This Fallen World

I am completely sadden by the fact that some things I read or hear in the news do not surprise me. Read the two articles below that I grabbed from Curtis and Danielle Rogers blog site. They are missionaries in Haiti.

Rape looms large over Haiti slums

Amnesty wants Haitian girls protected

Fall

I believe that fall may be turning into my favorite season. Summer has typically been my favorite, but the summer seems much different when you do not have a pool that you go to every single day. Having a job where dress pants and a dress shirt are required also changes my outlook on the summer, especially when you're car does not have air conditioning.

So fall makes for a perfect season to where sweatshirts, sweaters, and jeans. And you're not to hot and you're not too cold. It's as perfect as it gets.

Don't forget that football season resides in this pleasant season, which makes Saturdays and Sunday all that more enjoyable.

I walked out of my apartment this morning and was hit by a coolness in the air, which brightened my day. Before going outside I felt tired, drained, and primed to hop back into bed. Luckily I did not.

I am surprised over and over again at the beauty that God has provided us with here on earth. It is simply amazing how everything works and how something so simple as the temperature dropping a few degrees can have such a large affect on my outlook on the day. Imagine if I could just simply wake up and feel God's beauty with nothing more than the thought of God's love. This is where I want to be. God's love is abounding and endless; I know this to be true and it's a blessing to find it hidden in so many different ways.

intentionality

i read a small tidbit online today and it sparked a thought and a reflection into my life. this little tidbit had something to do with the title of this post. the thought that came after reading this literally was, "what am i doing to purposely grow in my relationship with GOD." i quickly realized that there's a disturbing answer to my question. i thought about on a daily basis, a weekly basis, a monthly basis, and etc. i continued to be disappointed with my answers. my natural reaction is to be defensive (even though the criticisms are coming from my own thoughts). excuses are a part of my life, but avoiding them here is necessary for the kind of reflection that i need. i know what i would like to come from all of this. the next step and the next step have to be intentional. my relationship has to be intentional. that's true even with friends and family members. a friendship is not going to last if there is not an intentional effort from both parties. i have many friends from college and high school that i have to intentionally stay in contact with because it's not part of my everyday routine. we no longer live in the same city, which makes it more difficult and is an easy excuse to use. so how does that fit with my relationship with GOD? if i don't take intentional steps to stay in contact, how is that relationship going to last?

i know there are some things that need to change. i know there are some things that i need to intentionally start doing because my relationship with GOD has suffered.

Time

So the big question that I have today, which has seemed to be creeping up in my head lately, is "where does the time go".

It seems as though my day goes by so, so fast, which leads to my week going by even faster. This all in turn makes the months, seasons, and, I'm scared too say this for fear of seeming old, years go by very very quickly.

Not entirely too long ago, I was getting dropped off in front of the dorms to get all moved in and be out on my own away from home. Even before that, which again isn't too long ago, I was in High School sleeping through most of my classes and going to whichever sport I was in's practice on a daily basis. And just before then I was having a blast as a kid, playing 5 or 6 sports a year, playing G.I. Joes with my brother, attempting to protect my sister from my brother, going to the pool every single day during the summer, and just generally enjoying life.

I guess this kind of leads me to the second big question running through my head, "Am I enjoying my life".

My instant answer is yes for a ton of different reasons. I have a wonderful wife who makes me happy daily. I get to hang out with a bunch of different friends, spanning from even different time frames in life, i.e. now, college, high school, and childhood. I have a cat, which only makes me happy part of the time. I don't get to see my family as much as I'd like, but I always enjoy it when I do. My job is not bad, I enjoy that some of the time and it is getting more exciting and better. In my free time I get to do most of the things that I really enjoy, so this leaves me wondering, what is missing and am I really where I want to be right now.

