I want to win free stuff....go here.

honemoon photos online

Just go check out the crider family blog listed below.

Consolidating

In a sense anyway. This blog will no longer be used to keep up with my life....you can now find that kind of info at http://thecriderfamily.blogspot.com/.

Leslie wanted to start blogging so this is a way for both of us to do that and have some accountability. My blog will still exist, but I won't be using it for life stuff.

Anyway...just wanted to give an update. We'll have some wedding and honeymoon photos on that site soon as well. Actually, for your viewing pleasure there's already one photo from our honeymoon there.

Jason

one last post as a single man

Ok...So here I am 3.5 hours before my wedding. Trying not to stress out too much because I'm forgetting something I'm supposed to be remembering....which I am an all-star at by the way.

Tommy and I just grabbed some subway for lunch...no mexican food today for all you Texans.

Anyway, I'm packing up and getting ready to go. Ready to not be single anymore, ready to share my life with someone, ready to glorify God in all that we do.

This should be a fun ride, and if I trip or pass out at the wedding hopefully someone can make a few bucks off of me on AFV.

Anyway...pray for us, as a new couple starting out we want this marriage to be continually bathed in prayer just as it has been up to this point. For those of you that I haven't seen in a long time...miss you and wish you could be here to share in this moment...or at least help me get my mind off of messing up.

Until next time....

Two down, one to go

Well, for those of you I haven't seen here's a brief update. I graduated from SWBTS on Friday, moved to Little Rock on Saturday, and I've been unpacking ever since. The wedding is getting close...only two more days or so. I'm ready for the whole thing to happen, but I'm a bit nervous about being in front of everyone....that whole stage fright thing. Kind of funny that I got my first shout out while walking accross the stage for graduation (appreciate that one, Cameron), and hopefully noone will get any ideas like doing that at the wedding. Things are going great for me...little less stress in my life...or at least a different kind. Jess Dowdy, if you read this give me your email...I've got a couple pictures for you.

Here's a laugh

http://jakehilton.com/2005/09/02/napoleon-dynamite-videos

ok..so i'm engaged

For those of you that aren't close to here...you probably haven't gotten the news. Last Friday night I got engaged. I am getting married on Dec 17 in Little Rock.

If you have questions then feel free to email me. I'm pretty busy so you are getting the short version.

Leslie was featured a couple of posts ago...so you can see her there. Maybe I'll have time in the future to update this thing a bit more.

What would you do?

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2167486

thoughts?

Finally

I was able to track down myself long enough to provide you with a photo that several of you have asked for...

so here goes.....

Breaking News you can only find here!

Ok..so maybe it isn't CNN or even the Nantuckett Daily Press, but I guess you will hear it here first unless someone has been gossipping.

I am now blessed to say I have met someone and we have been dating. I'm going to try and stay away from posting too much info on here....but wanted to let the friends that read this from other states and countries in on the mix.

Email me if you want details that I haven't put out here.

What's your responsibility?

Since Ginny says I need to update....I guess I'll throw something out there.

With gas prices soaring like crazy and no relief in sight, it's not beyond reason to think about ways in which we can be better stewards of our environment. I'm not telling you to go hug a tree, but do we really need to drive a vehicle that gets 6 miles to the gallon?

I usually don't disagree with Focus on the Family, but just to assume that something is wrong because it is coming from the liberal scientists(their own words) is kind of crazy. Common sense tells you that there's a cause and effect for everything....and spraying nasty gases into the air is probably doing something to the the world we live in.

I'm not that big on polictical correctness, PETA, or hardcore environmentalists, but if what this article says is true about FOF then I'm going to have to politely disagree for once.

