Moody Bytes

I don't feel up to one of my descriptive rambles this evening, so I'm going to make this short. I'm in a melancholy mood and I don't really know why. But no sense in pondering the unponderables:

- Big shout-out to Shannon Forest Varsity girls volleyball - STATE CHAMPIONS!! :)

- My granddad is doing better. He's got a long road of recovery ahead of him, but good news is good news.

- "Arachnophobia" will give you arachnophobia if you don't already have it.

- I have about 14 books for my Paul paper and have barely cracked open four of them. Better fix that.

- Anna Kate's second teaching lesson went really great last week. Apparantly, bubbles in the hands of hyper elementary school kids can make quite a mess.

- Getting pumpkin-shaped cookies for L-Team tomorrow is pretty much the only way I'm openly acknowledging that tomorrow is Halloween. Otherwise, it'll be just another Monday at Furman.

- I'm not up to discussing the outcome of Clemson/Georgia Tech right now. Every time I figure out the enigma that is the Clemson football team, they throw me another swerve. I'll keep at it.

That's about it. Good night and God bless.

Song of the Day: Mark Schultz - "Back in His Arms Again"

Verse of the Day: "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast." - Ephesians 2:8-9

Big Green Rumble!

What a fantastic day for Shannon Forest Christian athletics!

Early this evening, both the SFC girls and boys Cross Country squads took 1st place in the state competition. It was the second consecutive year for the boys team, coached by Alvin Sell (my Bible/History teacher), to achieve that honor. Many of the boys I know on that team were only freshmen when I graduated, so they're seniors now. I'm very excited for them. They've worked their butts off in practice and training for these meets, and it's paid off.

The other big news concerns the SFC varsity girls volleyball team. After finishing their season with a phenomenal 18-7 record and placing 2nd in the CAA tournament, the girls kicked off the NCISAA tourney earlier this week. To our delight, the committee chose Shannon Forest to be one of the two host sites (the other was Simpsonville United Methodist), giving us a major homecourt advantage. Tuesday night was our opening series in the field of 16, and our crowd showed up in droves. I wasn't there to see it, but Susannah assured me that we were rowdy. Anyway, we won our first match Tuesday night to advance to the quarterfinals, which were played this evening.

I returned to my dear old high school with Anna Kate at 3:00 to watch our Crusaders play. We had some time to revisit some of my old rambles and visit with old friends and familiar people. Susannah and her friend Aimee had a bake sale going on just outside the gym. Their peanut butter cookies were excellent, by the way. So we got seated and watched as our girls and the girls from Stateside Christian did their warm-ups and started play. We came out strong and pretty much dominated the first game, winning 25-16. The second game, we lost our steam down the stretch and allowed the Lions to jump on us, and then rallied but fell short, dropping a 27-25 decision. The third game started out close and Stateside kept pace with us most of the way, but we started to pull away late and finally eked out a 25-22 win. The fourth game, we were much more dominant, and played error-free volleyball to cruise to a 25-14 victory to capture the match 3-1 and advance to the semifinal game!

It's worth mentioning right here that our fans in the gym were much louder and crazier than I've ever heard them. I was pleasantly surprised because usually, we only tend to get loud for our basketball teams, let alone virtually pack our bleachers to capacity. But we had everyone wearing "Crusader Crazies" T-shirts (not to be confused with Duke basketball's Cameron Crazies, mind you), our senior guys, several of whom had just come from the Cross Country meet, painting their chests green and white (Baxter joined them!), and our senior girls pulling out the old rally cries from cheer-leading. So it was terrific to see the volleyball squad get some love from our fans.

Anyway, my family, Anna Kate and I left after the quarterfinal game to get some dinner and relax a bit before the semifinals at 8:00. We watched a bit of Bernie Mac on television; it was the first time I'd caught anything on TV on a Friday evening in...I don't know how long. Then we had a nice dinner at Pizza Inn on Woodruff Road, and I had my fill of apple/cinnamon-topping pizza, so I was happy. Conversation also made dinner so very enjoyable.

When we got done, it was game time again. Back we went to SFCS, and once again we had a capacity crowd. I found out later that the team we played was the #1 seed going into the tourney, so that only added to the hype. Right from the start, I knew this was going to be a tightly-matched series. In our first game, we held the lead for much of the time, but the other team was never far behind. Finally, we put them away in a close 26-24 victory. Kayla O'Kelley is probably the best hitter in our whole conference, but the other team had more hitters. A real strength in numbers scenario, but we managed to keep things fairly balanced and do enough things to pull it out. The second game's flow was pretty similar to the first, but we pulled away near the end and won 25-21 to pull within one game of the championship match. Naturally, that was when things got ugly. To the consternation of Crusader Crazies with visions of a title in their heads, the girls came out sloppy for the third game. It started off on the wrong foot, and we never could find our rhythm. We found ourselves facing a deficit as high as 15-7 at one point, and even though we finally rallied back, it was too little, too late. Our opponents took the third game by a score of 25-20, leaving us fans scratching our heads and wondering what happened to our concentration.

To our relief, game three was a hiccup. We came out for the fourth contest much more focused and determined to put away our rivals quickly and efficiently. With some timely blocks, a few aces, and an unwavering will, our Lady Crusaders vanquished their rivals 25-16. Congratulations to Shannon Forest, NCISAA semifinal victors!

So we'll move on to the championship game tomorrow at 1:00 against High Point Christian. It will be a huge deal for SFC if we can claim the victory, but even if we don't, I'm proud of these girls. They've come a long way over the years and have really gelled together as a whole unit. Win or lose tomorrow, they're all winners in my book.

"We say green, you say white!
Green! WHITE!
Green! WHITE!
We say number, you say one!
Number! ONE!
Number! ONE!
We say Shannon, you say win!
Shannon! WIN!
Shannon! WIN!"

Song of the Day: John Paul Trimble - "My Only Hope"

Verse of the Day: "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." - John 7:37-38

Loving the 80s

Sorry that I haven't posted anything in the past few days. You can blame it on the 400-pound gorilla known as Homecoming. But it's been an exciting time.

On Thursday afternoon, some of my friends in the BCM crew and I headed to the Mall to get started on our float. As I said before, our float design is Super Mario Bros. TJ sketched out a rough outline of how he wanted the float to look, and so we spent the better part of the afternoon and evening cutting out plywood, nailing pieces together, and fooling around with crazy chicken wire. We didn't have a ton of people, but everyone worked very well together and we managed to get quite a bit done before they turned out the lights at 1:00 am. TJ and I slept outside in a huge tent that Lauren provided (thanks!!!) so we could protect the float from any would-be trouble makers on the prowl at night. Thankfully, we didn't have any trouble and we managed to get a little bit of sleep.

