thinkmuch

2006-12-04T21:44:00.000-05:00

Ten Days

2006-11-01T11:40:00.000-05:00

It's now only ten days until I leave Michigan..

reposted from yesterday:
I can't believe I only have eleven days left in Michigan, then I'm off on the road. My dad is going to drive out there with me, so we're planning to take about six days to get out there. This will be the twenty third place I've lived in only twenty five years. I can't wait, I love long road trips. We'll be driving through Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, and finally Oregon. Not the most direct route, but since my dad has some appointments scheduled throughout the week, we're going to take some scenic detours, including, hopefully, Mount Rushmore. And Wyoming is a state I've wanted to see since I was a little kid too. So, it's a 'dream come true' for me. And lots of my own pictures to come.

2006-11-01T11:38:00.000-05:00

Wow, blogger is allowing me to post stuff again..

Sad, sad day..

2006-10-28T03:54:00.000-05:00

Last night a very bad thing happened. My Tigers lost the World Series. It's a sad ending to a roller coaster year. So, we'll be back next year. I'll be in Seattle for the games, goodbye Detroit.. Still love my Tigers.

IKEA

2006-10-26T20:31:00.000-05:00

IKEA is coming to Portland in Summer 2007, exciting.

New Generation of Kids - from fireonthealtar.com

2006-10-25T23:05:00.000-05:00

Kids Prayer

Add to My Profile | More Videos

Long day. I'm begining to question my sanity.

2006-10-24T23:01:00.000-05:00

Well, I got up this morning at 4, went to work at 5.30. It was a more involved day than normal in the cash office, with a bunch of things that I had to correct. Normally I can be done by around 11, but today I was there until 12.30, still correcting stuff and researching shortages, etc.. So I took an hour lunch, then went back to work at 1.30. I finished my work at about 2.30, then because I'm a nice person, a bit too nice sometimes I'm beginning to realize, I stayed until 10 pm tonight to help them close. Aahhh!! So, I worked fifteen hours today, not including 1 1/2 hours off the clock for lunch breaks.

So, I think I'll go to bed now.Portland Ground: Pictures of Portland Oregon - Used by Creative Commons License

World Series : Game Three in Saint Louis

2006-10-24T03:39:00.000-05:00

Tonight 9.05 pm, eastern standard time.
Detroit Tigers and Saint Louis Cardinals.
Series tied 1 - 1.

Go Tigers!!!
--------------------------------------------------

edit:
Well, it's another sad day in baseball. My Tigers didn't win this one. How about tomorrow..

Series: Tigers 1 - Cardinals 2

Done for now..

2006-10-23T16:15:00.000-05:00

Well, I think my redesign is done for now. It was so much fun actually. At first it was a bit frustrating, but once I figured out what I was doing it wasn't too bad. And I even figured out how to put my own picture on the template, so then I don't have to have all these cheesy one that the premade templates usually have.
So now that I've been awake for more than thirty hours, not all of those working on this, by the way, haha, I think I may put some pajamas on and start heading to bed with my Bible. I've been reading the Old Testament for thirty four days now, and I'm finally almost done with 2 Chronicles. I'm reading The Message paraphrase by Eugene Peterson, and have been very impressed with it. I was a bit skeptical before about reading a paraphrase of the Bible, but for the most part I really like it. It is so much easier and smooth to read since it is written in modern spoken English, so it reads more like a story, much more relaxing. Of course I would not replace my New American Standard Update for studying, but for everyday enjoyment reading The Message does quite well.
So, as my Irish roommate from years ago always said, "goodnight, sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite, and let Jesus be your light."

2006-10-23T03:17:00.000-05:00

In the midst of redesign, sorry for the clutter...

2006-10-23T02:09:00.000-05:00

Well, I guess I'm staying up all night tonight since it's already after 3 am and I have to get up at 4. Hmm... My brain just won't shut up tonight, and I'm wide awake, haha... Oh well.
So, anyway..

2006-10-22T13:48:00.000-05:00

Ok, one more..

