A Blues Win?

The Blues beat the San Jose Sharks (best record in the NHL) tonight in a shootout. I thought I would say something because they probably won't play this well again for a long time.

A Christmas Story

Tonight begins the most important Christmas tradition of mine...A Christmas Story. For the next 24 hours this movie will be shown on TBS, surely you can watch it at least once.

Top Ten George W. Bush Moments

I really have nothing against George Bush. Many people think he is the worst thing this country has ever seen, I disagree. However, I watch David Letterman from time to time and this is a top ten list from his show.

Fire!

I woke up this morning to the smoke detector going off in the hallway. After checking the entire house for smoke or fire, there was nothing. We cannot find smoke anywhere. However, the smoke detector disagrees with us. It continued to sound as we desperately tried to stop it. It does not run on batteries; so that eliminates the possibility that the batteries are going dead. The only way to stop it for now it to point fans at the ceiling. Strange.

St. Louis Blues

After what seemed to be a promising start, the St. Louis Blues have almost flat-lined. They are so frustrating to watch. I have never seen a team have so much difficulty controlling the puck. In last night's game they couldn't get the puck in their own zone on the Power Play. Four times in a row they had it taken from them before they entered the zone. They're simply terrible. And once they get the puck into the zone they can't hang on to it. The Bruins were in town last night and walked away with a 6-3 win. It's obvious that goaltending is an issue. Our starter, Lagace, gave up 5 goals in two periods. Another frustrating piece of it is their injuries. Three of their top players have been injured for nearly two months. They no longer have a true Center which is why they cannot ever control the puck. We just flat out suck.

Back in 2004 SportsCenter celebrated thier 25 aniversary and asked a trivia question of which professional team was the only team in all of major sports to make the playoffs in every year of SportsCenter's existence (1979-2004 at the time). The answer was the St. Louis Blues. I'm not sure if they have made the playoffs since. It's ugly right now in St. Louis.

Beautiful Disaster

Beautiful Disaster - Jon McLaughlin

Love this song because of the heart behind it. So many people are not happy with who they are. People want to change to be something else because they feel they are not good enough as a person. So many people have self-image problems and would do anything to make themselves feel better. This song speaks about being confident in who you are and not worrying about changing for others. My favorite line in the song is: "She's just the way she is but no one's told her that's okay"

She loves her mama's lemonade
And hates the sound that goodbye's make
She prays one day she'll find someone to need her

She swears that there's no difference
Between the lies and compliments
It's all the same if everybody leaves her

And every magazine tells her she's not good enough
The pictures that she sees make her cry

She would change everything, everything, just ask her
Caught in the in-between a beautiful disaster
She just needs someone to take her home

She's given boys what they want
And tries to act nonchalant
Afraid they'll see that she's lost her direction

She never stays the same for long
Assuming that she'll get it wrong
Perfect only in her imperfection

She's not a drama queen
She doesn't want to feel this way
Only 17 but tired

She would change everything, for happy ever after
Caught in the in-between a beautiful disaster
She just needs someone to take her home

She's just the way she is but no one's told her that's okay

She would change everything, everything, just ask her
Caught in the in-between a beautiful disaster
She just needs someone to take her home

She would change everything, for happy ever after
Caught in the in-bewteen a beautiful disaster
She just needs someone to take her home
She just needs someone to take her home

My gift

Among with some awesome Oregon Ducks shirts this was my Christmas present from Amanda. It is a reference from One Tree Hill and you definitely would have to watch the show to understand. Some are making fun of me for the hoodie but I do not care, I'm rocking it.

Yep...

I tried so hard but it looks like I have failed. My goal was to get through this holiday season without being sick and I didn't even make it to Christmas. I seem to have exactly what Amanda had last week. Funny since I'm the one who took care of her while she was sick. My nose is doing all sorts of cool tricks. My throat hurts because of sinus drainage which is always enjoyable. Oh well, rather be sick now so I'm done with it before heading to Vegas.

Christmas Phase One

Today was our first Christmas gathering. My dad's side of the family came to town. I only see this side of the family at Christmas time every year. Although there is always a little bit of awkwardness, it is great to see them every year. My second cousin has seven-year-old twins and they are so much fun to hang around. Overall it was a good day.

Baseball Money

In the midst of a bad economy MLB teams are dishing out the cash. CC Sabathia just signed a seven year contract with the Yankees for $161 Million dollars. Right after that they signed A.J. Burnett for $84.5 Million over the next five years. The Yankees have just said that they are not done spending money on pitchers this offseason. Must be nice to have that kind of money to throw around.

Bring It!

