It has been quite a while since my last blog post. In all specificness, it's been a year and 21 days. I can barely even remember why I stopped making blog posts, since it was so long ago! I do know that I got busy with them. I also know that I got bored with them, despite the obvious need to have them for archiving thoughts, feelings, experiences, and revelations. So, now, I make this new blog post in order to update some as to how my situations have changed, to tell others that I still exist, and (more than anything) to keep myself from growing rusty with my writing.
A lot has happened in just over a year. It's amazing how God works in His amazing ways. Looking back at where I stood a year ago, I can hardly say that I would have imagined myself where I am today. I could hardly imagine that the Love of my life would have provided me a love on earth, one who I found not so long ago.
For those of you who haven't heard, I am indeed engaged to a wonderful lady named Stephanie. She's been a great part of my maturing and time spent this past year, but she hasn't always been with me. You see, in eleven days from this day, I will be marking my one year anniversary of even meeting her!
It was on a rather sunny Saturday on August 21st, 2010 that I met her. She was with our mutual friend, Rachel, and they had come to the student center for a service project. I was there for the same purpose, but for a different reason. While she was coming indoors to escape the heat, I was indoors so as to perform a service project that wouldn't put too much weight on my ankle (I had sprained it the Tuesday before). After coming up, tapping me on the shoulder, and stating that I "look like you're in charge," we sat down to write letters to various people around the campus who had hardships in their life. The campus's main cameraman, the cafeteria ladies, and a staff member who had recently had a family member pass away. So, after figuring all of this out, we were sitting down and conversed for two hours! Granted, it wasn't just the three of us. Somewhere along the line Mullen joined us, and it was a great time of conversation and joking about.
From there it was a steady progression towards a solid friendship for the two of us. While some things about her made me suspicious as to this friendship with her, it didn't take long for us to really bond with what we have the most in common: God. Since the beginning it has always been God that has drawn us together, and while other topics and other interests in each other might have permeated the friendship, God has taken the cake, pie, ice cream, cobbler, cookies, and every other dessert-like item as for our main topic of discussion.
It was about October that I think that both of us came to the same conclusion: that God was meaning for us to pursue a relationship with each other. The only thing really stopping me from calling up her dad and talking to him immediately is that Stephanie had sworn against having a relationship her first semester of "real" college life.
So, the end of the semester came, and we separated for the Christmas break. Not for too terribly long (although it seemed like forever), since on January 5th I flew up to the Kansas City area to meet her family. That week I met the wonderful people that will someday soon be my in-laws, and I can't wait to get to spend time with them throughout my life. Sure, they're sort of crazy, but so is my family, and I'm sure so is every family in America in their own rights. They've taught me a lot, and I hope that I've taught them a few things as well.
So, on January 8th I asked Stephanie's father if I could court his daughter.
For those of you out there who aren't familiar with today's courting idea, let me tell you a bit about it. From the beginning of a relationship it's entirely different from a dating relationship. For starters, you don't pursue a relationship with a person just because you like them. While I can't honestly say that I didn't like Stephanie before we started courting, it was something else that brought us together to court. You see, it's not physical attraction that caused me to make a flight two states away from home and ask her father if I could court her. It was because I truly, honestly, and whole heartedly felt that God was moving us together to form a relationship together.
After that, while dating might focus a lot on going out and having fun, courting doesn't focus on that. Yes, there are fun times to be had, but we don't do it on dates. You see, the focus isn't on just having fun and then, if the person you're dating doesn't work out, throwing the person away for somebody else "more fun". It's focus is creating a God-filled, Christ-focused relationship that's end result is a marriage. I used to call courtship the pre-engagement-engagement, but it's different than that. It's the exploration of whether this person is the one that God has meant for you, not by the means of whether or not you've got things in common, but by the means of finding God's will for your relationship.
And, if you haven't connected the dots yet, I found that God's will for our relationship was that of us eventually being married to one another. So, after asking her dad if I could court her, and then praying about it, I asked Stephanie if she would court me on January 10th. The next three months would progress our dedication to God and to each other, and while there were challenges, trials, and distractions, we came out unscathed because our Father protects us from all things.
During spring break of 2011, while visiting her family again, I once again confronted her dad. This time, to ask for permission to be engaged. This eventually led to him giving me permission several weeks later.
(Included in that spring break trip was my interview with the elders of East Independence Church of Christ. You see, I had visited their church a few times by then, and I had asked if they wanted an intern for the summer. Coincidentally, they had been wanting to start an intern program since their last intern, Jesse (who now gets his main missionary support from EICOC). Jesse had been the first intern, a decade ago, and so I had to both fill some big shoes as well as get an internship program's kinks worked out if I was going to be the intern. The day after my meeting with them, they called and offered me the position. I, of course, accepted, and so I've been the East Independence Church of Christ intern for the entire summer.)
So, since I had been given permission to propose, I made plans. On April 10th, at approximately 2:00pm, I proposed to Stephanie in the student center (the time/place that we had met, three months after the start of the courtship).
Since then, it has been such an amazing ride in engagement. The past four months have been filled with everything from tears to unstoppable laughter. From anger, to holding hands and watching people be people. We've both challenged, triumphed over the challenges, and have matured and grown from the experiences. It has been an adventure, one that I wouldn't give up for anything here on life.
So, here's to seven months of courting and four months of being engaged to a wonderful lady. Here's to overcoming the world's thoughts about what we're doing, and instead following God's will for our lives. Here's to loving God more than we love each other. Here's to knowing that we'd be nowhere, especially here with each other, if it weren't for the One who made the heavens and the earth, the waters and the skies, and all the things that we know today as our home.
May we have another seven months of being together, and in eleven days I hope we have many more years of knowing and growing together.
P.S.-This is not cheating to use this as a method of telling you "HAPPY SEVEN/FOUR MONTHS!" :p
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Friday, July 30, 2010
The Tapestry Continues
So, once again I'm going to use a filler poem for my blog post. What it is this time is the second part of the Tapestry poem series for me. This one was written a little over two years after the first one. So, this time I've become a Christian, but I still want to retain a bit of that same thought pattern in order to finish the series (for now). I forgot to mention that the first part was written in memory of my great-grandfather Troy Wood. This second part is written in memory of my grandfather, James Baker. I suppose that there might eventually be a third part, but I'm really hoping that it's not for a very long time. Anyways, here's the second installment of the series:
The Tapestry Continues
By: Trinity Baker (originally posted under the alias of Luminick)
It’s been a new generation, a new life,
A new perspective on fate’s will.
Years have passed,
And new happenings have come and gone.
The Tapestry of Life and Fate continues,
Weaving together into an everlasting fabric,
Giving meaning to life, death, and all in between.
I have now encountered my own fate,
I have now set the things into motion,
For those loved ones that follow after me,
Though this all started several decades ago.
When I found you, I wasn’t at my highest,
For that would only come when our hearts conjoined.
Love ensued, and our hearts grew older,
Though we were granted blessings along the way.
Years passed by in blurs, and jobs and instances did as well,
But the years still yielded us two beautiful boys.
Years slipped past, and our lives continued.