2006-10-22T00:43:00.000-05:00

Portland Ground: Pictures of Portland Oregon - Used by Creative Commons License

2006-10-22T00:02:00.000-05:00

Well, it's official now, like I said, in twenty days I am moving to Oregon. A couple days ago I found out that I have been approved for an apartment. So, this will be my first time living by myself, without roommates. Not that I don't love all my former roommates, but there comes a time in one's life.. You know what I mean. Though, maybe someday I may have a roommate again, unless I find a man first, we'll see, hahaha. But anyway, this just makes me excited!!
(So Martina, you happy? I wrote about something different, not the Tigers, grr... Love you.)
(Portland Ground: Pictures of Portland Oregon - Used by Creative Commons License)

Only twenty more days until I leave Michigan, to live here.

2006-10-21T23:21:00.000-05:00

Well, not exactly here specifically, but you know what I mean. Yay.......Portland Ground: Pictures of Portland Oregon - Used by Creative Commons License

It's a sad day in baseball..

2006-10-21T22:43:00.000-05:00

Tigers 2, Cardinals 7

But, no worries, there's always tomorrow.

World Series: Game One in Detroit

2006-10-21T08:43:00.000-05:00

Friends to foes: Masterminds meet again in Series: read more..

Tonight 8 pm eastern standard time, Detroit Tigers and Saint Louis Cardinals.

2006-10-20T18:19:00.000-05:00

2006-10-19T03:20:00.000-05:00

Good morning. I have only twenty three days left in Michigan.

2006-10-16T13:07:00.000-05:00

I found this interesting saying last night.

Sanity, the sign of an unused mind.

Haha, so true.

So, like I've been saying all summer, how about those Tigers, hahaha!!!!!

2006-10-14T19:59:00.000-05:00

I'm a little excited

2006-10-14T19:51:00.000-05:00

2006-10-14T19:49:00.000-05:00

American League Champions

2006-10-14T19:47:00.000-05:00

FIRST DETROIT WORLD SERIES IN SINCE 1984

2006-10-14T19:40:00.000-05:00

MY TIGERS ARE GOING TO THE WORLD SERIES!!!!!!

2006-10-14T19:01:00.000-05:00

Magglio Ordonez's game winning home run

2006-10-13T18:38:00.000-05:00

You know, this quote is sadly so, so true most of the time.

"I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. They are so unlike your Christ." -Gandhi

2006-10-12T14:18:00.000-05:00

It's snowing. Already..

2006-10-10T19:16:00.000-05:00

"But me he caught - reached all the way from sky to sea; he pulled me out of that ocean of hate, that enemy chaos, the void in which I was drowning. They hit me when I was down, but GOD stuck by me. He stood me up on a wide open field; I stood there saved - surprised to be loved!" 2 Samuel 22.17- -from The Message//Remix

I find this quite amusing.. It makes me laugh.

2006-10-09T23:49:00.000-05:00

'What will your obituary say?' at QuizGalaxy.com

2006-10-09T03:36:00.000-05:00

My parents were in a car accident yesterday afternoon. So we had a lovely evening sitting in the emergency room for a few hours. They're both ok, just bumped up, bruised, and sore. My mom had several x rays and a cat scan, just in case, but everything is ok. But their car isn't ok, even though they were turning and only going about 15 mph it was totaled. So we'll be sharing my car for a while now. So what's the moral of the story? Always make sure everyone else looks where they're going when they pull out in front of you, because then maybe they won't do it.

2006-10-08T00:51:00.000-05:00

Happy 24th Birthday to Sarah (yesterday)!!!!!!

I luff you!!!

By the way, I didn't forget, I was just at work all day.

2006-10-08T00:17:00.000-05:00

Ode to Spot

2006-10-05T00:58:00.000-05:00

Felis cat's is your taxonomic nomenclature, an endothermic quadruped, carnivorous by nature. Your visual, olfactory, and auditory senses contribute to your hunting skills, and natural defenses. I find myself intrigued by your subvocal oscillations, a singular development of cat communications that obviates your basic hedonistic predilection for a rhythmic stroking of your fur, to demonstrate affection. A tail is quite essential for your acrobatic talents; you would not be so agile if you lacked its counterbalance. And when not being utilized to aide in locomotion, it often serves to illustrate the state of your emotion. O Spot, the complex levels of behavior you display connote a fairly well-developed cognitive array. And though you are not sentient, Spot, and do not comprehend, I nonetheless consider you a true and valued friend.