Year One

This past weekend marked Lindsay and I's one year anniversary, which has caused me to do a bit of reflection. First off, I have to explain the weekend because I am proud of the surprise that I had for her. Lindsay has never been to Chicago, she loves shopping, and she loves surprises. So naturally, this was an easy one, I surprised her with a weekend in Chicago full of walking up and down Michigan Ave., stopping in any and every shop that sparked interest in her eye. We also were able to eat some great food, Chicago style pizza, and a fabulous dinner next to a window on the 95th floor of the John Hancock Tower. The weekend was fun, eventful, and relaxing. We were also able to stop back at the Oppy's in Indy for a short visit on Monday, which was nice and suiting because we haven't seen them in a while and Mick was the one who performed the ceremony.

My first reflection on this monumental occasion is that the past year has flown by, but at the same time I feel like Lindsay and I are well into our marriage. At times, this is so much so, that I feel like an old man and all I want to do when I get home from work is eat, watch the Reds game, and go to bed. Time has seemed to fly by.

Even though this past year has flown by, it has been extremely exciting. Lindsay and I have gotten to do a lot, which I realized just recently, and we have been blessed with cool oppertunities. We did our honeymoon thing in the Dominican Republic, which was amazing. We spent a weekend in New Orleans in December visiting my friend Daniel and going to Hornets game. We spent a weekend in a cabin in Pigeon Forge with Paul and Laura Travis, which was amazing, in January. Then we got to go to Zambia, Africa for two weeks this past May and work at an orphanage. Then the year was capped off with our trip to Chicago. Now that's not to say that we didn't do some more travelling in between, because I would guess that we were on the road more weekends than we were home, travelling to friends and family's houses.

Another reflection that I have made is that I am positive that I am a better husband at this time than I was a year ago. With that said, I am also positive that there is a ton more that I can get better at to be a better husband, to make my wife more appreciated, to show her love in different ways, and to quite simply be a better me.

I would like to think that on every July 13th I would be able to look back on the last year and say that I feel like I had gotten better at being a husband. I hope that there are years to come of getting closer to my wife.

Me

So I have thinking quite a bit lately about how I interact with God and what my relationship with God really consists of. My thoughts and putting these thoughts here stem from reading James this morning. James 5:16 reads, "Therefore confess your sins to each other..." My relationship, or lack of relationship has been bothering me and this is an attempt to start the process of rebuilding and pursuing God.

This is what I wrote down this morning:

I am bad at this. This being a great multitude of things, in which I can only ask God's help and forgiveness. I rely too much on ME. I make almost zero effort to ask God for help and rarely do I strive to be closer to Him. Is this really what a Christian is supposed to look like? I know I am never going to be perfect, but I imagine that God is not pleased with my faith or my relationship with Him. My life, my body, my thoughts, my actions are not my own. I am sorry for this distance between us. I need your help.

McCallister's and Some HS Drama

So last night after Lindsay and I had spent some time shopping in the Florence Mall we stopped at McCallisters because she had not eaten dinner. We sat outside because it was cooled down and nice outside. While sitting there, the place was busy with what seemed to be the characters from Laguna Beach. There was a group of three girls sitting right next to our table and another large group a little further away. One of the girls at the table made a phone call to what appeared to be another one of the girl's boyfriends or interested boys, that can only be summed up in the word drama. It ended in an obvious hang up from the party on the other side, which infuriated this girl, for reasons beyond me because she deserved to be hung up on. After some time of these girls discussing God knows what, the group got larger when some boys came along and joined them, which only added to the exciting drama of high schoolers hanging out during their summer break. The one question that I thought of after this experience was, "Was I like that when I was in high school?"

I told Lindsay that I don't remember being involved in the drama that was high school, but maybe I was. I have fond memories of high school and being around that last night only annoyed me. Maybe I was too inclusive to be involved in the stupidity of certain things that go on during high school, or maybe my memory has faded and I have forgotten the drama that went on. Either way, I may be avoiding high school hang outs for the rest of the summer.

