Taking Back Christmas

Last week was Rosh Hashannah. I admire Jewish holidays because they are so steeped in tradition and culture. I often wonder why as Christians we don't really celebrate holidays with our Jewish brothers and sisters. As the cliche goes: Jesus was Jewish.

I'm not going to lie, though. I really wanted skip school Wednesday last week, and for a brief, infantile moment, I thought about pretending I celebrate Rosh Hashannah. The thought was not a serious one and quickly passed, as I immediately recognized all the levels of wrong involved with doing something like that. However, it did get me to thinking about how there are so many non-Christians who take off and, in fact, celebrate holidays such as Christmas and Easter. Is that right? How is that fair? Shouldn't we "take back" Christmas? Yes, but not in the way Pat Robertson would have us.

It seems every year there is a vocal group of Christians screaming about the desecularization of Christmas. Happy holidays. Holiday trees. Holiday parades. Give Jesus a back seat to his own celebration, will you? It is frustrating, but what should the response be? Some get snarky and spread Jesus' love by abruptly retorting "Merry Christmas" to anyone who says "Happy holidays", using the greeting as less of a blessing and more of a dagger. Instead of truly encouraging someone in honoring our Lord and Savior, we use His birth as a counterpoint; a political statement.

Other times we boycott stores. Sadly, I've fallen prey to this in the past. If a store removes all signs of "Christmas" and expects us to hand over Benjamins, Ulysses, and Andrews, well then I'm sorry I'll take my business elsewhere. But aren't we to give to Caesar what is Caesar's? And isn't this country intended to be free-market? How then can a business be "Christian"? I don't see how we can hold a business accountable for the Gospel. A business has no soul to be redeemed. There is no reason to expect an entity designed on profit-making to adhere to values and beliefs that have been etched into our hearts by our Creator.

So how did we get to this point? Why have we allowed the secular world to hold one of our holiest days captive? After all, people who don't even believe that Jesus was anyone special celebrate. And that's okay. Because we are at fault for the modern interpretation of Christmas, and the modern interpretation is not what we ought to be celebrating.

There are basically two positive responses that we can have towards what Christmas has become. The first is to simply accept what "Christmas" is and let it be. Celebrate with friends and family in meaningful ways and let the corporate Christmas be what it is. Purchase presents, sit on Santa's lap, and watch It's a Wonderful Life. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this approach. You keep the meaning of the holiday and understand that the secular version is what it is.

The second approach is far more radical, and possibly (but not definitely) more redeeming: Reject all, or at least most, aspects of secular Christmas. For starters, if we so strongly dislike the way Jesus' "birth" is being celebrated, why do we create a false idol in Santa Claus? We want our children raised to be thankful for what they have and to know the "true meaning" of Christmas, yet we offer to them an imaginary person who will give them whatever they want...if they are good. Isn't this a hindrance to what we believe? Isn't this exactly what Jesus taught against? We link the "birth" of our redeemer who brutally died on a cross to freely give us undeserving wretches salvation with the false Gospel of works begetting reward. The hypocrisy of condemning a store for not using the word "Christmas" and yet taking the five-year old to the mall to sit on a red-suited stranger's lap and tell him what toys need to be under that tree the morning of December 25th is unnerving. It cannot go both ways.

If we want to be honest with ourselves, so much more needs to be eliminated or at least toned down. Trees-real or fake (although I think Jesus would especially dislike plastic trees)-, lights, presents, and perhaps even music need to be examined. What are their purposes? Is this honoring Jesus? Maybe in some way it is, but know how. Know that these actions aren't just "tradition". Although very meaningful and a way to grow closer with friends and family, traditions cannot become false idols. We cannot begin to worship the way we decorate a pine tree or the arrangement of light bulbs on our gutters.

Perhaps I've attacked a few sacred cows here. Well good. We cannot toss the celebration of Jesus' birth into the fire of secular life, worship what comes out, and then blame the fire for "missing the point." We've created this monster. Yes, we need to take back Christmas. But we need to take it back from ourselves.

