God's Workshop

I am so energized right now that I could probably write a novel but I'm going to keep it to one profound thought for my evening.

Have you ever thought what it would be like if you could sit on God's knee or the stool beside him as he worked in his workshop. Imagine looking on to bench and what you might see. You would see half finished projects and his tools of his trade.

I have trouble with tools.. well primarily power tools. Which maybe hard for some to understand given my mechanical engineering background. However, some of you may have heard of my unfortunate escapade with the table saw at GVSU. I can understand how they work but I don't know how to use them or really what is the best application to use them in. So I have developed a healthy distance if not a healthy respect for them.

Now I am but a child in relation to God so imagine my imperfect comprehension of his tools and his workmanship. The tools I see I picture as the laws of science, because I'm a scientist and see God using these Laws to form the world. I might be able to see how these tools work at least in certain applications but I might not understand the purpose or process fully. I find God's tools absolutely fascinating and desire to learn about them. But to truly understand their purpose I must consult the Craftsman. To study, to teach, or to use the tools with out him could lead me into as much peril as the table saw.

The work I may see I might think is imperfect.. and say, "God are you going to leave it that way?" And God would smile at me and explain, "No my child.. it is not finished yet." It may be that he his waiting on another part or process to be finished before he can finish that piece. It is here that I realize that I'm not only God's child but I'm also his creation. I am laying on the work bench (I know this is getting surreal but hang with me). God has prepared different pieces of me.. given me passions, skills, and talents.. but he's not finished with me yet. He's still putting the finishing pieces on me.. waiting for the right timing to put things together.

New Castle Christian Church Youth Group

To remain young, I would say the best way is to spend time with the young or at least the young at heart. This semester I have been working with a middle school/high school youth group in New Castle, KY. (where I was born!!) This past weekend we had our first lock in since I've been helping out. We had fifty some kids go which is absolutely amazing. We took them snow tubing first and then brought them back to church for the rest of the night.

This lock-in was exactly what I needed to establish better relationships with the kids, even though health wise I probably should have rested (I was sick for the days leading up to the event :( ) I taught the kids the quality game of full contact spoons and tried to teach them silent football but realized it was much too late or early in the morning to attempt it. I think around 3 o'clock in the morning I taught Sarah (the girl in the photo with me) my wonderful kinematic jokes... ie "what is this 'w'? ...a dead one of these 'm'.. of course these jokes work best in person and under sleep deprivation. Sarah and I could not stop laughing.

I love working with the youth. There are several moments when I feel like I'm just not being effective.. but then there are moments and there are students that remind me that I am making a difference.

My Mysterious Valentine's Day <3

Tonight I decided to treat myself to dinner at Max and Erma's since it was Valentine's day and I didn't feel like cooking at home. When I arrived at Max and Erma's they were handing out carnations to the ladies, so I was immediately pleased with my choice of restaurants. I enjoyed a fine dinner alone.. making a few important Valentine's day calls to friends and family.

When it came time to pay the bill, I was told that it was already paid for me! What... this kind of thing doesn't happen to me? What do I do?? I was so stupefied that I did nothing. I didn't ask who.. I just simply left hoping whoever it might have been would have stopped me on my way out. And now I sit and I wish I had not been so dazed that I would have find out who.. no one jumps to mind.

Maybe someone took pity on the poor girl who eats alone on Valentine's day. Or maybe by chance some passing waiter was taken with my radiant beauty and bought the dinner for me. I must say men... if that is the case then it will definitely get a girl's attention. But please do not the let the girl walk out of the restaurant without knowing to whom they should think.

So I am at a lost for who it is.. but there is some charm in the mystery. Maybe it was JC making sure that I had a memorable Valentine's Day.

As a side note: I highly suggest Max and Erma's for you Valentine's dinner and you may quite possibly find me there on Valentines' days to come!!

If by chance you are reading this blog and happen to be the one who bought my dinner tonight... please let me know so that I may thank you, for you have made this Valentine's day very special!!

