Good Vibrations

Well, how about an update? I Haven't had one of those in a while have I! This will probably be long, so bear with me. Skim if you want, hell skip it all if you want haha..


Well, for starters let me just say that I spent 10 hours today working on a greek grammar for one of my classes. I have about 25 pages done and still have more to do. But, it has been a pretty cool process despite the mind-numbingness that happpened at times. It has taught me two things: First, I know a lot more about how greek works than I thought I did. Second, I have a ton more to learn if I really want to master this language. Everytime I review everything a little piece of information takes hold in my brain and stays there, I just need to keep reviewing...

Aside from that I have a 10 page exegetical paper due on the ninth that I have abot 20% of my research to do, and then I need to write the dang thing, but I am not too worried about that one. I also have a 15 page paper on a grammatical issue in Greek. Don't know what the heck that last sentence means? Don't worry, I am pretty clueless on that one too, I have no idea what to do my paper on...

Thanksgiving was good this year. We ate outside at my friend Jon's house. Everyone brought some fun dishes and we went to town! I made my first attempt at making a Rum Cake, and it came out pretty good. I guess a cup of rum will make anything good though...

I will so happy when this quarter is over. I have enjoyed my classes, but working full time and taking four nights work of evening classes is not the best idea. Next quarter I will will drop a day of work and take my classes during the day. Hopefully this will work out better. I am sick of being exhausted all the time...and it will be nice to have the energy to go to church again (sundays have been my only day to grab any real sleep lately..)

It will still be busy the week after finals. I had to trade some people days to get my finals week free to do papers, so i have like 8 days straight or something like that. No worries though, because on dec. 21 i fly home!

I will be home the 21st-29th. For you NR people I will be around mostly before xmas, and for you columbus people, I am going to probably get a bus ticket to ride up the 26th, (anyone have a place I can stay?) and then I am going to ride the bus back on the 28th. I would love to hang with chapel choir folks and church folks if i can...we will see!

I am full of happiness right now, I think that this trip home to see family and friends has been the thing that has kept me going so strong this quarter.... I love you all and can't wait to see you!


ok thats all i can think to blog for now.....

CNN.com - Site of ancient church unveiled - Nov 6, 2005

This is pretty cool. This may be the oldest church ever found if they can verify the time they say it existed. Read and enjoy :)



Click here to read!

Two fun bands

For those who have heard of Davinci's Notebook, two of the guys from that are performing on their own now as "Paul and Storm" check them out at http://www.paulandstorm.com

also I came a cross a band called "Eddie From Ohio" they are not from ohio, but have a great folksy type sound. you can hear them at http://www.efohio.com

Timely Songs

One of the ways God seems to speak to my generation in particular is through movies and music. I know that i at least feel that at times. One of my favorite things is when I have had a shitty day or week and then i run into a song that just reminds me of gods presence in my life.

Today I was at work and was already kind of grumpy cause i didnt sleep very well last night. On top of that I am just growing weary, I went straight from working six days a week into working five days as well as four nights of class and the course load that goes with them. I am up for it, but i know that my energy is going to be waning this quarter and possibly the next quarter too if. Anyway, this guy I work with decided to make some comments about how i "barely fit the dress code" because i was in sandals, shorts and a t-shirt. Granted, my boss has no problems with that and nor do i, but his comments struck me as pretty rude and lef tme sour for the rest of my day.

Anyhow, abrooding over it for the whole day I decided to head to tower records to pick up a couple cds. First I was looking for Franz Ferdinand because somehow I had yet to pick up a copy, and secondly I have heard some good things about Paul McCartney's new album : Chaos and Creation in the Backyard.

It is a really great album, but one song Follow Me (see below) really just filled me with joy. I have no idea what exactly Mr. McCartney thinks about God and Jesus, but this song seems to seap with Christian imagery to me. Funny thing is, if this were a "Christian Band" I would not probably like it very much. I am not a big fan of the christian music sphere, and although there is good stuff out there, I tend to avoid it because of the junk. Anyway, if I come across something in a mainstream artist I am much more receptive. Mainly because mainstream artists tend to write songs about all kinds of things and not all of them have to have a christian angle. But, I digress... the point is, this song brought God into focus for me. Yeah I am still tired, yeah the guy hurt my ego/feelings, but I am still following after Jesus, I am still being born into the Kingdom of God, and I am still growing and being sharpened for his purposes.

With that, here are the Lyrics:

You lift up my spirits, you shine on my soul
Whenever I'm empty, you make me feel whole
I can rely on you, to guide me through, any situation
You hold up a sign that reads, follow me.

You give me direction, you show me the way
You give me a reason, to face every day
I can depend on you, to send me to, any destination
You hold up a sign that reads, follow me, follow me.

Down the track of lonelines, down the path of love
Through the words of heartache, to the end
On the shores of sorrow, where the waves of hope crash in
The perfect place for me to find a friend. ahh yeah yeah yeah, oh

You lead to places, that I've never been
Uncovering secrets, that I've never seen
I can rely on you, to guide me through, any situation
You hold up a sign that reads, follow me, follow me,
Follow me, follow me,
Follow me, follow me

-Paul McCartney

A happier blog :)

After the more depressing issue of missing friends and family ...

I had one of my first real "oh yeah , i live in LA" moments last weekend.

We went to go see the 40-year old virgin last weekend and there is a scene that takes place in a bookstore. That scene was actually shot in a bookstore in pasadena that i love called Vroman's. Other than the normal touristy type movie scenes, i dont think i have ever recognized a place in a movie as somewhere ive been.

