So I was just journaling, and I felt like blogging, so I decided to sit down and type instead of write. As I was walking to my computer, I was thinking of what to name the title, and initially it was going to be 'On A Rainy Day.' Then I noticed that Colbie Caillat was playing on my iTunes, so I decided to add that...then I realized it rhymed, and I became very satisfied with myself. I've been killing the unintentional simple rhymes lately...I'm just that cool. I'm so cool that I even laugh at myself when I do it...
So there are some pretty cool things going on in my life right now. School is back in action, and that's kinda nice. It's good to be with my friends...school is just alright, but hey it's my senior year, so hopefully all of these 'just alright' classes will soon give me a 'crazy awesome' job.
Speaking of job, I just got hired to lead a youth group part time at a church in Centre Hall! How crazy awesome is that? It's weird to think that at the beginning of the summer I was wrestling with whether or not God was calling me into ministry, and through a couple conversations and and a whole lot of prayer, I feel as though the Lord confirmed my call, and now lookie! I get to spend a year with high school students and hopefully I'll get out of the way enough to let God do something amazing in their lives. I am really excited!
In addition to that, I'm also incredibly stoked for ACF this year! This is my third year serving as an elder, and it blows my mind to see how the Lord has used a handful of full time students to give direction to this church. This is my home - I feel a connection there that I get nowhere else, and I can't wait to see what is in store for this year. My guess is it's going to be incredible.
So yeah, I'm gonna be busy: ACF. School. Youth group. I'll keep you posted.
That's all for now. I could write a lot more, but for the sake of my three readers, I'll stop. I'll be blogging frequently, so don't go crazy! There's plenty more of my brain to read in the near future. Here's what's on the list of future blogs:
-My thoughts on dating - i might actually start a new blog on that
-My experiences in youth ministry - I will most likely start a new blog on that as well...the links will be on this page, so you can find it easily
-the awesomeness that is ACF
-more of the same sweetness that is my life
**Read my previous blog post...it's one of my favorites so far!**
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Where Did He Come Up WIth This?
Once upon a time, there was this deer and he wandered through the woods looking for friends and food. (Food and friends were two of his most favorite things) One day he and his friends decided to go hang out and find something really fun to do, like frolic through meadows or go irritate an old, lazy, ornery bear. They walked down an old dirt path to the bear's house until they came upon a strange tree with orange balls falling from it, so they decided to check it out.
The tree was full of oranges. They bumped the tree, and much to their surprise, even more fell to the ground! One poor deer had one land on his face, which gave him quite a fright! After a short time, the deer began to become more curious. They sniffed and licked the oranges, and they immediately were overjoyed with their discovery. They ate oranges until they couldn't move, and they rested under the shade of the orange tree - which didn't provide much shade, but they were happy nonetheless.
Now you know that when you eat that much fruit, you normally have some issues later on, and this instance was no exception. Their bodies passed on all of the oranges that their stomachs couldn't digest, and it laid in small piles throughout the forest. Part of those not so pleasant little treasures contained the seeds of the oranges.
Fast forward to the present...
Not so long ago, the parents of a friend of mine visited Florida and brought back some oranges. I have had oranges before, but let me tell you, these were no ordinary oranges. They were like juicy candy - easily the best oranges that I have ever had! And I was sad when the last one was gone, because I didn't want to go back to eating regular oranges ever again.
The other night I laid in bed, reminiscing about my near life changing encounter with these incredibly delicious oranges. I remembered the smell, the taste, the virtual party in my mouth after every bite I took. And then that got me to thinking about the creativity of our Creator: how in the world is it possible that something that delicious can come from a doodie-covered seed that grew out of the dirt? Something I just ate got its nutrients from dirt, poop, water, and sunshine. Now this story is made up, but the scenario isn't too much of a stretch...so how do those four things help in growing something I enjoyed so much?
Because our Creator is creative, and he is awesome. Have you ever had any mini revelations like that? They're quite fun to ponder, and I think they make life more exciting and enjoyable. Any cool stories out there?
