On Missions

I strongly support missionaries. I plan on being a missionary. When I was younger I always thought that missionaries only lived in grass huts in Africa. When I decided to be a missionary I had my heart set on South Africa. When I felt so called by God to go to Russia I dismissed it entirely. There aren't any grass huts in Russia. Silly God. I read a book about missionaries in the 1800's who went to the Pacific, and I conceded that there could be grass huts in other parts of the world. I didn't meet a missionary until after I accepted the call to become a missionary. I have still never actually met a United Methodist missionary. But, I knew they lived in grass huts. And ate monkey brain. I wasn't thrilled about the monkey brain, but I could live with the grass huts.

I have since that time been in Russia, India, and China. I have still never slept in a grass hut. I have done a good bit of missionary service. For the time being I feel called to go to Russia and work with the "New Russians" the elitist wealthy class. The gospel is penetrating the very heart of Russia, but the gospel message rarely transcends economic barriers without the help of an outsider. I pray that by the time I leave for Russia without a reture ticket that the United Methodist Church will be huge. I pray that in my life I can start one church of upper class Russians. I pray that I can have a lasting impact on their lives - that Christ would transform them to understand that money isn't everything.

In Bible Study at church today some people were upset that we felt we had to go overseas to do missions. They felt that Stephens County needs enough help as it is. I agree that Stephens County needs a good bit of help, but I also know that I'm following God's call. People can detest thos with a missionary spirit for not staying in America, but ultimately we all have to follow God's leading. He has enough people He is calling that if they all followed that call Stephen's County could be turned on it's head.

I may never get the grass hut I dreamed of. I will, however, get to evangelize to an un-reached people group - giving them the gift of the gospel in a culturally relevant fashion. Praise God.

I had a great conversation with my friend Jonathan. We have decided to seriously pray about doing door to door evangelism and starting a house church in his house. We were pissing and moaning about how much Christians sucked because they wouldn't get off their butts ... and God convicted us to get off our butts. I'm still really praying about it, and part of me is praying that they conviction will leave so I can keep being lazy. I think I will know by tomorrow wether this is what God will have for me - or if I just shot my mouth off for nothing. God might not have this as part of my ministry - but I think it probably will end up being something that we at least try.

Of Grace and Pasty Legs

I wore shorts to class today. I wouldn't have - I usually follow the rules - but, a woman preached (first sin) in my Sunday School class about Grace (second sin) on Sunday. She told the story of a pastor who had lost his daughter and, seeing the plague that read,"My Grace is Sufficient," - he prayed that God would make His grace sufficient. The voice of God whispered back, "I can't make my grace any more sufficient than it already is. I can't make it more 'enough' ." The woman went on to tell of her battle with cancer. "When I found out I had cancer 6 years ago, I knew - My Grace is Sufficient. When I went in for my 6th year of testing to make sure it was in remission God wispered to me that - My Grace is Sufficient. When I found out I had cancer again I rememberd. - My Grace is Sufficient."

So, it got me thinking about my own life and how I live it out. I preach daily that God's grace is sufficient. I decided that I must also preach it with my life. So, I decided that I would wear shorts. I was followed by the thought all of yesterday, "If God's grace is sufficient to cover all of your sins - why isn't His grace sufficient to cover your pasty legs." At Toccoa Falls we aren't allowed to wear shorts. There's no biblical mandate - it is just common knowledge that only satanists wear shorts. I decided that although wearing shorts isn't Toccoa Falls biggest problem - it was one that I had to face. I wore shorts and stood up for grace - a grace sufficient to cover all of my sins ... and my pasty legs.

Jonathan is thoroughly modern. I am thoroughly postmodern. A lot of moderns believe that my generation's shift to post-modernity is bad. Simply not true.

