67 Days to go

So, let the drama unfold. 2 weekends ago Sarah's, my lovely fiance, truck decided to break down on the weekend we were trying to move into the apartment she would inhabit until we get married and we would inhabit after we got married. No judgment on cohabitation, it's very pragmatic, just note the fact that studies show that couples who cohabitate before marriage are 75% more likely to divorce. Just sayin'.

Anyway, so the truck breaks down and it takes FOUR hours and 4-7 men (2-3 (maybe more) of them on illicit drugs...they were passerbys helping and I was SO grateful for them, however, we didn't exactly break down in the best part of town one could assert.) to get the truck onto a towing dolley. You see we pushed the truck OVER where the back tires rest in the dolley. Yes, our brute strength was shown, and 4 hours later our heads were boiling with frustration. Mind you, this break down happens just the next day after its radiator and thermostat had been replaced. So, at this point, we spend the rest of the weekend fixing the green, pickup truck - lovingly named Larry after the Veggietales (2 eprops for cheesy Christian movies that are so great and greatly to be praised). This fixing entailed getting a new battery (the old one was still under warranty, thank God!), replacing a radiator hose, replacing the spark plugs, and replacing the distributor cap.

If Larry wasn't in enough trouble in our books and pocketbooks, he decided to breakdown again on this past Saturday. Oh yes he did folks. Yes he did. Only this time, he decided he needed to do a little more damage...just to see what kind of cohonies we were made of. Larry decided to mess up and/or allow his transmission to mess up. Today we found out his repairs will sing to the tune of (since it's far too major of work for us to do ourselves) 1,500 bones!!! Oh yes, you heard me correctly. 4 digits folks. Four. and a comma. Thankfully (major thanks!!!) Sarah's Dad is going to be able to go in halves with us on the cost of repairs.

In short, we could use prayers. Much of our saved money was to go toward our upcoming wedding for which we are footing much of the bill. Pray for patience, dependable vehicles, discounts, second jobs that pay REALLY well, provision, contentedness, etc. Thanks all! You're wonderful...really wonderful.

Tomorrow I'll try to bumble out the lesson that sat down in my lap today with this whole saga.

Please SBC, hear this message...

So, I just ran across this article on another fellow's site. I will post the URL I hope everyone who reads this checks it out. It's so freaking amazing I'm speechless to describe it to you. It contains Aussies, Jesus, and lovin'. Seriously, how much better can it get? I do not know my friends. Check it out.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/church-may-profit-from-doom/2008/09/29/1222650989541.html

68.....

I was surprised at the similarity in the answers I received to the last question posed online and in life. Thanks for the insight ladies.

Now, say a fella was going to plan a picnic. What would an ideal picnic meal? (no rhyming intended)

PS: Does anyone know where I can find one of those traditional picnic blankets that are red and white squares? I really want one of those....

71 and counting

Listening to: Dracula's Wedding by Outkast

So, as I've been reading numerous blogs as of late, I've decided I want my blog to be something more. This will be my thinking pod and my cannon I will shoot questions out of to whomever to get some feedback on various marriage prep questions or issues.

So, I'll start with the following question:

What are the top three things that you would or do expect in a husband (if male, just pretend you weren't for a while. Pull on your panties and hook your bra and answer the question, please.)?

Until later.
Nic

Smorgasboard, morgasboard, orgasboard...

Enjoy this buffet of randomness, if you like.

First of all, I am eternally greatful to leading ladies in my life, with one in particular (the Lovely Honey Bunny of my Eyes), who challenge me and call me out like whoa. There is no way I could make it through this life (well, not as well anyway) with you (singular and plural).

Secondly, I'm glad that Heroes is starting to pull the reigns back a little bit on its episodes. Don't worry Mr. J, no spoilers here.

I think the older I get the smarter I realize my mom is. I have spent much of my life discrediting her because she did not go to college. I was wrong in that. Forgive me, Mom. I love you and I think you're brilliant in so many ways.

Lately, I've been forgetting Jesus, and I don't like that. He's so much, way more important than I make Him. Thank Him (reference to "Oh my Me" from Superstar with Will Ferrell playing Jesus) that He loves me just the same. Good one God/Jesus/Holy Spirit.

I enjoy having the one hundred best songs mix for free on the internet.

I am very, very enjoying the blog www.ragamuffinsoul.com. Check it out, if you like.

I miss singing lately, (maybe appropriately) I heard "I Miss You" by Incubus and I think I could nail that song with mine vocal chords.

Sarah and I still need prayer. Thank you all for supporting us and me more than I could have ever imagined. I now know that I/we truly have an army of supporters who love me/us more than I/we know. Thank you from my incredibly thankful aorta.

www.fox.com/fringe/ I like it.

I'm still tired of grad school, but things are getting a tiny, skohsh (spelled phonetically) better.

I think that's all for now. I'm excited to see some of you soon.

