The Shadow Proves the Sunshine

I know it's been a while since I last posted, so I'll give a quick update.

Middle School Mania went great last Friday. My team was successful in both the treasure hunt and the cardboard pirate ship building. I saw Batman Begins again with David, Shannon, Cade, Jason, and some others from Calvary. That movie has so much meaning that I think I'll have to wait for the DVD before I can sort out all of my thoughts. Afterwards we went to Chili's for some chips and salsa. I don't think the waitress liked us much. PDF. On Sunday we went out to Logan's before church and sat in Alyssa's section. We took up all of her tables. There were 13 of us, so it was a ton of fun.

School went fine this week. No big assignments, just everyday routine. There was this kid sitting next to me in Classical World that was wearing the same white jacket that Ryan always wears. Everytime I looked next to me I kept picturing Ryan.

I had the chance to catch up with a lot of my friends that I haven't really seen since graduation this Friday. I saw Rudy at Subway at the end of his shift, so we talked for a while; then, at the football game I ran into quite a few of my class that stayed around Muskegon this year. It was good to catch up.

Last night, Sarah, David, Dallas, and I drove to GR to see a Battle of the Bands at one of the local Christian bookstores. A latino band named Tierra ended up winning, but Mesa County Fair was a really good band. I also had the chance to talk to two people who saw my CSM shirt and asked about my trip and shared about their trip to Washington D.C. I enjoyed being able to re-visit some of the thoughts and experiences I'd had this summer.

After the concerts, we went to Steak 'n Shake for dinner. It was a good time just goofing off and hanging out. Some lady came up to us afterward because she and her daughter had been debating whether we were in college or high school. Weird.

I started teaching my small group this morning. I'm going to enjoy these guys this year. There are about 5 that come regularly, which, in my opinion, is just about the perfect size. I can't wait to get to know them and be able to be an influence and also be influenced by them.

Keith let me borrow Radical Reformission by Mark Driscoll. I'm anxious to get going in that book; I've heard nothing but good things about it.

By the way, the title of this post is in reference to the new Switchfoot CD. It's really good, and I love the name of this song. It's so cool to think how God allows tough times in our lives to give us a chance to see Him shining through. When life's just peachy and easy, I think we quickly forget how much we need God. Being so busy with life has made me forget God as I go through my day. Being busy + forgetting God = Not good. I just need to reconnect by doing what I know I should. Pray for me if you remember.

Oh, if you'd like to go to a Thousand Foot Krutch concert in GR, on October 1st, visit Sarah's blog. If we get enough people, we'll get a group discount.

That's all for now.

Until next time.