Jonathan watched a scientific explenation of the plagues on Egypt. Supposedly a volcanoe caused all of them. An eruption 700 miles away caused enough of a ground shift to release iron sulfide (or somthing like that) into the nile which turned it blood red. The frogs could get out of the water, and had to do so to live - thus the frogs. The dead animals who didn't get out of the water would have attracted the flies. The flies would account for the pestilence. The volcanic ash still in the air could have produced the swarms of locust. (something about their migratory routine being interupted by darkness) The kicker for him was that the first child of every household slept on a bed of privilege low to the ground. The other children slept on the room or in a higher bed with their parents. The smog produced by the volcanoe would have been lower to the ground and could have killed all of the first born.

I am disgusted by this idea. I prefer to think of an all powerful God who turned the nile into blood and killed the firstborn. I like the mystery in that. I'm postmodern.

Jonathan likes that God could have used science (which we can explain) to create the plagues. He is modern.

I think in this case the post-moderns have it.

See, the problem is ... that ... well, ... I think I'm lying. I took a boy home from a party. His family lives in Toccoa and he is a freshman who still lives at home. He told me about how much he doesn't like going to church. All of his reasons were honest and understandable. I invited him to my church, but he told me he wasn't allowed to go to any church other than the one his parents went to. His curfew is 10PM. We joked about me kidnapping him on Sunday mornings for church. I feel that my church in Toccoa is a very loving and exciting community of believers. I want my friend to want to go to church. -None of this is the lie.

He invited me in to meet his parents. In all of our discussions I tried to portray Toccoa First United Methodist as a conservative church (it is) and that I am practically a conservative (i'm not). I know that if his parents find out how liberal I am that they would have major problems with me taking him to my Methodist church.

Their son had danced on tables, grinding against people of both genders, just a half of an hour ago - and here I am sitting in his living room telling his mother how conservative I am so that she would think I am a good influence. (FOR THE RECORD - We all stood on tables to dance, I didn't grind with anyone, I still consider myself a good influence, and I never actually say that I'm conservative.)

I skirt around issues, laugh at the most outrageous liberal viewpoints, and don't even approach the fact that we danced at the party. I'm not ashamed of being liberal, but when most C&MA conservatives find out I'm liberal they put me in a category somewhere between Rosie O'donnel and The Great Satan. There isn't much room to breath in that category. Checklists come out, and soon the fact that I support gay rights, abortion (rape, incest, and mother's health), immigration, and most democrats comes out. Then it goes to religion and the notion that I'm not sure about the inerrancy of scripture comes up. It just goes down hill.

Once the truth is out I can't lie. But, I feel so justified in skirting the issue. If I hadn't lied my friend would be in trouble for talking to me. It was only a little sin?

I have finished my first week of classes as a Sophomore. My sister is sick with Vertigo - and now on Vicadin (lucky). My dad was approved for the gastric bypass surgery. I have 14 chapters of Jane Austen and a 3 page essay to finish for Monday. I have a line of Sweet and Low that I'm considering snorting to try and blot out the pain.

I have so much to be thankful for. Good friends, good food, good God. I am more blessed in the friends area than almost anyone I know. I don't have a lot of "lifetime" friends ... but I'm set for the next 3 years at least. I also have a crazy large readership of my blog. Including, however not limited to, people that I write about. Sometimes, when your life is a Job story, I will write about you if only to point out suffering. I call 'em like I see 'em.

I have this vision of real change happening soon. I don't think it will be my life that's about to change ... but you never know. I'm thinking it will be Toccoa Falls. Revival anyone? This is Dean Adams last year, and I know he has been praying fervently for revival. If our chapels didn't suck so much maybe revival could happen.

I have decided to work during the chapel hour. Every day. I will still go to my small group, but I feel so lonely when I worship with a lot of TFC students. A few people don't even feel that I am worthy to be there worshipping with them because I am a liberal. I realize, that in all reality none of us are worthy to worship God ... but there's something about their judgement that really cuts deep.

