Katdish.net

Hey folks. I know many of you visit here on Wednesdays to see what lovely and talented new writer I have featured here. And while I fully intend to continue featuring guest bloggers here in the future, I’ve found myself a bit distracted lately (Shocking, I know). But I’m distracted by some really exciting stuff. More on that later.

For the next few Wednesdays, I will be reposting a series I did last year based on Stephen King’s book Duma Key. This series marked the first time I ever took a stab at writing “serious” stuff.  Beginning with this one:

image courtesy of photobucket.com

I love these blog carnivals. So many different perspectives on the one word prompts provided. If you don’t believe me, see for yourself. Visit my friend Bridget Chumbley and check out all the great entries about Hope this week.

I wanted to do something a bit different this time around. You see, I’ve been reading this wonderful book written by Pete Wilson called Plan B – What do you do when God doesn’t show up the way you thought he would? It’s been such an encouragement for me, and I wanted to give you the opportunity to be encouraged by this book as well.

The book is brimming with hope. And while I don’t think I could pick one particular passage as a favorite, here’s a sample of what you’ll find there:

When it becomes apparent your dreams are not coming true and you feel you’ve been stripped of everything, this is no time to run. It’s no time to take things into your own hands. It’s definitely not the time to turn your back on God.

This is when you need God more than ever before. You need to lean on him instead of running away.

Your dreams may not be happening, and things aren’t turning out the way you expected, but that doesn’t mean your life is spinning out of control. It just means you’re not in control. It’s in those moments you can learn to trust the only one who has ever had control in the first place.

Now, I would never wish this on you, but there will be a moment in your life when you feel like everything you have is starting to slip away. You will be tempted to run, but I pray instead you will persevere. Because no matter how things seem, God is still with you. And things will turn around, one way or another. Maybe not the way you planned. Maybe not the way you assumed God would handle it. Maybe not even the way you hope. But you will see God’s hand at work–if not in your circumstances, then certainly in your heart.

Does this sound like something you’d like to read? If so, all you have to do is leave a comment letting me know you’d like a free copy. I will pick two winners at random and announce them next Tuesday.

“To all who choose to believe,
in the midst of their Plan B,
that one day faith will win over doubt,
light will win over darkness,
love will win over hate,
and all things will be redeemed
and exist the way they should.”
– Pete Wilson

image courtesy of photobucket.com

I’m working. On Labor Day.

Ironic, isn’t it? That I would be working on a holiday that was instituted to celebrate the working man (and woman), I mean.

I’m sure I’m not the only one schlepping off to work this morning like any other day. We’re toasting the end of summer by sitting in offices or factories or standing outside building houses or putting out fires. Nothing wrong with that. These days, we’re lucky to have a job at all—a fact no doubt driven home by every boss everywhere whenever an employee vents some dissatisfaction.

Work is a part of everyone’s life at some point. I suppose that’s God’s plan. We hear the adage of idle hands being the Devil’s tools and read scriptures like “He who does not work should not eat.” Seems pretty clear—we’re not here to just hang out, we have to be useful.

Holidays are such because they’re meant to focus our minds on something in particular rather than leaving them in their normal, scattered state. Christmas and Easter are all about Jesus (or should be). July 4? Freedom. Thanksgiving is a time to focus on our blessings because there are always some, and Valentine’s Day is all about the people we love.

And Labor Day? Labor Day is all about what we do for a living.

For me, it means a private liberal arts college nestled among the Virginia mountains. I’m the campus mailman. Just me and the three student workers who may or may not bother to show up on a normal day. Working pretty much by yourself has its advantages, no doubt about it. Job security, for one. Not having to spend hours in small talk is also a plus, because I abhor small talk.

But working here also has its drawbacks. The campus post office was once home to three full-time employees instead of only one. To say things get a little hectic around this time of year would be an understatement. So if you’re wondering where the heck I’ve been for the last few weeks, the answer is under piles of Cosmopolitan magazines and packages from twelve hundred mommies.

The truth? I’d rather be doing something else. I took this job because I was going to be laid off from my previous one (which wasn’t all bad, since I got a novel out of it), and I took that one because I was burnt out from the one before. So while I’m walking my five miles a day with a smile haphazardly positioned on my face, I’m really wishing I were up in the mountains somewhere writing.

Chances are that when it comes to occupations, you’d rather be doing something else, too. I read an article a while back that said the best job to have in this country as far as pay, benefits, and perks, is a college professor. Since I’m surrounded by professors every day, I thought I’d test that theory. Over the course of a week I asked twenty of them if they were happy where they were or if they’d rather have a different line of work. To a person, they’d rather be elsewhere. Some wanted to write books, others to travel. Two wanted to be farmers. There was even one who confessed what he really wanted to do was become a bounty hunter.

There’s nothing too strange about that. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that what’s rare in this life is to find someone completely happy with what he or she does to pay the bills. We all have our secret dreams and far-flung desires. It’s part of being human, I think. In our deepest selves, we’re always searching and never quite finding our place in this world.

