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.
Sunday, September 18, 2005
Friday, September 09, 2005
Shiver Me Timbers
AAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHH!!Tonight, I have the great privelege of dressing up like a pirate!
The Middle School youth group has their first event of the year tonight, Middle School Mania. The theme is "A Pirate's Life for Me," so I get to be a pirate from 6-11pm!
If any of you HS'ers aren't busy tonight, you could help out if you feel like it. (You don't HAVE to dress like a pirate)
Besides Middle School Mania, I'm not really looking forward to the weekend. Sure, I'll get to sleep in a little tomorrow, but I've got to write a 6 page paper for Classical World Civilization. It will be a lot of work even though I really enjoy the subject matter: The Iliad.
I'm one step closer to a possible job at Hage's. I talked with the manager on Tuesday. They've already started interviewing, but he said my application had been set aside. He wrote down a note of when I could work to attach to my application, and said he'd probably call sometime soon. I hope I get this job, it'd be a BIG help in getting me to and from Allendale everyday.
I've got to get going because I've got a class on the other side of campus in a little bit.
Until next time.
"Quan, can you see me?" - Cade
"Yeah, I can see you. Can you see?" - Quan
Saturday, September 03, 2005
That Seagull is a Work of Art...
If you don't know what the title means, don't ask. I might be able to tell you later.
The last half of my school week went much better than the first half. My new Economics class will be a piece of cake. My Chemistry class is looking like it will be mostly review, but it will require a lot of my time. My Classical World class is getting better, and I'm looking forward to some of the stuff we're going to learn about Greek civilization. The Iliad and The Odyssey are two books I've been wanting to read, and this class gives me that opportunity.
I ran into Dan Quist today while walking out of my Econ class. For the majority of you that don't know him, Dan was my counselor at GYC two summers ago when I was on the Tim Team. He's in his senior year of studying to be a High School History teacher. He does a great impression of Robert "Goulet."
Sarah, Dallas, David, Becca, Melissa, and I went to see Red Eye tonight. I thought it was a good movie, but there were definitely some parts that we laughed at that weren't supposed to be funny.
After the movie Sarah, David, Dallas, and I attended to a very important task at a friend's house (the point of the title)... When we finished, we patted ourselves on the back and all went home.
Dallas set off my car alarm, and I think he might have woke up the Keurs. Oh well.
I'm looking forward to the start of the new school year with the Jr. Highers. We had a farewell "ceremony" for the 8th graders last Sunday, and this week the new 6th graders move up and we'll have a welcoming "ceremony." I think my brother is excited about finally being in youth group.
In Conversations, we've been talking about the Church in culture and where we fit in. Do we seclude ourselves to the extreme or do we completely immerse ourselves in culture to the point that we are fine with sin and are being negatively influenced by it? Obviously the ideal spot would be somewhere in between. I think I should be a little bit more immersed in culture than I am now, but I'm not sure exactly how that should play out. Any thoughts?
Where's the balance between becoming a part of culture because we live here and we need to be able to relate to the people that God is trying to reach out to and keeping ourselves from being negatively influenced?
I'd like to keep on typing because my thoughts normally become clearer as I type them out, but I'm a little too tired and it could end up a jumbled mess. (Even more jumbled than this post already is.)
Buenas Noches!
The last half of my school week went much better than the first half. My new Economics class will be a piece of cake. My Chemistry class is looking like it will be mostly review, but it will require a lot of my time. My Classical World class is getting better, and I'm looking forward to some of the stuff we're going to learn about Greek civilization. The Iliad and The Odyssey are two books I've been wanting to read, and this class gives me that opportunity.
I ran into Dan Quist today while walking out of my Econ class. For the majority of you that don't know him, Dan was my counselor at GYC two summers ago when I was on the Tim Team. He's in his senior year of studying to be a High School History teacher. He does a great impression of Robert "Goulet."
Sarah, Dallas, David, Becca, Melissa, and I went to see Red Eye tonight. I thought it was a good movie, but there were definitely some parts that we laughed at that weren't supposed to be funny.
After the movie Sarah, David, Dallas, and I attended to a very important task at a friend's house (the point of the title)... When we finished, we patted ourselves on the back and all went home.
