ballet anyone?

I went to class, and then I found that I had all this time. Well, it was supposed to be time full of studying, but instead I was talking with Janice. It is amazing how I can just stare at her (we use SKYPE) for vast amounts of time. I gotta be careful though, ya know, because I don't want to go too over board. What with all my time being spent chatting/staring with Janice and not with homework. I probably should have gone to the gym today too. . .

I was looking forward to today all week. Yes, Tom and I had the evening all planned out. It was so much fun. At 5:30 I met up at his house and he took me out to dinner.

If you are familiar with Fort Wayne, then you will know where the Gas House is downtown. That is where we ate, and we had a time filled with great conversation and just fellowship. I really love being with Tom. He is definitely a mentor for me, and someone I really respect and look up to.

After we ate, we went to the Performing Arts Center and saw a ballet. It was a little bit of everything. Contemporary, old school, all mixed into one show. Now, I am not familiar with Ballet, but this was pretty neat to me. Especially the more contemporary stuff. It is so technical and really amazing what these young people can do. I had a lot of fun.

I had told Janice this, but I will say it again. The only thing that tonight was missing was HER. I wish I could have shared the evening with her. But, sadly that was not the case. Some day. . .

I'M BACK!

That was short lived, and a good thing too because my fingers were getting kind of itchy, and I was already getting tired of not writing out my life for all to see. So, here it is.

Today was real good. It started off by me getting up early enough to go to Snider High School and welcoming kids as they entered the school. I went with my fellow YL leader Ben. Well, we did not pass out donuts this time, but I found that showing up and trying our best to just love on kids is a great way to impact a school. To just love um; holding the door open for them as they walk into school, complimenting them on their colorful socks, a good pat on the back, telling them good morning in multiple languages. It all gets the job done.

Well, after school had started I mosied on home. I was super tired due to lack of sleep, and so I went home, skipped my Applied Leadership class, and slept on the couch. It was WONDERFUL! I made it to my Religion & Culture class, and after that, I met up with Ben again and we went and saw Food, Inc. at the local independent theater. Ben get's in free and can bring one guest for free because of where he works. I can say this much, I WILL NEVER EAT A MASS PRODUCED CHICKEN SANDWICH EVER AGAIN!

After that I went back to school to the 24/7 student study lab.

Well, something "unique" happened while I was there. Ya see, I wasn't getting too much work done, mainly because I have the attention span of a gold fish. Well, when I was about to pack things up and head on home, a gentlemen approached me. He had a thick accent, and some broken English. I did my best to listen, and understood that he wondered if I would help him do his online math homework. He was from Ivy Tech, and I am still not sure why he was in IPFW's study room, but I didn't care. I was happy to help him, and we got a lot accomplished. We talked a bit too, and on Saturday I am going to go over to his apartment and give him a lesson on how to use his lap top. His name was Brooks Quaye. Brooks is a really good guy, who is doing his best to provide for his family and move ahead in life. I really respect that and want to be able to help him in his journey. It was for sure God's hand bringing us together. I was just impressed at his boldness in approaching me. Pretty cool stuff.

Until further notice

I will not be BLOGGING about my life, and my journey for a while. How long? Well, I just don't know. It does not depend on me. I will however tell you this. You'd better believe I will continue to move forward in Christ. I will strive to be a man of God in all the things I do and all the people I interact with.

God is more real to me now, then he has ever been before in my life. I have such a clear picture for why I exist, and what a comforting feeling that is.

I will continue to grow and flourish in Christ. I have all the more motivation to do so. And don't get me wrong, I love BLOGGING with a passion. I do, this post is my 955th post, but until it is time for me to start up again, I must stay away. The power of persuasion is far to strong, and i need to let God do his work.

If you care enough to understand, please write me and E-Mail at mobileRILEY@gmail.com or call/text me at (260)433-1432 and I'll keep you informed. I promise I will be blogging again, but for now, I must take a break . Don't bother commenting on this POST because it will be weeks or months, or maybe longer before I will check it again.

GOD BLESS YOU READERS! Thank you so much for taking an interest in my life. I'll be back.

God is alive

~CLICK ME~

Every where I look I see the work and love of Christ. Sometimes it is meek, and hard to make out, but if you look, I mean if you really have the eyes to see it, you can't help but see it every where. It is impacting and powerful. It is loyal, and warm. It never demeans or belittles, it uplifts and protects. This is the love I know to be absolute truth in my life. This afternoon Janice called me when she was in church. She just left the phone on talk, and I listened while she was in a worship time. It really was a neat experience for me. Especially when I could hear her singing From the Inside Out, by Hillsong United. I am so attracted to Janice, because she believes in and trusts her life with the same LOVE that moves me to act and treat people genuinely. It was a really cool opportunity just to listen from her pocket or purse or where ever I was.

