Boston

What would cause a man to drive 10 hours both ways, by himself, to Boston and back while putting 1300 miles on his car? What would possess him to spend the near $200 in gas and tolls for a little over 24 hour stay? And out of all months, why in the beginning of winter in December? Could it be he has a lady friend? Yes that must be it. There is nothing that'll make a man do such crazy feats like love...to quote Dwight Schrute "false".

The real reason? I have a buddy in the Navy stationed up there. He was one of my close childhood friends whom I haven't seen in eleven years. In March, he'll be shipped out for schooling to Texas. Peace out Boston. After all I've been through this past year, I felt compelled to make the trip to see him before Texas comes a calling.

I'm young, single, and have an untamed beast living in me known as adventure. I've never been to Massachusetts and one of my bucket list items is to visit all 50 United States. Experiencing Boston was also a great idea. Minus the 10 hour drive there and back, Boston traffic, and its peculiar maze of roads.

So what did I do? I used the subway system to cross the Atlantic (because my friend lived on an island part of Boston) and began to explore. Now the thing about Boston is that many of the streets are still cobblestone from the old days. Here's a history lesson for you. My great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather was named Thomas A. White. Now he was not a well known figure in history, but if you wonder where all my patriotic pride came from, I wouldn't be surprised it was from him. He was one of the main participants in the Boston Tea Party and also fought in the Revolutionary war. So my roots in this country lead back to Boston. If you google his name there's a wikipedia page on him as well as a few sites of his ancestors (like me) who are connecting each other (and there are a lot because the man had 21 kids after all!). I also passed by a right where the Boston Massacre happened.

I explored the more modern aspects like the aquarium (those pics are on facebook), as well as the city's light show on their Christmas tree, a long building that has food franchises from end to end, and a little of the MIT campus. Since the trip was semi spontaneous, I didn't get to see as much as I liked, but maybe a warmer season will have those opportunities in view (a.k.a. a Red Sox's game at Fenway).

I ended up leaving a day early because the Navy had my buddy stay overnight so I wouldn't have seen him again before I left anyway. In all honesty, when I went I was hoping to reminisce on our childhood, swap stories, and make some new ones. But 11 years is a long time and God didn't bless everyone with a strong memory. At least he's one of the few who remember me.

My trip was worth it, no matter how short. I have no idea when I'll see him again if ever. But this I will say. If I have ever called you friend in my life, I think about you from time to time, relieve old memories, and have not and will not ever forget you. No matter where this crazy life takes me, you'll be on my heart always because you did, do, and will always still matter to me. Boston Strong.

Remembering Brian Brickner

I had another post in the works, but after the recent and tragic passing of Brian Brickner, I felt moved and compelled to do this post instead.

For those who haven't been following my blog, or have missed some posts, 2014 has been a little rougher on me than usual. Ignoring all my school issues, Mr. B. is the 5th person in my life who has passed this year and the third under the age of 55. A week ago I received a message that threw me for a loop because I thought someone else I knew (who is around Mr. B's age) had passed, but it turned out to be that person's father who was 96 years old. I felt relief that it wasn't someone I knew well who played a small part in my growing up in the church, but still a loss of life is still hard to take. Just as I was getting my bearings straight, I got the news that Mr. B. had passed in a car accident. Let's just say my emotions have been like a roller coaster and I can't even begin to imagine what his wife and kids are going through. Before I get any sadder, I want to remember a man who even though I only knew for four years, had a profound impact on many lives including mine. Kenny Chesney once said "I think we all have somebody in our life that dies young, and it's hard to figure out why, and that can make such an impact that no matter how busy you are and what you're doing in life, it can stop you in your life and change you."

I first met his oldest daughter about seven years ago at a young people's event and saw this young christian full of life and full of Christ. I met her older brother a few years later and then her younger sister a year after that. Each one holds a place in my heart and life and I'm proud to call all three of them friends and even family in Christ. Knowing Mr. B's kids really made me want to meet the man who produced three wonderful children, now lovely adults. I finally got the privilege in the fall of 2010. We were hosting a young people's event by taking the kids paint balling. Mr. B. came with the group from Mansfield and I thought that he was there to drive the kids. Little did I know that this almost 50 something was going to be out on the field shooting and getting shot with paint. For those who haven't played paintball, it requires energy and a certain level of pain endurance because paint balls sting. During the last battle, it was a free for all/every man/woman for themselves. I made an early alliance and used that alliance to pick off three people. Then, I went lone wolf and crept around a corner. As I peered around it, I saw Mr. B. trying to camouflage himself. Being in the heat of the battle, I started firing and didn't stop until I saw his hands come up (which in reality was four shots) and two got him. Later I felt bad and went to apologize for being aggressive. He just laughed said don't worry about it and we introduced ourselves, talked and joked for awhile, before heading back to our respective cities.

As the years rolled on, I saw him on and off at a few church events, but didn't really have any interactions again until July of 2013. His daughter Sarah was hosting a birthday party for her then fiance and now husband Paul at her parent's house in Lexington. Mr. B. was more than happy to open his home to a bunch of college and graduated kids as well as take a handful of us out on his pontoon boat. I believe one of his greatest joys was making others happy and feel welcome. At one point during the event, he asked for some help to carry a grill across the neighborhood because theirs wasn't working. He cracked a few jokes about four strange men "stealing" a grill, but the neighbors knew we were borrowing it. Being a fisherman myself, I was also able to swap some stories with him about our passion.

One of the last times I saw him, was my most memorable of all. He was with us when we went camping for Paul's bachelor party. On our first night, while we were hungry and waiting for the food to arrive, he grabbed his fishing pole, went straight to the creek, and began hauling in little pan-fish to immediately put on the fire. He was hauling them out faster than we could cook them. Throughout the weekend, he was telling us everything about Mohican Park, sharing stories of past trips, and even took us on a nature hike to some of the most spectacular views the place had to offer. I had the opportunity to talk with him a little about life, fishing, his future son-in-law and how he wouldn't allow Paul to call him "Dad" until he officially married his daughter, and so much more.

By the end of the trip, before we all left, he brought us all in a circle to pray for each other, the time we shared, and our lives going forward. He then wanted to acquire everyone's contact info to get the gang back together in the near future.

I saw him three more times after that and each time was as special as the first. He was filled with joy pride, and mirth at his daughter's wedding, he personally thanked me at the labor day conference for writing about Paul and Sarah's wedding and told me I had talent, and he was all smiles and upbeat working at Ashland woods three weeks ago after hours of hard manual labor. That was the last time I saw him.

Even though I knew him for a mere four years, his life impacted mine more than he'll ever know. Just looking at him was an inspiration in its own right. Mr. B. was a man who by my standards had everything he ever wanted. He had a loving wife and three amazing kids, a heart fully for Christ, a life where he embraced the joys more than the pain, a life that impacted so many around him, and took each day as it came, refusing to miss out on the pleasures that came with it.

For me, I want to strive to reach this standard. Sure, I really want to get married, have kids, grandkids, and die in old age. But that's not up to me. That's up to the God who created me, who gave up everything for me, and would do it again and again, and again no matter how many times I would spurn him and walk away. To be able to say I lived for Christ, to have saved people from eternal death, to be someone, like Mr. B., who made an impact on the lives of those around me, would be enough to say I lived life to the fullest. I have zero doubt that the Lord will carry us all through this difficult time. For now the tears may come, but the joy will one day return, knowing Mr. B. lived a happy and full life and is now in the best place anyone could ever be; in the arms of our Savior.

Here's to Brian Brickner, husband, father, friend, uncle, brother, and so much more, and the Christ-filled life he lived, knowing that we will see him again one day. May the grace, mercy, and peace of the Lord be with you all.

Hollywood's Noah: A False Portrayal

Being a Christian and growing up knowing the classic stories of the Old Testament that every kid who went to Sunday school classes should know, naturally I wanted to watch Hollywood's take on Noah. Now I knew going into it that it wasn't going to be completely accurate and that Noah's character was going to be on the extreme side, but I was in for a shock at how much Hollywood skewed the story. As I sat there watching it, I cared less and less about how well the movie was made, how well the actors performed, or how well the dialogue was written. I became livid at just how wrong Hollywood was. With all that being said, I am going to spoil the heck out of it by pointing out all the inaccuracies and my thoughts on their portrayal. If you really want to waste your time like I did, stop reading now.

