Blind luck gets scissor kicked in the back of the head.

I must confess, I have been remiss in writing about one of my absolute favorite topics in the history of everything: The Ohio State University Buckeyes. The Scarlet and Gray. The Champions of the Big Ten. The Place Where Legends Are Made. 

Last night we played our enemies from the North again in basketball. We had previously beat the snot out of them at their place, despite the fact that they somehow knocked off both Duke and UCLA earlier this season. I mean there's the whole "even a blind squirrel finds a nut sometimes", but really given the state of the Wolverine athletic department lately, the more apt description would be: "Even a blind squirrel that's missing 1 1/2 ears, both front teeth, it's back left leg and front right leg, most of its hair, and has a birth defect for a tail finds a nut sometimes that is made out of pure gold. This nut is also the size of a H3 and accordingly is worth more than most third world countries. The defective squirrel somehow then develops a brain large enough to process the fact that it could make a ton of money on this nut, then takes the nut to market where he not only manages to defend it against many clever thieves of Matt Damon's character in Ocean's Eleven's caliber, he makes enough money to never have to work again. Then this squirrel takes the money and buys the Cleveland Browns (or Cincinnati Bengals, calm down brownies), the Kansas City Royals, the Columbus Blue Jackets, and the Memphis Grizzlies and then all of them win their championships in the same year. Then I run this squirrel over on my way to the Ohio State game vs. M*ch*g*n last night."

Ok, so that may have been long and too drawn out, but I never spare any expense when it comes to illustrating a point. So that's how they somehow beat those teams. However last night, we kicked them in the teeth and said, screw your blind squirrel I think he's dumb. The winter storm crap that has held Columbus hostage allowed for a bunch of students to go to the game for free however, and this made the crowd about as hostile as it will ever get in our crappy NBA/NHL arena. While it wasn't exactly loud, because we expect to beat those arrogant jerks from up north in everything we do now (which may or may not make us now the arrogant jerks), it certainly was fun to watch scUM struggle immensely in the first half. Let's just review it like this: 0-11 from outside the arc, 0-for the field until 10 minutes had passed in the game with them scoring off of a goaltending call and 2 made free throws, and more turnovers than can be counted. At the half we lead 36-18 and never looked back, with the winning margin being the same. Oh yeah, and one of their players got thrown out for elbowing PJ Hill in the face late in the game, making M*ch*g*n that much more hatable! They really are scUM...

Also, since we scored over 70 points for the game they gave out coupons for free fries from McDonald's. Bonus! So technically we got paid to go to the game, since we all got in for free. I ended up with 4 coupons and another win of scUM. A night that couldn't get better. 

It's 5:28 and M*ch*g*n still sucks! Pwned. Hah.

Tonight, and for the next two days I'm going to be at a track coaching clinic with college coaches from all over the US here in Columbus. I'm giddy. Seriously. I'm such a track junkie at this point that it isn't even funny. I'm sure I'll have some interesting things to write about, so stay tuned for some stories. 

Spreading the love.

So along with much of the rest of the nation after his ESPNU appearance, I have discovered the wonderfulness of the thoughts of Mark Titus. You may ask why this is relevant...well I love the Ohio State Buckeyes, right? We all know this. Well Mark is a walk-on on our beloved Buckeye basketball team, coached by the incredible Thad Matta. 

And actually the statement starting this entry is incorrect, I knew about this before the ESPNU appearance...

Anyways, Mark has a blog that has started to gain an incredible amount of followers amongst the internet community, because his point of view and style of writing is unique and interesting. He talks about pranks pulled on teammates, random thoughts that occur during the course of a game while he is sitting at the end of the bench. He's pretty darn funny, and probably a more entertaining read than anything you'll ever find on my blog. My friend Jaclyn already wants to marry this guy, and may need to have a restraining order against her because within one day of me telling her about his blog she read ALL OF IT! It took her like four hours. Seriously. 

The guy's good though, at blogging. In Pierce's words: winner winner chicken dinner. 

www.clubtrillion.blogspot.com

Wisdom of G.

Another thought from the weekend that has been oh so prevalent in my mind lately, is this one from the incredible Steve Gardner. On a side note, the introduction of Steve by Rick Scherr was one for the ages and one of the caliber that anyone and everyone would dream of. It was potentially though one of the most impossible to follow up as a speaker ever. Rick said that Steve had become known as the voice of truth within the mission of Young Life. Wow, I mean I believe it from knowing Steve for the last 8 years, but seriously? Across the mission? That's nuts.

