roof, chicago

Okay, so for the most part, today was filled with me going to work, and then coming home to the AMISH unloading a bunch of shingles on the roof. Not only did they unload the shingles, they cut out large sections of roof for a couple of sky lights. Check it out.This process is pretty cool. Now I use to drive for the Amish when I worked on a crew my senior year of high school, I had just graduated and was waiting to go to school in Michigan. So, I am fairly familiar with this whole process. There is a guy (pictured above), with a little remote control thingy he is holding, and he just picks the shingles up off his truck, and disperses them all over the roof where ever they need to go.

So, I mentioned the sky lights, now this was in complete deserving of mention on the BLOG. Again, check this out. Yea, so he brings his 6ft ladder, and his saw zaw and just starts cutting. As you can see, he is fairly confident with his cut and ability. And he should be, those cuts were so perfectly straight and I was just amazed. so BAM!! It went just like this. It got cut out pretty darn good. Then, he did it again right next to it. The final project looks great.

I left the house shortly there after, and went and worked out at the Y. Then I went to work, as soon as I got out of work, I went directly to Ryan's house where I hopped in his Grandma's car, and we left for Chicago.The day was perfect to drive long distances. It was like 72 degrees, and just a beautiful day. We enjoyed the drive and each other. Ryan is another Young Life leader in Fort Wayne. He is not doing work at the same school I am at, but working his way into another school in Fort Wayne where YL does not yet have a strong presence. Finally we arrived, and boy ohh boy did it feel good. There was about 200+ individuals just like me, who love the Lord and love impacting young people with the message of Christ. It is very powerful just to be around a large body of people just like yourself. Just like yourself meaning they want the same things in life. . . kind of, were all different, but aww you get what I mean.

Just hold on.

ohhh yea, today was real good. I changed up the evening a bit too. Pretty wicked good too. My Thursday evening turned out in a way I did not see or plan one little bit. But very pleasant. I can't completely update now, because it is 12:36, but I updated yesterday's post, so just read and enjoy that one till I get this one updated. :-)

picture story

Okay, so I am going to write in this Post, but I am going to let the pictures tell most of the story of my day.This is my buddy Tony. Tony holds the ball, is it representative of a bigger story? Yes, I would say so. But you try to think for yourself. I love this little one though.

After I left work, I went home and the DUMPSTER got there. Yes, tomorrow we will get a new roof on our poor little house.

Then, literally 25 minutes after this dumpster got dropped off, my mom and I left for Indianapolis, where I had a doctors appointment at the Indianapolis center for Multiple Sclerosis.My mom did not feel like being in the BLOG today. That is okay mom, even your hand is beautiful.

We got to the doctors office, and had my exam and it all went very well.

I got my mom to go to Ted's Montana Grill! We had some Bison burgers. Tuesday September 29th, 2008 was the last time I ate at Tedd's Montana Grill. Click the link to check it out.When I got home, the prize part of my day. Wednesday night Young Life CLUB!!
Tonight was the Cross Talk. Sam Gensic was the one who gave the talk tonight. It was very good, very analytical, but soo good. There were things that could have been better, like time, BUT, kids got it, and I saw God working in the hearts of kids after CLUB was over.

On the way home, I took Dylan & Kacie home. We got donuts, and it was a good bonding time. I love hanging out and being crazy with high school kids for Jesus.

The hair style

Okay, so yesterday I told two little girlies that I would let them style my hair. To stand true to what I said, I brought in some gel and a comb for them this morning. Below are the results. . .This is an action shot, their little hands just quickly working to try to punch out something beautiful. This picture does not do justice to the true FEAR that was in my eyes at the time.

And now we have the final product. Yes, the revealing of the wonderful hair styling.Can anyone say Alfalfa? Well, I can, and I did.

Today was good. I love it when I stay real busy, and the day goes fast. I had a test real early, then when I got out of work, I went straight to the YMCA, and worked out like crazy.

God talked to me through my BSF notes, and now I am BLOGGING. Sleep will be my next step.

