Snowmageddon 2009

It has finally come. I am once again a citizen of Campbellsville. Keith and I loaded up the truck on Monday and I shipped out that night. I was planning on staying one more night to just kind of soak it up, but there was apparently going to be a snow/ice storm in Kentucky around midnight. I have always been skeptical of weathermen's predictions, but I headed out anyways. As soon as I rolled into the driveway, the heavens opened up. To make a long story short, Kentucky has been under a state of emergency for the last few days. Power outages were widespread, families had to leave their homes to go to shelters, roads were covered, and cell towers got knocked down, leaving alot of people without phone service. Luckily, Campbellsville didn't get the worst of it, but it was still pretty bad. So leaving early was the right call.

I am not the kind of guy who can go to sleep knowing there is work to be done. So, at 11:15 Monday night, I started unloading the truck. Yep, the whole thing that night. I put most of it in the garage to start, and spent much of Tuesday organizing and sorting. The highlight of Tuesday was hooking up my LCD TV in the living room for my dad. He can't get up and down the steps very well anymore, so the living room is his place now. By Tuesday afternoon everything was done, including rearranging the downstairs, my bedroom upstairs, and putting everything away.

That night it hit me-I HAVE NOTHING ELSE TO DO IN CAMPBELLSVILLE!!!! I pretty much did everything there is to do in one day. I am hoping that future posts are filled with new and exciting things, but from being in this city before, I know that may not happen. I'm crossing my fingers though......and missing Chattanooga....

Cause I'm Leaving, On A.......Uhaul. I Don't Know When I'll Be Back Again.....

Well it is time for me to head back to Campbellsville. I will be leaving on Tuesday morning. Since most of my blog friends posted their Favorites of 2008 posts and I didnt, I decided that I will post my favorite Chattanooga things. To clarify, it is my favorite things or pictures that have happened since I moved here. Some won't be Chattanooga related, but happened over the past few months while I was here. So here we go(in chronological order):


1.Wedding season
You probably cant tell, but on the right are the Geyers. They got married the day after I moved to town. And on the right are the Wellmans. Ross was my roommate and friend since high school. The only problem was that they got married on the same day, and since David proposed first, and the wedding was in Chatty, I decided to go to the Geyer's wedding and miss Ross' Bowling Green wedding.

2.Calvary Chapel/New Building
I was really praying for a church to get involved with in Chattanooga, and God answered in a big way. I fell in love with Calvary Chapel and the staff. This picture is actually from the first service at the new building. If you look closely, I am sitting in the next to last row. The third person in the row wearing the red shirt is Joe Brunk, then me, Kasey, Megan Stephens, Deb Jones, and David Nigh.

3. Good People

And most of the people who read my blog are the good people that I got to spend time with here. So if you are reading this, you are one of these people, so... nuff said.

4. Da Gators!!!

Come on, you knew I couldn't go through this blog without giving a shout-out to my boys from Gainesville. And 2 of our big 3 will be coming back, so next year is looking great as well. And this picture may be my new favorite. Sure, the gimmick was stolen from Lebron's Nike campaign, but I still like it.




Well, I think that will close out my time in Chattanooga. I have loved it and can't wait to come back for good.

Tagged(I think I'm obligated to do this)....

So Kristin tagged me in this little picture thing. I was going to skip it, but I decided to after seeing the picture. You have to go into your photo albums and post the 4th photo from the 4th album. And here we go:

This was taken at the 2007 AOPI Rose Formal. On the left is Victoria Sansom, my date, and on the right is Lori Morel, Joe Brunk's date. It was definitely a fun and exhausting day. Kasey had already asked Ben to go, but Victoria and Lori wanted to do something fun to ask Joe and me. Lori actually made a little scavenger hunt, leading Joe all around Bowling Green. At the end, she had a big plate of bacon (Joe is a big bacon fan) and she asked him to formal. And Victoria rewrote the lyrics to the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air rap, and asked me in the song (Lori laid the beat). And the formal was alot of fun. We were about the only ones there not hammered, so we had our own fun. I ran a half marathon that morning and was exhausted, but still got down with it. The girls were alot of fun, and anytime you get Ben, Joe, and me together on a dance floor, it is pretty awesome. Definitely a highlight of that semester.

P.S. I think most of my blog friends were already tagged, so I guess I get to skip that part.
P.S.S. Refer to my last post about 24. After 24 aired that night, I realized that I had missed my calling as a prophet.Well, only a prophet when it comes to 24. And no, I did not cheat. I just had more faith in the "bad guy."

Thoughts on 24, the new "bad" guy, and the Gators

OK, I have been waiting anxiously for last night. It has been a year and a half since 24 was last on. Because of the writer's strike, it didn't come on at all last year. And that was a little rough, because season 6 ended on probably the worst note that it could have. I started watching 24 almost 2 1/2 years ago, when I lived in the 502. Ben and I hadn't seen 24, and Jochim was a big fan, and everyone we knew was a big fan, so we gave in. We watched the first 5 seasons in a short amount of time, and you can look at our grades that semester to see that we spent too much time watching 24. Ben even bought a Jack bag, and I just walked through life assuming that at least one of my closest friends had to be a spy for Japanese terrorists (I would have guessed Ross).
*Attention!!!!! Stop reading immediately if you are not caught up to the current season of 24!!!! I'm talking to you Sarah Guin!!!!!*















So the new bad guy on 24 is apparently Tony Almeida. I refuse to believe this. Ben and I hold Tony as one of our favorite tv characters of all time. His "death" in season 5 was tough, but I was always skeptical. And now he is supposedly back as a terrorist loyalist. My bold season 7 prediction: Tony is working as a double agent. His death was faked in order to protect him and those close to him(that were still alive). I believe that Bill Buchanon knew he was still alive, and used him to get a man on the inside of a terrorist plot. I also think that Aaron Pierce, David Palmer's former secret service agent, is involved somehow. I know that Aaron is coming back because Glenn Morshower, the guy who plays Aaron, was in a movie that Jeremy worked on and they talked about it and how he has a big role this season. So Tony is good. I mean come on, he got caught in hour 2. That shouldn't happen.


