• View the Home Alone 2 filming locations
• Go to the World Trade Center site
• Take a boat tour around Manhattan
• See a taping of The Late Show With David Letterman (I have a ticket to Late Night With Jimmy Fallon if this doesn't work out)
• Visit Times Square
• Meet up with Suzie Zeldin and Jesse Gabriel of The Narrative
• Run into any of the following: Regis Philbin, Mike Huckabee, Donald Trump
• Go to Rockefeller Plaza during a taping of The Today Show.
• See a show at a local concert venue
• Eat a slice of Famous Ray's pizza
• See the Occupy Wall Street protestors, as I'm wearing a Bank Of America tee

What do you suggest I do while I'm in New York City?

During these past couple of years, I've been judged by fellow believers numerous times. They've called me out on things I do, saying I am in the wrong and I need to turn from those "sins." I used the word sin in quotation marks, because the sins they mentioned were man-defined sins, not God-defined sins. Nowhere in the Bible could I find that I was in the wrong for those specific issues.

When being wrongly judge, one easy trap to fall into is judging your judges back. I was guilty of that. I can still fall into that trap when I'm not watching my steps. Under the rules of karma, return-judgement would be perfectly acceptable. Karma isn't the rule of the law. We live under the law of love.

I wrote an earlier post on "One-anothering." Before I began concentrating on this Biblical idea, the first few verses of Ephesians 4 use to be fly-over versus for me. Now, I'm finding that this is part of the meat which makes the church live as it was intended to.

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. ~Epheisans 4:1-3

I'll be the first to say I don't do a very good job at this. As much as I try not to, I find myself condemning others and looking down at them. My human nature seeps out way too often.

Am I the only that struggles with this?

Last Tuesday, while taking a break at work, I decided I want to go somewhere new. The remainder of September and October was very tightly booked due to personal commitments. Since I work for the largest online retailer, it's not easy for me to take any time off during the holiday season. I didn't have anything planned that current weekend. I began bidding on flights to Seattle for the following day. I wasn't able to get a flight for a price I was willing to pay. I then bid on a flight to San Francisco. My first bid was accepted. I was now embarking on the most spontaneous journey of my life.

I didn't begin my journey alone, while waiting to board my fight at the airport, a woman began speaking behind me. "This is Jennifer from Riverwalk Dental Spa," are the words she said in a secretarial tone. I looked around it saw it was the receptionist from my dental office with her family. They would be on the flight with me to the Dallas hub.

I was cashing in on two free nights at a hotel at a prime location in San Francisco. I had pay for a room for one night at another hotel. This one night, I stayed at a very charming hotel, in the middle of all the activity of Market Street and Union Square. The hotel was built in 1908. It showed signs of its age, but it was clean nonetheless. Just right outside the door of this hotel was the beginning of one of the cable car lines.

My two free nights were spent at a nice chain hotel at the Fisherman's Wharf (a tourist hot spot in San Francisco). I was given one of the larger rooms at the site, which faced the pool. The outdoor heated pool and jacuzzi were quite relaxing in the chili weather. I just had to survive the cooler air in the 4-second walk from the pool to my room.

I spent much of my first two days in San Francisco sight-seeing by myself. I did a bunch of walking around. I took a hop-on-hop-off bus tour. I did make a new friend from Victoria, British Columbia on the boat tour I was on.

I attended a CouchSurfing meet up at the end of my second day. It was "After Dark" at the Exploratorium (a museum for children and teens). The bar made the already entertaining exhibits much more fun. I had a blast with my three new friends. We were literally from all over the world... Taiwan, Egypt, California, and Kansas. We went to a cafe after the event. A couple of them had a beer, and I had the best tasting hot chocolate. The hot chocolates were unique. The servers made a design in your drink with the creamer.

I spent most of my third day sight seeing with another new friend from CouchSurfing. We visited National Maritime Park. She rode the cable car for the first time. We spent hour walk through China Town.

Day number four, the day I departed, I spent entirely resting in the hotel. I was worn out from my spontaneity. When I did leave, I was sad to go.

I have a confession to make. I wouldn't have made this post if I hadn't read Reimagining Church by Frank Viola. He's not one hundred percent innocent himself. He blatantly stole much of the book from the Bible. I don't have anything witty to say in this post. I don't even have mach of a commentary.

Check out all the "one anothering" verses in the Bible. There are over one hundred verses in the New Testament directing us to do something with one another.

