Reconstruction Continues

Hey folks,

Ahhh, so the format revamp isn't going like I wanted it to. I realize the "fix" probably didn't fix anything for those of you who don't have extra-long monitors. So...I'll keep working on it. When I have time, anyway.

Here's what I do have time to work on right now, because I'm getting paid sweet green for it:
http://www.wkusports.com/SportSelect.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=5400&SPID=2259&SPSID=28997
If you're wondering what in the world I'm doing poring over the men's basketball roster for Western Kentucky, well, it's my job. A small part of my job. Hopefully I'll get the chance to explain later.

Anyways, shalom out, and here's a Bible passage Lana and I have been chewing on recently:

Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a "fool" so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight. As it is written: "He catches the wise in their craftiness"; and again, "The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile." So then, no more boasting about men! All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God.

1 Corinthians 3:18-23 (NIV)

That snorkel's been just like a snorkel to me

OK, so I'm succumbing to the trend and using a quote as my post title. But life's too short to try to actually dream up an original title. Don't try to question that rationale...

Been reading (in very limited spare time) a terrific book called Culture Making by Andy Crouch. It came in on the stock cart at Solid Rock one day and caught my eye (I was working at Solid Rock then, for those who don't know). I picked it up, read a few pages, and immediately knew that it would be one of the most important books I would ever read. Bought it on the spot (with employee discount). Fantabulous book - if you're at all interested in culture, you must read this book. Gives a fresh yet biblical perspective. I haven't finished it yet, but I plan on reading it again many times once I'm done.

Another terrific book is Sinner by Ted Dekker, which released at the beginning of this month. If you haven't read anything this guy has written, you need to, but his stories are not for the faint of heart. His stories depict Darkness, but that just allows the Light to shine through them all the more brilliantly. This guy is one of my storytelling heroes and Sinner is another spectacular tale from him.
If you're interested in reading Dekker, I recommend starting with the Circle Trilogy. Three novels, two worlds, one story. After reading it, you may never look at the Gospel the same ol' way.
Enough about him...

I've been redesigning the blog, and working on getting it so it doesn't cut anything off. I think I've finally fixed that problem; if you're still seeing things cut off, let me know please. I like the wider format as it allows you more flexibility in putting things on the page, but I realize that some people have smaller monitors than I do and can't see it all at once. You SHOULD be able to scroll horizontally now.

Hoping to someday soon use this blog to share my thoughts about theology, "the church in America" (and why that's such a terribly un-useful term), telling stories, and much more. My wife and I have had some stimulating conversations, influenced by the writings of Piper, Dekker, Lewis, Tolkien, and many others; I'd love to share them on my blog. Right now there's just way too much to do.

God has been blowing my mind lately. Again, wish I had time to discuss it here, but since I don't, let me just throw out a word that my Sunday night class is growing to know well: assumptions. How many assumptions fill our minds and dictate the way we live, without us ever thinking about them? Are assumptions part of a godly mindset? What would happen if we (prayerfully) questioned even the most basic assumptions about our lives? about God? about the world?

On Sunday nights we've been looking at assumptions that are often held in Christendom. Stuff like "The Lord helps those who help themselves" and "Jesus looked like us (meaning WASP, that is)" and "We're not supposed to hate." We're taking these assumptions and holding them up to the light of the Bible. The question, ultimately, is not what has man said? or what have I always believed? or what makes sense to me? The question is what does God say? We're digging into the Word and coming up with some interesting and sometimes unexpected answers.

Ehh, I want to just break down and write a long post about assumptions now. But it's bedtime, and my wife and I definitely need the rest. Toodleoo and shalom out, my Hebrew homies, till then.

Stop, hey, what's that sound?

What's goin down, tell me what's goin down
You wanna know just what's goin down?
Stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's goin down
- TobyMac

You just thought I'd never post again.

You might be right.

Naw, I don't intend to call it quits on the blog just yet, but then again, this is my first post in nearly a month. It's a busy life, and I haven't had much time to be on the Internet, much less writing blog posts.

We have made three filming outings for the most anticipated film of 2007, er, I mean, 2008 (it could even be 2009). The result: We have, in the director's estimation, completed over half of the remaining filming. We still probably have four or five days of filming ahead of us at least; don't even try to make my math match up, just trust that it does.

Three-fourths of the film is edited and I'm dipping my proverbial toes in the water with the score. Once the filming is finished, it's still going to be several months at least before we finally unveil Hunted to the world. But I believe that we will unveil it, and I'm excited about that.

FtF is less than two weeks away, and I'm pumped about what the Lord has for us this year. Pray for our group; there's a spiritual war going on and I pray that God, not Satan, wins this battle. And please come out prayerfully and expectantly on Saturday, August 23, and share this exciting day with us.

I have a new job, and hopefully I'll get a chance to post more about that later. Working on transitioning from The Solid Rock to this new thing. I'm slightly scared and really excited, because I know that it's what God has for me.

So that's a little bit of what's goin down, for now. Shalom out.

Hunted Strikes Back

Tomorrow

July 16

AD 2008

the most anticipated film of the year

2007 --

which has become

the most anticipated film of the year

2008 --

shall resume principal photography

after an eight-month hiatus

and there shall be much rejoicing

HUNTED IS COMING, BABY!!!

hee hee hee....

This is Luke's wife posting for him, before sister Nan starts to remind how wonderful blog posts are :P
And no, he didn't ask me to, but no, I didn't hack in :^D

Well, what's up with Luke: he's busy working 31-39 hours a week, exercising (almost) daily with his wife (at her request) eating a lot of homemade food (and raving about it), and doing various other things that married life involves.
He's learning to be the head of his own household, and doing a marvelous job. He's set up a budget that we're working with this month, he takes good care of his wife and makes sure she drinks lots of water and takes her vitamins and supplements. She needs a lot of reminding. Once this weekend, he cleaned up the mess after his wife gagged on her supplement drink (and it choked it up all over the floor). She nearly cried to see him bent over mopping it up, but then she laughed b/c she felt like a baby who'd spat out her formula.
Oh, I teased him the other day b/c 'we've got a teenager in the house', but he's a really strong, God-fearing man. and I love him a lot.
Other news... Luke got a raise last week! We were very excited. And we celebrated with pound cake, which was wonderful and also exciting :^)
He'll be home in about an hour, and of course we're both looking forward to it.
Miss you, my love!!!
You can delete this post if it bothers you, but I was trying to sign into my own account on your laptop, and it put me to your dashboard, so.... :^P

Married life

First off, got to go to AARON and MEGAN's wedding today!!! Kudos to the new Mr. and Mrs. A-Luv! Just watching his face throughout the ceremony was a fun experience; he looked, as my dad put it later, like a little kid on Christmas morning. He and Megan are such a blessing; it's been so neat to watch them come into our church, pray to receive Christ, grow in the Lord, fall in love, and now start a new life together as husband and wife.