SPOILER ALERT: (Hollywood's take) 1. The whole movie is set at a much earlier setting than the Bible records. None of Noah's three sons have wives, Shem has a girlfriend, Ham is barely of age, and Japheth is just a young boy.
2. The Watchers (cursed angels that tried to "help" man) were enslaved by mankind and were convinced by Noah to help him build the ark.
3. Shem's girlfriend can't conceive and is miraculously healed by Methuselah.
4. Ham tries to take a young girl onto the ark, but she is abandoned by Noah and killed by an angry mob trying to kill Noah and his family.
5. The Watchers are "defeated" defending the ark and released back to heaven.
6. Noah's family makes it onto the ark and Noah shuts the door.
7. The leader of the mob successfully gets on the ark and is hidden and cared for by Ham.
8. The mob leader starts eating the animals to survive.
9. Noah looks at his situation, seeing that there are no wives for his sons and Shem's girlfriend is barren (he doesn't know she was healed yet) and believe's God spared them so they could die a natural death and that God really wanted mankind to ultimately end.
10. Noah finds out that Shem's girlfriend is pregnant and determines that if the baby is a girl, he will kill her so she can't become a wife for his sons.
11. Shem's girlfriend produces twin girls, which is exactly what's needed for Ham and Japheth to have a wife. Noah still wants to kill them.
12. Ham and the mob boss conspire to kill Noah (Ham wants revenge for the girl Noah abandoned). But as Noah and the mob boss struggle, Ham kills the mob boss.
13. Noah goes to kill the twins in their mother's arms, but drops the knife and walks away.
14. They include the drunken Noah scene. He is passed out in a cave and does not curse or bless anyone.

Biblical Truth: 1. When they enter the ark, all three sons have wives. Gen 7:7  "And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons' wives with him went into the ark to escape the waters of the flood."

2. There is no mention of Watchers anywhere in the Bible. The only thing that comes close are the Nephilim and there was no mention of them helping or being enslaved by man. This is all that the Bible says on them: Gen 6:4  "The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown." This is a harder topic to understand, but the clear thing is there were no watchers.

3. Point one refutes this because Shem had a wife and there is no mention of her being injured or being healed by Methuselah.

4. Again point 1. Ham already had a wife and she was brought on the ark.

5. See point 2.

6. Noah did not close the door. Gen 7:16  "And those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him. And the LORD shut him in."

7. No one other than the animals, Noah, and his family were on the ark. Gen 7:13  On the very same day Noah and his sons, Shem and Ham and Japheth, and Noah's wife and the three wives of his sons with them entered the ark." Gen 7:23  "He blotted out every living thing that was on the face of the ground, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens. They were blotted out from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those who were with him in the ark."

8. The Bible makes no mention of eating the animals, but rather to keep them alive.Gen 6:19  "And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every sort into the ark to keep them alive with you. They shall be male and female. 

Gen 6:20  Of the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground, according to its kind, two of every sort shall come in to you to keep them alive. 

Gen 6:21  Also take with you every sort of food that is eaten, and store it up. It shall serve as food for you and for them." 

9. This was the part that made me the most angry. Noah knew from the beginning that God was sparing him and his family to start over. If not, why save them? This was an awful Hollywood concoction. Gen 6:17  "For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die. 

Gen 6:18  But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives with you. Gen 9:1  "And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth." 

10. The Bible does not mention babies being born on the ark. And Noah was not a baby killer.

11. See point 10.

12. See note 7

13. If you want to compare this to God asking Abraham sacrificing Isaac, the difference is God told Abraham to do it and then stopped him. In the movie, Noah get's the revelation on his own and stops himself. I absolutely loathed this part of the story line.

14. They even slipped in the only sin mentioned about Noah and they couldn't even get that right. He had vineyard and passed out in a tent, not on a beach in a cave. Gen 9:20  "Noah began to be a man of the soil, and he planted a vineyard. 

Gen 9:21  He drank of the wine and became drunk and lay uncovered in his tent." Also he didn't curse Canaan or bless his sons in the movie, but the Bible tells us that he did. "Gen 9:24  When Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his youngest son had done to him, 

Gen 9:25  he said, "Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be to his brothers." 

Gen 9:26  He also said, "Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem; and let Canaan be his servant. 

Gen 9:27  May God enlarge Japheth, and let him dwell in the tents of Shem, and let Canaan be his servant." 

So there you have it. Now you know why I hated it. But in all of it's flaws and garbage, there is a blooming flower. It may get Christians to dust off the Bible to find the flaws on their own by causing them to read it. It also may make unbelievers curious and cause them to read the Bible as well. 

Verdict: If you know the story of Noah inside out, don't watch the movie. It's a waste of your time.

If you are going to read the Bible to find the flaws on your own, then by all means watch it.

If you want to watch it for fun...well, with all the inaccuracies aside, the movie wasn't well done in terms of filming, dialogue, etc. So it's your loss if you chose to watch it.

 

Reflections From North Carolina

During the 2011-2012 internship, I had the chance to go spend a week in Cody Hayslette's neck-of-the-woods in North Carolina. That week was easily one of the most memorable moments in my life. Ever since then I have been writing that experience down so when I'm old and gray (if the Lord allows me to reach that stage) and my memory is failing me, I could read it and recall those wonderful times with those wonderful people. So without further ado, I give you my adventure in North Carolina.

                Traveling is one of many passions of mine. So much so in fact, that I have made lists, studied places, written, and dreamed about where life could take me next. One such opportunity fell upon me during my 1-year Christian Internship. A good friend and fellow intern Cody Hayslette offered a trip to his home town nearly Raleigh, NC over winter break. One of my many travel goals is to set foot in all 50 states. I was going on this trip and nothing was going to stop me…or so I thought.

            The trip wasn't happening until the first week in January so I had to weeks to prepare. All I thought about then was relaxing and doing a whole bunch of nothing when I got back to my apartment…but then I got a text. It was from my sister and I had seen her only a half an hour ago so I knew whatever it was it couldn't be good. My hunch proved correct. A flashy piece of mail arrived that day at my parent’s house summoning me for jury duty. But this wasn’t any common jury duty. It was in fact a Grand Jury summons meaning larger cases and was near impossible to avoid. My heart fell so fast and so hard that you could hear the thump in Thailand. My state of being went from shear happiness to straight up depressed. Not only was I almost guaranteed not to go to NC, but if I was selected for a jury, I may have had my internship experience ruined.

            If this had happened to me a number of years ago, I would’ve thrown in the towel, called it quits, maybe even kicked a bucket (with my foot…see what I did there?). However, I still had hope. One of the first things I did was pray. Let me tell you this now. Prayer can do wonders. With man impossibility lingers, waiting for its moment to pounce, but with God, that word doesn’t even exist. Also keep in mind that God knows what’s best for you and knows when to give you what you need. So if you pray and don’t get a response right away, don’t give up or be discouraged, because even the best things in life take time.

            No one likes jury duty, but it is one’s duty as a citizen of these United States. There is never good timing for it, but there is the worst possible time it can occur. I was upset that the NC trip may be gone, but I kept thinking about what would happen if I was actually selected. I thought about all the time I would miss during the internship. I couldn’t understand why the Lord would allow something like this to happen to me. Maybe it was to amp up my prayer life, maybe it was to see His glory, or maybe it was to show me that things like that in life don’t always come so easy.

            Here’s where hope came in. I asked a leading brother in the church/coach of the internship to write a letter describing what I was doing and why jury duty would severely interfere with this internship. I also wrote a personal letter as well to provide my input rather than having someone else do all my work for me. I preceded to fold the letters, lick the envelope, place the stamp, and pray.

            The week before we were supposed to leave, I was in that frozen land up north that they call Canada for the first few days and had no access to a phone, email, or snail mail for that matter. Plus who knew when I was going to hear back from the Justice center? All I had was faith.

