Mmm... Cheesecake!

troyerbe.com

2010-03-02T17:01:00.002-05:00

just wanted to let everyone know that troyerbe.com is now up and running! stop by and visit sometime!

great new blog!

2010-02-16T19:47:00.003-05:00

hey everybody! make sure you check out asiah's new blog! it's really great! i admit... i'm a little biased but it really is good. she really has a knack for writing.

check it out here or go to theerbefamily.blogspot.com

the iphone lives!

2010-02-14T11:17:00.004-05:00

ok so i recently got my iphone working again. i am terribly happy about this to say the least. i replaced the home button on it (a pretty intensive process) and shortly after had no signal whatsoever. after literally months of trying everything i could think of, the problem has finally been resolved. it turns out that the no service issue i had was not a result of something i did while repairing the phone. i'm putting this here just so i can possibly save someone the trouble that i went through to solve the dreaded "NO SERVICE" error.
i will start by saying that this may not be a fix for everyone but it worked for me. i have an iphone 3g on 3.1.2 firmware and have not upgraded to 3.1.3 yet. my firmware is hacktivated as i am not on the at&t network. i found out the other day that the ultrasn0w jailbreak was only good up to the 04.26.08 baseband. when i checked the baseband of my iphone, i was somehow up to 05.1.07, which is unlockable only using blacksn0w.
in my several-month process, i actually tried using blacksn0w to unlock my phone, thinking perhaps it was a software issue holding me back. but there are two little things i discovered recently.
first, i had only tried using blacksn0w after ultrasn0w failed. i tried using it on top of ultrasn0w and i also tried uninstalling ultrasn0w and then installing blacksn0w. neither worked. for me, i had to do a fresh restore and start from scratch using a custom .ipsw file and only using blacksn0w.
second, i found a comment that someone had left on one of the sites i was looking at (i can't for the life of me femember where it was. i will post it as soon as i find it). they suggested turning on the airplane mode (shutting off the phone feature), reinserting the SIM card, and then turning off the airplane mode. they claimed that if you keep doing it, you will eventually get service. i had tried this a hundred times but it figured i would try once again. amazingly, it actually worked! i tried twice and suddenly, after months, there was a full signal!
i will say it again: this may not be your answer. even though i was skeptical, it actually worked and i am now up and running on my iphone again.
let me know if this worked for you!

a sincere thank-you

2010-02-12T13:29:00.004-05:00

i know its been about a month since it happened but i wanted to take a moment and say thanks to everyone that helped in making my birthday so amazing. i have never had or even been a part of a surprise party before. it was really great. my little wife did a fantastic job with putting it all together. i really had no idea whatsoever. i was having a hard time with turning 30 (it's still a little difficult to say) but it meant a lot to be able to celebrate it with so many people that i care about. thank you so much for the gifts, i have been meaning to send out individual emails to say thanks but i keep spacing it. thanks to my family for the studio time, i will try to make you all proud of your investment. it's heart-warming to know you have that many people that believe in you. i thought i was going to get away with turning 30 without anyone noticing but now i'm glad you all did.

thanks again. t

new pics

2009-03-27T14:46:00.004-04:00

Asiah recently took our little sweetheart to get her pictures taken professionally. thought you would like to see them. she's growing up so fast.

cute pics

2009-02-02T14:42:00.007-05:00

just thought i would post a few cute pics of our cutie pie.

bikini babe

2009-01-09T15:03:00.002-05:00

more like bikini baby. for Christmas, my side of the family went to wana waves indoor waterpark in shipshewana. we had alot of fun getting completely waterlogged. this is a picture of lily in her pretty swimsuit right before we hit the kiddie pool. so lovely...

so dreamy

2008-12-03T09:00:00.003-05:00

lily just loves her new crib...

...it may be a little while before she grows into it.

pleased to announce...