Interesting discussion going on from http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2005/008/22.66.html
and
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/8/162005d.asp


And I've come across something else that may be helpful:
25 ways to save at the pump
Gasbuddy

Update

It's been a while since I posted anything semi-serious or life related on my blog, so I think the time has come for that to happen. The last few days have been interesting, not only because one possible career path has been eliminated, but because several others have come into doubt at least for now. One of my biggest struggles outside of being single and wondering when God was going to place someone in my life for more than a week, has been what would happen to me after December (when I should graduate from seminary.) Up until now there was a remote possibility that God would open the door for me to stay in my current capacity and serve Him that way, but for now that has been removed. Not the function, but the location so whether or not I could do the something similar somewhere else is a whole different question. Anyway, onto one of the biggest questions that I've been pondering and praying over for quite some time. I'm not sure if God has called me to serve overseas, but I do have a heart for the nations. Up until now I have thought that the prospect of going overseas after graduation held the most promise, but the last few days I've felt differently for the first time. I don't know that I'm ready. Actually, today, I don't think I am ready. That doesn't mean that it won't change in a week or two months, but right now I just don't think that's where my focus should be. I won't go into all the factors, but the peace isn't there and I'm not going to force it. There are areas in my life that the Lord is working on, and He will continue to work on them until I submit fully. This isn't discounting how the Lord will work and how things will change, but as far as where my thoughts and prayers should be targeted currently there is realignment of priorities I guess.
Another big issue is that of looking at other churches. Currently I've been attending a church plant that I am really enjoying, but others have raised doctrinal questions that I have to answer for myself through scripture. The reason for looking at other churches won't be addressed, but it can be summed up in that it's what I feel like I should do right now. I totally solicit your prayers on these matters because it has to be a God thing and not a me thing.
So after all that chatter, I guess I could sum it up for you. I wish it was so cut and dry that I could just say that in December I will take a church job or a secular job. I have no clue what the Lord has in store for me, but as I grow closer I pray that I won't worry and that I will submit to His will. I wish it was easier, but right now I feel like I am suppose to use my gifts and talents for His Kingdom. To me that means using web design. I don't know what that will look like. I don't even know if I'm mistaken in thinking that way, but I do know that is the clearest path that I can see right now. Please pray for me. Pray that it won't be about Jason or what I think I can do best or even do at all. Pray that I will submit to what He wants me to do regardless of whether or not I think I'm good enough or able to do it.
Sorry for being so long, but I had a few things I wanted to put out there.

Friday Night Dates

Ok..I thought I had seen everything. This made me laugh.
Red ribbons

Too funny

While I don't endorse this movie at all...this is too funny.

Grab a digital picture of yourself, and then have fun:

http://www.weddingcrashersmovie.com/crashthistrailer/

Is Ain't a Word

well...along with fixing to, ain't is a word in my book..but here's an interesting look:

Is it a word?

My Own Pride

I haven't ever posted lyrics to a song I wrote on here so I figured now was as good a time as any.
Maybe I'll post more here soon.

This song was written right before I came to Seminary.

My Own Pride
Verse 1
As I’m trying to discover my way
It’s always harder the very next day
And if I decide I’ll help you out
It never fails, I’m filled with doubt

It’s so hard for me to let go
To believe in things that I don’t know
If I give it all to you
I’m worried about what you might do

Bridge:
I guess it’s a little to easy to see
That I can’t be what you want from me
I try on my own and I always fall
And I’ll keep on falling till I give you my all

Chorus:
Take away my selfish pride
And find me when I try to hide
I long for the day when I doubt no more
And you get to see what your looking for

Verse 2:
I’m torn between easy and right
Sometimes I go for Christian lite
When I do I’m own my own
And once again I feel alone

Since sixteen, my thoughts have changed
And slowly my goals have been rearranged
I’m still trying to follow your call
And I long for the day when I don’t fall

Extreme home tears

As a guy, I would say it takes alot to bring tears to my eyes. But as of late, there seems to be one thing that never fails. If I turn on the television while extreme home makeover is on, then usually I will shed a tear. I've only watched it a few times, but these type of feel good stories are nice. Don't picture me bawling or anything....just watery eyes I guess :-). Anyway...if you haven't watched it be prepared for to get a little teary eyed...but it's worth it.

Good story

This is another one of those feel good stories...had to pass it on.
http://tinyurl.com/76bvd

My Life with P

This post is probably going to be a lot harder to write than most. I have been thinking about it for a while, I figure now is as good a time as any to give you some more information about something you may not know anything about. I am going to give you a little glimpse into something I live with. I’m going to try and not make this extremely long but at the same time say what I want to say.

I live with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. Most people have never heard of it, and for the past 10 years of my life I’ve had to do the best job I could explaining what it is. I’m not sure how many people reading this interact with me enough to know about it, but even if you don’t it’s good to learn about it and what it does to a person. This isn’t a sob story or anything so I’m not going to get into the weird situations or huge decisions that have been made because of this, my main goal is to educate. I’m going to borrow a few things from an excellent site that I reference from time to time in order to better describe things.

