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.

Heat!

After weeks of sleeping outside, I'm finally sleeping indoors again!  Okay, I wasn't actually sleeping outside, but it sure felt like it.  For the past few weeks the furnace that supplies my room with heat hasn't been working.  Combinations of no air and cold air have been keeping my bedroom at a balmy 52 degrees.  

With the temperature holding steady at my preferred 65-67 degrees, I can cut the number of fleece blankets down from 6, limit winter hat wearing to outdoors only, and actually hang out and do homework in my room.  

Please try and contain your excitement over all this...I'm trying to do the same!

Icy Sidewalks

Anyone that has walked around on campus the past few days has probably noticed that very few of the sidewalks are actually clear of the remnants of the past few weeks of winter storms.  Walking around in all slush/ice/snow/muck is not really all that fun.  Why can't someone just clear off the sidewalks?  That way I won't worry about slipping, splashing myself or someone else with slush, or some other terrible tragedy.  It is kind of funny to me how annoyed it has made me though.  It does remind me, however, of one of my favorite passages, Habakkuk 3:17-19.  I can't say that my life is so bad that it rivals having no food to eat, but nonetheless, there's a lot on my plate (I want to say that last sentence is ironic, but I know that's not the right word for it.  But I don't know what else.  Any ideas?  I just know it was weird/funny).  Anyways, just like walking around on icy sidewalks, the next steps of my life are unsure.  What do I do?  Where do I go?  What kind of job do I seek/take?  And Shannon...!?  

I guess there aren't that many questions.  Just a lot of depth behind them.  

Not a path for the feet, but feet for the path.

Work Crew Weekend

Last weekend, myself, 5 other leaders, and 29 high school kids traveled up to Timber Wolf to serve over 300 middle school kids. And it was awesome. It was full of laughs, hard work, and fun. And I think that many people on that trip experienced Jesus in one way or another. Rather than giving this weekend the space and words it probably deserves, I'll settle for a top 10 list of my favorite moments of the weekend:

10. Downtime, Friday night

We played this group game called Boston. Everyone sits in the circle with a number, and one person sits in the middle. With eyes closed, the person in the middle calls out two numbers. Those two people attempt to switch places without being tagged. My friend T-Mo, one of the Work Crew bosses, was hopelessly stuck in the middle. He struggled, to say the least. Here’s some evidence:



This game resulted in about half of the times I laughed the hardest. It was great. I think it really loosened up the group before the hard work came.

9. Club, Friday night

During the game, in which kids had to name something within a specific category without stumbling, a kid from Birmingham stood out amongst the rest. Brimming with confidence and personality that only a middle school boy can possess, he calmly answered right on cue each time. For the "ice cream" category, slotted third, he responded "pistachio." And for pop, this time going second, he said "Fresca." And he followed that with "diet cherry Fresca." Pistachio? Who is this kid?! I laughed really hard.

8. Cabin, Friday night

Everyone was getting ready for bed, and I had this urge inside me to gather everyone together. So I did. The 10 of us sat around, ala cabin time, and introduced ourselves, talked about why we came to Timber Wolf this particular weekend, told about 1 thing we wanted prayer for, volunteered to pray for 1 person, and I shared some thoughts that were on my heart. It really set the tone for the weekend personally, as I remembered that I couldn't do this without Jesus, and that being in tune with Him is really cool.

7. Lights out, Friday night

As my head hit the pillow, I first realized that I forgot to make my bed. As I tried to slip on the fitted sheet in the dark making as little noise as possible, I heard the sound of a waterfall. Turns out I had forgotten about the noisemaker that Nick brings with him everywhere. So finally, with a (partially) made bed and a waterfall melody in the background, I laid down and closed my eyes. Then I realized that our room was surrounded by dozens of middle school boys who had zero plans of sleeping anytime soon. After all, it was only 1:30. So with my fitted sheet not exactly fitted, a waterfall in the background, and the sounds of laughter and people jumping up and down, I fell right asleep. At that point, I knew without a doubt that it would be a great weekend.

6. Talent show, Saturday night

The talent show was starting. Our kids were taking a well deserved break to enjoy the many talents of the middle school kids. I sat down behind everyone, and took a deep breath. All the hard work felt good. And as 340 middle schoolers laughed and shouted, a feeling swept over me and consumed me: it was worth it. It was really worth it.

5. Wendy’s, Sunday afternoon

On our way home we stopped for food. It was great. We all sat together, ate some high quality fast food, reminisced on the last 30 plus hours, and laughed. It made me wish that we had more time together…they were really beginning to gel as a community.

4. Dining hall, Saturday evening, just before camper dinner

My friend Audry walks out of the kitchen and stops to say hi. I was on my way to make sure everything was set before the dinner wolf cry. I was also about to fall over because I was tired. She stopped me and said: "You just being you makes me smile." It was one of those little moments that God sends down that reminds you of what life is really about. Encouraged and reenergized, I kept walking.

3. Drive up, Friday night

There was a moment on the drive up that I ran up to one of our cars and saw faces. And these faces were full of emotion and full of life. It was a car full of people in the midst of life, experiencing the ups and downs in one moment. It was one of the more memorable moments of the last few months. I won’t forget those faces.

I was being vague on purpose. If you want a fuller story, call me ☺

2. Cabin, Friday night just after arrival

It had been a long journey to Timber Wolf: a long week of preparation and anxiety and a long drive. I put my bags down and opened the letter that Shan gave me before we left. I read it. And read it again. I read it when I was feeling good, feeling stressed, and feeling tired. I must have read that thing 10 times during the course of the weekend. It was inspiring, encouraging, and overflowing with love. Corny as it may be, it’s all true. What a gift. Maybe if you’re nice I’ll let you read it ☺ But for now, it’s the latest addition to my growing collection of notes from her that are nothing but extensions of her beautiful heart.

If you’re still with me after that “aww / gag me” part, here’s my #1.

1. Dining hall, Friday afternoon

After 9 straight hours of work, my dining hall crew finished their last task: decorating the dining hall. Program was hosting a red and white themed dinner, and provided decorations. Sore, tired, and cranky, this is what they came up with:



It looked awesome. I was so proud. I was so pumped. I don’t even think my below average photography skills come close to capturing how cool it all looked. I think God was honored by their work.



Whew. That turned out longer than I thought. It was a great weekend though. Thanks for reading all of that.