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.