Eternal Joy

The pressure slams itself against the seems, weakening their hold
The body wells up with joy that builds and builds and builds…
How long can it stay in?
How long can it be contained?
One stitch snaps apart letting forth a small trickle
The body strains to hold it in, but the fountain continues inside
The slow stream of joy yearns to grow, yearns to be boundlessly set free
Another suture breaks
And now another
Soon this joy has grown from a small creek to gushing river
Stitches break left and right, as the body is bursting at all seems
How can this joy endlessly flow?
How can it have a never-ending source?
Oh, but this well spills forth living water
An eternal spring
Endless joy from an endless love
And our joy reaches all
Covers all
And shares His love

A Dead Season

I interned at a Christian college for the summer. Most of the people I worked with and those on my student staff had amazing hearts for God. They openly shared their walk with Christ; who has influenced them, where they think He is taking them, and struggles they are currently battling. I was also able to engage in conversation about how I came to know Christ, how I try to see the world through Christ's eyes, and even mentored someone close to me about grace and its limitless boundaries. But still, this summer has been a dead season.

I've not read my bible in a couple months. Not legitimately. Sure it's been cracked open while at church, where I sat with a closed heart.

I pray, but it's been the usual stale prayers that have been recited for years..."Thank you God for this food you've provided me..." "Please watch over so-and-so while they do such-and-such..." "God, please give me patience as I wait for the woman you're preparing me for..." No heart in these prayers. No desperation. No desire. No longing. Is there any belief in them?

My Internet struggles continue. I care less, and less, and less. Every battle won equals ten thousand lost. When will it end?

Do not be deceived, Wormwood, I still believe. Oh, yes, I believe. There is a God. His Son died for my sins. And the Holy Spirit exists in me. Where is it, though? Has Satan tempered me through apathy and routine, thus blocking it out? Have I been feeding the Holy Spirit too much lip-service and not enough genuine, heartfelt need.

I feel dead in my faith. Am I not to just die to myself? Die to my longings? My greed? More music, more DVDs, more books, more clothes, more, more, more, more... Die to my lust? Filthy, staining lust...

I want to pick up my cross daily, but it weighs two tons. Or is it two pounds? Am I that weak? Or is it that I've misplaced my cross? Have I left it under the bed? Out of sight, out of mind.

When will this become real again? When will God wipe my tears and tell me everything is okay? Is everything okay?

Church Under the Bridge - Waco, TX

So I have a summer internship at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. I arrived late May and will be leaving early August. When I accepted the offer, one thing I was especially excited about was checking out some Texas churches. Up in Dallas there's Matt Chandler's Village Church. I've listened to Chandler's podcasts in the past and loved them. To be honest, and it's horrible that I don't know this, but I'm not sure if he's back to preaching or not after having surgery on his brain tumor. Of course, down in Houston is Joel Osteen's church, Lakewood Church. If you know me, you know that I'm not a fan of Joel Osteen. I think he preaches lies through the prosperity gospel. It sickens me to see his books fly off the shelf. Either way, I feel I need to go just to experience it. I'm told that the church meets where the Houston Rockets used to play.

Then there are two churches in Waco I planned on attending. David Crowder's University Baptist Church is one. I think that's where I'll go next weekend. Him and his band perform there for worship most Sundays. The other Waco church I wanted to experience was Church Under the Bridge. I originally heard about it when reading Shane Claiborne's The Irresistible Revolution. They meet under I-35 right next to the campus. Their tagline is: black, white, brown, rich and poor, educated in the streets and in the university, all worshipping the living God, who makes us one. That phrase is so fitting.

First off, let me shoot straight with you: it's hot. Now, we're under the freeway so there's some shade, but the temperature was pushing three digits. But still people streamed in. People from all walks of life. Black, white. Homeless, well-off. Folks in wheelchairs, folks covered in tattoos. People lighting cigarettes and others raising hand in Hallelujah. A dude on stage pretending to play a pink guitar, then walking through the crowd giving high-fives. Gravel is your sandals, sweat down your back, and the love of Christ in your heart. This service was beautiful.

