| i love to worship |
[Tuesday, November 1st, 2005 @ 1:57am] |
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that's such a simple statement but i don't think i can put it any better than that. last friday i had 3 small groups come to my place to just worship, and it was great. i was a little nervous at first leading all these people in worship, but as soon as we started singing, i felt God telling me that my job was over now, and just the fact that i was willing to do it was all God was asking of me. so once we started singing i just let go and let God take over, and it was great, everyone was worshipping. i was planning on sharing some thoughts i had on worship but it didn't feel right to break the flow that was going so i decided to just keep going on with the songs. but it's really interesting because the passage that i was going to talk about was the exact same one that brad used in his sermon on sunday. Basically God delivers israel from egypt and the red sea has just been parted, and after the people saw this the were afraid of the Lord and responded to him by singing to him and declaring that He was their God. And thousands of years later it's the same thing, God acts, and we respond to him. that's what worship is, our response to how great God is. And after we finished singing i prayed that worship wouldn't stop when the music stopped but rather, i would respond to God 24/7. It's been kinda hard. Lately my quiet times have been really powerful, and when i quiet my heart before God i can really worship him for who he is, in light of who i am. But i've noticed that in a noisy world it's hard to respond well to God in everyday situations. i've blown opportunities but i still think im on the right track, i just need to get more practice living this way, since im not used to it. It's challenging , but it's so rewarding to repond to everyday heartaches and trials in worship.
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| Random pics |
[Friday, October 28th, 2005 @ 5:36pm] |
I thought i had more pics to put online, but i guess i don't. sorry everyone...nothing too exciting here.
Wow look at how good i cook. Man that was a good meal. And look at the vegetables mom!
here's a pumpkin
we know that bad things happen when kurtis bakes...here we see what happens when he frosted some cookies before they went in the oven. im gonna have to teach that kid how to bake.
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| Accepting the inevitable |
[Wednesday, October 26th, 2005 @ 12:36pm] |
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Last night I stayed up till 1:00 am watching the white sox beat the astros in 14 innings. Then I started my homework...it was a long night. But now that the sox are up 3-0 it's pretty safe to say that they have this one in the bag. And as a life long cubs fan, it was a little difficult to accept. But the more i think about it, the more at peace i am with it. The truth is that if the sox win, it will be great for the city of Chicago, regardless of north side/south side preferences. So that's good. Plus the sox really deserved this. The were the best team in baseball all year, so it's fitting that they win the world series. Also, if it was the cubs who were in the series, up 3-0, i would be going nuts...it would be so amazing. So i can understand how the true sox fans are feeling right now. And i would hope that sox fans would share in the excitement if/when the cubbies win the world series. So for now, way to go white sox, GO CHICAGO, and lets go CUBBIES!
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| It's God time. |
[Monday, October 17th, 2005 @ 11:45pm] |
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Lately I've been feeling a strong tug on my heart from God. Sunday night there was a baptism service at church and it was awesome. I love when people share what God has done in their lives. It got me thinking about all the things God has done for me. I felt bad that I had kinda taken those things for granted. Sometimes when we hear people say things like 'oh i met Jesus and he's changed my life' we kinda are like oh that's nice, good for you, whatever. But then when I think about what He's done for me, I can't help but want to just live my life for him. But it's more than just that. God's paved the way for us to have a relationship with him. And we take our salvation for granted. We think that now we have a free ride through life. Well that's not why Jesus died. God has gone to great lengths to reach me. If I were God i would have given up on me by now. But He still welcomes me back. He wants me in an eternal relationship with him. It blows my mind, and it's hard to know how to respond to that. You could always hang on to your pride and just say no thanks. But I don't want to. It's hard to sum up everything I've been feeling about what God's doing. Maybe I don't fully understand it yet, maybe i never will. But my gut's been telling me to just go with it. So I'm gonna see where that leads me. I know it's gonna mean some lifestyle changes, but I'm willing to do that. I guess it's just a matter of what's next.