            The border always gives my nerves a twitch. Even though I’ve done nothing wrong, the whole process just makes a guy think he’s under the microscope. I sat there silent as a snowflake landing on a windowsill. After another five torturous minutes, the border guard gave us back our passports and we had safely returned to the good ole U.S.A. As soon as the little “roaming” triangle on my phone disappeared, I accessed the internet and checked my email. Lo and behold, out of the twenty or so Facebook notifications, there in the heart of them all, was an email from the justice center. I opened that email so fast I’m surprised my finger didn’t go right through the phone. I had mentally prepared myself for this moment. I was braced to hold back the Pacific Ocean if I had to. There were only two lines. What I saw made my jaw hit the floor.

            “Your request for dismissal from jury service has been processed. You are no longer required to appear on…” I cannot describe to you how great of a joy overwhelmed me and how my heart had been flooded with mirth. This wasn’t just a get out of jail free card be a key to complete freedom! This meant I didn’t get deferred to another date, but that my name would be removed and tossed back into the pool for random selection later on. I thanked the Lord right then and there. Prayer is powerful and the Lord is merciful. I then called Mike and told him the good news followed by a text to Cody telling him I was good to go. I was NC bound.

            On the morning of Tuesday January 3^rd, Paul Mann, Peter Elhardt, Zane Biddle, Ben Carbrey, Kai Zhong, and I loaded ourselves, our luggage, a cello, and a French horn into James Reinarz’s van (which he so graciously lent us for the trip). Brenna Robinson was also tagging along at least until we dropped her off in Charleston, WV.

            It was a beautiful Cleveland morning. The sun was not shining, the air was not warm, and you couldn’t see 10 feet in front of you because of the blinding white crystals that seem to call Cleveland their migratory home winter after winter. We were packed like sardines and had a 9.5 hour drive ahead of us. This was going to be one long road trip.

            I guess the college conference beforehand wiped us all out because most of us were zoning in and out of consciousness within the first hour or two…but not I. For some reason I cannot sleep in vehicles. It just does not happen. Plus Peter Elhardt was driving in blinding snow. Now here’s the crazy thing about northern part of Ohio (mainly Cleveland), the weather is horrible. It’ll be 65 degrees one day in the winter and then 10 below and blinding snow the next. It also didn’t help that the police were out everywhere because you can get a ticket for driving the speed limit in bad conditions.

            Finally, we had reached the southern border of Ohio, and magically, the rouge blizzard was gone, there wasn’t a single state cruiser in sight, and Bach’s compositions filled the van. That’s another funny thing about Ohio; as soon as we crossed the border into West Virginia, there were no officers in sight, even all the way to North Carolina. I guess it’s both a blessing and a curse, depending how you look at it.

            Entering WV is always a welcoming sight. You leave behind the flat lands of Ohio and are welcomed by beautiful mountains and a colorful sign above a bridge that reads “Welcome to West Virginia, Wild and Wonderful.” I’ve been to West Virginia twice before. Both times were so amazing that they’ll get their own section later on. This time we were just passing through. Another hour and we reached Charleston. You could tell by the huge golden dome of the capitol building that suddenly appears beyond the mountains. It’s almost as if the city creeps up upon you and then the mountains again conceal it. We got off the freeway and pulled into the city. Happy to stretch our legs and take a much needed restroom break, we stumbled out of the van, some literally as there was a patch of black ice on the ground.

            We had stopped at an office building where a friend of Brenna’s worked who would take her back to Fayetteville, WV. He was a really nice guy and showed us around his office which was pretty cool. After our brief tour, we thanked him, said good-bye to Brenna and headed south for North Carolina.

            The sun had now set and we found ourselves weaving down windy mountain roads until we saw the sign that said “Welcome to Virginia.” Nothing exciting happened here seeing as it only took a little over an hour to cross through the state. All the mountains faded into the distance and the land became flat once again, but this time we were greeted by a new force of nature…trees and lots of them. Now when most people think about coastal, southern states, they think of beaches, water, open lands, etc. But shockingly enough, North Carolina is covered with trees. I remember Ben Carbrey saying as we got closer to Cody’s house, “Cody lives in the sticks!” Thankfully we had a GPS because it was really dark now and all you could see were trees.

            Ten hours total traveling time later, we heard a joyous sound come from the GPS. “You have reached your destination.” We pulled into the driveway of this huge house which, believe it or not, was in a clearing with a house on either side with no trees blocking its view. We got out of the van and stretched. I had texted Cody 10 min before, but there was no one there to greet us when we arrived…or so I thought. A bright light was coming from the back of the house, so I wandered over there and sure enough, there was Cody, Sam Huoh, Thomas Brown, and Renee Berglund all in Cody’s giant shed. Finally noticing our presence, they came and greeted us and then we all wandered back to the shed.

            Lying before me was a giant piece of plastic tarp and rope. The four mentioned above were working on a “Project” that would later be tested during the week. We inquired of them what this project might be, but they were tight-lipped and would reveal that answer later. After our brief tour of the back, we walked into the well-lit house where we were warmly greeted by Cody’s parents.

            You could feel the warmth and hominess the minute you crossed the threshold. Cody’s parents were more than happy to have us. There were going to be nine college kids in their house for a week and they were already feeding us and telling us to help ourselves to anything and everything. You know that saying “opposites attract”? That statement couldn’t be truer with these two. Cody’s dad was a quiet, soft-spoken, gentle fellow who seemed quite down to earth. His mother, on the other hand, was a louder, fiery, want-to-feed-you-even-though-you’re-full, person who could talk your ear off and had many priceless expressions as well as sweet. She was the perfect example of southern hospitality. Another thing about Cody’s family was that they were close to the point where I saw and met all of them multiple times before the week was up. One example was his cousin Kyle, who hung out with us the entire week. This guy was passionate. He broke his fingers playing ultimate Frisbee and had to wear this removable cast-like support, only to remove it to toss a disc later in the week. More on him and other family members later.

            We (being the nine of us and Kyle) spent the rest of the night pigging out on the snacks and ice cream that was set out for us, playing risk, and chit chatting about how the week was going to look. Finally, between two and three in the morning, we called it a night.

            The sun came blaring through Cody’s window at the early hour of 12:00PM. We stumbled and crawled out of our respective lairs to the kitchen, where there was food prepared the night before for us to chow down on. It was sooo good. We chilled around the house for a while; some practiced their instruments, some caught up on their bible reading, and some just took it all in.

            Trying food was a must in NC and what better way to experience it than the southern fast food franchise called Bo Jangles. They are a fried chicken joint that makes some amazing biscuits and killer sweet tea. If you ever visit the south, you have to make an effort to stop in to one.

An hour later, we were off on our first adventure of the week. Cody was taking us to a nearby athletic center where he used to work so we could get a tour of the place and then go ice skating. I enjoy ice skating, but don’t do it very often because my ankles can’t take that kind of a beating. However, it was totally worth the trip.

            We arrived in good time, laced up, and got onto the ice. I was on roller blades since the age of four, so when I got onto the ice, I began flying, not like the pros, but a lot better than half of those on the ice. I began doing laps, pondering when I should try some tricks, and as I made my first pass, one of the many lovely brothers who had come on this trip was making short, quick, movements with his skates, trying desperately not to fall. I went a few more laps then met up with the ones who were taking a break on the wall.

            There were not that many other skaters there because the public schools had all returned from winter vacation. There was, however, a group of daycare kids there that once they recognized Cody, decided it would be fun to chase him. Cody entertained them for a while, skating circles around them, eluding their T-rex arms, and laughing as the horde refused to back down. Finally, once a few kids “caught” Cody. They decided that their next victim would be Ben. Now Ben is a guy who doesn’t hold back and is full of energy and excitement. He wouldn’t even give those kids a chance. Ben flew all over the rink with a chain of children behind him. At one point, the kids got smart enough to come at him from both sides. Ben being the athletic guy that he is, charged the rink wall and leapt over it. I was a little surprised he did that, but it didn’t faze the kids any. They clamored over to the wall and tried to climb over to get at him. Sometimes you just have to let your inner child loose amongst children because the truth is that kids look up to you and that experience you give them will impact them for the rest of their lives.

            After our “cool” outing, we headed back to Cody’s place the exercise our Second Amendment right as Americans; that being the right to bear arms. For the first time in my life, I got to shoot a gun. It wasn’t just any gun, but rather a semi-automatic shotgun. We were shooting clay pigeons that were released off a foot launcher. The feeling of holding an actual gun, pulling the trigger, feeling the kick, and hearing the blast, was an interesting one. I felt like a true American, but at the same time realized I was holding something very dangerous, especially if used improperly.

