In the words of Jesse and Daniel...I owe it to my readers to be updating? haha...right.. i suppose it is time to move on from my outrageous fantasies of "if women ruled the world." I would be watching the academy awards, but I decided it would be more productive of me to finish up my homework. I began my homework, but I was in desperate need of a break. I thought maybe i should write about my weekend at CSM.

Center For Student Missions
We headed off to inner city Houston friday night. Arriving there, the group of us had the chance to experience some cultural foods from Jamaica. That night, we went on a prayer tour and had the opportunity to pray for communities suffering from the cycle of poverty, shelters housing runaways, and AID striken communities. Being there actually felt like a place far from home, but surprisingly we were only at a place 40 minutes away. It's pretty eye-opening to see the contrast one city holds.

The following day, team two headed off to Medical Bridges in the morning. Here, we sorted medical supplies and hunted for boxes that were to be sent to third world countries. It's amazing how wasteful and blessed the US is. The warehouse was literally filled to the top with medical supplies which hadnt been used. I remember Sarah and I complaining about the 874 swabsticks we counted and having to recount them for expiration dates. And how awesome it is to be able to share our abundance with those who have nothing.

Later that afternoon, team 2 went to the Star of Hope men's shelter. We got to serve food and interact with some of the guys in the rehab program. Stephanie and I had the chance to talk with a man named Lester. It was really awesome talking to him because it was so obvious that he preached to us for an hour because he was passionate about getting better from the mistakes of the past and at the same time desperately not wanting us to fall for the traps that he had fallen for in his life. A lot of what he had to say really related to the struggles faced by myself and the people around me. It's true when Grace said that the people at the shelter would be a greater blessing to us than we would be for them.

Serving God can be a tiresome experience, but the rich blessings of that fatigue far outweigh the weary feelings from a long day of school. I'm really glad i went to CSM. I remember at the training we had before we went, John reminded us to be receivers and not simply givers. In a way my mentality to want to give to others made me feel selfish thinking I should have the attitude of a receiver. And although, I had every intention of serving the community, I dont think I really did that much. But at the same time, I feel really blessed. The whole experience itself was great. While serving food to the homeless, and indirectly helping third world countries was definitely an awesome feeling, I thought that meeting new people in my own youth group, and getting to know others whom i really hadnt gotten the chance to know AND seeing how God impacted them was just as rewarding. God works in mysterious ways through the most unexpected people.

oh and if u want a tiny taste of CSM, i have new pics up. so yeah...check em out.

If women ruled the world

the prayer warrior chronicles.....

I'm suppose to be writing monologues for my english project right now. However, I'm not experiencing the intuition to do so. Give or take a few minutes the vibe will come. Tonight's concert of prayer was really refreshing. I havent had the energy to really come before God in a while. I loved praying for others and praying for the church. The crazy part was, God knew I was completely out of it by the time COP rolled around. When we began to pray, I pretty much ran out of gas and the words to say for any prayer. When we began praying out loud, all of these words from nowhere starting coming outta my mouth. I really trust that when I've run out of words to say, God prays in my place. I always love an encouraging atmosphere, and it was encouraging to see a group of people praying at FOCUS because they wanted to be there. God listens. It was saddening to hear all the names that people called out who dont know God. But at the same time it was comforting to know that people are aware of the friends in their lives that they can be a light to.

I was looking for some old monologues I'd written when I found an interesting little story...might be old.

Brains
In the hospital the relatives gathered in the waiting room,
Where their family member lay gravely ill. Finally, the doctor came
in looking tired and somber. "I'm afraid I'm the bearer of bad news," he said as he surveyed the worried faces. "The only hope left for your loved one at this time is a brain transplant. It's an experimental procedure, semi-risky and you will have to pay for the brain yourselves The family members sat silently as they absorbed the news. After a great length of time, someone asked, "Well, how much does a brain cost? The doctor quickly responded, "$5,000 for a male brain, and$200 for a female brain." The moment turned awkward. Men in the room tried not to smile, avoiding eye contact with the women, but some actually smirked. A man, unable to control his curiosity, blurted out the question everyone wanted to ask, "Why is the male brain so much more?" The doctor smiled at the childish innocence and to the entire group said, "It's just standard pricing procedure. We have to mark down the price of the female brains, because they’ve actually been used.”