When I arrived the preacher had everyone (estimating 100-150 people...but I'm bad at guessing numbers like that, so it could have been more) get in small groups and read the sermon on the mount. Sadly I did not get into a small group. They started right before I got there, I was taking pictures, and I couldn't find an open folding chair. Admitedly, those are all poor excuses. After that, there was some worship music and announcements. One gentleman came up front and sang some beautiful gospel music. The song must be called something like "Battlefield for the Lord".

Early on I received a handout titled "Personal evaluation of your life in Christ." It had 21 areas of your life, and you were to rank it 1-5, with 1 being excellent, 2 equaling good, 3 representing so-so, 4 being poorly, and 5 stating terrible. The categories ranged from prayer life and Bible reading to encouraging the prisoner and moral purity. Once the pastor started his message he went through each and everyone one and had the worshipers raise hands to whichever number they felt they were. He then briefly talked about how important it is to grow as a Christian. The most ironic moment of the entire morning was when he spoke on taking care of our bodies and the woman next to me lit up her marlboro. Haha, God bless Texas!

We finished up with another song. The morning wasn't over, though. A homeless couple, or perhaps a couple who had met while homeless, were to be wed! Absolutely amazing. I mean, I was in the congregation for a special part of these two lives.

This church is unbelievable. All sorts of God's people worshipping together under a bridge. All I could think about the entire time is that Jesus loves this. This is the kind of congregation he'd stand before and preach. I still plan on attending the other three churches I mentioned, but I have a feeling I'll be at this one a few more times before I head back north.

Pictures to follow...

Pro-Life Demonstration on Campus PART II: My Take

I didn't plan on writing this half three weeks later, but apparently that's what is happening...

The student reaction to this event was mostly over-the-top. Basically, there were three reactions:
1) Agreement
2) Ambivalence
3) Bitter disagreement

Those who agreed did so rather peacefully. They were the once who were talking to those who set up the display. That's it. Discussion. The rowdiest these people got were writing on the "free-speech" board that stood nearby. The idea of this board was to allow anyone the opportunity to say whatever they wanted. Which, as you'll see shortly, may not have been the greatest idea. Anyway, the pro-lifers basically posted things like "What if Jesus was aborted" and gave information and statistics about how abortions have hurt the mothers.

Students who did not care one way or the other made signs saying "free hugs" and wore viking helmets. Yes, you read that right. Some also showed up with guitars and sung about planet earth, since it was, in fact, Earth Day. They were fun, although kinda annoying. On the one hand, thanks for coming and trying to keep things mellow. On the other hand, there are giant pictures of aborted fetus and dead bodies from genocide 15 feet from you. Their free-speech board comments were along the lines of "come see Footloose" as such and such a date. They crossed the line, though with things such as: "they look like gummy bears" (referring to the aborted babies) and "Mary was only a virgin if you don't count anal." Really, at this point, you probably don't deserve free-speech. I'm not saying it should be taken from you, but you don't value it and really aren't responsible enough to deserve such a wonderful thing.

Finally, we come to the pro-choice folk. Their free-speech board comments were mostly profanity-laced, but at least had a point. The vocal pro-choicers, though, just seemed incredibly unintelligent. One comment (read with ditzy valley girl accent): "I'm okay if they call it murder, but not genocide. That's just offensive." Okay, let's go through a little lesson here. If you're okay with murder, you need to be okay with genocide. Genocide is "the deliberate and systematic extermination of a national, racial, political, or cultural group" (dictionary.com). Abortion is absolutely deliberate and, since you've already acknowledged that it's murder, it's certainly an extermination. Obviously it's not a national, racial, or political group, but let's look at the definitions of culture: "the behaviors and beliefs characteristic of a particular social, ethnic, or AGE GROUP." Culture can refer to an age group. Abortion is directed to those who are unborn, which is technically an age group. Therefore, genocide is completely an accurate term for abortion.

In addition, there was a small group of girls who will never have to worry about getting an abortion who began to cheer when the display started to be deconstructed. You know, as if they had something to do with it.