This is Life..

2006-10-04T23:03:00.000-05:00

This is sick..

2006-10-03T00:50:00.000-05:00

Gunman Reportedly Bent on 'Revenge' Kills Girls, Self at Amish School - Fox news

"NICKEL MINES, Pa. — A local milk-truck driver with a childhood grudge and an array of guns Monday took a one-room Amish schoolhouse by storm, sent boys and adults outside, blocked doorways with wood, then opened fire on a dozen girls, killing four in total before committing suicide.
"Three girls were pronounced dead soon after the incident. A fourth girl later died at a Pennsylvania hospital, and at least seven victims were still critically wounded, FOXNews confirmed.
"It was the nation's third deadly school shooting in less than a week, and it sent shock waves through Lancaster County's bucolic Amish country, a picturesque landscape of horse-drawn buggies, green pastures and neat-as-a-pin farms, where violent crime is virtually nonexistent.
"Most of the victims had been shot execution-style at point-blank range after being lined up along the chalkboard, their feet bound with wire and plastic ties, authorities said. Two young students were killed, along with a female teacher's aide who was slightly older than the students, state police Commissioner Jeffrey B. Miller said."

Goodbye Comerica Park..

2006-10-01T21:10:00.000-05:00

Magglio Ordonez
Kenny Rogers
Tigers Greats

Willie Horton - Ty Cobb - Hank Greenburg - Charlie Gehringer - Hal Newhouser - Al Kaline

Ty Cobb - The Georgia Peach

"Perhaps the greatest player in baseball history"

Willie Horton
Just a few pictures from the Tigers game a couple days ago.

2006-10-01T14:13:00.000-05:00

It's October already, wow how the year flies by..

2006-09-28T00:01:00.000-05:00

Hello from Gratiot Avenue and 14 Mile Road in metro Detroit, where no one delivers pizza. haha..

2006-09-26T22:19:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow I'm going to Detroit. Then Thursday afternoon I'm going to my last Tigers game at Comerica Park, the last for probably at least a couple years anyway. Now I will be forced to see my Tigers play in Seattle, ah, just an excuse to go there, right. And now that the 2007 schedule is out, here we go. Who's up for a little road trip to Seattle next year for my birthday?

DAY/DATE TEAM (2007)