Friday after Religion class (I made an A on my first Paul exam! Woo-hoo!), we went right back to work; since we got most of the foundation done the night before, we quickly got started pomping it. For a while, it was just Lauren and myself painting a mushroom-colored football for "Mario" to throw, and pomping his legs. Then we went inside for lunch in the DH (after I retrieved my PalaCard from TJ), and then I headed back outside and worked from about 12 to 3 in the afternoon. Eventually, more people started showing up and we really started knocking out the pomping. It was lots of fun and I had an awesome time getting to know a few people better. Later in the day, a few old friends who graduated last year came by to visit, among them Chris and EA Cox, Kat Garber, and Justin Nelson. I later saw Alan Parks (our family group leader from last year) and Jennifer Sims at the carnival. That was awesome, seeing the big group together again. I'm only sad that I couldn't go to Firehouse with them in the evening. I guess they assumed I didn't want to go, though I don't know where they got that idea. Oh well, it's not a big deal.

The Homecoming Carnival was cool, albeit not as thrilling as last year, but that's to be expected. We polished off the float, and it looked incredible! Basically, it's QB Mario dropping back to pass the mushroom-colored football with two Goomba defenders pursuing him, and wide receiver Luigi running a route with a Koopa Troopa cornerback chasing him near a yellow question block. In the background are four green warp holes, or pipes, with a Bell Tower mock-up in the center that's supposed to represent one of those defeated castles from the original NES Mario Bros game, complete with a star flag at the top. It's terrific how smoothly it all came together. Major props to everyone involved for making float construction so awesome!


Alas, I had to miss the actual game today pitting Furman against Elon on account of work. But you know, after not working for two weeks, I need to get some hours in if I'm going to have any sort of paycheck by next week. The Fighting Football Paladins took care of business in blowout fashion, thankfully, as they clobbered the visiting Phoenix, 42-6. I got to give Lauren a chicken salad sandwich from work; that's her favorite Chick-Fil-A food item, but for some reason the Furman CFA doesn't sell it. So that was cool. And I'm also quite happy Clemson took care of its own opponent, Temple, in equally convincing fashion, winning by a score of 37-7. Happy days!

Song of the Day: Super Mario Bros. theme (it just makes you want to go play the game)

Verse of the Day: "A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor." - Proverbs 22:9

The Little Things

I can go to bed knowing I finished off several nagging items on my agenda today. Ironically, none of them had to do with schoolwork. But since I got farther ahead on my diagrams than I hoped, and I didn't have any classes after 10:00, I pretty much had the entire day free. So that gave me a chance to dig into the old personal agenda:

1. Do laundry - Check. The dryer on Geer base is still painfully slow, but at least my jeans came out semi-dry and my khaki pants weren't too wrinkled. I'm missing one grey sock, however.

2. Fill up gas - Check. I never let my gas get down past a quarter of a tank. Just my own personal rule of thumb. Still, $20 was barely enough to push the needle past the halfway mark. And with Wilma making a beeline for the Gulf of Mexico, expect gas prices to spike up again. Oy vey.

3. Buy groceries - Check. I completely exhausted my food and beverage supplies in my dorm room early last week. But since we had the mission trip, it wasn't too much of a bother. So it was past time for me to stock up. Gatorade and Bold 'n Spicy Chex Mix were both on sale, as were all of the Coca-Cola brand products, which includes Fresca. Fresca is a relatively unknown soda that has no caffiene and very low sodium. That explains it.

4. Take a shower - Check. I know what you're thinking. Yes, I do take a shower every day.

5. Renew my Paul library books - Check. No sense adding the annoying library fines to my already-overstrained college expenses. I'm good until the first week or so in November.

6. Update the BCM website - Big ol' check. I posted a new picture gallery for the Pittsburgh mission trip, put up a new devotional that I thought of late last night, and modified the front page with a new headline picture and new graphics to highlight old announcements. Major thanks to the SCBC website for the aforementioned graphics.

7. Attend a CLP - ... Oops. I knew I forgot something.

8. Go to bed early - Still working on that.

Song of the Day: Nicole C. Mullen - "My Redeemer Lives"

Verse of the Day: "You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine. Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance." - Titus 2:1-2

Choose Number Two

Another e-mail from Doug Blackburn...


>>This is the true story of something that happened just a few years ago at USC.

There was a professor of philosophy there who was a deeply committed atheist. His primary goal for one required class was to spend the entire semester to prove that God couldn't exist.

His students were always afraid to argue with him because of his impeccable logic. For twenty years, he had taught this class and no one had ever had the courage to go up against him. Sure, some had argued in class at times, but no one had ever really gone up against him because of his reputation.

At the end of every semester on the last day, he would say to his students, "If there is anyone here who still believes in Jesus, stand up!" In twenty years, no one had ever stood up. They knew what he was going to do next.

He would say, "Because anyone who believes in God is a fool. If God existed, he could stop this piece of chalk from hitting the ground and breaking. Such a simple task to prove that He is God, and yet he can't do it!"

And every year, he would drop the chalk onto the tile floor of the classroom, and it would shatter into a hundred pieces. All of the students would do nothing but stop and stare. Most of the students thought that God couldn't exist. Certainly, a number of Christians had slipped through, but for 20 years, they had been too afraid to stand up.

Well, a few years ago there was a freshman who happened to enroll. He was a Christian, and had heard the stories about his professor. He was required to take the class for his major, and he was afraid. But for three months that semester, he prayed every morning that he would have the courage to stand up no matter what the professor said or what the class thought. Nothing they said could ever shatter his faith ... he hoped.

Finally, the day came. The professor said, "If there is anyone here who still believes in God, stand up!" The professor and the class of 300 people looked at him, shocked, as he stood up at the back of the classroom. The professor shouted, "You FOOL!!! If God existed, he would keep this piece of chalk from breaking when it hit the ground!"

He proceeded to drop the chalk, but as he did, it slipped out of his fingers, off his shirt cuff, onto the pleat of his pants, down his leg, and off his shoe. As it hit the ground, it simply rolled away unbroken. The professor's jaw dropped as he stared at the chalk. He looked up at the young man, and then ran out of the lecture hall.

