Your Face!!!

Hey everyone,
I'm back again, and this time without the two week delay. Lastnight I discovered the adventure known as Face Book (www.thefacebook.com). I had some friends telling me about over Thanksgiving, and I quietly rolled my eyes, thinking how lame this website had to be, but last night, courtesy of my friend and roommate, Sam Hunt, I caught a great wave surfing this website (forgive me for the cheesy metaphor). I recognized a few friends on the site, so I created my own username and spent a solid hour listing who knows how many people as my friends. I definitely caught the bug. To everyone who has not been to the Face Book -- beware!! Before you know it, it may have sucked away a good portion of your life, chatting to old friends through a computer as opposed to hanging out in real life.

Now for my story, I don't know how long this is going to end up being, but I hope it entertains. Sit back and enjoy while I make everything up as I go.


Rugby Ball of Death

It was a beautiful starry night, a cool seventy-five degrees -- neither too hot or too cold. The perfect night for a CRU barbecue at Bobcat Village. About thirty or forty people made appearances through out the night. Their smiling, laughing faces somewhat blurry in my memory, as if in a dream. Jazz music floats around our ankles.
The tranquility of the night is shortly ended with a thud more felt than heard. Everyone looks around in confusion. Suddenly, a guy in a green Reliant K t-shirt shouts out, "It's a flying saucer!" I roll my eyes in annoyance, "Sam, give me a break."
"No, I'm serious!" We all look in the direction he's pointing, and twenty feet away, partially buried in the ground, is a... saucer. We reluctantly approach the disk as it emanated an intense heat.
"Does that say NASA?" asked a Caucasian male with an unusually dark tan.
"I think it is," I responded. "Is it an escape hatch?"
We all exchange looks of uncertainty.

[fade to black]

Hello Old Friend

Hey Everyone,

It's been a very long time since I've left a legitimate post on this blog. A lot has happened between now and then, and I don't think I could legitametly blog on it all and expect everyone to read it, so I must be selective (unfortunately).

My good friend Justin Tucker got back from India this past Monday, but to our dismay, he did not land in Austin, but Dallas. We (6 of us) had planned on welcoming him back from "Fat Camp" at the baggage claim, but that failed to happen, obviously. I wanted to mention that so you would understand what was going on when you walked into your apartment, Justin.

I'm home for the first time this semester, and I thoroughly enjoyed sleeping on my big double bed, and taking a shower in a clean bathroom, as opposed to a sink full of hair (I still don't know how that happens, I'm thinking one of by suitemates cuts his own hair). It's also good to catch up with the family and some old friends. One of these friends, Kurt, actually took me storm chasing last night. It wasn't very dangerous, the heavy rain storm was short lived, but the lightning was definately cool. I told him to call me when he chases his next tornado.

I've also had some very weird dreams recently. I'll start with the second, because it was more vague. The jist is, Sam (my roommate) and I were horseplaying, like always, and everyone was getting really angry at us because we would not stop for anything. They all deserted us, which is sad, but don't worry, it gets better. Some super bad guys came in and tried to take over the school (Texas State, of course). Because of our horseplay, Sam and I became hardcore wrestlers and had the ability to give lethal punches, so we made short work of the bad guys and saved our school and our friendships. I've entitled the first one Rugby Ball of Death and I plan on making it a minseries here on Doubling Talents, to give you, my readers something to come back to, and to give me motivation to consistently write.

Till next time...
Dan Reiter


The American Jesus is Mr. Nice Guy, he would never do anything to offend anyone. But not the real Jesus. He's a man, a warrior, and he's not afraid to get in people's faces.
Pastor David Walker, Alamo City Christian Fellowship, when preaching on Jesus driving out the people selling goods in the Temple. (These aren't his exact words, just a rough approximation)

Shout Out!

Holla Marisa! The first one to ever leave a comment on my blog. Keep it real.

I'd also like to say what's up to Justin Tucker. If wasn't for him, who knows what kind of disaster area the kitchen of 13103 Bobcat Village would be. He also now has a blog, check it out: www.wantinghisreturn.blogspot.com


Till next time,
Dan Reiter

Sorry, but you won't be "Saved" from this rant.

Well, here is a true rant. Brace yourself. I watched the movie Saved just now. I'll admit, it had its funny moments, but overall it is an extremely offensive movie. I don't understand how Christians can be entertained by such a movie. It goes against everything we believe. People throughout the movie justify their actions b/c Jesus "told them to," and say something is right because "God wouldn't give us these feelings if they were wrong." And "why would God make us so different if we are all supposed to be the same."

First of all, feelings are very shakey. Looking at decisions made in the past that seemed wrong, people may use the excuse "I did it in the heat of the moment." That is also why we have the faculty of reason, to help us determine what is right.

As far as the different/same thing, we can all be different people, but still have the same morals. I can see this when hanging out with my four closest friends. We are very different, some very extroverted, others more reserved. One is a great speaker, another a talented musician. We all call Christ our Lord and Savior and want to live a life of holiness as outlined in the Bible, but still, we are each our own person.

I realize that Christians are hypocritcal, and it's fine for that to be in a movie, but what about the Christians who seriously practice their faith and love others without passing judgement? This movie is not very even-handed; the "Christians" in this movie are potrayed as narrow-minded and unloving. This movie only gives bitter non-Christians more amunition to sling at us.

