Another question

I have a question about Marcus' case. Why do you guys think this has not received national media coverage? In light of Jon-Benet Ramsey, Lacey Peterson, and Natalie Holloway it makes you wonder if the media is obsessed w/pretty white girls from affluent neighborhoods. Maybe I'm over-analyzing it. I just think it's important to get this story out there specifically b/c Marcus had autism. People need to understand that children w/autism are very loveable, awesome kids. However, they have very special needs b/c of a misunderstood disease. People need to know thier limitations and I think that if foster parents are going to take kids like this in, special trainings should be required. Any thoughts???

Senseless

I have to blog about this Marcus Fiesel issue. For those of you that are out of town readers, here is the story...Marcus Fiesel was a 3yr. old boy in foster care. A few weeks ago Marcus' foster parents claimed that Marcus went missing from a park after the foster mom fainted from a heart condition. This evoked a very long extensive search for this little boy (by the way, Marcus had autism). It turns out that Marcus' foster parents faked the whole park thing and three weeks ago, they went to a family reunion in Kentucky for two days. They didn't want to take Marcus w/them so they chose to lock him in a closet where he was wrapped in a blanket and bound w/tape w/his arms behind his back. Upon their return they discovered that Marcus had died so they took his body and burned it in the woods. I can't imagine what Marcus last little bit of time on this earth was like and how scared he must have been. How did these people become foster parents???? I've been trying to think of a suitable punishment and can't even come up with one. I can't even wrap my mind around it b/c it's so heartbreaking. My Christian co-worker put it well by saying that Marcus is now dancing in heaven and is suffering no more. I guess that's the solace to be found in this.

What's better then NFL Football?

That's right...EA Sports presents Madden '07! This means that through the pretend world that is my Gamecube, I can see how my Indianapolis Colts will fare this year. Or better yet, they have a mode in which I can create a player...let's say Jeremy Cox the running back...and enter him into the draft and follow his progress as he works his way up the depth charts. Right now I'm playing for the Cowboys second in the depth chart behind Julius Jones...making 1.5 million a year. Fun times. Ok, this blog stinks in comparison to Jess' yesterday...but I just got the game yesterday thanks to UPS and it's what's going on right now in my world :-). The only thing Jess hates worse then football is football on the Gamecube. Hope you all have a great weekend...you know I will!

Memories of a Forgotten People

This is going to be a long blog so prepare youselves...Yesterday when Rick and Jane McKinney were talking about their walk across America, they spoke a lot about their experiences walking across the desert and encountering a lot of Native Americans. They had a lot of stories that touched my heart, this one in particular I would like to share with you. They had a picture of a momument in New Mexico that was two steel beams and an American Flag in between them. They came across this monument and there was a Native American gentleman standing in the midst of this thing (I believe he was Navajo). When they approached this man there were tears streaming down his face and they proceeded to ask him what was wrong. He said that he was just remembering...you see the two steel beams were from the Twin Towers and when 9/11 happened they rounded up a lot of Native Americans to do the dirty jobs that no one else wanted to do - as in searching for dead bodies and body parts. This man was a part of that mission and happened to be paying his resepects at this particular monument. Rick and Jane proceeded to share the Gospel with him and he was greatly moved. This is a big accomplishment b/c Native Americans are generally not receptive to White Christians. They went on to ask if there was anything else they can do and he went on to tell them that he was homeless, and quite hungry. There was a truck stop buffet across the street and Rick walked him across to get him a meal. The man stopped outside of the restaurant and said they won't let me eat inside b/c I am homeless and an Indian. Rick persuaded him to go in anyway. At the cash register, Rick told the casheir that his friend would be eating at the buffet and the cashier then reached under the table and pulled out a styrofoam to go container and said "He will be needing this". Rick politely explained that this would most certainly not be the case and that he would be dining w/everyone else until he was full and that is exactly what happened.
This story touches my heart for so many different reasons. It puts so many things in perspective for me about my own predjudices and selfishness. Some of you may not know (by the way this is Jessica typing, not Jeremy) that when I was in college I had the opportunity to go on a mission trip to the Zuni Indian reservation in New Mexico. This is why this blog is long, I feel compelled to write about this so suck it up. In New Mexico we worked with a Christian school to do a VBS for kids whose parents allowed them to come. During the day we did a lot of manual labor on a ranch for the minister of that school. His name is Will and he was kicked out of the reservation for becoming a Christian. Will had a foster son and they lived in what was literally a shack in the middle of the dessert. He had 7 gallons of running water a day, an outhouse, and a generator for electricity that could only be used in the evening. We slept outside, inside of make-shift partitions to keep wild animals out. Sleeping under the stars in the desert certainly shows you how awesome our God truly is. Anyways, what I am getting at is that I saw so much poverty and discrimination and this was all inside our very own country. I was telling Jeremy earlier that this was third-world country conditions. While we were there we met so many brave people that risked so much by becoming a Christian, they would be shut out of their families and their communities, which to them is a very big deal. I also learned a lot about certain rituals that their reservation has - like a certain man whose only role is to dress like a monster on a daily basis to scare children. This man is also what they called the Audoshlay. If a parent felt that their young child (often 7-8 yrs. old) was being defiant, this man would kidnap them from their homes in the middle of the night and they would then become his slave for a few long months. And all of this is legal there! They have their own governmental system. The reason I wanted to write all of this was to communicate how often I forget how blessed I am and that I forget that thier are people w/true need in the world and people who do not know the love of Jesus Christ. This trip did so much for me and it breaks my heart that I don't have more opportunities to do things like this that often. If you ever get the chance to do something like this I encourage you to go for yourself and for others. It's truly amazing.

