Cap'n A-Hab's Log

Teaching at Summer Church

2009-07-14T21:41:00.003-06:00

This summer, Illini Life has been doing church in a summer'y way. We've cut down on the complexity of our liturgy, we've moved from a lecture hall to a small room above a cookie shop, and we've focused ourselves on about 10 weeks of learning about characteristics of God. We've heard about God's sovereignty, self-existence, wrath, providing nature, and more.

In a week, I will be at the 'pulpit' in church, teaching from God's word and my own experiences. Kinda scary, exciting, interesting, etc. I won't divulge what it is I'm teaching on (as I'm not 100% confirmed), but I'm really excited about the topic. I hope many people are able to show up and make me a little nervous.

Now, the most interesting thing to me is that I'm 23. This means I'm still pretty young, dumb, and ugly (thanks to Weird Al). I'll be speaking to a group of Illini Lifers that are primarily, well, lifers. These are people that have committed themselves to this church and have had more years than I to have God's wisdom imparted upon them. So what can I give them? Not much. And that is pretty exciting.

It is an environment where I can relay on what Scripture, Church History, and General and Special Revelation have given me. Then I can comment with my own thoughts after I convey the clear truths. There is so little pressure, as God has revealed so much truth to us. I am just mining it and putting it into a short, 20-25 minute package.

Now this isn't to say that I have NOTHING to offer. I have a unique perspective, way of speaking, way of thinking, and on top of that, there are younger people around for the summer, and I hope I can reveal more of God's character to them.

Pray for me as I compile my thoughts and seek out God's heart in this message. And come check it out! It'll be next week on Wednesday, July 22 at 6:00 PM at the Illini Life Ministry Center (above Insomnia Cookies on John St. in Champaign). Even if you haven't been to church with me, to church at all, or barely know me, come hear what I have to say and what God has to say through me.

I'm hard on things

2009-07-13T21:22:00.002-06:00

I really can't have nice things, as I tend to break them. This is something I've slowly learned over time.

That is why, when I bought my iPhone, I bought it at Best Buy and sucked it up paying the "no matter what you do, you elephant in a china shop, we'll fix/replace it for you" insurance. I broke my iPhone today.

While talking to Lauren, Bemi came rushing in being loud and cheerful, and I got into a playful, "let's wrestle" mood. So I started to grab Bemi, and he played back. In the process, I dropped my phone, but I still whipped his butt. Once I got up from beating him down, I went to get my phone, which has an obviously placed black line of dead pixels down the middle and some floating black lines on a flickering white background. That's not good, is it?

(I wish it were this dramatic. Think less broken glass, more busted LCD.)

So, I went to Best Buy because I had the "you are an irresponsible person with your electronics" insurance. I thought I'd get it in, replaced, and still make it to the softball game in an hour. It took forever in line. Not only were two groups of people being helped already, but it took them the entire time I was there (and longer) to get helped. So I stood in line to no avail. Whoops. To rub salt in the wounds, an older couple was buying two iPhones. Goodbye, luster of having a hip young dude phone.

So I'll try to go back tomorrow. They will have to send it 'in' somewhere. So I'll probably be sans phone for a while. Hit me up on facebook or email and I can get back to you in the evenings. I can get back to you during the day if you email me at work (email my home email if you want that address). Perhaps the greatest solace I can find in all of this is that I will MAYBE be getting a 3G S as a replacement? I can only hope...

2009-07-04T10:57:00.001-06:00

[Jesus] called the people to him and said to them "Hear and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person." Matthew 15:11 (ESV)

This verse came to me today while sitting and praying about my own character. I honestly tend to consider myself a person of high character most of the time. But my speech at many junctures would indicate otherwise. Whether it be sarcasm, cursing, complaining, mean spirited thoughts, or even thoughts that I was unaware would be hurtful, my words tend not to be fragrant in a good way.

What this really spoke to me was that God wants my speech to match my innards. My desire to pursue God should be greater than the desire to get a cheap laugh at somebody's expense, or to just speak ill of a situation to make myself feel better about me.

I am loving being here in Colorado. It truly is a time and place where I find God totally refining me in a very real way. This is only my second day here with only s few more to go, but I love the directions God is taking me.

-- Post From YMCA of the Rockies

It's fun to stay at the YMCA

2009-07-01T09:11:00.000-06:00

I'll be at this fantastic location in about 36 hours. Yes!

Wow I'm excited.