            The sun was setting, but our day was far from over. We were all invited over to Cody’s cousin’s house for dinner where we met a bigger portion of his family. There were 20+ people in that house and a lot of…tacos! We had a lot of laughs, swapped stories, and enjoyed each other’s company.

            After dinner, we all congregated into the family room, where Cody’s aunt was passing out hymnals and then proceeded to sit herself in front of the piano. Now we had an ensemble of musicians that had come on the trip so our harmonized singing of classic hymns was a real treat. Cody’s family loved it and we had a blast. We said our goodbyes and headed back to Cody’s house, but our night wasn’t over. Being college kids, we had a habit of staying up until 1-2am playing Risk, Monopoly, watching fail videos, weird Asian films, and eating junk food. Eventually we called it quits, excited at what the next day would bring.

            Day two began nearly the same as it did on day one, but we had different plans this time. We hung around the house a little longer this time and to shake off the restlessness, I decided to test out Cody’s trampoline. Now I love trampolines and have a habit of letting myself go when I encounter one. This one was on the smaller side, had no net, no spring cover, and the weather had given the springs one heck of a beating. Challenge accepted. I immediately began doing flips, rolls, and twists. I then decided to see how high I could get. Each time I hit the surface, I released with more spring and beat my previous height each time. On the next bounce, I exploded into the air with everything I had and then gravity did its job and pulled me back to earth. My legs hit the jumping surface, ready to recoil again, but suddenly they buckled, springs went flying, and I was standing on green grass in the dead center of the trampoline. That’s right, I jumped straight through it and stuck the landing. I walked back into the house and with a sheepish grin told Cody to look outside and see the damage. They all had a good laugh, jokingly said I needed to lay off the ice cream, and said “There goes our safety net!” I will explain that comment later.

            Around 2pm we met up with a brother named Luke. He lived near Duke campus and took us on a tour. Duke has a huge chapel that had some serious architecture including a giant organ above the inside door. Our musically talented people thought it would be cool to harmonize a hymn, testing the chapel’s acoustics. We sang How Great Thou Art to and heard our voices echo throughout.

            Next we went to the famous Duke garden, but unfortunately it was winter time so hardly and flowers where in bloom. Yet, the trees still had some life and we even saw a fearless raccoon literally a foot away. A few of us decided to become pandas for the day and climb bamboo plants. Then in our adventure took us to a mini outdoor theater. We sat on the grass and watched as Ben performed backflips and then myself recite Shakespeare’s 18^th sonnet. Peter Elhardt, the non-Shakespeare fan among us, threw his sandal at me, jokingly (I hope).

            We eventually left Duke and went over to Chapel Hill to take a brief tour of UNC and NC State. On UNC’s campus there was a water fountain that claims that whoever takes a drink from it will get straight A’s…yet to be proven. There is also an old, tall, crooked tree that actually died, was hollowed out, and filled with concrete so it would always stand. This tree was around at the founding of the campus. We made one last stop at a random building on campus that Cody had climbed up onto when he went there and tied a rag to a pole. The rag was still there.

            The sun began to set so we headed back to Luke’s house where we were joined by more of Cody’s family. Luke’s wife made an awesome dinner consisting of authentic Chinese food as well as Mexican food. It was “mad” good as those in Buffalo would put it. After dinner, we were challenged by Luke’s sun Vincent to a game of ping-pong as well as some foosball. Both games were intense. To end the evening, we played one giant game of Pictionary while being feed a vast selection of delicious ice-cream and pop.

            Day three was a treat for us Clevelanders/Buffalonians because the weather hit 70 degrees in January, but in Cleveland it was bone-chilling cold. So how did we spend it? Sleeping in for starters (no surprise) then dressed in shorts and T-shirts we played some corn-hole and threw a Frisbee. Then we got the bright idea to finally test the parachute we were building. Four of us climbed onto the roof in preparation for the big event. While waiting, Zane and I threw a Frisbee back and forth off the roof because we could. Cody and Sam hoisted the punching bag with attached parachute up a ladder to me and Kai on the roof. Now here’s the kicker. We wanted the max flight time possible so we climbed up to the highest part of the roof. The problem was that the highest point was also the steepest with no flat area to stand. You had to straddle your legs over the roof.

            Someone made sure Cody’s mom would not miss this so they called her out and she started shouting that we were going to kill ourselves, then hold still for a few pictures, then couldn’t watch, then more pictures, then telling us to be careful. Finally, the four of us managed to get the bag in launch position. We counted down to zero and as soon as the desired number was reached, Cody and Sam let the bag fly while trying not to fall. The parachute didn’t open properly, but when it finally did, it caught a corner of the house, missed a window, broke free and hit the ground. Total flight time: Five seconds. Total parachute time: Two seconds. No one died, nothing was broken, and the parachute did open so I’d say it was a success.

            The parachute was far from the highlight of the day. Cody’s sister and cousin had a full day planned for us. They sent us into downtown Raleigh on a scavenger hunt. This adventure took us into the science museum and the museum of natural history. I normally think scavenger hunts are for little kids, but when a group of well-weathered college people run around a museum acting like children, chaos turns into a brilliant comedic act that leaves lasting impressions on my mind. Plus there were prizes on the line!

            My group consisted of Ben, Zane, and Peter. I couldn’t ask for a more entertaining group, well minus Cody of course. Some of the many hilarious challenges included hugging the sad woman, high-fiving girl scouts on the wall, freaking out in front of a wild boar, being spiritual by the praying mantis, milk the giant cow, and find as many NC’s as you can (bonus points for funny expressions). It was intense and we spent the entire afternoon completing many more silly challenges. Once our time was up we headed back to Cody’s house to eat some more southern cooking and then judge (and laugh) at all the pictures from the day’s events. We all were nearly in tears from laughing so hard. In the end, our team came in third, but we had a blast and got candy to boot.

            The day didn’t end on that note, but rather on one with a more divine tune. Justin Hayslette and his then girlfriend, Alora, had come home to visit. It was so good to see Justin. I really missed him. The weather outside was perfect for a game of manhunt and since the neighbors were either not home nor had houses within earshot, we could be as obnoxious as we wanted. We spent the next hour or so zipping all over the Hayslette’s property and the neighbor’s as well.

One point during the game, I was lying on the ground staring at the clear night sky, the millions of stars, and a full moon. I began to let my thoughts wander and take in the beauty of it all. At that point, I didn’t care whether I was found or not. I was enjoying the view and reminiscing on the good times. I won’t forget that moment.

 Now here’s the comedic part of it all. Apparently, the owners of the next house over weren’t home, but their daughter and her friends were. They were freaked out by dark figures dressed in all black racing through their yard and kept flipping the porch light on and off to try to catch a better look. I stopped and revealed who we were. Their faces looked relieved.

            We wrapped up our game and invited them over to join us all around a fire that had been freshly made. Cody busted out his guitar and was singing whatever he felt in the mood for. We joked, laughed, swapped stories, and stuffed our faces with s’mores. Suddenly, I felt a stirring inside me to say something to the neighbor girls who were chit-chatting about things teenage girls talk about. Even though I was on a break from the labor, that didn’t mean I was on a break from Christ. So I began asking them about Jesus, this life, the future, etc. One of the girls said she was a Christian and the other two were more difficult because anything I asked them about God, the bible, or Jesus seemed to turn into a topic of friends, boys, or shoes. After getting nowhere, I thought that was a bit of a waste, but it wasn’t until Alora got my attention that my hope rose again. Apparently she had been listening the whole time and began asking questions. Paul Mann and Cody jumped in and all three of us preached the gospel and had a good conversation with her. Eventually we had to agree to disagree, but you never know what the Lord will do with what you give Him (Alora became saved a year later…that’s another story).

