Today's Verse - 1 Samuel 16:7b

(NIV) "The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."
(CSB) Man does not see what the LORD sees, for man sees what is visible, but the LORD sees the heart."

As Christians we should be striving to know the heart of the person before we make any kind of assumptions about them. I know to many "Christians" that don't practice this, instead they let fear and worldly opinions influence their decisions on how to deal with people and the kind of people that can be at "church". This makes me sick and angry for we are here for the sick, unrighteous and sinful people. We came from them so how can you say they are unfit. We are to be imitators of God - Ephesians 5:1 to bring healing, joy and love to this world.

Man has no right say who can be in God's family.

Today's Verse - Proverbs 4:18

(NIV) The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.
(CSB) The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, shining brighter and brighter until midday.
(NKJV) But the path of the just is like the shining sun, That shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.

The closer we get to God the more his light shines through us and becomes brighter. Till the day we are made perfect let us strive to be pure light.

Today's Verse - Hebrews 2:1

We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.

We can drift from God with out even realizing it until one morning we wake up and say, "How the heck did I get here?" Same thing happens in our friendships, marriages and other relationships, all because we stop putting in the time it takes to maintain and keep the relationship healthy. This also applies to God's teachings. If we don't spend time in the Bible reading and studying we drift from his teachings and the simplicity of them. We must be diligent in our time with God and his teachings to prevent drifting and being deceived by teachings of men.

Spend time in the Bible and with God everyday.

Today's Verse - 1 Peter 2:23

(NIV) When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.

(CEV) Although he was abused, he never tried to get even. And when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he had faith in God, who judges fairly.

Another amazing example of Christ for us to strive towards. I used to be really good and getting even and making threats and I guess I still have those skills, but I refuse to use them anymore for negative purposes. I learned awhile ago to trust God's judgment and love for me over anything that man says about me. I know God loves me enough that he sent his son to die a horrible death, so that we could become his children.Trust God to turn the insults and suffering into blessings and joy in time.

Be patient and trust God.

Today's Verse - Proverbs 16:9

(NIV) In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.

This applies all to well to the way my life has gone. I know where I want to go and I am getting closer, but the journey sure has been interesting, fun, filled with joy and sorrow and difficulty at times, but I would not trade the experience for anything. Adventure for the win!

Set your goals, follow and rely on God and enjoy the adventure of a life time.

Today's Verse - 1 John 4:21b

(NIV) Whoever loves God must also love his brother.
(NKJV) he who loves God must love his brother also.

So simple to say and preach about, but very hard at times to practice. I know it has been very hard at times to love "my brother" when I have been betrayed, stabbed in the face, insulted and cast aside, but I must continue to love them even when I can't stand to be around them. I hurt for them and wish they would open their eyes and see God more clearly. Being human makes this very difficult and nearly impossible at times but I have to trust in the wisdom of the creator and do my best to fulfill his commandments. Prayer helps a lot in pursuing perfect love.
 
Pursue the practice of love.

Today's Verse - 2 Timothy 1:7

(NIV) For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.
(CEV) God's Spirit doesn't make cowards out of us. The Spirit gives us power, love, and self-control.
(CSB) For God has not given us a spirit of fearfulness, but one of power,  love, and sound judgment.

The affect of the Holy Spirit should be constantly moving us toward increased spiritual power and knowledge, increasing or ability to love those who hate, hurt or wronged us, increasing our self-control, knowledge and wisdom and driving out any fear and timidness. This does not happen on its own, only with time and effort do we move in this direction and we should never be content with where we are spiritually and mentally. Constantly seeking God's wisdom and asking for knowledge and praying to be put into situations that will challenge and make us uncomfortable to help us grow will keep us from stagnating and getting comfortable.

Always seek to improve yourself, because there is no such thing as perfection in this life. Amen.

Today's Verse - Psalm 23 (CEV)

You, LORD, are my shepherd.
I will never be in need.
You let me rest in fields of green grass.
You lead me to streams of peaceful water, and you refresh my life.
You are true to your name, and you lead me along the right paths.
I may walk through valleys as dark as death, but I won't be afraid.
You are with me, and your shepherd's rod makes me feel safe.
You treat me to a feast, while my enemies watch.
You honor me as your guest, and you fill my cup until it overflows.
Your kindness and love will always be with me
   each day of my life, and I will live forever
   in your house, LORD.

Today's Verse - Hebrews 2:18

(NIV) Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
(CSB) For since He Himself was tested and has suffered, He is able to help those who are tested.

There is nothing on this planet that Jesus was tempted with or suffered through that is different then what we go through or deal with today. He understands and knows what its like to be human. He was human for some thirty years. He has been to hell and back, literally in my opinion, to sacrifice himself so that we may have freedom. Freedom from fear of death, freedom to come to the Fathers throne, freedom from the flesh, freedom from sin, freedom to love and freedom to live. Our freedom came at the highest price with is death. Talk to Jesus about your temptations, struggles and suffering has they are happening He will come help and comfort you.

 

Share with Jesus and he will share with you.

Today's Verse - John 14:21

(NIV) "Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."

Such a simple statement. Love Jesus and keep his commands and the Father will love us too and Jesus will show himself to us. In my experience truth is often simple and easy to understand and that is one of my favorite things about Christ. His teachings are simple but take a life time to master. The more I have gotten to know Christ the more I am aware of his influence and movement in my daily life, even more so when I look back and see how things worked out for the better. The trick is we have to put time and effort into the relationship and Christ will match and exceed what we put into it thus showing himself to us. The more time spent with him the more times we will see him move and to be thankful for the gifts, protection, guidance and wisdom that comes from knowing and spending time with Christ.

Strive to know Christ, not to know about him.

Funny Bible Story - 2 Kings 2:23-25

This story has a bald guy, annoying youths and bears. Enjoy!

From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some youths came out of the town and jeered at him. "Go on up, you baldhead!" they said. "Go on up, you baldhead!" He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the LORD. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths. And he went on to Mount Carmel and from there returned to Samaria.

Tune in next Saturday for another fun Bible story.

Today's Verse - Job 41:11

(NIV) "Who has a claim against me that I must pay? Everything under heaven belongs to me.", God.

Humans love to think of themselves as equal with God or even a god, but this is stupid and it makes me laugh. We know so little  about our own little planet and even less about the universe. I mean we don't even know how gravity works, or whats on the bottom of the ocean. So when a human, made by God, starts to think they know better than God it makes me laugh and sad at the same time. God created everything  we can see and have yet to discover. He has the RIGHT to do as he pleases, whether he smites us all because we are to stupid to recognize who he is or to send his son to be beaten, murdered and hung on a cross because he desires a relationship with us and wants to be our father.

Know your place at the feet of God.

Today's Verse - 1 Corinthians 10:24

(NIV) Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.

Does this mean you never seek good for yourself? NO, but when you are seeking good for yourself make sure you are thinking of others and how you can benefit them and when there is a conflict the good of others should come first. God wants us to prosper, to better ourselves but not at the cost of another. Anything that damages relationship for the worse should be avoided. As always though God must be at the center and the Holy Spirit will be our guide to the correct path.

Seek wisdom.

Today's Verse - John 3:17

(NIV) God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

God did not send his son into this world and to die so that we Christians can go around telling people they better repent or go to hell. We should be practicing love, which if you don't know what love is go read 1 Cor 13:4-7, and building relationships with people we wish to convert. Jesus met people where they were at and went from there. The only people he ever condemned were the religious teachers of the Jews because they had perverted God's law, which means we should be watchful of our Christian leaders to make sure they are preaching and practicing Christ and not perverting it. If our approach does not line up with Christ's and the apostles then maybe we should be taking a hard look at how we are reaching out to people. Church should be a place of welcoming, peace, healing and love, not of fear, politics, and hate.

God's guidance be upon us. Amen.

Today's Verse - Proverbs 27:6

(NIV) Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.
(CEV) You can trust a friend who corrects you, but kisses from an enemy are nothing but lies.

Getting corrected is never much fun but when it comes from a friend it is worth the pain and tears that can come from. I know I have been better off when I have been corrected or wounded by a trusted friend and as a bonus the friendship is strengthened and brought to a deeper level of trust and understanding.

I have also experienced the kisses or what I prefer kiss ups who never say anything negative or questions your motives and just sit there and watch you run right into a wall. American Idol comes to mind with the bad singers they have and I always wonder what kind of friends a person has that would not tell them they need to learn how to sing, of course there are always the people that don't listen to correction or wisdom from there friends but the Bible has a diffirent word for them, a fool, so the two people who read this, don't be a fool, heed the correction or wounds from a friend for it can be trusted.

May God bless those who read this. Amen.

Today's Verse - Proverbs 14:2a

Whoever lives with integrity fears the LORD.

The fear used here is not the kind of fear you would have from say seeing a ghost, spider, your worst nightmare, of getting in trouble but one of awe, respect, reverence and a hatred of evil. If you put those words in place "Whoever lives with integrity has awe, respect, reverence and a hatred of evil for the LORD." brings more meaning and depth to the spricpture when you understand/know the meaning behind a word that is not normally used in today's language. For more on this check out these two pages here and here

We The People Stimulus Package

The revolution is coming.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeYscnFpEyA

Refreshment for the Soul

Music Camp for those that have gone know what refreshing unity, love and peace goes on during its week and for those that haven't been I hope you will come and experience God's presence and power through music. I look forward to it every year and have had the privilege of going since I was fifteen, from camper to staff. I get more out of it now, watching the kids grow and experience the life changing presence of the Almighty Father, then I did as a camper. Come to think of it this blog was started as a result of one of my years at camp.

