The State Of Love

(A little back-story: It’s summer… I don’t have to write well for anything. So, this was a little project that I picked up to prove to myself that I could still write the way I learned in AP English. The first section is from June 28th, I picked it up again today and finished it. Let me know if you enjoyed the writing style.)

Every so often, we hear some terribly important address that sums up the state of the free world. Things like gas prices, the exchange rate of the dollar, the looming “recession” manage to make the highlights. On a smaller scale, if you go to church on Sunday morning—Saturday night in my case—or if you listen to Rush, Michael Savage, or some similarly conceited conservative pundit, you have doubtlessly heard about the ‘less significant’ ailments of today’s culture. These bigmouthed, microphone equipped men rave about the evils of political corruption, corruption in the mainstream media, corruption in schools, and if you’re lucky they might even talk about the crabgrass that’s corrupting your backyard.

There’s something similar about all the messages that are being tossed around the nation. There‘s one uniting talking point that the conservative media cannot divorce. This terrible, terrible misconception pervades our headlines and perforates our ears its honey-coated ego-satisfying spin: It is the concept that it that the biggest problems in the world are large scale. Rush Limbaugh can spend a whole hour yelling about abortion, homosexual governors, and liberals, but he—like many other commentators—misses the point. I beg, ardently, to differ.

Let me plead with you. Let me try to convince you that there is something bigger than gas prices, global warming, or illegal immigrants. Let me tell you about the war that’s ravishing every single person all around the world. From the old man in Tibet who will die tomorrow to the unwanted American baby who was conceived yesterday: No one is unaffected. I’m talking about the conflict that has owned mankind since Eve bit the apple. I’m talking about the cause of all problems in the world today. This is my ‘State Of Love Address.’

Today has been filled with examples of what love isn’t:

Love isn’t the worn, teal minivan parked next to the “gentlemen’s club.”
“Love is patient” Love waits on the Lord to blossom, it’s too delicate and wondrous to be found in a brothel.

Love isn’t “making out” in the back of a van in 9th grade.
“Love does not insist on it’s own way” like passion does.

Love isn’t sexual desire for someone of the same gender.
“Love does not delight in evil but rejoices in the Truth.”

“If I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. For now we see in a mirror dimly… Now we know in part; in eternity we shall know fully… So now abide in faith, hope and love; but remember that the greatest of these three is love.”

Every day seems to burst with examples of how sin has taken beautiful, pure, almost supernatural human passion and twisted, and contorted, and mutated it into lustful self-destruction.

For the past several weeks, the #1 selling song on iTunes has been “I kissed a Girl” by Katy Perry. Yeah—you read that right—KATY Perry. I was disgusted by the sin that the song implies. This week, I got curious about why the song remained #1 even after a phenomenal album from Coldplay should have eclipsed it. Tonight, I finally sat down and listened to the song via YouTube.

I was stunned.

Musically, I think it’s a pop masterpiece. The beat is addicting, and Perry’s surreptitious voice drives the song very well. It left me stunned to the point of desperation—How could someone with such talent and such an amazing voice devote her abilities to perversion and lies? Here are some samples from the lyric sheet: The tagline is obviously “I kissed a girl, and I liked it.” But other samples include, “It felt so wrong; it felt so right” “…my experimental game, it’s human nature.”

Yeah… Human nature… She got that bit right, but later she says something that typifies the song as just another part of humanity’s struggle to find what we all call ‘love.’ Katy says, “[it’s] Too good to deny it. ‘Ain’t no big deal; it’s innocent.”

I suppose this is the one line that justifies the whole song in Ms. Perry’s eyes. “It’s innocent…”

How can you be more misguided?

Why can’t she see the light of Jesus shining down? Why can’t she turn her voice to give glory to the one who truly loves her?

Love is not kissing a girl and liking it.

Love is not what the hearts of this world are seeking after.

True. Love. Is. Eternal.

Love is from God. No matter how hard this world tries, we will never come close to the true, joyous, inebriating, rapturous, beautiful, illuminating, delivering, bountiful, boundless, elating, constant love that God feels for us. (phew… I think John Piper may be rubbing off on me…)

Now, how can what’s wrong with the world be made right?