This past weekend a few highlights and one major drawback:

The excitement of the weekend started Saturday morning as I watched another of Reagan's basketball games. There are only two teams in her particular division so they play each other every week. Typically, it is a blowout by the opposing team, however, this week The Lady Eagles were able to hold their own against the Falcons. It is a very dangerous thing having basketball games at this age... not for the kids sakes but for the children. Understand that basketball in Kentucky is taken very seriously. So you have to understand watching lower elementary students play there is this tension trying to always be encouraging of all the kids on both teams. There is not yelling at the refs, but you can always tell there a handful of parents who want to. I got myself in trouble one weekend when we sat on the opposite teams side and I ended up sitting next to the opposing coach's wife (which I didn't know at the time). So I inadvertently stuck my foot in my mouth when I commented on how uninvolved the other coaches seemed to be compared to Reagan's coaches. OOPS!! I recovered slightly by saying that is probably because there team does so well and know what they should be doing.

The next highlight from my weekend was shopping with Jennifer at the Versailles Antique Mall. Jennifer and I have decided we should never shop together because we always encourage each other to buy things. I found some great stuff for my apartment however. The highlight of which is this awesome chair. I love my apartment. Friends, if you are passing through Lexington you should come visit. If you are not passing through you should visit anyway!

The major drawback of the weekend was an annoying infection that caused me to miss work and school on Monday. I do believe that often times I'm running around so much that my body takes me hostage in order to force me to rest.

Sisters Sisters... there were never such devoted sisters!!

Today Jennifer surprised me by reminding me she is in Lexington on Thursday nights. So she and I had a very yummy dinner of Thai food and had a great time chatting. I LOVE MY SISTER!!

When I say jump...

You know the phrase "When I say Jump.. You Say "___"" and this is when you respond "How High". Well have you ever thought about how that phrase could have two potential purposes.

Typically, if I told someone to "jump" I wouldn't expect them to verbally respond but rather just jump. That is if they were given to listening to me. Therefore, by asking "How High?" could be a stalling technique. They don't really want to jump, so they'll say some smart mouth comment like "how high?" to delay. I mean has anyone ever answered the question. Has anyone when asked "how high" said two inches and then measured to see if they made it.

The second purpose to asking the question could be to clarify the expectations. I'm not really always good at this so maybe why this purpose came after the first. But maybe the person should ask how high to know what they need to do to reach the other person's expectations. It is possible that if they jumped without asking they wouldn't have jumped high enough or could have exceeded the expectations.

One of the great things about living in Kentucky is the fact that I can be so close to my niece and nephews as they grow up. I can cheer on Reagan as she scores more baskets then I could ever hope to make in my basketball career. I can teach Aidan (AJ) how to play the piano, although at 2 years old I don't expect much. But most of all I love the times I get to spend one on one with them.

Yesterday, I was in charge of taking Rea to practice and watching Micah for that hour. Micah is so much fun to have one on one, for being the middle child he enjoys getting attention. He and I had a date at the library for an hour, reading books and looking for new "Magic School Bus" Videos. Micah loves to learn. He has been soaking in as much "Magic School Bus" as he can. There are not many four year olds (or adults for that matter) to whom I can talk to about limestone forming marble.

The great things about "my kids" (as I call them for saying my niece and nephews just takes too long) is that there is such a level of grace extended between adult and child. There are many times when I make them mad because I won't give them another glass of chocolate milk or remind them that they need to listen to their parents. But yet, they still love me whole heartedly, showering me with hugs, kisses, and smiles two minutes later. Similarly there are times when they make me frustrated, but that does not detract from my love for them.

In my Bible study of John 1, I was opened up to truths about what it means be called a "Child of God." Just as I love "my kids", God loves me. He might not always like the choices I make or what I do, but that never makes him love me less. Being God's child also means that I exhibit traits of God, just as I have my dad's ears and my mother's mathematic ability.