Guilty by Association

So I have tattoos, 4 or 5 depending on how you look at it to. The first one that I got is the word live in Greek on my left shoulder blade. I got this one because it was the theme at a Christ In Youth summer week that I went to that ultimately lead me on the path that I am on. I really felt God tugging at my heart to follow him in the direction of Bible School and then full time missions. The second and third, are the initials of my Grandma and my Father on my chest. My Grandma was one of the most influential people in my life and I am grateful for her ability to put her kids and grandkids before herself pretty much all of the time. My mom, my brother, and I lived with her for a time when I was younger because there weren't a whole lot of options for us. She passed away when I was a Senior in high school. My father, who was never really a father figure, passed away when I was a Freshman in college. I only had about 8 months to catch up on lost time with him before he passed, but I thank God for that time because it brought a lot of closure to some difficult memories growing up. The lack of him in my life also produced the father figure that I beleive God meant for myself and my broher to have, Mark my step father and then adopted Father. The most recent, also the largest and most visible without my shirt ont, has brought me to have a few discussions with my mother about tattoos. On the inside of my right arm it reads, "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for" and on he insdie part of my left arm (both in the bicep area) "and certain of what we do not see."

That was a long preface to the point of this post. I've been thinking a lot about how society and how people view tattoos. And something that comes up in my thought here, is how it is perceived from people within the church. I keep thinking that if I were to show up to a church that knew me and had a high opinion of me, would that change if I were to show them my tattoos. Would they see me in a different light? So I'd like to just ask a few questions to see what people think. Here are some of the thoughts that are running through my head. Does a person's opinion of the person that I am or anyone else change if they know that someone have tattoos? Is it justifiable to look down or negatively upon someone just because they have tattoos? Are tattoos wrong? and why?

Possibly Uninsightful

Apparently I have not had a whole lot of insightful things going on in my life or maybe the start of baseball season, the nice weather, my trip to Africa, and the lack of Travis in my life has lead me down this lonely, uninspiring path. That maybe completely false or the exact truth. So what have I really done lately? I've worked, I've watched TV, I've searched the web, checked my fantasy baseball teams, checked facebook, gone running several times, eaten quite a bit of food, enjoyed time with my wife, visited some family on different sides, gone to a couple movies, read just a bit, had a cookout, had a nervous night with my sister going to prom, text messaged, gone to church, listened to some music, given a piggy back ride, gone on some walks, and that might be about it. There are probably some details that I left out, but that's been the jist of my life since the last update on here. Oh, I also bought some plane tickets to Lusaka, Zambia, which may have been one of the more exciting moments.

Just a brief update for the millions of readers that I have.

Leap of Faith

Dear Friends and Family,
Alex and I decided to take a leap of faith. Our dear friend Christy who is going to Africa with us, has not raised all of her money yet for the plane ticket. We lent her money so we could all three purchase our plane tickets together(as you can imagine, a two day flight could get pretty lonely all by yourself) She still needs to raise 870 dollars. We have so much faith that this can be done, because we know in our hearts she is mean to be there. We are wanting you all to know this because we figure the more people that know about her, the more people can pray for her, and the more supporters there could be for her. She has a blog spot as well! If you are interested in learning more about her, her name is Christy Mingey. We are really hoping to get this money raised within the next couple of weeks. If you know anyone who may be willing to help, please let us know! We want to thank everyone for your support as we were able to raise the support for our plane tickets!!! We still need to raise the costs for living and the visa and exit fee which should leave us around 920 dollars yet to raise!!! All things are possible through him!

To Boston

I'll make this short and sweet. After everything that Boston has put this man through, I give him props for embracing this moment. I don't think many people would have blamed him had his response to Boston been in the form of a finger in between his index and ring.

Old Spice Hair and Body Wash

So I am not sure if this change has been made permanently or if anyone noticed it, but the commercial has a change in it that I noticed. This commercial, has an old man asking if Old Spice Hair and Body Wash is right for him; it has Reno 911esq cop asking the same question, as he pins down a hair, sweaty, grotesque criminal who asks the same question. Now this is where the change has been made. Before tonight, when I saw this commercial the narrator said that the hair and body wash was not right for the criminal, but it was for everyone else in the commercial. Now when the criminal asks if it is right for him, the narrator says sure. Like I said, I'm not sure if this is a permanent change or just an adaption of some kind, but I thought it was interesting because I feel like society has to be completely inclusive towards everything. It doesn't matter where you come from, what your life is about, or where you are going, as long as you are not a terrorist you are to be included in society. Now I am not saying that this is always the case, but I am speaking in generalities.