Thursday night wasn't bad either. The Gators came through in a big way and won the BCS title. That's my man Brandon Spikes holding up the crystal ball. I know that it is rare to have your favorite team pull through and win it all, so I'm enjoying the victory. The Braves haven't won it all since 95 and haven't been good the last few season. The Packers haven't won it all since the 90's, and are usually up and down. But Florida has come through. I have got to enjoy 4 national titles( two football and two basketball) in 3 years. That is unheard of, so I will enjoy it for now. Oh, by the way, Tim Tebow is coming back. He is probably my favorite athlete ever, so having him for one more year is exciting.

A Good Night's Sleep

So I have had alot of sleepless nights lately. Now that it is a certainty that I will be heading back to Campbellsville, I knew that things were going to change quickly. And I have loved being in Chatty. It seemed like the second I moved in I was already plugged in. And the more and more I got plugged in at Calvary, the more and more I fell in love with the church and the area. The youth there, and the way it is run, is amazing. I went to youth group one night, mainly to observe, and connected with two kids immediately, and have gotten pretty close with one of them. So the idea of moving now was not seen as a good thing.

And it's not that I think it's the wrong decision, because I know it's right. I know that you just don't end up somewhere. God divinely places people in certain areas, and He works everything out for the good of Him. But I realized why I hadn't slept much-my prayer life. I have been praying so much lately. But one of my greatest weaknesses is that I often times try to look eye-to-eye with God. Being a regular church goer for almost 9 years now, I know all the cute phrases. And I know stories, and some theology. So when I have been praying, it has almost been a formula. I know what to say, I know what the Bible says, I know what will please God. Except I didnt know what would please God, and it certainly wasn't my prayers. I was trying to put myself on level with God, by thinking that I knew everything that needed to be known. I failed to realize that the prayers that are powerful are the ones where we realize that God is the maker of the universe, and while we pray, that we are actually in His presence, on our face before Him. I was praying standing upright. Not physically, but in spirit.

So on Tuesday the guys came over for a little Bible study hang out time. Having a core group of guys has been huge for me since being down here. Nothing earth moving or mountain shaking was said, but that night, I prayed, truly prayed, and felt right to sleep. The first good night of sleep in over a week.

God can move people, and He doesn't need us to realize how big he is for it to be real. I am so small when it comes to a prayer life. I realize that praying before and after your Bible reading, or before meals, or bed, or Bible study doesn't mean you have an active prayer life. The active prayer life is constant. It's in the car. It's walking downtown. It's while watching tv. God is constant and always near, so a set schedule of prayer undermines the fact that He is there even when we don't realize it. It's when I fully realize this that my sleepless nights will end, and my burdens will really be laid before Him.

So there you go, a whole lot of rambling from a guy who needs to listen to his own words.

One last thought-8 pm. Fox. Find a good spot. Go Gators!!!

At a Crossroads/Campbellsville AGAIN????

Sorry that it has been so long since I updated. I didn't really touch a computer over the Christmas break(except to watch season 3 of Friday Night Lights online), so now is really the first time that I get a chance. And there are some big things that may happen soon, but first, my musings about the holidays.

Ralphie's Gun

So I will admit that I am a big fan of Christmas Story, the move about Ralphie and his gun and bullies and all. I normally watch it a few times, but this year I spent most of my tv watching with Brent as he watched season 1 of Friday Night Lights(my 3rd time going through it). Thus, this year, I didn't really watch A Christmas Story. But I did catch the ending. I turned it on just as Ralphie came downstairs in his bunny suit. So basically, right when he was getting his gun through the traditional oriental dinner.

It made me think of the way I usually see Christmas. I celebrate the true meaning of Christmas, with Christ's birth, God in flesh, redemption for sin, all of that. But generally, I don't think about the lead-up to His birth. But there was a long period of anticipation for this baby. The trinity is alluded to early in Genesis, so we know that this was planned for awhile. And the book of Isaiah is filled with prophecy of His birth. But I usually skip all of that and get right down to the birth. But this year was a little different. I love to listen to Andrew Peterson's Behold the Lamb of God cd, and it is basically a chronological story of Moses through Christ's resurrection. And it just helps to show a thick-headed guy like me that this birth just didnt happen, it wasnt just a miracle birth in a remote place a long time ago. But it was prayed for, and wept over, and many people were even put to death in a feeble attempt to stop His life (think Herod). So what I am saying is that this Christmas was pretty great, and we have a great God.

Big Changes

So now to what is going on with me. There is a very real possibility that I will have to move back to Campbellsville. Without going into much detail, money is tight, and school is important. I absolutely love Chattanooga and want to spend the rest of my life here, but I have to make sure that I can do it the right way. It is becoming obvious that I can't finish my degree while I am here, because there is no room to save for classes. I am in a position where I can leave without too much of a problem (ie no wife, a lease I can get out of, etc.) All of this is to say that prayer is needed. I have been open-minded about moving back and have been praying alot lately. But there have been alot of sleepless nights over the past week. I think I have seen 4 am on my bedroom clock more this past week that in my entire life. I have great friends here and a church that I love and I work for and with some great guys, but I have to do what is right. And that change could come sooner rather than later.