DoxA

Shhhhh!

For years now my family can not understand how I can drive for hours without saying a word or turning on the radio. They will tell you it is common for me to sit in the living room without the TV, stereo or computer putting forth noise which, gives evidence that life is present. It is during these times I often am asked, "What are you thinking?" to which (honestly), I reply, "Uhhhhhh."

When I go away, twice a year, for what I call a "Study Break" it is an odd combination of rest, eye-bugging reading, prayer, recreation and SILENCE! I had to laugh the other day when I was explaining this to a couple of friends. Sharing with them the process I purposely employ to gain silence in a time of solitude (which is actually a greater discipline), I make sure there are no possible distractions. So I turn everything OFF! But what I told them is, "I set aside a morning where I sit in the middle of the living area with nothing on..." I did catch myself rather quickly to dispel whatever weirdness they were perhaps sensing at the time... "I mean, I turn off the TV, computer, cell phone!" We all chuckled. I still think they perceive me a bit strange.

When I do this it does start purposefully and with some difficulty. I set out to DO nothing. The idea is to wait... not Isaiah 40 kind of wait but Psalm 40 kind. In other words, not to be bettered but to be rescued. Far too often in our crazy lives we strive to be better but this ignores the deep, covered issues which are the causes of our weariness. No, this type of waiting requires, confession, revelation and surrender. This silence, like a jar shut tight, when opened up to the Holy Spirit will be filled.

The extreme hard action in silence is opening up that space. I love how Henri Nouwen puts it within the confines of such action as silence, solitude and prayer...

"Silence requires the discipline to recognize the urge to get up and go again as a temptation to look elsewhere for what is close at hand. It offers the freedom to stroll in your own inner yard, and to rake up the leaves there and clear the paths so you can easily find the way to your heart. Perhaps there will be much fear and uncertainty when you first come upon the "unfamiliar terrain", but slowly and surely you will discover an order and familiarity which deepens your longing to stay home....... whenever you come upon this silence, it seems as though you have received a gift, one which is "promising" in the true sense of the word. It promises new life. It is the silence of peace and prayer, because it brings you back to the One who is leading you." 

It's still quiet. All I can hear are the clicking sounds of the keys beneath my fingers and the hiss and flutter of the gas fireplace. I will break this silence in a moment after clicking SAVE to begin listening to a lecture series by Timothy Keller. In some ways, I don't want to... in some ways, I do.

Reflections from Tucson

I've not had much time the past few days to sit at my computer and tell of the events unfolding at the ICTN Triathlon Training Camp so here is a brief summary of the weekend that seemed to encourage those who were there and many who were not. I will attempt to do this in "race report" fashion...

ARRIVAL: My flight out of San Jose was an early, rainy departure from the house to the airport (5am to be exact). With a quick stop in San Diego I was able to call Aubrey and let her know that I would soon be flying overhead and to look outside as I'll be waving from my seat looking down on that beautiful campus. When I arrived at Tucson, I had a text from Brian to look up as he would be fly in shortly after I hit the ground... difference is he would be doing the flying in an F-16! I did see one; not sure if it was him though. Soon Brian picked me along with Coach-Kevin and Pro-John and we headed for a sandwich and the hotel. There we ran into Stan everyone checked in while I unpacked and assembled my bike soon Jon and I were off for a 1:20hr run.

RUN: It had been raining slightly when we arrived but it seemed to let up in the afternoon so I went without a parka... wrong choice. First after John and I left the hotel we had no idea where we were going and just went in a direction we thought would yield a river path. After a couple of miles of surface streets it started to rain... then we found the river and a fantastic place to run but it started to rain HARD! Soon we were both soaked! We got back in just over the run time and walked straight for the Jacuz-Spa! Warmed up our core temps and then off to the rooms for showers and catching up for dinner.

DINNER Night 1: All the usual cast of characters were assembled... caught up with Chris, Lincoln, Bob, Scott, Kirk, Steve, Ken and a few others... Met Brad there; a pro who races for Beans... Sports Beans that is! Later back at the hotel, Scott and I were catching up when Courtney and Jamie arrived. We were so excited to see them and spent the rest of the night catching up. It was great to see how well Jamie is doing and can talk about her faith in the midst of her incredible ordeal (if you're unfamiliar with her ordeal; see prior posts in the category of Triathlon about Jamie's journey this past year). Because I had to do an easy 35 min. run the next morning Courtney offered to go with me.

