03.21.06
New Orleans
So…what we’re doing: People’s houses are ruined. There are marks on all the walls 4 feet high where the water was. The government is requiring them to clean out their houses by a certain time. They can pay someone to do it for a bunch of money. School of Urban missions will do it for free. So, we’re taking all of the owner’s stuff out of their house and piling it next to the road for the city contractors to pick up. I never realized how much STUFF is in a house. The two houses we did on Monday we also gutted—ripped out drywall and cabinets and stuff. Everything has to go due to mold—it’s everywhere. It’s on the stuff in the houses–all over the drywall…everywhere.
I have some pictures at http://www.mattjm.com/gallery
Other observations:
-Chafe is bad.
-When an ointment says “don’t use on damaged skin”, they ain’t kidding.
-we don’t really understand humidity in Seattle.
-I don’t understand why some people feel they need to pray for half an hour to make sure God is listening to them. And why do they use His name 20,000 times, do they think He’ll forget they’re talking to Him if they don’t address Him by name every 2.5 seconds? </rant>
-How it is that a refrigerator can take in water during a flood, and still have all that water in it 6 months later, is a mystery to me.
-I could think of a lot more earlier, but I’ve forgotten them. I’ll add more later.
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Layora said,
03.22.06 at 12:50 am
you shaved! AHH!!! I’ve never seen you without your beard before! Are you going to stay like that?
Becky said,
03.22.06 at 1:50 pm
wow, the prayer point… yeah, wow. I kinda agree, though. I go to CCA, as you might know, and they pray in that style. I don’t understand it… I’m not there (as in new orleans), but I kinda feel like God know’s what is needed there, so he’s sending people to do it. I don’t want to say prayer is a waste of time because it’s not, but there are times where he’s calling us to just do some action. Alittle 5 minute prayer before hand is good/great… preperation of the heart, etc. But yeah, a 30 minute prayer seems a bit unnessecary.
I dont know this is a sper of the moment thought and in alittle different direction then your point, so it might not be understandable…
BTW, I agree with Becky, the no beard thing is alittle weird… I’m not going to tell you who I thought you looked like cause you might find it insulting. Though, I will say you do NOT look like Russel Crow anymore. Hehehee.
Matt said,
03.22.06 at 5:08 pm
I was exaggerating on 30 minutes…but…yeah. I take the prayer comment back–it was written in haste and annoyance, but that’s my problem. I guess it annoys me because I feel like everyone expects me to pray that way, when God and I are perfectly happy with my short prayers. I think it might be more of a social issue for me, too–I’ll pray for much longer periods of time when it’s not out loud.
On the beard thing–I’m not staying this way, I ‘m already working on a new one. BTW, my upper lip feels WEIRD!!!
Anonymous said,
03.22.06 at 11:02 pm
haha, I always wondered if it felt weird to have a hairy upper lip. I didn’t think it particularly looked bad but I’m really not used to it. Still, I’m glad the beard is returning… I like the beard.
On the prayer point… I’ve caught myself saying “God” or “Lord” like punctuation in my prayers… it’s a tad ingenuous. I mean, are you really thinking about what you’re saying if you’re doing that. I have no problem with long prayers, or with short ones, but I do have a problem with ones that seem ingenuous because… prayer is too important to be automatic or taken lightly.
Becky said,
03.23.06 at 11:17 am
Yay! Beard is coming back! Did you get rid of it because of the humidity?
Anyway, I’m not really good at explaining myself, and again, I don’t think prayer is a waste of time. If you have something to pray about for 30 mins, by all means, pray!
Though, I have a question… is there a different between prayer and meditation? If so, what?
Matt said,
03.23.06 at 5:10 pm
I got rid of it mostly because I wanted my dust/mold mask to fit better…but I haven’t needed one since I got rid of it. I also thought it might keep me a little cooler, and I”ve sort of been thinking about getting rid of it off and on for a while now.
Your question sounds like something I’d see in a textbook. It’s hard to say…when I hear the word “meditation” I automatically think eastern religions, but that’s not necessarily accurate. I guess I’d have to know what you meant by meditation to answer that. To me, meditation is…thinking. Praying is…talking to God. So I’d say they’re not the same, but I often seem to mix the two together.
Becky said,
03.23.06 at 8:05 pm
wow… textbook, eh?
Yeah meditate… some people define it as a form of prayer. I think of it as sitting with God, listening to God, even pondering God… Cause the Bible says that he’s always with us. Is this that different than prayer?
Sorry, I got alittle off topic. There are several things that have annoyed me lately. Read my blog in a few days and you’ll find out what those are… maybe.
the ibecky said,
03.23.06 at 10:24 pm
Meditation is thinking deeply about something and prayer is communication with God.