Most of me wants to just hit the sack since I'm in desparate need of sleep, but I really want to at least jot a few things down for those of you who were praying and asking how my first day went.
Thank you for praying! Though I only got 7 hours sleep total over the previous 2 nights, I was remarkably not deathly tired throughout the day. I was glad, though, that I already knew about confined space entry and ISO-9001, 'cause I definitely wasn't too sharp during those videos :-)
This week isn't my job yet. I get 3 half-days with Jake the HR guy, going over a thumb-thick stack of papers and forms and several videos, and then I spend the rest of the week taking half days with each of 7 different areas (like Hot End, Cold End, Lab, etc.), learning stuff and meeting people. Next week is when I'll be turned over to Earl, my direct manager, and the real job-specific training and learning will start. Rumor has it I'll be trained to drive the massive front-end loader out back :-)
I went through the day with another guy, also named John, who just got hired into the maintenance department. He was an amiable and pleasant guy, and I was grateful many times to be going through everything with him. We spent basically the whole day in a small conference room sitting around a table going over forms or watching videos or talking with Jake. We went to the update meeting at 9 o'clock, we took a long break for lunch with several folks from the plant, and we walked around on a mini tour in the afternoon, but otherwise we were workin' away on the orientation/training checklist.
I think I'll save a well-crafted and entertaining picture of the plant for another day. If you want to know what this day was like for me, just picture me sitting in a comfortable office chair in a nice conference room with great big windows letting in the sunshiny world.. sitting back or leaning forward, listening, signing forms, checking off training items, and occasionally laughing with the guys. Not a bad day by any means, but also not anything like what my real work will be.
Also, just to sorta throw this out there, God is amazing. I've been pretty "washed up" at various times over the past few days as great change loomed before me and I looked back at what would never be the same again. I always have a hard time with change, even when it's from a good thing to a good thing. But somehow, somehow God met me at the point of nostalgia and terrible sadness over the season that is now past. I don't even know exactly how, but I went from being broken up about about what was over to being broken up about Jesus. It occured as I read John 14 - 21, and I think that it's there, in the Word, that we meet Jesus Himself and are comforted and engaged and cheered in Him, and not just His blessings.
No way can that paragraph mean to you anything close to what it meant to me, but that's ok :-) It's good stuff.
I will get 7 hours of sleep tonight. Not ~too~ bad.. *doubtful grimace*
--Clear Ambassador
Monday, April 30, 2007
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Post 150!
If you read nothing else of this semi-indulgent yet should-be-interesting post, read this paragraph and give me some feedback:
So, last night I was informed by a friend that the pictures on my music website were... notsomuch cool. Here's my site. What do you think? I think they're funny; but I want to find out if this is one of those things where I would do better to follow what others tell me and just quietly wish inside that the world was different.
Which brings up something, at least for your punctuationally-observant folks out there: I've come to a personal and highly effective set of punctuation guidelines for my journaling which is far broader and freer than the regular rules. I try to write down my thoughts as exactly like they sound in my head as possible. This has led me to adopt ".. " as a way to indicate a pause. Not a dead stop like a period, certainly not a fluid comma, but also not the implied linkage/continuance of an ellipsis (...). Just, a pause. It's very helpful for conveying the effect that pauses can have in verbal communication. Thoughts can be set next to each other without necessarily having to be linked or separated explicitly. I've also, as demonstrated above, adoped a semicolon as basically an intermediate between a comma and a period. Sometimes I need to make sure that I pause long enough at a certain point - longer than a comma, but not a rolling pause like " -". For that I keep ending up at a semicolon, even though it's probably not the proper (and oh-so elusive) use of that mark that so unjustly occupies such a prominent position on the keyboard. I also use " - " to indicate a pause with flow. Shorter than "..." but not the specific--set this phrase aside--meaning of a dash ("--"). I love using punctuation freely! Like, they're not regimented marks whose use and interpretation is set in stone, they're tools.. a set of marks I can use in any combination I want to achieve the effect I want. . . . some spaces, some dots.. dots together, dots separated . . . it's like a musical score that lays down the thought and cadence of my mind. And don't worry, firebrand-bearing English language mob; I'm not saying this should be adopted for everyone and all the rules thrown out in a hellacious punctuation free-for-all. That's MySpace and Facebook :-/ It's just.. fun for me to use, and gratifying.
Tonight we had a Fuse scavenger hunt, which was fun. I was behind the scenes, watching everybody go out and come back with crazy stories and flushed faces. I am old! Nate and Sarah totally made this night happen - I did almost nothing. I could blame it on youth camp stuff, but that's cheap and inaccurate. Basically, things have been semi-crazy, so it was very nice and kind of them to pick up the slack and free me up.
Yesterday I worked on youth camp stuff all day in Mr. Pierson's office and then hit Quaker Steak and the Top of Pittsburgh with Mike, Shannon and Kayte - the Fantabulousish Foursome. It was good times, and we even got both clear skies and cool clouds while overlooking the city from my otherworldly spot. Ahh, to lay flat on my back and let the uniform motion of the clouds spread from periphery to periphery sink into my consciousness. Across the sky they crawl, lit pinkish orange from below and wetted silver from the moon behind. Uniform they crawl - miles and miles of clouds all marching at the same step, keeping the same orientation as they corporately slide over my head. The city gleams on the close horizon, and lights stretch out like arms over the dark shrubby face of the ground. Let your eyes relax as wide as they can see - let the periphery sink in to its full extent - and still all you will see is the pink of the sky and the black of a flat horizon. Raise your head, and you will see nothing but clouds stretching over you like an open ceiling. Turn your head. Go ahead and turn it! You won't find a hill looking down on you! You'll see more sky and more earth stretching out below you. Relax your shoulders.. let them widen again. There's space around you and a world that's bigger than you out there. For a moment, we're on Pittsburgh, not in Pittsburgh.
This must be a little bit what seeing God is like.
--Clear Ambassador
So, last night I was informed by a friend that the pictures on my music website were... notsomuch cool. Here's my site. What do you think? I think they're funny; but I want to find out if this is one of those things where I would do better to follow what others tell me and just quietly wish inside that the world was different.
