Last Official Week of School

I will hit a few highlights of last week and this week in today's post. We did a Cory Morrow show on Thursday night in San Marcos. I went to the cargo truck to get some extra cable and a sound of a marble or small rocks began hitting the truck. I looked out side and realized it began to hail. The sound increased and the thought of being hit by ice was not pleasant, but I came to realize it was the lack of insulation in the truck that made the sound so loud and terrifying. My car did not suffer any hail damage, but sadly a few miles south at the San Marcos outlet mall, many cars were so damaged they were declared totaled.

Friday night and on into Saturday morning, I had the pleasure of being the Master of Ceremonies at the Lockhart Relay for Life. Basically that meant, I got to do most of the speaking at the event. It was a successful event. At last check, Lockhart had raised almost $65,000 for the American Cancer Society. After sleeping the day away, JMob and I went to the Lockhart theater and saw the new Michael Douglas and Kiefer Sutherland movie The Sentinel. I am a huge fan of 24, so I enjoyed seeing Kiefer Sutherland in this new movie. He is always saving the world or the president.

Today began at 7am with a cool shower, granola bar, and a small sip of Dr. Pepper. This is the last week of school and than finals will spill over into the first week of May. I only have to take two finals, but this Thursday I will turn in a 12 page book review/contrast paper. Tonight, pending weather (there is a 50% chance of rain), we have a softball game scheduled. I am looking forward to taking the field. Will and I are two documents away from having an apartment in San Marcos. I have to go pick up a notarized document from my aunt on Wednesday morning and that should seal the deal. Tune in next time...

Without Further Ado...

Tomorrow is Good Friday and Kari and I are in College Station with her cousin Nelie. Yesterday evening at church, the youth and I read from Luke 23-24 and discussed what Christ did for us on the cross that day described in those scriptures. As a conclusion, we watched the last scene in the Passion of the Christ. The scene goes black, you hear a rumbling and see a light. The stone that was placed in front of the tomb was being moved away and light illuminated the tomb. The camera pans to the left and you see white burial clothes, but there is no longer anyone wrapped inside. The camera pans a little more left and a dark skinned, long haired, and bearded man sits in silence. He rises and the scene reveals the open wound where a nail had previously been and he walks out of the tomb. Jesus is risen. Luke 24:1-8 states,

"On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.' " Then they remembered his words."

Have a blessed Easter weekend.

One Week of School Post-Spring Break

The school week went well. I do have to admit, I extended my Spring Break on Tuesday morning by skipping my 8am. I has been a delightful week that brings the start of a new softball season. Formerly the Kingsmen, and now just simply First Lockhart Baptist Church, we open with a double header tonight at 7pm. I am sure it will be a time for us to knock the rust off. School is going well, my writing is much improved over last semester and seems to be pulling me through two of my classes (I had a professor last semester who beat writing into everyone, I am thankful). Bundle up if you are coming out to the game cause it is chilly! Have a great evening.

Spring Break, Here and Gone

It was a great spring break. It ended with a trip to Wonder World with Kari, Kari's little sister and Stine. It is a cave beneath the Balcones fault line. It is very interesting to see how this plate has pulled apart and created an area of exploration and intrigue. My mother was in town this spring break as well. I was able to have dinner with her on Wednesday and Friday night. On the way home Friday night, a DPS officer decided he wanted to have a word with me, so our trip home was delayed. Saturday night JMob and I worked at the Six Lounge in the Warehouse District of Austin. It was an easy night, but very interesting. The opening act was an urban cowboy act based out of Los Angles, CA called King Straggler. One of the members was actor Brentley Gore. He was recently in a film entitled Zoe and a Saved By the Bell knock-off entitled California Dreams. He was a laid back guy and easy to work with. The second and last act was a one man band named Bob Log III. He shows up with two guitars, a kick drum, a kick cymbal (for lack of better names), two drum machines, and a helmet. This helmet was retrofitted with an old phone receiver that served as his microphone which he ran through an amp. The vocal was distorted and the clanging cymbal was the majority of his show. I have posted a picture above. I would never recommend Bob Log III to anyone looking for good music, but maybe for a good laugh. That concluded my Spring Break.

Kansas Aftermath and More...

We made it safely home from Kansas and than proceeded southeast to Galveston. In Galveston Kari and I meet her grandparents, mother, and sister. For those of you who do not know, I am not a seafood eater, but it turns out crab maybe good. We had dinner at the Rainforest Cafe and rode the super scary ride that is in the restaurant (really, some fake spider drop down and scare you!). The next day was an exploring day, we hit some souvenir shops and went to the strand. The Strand is the old Main Street of Galveston. These buildings withstood the hurricane of 1900 and only took small amounts of water damage on the lower floors. One old advertisement painted on the side of the buildings stated 1866. We ate a restaurant called Shrimp and Stuff, and after much search, I did not find much "stuff". With much hesitation, I ordered a Crab Poboy. It was excellent. I still claim I do not eat seafood, cause it is so darn expensive. Kari and I than made a day out of the Kemah Boardwalk. We rode many rides, a speed boat, and got a really sweet happy hour deal on dinner. These tales just about cover the first part of my Spring Break. I need to study for Sunday School now...tune in next time.

