Weekly Prayer Requests

Hello all and Happy Sunday! Yes it's Sunday already... this week went by so fast! But now it is time for more prayer requests so here we go.

• Finals are coming up next week (I have this week of classes and then finals the following week) and I am really starting to stress out. Please pray that I will be able to focus and study in order to do well on my finals and actually pass my classes.
• In my KIN 305 History and Philosophy of Sport class we are all separated into groups in which we have to write a research paper on some part of sport (either historically or philosophically). I am the un-official group leader so I am compiling all of the group member's information into one paper. Please pray that I will have patience with my group members and that I will be able to finish this paper with as little stress as possible.
• Please pray that I will remain healthy; at least until the semester is over.

I think that is about it. Mainly finals are my number one concern right now. Thanks for all of your prayers and have a great week everyone.

Mid-Week Crisis

Well... it's been a while since my last post. Everything just gets so busy when it comes time for finals. So this week has not been that great and I will tell you why. Monday was fine... nothing outstanding to report. Tuesday started out with some bad news. Every semester I have to go see my academic adviser and every other semester I have to see an adviser in the athletic training department. So Tuesday morning I went to see Dr. Shane Stecyk, the adviser for the athletic training department. He told me that I was supposed to be applying for the athletic training program this spring, but there were about 14 units of really tough classes that I had to take in order to apply. I had already found out that I needed around 12 units to finish my undergraduate work, but he said I needed these additional 14 in order to apply. He said it was up to me whether I wanted to charge it out or not. I could have taken a couple of these classes over winter break (ew that would suck), finish the rest in the spring semester, and still apply for the program which, if accepted, would start that summer'07 and run through fall '07, spring '08, summer '08, fall '08, and finally finish up spring '09. Because I would rather enjoy my sanity I opted out of this suicidal schedule. Unfortunately this means my graduation will be postponed a year which really sucks, but I gotta learn to deal with it.

Wednesday was alright. Alia was sick so she was hanging out at home while I watched Dalton. It's always a little awkward when Alia stays home. I always feel like she's watching me and I can never get anything done (even when he is napping). So Wednesday was unproductive. Thursday was not fun. I woke up feeling gross (I had a terrible headache and my throat was hurting). I pumped every medicine known to man into my system to try and feel better. But I had to go to school because I had to give a speech. Once I gave my speech I drove home and went to bed for the rest of the night (I got home at about noon and slept the rest of the day). Friday I was feeling better (must have been all that Sudafed, Zicam, Excedrin, NyQuil, and ibuprofen I took the day before). I went to work and Alia was still sick (poor thing, I should have told her about my medicine combo... it seemed to work for me). That night I got to hang out with my good friends Sage and Aspen. We had a little Little Mermaid party which was probably the highlight of my week.

Now it's the weekend and here I am avoiding my paper like the plague. I started it, but I can't seem to get into it like I need to. I work better under pressure anyway.

Weekly Prayer Requests

Another week has come and gone and now it's time for new prayer requests. So lets get right into them.

• The semester is almost over (two weeks and then finals) and I am majorly stressing about all the things I have to get done. Please pray that I can manage my stress levels and get everything done. Also pray that I will do well on my finals and that I will pass all of my classes.
• My parents have been supper stressed lately about money and the holidays which is making me stressed about money and the holidays. Pray that everything will work out as it should and that we won't be stressed out anymore.
• Please pray for Sarah as she is applying for colleges. She already applied to a few but she still has a couple more due. Pray that she will get into the colleges that she is supposed to get into.
• Please pray for Janae during the soccer season. She is trying her best to get everything done on time (school, practice, games, health stuff...) but has been getting kinda stressed. Please pray that she will be able to relax and get it all done.

I believe that is all for this week. A lot of stress has been loading up so that's basically all I can think of right now. Have a great week everyone.

Tuesday Con't

It's funny, it's only Thursday, but every Thursday when I get home from school I completely relax because it feels like my week is over. Granted I still have work tomorrow so my week isn't technically over, you get the picture. So I told you about my funny morning on Tuesday in my last post, but I haven't had a chance to tell you about the rest of my day. My first class, like you read was canceled, so I went to my second class, Public Speaking, a little (maybe like two hours) early. In my speech class we got our speeches back from before break and I did much better then I expected (like a 150/150 on the outline and 150/150 on the actual speech). On the back of my speech grading sheet my professor asked if I would be interested in joining the speech team. Me? The speech team? I already think I'm a bit of a nerd, but how much more of a nerd would I be if I joined the speech team? Needless to say I am actually considering joining the team. I figure it's a nice way to socialize and meet people.