            Day four was less of the site-seeing and more of some good old fashioned fun. We once again ventured from the Hayslette’s humble abode and made our way to Adventure Landing. Here we found ourselves zipping around in go-karts, putt-putting like pros, and trading in our hard earned cash for tokens to win tickets for very cheap prizes. Kyle had a knack for the spinning light game called “Cyclone.” You put in one token and try to stop the revolving light on the jackpot spot. He kept feeding the machine tokens and nailed the jackpot at least five times. With all the tickets that were accumulated, we were able to split them among the group for prizes bigger than just candy. I ended up with a giant pair of sunglasses.

            Once our fun was had, we headed back to Cody’s house for the weekly young people’s meeting. All the kids, teenagers, and high school grads we met throughout the week and then some were there. We enjoyed the food, the instruments, the singing, the young people, and especially the Lord. The night ended with Cody’s mom wanting to kidnap us and keep us because we were leaving tomorrow.

            Our last day was Sunday morning. We were privileged to meet with all the other saints in the area including a group from Bangladesh. As part of the meeting, we shared our testimonies and enriched the saints as they had enriched us. Before we left, we had a love feast (southern style!) with plenty of delicious food. There were four long rows of tables; two for main courses and two for dessert. Afterwards, we said our good-byes and made our way back to New York and Ohio. The car ride home even had a highlight or two. Zane convinced Peter to let him turn on the Steelers/Broncos wild card playoff game featuring Tim Tebow. It kept cutting in and out as we were driving through the West Virginia Mountains. At one point, it cut back in right at the moment where Tebow connected with Demaryius Thomas in OT for the game winning TD. Paul looked back at me and clenched his fist in victory so Zane wouldn’t see it and Zane said ‘Wow…Well that’s that. Go Tebow!” We also managed to make a 9.5 hour trip 8 hours total with a dinner stop included.

            I won’t ever forget this experience I had with these people because it was honestly one of the best experiences of my life. I saw the Lord move in ways I hadn’t before, met many awesome people, experienced North Carolina, and now will have more stories to tell my children and grandchildren. Here’s to the next adventure!

A Window Into My Soul

Two days ago two things happened that got me thinking about why I am who I am and how I got here. And for some strange reason, I get an uncontrollable itch to put all this personal stuff on a blog for the world to see, yet hardly ever bring it up in a conversation that is perfect for this sort of thing. I guess that's the writer in me screaming to be used and heard ever now and then. Stop. Rewind. Back to my opening thought.

For Thermodynamics (I hate this class a lot), we took a tour of CSU's HVAC system which is the system that heats and cools the entire campus. We got to see the massive pipes, coils, chillers, and a bunch of other systems that were noisy and surrounded by concrete. Being blunt, I was bored and not very impressed. We then went from basically the basement all the way to the 20th floor where we saw more coils, metal, and rooms in dire need of repair. I briefly looked and then moved on. My only thoughts at this point were that I was thankful not to have to sit through a two hour lecture on things that make my head hurt. But then I stepped through a small opening and onto a balcony. This balcony was at the very top of Rhodes Tower. Which is the very tower the has the emerald green CSU letters plastered on the side and can be see entering and exiting downtown Cleveland. For years I had always looked up and wondered what it would be like to be up there. Now here I was staring across Cleveland, the city on a Great Lake, with an amazing view. Eight years ago, I never would've ever stepped out there, let alone even going up to the 20th floor.

If you read my June 8th post, you would know about my anxiety, how bad it was, how it trapped me, and how it ruled me (if you want all the details, go read that post). You would also see how I overcame it and how my life has changed ever since. Now I long for adventure. To explore places unseen, to scale heights, to take a ride on the wild side, to travel to foreign lands, to do the exact opposite of what anxiety once told me I couldn't do.

I also know how short life on earth truly is. I constantly feel like I'm three years behind where I should be which puts me now on the edge of 2011...and it's almost 2015! Maybe that's why I'm so nostalgic. All it took was a step out of the race we call human and glance at what I were missing. It's why I like to be with those I call friends. It's why my memory is strong because I never want to let those moments I shared with y'all fade. It's just who I am.

For those of you who don't know, I have lost two friends in two consecutive years. In both cases, my fears came true. Both of them I was thinking about and had not seen in awhile, one much longer than the other. In those moments, I had been longing to spend time with them, because in a way, I wasn't as close to them as I would've liked, but they still meant a lot to me. Every missed opportunity I had to see them was like a tiny thorn in my side. Because for me, I live with the thought that if I'm not going to see someone for awhile, it may be my last. In both cases, that's exactly what happened. Even though I didn't show it, it ate me up inside. There are people from my life in PA that I haven't seen in 11 years and had missed opportunities because that's how crazy life is. It's one the major reason I fight to go to every Vision Week, every college/regional conference, or any other group event. It's because there will be people there that matter in my life and it's the time I am given to spend with them all. Family, friends, and brothers and sisters in Christ matter to me. And to anyone who ever said you can never have enough friends, I applaud you.

Getting back to the second thing that happened to me that caused me to write this post. I was video surfing on Youtube and I came across a video of a famous youtuber which was an abnormal video compared to her normal ones. It was a video in which she was thanking her fans through video clips of her life from when she started on youtube until now. It showed her just being herself and loving life and sharing that human experience with the world. Because she made that choice, it changed her life in ways she could've never imagined. All because she wasn't afraid to grab life by the horns, not let haters phase her, and doing what she loved. But she couldn't have done it without all those who supported her along the way. So where am I going with all this? Let me be open again. I don't enjoy school. I hate having to take classes I don't like, paying money for classes that are insanely hard with professors who just don't get it or barely speak English, tests upon tests, upon tests to "prove" you know what you are doing, etc. In at least four classes (and there's probably more), I lost an A on a test or overall grade because I made a simple error or was given the hardest possible questions, and the professors saw it fit to take off enough points to cost me a B or an A. It made me question why I even tried so hard or why I even took up engineering in the first place. Because grades only matter for school and scholarship. The majority of employers will not care that you never got a C. All they care about is that you have $40,000+ piece of paper that says you're qualified. Even if you are skilled or talented enough to be what they are looking for, if you don't have that piece of paper, you don't get the job.

I'm an outgoing, adventurous person who wants to experience so much while I am young and as long as I make enough money to support myself and a family down the road, I don't care one bit about making a penny more than that. I chose engineering because I like to tinker with things and create new things. Not for the money. I trust Jesus Christ in that department. Professors keep telling me I should get my Professional Engineer title (P.E.) because it's that great a difference between decent money and a boat load. But for me that means another 2-4 years of school and two 8 hour tests...yeah that's not happening...ever. All I want right now is to enjoy those around me and experience all life has to offer before a full time job is a must. Oh and for that year I took off school to serve the Lord. I don't regret it and you can take that to the bank.

So I apologize if it may have seemed like a rant, but I had to get that off my chest. And for those who skimmed it I don't blame you. In short, life is short and family and friends make life a whole lot more worth it. Do what you gotta to to get where you gotta be, but don't let time steal precious moments from you. Let go and let God. Until I see y'all again, may the Lord bless you always.

Smells and Memories

Disclaimer: This is another nostalgic post, but I had the urge to write it. And I'm a very nostalgic person in case you didn't already know.

Less than a month ago, I came across a smell that I hadn't encountered in awhile and it instantly took me down memory lane. The scent my nose procured was that of a hot blade of slicing through fresh cut lumber...sawdust. Instantly I recalled being a lad not even six, in my grandfather's workshop, watching with full attention as he turned blocks of wood into beautiful birds and toy cars. The building is red, like a mini barn, with a doorway I now have to duck my head to get through. There are blocks of wood everywhere, sawdust is scattered across the concrete floor, and unfinished creations are shelved all over. My gaze is fixed as my grandfather cuts a duck from its wooden prison. Once freed, the lines need burned and the bird needs color. We leave the shop and head inside the house to where nearly 100 carvings (some awards winners) are proudly displayed. The duck will have to wait until his lines are drawn before he's complete, but once he is, he'll look like the real thing.

