Anti-Climactic, but in a Good Way

It was cold this weekend!! Joy to the world, it was cold! For the first time in a month, Snow Creek had a full slope of snow. To celebrate, I spent my Saturday on the slopes. Fun stuff.

Sunday? What can be said about Sunday? Church was cool. Good sermon. But then came Sunday School For the longest time, it has been evident that while I am in a Senior-Junior class, the curriculum is aimed at elementary schoolers. We discussed Jesus calming the storm from Mark. One of the thought provoking questions: what do you think the disciples smelled? Tasted? The one semi-provocative question was what we thought the disciples were saying and thinking during the storm. I bet Luke was wondering if he payed his rent. And Simon Peter was dicussing with Andrew about buying a puppy. What the heck do you think they were saying? "AAAUUUGGGHHH!!! WE'RE GOING TO DIE! THE BOAT IS SINKING!!"

Hockey on Sunday night: 4-1 defeat. The first goal they scored? They shot, missed, it hit the stick of one of my team-mates and bounced in. Second goal was ok. Third goal? They scored even though they were off-sides. Fourth goal was good. I'm not saying we should have won, but we should have lost by less.

Today was the visit of the hate group. It was seriously anti-climactic. I was expecting like thirty protesters yelling and only feet away from the school. But it was actually quite calm. There were only five. And then we had a whole bunch of graduates come back and protest against the hate group, so it was cool.

I finally followed through with a shirt idea. With protesters "hating in the name of God", I decided to set the record straight, so I made a shirt that said "God is Love. - 1 John 4:8" on it.
But I made the mistake of using an industrial sized Sharpie on it. In my room. So last night I kinda go high off of the fumes while going to sleep and had a dream about a cupcake eating me. Then the shirt was putting off Sharpie fumes all day. So I lost a couple brain cells, but I made a point (I hope).

Rock on (in the Sharpie fumes).

Silverline

OK, so I just went to the best small concert in the world. This band Silverline (who opened for POD and really rock) played at a local church (including the hardest cover of "Jesus Freak" I have ever heard, which rivals even Tait's rendition). It was held in the basement, with a low ceiling and everything. It felt just like the awesome clubs that I hope to go to someday. However, I can't feel my neck, hear, or speak clearly. So I'd call it a worthwile concert.

So this is a band that plays simply because they love God and want to tell people about Jesus. They work their own merch table, travel by bus all night to get to shows, and work other jobs to pay the bills. I think we need more bands like them.

Rock on.

Almost Close

Saturday was awesome. I got to sleep in for the first time in close to a month. And then I went to this cool little store called Salt Mine and got two great CDs and one of my favorite movies (Kids in the Way's Apparitions of Melody; Showbread's No Sir, Nihlism is Not Practical; Extreme Days).

Sunday, well, it was Sunday. For the first time since October (I think) my team scored first. We lead the game for a while. And were tied until the end of the second period. Then our goalie let in two shots back to back. We lost. Man, I despise my goalie. Normally, I would take some blame for a loss, as I play defense. But no, the two goals were completely his fault this time. But hey, I took like three different people out (double points, cause all three were like twice my size).

Today was awesome. I got to skip school and go to K-State for Scholarship Day, meet with several Poli Sci profs, tour the campus, and all that cool stuff you do when looking at colleges. And then I got my verification stuff from UGA. Only downers - still had to get up at 5 and had to miss Law class.

Random pimpiness: Read Zach Arrington's Confessions of a College Freshman. It is hi-lar-i-ous.

Rock on.

P.S. - I'll start posting about the Bible again soon, I promise.

Call to Action

I watched Hotel Rwanda again this weekend. I am now convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that something must be done. I am going to try to organize a massive campaign to raise awareness for the situation in Africa.

• Write your congressmen
• Write the president
• Give money

I plan on getting involved in the 30 Hour Famine. If you are interested, leave a comment.

"If I was brave, I'd write a letter to the President. Have him pass it to the leaders of our Parliament. But for now I won't say nothing. "
-Hawk Nelson
"Letters to the President"

Rock on.

