Timbuktu and Kalamazoo

So I will be taking a leave of absence from the blogging world. I still find it interesting how much I have come to enjoy blogging. So, I will be back.....

I was blessed with the fact that from age 2 until age 22 I lived in the same house. (I know, I know, some are thinking, "what!?!?!?") So when you move out of the area that you grew up in (try about 350 miles out of the area) you are bound to notice a few changes in your surroundings. One thing that people would ask me was, "So how do you like it down there?" My standard answer was,"Well, I love the people but........its flat and brown." You see, I went from a location right on the edge of the foothills that has average rainfall of 33.8 inches a year to a place that I could be convinced has a elevation change, city wide, of 10 feet and that does have an average rainfall of 10.7 inches a year. But what this means is that even if there is just a little bit of rain you get puddles. A puddle that would take about an hour of torrential rain to create up north takes about 15 min of light rain down here. So today when we had a good steady rain I found myself in a ...

I have been thinking a bit this week about my reaction to the events surrounding my cousin last week. It was interesting that I have never felt that way before and so I am not sure how to respond. Sure there are times that I am angry with someone, but those I would classify as immature and ill founded and are usually not long lived. Note, the author is not expressing that he has reached any measurable levels of maturity or rational living, rather he is comparing the bases for specific reactions. But as I said before, this reaction was different. It was the sweet and innocent being bullied by another simply because the second is bigger. It happens every day but this hit close to home. It was a reaction of defense for someone that you love. But was it right? That is a question that I have asked myself much this week. Do I have the right to be angry about it? Is it right for me as a sinner to be angry with another just because their sin effected someone I love? However, there are example...

If anyone is interested a more complete story about what happened to my cousin . But I was pretty sure that they found the guy ...................?

I try not to be a angry and violent person, as a Christian I am not to be. I do take lessons in Tae Kwon Do but that is not so much for the purpose of know how to beat people up as it is just fun. So when I see news stories about something bad happening to someone and they want to hurt someone its like "Chill out, come on!" But then that story is about your cousin . Then you what to go hit something. It is good that nothing really happened, praise God that her coworker was there and that she will be fine. I think that it is also good that it was the dog that eventually found that guy and not me.

Some have classified this time in history as the "Information Age." Thus, those of us growing up during these exciting times could be classified as the "Information Generation." On a personal note, I like this much better then "Generation X." Something about not having a purpose does not sit well with me. (have they upgraded my generation status yet?) Anyway, a blessing or a curse of this Information Generation is the ability to communicate with people worldwide through places like Myspace and Blogger. I am perhaps a late comer to the whole blogging world and so I am discovering new things every day about this vast world. When I first started with blogger it was to play around with the HTML and CSS side of it but I soon discovered how much fun it was to write random things that perhaps a few people might read because they were bored. These last few weeks I have become distracted with another facet of the blogging/networking world. FACEBOOK !!!!! This won...

Growing up I had the opportunity to participate in an event, for children ages K-6th, called "Children's Institute," or CI for short. I first enjoyed it as one attending (I loved it!!!) and then later in my years (starting at the ripe old age of 14) as a teacher/assistant. It was in that later period of time that I came to meet many who became great friends and also learned valuable skills. One skill that I arrived with was the art of scissoring. One skill that I came away from the CI's having greatly expanded my knowledge in said skill, was the art of scissoring. For I soon learned that there are many decisions that might be necessary when it comes to the art of scissoring. How thick is the paper, what kind of paper are you scissoring, the durability of the scissors (yes you can break them), how many pieces of paper can I cut at one time, would it be faster to cut a couple of pieces or cut them all at once...... Yes the art of scissoring can be quite difficult. ...

You know that you are in the technology age when you are working with 3rd-6th graders and you have to tell them to turn off their cell phones for the Bible lesson. Thats right, no joke, true story.

As one that works with youth, I am always on the lookout for anything that might fit into the fun/slightly crazy/weird/fun category, especially games. Now there are the standard games like dodge ball and tag that are just your old standbys. Every once and a while (OK more often then that) I try and find something that will capture the attention of the kids and send them home talking about what a great time it was to ...(fill in the blank)... I think that I found one. What if I were to tell you that we played Monopoly for over an hour with 12 kids and everyone had a blast? Ok, what if I were to tell you that we played with a 462 sq foot Monopoly board and you were to bring your biggest stuffed animal as your token? It was so cool! Granted it took about 10 hours to set up and a bit of money to get the materials, but that was not even the best part. I spent about 4 hours that afternoon before youth group and went all over town asking for donations for prizes. I got 5 free combos from Taco...

It is a great joy in life, every once in a while, to have days where something of importance and note comes to pass. While these days do not happen very often (which would only lead to the standard of 'importance and note' being raised), I am pleased to announce that not only did I have one such day, but now I have been blessed with two such days in a row! What great events have transpired to lend them such lofty designation, the reader asks? I mind not in indulging said person's curiosity. Friday Feb. 2nd 2007 A day that should be entered into the annals of great acts of heroism and bravery. A day that should be printed in red on all calenders from this day hence. A day that should be sung in the halls of great men when they need reminder of other great men before them. A day, that were it entered in to a search , would come up with the result..... On this day in 2007, Avido cleaned his desk!!! So maybe it does not score on the same level as the Germans surrendering at Sta...