God bless you and TAKS.....

hehe...yeah... along with the rest of the seniors in this district....im happy. however, the downside to having the morning off...I have no determination whatsoever to do work....but being the diligent student that I am...i probably wont let myself go to sleep tonight with opening the book at some point. some things never change.

Track practice was pretty fun today. I like our new hurdle coach. She's kewl. She gaurantees that we'll be three stepping this season. I've only three stepped once in my life...and that was 8th grade, the last meet of the season. Just for enlightenment...three stepping is every hurdlers' dream come true. If i could three step, I'll walk away from track this year a complete athlete. And today...i three stepped...but the hurdle was moved closer...so i guess that makes me one step closer to my dream. I really wanna break 50seconds on the 300m hurdles...we'll see if this fat chance can happen. I'm still curious how far I can push myself to fulfill my dreams. Anyone remember that horse movie Wild Dreams Cant be Broken? my childhood favorite movie...second to only that of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

So i was looking at this magazine with a special about The Passion of the Christ. The pictures are intensely graphic and almost unbearable to look at. It's crazy how Jesus, in human form would suffer the way that he did for each and every one of our sins past, present, and yet to come. Can you imagine living to die...knowing you would die a death on the cross? A death like that? The movie will probably be difficult for me to watch because that is how my Christ suffered.

It's amazing how You're always thinking of me all the time everywhere.......

I've had that song stuck in my head all day. It's beautiful and its truth really rings especially the part it's amazing how You love me....it's amazing how you care

So i just finished watching this movie on tv. I think it was called Raising Waylin. It was about a couple who died and they placed custody of their child with their 2 best friends who were their son's god parents. However, they were separate entities, a god mom and god dad, not a couple. So yeah.. this whole dealio with the court yadayada and in the end, they became a couple and through all the trials became one big happy family.
It was a really touching story. It made me appreciate how kewl it is for me to lead a pretty normal family life with a pretty normal family.....
It reminded me of something Theresa told me. Parents are what God gave us to show us His qualities in a tangible way. I feel SO SO blessed to have parents who demonstrate God's love for me. From them i can see a glimpse of what sacrifice is. They care so much about me and continually embrace me despite my downfalls. God is good and He's given me parents to show that He is good to me because they are good to me. I feel like the older i get the cheesier i am.....

it's funny how high school is. The things that happen in it...the uneccessary drama....the cliques...the old friendships....the quirky teachers....the stupid little arguements with your parents. They're so laughable when you look back on those things that seemed to important once. In fact the older you get, you begin to forget what it's like to experience all these weird milestones in your life. crazy....and in a few months time....i'll be out of that bubble... even CRazzIERRr........

arite.. have a great week =)

count the stars......

this week has been unbelievable.....Unbelievably lengthy.

Today was interesting. So we're having an sfc officer meeting at the new marriot starbucks and we mentioned about the guest speaker for focus sunday, and how he was this ex-clements student that had shared at Clements before. Well, as we continued to discuss stuff, this guy walks around and comments on Jeremy's super kewl "Got Christ" shirt =) Then he's asked something about church and which one we went to and then he shot out a "no way! that's where I'm speaking on sunday" .....hahaha... so yeah we met the speaker for sunday today at starbucks and genius jeremy managed to calculate that we had 40.5 more hrs to go b4 we'd see him again.

