Excitement of things to come...

I thought I'd take this moment to blog before the weekend gets too crazy with family and holiday obligations. Yes, obligations. I'll smile and act like I'm having a great time though.

This will officially be my first Christmas away from my family. Why? BECAUSE I'M GOING TO COSTA RICA!! I'm ridiculously excited, just in case you couldn't sense it from the previous sentence being in all caps. My parents were cool with it when I first mentioned it to them before I bought the ticket, but now they are trying to make me feel guilty about it (pretty sure they are just joking though) Either way it is getting on my nerves. The following list are some reasons I am excited about going to Costa Rica.

-Warmth
-Going to the beach, tasting the salt water on my lips.
-Awesome fresh fruit
-Seeing all kinds of crazy animals in the rain forest, including but not limited to sloths, monkeys, frogs, snakes, birds, leopards, and jaguars.
-Coffee
-Whitewater rafting in the jungle
-Hiking a volcano
-Learning about a new culture

There are more buy my laptop battery is about to die and I'm too lazy to get the power cord.

I do have a prayer request for this trip. I am arriving on a different flight than Dan and his sister (I get there about 2 1/2 hours after them). Pray that we are able to find each other easily once I get there. Other than that, prayers of safety would be appreciated. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!

Mutant Cats

Chalk one up for another pointless discovery in the world of science. Some researchers in Korea have cloned a cat that carries a protein called RFP (red fluorescence protein) in all of it's cells. When you shine ultraviolet light on the cats, they shine red. Freaky. This isn't the first time either, folks. There are fluorescent rabbits, fish, frogs, and even a monkey I believe. In all seriousness though, this actually is a significant achievement. They believe they can use the same technique used to introduce the fluorescence to the cat to treat and possibly cure certain genetic disorders. I hated cats to begin with...and now that they can look even more demonic, I hate them even more.

Dear Lord, Arf Arf.

This is quite possibly one of the cutest pictures I've ever seen. Yes I used the word "cutest." Don't hate. The dog looks like he is praying extremely hard. Maybe he really is. One of the greatest pleasures in my life is getting to pray with kindergarten and first grade kids at the Greenhouse. They have absolutely no reservations about asking God for silly things. I think that is something that is completely lost by adult Christians. We can ask God for ANYTHING, but alot of times we don't ask him because we think it isn't "important enough." I've resumed reading a book I started a couple of years ago at the suggestion of Callan. (Prayer by Richard Foster) Sometimes I get caught only talking to God when I need to ask him for something, but he wants to engage us in ways much deeper than that. We should talk to him as we would a best friend. Tell him frustrations, joys, praises, needs, talk about football with him. That would be fun..."Hey Jesus, how bout them Colts?"

Oh Sun, where have you gone?

Today I'm in a Jeremy Enigk mood. His music is good for this weather.

I think I'll move to the tropics someday. But then I wouldn't have good Jeremy Enigk weather.

On second thought, I can do without Jeremy Enigk.

Peace out, y'all.

Today it's gloomy.

The leaves are gone.
Cold is here.
No sunny skies.
December is not single person friendly. Maybe I can get a girl to just sign a one month agreement? Not likely.
It is amazing to me that on gloomy days like this, the Lord still fills my heart with joy.
I have much to be thankful for.

Thursday

Oh to Grace,
how great a debtor
daily I'm constrained to be.
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Here's the Mount,
I'm fixed upon it.
Mount of Thy unchanging love.

Weekend Highlights

This weekend was incredibly fun and exhausting, but mostly fun. At times it was a big "past meets present" fest, but that just made it more interesting. Friday I went to the university's production of "Our Town." It was really great - take a moment and enjoy life folks. Afterwards, a great game of Apples to Apples with old friends. Side note - I love when I hang out with people for the first time in several months and we are able to just pick right up where we left off.

