Yikes!

So it's been like a month since I've updated here. Face it, it's a product of grad school, final projects, and just being busy during the Christmas season.

The good news is that I passed my classes, keeping my 4.0 GPA intact...during grad school at least. I wish I could say the same for my undergrad :(

I've also turned yet another year older on November 26th. I am now 27 years old and my "golden year" is over.

Sandra and I will be leaving for Kansas again on Friday to celebrate Christmas with our families and to hopefully visit a lot of our friends. This has become difficult though b/c of friends being out of town and such. Ironically, we're not going to Urbana this year because we wanted to visit our friends in Kansas. Too bad most of our friends will be at Urbana. Who knew?

I'll leave you with a couple of fun pictures!

Me getting my birthday swats from my dad and Uncle!

My nephew Elijah gettin' ready to sport the G-Man's headdress!

Poll: Christmas Songs

I won't be near my computer for a while b/c we're traveling to Kansas for Thanksgiving! I thought I would get this started now though as the Christmas songs will be all over the place by the time I get back.

What is you favorite Christmas song?

What is you LEAST favorite Christmas song?

To get the ball rolling I'll start with mine. Favorite is O Holy Night. I love every version of the song that I hear. I just reminds me of the great reverence we should have before Jesus. Least Favorite is Wonderful Christmas by Paul McCartney. Musically, it hurts my head. Also, least favorite is Last Christmas. The song isn't even about Christmas. I also just learned that is it sung by George Michael and Wham! Yet another reason to dislike it for me.

Now it's your turn. Give me both sides of the spectrum, favorite and least favorite. Have fun!

Apparantly we aren't very thankful

This is my determination as to why the Christmas (or if you're a secular progressive, the "Holiday") season now starts in October. I went shopping the day of Halloween to find cheap candy, only to find that the only candy being sold was Christams themed candy.

Wait a minute! Did I miss something here? Isn't there another holiday between Halloween and Christmas? And even if there wasn't, one would think that it would be dismissable by the common public if the retail stores would wait at least a week or two before the Christmas displays had to come out. This is not the case. Christmas displays are now literally coming out the day of Halloween.

There are two things that I see wrong with this:

#1 The first thing is that we start to exclude Thanksgiving as a holiday. What ever happened to planning a feast, getting together with your family, and counting the blessings that the good Lord has passed down to you? Is doing that not deserving of our time?

#2 The second problem with 8+ weeks of Christmas is that I think it starts to water down what the real celebration is all about. Last I checked, the spelling of the holiday still includes the name of Christ. Yet too often, the common public, including those who claim to be Christians, think of this holiday as Presentmas, which is just giberish. Rather than celebrating the birth of our Saviour, we celebrate what feels good to us, and that's showing off what kind of gadgets we can afford or bragging about how long we waited in line for a PS-3. Celebrating a "season" rather than a holiday greatly downplays the meaning of the holiday itself.

I was strickin with a bag of mixed emotions Thursday night driving home from class. I was flipping through the radio stations and I came across a station that had already started it's 24/7 birage of Christmas music. That means that this station will be playing Christmas music nonstop for at least 39 days! That's even longer than Ramadan! While I love Christmas music, especially the Christ centered songs, I find that this is all part of the ploy of spreading out the "Holidays" and downwatering the day we celebrate Jesus' birth.

While the economy hops itself up on retail sales during the "beat-the-rush", "black Friday", "holiday" and "last minute" sales, I take complete and great joy in knowing that I can celebrate the birth of my Saviour each and everyday of the year. While it does feel good to give to others, and that is what we should be doing, try to focus on who programmed us to feel this response. For those of you confused, that would be God. Also focus on the spelling of this holiday. I'll give you a hint, it starts with Christ!