So Amanda has decided that lately everything has to be a competition. We are competing about Christmas presents. She thinks she has to out spend me, dumb. Now she has taken our competition to the blogs. She thinks she can blog more than me in the month of December. I don't know if she realizes that she has had a blog twice as long as I have and I have more posts on here than she does. This post puts me ahead by one. Most months she only blogs about five times, whereas mine is closer to fifteen. After reading this she will be more determined to keep up, but we all know she can't run with the big dogs (that last line may get me in trouble.)

Red Neck Ice Scraper

Although this video is not from today, the weather is the exact same today as the video shows. This is from two winters ago when two of my friends did not have an ice scraper.

Christmas

Christmas is almost here and that means a big family get together. Our family has lots of fun. I have so many cousins on one side of the family and we always have a blast. Last year Landon and I surprised everyone in elf constumes, laughter spread like a wildfire. I have nine days to come up with something better than last year.

Which team do you play for?

Sports are a real big deal to me. I love to watch, talk, and play sports. It has come to my attention that many people do not even know who I root for; this is because I wear baseball hats of several different teams. So I thought I would run through my favorites.

Baseball: St. Louis Cardinals by default. LA Angels is my team by choice.
Football: Indianapolis Colts. Followed by Dallas Cowboys and NY Giants
Hockey: St. Louis Blues and Crosby and Ovechkin as players
College Basketball: Indiana Hoosiers
College Football: Oregon Ducks
NBA: Indiana Pacers

Cellular Destroyed

I managed to break my cell phone into two separate pieces so now I do not have a phone. I probably will not have another phone for about five or six days. Oh well, it's not the end of the world.

Favorite Movies

For some reason around Christmas time I start watching movies more often. These are my favories...

1. Remember the Titans
2. Armageddon
3. Live Free or Die Hard
4. Cool Runnings
5. Angels in the Outfield

Romantic comedies:
1. How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days
2. Made of Honor
3. 27 Dresses
4. The Notebook
5. What Women Want

Blogging Slump

In October I blogged 14 times in 31 days. In baseball terms I hit .452 which is amazing. In November I blogged 6 times in 30 days. My November average comes to .200 which is completely terrible.

Scarlet Takes A Tumble

She just sings for the first two mins or so. Fast forward to about 2:15.

November...

sucks. Seasonal Affectiveness Disorder may be settling in.

Country Kick

Lately I have been in a bit of a country music swing. Taylor Swift just released a new CD and her new hit Love Story is great. Here is Taylor performing Love Story at the CMA awards last night. The sound quality is not the best but it's good enough.

Up/Down

Things are going by so fast. My life is more like a yo-yo lately. There has been some really awesome and exciting things going on in my life recently. But then you add in the negatives such as flat tires and many research papers due and it leaves your head spinning. Haven't slept much lately and don't plan on getting much tonight. I have another 8 page paper tonight that should keep me up for a while. Overall I can't complain, life is good...just going too fast and I wish I could spend more time enjoying the really great things that are happening right now.

Obama's speech

I didn't have a chance to watch last night because I was busy doing other things so today I searched for Obama's acceptance speech. I thought it was incredible. Now we need much of America to stop crying and get on board. In case you have been dead to the world, here is his speech. About 17 mins long.

Historic Day

Today's election is taking over my mind. All I want to do is watch election coverage. Sadly everything has been so busy lately. I've not been able to return phone calls and get back to people trying to talk to me. Hopefully I get a night of election coverage and the chance to catch up with old friends. I voted early so now I'm just waiting to see what happens.

Refrigerator Rights

People are important. Pretty obvious statement. However, there is something to be said for close relationships; friendships that have deep understanding. Sometimes when many of my friends are home for Christmas or other breaks, we get together at Pickel's and play Bogge Pong. Without fail, we are all sweating by the end of the second game if not sooner. One by one, we all run upstairs and grab something to drink. Pickel doesn't mind because I have refrigerator rights at his house. When Jason is at my house he doesn't hesitate to find something to drink or grab some food. Some would call this rude. We look at it as a sign of close friendship. My brother and his friends do this very well. Actually many times I can't find food becuase his friends have eaten it all, which is okay I suppose. Are there people in your life that you are comfortable with? Comfortable enough that they can walk into your kitchen and take your food without asking? Refrigerator rights can extend beyond the kitchen as well. They extend as far as you will let them. Identify the people in which you have given rights to and those who you could possibly give them.

Love vs. Respect

Men and women desire different things. Ya, big surprise. In this case I am talking about the greatest needs of both men and women. The greatest need or desire for a woman is love. Meanwhile, the greatest need for a man is respect. It plays out a like this...