Walnuts. Squirrels love em. Chef's master em. Kids know how to use em. And Mom's loath em. Walnuts have a strong smell when split open and one whiff sends me back to my childhood. I grew up with a big yard full of trees. I'd say a fourth were walnut. Without video games, cable TV, or smart phones to entertain us, we had to use something called imagination. Surprisingly, walnuts can be useful in hundreds of ways. They can be hand grenades that you throw at your brother in a brutal imaginary war. They could be baseballs that exploded when hit with a tree branch. They were used in the Great Walnut Derby to claim the fastest walnut. They were put in a bucket and whacked at with a tree branch until someone missed and split open their brother's head. They were planted on the road in strategic positions so the passing cars would hit them and replicate the muffled sound of a blown tire. They were placed as landmines on a bike trail and placed in the spokes to make your bike look cooler. For three seasons, walnuts entertained us. My mom on the other hand, was about ready to pull her hair out every time she did the laundry because walnut stains a near impossible to remove. Who knew a food could be so much fun.

Bonfires in Autumn. This is a scent that many can relate to. Sure a fire in the summer has a lot of meaning (I could write a whole post on that), but one from the Fall has a distinct smell and brings out the lavishing scents of the wood.  For me, the moment my nose detects a fire, I instantly think of everything Fall. Hoodies, the changing colors, hot coco, the crisp air, leaves on the ground, faded blue jeans, football, etc. I reminisce on those nights, when the ghost of my breath revealed it's shade, the blaze's cackling laugh, the stars in full beam of the pitch black, and the stories from the lips of those whom I call friends. The chill in the air and warmth of the fire make for an equilibrium that Chemistry would be proud to claim as just. The grandest part of this whole picture is refusing to wash your hoodie and so every time you place it upon thy person, you catch the smell of bonfire and the memories flood back.

God gave us five senses. Don't let them go to waste. Experience them to the fullest. When your nose picks up a heavenly scent, don't leave your brain curious. Inhale deeply and make a memory.

ALS Ice Bucket Challenge and Social Media

Ever since the internet explosion, it had been plagued by trends. Whether it be cat videos, funny memes, or even people doing silly things (planking, harlem shake, milking, parkour, etc), the world has shared in them all. For the past few weeks, a new trend has been has claimed social media; the ALS ice bucket challenge.

At first, I wasn't sure what it was all about and thought it was another dumb trend. But after seeing a few and realizing it was all connected to fight ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease), I began to enjoy it more and was happy when people were doing it. But then, the power of social media struck again.

Not everyone is going to like something even if it has good intentions or is for a good cause. Those who didn't and weren't afraid to speak their mind turned to social media to express their disapproval. It appeared in many ways such as people saying it was wrong to dump water on yourself rather than donate, memes of Americans being seen as stupid water wasters while others in third world countries are dying of thirst, videos bashing it because of unfortunate injuries or calling it a worthless trend, and even straight out cries for it to stop. My question is that how many people know the story behind it and all the facts?

To give a brief summary, the ice bucket challenge wasn't first linked to ALS, but rather other diseases (cancer being one of them). It wasn't until one man by the name of Pete Frates, a promising baseball player in college, diagnosed with ALS at the age of 27, decided to fight the disease. Not being able to move or talk on his own, he reached out to the Boston community and asked them to do the challenge to raise awareness for ALS. Like when the NFL and other professional sports go pink to raise awareness and funds, the ice bucket challenge was Pete's way to grab peoples' attention.

His friends did it first, then college, then Professional Boston athletes, and pretty soon the world followed suit. Since it began a month ago, the fight against ALS has raised $53 million because of this challenge. In one month! That's more than double what it raised all last year alone!

The major complaint is that some people are dumping the ice water to avoid donation and that's why they should stop. That argument only has a hint of legitimacy. Many people, including celebrities, are dumping and donating, the same as a race for breast cancer. But even if people dump water and don't donate, they have to nominate people. And as you can see, it began with one person, and thanks to social media, the world is now involved. There are many people who didn't want to be showered with water and they donated. In my opinion, awareness for ALS has gone through the roof and even if people don't donate but pour water, they are recognizing ALS and continuing the massive chain which will lead to more donations.

So whether you dump and donate, don't dump and donate, or just dump, thank you. You are putting aside your pride and supporting a fight for a disease you don't suffer from and making an effort to finding an end to this horrible disease.

Here's the link to Pete Frates' story. I urge you to watch.  http://www.refinery29.com/2014/08/73354/espn-als-ice-bucket-challenge-video-peter-frates

Words of Wisdom

My writing bug is itching bad...I mean really bad. Inspiration decided to open its flood gates upon my thirsty mind. This post is related to the wisdom that guides you throughout life whether you listen to it or not. You know how you listen to a song and like it because of the chorus or the instrumentals or because it sounds good and you don't really listen to the lyrics? I mean truly listen? That happened to me the other day.

I was listening to a Kenny Chesney song called "Where I Grew Up". For those who don't know, I love country music and Kenny is my #1 favorite country artist hands down. His music is so chill, so relaxing, and many of his songs relate to many aspects of my life. Anyway, this song has a phenomenal sound and so much raw emotion. But when I actually listened to the lyrics the other day, it struck a chord in me. The first part goes like this:

"There's still marks on the pantry door of that little house
Where Mama used to measure us
I'm proud to say that's my home where I was raised
But that ain't where I grew up


See, I gained a little on Father Time
The summer my Granddaddy died
The first time I saw Mama cry
Man, that sure was tough


Felt like I put on a few years
Watching Daddy wipe her tears
In my little coat and tie standing in that cemetery mud
That's where I grew up"

When most people ask "where did you grow up?" they are referring to your house, hometown, state, etc. But here he points out major moments that were turning points in his life that pushed him in the direction of being grown up.  In this case, a little boy experiences death and seeing adults cry. 

"My senior year, a case of beer out on the river bank
Getting a head start on twenty one
That's the place that made me feel just like a man
But that ain't where I grew up

See I gained a little on Father Time
That night I crossed that center line
I bet I rolled a dozen times

Next thing I knew I was waking up upside down
Praying God just get me out
Then I hit my knees beside what was left of my truck
Hey, that's where I grew up"

This second verse moved me a little more. We jump ahead to senior year of high school, where kids, yes kids, with bright futures do really really stupid things. As the lyrics show, he couldn't wait to be a "man" by the way of under-age drinking and then driving while under the influence. He again makes the reference that even though he felt like a man, he hadn't truly grown up. What got me here is that his mistake should have cost him his life. Instead it cost him only his truck. He realized that he was shown mercy by a Being higher than him and gained more than his life back.

"See, I gained a little on Father Time
When me and her, had our first big fight
I said some things, I made her cry
She packed all her stuff


The boy in me said let her go
But the man in me said pull her close
It was time to find out which one I was
Standing in a doorway holding on to love


That's where I grew up
Oh, that's where I grew up".

This last part is my favorite. He now touches one of the most important parts of our lives...human relationships. There is no conflict free relationship. Everyone fights, it's just how life is. But it's how you handle it that really matters. A boy can win a fight, but it takes a man to say he's sorry. He realized that love was more important than a fight and now he had grown up. 

A lot of wise stuff like this has helped me navigate this maze we call life and as a bonus, I've compiled thoughts below whether they are from me or someone else.

"Your friends and family will be there for you when you are sick or down. Your job can't"

"What comes out of the mouth, proceeds from the heart."

"If your going to get drunk, get drunk only on the love of the person you fell in love with."

"If your going to cheat, cheat death and nothing else."

"BS may get you to the top, but it won't keep you there for very long."

"Chivalry is not dead, only a select few are chosen to wield it."

"Two little words can end conflict and three will  prevent a war."

"Cherish the time you have with those you care about because time can be a thief and will rob you blind."

"Time can also heal wounds, use it wisely."

"You can lose everything. Nothing is guaranteed. Your job, degree, car, money, people, and even your life."

"Boys do stupid things, make immature decisions, cross the lines, but a man learns from his mistakes, makes wiser decisions, avoids the lines, and says he's sorry. And yes a man cries."

"Give God the glory, realize there is a Creator and you are a creation, strive for that life, and surely goodness and mercy shall follow you all the days of your life."

Thoughts, Musings, and The Season We Call Summer

I have a confession to make...I have been cheating. Now before y'all get in a uproar, let me explain myself. A writer is not like an average person (if one truly does exist) in that they must enjoy every option available to them. So the truth is...I have been cheating on my blog with my journal.

Call me old fashioned, but I like writing with a pen, paper, and in cursive. Sadly cursive is a dying art because it is slowly being eradicated from public schools along with many other things, but that's another topic for another time.