The young man who had stood proceeded to walk to the front of the room and shared his faith in Jesus for the next half hour. 300 students stayed and listened as he told of God's love for them and of his power through Jesus.

You have two choices:

1. Delete this and never look at it again.

2. Pass this along to your Christian and non-Christian friends, giving them encouragement we all need every day.

When you choose option #2, you have chosen to STAND UP.<<


Song of the Day: John David Webster - "Miracle"

Verse of the Day: "Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long." - Psalm 25:4-5

Fall Break in Pittsburgh

Wow. It's been an unforgettable Fall Break from last Wednesday to yesterday. What made it so unforgettable was that I used it to do something for other people instead of for my own personal enjoyment. I voyaged with some of my friends from BCM to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on a mission trip. This was the first one I'd signed up for that didn't involve my old high school, but I knew God was calling me to do His work. I'm so glad He did.

The rides to and from our destination in the van driven by Rodney were zany times that I'll never forget. We had so much fun chatting, sharing things about our childhoods, including the quirky stuff that provoked laughter from seat mates. I learned that Lauren had quite the "rough" home-life growing up in Royston. I guess hitting chickens with sticks, encounters with a three-legged dog, and touching tongues with your twin sister will do that for you. Lauren is amazing, by the way. I made friends with Brandy Scott on the ride from the mission house where we stayed the first night. She's a perky, funny girl who randomly elbow-tapped me for no reason other than she was being crazy. Hey, no rhyme or reason to insanity, is there? Of course, Rodney did his usual terrific job of getting us to our stops without too many close calls along the way. Major kudos to Jon for his uncanny road directions.

The first night and day (Wednesday-Thursday) at the mission house was lots of fun. The couple who owned the house, Mr. and Mrs. Gary Melton, were extremely kind and went out of their way to make us feel right at home. Of course, if you've ever been to a mission house in your life, you're well-aware that sleeping conditions are not exactly luxurious. We slept either on pews or on the hardwood floor with an air mattress (but I decided to forgo the mattress). But I had no complaints. It's actually good for your back to sleep on a hard surface. It made me glad that my nosebleeds from sleeping on floors as a child quit happening long ago. I never did figure out why.

Thursday morning, we worked the mission house, pulling boxes of clothes out of the attic and setting them out on tables, as well as running the store. I got "stock boy" duty, which means I had to keep the shelves supplied with food and drinks for the customers to select. Matt was a big help on that; the two of us worked together running back and forth between the back room and the front counter with potato chips, V-8, chicken beef broth, Debbie Cakes, Spaghetti-Os, and all sorts of canned and boxed goodies. It was rushed and crazy at times, but wow, it was fun! The ladies who also worked at the home were kind enough to make us lunch, too. It was the first time I tasted ramen noodles; not bad at all. We finished up around 1:00 just in time for Gary to send us off with a great song: "If I Had a Dollar." He is an incredible singer; he kept us and the customers entertained with songs he sang on the balcony during the morning, mostly folk songs. That was awesome; it became the official song of our trip.

Later that day, we arrived in Pittsburgh and met Jerome, the University BCM director. We also got to meet his wife and three kids Calli, Caitlin, and Caleb the following night (they were just adorable, by the way). He helped us get oriented with downtown Pittsburgh and took us to a few sites, including dinner at Lulu's. I ordered honey chicken tenders, and oh gosh, they were some of the best samplings of chicken I have ever tasted. Chick-Fil-A finally has some competition :) After that, we headed to Carnegie Melon University where we participated in the CrossSeekers' large group worship. It's similar to our TNT, but in a different location. The students were quite friendly and made us feel right at home with them. That evening, we set up temporary home base at Cranberry Baptist Church about 15 miles outside of Pittsburgh. I slept in the nursery room, curled up inside a kiddie tent. Believe me, it was pretty cozy even if I couldn't really stretch my legs out.

Friday, we spent the day at the University of Pittsburgh campus. Jerome helped us set up an outside table with a basket of candy and information about CrossSeekers. I went around the campus University Center with Brandy and Rodney to do surveys for students and get the word out about Fusion, the CrossSeekers group fellowship. Brandy makes for a great spokesperson. She has no fear at all about walking right up to people and speaking in a clear but friendly voice. I told her that she could pass for Vannah White from "Wheel of Fortune." We received several interesting responses to our survey, "If you could ask God one question, what would it be?" Most took the general route of what is our purpose or why is there so much evil in the world. Some of them were extremely personal, like "Why did He take my grandmother away?" or "What do I need to do to be saved?" I wish that we could've stayed longer and dealt with their inquiries, but at least this time, we were only there to plant the seed.

That afternoon, we went back to the church to unwind a bit and relax, so I took that opportunity to finish some English homework. The outdoors are excellent for that sort of thing especially when the air is cool and crisp and the sun is shining from a crystal blue sky. In the evening, Rodney cooked us spaghetti and we ate at the church. Then we met Jerome and his family and took a walk through downtown, stopping at a coffee house to discuss ideas for our next trip up there and an ice cream parlor. That was tasty fun. A word of advice: order the waffle cone and you'll find an M&M at the very end of it. I'll have to remember that the next time I come to Pittsburgh.

Saturday was supposed to be set aside for construction and city service projects, but that kind of fell through. No problem, though; we had a backup plan. We spent the day traveling around to different college campuses to do prayer-walks, lifting up the praises and needs of the universities along the way. It was very cool to just walk down an unfamiliar path, gaze at an old residential building, pick up an acorn or crimson red leaf from the grass, and realize again how wonderful and majestic God is. He really does move through His people, using them for seed-planting and spiritual growth in others' lives. I feel like we need to spend more time immersing ourselves in His creation and listen for the signs and wonders He lays out there for us, and remind ourselves of the wonderful and loving Lord that we serve. We owe Him every breath we take, every move we make, and our total worship.

Lunch and dinner were also big highlights. We ate sack lunches on the grounds of Robert Morris University, and I got to do some cartwheels down a long hill while a few of the others rolled down sideways. I haven't done that since my days at Windy Gap, so that felt good to experience. Dinner was spent at Uno's Pizza Place. With a bit of encouragement from my friends, I consumed a full 10 ounce cheeseburger. And that was a feat in and of itself.