Which brings up something, at least for your punctuationally-observant folks out there: I've come to a personal and highly effective set of punctuation guidelines for my journaling which is far broader and freer than the regular rules. I try to write down my thoughts as exactly like they sound in my head as possible. This has led me to adopt ".. " as a way to indicate a pause. Not a dead stop like a period, certainly not a fluid comma, but also not the implied linkage/continuance of an ellipsis (...). Just, a pause. It's very helpful for conveying the effect that pauses can have in verbal communication. Thoughts can be set next to each other without necessarily having to be linked or separated explicitly. I've also, as demonstrated above, adoped a semicolon as basically an intermediate between a comma and a period. Sometimes I need to make sure that I pause long enough at a certain point - longer than a comma, but not a rolling pause like " -". For that I keep ending up at a semicolon, even though it's probably not the proper (and oh-so elusive) use of that mark that so unjustly occupies such a prominent position on the keyboard. I also use " - " to indicate a pause with flow. Shorter than "..." but not the specific--set this phrase aside--meaning of a dash ("--"). I love using punctuation freely! Like, they're not regimented marks whose use and interpretation is set in stone, they're tools.. a set of marks I can use in any combination I want to achieve the effect I want. . . . some spaces, some dots.. dots together, dots separated . . . it's like a musical score that lays down the thought and cadence of my mind. And don't worry, firebrand-bearing English language mob; I'm not saying this should be adopted for everyone and all the rules thrown out in a hellacious punctuation free-for-all. That's MySpace and Facebook :-/ It's just.. fun for me to use, and gratifying.
Tonight we had a Fuse scavenger hunt, which was fun. I was behind the scenes, watching everybody go out and come back with crazy stories and flushed faces. I am old! Nate and Sarah totally made this night happen - I did almost nothing. I could blame it on youth camp stuff, but that's cheap and inaccurate. Basically, things have been semi-crazy, so it was very nice and kind of them to pick up the slack and free me up.
Yesterday I worked on youth camp stuff all day in Mr. Pierson's office and then hit Quaker Steak and the Top of Pittsburgh with Mike, Shannon and Kayte - the Fantabulousish Foursome. It was good times, and we even got both clear skies and cool clouds while overlooking the city from my otherworldly spot. Ahh, to lay flat on my back and let the uniform motion of the clouds spread from periphery to periphery sink into my consciousness. Across the sky they crawl, lit pinkish orange from below and wetted silver from the moon behind. Uniform they crawl - miles and miles of clouds all marching at the same step, keeping the same orientation as they corporately slide over my head. The city gleams on the close horizon, and lights stretch out like arms over the dark shrubby face of the ground. Let your eyes relax as wide as they can see - let the periphery sink in to its full extent - and still all you will see is the pink of the sky and the black of a flat horizon. Raise your head, and you will see nothing but clouds stretching over you like an open ceiling. Turn your head. Go ahead and turn it! You won't find a hill looking down on you! You'll see more sky and more earth stretching out below you. Relax your shoulders.. let them widen again. There's space around you and a world that's bigger than you out there. For a moment, we're on Pittsburgh, not in Pittsburgh.
This must be a little bit what seeing God is like.
--Clear Ambassador
Monday, April 23, 2007
s u n d a y
Sunday was,
- Wearing a T-shirt on worship team, but it was legal 'cause I had a suit jacket on too!
- Joel praying for Mr. P before the sermon
- Good sermon with some phrases that were sticky in my head
- Talking to Carl & others at lunch. Not being a socially selfish introvert.
- Basketball after church, baby!
- Baking in the sun and remembering why I was never too sad about the cooler weather
- Having a sour attitude about being a loser with no hands and no shot
- Being mature enough that Shannon said she didn't even notice. Yay for being older!
- PGP with Shannon Quizzle and Money Man
- Bumming deer burgers off the Piersons for dinner
- Popping my ankle out playing wiffle ball
- Ice torture!
- Talking with Erin about her headaches
- Grillin', chillin', maxin' and relaxin' out back in the perfect weather
- E B C#m A about 79 times while we talked
- Stick shift with a sprained ankle = change gears as little as possible
- Broom =/= good crutch
The Piersons are cool!
This post was styled in honor of Mike Q.
--Clear Ambassador
- Wearing a T-shirt on worship team, but it was legal 'cause I had a suit jacket on too!
- Joel praying for Mr. P before the sermon
- Good sermon with some phrases that were sticky in my head
- Talking to Carl & others at lunch. Not being a socially selfish introvert.
- Basketball after church, baby!
- Baking in the sun and remembering why I was never too sad about the cooler weather
- Having a sour attitude about being a loser with no hands and no shot
- Being mature enough that Shannon said she didn't even notice. Yay for being older!
- PGP with Shannon Quizzle and Money Man
- Bumming deer burgers off the Piersons for dinner
- Popping my ankle out playing wiffle ball
- Ice torture!
- Talking with Erin about her headaches
- Grillin', chillin', maxin' and relaxin' out back in the perfect weather
- E B C#m A about 79 times while we talked
- Stick shift with a sprained ankle = change gears as little as possible
- Broom =/= good crutch
The Piersons are cool!
This post was styled in honor of Mike Q.
--Clear Ambassador
Monday, April 16, 2007
Ununemployed
It's so pervasive to me that I haven't thought till now to document it in my blog:
I HAVE A JOB!
Yes, God has again pretty much dropped a life decision right in my lap. This time I was really prepared to roll up my sleeves and slog through a long and time-consuming job search. I didn't interview senior year, and I really didn't do much for two months after graduating, but then I started to do the things that good job hunters do: go to Career Services, work on my resume, sign up with Pitt's job hunting online service, and go to a job fair. Nothing was really clicking though, and I kept feeling like I was butting my head against a wall. Then one day not too far in I was looking over employees who had interviews scheduled at Pitt, and there was this company called Guardian Industries that was located in Jefferson Hills.
I did a double take.
Jefferson Hills?
That's where the Harveys live!
That's . . . really close!
Indeed, it was true. A classic starting chemical engineer job right down Rte. 51... 20 minutes from home and totally opposite downtown traffic! The responsibilities sounded intriguing (learn, troubleshoot and improve the glass-making process), and the interviews were in only a few days!
I signed up and sent some emails, and they ended up cancelling the Pitt interviews, but I got a phone interview a few days later. I remember studying up on the company like crazy when I found out, and basically being pretty worked-up about the call. It was my first real job interview ever, and all the mystique and foreboding and craziness I'd ever heard about seemed looming on the other side of that cell phone ring. But it came, I talked reasonably well, and most importantly, I didn't bomb :-) I asked some good questions at the end, and I guess they liked me, 'cause a few days later they called back and invited me for a plant tour and a series of in-person interviews.