RUN 2: It is still rainy but not as bad and Court and I head out... this time we headed where we knew there was a river trail. The run was easy and only slightly wet but my hip had been bothering me so by the end I had started to really feel the pain.

CAMP BEGINS: As the campers started to file down in the Park Theater everything was present... all the Hammer Nutrition products, the shwag bags, familiar faces and many new ones. Short introductions were made and Stan got it in gear! Without going into all the detail of what happens here's the short and simple... we listen, to professionals, coaches and otherwise experienced triathletes on how to do what we do in training and racing, better. There is also a spiritual component that is key to the weekend camp because, as we say in FCA "Why do you race?" For us the purpose is simple; the race is the goal, the preparation is a journey; our faith is often represented in this way... a Race. We want to show others who we race for and what we race for; God and His glory. So, pastors, who are triathletes, talk about these things and hopefully (I say hopefully because I am one of those pastors) encourage and guide others to answer that question.

FOLLOWING WORKOUTS: For me I spent the next two days riding. Day one, nice and easy with a small group. I have to admit the riding is a lot better here than trying to navigate the streets through Phoenix and Scottsdale where the camp had been previously. On day two, we rode up Mt. Lemmon, one of the most touted rides in the US. This ride was a pretty good size group and quickly split up as we began the ascent. I was riding @ heart rate, meaning I was only going to go as fast as my heart rate would allow. I stayed at the front of the group until we arrived at Windy Point, a beautiful and stunning vista looking down onto Tucson. It was getting very cold and most wanted to return for a late lunch but I wanted to go to the summit. How often to I get to ride one of the nations best? Right! So off I went by myself ascending to nearly 9000 feet. At the top and now extremely cold, I refueled, bummed a newspaper from a sightseeing motorist and shoved it up my jersey to insulate the frigid bomb/decent down to the valley floor. What a ride! After that...  I was done. No more workouts as I'm trying to nurse my hip back into health.

FOLLOWING MEETINGS/MEALS: One of the best part of this camp is the time spent with these friends. I value and treasure the kinship of faith and fun. It was clear our friendships are diving deeper each year and we count on each other... like my friends Troy who roomed with me or JR who drove me up to Phoenix; both amazing guys, who any young man would be lucky to have in their lives just to see what a man of God should be. My fellow pastors all speaking from personal experience and some deep rooted in difficulty and honing by the Holy Spirit, speaking collectively on topics that seemed to be organized and orchestrated months in advance but simply following the lead of God's voice to "feed them;" and what a meal it was. Jamie talking about this past year and her physical and emotional roller coaster which drew her closer to God and gave her huge opportunities to share her faith where it didn't have room before. The campers responded to her by contributing nearly $3000 to help with the needed remodel of their bathroom to accommodate Jamie's now disabilities. Of course Steve Born's nutrition advice is a highlight and worth the trip itself but Steve claims the camp benefits him more than he can give... Oh, and thanks Brian and Jill for taking me to Dr. Bub's for a look at my ailing hip. I'm feeling better but we'll see what happens here.

Each year, we all walk away with something. It is real, it is profound, it is special... it is a gift from God. This year, by the change of venue or most likely from what we heard from those who did and could not come about the economy, our attendance was down. Soon plans will be made for next year's camp and hopefully more will get to experience what we did this weekend. Regardless, the experience was nothing less... in fact, it always seems to be a little bit more.

This Day, Right Now; Don't Change

Today President Barak Obama was sworn in as our nation's 44th President. I did have a moment of pride being an American as I watched such a lush tradition of transferring power from one leader to the next. The very practice itself seems to raise the levels of hope in Americans. A fresh start, a new deal, allows us to wipe clean the grit of past foibles and steady our aim for new endeavors. Our President does not share some of the convictions for which I am passionate but on many he does. I believe he will be a man seeking justice while preserving the core of our great nation. I have seen in the past two months his ability to lift expectations in a dreary time and do so with people who did not vote for him. Now he must rise up and meet the challenges that face us and we, if history does repeat itself, will do everything possible to make that task incredibly difficult.

We place expectations on our leaders, whether fair or not, to the detriment of our own cause. Rarely is a sitting president applauded for having to do the difficult thing. With media hacks and sideline pundits it's practically a miracle if any decision is seen as praise worthy. As a result scrutiny erodes the sense of security one has in a leader. And if for but a moment we can preserve the future through the eyes of today's hope we may think twice about being so critical when things aren't going perfectly.