G'Night!!

14 and going STRONG!

Yes that is correct. Today I had my 14th infusion of the drug that has kept the MonSter at bay. Yes, I went to the ER and they plugged in my, count um, FOURTEENTH INFUSION (14th) of the seemingly wondrous drug Tysabri. As the slow drip, drip, drip of the medicine was taking place. I sat and pondered about just how much money my dad's insurance has pumped into my veins with this drug. I thought about how amazingly thankful I am.

I went back to the house, and waited for the Verizon guy to come and make sure our HD Set Top Box is working correctly, and he informed me that the "bug" had been fixed, and that we would not experience any more problems.

George came over too, we talked and hung out before I had to go back to work. Which, I did right at 3PM.

At work, the girls were extra touchy, mostly with me. I was bombarded!! They also told me that I needed to shave. Maybe if I wake up early enough tomorrow, I will do so. But, they all wanted to style my hair, I don't know if they knew or cared that I don't really have enough hair to style, but it did not seem to stop them in the least bit.Yes, these little ones needed some attention. So, I took them in the gym, and ran after them for a while. It got rid of some of that extra nervous energy, that seems to fill them up so much all the time. Little girls, you gotta love um. Ya see, when all the kids come into the YMCA childcare in the afternoon, I welcome them from the hallway into the cafeteria.

When I left work, I headed on to campus (IPFW). I had a 5:30PM meeting with my academic adviser. I got all my classes situated for my fall semester. It will be really good, but a super FULL BOAT. 16 hours is what I will be taking. And challenging classes too. I might have to get a Spanish Tutor. :-O But, i'll cross that bridge when it comes.

And this is the testimony: God gives us eternal life; he who has his son has eternal life, he who does not have the Son of God does not have eternal life. 1 John 5:1-5

Yesss, I just typed that from memory. I think i've got it! Pretty plain and simple.

After I met with adviser, I went to BSF. It was good tonight, but Jack, the usual lecture giver, was not here. I miss hearing him talk. He just really knows how to give it, but Keith (replacement) did a really good job in his absence.

What service or task is God preparing me to do??

That was the main question. The lecture ended with this note that I really liked.

**What ever God is prepping me for is far better than any thing I could settle for.

happy Resurrection Sunday

Yea, I don't think I am going to call it Easter Sunday anymore. I sometimes forget why we have all these "holidays" in America. Easter, definitely has hardcore pagan roots, and it's really kind of messed up that we so openly accept it in churches through out America. But, it is what it is. I do not believe that people know what Easter is really all about, so that is where it get's kind of cloudy. But, I would just bet that Satan would really rather have it that way. No matter what Easter is or isn't. Today, I got together with Family to celebrate the Resurrection of Christ. What a day to celebrate too. The picture above is of the drive to Nappanee, IN. It is about a 1.5 hour drive North West from Fort Wayne. I went with my parents, because they like it when we all go to church together on this day. It gave me time to finish up this weeks BSF study. All done with Numbers. What an awesome book! I am so glad I was in BSF. I don't think I would have gone through the Old Testament in such an awesome way without it. I have learned so much, and wow has it been good to get the ROOT's of Christianity. I mean seriously, I think everyone needs this. This morning I went to Nappanee Missionary Church, which is the church that my Aunt Jackie & Uncle Steve (Aunt & Uncle's house I went to today) go to. It was a real good sermon. It was not ground breaking, but I believe that if a sermon contains Truth, then it is as good as you make it. I think the "making it" part should be the application that takes place in an individuals life. It was based around 1 John 4:10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrafice for our sins. This got the pastor talking about this specific type of life called Zoe. There is life-which is the living breathing saved or unsaved type of life. Then, there is the LIFE, which is what is inherited after acceptance of Christ. He talked about that for a bit, and if you want to read/learn more about that, I found a good site for a good reference ~CLICK HERE~ for that. Then he got to talking about what does real and sincere LOVE do to a person. Well, it causes drastic change. Anyone who has been deeply in love with someone can relate to this. For me, if I fall in love with a girl, I mean really head over heels for her, it will change the way I approach her, my body language, maybe I will style my hair and shave every day. Well, once you fall in love with Christ, this happens too. You treat people differently, you love people differently, because He loves you so much. It's true, it really is. Then, lastly, the ultimate exampl of love was given. John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. Want a present day example, well without the whole forgiving of all of man kinds sins example. . Think about the captain who let the Serbian pirates take him hostage so that the crew could be let free, he gave his life so theirs would be saved. Bingo, no greater love, except for that of Christ Jesus.