-- Post From My iPhone

What might you call a well behaved dog breed

2009-06-17T21:28:00.001-06:00

One time, we said Golden Retrievers were really well behaved. Bemi said "that's why they're called golden retrievers."

We said, "that doesn't make sense"

I said, "You know what the name for a well behaved dog is?"

A doesn't give me any shih tzu.

Its that time of the summer again

2009-06-15T22:10:00.003-06:00

I just skimmed this article, because honestly, I don't care as much as last year. I'm sure I'll be heated about it sooner than later, but seriously, I can't give it all the energy I gave it last summer.

Brett Favre

Also, I've spent a lot of time dreaming about cars. I suppose it is summer and the road is open and I spend 3+ hours a day in a car. But nothing now. I can't afford it, and my aquamarine-ish Ford Escort Wagon with a ton of power, sex appeal, and versatility (as well as really great gas mileage) is treating me super well. It isn't ideal, but man she is beautiful.

New Taking Back Sunday

2009-06-03T13:42:00.000-06:00

I'm not sure how I completely feel about the newest TBS album, but I hope to figure it out soon, as it has been playing on my iphone like crazy. I believe it to be really promising though. Faster paced. Only thing so far is that it is over too soon.

One great thing though is the album art (seen below). I'm a huge fan. As a photographer, I like an image like this taking the whole cover. It even looks like good usage of HDR. Simply put, visually, I can't think of an album cover I've liked this much in a while.

-- Post From My iPhone

The New Divide

2009-05-19T19:00:00.002-06:00

OK, now I can't say my musical tastes are super refined or anything of that sort. I mean, I listen to what people would call screamo, emo, pop-punk, hip-hop, etc. I don't listen to a ton of the 'classy' singer/songwriter stuff or beautiful classical music. Not that I wouldn't listen to it, but rather it just isn't what I gravitate to initially. But even with my questionable tastes....

c'mon Linkin Park! Stop trying to be a metal version of Nickelback. Your sound is so trite now. Ever since Minutes to Midnight, you have sacrificed a major part of your band. Heck, after the Fort Minor song "Get Me Gone" where Mike Shinoda lauds Linkin Park's usage of his rap stylings, it was quite absent (although not completely gone) from the latest album offering.

They have since had a chance to redeem themselves to me. I open my iTunes to see a new song from Linkin Park today for the Transformers 2 movie. I pay my elevated $1.29 for the track (seriously Apple...) and pop it onto the iPhone for the day. The first listen through was ok, but I couldn't help keep in my head that it sounded a heck of a lot like the first single off of Minutes to Midnight, What I've Done.

Now, I thought I was maybe just a hyper-critical fan, but then my girlfriend tells me it reminds her of the same thing, unprompted by me. And hey, we may both be hyper-critical. After all, the song was written specifically for the movie and not for anything else. But seriously, you could've gotten a lot of bands to put together that song in my opinion. Linkin Park has something special that is being wasted.
_____

On another musical note (pun not intended until after I saw it, then I thought it was cheesy enough to stay), I just recently bought the first album from Carly Comando. This pianist has impressed me greatly with her ability to put together music I find moving and that calls me to desire to worship God. It is on the way in the mail. But in the meantime, I, much like I suggest to you, will be listening on the MySpace page and through the two YouTube videos she has composed music for.

Gluttony

2009-05-15T13:44:00.000-06:00

As I have 15+ hours of driving a week plus time at a desk drawing regulator stations, I have a lot of time to listen. I have started to listen to podcasts and teachings to get thoughts on my mind. While I may admit that I listen to almost too much stuff to absorb all the facts, it is causing my mind to focus well on certain things. One of these has been the Seven Deadly Sins. I've been listening to a sermon series from Kairos - Los Angeles, a sister church of Illini Life, as well as a lecture series from Tony Campolo both on the topics. Today I listened to anger from Kairos and Gluttony from Campolo.

Campolo is a brash man who said, "Go out and love a fat person today." So awkward, funny, and true. I think he was trying to hit upon the idea that weight doesn't define worth, and people should be loved and respected regardless. However, he also encouraged healthy eating and lifestyle.

Being heavier than I desire, any God given principles on the topic are helpful. The two that continually hit home are exercise and eating less. However, one that sits on the sideline is eating slower. This is a good principle that I know. The body doesn't usually register "fullness" until about 15 minutes after starting to eat. I know this, but often ignore it.

However, it isn't ignored because I don't beleve it. I very much so do believe it. Instead, I am always eating on the run. Now this is definitely connected to another story about me that says I am too busy. When I have 15 minutes to eat, I use every one of them and slam down hard.

