Nature Speaks of God

The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
Psalm 19:1

And God came here? To save us?

[Note: There will be a meteorite shower very early on Tuesday morning...check it out!]

The Power of Words and The Wonder of God

I recently went to WorshipGod 08, which was the best conference I've been to in years. I hope to blog about that eventually...but, while I was there, they mentioned the Desiring God 08 conference, and I dearly want to go to that! Anyone want to come with me? I'd stay at the Minneapolis International Hostel, which is "for the budget traveler" (read: Cheap).

What a wonderful opportunity this would be for me as a linguist! What a wonderful opportunity for those of you who use language! Anyone else interested in going?

AHC

You're looking at the new Associate Head Coach of my fencing club. Scary, ain't it? I tell ya, responsibility can be a great agent for commitment. This next season will be a huge challenge...bring it on! I'm not comfortable in my position yet, but I'm going to take the advice my coach gave me in high school: Make aggressive mistakes! I was driving home from the fencing awards tonight pondering this, and recognizing that my pedestal is now higher...which means a fall would be harder. But the Gospel Song sprang to my lips...Praise God, for from him ALL blessings flow! He has already paid for my mistakes--I need not worry about my future! I am free to do as he wishes (which is the best plan of all), rather than cowering in fear of failure. Who can stand against him? Please pray for my team! They need a saving knowledge of Christ!

ESPN and Josh Hamilton

It's long, but if you've got 10 minutes you ought to read this. The story is amazing, but I also find it amazing that it's published by such a widely known news source. COOL!

Praise God

...for all blessings come from him. Time for a praise report!

• Youth Camp. So many things happened here...
• People were saved! Including a girl on my team! AHHHH! More than cool! Awesome!
  
• Something happened to me, too. I feel like...the old me. Like me in, say...11th grade. Not that 11th grade was great (pfft), but my attitude is way more cheerful than it has been recently. To what can I contribute this recent joy? God.
• Made some great friends. The people on my team were great! My co-team-leader (Tim) is a gift from God. I had a great experience as team leader last year with Jason and was afraid my expectations would be too high this year, but Tim was fantastic. And the campers were incredibly willing to participate and a few really interacted with God.
• "The Bible is the story of all God has done for me." (Josh Harris) That is incredible. God has done a lot. For me. *breaks into song* Oh! It was all for me! It was your grace that drew me to the cross!
• When I write thank-you lists to God, I tend to focus on physical stuff; i.e. right now I'd be listing all the great assets God's given to me. But I don't want to focus on that. So I'm gonna focus on stuff like:
• School. Gotta work on thanking God for one more semester at school...need to start expecting his work there.
• Evangelism. I went street evangelizing recently for the first time in years, and though I generally don't like the results because I generally don't see them, street evangelism is FUN! The Holy Spirit was definitely pruning my branches through that experience. I can hardly wait for another one (which will come this month, hopefully)!
• Friends. So much of my life is good because of friends, and especially their prayers. I love my friends. Some day, in the New Earth, I expect to be able to cultivate my friendships a lot more than I can now. Thank God for the little bit I can do now!
• Parents. I am learning a lot about humility and submission because I still live with them. I am not humble or submissive, but I'm learning about it...

Dude, God's awesome. Not kidding in any sense. I wish I could write music for him. Or dance. Or...something. But I guess nothing I do can add to what he's done, so why stress? Ah, God. You're a freaking genius.

All I Could Do...

...was watch it again. And again. And thank God for talent :-)

Why...

...are we here?

This is the theme of YCo8. Please be praying for the activity of the Holy Spirit during camp! We're going to be delving into some serious stuff, which is great. Camp is generally the best part of my summer, and so many lives are impacted (just ask the guy who's my co-team-leader). I hear the messages are going to be online, if you're curious about listening to them. However, I highly suggest you visit in person. Camp is great.

WE FINGERPAINT BETTER THAN YOU!!!
(Inside joke. To be explained at a later date.)

Sick

You know what's worse than not being able to sleep? It's being sick and not being able to sleep. Usually when I'm sick I can sleep like a newborn, which is great 'cos I don't feel sick when I'm asleep. But now...ugh.

This article was good encouragement, though.