We're kinda just chillin at home right now; Lana's lying on the bed reading Calvin and Hobbes (we got the complete three-volume collection as a wedding present from wonderful Uncle John and Aunt Angie!) while I post. She made the most awesome stuff for dinner tonight. I just asked her what it's called and she bravely made up the title of "Creamy...Rice and...Chicken Bake". Sounds good to me, love. Anyways, it is fantastic; all you cook-type people have got to get the recipe from her. She told me it's an old family recipe, dating back to about 5:00 this afternoon.

Married life is quite fun. I don't want to pretend that it's always easy; things like overflowing garbage and wrinkled pants and black bean soup that didn't turn out just right, do pop up from time to time. But we are so happy; God has blessed us so much, and it is so cool to be together as husband and wife.

So, my final verdict on courtship, now that I have forever left it? I am more convinced than ever that it is absolutely worth it. Wait on the Lord, wait, wait, wait, and He will bless you a hundredfold for it. It may not seem like such a big deal to dabble with that special someone now, to dip your toes in the whirlpool of romance and swirl them around. But I can tell you, after holding back and finally being freed to give my everything to my bride, that doing things God's way is infinitely better than doing what excites us at the time. Do not awaken love until its appropriate time, the Bible says. Do not, DO NOT, DO NOT!! There, I'm done preaching...for now.

As for the wedding, yes, I hope to post some pics at some point. I'm sure you've seen Lana's blog (if not, go check it out, for pete's sake!); she's got a lot of photos there. For now, all I'll say about the wedding is:
"Since the invention of the kiss, there have been five kisses that were rated the most passionate, the most pure. This one left them all behind."

God bless ya'll, and I hope to post again sooner (and who knows, maybe I'll have some news on that elusive most anticipated film of the year!).

The Return to Narnia (or wherever)

Just a quickie for now as my lovely wife and I are about to depart and (finally) watch The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.

I want to thank you guys so much for praying for us and encouraging us through the months of our courtship. It seemed like forever, but now the waiting is over, and we've just begun.

I'll try to provide a more detailed post about the wedding in the next couple of days, because of course I want to talk about it. No pictures yet, sorry, the only one I've seen is on my wonderful mother-in-law's blog (pursuingjoy.blogspot.com). If you have pictures, please please please send them to me (or post them on your blog); my wife and I (and quite a few other people) really want to see them!

Man, there's so much to talk about, but no time now, Narnia is calling us back!

God bless you all; no, we aren't abandoning our blogs; and yes, in case you're wondering (and I'm sure you are), MARRIED LIFE ROCKS MY FACE OFF!!!

Just over a day left...

I'm writing this post from my and Lana's apartment. Sitting on the black couch, listening to the hum of the air conditioner (well, along with Michael W. Smith on my lappytop). It's the home God has provided for us. What an incredible blessing; thank You, Lord!

Just chillin' here (and getting a few things done while I chill, I should add) before I head over to the rehearsal. Ahh...

I love my house. It's not really a house, I know, but I won't be able to stop calling it that. It's just...so crazy, to sit on the couch and see all the stuff we've brought in thus far. And to know that a week from tomorrow, Lana and I will be settling down here -- to live together.

And by that time, we'll have been married for a week -- AHHHHHH!!!!

I want to quote my song, man I do, but I can't, I'm saving it back. The world premiere for it is tomorrow night at 7 pm, if anyone wants to attend.

Wow, I'm getting married in about twenty-seven hours. And I still haven't really gotten nervous yet. I figured I would, I'm still expecting it to hit me at any minute. But so far it's just like, wow, wow, it's really happening and the greatest day of my life really is tomorrow. Wow. Praise God, praise God, praise God.

Thank you all for praying for me and Lana, and please don't stop now. Pray especially for the wedding, not for us (although we'd appreciate it) so much as for those who attend. I believe God wants our wedding to be a powerful testimony of His grace and love. Not everyone who will be there knows Jesus.

A thought just hit me. We do an Easter program every year in our church, and at times I've wondered what it would be like to play Jesus. I so respect Jason, the guy who currently does it; he takes it so seriously and lets God work through him.

But, um, wow, get this, this just occurred to me: Tomorrow night, I'm playing Jesus. Our wedding is a picture, an acting out of the Great Romance between Christ and His people. Lana represents the Church. And as the groom, I will be standing in the place of my Savior. What a thought!

OK, so now I'm a little bit nervous.

I'll try to post tomorrow, but in case I don't have time, God bless you guys, and thanks for the prayers!

HE POSTS

Hello chums, just a quick word from this side of the universe.

Sorry I haven't posted in a long long time. These days, usually the only time I have to write about what's going on in my life is when I'm penning e-mails to my beloved Lana. And, you can ask her, even those don't come everyday.

Busy busy busy...

But it is now one week until the biggest day of my and Lana's lives. Hard to believe; just another blink and we'll be married.

Unfortunately this blink still seems rather lengthy to me...

Working on doing my part for the ceremony (which certainly isn't much at all, compared to what my bride and her mother are doing) and planning the honeymoon, which is fairly delightful. And, oh yeah, I have a job now (PRAISE THE LORD!); hopefully you've read about it on Lana's blog. Christian bookstores are the bomb, I love the atmosphere and the people and all the cool stuff that's lying all around the store.

Tonight Lana and I are going to a blessing party, just for us, put together by some dear friends of our families. Just having the party alone is a blessing to us, but they have invited our parents and a few other couples that we know, and they are going to bless us verbally. How awesome is that? Praise the Lord; it should be a wonderful evening!

Well, I'm going to go to bed now, then get up and go to work, then off to the blessing party and getting to be with my beautiful fiancee.

Shalom out, my Hebrew homies. See you next Friday (at least, I might see you before SHE enters the room).

The Birthday of My Bride!

Today was Lana Marie's birthday!!!

And it was wonderful and I got to be with her all day and give her presents and buy her lunch and take her to the park and other stuff.

Yay for birthdays and for my Lana! I love you! And I was so glad to be with you and make your 20th birthday even more special!

Eric O'Brien is running from his past...still...

Check out the first theatrical trailer for the most anticipated movie of the year! And let me know, in the comments section, if you find any theaters that are interested in playing it. ;-p

I'll post more later as I have time. But for right now, I'll just say that man, God is good! It's been yet another crazy week, full of highs and lows, but He loves me so much and He shows me so much grace. I love you, Father!

And I praise Him for the woman He has given me for life. There's definitely a double meaning there; not only will I have her for the rest of my life (unless the Lord takes her home), but she keeps my life going. My Lana Marie, I love you so much, and I can't believe we're now LESS than four weeks from lawfully wedding! ("Wedding" is a verb in the previous sentence, in case the rest of you readers are wondering.)

Life is good, because God is good!

Where I am right now

I really haven't posted in a long time, have I?


Going to Lana's church tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it; should be a pretty different style of service than what I'm used to, and that's a good thing. And of course, I'm just excited about getting to be with Lana and her family.