Back to your regularly scheduled programming...

The thought that Steve brought to our attention was from the very beginning of the weekend and from the very beginning of his first talk. In fact, there's a a good chance that it wasn't even one that was very important to his talk and I know it definitely was not a main point that he built the talk around. However, it stuck out to me personally for reasons that I'm still wading through. Anyways, that thought was...

"Contrary to the world's view of maturity, becoming mature in Christ is not a process of becoming more independent but rather a process of becoming more dependent upon Christ."

How crazy is that and how contrary to the world is that? The truth there will blow your mind, and the accompanying thoughts will probably make your nose start bleeding. Think about it this way: when you talk to someone who is much older than yourself in Christ, that has been following Christ and seeking God's will for their life for a long time, this telling maturity factor really is quite evident, much more so than you would think. They depend upon God for everything: life, breath, money, food, love, grace guidance, everything. It's incredible and beautiful. This is where true freedom comes in, the freedom in Christ that we love to talk about and yet so often fail to grasp. Freedom doesn't come from being independent and making our own choices to follow our earthly desires, it comes from becoming completely and utterly dependent upon the Lord and following His desires for our life, the life that is actually His. 

In the morning...

Amazing weekend. Incredible. Wonderful. Christ.

This will be the first of many thoughts on this weekend as I continue to digest everything that I took notes on, experienced, talked about, and reveled in from Deer Creek @ Great Wolf. I want to start with a song first, that if you have ever listened to it know it's power. If you haven't, I suggest that you download it immediately...

"Give Me Jesus" ~ Jeremy Camp

In the morning, when I rise

In the morning, when I rise

In the morning, when I rise

Give me Jesus.

Give me Jesus, 

Give me Jesus.

You can have all this world,

Just give me Jesus.

When I am alone,

When I am alone,

When I am alone,

Give me Jesus.

Give me Jesus,

Give me Jesus.

You can have all this world,

Just give me Jesus.

When I come to die,

When I come to die,

When I come to die,

Give me Jesus.

Give me Jesus,

Give me Jesus.

You can have all this world,

Just give me Jesus.

Give me Jesus,

Give me Jesus,

Give me Jesus.

You can have all this world,

You can have all this world,

You can have all this world,

Just give me Jesus.

What a beautiful, wonderful song. A song of praise to the holy God who created us, loves us, sacrificed His son for us, and will be with us 'til the end.

The thought that has captivated my mind all of today and most of yesterday, was one made by Rick Scherr, area director of Northern Kentucky. In his seminar on lordship, he spoke about knowing the gospel story and how truly important that is. We must know and it intimately familiar with all of it, not just the 'nice' parts of it. However, taking it a step further, he talked about a concept that he refers to as: "last thought, first thought". What he means by this, is that you should make sure that the last thought that you think before falling asleep at night is focused on the gospel story. Then, when you wake up in the morning, not only do you make sure that you are thinking about the gospel story, but you read and re-familiarize yourself with the gospel story again to start your day.

Already this has significantly increased Christ's lordship in my life. I highly suggest giving it a try.

That's wassup.

Alright party people, we've got a plethora of things to go over in this wonderful post. I'm almost as excited to write it as I am for you to read it! Hope you're ready...

1.) So I'm sitting at my favorite Caribou, here in wonderful and cozy Grandview with two of my very good friends Tiara and Dusty. Some of you may know these kind souls. Well currently Dusty is attempting to teach Tiara how to play Chess. A fascinating game of strategy and seemingly unpredictable outcomes but almost always resulting in a loss for me when I am playing. However when the pre-lim lesson seemed over, I asked Dusty as to whether or not Tiara was ready. She laughed; he responded with one of the greatest lines ever: "It doesn't matter if it's Albert Einstein teaching, if he's teaching Helen Keller. That's wassup." 

Fact.

2.) This weekend we have Deer Creek at Great Wolf Lodge Weekend. With our new elongated title I feel like we should be sponsored by some company. Like my favorite bowl game of the year, the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl. Deer-Creek-at-Great-Wolf-Lodge-Young-Life-Buckeye-Region-Leader-Weekend-Sponsored-by-Temperpedic-Matresses-and-PokerAllStars.net. Yeah, that sounds good. 