Friends, loved ones, family,
All began to disappear before our very eyes.
Sad days came, happy days followed behind,
But my body began to ache.
It was evident that I wouldn’t last forever,
But I still fought for you three,
As well as what was soon to come.
Our sons brought forth grandchildren,
A girl and a boy at first,
But eventually also came one more, the smallest one,
With the biggest heart.
They’ve each grown throughout the years,
And have each proven their worth.
The boys have grown handsome,
The girl beautiful,
But it only pains me to know that I won’t be there forever.
Indeed, happy times come for the oldest, the first boy,
But at the same time my body aches more.
I’m confined to a bed for far too long,
Without given the chance to stand before my family.
My life goes by without me,
And things happen beyond my control.
You hold my hand, dear, as I go,
And I’m sorry I have to leave you.
Your eyes grow heavy with tears,
And I am unable to wipe them away.
My time in the Tapestry of Life and Fate wanes away,
But my influence will not be lost.
Just remember, my dearest,
That when your own time comes,
I’ll be waiting here for you.
You’ll find me next to the pine trees,
With the whispering river nearby,
And I’ll be waiting for the time,
When it’s just two people again.
You and Me.
The Tapestry Continues
By: Trinity Baker (originally posted under the alias of Luminick)
It’s been a new generation, a new life,
A new perspective on fate’s will.
Years have passed,
And new happenings have come and gone.
The Tapestry of Life and Fate continues,
Weaving together into an everlasting fabric,
Giving meaning to life, death, and all in between.
I have now encountered my own fate,
I have now set the things into motion,
For those loved ones that follow after me,
Though this all started several decades ago.
When I found you, I wasn’t at my highest,
For that would only come when our hearts conjoined.
Love ensued, and our hearts grew older,
Though we were granted blessings along the way.
Years passed by in blurs, and jobs and instances did as well,
But the years still yielded us two beautiful boys.
Years slipped past, and our lives continued.
Friends, loved ones, family,
All began to disappear before our very eyes.
Sad days came, happy days followed behind,
But my body began to ache.
It was evident that I wouldn’t last forever,
But I still fought for you three,
As well as what was soon to come.
Our sons brought forth grandchildren,
A girl and a boy at first,
But eventually also came one more, the smallest one,
With the biggest heart.
They’ve each grown throughout the years,
And have each proven their worth.
The boys have grown handsome,
The girl beautiful,
But it only pains me to know that I won’t be there forever.
Indeed, happy times come for the oldest, the first boy,
But at the same time my body aches more.
I’m confined to a bed for far too long,
Without given the chance to stand before my family.
My life goes by without me,
And things happen beyond my control.
You hold my hand, dear, as I go,
And I’m sorry I have to leave you.
Your eyes grow heavy with tears,
And I am unable to wipe them away.
My time in the Tapestry of Life and Fate wanes away,
But my influence will not be lost.
Just remember, my dearest,
That when your own time comes,
I’ll be waiting here for you.
You’ll find me next to the pine trees,
With the whispering river nearby,
And I’ll be waiting for the time,
When it’s just two people again.
You and Me.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Tapestry of Life and Fate
So, I haven't had much to report on these last few days. I've finished one of the four books that I'm required to get for class. As for why I've been so into reading the books for class, I have no idea. Shouldn't I be getting back to the Bible? Yeah, probably, but since I don't have anything else to report, I'm going to give you a poem that I wrote ages ago instead.
You'll probably notice that I use old poems as sort of fillers for when I can't think of anything to write. This poem was written back in 2005, approximately two years before I became a Christian. It gives you a very brief look into how I viewed the world as an individual who believed in nothing beyond death but still had the background of a Christian culture (from school mainly as living with my mother only afforded me a little spiritual experience). So, without any further ado, the poem:
Tapestry of Life and Fate
By: Trinity Baker (originally posted under the alias of Luminick on Deviantart.com)
In each life was a separate,
living thread in space,
then our lives would pull together,
forming an enormous blanket,
an enormous quilt,
a tapestry of life and fate.
The web would spin itself,
its long strands entwining with others,
making pictures of entire lifetimes.
It would show couples, singles,
siblings, parents, teachers, peers,
and all in between.
Within it, your fate and mine are tangled,
our strands showing us the way in life,
and as we travel this path our strands grow longer,
and the pictures of our life are shown.
We're happy, having the best time of our lives,
the only loosening of our threads being small,
showing our movements too and from our daily duties,
and then quickly joining only to be intertwined once more.
Life goes on, and years pass,
we grow up quiet fast.
Two new strands have joined us,
twisting around and between us,
showing us more love and sympathy then we will ever know.
Our Children.
We meet other couples,
with their own children and friends,
weaving around us in a comfortable,
secure netting of tapestry strands.
Soon we have met entire communities of strands,
all of our fates connected to ours,
and ours likewise to theirs.
Our life seems to go by faster,
our children grow up faster than we do,
and they create strands of their own,
grand children and great-grandchildren,
new gifts for our strands to tighten around.
We slowly loose touch with other couples,
and their children, and friends,
our strands slowly leaving ours,
and going on their own, separate paths.
Our strands seem to shine brighter than ever,
happy times, referred to by all by a mere three words.
The Golden Years.
We're getting old now,
our life's memories fading,
and the life from our strands being to fade,
to become a dim glow of what they once were.
Then you became sick,
damaged beyond all repair,
and your strand struggles to stay straight,
and in what seems like an instant,
your strand vanishes,
no longer in existence,
and my own strand suddenly has nothing to hold onto.
I weep for you,
to try to get you backs,
weeks go by without my notice,
but I already know you are forever gone,
lost to the never stopping world.
For your lose I am forced to have a new strand,
one that is non-human,
to join my own at our now lonely home.
It provides me with company,
although it's not in it's best behavior.
I am slowly losing my memories,
my body slowly becoming like yours,
and I know that my strand is straining,
trying so desperately to stay straight,
to follow it's course and continue onward.
Therefore, finally my strand gives out,
suddenly going bright,
before dimming further than before,
and then going out completely.
I am finally gone from the world,
and the strands of our children,
our grand children and great- grand children,
still shine bright behind us,
carrying on our legacy.
Yet the Tapestry of Life and Fate,
nonstop and never ending as it is,
continued to weave itself,
the picture of us slowly fading away,
but its purpose remaining the same.
Although it seems though it can’t be,
the tapestry is finally missing something,
something it never had long,
yet it would treasure forever more.
You and Me.
You'll probably notice that I use old poems as sort of fillers for when I can't think of anything to write. This poem was written back in 2005, approximately two years before I became a Christian. It gives you a very brief look into how I viewed the world as an individual who believed in nothing beyond death but still had the background of a Christian culture (from school mainly as living with my mother only afforded me a little spiritual experience). So, without any further ado, the poem:
Tapestry of Life and Fate
By: Trinity Baker (originally posted under the alias of Luminick on Deviantart.com)
In each life was a separate,
living thread in space,
then our lives would pull together,
forming an enormous blanket,
an enormous quilt,
a tapestry of life and fate.