I truly believe that we are to love everyone, despite their short comings or where they are going in life. That falls in line with the second greatest commandment. But does that really mean that we are to include everyone? I always think back to John's Gospel when this question or this idea pops up: the light and the darkness. I just thought it was interesting that I saw this commercial a number of times one way and then it was changed to include the criminal in the form of having the hair and body wash be for him as well. I'm interested to hear what you guys have to say.

God's Timing

God has a funny way of doing things. His timing is impeccable and completely daunting at the same. My faith is about to be completely tested in a lot of ways that I am not sure I am ready for. God has put on my heart and my wife's heart an oppertunity to go overseas to Zambia, Africa for a couple of weeks of work with AIDS orphans. The reason the timing of this is so daunting and exhilerating at the same time is because the oppertunity that has been presented is much much sooner than we expected. We are planning on leaving on May 9th. Now your first reaction, as well as my own, is that this date is too soon and it does not provide enough time to actually plan the trip or fund raise.

This is where God, for me especially, will stretch the boundaries that embody this situation. I am the type of person that likes to rely on myself to get most things done. This situation really does not allow me to do so. I can frantically plan all I want for this trip to happen, but in all reality, it is in God's hands. He put this on our hearts, he provided the oppertunity, he will provide adequate funds for this to happen. I am learning about myself and my God everyday.

This trip will also be one of great importance to Lindsay and I's future. The work that we will be doing and get to experience in Zambia will be exactly what we plan on doing full time in the future. I am extremely excited and scared all at the same time.

I would ask that anyone who actually reads this meager blog to pray for this entire situation. Pray for God's plans that Lindsay and I cannot see yet. Thank you.

the Guantlet

I don't know about you, but I absolutely love competition. I think I probably find competition in most of the things that I do, which can be a bad thing sometimes. And honestly, with all of the reality TV shows, I get sick of dumb ones on television. But I am in love with the Guantlet III on MTV. It is pretty much everything that I could ask for in a competition. It takes an extreme amount of athletic skill, intelligence, and some kiniving and back stabbing. The competition has twists and turns and surprises. It is exciting to watch.

The Vets are absolutely crushing the Rookies not only because they are better physically, but they are just plain better at the game. Before each challenge, they come up with a strategy to beat the Rookies. They decided what the best course of action is and they usually come up with an alternate, back up plan in case things are not going well. Perfect example, the challenge of rolling the car on the logs, which ended up with the Rookies leading and the Vets changing their action to just pushing the car through the sand. I also love the fact that the guys on the Vets team, know there are certain girls that they just simply need to get off their team. And they really don't try to hide this strategy. They throw challenge's simply to get rid of some of the girls. They know that they will be better off as a team without certain people, i.e. Coral.

CT is pretty much my favorite competitor in the game. He's probably not a good guy at all, and I would probably actually not like him if I met him, but he is one of, if not the best competitors in the game. And he knows how to get under people's skin and play the game. It makes it very interesting with him there.

All in all I love watching people compete.

a Kid, not the Kid

Has anyone ever watched the same movie over and over again all day long because it was the best movie every made when you were 6?
Has anyone ever gone out exploring in the woods for hours upon hours until your parents are so worried that they call the police to look for you?
Has anyone ever dress up like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to fake fight with your brother?
Has anyone ever gone on a Ramboesc killing spree of imaginary figures, to save the world?
Have you ever thrown snowballs at the mail man as they delivered the mail on a cold day?
Have you ever been scared out of your mind as you played tag in the middle of the night, but were too stubborn to move because you wanted to win so badly?
Have you every stayed at the local pool from the time it opened until the time it closed that evening?
Have you ever played a double header on a hot summer day and after being done you wanted to play more?
Have you ever wanted to go back as a kid and ignore all of your responsibilities as an adult?

