Stuff

I spent most of Monday without my cell phone, having accidentally left it in Grand Rapids after visiting with Shan's family for Easter.  So that means that I also spent most of Monday anxious and uncomfortable and slightly (okay, moderately) less equipped to go through the day without my cell phone.  And right around 4 PM I realized how ridiculous I am.  How can I be that worked up about not having my cell phone?  It's just a cell phone, right?  Obviously I'm less reachable and unable to communicate with people, which are both important things.  And it's incredibly inconvenient.  But really, it's not a big deal.  The day will still happen.  And it did.

I wish I wasn't like that.  I wish my heart wasn't tied so tightly to things that it doesn't need to be.  I thought about some other things that I would be at least slightly upset that I didn't have with me / didn't know where it was for at least a day.  Here's a brief list, in no particular order:

• MacBook
• Bible (either of the 2)
• Wallet (including everything it contains)
• Keys
• REI jacket
• North Face winter hat

Class is starting so I need to wrap this up, but I guess the point of my rambling is that I was also able to think about the other things my heart really cares about.  Like really cares about.  Like God.  And people.  And relationships.  And MSU basketball (just kidding...kind of).  I'm hoping to go through the rest of the week and the rest of my life focusing more on the important things rather than the unimportant.  

(Not that wallets and car keys are unimportant)  

All this makes me think of this verse, and I'll leave you with it.

"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.  For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 2 Co 4:18

Happy Easter

I'm not a Harry Potter fan, BUT....

this video made me laugh:

Chicago

A few posts ago I mentioned that I would write about my Chicago trip during Spring Break.  Well, now I don't really want to.  It's not that it isn't "blog-worthy" - it's just that I'm just that lazy.  I've thought about writing about it ever since I said I'd write about it.  I've just been a mixture of busy and lazy.  So in order to force myself to jot some notes about it, I thought I'd infuse some creativity.  Therefore, in honor of my friend Kelsey, I will write using as much alliteration as I can without making myself go crazy.  It'll be fabulously fun.  Here we go.

I diligently drove to Chicago in under 4 hours, which is less time than rad Rachel predicted.  3 hours and 52 minutes to be extremely exact.  I was a proud person that day.  I passed the time by reflecting and thinking, two powerful pastimes that I rarely receive reliable time to do.  So I enjoyed it.

I spent most of my time there following my friend Brian around Evanston.  Here's a short list of where we went: his office, leadership, Pomegranate (restaurant), Northwestern's cool campus (yeah I know that was a lame effort on my part).  We watched a high school play, went to some meetings, ate food, played basketball, listened to Tim Keller, and chatted.  It's been a long time since we've had extended amounts of time to hang-out and talk about life.  It was good. 

I saw some students I met many months ago that go to Northwestern and do leadership with Bri.  It was good to see them too.

(Okay I'm officially out of alliteration ammunition.  I can't take this trouble too much longer).

So anyways, it was a great trip.  It was relaxing, fun, memorable, and definitely worth all the gas money.  At first I was disappointed in not going somewhere warm for Spring Break.  But it turns out that was able to go and spend some seriously solid quality time with some of my favorite people in the whole world...who wouldn't want that?

(I guess I had a little left in me)

PS I couldn't post about Chicago without mentioning my friend Dana.  She was down there being all grown-up and professional for her company Veritas.  One of the highlights of the trip was when she walked into Cosi for this meeting and freaked out and made the "Dana freak-out face."  Obviously she had no idea I'd be there.  And I bet she freaked out when she read almost the entire post without seeing her name :)

God is Better than Groundhogs

Front doors are left open.  Sandals are being dusted off.  Birds are chirping, the sun is shining, and guys are struttin' down Shaw Ave. in cut-offs and shorts.  It looks like spring outside, so it must be, right?  I'll admit it's REALLY nice outside, but it's still only 39 degrees.  I think everyone is a little more anxious for spring this year after the snowiest winter I can remember.  But I don't think the fat lady has sung on old man winter yet.  If it snowed 2 feet in 5 days I wouldn't be surprised at all.

Nonetheless, I'm part of the crowd eagerly anticipating warmer weather.  In fact, I think I have a lot of things to eagerly anticipate as of late...probably more than usual.  I don't think it's too far of a limb to climb out onto to say Shan and graduation has something to do with that.