The tree was full of oranges. They bumped the tree, and much to their surprise, even more fell to the ground! One poor deer had one land on his face, which gave him quite a fright! After a short time, the deer began to become more curious. They sniffed and licked the oranges, and they immediately were overjoyed with their discovery. They ate oranges until they couldn't move, and they rested under the shade of the orange tree - which didn't provide much shade, but they were happy nonetheless.
Now you know that when you eat that much fruit, you normally have some issues later on, and this instance was no exception. Their bodies passed on all of the oranges that their stomachs couldn't digest, and it laid in small piles throughout the forest. Part of those not so pleasant little treasures contained the seeds of the oranges.
Fast forward to the present...
Not so long ago, the parents of a friend of mine visited Florida and brought back some oranges. I have had oranges before, but let me tell you, these were no ordinary oranges. They were like juicy candy - easily the best oranges that I have ever had! And I was sad when the last one was gone, because I didn't want to go back to eating regular oranges ever again.
The other night I laid in bed, reminiscing about my near life changing encounter with these incredibly delicious oranges. I remembered the smell, the taste, the virtual party in my mouth after every bite I took. And then that got me to thinking about the creativity of our Creator: how in the world is it possible that something that delicious can come from a doodie-covered seed that grew out of the dirt? Something I just ate got its nutrients from dirt, poop, water, and sunshine. Now this story is made up, but the scenario isn't too much of a stretch...so how do those four things help in growing something I enjoyed so much?
Because our Creator is creative, and he is awesome. Have you ever had any mini revelations like that? They're quite fun to ponder, and I think they make life more exciting and enjoyable. Any cool stories out there?
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Thank You Apple!
I'm sitting here with my computer, listening to Pandora Radio (one of my favorite things, especially my Train radio station) and checking my email for the first time in a few days. School is done, and I figured I'd blog since I haven't blogged in two months.
Two months without a blog? Must mean two months without internet...something like that. I must say that there were times when it was nice. I did a lot of homework (I completed my summer classes without constant internet access!) and I did even more reading...for school and for my own entertainment. Tom Clancy knows how to tell one intense and exciting story!
On the other hand, if you have a computer, and you've had internet access in the past, then unwillingly going without internet is a royal pain. I had to do everything from my iphone, which does not replace my computer, but yes, the iphone is one revolutionary tool. while i had no internet, i spent many hours on my iphone doing my homework - flicking and pressing and flipping that tiny black screen checking email, twitter, and researching for class. I wrote about 50 pages worth of papers for my english class - much of the research retreived off of my phone. I have much more appreciation for my iphone now, but I don't want to do that again. It was really frustrating.
I feel bad that I haven't had the ability to blog...had I had internet, I could have written in detail some of my experiences from summer session. Here are a few highlights:
-walking on campus in the summer is really cool. Everything is green, it's quiet because everyone is gone, and the people there are really chill because it's beautiful out.
-the kids-on-a-rope continue in their hilarity:
kid on a rope: (pointing to old main) someone's buried there. hey, did you know that someone's buried there?
adult supervisor: no, there is nobody buried there. that's where the university president works.
kid on a rope: no! some guy got killed and they buried him in there!
adult supervisor: no, nobody got killed, and nobody's buried down there.
it was pretty funny, that kid was so sure that old main was haunted or something...
It feels good to be done with school though. Now I have more time to do other things...like fill out applications so I can finally get a job!
Two months without a blog? Must mean two months without internet...something like that. I must say that there were times when it was nice. I did a lot of homework (I completed my summer classes without constant internet access!) and I did even more reading...for school and for my own entertainment. Tom Clancy knows how to tell one intense and exciting story!
On the other hand, if you have a computer, and you've had internet access in the past, then unwillingly going without internet is a royal pain. I had to do everything from my iphone, which does not replace my computer, but yes, the iphone is one revolutionary tool. while i had no internet, i spent many hours on my iphone doing my homework - flicking and pressing and flipping that tiny black screen checking email, twitter, and researching for class. I wrote about 50 pages worth of papers for my english class - much of the research retreived off of my phone. I have much more appreciation for my iphone now, but I don't want to do that again. It was really frustrating.