More happened today too. But seriously, I have to wake up super early and do childcare at a shcool I have never been at before, so I need SLEEP!!!!

loss of self

Through the words of an individual, I came across a thought that challenged me to think about something. What is it that allows an individual to bring out the best in people, situations, and themselves? Is it an innate ability to compose the optimistic points of view, or is it something different? Well, for those of you who know me best, of course I believe with all my heart that it is something different. I feel that the ability to look at something and see what "could be" and what "should be" is a trait given to those truly seeking for the Holy Spirit to do a great work in them. I feel that the more you seek for Christ to be real in your life, the more he will be. It is really an amazing and reciprocating relationship. I'm tired, and as soon as I get off the phone with Janice, I will be going to bed.

i'm getting sick. .

I went to the Urologist today. Everything is back to normal says Dr. Irven, and that is really good. He gave me a couple of explanations as to why the pain happened the way it did, but I dunno. It is what it is, and he said to not worry about it. So I won't.

I am for sure getting sick, and that sucks. I am going to sleep in tomorrow, and get some much needed R&R. I went to the football game today.

I had a lot of fun being really loud and hanging out with my H/S friends. Good time, and a lot of fun for all involved. I re-connected with some kids from last year, and all is well.

Even though I am truly getting sick, I still went to Nicky's house after the game and spent some time with him and Jaccob playing the new Beatles Rock Band. Let's just say I am getting better at it, but for sure not a pro. Again, I am feeling very under the weather, so I am off to zzzZZZZZ land.

The lesson for the day is, "It is all about the small steps, it is troubling to get hung up on the things in life that trip us up. We must focus on what we are accomplishing and not dwell on what we have not been perfect at." -Inspired by Janice Hernandez.

Love you miss!

panorama

so my new phone takes pretty cool panoramic photo's. It is a pretty cool new toy to play with! :o)

And look! My cars twin found us! I was at the Doc, trying to get stuff straightened out for my TYSABRI medication, and well this car was parked next to me when I got out. I know it is a topaz instead of a tempo, but seriously, just about the same. AND SMURF BLUE TOO!!

VLOG (VIDEO BLOG)

I made a Video Blog. Please leave me your comments and let me know what you think. This is something I don't understand. On average, 35 readers check out my BLOG every single day. This average number has been in the making for over a year and a half. I know you guys and gals are reading, leave me a little something something.

I've got an update for ya. . . but I need to go to sleep

The update will probably come once I have a chance to sleep. . . I am uber tired, and I just need to go to bed. CLUB was super fun tonight, and I have a pretty neat story to tell.

ooops

I did something stupid today. I went downtown to help my sister by helping her with her table and bla bla bla, when I was running errands for her, dropping something off and getting pizza for her and her friend I was in my car. I took her car and parked it in the parking lot. . . . She has a sun roof. . . . . I rolled the side windows up, but totally forgot about the sun roof. . . . DO'OH! We got a massive storm. . . . . Not good.

She was pretty nice about it though when she called. Goodness I feel stupid.

oops!

a good Monday

Today started with I guess my first official Student Staff meeting. One of many to come of course. It was with my Area Director (AD), Josh to the right, and fellow friend and other student staffer Ryan to the left. We talked about all things ministry. It was really healthy, and super good.

Then something amazingly good happened today. I mean really, really, really good. I was at the "study table" with my Spanish Prof, and I totally asked her out of no where, "do you think it is to late for me to transfer into a lower level Spanish class?" She said, "Go to the Spanish office, and tell them I sent you." BAM!! It happened, God hooked me up with a new Spanish S111 class, and all of a sudden I am TOP DOG instead of the class re re. I go to an elementary school on the South side of town. Lindley for my local peeps following. Janice said this, "Talk about going back to the basics." And I agree with her. ;o) To end my day, I got to relax a little bit. Back to BSF. First week of answering questions. I LOVE SHARING and hearing other guys share their hearts. It is so good for me. I took so many good notes, but this week they are for me.