2008-11-12T11:27:00.002-05:00

Lily Grace Erbe

Born November 9th at 8:04 PM
8 lbs. 3 oz.
21 in. long

another update

2008-07-24T17:04:00.002-04:00

so here's the latest on the kitty. she is now back with us as it didn't quite work out with Grandma's house. Grandma has very thin skin so what would be just a tiny scratch to us is a big gash to her. so back with us she goes. i am still looking for a good home for her. i would really prefer not to have an animal in the house, especially with a new baby just a few months away. if you know anyone looking for a furry little attention hog, please don't hesitate to let me know.

good home needed

2008-06-26T13:14:00.007-04:00

We found this little kitten huddled under a tree in front of our house. She has an injured paw that we did our best to tape up. We are having a baby soon so we can’t really have a cat running around right now. She is the sweetest little kitten that is so gentle and loving. She just needs a good home.

Update: We took her to the vet today and found out that her little paw is not broken but has nerve damage, which is why she isn't using it. Based on a little scarring that she has on her back leg we think she must have been caught up in something. The vet suggested amputating it but i don't like that idea at all. I'm just going to pray that the nerves will get better and she will eventually get to use it. Despite the handicap, she is an absolute attention hog and follows us around wherever we go.

Another Update: We think she has found a home with Asiah's Grandma. Thanks to those that gave us suggestions or tried to find a place for her. By the way, we named her Peggy because of her peg leg :)

tipton

2008-05-16T16:36:00.002-04:00

ok so if any of you have been around for a little while, you may have noticed that my blog is pretty random. today is no exception. i had a moment and wanted to share a picture that i took while i was out in tipton, indiana. hope you enjoy it as much as i did.

truth in advertisement takes on a whole new meaning at sherrill's...

sneek preview

2008-04-25T15:50:00.004-04:00

sounds of new life

2008-04-24T12:20:00.004-04:00

hooray!

2008-04-08T13:47:00.006-04:00

i know i'm a little behind in announcing this but my pretty little wife and i will be having a baby sometime around this november. we are really excited. she is now 11 weeks along and we just went to our first doctor's appointment this past monday. everything looks great. we got to hear the heartbeat and see our baby moving all over on the ultrasound. right now it is about the size of a lime. more updates to come...

for a friend

2008-02-19T17:32:00.001-05:00

the donor

2008-02-09T10:38:00.000-05:00

i read a story the other day about a girl that received a liver transplant. for some reason, this girl's body actually changed blood types from her existing type to the type of the donor. not only that, but she even adopted the donor's strong immune system. she is the only known documented case of this happening... ever. something radical happened to her that caused her to become completely changed, transformed into something other than what she was. funny how things in nature can speak such loud similarities to our relationship with God. He comes into our lives and we receive his righteousness. that righteousness transforms our lives, even the very person that we are, into something completely different. we begin to take on the nature of our donor. what a vivid picture of the work that He does within us.

the sky is falling

2008-01-30T15:11:00.001-05:00

I have been trying to think of a way to say what’s on my mind for a while now. It seems that no matter how hard I try, I keep coming across sounding like a doomsday prophet or killjoy. But what I have to say is important so I will do my best to present it in a way that is easy to digest. The past couple days, I believe God has been speaking to me about the times ahead. I believe there are some very interesting times coming our way as Christians and as Americans. It all starts with a preacher that I heard from Michigan a couple months back. Then, God brought me through a really tough desert time that lasted well over a month or so. And now he is speaking to me about Gideon.

How does this all relate? Well… I’ll tell you.

The preacher was a very humble man by the name of Doug Elliott. He is the pastor of about 10-20 people in a little church up in Michigan that you will probably never visit or hear about. He has been severely burned over a great portion of his body. He is in a wheelchair most of the time due to the disease that he has that is slowly crippling him. His wife has been struck by lightening causing her to become blind (which God healed her of). And he has sometimes lived on no more than about $50 a week. He even recently lost his church building and now has to have meetings somewhere else. Yet, through all this, the spirit of God was with this man in a way that I can only describe as amazing. When he opened his mouth to pray, the Spirit of God moved so intensely that I could almost barely take it. But it wasn’t one of those nice little times where you get a little rush and it lifts. No, it stayed the whole entire service, just as strong throughout. Never in my life have I experienced anything like it. What he spoke about was Ezekiel 47:1-5. He said that God has come in the past in ways that seemed manageable to us. He came in ways we could handle. But this time, He will be coming in a way that will be over our heads and out of our ability to control and that we need to be ready. I believe this time is coming.