On Saturday, Dan and I went backpacking around the Buffalo River. The trees were gorgeous. Here are a few highlights from that trip:
-We saw a herd of 15-20 elk on the side of the road, one of the bulls was MASSIVE.
-While driving to Erbie, I saw a dog on the side of the road with something in it's mouth. Upon closer inspection, it was a fresh bloody deer leg. Yum!
-We had a sweet campsite, complete with reclining couch and fire pit.
-I woke up in the middle of the night to a coyote howling about 40 yards away from me.
-Saw an old cemetary, an old farmer's house (with a sweet barn), and awesome views of the river.
-Learned how to off-road in a Honda Civic.
-Random puking incident in Harrison.

And the last, but definitely not the least, highlight of my weekend: pillow talk with Jordan - twice!

Life lessons from the trees

When walking to/from school, I have a few options for my route. Most of the time I just take the main roads, but occasionally I walk through the cemetery. I find myself taking the cemetery route more in the fall because the trees are so beautiful. When I was walking home through the cemetery yesterday I started having all these thoughts of how trees are like a model of how I want my life to be remembered when I'm gone. I don't know if being surrounded by tombstones just brought the subject of death to the forefront of my mind or what, but it was like a flood of thoughts all at once. I started thinking of spring when the trees are flowering and putting on leaves as birth. It's a beautiful event and the new leaves have such a delicate look to them. As the spring/summer progresses, the leaves turn a darker green color and they withstand storms, drought, whatever the world throws their way. I want my adult life to be like that. Then, just before the leaves wither and fall, they put on an awe-inspiring display. I want the end of my life to be like that - the most beautiful and meaningful part of my life. I hope God allows me to shine in the waning moments of my life.

Random thoughts for your Thursday

The trees are actually turning colors - I thought we were gonna jipped this year.
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I've never actually written the word "jipped" before the last sentence, and I have absolutely no idea if it's spelled even remotely correctly.
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Brian's bed is comfortable.
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Girls who use Halloween as an excuse to dress as slutty as humanly possible annoy the crap out of me.
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An upcoming weekend road trip has the potential for greatness.
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I'm loving the cooler weather, but I'm so not ready for winter.
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I wish I had better organizational skills.
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Murder in the dark is a fun game.
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Microscopic Faith

Lately I've been convicted that I'm not depending on God like I should. It's easy for me to see God and ask for his help with big things like family issues, health problems, world peace, etc., but it's hard for me to feel like I need to depend on God for the small everyday things like food, clothing, joy, shelter. I guess it's somewhat a testament to how blessed I am that I don't feel like I won't ever go without a meal or have a roof over my head, but at the same time I forget that God has blessed me and it's not of myself. I'm starting to be able to see God in everything. The orange I had after lunch was exceptional, spring roommate situation taking care of itself, I had warm jacket to wear this morning when it was quite chilly outside. He is everywhere, and is in control of everything. I want to get to the point where I see everything that happens in my life, big and small, as a direct involvement of God.

Girl's best friend, or utter injustice?

Mankind is sick and twisted. I used to think that people are inherently good, but that is hard to justify with the Bible (all have sinned and come short....). So, the richest 1% or so of people in the world think that some stupid rock is "pretty" and the poorest people in the world have to slave to dig these things out of dirt and rock and make next to nothing for it. Talk about injustice. I don't understand the big deal about diamonds anyway. I mean, they're basically just clear coal. Sure, they are beautiful, but do you really need to adorn your body with them? By no means am I trying to say that I am not a materialistic person, but if we were constantly aware of the hardship we bring to other people as a result of our lofty desires I think the world would be a wildly different place.

Open question

I seemed to have lost my tweezers several weeks ago. My question to anyone who might be reading is this: Where the heck does one find tweezers in Walmart? I looked all over the health and beauty section but came out empty-handed. So if you know what aisle tweezers are located, please enlighten me.

