Today was BIG

I went through the day with children. A lot of children. They had a half day at the school I do childcare at. And well, from 11-6 we had um. Luckily, they had great behavior and it was not bad at all. After work, I went and picked up a kid, and we went out to the Landmark Conference & Reception Centre. The last time I was in this place, I had my HUGE fundraiser for my trip to China to have a Stem Cell Transplant. ~~!!CHECK THIS POST OUT!!~~ to see what I am talking about. Well, tonight was Dessert Night. You can see Dessert Night from last year by clicking ~~THIS LINK~~ yes, Dessert night is a night devoted to putting the yearly budget in front of the people supporting Young Life. It is really quite amazing, and sweet to see how people want to support an organization like Young Life. Tonight was little more than amazingly unbelievable. Tonight was...well the definition of giving out of LOVE. Check out this picture.Yes, we moved up a bit in location. And tonight was really put together super well. Some big deci$ion makers probably made this call. We had a chance to just talk about what we (Young Life) does, and the impact God is having on kids and families in Fort Wayne. We (Young Life) just talked about what we do and how we impact kids. Well, it was great, and it got greater. I was standing at the entrance while people piled in. I saw this one individual (an old man) and told the a female leader standing next to me how I thought that he was the richest guy here tonight. Well, when everything was done and said, it was told in front of everyone that he said he would pay the remaining part of the budget ($105,000) and then match anything else that was raised tonight after that amount. HOLY WOW!!! I don't know what else to say other than God is sooo Good. That money is going to go to helping kids come to know the Christ that I serve. That money is going to go to serving kids in a way that is very impacting and powerful!! It is so exciting and just sends chills down my spine when I think about what was accomplished tonight out of love.

During the course of the night, I got to interview a kid named Vantrell. Vantrell went to camp, and goes to Snider. He is a Junior, and is a good guy. He is extremely well spoken, and well he did an awesome job. I just kind of interviewed him and made him feel comfortable in front of all those people. I LOVED IT!! God is so good people!! The power is literally limitless. You just have to have the willingness to step out in FAITH, and just get on along for the ride. With God, all things are possible. I AM JUST SO PUMPED FOR WHAT GOD IS DOING IN FORT WAYNE FOR YOUTH AND THE PEOPLE DIRECTLY IMPACTED BY THE YOUTH!!! Nothing but huge smiles coming off this face tonight.P.S.

I got a 98% on my Australia presentation. It should have been a 102%, but that is still acceptable.

COSTUME CLUB

Ohhh Baby!! Today was so close to Halloween, that we just had to get in on some Costume Party goodness. We totally did too. LOVED IT!! I am crazy tired right now, but I am going to totally post up these pictures and explain briefly how the evening went.This is the penguin man, I loved this costume a lot. I felt as though it really fit this kids personality as well. These two ladies won the prize for the "most creative" costumes. They both made their outfits right after school. I was completely impressed of their fine craftsmanship. This one was really good too. He was an Elephant, although he was walking around more like a mouse. Either way, it was great.On my way home, I took my buddy Dylan to his house. I took two other kids home as well, but Dylan I got to spend a little bit more time with. I was cruising around his "hood" telling God stories, when I came accross this house. Now, my phone doesn't do this home justice, but it was so bright and lit up. It was really very impressive. And creepy too!!

$2.38 and on the decline

I had the Australia group project presentation today in my OLS class. It went extremely good. I am quite satisfied with how everything came together. I think that the extra effort I put really paid off. ALTHOUGH, I do not think I will be putting that much effort into the next group project, unless I have some people working right there with me. The prof said how much he enjoyed our presentation though.
I don't know how to feel about this. I mean, the second I think to myself, "ohh gas is really on the decline, I bet it get's dirt cheap again." It will bounce up to $4.00/gal again. I suppose I will try to say as neutral as possible. Gas is just one of those things I don't try to understand. It will do what it will do I suppose.When I got out of work, I went straight to school and found a brilliant spot to just sit and type. The English paper got a lot of solid work done to it. Not quantity, but quality. I was in the basement of one of the buildings, where I had no phone reception, which meant no disruptions or distractions. Just typing and thinking, typing and thinking, typing and thinking. BRILLIANT! I took breaks where I visited my best friends g/f at the on campus coffee shop.It was really nice to take a break and go and have intellegent conversation with someone I enjoy having it with. Perfect break kinda gal, that is what Allison is. :-)

When I decided I was just done, I went on over to Nicky's house (Jared's parents house). To get a little Halo 3 action, and visiting time with Nick. Turns out I had just missed Jared by like 5-10 minutes. It's all good though. Nick and I had fun.Just in case your are saying to yourself, "dang, I wonder if the veins in Mikey's neck are usually sticking out like that when he is playing a video game?" The answer is....yes ;-) It get's intense, and compared to Nick, I am a peón.