How to get to 287 8th Road, Clyde, KS?

At first glance, it seems simple enough, street name with the block number and town name. Yet, it turns out this address is deceiving. As Kari, Bonnie and I arrived in Clyde, Kansas, we were surprised to not find 8th Road. I hopped into a local bar (cause it was the only thing open) and inquired from the locals, "Do you know where 8th Road is?" I told them I was looking for a for a wedding and they told me where the three church were in Clyde. We checked all three churches and all the parking lots were empty. We came to the conclusion that there could be a possibility that we had the incorrect address. We made a phone call to an informant and learned that the brides hometown was Clifton. After flagging down a couple in a red jeep cherokee, we were told to take KS HWY 9 east about 12 miles. We found Clifton and the only two churches in the town were deserted. It had been a while since we had stopped for a restroom break, I insisted we go to the local store. I walk into the store first and to my right are about 10 elderly folks. We had found the old folks hangout. Kari bursts into the door behind me and seems to announce to the entire store, "Does anyone know where 8th Road is?" The man behind the counter thinks a moment and says you mean Eight Mile Road. He than say, "You all are looking for the wedding." We are taken aback and heave a sigh of relief, "YES!" He explains that 8th Road means eight miles down another road. We are confused, but he continues to explain, we are to take a right at a road in between Clyde and Clifton and go eight miles. The church was on the left down an eight mile gravel road, we walked in as the preacher pronounces them husband and wife and watched them kiss. That is how we got to 287 8th Road, Clyde, KS. Have a great evening.

Free Wi-Fi is Great!

Kari and I made it to Chickasha, OK safely. We have had a great trip so far, and an added bonus...I am stealing Wi-Fi from someone at Bonnie's apartment complex. Bonnie took us to Wal-Mart to check the Gift Registry and the machine froze up. Bonnie decided to take us on a tour of Chickasha, once we left Wal-Mart, she said the tour was over. We have a five hour trip ahead of us to Clyde, KS that will take us through Oklahoma City. We were informed that Oklahoma City is simply referred to as "The City". Neither Kari, nor I have ever been to Kansas. I know that is farmland and no trees is not anything to jump up and down about, but it is a new state that we can add to the checklist of states. Happy Trails.

Change of Plans

It was brought to my attention that Kari and I have mutual friends getting married this weekend. After some consideration and mulling over my non-existent Spring Break plan, I decided it would be fun to go to the wedding...in Kansas. We will start the first leg of our journey and stay in Oklahoma with Bonnie. Bonnie will navigate us through Oklahoma on to Kansas. We will attend the wedding and make our way back to Oklahoma. After resting in Oklahoma, we will be heading back to Central Texas on Sunday morning. Much thanks to Kevin.

Spring Break, but One More Class

It seems like forever that I have had anytime to sit and type personal thoughts. School is about go on break and I have a 3:45 this afternoon and I will officially begin my Spring Break. I just completed my second paper in less then 24 hours and will be turning it in shortly. I am looking forward to some time to relax and begins reading the third installment of Harry Potter. What began as a children's story, is beginning to read as a adult book. I have since found the first "bad word" in the 3rd book. I am excited to try something new this Sunday, police officer Steve has asked me to teach his adult Sunday school class. I am looking forward to some "adult" conversation and try my hand at an older crowd. Police officer Steve said it would be easy, just throw a question out there, they will do all the talking. Well that is all I have today. Have a great Spring Break for those of you in school.

John Piper Quote

I found this in a John Piper sermon given on September 26, 1999 entitled Faith: In Hope, Against Hope, for the Glory of God. "So even today after the coming of Christ, our faith is still future-oriented. Justifying faith trusts God for all he promises to be for us and do for us. This is why faith glorifies God. Believing that God has done things in the past glorifies God somewhat. But believing that God will do what he has promised to do in the future before you see him do it -that glorifies God even more. It honors his present and future trustworthiness. So faith is future-oriented because that gives God the most glory."

As the spring semester continues, I find myself facing many decisions and I was blessed to have find these encouraging words. I pray that my faith increases and I learn to listen more closely to what God has in store for me. I ask that you would pray for me.

Wednesday Night

This evening was an exciting night for the youth. Our church has been without a Youth Minister for about a year and a half and it seems the Lord has a man hand picked. The pastor let the youth know that he would be coming to meet them soon. Some of the younger kids have not even had a chance to get to know and learn from a youth pastor, so it will be such a blessing to have a man he will be growing the young people of FLBC.

