Top 5 - Realizations

I have really not blogged as much as I intended. You would think I'm not blogging because I don't have anything to talk about, but the exact opposite is true. I have so many weird, crazy thoughts that I'm not sure which ones to actually publish on the world wide web and which ones to continue to allow to bounce around inside this mush I call a brain. For today, here are the top 5 things that I've realized lately (in order of significance):

5 My 20's are almost over and I don't feel like I've maximized these last 7 to 9 years.

4 I'm one of the most insensitive guys around. This really isn't a news flash. I don't want sympathy and I rarely give it. I've gotta work on the giving part.

3 I put so much energy into planning that I rarely have the energy necessary to carry out the plan.

2 Baylee and Brock are growing up so fast and I feel like I'm not fully enjoying who they are at this time. Baylee won't always want to jump up in my lap and cuddle up with me. Brock won't always scream when I leave the room.

1 I thoroughly enjoy reading diaries, journals, memoirs, and biographies. Don't get me wrong, I don't go around stealing journals from people I know and reading them, but I do appreciate when people are transparent and open. I love reading books about the actual person and not simply the incomplete public persona that is portrayed or preserved in history books. I loved Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography and I plan on starting Mein Kampf soon.

Next week I will post the top 5 reasons why I love my new loofa. Just kidding. But maybe.

RG

Nick Scroggs

I've always loved Nick. It's really sad that he's not with us anymore. Nick has not been to youth in a while, but he came quite a bit last year. For as long as I live, I'll never forget the night that I gave him the nickname Skittles.

We were playing a game in the middle school service that involved painting with Skittle juice...disgusting I know, but we're talking middle schoolers. When the game was over, we still had a lot of Skittles that were not used. Many of the students grabbed some of the candy to eat as a "favor" to me to dispose of the leftovers. Nick was sitting on the very front row when I started to teach. As I was teaching, I heard a loud breathing sound. I look down to see Nick with a mouthful of Skittles. His mouth was so full that he could hardly breath. Skittle spit was running down his chin and was staining his clothes. In spite of all of that, he continued to put more Skittles in his mouth. I just started laughing. I couldn't keep my thought process while Nick suffocated from a Skittle overdose. We all had a great laugh about it. From that night (a year or so ago) to this day, many of us in the youth ministry refer him Skittles. In fact, I got a text today from another student to give me the news and the text said "Skittles is dead. He got hit by a car."

He was a great kid. We're all going to miss him. The story and the video are below. Please pray for his family during this extremely difficult time. Nick has many friends that regularly attend our ministry who are having a difficult time right now. In fact, the other teenager that is discussed in the story (the one that didn't cross I-30) is a prominent member of the youth ministry. As you can imagine, it's rough for him right now. I spent some time with him today, but the kid will never forget this.




source: http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/14-Year-Old-Dies-Trying-To-Cross-I-30.html

Teen Dies Trying To Cross I-30 14-year-old boy struck, killed by sport utility vehicle

By Susy Solis

Updated 11:22 PM CST, Thu, Dec 11, 2008

KXAS

Grand Prairie police said a 14-year-old boy trying to take a shortcut home was struck and killed on Interstate 30 on Thursday afternoon.

A 14-year-old boy was struck and killed while running across Interstate 30.

Teen Dies Trying To Cross I-30

A Chevy Suburban hit Nicholas Scroggs when he tried to cross I-30 near Beltline Road at about 2:30 p.m.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver of the Suburban was in the vehicle with his wife and three children when the crash occurred.

Police said no charges will be filed.

Nicholas, a freshman, was released from school early because he had a swim meet later Thursday night.

He was enrolled in the Gifted and Talented Program at Grand Prairie High School.

His father, Rick Scroggs, said he wants his son's death to serve as a lesson.

"Those cars are going much faster than they look," he said. "One spur-of-the-moment choice led to the death of a very happy, friendly, wonderful young man."

Classmates at Grand Prairie High School said Nicholas was known as a smart kid who always had a smile on his face.

"He was a really good kid," said Giovanni Simon, a friend. "He was fun to hang out with. He was a really smart."

The Grand Prairie Independent School District said counselors will be on hand to help students cope with the his death.

The First...

As I was getting ready to begin this blog, a friend reminded me of xanga. I haven't thought of xanga in years. I began to wonder if my old xanga site was still up and to my horror, it was. Reluctantly, here you go!

I was reading over my post from back then and I was shocked. It was really only a few years ago, but the writings, the ideas, the overall tone was just terrible. At the time, I'm sure I thought it was great, but looking back I can't believe just how ignorant I was.

The truth is, a few years from now I'll look back on these writings (the ones I haven't even actually written yet) and think just what you are thinking now... "That's terrible!" "How can he believe that?" "The dude can't spell or construct a sentence!" "I always knew Randy was a 'tard." The thing is..I'm okay with that. Hopefully, for all of us, the future version of us is not as ignorant as we currently are. As a Christian, the only thing for me to do is thank God for being patient, teaching me, and moving me along. A very sobering verse for me is Hebrews 6:3. The context is growing in Christ and then the writer of Hebrews says "And this we will do if God permits." Think on that.

Anyway, that's how the new blog got it's name: My Current Ignorance

I'm not pretending that anyone will actually consistently read this, and that's perfectly okay. I wanted to start this blog to chronicle things like the day my daughter asked me if Jesus had a million eyes so he could see everything....I preceded to give her a theology lesson on the way to school about the omniscience and omnipresence of God the Father and the incarnation of Christ. It was great. Or the day a few weeks ago where I had to call the cops to "escort" a lady out of our sanctuary that would not leave. When the police asked her name, she responded "Christ," to which I turned to another pastor here and crudely joked under my breath "We're sorry. We didn't recognize you. Of course your welcomed here." Or today when I realized that by definition, I'm the fool that is so often talked about in the Proverbs. Or the fact that I laid down my man card and agreed to go watch Twilight this weekend. Or give the top 10 reasons why I never answer my cell phone.

I don't exactly know what I'm going to write about, but my goal is to write at least one thing a week. Thanks at least for reading this one! I understand if you never want to come visit again. haha.

RG