Autumn?

It gets dark at 7:30. I don't like that. It reminds me that fall is here. (Which it has been for 8 days) Get ready for the flaming colors. The trees are going to fall asleep soon.

My life right now feels like the middle of the kitchen table in the middle of making a chocolate cake. Oil, flour, sugar, salt, vanilla, baking soda, eggs, and chocolate chips all strewn about. I'm just a recipe.

I had a good weekend in North eastern Ohio. I loved the location and the people. I had a lot of fun with friends. I also learned how to successfully flip on the trampoline. And the proof is in the pudding, err...pictures.







So long
-Sam

Short Sleeve in a Tall Cup

I can't take it. I'm out of here. My mind is swirling. I'm running low on sleep. I'm going away. There's more than one of us. We're going to have fun.

But before I do, maybe I'll go running, and go to class, and sleep. Yes.


Ike's birthday was today. We went to the coffee emporium downtown and I had the creme brulee brand. I enjoyed. We got Ike a t-shirt in honor of slipping past the teenage years, of which I will soon follow. (Insert panicked scream)

[I] thank God for friends.

And you know what? I'm outta here. I've been too busy and my mind isn't stopping anytime soon.

A dios.

-Sam

I'm Just a Refugee

Remember that time back in the fall semester of '08 - that huge power outage from Hurricane Ike?


That's what we'll say.

Trying to remember the details I'm forgetting, and remembering the details I wish to forget

I have made and received 27 phone calls today and have gone to 4 meetings. I have not slowed down since this morning and I am in hate with it.

I've got so much on my mind my head is spinning, and throughout the day I've had trouble thinking straight.

Down the street several shots were fired tonight. I saw the flickering red and blue.

I enjoyed a week off a school. Power was out for hundreds of thousands in Cincinnati. I stayed at a friends house for the week and then went to another friend's house for a wedding and the weekend. I enjoyed myself immensely.

And vagueness becomes me.

-Sam

*wink*

Greek Homework

My Greek professor, Dr. Philip Brown has said it so perfectly. In response to the people who tell him, "It's all Greek to me!" he responds, "When people say that to me I say, 'It's Greek to me too, I just know what it means.'"

And translating this sentence makes my head spin:

οι αδελφοι του ανθωπου λεγουσι τοις υιοις του αγγελου.

αποθνησκω!

-Sam

In The Midst Of It

Whew, it's been crazy. I haven't blogged because I haven't had the spare time to do so. Even now I sneak a few late night minutes in. My days consist mainly of sleeping, eating, classes, homework, and ministry. I've been involved in structural diagramming, Greek vocabulary and grammar, psychobiology, and more. That's the fancy, a lot of it simply consists of note taking, reading and studying. Tonight, I even forgot what day tomorrow is.


My cactus cutting that I brought from home has sprouted roots after being in the window for a few days. I'm happy about that. I viewed videos online on how exactly to grow cacti cuttings and simply thought it would be cool to grow a low maintenance cactus. My freshman year roommate got me hooked on it.

Was in the library last night and Mel was studying Shakespeare. She chose Sonnet 147 for her assignment. We both shared quieted riotous laughter after I quoted the final lines in a witty British accent, followed by a deep growling voice: For I have sworn thee fair, and thought thee bright - Who art as black as hell, as dark as night.

Full day tomorrow which will be started off with jogging (which Mel is unsure of doing because of the shooting down the street) and then downtown for some coffee at the Emporium.

I Don't Have a Girlfriend

I think that the classic Christian single person's approach is, "God, you've gotta bust me over the head with a mate, a spouse." And really I think the biggest thing is just having the patience to wait for the person that God wants you to spend the rest of your life with...It's hard...I think that's basically the deal: it's just trusting God. I don't think God is that dumb. I think that he gives us enough wisdom, enough intelligence to be able to know, as His child, when our life partner comes our way.

New Way to be Human

"Yet we struggle to believe that God intends for us to be truly human. We think we must get dressed up in our Sunday best to talk with God. We're afraid that being made of flesh and blood meets with divine disapproval. The fact that we love to laugh, take a walk with a friend, sip tea and read a good book for the sheer pleasure of it is probably regarded from on high, we fear, with a cosmic frown. We forget that it was God's idea, not ours, to make us human...There is also confusion about what it means to be spiritual. We feel it is more spiritual to take our seeker friends to a Bible discussion or to church than to a play or out for pizza...[God] made us human. He is therefore interested in every aspect of our humanness. It is the stuff of our humanity - the everyday grit and glory that we all encounter simply by walking out the door each morning - that God uses to shape a holy life within us. We dare not limit him, then, to Bible studies and discussions with Christians. He created life, and he desires to be glorified in the totality of all that adds up to life. And his power and presence will come crashing through to the world as we let him live fully in every aspect of our lives." (Pippert, 1999, pp. 30-31)

I thought I would share a little bit of inspiration with you. This is open for comments, aggreable or disagreeable. I acquired this quote from a textbook that I am reading for college. In my own opinion I think that the author has nailed it. The author explains that in embracing humanity she is not condoning sin, however within the context of evangelism and spirituality we simply have trouble being who we are. God is not a God whom you can impress. He sees past the facades. He knows our heart each and every moment. Too often I have come to the table consciously or unconsciously trying to please God with my spirituality. It's a futility in religion and failure in a relationship. While I am not abandoning the issue of outward appearance, I do recognize that God has his eyes on my heart. In the past I have given God the first and "foremost" (but very groggy) minutes of my morning believing he was smiling on my effort to put him "first" in my day. While I will not condone selfishness or nurturing our relationship with God whenever we please, I do believe that we must love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, and that we - as the children of the Father - must learn to be comfortable with being ourselves. Anything more than this is acting.


Pippert, R. M. (1999) Out of the Saltshaker & into the World. Downers Grove, IL: IVP