Why don't I see a doc? Last time I saw her for a head cold/chest congestion, she gave me albuterol and amoxicillin. Amoxicillin is a terrible thing to hand out for minor-ish sicknesses like mine. It doesn't work, and there's a chance that whatever I'm sick with could get resistant to the drug. Beg to differ, if you'd like...but I have a long, colorful history with that drug, and for me at least, it doesn't shorten recovery time and leaves me weaker than if I hadn't taken it. Albuterol, though...man, that stuff works in ways it shouldn't. It's supposed to dilate the bronchioles and make it easier to breathe. However, it also dilates the blood vessels, which means the heart starts pounding (which mine does anyway when I'm sick, 'cos I usually get dehydrated), which makes the adrenal glands get all excited, which means I breathe faster...and eventually I start bouncing off the roof. I'm surprised people don't just huff albuterol in the mornings instead of drinking coffee. It works faster.

Sleep

*Cue BNL's "Who Needs Sleep" song. If you don't know who BNL is...um...just search for the song. I can't mention their name on my site without getting unwanted attention. Regardless, the song is ridiculously appropriate.*

Lately, my cures for insomnia involve adventure films. Granted, I've spent most of the last two weeks in the Big Apple (post forthcoming?), so my insomnia has been embraced and encouraged, but eventually I had to come and the late hours have followed. Anyway.

Tonight I watched X-Men 2. It's certainly got a few minutes of iffy-ness with regards to morality, and the premise is irrational, but (excepting the FFWD moments) I enjoyed it. I watched the scene where Xavier's academy gets invaded several times because the action's so...viscerally good. There's so much in there to chew on...the power of government and science, acceptance of "unusual" people, appreciating those you don't like/understand/are different, the role of religion in life, how disgusting it is that people have blindly accepted macro-evolution as a "theory," etc. etc. etc.

Last night (two nights ago?) I watched Annapolis, which is about a young man's first year in the Naval Academy. That move made me think about bravery, loyalty to self/others, motivation, and courage. It was wildly inaccurate, but I enjoyed this one also.

Why do I like these movies? Besides the fact that the leading actors were some of my favorite (though James Franco's expressions do get repetitive), I find them inspiring. People do things that are bigger than themselves. Their actions affect others in a positive way. These movies aren't "realistic" in that they're about people I know or situations that I could be in, but they contain themes that challenge me to think and to act beyond myself.

Prediction: If society continues down the path I see it going, the action/thriller genre will shrivel considerably. Everyone loves hearing about the glory and praise a hero receives, but eventually we will love comfort and ease and self so much that learning about the challenges a hero must overcome before earning victory won't be worth the thrilling end.

The more life I live, the more I learn that the journey determines the destination. One may choose a destination, but how often does one reach that destination? By all indicators as a high school senior, I should have just started my first week of graduate school, earning my doctorate degree in physical therapy. My journey has led me pretty far from that destination, though it may lead me back in the distant future.

I can't claim to know the future. So how does watching action flicks tie into this? Life is an adventure, even if the adventure lies in choosing to serve my church rather than slave over college classes. Watching others do hard things inspires me to do hard things in return, even if it isn't deflecting missiles with my mind or returning for a second semester of military school. Most of my challenges involve waking up early to get to church set-up on time, or putting my game face on (yes, coaches have them too) when entering the door of the fencing salle. Huge challenge: Budgeting. I hate doing it, but without it I can't glorify God to my best ability.

Note: I'm dying to read Do Hard Things, but since it just came out, I can't buy it. Anyone want to lend me a copy? I'll be nice to it!

...And this ties into sleep how? Action flicks help me sleep. Not kidding. My brain does not shut off, even in sleep. Chewing on the issues presented by these films keeps me from dreaming horrible, nasty things. Horrible, nasty dreams tend to drag on while my subconscious searches for something meritorious to end it on a good note, but "thinking" dreams are beneficial and usually end quickly. Garbage in equals garbage out, though, so some action flicks don't help.

I'm off to ponder the relationship between Wolverine and Rogue. What makes Wolverine seem like a father figure? How does Rogue respect him? Etc. etc......zzzzzzzzz

Blogroll

I recently made some updates to the links I have on the sidebar of my blog, and I'd like to highlight them and why they're linked to my blog.

Da Ketter - I've known David Ketter for quite a while, and this blog is a collaborative work between him and several other godly young men. I've found lots of encouragement and challenging statements here.