Consider this quote from the man whose Bible was used today to make solemn the oath...

When the conduct of men is designed to be influenced, persuasion, kind unassuming persuasion, should ever be adopted. It is an old and true maxim that 'a drop of honey catches more flies than a gallon of gall.' So with men. If you would win a man to your cause, first convince him that you are his sincere friend. Therein is a drop of honey that catches his heart, which, say what he will, is the great highroad to his reason, and which, once gained, you will find but little trouble in convincing him of the justice of your cause, if indeed that cause is really a good one.  President Abraham Lincoln.

Our cause is a good one... our cause is one. God bless our people... God bless our President

Prayer: Making It Fit into Our Lives

Dr. Guy P. Duffield was a gentle, old sage; a stalwart icon of doctrine and pastoral practice while I attended Bible College. I sat in the front row of the largest lecture hall, as was required for all incoming freshmen, to take Systematic Theology I. Here, in my first look into the attributes of God, I wrestled with the many facets of who God is and how I understand him.

One day, Dr. Duffield was teaching on the sovereignty of God describing the unchanging, immovable totality that is God Himself. All was going well until he said, "and prayer can not change the will of God." Immediately my mind went to several passages of the Bible that state specifically that "God changed His mind." (Jonah 3:10; Genesis 6:7; Exodus 32:14; 1 Samuel 15:11; Psalm 106:45; Hosea 11:8; Joel 2:13.) Not wanting to make God anything less than who He is, "Certainly," I thought, "prayer was the agent of this change." So, I raised my hand and Dr. Duffield stopped his lecture and turned his head toward me, "Yes?" I straightened up in my seat and cleared my throat. "I disagree... I believe prayer can change the will of God." I recall hearing a collective gasp go through the hall. Dr. Duffield without missing a beat said, "Well sir, then I don't want you praying for me!"

If God is sovereign, in other words, completely in control and determining all things according to His pleasure, what are we to do? Should we pray, should we endeavor to live right lives and would we just be wasting our time sending people out as missionaries? If God's gonna do what God's gonna do; what have we to do?

Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. James 5:16,17 (NLT)

Prayer was a practice clearly documented in the scriptures. It is declared that we should pray (Phil.4:6) and gives us a location where to pray (Matt. 6:6). It also is emulated by Jesus himself for many reasons for what to pray (Luke 10:2). Our prayers must carry some weight or why would Peter tell us that our prayers can be hindered (1 Peter 3:7)? Paul encouraged Timothy to pray for others (1Tim.2) and specifically asked the church in Ephesus to pray at all times in the Spirit and to be persistent in praying for others, including himself (Eph.6:18,19). Even in the seemingly selfish option of prayer Jesus describes in Luke 11:5-13 of a man who won't get what he needs through friendship but through persistence we see Jesus pointing in the direction of the one who meets the need.

Consider this parable of Jesus in Luke 18 (NLT)

One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up.  2 “There was a judge in a certain city,” he said, “who neither feared God nor cared about people.  3 A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, ‘Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.’  4 The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, ‘I don’t fear God or care about people,  5 but this woman is driving me crazy. I’m going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!’ ”

6 Then the Lord said, “Learn a lesson from this unjust judge. 7 Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don’t you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly! But when the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith?”

God is gonna do what God is gonna do... but that doesn't mean we should stop doing we should do! It is His will for us to seek Him, to find Him and to place our trust in Him. It is His will to provide, protect and promote us... it is for us to see, as James describes, God as the Father of all good things who does not change (James 1:17,18) but gives wisdom that draws us toward humility and transforms us into peacemakers which results in righteousness (James 3:13ff).

So Pray (1 John 5:14)! Pray, Pray, Pray; according to His will and stop praying for yours... In other words

    Pray for peace and stop praying for a parking spot.
    Pray for justice and stop praying for just you.
    Pray for wisdom and stop praying for wealth.
    Pray for courage and stop praying for conformity.
    Pray for humility and stop praying for humanity.
    Pray for your grace to be God's grace... for your your forgiveness to be God's forgiveness... for your     ways to be God's ways and stop praying for God to change others, when he desperately wants to         change you... stop praying for peace in a war over there when you can not reconcile with your             neighbor over here... and stop praying for me if you think you can change God's mind.

Pray.

How Long? Not Long!