Operation Christmas Child

It's that time of year again! It's time for the annual tradition that Sandra and I celebrate when we participate in the Operation Christmas Child program. Each year we take a shoe box and fill it to the max with as much fun and useful items as we can cram! This is the 3rd year that together we have filled a shoebox each to give to children around the world who are less fortunate and who don't know Jesus as their Savior. Sandra has participated in this wonderful yearly ritual for many years, but I only discovered it a few years back. It's headed by Samaritan's Purse which is a relief organization ran by Franklin Graham, Billy Graham's son.
It's really neat to hear and read about the stories how these little boxes full of small trinkets make a child's day, week, and can even change their lives. We received a newsletter a few months back and we quickly recognized Sandra's shoebox that she sent in one of the pictures. IT WAS IN SRI LANKA!!!
Awesome.
We stuff the boxes with a lot of neat stuff. Mine had a stuffed T-Rex, a coloring book with crayons, some toy cars, a bag of suckers, a game, 2 yo-yos, a toothbrush and a tube of toothepaste. We also made cards with our picture on them and wrote them a message of God's love. Samaritan's purse then takes the boxes and puts neat picture story books in them that tell them the Gospel message in their native language. Overall pretty cool.
We are praying for the children who recieve these gifts that through these boxes and the workers on the field, that they may have the hope that we as Christians hold on to so dearly.

Our boxes are ready to travel!

Pumpkin Carving Fun!

I forgot to show ya'll what our pumpkins looked like this year. Sandra's of course is the cuter one on the left while mine is the one that looks like Slimer from Ghostbusters.

In case you're curious, marathon recovery time seems to be around a week or so. I actually ran a couple of miles yesterday, but I'm like at 75% if I had to guess. Not too bad since it was just Tuesday when I was still using my arms to pull myself up the stairs :)

Awww.....aren't they cute together!

Marathon!

I DID IT!!! It wasn't pretty to watch, but I finished my first marathon. I was not pleased with my time at all, but I'll chalk this one up as a learning experience for next time. The results: this varies by who you ask. According to my watch that I started once I actually crossed the starting line I ran it in 3:55:55. Nowhere near what I wanted to run, but like I said, it was a good learning experience. I only needed to run 44 minutes and 56 seconds faster to qualify for Boston2007!

Here's the breakdown of the whole race (what I was feeling and thinking):

Saturday Evening: Packet Pick-up and health expo. I'm pretty excited at this point. I don't if I have what it takes or not, but will soon find out. "There's nothing more that I can do at this point to prepare, so relax and enjoy this experience."

Sunday Morning:

5:00 A.M. My alarm was set for 5:30, but I'm a bit too anxious to go back to sleep. "Boy am I glad I got the extra hour of sleep" :)

6:45 A.M. The starting area is very crowded. There's a lot of people running this thing. 15,800 some last I checked. I'm a bit nervous, but I'm pretty sure I won't end up last at least!

7:15 A.M. Off we go! The wind isn't too bad. It's cold, about 35 degrees, but whatever. "I feel like I'm running in slow motion."

Mile 1: I feel good, I thought I was going slow, but I check in at 7:27 for my split. I see my next door neighbor and that's when I know I'm going to fast. He's supposed to finish 30 minutes ahead of me.

Mile 2: 15 minutes flat. Still too fast. I'm trying to slow down, but it's actually hard to do. Some guy parked on the sidewalk has pulled speakers out of mini-van and is blaring the Rocky theme song. "How am I supposed to slow down when hearing that?"

Mile 3.4: Oh my gosh, I'm getting ready to run onto Ambassador bridge and on into Canada. "Marathons are fun!"

Mile 3.8: My legs are not used to hills especially one so long and steep. "Does this bridge ever end?

Mile 4: Legs still burning. "Nope, this bridge never ends. Maybe the rest of the race is all uphill somehow."

Mile 4.2: Canada! There's a guy greeting us on a PA system as we come in. He points at that since Canada uses the metric system we are running 60% faster now.

Miles 5-7.5: The problem with Canada is now that I'm trying to re-establish my pace again after the uphil bridge, they forgot to give us splits. I have no idea how fast I'm running.

Mile 8: The underwater tunnel. This is pretty cool. It's a bit over a mile in length so they actually time this split and report it to you seperately. It's also nice and warm in here. "This race is a piece of cake!"

Mile 11: Okay, I'm starting to hurt a little bit now. The arch in my foot is on fire. Besides that, I'm okay.

Mile 12.5: There goes the half-marathoners for their finish. "Is it too late to switch races?"

