It’s Wednesday, the week is crawling by, and the weekend is no where in sight, so why not a little humor to help pass the time. Check out The Very Worst College Application Essays
I’m going to be moving my domain to a different registrar over the next of day or so. Should be seemless with no problems, but we all remember what happened last time I made a change like this… If you can’t get to my website for some reason, this would be the reason.
As I stated in a previous post, I’m attempting to be more open and share more personal thoughts on my blog. Well, the following post is something that I’ve been “working on” for a bit, and finally got around to putting it up. Thanks to A. for encouragement, as it seems we were having similar thoughts at the same time.
On the way home one day last week, I was listening to one of my favorite albums, Sea of Faces by Kutless. Driving along with the windows down and the radio pumped up, I was singing along, though my mind was elsewhere, thinking about a thousand different things at once. Then the sixth track, Passion, began play. As has happened before, there is something about the song that just tugs at me and focuses my attention to the Savior. Read these lyrics to the chorus:
”Nail pierced hands they run with blood
A splitting brow forced by the thorns
His face is writhing with the pain yet it’s comforting to me”
Wow! I get goose bumps even as I simply read these lyrics, much less hear them sung, picturing Christ enduring that humiliating, unbearable torture for me and you, for all of the sinful human race. Yet here I am, in a daily struggle, often fighting against God’s will when I know I should follow Him unquestioningly. He suffered on the cross for me, yet I can’t seem to force myself to go a day without doing something to disappoint Him. As the great hymn “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” goes:
”Prone to wander, Lord I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love,”
And Paul, in Romans 7:19, says
”For what I do is not the good I want to do;
no, the evil I do not want to do–this I keep on doing.”
Ah, evil… Confound Satan! (and that’s definition 6 on dictionary.com) Why must he be there at every turn, toying with us, tempting us, seeking to draw us away from Christ?!? When things are going great, he knows exactly where our weak spot is, and hits us hard, again and again and again, trying to bring us down. When we’re down and out, he knows exactly what to put in our path that will be uplifting for the moment, but only hurt us worse in the long run. No way in the world can we stand up to him alone. He’s too wily, to subtle and conniving. We’re mere humans; he’s a fallen angel. The odds in Vegas would be pretty lopsided…
I think I’ve been on cruise control for too long now. Things have been so well and trouble free for so long now that this has caused me to grow weak in my faith, casual in my walk and take things for granted, without being fully aware that I was. And Satan has caught on. I can feel him flanking me, preparing to engage me in battle on some front that I’m not certain of. Seems that he knows my weak points better than I do. Or maybe I do know my weaknesses, but I’m not willing to admit them to even myself.
I have to remain strong in faith, prayful, and keep my eyes and mind focused on “His face…writhing with the pain.” I must take comfort that He will not tempt me beyond what I can bear, that He will provide a way out of situations, even ones that I gotten myself into by ignoring His will. The things of this world can seem so easy and satisfying, but the road less traveled, the path towards God, is where the real rewards and peace of rest will be found. I must trust God for strength to walk that path, because I know that I can’t do it alone.
Ok, all you smart people out there that think the riddles and puzzles I post are too easy. Take a look at this. It’s an eighth-grade final exam from 1895. How do you think you would have done?
How much dirt is in a hole that is 3 ft deep, and 6 inches in diameter?
Dear God,
Well, I went to church tonight. I know, I know, you’re saying “It’s about time!” I’m sorry that it’s been a while, but it’s really hard to go weekly when I don’t have a church that I really like. I don’t want to keep going to the ol’ “stand by” church and never find one that I can really enjoy. And it’s hard to go to a new church every week, too, especially alone. I know I need to find a church and get plugged in. It was good to get back to a Baptist church again, though. I really needed the recharging. I’m pretty sure you’re the one that’s been planting the thought of going to this church in my head for a while now, and the service tonight was pretty good. I hope this is someplace where I can settle down and get involved. I pray that you’ll give me the motivation to go back again, and to have an open mind. Seems like it has a good group of people my age, and lots of opportunity.
Thanks for your blessings and forgiveness today, Lord. I pray that I can have a good Monday. Please guide and direct me down Your path, and help me to do your will, not mine. Goodnight
One of things that I miss most from my high school and college days is band, especially marching band. I can still feel that adrenaline rush as I stepped on the field at competitions. Nothing like it!
DCI, Drum Corps International, is an organization of marching bands, “a nonprofit youth organization serving junior drum and bugle corps around the globe.” DCI corps start competing in early June and end with the World Championships in August.
I got to feed my passion for marching bands last night, as I attended the DCI Louisville event. It was a great time, with some top corps from around the country.
Check out some pictures of the competing corps here.
Here are the corps that competed and their final scores. Personally, I liked the Crossmen’s and Caroline Crown’s shows most. Not a big fan of the Cadets…
| Place | Corps | Score |
| DIVISION I | ||
| 1 | The Cadets | 80.70 |
| 2 | The Cavaliers | 80.65 |
| 3 | Boston Crusaders | 75.20 |
| 4 | Madison Scouts | 73.25 |
| 5 | Carolina Crown | 72.90 |
| 5 | Bluecoats | 72.90 |
| 7 | Crossmen | 71.00 |
| 8 | Spirit from JSU | 69.05 |
| 9 | Capital Regiment | 63.15 |
| 10 | Magic of Orlando | 61.20 |
| 11 | Southwind | 56.80 |
| 12 | Kiwanis Kavaliers | 52.85 |
| DIVISION III | ||
| 1 | Marion Glory Cadets | 51.90 |
[UPDATE: Changed "band" to "corp" in appropriate places. Thanks Lori!]
Wow, I’m on a roll today…Guess that happens when you get up too early on a Saturday.
I’ve finally gotten the rest of my house pictures up. You can view pictures of the entire process of the build, from the empty lot to the present.
Woohoo! My dad and I completed the deck today! Check out pics from the process here.
I would have to say it turned out better than I thought it would, considering that neither of us had any experience building a deck before. The true test is coming, though….party time! Mark your calendars for Sat, July 3. I’ll be throwing a “test the deck”…er…”yay, a deck” party then. Time and more details to come. Everyone is invited!
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday dearest Jessie,
Happy Birthday to you!
I would like to give a huge birthday shout out to my bud Jessie L.! Hope that you have a great trip to Richmond, get to hang with good friends, and just have an all around fantastic day. Thanks SO much for the invite to the Reds’ game and the awesome seats (2 rows up from the field on the first base side)! Go Reds!!!
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