The next week I was walking to class with three friends, all of whom are liberal, and all of whom know I'm conservative. One looked over to where the display had been and said, "isn't it nice walking to class without having to look at dead babies." One of my friends (probably the one who is most cognizant of me being the only true conservative among our class) looked for my reaction, which was probably just eye-rolling. But this was genuinely the overall feel of a large section of students: I don't want to see this. Well guess what, if you are pro-choice, you need to see this. This is what that choice is. The choice to abort involves fetus ending up in pieces. The choice to abort results in ending a life. I don't exactly wake up in the morning hoping to see the destruction of human life, but you know what? We are a visual society and to fully comprehend something we often need to see what is going on.

If nothing else, I think The Center for Bio-Ethical Reform reached its mission, which was to get people talking. It certainly did that. I don't know if my method of discussing this topic would mirror theirs, but I do see a place for it, and I'm glad they were on campus.

Pro-Life Demonstration on Campus PART I: What Happened

Yesterday I was on campus a littl earlier than I needed to be. My internship started at 10am, but I scheduled to meet with my advisor at 8am to discuss courses that I need to take for next year. We wrapped up around 8:30 and I started heading across campus to the department where I am interning. I knew I'd have some spare time so I figured I'd pull out a book (A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller) and find a spot somewhere along The Green, which is a stretch of grass that slices through a number of academic buildings. Imagine The Mall in Washington D.C. on a much smaller scale.

While walking under the brick archways to enter The Green, I noticed some minor construction taking place. Somewhere near the middle of the stretch of grass, pipes and posters were being assembled. Leading up to this were bright orange signs reading "Caution: Genocide Pictures Ahead". At this point I had a strong inkling on what I would be seeing. Before I reached Pro-Life display, a former professor and current "higher-up" at the University came walking away from the set-up and asked if this was something I was interested in (most of my professors have at least an inkling of my faith). I responded yes and he continued on expressing rumors he had heard about a counter-protest right around noon. My lunchbreak that day was noon, so I quickly realized where I'd be spending it.

The adminstrator was obviously busy, so he went back to his office and I continued on to the exhibit which was being setup by The Center for Bio-Ethical Reform (. The presentation included three sides facing sidewalks, then an open area facing the open space of grass. Each side of it large pictures including babies in the womb, aborted babies, and body parts of the deceased babies, as well as images from the genocides in Rwanda, the Holocaust, and lynchings of African-Americans. I met a man named John who was a gentleman from the area who was volunteering to help the organization prepare this demonstration. He explained who the group was and how they were invited on campus by the Pro-Life Vanguard. It's a traveling exhibit that goes from college to college, with their next stop at Temple University on Monday and Tuesday of the following week. My univesity was allowing them to be present on campus, but restricted them in not allowing them to present a large-scale speech. I found this fairly reasonable. I gave John the heads up on the counter-protest, but he seemed pretty nonchalant about it; surely he's used to such groups coming up, but he appreciated the shared knowledge of a time frame.

Not too much seemed to be going on at this time. I found a spot away from The Green to read before heading over to my internship. I would come back around noon and then would pass it a second time when I left for the day. My second post will discuss my obersvations and reflections from the affair.

The Tomb is Empty!

Those might be the four most meaningful words in my relationship with Christ: The tomb is empty. Also love the, "Why do you seek the living among the dead" line! REJOICE! The Lord has created a new covenant with us. One that leads to eternal life. HE IS RISEN! He has conquered death! He has given us life.

Yes, I just threw a whole bunch of Christian cliches at you, but they are all true. Today is a beautiful, beautiful day. The most important day to those who follow Christ.

Again, REJOICE! For the tomb is empty!

