My sister Kelsey said something in her most recent blog post about doing everythign special on Christmas.
I was thinking somethign similar. I think it is great that Christmas is so special, but maybe we should take away some of the "specialness" and make it a simple day of focusing on Jesus.
Either way, I think we should also work to make other days special. Why wait for one day to do the things we enjoy, to love the people we love, to eat the food we crave.
Well, "all things in moderation."
but the loving people part is definitely something I think everybody should do more of, and I certainly know that's true for me.
that kind of relates to my thoughts about gift giving. I think gift giving should be done throughout the year based upon actually realizing a need somebody has and giving to fulfill that need rather than at the end of every year buying random things because we feel like we should.
For example, I got socks for Christmas from my parents, and they're great. I need socks. I seem to wear through socks pretty quickly even though I dont wear them often. I enjoy the gifts I got. I didn't get a bunch of nonsense, but I got a few things that are meaningful to me.
If we really pay attention to the people in our lives, we would know what they want and need. If they aren't important enough for us to pay attention to, why would we spend money on something that they probably want to take back? If it truly is the thought that counts, maybe we should be more thoughtful.
All of this stuff definitely goes for me too and most of it is just whatever comes to mind as I am writing, but I think I need to pay more attention to the people I care about in my life. The hard part of this is deciding who to care about and reminding myself of those people, because there are so many people and i can't do something for everybody. anyway, maybe I need to come up with some kind of care system, but something that doesn't make in an obligation.
well, I guess I need to think more about this but right now I need to sleep.
Praise God and goodnight.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Changes
Just so you all know, I made some changes to my blog. You probably noticed. If not, think about it.
God loves you either way.
God loves you either way.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Structure?
I generally tend to have a negative view of structure. I don't like to have thigns i have to do. However, at other times I realize structure makes some things easier. For example, I decided to kind of chill this break rather than go on some kind of service trip.
I find alot of joy in doing service trips though, traveling with people, serving people, learning and growing in that way.
I know there are many things I could do to serve here and things I need to get done and other stuff, but without the structure it is sometimes difficult to motivate myself to do things. So, maybe i need to be more motivated so I can avoid structure or I need to learn to embrace structure.
Or maybe I need to be able to thrive in either situation. Well, God is helping me with self-discipline and motivation, but I think it will be a long process.
I'm not too worried. I don't really know where my life is headed, but as long as God's in charge it will be pretty good.
Speaking of God, I am reading through the Bible, doing one of the year plans. I started it in October, so it's not as if I am almost done. I am actually in Joshua. good name. but what I was going to talk about is from Dueteronomy.
I dont know if I spelled that right.
Anyway, I was reading about the blessings God would pour out on Israel if they obeyed him and the curses if they didn't and it was pretty intense, a couple of the curses causing good men to eat their babies, and being infected with every single disease.
It really made me think about the fear of the Lord. I think I forget about that often. It was a good reminder.
But then I watched a movie called Joshua which is about Jesus (with the name Joshua which comes from the same name as Jesus) coming back to earth in human form and showing how he would be. It is an interesting movie, but one thing I didn't like about it was at one point the Jesus figure seemed to say we shouldn't fear God because God loves us all.
I guess as long as i can remember I have thought we should recognize God's love but also fear him. I don't know if I have ever completely comprehended the fear part. well, actually, I don't think I ever could fully comprehend any part of God.
Then I was talking to Kassie about it, and just how God can do what he wants and she brought up a story of the earth opening up and swallowing a family, which I don't really remember so I can't give details but it reminded me of Ananias and Saphirra (sp) who were each smited by God in the New Testament.
anyway, those are just some recent thoughts. God is powerful. I am glad he is good.
I find alot of joy in doing service trips though, traveling with people, serving people, learning and growing in that way.
I know there are many things I could do to serve here and things I need to get done and other stuff, but without the structure it is sometimes difficult to motivate myself to do things. So, maybe i need to be more motivated so I can avoid structure or I need to learn to embrace structure.
Or maybe I need to be able to thrive in either situation. Well, God is helping me with self-discipline and motivation, but I think it will be a long process.
I'm not too worried. I don't really know where my life is headed, but as long as God's in charge it will be pretty good.
Speaking of God, I am reading through the Bible, doing one of the year plans. I started it in October, so it's not as if I am almost done. I am actually in Joshua. good name. but what I was going to talk about is from Dueteronomy.
I dont know if I spelled that right.
Anyway, I was reading about the blessings God would pour out on Israel if they obeyed him and the curses if they didn't and it was pretty intense, a couple of the curses causing good men to eat their babies, and being infected with every single disease.
It really made me think about the fear of the Lord. I think I forget about that often. It was a good reminder.
But then I watched a movie called Joshua which is about Jesus (with the name Joshua which comes from the same name as Jesus) coming back to earth in human form and showing how he would be. It is an interesting movie, but one thing I didn't like about it was at one point the Jesus figure seemed to say we shouldn't fear God because God loves us all.
I guess as long as i can remember I have thought we should recognize God's love but also fear him. I don't know if I have ever completely comprehended the fear part. well, actually, I don't think I ever could fully comprehend any part of God.
Then I was talking to Kassie about it, and just how God can do what he wants and she brought up a story of the earth opening up and swallowing a family, which I don't really remember so I can't give details but it reminded me of Ananias and Saphirra (sp) who were each smited by God in the New Testament.
anyway, those are just some recent thoughts. God is powerful. I am glad he is good.
Friday, December 12, 2008
International Students, Missions, and Multiculturalism
The title of this blog comes from a conversation I am currently having with my sister Kelsey. She asked me about my internship with His House next semester, and I think those are some of the things I will be involved in. I am not sure exactly what I will be doing....
Commerical Break...Hey have you heard of Christmas? Do you like to buy lots of presents for people? Well, maybe Jesus has a different idea. Checkout http://adventconspiracy.org/ for more information.
I mainly did that because I was talking about the title which had to do with my life but wasn't really how I originally planned on starting the post and it reminded me of a TV show when they do a little intro thing and then go into commercials before starting the actual show. Anyway, it turned out good because that Christmas thing has been on my mind and I think it is good to think about.
I haven't written in a while. That's the way I was going to start this post, and thinking about it now, I realize it is better I didn't because that is just really boring and I have probably started posts like that before.
I would say it is because I have been busy with finals and everything but it is probably more because I have been spending time with Kassie. Speaking of finals, though. I am done with the semester!. I just have one more semester to go, and it should be interesting: internship with His House, two family studies classes, hi-lo aerobics class, singing class, finishing up senior research project.
This weekend I am going home to see my brother Joe and sister Kirstin and parents and possibly other family such as Jason Gaffke, Willie Campanelli, etc. And to do laundry which I haven't done in about 2 months, my record so far.
Well, I can write more later but that's enough for now.
Commerical Break...Hey have you heard of Christmas? Do you like to buy lots of presents for people? Well, maybe Jesus has a different idea. Checkout http://adventconspiracy.org/ for more information.
I mainly did that because I was talking about the title which had to do with my life but wasn't really how I originally planned on starting the post and it reminded me of a TV show when they do a little intro thing and then go into commercials before starting the actual show. Anyway, it turned out good because that Christmas thing has been on my mind and I think it is good to think about.
I haven't written in a while. That's the way I was going to start this post, and thinking about it now, I realize it is better I didn't because that is just really boring and I have probably started posts like that before.
I would say it is because I have been busy with finals and everything but it is probably more because I have been spending time with Kassie. Speaking of finals, though. I am done with the semester!. I just have one more semester to go, and it should be interesting: internship with His House, two family studies classes, hi-lo aerobics class, singing class, finishing up senior research project.
This weekend I am going home to see my brother Joe and sister Kirstin and parents and possibly other family such as Jason Gaffke, Willie Campanelli, etc. And to do laundry which I haven't done in about 2 months, my record so far.
Well, I can write more later but that's enough for now.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Turkey, China, and Snowmen
This has been quite a weekend and the weekend has hardly even started. Well, the break from school started on wednesday afternoon, but I think the weekend is probably always just at the end of the week.
On Wednesday evening, after telling my mom about ten different times I would be at the cottage, we made it there just in time for a 7 o'clock dinner. In fact, my sister Amy pulled in right behind us and even called me on the way to let me know she was behind me and I was driving too slowly.
We had some good lasagna and other stuff Wednesday night. The Black Hole, as I think Ou decided to call Dave for his ability to ingest large amounts of food which then disappears, finished off the food as we sat at the table and conversed about China, CLEP tests, and crazy family, among other things.
The next day, Thanksgiving, was a fun filled day beginning with a breakfast of eggs and sausage and toast (toast nobody ate). Following breakfast, Ou, Kassie and I decided to go for a walk around the lake to the peninsula, the park, the basketball court and back. Ou decided as we were walking on a path through some trees that we were in a horror film and somebody was waiting to attack us, so I fought them off with snowballs. At the campground he decided he would not like to stay in one of the cabins there alone. We made our way to the basketball "playground" as Ou calls it. When I made a snow angel he didn't think the head was big enough and so sat on it to make it bigger.
As we returned from our walk my family was raking snow (there might have been some leaves in there somewhere). So we joined in. After a while, Mom decided to start making a snowman. I joined in. We raked some more leaves and snow and then we all stopped raking and made snowmen and had a snowball fight. It was quite fun. One of the snowmen became more like a totem pole with about 5 snowballs or something. We had a hard time agreeing to a truce in the snowball fight to get a picture with the snowmen before the tall one came crashing down.
We spent the rest of the day eating, playing games, talking, watching movies. We played a card game called hand and foot and realized Kassie is afraid of feet. Literally she used to hate feet but not as much anymore. In the game, though,there is a set of cards called the foot that you are supposed to play with after you get rid of your hand (or first set of cards) and Kassie never made it to her foot. Fun times. She did better at the next card game, which we call Bid. She was winning for quite a while but ended up in second place with Dave and I trying to sabotage her.
I forgot to mention our crazy game of Aggravation in the afternoon in which Dave and Kassie were supposed to be partners. Dave started out not exactly playing as if Kassie were his partner. As the game progressed, though, they came together to win.
Today Dave took my car to work in the morning and Ou went with him back to MP. Kassie and I stayed until later and came back with the fam.
Now, I am home (at the Men's House) alone. A strange feeling for several reasons: I live with 8 other guys, so it isn't often that none are here. Also, I just spent a couple days with three friends and three family members.
Now Dave is here. Bye. I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. The rest of you weekend should be swell, too.
On Wednesday evening, after telling my mom about ten different times I would be at the cottage, we made it there just in time for a 7 o'clock dinner. In fact, my sister Amy pulled in right behind us and even called me on the way to let me know she was behind me and I was driving too slowly.
We had some good lasagna and other stuff Wednesday night. The Black Hole, as I think Ou decided to call Dave for his ability to ingest large amounts of food which then disappears, finished off the food as we sat at the table and conversed about China, CLEP tests, and crazy family, among other things.
The next day, Thanksgiving, was a fun filled day beginning with a breakfast of eggs and sausage and toast (toast nobody ate). Following breakfast, Ou, Kassie and I decided to go for a walk around the lake to the peninsula, the park, the basketball court and back. Ou decided as we were walking on a path through some trees that we were in a horror film and somebody was waiting to attack us, so I fought them off with snowballs. At the campground he decided he would not like to stay in one of the cabins there alone. We made our way to the basketball "playground" as Ou calls it. When I made a snow angel he didn't think the head was big enough and so sat on it to make it bigger.
As we returned from our walk my family was raking snow (there might have been some leaves in there somewhere). So we joined in. After a while, Mom decided to start making a snowman. I joined in. We raked some more leaves and snow and then we all stopped raking and made snowmen and had a snowball fight. It was quite fun. One of the snowmen became more like a totem pole with about 5 snowballs or something. We had a hard time agreeing to a truce in the snowball fight to get a picture with the snowmen before the tall one came crashing down.
We spent the rest of the day eating, playing games, talking, watching movies. We played a card game called hand and foot and realized Kassie is afraid of feet. Literally she used to hate feet but not as much anymore. In the game, though,there is a set of cards called the foot that you are supposed to play with after you get rid of your hand (or first set of cards) and Kassie never made it to her foot. Fun times. She did better at the next card game, which we call Bid. She was winning for quite a while but ended up in second place with Dave and I trying to sabotage her.
I forgot to mention our crazy game of Aggravation in the afternoon in which Dave and Kassie were supposed to be partners. Dave started out not exactly playing as if Kassie were his partner. As the game progressed, though, they came together to win.
Today Dave took my car to work in the morning and Ou went with him back to MP. Kassie and I stayed until later and came back with the fam.
Now, I am home (at the Men's House) alone. A strange feeling for several reasons: I live with 8 other guys, so it isn't often that none are here. Also, I just spent a couple days with three friends and three family members.
Now Dave is here. Bye. I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. The rest of you weekend should be swell, too.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
One man's trash is another man's treasure
Tonight we cleaned our house. While cleaning, I noticed that somebody had put a jaw harp in the trash so I took it out of the trash because it is a musical instrument.
