I Wonder

I wonder what it means to know God's glory.
I wonder what it means to reflect God's glory.
I wonder what it means to have His Kingdom here on Earth.
I wonder what it means to know the fig tree withered.
I wonder what it means to die in order to live.
I wonder what it means to love others as myself.
I wonder what it means to live only by faith.
I wonder what it means to find joy in suffering.
I wonder what it means to lose all in order to gain all.
I wonder what it means to extend grace to others.
I wonder what it means to extend grace to myself.

Flush

This blog entry shall have no merit. But I am perplexed by one simple thing. How might I put this delicately? Yesterday as I was using the restroom, another gentleman came in to use the urinal nearby. As soon as he approached the porcelein, he flushed it. This is what confuses me, and honestly, it's not the first time I've seen this happen. There are some people out there who flush before they go. I assume they also flush afterwards, but why before? Truly, I can't figure it out. If anyone out there can give some insight into this phenomenon, it would be must appreciated. Oh yes, one more thing: I am curious to know if this same phenomenon ever happens in the ladies' room across the hall. Hmm.

Puffy Vest

There are certain things I miss from the college days. I miss random activities like Puffy Vest Friday Night in the Union. My favorite part of this picture is Mary Beth peeking around the counter, distracted from her Vecino's latte-making. We would have included her in the picture, if only she was wearing a puffy vest...

Giving Thanks with Kelly

"And I'm thankful
for the blessing
and the lessons that I've
learned with you
by my side
that i'm thankful
so thankful
for the love
that you keep bringing
in my life
in my life
thankful
so thankful"

--Kelly Clarkson

Thanksgiving

My parents are on their way here from Ohio. They left around 8 this morning and will be coming in this afternoon. I can honestly say that I have never been this excited to see my folks. It's been really neat to see my relationships with them really develop and grow over these last few years and is something I'm wonderfully thankful for. So they'll be spending Thanksgiving with the Bellito family...something else I never thought would happen. Who knows, maybe it will be such a hit that it will become the first annual!

This morning I was up at 5:45 to do the normal Wednesday morning Bible Study that I have with a few of the high school guys I know. It is always a great time, and this morning there were just two of us. But when I opened the door to the house, the entire world around me was blanketed in a light snow and snow was still falling to the ground. I was SO excited. I know that come January 20th or so I'll be sick and tired of the cold and the wet and all that comes with winter, but this morning it was positively beautiful in the early morning light. I actually think I began to cry a little, just thinking about how cool nature is and how cool God is.

So on my way to Starbucks I decided that this was no normal morning for a Bible Study. So Dan and I met, grabbed some hot chocolate, and I told him we were going on a field trip. We drove to a nearby cemetary and walked around for a while in the peaceful morning snowfall. We talked about Revelation and how Jesus is coming back, about what it means to love, to be relevant. In essence, it was a beautiful morning, on many different levels.

I am SOOO looking forward to a couple of days with my parents, relaxation, good food, maybe a good book and a cup of chai. I wonder what my life would look like if I was really thankful every day, always looking to understand a little deeper how truly blessed I am. I honestly think it would revolutionize my life.

Khalia

It is no secret that I really love the family I've been living with for these last six months in Chicago. Put simply, they're fantastic. There are four kids in the family. Khalia is the youngest and is currently recently turned nine. She CRACKS ME UP every day. She is always asking me questions about my life and often says things that I don't think normally come out of nine-year-old mouths. She regularly tells me that she's gonna be so sad when I leave and contemplates the fact in her life that she's not married and will then forever be alone.

Last night Khalia was doing some more philosophizing, which I always love, but last night's I found particularly poignant. You see, I was pretty tired and stressed out, working on two big papers that I turned in today. So I am typing away and digging into books, and Khalia wonders why I can't play a game with her. Then she says, "You know, of all the commandments, I think the one people break the most is the one that says not to work on Sunday." Obviously, I felt like this was directed towards me, so Khalia and I and her father engaged in a little dialogue about work and rest and God and all of that. I left thinking a few things: 1) I can't imagine I ever even thought about this when I was nine, 2) why am I so bad at explaining things that I think to people, and 3) I can't argue with her about the importance of rest and I certainly don't do enough of that in my own life.

When I move out in about a month, I'm really gonna miss Khalia. And I bet I'll miss that I didn't take the time to play more games with her.

Surreal

Today is November 17th. In one month, one month exactly, I become a husband, I take a wife. Last night I was honestly screaming in my car as Joy and I were driving. I think it lasted for minutes on end. Not because I'm freaking out or nervous or all of that, but it's just so surreal. Whenever I think about it, that's the only word that seems to fit. At some level, I feel like I should be nervous, should be freaking out, but I'm really not, but I am totally excited. It's hard to believe it's really here and that this will be my last month as an unmarried man ever. Maybe I should go skydiving or mountain climbing or streaking or something as my last sign of unmarried youth. Oh well, I guess all of that doesn't really matter, because this is fantastic. I may not be an unmarried for long, but you better believe I sill plan on being a youth. I hope I always am. The Little Prince inspires me.