Doug Van Pelt

California

Don and Paul make their trek out of Nevada and into California, halfway starving (at least according to their hunger pains). They decide they've had enough of beans and rice, so they go into a grocery store. It's funny how Don pushes Paul, filling the cart with stuff and asking him to shoplift some jelly. It seems like he's trying to make his friend uncomfortable just for fun. When they pull into a gas station, they find that they have a rather large gasoline leak. Time for another repair saga.

I remember hating trips like that, where the fear of whether or not my vehicle would make it to the destination would consume me.

Well, I've finally proofed all the pages for the Jan/Feb issue of HM. I imagine I'll have a printed copy in my hand sometime next week. I'm guessing Wednesday. Today is a big day. I have interviews with Spock's Beard and 36 Crazyfists. Later I go to the airport in Austin to pick up John J. Thompson, our hard-working marketing/advertising director. I hope he has a nice trip. There's been a cold front that's moved in and made it almost freezing around here. As a resident of the Chicago area, it'll probably make him feel right at home. We're going to meet and strategize for the coming year. I hope he's got some cool plans for us, as the changes he's made in 2006 (like adding the podcast) have been huge.

About 40-50 Readers' Poll and Readers' Survey ballots have come in. We like to have around 300 of those suckers, so we get a nice, balanced segment or "sample," as a Statistician might say.

Our Canadian intern, Dougie G, has been sick, so we wish him well, recovering from the flu or something. Those aliens are always bringing some type of virus into the country. Never mind that's he's been here over a year, this is obviously a secret, insidious virus that he's kept under the skin of his hand for that time, engaging the magic accelerator switch in his hand to start the bug now. We hope he gets well soon.

I've added quite a few "team members" to the crew at Heaven's Metal, which should help that publication keep a steady flow of articles, reviews, and such. Pastor Bob headed up an "International Report," which he turned in yesterday. I'm excited about that, as we have a report from Mexico, Denmark, and Lebanon.

Lots to do.

I experience a little miracle with every issue of HM. One of the things is I ask God to give me a specific Scripture for the masthead on page 10. I'll usually pray about it, believing that He'll speak to me and give me a specific verse or verses to use. I've never heard an audible voice, but a thought will appear in my head. Much the same kind of thought that pops into mind when you realize, 'Oh, I better mow the lawn today!' Or 'Pick up your pace, so you can open the door for these ladies.' ...Just an impromptu, fresh thought. I believe I've "heard God" in this manner many, many times. I've tested this theory a lot, too, because it's a scary and sobering thought to "pretend you're hearing God" or be decieved by the brain. That would not be cool.

Back in my University of Texas school days, I would perceive a thought that sounded like a command: 'Go tell that person that I love them.' I asked myself: 'Is this my mind? If it is, I don't want to do this. I might get rejected or laughed at by this person. Is it the devil? I doubt he'd want me to tell someone that God loves them.' I figured, 'Well, it's probably God.' Many times an unusual encounter or conversation would take place; something I never expected, like having an open conversation with someone.

I also noticed that, when I was "obedient" to these thoughts, the "reception" would come in clearer, if that makes sense. This is the kind of stuff that's probably best held close and not shared in a worldwide public forum (like the www)**, but I'll risk it for the chance that it might encourage or help someone. Who knows? Telling someone that you "hear God" is borderline insane. In a left-wing fascist state it could get you institutionalized. Imagine if I had said this in the Soviet Union (with the hypothetical idea that it still existed in today's "Google anything" world). No doubt I would lose my factory job and probably be thrown in prison. "He's crazy. There is no god. He thinks he hears one. It's better for everyone if we lock him up." I bet that would be the tendency in such a state.

So anyway, I asked God for a Scripture for the new issue (the March/April issue with the Anberlin cover story), and I immediately had the thought: '2 Peter 1:3...through 5.' I was anxious to see what it would say. I was hoping it wouldn't be the middle of some geneology or some irrelevant to the context passage. That would kind of blow my theory or be an example of "missing God," at least in my opinion. On the contrary, this verse seems to make perfect sense -- a timely word for the present:

"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him Who called us by His own glory and goodness. Through these He has given us His very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world cause by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge..."

That was kind of my little miracle that happened yesterday.

There have been other times where I've delegated this opportunity/responsibility to others (employees, interns, and a family member or two). It's been cool to see the same "wow, that's a perfect verse for this issue" impact. I like that.

**It's funny, but what's posted on the web stays there. A good rule of thumb is: "If you don't want everyone in the world to read it, don't post it." This is especially important to remember on message boards, where you might get mad at a post and go off on someone or name names in a disagreement. It doesn't take too long for something juicy like that to spread and come around and bite you in the rear. Just ask a band member who's gone off on a message board... Someone could pull this post up in 10 years, using a search engine and typing in the phrase "hearing God" or something like that. It makes you think before posting.

P.S. A big, friendly welcome to our Jehovah's Witness members who read yesterday's blog. I hope that, perhaps, something at hmmag.com might be a help to you. I imagine this was a result of a search engine query for those two words (JW).
:?)

Posted by Doug Van Pelt at November 30, 2006 11:54 AM