I feel bad that I haven't had the ability to blog...had I had internet, I could have written in detail some of my experiences from summer session. Here are a few highlights:
-walking on campus in the summer is really cool. Everything is green, it's quiet because everyone is gone, and the people there are really chill because it's beautiful out.
-the kids-on-a-rope continue in their hilarity:
kid on a rope: (pointing to old main) someone's buried there. hey, did you know that someone's buried there?
adult supervisor: no, there is nobody buried there. that's where the university president works.
kid on a rope: no! some guy got killed and they buried him in there!
adult supervisor: no, nobody got killed, and nobody's buried down there.
it was pretty funny, that kid was so sure that old main was haunted or something...
It feels good to be done with school though. Now I have more time to do other things...like fill out applications so I can finally get a job!
Sunday, May 3, 2009
That's My King
I saw this last week during my last ACF of the year. I wanted to write it out but that wouldn't do it justice. If this doesn't get you excited then you don't have a pulse...
Words are by S.M. Lockridge. Hope you like it!
Words are by S.M. Lockridge. Hope you like it!
Monday, March 23, 2009
You said...
...ask and I'll give the nations to you...that's the cry of my heart...
It's been a long time since I've been able to sing this song. If you haven't heard it, check it out...it's a great piece of worship music by Hillsong (do they make a bad worship song?). No lie, it's really good, but I can't sing it. For the past three years or so I want to sit down while everyone else is worshiping. I want to sit and pray.
But for some reason I don't, I remain standing and I pray. Every time I hear this song I feel conviction. Why? Maybe because it isn't the cry of my heart. I want it to be, but if it was, then I'd be sharing my faith a lot more. Then I'd sing the song asking for more of the nations, rejoicing in God's promises.
A digression: I've been going through Hebrews and it's been fantastic. What a strong argument for the Supremacy of Christ? In Hebrews 6:13-20 the author talks about the certainty of God's promise. God blessed Abraham and swore by himself, "Surely I will bless you and multiply you." God swore by himself (because there is nothing greater than himself) to show how serious He is about his promises to Abraham - and us. God wouldn't break a promise He made...that's out of his character, but to show how serious he is, he swears by himself. What does that mean? It means that we can hope, it means that we should press on to seek God because He's not messing around. He's not taking away His promises. Maybe I should stop focusing on the nations part and rejoice that God is faithful to His word instead! Maybe that's the bigger picture of this song.
Now I have gotten off topic. This is how God usually speaks to me. I have an issue, so I think about it, and many times i conclude that i miss the point completely...or maybe I found the point...so maybe I actually found the real topic for this blog...
If that's what you think, then you may want to stop here because I'm about to make my original point...(Digression closed)
But what I think bothers me most about this song is the asking for the nations part, as previously mentioned. What bothers me more is not that it isn't the cry of my heart, but that we, as a church, ask for the nations and don't always follow through with that. I think of my church, Alliance Christian Fellowship - a church of around 200 or so members (and many more regular attendants) on a Penn State campus of over 40,000 people. Men and women from all over the world come to this institution to study whatever they want. Every populated continent, over 100 countries represented...God has given us the nations.
Sometimes we're so busy that we miss the big picture. I'm not trying to be critical of individuals here - I know some people who do a great job of this. I'm terrible at it, but God has provided us a Harvest. He has been faithful, shouldn't we be faithful to him? This song is borderline annoying to me because it's the same thing every time. It's an amazing worship song - the words, the way it builds - and not doubt people raise their hands and respond...but from my perspective, nothing really happens. I'll be the first to admit, that sounds extremely critical...maybe it is...but as powerful as the lyrics of this song are, I don't think we completely grasp it.
A story I once heard:
There once was a church full of ducks. Every Sunday, all of the ducks and little ducklings waddled into the service, sang their little duck songs, and listened to pastor duck's message: "Friends, you have wings! You can fly! Spread your wings and fly!" And all of the ducks and ducklings quacked loudly and joyously at the message, for it was so incredibly true.