So thats a happy moment, that no one else probably thinks is very exciting....but it makes me smile :-p

absence makes the heart grow fonder

I am about 9 days away from being away from home for a year. That is a weird thing to think about...

My grandparents were here over the weekend. It was one of the best weekends i have had out here in california. Of all of my family, i have seen the least of them in the last 5 years because when i went away to college, they moved to florida. So, its been about one or two visits a year with them. Regardless, it was so much fun to spend time with them. On sunday we drove up into the san gabriel mountains and saw some great "rugged" terrain as my grandpa pointed out. It was the closest i have felt to home in a long time.

I think we can officially say I am in a state of homesickness. I have mentioned several times on here how great it is to talk to friends online or various phonecalls, but I think it has been hitting me especially hard lately. I was really pumped to be coming home in july, and when that didnt happen, it was one of the toughest decisions ive made in a long time. Leading up to the trip, the problem was how was i going to afford it, let alone afford not working those days. All i knew was that i needed to be home to see family, and then when i spent 8 hours sitting in an airport watching my name get bumped from 3 standby lists for flights...I slowly began to realize that it didnt matter how hard i fought to get home that week, it wasn't going to happen.

SO, now the plan is to use that standby flight sometime this fall, and buy a real ticket for christmas time. That said, I have to also figure out how i am suposed to see everyone i want to see when i go home. My family is all in the cincinnati area, as are some of my closest friends from hs. Then in columbus are people just as important. I want to see them al in one trip, but i know that is doubtful. Anyway, im just rambling. The point is that while california is slowly creeping into my definition of what I call home, Ohio is still the home to al of my closest friends.

I miss you all, and if i had to offer up a prayer request right now, it would be that all of the things that need to happen financially before the fall quarter starts - would hapen, and that means I will be able to make the flight reservations I need to make and see the people i long to see.

This is from one one of my new favorite comics : Pearls Before Swine - in the previous strips, pig had set up a nativity scene in his yard while he ran through the sprinklers to make people think he had friends - then someone stole all but the barn animals!
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For those who thought the reality show "Are You Hot?" was as low as we could go....

"Welcome to the Neighborhood" brings prospective new families into a suburban cul-de-sac. The white families who live there now have their preconceptions tested with potential neighbors that include gay, minority and heavily tattooed couples. The winning family gets to move in. The ABC series doesn't have a premiere date yet.

I don't even know what to say about this one.... Its bad enough that we have people who would struggle with living next to people with alternative lifestyles.....but to try and create a painful situation for them? And then make money doing it.....well thats just the American Way....

Long Time No Type

Well, It has been over a month since I have posted...... I am sorry :(

This quarter has been so busy, that I have hardly had time to stop and take a breath.

I have been working at Archives (A really large theological/religious studies new & used bookstore) one or two days a week, and that has been really fun. I have always loved books, so this is a great fit for me.

Aside from that I have either been in class or doing homework for class it seems. I have been enjoying it immensly however. I am in my final quarter of greek, and it is starting to get harder, yet more understandable at the same time...i wish I could explain that better.....

I am in a class on incarnation and mission among the world's urban poor. This class has really been challenging me and opening my eyes to the world around us. My thoughts on what it means to care for the poor have dramatically changed. If you wanta book that will convict you and then push you o a point where you are encouraged to take action, I recommend Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger by Ron Sider.


My Systematics class is probably my favorite class right now. We are studying ecclesiology and eschatology. I am so excited to learn about the different approaches churches take to defining what it is to be a part of the church. It was really fun to be learning about the Roman Catholic tradition in the midst of the election of Benedict XVI. I am finding that I have a heart for Ecumenical studies. I am not sure what that means afte rmy masters. I know I want to pursue a doctorate of some sort, but I am not sure what yet....


The other thing that has really be great for me recently has been som things with the Vineyard Church, both as a who, and on a local level. I am so blessed to be a part of The Hub, my church here in LA. We are still so small, but we are growing in heart and in size (little by little). Going from the megachurch of Vineyard COlumbus to a 30 person church plant has been quite a change, but totally where God wanted me to go it seems.

On a more national level, I have been listening to some of the session from the national conference last week. It really is an exciting time to be in the Vineyard. We are ripe for God's moving in our midst and I pray that he would bring us to a deeper level of serving him as a church body.

And of course, things with katie have been just as great as ever. We have been together 5 months now, and while this has been a tougher quarter for both of us, it has been overall good for us. We are learning each other's breaking points and strengths. She is truly a wonderful part of everyday, and I am so thankful that she still will spend her time with me!




Lastly, I moved across the freeway a couple of weeks ago. It is a nice little place, two bedrooms with a loft. I am in the back bedroom which has its own bathroom. To get to my room you either have to go through the main bedroom, or you enter right through the bathroom, but it is worth it. I am nice and comfy!


This has been a quick runthrough of my life this quarter and I hope I am able to write more soon, I hope this is enough to update some of you though!

God Bless!

This is the rotunda of the Capitol building in Sacramento...thats right, I went to the home of Arnold...but he wasn't there.
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A bunch of seals at pebble beach :)
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Fun wave at Pebble beach in Monterey on the 17-mile drive
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Fun Waves at Pebble Beach in Monterey on the 17-mile drive
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The Beautiful sunset we got to watch at a beach in Big Sur
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Here is Katie in front of Mc Way Falls in Big Sur on our way up the Pacific Coast Highway
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The Happiest place on earth, and the "not nearly as big as the one in disneyworld" Castle
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This is Thomas and Andrea as we prepare to learn that it really is a Small World after all.
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Here is a good shot of Thomas on our way up the mountain
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This is Me on top of the mountain Thomas and I climbed in Malibu!
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this is a fun little flower I found.
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