We also played a couple games at the church when the day was through. Friday night, we broke out Balderdash, a game where you have someone read a name, person, initials, or place, and then the other players have to guess who he/she is or what it means. The object is to make the most compelling case for a term, and get the others to vote for it. It doesn't matter whether it's the right one; it only needs to be a convincing bluff. Naturally, I found a way to embarrass myself when I neglected to read the definition of my person when my turn came. That resulted in gales of laughter all around. Oh well. That's what happens when I play a game without hearing all of the rules.

Funny/scary experience: Jen took a shower on Friday morning. While she was there, she accidently hit her head against the ceramic tile that holds the hand soap. The tile actually broke off and cut into her scalp! We all heard some kind of thump in there and wondered what in the world was going on. Anyway, she attempted to brush her hair on the side where she bumped the tile, and a big clump of hair fell out! Oh man, she was horrified! Needless to say, it was Saturday night before she felt brave enough to go near the shower again. But thankfully, she wasn't seriously hurt, and the loss of hair wasn't noticable at all. Oh yeah. She's officially nicknamed me 'D-spizzle' now.

Sunday was kind of sad because we all wanted to stay longer in Pittsburgh (or at least didn't want to go back to Furman so soon), but it was time to go home. I got to talk with Pastor Warren while we packed up the van, and he shared his testimony with me. It was amazing to listen to him and see lots of things that he had in common with Jim Cymbala, pastor of the Brooklyn Tabernacle. He was basically placed by God into a position of ministerial leadership without much, if any, formal training or ordaining. But God took good care of him and He touched the hearts of those he taught and preached to. I got his e-mail address before leaving, and I hope to stay in contact. The drive home was unbelievably long (we left at 8:00 in the morning and got back to Furman at 9:15 that night), but I wouldn't shortchange it for anything. Lots of fun times were had in our packed little van. Hearing The Lion King soundtrack on Jon's laptop along with some other cool songs was a definite highlight. I also chatted a lot with Lauren, especially after our dinner pitstop in Asheville (Bojangles for dinner and McDonalds for ice cream dessert). We talked about stuff like favorite Disney movies, concerns and fears about our first days and weeks at Furman, and hopes for the future. She is an amazing girl. If you haven't gotten to know her yet, you really should.

So that was how I spent my Fall Break. I feel very glad to have used it for something that benefitted other people instead of myself, and to do God's work in the process. I'm going to go to bed now. Good night and God bless!

Song of the Day: Switchfoot - "This is Your Life"

Verse of the Day: "In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." - Philippians 1:4-6

Expectations

I've come to dread making expectations. Both in classes and in real life. The simplest reason is that more often than not, they end up being wrong or not even close to how things actually turn out. So why bother having them?

I liken this philosophical quandery to my Religion-33 class. I just got finished taking our first test. Now going into it, I wasn't terribly worried. After all, this is Religion. Paul. The Bible. Ancient world. I know these subjects, and even if I don't know all the details, I can conjure up something to make it look good. I've had Dr. CroweTipton before, and he can usually be counted on to treat you nicely on tests. He won't throw concepts in from left field, overwhelm us with discussion questions, or format the test in such an abstract manner that you don't know how to begin. He's good that way; it's why I like him so much. I'm very fond of professors who play straight with me.

So I didn't start out too worried. But you know me; that never lasts. Less than 12 hours until doomsday, I start to feel the jitters. I can't explain it, but I get them for every test. Even those that I expect to do well on, at some point, I get nervous. No matter how remote, there's always that nagging doubt, that fear of "Well, what happens if I don't do good? What if I fail" that rises up in me. Most of the time, I don't show it, but it's always there. So I pour myself into my studies to push it down, to make it next to impossible for that fear to become a reality. You know, having a little bit of fear isn't necessarily a bad thing in itself. Not if it motivates you to take positive action.

People ask me "How do you feel about the test?" Or "What do you expect you'll make?" Over time, I've gotten more and more nebulous about my expectations. Very rarely are they met by reality. Either they're overconfident and I end up on my face, or they're doomsday and I double the fear factor. So I'm purposely vague. I'll say that we'll see what happens; or at this point, it could go either way; or I'm as ready as I'll ever be (if that's possible). Better to find a middle ground. Keep a mellow, lukewarm confidence that takes neither the high nor low roads.

Going into the test this morning, I was nervous, but it wasn't getting to me, thankfully. Someone asked me before the class started to explain the difference between the Old and New Perspectives of Judaism in Paul's time, and I actually did it! I laid out all the main points and included just enough details to make an oral response that actually sounded coherent. That alone was enough to give me a boost of confidence. If I can talk it, I can write it, right?

Well...

I suppose the test was all right. I'm never completely sure only a few hours after I've taken it. Normally, I'll need more time and the corrected test in front of me to give it an honest evaluation. From what I can recall off the top of my head, one multiple choice and one short answer tripped me up big time. And from the sound of it, the short answer was a question very few people got right or understood. So that tells me two things could happen. Either Dr. CT will toss out the short answer, which I'm hoping, as it'll give me back those four points, or he'll go ahead and count it because the class grade average was good enough that one short answer question won't carry much weight. As for the multiple choice, either it's right or it's wrong. If I miss it, then it's my own fault. Simple as that.

As always, there were questions that I was puzzled about, but feel like I provided the best possible answer. Or at least an answer that's debatable. You never know; sometimes if you can muster a convincing-enough debate, the professor will change his mind or at least give you credit for trying. The multiple-choice and true-or-false had these types of questions. Some of them I knew immediately. A few of them, I'll have to be ready to discuss my answers. As for the essays, for a change, I feel the best about that section. I wasn't quite expecting him to return to the gymnastics of Paul interpretations, but I'd refreshed myself on those for safety's sake, and so I was happy to see them. And wouldn't you know it, one of the other discussion choices was the Old and New Perspectives of Judaism, the same topic I had talked about prior to the exam. So that one almost felt like a gimme right there.

So anyway, I won't get the test back until next Monday at least. Knowing Dr. CT, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see the wait extend to next Friday or even the week after that. So I'm not going to worry about it anymore. I have the mission trip to Pittsburgh to look forward to in just a few hours. My trepidation is slowly giving way to eager anticipation. I'll spare you any more of my rambling philosophical quanderies. See you next week!

Song of the Day: Jars of Clay - "I Need You"

Verse of the Day: "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." - Matthew 6:34

Quick Hits

- Mondays are now officially "Omelette Mondays."

- I ate a complete DH breakfast for the first time in weeks this morning. Depriving myself of a bowl of Cheerios, bacon, strawberries, pineapple, and Lemon-Lime Gatorade has proven hazardous to my health. Seriously.