Mile 13.2: Half-way there! My split is at 1:42. Faster than my goal pace. "If I can just keep this up I can have a great run!"

Mile 14: Not only are there stations for water and gatorade, but now I see some people set up with a beer station! Hilarious! I'm thinking somehow that the combination of beer and marathons don't mix.

Mile 15: Oh, boy! I feel like I'm going to vomit. Now I must slow down or risk being "that guy" that everyone talks about. I wonder how the people who drank the beer fell?

Mile 17: I no longer feel like I'm going to throw up anymore, but with the wind out on Belle Island, it feels like I'm running in wet sand. Yuck!

Mile 18: Hey, I just got passed by the 3:30 pace setter! Now I know I'm in trouble. Where was that guy at mile 2?

Mile 20: Everything hurts at this point. My glutes, quads, groin, ankles, calves, knees and hamstrings. Especially my hamstrings! I stop and stretch at this point.

Somewhere between 20 and 21: "This has to be the dumbest thing I've ever attempted in my life. No wait, there was this one time I tried to jump a barbed wire fence and didn't make it. Hmm...I'm thinking this might be worse."

Mile 21: I've just beem passed by a guy wearing a tutu. Okay. That makes a guy in a tutu, a woman dressed like supergirl, and a man dressed like a bumble bee whom have all passed me. I can easily see how at this point in the race you might think that you're someone you're not, but to actually dress like it before the race even started? Weird.

Mile 22: At this point my legs have given up. Every once in a while my legs just sort of stop working, I stumble a step or two, and start moving again.

Mile 23: I think I've found a "pace" that I'm finally comfortable with...slow!

I'm drawing my energy off of the spirit stations that are sprinked around. One even had a marching band performing there.

Mile 23.1: I just saw the guy next to me recieve a surprise arial assault from a seagull. I don't think he noticed it though. Shhh......

Mile 24: In a strange turn of events, a police car and an ambulance meet nose to nose trying to go in opposite directions, thus blocking off our path. I easily lose 20-30 seconds and am not happy about it.

Mile 25: We're downtown Detroit again, but where's the finish? "Doesn't this race ever end?"

Ford Field: Ah, the finish. We enter through the tunnel into the stadium which is all downhill. I'm pretty some people fall at this place given the exhaustion and the steepness. At this point my arm swing is nearly in my armpits and I'm trying to slow myself down because I really am out of control. After finishing, I get processed and move through some chutes like a cow off to the market. It's a surreal ending to such a crazy and wild morning. I actually finished a marathon. Woo-hoo!

The end Results: Time 3:56-ish, again, depends who you talk to. 1/2 split: 1:42:20. If you do the math you see that I had a REALLY tough time with the second half of the race :( Underwater mile split: 7:22 It was mostly flat or slightly downhill though :) 136th place for my age group and 1, 261st place overall. One very sore and tired body. Again, it was a great learning experience. Talking to runners after the race I learned that a good strategy is to run negative splits. My strategy was simply to go out and run. Next time I'll be much better prepared and the goal of 3:30 I think will be much easier to achieve.

Me before the race

Looky at what I won!

Me after the race at home :)

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!!!

Yes, there is something special going on this Sunday. Sunday is a day fast approaching in which I will always look back upon in rememberance. Whether the memories made are for the better or the poorer is yet to be seen, but they will be memories netherless. Sunday is the day of my first marathon!
The past week I have been suffering a cold, so things could get interesting. Also motivation to train has been down right zero. It's hard to go out and run a meager 8 miles when you've already ran 20. I like challenging myself, so if the task has no challenge in it, then it is hard for me to see the value of doing it. On top of that, there is also a chance of snow that morning! Not great running weather, especially for this sun-lover :)

There are a ton of obstacles to overcome in order to call my first attempt a success, but either way, this weekend in Detroit should be a memorable one!