Love - A woman needs to know that you love her. She wants to see that she is thought of. A woman wants to know she will be taken care of and that her man would do anything for her. She wants to be listened to and relate emotionally.

Respect - A man seeks respect. He wants to know he is the most important male in your life. He also wants to be considered in decision making and not be an after-thought. He wants to be a provider but not be taken advantage of.

Real beauty

You may have seen this, it's a few years old. Makes me angry. I hate how "beauty experts" make people feel.

How real is it?

Last week another classmate that I graduated with passed away. I've been out of high school for just over three years and there has been five or six people from my class die. There were also several we lost while we were in high school. It's sad. Some were due to car crashes, two suicides, and this last one came by heart attack I was told. It's hard to imagine a 21 year old having a heart attack. I knew he had heart issues but had no idea it would take him away so young. All of this makes me think about life and what is important. I think again about my previous post about taking advantage of the opportunities that I have. Hmmm...

Initiative

Why do we let life happen to us? We sit around and wait for things to happen to us and then wonder why we don't have the things we truly desire. That could be relationships, career, school, etc. If you want it, chase it. I'm tired of watching people sit around wasting their lives. I mean, I do it too. But wouldn't it be nice if we went after life instead of it just happening to us? Maybe it's fear that stops us. I don't know. I just know that we miss out on a lot of great opportunities. Don't let life happen to you.

This is how I always say it.... I would rather say "I tried", than to say "what if?"

High Maintenance

I had a really good friend of mine say these exact words to me last night. "You know, for a guy, you are high maintenance." My jaw dropped and I just looked at her in disgust. She proceeded to build her case and explain it to me. I thoroughly argued against her position. I have a very calm personality most of the time, how could I possibly be high maintenance? When I think of the phrase 'high maintenance' I instantly think of someone who demands a lot from people. I am usually too concerned about the other person to demand anything of them. We then began taking a poll of people who walked by and none of them really had a clear answer.
Again I asked her what made me high maintenance and she said it was the weird things I had about me. Examples she gave were: I eat in a particular way that I cannot have my food touching, I really like to have a plan of what is going on just so that I am comfortable with what will happen, and I won't act on something unless I'm sure it will work out. Those were her arguments. I knew all of those things about me but did not think of them in that way. Yes, I'm detail-oriented and love to plan things out but I think that is fine because most of my friends are not that way and I think we then balance each other out. I bring the structure, they bring the spontaneity.
After arguing back and forth we decided that I was not high maintenance, but also not low maintenance because of some of my "life styles" as she called them. Neat.

I've come back and decided that I'm not high maintenance, I'm OCD. These "life styles" that she speaks of are really things I'm just OCD about...not high maintenance!

And the winner is...

I've been following the presidential race all year and it is finally time to make a decision. Although my favorite person is out of the race (Huckabee), I think I have made my decision. After listening to them during last night's debate I must side with Obama. Now, by no means am I a democrat, I usually side with the republicans. But my number one concern at the moment is our economy and Obama showed me last night that it matters to him and he plans on fixing it. McCain's plan sounds really dumb. Overall I think McCain looked really bad during the debate. His jabs he threw at Obama never landed and he ended up making a fool of himself. We'll find out in a little over a month who will win, should be interesting.
My vote: Obama.

Jon McLaughlin...check him out!!

He has a new CD out! You gotta check him out if you don't already know about him. This is from his old CD. He is incredible and so so so good at piano. There are better videos out about him than this one but the one i really wanted to post cannot be embedded.

Baseball Update

First you have to know this...baseball means so much to me. I love all sports, but nothing (other than dodgeball) can come close to matching baseball in my world. I played for fourteen years and I miss it all the time. One of my dreams is to coach it. I know a lot about the game from a strategy standpoint and I'm really good at stealing the other team's signs so it makes sense to coach. One day, it will happen.

The first round has come to a close. My beloved Angels took their best record in baseball and wasted it away to the Red Sox losing 3 games to 1. Neat. Staying in the American league, the very surprising Rays took it to the White Sox. I mean, the White Sox were playing like crap anyway, they really didn't deserve to be in the playoffs. In the National league the Cubs choked as usual. They got swept by the Dodgers who looked pretty strong. And finally, the Phillies pretty much rolled all over the Brewers.

I predict and really hope that the Rays beat the Red Sox (I really hate the Red Sox) and that the Dodgers beat the Phillies. That would leave the Rays and the Dodgers. And it would be really nice to see the Rays win since they have been absolutely terrible since they entered the league in 1998. This is actually the first time they've had a winning record. So, I'm rooting for the Rays because my team is out.

One Tree Hill video to one of my favorite songs

I found this on youtube. I was really just looking for the song and then came across this. You won't understand if you don't watch the show. The song is Human by Jon McLaughlin. P.s. he should pick Peyton, the blonde.