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| First time i did this... |
[Friday, October 14th, 2005 @ 12:56am] |
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So tonight was the last night of beginnings...i guess you can say beginnings ended. (ha ha ha) ok no one's laughing. Anyway, so i've basically been getting back and forth from church because my roommate phil is gracious enough to let me borrow his car. and if you know me, im going back and forth to church a lot, so i've undoubtedly been using his car way more than he has. So as im driving home tonight with jill, she suggests that we get his car washed for him, since he is letting us borrow it. and i know whenever i try to argue with jill i always lose...but that didn't stop me from trying again. well i lost again so i had get the car washed. but neither of us had ever gone through those car wash things before so we weren't quite sure what we were doing. My first problem was that I couldn't even find the entrance to the car was...i almost went in the exit. so finally after driving around the gas station like an idiot i found the entrance, which was hidden behind the gas station. so i drive around, but when we get up there the machine only accepts cash. or a ticket # so jill had to run in the gas station and buy the ticket while i waited in the car hoping that no one would pull up behind me. Finally she gets back with the #...i enter the # and the green light goes on...so i cautiously drive up waiting for the red light to go on so i could stop. i stopped the second i saw that red light go on... i did not want to mess this up. then we sat there, and waited...and waited...and waited. i said to jill, 'isn't something supposed to happen now? ' nothing happened. i didn't no what to do. so we waited some more...i was afraid if i got out, it would immediatly start working and soak me. So i just drove out and we explained to the attendant that it didn't really work. so she told us to go around again and she'd reset the machine...so i go around again, enter another #, but then realize i missed a crucial step the first time around...i forgot to select what wash type i wanted...yeah i felt a little stupid. this i went in again, and all was well. the washer was washing, while jill and i cranked the radio and sang at the top of our lungs. so that was my first experience at a car wash...all's well that ends well.
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| Warning...look at your own risk |
[Wednesday, October 12th, 2005 @ 8:26pm] |
Tonight jen came over and we made brownies. oh man and not just normal brownies hershey's chocolate brownies!!! And as if that wasn't enough, we jazzed them up even more with ben and jerry's vanilla ice cream and hershey's chocolate syrup. When we took the brownies out of the oven we cut them up right away so they were nice and warm and then we scooped on the ice cream and topped it off with the chocolate syrup. Oh so perfect. you're probably drooling just reading that. it was probabaly better then anything i've ever had before...ever.
oh just look at it...so good so good.
this one's my favorite, our frog is like, 'hey i don't want it, go find me a princess so i can get some kissing action tonight.'
it looks....it looks....HOLY. (hallelujah hallelujah) look at it in its glowing splendor...ok i added the glowing in...but it hardly needed it anyway.
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| Guidelines to being optimistic |
[Monday, October 10th, 2005 @ 12:20am] |
I think I've decided I want to be more optimistic. But I discovered tonight that there has to be boundries. Like for instance I can't just not study for a test and say "oh you know im just gonna be optimistic that things will turn out for the best so i'll be fine". no it could really get out of hand. So I decided to make guidelines for being a more optimistic person.
1)Hope for the best in any situation It sounds simple but we often don't do it. If something sudden or bad arises we'll think about the worst case scenario and start reasoning illogically. If you think confidently that things will work out for the best, there's a better chance that you can find a path to making the best become a reality.
2)Don't be annoyingly positive This is a common mistake among very optimistic people. If something bad has happened to someone don't be super smiley and don't say things like "cheer up there sport, at least it's sunny" No in a situation like this sympathizing with a person is a much better idea. Simply share a persons happiness and sadness alike. Laugh when they laugh, cry when they cry.
3)Don't use optimism as an excuse for not doing thing Your optimism will not do the dishes or study for your tests. We all have things we don't want to do, go to class, study for tests, go to work, etc. But that doesn't change the fact that we still need to do these things. So do them, but alter the way you think about them. How lucky am I to be going to my solid mechanics class at 9:00 in the morning?...most people don't get the opportunity to study solid mechanics. You see what i did there? I just made you feel lucky about having solid mechanics at 9:00 in the morning.
4)Use modesty in moderation Part of being optimistic is having a good self image. And if you're like me then you tent to be a little on the modest side. Know your strengths and know your weaknesses. Be confident and stick to your guns. Don't apologize for your weaknesses or back down from being assertive. Of course don't be overly assertive or conceited. But know that you have something to offer and believe that other people want it. You can't sell yourself to people if you don't believe that they'll want you(im not talking about prostitution or anything sexual).
Basically if you follow these guidelines you'll be a more optimistic person. You want to live each day by exhausting every possible opportunity that the day offers. Being optimistic allows you to wake up everyday and truly believe that something wonderful is going to happen today. And chances are good that if you do pursue opportunities and look for the best in every situation that something wonderful will happen to you everyday... you'll live fully.
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| Wedding pics |
[Sunday, October 9th, 2005 @ 12:04am] |
Ok ladies go ahead and start drooling.
This one happens to be my personal favorite of the night. I don't know why kurtis looks drunk, he didn't even drink.
It was tons of fun to decorate mike's truck.
We did a good job...and yes that is a condom on the antenna.