Speaking of which...I didnt really mean to go into this story but it came up. I went to Kassie's house on Sunday with her to pick up her laundry and spend some time with her parents and then grandparents who live down the road. When we went to her grandparents's house, her grandma started showing me a couple instruments, I think because she heard I am into music. She has a beautiful old accordian. I am not much of an accordian expert but this one looked pretty sweet and she got it from a friend for $75 or something. I got to try it out, which was fun. Then she let me try out the organ she is trying to get rid of. That was fun too. I am not great at piano, but it was still cool. Anyway, I basically like to try out any musical instrument I can.
Back to the jaw harp. I carried it with me with the goal of learning how to play it after devos (we didn't really have devos so much because we just cleaned the house mostly). So then I went over to the women's house to visit Kassie and she was upstairs. So before she came down I used the computer to look up how to play a jaw harp, and I think I am getting pretty good.
Maybe I will start playing at church soon. Probably not so much, but it's fun nonetheless.
I need to work on a project and then sleep. Goodnight.
Speaking of which...I didnt really mean to go into this story but it came up. I went to Kassie's house on Sunday with her to pick up her laundry and spend some time with her parents and then grandparents who live down the road. When we went to her grandparents's house, her grandma started showing me a couple instruments, I think because she heard I am into music. She has a beautiful old accordian. I am not much of an accordian expert but this one looked pretty sweet and she got it from a friend for $75 or something. I got to try it out, which was fun. Then she let me try out the organ she is trying to get rid of. That was fun too. I am not great at piano, but it was still cool. Anyway, I basically like to try out any musical instrument I can.
Back to the jaw harp. I carried it with me with the goal of learning how to play it after devos (we didn't really have devos so much because we just cleaned the house mostly). So then I went over to the women's house to visit Kassie and she was upstairs. So before she came down I used the computer to look up how to play a jaw harp, and I think I am getting pretty good.
Maybe I will start playing at church soon. Probably not so much, but it's fun nonetheless.
I need to work on a project and then sleep. Goodnight.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
greasy hair
I'm sure you all want to know that my hair is pretty greasy right now. It happens quite often since me taking a shower doesn't happen really often.
That's not really what this post is about, though. I just want to tell you about today. It wasn't anythign fantastic but good enough to write about.
1. Woke up and went to work. did work for the first little bit. had about 15 customers all day. I crocheted a hat at work. I also finished the book Jesus Wants to Save Christians (something like that) by Rob Bell. I played some guitar, read the Bible and did some homework type of stuff also. fairly productive work day.
2. Came home and ate and jammed with Matt Martin, Chris Cadogan, Tim Novak. talked to Aaron Klenke for a while...good talk about God and life.
3. Hot dogs. For those who don't know, we give out free hot dogs and sometimes, such as tonight, free hot chocolate at our house on Saturday nights. tonight was the last Hot Dogs night of the season due to the weather and such. we also usually have lightening going on during hot dogs. tonight I ended up playing about 3 hours of lightening, from 10 when hot dogs started until about 1 after we ran out of hot dogs. It was a good night and I met some sweet people. A few might be coming over for dinner in the near future.
Well, that's about it. I am pretty exhausted. I am about to go to sleep. church tomorrow. sweet. adios.
That's not really what this post is about, though. I just want to tell you about today. It wasn't anythign fantastic but good enough to write about.
1. Woke up and went to work. did work for the first little bit. had about 15 customers all day. I crocheted a hat at work. I also finished the book Jesus Wants to Save Christians (something like that) by Rob Bell. I played some guitar, read the Bible and did some homework type of stuff also. fairly productive work day.
2. Came home and ate and jammed with Matt Martin, Chris Cadogan, Tim Novak. talked to Aaron Klenke for a while...good talk about God and life.
3. Hot dogs. For those who don't know, we give out free hot dogs and sometimes, such as tonight, free hot chocolate at our house on Saturday nights. tonight was the last Hot Dogs night of the season due to the weather and such. we also usually have lightening going on during hot dogs. tonight I ended up playing about 3 hours of lightening, from 10 when hot dogs started until about 1 after we ran out of hot dogs. It was a good night and I met some sweet people. A few might be coming over for dinner in the near future.
Well, that's about it. I am pretty exhausted. I am about to go to sleep. church tomorrow. sweet. adios.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
School Work?
Tonight I am realizing how little work I have put into school this semester. I have a project due tomorrow and I am having a hard time finishing it. I just spent about 2 hours on it and expect to have about 1 or 2 more hours of work to be done, but I am feeling like I have worked all day on it or something. Just because I haven't really worked on anything this semester.
One thing i have worked on is spanish homework, but I always put that off until the day before all of the chapter assignments are due. So that does take quite a bit of time, but I guess this is just different. It is the first real paper I have had to write. I have written a couple of spanish compositions but they were short and in spanish so they weren't too bad.
Anyway, I am kind of taking a break/procrastinating on the last part of this project. The project really isn't too bad. I just have a couple more pages of writing.
Now, I am going to visit Kassie. In my defense, I will not really able to see her this weekend because she is busy tomorrow after His House and then is leaving for the weekend.
Anyway, I will get the project done and it won't be too bad, but also not fun and I really ready tobe done with school. I hope my classes next semester don't require much work.
One thing i have worked on is spanish homework, but I always put that off until the day before all of the chapter assignments are due. So that does take quite a bit of time, but I guess this is just different. It is the first real paper I have had to write. I have written a couple of spanish compositions but they were short and in spanish so they weren't too bad.
Anyway, I am kind of taking a break/procrastinating on the last part of this project. The project really isn't too bad. I just have a couple more pages of writing.
Now, I am going to visit Kassie. In my defense, I will not really able to see her this weekend because she is busy tomorrow after His House and then is leaving for the weekend.
Anyway, I will get the project done and it won't be too bad, but also not fun and I really ready tobe done with school. I hope my classes next semester don't require much work.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Crazy Day
I don't normally work on Mondays, but I worked today because nobody else could or something, and I had time from 11 30 to 6, so that is when I worked. I had class from 10-11, work, cook, eat, clean, devos, ... (I'll get to that later).
So, I am pretty sure Mondays are the days for everybody to ask for April (my boss) or ask hard questions that need to be referred to April or somebody who knows, or to ask questions that would be difficult for anybody to asnwer.
One of the questions was a lady asking if we had a book about miracles with a dog in sunglasses on the front cover. I asked her about the title or author and she said she didn't really know but maybe the title has the word Angel in it. Well, I tried the best I could to make it seem like that was a perfectly fine request, when really, unless I would have known what book she was talking about, there wasn't much of a way to find it. Then after I told her I don't think we have it, she started reminiscing about a dog she had that she believes saved her life, and I didn't really know how to respond to this unexpected monologue. Needless to say, work was interesting and somewhat frustrating.
Then I came home after picking up sour cream for dinner and Joe V.(my cooking partner) had all the cooking stuff under control and it went smoothly and we had a good dinner. After dinner, Grant helped wash dishes, which was very nice, and then we had devos.
Devos was a good time. We did an inductive Bible study on 1 Thess and split up into groups of three to discuss. We had some good discussion about love and encouragement and living a Godly life and such and after praying and ending devos we all beseiged the women's house with our marshmallow guns.
All was going well with good times being had on both sides until Katie Bennett stole my bag of ammo (marshmallows). I was chasing her to get them back and she tripped or something and I basically ended up tackling her into the island in her kitchen. She hit her head and went down. Needless to say I felt really bad, but she seemed to be doing fine after a few minutes. Then, after the battle had wound down and we were cleaning up, she started having problems. I don't know exactly what happened but it got pretty scary for a while and she was taken to the hospital. She is doing fine now and is staying at the hospital overnight just to make sure. Praise God for his healing and also for his comfort and goodness in our time of need. I can't say I am glad this happened, but I am glad God was able to use it to teach me things and bring me closer to him. Anyway, it was really scary, but God was definitely present through it all, as he will always be.
On a completely different note, Kassie and I are "dating". It basically happened Wednesday when I told her how I felt about her and she reciprocated. She was gone for the weekend, and we talked again tonight and made it more official or something (not referring to putting it on facebook).
God is awesome! Life is crazy, but God is there at every turn.
So, I am pretty sure Mondays are the days for everybody to ask for April (my boss) or ask hard questions that need to be referred to April or somebody who knows, or to ask questions that would be difficult for anybody to asnwer.
One of the questions was a lady asking if we had a book about miracles with a dog in sunglasses on the front cover. I asked her about the title or author and she said she didn't really know but maybe the title has the word Angel in it. Well, I tried the best I could to make it seem like that was a perfectly fine request, when really, unless I would have known what book she was talking about, there wasn't much of a way to find it. Then after I told her I don't think we have it, she started reminiscing about a dog she had that she believes saved her life, and I didn't really know how to respond to this unexpected monologue. Needless to say, work was interesting and somewhat frustrating.
Then I came home after picking up sour cream for dinner and Joe V.(my cooking partner) had all the cooking stuff under control and it went smoothly and we had a good dinner. After dinner, Grant helped wash dishes, which was very nice, and then we had devos.
Devos was a good time. We did an inductive Bible study on 1 Thess and split up into groups of three to discuss. We had some good discussion about love and encouragement and living a Godly life and such and after praying and ending devos we all beseiged the women's house with our marshmallow guns.
All was going well with good times being had on both sides until Katie Bennett stole my bag of ammo (marshmallows). I was chasing her to get them back and she tripped or something and I basically ended up tackling her into the island in her kitchen. She hit her head and went down. Needless to say I felt really bad, but she seemed to be doing fine after a few minutes. Then, after the battle had wound down and we were cleaning up, she started having problems. I don't know exactly what happened but it got pretty scary for a while and she was taken to the hospital. She is doing fine now and is staying at the hospital overnight just to make sure. Praise God for his healing and also for his comfort and goodness in our time of need. I can't say I am glad this happened, but I am glad God was able to use it to teach me things and bring me closer to him. Anyway, it was really scary, but God was definitely present through it all, as he will always be.
On a completely different note, Kassie and I are "dating". It basically happened Wednesday when I told her how I felt about her and she reciprocated. She was gone for the weekend, and we talked again tonight and made it more official or something (not referring to putting it on facebook).
God is awesome! Life is crazy, but God is there at every turn.
Monday, October 27, 2008
It is in the master plan...
The title of this post comes from Derek Collard. He was talking to Stephen about something they are planning on doing for this weekend and Stephen said something about what if it isn't in the master plan. Derek authoritatively stated, "It IS in the master plan."
Anyway, one thing I am learning about the master plan is that my mind has alot to get rid of. I mean, I know God has everything under control and I don't need to worry about anything and I just need to seek him and he will guide me and all of that good stuff, but when the rubber meets the road, I don't usually remember to live like that.
It's like when you prepare for a speech and know it all but then you go in front of everybody and don't recall anything.
For some reason, that reminded me of a video on Youtube called 8 reasons I don't share my faith, or something like that. It is pretty funny and we are going to be watching it as part of house devos tonight.
Anyway, God is teaching me some things and reminding me of some things, but I am a slow learner. HE is patient. I just need to be patient, too. It's some good stuff.
Life is pretty good. Trying not to be "busy".
In fact, I think I am going to take some time to rest now before I need to get dinner started.
Anyway, one thing I am learning about the master plan is that my mind has alot to get rid of. I mean, I know God has everything under control and I don't need to worry about anything and I just need to seek him and he will guide me and all of that good stuff, but when the rubber meets the road, I don't usually remember to live like that.
It's like when you prepare for a speech and know it all but then you go in front of everybody and don't recall anything.
For some reason, that reminded me of a video on Youtube called 8 reasons I don't share my faith, or something like that. It is pretty funny and we are going to be watching it as part of house devos tonight.
Anyway, God is teaching me some things and reminding me of some things, but I am a slow learner. HE is patient. I just need to be patient, too. It's some good stuff.
Life is pretty good. Trying not to be "busy".
In fact, I think I am going to take some time to rest now before I need to get dinner started.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Reboot
My computer is slow. It was especially slow earlier today because I had it running for several days without shutting it down and with how full it is to begin with it can't handle being on for too long. What I really need to do to make it go faster is to get a bunch of junk off of it. Alot of it is good and necessary junk. I have stuff for classes, many photos, music, etc. But it is all slowing my computer down. So I need an external hard drive or something.
This is what I feel like God is doing in my life. I feel like I haven't been running at the speed God wants me to. I haven't been chasing him and living for him the way he wants me to because I have filled my life with all of these other things. These other things are good in some cases but they are taking focus off of him or just not allowing me to go through what I need to go through with him. The good things that seem to be Godly are at this point distracting me from what God really wants for me. I think the thing that started this was the band thing. That was kind of the first straw, when God made me give up something great to make me realize that he is so much better. Anyway, I don't know exactly what this looks like and I don't think I will completely understand it for a while. I don't really want to understand it. I just want God to take over. I am excited about what is happening and I am hoping to go on a honeymoon with God over Christmas break. I don't know where or for how long but I just need to get away with him.