Finally watched Sweet Home Alabama. Reese Witherspoon is a very cute actress. I always imagine her as the epitome of the stereotypical blonde....and it's kinda neat seeing her play roles like Melanie. It sorta reminded me of the predictable yet enjoyable movies like A Walk to Remember, but slightly more enjoyable. It's one of those refreshing flicks after a long week.


herm.. i think im getting sick... how is that possible with so much sleep?

creativity scores a ten on the charts.......

well I'm shocked. For the first time in weeks, I'm actually awake after 10 on a school night. This is good, since i should study....and it's rather fun.

You know... when you think about it.....the outline of a day in the life of yours truly isnt that interesting. Why do people keep going back to blogs to read them? Some people honestly lead the most exotic lives. Then there are some absolutely exquisite writers that make a day in their life super. And even when blogs arent personal enough or its lack of being tended to, people keep going back to show faithful devotion to the blog and its writer. Oiy.. enough about my shpeel.....

somethings i need to consider for the remainder of the year:
study
organization
determination......

okay...and sleep

people of two worlds......

This weekend was good. I might have inhaled too much second hand smoke, but I cant remember the last time i spent so many 24hrs with my family. I would compare my last trip to Louisiana to this one.....but the only thing i recall from my trip 12 years ago would be beignets and rainbows. But anyhoo, it's always fun and interesting spending valentines day with your family eating seafood gumbo at a truckers lounge in the boonies.

As I've mentioned to some, my family has obtained a massive amount of mardi gras beads, which will sustain my sister's bday party favors for at least another 10 years....not to mention we could open a store. I also think I've consumed enough crawfish and beignets to last me a long long while.

so after breakfast this morning...my sister was tossing this little orange ball by the pier. Suddenly, she bounces it too hard and it goes into the ocean. A brief second later, a giant bird spits something out of its mouth, and it's the bright orange ball!!! Apparently, the ball fell into the water, hit the bird, and the bird returned it back to land. Unfortunate for my sister.....the ball stayed on the other side of this rail....so she saw the ball, but never got the chance to retrieve it.

I cant believe the first track meet is this week. please pray that I dont fall. Falling at the first track meet two seasons in a row really plays with your head....especially when you fall on your head =P I think i see good things happening for the team this year. The older athletes have gotten stronger and the younger are very five star quality. There are SO many chinese people on the team this year....it's seriously an asian invasion of the under classmen. It's kewl....diversity on a team rocks.

and while this has been a splendid weekend...i've fully neglected all of my hw...so the remainder of this weekend with be diligently spent =) Have a great week!

Happy Valentines Day!

As I've mentioned in past years, Valentines Day happens to be my third favorite celebration. (I'd say holiday, but it techincally isnt a holiday even though we have this marvelous 4 day weekend to celebrate it.) Since I wont be around tomorrow to blog about this day, I figured it's never too early to commemorate the day of love. I mean...gosh we have the opportunity to experience by far the GREATEST love of all everyday of our lives. I dont know why I like Valentines day....I mean why pick only ONE day out of the year to dedicate it for the spirit of love? It's just like Easter...why pick only ONE day out of the year to dedicate it to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord? It's not as though we couldnt do that every other day of the year.. it just happened to be the day something dramatic happened that should be recognized.
anyhow... my annual dedication to my Valentine...girls =)

~Beauty of a Woman~
The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears,
The figure she carries, or the way she combs her hair.
The beauty of a woman must be seen from her eyes,
Because that is the doorway to her heart,
The place where love resides.
The beauty of a woman Is not in a facial mole,
But true beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul.
It is the caring that she lovingly gives,
The passion that she shows.
The beauty of a woman
With passing years -- only grows.


Happens: it's almost S.A.D
Happens: isnt it ironic how.....it spells sad?
OpHeEe: singles awareness day?
Happens: yea that's the one

Happy Valentine's Day =)

somewhere in between.......

today I:
Watched Bad Boys 2, tried watching Legend of Zu (only to realize that my mandarin still have a ways to be honed), watched Atlantis (finally), and ate leftovers. Now, it's about time for dinner.

