Bill on Life

First of all, to the hundreds (400+ views!) of you reading my blog (or maybe it's just a few of you obsessively checking it over and over), I want to say thank you! It has been a pleasure and an easy transition from life outside of the interweb to the blogosphere nation in which I currently reside.

With that being said, I know a few of you really love me and care about me (or atleast pretend to) so I'll give you an update on my life. Here are Bill's thoughts on:

Marriage: In 31 days, I will be married! Things are progressing nicely. We are getting a lot of stuff done, still a lot to do. I realized though when I get excited, it makes Rachel much more excited. Don't get me wrong, I have been looking forward to May 30th for a long time now, but I haven't gotten into the whole wedding planning stuff until recently. My job is to create wedding party introductions for the reception, so if you are reading this, and have any input on how we should announce them (misc. facts, descriptions, etc.) for Bryan Murawski/Holly Evans, Todd Roth/Rachel Rossin, or Jordan Benjamin/Lianne Lowen, please leave a comment!

Job: This part is two fold: Current and Failed Attempts.
I'm currently a waiter at River City Cafe again, but not at the same location. I went to the one in Myrtle Beach (73rd street, come visit!) and it's awesome. People there are my age and it's really laid back.
I'm currently looking for a position in youth ministry. I've interviewed with 4 different churches, with no luck. I've been close on two, but God doesn't seem to want me in either, so we're still looking. I have an interview up near Charlottesville, VA on Thursday that I am really looking forward to, so be praying!

Toothbrushes: They are so hard to find. I had to replace mine yesterday. Do you know how hard this process is?? First of all, I went to Wal-Mart and looked for one. Lots of options. Except here's the thing. I need a soft bristle toothbrush (it's my preference), but they make them so you can really feel the head of the brush until you buy it. Now I know that no one should ever return a toothbrush or buy a used one, but I want something that I know I'll like. Why does this process have to be so "all or nothing"? I bought one (I had to!) and I'm not completely pleased with it. Maybe I'll go buy another one. Maybe I'll stick with it. I just got really sad writing this, so this is the end of my post.

Love you all and keep reading my blog! Tell all your friends!

Peach (I saw Jordan write Peach instead of peace by accident, so this is a tribute to him)

Farming 101

This has nothing to do with farming and this has everything to do with farming. You can figure it out.

Faith grows with use. We must use the little faith we have in order to develop great faith. Put it to work (cultivate it) by reverent prayer and faithful praying and it will grow stronger day by day. The man of small faith may be simply the one who has not dared to exercise the little faith he has.

Our prayer should be this: Lord, I know my faith needs to grow, so please help me to exercise what faith I have and anticipate that growth and stretching.


That was an summary of what I read today from AW Tozer. Then I went into the book of Matthew, Chapter 4, verses 18-22.

18As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." 20At once they left their nets and followed him.

21Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, 22and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

The fishermen became such great men of God because they used the faith that they had at the time (whether it was big or small) and they acted on it. They already had some faith (they were most likely disciples of Jesus at the time). Now they were being called to a special service. What what was their reaction?

They immediately, without reservation or hesitation, responded and left their nets, their ship, and for James and John, they left their father.

Do we have that same response when God calls us to take our next step? If we want our faith to grow, are we using the faith that we have right now?

Missing Links

Hey Blognation!

Just wanted to post some blogs I love reading.

Jordan's Blog

Kyle's Blog

Check them out!

The first is my best friend Jordan Benjamin's. Some good stuff on there. Very real and transparent.

The second is my literary genius and dance machine Kyle Patrick. I wish he was making this stuff up!

Wild Fires

Please be praying for these fires to be contained. The way Myrtle Beach is set up, with our waxy trees and ecosystem, it just fuels a fast moving fire. About 70 homes have been destroyed. A hundred more have been damaged.

I personally saw the faces of people I know that have lost everything. Not just their house, but everything: pictures, driver's license, clothes, everything. I can't imagine completely starting over. Again, please pray that this does not spread any further.

I Broke Into A Car Today...

So today, my lovely fiancee gave me the opportunity to break into her car today. Wire hanger and all.

I must say, it was a fun little game while it lasted. I enjoyed the dirty looks, the stares, and the "is he supposed to be doing that?" comments.

If you ever get the chance, break into your own car. Not someone else's. Unless they know about it.

The Polish Powerhouse

I need to find a gym, train in mixed martial arts, then fight. That would be sweet. "The Polish Powerhouse" Bill Murawski. Sounds good, doesn't it??

No?

Then what does? If you had to give me a nickname (aka Bill "The Assassin" Murawski), what would it be?

The results of this post may change my destiny. My fate, and nickname, are in your hands.

Zac Efron

Yesterday, I went to see 17 Again, starring Matthew Perry and Zac Efron.

First of all, Rachel wanted to see it, and to me, it didn't look bad.

Thoughts on Zac Efron:
1) Zac Efron has way too much armpit hair. Way too much.
2) No way Zac Efron grows up to look like Matthew Perry.
3) Zac Efron is a great actor. Funny guy. No wonder the girls all like him...

Finally, if you go see the movie, check out the credits.

Laughter!

You can not look at these pictures and not laugh.
I found them on the interweb.

Obama and Taxes

Now let me preface this with saying, this is not a political post. I just stumbled upon this and found it interesting.

The Obamas and Bidens File Taxes
by Mike Krumboltz

April 15, 2009 05:23:20 PM

Taxes are the pits, but at least they don't discriminate — everybody has to pay 'em. And that includes the leader of the free world and his right-hand man.

The tax returns for President Obama and Vice President Biden were recently released to the public. Quicker than you can say "spread the wealth," searches on both documents skyrocketed.