Next I went to my Anatomy class which was somewhat normal (surprising with a professor who looks like Super Mario). My forth and last class of the day, History and Philosophy of Sport, is in the same room as my Anatomy class. So I waited as the rest of the people in the class poured in. Doug, the professor of the class, is kinda a loon. He is not shaving until he gets his PhD (and I thought Ryan's facial hair was gross); he is recently divorced (he can't be older then 35 but I really don't know cause the beard is so nasty); he believes that the answer to all life's problems lies within the sport of Ultimate Frisbee.. like I said, he's a little off his rocker. So he showed up to class late (like always), he sits of the back of the chair, and then stares at us for the first five minutes of class. We start to talk about something completely random that he thinks pertains to our topic, then all of a sudden the fire alarm went off in the entire Kinesiology building. We all had to evacuate the building and wait outside in the freezing cold wind. Now there were ups and downs to this whole thing. The up was we got out of 30 minutes of class. The downs were 1) we were out in the cold for 30 minutes and 2) the Kinesiology building is connected to the adapted aquatics therapy center that was doing water aerobics when the alarm went off; so all of the old people had to get out of the pool and come outside in the freezing cold. It was super sad, but they seemed to be doing alright. We finally got the all clear from the campus police and we went back into class. We sat there for maybe 2 minutes when the alarm went off again! Doug just said to forget about class for the day so not only did I get out of my morning class, I got out of my afternoon class!

Yes so that was my exciting day this week. Nothing else going on. I may go see a movie this weekend (give me a call Amber), but that's about it. Have a good weekend everyone.

It Is Well

Today is Tuesday and as most of you know I go to school on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Well today I drove down to Northridge, arrived at my normal 7 am, ate my bagel and drank my coffee, and then walked up to my first class (Sign Language). So I was sitting in the class for a little while talking to the girl that I sit next to (she's the smart kid in the class who already knows Sign Language; she's super annoying, but a great help when I don't know what's going on), I suddenly realize that it's 7:35 (our class starts at 7:30 in case you were wondering why I get to school so stinking early). So we sit and wait... and wait... and wait until about 7:45. You're technically allowed to leave if the professor is more then 15 minutes late, but since we had no were to go at 7:45 in the morning we decided the responsible thing to do was to text message him (he's deaf so since we can't call him, we text him) and see if he is on his way. I was elected the texter 1) because no one else wanted to and 2) because I was the only one who wrote his Sidekick number down. So I asked him if he was in traffic and if he was on his way. He texted me back saying that class was canceled and he had emailed everyone that morning. Ok, I wake up at 5:30 am and leave my house at 5:45; there is no way that I have time to check my email before I leave! To say the least I was kinda pissed off that class was canceled (I could have been sleeping in my warm car instead of sitting in a cold classroom). I wandered around for a few minutes wondering what I should do with myself; my next class wasn't until 9:30 and with my huge mug of caffeine running through me there was no way I was gonna get any sleep. I couldn't believe he didn't let us know sooner. But then I remembered a song that had played on my ipod on my drive here. It was the old Hymn It Is Well With My Soul. The lyrics go:

"When peace, like a river, attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll; Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say, It is well, it is well, with my soul. It is well, with my soul, It is well, with my soul, It is well, it is well, with my soul."

Now, granted a class being canceled is hardly "sorrows like sea billows rolling," I was still some what comforted by this song. I realized that a class being canceled is hardly the end of the world and I should be angry about it, but rather thankful that I get to take a break (and write a new post on my blog). Right now I can truly say that "It is well with my soul."

Weekly Prayer Requests

I can't believe it's another week already. This week off went by so fast, but I am glad I get to get back into things. I can't handle sitting around doing nothing all day. It drives me nuts. So if you have been reading, you know a lot went on this week; from not being able to go to Australia, to my uncle dying... it's been a full week to say the least. Thank you for all of your prayers over the last few weeks. I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving and is recovering from there day of binging. But another week is upon us which means I have another set of prayer requests:

• Please pray for my family tomorrow. My great-uncle Roy's funeral is tomorrow (I will not be attending because I have to work). Please pray that everyone will get the closure that they need.
• Please continue to pray for Dalton and his acid reflux medicine. I only watched him on Monday last week and he was doing really well; not throwing up that much at all. Please pray that the medicine will continue to work and that he will be able to keep his formula down.
• Please pray for continued patience for me as I look for a new car (and by new I mean used cause I can't afford a new car). I haven't really been looking very hard because the Burb is just so much fun to drive (I hope you know that was sarcasm). Please just pray that I will find the car that is right for me.
• Please pray for my last month of school (for this semester anyway). Pray that I will remain focused (Focus! Happiness! that's for you Ryan) during this last month and that I am able to pass all of my classes.I did really well on my Anatomy test from a few weeks ago and I will find out about the other one on Tuesday (seeing how my professor has been in Australia the last couple of weeks for the Ultimate World Championships he hasn't really had time to grade our tests... he's crazy i dunno).