Then, that afternoon at her church, we have the second of our wedding showers! Yippee great and glorious joy! The one last Sunday, at my church, was a blast, and now we get to do another one! Pretty cool to think about getting presents from a bunch of people most of whom I've never met.

Heading into the home stretch with school; three weeks of class left. It's strange, the way semesters go by. You get situated in your new classes, then you get used to them and they just become a part of regular life, then before you know it they're wrapping up. Cannot wait to bid this semester farewell and head into what promises to be the greatest summer of my life.

Forty days left till marriage. Sounds very surreal, yet for some reason it isn't, to me. It just feels right, to know that I'm spending my last few days in my family's house, that I will soon leave it and not come back (except to visit, of course), that I will begin to live with Lana and continue living with her for the rest of my life.

As I prepare for that, I'm still looking for one key component -- my job. The company that I have been working for had to downsize this year and I probably won't be working for them again in the foreseeable future. So I'm exploring options and trying to find a job. My personal goal is to have a job by the end of this coming week, so please pray that God will guide my search and lead me to the job He has for me, in His time.

That's all for now. Sorry for the length of time between posts; hopefully I'll be able to post more frequently in the future. God bless all of you.

The Slow March of Time

Wanted to write one more post while it's still March. Especially while it's still March 31. Because as my lover wrote for a school assignment due today, "March 31 only comes once a year - celebrate it!"

Right now I am glad to be finished with March, mostly because it allows me to move on to April, and after April comes - well, you know. All sorts of people are now telling me how quickly May 23 will come. And well, yeah, it is - and I kinda feel bad that it's coming quickly for my dear future mom-in-law, because she has so much to do to get ready, and even though it's a special day for her, she's not the one getting married. I don't guess I've thanked you for all your work, Mrs. T - Thank you so much! It overwhelms me how hard you're working to make my and Lana's day even more special.

But I'm not the mother-in-law, I'm the groom, and May 23 seems so far away still. I miss Lana so badly. I even miss her when I'm with her now - not because her presence is lacking in some way; I'm missing something else, that we've never had and won't have until the wedding day. It hurts to not be able to hold her hand or kiss her or wrap my arms around her. But I know, however much of an eternity it may seem, the end is very near.

I wrote an article for the upcoming CtB (which is, BTW, the last one, if you hadn't heard that yet) about waiting for my wedding and how it must parallel Jesus' waiting for His own wedding. Definitely something I'd never thought about before.

Well, I'm gonna go to bed now. Please be in prayer for me and Lana, especially Lana in the next few days; she has a lot of school assignments to do and not much time to do them. And also, we've been going through some...well, spiritual warfare, is the way she put it today, and I think that's right. So pray that God will focus our hearts on Him and that we will trust Him with everything.

BTW, I apologize for the title of this post. It's terrible, I know. I just couldn't resist...

Quote Time!

I love quotes. They're so...quotable. OK, OK, but I thought I'd do a postful of quotes, since I like 'em. This is by no means a list of my favorite quotes; don't even know where I'd start on something like that. But just a few that I like, or that I just remembered, or whatever.

Take the chance, in the comment section, to post any quotes that you like!

"Time to shred some powder!" - Granny Puckett, Hoodwinked!

"This is not a peace. This is an armistice for twenty years." - Marshal Ferdinand Foch of France, commenting on the Treaty of Versailles, which ended World War I in 1919

"Um, sir? How did we get out, and why is it dark?"
"STOP ASKING STUPID QUESTIONS, PRIVATE!" - Private and Sir, Sir

"You'll never find peace of mind in your former self
You'll never find peace of mind in a sea of wealth
You'll never find peace of mind in your rock 'n roll
You'll never find peace of mind if you sell your soul

You'll never find peace of mind in your lucky charms
You'll never find peace of mind on a hippie farm
You'll never find peace of mind in a one-night stand
You'll never find peace of mind in your Superman"
- dc Talk, "Like It, Love It, Need It"

"Btw, this post didn't have any point to it. I just wanted to say something." - Sir Tony the Clever

"Hold your ground! Hold your ground! Sons of Gondor, of Rohan, my brothers! I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me. A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship. But it is not this day! An hour of wolves and shattered shields when the age of men comes crashing down. But it is not this day! This we day we fight! By all that you hold dear, I bid you stand, Men of the West!" - Aragorn, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

"I am the evil sorcerer. They call me Bubba." - T-Rev

"You can't go on writing epics all your life; but until you can do something else, you simply must write epics." - Christopher Wiseman

"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." - Albert Einstein

"Last week, Japanese scientists explaced... placed explosive detonators at the bottom of Lake Loch Ness to blow Nessie out of the water. Sir Cort Godfrey of the Nessie Alliance summoned the help of Scotland's local wizards to cast a protective spell over the lake and its local residents and all those who seek for the peaceful existence of our underwater ally." - Napoleon Dynamite

"All my life flashed before my eyes! ...It was really boring." - Babs, Chicken Run

"You can't wait till you've arrived to start going somewhere." - Lady Lana the Adorable

"There was just...something about His eyes." - Tobias (Daniel's character in this year's The Glory of Easter)

"God. He's...wow." - Thomas Hunter, Black

Sickness, storms, spring break, and The Story

Yo all,

Thanks for the kind comments and for being quiet and all that jazz. I have been sick and rather miserable, but hopefully (wink wink, Lana) I'm getting over it. Yesterday was a horrendous day, full of high fever and upset stomach and barely being able to move. Today I've had a low fever, I'm still pretty tired, and I've had a splitting headache. But it's definitely better than yesterday. The strangest part of this whole thing is that even since my stomach settled down, I haven't had much of an appetite at all.

Anywayz, so that's my report, now that's enough about sickies.

I don't remember the last time we had this much rain. It rained most of yesterday evening and most of the day today. The most exciting part of it came early this afternoon when heavy winds swept through Branch. I was standing in the dining room, watching the storm rip branches off our neighbor's tree, and saw a huge something fly by the north window. What in the world was that? I shifted my gaze to the east windows, which overlook our front yard and the highway. Next moment, our trampoline soared past the neighbor's tree and onto Highway 41. The wind had carried it all the way from its place in the back yard, over the fence, past Dad's truck in the driveway, over the ditch, and onto the road. That trampoline is now famous in the Branch area.

Such are the thrills of a small town in Arkansas. It's still raining right now, and according to the local weather reports, it probably won't stop anytime soon. I'm just glad that, like my sickness, all this rain is coming in the early part of this week. Our church's Easter program is this weekend, and I certainly don't want to be sick -- or to have it rain this much -- then.

It's also nice that it's spring break and I don't have to miss class. But as glad as I am to have some time off from school, I'm pining for my Lana. She was supposed to get to come over today, but my sickies prevented that. I'll see her tomorrow, Lord willing.

The attempts at sappiness to her over on her blog made me chuckle. You guys have got a ways to go, but that's okay.

Easter Week is one of my favorite weeks of the year. Obviously it's exciting because of the Easter program, one of the biggest events our church does all year. But so much more than that, this is the week when we give special attention to the story of Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection.

