first week (OVER!)

life is busy, but oh-so-good right now

LU has been fantastic so far. classes are interesting & hopefully positively challenging as the days go on. reconnecting with friends that have been here going to school has been awesome, as well as meeting new people... on-campus, at church, or on the frisbee field (you had to have known i would seek that out almost immediately haha). my roommates are great guys, haven't really truly met the 3rd guy who moved in yesterday... but soon enough i'm sure. everyone is on a different schedule, so it's rare but great

also, i'm having to adjust to not having convenient at-home internet... which, in reality, is a good thing. so i've grown accustomed to free-WiFi hot-spots like Moe's or Panera... and the free wireless on campus, too. also means less-distractions and more sleep when i'm back at the house haha

it's such a different atmosphere than i'm used to, so it's going to take some adjusting to.... but the overall opportunities so far have been much-needed and quite awesome. a new church to attend while i'm here (Brentwood Church), a guys accountability/discipleship group to attend during the week, and so much more as time goes on.. I'm sure.

there's alot to reflect on leading up to this point in my life... and I'm extremely excited to be where God has led me, both educationally & spiritually.

*i really never thought i'd end up @ LU going to school, but here I am working on my graphic arts degree.

*i never thought i'd be living in a house with almost-complete-strangers... but now I'm living with 3 new-faces and pleasantly adjusting to living away from home.

*i never thought i'd be in a long-distance relationship, but i'm blessed with such an amazing opportunity & experience now... and it's been so surprisingly stress-free & she's a daily encouragement and source of uplifting joy. (4 days, Abby!!! plenty of confetti will be thrown... September is going to be amazing)

*i never thought i'd become so reliant on God to get me through stressful situations.... but my lately my car has been a big source of stress, and yet I've been kept in-line & patient with anything that comes my way

*i never thought i'd be doing this well at fighting off soda (for the most part)... yet here I am with a newfound love for Vitamin Water, and good 'ol regular water too. Still... I could be doing better. I will persevere!

Welp... that's all for now. Sorry if you check my blog often and haven't seen many new posts.... keep checking back! 'Til next time...

LU takeover

So I'm all moved in now, a bit more unpacking to do... but for the most part I'm settled & enjoying my room @ the house! I'll post pictures soon, once I take some, and maybe my address in case anybody wants to send letters, pictures, care packages, etc (wink wink).

Ran into Leverett (the roommate I had met beforehand) late thursday night, after I got back to the house from board-gaming with some friends. Hopefully his work schedule isn't too chaotic so we can hang out soon. Also finally met Dave last night, after some quality Star-Trek/Sheetz hangtime with the one & only Dan Chuuuurch. Very chill & seems like a really legit guy, looking forward to getting to know him more. The 4th guy in the house, Jason M, moves in next week at some point.

Procrastinating on buying my books, in case there ends up being any that I won't need to buy... but I'll brave the bookstore tomorrow to grab 2 or 3 of the essentials that I know I'll need. Looking to set-up a meal plan too, once Monday rolls around... and hoping to get my laptop linked up to the LU-network at some point, but for now the guest-connection will do just fine.

Weather isn't so pleasant right now, which is unfortunate because I wanted to do some outdoor exploration... or gather some people & throw around a frisbee, but I'm not too sure if the 434 weather is as spastic & quick-changing as the weather back home. Hopefully it's cleared up by tomorrow, so I can go hiking with Dan & his friends after church.

Welp.... that's all for now. I miss all you 757 ppl, can't wait for a visit from the 814 (and vice versa =) of course!), and look forward to time spent with old friends & meeting plenty new people here in the 434

simple.... but hilarious

there's something about this video that gets me every time.... in all it's short, simplistic glory. pretty sure it needs to be looped for added hilarity

the big move

*(sorry for the extended break in-between posts, life has been pleasantly busy as-of-late)*

it's finally taking place this coming thursday (the big move to lynchburg, that is). the more i organize & pack, the more real it's going to feel leading up to thursday morning. balancing all of that with family-time & seeing friends before i go isn't going to be easy. my goal is to be completely ready by the time wed. nite rolls around, so i can close-out my summer with some ultimate frisbee.... buuuut i'm mentally prepared for the possibility of missing out, whether due to feeling incomplete with packing.. or due to random bad weather (it's haunted us for the past 2 weeks whenev frisbee time rolled around)

regardless, i'll have 4 days to settle in and spend time with the family in lynchburg before they head back here to the 757.. and then classes start on monday!

it's been an amazing year off from school (and an even better summer) and I am extremely thankful for the blessings & opportunities scattered throughout. from sunday mornings teaching a 7th grade guys group, to helping dalton any-way-possible in getting the college ministry off the ground, to wed-nites/camp/super-summer with the youth group, to seeing ultimate frisbee grow from 15-ish ppl once a week to 30-40ish ppl twice a week, to all the concerts & movie-nights & game-nights & random outings, to the trip to toronto with the college group, to being an encouragement & care-package sender and having that turn into something quite-amazing recently with a particularly special girl who was away on summer mission project, to...... phew..... just so much has happened this year! i've loved every minute of it, and i am extremely amped & excited to see what God has in store for this coming semester & beyond into 2010

needless to say, it's gunna be quite nice splitting my time between the the 434, the 814, and the 757

what are YOU excited about this year?

jerk friend

i think everybody has a friend like this, who pulls cruel stunts & pranks regardless of how old he/she is... and yet, i cherish the friends that I'm reminded of while watching this video.

a) because later on, the stories are hilarious... and b) because when they get pranked & become the victim..... it's twice as hilarious