Then I went to my Aunt & Uncles house. I got to hide 55 eggs, with the help of some of their dad's of course. It was so much fun to see them scatter. It was especially fun to see them help other find eggs. One of the little girls, even gave away some of her eggs to another little one who didn't have very many. I LOVE IT!! Little kids love candy, ohh even big kids love candy. ;o)

Then we (mom, dad, & I) drove home. There was a lot of healthy talk. Talk about Merideth, about me, about health, about life, about family, about future, all kinds of things. Today was a good day.

alright, check this out

So, today was immensely lazy. I have done that a lot this weekend. Could I have been studying for something? Well probably, there always seems to be something to study for. Was it a nice enough to go for a jog? Why yes, yes I believe it was. But, the truth to the matter is I slept in till about 12:00PM, and it felt really good. I mean, darn if the sleep did not feel soo good. And it came so natural. I think when I know that I have nothing to do, or anything to be responsible for when I wake up, my body allows me to sleep deep, and relax. Ya know, really hit that REM sleep with a vengeance.

So, when I did get up and around. I got on my BSF, as well as the study I started with George. The first verse to memorize goes along with Assurance of Salvation. I am to memorize it like this (this is what I actually say) Assurance of Salvation, 1 John 5:11-12 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. 1 John 5:11-12. Now, the book George and I are using comes with the verses all ready to be torn out and put in your wallet to keep with you, and looked at constantly until memorized. Here is my little card I just took out of my wallet. Man, if anything is good for me to carry in my wallet, I know this would top the list, if such a list even exists.

HIGHLIGHT OF MY DAY

I got to meet with my good friend Wes.

Yes, good ole Wes. He picked me up at 4PM on the dot, and we went out for coffee. I did not drink coffee, I just wanted to make that known. But, we talked about everything under the sun. We talked about God, and his girl friend. We talked about school (wes will be done in 4 weeks) and family. Things are going really good for Wes. He is not going to have a job upon graduation, but neither are a lot of people. Especially those in Wes's field, which is Business.I have to admit though, I got a little jealous after I got home. Jealous of the relationship between Wes and his g/f Jackie. Not like the kind of jealous that would make a person do something stupid or mean, but like an introverted jealousness. The kind that makes you a little down because of the reminder that you aren't anywhere near where you would like to be in a specific area of life. Which lead to sin for me personally. Because of those thoughts, it caused me to be kind of sulking in my thoughts, when I should have gone to Christ in prayer, saying, "I know you have me where you want me, and I fully trust you," I did not. I felt a little bit bad for myself, and denied myself from going to God in prayer. Stupid decision. Anytime I selfishly seperate myself from God, it is pure stupidity and selfishness at work. But, praise be to God for the grace that washes over evetything in my life, even my stupidity.

