Jasper Speaks:

It has been awhile, so here is a mindless Get to Know You:

Where is the pers n you gave your heart to for the first time?

Lives in South City St. Louis with a hubby and two kids. Good for her!

What were you doing at ten last night ?

Watching Gray's Anatomy with Kendra

What was the last thing you drank ?

Coffee

What' s going on between you and the last person you kissed?

He's my son and he kissed me good morning

What' s something you really want right now, be honest?
McCain/Palin to win the election


Last time you had butterflies in your stomach?

Wednesday night just before my message at the RC

Anything annoying you right now?

Teenagers making bad choices


Who was the last person to make you cry?

My dad but not in a bad way.

Anybody you' re looking forward to seeing soon?
Kendra and Jackson when I get home tonight.

Are you going anywhere for the next summer?
Raleigh for Mission Trip and Bolivar for Super Summer. Summers are the busy season.


Who was the last person you hugged?

Jackson

Who was the last person in your room?

Jackson

Did you have a dream last night ?

Yes. It was bad. I hate confrontation. I hate dreaming about my struggles. It was both. UG!

How many piercings do you have?

EWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!


Have any tattoos?
Tattoos are gross. They just get wrinkly and faded when you get old and I am too close to old to bother with them. Maybe I could get hair tattooed on my head.

Are you good at giving directions ?

I can tell people where to go ...

Last time you cried really, really hard?

I am a guy, you so are not going to get this answer out of me.

What is your favorite thing to eat with peanut butter?
Cats

Could you go out in public looking like you do now?
How else would I look?

Have you ever made someone so mad that they broke something?
Not that I know of.

What is your favorite color ?
Yellow

Do you think your last ex deserves to die?

Uh .. that is harsh.

When was the last time you saw your Grandpa?

1975 when he was in a casket.

Do you know anyone with cancer?

Yes a little girl who is supposed to have a brain tumor removed today but it seems the surgery has been rescheduled. I think she is four. Man this is a depressing survey!


Who was the last person you talked to in person?
Ken Litton, Minister of Music and Senior Adults, Parkway Baptist Church

Do you think you can last in a relationship for 3 months?
Uh I have been married 9 1/2 years so uh, I think so.

What is the last text in your inbox ?

Kevin saying he would help me move furniture today.

Have you lost friends in the past 3 years ?
Yes

Do you talk about your feelings or hide them?

I don't want to talk about that, thanks.

Do you think someone is thinking about you right now?
I am paranoid, so someone is always thinking about me.

Are you excited for anything to happen in the next 6 months?

Kendra quitting her job. Jackson was extra cranky about going to daycare today.

What should you be doing right now?

Printing Sunday School Lessons.

Do you believe in true love?
Yes

Do you miss your past?

To quote Pumbah, "You've got to leave your past in your behind". But I do miss my mom. UG! This is like the most depressing survey ever! I would stop but I think I am committed now! And BTW there is a song playing in my office right now that was sung at my Mom's funeral (and that is following me skipping the one that was playing in her room when she died that came on two songs ago)! GIVE ME SOME PROZAC!

Do you think that your ex still likes you?

DO I care?

Has a person of the opposite sex seen you in your underwear?
Uh ... yeah

If you could go back 3 months from now would you change anything?

Yes I would .

Where 's the last place you went?
Church. I am still here.

Are you looking forward to something as of right now?
This never ending survey ending!

What color are your eyes?
BROWN

At the moment, are you more warm or cold?

Just right.

What are you listening to?

The death music has ended and now I am listening to Beautiful Like This by Josh Wilson

Do you prefer an ocean or pool?

My shower.

How long is your hair?

Oh survey thou art cruel!

Last thing you ate?

A big yummy brownie. Screw the diet!

Are you a bad influence?

I wish I had influence. One of the things I am down about is my apparent lack of influence.

Would you share a drink with a stranger?

Probably not, unless he had his own glass.

Can you easily tell if someone is fake?

Yes, it is a gift. But Tracy is blank.

Looking back did you ever waste too much time on a certain boy or girl?

Probably.

What' s your favorite card game?

Spades

Know anyone who' s been drunk recently?

Probably

Do you enjoy drama ?

Fake ones, like a play, yes. Real ones, like teenagers, no.

How many months until your birthday?
11 --- AGAIN DEPRESSING!!!!

Where is your number one right now?

HUH?

Do you believe every one deserves a second chance?

Yes. But some people want 47th and 49th chances and I am not so sure about that.

Last three people you texted?

Kevin, Kendra and Garrett

What are you doing tonight?
Fall Festival at church

Is smoking one of your turn offs?
Absolutely.

What' s the last kind of soup you ate?

Uh ... this is probably the dumbest question I have ever seen on one of these. Black bean.

What kind of dog do you want?

Dead

Do you currently have a sunburn?

Uh ... It's Halloween in Missouri. What do you think?

Could you eat nothing but grilled cheese for a week straight?

Probably. I mean I have nothing against grilled cheese.

What color was the last drink you consumed?
Okay so I renig. This is the dumbest question I have ever seen!

Would you rather shave your head or dye your hair bright orange?

Thanks for continually reminding that I am bald!

Could you last an hour without talking?

Without a doubt. Haven't you ever gone to a movie?

Has anyone told you they missed you lately?
Kendra.

Are you a Hollister/Abercrombie kind of person?

Okay so the question get more and more stupid!