I can honestly say yes to all of these questions.

the Super Bowl

This year's Super Bowl was by far the best Super Bowl I have watched in quite some time. The last time I was that excited watching the Super Bowl was the last time the niners were in it, which was quite some time ago. I am extremely happy that the Patriots did not win. The only thing that could have possibly made the game better, would have been if on the Patriots last attempt at desperation, the Michigan man, Tom Brady would have sustained a slightly devasting injury at the hands of Justin Tuck. Not something life threatening, but possibly career ending. This may sound extremely mean, and I apologize, but watching him lose that games was very satisfying. I am also extremely happy that this Giants Super Bowl was much much better than their last attempt in the Super Bowl, which was by far the most bored I have ever been watching a Super Bowl.

Celebration

As I was driving home last night, I heard a song on the radio that caught my ear and made me think. I didn't even catch the name of the song or who it was, but here were the lyrics that caught my attention. "Open your eyes, open your eyes, and see that life is beautiful. Promise that at my funeral you won't cry." That's probably a really bad paraphrase actually, but it made me reflect on how great life can be if you really look at it. How many times do we take the time to appreciate things we have, relationships, our family, our friends, our jobs, our lives in general. I know this song wasn't a Christian song or anything, but it made me extremely grateful for the life I have. Yeserday, work was absolutely crazy. I remember text messaging Lindsay a few hours into the morning telling her that "today sucks". At the end of the day, looking back on it, it really wasn't that bad. And I can say that because I know that if I didn't have God in my life, my day probably would have sucked a whole lot more. The last part of that song really made me think about the end of my life. Wouldn't it be awesome, if when we passed away, we could celebrate life instead of mourn death. I mean, in all reality, don't you think when we get to Heaven we are going to be so thankful and celebrate the fact that we get to spend eternity in God's presence. I want that at my funeral. I know people will be sad, atleast hopefully, but I want people to know that I enjoyed my time with them on earth, but I am celebrating in God's presence in Heaven.

My Life

To copy a great friend and present to you my life in 10 songs, here is the soundtrack of my life.


1. Man on the Moon by REM


This song has one distinct memory in my head that brings me great joy every time I hear it. There was a day that I was spending with my late father in his boat on the lake. The day was bright and sunny, with a cool breeze. We just strolled around the lake listening to the Best of REM albums. It was a great day and a great memory.


2. Somewhwer Only We Know by Keane


This song helped me get through my summer in Northern Ireland away from Lindsay. Not once did we get to talk on the phone and only a few times we were able to talk on chat. We did get to email back and forth about once a week, but we usually gave each other a place in which we could go to (in our minds) to be with each other when we missed each other. This was a great way for me to enjoy her as I missed her. This song makes me think of those times.


3. The News by Jack Johnson


When I think of things that are wrong with this planet, this song comes to mind. "Why don't the newscasters cry when they read about people who die, atleast they could be decent enough to put just a tear in their eye." People, in general, are selfish beings who care about things that most closely affect themselves and their immediate surroundings. This is why I want to go somewhere in the world that is neglected by most and has people who are in need.


4. No Such Thing by John Mayer


This song introduced me to one of my great musical loves. John was my first real concert in Noblesville, IN, where I saw him perform live with the likes of Counting Crows and David Ryan Harris, who I also both enjoy. But John's lyrics have a special place in my heart and this was the first song I fell in love with. It's probably not even my favorites of his, but it is a fun upbeat song that brings me great joy when listening to it.


5. Beautiful Day by U2


This song is simply amazing. It was also a song that was very present for me during my time in Northern Ireland. It reminds me of the beauty that I found there through God's spectacular creations. I specifically remember one day when I spent most of the day lounging in parks on a unusually sunny and warm day in Dublin. It is strange, because Ireland is not typically warm and sunny, but for much of the summer I spent there it was exactly that. And this song signifies how I feel about my experience there.


