First of all I wanted to say that this post will be on three different sites, my personal blog, the THA blog and the Men @ Grace Church site. I guess in a way this is my way of making sure you guys out there can hold me accountable… so in a since, you have been told =D

So priorities….

I show up for Church, a lil late, no worries though, when its all done and over i can go home, grill out, and rest for the better part of the day. Then it hits me, the guy I just checked in (his Family had kids to check in and it was my day to volunteer)  has a smile on his face, and believe it or not, he is happy to be here… were are my priorities? — they were on my coffee!

I am talking to someone in my martial arts class, a friend of mine, he is excited about what God has done in his life, and shares with me all the great things that are happening. Tells me stories about being lucky enough to share the good word with people. And I think … man, wish I were so outgoing for Christ. – Priorities!

It seems no matter what, I seem to be more IN the world, A PART of the world, instead of just an observer. God is to be the center of our lives, and more and more I find that other stuff is the center of my life. TONS of worldly things… were are my priorities

Whoever thought that being a christian was easy was WRONG… oh wait that was just me =p … it seems the more I become like Christ, the more crap i see in my own life I have to carve out, chisel off, and throw away.

I want God to be my priority. I want to wake up and the first thing I think about is God, our relationship, and what I can do that could bring glory to Him. I don’t want to think about coffee, about breakfast, about chores or work. The first thing should be Him. and not just that, but throughout the entire day, I want my life to be centered around Him. I want to be bold, to not be afraid to share Gods word. I want, for once, to have someone else look at me, and to see in me, what I see constantly in others. I want to show them Christ through me.

And so, my brothers (and sisters) in the Christian and Martial Arts communities,  you have been told. please help to hold me accountable in this.

(btw, the guys I refered to are Will McCullough and Barry Rodemaker – you guys inspire me, hoo ra!)

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“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16 KJV

So yesterday I told everyone how I see myself, when I look in the mirror.

Here is what I see today.

Glory, clean, powerful, a tabula rasa – clean slate, and most of all I am loved.

God knows me, knows what I am, and still he forgives me and loves me and chizzles away parts of myself that are contradictory to Him.

I am clean, and whole. And every time i screw this up, all I have to do is ask ( believe and OBEY ~ that is the key there), and guess what… I am clean again.

Thank you Lord for you mercy and grace.

When I look into the mirror I do not see a masterpiece yet… but one day…

~Mike

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But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. Isaiah 64:6

So often I think of myself as crap, as worse than crap, after all I am a filthy rag … translated, I am worse than a used tampon!

It is the truth…  I look in the mirror and what I see is simply a sinner. It hurts. It breaks me to think, how can God love me, when I constantly hurt him, constantly sin against him? Why would he even bother?

My wife one time told me that I did not understand what sins I was responsible for… maybe I truly don’t, but I can say that I have given lots of thought to it, and I think I do see myself clearly.

So I saw this skit on Tangle and well, it’s sort of how I see myself, not really as a scared kid, but as a child who doesn’t deserve what he has been given.

God’s Chisel

Thank you Lord for you mercy and grace.

When I look into the mirror I do not see a masterpiece yet, maybe I will one day, maybe not. But thank you for your love and forgiveness just the same.

~Mike

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Wow, it’s been a busy time…

Tons of updates, as you can see the site has gone through another update. ^_^ This theme seemed to work for me and had everything I wanted in it =D — Massice thanks to Anli Zaimi for this awesome theme you made!

Lets see, where to start…

OK, well, 1. We have a new podcast coming up with a 1st generation grandmaster of Jeet Kun Do, Proffessor Garry Dill, a practitionaer of the JKD martial arts for over 38 years will be joining us on the Tactical Hapkido Podcast… It is currently in post production at the moment. Make sure to check back often at the THA Blog for updates!

Lets see, 2. Finals are going well, well there done, I have two weeks left of this block of classes, so I am ahead of the game at this point. 3. Work is insane! been working a good bit of OT lately… so along with all that OT, is the extra $… I took it and I bought a new Video Card for my machine. It is a BFG GTS250 … yea its the baby of the latest line, but I got a steal on the price. The local shop I picked it up at had them all stocked wrong under a different cards pricetag… So I got a huge discount on the card, and they promptly moved the cards to the correct spots, displaying the correct price.  hmmm, 4. Along with a new card I finally was able to play Mirrors Edge … I beat it in like two days… And it is now one of my most fav games of all time! Yes they took a chance with creating the game using Parkour elements to do it, more martial arts, and less shooting, but hey, I like it!