Anyway back on track. If you have read my previous post you will know that my family and a few others have been dealing with a lot of church crap. It was so refreshing to come and worship and just sing without all this religious bs that is not Christianity. There was no bickering, arguing or playing church. We were all there united through Christ the way the church is supposed to be. We were sharing, crying, comforting, rejoicing, confessing, worshiping all as one. There have been very few churches I have been to where it is safe to do most of those things and it breaks my heart to see what happens when our focus goes from God to I. I was crucified when you were buried with Christ (Gal 2:20). I left all his crap when he died, but now we have Christ living in us to deal with it and clean it out. We just have to remember to keep our eyes on Him for He is the author and perfecter of our faith.(Heb 12:2) All things will healing in time. I guess I had some preaching in me. lol.

Anyway, this year I really got a lot out of it as well as some challenges to grow myself as a man and leader in the church, thank you Mike. As a result I have begun putting together a lesson series on becoming a man under God that has been on my mind for about a year, so pray that God guides me and speaks through me in this endeavor.

It was a great camp this year. God spoke so much through the devos and worship lessons. Thank you Father for putting the people together to make it happen. Praise be to you my King.

Wolves in Sheeps Clothing

Since I have come back to the northwest I have been asking God why he called me back to this place and after seven months I think He has finally revealed His purpose for calling me back. My parents and brother have been in intense spiritual warfare for a long time and it got worse when I arrived in August. I am now convinced I was brought back to bear witness and as support for my family and others involved in this war.

I am experiencing first hand what Paul wrote in Romans 16:17-18, 2 Corinthians 11:13-15 and what Solomon wrote about in Proverbs 26:23-26. I find it unbelievable that the elders of this church stand by as evil gains ground and turns this church into a social club with no depth of faith or knowledge, its breaking my heart to see the damage done to my parents, brother and the others involved. It saddens me to see how blind most of the congregation is to what is happening around them.

I know there is great evil here. I have been woken up twice in less than month in the middle of the night by a presence and I know the first time something was in the room I could feel the evil emanating from it and the second time it was not nearly as strong. I have not been scared either times for I know whose I am and rebuked it in the name Jesus Christ. It left and I went to sleep at peace. The fact I have felt this in my home tells me how serious the situation is and how much my parents and brother have been dealing with and assaulted by.

It reached a pinnacle Saturday and my parents, brother and I have done what we could and it is on the shoulders of the elders their decision to either confront this evil or to sweep it under the rug and pretend what has happened hasn't will determine our next move. I pray to God they confront the evil.

I can't explain or tell everything that has happened for I would be here writing for hours and this would turn in to a book. Instead I write to show the challenges that have been set forth and what we have been dealing with.

This is a call to arms for prayer, for the light to shine in the darkness, for the glory of God to reveal and destroy the evil that is rooted in this church, for healing and comfort for us very wounded and weary soldiers. Were it not for the Armor of God and the protection, faith and strength He has provided we would have become casualties of war.

Brothers pray for us.
To God be the glory forever.
Amen.

Direction

I went home to Washington to spend two weeks with my family and really had no intention of coming back to live and work, but I had never ruled it out, it was just not my first choice. God is a funny guy sometimes and knows just what we need and when. He put the people I needed to meet and in situations I needed to be in to make me realize I needed to come back to the Northwest to serve Him. I was filled with such and intense desire to stay that I would not have come back to Arkansas if I didn't have anything. For the first few days after coming to know His will it would nearly bring me to tears thinking about it. I don't know if it was just His presence, the excitement of finally having a direction or what but it was intense, exciting and a bit scary. I also realized, or more like God revealed it, during the second week, which was Music Camp, that my time at Harding and in Arkansas has been my wilderness/coming of age journey that every boy needs to go through on his way to becoming a man. After seven years my journey has finally come to an end and it is time to return home. I left a boy and return a man confirmed by the Most High. Praises be to the LORD my rock.

Idols

I have been reading Sidetracked in the Wilderness by Michel Wells again and I am in the part about idols. I really like his definition of an idol, which is anything we turn to other than God when we feel stressed, rejected, hurt, alone, attacked, etc. He also talks about how God will put oneself in situations were their idols will not work. The funny thing is I am experiencing it first hand as I write this. Some history first. It is pretty well know that I have never had a girlfriend and I have been really frustrated at times over it and it seems every time I'm interested in a girl she does not want that kind of relationship just adds to it. I have noticed in the past but never made the connection till just a few months ago while Sara B was in Greece that when I am feeling lonely or ignored/rejected by girls, especially from on I like, I almost with out fail turn to my idols of masturbation and looking at scantly clad pictures of women, not quite porno but close. I don't always give in to the temptation, but it happens enough. The thing I find annoying and it really gets on my nerves because I know it is Satan hitting me in my weakness is it does not take much for him to get in my ear whispering encouragement to go back to my idols. The triggers are little things like not returning a phone call, email, message or anytime I feel ignored/rejected. Satan is right there whispering go back to your idols they will make you feel good and you know what? They do, but that only lasts a short time and they will never meet this need in me, which only God can fill. God has been leading up to this realization over the past couple of weeks with the conversations I have had, what I have been asking for in prayer and with the book I am reading and I thank God for the sight to see these things in m life so that I can ask Him to change them and meet these needs in me. I also ask for those of you who read this to please pray for me that God will give me the sight to see when I am being tempted and to run to Him. To burn these idols out of my life and to fill this need in me.

Father, through the blood of your Son I come before you asking You to fill this need, teach me to run to You. Burn these idols out of me, Destroy them! Give me sight to see and run to you when tempted. Pour your spirit and strength on me. Meet this need in me. Christ name I pray.

Faith part 2

God spoke to me today through the lesson and several of the songs we sang today. Trust, trust, trust, was what I heard over and over. Trust and faith go hand in hand, trust being the hardest part for me, especially in a storm. Waiting on His timing at this moment in my life is beginning to get very difficult. I want and wish for certain things to happen and He says wait for my timing and then I go arg!!! I want it now(the song) playing in my head. That is where the struggle comes from, its between my selfish/false self and my true self in Christ. So, I walk by faith, not hiding any emotion from my King. Being sure to tell Him when I am frustrated, angry, excited, or whatever I am feeling and it strengthens me, because He sends a word, song, or something else to comfort me or reveal some truth I need to hear. You Gave Me a Promise and Wrapped in Your Arms by Fireflight is pretty much how I am feeling right now.

You Game Me a Promise
The waves are crashing down on me
But I know that this cannot be the end, be the end...
Right now I feel like copping out
Will You hold me up, if I just say
That I will stay

I will hold on to this hope that I have
You gave me a promise
You gave me a promise
I'll push through this moment, I'll never give up
You gave me a promise
You gave me a promise
I'm so tired that I can't stand

But I know that time will heal this heart, heal this heart...

With every door that's slamming shut
A new one's there to lead me where You are

You, You call out to me
You're just out of reach
But I'm closing in
I'm still going, still believing in Your word


Wrapped in Your Arms
Is this the whole picture
Or is it just the start?
Is this the way you love me?
You're capturing my heart
I used to try and walk alone
But I've begun to grow
And when you tell me just to rest
I'm finally letting go
I let go

And I'm here to stay
Nothing can separate us
And I know, I'm ok
You cradle me gently
Wrapped in your arms.... I'm home

I'm seeing so much clearer
Looking through your eyes
I could never find a safer place
Even if I tried
All the times I've needed you
You've never left my side
I'm clinging to your every word
Don't ever let me go
Don't let go

Faith

Walking by faith has been the scariest, yet most rewarding thing I have done in my life. It has been extremely stressful at times, making me want to run away from the situation and go the easy road. Taking the right path as opposed to the easy path has become a requirement for me. I'm not sure where I am going with this post, other than to say right now all I have is to walk by faith. I have to trust my King and know that doing His will for me must be my top priority. I don't know where I am going to get a job, nor when or what will happen tomorrow. I must trust my king. I really don't like the unknown, because I like structure and routine and walking by faith is practically the opposite. He tells us not to worry about what we will eat or where, because He will provide on His time and I guess that is what I am getting frustrated with. I have been waiting a long time for a specific thing and it is just getting to me right now. I am tired of waiting, DO YOU HEAR ME GOD?!?! I am tired. I need to hear from you.

Done

Well my collage career is just about to come to an end. I have my last final on Monday at 10:30 and then I am done. Its kind of surreal at the moment and is just beginning to sink in. I am done! I am really looking forward to not having school anymore and getting a real job. It is going to be a new and great adventure for this new phase of my life and I am ready for it.

Ripped Pants and Tractor Fun

Saturday, almost the whole house hold went to the lake house to do cleanup. We moved a lot of dead stuff and burnt it all up. I spent most of the time on the Kubota we borrowed and almost got a blister from driving with one hand, good times indeed. Anyway only two exciting things really happened. It also had rained almost the whole previous week so the ground was muddy in some places. The first one happened when I was going to go pull a pile of dirt over what had been a ditch and was not watching close enough and sunk the whole front end up to the frame in mud. I tried to back out but there was not enough wait on the back and I could not lift the front with the bucket so we had to get the Explorer and pull it out. The second one happend while Zach was drive and he was getting a bucket of dirt from the pile, which was getting pretty mud and sticky, as he was going to lift the bucket his left front tire sank and put the tractor on pretty much just that tire. If he would not of had the bucket it would have rolled. I jumped on the back it was just enough weight to get the rear wheels back down and he was then able to back out. It was exciting/scary, but what and adventure. I almost forgot about ripping my pants in all the excitement of writing about the tractor fun. We were loading eighty pound bags of cement into the bucket and I squated to lift one and back of my pants split, lol. Luckly it was after lunch and I had good underwear on. It was quite funny. ~Semper Fi

Fellowship of Men

Tonight group was a little different because three of the for leaders were gone. We sang and talked for a bit, then we broke up into smaller groups. In my group was Jordan, Branson, BK and I. It was like old times when we just had a guys group. We talked about a lot of personal stuff and I shared a lot about my relationship with my King. I can't believe how good it was, God is amazing. I needed that time and fellowship of men. We are probably going to be doing that for the rest of the semester since Ray is going to be gone. I have been missing the closeness and level of intimacy we had tonight. I have been craving it and trying to start a guys group has been on my mind again. I need to work on the M.U.G creed and get a finale draft to share with the guys. Maybe it will be the begining of a new adventure.