Only we Christians can change the State of Love. We hold the key to ultimate joy and satisfaction… Yet all too often we either clutch that key tight to our chest, believing in its power but afraid to share it with anyone else. Sometimes we smoothly tuck it into our back pocket or purse so we can just go about life as if we never had it.

Here comes the part where I plead with you and with my own heart: Share the Gospel. Hold that key out to anyone who would reach out, anyone who would repent, anyone who the Holy Spirit leads to you.

Know that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Romans 8 gives some great perspective on all this. :-)


-Wes


“It started out with a feeling, which then grew into a hope, which then turned into a quiet thought, which then turned into a quiet word. And then that word grew louder and louder ‘till it was a battlecry.”-The Call by Regina Spektor

So...

In the past 8 days, I have:

1. Hosted a mother and son from Texas
2. Driven said duo to all of the battlefields and monuments in the tri-county area... literally.
3. Driven 4 hours to Kettanning for an AP Party and 5 hours to the airport and home.
4. Learned to swing dance and had an absolute BLAST.
5. Taken upwards of 330 pictures
6. Worked on a roof for an ungodly amount of time and hence:
7. Darkened my skin tone by about three full shades
8. Made a Facebook page that won't get disabled
9. Prayed with a dear friend who received Christ (so awesome)
10. Biked in Mingo with some other friends and bit the asphalt a little
11. Found out the exact time when I'm going to test for my blackbelt (8:00 AM, June 21)
12. Had some of the best sourdough bread EVAR.

I will gladly elaborate on any of these events for you if you want. :-P

Love,
-Wes

"Let's waste time, chasing cars.
If I lay here... If I just lay here...
Would you lie with me and just forget the world?"
-Snow Patrol

Prince Caspian Review

A whole movie review in two sentences:

Prince Caspian was The most epicly-spinetingling, engrossing, emotionally-thrilling, ecumenically-strengthening film I think that I have ever seen. I will warn you, there are at least two things that are radically different from the book; but CS Lewis's spirit is still there and you have ABSOLUTELY no good excuse to NOT see this movie.

Conclusion(does not count as part of the review):

Go. See. It...Now. Even today if possible. If you can only see one movie for this whole year, make it Prince Caspian. Forget about Iron Man and The Dark Knight. And I don't want any whiney comments about the differences from the book.

Side note: It has quite a good deal of stuff that I wouldn't recommend for anyone under the age of 8-9. I like scary movies, and even I was scared at one point.

Love, a very thrilled, hopeful, and happy,
Wes

Bare Feet and Sunsets

So, yesterday was a good day. I did a lot of studying for a test I'm going to be taking far too soon.

I was alone for half the day though... Which can be kinda mind-numbing and humbling out on the farm. I sat around, went over flash cards, played videogames, and listened to a bit of music.

Finally, the sunset came. I snapped my picture of the day of the nearby hillside(not the sunset itself, for a change) and decided to go for a short walk.

At the beginning of Spring, I convinced myself that I need to go barefoot more often this year. I've always been one of those kids who would never DARE walk on any surface outside that wasn't as smooth as Sam's Club cement floors. So, by golly, that's going to change. So, I walked about a sixth of a mile or so through knee-high fields and across country road asphalt to get a better view of the setting sun. I think it was definitely worth it.

Walking toward a sunset reminded me so much of how insignificant I am. I know, I know, this is kinda a parroted statement, but hear me out. For thousands of years, that same sun has risen and set, despite who walks under it. Probably for hundreds of years, the grass that was in between my toes has grown, been cut, then grown again. The wind, the air that licks my face at the top of the hill might have been the same wind that blew across Cain's sweaty brow as he tilled the soil for food.

As I stood there, burning my retinas with UV rays, I struggled to come to terms with the fact that each day is such a microcosm of an instant in the timeline of the world. Why should it matter how I feel? Why do we build things like skyscrapers and bridges and cities on hilly peninsulas? I mean, seriously... WHY would you EVER want to build a commercial super-center on a piece of completely un-level land that you can only approach from one direction without using a bridge? It's just stupid... But here's Pittsburgh. Humans do some completely ludicrous things during their tenure here. Even when a day is so short and meaningless in the grand scheme.

But every day means so much to me. Every day. Every day. Every day is a whirlwind of thoughts, feelings, penstrokes, keystrokes, friendships, shutter clicks, pursuit and flight.