Big Guy - New blog from a good friend who is dating a very close friend.

Melder of Words - Writer friend whose poetry I find stunning. Also, I enjoy his laugh.

Liberian Missionary - A friend who is evangelizing in Liberia with Samaritan's Purse. My prayers go with her!

Philly Teacher - The chronicles of a friend who is evangelizing and teaching in inner-city Philly.

Unconformed - the collaborative blog of several godly young women, one of whom I am privileged to call "friend."

[Former] Evil Editor - A "kindred spirit" who (I desperately hope) will be spending her summer with me. We have quite a colorful history together.

Boundless Webzine - This site is full of great perspectives on much that's relevant to my life.

Eco Geek . Org - Though it doesn't share my Christian perspective, this site is full of ways that I can preserve the earth God created, as well as cool tech projects that attempt to do the same.

Pray For Ian - I can't believe I didn't have this link up until now. A childhood friend of mine is dealing with serious brain damage after a car crash. Please pray for him.

The Uncultured Project - Rather than buying an Xbox 360, this grad student traveled to India to see what a difference his Xbox money could make. You think your little contribution won't help? IT WILL.

Good Bassist; Great Band - the blog of the bassist of my (current) favorite band, Mute Math.

Church

My church is changing. You know, in The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe where everyone's whispering "Aslan's on the move!" My church has that feeling, only it's not Aslan, but the Holy Spirit. Thank you, God! My church has needed more of the Spirit! Yes, we're mostly Reformed, but we are certainly not cessationists.

God is so incredibly...um, indescribable? "Good" doesn't capture it. The concept of "goodness" is too small to apply to God. For the past few Sunday mornings God has astonished me more than the last time, which generally leaves me on my knees with a shaking soul and a joyful heart. It's cool. It's more than cool.

Last month, in addition to God greatly reducing my pain, he healed a two-year-old who was thought to have bone cancer in his hip. God has been giving my assistant pastor prophetic songs, which he performs on the piano. He's never performed on piano in his life. During several Sundays, my pastors felt lead to deviate from their sermon notes--for which I am very glad! You ought to go listen to the sermons. Last Sunday's sermon was particularly striking.

College Night was last month. Jeremy (the assistant pastor) did not have notes for the evening, just a handful of songs and fervent prayer for the Spirit to move. Nothing *spectacular* happened, though people were impacted. I was convicted that I haven't been treating my sin as harshly as I ought. However, as most people left, a handful of people were left sitting on the floor of the Church office, praying and singing and encouraging one another. It was a sweet time of ministry, and a memory I will carry for a very, very long time.

I should also mention that our church had a Church-wide fasting and prayer meeting. I'm humbled to say that, for the first time in my life, I fasted for a whole day. It was certainly not my strength that carried me through the day. Verse I meditated on while fasting:

Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart
Jeremiah 15:16

Why? 'Cos I was fasting, and wanted (still do) to feast on God's words while abstaining from food.

I am so excited to see what God will do for my church! Sunday has been the best day of the week for most of my life, but these Sundays have a certain element of surprise to them, an electric expectation to see God, to glorify him more, and fellowship with his Bride.

Souls Aren't Built of Stone

Perfection is unattainable. So, how close to perfection must one be?

Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Reference

I desire a husband, a home, and children! I'm so sensitive to these desires I can't even listen to Amateur Lovers without pitying myself. It's sickening.

For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul, and the one greedy for gain curses and renounces the Lord.
Reference

Of course I wouldn't make a perfect wife; I don't have the skills for that yet. But I'll never attain perfection, and I am not gifted for an entire life of singleness!

Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up your hand; forget not the afflicted.
Reference

If only my standards weren't so high! If only intimacy weren't so hard! Maybe this should change! Maybe I shouldn't ask myself to do the impossible!

Why does the wicked renounce God and say in his heart,
“You will not call to account”?
But you do see, for you note mischief and vexation,
that you may take it into your hands
Reference

I am not asking myself to do the impossible; God is.

Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer;
call his wickedness to account till you find none.
Reference

Asking God to lower his standards is a despicable idea. It is beyond language that describes filthy, undesirable actions. Yet I cannot refuse God's request.