Thu / July 12 @ Seattle

Fri / July 13 @ Seattle

Sat / July 14 @ Seattle
Sun / July 15 @ Seattle

So, it's suppose to rain all day Thursday, I really hope it doesn't.

~~~~~~~~~

Tigers savor winning feeling
After 119 losses in 2003, Detroit headed to postseason

And yes, my computer is still broken. I should get a Mac..

2006-09-18T17:16:00.000-05:00

Today would have been my grandpa's 85th birthday. I wanted to post a picture tribute for him, but since my computer is broken I can't.

2006-09-17T12:17:00.000-05:00

My computer is broken.

Black Day, 11 September 2001

2006-09-14T04:06:00.000-05:00

Here's another link very much worth looking at.

2006-09-13T11:52:00.000-05:00

Well, it's pretty much official now, I'm moving in November. I'm contacting apartment managers and starting the process to transfer my job. I have less than two months left in Michigan, this is exciting.

2006-09-12T03:15:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday, Martina!!!
I love you!!!

Five Years Ago Today

2006-09-11T03:06:00.000-05:00

flickr.com

Five years ago this morning I was getting ready for work, just like I am this morning. It was like any other normal day, so I thought. I was sitting there at my desk counting money when the phone rang, I answered, the voice at the other end told me to go watch the tv in the breakroom, bad things are happening in the world. At first I didn't realize really how bad this thing was that happened, it didn't hit me right away.
Later I was at school, I saw all the looks of shock, dismay, and agony on my fellow students' faces. That day we did not have classes, we laid on the ground, we cried and prayed, how could this happen? Was it really happening? I don't remember what was going through my head that day, but it forever changed my life. I did not lose anyone close to me that day, but how many people did? I hope and pray we never forget that dreadful day. We are not immune to the world's terror. Bad things can happen to us, personally.

Thanks everyone..

2006-09-10T21:00:00.000-05:00

Sunset in Gaylord, Michigan, 06Sep06

2006-09-10T05:14:00.000-05:00

My attempt to capture the moon, didn't go too well..

2006-09-07T21:10:00.000-05:00

But anyway, this is the moon over Elmira, Michigan, last night, 06 September 2006.

I be back

2006-09-07T17:05:00.000-05:00

I'm back again. I'm tired. Too much driving and "resting."

2006-09-05T03:53:00.000-05:00

Today is my dad's 52nd birthday, wow, I feel old, haha.

Happy Birthday, Dad!! I love you!!!

2006-09-05T03:51:00.000-05:00

We're headed up north later today, after I get out of work. So I'll be back again in a couple days..

An Indiana Sunset

2006-09-04T16:34:00.000-05:00

Driving north on interstate 69, somewhere near Gas City, Indiana.

2006-09-04T12:49:00.000-05:00

"Avoid popularity if you would have peace."
Abraham Lincoln

I'm back..

2006-09-04T12:25:00.001-05:00

I took a spontaneous trip to Kentucky over the weekend to pick up my mom. It was a very last minute decision. So it was, for the most part, a good trip though. I left after work Friday night and got back a little after midnight last night. I took about 1500-2000 pictures, and haven't even begun to go through them yet. We did a little bit of the "tourist" thing Saturday and went to the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln. That was interesting.
So, I'll write more later, when I have some pictures ready to show too..

2006-08-31T23:47:00.000-05:00

I just found this old picture of my brother and me, weren't we cute..

Some of this is very true, hmm..

2006-08-30T19:56:00.000-05:00

You Are Olive Green

You are the most real of all the green shades. You're always true to yourself.
For you, authenticity and honesty are very important... both in others and yourself.
You are grounded and secure. It takes a lot to shake you.
People see you as dependable, probably the most dependable person they know.

What Color Green Are You?

2006-08-30T17:36:00.000-05:00

I tried my hike again today. It was a beautiful day, so I went about seven miles. Here are a few pictures. I'll be posting more here.

Tiger

2006-08-29T09:20:00.000-05:00

Well, I stayed up all night last night because at about 3 am decided to go out to get some pictures of the sunrise. Haha, big mistake. So, I left the house at about 5 am to go to Meijer to buy an umbrella (because I knew it would rain) and some Bolthouse Farms Green Goodness. And then drove to the nature reserve, which has a sign that says it opens a half hour before sunrise, so I thought it would open at least by 6 or 6.30 am. But I got there, and the gate was still closed. So I drove around to another entrance, that gate was closed too. The sign there said it opened a half hour before sunrise, and the gate opens at 8 am. Hmm, so the sun comes up way before 8 am. So, needless to say I was a bit irked at the lack of clarity. So I drove around more hoping that maybe they would open the gate early, but they didn't. So I spent my morning driving around in the middle of nowhere, sitting on the side of the road, and not able to find a decent place to take any pictures because there was no shoulder on the road so I could park the car. So at 8 am I went back to the nature reserve, the gate was open, so I started my hike. Then it started raining. Long story short, I really wouldn't care about getting wet normally, and believe me I was soaked. But I had my camera with me, so I was holding my back pack tight agaist myself with my umbrella over it. I was already about forty five minutes out before I realized it was not going to stop raining, and it took me only about twenty five minutes to get back. I was completely soaked up to my knees, but the saddest of all, I didn't get any good pictures out of the whole deal, just a couple ok ones.