The web would spin itself,
its long strands entwining with others,
making pictures of entire lifetimes.
It would show couples, singles,
siblings, parents, teachers, peers,
and all in between.
Within it, your fate and mine are tangled,
our strands showing us the way in life,
and as we travel this path our strands grow longer,
and the pictures of our life are shown.
We're happy, having the best time of our lives,
the only loosening of our threads being small,
showing our movements too and from our daily duties,
and then quickly joining only to be intertwined once more.
Life goes on, and years pass,
we grow up quiet fast.
Two new strands have joined us,
twisting around and between us,
showing us more love and sympathy then we will ever know.
Our Children.
We meet other couples,
with their own children and friends,
weaving around us in a comfortable,
secure netting of tapestry strands.
Soon we have met entire communities of strands,
all of our fates connected to ours,
and ours likewise to theirs.
Our life seems to go by faster,
our children grow up faster than we do,
and they create strands of their own,
grand children and great-grandchildren,
new gifts for our strands to tighten around.
We slowly loose touch with other couples,
and their children, and friends,
our strands slowly leaving ours,
and going on their own, separate paths.
Our strands seem to shine brighter than ever,
happy times, referred to by all by a mere three words.
The Golden Years.
We're getting old now,
our life's memories fading,
and the life from our strands being to fade,
to become a dim glow of what they once were.
Then you became sick,
damaged beyond all repair,
and your strand struggles to stay straight,
and in what seems like an instant,
your strand vanishes,
no longer in existence,
and my own strand suddenly has nothing to hold onto.
I weep for you,
to try to get you backs,
weeks go by without my notice,
but I already know you are forever gone,
lost to the never stopping world.
For your lose I am forced to have a new strand,
one that is non-human,
to join my own at our now lonely home.
It provides me with company,
although it's not in it's best behavior.
I am slowly losing my memories,
my body slowly becoming like yours,
and I know that my strand is straining,
trying so desperately to stay straight,
to follow it's course and continue onward.
Therefore, finally my strand gives out,
suddenly going bright,
before dimming further than before,
and then going out completely.
I am finally gone from the world,
and the strands of our children,
our grand children and great- grand children,
still shine bright behind us,
carrying on our legacy.
Yet the Tapestry of Life and Fate,
nonstop and never ending as it is,
continued to weave itself,
the picture of us slowly fading away,
but its purpose remaining the same.
Although it seems though it can’t be,
the tapestry is finally missing something,
something it never had long,
yet it would treasure forever more.
You and Me.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Still
Ready for another amazing essay of epic proportions? No? Well tough cookies. I actually have no idea at all how long this is going to be, but, you have to admit, I do write some freakishly long blog posts. I just get into these moods (everyday) where I want to write about something. What I actually intend to write about, and what I end up writing about, are two entirely different things. What's my topic(s) for today? I have no clue. I'll get there when I get there, eh?
Well, over the past few days I've been having myself a bit of a break. Nothing unusual, as I seem to do that...a lot. Saturday I went out and hung out with a bunch of cousins. Their names? I have no clue. Their ages? Who cares. The time? A blast. This same group of people has this sort of shindig around this same time every year. I enjoyed last year's escapades, and I also enjoyed this year. I got to see Nathan (who I don't remember from last year, but apparently he was there), and found out that he wants to be a poli sci major. I had a few choice pieces of information in order to set him on the path that he should probably go. I told him to do his research before he gets to college and declares political science to be his major, and told him a bit about the ordeal that I went through with my short lived political science major path. I also told him the piece of advice given to me by an uncle of a friend: you don't have to be a political science or pre-law major in order to become a lawyer, which is what he wanted to do. It all matters as to what your major has you doing and what grade you get on the LSAT. Everything else is variable. So, whether or not he decides to pursue political science, that's his deal. I'm not going to force my views onto him. He's a smart kid after all.
Speaking of smart kids, I'm very happy with my little sister and my adopted little brother. Both have decided to continue on with their own education. Brittney is apparently going to be going into cosmetology, and I couldn't be proud of her. If that's what she wants to do, then I couldn't be more happy for her. Whether or not she realizes it, I do love my little sister. I don't always approve of some of her minor habits (and she probably knows exactly which ones those are), but I'm not going to make a big deal about it.
As for my adopted little brother, I'm glad that he told me that he'll be going to school as well. He'll apparently be going into computer networking, which is an always growing industry here in America. I'm proud of him too, and as long as he's happy then I'm happy. I'm fairly certain that he couldn't understand at all how much I love him, even if he's not technically family. Whatever things that are missing from my relationship with my sister, I've somehow managed to get with Nathan. He's the little brother that I never had, and I couldn't be happier at his decision.
As for my own aspirations, I think that I'll start this part of the one-sided conversation with a single word: fail. I was hoping that Jon would catch up with me in the Psalm Studies, but instead this guy not only catches up with, but he finishes the entire book while I'm waiting on him. Granted, I didn't wait long. It took him a grand total of two or three days to finish the entire book. So that left me out of a reason to post more Psalm Study blogs. Oh well. I still have yet to finish the book since I've been taking my now week long break. I really should get back to the Bible or else I'm not going to finish it by the time that I get to Harding.
Four weeks from today I get to move into Cone! It's so close, I can taste it! I can also taste the massive puff of cat fur that managed to find its way into my mouth a few moments ago. Kinda grainy. Not a good taste or texture. I wouldn't advise it.
As if to torture me with the upcoming trip to Searcy, I've been getting my school books in the mail bit by bit. Two out of the four books that I've ordered have come in so far. This is the first time that I've ever actually bought the books from another source than the school itself, so we'll see how this whole ordeal works in the end. I'll decide if it was worth it at the end of the semester when I sell the books again (should I decide to actually sell them, that is). If I make a profit like I think I will, then I'll probably do it again. I like profits.
I spent a lot of time at the mall with Nathan, Whitney, and Na-kun yesterday. I had a good time, and got to support a local business. I really do hope that the Chocolate Box, located in the Abilene Mall, stays in business despite the candy chain that opened up two stores down. I think that they did a good job by changing the format of the store so that it was different than the chain, that way they can keep up the competition. Besides, the two who own the store aren't young enough to just get up and start again. We're talking an elderly couple who have owned that store forever. If they lose that store because of not making enough profit then they might lose their only source of reasonable income! So, I'll buy from them whenever I have enough money to do so. They're nice to me, I'll be nice to them.
On a very slight side note, I saw an old friend at the mall who I haven't seen in well over a year. She's lost some weight since the last time I saw her (not that she was a big girl, as she was rather thin to begin with). Her body has some different curves than the last time that I saw her, and I actually didn't recognize her at first. Nathan was the one who recognized her, and I argued with him that it wasn't her. I lost the argument. My bad. It didn't help that she was wearing glasses as well. So, moral of the story? Don't argue with your adopted little brother that the girl standing in line for pizza was actually a version of your friend that you don't recognize physically. The other moral of the story? I miss the Daniel family...and the Oakeley family...and the Miculka family....and the West family...and the Blackburn family...and the King family...and the Weeks family... and a lot of other families. Doesn't help that I don't have any form of transportation to hang out with said families.