So many people here believe that you only should be in a church if you are saved and have it all together (or at least pretend that you have it all together). I don't know what I believe about a lot of things. My friends were denied missionary candidate status because they were post-mill instead of pre-mill. Somewhere we missed the point dramatically. We go to churches that don't give a damn about the people outside of their walls, and yet such a minute point of contention is considered important. Give me a break. Give God a break.

I have been fighting that uphill battle of beating down intolerance when it shows up on campus. It is really like trying to get rid of weeds. There is so much hatred buried so deeply in many people's hearts. I know that most people feel justified in their hate. Who would hate without feeling justified? It makes me so sad to see people who profess to be Christians, but fail to understand that the hatred in their hearts has to go for them to be right with God.

I support gay rights. I support gay people. Most TFC students feel that it is a sin and that a person can't be gay and be a Christian. I don't mind that attitude. Some students feel that God hates fags. They honestly believe (for reasons I will never understand) that God judges homosexuality with more ferocity than he judges "normal" sin. When I get this concept down I think I deserve a freakin medal of honor. I always try and give my viewpoints gently and slowly.

- God loves the world. God judges all sin the same. Gay people are sinners. You and I are sinners, too. God loves gay people. No one (except Christ) can be completely without sin. We should love others - including gays.

It's not rocket science, but for some reason so many Christians believe that they are denying Christ by believing such heretical things. Call me a heretic, but I believe that Christ is sufficient - even for gays.

Of grammerlessness and sinfulness

I am truly enjoying my Jane Austen class. We had a discussion about our love/hate relationships with the work of Jane Austen. There are 8 people in the class (2 boys!) and a really fun, quirky teacher. It was hard to admit that I just took the class for a fun challenge and to appear liberal by TFC standards. (Actually, it was too hard and I didn't confess it.)

One boy (the other boy), Jimmy, was telling everyone about his first Austen experience. He was explaining about how a friend took him to the theatre to see the movie. "I was literally dragged ... or drugged ... or drug ... I'm a bad English major, to the theatre." I realized at that point that this is somewhat like what I want the church to look like.

There were 8 of us all gathered together around one single purpose. We all had different levels of experience with said purpose. One girl viewed Austen as her "in" to the world as a socially awkward middle schooler. I was just curious. No one judged Jimmy for his grammatical error. No one cared. None judged another because she wasn't in love with the writing. No one seemed to care that I hadn't read all of Austen's works. The main thing was that we were all there to learn more about Jane Austen. We didn't all pledge to fall in love with her writings ... but there's a good chance we will all do just that.

I see few churches where people can get together who are seeking a God of love - but haven't found him yet. Churches should be a mixed bag of people all looking towards the same goal. They shouldn't be all at the same point. We shouldn't seperate up into groups based on where we are at in our walks with Christ. We should all struggle together. We shouldn't judge others when they mess up.

This evening I went to an adult Bible Study at my church. I love all of the people - and I know that some of them are more along in their faith than others ... but everyone there is already saved. We have a seeker friendly Bible Study. I believe with everything in me that God's promise (that His word will not return void) doesn't mean that we can read obscure passages from the KJV to teenagers and expect them to get something, but rather, that when studied in community everyone will be able to get a message from God directed at them. The message God had for me tonight was different than the message he had for the 80 year old man seated across from me. God had a different plan for tonight for the middle aged woman with unruly kids. God's word didn't come back void for a single person in that room tonight. We all didn't get the same message though. Praise God.

I realize that no one cares that I missed breakfast this morning. I even forgot to eat the scone that I tucked away from yesterday. -- I have figured out that people get bored reading about my friends in Georgia that they will never meet. My friend Dustin almost twisted my wrist until it was broken today when we were messing around before he realized that he was hurting me ... but when he realized this he stopped right away and we had a cathartic moment of forgiveness. -- I've come to terms with the notion that maybe not everyone is that interested in reading about my latest nap or ham sandwich. I haven't taken a nap or a ham sandwich in over two weeks I'm proud to say.