Ok now skip forward a couple months. God recently led me through one of the toughest mental and emotional times in my whole life. It seemed like everything was messed up. I won’t get into too much detail here because that is not what is important. What matters is that through it all, He was teaching me to rely on Him. It’s so easy to say that you trust God and that He is in control but when you go through times where you are completely out of control, that faith gets tested, sometimes very strongly. I don’t know fully why I went through what I did. But I do know that God is faithful, whether we feel it or not. Even whether we feel Him or not.

And now on to the present. Gideon. I was reading the story of Gideon in Judges 6 and God began speaking some things to me. First, in 6:1, the bible tells us that the Israelites again did evil in the eyes of the Lord so he turned them over to their enemies, the Midianites, for a period of seven years. But it wasn’t until after the oppression had gotten really intense that they turned to Him for help. It says in verse 6 "Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out to the LORD for help." Do you see how funny that is? It seems that God was kind of their last resort.

How this all ties together is this:

People have been intensely praying that God would bring this country back to him and that He would turn us from our wicked, adulterous, and idolatrous ways. If you look at examples in the Bible, what was it that God did time and time again to bring his people back to himself? He took away their wealth, he took away their self-reliance, he cleansed them from their idols, and he turned them over to their enemies. What I am getting at is that I am wondering if this recession lurking on the horizon isn't the work of God himself. I know, I know… I don’t seem to be inline with the prosperity doctrine. Sorry about that. But the truth is if we as a country continue to rely on ourselves and turn to idolatry, this country will face a time that will be so overwhelmingly oppressive that it cannot be simply managed. The only choice will be for us to turn from our idolatry and to cry out to the One that is mighty to save.

If the thought of living in anything but prosperity troubles you, I would suggest that you maybe refocus a little. And trust me, I am saying that as one who has lived that way for too long. It is God that is all that we need in this life.

If you are praying that God turns this country around and pulls it from its wickedness, don’t be surprised when you get what you pray for… even if it looks like something other than what you had in mind. Proverbs 3:25-26 says “Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked, for the LORD will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being snared.” And Psalm 33:18-19 says “But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.

I’m no doomsday prophet. All I’m saying is be prepared. If famine or trouble comes upon this country, be ready to not freak out because your security was based on your idols and not on God. Be ready to point people to Jesus, the only one that can save.

great river road

2008-01-09T15:03:00.000-05:00

this is a panoramic shot i took this morning of the road i usually take to work. today river road seems to be a fitting name for river road...

older

2008-01-09T14:12:00.000-05:00

yes... that is a muffin... and no... it is not my image...

ok so i am a little late. but at the prompting of my wonderful sister, this is a message to let everyone i am now a year older. i am now the ripe old age of 28. 28 on the 28th. has to be something special about that. i do accept belated wishes, cards, and even presents (year-round, i might add). thanks to my families for making my birthday great. i had my birthday at my parents house and had some mexican food in manchester with the in-laws and i had a great time both times. my family is such a blessing to me. i love spending time with them. great things this year... i can feel it.

desperately

2007-12-21T12:06:00.000-05:00

the simplicity of it all
the ease at which my soul cries out "i need you"
and so desperately i do
Lord, the torment of my ghosts are overtaking
i feel myself becoming weak
falling backwards, dark behind me
my arch pivots on the edge as my heel drops and my toe rises
slowly
ever so slowly
like watching one frame at a time
my arms stretch forward
my fingers extend
my hands reach to grasp at nothing
my eyes widen
my ears close
the sweeping feeling of gravity pulls my chest
my heart suspends
my lips mouth the words "i need you"
i tip my head back and close my eyes
and i drift slowly down like a falling leaf
my arms extend out to my side
my knees come tightly together
i settle into your arms
coming to rest in your embrace
i was so sure that you would be there
i was so sure that you would come through
i don't care how it happened, i just knew you would come
there in brilliant white
you are glowing
shining as the only light in the darkness
for this moment, our eyes meet
for this moment, nothing else matters
for this moment, i can feel that i am yours
my anxieties find their replacements
and your peace comforts my once-laboring and heavy heart
there is no mystery
there is no doubt
there is no surprise
i am comfortably and completely yours
and you, my Lord, are mine