Rocks A...sleep

First off, sorry I've been slacking on my blog. To my three loyal readers (two if you don't count my mum), I apologize. I'll get my act together.

Moving right along, last night's hockey game was great. We almost won. The final was 5-6 (I think. The point is, we lost by one point). And we would have won had Kurt shown up, but no. He had to watch his precious Panthers lose a play-off game.

I don't know why, but I slept for like an hour and a half after school. I just fell asleep on the couch. But I woke up just in time for dinner, which was cool.

My weekend, how boring are thee? My mother's cure for a boring Friday night? "Drew, we need some half & half. Why don't you drive down to Dillon's and pick some up? And while your at it, you can get yourself a soda or something." So the high light of my weekend came early. I walked into Dillon's and Alex yelled at me from the Deli. Then on Saturday, I ran around in the woods behind the school, then went down to Metro North. Sunday? Church and hockey.

I need a life. Or at least a friend with a life that I can live vicariously through.

Rock on.

A Dark Night in Hockey History

Wow. My hockey team is so bad...
How bad is it?
My hockey team is so bad we lost 10-2 last night.

Ok, so that's not funny. But it is sad. Incredibly, incredibly sad. I think this makes us 2-15.

Otherwise, it was a pretty good weekend. I bought four great CDs over on Saturday(mewithoutYou, Emery, As I Lay Dying, and Falling Up). Chapel was good on Sunday. And I didn't have school today. So I slept until 11, which is just fun.

And while writing this post, I just realized how incredibly dull my life really is.

Rock on.

Failure to Excommunicate

Romans 2:1-4

Prejudice is one of the great plagues of the modern world. People can and will find anything to judge people on. I must confess that I am guilty of this. It's easy, when you think about it. "He dresses this way and listens to this type of music, so he must be like this." "She drives this type of car and wears this brand of clothing, so she must make this much money."

It goes beyond that, though. We have moved beyond the level of judging a person to a point where we try to decide the status of their slavation. "Well, no one who comes form this background could possibly be a Christian." "No one who has made this mistake will ever be saved." But remember what Paul says: God is ultimate Judge. He will judge based on truth and the forgiveness that Christ brought to Earth.

"Jesus loved the outcasts. He loves the ones the world just loves to hate. And as long as there's a heaven, there'll be a failure to excommunicate."- Relient K

Rock on.

Lost in the Desert

The barren landscape
No life to support
I wander the land
Lost in the desert

Rock on.

Lessons Learned While Hitting the Slopes

The following are lessons learned while at Winter Park, Colorado. I hope they are as useful to you as they are to me.

• Never video-tape crazy, homeless people. It only leads to police involvement.
• When snowing, always use chains on the tires. Failure to do so will result in you being stuck on a pass for several hours.
• Altitude sickness can be nasty. Very, very nasty.
• Avalanches block mountain passes and roads.
• Always wear a helmet. Failure to do so leads to a concussion.
• Texas Hold'em is a great way to bring in the New Year.
• Trees - they hurt.
• $60 buys a lot of food. Even on the ski slopes.
• Cold wind is cold.
• Be weary of the path you choose.

Rock on.

What I Learned from Furby

The Christmas shopping season. What a time. You get to look at all the cool new toys that they have, while thinking to yourself, "I wish I had had something like that."

While walking around a local toy department, I was shocked to see Furbies. I remember when Furbies first came out, costing around $50, if you could find one. Every kid wanted one. That lasted about a year, maybe a year and a half. Then the bubble burst (my first lesson: bubble economies). But now they are back. Which means that bubble economies are cyclical.

But I also learned something far more valuable than economics from my Furby. I learned important life lessons that will stay with me forever.

1. If you find a hungry, wild animal, go ahead, stick your finger in its mouth. It won't be hungry anymore, and you'll come out of it ok, too.
2. If you throw anything against a wall hard enough, you can get it to be quiet.

My Furby has long since been sold, but they are coming back now, so many other kids can learn the very same valuable lessons that I will cherish forever.

Rock on.