Good Friday

"See, my servant will prosper; he will be highly exalted. But many were amazed when they saw him. His face was so disfigured he seemed hardly human, and from his appearance, one would scarcely know he was a man. And he will startle many nations. Kings will stand speechless in his presence. For they will see what they had not been told; they will understand what they had not heard about." ~Isaiah 52:13-15


"So they took Jesus away. Carrying the cross by himself, he went to the place called Place of the Skull (in Hebrew, Golgotha). There they nailed him to the cross...And Pilate posted a sign on the cross that read, 'Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.' The place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek." ~John 19:16-20


"At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o'clock. At about three o'clock Jesus called out with a loud voice, 'Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?' which means 'My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?'" ~Matthew 27:45-46


"Jesus knew that his mission was now finished, and to fulfill Scripture he said, 'I am thirsty.' A jar of sour wine was sitting there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put it on a hyssop branch, and held it to his lips. When Jesus had tasted it, he said, 'It is finished!' Then he bowed his head and released his spirit." ~John 29:28-30


"Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal's death on a cross." ~Philippians 2:6-8


"When the Roman officer who stood facing him saw how he had died, he exclaimed, 'This man was truly the Son of God!'" ~Mark 15:39


"As his body was taken away, the women from Galilee followed and saw the tomb where his body was placed. Then they went home and prepared spices and ointments to anoint his body. But by the time they were finished the Sabbath had begun, so they rested as required by the law." ~Luke 23:55-56




"How Deep the Father's Love for Us" performed by Joy Williams

Sexual Sin

There are few things in this life that give me more joy and more relaxation then spending time at camp. Despite some cold and dreary weather, I spent four fantastic days up in the Poconos. A little work on Saturday (if you consider leading low ropes and belaying the climbing wall working), but the rest of the time I was pretty much hanging out with a couple awesome friends. In this setting, topics cover pretty much everything, from the ridiculous, to nonstop quotes from The Office, to bowel functions, to serious "God stuff".

One of the more serious topics was on the topic of the church's involvement with sex, particularly how many Christians view sexual sin differently then other sins. The general consensus among us three was that the church seems to view this sin as being worse than other sins. To this point I agree that this is a common trend, and I also agree that it is wrong that it happens. Several years ago I heard a great analogy to demonstrate this point. Imagine two beautiful white walls with absolutely no blemishes. Pure, chaste white. At the first wall, take a bucket of red paint and splash it all over the wall. Obviously, there has been a lot of paint (sin) that has terribly damaged this wall. Now at the second wall, pull out a fine tip red sharpie. Approach the wall and tap the end of that sharpie ever so lightly that there is but a speck of red on that wall. The red may not be covering the wall, it might take less effort to fix this wall, but the pure whiteness of it has been ruined. It takes but a pinch of sin to separate us from God, in fact, condemnation (Romans 5:16). As we know, salvation through Jesus' life, death, and resurrection, we are called to eternal life! Amen!

Although I stand by the fact that all sin separates us from God, all sins are not to be treated equally. I reiterate, sins are not to be treated equally, I did not say sinners are to be treated unequally. In regards to this post's topic, we are to flee from sexual sin (1 Corin. 6:18). In fact, "no other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body" (1 Corin. 6:18, NLT).

This approach differs greatly to other advice given about sin. In other parts of the bible we are told to put on God's armor to stand firm against Satan's temptations (Ephesians 6:11-17), to stand firm against Satan (1 Peter 5:9), and even that resisting Satan will make him flee from us (James 4:7). So clearly, if we are instructed to flee from sexual immorality, there must be something that differentiates this from other sins. Not that it separates us from God anymore than other sins, but that its effects are not on the same level as other sins.

What then is sexual immorality. Let me quote from Mark Driscoll's Religion Saves and Nine Other Misconceptions. From the chapter titled, "Sexual Sin":

"I do not mean to be graphic, but because there is such widespread sexual confusion, I will plainly state what constitutes sexual sin (though this is not meant to be exhaustive). Some acts are always sinful, such as homosexuality, bestiality, rape, polygamy (including both polyandry and polygyny), pornography, prostitution, pedophilia, sinful lust, and incest. Some are sinful outside of marriage, including sex, masturbating another person, phone sex, sexual online chatting, heavy petting, oral sex, anal sex, and dry humping."

He continues:

"In the New Testament, porneia (from which we get the word pornography) is translated as 'sexual immorality' and encompasses all sorts of sexual sins; it is frequently used as a junk drawer in which every sort of perversion is thrown. This is because God in his wisdom knew that if he only listed certain sexual sins as off-limits, someone would find a loophole by which to keep the letter of the law while denying the spirit and write yet another book explaining how to sin against God in a way that is 'biblical.'"