As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. ~Proverbs 27:17

So true, I can't tell you how refreshing it was to be the company of growing men in pursuit of the King. I am filled, recharged and ready for battle. Brothers prusue, seek out and fight for this intamacy with other men. Together we stand and are strong. Praise the KING!

About time for an update

I have been really busy with school and work, so I haven't taken the time to write in awhile. Last Thursday we had a huge storm come through with tons of rain, lightning and even the tornado sirens went off. Didn't have any tornadoes touch down and the closest one was in Little Rock. It caused some damage but not very bad. This whole past week we have had a ton of rain and several parts of the state are flooded. The road to George Town is flooded, so we can't go there. Hopefully we will be able to when Luke and Emily come down on the 19th. I am really looking forward to seeing him again. Yesterday, Erin and I went over to the Jackson's to help with the birthday party they were having, it was quite the affair. They had two big blow up play things, a petting zoo, football toss, duck bob, face painting, Erin was doing this, and pony rides, which I was doing. Heart did good for the most part, until right near the end when he started making angry faces and he even kicked once. I would walk two thirds of the way and then have him trot the last stretch, which everyone really enjoyed. I had a couple of girls comeback and ride quite a few more times. The boys didn't seem to interested in the rides and I only had a couple of them come for rides. It was a neat party with a ton of kids and I had a good time giving rides. When it was time for cake I put Heart up and about that time the other horses had come down for dinner, so I fed them and then I got the currie comb brushed on Jake, Pedro and Squirt for the next hour or so, probably was not that long but it felt like it. I have a test on Monday and Tuesday which have been studying for all weekend and I should do really well on them. Not much else going on for the time being and I am going to try and write more often. Take care.~Semper Fi

Horses Good for the Soul

Went out to the Jacksons today just to get away from the house and have some peace and quiet. It was just me, the horses and God. It was so quiet, peaceful and beautifully with some snow left over from yesterday. I really needed the alone time to think and be in nature. Just to rest in the beauty of my King. I am much better and ready to start school and work again. Nothing beats resting in the arms of the Creator. ~Semper Fi

Crazy Arkansas Weather

It is snowing in March in Arkansas?!?!?!?!?! The weather has been crazy over the past four days. Saturday it was 75, Sunny and beautiful. Sunday it started getting cloudy and a nice cold wind was kicking up. Monday it rained all day dropping about two inches. Today, Tuesday, it snowed?!?!?!

I took pictures of the snow and they are under the Montgomery album. I really enjoyed the thunderstorm yesterday and today it is beautiful outside. Thank you my King for the gifts.

Weekend Hikiing

Erin, Zach, Bethany and I went hiking at Petit Jean. It was beautiful out, almost to warm for pants. First we stopped at the top to eat lunch and look at the surrounding area. Then Zach and I, mostly me climbed around on the rocks before heading to the hiking trials. We hiked down to the waterfall and I got some neat pictures. Then we took the Canyon trail which wasn't all that interesting, though it did follow the creek almost the entire time. On our way out it was a work out. I'm used to going downhill on the way back, but here it was uphill the whole way back. ugh. My legs got tired and almost jello like. When we got back to the top we took the Bear cave trail, so we could go see the bear cave. The trail was alright, but the bear cave was just a whole in the side of the rock that was probably once a bear cave, really not impressive at all. I was bummed when I say what it was. I did take some pictures of it. Then we hiked back to the car and headed home, stopping at Sonic to get some drinks. On the way back the girls counted how many dead skunks they saw and it totaled about 25 or so. There were so many it was ridiculous. It was a really good, tiring trip we all thoroughly enjoyed. I'll have the new pictures posted in the petit jean ablum. That's all I feel like writing for now. ~Semper Fi

Pursued by the King

I find it amazing how God moves through things and uses them to draw me closer. I just got two albums by Jeremy Camp, Stay and Carried Me The Worship Project. Originally I was just going to get a song from each album, but I listened to a few on each cd and decided I had to buy the whole albums. Since then God has been speaking to me through several of the songs. I realized today the shuffle kept playing a couple of the songs over and over and mind you it was out of twenty seven songs. The words were things I needed to hear and it was God saying this is the path you must walk. My king has healed more wounds and filled needs I didn't know I still had. I have learned a lot about grace and how to apply it in my relationships. One gets an idea of what God must go though when we hurt/disappoint him, when a loved one does it to you. I now its only through grace, prayer and waiting on Lord that what has happened to me as only drawn me closer to my King. I have learned so much more about myself and I know I can endure much more as long as I cling to my King. I found I have much more grace and forgiveness then I thought I did.

These are the songs that I found especially directed towards me. You can click on the songs to see the lyrics.
Enough
I Wait For The Lord
Empty Me
I Surrender to You
Walk By Faith

I still find it hard to believe how perfect those two albums are and I know it was not coincidence I bought them when I did. My King is an amazing and wonderful friend. He knows just what to say and how to say it. He speaks to my heart like no one else. The journey I have been on over the last couple of weeks has been hard at times, but what I have gotten out of it has been more then worth the pain and tears. Praise to my King! I love you. ~Semper Fi

Relationships

Blessed is a man who endures trials, because when he passes the test he will receive the crown of life that He has promised to those who love Him. ~James 1:12

That pretty much sums up this week. I have been dealing with a lot of varied and different emotions this week and it has been very challenging. I am not going to give details because pretty much all of it has to do with relationships and they are private matters, but I am going to share what I have learned/learning this week. I had a come to Jesus meeting yesterday in the woods and spent a couple of hours talking and listening to him on how to handle what is going on. He gave me the following passages by flipping the pages of my bible with the wind.

Hear my prayer, LORD; let my cry for help come to you. Do not hide your face from me when I am in distress. Turn your ear to me; when I call, answer me quickly. ~Psalm 102:1-2

Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. ~Psalm 107. This part was repeated over and over through the whole psalm.

And the strangest one came out of Song of Songs 3:5b: Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires.

It was what I needed to hear and it helped me focus and a get handle on what to do.

Here is what I know when dealing with relationships. God must be first and must be consulted in all matters, especially when it involves matters of the heart. Communication is a must and has to be open and honest. Failing to communicate and/or not listening will only cause harm to those involved. Do not force things or rush them, wait on the LORD's timing. Be patient. When you get hurt be a man and step up. NO running away. Running only makes things worse. I really did not want to deal with what is going on. It would be so much easier to write them off or run away then to step up and deal with it. Only through the grace of my king has it been handled in the way it has. That is all I have at the moment, if I think of anything else I will add to it. God be honored above all. ~Semper Fi

Weekend Details. Only a week later :P

Ok, so I finally got around to writing about the amazing weekend I had. Friday night Sarah got in after dinner. We had a loud welcoming with hugs and laughter. After a bit we all, Sarah, Erin, Zach, Bethany and BK, watched Mr Deeds. I had forgotten how funny that movie is and both Zach and I had some really good belly laughs. The girls laughed a lot to but mostly were like, why are we watching this?!? It was much fun.

Saturday morning Zach and I made breakfast. I made banana, cranberry and plain pancakes and Zach cooked some eggs. It was an enjoyable time of just visiting and sharing stories. About lunch time Sarah, Erin and I headed to the Alltel Arena in Little Rock to see the Lippizaner Stallions. I knew we had pretty good seats but when we got there we didn't see our row because they were all numbers and we were in row b, so we walked all the way down and asked the lady to help us. She looked at our ticket and said, "oh, your down on the floor." I was thinking to myself, "what?!?!" We ended up being about ten feet from the show floor. It was amazing, the horses were so beautiful. The show was great and really enjoyable. The only thing that sucked was our camera died just before intermission, crappy old rechargeable batteries. I figured, I would go out and get my camera, don't ask why I left it in the car. So I get to the door and it says no reentry, so I asked a ticket lady if I could still comeback in and she said, "if I want to by another ticket". I was annoyed to say the least and there was noway I was buying another ticket, stupid greedy people. The rest of the show was really neat and I did get some cool pictures that I will get posted soon. That night after dinner we played a couple of games. The first was paper telephone and oh man did we have some fun and major laughing, it makes me crack up just thinking about. Then we played dominoes till Alycia arrived around 11pm. We played dominoes to long, but we had fun and some funny things happened.

Sunday was SUPER BOWL Sunday!!! We, Alycia, Erin, Sarah, Zach and I, went to church in the morning and then came home and ate lunch and waited for the Super Bowl party to begin. A bunch of people showed up and they all crowded in the den with the big screen. I watched about the first quarter in the den and then ditched them to watch it in the living room with Sarah and Alycia. Much better company and we all sat on the same couch. The game was not all that exciting till the fourth quarter and then OMG!!! it turned into the best game I have seen in a long time. I was yelling and on edge and getting stressed out, because I wanted the Giants to win. Oh man it was great, couldn't have asked for a better game. We didn't do much else after the game and then I said goodbye to Sarah and Alycia because I had to go to class at 7:30am and they were not going to be up. All in all it was a great weekend.