I am going to bed though.

G'Night!

thesaurus

My English prof keeps telling us (his class) that it would really be in our best interest to get a Thesaurus. Well, after some writing, where I actually wrote. I wrote because I stuck to what I know, and let the power flow. Yes, that does rhyme, and yes you can smile and nod your head in approval. Like I was saying, I decided to go and get a thesaurus, just like my prof had advised me to do so. I must not have been thinking too clearly, but I figured I could find a better price than at the school bookstore. So, I thought to myself, "i'll start at Wall-Mart on Lima Rd." If you know the lay out of Fort Wayne, you would know that I would be coming off of Coliseum and passing Meijer to get to Wall-Mart which is near dupont, the road I wanted to turn on to go home. Well, when I got to Wall-Mart....They would inform me that they are not currently carrying a Thesaurus. I would be dissapointed, but smile and walk away. As soon as I got to my car, I decided I would....DO THE SMART THING, and call Meijer. Well, I use a free 411 service offered by GOOGLE called goog411(1-800-466-4411) And everyone knows that on the number pad of your phone "goog411" is 4664411, all you have to do is add a 1-800 in front of it, and you are ready to go, free of charge. Yea, I thought I was so smart. I talked to the lady at Meijer, and she told me they had it, but I didn't think to ask how much it cost. So when I get there, to my dismay.....I found the book cost $13.99, which I was not willing to pay. Dissapointed, I called my mother. I asked her if we had a Theaurus at home.....she replied.....yesSo, after a bunch of needless search and driving, I got my Thesaurus. I used it too. I need to set aside a large time for writing. Ohhh boy!!! It will be grand. :-)

BSF was awesome tonight. And challenged me as well as taught me new things. I LOVE BSF!!

I am going to end with a quote from St Francis of Assisi,

"Preach Always, When Necessary Use Words."

Thanks Tom. :-)

Matt came to Dave Church

This morning I took Matt to Grace Gathering, and it was a good sermon...well, I thought it was. After speaking with a friend, I realized that I didn't really walk away with any kind of application when everything was said and done. The underlying message was this, "be content." But didn't really challenge me on the subject. But, then come to find while I begin to prepare to give a sermon at a Young Life gathering.....I don't really know how to give a talk on Christ. "Wait!"says the angel on my right shoulder, "you do too know how to talk about Christ, you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you." "Shut the hell up!" says the devil on my left shoulder, "you know nothing about how to talk to high school kids, you don't even know how to talk to elementary kids, you are pretty much a failure."

I am making this complicated. Just like my English paper, I need to go back to what I know, and expand on it.

shoot, ENGLISH!!! I have to do English tonight. Stupid Précis!!!

I was going to talk about how I took Matt (my cousin) to Dave Church tonight, and how I think he really liked it, but my thoughts and the pulls of the time kind of side tracked me. I should have taken a picture of me and the other Dave Church attendees interacting with Matt, and the fun he had, but I forgot to do that. So, just pretend that there is a picture above of Matt sitting on a couch near Richard, and Rachel just got done making a really good milkshake, and Margie is being a really loving and smiling woman, and Dave is talking some sense into me, and I am just being a goof. That is the picture I wish I could have taken tonight. OK, off to homework time.

Below are some notes I jotted down during Church.

1 tim 6:6-it is not speaking about gaining more things/money, it is speaking about the desire for those things. people @ the bottom want more things just as bad as the people @ the top. luke4:14-21 Christ fulfilled the prophecies. When we are stripped away from everything, this is where we seek Christ the most. Proverbs 30:7-9 IT'S ALL ABOUT BEING CONTENT. Mark 12:41-44 the poor woman gave out of her Faith and even in poverty gave her all.