Here comes the Biblical principle:

Eat slowly and use a meal as a time of accountability, sociability, teaching, learning, exploring, engaging. Draw it out so you eat slower and enjoy company more. Jesus taught when people sat down to eat. The 5000 who ate didn't run off to the next meeting they had with another friend. On the contrary, they seem to have enjoyed the company they had. This is why I love living in a house. When we share meals, time slows and company is enjoyed.

I would even say one more step to take would be to eat and talk. Too many times we shovel for 15, feel awful, and then talk. What if we instead just took our time? Now, like I said, I am not there yet, and I have to fight with busyness. However, I love this idea and plan to spend more time eating slower, enjoying company that I have, and not super seeking different company around every meal time.

-- Post From My iPhone

Socialism?!?!

2009-05-11T07:46:00.001-06:00

Ok, so shock value aside...

As I drive to work every day, I travel mostly on interstate 74. Along I-74, there have been signs cropping up announcing a coming construction project. On a couple of these signs are the insignia seen below.

These are the logos to indicate a project I'd part of the National Recovery and Reinvestmet Act. (inconsequential to anything about the project, I think the logo on the left is pretty slick) Kinda cool to see stimulus money affecting me. At least sorta. If anything, politics can feel far away on the federal level, so it is cool to see it hit "home."

Anyway, I think it'll be neat to see the project develop. I have never traveled a route this consistently to see change occur. But this time should be different. I am pretty excited to see it through from start to finish. I just hope the work delays aren't too long...

-- Post From My iPhone

When to post photos?

2009-05-06T10:21:00.001-06:00

So, as an unofficial photographer for a fair amount of people, I end up postig photos a lot. Not only do I run into the predicament of wanting to post to Flickr and not waste my time with tagging crappy res. facebook photos, but also when to post. Some of it comes down to when I have time, and if I am busy, it ain't getting posted right away. But, I think I see some advantage in waiting and letting the memories of the images and event float back rather than posting the same night, absorbing, and then moving on. I love photos so much because they carry such weight in the memory department.

So, the question is, when do you post photos? Do you think there is a good lead time to wait before posting? Do pictures lose their staying power when posted quickly and forgotten about? Does it do a disservice to people if you don't post pictures quickly because they can't build on the momentum of the event?

Thoughts?

-- Post From My iPhone

The artist

2009-04-25T10:47:00.001-06:00

I believe my appreciation of art has grown since my relationship with Christ has grown. I think I always knew beauty existed and was real, but until given a Jesus-centric world view, for me, art was stale. I could easily dismiss something as not art, rather than embracing the creative nature of it. Now I see it in everything.

-- Post From My iPhone

Jesus and his short time: a thought

2009-04-21T23:02:00.003-06:00

In my readings of scripture, I don't get the impression Jesus spent a lot of time discussing what the Hebrew means here vs. the Greek there in the scriptures. I don't get the impression he spent a lot of time discussing the science of salvation. I don't get the impression he spent a ton of time discussing the nature of existence or transubstantiation or how to run a contemporary worship service.

God didn't come into the world to say "Hey, this part of scripture means that!" Instead, God came into the world to redeem it and explain the simplicity of that message. It is a fulfillment of the law, not a re-clarification of the law, but a fulfillment.

I'm sure there is something wrong or confusing about my thought here, but I wanted to get it down before I forgot it while falling asleep.

Jesus didn't come to be a scholar, but a savior.

Worship and Our Fellow Man

2009-04-15T22:01:00.003-06:00

Track with me on this (it is a developing string of thoughts) and let me know what you think.

A)
1)We are made to worship
2) We worship things we see *perversion of true worship*
3) We assign to them divine status
4) These things fall short and break under the pressure of the worship
B)
1) We are made to have worth
2) When we find worth, we can become worshiped *perversion of true validation*
3) When we are worshiped, we can denounce it, or acknowledge it
4) We will crack under the pressure of being worshiped and help to perfection
C)
1) We are made in God's image
2) We are made to worship God
3) Perversion of worship leads to us worshiping things that could replace God
4) Therefore, we worship each other

Tomorrow

2009-04-14T08:14:00.000-06:00

"So don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring it's own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today"

- Jesus

Just listening to a co-worker talk about how she is so close to retirement but how much she hates her job breaks my heart. But she can't quit yet because she'd lose out on a pension and be short on collecting Social Security. This, to me, highlights how America's system can potentially lead us to disregard the advice/commands of our creator. Not that planning is bad. I am not trying to suggest that. I am saying that we put ourselves through undue hardship worrying about tomorrow. Perhaps less focus on retirement and more on today's impact is the focus we must have. For me, this means realizing I am at Ameren today and this is the work the Lord has put before me today.