That was on a Friday, from 9am to about 12:30. I got a long plant tour and then interviewed with four people, all the way up to the plant manager. All the interviews went very well - almost surprisingly easy and natural. The plant was pretty interesting - way way smaller than NOVA's huge spread-out multi-area site. It's one long warehouse-type building with silos and a furnace at one end and offices and glass plates at the other. Spanning the length is a long bed of liquid tin on which the glass floats, gets shaped, cools, and then is scored and broken into squares. It's a pretty nifty process, and it cranks out about 350 million tons of glass a year, running 24/7/52. Guardian itself is a 19,000-employee privately-owned company, 3rd or 4th worldwide in glass manufacturing and growing markedly for the past 20 years.
I guess they continued to like me 'cause Jake the HR guy called me back a few days later and said there had been a lot of positive comments after my visit and they wanted me back for a more in-depth plant tour and some more interviews. That was the day that I felt like the job was mine - it seemed more like my first day of work than an "interview." I talked more with Earl, who'll be my direct manager, and I hung around with Brian, the other process engineer, and I learned a bunch more about the process. The people I met were just nice normal folks, and I started to have a pretty good feeling about the prospect of working there. I left with an application form and a free Quaker Steak 'n' Lube lunch in my stomach.
So that was it for awhile, and I dutifully went to another job fair, finding only dreary prospects that left the Guardian job seeming all the brighter and better. Then I got the call on the way to Harrisburg, I got the details Monday, I got the offer letter and benefits info Friday, and I signed myself away Wednesday. My background check has gone through fine, and now we await only a clear physical (Tuesday) to confirm my tentative start date of April 30th (Two weeks from today, seeing as it's no longer Sunday).
So, I'm planning to enjoy my last 2 weeks of freedom, and I'm contemplating the prospect of 50 years of working every day. That's part of being a man, and I'm ready to start, but I'm also interested to see if God brings some different things in the coming years. In my mind I'll be at this job for a year or two before I move up or out, which is expected of this position since it's a starter ChemE job. Whatever I end up doing, it will be great to start my career in operations, learning a real day-to-day manufacturing process.
I'm also anticipating being challenged in making new friendships and being a witness for Jesus Christ in a new and dominating context. I think God will have a lot of growth for me, and... well, I'm just not quite sure what it will really look like for me to settle into a job that won't just be over in 4 months or let me sit back and chill as a student. I believe that grace is there, and I'm ready to walk into it, but I'm not quite sure what I'll find when I get there :-)
And for now Dad's cool to let me live at home, so I'll be savin' like a fiend. Real life awaits, and it's nice to meet it with some money in the bank.
What a life I've been given! When I see where God has allowed me to start from, all I can really respond with is a desire and a determination to use it however He shows me to. Why the free engineering degree? Why the great job? Why the stable home and loads of life teaching and training? I can't say, and I won't feel guilty about it, but by God I'll do whatEVER He wants me to with it. And even as I looked over my offer package, I knew that 401K savings can melt away like snow, full bank accounts can shrivel to nothing in an instant, houses can crumble, and nations can collapse in a day. When I think of a wife and kids depending on me I already feel pangs of anxiety, but below that I know that if I'm where God wants me to be, I will be secure, and He will never let me down. Whatever He gives me, I'm grateful for, and wherever He takes me, I'll follow confidently.
Here I come! *dun dun dun*
--Clear Ambassador
I HAVE A JOB!
Yes, God has again pretty much dropped a life decision right in my lap. This time I was really prepared to roll up my sleeves and slog through a long and time-consuming job search. I didn't interview senior year, and I really didn't do much for two months after graduating, but then I started to do the things that good job hunters do: go to Career Services, work on my resume, sign up with Pitt's job hunting online service, and go to a job fair. Nothing was really clicking though, and I kept feeling like I was butting my head against a wall. Then one day not too far in I was looking over employees who had interviews scheduled at Pitt, and there was this company called Guardian Industries that was located in Jefferson Hills.
I did a double take.
Jefferson Hills?
That's where the Harveys live!
That's . . . really close!
Indeed, it was true. A classic starting chemical engineer job right down Rte. 51... 20 minutes from home and totally opposite downtown traffic! The responsibilities sounded intriguing (learn, troubleshoot and improve the glass-making process), and the interviews were in only a few days!
I signed up and sent some emails, and they ended up cancelling the Pitt interviews, but I got a phone interview a few days later. I remember studying up on the company like crazy when I found out, and basically being pretty worked-up about the call. It was my first real job interview ever, and all the mystique and foreboding and craziness I'd ever heard about seemed looming on the other side of that cell phone ring. But it came, I talked reasonably well, and most importantly, I didn't bomb :-) I asked some good questions at the end, and I guess they liked me, 'cause a few days later they called back and invited me for a plant tour and a series of in-person interviews.
That was on a Friday, from 9am to about 12:30. I got a long plant tour and then interviewed with four people, all the way up to the plant manager. All the interviews went very well - almost surprisingly easy and natural. The plant was pretty interesting - way way smaller than NOVA's huge spread-out multi-area site. It's one long warehouse-type building with silos and a furnace at one end and offices and glass plates at the other. Spanning the length is a long bed of liquid tin on which the glass floats, gets shaped, cools, and then is scored and broken into squares. It's a pretty nifty process, and it cranks out about 350 million tons of glass a year, running 24/7/52. Guardian itself is a 19,000-employee privately-owned company, 3rd or 4th worldwide in glass manufacturing and growing markedly for the past 20 years.
I guess they continued to like me 'cause Jake the HR guy called me back a few days later and said there had been a lot of positive comments after my visit and they wanted me back for a more in-depth plant tour and some more interviews. That was the day that I felt like the job was mine - it seemed more like my first day of work than an "interview." I talked more with Earl, who'll be my direct manager, and I hung around with Brian, the other process engineer, and I learned a bunch more about the process. The people I met were just nice normal folks, and I started to have a pretty good feeling about the prospect of working there. I left with an application form and a free Quaker Steak 'n' Lube lunch in my stomach.
So that was it for awhile, and I dutifully went to another job fair, finding only dreary prospects that left the Guardian job seeming all the brighter and better. Then I got the call on the way to Harrisburg, I got the details Monday, I got the offer letter and benefits info Friday, and I signed myself away Wednesday. My background check has gone through fine, and now we await only a clear physical (Tuesday) to confirm my tentative start date of April 30th (Two weeks from today, seeing as it's no longer Sunday).
