Inside the Mind of Crazy People

Clishe Part 2

2011-12-24T18:58:00.001-08:00

Still out in Colorado visiting my Grandparents for Christmas, my father gave the sermon today.

If you look at yesterday's post. I talked a short time about clichés' often appearance in the process of growing up. But today, I want to take a different approach to a cliché often heard in light of my dad's sermon today.

"Jesus is coming soon!"

I have heard it since I was little. My dad has heard that since he was little. I am sure my grandfather thought for much of his life that Jesus would soon be returning to earth. My dad has said that he never thought he would drive, get married, have kids, or live most of his life before Jesus would come. But here, I, his middle child, is in college and now even I am wondering how far life will take me before Jesus returns to earth.

In his sermon today, my dad mentioned how fear can be a motivator, for only a short time. Fear only drives someone as far as the danger is present. When the danger is no longer seen, the motivation is gone. When people accept Jesus out of fear of the end of time or hell, eventually that fear will leave and Jesus will be none more important.

So then why should anyone care about Jesus?

The reason for accepting Jesus now is because Jesus wants to have a relationship with you. The God of the Universe wants to spend time with you and for you to grow and learn about things grander than this world.

Now, this is no clishe, this is the truth, and is a proclamation for you to become ready for the bridegroom.

Only heaven knows when Jesus is coming again, but why won't you be ready by learning about Jesus now?

REstart (Truth in Cliché & Loving Others)

2011-12-23T21:25:00.000-08:00

Would you look at that!
Almost 18 months since my last post. How crazy is that. Talk about laziness! Don't worry, things are about to change.

What I've decided to do is to start up a semi-regular program. Who knows whoever reads these things anymore, but I want to be able to write out what comes to my mind and to be able to reflect on God has done recently in my life or impressed on my mind.
So here we go....again.

I really hate those clichés that you hear your whole like that you become so annoyed of them, and then eventually they come true. You know what I'm talking about. "Life's not fair." "Growing up is just responsibility." "Driving really isn't that exciting." "You have no idea what you are getting into." "You should have done this instead." "Finding a job is important." And all those other ones that you hear all the time.

I am not trying to downgrade any of these sayings. There are really important subjects in these clichés that really do need to remember. I have just heard these throughout my life and have been numbed to the real meaning behind these sayings. This whole "American Dream" thing is going down the drain. Who even knows what that is anymore? Is it even possible to get (whatever it is)? Society has become "Do this. Don't do that. Give me money. Keep your money. Watch your back." Who has time to live life anymore?

Back to the mind-numbing sayings, why are they important? Responsibility, paycheck, doing the right things are critical to sustaining life. Lack of responsibility leads to nobody trusting you. Without a paycheck, eating can be difficult. And doing the right things? Well sure the normal life can be fun, but living a life for someone else is so much better.

Living a life for someone else. Some of you may say, "What? That doesn't make any sense." No, I am not saying that you are your next-door neighbor's volunteer personal assistant. But I am not saying that anyone should completely ignore their neighbor.

Look at yourself. You wake up in the morning, you grumble at how tired YOU are. You eat breakfast and complain about how soggy YOUR cereal is. you drive to work or school (or for me, I live in the dorm) and some person cuts you off in the road (or sidewalk) and YOU get mad because you lost time. You sit at your desk in the office or the classroom and you complain about how tired YOU are about the annoying things around you. Again, YOU complain about your co-worker accidentally eating your lunch and YOU stop off because you have nothing to eat. The drive home was boring, but you still complain because your neighbor parked too close to YOUR driveway. You leave the supper dishes on the counter because YOU didn't feel like it. The TV screen blinks at your face because YOU don't want to do anything productive.
That's a lot of "YOU"s Lets try a different perspective.

You were tired when you woke up because you stayed up late watching a movie. Your cereal got soggy because you left it to go check you FB account. You got bad at the other driver because you left the house (or dorm) late for work (or class). When you are annoyed at everything around you, your coworker is working his second job for the day trying to make ends meet and you are complaining about your simple, but decent paying job. Or perhaps the student who sits next to you has a family issue or needs a hug. Your lunch got eaten in the fridge because you didn't put your name on it like you were suppose to. When you get home, your neighbor had some family over to visit and needed extra parking space in the street. After supper, your wife is looking for you to take care of the dishes because she has been cleaning all day. And you have some bills to pay, but you decide anyway to watch TV.
Interesting, isn't it.

Humanity has somehow to managed to make life all about MYSELF. And no body else. Friends? Maybe, or are people just getting the friendly benefits (the feel goods or boastfulness of your wealth)? LIFE IS SO MUCH MORE!

Life is more than working. Life is more than getting paid. Life is more than luxury. Life is more than achievement.

Life is about giving. Live is about loving. Life is about doing what God has purposed you to be. Life is about being a witness to everyone. Life is about others, not you.

Why not? Why not open the door for someone? Why not donate to a charity? Why not spend some time helping a neighbor or friend with a problem? Why not mow your neighbor's lawn? Why not vacuum for your wife (or roommate)? Why not?

This is not all for humanity to feel good about itself. This is all about love. God has commanded us to love one another. How can this be done? Not by greeting cards or pleasantries in the hallway. But giving of the self for someone because YOU WANT TO.

Today, why not go on a limb and do something nice for anyone for no real reason? No reason needed, but just because.
Oh, and Merry Christmas!

Running in Two Directions Never Gets you Anywhere

2010-07-22T09:36:00.001-07:00

The intensity of the past few weeks has been crazy. With a mix of wild kids and the upcoming college career, things has rather hectic in my mind. I am thankful that family camps has come and has given my mind a small break. Even still, trying to figure out college classes has been a daymare (see, it's not a nightmare because I'm too busy sleeping).