Although I concur on the "junk drawer" idea of the term "sexual immorality", I do so for slightly different reasons. I believe if God wanted to explain all sexual sins without people finding a loophole, he could. People might believe they found a loophole, but it wouldn't be one. Rather, I think sexual immorality is left vague because things we engage in today included on a list thousands of years ago would make no sense at that time period. I'm not an expert on what was available, but certainly pornography in magazines, videos, and the Internet wouldn't make any sense for many years. Also, other sexually immoral use of technology such as phone sex and cyber sex couldn't be included. Therefore, the term "sexual immorality" is very useful, even if there are those interpreting its meaning very loosely.

So basically, what I'm saying is this: all sin separates us from God, and the church needs to stop the excessive guilt trip being laid onto those who have sinned in this way. Rebuke needs to be done, preferably by a pastor, a church leader, or a friend, but the congregation is failing the person if they ostracise him or her. With that said, more attention needs to be paid to this sin, knowing that we are to flee it as opposed to simply fighting it.

Carry Me (Live) - Jars of Clay

Jars of Clay.

Acoustic.

Live.

You're Welcome.

You Are My Joy - DC*B

Yeah, I know, I posted DC*B yesterday. Well, guess what, they're amazing. It's a Monday and we all need to be reminded of where our true source of Joy comes from. Happy Monday! :-)

As They Went...

This morning's messages was on being called by God, and used Luke 17:11-19. This is when Jesus is approached by 10 lepers desiring to be cleansed. He orders them to present themselves to the priest. That's it. No drawing in the sand, no mud on the eyes, no touching of his cloak, just sending them away. "AS THEY WENT they were cleansed" (Verse 14). Only the Samaritan came running back to thank Jesus.

The sermon took one direction for the remainder of our time, but my focus rested on the words "as they went". Oh, how true! What would have happened if they ignored what Jesus said and just sat down? Probably nothing. They had to obey and go. They had to do. How often do we pray and pray and pray and ask and ask and ask and then be still. Although there are many times for this, it is not for all times. Sometimes we need to act out our faith for the blessings to come.

I've been stuck in a cycle in my life where everything seems to be in a rut. A job rut. A dating rut. Spiritual life rut. For a couple years I prayed for God to heal my relationships and to give me guidance as to what to do for a career. In all honesty I just needed to be pulled out of this pit that was my life. And I prayed and prayed and prayed. Nothing changed. But I know God hears, for "if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him" (1 John 5:15). I believe He heard every single time I went to Him. But why wasn't anything happening?

Nothing happened because I didn't do anything. God gave me wisdom and advice. He comforted me. He encouraged me. He extended his beautiful and strong hand into the pit, but I laid there looking at it, too afraid to grasp it and climb out, climb to Him.

So this was the situation. For two years I did nothing but be miserable in the rut of my life, wondering why God hadn't pulled me out. But God was still working on me. He worked through sermons, specifically those from Mark Driscoll, to get me out of a relationship that held me down. Not that it was the fault of the young woman who happens to be a wonderful and beautiful person, but the relationship basically held me hostage. God also presented opportunities for a new career. He showed me the M.A. degree that I had been searching for. And what happened? I stood up. I walked towards God's sovereign hand, ended the relationship, applied for grad school, and slowly, using God's own loving arms, climbed out of that pit.

We can't save ourselves. We need God. But God isn't going to do everything for us. We need to live out our faith and follow God. Things won't always be easy, but He will be with us and take care of us.



Below is a a video for "How He Loves", which my church performed this morning. This is the official music video from David Crowder* Band. Unfortunately, EMI won't let the embedding work, but it'll give you the link over to the YouTube page.

Okay, but, seriously, folks...

So I have decided to be an official blogger (whatever that is). I'm going to try to get this going and have this be my spiritual musings and what not. A bunch of the older posts won't quite fit in. In fact, I even deleted a couple personal posts. Over a year ago I started this blog as an easy way for me to share my feelings with...myself. And although I think I need to keep some outlet for that, I've decided to maybe make this something for other people to relate to. I don't know anything about embedding videos, I have a twitter that is rarely used, but I do have opinions. And if nothing else, that's what I have to offer!