And they all waddled out of the church feeling so blessed and encouraged by the message.
I think we should be jumping through windows to meet the nations after we hear this song. THAT is the cry of my heart. For me and my brothers and sisters.
It's been a long time since I've been able to sing this song. If you haven't heard it, check it out...it's a great piece of worship music by Hillsong (do they make a bad worship song?). No lie, it's really good, but I can't sing it. For the past three years or so I want to sit down while everyone else is worshiping. I want to sit and pray.
But for some reason I don't, I remain standing and I pray. Every time I hear this song I feel conviction. Why? Maybe because it isn't the cry of my heart. I want it to be, but if it was, then I'd be sharing my faith a lot more. Then I'd sing the song asking for more of the nations, rejoicing in God's promises.
A digression: I've been going through Hebrews and it's been fantastic. What a strong argument for the Supremacy of Christ? In Hebrews 6:13-20 the author talks about the certainty of God's promise. God blessed Abraham and swore by himself, "Surely I will bless you and multiply you." God swore by himself (because there is nothing greater than himself) to show how serious He is about his promises to Abraham - and us. God wouldn't break a promise He made...that's out of his character, but to show how serious he is, he swears by himself. What does that mean? It means that we can hope, it means that we should press on to seek God because He's not messing around. He's not taking away His promises. Maybe I should stop focusing on the nations part and rejoice that God is faithful to His word instead! Maybe that's the bigger picture of this song.
Now I have gotten off topic. This is how God usually speaks to me. I have an issue, so I think about it, and many times i conclude that i miss the point completely...or maybe I found the point...so maybe I actually found the real topic for this blog...
If that's what you think, then you may want to stop here because I'm about to make my original point...(Digression closed)
But what I think bothers me most about this song is the asking for the nations part, as previously mentioned. What bothers me more is not that it isn't the cry of my heart, but that we, as a church, ask for the nations and don't always follow through with that. I think of my church, Alliance Christian Fellowship - a church of around 200 or so members (and many more regular attendants) on a Penn State campus of over 40,000 people. Men and women from all over the world come to this institution to study whatever they want. Every populated continent, over 100 countries represented...God has given us the nations.
Sometimes we're so busy that we miss the big picture. I'm not trying to be critical of individuals here - I know some people who do a great job of this. I'm terrible at it, but God has provided us a Harvest. He has been faithful, shouldn't we be faithful to him? This song is borderline annoying to me because it's the same thing every time. It's an amazing worship song - the words, the way it builds - and not doubt people raise their hands and respond...but from my perspective, nothing really happens. I'll be the first to admit, that sounds extremely critical...maybe it is...but as powerful as the lyrics of this song are, I don't think we completely grasp it.
A story I once heard:
There once was a church full of ducks. Every Sunday, all of the ducks and little ducklings waddled into the service, sang their little duck songs, and listened to pastor duck's message: "Friends, you have wings! You can fly! Spread your wings and fly!" And all of the ducks and ducklings quacked loudly and joyously at the message, for it was so incredibly true.
And they all waddled out of the church feeling so blessed and encouraged by the message.
I think we should be jumping through windows to meet the nations after we hear this song. THAT is the cry of my heart. For me and my brothers and sisters.
Friday, February 20, 2009
"I Think We're Going Somewhere, We're on to Something Good Here..."
I received this message through my facebook account this morning:
It's that atheist you were bugging a while back. My friends and I got a real laugh from your messages. Still gay for Jesus, or have you discovered science and reason? I highly recommend you read "God is Not Great" by Christopher Hitchens.
Seriously, life is a lot better when you don't believe in a magic man in the sky controlling everything. Frees the mind. Later sheep.
Sweet. And just yesterday I was praying for opportunities to share my faith with people. He'd probably lose it if he knew that. I've never met this guy, but he went to my high school and he's probably 3 years older than me. I messaged this guy when I was a freshman in college - that was three years ago - and we've left each other alone until now. What possessed him to call me out after all this time? Is he really that angry? Pray for him. His name is Dan.