the resurrection

2007-12-12T17:36:00.000-05:00

lost

2007-10-25T08:33:00.000-04:00

1 Corinthians 1:26-29
Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things- and the things that are not- to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.

i didn't have much when i was a kid. well, i take that back. my parents did well taking care of us kids but we were not wealthy to an excess. my parents chose a nice house for us over things like cable tv, new brand-named clothes, and the hottest new toys. like i said, my parents did a great job of putting us first and trying to give us the best they could and we did have the times where they would go out and get us those things on occasion. but like i said, not wealthy to excess.

as far as socially, i was kind of a loaner. i had friends here and there which was nice while it lasted. but i had a lot of hard times with my peers and i never really ever felt like i fit in. i was a creative and hyperactive kid with a big heart and imagination. for some reason those weren't attributes that attracted long-term friends. most of the time, after a while of being best buds, my friends would turn on be or sell me out for "better friends". as a result, i was a bit of a loaner. it's an even sadder story with the ladies for me. i was never asked to a Sadie Hawkins dance. i wasn't asked out on dates. i was hardly ever asked to parties. the few relationships i did have didn't last very long except one, and that was a disaster. i didn't even really get along with many people my age- mostly either people quite a bit older than me or people that were younger. rarely anyone my age. i had such a feeling of inadequacy. partially self-projected i suppose, but i have never had very much confidence in myself.

throughout my entire life it has been one story of hurt, unfaithfulness, and betrayal after another. but the funny thing is, i can look back at it all- every heartache, every devastation, every disappointment- and i can see God. He was always there. no matter what i was doing, He was by my side. even when the things that destroyed me (unfaithfulness, rejection, etc.) were the very things that i was doing to God, He was still there.

relentlessly. faithfully. standing by my side.

He never gave up on me. He never turned his back on me. He has been the only one to stick with me no matter what. for that one reason alone, He is worthy of my entire life. but He is even more. He picks me up when i fall. He shelters me and cradles me when tough times come my way. He is my hope when every turn appears closed off. He is my supply when i am at my absolute end. my God is more that i could ever put to words. so i will put it to action:

Lord, i am lost in love with you!

my life is yours alone.

unfailing love

2007-10-04T15:26:00.000-04:00

Isaiah 41:9-14
I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you. I said, 'You are my servant'; I have chosen you and have not rejected you. So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. All who rage against you will surely be ashamed and disgraced; those who oppose you will be as nothing and perish. Though you search for your enemies, you will not find them. Those who wage war against you will be as nothing at all. For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you. Do not be afraid, O worm Jacob, O little Israel, for I myself will help you," declares the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.

this verse just about broke my heart. seems like i am in a time of pressure. my emotions are a little messed up and i feel accusation from all sides. i have had such a persistent heaviness lately and a battle to maintain my joy. throughout this though, God has been my refuge. i can't really say why my pleading prayers of relief go unanswered for the time being. however, i do know that my Jesus is faithful. He is truly my help, my refuge, my strength, my stronghold, my glorious friend. funny how the tough times are such a blessing. it's so encouraging to me that God himself, not anyone else, will personally rescue me. picture that: the magnificent and all-powerful creater of the universe is personally coming to rescue me. oh God, my heart rejoices in you.

Exodus 15:13
In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed. In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling.

Psalm 6:4
Turn, O Lord, and deliver me; save me because of your unfailing love.

Psalm 13:5
But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation

Psalm 32:10
Many are the woes of the wicked, but the Lord's unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in him.

Psalm 33:19-19
But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.

