Southern Comfort

So I'm currently at "The Retirement Capital of America."  This place makes Irvine look like New York...

My adventure for the day.

Walking Adventure in the FTL   < Linky to the mappy

A. Convention Center  11:30 am.  After waiting to get picked up by a shuttle for over half an hour, I just decided to walk back to the Hotel with my Carry-on luggages and throw a fit.  Lucky for me, it was a beautiful day outside.  Sunny skies, and slightly windy, temperatures in the low 70s. 

B. Hotel  11:45 am.  After throwing a fit, I got an early check in and I just dumped all my stuff in the room and took off on my adventure.

C. Beach 1:30pm.  First time I walked on the sands of this East Coast.  Nothing special, although the water was very cold and very fresh.  Nothing but retirees and High School kids around.

D. Kelly's Landing  2:30pm.  Had a light lunch at Kelly's Landing.  It was this New England pub, and they had some pretty good Chowdah.  And the other thing was Steamers, which was aight, except a bit too sandy.  Service was great, I felt the Southern Hospitality.  I've never been called "Honey, Darling, Sweetheart, etc" in one meal before.  This kindof setting makes me wish I grew up in the South with the nice white folks.  Of course, after lunch, it was still early, and I was down for more adventures.  So I've decided to venture down to Las Olas.  I've asked the waitresses for directions.  One of them decided to just take me there since she was heading that way anyways.  I can't say no to that.  So I hopped in her car and we had a nice chat.

E. Las Olas  3pm ish.  I wandered around the street, it turns out that there was a big St. Patty's day parade earlier.  So remnants of the parade can still be seen.  Lots of small boutique stores and retaurants/bars.  After seeing most of the street, I ventured down towards downtown because I saw blocked off streets and sirens.  It turns out that's where the big party is.  There's this big festival with all these Irish Vendors.  So much green in the beer and in people's outfits.  Too bad I was flying solo, or else it would've been more fun.  Of course, it might've been a bit more fun to be able to partake in the alcohol, but darn this self imposed wedding diet. After that, headed back to Las Olas and tried to find my way home.  Thanks to Carrie, I was pointed in the right direction.

F. Five Guys  6:00 pm.  I finally got back to the hotel area, and of course, no visit to FTL is complete without a visit to Five Guys.  I think I deserve something big/heavy after my long walks today.  After a Bacon Cheeseburger and their awesome fries, I got satisfied.

G. Hotel.  6:30?, who knows, I passed out shortly after arriving in the hotel.  Haha.

Thus completes my adventure in Sunny Ft. Lauderdale. 

Believe it

More to come

Results of a Night Out

Don't mess

Why is it that we do what we do?

Is it cultural, traditional or Biblical?

I've been thinking about this lately.  Why is it that we do some of the things that we do.  Mainly, stuff that we do in church.  To be honest, being in a new church brings revelations and light to many of the things that I've come to question. 

Tithing:  It has been said to give "10% of your income"  So if I made $1000.00 a month, I would donate $100.00  Pretty simple and clean cut.  As explained by Leviticus 27:30 and Numbers 30, tithing is the Israelites giving a tenth of what they sow(earn) to the Lord.  Then the Lord has giving the Levities permission to take from the offering to survive.  So that's where the present day "10% of your income" comes from.  In the new testament, no where does it mention about tithing.  The closest thing that even comes close to it is 2 Corinthians 9:7, which talks about God loves a cheerful giver.  I think I would chalk this one up to be a traditional issue.

Fathers/Pastors/Rabbis:  Matt 23: 8-10.  Pretty self-explanatory.  Granted, I know that Ephesians 4:11 tells us that there are certian positions in the church, but how important is the title?  If I were to go up to a pastor and just call him Bob instead of Pastor Bob.  Is that wrong?  Does that mean that people should call the greeter at Walmart Greeter Bill, or the Barista at Starbucks Barista Dale?  What's the purpose of titles?  Should we cling on to it just so that we can be set apart from the rest of the crowd?  Just remember that James 1 has told us that teachers will be judged more strictly.  Of course, this seems to be more of an issue of cultural.

Saying Grace:  Giving thanks before a meal.  Never have it been commanded in the Bible to say grace before a meal.  Only in the NT that you notice Jesus giving thanks before the beginning of a meal. 

Drinking:  Let's just say that in the OT, that Lot got so wasted that he slept with his daughters.  In the NT, Jesus turned water into wine.  He also partied with the tax collectors and sinners.  Don't be a stumbling block, keep it under control.

Gambling: Never mentioned at all.  The closest thing is "casting lots."  That is considered as Divine Intervention, God has a hand in the outcome of those results.  Many verses have been throw out in terms of trying to go against gambling.  All of them used are greatly misused.  Some of them involve the verses from Psalms and Proverbs, such as "being wise with your money" and "don't be led by greed".  That is only under the assumption that you are gambling with money that you need to survive (ie: rent, food, money to take care of your family) or in hopes of earning more money.  Consider this, you go to the movie theaters, you paid $9.00 to watch a movie.  You are paying that money for an experience.  Well, what if I take the $9.00 that I would use to go watch a movie to get another kind of experience?  One where I'm gambling, if I win money, good for me, if I lose it, oh well.  I don't plan on getting rich with this $9.00. 

Tattoos: 1 Corinthians 6:19.  This is the verse that is the go to verse to go against tattoos.  Umm.....this verse is talking about sexual immoralities there buddy.  If you're going to use this verse, consider 1 Kings 6, the building of the temple.  I'm pretty sure they had decorations for the temple.  If you hold to the 1 Corinthians 6:19, then you would also knock out regular piercings.  Please consider Revelations 19:16, what does that sound like to you? 

Anywyas, it's 1:30am, just felt like I had to get this off my chest.  Please let me know if you've felt like I've taken some verses out of context, but take into consideration of how the verses were used initially, thank you.