But I have now signed up for all my classes and the buzz of camp seems to be slowing down as we continue onto the next few weeks. The hardest part of picking classes was trying to figure out working a schedule around if I wanted to go as a student missionary or not. And with multiple language classes, it'd be best to try to not break up the sequence. Otherwise, remembering might be rather difficult.

As it's decided, I will begin my Hebrew, and most likely take a year out between my Junior and Senior year, God willing. There is no telling what is going to happen within the next 4-5 years. And it's really difficult to try to predict, understand, and make plans for something you know practically nothing about. But this is where God leads us. Throughout Psalms and many other verses, they talk of God leading us. These are a few I have found and encourage you to read: Psalm 25:9, 32:8, 48:14, Proverbs 3:5-6, Isaiah 58:11, Jeremiah 29:11, 33:3, Luke 11:9-10, John 8:12, Philippians 2:13, and James 1:5.

This is all proof of God taking care of you and guiding you through whatever is going on, and whatever has happened. He is in control, and He is watching out for you.

The Unexpected Eliment

2010-05-18T19:18:00.000-07:00

Usually, a senior class trip consists of a party, or some type of mission theme to another country to help out for a little bit as a class. Well...ours was neither. This is definitely not to say that it wasn't a fun trip, it just wasn't in either of these categories. Please, allow me to explain.

The duration of this trip would be partially over the April homeleave, to allow us a longer trip. We were able to skip out of a few days of school, which was alright with me. In the planning of this trip, we wanted to have a mission base (which was far from the previous class' trip). Trying to explore possibilities, places like Puerto Rico, Alaska, Kentucky, and Arizona enter the picture. Each of these places fell through as either we couldn't get enough information in the time we needed, or we just didn't have the money. Upon suggestion of one of the members of the class, our trip was brought to Swansboro, North Carolina.

Swansboro. It just seems like a nobody place. For those who have been acquainted with the military, it is close to Camp Lejune near Jacksonville. It was, though, fairly close to the beach, which made some members of my class happy. I was the one pushing more for a mission trip, so the beach was more of a side-option for me.

We stayed at an old 4-H camp that sat on one of the inlets from the ocean. It appeared as though it was once a nice place. It looked like it hadn't been used in a while or just never up kept well.

Throughout the whole trip, the really only quote "Mission work" we did was paint the cafeteria walls and ceiling. This only took a day. My idea was to do a whole lot more, but the camp manager didn't seem to really have things planned for us to do. Mr. Gerald was a real nice guy though. And we saved him nearly two weeks of work if he painted the cafeteria by himself.

Just because we weren't doing what I wanted and was focused to do didn't make me upset. I knew that we were there to draw closer together as a class, to God, and to make an impact on others.

We had great fun playing at the beach (seeing dolphins was an added bonus!) and enjoyed the games and shell searching. Friday night, we had a communion service which tightened our bond as a class with God. And on others? When we were leaving, we presented Mr. Gerald with a Happiness Digest tract signed by each of the seniors. He was in tears as he hugged each of us before we climbed into the van. Mr. Gerald had a Baptist background, and seemed to be searching. He had a grandson going into the first grade, and after a few days of seeing us interact, he wanted his grandson to go to an Adventist school.

We know that although we didn't make a physical impact on Swansboro, nor much of a mental one, either. What we did leave is a seed. A seed planted to be watered and to grow in the heart of Mr. Gerald. This trip didn't necessarily turn out to what I thought it might be, but I can see that God still worked it out to impact the life of a certain man.

The best to all Mothers

2010-05-10T06:55:00.001-07:00

What did you get your mom for mother's day?

My mom got snow. In a week previous expressed tempratures in high 50s and even 60s. I wake up Sunday morning at home to find that almost an inch of snow is blanketing the ground. I'm dreaming of a white Mother's Day? Not quite. But then again, New York weather has never been completely normal.

I very happy that I was able to spend the weekend at home for a well needed weekend break from school before the final 4 week stretch until graduation. It was a bonus that I got to be with my mom on Mother's Day.

Along with the white Mother's Day, my mom received a new camera (complete with a crazy picture, I added some snow shots also)to replace her junk camera that died not too long ago, along with the chance to be with her two youngest children, and the excitement of her oldest coming home in a few days.

I hope all the readers spent time with their mothers (or children if you are a mother). To all the moms out there, a huge thank you to you all for caring and being a mother.

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

2010-05-01T23:03:00.001-07:00

The year 2010 has already practically flew to this point. Only a few days ago, it was start the new year, now May flowers and summer is poking their head through the doorway.
If you've been paying attention to what has been going on, well congrats to you. Things have been so crazy everywhere lately. This has shown in my posts here on blogger. But I was recently able to update you guys....quite a bit.

In even more recent news for me, I am now a member of the Union Springs Academy Alumni Association. The cool part, is I didn't have to graduate. (Don't worry, it's not like I don't plan on graduating.) Here at school, were on the home stretch. Things are still a little tense with some, but things are begging to wind down as things begin to end. I say this in almost full confidence that a spark of panic is going to hit every student and faculty before the end of the year. I'll just enjoy the peace while it lasts.

It still seems crazy in my mind. In only a few more days than 30, and I will be finished with my high school career. It is amazing to look back and see how far I've changed in the past 4 years, much less my time in New York. It's even more amazing to look into the future to think what might come.