Lowlight of the day

So, I said a couple of posts back that I needed to apologize to my sister for forgetting her. Well, I did that today. It was a pretty sad conversation. I knew that I let her down, but when she talked about it, she said it in a way that really made me feel inadequate. She made me feel as if that was all she needed/wanted me for. A ride, and now that I screwed that up, she just dismissed me. I do so much for her, I love her so much, but it's almost like none of that matters. She has on her Merideth vision, and damned if it doesn't seem to pick up her familys feelings in the slightest bit. To add to that, I asked why she was not going to go with us (mother, father, & myself) to Easter at my aunts like she has done for so many many many years in the past. She said, "well I am just concentrating on getting things accomplished for court on Monday." I said, "well, Merideth, you can't get anything accomplished until Monday after you get out of court." She said, "yea I know." I said, "so then that is just an excuse you made up to get out of going to Easter with your family?" She just kind of stayed quiet. It friggin hurts, and I have gone through this hurt with her so many times. So have my parents, more times than an individual could even attempt to count. We never stop loving her though, never stop doing everything we can to help her. Does she see it? Can someone please tell me if she even realizes how much we love her?? PLEASE!

Anyways, here are some killer videos that I wanted to show. They are from the camp that I will be interning at this summer. Man they make me so pumped to leave!
~CHECK THIS ONE FIRST~ (This one opens up on internet)
~CHECK THIS ONE SECOND~ (you might need WMP or something equivalent to open)

Chinese buffet.

I caused some drama today. Ya see, last night I knew I did not have to work because I knew today was Good Friday. Well, when I was eating Taco Bell in my car last night I took my phone out of my pocket for whatever reason. I sat it in my car. . . . and I forgot it there. My mind was on the fact that I did not have to go to work, BUT, I did not remember the important thing that I needed to remember. I still needed to pick up my sister and take her to work. AWWWW CRAP!!! I totally forgot, my memory is horrible. My mind does not work the way it use to work, I know it sounds like a cop out, but my M/S has caused definite cognitive damage to different ways of my thinking or in this case, remembering. When I finally did get to my phone around 3PM, there was a million missed calls from my sister, and then one really nasty phone call from her girlfriend who she is currently living with. Her girlfriend does not have a car, so she uses Merideth's. She called me and said something to the effect of, "I am so angry that you forgot your sister again, Mer had to come and wake me up all upset, and it really made me mad, how dare you, you are so irresponsible, and I guess I will just take care of her on Monday's and Friday's from now on." :o( That one made me pretty angry, but it made my mom even angrier. Then I got angry at my mom for getting angry at Mer's g/f, it was all pretty stupid and caused because I and my mother choose to speak before we thought. I apologized to my mom for what I said to her, and vice versa about Mer's g/f. It was a whole lot of drama caused from me not remembering to pick my sister up.

Then, George and I went to The Anchor Room (Christian book store) to get a book/study pamplet filled with essential scripture to memorize and questions to fill out. Dave (from Dave Church) said we should work through it together. We did the first study today, and I am glad to walk through it with George. I also need to re-memorize some of the scripture. Some of it I still have memorized, but other I need to slam back in there.

Then, george and I found a new Chinese Buffet opened up right near our neighborhood. It was really good, well, except for the rice. It was undercooked and even a little bit crunchy. I mean for steamed rice, there was just something wrong. Now, it was there first day, but I figured the rice would be a shoe in. After I had paid, I politely approached the woman greeter/part owner and asked her if I could offer a suggestion. I did this while no one was around, only her and myself. I told her about the rice, and she seemed to take it very personally. I tried to do it as politely as possible. Ohh well, I will try back before I go to Arizona, and see if they get it right.

After that, George and I headed to the movie store, and got a movie I had really liked from my child hood. Sphere with Dustin Hoffman, and Samuel L. Jackson. I really liked it, but George kept finding faults with it. Ohhh George. It's all good though. I am at home now, and super tired. I believe it is sleepy time. Tomorrow I will have to call my sister and explain what happened, as well as apologize for forgetting her. I feel so stupid, but it seems if I don't have a bright and loud reminder, my mind is just incapable of remembering, no matter how many times I have done it in the past. STUPID M/S!!

average day

I had a pretty average day today. Lots of kids again, which was good. They had another half day/early dismissal. I'm not quite sure what for, because there was no parent-teacher conferences.

When I got out of class, I had this hunger for food. Any food, and on the drive home I couldn't help myself, I let loose. To taco bell I went. :o/ I never eat fast food, but for some reason I could not help myself.