Psalm 33:22
May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in you.

Psalm 36:7
How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings.

Psalm 143:8
Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.

Psalm 147:11
the Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.

Isaiah 54:10
Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed," says the Lord, who has compassion on you.

mmm... ;)

thoughts and feelings

2007-08-29T13:35:00.000-04:00

i have to admit that i was inspired by what a friend of mine was saying about the way they feel about their relationship with God and i can relate to it completely. i know that my replonsibility as a Christian is to share with other people what God has shown me. after all... it's about streams of living water, not stored up personal reserviors. i have to let out what comes in so that more can come. so here goes. God has time and time again shown me that my feelings don't matter when it comes to my situation and especially my relationship with Him. i'm trying to find an easy way to put this. basically, if i feel like im worthless or can't get anything right or someone else is better at being a Christian or better at praying or better at leading worship or better at spending time with God... if i feel that God can't use me or that my past disqualifies me from use in the kingdom of God or that God is totally disappointed in me or that i'm way down on the list of God's favorites or whatever...

it flat out doesn't matter.

my feelings do not dictate who i am in Christ. how i feel does not direct me (and by 'does' i mean 'should'), it is the will of God that directs my path. lies and foolish thoughts don't tell me anything about who i am or my quality as a person. do not let yourself be held captive by thoughts or feelings, instead "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." (2cor 10:5)

mmm... it's starting...

"Do not give the devil a foothold" (eph 4:27) by allowing yourself to be directed by how you feel so that you leave yourself wide oven to be beaten down by whatever crappy thoughts come your way. pay careful attention to feelings and thoughts that don't line up with God's word. the enemy likes to hand me a feeling and then allow me a little while to search around for why i feel the way that i do... which, conveniently is always followed by a reason that seems to line up. or another way is that he will begin to whisper thoughts in my ear and tell me how worthless i am or whatever and then come at me with every kind of depression and condemnation. friends "fix your thoughts on Jesus" (heb 3:1). pray that God would help you learn to recognize when this is happening to you and then learn to stand up against it.

now feel the passion in this verse: "No weapon that is formed against you shall prosper; And every tongue that rises up against you in judgment you will show to be in the wrong." take the time to recognize when things are just not right. you have to consciously take a stand in your mind and encourage yourself away from the stinkin' thinkin'. believe of yourself what God says that you are.

friends please take this to heart. it has been a long, grueling, bloody battle for me to get this and i want nothing more than for you to have victory in this part of your life. i bring this up "in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes." (2cor 2:11) i know you all probably know what i'm talking about and i'm no billy graham. it just means enough to me that i wanted to bring it up. bad days happen to everyone, i know that. all i'm saying is when you see the train of crappy-emotion-based and crappy-thought-based living headed your way, please, step off the track.

new phone

2007-07-03T16:39:00.000-04:00

ok so an unnamed good buddy of mine that works at an unnamed cellular company that i use pulled some unnamed strings and got me into this sweet little phone. thought i would use this time to give a little praise report. its really nice and has a ton of features. i'm really happy with it. here's a picture taken with it of something else i'm really happy with:

mmm... so beautiful. anyhoo... i highly recommend sony ericsson phones... and girls named asiah... but you can't have mine ;)

the bunny

2007-04-05T15:11:00.000-04:00

ok... so i haven't been writing in a while. so much has happened in the past year that it's near impossible to list it all. we now have a house in north manchester. redoing that seems to be taking a little longer than expected, but asiah and i really guard our resting times. and since we're so busy busy all the time, those are few and far between. God has recently given us the blessing of a new car. along with it came a low payment, a great interest rate, and only a slight bump in our already-decent insurance cost. i can't say enough about how thankful i am to have this car. it's so much fun and so nice... God is so good to us. anyhoo... you can read all about it at www.vw.com/rabbit
whelp, i'm out of time... but i promise more to come soon...