For those who haven't heard the latest on my beginning college life, I have been accepted to Southern Adventist University and have Theology written as a major. I haven't registered for classes yet. I hope I got the years with the good teachers. If anyone reading has any good teachers that taught them that might be teaching this year, I'll be more than happy to try to take classes with them.

I hope that your almost first half of the year 2010 has been good, and that your last half brings many more blessings. Congrats to everyone who graduates this year. Hope to see you all soon!

A Helping Hand on a Whole New Level

2010-04-30T21:13:00.000-07:00

"Christianity Fosters a "reach out and touch somebody" service philosophy. We do this because God said to. Here are a dozen admonitions that call for service:
1. Have mercy on the poor (Prov. 14:21). 2. Help your neighbor (Isa. 41:6). 3. Feed the hungry (Isa. 58:7). 4. Give a drink (Matt. 10:42). 5. If you have two coats, give one to someone who needs it (Luke 3:11). 6. Give, and it shall be given to you (Luke 6:38). 7. Care for others (1 Cor. 12:25). 8. Be kind and tenderhearted (Eph. 4:32). 9. Support the weak (1 Thess. 5:14). 10. Visit the fatherless and widows (James 1:27). 11. Clothe the naked (James 2:15,16). 12. If our enemies are hungry, feed them (Prov. 24:21).

But what most don't realize is that we actually improve our own health, as well as the health of those around us, when we practice simple kindness, benevolence, and service to others.

Allan Luks, in his book The Healing Power of Doing Good, says that when people volunteer to help those around them, they get a rush of good feeling that he calls a "helper's high." This feeling can sharply reduce stress and release the body's natural painkillers, the endorphins. This initial "rush" is then followed by a longer-lasting period of improved emotional well-being.

Those who regularly visit in the hospitals to pray, to take flowers, and to sing can get this helper's high. Nearly eight out of ten volunteers said the good feelings of the helping syndrome returns, though in diminished intensity, when the helping act is remembered . . ."

((Kay Kuzma, "Fit Forever" p. 95))

Maybe there really is something to all this sharing and giving of ourselves to others... Perhaps not because it helps us, helps them, it is the right thing to do, or God told us to, but most importantly: because we want to.

A Few Seconds Too Late

2010-04-30T21:00:00.000-07:00

((Written March 27))
I begin putting away my new goodies that I just received from home. My dad stopped in to see if I had any Biblical questions in regard to the school's passion play script I was editing. Before he left, he dropped a few things from my mom that would help fill my stomach sincethe cafe food wasn't as good as normal food should be.

Like I said, I was putting this boarding school “gold” in my stash when I realized that I had not given my dad a return application from one of the students for camp that I was planning to relay onto him before he left to go back home.

In sudden strike of horror of my forgetfulness, several options to fix the issue jump into my head. I could just wait and give it to him when he comes the next weekend for passion play. That thought soon was overrun with the thought of the-sooner-the-better thought. The second thought was: call him. That too, was downsized because I knew he was talking to my mom on the phone. He could be well gone before he decided to answer my call. The third and final was simple, and had a quick reaction with no second thoughts (or fourth thoughts, in this case): RUN.

As quickly as I could, I grabbed the papers, hustled down the stairs, nearly broke down the front doors as I dashed through them. I came into the parking lot just in time to see him begin to pull away. A brief thought of concern of my shoe-wear crossed my mind. Crocs weren't the best running shoes, if you catch my puddle, or the various puddles that dot the school's gravel driveway. Puddles or no puddles, my determination wouldn't let me stop. I ran as fast as one could go wearing loose-fitted shoes (they are even a size too big—but hey, you can't turn down free shoes.)

I couldn't say how close I got, but I came fairly close to the back of the car as it began to pull away towards the end of the drive. I told myself in my mind: If I can bang on the back of the trunk, he'll stop. I surged forward in effort to touch the car. But the tin can with a motor was too fast for me and my flimsy crocodile feet. The car chase continued the short distance to the main road. In a last hope of catching my dad before he pulled onto the road, I gave one last umph of effort to catch him before he pulled onto the main road.. But amidst my efforts to get there, he stopped only briefly before pulling away, completely out of reach.

I had been too late. If I had even three seconds more, I could have made it to the car. A mere few seconds would have changed this chase scene entirely. I did come back to my room with dry feet, which I was happy for. It must have not been a complete loss, or was it?

Are there times in life when we miss things because we were a few seconds too slow? Are there things that just shouldn't wait until the literal; last second?

At USA, this upcoming week's focus is on the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the complete story of the Great Controversy battle. Our goal is to show the students and those who come to watch that we have been redeemed. Jesus is offering us salvation and a chance at eternal life.

I don't know if there is anyone who is reading this that has put off accepting Jesus. I don't know if there is anyone who is putting off something extremely important. I don't know if there has been anyone, even, that has been putting off God entirely in their lives. I just want everyone to know that the doors of opportunity closing. Are you in or are you out? Time is short. Make your decision now, because even a few seconds can make a difference.

Life's Road Test

2010-04-30T20:54:00.001-07:00

On March 22, I got my driver's license. To those who are now scared to step outside in fear of my driving, and I'll be more than happy to contact you and give warning of an oncoming crazed madman. But I still lack a cell phone, so just keep your eyes open for now.

In order to get my license, I had to take a road test. Which, was a little nerve racking. I got docked 15 points for very minor things, really, but still passed. In thinking about my experience, though, a point to remember came to mind:

Life seems be part of a road test. The problem is, that we can't quickly take the test and be done with it. Speed bumps, stop signs, speed limits, red lights, and using your signal blinker, and checking your mirrors all describe the tests we might have in life. There are times when we need to take things slowly, or maybe even take a moment to stop and see where we are. Perhaps we should watch out for life in the fast lane where we don't live life as it is meant to be lived anymore. Patience, oh, the idea of patience tells myself to hurry up and learn that characteristic. Blinkers, oh how important. They let people around you know what your intentions are. More importantly, are we putting God in our intentions and checking our mirrors to make sure we're in line with God's plan?