Today marks the day when Martin Luther King Jr. was born. This day has come and gone year after year when whites acknowledge and blacks celebrate. Not until President Bush #1 declared it a national holiday did we collectively do anything to place this most important figure in American history to prominence.

So far removed from the civil rights marches of the south and the stank of legislative prejudice it would be easy to forget Bloody Sunday and Governor George Wallace but this year they can not be ignored! Next week we will, with the overwhelming support of a country mostly white, swear in our first black president! Which brings to mind... Most know of Dr. King's famous "I Have a Dream" speech, considered to be one of the greatest speeches delivered throughout American history but today another speech stands out seemingly profound as we stand at the threshold of significant change...

At the end of the third march from Selma to Montgomery, on March 25, 1965, Dr. King stood on the steps of the state capitol with the eight thousand who began the journey and delivered a speech to nearly 30,000 for those timid and harassed to "march toward the ballot boxes" for the sake of a better day in which he emphasized,

Our aim must never be to defeat or humiliate the white man, but to win his friendship and understanding. We must come to see that the end we seek is a society at peace with itself, a society that can live with its conscience. And that will be a day not of the white man, not of the black man. That will be the day of man as man.

Entitled in his own notes as "Our God is Marching On" it later became known as How Long? Not Long... Here is the conclusion of this powerful speech.

I know you are asking today, "How long will it take?" Somebody’s asking, "How long will prejudice blind the visions of men, darken their understanding, and drive bright-eyed wisdom from her sacred throne?" Somebody’s asking, "When will wounded justice, lying prostrate on the streets of Selma and Birmingham and communities all over the South, be lifted from this dust of shame to reign supreme among the children of men?" Somebody’s asking, "When will the radiant star of hope be plunged against the nocturnal bosom of this lonely night, plucked from weary souls with chains of fear and the manacles of death? How long will justice be crucified, and truth bear it?" 

I come to say to you this afternoon, however difficult the moment, however frustrating the hour, it will not be long, because "truth crushed to earth will rise again." 

How long? Not long, because "no lie can live forever." 

How long? Not long,  because "you shall reap what you sow." 

How long? Not long: 

Truth forever on the scaffold, 

Wrong forever on the throne, 

Yet that scaffold sways the future, 

And, behind the dim unknown,

Standeth God within the shadow,

Keeping watch above his own.

How long? Not long, because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice. 

How long? Not long, because:

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord;

He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;

He has loosed the fateful lightning of his terrible swift sword;

His truth is marching on. 

He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat;

He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment seat. 

O, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! Be jubilant my feet!

Our God is marching on.

Glory, hallelujah! Glory, hallelujah!

Glory, hallelujah! Glory, hallelujah!

His truth is marching on. 

Perhaps Tuesday is the day!

Here We Go!

It's training time! And I can't seem to get any. Well, not really. It's time I get up early... and I have, to jump in the pool... Two things here - it's cold outside and it's still dark outside at 5:30am. I know, silly reasons to stay in bed, right? I'm amazed at how little rain we've had lately and this should make me glad but in a strange way it does not. Riding along the reservoirs the other day and seeing them nearly empty was disheartening. I'm looking forward to the training here this spring; it's very beautiful, green-green hills, yellow fields with wild mustard and speckled pink and violet wild cherry trees everywhere all placed against an azure blue background, it's pretty stunning and a real motivator to get outside. So, as we begin... I remind myself, it's a beginning. Below is my workout plan for this week. Designed by my coach, it seems too little for what I'm used to but for now... it's just enough.

So, here's a thought. What are your expectations when it comes to getting a goal accomplished? Whether learning, doing or changing do you start out BIG and try to keep the momentum going or do you plan for growth along the way? Do you just go as hard as you can for as long as you can or do see how one thing leads to another? Finally, do you think I'm talking only about our physical lives here or does this extend practically in our spiritual journey as well?

You do the math... in the mean time, here's what I've got to do this week!

