All Good Things Must Come to a Close

You know those moments when you could just step back and, "There's nowhere else I'd rather be than right here experiencing this"?

I've been so fortunate to have several of these this last week. Whether it was with a group of new randomly mixed friends, a group of old friends it seems like I've fought beside, an old best friend, or just by myself, I have thanked God so many times for moments that I wish would never end. It feels so good to live in the moment again.

Myrtle Beach was fun, though it reminded me a lot of Destin. Very commercial and, well, just...beachy. A lot of fun though. Make sure to check out Broadway at the Beach if you ever go. Charleston could be my newest favorite (small) city. It is so historic, having played a major role in both the American Revolution and the Civil War. On a carriage tour we took, we even got to see where Stephen Colbert grew up, so that was an added perk. Make sure to eat at Fleet Landing if you visit. It's right on the bay and is a restaurant that was converted from a Navy outpost. We sat outside in beautiful weather, enjoyed some AMAZING seafood, and watched as dolphins jumped out of the water in front of Fort Sumpter for us. Quite the experience.

Spending some time with old friends was incredible as well. I enjoyed the lakehouse quite a bit, and especially loved hanging out with Jean Michael. JM has been with YWAM for the last 5 months, 2 of which he spent in Uganda. On Wednesday, he is leaving again for a year to be a prophet to several spanish speaking nations.
I am blown away by him and what God is doing in his life, and if you'd like to support him financially, let me know so I can hook you up with the info. He's such a great man of God. I love how even though that friend group is all at different places, we are able to come together and experience God together in powerful, holy, and fresh ways. It's great.

Break has been a time of new things for me. One of which is writing. I don't know where it came from, but for some reason writing of poetry, vinettes, and autobiographical blurbs has abounded, and I love it. I will be using this blog to post some of those little tidbits, and being such a young student of writing, I would love your comments, advice, and criticism. It would mean a lot. I've already posted one poem, and look for some more original work later this week.

Thanks for reading :o)

Uno, Dos, Tres!

1) GO BELMONT!!!! Once again, they have locked in their place in the big dance by winning out their tournament this weekend. Looks like we're starting a trend. Also, I would just like to point out that my team KANSAS has ascended to the number 3 slot in the country and have pretty much guaranteed a number 1 seed in the tourney. Now that's something to get excited about! Can' wait for March Madness...

2) I started my new job today :o). I am officially a Laser Chase Marshall. Oh yes. It's fun. I basically get paid to hang out with kids and play laser tag. I can't really complain. So go to the new location on top of Southern Ice in Cool Springs and hang out with me.

3) I'll be heading out on the first of 2 trips that I will be on for Spring Break tomorrow. I don't know if I will have internet access, so this may be the last post in a while. Monday morning I should be staring at the beautiful Atlantic Ocean at Myrtle Beach. We are also spending at least a day in Charleston, which I have heard is one of the most interesting and fun cities in the U.S. I am incredibly excited. I'm armed with some great music, podcasts, and books, and I intend to do some damage. I just had a conversation with a friend about our Spring Break trip last year, and I can't really believe it's been a year. We seem so much older and alltogether just different people. I'm so glad I'm where I am today, but I'll be happy to see a day where us old friends can come together (hopefully on a similar trip) once again.

Thanks for tuning in!

The Kings of Virginia

My haitus from blogging has been a result of quite an eventful weekend. After the Battle of Belmont, I got three hours of sleep, went to one class, and left on my trek to Virginia. Tennessee Tech was my first stop, picking up my good friend Patrick.

Onward to UT, where Mike awaited:

And after a couple (but not the last) near-death experiences provided free of charge by Patrick, we arrived in Virginia, the legendary home of Justin. He immediately took us to The Tea Room, a local hangout and home of the cheesy (as pictured below).


Lynchburg, Virginia. Also known as Falwell-town. That's right, it's home of Jerry Falwell, Moral Majority head hancho. We toured his town, his school (Liberty University), and even preached from his pulpit:

Preaching was not enough; we were ready to take on a more physical task: high jumping. Thanks goes to the Liberty University for our newfounded skills (go Flames!):

After a long day's adventure, we settled down for a nice, small campfire in Justin's backyard:

We ended up at UT for the Superbowl, which was a wonderful ending to a fantastic trip.

And thus, our Virginia exploration was ended. Hopefully, we'll be back!