I would appreciate your prayers. Also, expect some changes. It might not happen fast but change is coming.
This is what I feel like God is doing in my life. I feel like I haven't been running at the speed God wants me to. I haven't been chasing him and living for him the way he wants me to because I have filled my life with all of these other things. These other things are good in some cases but they are taking focus off of him or just not allowing me to go through what I need to go through with him. The good things that seem to be Godly are at this point distracting me from what God really wants for me. I think the thing that started this was the band thing. That was kind of the first straw, when God made me give up something great to make me realize that he is so much better. Anyway, I don't know exactly what this looks like and I don't think I will completely understand it for a while. I don't really want to understand it. I just want God to take over. I am excited about what is happening and I am hoping to go on a honeymoon with God over Christmas break. I don't know where or for how long but I just need to get away with him.
I would appreciate your prayers. Also, expect some changes. It might not happen fast but change is coming.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Explanations
What does licorice have to do with woodenness? Well, as Kelsey pointed out in her comment, wooden licorice is also wooden. Licorice, also as kelsey pointed out and i was thinking when I wrote the title, is a weird word. in short, I am not sure why I titled the post licorice. I am not really sure I why I wrote the post in general.
second of all, I quit the band today. sad day. possibly overall happy, but i am not really feeling it. what i mean by that is I really thought it was God wanted and that made me happy for a very short period of time and now I am kind of frustrated and stuff. maybe I will explain more sometime when it is explained to me.
second of all, I quit the band today. sad day. possibly overall happy, but i am not really feeling it. what i mean by that is I really thought it was God wanted and that made me happy for a very short period of time and now I am kind of frustrated and stuff. maybe I will explain more sometime when it is explained to me.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
licorice
What do a wooden guitar and a wooden banjo guitar have in common?
They are both made of wood. So are wooden rocking chairs.
They are both made of wood. So are wooden rocking chairs.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Follow Up
I don't feel quite right about my last blog post. I am not really sure about things now but I just feel like I said stuff that may have seemed like I came to conclusions that I didn't really come to. Basically I haven't come to any final conclusions but for now I am going to continue playing with the band when I can and be prayerful about that, just as I should be prayerful about everything I do.
1 Thessalonians 5:17 Pray continually.
I actually like 16-18. Well, really the whole book is good. The whole book of books.
Speaking of which, I was reading 1 Thessalonians 3:3-5 because somebody shared it at devos on monday. It says, "It is God's will for you that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God."
First of all, as I was typing this I noticed that heathen is used as the plural form of heathen, which I did not know. I thought heathens was the plural form.
The thing I noticed earlier, though, is that there is a footnote shows that instead of "each of you should learn to control his own body" it could be "each of you should learn to acquire a wife." I thought that was interesting. Then Tony, who is allergic to dairy products, came by and told us about this guy he met who used to be allergic to dairy until he got married. So, I showed Tony that verse. He then wrote a song about needing a wife so he wouldn't be allergic to dairy or something like that.
Which reminds me, the other day, Dave and i were riding bikes to "run" errands and he started singing "I forget my worries when I have a Mcflurry." So after asking if that was an actual song and him telling me he made it up, I made up a second line, "I feel like a dream when I eat ice cream." Actually, in between the lines is a da da da da da... Then he made up the third line which is probably my favorite: "I really love Jesus when I eat Reeses Pieces."
Well, I hope you have been somehow encouraged and/or entertained by this post. Now I am going to start on my plan to read through the Bible and then work on a project and study for an exam tomorrow (or today, I guess you could say since it is 2 20 in the morning and the exam is at 11)
Until we meet again.
1 Thessalonians 5:17 Pray continually.
I actually like 16-18. Well, really the whole book is good. The whole book of books.
Speaking of which, I was reading 1 Thessalonians 3:3-5 because somebody shared it at devos on monday. It says, "It is God's will for you that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God."
First of all, as I was typing this I noticed that heathen is used as the plural form of heathen, which I did not know. I thought heathens was the plural form.
The thing I noticed earlier, though, is that there is a footnote shows that instead of "each of you should learn to control his own body" it could be "each of you should learn to acquire a wife." I thought that was interesting. Then Tony, who is allergic to dairy products, came by and told us about this guy he met who used to be allergic to dairy until he got married. So, I showed Tony that verse. He then wrote a song about needing a wife so he wouldn't be allergic to dairy or something like that.
Which reminds me, the other day, Dave and i were riding bikes to "run" errands and he started singing "I forget my worries when I have a Mcflurry." So after asking if that was an actual song and him telling me he made it up, I made up a second line, "I feel like a dream when I eat ice cream." Actually, in between the lines is a da da da da da... Then he made up the third line which is probably my favorite: "I really love Jesus when I eat Reeses Pieces."
Well, I hope you have been somehow encouraged and/or entertained by this post. Now I am going to start on my plan to read through the Bible and then work on a project and study for an exam tomorrow (or today, I guess you could say since it is 2 20 in the morning and the exam is at 11)
Until we meet again.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Band
Well, I am not sure what is going on with some things in my life right now but I do know that God is good and I feel closer to him than ever before. I spent some good time with him on Sunday in the prayer room and since then I have been spending some good time with him each day and focusing on him throughout the day even more, I think.
one thing cool he has brought into my life is a band. my friend Derrick kind of randomly asked me if I wanted to play bass with a band and I said yes and so I went to practice with them that night and it was a sweet time of playing music and worshipping God. They all seem like great people, even though I only knew Derrick beforehand. God really seemed to be put it together. That also put alot of confusion into my life in the past few days because I got the feeling the next morning that I shouldnt be in the band. I thought it was a feeling from God, but now I am wondering if it was from satan and it kind of scares me that I can't discern that. Anyway, God was able to use it to teach me some things and remind me of some things and bring me closer to him. and tonight I had a good time with the band. I told them about being unsure about things and they seemed completely fine with it and said I could play with them even if i wasnt going to be in the band and we played a little but were all feeling a little uneasy. Sally, the keyboardist suggested it seemed like something was going on in the spiritual realm and I am wondering if maybe God has some sweet plans for the band and satan is fighting to keep them from happening. anyway, we had a good time anyway, but stopped playing and just talked for a while, Jared, John, Sally and I and it was good. Then I spent some more time with God at the His House building when I was putting my bass back and that was sweet.
along with the band being sweet, we practice at the Chi Alpha house. while we were talking tonight John and Lori Fredrickson came in along with some other people. It was pretty cool because when Lori told me her name I remembered when Lighthouse Assembly of God had done a thing one time where different people got a lighthouse with missionaries on it to pray for and I got the Fredericksons, so I prayed for them and now I met them.
Anyway, there is more to the story, and it might seem odd and I still haven't figured it all out but am trying to leave it up to God, but I think it is pretty sweet. God is marvellous (I just looked it up and my dashboard dictionary shows that it can be spelled with either one or two L's. That can be something you can pray for me about, that I will be able to discern God's will for my life and stay focused on him with whatever he does with this band. Thanks
one thing cool he has brought into my life is a band. my friend Derrick kind of randomly asked me if I wanted to play bass with a band and I said yes and so I went to practice with them that night and it was a sweet time of playing music and worshipping God. They all seem like great people, even though I only knew Derrick beforehand. God really seemed to be put it together. That also put alot of confusion into my life in the past few days because I got the feeling the next morning that I shouldnt be in the band. I thought it was a feeling from God, but now I am wondering if it was from satan and it kind of scares me that I can't discern that. Anyway, God was able to use it to teach me some things and remind me of some things and bring me closer to him. and tonight I had a good time with the band. I told them about being unsure about things and they seemed completely fine with it and said I could play with them even if i wasnt going to be in the band and we played a little but were all feeling a little uneasy. Sally, the keyboardist suggested it seemed like something was going on in the spiritual realm and I am wondering if maybe God has some sweet plans for the band and satan is fighting to keep them from happening. anyway, we had a good time anyway, but stopped playing and just talked for a while, Jared, John, Sally and I and it was good. Then I spent some more time with God at the His House building when I was putting my bass back and that was sweet.
along with the band being sweet, we practice at the Chi Alpha house. while we were talking tonight John and Lori Fredrickson came in along with some other people. It was pretty cool because when Lori told me her name I remembered when Lighthouse Assembly of God had done a thing one time where different people got a lighthouse with missionaries on it to pray for and I got the Fredericksons, so I prayed for them and now I met them.
Anyway, there is more to the story, and it might seem odd and I still haven't figured it all out but am trying to leave it up to God, but I think it is pretty sweet. God is marvellous (I just looked it up and my dashboard dictionary shows that it can be spelled with either one or two L's. That can be something you can pray for me about, that I will be able to discern God's will for my life and stay focused on him with whatever he does with this band. Thanks
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Countdown
17 My research project was finally approved. I am getting my scholarship back!
16 I went to Chinese club tonight...it was fun. I learned how to say some colors
15 Last night I hungout with Nana and she taught me Chinese checkers and beat me twice
14 Tonight i went on an adventure with Sara Mater. We biked around alot and then went to Kaya and played the worst case scenario game and then got slurpees and went to the bon fire at the church
13 Wednesday was the first international ministry meeting of the year. it was 3 chinese students and some americans. we decided to do a game night this coming week
12 i had an awesome time worshipping God at the bonfire tonight
11 I also had a good time with God last night at the prayer room until 3 30
10 I found a sweet website about barefootedness while at work today: http://www.unshod.org/pfbc/pfwhatabout.htm
9 I am planning on cooking a Dominican meal on Monday
8 I am staying in MP this weekend for the first time in a couple weekends
7 You might expect items in a countdown to get better as it gets lower, but not this one...I might not even make it to one
6 Kelsey has been writing alot in her blog lately, which is cool and gives me more reward for checking her blog, since I do not have a thing that tells me when people write new posts
5 I had a good time with Bryan yesterday...we have resumed our weekly meetings this semester, as we have had since freshman year
4 I am going to sleep
16 I went to Chinese club tonight...it was fun. I learned how to say some colors
15 Last night I hungout with Nana and she taught me Chinese checkers and beat me twice
14 Tonight i went on an adventure with Sara Mater. We biked around alot and then went to Kaya and played the worst case scenario game and then got slurpees and went to the bon fire at the church
13 Wednesday was the first international ministry meeting of the year. it was 3 chinese students and some americans. we decided to do a game night this coming week
12 i had an awesome time worshipping God at the bonfire tonight
11 I also had a good time with God last night at the prayer room until 3 30
10 I found a sweet website about barefootedness while at work today: http://www.unshod.org/pfbc/pfwhatabout.htm
9 I am planning on cooking a Dominican meal on Monday
8 I am staying in MP this weekend for the first time in a couple weekends
7 You might expect items in a countdown to get better as it gets lower, but not this one...I might not even make it to one
6 Kelsey has been writing alot in her blog lately, which is cool and gives me more reward for checking her blog, since I do not have a thing that tells me when people write new posts
5 I had a good time with Bryan yesterday...we have resumed our weekly meetings this semester, as we have had since freshman year
4 I am going to sleep
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Adventures in Odyssey
adventure, excitement, ramen...
this weekend, I went ranch hopping. well, actually I just went to two ranches. we had our house retreat at Cran-Hill Ranch, near Big Rapids. The house retreat is a retreat for people who live in houses, but not just any houses, just the campus houses of His House at CMU. We had fun playing ultimate ball (?)...I don't know what it is actually called but it is much like ultimate frisbee except with a ball and a couple other little differences.
we also got to be alone with God in the woods in the dark, and we got to do some work for the ranch and other activities and stuff.
so, that was a great time of hanging out with the other house people. then we got lost on the way back but made it back by a little after 5 on Saturday. then I left for Jackson around 7 15. I was on my computer getting directions and stuff to get ready to go to Jackson and saw Kassie online, so I was like "hey, what are you doing tonight and tomorrow morning...do you want to go to Jackson?" and she decided to go, so we did. I was going anyway, but she came with me. I then called my friend Mike. I hadn't talked to him in about three years and didn't even know him real well back then, but I found his phone number on facebook because he goes to Spring Arbor.
Me "Hey, Mike, it's Josh Hill from Harbor Beach."
Mike "oh Hey Josh, how's it goin'?"
Me "Great...you're still going at Spring Arbor right?"
Mike "Yup"
Me "Are you around this weekend...like right now?"
Mike "Yeah, I am here this weekend. Why, are you on campus."
Me "Well, I am going to be in the area and thinking about stopping by Spring Arbor."
Mike "Do you need a place to stay tonight or anything."
so, I am not sure if that is exactly how the conversation went, but something like that and so he said he lives in a house and has plenty of room for me and I asked about Kassie and he said Korey, another friend from cornerstone, lives across the street and she could probably stay there.
