Gloria

'A line of horse-drawn carriages lines down Georgetown road during the funeral processional for a slain Amish schoolgirl October 5, 2006 in Bart Township, Pennsylvania. Funerals for four of the five girls killed by a gunman on Monday were held Thursday. “They know their children are going to heaven. They know their children are innocent ... and they know that they will join them in death,” said Gertrude Huntington, an expert on Amish children.'

Please take time now to pray for those who are wrestling with death—whether their own or of a loved one.
"Comfort one another with these words." --1 Thessalonians 4:18

Well Said!

"An anarchy is as good as its leader."
--Jason Blades

(RED)+(pretty much anything)=SLICK!!!

I am, as of today, the proud owner of the coolest shoes ever!



Yeah man! It's the (RED)s! Specially made! Lets take another look:









Yessssssssss! And the inside:



RIGHTEOUS!!!! Hey, not only do these shoes look totally awesome, but 15% of the money spent on them goes to fight AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. What's that? That's (RED). It's basically Bono's big idea of saving the third world by having the first world buy stuff. Czech it out.



Last, and probably least. The shoes came with these sweet bags.


I was at first frightened that these might be a choking hazard. But Converse thought of everything! Or at least tiny little airholes that might save poor suffocating children's lives! See for yourself:


Yeah. It looks scary. But those little red things are totally saving my life!

I know you're extremely jealous of me, with my slick shoes and all. But you need be no more! You can design and buy your own smooth-walkin' disease-fightin' child-savin' shoes today at Converse! Talk about slick.

iPod: now changes gender!

Is is just me or is this slightly disturbing?

you know you're an english teacher's child when...

Is this normal?

I was in a conversation with my English teacher's 6-year-old daughter when she appropriately used the word "sensibility."

Yeah. I know. Six years.

I barely know what that word means now.

And who babysat her for several years? That's right: my perfect sister.

the wages of resisting hygiene is...laughter?

Well, today I met my friend the drill, it being the meeting that so many anticipate with apprehension.

I laughed.

Yep. I laughed in the face of that drill. It wasn't a false laugh either.

Not only did I find the experience ridiculously funny, but I might even use the word enjoyable. It's true. Peter enjoyed going to the dentist and lying in the chair for half an hour while some people fixed his two cavities.

Seriously now, it was funny...and fun.

Relaxing, yes, relaxing is another word that matches this experience. In fact, I was nearly asleep by the time they were done with the second tooth. The drill didn't have the harsh dremel-like tone that I expected, but more of a pleasant humming that contributed to my journey toward a stupor.

So right now the greatest cause of my laughter is the nearly complete numbness of my jaw. I bet I could bite my lip off and not even notice. I probably would have tried if the dentist didn't warn me. Oh, and for the first hour or two the numbness let me speak in no way except that which would earn me such a title from passers-by as "retarded." This it did without in any way altering my complexion. (Amazing!) I had contemplated the further enjoyment that might proceed from babbling spontaneously to various Wal-Mart shoppers (while wandering said store, of course), but, alas, this happened not.

Well, perhaps I oughtn't to ramble on about how much fun it is to get a cavity filled. You should experience it for yourself! I encourage you to go and support your friendly neighbourhood dentist today!

So, the moral of the story is that making the process of tooth-filling much more painful would encourage young children to take better care of their teeth. I mean, if I had known it was this fun all along, why would I have even bothered?

on the floor at a jars of clay concert

ME: So Dan has a tough time remembering the words to "Oh My God?"
SECURITY: Only near the end. It's really the type of song that you don't want to mess up the lyrics at all.
ME: Yeah, and plus there are a lot of 'em.
SECURITY: (Hands papers to me) How about you take them home and learn the words yourself?

So now this lucky feller has a Jars-read sheet of lyrics for "Oh My God," practically the most amazing song ever. I think I need to read it again. Chances are you do too.

Life Is Good

Oh life, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways...

FOCUS was amazing. The speaker, Mike McKenzie was relevant, warm, and funny. I learned a lot and got to refocus my goals.

I sang "Gloria" at Monday's meeting. It was really well recieved.

I just had a cream-cheesed bagel for breakfast!