It's that atheist you were bugging a while back. My friends and I got a real laugh from your messages. Still gay for Jesus, or have you discovered science and reason? I highly recommend you read "God is Not Great" by Christopher Hitchens.
Seriously, life is a lot better when you don't believe in a magic man in the sky controlling everything. Frees the mind. Later sheep.
Sweet. And just yesterday I was praying for opportunities to share my faith with people. He'd probably lose it if he knew that. I've never met this guy, but he went to my high school and he's probably 3 years older than me. I messaged this guy when I was a freshman in college - that was three years ago - and we've left each other alone until now. What possessed him to call me out after all this time? Is he really that angry? Pray for him. His name is Dan.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
A Chilly Winter Burn
Dang. It's been a long cold lonely winter...ok...just long and cold, but I feel like I need to make a return to my blog. A return with some authority. Here are some of my (not so serious) thoughts while I've been gone:
The other day while I was walking to class I saw a dude up ahead of me. I wanted to punch him.
His attire: shaved head, a sweater where the collar zips up (i think he had a shirt on underneath), tight slim cut jeans, and flip flops. No lie...it was under 20 degrees outside. While everyone else was layered with winter coats, hats and gloves, this guy was visibly fighting off shivers. No sympathy here, bro. That cup of Starbucks coffee isn't going to get it done. SoCal called, and they want their idiot back.
Still pondering that dude's poor life decision (PLD), I stumbled into another semi-entertaining situation on my way back from class. I saw some guys (they were probably roommates) making a snowman. Snowmen are awesome. If there was enough snow and I had enough time, I'd put snowmen at every bus stop and public bench in the borough of State College. I'd probably give them signs to hold as well. It would be fantastic. But these guys obviously had not been taught the art of snowman building because they had stacked four giant snowballs on top of each other. It looked pretty silly if you ask me. The next morning on my way to class I walked by the snowman to see it toppled over. This is why you don't make snowmen with four snowballs: it doesn't work. It looks like a huge albino turd frozen into the ground. Now I get to stare at it every day until the middle of March.
Along my walk to school it started to snow, but this was different. It was sunny outside. Now State College's weather can be pretty schizophrenic, but I don't think it's ever snowed here while the sun was shining. Raining while sunny...that happens all the time...but never snow. I love it when it's sunny and rainy here. Last spring I saw a rainbow almost every week. It was beautiful! I don't think I liked a sunny snow all that much. It was too bright for my sensitive eyes, but it lead me to think an interesting thought: when it rains and the sun comes out it makes a rainbow...when it snows and the sun comes out it makes a...what? A snowbow? Something tells me that the chemical properties of frozen flakes of water do not allow that to happen, but it was still something to ponder.
I think this cold weather drives people crazy. People don't think straight. Flip flop boy was obviously not all with it that day. It makes other people do crazy things too...
A couple days ago I made a quick stop in the bathroom to witness an interesting sight. This bro rolls in with his music blazing in his ears for everyone to hear; he washes his hands, pees, and walks out.
Did I miss something? Is it now appropriate to wipe before you poop too? I don't understand people sometimes. My story doesn't stop there...
After class, I stop in another bathroom before my next class starts. I don't have to go, but my hands are cold and I like to thaw them out by running my hands under some warm water. I open the door, take one step, and see this chick drying off her hands. We make eye contact, I stop, check the sign on the door (it was definitely a dude symbol) and walk in and wash my hands. I wanted so badly to start talking to her but I don't think her feet touched the ground as she exited the restroom.
Cold weather makes people do wierd things I guess. I don't mind it. Sledding is a blast! And everyone needs a good snowball fight. Then again, I could always go for sunny and a high of 75...
The other day while I was walking to class I saw a dude up ahead of me. I wanted to punch him.
His attire: shaved head, a sweater where the collar zips up (i think he had a shirt on underneath), tight slim cut jeans, and flip flops. No lie...it was under 20 degrees outside. While everyone else was layered with winter coats, hats and gloves, this guy was visibly fighting off shivers. No sympathy here, bro. That cup of Starbucks coffee isn't going to get it done. SoCal called, and they want their idiot back.