Well, that’s it for now. Hopefully I can get back into the groove and get some more content up on the site soon. As always stay tuned!

~phreekbird

Posted in: Life, Martial Arts, Work, other by phreekbird No Comments »

Those of you who know me, know I have a grievance with the pre-order of the PC version of Mirror’s Edge…

I finally have recieved and update from EA (a whole month later… buy hey…) and they have informed me that it is Gamestop who has failed me (and others of my ilk who are not impressed by the lack of support shown to us).

As such, I have been appeased by EA, thanks to GM Tinman from EA Games and Player Relations, my faith in EA has been restored!

However… now my gripe is with Gamestop, and as such I have emailed them with my grievance… The email (inquiry number  KMM4665470I15977L0KM) pretty much states the same thing I wrote to EA, with the explination as to why I am bothering, no politly stating my issues with them, at them for there uber failure!

So for the record, I would like to state that, although a late response was given, EA did settle my grievance with them, pointed me to the person I should have emailed to begin with, and threw in a little something for my trouble. Thanks EA, you again ROCK! Gamestop …. well, lets see how this plays out before I make any such declerations about you…

So, until I get a response from Gamestop, I am still angry, albeit now with EA now, and still a fan, just not of Gamestop right this moment…

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Originally posted on the Tactical Hapkido Alliance Blog site and copied to my personal blog here.

I heard a story this morning on the radio about this local wrestling coach (no I do not remember his name), he apparently is somewhat of a town hero of sorts, but the thing that I remember most about this radio broadcast is that at the end, the announcer,  DJ, or whoever talks to use through the airwaves, quoted the wrestling coach:

“Your actions speak so loud that I cannot hear what you are saying.”

It hit me like a ton of bricks how profound that statement is. Everyday we live, talk, walk-the-walk of what? a Christian? Certainly we all carry ourselves accordingly around group of people we touch in our daily lives don’t we? I mean we are not just Sunday Christians right? How about a true Martial Artist? No I am not talking about the guy who can kick anyone’s butt, but I am talking about the guy (or girl) who will go out of his (or her) way to help someone who needs it, to go the extra mile, to hold ones self to a higher moral standard. Anyone can learn to kick butt, but it take more than that to be a Martial Artist, to be a Christian. — This is another blog post and another subject all together, have no fear though, as I will come back and write something related to what I believe a true martial artist is. (I actually have a draft in the works on this subject that I have been writing for a few months now.)…. Back to the topic at hand.

The walk we walk vs the talk that we talk.

…

“Your actions speak so loud that I cannot hear what you are saying.” is a very profound statement… I am honestly glad to say that this is an area that the Holy Spirit has been working on (or in?) me. And more and more I find that I am trying to be more than a closet Christian, that I am starting to share my views of Christ and the good things he has done for (and to) me.

So my question, while trying not to be judgmental, is this:

Are your actions louder than the words you speak? Does the guy (or girl) sitting next to you at work konw you are a Christian by your actions (regardless of what you say)?

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Posted in: other by phreekbird No Comments » Tags: Internet Blackout

Well, I usually have conversations with this guy I work with, he is raised catholic, but has (in my opinion) pulled away from God (at least this is as far as I can tell, I do not pretend to know him that well – it’s non of my business to pry into his life, I just feel it is my duty to plant a seed and if need be, tend it as best as I can).

At any rate, this guy and I were talking today, about some questions he had as a kid, and how he asked a pastor one time, and how the pastor just gave him the “normal answers that we are trained to give” <– as he put it. So, long story short, he refused to go back to the church because he wasn’t satisfied with the answers he received (i am guessing here, again, i don’t pretend to know this guy that well).

So in all honesty, here was my response:
Let us lay some ground rules… We know that our (very flawed) wisdom is not His wisdom, our ways are not His ways, our knowledge, is definitely, much, much smaller, and much more flawed than His (yes I am discussing God here). These are rules, they are set in stone, unarguable, rules. The end.

Now,
Think of an ant, now try to explain to that ant what the internet is…
Think of God, now imagine God trying his best to explain to us, his ways and his love…

I imagine it would be like us, even with pheromones, antenna, and vibrations, trying desperately to explain what the internet is and how to use it, to an ant…

Even if an ant could grasp a portion of what the internet is, it would be just a snowflake on the tip of an iceberg, forget about the ant ever understanding about the whole iceberg… at least in it’s lifetime.

