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Well it only took me about a month and a half to get pictures up but I posted 30 pictures from our trip to California. You will see them in the sidebar on the left or you can go here to see the slideshow, enjoy!
http://flickr.com/photos/24811110@N04/sets/72157607566528905/show/
Part 1 – The Past
Since we left California last year I have been more or less spiritually bankrupt in a few areas. I think much of this is because of the transition to a new church and a new church body, but also perhaps just from lack of motivation on my part. It was really hard for me to leave a group of people that I deeply loved (you know who you are) and to then try and become part of a new group. To be quite honest this has taken a toll on me spiritually because I haven’t been able to experience God in two very tangible ways: 1) I have not been serving other people and 2) I haven’t allowed myself to be served by others (through small groups, etc.).
Part 2 – The Present
So the reason for this post is because of a song written by Brandon Heath called “Give me your eyes”. I have been hearing this song on the radio for about the past month and it has really sunken in. I think that if every Christian yearned for what the song is speaking to that there would be no such thing as a “sunday morning christian”. More importantly for me currently is that I grasp onto what the message of this song is and relieve myself of the previously mentioned title that I feel I have earned.
I think most people have read this scripture before but in case you haven’t, let it penetrate you. This is how I would sum up the song.
2 Corinthians 4:18
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Here is the best video I could find on you tube for the song (there isn’t an official video) Update: Here is the offcial video. Enjoy it even if you have heard it before. If you haven’t, give it a listen and let me know what you think.
Part 3- The Future
What does the future hold for me? Only God knows…but whatever it is I intend to face it with open eyes and with an open heart, relying on Christ for the strength to succeed.
I will leave you with a verse that is probably one of my favorite verses for inspiration:
1 Corinthians 9:27
No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
So…the updates from our trip are coming slow, I know this. I am trying to get stuff on here whenever I can, hopefully more will come soon. In the meantime, enjoy this short little video of Lorelei feeding a giraffe at the San Diego Zoo (the video is also on the left in case you lose this post in the future 
).
So we arrived safely in California and everyone is alive and well. I spent the last two days at work with my old work friends and then last night and tonight I am at Danny’s apartment. What a blast it has been, we have been playing games and having a great time.
Last night we played the all time great: Ikaruga. At one point Danny says “I wonder if there is a setting to rotate the video display?” and I am like “pshhhhh, no”. Then he checks and sure enough there is. So what do we do? We pick up his 46 inch LCD projection TV and set it sideways on the floor so we can play the game in all of it’s massive glory! Check the pics:
Right now it’s about 11:30pm here at Danny’s and I need to get back to enjoying my time before I leave tomorrow!
I posted some new pictures of Lorelei to my flickr stream the other day. You can click the more photos link on the left or just click here to see them. I know it doesn’t seem like there are a ton, but that’s because we go through and make sure that you only get the cream of the crop, none of that kind-of-cute stuff, we got the real radioactive stuff going on there.
In other news…so from what I understand from everyone I talk to here in Ohio, fireworks are legal to by in the state but are illegal to set off. When you buy them you have to sign a form that says you will take them out of state to use them, but lets face it, nobody does that 
.
Our neighbor across the street had a party on Saturday night (it was supposed to rain on the 4th so he postponed it until then) and it was probably one of the coolest fireworks shows I have ever seen, even including the professional shows. Mainly because there were about $3000+ of fireworks directly above me (since he lit them in the street) and they were really cool fireworks. Some were these gigantic boxes labeled “Strategic Air Defense” and they shot off like 30 fireworks in a spiral fashion, it was really cool.
I also joined the cornhole tournament (man, that has got to be the worst name for a game) they had at the party. My partner and I won the tournament . Who would have thought that a California boy could play games with the big Ohio men?
Ok, so two things:
1. I upped my running mileage from previous weeks, I am now running 20 miles per week. I need to up it still and start running outside instead of on the treadmill, that is coming soon.
2. HULK SMASH! Man, Carrie and I went to see “The Incredible Hulk” yesterday and it was awesome. Honestly, I really liked it…alot. There were all of the things I expected to see in the movie and the Hulk was dope sauce to the extreme. Go see it!
Here are the steps to determine if someone likes you:
1. Kiss the person and have someone take a picture of you doing it
2. Examine the picture for the person’s reaction
Let’s try it out with a picture our good friends the Allan’s took of me kissing Carrie a few years ago (click it for a mo-betta size):
So what do you think? I think she likes me. Dang…she is so gorgeous.
If anyone feels the overwhelming urge to buy me something, here are some shirts to add to my list of things that would be so cool to have please gimme gimme (http://www.jinx.com/StarCraft):
If I ever have a son, I will be sure to get this (baby shown for context only, this baby is in no way related to me nor do I even know the gender):
The proof is in the picture
So I started running more frequently lately. Last week I ran about 13 miles (over the course of the whole week), which for me is pretty good. One component that has allowed me to run is the iPod my wife bought me earlier this year. Without the music, I would easily stop running as soon as I started . For your amusement, here is a small sampling of the songs I am currently listening to while I run:
Artist: Relient K
Song: The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything
Reason: Arrrrr, why I be needin a reason to have this one??? Arrrr
Video: This video shows “The Pirates of the Caribbean” but the song is really based on the Veggie Tales Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything
Artist: Third Eye Blind
Song: Motorcycle Drive By
Reason: It’s pretty much my favorite song…ever. It brings back memories of a time when I felt so alive, yet so alone at the same time. Of course it all comes down to a girl for me (just as it was for the song writer).
Video: Nothing special, it’s just some pretty pictures
Artist: All Together Seperate
Song: Paradigm
Reason: I remember hearing this song live at a Harvest Festival a while ago and for some reason the lyrics really resonated with me. The way I interpret this song is that the paradigm refers to the moral standards of society. With each passing generation it seems that the paradigm changes and moves in a new direction and it becomes increasingly harder to “stand solid” while everyone around you thinks differently.
Video: Ahhhh, classic 90’s video…brings back memories
Artist: Rage Against The Machine
Song: Renegades of Funk
Reason: 1. Because good driving music makes good running music and 2. It is a shot of adrenaline
Video: This is the actual video that was shown on MTV, it’s FUNKADELIC!!!
Artist: Skillet
Song: Rebirthing
Reason: The lyrics are great when put into the context of one’s own life
Video: There are so many fan made videos, this one had Star Wars so I couldn’t resist
Artist: Switchfoot
Song: Oh! Gravity
Reason: It’s just a fun song, and when you get to the part at the end where he goes off it gives you a boost of speed, I promise
Video: This is the official video, how psychedelic
Artist: Thousand Foot Krutch
Song: Rawkfist
Reason: When I am about 75% of the way through running and I am about to quit, this song reminds me that I need to raise my rawkfist and keep on going
Video: Ok, now this is funny. Apparently there is this huge thing on the internet where people make music videos out of their favorite shows/cartoons. Naruto seems to be very popular amongst these people so I just picked the video that had the most domination in it .