O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted;
you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear
Reference

Society does not value my strong commitment to these ideals. Daily I am assaulted by language, images, and attitudes that reject what I strive so hard to uphold. I feel like Job when he says:

My spirit is broken...
My days are past; my plans are broken off, the desires of my heart.
They make night into day: ‘The light,’ they say, ‘is near to the darkness.’
If I hope for Sheol as my house, if I make my bed in darkness,
If I say to the pit, ‘You are my father,’ and to the worm, ‘My mother,’ or ‘My sister,’
Where then is my hope? Who will see my hope?
Will it go down to the bars of Sheol? Shall we descend together into the dust?
Reference

Fellowship with Christians is helpful because I realize that there are those who also recognize and resist this clashing of culture with Christ. But I constantly fight against the potentiality of sin, even among Christian brothers!

I suppose this was my idea. School was supposed to be a mission field, so I refused to attend one that was full of students and ideals that claimed to be Christian. In some ways, I am very glad of this.

For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world.
Reference

Every time this ugly sin manages to seize my attention and appear so attractive, God gently, methodically, consistently brings my attention back to him.

Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.
Reference

EVERY TIME! God is faithful, and he's showing me what "faithfulness" is. This is so hard to comprehend. Sure, I could give you a dictionary description of the word, but the concept...God is giving me something to reference every time I think of the word "faithful," which makes it so much more meaningful.

Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Reference

Ridiculosity!

This got me mad. But it also gave me an excuse to link to a site I enjoy...not that I've gotten a Car-ectomy, (I've never had a car), but it's full of useful tips.

Hope Springs Eternal

Originally uploaded by -gadgetgirl-.

So, I just got back from fencing (duh...where else would I be right before a huge paper is due?). Life is not going smoothly, but my fencing class is :-) Today I had 4 new kids: two 9 year olds, a 45 year old, and a 60 year old. Tell me that's not a difficult class to teach. It wasn't difficult. I had a lot of fun. I'm still exhausted and have a huge list of papers to write, homework to do, sleep to get...wait, who am I trying to kid? April Fool's is tomorrow! Speaking of which, this was a great AF joke.

Good-ish news! Whatever my health problem is, they Docs have ruled out my gallbladder. Fat has reentered my diet. Normally I prefer healthy foods, but to celebrate I got a cheeseburger with everything on it at 5 Guys Burgers & Fries. Talk about grease. The thing was a veritable ball of a sandwich...so much was in that bun...*sigh* (Note: I am not endorsing greasy food or a gluttonous lifestyle.) BUT on Sunday morning Mr. Pierson asked those who wanted healing (physical or spiritual) to come forward for prayer...and since then I have had discomfort but no pain. I'm supposed to get an appointment with a gastrointerologist (hopefully not next year), which may get me closer to some sort of a solution for the problem. But thank God that I'm not in pain!

Fencing Is My Boyfriend (Why I Love Fencing)

Folks, I have a confession to make. I'm in a very serious relationship with an enigma we'll call Fencing. I know we shouldn't have kept our relationship so secret...but it's hard to explain why we're together when people don't understand. Some do, but they're often in similar relationships themselves. Please, allow me to clarify.

Fencing and I started out as something casual. I took to Fencing because it didn't monopolize my weeknights, gave me great coaches and good teammates, and was a good outlet for energy and occasional anger management. We got serious roundabout the time the head coach asked me to be part of his coaching staff. Though we didn't see each other more often, Fencing was on my mind much more than it had been in high school. When Fencing became part of the Recreation department, things got out of control. I now spend about 4 nights per week with fencing--this week it'll be five, and occasionally we'll spend Saturdays together. It's crazy.

Our relationship borders on abusive sometimes. I admit, I've cheated on Fencing before. Usually to go do crazy stuff like driving to see concerts or put on shows, but nothing really serious. Still, Fencing occasionally will beat me up and enjoy it. Tomorrow I'm going to have lots of welts on my right shoulder, and my left calf muscle is going to ache, and it's all Fencing's fault!

So, why don't we just break up? It's not really that simple...see, now that I'm financially dependent on Fencing, breaking up would involve a lot more work. It's just easier to keep things how they are. And honestly, I think our relationship might improve. At least, I've tried harder to not cheat...

Ha! Did I lie well enough to make you think that Fencing was tangible and we were headed toward trouble? Abusive relationships are nothing to joke about, but it struck me as funny when I realized one could see my involvement with fencing as such. Just for the record, I am not in any serious relationship of any kind (see the end of my post). Now, the post I initially wanted to write...

