4 posts tagged “south carolina”
Hello World (or two people that read this blog not including my family)! I thought I was going to make it two months between blog posts, but I actually found time to sit at my computer and write. I'm not going to say that this has been the busiest time of my life, but it has been a crazy few months. Needless to say, blogging took a major backseat. Here are the highlights and lowlights of my life since...Thanksgiving:
- Thanksgiving in South Carolina was awesome! I love my family. I love my friends. I miss Charleston. I'm really glad Erica got to join me.
- I had been to the doctor once in my four years in Louisiana, but I've been four times since Thanksgiving.
- I had my first wreck and received my first ticket. I hit a car in the back going at least 2 mph and no more than 10 mph, and the girl called the cops and claimed that she hurt her neck. It was a stupid driving mistake, and I hate that she got hurt. I have a court date for February 29. I'm kind of bummed that it's a leap year now. If it would have been a normal year, I wouldn't have to be in court. (Some of you may get that by the end of the blog.)
- I finished another semester of seminary work!
- I had another wreck. It wasn't my fault this time, and no damage was done to either car. I'm still baffled how someone can attempt to turn into a parking lot from a middle lane of traffic without thinking a car just might be in the right lane that is meant for turning vehicles. For the record, that's two wrecks in two weeks.
- I had another wreck THAT DAY! Yep, you read correctly. That's THREE wrecks in two weeks, AND TWO IN THE SAME DAY! My driving record was squeaky (yes, that is a highly intentional use of that word) clean two weeks prior. Quick summary of wreck number 3: I'm stopped on the interstate, and a car hits the car behind me who hits me and knocks me into the car in front of me. My car looks fairly sad right now, but it's still drivable. It goes into the shop next Monday. Thankfully I didn't get hurt in any of the three wrecks. PRAISE GOD! As I'm writing this, I feel like there has to be some correlation between the number 3 and driving cars. Any rednecks with me?
- Christmas in South Carolina was awesome! I love my family. I love my friends. I miss Williamston. I'm glad Erica got to spend time with her family after sacrificing the previous holiday with them for me.
- New Years was great with the exception of the Clemson loss on Christmas Eve. I got to spend a few days with Erica's family in the Shreveport/Bossier area. They're great! I really enjoy spending time with them.
To say the last few days have been "exhausting" would be quite the understatement. I read a lot of blogs that begin in this way. For example, "Sorry for not blogging lately, I've been really busy." "Life is so busy right now." "I'm so tired from how busy I've been recently." First off, this blog is not about the Sabbath, resting, or resisting laziness. However, maybe I need to take the time to write a blog about that if I ever get a chance, haha. Onto my issue (since this is my blog)...you may be wondering why the last few days have been more than exhausting. After spending five days at the National Youth Workers' Convention, I proceeded to head home to South Carolina for the Thanksgiving holidays for five more days. I had such a wonderful time at both of these places. I love youth ministry but being at home with my family in friends is so much better! I really cherish the time that I get to spend at home now that I only get to do it about three times a year. Honestly, those ten days weren't exhausting at all. I came back to Baton Rouge very well rested and refreshed. The only exception was the sinus infection I gained while at home.
Fast forward to this past Thursday...I wake up with a pounding sinus
headache thinking my head could really explode from the pressure at any
moment. That afternoon I went to take care of Erica, my wonderful
girlfriend, who was really sick herself with a fever. She felt
much worse than I did. While I'm with her, my stomach decided to
begin doing gymnastics...only a few of the light gymnastic events like
the pommel horse and rings. I didn't think much of it. When
I get home that night, a few more of the events were added like the
uneven and high bars. The entire male and female all-around
gymnastics programs, including the floor exercise, continued in my
stomach through Monday when I was finally able to go to the doctor for
major stomach issues and a fever on top of the sinus stuff I've had
forever it seems. The doc proceeds to prescribe antibiotics,
anti-diarrhea medicine (i'm not ashamed), an IV because I was so
dehydrated, cough syrup, and a nice prick in the left buttock area with
some steroids. If I was in the NFL, I'd be suspended quicker than
Ricky Williams right now. If I was in the MLB, I'd be breaking
the rules...i mean the records. I would
definitely have an asterisk by my name in the Lamb's Book of
Life. And if I was a professional wrestler, they wouldn't find
out until I died or was still being put in the figure four by the
Nature Boy at age 75. Needless to say, I have a whole bunch of
junk in me right now, because I didn't have anything left in me that my
toilet hadn't captured over the past few days! I'm so exhausted
but getting more energy daily! I definitely would appreciate your
prayers right now. I'm trying to do youth ministry stuff and
finish up the school semester with a lack of energy.