Rick and Jane at Family Night

Tonight Jess and I were very blessed to hear the testimony of Rick and Jane McKinney. This couple walked across America earlier this year and shared the Gospel with a lot of people. It was neat to hear about all the people they talked to and encouraged and prayed with. They started in Los Angeles, CA and ended in Washington D.C. on July 4th. Their message through song and testimony was an encouragement to Jess and I and really put into perspective how little we do on a daily basis for others. I don't know about you, but compared to Jesus I'm a pretty selfish person. But anyways...

On a very sad note, Jess and I were very discouraged at our turn out. There were only six of us in all who gathered together. It's just not very encouraging when I put something together and invite a couple who work hard in ministry only to be told by my congregation that they really don't care. I know there are a lot of folks who had some other things going on and please don't read this and feel like I'm speaking to you, but we even had folks sign up to bring food and not show. Our dinner consisted of spaghetti and leftover chips from VBS. We also had a ton of cookies and a cake...needless to say the ladies signed up to bring desserts all showed. One person who forgot came later and brought chicken...that was nice. I mean, maybe they weren't the most exciting act or the latest trend, but these folks gave their lives to ministry and what they did by walking across America is much more important then sports, family time, and the latest TV show. Ok, I'm off my soap box. I'm just really really mad tonight and I'm going to bed.

King's Island Fun

Today Jeremy and I got to tag along w/Christ's Church at Harrison's staff for a staff day at King's Island. There were five of us and we had a good time. For me, any day as a day off of work is a good day. It wasn't too crowded since a lot of schools have already started. It was hot but not blazing hot so the weather was nice too. I decided that my now favorite ride at King's Island is Delirium. I just think it's very fun. I still love The Beast but I think I now have bruises from it! The Son of Beast was shut down b/c a couple of months ago some people got really hurt on it and now they are suing. I think a lady actually broke her sternum. We were not disappointed b/c that one seems to hurt more than The Beast. It was also fun to watch Jeremy try to win me a giant stuffed turtle. Don't feel bad babe - I think those things are rigged. It was also good to come home and take a nice shower after feeling like I was covered in a sticky King's Island film all day.

Blogger stinks...but here's the stupid blog anyways

Ok, so I've been trying to upload pictures for the past three days WITH NO LUCK! Either my computer stinks or Blogger stinks...I think it might be both. So, no pics today...just Jeremy and a few words.

I just finished reading The Da Vinci Code. I know, I'm a little behind and that was yesterday's news...but I haven't read anything for fun in a really long time and since I'm taking a semester break from school, I decided to see what all the hype was about. Very good. I enjoyed the book very much. I used to read Sue Grafton novels and I rate this book up there with some of her best. Jess and I will probably see the movie this weekend...I didn't want to see it till I read the book.