I was in some pretty intense prayer today. But, really peaceful, I was surrounded by God's hand and I could really feel his protection over me. It is amazing how God can protect your heart. It is amazing how he can really seperate you from the things that are the most important to you on Earth, because it is what is best for your mind and emotions. Craziness though

Young Life retreat & LARP'ing

From 12pm on Saturday to 12pm today, I was at a Young Life retreat. Let me tell you, it was amazingly refreshing and motivating. We do so much good when we get together, we really set the ball in motion to impact kids to the best of our abilities. Through Christ of course. See the guy all the way to the right, in the blue and white striped shirt? That is Christ Bishop, and he was one of the most motivating individuals this weekend, if not month for me. Christ is a salesmen, and lives in the rich part of the city in a super nice house. Bishop has made a $50 Million dollar deal for his work before, and can bring in mad cash. He has been involved with Young Life for the past 3 years, and God has really been pulling on his heart to go at it full time. He made the announcement this weekend that he was going to be quitting his job and doing Young Life full time!! It was amazing to hear him speak about it, it was amazing to see how faithful he is being. Taking a complete leap in faith, trusting only that God is good and he gives us what we need. We talked about Acts 20:22-24 When Paul says, "I consider my life worth nothing. . . " that hits me pretty close to home. Mostly because it is so easy for the world to consume me. I mean, Bishop has displayed so clearly that he does not care about the world. He cares only that the Kingdom of the Lord is advanced in beautiful and amazing ways. That is really awesome to see. What am I willing to do for the Kingdom?? That is the question I kept asking myself.

So today, Sunday I tried something new. I suppose it was for the Kingdom. I went Larping. LARP stands for Live Action Role Play. And I was introduced to this on Wednesday when I went to Snider High School. One of my Young Life guys got really involved with this, and LOVES IT!! He so badly wanted me to come out and check it out. Well, I wanted to go further than that. So, instead of studying Spanish, I did this at a local park. . . Just check out the pictures.

First I got my training. The guy training me is known only by his LARP name, which is Fiery!!

Then I headed into BATTLE. It was intense.

Will you just take a look at the friggin gladiator!?

The guy with the long hair was really good, he had

like a 12 pack of abs too. Intimidating stuff.

I had a lot of fun, you can see Jessee (the reason I came)

standing behind me.

Some of my old friends (from a past life) were playing a disc golf at the park, something I used to do all the time. Well, they saw me and some of my other friends taking pictures so they stopped by and chilled for a bit. It was all really unique, and I actually enjoyed myself. I didn't suck, lets just say that much. Anything to advance the kingdom, even if I look silly doing it. Everyone needs a little encouragement.

Me and another leader had our first Campaigners/Bible study with some guys tonight. It went really well, and they were extremely receptive. I loved being in it, and advancing the knowledge and kingdom of Christ, even if it is in the smallest way. It's all about taking baby steps. It was a good weekend.

(LATE ADDITION)
There is something difficult looming in the air though. Something lingering that causes a breeze of unsettled action. It is a familiar breeze, but still blows through any outer garment that I may be wearing for protection from the elements. A prayer gives the discomfort a bit of hope, but ultimately I have no control over where the wind blows. I can only hope that I agree with where it settles.

new phone & Putt-Putt

Well, I changed my mind on the phone. I ended up getting the LG Envy Touch. This is a big upgrade for me. I have the original LG Envy CRAP, and so I am stoked to see what this new fangled electronic doo hicky is all about. Check it out. . .

Thank you VERIZON and your NEW every TWO plan. You make me so happy. :o)

Ya know who else makes me really happy? God. And you know who else makes me happy after God? Janice!! Janice, I was so excited when you gave me that news today. It really was just a huge answer to prayer. Something I just got goose bumps over. I love you miss. And I am just super excited when I think about you.

I had a lot of fun. We (Jared, Nicky, Derrick, and Dan) went Putt-Putt golfing. Check out the pictures, then i'm going to bed.

Putt-Putt was so much fun. There was even a huge volcano that spit out MASSIVE fire. I captured it on my phone, but the picture is INTENSE!! Now if that is not the most HEFTY fake volcano fire blast you have ever seen, well I don't know what to tell you!!

I hope you had so so so much fun tonight Janice. Can't wait to talk to you when I get back from this retreat thingy. LOVE YA!

derrotado

I needed to vent for a little bit. Sometimes it is just good to let it out. I know I have it good, I know this for a fact. But, even people who have it good at times need to vent. This is what it looks like and sounds like.
I did something interesting tonight. I studied and studied, which was frustrating, but I got enough done to say that I was productive. Then I went downstairs (I was studying upstairs in my room) and talked with my rents. I had all this nervous energy, and my dad said, "why don't you go for a run?" I said, "I hate running, I always get side aches." My dad said, "why don't you just walk when you get a side ache?" I said, "well gee, I dunno." So, I went out for a run! It felt really good, and I went way way further than I thought I could. I could have run longer, but I figured 35 minutes of running was enough. The secret was to find a rhythm. A rhythm in breathing, steps, arm movements, etc. It all worked really good. I came home, took a conquering shower, and now I am blogging. I felt overwhelmed this morning and early afternoon. Pretty discouraged and not very good. I had to do a lot of self-processing today. God is so patient, an attribute I want to gain more and more of. I think that this whole idea of finding a good rhythm is going to be a theme. I need to find a good rhythm with school, Young Life, with struggles and fun and all things pertaining to life.

