Find Out Why I'm So Happy I Got a $300 ticket! :-D

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Getting Ready to Leave for New York

Sorry I didn't blog last week. I was on a little thing I like to call vacation. I vacated to the metropolis of New York City. What an amazing city with incredible wonders. Time square, Freedom Tower, Toys R Us, and the Statue of Liberty are only some of the amazing sites I was able to see. All those things were great, but I was treated to the real New York experience. I had my car towed.

Me in front of Freedom Tower Which is on the WTC site

I can read. In fact you may say I'm quite good at reading. So when a sign says, "No Parking" I read it and know not to park there. But when a sign says, "No Standing" I figure it means not to stand there. HA! Was I wrong.

That is exactly what the sign said...

What I found was No Standing is actually a more severe warning than No Parking. It basically means that no body, car, or thing can be standing still in this area at anytime or it will be towed and ticketed. I parked my car in a No Standing zone at 10:45 PM and it was towed by 12:15 AM, barely an hour later. It was an expensive lesson that cost me an entire day of my vacation and $300. I'll never park in a No Standing zone EVER again. And I'll never forget the experience.

I was reminded in all this that even in the most annoying situations I should stay joyful. James explains it to us this way, Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.


This is another Biblical paradox. We are supposed to be happy when times are most sad. We rejoice in the trials of life not because it's fun, but because God is making us into the people He wants us to be. After we face a trial, if we react to it the right way by counting it all joy, we are closer to that final product that God wants us to be.

So what difficulty are you going through right now (If you're not going through anything yet, hang on, it's coming)? Stare it down and tell it that it's not going to get the best of you. Because you understand this challenge is only making you stronger and more like Christ. What an amazing thing it is when we can take the terrible events of our life, as minor or major as they might be, and put it in the joy column because we know God has it under control.

In Closing:
Halloween Scare House: As Halloween jets towards us we are working hard at getting our scary house together. We need help, your help. We need people to help build sets, props, sue costumes, and paint makeup. There will be another interest meeting this Sunday morning after church.

Oceanside Saturday Night: We have a mission at Oceanside to reach every man, woman, and child in our 2 mile radius. So in order to reach a new demographic we're going to start a Saturday night service. It will be very similar to the Sunday morning service except more technology driven (Twitter, Four-Square, Facebook, and so much more). We think it will appeal to a those who have challenging schedules, like to sleep, single, young & married, or all the above. Beta Service September 17th 8PM.