Jump Tomorrow

So today was the opposite of lazy. Accomplishments abounded around every corner. Yes, I got up, took a shower, and headed to the library.
Yea, this is where some of the magic (studying) took place. But, what I would like to focus on is the fact that it did in deed take place; studying that is. Yep, I studied till about 6pm. Then I went over to Ryan's house. Twas a good thing. We (Ryan, Nate, and I) chilled for a bit, then eventually headed over to the local Cinema Center where we watched Jump Tomorrow. The three of us didn't really know what to expect. We walked into the Cinema Center not even knowing what was playing, but then saw this sign I read about 6 or 7 sentences from a piece of paper telling about the film, and well we all unanimously knew it was the movie for us. And to make things even better. Apparently on Saturdays movies only cost $2. The movie was really fun. It was a cheesy, awkward love story. It is just one of those independent movie that I just really appreciate. It was really good. But, even better to enjoy with my friends.

A Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi

Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love.

Where there is injury, pardon,

Where there is doubt, faith,

Where there is despair, hope,

Where there is darkness, light,

and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grand that I may

not so much seek to be consoled,

as to console;

To be understood, as to understand;

To be loved, as to love;

For it is in giving that we

receive--

It is in pardoning that we are

pardoned;

And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

a day in the life of Mikey

Today was good, I slept in today. Yesterday, I worked out hardcore. I mean I really got in a good and intense work out. My body was tired from all angles, and when I went to sleep, at 8:45P.M., I did not wake up this morning until 8:00A.M. Almost 12 hours of sleep did me good. When I finally got around, I went to work.Yep, at the YMCA spring break camp, there are kids brought in from all different sites all around the city. It is cool because there is intense diversity, and you get to see all sorts of kids. I love it, especially when I get to play with them during free time outside on the play ground, or during a rousing game of Kick Ball. I fit right in with 5-13 year old kids. When I am out there, it is always, "Mr. Mikey, look at what I can do," or, "Mr. Mikey, will you help me up on this pole, or that bar." It is great, so many cute children.

When I got out of work @ 5P.M., I went directly to school. I had to write a 2-3 page paper over an article I had not yet found. So, I found an article and wrote the paper.This is a picture of me in a cozy little corner of a computer lab that is found in the basement of one of the buildings on campus.
When I was leaving campus, I saw that there was a cop sitting and watching an area where I was pulled over and given a ticket for not coming to a complete stop. ~CLICK HERE~ to see the BLOG POST that talks about that day, almost a year ago. And check out what happened today. . . So I was being super careful, I saw that there was a cop sitting in the same exact spot he (NOT the same officer) was sitting at last year when I got cited. So, I pulled out of the parking garage to the first stop sign, and came to a super complete stop; I had to have been stopped for at least 3 seconds, then took a left, and did the same at the next stop sign. I was getting ready to take a left, and when I was about half way through the intersection, I SLAMMED on my breaks, and came to a screeching halt because there was a black Mercedes Benz that did not stop what-so-ever. There was a girl driving and talking on her cell phone. If I would not have come to a screeching halt, she would have broad sided me. I was so stunned, I just pulled in front of the copper, and rolled down my window. I said to him, "are you going to do something?" And he then pulled out, turned around, passed me (because I had pulled over so he would not be behind me), and went after this girl who had pulled off into an auxiliary parking area, possibly so as not to be seen. Well, he saw her and him and his assistant officer got out of their car and hopefully gave her a stern talking to. It was messed up. LOL, kind of ironic though. :o) I am sure glad I was paying attention, or else I would have gotten SMASHED into.

Then I went home and read my BSF notes, and did my Bible study. I really liked it, and took this from it. In studying Numbers 20 & 21 I see and learn that The places of my former defeat can become places of great victory. In my weakness, God is made strong. It is so true, and I am so thankful to be loved by an all consuming God. So eternally thankful.

P.S. It takes 30-45 minutes to post an average BLOG post. You take that amount of time, multiplied by the amount of BLOG posts I have (820), well you get a lot of time spent on making a BLOG. Truly, it is nice to take a slight break from. I do love this BLOG though.

first day of Spring Break

Now the thing that is a little bit disappointing about my Spring Break, is the fact that I still have to wake up at 5:22A.M. and be at work at 6:30. I knew that going away for SB was not going to be an option this year, but I sincerely wanted to be able to sleep in a bit. It is okay that I can't though. That's just life.