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| The greatest sandwich in the world...ever. |
[Tuesday, October 4th, 2005 @ 9:53pm] |
Ok so tonight i was just kinda chillin' round the apt. you know how it goes. suddenly i had a taste for something...wasn't quite sure what it was i had a taste for. started looking around my cabinets and such for a food that would satisfy my urge. but nothing was shouting out to me, eat me! discouraged i went back to my room more hungry then when i set out to find something to eat. then it hit me like a ton of bricks. why don't i just make myself the greatest sandwich in the world...ever? Just then i conceived and birthed the greatest food to hit the planet since pizza. It doesn't have a name...oh...wait, yes it does, it's called the grilled american chulupa...you know what, no...it doesn't have a name. but that's not important because it was the greatest sandwich in the world...ever. and now im writing about it because it was so satisfying that i feel compelled to express my feelings and emotions about it. and here it is...It was good. (hey if God can say that about the earth after He created it, then I can say that about the sandwich i created.)
And im going to share with all of you the secret to the greatest sandwich in the world...ever.
Here's how you make it:
2 slices of bread (white or wheat)
Peanut butter
Marshmallow fluff
Chocolate chips
1)Spread peanut butter on one slice of bread to your desired liking.
2)Repeat step 1 only with the other slice of bread and the marshmallow fluff. So really don't go back to step one, cause step 2 uses all different ingredients.
3)Add chocolate chips to either of the prepared bread slices (it's tricky, but stay with me here)
4)Combine the prepared bread slices together in such a way as to not lose any of the chocolate chips.
5)Melt butter in a frying pan, when the butter is melted place the sandwich in the frying pan and proceed to pan fry the sandwich as if you were making a grilled cheese.
6)Serve warm
mmm doesn't that sound good?
a word of warning...it is really hot at first. and it is really gooey so you should probably wear a bib when you eat it. But it's totally worth it and i recommend you all try it!
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| what to do |
[Sunday, September 11th, 2005 @ 11:33pm] |
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So tonight after church people were supposed to stick around to sign up for small groups, so i was thinking/hoping that people would sigh up for my small group. Well I only got two people to sign up, and both of those guys are my roommates. So basically I didn't get anyone new to sign up. It's kinda sad...im kinda sad. I mean i didn't expect to get like 8 guys to sign up but i was at least hoping for a couple new guys. It's just frustrating you know? Like im going out of my way to be a small group leader because I've been told I have a gift for leadership and the church needs small group leaders, but when it comes down to it I can't get anyone to be in my small group. I feel stupid saying i lead a small group when i don't even really have one. I dunno, if i have something to offer someone, God will know it and he'll bring those people to my 'small group'. It's just that i don't know what to do with myself right now. Hopefully i'll figure that out soon.
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| College nights will draw the crowds... |
[Friday, September 2nd, 2005 @ 9:07pm] |
I love friday nights, especially in college. There's just something that's indescribable about the atomosphere around campus. And without the restrictions of curfews, and letting parents know where you're going at all times, a whole new chain of possibilities have been opened to the college student. He can do many a things on a friday night. He could drink endlessly until he cannot even remember his own name. He could go out with friends and meet tons of new people (most of whom will not remember him come morning).
Or he could go a step further...
He could bake cookies in the comfort of his own home by himself!
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| A tale of two pizza...actually just one really big one. |
[Thursday, September 1st, 2005 @ 8:03pm] |
Once upon a time there were 4 roommates, Phil, Jason, Kurtis and Chris. One day kurtis was looking for something to eat when he stumbled upon something interesting.
Could it be true??? 30 inches of cheesy goodness! "That's crazy!!!" exclaimed Chris and with a few quick calculations on mathematica, the handsome engineer learned it was 4.90873 sq feet of pizza! Regardless of the dimensions, the 4 decided to order the pizza anyway.
45 minutes later....
Chris could barely fit the pizza through the door, the pizza is huge compared to him. This truly was the biggest pizza they had ever seen.
It took up all of the space on their table.
An offical measurement revealed that it was not quite 30 inches, but rather 28 and 3/4. Oh well, it was still huge
Kurtis, Jason, and Phil could pretty much fit behind the pizza box, it was amazing.
The first few slices went down fine, but once they got to about the 3rd sq foot of pizza things to started to get rough. Soon no one could eat anymore, they were all full.
It seemed as though the pizza had defeated them. But just then Chris got an idea...
He needed his stretchy pants!!! Jeans have no give to them, what was he thinking. So he quickly put on his stretchy pants and got back on the job.
And before long, the pizza was gone. Chris once again saved the day!
The end!
P.S. I love chambana!