- It's rare that a professor will make me feel better about taking a test. Dr. CroweTipton is one of them.

- I mixed up the editions for my English text, grabbing the third volume instead of the second. That resulted in me wasting precious time hunting through the table of contents wondering why the heck the assigned reading wasn't in there until Amanda Griffin pointed out my error. So I had to spend pretty much all my study time catching up on reading when I hoped to use it for my test on Paul. Yes, a trip to the optomatrist's office is definitely in order.

- Lauren made a joke about jumping in her bed and never coming out again at lunch. She then asked if we would miss her, to which I replied, "A day without Lauren Harris is like forgetting to hit the sunlight switch." She laughed and said something about a story from last week that I didn't know about, but somehow picked up with my reply and I took it to mean something totally different. Communicating on opposite wavelengths is extremely awkward.

- Modern English Grammar is officially a headache now.

- I learned that the Nazis attacked an island in 1973 at L-Team meeting. No wait, it was 1937. And it wasn't the Nazis; it was grizzly bears. Or maybe it had something to do with Hurricane Andrew and President Bill Clinton in 1992. Then again, maybe it was just Lauren getting her dates mixed up.

- My deepest sympathies to all Atlanta Braves fans, including Taylor.

- The ability to be vulnerable and share how much God has changed my life within my family group is a feeling I can't describe in words. In many ways, it's the hardest thing in the world to do, but at the same time it's intensely liberating.

- Anna Lovett told a fun little story about Mr. Hershey (of Hershey Kisses fame) and how he never advertised his product to customers. And yes, we all got some chocolate kisses to cap off our meeting. Yay for that. :)

Song of the Day: Point of Grace - "Circle of Friends"

Verse of the Day: "Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Jesus Christ." - Philippians 1:2-6

Afternoon With Lifetime

Today capped off one of the best overall weekends I've had in a while.

I got to go to church with my family this morning, and invited Anna Kate to come with us. The service was great as always. Pastor Randy spoke on the subject of guilt, and a couple things he said really reached my heart. One of them dealt with our act of confessing sin before God. His words were, "It doesn't make a difference how big they are or how serious the world makes them out to be. Sin is something you need to get right with God before you worship." I found that very interesting because of how some people like to put sins into categories based on how "bad" they are, when the bottom line is, sin is sin. No matter how you slice it, it's still sin. It's something that binds your heart and holds you back from giving your full commitment to the Holy Spirit because He can't work on you when there're obstacles in the way. And sin is a major brick wall that keeps God's Spirit on the outside. The best thing about it is when you confess those sins, God takes them away and separates them as far away as the east is from the west. You don't have to live with guilt anymore; God's forgiven you! It's an incredible feeling.

So church was great this morning. AK and I also went to Sunday School with the Blackburns. It felt awesome to see them again. After that was over, my family and AK ate lunch at Applebees, another place I haven't visited in a while. That gave my parents a chance to get to know her a little more; my Dad was full of old Clemson stories to tell, many of which she knew and understood pretty well. Sadly, I failed to talk her into getting dessert. Hehe.

We headed back to my house and spent the afternoon watching a scary Lifetime movie. I don't even remember the title now; they all blur together after a while. But we had fun making light of the 'serious' moments in the film and predicting who the 'bad guy' was without any basis for proof. Every now and then, AK would point to the screen and say "How did he know her door wasn't locked?" or "How did he know that shirt wasn't hers?" We also caught the second half of Robin Williams' Mrs. Doubtfire on ABC Family. Always a cute movie to watch.

After taking AK back to her car at the church and saying our goodbyes, I returned to Furman just in time for the praise and worship rehearsal. Actually, I got there an hour early, which was a good thing because the tables and chairs needed to be put back up. So I got to help one of the Chapel leaders re-stack the tables in the closet and rearrange the chairs. Tonight was the first session to involve the newest members of the band, and thus we had more of a get-to-know-each-other style of practice. I'm really excited to have David, Tiffany, Hudson, Cara, Emily, and Chris on our team now; all six of them have something to contribute, and I know that God will bless them in doing it. Jessie did a great job in leading things as always. Her passion for worship is amazing; it truly is.

Well, other than late-night study in the library (Paul test on Wednesday), that's pretty much my day in a nutshell. I hope yours was a great one! Goodnight and God bless you!

Song of the Day: Chris Tomlin - "Holy is the Lord"

Verse of the Day: “It is the Lord your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him.”- Deuteronomy 13:4

Scaling the Mountain

Furman 34, Appalachian State 31

The "Miracle on the Mountain!" is history! YEAH!!!

Lone Wolf No More

Well, it's been a long time. But God has finally given me an answer. My status as a lone wolf is over.

Today was a golden day if there ever was one. It was rainy and raw outside, but even that failed to dampen my mood. I got up at 5:30 this morning, headed to Johns Hall and printed out copies of the new TNT flyer courtesy of Taylor. A quick blurb about that. Next week's TNT is going to be very ... different. We'll be doing what we like to call "ancient worship." Which is basically emulating the kind of worship the earliest followers of Jesus did back in the ancient world. Quite a few things will make that unique. We'll be entering from the back entrance to Watkins instead of the front, emphasizing a guarded, tense mood among the worshippers who know all too well that any one of them could be hauled off, brought to stand before the Roman court, and thrown in prison. We're also going to be given "characters" for the night. So that's going to be interesting. Oh yeah: Denny's afterward! :)

So I made my copies and headed back to South Housing. While the residents were busily grabbing those waning Zs or headed for a shower, I was going from one bulletin board to the next, taping flyers up in each of the halls. I got finished at about 7:30, plenty of time for me to get back to Johns, retrieve my backpack and Bible, and then make my way to Furman Hall for quiet time and reading. The only downside was that I missed breakfast. Shrug.

Dr. CroweTipton is amazing. I guarantee you will not fall asleep in one of his classes, I don't care how exhausted you are. Today he took the class on a "field trip;" really an overhead website about the early manuscripts of Paul. We're starting to get into the actual epistles now, starting with how Paul composed his letters, which he assigned us to read about in The Letters of Paul (appropriate, wouldn't you say?) I actually read that chapter along with the next one last Monday when Lauren and I were supposed to do Tuesday Update (but plans got changed). So some memory refreshment might be in order. Hmm. Grape juice is a good choice. Hehe, okay, that was terrible.