Psoriasis is an immune-mediated, genetic disease manifesting in the skin and/or the joints. It affects more than 4.5 million people in the United States. In plaque psoriasis, the most common type, patches of skin called "lesions" become inflamed and are covered by silvery white scale. Psoriasis can be limited to a few lesions or can involve moderate to large areas of skin. The severity of psoriasis can vary from person to person; however, for most people, psoriasis tends to be mild.

About 10 percent to 30 percent of people with psoriasis also develop psoriatic [pronounced sore-ee-AA-tic] arthritis, which causes pain, stiffness and swelling in and around the joints. Early recognition, diagnosis and treatment of psoriatic arthritis can relieve pain and inflammation and possibly help prevent progressive joint involvement and damage. Without treatment, psoriatic arthritis can potentially be disabling and crippling. More facts about psoriatic arthritis

I guess people asking me why I am wearing long sleeve shirts in the summer time have led to this posting. Or maybe a young child asking what that is on my skin. Most people don’t know what this disease is unless they know someone who suffers from it. There are good days and bad days, but there’s always tomorrow.

If you know me then you know that I’m ok talking about almost anything, so if you have more questions about this then please feel free to send me an email at jccrider75 at yahoo dot com.
Here are a few more direct links that will give you info about this disease:

psoriasis FAQ
psoriatic arthritis

Shamnesty International

This is interesting......could the rest of the world finally get this point? Maybe people will see they are using our own good will (treating someone fairly) and abusing it.

Girls are evil!

Well, I believe that about sums it all up. :-) I have a good friend of mine who agrees..and she basically planted this idea in my head that girls are evil. So this isn't just coming from the man's point of view....other girls know you are evil too.

Ok. All of that aside, there's obviously some point to this tirade. At least I hope there is. I have been out with a total of 4 people (1 date or however many dates, never more than 2 weeks) since being at seminary in 2003. I have a few of friends who would consider that alot.

How many times can I get kicked in the sternum by a horse before I stop getting back onto it. Oh wait...it kicked me again.

Hopefully you can read between all the lines here without me blatantly coming out and saying anything specific about what has recently happened. You really have to have good memory loss for these sort of things (which luckily isn't a problem for me), in order to "keep on keeping on" (quote by Joe dirt).

Are girls evil....some are. Are guys evil...some are. Will I date again...maybe. Will the horse kick me again...for sure.

Disclaimer: (added later after thinking about it) I'm not really saying anything bad about these 4 girls, so please don't read it that way. It's more the entire female race...lol. Just kidding. God's in control so I'm sure these girls had good intentions (from their point of view). Sometimes I just don't understand it.

Glory

Well, since I haven't posted in days it is about time that I put some form of an update on this blog. Most importantly, I passed my systematic theology class. This was a pretty big concern of mine, but it's a blessing that I passed and it's time to move on.
The timing of going to serve at Mission Arlington just wasn't there, and after a great deal of prayer it was decided to say no at this time. I got an understanding email from Tillie and so that's on the backburner for now.
We finally launced the new website at work, but I will try and refrain from comments about work on this personal blog.
Today I had the pleasure of going to the Dallas Musuem of Art before the Forbidden City exhibit left. Minus the horrible weather it was a great trip.
My Ole Miss boys are in the SEC tourney finals against MSU. Two teams from Mississippi in the SEC finals. That's a pretty big deal. We've beaten them every time this year so hopefully we can pull one more away from them.
Hope you enjoyed the very brief update and maybe I can get back to putting stuff out here a little more often.

How well do you know me?

I know this could be considered cheesy, but I got the idea form my friend GM. It's an online quiz about me...I just came up with some random questions...so go give it a shot.

Take my Quiz on QuizYourFriends.com!

The Big 3.0.