Do you think this is true? I’d like to know, because reading back through that last paragraph left me feeling a bit pessimistic.

Maybe that’s just a symptom of having to work today. Then again, maybe that’s just one of those non-negotiable, hard truths of life.

So let’s celebrate this Labor Day with a little survey. Leave a comment below. Tell me what you do for a living, and then tell me what you’d really rather do for a living.

Let’s put my theory to the test.

To read more from Billy Coffey, visit him at his blog What I Learned Today and follow him on twitter at @BillyCoffey

The following is an excerpt from The Prodigal God by Timothy Keller

Religion operates on the principle of “I obey—therefore I am accepted by God.”

The basic operating principle of the gospel is “I am accepted by God through the work of Jesus Christ—therefore I obey.”

As we have seen, believing the gospel is how a person first makes a connection to God. It gives us a new relationship with God and a new identity. We must not think, however, that once believing it, the Christian is now finished with the gospel message. A fundamental insight of Martin Luther’s was that “religion” is the default mode of the human heart. Your computer operates automatically in the default mode unless you deliberately tell it to do something else. So Luther says that even after you are converted by the gospel your heart will go back to operating on other principles unless you deliberately, repeatedly set it to gospel-mode.

We habitually and instinctively look to other things besides God and his grace as our justification, hope, significance, and security. We believe the gospel at one level, but at deeper levels we do not. Human approval, professional success, power and influence, family and clan identity—all of these things serve as our heart’s “functional trust” rather than what Christ has done, and as a result we continue to be driven to a great degree by fear, anger, and a lack of self-control.

You cannot change such things through mere willpower, through learning Biblical principles and trying to carry them out. We can only change permanently as we take the gospel more deeply into our understanding and into our hearts. We must feed on the gospel as it were, digesting it and making it part of ourselves. This is how we grow.”

image courtesy of photobucket.com

I’m talking to you.

You, Superman or Superwoman, carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders, convinced if you don’t do the things you do, they won’t ever get done. I have a question for you.

Of all these important things you do (that only you can do), how many of these things, if left undone (even just for a day or two) would cause the world to stop turning?

What if you said no because you didn’t want to do something instead of yes because you’re afraid of disappointing someone?

What if you stopped long enough to breathe? I know you’ve got responsibilities and people depending on you. I know you have goals and dreams, and no one’s going to hand them to you on a silver platter–you’ve got to put in the work.

But just for today, give yourself permission to step back and simply enjoy being in the moment. To be still and know that He is God, and we are not. He’ll keep the world spinning until you get back. Promise.

Vienna (by Billy Joel)
Slow down you crazy child
You’re so ambitious for a juvenile
But then if you’re so smart tell me why
Are you still so afraid?
Where’s the fire, what’s the hurry about?
You better cool it off before you burn it out
You got so much to do and only
So many hours in a day

But you know that when the truth is told
That you can get what you want
Or you can just get old
You’re gonna kick off before you even get halfway through
When will you realize…Vienna waits for you

Slow down you’re doing fine
You can’t be everything you want to be
Before your time
Although it’s so romantic on the borderline tonight (tonight)
Too bad but it’s the life you lead
You’re so ahead of yourself
That you forgot what you need
Though you can see when you’re wrong
You know you can’t always see when you’re right(you’re right)

You got your passion you got your pride
But don’t you know that only fools are satisfied?
Dream on but don’t imagine they’ll all come true
When will you realize
Vienna waits for you

Slow down you crazy child
Take the phone off the hook and disappear for a while
It’s alright you can afford to lose a day or two
When will you realize…
Vienna waits for you.

And you know that when the truth is told
That you can get what you want
Or you can just get old
You’re gonna kick off before you even get halfway through

Why don’t you realize…Vienna waits for you
When will you realize…Vienna waits for you

“Pick the day. Enjoy it – to the hilt. The day as it comes. People as they come… The past, I think, has helped me appreciate the present, and I don’t want to spoil any of it by fretting about the future.”
~ Audrey Hepburn

We interrupt the PCB update to wish a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my dear friend and fellow long time PCB supporter, Helen from Helen at Random Musings! (Otherwise known as @HelenatRandom)

And now, the update you have all been anxiously (?) waiting for:

As you may recall from Tuesday’s post, I met secretly with one of PCB’s former co-workers who wished only to be identified as “Yellowtail”. Based upon information gathered in this meeting, I set my GPS coordinates in my Jeep and headed south towards an undisclosed location near the Houston Ship Channel. Of course, I got lost anyway, because I have absolutely no sense of direction. I can’t even tell my left from my right without pretending to eat. But I digress…

Area fine dining establishment

After some lunch and a few discreet inquiries at one of the area’s fine dining establishments, I donned my dark sunglasses and uni-bomber hoodie and made my way to a secret warehouse where PCB was allegedly being kept “in storage”.