Oh well, I'll learn to listen to the weather man a little better, eh, haha..

Interstate 84 east

2006-08-29T02:07:00.000-05:00

Me in the Pacific Ocean

2006-08-27T12:22:00.000-05:00

Haha, this was actually quite a funny moment.

Family, not so easy..

2006-08-26T20:33:00.000-05:00

I went to see my Grandpa's grave yesterday. I was suprised to see that the flowers (plastic) that I put there earlier this year are still there. I've been thinking about him a lot lately. As I was driving out there, while I was there, and as I was driving past the old house, I could not help but fight back the tears. Even though I was only five years old when he died I can't help but miss him. I wonder what life would be like if he was still here, or if he had lived even just a few years longer. He was way too young to die. I can't help but wonder why he was stolen from us so suddenly.

I talked to my brother today for almost two hours. I only get to see him once every year or two lately, so it's so nice to talk to him whenever I get the opportunity. And just talking to him about Grandpa I can see that he too still has many of the same questions that I do.

Grandpa's 85th birthday is next month. I would like to put together some kind tribute to his life. He really was an awesome man, he just had problems, but so do all of us. Most of us just deal with them differently.

Please look at my brother's latest journal entry on dA. And take a look at his photography too. He's a great guy and so talented, I love him so much..

I'll be posting more family pictures here..

2006-08-21T23:36:00.000-05:00

Sunday night I went with my parents for a picnic at the Smithville Dam Park, near Eaton Rapids, which is where they grew up.

This is the house where my grandpa was born, grew up, lived his whole life (except when he was in Germany in World War Two) and died. My dad also grew up here.
I also have some good memories from this house from when I was a really little kid. It was for sale a few months ago, and I really wished I had money to buy it, even though I really don't want to live in Michigan.

My dad fell out of this tree onto his head when he was a little kid. Now I know what's wrong with him, haha.And, of course my mom had to have a picture of the mailbox. She's really into mailboxes lately.

I liked how this picture turned out. These deer were just standing on the side of the road staring at us, so we stopped, and they kept staring.This is one of my favorite pictures of the night. It was actually an accident, but I love how it turned out.

Where I was and what I was doing:

2006-08-20T05:08:00.000-05:00

Ten years ago

I was fifteen years old living in Romeo, Michigan. I was in tenth grade and homeschooled. I played trombone in band and worked at my first job, which was at a daycare. At that time I was saving my money to buy my first bass, and started playing several months later. In the summer I played little league fast pitch softball, and was really bad at it, but I loved it anyway.

Five years ago

I was living in Pensacola, Florida, absolutely hating the weather. I was starting my second year at FIRE School of Ministry and playing bass with a student worship team, the same one that I played with through third year. I worked in the cash office at Kmart in the morning before school, loved my job. And was also working at Office Max after school. So I got up every morning at 43o am, went to work at 6, school at 1145 and had classes until 430, then went to work again at 5 until 930, went home to go to bed or work on papers, reading, or whatever else was happening, like our fun roommate issues, that I won't mention.

One year ago

I was living in Concord, North Carolina, still absolutely hating the weather. Humidity is junk!!! I was working two full time jobs, meaning 80-90 hours a week, only sleeping four hours a day since one of my jobs was third shift. Miserable. I was realizing how much my personality does not comply with working in a call center. I was fighting off the feeling that I should move back to Michigan. I had to give my kitty away. Ended up quitting both my jobs (dumb move, by the way..), and was unemployed for five months.

Yesterday

Got up at 345 am. Went to work at 545, and sat outside the store until 7 when the opening manager finally got there, an hour late. The store opens at 7, so we were in a bit of a rush to get the safe open and cash out to all the registers. Worked until 2. Went home, messed around with my computer and camera. Took a nap. Picked my parents up from the airport. Went out for Mexican food for dinner. And finally went to bed, couldn't sleep, so I got back up and messed with my computer some more. Then finally went to bed around 1 am.

Five yummy things

Mexican food
Chinese food
Japanese food
Italian food
German food