So, honestly, the book is very preachy. Dan Brown is a whacko! I'm preaching a sermon series on the Da Vinci Code because I really don't think most people know anything about the history of the church nor do I think most people can refute Brown's claims. I really believe that if the average church goer read the book they would say, "That's not right...it can't be!" But couldn't really say much beyond that. So, hopefully the series goes well. Love to hear some input on Dan Brown or this sermon series. Talk to y'all later!

Frisbee Golf and Rascal Flatts

Jessica and I spent the afternoon playing frisbee golf. We played at Heritage Park. It was Jess' first time. She really enjoyed it and she did very well for her first time. I think we might start doing this on a regular basis. Tonight we are going to the Rascal Flatts concert with AJ and Mindy. Jess is pretty pumped. It should be loads of fun. We're going like an hour early so that we can get a good spot on the lawn. I'm just really glad its nice out, cause its at Riverbend. Well, I hope you all have a great weekend.

Office Space

So this is the latest and greatest in the latest adventures of my (Jessica) job. I would like you guys to tell me if I am being a baby here or if I have just cause to be peeved. As most of you know, I have my own office, I have had this office since I started working there a year and three months ago. I heard from a co-worker who assumed that I already knew that my other co-worker Andy (who used to be my boss and then stepped down from any authority position) is being forced to move in and share my office with me. This kinda sucks cause I like my own space. However, what really "Grinds My Gears" - that's for you Justin- is that my new boss does not respect me enough to tell me to my face. This move is supposed to happen this week and she has not told me, nor does she know that I know. I guess I was just supposed to walk in one day and see Andy all moved in. Is this disrespectful or should I just be thankful that I have an office, and a job for that matter? To me, it is one more thing that upsets me about my corporate, disrespectful job. One more question for you guys - should therapy be a corporate business or should it be focused on people?? Call me crazy, but last I checked, it should be about people. I feel like my worksplace has totally lost sight of that. Just some thoughts, tell me what ya think.

VBS Party

Jess and I spent Sunday afternoon at the Oberkorn's house for a VBS Party. We ate some great food (including a fantastic banana pudding and banana split cake), went swimming, rode some ATV's, and rode some horses. It was a great time. We had a lot of folks on vacation and not able to come...so we had a small turn out. But, that's ok...we still had a great time.

Here's a picture of me on Lucky. He was a little stubborn at times...but still a great horse to ride. Don't I look like a cowboy?

Here's a picture of Jenna on Riley. She got to put Riley back in the stable and give him a treat for being so good. She's so lucky!

Here's a picture of Reagan and Leo. Leo kept barking at the horses. I think Reagan is here trying to calm him down. He's so cool!

The Inevitable Plastic Fork

Well, I'm back from camp. We had a great time and I think everything went well. The only bad thing was the weather. It was sooo hot! The heat index was in the 100's all week except for Friday when everyone went home. So, besides that...it was great! In case you were wondering, the theme for the week was called "The Inevitable Plastic Fork" in which we studied forks that we might face in the road of life. Here are some pics...

Here's a picture of me playing dodgeball with some campers. I look like a dork!

Here's a pic of Jordan feeding Leo what looks like a snow cone, but we didn't give the kids any snow cones...so it must be drugs...or water....

Here a pic of Justin, Bethany, Jess, and I. Bethany was our nurse for the week. She did a wonderful job!

The Wild

With Jeremy gone I am left to the blogging so I thought I would write about a movie I saw yesterday with some kids from work. It's called The Wild. I bet you've seen it....if you saw either Madagascar or The Lion King then you've seen it. The entire first half is about animals from Central Park Zoo escaping into New York and then being sent into the wild. The entire second half is about a dad lion saving his son lion complete with wilderbeasts that take the exact place of the hyenas in Lion King. There is even a scene where the dad lion is hanging off of a cliff and the lead bad guy smashes his paw while he is hanging on....hmm.....sounds a bit like Scar and Mufassa to me. The only good part of the entire 1 hour and 10 minute film is a character that is a Koala...he's pretty cool, except that he is from Australia and talks w/an English accent the entire time. Keifer Sutherland is the voice of the dad lion which was weird b/c to me, Keifer Sutherland will always be Jack Bauer; not a big fluffy lion. So in case you get the urge to watch The Wild, save yourself a trip and pop in Madagascar or Lion King, both of which are far better films.