It's such a fascinating story, and it never fails to hit me whenever I read it in any of the four Gospels. A spellbinding plot with twists and turns. Glorious love. Wrenching betrayal. A climax followed by a bigger climax. Memorable villains. And the greatest Hero of all time.

Take some time this week to read it in your Bible. Experience anew the crowd's Hosannas, Judas' treachery, Peter's tears, Pilate's dilemma. And rejoice for the King who did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.

Praise forever the Name of Jesus.

A passion for the Word

My son, do not forget my teaching,
but keep my commands in your heart,
for they will prolong your life many years
and bring you prosperity.

Let love and faithfulness never leave you;
bind them around your neck,
write them on the tablet of your heart.
Then you will win favor and a good name
in the sight of God and man.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge Him,
and He will make your paths straight.

Do not be wise in your own eyes;
fear the Lord and shun evil.
This will bring health to your body
and nourishment to your bones.

Honor the Lord with your wealth,
with the firstfruits of all your crops;
then your barns will be filled to overflowing,
and your vats will brim over with new wine.

My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline
and do not resent His rebuke,
because the Lord disciplines those He loves,
as a father the son he delights in.

- Proverbs 3:1-12

I've been working through Proverbs lately, and these verses (among many, many others) have meant a lot to me. I'm so young, so green, so immature, and this book in particular is filled with stuff aimed directly at my life. I need it so badly. And it makes me realize anew that I need the Word, so, so badly.

As a preacher's kid, some of my greatest advantages can also turn into weaknesses, if I let them. For as long as I can remember, I've known a lot about the Bible. I used to get teased about it all the time in youth; I guess not so much anymore since I'm one of the leaders, and people are used to it. For a while, in my mid-teens, it became almost a joke in youth class to mention some Bible verse and then have me quote it word for word and provide the reference.

People would stare at me and wonder how I knew so much about the Bible. Well, it's really not that hard when it's been banged into you your whole life, from many different sources.

But I haven't been thinking much about knowing a lot about the Bible. The truth is, I don't know nearly enough. That's where this strength has turned into a weakness for me. For a long time, I've pretty much grown complacent about the Word. I've learned a lot about it, and I've begun to think that it was enough. That I didn't really need to diligently pursue the Truth of the Word of God like I used to.

As a result, I feel like I'm way behind, in a way. Sure, I spend time reading my Bible everyday, like I'm supposed to, but why do I do it? Just 'cause I'm supposed to?

That ain't good enough.

I want to have a passion for the Word of God. To be continually studying it, memorizing it, meditating on it, coming back to it, applying it to my life. I don't ever want to stop learning the Scriptures, going deeper into them. But it seems like I'm so far away from doing that consistently. Give me a hunger for Your Word, Father!

"The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life." - John 6:63

God is working!

God is working, and wow is it cool.

Tonight during our youth service I got to pray with three young men from our group. All of them are part of our core, and all of them have recently shared some of their struggles as God does a work in their lives. It was such a blessing tonight to be able to talk to them, pray with them, tell them I loved them.

The Lord is doing a work in our church right now. What do I mean when I say that? He's always working after all, isn't He? Well, yeah, He is, but I just mean that over the past few months we have seen His work show up in individual people's lives. Some of them had been lost, some had been backsliders, some needed to be baptized, some just needed to go deeper in their walks with God.

There is nothing like being able to see the hand of God working in a church. I praise Him so much for allowing me to be a part of this one. I know that ultimately, there's nothing special about our church. We're just a local body of believers that God continues to bless. It's all about Him, now and always.

Thank You, Lord, for my church family.

What happened one year ago today

It was Tuesday, and we were sitting in American Lit class, my best friend and me. Occupying our usual seats in adjacent desks on the left side of the large classroom, near the front. Usually she made it to the classroom before I did, was sitting there waiting; and we would chat before class.

At about 9:29 am, Professor Ann Winters walked into the room, holding some highly-anticipated documents: our graded papers. Our assignment had been to write papers on the role of family in one of the short stories we had read early in the semester. Lana and I had each decided, independently, to write about "The Revolt of 'Mother'" by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman. We had gathered sources, written, rewritten, had writing conferences with Ms. Winters, and finally turned in our final copies to her. Now anxiously we awaited the verdict, the grade, the pronouncement of doom.

The good professor began to walk around the room, distributing graded papers to various students. She handed Lana's paper to her; my best friend flipped through it till she could see the grade, and immediately burst into tears. Oh no.

Her paper had received a grade of 69. Not because of the quality of the writing, but because of a technicality on sources. Ms. Winters had told us earlier in the semester that in order to make a C or higher on the paper, we had to exactly follow the rules on how many sources were in our paper.

Lana had been unsure of whether her secondary sources qualified to meet the rules. But since she had met with Mrs. Winters to look at the paper, and Mrs. Winters hadn't said anything about the sources, Lana assumed they were fine.

She was wrong. And she didn't make a C or higher on the paper. And now she was crying, and asking Mrs. Winters why she had received this grade.

The professor didn't budge. She told Lana that the guidelines for sources had been clearly laid out on our assignment sheet. However, she said, she was willing to let Lana fix the sources and turn in the paper again for a new grade; Lana's final grade for the paper would then be a composite of the old grade and the new.

It was a merciful deal, on the whole, but Lana's poor grade had wounded her. She wept off and on throughout the entire class. Once or twice she looked over at me, but I had no words for her. Even with Ms. Winters' willingness to regrade the paper, Lana's grade wouldn't be as high as it should have been.

The class discussion covered a couple of poems by Robert Frost: "Design" and "Out, Out --". My notes only show the rhyme scheme of the poems, though I'm certain we discussed them much more deeply. I tried to pay attention, but I was mostly focusing on my friend and how bad I felt for her.

At the end of class, we gathered our backpacks and walked out of the Holt building, heading for our next class in the Gardner building. Beginning to cry again, Lana talked about how she felt betrayed by Mrs. Winters. I wanted to say something, anything, to comfort her, to make her feel better. All I could do was listen, and sympathize.

Now we were sitting in the Gardner lecture hall, with about ten minutes till the American Revolution class started. Lana was still trying to control her tears. I glanced over at her, then looked away again.

And at that moment I fell in love with my best friend. Emotions I had never felt before began to sweep over me. I looked at her and knew that now, in this moment, I loved her as I had never loved her before, as I would never love anyone else. While she cried over her grade, while I sat in silence, I knew that I had irrevocably crossed a line.

From the very first summer I met Lana (2003), I had prayed about her as a prospect for marriage. I was careful as I prayed, never assuming what was God's will, pleading with Him to show me one way or the other and to allow me to keep my heart undefiled. He didn't show me, not for a long, long time. I became Lana's friend, and then her close friend, and then her best friend, and all the while I grew increasingly more attracted to her. But my heart was still mine; I had not given any part of it to her.

Now it was all hers. And for the first time I allowed myself to feel the feelings that I had shunned for so long. I knew that God had at last revealed His answer to me, had shown me that this crying young woman beside me was to be my bride. And I loved her.