6. Youth of the Nation by P.O.D.


In a time when I was becoming more and more independent from my parents, this song became prevalent in my life. I was making big decisions in my life, I was learning about God, and I was moving forward on my path of life. The summer that I really started listening to this song, I had made the decision to dedicate my life to full time ministry, most likely (at the time) in mission work. This is something that I am continuing to pursue to this day. I also remember one camping trip, where myself, and three buddies from church went camping for about 3 days by ourselves. It was an extremely great trip and somewhat of a liberating experience. I remember listening to this song in my dad's truck as I had my CD player hooked up to his cassette player deck for much of that trip.


7. Greed, Hate, Envy by Nelly


Now this song isn't particularly good, especially in regards to the Parental Control Advisory. The song is obscene and in your face, but that is what I like about it. That's also why I listened to it so often on Basketball bus rides or in the locker room. It got me pumped up and put me in an angry mood, which I thought was where I needed to be when I was getting ready to battle on the court. It was especially played over and over again when we lost. I would listen to the same song the whole ride home on the bus. I am not one who enjoys losing at all, and I am generally steaming when it happens. This song brings back a lot of great memories of high school basketball.


8. Just the Two of Us by Will Smith


In a time of great change and great significance in my life, I listened to this song often. This CD came out when I was about 13, which is when I stopped visiting my dad and was adopted. The songs real meaning has to do with a father always being there with his son. I immediately latched on to this song because of that meaning and the things that I had gone through with my own father.


9. Hey Ya by Outkast


Freshman year of college could be summarized by this song for me. It was an incredible year in which I have made some life long connectiongs and friendships. I had a great time in my new experiences that year and I will never forget them.



10. I'll Be Missing You by Puff Daddy & the Family


This meaningful song originally by Sting, and redone by Puff Daddy for the loss of his close friend Notorious BIG introduced me to rap. Maybe not introduced me, but atleast pulled me into liking it, which was a good decision. I originally loved listening to Puff Daddy and Mase for that matter, until Puff Daddy went to P Diddy or Diddy or whatever he is going by these days. Those original songs that brought me to enjoy rap and especially this song is the reason it makes my list.

it's a Brave New World

I just read this article online regarding stem cell research and that whole bag of worms. I'm not really going to make any statements here regarding my thoughts on cloning or the destruction of embryos and all of that. I simply posting the article and asking a question in which I find interesting.

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1704580,00.html

Now read through. Does this in anyway remind you of the Aldous Huxley book, Brave New World. If you have read this book make note of the term "somatic cell nuclear transfer". If you have not read this book go out, get it, and read it. It is a great book. I am just interested to hear any responses.

New post, old inspiration

My very first mission trip that I ever embarked on was to Haiti. While I was there I had a lot of experiences that I am very fond of and most have helped shape who I am today and what I want to do with my life. So this photo reminds me a lot of that experience there in Haiti, which sort of solidified that mission work was something that I really felt called to. I had already felt that calling a few years before this first trip, but my time there in Haiti made it all more real for me.

The little girl in this picture brings me to the core of my inspiration for the mission work I plan on doing. Our team made a trip over to the Island of Tortuga for a day's worth of VBS and playing with kids. This little girl was there sitting in a hut on the ground, with nothing but an old dirty t-shirt on. I instantly fell in love with just about every single child I came in contact with that entire trip. Life has moved on and changed in different ways since then, but I can always go back and look at the pictures of those kids to remind myself of my life's passion.

I am having hunger pangs

So my wife has started this new diet, which in turn means I have started this new diet. This diet consists of me starving. Last night for dinner I had 4 ounces of cod and a mound of asparagus. Needless to say, this did not fill me up, nor was it all that tasty. My lunch consisted of a salad with almost no dressing and some turkey on it. It was actually pretty good, but not filling. I did get two snacks yesterday, about 20 almonds in the morning and a few strawberries in the afternoon. Oh, I forgot the blue berry smoothie that I had for breakfast yesterday. I'm not exactly sure how long all of this is supposed to last and I'm afraid to know.

Best Team Ever (Or my favs)

In an attempt to make a post that is not as overly sensitive and girly as my last, I now start with something else that is inspiring to me, sports.