On another note, I found out that I may not be graduating from CMU in the spring. The really cool college that I'm attending for my Master's decided it would not offer the last three courses that I needed to take. This is in spite of these courses being on the course rotation schedule for the spring 2007 semester. Thanks CMU! You're cool!!! (sarcasm noted)

I have found two replacement courses from another university that I can transfer in. That leaves one more class that I don't know what to do about. I just sent an e-mail out to the professors pleading for someone to do an indepentdent study with me. This is not normally the way college is done becuase the professors don't get paid for it. I'm praying and hoping that someone will see the value of teaching me, seeing how they are "education" professors. Maybe after I graduate they will hire me to teach there so their work load will be lighter! (zzz...huh?...what? oh, sorry...I must have been dreaming!)

My goal for Sunday is 3:30, which is not fast enough to qualify for Boston. I figured I would just go out and have fun with this one since it is my first time. Maybe if I run well then I will have some motivation to try again. Hopefully next time at a warmer location!

Fun Maps!

I thought this would be a fun little thing to post on the old blog. It's a map of all the states that I've traveled to.

map from http://douweosinga.com/projects/visitedstates

The author also made a map of the world that you can click on and highlight. It's a little depressing though when you look at it. One can travel abroad several times and not really have it show up. It makes one aware of just how big of a place the world really is. My map I admit is a bit decieving though. I really haven't visited Canada yet. I will be doing so (on foot) next weekend when I run the Detoit Marathon though. However, by no means am I exploring the entire land mass of Canada!

map from: http://douweosinga.com/projects/visitedcountries

A fun idea would be a world map that you can highlight the cities you've been to. If anyone has this let me know.

If there was one of just towns in Kansas that would be hilarious. I counted one time and I had been to like 2/3 of all towns in Kansas. Scary!

Friday the 13th is to be celebrated!

"This is the day that the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it." -Psalm 118:24

This is a day that strikes fear in maky people. While some who suffer from paraskavedekatriaphobia will not be able to enjoy today, I know that today is another wonderful day that has been created by the creator and that we should enjoy it!

A study estimates that nearly $900 million dollars will be lost in the U.S. alone because some refuse to fly or to do business on this day. It is a proven fact that for these people who fear this day, yes bad things happen. Mostly it is becuase of the psychological effect that their fear creates. People can actually make themselves sick over this day on the calender. However silly this may seem to us, we are not alone in our society's misguided fears. In Spain they fear Tuesday the 13th, and Tuesdays in general. In China the numbers 4 and 7 are both bad while the numbers 8 and 9 are good.

It's amazing the superstitions that different cultures hold on to. If we don't ship out on the 13th or on Fridays, and Spain doesn't start on Tuesdays, and the Chinese don't start their journeys on the 4th or the 7th, well....it's amazing that anything ever gets done in the realm of international business.

I will say that I find it sad how strong of a hold this kind of fear and blindness can have on people's lives. I find that superstitions often are intertwined with religion and that these futile practices will somehow help one gain prosperity either in this life or the next. If you know anyone of with another religious background other than your own, or know of anyone who is highly superstitious, I challenge you to get to really know what they practice and to try and understand why they practice it. These kinds of conversations open the door for us to talk about spiritual things and can lead to an opening for our Father to work. (Keep in mind though He is not dependent on us, we are dependent on Him)

How great it is to have assurance of our salvation, because of what Jesus did on the cross!

Below is a quick video of what Michigan is like in October. It could me much worse like it is in Buffalo. They got nearly 2 feet of snow last night!

Balloon Fest II !

So I promised that I would find the pictures from last years balloon festival. I finally did so and finally threw them up on my computer for your enjoyment.

There hasn't been a whole lot of exciting things going on as of late. Last weekend Sandy and I ate breakfast at Omelette's and more, a fun little mom and pop restaurant downtown. It was the first time that I had been there, but I'm thinking I'll be becoming a regular there soon. It's a nice little place to go. Oh, and they serve great coffee! If anyone comes and visits we're definitely taking you there!

School has been bery challenging this year. The assessments and evaluations class has blown me away. I'm not a big statistics person so it's been a tough go. I have a test there tomorrow that is all essay and short answer. That should be fun! My grant writing class has been enjoyable. It's challenged me to think more as an administrator rather than just a student. It's interseting stuff.

In other news, it's supposed to get stinkin' cold soon. It's supposed to snow tonight and tomorrow, but it shouldn't stick. At least I hope not! High tomorrow....a balmy 38! The trick or treaters might be wearing their long johns this year!

