A Few Brilliant Ideas...

I can't wait for the day...
When it's just you and I,
sitting out on the lawn,
talking about God.










I was originally intending not to post at all today, to make my writing about writing and just writing after Jeremy mentioned he might do it. However, my mom pointed out in passing this could be seen as arrogant and just silly.  She was surprised I took any note of what she said. So I chose this instead. A congratulations to all who completed the challenge, you will added to the Hall of Fame promptly! =D

This is Napster, signing off.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? FABUULOUS?

You ask me why the ocean sparkles,

You scream.

Today is Chinese New Year, and by an odd chance, I decided today was the day our family should order Chinese, fortunately they agreed. I didn't know that it was Chinese New Year before, I just felt like... Chinese food.

Over time, I've amassed a relatively large number of fortune cookies that I have received that I actually somewhat like.

Today's Fortune Cookie: "Love is the affinity which links and draws together the elements of the world."

"Cleaning up the past will always clear up the future."
"No snowflakes in an avalanche ever feels responsible."
"Release your energy in a productive way."
"Joys are often the shadows, cast by sorrows."

Also, fortune cookies should be called proverb cookies...
Happy Chinese New Year! =D

Mother told me so. Yup. Car driving is fun. HEEHEEHEE.

Whaaaattt?

'Twas a while ago that I began driving, but there was a particular day that the conversation turned particularly interesting.


I pull out of the Scholar's parking lot, deciding to turn left, because I could really go either way. I start to giggle giddily. "Oh yes, this is going to be a fun car-ride." I think and put my hand up on the wheel authoritatively. My mother asks me about my day, I run through the standard laundry-list activities of the day. "Welllll... There were announcements in the morning..." I pause and pull up slightly closer to the car's bumper in front of me than my other is comfortable with. My mom gives off her slight flutter of panic and then prompts me: "and?" I scratch my head, "Uhmmm... I don't really remember what they were. Let me think, something from AIC Council about... something." I squint to increase my mental perceptions... because that works in my world. "Oh yeah! There was some kind of announcement about the Turkey Trot or something." I glance down the road, my eyes fixed on the bumper of the car in front of me. I can already feel myself drifting into auto-pilot. "Okay, what else..." My mom walks me through my day till we're finished and the conversation drifts off toward other topics. We begin to discuss driving, and I still feel quite giddy. Somehow the topic of driving in wet weather comes up. "If you had made that turn in wet weather you'd have a hydroplaned." My mom tells me as I make a particularly precarious turn. "Hydroplane," I repeat, and chuckle. She keeps talking about the dangers of turns in wet weather and how someday I'm going... Then I lose track of what she's saying and start muttering "Hydroplane," to myself and chuckling repeatedly. It takes a little while for her to realize that I'm not listening and she says something like: "Well it's true." My response to this is to say "hydroplane!" louder and burst out laughing out of nowhere. Something about that word just tickles my fancy hamster. The whole ride is spent with me finding new words to mutter and laugh at. At some point I begin to wonder if it's safe for me to driving, but I instantly disregard my worries and chuckle some more. "I'll to write this in a blog post when I get home," I think.


And here we are. Hydroplaning. Teehee. If you ever meet me when I'm giddy, I urge you not to pass the chance because it is probably one of the most amusing times you'll ever have. I'll laugh at everything and anything and there's no stopping me. Chances are that I'll tell you I'm giddy, because I always know and enjoy every moment of it. If only I could be giddy on demand... This calls for investigation.

To give you another brief snapshot, imagine me in Grant's basement, half slid down a chair, drunkenly singing "BA-BA BLACK SHEEP!" at the top of my lungs at three in the morning.

</end blogpost>

Who is God?
Is He a figment, a deviation of the human imagination?
Is He real, can we trust him and does He feel as we feel?
Who is God?
Is God just a member of the rampant pop culture, are we the kings and He the vulture?
Is God really so strong? If He is as strong he says than why not right wrong?


My heart revolts at this libelous speech, and so I reach,
stopping the questions, and spring in to teach.


Who is God?
God is who He is, he's the lamb, the great I AM.
God is the foundation of the earth, He who brings sorrow and he who brings mirth.
Who is God?
He is not a balancing act. He is not a juggler of fate and of facts.
God is the perfect painter, perfection captured within the strokes that gain in their clarity not become fainter.

He is who He is. We don't deserve any "explanation," we deserve Hell and cessation.
Yet because He is who He is, He gave us the Bible, the word that is his.

Who is God?
Love and truth, kindness and joy, honor and justice, and it is these he employs.
These things are defined by God, that is his character, an infinite ballade.

Have you ever felt empty?
Have you ever felt like there's something more?
Have you ever wondered why we're never content?
Always restless.

