Huuuummmm.............

BRCC Fall Hike

2009-11-12T23:59:00.007-05:00

This past weekend I went on the Fall hike with the BRCC youth group. We had amazing weather, sunny during the day and about 65 degrees and at night it stayed pretty warm.

Ben Hess, Ben Irwin, and I ran out to Lookout Point in time to see sunrise on Saturday morning. Here is Ben H. and Ben I. with the Gorge behind them.

The sun is just coming up.

Ben H. taking pictures of the sunrise over the Gorge.

Ben I. watching the sunrise.

We also ran out to look at Princess Arch. This is Ben I. under the arch.

Ben H. taking pictures by Princess Arch.

The youth group getting ready to hike. We had over 30 youth along on this trip.

The crossing of the log!

Kay Craig beginning to attempt the log crossing!

Several of the youth decided to sleep outside on Saturday night. This is Sunday morning while they are still sleeping.

Fall Engagement Pictures

2009-11-12T23:21:00.005-05:00

A couple of weeks ago Kristen and I had some Fall engagement pictures taken. It was about the last good weekend for leaves. Here are a few of them.

Colts Game!

2008-09-22T14:02:00.002-04:00

Yesterday I went to the Colts game with Kristen. Unfortunately they didn't play too well and lost, but it was a lot of fun anyway! It was nice to see Lucas Oil Stadium and to sit in a sold out crowd. We had seats nine rows up from the field in the end zone.

In PanAm Plaza with Lucas Oil in the background on the way to the game.

Lucas Oil Stadium

Payton Manning practicing

One of several serious fans!

Manning getting ready to receive.

Right before a touchdown pass.

The field view from our seats.

Nice to see the stadium packed.

Tony Dungy pacing the sidelines.

Halftime picture.

The offensive line.

Manning "wonderful" protection.

At the end of the game.

Rascal Flatts Concert

2008-06-23T15:46:00.003-04:00

On Saturday June 14 Kristen and I went to a Rascal Flatts concert. It was a great evening for it as we were outside and the temperatures were great. The concert was excellent, except I did not care for the opening by Taylor Swift.

Before the concert!

Trying out the shades!

Hummm...Fun times!!!

Let the concert begin!

There were some pretty sweet backgrounds during the concert!

A picture without zoom. This is what we saw.

During the concert.

He pulled a little girl out of the crowd and danced and sang with/to her.

Rascal Flatts

Another cool background near the end.

Wedding

2008-06-23T15:09:00.002-04:00

Back on June 12 - 13 I went down to Nashville, TN with Kristen to go to her brother Mike's wedding. There are so many wedding going on this year, it seems like I have the option to go to one every other weekend for the whole summer! Anyway it was a good trip down, although short.

The happy couple! Mike and Heather Schlegel.

The ladies!!!

The guys.
(Photo by: Steve Schlegel)

Kristen and I.
(Photo by: Steve Schlegel)

The wedding party!

Kristen and I.
(Photo by: Steve Schlegel)

Wedding party outside.

Kristen and I outside after the wedding.
(Photo by: Steve Schlegel)

Kristen and I at the reception afterwards.

2008 Mini Marathon

2008-05-05T10:41:00.005-04:00

Saturday, May 3 was the Indianapolis Mini Marathon. I and several other friends ran this race. It was a great morning for it as the temperatures were in the 50's and it was overcast much of the race. The last 3 miles or so the sun came up and was in our eyes which made it a little more difficult, but overall no complaints! I ran my personal best this year at 1:33:13. My average pace per mile was 7:07 and I finished #785 out of 30,067 finishers. Ben Hess did an excellent job with his personal best at 1:49:22. Kristen Schlegel and Joy Hess ran the 5k while we were doing the 13.1 mini. They did a great job also! Here you can look up the official results.

Kristen and I before the race.
(Photo by: Ben Hess)

Ben and I before the race.
(Photo by: Joy Hess)

Ben and Joy, Kristen and I before the race.