PEACE......>Grace & Peace that is. :-)

Nosferatu

(I got a HairCut)

Today I went to school to get some writing on my English paper done.......except I couldn't do it. I am in some kind of motivationless writers block. AHHHHH!!!! I called my professor and left him a voicemail explaining my situation. I think if I sit down with him, just me and him I can gain some understanding at what I am doing wrong, or how I can approach this differently. I mean, I love to write. Writing is fun for me, and shouldn't be so difficult. I am either over complicating this or something. I dunno, I did get to dig into my Bible study though. That is what the picture above is from. I was not writing my English paper, but I did get my Bible study done. Good ole God just parted the Red Sea for the Israelites. He sure does take care of His people. ;-)
Okay, now the things in this poem are cool, but what I can do with my BLOG is even cooler. If you go back one year from today. Ohh, say to October 27th, and look at what I did then, you will be surprised at what you see. Last year on October 27th, two friends and I went to see a silent film. Today on October 25th, two friends, my cousin and I went to go see a silent film. We saw Nosferatu (Dracula) a silent film, accompanied by the pipe organ. Pretty awesome stuff in my opinion. Now I could see how if you weren't quite into the older films of the day, and how you need bright stimulation and loud special effects then this would not be your cup of tea. BUT, if you can really appreciate things of the past, then this is great. Just like last year, there was a magic act performed by Dick Stoner.Dick Stoner is a well known magician in Fort Wayne, and he can really put on a show. I took a picture of Dracula during the movie, and it turned out pretty good. Check it out.This was one of the many very creepy shots through out the movie (I took this picture with my phone, it turned out pretty darn good). I thought it was really cool, and I had a lot of fun. I super like this kind of stuff. I remember last year, Amanda did not like the black pirate at all.

G'Night!

FINISHED!!

I finally got the brochure done for my OLS Australia project. (CLICK TO ENLARGE)

(BACK)

(FRONT)Of course, this will be a tri-fold brochure.
It will look amazing, and I can't wait to pick
it up on Monday morning.

Goodness, I put way to much time into this whole project. I mean I went entirely above and beyond what was asked in almost every aspect I could. Check out this video.......To say that I rocked this assignment, well it would be an understatement. My friend Scott really went above and beyond with this video. But, it is all finished, completed, fenito!! HORRAY!! I suppose I can concentrate on some of the other things that need my attention. Like.....ENGLISH !~!

Today at work, I had to approach dealing with some things that aren't very fun. Things that make my job rather difficult. Without naming names, or pointing fingers. There is just a specific individual who is causing "issues" at YMCA child care. It is not a child, and it is not a worker. But, this individual is causing problems. I stayed after for ohhhh, maybe close to a half an hour, and talked over some new strategies with my fellow workers. I hope, come Monday, that we can work this out, and that the "problem" becomes no more a problem. :-) This is what I want.

When I got out of work, I went and worked out at the YMCA, and boy did it feel good to just get super duper sweaty in the Sauna. I also talked to a very interesting guy, who was very talkative, and super polite. IT WAS GREAT!! I am beginning to really enjoy the Sauna talks I have been having. When I left the YMCA, I went straight to Nicky's house. We blasted some bad guys on Halo 3, then I got him to help me out with some school stuff. I took him to the 24/7 computer lab. And, well he helped me finish this Power Point that will be playing during the presentation.Nick didn't know I took this picture, but he was actually having fun I do believe. You sure can tell I was. he he he This guy has such a great personality, and is so incredibly funny. It reminds me of playing with his brother when I was younger. Good times, tied to good memories. I LOVE IT!!

And now, I do believe it is time to be finished with the day.

G'NIGHT!!

today was not special....NOT!

I got my wallet stolen. Okay, here this. I went to school, didn't really get much out of it. Then.....well, it doesn't really matter. Lets skip ahead a bit. Okay, I went home and gathered my clothes, work out shoes, and what not for showering. I went to the YMCA to work out. When I got out of the sauna & shower, my wallet, shoes, dirty underwear and socks were all GONE!! I went and told the front desk...where I found out this happened to another guy. It's all very disturbing. So, this is what happened. I made it known to the front desk. Then I called the police. I go back to work, and get a phone call. THEY FOUND MY WALLET!! Apparently, when the guy (who happened to be a dude who someone with a membership brought in as a guest to play basketball) found there was no Ca$h in my wallet, he threw it into some random locker. He still stole my bag, shoes, underwear, and socks. Well, when I went to pick it up, I was informed that they found him on camera. GOT HIM IN THE ACT, walking out of the locker room and one of the stolen bags was in his hands. Jeeeze, it is not a nice thing to do.