I promise next time I'll be a little more thought provoking. My posts often reflect the way I'm living my life at the moment, so yes, I'm a bit scattered and a bit random. After this weekend things should calm down a tiny bit.

p.s. the last picture is of Sandra's favorite balloon :)

Balloon Fest!

Recently was Midland's hot air balloon festival. This is a festival that takes Midland by storm each September and brings in hundreds of "balloonists" to the area. On Friday night they have what they call "the glow". It's when some of the ballonists unpack their balloons and air them up at night. They don't fly anywhere, but they just fire off their flames to fill up their balloons. Because it's dark out, the flame makes the balloon glow and makes for an incredible evening. On Saturday and Sunday the balloonists compete in several competitions. One that I know of is where each balloon flys around the greater Mid-Michigan area and drops beanbags at large targets painted in designated fields. Unfortunately the weather was too foggy this year and so they didn't take off on Saturday. Sandy did get pictures of one balloon that did get unpacked to give short up-and-down rides to children. The balloonists did get to compete on Sunday however!


The balloon festival makes driving a car just a bit more interesting and definitely more challenging than usual that weekend. Besides the average Joe who is looking up at dozens of balloons and watching them hover gracefully in the sky, each balloon has a spotter team who's job is to follow the balloon from the ground in case there is trouble.(so you know they're not watching the road either) Being in a car is definitely taking your life into your own hands. As if Michigan drivers needed an excuse to drive poorly!


I attached a few of the pictures that Sandy took this year. Somewhere I have pictures from last year's festival as well. If I find those I will be sure to post them. Many of the same balloons show up from year to year and it's a great time to see what fun designs will be floating around. One balloon was in the shape of a house while many others take the shape of popular cartoon animals. If you've ever been curious what the Macy's Thanksgiving parade would look like if the balloons were to get free, this event would give you a pretty good picture of that might look like :)


The past few weeks have been busy ones, but good. My classes are in full swing and a lot of my time has been devoted to that. We had the opportunity to spend an evening playing games and eating snacks with some of our neighbors last weekend. They are a "couple", of people who share an apartment together. They are both handicapped so they usually don't get out much. They are a riot together, but neither are walking with our Father. They both have religious pasts, but neither go to church now. Tony continues to express interest in what it is we believe and how that differs from what he has been taught from his Catholic childhood. He's a great guy, but doesn't have the joy of a Saviour in his life. Please be praying as Sandra and I find openings to talk about Spiritual matters with him.


We've also been crazy busy with our church and are serving as part of a Timothy team. A Timothy team is a team of people who come together and support a couple or family that is preparing to go the mission field. Every person that is sent by our church has a Timothy team in place. We're not for sure what our specific roles are going to be yet, but we are excited to send out an awesome family overseas and to see what this process looks like. We want to know what it looks like to be sent well by the body so we can continue in this work and that we will know what we may need if Father leads us in that direction!

I Still Have It!

Although I haven't taught since May of '05, judging by this quiz, I learned that grad school hasn't made me lose my mind just yet! Where do you rank? No cheating!!!

You Passed 8th Grade Science

Congratulations, you got 8/8 correct!

Could You Pass 8th Grade Science?

Pictured Rocks

"He makes springs pour water into the ravines; it flows between the mountains. They give water to all the beasts of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst. The birds of the air nest by the waters; they sing among the branches. He waters the mountains from his upper chambers; the earth is satisfied by the fruit of his work." Psalm 104:10‑13

This past weekend, Sandra and I went hiking through some beautiful countryside. We went to a place in "da UP" called Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. I highly recommend this place for any who enjoy being in God's wonderful creation, nature. We drove up on Saturday morning, hiked around for 11 miles or so and then settled in for the evening. The next day we finished our trek by going another 5 miles or so. Needless to say that our backs were a bit tired from carrying our packs, but it was so much fun! It really is beautiful up there and it was so inspiring to see the works of the Great Artist, our Creator. He is so imaginative. It reminded me of "the Magician's Nephew", the prequel to the Narnia series when the new world was created. Walking through the forrest and just trying to take in all of the scenery and animals. Unfortunately there were no bear sitings, (sorry mom) but we did see chipmunks, rabbits, bugs, spiders, and a plethora of species of birds. Here are a few pictures to show you what it some of it looks like. We didn't get anywhere near to seeing everything that the area has to offer so I'm guessing we'll go back when it warms up again. I'm also looking forward to hiking the Porcupine mountains area, but agian, it'll have to wait :) If anyone wants to visit us AND have a great outdoor adventure, be sure to come on up to MI for a few days!

