Amber made the best chocolate chip cookies last night using mini chips...There are officially 8 weddings on my calendar between May and August...The foundation of our apartment settled and the front door will barely open. Now instead of being locked out, we may be locked in!...It's interesting to see who steps up to take charge when no one is the obvious leader of a group...Sometimes you do things for people that you love even if you wouldn't be caught dead doing them otherwise...Good punch recipe: ginger ale, sparkling flavored water, frozen lemonade, cut up fruit on top...It's a debate whether it's worse to have the Elmo song or Bear Necessities stuck in your head...Next Tuesday at Ben & Jerrys: free cone day from 12-8...In need of some good motivation to get up early for my workout each morning...How is it 90 outside, but 68 and freezing inside at work?...The boys in my life take good care of me. I like that...Sometimes you need to spend the extra $20 on shoes...It should be mandatory that everyone who lives/works in a big city has to escape the craziness at least once a month. However, this should not occur all at once on Friday nights...Fish make good pets; they require no effort and don't mind neglect...It's impossible to keep up with and talk to and spend time with everyone you wish to...Shaine Claiborne has a new book out, Jesus for President...One week til Dekker releases the last of the Lost Books...Apparently assigned seating still pertains to adults. Too bad. I was hoping that ended in 2nd grade...It's cool how you can get so much out of a passage of Scripture by discussing it with others than you would ever get from just reading it yourself. Various opinions and perspectives are important...Sometimes it's hard to let go of those things that were so good in the past, even when you know you need to...Wedding invitation wording is complicated and odd...We are way too dependent on cell phones. But they're kinda nice to have around...The Office continues to get better and better each week...I wonder what Jesus would say about daily trips to Starbucks when people are going hungry...Why can't you go from graduating college to doing what you want to do in life and skip all the middle stuff inbetween?...Always be ready to climb over a swimming pool fence. Even in dress clothes...Quote from Bible study last night: "Too much Bible, too little brain." Good one, Jon...Little surprises go a long way. I'm a fan. :)...Micron archival ink pens were the highlight of my day today...Why does the last hour of work each day go by so slowly?...There are way too many font choices, yet at times not enough options...Bananas are only good when they're green. So green you can barely peel them...That's all.

So Friday night a group of us met in Frisco to watch the Roughriders baseball game, fireworks and all. Great fun. Kathleen and I got back to the apartment around 11 and were excited about getting some decent sleep for a Friday night, a definite step up for us. However, we soon discovered that the night was still young. The following is a compiled list of 10 things we learned from 11:00, when we arrived home, til 12:30 when we finally got inside our apartment...

1. Don't deadbolt your front door and exit out the garage... without the garage door opener.
2. Don't let your third roommate take said garage door opener to Oklahoma for the weekend.
3. Watch out for the suspicious guy with a mask stapled to the back of his hooded sweatshirt.
4. Always call for backup, even if backup is no bigger than you are.
5. Ask Officer Tubby if you need to know anything about the latest movie releases.
6. Possums are bigger than beagles; therefore, don't attempt to trap them.
7. Don't lay on the grass or live in the Gate Apartments: dogs have left their mark on these places.
8. Do it yourself: don't rely on the maintanance man to show up, cause he never will.
9. Lift the garage door at the same time as you pull the key release.
10. Never underestimate the likelihood of an adventure with the Smith Security officers.

Congrats to the Henleys on their new baby Conner. Blessings to you guys and your sweet family!

What a weekend. Wow. If you've never competed in a crazy wild canoeing, running, and biking relay race extravaganza... well, you should. The word 'adventure' somehow falls short! 8 of us journeyed out to Ray Roberts State Park in Denton Friday night for some camping, a few quick hours of sleep, and then off to the races at 5:30 am. Chad and Adam took on the canoe leg, finishing with a swim in the river for Adam... AJ and I ran the middle leg... then tagged off to Amber and Kathleen, who biked 12 miles on an insanely muddy road. It was cold, it was dirty, it was fantastic. And hey, we even came out with a third place finish, though I won't share how many teams were in our division...!

[song by Monk & Neagle]

No time to spend with You
I wonder if I’m ever gonna change
Here we are, We’ve grown apart
And I know I’m the only one to blame

My heart is dying
‘Cause I’ve been so wrapped up in myself
I’m crying out, I’m desperate for help
And I need You more than ever, so I

[Chorus]
Fall to the ground
‘Cause I want to be better
Though You take me as I am
You deserve more than that

New eyes to see You
Better than I ever have before
Ready to be who You made me to be
So with Your loving arms here to catch me, I will...

I’m no good on my own
I’ve been here way too long
I’m drawing near
Come meet me here, Save my soul

I fall to the ground
‘Cause I want to be better
Though You take me as I am
I want to give You more, give You more

As I fall to the ground
‘Cause I want to be better
Though You take me as I am
I want to give You more
‘Cause You deserve more than that
More than that, More than that, I want to give You more

Behind the Song: "This song was written during a time of extreme busyness on the road and was inspired by the lack of time we were spending in prayer and time with the Lord. It is one of our favorite cuts on the record because of the personal desperation we were experiencing when the song was birthed. We feel like every believer at some point goes through these times in their relationship with God, and these words are simply our expression of finally arriving at the moment of surrender and a desire for change." - Monk & Neagle

For 30 minutes on Sunday afternoon, I had the chance to step into the life of Emmanuel, a four-year-old boy from Uganda who lost both of his parents to AIDS. I walked with Emmanuel and older brother Fred to an aunt’s home seeking shelter and help, eventually ending up in a ‘home’ of banana leaves with one blanket, a knife, and a cooking pot. The rains brought many hard days of hunger and sickness to Emmanuel and his brother. Later, I sat in the health clinic with Emmanuel, waiting to find out if the same disease to take his parents would claim his life as well. But then I met a worker from World Vision who helped Emmanuel and Fred out of their poverty and sickness into a new world of nourishment, education, and love.

This journey, put on by World Vision, was part of a 2,500 square foot interactive exhibit traveling around the country to various churches, educating and informing people of the AIDS crisis in Africa. Connecting to people through photographs and visual set-ups & reinactments, the tour is incredibly powerful and impactful. Each participant is asked to step into the life of one of four children who have been affected by the HIV virus. Built soley on real life stories, participants walk through a 30-minute audio tour and experience a piece of the child's world. The tour is making its way through the states, hoping to reach many with their message.

If you get a chance to be apart of this experience, it is certainly worth your time. You can go to the links below to find out more information about World Vision and the AIDS Experience.

World Vision
World Vision Experience: AIDS