Anyway, I didn't have Modern Grammar today, so I finished up with classes at 11:00. I packed a few items and drove on over to Clemson to spend the afternoon with Anna Kate. We met up and headed to my grandmother's house. I haven't seen Gran for so long, and I was happy for AK to meet her too. She insisted on taking us out to lunch at Mac's (which was in our plans anyway), and so we had a very pleasant time there. We talked to Mac a little bit, said some things about both our families, and caught some scenes from "Days of Our Lives" over french fries, burgers, and grilled cheese. It was funny because I couldn't hear the television, but Anna Kate is a big soap opera fan. She transcribed the scenes for me so I would know what was going on. So that was pretty amusing.

We left my Tracker at Gran's, and Anna Kate took me to Clemson so she could show me around her campus. I always love an excuse to visit the Home of my Tigers, but until today, I'd never seen the insides of the University. We had a fun time riding the Cat Bus, getting Mint-chocolate-chip ice cream at the University Center (well, she did, anyway. I had a fun time watching), seeing the academic buildings, and looking out at Death Valley from a cool vantage point. It was still raining a little bit, but aside from making things a bit damp, it wasn't bothersome. Eventually, we headed over to her apartment a few miles off campus. It is incredible, by the way. Makes North Village pale in comparison. But we watched The Sound of Music in her living room. I haven't seen that movie since Christmas last year, and when I saw it in the library, I thought "That'd be a perfect movie for us to watch!"

And it was.

We later stopped back at Gran's for my Tracker, and I got to introduce Anna Kate to my Aunt Kitty and Uncle Tony. She was pleased to hear about Anna Kate's student-teaching and had plenty of her own teaching tales to share. I left Clemson soon after 6:30, and unfortunately, that's when the weather really turned nasty. Pouring rain showers accompanied me all the way down I-85 back home. That's bad enough. Dodging colossus-sized trailer trucks zooming down opposite lanes while driving in the pouring rain is just beastly. But God saw me through. It was so great to see my family again after a couple weeks. We spent much of the evening in lengthy conversations and catching up with each other. They had an awesome time up at Windy Gap even though it rained at intervals. Susannah and her class grew a lot closer together in their friendships and as a unit, which I was happy to hear of. And of course, Baxter went for the first time as a sixth grader, so he got to experience all of the thrills and quirks that make Windy Gap a magnificent spiritual retreat. The Blob, the Zipline, beach volley-ball, hilarious skits with Brian Jamison (a former SFCS teacher), cabin Bible Study ... I could go on and on. What great memories I had!

Wow, this entry has gotten pretty long. Guess I'll wrap things up now. Early morning TNT promotion + hilarious Paul class + lunch at Mac's + being with Anna Kate + Sound of Music + home with family = GOLDEN DAY! That's all the Math you'll get from me. I hope your day was just as good, golden if at all possible! God bless you!

Song of the Day: MercyMe - "Word of God Speak"

Verse of the Day: "When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me." - 1 Corinthians 13:11

Diagrams And a Song

I have spent the last two hours working on English diagrams. They are mind-numbingly tedious. You would not believe how many ways you can phrase a sentence that gives it a different diagram each time. I don't remember the task being this tough in Mrs. Moore's 7th grade English class, but I guess everything gets harder the second you enter into college. Sadly, there are many things that I still take for granted to be easy. Scratch one, I guess.

Here's another story from my Sunday School teacher I wanted to share:


A Hurricane Story...

I just returned from New Jersey. While en route there, I was stuck in traffic on Interstate 81, just below the Virginia state line, (Bristol,Tennessee), due to a traffic accident with a fatality involved. This accident involved a tanker truck hauling a hazardous material load that developed a leak, which meant that we weren't going anywhere for several hours.

After being told by the Tennessee state troopers that we would be sitting still until the clean up was completed, I set my brakes on the truck and got our to stretch my legs. Other truck drivers did the same, and at one point there were 5 of us standing there by my truck, complaining.

Sitting right beside me in the left lane, were two elderly people in a Silverado pick up truck, which was loaded quite well. The man, (Joe), lowered his window and asked what was going on regarding the traffic situation. Soon we were all talking with this couple. I mentioned that if I had known about this, I would have bought something to drink (water), for I was becoming thirsty. The lady (Anna), said that they had plenty of water,and sodas in the cooler in the bed of the truck, and offered everyone present something. While she was back there, she said that she had plenty of tuna salad made up, and asked if we would be interested in a sandwich. After some urging from Joe, we agreed to a sandwich. While Anna was making the sandwiches on the tailgate of the truck, she was singing like a songbird. To be close to 70 (I guess), she had a remarkable voice.

When she finished making the sandwiches, and putting everything up, Joe raised the tailgate of the truck to close it. I noticed a Mississippi license plate on it. I inquired as to what part of Mississippi they were from. Joe said Biloxi. Knowing that Biloxi had been ravaged also by hurricane Katrina, I asked if they sustained any damage. Joe said that they lost everything but what they had on and what was in the pickup. All of us drivers tried unsuccessfully to pay them for their drinks and the sandwiches. They would have nothing to do with it.

Joe said that their son was living around Harrisonburg, Virginia and that they were going there. He was in the real estate business and that there was a home that became open, and that they were going to start all over there. Starting over at their age would not be easy.

I will soon be 48 years old, and I have say that I have never eaten a tuna sandwich with side orders of reality and humility.

These people lost everything except the pictures, important documents,and some clothes. Joe had managed to get their antique heirloom grandfathers clock into the bed of the truck and Anna got her china and silverware, but that was all. These wonderful people lost practically everything they owned and still would not accept any money for their food and drinks. Joe said that "it was better to give than it is to receive."

They sought refuge behind a block wall that he had built years ago, and they watched their belongings and their home disappear in the winds of Hurricane Katrina. Joe said that during all this he had one hand holding onto Anna and the other holding on to God. Their truck and themselves came out of Katrina unscathed.

As I stated before, Anna was singing a song while making the sandwiches.The song is titled, "I know who holds tomorrow," an old gospel song. She knew every word, and was quite a gifted singer! Have youever heard it? The chorus of this song is, " Many things, about tomorrow, I don't seem to understand. But I know who holds tomorrow, and I know who holds my hand."