So, I'm planning to enjoy my last 2 weeks of freedom, and I'm contemplating the prospect of 50 years of working every day. That's part of being a man, and I'm ready to start, but I'm also interested to see if God brings some different things in the coming years. In my mind I'll be at this job for a year or two before I move up or out, which is expected of this position since it's a starter ChemE job. Whatever I end up doing, it will be great to start my career in operations, learning a real day-to-day manufacturing process.
I'm also anticipating being challenged in making new friendships and being a witness for Jesus Christ in a new and dominating context. I think God will have a lot of growth for me, and... well, I'm just not quite sure what it will really look like for me to settle into a job that won't just be over in 4 months or let me sit back and chill as a student. I believe that grace is there, and I'm ready to walk into it, but I'm not quite sure what I'll find when I get there :-)
And for now Dad's cool to let me live at home, so I'll be savin' like a fiend. Real life awaits, and it's nice to meet it with some money in the bank.
What a life I've been given! When I see where God has allowed me to start from, all I can really respond with is a desire and a determination to use it however He shows me to. Why the free engineering degree? Why the great job? Why the stable home and loads of life teaching and training? I can't say, and I won't feel guilty about it, but by God I'll do whatEVER He wants me to with it. And even as I looked over my offer package, I knew that 401K savings can melt away like snow, full bank accounts can shrivel to nothing in an instant, houses can crumble, and nations can collapse in a day. When I think of a wife and kids depending on me I already feel pangs of anxiety, but below that I know that if I'm where God wants me to be, I will be secure, and He will never let me down. Whatever He gives me, I'm grateful for, and wherever He takes me, I'll follow confidently.
Here I come! *dun dun dun*
--Clear Ambassador
Thursday, April 12, 2007
The Gaze of Your Love
>>Sorry if this is a repeat for you Facebookers amongst us<<
I started coming up with a new song Tuesday whilst trying to prepare for care group at Grove City. I was really trying to think over and express many threads of thought that have been planted in my mind and heart over the past few weeks. Trying to see how fully and truly we are covered by what Jesus did. The core of these thoughts is probably Ephesians 1:4 - that we are holy and without blame before Him in love.
I haven't done much writing or recording recently because I've been so discouraged at my suckiness compared to Switchfoot. That comparison still remains accurate, but God blessed this song, I think because it's born out of wonder and consideration of what He's done for me. He blessed the recording, too, and I hope you enjoy it and are encouraged by it. (click the title to hear the recording)
The Gaze of Your Love
John Behrens
April 10-12, 2007
You pick up the pieces and lead us to Jesus again
You bridge all the breaches that keep us from entering in
You freely receive us because of what Jesus has done
You love us as deeply and sweetly as You love Your Son
We are ho - ly
No blame remains as we stand before You in love
We are ho - ly
Spo - tless and clean
No stain, no shame to break the gaze of Your love
You guide us and teach us and reach out to meet us again
There's nothing we bring as we stand and we sing of the Son
You kindly remind us the past is behind us and sin
Was borne in your body and broken when You rose again!
We are ho - ly
Spotless in Your sight
No blame remains as we stand before You in love
We are ho - ly
Clothed in radiant white
No stain, no shame to break the gaze of Your love
I started coming up with a new song Tuesday whilst trying to prepare for care group at Grove City. I was really trying to think over and express many threads of thought that have been planted in my mind and heart over the past few weeks. Trying to see how fully and truly we are covered by what Jesus did. The core of these thoughts is probably Ephesians 1:4 - that we are holy and without blame before Him in love.
I haven't done much writing or recording recently because I've been so discouraged at my suckiness compared to Switchfoot. That comparison still remains accurate, but God blessed this song, I think because it's born out of wonder and consideration of what He's done for me. He blessed the recording, too, and I hope you enjoy it and are encouraged by it. (click the title to hear the recording)
The Gaze of Your Love
John Behrens
April 10-12, 2007
You pick up the pieces and lead us to Jesus again
You bridge all the breaches that keep us from entering in
You freely receive us because of what Jesus has done
You love us as deeply and sweetly as You love Your Son
We are ho - ly
No blame remains as we stand before You in love
We are ho - ly
Spo - tless and clean
No stain, no shame to break the gaze of Your love
You guide us and teach us and reach out to meet us again
There's nothing we bring as we stand and we sing of the Son
You kindly remind us the past is behind us and sin
Was borne in your body and broken when You rose again!
We are ho - ly
Spotless in Your sight
No blame remains as we stand before You in love
We are ho - ly
Clothed in radiant white
No stain, no shame to break the gaze of Your love
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Aaaaaand, God comes through!
Yep yep. Unlike the Pirates in yesterday's home opener, God pulled through tonight.
I went up to Grove City to bring Daniel back after break and lead worship for the grover care group, but I ended up going from worship leader to leader when Joel called and said he couldn't make it. Unfortunately, I had no inspiration whatsoever as I tried to plan some worship songs and prayer/discussion topics in the afternoon. My spiritual EKG was flatlined, and I was rather worried for the meeting. But I prayed for what I knew God would do--bless His children with what He knows they need--and walked on, pulling songs out, reading some verses, calling Joel, and pondering. I prayed a lot that He would meet us and minister Christ to us, whether or not there were emotions or particularly awesome experiences.
What I want to say here is that God answered those prayers. And I was really banking on that, 'cause I came into the meeting with nothing but 8 scattered songs, some verses from John 17 that have been meaningful in the past, and a lot of somewhat confused prayer.
As we went through some songs, I felt and saw God direct the meeting--having people go around and thank God after the first song, looking over the songs and seeing which one to do next, etc. And by His kindness, I really did start to get stirred up afresh at what God has done for us and how great and greatly-to-be-praised He is. We ended up having a great time sharing what was going in our lives, praying for each other, and singing God's praises. God even gave us some "frosting," like having conversation flow pretty comfortably--not necessary, but very nice.
So... God really did it! I put my foot out into darkness, and found ground under it. I suppose I find this particularly noteworthy because it all happened in the space of a few hours, and it was crystal clear that I had nothing, and God answered my prayers.
Um, this probably shouldn't be such a big deal to me, but I think it's really really cool, and I hope you're encouraged to walk where God shows you to, and to pray in faith, really trusting for what the Bible clearly says He will do.
Guess what?