Dallas set off my car alarm, and I think he might have woke up the Keurs. Oh well.
I'm looking forward to the start of the new school year with the Jr. Highers. We had a farewell "ceremony" for the 8th graders last Sunday, and this week the new 6th graders move up and we'll have a welcoming "ceremony." I think my brother is excited about finally being in youth group.
In Conversations, we've been talking about the Church in culture and where we fit in. Do we seclude ourselves to the extreme or do we completely immerse ourselves in culture to the point that we are fine with sin and are being negatively influenced by it? Obviously the ideal spot would be somewhere in between. I think I should be a little bit more immersed in culture than I am now, but I'm not sure exactly how that should play out. Any thoughts?
Where's the balance between becoming a part of culture because we live here and we need to be able to relate to the people that God is trying to reach out to and keeping ourselves from being negatively influenced?
I'd like to keep on typing because my thoughts normally become clearer as I type them out, but I'm a little too tired and it could end up a jumbled mess. (Even more jumbled than this post already is.)
Buenas Noches!
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Life as a Laker
My first day of college was..... interesting.
Chem class went well. I think AP Chem set me up to be a little ahead of where they are now, but I've forgotten some of the old stuff.
I had a humongous break for 4 hours yesterday. I re-signed myself up for Spanish during that time, found out that because there was a brief time while I wasn't a full time student, I have to wait to get my financial aid money I was going to use for books. After that mishap, I found all my other classes, ate lunch at Subway, and watched Seinfeld on my computer while waiting for my Honors Classical World class.
Hnr Classical World is about ancient Greece and Rome, so it should be pretty interesting, but this one professor is too much of a philosophizer. I found out when I got to class (since I hadn't checked out the bookstore yet) that there are 11 books to purchase. Yes, 11, as in 1+10! Many of them are fairly cheap, but the sheer number of books is overwhelming.
After Classical World, I waited another hour and a half for Spanish. There, I found out that they know far more than I do having only taken 3 years of HS Spanish, so I decided to drop it.
Dropping Spanish works out the best for everything. It was the class keeping me at college from 8am - 5:45pm.
Today, I bought a majority of my books, went to Chem, and switched into Econ 100. Hopefully it will be easier than Spanish.
I had to read 60 pages of the most boring book about Greek history. It wasn't all boring, but the author uses uncommon words to sound more intelligent (by strange coincidence, so does that professor), so it took a while to get through.
I have a ton more Chem homework to get done before too much longer, but I need to get myself a graphing calculator. In high school, I always had a way of getting one loaned to me from the school. Grand Valley doesn't do that.
I have had the chance to see a few people I knew in my many adventures these past two days. I passed Paul M. from MSHS on the sidewalk this morning. I've seen at least 5 people that graduated a year before me from MS. I also ran into Betsy at the SMART center this morning. (I'm not joking about the name of the SMART center, it's Science and Math... something). :-)
Right now I feel a little overwhelmed with some of this homework, but I'm sure I'll get used to it soon. Then I may just have time for a social life again..... Sorry, Dallas, but I had to read my Greek book, so I couldn't make our date today..... :-p
Chem class went well. I think AP Chem set me up to be a little ahead of where they are now, but I've forgotten some of the old stuff.
I had a humongous break for 4 hours yesterday. I re-signed myself up for Spanish during that time, found out that because there was a brief time while I wasn't a full time student, I have to wait to get my financial aid money I was going to use for books. After that mishap, I found all my other classes, ate lunch at Subway, and watched Seinfeld on my computer while waiting for my Honors Classical World class.
Hnr Classical World is about ancient Greece and Rome, so it should be pretty interesting, but this one professor is too much of a philosophizer. I found out when I got to class (since I hadn't checked out the bookstore yet) that there are 11 books to purchase. Yes, 11, as in 1+10! Many of them are fairly cheap, but the sheer number of books is overwhelming.
After Classical World, I waited another hour and a half for Spanish. There, I found out that they know far more than I do having only taken 3 years of HS Spanish, so I decided to drop it.
Dropping Spanish works out the best for everything. It was the class keeping me at college from 8am - 5:45pm.