Why do Christians laugh at these movies that potray us so negatively? We don't have to laugh at every joke that the world laughs at. We can be serious in some things -- like our faith and our Lord. We don't have to laugh at Dogma, or Family Guy, or Saved. It's so frustrating that we laugh when these things will insult the truth of the Bible. The Bible, God, Christ, is our life, why do we join in when people insult these things?

Till next time...
Dan Reiter

I'm a Nerd

It is official. I am a nerd. There is no avoiding it, and I wonder why I didn't realize it sooner. My first hint should have been Geometry in 10th grade. I was about to take a test, and I was very uncertain on the material, but right before class someone worked out a problem for me and it all clicked! I finished the test in fifteen minutes and I knew I aced it. I was pumped and excited, and then I got the test back -- 107!!! Man what a rush.

Four years later, I'm taking History 1320. For some reason, I don't do too well in this class. I'd be happy with a C, quite honestly. So I had a test today, which I studied for through out the week (I even missed Ultimate Frisbee, to my friends' dismay) and I was very nervous. But I walked into the classroom this morning very calmly (I'm so thankful that I don't typically have test anxiety). Our professor passed out the tests, and I began. Guess what? I nailed that sucker to the wall!!! I was 100% certain on 85% of the fill in the blank (if that makes any sense) and I owned up on that essay. Who knows about Truman and the Cold War??? I do baby!!! I won't get a grade for another week or two, but boy do I have an adrenaline rush. I think I'm going to go out and buy a pair of horn-rimmed glasses and some pocket protectors.

Till next time...
Dan Reiter

I'm so confused!

Well, here's a post that I've been wanting to put up for some time, and have now decided to follow through. No, it's not about cars or college. It's, yes that's right, about girls! Now before you roll your eyes and close this window, stick with me for a few more lines. This isn't going to be the bitter rant about how girls are from the devil and guys should avoid them at all cost. In fact I'd like to say something to all those guys: Get over it! Sure, you've been hurt, but don't tell me you're completely innocent of hurting a girl. Yeesh. Actually, this post isn't so much about girls as it is to how guys act around girls (particularly the ones they like), which is to say very strangly. Men (as well as women) are fairly rational creatures capable of high levels of thought and can write books such as Liberty (Mill) or Miracles (C.S. Lewis). We can make good grades on test and do simple automotive maintence and get PhD, etc etc. As soon as a woman comes into the picture, all that goes out the window. I've heard guys say really stupid things in regards to girl (ie: "I could marry this girl," which sounds really nice, until a year later, he doesn't even want to talk to the girl). And nothing weakens the resolve of a guy more than a girl. He can say one thing in regards to his relationship one week and go completely against it the next week. I'd go into more specifics, but this is on the world wide web, so I'll refrain.
I guess the one thing to take from this is: girls if you want to hook up with a guy, you're going to need lots of patience, otherwise it's going to be a very frustrating. Of course, I've never really had a serious relationship, but anyways....

Another question that lingers in my mind is: why do girls want to marry us? We are probably one of the grossest creatures around. I have a few friends of mine who opened a bottle of hot sauce and left it out for two months! Their coffee and bread were also growing mold. When we're bored, we light farts for entertainment (okay, they're a minority, but still...). If a girl heard locker room stories, I'm sure she'd want to be a cloistered nun for the rest of her life.

Well, that's all I've got for now. I apologize if any of that sounded bitter, I'm mainly just confused.
Till next time...
Dan Reiter

Revelation 3:14-22

I went to church last Sunday at Alamo City Fellowship in San Antonio (it's about a 40min drive) and it is well worth it (the drive I mean). Pastor David Walker preached on Revelation 3:14-22. There is a lot I could write on this (considering it was an hour long sermon), and maybe if I started taking notes I could do so, but what really stood out to me was his explanation of Rev. 3:20 : "Behold I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into him and will dine with him and him with Me." Often, Christians will use this verse when sharing their faith and offering an explanation on how to accept Christ (I remember trying to memorize this verse for that purpose), but in the context of the passage, Christ was talking to the church, to the Christians! Christians can become so caught up in themselves, in having the good, easy life with the nice house and nice family that they forget Christ and the suffering he requires of us (Luke 14:33) and put Him to the outside. It was a very thought provoking and challenging message.

For the church-going crowd: do you ever notice the high school and junior high kids during the service and how many of them will constantly chatter and sometimes even get up and leave and then come back? I do, and it really, really bugs me. But at Alamoc City, a big Italian guy with the Mafia accent came up after Pastor David's sermon and called 'em out. (Imagine accent) "How can you teenagers disrespect Pastor like that? Gettin' up and walkin' 'round. How can you disrespect Pastor like that? You should be ashamed." If those weren't the exact words, it was pretty close. I don't think we get called out enough and it's always refreshing when it happens (okay, maybe I wouldn't feel the same if I was the one being called out, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't happen).

After rebuking the youth, he proceeded to pray for the pastor and asked others to do the same, and many men throughout the congregation stood and came to the front and laid hands on Pastor Walker. It was very emotional; never have I seen such love in a congregation like this one. It stirs me up now even as I think about it.

Thanks for reading Doubling Talents, I'm glad you could join me, and I always appreciate it when people leave comments on my blog.
Till next time...
Dan Reiter

"In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple."
Luke 14:33

I understand not only that I am something incomplete and dependent upon another, something aspiring indefinitely for greater and greater or better things, but also that the being on whom I depend has in himself all those greater things -- not merely indefinitely and potentially, but infinitely and actually, and thus that he is God.
Meditation Three: Concerning God, That He Exists Rene Descartes