I had forgotten how much I enjoy being around Sarah and Alycia. They are wonderful women of God. One thing I really enjoy when they are around is that they will pick on me and poke fun about me, very few girls I know do that, so that makes them extra special to me. It was so good to see them. Old friends are the best, you can just pick up where you left off and it doesn't seem as if time has passed at all. Thank you my king for such relationships. ~Semper Fi

Great weekend

This weekend is going to be so fun. First Sarah, Alycia and Amy are coming in to town. Second Sarah, Erin and I are going to see the world famous Lipizzaner Stallions on Saturday!!!! Third is Super Bowl Sunday! Going to be lots of fun and restful at the same time. I will post more details when I have them. Not much else happened in the last couple of weeks since my last post. It snowed on Thursday, but it didn't stick. :( Nice while it lasted though. Have two tests coming up next week and the week after. Last weekend, Zach, Matt and I went an saw Rambo. It was a good action movie and ended the Rambo series perfectly. I also went riding two weekends ago, about froze to death on the way back. I am also trying to begin running regularly, but I gotta get some better shoes or I am going to kill my knees. I got a playable version of tic tac toe up and ready for download at www.rabiddesignstudios.com Go check it out. I am done for now. ~Semper Fi

Made it through the first week.

I just finished my first week of school and work. Getting up at 6am everyday wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, made the week longer but oh well. My last two classes are going to be fun, especially discrete math. The teacher is funny in a nerdy/geeky way. Sara B left for Greece on Tuesday and made it there safe and sound. I miss her. I am not sure how bible study at the house is going to go or if I am even going to go here this semester. My king will give me direction though, which I trust. Not much else is going on. Work has been busy and pretty much the same. I have been programming a lot again. Been working on tic tac toe and should have a playable version soon and available for download from www.rabiddesignstudios.com Anyway, I am getting hungry for breakfast, so till next time. ~Semper Fi

Living Well

I just got back from Christmas break at my parent's house. It was a good time and relaxing for me. I got to just hang out at the house and play video games mostly. I also moved wood and trimmed our horses hooves and I got to learn how to install a wood floor, which was a good time working with my dad. I did go see a couple of movies, I am Legend and AVP R, both were good. My dad, brother and I watched the whole Band of Brothers series together, which is a must see. It was really good to see the parents and grandparents and especially my brother. Finally got to see our dogs, Chester and Tessa or how my dad refers to them as Stinky and Dinky or Mut and Jeff. Any i am keeping this short on purpose and I plan to write more often in the coming weeks. ~Semper Fi

Thanksgiving Break

Monday I flew down to Abilene, TX to watch Sara B play basketball on Tuesday. My plane was supposed to leave at 6:55am, but just as the plane was getting ready to taxi on to the runway the pilot comes on and announces Dallas has had an equipment failure and all flights are grounded in and out of Dallas. We sat for about 30 mins and then the pilot tells us we are going to get off the plane and wait. Long story short we didn't leave till 10am and I didn't get into Abilene till 2pm almost three hours later then I was supposed to. Sara B and Kristen came and picked me up and we went to Walmart and they got some food for lunch on Tuesday. After Walmart they took me to Kristen's brother's house, which is where I was going to stay the night, while they went to basketball practice. After practice they came and got me and took me to Chickene, Sara B's favorite place to get sweet tea. The food was good, fried chicken and mashed potatoes, and the sweet tea was really good, I got a sugar rush from it. After dinner we went to their dorm and hung out. They made a cake for a friend and since Sara B was involved, a fight broke out and end with both Kristen and Sara B with chocolate cake batter all over their faces. I only got some flung on my clothes and so I got Sara B in the face, since she had gotten Kristen really good. It was really funny and fun to be apart of. hehe. After the we watched some tv while Kristen did some homework while waiting for the cake to cook. Then we went and delivered the cake and hung out there for a little while. It was getting late and they had class plus their game tomorrow, so we headed home. They stayed for a little while and then we said goodnight. A long but very enjoyable day.

Tuesday, Sara B was in class till eleven, so I slept in and watched some tv till she came and got me for lunch. We went to her dorm and her and Kristen started cooking the pasta and bread. They invited Bryce over as well, he seems like a good guy who they just met this semester. After lunch, Sara B and Kristen, had to go get ready for the game, so I hung out with Bryce till it was time for the game. They game was good, even though they lost. It was great to watch Sara B play again. After the game we said goodbye to Kristen and headed out on the road. Sara drove the first hour and half or so till she got hunger and we stopped in Ranger, TX for dinner. There was a beautiful sunset when we came out of DQ and I took a couple of pictures with Sara's camera. I drove the rest of the time. We talked the whole way home, except for about an hour or so when Sara took a nap so she could keep me company later. We talked about what was going on in our lives and what God has be doing for us and to us personally. I really enjoyed immensely and something I'll be sure we do more often. Other then that it was a pretty uneventful drive. I did see what was left of deer after it had been run over by a semi. We got home around 1:30am and said goodnight to each other and went to bed. It was a really good trip, wish I could do it more.

Wednesday not much went on during the day we both slept in and got some much need sleep. I got my programming assignment done and relaxed. Sara B spent most of the morning helping here mom get Thanksgiving dinner ready, she made mashed potatoes and cranberry stuff, both were very good. We all went to Roma's for dinner with a bunch of Sara B's family and cousins. Sara and I sat at the kids table with her cousins and had good time. Shooting straw wrappers, ice fingers, telling really really really cheesy jokes and laughing a ton. After dinner everyone came back and we watched Muppets from Space, it was pretty funny. Thursday was of course turkey day. I was a bum and watched a lot of football, and Sara watched too when she wasn't helping her mom. We everyone that was at Roma's came for Thanksgiving dinner at four. Sara B and I ate at the kids table again and again it was much fun more lame jokes and good conversation. Kids are great. After eating way to much food and desert we watched some more football. A bit later we watched Amazing Grace, which was good movie. Friday morning Luke came to see me, since him and Emily were in Memphis. He came to house and visited with everyone that was here and then he and I went to Harding so he could see the new hotel lobby. After that we came back to the house for a little bit while we waited for lunch time to come around. I took him out for lunch so we could catch up and just talk with the two of us. It was good and we talked about future plans, relationships and various other things. It was so good see him, it was like we had never been apart. After lunch he had to head back to Memphis so we said good bye. Friday night we watched Shrek the Third, I had forgotten how funny it was.

Saturday, Day of Adventure, dun dun dun. The day started at 6:30am, so we would have plenty of riding time because we had to be back by noon. It was Sara B, her cousin Shelbi and I. Shelbi had never gone riding before, so today turned out to be a really good adventure for her especially. We took our normal trail for the woods and out to the far field for some galloping. Sara was on Jake wasn't doing and running on him, so I asked her if she wanted to switch and ride Pedro. We switched and she started riding around on Pedro. I had to go and help Shelbi with Heart because he was given her trouble and she had never ridden before. After some coach she got Heart to listen better and at this point Sara B came galloping across the field. Then the three of us headed to the far side. After a bit Sara B went galloping across the field again and Shelbi and I did a little trotting and some walking in that direction. All of a sudden Heart starts loping and I was thinking, "WOW he broke a trout". Then the adventure began. Heart started crow hoping while loping, so of course Shelbi lost her seat and fell of, good thing hear is only about four and half feet tail and doesn't move that fast, I trotted over to make sure she was alright and she was. I was about to ask her to climb up so we could go get Heart, because he was making a b-line for Pedro, but he didn't stop. I told Shelbi I better go catch him before he gets out of the field. I give Jake a kick and go full speed for the entrance. As I get near Sara, who is near Heart, I yell, "I got him", as I go flying past. I just beat Heart to the entrance, but now he is trying to get around me, so now I'm herding him and after a bit of that he stopped moving and I was able to grab his reins and lead him back to Sara B and Shelbi. It was amazing, it was like Jake knew exactly what I wanted him to do and I knew exactly what need to be done and it all fell into place. It was exciting and I got to be a hero. After that Sara B and Shelbi were pretty much frozen and ready to head home. Shelbi did really well for her first time. The trip home was uneventful. Looking back I know God had a hand in the event, with Sara and I switching horses and keeping Shelbi safe during her fall and giving me an opportunity to step up and use my strength for the benefit of others. Life with God at the helm is never boring. For dinner the house family went out to a chinese buffet and when we got back I made a fire and Sara B and I sat on the couch and watched Miracle on 34th Street, which is Sara's favorite Christmas movie, with BK and her mom. Sara slept for most of it. After the Sara and Cole were having a tickling war so I jumped in to assist Cole and got a hold of her feet and went to town. Needless to say I ended up on the floor after some wrestling. Good times indeed good way to end the day and our break, at least I think so, Sara may have something to say though. :P

Sunday was bitter sweet having to say goodbye to Sara B, I will miss her presence, but she will be home in three weeks and I am looking forward to it already. At church God spoke to me through the preacher and put two things on my heart to share. One for Sara B and one for Kristen. Sharing what he put on my heart definitely put me out of my comfort zone because I was not sure how they would be received. All went well and I am getting much better at speaking when prompted by the Spirit and not worry what others will thing about it. Well this post turned into a beast, but I think it pretty much covers all the big events of my break. Definitely one of the best if not the best Thanksgiving break I have had. God be praised. ~Semper Fi

Gifts From God

Just wanted to share a couple of gifts God has given me over the last couple of days. On Monday we had a quiz in calculus, which was worth half a test, and I was pretty sure I bombed it because I got confused on the second part and started to second guess myself on the first part, but I said bag it and moved on and finished the test. Tuesday we got the "quiz" back and I made an A. I thank God for it because I know he had a hand in it. That was the first gift. The second one came today while I was eating breakfast, cheerios of some generic nature, and I as about done and as I was about to put the spoon in my mouth I looked down and low and behold a smiley face was looking at me. Two cheerios for eyes and a half one his smiley face and that was all that was on my spoon. Another gift from God.