Who is God?
He is the one who made our true home, not just this earth that we roam.
We cannot find peace, because we were made... to be deceased, and then brought back to life.

What is the meaning of life?
A question that's asked, yet when I try to tell people what I see as facts
I get ridiculed, and they act like I'm fooled,
"Well that's great for you, but I can't believe what you say is true.
We're not the same, our minds are set in different frames."

Stop making excuses and running away, there's a God that loves you today. TODAY.
You're made to reflect his glory, this is just the beginning of the story.
We have so much to do while we're still on this side, allow me to walk with you in our fight against pride.
So much to do and so little time, I can hardly find time to compose all these rhymes.

Brothers and sisters, how I love those dear words.
I desire to walk with you deep in his Word.
Let's do it together, using God as our tether,
and fight off our sin just so that we may try to glorify him.



A thought just occurred, and now try not to scoff,

God is good. That's why they're only one letter off.

For someone who spends 25% of his free time playing instruments and writing songs and stuff, this is hardly much of an effort. We had a "big project" that was composed of 16 measures with a whole bunch of dynamics, articulation, and tempo p-zazz thrown in. Whoopdee doo. I could compose that in my sleep. I probably have.

Even better, get this, last year I discovered the program that the teacher has us write in via one of my friends who was taking the course. I then proceeded to spend most of that day fooling with it composing about three times the amount necessary for someone who was actually required to complete that assignment. Amateurish.


When I found I had to write a composition I yawned, pulled out my sixty-seven measure piece, and went on a hot-coco break (because I still think coffee is nasty.) Unfortunately, I discovered that adding the stupid symbols she wanted to be in the piece was going to be pointless because they would really serve no purpose, so after murdering my piece, and tearing it to bits over the past 2 marking periods, I'd had enough. I re-read the requirements and composed a new piece that fit her requirements for the final assignment... maybe 2 hours flat. Disgusting, isn't it?


So... Music theory, ye who hold no challenge to those of finer tastes. I slay thee as a beast and we shall meet again on the eve of the period of marking new. So long sweet chariot.

Here's my composition for the final project:
http://www.noteflight.com/scores/view/827e964a2e001ebd272c80dccf9576ca87a8c666

And the one that I composed quite a while ago:
http://www.noteflight.com/scores/view/ec2e4d3e1f30dd1d06e06cbbb6ddec99509428e2

Enjoy the sounds of a completed assignment and a finished course. Ha-cha-cha.
(Jeremy posted a video of penguins racing... You might want to go check that out.)

Dear Heavenly Father,
I just watched near an hour of French work disappear in front of my eyes to an unrecoverable state.
I really need your grace right now. My heart wants to complain, give me grace to face this with thanksgiving.
Thank you for your love to me.
Stevie

(Vote on the layout to the right->)
Today was Sanctity of Life Sunday. This is the day that people dedicate the raising of their children to God. The message was about abortion, a serious issue in today's culture.


People often argue that this is better a "political issue," rather than a religious one. However, the pastor made the point that "it was a theological issue long before it was a political issue."

God tells us in the Bible that each and every one of us is created in God's image.

Genesis 1:27 "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them."

If we are made in God's image, not only is it murder, but it is destroying God's own image to kill another human being. Argue over whether the child is actually alive, it's still killing human life when you abort an unborn child. This is sin, this offends a holy and righteous God... Of course there is forgiveness for sin, and that is the good news of the Gospel.

However, while the message was being taught I thought of other areas that relate to sanctity of human life. Suicide is wrong for the very same reasons. We are made in God's images, we are called to be stewards of our lives to serve God's purpose and to glorify him. While listening to the message the song "How to Save a Life" by the Fray was playing in my head, which relates more specifically to suicide. However, I liked how it could be applied to both.

"And I would have stayed up with you all night, Had I known how to save a life." Well, there is something we can do to save human life. We can take a stand against abortion, taking every opportunity to discourage it. This isn't a woman's choice. You are making the woman God by saying that she should be able to choose who lives and who dies. Our constitution realized it and outlawed murder. And yet, "60% of African American woman in New York abort their unborn children." That's SHOCKING! We need to find ways to stand against abortion and against the destruction of human life.

So, without further adieu, my cover of How to Save a Life.

