself at by clicking here.

Napoleon in Rags

The meaning of Napoleon in Rags comes from a Bob Dylan song called Like a Rolling Stone. It's a contender for the best song in history. In 2004 Rolling Stone magazine rated it best song of all time declaring, "No other pop song has so thoroughly challenged and transformed the commercial laws and artistic conventions of its time". I really liked the idea of Napoleon in Rags. I think this character Dylan invented is interesting. Napoleon was a great leader and Dylan describes him wearing cheap clothing. Rags describes clothing that is filthy, used and tattered. There is more going on here, though. The words are also about illusion and understanding, deception and truth. The song repeatedly describes ways in which the woman failed to see what was really going on around her.

Even though Napoleon is wearing a disguise he was in truth a great leader. The disguise allowed him to travel without being attacked. This tactic is used by Dylan also. The Napoleon in Rags concept is a great life lesson to be learned. There's always more going on around us than we realize. Life is like an onion. There are more layers for us to peel back and more truth to discover. There are many of us out there who are like the woman in the song. We fail to see what's really going on around us. When we fail to see something it's our own fault. We need to get to know people. Really know them. If I can use another analogy. We need to be able to see the truth just behind the veil. Sometimes it's a good thing to look around the curtain and see the crew pulling the ropes and adjusting the lights. We enjoy going to the show, but we don't really know what's going on behind the curtain.

People aren't always as they appear on the surface.

Exposing One's Self

I went over to mental health today and while I was filling the patients medications I over heard this conversation between a doctor and a nurse.

"If Mr. Thompson keeps exposing himself to the female patients we will have to put him on the A side (Alpha Level 1)." The doctor said.

"That's not all he's doing. He's also jacking off. I don't know how you would write that in your report." Said the nurse.

"I would probably have to use a medical term like "spanking his monkey."" The doctor replied.

All the nurses were laughing including myself.

"I'm just kidding. I would use the word masturbation." The doctor said.

I'm standing in the office filling medications when this entire conversation happened. I thought it was so weird and funny I had to included it in my blog.