So, long story being said, it's cool how God works things out at the last minute.
there was a bon fire at Mike's house and we met some people and hungout and then went to sleep and got up this morning to go to Lazy B's Ranch with Eric and Amanda's (one of our pastors and his wife) parents. Brian, Amanda's dad, had asked me to lead worship there sometime and I told him this weekend would work, so that's really the reason I was down there. It was a lot of fun. There was a group of young boys there and they enjoyed the songs (basically all of the songs we did in the DR except in english this time) and we got to play with them a little afterwards.
It was a great adventure, thanks to God for being amazingful.
this weekend, I went ranch hopping. well, actually I just went to two ranches. we had our house retreat at Cran-Hill Ranch, near Big Rapids. The house retreat is a retreat for people who live in houses, but not just any houses, just the campus houses of His House at CMU. We had fun playing ultimate ball (?)...I don't know what it is actually called but it is much like ultimate frisbee except with a ball and a couple other little differences.
we also got to be alone with God in the woods in the dark, and we got to do some work for the ranch and other activities and stuff.
so, that was a great time of hanging out with the other house people. then we got lost on the way back but made it back by a little after 5 on Saturday. then I left for Jackson around 7 15. I was on my computer getting directions and stuff to get ready to go to Jackson and saw Kassie online, so I was like "hey, what are you doing tonight and tomorrow morning...do you want to go to Jackson?" and she decided to go, so we did. I was going anyway, but she came with me. I then called my friend Mike. I hadn't talked to him in about three years and didn't even know him real well back then, but I found his phone number on facebook because he goes to Spring Arbor.
Me "Hey, Mike, it's Josh Hill from Harbor Beach."
Mike "oh Hey Josh, how's it goin'?"
Me "Great...you're still going at Spring Arbor right?"
Mike "Yup"
Me "Are you around this weekend...like right now?"
Mike "Yeah, I am here this weekend. Why, are you on campus."
Me "Well, I am going to be in the area and thinking about stopping by Spring Arbor."
Mike "Do you need a place to stay tonight or anything."
so, I am not sure if that is exactly how the conversation went, but something like that and so he said he lives in a house and has plenty of room for me and I asked about Kassie and he said Korey, another friend from cornerstone, lives across the street and she could probably stay there.
So, long story being said, it's cool how God works things out at the last minute.
there was a bon fire at Mike's house and we met some people and hungout and then went to sleep and got up this morning to go to Lazy B's Ranch with Eric and Amanda's (one of our pastors and his wife) parents. Brian, Amanda's dad, had asked me to lead worship there sometime and I told him this weekend would work, so that's really the reason I was down there. It was a lot of fun. There was a group of young boys there and they enjoyed the songs (basically all of the songs we did in the DR except in english this time) and we got to play with them a little afterwards.
It was a great adventure, thanks to God for being amazingful.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Family
Well, I got to see my family this weekend. I also worked for the first time since i have been back. Another first was going to Chinese club on Friday. It was interesting. We learned some Chinese words and learned about mid autumn festival which was on Sunday. Then one of the chinese girls walked home with me and hungout at the women's house for a while. I was a little scared when I was walking to the club that it was going to be for people who speak Chinese, which would definitely not include me, but it is more for people who want to learn about Chinese culture and some words and stuff, so it was good.
Home was good, seeing my family and seeing kelsey before she leaves for Africa tomorrow. I felt kind of lazy all day yesterday and much of the day today.
I did go running last night though. And today after devos and stuff we tried learning how to do kip ups which is the move where you go from your back to your feet. I still can't do it, but I think I am getting close, not without some damage to my body though. I mean, I think I'll be okay but I am a little sore now.
I just got back from the prayer room. It was good. I played a little guitar and allowed some words flow out of me. i really felt closer to God through that, so it was sweet.
I love you all.
Home was good, seeing my family and seeing kelsey before she leaves for Africa tomorrow. I felt kind of lazy all day yesterday and much of the day today.
I did go running last night though. And today after devos and stuff we tried learning how to do kip ups which is the move where you go from your back to your feet. I still can't do it, but I think I am getting close, not without some damage to my body though. I mean, I think I'll be okay but I am a little sore now.
I just got back from the prayer room. It was good. I played a little guitar and allowed some words flow out of me. i really felt closer to God through that, so it was sweet.
I love you all.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Every step of the way
God has really been showing me that it is awesome to be seeking him all the time, every step of the way. I have some time in the afternoons these days when I don't really have any planned activities, which is pretty sweet, and I have really been starting to feel like God has given me that time for a purpose, to walk around and see people I know and encourage each other and meet new people and such. So that is what I have been doing. For example, yesterday after class I was spending some time with God at a picnic table and a guy came up and sat down to wait for a friend. I introduced myself and his name is Marv and we talked a little...he goes to a church in the area and we talked about that a little and it was a pretty cool little conversation. After spending a little more time with God, I felt it was time to walk home, so I was walking and met up with Kassie coming the opposite way, so I walked with her to Anspach where she had class. It was cool to talk a little. Then on the way back I met up with a girl named Ana who I had met the day before at the His House Welcome Back BBQ. I walked back with her to Barnes and it was cool to talk to her a little and then I finally went home and stuff, but that was just one of the little excursions with God I have had in the past couple days and I really like it. God is pretty awesome.
One thing to go along with this is that I feel like there is a lot of stuff in my life that needs to be fixed or gotten rid of or things I need to do like homework and research and such but God is showing me that if I am focused on what he wants me to do all the time, then I will always be doing what needs to be done. He knows what needs to be done better than I do and he can manage my time much better than I can.
Speaking of knowing what needs to be done better than I do, I was thinking about getting an audit just to make sure I will be able to graduate when I want to but had kinda forgotten about it until one of my God excursions led me to talk to Krishelle and somehow it came up in our convo. So, I went to the office to sign up for an audit and after setting up a time, asked if there were different types of audit, for instance, one that i would need before graduation, and the lady asked me when do you plan on graduating? I told her in May, and she asked if I had applied for graduation, and after replying no she told me that I needed to do that before Sept 15, so I did. Anyway, it was a good thing God led me there, because otherwise I might not have applied by the deadline and might not be able to graduate.
So, in conclusion, it is pretty sweet to follow God around all day and I would suggest it for everybody. I am not perfect at it, but thank God that he is patient and is teaching me and reminding me and awesome and stuff.
One thing to go along with this is that I feel like there is a lot of stuff in my life that needs to be fixed or gotten rid of or things I need to do like homework and research and such but God is showing me that if I am focused on what he wants me to do all the time, then I will always be doing what needs to be done. He knows what needs to be done better than I do and he can manage my time much better than I can.
Speaking of knowing what needs to be done better than I do, I was thinking about getting an audit just to make sure I will be able to graduate when I want to but had kinda forgotten about it until one of my God excursions led me to talk to Krishelle and somehow it came up in our convo. So, I went to the office to sign up for an audit and after setting up a time, asked if there were different types of audit, for instance, one that i would need before graduation, and the lady asked me when do you plan on graduating? I told her in May, and she asked if I had applied for graduation, and after replying no she told me that I needed to do that before Sept 15, so I did. Anyway, it was a good thing God led me there, because otherwise I might not have applied by the deadline and might not be able to graduate.
So, in conclusion, it is pretty sweet to follow God around all day and I would suggest it for everybody. I am not perfect at it, but thank God that he is patient and is teaching me and reminding me and awesome and stuff.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Off Course
Well, this was a pretty good weekend. I am sure I won't be able to mention everything good about it. We had a leadership retreat with His House on Friday night and Saturday morning. It was a good time to focus on what we will be doing this year and stuff and to hangout with some people.
After that I helped Matt with a photo project which was pretty fun and then took a nap before Kelsey came and woke me up. We went and got free shakes at culvers with the couponn from the CM Life on Friday. Then we played some tennis, went to Qdoba, played some disc golf (where the off course part comes in when we threw our discs into the pond and/or trees), got slurpees, watched an episode of the Office, played some worship music. Then i had a good time at hot dogs, meeting people and praying and stuff.
Went to church this morning, Ou Qiang came for second service, a little late and we sat in little kid chairs because that's all that was left (praise the Lord). Had a meeting at Fazoli's with some people, took another short nap before Dave woke me up and we went to play disc golf (again with the going off course into the pond and trees). Then we went to the welcome back BBQ and I played djembe with three different groups unexpectedly. It was fun, but I was kind of glad to be done so I could talk to some people and get some food and stuff. I met some new people, re-met some people, talked to some old people, played some ultimate frisbee (dave threw a frisbee into the bushes in the ditch next to the train tracks and we had to get it out...another off course moment but fun), etc..
After cleaning up from that and coming home I went on a bike ride with Sara Mater to a couple playgrounds and played around and then took her back to her dorm and went over and had a good talk with Kassie at the women's house and then came home and saw Derek who had been gone for the weekend, and his brother, and Matt and Chris, who are fun. and I made myself a shake and this is probably a pretty boring post..
After that I helped Matt with a photo project which was pretty fun and then took a nap before Kelsey came and woke me up. We went and got free shakes at culvers with the couponn from the CM Life on Friday. Then we played some tennis, went to Qdoba, played some disc golf (where the off course part comes in when we threw our discs into the pond and/or trees), got slurpees, watched an episode of the Office, played some worship music. Then i had a good time at hot dogs, meeting people and praying and stuff.
Went to church this morning, Ou Qiang came for second service, a little late and we sat in little kid chairs because that's all that was left (praise the Lord). Had a meeting at Fazoli's with some people, took another short nap before Dave woke me up and we went to play disc golf (again with the going off course into the pond and trees). Then we went to the welcome back BBQ and I played djembe with three different groups unexpectedly. It was fun, but I was kind of glad to be done so I could talk to some people and get some food and stuff. I met some new people, re-met some people, talked to some old people, played some ultimate frisbee (dave threw a frisbee into the bushes in the ditch next to the train tracks and we had to get it out...another off course moment but fun), etc..
After cleaning up from that and coming home I went on a bike ride with Sara Mater to a couple playgrounds and played around and then took her back to her dorm and went over and had a good talk with Kassie at the women's house and then came home and saw Derek who had been gone for the weekend, and his brother, and Matt and Chris, who are fun. and I made myself a shake and this is probably a pretty boring post..
Friday, August 29, 2008
Keeping up with the siblings
I was actually planning on typing a new post in my blog before checking out the blogs of my siblings, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that two of my three siblings had also posted new info since last time I looked at their blogs.
I finished my first week of classes and things are going pretty well. I am still not back into the school thing yet. I am completely unmotivated to do school stuff and my schedule with work and His House activities and such is still up in the air. But it has been a good week with some good chances to connect with people.
First of all, as I think I mentioned, I am going to be leading the international ministry with His House this year, so I connected with some international student organizations. Dave and I also became friends with a Chinese student, playing basketball with him on our way back from Main Stage...much better than staying at the concert with the lead singer dropping f bombs left and right and talking about getting drunk.
I also had a good conversation today with a guy I met last year in racquetball club. We talked some about community and what is really important in life and then a little about spiritual beliefs. He is a cool guy, really down to earth. Be praying for him.
Tonight I reconnected with a friend who was in a singing group with me my senior year of high school and her freshman year, so now she is a freshman here and I am a senior and we hungout after His House with some people and had fun.
Classes are alright. Spanish class is pretty fun. My HEV classes are pretty boring so far, but not too bad. Also, I still haven't gotten everything going with my senior research project but I am working on it.
Praise God. He is doing some sweet stuff. Oh, I forgot to mention prayer. I have had some good prayer times this week. We have a 24/7 prayer room that I have gone to a few times, and I also went to the prayer meeting on Tuesday which was really good.
Anyway, I love you all. Have a great day and/or night. Adios
I finished my first week of classes and things are going pretty well. I am still not back into the school thing yet. I am completely unmotivated to do school stuff and my schedule with work and His House activities and such is still up in the air. But it has been a good week with some good chances to connect with people.
First of all, as I think I mentioned, I am going to be leading the international ministry with His House this year, so I connected with some international student organizations. Dave and I also became friends with a Chinese student, playing basketball with him on our way back from Main Stage...much better than staying at the concert with the lead singer dropping f bombs left and right and talking about getting drunk.
I also had a good conversation today with a guy I met last year in racquetball club. We talked some about community and what is really important in life and then a little about spiritual beliefs. He is a cool guy, really down to earth. Be praying for him.
Tonight I reconnected with a friend who was in a singing group with me my senior year of high school and her freshman year, so now she is a freshman here and I am a senior and we hungout after His House with some people and had fun.
Classes are alright. Spanish class is pretty fun. My HEV classes are pretty boring so far, but not too bad. Also, I still haven't gotten everything going with my senior research project but I am working on it.
Praise God. He is doing some sweet stuff. Oh, I forgot to mention prayer. I have had some good prayer times this week. We have a 24/7 prayer room that I have gone to a few times, and I also went to the prayer meeting on Tuesday which was really good.
Anyway, I love you all. Have a great day and/or night. Adios
Friday, August 22, 2008
Mount Pleasy
Yup, you guessed it. I am back in Mount Pleasant at the Men's House (also known as the His House - mom and others, and the Men's Room - Kelsey).
