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pauled215
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Name: Paul
Country: United States
State: Vermont
Metro: Burlington
Gender: Male
Interests: Calvinism (Christianity with a strong focus on God's soverignty) Ballroom Dance, UVM Athletics, Prime Numbers, Fantasy Baseball and the lyrical-musical stylings of Jim Steinman, heard most prominently in the album "The Very Best of Meat Loaf"
Expertise: Jewelry (or soon-to-be expertise)
Occupation: Sales Associate
Industry: Luxury, Couture Jewely and Fin
Message: message me
Website: visit my website
AIM:  pauled215
Member Since:
4/18/2005
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| Tonight was a new first in my nearly 6-year career in hospitality. Tonight we had our first bar fight in the hotel lobby. I'm not exactly sure how it got started, but it seemed to involve some comments made to one man about his wife. It wasn't until I heard some yelling in the bar that I rushed over to see a small group of men trying to break two men apart, and our poor 5'2" bartender, weighing 125 lbs if soaking wet, crouching inbetween them. The guy in the blue shirt I was able to break apart eventually walked away, cooling off and went back to his room. shortly thereafter three medium-sized police officers arrived on the scene. Eventually all three came out of the elevator with the man in the blue shirt wearing just a pair of shorts and no socks or shoes, and they escorted him to the back of the squad car.
But the most unfortunate consequence was the man's wife, who was in tears of shock and shame as I drove her to another hotel. She never in her life thought that she would have to bail her husband out of jail.
This whole incident serves as a reminder to me that sometimes we break at our most unexpected points - in the most bizarre circumstances - and how the tongue is an evil that no man can fully tame, and is capable of such incredible destuction.
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| Wednesday, October 29th, 2008
I went over to Lori & Noelle's place in the evening for a late dinner after I got out of worship rehearsal. We had a pretty inconspicious evening, ate some dinner, talked a bit. Then I left. Nothing out of the ordinary.
Then I came back half an hour later, and knocked on the door. Lori comes down stairs, looking concerned.
"What's wrong, is everything ok? Did you forget something?"
"Yes. I forgot you. Go get something warm on... and come with me"
She looked both relieved and puzzled at the same time. But went upstairs and put on a sweat shirt.
"Where are we going?" she asked as we started to pull out of the driveway.
"I'll give you a hint; if you can remember what I'm wearing." That evening as I came over I had on a navy & yellow long-sleeve shirt, and what should have been even more suspicious a bright yellow UVM ball cap. The significance of this is that this is exactly what I was wearing the day that Lori left the Vermont more than two years ago, and the first picture ever taken of the two of us together, this is what I was wearing. She loves waterfalls so that day, whilest our love was still budding, I took her underneath the bridge over the Winooski River between Williston and Essex.
"Are we going to the waterfall? Is it frozen?"
"You'll see." I smugly replied, as we drove off into the night.
So we got to the bridge, and I take out a little lantern I have in the back seat of the car and we begin walking down the dirt path that leads under the bridge. And as we walked on the path I had hung up along the concrete retaining wall a large poster (which unfortunately blew off because of the bitter winds that evening)
This poster was a 2' x1' photo of a similar concrete retaining wall along the side of the road that leads to one of Lori's favorite places in Romania. There is a special hill that overlooks her home city of Slatina, and when I went to Romania the first time, we walked up there (on a dark and cold night, similar to the one we were experiencing) The wall had all these beautiful murals that Lori told me were painted by each graduating class.
So here we are walking along the path to the bridge and my poster had blown off the wall and onto the ground, and Lori casually just steps RIGHT on it, almost oblivious to this fairly large supposed piece of litter.
"Hmm, what's this?" I try to ask in feigned innocence, as I pick up the poster and reveal to her the photo on the other side.
She looks at me and smiles, in puzzled wonder. And we continue on the path
Once we got to the top, directly under the bridge, there were two chairs, a small table two glasses and a bottle of sparkling cider waiting for us. I had printed out a number of pictures of Lori's friends and family from Romania, which I had wanted to put up, but was sure that the howling wind would not have permitted them the remain. So we just kind of huddled next to each other as I showed them to her.
"Ok, are you ready for your surprise now?" All summer Lori knew that I had some kind of surprise, but had no idea what it was. And I really had a lot of fun driving her nuts with that. Maybe too much fun sometimes.
And rolled up along the steel girder under the bridge was a large blanket that I unfurled in dramatic fashion. This blanket had on it an image of the view of her home city from her favorite hill in Slatina. And so there, side by side, was her special place in Romania right next to our special place in Vermont.
She was so excited she couldn't believe it! She gave me a great big hug and a bigger smile with a bright twinkle in her eye.
So I told her how much I loved her, and how much she meant to me. How thankful I've been for her, and for God working in our relationship for the past two years. And I asked her to be my wife...
"Yes," she said with a warm smile, "But let's go home, it's pretty cold out here."
So we did.
The End Beginning
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| Today was a alot of fun!