In class that day, Dr. Robert Willoughby lectured on the American-British standoff at Boston in 1775, after the Battle of Bunker Hill. His lecture, as always, was engrossing and enlightening; I took diligent, copious notes, but my mind was rather elsewhere.

And Lana Marie had no idea, would have no idea for nearly six months. We grew even closer as friends, and spent a lot more time in class together, and worked on a movie together, and prayed for each other. She thought that perhaps someday I would ask to court her. Someday, some far-off time in the future. Maybe.

And she didn't know, not till a candle-lit evening in August, that I was madly in love with her, a passion both utterly secret and wholly pure.

It was February 27, 2007. One year ago today.

People

Just a quick post for now as I need to hit the hay pretty soon.

My birthday on Thursday was flippin' awesome. Hope to have more about that in the next day or two...

It is absolutely unreal to be well into the double digits of the countdown to my wedding. Today it's been two months since I dropped to my knee and gave my girl a ring and could officially call myself her fiance. In another three months, we'll already be married. Wow...

I praise God for the life He has given me. It's often a struggle, often painful, but it's just so...abundant, I guess, is a good word. Most often I see how abundant it is in the people God has put in my life. I have my darling fiancee, my immediate family, her immediate family, church family, homeschoolers...it's just so cool.

God is starting to pound into my head that people are what matter most on this earth. The people I love dearly, the people I walk past at school, the people I see in church when I'm leading worship. Every one of them is made in the image of God, every one has a story, every one has a purpose. Jesus died to save every one of them. He knows the plans He has for them, plans to prosper them and not to harm them, plans to give them a future and a hope.

People like James T. from church and Bob my former Theater prof and Austin from Riverwalk and Gary who lives across the street and Ryan my cousin and Andria my supervisor at work. They all matter so much to the heart of God. And my life has made an impact on each of theirs, in radically different ways, in ways that I'll never comprehend. And I've impacted thousands of others.

And I continue to have influence, I continue to make a difference, for better or for worse, in the lives of so many people around me -- the ones who mean the most to me, and the ones I'll never meet.

But I don't want to focus on that; talk about the pressure that would ensue! My focus should all be on the one who created this universe and this tiny earth and all the eternal souls that dwell therein. And then He came into His creation, coming not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.

He's the One pulling the strings; He commands the breadth of my influence. All good comes from Him, and thus it is not merely immoral but useless to point my focus anywhere else. He will change the hearts of people. He emptied Himself for them, suffered the ultimate sacrifice that they might be set free.

May the same mind be in me that was also in Him.

Happy Birthday, Luke!

Dear Luke,

Happy Birthday! I hope you have a great year of being 19! (Man, you're getting old) Welcome to your party! I thought of this several weeks ago, and started planning with several bloggers about doing a blog party. Can I say that your blog is *very* hard to hack into? It is. :)

To think that you're already 19....it makes me think of huge Lego castles built, trips to Branson (and Silver Dollar City ((and even more, CASCADES!))) , playing soldiers in the yard, making up stories during school time, your graduation, Fan the Flame, Church Camp, and so much more. Luke, you've always played a huge role in my life. To me, you've been the big brother, the role model. The one that when I was little, I wanted to marry. When you told me I couldn't, you crushed me...till I decided I had to marry someone JUST like you, instead. I never told you this, but you were a huge part of me getting saved. You were one of the biggest influences in my life. I love you, big brother.

You were such a cute baby, too. (not that you aren't now, too!) I know you've blessed Mom and Dad throughout your life, and I pray you'll continue to every day of your life.

My birthday blessing for you is that your days will outshine the glory of Aragorn, King of Gondor. May your love and passion for God will reach the ends of the earth and see many saved. May you will be successful at whatever you put your hands to. May God bless you beyond your wildest dreams. May your days be filled with love, happiness, and everything that God sees fit to give you. "I pray for you on your birthday, that your path, as is promised to the just man, will shine not less and less but more and more; that you will still bring forth fruit in old age; that the Lord will give you a thankful heart like the psalmist's who sang, "O God, thou hast taught me from boyhood, all my life I have proclaimed thy marvellous works: and now that I am old and my hairs are gray, forsake me not, O God....Songs of joy shall be on my lips; I will sing thee psalms, because thou has redeemed me. All day long my tongue shall tell of thy righteousness." (Psalms 71:17, 18, 23, 24 NEB) So--happy birthday!...A birthday filled with thanksgiving and hope is the happiest kind of birthday. Have one of those! Deck yourself with joy!"- Elisabeth Elliot

This is what I pray for you on your birthday.

So, now the party!
I thought that for your birthday, we'd go here:

Lothlorien seems a good place for a birthday party. At least, I hope you'll have fun, hanging with Galadriel and Celeborn.
They decided to light things up all pretty just for YOUR birthday! (do you feel special? :P)

At any rate, I thought it would be fun....now, for the food. Unfortunately, they ran out of lembas, so we decided to fix...

Yup, you got that right! Pepperoni Pizza! This is actually Mom's homeade pizza, but it's hard to see that in the picture. ;) But, knowing you have a big appetite, we decided to have something else too...

Yes, this too is homeade! Mom decided you *neeeded* this too....now, to drink...

There was Sprite here too somewhere...(yells, "Daniel!!!! Where's the Sprite?")

We'll find that somewhere...

Now, for the entertainment...I thought of several things. I thought eating might be entertainment enough...I thought that going to Lothlorien might be entertainment enough...but, no, we have to have entertainment. :) So, we've brought some of your favorite people in...you get to film a movie!!!!!!!! You get to direct, order professionals around, mess with professional actors....we got Viggo, Orlando, Christopher Lee, Elijah, Billy, Dom, Liv, Bernard, Sean Bean, Sean Astin, John (Noble), David, and...just for you, Luke, we got...Peter Jackson! :P Yes, he agreed to come and work with you on producing..of course, you're still in charge. So, have fun for your birthday! (and take lots of pictures! :P)

Now, as to the guests...of course family, friends, and your fiance! :) But, we invited a special guest....

Yes, as a birthday guest, you get...CHRISTOPHER TOLKIEN! I know you'd love to spend hours with this guy, but, I'm afraid it's time to open presents.

Now....what did I want to get you???

It's the closest I could get to the Complete J.R.R. Tolkien. Of course, that would have every scrap written by him, every audio recording, everything written about him, everything with the movies...all of it. :P

But, in reality, what I did get you was this...A Hunted Website. :P Check out huntedthemovie.blogspot.com. It's not absolutely done, but I've got a real good start.

Thanks for being who you are Luke...thanks for being my brother. I love you.

Love, Hannah

(Luke and Hannah in their childhood. :P)

Why, why, why?

Why am I the way I am?

Why do I love grandeur and majesty and epic storytelling so much?

Why is my singing voice so deformedly loud as to blot out all noise within a fifteen-foot radius of me?

