The Problem with Asking Pastors for Advice

Throughout my life I have found myself in great need of advice from family, friends, and the clergy. I have always found that my family has given me the best advice. However, I have that added benefit of my father being a pastor and also my best friend.

Some of the best advice I have ever gotten was from Jim Wilson. It went like this.

Me: I have problem “X”.

Jim: That’s sin.

Me: What do I do?

Jim: Stop it.

Me: How?

Jim: Pray and repent.

That pretty much sums up every conversation I have had with Jim Wilson and even though I only had a half dozen conversations with him they all had a life changing effect.

You see, the problem with asking pastors advice is that they can’t tell you anything positive. You are a sinner in need of grace and so are they. They can’t prescribe you a dose of something to ease the pain. They can’t step in there and repent for you. They can’t tell you what an oracle prophecies in order to know your fate and how to possibly avoid it. We need to flee to God for refuge. This mean that we need to run and running makes you tired and hurts the next morning especially when you have been hiding in a corner for years causing you muscles to atrophy. Refuge implies that there is turbulence in your current place. You are running from a war zone into a refuge. That isn’t fun. You might lose friends or get scared half way there and cower behind some sand bags.

Flee we must and with great faith that the Lord of the heavens and the earth, the same lord that saw the Israelites through the desert, will get us to this refuge and greet us like the Father greets all prodigal sons and daughters. A pastor cannot help you with this.

I don’t think a lot of pastors try to help you with this. I think that far more people asking for advice do expect pastors to help them with this. A pastor might say, “It’s going to be ok”, but he’s not referring the place where you currently find yourself. He’s referring to where he hope you will end up.

Hebrews 6:17-20 (ESV)

"So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek."

  

Knife

My father-in-law found a couple of knife blades at an old homestead near his house.

Step 1. Aneal the blade.

Aneal the Blade

Conceptualize the blad

I usually conceptualize the blade on paper. That was you can get a full understanding of what it is you are trying to make

More onceptualization 

That tang is a little too much

That's a little better

Final Concept

Now that the knife is conceptualized and the hilt and the tang fit nicely it is time heat treat (harden) and then to braze the tang on with brass.

Tempering Steel makes it less brittle

It's best to do many at a time

It's that simple.

The sheath was molded to the knife by getting it wet and heating it up and shaping it with a tool

After some user testing the silly horn was taken off.

The blade came from an old saw blade

And the knife is now ready to be used. Personally tested and approved 

Keys to the game case

“Keys to the game case. Keys to the game case.” The voice over the loud monitor rang out this very instructive statement twice, in case one missed it the first time. However, the tone at the end of the second sentence where the word “case” resided ended on a lower note.

A tall lanky sales rep shuffled over to the video game case pulling out a rainbowed cluster of keys connected to a blue and yellow terra cord with the words, “Go Blue” on them. The keys looked like they had a purpose and the young man looked like he had a purpose with them; each color representing a different section of the store.

“How can I help you sir”, the leggy sales rep asked.

“Nathan, right?”  The prospective customer staring straight at him.

“Yeah, but how did you know my name”. He replied in a stutter. He cocked his head to the side like a knee jerk reaction to wonder and thought to himself, “Oh, this is what George Clooney must feel like when he does this. George Clooney must be wondering all the time.”

The customer pointed at his nametag.

“Oh! Heh! I forgot I was wearing that. How can I help you?”

“God has a plan for you Nathan.”

Nathan nodded in agreement and started opening the case not noticing the serious demeanor of the customer. “Does that plan include me getting you one of these video games?” Nathan stretched out his hand as though he was a model on “The Price is Right” presenting potential prizes to the contestant. The first male price is right model. Bob Barker would not have let that happen but Drew Carey, he might have.

“What is that one about”, the man said pointing at the middle of the case.

 “Ah well”, Nathan chuckled. “I can’t really tell which one your pointing at there”, Nathan’s chuckle was like a taut wet rope descending into a lake over the side of a boat. The man didn’t laugh. Nathan continued, “but the one on the right is about an army Sargent that gets stranded on an alien world and has to, like, ah, shoot his way out. The one on the left is, well, like a steam punk, assassin thriller. It’s a 1^st person shooter game. Are you looking for yourself or, like, a friend or a family member?”

