The World According To Chris Brewer

So tonight was interesting.?Ǭ† The softball team I play for on base won by forfeit tonight because the other team failed to show up.?Ǭ† So after a short pactice session in which we had the field all to ourselves, I ran to the church gym where we all squared off in three of the most exciting basketball games Lakeside has probably seen during my time there.

The games could have gone either way, but our team won three games in a row, 16-15, 16-14 and 21-19…counting one- and two-pointers, of course.?Ǭ† I think over the course of the three games, I was good for somewhere in the neighborhood of ten points, about fifteen rebounds, and eight blocks.?Ǭ† It’s always a block party at Lakeside when I come out to play basketball.?Ǭ† Especially when Sean tries to take me on (sorry man, I had to say that).

So after a fulfilling night of sports, I came back, showered, ironed my uniform and now it’s 2:10 AM at the time of this writing.?Ǭ† I have to go back to work tomorrow…not work per se, but rather a stupid "Informed Decision Seminar" that I have to sit through from 7 to 4 tomorrow and listen to people basically tell me that my decision to get out of the Air Force in November is stupid and that I should stay.?Ǭ† It’s a colossal waste of my time and theirs.?Ǭ† My mind is made up and nothing anyone higher ranking than me can say will change it.

Anyway, I’m off to bed.?Ǭ† See you all at church tomorrow night.

Sorry I’ve been negligent in my blogging duties. I guess keeping busy is a good thing, and it’s a hard thing to do in Newport News. Let me run down what has gone on over the past three days.

Friday

A bunch of us from Lakeside Church went to Chesterfield for the youth rally at Word of Life Ministries. My buddy Wayne Kelly is the youth pastor down there, so it was great to see him and all the other folks from the church there that I had met at Spring Retreat last year. Anyway, to keep it short, Jason Vernon spoke about God breathing life into that which is dead, and after that he gave the altar call…God moved in a mighty way and it was so wonderful to receive from the Lord. Awesome youth rally. (See photos of it in the Photocenter. It’s one of the most recent sets.)

Saturday

Kevin, Danny, Jon and I all drove down to Norfolk and spent about 30 minutes at MacArthur Center Mall…then it closed. So our backup plan was to go to No Frill Bar & Grill, and what an awesome place to eat. It was wonderful.?Ǭ† No Frill is a little restaurant that’s popular with college students down in the Ghent area of Norfolk.?Ǭ† If you’re ever there, get a Spotswood Melt.?Ǭ† It’s a burger on sourdough bread, with sauteed onions and a sauce of some sort.?Ǭ† It’s delicious.?Ǭ† Seriously.?Ǭ† Props to Kevin for telling us about that place.

Anyway, we all got to know each other a little better and when I drove home, I just thanked the Lord for providing me with good friends back here in Newport News.

Today

I overslept my alarm and missed church. Tried to call Mom but she didn’t answer. Happy Mother’s Day though, Mom, I love you. Tonight I went to life group at Cameron and Stephanie’s, and it was good.?Ǭ† Cameron spoke on how we need to draw closer to Jesus, and cited Scriptures from Romans and 2 Peter to back it up.?Ǭ† I was so glad to be back at Life Group…I’m sorry I’ll be missing it for the next two weeks, but I will be ministered to at Crimson House Ministries in Springfield.?Ǭ†

That, my friends, is my weekend in a nutshell.

Some of you may wonder why I haven’t been feeling super-spiritual over the last few weeks.

As my faith in Jesus Christ continues to grow, I find myself growing more and more unhappy with organized religion. Organized as in, go to church, follow a set routine, sing a few songs, listen to someone speak some good words, pray at the altar, get a good cry so it feels like you’re feeling better when you’re done, hug some friends, and walk back out the door. Like robots, we all repeat the same process on a weekly basis.

And I wonder why we all go home in the same sorry spiritual state in which we arrived at church.

I’m questioning normal Christianity. So much of it seems so routine. I’m bored with it. I’m sick of it. It does nothing for me spiritually. It sickens me to the core to think that I am a robot in an Army of God that is full of individuals that continue to bang their heads against a wall called complacency.

Complacency that causes us to conduct ourselves in a manner completely opposite to what Paul described in Romans chapter 12. We proclaim the name of Jesus within the church walls and defile his name by actions unbecoming of a child of Him, outside of the four walls of the sanctuary. We praise His name when all our Christian friends are around, but we can’t mention Jesus when socializing with nonbelievers.

I seek God for answers to the questions that haunt me. There HAS to be something better, a higher calling, some point where God finally imparts wisdom to me and shows me the place where I need to be with Him.

I’m tired of “church.” I’m tired of conventional Christianity. I want, I need, I desire something more than what everyone else is content to settle for.

And I’m not gonna stop hounding God until I get it.

Not often does someone give $7.50 for a ticket to a movie with no big-name actors or central superhero. Yet that’s what a bunch of us from Lakeside did last night as we saw “United 93″ for the first time.

