Edit REQUIRED

Hello everyone,

I would like everyone to know that I made a huge mistake! Please go and read my post entitled "The Ten Commandments of Movie Watching". It wasn't originally mine and I failed to give proper credit. As a writer myself, I know how I would feel if some one had done this to me. Please read the post again and visit the link to the blog One Stack Mind located in the sidebar of this blog. Thanks and again I apoligize to Robin for the lack of credit.

There was some great links from One Stack Mind about how to give credit: HERE
But since I didn't understand most of that post because I have HADD (Html Attention Deficiet Disorder) I decided to not screw up anything else.

Here is the link to the Updated post.

And here is the link to ONE STACK MIND's specific post that I ignorantly plagerized.

And here is the link for you all to read of Robin's feelings on what I did.

And be sure to visit OneStackMind as often as you can, it really is a great blog.

Who is He?

Hovering over Lake Ponchatrain, He waits, scanning the murky waters of the 40 mile wide lake. His mind wanders under the surface, searching for those who have been washed out of the city. Urgency is not his main concern. For these he searches for, it is already too late. This is his purgatory, his sentence. It only took him a day to push the water out of the city and help the National Guard build a temporary seawall. That job was a neccessity; this is what he came here to do. To take the dead, those he could not save, and give them the respect they deserve.

Edward grew up in New Orleans. Middle child in a family of eleven. He grew up in the 9th ward, but managed to escape the chains of poverty and get into the shipping business. His job for the past 24 years, has been on the water of the Mississippi. He is the captain of a tug boat currently anchored near the center of Lake Ponchatrain. His mission here is to maintain the barges that have become the platform for the dead that are pulled out of the lake. His eyes are fixed on the man floating 100 feet above the water. His concentration is shattered by a question from his second mate.

"How long has he been at this?"

"Two days," He answered.

"How long each day?"

He gave the young man next to him a quizical look. "He hasn't stopped"

"Wow, what is he going..."

The old black man raised his hand as the flying man suddenly dropped out of the sky and fell into the water. A plum of water spat up from the surface, at least half as high as he had been flying.

"He has a routine, He waits till he "senses" a body, then he drops into the water and carries them here. I lay down the body bag, and he puts them in it. Yesterday, He pulled out a woman who could have been my Grandmother. She wasnt, but she looked like her. He put her down and sat there five minutes weeping over her."

"I don't get it, doesn't he have, whatsitcalled, tele-...tele-kintectis?"

"Tele-kinesis, the ability to move things with your mind. Yes, why?"

"Well," the second mate tried to organize his thoughts. "Why doesn't he just lift them out of the water with his mind?"

"I don't know. Maybe he wants to be more hands on." The captain paused, "Imagine how you would feel if you got all these incredible powers just a day to late to help save lives in the greatest natural disaster to hit the mainland United States."

"Wow, Thats, that's unreal." he paused, "Do you know who "he" is?"

"Nope, I know he's from this area and he just got his powers, but that's all. I aint got no clue as to his name, and right now, I dont care. He's doing his part, just like the rest of us. I aint gonna bother him." He stopped to lay down another body bag just as the man shot out of the water.

He landed with more grace than a man his size should have. He was dripping with water; his boots water logged and his shirt was clinging to his chest. He held the latest body close to his own as if trying to keep it warm. It was the body of a thin black boy no older than 10 years. He slowly lowered it onto the bag and took his time zipping it up around it. He looked up and met the eyes of the two boat workers. There were no words to say. They just nodded in return and he shot off into the air. His work wasn't done yet. He still had to search the city and the surrounding areas for the rest.

A step back and he looked up into the air. He bent his knees and shot himself up into the air.
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I had this dream last night. This is what I wish I could do. I feel so useless. I just ran and left everyone else to their fate. What kind of hero is that? What am I supposed to do?

Highlights of My Week.