Luke 9:23-24

I understand this now. The more I give myself to Christ the more he gives me the things my heart desires. Which leads to a much better and full filling life, that can only be obtained through Christ and the death of self. I am having a really hard time putting in to words my thoughts and feelings and the complete understanding I have of these statements by Christ. I read it and the meaning just hit me in the face like a 2x4. There is no point in doing anything with your life without Christ, your dead, period. But if you kill your false self for Christ and he will restore your true self in such an amazing way you won't even recognize yourself any more. BAH, I don't have the words for this.I hope everyone comes to know this understanding and the peace it brings. Pursue Christ, death to the false self, Christ restores your true self. Well I hope someone will benefit from my sharings and ramblings. ~Semper Fi

My Adventure

I was between the Reynolds and GAC on my way to the Reynolds to deliver some packages, when I see this person laying on the ground curled up and the first thing that goes through my mind is what is some club doing to their poor pledge, but something didn't feel right so I stopped and got out and as I was walking up to the person another thought went through my. This better not be a body. I reach down and touch his should and ask, "Are you all right", to which he responded, "Cold chest hurts". I call security, while talking to the dispatcher lady and try to find out who he is and is he a diabetic or has any allergies. Then the security guy shows up and checks him and asks me some questions and then calls in an ambulance. While waiting for the ambulance a couple more officers show up and on of them is a medic and he starts checking him out and asking questions, but he was barely cognitive. About then the ambulance shows up and the put him on a gurney and take him to the hospital. Before the ambulance leaves my boss Frank came walking up, because he was looking for me because I had a package that needed to get somewhere asap so he was going to take it. He was worried at first because the security guys had parked a golf cart right in front of my van, so he thought I had hit it and sent the driver flying ten plus feet. He was relived it was not what happened. I will give a update when I have have more info about how the guy is doing, because he is a Harding student, so please keep him in you prayers. Well that concludes my adventure for the day. ~Semper Fi

Not dead yet

I have been really busy and or to tired to write in this thing much, plus I have been putting of a post I need to write, but I am still going to put it off. :P This post is about this weekend.

Thursday night, but really Friday morning, Sara B and Kristen got in for the weekend, but I didn't get to see them till after I got home from work at 4:30 :( I was looking forward to seeing Sara B all day and for the get together Erin and I had planned. We had invited some people over to play games and have dinner. We ate and I don't even remember what we had, but it was good and the conversion was even better. After dinner we played a girls vs guys game of Pictionary, which the guys completely dominated. It was probably the most fun game of Pictionary I have ever played. Then we played another game of 2v2v2, which was fun and Rachael and I won, with Zach and Holly very close behind and Erin and Matt nowhere in site, lol. It was fun.

Saturday morning Sara B, Kristen and I went riding. We rode for about two and a half hours and went to the far field for some galloping. After I galloped and cantered on Pedro a bit, I let Kristen ride him, because he was being really good. After I gave her some direction and what to expect from him, she rode him a bit before galloping to see how he would do for her. Pedro was really good and Kristen did well too. It was a lot of fun and it was just wonderful to be on a horse again and especially with great company. After they got back we watched some home videos and just hung out. We said our goodbyes that night, because they were leaving at 7am and I wasn't going to be up. It was a good visit, short but good and it was really good to see Kristen and especially Sara B again.

That is all for now. I will try and keep this thing updated more often. ~Semper Fi

Last Two Weeks

I am still alive, even though it has almost been a month since my last post. I finally feel like posting again so here comes a new post and update on my life. Two weeks ago I started my finale year of school and will be graduating in May. I also started working the same day. I finally had found a job the previous week with Aramark, but I needed my birth certificate or ss card to get approval to work, which I had neither, so I had to wait till my birth certificate showed up. It didn't show up till Friday evening, the weekend before school started. I had looked Friday morning at Harding's student HR page and saw that they need workers for some stockroom and hours were from 8am-4:30pm M-F, which was just perfect for me. Monday I call them and ask about the position and after my 10 o'clock class I went over there with an application and resume and got hired on the spot. I started working that afternoon after lunch. The first week of classes and working was really tiring as I would get up at 6:30am everyday and come home at 4:30pm do homework and fall asleep. It wasn't that great and I was not sure how well it was going to work out. The next week was much better, because my body has gotten used to the new routine and I enjoy going to work. The three people I mainly work with are pretty laid back and good Christians and just nice to be around. Thursday was a really good day at work. First when I was delivering stuff to the Admin building, which is about as wheelchair unfriendly as you can get, some girl went out of her way to get the doors for my which was really nice and quite unusual, as I have found out. The other thing that was nice and funny, was my boss helped me deliver eight boxes of paper. The paper was on a pallet, so we moved the pallet to where he could pick it up with their big Skytrack forklift and drove the eight boxes of paper to the library with it. I was laughing the whole time as I was following him in the van. I was too funny. Wednesday night bible study has gotten off to a good start and I think the group I am in will be really good and we will learn and grow a lot this semester. Anyway that is all for now. ~Semper Fi

Texas Trip

The trip to Texas went really well and was very relaxing and refreshing. We mostly just hung out at the house and did nothing, which is relaxing for me. We did go shopping on Tuesday and just walked around and visited some stores and went to Chipotle for lunch and got some really good spicy tacos, which burned on the way down and on the way out hehe. Wednesday we made dinner for them and got to go to a really nice grocery store and then went to a fabric store and I got some really neat fabric that mom is going to make into a pillow case, wall hanging and a curtain. I cooked the beef and chicken, the beef was amazing, while mom made a really good salad and aunt Valere made the bake beans, also very good. Very good meal with great conversation. We just had really good time visiting with them all and I realized how nice it would be closer to them. My mom and her brother, Uncle David, are crazy and just egg on each other, we got a lot of laughs from the two of them. It was just really neat to see are cousins and get to hang out and talk to them. We do have pictures and I plan to get them up real soon. On the way back we stopped in Dallas and had lunch and a good visit with Alycia for a couple of hours. It was really nice to see her again. We also had some really good conversation and sharing on the way down and back, which was really good for all of us. God was speaking to me very much through Wild at Heart and brought somethings to my attention and called me to do two things, which are scary for me, but I must do them as part of my journey to true man hood. Anyway, I think that is about it for the Texas trip, I may add more detail later but I am very tired. ~Semper Fi

Overwhelming Presence

I will start from the beginning. My mom came down to see Erin and I and then her and Erin were going to Texas to see my cousins for a few days. Anyway I was not going to go because they were going to be gone to long while I am looking for work and I needed to spend the time during the week looking for a job. I was fine about it till about 11:00pm tonight when I was hit with an overwhelming feeling telling me I had to go. I laid in bed for several minutes trying to get it to go away but it only got worse. I finally ended up calling my mom and telling her I was really torn about not going with them and seeing my cousins. The feeling was so overwhelming that I could not even talk about it with out breaking down and crying. Mom and I met outside to talk about it but I was not able to talk with out crying and then Erin came out and we all talked and finally said a prayer about it. I am at peace now, but still recovering from the presence of God. This is the second time I have had an experience like this. The first one was not nearly as strong and it was when I was supposed to go to Colorado for Thanksgiving but God said no and to stay. I did and it was a very wonderful week and one of my most memorable times with Sara B. So I am going now and feel at peace. God will speak very loud and clear when you need to hear it most. God is amazing, seek him at all costs. ~Semper Fi

God is Amazing

Since my last post things have quieted down a lot for me and God gave me a wonderful surprise for sticking it all out. I don't remember what day it was but earlier this week I got an email from my math teacher with our grade for our last test and our final grade in the class. After failing the test during the most intense part of the fight, I needed to get at least an eighty or more to get a C in the class. I took the final test and totally felt like I had failed it for sure therefore failing the class, cause I totally felt like I blanked and couldn't remember how to do anything. God is amazing and thanks to him I made and 86 and got a C in the class, which was just what I needed. I was so surprised and excited, I couldn't believe it, God is good.

Yesterday was wonderful. Sara B and I got up early to go riding, because we wanted to beat the heat so we could do a lot of running and have plenty of time to work with them. Pedro was being really good and Jake was being kind of tooty, wanting to run off and not listening, especially when Pedro was around. So I rode around different parts of the field and to get out of sight while Sara did circles and lots of them. Anyway we did that for about an hour or so and I would comeback and check on her and to see how things were going. Then we rode down to the river and sat there for a bit in the cooler air. After that we rode some more and thought about seeing how over grown and accessible it was. We started heading over there and Jake was still not listen real well, so I kept going while Sara B did some more circles with him. Anyway I got over to the other field and waited a bit for Sara B and when she didn't show up I headed the rest of the way to the entry and rode down to the river. It was a bit steep but doable with out dismounting. I scouted it out and then headed back to find Sara B. After I founded here we both headed to the river and when we got down there we both thought about rolling our pants up and standing in it, so we walked the horse of over to this nice long that is just right for a hitching post and tied them up and got ready to get in the water. At first the mud was about six inches deep and so we walked a little further down the bank and found a much better place. There was a long that extended out into the river a ways, so Sara B started to climb out on it and did just fine until she tried to come back. On her way back she lost her balance and ended up jumping of and landing waist deep in the water, which by the way was ice cold, she made some great nosies and faces, lol. After that she just sat down on the log in the water and so I joined her on the long but on a part that was not under water, but covered in mud. After getting cooled of and chatting she got of and tried to fall over in the mud, cause she doesn't have the leet mud walking skills I do, so I helped to keep her from getting all the way wet. After that she tried to push me over on the log, which didn't work because I was leaning kind of forward and she didn't push hard enough. Of course if she had pushed harder I would have grab her and took her with me which would have been funny. The water was cold but it felt so good after getting hot and being in the sun so long. It was a really good time and Jake was doing much better by the end of the day. Both of us thought it was one of the best times riding we have had in awhile. It was such a good time.

