let the adventure begin.

it is finally here. im leaving for camp in the morning, but i get to start my adventure today. how, you may ask? i get to pack. haha! yeah, i know. that is not really what you wanted to here. but that is part of the adventure. i get the joy of packing for 10 weeks in one suitcase. being a guy that is no problem, but i like to think about some of my female friends (MEREDITH-yeah i called you out) who are having the worst time narrowing down what to bring. its really not that complicated, but i think its funny for the people that make it that way.

my sister rachel graduates this year. i am proud of her. good job rae!

im at panera right now listening to people and watching how everyone interacts with one another. people are so different. i want to know peoples stories. i want to know where they came from and how they came to be who they are. i am thinking this because my dad was watching a documentary on WWI, and after watching he informed me that there is only one living vet from the war still living. that is like a whole generation of people gone. crazy.  i would have so many questions to ask that man. makes me wonder what it would be like when i am that old. what would people ask me about my generation?

i'm allergic to vegetables.

You're the breath of life
You're the God on high
Your song shall rise
And never pass away

O, Your Majesty
Evermore shall be
The earth, the skies, the sea
Shall bring You praise

And I hide my eyes
With my face to the ground
In the presence of Your Majesty
And I clap my hands
And I lay my crowns
In the presence of Your Majesty

Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty
Early in the morning we will sing
Holy, Holy, we bow down before Thee
All Your children love to sing Your name
God Almighty

on my way home today from FP God really spoke to me. well not spoke, but rather he rode all the way home with me. i could feel his presence. it was good to drive home in the beautiful country side singing praises to the creator of the universe and know the fact that he was wanting to spend time with me on the way home. that is so amazing to me. almost surreal.

i miss the kids in FP. they are growing. its weird. yes i know, people grow. i have a degree in human development for pete sake, but its neat to see them mature.....well sorta. i love the fact that they are still kids. i love the fact that they still think i'm cool(which i am far from it). i love that i get to see them grow. i am extremely glad that God placed me in their lives. they have been a blessing to me. they are my family.

shankles is one of my dearest friends. i am so glad that she puts up with me. :)

7 days till camp. God please give me the opportunity to be patient.

fp.

You love this town even if that doesn't ring true
You've been all over and it's been all over you
It's a beautiful day 
Don't let it get away
It's a beautiful day
Don't let it get away

[Beautiful Day - U2]

one piece of advice.

i am officially a graduate from the university of alabama. crazy. this was final at around 9:45 this morning. good times.

my schedule today:
got up at 4 am to get ready to leave to be in ttown by 8 this morning (and i was up all night playing with my new computer i got for graduation. this = no sleep), got to ttown around 7:30 to be at the ceremony at 8, went through graduation from 8-11:45, hung out with family and friends from 12:30-5, left Tuscaloosa to come home, stopped by the outlet malls, rolled in drock around 8 pm.

that was my day and i'm still going. my good friend Mary claims that it is just me preparing for camp mode. i agree. :)

i am so thankful.

today i was reminded of how blessed i am. with friends, family, food, money, etc. God has given me more than i deserve.

i am thankful for my friends. i missed everyone in Tuscaloosa. as soon as i connected with them today we started laughing. i had not laughed like that in a long time. thank you God for Chris, Tyler, Andrew, Wesley, Lyndon, Gina, Jordan, Emma, Audrey, Heather, and Sarah. they are my true friends. i am also so thankful for my dear friend Amy. she came from Birmingham to be with me on graduation. she knew she didn't have to, but she did anyway. she is awesome!

i am thankful for my family. they have been more than a support for me these past four years. from yelling to crying, and laughing to bribing. we have been through it all, but i would never trade one moment that i have experienced with each of them. together or separately. i love them!