I got my PROJECT done for my Australia thingy. It is going to look so good. If I can figure out a way to show it off on my BLOG, I will in deed do that. I am off to bed.

So, I got out of class and went and studied for a bit. Then.....I was hungry. I wanted something different, something good. I decided to try out this new Italian restaurant that I found in a strip near a favorite pizza place. I don't remember the name of the joint, because it was all super Italian and what not, but here are some pictures of the food.The presentation was maybe a 7 1/2 out of 10. The broccoli was undercooked, but the rest of the food was good. The dipping sauce was OKAY for the bread. And, well, I guess I will not be so adventurous next time. They kept interrupting me while I was trying to write on my paper too. It was extremely polite to them, of course. I just wish I could have written. I am struggling to get this paper for English written. SO MANY INTERRUPTIONS!! Damn those life interruptions. But, at the same time I absolutely love all the things thrown at me. I love dealing with things. I really do, no matter how much I may wine and complain, I love dealing with stuff. Especially when it is people related. I love people.

After my meal was over, I went to Wendy's to get a large Strawberry milkshake and a small chili. This was not for me, but for my friend Nicky Bush. You remember Nicky from on Sunday. Well, I had asked him what his favorite fast food meal was and he told me about this milkshake and small chili from Wendy's. SO, I told Nicky not to eat school lunch on Wednesday. I got his food, and went to Snider. It worked out so RADICAL!! I went to sign in at Snider, and the secretary Pat, stopped me and said, well, you look pretty suspicious. I told her that I had the food under my coat, and she let me know that I couldn't take that into the cafeteria. I was disappointed, but of course I agreed to whatever I had to do, even if it meant to throw it away. Well, she explained that there was another option. I could take Nicky back into one of the unused conference rooms. SO I DID JUST THAT!! I went and pulled Nicky out of the cafeteria, where he was patiently looking all around for me, and took him "secretly" to a back conference room. HE WAS SO PUMPED!! I WAS TOO!! We had some fun talk, and it really made my day to have lunch with Nick.

I went back to school, then to work, and then finally to YOUNG LIFE!! It was crazy packed there. And, there was a belching contest.Belching contests are fun. For rizzle, my nizzle.

SLEEP TIME!

P.S. I just feel the urge to inform of this:::I do much more during my days than what I speak of in this simple BLOG. If a camera could really follow me around all day, it would be quite the day to day experience. I live a very exciting and fulfilling life. Always crazy twists and turns around every corner. :-)

post 4 today

I got around today. Crap, I didn't get a whole lot accomplished, and right now I am blogging from the STUDIO-M where I have been working on completing my brochure and finalizing the video for my Australia "group" project.

I am so tired, I can't hardly think.

I got into a little fight/commotion with one of the ladies at work. I was being overly sensitive & decided to make myself known. When I want to make myself known, I tend to be extremely and overtly conflictive. This was the case today. It took me a while, but when I was driving to school to work on this project, I called her and appologized. I explained everything, and I think we are on the same page.

Time to go home, I can still make it to bed by 10PM!

Golly Gee, God Gradually Get's Gooder.

Infusion # 8 of Tysabri was today. So far, so GOOD! Today would mark month 8, and my health continues on GOOD AS GOLD (knocking on wood). I wanted to include some video of the infusion process.

Having the actual needle placed into my vein is not a problem. It is that darn tape that is so excruciatingly painful. When the tape comes off, so does all the hair on my hairy arms. OUCH!!! Today was really a blessing at the hospital. I was so hungry, and they brought me out this meal, and it tasted so good. It looked really good too. I could tell the cook actually put some time trying to make it pretty, it looked good, and more importantly, it tasted awesome! I am not going to diss on hospital food any longer after this experience.Now doesn't that look pretty? :-)

Today, after I got my infusion, I met up with Tom (Young Life staff) to talk about a the "talk" I will be giving next Wednesday at club. After speaking with him, I am getting so totally excited about it. It is going to be just awesome. I have no worries, God will use it for whatever his purpose is going to be. I just want to make myself a vessel for him to use. Tom is to the left, and I am sitting to the right.....It is kind of a funny picture of us, because I don't usually have my shirt off, I have gained some weight.