Note: I just got the BlogPress app for my iPhone so I can blog a bit more off the cuff because I just have not been writing since I started work. So my posts will be more often, but also more 'thought' than 'statement.' I still hope to put out logical ideas and truths that are challenging to me and others. Good Tuesday to you all!

Easter as a Feast

2009-04-12T16:58:00.000-06:00

This time of food, family, and celebration has been glorious. Here lie the remains of our dessert. I hope you were able to celebrate the Glory of the Son today with someone you love.

Escapist

2009-04-11T08:43:00.003-06:00

Maybe this is obvious, but we are escapists. America is running.

We run from debt by creating credit.
We run from families by staying late at work.
We run from real manly relationships with sports.
We run from real feminine relationships with gossip.
We run from pain with substances.
We run from deep thoughts with shallow ones.
We run from poverty with the suburbs.
We run from our own home life with sitcoms.
We run from the sting of death by respawning in video games.
We run from the reality of pain by making it distant in CSI, and news about the Third World.
We run from personal interactions with emails and texts.
We run from eye contact with others with smartphones.
We run from our own death with anything that will allow us.
We run from the inconvenience of a child with abortion and birth control.
We run from a personality to a social status with a nice car.
We run from our consequences.

These are some fairly fresh thoughts, but I strongly believe we will do almost anything to escape reality. We have numbed ourselves to a reality that is right in front of us. And I do not consider myself somehow innocent.

Now, I feel that anyone that knows I am a believer of Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah could easily say that my faith is an escape as well. That my belief in Jesus is just a comfort for death and a way to impose my thoughts on others. And heck, I'm sure you have awesome philosophical, psychological, economic, and sociological arguments for why I am wrong. I'd actually love to hear them, as I am truly trying to understand what we are running from and what it is ok to dwell in.

I disagree though, that faith in Christ is a form of escape. It can be. We can get caught up in dogma, theology, and color of the pews. However, I believe the Jesus of the Bible and an authentic faith in him works towards not ignoring death and pain, but rather staring it in the face.

Not that all of these things I mention are inherently evil, but...We must not serve two masters (God and money; God and television; God and whatever may be your idol). Jesus is the master and we must live in the weight of a reality that is largely beyond our control. Let's not escape it, but run directly to it to learn what it is. This includes studying things that I just said we run to with theology and science and philosophy. I think these are good things to delve into, as they will reveal the nature of humanity as much as we can see, and I believe will open us to the nature of God all the more. The problem always come when we make them our God and ignore God by studying them.

God and the Cubs, physics, philosophy, family, and television can coexist. Just make sure you recall the most important.

2009-04-07T22:49:00.000-06:00

Tolerance is passive

Love is active

I return...to talk about...3.0

2009-03-18T21:40:00.004-06:00

So, I haven't written in many moons. I believe the primary reason for this is that it turns out full time work, 3 hours commuting, dating, and being an active member in God's mission make you pretty busy.

However, I have a couple minutes...so, iPhone 3.0. The biggest thought I have:

This new software will allow third party devices to be connected to the phone and communicate with applications. CANON! Listen to me! Create a remote app. Use a simple cable. Make the phone a remote for extended and distance exposures. Make it a device to change settings away from the body. Give the capability to go straight from camera to places like flickr through the phone. Allow the user to use the phone as the extention to the camera. Heck, throw some editing software on there, let a person give it some quick fixes, and share photos immediately (in many resolution formats, including iPhone all the way up to full 15 MP images). The phone's screen is already a 9:6 ratio, so it is perfect for viewing (maybe another option for live view as well).

I don't know how possible all of this is, but man if some of it comes to fruition, I will be very pleased.

Smell The Roses: 1 year after

2009-01-01T15:04:00.002-07:00

The Rose Bowl Game is today. Starting in just a matter of minutes, the game between Penn State and the University of ~~Suck~~ Southern California. A year ago, at this time, I was in Pasadena for this game with the Illini position to defend the Big Ten. This didn't really work out...

Here's to hoping that the Nittany Lions will defend the Big Ten's honor and destroy the arrogant Californians (No bias in my mind, is there?)

Oh, and Happy 2009!