I got into one of those sentimental moments today. I found a box of old letters my cali buds wrote me. Some of the letters were from 1996, and boy did 4th graders talk about silly things. The fun part about reading through old letters was seeing how the handwriting changed over the years. I found all the cards from my 13th bday. I realize now how handy it is to have december bdays... i couldnt separate the christmas cards from the bday cards. Now that I think of it....everyone accumulates so many inside jokes over the years. room cleaning rocks.

dinner calls......

Dreaming of you........

speaking of dreams... I had the weirdest dream last night. I had a dream that my entire lunch table went hiking on Mt. Rainer, and then we won this really ooober awesome swim contest. Oh...and then all the freshmen kids ran around the mall in orange prison suits. weiirrd...

The highlight of my day was fourth period today....Ms.Beck's Calculus class. Besides the fact that i aced the quiz =DDD and got to review for the test tomorrow, we also received seven interruptions (as ms.Beck put it) but it was more like REALLY KEWL singing valentines =) One of which belonged to me =) It was pretty funny when JUICEtus walked in with her choir buddies...cuz when they found me in the back of the class, they sorta overwhelmed me with their presence and surrounded my desk with beautiful voices. maaan.. the song (Dreaming of You) was really really pretty....i envy those beautiful voiced choir peeps. Thanks to my "l<3ver" for the valentine....

I always get a kick out of it when boys get singing valentines and then they slouch really low in their seats from embarrassment...and the best part is seeing boys turn pink...not that i thoroughly enjoy the sight of embarrassment for the male species...it's quite cute actually... so yeah...boys should blush more often.

Today, I was once again encouraged by the fact that John's message really hit home for some blog/xangers. I must admit that i was utterly shocked to see that John had an open display of someone's xanga projected on the wall during service. After that initial thought, i figured it was probably a fake one to make a statement for his message, and as it turned out it was an effective one. I read a few xangas this past week stating how people were ready to re-examine their lives and start being more cautious of their attitudes on xanga and in real life. Instead of being woohoo-yay-God-is-good one moment and everything sucks the next, people have really resorted to making their lives a God centered one so that when non-Christians look on their blogs they wont criticize every Christian as being a hypocrite but rather to be able to reflect on the character of a person because of their faith and trust in God....So that the Christians of the blog/xanga world can be a compass that leads non-Christians to be pointing in the right direction-- one that ultimately leads to God.

I think it's important to remember that all around us are people questioning the God we believe in. Our actions and words speak loudest to non believers when it comes to exploring the character of God. Show others that the God you believe in lives in you; whether it be through the words on a weblog or in the way you live your life each day.

thanks for checking out this edition of Ophelia's life. Stay tuned...until next time!

the week is young.....

Audio Adrenaline got best Christian rock band of the year! yay for Audio A =)

Taking a close look at my schedule this week, I have my share cut out for me. Major testing begins wednesday. Today will be fun filled cal then it's nerdification at it's best for the rest of the week.

The one thing i really like about track is that it really strengthens you. Not only physically, but mentally as well. I probably had the opportunity to run my best 400m time today. How? I kept telling myself that I could....not to mention, i said a prayer while driving over to Kempner for practice. I remember thinking at the starting line "it's all out or nothing..." So after we started, i just shot out, no mercy...and passed out at the finish line. Okay.. i didnt pass out, nothing but a mild asthma attack. But it's good, my lungs are getting stronger. I guess through that whole experience today, I was once again reminded that God is my strength through my weaknesses. I truly believe that without Him, i wouldnt have made it through practice today. Thanks God.