Why I Love Fencing

• Ever had that feeling of pure happiness brought about after a night of fencing well against challenging opponents? When Rita's Ice fills your belly and replenishes your muscles' supply of carbs? When the cool summer air rushes through the car windows and cools your slick, sweaty head?
• Ever had that feeling of triumph when you beat an opponent soundly because you've practiced more and sweated gallons and lunged farther and parried efficiently and hit more accurately?
• Ever had that feeling of gratitude when you realize you've just outrun your old self and it was all because your teammates encouraged you?
• Ever had that feeling of euphoria when you coach a kid you've trained for his whole career in fencing and he's winning?
• Ever had that feeling of power when you tell a kid how to change his game to beat the other guy, and your ideas plus his skill win the bout?
• Ever had that feeling of soreness due to literal wounds inflicted by friends and muscle exhaustion?

There are lots of reasons why I love to fence, and to coach fencing. These are some (minus the last one). Leaving my team will be hard, if God leads me to do so. But I know that, as he has given me the grace to continue in such a pursuit to give him glory, he will give me the grace to leave this pursuit and glorify him in other ways. I'm so glad he's given me this pursuit for now.

Creative Writing, Health, And NYR Update

Tonight was great. The air felt alive with the energy of Anakin as he makes his decision to join the dark side or continue on the road he's already chosen. The setting sun only served to clarify this energy. Darkness snaked long fingers around corners and into tree branches, yet light still glistened on grass blades and windowpanes. It was the kind of evening that, when one wears a jacket, is pleasant. The lukewarm air whispered on one's cheek. It filled the lungs easily, and made one want to sing just so one could breathe another lungful. Dampness crept into collars and under pant legs, snuggling against hot skin and chilling it. Going inside felt like a tragic loss. (What do you think of that? Breka, I'm 'specially interested in your opinion, if you have one...)

Last week, I got my gallbladder ultrasounded. Funny story: Nurse picks up a file for a female patient, aged 22, who is here for an ultrasound. She assumes I'm pregnant, and stares at me trying to figure out why I'm getting an ultrasound when it's obvious the baby's not big enough to really notice on the ultrasound. Heh. Final ultrasound results: Normal. I have no gallstones (and just for the record, I am not pregnant either :-P ). The doc thinks I might have "sludge" (precursor to gallstones) in there, so on Wednesday I get to drink radioactive goo and trace it through my gallbladder just to see what happens. Kinda yucky...but hopefully it will clarify SOMETHING. Also, I'm beginning to wonder if this pain is, in fact, my gallbladder. Tonight I had an estimated total of 28 grams of fat during dinner, which is a LOT considering I've been mostly vegan for the past two weeks. I have pain, but nothing abnormal. However, when I tasted JPB's rum on Sunday night I had almost instant pain that lasted for hours. The doc warned me that alcohol would have the same effect as fat...hmm. PS- being vegan ain't bad. The food is great, though it drastically slims down menu choices at Eat'n'Park. Which is a terrible restaurant anyway.

New Year's Resolution Update: So far, I have bought only one thing that's brand new this year (besides perishables etc.), which was a racquet for my gym class. Kinda necessary. It's freeing, actually, to not buy stuff. I don't feel a need to flip through magazines or go to stores looking for good buys, because I can't buy it anyway. However, I am getting slightly worried about shoes. I'll be needing a pair of dress shoes and dress sandals very soon, and permanently borrowing Mom's would be cheating since she'd just go out and buy herself a brand new pair anyway. And dressy footwear shouldn't really be duct-taped.

Bland

For the next few days, I am supposed to eat a very bland diet, consisting of rice, toast, applesauce, and bananas. Why, you ask? My doc thinks my gallbladder "contracted" because bile can't get out (see story below). She wrote me a bunch of prescriptions for some pretty weird tests. First, have gallbladder ultrasounded. If that test is negative, drink radioactive stuff, force gallbladder to contract-which means I throw up-and see how much bile comes out. If the radioactivity test shows that my gallbladder isn't up to snuff, she wants to take it out. I don't like that drastic idea. I don't like the idea of drinking radioactive stuff and throwing up, either. I like the idea of calling my naturopathic friends and seeing if they have a solution for dissolving gallstones. If you do, please share! You may be responsible for saving my gallbladder!

