Moving = not so fun

IT'S TIME TO MOVE!!!

It's very exciting, because in two weeks I'm moving into the future home of the Bueno's...I mean Mettings! Mettings! LOL! It's gonna be a good apartment. Get it "good." LOL!!!! I made a funny!
In the mean time I am bunking up with my fried Drew. Cowper on the other hand will be driving Big Ron crazy all day! Can't wait to hear about it.

I moved into McCowan manor a year ago, and it has definitely been an interesting ride. It started out with Adam, Shayne, Billy, James, and myself. We then dropped James, or better said James dropped us. We lost Adam to Austin, but then picked up John. Guess what, we lost John, and decided lets not pick up anyone. In the process of all this Billy rarely lived there. Thus, Shayne and I have been rockin it solid the whole year. As for pets we started with none, added Paylor and a beagle whose name I can't remember. Lost the nameless Beagle, but then gained a horse...I mean a Mastiff named Rufus. Lost Paylor, but then added Cowper. When we lost Adam we lost Rufus, thus Cowper stands alone as the only four legged creature to survive McCowan Manor.

Trust me there are some scary details mixed it with all that. If you care to know what all went down just ask Shayne. He will verify the craziness!

We started seriously packing last night, and I remembered why I loved living in the same house for the first 21 years of my life and how much I hate the fact that I have moved 9 times...9 times since!!!!!!!!!!!!! That is no bueno! LOL!!! HAHAHA!!!

Christy and I have already decided that packing boxes, dusting the undustable, and deciding what to keep or throw away aka "moving" stinks! We don't really know where we want to permanently live just yet, but knowing us I think by year 3 or so we will have a good idea.

This is the moment in my blog where I thank my Grandparents for the inability to throw anything away, which was passed down to my mother, but not to me!!! There is no greater feeling in moving than looking at something and giving it the 3 month test. What is the 3 month test you may ask... If you ain't used it in 3 months chuck deuce and throw it away! Bid it adieu! Some may say "Ronald you may use that!" Translation..."Ronald you may use that sometime the next decade!" Sorry, but I ain't keepin it to collect dust!

I close with this. When you have the most perfect person in the world (better known as Christy Bueno) help you move it is all good. We take dance breaks to Dean Martin as we pack, and we play fetch with Cowper and his 50lb man frame! I love her, she is my partner forever, and if moving means I'm joining together with her, then i'll move everyday of the year

Do I really enjoy these moments???

I'm in one of those moods today. You know one of those "i'm feeling this deep longing for truth" type moods. One of those "the world can take all it has to offer and shove it" type moods. One of those "I really wish I could be a touring musician, make records, and spread truth to the world" moods. Instead I am sitting at a cubicle (which is something I have found myself to love, especially when compared to the alternative) typing a blog about this mood or moods.

LOL!!!

I love days when I get all serious and I tap into my inner hardrive of emotions.

Moving on...How about those Texans baby!!! About time they punched someone in the mouth. The stunk it up way too much, but all in all they kicked the Titans square in the junk! Andre Johnson is a stud, and I still believe Steve Slaton is gonna break out. He's just played against two tough defenses.

Back to work!

Revelation 19

Not to go all serious after multiple "Ronald" like blogs, but I read this during my lunch break and thought "man that is rich!"

Revelation 19:7, "Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.' And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he said to me, 'write: Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!' And he said to me, 'These are the true saying of God.' And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, 'See that you do not do that! I am your fello servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.'"

I didn't want to go crazy into the timing of the text, but rather just to look at the relationship we have with Jesus. It's beautiful!

Song of Solomon 4:9-11 "You have ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse; You have ravished my heart with one look of your eyes, with one link of your eyes, with one link of your necklace. How fair is your love, my sister, my spouse! How much beter than wine is your love, and the scent of your perfumes than all spices! Your lips, O my spouse, drip as the honeycomb; honey and milk are under your tongue; and the fragrance of Lebanon."

Psalm 119:15-16 "I will meditate on Your precepts, and contemplate Your ways. I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word."

Psalm 119:47-48 "And I will delight myself in Your commandments, which I love. My hands also I will lift up to Your commandments, which I love. and I will meditate on Your statutes."

Meditate...

My Mom said "Buckup!"

My wonderful mother (and probably yours too) decided to tell me to "buckup" today after I wrote about missing Christy and how weekends can also be seen as a tease.

I don't really know what "buck up" means. I'm not a buck, if I had a $ I wouldn't throw it up, and I know my name is not Buck. Again, my mother has discovered another fabulous phrase or term to use to describe a situation.

My all time favorite is "i'll be darn!" Why does she want to be darn??? I don't even know what "darn" is, and if I did I don't think I would want to be it.

Thus, my mother has filled my life with many laughable moments at her expense, however her heart is tender enough to laugh along.

Please share your favorite phrases that really make no sense, but we/you use them anyways.