Wes

Pondering

I've recently been listening to the new Shane and Shane CD, Pages. One of the lyrics is "May the vision of You be the death of me." Do I truly think this way? I mean, I want to see Jesus desperately, but am I willing for that vision to mean the death of my desires? It's so hard to just let go and let Him be in control, but I think it's something that I'm learning to do.
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Here are some things that have made me happy lately:
1. A trip to Memphis and Columbus, MS to hang out with two of my favorite people on the planet, Jonathan and Jordan.
2. Getting a new car and not having to worry about it breaking down, thus allowing #1 to happen.
3. The weather.
4. Easily finding a new community group that I love.
5. My Sunday School kids...I seriously love them.
6. Bluegrass.
7. My friends - I wish I knew how to express how much I love them.

Look at me, I'm in Long Island

So I figured I'd follow the crowd and blog about my trip that I'm currently on. I'm at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories in Long Island, NY. Long Island itself isn't very pretty (at least the little I've seen of it), but the lab campus is amazing. The weather is awesome, lower 80's...not missing Arkansas August weather at all. I'm rooming with this guy from Holland. We had kind of an awkward meeting because we didn't run into each other moving in yesterday and then he was asleep when I got back to the room last night. So we met after we had already slept in the same room for a night. He came out of the bathroom from his shower and I was brushing my teeth and we were like "Hi." Quite funny. Oh, and his name is Sake, pronounced "Shocka." It was hard for me not to laugh when he told me his name. Probably my favorite part of the meeting so far is when people give presentations when English is obviously not their native language nor are they fluent, and then people just as bad at English try to ask them questions. They totally just don't understand each other at all and it ends up being like 5 minutes of back and forth with no real resolution because neither side ultimately understands. Oh and hearing the Japanese people talk makes me laugh too because they pronounce their "l" as "r." For example, nucleoplasm ends up being "nucreoprasm." It's all I can do to not LOL all over the place. Anyway, maybe I'll post again before I leave. Goodbye.
::Wes (I decided to try the cool little thing Blake does at the end of his posts...hope you don't mind, my red brother)

Life is changing

So I feel like my life is changing a lot right now. A good 15 or so of my friends have moved away within the last year or will be leaving very shortly. I guess that's what I get for going to grad school at the same place I did my undergrad instead of being the one to leave everyone else. I definitely don't regret it though. I'm positive that God's Will was for me to stay at Arkansas. I got to make some incredible relationships that I otherwise would've missed out on. This fall will be my first semester without having to take a class (although I still have one class left to take in the Spring). My friends are getting "real jobs" and driving "grown up cars." I am so thankful for the friends that I still have here and the new people God is placing in my life (especially a certain lady-friend). I am looking forward to getting involved in a new community group and forging new relationships and community. With this transition, it has made me realize how much stock I put in my friends. At times I think I fall into putting my identity in people I respect and love, but this is a good chance to (yes I know it's cliche) work on putting my identity in Christ. I'm excited to see what and who this next part of my life will bring. I usually am resistant to change in my life, but I definitely think it can be a positive and healthy thing.

Only in Dreams

Dreams are probably one of my favorite things God has blessed us with. Mine are usually never scary or anxiety-filled, but usually bizzare and something that I can have a good laugh about the next morning. Last night though I had an amazing dream experience. I feel like I got to visit a place that no one else in the world has ever been to. It was so vivid and real-feeling and the dream seemed to last for hours. It started by me riding on a four-wheeler in a forest with my golden retriever. We crested a hill and looked down upon the most beautiful beach I've ever seen. The sand was pure and not littered with trash, and the water....oh the water. It was shallow and brilliant blue. There were lots of sandbars that gave texture to the ocean. Apparently in my dream I knew that this place was a volcanic beach - the largest in the world. Mountains arose dramatically just behind the beach, and there was an old temple/tomb thing that was built into the mountain. It seemed to be a relic from an ancient civilization. I got to explore it walk the ancient halls. It was one of the coolest experiences of my life. Even though this place most likely doesn't exist anywhere on Earth, it existed to me for that vapor of time and I probably won't soon forget it.