In other news I have started looking for a job I can have for the next year while I finish school, to make money to get a car and to be able have enough money for when I finally move out and get a really job, so please pray for that and for vigilance and open eyes. God is good! ~Semper Fi

Satan is an Ass

Thursday was a rough day for sure. For most of the day Satan was in my ear whispering get mad at Sara B, get made at Sara B and would not stop. Along with that was a very strong feeling of being completely ignored/tossed aside, which was completely false and was not coming from me. Along with fighting that, I was trying to study for my test on Friday and was not able to concentrate because of what was going on inside me. I even tried going outside to fishing/have quiet time and pray while in the boat and that was not working so finally I went to the weight room to play some NS to get my mind off of everything and that finally helped. I prayed that night and the rest of the week was good. I talked to Sara B on Friday about Thursday and Satan being all in my face and she said he has been in her face a lot lately which didn't make me happy at all. Sunday I skipped church to go spend an hour or so in the woods praying and talking to God about what has been going on and for Sara B. It was a really good time and before I got up to leave I asked god what verse he had for me today and just opened my Bible and there was Jonah 2:2-9

"In my distress I called to the LORD,
and he answered me.
From the depths of the grave I called for help,
and you listened to my cry.

You hurled me into the deep,
into the very heart of the seas,
and the currents swirled about me;
all your waves and breakers
swept over me.

I said, 'I have been banished
from your sight;
yet I will look again
toward your holy temple.'

The engulfing waters threatened me,
the deep surrounded me;
seaweed was wrapped around my head.

To the roots of the mountains I sank down;
the earth beneath barred me in forever.
But you brought my life up from the pit,
O LORD my God.

"When my life was ebbing away,
I remembered you, LORD,
and my prayer rose to you,
to your holy temple.

"Those who cling to worthless idols
forfeit the grace that could be theirs.

But I, with a song of thanksgiving,
will sacrifice to you.
What I have vowed I will make good.
Salvation comes from the LORD."

Just what I had been experiencing lately and needed to hear. God is amazing. Always remain vigilant in watching out for the devils schemes and know they can never succeed against the LORD Almighty, God be praised. ~Semper Fi

Yep, I'm Not Dead

I was trying to do more studying for my tests, but I am really distracted and the information is not sinking in. It is kind of pissing me off atm. Maybe cause I got too much going on in my head right at this moment to focus enough to study. I am some what tired but I think it is mostly just feeling ignored by Sara B because Bethany came for a surprise visit for her birthday, but at the same time I am not being ignored so the cause is Satan trying to put wrong thoughts/feelings in my head, so I am having to fight him off constantly. He has been after my quite a bit this month and I am getting tired of it. The last couple of weeks especially when I am tired and don't feel like doing much on my computer Satan is right there with the desire to go look at porn, so I have to tell him to go away in Christ name and walk away from my computer, because there is no way in hell I'm going down that road again. Seven years was much to long the first time. So that is what is going on with my spiritual life at the moment, war time. Life is good though. As I mentioned above Bethany got in yesterday evening and the look on Sara B's face was priceless, lol, makes me smile and laugh just thinking about. Sara B and I have started working out together this week and it has been enjoyable, I have been sore pretty much all week. Monday we did legs, Tuesday we did arms and Wednesday we did sprints and today we were supposed to do should and back, but since Bethany is here that's not happening, I am kind of bummed about not working out, but I understand. Sara B and I have gotten to go riding quite a bit, which has been wonderful of course. Tomorrow a whole bunch of us are going to Georgetown for catfish and that will be lots of fun. I have been so busy with school and working and homework, it feels like all I do is work, school, sleep and that does not make me happy. I am pretty sure that after I finish my school the coming year that I will be moving to Texas around Dallas or Abilene for a couple of years while Sara B finishes school and then after that I may be off to Montana or where ever Sara B decides to go to grad school for her doctorate, but it all depends on where God want me to be, which atm I feel is Texas for a few years and the to Montana. I think that is about it for now. ~Semper Fi

Moonlit Ride

Riding under a nearly full moon is pretty much amazing! Sara B and I went riding last night under a nearly full moon. It was so pretty and peaceful just riding bareback in the moon light. We road around the field for a bit and then took the wooded trail to the wonderful open field, which is right next to the river and makes it feel like you are out in the middle of no where. We rode and talked for quite awhile and about 10:30 fog started coming up from the river, which was kind of eerie and cool at the same time. The woods were kind of spooky to ride through but we had Buddy and Sport with us for body guards. Anyway it was a wonderful time and we are planning to do it again Tuesday. That is all. ~Semper Fi

Just an Update

This past week as been very busy because we were getting the yard ready for a Memorial Day cook out. The fun started Monday with the rental of a rototiller to till areas around the pool and out front to get them ready to put sod down. I tilled for about four hours on Monday and also spent time raking up the tilled up grass and rocks. Tuesday I did some more tilling and raking, plus digging around the edges to getting it low enough to match the other parts of the grass and concrete. It was very tiring and hard work. Wednesday I spent some more time finishing the raking, leveling and digging, by the end of the day my arms felt like jello and were pretty much gone.

Thursday we got the sod and spent six hours laying it all down. It wasn't very difficult but by the end of the day my lower back and right between my shoulders was very tired. That night though we, Sara B, Amy, Natasha and I went to Georgetown and had a really good time with lots of laughing and talking. We stayed there for about two hours before we finally got up and left. We also had a bunch of fun on the way to and from there, with lots of laughing, it was a great time.

Friday was a really relaxing day compared to the rest of the week. In the morning Sara B and I went riding for about two and a half hours. It was hot out and the horses were be a bit tooty, so we didn't do any galloping. We did go exploring more and finally found a way to the river!!!, wahoo. We are playing on going swimming this week but will see what happens. After riding I went for a swim to cool off. That evening Amy, Natasha, Erin and I went to the movies. Erin and I saw Shrek 3, which was about as good as the other two and Amy and Natasha saw Pirates 3 and they said it was good. Any way it was a really good day.

Riding Adventures of Sara B and Jacob

Sara B and I went riding in the woods today and found our way into a very large grass field in the middle of the woods. The field was picture perfect for galloping through, with tall grass and rolling hills. Sara B asked me if we could run through it and of course I said yes. We take off at full speed across the field and about three quarters through was somewhat of a muddy patch which cause Pedro to change strides and speed very quickly, which in turned caused me to be pitched forward nearly onto his neck and it took me a few moments to recover, after that it was all good. We road in the field for close to an hour, exploring and trying to find a way down to the Little Red River, but alas we failed to find a way down to the river this day. Now we have a great trail ride to take people on with some challenging parts, tree dodging and field galloping.

On Tuesday we had wonderful weather for evening riding, so we went. On our way back we got to see part of the sun setting in the clouds, beautiful. We also spotted something black and it appeared to be standing on its hind legs. We road towards it and it started moving away, but it wasn't on its hind legs, it was just its tail in the air and it had a white strip. Then Sara B exclaimed, "It's a skunk!" About that time the two dogs spotted it and started chasing it further into the field and then it turned and started coming towards us, ahhhhh! We were both not going to let that happen so we took off and put safe distance between us and the skunk before we turned around to watch where it went, luckily it went down the road and away from us and the house. The skunk left a wonderful choking, make your throat burn, smell behind and the dogs got it on them too. :( Away we got a good laugh. Ya never know what will happen when you go riding. Adventure for the win!!!!

Make up your own title. Just like choose your own adventure

7am I wake to wonderful weather just perfect for taking the trash to the road. I make the journey and return with the trash safely at the curb. Breakfast with Erin and Sara B was enjoyable with eggs, bacon and fruit making up the meal part. We ate in a rush, so we could get out to the horses asap. Now the adventure begins. Sara B and I went riding. On the way to the woods Buddy and Sport took off into the woods after something and then Buddy came running out and Sport sounding like he was getting killed, so I rode towards the noise to see what was going on and to scare it off. As I got closer I could see something, which seemed to be rather large, chasing Sport but could not tell what it was. Getting closer it stopped chasing Sport and looked right at me and dun, dun, dun it was a doe, ahhhhhh oh noes!!!! The End.

Past Two Days

Thursday was a good day. In calc 2 the teacher gave us a take home final that isn't due till our schedule final time so we have like a week to work on it. I'm going to try and get it done by Tuesday and I may just be able to pull a C in the class if I do well on the final. Then in probability we final got our tests back and I made a B on it, made me very happy to finally do good on a test in that class. After school I worked outside and then played a bunch of WoW with my brother for a really good time. After dinner Ray took us out for ice cream, so we all piled in the van and had a family trip to the Bulldog for strawberry shortcake, mmmm good. On the way there and back the girls were going crazy, hitting and slapping each other like they were on crack.