Indiana is the place where basketball takes precedent over pretty much everything else in the state except corn, and in my case Notre Dame Football. But, following in the foot steps of a few friends of mine, I will create my all-time favorite IU basketball team, not UK. Who, by the way, is aweful this year and could not match up against a much better IU team even without our two starting guards. But anyways, here are my top 5 players (not the best, but my favorite) and a few honorable mentions.












#1 - Dane Fife - he solidifies everything there is to know about Indiana basketball. He was an amazing defender and that was his first priority. Other than the one time I almost had a heart attack as he fould Jason Williams on a 3 point attempt in the most exciting IU basketball game I ever watched, I never saw him make dumb mistakes on defense. He was also a great shooter, which IU is also known for.









#2 AJ Guyton - This guy was lights out and amazing to watch. As I started to really get into IU basketball he was in his hay day, dazzling defenses and putting up points. He could score from anwhere on the floor and was smart enough to do it. I love watching him play.














#3 - Isaiah Thomas - this is not a real picture of Isaiah Thomas. This is some guy who looks like him and has been pretending to be him. The real Isaiah Thomas was an amazing basketball player. I can't really say I liked him when he was on the Pistons. I've never really liked the Pistons at all, and I definitely never liked the Pistons when they were playing against Jordan and the Bulls. But I cannot argue with his talent.



#4 Calbert Cheaney - this southpaw could blind you by his natural ability and skill if you were not careful. He is one of the last top tier College players to actually stay all four years. My uncle was at college there at IU when Calbert was playing and he had told me he was one of the most gnarly guys on the planet (Direct quote).
















#5 Damon Bailey - I will use this link as my only proof of this number 5 selection, along with all of the Damon Bailey basketball camps I went to as a child.








http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.bigbluehistory.net/bb/Graphics/GameAction/19931204Indiana.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.bigbluehistory.net/bb/statistics/games/19931204Indiana.html&h=338&w=262&sz=36&hl=en&start=19&um=1&tbnid=-REJ9I2VIrVexM:&tbnh=119&tbnw=92&prev=/images%3Fq%3Ddamon%2Bbailey%26gbv%3D2%26svnum%3D10%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den






Honorable Mention #1 Errek Suhr - most of you probably have no clue who this even is. He is 5'9" 160 lbs. So it is fitting for me to like this guy. He was from Bloomington and he walked onto the team and eventually earned a scholarship. I enjoyed watching him play simply because he worked probably harder than anyone else on the floor when he was out there. He was like lightening in a bottle. He brought energy to the team and was a great shooter.






Honorable Mention #2 AJ Moye - I loved watching this guy play. He always came off the mention and had a spark. He played tough, he was always around the ball, and he was on the team that upset Duke in the Semi-finals. I think it is fitting that I chose two guys that are referred to as AJ, considering my initials are AJ and the only person ever to call me that was my uncle who went to IU.

The First

I figure that my very first post can answer the question I am posing to any readers that make their way onto this site; what inspires you? I ask this question with the picture of my wife on a beach in the Dominican Republic in mind. This picture inspires me in several ways.

The first of which has to do with my creator. I really think that you can find some kind of beauty in almost anything. This picutre provides a small glimpse of God's artistic abilities in the creation of this earth. This picture simply reminds me of how great God is and provides me with another great example and reason to love Him.

The second reason this picture is because my wife is there in the picture. She is another great resemblance of God's love for me and His extraordinary beauty. She is also an inspiration in quite a few of my everyday tasks, such as the dishes (which I have come to dislike greatly), work, some of my reacreational avenues (not xbox), and probably a lot more. She spurs me on to be better.

Another reason this picutre is inspiring is because the photo was taken on our honeymoon. This points me directly back to my wife, it just reminds me of our marriage and what it means to me.

There may be more inspirtional themes that I could take from this picture, but the last one, and quite a bit less important then all of the previous ones is that I am fond of taking pictures and I took this picture. So it inspires me to continue doing so.

So this is my first post. I may continue to do something similar to this weekly, but I'm not exactly sure yet.