I got back aroudn 2 today and got caught up in some kind of whirlwind. After Dan, one of my new roommates, helped me move my stuff to my room, some of my friends came over and we went rope swinging into the Chip (Chippewa River). From there we came home and hungout for a bit before deciding to go out to Los Palominos for my dinner (my first meal of the day). It took a whle to get our food so by the time we were done we were a few minutes late for His House. After the service I saw and talked to a bunch more people I didn't see all summer. It was pretty great.
Then I came home for about 20 minutes and tried to start unpacking before a few of us went on a prayer walk down Main St with a bunch of parties and drunk people and cops. Despite the sadness of the scene, God gave me a sense of hope and anticipation for what he is going to be doing in these peoples' lives. I am excited to see him work this year. Now, I must get some sleep to wake up and go rope swinging at 9 tomorrow before Brenna, my house sister from last year, has to leave.
Adios
I got back aroudn 2 today and got caught up in some kind of whirlwind. After Dan, one of my new roommates, helped me move my stuff to my room, some of my friends came over and we went rope swinging into the Chip (Chippewa River). From there we came home and hungout for a bit before deciding to go out to Los Palominos for my dinner (my first meal of the day). It took a whle to get our food so by the time we were done we were a few minutes late for His House. After the service I saw and talked to a bunch more people I didn't see all summer. It was pretty great.
Then I came home for about 20 minutes and tried to start unpacking before a few of us went on a prayer walk down Main St with a bunch of parties and drunk people and cops. Despite the sadness of the scene, God gave me a sense of hope and anticipation for what he is going to be doing in these peoples' lives. I am excited to see him work this year. Now, I must get some sleep to wake up and go rope swinging at 9 tomorrow before Brenna, my house sister from last year, has to leave.
Adios
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Family Time
I am not sure if it is just because we weren't allowed to dance in the DR or for other reasons, but I have started to enjoy dancing since returning from the DR this summer. I guess you might not really call what I do dancing but it is fun nonetheless.
We are having our family gettogether. Everybody else is asleep now. It has been pretty good. We haven't really done anything too exciting as a family but it is nice to see everybody. Tomorrow we are expecting some more visitors, some family and some like family.
I finally got all the photos from the DR on facebook, at least enough of them, and tagged and captioned.
I can't really think of anything exciting to share. If something exciting has happened to me recently, you probably already know or don't care.
One thing I have been realizing lately is the freedom of life with Christ. Of course I have heard it talked about throughout my life, but I am starting to realize that I am excperiencing some of it. I feel like there are many people, even people I think of as good Christians, who do not really have the same freedom I have. Some of it is situational, but one thing I am realizing is how much we worry about things that don't matter and stuff, so that is one thing I am trying to get rid of in my life. "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." 1 Peter 5:7. There is also a good section at the end of Matthew 6 that talks about worry too. I especially like 6:33 which talks about seeking God first and everything else will fall into place. God wants us to let him take care of many things we spend time worrying about. He wants us to focus our time and energy on him and his will rather than our own worries.
Alright, I'm out. Time for some sleep. Freedom and Peace in Christ.
We are having our family gettogether. Everybody else is asleep now. It has been pretty good. We haven't really done anything too exciting as a family but it is nice to see everybody. Tomorrow we are expecting some more visitors, some family and some like family.
I finally got all the photos from the DR on facebook, at least enough of them, and tagged and captioned.
I can't really think of anything exciting to share. If something exciting has happened to me recently, you probably already know or don't care.
One thing I have been realizing lately is the freedom of life with Christ. Of course I have heard it talked about throughout my life, but I am starting to realize that I am excperiencing some of it. I feel like there are many people, even people I think of as good Christians, who do not really have the same freedom I have. Some of it is situational, but one thing I am realizing is how much we worry about things that don't matter and stuff, so that is one thing I am trying to get rid of in my life. "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." 1 Peter 5:7. There is also a good section at the end of Matthew 6 that talks about worry too. I especially like 6:33 which talks about seeking God first and everything else will fall into place. God wants us to let him take care of many things we spend time worrying about. He wants us to focus our time and energy on him and his will rather than our own worries.
Alright, I'm out. Time for some sleep. Freedom and Peace in Christ.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Me Olvido
Well, I kind of forgot about this thing, my blog. But here I am, back for more. I had an awesome summer in Dominican Republic. I learned some Espanol, met many awesome people, and God taught me some things about true love.
I learned about seeking love primarily from him, rather than from other people and the importance of spending time with and receiving love from God in order to pour that love out to others.
I am enjoying my time back with my family. I miss the DR but am excited about what God has for me here this year.
Speaking of which, there are a couple things I am particularly excited about. I just went through the twelve lessons on the Travelling Team website and I suggest them for everyone. One thing they talk about is welcoming, which is basically becoming friends with international students. I feel like i have a pretty good opportunity for that since i will be leading the international ministry with His House this year.
Also, something to keep me accountable on is being a mobilizer. A mobilizer is basically somebody who informs and motivates people to do their part to fulfill the great commission. I want to maybe talk at life groups or something about missions and have a daily or at least a few times a week prayer meeting, specifically focusing on missions. I might try to do some other things as well.
Basically, please be praying that I don't lose focus when I get to school and forget about all of this but that I can stay motivated. Also, if you want to join me with any of this, I would love your help.
If you want me to change anything about my blog writing other than making it more frequent, which I am going to try to do, let me know. If you have specific questions about my life, just ask. I love you all. God bless.
I learned about seeking love primarily from him, rather than from other people and the importance of spending time with and receiving love from God in order to pour that love out to others.
I am enjoying my time back with my family. I miss the DR but am excited about what God has for me here this year.
Speaking of which, there are a couple things I am particularly excited about. I just went through the twelve lessons on the Travelling Team website and I suggest them for everyone. One thing they talk about is welcoming, which is basically becoming friends with international students. I feel like i have a pretty good opportunity for that since i will be leading the international ministry with His House this year.
Also, something to keep me accountable on is being a mobilizer. A mobilizer is basically somebody who informs and motivates people to do their part to fulfill the great commission. I want to maybe talk at life groups or something about missions and have a daily or at least a few times a week prayer meeting, specifically focusing on missions. I might try to do some other things as well.
Basically, please be praying that I don't lose focus when I get to school and forget about all of this but that I can stay motivated. Also, if you want to join me with any of this, I would love your help.
If you want me to change anything about my blog writing other than making it more frequent, which I am going to try to do, let me know. If you have specific questions about my life, just ask. I love you all. God bless.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Monday, May 12, 2008
It's Back, and Better than Ever
I'm back from New Orleans, and I had a great trip. So many great stories to tell.
One cool thing about the trip was that from what I understand United Saints (the organization we worked with down there) is similar to OO in how it is operated with a few administrators, some long term volunteers and some short term volunteers, so I got to see a little bit about how that worked. I am sure OO will be much different, and I will be in the long term volunteer position rather than short term, but it was cool.
So many stories to tell. Our team did a special project on the last day. We cleared an area and put in benches and planted grass and flowers and painted a mural. It was pretty sweet. On the first work day, Monday, we worked on painting a house but around lunch time there was a shooting nearby so we went on lockdown and cleaned the church.
when we were getting ready to go out, Dave asked a few of us to help move some of Rev's boxes. so first the four of us drove over to the street of the Rev's new house and waited for a while before the Rev came with his uncle a little ways down, where the house actually was. we played whiffle ball with a kid named Montgomery while we were waiting. Then we looked at a little of the house and left to get some boxes. We found out we had to get empty boxes, and then go to the old house and pack them. Then we ate some pizza before moving the boxes to the new house. Dave took the three of us out to ice cream after it was all done and we went into the nice ice cream place with no shoes and work clothes and decided to be more conspicuous by doing a bollywood dance. Anyway, by the time we got back to the church it was about 6 hours later or something. Pretty crazy day.
We worked on several projects, including painting a house, building and painting a fence, cleaning out a shed, sanding caulkind and painting stairs, etc. When we werent working we went into town several times. We went to the lower 9th ward one time where the levy broke and everything was pretty much destroyed. It is basically barren now, other than a few dilapidated houses and a few new ones along with weeds and scrapwood and such. Igor stepped on a nail there and so we had to find a place for him to get a tetanus shot. That was a long ordeal as well, because the first place we went to wasn't going to workout so we went to another place which didn't work out and then another place that referred us to another place that had moved. Throughout all of this we got lost several times, making it take longer. Finally Nik and Igor dropped us back off at the church while they went back to one of the places and got in about 40 minutes later.
Other times we hungout with the volunteers both in the French quarter and around the church and stuff. They were pretty sweet, including Marcos, Daryl, Leann, Cory, Dave, Andre, Jessica, Adam, Chet, anybody else I might have missed.
The drive back was also an adventure with tornadoes in Arkansas and pouring rain from there to Michigan. We had to stop for about .5 hours for the tornadoes and then got back on the road. We dropped Nik off at her home in IL, Mitch and Emily in Grand Rapids, Kristen near Grand Rapids, and Igor in Lansing, ending with Michelle and I making it back to Mount Pleasant about 24 hours later.
Yup, there's probably more. I have photos (4 albums) on facebook. Feel free to take a gander.
One cool thing about the trip was that from what I understand United Saints (the organization we worked with down there) is similar to OO in how it is operated with a few administrators, some long term volunteers and some short term volunteers, so I got to see a little bit about how that worked. I am sure OO will be much different, and I will be in the long term volunteer position rather than short term, but it was cool.
So many stories to tell. Our team did a special project on the last day. We cleared an area and put in benches and planted grass and flowers and painted a mural. It was pretty sweet. On the first work day, Monday, we worked on painting a house but around lunch time there was a shooting nearby so we went on lockdown and cleaned the church.
when we were getting ready to go out, Dave asked a few of us to help move some of Rev's boxes. so first the four of us drove over to the street of the Rev's new house and waited for a while before the Rev came with his uncle a little ways down, where the house actually was. we played whiffle ball with a kid named Montgomery while we were waiting. Then we looked at a little of the house and left to get some boxes. We found out we had to get empty boxes, and then go to the old house and pack them. Then we ate some pizza before moving the boxes to the new house. Dave took the three of us out to ice cream after it was all done and we went into the nice ice cream place with no shoes and work clothes and decided to be more conspicuous by doing a bollywood dance. Anyway, by the time we got back to the church it was about 6 hours later or something. Pretty crazy day.
We worked on several projects, including painting a house, building and painting a fence, cleaning out a shed, sanding caulkind and painting stairs, etc. When we werent working we went into town several times. We went to the lower 9th ward one time where the levy broke and everything was pretty much destroyed. It is basically barren now, other than a few dilapidated houses and a few new ones along with weeds and scrapwood and such. Igor stepped on a nail there and so we had to find a place for him to get a tetanus shot. That was a long ordeal as well, because the first place we went to wasn't going to workout so we went to another place which didn't work out and then another place that referred us to another place that had moved. Throughout all of this we got lost several times, making it take longer. Finally Nik and Igor dropped us back off at the church while they went back to one of the places and got in about 40 minutes later.
Other times we hungout with the volunteers both in the French quarter and around the church and stuff. They were pretty sweet, including Marcos, Daryl, Leann, Cory, Dave, Andre, Jessica, Adam, Chet, anybody else I might have missed.
The drive back was also an adventure with tornadoes in Arkansas and pouring rain from there to Michigan. We had to stop for about .5 hours for the tornadoes and then got back on the road. We dropped Nik off at her home in IL, Mitch and Emily in Grand Rapids, Kristen near Grand Rapids, and Igor in Lansing, ending with Michelle and I making it back to Mount Pleasant about 24 hours later.
Yup, there's probably more. I have photos (4 albums) on facebook. Feel free to take a gander.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Break
Well, I have a break now. I am done with school for the year. So, from today until Saturday I don't have much going on. Yeah, about one and a half days. Saturday I work and then go to Louie, which will be sweet. My roommate Mitch is going too. Then I will come back and pack up and go home and then pack up and go to the DR for eleven weeks or so.
I am really excited about the summer and glad to be done with school. However, I am ready to just be in the DR and not doing all the prep stuff and everything. Oh well. Death is a part of life. That doesn't really have anything to do with it, just so you know, so you're not racking your prain for possible ways that it could connect, although there are some you could think of.
Anyway, I am hungry so I think I will eat before going to His House.
By the way, soccer is a good way to have fun and stay in shape, so if possible, get some friends who like to play soccer everyday. Some people from His House have been playing almost every day lately, and I have joined them most times. It's fun. On the other hand, if you like cheesy movies and don't necessarily want to stay in shape, get friends who like Bollywood movies (That's the India version of Hollywood in case you didn't know). First of all, they are really cheesy. Second of all, most of them are over three hours long. Fourth of all, people have been watching them at our house quite frequently lately, too.