But, my life is so chaotic. I seem so thrown in the wind of life right now. I feel like I'm coming apart at the seems I so neatly had sewn last semester. There's plenty of good things going on here, but the pain that this school levied upon me was buried here. The wind is unveiling it.

Our first chapel service ended with everyone standing and signing a large sheet of paper which showed that they were willing to change the world. Few meant that with their signature also went a sold out devotion to God and a promise of changing His world. Most meant simply that they were sheep and didn't want to buck the trend. Today we heard about the many exciting ministry oppertunities available to us. Each one was C&MA approved and didn't involve actually having to touch anyone who was different from you. (Except kids. We don't mind black kids ... but that stops at the teenage years.)

I want to change the world. I didn't sign the paper. None of my friends whom I see changing the world signed the paper. I don't see a lot of people who changed the world by maintaining the status quo. I see a lot of people who shook things up until change happened.

I'm going to keep writing - and praying - that soon when I report my day to day life it will involve a lot of change. In my life. In this campus. In this world. Amen.

I'm sitting in my old roomate's room. I miss having Jonathan as a roomate. I love my new room though. I have the biggest room on campus - 2 walk in closets, personal (large) bathroom, and a washer and dryer right outside of my room. Plus, I have a great guy who is really fun as my resident director instead of the infamous Mr. B. (Mr. B. looks just like John Wayne Gacy - a notorious serial killer who killed 46 young men) as the R.D. I pick on Jonathan a good bit. He comes from an extremely conservative southern baptist family. I love them. We assigned all of his brothers a numerical value based on their propensity towards rampant homosexuality. Jonathan is Mr. 60 ... and his efeminate yet straight brother is Mr. 90. The gay one is Mr. 120. Jonathan and I just spent 5 minutes argueing about how AIDS is spread. Lest he ever be tempted to take a sip of a gay man's lemonade he can now rest assured that AIDS isn't transmitted through saliva.

Well, I'm going to go get a massage before starting my homework. My back's been hurting since this summer. Maybe a massage will do me more good than getting hooked to painkillers again.

I'm seriously considering taking a Jane Austen class. I had to drop a math class and need an English class - and that is seriously the only one with a professor whom I wouldn't intentionally sleep through class with. I really can't believe I'm going to take a class about Jane Austen. How literally insane am I?

I started taking Mary's advice and intentionally going for more excersize. I've only hit up the elevator as a social event and not out of laziness. I went to see my advisor - and when he asked me what classes I was taking I went completely blank and couldn't remember. HAhAh. I'm losing it.

Gottta go.

It was an exciting day today. I went to church this morning at Toccoa First United Methodist. I brought 3 college kids with me and a good friend's mother. This woman is an independent fundementalist Baptist who isn't too pleased that her daughter is worshipping (if we could call it that) at a Methodist church. I was a little nervous that my friend's mom would hate it and forbid her from attending. The woman really enjoyed the service and the pastor used more scripture than ever before. It was a God thing, plain and simple.

I was the only college kid who was there for Sunday School - so I went to the "Jeriatrics for Jesus" class and hung out. I told them that people in my generation love giving to help people but hate giving towards buildings and maintenance during their discussion on tithing. They were glad that I joined them. My favorite quote was, " Jesus said, ' We ain't not supposed to worry about nothins."

Pastor Charles sermon was completely different at the traditional service - and even better than the contemporary service. At the early service when the altar was open a young father from the congregation went forward and his elementary aged son went down to the altar and prayed with him. I cried thinking of the lack of a father as a spiritual leader. I cried during a hardware store commercial where a father lets his son help him even though it would be more hassle than help. I swear to God that I'm going to be a better dad than my father was. It won't be hard.

I went to my "adopted family's" house here in Toccoa. We had Thanksgiving dinner and then Aileen taught me how to make southren yeast rolls and Jen and I made chocolate chip cookies for everyone. We watches "Luther" together. He was a brilliant nut job. I really enjoyed it and feel very strong - knowing that if I follow God He will use me ... even if I'm a nut job.