My parents got their T.V. taken care of right nicely I would say. They had some installers/electricians come in and just make it all look real perdy. Now the T.V. swivels, comes out, tips, and all sorts of stuff. We have all the right cables, and it looks and works great. It really shows that American's are centered around their television. I am not saying it is wrong in any way, in fact I am reaping the benefits of having such a nice T.V., but when I have a family, I want to try to make the focal point of my main living space not the T.V., I don't know how yet, but just want to throw that out there. BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) was amazing tonight. God really nudged me tonight in the lecture. This week we went through Numbers 15-19 and the part that got to me was intentional sin. Jack, the speaker made a comment, almost in passing about how it is very dangerous to sin, doing so with the mindset that you can just ask for forgiveness. It is almost making the act of seeking God's grace and mercy on our own behalf like rubbing a lucky rabbits foot. It is pointless if you aren't sincere. 1 John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." This is true, but if you can not humble yourself before the Lord in the first place....well, I think that is where it starts getting a little dangerous. It sure did prove that way for the Israelites.

I'm addicted

TO BLOGGING! Seriously, I am super tired, I only want to go to bed, but I am drawn to my computer. Not to check mail, or get on some social network. NO, I get on because I feel a drive, an inner need to write my life out on BLOG. It's a strange thing it is. But, here goes.

I came home right after work to "study." Now, there is a mistake in that sentence. I cannot study at home for some reason. There are far to many distractions, and in reality, there just aren't very many places physically in my house, or I should say my parent's house that are conducive to studying. I got home, and the couch beckoned my name. Before I knew it, Cash Cab was on the Discovery channel, and I just had to watch one...or two episodes. Once that was over, I grabbed my book bag, and went downstairs to sit at the table, spread out, and start in on the work load. DIDN'T HAPPEN, I forgot my dad stayed home from school because he is sick, and so the T.V. was on. So, I just went off to the library. I was there for what seemed forever, and didn't really get much done. Do you ever have those days where the motivation just is not there??

Went back to work, and did all that stuff. I didn't really feel like I had done anything of significance until I got to BSF (Bible Study Fellowship).I took this picture of a depiction of the Tabernacle community. We are studying that while studying the Life of Moses, so I thought it was only fitting to snap a picture. I wish I wish I wish I had my notes from the lecture in front of me. Not that I don't remember what we talked about, but because I am able to recall much better when I have my notes in front of me. It was based around complaining, and how God views complaining. WOW, I took a lot from this weeks lesson. Mainly, GOD HATES COMPLAINING.

G'Night!!

I GOT ACCEPTED

I applied for a summer intern position at the camp that I volunteered at last summer in Arizona. I GOT THE POSITION!! THE PAID POSITION!!! Check out the E-Mail I got this morning.
____________________________________

Hi Mikey!

Congratulations! I am writing to officially say “You’re HIRED!”

Attached you will find a Word Form that we ask you to read through and initial and sign as directed and then return to me (electronically or snail mail – either way is fine). This is your official acceptance of the summer intern position.

We are THRILLED you will be joining us again this summer!

Feel free to contact us as any questions arise. Much more paperwork will be coming along a bit later in the spring.
Thank you!

_______________________________________

That is so sweet! I am so totally excited, now all the logistics of the whole situation will start to come into play. My semester ends on May 10th, and I have to be at the camp in Arizona on the 11th. Ohhh boy ohhh boy, this is really something.

This week's assignment was motion. The Young Life area director, Josh had an idea to go out with my camera and tri-pod during low light, and set it up and just expose it for a long time while traffic was going by. He said it would get all blurry and look really cool. We will see. This is what I had set up at one location.I went to a couple of other areas in Fort Wayne, to get a different shot's. BUT, this one was the easiest one for me to take a picture of me taking a picture. The thing I hate and love about shooting NON-DIGITAL photography is that you just don't know how it is going to turn out. When it does not turn out the way you want it to, it SUCKS, but when it does, IT IS AMAZING!!! So, we will see tomorrow when I develop it. I am tired, and need to go to beddy bye.

the Mer face

Early, early, early this morning I was awoken by my mom asking me to pray for my sister Merideth. It was maybe 4AM when my mom woke me up to tell me that Merideth had just gotten a DUI (her second) and that my dad was going down to bail her out at 6:30. My mom almost had a voice of optimism in her voice. She said to me, "maybe she will wake up this time, and realize that something has to change in her life." I prayed the prayer, I prayed it sincerely. I went back to sleep, and actually I think I dreamed about a pair of jeans that I asked my mom to fix a while back. And in the dream my mom came to me and handed me the jeans, she said, "these jeans can't be fixed." I responded and said, "but mom, you can use material from these old jeans, just sow them together and they will be fine." It ended like that. Now that I have had time to think about it. I don't think I had any kind of GREAT AWAKENING or voice from God talk to me in my dream, but I can draw together a correlation between the jeans and my sister. With some jeans, they get to a point where they can't be fixed any longer. The material wears out, and stitching new material that looks good, won't do anything to the material that is already bad, except buy it a little bit of time. With my sister, and my family has come to the conclusion that God has to reveal in her along with her accepting the call, to hand it over. It is very hard to see my sister go through stuff like this though. She was coming home from a bar, and turned the wrong way on a one way street. A cop saw that and quickly pulled her over. Poor Mer. I took a picture of my facial expression when I was in deep thought about her.I was at school all day studying my Elements of Law stuff. I did real good, and performed excellently on my online quiz's. I needed to get away. SO, I called my best friend and asked if I could stop buy for a bit while I waited for time to come closer to 7:45. I wanted to go see Doubt at the local IIT Cinema Center downtown. I get in for only $3. To my great surprise Jared wanted to accompany me. TWAS A GREAT THING!!See it, it is a great movie. I doubt you won't like it. God is good, but his love needs to abound in mercy, compassion, and generosity. I took that from the movie a bit. Phillip Seymore Hoffman is the BEST ACTOR EVER!!! I friggin love the way that guy acts.

