thought of the day
actually, I thought of this a few days ago.

If you know me reasonably well, you know that I really want a dog. A few days ago I was rationalizing this in my head, and decided that one of the reasons I want a dog is because they love you unconditionally. Then I thought, "Hey! That's just like Jesus! He loves me unconditionally too!" Does that mean that dogs are the physical embodiements of God's divine spirit? God spelled backwards is dog ya know... at Kerry's suggestion, I think I'll name my dog Jesus (say: hay-soos).... then when people ask why I named my dog that... well, you know.

OoooOoooOooo!!!
Check out the new Harry Potter trailer!!!! Oh my gosh, I can't wait to see it!!!! I will be there opening day... youuuu betchya...

PR
I set a new personal record yesterday for hours without sleeping, A whooping 38 hours. I'm quite proud of myself for not conking out earlier. But after having been awake from 8:30 the previous morning, I fell asleep in bed watching TV around 10/10:30ish and slept until 11 am this morning... 12.5 hours of sleep. Sweeettt. But now my sleep-schedule is all out of whack and I'm tired again. Oh well, such is the life of a college student.

Relay For Life
It's 12:38 right now and I've currently been awake for 30 hours, and am tired as what... But we raised around $55,000... WOOOTTT!!!!!! :-D
But a big thank you goes out to all of you who donated money to the cause and/or walked in the relay... you will never know how big of a difference you made in the fight against cancer...

Some food for thought

"Remember putting your face above a headless frame painted to represent a muscle man, a clown, or even a bathing beauty? Many of us have had our pictures taken this way, and the photos are humorous because the head doesn't fit the body. If we could picture Christ as the head of our local body of believers, would the world laugh at the misfit? Or would they stand in awe of a human body so closely related to a divine head?"
~Dan Bernard

Man, some people are just not the brightest. I was getting ready to leave for dinner when dani says "There's a fire outside, who do I call?" Now that's not something you hear every day. Lo and behold when I go outside to look, there's smoke and a small fire burning in the mulch by the steps. I just sorta stared at it for a second, and then Jessica snapped me out of it and said, "someone go get some water!" I ran inside to grab my nalgene and Ashley came with me and grabbed another water bottle that I had lying around and we put out the majority of the little fire before the firepeople got there.... haha, talk about empowering ;)

ahhh!!! I won a 8X10 autographed picture of Jars of Clay from Jarchives.com, a Jars of Clay fan site.... sweet!!!

"You have it easily in your power to increase the sum total of this world's happiness now. How? By giving a few words of sincere appreciation to someone who is lonely or discouraged."
~Dale Carnegie, author

... just a litte reminder that everyone can make a difference ...

For some truely stupid humor go to: Ill Will Press, care of Jenn... :)

ps: The Fat-kins Diet is a must-watch

just a thought
When life gets you down and you're just absolutely convinced that the world sucks, get back to the basics. You're alive, you're breathing, and if you're reading this, then you are doing pretty well in terms of finances. More importantly, there are people that love you, and most importantly, a God that loves you. I firmly believe that most, if not all, things happen for a reason, so just take a step back and let things run their course. You'll eventually realize why such-and-such happened, and there's no point in worrying about it because there is nothing you can do to change it now. It terms of the world, it's not perfect, but you don't need me to tell you that. All I can and will tell you is live your life to the fullest, and don't take the little things in life for granted. Huzza huzza :)

One day, a man went to visit a church. He got there early, parked his car, and got out. Another car pulled up near and the driver got out and said,"I always park there! You took my place!" The visitor went inside for Sunday School, found an empty seat and sat down. A young lady from the church approached him and stated, "That's my seat! You took my place!" The visitor was somewhat distressed by this rude welcome, but said nothing. After Sunday School, the visitor went into the sanctuary and sat down. Another member walked up to him and said, "That's where I always sit! You took my place!" The visitor was even more troubled by this treatment, but still He said nothing. Later as the congregation was praying for Christ to dwell among them, the visitor stood up, and his appearance began to change. Horrible scars became visible on his hands and on his sandaled feet. Someone from the congregation noticed him and called out, "What happened to you?" The visitor replied, as his hat became a crown of thorns, and a tear fell from his eye, "I took your place."

A Running Commentary
70 Americans have died in Iraq this month. 70. 70 of our brother, sisters, mothers, fathers, teachers, and friends. How many more people are going to die before June 30th? The pull-out date that Bush has just announced. Who is going to run this Iraqi government that you will hand power over to on the 30th? ... okay, now you're just repeating yourself ... oooo, explain that Mr. President. How were you so wrong about how the Iraqis would greet us? Where is all of the oil that was supposed to pay for this war? Oh now the money from the oil is going to the Iraqis, which is completely fine with me, but then he was embellishing the truth when he said that some of the money would pay for our effort... Ahahaha, "Why have you never admitted any of your mistakes?" ... Blah blah blah, change the world, blah blah blah...