I've been journaling since I was a kid, but have taken a long hiatus because of my 154 word document page story I wrote throughout the my beginning college years, poetry as inspiration comes, some memoirs, and this blog. I picked it up again because I realized how much I missed it and because the passing of two friends, back-to-back years, both the same age, just got me thinking a lot. So much that I needed a private outlet to empty my emotional bank into when their dam had been breached.

Not all of it holds sad, heavy, writing, however. One is filled with poetry and happy, personal thoughts and the other pays tribute to life, love, and friendship. These, however, are not yet fit to be shared beyond myself and may never be.

Yesterday I found myself on the shore of Lake Erie at Lakewood Park. If you haven't been there, it's a beautiful place to be. Watching the sunset there made the list of Top 100 Things to Do in Cleveland on Cleveland.com. I tend to be less in the park and closer to the shore because to me, Lake Erie is like the complicated relationship I never had. Some days, the lake is so calm that the water is like glass. You almost don't want to touch it for fear of causing a Wrinkle in Time. I can lie on the beach and listen to her waves or sit on the barrier wall and gaze across her while catching a spectacular view of the Cleveland skyline. Some days, she gives up her haul of fish. Then, without warning, she'll turn into utter rage, sending rogue thunderstorms or chaotic snow that dumps in a confined area or even withholds her treasures from me.

Looking out over the lake in the summer, puts your whole world into a new perspective. To see the sun set, with a vast array of clouds, coupled by the various birds and a strong wind, is just an amazing picture of how the Artist Himself saw beauty and created this earth to compliment that beauty...man. To us, we see other people as ugly, worthless, inferior, hopeless, weak, and complete failures. But God put His hand into the blackest of voids and created something beautiful, more beautiful than beauty itself. Even if He was satisfied with Adam alone, the whole earth was already created for him. The same goes for all of us. If each of us was the only person God created, the Grand Canyon would still be grand. The Northern Lights would still be majestic. The Alps would still glisten with wonder. And the sun would still shine from sea to shining sea.

On a final note, Mountain Top begins in 7 days. Get Ready!

Celebrating Life: A Double Tribute

Today my mind has had no rest. Today is David Kim's birthday. For those of you who never knew him, he was a man of Christ. Nearly a year ago, we lost a dear friend too soon. But his life, as short as it was, was rich and full. His journey on this earth ended, but a fresh new life in eternity began. I didn't know DK as well as I would've liked, but I knew him enough to call him a friend and a brother. Birthdays are days to celebrate life, so this is not of mourning but of celebration of a life full of happiness, hope, and Christ.

This was David.

I was debating on continuing this post, but I felt the need to. Today I found out a childhood friend who is my age, has passed away. It came as a brutal shock because in my elementary years we were like bread and butter. Whenever our mom's dropped us off with the teachers during "Mom's Group "I never felt alone with her around. I remember crying on the last day because she wasn't there and I didn't know how I was going to make it through the day. During my middle school years, her father's job moved them to Germany for five years and it was a long five years. We did write back and forth a little, but not much. Then, not long after they returned, it was my turn to move. I left PA after 10 years there and made my way to Cleveland, OH. We both grew up and lost touch, until one family trip back to PA three years ago where I got to reconnect if only brief. We swapped friend requests on facebook, but our communication still lacked. I tried to see her when I was there for a gospel trip two years ago, but plans fell through. Last year I dug out the pieces of a sourdough christmas bell ornament she had made me when we were three. I couldn't let it sit in that condition any longer so I supper-glued it back together and it still looks new. On the back written is permanent marker it says "To: Josh Love: Elise, December 1993." It still proudly hangs in my room. I also say this, it was a bright ray of sunshine to log in to facebook and see her posts. She was one of the few people who rarely (if never) posted negativity, was rarely without a smile, and was a person who knew how to enjoy life. Most importantly, she loved Christ and He loved her even more to the point where He called her home.

This was Elise.

This may continue to hit me like a brick wall for awhile, but I have peace knowing that she's in a better place.

This is why I make time for people, especially ones who I haven't seen in awhile. If any of you fall into the latter category and are reading this, I think about you quite often. To my friends who put up with me whenever I bring up my beliefs, thank you. I do it because that's how much I care about you and want you to share in the joy that I have. If I ever stop asking, then there may be something wrong with me. No one is guaranteed tomorrow. No one. Why waste life on temporary, worldly pleasures when something grander awaits? "But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep."~ 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14

Consider the lives these two lived. Happy. Adventurous. Loving. Full. Christ. Until we meet again. 

"And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Look! God's dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."~Revelation 21:3-4

Creation's Beauty and the Great Outdoors

I have a confession to make. I have an untamed beast inside me. That beast is is known as adventure. If not fed often, he can get real mean and restless. As a kid, the beast was a puppy. Willing to explore everything within the boundary of home but no farther. I climbed every tree I could, crawled into small dark places, snuck over to the country club and explored the 18th hole, and even played in a graveyard near our house so much that we new most of the names on the tombstones. However, this puppy had a leash. That leash was a painful one...anxiety.

I knew not these chains until one summer in the mid 90s. I was at a church camp in Maryland near the Chesapeake Bay. The children's service was held in a gym across the field from the meeting place. Since it was summer, it was hot even in the early evening. The adults serving the kids opened the giant garage doors on the gym to let the air in. Now there were maybe 5-8 adults watching 30+ kids running, screaming, and creating chaos. With the doors being opened, I could see the sky getting black and not from the setting sun. A storm with a drop of God's wrath was brewing. Now being a young kid, I disliked thunderstorms, especially ones that brewed over the water. Being far away from home and not near my parents, I didn't feel safe. I had made up my mind that if I could get out of site, I would make a mad dash to the meeting building and find my parents.

My plan was simple; casually step outside, pretend like I was going to buy a soda (Pennsylvanians call pop soda and since I am recalling this from my childhood, it is presented as I saw/spoke/did it), and when I had the perfect moment, I was going to take off towards the meeting building and not even look back. There was one problem...my plan worked perfectly. I took off and didn't look back. The adults in charge never knew I had left. That thought made me feel insecure about strangers or people in charge of me who weren't my parents. To make matters worse, the storm eventually hit full force and knocked the power out. That was the night the anxiety took over.

For the next seven years, this force of evil controlled me. It made me miss out on a lot of things in life and I hated it, but I couldn't shake it. Finally, someone offered me an herbal remedy to help control nerves and stuff like that. Now I hate taking medicine because to me that means something is wrong and my body can't overcome it on it's own. To me, if I took that herbal remedy, it meant that I had a problem/disease. I didn't want that label and told myself there was nothing wrong with me. I began to branch out and do things that anxiety once controlled. Not long after, the anxiety was gone. In it's place a new animal was birthed. Adventure.

You who have read my past blog posts should know by now my desire to travel. I think the desire is at an all time high now because I am entering my mid 20s, going to be done with college soon, single, not tied down to a job, and have an urging to gain back what the anxiety robbed from me. But there is one thing that supersedes all other reasons...the utter beauty of God's creation.

Year after year, people pay good money to flock to places like the Grand Canyon, Mt. Everest, Angel Falls, the Amazon Rain forest, the Great Barrier Reef, the safaris of Africa, etc. You hear about them and learn about them, but until you see it for yourself, you won't be taken aback that you have to just stop and be still. I want to share with you four examples that I've experienced and you'll maybe see why I crave to see the grandeur on a larger scale.

#1) One summer I was at a cabin on Lake Erie. The sun was slowly calling it quits on the day and I wanted to get in one last Jetskii run. Now if you've never watched a sunset over a large body of water, I highly recommend it while being silent; it's truly magical. I hopped on the Jetskii and roared out onto the lake. I found myself pushing it to it's limits while chasing distraught seagulls for the pleasure of doing so. As I took in the scenery around me, I noticed how beautiful it looked and completely turned the Jetskii off. I sat there adrift as the sun sunk beneath the waters under a golden sky to my right and the moon had risen with the stars in a navy blue sky on my left. It was like the edge of two worlds coming into harmony. Something so beautiful was also powerful enough to make me stop everything in the middle of an adrenaline rush.