Loaded Down

Loaded Down
Originally uploaded by Peloria

I was feeling kinda nostalgic and thinking about my childhood, and I started remembering about the old barn that my grandma used to have that used to sit on the plot of land where her house is now. Life is completely different now from those days. Family dynamics have changed, everyone is older, some have passed. Life is a vapor and nothing material here is eternal. Things will change. As Solomon says in Ecclesiastes, "Everything is meaningless!" Life, just like grandma's old barn, will someday pass. And I think I'm ok with that.


On a completely different note, I have been listening to The Weepies alot lately. I am in love with the girl's voice. It's so effortless and subdued, yet has a certain quality that just draws me in. It's so genuine. Their songs are great and I highly recommend both of their albums if you are into chill acoustic folky stuff.

Obituary Overhaul

So I was looking through the Sunday paper a couple of days ago and I came across the obituaries. There's some morbid part of me that has to look at all the obits just to see if I know any of them. I think the standard obituary is in serious need some revamping. They are so freaking boring. I mean, come on. Let's spice it up a little. For most people, an obituary is the last thing that will ever be written about them, so give people something to remember. I think that obits should be a celebration of the person's life. Tell funny anecdotes, favorite foods, hobbies, etc. And the main thing I think obituaries should include is cause of death. It makes me so mad when I read those stupid things because I just want to know how they died. Maybe when we check the little box to become organ donors when we get a drivers license we can have an option of releasing cause of death on an obituary. I don't know, these are all just random thoughts.

2:30A.M. Madness

So I was sound asleep and something woke me up. Wasn't quite sure at the time what it was, but then I heard a car alarm. I finally came out of my slumber enough to realize that the alarm I was hearing sounded very much like Brian's car alarm. "Oh crap, not again," I thought. So I ran to the window to witness the scene of carnage of the vehicles. A drunk driver had hit the back of Jesse's car, ramped it up onto Brian's car, and then Jesse's car rolled off of Brians car and landed upside down in our front yard. Insanely enough, it missed rolling onto my car (which was parked in the driveway) by about 6 inches. The drunk guy's hands were all bloody and he had a gash on his head. He was treated at the scene and then arrested. Here are some pictures. I'm sure Brian will be posting some of his pictures later today on his blog, so check it out.





Don't drink and drive, kids.

These hips definitely don't lie.

wow.

The Amazing World We Live In

Lately I've been watching Planet Earth alot on the Discovery channel. I am in constant awe when I watch this show. I was talking about the show with a lady I work with the other day and she made a good point. She said "I don't understand how people can fight all the time over stupid things when we live in such an amazing world. They should be enjoying it instead of hating all the time." That's so true. God has given us a global playground showcasing his beautiful creation, and we just crap all over it most of the time. On a lighter note, school is almost over and I'm pumped big time. I'm about to start working on one test now, and I have one more next week. And then what could possibly be the best summer of my life so far. Hiking 100 miles, living with Jon again, Cara won't be lame anymore, cookouts, backroading (although it won't be quite the same) lake, beach...ok I'm getting a little too giddy right now. I hope this finds you well. Until next time.

Much love,
Wes

Funny PostSecret

Thanks to Callan, I read PostSecret from time to time (good blog, you should check it out). I was browsing today and came across a pretty funny postcard someone sent in.
I think it's hilarious, but I can see how some people might not find it as funny as I do. I can laugh at almost anything. I especially like the fan's face. And the fact that I don't think I've ever actually seen the word "bajesus" spelled out before.

Hilarious

This is my favorite commercial right now and is probably in my top ten all-time. Hope you enjoy.

100 MILE SUMMER

So I've decided to set a goal of hiking/backpacking at least 100 miles this summer. Here's why:
1. I like being outside
2. Great exercise
3. Good times with friends
4. I want to hike the distance of roughly 4 marathons in a span of about 3 months...makes for good stories.

Let me know if you want to join me on this endeavor...seriously.

PS. School is lame.

Easter

"When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit." John 19:30

This time of year carries so much gravity. The God of the universe came to earth as lowly human and lived the perfect life without sin. He left the ultimate example of how we should live our lives, and then he gave his life for mankind. I don't know if I will ever fully comprehend the love of our savior.