I went out for coffee with some kids from youth group. I love coffee. I love kids from my youth group. It was nice. I missed a dorm meeting and then read. I'm reading "The Secret Life of Bees", which is kicking butt so far. My roomate and I are getting along pretty well this year. He is even letting me use his computer. I think that Christ has worked in his life a good bit this summer. I'm glad I serve a God that works miracles.

It's good to be back here in Toccoa and seeing all of my friends again. My roomate has way too much stuff again, but we have a good size room and a private bath ... so it's pretty nice. I can't wait to go back to church tomorrow. It will be good to see everyone. My brain feels so scattered today. I'm really starting to wonder about my mental health. I don't think I'm crazy yet, but I forget so many things - and I really wander around a good bit with my moods. I don't want to be medicated my whole life, but I don't want to end up like my father. I wish that there was a good clinic where I could go and get a physical and not have to worry so much about the cost. I wish we had socialized medicine. I remember having more lucid thought just a while ago. When I am surrounded by people I have much less lucid thought. I'm really concerned about that.

I want to write a post about what I know to be true. Remind me to do that if it doesn't show up soon.

I've had a pretty busy day. I'm cooking a veggieterian meal for my friends, and it wasn't easy finding all the ingredients for it. I've never done any veggie meals.

I'm back in Toccoa now. I will move in tomorrow, and am getting excited about starting classes. How dorky is that? I'm a little tired already, but can't wait to meet all of the new freshmen.

I have nothing else to say. I am making french onion soup and a veggie sandwich. Peace and Love, Michael.

Of Waterfalls and Butterflies

It was an elementary week of camp. If it had been a senior high week it would have been an excellent teaching moment. Even a middle school week would have been okay, but since it was an elementary week I had to store the experience away in my blogbank for later.

After my campers and I finished a swim at the falls we turned around for one last look at the waterfall. To our pleasant suprise we saw a big, beautiful butterfly - he flew from where we were standing towards the waterfall. It playfully flew closer and closer to our rather impressive waterfall.

Then, the waterfall consumed the butterfly. The campers were all devestated, and truly, it was a sad thing to watch. I went into counselor mode and pointed out a cool rock formation before anyone cried. Oh how I wish this had happened during a senior high week. ---I would have loved to expound to my senior high guys about lust. - It's so tempting and so easy to get sucked into! - It's a great analogy, and here it is for those of you who are reading this.

The butterfly going towards the waterfall seemed so normal. It went toward something beautiful - something God created to be very beautiful. I thought for a half second, "What if its wings get wet?" Then, its wings got wet and it couldn't fight anymore. It died at the merciless hands of a beautiful waterfall. So much like when a person gets trapped in lust.

I've seen a lot of my friends get sucked in by lust. I have a friend who molested a child. One friend just married a horrible person because he fell in lust and had to marry her first. One very close friend had an affair with a married man. Priests molest children, Safe Sanctuaries outweighs the Holy Spirit in decision making, Porn is always available, Statistically- signing a "virginity card" makes you more likely to have unprotected sex(they wait longer to have sex, but are not prepared - and are more likely to not wear protection and get disease when they do give in), and the idea of a 24 year old virgin is shocking.

The Waterfall looks so pretty ... and getting just a little closer would be fun ... and maybe a little closerrrrr..... (and death follows). Lust is so tempting for all of us, and if we feel that we can control ourselves from lusting we're wrong. I hope that I can set an example in purite. I mess up a good bit. I hope everyone knows that I'm not perfect and that lust is a struggle for me, too. Sometimes my sister thinks it isn't - and she's dead wrong. Sometimes the waterfall looks so pretty, and stepping a little closer just seems like the right option.

Of Billie Holiday and Backsliding

I love Billie Holiday. I hate backsliding. By Billie Holiday I mean, of course, the black jazz singer from the 30s-60s. By backsliding I mean, maybe not so of course, the action that happens in our spiritual lives following a mountain top experience - as we slide back down that mountain that we had just so recently been on top of - where we lose that feeling of spiritual high.