Triple peace. Duga ruqa
I am really excited about the summer and glad to be done with school. However, I am ready to just be in the DR and not doing all the prep stuff and everything. Oh well. Death is a part of life. That doesn't really have anything to do with it, just so you know, so you're not racking your prain for possible ways that it could connect, although there are some you could think of.
Anyway, I am hungry so I think I will eat before going to His House.
By the way, soccer is a good way to have fun and stay in shape, so if possible, get some friends who like to play soccer everyday. Some people from His House have been playing almost every day lately, and I have joined them most times. It's fun. On the other hand, if you like cheesy movies and don't necessarily want to stay in shape, get friends who like Bollywood movies (That's the India version of Hollywood in case you didn't know). First of all, they are really cheesy. Second of all, most of them are over three hours long. Fourth of all, people have been watching them at our house quite frequently lately, too.
Triple peace. Duga ruqa
Monday, April 28, 2008
Feva-G, EZ-G, and Dexy-MC
I have had some good times this weekend. We have had an extended weekend because of the days off for studying before finals. Along with finishing up volunteering for a class and working, I was able to have some fun.
Feva-G (Matt) and I have been having alot of fun lately. First of all, though, I played soccer for about 2.5 hours on Thursday, which was awesome and very tiring. Thursday night I led worship at His House with rommates Matt and Grant and others. After His House, Matt and I went to the church and caught the end of the baptisms and the beginning of the senior party. We pretty much ate and left. We went to Rachel Foss's party where we just did crazy things like throwing whole (wrapper and all) ice cream sandwiches back and forth and trying to catch them in our mouths and sticking M&Ms up my nose and dancing (if you could call it dancing) to no music. Friday I worked all day and then led Innermost with Matt. That was a really good time for me to connect with God.
After Innermost we did our traditional trip to Walgreens. This time a couple others joined us in our crazy antics. We eventually made our way home and not long after people came over and we decided to play soccer in the rain, starting a little before midnight. A little after 1 we came back and played some lightning. Matt and I had a nice collision. He was turning and coming up after recovering his ball and I had just made a shot and was preparing to catch the rebound. He ended up turning and coming up with his forehead right on the corner of my chin pretty hard. He got a nice bump and my chin is a little bruised.
After that and some chillaxin inside, I went to the Birdhouse to watch Casper, at around 3, which we soon (around 3 30) decided to watch in installments. So I came home and got to bed around 4. Saturday wasn't too exciting. Today Matt and I have been working on our Mount Pleasant Globetrotter moves. We're getting pretty good, so watch out.
I went for a walk with Amanda through the woods that I got lost in a year or two ago because she is a towny and wanted to see where I got lost. She ended up knowing somebody who used to live in one of the houses I emerged from the woods behind. And found out soon after that one of her youth group girls lives in another house right there and saw us walking through her backyard today.
I went shopping for some shoes with Bryan today because I wanted some shoes that are closed but still breezy for the DR. I ended up with some water shoes. I will test them in Louie, and if they're good, I'll take em to the DR. I am pretty excited about this summer.
I am almost done with school, only one exam, my research proposal and a few other little things.
Oh, I almost forgot. We have been playing speed scrabble lately which is pretty sweet. and tonight Derek, Matt and I decided to play the "Ghetto Version" in which we make up words that sound like ebonics or something and then explain what they mean. That is how we got the names listed in the title. Good times. I highly recommend Ghetto Speed Scrabble, or just normal speed scrabble. good times.
Feva-G (Matt) and I have been having alot of fun lately. First of all, though, I played soccer for about 2.5 hours on Thursday, which was awesome and very tiring. Thursday night I led worship at His House with rommates Matt and Grant and others. After His House, Matt and I went to the church and caught the end of the baptisms and the beginning of the senior party. We pretty much ate and left. We went to Rachel Foss's party where we just did crazy things like throwing whole (wrapper and all) ice cream sandwiches back and forth and trying to catch them in our mouths and sticking M&Ms up my nose and dancing (if you could call it dancing) to no music. Friday I worked all day and then led Innermost with Matt. That was a really good time for me to connect with God.
After Innermost we did our traditional trip to Walgreens. This time a couple others joined us in our crazy antics. We eventually made our way home and not long after people came over and we decided to play soccer in the rain, starting a little before midnight. A little after 1 we came back and played some lightning. Matt and I had a nice collision. He was turning and coming up after recovering his ball and I had just made a shot and was preparing to catch the rebound. He ended up turning and coming up with his forehead right on the corner of my chin pretty hard. He got a nice bump and my chin is a little bruised.
After that and some chillaxin inside, I went to the Birdhouse to watch Casper, at around 3, which we soon (around 3 30) decided to watch in installments. So I came home and got to bed around 4. Saturday wasn't too exciting. Today Matt and I have been working on our Mount Pleasant Globetrotter moves. We're getting pretty good, so watch out.
I went for a walk with Amanda through the woods that I got lost in a year or two ago because she is a towny and wanted to see where I got lost. She ended up knowing somebody who used to live in one of the houses I emerged from the woods behind. And found out soon after that one of her youth group girls lives in another house right there and saw us walking through her backyard today.
I went shopping for some shoes with Bryan today because I wanted some shoes that are closed but still breezy for the DR. I ended up with some water shoes. I will test them in Louie, and if they're good, I'll take em to the DR. I am pretty excited about this summer.
I am almost done with school, only one exam, my research proposal and a few other little things.
Oh, I almost forgot. We have been playing speed scrabble lately which is pretty sweet. and tonight Derek, Matt and I decided to play the "Ghetto Version" in which we make up words that sound like ebonics or something and then explain what they mean. That is how we got the names listed in the title. Good times. I highly recommend Ghetto Speed Scrabble, or just normal speed scrabble. good times.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
That Being Said
I guess it's a good time to write a new post. People say I don't write very often, but I am pretty sure I keep up with the Jones's, and by the Jones's I mean my siblings.
I have kind of an interesting story to share. On Monday night, 21/22 April 2008, I was up until about 6:30 working on homework and stuff. I was working on my senior research project proposal, my portfolio for psych that was due on tuesday (I started it on Monday, instead of the beginning of the semester), and studying for the two exams I had on Tuesday. So, I slept for about 2.54 hours until a little after 9, when I had to wake up to go to class.
Needless to say, I was a little tired and out of it going to class but all we did was listen to some presentations (well, some people did presentations, but I wasn't one of those people because I already did mine, so I just listened). We got out early because the prof had to go to a funeral, so I went to the bank to do some banking I needed to get done.
On my way, I saw something going on in Warriner Mall, so I decided to check it out on my way back. It was and Earth Day thing with a tent and some booths and stuff. Basically, it was a bunch of hippies with different ways to save earth, which is pretty cool because I am somewhat of a hippie myself, and my friends and I all live on the earth so it would be cool for it to not explode or die or whatever it's going to do if we don't save it.
There actually weren't too many people there the first time, but 91.5 was there giving out free CDs. Most of them aren't very good but I decided to look through them and pick out a few to try out. I took some and they are decent. I was basically going for diversity, so I added some diversity to my music collection. Then I got some free Free Trade Chocolate. It was good, and my friend Danielle was the one giving it out. By that time I needed to go to my next class to take an exam, so I did.
Now, I realize this post is becoming very long and not covering much of my life at all, but I am going to keep writing as if I am Paul or Jesus or Solomon or somebody that you would want to listen to (notice I didn't list professors).
Anyway, I took my exam and it was short so I had time before my next one and decided to go back to Earth Day but stopped by the Art gallery on my way, and that was pretty cool. Then I went back to Earth day and got some more free stuff and some more cool people and stuff. Finally, I decided I should study for my next exam since I hadn't done much of that the 'night' before, despite the late hours of being awake (most of it was my portfolio). So, I studied under a tree then went in and took the exam and we had to stay and wait for the rest of the people to get done so we could present an item from our portfolio so I went outside and talked to Kyle, a guy who has been in another class of mine and I had seen around but never talked to. He's nice.
Then I went and did the whole presentation thing which was really short and painless. Okay, so I went back to Earth Day with Mitch after doing a references page for my portfolio that I had forgotten to do, turned that in, gave guitar lessons, went to class early and hungout with Katie a little, fell asleep in class despite all of my efforts to stay awake, came home and ate and then took a nap at around 6 30 that was supposed to last until about 7 30 and ended up lasting until about 2 30 am.
I woke up and wondered what had happened. I was surprisingly aware of the fact that my nap had lasted way to long and it was 2 30, but I didn't know how it had lasted that long and was searching for my alarm watch. I then got up and realized I had been laying on top of the watch, meaning I had either fallen asleep while trying to reset the alarm or while trying to muster up the motivation to get out of bed.
So, I decided to get up, having slept for 8 hours, even though I still felt pretty tired and out of it. So i don't even know what I did...oh yeah, I made ramen and ate it, did some stuff on my computer, got all the recycling stuff together and put it out, then decided to go to Meijer to take cans and bottles back and get trash bags and maybe other stuff. I got 11 boxes of fruit snacks because they were 10 for 10 with the 11th one free (so really 11 for $10) and I will be travelling quite a bit in the near future. So I figured fruit snacks are good for that. I also got some other stuff but forgot to get trash bags. I came home at a little after 5 and decided to sleep until 6 30, which turned into about 7 30 and here I am writing this post, a little unsure of whether I am properly rested but decidedly awake and ready to work on some stuff before class.
Hasta la pasta (I've been working on Spanish for the DR)
I have kind of an interesting story to share. On Monday night, 21/22 April 2008, I was up until about 6:30 working on homework and stuff. I was working on my senior research project proposal, my portfolio for psych that was due on tuesday (I started it on Monday, instead of the beginning of the semester), and studying for the two exams I had on Tuesday. So, I slept for about 2.54 hours until a little after 9, when I had to wake up to go to class.
Needless to say, I was a little tired and out of it going to class but all we did was listen to some presentations (well, some people did presentations, but I wasn't one of those people because I already did mine, so I just listened). We got out early because the prof had to go to a funeral, so I went to the bank to do some banking I needed to get done.
On my way, I saw something going on in Warriner Mall, so I decided to check it out on my way back. It was and Earth Day thing with a tent and some booths and stuff. Basically, it was a bunch of hippies with different ways to save earth, which is pretty cool because I am somewhat of a hippie myself, and my friends and I all live on the earth so it would be cool for it to not explode or die or whatever it's going to do if we don't save it.
There actually weren't too many people there the first time, but 91.5 was there giving out free CDs. Most of them aren't very good but I decided to look through them and pick out a few to try out. I took some and they are decent. I was basically going for diversity, so I added some diversity to my music collection. Then I got some free Free Trade Chocolate. It was good, and my friend Danielle was the one giving it out. By that time I needed to go to my next class to take an exam, so I did.
Now, I realize this post is becoming very long and not covering much of my life at all, but I am going to keep writing as if I am Paul or Jesus or Solomon or somebody that you would want to listen to (notice I didn't list professors).
Anyway, I took my exam and it was short so I had time before my next one and decided to go back to Earth Day but stopped by the Art gallery on my way, and that was pretty cool. Then I went back to Earth day and got some more free stuff and some more cool people and stuff. Finally, I decided I should study for my next exam since I hadn't done much of that the 'night' before, despite the late hours of being awake (most of it was my portfolio). So, I studied under a tree then went in and took the exam and we had to stay and wait for the rest of the people to get done so we could present an item from our portfolio so I went outside and talked to Kyle, a guy who has been in another class of mine and I had seen around but never talked to. He's nice.
Then I went and did the whole presentation thing which was really short and painless. Okay, so I went back to Earth Day with Mitch after doing a references page for my portfolio that I had forgotten to do, turned that in, gave guitar lessons, went to class early and hungout with Katie a little, fell asleep in class despite all of my efforts to stay awake, came home and ate and then took a nap at around 6 30 that was supposed to last until about 7 30 and ended up lasting until about 2 30 am.
I woke up and wondered what had happened. I was surprisingly aware of the fact that my nap had lasted way to long and it was 2 30, but I didn't know how it had lasted that long and was searching for my alarm watch. I then got up and realized I had been laying on top of the watch, meaning I had either fallen asleep while trying to reset the alarm or while trying to muster up the motivation to get out of bed.
So, I decided to get up, having slept for 8 hours, even though I still felt pretty tired and out of it. So i don't even know what I did...oh yeah, I made ramen and ate it, did some stuff on my computer, got all the recycling stuff together and put it out, then decided to go to Meijer to take cans and bottles back and get trash bags and maybe other stuff. I got 11 boxes of fruit snacks because they were 10 for 10 with the 11th one free (so really 11 for $10) and I will be travelling quite a bit in the near future. So I figured fruit snacks are good for that. I also got some other stuff but forgot to get trash bags. I came home at a little after 5 and decided to sleep until 6 30, which turned into about 7 30 and here I am writing this post, a little unsure of whether I am properly rested but decidedly awake and ready to work on some stuff before class.
Hasta la pasta (I've been working on Spanish for the DR)
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Praise God
I know this title is similar to my last one, but I think it is justified in many ways.