studio, take two

2006-02-10T23:15:00.000-05:00

well... i just recently added some new equipment to the home studio. i added a dell optiplex pc, 17 inch flat panel monitor, docking station and monitor stand for the laptop, workgroup hub to network the two computers together, keyboard and pop filter. i am blessed... and excited... blessed and excited...

the studio

2006-01-26T11:20:00.000-05:00

well... here it is... my home studio... and yes, that is the dining room table ;)

point blog site

2006-01-07T11:49:00.000-05:00

myself and some friends are working on getting a blog site up for The Point, our young adults program at First Assembly. check it out by clicking here and let me know what you think or any suggestions.

equipment

2006-01-05T10:45:00.000-05:00

well i guess i should probably give an update on the recording equipment. because of God's amazing provision and my wonderful wife's support, i was able to pick up an mbox 2 the other day. and because of God's favor, i was able to get it for an amazing price! it comes with a program called protools which has so much to it. i've recorded my first practice song "wedding dress" a derek webb song, with just my mic and guitar just to see if i could do it. i'm excited to start recording some of my songs for my wife and friends to hear. i suppose i will keep everyone posted as i learn more about recording and this software and all i can do with it. with God's help, i should be able to figure this all out pretty quick. more to come!

birfday

2005-12-29T16:23:00.000-05:00

whelp... another year older. i'm now the ripe old age of 26. i had a pretty good birthday i suppose. i spent most of it at work until about 5 or so and then went with Asiah to Lonestar. my parents and her parents and brothers drove to meet us there. it was alot of fun. they made me stand on a chair while the whole restaurant sang happy birthday to me. you know me though, i just played along.
plus for my birthday, my lovely wife got me a tube preamp and a condenser mic because i want to start recoring some ideas soon. it was a total shocker, let me tell ya. she's so awesome! here's some pics of what i'm talking about. enjoy... i know i will...

a book on the shelf

2005-12-16T15:07:00.000-05:00

sometimes i feel like i'm being wasted
like maybe i'm not doing enough to help
i wanna be used so bad
in such a powerful way
but i just sit here
pushed aside to be used another day
i feel like my tasks arent big enough
what i do or how i'm used
doesn't come remotely close to matching
the love that i have for you Lord
maybe i'm just wise in my own eyes
or great in my own perception
or useful by my own observations
but i'm anxious to be used
i want to do so much for you
out of my love for you
let every waking moment
be useful to building your kingdom
let every word i speak
bring a smile to your face
let every thought i have
be consumed by you
here am i
i refuse to be comfortable in complatency
or to be satisfied with inactivity
use my every breath
my every heartbeat
every second of my short life
to bring you glory

faithful

2005-12-15T15:13:00.000-05:00

all the chisels i've dulled carving idols of stone
that have crumbled like sand neath the waves
i've recklessly built all my dreams in the sand
just to watch them all wash away
through another day, another trial,
another chance to reconcile to one who sees past all i see
and reaching out my weary hand i pray that you'd understand
you're the only one who's faithful to me

all the pennies i've wasted in my wishing well
i have thrown like stones to the sea
i've cast my lots, dropped my guard, searched aimlessly
for a faith to be faithful to me
through another day, another trial
another chance to reconcile to one who sees past all i see
and reaching out my weary hand i pray that you'd understand
you're the only one who's faithful to me

you're the only one who's faithful to me

:)

glasses

2005-11-25T10:42:00.000-05:00

just a funny pic from our honeymoon in LA. sometimes when life takes your joy, maybe all you need is to look through a different pair of glasses.

purdy new wife...

2005-10-18T12:10:00.000-05:00

whelp... i'm married! yay! the ceremony was really wonderful. we couldn't have asked for a better day. we prayed for good weather and God came through! she was so beautiful walking down that aisle and then looking up at me at the alter. *sigh* God is so good to me. he has blessed me with an amazing and beautiful wife. i'm so excited about the life that he has planned for us together. she is a compilation of so many answered prayers. i have no doubt that she was completely tailored to match me perfectly. i have honestly never been as happy as i am right now.

maxima en flambé!