Hey everyone,
Well the last few days have been interesting to say the least. I have spent since Sunday night here in memphis at a nice hotel called whispering woods. We (My Parents, David, His Parents and Me) watched all the news reports from the tv, talked to others from our state and other states who had suffered greater losses than ours, we have seen God provide for us on everyside. From the miraculous meeting of David's parents and sister, causing us to find this hotel and get the last room available, to provision for free lunches and dinners. We have met new and interesting people. People we have been able to minister to, and people who have been able to minister to us. The Bible says that the Lord works everything for the good of them that love the Lord and are called according to His purposes. At the very least, this seeming tragedy has opened my eyes to how big the body of Christ is. Our church may be splintered all across the United States, But we still have family everywhere we go. Just last night, we decided to attend this free dinner that this Baptist church was hosting for hurricane refugees, and we met some great people. I spent most of the night talking with the Assistant Youth pastor, Charlie, about everything from where we lived and what we were expecting to go home to to what we liked to do with our spare time to which college football teams we liked (Go Blue, Wolverines Rule). Not only did they feed us, but they prayed for us, offered to board us free of charge, offered finacial help, medical help. We were awe struck as to what these people were willing to do for people they didnt even know. I was supposed to Fly up to Michigan, but with the LA Airport out of commision for commercial flights, that ceased to be an option. I was thinking about driving up to Michigan in my Focus, but #1 I doubt my car could handle 1000mile trip and back, and #2 that would only be the case if i was going to live there for a while and get a job there, but luckily it looks like things will be back to some bit of normality and i will be able to go back to Sam's soon after i come back from my regularly schedualed Vacation. Eventually we decided that i would fly out of memphis, but the return flight was also slated for Memphis, so If, as we had planned, let someone take my car back home; I would have no way to get back home. So it was decided that since i was to leave tomorrow (Sept. 3rd) while everyone else was leaving Friday, because that was as long as we could keep the hotel room, I A) needed a place to stay for one night and B) needed someplace safe to leave my car for two and a half weeks, and C) I needed someone to bring me to the Memphis Airport and pick me up on the 18th. So last night at the free dinner, they told us that they were also having a free lunch the next day. So after we checked out of the hotel we went to the Church that had been so kind to us before. It wasnt long before we were swamped with some of the same people we had met the night before, asking us if we needed any more assistance. We told them my need and in minutes we had a place for me to stay, a safe place to put my car (the Church is situated right next to the local police station and they hand cuff anyone who is out and about after a certain time and look like they are snooping around in the parking lot.), and someone to take me to and pick me up at the airport. I am just amazed at God's provision. I cannot imagine making it without His help and the help of the Body of Christ.
So, Tomorrow I leave for another mission field in Michigan to go and stay with my family there. I am confident that I will find the same provision from God as I have seen already. And I also hope that I can show the same love and servant hood to those up north as I have recieved. I want my Family to be able to see what Christianity really is and if nothing else be a witness of Christ love and service to the world.
In Conclusion, I leave you with this. Be a servant to whomever you come in contact with. It shouldnt have taken the worst natural disaster on American soil, to shake the church into doing its job. If we are really supposed to be "Consumed" with Christ and His work, then we shouldnt treat church like a social club, or an interest we have that we list on "Friendster". We should live it 24/7. And i know alot of us know this, but how often to we live it. Even those of you who are in full time ministry, Do we really live CONSUMED with the cause of Christ? Are we His Army? Are We that commited? Do we live as a servant everyday of our lives? Do you see yourself as a branch, attached to the vine? We shouldnt be worried about were our ministry is going or how it is going to be accomplished in our lives. All of our dreams and hopes were given to us by God and it is His job, The Vines job to carry them out. We are only meant to bear the fruit, not cause the fruit to grow. So be a servent. Live completely unselfishly. We dont have to worry about this world, because God is in Control. I am calling out to you, be truly consumed with Him. Serve until the end of you. Care only for His work and He will care for you. Be the Soldier you were born, even created to be. Be confident in the fact that you are empowered by God to do these things. You are empowered by God to do all things. We are His Children, and He will not deny us our needs. God has a plan and a purpose for this catastrophe and for each and every persons life. Dont be someone who only becomes the on fire Christian during the Sept. 11ths and Hurricane Katrina's that come along. Be that everyday of your life. Push yourself to you limits. Find out were you end. The Bible says that WE can do all things through God. So there should be no difference between where you end and Christ begins. Find out where he can take you, if you give everything. i guarentee that you will be surprised. I dont believe that raising people from the dead is the greatest miracle that can be achieved on earth. Where are the people walking on Water. Where are those Superhuman people that We Christians are supposed to be. God hasnt changed. We are here in an age when we can no longer be ordinary people. We have to rise to the level that we were meant to be at. We were meant to be extraordinary.
Thank you for your time. I hope all of you are safe. I am praying for all of you.

-Timothy O'Donnell

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><> So long and thanks for all the fish!
Visit my blog @ http://thechroniclesof.blogspot.com
Semper Fidelis
Semper Vigilantis
Deus Ex Nobis