Today, someone asked for me to pray for her friend who's going through a really rough time. I was really encouraged at seeing this person's faith. She is so confident in prayer and so certain that God hears her. Have you ever prayed so hard that after praying, you feel like all the energy in your body left you? Despite the tiredness....doesnt it recharge you to think that God heard that prayer of yours? Oh...and it also reminded me of the time John shared his message about Black Hawk Down, and how when a soldier is in trouble or even if they died, a crew would go look for him, no matter the obstacles. In the same way this girl saw her friend in trouble and did what she could to help her friend. She saw that the solution to this problem was intercession. When you're in trouble, do you have that Black Hawk of a buddy to rescue you?

i've had one too many wake up calls this semester about my laziness...i've been pretty lucky...but i doubt that'll last much longer. So today... it's time to get off my fanny and make a run for it. Re-learning how to study and do hw.... my how could i ever forget Phil 4:13? lest we forget....."I can do everything through him who gives me strength."

I wear my sunglasses at night......

Michael Jackson was popular back in first grade....Or was it kindergarten? But anyhoo... I remember my neighbor use to love that song.

I realize that the two things I cant resist are....Watches and sunglasses (ok..And on occasion, bags). For some reason, my relatives have great enjoyment giving watches as gifts. Over the years...I cant even remember how many I've acquired, and the ones I actually buy always get broken. As for sunglasses.....I've always liked them for some odd reason. In fact, I bought a pair today. Why do ppl call it a pair of sunglasses? Maybe it's cuz of the two lenses. I use to have trouble buying sunglasses as a child cuz my head was too round. Now, I cant get enough of them. Half the time I never wear them and most of them are really wacky...the ones I got today are no exception. I suppose the only reason I might look forward to summer is to wear sunglasses. However, I much prefer the cool, hoody, warm blanket weather deal.

I really just felt like rambling tonight. I watched the end of the grammy awards! oiy... I feel out of it...must be my food coma....Chinese food has the ability to do that to you. I think I'll go read physics or something fun like that. I'm seriously hoping for some medication you can take for senioritis. For now, I'll adequately equip myself to fight this battle known as school/track. This calls for some sleep. WowWAH....can you say 4 day week/4 day weekend? =)

weekend mania......

It all began with a kidnapping.....we kicked her into Buiey....and drove her half way across town.....to eat a surprise birthday dinner!!!!!! Yea... we stuffed Debs into the trunk of Glo's car....tied her hands and feet together, placed a bandana around her eyes and ducked taped her mouth shut. THen we began to feel pretty bad about our cruel deed and decided to feed her dinner at Cheesecake Factory and let her out of the trunk....but not before we drew black circles around her eyes and made her run around the block blindfolded.
Geeze... what kind of friends did you think we senior girls are? The part about taking her to Cheesecake Factory was true...and so was shoving her into Buiey...but she had a decent seat...with a seat belt...and we DID blindfold her. =P We took lots of pictures....so you can catch the moment also...Connice pix, Deb pix...and my pix soon to come. I still havent fully recovered from the meal yet.....i've been having a food coma all day....but quality time with the girls for a high quality occasion....and our usual bit of madness was awesomeness indeed. I dunno...it's hard to describe the occasion...lotsa good times.

... watched Butterfly Effect. I'll let you be the judge of whether or not the movie was good or bad.... i wont put any preconceived notions into your head....so...yeah...just go watch it and maybe you'll leave with the same feeling i left with. The whole concept of the movie was a little quacky, but I thought Ashton's role fit him pretty well.... his acting was actually pretty decent....compared to Dude Where's My Car...the serious role was a nice change....altho that was a pretty stupid/funny movie.

erugh...im all blogged out....

Where do I go from here?......

Does it ever drive you nuts to think of how lucky and blessed we are to have the school systems that we do? Or maybe... you think I'm nuts for thinking such an outrageous thought. But seriously, take a second to think of all that we have in our society. We have a sufficient number of educators who are passionate about what they do. (even if some teachers seem like they're out to get us...maybe they are.) They sacrifice patience and high rowdiness tolerance to teach. In fact, some high schools have some of the best teachers in the nation. They rack up a pretty high number of superb scores in the national standings. Why? Because they care...There are teachers out there incessantly broadening young minds...that's their job....that's what they're here for.... to educate us. If only we students loved learning and baring with the school system as much as these teachers sacrifice. If you look back on all your years of school....just think about how far you have come. We've gone from the ABC days to writting 3 essays in 120 minutes. It's bizzare how one of the most popular topics of discussion is how inadequately a teacher teaches...which I admit I've been guilty of. Imagine how hard it is for a teacher to be teaching...they may not be the best....but not only do they deal with having to teach us things we perhaps dont know, but they have to put up with our attitudes and other junk we bring into the classroom. You try being a teacher.