____________________________________________________
Added @ a later time, you would understand if you read the post for TOMORROW. Just trust me. Confused??

This is the fateful Taco Bell that helped me to be in a position to forget my phone in my car. Excuse? Yes, probably, but there is truth to that statement. Darn you Taco Bell.

then I went to sleep

Uneasy inner pain.

So it was a long long day at work today. The kids had parent teacher conferences today, as well as tomorrow. This means that I go in at 6:30AM till 8:45, then come back to work from 11:15 to 6. That is a long time with almost 4o little kids, and I love it, but it is just a long time with almost 40 little kids. Today was maid especially hard at 3:18PM. Dave (from Dave church) called me to inform me that Ben Schone had taken his life. I went to school with Ben, we were in the same Youth Group, and close way back when. We had a lot of mutual friends.Although I was not super close with Ben, as of recent years anyways. I am especially disturbed by this incident, not only because of the loss of life, but because of the dramatic impact it has had on the people closest to it. His father Mike, well he was an awesome individual. I remember him well from the growing up years. Always so extremely funny and friendly. I hurt for him, and the whole family. Please, let your prayers ring out for the Schone family.

R.I.P. Ben Schone

It was difficult to go through the rest of the day at work, well mostly because when you are around little kids, being happy is pretty necessary. I just try to include it as much as possible anyway. It was hard because I was so deeply in thought and hurting for the family.

Then I went to Young Life. I picked up Ray. I had been bringing Ray last year to Young Life, and he really loves it. It is such a sweet thing. Ray lives on the South side of town, and well I am just so happy I can reach out to him, and that he feels comfortable enough to call me and ask for a ride. This is when I picked him up from his house. Josh (YL area director) gave the talk tonight. It was a pretty good look into what sin is. It was based on the idea that sin is not something that is the physical outside materialization of the sin act, but is actually a much deeper all encompassing life style. He talked about how Jesus Christ did not come to make people stop doing the bad things in life, but he came to change their hearts which lead to the change in outsidey happenings. It was a really good talk, and in my brief talk with a few kids, it sounded like it went over really well.

P.S. I do have an update on Tom, I just have to let some time pass before I mention it. If you've been following the situation, please know there are positive things happening. Please pray that they continue and that God changes heart(s).

super tired

worked right up till almost 1am. My dad & I were picking out classes for next semester till midnight, because. . . . well my mom hurt her hand @ Speice Fieldhouse (where she works out at). My dad took her to ER to get x-ray, and we had to go get her car. There are raccons in the roof. . . lol, and I had a good day. A very long & tiring good day, but super good.

-Grace&Peace

Merideth, location, and decisions

On Mondays and Fridays, I pick my sister Merideth (non biological sister, the one I grew up with all my life) up and take her to work. I have been doing this ever sense she got her 2nd DWI (Driving While Intoxicated). And, well she is really picky about me taking pictures of her lately. I don't know if it is because she knows I will put it on my BLOG or what. She use to love to read my BLOG. She does not read it anymore. :o(I love my sister Merideth so much, my heart just aches for her always. I wish she expressed her feelings about things. I wish I could get her to talk about things. It is so hard for me to witness to her, or anyone close. I think mostly it is because I am so afraid of failure. Ya know, like I am just so afraid that it will be something that I won't say, or maybe say wrong that will keep her from getting to know God. This way of thinking is of course lies that Satan uses to decieve us, but they work sometimes. I sure do love Merideth, and if the only way I can show it to her is by picking her up 2 times a week, and taking her to work, well so be it. I will get her breakfast while I am at it. From Arbys, like she said she likes. When I got to school to do some studying, I felt like seeking out a new study location. I did just that, not only did I go into a building that I had never studied in before, I choose a type of seat that I had never studied in before (not the exact seat, but the type of seat I am referring to). Yea, I tried it out. I even got through chapter 20, but it was loud in there, and people were just all loud and stuff. I was a fool not to go to the library. Sorry Helmke, I won't turn my back from you again (Helmke is the name of the library on campus, and i'm not really sorry).