I drove down to see the new shiney Von Bargen's "headquarters" in Springfield, VT. I got to meet our master jeweler who looks more like an offensive lineman than the extrodinary artist he is. I also got to see the beautiful new store, and hear a little about the remodelling.
Our GM is really excited to support any Green efforts possible, so we re-used a lot of things from our previous store. It was kind of funny to see brand new paint and carpeting framing filing cabinets that were probably older than I was. They re-used a fair amount of equipment, some safes and even re-painted old ceiling tiles, so that they wouldn't end up in a land fill - how cool is that?
And it was such a beautiful drive (more so on the way home, because it was raining all the way down) I was just filled with such awe and wonder, and appreciation to see my native Vermont landscape. And I thought about how the whole world, and all of creation is God's canvas. And every different place exhibits some unique aspect of God. Like when I think of Niagra Falls, I think of His power being displayed, or when I think of volcano's I think of His wrath, or thinking of the oceans brings to mind His depth and vastness.
But when I drove through Vermont today, I didn't see any particular hyperbole on display. I looked at the masterpiee the Master set before me, and just thought of His beauty. There was a soft, discretionary tenderness displayed in the velvety rolling mountainscape, as the sun set through billowy clouds. And in the depths of my soul I felt strangely warmed and atherially satisfied as if a voice had quietly whispered to my soul, "The presence of the LORD is in this place." And that feeling had the effect of both calming and stirring my heart, just a touch.
And Springfield was such a cute little Vermont town. Maybe I've become calloused to Burlington, but it was nice to get back to real Vermont. There was that one single lane road that wound tightly through the town with the postoffice and the police station on it. A few 3-story brick buildings in the downtown area, with decals on their storefront windows. And there were a number of Creamee stands. I think there's only one place in all of downtown Burlington to get Creamees. But right in the middle/end of the parking lot of the Springfield shopping plaza there was a little Creamee stand, that was open everyday from 12-9pm. And there was at least one young man who still had his baseball jersey on while he waited in line for his icecream.
And I really enjoyed the work I was doing. Eventhough it was comparable to about 8 hours of data entry, I got to learn a lot more about the software our company uses. I got to meet one of our new employees in Springfield, and eat her leftover french fries (along with the GM and the master jeweler.) And at the end of the day I came home with some fabulous jewelry for our Burlington store!
All in all a pretty great day!
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| As I began considering to prepare a short Bible study on the life of Uriah the Hittite I thought of a few similarities he had with Job. In both cases a righteous man faces unfair, unwarranted persecution. In fact, it seems as if their persecution is intensified because of their radial obedience to God. Job is exalted by God as being a prime example of one of His servants, and thus this is what leads to Satan choosing to tempt him in the first place, also Job's unwillingness to "curse God and die" allows the persecution to intensify. Uriah, when he is sent home from battle denies himself that which is rightfully due to him - his wife - because he too is an exemplary servant in the army of the Lord's people.
And although I cannot argue this point based on scripture, I assume that if Uriah were given the opportunity to comment on his circumstances, the way Job was, he might infact sound very much like Job. Knowing that he was suffering unfairly, despite a record unmarked by disobedience.
What satisfaction can there be in this? Surely the satisfaction is not in that actual suffering itself. But the persecution is a means by which we are purified. Persecution separates the sheep from the goats. Persecution is the answer to David's prayer, "Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me" (Psalm 139:23-24)
We call them 'trials' because we are being tried. In the midst of suffering the believer is inevitably forced to examine themselves, to see if this might be God's correction for sinful behavior in their life. And for most of us, our unrighteousness is revealed to us eventually. We see the error of our way, and are thankful that the Lord has given us an opportunity to get our attention about something we'd been paying no mind to. And by God's grace we are able to repent, and be more closely and accurately lead "in the way everlasting."
And although that certainly is an edifying experience, I intend to speak of something far more satisfying than mere correction. The suffering that Job and Uriah faced had absolutely nothing to do with the Lord actively seeking to correct them through the trial. (although we see the Lord does have a word for Job at the end of the book, the purpose and the cause for the suffering was initiated by Satan after the Almighty and Holy God had given Job the designation as a "perfect and an upright man")
Job waxes eloquent in his own defense, citing how he has kept himself from every wicked way, and how his life has demonstrated a pattern of righteousness. Despite every attempt his friends made to accuse him of something, Job responded pleading his innocence, and righteousness. Job had some of the most intense suffering in one individual's life that I can think of. And yet despite all the affliction around him, and although he examined himself far more deeply than I have ever in my light afflictions, Job finds satisfaction in his righteousness. He knows with resolve, and with power that his sin is not to blame for the current suffering. He appears to look back on his life and find no fault.