“Which one do you like best Nathan?”

“Well to tell you the truth, I’m not even the video game guy here.” Nathan nodded his head and opened his hands like he was beckoning a baby to come give him a hug. He noticed again that his posture was creating a feeling of wonder growing in him. “I actually work in the music section, that’s my specialty, I majored in music at college. I just graduated actually.”

The man just stood silent never breaking the inquisitive look that arose at the beginning of his question.

“Ahh, well, to answer your question, I like this one.” Nathan pointed at a game with a man holding an axe and dressed in heavy armor with a dragon flying around snow-capped mountains in the background.

“Why do you like that one”, the man asked.

“Well the graphics are awesome and it’s an open world rpg, which is totally cool and the way of the future in video games, I really enjoy the crafting aspect. I’m like, level 100 blacksmithing at only level 20. But, most of all the soundtrack is totally sweet”.

“So you went to college here?”

“Yeah at a local private college.”

“And you are working at an entertainment store with that degree?”

“Well I also run a church praise band, but I don’t get paid for that.”

“Ahh.” The man said and then paused. Nathan nodded waiting for his reply. He was about to speak about another game but the man interrupted him. “God has a plan for you Nathan.”

Still not grasping the man’s serious tone Nathan said, “Yeah, isn’t that great! He’s like, got a plan for us all.”

“Your mother is Patricia right?”

“Yeah, wait, how did you know that”.

“Your dad, is Joseph, but he left your mother when you were younger right?” 

“Hey man, what is this?” Nathan started cautiously surveying his surroundings. He glanced over the next isle and saw the two young boys that come in every day after school to play the in-store consoles. Nothing suspicious there. He leaned back to the man.

“You have no other siblings and you go to resurrection life community church correct?”

“Woe dude, hold up, I’m not in trouble right?”

“No Nathan. Like I said, God has a plan for you.”

“Dude, you’re kind of freaking me out right now. What are you? Like a secret agent?”

“Sure, yes I am like a secret agent of God so to speak. Most people call us angels.”

“Look man, unless you want to buy something I am going to have to ask you to leave.”

“I didn’t come here to buy something. I came here to talk to you.”

“Look, I’ve got to go back cataloging the cd’s in the music section. If you’d like to follow me, you know, I’m not allowed to, like, stop you.” While Nathan locked the game case his sense of wonder now left him and a sense of urgency followed by a sense of paranoia now came over him.

The man followed Nathan to the middle of the store where they kept the music. “It’s quiet here”.

“Yeah, the only people that buy hard copies anymore are old people looking for classical music on cd’s and hipsters buying records. Oh, and the little girls buying the most recent heartthrob but even that is moving more on-line these days.”

“It’s perfect.” The man stared at Nathan as he began labeling the cd’s with discount stickers.

Nathan started labeling a stack of Oasis cd’s. “So what do you mean, you’re an angle? You do realize that sounds pretty crazy?”

“No, I don’t realize that, and if I did I probably wouldn’t be an angel. Do you realize that it’s crazy that you are a human?”

“No because, I’m a human.”

“Exactly.”

“Ok dude, whatever. What is this plan for me?”

“I can’t get in to much detail right now but you will be transported back in time to work amongst the Israelite in Jerusalem.”

“Alright, now I know you’re crazy.  I think you should leave.”

“That’s probably a good idea. I’ll talk to you soon.”

“Ok, hurry back now!” Nathan said with several tons of sarcasm in his tone.

“Oh don’t worry”, The man said in a completely earnest tone, “it won’t be till summer when you go on your church camping trip up north.”

“Is that’s when I’m going to be transported back in time?” Nathan said with bent knees while miming “whhhooooo” like a ghost with his hands.

“Probably, we’ll have to see how it goes.”

The man left the store.