So life and such...

A lot has happened since my last post. For starters, the girl that I am pining over has become pretty much an apparition in my life. Occasionally I see her, but it's not like shes' really there. She kinda just represents something that was. Something sublime, and something destitute.

I went on my planned roadtrip. I really should have kept an online journal while I did this, especially considering I barely kept a real one. Really, all I did was just jot down notes to be fleshed out into a journal later. I left my home in Palmyra and drive to Chicago, going through Ohio and Indiana on the way. I stayed there two nights. On the only full day (August 12) I was there, I went on a walking tour of the financial district's architecture, which was amazing. Later I had Lou Malnati's deep dish pizza. This might be the second greatest pizza I've ever had (nothing will ever be better than Barlolo's in Palmyra!) and certainly the best deep dish I've ever had. After that I took the CTA over to Wrigley Field to watch my Philadelphia Phillies take on the Chicago Cubs. Weird enough, I found out an old childhood friend was down in Chicago to see the same game! So we met up in the concourse before the game and caught up. The game was incredible. Pedro Martinez made his Phillies debut, and the Fightins went on to win the game 12-5. This was also the game where some jerk Cubs fan threw a beer on Shane Victorino. Let me tell you, I was LIVID. I had seats behind the Phils dugout and went on yelling about how Philly gets a bad rap about fan behavior. Seriously. Classy Chicago, classy. He caught the ball anyway. See that's what happens when you have a gold glover in centerfield.

Anyway, next day was up to northern Minnesota (passing through Wisconsin) where the headwaters of the Mississippi are. Being able to walk barefoot across the Mississippi River will always remain one of the highlights of my life. Stayed there just the one night and headed out to Montana early the next day. This was the longest drive of the trip. I left Minnesota, drove through all of North Dakota, finally ending in western Montana (East Glacier Park). This was the day I seriously though I was going to die. No lie, it's the only time in my life that I truly thought that my death was imminent. Okay, so I was in western Montana and it's night. Forget anything you know about nighttime. Yeah, nighttime in the Poconos is beautiful and there aren't many lights around. Even less in Montana. Where I was driving, the only residences were ranches, with lots and lots of land between all the ranch house. And the homes are way, way, way off of the road. And then there was a thunderstorm. Again, forget all you know about thunderstorms. This lightening takes up the entire sky. There's a reason it's called "Big Sky Country" up there. Okay, so desolate, pitch black, crazy pouring rain, lightening, and really windy roads. Oh, and I had no idea where I was going and wasn't sure what road I was on. And the GPS lost satellite service. Imminent death. It was one of those "Okay, God, You have my attention" moments. That's the only thing that got me through, talking to Him and asking that I wasn't called home on that particular Montana road. Eventually I got past the storm, was able to call the hostel (which happened to be located above a bakery inside the park). I drove through Blackfoot country, but I'm not entirely sure if the road I was on was part of the reservation or not.

This wasn't meant to be an in-depth description of my trip, but is turning into one quickly. So let's buzz through the next stuff. I left the next morning for Seattle, passing through Idaho. I arrived in Seattle around 5:00pm local time on Saturday. Bad first night experience. Terrible parking by the hostel and couldn't find a place to eat dinner at. All I wanted was a cafe, but no. I settled for...*sigh*...a Starbucks. how cliche. It wasn't even the first Starbucks ever. Bad night. Sunday change around the entire trip. I went to Mars Hill Church, the Ballard campus to see Mark Driscoll. This was one of the most anticipated parts of the trip. I love that man and really hoped to meet him, but at the very least, I was excited about seeing him preach. Well, he wasn't there. He teaches probably 50 weeks out of the year, but this was not one of them. The message was really good, but still. I was out in the lobby/bookstore area and met a guy my own age, Matt, from San Diego, and another guy about the same age, Gino, living in Australia, but originally from the Philippines. We talked, we got lunch, and had a great morning/early afternoon. I actually finally enjoyed being on this trip. Anyway, they headed out and I visited touristy things like the Space Needle, Pike's Pier (closed since it was Sunday), and the first ever Starbucks. I met an amazing older guy at the top of the Space Needle. I sat and ate dinner with him while he pointed all kind of stuff out as we looked over the city. Great day.