Janice, I hope you had so so so so so much fun at the concert (she went to a Blink 182 concert tonight). I am trying to listen more, to slow my thoughts and just watch for the small life lessons.

Today is for YESTERDAY

Because I was so tired yesterday, as soon as I got home and took a defeating shower I went right to sleep. I didn't pass go, I didn't collect $20, I PASSED OUT! But, Yesterday was awesome, and I have tons of sweet pictures, so here is the "MAKE UP BLOG."

Well, I am back baby! Back in the good'ole halls of Snider High School! It feels really good to be able to connect with kids again in this specific way. I love being in that school and around all those kids. I just get filled with joy every time. The vibe I was getting was that kids were READY to get back into Young Life!!

Our first Young Life Club was crazy. The kids definately came ready to have a lot of fun. This was much appreciated because the leaders were ready to give it to um. I am just going to throw some pictures of the night and let them tell their own story.

Don't wanna forget about the slip & slide.

We had two huge tarps full of Cool Whip. Yummy!

The girls loved it!

The guys loved it!

And don't let my face fool you, I LOVED IT TOO!!

Here is how it works. You get messy, you stand in line like cattle and get sprayed down (you gotta be wet to go really far), and then you SLIP & SLIDE!

Number 1 reason why I loved Young Life Club today. We present the message of Jesus Christ while directly having shloads of fun. I love how they can work together. The Holy Spirit was in that place in a big way tonight!

campus crusades & birthday pizza

Today was Nicky's B-Day!! I had told him last weekend that I would take him out to do something "special" as soon as I got out of class. As soon as class was over, I drove over to his house and started thinking what would be special. . . . what could I do? Then it hit me, BIRTH DAY PIZZA AT OUR FAVORITE P-ZA place!

It went over well, and Nick really loved it. The pizza guy said to me, "Man it is my little girls birth day tomorrow, and I don't know why, but I never thought of this. I am totally making her a b-day pizza tomorrow." I smiled, thanked him, and took off.

I went back to school to study study study my Spanish Spanish Spanish. Making flash cards, studying my flash cards and so on. Literally for 3 hours straight I studied. I had time to kill because my friend and fellow Young Life leader Ben invited me to go to Campus Crusades where he would be giving the talk about Scripture. I was totally down for that. Campus Crusades is a ministry at my University where we sing, talk with each other (fellowship), study the Word, and then one of the leaders gives a talk. It was so good, and there was probably about 70 students there. I had so much fun! There was so much energy and everyone was parsing God like crazy! It was very refreshing to know there are a strong hand full of people my age at my University that love the lord so much.

back at BSF and boy it sure feels good.

Now I did many, many things today, but I want to focus on what was most important to me. The thing that stood out to me today was me getting back into BSF. Ohh it felt so good. And looking back on the night getting back into BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) I can sincerely say that studying the word is the only thing that I really enjoy to learn about. It is the only thing I can study that makes any real sense. This year we are studying the Gospel of John. So tonight I met and got to meet my small group for the first time, then I got to hear the first lecture of the year. Boy it was good. Here are some of the key things I pulled from it.

**We gain knowledge of the Bible through study (that means actually spending time in the Bible other than listening to the pastor tell you on Sunday morning).

** We gain insight of the Bible through meditation (that means actually attempting to apply what you read and learn to every day life).

This next one I really really like. **The greatest cure to trouble in my life/our lives is to focus on Jesus. If you focus on the actual trouble all the time, you will be troubled. If you focus on Jesus all the time, he will infect your mood, attitude, thoughts, and actions. AND, there will my strength lie.

John 20:31 states the purpose of the book of John. It does so very precisely and doesn't mess around.

**What is the focus of my life?

I love that my notes are compiled of mostly questions. BSF calls them challenge questions, and I find that a well placed question is much more impacting and insightful than any amount of given knowledge. Sooo true.

Janice, I think of you more times through the day than I can count on my hands and feet put together. I am so thankful you are in my life, and it is made more clear to me each day why you are in my life. Such a motivating and good thing. Love you miss!

Saeglópur (Crash Overdrive Remix) - Sigur Ros

This is Sigur Ros - Saeglópur (Crash Overdrive Remix). I have been listening to this song A LOT. I know it is strange, but I am totally into this song. I love everything about it. It is totally weird too, but I could care less. Strange though, for me, music has been something I am completely independent on. No one around me, except for my best friend Jared supports my odd music choices. I love it though. Really love it, I usually smile right in the beginning of this song because it is so intense. I love cranking the volume up and enjoying the heck out of it. By the way, you cannot enjoy it by only listening to the 30 sec. preview.