Symmetry

“Take any two items and make them exactly the same and set them next to each other. One can create perfection. Symmetry is the great magic that sets man at the footsteps of the gods. It is our key to Mt. Olympus; it is the gift, like a box of chocolates, that gets us laid by handsome goddesses. If a man can take two imperfect things and make them exactly the same it would brand on him perfection; brand not like a slave’s mark or a sailor’s tattoo. It would induce a perfection that is entirely earthly and has no right being in the heavens, like an earth birthmark the volcano glass, obsidian, or the pulley forces that plants our feet to the face of the world. Our deaths are the result of the gods shaving and casting us under the ground. It is our only goal worth achieving, our only journey worth taking. Be a traveler to this destination with me, let me lead you like a knight of pure ambition would lead a party to worship at a great cathedral.”

 There was a pause. I nearly fall out of my chair. The florescent lights of the office/cubicle flickered as they swung. Each wave showed the forest green billiards room like wallpaper. “Sir, we can’t afford to continue to throwing money away on your quest for perfection.”

He continued without skipping a beat. “Nonetheless, that does not change the fact that it is the purpose of a man to take the wild winds of theory and ambition and set them inside himself to sail his soul to the Promised Land.”

“Mr. Zimmer, the company does not have any more discretionary spending. The only way you will be able to fund this is out of the companies employee coffers.” I spoke to him in a tone that I hoped would convey neutral disregard for his rant. His face resembled a fallen statue of Stalin I once saw on the history channel complete with pointy goatee and round-framed spectacles nervously hanging on to a balloon round face. Mr. Zimmer never looked directly at you when he conversed about his business theories.

He continued speaking while still stoking the string tied to the end of his balloon face, “It is the object of the matter that makes the task at hand worth living.”

“Your 2000 employees would argue differently, sir. They need a job. The public needs dashboards for their cars. They need carbon fiber bumpers to aid in a crash, they need aluminum alloy ashtrays for their cigarettes.”

“No one smokes cigarettes anymore”, Zimmer interrupted, “especially in their car. It’s a shame; it was really good for business. Now it seems the entire populous is more concerned about the resale value of their vehicle. This is the state of the heart of men. They have been coddled. They have not had to shit in a hole, shove a man’s innards back into his body after death fell in his gut. Their mothers swaddled their butts and whipped their chins into their teens. They have not fought, therefore they cannot win. If they cannon win they have never run from fear of losing. They have no messes. They pretend there is no race by ignoring their own inevitable mortality. And at their last minutes they shit themselves when they realize the rest of the world is as close to the finish line as they are to the starting point. ”

It was at this point that he filled another glass of whisky and drank it in one swoop. “Do you understand Mr. Summers? Alden right?”

“Yes sir.”

“Alden, do not work at your profession, live your profession. If this is not the job for you then you are dead to me. For between these walls, in this building, tucked into this office, I here live.”

“Sir”, I said now using a tone of forced reason, “Where are we going to get the money to continue your experiments?”

“Experiments? Experiments are a means to prove a point, I am attempting to attain perfection.” 

“You mean you and 5 production workers, 3 researchers and a architectural engineer. All these things cost money, money that the company doesn’t have. You do realize that car sales have been down for the last 3 years?”

Zimmer turned now staring me in the eyes. “If you think you can talk to me like that you have already taken your first step to living your profession. This is your awakening man, your new birth. Next we will wrestle and I will bruise your hip”, Zimmer said this in a studded tenor while proceeding to gently place his shot glass a quarter of an inch above the table then let it fall flush on the table with a “thud”.

“Where would you like me to reallocate the budget, sir”, I sighed.

“Ahhh… don’t retreat!” He yelled throwing his arms into the air and moving his hands back and forth like he was sanding off the ears from his balloon head. “We were just getting started. And anyway, if you leave this office you will be dead.”

“No, I might be dead to you but I won’t die, sir.”

“Alden, I can’t in my right mind ask you to leave knowing it will cause your death. I will not have your blood on my hands. And since you won’t leave because you are afraid of death, then you will have to speak with me. Please speak to me, not to my occupation.” He filled his glass again and swooped another gulp, winced giving a screening of his upper teeth, and lisped a tick that served as a conversational period.

There was no escaping. I had to climb into Zimmer’s space ship if I was to balance the budget.

I kneeled forward in my chair moving my right hand in what I guessed was an inquisitive way. “How can one claim they created perfection if it is actually 5 production workers, 3 researchers and a architectural engineer creating it?”