—

How dare us think that we know all, understand all, and can answer every question, about everything. I told the guy that I work with, I don’t have all the answers, I am sure that there are tons of ants that can answer his questions, I could even point him to a few sage ants myself, but as for me, I am happy with faith. Just believing it is enough for me, for now. And besides, lucky for us God left us a manual to read… Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth.

(right or wrong, these are my views, I cannot appologize for them, if indeed I am wrong, but if i am, I am sure that God will put me in my place, and I expect (and welcome) the Holy Spirit will deal with me accordingly, so as to re-arrange my way of thinking.)

Posted in: Life, Religion, Work by phreekbird No Comments »

Nope, it’s just Dad…

So, last night I am watching Superman Returns with my wife and kids, and in this scene of the movie:

Strong!

One of my kids pipes up behind me, “Dad, are you “that” strong?” … well, yes honey I am … no what I really said was, “I hope so kid.”

And at another point in the movie, my other kid (one of the gaggle I have) ask, “Daddy can you fly like that?” … what do I say to that? (My reply was actually something along the lines of – with help from a jet pack – or something like that.)

My kids are comparing me to Superman … not sure if this is good or bad, either they see me as weak in comparison to him, or they see me as someone who is strong and are wondering how strong I am? … I am opting for the latter =D

On that note, the pastor at church this past Sunday preached about kids and how when they take a jump off of the side of a pool (or anything) and expect you to catch them, so they don’t drown, how what they are doing is taking a leap of faith. And how some kids, just wont do it, either because they see their dad as week and not being able to catch them, or because they see their dad as untrustworthy enough to catch them.

I am proud to say, my kids will leap off the highest steps, they are sure I will catch them, (the youngest is a little afraid of heights so she doesn’t leap off the top step like my eldest, but she still makes a good jump!). Thank God I have been strong enough to catch them every single time. Strong enough to hold up the Daily Planets globe? Maybe a stirofoam one, but, who knows. I may not be able to stop bullets, or leap tall buildings in a single bound, but I can try to be the best dad I can be. And if my kids want to compare me to Superman, (or Superman to me?) well, he better watch out! I would hate to makehim look bad =D

Posted in: Family, Life, Movies, Religion by phreekbird No Comments »

First of all, I would like to say thank you, thank you for taking a risk, and creating a wonderful game, and also spreading the word about Parkour and Free Running… That’s right, I am talking about the game released yesterday, picked up less than an hour ago from GameStop, Mirror’s Edge.

Now for my issue… The bag, nowhere did a promotion say that I had to pre-order a copy of the console version to get the bag, and lets face it, why do we PC gamers even bother to purchase PC games anymore (other than the plethora of MMO titles that are out there)? I will answer that for you, THE SWAG PEOPLE!!!

I PRE-ORDERED this game for two reasons.
One I wanted to help you, EA, by putting money into your pockets for a game that you took a lot of risk in creating, lets face it, there have been mixed reviews of the game, love it or hate it, I still think its a good game (at least I hope, I haven’t really played it yet) , and you guys deserve the best thanks for that.
And two, the swag, yes I wanted my own yellow bag! However I am not a console gamer, I am a PC gamer, and lets face it, with today’s decline in sales of PC games, with every 10 year old running out to thepiratesbay or some such pirate site, to get those games for free, why purchase a PC game? Again, I point to reason #1 and more importantly #2 on why I (and other PC Gamers like me) chose to purchase the game.

With all that said, lets face it EA, you failed. You took the swag, (sometimes the only reason to pre-order a PC game) and you only handed it out to the console pre-orders… where is the bag for the lonely PC gamer? (yes the store i stopped at, only reserved one copy of Mirror’s Edge for the PC and that copy was mine!).  If anything EA we, the lonely PC gamers, should be getting something extra special in our box, we waited a whole extra two months for a game, that already had mixed reviews, to purchase it anyway! This is how committed we are to you! and we get nothing in return… shameful.

I was really looking forward to having a yellow bag I could tote around, and show off, and use as an ice breaker to spread the word about Mirror’s Edge, about Parkour, and about Free Running. (yes I do Parkour, I run the Erie PA Parkour site http://erieparkour.com/) and so I was really looking forward to this.
Instead I spent 60 bucks for a game, I will play, and hopefully enjoy, while others got a little something special… oh , I also paid for a two  month wait … maybe that was my gift?
Thanks EA,
Your Disappointed Fan

(4 Hours Later…)

I have arrived home only to find that not only does the game not run, it even crashed Task Manager at one point!

Epic FAIL EA!!!

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