Kari joined me for church this evening. She has not been feeling well the past few days, but let some smiles shine this evening. The evening went well with a last minute stop at the DQ with JMob. I had a banana split, Kari had a vanilla cone, and JMob had a chocolate milk shake. Hum...and I just listed off everything we ate!!! I will stop there and wish everyone a good week.

Hot Hearts...Cold Outside, Brrr!

We finished up a weekend at Highland Lakes Encampment at an event called Hot Hearts. Jericho Sound had the pleasure of working with the Jeff Berry Band, Wes Hamilton, and Jonathan Curtis. All three of these acts offered more ways than one to worship the Lord this weekend. Kari, JMob and I travelled up to Highland Lakes Thursday night to prepare for the weekend. Brrr! The weather changed, again. It is no longer 80 degrees and sunny in Central Texas, but rather it is rainy and cold now. That is one of the perks or downfalls of living in Texas, as many put it, if you do not like the weather, stick around it will change soon. This Saturday, Kari, JMob, Kari's friend Dorie and I will be seeing Chris Tomlin live in Austin. This will be the same venue Tomlin recorded his recently released Live Austin Music Hall and the second time JMob and I will have seen him play at Austin Music Hall.

I thank you for your prayer for my Grandad. I talked to my father today and hear that he is doing a lot better. I plan to make a surprise visit to Lockhart later this week and drop in on Granny and Grandad. The Word of God says, "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).

And the Crowd Listened Attentively

The Justin Cofield Band brought six songs this evening at worship. They closed the set with a vocal rendition of I Love You Lord leaving the young people quiet in prayer. As the Spirit among the crowd moved, Pat, the speaker sensing the mood made an alter call immediately. Pat's topic was about finding self worth in Jesus Christ not yourself or others and compared us to an original painting by God. We read from I Corinthians 12:12 and talked about how God made us a unique body. It was a blessing to see these young people resond in such a positive way to the spirit of worship and the Word of God. Descisions were made this evening, so prayers for these new brothers and sisters in Christ will be lifted up. Have a blessed evening.

It's Raining in Austin...And Everyone Forgot How to Drive

On the way to Pflugerville for a Disciple Now Weekend at First Baptist, I encoutered two ambulance in route to accidents. In addition, I saw at least four fender-benders and sat on Interstate 35 for thirty minutes in downtown Austin (that is pretty normal though!). I heard a great joke on talk radio though...the announcer said,"If you have a child under the age of seven, take them outside and show 'em what rain is!" Just a sidenote to the drivers in Austin: It's just rain...slow down a little bit.

Jericho Sound is working this weekend and we are staying at a La Quinta, which I don't think anyone really knows what that word means. We had some trouble setting the PA up, but once we got it running well things went smoothly. We checked into our room and rode the elevator upstairs to learn that room 221 only had a single king size bed. Now for the three guys pictured above, that would be some close quarters. We went down stairs, explained our situation to the lady and she was very understanding. Sleep time awaits.

Tuesday Evening

It is a mellow evening, hanging out at the house and thinking about doing homework. I have to get to work on that paper due Thursday. I am planning a trip to the library tomorrow to begin my research. I decided to research the town Xi’an located in China (sadly, I figure that is the city I am more likely to find the most information on). My other options were Krasnovodsk, Ashkabad, Nukus, Aktyubinsk and a few others, but I have not heard of these cities. I was reminded by a text message minutes ago that I had planned a lunch appointment, but I will have to break it. Not to mention writing the paper, I will need to study for Wednesday night bible study. I am looking forward to seeing the kids and talking about the Word. Have a great evening.

Chili Bowl 2006

The Chili Bowl was played on Saturday, and sadly in my coaching debut, I was handed my first loss. I will survive because much fun was had by many, at least 80 people showed up, and I didn't see to many angry people. I put together the footage late into Saturday night in order to have a DVD made for the Super Bowl party hosted at the church (we edit the commercials out and play music videos and chili bowl footage). My mother was in town this past weekend, as well. She and I visited Saturday evening and ate grandma's home cooking. It was a great time to visit with her, my brothers, my grandparents, aunt and uncle, and cousins too.

On a prayer topic, I would ask that you keep my Grandad Hellums and Granny in your prayers. Grandad is not doing well and I would appreciate it if you would pray for them. Also keep in mind my aunt Gail, Lana, and father Denis. God tells is in his word, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28).

Racquetball and More...