Either way, it's always a fantastic weekend of worship, amazing teaching (by none other than world the world famous Steve Gardner, who I'm pretty sure I'm gonna see on the next "G" commercial, whatever the crap that is, although can we also talk about how amazing of a marketing campaign it is? I can't wait to see what they are talking about!) and there is also of course the incredible fellowship and catching up with friends from other places. (including a significant amount of time to be spent with Mambo #5...) If you can't tell, I'm super duper excited for this time of usual expected growth. I'm sure I'll have all sorts of thoughts to throw your way when it's all said and done. 

3.) God wants us to depend on him. For everything. For life, for breath, for sustenance, for everything. This is really freaking ridiculously hard, if you haven't noticed yet. For many months money has been a struggle for me, and continues to be. Now I'm finally working a bunch and making good money, but still feel the pressure that I'm not working enough, that I don't have enough money, and that I am constantly going to be behind the 8-ball when it comes to finances. However, I must take comfort and solace in Matthew 6, that I am much more valuable than the birds of the air and they don't reap or sow. 

So there you go for a whole collection of ridiculously random thoughts. Take them in, chew them up, digest them, poop them out. Let me know what you think. 

Ooo...Joanie loves Chachi!

This weekend was pretty crazy; and I must apologize that I don't really have anything truly profound lately. 

However, I did pwn on some middle school kids in dodgeball. That's right, it was straight Billy Madison style. A bunch of leaders chaperoned a middle school lock-in at the church that many leaders in Columbus attend, Heritage Christian Church in Westerville. There were about 260 or so of the little buggers running around like crazy and it truly was crazy and chaos and really just us walking around with our heads on a swivel so that we didn't get run over. 

But the highlight of the night for me really was when the volunteers played the two teams who made the championship, and it was crazy. Tons of people on the court, tons of dodgeballs flying through the air, tons of kids going down on the other end of zinging throws. Somehow I ended up being the last man standing, not only on my own team of volunteers but also overall. Granted it was dominating middle school kids, but let's be serious, the volunteers had no choice BUT to win. And why shouldn't one of the oldest be the one to carry the flag? 

Saturday was a great day because it saw Chris Welter get married. It was a great ceremony, a wicked fun reception filled with great dancing and amazing food, and just an overall incredible time with friends. It was truly great to see how happy Chris was on this day. I wish everyone could know Welter at all, because he truly is alive and the aroma of Christ is think around him. He somehow remembers all sorts of things about you and what's going on in your life, and really makes you feel valued, never missing an opportunity to do so. I had the opportunity to have some great conversations with old friends and really catch up with some folks as to what God has been doing in their lives. 

So this is a bit late of a recap from this weekend, and I have more to write concerning things that have happened since then; but I shall save that for later tomorrow.

Frozen.

It's cold here in Columbus. Really effing cold. Coldest I think I've ever experienced. Coldest I never want to experience again. Anyways, since most of you who are reading this are experiencing the same frigidness or perhaps worse, there's not a whole lot more I can say or want to say about this. Is it spring yet?

Moving on...this past weekend a great friend was in town, Robbie Meleney. He and I met and became close over our summer staff assignment at LC while both staying in Cabin Cuatro. Well we just had a great time hanging out with a bunch of my friends for dinner, 24, Mac's, breakfast, lunch, getting into the Horseshoe, and just talking about all sorts of things together. We had a great conversation at one point while driving around to one of these destinations about Jim Rayburn, as Robbie has been reading "Dance, Children, Dance". The one thing that we talked a pretty decent amount about was how much time Rayburn spent in prayer during his life. Towards the end we concluded that he spent between 3-4 hours on average of prayer a day. Now our figure could be grossly inflated as to fit in with the legend of Rayburn in minds like ours, but also the big thing is that whereas we spend time driving around in our own cars and have all sorts of radio, cd, ipod options; Rayburn traveled a lot by train and had nearly none of those options for his listening pleasure. 

Thank God that he didn't. His intense time in prayer must be viewed as a direct reason for God's incredible blessing and watching over of Young Life. What would happen if any other believers prayed like this? Whether or not we are YL leaders, it doesn't matter for spending time interceding for people with the Father. If we pray like Jim Rayburn, if we pray like Martin Luther, if we pray like Billy Graham, what would happen to the world we live in? I know that I have challenged myself all this week to keep the radio off and the prayer on. It's been difficult for sure, but it's also been fun and I've prayed more this week than I have in a given week in a very long time. I would challenge you all to do the same. Let's not just talk about the power of prayer anymore as believers and followers of Christ, let's actually live the power of prayer. I know that I'm very excited to see where God takes me through this and what He will do through this.