busy boy

Today was non-stop go go go, read read read it seemed. I leave work at 8:30, go directly to class, after I get out of class, I go directly to Library. STUDY TIME! Then, I go straight to class at 1:30. Class get's out at 2:45, and I have to be back at work at 3:00. I leave work at 5:00 today because every other day I have to leave at 5 instead of 6....because of hour cuts :-( The, I have class at 6:00-8:45!! Goodness!!The evening class is brutal too. It is Elements of Business Law for my minor in OLS (Organizational Leadership & Supervision). I am so tired, but when I got home I had to scan my application for a summer internship position for the Young Life camp that I volunteered at last summer. I am extremely mentally exhausted, and ready to go to bed. God is very good, and deserving of all I have.

do all good things have to end?

I suppose some good things never have to come to and end. BUT, the farm did. Before I left for Fort Lame (kidding, I love Fort Wayne) I decided to change the oil in my car. I did it all by myself. Well, I suppose I had a little bit of help, maybe support from Bernie, the Saint Bernard (Dick's dog).

The drive home was a pretty one, but I am thinking that pretty much anywhere in Indiana with tree's is a pretty drive right now.

The drive home was enjoyable, but leaving the farm was not. It is like I am back in High School. When I was in High School, I would get a churning stomach feeling when I had to leave Dick's farm. I love it there so much, almost as if I belong there. ~SIGH~

The most bizarre thing happened too right before I left. I said my goodbyes, and received my final words of wisdom..things like, "don't eat the rat poison." But was completely thrown for a lope when I was handed a check for an amount of money far crazier for me to comprehend. I was paid for this weekend??? I was paid real money to do something that I would happily pay my own hard earned money to do myself. This was hard for me to understand. I am still not really sure why Dick decided to pay me, but I didn't turn back or rip up the check. I will just be extremely grateful, and put the money to good use.

When I got home, I decided I would go to the library to write some of my English paper......well that didn't go too well, so I went to my best friends parents house to hang out with his little brother Nicky. Nicky goes to Snider (the school I do contact work at for Young Life) and I have needed to spend time with Nick, so I just did it. Super fun too!! Nick is AMAZING at Call Of Duty 4 (action/first person shooter game for X-Box 360).Nicky is such a cool dude. Far cooler than most kids I know, and I know quite a few. He is extremely genuine, and funny. His humor reminds me of his brothers, and that is hard to come by.Yes, we ended the evening with some PIZZA HUT. By far not our first choice for pizza, but really the only place we could go to late at night none the less. So, we made it work. Nicky is the man! Pizza is the food! Bernie is the dog! And it is time to hit the sack.

definition of beautiful day

If it was possible to look up "beautiful fall evening" in the dictionary or on wikipedia or something to that affect, it would have a picture of today. Seriously, so amazingly beautiful. I wished I was a runner or something, I would have taken full advantage of it.

This morning I took Matt to Grace Gathering again, and they were continuing to finish up on the House churches. Young Life actually got a chance to spit out what we are doing. It was sweet because Josh jumped in and gave his speal about who we are, and what we do. It was awesome. I of course, snapped a picture of it.
Yes, that was good. And the Young Life leader meeting I went to was good...but at 6:30PM when I met at Banditos for dinner with the gymnastics coach from last year...well, that was not so good. Yes, it sucked because I had to turn down a coaching position. It deeply sadened me, and made me think, why should I have to give something up that I love so much??? Well, I know the answer. In order for me to fully put myself into something good, for God. I must submerse myself in it. Instead of trying to do a million things okay, why not do a few things AWESOME!! Even if that means me having to give up a few things that I loved doing, I think in the long run it will be worth it. Yes, I really do.

GOOD NIGHT!!

P.S. I am not going to allow myself to get backed up like I have been getting the past two weekends. It isn't that hard for me to BLOG, I just need to starve myself of that much needed sleep. No biggie! ;-)

LOVE YOU READERS!!!