And people say baseball isn't a contact sport...

Listen...

My name is not Travis or Tyler...how hard is it? I understand if you butcher the last name, but the first name is not that difficult. Just because I didn't correct you, doesn't mean that I didn't notice.

I hate...

These are the things I hate or am not a fan of, in no particular order:

being late

wet socks

my hands, fingers, & feet being dirty

my food touching each other

being cold

when really good people feel bad about themselves

pure arrogance

being rude

music that constantly screams at me

the feel of paper

God takes advantage of me

I swear to you that God is taking advantage of me. You see, generally I am a very very patient person. I always have been. Actually I believe I'm too patient with people most of the time. So for quite some time I've noticed that I seem to be placed in situations that my patience shines. For example: in high school we had open campus lunch so we drove to a fast food joint everyday. Without fail I was the always the last one to receive my food, even if I was the first to order. This wasn't something that happened just a few times; it was seriously more often than not. And every time I stood there very patiently and did not speak up or become hateful because I was too freakin patient. Usually ten to fifteen mins later they come back and say, "what are you waiting on?" Then I would tell them and suddenly it came right out. Fast forward to today...I'm standing in line at lunch for some kind of chicken wrap and I finally get to the front of the line and the lady says, "Hold on, I have to go get more lettuce." Of course you do. It's just another opportunity to showcase patience. I always feel like speaking up when I'm waiting there forever but I feel that it would be rude so I never do.

Okay, so God isn't really taking advantage of me but it feels like He laughs at me when I get in these situations because He knows my tendencies and the way He has created me. I don't think He has created me to be a pushover but patience definitely seems to be a gift of mine...maybe a little too much.

All Together Now.

We have this idea in our minds that we have to have it all together. Okay, maybe you dont but it is a struggle of mine. For the last six to seven years I have been placed in situations that make me feel like I have to have all the answers. It's as if I cannot have a bad day or cannot have a moment where I am frustrated. Somewhere along the line I was taught to give the appearance that everything is just fine. And there are a few people in life that I can just be real in front of but not many. At Lincoln I'm missing that someone I would call my best friend. Sure I know tons of people and have several friends. But no best friend. No one to argue sports with me. No one to tell me I'm being an idiot. No one that makes fun of me just to pass the time. No one to tell me that my idea is the worst thing they've ever heard. Or get behind me and help it come true. I need someone who will wrestle around and try to hurt me while I figure out new ways to escape their strength. I'm just looking for someone to know me beyond the fact that I need three napkins at dinner and I can't have my food touch and I eat one food at a time.

I may give the appearance that nothing is wrong because thats how I was taught to roll. I need someone who will argue with me. Let me be a punk for a while so I can just be me. Let me tell you how stupid your sports team is and let me act like I can take you in a fight....I don't have it all together.

Remember Me?

Last week I had a discussion with some people over an interesting topic. The question was, "what makes a man?" In true stereotype fashion things came up such as; being good with cars, the value of being big and strong, & hiding your feelings. Hmmm...well, I'm 0-3. I don't know the slightest thing about cars, I weigh 130 lbs. on a good day, and I've developed into a person who has no problem expressing emotions. So I begin thinking...What kind of man legacy am I leaving? By the stereotype definition I completely suck as a "man". Part of this is due to genetics. I graduated high school at 5'8, 108 lbs, and 1.7 % body fat. Being big and strong is out of the question. But what if there is more to it than knowing how to fix a car or being able to bench press 250 lbs. I will never be remembered for being the stereotypical man, it just will not happen and part of that is by choice...

Here is what I hope to be remembered by: I want to really make a difference. I'm not sure if it will be in the church or in the counseling world but a difference will be made. It could be through my teaching/preaching skills or listening; either way I don't care as long as it happens. Relationships are the most important thing. Bigger than sports, school, or whatever else you could throw in there because your relationships are the only things that will matter down the road. 20 years from know I won't care about my GPA or my batting average, I will be focused on rasing a family and being with my wife because those things far outlast anything else. The bottom line is I would rather be remembered for loving the people closest to me than pride myself on being a "man".

So I don't act all that manly, but that's fine with me because I know who I am and I'm not going to try to be someone else. I just can't. I will give absolutely everything I have to those closest to me...hopefully that is enough.

Broken Car

I am temporarily without my car. About a week ago I felt like the battery was dying. I didn't drive it much this week but I went out yesterday to see how the battery was holding up. Well...I ran into bigger problems on my drive. I turned a corner and felt the power start to drain; an issue coming from the battery I thought. Just moments later I felt a new problem. Suddenly the car was picking up speed. Speed is not a problem, cars are meant to go with speed, the problem however was that I was not pressing down on the accelerator. I had to hit the brakes just to keep the car from smashing into the one in front of me. I put the car in neutral and the engine went crazy and almost exploded. So we shall see what is wrong with it in the next few days.