He'll do it. Whoa! :-P
--Clear Ambassador
I went up to Grove City to bring Daniel back after break and lead worship for the grover care group, but I ended up going from worship leader to leader when Joel called and said he couldn't make it. Unfortunately, I had no inspiration whatsoever as I tried to plan some worship songs and prayer/discussion topics in the afternoon. My spiritual EKG was flatlined, and I was rather worried for the meeting. But I prayed for what I knew God would do--bless His children with what He knows they need--and walked on, pulling songs out, reading some verses, calling Joel, and pondering. I prayed a lot that He would meet us and minister Christ to us, whether or not there were emotions or particularly awesome experiences.
What I want to say here is that God answered those prayers. And I was really banking on that, 'cause I came into the meeting with nothing but 8 scattered songs, some verses from John 17 that have been meaningful in the past, and a lot of somewhat confused prayer.
As we went through some songs, I felt and saw God direct the meeting--having people go around and thank God after the first song, looking over the songs and seeing which one to do next, etc. And by His kindness, I really did start to get stirred up afresh at what God has done for us and how great and greatly-to-be-praised He is. We ended up having a great time sharing what was going in our lives, praying for each other, and singing God's praises. God even gave us some "frosting," like having conversation flow pretty comfortably--not necessary, but very nice.
So... God really did it! I put my foot out into darkness, and found ground under it. I suppose I find this particularly noteworthy because it all happened in the space of a few hours, and it was crystal clear that I had nothing, and God answered my prayers.
Um, this probably shouldn't be such a big deal to me, but I think it's really really cool, and I hope you're encouraged to walk where God shows you to, and to pray in faith, really trusting for what the Bible clearly says He will do.
Guess what?
He'll do it. Whoa! :-P
--Clear Ambassador
Saturday, April 07, 2007
Take a ride on the vignette blimp!
Vignette. That's the word.
It was a full and eventful trip, but I don't want to descend again into the chronologically-precise slog of my typical trip account.
So we'll start up in the Goodyear Blimp, taking a wide shot looking down over the weekend. If you follow the little dotted lines around the map, you'll see that Mike Q, Shannon Q, Kayte B and I drove 4 hours down the windey PA Turnpike to Harrisburg, Kayte's hometown. We went to see the Harrsiburg church, the Bell family, and to run a 10K race which some of the Bells were doing. We left Friday at 3:30, and we got back Monday at 5:30 or so. That's the Family Circus version.
Now we jump out of the blimp, pop out our Kevlar 6-foot gliding wings, shoot down towards the grey ground below, and crash through the roof of the new Pleasant Hills Chick-Fil-A. We were there twice over the trip, and it comes to mind when I think of the weekend. Vignettes, remember? Anyway, Mike had his stash of coupons, so he got us all free combos on the way out and the way in. Verily, it was on the way out, whilst balancing my sandwich and fries and holding my Dr.Pepper firmly between my legs in the back seat of Harvey (Kayte's car) that my phone rang and I got a job offer! Nice way to start the trip. We also ended our travels with a long sit in the restaurant, eating our ridiculously free food and having a rollicking good time. As Steph would say, the four of us had bonded over the weekend, and it was fun to hang out there for an extra hour before hitting the Q's and splitting up.
So that was Chick-Fil-A. Great place. Another picture is the four of us in the car. Mike and I traded off driving to be manly. I think we got roughly 3 manpoints per 10 miles driven, if I remember the latest manpoints rewards plan.
Harvey is an old Ford Explorer, so he had plenty of room inside, which was nice. I played guitar on the way out (when not driving, gosh), but other than that we didn't play music, which was actually nice 'cause we just talked. And ahh, what a great group of people! No worries about redeeming vacuous conversation, no striving to stay involved or keep someone else from being left out - just abiding and having a blast. The Quinlisks are like family, and Kayte fit in enthusiastically like she does in everything. We got running jokes started (like annoying Shannon), we talked about real stuff like our parents and plans and possibilities, we commented on the world as it passed by, and it all flowed very nicely. One of my favorite parts was when I had each of us say something we respect about each of our parents. The depth and encouragement of what we shared still lingers. I say again - good group of people :-)
**BEEP BEEP** Gratuitious Vignette Alert! **BEEP BEEP**
Sitting in the back left of the SUV, all folded joints sweaty, definitely aware that Harvey's AC isn't working and the sun's radiation definitely is, but nobody's said anything.
Shannon: Man it's hot in here!
Kayte: Yeah! I know..
John: Agh, sorry guys! I just can't help it, geez.
*clamorous expressions of disdain* Heheheheh
Hmm. Let's see how to work this now. Basically, we're back in the blimp again, we just watched our little band of voyagers truck across the state, and now we're jumping out again over open green farmland/housing developments. It was night when we arrived, but right now it's day so that you can see around. The sky is crystal clear, the sun is shining, the grass below seems to glow green of its own accord, and as we drift down under our parachutes, warm smells of cow manure drift up to meet us (hah farmland). We settle down in a cul-de-sac 10 minutes from anything but other houses and some pretty farms. That big box of a house with a basketball hoop out front is the Bell's house. Let's go inside, shall we?
Ahh yes my friend, you see the spacious comfort of this fine Pennsylvania home? Out here in the country, space is a plentiful commodity, spent with ease. It is neat, it is new, it is nice, no? It makes a nice setting for the weekend, no? Indeed. Big new houses are one of my favorite things. And despite Mrs. Bell's protestations, the unfinished basement was sweet too. Mike and I slept down there in the couch quadrant. We also played ping-pong in the ping-pong table quadrant, thought about wrestling in the wrestling mat quadrant, and stayed away from the storage shelves quadrant. Big basement. And I was undefeated in ping-pong except for the Chinese ping-pong, in which I was.. the opposite of undefeated. Unvictorious, I suppose. Or unundefeated.
And how about the people living in this house? From what habitat springs this Kayte we've known for 4 years? What must the household of Debra Bell, renowned homeschool speaker and writer, be like? Is it indeed as fun and funny living with Gabe as you would think?
Well, the Bell family is cool. Very friendly, open and humorous. The household seems commesurate with the house: big, open, and lots of stuff in and out :-) Mike and Destiny live 15 minutes away, so they're around often. There's a Bible study every Sunday, and I get the impression that Gabe and assorted friends come and go whenever. They welcomed us in unceremoniously and unselfishly, and it didn't take long at all to be very comfortable in the house, hanging out, talking, laughing, and participating in what was going on.