I love one and hate the other, why would I lump them together? A lot of reasons.

I can't explain to any rational person why I love Billie Holiday's voice. "That sexy old black smoker voice is so hot," just doesn't seem to cut it. I know I'm not alone on this one. She is a popular singer, but I don't have one good reason that I could use to tell anyone why I love listening to her. --- I don't know why I backslide. I don't enjoy doing it. No part of me thinks, "Hey, you should leave that great feeling of being loved and forgiven for that feeling of loneliness and isolation that accompanies a denial of God." And, yet, I always backslide. I'm not alone. Everyone backslides.

I can't sing along with Billie Holiday. I have no capacity to sing in a fashion that even comes close to her style. I can't do it. I sing along with every other piece of music I like (barring Chinese Techno for obvious reasons), but I can't sing along with Billie. I don't even try. --- When I'm backsliding there's nothing I can do to stop it. I can't decide that I'm going to be back on top of that mountain. I have tried in the past, but I can't do it. I know that God proves Himself to me in those valleys of life. If I trust in God, and know that at some point I will get to see the splender of that mountain again - then I will be able to live victoriously in the valley; that's where life (and ultimately non-Christians) are. That mountain top can't last forever, why try and deny reality and pretend that you're always at a spritual high.

" That sparkle in your eyes is gone / Your smile is just a careless yawn / You're breaking my heart / You've changed." - Billie Holiday (You've Changed)

Oh Miss Holiday, thanks for seeing right through me. Sometimes God uses even drug crazed dead jazz vocalists to teach us a lesson about faith. (And some people think that God can't even use female pastors.) God knows where our hearts are - he knows we will come off the mountains - and, I think, that's part of the plan.

I finally have my new car. It is a 1999 Chevy Monte Carlo. The color is "light driftwood" which means golden tan. I really like it, and it feels like I'm driving a new car. I want to have it professionally cleaned once a year so it always feels like I'm driving a new car.

I've had a nice week home. I am not looking forward to the long trip back south by myself. I'm a little nervous about getting back into the swing of things. Boy, it was nice not having any school work this summer. I'm taking some tough courses this semester.

I read the Newsweek article about Billy Graham. Not the best written Newsweek piece I've ever seen. It was great for me, because I share a lot of my views - those which are seen as outlandishly liberal at Toccoa Falls- with Billy Graham, the most renowned evagelist in Christianity today. He isn't willing to say whom will be in Heaven - just that God loves everyone and died for the whole world. It doesn't matter what labels we put on people - God loves everyone.
Graham doesn't believe the Bible is necessarily literal. A good bit of it might be figurative. A view that could potentially get me kicked out of Toccoa Falls. I feel that my viewpoints have been legitimatized. (Is that a word? Well, at least you know what I mean.) What I believe is seen as far left wing at my college. I believe that my beliefs largely line up with those of Jesus. I wouldn't take them as my own unless I believed this. I'm going to try and talk and right a good bit less about politics. Graham notes that there are some issues that he feels Christians should be outspoken about. To me that includes racism, gay rights, and abortion. But, a lot of politics (which presidential candidate, stem cell research, taxes) don't really matter in the long run.

I went to Erie with my sister and best friend Mary. It was a great time. Bekke's apartment is a great place - full of excellent victorian details in a great old house. It came pre-furnished with horrible 80's furniture. Eh. We listened to Rent on the way home (we sang along.) Mary is going to blog on the Christian applications of Rent (including but not limited to viewing Angel, the gay cross-dressing prostitute, as a Christ figure.)

I won't go that far, but I did notice something very interesting. In one of my favorite songs the phrase "Let him with no sin throw the first stone" is thrown around. I realized that this dying world wants to see that Christian doctrine lived out. Most people know very little about Christianity. For some reason people tend to know this saying - and identify it as purely Christian. I think that people, although they don't admit it, would be very willing to follow this Christ of ours if His people would follow this one tenant.

