volvemos

i thought this was funny:

wait a second....what?

because it's not a big deal. because who really cares. because it's a little funny. because i could. but mostly because people don't update their blogs, and i wonder who will be the first to notice.

yes indeed i can run it

tonight i went running. i love that feeling of exhausted relaxedness that comes after running a couple miles. it's like drinking a good cup of coffee after a long day.

tuesday i went to the first bible study with some guys from work. we read through and talked about hebrews 1 and 2. personally, i think that we went a little fast. i guess i'm used to dave o spending 30 minutes on one verse. but it was really good in a lot of ways. one was just the fact that i think it built a stronger bond between us guys to be able to relate on more than a co-worker level. we were able to pray together, read and study the word together, and get to know eachother a littler better....stuff that doesn't usually happen on the clock. and i also got to bring up God's sovereignty and predestination. the other two guys didn't really believe in predestination, but we got to talk about it for a while and i think we all took something away from that conversation. i still have a hard time understanding things like predestination and the solidarity (if that's a good word) of the Trinity, but then again, why should i be surprised that God blows my mind? so it was good times.

i love this verse: "He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power." (heb. 1:3)

in other news, my "history of the english language" professor is a friggin genius. half the time we don't even know what he's talking about. seriously, nobody should have to feel like they're learning another language in an english class.

need i say more?

yakity yak

i just wanted to let all my readers know that i have a new phone to not call you on. my old contract ran out, and they gave me a $150 signing bonus for another 2 years. i guess this is what the big time feels like. oh, and it's the same number, so you don't have to mess with your speed dial.

i just realized that i've never seen, or even heard of, a map that shows where the oceans/seas/gulfs of the world are seperated. how can they be different bodies of water if they have no borders? "all my life...i've been....a victim" (joe banks).

oh, and it appears that there has been another round of engagements in our neck of the woods. let's stop and take a moment to consider what 'neck of the woods' means. ok, let's continue. getting engaged seems like the thing to do these days. i mean, woods don't even have a neck, and if they did, it would have to be plural, right? i told josh the other day that if he gets engaged, i'll propose to the next girl i see. that's probably not completely true- they could have a community neck, the way that each second grader gets to take the class hampster home for a day- but that's just weird. i can't understand why i'm so single.

copy, paste

the following is what you could call direct plagiarism. my younger brother, who is now engaged, posted this on his blog back in november. i thought it might be of interest to some of my "readers"....i know i enjoyed it :) chris, please don't sue me.
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There is a girl I know who was made just for me. In fact, she feels likewise. We're just two ordinary people who love the Lord. I have long sensed within Christian circles that marriage is anathema when you're my age. Marriage is the norm for humanity. God made it to be so. I'm tired of people portraying marriage as some unattainable holy endeavor. Moreover, there are always arbitrary standards one has to abide by in order to meet the criteria of "marriatability." These include: being at least 25; having a presitgious degree; driving a nice car; looking beautiful; knowing precisely what career path you will follow; having a job lined up for 10 months down the road; possessing certain economic assets; dating for at least 15 years- but not before you are 21; being involved in numerous campus ministries and having x number of Christian friends; being faultless, sinless, well-loved and celebrated. Perhaps I'm out of my mind, but this is the sense that I get from many. I like J Vernon McGee's synopsis of what it takes to get married, "If you find a wonderful Christian girl, and she'll have you, well then..."

I am not discounting the sacredness of marriage. That's not what I'm talking about here. I know as well as many the hardship and commitment that love requires. I am only questioning why- in an age so perverse and inocculated with temptation- marriage is held like a carrot on a stick for young Christians. Of course it requires maturity. Of course it demands self-sacrificing love. But what I disagree with is setting the bar too high; that is to say, marriage should not be portrayed as only affordable to those who have reached some stellar, essoteric, non-existent plane of holiness. We shouldn't create false piety around things that are so explicitly permissable by God.

Knowing the Lord and walking in His Spirit- these should be the most important qualifications for marriage; we should not discount the nobility of possessing those things. As Christians, it's easy to become so focused on 'holiness' and excellence that we dissuade ourselves from stepping into areas where we might fail. Heavens no! It is like a perfectionist who beats himself up for making an A- instead of an A+. The person who makes the D can only shake his head in bewilderment that the perfectionist would complain. Having the Spirit of God is what is most important for marriage or for whatever other challenge in life . He is where our strength and competency come from, not by adhering to rules taught by men.
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it's the way of the future

josh and i watched 'the aviator' tonight. i bought the dvd from blockbuster for about five dollars last week, and watched it by myself one night. i liked it a lot...i can't really explain why, but i just thought it was an entertaining movie...all two and a half hours of it. perhaps it's because it has a lot to do with the time period of other movies/actors that i'm interested in. i don't know. but josh didn't like it, and i kinda feel bad for making him sit through it. sorry, josh.

in other news, george showed me how to shag dance the other night (no, we didn't have a 'Rainman' raymond/charlie babbett moment). i can't believe that 1-2-3, 1-2-3, rock, step is all it takes to dance. granted, there are other moves to learn, but come on, 1-2-3, 1-2-3, rock, step is not gonna get me in the next nelly video. and yes, that's what i'm shooting for. like they say, aim for the moon, land among the stars....or aim for the DJ, land on the dance floor. whichever.

well, that's all for now. since everyone loves pictures, i thought i'd put up some that i've taken that i like:

at the rose garden:


my brother, downtown:


shelly, at dave holt's wedding:


black and white fireworks:

why do i listen to john mayer so much?

the first two days of the semester have come and gone. these are the best days of all. new classes, new rooms to find, new material to think about. after these days, there's no other chance to feel that feeling of being there but not doing anything yet. these are the days that you first get the feel of your mwf and tth schedules. people walk into the classroom 30 minutes late, and they're fine because obviously they had trouble finding the room...maybe even the building. everyone is given a day of grace, and a syllabus.

by the next class or two things get settled and professors start taking the roll, jumping straight into lectures, and saying that dreaded phrase "so, for next class..."

and somehow i'm so glad to be in school. tonight i spent hours reading the first chapter of my textbook for the history of the english language. talk about crazy...it's amazing how much goes into being able to communicate through language. you can understand this blog because we all agree on syntax, phonemes, morphology, graphics...all that stuff that most of us couldn't define if our grade depended on it. by the way, if anyone wants to pray for me, pray that i become a faster reader. and a better dancer...still working on that one.

and because a picture of josh (and shelby) is always a good thing...here ya go...


can anyone explain to me what dancing is? i sure could use a good definition to repeat to myself as i stand in front of the mirror and try to make my body do the things that fred astaire and snoop dogg do.

dance like you've never been hurt before,
love like no one's watching,
make fun of cheesy cliches,

tom

little victories

you may notice that i sometimes delete posts from my blog, such as today. you probably remember my ramblings about how bad my life was and all that. well, today an amazing thing happened. when i talked to the financial aid people, we worked it out so i can go back to school this semester. i can't tell you how great this day has been. it's like a second chance to really do something with my life, besides steaming milk at starbucks.

now, i can probably guess what you're thinking...."tom, just the other day you were all bent out of shape and down on life and down on nc state. why are you so fickle?" well, i guess all i can say is that i'm sorry for being that way. i don't think that i ever claimed to be a great guy, or even very mature. hopefully i'll learn some day. but at least i know that God answers prayers.