08 in Photos (part 2)

2008-12-29T22:58:00.006-07:00

This be the continuation of Alan's photo journal of '08. This batch of 19 images is from the summer. My summer was spent in Alabama with a short vacation stint after that with the family. There were events in there that were definitely interesting (weddings and good times with friends at home), but I didn't catch much in the way of pictures there. So here are the pictures from the second portion of Alan's year.

On one of the first weekends in Alabama, I went exploring and ended up in Huntsville. There I saw the Saturn V rocket you see in the picture above. I would make a return visit later in the summer to actually explore the facility.

While living in Decatur, AL for the summer, I took a couple photo walks. This and the next couple images are my favorites from the times there walking around. This is from an old worn down train depot in town.

These are my shoes (Sanuks) that I loved so much up against the rocks on the edge of the Tennessee River.

My second light painting attempt was I believe a bigger success. I was in a slightly more controlled environment and this was my favorite picture from the batch.

This is a Fred's shopping cart in the parking lot for the Fred's and the Aldi that I visited frequently for my grocery needs.

The Ave Maria Grotto in Cullman, AL was another neat excursion on my visits around the area. This place had many miniatures of buildings and scenes built in the grotto. This particular one is the representation created for the Tower of Babel.

This is from my first Arena football game. The Arena 2 league has a team in Huntsville called the Tennessee Valley Vipers. Here they are huddled up before the next play is called.

On my return visit to the Space and Rocket Center I was able to obtain some neat pictures of the facilities inside the fence. This includes this shuttle here. I also coincidentally learned a neat editing effect that created a painted/drawn image while messing with this image. It has become a fun part of my repertoire since.

One of the few shots from inside the steel mill that I worked in. This is a hot slab of steel with a part of the project that I worked on for the summer. I definitely could have gotten further on the project looking back on it, but it was a good summer regardless, and I will hold that mill in a special spot in my heart.

Our family vacation took us to many places. This major one was New York City. This is waiting for the Washington Bridge to get onto Manhattan Island.

This is on Manhattan as well, in the Harlem region while driving to visit with my cousin Mark.

The look down a canyon of buildings to see the Empire State Building. I really enjoyed the edit job I did on this particular picture.

Buildings on the beautiful day we experienced on our second day in NYC. These are on the south side of the island and I love how they truly popped against the sky.

You know, the Statue of Liberty and such. Not my favorite picture with it, but since I'm limiting this to pictures that I snapped and edited, this ends up being the best one.

One of the towers in NYC that bears the name of Trump. I truly enjoyed seeing the sky and the building meld into each other.

Our journey of the summer also took us to Maine. There, along the coast, we got a chance to experience a culture you just do not get to see in the Midwest. This is a foggy morning along one of the many peninsulas of Maine.

This shot really pops to me and I enjoy the stories that go along with it in my head. This was taken right before we left on a very pleasant boat trip along the coast to see lighthouses.

In downtown Bar Harbor, this building takes a prominent point along the coast. It was a tough shot to get with the low lighting, but what can I say, I just can hope for a better low light performing camera (*cough* Canon 5D Mk II *cough*)

Taken just to the left of the building this four masted boat caught our attention as well and the night really made for a beautiful and pleasant scene.

Outside of Bar Harbor (on the ocean side) we took a trip to watch whales on a massive boat. This was a fun task for me, if anything, to be able to capture these majestic animals in a sports photography type atmosphere. I just wish I had a higher zoom lens for this moment.

While traveling back from Maine, we stopped in a beautiful state park in New Hampshire near what used to be the Man in the Mountain. This park had a beautiful gorge we were able to follow the trail right up into. This shot also fit into my new high contrast painterly style of edit.

I thought this would be a good typical car commercial shot and with the high contrast, it gives it that fake car commercial feel. This is taken while on Mount Washington, which is the highest peak on the east coast. It was cold, windy, and foggy up there. Fantastic.

A church in Vermont that I found to be particularly beautiful.

We closed up our vacation hitting up Niagara Falls. The best part about this part of the journey is that I accidentally drove us into Canada. The Canuks didn't have a problem with this though, as we had dollars to bring, and we sure as heck didn't look threatening. This wasn't initially my favorite shot of the falls, but as I look back at it, I love the incorporation of people into the shot and the motion blur they bring to the shot.

Up next: The Fall Semester!