Well, today is the day. I've been on this earth for 30 years. I don't think it has fully set in yet, and it might take a few days. I don't want this birthday to be another day in the year. What was Jesus doing when He turned 30? I've been thinking about this today, and it should give me something to shoot for. All day, I have just been thinking about what I could do in order to signify that today is special and that it should be a new day. I want to do so much in my life that I'm not currently doing, or don't even have goals set for. I have an unwritten list, but surely it needs to be reorganized at some point. Maybe I'll come up with that list in written form and post it on here. Maybe in a few days I'll be able to see where these thoughts are taking me. I just hope the next thirty years are spent honoring God in a way I could hardly imagine today. I want everything I do to glorify Him....and that is my wish for today.

Florida

I am officially back from Florida. It was a fun trip, trying at times, but I won't get into that in a somewhat public forum. We got to see Andrew march in a parade at Disney World, and see my grandfather receive his bronze star. You can follow this link to see pictures from the trip. You will notice some firework shots, and since this my first time to attempt them, I have a long way to go to get where I want to be. It was at night and without a tripod, so I was quite limited. Some of them turned out ok though. The rest of the pictures you will see are of family and things that were seen at Disney. Hope you enjoy.

Lawsuits?

I thought I was done for the evening when I ran accross this article. Is there anything in this world that people can't sue someone over? Frivolous lawsuits really tax the system anyway. Do you believe this one is unwarranted?

Don't get me started about Title IX, which prevented our men's soccer team at Ole Miss from existing on a varsity level. We were stuck with what we had, but we didn't feel that we needed to sue someone. Title IX has done some good, don't get me wrong, but is it like affirmative action? Is it misused and abused at times? Waiting to hear from my 1 loyal reader-----.

Reflections on a Semester

Well, finals are winding down. I have my last one tomorrow in Worship. It is crazy how a class can have so much busywork. This class has had more work than any other class I've had at seminary. Kind of makes it a chore and very hard to enjoy, but I guess that is not its purpose. Anyway, I'm taking one thing from this class. I hope I can keep it because it is a good one. Maybe even Piper said it, and while I'm not as into his books as some are, but we had to read Desiring God for this class. We are to "glorify God and enjoy Him forever." This also came up in Systematic Theology class.
What does it mean to glorify God, sometimes that is not so easy to do. Turning in assignments late or slacking off on something surely doesn't glorify God. My bad..cause I am the world's worst at that kind of stuff. We are humans though, and that's where the grace comes in. That's something else I'll address, because sometimes I fail to realize that Christ is a Christ of faith and a Christ of History. All too often, I fall too much on the faith side of things and forget about what has happened in the past.
Anyway, God is good, even when I am not and that's pretty cool. I'm flying out to Florida on Thursday to see my little bro march at Disney World. Should have some pictures from the trip up next week. Until next time, let's try to glorify God in all that we do, and definitely enjoy Him forever!!!

Tommy's Party

TommysParty_0210
Originally uploaded by jason7655.

I've got all the pictures uploaded from Tommy's going away party. He's going to help start a church plant in Birmingham, Alabama. You can go have a look at the pictures yourself.

Great Movie - Hero

This movie is one of the better ones I've seen, and I constantly go to it for inspiration (at lest the trailer.)

Here's a good link with the trailers and featurettes on it. Click on the first trailers to go to Apple's movie site to watch the English trailers if you'd like.

I would highly recommend this movie to everyone. The cinematography is really good.

I had this video embedded but I've removed it now....there you go Chris.

Redesign

I've changed the template on the site, just a temp solution as I'm working on a design that is based off of one of the templates on blogger. Some of the features are gone for now, but hopefully not for too long. Please bear with me as I change things up a bit.

NOTE: I've now made most of the major changes that I plan on making for now. Any opinions on the new look? I just threw it together based on some other designs on blogger, but it's really based off of one of the better templates.

Need a good laugh?

These might pick you up:
Mediocre
poor kid
Rocking baby
poor kid 2
Oh how I love these 4
Trunk Monkey 1
Trunk Monkey 2
Trunk Monkey 3
Trunk Monkey 4

And to finish it off, we should all be so kind to others....
Icy

I've began reading Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis, all the while neglecting the book I need to read for class. I wanted to share this reading with you. This is very long, but well worth the read.

A little intro on the book from christianbooks.com:
Wormwood, a demon apprentice, has been given his first earthly assignment---secure the damnation of a young man who's just become a Christian. He seeks the advice of an experienced devil---his uncle Screwtape. Their correspondence discloses the psychology of temptation from the other side. Invaluable insights on temptation, pride, the power of prayer, and the ultimate victory of faith over the forces evil.