I'm getting really stinkin' old! I'm exactly 17 and a half today. Although, it wasn't exactly an amazing half-birthday... Have you ever had the feeling that you KNOW that you've been promised a gift, but you never know when you're going to get it? It's hard. Some days, it feels almost unbearable. Today was one of those days. Ideally, I'd like to my life to all work out: I want my friendships to be in perfect condition; I want my attitude to always be God glorifying; I want to be loving, and giving, and good... But so often I fail.

Uhg... God is driving me crazy! He keeps slapping me upside the depressed head with gratuitous amounts of encouragement when I least expect it. He doesn't leave me to wallow in my misery, like my worldly self would like him to. He keeps reminding me of his son who died for me. He keeps reminding me of how, even though every day is as fragile as an antique Christmas ornament in the hands of a haphazard, hyper 2-year-old, he has a perfect plan for me and all my failings.

My feet are sore. But that's only temporary, just like me. And I think I'm okay with that.

-Wes

"Wholly Yours"--David Crowder

Antiques, College, Forsythia, and Homeschool Magazines

In that order…(Yes, I know this post is a little long… But it’s from my heart and I’ll try to make it interesting.)

Three weeks ago, I went antique shopping for the first time in my life. I don’t know if I’ve ever had a more fun “first.” I’m so glad that I didn’t have any cash on me, or it would have all been gone by the end of the day. Monongahela City doesn’t just have some antique shops—I think it might be the antique center of the mid-Atlantic region. There are no fewer than five FULL houses of antiques and nick-nacks. I saw everything from a sweet compound bow to a camera from 1912.

{Heh, A BarlowGirl song just on the party shuffle on iTunes… Just thought I’d let you know.}

Everywhere we went, my mom and I were offered hot beverages and cookies. Everyone was so happy and carefree. In one of the shops, a turntable was floating Frank Sonatra’s silky, young voice around the antique jewelry. To my complete surprise, the record didn’t pop or skip: It was in perfect condition. Records are a beautiful thing to me… The sound that comes out of them is so warm and mellow. If I’m going to listen to Frank Sonatra, give me a spotless record over a CD any day.

I had a really cool revelation while antique shopping… As I was going along, I found at least one item that I could associate with a friend.

“Hah! Shannon would get a kick out of this coat.” “I bet the Calvettis would like this sweet Cavalry Cutlass” “Wow, this painting (from a local artist) reminds me so much of John!” “Alaina would love this picture.” “I bet Danielle would think that this quilt is awesome.” “Nathaniel would like these books from the 1800s.” “Kevin and Dillon would probably compare this ancient (unused) cologne with Axe or Tag.” “Mitch would probably put on that wig.” “Dave would love that cast-iron firetruck.”

The list goes on.

I love antique shopping, although I wasn’t so sure I would.

Last week, I went to *airquotes* Junior Crimson Day *airquotes* (insert royal fanfare here) at Grove City. If I wasn’t already sold on GCC, that day sealed my inebriation.

Inebriation:
To make drunk; intoxicate
To exhilarate, confuse, or stupefy mentally or emotionally.

So, now comes the “disclaimer referencing the true doctrine of providence.” I, Wesley Sames, do give God the complete right to do his will with my life… But I certainly ho—pray that his will for me involves GCC. I listened to the professors like a kid in a candy store, and I almost actively salivated as they dangled knowledge and faith in front of me like some kind of chocolate-encrusted, caramel-filled, innoxiously-scented carrot.
I don’t care what the odds of acceptance are or what languages they make me take.

I love Grove City, and I can’t wait to send my full application.

The forsythia is blooming. It’s official, Spring is livin’ large. My mom has always loved forsythia and she has always let our forsythia bushes grow naturally. While driving out to route 51 last week, I saw a row of forsythia bushes that were chopped down into perfect 4x4 cubes. If I was any more saddened I would have wept. Call me nostalgic, but I think our forsythia is amazing… It’s natural branches look so awesome in the breeze. I would never dream of forcing them to conform to a symmetrical pattern. Everything is coming to life out here. I praise God with all my heart and soul at the sight of new life in spring. That’s a big deal considering the fact that I don’t do it often enough. Thank you so much Lord for the seasons and their beauty, uniqueness, and glorification of You. The Farm may be a little out of the way, but it has its advantages.

I love forsythia, so much so that I hope we have it in heaven.