Why did I not merely listen to, but enjoy Beethoven's Fourth Symphony in the car on Monday?

Why do I forget about my most important mail immediately after opening and reading it?

Why am I able to look an instructor in the eye with a frown of professed concentration, when my mind is far away?

Why do I step into the shower and immediately begin dreaming of the epic movies I hope to one day realize?

Why do I mess with my pens during class?

Why do I seemingly always lean toward my lover, whether we're sitting or standing?

Why can't I write a good poem?

Why do I always sling my backpack over my right shoulder?

Why do I tape memorable quotes to my bedroom ceiling?

Why do I have to make sure to rip every CD I have onto my computer, regardless of whether I ever plan on listening to it or not?

Why do I like to edit video?

There's a trite answer, of course, and you've probably guessed what it must be. I don't know, but He does, and He made me that way. OK, so it's true. Doesn't make it any less trite. And it still doesn't really answer: Why?

We humans want to know why. Most of us do, anyway. If you don't, you're either very privileged or very delusional. Why, why, why? The Psalmists asked it; Job asked it; Moses asked it.

It's okay to ask, I think. But we can't necessarily expect to get the answer. At least, not the answer we seek. God gave Job a pretty memorable answer, mostly using questions, but He never gave Job what he wanted.

His ways are higher than our ways, and His thoughts than our thoughts. That's scary, mindboggling, comforting. He is, after all, God, and I am, after all, little Homo sapien.

I look forward to finding out all the "why's" about me. 'Cause I think He'll reveal them, someday. He likes to reveal mysteries, in their proper time. He's going to show me how He tweaked and tinged me, formed and filled me, molded and marked me, and how vitally important every single tiny detail was in his True Myth, his Great Epic.

That's the kind of God He is. He revels in art, in craft, in beauty and glory in things made. He tells big stories, huge stories, so intricate and detailed that, even in heaven, we may never comprehend everything in them. I like that. He made me to love big stories like that.

And I still don't know why.

I used to be so wise...

Got my wisdom teeth removed on Friday. Quite a pleasant experience, actually, except for what happened afterwards: the numb mouth, bleeding gums, and of course the eventual pain as my mouth protested the heartless extraction of four of its rightful inhabitants.

But yeah, the actual experience was just fine. After Friday class, I went over to the house of my F&F (fiancee and family). Played with the kids for a while, helped Lana put windshield wiper fluid in her car (that's very significant, BTW), and then my lovely wonderful girl drove me over to the oral surgeon. We presented our handsome down payment (a check courtesy of my terrific parents) to the, uh, payment lady, then sat down in the waiting room to, uh, wait.

After a few moments -- "Luke Hobbs?" -- yup, that's me, and I had to bid my lover goodbye, leaving her to imagine all the terrible things that could potentially happen to me, and head into the operating room.

Dr. James A. Remerscheid greeted me and informed me -- for the second time, as he had already told me all this when I visited to set up the appointment -- that he would give me a general anethesia. Just pop a little IV in the arm, give a few squeezes from some little knockouter-thingy, and in a few moments I would, as he put it, "go fishing." And then he'd get my teeth out.

Scarcely any pain as he deftly inserted the IV needle into my arm (directly on the other side of my elbow). He drew a little bit of blood out, then squeezed the knockouter stuff in, and almost immediately I started to get lightheaded. I was still totally conscious, but sight was definitely blurry. I commented on it to the nurses, about how it felt kinda weird but I was still definitely awake --

And I don't know when I "went fishing", whether it was at that moment or a little later on, but that's the last thing I remember.

By the time I regained consciousness, my mouth was completely numb, but I could tell that it was filled with gauze pads. The first sight I remember seeing was my lovely bride-to-be, sitting in a chair in the corner. As she later informed me, I had been awake for a while, and talking to her, but "awake" and "conscious" are two entirely different things. Apparently I told her several times (before regaining consciousness, that is) that I was pretty lucid, and that she was nice. The latter, of course, is something I tell her all the time, but it still strikes me as funny that I said it several times and don't remember it at all.

Anyways, she and one of the nurses helped me outside (I was definitely walking wobbly) to Lana's truck. We got on Rogers Avenue, took a brief detour to Wal-Mart so she could buy me some water, and then went home. My wonderful Lana stayed with me for a little while, then left to go to her home before it got dark. Then I went to sleep for a while.

By the time I woke up, a couple hours later, pain was slowly beginning to make its way into the mouth. I didn't mind terribly much, because the bleeding had pretty much stopped and I could finally get the stupid gauze out of my mouth. Mom fixed chicken noodle soup for dinner, and I was able to ingest it, if not chew it. I ate a whole bunch of it, because it was the first thing I'd had to eat since a bowl of Honey-Nut Cheerios at 8 that morning ('cause you're not supposed to eat or drink anything whatsoever for six hours before your operation).

So for the last day and a half or so, I've gotten to take it easy and rest. The doctor prescribed me some pain pills for the teeth (or lack thereof), but I only had to use 'em a couple times; Tylenol and ibuprofen the rest of the time. Think I'm gonna go take some more in a few minutes, 'cause my mouth is hurting again.

Anyways, that's my experience with wisdom teeth removal. The actual process isn't bad at all; it's the aftermath that's rather painful. I suppose that's the way it is with most surgeries. (BTW, I don't know that they actually did any "surgery"; at least three of the four teeth had come all the way in and so I think they just yanked 'em out).

It's two days after the removal, and my mouth is still fairly sore, and I'm pretty tired, but other than that I'm fine. I do want to thank a few people: Dr. Remerscheid for not messing up my facial nerves and making me unable to smile ever again; my beautiful Lana Marie for driving me and helping me and buying me water and caring for me all-around; my parents for taking care of this before I got married, and thus picking up the tab for it (I know it's a big sacrifice, Mom and Dad, but thank you so much for it; it's a blessing to me and my bride-to-be, and Lord willing it's the last major expense of mine you'll ever have to cover).

Forgot to mention that the extraction has made me grumpy at times. Or maybe I'm just inclined to be grumpy anyway and I finally have an excuse. I don't know. All I know is, yesterday I was hurting and hungry (not a good combination for a teenage guy), and irritated because I had already eaten the few things I could eat for lunch and was still starving. So my wonderful mom fixed me two baked potatoes with butter and sour cream and shredded cheese. *Sigh*...

Update on Hunted

Sorry for the prolonged time between posts. I had opportunities to post, but just...didn't, for some reason. Mostly just forgetfulness. So yeah.

I wanted to address the questions about Hunted, because several of you have asked at various times, and even though my fiancee did a wonderful job of answering the most recent question, I figured maybe a word from me wouldn't hurt.

We haven't filmed anything for Hunted since...man, I'm not sure, mid to late November I guess. We stopped partially because it was getting way too cold to be out in the woods in short sleeves, but mostly because Lana and I were getting absolutely swamped with schoolwork and couldn't afford to take the time to film on Saturdays.