It is such a simple principle - we have sin in our lives and so does everyone else. If we can come to grips with this and move on in love, well, I feel that Christianity will spread like wildfire.

And Hey, I'm excited to read Mary's blog on the gay, cross-dressing Christ figure in RENT. I've had some pretty far left feild blogs myself.

What a weekend. I drove home from Georgia this weekend with my parents. We were in two different vehicles. My personal favorite moment from the weekend was when we didn't book a site for our pop-up (what? I didn't tell you we were sleeping in a pop up?) and spent hours looking for a site while dad continued to make the decision that we should just keep driving until we find one. I just wanted to sit down and cry. My second favorite moment was when mom made me slow down after I passed dad when he was going 55. I slowed down to 55 until dad passed me and then called me to yell at me for going so slow on the interstate! It was maddening. We finally found a place in WVA!

So, now that I'm finished complaining: We met this kid named Matthew. He was a slightly retarded redneck, but I loved this kid. He helped us put up our pop-up and then hung around with us. While I was cooking dinner he gave me this gem of a quote(stated in a strong southern drawl), "I used to play with fire before I became a Christian. But, after I was baptised I gave up all my fire making tools." I love this quote. I realize that I love honest faith. I , in no way shape or form, support the notion that Christians can't enjoy fire. However, I love the fact that this boy changed an aspect of his life after deciding on faith in Christ. This is one of the few incidences I have seen in the south where a person who accepted Christ decided to change.

You see, In my conservative strict Christian college the only ones who make it are those who didn't have anythign to change. Almost everyone grew up in a Christian home, and yeah, a few had a rebelious stage, but none have shown any radical change - or at least they won't admit it. People at my college fail to understand that those in the process of change need help and encouragement.

I want to see more honest faith in God. I saw a good bit of it this summer in my senior high campers. I see it in so many of my closest friends. At Toccoa Falls I have two groups of friends - one group is comprised of wonderful, loving, and devout Christians. The other group includes people who haven't yet experienced the grace of Christ in it's fullest form. I want the two to collide, and I hope I can make that happen.

I'm sitting in Jon Bennett's apartment with my parents and Matty. I think I'm going to have to make an unexpected trip up to Pennsylvania to buy a car. Maybe this is for the best. I have a lot of really great ideas for blogging and not enough time on the internet. I'm much too lazy to even try and write things out on paper anymore. I went car shopping and my parents wouldn't let me buy the town car. I saw I was quoted in a Bill Beatty Sermon - right after a C. S. Lewis. Yea.

Well, more to come.

This is me yelling at a camper. I don't normally yell at campers, but this time warranted my raising my voice. We were playing a rather entertaining game called fruitball. It is essentially baseball, but with fruit. (Sometimes you have to explain every little detail, but this pretty much explains itself.) If an orange is in a million pieces - there are a million balls that can be used to get you out. This girl was using the same piece of fruit to get everyone out as they ran into home plate. I realized this after 7 of my team members were outed. I was so angry. (Yes it took me 3 rounds to figure it out.) It really felt good to yell at a camper in front of a lot of people. I used the "No ma'am!" phrase that I love so much. It was a good day I felt like sharing.

I have really had some ups and downs this weekend.

I woke up on Sunday very sick. I have strep throat. I really felt like I accidentally ate razor blades while sleepwalking. My parents were in town to take me with them to Florida. Since I was too sick to drive my mom drove my car and my dad followed us. Long story short - my dad was tailgating and rear-ended my car. So my preciouse Sunshine (yes, I named my car sunshine) is in pretty poor shaped. My parents decided to give me $6000 towards a new car!!!! So, I'm looking for a new car now. It really was a weekend of ups and downs.

I have a good bit to say, but I don't have wireless where I'm living now - and I don't think you can copy and paste into blogger. Argh. I guess I will write more deep stuff later. Maybe after I figure out commas.