“United 93″ is a well-told story of the passengers and crew of the only hijacked flight on 9-11 that didn’t reach its target, thanks to the heroism of a dedicated group of passengers. Throughout the film, it was evident that director Paul Greengrass took pains to ensure that the film was told with breathtaking detail and as factually as possible.

The viewer is taken from the start of another day at the National Air Traffic Control Center, to the eventual crash of United Flight 93 in Shanksville, PA. The tense moments aboard that flight are captured in painful detail, yet the story is told in a way that makes sure to honor each person who gave their lives to ensure no one on the ground lost theirs.

Particularly etched in my mind are two scenes: first, the air traffic controllers in New Jersey, with all their technologically advanced equipment around them, still look out the window and see first-hand the second plane hit the World Trade Center; and second, the passengers of Flight 93 rallying together and overpowering the terrorists.

Seeing “United 93″ brought 9-11 into a whole new perspective for me. In the days and months after September 11, 2001, we had never really gone inside the mind of the passengers and experienced the hell they went through. This film allows us to sit beside the people on Flight 93, share their pain when they call their loved ones to say goodbye, and cheer for them as they fight back against heartless cowards.

In my mind, the passengers of Flight 93 are modern American heroes…they carried on the same spirit that each generation that had gone before them had fought for. “United 93″ tells their story, and each American that regards passengers such as Todd Beamer, Jeremy Glick, Mark Bingham and Tom Burnett as heroes would do well to honor their memory by seeing this riveting story.

And yes, in case you’re wondering, I did cry in the middle of the movie theater. I’m proud of it.

On this day in 1980, Jerry & Sybil Brewer were married in the Salvation Army Church in Longview, WA. On this day in 2006, we all congratulate my parents for 26 faithful years together. God has truly blessed them and we thank Him for their wonderful marriage.

On a personal note, I praise God that my parents have kept it together through the good and bad times. I don’t know what kind of person I’d be right now if they hadn’t stayed together throughout Jason’s and my growing up, and the fact that God has blessed their marriage has no doubt been a huge blessing in turn to Jason and I.

Twenty-six years is a long time. Twenty-six years ago, Mount St. Helens blew its top. Ronald Reagan was campaigning for President under the Republican ticket. Iraq was starting a war with its neighbor, Iran. It was a completely different era. Fast forward to today…Mount St. Helens is showing signs of life again, Ronald Reagan departed this life two years ago, and it’s now the United States involved in Iraq. Times and circumstances change, and it’s amazing how the Lord has blessed my parents over all that time.

Here’s to you, Mom and Dad. God bless you with twenty-six more years, and even beyond that!!!

I’m only staying in the Langley dorms because I don’t want to have to buy a bunch of new stuff for an apartment, but it’s becoming unbearable, thanks to the inconsiderate freak who lives next door to me.

Here is the short list of what I have encountered so far:

- Music blaring at all times of the night and day. With low, rumbly bass that gives you a headache each time you hear it.

- Him having put a bench right outside my room. I mean, right underneath my window. He and his friends all get together there and laugh, blare their music, and do whatever. While I am trying to do whatever I do in my dorm.

- This is the really bad one. I’ve heard porn movies blare through the walls at odd hours of the day as well. Serious. The other day I was listening to Sixpence None The Richer, and I heard a scream in the background. I thought to myself, “Wait a minute, Leigh Nash never sings that high or screams in her songs.” After turning my music off, I realized my suitemate was treating me to a full audio soundtrack of a woman being pleasured. How horrible.

I’m off to the dorm manager’s office. I’m gonna turn this idiot in and then if it doesn’t stop, I’m going to apply to live off-base. I’m the senior ranking person in the dorm here so they had better let me if I decide to.

Today was my first Sunday stepping foot into a church since October of last year.?Ǭ† I’m not much a fan of military church services as they tend to usually be watered-down adaptations of generic Bible stories, just something to chew on for a bit, feel good then go home.

So, suffice it to say that I really REALLY wanted (and needed) to attend morning service at Lakeside Church today.?Ǭ† It was great, and I was glad to see some new faces in the crowd.?Ǭ† Pastor Rick got up and spoke about his vision for the church, and entitled his message "New Beginnings."?Ǭ† He brought forth some great points, especially pointing out the verse in Psalms that says basically that we labor in vain if we don’t call on God for help.?Ǭ† Great service and it was good to be back.

We all went to Plaza Azteca — well, a bunch of the youth did, I should say.?Ǭ† There, I rode their wooden horse and we got photos of it.?Ǭ† One of them looks like I’m pretty much shanking the poor thing, it looks sick but it’s got some great comedic value to the Lakeside family.?Ǭ† Stephanie Ashworth, laugh your face off.

Anyhoo, I will be posting more in the Forum soon, and making minor modifications to the site tomorrow.?Ǭ† Other than that, I’M SLEEPING IN.

Peace.