So, to wrap this up, I'm proud of my siblings, I've had some good times this weekend/Monday/Tuesday, and I am a slacker at the Bible. Also, I miss lots of people. By the way, in case anybody is wondering, I keep getting the name of my blogs from songs. You should look up the songs, if you don't know them anyways. Some aren't exactly clean, but they depict my mood at that moment. So...yeah...
Audios.
Well, over the past few days I've been having myself a bit of a break. Nothing unusual, as I seem to do that...a lot. Saturday I went out and hung out with a bunch of cousins. Their names? I have no clue. Their ages? Who cares. The time? A blast. This same group of people has this sort of shindig around this same time every year. I enjoyed last year's escapades, and I also enjoyed this year. I got to see Nathan (who I don't remember from last year, but apparently he was there), and found out that he wants to be a poli sci major. I had a few choice pieces of information in order to set him on the path that he should probably go. I told him to do his research before he gets to college and declares political science to be his major, and told him a bit about the ordeal that I went through with my short lived political science major path. I also told him the piece of advice given to me by an uncle of a friend: you don't have to be a political science or pre-law major in order to become a lawyer, which is what he wanted to do. It all matters as to what your major has you doing and what grade you get on the LSAT. Everything else is variable. So, whether or not he decides to pursue political science, that's his deal. I'm not going to force my views onto him. He's a smart kid after all.
Speaking of smart kids, I'm very happy with my little sister and my adopted little brother. Both have decided to continue on with their own education. Brittney is apparently going to be going into cosmetology, and I couldn't be proud of her. If that's what she wants to do, then I couldn't be more happy for her. Whether or not she realizes it, I do love my little sister. I don't always approve of some of her minor habits (and she probably knows exactly which ones those are), but I'm not going to make a big deal about it.
As for my adopted little brother, I'm glad that he told me that he'll be going to school as well. He'll apparently be going into computer networking, which is an always growing industry here in America. I'm proud of him too, and as long as he's happy then I'm happy. I'm fairly certain that he couldn't understand at all how much I love him, even if he's not technically family. Whatever things that are missing from my relationship with my sister, I've somehow managed to get with Nathan. He's the little brother that I never had, and I couldn't be happier at his decision.
As for my own aspirations, I think that I'll start this part of the one-sided conversation with a single word: fail. I was hoping that Jon would catch up with me in the Psalm Studies, but instead this guy not only catches up with, but he finishes the entire book while I'm waiting on him. Granted, I didn't wait long. It took him a grand total of two or three days to finish the entire book. So that left me out of a reason to post more Psalm Study blogs. Oh well. I still have yet to finish the book since I've been taking my now week long break. I really should get back to the Bible or else I'm not going to finish it by the time that I get to Harding.
Four weeks from today I get to move into Cone! It's so close, I can taste it! I can also taste the massive puff of cat fur that managed to find its way into my mouth a few moments ago. Kinda grainy. Not a good taste or texture. I wouldn't advise it.
As if to torture me with the upcoming trip to Searcy, I've been getting my school books in the mail bit by bit. Two out of the four books that I've ordered have come in so far. This is the first time that I've ever actually bought the books from another source than the school itself, so we'll see how this whole ordeal works in the end. I'll decide if it was worth it at the end of the semester when I sell the books again (should I decide to actually sell them, that is). If I make a profit like I think I will, then I'll probably do it again. I like profits.
I spent a lot of time at the mall with Nathan, Whitney, and Na-kun yesterday. I had a good time, and got to support a local business. I really do hope that the Chocolate Box, located in the Abilene Mall, stays in business despite the candy chain that opened up two stores down. I think that they did a good job by changing the format of the store so that it was different than the chain, that way they can keep up the competition. Besides, the two who own the store aren't young enough to just get up and start again. We're talking an elderly couple who have owned that store forever. If they lose that store because of not making enough profit then they might lose their only source of reasonable income! So, I'll buy from them whenever I have enough money to do so. They're nice to me, I'll be nice to them.
On a very slight side note, I saw an old friend at the mall who I haven't seen in well over a year. She's lost some weight since the last time I saw her (not that she was a big girl, as she was rather thin to begin with). Her body has some different curves than the last time that I saw her, and I actually didn't recognize her at first. Nathan was the one who recognized her, and I argued with him that it wasn't her. I lost the argument. My bad. It didn't help that she was wearing glasses as well. So, moral of the story? Don't argue with your adopted little brother that the girl standing in line for pizza was actually a version of your friend that you don't recognize physically. The other moral of the story? I miss the Daniel family...and the Oakeley family...and the Miculka family....and the West family...and the Blackburn family...and the King family...and the Weeks family... and a lot of other families. Doesn't help that I don't have any form of transportation to hang out with said families.
So, to wrap this up, I'm proud of my siblings, I've had some good times this weekend/Monday/Tuesday, and I am a slacker at the Bible. Also, I miss lots of people. By the way, in case anybody is wondering, I keep getting the name of my blogs from songs. You should look up the songs, if you don't know them anyways. Some aren't exactly clean, but they depict my mood at that moment. So...yeah...
Audios.
Friday, July 16, 2010
The Remedy (I Won't Worry)
So what has happened over the past two days? Loads of things, despite the fact that I generally like to downplay important things. I guess the first thing of note is that I started the Psalm studies (see the below post). I'm going to hold off on the next one until he catches up, and then I'm going to continue with 80-89. I've already learned that I can get a lot more out of a psalm if I'm making a study plan from it, even if I'm only technically making half the study plan. So, yeah, that's a good thing for me.
Second, is that I'm guessing that Communion Circle will begin once again the Sunday before school starts, August 22nd. I'll once again be doing the sermon, but this year we're going to switch things up a bit. Frank wants to do a series with me where we do back-to-back sermons from week-to-week, with breaks between sermon parts for those who are interested in preaching themselves. I'm really hopeful that others will want to preach this year, because it really is a good experience to have, no matter your profession. You learn how to look at the Bible in a different light and pick out details like you never have before. It's like every single word matters suddenly, and so you cling to every word like a life line. Then there's finding supporting material for what you're wanting to talk about. It's so exciting!
I went to the eye doctor yesterday afternoon. That was a lovely experience, as I've always loved my debates with Dr. Carter. What I don't like is being chewed out for missing appointments. You don't think that the fire in my right eye is punishment enough? What about going blind when I step outside? Yeah, I'm sure that I've had punishment enough, thanks. No need to dig it in at all.
What I also didn't like was that the topic of Dr. Carter's debate was about politics, which is nothing unusual, but this is the first time that my dad has accompanied me to the doctor's. Ever. I can not recall a time when he took me otherwise. Anyways, my political past has me having voted for Obama. Not a big deal, since I voted in Texas and Texas ended up completely red anyways, which, for anybody who knows anything about Texan politics, was not a surprise. So my dad, being reminded that I voted for Obama, then takes the time (about twenty minutes) to argue with me in the car that I voted for a Muslim who just so happens to be the Antichrist.