The film is not dead, and in fact, if you check out the hobbbottomfilms channel on YouTube (or just scroll down to the bottom of my blog page and look at the sweet player), you'll find a brief behind-the-scenes video clip from the filming of Scene 5 (a scene that I just happened to finish editing recently). My plan is to post more BTS clips in the future, just as a tease and a way to keep people interested. Of course, many are the plans in my heart, but the Lord directs the steps, so we'll see.

So here's where we are on Hunted: approximately twelve scenes stand between us and the completion of filming. I say approximately twelve because it's really hard to gauge; some scenes are partly filmed and partly not-filmed and that makes it hard to tell. But it's around twelve total. We have a couple more days out in the woods, a few more Gang scenes, and a few other loose ends.

That's the filming left. As far as editing, I haven't begun to scratch the surface there; I've edited seven scenes thus far, out of 65. 65 scenes, you ask? That many? Well, yeah, currently, but don't fret just yet; it's going to be a long movie, but not as long as that figure might make you think. Anyways, after editing comes the soundtrack (sound effects, dialogue rerecording, and musical score), and then we'll be ready to show Hunted to the world.

Is all this even achievable, as we stand right now? Good question. It shouldn't take that many days to film everything we have left (of course, my actors have heard that before, many times, and it doesn't always pan out that way), but the editing and sound work will be a huge job that I certainly can't finish till summer, if then. And by then it'll be me and my lovely wife finishing it. Amazing stacey.

So that, my friends, is where Hunted is. Finishing will be a huge challenge at this point, and I don't know that we can do it. But I know God wanted us to do this movie, and I believe He wants us to try to finish it. Whether we will is up to Him. If we do finish it, it won't be ideal, and our extended filming halt isn't going to help continuity any. But that's okay; we're to work at it with all our might, because we truly are working for the Lord, not for man.

And that comforts me, because any studio would have long ago lost patience with us and pulled the plug. (We would never have been working for a studio on this, and it would have made our situation far different, but those facts are beside the point.)

I'd like to thank you guys for your prayers and encouragement on our little film; it means so much to us. Please continue to pray. If the Lord wills, you really will get to see Hunted someday -- I pray, someday soon.

God bless!

You are now entering the SAPPINESS ZONE...Beware

Well, five months of courtship, today. And four more months till marriage. Wow...There's no doubt that the 23rd is my all-time favorite day of the month. It's beautiful...

She wrote an absolutely darling post on her blog about it and about me and about things she loves about me. *Sigh* Wow...she's so sweet...

It's a wonderful idea, and I think I'd like to do the same thing, about her. (Wow, you're thinking, THAT was unpredictable.) Well, she's that amazing, and I love her so much, and I love talking about her. And I haven't really written a post about her in a while anyway. And it is the 23rd, after all. OK, so I'm sure you'll agree that there are plenty of reasons for me to do this. Let us then proceed. If you don't like the sappiness, I'm sorry and don't feel obligated to read it; it's not really for all the rest of you anyway.

What do I love about my fiancee? Mmm...

I love her radiant smile; she insists on calling it crooked and I still don't see really what she means; I mean, I've never seen anyone with a straight smile. Isn't it impossible to have a straight smile, by definition? Anyways, yeah, her smile is knock-me-down gorgeous.
I love how she takes care of me. She takes advantage of every opportunity she gets now; just wait till we're married.
I love how she's mature and deep and profound, and yet also can say stupid things, pursue (seemingly) pointless lines of discussion with me, and laugh at my idiocy.
I love how she dresses, never ostentatious but always stylish and simple.
I love her range of voice, whether she's reading things aloud (you may not like it, darling, but I do), arguing an important point in class discussion, or whispering secrets to me.
I love how she is never demanding, never tries to manipulate me into doing what she wants, because all she wants is to be with me and for me to be happy. I was thrilled to be able to get her the engagement ring that she had wanted, a marquise solitaire in white gold band, but I know for a fact that she would have been thrilled with any ring I might have given her, and never would have thought to complain.
I love how she holds LilyPie and never treats her as baggage but always as a person to be loved and sung to and danced with and talked to.
I love how, when she's cooking, she climbs onto the counter to reach the high cabinets (even though it makes me frightfully nervous and I hope to eliminate it by getting high things for her when we're married).
I love how she pours herself into her work, whether it's cooking, writing, cleaning, or studying.
I love her hands; she doesn't like them (or didn't, at least) but I truly cannot imagine any more beautiful hands, and I can't wait to hold them.
I love how well she knows me and how she can tell when something's bothering me.
I love that her heart is that of a shining servant: she wants to serve God first and love Him with her everything, then serve and love me with her everything, then serve and love the rest of her family (now it's parents and siblings; eventually it will be our kids, hers and mine).
I love her willingness to come be a part of my church, even though it's outside her comfort zone and even though it's going to be so hard for her.
I love that she's acutely aware of her failings and shortcomings, and doesn't try to hide them from me.
I love that she tells me about myself, and lets me tell her about herself.
I love how she guarded her heart for me and did not let me in until I asked with parental blessing.
I love how she looked at me through the tears in her eyes and returned my love, as soon as I told her I love her. Without hesitation.
I love that she is my girl and no one else's, and that she is giving me her everything, holding nothing back.
I love how I can look into her eyes and see my reflection.
I love her green eyes, the most beautiful eyes God has ever made, eyes that He made for me.

I could go on and on and on ("and you already have," the rest of you are groaning), but it's considerably past my bedtime, so I'll stop there. Although the posting day will read the 23rd, it is now the 24th - three months and twenty-nine days till I marry my Lana Marie. I still have trouble believing it. Wow...

Thank You, Father, for the unspeakable gift that is my lover. I ask you to allow me to love my princess the way she deserves, to always treasure her and love her as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up for her. I praise Your Name, my God; the life You've given me is the opposite of what I deserve, but to share life with Lana...You are too good to me.

My Lana, I miss you terribly, and I can't wait to see you tomorrow. I love you.

All right, so I'm doing it

OK, my sister tagged me (whatever that means), so I'm going to do the, er, tag thing. Mostly because she half-begged me to do it and put on her blogpost that she didn't think I would. So ha, provin' you wrong, my sis!

8 Things I'm Passionate About:
1. King Jesus, my Savior, my Lord, my divine Lover
2. The fairest maiden who has ever lived, my own dear Lana Marie
3. Pointing people to their Creator, whether or not they know Him already
4. My family - parents and sibs, in-laws, extended, church...thank God for them!
5. Leading people in singing the praises of their God
6. Writing - using words to create a work that honors God and ultimately draws people to Him
7. Preparing to be a godly husband and father
8. Reading good writing

8 Things I Want to Do Before I Die:
1. Wow, um, this'll be a shocker to you, but...MARRY LANA ON MAY 23!
2. Have kids with Lana and raise them to know and love God
3. See all of my kids enter into a passionate love relationship with Jesus
4. Become a published author
5. Complete my novel about Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection
6. Go to FtF 08 and see the fire fall (not literally this year, unfortunately)
7. Ride on the Fort Smith Transit with Lana
8. Get raptured, and thus, not die at all

8 Things I Say Often:
1. "I love you." (Hmm, who might I be saying that to?)
2. "Shut everything else out and focus on God." (My youth group can testify to that)
3. "Sing it out."
4. "Amazing stacey."
5. "You're so beautiful." (See #1)
6. "That's nice."
7. "You're nice."
8. "Whatcha thinkin'?" (See #5 for each of the last three)

8 Books I've Read Recently:
1. The Case for a Creator by Lee Strobel
2. The End of the Third Age by J. R. R. Tolkien, edited by Christopher Tolkien
3. Chosen by Ted Dekker
4. Infidel by Ted Dekker
5. The Complete Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson
6. Me, Myself, and Bob by Phil Vischer
7. When Dreams Come True by Eric and Leslie Ludy
8. Oh, wait, does the Bible count? Well, then, yeah.