Oh and by the way, speaking of church, it’s a pretty huge sin to lie in God’s house. Relax, Lakeside folks, this statement was not directed at you. Someone I know elsewhere knows exactly what I’m talking about.

Tech-heads, read this. I successfully installed Windows Vista onto my Intel Mac. If you want instructions on how to do it, drop me a line at chris @ firestormlive.net. (I spaced that out so no one would spam me, just close the spaces that separate the @ from the rest of the address.)

Tonight I went and picked up Jon Masters and we went to Lakeside Church for Saturday night basketball. I played two games and did okay, then there were too many people (read: too many ball-hogs who thought they were playing in the NBA All-Star Game) for me to even care about wanting to play again, so we left early. Then we went out to TGI Friday’s with Kevin, Danny and Melissa. We just sat and chit chatted about life in general. Finally one conversation in which I don’t have to talk about my Iraq experience.

By the way, during basketball tonight, Roger Daniels was playing on our team in the first game, and I guess he landed on someone’s ankle. Anyway, it popped and it sounded pretty bad, so after a couple games Jon and I headed over to Sentara to check if he was okay, but the emergency room folks had sent him home already. So it probably wasn’t broke like we initially thought. Pray for Roger’s speedy recovery, the injury looked nasty but we hope he comes through it okay.

Tomorrow’s church day. I’ll be mugging for the camera with my friends (and some new facial hair, I might add). It’s weird to actually be able to have somewhat of a goatee for a couple weeks.

Man, this iMac rocks.

Tonight, or I should say last night since it’s 2:16 AM here on the East Coast, Jon Masters and I took a trip to Sonic. Now there are three Sonic Drive-Ins that are easily accessible from Langley AFB, and since it was late we decided to take the shortest drive and the greatest risk…we drove to the Sonic on Mercury Blvd. in Hampton, where white people aren’t necessarily the most welcomed group.

Bad idea.

I should have known that bad things were to come after I had to press the “Press Here To Order” button TWICE at the little parking space we pulled into. A female voice came over the speaker and asked us “Yo, welcome to da Mercurah Boulevar Sonic. Whacanwedoforya?”

I made sure to plainly articulate our order — I would be getting a #3 meal with a large Coke AND Strawberry CreamSlush (the meal contained a Chili Cheese Coney, a large order of fries and the drink), and Jon would have the #5 meal (Popcorn Chicken with a large order of fries and drink). Of course, the place was busy. The longer I waited, the longer I felt like I could die at any moment as a bunch of miscreants with gold teeth and shirts six sizes too big walked by.

I rolled up the windows. Oh wait, our food’s here.

Jon and I looked through the food we received — the chili cheese coney was there, and so was the popcorn chicken. He got his Coke and I got my CreamSlush. Only things that were missing were both orders of fries and my Coke. The carhop, an aging black female who didn’t seem to happy to be serving us in the first place, brought my Coke but no fries….and no receipt.

So I asked her where the fries were and she said, “You guys got a receipt. Look on it, the total was $11.”

“Uh, no I didn’t get a receipt,” I said back. “Let’s tally everything up then, I got the #3 meal and he got the #5. I got the CreamSlush, I think that’s $11 right there.”

Without a word she stomped off….and brought back one SMALL order of fries. Somewhere in between her stomping off and returning, I had discovered that there was no fork to eat my Coney with. So when she came back, I asked her for a fork, and said that when we pay for something, we simply deserve to get what we pay for.

I guess that set her off. She stomped away and yelled loudly, “I ain’t f@%*ing walkin’ back there fo yo!” (Yes, she said “yo.”)

So I kept the window down and ate the Coney with my hands, while Jon and I seethed about how bad the service was. A black couple next to us was ordering their food, and they ended up getting the same carhop. THEY got every item of food they ordered, and she was as respectful as you could imagine.

There you have it. Hampton, Virginia, the city that proves that racism isn’t just an ideology from white people against blacks. Hampton has some of the worst black-to-white racism I’ve ever seen, and even though tonight wasn’t too bad, Jon and I were victims of it.

I’m not a racist…in fact, I’m far from it. I have tons of black, Asian, Mexican, you name it friends. It’s just that the actions of someone tonight makes me scratch my head and wonder about some people.

It’s been a whirlwind over the last few days. Monday I did some inprocessing stuff. Tuesday I went to Tyler & Wes Ashworth’s house, played Risk and ate pizza with Tyler, Danny Burnette and Kevin Twitchell. It was pretty fun…I was doing pretty good in the game but I had to leave to go to bed because I was still suffering from extreme jet lag. Yesterday I went to town and called about ten car audio places to see who could fix my CD player before I drive to Missouri in a few weeks. After that, I went to church and it was good to go back after being a near-heathen for six months.

In just a few minutes I’m gonna go get Jon Masters and we’re gonna go joke around a bit over some food at the Magruder Sonic.

Just thought I’d update really quick. Be sure to check out my news stories section in a bit, because I am gonna upload the rest of the stories I shot in Iraq. Peace!