More Psychology...

Two blogs in one day...sorry.

My psychology classes tend to overlap a lot and we have been talking about marriage lately. The top three things that married people fight about:

1. Money


2. Sex


3. House Work

Four other things that can destroy a marriage:

• Criticism - tearing down your spouse, this is different than voicing a complaint or concern.


• Contempt - lack of respect accompanied by a feeling of intense dislike


• Defensiveness - Constantly protecting oneself from criticism, exposure of one's shortcomings, or other real or perceived threats to the ego


• Stone Walling - not letting your spouse inside your emotional world; being closed off.

Sweeping the nation...

One Tree Hill is sweeping the nation! Alright...in all fairness the revolution started several years ago but it just hit my friends and I. I suppose we didn't get the memo a while back. Who cares, we are here now. I know several people have been watching it for six years now but my friends and I just started season three. We went through two season in about three weeks. You can see One Tree Hill clusters popping up here and there.

People ask me if it is as good as The OC, answer: No. Reason: lack of humor. If there were a Seth Cohen present in One Tree Hill then we could have a legitimate debate, but he is not with us so back up off. I continue to watch it even though it is not funny and I suppose the drama is beginning to suck me in. Overall it is a good show and worthy of my time, but my loyalty still resides with The OC.

Plans coming together?

Anyone who knows me for more than five mins knows that I have to have a plan for everything. I'm detailed-oriented so I need to think through every possible aspect of whatever I'm dealing with. This is a strength at times and at others a weakness. Anyway I tend to think too much but when it comes to my future I want to make sure I have everything in order.

So I have went to my advisor and talked through things and it looks like I will finish classes up here at Lincoln next semester then do my psychology internship this summer. Looks like I'm going to talk to my aunt Dee about doing it at her work if there are openings. This way I'll be living at home this summer, playing softball with dad and the guys and that will be fun. Then next fall there is a good chance I will begin working on my Masters in Counseling in the Seminary here at Lincoln. It would be real nice to have my masters by the age of 24 or 25.

Like No One is Watching

I completely stole this from Bo Chancey's blog, a pastor at Compass Christian Church in Texas where I worked...I copied and pasted portions of it because it is lengthy. Listen, enjoy.

Have you ever noticed somebody singing in their car when they thought that nobody was watching? I love watching them rock out to their favorite song as they dance and sing with all their might. Many times I have been caught staring at a neighboring driver and each time the person immediately stopped and looked embarrassed.
It always makes me sad when that happens, because I kind of feel like I have ruined their fun. They were one way when they thought that no one was watching, but when their private sanctuary was violated they immediately shut it down and returned to the land of the "proper".
Now I've been caught as well. There I was jamming in my car when all of the sudden I realized that I was being watched. Off course, I am just like everybody else. Whenever this would happen, I would stop my singing and begin to sheepishly stare straight ahead.
Recently though, I have adopted a new strategy. Now when I realize that someone is watching, I stare right back at them and sing even harder. I have evoked smiles, laughter, and even the occasional applause. More importantly though, is that I no longer allow the stares of another to ruin my fun. It is unbelievably freeing to say the least. You should try it.
Seriously, you should try it. Not just in your car though, but in church. Wouldn't it be wonderful to become so caught up in worship that you became oblivious to everyone else around you? What if your focus was so completely fixed on God that nothing else in this world mattered? That would be an incredible worship experience.
Worship is what we are here for. We were created to worship and when we allow our worship to be limited or constrained because of concern about what others might think, we are not living life to the fullest. This can and must change for us to truly bring God the glory He so richly deserves.
We must allow ourselves to worship like no one is watching both in corporate worship and in our daily lives. Both are vital, but I will argue that if we cannot worship with complete freedom and utter abandon in a Sunday morning worship gathering then there is no way that we can do it during the rest of our week.
Yes, this is the place to start. Think about it. Sunday mornings represent a time and place where like minded Christians gather together for the expressed purpose of worship. If we cannot find freedom to fully lose ourselves in worship during that time, then what would make us think that it would happen at other times? That is the one moment each week when the worldly distractions are most limited. We must get over ourselves and begin to worship with all of our might, especially when others are watching.
The Sunday worship gathering should be filled with Christians who are eager to sing, dance, clap, and give. When churches are filled with stoic, "reverent" corpses little to no fruit will ever be produced.
What happens on Sunday morning is a mere reflection of a week spent either in intense daily worship or mediocre Christian existing. If we were truly experiencing the victory of living daily with Christ then our worship services would take on a dramatically different feel. They would have energy, passion, and congregational involvement from start to finish. Worship would not have to be drummed up or created. Instead it would be the natural consequence of Christians gathering together. Yawns would turn to shouts. Irritated glances at clocks would turn to wide eyed gazes to the heavens. Crossed arms and stern frowns would be replaced with raised hands and jubilant faces.
Deep down don't you want to be that way? You want to worship God in complete freedom like no one is watching, don't you? You want to sing, raise hands, shout, and dance without caring about what others would think. Of course you do. That is what happens when God becomes the epicenter of your life. He is your focus and nothing has the power to limit your worship of Him. That kind of heart pleases God.