I've had plenty of time to think over the past few days though. And the biggest thing God's showed me is that He loves me and so do a whole lot of people! There are a few people I really want to thank! Josh and Christian, thanks for putting up with a sick roommate over the past few days. I wasn't much fun to be around. Thanks for your patience and grace. Palmer, thanks for your phone call. I'm sure you thought it was short and insignificant, but it meant a lot that you would take the time to check on me. Erin, thanks for holding down the fort at the office for me. Erica, thanks for everything you've done...cleaning the kitchen, getting me cold rags to put on my feverish head, spending your money and bringing me food and gatorade, and just being here for me while you didn't feel good either! Mrs. Lev, thanks for being my bullpen mom. I have the most wonderful mom ever without a doubt, but it's hard for her to take care of me when I'm eleven hours away. I know she would have jumped in the car immediately if I would have really needed her. Thankfully, God's given me so many people in Baton Rouge that really do love and care about me, like Mrs. Lev. Seriously, thank you for the food, the advice, the ability to be blunt and honest about my problems with you, picking up my medicine, and for the great conversation we had tonight when you brought me my first real meal in a few days. You're great, and I really appreciate you! Finally, if you're reading this and thinking "Michael, I'm sorry I didn't help you out. I didn't even know you were sick." Quit apologizing! You didn't know. I didn't tell many people. I know you love me, and you would have helped if you would have known.
In conclusion, the past few days have literally been physically exhausting. I'm excited about eating more than jello, crackers, and gatorade in the upcoming days. I'm excited about getting to connect with all sorts of amazing people that I haven't had a chance to connect with for a LONG time. This time has caused me to appreciate a lot. One of the things I appreciate now more than ever is Kerri Strug's gymnastic performance at the 1996 Olympics. Anyone that can finish all those gymnastic events with a broken ankle deserves a gold medal. If I would have had a broken ankle this week, I really think I would have died from all the gymnastics I went through!
God is love,
Rev Run (Sorry! I've had a lot of time to sit on the couch and watch TV over the past few days, hahaha!)
Last Thursday night brought a buzz to the area of
Baton Rouge. LSU kicked off the college football season with a
45-0 route of Mississippi State. I'm still wondering if MSU could
beat some high school teams; nevertheless, LSU was dominant.
Since moving to Louisiana, I know more about LSU than I ever wanted to
know, and I'll admit: Deep down inside, I'm pulling for them to
win every game. However, I wasn't feeling the same buzz as
everyone else around here last week. "Why?" You may
ask. My true and faithful loyalty will always lie with the
Clemson Tigers, and they weren't playing Thursday or Saturday.
The day has finally come though! Yes, that's right: Clemson
kicks off their season tonight versus Florida State.
It's under two hours until game time, and I'm about
to erupt. I'm trying to hold all of my excitement in right now,
because my roommates and pretty much every person in Baton Rouge could
care less about Clemson. I don't want to be the obnoxious fan who
makes everyone hate my favorite team, but I'm so pumped right
now! I've been rocking the Clemson shorts, shirt, and hat all day
long, but my words have been few. There's something about Clemson
football that just brings out my emotions. As most of you are
aware, I'm a really laid back guy, never getting too excited or too
angry. However, most of my outward anger is spawned from
ping-pong, golf, or Clemson football. The only time I bite my
fingernails is during Clemson games. The only time I'll jump out
of the recliner in my house is during a Clemson game. The only
time I scream at the TV (other than watching stupid people on reality
shows) is during Clemson games. I'm passionate about Clemson
sports, mainly football, yet right now I'm having to contain my passion
for a couple more hours.