Happy Easter everyone! Or as Fr. Eugene said, Blessed Easter. As you spend your day eating chocolate and other yummy candy (as I am right now), just keep in mind the real reason why this day is blessed.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only Begotton Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."

"The duty of youth is to challenge corruption."
~Kurt Cobain

So Ker and I are watching Queer Eye for a Straight Guy on tv, and they're at the part of the show where they go to different stores to buy things, and guess where they go... THEY GO TO ALL OF MY STORES!!! Cosco... Bed Bath and Beyond.... The Garden State Plaza Mall!!! My mall!!! He even get's his hair cut where I got my hair done for Laura's Quincenera!!! How much fun is that?!?! Man, I don't know what I would have done if I went shopping and I saw the Fab 5... Ahhhhh... Okay, I'll stop being a spaz now :-D

I had a very strange feeling this morning when I woke up, a feeling of confusion. The first thought that I had was "Where am I?" It took a moment to realize that I thought I was home. While this all may seem really random, it actually sort of makes sense to me. Last night I wanted to go home so badly. Rather, I wanted to go to a place of comfort and security. As I was lying in bed trying to fall asleep, I was praying about all the troubles that were on my mind. I was praying that I would have the strength to trust God that everything would work out. I feel like that when I was sleeping, God heard my prayers and gave me the grace to get through the things that were, and still somewhat are, bothering me. I know there are many other possible explanations, but I truely feel like that's what happened. Call it coincidence if you want. But I'll call it love.

How far are you, how close am I
I know your words are true and I don't feel them inside
Still I believe you'll never leave
So where are you now

You're all I have, You're all I know
Your breath is breathing in my soul
Still I am gasping, aching, asking
Where are you now

Cause I just wanna be with You
I just want this waiting to be over
I just want to be with You
And it helps to know the Day is getting closer

Every minute takes an hour
Every inch feels like a mile
Til I won't have to imagine
And I finally get to see You smile

My journey's here, but my heart is There
So I dream and wait, and keep the faith, while You prepare
Our destiny, til You come back for me
Oh, please make it soon!

...

Every minute takes an hour
Every inch feel like a mile
Til I won't have to imagine
And I finally get to see You

Every minute takes an hour
Every inch feel like a mile
Til I won't have to imagine
And I finally get to see You smile
'Smile' by Chris Rice

Things seem so glum and blah right now. It needs to get sunny out again. Actually, I just want to go home. On the topic, have you ever felt the desire to go home, but you were already home? I've deduced that in those situations, the home that you feel pulled towards is God's home. Like heaven, or whatever you want to call it. I imagine that if you're in heaven... oh its just the ultimate feeling of comfort.... of bliss and happiness. Not from having material possessions, but just because God's love is clear and all surrounding up there... I'd like to imagine anyway.

So cute
Bad news: I had to wake up this morning at 8am.
Good news: I got to sing at a wedding! How fun is that? The Chamber singer's sang at Andy's brother's wedding this morning (Andy is our conductor by the way). The wedding was so quaint, in a really good way. It was a small ceremony, no huge bridal party, just a Maid of Honor and a Best Man. Ah, the Bride's dress (I think her name is Jen) was so gorgeous. It was so beautiful in its simplicity, and the veil was a non-traditional lacy piece of fabric that was perfect. It sort of reminded me of spanish-inspired veils that I have seen before. Anyways, the bride and the groom were so cute, ::grin:: you could tell that Patrick was so nervous when he was waiting for Jen to come down the aisle. Haha, the only thing that I didn't like so much were the readings that they picked... they were okay, but I don't think i'll pick them for my wedding... whenever the heck that will be anyway. I'm really glad that we were able to sing for them though, it was a great experience. Getting paid wasn't really too bad either...

Hahahaha... check this out....
http://www.local6.com/news/2968435/detail.html

late night inspiration...

As I rest against this cold, hard wall
Will you pass me by?
Will you criticize me as I sit and cry?
I had fought so hard and thought that all my battles had been won
Only to find the war has just begun

Is He not strong enough?
Is He not pure enough?
To break me, pour me out, and start again
Is He not brave enough?
To take one chance on me
Please can I have one chance to start again?

Will my weakness for an hour
Make me suffer for a life time
Is there anyway to be made whole again?
If I'm healed, renewed and find forgiveness
Find the strength I've never had
Will my scars forever ruin all God's plan?

Is He not strong enough?
Is He not pure enough?
To break me, pour me out, and start again
Is He not brave enough?
To take one chance on me
Please can I have one chance to start again?

He took my life into his hands and it turned it all around
In my most desperate circumstance
It's there I finally found

That You are strong enough
That You are pure enough
To break me, pour me out and start again
That You are brave enough
To take one chance on me
Oh Thank You for my chance to start again

'strong enough' by stacie orrico