Your Heavenly Father is watching. He is always watching. He watches because He adores you. You are the apple of God's eye. You are His most prized creation. Do not let anything or anyone (including yourself) hinder your worship of Him. Sing for Him. Dance for Him. Reach out for Him. Lose yourself in God's presence as you live everyday in surrendered worship to Him.

Something I thought I'd never do...

Two nights ago I got invited to go to this place called Stone Country. It's this line dancing club in Peoria. I laughed when I got the invitation but my other plans for Friday night fell through so I decided to go. I felt totally out of my element because not only is it line dancing club but also a hip hop club. For the first hour I was lost and confused but then I actually tried and I had tons of fun. I mean, I wasn't very good at it, but I got better as the night went on. Hopefully we are going back soon.

Pujols Celebrity Golf Tournament

The past four days I have spent my time in St. Louis. Two of the days were spent setting up for the tournament, Monday was the actual day of the golf outing, and Tuesday I went back down to St. Louis to see the Cards beat the Cubs in the ninth inning.

Saturday wasn't that bad. Most of the night was spent stuffing bags full of goodies to give to the celebrities and regular golfers. Surprisingly we were done before midnight. Sunday was course set up day. We sat up tables, sponsors signs, all kinds of stuff...

Monday morning came early at 4:15...worked hard all day, saw some cool celebs. Torry Holt was very cool, not that great at golf though. I saw Bobby Knight, it was my goal for the day, I took a sweet pic of him teeing off on my cell phone. I also offered him a bottle of water but he didnt want one, his loss. The worst part came when we tried to clean the course up and the flood gates opened up on us and poured and hailed on us...we were soaked all night. Again, it was a late night followed by 5:00 am wake up call to head back to lincoln....

Worst feeling in the world...

Is wet socks. Completely soaked wet socks. A completely soaked wet shirt to go along with the wet socks makes matters worse....this was the ending to my celebrity style weekend (Pujols golf tournament). More on the entire weekend later...

Flyin' by...

Last weekend was Labor Day and it was great to be home with family I didn't see all summer. Carrie was in town and I didn't find out until last night so obviously I missed her, stupid me. School has been really nice lately. Hanging out with friends and meeting new people as well, I am having a good time. This weekend I'm working at a celebrity golf tournament that Albert Pujols is putting on in St. Louis. Lots of setting up work today and tomorrow and the event actually doesn't happen until Monday. Luckily I have no classes on monday. Tuesday night I'm coming back to St. Louis for the Cards - Cubs game. Wednesday night will be Focus so the busyness continues. That's life.

Birth Order...relationships.

Lately in class we have talked lots about birth order; the characteristics of each and how they match up with others. Here what it looks like if I remember correctly:

Oldest + Youngest = Best match, especially if the oldest is the male and he has younger sister, he then becomes the protector. Oldest provides the leadership and responsibility, youngest brings the fun.

Oldest + Oldest = A Battle, because both a likely to be more dominant they clash more frequently.

Youngest + Youngest = Lots of fun, but could be headed for trouble due to tendencies to be less responsible. Ex. money, bills

Only child + Whoever = The only child needs to learn how to share, still.

Middle child....I can't remember.

yuck

Things have been crazy at school. As soon as the new students stepped on campus the internet went down. It has been down for five days now, every now and then we get a couple mins of the internet working properly so hopefully i make it through this post before it goes down. The internet failure is the reason I have not been able to post lately.

Last weekend I had to help lead freshmen orientation. I led a small group and helped organize games and activities and blah blah blah. It was better than orientations of years past i thought. Some of the new students are pretty cool.

Classes started tuesday. I know i'm going to have to write lots of papers for my four psychology classes: personality theory, marriage & family, human sexuality, and abnormal psychology. Plus i'm taking two bible classes. So things are and will be busy.

Focus (student led worship service) went very well last night, better than i expected actually. I'm working with new leaders this year so that has been a small challenge but it seems to be working out just fine.