Today, I bought a majority of my books, went to Chem, and switched into Econ 100. Hopefully it will be easier than Spanish.
I had to read 60 pages of the most boring book about Greek history. It wasn't all boring, but the author uses uncommon words to sound more intelligent (by strange coincidence, so does that professor), so it took a while to get through.
I have a ton more Chem homework to get done before too much longer, but I need to get myself a graphing calculator. In high school, I always had a way of getting one loaned to me from the school. Grand Valley doesn't do that.
I have had the chance to see a few people I knew in my many adventures these past two days. I passed Paul M. from MSHS on the sidewalk this morning. I've seen at least 5 people that graduated a year before me from MS. I also ran into Betsy at the SMART center this morning. (I'm not joking about the name of the SMART center, it's Science and Math... something). :-)
Right now I feel a little overwhelmed with some of this homework, but I'm sure I'll get used to it soon. Then I may just have time for a social life again..... Sorry, Dallas, but I had to read my Greek book, so I couldn't make our date today..... :-p
Sunday, August 28, 2005
Finding Myself... Yeah Right!
Since I'm starting the next phase of my life tomorrow morning, I decided it would be beneficial to truly KNOW myself. So I took this "How Nerdy Are You?" quiz. Apparently I'm just a Nerd-Wannabe....
Have a great week, everyone!!!
(And for those of you, *coughSarahShannonandDallascough*, that don't have school tomorrow, just know that yes, you will be having more fun than me.)
Good Night.
Have a great week, everyone!!!
(And for those of you, *coughSarahShannonandDallascough*, that don't have school tomorrow, just know that yes, you will be having more fun than me.)
Good Night.
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
Show-Me-State
This evening I returned from visiting my relatives in the good ol' state of Missouri.
We got in late Friday night and worked on getting some sleep. The next morning, my brother, uncle, grandpa, and I went to the Cardinals game at Busch Stadium. It was a good time to enjoy each other's company and catch up with each other.
We spent Saturday night at my aunt's house where we had hamburgers and hotdogs on the grill. The karaoke machine came out, and what followed was too embarassing for this public forum....
On Sunday, my brother and I went to Six Flags for half of the day. They have some pretty cool coasters there, but Patrick got a little sick, so we couldnt' stay and do any re-rides.
We hung out around the house yesterday, and went to my aunt's again in the evening.
After the fourth straight night of little sleep, we awoke this morning and began the trek home.
It finally hit me today that I'm starting college in less than a week. I'm in no way prepared, so this should be fun. Definitely going to be a time where I have to trust God. I can't stress out about it. It will only make me crazy.
Please be praying for me this coming week. On top of college, I'm still talking with Hage's about getting a much-needed job to pay for the gas to transport me to Grand Valley. If you'd prefer to just pray that my car get 1,000 mpg, that'd be fine too.
As my eyes keep closing involuntarily, I believe it's time to sign off.
I leave you with these links:
Turkmen President Bans Lip Synching (Bad news for those of us who can't sing...)
Stray Llama Hanging Out at Wyoming Center
Tina, eat your food, you fat lard!
We got in late Friday night and worked on getting some sleep. The next morning, my brother, uncle, grandpa, and I went to the Cardinals game at Busch Stadium. It was a good time to enjoy each other's company and catch up with each other.
We spent Saturday night at my aunt's house where we had hamburgers and hotdogs on the grill. The karaoke machine came out, and what followed was too embarassing for this public forum....
On Sunday, my brother and I went to Six Flags for half of the day. They have some pretty cool coasters there, but Patrick got a little sick, so we couldnt' stay and do any re-rides.
We hung out around the house yesterday, and went to my aunt's again in the evening.
After the fourth straight night of little sleep, we awoke this morning and began the trek home.
It finally hit me today that I'm starting college in less than a week. I'm in no way prepared, so this should be fun. Definitely going to be a time where I have to trust God. I can't stress out about it. It will only make me crazy.
Please be praying for me this coming week. On top of college, I'm still talking with Hage's about getting a much-needed job to pay for the gas to transport me to Grand Valley. If you'd prefer to just pray that my car get 1,000 mpg, that'd be fine too.