Heroes and Heartbreak

Spoiler warning (per the wisdom of C-man for those who have not watched the new episodes yet):

As I watch Heroes (in general, not currently) I am stirred in thought. I love the show because it reminds me of my childhood and my extreme love of mutations, superpowers, X-Men, collecting comic cards, going with friends on "missions" and taking on evil doers. I love the show because it makes me think. I think that should be a basic goal of film, media, theatre, etc. It works for me. I was so sad last night though. One of the characters - Nathan Petrelli - said after he was brought back to life how it was "by the Hand of God" that he was alive again. He said that (those with extraordinary powers) could be "angels enacting God's will." All of this I was ok with to some degree. However, when he took the message of "save the cheerleader, save the world" which was quintessential to the entire show (I mean a foundational piece to all plot lines) and changed it to "save yourself, save the world," my heart broke.

I was saddened. deeply. I was so hurt that the millions that watch this globally would take this message to heart. I was sad that God's message of His work for us to accomplish His will and our not having to work for our merit and salvation was completely abashed. I was broken that Nathan will (likely) continue to live by this mantra throughout the story.

As media is king in the land of the somewhat united States of America (capitalization used as deemed most appropriate) I mourned as God's True message was dishonored, untold, and misrepresented.

God save us, for only you can.
Save us from ourselves, for only you can.
God save our world, for only you can. Amen.

PS: Heroes is going to be really great this season!

Davey Jones's Locker

I can easily say that I have too many thoughts for public blogging. I run around as a rabbit- wildly frantic - without fully developing any thought to the measure it likely merits. I think things could be easier for me if I had less insight. Then as friends, situations, or God revealed things to me I could (if i chose...which is ultimately the issue) put them into practice before I ran off with the next piece of insight.

I think I'm drowning in insight.

I struggle to know how to expose my heart in this blog without making it a chunky puddle of emotional vomit. This post probably smells of the cat litter they use on school buses for such upcomings.

In news of late, I am completely tired of family drama. Too much drama, even for me a recovering drama addict. Seriously folks, seriously.

Everyone should know that Sarah and I debated postponing the wedding for various reasons, but after many long conversations inches from each others faces, we have decided - and feel the peace from God - about keeping our wedding date as scheduled for January 3, 2009. If you are not ok with this decision, I hope that you can find resolve for yourself because Sarah and I are likely tired of hearing from you and your off base judgments. If you want to be involved in our lives and our decision, bring us encouragement not judgment, distaste, and for God's and your own sake remove the plank in your eye before you start digging for the splinter in mine.

(sorry for those of you reading this to whom most of this does not pertain - which is most or all of you.)

PS: I now have a house plant called Atticus - the anti-cactus because Wal-Mart sells far too many cacti.

I love my lips. Gusta(v)!!!

So, yeah, this whole tropical storm/hurricane Gustav business is concerning. Please pray for those along the Southeast United States this coming week as this hurricane is to hit. Pray that Sarah and I and our families will be safe, and that my campus will not be blown away like Union University.

Proud Mary

I have officially eliminated internet and television from my home. No, I'm not typing this at home, I'm in the safety of a university owned and operated computer lab. With this new "free time" I will be able to more fully devote myself to self-awareness and exploration, soul spelunking, reading, prayer, background music, and piles of school assignments.

This change has been really telling. I find when I get home that I immediately want to turn on the television to see what is playing. I had no idea I was so hard wired. Several times a day I question what am I going to do with my time not watching TV (for there is much of it). The answer is everything that I should have been doing the past 3 semesters when I was watching TV. Tasks and devotions that result in growth and development rather than simple time swallowing.

I would really appreciate it if you would join me in praying for clarity and direction from the Lord in a couple of specific, unsaid areas.

New Beginnings

Welp, here I am again. The start of a new semester. I am incredibly certain and uncertain of what it will bring. I know that it will bring the future closer, our wedding date closer, my master's degree closer, my future job(s) closer, etc. In the same hand I am uncertain that this semester will bring relief and not added anxiety instead, that my plans will align with the Lord's plans, etc.

Still, I love new beginnings. I love the idea of newness; all is gone from the past and only possibilities and choices lie ahead. I remember when I first went to college that I decided I was going to change who I had been for 18 years to someone new. I had a chance to leave behind (so I thought) everything that I did not like from the past and could recreate myself. I found truth in that and found that the past is right there behind me when I turn around to look at it. I feel similar with this school semester. I am certain that the Lord is renewing me and definitely allowing challenges along the way to test me in that newness. I pray that I would not be like Lot's wife and turn for the past that only bears death, fire, sin, and lost hope. I pray that I would fix my eyes on the unchanging and that I would be in constant change to be fully refined in His likeness.

(I hate that the computer lab on campus is only open until midnight tonight instead of the usual 2am closing time.)

I am reading The Picture of Dorian Gray currently as a bedtime story. I am not sure yet what I think of this work. I think I would be wiser to read books like this in one big sitting so that I could soak up as many details at one time as I could like a sea sponge. However, this will not be so as bedtime stories are meant to help one fall asleep (I assume).

I miss all of you who know my heart so well, regardless of the physical and/or metaphysical distance between us. peace friends.