Perhaps Paul could have also said: “I have drove a good road test, and I have passed.” God plants things in our lives to help us realize that He is the gas to our car. We really don't know where we're going, but God is still there, helping us. As is has been told many times, Jesus is always with us. He is the master instructor, and when he's driving, we will never be steered wrong, because we can be rest assured that He knows what He's doing.

How to drive in five hours.

2010-04-01T21:55:00.000-07:00

((BLEH. I have been so extremely busy. I've had thoughts rattling around in my head, but haven't had time to sit down and finish developing the ideas. This is the first of the clump of posts you will read. Thanks for sticking around!))

I was privileged, or rather forced by the state of New York to take a five hour course on how to safely drive. This course is required, (if you don't take Driver's ED) before you can schedule your road test. Oh fun. A complete 5 hours of absolute boredom, instead of spending a perfectly good evening on break, March 17, at home, resting.

I really didn't learn anything....at all. But I did take notes of things to make fun of later. The only problem is that I can't seem to find them. It must have just been that bad.

From what I remember, we watched a 10 minute video on road signs, a pathetic video about road rage, talks about drinking and driving, snow driving, intersections, stop lights, and of course, shifting into neutral.

In the description of the evening, I must explain how incredibly boring it was. The “teacher” of the class really didn't make things too interesting. There were 6 people in the class, including me. Videos on road signs shouldn't last 10 minutes. And I don't care about Bill and Joe that have road rage issues, they can solve their own problems. Oh but importantly, as described by the instructor, when you have car trouble, shift into neutral. This really could be good to know, especially if you are a Toyota driver . . . Whatever, I prefer manual transmissions anyway. Perhaps even many of world issues can be solved by shifting into neutral. Who knows.

Until next...

((I apologize for the extreme lack of whatever it was lacking (for there was much). I promise that I had a whole list of stuff, but it disappeared. If I ever find it, I'll be sure to add it again. I mean, who wouldn't want to learn useless information for 5 hours?))

Seeking WHOLEheartedly

2010-03-17T09:04:00.000-07:00

I seem to have been scarcely posting for my spring break. Excuses could be made, but I don't feel that it is necessary. I either post, or don't post: simple.

The other day, I came across several interesting things think about. My devotional book had a section from Prophets and Kings (pages 509-511, to be exact). In this portion of Prophets and Kings, it describes the experience of Daniel's three friends: Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (or better known as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego), and how they were forced to worship the humongous statue. If you don't remember their story, perhaps you should find your old bible story books and look it up. Here, Ellen White describes the story a little, then expands on the story.

"In these and like words, the king of Babylon endeavored to spread abroad before all the peoples of the earth his conviction that the power and authority of the God of the Hebrews was worthy of supreme adoration. And God was pleased with the effort of the king to show Him reverence, and to make the royal confession of allegiance as widespread as was the Babylonian realm.

"It was right for the king to make public confession, and to seek to exalt the God of heaven above all other gods; but in endeavoring to force his subjects to make a similar confession of faith and to show similar reverence, Nebuchadnezzar was exceeding his right as a temporal sovereign. He had no more right, either civil or moral, to threaten men with death for not worshiping God, than he had to make a decree consigning to the flames all who refused to worship the golden image. God never compels the obedience of man. He leaves all free to choose whom they will serve."

In thinking about this insert, I wondered: The people of Babylon were practically forced to worship God. How many people today follow God only because they are told to? How many because they are scared of death or hell? It seems many people attend church because they "have to" or do the right thing because "I'm suppose to do good things".

This reminded me from a verse in the adult lesson study for that day. "And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, but not with a loyal heart." Other versions explain this as; not wholeheartedly.(For background, read: 2 Chronicles 25:1-4. Quote is verse 2)

These lukewarm people in the church are described by this verse, and also may describe the people of Babylon who had not experienced the conviction King Nebuchadnezzar had experienced. Jeremiah 29:13 describes: "And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart."

Therefor, I encourage you to seek God with all your heart. It is then that you will find God. Then, you will do right in the sight of the Lord not because you have to, or should, but because you can. Because in doing so, you can honor God. And this should be each of ours' goal.

Gymnastic Tour: Day 4: Thursday, February 25 (Recap)

2010-02-27T19:32:00.000-08:00

Friday, February 26, 2010: 2200 hours

This is the first real chance I’ve had to report about the finale of our gymnastic trip. We got back late, as in 12:30 AM back to the academy. Mr. Baker moved worship to 9:40 to allow everyone to get some extra sleep, especially the gymnastic folk. After that, classes were normal, which I had classes all afternoon, then I came home, and had supper, and well had stuff to do, and this is the chance I got to finish up, so I will take advantage.

The last three hours were worst of the whole trip. The travel time was doubled from the extreme snow, and bad road conditions. What didn’t help was everyone jumping around and singing (horribly, I might add) and just making useless noise. But, I am getting ahead of myself.

It was good for us to get to AUC a little early, to give us a little needed down time to refocus. But early the next morning, it was back on the crazy train. Arriving at the SLA school at 7, we began to set up and get ready. School for them started at 8, and the first show was 9:30. The first show was for the Pre-K through 6th graders. We would do a show following for the 7-12th graders. There was so many kids there that it was a good thing that they split up the groups into two shows, but it really killed us to do two back-to-back shows. They were great crowds for both shows and had a lot of energy, but we had about as little energy as much as they had energy.