Five things I know by heart

Lots of phone numbers
Lots of birthdays
My work schedule
uh..
hmm..

Five things I'd do with lots of money

Give money to help the FI base in Karlsruhe
Buy or build a stone house in or near Portland
Buy a Toyota and have my crappy American car smashed
Get a Mac
Invest and save

Five favorite TV shows

24
Law & Order
City Confidential
American Justice
Star Trek the Next Generation

Five things I'd never wear

poofy stuff
crown
finger nail polish
ball gown
tongue ring

Things I enjoy doing

Thinking
Reading
Photography
Writing
Wasting time on the Internet

===

I tag: No one! Unless you want to be tagged.

2006-08-20T04:49:00.000-05:00

Alaska was discovered 265 years ago, today..

2006-08-19T20:55:00.000-05:00

"Knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers."
Alfred Lord Tennyson

Sorry for all the quotes lately. I've been having an extreme lack of inspiration. But quotes are fun too, I like them.

Albuquerque..

2006-08-19T20:25:00.000-05:00

I picked my parents up from the airport today, so my time of solitude is done for now, haha. It went by so quickly. They had a good time in Albuquerque with my brother. Man, I would love to go back to Albuquerque, I love it there, one of these days.....
It's almost time to start my countdown for my trek west. I don't know the exact date yet, but it's only about ten or eleven weeks away.

2006-08-18T13:06:00.000-05:00

Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.
C. S. Lewis

2006-08-16T17:57:00.000-05:00

What Common Breed of Dog Are You?

Happy Birthday, Jetty!!! I luff you!!!

2006-08-16T17:05:00.000-05:00

2006-08-15T21:12:00.000-05:00

Still mostly offline, oh well.

2006-08-13T14:21:00.000-05:00

"Can a mortal ask questions which God finds unanswerable? Quite easily, I should think. All nonsense questions are unanswerable."
C. S. Lewis

I'm having a little problem with my internet connection, sorry guys..

2006-08-12T08:47:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday yesterday, Raylena, hope you had fun in Idaho..
I miss you.

Here we go..

2006-08-10T21:10:00.000-05:00

Introducing... my new photo weblog, dedicated to my new camera, click here...

My new camera came today!!

2006-08-10T14:52:00.000-05:00

2006-08-10T00:36:00.000-05:00

"I wonder if people realize what they are asking for when they cry for God to openly intervene among the affairs of men. When that happens, it is the end of the world. When the Author walks onto the stage, the play is over."
C.S. Lewis

2006-08-08T09:58:00.000-05:00

"Boiling an egg is the same process whether you are a Christian or a pagan."
C.S. Lewis
(From Christian Reflections, Christianity and Literature)

2006-08-08T06:28:00.000-05:00

Yesterday morning I was peacefully sleeping in my bed, when at 6.09 am my phone rings. It's quite a shock to hear the theme song for Mario at that time in the morning while in a deep sleep. So, of course, it was work. The other cash office lady called in sick. So instead of just telling me to come in, they wanted me to just tell them what they needed to do to get by, and not have me come in. So they called me at 6 am, woke me up, and didn't want me to come in because they didn't want to use payroll hours, hmm... Well, basically, the store can't run without someone doing the job in the cash office, I won't go into all the details, but think about it. I am one of two people in the whole store who knows the job, none of the managers can even fake it, haha. So anyway, long story short, I did end up going in when they realized that they actually do need someone in there every day. It was a really strange day at work too.. Oh well.

Also, yesterday was Sarah and Tony's two year wedding anniversary, wow, I feel old. Congratulations guys!! I love you!! I wish I could take a trip to DC just to see you.

2006-08-06T05:07:00.000-05:00

"A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word, 'darkness' on the walls of his cell."
C. S. Lewis

2006-08-05T20:57:00.000-05:00

"Don't use words too big for the subject. Don't say 'infinitely' when you mean 'very'; otherwise you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite."
C. S. Lewis

2006-08-03T23:53:00.000-05:00

I'm watching all the 'Back to the Future' movies tonight. It's been at least a couple years since I've seen them. I know, it's pathetic, but I can't help that I'm a child of the 80's, I grew up on these movies.

2006-08-03T16:17:00.000-05:00

I have two jobs now. I just got hired today at another retail store. So, I don't really want a second job, but it's a necessity right now. But it should be interesting, I've never worked in this type of retail, it's an electronics (tv, dvd, camera, computer, etc....) store, so hopefully I can learn some useful things while I'm there. And they actually pay pretty decent for retail around here, not great, but better than I started out at my other job. So we'll see...

2006-08-02T15:13:00.000-05:00

I got my new camera bag for my new camera today, I just don't have my new camera yet, but soon...

I'm excited!!

2006-08-02T14:26:00.000-05:00

"Prejudice is a great time saver. You can form opinions without having to get the facts."
E. B. White

2006-08-02T14:20:00.000-05:00

"Genius is more often found in a cracked pot than in a whole one."