The 8th letter
My dear Wormwood,
So you ‘have great hopes that the patient’s religious phase is dying away’, have you? I always thought the Training College had gone to pieces since they put old Slubgob at the head of it, and now I am sure. Has no one ever told you about the law of Undulation?
Humans are amphibians—half spirit and half animal. (The Enemy’s determination to produce such a revolting hybrid was one of the things that determined Our Father withdraw his support from Him.) As spirits they belong to the eternal world, but as animals they inhabit time. This means that while their spirit can be directed to an eternal object, their bodies, passions, and imaginations are in continual change, for to be in time means to change. Their nearest approach to constancy, therefore, is undulation—the repeated return to a level from which they repeatedly fall back, a series of troughs and peaks. If you had watched your patient carefully you would have seen this undulation in every department of his life—his interest in his work, his affection for his friends, his physical appetites, all go up and down. As long as he lives on earth periods of emotional and bodily richness and liveliness will alternate with periods of numbness and poverty. The dryness and dullness through which your patient is now going are not, as you fondly suppose, your workmanship; they are merely a natural phenomenon which will do us no good unless you make a good use of it.
To decide what the best use of it is, you must ask what use the Enemy wants to make of it, and then do the opposite. Now it may surprise you to learn that in His efforts to get permanent possession of a soul, He relies on the troughs even more than on the peaks; some of His special favourites have gone through longer and deeper troughs than anyone else. The reason is this. To us a human is primarily food; our aim is the absorption of its will into ours, the increase of our own area of selfhood at its expense. But the obedience which the Enemy demands of men is quite a different thing. One must face the fact that all the talk about His love for men, and His service being perfect freedom, is not (as one would gladly believe) mere propaganda, but an appalling truth. He really does want to fill the universe with a lot of loathsome little replicas of Himself—creatures whose life, on its miniature scale, will be qualitatively like His own, not because He has absorbed them but because their wills freely conform to His. We want cattle who can finally become food; He wants servants who can finally become sons. We want to suck in, He wants to give out. We are empty and would be filled; He is full and flows over. Our war aim is a world in which Our Father Below has drawn all other beings unto himself; the Enemy wants a world full of beings united to Him but still distinct.
And that is where the troughs come in. You must have often wondered why the Enemy does not make more use of His power to be sensibly present to human souls in any degree He chooses and at any moment. But you now see that the Irresistible and the Indisputable are the two weapons which the very nature of His scheme forbids Him to use. Merely to override a human will (as His felt presence in any but the faintest and most mitigated degree would certainly do) would be for Him useless. He cannot ravish. He can only woo. For His ignoble idea is to eat the cake and have it; the creatures are to be one with Him, but yet themselves; merely to cancel them, or assimilate them, will not serve. He is prepared to do a little overriding at the beginning. He will set them off with communications of His presence which, though faint, seem great to them, with emotional sweetness, and easy conquest over temptation. But He never allows this state of affairs to last long. Sooner or later He withdraws, if not in fact, at least from their conscious experience, all those supports and incentives. He leaves the creature to stand up on its own legs—to carry out from the will alone duties which have lost all relish. It is during such trough periods, much more than during the peak periods, that it is growing into the sort of creature He wants it to be. Hence the prayers offered in the state of dryness are those which please Him best. We can drag our patients along by continual tempting, because we design them only for the table, and the more their will is interfered with the better. He cannot ‘tempt’ to virtue as we do to vice. He wants them to learn to walk and must therefore take away His hand; and if only the will to walk is really there He is pleased even with their stumbles. Do not be deceived, Wormwood. Our cause is never more in danger than when a human, no longer desiring, but still intending, to do our Enemy’s will, looks round upon a universe from which every trace of Him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys.
But of course the troughs afford opportunities to our side also. Next week I will give you some hints on how to exploit them,
Your affectionate uncle
SCREWTAPE

Your thoughts on this letter from Screwtape? It might even make you want to read the book. I know it's been interesting so far.

Knock yourself out with these great links:

80's commercials:
http://www.x-entertainment.com/downloads/

Great wallpapers:
http://hubblesite.org/gallery/wallpaper/

Neat idea:
http://zonezero.com/magazine/essays/diegotime/time.html


Have fun.