“Was not the magical shield of Achilles made by Hephaestus but commissioned by his mother, Thetis? I am merely one part of this manufacturing of perfection. My employees should be happy that I am including them in this process whereby imparting a portion of this blessing to them.”

  “Ok.” I said as I leaned back into the office chair and cleaned my right hand of its inquisitive position by placing it to rest in my lap. “Well, how about this. There is a limit to our human ability to observe. How will you know if the two items are identical?”

“There is no need to know. We pursue our goal until it is done. When it is done we must believe that there will be magic. Remember, symmetry is the great magic that sets man at the footsteps of the gods. I can not say what it will look like, but it will be magic.”

I continued to question him, now in a tone that attempted to mimic his. “What does it gain a man to pursue a thing that he will never know on this earth”?

Zimmer leaned back in his chair, took a deep breath and said “Salvation, Alden. It gains a man salvation. You cannot dissuade me of my earnest desire to be saved just as I cannot dissuade you. I can only invite you on my team. We need an accountant and the job is yours if you will have it.”

“And if I leave you believe I will die?”

“Alden, you are already dead. You cannot stay or go. You can believe or stay dead. I invite you to believe and live among us. A man is only as good as the room he lives in and we define the room we live in by ourselves and the people we put in there with us.”

I slipped out of mimicking his tone and back into my usual accountant tenor. “As I said the only way we can continue to fund this activity is to dock your employees pay. I guess the only way you can continue is to fire 5 people and hope the others pick up the slack.”

“Now there is a reasonable explanation. How would I approach this my dear friend Alden?”

“You would want to show compassion I am assuming.”

“Naturally. Continue.”

“Well, I guess the compassionate thing to do is to not fire anyone but to offer 10 people half pay to come work on your experime… err… or… perfection project.” I couldn’t help but stutter and staring at my feat as I said it this next part. “It can’t be too hard to convert 10 people out of 2000.”

Zimmer put down his glass. Got up and grabbed a second glass. Poured scotch in both and raised his glass as if to toast. “Now you are speaking to me my dear Alden. Drink!”

“I’d rather not sir. It’s only 10am.”

“I don’t trust a man that doesn’t drink. Partake with me this single malt whisky and let it strike your soul as a pen does paper.”

“No one get’s fired right?”

“Right.”

Empty

A customer calls. She cannot access the online tool she purchased 6 months ago and is now getting around to using it.

“Hi, this is James. What can I do for you?”

“Yes, I can’t access the data that I purchased because I can’t log in.”

“No problem! Do you remember your username and password?”

“I remember my username, it’s my first initial and last name all lower case, but I can’t remember my password.”

“That is quite alright. I can email your password to you.”

“Just tell it to me before you try to email it to me?”

“Ahhhhh. Let me unencrypt it.”

James tries to sound busy by lightly tapping the keys on his keyboard so it sounds like he was typing, but he’s not really typing. He starts thinking about the word unencrypt. “That’s not a word.” Since it wasn’t a word he thought of the word crypt.

He thought about the 3^rd grade field trip he took to a crypt. It was pretty scary. The class walked over to where there were old white stone coffins. They were raised about 3 feet off the ground. They had black stains that seemed to drip over the side but never hit the ground. Even the stones looked dead.

James remembered pitying the taller third graders because when he walked past the coffins he was at the perfect height to see inside of them but not have to smell inside of them. He was shocked to find that there was nothing inside. Actually, It was the fact that he was so shocked to find nothing inside of the first one that he looked in every single open coffin. They were empty. All of them.

He wondered whether or not the closed coffins were empty. He wanted to open one. He thought it would be like Indiana Jones in the “Last Crusade”. He wondered if he would find a cool sword. It doesn’t matter how much fire is burning around him, he would have picked up that sword and taken it with him.

He wondered if he could hide the sword from his teacher, Mrs. Dutler. Mrs. Dutler was a jerk. James visited her church one Sunday and she told him that he would never be smart or tall because he was not Dutch and because his dad did not believe that women should hold a church office.

“Are you done encrypting the password yet?”

“Sorry this is taking so long. Almost done.”