(CLICK ON PICTURE TO ENLARGE AND READ MESSAGE)

I was really looking forward to going to BSF all day today. I had really been applying things from the lesson through out my daily life. For instance, the guy Aung that I talked to on Thursday. The gentlemen from Berma. Well I saw him again at the library, and we talked, and just tonight, he called me. It was so exciting to speak with him on the phone. Now I have his cell phone number, and it is just a good place to start. I hope to have the opportunity to tell him what is most important in my life at some point.

Back to BSF though. I really looked forward to the lecture, the notes were awesome, and I had great discussion in my small group. BUT, I wanted to hear what Jack had to say. He of course had so much very enlightening things to get accross, and I wanted to ask his opinion on Tom once he was done with his lecture. I told him a bit about what I had experienced at Starbucks with Tom. I gave him a slight peek as to what decisions Tom was making and what not, but mostly wanted his opinion as to why I felt so sure of what "God" was telling me with Tom @ Starbucks. . . . . . . I had a complete heart change with Tom. I had to take back my affirmation, and explain to Tom today that I do not feel as though he is making a correct decision. I had to explain that he was not acting within the context of a responsible Christian man with regard to his relationship with his fiance. He started dating her 6 months ago, he wants to elope, and get married A.S.A.P. There is so much more to the story than that, but he stepped down from his position as a staff member with Young Life so he could go ahead with his decision. And, after the hours and hours of spending time with him and talking about it on Saturday. I think it could have very well drained me, and put me in the mental state of mind that detracted me from really hearing what God had to say. Why I felt those extreme feelings like I did, well I still do not fully understand. I do know God is teaching me something, and I am praying that he continues to reveal what that is exactly. When I talked to Tom today. I explained my new stance. That I believe he is acting impatiently. That if she is as important to him as he says she is, then he will practice discipline and patience. That he will respect authority, and not just justify his decisions. It was really hard to tell him, but I am not the only one, not by a long shot. He got pretty cold with me. That hurt, but I understand he needs his space now. The situation just sucks.

I hope I didn't just massively confuse everything. If you don't get it, ask me specific questions, and I will do my best to explain.

Sunday's Posteriffic POST

My parents are home safe and sound. They had a really good time, and have great pictures and stories from their Mexican vacation. I am so happy it was a good experience for them. They are tan, and just looked like they did not want to leave quite yet.

George and I went to Dave church. It was really good for the both of us. And, it was Richard's birthday celebration.

The man is looking good is he not? Notice the, "you are special" plate which puts extra importance on him. . . if only for the day. We all went a round in telling him one thing about why or how he is important to us. It was really good for George too. And as time passes, even through struggles and "set backs" I see growth, sincere growth. That is a beautiful thing to watch.

~~Drama compounded by confusion. I know what God told me. . . . why then is there doubt amidst it all. hummm, i'll have to put some thought, prayer, and seek mature Spiritual advice on this one (i'm referring to the affirmation I recieved in prayer over Tom).~~

FACE THIS!

I was actually trying to do something with this picture, but my phones camera didn't pick up as much as I wanted it to pick up. . . so I just made a funny face instead.

Something amazing happened today, something I have never experienced before in my Christian walk. I can't go into detail about the specifics, but I spent some time with a good friend today and after we went and talked about some really important stuff, I knew he was seeking affirmation in a way. I was able to give it to him through prayer. Before we parted ways, I told him that I wanted to pray for him. I did, and in the prayer I was focused fully on God and him. It was like I had tunnel vision, fully concentrating on communicating with God about him, & God told me directly that he was making the right decisions, I physically was stuck for a bit; unable to move to the left or right, just stuck in the position until the prayer ended. It was a very powerful experience & put me in tears. What an awesome GOD!

