I Forgot

i forgot to add the ulcer part to my previous post about my trip. the day i left for my trip my stomach troubles began. it started out like gas, not that end but gas in my stomach. it quickly turned into something far more painful. about two or three seconds after i swallowed something, i would have a very sharp pain about where my stomach starts.

eating takes me about twice as long because i have to allow the pain to subside before i can take another bite. i went to the doctor today and got some medicine for it so hopefully the problem will be taken care of in a day or two. not a pleasant feeling.

Ulcers, Knights, and Roller Coasters

brief review of my mini vacation.

the lost season finale was on the night i was leaving. i was suppose to make it there in time to catch the episode. we left the terminal late but still in enough time to make show time. i wasnt too worried since i didnt check any bags. we sat in the plane but at the gate for like a half hour, then we began to taxi, it was like rush hour traffic in a big city. i think we were on the taxiway for like 2 hours maybe more, by that time i knew i was going to miss lost and i was greatly dissappointed and it was too painful to watch the time slip away. at one point the captain shut the engines down to save fuel-never a good sign. by the time we had the clearance to take off we didnt have enough fuel to make it since we had to go around a storm. we had to fly to denver, land to get more fuel, then go to la. all in all not a fun plane ride, maybe my worst ever. 4 hour flight turned into 8 hours.

didnt get into leno but we did get our own personal tour of Mann's Chinese Theater (where big movie premieres are held). also took a tour of the kodak theatre and got to see the set of american idol. its much smaller than it looks on tv.

dinner at dukes canoe club. family memories about dukes but a really good restaurant. hula pie mmmmmm.

six flags all day friday. 10am to 10pm. six flags magic mountain has maybe the best roller coasters ever. surprisingly it was not too busy. average wait time was probably 30 minutes. very good for the roller coasters we got to ride. we made it 15 times on the coasters we wanted to go on.

saturday was the los angeles zoo. always fun to see lots of animals. after the zoo went back to dukes for more hula pie. karch kiraly was playing in an avp tour event right in front of dukes while we were there.

medieval times capped off the mini vacation on saturday night. never been but it was pretty interesting. lots of fun. our knight didnt win but he fought valiantly. alcoholic beverages were aplenty, must be good for the tournament/show. they hit each other much harder than i would have imagined. horses were beautiful.

overall fun trip and well worth it. the people watching factor was at about 10. many interesting characters.

Los Angeles

i am going to los angeles tomorrow for a few days. cant wait for six flags. trying to get on jay leno. dukes canoe club. medival times. whatever else we can fit in.

Love

i was fortunate enough to go to a wedding this weekend. i enjoy the occasional wedding, what makes them enjoyable is seeing friends experience the joy that comes with those first moments of marriage, but at the same time its always a stinging reminder that i am still very single.

its not a bad thing that i am still single, atleast according to the apostle paul. for the longest time having a girlfriend just wasnt that important to me, not to say i didnt like girls, but just not a priority. looking back i think it was a good thing. not sure if i was in the right place with God to have added something that would have taken greater importance. i know i am in a better place now but it feels like the time is slowly passing me by. many questions haunt me.

someone once told me i would only date someone that had the same background as me (baptist, conservative, etc.). i dont think that is necessarily true but what is most important (putting God first) may lead to someone who does share my background to a certain extent. what has been gnawing at me, where to draw the line. it seems so cold/judgemental to disregard someone based on what their priorities are. do i give someone the benefit of the doubt and hope that God does have priority in their life,even if it doenst appear to be there? and if i do and i am wrong, what will the damage be if i dump someone because "i dont think you are a good enough Christian"(obviously not what i would say but what would be taken from the conversation). more importantly, do the priorities in my life reflect the place i want God to have that would make me as attractive as what i am looking for in someone?

not only do i have to answer those questions but i have to try and understand what women really mean from their actions and words. dont even know where to start on that one. not enough brain power.

Not the red wings but still fun to see hockey live.

Pursuit of Happiness

that is, in part, the American dream, right? what is happiness, true happiness? i think too many people have fooled themselves, or let themselves be fooled by others influence, into thinking that happiness is about the superficial, the self-centered, the materialistic. to go back to my previous post, i believe that living life to reflect the glory of Jesus will result in happiness finding me. it is a result of my actions. i do not have to do things to find happiness but it will just be there when my life is a reflection of what is most important.

Quote of note

my small group/bible study is going through the book Captivating. there was a quote that caught me as particularly meaningful. for me, the quote describes what Christianity would look like lived out:

'To entice, allure, and invite others to Jesus by reflecting his glory in our lives.'(p.141)

i beleive this is at the heart of what it means to live Christianity on a daily basis. the Bible does not list all of the things we should not do but rather what we should do so we can reflect Jesus' glory.

something that has been on my mind lately is friends who are not reflecting the glory of Jesus in their lives. its frustrating to see friends making choices that do not reflect His glory. many questions in my mind: do i say something? or no? are they truly a christian? if not, what do i say to them? who am i to decide if something is right or wrong behavior? is it worse to assume im wrong and say nothing?

my mind is still in turmoil.......

maybe more later
comments welcome

Worlds most comfortable chair.

I dont know

i am sitting here deciding what to blog about and i cant come to a decision. too many subjects but not sure if i really want to blog about them just yet. maybe on future blogs.

this week may be a long one, although the last couple turned out to be longer than i thought they were going to. i never think i am going to be busy but my week seems to fill up pretty quickly.

i mowed my lawn for the first time this weekend. doesnt take too long since my yard is fairly small. i am going to have to start doing actual work around the house soon. i have been procrastinating lately but i am going to have to start acting like a homeowner soon. mostly little stuff but not to thrilled to have to do them though.

i sometimes wonder how many people actually read this. part of me wants to have people read it but part of me knows it really doesnt matter. maybe its just good for me to type some of this stuff out. or maybe its just a waste of time.

after a dreary winter and all the grey, this is what i love about spring.

remember the rules, post your picture on your blog and link to it in the comments.

Wind

so i wrote this post once already but lost it. i hope i can remember because it was good.

i have been too busy to go running lately. well, also soreness from kicking soccer balls around last thursday, but tonight i was determined to get back into the habit. it was kind of hot wearing it so that might be the last time. my goal was to run my 'marathon' in under 20 minutes. i failed. 45 seconds over. my goal may have been a bit ambitious since that would have been 25 seconds faster and i havent run in over a week.

but tonight i am blaming the wind. the first half of my 'marathon' is downhill so naturally i was hoping to make up some much needed time to make up for the second half, which is obviously uphill. also, i am usually a bit winded by the end. but alas i was only 30 seconds faster in the first half. not nearly fast enough to make up for my second half. i think every time i run the wind is blowing against me(and no its not because i run so fast). when it seemed like i was making good time a big gust of wind would take away what progress it seemed i had been making.

as i struggled to finish, as close to my time as possible without dying, it made me think that maybe running was like the christian life. as we are going along making good time/living close to God, satan comes along and blows against us to slow us down. at first we are able to handle it and keep up our progress, but the longer we go, the harder it seems to be. sometimes it even turns to a walk and that goal seems unattainable. it appears that i dont have what it takes to make it and satan has won. but maybe theres more to it than that......

i have a friend who is training to run a marathon. she tells me that the first five or six miles are the worst and when you get past them, it gets 'easier'. ill have to take her word for it since i am never going to run 9 or 10 miles to check and see if its true. but maybe that is true of my walk with God. maybe once we get past those hard times it does get 'easier', not easy but God shows us he was there and had a reason for those hard times. maybe the hard times are what we need to make us stronger and better able to handle the marathon that never ends, the christian life.