As my eyes keep closing involuntarily, I believe it's time to sign off.
I leave you with these links:
Turkmen President Bans Lip Synching (Bad news for those of us who can't sing...)
Stray Llama Hanging Out at Wyoming Center
Tina, eat your food, you fat lard!
Thursday, August 18, 2005
Moving on...
Yesterday was the very last Bible study that I could attend as a high-schooler. As much as I would like to think that I could end up going to winter retreat by means of tricking the new youth pastor, Dave said it best:
"Leave, grow up, go to the college group, and teach your Sunday school class."
It was a great way to end my high school career. The discussion was very appropriate as it was on a Christian's approach to social issues in the world. We talked about how even though we may believe and know that something is wrong, it is still more effective and Christ-like to change people and not fight for legislation.
This is a great example of what we kind of touched on in the Conversations group later on in the day. We are agents of redemption for God's kingdom. The Holy Spirit should be working in us to bring forth glimpses of God's kingdom. We do this best through the relationships we have with each other and the world. What better way to be representatives of the Kingdom than to show the world how life will be when it is completely restored at the second coming.
Keith and I were discussing how we can truly be redemptive agents in society, and I think we were having a hard time understanding each other because of words being mixed up and definitions not being fully understood. I'd love to continue this conversation either here or on the Conversations blog. How are we to be agents of redemption?
I'm beginning to get more and more excited about this fall. My college classes will be starting on the 29th, I'll hopefully have a job within the next few weeks, and I'll begin leading a small group of Junior High guys on Sunday mornings.
So many of these guys are way more advanced than I ever was at that age, and I'm excited to get into discussions with them and to be an encouragement as they're maturing in their faith.
This weekend I've got my last hurrah (sp?) of the summer. I'll be leaving tomorrow night for the town of Festus, MO to visit my aunt, uncles, cousin, and grandparents. My brother and I are attending a Cardinals game, and we'll probably be going to Six Flags also.
Let me leave you with this memorable moment from Chicago:
"You sound like a girl."
"Well, you look like a girl."
"That's cuz I am a girl!"
"I'm sorry, will you be my friend?"
"N-O!"
"I hate her.... (ten seconds later)..... I still hate her!"
The love-hate relationship of Devin and Victoria....
"Leave, grow up, go to the college group, and teach your Sunday school class."
It was a great way to end my high school career. The discussion was very appropriate as it was on a Christian's approach to social issues in the world. We talked about how even though we may believe and know that something is wrong, it is still more effective and Christ-like to change people and not fight for legislation.
This is a great example of what we kind of touched on in the Conversations group later on in the day. We are agents of redemption for God's kingdom. The Holy Spirit should be working in us to bring forth glimpses of God's kingdom. We do this best through the relationships we have with each other and the world. What better way to be representatives of the Kingdom than to show the world how life will be when it is completely restored at the second coming.
Keith and I were discussing how we can truly be redemptive agents in society, and I think we were having a hard time understanding each other because of words being mixed up and definitions not being fully understood. I'd love to continue this conversation either here or on the Conversations blog. How are we to be agents of redemption?
I'm beginning to get more and more excited about this fall. My college classes will be starting on the 29th, I'll hopefully have a job within the next few weeks, and I'll begin leading a small group of Junior High guys on Sunday mornings.
So many of these guys are way more advanced than I ever was at that age, and I'm excited to get into discussions with them and to be an encouragement as they're maturing in their faith.
This weekend I've got my last hurrah (sp?) of the summer. I'll be leaving tomorrow night for the town of Festus, MO to visit my aunt, uncles, cousin, and grandparents. My brother and I are attending a Cardinals game, and we'll probably be going to Six Flags also.
Let me leave you with this memorable moment from Chicago:
"You sound like a girl."
"Well, you look like a girl."
"That's cuz I am a girl!"
"I'm sorry, will you be my friend?"
"N-O!"
"I hate her.... (ten seconds later)..... I still hate her!"
The love-hate relationship of Devin and Victoria....