Which brings me to another point. So many people these days are going into the medical, communication, and business fields. How many of the people in your graduating high school are going into education or plan to? Today in one of my classes, our teaher took a poll of how many people plan to go into education.....out of about 35 students....no one raised their hands. I bet if you asked who in that class wanted to be a doctor or an engineer....I'd be bold enough to say that about 2/3 or more of the class would have raised their hands. Many of our teachers are either babyboomer generation or well on their way to retirement. When they leave who will replace them? Will there be enough passionate people to fill their positions? Will they be able to deal with us? If not enough people want to be teachers....that is.. middle and high school teachers....who's gonna teach our children? Seriously now....who will educate our children? Will they have the opportunites we've been able to have through our schooling days? Do people even care? Do you care?

Personally, I dont think teachers are appreciated enough. They're both under appreciated and under paid. Is it too much to ask of students to go to class every day, show some respect by staying awake, and not complain every hour of the day about the people who hope they're teaching you something?
I know, there are some teachers who really dont know why they're teaching in the first place, but those that do want to be at school teaching every day, I think, deserve respect from us. There's not enough teachers loving what they do as it is....do you think our kids in the future will have just as many blessings of faithful teachers that we have today?

Welcome to the 18 yr old bandwagon.......

so today when I came home, i had a craving for cereal. I pulled out the milk and saw the sell by date, and it said february 4. That reminded me of Debs....cuz she can get her very own movie rental card today! By the bandwagon standards, that is quite an achievement.

I can?t pin point exactly when I met Debs. All I remember is that we have several pictures taken together when we didn?t know each other that well. (Those were our good pictures) The pictures there after were never the same again.... I don?t think we've had a single "normal picture" of just the two of us...probably since we were sophomores. (As you can tell from the picture taken above...which is one of our most recent ones) My first real memory of Debs was during the summer before junior year. A bunch of us had decided to go watch Signs....as it turned out....the entire group ditched Debs and I...so we ended up going together...and then we went to eat pretzels afterwards (I think) and that's when the pretzeling business began. I won?t ever forget the time at fellowship when we borrowed huge sweatshirts and played Dorky Bros for the skit. hahaa....Not to mention... the first day of school junior year I was taking her home, and my car wouldn?t turn on.

Debbie has this undeniable ability to make me laugh.... laugh really hard....and for a long duration of time. I can look her in the face (which has nothing abnormal on it) and simply burst out laughing for no particular reason.... and similarly I think I may have that effect on her. She's one of the best listeners I know, as well as one of the most cheerful people. =) Oh...not to mention...she has a way with reading my mind. yah.. freaky huh? She knows what I'm thinking, and she says what I want to say before I even say it...and sometimes... I dont have to say anything and she'll know what I'm saying. Then... when we want to tell each other something... we cant ever remember what it is we wanted to tell each other.

you may wonder....why do we call each other honer? That's a story I'll save for another day.

On this blessed 2004 year, I wish Deb another year filled with joys and happiness...may her life be centered around God and may her prayers be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit.

for better or for worse......

do you ever get that feeling where you had every intention of blogging something relevant....but then you get utterly intimidated by the blogger page and your memory just fails you? herm... probably just me.

if you ask me "how ya feelin".....I cant honestly reply "hot hot hot" maybe my muscles wud...cuz the pain is just burning. But gosh... I'm sore. The past coupla days... i pushed myself beyond the limits. Maybe that's a good thing...we'll see. I'll admit, it's rather enjoyable breaking some major sweat out there everyday....and on occasions... i actually burn an underclassmen or two. har har. There are some sophomores and juniors that are simply phenomenal....awesome athletes. Strong athletes make me smile, they remind me of when I was young. hehe.....