In the evening, I went to BSF. It was such a good time. I get so much out of the talks now, it is very uplifting. I wish I had time to explain things I learned and took from the talk tonight in great detail, but I don't. SO, I am just going to highlight the grand points, and explain in brevity how they are impacting my life.

This last week, we went through (Exodus 6:28-10:29), the first 9 plagues that God sent to the Egyptians. There were some amazingly challenging questions, and insights I took from the talk Jack gave tonight. CQ stands for challenge question(s).

*What will it take to surrender fully to God and abandon all other God's?
~Pharaoh hardened his heart & showed an obvious lack of fear for God.
-Sin has hardened man's heart. It is when I diligently refuse to submit to God that I choose NOT to follow Him.
~I must accept the obvious path God is leading me to. By refusing to do so, I am "diligently refusing to submit to God."
-Courage to do hard things in God's will glorifies Him.
-The longer sinners resist God's will, and refuse his word, the louder he speaks through judgment.

(?)CQ(?) How has God kept me safe?
How or when have I chosen to ignore God or hiw will?

FINAL NOTE:
Satan wants humans to believe that compromising to unGodly things is okay. It is when we compromise, that Satan is able to slowly get rid of the thorny ball, and turn it into a smooth ball, easy to handle. I remember my 5th grade teacher use to tell us that that when we tell lies, there is a ball inside us, that has sharp thorns sticking out of it. Every time we lie, the ball turns a little bit. At first it hurts to lie (regret, guilt, etc.), but after a while, the sharp thorns sticking out get worn off and it becomes very easy and painless. That is how I envision consistent sin, not being given to the lord looking like.

These notes really impact me deeply because of some challenges I have set for myself in my life.

do all good things have to end?

I suppose some good things never have to come to and end. BUT, the farm did. Before I left for Fort Lame (kidding, I love Fort Wayne) I decided to change the oil in my car. I did it all by myself. Well, I suppose I had a little bit of help, maybe support from Bernie, the Saint Bernard (Dick's dog).

The drive home was a pretty one, but I am thinking that pretty much anywhere in Indiana with tree's is a pretty drive right now.

The drive home was enjoyable, but leaving the farm was not. It is like I am back in High School. When I was in High School, I would get a churning stomach feeling when I had to leave Dick's farm. I love it there so much, almost as if I belong there. ~SIGH~

The most bizarre thing happened too right before I left. I said my goodbyes, and received my final words of wisdom..things like, "don't eat the rat poison." But was completely thrown for a lope when I was handed a check for an amount of money far crazier for me to comprehend. I was paid for this weekend??? I was paid real money to do something that I would happily pay my own hard earned money to do myself. This was hard for me to understand. I am still not really sure why Dick decided to pay me, but I didn't turn back or rip up the check. I will just be extremely grateful, and put the money to good use.

When I got home, I decided I would go to the library to write some of my English paper......well that didn't go too well, so I went to my best friends parents house to hang out with his little brother Nicky. Nicky goes to Snider (the school I do contact work at for Young Life) and I have needed to spend time with Nick, so I just did it. Super fun too!! Nick is AMAZING at Call Of Duty 4 (action/first person shooter game for X-Box 360).Nicky is such a cool dude. Far cooler than most kids I know, and I know quite a few. He is extremely genuine, and funny. His humor reminds me of his brothers, and that is hard to come by.Yes, we ended the evening with some PIZZA HUT. By far not our first choice for pizza, but really the only place we could go to late at night none the less. So, we made it work. Nicky is the man! Pizza is the food! Bernie is the dog! And it is time to hit the sack.

a cup of acceptance

Now, I woke up this morning at a little after 7:00. Which is a big sleep in compared to my normal routine. I had some breakfast, and briefly said hello to Dick's wife Trudy (loveliest lady you ever could meet). Then, it was off to do farm stuff. A conveyor at one of the locations had an issue. So, we went there first, and everyone ended up parting ways from there. I pretty much got in a semi-truck shortly there after. Once I had pulled up to the field we were at (approximately 15 miles or so away), I spent a little time with a gentlemen named Andy. Now, Andy is Tyler's (Dick's farm hand) cousin. He has been helping out for a few years on the farm, and is a really interesting guy. I briefly met him yesterday, but only a short hello or what not. Today, when he was unloading his grain cart into the truck, we had some time to kill. So I was talking with him for a bit. I have to explain the situation that ensued. Some people gain acceptance by being invited out to a bar or party. Others gain acceptance by being affirmed of certain work they do. Others gain acceptance by just being acknowledged. Now, I will always feel welcome and accepted on the farm. I love it so much here, and I don't think that could ever be taken away from me. But, when I went up to Andy, who I don't even know. He did something. He offered me a cup of coffee. When I took it, it was as if he said, "welcome to the team." Now, this was not his intent, but dang it came out that way in my mind. Such a cool feeling too!