2005-09-15T08:56:00.000-05:00

back by popular demand... following a request from Tamara... this is my car as it looks now. there was a fire in my building in the parking garage and my car was one of the lucky 12 that they pulled out that were toasted. there were over 100 cars in the garage and they said that all of them had at leas smoke damage, alot of them had heat damage, and some others were burned pretty bad. it happened wednesday september 7th. i woke up from a sound sleep at about 5 am. i was like "God... why did you wake me up? i have nothing on my heart to pray and no direction. why am i awake?" then i smelled the smoke. i got up and looked outside and saw a fire truck in front of the other building so i thought "maybe the other building is on fire" because there were no fire alarms going off. after debating going downstairs for 5 or 10 minutes, i heard someone in the hallway yell "fire!" so i threw on some jeans and a tshirt, grabbed my phone, bible, and a water and headed out the door. when i opened up the door, the hallway was full of smoke. so i walked to the stairs at the end of the hall (keep in mind that i live on the 14th floor). i opened the door to the stairs and the stairway was full of smoke. i started down the stairs and then covered up my mouth with my shirt. i make it about half way down and doubled my shirt over because i was still breathing in smoke. the stairs were hard to see because of the poor lighting (they only had lights on every other floor) but i slowly made my way down. when i got down around the first floor, the smoke was so thick and lighting was so poor that i couldn’t see the steps anymore and i couldn’t see the exit door. luckily, i had come down the stairs once before when the elevators weren't working so i had an idea of where the exit was. i had to get about 6 inches away from the door before i could see it. i pushed on the door and coughed and hacked my way outside. the funny thing is, when i was outside, i joked over the phone with asiah that it would be crappy if i found out that the whole time i'm saying "man... that would stink to have your car set on fire" it could have been my car. then 2 days later i find out that my car was one of them. another funny thing is that i just switched my car insurance to PLPD minimum coverage at the beginning of the month. talk about ironic. but i find that i have an amazing amount of peace that everything will work out just fine. peace beyond all understanding. in fact, i find myself comforting other people around me that are freaking out about it. i trust completely that God had a great plan worked out for me already and it’s already in motion. i know He will always take care of me. i don't just say that... i mean it. i know it deep inside. i will always be well taken care of. so praise God for this time of trouble and suffering because i get to see him move. because of my trials, i get to see a little more of how God works and other people around me get to see it too. my troubles can be used to bring God glory! how exciting!

nerd up

2005-08-15T17:15:00.000-05:00

thanks to a neat reply from tamara to wally, i now know my nerd quotient:

i am nerdier than 6% of all people. are you nerdier? click here to find out

thanks tamara!

wuv...

2005-08-15T07:27:00.000-05:00

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged. It is never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

John 13:34-35 A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.

Romans 13:8 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law.

1John 3:11 This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another.

1 John 4:7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

this message of loving one another is really heavy on my heart this morning. Christ says that the greatest commandment is to love God with everything you've got and then to also love everyone else around you. by sticking to this very simple principal, so much heartache and stress and problems and negativity can be avoided. it is a recipe for peace and happiness... and the only ingredient is love.

mmm... asiah!

2005-08-11T11:17:00.000-05:00

i don' think that it would be right of me to have this site of random writings without including something about asiah. asiah is my lovely fiancée and she is the wonderfulest, purdifulest, bestest, adorablest person in the whole wide world! i love her so very much and am terribly excited to marry her! i feel absolutely complete when i am with her. so much so that when i'm not around her, i ache inside because a part of me is missing. i never ever ever could have possibly imagined that i could care so deeply about someone and that they could feel the same way about me. it is completely by the hand of God that we are together and i will thank him and praise him for her for the rest of my life. so many times, God has used asiah to bring me joy. it seems like every day. i am amazed by her constantly. the way she smiles at me and looks at me. the way she loves me and holds me real close. her complete trustworthiness and her ability to cheer me up with one phrase: "i love you, troy." i am so deeply honored that God would entrust her into my care. i know i sound all mushy, but so much of the world has a negative view on love and being in love. i want to be someone that stands up and says that love is the most amazing feeling and that true love can only come from God. i don't deserve her at all, but i will cherish her until the day that i die. just a little peek into troy's heart.