On more important note. TODAY WAS THE FIRST OFFICAL SUNDAY MORNING LIFELIGHT CHURCH!!! It was really good, and I am super proud to be a part of it. I can't wait to get a check again so I can give some money. Oh, and Nicky went with me. It was so cool to see God working in him. God was doing all kinds of crazy things to really make him think. Nick is in the picture, lower right corner. I hope he keeps coming back with me. But if he doesn't, I hope that God stirrs in his heart in a big and changing way.

I wrote a paper for class. . . but ended up not reading a bunch of stuff I should have.

Then I hung out with Young Life kids. I have so much that needs to get accomplished tomorrow, I should be pretty stressed, but I am trying hard not to.

I am hurting, physically. Guess where? Yea, that is where. I need to go to bed and hope that this pain will stop. . . . . I will go to the Urologist as soon as I can get an appointment tomorrow.

Moving in, riding bikes, studying

What a surprise today turned out to be. Now when I woke up today, I knew that it was going to be a good day. I just didn’t know how good it was going to be. I started my Saturday morning at 7:15am. I got around and drove to where my sister has been living for a while now. It was time for Mer (my sister) to move on, physically; meaning her housing situation, and relationally; meaning her past relationship. I met at her old house, and helped move things into different vehicles. She had a guy from work help out, there was my car, there was Audra & Ally, and of course Mer’s car. So we packed things in and drove them 3 or 4 blocks down to her new residence. I really like the new place a lot.

This place was originally built in 1926, that is really really old. It is actually in good condition though. There are little things here and there that could use some work, but seriously for $335/mo and she only pays electricity, well that's pretty darn good. I was done helping her around 10:45am, then I went straight to the River Greenway (Place in Fort Wayne where there are miles and miles of walk ways/bike ways for people to ride all around the city. They are super nice and taken care of, and well it was amazingly fun. I went with a handfull of Young Life guys and another leader Ben. We had a blast!! This was the staging area (parking lot). Mitchell, the one who is sitting on my car to the left was the brains behind this adventure. I was of course taking pictures. It is really not safe to take a picture with my phone while going really fast and only riding with one hand. Luckily I did not smash myself. We really had an awesome time though. It was such a beautiful day, and eventually we found like a sweet area with hills, jumps, and other super challenging things to take your bike on. I of course was covered in really wet and nasty mud in what seemed like seconds. It was still really awesome though. We went back to Mitchell's house, where Ben and I lead a rousing game of Ultimate Frisbee. Dang I love that game!

I left around 3pm, went home, talked to Janice, took a shower, and went to the 24 hour study lab at school. I studied Geology like crazy! Probably for 3+ hours. When I couldn't stand any more, I went over to hang out with Nicky. We went to Wall-Mart and he got a Beatles CD (his first ever) and then we went back to his house where a simple talk of the COSMOS lead to a pretty amazing conversation about God and life. I ended up asking him if he wanted to go to church with me tomorrow at Life Light Church, and he said YES! I am excited becaues he gets to enjoy Life Light Church with me for the first time on Sunday morning. IT IS GOING TO BE SO SWEET!! I can't wait, and I am so extremely glad he is going. :o)

Janice,I super hope that your serving went flawlessly for the first time. I am sure it did, but I hope you felt comfortable and that everything just went really well for you. I can't wait to tell you about things that happened tonight. It was a really good day. Love ya!

pain. . . the bad kind

Okay, long story short. This summer when I was in Arizona, I hurt my testicles. I know that is not something I should talk about, but it is the truth. I lifted a rock that was way way too heavy. It was not hernia, and I thought the pain would go away. It did not. Lately it has been hurting again, and when it hurts, it hurts REALLY BAD! I was going to, of course, ignore it for "just one more week." When I told Janice that it was no big deal, she made me promise her that I would go and get it checked out. So I did just that. I went to RediMed and had it checked out. It was a little awkyard at first, but hey we are all adults. . . for the most part anyways.

Turns out it was a really good thing I went. I still don't have hernia, and that is good. BUT, they did find blood in my urine, and that is not so good. I will get an ultrasound, but the physican at the clinic was pretty dumbfounded. He was pretty darn sure it was not something serious, because testicular cancer is not painful, and this is really painful. So, I will see a urologist soon, and just see what is going on. :o) That is my post, sorry if it was kind of vulger, sometimes life is just that way.