Now, normally tax returns don't inspire a lot of buzz. But when it's the Obamas' and the Bidens', the 1040s are actually pretty interesting. According to an article from Reuters, President Obama (who filed jointly with his wife, Michelle), reported an adjusted gross income of $2,656,902. They paid roughly $855,000 in federal income taxes and almost $78,000 in state income taxes.

Now hold up—since when do (honest) politicians make millions of dollars? Well, normally they don't. But Mr. Obama is also a best-selling author. The majority of his 2008 income came from sales of his two memoirs, "Dreams of My Father" and "The Audacity of Hope." Interestingly, the Obamas' income took a substantial drop in 2008. According to Fox News, the couple actually pulled in $4.2 million in 2007.

In comparison to his boss's return, Vice President Biden's 1040 looked downright modest. The VP and his wife reported an income of $269,256 for 2008. That's roughly a tenth of what the Obamas declared. Still, a good portion of that came from sales of Mr. Biden's memoir, "Promises to Keep." UPI reports that the Bidens reported donations of $1,885 to charity in 2008, but the White House notes that the Bidens made additional donations to their church that weren't included (lest you think they're stingy).


Article can be found at http://buzz.yahoo.com/buzzlog/92476/?fp=1

24

24 Hours

In high school, I was part of a successful swim team. Today, I’m part of a successful church team. This past weekend we saw 2,460 join our Easter services. On top of that, 160 came forward to receive Christ. So naturally in staff meeting on Tuesday, we are faced with this: What’s Next?

On the swim team, Coach Brewer knew we were successful. But many times after a win, our heads would get big and we lose focus of our goal: the championship. So he gave us these words after each win and loss: “You have 24 hours to remember this meet. If we win, enjoy it. If we lose, sulk over it. But 24 hours from now, we move on, learn from it, and move towards our goal.”

This weekend we saw an attendance of 2,460. We have had our 24 hours to enjoy it, learn from it, and now we continue on towards the goal. We can’t linger on this success. We should be grateful and thank God for it, yes, but then strive to get these new guests plugged in, serving, baptized, and growing. Our goal is for all to know the name of God. We had a great weekend at Barefoot Church. Our 24 hours of enjoying that success are up. Let’s take our next step together towards our goal.

Check us out: barefootchurch.com or ampdalive.com.

Disgust

Cartoon elephants make me sick.
They kiss with their trunks, even though that is clearly their nose, not their mouth.
Ugh, yuck.


I think I have an ear infection. But my two best friends are coming for Easter, so I'll put off the pain til Monday!

I found this today...

BAT FIGHT with Will Ferrell from Will Ferrell

I Am, Therefore I Watch

I watch TV.

I have watched every episode of Seinfeld, The Office, King of Queens, and Survivor.

I think I watch all of those shows, because my personality is so engrained in the characters. Someone once said I was like Jerry Seinfeld. I told him I wasn’t Jewish, or a professional comedian. I think he meant it more along the lines of I’m the glue that holds a group of friends together. I said thank you to him. I watch the Office because I am just as awesome as Jim/Dwight/Creed/Andy but not Stanley or Bob Vance. One day though. One day.

I watch King of Queens because I am much like the father (Jerry Stiller). I live in a sectioned-off part of the house, and I have arthritis. And I watch Survivor because I am like everyone who has ever won the show. I am a winner. Plain and simple. And I can go a month without shaving.

Tozer Time!

So I’ve been reading a new devotional that my mentor Don Meckley got me called Tozer on Christian Leadership by A.W. Tozer. Aiden Wilson Tozer was born in 1897, yet his writings are like he was writing specifically to me in my culture today. I believe that is because his content is based completely on Scripture, which, as we may or may not know, transcends time.

I started reading April 1st, and the purpose of this post is really to just share what I’ve learned. I will write my learnings (Is that a word? Probably not because Microsoft Word red-squiggly lined it) in a numbered format (which is my favorite).

1)True Prayer cannot be imitated nor can it be learned from someone else. Almost everything associated with ministry can be learned with some intelligent application, but not prayer.
b) No one should stand before an audience who has not first stood before God. Stay with God in private longer than you stay with people in public.
XII) The Christian’s heart must be soaked in prayer before the true spiritual fruits begin to grow.
4 ½) Written 100 years ago, Tozer says that we are “the busiest bunch of eager beavers ever seen in the religious world. In our busyness, we tend to develop a rash of amateurism, causing our lights to stay burning, but not brighter.
11z) While Tozer is stimulating me, my real desire is to hear from God. How often do I say “Here I am, God. Begin to teach me!”

I highly recommend this devotional. It’s a page a day, which is sweet, because I'm not a morning person, but I try to put God first everyday.

Lefts and Wombats

Yes. I decided to blog. Eventually, I will vlog, but not yet. I have decided to blog because I love my life and I think you should be welcomed into it a little more. Some posts will be funny, sad, serious, and weird, and some won’t make sense at all. They will all have some randomness, because that’s how God created my brain. They all make sense in my head, and there is some sort of connection from one to the next. So let’s start…

I was thinking today about one time I went to the movies. I went with my good friend Jesse Pomeroy and some friends to the midnight showing and we got out of the movie late. It was about 2 in the morning, and I have no clue if the movie was good or not. But we were bored, so I decided to only take left turns to get home. Now, the theater was about 10 minutes from my house, and we didn’t know if it was going to be possible. But after only one illegal driving maneuver, and 55 minutes later, we pulled into my driveway in reverse, making the trip a success.

Try it one time. Pick a destination and get there only taking lefts.

Also, Google the animal Wombat. Odd looking animals.