We finished barely standing, took a quick breather, than began to pack the stuff back into the truck for the last time to head back to school. It took a while, for plainly motivation wasn’t priority. Eventually, we did leave (otherwise we’d still be there.) But road conditions weren’t prime, and it caused a normal 5-6 hour trip into a 10 hour trip almost. We stopped only occasionally to fuel some tanks and empty others. The Ford family invited us to their house for a home cooked meal on the way back to school. I’m sure mostly to save money, Mr. Baker agreed and had some really great home-grown and cooked food.

It was after this that everyone had so much energy and were bouncing all over the place. I, personally, was just ready to be back and be off the bus. I was tired of riding with these people and sitting. Slowly and somewhat surely, we made it through the snow back to school and we crashed in our rooms for a little sleep for one last day of school for the week.

Well now I’m home, and I’m planning a restful weekend to catch up on much needed rest and spend some time at home.
And that’s the rest of the story.

Gymnastic Tour: Day 2-3: Tue-Wed, February 23-24

2010-02-27T19:29:00.000-08:00

Tuesday, February 23, 2010: 1100 hours

Waking up is one way to put it. At 6, almost yelling and clapping of our coach explained to us that we really needed to get moving and ready to pack up our stuff and everything. Everyone feeling groggy, it took a while for people to get moving and where we needed to be, and we didn’t get ready when Dean Quillin wanted us to be ready. Once I was upright for a little bit, I was alright and ready to go.

The plan was to be in the gym at 6:30 for announcements and then to go pack up our stuff and eat breakfast, but that didn’t happen. We got a lecture about how we have big deadlines, and we have to meet them. (Hey, I was ready, so you can’t blame me.)

Next we finished packing our stuff then loaded it onto the box truck, then got things ready for the show. We had the most pitiful breakfast. There were horrible muffins from school. Two flavors of the most pathetic cereal ever, and unflavorful fruit. Yay for snacks! I did manage two bowls of cereal though. Gotta eat something.

I got to play a little bit of ping pong with a few people with paddles I borrowed from the 5th-6 grade teacher, but before long, it was showtime. The show wasn’t perfect, but it really was a good show. And we had a great audience. I got to see some of my friends afterward and it was fun.

While the loading crew was finishing loading up, I was waiting outside and the 3rd and 4th grades came out for recess, they were playing knock-out. I joined with them. This one girl, she was good. I bet she’ll be on the girl’s team when she was older. She even got me out once.

As of now, we’re on the bus and moving to our next, and second show of the day in middle-of-nowhere Maine.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010: 1350 hours

The second show wasn’t as good as the one at Pine Tree. We were definitely tired, and were ready for a break. We were exhausted, tired, and hungry. We never got any lunch, and the breakfast definitely didn’t stick with me long. It was cool though. The K-10 school we went to made signs for us welcoming us to their school. It was cute.

We did our best, amidst our lack of energy, and the show turned out alright. It was after the show that things turned interesting. At this point, a snow storm was moving across the north east and was going to lay heavy snow in it’s path. The original plan was to travel to Central Vermont Academy to spend the night there, then do a show in the morning. As Mr. Baker was talking to the principal of CVA and he said that they were most likely to not have school the next day, which would cancel our show and it would be pointless to travel out of our way to not do a show, then spend more time in the bus going to Massachusetts.

Going back to Pine Tree was out of the question because they weren’t ready for us for another night, and we couldn’t waste travel time in the mess and snow to go out of our way. The plan soon became for to just stay at the small school we were at for a while, then in the morning, travel to AUC for the night.

But of-course, as plans change, they change again. One of the team members called his mom, and okayed it for us to stay at his and his grandmother’s house. They lived in Springfield, only an hour from AUC. Mr. Baker put it up to vote for the team, and it was practically unanimous. The vote was definitely for not sleeping in the gym, decent food, sleeping in, and definitely showers.

We got there a little late, and it took a while to get settled in. The girls got Cabana’s house, and the boys got his grandmother’s, who was in Florida. I couldn’t tell you (and it’s probably a good thing), but I’m not sure what exciting things happened in the girl’s house. In the guys’ house, most people went to sleep once everyone settled about the floor.

In the morning, I was a little late getting to breakfast because I was waiting for the shower. When I got there, there were still some pancakes left, and they even made some eggs. Most of the girls were watching a movie. I found it pointless to start watching a movie I hadn’t seen before in the middle, so I just pulled out my guitar and started playing around until worship time. I played for a couple songs, then Hannah, our team pastor, had a worship thought for us.

Repacking wasn’t too difficult, since the process has now become almost involuntary. Squeezing back onto the bus, we now fuel and travel to our next, and final location, Lancaster, Massachusetts.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010: 2300 hours
Today really hasn’t been too bad, amidst the chaos of mixed plans. Honestly though, I think the day rest had helped prepare us most for the shows tomorrow. We were super dead yesterday, and would have really struggled with any shows we would’ve had today. Instead, we got a chance to sleep in, eat a good and filling breakfast, and hang out a bit at the mall for supper.

My dad was in town for Youth Director meetings at the Atlantic Union office to plan several events coming up in the future. Since we were earlier than expected, I gave my dad a call to let him know what were in Lancaster, and to see if he had already left yet, or not. He would have liked to see one of our shows, but couldn’t, because he had things he needed to do at home. He joined my sister and I for supper at Taco Bell before he left for home. It was good to spend a little time with him before he needed to leave.