I wrote my untitled “Place” essay for AP English Language and Composition a few weeks ago. I liked it, but I didn’t think there was anything exceedingly special about it. Oddly enough, my amazing APLANG teacher, Maya Inspektor(formerly Molly Richman), loved it. Last week, she emailed me and said, “Hey, Wes, my Dad is going to print the next edition of The Excelsior tomorrow and he has an empty page he needs to fill. I would really like to put your ‘Place’ essay in there.” Now, I never was an avid reader of The Excelsior, but I felt like it was an honor to have one of my essays placed in here. Needless to say, my mom was even more ecstatic than I was.
So, the issue came, and I was shocked to find out that I knew most of the names of the authors in the magazine, and I knew two of them very well. Now, here’s a lesson in the loving providence of God: The entries on pages 7 and 9 were—if not comically ironic—so awesomely encouraging to me, in two completely different ways.

"You who are broken-

Come to Him and trust,

He will love you unconditionally...

You who are hopeless-

Draw close to Him,

He will give you reason for Life...

You who feel forgotten-

You who feel alone.

He will be with you

and loves you more than is fathomable."

"An ambition itself is a basic, purposeful idea to do, see, or become in life.

To have ambition is to have dedication, to place importance upon execution,

and to deem a certain amount of sacrifice as worthy that an accomplishment might be fulfilled...

Talking too much about dreams can begin to feel the same as if you've eaten an entire can of marshmallow fluff, or squirted a whole can of whipped cream down your throat--rather empty of anything but sugar and nitrous oxide.

Don't just imagine your dreams, but follow them up with action."

The next month is going to be hard... In so many different ways... I'm so blessed that I not only have a God who cares, but also friends who give encouragement even when they didn't mean to.

I love my friends; I don't deserve them, and I don't want to leave them.

But the most important thing is:

I love God, and I will follow where he takes me... Even if it is into the wilderness.

-Wes

"Runnin' down corridors,

Through automatic doors,

Got to get to you,

Got to see this through."

"Wires" -Athlete

V-Day Comeith

So, I walked into Hallmark 20 minutes ago to get my mom a Valentine's Day present, and audibly laughed as I walked in the door. Now, it wasn't a long laugh... It was maybe a loud chuckle... Enough to make a few people look up from their noise-making and song-singing cards and stare at me instead of the ridiculously red shelves that lined the store. I was laughing because I was confronted with the typical Valentine's Day stereotype: "Men wait until the last second to buy something."

The male:female ratio in the store was easily 10:1

I was also laughing because I was joining their ranks. I was one of those men who was waiting to get their gift at the last second... Life is so fun...

School has been presenting me with constantly renewing dilemmas recently. The SATs are over and done. Thank goodness. My scores are going to be an interesting valentine’s day present.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been up early and up late working on school… Frantically turning in assignments with a hair’s breadth of time before they’re due.

I'm going to be using HippoCampus for my religion studies... Hinduism is this week!

Trig is... going... I'm doing two days worth of it every day.

German is making sense. Although having 12 different ways to write a verb (I'm not even kidding) depending on what tense and person it's in seems a bit eccentric.

Russian lives on. I think I may want to teach my kids Russian. It just sounds so cool... Almost like an encrypted version of English. Of course, If I teach my kids Russian, they won't be able to go to Grove City without learning another language... *cough*

"A Time For Us" by Nino Rota, Composed for 'Romeo and Juliet'

Providentially Romantic,
-Wes

Music from Ages Past

As I mentioned in a previous post, my iPod is dead. This, however, does not mean that I am AT ALL generally lacking in the music department. I got a bunch of new CDs for Christmas, and my mom got an under-the-cabinet CD/Radio. Jeremy Riddle and David Crowder have become my almost constant companions. I’m really enjoying “God of All Glory, Stand in Awe, Sweetly Broken, God Moves (or whatever track 10 is)” and “Oh The Glory of It All, Neverending, and Rain Down” respectively.

As to the title of this post, it refers to the fact that I did something pretty...well...retro a few nights ago. My dad and I were listening to "The Wall" by Pink Floyd on the record player today, and he said "You know, Pink Floyd is really meant to be listened to in a darkened room with headphones on." It was just a passing comment... But it gave me an idea.

