Engaged!

If I've talked to you in person or on the phone since Sunday, or if you're my friend on Facebook, you may have already heard my news: I'm engaged! Cathy and I are planning to get married next summer.

Cathy is smart, funny, beautiful, athletic, understanding, and caring. She's my best friend and the love of my life. I'm thrilled to be able to spend the rest of my life with her. (I'd be lying if I claimed I wasn't nervous though. This is a big step!)

If you want to see some pictures from the proposal, I posted some on Facebook, along with the story of how it happened. You don't even need to be a Facebook member to see it!

Driving away a customer

Recently, the Movie Gallery store near my house shut down. I was disappointed, because they occasionally called me to offer me free movie rentals. So when I went to rent a movie recently I had to check out other nearby stores.

I went to Rogers Plus, found a movie I wanted to rent, and went to sign up for a membership. The guy informed me that memberships cost $10 per year, but by renting or buying movies there I'd earn points. It would take 15 rentals (or less purchases) to earn enough points to earn back the $10. I'm guessing I don't rent 15 movies per year, especially now that I have a girlfriend. (Now I'm at home alone less often on weekends.) So I left the movie on the counter, said, "I'm not renting this," and walked out of the store.

Then I went to Blockbuster. They had the same movie there, and they didn't make me pay $10 for a membership. They had an optional rewards program that cost $10, but they didn't make me sign up for it.

I wonder if Rogers' $10 program is optional. If it is, their employee sure didn't do a good job of making that clear. If I misunderstood him, I would think he would've figured it out when I changed my mind about renting the movie. Or maybe he gets paid commission for everyone he signs up for that program, so he didn't want me to think it's optional. If that's the case, it backfired. Maybe it didn't hurt him any more than if I'd just rented the movie without signing up, but it hurt his employer. I'll probably never rent a movie there unless they tell me that the $10 program is optional.

Goodbye to my other grandma

About a month ago, we lost my grandma on my mom's side, and this week, my grandma on my dad's side passed away. Again, I've been taking it ok, but please pray for me and my whole family, especially my dad and his siblings. This all seems pretty quick, but like my mom's mom, my dad's mom had deteriorating health, probably even worse, so I think it was her time to go. I'll miss her.

I am not a serial killer

I made that last post just to spite someone. A friend and I were talking about this blog, and she told me that at one point she'd browsed my blog and couldn't find any signs that I'm a serial killer. Later that day, I just couldn't resist posting this. Note the fine print at the bottom that kind of blends in with the background. (The link in the fine print wasn't there at first, so it blended in even better then.)

I am a serial killer

I have a confession to make. I am a serial killer.

Actually, I'm not. I've explained this post here.

Not quite everything I believed in has lied to me

This post is inspired by the song "Where Are You?" by Our Lady Peace. They didn't sing this song at the concert I was at in July, but thinking about this song back then inspired this post. It just took me a while to get around to writing it. Anyway, here are the lyrics:

Hey you
Have you felt like this before?
You got style but ain't got soul
Are you happy now?
Are you happy, tonight?
Or did Punk Rock get it right?
Is there no future in sight?
Oh is it different now? Is it different?

Come up
Come up come on, come on
Where are you? Where are you?
I'm kicking and screaming
You're not listening
Where are you? Where are you?
Everything I've believed in, has lied to me
But this could be the best day, of my life
The best day of my life

eh you
Have you got everything you want?
Or do you want more than you got?
Is it different now? Is it different, tonight?
Or did Jesus get it right?
Or is the devil behind the light?
Are you happy now? Are you happy?

Come on
Come on, come on, come on
Where are you? Where are you?
I'm kicking and screaming,
You're not listening
Where are you? And where are you?
Everything I've believed in, has lied to me
But this could be the best day of my life

Ohhh sons and daughters,
Mothers and fathers,
Everyone's waiting for our luck to change
Sons and daughters,
Mothers and fathers,
Everyone's waiting, waiting

Cause this could be the best day
And this could be the best day
And this could be the best day, best day, best day

Come on
Come on, come on, come on
Where are you? Where are you?
I'm kicking and screaming
You're not listening
Where are you? And where are you?
Everything I believed in has lied to me
And this could be the best day
And this could be the best day,
And this could be the best day best day, best day
And this could be the best day
And this could be the best day,
And this could be the best day best day, best day of my life

For me, this song gets me thinking about my faith in God. I don't believe that everything I believed in has lied to me, but I've rejected some things that I used to believe. And maybe the times that I rejected those ideas weren't the best days of my life, but they were good. It feels freeing, and it makes it harder for people to control me by telling me what to think. A few ideas that I've rejected:

I've rejected the idea that the universe around us gives scientific evidence for God's existence.

I've rejected the idea that the Bible is infallible.

I've rejected the idea that God created each species separately, not from a common ancestor, or that God had to intervene in evolution to create the diversity of life that we see.

I've rejected the idea that the Bible has to be totally historically or scientifically accurate, or even infallible, to deliver a divine message.

I've rejected the idea that conservative politics reflects God's values better than liberal politics does.

I've rejected the idea that more church involvement, more prayer, or more Bible reading will automatically make a person happier and closer to God. (Or did I ever believe this one?)

Maybe sometime I'll list some ideas that I wasn't raised with that I have also rejected. What ideas that you were raised with (religious or not) have you rejected?

The funeral

My grandma's funeral was on Tuesday. She had picked these verses from the Bible to be read there:

"Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world."--something Jesus said in Matthew 28:20

"Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life."--Revelation 2:10

And one of the songs she had picked was "Let Me See Jesus Only." I couldn't find the lyrics online, but here is the chorus:

Let me see Jesus only
Jesus only, Jesus only
Let me see Jesus only
Only he can satisfy.

If you get a chance to read the verses to this song, give them a read.