Here are just a few of those verses:

• Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. ~Hebrews 13:1
• And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting each other, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another - and all the more as you see the Day approaching. ~Hebrews 10:24-25
  
• Be completely humble and gentle; be patient with one another, bearing with one another in love. ~Ephesians 4:2
• Greet one another with a holy kiss. ~2 Corinthians 13:12
  
• Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. ~Ephesians 5:21
• Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. ~1 Peter 4:19
• Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. ~Romans 12:10
• Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. ~1 Thessalonians 5:11
• Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you have a grievance against some one. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. ~Colossians 3:13

Don't stop here, check the rest of them out!

I just love the fact that the Bible tells us about ten times to greet one another with a kiss. ;)

How are you one anothering? Are you one anothering in church gatherings? Are you one anothering during church gatherings? If not, should you?

I have a difficult time making to a church service on Sunday nights. Fortunately, there's a gathering taking place on Saturday evenings at another location. I told somebody this. His response was "well, at least you get to go to church somewhere." It was said in a tone implying that what I was participating in was less spiritual.

I've been told numerous times it's not wise to marry a woman outside a church denomination. I'm still trying to find that one in the Bible.

Most followers of Christ agree that their is one body. Most of the times, we don't act that way. We get around it by speaking our Christianese langauge. "There's one church, but we're just one body of it." "We need to fellowship with those who believe the same doctrine as us." We take pride in our denominations. We take pride in our non-denominations.  We forget the fact that Christ built one church, and there is one body, and there is one faith. There's one head to this body, and that is Christ alone.

"...and on this rock, I will build my church" ~ Matthew 16:18

"There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. " ~Ephesians 4:3-6

I've found great joy in living out my faith and experiencing God with fellow believers outside the bubble I was raised in. If you haven't already, I encourage you to step outside your silly man-made walls, and see what God has to offer. Let's be the church Christ called us to be.

I've been attending church gatherings throughout the duration of my entire life. There are many things that I hear said that cause me to ask questions. The following statement is one: "I can feel a strong presence of the Lord in this place tonight."

Here are some issues I have with this statement:

• Why does it matter if you can "feel" God's presence? If you can't feel His strong presence, does that mean it doesn't exist? Here's a fact I know: God is God, regardless of how I feel.
• You mentioned that His presence is strong tonight. Is God not omnipotent? In the book of Job, Job said to God, "I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted."
• What do you mean you can feel His presence in "this place?" Jesus promised us that when two or three gathered in His name, He would be there also. David asks God in Psalm 139, "Where can I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I feel from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there."

When this statement is made, people start believing some silly things. They believe they have to be at a specific place at a certain time to be in God's presence. They believe if they can't feel God's presence, He's not there. They believe they strength of God varies, depending on where they are. The opposite is true. If we believe God is omnipresent and omnipotent, we should speak and act like He is.

What is something you hear in church that makes you think twice?

Things You Shouldn't Do in a Hospital:

• Pull the fire alarm
• Have pizza delivered
• Play funeral music over the intercom
  
• Play "Doctor & Nurse"
• Serve mixed drinks to patients

Your turn. What are some things you shouldn't do in a hospital?

Things You Shouldn't Doodle On:

• Wedding photos
  
• Grandpa's urn
  
• Job resumes
  
• A Jackson Pollock painting
  
• That one body part guys have

What is a thing you should not doodle on?

This is your new blog post. Click here and start typing, or drag in elements from the top bar.

I won't go as far to say that I'm a reality TV junkie. I do follow Amazing Race, Survivor, Big Brother, American Idol, America's Got Talent, and that other show too embarrassing for a male to mention. I'd love to be on a reality show, but my own quirks would prevent me to succeeding on any of the ones I mentioned. I've come up with a few reality shows of my own that I could find success in.

Survivor San Diego: I'd rough it out on a beach in San Diego. Luckily for me, there would be showers on the beach. I could only eat food found on the beach or purchased from a boardwalk restaurant. Hopefully, I would be able to survive in the very harsh San Diego weather.

The Solo Travel: It's a show about the art of traveling alone. It's a Samantha Brown type show. If you don't know who she is, you should watch The Travel Channel more often.

The Biggest Gainer: Instead of losing weight, the purpose of this show would be to gain weight. A bunch of stick boys like me and stick girls would be the contestants. We'd fight to overcome our high metabolism systems. The first one to their ideal weight wins.

The Single Guy: It's a show that just follows the habitual single guy. He's single, and he's always been single. Hopefully this show would soon be cancelled, because the single guy became un-single.

OCD Rehab: This show starts off on the wrong foot. There's 9 inhabitants in the house instead of the idealistic 10. They take away all of our contraband (Wet Ones and Shout Wipes). They make us walk on a dirt surface while wearing white shoes. We're limited to only one shower a day. It's complete torture.

What ideas for shows have you came up with?