Hope dangles on a string
Like slow spinning redemption
Winding in and winding out
The shine of which has caught my eye

And roped me in
So mesmerizing, so hypnotizing
I am captivated

[Chorus]
I am Vindicated
I am selfish
I am wrong
I am right
I swear I’m right
I swear I knew it all along

And I am flawed
But I am cleaning up so well
I am seeing in me now the things you swore you saw yourself

So clear
Like the diamond in your ring
Cut to mirror your intentions
Oversized and overwhelmed
The shine of which has caught my eye
And rendered me so isolated, so motivated
I am certain now that

[Chorus]

So turn
Up the corners of your lips
Part them and feel my finger tips
Trace the moment, fall forever
Defense is paper thin
Just one touch and I’d be in
Too deep now to ever swim against the current
So let me slip away [3x]
So let me slip against the current
and let me slip away [4x]

[Chorus]

Slight hope
It dangles on a string
Like slow spinning redemption…

As a Christian, my relationships with friends should stem from my relationship with Christ. I should be focused first on him, with him as my guide in all my other relationships. Then, because I am “right with God,” I should be able to show Christ’s love to others and be wise in my relations with friends.

Why is it that so often I turn that upside down?

Instead of focusing first on Christ, I focus on my other relationships. I keep God in the picture, but so often he’s somewhere in the background. Then things get all messed up. I have a good time with friends, and things are going well - and I praise God because of it. But when things _aren’t_ going so well, my relationship with Christ fades as well. It’s as if my emotions at the time dictate my relationship with God - well, it was a bad day, so God obviously doesn’t care about me.

How wrong is that??

Oh Lord, help me to put you foremost in my life!

So I have this really cool group of friends out here that I hang out with all the time. We have Bible Study on Wednesday nights, and then we hang out during the weekend, and also sometimes weeknights. So it’s fun.

Well, we decided on Wednesday night that Saturday we would go to the beach. The weather looked a bit intimidating Saturday morning, but it really cleared up that afternoon. A word to the wise (or should it be the “unwise” in this situation??) - put on sunblock! Yeah, me being me, I didn’t. Laying out at the beach for three hours in the middle of the day without sunblock is not the smartest thing I could possibly have done…

But oh well, it doesn’t really hurt. The only place that really is bothering me is behind my kneecaps. It even hurts to straighten my legs. Doh.

It’s all good though - I’ll be in pain for a few days, and then I’ll go to the beach again!!!

My parents arrived safe and sound (or is it safely and soundly…) in the States yesterday afternoon. My sister talked to my mom on the phone, and apparently the trip went well save for one lost piece of luggage. And even that should be here later today, so it’s all good.

They, along with Aron and Amy, will be coming down to the chapel tomorrow. It’s weird because I haven’t seen them in a year, and yet it feels like so much less time than that. It’s amazing what growing up can do to ya!

My dad has testing on Monday, and hopefully that will show what his next phase of treatment should / will be.

God is good. God is awesome.

And from Jess:

James 1:12 - Blessed is the man who perseveres…

I’m excited because I was walking through Kohl’s yesterday to buy a white dress shirt and a black tie, and I just happened to walk by the shoe section. I saw a pair I really liked, noticed they were on sale, and low and behold they had my size!

So I have new shoes now. My old ones lasted me just about a year, but the holes in the bottom didn’t help keep the water out, so it was time to move on…

On a totally not-shoes-related subject, my parents should be in the States now! They should have flown in just after noon today, going up to Aron and Amy’s place from the airport. On Sunday they will be heading down here, and that will be nice because I haven’t seen them in a year.

Actually, come to think of it, my parents ARE related to my shoes - they bought my last pair the last time I saw them. It’s been the same amount of time since I saw them that I got new shoes.

I knew my ramblings weren’t totally random!!!

…all that much to talk about.

Same old, same old. I’m looking for a job, and my resume has been submitted.

I hung out with friends last night at Wednesday Night Bible Study. The best part in my opinion was when we were sitting around a fire singing. It’s so easy for me to get caught up in life and to worry about things, and it was good to get my focus aimed back where it should be.

I need to keep coming back to what truly matters - God. Besides, this life is like the blink of an eye, so some of the small things just don’t matter. Life is just life, and I’m taking it as it comes to me.

For those of you who are like me, and who tend to get down or worry about life, here are a few verses to encourage you:

Matthew 6:27
Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

Matthew 6:33-34
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

And one of my favorites:

Psalm 37:4
Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.

The speaker at my graduation said that “life is what happens while you are making plans.” And it’s so true.

At the moment, there’s been a rain delay, but the game’s not cancelled. It’s still too early to tell, but rain is never good, so I don’t have much hope that the game will be played after all.

Besides, maybe the game was never supposed to happen anyhow.

Proverbs 4:23 Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.

…is finally starting to thin out.

Finish college classes and homework - CHECK
Make it through finals week - CHECK
College graduation ceremony - CHECK
Have a blast with friends grad weekend - CHECK
Hang with Andrew through my bday - CHECK
June 4, drive out to MA - CHECK
Get moved in with Dan and Abby - CHECK
Find a job

As you can see, everything is done except that last thing. Yes, it’s crucial, but at the same time it’s all I really have left to get done at the moment. Once I have a job, I won’t be broke all the time anymore. I can’t freaking wait.

And If I don’t make it known that
I’ve loved you all along
Just like sunny days that
We ignore because
We’re all dumb and jaded
And I hope to God I figure out
What’s wrong

And things are going fairly well.

My car broke down in the middle of PA on the drive out here. I stopped at a gas station, filled up, went inside and paid, and when I came back outside my engine coolant was all over the ground instead of in my radiator. Yay for old cars!

But God was looking out for me. At this point in the trip, exits were 10-15 miles apart, and I just happened to stop at the ONE gas station that had a truck garage in the back. I got my car over there, they checked it out, ordered a new radiator, and 4 hours later I was back on the road. I ended up getting to Dan and Abby’s place at 11:30 at night, so even with the 4 hour delay it wasn’t so bad. Good thing I started the trip at 4 in the morning…

So anyhow, I’m here, and I’ve already had some time to hang out with friends, and things are going fairly well. I’ve had some kind of crazy sinus headache or something for about a week now, but I picked up some drugs (advil wasn’t touching it) and hopefully I’ll be better in a few days. We’ll see - it’s been a real pain so far.

On another note, I’ve started talking to people here and hopefully the connections I have will lead to a job before toooo long. I was thinking about not starting a job until August, but now I’m thinking that once I find a job, I’ll start whenever. Hopefully something will open up soon.

I’m out. It’s been a while since my last post, but I still plan on keeping this updated.