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| Thoughts on life |
[Thursday, August 25th, 2005 @ 9:15pm] |
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So on Tuesday I officially got accepted into U of I's college of engineering. I still can't even find the words to describe how I felt. It was one of the most gratifying and humbling moments of my life. It's by far the most significant academic achievement of my life. I'm so thankful that God has seen me through all of this. I really doubted myself a lot during the last year and a half and at times didn't even believe I had a chance of making it. But now that I'm in I've accepted that I've worked hard to do the best that I could and deserve to be where I'm at. I am now more confident than every before in my life that in God, truly, all things are possible. And it's kinda weird how He works things out. Like for instance today I wanted to find out what I needed to minor in economics, only to find out that there is no economics minor. I was a little discourages and was about to drop my econ class this semester. But before I did I checked out the business minor and found out not only did I have 3 of the 4 prerequisites to apply but the econ class im in now is the 4th prereq i need to apply for the minor in spring. Even better yet, I found that if my secondary engineering field is engineering administration I only need one extra course to complete the business minor. How unbelievable is that? I would have less work to do for a minor that sounds a lot better next to an engineering degree with a concentration in engineering administration. It's so amazing how God closes one door and opens another. well with that im tired and i've got work to do so until later, ta ta!
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| More apartment pics |
[Wednesday, August 24th, 2005 @ 5:15pm] |
Ok here's what my apartment looks like from the outside
not too shabby, the pool is nice.
Here's our kitchen, it should give us plenty of space to cook and whatnot.
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| Check out my new room! |
[Saturday, August 20th, 2005 @ 11:55pm] |
Now i know this isn't much, but hey it's not bad for my first apartment. I kinda like what i did with the place.
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| it's back... |
[Wednesday, August 17th, 2005 @ 9:25pm] |
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yo yo yo...im back. i haven't felt like writing much since not much was happening this summer, so instead of writing about nothing i just decided i had nothing to write. but now once again school is upon me so therefore i must express my emotions, thoughts, and every feeling expressable in words. well not really. but it is hard to believe that im starting my 3rd year of school. someone said to me, ' so you're started your second year', and i was like 'no im starting my third year.' and then it hit me... whoa im starting my 3rd year. yeah i know, crazy. summer was alright i suppose. i accomplished all i set out to do. got a job, lead worship, and got an A in my economics class. but this summer didn't have the intangibles, i didn't make any memories. something about living at home just makes me really unsociable. i dunno. so that was kinda a bummer. but now im going back to school so hopefully that will change. i don't think that this year will be as good as last year. like im excited to have an apartment, but at the same time i don't think im gonna meet as many people. i wouldn't have many of the people i call my best friends if it weren't for that dump of a dorm called bromley. i just think it's gonna be hard for this year to live up to last years fun. i think this year will be fun but just not in the same way as last year was. so we'll have to see. im excited that things will be changing...for better or worse at least they'll change, cause this routine of just going to work is getting old, im ready for some sugar and spice. (i don't know where im gonna get any of that, i just know im ready for it)
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| perhaps i should update? |
[Sunday, July 17th, 2005 @ 11:22pm] |
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i need some spice in my life. it's kinda hard to find time for fun when you're working a full time job, a part time job and taking a class all at the same time. and while im doing well at all three of these, i still feel somewhat unambitious. it's hard to believe that in about a month i'll be back at school. im really not looking forward to going back to school full time. i think it's because i need to meet with people before classes start to decide the fate of my future career. im like half optamisitic and half pessamisitic. part of me says this will all work out fine, im worrying over nothing. the other part of me is saying, they're gonna screw me over...i just know it. if they tell me i can't get into engineering, im gonna flip. well there's nothing now i can do to change whatever happens...so i guess i just want it to happen and either way get it over with.
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| Worship team |
[Sunday, June 5th, 2005 @ 8:04pm] |
When I was asked to take the position of summer worship coordinator, I was a little iffy cause it's such a big responsibility. I wanted to do it but i wasn't too sure of myself. I didn't show it and I gladly agreed because the church really needed one to do it. But I finally am starting to feel like I'm starting to make the adjustment as the worship leader. Today just flat out rocked. Today totally reminded me why I love to worship and why I love to lead worship. It was just a lot of fun, everything sound good, and people were worshipping. I was so humbled to see all that come together today. People really encouraged me by telling me the loved the songs I picked out. It was just great. There were times I had trouble singing b/c I was smiling b/c everything was sounding so good and people were getting so into it. I love it! It was really refreshing and it was totally what i needed. I feel so reassured that God wants me to be a worship leader this summer and this is what I'm cut out to do, maybe my whole life. Musically I think we as a group are really coming together. I think everyone is getting used to my style of leader and are following me better and vise versa. Everyone on the team thought we sounded better today then we have in a while. It's good to hear that b/c as the leader I want us the grow musically. In terms of worship I think the fact that the music went so smoothly this morning allowed us all the kick back and just let go...so we were all able to really connect with God and worship him well because we didn't have to focus so hard on the music. I think some of us were so amazed that we were sounding as good as we did that we automatically figured, God must be here. So today was good. I think this will give me a greater vision for worship this summer.
Peace out!
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