Weird note: The doc told me that this mostly happens to fair, overweight women in their 40's. I'm not overweight (any more), though I am fair. Am I 40? According to my birth certificate, I'm not. But I keep getting "old-people" diseases. First arthritis...then this... I ran this idea past my Mom, who laughed and said "But you're too beautiful to be old!" She forgets two things:
1) Age does not necessarily mean beauty
2) I look the same as I did when I was 10, except I've got nicer glasses
So maybe I'm one of those people who just ages faster than they're supposed to! Or...not.


Here's my story of gallbladder contraction...
[Gross Alert--Do Not Read If Easily Repulsed. Also, if the story was terrible, please tell me. I hate deluding myself.]

On Monday I came home from fencing class and within 5 minutes was hurling my guts into the toilet. Before class I ate apple sauce with golden raisins and cinnamon in it and promptly got a stomach ache. During class I was getting woozy. My students were probably wondering why I was teaching while sitting on the floor. Ah, well. The stomach ache was very similar to the one I had in Virginia while visiting a dear friend, though I never threw up then. I got over that one with the help of fiber. Dad tried to feed me medicine (I forget what) for this one, but it wouldn't stay down long enough to do anything.

There's one good thing about this episode in my life, though...a funny story! I hope...

The pain in my abdomen would get closer and closer to "impossible to bear"...then fade...over and over again. "Is this what childbirth is like?" I asked Mom while gasping for breath after a surge of pain. She chuckled and said, "probably." If so, I'm glad for 3 things when it comes to labor:
1) Contractions don't last the whole time, they come and go
2) According to my genetic history, labor won't be as long as I was in pain for gallbladder contractions
3) Mothers hopefully get a baby at the end of labor. When my pain subsided, I got threatened with losing an organ.

My doctor, when telling me about my symptoms (ironic, isn't it? SHE told ME about MY symptoms!), said that the pain is often like labor. Heh.

Strangeness

Today I feel like a "normal" student. I stayed on campus after classes were over because I plan to hang out with friends tonight. First weird experience was eating dinner...all by myself...surrounded by strangers who were also eating. I read my textbook on English grammar to keep myself from feeling suicidal. Then I went to the computer lab (where I am now) to download & print various things. I've gotten decently good at managing "fun" time on the internet, so after I was done scrolling through blogs, Flickr, and YouTube, I -gasp!- did some studying. Man, it would be so much easier to study if I lived on campus. I'm sure there are distractions here, but I feel so ridiculously lonely and faceless that I'm studying child psychology just because it gives some sort of purpose to the evening. Which brings me to another realization. Fencing takes up A LOT of my time, and a lot of my identity is in fencing. Which isn't bad, but it's just interesting to realize that, besides church, fencing takes up an awful lot of time.

Miike (Bubs) just called. Bye.

Clowns Won't Eat Me

Guess what! I'm awake! And I've got a knot in my left upper trapezius...

Homework #4 in my Psych class is due tomorrow. I'm supposed to find 5 sentences that I come across in "normal" reading that I don't understand. I can't find that many. I can't find one. I can find ambiguous sentences, grammatically incorrect sentences, and sentences that don't speak truth...but none that I can't understand. *sigh* Sometimes being smart earns bad grades... :-P

In other news, tonight will be the second consecutive night that I'll be reading the Bible before I fall asleep. It's pitiful, I know, but that's why God took pity on me. Last night I read several chapters from Isaiah (one of these years I'll finish that book), and this verse was really cool: Isaiah 45:19. It's been a huge part of my theological thought life in the past 24 hours...this verse is a perfect candidate for a scripture memory song.

Happy birthday to Mrs. Behrens...what a cool day to be born!

The Power of Media

On Monday nights I usually listen to the last 30 minutes of This American Life. Sometimes it's worthwhile. Sometimes it isn't. Last Monday's section was GREAT. It featured Malcolm Gladwell, who was talking at a comedy club about his experiences working for the Washington Post. The MP3 (free and legal) is here, though you've gotta fast-forward to the last part (or you could listen to the whole thing...). Also, ignore the one bad word...

This is going to be a pain for you (if you choose to do it), but I wanted to record the link in case I ever feel like looking up this guy for some obscure reason. Let me know if you heard it, and what you thought about it!