I received the nicest email today. It totally made my day. Sometimes I'm not the greatest at replying emails...as some of you know....but this friend always replies quick and... we always seem to miss each other online....yet I always receive these really encouraging messages. even if it's just a hi =) it's true what they say, a little hi, hello, can going a very long way.
well that's all the wisdom i have to squeeze outta my brain for today....until next time. blue skies to you.

a poem for you

As I was walking
down life's highway
many years ago

I came upon a
sign that read

Heavens Grocery Store.

When I got a
little closer

the doors swung
open wide

And when I came
to myself

I was standing
inside.

I saw a host of
angels.

They were
standing everywhere

One handed me a
basket

and said "My
child shop with care."

Everything a
human needed

was in that
grocery store

And what you
could not carry

you could come
back for more

First I got some
Patience. >
Love was in that
same row.

Further down was
Understanding,

you need that
everywhere you go.

I got a box or
two of Wisdom

and Faith a bag
or two.

And Charity of
course

I would need some
of that too.

I couldn't miss
the Holy Ghost

It was all over
the place.

And then some
Strength

and Courage to
help me run this race.

My basket was
getting full

but I remembered
I needed Grace,

And then I chose
Salvation for

Salvation was for
free

I tried to get
enough of that to do

for you and me.

Then I started to
the counter

to pay my grocery
bill,

For I thought I
had everything

to do the Masters
will.

As I went up the
aisle

I saw Prayer and
put that in,

For I knew when I
stepped outside

I would run into
sin.

Peace and Joy
were plentiful,

the last things
on the shelf.

Song and Praise
were hanging near

so I just helped
myself.

Then I said to
the angel

"Now how much do
I owe?"

He smiled and
said

"Just take them
everywhere you go."

Again I asked
"Really now,

How much do I
owe?"

"My child" he
said, "God paid your bill

a long long time
ago."

there's a camel in all of us......

this was a good weekend
so... senior cbs joint social bowling. Go team 2! Domination! I cant remember the last time i went bowling, but this one goes on my top 5 list. I think Grace, Jeff, and William got free games, so that was kewl. There was also lots of cheering, encouragment, and dancing for the mighty strike scoring people. Dinner was nice, and surveying at the mall was a good experienc too. It's funny how God will work, and the people He will lead you to.

There was a great testimony today. It just made me think that it's so hard to grasp the concept of redemption and Christ's love for someone who's been a Christian for the majority of their lives. It's hard to understand those things when you've never gone through deep life altering struggles. When God has always been there, it's so hard to imagine what life would be like without Him...actually it's quite a scary thought. I think for people who've grown up with Christianity, it's easier to depend on circumstances to understand more of God's character versus seeking God and discovering who He is by desiring Him personally. That's why emotional highs are so prominent. Through each circumstance, you get to taste a flavor of God's love and redemptive qualities....but in most cases the emotion is only fleeting...annoying isnt it? But wouldnt it be awesome if you seek God whole heartedly, passionately desire to understand what it means to be redeemed, and to have God provide a revelation of what that is to you?

After service, worked on calculus project... i never knew volvos could accelerate from 25-85mph in less than 30seconds. props to the driver. Then went to the nannyhood ate some superbowl nuggets, watched the game.....as bad of a critic that I am about things on the screen, the halftime show was absurd. I guess some of it was okay, but it truly ended with a bang...and poohs...panthers lost. But the game was both close and good....not a complete waste of several hours of my life. In fact, it was fun chillaxing with the ladies and eh... stepping in pickles "stuff." plus... "we never see each other" =P

stay tune....until next time. Have a great week.