Also, after we got back from our adventurous hike, I ran a 10K here in town and survived. I was tired, stiff, and sore after hiking for so long and then driving in a car for 4+ hours, but I managed a 12th place finish overall and 2nd in my age group. I finished in 44:25, not bad considering. This run just confirmed that I think I can successfully finish my upcoming marathon in under 3:30. We will soon find out!

A Picture of us at Chapel Rock


Sandy at Mosquito Falls


Sandy and I on the shores of Lake Superior


Just one reason why the area is called Pictured Rocks

Softball hurts

I guess it's been a while since I've played before this season. It hasn't been THAT long, but it has been a couple of years.

Last night we played a team who's players I'm pretty good friends with and we lost...again. The big thing is that I jacked my body up a bit while playing. I slid into second and jammed my L ankle and of course scratched up my R shin. My R shin is covered only by old scar tissue and so each time I habitually slide when I look close to being tagged out, my skin just kind of rips open. I had most of it taped up, but apparantly not enough of it. Yuck! I thought it would also be cool to make a first baseman-like stretch (even though I was playing second)to catch the ball and get the out. The problem is that unless one stretches prior to attempting such a manuever, one might tweak a groin muscle. :( Remember I'm in Michigan and it's pretty chilly up here in the evenings already. Yeah, that's it. It couldn't be that I'm just getting older, right? The runner was out however :p

Hopefully I survive the rest of the season injury free and I avoid putting my marathon training in any kind of jeopardy. Maybe this is my body's way of saying "DON'T DO IT!"

Sandra and I have most of our supplies ready to be packed for our hiking trip this weekend. I'm super excited to go treking throught the woods and even more excited that it's supposed to warm up before we get there. The low where we are going was like 40 last night. In my book this is not acceptable until at least October if not even later than that. It should be lots of fun though no matter what the weather is like.

Running the Race

Okay, So I'm officially doing it. I have entered into the 2006 Detroit Free Press Marathon to be ran on October the 29th. I know, everyone thinks I'm crazy, but it's something I've always wanted to do and the timing is right if I were ever to run one. I've been training for a while, but I didn't want to make any hasty decisions so I waited until I hit 18 miles for a long run (yesterday) to see if I thought I could do it and so, I'm now entered. The entry fee is nonrefundable so I guess I'd better run it eh?

With a new goal in sight and a new chapter currently being written in my storied running career, it's only natural that Paul's words about running the race can be viewed in a new and refreshing light.

In our Christian walks we are to run after our Father in such a way that we may win the prize, or our crown, that is everlasting and will never fade away. In 1Cor 9:25, he says "Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last..." While in today's society of entitlement, everyone seems to be a winner. While everyone who finishes a marathon gets a "finisher's medal", there can still only be one true winner. To be that winner, one must train vigorously. Heck, to get the "finisher's award" one must train very hard as well. There are days where I really don't feel like running. There are even days where I feel like packing it in and not running at all or I feel like turning around short of my goal and going home early. The thing that keeps me going is the feeling of urgency because I only have 9 weeks of training before my race. Just as in my walk, somedays I don't feel like praying. Some days I don't feel like studying Romans until my head explodes. Somedays I'm, just lazy. Some days I avoid people like the plague and I don't reach out to others in my circles of influence. I'm sure I'm not the only one to ever experience this. The problem is that I don't always have the same feelings of urgency to motivate me in my spiritual walk.

