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| So when the Lloyd cornered me about helping with a yard sale...different thoughts went through my mind: Fun, exciting, random, meeting new people, teamwork, cool stuff, comical, work, free lunch. My only reservation was that we had to be there at 7:30 in the am. And I was also to find 3-5 other people to help. So who was on the chosen list? Haha..Heather, Jessica, Jake, and Justin Russell. Oh man oh man, was it a glorious day. We met at the B at 6:15 (or we were suppose too) and then went and had breakfast at Hardee's. Then it was off to the yard sale. I knew it was gonna be alot of fun, but I wasn't aware that I would be constantly laughing all day long. Dang I think I am in the stages of developing a six pack after all that ab workout from non-stop laughing. This day made my summer that much closer to being complete. How to sum up the day? How about our newfound game that we like to call "My Favorite Thing"
My TOP TEN favorite things about the Yard Sale were...
10. Waking up to Jessica screaming at me because I was late
9.
Watching some old man in Hardee's try to buy Jessica and Heather's
breakfast (the old ladies had already been seated or it would have been
ON)
8. The little kid in CiCi's with no shirt on and his hands down his overalls
7. The sahweeet wheelbarrow full of canned whole wheat and non-fat milk
6. The teddy bear in the upright position waiting on a flying high five at any time during the day
5. The German man accusing people of stealing from the garage sale
4. The Hardee's starring contest: Jessica v. Unibrow
3. Some old lady hitting on Jake for his sexy, hairy legs...no seriously..someone is that desperate
2. The dance in the car on the way to the yard sale from hardees
1. That after all is said and done, we were a bunch of full, happy, sweaty beasts that were in desperate need of showers
After the yard sale, I'm pretty sure that everyone went back to take a nap...except me. I don't really "do" naps. I went and played racquetball with my good buddy Austin for about 2 hours. Man oh man, what a day. After that, it was indeed shower time. Then I went to Wal Mart with a friend and called it a night. I went back to my room and picked up the book I'm reading, Velvet Elvis, and proceeded to read a chapter. Little did I know, that the exact chapter I was reading, they actually talked about this morning in church. It was talking about how in Mark 1 Jesus walks up to two random guys fishing and says "Hey dudes, come and follow me" and they drop everything to follow. Now Jesus didn't cast some magical spell on them...sooo why exactly did they drop everything and run hard after Him? Hmm...well this chapter expained it, talking about how Jesus was a rabbi and it was a real honor to learn and be discipled from a rabbi. Basically...it was a great honor to be invited to follow and learn from a rabbi, so they dropped everything to follow Him. Without that background info, it would be real confusing and not really make sense. It was just random that I read it last night, then Jeff Powell talked about it today. In addition, my good buddy Heather read something in Blue Like Jazz earlier before church...and how about J. Powell read an excerpt from that book...which was exactly what she read before church this morning. Simply put...God is A-MAZ-ING. I luuuuuuv me some Jesus. Have a blessed day!
"Do you see what this means--all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these
veterans cheering us on? It means we'd better get on with it. Strip down,
start running--and NEVER quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep
your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we're in. Study how
He did it. Because He never lost sight of where He was headed--that
exhilarating finish in and with God--He could put up with anything along the
way: cross, shame, whatever. And now He's there, in the place of honor, right
alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that
story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through.
That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!" Hebrews 12:1-3 (Message)
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| Change...hmmm. Change...ehhhh. Change. My buddy webster has some interesting information on the topic. Change is defined: "To give a completely different form or appearance to; transform." Change is interesting, and I'm not real sure how I feel about it. Is it refreshing? Or more of a nightmare, knowing that things will never be the same again? Well, whether you like change or not, it is constantly happening. Sometimes a big change, sometimes...not so much.
I talked to a friend tonight who is about to graduate from graduate school. Man, she was pretty bitter about change. She pretty much hated grad school, hated being at USM, hated Hattiesburg, and wanted to go back home asap...home being way up north. She said grad school was really hard, and nearly impossible. She claimed undergrad was "easy" and grad school was more hardcore. If thats the case, I really don't know if I'm gonna make it. I am already dreading grad school and don't want to go. Now after hearing that, I dont think I can get any more unexcited about it. The only thing driving me to stay and do grad school is b/c I know its important for my future, but more importantly, building relationships with students. Throughout my college experience, that is a real passion I have found in my life.
Anyways, back to the topic, I don't think its necessarily healthy to be bitter about change. I mean, its inevitable, its going to happen, so I think you have to embrace it. Yeah, sometimes it sucks. People change, friends change, you lose friendships, you gain them. But in the end, through all the relationships you have built/had torn down throughout your life, you learn alot. Alot about people, alot about yourself, and alot about God. It is a priceless lesson that you just can't have if you are not out there making the effort.
You can learn soo much from other people. And it really sucks when you have to say goodbye to them, but God puts people in and out of your life for a reason. The important thing is to look back on it and realize all the things you learned and all the good that has come about. How did you impact your friends life and how did he/she impact you? Those are the things to remember, and just forget the rest--the unnecessary drama, crude comments, arguments, etc. Just let it go. Let it go and cherish the moments. It does no good to go through life bitter.