Grace&Peace

CRAZIEST FAN

The day was awesome (Emphasis added). It started off at work. Today was the last day of the YMCA Spring Break Camp. I had a heck of a time there. I will share a picture from work, then briefly mention a situation that happened.I told these kids that they are going to be known as GENERATION DS. The DS is for the Nintendo DS that they spend so much time playing. A cool invention, but it sure does take up a massive amount of their time and lives.

And now that situation. You have to understand that at Spring Break Camp, the majority of the kids are from all over the city, kids that I have no background information about, or have ever even seen. So, there were two sisters. A 6 year old & a 5 year old. The 6 year old was surprisingly more mature than her younger sister. The younger one had a "freak out session" as I like to say. She did not get a ball or something to that effect from her sister during a game, and just went ballistic on her; trying to scratch her eyes out, and hit her. I had to physically restrain her from causing her sister or herself harm. I finally had to take her out in the hall, with other older children as witnesses, and just keep her in a safe area until she stopped crying and throwing a HUGE fit. I don't like playing with children like that. I'm not saying that in a way as to say it demeans my love for kids. I'm just saying it to mean that I much prefer when I don't have to participate in physically holding a child down to the ground in order to keep them and others safe.

NOW THE EXCITING PART OF THE DAY!! I got 12 tickets from a sister of a life long friend. And, well put them to good use. Myself, and another Young Life leader took 9 Young Life guys to a basketball game. The Mad Ants. It was soo cool. The guys had a great time, and it turned out to be a really good game.We had some good seats too. Everyone in the row to the right, and the kid in the upper left were all part of the gang. At the last quarter, the Mad Ants came around. They were behind the whole game, and actually getting pretty dominated. Then, the underdogs became the heroes. It was soo cool, and there were some amazing plays at just the right time. Pretty exciting game.

Through the game, they have a lot of "extra activities" to keep the fans involved and pumped. I won, "craziest fan of the game." And I had to earn it too, let me tell you!! I won a prize pack. I won a Mad Ants T-Shirt. . . . but then I won this hat, and I can't understand why. . . . Maybe someone could clue me in as to why they gave me a Milwaukee Bucks hat. Because I just can't figure it out. I will cherish the hat though.

Great day.

I cooked. . . because I had to

I am going to show a bit of my food skills, well because I just want to emphasize that I could cook if I had to. It's just that I still live at home and my mother owned and ran a catering business for 11 years, and was an amazing cook for umpteen years before that. So, it's like, "why the heck would I cook?" Anyways, my parents are in Mexico, so I have an opportunity to strut my stuff. My stuff is weak sauce compared to good cooks though.For lunch, I was feeling a legit Hot Ham and Cheese. it was pretty darn good. I forget what kind of cheese I put on it, but it was good. Not swiss, but sort of like swiss. Something tells me it starts with a C. . . . But, i'm kind of a forgetful sally when it comes to remembering super simple stuff like that. After lunch, I did my BSF Bible study. Wow, God talked to Balaam through a Donkey. I kind of took from the study of Numbers 22:1-22 among other things, that I need to be watching for God to be in anything. Now, that does not mean that I need to have the mind set of, "okay, if that window curtain blows to the left by the wind, then God wants me to move to China." No no no, that is foolishness. Yes, I do believe fully with all my heart that God spoke through a donkey to this Balaam jerk. I think I just need to be watching for God's work in all situations at any time. Even in situations that I don't think God would be in. I need to keep that eye open.

I went to my interpersonal communications class. Every time I go to that class, I look and view the prof and the class differently. I really do. I put change into a situation that needed to have a heart/mind change.

Then I came home and my cousin was removing the plastic wrap that we put around our back porch in the winter. If he wouldn't have done it, then I would have had to. He did such a good job, I decided to cook dinner for him and I. I'm real glad he didn't fall, he was hanging from some strange angles. Cook the spaghetti. Warmed the sauce. Cooked the succotash which is corn and lima beans for those of you who don't know. It was good, and my cousin said it was real good. The noodles could have been cooked just a few minutes longer, and some part of the lima beans did not square well with me. Maybe I was supposed to put something on them before cooking, I dunno, they were alright though. So, then it was time to go to class. So I did, and I found this little interesting note on the door. No class. Which was cool with me. I went and found a secluded computer lab. Then I wrote out a whole bunch of E-Mails and compiled one huge one for a reporter at a Milwaukee news paper about stem cells and all kinds of information. Now I am in that same computer lab, it is 9:29, and I am about to go home and be lazy for a bit, then go to bed.