Another observation I've made is that in order to win the "prize" one must be in constant training. Just because you have one discipline down it doesn't mean that you can shortcut God somewhere else. This has been made very vivid in my life lately through my running experience. I can be motivated to run 18 miles on Saturday morning, but it takes a huge effort for me run a few miles of speedwork on Thursday afternoons. It's not my strong suit and it's not something I'm comfortable with. Just as in my walk I can wake up consistently at 5:30 in the morning to pray, but if God asks me to confront someone personally and verbally than I drag my feet and make excuses. Again, the deciding factor comes down to what my motivation is and where my obedience level is at.

But remember we are in constant training. While some days we would rather check out, we must be constantly and faithfully running our race. My prayer is that at the end of my life I can say as Paul said in II Tim. while staring down death, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." In order to be able to say that, I must become more obedient to God's calling. When the Spirit pokes me and says go talk to that person, I must be obedient no matter how uncomfortable or awkward it makes me feel. It's all about the motivation: to see God glorified in all situations, both awkward and comfortable. After a lifetime of this obedience, then and only then can I be as Paul and receive the crown of righteousness.

Coffee Quiz!

I owe this one to my friends Kyle and Carly's blog. Enjoy!

You Are an Iced Coffee

At your best, you are: hyper, modern, and athletic At your worst, you are: cheap and angsty You drink coffee when: you're out with friends Your caffeine addiction level: medium

What Kind of Coffee Are You?

Blah, blah, blah

Nothing real exciting to cover this past week. My classes start up soon so I'm trying to relax for a bit and yet get things done that I said I would do during my 3 weeks away from school. I'm seriously thinking about running a marathon. My training has been going well and Saturday I hit 16 miles. I'm looking at the Detroit marathon at the end of October but I want to wait until after this weekend when I do an 18 miler. I know I can cover the distance of a marathon, but I want to do it well and not just "survive" it.

The fall softball league has started for Sandra and I and our first game was last night. It didn't last very long because we were run-ruled in the 4th inning. I did however go 2/2 with an RBI, but alas we lost anyway. We were missing a lot of our team so hopefully Wednesday night will be better with our full squad in place (minus our normal pitcher). We are also planning on a hiking trip to the U.P. for Labor Day weekend. I'm getting very excited as this day closes in. We're going to be going to Pictured Rocks which is on the shoreline of Lake Superior. I'll have lots of pcs hopefully from that trip so check in for that!

Airshow and family fun!

So the past week has a been a very busy one indeed. Last weekend was spent watching an airshow in Belleville, Michigan near Detroit. We were invited by one of Sandy's co-workers, Scott, who is an aviation fanatic. It was very exciting to go with him because who could explain everything down to the smallest little detail imaginable.

Then Sandy's family, the Morton's, drove in from Kansas to spend several days of vacation with us. We showed them some of the local attractions, but most of our time was spent in simple relaxation, catching up on each others' lives, playing games and enjoying the company of family. Sandra's brother Matt was missing from the crew as he was preparing for classes to start at K-State :( However, we were blessed with his presence already this summer when he came by himself to visit us on his way back from a Young Life camp in Minnesota where he volunteered much of his summer break.

I survived another week of teaching our Sunday school class at church today. We're in the middle of examining II Timothy and I've had the opportuity to teach a large chunk of it (4 weeks) While we never seem to have enough time to cover all that I have prepared, I really have enjoyed not just the teaching aspect, but have really enjoyed what Father has taught me in my time of preparation. For this I am very thankful.

I tossed in a couple of photos of the air show and family pics for fun!

we found a giant bronze pig!

oooh.......a stealth bomber

a rare p-51 Mustang flying over the WWII reenactment

A picture of the WWII reenactment. All of the tanks are privately owned!

The p-51 Mustang makes another pass!

What we've been up to lately

We've been up to a lot lately. These pictures are just a few of them. Sandy and I went to a tall ships sail-in recently. We had the opportunity to tour one of the boats that her company was sponsoring for the event. I think she believes that she's driving ;) We also went to a local car show where I finally saw my dream car up-close and personal like. I've always wanted one of these beauties, but they're a little out of my price range. The last photo is of us together exploring the deck of one of the tall ships.

First TIme

Seriously, this is my first posting. I've fought the technological trend thus far, but since my MA will be in Educational Technology I suppose I should give in :)