Emily and I performed "Dry Ramen" for the first time at the Hamburg Plant (Church) yesterday (Sabbath). It was both hysterical and depressing (it's that kind of song).

Pastor Serg and I had a really important conversation last Friday, and have more scheduled for the future. I can't wait!

Homeleave is next week, for a whole week!

I'm listening to A Collision now!

I'm going to a Jars of Clay Concert today (at six) with Dan, Justin, & Emilia!

Yesterday marked the reconciliation between myself and another who I considered the only person to hate my guts. This is a miracle.

It's been warm for the past few days.

A few of us jazzed up Arts Celebration Night with a slick piece called "Laid-Back." It featured a smooth upright bass riff by Ben, some crazy guita licks and trombone improv by Dan, and a killer drum solo by Matt. Extra touch: we were all tuxed up and slicked our hair to the back (except Matt, who was hindered by his curls). Basically, the BMAians went insane over it.

Yep. Life rocks.

Aunt Gina ROCKS!!!

Need I say more?

back to the good old days

Something in me wants to hail back to the years of the seven o'clock bedtime. Oh, those were the days. No homework to worry about. No piano practice to neglect. The whole world revolved around one selfish little boy's enjoyment, but only until bedtime.

And now? Everything in this world just heaps up until a focused relationship with Christ becomes a painful and seemingly futile effort. What gives? This is the point at which one of two things suffer: either my GPA or my friendship with God.

Enter FOCUS.

Three times a year, Blue Mountain Academy sets apart a week to cut back homework loads and to "Focus On Christ's Ultimate Sacrifice." This means more singing, more chapel, and usually a more free feeling. Teachers give open-book tests and short assignments while God takes top priority.

But wait! Shouldn't God take top priority all the time? Can't we have the assurance that if we give our all to Christ as an act of worship, He will work out the best results for the trivial matters? Oh, God, please give me that faith.

Until then I have FOCUS...for this week. Maybe it will redefine me.

Speaking of redefinition, my good friend Gina and I just finished reading The Purpose Driven Life together. When we started, I had been skeptical, as I am about most bestsellers. But as we read, my view of Christianity was constantly redefined, as was my life's focus. This time, the other twenty million people were right. In other words, you need to go out and get this book. Now.

As much as I loved reading The Purpose Driven Life, it will be good to curl up in bed with a good paperback again. Maybe I'll make an early night of it after all....

the practice of becoming flesh

Something amazing happened today.

Today I spent six hours with a friend that I hadn't seen in over three months. We had kept in contact, of course. The inventions of the telephone and the Internet had ensured that. But there's such an unearthly difference between words on a screen or through a receiver and words coming from a living, loving human being at one's side. Seeing her face made me realize how much I had truly missed her. A photo on MySpace could never serve justice. Ah, the long walks (and runs) across an open field; The deep silence while sitting atop a roof on a moonlit night. No words, photograph, or melody could ever recreate the joy in simple human presence.

No words can express what I truly long to say
And a tune cannot do justice to this simple three-word phrase
I love you
I love you
I love you on and on
And love that has no ending cannot fit in a song

Suddenly I realize that this must be why Christ had to come to earth. Sure, the Jews had the written words of God in their scriptures. They had heard God's voice, muffled to protect them from instant death. They even had small MySpace-sized pictures of God painted in many of the people from Old Testament times. But still Israel did not really know God. In fact, they completely misunderstood everything about God. This is why they needed to experience God in flesh. A law that lives and breathes and walks around. If the Pharisees had realized who Jesus really was, they would have known God with the intimacy of a friend at the side.

Can you imagine Christ's disgust when He finally comes and His people don't even recognize him? Not only that, but they persecute him and hang him for blasphemy! And it's not like they weren't looking for the Messiah, either. They just didn't see Christ for who He was. Imagine my friend coming up this weekend to see me, but I don't recognize her. Not only that, but when she repeatedly tells me who she is and even presents proof, I continue to stare blindly in the other direction waiting for who I think she should be. I finally get so bugged by her trying to get my attention that I arrest her and...well, you know.

The strangest thing is that God loves us despite this. Really, each of us has crucified Jesus by our thoughts or actions. But still God forgives and his love goes on and on. This is the love that has no ending. Praise God!