This officer was posing for pictures.
(Photo by: Kristen Schlegel)

Let the race begin!!!
(Photo by: Joy Hess)

Kristen Schlegel, Joy Hess, and Becky Flink before the 5k race.

Phillip Dewing, Andy Flink, and I after the race. We're still standing and smiling!!!
(Photo by: Joy Hess)

Ben and Joy, Kristen and I after the race.

Ben Hess, Andy Flink, and I.
(Photo by: Kristen Schlegel)

Kristen and I after the race.
(Photo by: Joy Hess)

BRCC Spring Hike

2008-04-17T11:56:00.002-04:00

Another successful spring hike was accomplished this past weekend! We went down to Red River Gorge on Friday night set up camp and hiked all day on Saturday. Ben Hess and I are training for the mini marathon so we ran a 12.8 mile run before hiking Saturday morning. That gave us a chance to get rid of some excess energy!!! The weather was great on Saturday. Sunny and mid 50's to low 60.

Gordon Craig, Susan Wilson, and I right before we hit the trail!!!
(Photo by Ben Hess)

The view from the top of a ridge! Beautiful!

This farm was down in the valley right next to the river surrounded by all this amazing scenery!
Another view. Spring had sprung!

A few of the people in our group venturing a look over the edge!

A view of Double Arch across the valley. Later on we eat lunch under this arch.
(Photo by Ben Hess)

This is a cliff going up the side of Court House Rock. Just a few of us decided that we would be able to make it to the top going up through this narrow cleft. This is Ben Hess coming down.

This is the group that ventured to the top of Court House Rock.
(Photo by Ben Hess)

On the way down Court House Rock there was a very narrow area we had to squeeze through.
(Photo by Ben Hess)

A pretty creek that we hiked along.

Looking for Crawdads in the creek.

Les Moore (back) and Mark Taylor (front).

A narrow area a few of us climbed up and squeezed through to get to a ledge.

From the ledge.

Lunch under Double Arch.

View through Double Arch.

Nice view.

Another one.

We came across this sign at the end of our hike. Hummm fancy that!!!!

Backpacking Trip

2008-04-02T16:14:00.003-04:00

Last week, March 27 - 29, I went on a backpacking trip with Ben Hess and Rich Wathen. We went to a place in southeastern Ohio called Shawnee State Forest. We planned a 40 mile loop trail that we backpacked in three days. It was a rugged trail to begin with with a lot of ridges to climb, streams to continually cross, and ravines to traverse. The fact that it had been raining the day before and that day and the creeks had risen to a high level, and the trails had become very muddy made it that much more difficult. At least we were all in good shape and up for the challenge! On the first day we hiked 12 miles. The second we did 18 miles and the third 10 miles.

Day 1:
The Beech leaves were pretty. We had MANY views like this!!!

Ben doing one of the MANY challenging creek crossings!!!

Another creek crossing.
(Picture by Ben Hess)

Because of all the rain the trail often times became a secondary stream!
(Picture by Ben Hess)

On the top of one of the many ridges that we were on!
(Picture by Ben Hess)

Ben Hess and I about a half mile away from our first nights camp.
(Picture by Rich Wathen)

Thursday nights camp. This was at the end of day one.
Notice the smoke from the wood? Ben tried hard to get a fire
going but it was raining and the wood was too wet.

Day 2:
Ben Hess going up a ridge ahead. We had already done a REALLY big
climb to get to this point!!!

I was trying to figure out how to get across yet another stream!
(Picture by Ben Hess)

A pretty Hemlock grove.

Ben and I.
(Picture by Rich Wathen)

Ben crossing on some logs.

This was a large creek. The log is about 10 feet above the water.
It was challenging to compensate balance and judgment for our packs!
(Picture by Ben Hess)

Taking a short break!

Ben and Rich.

Rich and I at our second campsite. This was the prettiest one. We were
in a hemlock grove at the juncture of two streams.
(Picture by Ben Hess)

Ben and I at our second campsite.
(Picture by Rich Wathen)

Our second camp. It had stopped raining in the late morning so we were
able to find some dry wood and have a fire!!!