So, it was about 11:00. Everyone was asleep. I opened the stereo, plugged in some headphones, and set the record rolling. There I sat for 20 minutes or so, sitting slumpedly by the stereo. [ha... Alliteration.] Somewhere halfway though "comfortably numb" I thought to myself, 'gee... I wonder how many teenagers did this same exact thing when the album came out.' It was a really cool feeling. Somehow, I related with the past in a completely new way.


Today's song: Comfortably Numb.
"Hellohellohello. Is there anybody in here? Just nod if you can hear me."
"And I... Have become... Comfortably Numb."


Not Quite Numb,
-Wes

P.S. I know "Slumpedly" isn't actually a word.

R.I.P. iPod

I think iPods are one of those luxuries that you get used to after a while. My iPod’s main function over the past year was principally to lull me to sleep. Sadly, the death of my iPod’s hard drive has ended this luxury. The ramifications of its failure are still presenting themselves even about two months after the fact. Many nights, I’ve laid sleeplessly in bed, thinking about the thousands—maybe millions—of things that I have going on in my life. I guess I’ve become dependant on music to rock me to sleep. Music, for me, creates a sort of peace; it creates a place that I can fall into and forget the world and all my worries. In a lot of ways, I guess you could say that Music became something of a miracle drug for me.

Well, here’s the truth of it: That peace was extremely artificial. Synthetic. A placebo.
But now, I know the truth in Paul's customary greeting, "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."

The lack of music in my nightly routine has shown me (yet again) how much I need Christ. I know that I’ve lost hours of sleep to worry, fear and discontent. I know I’ve lost valuable rest to tossing, turning, and waking from shallow sleep. God has given me a new need, and (yet again) he has met my need only because I asked. He has given me peace, rest, and the occasional good dream. That’s definitely something to be thankful for.

“God With Us.” –MercyMe “My heart sings a brand new song. My debt is paid. These chains are gone.”

-Wes

FreeRice

So, I was on the PC World website when I found a link to this website: www.freerice.com

It's 100% real. They really do donate rice depending on audience participation.

Honestly, I can't think of a better way to increase my vocabulary.

SO! Spread the word(s)! Feed some hungry people! Post a link on your blog! do something!

$1.19

That's exactly how much Christmas shopping I've done... Just so you know.

And now for something completely different.

I practiced my manual focus/open aperture photography today, measured the difference between f/1.4, 1.7, 2.0, 2.4, 2.8, 3.5... So, after taking about forty worthless pictures, I formatted the card to save time. Little did I know that the camera actually had pictures from other occasions on it. Doh. Oh well. Maybe I'll be more patient next time...

I read through the book of James in my devotions this week. My Reformation Study Bible is so incredibly sweet. The bible is really cool--understatement--because I feel like I could sit, read a verse or two, reflect about it, then read the same verse again, and reflect again in a different way. Something that caught my eye in James this week was the final section of chapter 4. Paul talks about not boasting in the future. It made me realize how fragile my future is. I'd like to graduate, go to college, get married, and get a doctorate... But how much can go wrong in 8+ years? I could die driving to church tomorrow; next week I could become paralysed from being thrown incorrectly at Karate; Next year I might not get accepted into the college I want; within the next 4 years, we may be at war with some other nation(s), and I might get drafted...

I'm a very fragile person...
Luckily I know someone who's strong enough to protect me... Even if his hands, feet, and side have been pierced.

-Wes

"Gone"--Switchfoot

A Year of Thanks

"14For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; 15and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised." 2 Corinthians 5

"I was dead. But, now I live.

At the cross you beckon me. You draw me gently to my knees, and I am lost for words, so lost in love.

What a priceless gift, undeserved life,
have I been given, through Christ crucified.

I'm not who I was.

I know you've cast my sin as far as the East is from the West.
In the arms of your mercy I find rest.

You're all I want; You're all I need; You're Everything. Everything."

I was originally going to write a big, long post about the past year... But I think I'll just sum it up: Christ, is so worthy, so holy, so amazing, so present, and so good.