08 in Photos (part 1)

2008-12-27T10:25:00.007-07:00

Well, it seems to be the trend to review the year when it ends, or so it appears to me. I think this really is something fantastic to me, as you could spend a lot of time looking forward and easily forget where you've been. For me, a huge part of reviewing the year is looking at my photography. This includes looking at it documenting events, as well as developing my abilities to shoot. So, starting from the first second of the new year, all the way to the end of an era for Alan, here are the shots that defined 2008 (part 1).

On the strip in Las Vegas watching 2008 being rung in. Then we were off for a night of driving to Los Angeles.

The kickoff for the Rose Bowl Game 2008. Illinois vs. USC. That's all I'm going to say. The kickoff was exciting.

The Presbyterian Church in Clinton, IL taken in my first days with my Rebel XT.

Sunset over the football practice fields in Clinton, IL.

The Alma Mater and Altgeld Hall at the University of Illinois. Taken during a cold night walk on campus.

Calvin on the slopes at Orchard Downs during our epic sledding journey.

Rockets shot off on the Engineering Quad during Engineering Open House.

The cups full of water on the stairs prank at the Danger Zone.

Evan setting his Osama effigy on fire for Bin Laden's birthday.

Fixing a home during the Illini Life Memphis Mission Trip over the University of Illinois' Spring Break.

Bernie Mac (RIP) and Sam Jackson filming a scene for Soul Men on Beale Street in Memphis while on our Spring Break trip.

Russ playing drums for the Rock for Honduras event during the Spring semester with Illini Life.

A dew covered leaf out in nature following the Mandate event with Illini Life. One of my early attempts at Macro photography.

Wrigley Field, back when the Cubs had hope. They laid into the Pirates on this day early in the season.

Alan experimenting with light painting. This is definitely early in the process. Hopefully there will be future attempts with the knowledge had that will help these shots improve.

Depauw University and their beautiful campus while visiting an old friend.

My first people photo shoot for the sake of photo shooting. This is my now roommate Matt looking for some promo art for his music.

This is another shot from the shoot with Matt, but definitely different and wanted to give it a show too as it is really something I've liked a lot since I shot it.

The Treehouse Sessions, Spring 08. Later this year, I took some newer versions with a subset of Treehouse ladies. This shot, however, is special to me, as these girls have been dear to my heart for a long time.

From my second Cubs game of the year. This was a loss to the Padres, but it was still neat to see a team that was tearing up the Majors. Unfortunately, that wouldn't last. This is the last shot of the 'spring semester.' Part 2 will bring you the summer and beyond. Feel free to let me know what you think, you see, etc. I love critique.

Currents

2008-12-21T21:03:00.003-07:00

From my photo collection of the coast of Maine (summer 08)

Lately, I've been reading the book "Life of the Beloved" by Henry Nouwen, which has been a great read. He is a very plain writer who tackles heavy issues with simple and profound language.

One image he really created wonderfully for me was the way he described the soul as an ocean. The major players in the movement of an ocean are the undercurrents and the winds around the surface. Both can be strong, and both can create waves. Nouwen suggests that our convictions, the undercurrents, must be so strong, that they are what creates the waves in our lives. This is in opposition to having currents that vacillate and don't build momentum to change things. In this case, the winds can be strong enough to create waves. These waves are created from an external source. Nouwen insists that our waves must be created from inside.

This imagery was really powerful to me, especially as I hit the real world running. My convictions become even more my own and I must really allow them to control me and have them only be transformed by the most powerful of forces. I pray that the winds of the world may not whip me into a frenzy, but that instead I may be steadfast.

Graduation Joy

2008-12-20T01:49:00.001-07:00

High School Graduation Joy, originally uploaded by danette5.

Well,

Nothing really deep or profound. In about 10 hours, I will graduate from the U of I. Four and a half years of my life, built up to this moment. It is pretty exciting, and yet, pretty surreal. It doesn't have the same feel of high school graduation when the big kids get their free days and goof off time to 'practice' the ceremony. Nor is the weather warming to a glorious summer. Instead, we finish exams, and head off to our smaller ceremony in the dead of winter.

Thank you to all who have been instrumental in me getting to this point. Whether it be emotional, financial, or spiritual support, I truly appreciate what you have given to me. It has been a true blessing to be a classmate, friend, and family member of yours.

I look forward to the coming years, finally realizing that the calendar does in fact go past 2008. I wish you all the best in your endeavors and I truly hope that God moves in your lives as you move on to the adult stage of life. Those of you who are already there, welcome us with open arms; we're still pretty much kids. :)

Rod on SNL

2008-12-14T23:18:00.000-07:00

We made it onto SNL for our fantastic politics. Yippee!!