Today I was out at the Jackson's working on a stone pathway for them. I worked for two hours and then went riding for two hours. I also brought them some mouse traps for the grain/tack room and I had gotten a mouse before leaving. :) The weather was beautiful with a bit of a breeze, perfect for riding. I went exploring on Pedro, looking for new places to ride and took a trial that ended in somebody's field and since I didn't want to go riding in the middle of their field I turned around and headed back. I did a bit of galloping and loping too. Anyway it has been a good last few days. ~Semper Fi

My weekend

Friday night, Allan, Bethany, Erin, Zach and I went bowling. We played three games which was one to many for me. My arm was getting tired from throwing a fifteen pound ball as hard could, so my game went down hill. The second game was by far the best and it was really close. Erin and Allan tied at 127 and I came in second with 126 and would have won if I had made my spare :( Over all it was a good night with lots of laughing. Saturday I removed all the bricks from the top edge of the pool to get it ready to be formed for concrete this week. Then I went fishing for quite a while, didn't catch to much. Fish still aren't bitting a whole lot. After that I didn't do to much else. Sunday I went out to the Jacksons and gathered rocks for an hour, because I am going to build a stone walk way and wall for them. After that I went played with the horse for about an hour. Pedro was being a turd and I didn't really feel like riding, because I was tired from all the work I did this weekend instead of resting like I normally do. As I was leaving I got asked to play baseball with them so I did that till Mark had to go pick some stuff up, so I went and helped him move so things and then ate dinner and chatted for awhile. I was officially made part of their family at dinner too :) I was out at their place for about seven hours and enjoyed it for the most part. I also talked to Sara B and Betheny this weekend and they are both doing good. I am really tired and being lazy today, so that is all I am writing in this post. Good day. ~Semper Fi

Unanswered Prayer

An unanswered prayer is a painful thing even when it involves an animal. Sometime this morning the Jacksons lost one of their mares while she was giving birth. She was not very healthy when I saw her yesterday, but she didn't look like she was going to give birth soon, nor die. I had asked God to keep her well, but it was not to be. Life is an interesting thing, one day I am flying in the clouds with the real possibility of owning a horse by summers end and the next walking with the loss of a horse and colt. What can you do but trust in the infinite wisdom of the most high and know things will come out right. ~Semper Fi

Good weekend

This weekend was pretty fun with lots of laughing. Friday Allan, Amy, Erin, Zach and I went to the movies to get away from the house because Bethany's club was having a retreat at the house. While we were in line to get tickets Dan and Hannah showed up, it was pretty fun because they had come to see a different movie, a chick flic don't remember the name, so of course we or I should say Allan gave Dan a hard time about it. Anyway we saw Ghost Rider, which I thought was pretty funny because of the cheesiness. I laughed quite a bit during it and at one point Ghost Rider gets put in jail and starts to get beat up by the inmates and then turns in to Ghost Rider and beats them all up and right before he leaves he points at this kid in the jail cell, I leaned over to Zach and said, "Stay in school", but Ghost Rider didn't say it, but if he had it would have fit in with the movie just fine, that's how cheesy it was. It was a good time nonetheless(is a strange word, because it is made up of three complete words).

Saturday was pretty uneventful till after dinner when the girls, Amy, Bethany and Erin, got into a towel snapping fight while doing the dishes. Provided much laughter. Then Zach got in to it for a bit a gave some good shots and provided more laughter. Makes me laugh even thinking about it. That's about it for Saturday and it rained a lot :(

Sunday turned out to be beautiful weather wise, so of course I had to go riding. Amy and Erin came with me and we rode around the field and then in the woods and then back in the field for some faster riding. Anyway we had a good time and I had some good laughs provided by Erin and Amy while we rode in the woods. hehe

Today I took a bunch of grain out to the Jacksons for the horses because they needed it and got to talk them about the horses and coming out to help them get their place cleaned up and taken care of, so I will be over there most Saturdays from now on. Also I may have some other interesting/exciting news to tell later once I have more info. That is all for now. ~Semper Fi

What a week and weekend

This past week and weekend was a lot of fun, especially the weekend. I'll start at the beginning. Little Zach's school was on spring break so he was here for most of the day on Monday, Tuesday and part of the day Thursday. I got to be big brother on Monday and Tuesday. Monday, he helped me clean the apartment, he mopped the bathroom floor, scrubbed the shower and did one of the mirrors, because we couldn't go fishing or play video games till I had got the apartment cleaned. After cleaning Zach decided he wanted to go fishing so we went and fished for probably close to two hours till lunch time and didn't really catch much. During lunch we watched Spider Man 2 and just as it was getting good the power got turned off, because Jim was working on something, so the put an end to our movie watching. We got the BB guns out and shot those for awhile and then went fishing again to end the day. Tuesday I was in class till lunch time, so we ate lunch and then went fishing for a awhile. Zach caught a good sized bass and ran inside to tell his mom and to get a camera. So we got a picture taken, I was holding the fish because he is still afraid of them, go figure, and that was how we ended Tuesday.

This weekend was wonderful. Thursday night Sara B and her roommate, Audrey, got in for the weekend. Ray and I helped them bring their stuff in after everyone said greetings and gave hugs. After that pretty much everyone went to bed except me because I was watching tv and waiting for Sara B and Audrey to get unpacked. They came out and we watched AFV and chatted for an hour and a half, mostly laughing, and I was really enjoying hearing Sara B laugh, she was cracking Audrey and I up because she was laughing so hard.

Friday, I got up and cut some more cedar logs and put them in position to be picked up. After that I got cleaned up and eat my lunch and visited/listened to Sara B, Audrey and Rebbecca talk and we worked out when we could go riding, which was Saturday. After lunch I my haircut by Erin and while that was happen Zach and his dad come over to go fishing and Zach wanted me to go with them. After I got my hair cut I went and got a pole. Sara B and Audrey came out to see Zach and Sara B wished me luck with fishing before they left to have lunch with Ray. The wind was blowing pretty good and so I was working my way around the pond to get the wind at my back and didn't get and nibbles or anything till I got to the far side. On the far side I caught a smaller bass finally and a bit later I had a bass come up a bump my lure just as I was pulling it out to cast again. The next cast I hook a monster four or five pound bass. She didn't put up much of a fight because it was so cold out but man I was really surprised at the size, she was a monster. Has to be the biggest fish in the pond. It was a really nice gift from God to catch such a big fish after not getting anything in the past several days. I fished for a bit more but the sun went away and the wind kept blowing, which made me get the chills so I went in to warm up. Around three Luke called so I talked to him while he was on his way home from work. We had a good visit, just talking about stuff. Anyway while talking to Luke I got a phone call from Montgomery and figured it was Rebbecca, so I waited till Luke and I finished before calling back. Turned out it was Sara B asking if we could go riding, so I called the Jacksons to make sure it was ok and the three of us, Sara B, Audrey and I, headed out there at about 4:30. We got the horses and I had the girls brush them while I got the saddles ready. We rode around the field for a bit so I could see how Pedro was going to be and to see how Audrey would do on Heart, because this was only her third or so time riding. Everyone was doing good, so I asked if they wanted to go ride in the woods and of course they were up for it. We heading into the woods and right near the start Pedro started getting freaked out over a pile of leaves, so I was talking to him and got him to cross them after a few tries. Pedro has definitely not been in the woods much, because he was like, ahhhhhh nature! get it off get it off!!! Anyway I had a lot fun riding him in the woods. We rode around in the woods dodging trees and branches and listening to Audrey "talk" to Heart, because he likes to take you under trees with low branches, as she was dodging branches and getting him to go where she wanted him to go. We survived the woods and got some good laughs, so we headed back to the field to do some loping and galloping. I did some galloping on Pedro and a lot of trotting, man his trot is brutal, bouncy, bouncy. Sara did a lot of loping and some galloping on Jake. It was beautiful to watch her ride and the motion of the horse as his tail and mane are flowing in the wind. The harmony between rider and horse is just beautiful to see in motion, thank you God for such a privilege. While Sara B and I were doing that Audrey was riding Heart around a bit and Heart decided he wanted to go to the lower gate. I rode over to assist in encouraging and directing Audrey to show Heart who was boss and that he could not get away with what he was doing. After a bit of a battle Audrey won and Heart was much better about listening for the rest of the time. We rode some more and before we headed back to the barn we did a cooling off lap around the whole field to get the horses cooled of, mostly for Jake though. After riding we went and got the horses brushed and put back and before leaving we went and said hi to the Jacksons and chatted a bit. We ended up riding for about two and half hours. Everyone had a lot of fun, Sara B and I could barely walk but it was all good. When we got back everyone had eaten dinner already so the three of us had dinner together from the left overs and it was nice.

Saturday we had breakfast and sat around the table talking till about noon, before doing some other things. About one I was going to call and make reservations for Georgetown but first I had to find out if Sara B and Audrey could come. They where going to go to Spring Sing because Sara B didn't want to waste the tickets she thought her parents had bought. When she found out they hadn't paid for then the decision was easy. I made the reservations for 7pm since that was the earliest they had open for eleven people. About then Ray called seeing if Zach and I could help move some wood and Sara B and Audrey wanted to come. We piled into the Explorer and headed to Al's to load up some wood. They were big trees cut in to about ten foot chunks. We had to make three trips because the were so heavy. Sara B and Audrey were are moral support team since most of the wood was so big. Zach and I surprised them in what we could lift and we got called Hercules :) hehe. Anyway it was fun and a good work out. It was about 4:30 when we finished so I changed clothes and got some food and came and watched Hidalgo and after Sara B and Audrey had finished getting there food ready they came back and joined me. At first Audrey didn't want to sit on the couch because she was afraid of spilling beans on the couch, so we gave her a bad time about it and got her to move to the couch hehe. We watched Hidalgo till it was time to leave. Sara B, Audrey, Dan, Abraham, Zach and Bethany all piled into the van and Erin, Hannah and Amy got in to her car to follow us. We got to Georgetown a little early and had our picture taken out front. Oh yeah, it was Audrey, Amy, Bethany, Dan, Hannah and Zach's first time coming to Georgetown and they all liked it. On they way back we had to go over some railroad tracks and bit of a dip right after them and I did it a bit fast and everyone got a good laugh out if it and later one we got back to Searcy I did a break check at the stop light and that really made everyone laugh. It was a really good day.