1. In the process of mixing, add way too little water. (Just because you mixed it doesn't mean it doesn't need more water. I relearned this the hard way.)
2. Forget to spray the waffle maker with non-stick spray. This will help you to not be able to eat your waffles because they won't come off. Yup.
3. In the second batch when you do spray the waffle maker, be sure to use the only disgusting spray that your household owns. I prefer to use NOT REAL BUTTER SPRAY. IT SMELLS SO TERRIBLE. WHY WOULD THEY MAKE SOMETHING SO AWFUL?!?! IT SMELLS LIKE POPCORN... GONE WRONG. I DIDN'T KNOW POPCORN COULD DO THAT! Hurgahghauigfhwefgwegigweg.
(Sorry, I'm angry.)
4. One of two things will then happen, the waffles will turn white because of the awful disgusting spray, or the waffle maker will lie to you and tell you that it's done when it really isn't. (I haven't decided which one it is.)
------
Oh, it's turning an unnatural yellow color with random brown crisps.... Yeah, if you want to die eat it now.
------
I just realized, it's probably taking so long because I added so much stinking water. Ah well, better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all...
------

(If you found my post on dating interesting, check out Grant's new blog.)
I'm so psyched. God is so good. I was over at Isaac's blog when I stumbled across this post. This video is incredible, it's what they call a "spoken word." It's like a rap, but not. I love them. Another thing that I've been doing is stumbling on John Piper's teaching. This man is literally incredible.

These series of videos are probably about 20 minutes in length, but if you watch them, you'll walk away knowing more about God. I was incredibly impacted by his book, and these pieces from a sermon continue to blow my mind.

Today, I was thinking about how agonizing it would be if I was actually dating. I realized I'm not really looking forward to dating... And yet I am looking forward to marriage.

Why marriage but not dating? Isn't that what it leads to?
Yeah, but there's that transition period, honestly seems to be pretty awful.

If I was dating right now, not only would it be premature and unwise, it would also be terrible.
What's so bad about dating?

You have someone that you're in relationship with. I know that when I get in a relationship, it will be with a person that I like enough to think about all the time. And every time I think about my girlfriend, I'll want to be where she is. Problem: that's not going to happen.

If you're lucky enough to see her regularly, chances are you'll feel the absence all the more keenly when she isn't around. At the end of the day, she'll still have to go home, leaving you to wish she was still there.

I remember my brother drove his girlfriend(now his wife) home even when it didn't make sense. Why? He wanted as much time as possible with her. He loved her, and that was enough reason for him to search out every possible avenue to spend time together.

You see where I'm coming from now? That's why I've been preparing to wait until I'm ready for marriage. I don't want girlfriends, I want a girlfriend. One, the one that will become my wife if it's possible.

So, you see why I'm not looking forward to dating as the pinnacle of my existence. I have a bigger goal, one where I can take my wife home, and spend whole days in a row with her without leaving her side...

"I want a girl with a short skirt and a looooooooonnnggg jacket." Short Skirt/ Long Jacket-Cake

Merry ah-lev-on.

(Some more serious than others... Not rated by importance, hehe...)

1. Steal Steven Saroka's pencil.
2. Put a permanent wire tap on Alix's thought.
3. Help Jeremy defeat his fear of mice.
4. Hack into the U.S. Database, change myself to a full blooded German and then announce that all half-breeds are, "vile, mangy creatures."
5. Make hot cool aid.
6. Write a real blog post.
7. Have a lucid dream.
8. Shout, "WOOP THERE IT IS! I found my pencil." in a class.
9. Have a large water balloon fight, "accidentally" soak several people who aren't playing.
10. Chase a puppy and catch it.
11. Adopt a penguin.
12. Feed said penguin a shark then shout "WHO'S AT THE TOP OF FOOD CHAIN NOW!"
13. Ride Shamu.
14. Work out so that I'm ready for Saturday's wrestling match with Mr. Sommar.
15. Find a lake, put a giant metal letter R and S at the end of it and declare yourself "A Lakers Fan."
16. Get married. Wait for marriage.
17. Find a cliff, devise an elaborate scheme to prevent the fall, faking my death so my enemies no longer know I am alive. Fall off of the cliff.
18. Find the best blog in the world.
19. Carry on like a wayward son, then find Kansas and tell them you fulfilled your obligation.
20. Live for Christ.

(Simeon has lost =(. That makes it six people that remain in the competition. When the going gets tough. Well. It gets tough. I'm sorry to see you go Sim, so I thought I'd send you out with a little ApologetiX.)


Captured pieces of times and places,
Ideas and efforts, each unfinished.
Each the beginning of a new story.
Waiting to be painted, waiting to be finished
but always unable. They are never complete,
no matter what you add, there's always
something
more.
Like a tree that grows, towards the heavens
always reaching,
never finding.
It cannot attain perfection.
It is too lofty an ideal.
It cannot reach the sky,
because
it is the limit.


One of my favorite artists released an album! I just found out as I wrote this! I'm so e-cited! It's called Heartbreak Yellow, an album by Andy Davis. =D (leaves to listen to music.)


Random chat quote of the day:
" "me:  I know how that is