Shortly after the cup of coffee, I spent a little time with Dick in the combine. It is so much fun to be in that thing. It is even cooler to see Dick harvest, and Andy pull right up next to him with the grain cart and have Dick unload while harvesting. It makes for a non-stop harvest time. Time efficiency and management. Sweet to watch too. Yes, in deedy, it is a cool sight. Shortly after this picture was taken, I hopped back in the semi and made runs till about 10:00PM or so. Enjoyed every single second of it too.

When I take the truck to the farm to be unloaded, I have about 25 minutes to kill while it empties. I will usually sweep around the bins (always needs done) or just kind of walk/explore the little nooks and crannies of the farm.

I remember when I was younger, maybe 14 or 15, I would lay on top of the corn while it emptied. I have an abundance of good memories from this place. Eventually, night fell. And the beasts of the field open their bright and powerful eyes. You can see the combine in the back ground, but this picture doesn't really do it justice. It looked so cool, the two tractors were side by side and both turned their lights in unison while driving towards me and my awaiting truck. It looked really neat.

And so, the day just had to come to an end. I didn't want it to, but the sun goes down without permission. The moon was beautiful, and seemed extraordinarily large tonight. Just icing on the cake I suppose.

I have arrived

So, it's FARM time. I am excited to finally get here and be able to just kind of let go of all the things that usually have a hold on me and my attention. It was about an hour and a half drive to Dick's (actually uncle's sister's husband) farm here in Wakarusa, IN. So glad to be here too.

Before I left my house, right before actually. Dick called me to say that there were a few break downs, and that I may stand stagnent for a while before there is anything to do. I assured him it was perfectly alright. And that I would see him in an hour and a half.

When I pulled onto his property, I saw the combine all opened up, and it's blood (hydrolic fluid) all over the ground.

This thing is really quite an amazing piece of machinery. To be able to walk around in the engine compartment and just get an idea for how MASSIVE it is, well it's something to behold. Now, Tyler, Dick's farm hand was over at one of his other farm locations working on a blower (dries corn off before storing it) that had just broke hours before the combine. Dick says, "when it rains, it pours." Good ole, Tyler. Working with corn up to his belly button. This is not too uncommon of a typical task you might see him doing around the farm. For sure not an every day type of job, but stuff breaks and has to be fixed on the farm all the time.

Now, as soon as the combine was fixed and the dryer was drying. I got to start driving as well. I was driving Semi-Trucks. The combine would fill up the truck, I would take the truck back to the main farm where the silo's were, and empty them, and then take an empty truck back to the field. Here are 2 of the 3 Semi-Trucks I was driving.

There is just something about driving a truck, 50 MPH, with 1,000 bushell of corn (56,000+ or - lbs.) in it that get's my blood flowing. "I think that is the correct figure, don't quote me though." Call me crazy, but I feel right at home in the driver seat. Good thing too, because I had to learn fast how to handle myself in that truck. After a few rough starts, I felt pretty comfortable, and was good to go.

Thursday, the day after Wednesday

Today was sweet. I took my test in OLS (Organizational Leadership & Supervision), and felt extremely confident about it. I am sitting in my English class right now updating, because I didn't get to bed till late. It is actually 9:00AM, Friday as I type, but I do this often. When I have missed a day, I go back to that day and talk as though I am still in it. I am so pumped, because in like 45 minutes I am going to be leaving for the FARM.

Back to yesterday. After I got done taking my test, I headed down town to check out this bead place. It is a place I am trying to speak to the owner about. I want to see if Tony could possibly fill some orders for her bead shop. She was not in. But, when I got done, I went to the library to kill some time. I saw this huge sign on the side of a building. It kind of made me slightly frustrated, because what the heck does that mean? HOPE, as if one man, in a position that doesn't even give him that much power can change the way everything works. It should have a picture of Jesus next to it. That would make more sense to me.