The main reason I titled this post that way is because of some recent news from my Dad about my Dominican Republic support. I talked to him on Thursday before going to His House, and he told me that the Board of my church in HB decided to provide the remainder of the funding for my trip after other people have been given a chance to send in their support. This is really exciting for me. I have been trusting God to provide, but I must admit my level of trust needs some work because money for the trip was still something that burdened my mind sometimes. He taught me some good things about trust lately and I had been excited to see what he would do to provide, so now I am excited to see what he has done to provide and I am also thankful for my HB church and greatly appreciate the way they support missionaries, not just for my sake but because I think it is something many churches need to do more of. Anyway, praise God. He is awesome. A verse that fits pretty perfectly with how I am feeling is Psalm 28.7
"The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in him and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song."
Thanks for your prayers and other support. I love you and so does God.
The main reason I titled this post that way is because of some recent news from my Dad about my Dominican Republic support. I talked to him on Thursday before going to His House, and he told me that the Board of my church in HB decided to provide the remainder of the funding for my trip after other people have been given a chance to send in their support. This is really exciting for me. I have been trusting God to provide, but I must admit my level of trust needs some work because money for the trip was still something that burdened my mind sometimes. He taught me some good things about trust lately and I had been excited to see what he would do to provide, so now I am excited to see what he has done to provide and I am also thankful for my HB church and greatly appreciate the way they support missionaries, not just for my sake but because I think it is something many churches need to do more of. Anyway, praise God. He is awesome. A verse that fits pretty perfectly with how I am feeling is Psalm 28.7
"The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in him and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song."
Thanks for your prayers and other support. I love you and so does God.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Yay God
Well,
I think my relationship with God has been improving recently, which is good because it has kind of been rocky this past year.
One thing he has been teaching me is to trust him. He has been really teaching me that with the whole DR thing. I haven't had much time to raise the money I need for this summer, but God has reminded me that nothing is impossible with him and gotten me excited for what he is going to do. I have had some pretty good response to facebook messages and letters I have sent out reecently. I am still pretty far from my goal, but it is good to see God working.
Also, today I read some verses that were really applicable to the situation. Actually, I didn't even apply them to the DR situation at first but thought of other things, which I think shows the work God has done in me to keep me from worrying about that. The verses were Psalm 34.8-10. I will let you read them on your own, but what I got from them is that we should expect God to lead us if we are listening to him, and not only will he tell us what to do but will help us along the way. This applies to the DR thing because not only do I need to listen to God leading me to the DR but also realize that he isn't just going to leave me to raise the money I need and everything but will be helping me out along the way. What I got from the next part is that we should not wait for God to pull us along but should follow the slightest whisper from him, which is very hard. Then the last part is about trusting him and being surrounded by his love. It's pretty sweet stuff.
Another passage I read today, as part of a section coach meeting was James 1.27, which says "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."
To me, this seems to be saying, if you do these two things, you will be fulfilling God's purpose for you, which is pretty sweet. I mean, it is more complicated than it seems, but still, it is nice to have it in simple words. What I get from it is that there is basically an external and internal purpose for our lives. Outwardly, we need to be loving and serving others. Inwardly, we need to be keeping ourselves set apart and pure.
I hope you are/were able to gain some insight or found that God spoke to you in some way through these things. As always, continue to give glory to God as he continues to bless you.
I think my relationship with God has been improving recently, which is good because it has kind of been rocky this past year.
One thing he has been teaching me is to trust him. He has been really teaching me that with the whole DR thing. I haven't had much time to raise the money I need for this summer, but God has reminded me that nothing is impossible with him and gotten me excited for what he is going to do. I have had some pretty good response to facebook messages and letters I have sent out reecently. I am still pretty far from my goal, but it is good to see God working.
Also, today I read some verses that were really applicable to the situation. Actually, I didn't even apply them to the DR situation at first but thought of other things, which I think shows the work God has done in me to keep me from worrying about that. The verses were Psalm 34.8-10. I will let you read them on your own, but what I got from them is that we should expect God to lead us if we are listening to him, and not only will he tell us what to do but will help us along the way. This applies to the DR thing because not only do I need to listen to God leading me to the DR but also realize that he isn't just going to leave me to raise the money I need and everything but will be helping me out along the way. What I got from the next part is that we should not wait for God to pull us along but should follow the slightest whisper from him, which is very hard. Then the last part is about trusting him and being surrounded by his love. It's pretty sweet stuff.
Another passage I read today, as part of a section coach meeting was James 1.27, which says "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."
To me, this seems to be saying, if you do these two things, you will be fulfilling God's purpose for you, which is pretty sweet. I mean, it is more complicated than it seems, but still, it is nice to have it in simple words. What I get from it is that there is basically an external and internal purpose for our lives. Outwardly, we need to be loving and serving others. Inwardly, we need to be keeping ourselves set apart and pure.
I hope you are/were able to gain some insight or found that God spoke to you in some way through these things. As always, continue to give glory to God as he continues to bless you.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Well, here it is
Right now I am sitting at Katie Bennett's apt, at nearly 2 am, procrastinating on the homework I don't need to do until tomorrow night. Last night I was up until after five doing something similar. I worked on homework for a while. Then I went to Wal Mart to get envelopes for support letters. I was there around 3:15 am and saw a friend who had just decided to go on a walk in the middle of the night because he had woken up and couldn't get back to sleep. Then I went home and ate a little and worked on addressing the envelopes and went to sleep. I like staying up late. I do not like sleeping in, nor is that a good option due to morning classes. Thus, I often end up getting few hours of sleep. However, I am usually able to get good sleep for the majority of the nights in a week, so it's all good.
If by now you haven't realized that I am just writing this because it is 2 am, and I am unmotivated to do homework, then...realize it.
Anyway, life is pretty good. I have to do volunteering for one of my classes, which is awesome but has kind of added to stress lately because I haven't done much and I have alot of hours to do. However, God, of course, is awesome. So, first of all, I didn't get many hours for work this month, without even saying anything about needing time to volunteer. Also, I went to the Salvy on Monday to sign up for hours. I had gone there near the beginning of the semester after calling and setting up that time to go in, but then the guy said he didnt want me but I could sign up the next day for hours for the next week. So, I didn't go back. But, as I was saying, I went on Monday to sign up for hours since I am becoming desparate, and the guy told me that since I am a volunteer and not doing it for community service I can go in whenever, and I just have to sign in and out. Praise God.
I am leaving now
If by now you haven't realized that I am just writing this because it is 2 am, and I am unmotivated to do homework, then...realize it.
Anyway, life is pretty good. I have to do volunteering for one of my classes, which is awesome but has kind of added to stress lately because I haven't done much and I have alot of hours to do. However, God, of course, is awesome. So, first of all, I didn't get many hours for work this month, without even saying anything about needing time to volunteer. Also, I went to the Salvy on Monday to sign up for hours. I had gone there near the beginning of the semester after calling and setting up that time to go in, but then the guy said he didnt want me but I could sign up the next day for hours for the next week. So, I didn't go back. But, as I was saying, I went on Monday to sign up for hours since I am becoming desparate, and the guy told me that since I am a volunteer and not doing it for community service I can go in whenever, and I just have to sign in and out. Praise God.
I am leaving now
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
It's Not Unusual
As I recline in the living room of the men's house on this beautiful sunny March day, listening to the melodies of Five Iron Frenzy flowing from the tinny speakers of my iBook, I procrastinate while writing a post in my blog.
I shaved part of my beard last night. Now, it is somewhere between a beard and a goatee. I don't exactly know the full extent of either of those terms, but looking up goatee on my dashboard dictionary I found that it is a small pointed beard. I would say my facial hair doesn't really fit that description because it is neither small nor pointed. I guess it should be called a beard since the term beard is used in the definition of goatee, implying that beard encompasses a range of facial hair, including goatees.
That being settled, I don't really know what else to write about. Tomorrow night there is a Jason Upton Concert here at Finch Fieldhouse for free. It is pretty exciting that our public university is hosting a Christian concert. With this excitement, local ministries have joined to do a 24 hour prayer room which started on Sunday and goes until Thursday right before the concert. It has been pretty sweet. I had the opportunity to lead a time of worship on Monday night and was reminded of how much I enjoy leading informal worship. God is pretty awesome, and he gives me so much joy as I let him pour through me. It is interesting to think about certain things like that. I think we expect too much of ourselves sometimes, and we become proud. For example, the love we have and the ability to worship and connect with God ultimately originates with God. All he wants is for us to be willing and to follow his lead. On the other hand, I often find myself underestimating my own stubbornness and/or lazyness, along with the attacks of Satan. When that happens, I stop following his lead and become upset with him for not working through me and stuff. I definitely don't have God or Christian life figured out. God has been showing me that quite plainly recently. Nonetheless, he is patient and persistent and will continue to work on me until the work is done. In other words, God is awesome. Really, though, as we all know, there aren't really words to describe God fully.
Continue to give God glory as he pours blessings into your life.
I shaved part of my beard last night. Now, it is somewhere between a beard and a goatee. I don't exactly know the full extent of either of those terms, but looking up goatee on my dashboard dictionary I found that it is a small pointed beard. I would say my facial hair doesn't really fit that description because it is neither small nor pointed. I guess it should be called a beard since the term beard is used in the definition of goatee, implying that beard encompasses a range of facial hair, including goatees.
That being settled, I don't really know what else to write about. Tomorrow night there is a Jason Upton Concert here at Finch Fieldhouse for free. It is pretty exciting that our public university is hosting a Christian concert. With this excitement, local ministries have joined to do a 24 hour prayer room which started on Sunday and goes until Thursday right before the concert. It has been pretty sweet. I had the opportunity to lead a time of worship on Monday night and was reminded of how much I enjoy leading informal worship. God is pretty awesome, and he gives me so much joy as I let him pour through me. It is interesting to think about certain things like that. I think we expect too much of ourselves sometimes, and we become proud. For example, the love we have and the ability to worship and connect with God ultimately originates with God. All he wants is for us to be willing and to follow his lead. On the other hand, I often find myself underestimating my own stubbornness and/or lazyness, along with the attacks of Satan. When that happens, I stop following his lead and become upset with him for not working through me and stuff. I definitely don't have God or Christian life figured out. God has been showing me that quite plainly recently. Nonetheless, he is patient and persistent and will continue to work on me until the work is done. In other words, God is awesome. Really, though, as we all know, there aren't really words to describe God fully.
Continue to give God glory as he pours blessings into your life.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
New Post
Who knew that a post could refer to papermaking? Well, I sure didn't until I looked it up on dictionary.com
Disclaimer: I am fairly tired and in a strange mood currently. Any material in this post may or may not represent the views of Josh Hill. I hope it makes you laugh because laughter is good for your soul.
Do you ever notice the most random things when you are tired? I just noticed that the words your and soul both use an o-u combination.
Anyway, I suppose I should let you in on a little bit of my life. I am currently planning on going to Louisiana for a week at the beginning of the summer. I will be going with some people from my church and working with the disaster relief stuff that is going on down there.
After that, I will be home for less than a week before travelling to the Dominican Republic for 2 1/2 months. I wll be doing an internship with Orphanage Outreach in Monte Cristi. Basically, I will probably be heading up some kind of ministry down there, possibly something with music, and leading and helping out the teams that will be down there throughout the summer. I would appreciate your prayers as I prepare and as I am there. Also, I am going to need approximately $4000 for the costs of the program and the airfare, so I would appreciate your prayers for that. If you would like to contribute money, that would be appreciated as well and you can talk to me about that.
Other than that, I am staying busy with school stuff. I have quite a bit going on for the rest of the semester, big projects to start and/or finish, and other things still going on, but I think I am going to make it through probably, despite a desire to dropout and just become a full-time missionary right now. I love you guys.
Disclaimer: I am fairly tired and in a strange mood currently. Any material in this post may or may not represent the views of Josh Hill. I hope it makes you laugh because laughter is good for your soul.
Do you ever notice the most random things when you are tired? I just noticed that the words your and soul both use an o-u combination.
Anyway, I suppose I should let you in on a little bit of my life. I am currently planning on going to Louisiana for a week at the beginning of the summer. I will be going with some people from my church and working with the disaster relief stuff that is going on down there.
After that, I will be home for less than a week before travelling to the Dominican Republic for 2 1/2 months. I wll be doing an internship with Orphanage Outreach in Monte Cristi. Basically, I will probably be heading up some kind of ministry down there, possibly something with music, and leading and helping out the teams that will be down there throughout the summer. I would appreciate your prayers as I prepare and as I am there. Also, I am going to need approximately $4000 for the costs of the program and the airfare, so I would appreciate your prayers for that. If you would like to contribute money, that would be appreciated as well and you can talk to me about that.