Day 3 was much dryer and the easiest part of the trail was at the end. Not nearly as many up and down ridges or tough ravines with streams to work through! Overall it was just great to get outdoors and enjoy God's creation and time with friends!!!

Turkey Run State Park

2008-03-13T07:14:00.003-04:00

On Tuesday Kristen and I went to Turkey Run State Park. It was a perfect day. The temperature was mid 40's to low 50's and the sun was shining!!! It was a great time to go because there was hardly anyone else there. There was a bit of ice and snow that made the hiking a little more difficult down in the ravines but it was very pretty!

The icicles and snow with the sun were beautiful!

Massive icicles EVERYWHERE!!!

This was a cool little waterfall! Tough picture to get though!

Breathtaking!

A view of the river.

A massive tree had fallen and was just begging to be climbed so I answered the call!

Another pretty little waterfall!

The stream that was trail #3!

Pacers Game!!!

2008-02-21T11:04:00.003-05:00

Back on February 9th Kristen and I went to a Pacers game with a couple of her friends. It was a great time! We got seats on the first row right behind the row on the floor and just to the right of the Pacer bench! The Pacers actually won this game also!!!

Warming up!

Getting ready to play.

Kristen and I with Larry Bird in the background!!!

They got just a tad bit of height on those jumps!

The bench.

Boomer!

Boomer's grand finale!

Car Show!!!

2007-12-31T10:12:00.000-05:00

This past Saturday I went to the Indianapolis Car Show. I have been doing this every year for years. This year I was joined by Kristen, Jonathan and Anne, Micah, and Bill Baldwin. Always a good time just being able to check out the new cars coming out without the pressure of dealing with sales people!!!

Ford Mustang Cobra

Kristen liked the color scheme of this one!

A tad small for me!

In a BMW Z4.

Ahhhhh, the new Camaro coming out next year!!! Pretty sweet!!!

Micah and I!

Kristen and I!

Kristen and I in a Corvette!

The bros and I!
L to R: Me, Micah, Jonathan

Tecumseh Trail Marathon

2007-12-11T09:31:00.000-05:00

Back on Saturday, December 1st I ran the Tecumseh Trail Marathon with Ben Hess. It was the toughest race I have ever done (and I have done several)!!! The marathon was located down in the hills of Brown County. We started at Morgan Monroe State Park and ended in Yellow Wood State Forest. I found that trail running is completely different with all the hills and everything else you have to watch out for on rugged trails! It was just awesome that both Ben and I completed this race!!!

Ben and I with our sock gloves before the race!

In the start area ready to go and trying to keep warm!

Coming up the hill at mile 9. Doesn't the "trail" look amazing! This is a decent section!!!

Ben Hess at mile 9!

Another of the MANY hills. This one at 18.5!

Ben at 18.5.

Going into the final sprint in a race against Greg, the guy in gray at the end!

Finally completing 26.2 miles!!!

Ben completing!!!

Kristen Schlegel and I right after I finished!

Mom and I at the end! It was great to have friends there that cheered us on at different points of the race! Always gave that extra boost!!! Plus great pictures thanks to them!

Ben and I after 26.2 miles. Not quite as energetic as the beginning!!!

OM USA and Atlanta, GA

2007-11-19T12:12:00.000-05:00

The purpose of going down to Atlanta, GA was to touch base at OM USA (Operation Mobilization), an international mission organization. I have been with them on short term missions and have supported several different people and endeavors with them over the past several years. It is always great to see what God is doing around the world and even here in the US. A good time to take the perspective off of oneself and see God moving around the world in other people's lives.

OM USA home base in Tyrone, GA

While visiting down there I am always put to work around the house doing something. This time I cleaned all the windows, cleaned the gutters, and trimmed a tree! Fun times!!!

The hardest set of windows to clean. It was even a bit of a stretch for me!

View from the top of the ladder.

Micah and I with Nancy Izzard in her office at OM USA

Micah and I with grandma (95 years old)! She makes us look tall!!!