Looking forward to Labor day weekend. Seeing family that i didnt get to see all summer.

Where am I/should be?

I find myself with a dilemma I face quite often. It seems that every time I go to a new place/transition/move I'm always wishing I was where I just was. There have been times I've come to school and inside I wished I was still at home. The reverse has been true as well, wishing I was still at school. When I went to Texas, I wished I was still at home for 3-4 weeks. And now that I'm back at school I desparately want to be back down in Texas.

I cannot figure out if this is a good thing or not. On one hand, my desire to be wherever I just was shows that I've done a good job building relationships and have established deep bonds. On the other hand, my wishing to be somewhere else causes me to miss out on what is going on right here in front of me.

I think this feeling is somewhat natural, but at the same time I do not want to miss out on the opportunities that are right in front of my face. Honestly, I do not want to be at school right now. My mind is still in Texas, I miss the church, my co-workers, and the Selinger's and I've only spent six days at home in the past three months. School is the last place I want to be. But I have responsibility here...

Finishing up...

I have a day and a half left in Texas. It's been great and I'm sad to go but I suppose that is how life goes...

Lately I have been utterly in awe of the Olympics. I knew I would be this way. Four years ago I got sucked into the games in Athens so I knew it would happen again. Of course, Michael Phelps is a beast. That has well been established. The women's all-around was great to watch as well. The girl who won lives pretty close to where I have been living all summer. All in all it's been pretty cool to see what's going on and see the talent these athletes have.

In other news, Landon flew down to Texas last night. He's come down to spend a couple days in Texas with me and then we are driving back to Illinois on Sunday. Today we went to Hurricane Harbor with two girls and had a blast. Early morning rain and afternoon clouds kept the large crowd away. The longest we waited for a ride was ten minutes. Landon and I are in talks about how we can build our own water park in Illinois, let us know if you want to be involved, especially as a financial backer. After we got back from the water park Aubree and Maddie (the girls from the family that I have gotten to know real well) came over. We baked cookies, watched the Olympics and just had some fun enjoying one of the few nights we have left.

Tomorrow Landon and I are going to the Rangers-Rays game after church. A staff member hooked us up with tickets behind 3rd base dugout for free so that is exciting! I will be able to scratch Tampa Bay off my list (see earlier post). That is all for now, I'm tired from all the swimming today...

Baseball Wish List

I want to see every team play at least once. Not necessarily each stadium, but each team. The remaining American League teams:

Boston

Minnesota

Toronto

NL:

San Diego

Washington

Stadiums I want to see: *Top 5

*Boston

Baltimore

Detroit

LA Angels

*Yankees

Arizona

*Wrigley

Colorado

*Houston

Dodger Stadium

Milwaukee

*San Francisco

Top 5 Stadiums I have seen:

Pittsburgh

Cincinnati

St. Louis

Cleveland

Texas

*Kansas City Honorable Mention

Yankees

I got to see the Yankees play tonight! Children's pastor asked me at 3:00pm if I wanted to go to a 7:05pm game and I definitely said yes. I'm not a big Yanks fan or anything but seeing them play live has always been a desire of mine. Jeter went 2-4, AROD went 0-4, and Giambi hit a HR. Their lineup is just so stacked. I've always admired Jeter, especially being a former middle infielder myself. He is just so classy, really glad I got to see him play. They beat the Rangers 5-3. Erin Andrews was in attendance covering the game for ESPN, so that's always exciting.

In other baseball news...Cards got a huge win tonight over the Dodgers as we continue to try to climb our way towards the top of the NL Central and Wildcard.

Jon McLaughlin...wow.

One of the other interns is crazy about Jon McLaughlin. He is a musician from Indiana and he doesn't have a huge following but she loves him. She's been talking about his concert for quite some time and tonight she dragged four of us along. Honestly, I was just going to hang out and see the House of Blues in Dallas and just going to enjoy dinner and good company. Turns out this guy is incredible! In all seriousness he plays the keyboard/piano better than anyone I have ever seen in my life. Cool lyrics as well. I enjoyed his style of music and loved watching them on stage. I hear that he is a Christian and they sell his CDs in some Christian bookstores. Overall it was a great night and I thoroughly suggest you check him out if you don't know about him already.

Songs to check out:

-Industry
-Human
-Perfect

I couldn't get the youtube video to load but here it is... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPDkcVsbY7I

He'll be in St. Louis Aug 10, Sunday night if you have nothing to do go check him out.

VBS is over!!!

It was a fun week. Now it is finally over and I can rest...wait, I speak twice this weekend at church. Monday is a day off. Last night we played a really gross game where we poured junk all over MS students' heads. It was awesome!