Just call me "Jazz". It's pretty much my name...yeah.

So I'm sitting here watching some American Idol with my roommate, a fairly regular occurrence. Well I mean, sitting and watching TV, not necessarily American Idol. However, I love it and it's hilarious. Sure it's a great time watching the really heart warming stories and also to be able to hear from the very beginning of the people who will eventually make it to the finals and to follow their story. Really though, let's just call a spade a spade here my friends...we all watch to see the people that just suck something awful. You know what I'm talking about..."We're brothers forevvveerrrrr..." 

Seriously though, then they also showed the not so positive reactions of people after they were told in such eloquent language as Simon could put it (sarcasm font on there) that they were just not cut out for the musical performing side of life. What really got to me once again, and what gets to me every season...is that there is a pretty large and significant amount of people who try out that think they are truly the next American Idol. I feel bad for these people on one hand, because they don't have anyone in their lives that are willing to break the news to them that they really aren't that great. I'm mean sure, everyone dreams of breaking it big and having thousands upon thousands of people singing your songs and basically worshipping you. The money, the fame, the roadies; sounds good to me right? Also though, it hurts people that most have no idea what types of songs are good for their voices and sounds. They always try songs that aren't good in their range or are written for vocal freaks, of which they are not. At least not in the positive sense. Also, let's go ahead and say that if you feel the need to result to some gimmick to get Simon, Paula, Randy, and Kara's attention you probably know already that you aren't getting their attention with your voice; in you know, a singing competition. 

Really though, it makes me even more grateful and thankful for the presence of Christ in my life. Through Him I know who I am, my identity is found and secured in Him and His life through me. I don't have to go grasping at straws like an American Idol audition to seek significance in my life. As followers of the living God we serve and live for an audience of One. How amazing it is and refreshing that we don't have to worry about those crazy things that never fulfill and always leave us lacking? There's so many things that this carries over into and so many other avenues of life that performing and living just for an audience of One will do for you. Freedom in Christ...I love it. 

I will not be disqualified.

So I must apologize, as lately I have been lacking and slacking on the posting front. It has been a crazy week or so, with moving into a new house that my roommate bought and trying to get that quite unsuccessfully organized. It's great to have all sorts of space now though, but Bailey freaks out all the time so we'll hope for a quick adjustment period for her. 

In other news though, we have our first coaches meeting for Central Crossing Track & Field tomorrow, and then on Thursday our first informational meeting with kids after school. If you didn't know, this is my love affair of a sport for the past four years. I can't even believe that I am starting my fifth year of coaching T&F, but here I am. Also, I'm really excited at the prospect of being the head sprint coach this year and potentially the Assistant Head Coach of the program! This may not sound like anything crazy to any of you, but for me it is a step towards a hopeful goal of mine, which is to eventually be a head coach of a high school track program. I just can't imagine the amount of influence you could have on kids in a very long term way as the head coach of a sport like track. No other sport do you really train with the athletes, no other sport is both team and individually oriented, and no other sport is the perfect parallel to a life with Christ.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 - "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified to for the prize."

I mean seriously...how perfect of a verse is that? The parallels are incredible, as also if you continue it on to ministry you have the importance of finishing strong and ensuring a good and successful handoff of the baton to the next leg. That can work for the leadership of the team as well, from seniors down to juniors. There are just so many similarities and useful connections that go from coaching to making a disciple in the Lord.

So for these reasons and more I cannot wait for this meeting tomorrow. You wanna see me come alive? Ask me about track...

Another new love...

So I must confess, I have a new love in my life... And it is playing board games. Hah. But seriously folks, I thoroughly enjoy playing board games, of any type really. I've always been a big competitor and my drive to win at anything I do is kind of...intense. As in, if  left unchecked like it was when I was younger, it is a really bad thing. Board games though, allow for a quite healthy outlet for that. Who doesn't love a little bit of luck combined with an even less amount of skill that equates to somehow winning a competition that has absolutely zero real life consequences?

The great thing about board games though, is that for the most part they allow you to have a great conversation if you like, with a small group of people, but with a slight distraction so that things don't get too heavy or dry. Again, I love having life conversations with people and so this just increases my  love of board games because of that factor. 