By Grace and Love, Moving Forward,
-Wes

Nothing in 500 Words

Well, here was my AP English assignment that I wrote today... It was very open ended, and meant to be fun. I was supposed to write absolutely nothing in 500 words in reply to an article entitled "How to write nothing in 500 words". Unfortunately, for all my effort, I couldn't manage to not make a point. To a friend who provided a wealth of contradictory writing examples that still stick in my brain to this day: Thanks. :-)

Well, here it is:
"First off, let me apologize. I am in no way an expert on articles, article writing, articles on writing, writers who write articles, or writers who write articles on writing to aid other writers. So, that being said, I humbly present my essay reviewing the article “How to say nothing in 500 words”. In this essay I will…1). *Ding* inform you in the art of writing nothing, 2). *Ding* throw aside hundreds of years of the evolution of the English language, 3). *Ding* tell you how to write good.

Generally, 500 words is an audaciously awesomely auspicious quantity of verbiage for an analytical essay. Fewer words would result in a vague obscurity, while more words can sound verbosely sesquipedalian. I believe that this is true. In my humble opinion, 500 words is the perfect quantity for writing nothing. In fact, so much nothing can be put into 500 words.
All things being equal, I could work my fingers to the bone and travel to the ends for the earth in search of original material. But, from where I sit, I prefer the easy way out when it’s all said and done. Under the cover of darkness, I could give the best years of my life to writing successfully. The pure and simple truth is that this is simply not the American way of life. Time and time again, we need to sit down and for all intents and purposes follow the true American norm: mediocrity.

But, we can change mediocrity into something so much better: embellished mediocrity! With a few simple short concise succinct keystrokes, we can turn a beautiful short sentence into a monstrously complex piece of prose full of busting with grody colloquialisms. An example: She ran. When polymorphed into an intelligent sentence, it reads: “This is the time when the female person about whom I am writing decided to take to her heels and swiftly sprint on a direction that was random and erratic”. See, wasn’t that so much more better?
Remember this: never ever back up your statements with facts. Facts often confuse and disorient your reader, and might dangerously subtract from your points or they may detract concepts your trying to present. If you bombard your reader with too many facts, they may become dazed and confused. Also avoid abstract analogies, they all too often end up like a panda in a golf cart.

Comparisons are just as bad, if not worse than abstract analogies. It’s very true.

In conclusion, 500 words is the perfect space in which to write nothing. To sum up, I prefer to write my nothings in the form of 500 words. In the end, I am entirely not an expert on the subject of writing. My humble and well-thought-out opinion is that it is completely entirely easy to write absolutely nothing in the space of 500 words. As I see it, why should I extend effort to make a piece of writing that’s actually meaningful when I can simply pump out 500 words of nothing in a fraction of the time?

The End."

funfunfun

In The Garden

If I could choose a day to last forever, I think it would be a lot like today.

The world is green and fresh from a new rain.
The water flowing through the gullies and down the streams accompanies the wind as it blows through the trees.
The sun shines down, not harsh, not hot... It's bright glow feels like a warm embrace.
In the shade, the air feels fresh and crisp, and the wind lulls and wraps like a cool sheet on a hot summer night.
The whole earth seems to heave with deep breaths. Awake, but relaxed.
The clouds glow, illuminated by the suns gentle rays, reflecting its beauty that is too harsh to look at directly.
I wonder if this is how Adam felt, looking out at the Garden...

But even amidst all that beauty and comfort, even in the very presence of the Living God. He was still alone...


-Wes.

Pulling Teeth

Well... I'm going into surgery today. I'm going to get four wisdom teeth out, the membrane under my tongue snipped, and a gum trimmed up.


My mouth is going to be a warzone.

Any prayers would be wonderful. :-)

Give Me Words to Speak, Give Me Steps to Walk, Give Me Faith to Carry On.

OooooooooHiiiiiioooooooooooPyle.


A very cool place. Which was only made cooler by the presence of cool people. It's so great to have such a joy-full church family. I feel like whenever I'm with everyone, I just see God's grace everywhere. All weekend, there were good times to be had: pressure points and prank calls with the guys in the car, mountain pies that ranged from perfect to indistinguishable from the coals in which they were made, scary stories with all of the guys, beatboxing and singing around the camp fire, laughing at Alaina constantly being dressed in red, white, & blue, Kevin allegedly seeing a skunk jump into the fire and burst into flame (it was Phoenix-skunk), silly string on Mike's car, Jack Sparrow imitations by the pool, (attempting to) split wood and almost getting an axe swing to the shin from Nathaniel, swimming illegally because you only live once, biking more in one day than I have in my entire life, seeing my pastor stand over someone with a raised axe, weird and comical handshakes and high-fives, truly awesome worship at the foot of the J-ville cross in the face of a massive thunderstorm.