And although we only have one chapter of one book in the Bible that tells us about Uriah the Hittite, again from the record we have not one slanderous thing to say about him. He appears to not only be perfect and honorable in every way - but to even go above and beyond what was expected and required of him. He willfully (perhaps even joyfully) denied himself the pleasure of spending the night with his wife, after spending an unknown period of time at war. He came back to the very same city where she was, and yet denied himself the privilege, so that he might continue to be unified in purpose and focus with his brethren who had not been afforded that luxury. And Uriah was not doing this just to put on a show. This sentiment was so deeply integrated to his very integrity, that even when David tried to get him drunk and send him home, Uriah maintained his cause, despite having little control over his faculties at the time. Uriah was one of David's 'mighty men of valor' and appears to be perhaps one of the greatest patriots in the history of Israel - especially considering he was a Canaanite by birth. He fought valiantly and courageously to serve and protect king and countrymen whom he dearly loved - and yet by whom he was ultimately deceived.
Again Uriah suffered greatly, even to the point of death, not only in spite of his perfect obedience, but BECAUSE of it. What a delightful satisfaction to have. To be able to be in utter peril, and not to immediately assume (and alter find to be correct) that one's suffering is due to one's own sin, but instead to have confidence, knowing we have kept God's commandments.
And although Uriah and Job are great examples of this, the Lord Jesus is all the more. Not only was Jesus declared righteous, but he was also perfectly sinless, obeying God in every conceivable way. He kept the law perfectly, and he too was murdered by the people whom he sought to protect and to save. He did the will of God, and ended up dying on the cross because of it - obedient to the point of death. No fault was found in him. We are all too aquatinted with the situation where our own sin has caused us to suffer. I can only imagine what it must have been like for these men to be in the same situation I've found myself in, but being able to righteously defend the accusations with true pleas of innocence. Filled with satisfaction, instead of shame. I can only hope that such a fate will await me in Heaven. Although I won't be able to look at any righteousness I've earned, The Lord Jesus's righteousness will be credited to my account, and will fully become mine, because of perfect his atonement.
Oh, what a miraculous God we serve, who can justly deem this sinner righteous by virtue of a perfect substitution.
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| There's so much majesty, wonder and awe when Spring comes to Vermont - it almost reminds me of Genesis 1. Such splendor and mystery rolled up into the same sensation.
"The earth was without form, and void: and darkness was upon the face of the deep"
Kind of like Vermont after a long hard winter; barren, desolate- bleak and nearly hopeless. Bone-chilling emptiness. One can just feel it in the air - that something's missing, and on especially cold days, we suspect that something missing from the air - might even be life.
"But God," is one of my favorite phrases. Despite the fact that winter is cruel and bitter in this northern New England state, by His grace, God has extended to us this pleasant kindness:
Spring
I opened the door, fully dressed in my usual uniform to combat the winter elements, only to find them retreating. As I locked the door behind me and turned to face the bitter harshness, I tensed as I braced the wind to come at my face. But to my shock -
it was a WARM breeze.
Rather than berating me with an assault, I was lightly kissed by the smell of budding hope in the air. The D-day invasion of winter had been a success, and this was the first glorious step into a whole new world; the world of Spring in Vermont. Surely winter is a adversary not easily defeated. It might be mid-May before the foe is finally vanquished. But the javelin has been thrust through the icy cold heart of winter, and the smell of it's death is in the air.
A few days later it snowed, but this was certainly a mad clamoring grasp from the now-powerless winter. And this faint and hopeless, although very real, assault will certainly not be the last. But the worst is behind us. No long will we open the door to barren and oppressive climate conditions that would normally fail to support human life. The tide has turned, and although it is not yet a clean victory, it is a certain one. There is a smell in the air that can only come from the full richness that Liberation provides to us. Freedom from our previous time of captivity. When the fear and inconvenience of the weather prevented us often from taking a walk, from breathing in that sweet breath of life we can sometimes taste in Creation. We are no longer prisoners, but we have the ability and even the invitation to go out, explore and suck the marrow out of life.
Spring is such a beautiful metaphor for Salvation. What was once dead and bitterer and hated, becomes renewed. Slowly, but surely and powerfully, so that it's Life is more lively than its Death was decayed. Shining the light of hope and prosperity in the formless and dark void that once was our souls. These rescued elect now have the liberty to truly live. They are no longer trapped in by the restrictions of their burdensome inability. God has touched them, just as He has touched the ground and caused renewal and regeneration in the earth. That miraculous God who has done so many countless wonders through the ages comes into man's heart and plants a seed inside what was once a stone, and causes it to grow and bring forth fruit. When was the last time you saw anything growing out of a stone?
And just like Spring in Vermont, it's not quick and over. Spring is a process, Salvation is a season. There is certain initiation, progress growth. But very little perfection, especially early on. It will likely snow 3 or 4 more times before Winter finally breathes it's last. But it will no longer BE cold. We will no longer wake up in the morning, knowing for certain that iced windshields and numb fingers will await us today. No that certainly has been beautifully slain. We will no longer perpetually live in defeat, but instead we will live to battle!
In winter there was no hope of satisfaction or enjoyment, there was barely even the hope of relief. And now every day is filled with brilliant ambition. And although occasionally snagged by winter's icy fingertips, we have utterly escaped it's firm and fatal grasp. Such misfortune is now behind us.
And the most glorious thought of it all, is that as wonderful and succulent as this Season of Salvation in Spring might be. There still awaits something better;
When that Spring becomes Summer
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