My Experience as Youth Pastor

I wrote the original not long ago, but I feel the need to write about this subject again. The best things in life I learned from 80s cartoons. In the Transformers Movies, not the Michael Bay smash hit the original one, Optimus Prime dies in the beginning of the movie. As a child that didn't fit with my reality and I hated it. Hot Rod could never replace my hero.

I understand now that this movie followed the path of the hero. Much as Obi Wan had to die for Luke to become what he needed to be, Optimus had to die so Hot Rod could save the day at the end of the movie.

On Friday a dear woman died. She battle cancer for years. God had helped her often along the way and even in the darkest moments of this battle she would share a testimony of the power and grace of God. She is a true inspiration to me.

On Friday a hero died. She did not lose the battle. Instead she won through the transforming power of Christ. She sits with Him now free from the pain she never showed.

These things do not fit well with my own desires even now. Heroes should not die and so I am sad. Not because of the victory she holds now, but because death may not have victory but it does separate us and quite frankly that sucks.

Labels: 80's Cartoon Memories, Death

I use to be afraid of thunder storms. When I was 7 we moved from Southern California to Oklahoma. Let me say that our first tornado warning was about more than I could take. I was camped out in the closet that whole night scared to death that I was going to die. Each flash of lightening and peal of thunder made me quake.

This went on till I was 11 and we moved to Guam. The first typhoon was completely different. I really enjoyed watching it move in and the fell in love with thunder and lightning. It got to wear I always slept best in the middle of huge storms, even after moving back to the Midwest I would sleep through the worst storms and wake completely rested.

This is, of course, because thunder makes everything better. Thunderstorms, thunder ball, The Thunderbirds, Hulk's Thunderclap, and most importantly Thundercats. Combine thunder with awesome cat people and get one of the best shows form the 80s. Not familiar with the show? Then catch the intro.

Labels: 80's Cartoon Memories

Yesterday was a long and hard day. I had to leave just after song service from church because one of my Youth was in a pretty bad accident. She normally comes to church on Sunday, unlike 90% of my Youth, and was there but left part of the way through song service. I've been working the sound board lately so I saw her leave but couldn't catch her to see what was up. I did feel it was important to pray for her so I did. She got called in to work and was on her way home for her clothes when she lost control of her car on some loose gravel spun out into a ditch and flipped the car onto its side. The side of the car was pretty torn up but the impact didn't even crack a window or set off the airbags so that much is good. Also she didn't have so much as a scratch on her. She was very shaken up about the whole thing because she got that she could have died right then and there. Not quite 18 and faced her own mortality. I pray she gets it now.

It is interesting how much happens after or even because of accidents in 80s cartoons. Two of my favorite cartoons basically start because of an accident. In the original Transformers they came over in the Ark which crash-lands on Earth millions of years in the past and in Thundercats their space ship crashed stranding them on an uncharted planet. Personally I would blame the navigation system.

I have a GPS and most of the time it is a wonderful thing, but I don't trust it. I find that I have the urge to turn when it says even if there is a red light. I have also experienced bad directions more than once. The GPS has tried taking me to the wrong side of town for a few addresses. Fortunately I don't trust the GPS and try to always have directions so when the GPS is telling me to take one route I can ignore it and go the right way instead of crash-landing on an alien planet.

A couple weeks ago we went on a ski trip, and Maggie (a Magellan GPS) plotted the trip and took us over a rather large mountain through parts of West Virginia that I'd rather never visit again. Scary, deep country places that tourists don't want to know about. After we got to the place I asked the leader of one of the other groups what route they took and it was not the directions I followed. On the way back I figured I'd give Maggie another chance and apparently all of our mocking convinced her to take us a different route. Actually she took us the exact route that the other leader recommended. It seems odd to me that I picked all the same settings but got two different routes.

If I had remembered my lessons from 80s cartoons I would have checked on this before we left and never trusted the machine. Pretty much everything else has taught me that machines are trying to take over the world after all. The only reason we got out alive was I didn't stop to ask for directions. "I see your lips moving but all I hear is banjo music."

PS sorry for the late post, I didn't get this submitted like I thought.

Labels: 80's Cartoon Memories