And so tonight, we sleep upon the beds at AUC and prepare for two consecutive shows in the morning at South Lancaster Academy, then a long bus ride back to Union Springs. Ah, it will be nice to be done.

Gymnastic Tour: Day 1: Monday, February 22

2010-02-27T19:26:00.000-08:00

((Note: I would‘ve had pictures, but it’s difficult to take pictures of yourself in a show, the only pictures I got were bus pictures, which really aren’t that exciting. Someone else on the trip got some videos of the show. I’ll see if I can get those, and post them on here.))

Monday, February 22, 2010: 0420 hours

The plan was to leave at 4, but now that it is 20 past, I question our ability to get to our first show on time as planned. Hopefully Dean Quillin left extra time for us to travel. Quillin has a habit of planning on “should be” instead of what really might happen. Many things don’t go completely as planned because it was planned on what should happen. It’s not a bad thing sometimes, but sometimes, it’s a lot to expect out of high schoolers.

Hopefully everyone got everything they needed and we won’t have to make some type of emergency trip to walmart for anything. Speaking of which, I hope I got all my stuff.

In the midst of writing this first section of the 4 day blog, we had a prayer to get started, but we’re still missing some people. I chose the front of the bus, where I’d have the most leg room so that I could sleep a little better. Hopefully we’ll be able to leave soon. We’d leave sooner if people would quit running back to the dorms for things. Better now than later, I suppose.

Monday, February 22, 2010: 1155 hours

We didn’t have such a horrible take-off time. Official time was 4:30. But it took until 5 for most of the kids to settle down for it to be quiet enough for someone to sleep. I’m really not too sure why they would be so excited to loose sleep. Of course, it didn’t help things when the box truck was pulled over because the back didn’t get latched down good, and came open. I haven’t heard anyone freak out yet; I guess that means that nobody lost anything to the road.

I slept when I could. Numb legs never helped anything but some sleep was acquired. Around 8, we stopped at a rest area for fuel and breakfast. The only thing at the stop was a McDonalds. Bleh. Practically everything had sausage in it. I stuck with a baby-size fruit-and-yogurt parphet and two greasy hash-brown patties. I felt like I was eating a kids meal, for $5. Well so much for breakfast, and happy I had snacks.

Something interesting happened also at this stop. $20 was given to a group of 4 for breakfast. Max ordered a little extra and it went over the 20 dollars. Since I had the money, he gave me a five to cover the extra costs. Apparently asleep, the cashier registered the $25 I gave him as $40. I noticed when the cashier gave us an extra $15 in change. I always hear stories about a couple dollars extra in change as a mistake, but $15 is quite a bit of money. But I knew that we needed to give it back, because it was the right thing. He was still sleeping, because it took a second for him to understand what we were telling him. The weird part was that he didn’t really seem relieved, only somewhat grateful. Who knows. Maybe he’ll sleep a little more before his next day on the job.

I originally am writing this down, since I don’t have a computer. If you saw my handwriting, you would notice that it’s pretty bad, even worse than normal. I even have a legit excuse that the road is less than smooth. Regardless, I will keep this up so that you can know what terror we bring to the northeast!
Onward to our first show!

Monday, February 22, 2010: 1603 hours

It wasn’t spectacular or anything, our first show was rather rough, but was still a good opportunity for us to see where we needed to improve. Barely into New Hampshire from the Massachusetts border, our first show was at South Hampton, New Hampshire. Because it was a younger school, we didn’t do some of the more serious skits. We wanted to make sure they could understand the point that we were trying to bring across without going over their heads. One thing that we cut was “Total Eclipse”, a drama routine focused on how we sometimes allow sin to takeover our life, then it controls us. We felt it was a little strong for this age group, so we moved on without it.

Along with the first performance, the routines were mixed from what we had originally practices, which caused more chaos than needed to be. Many weren’t sure what was next, nor where to go. Regardless, I think the kids enjoyed it, or enjoyed seeing us mess up.

We didn’t have a whole lot of room in their gym, which caused us to not be able to use all our lights and equipment we brought, but tonight, we should have some practice time to help us get in the idea of using them again.

As I write this, we pulled off the highway to look for some diesel for the box truck. Pulling close to a Shell station, there was a sign for “Anthony’s Diner” and below it “Anthony’s Doghouse”. I jumped to get a picture, but only got blurry ones because I forgot to turn on the auto focus. Oh well. Maybe we’ll loop back so we can get a picture. If we do, I’ll post up a picture for you guys.

We’re going to be staying tonight a Pine Tree Academy, where we’ll be having a show in the morning. Thankfully, we’ll get more of a night’s rest than last night. Well, I don’t plan on waking up at 4, anyway.

Hard padding?

2010-02-21T16:47:00.000-08:00

In upcoming news of my life, we have a four day, seven show, gymnastic show tour coming up. We're going across the New England area. We're going to Amesbury, Massachusetts; Pine Tree Academy (in Maine for those who don't know); Norridgewock, Maine; Central Vermont Academy; West Lebanon, New Hampshire; and South Lancaster Academy. We've spent a lot of time getting ready and practicing for the shows. We leave at the wonderful time of four in the morning. Much rest is going to be needed for tomorrow's show. I'm going to try to have like a daily journal to post when I come back. (Since I don't have a laptop to log in and post.)

Well earlier this week, on Thursday (the 18th), our final basketball game of the season. I opted out of going skiing because this was one of the very few games that my mom could come and watch me play. Originally, everyone thought it was a home game, but it was really an away game in Cortland. While practically telling no one, the Bernards left to Michigan for their sister's birthday, leaving BJ (our coach) to be stuck in the cafeteria, so he couldn't coach. On top of that, most of the guys on the team were on the In Progress (IP) list, and couldn't go. We had only 4 people that could go, and so we brought 3 others so that we could have some subs. For our coaching situation, Mr. Baker was happy to coach one game for us.