I'll be darn!

Someone's got a case of the Monday's

I do! I do! I do! I do!

So today I was supposed to have lunch with Christy because tomorrow my lovely bride to be starts her big girl job. Well, Monday is payroll day and apparently I'm the new guy for that task! It's like they think I've handled payroll before or something?

We got too busy. Let me repeat. We got too busy for me to give her a set time to meet me up here for lunch, so I am so sad.

On top of that as much as I love Fridays now I don't like Mondays. What a tease! I get to spend all weekend with my dreamgirl only to be thrown into a cubicle to play by myself the very next day.

I must say quickly that Christy and I found a dream place yesterday! Berripop yogurt!!! Yeah, I bought stock! You should check it out.

Back to my corner I go

I can post again!!!

Well, good news all you readers of "the" blog I can post, because I have time! So, dad, adrienne, meredith, and Christy get excited!

What to write about today??? Well, today is Friday! Do you know what that means??? You probably do, but I never have, well atleast not since High School. Friday over the last 8 or 9 years has been known as the day where I serve you some sort of consumable treat! I now know that Fridays rule!!!! I thought to myself this morning, "this is why someone actually thought a restraunt proclaiming the greatness of this day would work??? Smart person.

I would also like to take a moment and say I love packing my lunch for work. Why does it taste so good???!!! Why does a peanut butter and jelly sandwich taste 10 times better after it has been refrigerated for 5 hours after conception? Or, why does a bag of goldfish jump out of your Igloo Maxcold lunch box screaming "i'm here for you!" Better yet, why is it that a little tiny treat called Jello make you go old school like the lunch lady snuck you a few extra bread rolls at school? All I know is this, my lunch time is worth the 8 hours of typing, filing, reading, reviewing, and laughing at people who get stressed because the printer's jammed. LOL! Actually the last part although it may be a tiny bit mean is very entertaining.

Try this on for size those perplexed by the amazingness of a printer, "Can I have a 4 shot, upside down, non-fat, stirred really really good, extra caramel, whip, and 6 pumps of vanilla caramel macchiato." "Uh mam, what size?" "I said, a venti 4 shot, upside down, stirred really really good, extra caramel, and 6 pumps of vanill caramel macchiato." "Um mam, did you want it non-fat and with whip." "No! I didn't ask for non-fat or whip!"

I know, I know, the printer says paper jam in tray 1. What do we do??? Let's locate tray 1, and love on it for a little bit. LOL!

Just kidding with all this. These are just the musings of my first week in what I like to call normalness. I've learned how to handle stress a great deal over the last decade, because of work, so this really is just an added skill to my set. This job hopefully will stay the same, and Christy and I can move up in both our companies and enjoy our NIGHTS AND WEEKENDS!!!

Paton Cowper Metting

Well my father is probably going to be so excited to see that I'm back on the blogging train!

For some strange reason I was given the distinct honor of coming to my parents house to clean poop and fill a food bowl so more poop could be created for Sassy! All the while my folks are in a foreign land known to us all as Arkansas enjoying there new granddaughter. Thanks a pad load! I love you guys too!

What they didn't know would happen while they were gone was a 47 inch flood would occur in there backyard! The funny thing is I could audibly hear my dad saying, "Ronald make sure you check that drain before you leave so the backyard doesn't flood." Well, there was about 3 - 5 inches of standing water in there backyard, and my dog loved it! He's never really had the chance to meander in water, so we were both pumped! But especially him.

Paton Cowper Metting is his name, but he goes by his middle name which is actually pronounced Cooper. I know...that's a lot for a dogs name making him go by the middle name, then spelling it different causing people to feel stupid when then call for him and he doesn't come, but hey I'm not a simple guy I have complexes, so I figured my dog should to.

Here are some pictures of the rainy afternoon in the backyard of the Metting Mansion.

More pictures are on my facebook page. LATER!

Writing about whatever I want!

My friend Robert many moons ago said, "whenever I have writers block I just write until something comes out that I enjoy." To me it sounds similar to a restroom break, but I'm just saying! LOL!

So, tonight I am just going to write.

I am routinly distracted
With my daily fashion
Same old step
From this day to the next
Opening doors
And closing eyes
Start to finish
Is this the same old rhyme?

God chose fisherman
They weren't that bright
God chose me
I'm just their type
God chose baseless
To fool vegas
God chose Saul
And created Paul

I think i'll stop and pick up later.

Understanding the WHY??? in God's Design

Today has been a very reflective day. Every Monday I open my store and serve the best drinks you and your momma have ever had! Something about this morning was just different. My job is very engaging. I am paid to make people happy before their day "starts." So, this morning I'm doing my deal, talking to dudes about sports, calling all the women "baby" or darling" (for some reason older women always get a kick out of this one), and trying to find one three year old who will drink a triple espresso!

