I opened my eyes this morning just in time to see the door to my room crack open. I have been sleeping on a mattress on the floor in my brother’s room over Christmas break. When you have eleven or more people staying in the house, you kind of have to make due with whatever floor space you can find. Because my mattress was on the floor… it would make sense that my eye level was right around floor level too. I’m a genius, I know.

As I opened my eyes, the door cracked open, and I could see the feet of three little people crowding around the door trying to peek in. I looked up just in time to see Johnny (my 13 year old brother), Peter (my 9 year old brother), and Davy (my 7 year old brother) come crashing into the room with their duvets and pillows. I can’t blame them… I was on the floor. Needless to say, I was an easy target for the three stooges of my home and their duvets and pillows.

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So it’s been a few days since I have written anything new on here. But then again, the last few days have been pretty occupied with that little thing people celebrate around this time of year… yeah, Christmas!

It’s been a beautiful Christmas break. My whole family came home to Franklin for Christmas break — yes, all eleven of us, not to mention Nick and Libby… the future additions to our family. It was awesome. There is nothing quite like sitting down to a solid oak table that is over a hundred years old with a dozen people that you love more than anyone else in the world (not to mention the turkey, the potatoes, the corn pudding, the green bean casserole, the sweet potatoes, and all the other good Christmas foods that accompanied us). Click to continue »

I was pointed to a few verses in Hebrews 10 today. One of my friends gave me the verse Hebrews 10:23 to memorize. It says, “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.”

A call to persevere… Click to continue »

It’s five days until Christmas. CRAZYNESS… When on earth did Christmas decide to show up? It’s still like 60 degrees outside. Pretty much crazy.

I worked at Panera Bread again today. After another late night watching Hidalgo with my little brother, Johnny, I woke up around 8:00… and was at work from 9:00 to 4:30. I got to work and my boss was kind of hyper and excited. He was pretty much counting down the minutes until he was on vacation. When I got there, he had five hours left… and he didn’t fail to remind me every couple of minutes that the time until he would be on vacation was rapidly decreasing with every tick of the clock. You got to love working for a fun and exciting manager (yeah, just a random thought of mine).

So yeah, now i’m just relaxing and chilling out for a while. I think i’m going to head over to Justin’s house tonight… and maybe stop in at the Irish pub in downtown Franklin. It’s an old, small place called McCreary’s in the downtown area, and just so you know — they serve the best chicken pieces with honey mustard sauce. Good memories, I tell you.

So photography, if you couldn’t tell from the random pictures I have posted on here throughout the last few weeks, is definitely something I am really passionate about. I’ve really been into it for about the last three or four years now. I started out with borrowing my dad’s old 35 mm film camera. I shot my first two rolls with it… and yes, every possible photographer’s nightmare came true in those two rolls. Red eye, blurred images, heads cut out, grainy shots… you name it. My first two rolls of film had it all. And needless to say, I fell in love with it.

I got my first digital camera a few months later. It was a Nikon Coolpix 2100. A stylish, digital camera that had a whole 2.1 megapixels. At the time, it was one of the top models that was out… and I was a proud owner. Of course, a little less than half a year later, they had upgraded the camera model to 3.1 megapixels and cut the price in half. But I didn’t care — I loved the pictures I took with it. Here are just a few…

I had that camera for two years, and it served me well. Then for my high school graduation, my parents bought me the camera that I have now — a Fuji S5200. It’s a 5.1 megapixel camera with a 10x optical zoom. And yes, I love this one too. I love being able to just take it anywhere and everywhere and be able to capture good pictures with it. Photography, since I’ve gotten really interested in it, has become my way of expressing myself. It’s almost my own way of journaling and remembering things, not to mention my way of glorifying God. I love to take pictures of close-ups and landscapes.. mostly nature shots.

This next spring, I’ll have the opportunity to be the photographer for my sister’s wedding.. March 3rd. I’m excited to be able to take another step forwards with my photography! We’ll see what God has planned…

Today was my first day back to work at the good ole Panera Bread that I worked at all this past summer before starting my freshman year at Covenant College. It was cool to head back to work and see old faces. It’s funny how the people there have become like my second family… we all just work like a team and care for each other like a family. Good times…

I headed in around 11:00 and worked until 4:00. It was kind of weird getting back into it and everything, but it’s nice to have a job over break. Working with Gary, one of the other guys there, was a ton of fun… we joked around just like we did all summer long. Good memories.

Today was just been one of those days in which I’ve just spent thinking and contemplating about life… it’s hard not to wonder sometimes whether or not God really knows what He is doing. You know what I mean? So many times I catch myself doubting or questioning decisions that God makes or things He allows to come to pass…

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So I was just thinking back to this past semester… I still can’t believe I am officially done my first semester at Covenant College! Yeah… pretty much amazing, I know. Covenant College is a school — granted. But there is SO much about Covenant that makes it SO much more than just another university or college. The sports events at Covenant College are no exception…

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It’s such a beautiful feeling being done with final exams… and knowing that you have successfully completed the first semester of college life. That’s me — right here, right now. I had my last final this morning in biology.

God, thank you. Thank you for giving me the strength and endurance to finish…

I have learning a lot about God lately. The last two days  have been a real struggle, but God has been so good. Daily, He proves and shows himself again… and again… and again. Today was no exception. After finshing my biology final around noon, I spent some time talking with friends and relaxing after a challenging and long semester. Then I decided to take a walk down to the pond behind Jackson Hall. I grabbed my camera and started walking…

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One thing that I have been learning in life the last few days and weeks… is that I am not defined by my past. Mistakes I have made, sins I have committed, people I have thought bad of… God has forgiven all of it! My past does not define who I am today. God does. One of my good friends shared a verse with me yesterday…

Romans 8:15 ~ “For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”

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