[rant]
First of all, I was pretty sure that we were done with the whole 'Obama is the Antichrist!' ordeal. I'll accept that Hitler or Osama Bin Laden is the Antichrist over Obama anyday. Killed millions of people, terrorized nations, and leaders of a virtual butcher squad against the guy who is killing the United States economy. Maybe he's the Economic Antichrist, OH NO!!!!! Psha, the entire idea that he's the Antichrist is a joke. I'm fairly certain that the REAL Antichrist won't have people pointing fingers at him from all sides. After all, this guy/girl will be the master of deceiving people, and yet Obama apparently can't deceive my father. Not very much of a deceiver if he can't even get my dad.
You know, I don't even care if he's a Muslim (please keep focused, and don't flame me yet, because I'm about to tell you why). If you'd actually read the Quran for what it is as a whole, you'll realize that they're not bad people when it comes to their religion. It's those who butcher their religion that become the feared individuals that they are. The same exact thing happens with Christians, and you all know it. There are Christian extremists here in Texas who stockpiled guns and attempted to go against the United States military. The Branch Davidians are still in Texas, believe it or not, but does anybody raise their voice to tell others that the Branch Davidians are out to get us? Absolutely not. They're Christians after all, and who would ever want to talk badly about any Christian extremist groups? *cough* *cough* But that's just one group, right? There can't possibly be more than one Christian extremist group... Ku Klux Klan, Army of God, Lambs of Christ, Hutaree...
But if he's a Muslim (which I'm not sure that anybody's proven, since he's had connections to a Chicago Church of Christ since 1985, which is coming on 25 years of being in a Church of Christ), and this is a primarily Christian nation, shouldn't we still be afraid? Romans 13:1-7. Governing authorities do not exist, unless God puts them there. By the way, if you read those verses, and you're thinking to yourself 'This is a democracy, we vote our leaders in,' then maybe you should take a gander at what God can do with people's hearts. Can he change people's hearts to do what he needs them to do for his master plan? Absolutely. Happens all the time in the Bible. So, because of this, I'm going to deal with him like I would a fully accepted Christian president: I'll pay my taxes and give to Caesar what is Caesar's. Done deal, everybody's happy. Not that I actually pay taxes now anyways. The government actually owes me money right now.
So what have we learned today class? Obama is a member of the Church of Christ, Romans 13: 1-7 tells us that ALL ruling authorities are put there by God, and I don't give a care if you think he's the Antichrist.
[/rant]
The rest of my time has just been spent relaxing, sleeping, and praying that my eye doesn't have to have a cornea transplant. Surprise! I might have to have that done if the steroid drops that I'm supposed to be getting in about an hour don't work. That'll be lovely if it happens. So...yeah...if you guys wouldn't mind praying for my eyes to heal, that'd be great. It's one of the few times that you'll actually hear me asking for prayers on my own part.
Anyways, until next time...
Second, is that I'm guessing that Communion Circle will begin once again the Sunday before school starts, August 22nd. I'll once again be doing the sermon, but this year we're going to switch things up a bit. Frank wants to do a series with me where we do back-to-back sermons from week-to-week, with breaks between sermon parts for those who are interested in preaching themselves. I'm really hopeful that others will want to preach this year, because it really is a good experience to have, no matter your profession. You learn how to look at the Bible in a different light and pick out details like you never have before. It's like every single word matters suddenly, and so you cling to every word like a life line. Then there's finding supporting material for what you're wanting to talk about. It's so exciting!
I went to the eye doctor yesterday afternoon. That was a lovely experience, as I've always loved my debates with Dr. Carter. What I don't like is being chewed out for missing appointments. You don't think that the fire in my right eye is punishment enough? What about going blind when I step outside? Yeah, I'm sure that I've had punishment enough, thanks. No need to dig it in at all.
What I also didn't like was that the topic of Dr. Carter's debate was about politics, which is nothing unusual, but this is the first time that my dad has accompanied me to the doctor's. Ever. I can not recall a time when he took me otherwise. Anyways, my political past has me having voted for Obama. Not a big deal, since I voted in Texas and Texas ended up completely red anyways, which, for anybody who knows anything about Texan politics, was not a surprise. So my dad, being reminded that I voted for Obama, then takes the time (about twenty minutes) to argue with me in the car that I voted for a Muslim who just so happens to be the Antichrist.
[rant]
First of all, I was pretty sure that we were done with the whole 'Obama is the Antichrist!' ordeal. I'll accept that Hitler or Osama Bin Laden is the Antichrist over Obama anyday. Killed millions of people, terrorized nations, and leaders of a virtual butcher squad against the guy who is killing the United States economy. Maybe he's the Economic Antichrist, OH NO!!!!! Psha, the entire idea that he's the Antichrist is a joke. I'm fairly certain that the REAL Antichrist won't have people pointing fingers at him from all sides. After all, this guy/girl will be the master of deceiving people, and yet Obama apparently can't deceive my father. Not very much of a deceiver if he can't even get my dad.
You know, I don't even care if he's a Muslim (please keep focused, and don't flame me yet, because I'm about to tell you why). If you'd actually read the Quran for what it is as a whole, you'll realize that they're not bad people when it comes to their religion. It's those who butcher their religion that become the feared individuals that they are. The same exact thing happens with Christians, and you all know it. There are Christian extremists here in Texas who stockpiled guns and attempted to go against the United States military. The Branch Davidians are still in Texas, believe it or not, but does anybody raise their voice to tell others that the Branch Davidians are out to get us? Absolutely not. They're Christians after all, and who would ever want to talk badly about any Christian extremist groups? *cough* *cough* But that's just one group, right? There can't possibly be more than one Christian extremist group... Ku Klux Klan, Army of God, Lambs of Christ, Hutaree...
But if he's a Muslim (which I'm not sure that anybody's proven, since he's had connections to a Chicago Church of Christ since 1985, which is coming on 25 years of being in a Church of Christ), and this is a primarily Christian nation, shouldn't we still be afraid? Romans 13:1-7. Governing authorities do not exist, unless God puts them there. By the way, if you read those verses, and you're thinking to yourself 'This is a democracy, we vote our leaders in,' then maybe you should take a gander at what God can do with people's hearts. Can he change people's hearts to do what he needs them to do for his master plan? Absolutely. Happens all the time in the Bible. So, because of this, I'm going to deal with him like I would a fully accepted Christian president: I'll pay my taxes and give to Caesar what is Caesar's. Done deal, everybody's happy. Not that I actually pay taxes now anyways. The government actually owes me money right now.
So what have we learned today class? Obama is a member of the Church of Christ, Romans 13: 1-7 tells us that ALL ruling authorities are put there by God, and I don't give a care if you think he's the Antichrist.
[/rant]
The rest of my time has just been spent relaxing, sleeping, and praying that my eye doesn't have to have a cornea transplant. Surprise! I might have to have that done if the steroid drops that I'm supposed to be getting in about an hour don't work. That'll be lovely if it happens. So...yeah...if you guys wouldn't mind praying for my eyes to heal, that'd be great. It's one of the few times that you'll actually hear me asking for prayers on my own part.
Anyways, until next time...