About 10:30 I get off the floor and start working on all of my admin duties. Scheduling, payroll, reports, etc... After about 15 minutes of that I decided too much! So, I went to Subway and ordered the most delicious sub ever. 6 inch on wheat, roasted chicken, tomatoes, pickles, onions, lettuce, and the secret ranch and chipotle sauce! Now, as I am downing this manna from heaven I just start thinking about my life, and how in the world I ended up here. Why the Lord decided before time began to orchestrate my life this way. I was and am by no means questioning His ways, however I desire understanding. I desire truth.

In our culture you can see so much insecurity with our lives. I am often worried about money, housing, my car, etc... It is crazy that this society has covered up my vision of God.

Father give me the grace to see Your purpose in my life from the smallest detail to the biggest obstacle. Help me to understand the why in Your plan.

William Cowper - A Strange Hero to have

Next to John Newton, John Paton, John Piper (that's a lot of John's!!!), and William Carey, William Cowper (pronounced Cooper) is easily one of the most influential people in my life. I've obviously never met the man, because he lived 1731 - 1800. However, because of John Newton and my discovery of their Olney Hymns I came to know William Cowper.

Cowper was a gifted poet, and together with John Newton wrote one of the greatest set of hymns we have known. Cowper suffered from severe bouts of depression and anxiety and often times attempted to take his own life. In hopes to lift Cowpers spirits John Newton took himself and Cowper on a journey. He said each week I'll write a hymn and you write a hymn, and we will compile them together. He hoped in doing this Cowper would recover from his dark, dark depression. He never did. Newton faithfully finished what we now know as the Olney Hymns.

My interest in Cowper started with one of those hymns "O Holy I Love Thy Holy Word." I did not know much about him until just a few years back when I began to see signs of depression, anxiety, addiction, and coping in my own life. Not able to understand how to handle or deal with these "issues" was very difficult. In William Cowper's hymns and poetry I have found not only a remedy, but a hope. Cowper never fully recovered from his battle with depression, but he always hoped in God, until it was too much and the Lord took his life.

These were John Newton's final words in his sermon at Cowper's funeral:
" I have had hopes the Lord would remove his malady a little time before his death but it continued. The last twelve hours of his life he did not speak nor seem to take notice of anything but lay in a state of apparent insensibility. But I seem to think that while the curtains were taking down in the tabernacle removing, glory broke in upon his soul. The Lord had set his seal upon him and though he had not seen him he had grace to love him. He was one of those who came out of great tribulation. He suffered much here for twenty-seven years, but eternity is long enough to make amends for all. For what is all he endured in this life, when compared with that rest which remaineth for the children of God?"

Cowper is not your typical hero! He never recovered from his depression! Most of the time we look at a life and we see trials and heartache, but eventually we find triumph and victory! He never saw these things. He died in despair, but if you read his poetry and his hymns you know he died as mentally healthy as any of us.

I could write for days on this man, because he has so often touched my life and saved me from uncontrollable darkness, but instead I will let his words speak freely in hopes that it would encourage anyone who comes across them in the Lord.

Below are two of my favorite hymns by William Cowper. I have written new music to both pieces, so through new melodies the lyrics can sing truth into my soul every day. I would tell you my favorite verses, but it is worth it to get lost in his lyrics and discover which part blesses your soul.

God Moves in a Mysterious Way

William Cowper

1.) God moves in a mysterious way

His wonders to perform;

He plants His footsteps in the sea

And rides upon the storm.

2.) Deep in unfathomable mines

Of never failing skill

He treasures up His bright designs

And works His sov’reign will.

3.) Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;

The clouds ye so much dread

Are big with mercy and shall break

In blessings on your head.

4.) Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,

But trust Him for His grace;

Behind a frowning providence

He hides a smiling face.

5.) His purposes will ripen fast,

Unfolding every hour;

The bud may have a bitter taste,

But sweet will be the flow’r.

6.) Blind unbelief is sure to err

And scan His work in vain;

God is His own interpreter,

And He will make it plain.

God of My Life to Thee I Call

William Cowper

1.) God of my life, to Thee I call;

Afflicted, at Thy feet I fall;

When the great water floods prevail

Leave not my trembling heart to fail!

2.) Friend of the friendless and the saint,

Where should I lodge my deep complaint?

Where but with Thee, whose open door

Invites the helpless and the poor!

3.) Did ever mourner plead with Thee,

And Thou refuse that mourner’s plea?

Does not the Word still fixed remain

That none shall seek Thy face in vain?

4.) That were a grief I could not bear,

Didst Thou not hear and answer prayer;

But a prayer hearing, answering God

Supports me under every load.

5.) Fair is the lot that’s cast for me!

I have an Advocate with Thee;

They whom the world caresses most,

Have no such privilege to boast.

6.) Poor thou I am, despised, forgot,

Yet God, my God, forgets me not;

And he is safe, and must succeed,

For whom the Lord vouchsafes to plead.