To My Classmates

Well, tomorrow is the big day!  I want to wish everyone God's blessing on the test.  We've all studied hard and know what we're doing, we should be fine.

This was not my most enjoyable class this year, but it was fun getting to know you all and working along side you.  Congratulations to all you Seniors who are going off to college.  And keep up the good work Juniors, next year is yours.

I hope everyone has a great summer and is able to relax a bit before heading to college or back to school.

Here's to 5's for all of us!

"And they spent all of their time in the Temple, praising God." - Luke 24:53 NLT


And we only spend 13% of our time with God...if that.


Why is it that we put so many other things before God?  He is the first thing we cut out when our lives start to get busy.  But He is what we need the most.


All of us can't go to church all day long and just pray and worship, but we can talk to God throughout the day.


"...pray continually..." - 1 Thessalonians 5:17


Often times, I forget to pray during the day.  I get too caught up in my activities (school, work...) that I forget to talk to the One who created me and loves me more then I could ever imagine.


God wants all of us, our whole hearts.  He may call some of us to become nuns or monks and literally spend 'all [our] time in the Temple praising God.'  But not everyone is called to that kind of life.  


But we can spend all our time with God.  We can spend specific amounts of time studying the Bible, we can pray throughout the day, we can reflect, we can serve, we can repeat memorized verses, we can thanks God for His beautiful creation, we can be Jesus to those around us, we can dedicate whatever we do to God, the list goes on and on.


In the car is the perfect time to God.  Alone and stuck with nothing to do for minutes on end, this is a great opportunity to talk to God.  I've had some great conversations with God when I was driving.  So turn off the music and talk to God.  Or listen and let Him talk to you.

"What does this earth matter?  Endure it and share the good news.  Show love to all people.  Ask the Lord to help you overcome you sins.  Ask forgiveness when you fall.  Obey and serve God.


Heaven will be so much better.  What is a little suffering compared to the glories of heaven? What is some mocking here when you get to spend e t e r n i t y with your Lord, the God Almighty, King Over All, Creator, Master, Sustainer, Lover, King of Kings and Lord of Lords?


Like a moment compared to 10,000 generations is our time on earth compared to the time we will spend in heaven.  Heaven is limitless.  There is no time there.  Heaven goes on forever and ever.  Eternity spent with my Lord and Savior.  Such a thing I cannot imagine.  My mind cannot grasp hold of it.  To wonderful for me; to large for me to comprehend.
But oh the joy there will be in that place after we have overcome this life.


Looking around my room, I realize that none of the stuff I have matters.  It will all be gone.  So what do I want to put my time into? Making money (which won't last) and accumulating more stuff?  It's all worthless.  Relationships are what matter.  People are important. What makes a difference and what really counts for something is how you treat others and if you are willing to touch others' lives.  This could mean personal sacrifices or going out of your way or doing something you are afraid of.  But out of all the things in this life, that's the thing that will make a difference in the next.


So live, love and serve.  And don't be afraid to jump, cause if you do, God's gonna catch you and carry you through."
~ Anonymous

Fun Things To Do With Pictures

I was taking pictures in black and white on my camera and this other setting called septa.

Then I put them on my computer and played with the coloring and lighting in Picasa.  This isn't the exact same picture, but it had the same color as the one above.

I think it's pretty cool.

Faces From Honduras

To Save A Life

Director: Brian Baugh 

Starring: Randy Wayne, Deja Kreutzberg, Joshua Weigal 

To Save A Life came out in theaters January 22 and although it was made by a Christian organization, it wasn't advertised as such.  The main character of the movie, high school senior Jake Taylor, has it all.  He's got a girlfriend, he's lined up to go to a great college, he's captain of the basketball team, things seem to be going pretty well for him.  Until one day, Jake's old friend Roger walks into school with a gun and shoots himself.  Jake and Roger had been best friends growing up until high school when Jake started hanging out with a different group of friends and began ignoring Roger.


Roger's death really bothers Jake.  He starts to wonder who's fault it is the Roger died and that maybe if he hadn't ignored Roger, he would still be alive.  Jake meets this youth pastor named Chris and starts going to church, something he hasn't really done before.  Jake is able to talk to Chris about Roger and begins hanging out with other members of the youth group at school.  Jake wants to help other kids who might be in Roger's situation, desperate and alone.  At school, he befriends Jonny, a kid everyone picks on and no one talks to.  

But Jake's problems aren't over.  His parents are getting a divorce and his girlfriend is pregnant with his child.  Jake has to make some tough decisions that will effect not only him, but his family, friends and the lives of others.