When we got there Mike, Destiny, Gabe and a friend Dan were playing a hot game of spades, Mrs. Bell was at a conference in St. Louis, Mr. Bell was heating up some pizza, and Kristen was around. We talked, unloaded Harvey, played some ping-pong, and several of us went for a run around 9:30. Mike Q and I ended up out on the back porch with Gabe and Dan, smokin' pipes and enjoying the first warm night of the spring. Good batchelor stuff as Gabe put it :-) We talked in the kitchen till after 2, and Dan finally headed off and we hit the sack. That night was a lot of fun.
*Whizzz* *click* *whirrr*
That's me reeling you back in to my blimp vignette analogy thing.
Hokay, so, we're in the blimp again, and this time we've drifted away from the Bell house over to a Holiday Inn around Harrisburg. It's Saturday morning - 65 degrees and sunny. Using our magical vignette X-ray goggles, we look inside one of the meeting rooms, and behold! Half the Harrisburg church is there, and several folks from the Philly prophecy team are doing a prophecy seminar. Mr. Prater teaches a couple times, and we have two times of ministry. Mike is standing at the sound board helping (which makes him happy), Shannon and I are sitting watching people get prayed for, and most everybody else is prayer or a prayee. Cool way to spend a Saturday morning, and another reminder that God really is real, and really is beyond this natural world. I think a lot of people were encouraged and challenged and stirred up, which is great.
Mmm, the rest of Saturday... got home late after helping Darryl (sp?) tear down sound stuff, had a hearty ham lunch (which really made it feel like Sunday), and eventually ended up hiking in the woods at a nearby state park (or some such preserve). That was another enjoyable time of comfortable fellowship - walking, picking our way down paths or through thorns, and talking on and off between various groups about life. From our magical blimp standpoint we would see our pluckish band wander around the woods (*cough* lost? *cough*), we'd notice a few manpoint-earning assisted creek crossings, and we'd probably laugh at the silliness of these fine folks trekking through half-mile-wide thorn patches. We'd definitely laugh when I fall flat on my face in the middle of a clear path after successfully transversing said ungainly terrian. Yep yep, I'm a smooth one :-)
Let's pull out those vignette X-ray goggles again, and this time look inside the Bell home. We'd see me spending a lot of time diddling quietly on my guitar in rooms full of talking people. Saturday and Sunday we ended up spending many blocks of time sitting around the living room/dining room area and talking with whoever was around. Most of those times I would pick up the guitar and start amusedly musicating. I wonder about that - I wonder if it was nice, unnoticed, or perhaps annoying for the people around. I wonder if it's a lazy personal alternative to entering more fully into the conversation. I wonder...arg, if I'll ever write a song that is a good and personal as "Only Hope" has been for me. Switchfoot is amazing and I'm terrible. But that's unrelated. Anyway, yeah - lots of guitar. One cool thing was that I wrote a song about Kristen (Kayte's sister) for her birthday, which was Sunday. I sang it during her nonchalant birthday observance, and I think folks enjoyed it. Writing songs about people seems to be a musical thing that people like far more than I wish they liked my songs and skills. Funny how that works.
Ah, and Saturday night late sitting around just me and Mike Q I wrote a song with his lyrical help that's kinda cool and sounds like an old folk song. You would have needed magical vignette X-ray microphones to hear it, though, 'cause it was pretty quiet.
Sunday was church, the race, the Bible study in the house, Kristen's birthday, and more chilling/guitar diddling time. Church was, well, rather unexceptional in a completely benign way. Mr. Prater spoke, so I didn't get to see the home pastor do his stuff, and we didn't hang around much afterwards 'cause we were off to the race. The message on evangelism was good, but nothing new to me. It will become more applicable when I start working, which will be interesting to see. I will say that the worship team seemed to copy, admirably but uninventively (and somewhat stiffly) the CD arrangements of the songs they played. I've never seen that before in a Sovereign Grace church.
Our blimp now drifts down south to York, PA, where a bunch of sportily-clad people are hopping about, stretching, mulling, and fussing over headphones and mp3 players. Finally they all pack together like a motley amoeba, somebody yells "GO!" over a megaphone, and the amoeba starts to stretch out. Pretty much at the back of the amoeba is a little girl in pink running determinedly, another little girl in purple running amiably, a thick-built guy in a maroon Izod fleece running like a farm horse, and a skinny guy in an AE shirt trotting along and trying not to go faster. Up somewhere in the middle is a short-blue-shorted giraffe running pell-mell, long legs kicking (Yep, that's Mike. And in case you were wondering, those people were Kayte, Destiny, Gabe and myself). By the end of the race the amoeba has gotten really stretched out and distended. The AE guy comes in on his last breath after a fast second half, the Izod guy motors up the hill with amazing speed, the giraffe lays it all out for the final stretch, purple girl zips up with a smile on her face, and pink girl powers to the end with a wild Bell look of eager determination. Everybody had a great experience, and the pretty green land around the running trail enjoyed being looked at.
Oooh yeah. With our X-ray microphone (not quite sure how that works, but hey, it's magical, right?) we would hear Gabe call AE boy a beast, which is pretty spiffy coming from him. AE boy still wants to beat him up the hill, though.
Anyway, moving on to Monday. Monday was nice, for those of us who didn't have to get up early and run the American economy. Sunny, relaxed, and more fun time with the four of us. I got up at 9:15 and drank some milk whilst waiting for my call about the job offer. The call went great, and the offer, while not stunningly awesome, is totally solid, and I'm 99.5% sure I'll take it. It's a great blessing to get it, too, because aside from this job other prospects are kinda dreary. I got to take the call in Mrs. Bell's airy office, which was nice and quiet.
After the phone call you vignette blimp observers will note our foursome packing into Harvey and toodling down to a fabric store to sate Kayte's (totally cool and not-unnormal or homeschool-geeky) passion for quilting. You'll wait in vain to see Mike and me leave the store soon after entering. Hah! Verily, Mike and I ended up hanging around in there the whole time, looking at the myriad patterns and thinking about Youth Camp team colors and remarking on noteworthy fabrics. We even helped the ladies pick out some patterns. I tell ya - whatever the four of us did together, we made it a good time :-)
After the store and some lunch we dragged ourselves into packing up and heading out. I had to get back in time to leave with Mom, Dad and Daniel for Gettysburg (tracking right back down the same road!), and Kayte wanted to get settled back in for Tuesday. So, another road trip, more holding breaths through tunnels (I remain undefeated and unchallenged, HAH!), more sunshine, twists and vistas, and more great fellowship.