Another definition of change is "to put a new covering on." I think thats a theme in everyone's life. We all grow, we change, and we each put on our new coverings. Is your new covering encouraging, or negative; perhaps most importantly...teachable, or close-minded? What does your recent rennovation to your covering look like? More transparent? More greedy? More teachable? More prideful? More encouraging? More selfish? More humbling? And once you honestly examin it, think about what you want it to look like, as opposed to what it currently looks like. Thats a great place to start.
I could probably go on alot more, but this thing is getting long. I leave you with a quote from a new book I'm reading called Velvet Elvis...
Times change. God doesn't, but times do. We learn and grow, and the world around us shifts, and the Christian faith is alive only when it is listening, morphing, innovating, letting go of whatever has gotten in the way of Jesus and embracing whatever will help us be more and more the people God wants us to be.
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| Well since I will be spending an incredible amount of time
behind a desk with a laptop and no real work, I have free time. What is
that? I am finding out. I think I like it. I haven't had it
since like junior high and it is A-MAZ-ING. Wow...time to actually think
and be by myself and learn and grow. I really like this. What
happened to the time? Like seriously...where exactly does it go all the
time? I have learned I don’t like being busy, and would much rather just
be a bum. Haha, not to that extreme, but I am real real excited about
time this summer to learn and grow. Speaking of that...I have some things
bobbling around in my head. I just finished an incredible chapter in the
lovely book listed on this thing. The theme for the chapter is Psalm 23:6
"Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my
life." Here are some excerpts from the chapter:
He will "follow" you. David envisions a mobile and active
God. Dare we do the same? Dare we envision a God who follows
us? Who pursues us? Who chases us? Who tracks us down and
wins us over? Who follows us with "goodness and mercy" ALL the
days of our lives?
Isn't this the kind of God described in the Bible? A God who follows
us? Adam and Eve are hiding in the bushes, partly to cover their bodies,
partly to cover their sin. But does God wait for them to come to
Him? No, the words ring in the garden: "Where are you?" (Gen
3:9). With that question God began a quest for the heart of humanity that
continues up to and through the moment you read these words.
God is the God who follows. I wonder...have you sensed him following
you? We often miss Him. We don't know our Helper when He is
near. But He comes. Through the kindness of a stranger. The
majesty of a sunset. The mystery of romance. Through the question
of a child or the commitment of a spouse. Through a word well spoken or a
touch well timed, have you sensed His presence?
If so, then release your doubts. Set them down. Be encumbered by
them no longer.
Measure your value through God's eyes, not your own. There are times in
our lives when we are gangrels--homeless, disoriented, hard to help, and hard
to love. In those seasons remember this simple fact: God loves you.
He follows you. Why? Because you are family, and He will follow you
all the days of your life
Trust your faith and not your feelings. You don't feel spiritual each
day? Of course you don't. But your feelings have no impact on God's
presence. On the days you don’t feel close to God, trust your faith and
not your feelings. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow you all the
days of your life.
HOW true is that? Ahhh...I have been incredibly blessed this morning with that, and I hope the same goes with you today. I hope you have an incredible day! I luuuuuuv my Jesus!  
I just can't wait for Heaven! Jesus and I are gonna DO IT BIG
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| Sooo I'm not real sure how all this works. This is somewhat of a trial run. Dont know if I am gonna keep this whole Xanga thing or not...but we shall see. Lets just discuss some things, shall we?
Things I have experienced in the past few days:
1) Ice cream can be as cheap as 10 cents when you act like a lion. At Lion's Choice, if you go up to the counter and roar and growl and prance around like a Lion (no...seriously) they will give you a sahweeeet ice cream cone for 10 cents. If thats not great enough, add an extra fifteen cents, making a total of a whole hard quarter...and you can be the new proud owner of a dipcone. All for losing a little self respect and dignity while acting like a lion. Its a sahweeet deal to me! And everytime you come in, you can do it again and receive the same discount. AND you can do it two times in one night...just ask Jessica and Heather...they were desperate enough to eat TWO ice cream cones each. They are pretty much beasts. Loosing all dignity once in a day is enough for me...but apparently not for those two. I guess I just have pride issues...who knows.
2) Running in the rain with a bag of McDonald's food is never a good idea...especially when fries are included. Whats worse? Forgetting your card to access the residence hall...meaning I had to run all the way back to my truck to get it out. Whats worse? On the way to back to my truck (second trip in the rain) the rain made my bag all soggy and my food fell out. My fries were lost but not my hamburger. I picked that beast off of the ground (thank goodness for greasy hamburger wrappers) and ran to my truck with it. Whats worse? I was soak and wet sitting in my truck, bitter at the world, eating my hamburger. Whats worse? My windows fogged up because of my body heat and that sizzlin hamburger. Whats worse? A fellow coworker saw me in my truck w/ foggy windows and asked later what lucky girl was in the truck with me. All around...a pretty crappy day.
3) Chuck Norris jokes are only funny when Jessica tells them. With anyone else...its just stupid
4) I just can't get serious and say anything serious after that. Haha...sorry. Serious conversation saved for another day....CHECK
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| yea...i just want to stalk you guys more than i already do.
emily (my wife) and the herrin talked me into this.
the end. | | |
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