Lent

I'm not if you observe Lent or not, but it's something I've been trying to observe over the last several years or so.  Sometimes I'm really sucessful and sometimes not, but I usually try.  I often have a hard time deciding what to give up because I want it to be a sacrifice, but I want something to motivate me.  This year was easy.

Blood:Water Mission (an organization I am very big on) put out the challenge to drink only water during Lent and take the money you would have normally spent on other drinks and donate it to help build wells in Africa.  I'm not telling you this to brag about what I'm doing for Lent, but to encourage you to give this a try.  Heck, even if you don't decide to do this for Lent, at least consider donating money to such a wonderful cause.

On a side note to Jace: The last time Duke scored 100 in a game was 12/17/07 against Albany (111-70) and the last time they scored 100 against an ACC team was 02/20/05 against Wake Forest (102-92).

Peace Corp Reboot

So, I know it's been a while since I've posted anything, but I really haven't had anything worth sharing with the outside world.

However, today Kimberly and I found out for sure where we'll be going with the Peace Corp.  We now know we will be going to Turkmenistan (or Stan to Kimberly) and leaving sometime in late September.  That's a long time away, but we are still eager to experience to the Peace Corp and all it has to offer so we are going along.  I'll post more details when I know it.

St. Valentine

An article on Wikipedia states that the first mention of a Saint Valentine was 3rd century Rome where a priest was marrying Christian couples.  At this time it was illegal to aide Christians, who were being persecuted by the Romans at the time.  The priest was arrested by Claudius II and actually gained favor with him until he tried to convert the emperor.  At that point, Claudius decided to carry out his execution.  He was beaten with stones and clubs and when that didn't work he was finally beheaded.

So how did this incident turn into what we know as Valentine's Day now?  Is it because people still want to make guys suffer like St. Valentine by forcing them to have to decide on what to get that special someone.  Personally, I think the whole "holiday" is bogus, but I can't get away with ignoring it.  I love my wife 365 days a year and I tell her every day.  The best I can do is to not fall into the trap of buying 2 dozen roses and paying $5 for a card.  Roses and chocolates and cards have killed the imagination of men everywhere (not to mention the wallets).  So, I know it's late, but do something creative and out of the ordinary for your special someone this year.

The Circus!

These are just a couple of pictures from mine and Kimberly's trip to the Circus on Thursday night.  We had great seats (surprisingly) and really enjoyed all of the acts, except for the feather girl who was blocking our view of the elephants.  The only thing I thought was odd was all the singing in the show.  Since when did the circus become a musical?  Either way it was lots of fun and a memory I won't soon forget.

A Reason for the Pain

So, I'm a pretty big fan of the show Lost; I watch it on a weekly basis.  For those that don't watch the show, lately it has involved inadvertant time travel.  What I mean is the people on the island are traveling back and forth through time without being able to control it.  This past week, they had gone back in time again and one of the characters came across a particularly troubling time in his past.  One of the other characters asked him why he didn't go and stop himself from doing whatever it was.  His response was this, "I needed that pain to get where I am now."

Many times we view the difficult times in our lives and wish we could go back and change them.  But those are what really made us who we are.  We either learned from those mistakes or they made us stronger people than we were before.  I can think of a few instances that I would love to go back and change in my life, but if I did that I know it would change the person that I am now.  What did you learn from a difficult time in your past?  How is God shaping you through your mistakes?