I suppose the picture in my mind of this trip is of sparkling sunshine, a big house surrounded by green green grass and open, rolling hills, and probably Gabe saying something funny about somebody. I'm pretty glad we got to see Harrisburg while we still have a tour guide here in Pittsburgh, and hopefully some day I can come back and beat Gabe up the hill at the end of his nightly run. Garr! D-:
I guess that does it. Good trip! I definitely feel a "bond" between the four of us, cheesy though that may sound. It's an honor to get to spend that much time with such good friends, and the memory will linger long and happily in all our memories.
Farewell, vignette blimp! Farewell magical X-ray goggles and technologically bewildering but concurrently magical X-ray microphone! As it drifts away into the Monday sunset, it leaves us with a faint, effervescent picture: The four of us 5 years from now. It's more a spark of excitement than a picture. Excitement and curiousity at where God might take us in our lives. I'm happy to know everybody now, and it should be fun to track our progress as we walk along with our interesting Guide.
--Clear Ambassador
It was a full and eventful trip, but I don't want to descend again into the chronologically-precise slog of my typical trip account.
So we'll start up in the Goodyear Blimp, taking a wide shot looking down over the weekend. If you follow the little dotted lines around the map, you'll see that Mike Q, Shannon Q, Kayte B and I drove 4 hours down the windey PA Turnpike to Harrisburg, Kayte's hometown. We went to see the Harrsiburg church, the Bell family, and to run a 10K race which some of the Bells were doing. We left Friday at 3:30, and we got back Monday at 5:30 or so. That's the Family Circus version.
Now we jump out of the blimp, pop out our Kevlar 6-foot gliding wings, shoot down towards the grey ground below, and crash through the roof of the new Pleasant Hills Chick-Fil-A. We were there twice over the trip, and it comes to mind when I think of the weekend. Vignettes, remember? Anyway, Mike had his stash of coupons, so he got us all free combos on the way out and the way in. Verily, it was on the way out, whilst balancing my sandwich and fries and holding my Dr.Pepper firmly between my legs in the back seat of Harvey (Kayte's car) that my phone rang and I got a job offer! Nice way to start the trip. We also ended our travels with a long sit in the restaurant, eating our ridiculously free food and having a rollicking good time. As Steph would say, the four of us had bonded over the weekend, and it was fun to hang out there for an extra hour before hitting the Q's and splitting up.
So that was Chick-Fil-A. Great place. Another picture is the four of us in the car. Mike and I traded off driving to be manly. I think we got roughly 3 manpoints per 10 miles driven, if I remember the latest manpoints rewards plan.
Harvey is an old Ford Explorer, so he had plenty of room inside, which was nice. I played guitar on the way out (when not driving, gosh), but other than that we didn't play music, which was actually nice 'cause we just talked. And ahh, what a great group of people! No worries about redeeming vacuous conversation, no striving to stay involved or keep someone else from being left out - just abiding and having a blast. The Quinlisks are like family, and Kayte fit in enthusiastically like she does in everything. We got running jokes started (like annoying Shannon), we talked about real stuff like our parents and plans and possibilities, we commented on the world as it passed by, and it all flowed very nicely. One of my favorite parts was when I had each of us say something we respect about each of our parents. The depth and encouragement of what we shared still lingers. I say again - good group of people :-)
**BEEP BEEP** Gratuitious Vignette Alert! **BEEP BEEP**
Sitting in the back left of the SUV, all folded joints sweaty, definitely aware that Harvey's AC isn't working and the sun's radiation definitely is, but nobody's said anything.
Shannon: Man it's hot in here!
Kayte: Yeah! I know..
John: Agh, sorry guys! I just can't help it, geez.
*clamorous expressions of disdain* Heheheheh
Hmm. Let's see how to work this now. Basically, we're back in the blimp again, we just watched our little band of voyagers truck across the state, and now we're jumping out again over open green farmland/housing developments. It was night when we arrived, but right now it's day so that you can see around. The sky is crystal clear, the sun is shining, the grass below seems to glow green of its own accord, and as we drift down under our parachutes, warm smells of cow manure drift up to meet us (hah farmland). We settle down in a cul-de-sac 10 minutes from anything but other houses and some pretty farms. That big box of a house with a basketball hoop out front is the Bell's house. Let's go inside, shall we?
Ahh yes my friend, you see the spacious comfort of this fine Pennsylvania home? Out here in the country, space is a plentiful commodity, spent with ease. It is neat, it is new, it is nice, no? It makes a nice setting for the weekend, no? Indeed. Big new houses are one of my favorite things. And despite Mrs. Bell's protestations, the unfinished basement was sweet too. Mike and I slept down there in the couch quadrant. We also played ping-pong in the ping-pong table quadrant, thought about wrestling in the wrestling mat quadrant, and stayed away from the storage shelves quadrant. Big basement. And I was undefeated in ping-pong except for the Chinese ping-pong, in which I was.. the opposite of undefeated. Unvictorious, I suppose. Or unundefeated.
And how about the people living in this house? From what habitat springs this Kayte we've known for 4 years? What must the household of Debra Bell, renowned homeschool speaker and writer, be like? Is it indeed as fun and funny living with Gabe as you would think?
Well, the Bell family is cool. Very friendly, open and humorous. The household seems commesurate with the house: big, open, and lots of stuff in and out :-) Mike and Destiny live 15 minutes away, so they're around often. There's a Bible study every Sunday, and I get the impression that Gabe and assorted friends come and go whenever. They welcomed us in unceremoniously and unselfishly, and it didn't take long at all to be very comfortable in the house, hanging out, talking, laughing, and participating in what was going on.
When we got there Mike, Destiny, Gabe and a friend Dan were playing a hot game of spades, Mrs. Bell was at a conference in St. Louis, Mr. Bell was heating up some pizza, and Kristen was around. We talked, unloaded Harvey, played some ping-pong, and several of us went for a run around 9:30. Mike Q and I ended up out on the back porch with Gabe and Dan, smokin' pipes and enjoying the first warm night of the spring. Good batchelor stuff as Gabe put it :-) We talked in the kitchen till after 2, and Dan finally headed off and we hit the sack. That night was a lot of fun.
*Whizzz* *click* *whirrr*
That's me reeling you back in to my blimp vignette analogy thing.
Hokay, so, we're in the blimp again, and this time we've drifted away from the Bell house over to a Holiday Inn around Harrisburg. It's Saturday morning - 65 degrees and sunny. Using our magical vignette X-ray goggles, we look inside one of the meeting rooms, and behold! Half the Harrisburg church is there, and several folks from the Philly prophecy team are doing a prophecy seminar. Mr. Prater teaches a couple times, and we have two times of ministry. Mike is standing at the sound board helping (which makes him happy), Shannon and I are sitting watching people get prayed for, and most everybody else is prayer or a prayee. Cool way to spend a Saturday morning, and another reminder that God really is real, and really is beyond this natural world. I think a lot of people were encouraged and challenged and stirred up, which is great.