He squeezed a fist above his mouse to get the blood flowing. When he did that he remembered what it felt like when he thrust the throttle of the tractor so that he could make it up a sharp incline. He remembered how the incline would make his son’s head shift involuntarily from his neck to his shoulder blade as he fell asleep on him. He remembered the gentle hum of the tractor, and clanging like Christmas bells of the chisel and the harrow nervously scratching the soil behind him.

At that moment, there was no hum and Christmas was still far off. The mouse was not nearly as powerful as the throttle. Excalibur did not lie at the bottom of the coffin and 3^rd grade was really just the second half of 2^nd grade.

He wished the password line was empty. He wished it was as empty as the field was from noise and the tractor from people and the coffin from swords and dead people and his typing from actually making words. He wished that the password line was as empty as the meaning of 3^rd grade and the word unencrypt. But it wasn’t.

“Your password is I<3butts.”

“Oh, I used that one” The voice on the other end said with absolutely no remorse like she had an entire arsenal of stupid passwords ready to be deployed at a moments notice. James couldn’t help think that it was odd that she remembered the rather in depth criteria for a functional username but could not remember her very stupid and personal password.

He also thought that it could have been a brilliant tactic to keep a password from being stolen. He though that somewhere a Russian guy named Vladimir with round mettle framed glasses and long greasy black hair that he would often have to be swipe out of the way so he could see out of his left eye is kicking himself saying, “I vould have never guessed it vas zat! Now I vill never know how much a lawyer makes in Cleveland!”

“Would you like me to change it manually?” James asked.

“No, I’m in now. Thanks for the help.”

“Anytime”

New Bag Project

This is going to be what I make next.

This bag is by All Souls Laptop Bag. It sell for £150.00

Boots

There are many worth wile boots. Here are the top three.

1. Alden 405 Indy Boot

These are the 2nd most comfortable thing I have ever put on my feet. However, their durability, style, and fit make them wear like a work boot but look like a dress boot. Due to the durable Horween's Chromexcel leather upper and lining and Neocork sole these boots are good for any occasion which is probably why they were cosen to be Indiana Jone's boots. These boots feel like they form to your feet as soon as you put them on. There is no uncomfortable time frame for breaking them in. Each day you wear them them become for and more you shoes. They are larger boots that also wear like smatter boots.

2. Wolverine 1000 Mile Boot

These are the most comfortable boot I have ever worn. I ranked the 2nd only because they are so nice that I don't wear them as often as the rest of my boots. However, their classic plain toe design and breathable leather sole make them a pleasure to wear. I can't emphasize enough how good my feet feel after a day of wearing these boots. The sole breath so much it is almost like they are make out of lungs.

These boot also feature top quality Horween Chromexcel Leather uppers and linings. In that sense they are similar to the Alden 405. However, a stacked leather outsole and classic welt construction set them apart. Nevertheless, I have been much more apprehensive in wearing them in incubant weather and for that alone I cannot rank them number 1.

3. Red Wing Iron Ranger Boot

The boots are only a little bit more comfortable than your normal shoe, but they really make a fashion statement. They age beautifully, but take a while to be broken in. I have worn mine for 6 months and they are still being broken in. However, they are extreamly durable. The boots feature a Muleskinner leather upper, Goodyear welt construction with a rubber sole, and a cork and leather insole that molds to your foot.

They are third on my list because you can't get more comfortable than Wolverine 1000 Mile boot and Alden 405 boot. Their cap toe construction also sets them apart, but at the same time brought down to the level of a working man. This makes me wonder. If we dressed like worker at an iron smelting plant 100 years ago, would we even need a dress codes?

ReChair

Out with the old and in with the new. This chair is very similar to the sleepy rustic recliners we have in our house in Dorset, Vermont. I found the rustic blood red leather at Salvation Army for $3.50 and fitted over an old couch cushion foam that was "cut to size". I cut it large so that when you sat in the chair it would be a complete concave, hugging the backside and curling the support up the thighs making this chair ideal for sitting back and putting your feet up. I have to say, it works great! The loose design of the leather puts little pressure on the seams but in turn tends you wear the leather in the pattern of folds. The chair folds differently depending on who is sitting in it. Basically, the more you sit in it the better it feels.

New Messanger Bag

This was the first attempt at a bag. The Leather is cow hide and the strap is old fire hose. I have yet to add a hinge to fasten it. MORE TO COME!