Last night a bunch of guys and I met for our weekly get together to talk about life and the Bible.  We read and talked about Hebrews 11, which is kind of like a halftime pep talk about heroes of the faith.  It begins by saying that "faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."  There's so much that I hope for these days and maybe even more that I do not see.  I'm in this crazy place where my faith is as strong as ever, but where I watch it crash into some of my biggest doubts I've had.  

Sometimes I think I'd feel better if a groundhog knocked on my door and told me what to expect.  But then again, I don't think I'd be satisfied with what he'd have to say.  So instead, I'll cling to the God I cannot see and the hope I that I am doing everything I can to be certain of.  Because spring will be here sooner or later...and God will show up in a huge way.

What Not to Say

I'm normally a guy who thinks through what I say before I actually say it.  However, I'm not immune to an occasional slip-up.  Last night I was talking with Shan about some old memories, and the 25K that she ran last summer came up.  Here's a brief transcript of the conversation:

Me: I'm still so proud of you for finishing that race so well.

Shan: Yeah, I just wish that I would have stayed in better shape since I worked so hard to get in shape.

Me: Yeah me too.

Now OBVIOUSLY by saying that I meant that I wished I myself would have stayed in shape after working hard to get in shape.  But I guess she heard it a little differently :)

We laughed about that little exchange for a long time last night, so I think that's a good sign.  

It might be fun if I updated this topic (what not to say to someone you love) on a weekly basis, but I decided against it.  Instead, I think I'll just cling to the hope that I won't put myself in these situations anymore :)

In other news, club went well last night.  I didn't feel very well at all, which isn't the ideal way to give a club talk.   But I think it went well, and I feel pretty good about it.  One of my favorite moments was sitting at Burger King with this freshman guy.  he was talking about his sister and how she (surprisingly) annoys him.  Then he uttered this little gem:

"She's so messy at home, I can't take it.  She's such a pig."

Now at first this may be all that funny, but then I'll tell you that he said that while scarfing down a whopper with cheese that wasn't exactly 100% going into his mouth.  I think right when he said "pig" a huge piece of lettuce fell onto his shirt.  Then he wiped his mouth with his sleeve.  Priceless.

It's been sunny two days in a row.  Spring might be almost close to being nearly around the corner here in EL.

"Snap Back to Reality...

...oh there goes gravity."  I'm sure you're all familiar with that quote from Eminem.  I seriously love that song...it's catchy, and I think it tells a great story.  That story really has nothing to do with my life, but that first line does do a darn good job explaining how I'm currently feeling.  It's currently Sunday night, the Sunday night only a few hours before the Monday morning that officially ends Spring Break 2008.  No more sleeping in late, no more completely free afternoons, no more homework-free evenings.  So bring on the papers, studying, and endless homework, late nights and early mornings, and hectic schedules once again.  I'm ready.

It'll be alright though...I actually ended up having a great break.  I caught up on a lot of sleep, worked out quite a bit, and took some time for myself to unwind and reflect.  All much needed things.  I took a great trip out to Chicago which I'll probably mention a little more in a later post.  

So for now, I leave you all with this question.  When you make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, what do you spread first - the PB or the J?  I always go jelly first because it is much easier to wipe off the knife on the bread than peanut butter, since you obviously don't want to mix the two ingredients.  However, some of my friends (whom shall remain nameless) go with the PB first, much to my surprise / dismay.  

So are you a PB person or a J person?  Please leave a comment with an answer...I'll conduct an un-official survey and reflect on the results later.  In the meantime, have a great start to your week!

Senior Day

So I went to my last MSU basketball game on Sunday, at least as a student.  My last time down in the lower bowl of the Izzone.  Some of my friends weren't able to be there, but I was able to bring some YL guys.  It was probably the second most memorable game I've been to.  103-74...MSU ROUT.  Here are some pictures:

Kalin Lucas driving to the rim

4 studs

It was senior day...why not?

I've tried my best to not label anything I do as the "last time" but I'm starting to see the writing on the wall.  In a few months I'll be done with this 4 year chapter of my life.  So here I am in the midst of my last spring break, during my last semester of college.  I just went to my last Izzone game and I've already been to my last football game.  Pretty soon I'll sit at my last YL leadership.  This won't be my last blog (you exhale now, it'll be okay :)  I'm not sure where I'm going or what I'll be doing, but I know that God has been faithful and will continue to be.  I've got less than 2 months left and I'm excited for the last dance I've got here in EL.