E. B. White

2006-08-01T16:28:00.000-05:00

I dropped my parents off at the airport this morning. They're headed out to Albuquerque to visit my brother for three weeks, which means I get the house to myself. It's nice living at home again, but I can't wait to be on my own again too. Living at home at my age after being out of the house for six years is a lot different though. Sometimes it seems like my parents, especially my mom, forget how old I am and try to think of me as a child, but then there are other times that they shock me by treating me like an adult when I try to humor them by acting like a kid, haha. Anyway, I guess that's a bit hard to explain.
Today I'm trying to organize stuff into well packed boxes, and also have as much end up in trash bags as possible. I'm not sure how this happened, but somehow I've got a whole bunch of junk mail that never got thrown away. So my trash bag is filling up quickly.
So that's it for my break...

2006-08-01T00:38:00.000-05:00

Well, it looks like I will finally be moving to Portland around the first week of November. My dad is going to drive out there with me, so we had to work it around his schedule too. We're planning to take about four or five days for the drive, so we'll really be taking our time. But that just means there will be a lot more opportunity for taking pictures. We'll be driving though, among other states, Wyoming and Utah, two places I have wanted to see for years. I'm almost as excited for the drive as I am the move, haha.. I love long road trips.

2006-07-30T23:42:00.000-05:00

Well, I'm encouraged to start writing again. I had gotten away from it for a while, mostly for lack of time and inspiration. But recently a close friend of mine reminded me of my love for writing, she got me. So anyway, maybe it won't all show up here, but get ready for some real stuff from me, not just the shallow junk that's been spewing from me in the last several months. Ahh, it makes me sick.. So anyways...

2006-07-30T23:23:00.000-05:00

Here's my boy Cedric. My parents went to see him yesterday without telling me. I haven't seen him for three years because he lives with my uncle now. Sad...

2006-07-29T19:52:00.000-05:00

Haha. But I thought lemons were yellow.

2006-07-27T21:47:00.000-05:00

So, why is it that there are so many people who are so disillusioned by the "church?" There are so many people who grew up in the church, even pastor's kids, and the children of other church leadership, who everyone thinks will grow up to be just like their parents. They're the ones who are suppose to grow up into the next generation of "church leadership," "strong christians," whatever you want to call it. And then there are those who grew up in church, maybe not as closely as the "pastor's kids," but they were there a lot. And what about those who watched the pastor's kids grow up, maybe they were friends, or went to school with them.

Why do so many of these people take their first opportunity to get as far away from "church" as they can? Why do they leave?

Could it be because the church, especially the American church, really has nothing to offer? Where is reality in the church? Where does the church "practice what it preaches?" If God is so awesome, and so miraculous, and so loving, and great, and powerful, then why is church so boring? Why don't we see anything of God's personality in the services and gatherings?

The average church is not a place (the church is not the place, but the people) where people can go as a refuge, as it should be. Most often it's a place where it feels like everyone is looking down on you, you're never good enough, you haven't done enough, you're not friendly enough, you're not serious enough, you're not reverant enough, you're not attractive enough, you're not eloquent enough, you're just too much of a sinner......

to be continued...

(Please comment, let me know what you think..)

2006-07-27T17:07:00.000-05:00

"You are more than God, You are my Father..."

currently listening:
Consu(me) - Live Worship from Portland Bible College

2006-07-27T16:54:00.000-05:00

2006-07-25T21:32:00.000-05:00

Lansing River Walk

2006-07-25T15:03:00.000-05:00

Tigers make some history with another big first inning

July 25, 2006

"By the time the first inning was over, the Detroit Tigers already made baseball history.

"The Tigers became the first team in 115 years to score at least five runs in the opening inning of three straight games, holding on for a 9-7 win over the Cleveland Indians on Monday night." cont...

2006-07-24T20:48:00.000-05:00

I went for a "photography walk" in downtown Lansing today, so here are a couple of my favorite shots. Until recently I didn't really even know that there was a "downtown Lansing," haha, but it's nice. Of course there is the Capital Building, but there are also several beautiful old church buildings. I got some pictures of those too, but I need some time to get them on here, hopefully soon..

2006-07-23T21:15:00.000-05:00

Doing a lot of thinking today, my brain won't be quiet because I'm so excited...

And this picture makes me laugh.

2006-07-22T19:47:00.000-05:00

Well, I decided to start this weblog as a place to preach at myself, so enjoy the overflow of my brain's expression...

2006-07-18T22:15:00.000-05:00

Well, hello...