Date	PLANNED Workout	Description
Jan 12 Mon	Bike 01:30:00 Find a long hill. Climb in zone 2 (zone 3 max), holding 55 RPM in the big chainring the entire clmb, or for repeated climbs totalling 45 minutes. HR should stay even. <move>
Jan 13 Tue	Swim 01:00:00 Masters <move>
Jan 14 Wed	Run 00:45:00 AeT test run. <move> Bike 01:00:00 MTB. No limits. <move> order Swim 1400.0 yd 00:30:00 WU: 8x50 drill/swim. Drill with single arm (other arm at side), fist swim, catch up. Concentrate on catch. Main: Swim 1000yd straight, except... Pick a stroke count per length you have trouble holding. Swim as far as you can until you can't hold that count. Rest 30' and repeat. Do this until you hit 1000. Remember the stroke count and how many stops you had. <move> order Weights weights and core. 2 sets. <move> order Bike 01:00:00 spin class <move> order
Jan 15 Thu	Run 00:30:00 Easy. Just run. <move>
Jan 16 Fri	Run 00:45:00 Long run. Easy. Trails. <move> Swim 3000.0 yd 01:00:00 WU: 200 swim, 100 back, 300 pull, 8x 50 drill (1/2 of these single arm). Main: 2x (3x100 moderate (20"); 3x 100 strong pull w/ paddles 30")) CD: 200 alternate by 50s free and backstroke. <move> order
Jan 17 Sat	Bike 02:00:00 Group ride. Push it up today and play in the front. <move> Weights weights and core. 2 sets. <move> order
Jan 18 Sun	Rest Day off <move>

Caption Please

Blogging is work. I can see how some people make a career at it. I'm impressed at some folk's blogs. The amount of work put into them; bells, whistles and all. Several I've highlighted here and many are themselves works of art. Impressive graphics, articulate and intelligent writing, beautiful designs all this along with an odd sense of creating community among people who have never met before in person. A comment was left here a couple days ago about waiting for the next post... I've already heard today about not getting a post out yesterday. Sorry, life got in the way and I have to confess to you, while thinking comes easily for me, typing is a chore.

There are several blogs I love to read. I have to admit, lately, I've been absent from my favorites. So, I don't take it personally if my readers take a break either. I also don't blame the bloggers I like to read for taking a break as well. Like I said, blogging is work. Not just the placement of content but the formation of content.

Like I've said before, I like it when you comment but I need to put things in the blog that will make you want to comment. Most of it here has been serious and provocative. Some things need to be light and entertaining. So, as this GUY had done a lot to entertain me with posts entitled "Caption Please" I will occasionally post on those days I don't have time to really dig deep I'll just put up a photo like this one and ask you...

Caption Please?

Prayer For a Change

The alarm goes off at 6:30am. You have a choice. Do you get up and start your day or hit the snooze button? You opt for the snooze and another 9 minutes of horizontal existence. Again, the alarm goes off and this time you get out of bed. Perhaps you have a routine; bathroom, coffee maker, toast, yogurt, morning news... maybe you don't; some days bathroom first, some days coffee maker first, sometimes you just jump in the shower. Clearly, when you start your day you have a choice.

Our lives are a series of choices and along the way these choices lead us to who we become and what we do. Occasionally, we stop and take inventory of who we've become and think what must be done to maintain course or get back on track. Sometimes these course corrections are minor and sometimes they are life changing! Last week I wrote about the impulsive New Years resolution. It created a stir among readers of this blog and others in person. It caused me to really think; had I been judgmental of others who were trying to better themselves or was I justified in my observation through years of watching people fail to meet their goals? Since the answers were varied based on different experiences and circumstances I asked another question, which I'll propose here...

What causes change?

I received so many different replies to this simple question. Some answered, God while others said it was the person themselves. Some said it was dependent on what required change. While some things are within our control to change, other things are not; what do we do then?

Several years ago there was a popular bumper sticker campaign: Prayer Changes Things! remember that? Several books were written with that title.

So is prayer the answer? If God controls all things then He must be able to change things. Can you really change the mind of God if He is sovereign?

The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. James 5:16b (NLT)

What are the results? Does prayer really change things or does it change us?

I'll wait to weigh in here, I want to hear from you. Let's keep the conversation going. Oh, and remember that thing about choice... getting up in the morning you have a choice... you have a choice.

This Stinks! Comcast

Just decided to try something new in my blog world... complain to you about horrible service, bad products and things that otherwise just tick me off! Why? Because it doesn't seem to matter to those who can do something about the problem so maybe you'll think twice about buying, trying or using said products or services. This fun little new feature to the DoxA blog is called, "This Stinks!" (oh I hope somebody is paying attention.)