Still pondering that dude's poor life decision (PLD), I stumbled into another semi-entertaining situation on my way back from class. I saw some guys (they were probably roommates) making a snowman. Snowmen are awesome. If there was enough snow and I had enough time, I'd put snowmen at every bus stop and public bench in the borough of State College. I'd probably give them signs to hold as well. It would be fantastic. But these guys obviously had not been taught the art of snowman building because they had stacked four giant snowballs on top of each other. It looked pretty silly if you ask me. The next morning on my way to class I walked by the snowman to see it toppled over. This is why you don't make snowmen with four snowballs: it doesn't work. It looks like a huge albino turd frozen into the ground. Now I get to stare at it every day until the middle of March.
Along my walk to school it started to snow, but this was different. It was sunny outside. Now State College's weather can be pretty schizophrenic, but I don't think it's ever snowed here while the sun was shining. Raining while sunny...that happens all the time...but never snow. I love it when it's sunny and rainy here. Last spring I saw a rainbow almost every week. It was beautiful! I don't think I liked a sunny snow all that much. It was too bright for my sensitive eyes, but it lead me to think an interesting thought: when it rains and the sun comes out it makes a rainbow...when it snows and the sun comes out it makes a...what? A snowbow? Something tells me that the chemical properties of frozen flakes of water do not allow that to happen, but it was still something to ponder.
I think this cold weather drives people crazy. People don't think straight. Flip flop boy was obviously not all with it that day. It makes other people do crazy things too...
A couple days ago I made a quick stop in the bathroom to witness an interesting sight. This bro rolls in with his music blazing in his ears for everyone to hear; he washes his hands, pees, and walks out.
Did I miss something? Is it now appropriate to wipe before you poop too? I don't understand people sometimes. My story doesn't stop there...
After class, I stop in another bathroom before my next class starts. I don't have to go, but my hands are cold and I like to thaw them out by running my hands under some warm water. I open the door, take one step, and see this chick drying off her hands. We make eye contact, I stop, check the sign on the door (it was definitely a dude symbol) and walk in and wash my hands. I wanted so badly to start talking to her but I don't think her feet touched the ground as she exited the restroom.
Cold weather makes people do wierd things I guess. I don't mind it. Sledding is a blast! And everyone needs a good snowball fight. Then again, I could always go for sunny and a high of 75...
Friday, January 16, 2009
Chap Stick, Chapped Lips, and...
I apologize to all of you who read this blog (the 3 of you). Finals and winter break really did me in. No creativity here. I promise I'll write something when I think I have something to say. I hate wasting words and I hate wasting your time...like right now...
Dude, it is so freaking cold outside right now! I have class in two hours, and for some reason the word 'skip' continues to run through my mind. The more it happens, the more likely it'll come to pass. Before you go nuts, I'll let you know that it's 4 degrees Fahrenheit...without the wind chill. I don't really want to walk a half hour to sit in class for 50 minutes, and then walk a half hour back. I don't like picking snotsicles off of my face.
It's good to be back at the HOP though. Living with Ryan and Aaron for a semester will be legendary. Those are two smooth cats right there. Nothing but good vibes coming out of the HOP right now. This is a really good living environment if you ask me...wouldn't trade it for anything.
Perhaps it'll give me something to write about later on...
Dude, it is so freaking cold outside right now! I have class in two hours, and for some reason the word 'skip' continues to run through my mind. The more it happens, the more likely it'll come to pass. Before you go nuts, I'll let you know that it's 4 degrees Fahrenheit...without the wind chill. I don't really want to walk a half hour to sit in class for 50 minutes, and then walk a half hour back. I don't like picking snotsicles off of my face.
It's good to be back at the HOP though. Living with Ryan and Aaron for a semester will be legendary. Those are two smooth cats right there. Nothing but good vibes coming out of the HOP right now. This is a really good living environment if you ask me...wouldn't trade it for anything.
Perhaps it'll give me something to write about later on...
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