I have only seen the tennis ball sized blue ball, but never really knew how to use it. Apparently it is known as a racquetball. You get one blue ball, a racket, and you enter a room with six walls and do not have to worry about putting out a light. It is a wonderful game. Kari is taking Beginner Racquetball this semester and I get to learn it as well. If fact, along with fencing, racket ball was on my list of "things to learn." Now, she and I both do not know if we have any of the rules right, but basically if I do not get hit by the ball or run into a wall, I think I am doing pretty good. School is going well. I completed my first five page paper and will be working on another one due next Thursday. The upcoming paper sounds intriguing and I am looking forward to it. The assignment it to find three buildings built in different decades in a town in Central Asia. With this descriptions of the buildings we build a small history and profile of the town. It should be an interesting project. I am looking forward to Saturday's Annual Chili Bowl. It is a flag football game where the adults face-off against the youth. The youth won last year and hope to extend the one game streak. It is a time of good competition and fellowship with many members of the church body (although anyone is invited). Sidenote: Reading a few things of note...for class Muslims in Central Asia, finishing up Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell, started Harry Potter #2, and also picked up Future Church by Jim L. Wilson from Bro. Randy's office. That is all...Off to meet Randy, JMob, and Stanley for lunch. Have a great Friday.

What is Going On?!?

School has began again and the New Year is almost a month old. I have some interesting classes this semester and plenty of reading to do. One of note is the Central Asian History course. It is basically the area in the middle of the Silk Road, including the post-Soviet "stan" states. Today is Wednesday, and in addition to studying tonight's lesson, I am going to go help Will (or Big O) move his belongs into a storage area. The project should take about 3 hours. I just completed the first Harry Potter book. I have not seen any of the movies or read any of the books till now. After completing the first, I called the person who loaned me the first book and said, "I am ready for the second." I don't consider it an addiction, but it is a catchy tale and easy to read. That is about it for now. Tune in next time.

Last Official Day in NYC

Day Four: In planning the trip weather was to be great the first three days of our visit, but rain was predicted for the fourth day. Typically, according to residents, the first three clear days were a rarity. Considering this information, we had planned to go to The Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET) on the rainy day. We packed up our room and took our bags downstairs to be checked and headed to the MET. Along the way, it was decided we needed some breakfast and just and escape from the rain. We found an old fashioned soda bar (for lack of better titles). We sat at the diners bar and eat a meal that was cooked in front of us. It was a wonderful experience. The rain continued, but it did not stop us. We drugged onward to the MET. Upon arriving at the MET, I quickly realized that many people had thought similar about the "rain day" and the lines of people out the front steps was evidence enough. There was a special display of Vincent Van Gogh's drawings which I would have loved to seen, but the two hour line would not allow for me to see them. Instead I was able to see some Assyrian wall art, Turkish pottery, American paintings, and some medieval armor (swords too!). We rushed out of the MET back to the hotel to catch a cab to the airport. We caught a cab and headed to the airport. After checking in we found out there would be a delay. I am uncertain of the specific, but the airport told us we would be staying in Chicago that night. With no desire to stay in Chicago, we did our best to get to Houston. About three hours later we found a flight to Houston's Hobby Airport. The twist is we flew out of George Bush Intercontinental and our luggage was headed to Chicago. We arrived at Hobby at about 10pm and rented a car to go to Northwest Houston to stay the night and retrieve our baggage in the morning. We ate some Taco Cabana and crashed. The next morning, we went to George Bush Intercontinental in hopes of getting our baggage. Thankfully it had arrived and was still there. We headed back to Milano and that concludes the highlights of our NYC trip.

*If you are trying to catch up, please read The New Year for Day One (just scroll down).

Day Three in NYC

Day Three: The first item on the agenda was the memorial to Ulysses S. Grant. He was the commander of the Civil War and also the President of the United States (remember I am getting a History degree). The memorial contained the tomb of General Grant and his wife, Julia Dent Grant. Before arriving at the memorial, to the Southeast of Grant's tomb is the Riverside Church of New York City. It's tower reached up towards the heaven caught us by surprise. Next on the agenda, was The Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine. Along the way, we crossed the Columbia University campus and a Theological Seminary. After a few blocks South we arrived at the massive Gothic church which begun in 1892 and is still unfinished with one-thirds of the construction still pending. After viewing the massive church, we went North to the Bronx to see Yankee Stadium. As a baseball fan, it is necessary to pay baseball respects even to the Yankees. We snapped some photos and headed back to the island. We went to Rockefeller Center to see the ice skating and live Christmas tree. After pushing and many "excuse me's", we made it through the crowd and headed North to our reservations at Tavern on the Green. On our way to Tavern on the Green, we stopped by and viewed Saint Patrick Cathedral. After walking many blocks we arrived at Tavern on the Green. The atmosphere was wonderful and it was a beautifully decorated restaurant. Central Park is somewhat famous for it's carriage rides, so I thought it would be sweet to take Kari on a carriage ride. We boarded the carriage at Tavern on the Green and enjoyed a romantic carriage ride through Central Park. The evening concluded with a subway ride home to the hotel and a last stop at a Korean grocery store for some essentials (we stayed in Little Korea).