Comcast cable and internet service... this stinks! Why? Well lets go back to the beginning. After moving into our house we signed up for cable and because of franchising there is only one cable provider to use meaning we got Comcast. When it was time for the installation two gentlemen showed up in the midst of our move where we had yet to set up the TV's and computer however, knowing how to navigate around the technical I encouraged them to leave the equipment, test the lines and make sure everything was good to go. They did but left no information on how to work the equipment. No manuals, no channel guides... nothing! They kind of vanished after I signed the work order. But again I'm a smart guy, I can figure it out, so I plod ahead. But could not for the life of me get email set up. for two weeks I tried contacting Comcast and got the run around. Finally a technician was able to walk me through a "glitch" that was a clerical error when I signed up over the phone. Was corrected and a promise to credit my account $25 was made... Bill comes the next month no credit. I refused to pay. Comcast finally calls me and says, "What's up?" I explain... they apologize and they say, "It's taken care of but I'll have to pay what's current and the credit will show up in the next bill." Ha! never happened. So I ignore it, thinking, "Hey, it's only 25 bucks."

After six months my bill jumps way up because the promotional period runs out. So I call them up to cancell all the extra "free" stuff saying, "Hey I know you will still offer to your continued customers incentives, is there anything that you can offer now?" The rep hems and haws and says since I "downgraded" my service there wasn't much to do but if I wanted to add phone and premium channels then they could do something. I said I wasn't interested and just accepted the lower yet higher payment now.

Now we're talking months later and they call wanting to see if I'm willing to upgrade with Comcast phone (we use Vonage which is cheaper and we've kept our phone numbers from the desert... all that would have to change if we went with Comcast) I say no thanks, He says, "Well you know... I see you're paying $XXX.XX amount a month and we can, yada, yada, yada if you get this phone package. I explain don't need all the movie channels, etc. just want a lower bill... He says all that is possible with the phone added. I ask, "Is that only for a period of time? Like six months?" He starts to tell me how it will save money in the long run... "Will my bill go up again?" He knows I'm serious about this and flatly says, "It will." I tell him no thanks.

Then Thanksgiving weekend we're watching a show and our DVR starts acting up... cannont rewind a program without it going all the way back the start of the recording. This is so frustrating. I say that's it! ATT has been calling, sending flyers... even showing up at the front door offering their "superior" service. So, the next day I stop by an AT&T Store and ask questions. It looks really good. In fact, superior! So I go back home and do what the promo material suggests, sign up online so I can get $200 back. They schedule the installation, the guy shows up on time! spends all day reworking cabling testing signals... does the install and gives me a 30 minute demo of everything; how it works, shortcuts, internet, email... DVR!

So, we transfer Joy's email over to AT&T and give everyone notice and decide to wait 2 weeks for people to catch up with the switch. I then call Comcast on 12/29 cancell my service and the guys says, "Well, what can we do to keep you as a customer?" I tell them about their cruddy DVR and a little history of trying to get the bill lowered. He then asks me what I'm paying with AT&T and what services I'm getting. I tell him and he says, "Wow... We could give you a lot more channels, premium movie packages, accelerated internet and lower you payment ($10 a month less than AT&T). No mention of the phone package! I say sorry you had your chance! and insist they cancell my account. He does, tells me he'll keep it open for a week to let the tech come by and pick up the equipment. I tell him I'll return it, "Today!" He says, "Fine that way you'll be guaranteed to get your refund of the prorated payment sooner (Comcast charges you ahead of time, in other words you pay for the service you're going to get not for what you've had)." He then tells me my refund will be approximately $XX.XX.

So today, I look at my online bank account and guess what? Comcast decided to charge me for another month of service!!! I call Comcast and get this lame excuse of the technician needing to come get the equipment! I tell her I turned it in a week and a half ago. She says, well for my security I should call my bank and cancell the auto pay... I tell her, I didn't set up the auto pay with the bank but with Comcast and Comcast will have to withdraw the payment schedule!!! She tells me the refund will take about 3 to 4 weeks, I tell her I want to speak to a supervisor, she says I'll put you on hold to get one... she comes back on telling me to hold for the transfer... she comes back on telling me the supervisor has closed the account and the bank will be credited in 3 to 5 days.

Comcast... get it together! Don't you realize now that with AT&T UVerse You're not the only gig in town anymore? If I were you; I'd start threating your customers with a bit more respect. And Comcast customers I'd start asking for a lot more service... Because AT&T has got it going on!

A Good Reminder

This video clip never fails to make me laugh out loud. It reveals the visual comic genius who is Rowan Atkinson also known as Mr. Bean to all our friends across the pond.

In this scene it is an all too familiar reminder of what church is actually like for some... perhaps you.

Enjoy!