Sunday was good but a bit sad at the same time. We had a big easter lunch and got easter baskets that we had to look for. We also had family pictures taken before lunch and looking for the baskets. The reason it was a bit sad was it was time for Sara B and Audrey to go back to ACU. Audrey told me she didn't want to leave :( I definitely would have liked them to stay around longer, but that's life. We said our goodbyes and gave hugs and wished safe journeys. I was glad to finally meet one of Sara B's ACU friends and she was a really cool girl. After they had gone Zach and I went fishing and didn't catch anything :( I did find a baby turtle, which was neat. I think that is pretty much all the big stuff that happened. It was really a wonderful weekend and I had a great time hanging out with Sara B and Audrey, riding was the best part for sure. God is good. ~Semper Fi

Nature for the Soul

Lightning flashing in the distance while warm rain comes down in a soft sprinkle, making tiny rippling rings on the surface of the pond. Peaceful and quiet it was, just me and a fishing pole. Fishing away enjoying the soothing touch nature has ones soul. It was beautiful and really nice, just to be outside enjoying the freshness after a good rain. Sunday was really nice as well. I went out to the Jackson's and spent the whole time brushing, doing ground work and a bit of riding with Pedro. He is a good horse, just people shy. It was really nice just to go out there and be around horses and the quietness. Nature for the win. ~Semper Fi

Robbed by Raccons a True story

Allan, Dan and I get back from walking and eating ice cream to find food from inside our cooler has been taken. Found a broken egg on a bench. Open cooler to find a piece of chicken is missing. Take our food stuffs to van, while up there a raccoon comes and sits on our table. We are not even 50ft away. I charge with our axe, coon runs. We hear a bunch of noise around our camp and get the flashlight out and see at least five different sets of eyes. They begin to encircle us, making growling noises. We through rocks and scare them away. Here is where I begin a time log, it follows.

10:20pm
set trap with remaining piece of chicken
make spears
11:30pm
egg is broken
got more wood
bait shifted to optimal position after raccoon pattern of assault is known
12:20am
raccoon escaped with chicken
we pursue
recover half of the chicken
1:20am
last of the wood put in fire
1:40am
assaulted by five from the water
spear launched negative hit
2:00am
Allan is being surrounded while Dan and I look for more wood
2:05am
Distress call received
2:06am
Dan set back to assist
2:10am
I return with more wood
2:20am
attack pattern changes again. 4th pattern used
raccoons very cautious
2:30am
Peanuts become rationed
too quiet
4:15am
While singing to God raccoon comes
Wait for him to be upon the chicken
I launch spear. Direct hit!
No blood drawn
chicken reset for his friend above us
God has been good to us
5:00am
I score a second hit on a raccoon
Scripture reading
5:30am
Another attempt
Ended night with a prayer
Dan remains vigilant
5:50am
Dan hits raccoon with rock it limps away
Allan and I get back out of bed
5:55am
Another sitting
Smell of skunk in the air
Not a skunk, stupid raccons

After that nothing else showed up so Allan and I went back to bed while Dan stayed up longer. Nothing else happened after that and Dan finally came to bed around nine am. We had a ton of fun that night try to kill a raccoon and just waiting for them. It was really creepy at first because they weren't really scared of us and the growling noise and the sound they made, sounded like something much bigger moving in the woods, when they weren't trying to be sneaky. We had a huge dinner of a two and half pound steak and chicken. After dinner we went and each of us got a pint of ice cream to eat. While eating the ice we walked over to the diving cliffs and just sat and talked and laughed. We went hiking earlier before dinner on a nice trail, so we ended up walking close to six miles that day. On our way back we stopped and Sugar Loaf and climbed to the top which pretty much wiped us out completely. That will be camping trip I will never forget, it was so fun and relaxing. I have pictures of course under the album - Camping Spring Break 07 That is all for know. ~Semper Fi

Yay! A New Post

Today I went out into the woods and built myself a little fire to help focus my thoughts in preparation for time with only God and his creation. While I was looking for my old spot God gave me a couple of nice gifts. The first one was a two point buck skull, a bit later a came upon a tree in full blossom, which was just beautiful out in the middle of a pine forest and I even found a softball from last year, home run for the win. I never did find my old spot because the forest has changed so much, but I finally found a nice place to sit and make the fire under some trees. After the fire was going I got my Bible out and just opened it up and started read some random page. But the wind was blow at just the right angle to flip the pages like a person would, so it was like God was right there show me some specific verses, because he would stop on a page long enough for me to read and then move on to another page, it was really neat. The book of Colossians and Romans 8:6-8 really spoke to me. I really enjoyed my time outside in the quiet with just nature sounds around me and the crackle of the fire. God is good.

Yesterday Allan, Erin and I went to visit Caleb and Lindsey. Caleb had gotten some massive, like 20oz size, steaks to cook for dinner. So the guys were outside around the charcoal grill cooking the steaks, while the girls were inside chatting and getting the rest of the food ready. Caleb and never had cooked steak on a grill be for so I was giving some advice on that while Allan kept the fire from getting to hot, because the streak had gotten put on to early. Oh man was the steak good. We also had mashed potatoes and spinach and carrot salad, mmm tasty. After dinner we played apples to apples for awhile and before we left we had a little devo with singing, a verse and a prayer. On our way back we got caught in a speed trap, because Allan's, speed odometer is broken, but got no ticket. The best part though was as the cop was looking at Allan's stuff his cell phone rang and it was the theme song to Cops, lol. Anyway after that nothing eventful happend. It was a really good time and was great to see them. Spring break is going great so far. ~Semper Fi

This weekend was great

I had such a great time this weekend. Sara B came in Thursday, which was somewhat of a surprise. Friday night Ray, Sara B and I went to a academy game, which brought back memories of going to Sara B's games with Bethany. Saturday was the best day for sure. Sara B and I went riding even though it was really winding and cold. The Jackson's oldest son, Rayel(spelling is probably wrong), went with us for awhile. First we went riding in the woods, which kept us out of the wind and pretty warm, after that we road around in the field doing some trotting and I was giving Rayel pointers on how to keep his seat better. After awhile Rayel got cold and went in. Sara switched to the pony Rayel was riding, because she wanted to go faster then a trot, she was on a pregnant horse. After a bit more of riding and Sara B getting run through tree branches by the stupid punk pony, she got battle wounds on her face but nothing serious. I finally got her to give Jake a try, he was getting tired because I had been galloping around moving pretty fast with him, so he was not as wired and rearing to go as normal. Sara B got on and I watched while I used the pony for an arm rest, she started off trotting and loping. She lost her hat a couple of times when she started going faster. She got to gallop back end forth several times and it was so neat to watcher and I was really happy she finally had a great experience going faster then a trot. She did almost get wiped out on her last trip across the field because she went under some pine trees, but she dodged and ducked and came out unscathed. I got worried for a sec when she went under, but was very glad she made it. We both got ridiculously sore from it and Sara B had to drive eight hours on Sunday, yesterday she said she could barley walk and I believe it. We both had so much fun, it was the highlight of the weekend. Saturday night Caleb and Lindsey came over and we played Catan, it was pretty fun. That's it for now. ~Semper Fi

Update

Not much really went on last week. I didn't have school because the teachers was gone, but he did give us take home tests. Thursday I painted one of the bathrooms and it only took about four hours to mask and paint it all. I think the fumes from the nasty oil based paint got to me and made me really tired for the rest of the week especially on Sunday. Saturday, Zach, Ray and I cut up some downed cedar for poles and post. That night we watched Braveheart and I had forgotten how much I love that movie. It was really good to watch it. Today the guys actually out numberer the girls at dinner and of course we had fun with that, lots of laughing. That pretty much sums up the weekend, lots of laughing, it was good. Anyway that's all for now. ~Semper Fi

Snow. Snow. Snow

Wednesday was a really good day. Class was fun because the teacher was showing us objects that could have a finite volume but infinite surface area, yeah wrap your head around that :) hehe anyway that was fun. Came back and spent about two hours preparing for leading group and while doing that I realized I was misplacing some expectations and needed to redirect them at God, which I am now doing and my mood has improved. Group went really good and had some good discussion. I am really glad Ray decided to have each of us take a turn at leading the group and we even have to sit in the "teachers spot". I know it is really going to put a few of the guys way outside their comfort zone, because I was a bit, but it will be good for them. Before Bible study was over it snowed and started getting icy and Erin and Allan got stuck on a hill, so Branson, Jeramey, Zach and I piled into the explorer and rode to the rescue. We almost got the explorer stuck on the hill but popped it into four wheel drive and backed out of or mess. That was our adventure for the night. Allan, Branson and Jeramey stayed the night and all classes got moved back two hours so we didn't have to get up early and so we watched Hidalgo. Both my classes got canceled which gave me a four day weekend, aw ya.

Not much happened on Thursday, did some programming, gaming, ping-pong with Allan and talked to Luke. Today was good as well. Played video games and ping-pong with Allan and talked to Luke again. Hopefully I will get to talk to Sara B this weekend since it has been quite a while since I have. She has been really, really busy with school, so she hasn't be able to talk. Anyway I think that's about it for now. ~Semper Fi