ja son up ton

2005-08-05T15:06:00.000-05:00

jason singing "where is tamara? where is taaamara, o father?" : P

i know... it's been a week since this happened, but i wanted to at least mention jason upton. last friday, asiah and i went to see jason upton in elkhart. it was really good. i was a little surprised though, he mainly played new songs (which i don't care for as much as the older ones). the temperature of pretty much the whole concert was deep, mellow worship, which i enjoy, however i was expecting higher energy. God had a different plan i guess ;) anyhoo, when the first song started he was just kinda lightly tickling the keys and then started singing "enter in" over and over and within 10 seconds, the hair on my arms and neck stood straight up (its doing it right now as i retell this). the spirit just fell, right then and there, within the first 10 seconds! the rest of the concert was pretty good, but i was having a hard time staying focused. its easy for me to get distracted when things aren't high energy around me. i get bored pretty easily. darned sanguine personality! but overall it was good. he did sing the tail end of the song "teach me how to pray" which i was hoping he would sing that one, its one of my favorites. i sang along to that one. it was overall very nice. jason is a very personal, caring worship leader and you can see the love of God just radiate from him. he is certainly blessed and anointed for what he does. i highly recommend him to anyone that loves spirit and truth worshiping like i do. no gimmicks. just worship.

eat your hash browns!

2005-07-28T09:24:00.000-05:00

funny story... the other night, asiah and i went out to eat at a local place, whose name i will omit to avoid personal embarrassment. i ordered a breakfast with eggs and pancakes and hash browns and, of course, bacon! when the food came, the hash browns were like brown rubber soaked in grease. i was like "ew" and asiah told me i should say something about them but i wouldn't. so when the waitress came, asiah showed her the hash browns and explained that they were yucky. i told the waitress that if the kitchen was still open, to have them make me some new ones but if they weren't, just take them off the bill. this whole process was quite confusing and finally she brought a plate of new hash browns. i'm not talking just any plate here either... this was a big plate with a mound of hash browns on it. by the time it came, i was getting pretty full so i did my best to eat some of them but i couldn't. asiah told me that since we made a big deal of getting new ones that i had to eat them. i said "im stuffed... what am i gonna do?" then she gave me the idea to put them in my napkin and throw them away. brilliant! that way, it would look like i ate them! so i scraped this mountain of taters into my napkin and rolled it up. then i went to the bathroom and, for some reason, thought it would be best if i just flushed them down the toilet. so i threw this hashbrown log into the toilet and pressed the lever. it swirled around and around and i was praying "God, please let it go down" cause i didnt know how i would get it back out of the toilet if it didnt. finally it went down in the hole and i was like "whew!" but then... the water started to rise! up up up it went towards the top of the toilet. i said "aah! oh no!" and i ran out the door and back to the table. i looked at asiah and said "we gotta go right now." she said "troy... what did you do?" i said i would tell her in a minute but we had to go right then before they figured out it was me. so we paid for our food and got out of there as quick as we could, trying not to laugh the whole time. moral of the story: some things start out with the best of intentions, but stupid ideas with the best of intentions are still stupid ideas.

hellooooooo

2005-07-26T14:31:00.000-05:00

man that took forever to get through that enrollment process! i'm not real sure but i have a funny feeling that all those user names and location names were'nt all really taken. i think someone is spying on the new people so they can steal their good names. uh huh and i think that with all of mine they were like "mmm... that's a good'n" and they stole it to make it their own. that or theres a chimp named Bingo sitting in a big high-backed leather chair with a big red button on the desk in front of him. when you submit a name he smacks the button and a big buzzer goes off and its rejected. EEEHHHH "user name is unavailable." it's all about beating Bingo. if you can get past the monkey: you're in. dang, he's fast! Bingo really gives a bad name to the rest of the nanner clan. leave it to one monkey to ruin it for all monkeydom. man that monkey makes me mad. stupid stupid monkey.