So really, let's play a board game together sometime soon and talk about what Jesus is doing in our lives...oh yeah, and I'll beat you too. Hah.

"She never mentions the word addiction..."

There may need to be some sort of organization like AA for people like me. Honestly. I am man enough to admit it though, heck I admitted it to a guy I just met last night! 

I'm addicted to my blog. I love it. I love writing. I love hearing thoughts on my thoughts. I love having thoughts. I love having conversations with people that I know will lead to blog entries. I love having conversations.

So now that we have established that...

Last night I had a great conversations with friends about our generation verses the generation of our parents, and why we so openly admit life in the "real world". We agreed around the table that none of us liked the real world, and that there seems to be more and more people in our generation that want to be more mobile in their jobs, want to have more diversity in how they spend their time, and basically have the want and need almost to not be tied down or locked in to just one job. Basically it brings a whole new meaning to 'diversity' in the workplace. We talked about how culture has changed from when our parents were graduating college, or at least were our age, and how culture is now. It's definitely an interesting contrast.

Back then there were so many less options available to people, and not many people got to truly be what they wanted to be when they grew up. Heck, people didn't even know what options were available to them, whereas now we are told from when we are little that we can be whatever we want to be and we have so many options available to us and they all look so appealing. The thing about it all is that when it really comes down to it, we are so focused on the immediate and the now and the instant. We're all about instant gratification now, from our phones to our cars to our attitudes, to even our relationships with people. 

It's a sad and crappy way to be, to be honest. I love challenging myself to be able to slow down and enjoy life, enjoy people, enjoy experiences. Try and do the same for yourself, you'll find it's worth it.

There's so many more thoughts to be discussed than can be talked about on here. Let's have a great conversation sometime about it, I would love it.

A kinda-sorta emptiness.

Well, most of you if you read the title to this entry first (which you should), and if know even a little bit about me (which shouldn't be difficult), then you will have a pretty good idea what this post is about already. Go ahead, connect those dots...I'll give you a few seconds...

Ok. So last night was the final send-off for Malcolm Jenkins, James Laurinaitis, Brian Robiskie, Marcus Freeman, and a bunch of other Buckeye seniors as they closed out their careers in the same friggin' bowl we always go to, the Fiesta Bowl, against the "mighty" Texas Longhorns. We lost. 24-21. Texas scored their last touchdown with 16 seconds left on the clock and I sunk to the floor from where I was standing at my friend's apartment. Hands behind my head, jaw dropped to the ground, stomach in the apartment below us, and hopes pretty much dashed. That's when this kinda-sorta feeling started creeping in. The funny thing about this pose that I was in: you know, wide eyed, mouth gaping, sitting on the floor, speechless; was that was exactly the way I was sitting after we scored the go-ahead touchdown ourselves with a Boom Herron jaunt into the endzone that had followed a Todd Boeckman pass to Terrelle Pryor (gorgeous play) and my friends jumping around the room only minutes earlier. 

Growing up, any loss for the Buckeyes meant that I was completely inconsolable for a good five days after the game, and the day immediately following the game I was ready to kill anyone that said a wrong word. However, I have fortunately moved past that as I've gotten older, matured, and let God mold me away from having my identity in sports and specifically Ohio State. Sure, I love the Buckeyes with everything in me, would cheer for them over any other team that I even like, and will always find time to watch OSU football games wherever I am in life and will force my family to do the same. However, it's only a game folks and how exactly would my life be any different today if we had won last night? I would still have to wait on the cable guy, still need to clean up the room I'm moving into and then make that move, still need to eat food and pay some bills. Sure maybe I would have had a slightly better demeanor today, but really I'm not in that bad of a mood at all, actually as I write this I'm just hungry. 

When you take this senior class overall most people are going to remember the big game failures, fairly or unfairly. They went 43-8 overall, one of the highest winning percentages ever at OSU, their losses were all to teams who won a national championship that year, or played in a BCS bowl game by the end of the year. They won a ton of individual awards, too many to name here, went to 4 straight BCS bowls, won 4 straight Big Ten crowns, and most importantly in my book: beat M*ch*g*n four straight times and now 5 straight for those redshirt seniors. Nothing ever tops beating the Wolverines in my book, and nothing ever will. If we never win another national title but beat them every year then I will be the happiest man to ever walk God's green Earth. 