#2 and #3) In 2012, I had the pleasure of experiencing how amazing a night sky in the country can look...twice. The first came in January when I had gone down to North Carolina. We were playing a game of manhunt in Cody's backyard. I decided my hiding place would be on the ground behind the garden box. As I laid there, I gazed at the moon and all the stars. I began to reminisce on my childhood and how that was the same moon I had gazed upon all those years ago while playing hide-and-seek, waiting for fireworks on the 4th of July, and even after a Saturday night out on the town. I didn't even care anymore whether or not I would be found. I just enjoyed the scene. Then, in the late summer, I was up in Northern Wisconsin visiting family. It was 11:00 PM and I had left the bunkhouse to bring stuff in from the dock. As I was walking back, I heard the sounds of critters in the night and glanced at the sky. I had to stop dead in my tracks because I couldn't believe how many stars were visible to the naked eye. I live in the city where there is a vast amount of light pollution that blocks out the light of many stars. But here I saw millions of them, twinkling, shining, illuminating the blackness of night. I could see the many constellations I learned about as a kid and imagined myself floating among them. I could've stayed there all night just watching them shine in the vast dimensions of space.

#4) October 2011. I was nearly two full months into my year long Christian internship. We (Ann Arbor, Buffalo, and Cleveland) were asked to make a trip to Fayetteville, WV. I had been there two years before for Bridge Day, but this time around was a little different. After a couple of days in the Gospel, we were given the opportunity to go hiking in the WV mountains. This was the perfect time to go because it was Autumn and the trees were draped in color. We walked up a trail littered in leaves and saw the beauty of a mountain forest. Eventually we went off trail, climbed over large rocks, shimmied up trees and squeezed through tiny crevices until we reached an overlook point. You couldn't help but sit there in awe of the colorful mountainside, the dark blue river that ran through the mountain, and the nature that surrounded it. West Virginia is a wild and  wonderful state.

From a sunset/moon rise on an Ohio shore to two midnight skies in NC and Wisconsin to the Autumn mountains of WV, you can see the brilliant artistry of God's hand. The kind that you have to pause and be still at. The kind that takes your breath away. The kind that just makes you appreciate the Lord's love for us. I cannot wait to see where adventure leads me next.

Memorial Day: A Day of Honor, Sacrifice, and Remembrance

This time every year kicks off the summer holiday season, the BBQs, the beach-going, and the summer fun. Sometimes amid all this joyous  celebration, the true meaning is lost.

Now as many of you know, I am extremely patriotic and as proud to be an American as they come. If I ever were to ever (and that's a big ever) get a tattoo or two, I'd have the Stars and Stripes on my left shoulder and bald eagle on my right. The question asked is, would I then be willing to serve my country. To drop everything and defend this nation from all enemies that attack her. Right now I honestly could not because I feel that that is not my calling. My calling is that of Christ. My family and friends are more important to me than defending the good ole U.S. of A. But if war came to this land and every man had to pick up arms, I would not cower from that duty.

Many great men forged this country through many conflicts, battles, and wars. Through courage, will power, and faith. We know many of these men well. George Washington, Jon Paul Jones, Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Teddy Roosevelt, to name a few. None of these great leaders could have done what they did without the willingness of thousands of men fighting for or with them. American soldiers. Brave men and women who answer the call of duty and face hell for the purpose of keeping this nation free. All the pleasures, privileges, and freedoms we as U.S. citizens enjoy is due to the sacrifice of millions. You can dive deep into history and find many instances where a single battle or event could've changed the course of history and the way to we live today. Imagine if George W. Bush didn't take action against terrorism when they attacked American soil. If the eight presidents during the Cold War let communism run wild. If FDR decided to stay neutral and let Hitler and his brainwashed Nazis claim Europe. If Wilson didn't stand up to fascism. If men like Davy Crockett, Daniel Boone, Paul Revere, Jon Paul Jones, all decided fighting wasn't an option. Or if George Washington and the men he commanded decided servitude to the British was easier than sacrificing everything for the price of freedom.

Even with all these great heroes, we must still remember that anyone who has answered the call, fought for this country, bleeds Red, White, and Blue, or has died for this country is a true American hero.  Gone but never forgotten. Happy Memorial Day!

Today's Children are Being Robbed

I hope the title of this post caught your attention. I hope the title even got you stirred up so much that you actually begin to think about your kids, your friends kids, or even your future children. This has been on my mind lately and it see it almost daily. What am I referring to? Plain and simple: technology and how it is robbing today's kids of important parts of their childhood.

It's bad enough with teenagers in high school and even adults that can't seem to set that phone down, but to see elementary school and even pre-school kids with their attention zapped by hours on end with a tiny little thing known as a smart phone, iPad, and even a hand-held gaming devices pains me inside.

When I was a kid, none of this technology existed, except for video games (and I will get into that a little later), so I didn't have the opportunity to have my attention stolen by such things. I spent my summer days racing my brand new Huffy bike over hills, through the woods, and even down the street. I climbed trees to the very top and gave some on-lookers the sting of fear. I played soccer with trees for goals, I had a tree swing that I spent hours on, I built tee-pees out of giant branches and old blankets, I invented games only to have them banned by my parents because someone got hurt or something got broken. I raced my Radio Flyer wagon with the neighborhood kids, I built forts out of logs, flew kites with ease, raced remote control cars with my friends, played hide-and-seek until dark. I imagined I was a battleship captain at war with pirates, a lone knight who conquered castles and kings, a brave soldier who fought many wars, and even the hero of the football team who scored the winning touchdown when all hope was lost. That is only a taste of what I did in the summer. All of this before I was thirteen.

Like any other kid, the technology still drew me. I grew up playing the original Nintendo, Atari, Super Nintendo, and the N64. I was able to do this because I had cousins who owned these systems and once a week we would go to my grandparents and play them with each other. Now my parents were very strict and didn't allow us to have any of these systems because they saw something that we kids didn't. They saw how little effort it took to play and how much precious time was lost into those games. I remember one time crying and screaming at my mom at the fact that all my friends had video games and I didn't. She didn't budge but in a calming way reminded me that not everyone can have everything and that I may understand why down the road.

It took me awhile, but I had to experience things on my own. We didn't get a game system until 2004 when in was given to us as a gift. Now my parents weren't ones to refuse gifts, so they told us we could keep it but were limited to 15 minutes a day. Then when I was 15 and in high school when I bought my first system with my own money (there's a long story behind that one, but that's for another time). At one point I owned four video games systems. Now I only own one and I hardly ever use it. The reason for this is because video games have lost their allure for me. I look back on my life and my childhood and see that my parent's didn't rob me of something cool, but they gave me a chance to imagine, explore, see the world in all the beauty God put into it and really be a kid. I look at now and seeing all my friends grow up and begin to graduate college, get real jobs, and get married, I know how precious time is to be with them and so I try to spend as much as I can hanging out with them.

That's why it pains me when I see 3-6 year-olds hidden behind a smart phone or iPad, navigating it with ease and given no restriction on it at all. Or 7-12 year glued to the screen so as to get out of their parent's hair or even sitting in the same room and having no human interaction because they are communicating through this technology.

Don't get me wrong, this technology is wonderful and keeps us connected as well as makes our lives easier, but sometimes we abuse it and miss what really matters. Also, I am not telling anyone how to parent their child and I have no place to seeing as I don't have kids of my own. But I realized now the true value of not having this stuff as a kid and for me I am glad my parents refused me that privilege. My little sisters are a prime example. I almost never let them play games on my phone, and sure we let them watch a movie a day and even sometimes they play video games with us, but I see Lydia with her nose buried in books, opening her imagination. I see Hannah playing with her dinosaurs and bringing them to life. I see them both excited to ride bikes, play basketball (Lydia's favorite sport), and go outside and play, not even caring that they can't play video games. They are being children and living their childhood that so many kids are missing out on.

I even admit that I spent a lot of time on video games throughout high school and even early on in college. Not all of those times were wasted because I enjoyed my friend's company and made many memories of our greatest games, but we still did other things and realized that having human interaction was way more important than just clicking a mouse or pressing a controller button (most of the time). I also admit that sometimes I need to put the phone down too, because if it doesn't start with an almost college grad or parent, how are today's kids going to take a break? Life is too short to miss out on what really matters.