From the outside of this nondescript warehouse, one would never imagine what was waiting inside for this undercover blogger.

One of several pics one might find after googling "nondescript warehouse".

Unfortunately for me, my preliminary recon revealed that there was an armed guard at front entrance. Fortunately for me, said guard had fallen fast asleep watching Judge Judy on a 13″ rabbit eared television. (I know…what are the odds, right?)

I was able to slip past the guard completely undetected. Once inside, I was shocked by the sheer number of “retired” butlers I found.

Some may have found their way there for being poor imitations:

Others perhaps for repeated dress code violations:

Imagine my surprise when, in what I thought was an exclusively male profession, I happen to come across a female butler:

Oh, wait…nevermind. Pretty sure that was a dude:

There were butlers there of all ages. From the relatively young:

To the…GAAA!!!:

Row after row I searched, and while I found some that bore a striking resemblance to the Pornographic Cheese Butler (perhaps an older sibling?):

I was unable to locate PCB. But then, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted him among a large group of butlers:

And while my mission that day was to rescue him from this terrible place, I must admit he seemed quite content among his new friends. I’m not even sure if this was, in fact, my beloved PCB. But I decided to leave him there in his new home. This may or may not have something to do with the fact that the sleeping guard had found his way back to me, and was making a discreet call into his walkie talkie.

As I made my way towards the door, I was able to get one last glance at PCB:

I must admit, he seemed well taken care of. Perky, even…

Before exiting the premises, I think I also may have spotted another familiar face:

(Sorry, Yellowtail. Totally my bad.)

Farewell, PCB! Until we meet again…

image courtesy of photobucket.com

Cuz I shot a man on the Mexican border/Cool, cool water/Gimme some water…

I’ve had that song in my head for the past 3 days, and every time it plays in my head, I’m reminded of this:

I take a lot for granted…

The list is endless, really. But in the interest of space, I’ll stick to something that not only do I take for granted, I rarely even think about:

The access I have to clean drinking water. It surrounds me. Just within the confines of my home, I can go to one of six sinks, turn a handle and clean water flows from the faucet. Walk out to the garage, and there’s the mop sink, next to the second refrigerator with ice and water in the door.

Open that refrigerator and you will find it filled with soft drinks, a few (Ahem) cans of low carb monster and (for convenience sake) bottled water. Then there’s the outside spigots–five total. And while I typically don’t drink from the water hose outside, the water is perfectly safe to drink. Where does this water come from? It comes from an underground well on the property. I have no idea how it gets from the ground into our house, just that a pressure tank is involved.

While many of you reading this may get your water differently, chances are pretty good that you have access to seemingly unlimited amounts of clean water.

Not everyone is so fortunate:

A couple of weeks ago, fellow blogger and funny man Bryan Allain sent me an email asking if I would join with him and some other pretty amazing bloggers in a campaign called 30 Bloggers, 30 Days, $30,000. The goal is to raise $30,000 in 30 days. Here’s the list of fine folks Tyler Stanton and Bryan Allain have assembled:

Bryan Allain, Matt Appling, Trey Boden, Jason Boyett, Everett Bracken, Stephen Brewster, Burnside Writers Collective, Billy Coffey, Tripp Crosby, Greg Darley, Sam Davidson, Rachel Held Evans, Evan Forester, Chad Gibbs, Susan Isaacs, Kevin Keigley, Lacey Keigley, Wes Molebash, Scott Moore, Eric Olsen, AJ Passman, Katdish, Brad Ruggles, Rob Shepherd, Jeff Shinabarger, Shawn Smucker, Tyler Stanton, Tyler Tarver, Tyler Thigpen, Karen Spears Zacharias

I don’t often ask for money here, and I don’t plan on making this a regular thing. But what I love about this campaign is that the money is targeted to reach a specific group of people. I like the idea of making a quantifiable difference, not just putting a band-aid on a gaping wound. Often it seems I will write a check to a charity and wonder how much of it will actually reach the people in need. This is different. Here’s where this money will go:

• Our goal is $30,000. This provides clean water to 1,500 people (300 families, 6 entire communities).
• 100% of the money donated goes towards water projects. Private donors take care of all the overhead.
• $20 provides 1 person clean water for 20 years.
• Our money will go towards building water projects in Central African Republic.
• If you give, charity: water will keep you up-to-date with the status of your project, provide you with GPS coordinates of exactly where the well you contributed to is being built, and take pictures and video along the way.

So, how can you help?

• GIVE. $20 provides clean water for one person for 20 years! Go to the 30 Bloggers, 30 Days, $30,000 site and make a donation.
• SHARE about it on Facebook and Twitter. Follow @charitywater here.
• Blog about it.30 bloggers is simply a starting point. We would love to have y’all join us and help spread the word! And if you do blog about it, please let me know so I can link back to your post.

Last but not least, here’s a bunch of cool downloads, banners and twitter backgrounds you can use. Thanks in advance for helping out. I’m really excited about this!