When I got home later on in the evening, I held the ladder up for my dad while he scooped out leaves and pine needles out of the gutter.Yes, I thought I would take a nice butt shot. Your welcome dad. I made some bad choices later on in the evening, sometimes it's so easy to be pathetic. Sometimes it's too easy to "not stand firm." Hummm, doing right isn't always easy or simple. GO FIGURE!!

I am really ready to get to the farm. To talk with God while in a tractor or a semi. Love those big machines, it's where I love to be. God is good, God is great, and I thank him for this day.

A boastful, prideful, sinner. But Grace has set me free! It's a beautiful thing.

first CCC

Yes, indeed today was the first CCC. You might ask yourself, "now what could CCC stand for?" For which I would reply, "CCC Stands for first Coffee Cafe Club." Umm Humm, and it was grand. After much studious times of reading and writing which would prepare me for the test I have tomorrow in my OLS class, I went to work, and then went to CLUB. Check out these pictures.We got "JIGGY" with it. Yes, there was plenty of opportunities for those who choose to partake in such activities to get their DANCE on. :-O It's a little bit crazy. Okay, A LOT crazy, which is up my alley.Josh was pretty solid during his time of crazy character. He interviewed me when I played my character, "Meat Hands." Who is the new popular high school student who actually has meat for hands. Yes, it is unique and rather greasy. It will be interesting where we go with this Meat Hands fellow. Next week, I will have one of the kids take a picture of him...which is me....yeaThe talk was given by Tom, and it was awesome. It was just kind of bringing Jesus into a light that wasn't too bright, and didn't hurt your eyes to look at. It presented Jesus in a way that was okay to look at, but if the light was a little too much, then it was okay to look away from. And, there were plenty of people who choose to look away. That is the beautiful thing about Young Life. We (leaders) want to be there every step of the way. Ultimately God is in control, we (leaders) are just a tool that have the privilege to be right along side kids.

The drive home was my favorite part though. I gave these two brothers a ride home, and we smashed (sang to) some free style beats I have. It is like one of the only CD's of mine that didn't get stolen. It was super fun making up stupid and crazy rhymes with these guys. I have an OLS test tomorrow. I prepared for it, but I could have done a more thorough job. I have some time in the AM to study, but I don't have complete confidence in this one. I ask for prayers around 12:30, for that will be when I take it. If you are reading this BLOG post after 12:30, pray anyways, because God breaks the whole time thing. He's crazy good like that.

God Bless!!

Today was awesome

I had a great day today. I felt like I got a lot accomplished, and that always makes me feel super good. It all started out at school. Ya see, every Tuesday I need to read over the notes for BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) and this typically takes over 30 minutes, so before I went into the library to study, I just parked on the top of the parking garage, and got to it.It is so very wonderful up there. I love being on top of the university with the wind blowing. Just talking and reading about God, with God. It's good stuff.

Then I got to study some OLS, horribly boring and silly stuff really. But it was all worth it when I walked out of one of the buildings and got to see the most beautiful leaves crawling up the side of one of the buildings.Well, I just hung around school for most of the day. I ate lunch there and everything. While I was one of my "breaks" I happened to come across a bridge being built to connect one of the most westerly parking lots to where the new soft ball fields will be I believe. It is a neat looking bridge.It's really cool looking, and there were some HUGE cranes holding that thing up. It looks kind of high tech. I really like my University. It makes me feel glad to be a part of it. :-)

Well, eventually, off to work I went. We are doing this walk for fitness thing in the YMCA, and so I like to take the kids for a walk through a near by neighborhood. We found a little part yesterday, and I promised them time to play at it today. We just had to find a quicker way to get there. Well, we did, it was to cut across a low stream. I helped all the kids get over it by standing precariously on 3 small rocks, and hand by hand got all of them to the other side safely. It was fun.They liked the little park, even though the equipment is not as nice as the other one, but I think because it was different and just some new things to crawl on, it was good.

I went home after work, and eventually made it to the YMCA to work out. I ended up in the sauna before I showered off and went home. It was sweet because I ran into a in the SAUNA, who I got to share a little bit of my story with. I got to share just a little bit of Jesus with. :-) It could very well open up new doors in the future. I see him around often, so ya never know how God will work that one.

G'NIGHT!!!