God, you rock!

attention, salute, pled.......wait, what?

last night at my sister's senior night something hit me.

the colors came in, brought by the JROTC, and we pledged. afterwards they proceeded out and we sat down. this simple act got me thinking. why do we do it? i know it shows patriotism, allegience, etc. but the simple fact that we are vowing an oath to a flag....it just seems kind of odd to me. dont get me wrong, i love this country. i am so blessed to be here, and i would consider myself as a patriotic person, but how can we go about swearing allegience to a nonexisting thing, more of an idea, and not be that way to the Lord? some, i will say, pledge half heartedly, not really felt, while others have full allegience and consider it honor to recognize something like our great nation. i guess that is like the luke-warm attitudes that the Lord talks about in scripture. it's either all or nothing, there is no in between....

where does our allegience lie?

how did you manage that?

so i have been teaching a fourth grade class this week (i am off today, but will be back tomorrow), and i have come to find out that 4th graders are an interesting breed-or at least the ones i have been working with. they say the craziest things, and perform the weirdest stunts. i have a few stories....

so i'm sitting in class on monday waiting for the kids to come back from Spanish. as they trickle back into the room, i notice one of my boy's shirt is wet. i walk over to him and he kind of looks at it, looks at me, and tells me that he is wet. and i'm not talking about like a wet spot. it was a wet puddle! immediately things start going through my mind. i asked him was it from the water fountain or from the bathroom. he says the bathroom. once again, my mind starts to race, and mind you it is not on his pants. only his shirt. i send him to the office to call for another shirt, but loandbehold he comes back shortly after saying that he wasn't aloud to call, but its was ok because he wiped his shirt with a paper towel. i just hung my head, trying not to laugh, and sent him to his desk.

shankles got a kick out of this story. i told her one of my kids wet himself, and she proceeds to tell me that is why she likes older kids. HE IS AN OLDER KID! she told me she literally burst out laughing. oh, to be a teacher....

second story: this one is not as interesting as the first, and you would have had to have been there to appreciate it, but i will try my best to paint a picture in your minds...

tuesday we had a play that i got to be apart of. they did a great job. it was on the costs of freedom in our country. some of the songs they sang could have been in church-or at least that's what the black ladies on the front row were saying... anyway, after the play, the other fourth grade teachers decided to throw them a dance party.

**before i begin, let me ask have you ever seen a fourth grader dance? well in your minds you may be thinking something totally different then what i am about to say...

ok, so i wanted to go home and take a shower and curl up in the fetal position after what i saw. these girls watch too much TV! they were poppin, grindin, etc. and it made me sick. on a positive note they had good rhythm, i just didn't care to see what i saw. on the other hand all the boys think dancing is jumping up and down off beat which is funny in itself as well.

if you haven't guessed, this is me. and i will say that this is probably the most accurate picture of me. you may not be able to see it, but i actually have facial hair. fun stuff, huh? and i love that my name is spelt "T-e-whatever letter that is-g-e". and yes my name was on the board....

i cant wait to be a teacher. it will be fun and funny.

turkeys are done.

i have eaten way too much sugar this past week. to the point where i think i have had all artificial energy, and not any energy from foods that i really need. and believe me when i say that it caught up to me. i was irritable and tired, and if you know me that is not a good combination.

well i can now officially say that i am done with my undergraduate career. weird. but i must say that this has been a quite enjoyable last four years. i have done things i never thought that i would do, like drive across the country with my best friends, get in trouble with the cops(loud dance party--no alcohol involved), or even be in tune with the Spirit. i have been super blessed these past four years, and honestly i wouldn't trade it for the world. don't hear me wrong, I WOULD NEVER GO BACK, but it was truly time well spent.

what makes time fly so fast? is me being so unaware of what is going on around me. sometimes i can sit around and do nothing and feel like time wont go fast enough, and then others where i think where has my day gone. its all too complex for my little brain. haha.

so i have decided that when i start teaching i will not teach 5th grade. they stink. literally and metaphorically. the don't wear deodorant and they have really bad attitudes. ill stick with my young ones.

i will be running a 1/2 marathon the day after my birthday next year. where you might ask? in disney world! i figured the happiest place on earth is the place to run one....maybe ill be happy the whole time i'm running....

25 more days till camp. im super excited! we received our staff letter yesterday from our camp director and i can already tell that this is going to be a good summer. just by reading what he said i know i am going to respect him as an individual and as my leader. he used a verse from
1 Peter 1:9 that says, "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light." this hit me hard once again because i have been apart of teams that don't have this vision. i mean they claimed to have it, but it really wasn't there. i am really excited to work along side this team because my Spirit tells me that they are a people chasing after God's own heart. pray for us, pray for the kids we come in contact with, and pray that the Lord does some amazing things this summer!

mood: relaxed (finally)