If there was one profession I could go into, if I never had to worry about money for raising and supporting my own family someday, I would choose photography. I just got back from a walk on some of the bluff trails behind Carter… and yes, I did loop around and stop by Jackson Pond. The combination of a beautiful day and a small amount of stress was enough for me to grab my camera and head down there. Being able to spend time and just take pictures is such a stress reliever for me. And being midway through spring semester, classes are definitely starting to pick up the pase. But yeah – i’m not going to write a lot… i’m a really visual person and letting pictures tell the story does a lot more for me than trying to explain it in words. So here they are…

Four more days until spring break… five more days until my sister gets married. What ever happened to those days when we all hung out and acted crazy? Whatever happened to the days when we would go buy a gallon of ice cream and three spoons and just go at it? What happened to the days when Jules would yell at me from downstairs and tell me to do my piano practice? What happened to the days when we chased after Skittles, her pet hamster, when it got loose? What happened to the days when we all rode the jet skiis at Smith Mountain Lake? Time flies by… and in less than a week, my sister won’t be Miss Codington anymore…

Me and Julie a couple of weeks ago… one of the last times we hung out as just brother and sister. Next time, it’ll be Mrs. Muckerman and Philip… it’s funny how time flies by and people change.

I never thought I would feel quite like a kid again when I came to Covenant. My goals and responsibilites were focused on getting an education in which I could someday find a career and provide for my family. My priorities shifted upwards a few notches as I began to focus primarily on what I came here to do.

But Friday night definitely assured in my mind that whether you’re a middle school kid or a high school kid or a college kid… you’re still a kid. :)

This past week was a really busy and long week. Due dates are starting to come up again, and the real papers of the semester are beginning to show themselves and become slightly more of a reality. I have a philosophy paper for Dr. Davis due this coming Wednesday, not to mention New Testament, CHOW, and PE papers coming up soon too. All in all, it’s been a busy week. Click to continue »

One of my friends sent this picture to me of when I played piano a couple weeks ago. More than anything, I just thought it was a really artistic picture…and being the photography fanatic that I am, I thought I would share it with you.

I miss the days when I practiced an hour every day, and I could actually pick up a piece of music and play it. I’ve lost a lot of that… I guess some things just get pushed to the side when your priorities lie in school and studying – not that that’s a bad thing. :) Just a thought.. 

One thing I have never understood is destructive criticism. We all know what it is and what it’s like to have it dealt to us. Why do people find benefit in criticizing without offering a solution to a problem or what they think is something that needs to be changed?

The dictionary defines criticism as “the act of passing judgment as to the merits of anything.” I can understand having criticism for something. I don’t agree with everything everyone ever does. Do you? There will always be people who disagree with you or who you disagree with. People will have differing opinions or beliefs or values about things in life.

But does that give me the grounds to tear them down? If I disagree with someone, does that give me the right or authority to judge them, tear them down, and give them flack for it? No. It doesn’t. Click to continue »

Tonight was awesome… or should I say, last night was awesome! :)

The Diversity Group at Covenant went bowling down in Chattanooga. I wasn’t going to go at first – I was going to head down to Greyfriars and do some studying. But after talking to my RA who is also part of the Diversity Group at Covenant, I decided to head down there… it would be an awesome opportunity to branch out and meet some new faces.

All I can say is that it was a blessing. If you don’t know what I’m talking about when I say the “Diversity Group,” let me explain… The Diversity group at Covenant basically just consists of the majority of missionary kids, international students, and people with different ethnic backgrounds on campus. It was really awesome meeting more of them tonight because I share so much in common with them… having lived overseas for 13 years of my life as a missionary kid, I can identify with a lot of the same things they think and understand (they’ve all grown up in cultures outside of America). It’s awesome too because it’s such a diverse group of people… kind of ironic for the “Diversity Group,” right? But seriously. There are so many different “kinds” of people there with different personalities and different backgrounds. It was awesome to just have the opportunity to branch out and meet some of the faces that I see on campus but don’t actually know. You know what I mean?

Good times… not to mention it was such a beautiful day today on Lookout. Thank you, God.

Have you ever struggled with your self-esteem? Have you ever had that nagging feeling in you that just kind of tells you that you’re worthless and that you don’t really mean anything to anyone?

I have… I always worried about what people thought of me. I would try to change who I was and the things that I believed to make “friends.” Why? I fell into believing the lie that I wasn’t good enough… and that I had something to prove to everyone. I worried about my reputation…

I first went to see a counselor probably about a month before the end of last semester. I shared with him my struggles… and how self-worth is something that I struggle with. I don’t remember everything he told me, but one thing that I did remember and will never forget is what he challenged me with… Click to continue »

What do you tell your brother when he begins to doubt the existence of God? What do you tell them when they see no reason to believe in the infallibility and truth of the Bible? How do we know that the Bible is God’s Word… or that the God of the Bible is the same as the God or Creator that made the universe? Any thoughts?

We’ve been studying the existence of God in Philosophy the last few weeks. Dr. Davis has been going over the great philosophers Anselm, Hume, Thomas Acquinas, and others… and we’ve been studying, arguing, and debating the existence of God. I was enlightened. I have always known or believed there to be a God, but when questioned as to how I knew, I never had a clear cut answer other than by just examining the incredible design of creation – there had to be a Creator or Designer, right? Click to continue »

So it’s totally Monday afternoon right now, and I am totally going to write about what I did on Saturday night… because it’s Monday, and all I have done that is noteworthy is go to my usually classes.

But Saturday night? Now, that’s a different story… read on, my friends.

It all starts back about a week or two ago. It was any ordinary day in which I was heading to the mail room to check my mail. I opened up my box and pulled out a letter addressed to me. I knew it wasn’t personal – first off, they mispelled my name, and second, it was printed. I mean, come on? Who prints you a letter? Click to continue »

Thank you, God, that’s its Friday… and I can have the chance to enjoy a beautiful weekend! It’s beautiful up on the mountain right now. The sun is starting to set, and all the trees are that bright orangish/yellow color. You know what I mean? It’s amazing. I went for a run a little while ago, after my New Testament class got out (actually, I cleaned our room and bathroom … THEN went for a run. But who’s counting?).

It was so refreshing. I usually don’t like to run. I have never really had very good knees, so if I run a lot they start to ache and are kind of painful. But it was amazing today… I went on the loop that I usually run on – down past the gym, past Scotland Yard, and down the trail that runs behind the apartments. The trail runs through the woods for a while, and then comes out to an opening and one of the many bluffs on Lookout Mountain. I stopped for a breather and just stood on the edge of the cliff overlooking one of Tennessee’s many valleys. I love that place… then I picked up the trail again into the woods. It ran around for a while, and then came up alongside Jackson Pond (now you know why I love that loop so much). Click to continue »