Are you currently wanting any piercings or tattoos?

I would like to pierce the heart of whoever came up with this survey.

How many hours of sleep did you get last night ?

6

What makeup do you wear on a daily basis ?

I AM A DUDE!

What curse word do you use the most?
The one that I am thinking about this survey right now.

Do you own an ipod?
Yes and am using it at the moment.

Would you rather take the picture or be in the picture?

Be in it. I am vain.

Has anyone ever called you lazy?
Yes. And if I wasn't such a slug I would have fought them about it.

Do you ever take medication to help you fall asleep faster?

Mmmm ... Nyquil.

Do you prefer regular or chocolate milk?

CHOCOLATE MILK IN A BAG FROM CANADA

Can you whistle?

Yes

How big is your local mall?

Uh ... big I guess.

Are you currently wearing glasses?
Yes

Have you ever had Jamba Juice ?
NO

Do you own any band t-shirts?
Only a REALLY old DC Talk T from the Free At Last Tour

How many aunts and uncle s do you have?

20

Do you crack your knuckles?

YES

What is your favorite salad dressing?
Blue Cheese

Do you read for fun?
Sometimes

Can you speak any languages other than English?

I taught English to American HS kids--- it was a foreign language to most of my students.

Where is your cell phone ?
My left pocket

What color is your bedroom painted?

Green

Are your parents divorced?

No just one of them is dead. Thanks for making my day EVEN MORE CHEERY!

What do you like to snack on at the movie theatres?

Popcorn with Milk Duds added.

Have you ever dated someone out of your race?

Dated, no. Liked a lot in that special way, yes. Opposed to interracial dating, absolutely not.

What was/is your favorite class in high school?

Theater. I went to gay high.

If you were born the opposite sex, what would your name have been?

Marcia Vahntee

Were you a " planned" child ?

I was the oops heard 'round the world.

How old will you be turning on your next birthday?
40. I HATE THIS SURVEY!

Ever eaten an entire thing of frosting?

NO

Have you read To Kill A Mockingbird?
Read it. Taught it. Seen the movie. Killed the Mockingbird. Lied about killing it. Blamed someone else after he cut up my chiffarobe.

What instrument would you like to learn?

Nose flute

Were you ever a safety patrol in elementary school?

For like a week. It was a bloody week of death and destruction at Clay Elementary.

Do you like dodge ball?
I dunno.

Ever order anything from the tv?

I love HSN.

Can you write with both hands ?

Some

Do you get cold sores a lot?
Not as bad as I used to.

Chapstick or lipgloss?

Bleeding lips! I am a DUDE!

Last time you got poison ivy?

I grew up in the city. There is not poison Ivy in the ghetto.

UG! I am finally through! You owe me to take it too!

Jasper Speaks:

Do you ever feel like living the Christian life is just plain hard? I would say that if you have never felt that way, you are not REALLY living out your faith.

The truth is living the Christian life isn’t hard ---it is IMPOSSIBLE! We can’t do it on our own. We have to stop working and striving to do things and let Jesus live the life for us. A verse that sticks out to me when I think about this is Galatians 2:20. It says: “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me”. Not only do I think that this verse tells us to live a life that is surrendered to God’s plan and not our own, I think it tells us to let God take care of everything in our lives. I think it tells us to lean on God during times that are hard.

How do we do that? Everyday you face challenges and you have to react to them. Maybe your friends or family don’t understand your faith. Maybe you are going through a time of loneliness. Maybe you feel like there is so much going on in your life that you can not keep up. Maybe you just feel like the day to day struggles in your life are too much to bear. Let Christ do the living then.

I think the first thing you need to do in order to let Christ do the living is give yourself a relationship check up. Think about your relationship with Christ.

How vital is it? Are you really taking time to spend in His word? Are you communicating with Him about your life regularly? Are you living out the life that the Bible requires of you?

Spending time with God is essential to letting Him live for you. Reading His word (the Bible) is a daily reminder of all He has done for us and the promises

He makes to us. I love the passage in The Message version of the Bible in Lamentations 3 that says, “I'll never forget the trouble, the utter lostness, the taste of ashes, the poison I've swallowed. I remember it all—oh, how well I remember— the feeling of hitting the bottom. But there's one other thing I remember, and remembering, I keep a grip on hope: God's loyal love couldn't have run out, his merciful love couldn't have dried up. They're created new every morning. How great your faithfulness!” DON”T OVER LOOK THE LITTLE WORDS! NEW EVERY MORNING! So, each day you can sit down with God’s Word and find new things that will remind you that God is in control and wants to live the life for you!

1 Thessalonians 5:17 says simply, “Pray continually”. Being in communication with God throughout your day will greatly increase your ability to let Him do the living for you. If you are approaching a difficult time, pray. Sounds simple but it is amazing the way God can change your attitude or give you courage if you just take a moment and ask Him to help. Prayer is vital in the struggle to let go and let God live for you.

Finally, how you live out your life everyday is essential in the battle to let God live for you. In short --- practice what you preach. St. Francis of Assisi may have stated this best when he said, “Preach the gospel everywhere. Use words when necessary”. Put action to what you believe. Stand firm in your commitments. It may not always be easy but step three is made more simple when you have step one (Spending time with God) and Step Two (prayer) down.

Hard times will come and for many of us, they are here everyday. Still, God says, “Don’t sweat it. Let me take control”. This week I am praying that you would let God do that in your life!