How is it that I can know these things and go on sinning? I feel like Paul when he says "So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin." (Romans 7:21-25)

Easter week is usually a good time of reflection for me. It's so easy to just go through Easter without really contemplating what Christ did for us, but I encourage you to really think about it this year.

That's kind of an awkward end to this post, but I can't think of another way to end it.

Spring Break Part 2: The Rainforest

After we left the beach we went back to mainland Puerto Rico and hit up the good ol' jungle. It's called El Yunque Rainforest after the name of the god whom the Taino indians believed lived there. It was so beautiful that it was pretty easy to understand how this place had such spiritual significance at one point in history. The rainforest terrain was something that was completely new to me, but it didn't take long to fall in love with it.

You can see the ocean from the rainforest!

I didn't know it at the time, but I'm told this is hibiscus.

This picture is very jungly.

Despite what he tells you, that is definetly not Jordan making out with a random Puerto Rican girl under the waterfall.

Jordan and I after we dominated El Yunque Peak. You could see almost a 360 degree view of the entire island from here. Without a doubt it was the best view I've had in my life. And then later we decided that the indians probably did lots of rituals and sacrifices on that peak and it made it even sweeter.

All in all it was a pretty sweet trip. If you've never heard Reggaeton music, you should probably check it out. I hated it at first but I think I like it now.

Spring Break Part 1: The Beach

Well, spring break was pretty much the bomb diggity. Here are some of my favorite pictures from my time on the beaches of Culebra, a small island about 17 miles off the east coast of Puerto Rico.

This is Flamenco Beach where we camped. The campground was directly behind the beach and we could hear the waves crashing from our tent.

Another view of Flamenco Beach.

Tamarindo Beach

Carlos Rosario Beach

Carlos Rosario Beach at sunset. I really like how this picture turned out.

This is one of my favorite pictures. It was just a random palm tree by the ferry dock, but someone had painted Fajardo, Puerto Rico and Culebra -- the two places the ferry runs between.

Basically we did a lot of snorkeling, lounging in hammocks, eating, and just being lazy in general. Those things combined pretty much equals awesomeness. Stay tuned for Spring Break Part 2: The Rainforest.

Internet weirdo

So I was in a youtube mood tonight and I felt inclined to search for "emo vampire" just to see what kind of crazies I could pull up. This guy definitely fit the bill. Some people are just....wow. This will be my last post until after my awesome spring break adventure, so I hope all 3 of you won't miss me too much while I'm gone. Enjoy the creepy emo vampire guy.

The Infamous Funky White Boy Dance

He definitely brought sexy back.

Hey look! My blog didn't die!

 

I like this picture even though there's nothing really that special about it. I think I'm over liking pictures for "artistic value." It's way better if the picture just means something to you. Like the feeling you had when you took the picture, or the people you were with. So I'll tell you (if anyone is still actually still reading this dumb blog) why this picture is meaningful. I took it last weekend while hiking with two of my best buds, both of whom I don't get to spend nearly enough time with. It was so great being outside, and you could just feel spring about to explode all over the place. This picture reminds me of how brilliantly blue the sky was that day and how great the pines smelled. And how much I love spending time with people that I love.

An Ode to Taylor

This post is in honor of Taylor Wood. He makes me laugh. His parents are awesome and cook massive meals for me. He likes good music (with one exception). He has asthma. He has cool shoes. He plays guitar. He makes funny faces.

 

 

 

 

God Bless Taylor!

RIP

Anna Nicole Smith is dead. Sucks for her, but I'm not upset that she is out of the gene pool.

Everyone else is doing it.

I guess if I truly want to be super cool and trendy, I should get up to speed and have a blog. And it helps me waste time at work. So here's my super cool and trendy blog. I'll leave you with a picture. I like the contrast of lush lettuce fields with the backdrop of barren desert mountains near my grandparents' house.