I really didn't think that we would do to well in this game, about half of us weren't on the team, we never practiced together, and a different coach. Once we got there, Mr. Baker went over some plays with us, and explained how we could work the game on both defense and offense. The USA girls lost their game, and then it was our turn.

We didn't actually do too bad. We kept the team members mostly on the court, only taking them off to give them rest. It was a close game. It never varied more than 6 points in either direction. We got ahead by 6-8 points at the half. In the second half, we played a little more defensive play to conserve energy and try to hold the lead, but the game stayed close.

Both teams were really getting into the game, we were both fighting for the win. In the fourth quarter, I lunged for the ball headed out, and under the hoop was some padding, but when I hit it, expecting to bounce back up and keep going, it knocked the wind out of me, and I had to sit down on the bench for about 30 seconds to catch my breath again. Back into the game, it literally came down to the last couple seconds, we were down by two, and we moved in the final seconds. The pass was down low to Martin who made a shot before the buzzer tying the score for overtime.

We hung in by a thread. Given 4 minutes for play time, we worked the ball trying to make the lead and get us far enough ahead to ensure the win. We were up by two with 10 seconds left of overtime, and one kid got the ball and threw it up and made a three point shot. (We were told later that it was his first three of the season.) Which really was a lucky shot. We had a couple seconds to move the ball down, and we got it back inside, but the shot didn't go in before the buzzer went off, causing us to loose by 2 points. 46-48. It was really a great game. It was close the whole way, and for a team that had never played together, and 3 people that weren't even on the team, and almost winning, it was great. I do feel that the refs weren't completely fair, but hey that's the game.

On the trip back, I thought about the wind getting knocked out of me, and how if there's padding, you'd think it would be soft, but it really wasn't. It occurred to me that sometimes Satan puts padding up on sins, and we begin to think that they aren't so bad, especially when we don't hit them that hard. But as time goes on, we keep getting jerked back to the sin harder and harder, but the padding isn't getting softer. It comes to the point that we really are hurting ourselves when we think it's alright because there's padding to fall back on. We continuously keep getting the wind knocked out of us, and we will continue to do so until we are in the arms of God.

Satan finds the little lies to tell us and make us choose against God, and just hurts us. God never needs to cover anything up with fake padding. It is what it is with God. In His arms, we don't have to worry about getting hurt because we know that He takes care of us.

See ya'll after the gymnastic trip on Thursday!

The fall, and the victory.

2010-02-19T19:11:00.000-08:00

Almost all of the cartoons we used to watch involved some cartoon getting smashed by an object and squishing into a pancake, then then popping back into place as if nothing happened. Oh the power of animation.

I've had several of those falls where you just go flying and in slow-mo thinking is saying "Oh snap, this might hurt." And all the mental images of you flailing your arms as you fly through the air flash through your mind, even though you really aren't doing so. It's even more cool when after a crazy fall, you just get up and your perfectly fine. When that happens to me, my reaction usually is: "That was cool." Some of you may say that, some may be scared to death if something crazy like that happened to them. I always try to figure out exactly what happened and visualize the reality of what happened. It's really quite entertaining for me to piece it all together. It was one of those times that I wish I had an instant replay, like if I had it on camera. When you do catch yourself doing something pretty cool on video, you find your self running around to all you friends so show them the video. Everyone loves to see a cool video.

Something of this sorts happened to me on the 11th when we went skiing. I was riding near the middle of the trail, and forgot that there was a sign marking a hazard. I turned to miss the sign but caught up in fluff. My skis popped off and I went flying. Landing on my stomach, I slid a good 5 feet, and my skis were better than 10 feet from me at the end of the slide. It took me a second to shake all the snow off me so it wouldn't melt and saturate my outer covering. But afterward I was fine, and enjoyed the great night of skiing. I also took a minute to look at the tracks to see more closely what could have happened, and replay it in my mind. But unfortunately, I didn't have a video instant replay, otherwise I'd be showing you guys.

[[Don't worry, I stayed to the outside on that trail from then on.]]

I definitely must make my guardian angel work overtime. But they could definitely could the exercise and practice. Praise God for His protective blessing.

In my devotional book: "Reflecting Christ", I found something I'd like to share with all you readers. The devotional is composed of a section of Ellen White's writings into an idea to present for the day. It's a great book, and I really enjoy reading about what Ellen White figuratively wrote for me to ponder for that day.

One entry from a 1892 manuscript especially caught my eye:
"Adam did not set his mind in defiance against God, nor did he in any way speak against God; he simply went directly contrary to His express command. And how many today are doing the very same thing, and their guilt is of much greater magnitude because they have the example of Adam's experience in disobedience and its terrible results to warn them of the consequences of transgressing the law of God. So they have a clear light upon this subject, and no excuse for their guilt in denying and disobeying God's authority. Adam did not stop to calculate the result of his disobedience.

"We can stand down here, . . . and with the aftersight we are privileged to have, we can see what it means to disobey God's commandments. Adam yielded to temptation and as we have the matter of sin and its consequences laid so distinctly before us, we can read from cause to effect and see the greatness of the act is not that which constitutes sin; but the disobedience of God's expressed will, which is a virtual denial of God, refusing the laws of His government. The happiness of man is in his obedience to the laws of God. In his obedience to God's law he is surrounded as with a hedge and kept from the evil.

