so i’m breaking my old record of two posts in a two week span by having two posts in a two day span! slap hands! slap hands!

i had a really exciting weekend! my girlfriend, sandie, came down this weekend so of course rather than sitting and watching family guy seasons one, two, and three consecutively, i actually got out and saw the world. we went to see ratatouille on saturday. i have yet to see a bad pixar movie…i keep expecting them to fail me. part of me wants them to fail just so i feel justified. i would definitely recommend ratatouille. yes there are rats and yes they cook food…but gosh darn it if even pixar can’t make rats look cute. bottom line…go see it!

then, today, i played the role of “pastor” at my church for the first time. it was exciting…i was more nervous than ever…but exciting never the less. it’s always nice to see a finished product of something you’ve been working on. i learned a lot. things i won’t do next time…things i’ll work harder on…it was a learning experience.

so now my room is a mess from a busy and tiring weekend and i have vowed to not clean it until tomorrow. i can’t tell you how many times i’ve picked something up today and said to myself, “no, wait for tomorrow.” it’s my reward for not completely screwing up the service!

i think that’s it for now. almost time to start thinking about classes! but for now, the sheep are calling me into a peaceful slumber…

first and foremost, i must apologize for my tardiness in the blogging world. it has been well over a week (could it be two weeks already?) since my last post and for that i ask for forgiveness. do you forgive me? what was that…i couldn’t hear you…what? can you speak up? you forgive me? sweet! thanks a bunch!

so i’ll start with just an update with what’s been going on. i moved into my new place last weekend! i have a single this year and it’s tucked away in an alcove on 3rd floor miller residence. i chose to go with the dorm life this year rather than an apartment because, to be honest, i like the dorm life. i like the option of closing my door to the world or hanging out w/ people. it’s a nice balance between sanity and a padded room. but now i’m all moved in. here are some photos of it…they’re kinda blurry and the room isn’t completely done, so i hope to get some better ones up soon. these will suffice for now.

in other news…this sunday i will be preaching in the place of my pastor (who is on vacation). i’m nervous, but also excited to see how it turns out. i’ll be preaching at all 3 services at my church…so it’s a big step from sitting in the pew to standing in front of everyone. here’s to not screwing up!

i think that’s about it for now. my girlfriend is up for the weekend to hear me preach…so i’m really excited about that. we’re thinking about seeing ratatouille this weekend. thoughts about the movie? i’ve heard a lot of good things…and it’s pixar…it’s gotta be good.

have a great weekend everyone!!!

sometimes i look back on life and all i can do is laugh.

i remember in 7th grade when my church youth group was getting ready to go to impact (which for anyone who doesn’t know what that is, it’s a youth retreat where you camp out the whole time) and i was so angry that i had to go. i hated the idea of being in the outdoors for that long. in fact, i think it’s safe to say that i just hated the outdoors…period. i remember putting up the biggest fuss because i didn’t want to go. i felt like i was being asked to climb everest or jump out of an airplane. to me, the budding teen that i was, it was the end of the world.

little did i know that about 6 years later, i’d be majoring in the majestic and spiritual nature that the outdoors brings to our lives. it all started with making a choice. a choice to spend a couple days on the appalachian trail with one of my good friends freshman year. a choice that changed my life. adventure education went from being nothing but a dot on the list of many offerings at messiah college to something that has consumed my interests and has formed me into a new person.

we all make choices in life. i think it’s important to recognize that. it’s a simple fact that we overlook too often. at college, i’ve had a lot of choices to make. some choices are more important than others. for example, always choosing to go for the mac and cheese at lottie…always important…always a good choice! college opens the doors to options that were never thought possible. i had never heard of adventure education before messiah. i had never heard of a lot of things that are now a part of my every day discussions and thought processes. at messiah college, you can truly choose your own adventure…whether it is through chemistry, biblical study, service trips, sports…or adventure education. so now the question is, are you going to turn to page 7 to study for the mid-term, or turn to page 11 procrastinate even longer? your choice!