Wow that was a long list, and I can still think of more...


But by far, the most memorable thing about the trip was cucumber falls, and how I got totally humbled there.


Call me insane, but it's been a long-standing dream of mine to stand under a waterfall. At cucumber falls, I attempted to walk through the 50-foot torrent alone and fell the first time, crushed under the weight of the water. I tried a second time, and made it through. Third, I stood under it for about 5 seconds and stepped back, and finally I stepped in for about 10 to 15 seconds. At this point, I was pretty much full of myself... I could handle what this bit of nature could throw at me. Talk about being macho and self-reliant.


BIG mistake.


Mr. Skiles asked me to take Dani through the falls, naturally, I accepted. As we walked up to the back of the falls, I explained to her to keep her back straight and her head up. Blinded by the rushing water, I locked my arm under hers.

"Ready?"

"Yeah"

"Okay, 1.2.3."

She slipped and fell, ouch.

No biggy, I'll try and hold her up.

Wrong.

I slipped and fell, pretty much on top of her, Mega ouch.


So, the worst had happened. Mr. Skiles had trusted me with his daughter, and she got hurt. After making sure Dani wasn't extremely injured, I immediately went to Mr. Skiles and apologized. So, where was my macho, master of nature attitude now? Buried.


But, like always, God spoke in a way that I could never have expected. Shannon consoled me simply by saying that it wasn't my job to be ever-dependable. BAM, it hit me. How could I have put all my trust in my own abilities? When God is so much more infinitely powerful and so much more infinitely reliable than me. The waterfall, that God had created, bore so many of the aspects of God. It was furious, powerful, and constant, but also it formed a gentle pool, that refreshed everyone. It was truly awesome, while I am a depraved sinner who doesn't deserve to be refreshed or loved.


But Thank God, I am a son of the One and only I AM, adopted brother of the only perfect man, and daily receiver of the grace and joy of the Holy Spirit.


So, how did it turn out? Mr. Skiles and I are now closer, my friendship with Danielle is stronger than ever, and God has taught me, yet again, to rely only on him.


I am adopted, I am loved, I am disciplined, I am refreshed.


Praise God.

Acceptance

School update time!

AP English Language and AP US History, here I come! I was accepted to both courses. I'm going to be learning English Language and Composition from Maya Inspektor and AP US History from Daniel Burns. My sister took APUSH in high school too, so I have some degree of knowledge as to what I'm getting into (Also, I believe that she took the course with none other than Kayte Bell, considering that she was on the class roster, and happens to be in the same graduating class as KA). From Kerriane's work and everything that's been said about the class, it should be a really fantastic experience. Not to mention that I'll be taking the class with a great friend from church. I can't wait!

SAT work is going well, I blazed through a ton of math yesterday. My verbal work is pretty good to begin with, so with some more effort, it could be great. The Essay is a big priority. I need to try to keep my ideas in the range of meaningful AND concise. I can't blaze out 4 four paragraphs of body and only have thirty seconds left to write a conclusion, (which is exactly what happened once). I need to keep trying to find that sweet spot. I may be taking an online class for that too.

Music! New Music!

I've been going out on limb with my listening recently. I've been purchasing singles, albums, and just general songs from bands I haven't been to interested in previously.

New favorite singles include:
"If Everyone Cared" by Nickleback (Hard-rocking romanticism)
"(you want to) Make a Memory" by Bon Jovi
"Wires" by Athlete (a really sweet song)
"Iris" by GooGooDolls
Sort-of: "Thnks Fr Th Mmrs" by Fall-Out Boy

New Albums that I've been listening to:
Every Breath You Take - The Police
Eyes Open - Snow Patrol (heh, Police, Patrol... kinda funny.)
End of Silence - Red

Those of you who know music will know that The Police are kindof an old band. Their CD has been laying around the house, just waiting for me to listen to it. It's cool stuff.
The Eyes Open purchase stemmed from my enjoyment of the single "Chasing Cars". Snow Patrol is different, they remind me of Coldplay.