Left Monday morning for Northern California. Was asked if I knew where to score weed by some people who were out taking pictures of the "Welcome to California" sign. The answer was no. That night I walked amongst trees that seemed to be from a movie. The redwoods towered above me, seemingly unreal. They can't be real. No trees are this tall. And then the Sequoias. Let's put it this way. If Matt from "My Side of the Mountain" lived inside this tree, he could have had several modestly sized rooms.

The next morning I walked along the beach for just a couple minutes. My original plan was to go to San Diego, but decided I didn't feel like being in a car for 14 hours again (the Minnesota-Montana part of the trip). I decided I'd go to L.A. instead. Well, while driving, I decided that was too far as well, and instead stopped in Monterey. Monterey somehow managed to balance major disappointment with sheer awesomeness. I was majorly disappointed because it wasn't the beach scene I hoped for. Monterey is still "northern California" and was not the warm weather or warm water I had envisioned. Instead, it was a bay. So, I didn't get to swim at all, but I did sit along the rocky ledges and the small sandy areas. Also while there, my former English teacher self enjoyed a trip to the National John Steinbeck Museum in Salinas. Fantastic! I also had the biggest and greatest burrito of my life while in Salinas! I also stopped briefly at the Leguna Seca raceway.

So I stayed two nights there, and then headed out to the Grand Canyon. Ridiculously hot drive through the desert. I refused to use the air condition for fear of overheating my engine. I got a little sweaty. I was really concerned about where I was going to stay at the Grand Canyon. If you want to reserve a campsite, you need to do it months ahead of time, and not days. They do allow for a certain number of first-come-first-served visitors. I arrived just before dusk and drove to the end of the south rim, stopping occasionally to take a couple pictures of the sunset. Fortunately, I arrived at the campsite with a few spots left and was able to set up Jordan's tent while darkness deepened its shade.

I did the whole walking around taking pictures thing the next morning, and then headed out Taos, NM, where the next hostel was located. This wasn't a fun drive. More desert. More hotness. More sweat. The Grand Canyon is in northern Arizona, and Taos is in norther New Mexico, but I couldn't go straight east. Straight east was an Indian reservation, so I don't know if that's why all my directions said to go southeast, and then north to get there or not. I was in Albuquerque , about to head north, when I noticed Ebony's engine temperature going up. I stopped to get dinner and poke around in Best Buy and a Border's. I called the hostel, and it was about another two hours of driving. I did NOT feel like making that drive. And my car's temp was still higher than it ought to be. So I scratched that plan and decided to stay at a Motel 6. Balancing out costs of going to Taos (room rent, gas money) and just staying in Albuquerque , I found out staying would only cost maybe $10 more. It was worth it.

Next morning I drove to Wichita Falls, TX. Nothing to tell here. Stayed in a motel. Should have taken a 15 minute drive north just to say I was in Oklahoma, but I didn't. The next day was off to Houston to stay with my aunt and her husband. One of my cousins was able to come over with her husband and two kids. It's great getting to see family you usually see about once every five years or so, if that!

Next morning for me really marked the "okay, I'm on my way home" moment. I drove through Louisiana, Mississippi, and into Alabama. I stayed that night at a motel in Gadsden, AL.

Come morning, I was off heading north to Billy and Becca's home in Lynchburg, VA. I was in Georgia for about five minutes, then Tennessee, and finally Virgina.

I stayed there for way too short of a time, and left the following morning for home, passing through West Virginia and Maryland. I got home early evening/late afternoon, and was never so happy to see the "Welcome to Pennsylvania".

The trip was incredible and something I'll always, always, always remember. Although there were a couple people to almost go with, I'm very glad I went by myself. It was an experience like none other.

Honestly, I wanted this post just to be a quick couple paragraph summary of the trip, and then explaining what else was going on in my life. Obviously that didn't happen. I'll update the rest some other time.