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Psalm Studies, Part 1
Well, the other day I revealed for the first time that I had been reading pretty close to a book a day from the Bible (even though the two days before my fasting I actually managed two a day, which afforded me my break). I think that it's because of this status on Facebook that a friend of mine decided to ask me for help when it comes to studying the wisdom literature. Since I'm doing that portion right now anyways (granted, at a much faster speed than these psalm studies will be done, because I have to get finished by school starting), I accepted both the chance to help him, and for him to help me.
With that being said, anybody who wishes to comment on these studies is welcome to, though they are going to be aimed only at a specific person. You never know, possibly your comment will spark a drive for further reading into the Psalms and other wisdom literature. God uses us to get what he needs done, and sometimes we don't even realize it when it happens.
So, to begin, we'll be starting from Psalm 70 and going until Psalm 80. This weird starting point is due to my having already read up to that point in the literature, but after we've covered up to 150 we'll do a turn around and go from 1 to 69.
Throughout this study I'll do various things, hopefully to provide better insight into what these psalms can mean for us. At the top of the studies I'll post a few songs that you can listen to while reading the psalms. In addition to Youtube, you can find these songs on a progressively growing playlist among my playlists (http://www.playlist.com/luminick/playlists). Then I'll start listing each psalm by number only, because I don't know which version everybody uses. Any quotes from me will come from the ESV, just for future reference. Along with each psalm's number listing will come two (hopefully) questions, one from a book (Search the Scripture, edited by Alan M. Stibbs), the other from my own personal thoughts. The first will always be from the book itself, so the second (or any others) will always be from my own thoughts and studies. I won't be placing my answers to the questions up until after you've answered yourself, so as to not to influence what you see in the psalms while reading them. While you don't specifically have to answer the questions themselves in the comments, any thought you have on the questions or the psalms is expected. So, here we go:
Songs:
1. Song of Hope by Robbie Seay Band
2. Life is Beautiful by Press Play
3. Here I Am To Worship by Passion (or any other band you like)
4. Whispers In The Dark by Skillet
5. My Beloved by Kari Jobe
Psalm 70
1. What does the psalmist expect God to do for him and be to him?
2. I see this psalm as having two very distinct ideas, both of which have appeared in an earlier psalm (the last two parts of Psalm 40). How can we use these two ideas and combine them into a singular motivation?
Psalm 71
1. Do you make similar confessions to God when you pray?
2. I found this psalm very similar to Job's portrayal in the first chapter of Job. How do you think that this psalm teaches us to act on a day-to-day basis? She we be like Job and the psalmist in our praise and glory towards God?
Psalm 72
1. [This is apparently one of the prophetic psalms.] What are the two outstanding personal characteristics of Christ as King, as seen in this psalm?
2. I liked that this was a prayer by David about his son, Solomon, and his reign over Israel. Do you think that this should be a portrayal of fatherhood that we should uphold as well?
Psalm 73
1. Can you honestly and enthusiastically make the confession of verse 25?
2. How can we compare today's standard culture to this psalm's culture? Have we really changed that much in 2000+ years?
Psalm 74
1. As a Christian, can you face disaster and discomfort with such an assurance about God?
2. The psalmist seems to order God around a few times in this psalm. Do you think that we have any right to tell God exactly what to do, or is it foolish of us to think so?
Psalm 75
1. What characteristics of God's judgment are mentioned?
2. What can we think of as God being our Judge in everyday situations?
Psalm 76
1. What is God's purpose in acting in judgment?
2. Compare God to what you think about when you think of Zeus, or any other ancient thunder/lightning God. How is God in this psalm different than those other, false deities? How can we show those who still might believe in the false deities that God is the supreme ruler, with only using general revelation (aka, anything that's not from the Bible or Bible related)?
Psalm 77
1. What was the chief question underlying [the psalmist's] distress?
2. Whenever I worry, I find that the easiest way to relieve myself of worry is just to leave everything up to God. The psalmist, on the other hand, ponders upon God's works to relieve his worry. How do you relieve your worry, and why do you use that particular method?
Psalm 78
1. What disasters did idolatry bring upon Israel? How did God in His grace come to their aid?
2. I find that it's often easy to ignore God's actions in our past and to turn away from him, especially with such things like friends, Facebook, the internet, television, and other interesting books. Think back to what he's done for you. Do you often take Him for granted and leave His side for something else?
Psalm 79
1. How do you account for the difference between the Old Testament's view of God's glory (vengeance, prayer for forgiveness, deliverance) and the New Testament's view of God's glory?
2. Should we think in the same way that this psalm is played out in regards to our current enemies who have attacked us (9/11, the Afghan and Iraq wars, attacks against our faith)?
That's it for today. Discuss, shall we?
With that being said, anybody who wishes to comment on these studies is welcome to, though they are going to be aimed only at a specific person. You never know, possibly your comment will spark a drive for further reading into the Psalms and other wisdom literature. God uses us to get what he needs done, and sometimes we don't even realize it when it happens.
So, to begin, we'll be starting from Psalm 70 and going until Psalm 80. This weird starting point is due to my having already read up to that point in the literature, but after we've covered up to 150 we'll do a turn around and go from 1 to 69.
Throughout this study I'll do various things, hopefully to provide better insight into what these psalms can mean for us. At the top of the studies I'll post a few songs that you can listen to while reading the psalms. In addition to Youtube, you can find these songs on a progressively growing playlist among my playlists (http://www.playlist.com/luminick/playlists). Then I'll start listing each psalm by number only, because I don't know which version everybody uses. Any quotes from me will come from the ESV, just for future reference. Along with each psalm's number listing will come two (hopefully) questions, one from a book (Search the Scripture, edited by Alan M. Stibbs), the other from my own personal thoughts. The first will always be from the book itself, so the second (or any others) will always be from my own thoughts and studies. I won't be placing my answers to the questions up until after you've answered yourself, so as to not to influence what you see in the psalms while reading them. While you don't specifically have to answer the questions themselves in the comments, any thought you have on the questions or the psalms is expected. So, here we go:
Songs:
1. Song of Hope by Robbie Seay Band
2. Life is Beautiful by Press Play
3. Here I Am To Worship by Passion (or any other band you like)
4. Whispers In The Dark by Skillet
5. My Beloved by Kari Jobe
Psalm 70
1. What does the psalmist expect God to do for him and be to him?
2. I see this psalm as having two very distinct ideas, both of which have appeared in an earlier psalm (the last two parts of Psalm 40). How can we use these two ideas and combine them into a singular motivation?
Psalm 71
1. Do you make similar confessions to God when you pray?
2. I found this psalm very similar to Job's portrayal in the first chapter of Job. How do you think that this psalm teaches us to act on a day-to-day basis? She we be like Job and the psalmist in our praise and glory towards God?
Psalm 72
1. [This is apparently one of the prophetic psalms.] What are the two outstanding personal characteristics of Christ as King, as seen in this psalm?
2. I liked that this was a prayer by David about his son, Solomon, and his reign over Israel. Do you think that this should be a portrayal of fatherhood that we should uphold as well?
