Welcome to Houston, Sucker

"Rescue me, O Lord, from evil men; protect me from men of violence, who devise evil plans in their hearts ... Let burning coals fall upon them; may they be thrown into the fire, into miry pits, never to rise." - Psalm 140:1, 2, 10

It was a bit surprising to read such a wrath-filled lament in the psalm selections for the morning hour today, but who am I to argue with the Book of Common Prayer's determinations. Indeed, the above psalm and its partner, # 142, fit quite nicely into my tumultuous morning. Perhaps "tumultuous" is took strong a word. Let's call it inconvenient.

Rich Mullins once said in a concert, "The Bible is okay until you start reading the psalms, and then it really wigs out. All that vengeance and stuff. Of course, that's the part I especially like. I know 'Vengeance is mine, thus saith the Lord,' but I just want to be about the Lord's business."

Today, I was woken up by my girlfriend's father (the Wrights have been very generous to let me stay with them until I can move in to my new apartment) who informed me that it appeared my Jeep had been broken into during the night. Indeed, he was right. The left backseat passenger window had been smashed and some theif's (or theives') grubby little hands had rustled through all of my belongings. This normally would not have been that dire of a problem, except that, as I am in the last few days of moving, my Jeep is currently packed to the roof with boxes, pictures, paintings, clothes, bags, and a dining room table. Not to mention the treasure claimed by the theif - a carrying case containing my Xbox and all its accessories, including my three favorite games. Didn't this guy (or girl, because you ladies are just as suspect) realize I was a youth minister and that I needed that thing to trick kids into coming to church so that I can proslityze them? Surely the c.d. case containing lame (in his mind) Christian albums mixed with socially-reflective folk albums would have given him a clue.

In reality, he or she was the worst theif ever. If he had really looked, he would have found a lot more valuables, like my iPod cradle, my c.d.'s (yes, they're worth something), some picture frames worth quite a lot, and, of course, my car c.d. player. Now, not taking the music is insulting. Not taking an expensive music player is just plain stupidity. I feel like I want to coach this person on the importance of being thorough in his theivery.

So, in light of this new injustice perpetrated against me, I will be opening up a Sympathy Fund for myself, so that all you faithful readers can send your donation, that I may soon be able to replace my Xbox. E-mail me at ragamuffin_vagabond@hotmail.com for information on where to send your cash or check.
And please, if you don't do it for me, do it for the good people of Aberdeen, Scotland, who, now that my Xbox and Fifa Soccer 2005 game have been swiped, are without a coach as their up-and-coming team was the only one left in the Scottish Premier yet to lose a game as the new season opened.

Oh, the humanity! I'm with the Psalmist. Shower the evil ones with burning coals and toss them into the fire. How inhospitable can you get? Welcome to Houston, sucker.
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The third part of my journey of faith will be posted soon. Please stop by again for another visit.