Oh, hello there

Well, I just realized that I've gone about a week without posting.

Life has been somewhat free-form, so I have had no time that I've marked aside for blogging, and not too much has been happening. Thought I'd let you know that. Mom and dad get back tomorrow, which will probably add a little order back to my life.

Quick thought for today...

"We will not renounce the sun until we find a better light, nor leave our Lord until a brighter lover shall appear; and since this can never be, we will hold Him with an immortal grasp and bind His name as a seal upon our arm."

Thought I should put something up for the sake of having something new for you to read. It's from the Truth For Life daily devotional, adapted from C.H. Spurgeon's "Morning and Evening." You can check it out on their site: www.truthforlife.org

Home again...

Well, I'm home now. I got in at about 8pm (EST), and have since basically had a family meeting, played my guitar, and now I'm headed to bed, perhaps after a little more guitar. Just thought I'd let you all know I made it back.

Spinning heads, round 1.

Well, the last week has been pretty crazy. I've been from Maine to NYC to DC to Atlanta to Houston... and I don't have a guitar with me. That... is going to slowly drive me crazy. My brother Taylor has an organ concert tomorrow, and since we're sharing a room in Houston... I need to get to bed quickly, because he needs to rest.

Ok, so all I've got to say is... I've been crazy busy, haven't had time to blog, and am off my groove. Therefore, heed this warning: don't watch JONAS in a situation like mine. As cheesy as it is, and as bad as some of the actors are (as actors)... it's funny.

Besides that... I have played with the grand piano here... maybe I can write something... maybe not. I'm not good at calling my songs good enough... which is an indicator of a fault... either I'm too picky, or I'm not a good songwriter.

Ok, time to go. Goodnight y'all!

Justification, Sanctification, and the Interstate

Well... I'm writing this in a RV on the road... I think we are in CT, but who knows. Last I heard was an estimate of NYC around 2am.
Even as tech-savvy as I am... I'm perpetually in awe of what a blessing this day and age is to me- how much I can actually do that when I was born was nonexistent! I'm able to post this because of a little box called a "Personal hotspot"... It is basically a cell phone-modem-wireless hotspot... And it's the size of an iPod nano G3 (You know, the little squat ones... If not... Um... A small box of matches?) Amazing! And the best part is that normally it's pretty fast, especially if you're stopped. As a photographer, the idea of having such a small gizmo to give me Internet access almost anywhere I go is stunning! And as an aspiring videographer, being able to upload video on the fly too is awesome!

Well, that was the interstate part. Now... I was listening to Alistair Begg (my favorite radio preacher) and he was talking about grace, but what struck me as interesting is something I've heard my dad talk about often- that it is a big mistake to assume our justification is internal to us, so when we feel distant from God, it is easy to feel that we have lost our justification, but because it is external to us, it is completely irrelevant to our justification how I feel, or how you feel. Sanctification is only slightly different- it is internal, but is affected externally. So no matter how I might feel, I am still justified, and am still being sanctified. I guess I don't really talk about it outright, but I often get down on myself... And it's because I forget about this. Hope that's encouraging to someone!

Last thing I can think of in this post... Is that I found a pretty cool electric-pop artist who is a Christian. Her stage name is Lights (her website: www.iamlights.com ) I would have to say she sounds like Daft Punk and BarlowGirl thrown in a musical blender. I was pleasantly surprised, and had forgotten my like for synthesized music. Check it out!

A portrait of the artist as a young man.

Ok, so it's just a picture of me. I was happy that I finally figured out a way to shoot a picture of myself with a manual focus lens. You focus on a wall, pull the focus back just a tad, hit the 12-second timer, and book it. Here's another.

Random short update

I just realized that I miss my dad's Spotmatic... It has been out of commision since the light meter went again. Oh well. I'll have to figure out how to replace the battery. (What to replace it with- it was a mercury battery, and so is no longer available.)

In other news, the Winthrop Ramblers boys soccer team just won their first game this season... perhaps their first in a few years. (My Paraguayan friends should appreciate that...)

Ok, I need to go to bed now. Later, everyone!

Day 954

Well, the news of the day is that I got my driver's permit. It's not the only news, but it's the news I'm at liberty to release at the moment. Now, what that has to do with 954 days isn't obvious to most of my friends... in fact, Michelle is the only one who will probably have any idea what happened 954 days ago who wasn't immediately impacted by it.
954 days ago, a very close friend of mine all but disappeared from my life:
954 days ago, Lee Carter died in a car accident... and I still run into moments when I forget she's gone for the moment. In fact, I'd probably have thought of telling her I finally got my permit... except that I had already been telling people about my test, and I went past her name in my contact list. Ah well, there's bound to be time to catch up in Heaven.

I guess the point of that was... I avoided getting my permit because I had a sudden respect for vehicles that had never really struck home with me. It also made me a little distrustful of small cars, but that's a story for another day... and perhaps another location.

Well, that's enough for tonight. It's nearly midnight, and my bed needs clearing before I can try to get some sleep. If there's an application to be made... it'll have to be made later.