I know this is childish and immature, but Clemson
games make me miss home a lot! I miss seeing thousands of tiger
paws. I miss driving over the huge tiger paws on the road.
I miss South Carolina fans that complain. I miss seeing a sea of
orange. I miss making fun of South Carolina fans. I miss
being able to talk about "Thunder and Lightning" with people that
actually care. I miss seeing a blur when Jacoby Ford returns a
kick. I miss talking about Rendrick Taylor being "The
Hulk." I miss tailgating.
As a youth pastor, I'm often faced with the
question, "Hey Michael, how do I know what God wants me to do in this
situation?" One of the responses I always give goes something
like this: "God has no desire to keep His will from you. He
wants to make it clear to you. It's not some secret encoded
message." I do provide a much more in-depth answer than this in
most circumstances, but I think this simple advice helps in most
cases. Oftentimes, we view God's voice as jibberish that can't be
understand by us. Why would God want his voice unclear for
us? To see how much faith we have? I doubt it. In
certain circumstances it would probably be easier if God was
unclear. Those circumstances would include moving from
Williamston, SC to New Orleans, LA, going to seminary when you just
finished your undergrad, and taking on a full-time position as a youth
pastor while continuing to be a seminary student in Louisiana all at
the same time. If God would have been unclear, I (if you didn't
already know those circumstances are my personal experiences) could
have stayed at home, been close to family and friends, been done with
school, and worked at an amazing church. As I reflect on the
past, I'm grateful that God spoke clearly to me in those
situations. He really has no desire to hide His plan from
us. In fact, He is constantly speaking clearly, and it's simply
up to us to clear out our ears and hearts to hear Him.
I actually had an example of this today: God
has been speaking to me about gratitude the entire day. First,
God spoke to me through my friend David. However, in that moment,
I needed some spiritual q-tips to listen to God's clear voice. I
didn't want to hear what God was saying through David. I was
angry, bitter, and even admitted to David that I had a bad
attitude. God's words through David were something along these
lines of, "We always have the ability to control our attitudes."
I'm sorry if I misquoted you David! If I would have stepped back
and listened to that, I could have realized how blessed I was to be
doing what I was doing. I simply needed to grateful for life in
the midst of a less-than-ideal situation. At this point, I didn't
hear God's clear voice. It took me all day, several
conversations, and finally a book to help me listen. I've been
reading the book The Return of the Prodigal Son by Henri
Nouwen. Nouwen is quickly climbing to the top of my favorite
authors list. I'll probably write a lot about this book in the
future. God has spoken to me over and over through it.
Anyway, back to God's clear voice...As I read tonight about the oldest
son in the parable of the prodigal son, many of Nouwen's words stuck
out to me. But the following words were more than Nouwen's...they
were God speaking clearly to me through Nouwen. The words were,
"Gratitude, however, goes beyond the "mine" and
"thine" and claims the truth that all of life is a pure gift. In
the past I always thought of
gratitude as a spontaneous response to the awareness of gifts received,
but now I realize that gratitude can also be lived
as a discipline. The discipline of gratitude is the explicit
effort to acknowledge that all I am and have is
given to me as a gift of love, a gift to be celebrated with joy."
Wow! Am I simply grateful when I receive
gifts? Or am I grateful for the gifts that God gives me every
moment of every day. God couldn't have been more clear
today. In the midst of tough circumstances and a bad attitude,
God wanted me to celebrate the gift of love that He consistently pours
out on me. Are you practicing the discipline of gratitude? Are
you hearing God's voice clearly? Do you need to clean out the
clutter that may be preventing you from hearing God's clear
voice? He does speak clearly. He wants us to be a part of
His plan. It's simply up to us to slow down long enough and be
willing to receive that crystal clear voice of our Father.