Psalm 73
1. Can you honestly and enthusiastically make the confession of verse 25?
2. How can we compare today's standard culture to this psalm's culture? Have we really changed that much in 2000+ years?
Psalm 74
1. As a Christian, can you face disaster and discomfort with such an assurance about God?
2. The psalmist seems to order God around a few times in this psalm. Do you think that we have any right to tell God exactly what to do, or is it foolish of us to think so?
Psalm 75
1. What characteristics of God's judgment are mentioned?
2. What can we think of as God being our Judge in everyday situations?
Psalm 76
1. What is God's purpose in acting in judgment?
2. Compare God to what you think about when you think of Zeus, or any other ancient thunder/lightning God. How is God in this psalm different than those other, false deities? How can we show those who still might believe in the false deities that God is the supreme ruler, with only using general revelation (aka, anything that's not from the Bible or Bible related)?
Psalm 77
1. What was the chief question underlying [the psalmist's] distress?
2. Whenever I worry, I find that the easiest way to relieve myself of worry is just to leave everything up to God. The psalmist, on the other hand, ponders upon God's works to relieve his worry. How do you relieve your worry, and why do you use that particular method?
Psalm 78
1. What disasters did idolatry bring upon Israel? How did God in His grace come to their aid?
2. I find that it's often easy to ignore God's actions in our past and to turn away from him, especially with such things like friends, Facebook, the internet, television, and other interesting books. Think back to what he's done for you. Do you often take Him for granted and leave His side for something else?
Psalm 79
1. How do you account for the difference between the Old Testament's view of God's glory (vengeance, prayer for forgiveness, deliverance) and the New Testament's view of God's glory?
2. Should we think in the same way that this psalm is played out in regards to our current enemies who have attacked us (9/11, the Afghan and Iraq wars, attacks against our faith)?
That's it for today. Discuss, shall we?
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Wow, Where'd The Time Go?
So, here I am, just five days short of a full two months since my last blog post. It seems that, while life was rather hectic there for a short while, I have let this entire project slip through my mind. As such it died rather quickly, along with the blog of another friend (may both Simplicity and Elegance rest in peace). Her reasonings for stopping her blog, though, was quite different than mine. She dropped hers due to a lack of need, I dropped mine due to a lack of attention span.
It begs to ask the question that, if I can't take of a simple blog for longer than a few days, then what does that say for any form of future career or relationship potential? Quite honestly, I'm appalled, because it doesn't lead to very good situations. Possibly this is the coming out of my fear of completion (once again), or maybe it's just that I did, indeed, simply forget about this blog. Possibly it's also a slight hatred towards the world outside the four walls of my house (there are more than four walls, coincidentally enough, but I'm far too lazy to count all the walls in my house) that has driven me to completely forget this project. Who knows? I don't.
So, what has happened since May 19th? Well, I temporarily had a job at the YMCA (apparently now 'The Y'?), though the temporary part was no fault of my own. I went into the job knowing that it was only going to be from 8am-12pm Monday thru Friday of one week. It's officially the shortest job I've ever had, and the only time that I've ever arranged my leaving time before even starting the job. So, for a single week, for fifteen hours, I got to teach a basketball camp for those from the age of 3 to 14. It was a beautiful week, with a lot of learning on my part, learning on the kids part (hopefully), and several days of massive disaster that was not my fault! Between rain, missing persons, switched persons, and kids not showing up or wanting to do activities, it should have been a massive train wreck, but I think that I (with the assistance of those who I conned into giving it) turned the week long camp into a success! I'd love to tell you more, but according to 'The Y', if I told you any more then I'd have to kill you. Seriously.
So, what's next? Possibly my misadventures in the land of job shadowing? During the week that I was working at the YMCA I also managed to find a 'youth pastor' to shadow. This was because my ride, Grandma, couldn't get out of her job until 5, which left me sitting at 'The Y' for five hours longer than I'd been working. So, what else does a preacher in training do? I go and find a 'youth pastor' to shadow. Only this 'youth pastor' was younger than I am, hadn't even graduated from college, and was an accounting major. Not exactly what I had in mind, but seeing as how he was the only guy with the job title for the next five miles (and me on foot, I'm not walking very far in the Texas heat), I decided to swallow my pride, my decreasing outlook on the Baptist hiring standards (for this was at a Baptist church), and get on with life.
The next week after that was a lovely one. I was out of a job, Grandma lost her job (she had hers for a week and a day), and I decided that I liked shadowing so much that I was going to shadow the youth pastor at the church that I had been baptized at (which was only decided upon after looking at several other, bigger churches first...no offense to WBC). This endeavor didn't last longer than a single day, though, due to various sicknesses and a slight disinterest in forcing my grandmother to wake up when she didn't actually have to, as well as spending gas for an situation that wasn't going to give me anything extra except for personal experience.
This did, though, get me going back to WBC temporarily. I figure, maybe I'll just stick with this one church home until I leave town again. So, I was reintroduced to friends and acquaintances (some of which were not very happy to see me back in their church). So, despite being told to leave WBC (again), I guess I've found them as my temporary home once again. I'm not quite exactly happy with them, but I do miss them from time to time. I guess with me leaving for college in five weeks (!!!!!!) and the remainder of the people who I consider good friends leaving in a few weeks themselves, that WBC will no longer be home at all. The only people left will be those who don't want me (minus a few who do seem to want me around), and I'm not going to stick around, even temporarily, for posh people who can't stand me. I live in Abilene, record holder of the most churches like...ever. I can pick another church out of the 200ish that we have in town, thank you. May God bless you all, though. I don't want to see the place die, I just want to see it not being a miserable place for me to be at.
Oh yes, speaking of WBC, I got my first (and only so far) sun burn of the summer from them. After my first Sunday back they had a pool party (not because of me, mind you, it was just coincidental). At said pool party there was a massively one sided game of volleyball. I think that if we'd actually kept score that it would have been girls team (with 12 players, I believe) 100ish to the boys team (4 boys and 2 girls, oddly enough) 200ish. They had twice the number of players, and we were still showing them how it was done. It was epic. What was also epic was my oddly one sided sun burn. My left side got up to a second degree burn, while my right side barely got burned at all. Worst of all, though, was not the pain of the burn itself, but the itching that came with the peeling skin. I DETEST PEELING SKIN!!!!
So, what else has happened? Ah! I saw Predators (odd, me watching movies and all) with some old friends from Cisco. My how I'd missed two of them. The other two, not so much since I actually didn't meet one of the two until that day and the other I had just barely been introduced to twice. Missed or not, it was a fun afternoon of movie watching, watching the two girls shop in the mall (much to the guy's torture, but the girls had the car keys), and some new adventures on everybody's part. I'd tell you more, but I'd have to kill you. Believe it.
Finally, for the conclusion, I'll fill in the gaps of what's left. For the most part I've spent the rest of the summer in my bedroom or the living room, doing one of two things: either reading my Bible or reading the Bible on Biblegateway.com. I've taken few breaks (save for my current three day break), and I've managed to get through the entire historical literature in the Old Testament, through the first few chapters of Job, through 60 something of the Psalms (I forget how many all the time), through Matthew, Mark, and part of Luke. I fully intend on completing the Bible by the time that I get to Harding. Will I succeed? Probably not, but I'm definitely trying anyways.