8 Songs I Could Listen to Over and Over:
1. "Breathe in Me" by Michael W. Smith
2. "Lemonade" by Chris Rice
3. "No Ordinary Love" by TobyMac
4. "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" by Steven Curtis Chapman
5. "Why Should the Devil (Have All the Good Music) by Geoff Moore and the Distance
6. "Audience of One" by Big Daddy Weave
7. "Already Over" by Red
8. "Can't Stop Praising" by Hillsong

8 Albums I Love (I added this one because there's just too much good music out there):
1. I'll Lead You Home by Michael W. Smith
2. End of Silence by Red
3. Jesus Freak by dc Talk
4. Lifesong by Casting Crowns
5. Song Cinema by Mark Schultz
6. Evolution by Geoff Moore and the Distance
7. The Jesus Record by Rich Mullins and the Ragamuffin Band
8. Jars of Clay by Jars of Clay (the one I'm listening to right now)

8 Things That Attract Me to My Best Friend (ooh, this'll be fun):
1. She loves God passionately, above everything else
2. She loves me more than anyone else (how can you not be attracted to someone like that?)
3. She is so beautiful that it distracts me when I'm trying to think
4. She has a gentle and kind spirit, and a warm personality
5. She's funny
6. She smells good
7. She knows me better than anyone else and has more wisdom about important things than I do
8. She's a woman (pretty important, dontcha think?), and the most amazing woman I've ever met at that

8 Things I've Learned This Past Year:
1. Everything truly is in His hands
2. His plans may fulfill my plans or wreck them, but they're always better than mine
3. Waiting to awaken love until it so desires really is worth it
4. Romance really does make you as insane as I've always heard - maybe even more so
5. When my faith is tested, it's tested at the roots - He always asks me, "Do you believe?"
6. I'm even more prideful and arrogant than I thought
7. My (future) wife really does have to be my #2 priority, after God
8. Don't ever film a full-length movie in your directorial debut

8 People I'm Tagging:
Nope, sorry, here's where I get off.

Christ alone

Everything I am is because of Him. I have no identity apart from Him, no life, no freedom, no love.

He is my all; He is everything; He alone is God.

Before the earth was formed He knew me; before the earth was formed He made His choice.

It was a choice, for me. No one took His life from Him; He gave it up of His own will.

They accused Him of profaning God. And then they put God on a cross and left Him to die.

Because His Father said so.

In the garden He agonized, prayed, cried out; before His accusers and facing His tormentors He was silent. Truth stood still and uttered no word, and Pilate ordered that Truth be sent to Skull Hill and crucified.

He hung suspended, bleeding, trembling, the Maker of galaxies and constellations. He can hold the universe in the palm of His hand, and He hung on a Roman cross outside Jerusalem, while Tiberius ruled the world.

Reluctantly the earth accepted the blood of its Maker. It must be so.

Down His head dropped; the ground convulsed in pain, unable to bear defeat.

It shook again on Sunday morning, a shout that all creation could feel, glorious, victory.

And the Victor stood on His maimed feet and rattled a ring of keys.

And my captors trembled, and knew their loss, and the walls of my prison quaked, and the doors flew open.

And I walked out of my tomb and stood beside Him. A victor, too, and more than a victor, through Him who loves me.

He was dead and is alive, and so I am. Through Him. He is all.

In Christ alone I place my trust
And find my glory in the power of the Cross
In every victory, let it be said of me
My source of strength, my source of hope
Is Christ alone.

School starts tomorrow...

Tomorrow it's:
History and Development of the English Language 10:00-10:50
History of the United States 1900-1945 11:00-11:50
Editing for Usage, Style, and Clarity 1:00-2:15

Then on Thursday I have:
Imaginative Writing 9:30-10:45
Advanced Nonfiction Writing 12:30-1:45

Right now I'm actually almost excited about the semester. Well, maybe it would be more accurate to say that I'm not dreading it (which is still pretty good). Mr. Cooper, a wonderful instructor who taught two of my classes last semester, returns as my Editing prof. And I've got my all-time (thus far) favorite instructor, Ann Winters, for Imaginative Writing.

And I've got my all-time favorite classmate for four of my five classes, so that's, like, pretty much the greatest thing about this semester. No, it really is. That and the fact that it's my last semester as a bachelor.

It's pretty cool because every week, I can be counting down to not just summer break, but the most anticipated day of my life too. Wait, did I say pretty cool? Yeah, that's amazing stacey.

Printing CtB on Friday, Lord willing. Thank you to all who subscribe to this magazine and help it in any way. We've been doing it for over two years now!

And let me just take this opportunity to say that I love my fiancee and she is the most incredible person in the world! Lana, my darling, you're so godly and beautiful and smart and thoughtful and Christ-like and loving and sensitive, and I cannot wait to wed you nineteen weeks from this Friday!

A day draws near

"A day draws near that I have looked for in all the years of my manhood, and when it comes I would have my friends beside me." - Aragorn, The Return of the King

I remember driving home in near-total ecstasy on the night of Thursday, August 23, unable to believe what God had just allowed me to experience with the love of my life. Since I am, of course, a Lord of the Rings nerd, the above quote popped into my brain, and I resolved to post it on my blog.

Except, I quickly realized, it wasn't really that appropriate for the onset of my and Lana's courtship. It would find more apt use in the announcement of our wedding date. Accordingly, I give it now.

It gives me great pleasure to announce to the breathless ears of cyberspace, that if the Lord wills, Lana Marie and I will be united in holy matrimony on Friday, May 23. Please mark your calendars and make your plans accordingly.

As for where the wedding and reception will take place and what time, we'll let you know when we get a little closer to May 23.

Shalom out, my Hebrew homies.

At the tail end of New Year's Day

Hey all, wanted to get this post in before January 1 ends. Happy New Year, everyone! Should old acquaintance be forgot and all that jazz. I'll post again more substantively, tomorrow hopefully. In the meantime, I pray that God blesses all of you readers in the year of our Lord 2008!

In the meantime, I'd like to ask you to pray for an unspoken need. Can't give any details; I just ask you to pray for it that God's will is done and His Name glorified.