Wow. Stories like these just knock the breath out of my lungs. This is the real, genuine love of Jesus in action. Out of the worst circumstances, God used two elderly people to spread His love. Two people who lost all of their belongings to Katrina's wind and floods. Two people faced with the prospect of starting over again from scratch at such a fragile age. All they had were each other and a pickup of tuna salad and water. And yet they offered what they had, and God blessed it like He did the little boy's loaves of bread and fish when Jesus fed 5,000 people. God's love is deep and wide enough to fill all of our hearts until they're overflowing. Incredible.

When you look at something like this, you're struck by how much this couple stands out from the pack. All things considered, you would think if anyone had a right to complain, it'd be them! They were the ones who had lost the most. Yet it was the truck drivers on the interstate who were complaining. All because they were stuck in traffic. I'm not in a position to judge them, but think about that for a minute. It's easy to dwell on minor annoyances like traffic jams, homework, faulty air conditioning and things like that. We only complain about them because we're blessed with such luxuries in the first place. But what about when luxury is swept away? How do we react when everything we've worked for, everything we've built up, everything we've earned in life is washed away from us? Joe and Anna found a way to show love with what little they did have, and even sang praise to God as they did! I'm sorry to say I don't have that attitude most of the time. But I should. Paul sums it up in Philippians 4:12-13:

"I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength."

Here's the full lyrics of the gospel song Anna sang. It's absolutely beautiful :)


I Know Who Holds Tomorrow
by Ira Stanphill

I don't know about tomorrow,
I just live from day to day.
I don't borrow from it's sunshine,
For it's skies may turn to gray.
I don't worry o'er the future,
For I know what Jesus said,
And today I'll walk beside Him,
For He knows what is ahead.

Many things about tomorrow,
I don't seem to understand;
But I know Who holds tomorrow,
And I know Who holds my hand.

Ev'ry step is getting brighter,
As the golden stairs I climb;
Ev'ry burden's getting lighter;
Ev'ry cloud is silver lined.
There the sun is always shining,
There no tear will dim the eyes,
At the ending of the rainbow,
Where the mountains touch the sky.

Many things about tomorrow,
I don't seem to understand;
But I know Who holds tomorrow,
And I know Who holds my hand.

I don't know about tomorrow,
It may bring me poverty;
But the One Who feeds the sparrow,
Is the One Who stands by me.
And the path that be my portion,
May be through the flame or flood,
But His presence goes before me,
And I'm covered with His blood.

Many things about tomorrow,
I don't seem to understand;
But I know Who holds tomorrow,
And I know Who holds my hand.


Go out and hold someone's hand today. Even if you can't make tuna salad, you can show the love of Christ by being someone's sunshine on a cloudy day. :)

Song of the Day: Ira Stanphill - "I Know Who Holds Tomorrow"

Verse of the Day: "He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God." - Proverbs 14:31

Building Blocks

Do you remember when you used to play with building blocks when you were a little kid? They were among my favorite toys, and I have vivid memories of turning my big yellow bucket of blocks upside down, watching as the clunky blocks tumbled to the floor, my imagination already racing with images of what I wanted to build. But the blocks by themselves were just pieces. Separate parts. I couldn't just pick up a block or two and then suddenly have the image I wanted to create. It required a coordinated, structured assembly of lots of blocks before I saw the finished product. Each block was just a piece by itself, but when joined together with others, it turned into a vital cog in the machine.

I guess that's the approach I'm taking with my studies. I've got quite a bit of work on my plate for the weeks to come. There's an exam on Paul, critical word analysis for English, a paper on Beowulf, diagramming exercises, and ongoing items like a research paper and a project on the history of language.

All of those may seem disconnected right now. Like separate parts of an unassembled product. But the key is to have an image in mind, a road map to work out how all these assignments have to come together to make a final product. That means giving certain items priority over the others (let them be the castle peak) while building up the rest with the ongoing work (the tower that holds the castle up). Keeping that in mind will enable me to work steadily on my blocks, building them up piece by piece until I've accomplished my goal, and I have my picture.

If that reads strange to you, I'm sorry. When it's late and I'm waiting for towels to dry, I tend to become overly analytical. Maybe it's a sign I've been staring at Power Points for too long...

Song of the Day: Nicole Nordemann - "Brave"

Verse of the Day: "Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers." - 1 Timothy 4:15-16

Sundae Rush

It's late, very late, and I should be getting to bed pretty soon. But I have some more thoughts to share about today.

- I'm going to Clemson on Friday to see Anna Kate! We're planning to eat lunch at Mac's, visit my grandmother just up the road, and then she'll take me on a tour of campus like I did with her last weekend. So there's a huge reason to look forward to the weekend. Besides not having classes, of course.

- I need to go shopping, but I'm resisting it. I really want to try to hold on until the middle of next week, which is when I'll leave (possibly) with the BCM group for Pittsburgh. So I'm trying to play it conservative. And no, that statement had no political conotations.

- TNT was just excellent tonight. For the first time since I got back, it felt complete. Like God finally got through to me and broke down the barriers I'd put up to soak me in the Spirit.

- Today in general was much better than yesterday. If I haven't said so already (and if so, it's worth repeating), I have the most amazing friends.

- I went to Denny's tonight with some of the BCM gang. Lots of memorable moments. Andrew sharing some of his Oldies favorites on the radio. Lauren giggling in the back seat over a joke about a church vision ("A Church That Loves _____" (fill in the blank)). Trey dumping ice cubes on the bottom and sides of his plate of pancakes. Elloa nudging Lauren and me with her foot and laughing all crazy-like about it. Discussions about the advantages and disadvantages of Facebook when it comes to meeting people. Top if off with a strawberry sundae, and you have the makings of an extremely pleasant night on the town.

- The BCM website has a new, faster HTML editor. It's already giving me a headache.

Friends Are Like Candy

They're great on the outside, but their true sweetness lies on the inside.

I was feeling kind of down yesterday. My class work got to me more than it usually does, and I didn't handle it too well. My friends must have noticed I was a lot colder and quieter than normal (not that I'm Mr. Talkative to begin with), and I'm ashamed to admit that. But Anna and Hilary sent me a Hallmark E-card last night, and that really encouraged me. Hil-doggy and Anna-Luv, you two are the best. I don't deserve to have friends like you.

I turned in my proposal for my paper on Paul last night. I got a few bewildered looks from my classmates when I let them see my two-page outline. I've mentioned how I get carried away on a lot of things. To be honest, I don't enjoy writing outlines. I think they're redundant and tie down my thoughts too much. I understand how beneficial they can be, but I've almost never used them when actually writing the paper. But it was assigned, and so I did it.