VBS is crazy!

VBS kicked off this week. So far it has be absolutely great. Sunday night we had a family night with free hotdogs and chips and then you could buy drinks and candy for real cheap. We had inflatable games and a dunk tank (which I was in for a while). There were about twenty different disney characters walking around (I was Woody from Toy Story). To end the night we showed a movie outside on a projector. The kids had fun and families got to enjoy the beginning of VBS.

Tonight the actual programming started. We ended up with 813 kids tonight! This was the largest crowd this church has ever had with VBS and you could definitely tell. People were everywhere throughout the building; especially the hallways. At times it felt chaotic but that is a great problem to have.

I'm mainly helping out in the Middle School department. We had 211 in just MS tonight. Seemed like the kids had a good time. Tonight was my night to give my testimony. I had about 6 mins to try to fit 15 mins worth of speaking. Although I was rushed and pressed for time I feel like the students were very involved and were engaged with what I was speaking about. I felt good about it when I was finished (I always feel like it could've been better but it was still pretty good). Overall it was a great night and I'm looking forward to the rest of the week and craziness.

Working too hard?

I may be working too hard or too much. As I've said, this is our VBS prep week and we have been putting in long hours lately. VBS kicks off Sunday night and that week will be just as crazy. So my mom calls me a couple days ago and asked if we were getting rain from the hurricane. And my response was, "What hurricane? There's a hurricane?" I'm working so hard that I don't even know about the hurricane that is hitting the state I'm in. Sometimes I'm an idiot.

Living With No Regrets

I find myself thinking a lot lately...thinking about life and how I'm living it. Maybe thinking about more of how I want to or should be living it. It has struck me that I do not want to have regrets in my life. Now, I'm not talking about not making routines mistakes; I'm mean when I get to the end of my life, will I have poured out everything I have?

I recently started a book called One Month To Live - Thirty days to a life with no regrets. Yeah, I know...a self-help book. But, I'm passionate about the topic. It talks a lot about relationships and how we spend our time and what is important in our lives. Right before I left Illinois I experienced living this no-regrets life.

I had two weeks between the end of school and the start of my internship so I poured everything I had into my relationships at home for those two weeks. My younger cousins and I spent so much time together. I went to more 14 & under softball games during those two weeks than I had ever been to in my entire life. I went to graduations and spent time with my parents and my brother. I knew those two weeks would be my only chance to be with them so I gave them everything I had. And at the end of those two weeks I felt great.

Part of this no-regrets thing for me is...I want to make a difference in the lives around me. I want to be known for giving myself up for others around me. I want to pour myself into my close relationships and make new ones while I'm at it. Living with intentionality is the key. I try to think about how I'm spending my time and who I'm spending it with. Hopefully I'm making a difference in the lives around me. I've tried to be this way with the students I've encountered here in Texas as well as their families. Hopefully it is working, I still have a long way to go.

I try to live my life as if I knew I was dying. Making a difference in others is really what counts.

Life in the Big D

So I've been living in Texas this summer. May 30 I made the 10 1/2 drive down here and started a new chapter in my life. The reason for moving down here was to do an internship at Compass Christian Church in Colleyville, TX. Colleyville is a suburb of Dallas/Ft. Worth and actually is closer to Ft. Worth than Dallas (15 mins to dowtown Ft. Worth).

I've been staying with different families and I'm currently living with my third and final family, the Vale's. The Vale's have two kids, 15 and 13 yr old boys. The houses I stayed at prior to this one didn't have any kids so this has been a nice change.

I'm interning in the Family Life department which oversees birth through high shcool. The Family Life minister is my boss, Louie, and he has people under him that run the specific ministries; high school, middle school, preteen, children's, and infants. I've worked in all of these areas and learned different things about each one. Most of my time has been spent in the Children's area; I know God has not shaped me for Children's Ministry but the experience is still good.

I love the people I work with and some of the students I have come to know. There is one family I have gotten to know better than the others and I talk to them quite a bit. That familiy consists of the parents, and two girls 16 and 12 yrs old. The father finds me each Sunday and we talk, as does the mother. The girls and I have had some good laughs along the summer and it has been great to get to know them. This Wednesday night the father and I are going out to dinner and to see The Dark Knight. It will be a night to get him away from the girls in his house.

Overall the internship has been good. I've been to two camps and we are currently setting up for VBS. Our church goes all-out for VBS so days have been long. Yesterday was a 14 hr day for me ha ha.

If I had it my way I would like to stay down here. The people are nice, the church is great and the area is nice (wealthy community, I don't fit in but it's cool). More to come on the internship I'm sure...