"No man can be happy and depart from God's specified requirements, and set up a standard of his own which he decides he can safely follow. Then there would be a variety of standards to suit the different minds, . . . and there is a controversy between the human agent and the divine."

Romans 5:19-20 was attached with the text from Ellen White. "For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. Moreover the law entered, that the offense might bound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound."

It really struck me how Ellen White points out how unlike us, Adam didn't have the experience of sin to know the consequence. He could think, and he chose disobedience, though his mind wasn't on defiance of God. And as White states, we are PRIVILEGED to know the consequence of our actions. We can knowledgeably choose our paths in front of us because we have seen both sides of the coin. We as Christians know that in obedience to God, a hedge is put around to protect us from evil. When we take our past experiences in life, we can know in the future to stay away from hazard signs that when we get too close, might cause us to fall and get hurt (or close to it). In this, we are led to choose God's way, for we have, unlike Adam, the videotapes of our lives that replay in our mind and show us the right way to choose from the consequence.

In conclusion: remember, you know what the final battle will bring. With the end in mind, always choose what allows you to be in harmony with God's law and His special plan for each of our lives. Jesus has already won the battle: "But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound." It's God's side that I want to be on.

Snowglobes

2010-02-12T15:33:00.000-08:00

Snowglobes are actually rather fascinating. I mean, when you have nothing to do, they are fun to stare at and watch the little snow, or glitter float around in the mystery liquid contained inside the glass globe.

Sometimes, I feel like I'm in a snowglobe. Not to where I'm trapped inside a little container of mystery liquid trying to find a way to get out. But where when I'm outside, it seems as almost if I was in one. I come to this mindset as I walk to breakfast (if you can call it that) below the girl's dorm. The sun isn't quite up yet, and so there is just a haze of the dawn of light. As I walk, the snow softly floats down from above and lands around me. It's a cool feeling, like almost purposefully put that way. Maybe it's just one of God's ways of showing his awesomeness to me. But it's pretty awesome.

Recent activity has reminded me of the lesson that it only takes just a moment for your life to change forever. Well on with the story: More than 5 years ago, I broke and chipped my two front teeth while ice skating (Never attempt to combine mouth and goals.). My dentist delayed putting a crown on my tooth until I had grown more and my mouth wouldn't shift as much anymore. That time came in December 2009. I felt almost new: shiny fixed teeth that matched and actually looked good.

I have joined gymnastics, and was doing a small routine with my coach. We were working on a move, and something went wrong and my jaw got slammed into the rest of my head. But unfortunately my teeth were in the way and I chipped one of my crowns and chipped a small corner of the neighboring tooth. I was upset, just as I knew my dentist would be. A lot of time (appliance, braces, retainer, and my broken teeth) has gone into my teeth. I wasn't upset at coach, I knew he didn't mean to break my teeth. I was just upset that things happened that way.

When I had calmed down more about it, I began thinking: When I broke my teeth for the first time, it changed my life entirely. Not in some drastic way like being in a wheelchair, for example, but from then on, I had to be more careful with my mouth (well obviously not careful enough), and take care with brushing, and not running into things with my mouth.

The same thing applies to our spiritual life. It takes one choice that changes the way we do things. If we put off prayer, devotions, or God Himself, we will be more likely to do it again in the future. We will soon find ourselves having many problems that we never seemed to have before, all because we are no longer connected to the source. It also works the same way. The more we repeatedly spend time with God, the easier it becomes, and we will see amazing things happen through us because of the "firewire connection" between us and God.

In short, take care of what you do, both physically and spiritually. It will change your life, but you decide whether for bad, or for good.

This is after my emergency visit for him to look at it, he took off the edges and stuff. I think is still a little lunch there (yummy). Regardless, that's what my broken teeth look like at the moment.

Ever just feel busy?

2010-01-31T10:48:00.000-08:00

Things have been crazy for me. And among my desires to be posting on here like twice a week, my efforts have been lacking. I was privileged to take the SATs last weekend. Then to make things better, the week following was filled with regent's test. In order to graduate in New York, I had to pass only one test this year. I'm not sure how well I did, but a bunch of dates and people you don't hear about that often in US history and government isn't my strong point. I had taken all my other testes in years prior, so it wasn't too terrible. But the schedule shifting did cause a few headaches among people in the school.

We had two basketball games this past week: on Monday and Tuesday. We would have also had one on Thursday, but that team decided to cancel all their games with us, for a reason no one is for sure of. The Monday game was a home game. It was a great game. It was close the whole game, and it literally came down to the last seconds, and we came away with a 58-56 win. The Tuesday game didn't go as well with a hard loss against a team on their court. It was difficult since we didn't have Adam, our big man, down low, and we struggled for points.

That concludes the "review week" segment of our program. And now, moving onto "What will I do this week?"

The first part of this upcoming week is going to start as the usual. School for the next two days. But on Wednesday, something special happens, I get to go home! It's always fun to spend time a home, especially when you need a break. It's not going to be a usual homeleave, I will be participating a Westvale Pathfinder weekend event at Highland Forrest National park. This park in the summer the park has lots of mountain bike trails, but in the winter, all these trails turn into cross-country ski trails. We spend a weekend here spending time with each other, and spending some time outside.

Among other personal things I need to do at home, that sums what my plans are for the upcoming week. I always love the chance to just spend time and rest at home. I'm sure many of you can agree with that. May God bless you in the next week, and hopefully I'll be more focused in the future for these posts.

Enjoy your upcoming week.

Fah-ro, for-ray, sah-who, do- rays, Welcome Christmas (come this way.)

2010-01-14T05:22:00.000-08:00