Now, End of Silence I think needs a bit more of an explanation. I've been looking for something energetic to cut grass to, and Linkin Park just puts me in a bad mood. Enter the iTunes $6 albums deal! I noticed this particularly angst'y cover art near the bottom of the page, and I was directed to the latest album by the band "Red". As it turns out, they're a Christian alt-rock band whose main influence is Linkin Park...

Their influence shows.

The whole album is very driven and passionate, sometimes to the point of being corny; exactly like Linkin Park. But it's got some good stuff on it. That being said, I wouldn't recommend it as a Quote/unquote "Christian" band. It isn't worship, at all. It's all a reflection on all things the band deems to be "Red": Passion, Pain, and ultimately, Redemption. It suits my purpose as workout music though, so, I'm satisfied.

-Wes

His Will be Done

Have you ever had to wait for something, and the moment you feel ready to have it, you were told "Hold on, there's other stuff you need to focus on."?
Thank God, I think I'm having one of those moments.

I'm not going to Russia. The church in Perm cancelled the trip. Despite the fact that I now have an obscene amount of saved money that has no purpose, this is a downer. I've been gearing up for this trip for the past three months and it's just kinda slipped through my fingers.

However, I think it was a work of the Holy Spirit. He wants me here. He wants me to concentrate on other things. Things that, in the end, are more important. My (otleechna) friends, my church, AP courses, and my PSATs and SATs. God has given me a solid foundation on the rock. It's me who needs to choose what to build the house with. I keep being told that the SATs are only a test, that they don't make your life. This is a true statement, sort of. But what it does decide is where I go to college, and where I go to college is a big deal! The final four, (most likely eight) years of my education RELY on those scores. I've been studying for them, but not very seriously. Time to buckle down...

Does anyone else read their fortune cookies when they go to Chinese restaurants? I have fun with it. I never take them seriously. Especially when my sister has gotten one that said "Don't kiss an elephant on the lips today." (no joke). But, sometimes they have cool stuff to say. One time, I got a particularly meaningful pastry. The message inscribed in it's recycled paper slip was short, and sweet to anyone who knows Christ.

"Deep Faith Eliminates Fear"

I still have that fortune. It's really cool to think about at times like these. God has kicked me up off my butt and pointed me where he wants me. Thankfully, I am grounded in deep faith that God's Providence is enough. My God goes before me, he lives in me, and he comes after me. I can see him there. Who should I fear? (Joshua 1:9, Psalm 27:1)

So, now I'm going to start work on my two AP applications, studying for the SATs, and devoting with the guy's prayer meeting in mind. :-) God is good.

Well, as my AIM profile now says: "The wait is over, the Future is here."

and I want you to be a part of it.

-Wes

Today's song: "Wires" by Athlete

I Have...

Poison Ivy all over my face, neck, and shoulders... It's horrible.

I'm still alive though, and have a lot to blog about. Check back soon.

"The Piano"

Since I had no music segment in my last post, here's a post completely about music!

I found this video on YouTube, and it sums up a quality of freeform piano playing that I often struggle to express in words.



When I play, It's very rare that I think completely about the notes I'm playing, the melody, or any of that jazz. (hah, Jazz...) My thoughts have a tendency to wander from subject to subject, and my playing fluctuates with them.


-Wes

The Fields Are White For Harvest, But The Berries Need More Time

I love the outdoors. God in his mercy gave us plants, animals, water, air, and open sky. This is an amazing time of year out here... Nature is completely alive. The fields of hay and Timothy are golden and ready to be cut, the grass is green, Goslings are learning to fly, the blackberries are ripening, and the lightning bugs are coming out. It feels almost magical.

I have a good feeling about this summer... More than a good feeling, I'm absolutely twitterpated with it all.

No matter how many times I tend to think otherwise, this farm is a blessing. No matter how many times when I feel too far away. No matter how often our neighbors thunder their fuel trucks in and out. This farm is still a blessing. It's taught me so many things. Thanks to these past few years, I know how to garden, how to build a free-standing wooden structure, how to tear out and re-build walls, weld metal, how to improvise when lacking the right tools and/or supplies, install 3/4 inch hardwood, not to meantion gained somewhat of a knowledge of a VERY broad expanse of topics regarding a country household. I can't even begin to comprehend the advantages this knowledge.

God has given me so much, and asks for so little.

Lovin' my Country Home,

-Wes