Sunday, August 14, 2005
Of Unity Concerts
It's been a very long weekend. On Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, I attended the Unity Music Festival at Heritage Landing. This was the fourth year that I've gone, and it was a pretty good lineup.I got to see:
tobyMac, downhere, By the Tree, Tears for Juliet, Jars of Clay, Mourning September, Hawk Nelson, Hope for August, Steven Curtis Chapman, and Everyday Sunday. It was well worth the price.
Something I noticed was the abundance of Christian T-shirts. For some reason, when people attend Unity, they feel that they HAVE to wear whatever article of Christian clothing they own. I enjoyed seeing all of the Christian slogans and symbols because most of them are derived from common slogans, just with different words.
I saw a few Diver City shirts that would have come from CSM which is the organization we worked through in Chicago. I saw 2 different shirts that were a rip off of the Survivor logo, but promoting Christian events. I saw a "TOBYMAC IS MY HOME-BOY" shirt. There were countless JQ99 shirts and JQ99 stickers on shirts. I saw a Mennonite
girl in a bonnet, a long denim skirt and an Abercrombie T-shirt. (Very oxymoronical) (<-- cool word, but don't know if it's real) I saw a shirt that said "Jesus is my Savior." Along with all of these, there were the typical shirts that Dave gets for free from the Christian apparel companies such as "Abreadcrumb and Fish."Apparently, there is an unwritten code that requires that you must wear at least one piece of Christian clothing sometime during the weekend. I guess it's just a way to let the other thousands of Christians coming to hear Christian music that you are a Christian, too. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure that some non-Christians go to Unity, but I think they're going to get the message from some place other than our T-shirts.
In other news, I'm currently trying to decide if I should stick with Spanish and pursue a minor in college, or drop my Spanish course (because it makes my schedule difficult) and take Japanese...
I'd take Greek, but it's closed.
Monday, August 08, 2005
The Obligatory Update
Equilibrium is a good movie. It's way better than the Matrix.
Walking around Grand Haven is fun.
Finding out that they're not selling tickets for the carnival rides anymore is not fun.
Flight of the Phoenix is also worth watching.
50 First Dates is hilarious and will make you look at Sean Astin a lot differently.
Wedding parties are fun to work at if you've got fun co-workers, but it can be a little awkward when the bride is in the hospital.
Fireworks are a ton of fun. Fires afterward are not so much fun.
Going down sand dunes is more fun than going up sand dunes.
Sand in shoes is not fun.
Singing along to Sanctus Real with your friends is fun.
GEW with only 4 people seems not fun.
But when GEW gets moved to Starbucks with free frappucinos, it is fun.
Watching The Best of Will Ferrel is fun, as long as the DVD doesn't skip too much.
Sleeping in the next day is fun.
Hasta luego.
Walking around Grand Haven is fun.
Finding out that they're not selling tickets for the carnival rides anymore is not fun.
Flight of the Phoenix is also worth watching.
50 First Dates is hilarious and will make you look at Sean Astin a lot differently.
Wedding parties are fun to work at if you've got fun co-workers, but it can be a little awkward when the bride is in the hospital.
Fireworks are a ton of fun. Fires afterward are not so much fun.
Going down sand dunes is more fun than going up sand dunes.
Sand in shoes is not fun.
Singing along to Sanctus Real with your friends is fun.
GEW with only 4 people seems not fun.
But when GEW gets moved to Starbucks with free frappucinos, it is fun.
Watching The Best of Will Ferrel is fun, as long as the DVD doesn't skip too much.
Sleeping in the next day is fun.
Hasta luego.
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
King of the Apes!
This is just to say that I beat Donkey Kong Jungle Beat today by getting the 3 remaining crests for a total of 72.I highly recommend this game; it's a lot of fun to play and even more fun to watch someone else play.
Nothing else is really going on today. This is the most blog-worthy event as of late.
I'm actually kind of bored this week since my little brother is up at Grace Adventures for camp.
"Jesus Freak" just came on the radio. I can't listen to this song anymore without picturing Dave rapping on stage for the Junior High Parents Night.
Tomorrow is the second-to-last Lunch Bible Study at noon. We'll be at the Burger King on Henry. Hope to see you guys there!
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