Last night was our first Family Group meeting, led by the aforementioned Anna-Luv. She had us play a fun game in which we tied up some part of our body (mouth, eyes, arms, legs) and had to rely on each other to get food. It was a good way to break the ice for our group and stress the value of depending on friends for assistance. Then we got into a discussion of how we glorify and worship God not just in a church setting, but in our daily activities. Lots of insights that were found in the Word. Even though I wasn't really with it for a host of reasons, I was still able to share a few of my thoughts. Above all, I believe that worship must be submissive. Giving ourselves over to what the Spirit of God wants to do through us. We have to remember that we're celebrating God's glory, not our own. When it becomes about us, it becomes an act of boasting, not true, genuine worship. And we can do that in every part of our lives. Thanking God first thing when we wake up in the morning. Going to him for quiet time. Spending sufficient time in prayer. Watching for those in need of love. Practicing leadership through service.

My family is all going to Windy Gap with Shannon Forest on their spiritual emphasis retreat. I wish so badly that I could be there. Lots of great memories at Windy Gap. But oh well. How does that Robert Frost poem go?

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Song of the Day: Alathea - "Smiled on Me"

Verse of the Day: "Who is wise? He will realize these things. Who is discerning? He will understand them. The ways of the Lord are right; the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them." - Hosea 14:9

Enchanting Evening

Okay, if you read my previous post, you're probably wondering, "What was up with the ending? You're showing me empty space? I feel gypped." Yeah, really sorry about that. It was supposed to be something really neat, but I don't want to reveal it yet because I hope to get it working in a later entry. Wish me luck on that!

Last night was fun! Actually, all of yesterday was fun, something it hasn't been in a long time for me. You know when you're a little kid and you look forward to Friday more than any day of the week? I was feeling that all day yesterday. It's hard sometimes for me to step back and bask in the pleasures God surrounds me with when I get so wrapped up in my work. But having good friends is a huge help.

So yeah, last night. After a great afternoon spent playing football with the BCM gang, I went to Burgiss Theater to view a 5-hour marathon of the three Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles live-action movies. My gosh, I have not watched my heroes in a half-shell in years, and so it was a pleasant treat to see them again. FUSAB and the Tri Delta sorrority promised us pizza before, during, and after the movies ... and they were very true to their word! I don't think I've ever seen (or consumed) so much Little Caesar's Pizza in such a short amount of time. Piles and piles of it! Major kudos to the fine folks at Caesar's and to the members of Tri Delta and FUSAB for putting that on for us. The movies were silly, zany, rip-roaring fun. It's funny to look at them now, using older eyes and ears, and laugh at the forced seriousness, over-the-top comedy, and breaking the fourth wall in spots.

I'm of the belief that Splinter was already into some serious ooze even while he lived in a cage with Amato Yoshi. You just don't see normal rats mimicking martial arts masters, let alone being big enough for us to see him do it.

Raphael should get a strap for his sais.

I think the first movie intentionally went out of its way to avoid getting too mauldin. Every time we got a hint of a truly saddening, somber moment, it was punctuated by a joke or a humorous bit. The second movie didn't even try. It went straight for the humorous action (and for the most part, it worked) and we sat back and enjoyed it.

I ended up not sticking around for the third movie. It was after midnight and I didn't feel like I could sit through another hour-and-a-half. So I got to help the FUSAB people clean up the area outside of Burgiss and passed along the suggestion to take whatever pizza was left to the Expo Center for the residents displaced by Katrina. I met a nice girl named J.P. who is a member of RUF at Furman and lives in Chiles. They were all really nice and looked funny sporting red eye masks just like the Turtles. So yay for a return to fun-filled Fridays. Cowabunga!

Moving onto today...

I went into work at 10:45 this morning for the first time in a couple weeks. We're receiving new work uniforms in a few days, so everyone was buzzing about that. It made me wish I'd worn the classic grey shirt one more time; I had on the crimson red shirt I got from the Greenville Mall. But anyway, we had a nice shift. It was busy, but not as busy as Saturdays usually are. I expect that to change very soon as we get closer toward the holiday season.

However, the real highlight of my day was spending the last part of it with Anna Kate. She is so sweet, and I just enjoy every moment I'm around her. We left Haywood around 4:00 and headed to Furman just in time to watch the final quarter of the football game. It was a 48-31 victory for the Fighting Paladins, but I'm getting concerned about our passing defense. If the zone doesn't toughen up quickly, we could be in a lot of trouble down the road. But that's a headache for another day. So we enjoyed the quarter at Paladin Stadium and ran into TJ on our way out; that was pleasant. And then I gave her a tour of the rest of campus, including my humble little abode in Geer Hall. We had "dinner" in the PalaDen: double giant scoops of ice cream! Yes, she's crazy about ice cream; so I promised her when she came to Furman that I'd treat her to some. She went for the "Berry'ed in Red" flavor (or strawberry); I chose Killa Vanilla. We enjoyed ourselves. Then we had a nice walk around the lake and sat for half an hour on a bench overlooking the Bell Tower close to sunset. Some of it we spent in small-talk, others we watched some ducks cleaning themselves near the shore and a dog swimming out to fetch a tennis ball. I made a few silly comments about the abundance of duck feathers on or near the shore and suggested it had something to do with the toxic content of the lake. I resolved to do a science project on it for class one day: "The Truth About Molting." Anna just giggled and said "go for it." A polite way of begging me to change the subject, most likely.

After that, we came back to my room and watched Bragging Rites on my laptop for the next hour. If you are a Clemson or USC fan, I highly recommend this commentary. True knowledge of the rivalry between the teams is not complete until you've seen it. Sigh ... and speaking of the Tigers, the drive back to her car at Haywood was tinged with disappointment when we heard Clemson had lost 31-27 to Wake Forest. Her Dad and brother were at the game; I'm sure they had a long drive back home. I won't make any comments as I didn't hear the majority of the game. We've still got six games left, and we've got next week off. Here's hoping we'll get things together.

So yes, I had an enchanting evening with Anna Kate. Pray for her on Monday as she had to teach a real lesson for her elementary kids at Wren. She's got "mystery" problems planned for her Math lesson, so that'll be lots of fun. I'm sure she'll do great, but she'd appreciate your prayers regardless. Thank you and have a blessed night!

Song of the Day: Rachel Lampa - "Reborn"

Verse of the Day: "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope - the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good." - Titus 2:11-14