Mmm, the rest of Saturday... got home late after helping Darryl (sp?) tear down sound stuff, had a hearty ham lunch (which really made it feel like Sunday), and eventually ended up hiking in the woods at a nearby state park (or some such preserve). That was another enjoyable time of comfortable fellowship - walking, picking our way down paths or through thorns, and talking on and off between various groups about life. From our magical blimp standpoint we would see our pluckish band wander around the woods (*cough* lost? *cough*), we'd notice a few manpoint-earning assisted creek crossings, and we'd probably laugh at the silliness of these fine folks trekking through half-mile-wide thorn patches. We'd definitely laugh when I fall flat on my face in the middle of a clear path after successfully transversing said ungainly terrian. Yep yep, I'm a smooth one :-)
Let's pull out those vignette X-ray goggles again, and this time look inside the Bell home. We'd see me spending a lot of time diddling quietly on my guitar in rooms full of talking people. Saturday and Sunday we ended up spending many blocks of time sitting around the living room/dining room area and talking with whoever was around. Most of those times I would pick up the guitar and start amusedly musicating. I wonder about that - I wonder if it was nice, unnoticed, or perhaps annoying for the people around. I wonder if it's a lazy personal alternative to entering more fully into the conversation. I wonder...arg, if I'll ever write a song that is a good and personal as "Only Hope" has been for me. Switchfoot is amazing and I'm terrible. But that's unrelated. Anyway, yeah - lots of guitar. One cool thing was that I wrote a song about Kristen (Kayte's sister) for her birthday, which was Sunday. I sang it during her nonchalant birthday observance, and I think folks enjoyed it. Writing songs about people seems to be a musical thing that people like far more than I wish they liked my songs and skills. Funny how that works.
Ah, and Saturday night late sitting around just me and Mike Q I wrote a song with his lyrical help that's kinda cool and sounds like an old folk song. You would have needed magical vignette X-ray microphones to hear it, though, 'cause it was pretty quiet.
Sunday was church, the race, the Bible study in the house, Kristen's birthday, and more chilling/guitar diddling time. Church was, well, rather unexceptional in a completely benign way. Mr. Prater spoke, so I didn't get to see the home pastor do his stuff, and we didn't hang around much afterwards 'cause we were off to the race. The message on evangelism was good, but nothing new to me. It will become more applicable when I start working, which will be interesting to see. I will say that the worship team seemed to copy, admirably but uninventively (and somewhat stiffly) the CD arrangements of the songs they played. I've never seen that before in a Sovereign Grace church.
Our blimp now drifts down south to York, PA, where a bunch of sportily-clad people are hopping about, stretching, mulling, and fussing over headphones and mp3 players. Finally they all pack together like a motley amoeba, somebody yells "GO!" over a megaphone, and the amoeba starts to stretch out. Pretty much at the back of the amoeba is a little girl in pink running determinedly, another little girl in purple running amiably, a thick-built guy in a maroon Izod fleece running like a farm horse, and a skinny guy in an AE shirt trotting along and trying not to go faster. Up somewhere in the middle is a short-blue-shorted giraffe running pell-mell, long legs kicking (Yep, that's Mike. And in case you were wondering, those people were Kayte, Destiny, Gabe and myself). By the end of the race the amoeba has gotten really stretched out and distended. The AE guy comes in on his last breath after a fast second half, the Izod guy motors up the hill with amazing speed, the giraffe lays it all out for the final stretch, purple girl zips up with a smile on her face, and pink girl powers to the end with a wild Bell look of eager determination. Everybody had a great experience, and the pretty green land around the running trail enjoyed being looked at.
Oooh yeah. With our X-ray microphone (not quite sure how that works, but hey, it's magical, right?) we would hear Gabe call AE boy a beast, which is pretty spiffy coming from him. AE boy still wants to beat him up the hill, though.
Anyway, moving on to Monday. Monday was nice, for those of us who didn't have to get up early and run the American economy. Sunny, relaxed, and more fun time with the four of us. I got up at 9:15 and drank some milk whilst waiting for my call about the job offer. The call went great, and the offer, while not stunningly awesome, is totally solid, and I'm 99.5% sure I'll take it. It's a great blessing to get it, too, because aside from this job other prospects are kinda dreary. I got to take the call in Mrs. Bell's airy office, which was nice and quiet.
After the phone call you vignette blimp observers will note our foursome packing into Harvey and toodling down to a fabric store to sate Kayte's (totally cool and not-unnormal or homeschool-geeky) passion for quilting. You'll wait in vain to see Mike and me leave the store soon after entering. Hah! Verily, Mike and I ended up hanging around in there the whole time, looking at the myriad patterns and thinking about Youth Camp team colors and remarking on noteworthy fabrics. We even helped the ladies pick out some patterns. I tell ya - whatever the four of us did together, we made it a good time :-)
After the store and some lunch we dragged ourselves into packing up and heading out. I had to get back in time to leave with Mom, Dad and Daniel for Gettysburg (tracking right back down the same road!), and Kayte wanted to get settled back in for Tuesday. So, another road trip, more holding breaths through tunnels (I remain undefeated and unchallenged, HAH!), more sunshine, twists and vistas, and more great fellowship.
I suppose the picture in my mind of this trip is of sparkling sunshine, a big house surrounded by green green grass and open, rolling hills, and probably Gabe saying something funny about somebody. I'm pretty glad we got to see Harrisburg while we still have a tour guide here in Pittsburgh, and hopefully some day I can come back and beat Gabe up the hill at the end of his nightly run. Garr! D-:
I guess that does it. Good trip! I definitely feel a "bond" between the four of us, cheesy though that may sound. It's an honor to get to spend that much time with such good friends, and the memory will linger long and happily in all our memories.
Farewell, vignette blimp! Farewell magical X-ray goggles and technologically bewildering but concurrently magical X-ray microphone! As it drifts away into the Monday sunset, it leaves us with a faint, effervescent picture: The four of us 5 years from now. It's more a spark of excitement than a picture. Excitement and curiousity at where God might take us in our lives. I'm happy to know everybody now, and it should be fun to track our progress as we walk along with our interesting Guide.
--Clear Ambassador
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