Other than that, I am staying busy with school stuff. I have quite a bit going on for the rest of the semester, big projects to start and/or finish, and other things still going on, but I think I am going to make it through probably, despite a desire to dropout and just become a full-time missionary right now. I love you guys.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Procrastination, Wednesday Night, and Bilocationalism
Well, I decided I should post in my blog so here I am. There were several factors in this decision. First of all, I think it has been a couple of weeks since my last post. Second of all, I have three things, one of which I have started, due tomorrow, and this is a good Procrastination (first part of the title) tool. When I said several factors, it mainly meant two, but there are probably some underlying subconscious factors as well.
As for Wednesday Night, my roommate recently informed me that Wednesday night is the place to go for free coffee. He said this after returning from U Cup on a wednesday night, tonight, having gotten free coffee because of friends who work there and were closing and would have just thrown out the coffee had he not taken it. I told him I was at Wednesday Night and didn't get any free coffee but he didn't believe me and said I couldn't have been there since I was here. I tried to make the argument that he was here too so by his logic he couldn't have been at wednesday night, but he still did not agree so I let him know that I was at two locations at once, both at Wednesday Night and at our house. He said that would only be possible with the Spiritual gift of teleportation (which, by the way, my sister is supposed to be working on a teleportation device for me and also reminds me of Jumper (I think that's what it's called)) to which I responded that I actually have the Spiritual Gift of Bilocationalism. He really didn't have a response for that, so I am pretty sure he finally must have given in due to my profoundly insightful logic and persuasion.
On that note (C# if you couldn't figure out which note it was) I should probably start doing my homework. Goodbye and
As for Wednesday Night, my roommate recently informed me that Wednesday night is the place to go for free coffee. He said this after returning from U Cup on a wednesday night, tonight, having gotten free coffee because of friends who work there and were closing and would have just thrown out the coffee had he not taken it. I told him I was at Wednesday Night and didn't get any free coffee but he didn't believe me and said I couldn't have been there since I was here. I tried to make the argument that he was here too so by his logic he couldn't have been at wednesday night, but he still did not agree so I let him know that I was at two locations at once, both at Wednesday Night and at our house. He said that would only be possible with the Spiritual gift of teleportation (which, by the way, my sister is supposed to be working on a teleportation device for me and also reminds me of Jumper (I think that's what it's called)) to which I responded that I actually have the Spiritual Gift of Bilocationalism. He really didn't have a response for that, so I am pretty sure he finally must have given in due to my profoundly insightful logic and persuasion.
On that note (C# if you couldn't figure out which note it was) I should probably start doing my homework. Goodbye and
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
When it rains, it pours
The title was actually supposed to be random, but as I was writing it I thought of a couple applications. First of all, it rained yesterday, for the second Monday in a row in the heart of winter. I liked it. It was a nice change. One thing that bothers me is when people make negative statements about the weather, especially for no reason, especially about rain. I like the rain. Sometimes, I don't really get excited about getting wet. However, I generally enjoy the rain. Second of all, as I always say, if you can't control it, you might as well enjoy it. We cannot control the weather. However, we can control our attitude about the weather. So, why not be happy?
The second application has to do with the winter retreat this past weekend. The title of the weekend was Drenched. We talked about letting God's presence and blessing and all that good stuff fall on us and getting rid of the things that are in the way. I have felt drenched lately, in reference to the title of this post, I have felt like it has been pouring, but not necessarily in a good way. I have been learning a lot about myself and things that need to change in my life and stuff like that, and I have gotten somewhat overwhelmed. However, I have also been learning some good things about the authority we have in Christ and about the Holy Spirit being our comforter and friend. In other words, I am realizing that it is good for me to learn all of these things about my life, but it is also necessary to give those things up to God and allow the Holy Spirit to be the strength of my life, rather than trying to do it on my own, because I can't do it on my own.
These are things I have learned before, but they are becoming more real to me now, and I hope they continue to become more real. I hope the Holy Spirit becomes real to you, as well. Have a wonderful day.
The second application has to do with the winter retreat this past weekend. The title of the weekend was Drenched. We talked about letting God's presence and blessing and all that good stuff fall on us and getting rid of the things that are in the way. I have felt drenched lately, in reference to the title of this post, I have felt like it has been pouring, but not necessarily in a good way. I have been learning a lot about myself and things that need to change in my life and stuff like that, and I have gotten somewhat overwhelmed. However, I have also been learning some good things about the authority we have in Christ and about the Holy Spirit being our comforter and friend. In other words, I am realizing that it is good for me to learn all of these things about my life, but it is also necessary to give those things up to God and allow the Holy Spirit to be the strength of my life, rather than trying to do it on my own, because I can't do it on my own.
These are things I have learned before, but they are becoming more real to me now, and I hope they continue to become more real. I hope the Holy Spirit becomes real to you, as well. Have a wonderful day.
Monday, January 28, 2008
It's a race....I'm winning; I'm winning.
Well, I am kind of racing against the clock because my computer doesn't have much battery left right now and I am not near the power cord. I just want to write a few things about my weekend because it was pretty awesome.
On Friday I worked and had fun with Jessica (a co-worker) and her brother Richard playing with bouncy balls and stuff. Also, my friend Katie came in a couple times and brought me lunch one of those times. After work I went to the Unity Ball with Katie, which was pretty fun. I went mostly because I knew she wanted to but it was fun learning 3 different ways to do the hustle. After that we went and got Lindsay and watched a movie at Katie's and all fell asleep. I just slept on her couch that night and then hungout a little in the morning before coming home and then going to play racquetball with some friends. Then I went with Mitch to go sledding with some friends and so we went over to their apt and ate and then went sledding in the dark on a dangerous hill and there is more to that story but you will have to ask me if you want more details.
I got to play bass and sing this morning at church and then came home and ate and went to the U cup to meet with Alyse and talk and then ended up talking with several other people there afterwards. Came home and took a nap and then ate and had devos. Good devos and then a good talk with Grant. I may have forgotten something, but it was a good weekend, in general. God is good.
On Friday I worked and had fun with Jessica (a co-worker) and her brother Richard playing with bouncy balls and stuff. Also, my friend Katie came in a couple times and brought me lunch one of those times. After work I went to the Unity Ball with Katie, which was pretty fun. I went mostly because I knew she wanted to but it was fun learning 3 different ways to do the hustle. After that we went and got Lindsay and watched a movie at Katie's and all fell asleep. I just slept on her couch that night and then hungout a little in the morning before coming home and then going to play racquetball with some friends. Then I went with Mitch to go sledding with some friends and so we went over to their apt and ate and then went sledding in the dark on a dangerous hill and there is more to that story but you will have to ask me if you want more details.
I got to play bass and sing this morning at church and then came home and ate and went to the U cup to meet with Alyse and talk and then ended up talking with several other people there afterwards. Came home and took a nap and then ate and had devos. Good devos and then a good talk with Grant. I may have forgotten something, but it was a good weekend, in general. God is good.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
If you were a hypothetical situation, what situation would you be?
Well, I have now been to all of my classes at least once, but only one all four times in the two weeks due to the cancellation of my four tuesday classes last week.
They are going pretty well. In lifeguarding I have been learning how to swim properly which is a slow and difficult process but exciting. It is mainly exciting for a couple reasons. First of all, I think I will enjoy swimming more once I actually know how to do it right. Secondly, I was able to swim 550 yrds last week, with much difficulty, and I am figuring it will be much easier to do when I know how to swim.
In two of my classes, I am the only male. The joys of being a Family Studies major. Yeah, I know, many guys would love being in a room full of ladies. I, on the other hand, am currently somewhat afraid/uncertain of females.
Another interesting fact about my classes this semester is that right after HEV 411, which according to my prof is the capstone Family Studies class, I have HEV 100, which is the introduction to family studies and other HEV fields. Needless to say, HEV 100 tends to be somewhat boring. Today, in that class, I learned about Freud for the 1,235th, give or take a few, time in my college experience.
I am looking forward to doing volunteer hours for one of my classes. I am just not good at setting that stuff up.
I am also somewhat interested in my PSY 330H class. I like the professor because he is organized and sticks to the point while also giving interesting stories and examples. Today, we discussed a study that dealt with religion and psychology and it was interesting to have that discussion with a professor from the Psych side rather than the religion side. He readily admitted he doesn't have a great understanding of certain religions, whereas the religion professors who have had similar discussions seem to have a great understanding of religion along with a good understanding of psychology, at least psychology related to the topic being discussed.
That is just a little bit about my classes. I will leave it at that for tonight. You have a good one. God bless. Remember, if your wife don't find you handsome, she sure will find you handy.
They are going pretty well. In lifeguarding I have been learning how to swim properly which is a slow and difficult process but exciting. It is mainly exciting for a couple reasons. First of all, I think I will enjoy swimming more once I actually know how to do it right. Secondly, I was able to swim 550 yrds last week, with much difficulty, and I am figuring it will be much easier to do when I know how to swim.
In two of my classes, I am the only male. The joys of being a Family Studies major. Yeah, I know, many guys would love being in a room full of ladies. I, on the other hand, am currently somewhat afraid/uncertain of females.
Another interesting fact about my classes this semester is that right after HEV 411, which according to my prof is the capstone Family Studies class, I have HEV 100, which is the introduction to family studies and other HEV fields. Needless to say, HEV 100 tends to be somewhat boring. Today, in that class, I learned about Freud for the 1,235th, give or take a few, time in my college experience.
I am looking forward to doing volunteer hours for one of my classes. I am just not good at setting that stuff up.
I am also somewhat interested in my PSY 330H class. I like the professor because he is organized and sticks to the point while also giving interesting stories and examples. Today, we discussed a study that dealt with religion and psychology and it was interesting to have that discussion with a professor from the Psych side rather than the religion side. He readily admitted he doesn't have a great understanding of certain religions, whereas the religion professors who have had similar discussions seem to have a great understanding of religion along with a good understanding of psychology, at least psychology related to the topic being discussed.
That is just a little bit about my classes. I will leave it at that for tonight. You have a good one. God bless. Remember, if your wife don't find you handsome, she sure will find you handy.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Awwwwesssomme
Well, I finished my first week of my 6th semester. I still have not had one of my classes because classes were cancelled on tuesday, my day of four classes, because of a power outage. My lifeguarding class is interesting. I am realizing how bad I am at swimming. However it has also been exciting because even with my lack of swimming skills I was able to perservere through 550 yds of swimming, and I think once I actually know how to swim it will be much easier.
One thing I am learning about myself and working on is about relationships. I need to work on loving people. Most of the time I pursue relationships for my own benefit rather than the other person's. I also started reading Five Love Languages of Singles today on my first day back at work. It was good to be back. My day today consisted of swimming for about 1 1/2 hours with some guidance from one of our assistant instructors in my class, making and eating lunch/planning dinner for monday with Matt, working for 5 hours, eating dinner, playing racquetball with Chris and Nick, and watching Bourne Ultimatum with those two and others.
Tomorrow I am going to Issue Day. I am not really sure what it is all about, but I figure I should go since I have issues. Actually, I am pretty sure it is about issues such as hunger and homelessness, AIDS, etc.
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests but also to the interests of others. Philippians 2:3-4
One thing I am learning about myself and working on is about relationships. I need to work on loving people. Most of the time I pursue relationships for my own benefit rather than the other person's. I also started reading Five Love Languages of Singles today on my first day back at work. It was good to be back. My day today consisted of swimming for about 1 1/2 hours with some guidance from one of our assistant instructors in my class, making and eating lunch/planning dinner for monday with Matt, working for 5 hours, eating dinner, playing racquetball with Chris and Nick, and watching Bourne Ultimatum with those two and others.
Tomorrow I am going to Issue Day. I am not really sure what it is all about, but I figure I should go since I have issues. Actually, I am pretty sure it is about issues such as hunger and homelessness, AIDS, etc.
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests but also to the interests of others. Philippians 2:3-4
Monday, January 7, 2008
What a friend we have in Jesus
I had a wonderful time in Chicago. Overall, my break was excellent. I am glad to be back home with my brothers. I am excited for what God will be doing this semester. Here are some of my goals/expectations:
-Pray expectantly
-Live purposefully
-Focus on God, rather than myself
-Get guys excited to serve with His House
-Be more intentional with relationships
-Get back on track with God
Please, keep me in your prayers for these things. Also, I am trying to figure out what to do this summer. I have two main possibilities right now, but who knows what God will throw at me. I am currently applying for Youthworks and for missions in Senegal. I am excited about doing either.
Well, I should maybe go to bed soon. I am excited that I only have one class tomorrow, and it is my lifeguarding class. After that I need to run some errands and get some of my life organized.
Goodnight
-Pray expectantly
-Live purposefully
-Focus on God, rather than myself
-Get guys excited to serve with His House
-Be more intentional with relationships
-Get back on track with God
Please, keep me in your prayers for these things. Also, I am trying to figure out what to do this summer. I have two main possibilities right now, but who knows what God will throw at me. I am currently applying for Youthworks and for missions in Senegal. I am excited about doing either.
Well, I should maybe go to bed soon. I am excited that I only have one class tomorrow, and it is my lifeguarding class. After that I need to run some errands and get some of my life organized.
Goodnight
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