I would like to thank those of you who've texted me and kept me sane. Since I've spent so much time with the scripture, I've spent very little time with any form of social interactions except those of my grandmother and the cats (I refuse to associate with the dog/rat thing). So, thank you, to you four who've texted me nearly every day for the past few weeks. I enjoy conversing with you, and I miss you all.
But, in other news, it's only FIVE WEEKS until I see all of you again...well....it's only FIVE WEEKS UNTIL I GET TO HARDING! Whether you're there or not is your own preference, but I'll be there. All the cool kids come early, obviously (if you've read this far, but are not coming to Harding/not coming to Harding early, then you still qualify as a cool kid just for caring enough to read this). I'm fairly excited to be returning, especially after the turmoil of possibly not going back last year.
So, yes, I'm still planning on doing this whole 'blogging' thing. Stay tuned cool kids, and I'll promise you that we'll get to liftoff eventually. Until then, keep counting down.
It begs to ask the question that, if I can't take of a simple blog for longer than a few days, then what does that say for any form of future career or relationship potential? Quite honestly, I'm appalled, because it doesn't lead to very good situations. Possibly this is the coming out of my fear of completion (once again), or maybe it's just that I did, indeed, simply forget about this blog. Possibly it's also a slight hatred towards the world outside the four walls of my house (there are more than four walls, coincidentally enough, but I'm far too lazy to count all the walls in my house) that has driven me to completely forget this project. Who knows? I don't.
So, what has happened since May 19th? Well, I temporarily had a job at the YMCA (apparently now 'The Y'?), though the temporary part was no fault of my own. I went into the job knowing that it was only going to be from 8am-12pm Monday thru Friday of one week. It's officially the shortest job I've ever had, and the only time that I've ever arranged my leaving time before even starting the job. So, for a single week, for fifteen hours, I got to teach a basketball camp for those from the age of 3 to 14. It was a beautiful week, with a lot of learning on my part, learning on the kids part (hopefully), and several days of massive disaster that was not my fault! Between rain, missing persons, switched persons, and kids not showing up or wanting to do activities, it should have been a massive train wreck, but I think that I (with the assistance of those who I conned into giving it) turned the week long camp into a success! I'd love to tell you more, but according to 'The Y', if I told you any more then I'd have to kill you. Seriously.
So, what's next? Possibly my misadventures in the land of job shadowing? During the week that I was working at the YMCA I also managed to find a 'youth pastor' to shadow. This was because my ride, Grandma, couldn't get out of her job until 5, which left me sitting at 'The Y' for five hours longer than I'd been working. So, what else does a preacher in training do? I go and find a 'youth pastor' to shadow. Only this 'youth pastor' was younger than I am, hadn't even graduated from college, and was an accounting major. Not exactly what I had in mind, but seeing as how he was the only guy with the job title for the next five miles (and me on foot, I'm not walking very far in the Texas heat), I decided to swallow my pride, my decreasing outlook on the Baptist hiring standards (for this was at a Baptist church), and get on with life.
The next week after that was a lovely one. I was out of a job, Grandma lost her job (she had hers for a week and a day), and I decided that I liked shadowing so much that I was going to shadow the youth pastor at the church that I had been baptized at (which was only decided upon after looking at several other, bigger churches first...no offense to WBC). This endeavor didn't last longer than a single day, though, due to various sicknesses and a slight disinterest in forcing my grandmother to wake up when she didn't actually have to, as well as spending gas for an situation that wasn't going to give me anything extra except for personal experience.
This did, though, get me going back to WBC temporarily. I figure, maybe I'll just stick with this one church home until I leave town again. So, I was reintroduced to friends and acquaintances (some of which were not very happy to see me back in their church). So, despite being told to leave WBC (again), I guess I've found them as my temporary home once again. I'm not quite exactly happy with them, but I do miss them from time to time. I guess with me leaving for college in five weeks (!!!!!!) and the remainder of the people who I consider good friends leaving in a few weeks themselves, that WBC will no longer be home at all. The only people left will be those who don't want me (minus a few who do seem to want me around), and I'm not going to stick around, even temporarily, for posh people who can't stand me. I live in Abilene, record holder of the most churches like...ever. I can pick another church out of the 200ish that we have in town, thank you. May God bless you all, though. I don't want to see the place die, I just want to see it not being a miserable place for me to be at.
Oh yes, speaking of WBC, I got my first (and only so far) sun burn of the summer from them. After my first Sunday back they had a pool party (not because of me, mind you, it was just coincidental). At said pool party there was a massively one sided game of volleyball. I think that if we'd actually kept score that it would have been girls team (with 12 players, I believe) 100ish to the boys team (4 boys and 2 girls, oddly enough) 200ish. They had twice the number of players, and we were still showing them how it was done. It was epic. What was also epic was my oddly one sided sun burn. My left side got up to a second degree burn, while my right side barely got burned at all. Worst of all, though, was not the pain of the burn itself, but the itching that came with the peeling skin. I DETEST PEELING SKIN!!!!
So, what else has happened? Ah! I saw Predators (odd, me watching movies and all) with some old friends from Cisco. My how I'd missed two of them. The other two, not so much since I actually didn't meet one of the two until that day and the other I had just barely been introduced to twice. Missed or not, it was a fun afternoon of movie watching, watching the two girls shop in the mall (much to the guy's torture, but the girls had the car keys), and some new adventures on everybody's part. I'd tell you more, but I'd have to kill you. Believe it.
Finally, for the conclusion, I'll fill in the gaps of what's left. For the most part I've spent the rest of the summer in my bedroom or the living room, doing one of two things: either reading my Bible or reading the Bible on Biblegateway.com. I've taken few breaks (save for my current three day break), and I've managed to get through the entire historical literature in the Old Testament, through the first few chapters of Job, through 60 something of the Psalms (I forget how many all the time), through Matthew, Mark, and part of Luke. I fully intend on completing the Bible by the time that I get to Harding. Will I succeed? Probably not, but I'm definitely trying anyways.
I would like to thank those of you who've texted me and kept me sane. Since I've spent so much time with the scripture, I've spent very little time with any form of social interactions except those of my grandmother and the cats (I refuse to associate with the dog/rat thing). So, thank you, to you four who've texted me nearly every day for the past few weeks. I enjoy conversing with you, and I miss you all.
But, in other news, it's only FIVE WEEKS until I see all of you again...well....it's only FIVE WEEKS UNTIL I GET TO HARDING! Whether you're there or not is your own preference, but I'll be there. All the cool kids come early, obviously (if you've read this far, but are not coming to Harding/not coming to Harding early, then you still qualify as a cool kid just for caring enough to read this). I'm fairly excited to be returning, especially after the turmoil of possibly not going back last year.
So, yes, I'm still planning on doing this whole 'blogging' thing. Stay tuned cool kids, and I'll promise you that we'll get to liftoff eventually. Until then, keep counting down.
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