So that is why it is a kinda-sorta emptiness. Sure would I have liked to win one of our last three BCS games? Of course! (the one I went to would've been nice) However I am more than grateful towards these seniors and what they were able to accomplish at OSU. They leave a great legacy for others to follow and improve on. Terrelle Pryor, Boom Herron, Mike Adams, Mike Brewster, DeVier Posey, JB Shugarts, Nathan Williams, Etienne Sabino, Thad Gibson, and friends will take this team to new heights. Let's see, better book my plane ticket to Pasadena now, since that's where the National Championship is gonna be next year...you would be wise to come with me.

In Tressel We Trust.

My future is Secure.

So I am on the tail end of the longest text message conversation I've ever had, and even as I write this sentence it continues. The other end of the conversation is none other than JJ Einsfeld, who is wise beyond his years and really just an incredible man. If you don't know him, get to know him; I demand it.

Anyways, we got on this topic of how people in this world, even Christians, focus so much on setting up their lives in a safe and secure way so that they can retire comfortably, have a comfortable house, comfortable vacations, comfortable possessions, pretty much make our comfort the premier controlling force in our lives. Basically it's worrying too much about tomorrow and not living in today. Christ even warns us about this in His Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6:34: "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

Another of God's promises from Jeremiah, which is a favorite verse of many says: "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." So there we even have God going a step further to say, not only are you not to worry about tomorrow and your future, but I will personally take the care to make sure that you have a future and that I will not harm you and will even bless you!

Here though are the verbatim text messages from JJ, because I want to share with the world his wisdom...

- Yeah it's pretty exciting to know God is going to send me somewhere He wants me to be

- My mindset is so different. (because of not worrying about tomorrow) I am not scared of the future or what will happen to me because I know God is in control

- Yeah I feel like people live their lives planning for the future so they can retire happily. Man, we are robbing ourselves if we do that. Live now!

- Yeah! I have been wasting my life. My life and relationship with Christ is about right now, today.

- It will change your life. (speaking on shifting your focus) Your struggles are easier to battle, you love more, and you ultimately submit your life to Jesus and experience God more

- When Jesus woke up and it was Tuesday, he didn't think to himself, "Ya know what, I don't many fun things planned today...but I'm excited for Saturday!"

- Today is the best and most important day of your life. We waste our lives looking ahead or behind

- I firmly believe its a tactic used by the evil one and its pretty effective

- I just want to tell everyone. We are all being deceived

So check out that wisdom, make some of your own. It's a fantastic observation though, and worth much self searching in terms of how we live our own lives according to the faith and comfort that we take in the two passages above. Check out the blog of my friends the Spruills. Kevin speaks a lot about trusting in God to provide and this is the same concept; you won't be disappointed in reading his thoughts. 

The great thing about it though, is that it holds true to any of us! God loves His children and yearns to care for them and to have them experience His love...let yourself experience His love in this hu-massive area of life!

My future is secure; and so is yours.

2009?

Happy New Year to all my readers out there, whoever you may be! 

Right off the bat I'm gonna apologize for the short and somewhat not great nature of this post. That's probably some unwritten no-no somewhere in the laws of internet blogging about shooting yourself in the foot before you start, but who cares? Anyways, you all know that I have a pretty decent amount to say about stuff, but today/tonight is just not one of those times. I feel somewhat obligated to post something about a new year, new hope, and resolutions though.

A New Hope - not Star Wars episode IV, but the rolling of the calendar always seems to bring hope to peoples' lives, that they will miraculously lose a ton of weight, stop smoking, stop drinking, stop doing something, start doing something, and generally change their existence in a radical and better way. What happens along the way? We all fall short of those lofty goals placed at the beginning of the year. I'm not sure I know one person that has ever succeeded in carrying through those goals for the year, ever. So I think the key to this, and I say this somewhat lightly given the previous sentence, is to not put too much pressure on yourself concerning these resolutions at the beginning of January. If you fail one day, you fail one day; but each day is independent and you can make the right choice the next day. Ok enough of this, because even as I'm writing it I know that you can read this all over Yahoo or some other site that evenly dispenses news, advice, email, and fantasy football.

As for me, I actually am excited for this next year. 2007 sucked for the most part, 2008 was amazing for the most part. God moved in incredible ways in my life this past year and I'm excited to see in what ways He is going to move me next. What hopes do you have for 2009? I'd love to hear them if you don't mind sharing them...