I have Toh

I was lying in bed a little while ago, about to fall asleep and not really thinking about anything, when a few missing links suddenly fell into place and I realized what a jerk I am. To the person I hurt with my careless words, I'm truly sorry. I'll apologize to you in person tomorrow morning. Till then, I needed to get this out somehow, so I decided to blog it.

OK, I think I can go to sleep, now. Goodnight, everyone.

Father, please help me to be more sensitive to the feelings of others, and to think before I just go and say things. Please forgive me for my carelessness towards the people who are blessings in my life. In Jesus' name.

A Story Beginning...

Jack was no longer aware of the explosion by the time it had begun rippling through the Earth's core. Within a few minutes, the chain reaction caused tremors that were felt from Key West to Hong Kong. The earth's core resonated and became still before the last blast, a huge concussion that shattered the crust and sent clouds of magma, quickly cooled into rock and dust, drifting into space.

Of the larger pieces of the Earth that remained after the blast, three were large enough to support life. The smallest chunk left the core at the greatest speed, but by unfortunate chance struck the moon, whose "orbit" had now become extremely erratic. Dust covered the rock, choking whatever may not already be dead. The next piece was propelled almost directly toward the sun, and soon it contributed its own mass to that of the great, seething furnace that once sustained it. The final portion, which was the largest by far, was also thrust at the slowest speed. It drifted quietly, almost apathetically away from the sun, and if anyone did manage to survive the earthquakes and atmospheric changes, they did not long survive the cold.

GH - "Jesus"

Never could I have ever dreamed of any more
Christians of every color on their knees, on the floor
Different labels, different doctrines
All holding hands. One entity in common:
The great I AM

Joining our voices together as one
Which in our existence had never been done
And we say Jesus, Jesus, Jesus is Lord
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus is Lord

I awoke to find a place where so much has gone wrong
People in different churches can't seem to get along
With different labels, different doctrines
I can't understand why we take our focus off of
The Son of Man

There was one life an example for all
And upon his return, we'll drop and we'll call
And we'll say Jesus, Jesus, Jesus is Lord
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus is Lord

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus is Lord
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus is Lord

Sardines, Anyone?

So Ms. Grady and I went to St. Louis this weekend with our mission team. It was quite fun. The arch is cool, and bigger than I expected. We're getting really excited about our trip to Saba, now that we're finally hashing out some details. Stella's going to be working with the 7th-grade-equivalent class, and I'll be working with a special hospitality-oriented class. She'll also be working on cards for nursing-home residents from elementary school children there, while I'll be planning a carnival-type event for that Saturday.

We went to the St. Louis Zoo yesterday, and I must say it was an excellent zoo, especially since it was free! You can get VERY close to the animals, especially the penguins. As in, if it were allowed you could pet them as they swam by, and we definitely got splashed by a few of them. Good times, good times...

We got to know our group better, and I now know everyone's name, which is a plus. And we found out that they're really pretty good people, even though our nerves all ran up a little bit on the way back. (We were crowded and tired). Oh, well. It was fun.

Oh, and check this out: as we were walking through the penguin display, I looked down at one of the signs to see what kind of penguin I was looking at. The sign read:

THE GENTOO PENGUIN

Suddenly, a small piece of my life that was missing fell into place.

With A Little Love (GH)

So far my life has brought much peace
The joy that it brings – I have most everything
But what would I do if it were all to pass
I've been blessed; what would I do if it were all
Taken away, what would I say?
I pray that myself, myself won't be in the way

With a little love, with a little grief
I will be prayin' for peace
With a little hope, with a little ease
In time the pain will cease
With a little love, with a little grief
I will be prayin' for peace
I will be prayin'
When there's nothing left of me

So far most things have come easy
That's exactly why I must be ready
Yes, there have been days – a challenge to obey
His strength I receive will never be taken away
So what would I say?
I pray that myself won't be in the way

With a little love, with a little grief
I will be prayin' for peace
With a little hope, with a little ease
In time the pain will cease
With a little love, with a little grief
I will be prayin' for peace
I will be prayin'
When there's nothing left of me

With a little love, with a little grief
I will be prayin' for peace
I will be prayin'
I will be prayin'

Birthdays are FUN

Welcome illustrious and loyal readers! Yes, it's true: I'm writing a REAL update.

Today is my birthday. I am now 21 and may legally do many things that I still won't even think about until I've graduated. Ms. Grady blindfolded me so I wouldn't see where we were going and drove me to Carrabba's. Much to her dismay and my personal glee, however, my keen sense of direction instructed me and before she parked I said, "Yay! We're going to Carrabba's!" Isn't it great to be male? Anyhow, I had a delicious Pasta Weesie and lots of that bread dipped in olive oil with spices. Then we went back to campus and she unveiled the crowning glory: The SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS: SPECIAL EDITION DVD. We watched it in the downstairs lobby of McFarland, where we were generally free from the noisiness of the Super Bowl. (Why did my B-Day have to fall on Super Bowl Sunday?) So anyways, Mom and Dad called this morning and I answered the phone thinking, "What's this all about?" It wasn't until they said, "Happy Birthday!" that I realized what today was. I've been seriously bogged down with homework for the last several days, so until tonight I've been pretty disconnected from this whole business. But anyways, it was a great birthday, and I just want to say thanks to all you guys for making it so special. N got me binocs, the other JG got me a cactus and a candle, Plackebo got me some candy (Nerds, appropriately), Mom and Dad are sending me a new hiking sleeping bag, and Mr. D's gift is as of yet undisclosed. But earthly possessions aside, from all of you, gifts or no, there was much love, and for this I am the most grateful.

So on to other matters that actually matter... Last night Ms. Grady had a pretty serious asthma attack, and honestly, it scared the jeebies out of me. There were a few instances where she simply could not breathe at all, and I mean literally zero air flow into her lungs for 10-15 second intervals. It's at a time like that where you suddenly remember how much you need God, and though I hate that it took something so terrible, I'm finding that I have an easier time talking to Him again. Sometimes we just have to be shaken up a little bit.

Father, thank you for waking up my awareness of you. Thank you for protecting Stella last night. She means so much to me. Please let me never take for granted the simple things like air which are so important for existence. Please let me never take You for granted, either. Help me to rely on you in times when it's not obvious that I need to, because in truth, I always need to. In Jesus' name.