I believe that is all for this week. Again thank you for all of your prayers. Have a great week everyone!

Fun With YouTube

In honor of the new Wii, I thought I would dig up an old YouTube favorite. Enjoy the wonderful soundings of the old-school Nintendo!

Pitures Of The Bob

Since I forgot that a few of the people who actually read this blog don't live in Ojai (hi Katie), I took some pictures of my new haircut. Enjoy!

Hairs to You Chad!!!

If you got to the end of my last post, you would see that I had asked you all to pray for me and my hair today. Like I said, my friend Chad is a student at Vidal Sassoon Academy in Santa Monica. Every so often he needs a model's hair to cut and this week I was that lucky customer. To say the least I was nervi heading down there seeing how my Mom is the only person who has ever touched my hair (well one other person and she made me look like a boy). I had to take PCH down to Santa Monica, but as I was driving all my fears about my haircut went away (I forget how beautiful Malibu is and how much I love driving the PCH). To say the least my hair turned out amazing and I absolutely love it! All those fears were for nothing so hairs to you Chad!! Thanks a lot!

It's Out Of My Hands

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope everyone enjoyed their turkeys (the birds I mean), hams, mass amounts of food, and time with the family. I know mine could have been better. I guess I just have been frustrated lately with not a lot of things going the way I planned them. For example, Australia, my uncle's passing, and more recently a change in tradition. It's a tradition with my immediate family (my parents and sisters) to go see a movie on Thanksgiving day. It's almost the only movie I see all year. We had been planning to go see Bobby for the last few weeks, but, as I have been finding out lately, plans change. We got a call around 9:30 this morning from my cousin Candice (she was hosting Dinner at her house this year) who was already panicking about not finishing everything in time. She asked us to come over and help her and of course we did. But instead of being happy about being able to help my cousin, I was pissed off that I didn't get to go to the movies (pretty selfish, huh?).

Like I said in my post from a week ago, I have been reading a book called "Buck-Naked Faith: A Brutally Honest Look at Stunted Christianity" by Eric Sandras PhD. I don't really like it that much, but the last chapter talked a lot about being a part of God's story rather then making Him a part of your own. This is something I have really been praying about lately because I often find myself trying to fit God into my own story rather then conforming my own life to be a part of His. Today sort of sent me over the edge emotionally and I just started to cry (basically just being overwhelmed, and not really having anyone to talk to about it). But crying was good because it helped me focus on what I needed to do, and that was to allow myself to be a part of God's story. As I was listening to my ipod today and I came across a song that I haven't listened to in awhile. The song is by Matthew West (his Happy CD)and it really made me think about being a part of God's story and it kind of explained how I have been feeling the last couple of weeks:

"There you go changing my plans again; There you go shifting my sands again; For reasons I don't understand again; Lately I don't have a clue; Just when I start liking what I see; There you go changing my scenery; I never know where you're taking me; But I'm trying just to follow you; It's out of my hands; It's out of my reach; It's over my head; And it's out of my league; There's too many things that I don't understand; So it's into your will, And it's out of my hands; There you go healing these scars again; Showing me right where you are again; I'm helpless, and that's where I start again; I'm giving it all up to you; It's out of my hands; It's out of my reach; It's over my head; And it's out of my league; There's too many things that I don't understand; So it's into your will, And it's out of my hands; Move me, make me, Choose me, change me, Send me, shake me, Find me, remind me, The past is behind me; Take it all away; Take it all from me, I pray; It's out of my hands; It's out of my reach; It's over my head; And it's out of my league; There's too many things that I don't understand; So it's into your will, And it's out of my hands"

This song helped me remember that it's all out of my hands and that God is in control of it all. His story is much more important then my own and I would rather be a part of His story. It's not easy, but I'm trying.

(BTW: Please pray for me tomorrow. My friend Chad is a student at Vidal Sassoon Academy in Santa Monica and he asked me to model for him and I agreed to it. One other person has touched my hair besides my Mom and she totally screwed it up so to say the very least I am way nervi. Please pray for my hair (that sounds so lame). I know it's just hair and he wouldn't do anything I wasn't comfortable with, but I am still way nervi!)