Mobile add on

This is Aung, he is a Berma refuge. God connected us, i'm sure of it. I gave him my E-Mail & cell phone # as well as just talked with him and listened. I am adding this as a late add on to today's (Thursday's) post because it is exactly what I was talking about. Looking for God in all situations and circumstances. I don't know if Aung will contact me, I hope he does because he has an amazing story and is a great person with a bright future. But, right when I finished my BLOG post, he sat down next to me, I sat for a bit and then just asked him a question about his memory card thingy just to start conversation, the rest is history. I watched and listened though.That was obviously what I needed to do in that specific situation, and I had my "God eyes" looking if you will.

-Grace&Peace

a day in the life of Mikey

Today was good, I slept in today. Yesterday, I worked out hardcore. I mean I really got in a good and intense work out. My body was tired from all angles, and when I went to sleep, at 8:45P.M., I did not wake up this morning until 8:00A.M. Almost 12 hours of sleep did me good. When I finally got around, I went to work.Yep, at the YMCA spring break camp, there are kids brought in from all different sites all around the city. It is cool because there is intense diversity, and you get to see all sorts of kids. I love it, especially when I get to play with them during free time outside on the play ground, or during a rousing game of Kick Ball. I fit right in with 5-13 year old kids. When I am out there, it is always, "Mr. Mikey, look at what I can do," or, "Mr. Mikey, will you help me up on this pole, or that bar." It is great, so many cute children.

When I got out of work @ 5P.M., I went directly to school. I had to write a 2-3 page paper over an article I had not yet found. So, I found an article and wrote the paper.This is a picture of me in a cozy little corner of a computer lab that is found in the basement of one of the buildings on campus.
When I was leaving campus, I saw that there was a cop sitting and watching an area where I was pulled over and given a ticket for not coming to a complete stop. ~CLICK HERE~ to see the BLOG POST that talks about that day, almost a year ago. And check out what happened today. . . So I was being super careful, I saw that there was a cop sitting in the same exact spot he (NOT the same officer) was sitting at last year when I got cited. So, I pulled out of the parking garage to the first stop sign, and came to a super complete stop; I had to have been stopped for at least 3 seconds, then took a left, and did the same at the next stop sign. I was getting ready to take a left, and when I was about half way through the intersection, I SLAMMED on my breaks, and came to a screeching halt because there was a black Mercedes Benz that did not stop what-so-ever. There was a girl driving and talking on her cell phone. If I would not have come to a screeching halt, she would have broad sided me. I was so stunned, I just pulled in front of the copper, and rolled down my window. I said to him, "are you going to do something?" And he then pulled out, turned around, passed me (because I had pulled over so he would not be behind me), and went after this girl who had pulled off into an auxiliary parking area, possibly so as not to be seen. Well, he saw her and him and his assistant officer got out of their car and hopefully gave her a stern talking to. It was messed up. LOL, kind of ironic though. :o) I am sure glad I was paying attention, or else I would have gotten SMASHED into.

Then I went home and read my BSF notes, and did my Bible study. I really liked it, and took this from it. In studying Numbers 20 & 21 I see and learn that The places of my former defeat can become places of great victory. In my weakness, God is made strong. It is so true, and I am so thankful to be loved by an all consuming God. So eternally thankful.

P.S. It takes 30-45 minutes to post an average BLOG post. You take that amount of time, multiplied by the amount of BLOG posts I have (820), well you get a lot of time spent on making a BLOG. Truly, it is nice to take a slight break from. I do love this BLOG though.