Lookout Mountain, Chattanooga, TN

2007-11-19T11:53:00.001-05:00

Micah and I went down to Atlanta, GA this past week for a few days. On Thursday we went up to Chattanooga, TN to visit some friends for the evening. Before we met up with them we took a brief detour to nearby Lookout Mountain to stretch the legs and take in the view.

From the top of Lookout Mountain towards Chattanooga, TN

Apparently you can see eight states from the top of the mountain, found out after the fact!

Even though it was cloudy it was still some amazing Fall scenery!!!

Hiking!!!

2007-11-08T15:53:00.000-05:00

This past weekend I went with Brookville Road Community Church on their Fall Hike. It was a perfect weekend for the hike. Great weather, sunny, the leaves were still around and beautiful and we even explored a new area of the park that we had never been to!!!

Getting ready to hike

We explored a cave that was challanging and fun! This is Lilly Agler and Caleb Hunter.

Inside the cave
Back to Front: Ben Hess, Chris Wathen, and Gordon Craig

Front to Back: Chris Wathen, Gordon Craig, and I

Cool view looking up from the bottom of a rock face

Climbing up through the rock

View out towards Eagle's Nest

We went down this tree from a ledge pretty high up. It was a bit out of the comfort zone for some of the kids! (photo by Ben Hess)

A tree hugger at heart!!! (photo by Ben Hess)

Ben Hess and I at Eagle's Nest

Carina Stahl enjoying God's amazing creation!

Amazing view from the Skybridge!

Another awesome view from the Skybridge!!!

Sunset

2007-10-24T12:10:00.000-04:00

Last night there was this amazing sunset! There was even a rainbow in the southeast. The way the sun reflected on the clouds made it look like the sky was on fire! When I got home I ran out and got a few pictures before the sun dropped! Unfortunately the rainbow was gone by the time I got these pictures.

The Guy On The Couch!!!

2007-10-15T11:01:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I got the chance to hang out with a friend that lived with Micah and me for about a year a few years back. He is now in the Army and living in Tennessee going to college. It was great to catch up and see where God has led him in life and ministry over the past year. Since he lived with us and slept on our couch he was the first person to be termed the guy on the couch! My cousin Joel filled that role a couple of years ago for a summer also! Fun times. It was nice to remember some of the old jokes and good times that we had. All those inside jokes that you start remembering after a little while!!!

Matthew and I! Hmmmm, don't ask!!!

Attempt at a serious picture!

Matthew and Micah, not sure on this one either!

Good times! Matthew's actually bigger than Micah the picture is quite deceptive!

Another Wedding!

2007-10-15T09:40:00.000-04:00

Weddings seem to be cropping up more and more! I know of six that have happened since July. This past Saturday my cousin Joanna got married. It was a great time hanging out with family and just catching up with everyone! We are all so busy now it is sometimes hard to get together except on big occasions.

The happy couple: Chris and Joanna

L to R: Uncle Darrel, Mary, Joanna, Kate, Joel, Aunt Judy

Uncle Darrel and Joanna

Aunt Judy and Joel

Dale and I (where did the top of my head go??!!)

Kate (cousin), Dale, Noah, Kaitlyn

Kaitlyn and Dale, awww! Kate and Noah in background.

Kaitlyn had center stage with her dancing skills!!!

Kara, Me, Joel (cousin)

Happenings...

2007-10-15T09:20:00.000-04:00

This past weekend was great. Perfect Fall weather, good morning training run and friends! On Friday night I went to a high school football game with some friends. That was fun, but it is always interesting observing the high school culture. Something completely different from normal life!!!

L to R: Joe Kirk, Rich Wathen, Me

How Much??...

2007-09-26T17:44:00.000-04:00

Sunday at church I heard a statement that keeps popping up in my head so I thought I would share it with everyone! The pastor said: "I love Jesus as much as the person that I love the least".

This statement has caused me to consider how much I truly love Jesus at certain times and in certain situations. In Matthew 25:35-40 it tells us that what we do for those that are destitute, strangers, outcasts, etc... we also do for Him. I often wonder how many times I, with my preconceived notions and judgments, miss the opportunity that was set before me to serve and draw someone into the saving light of Christ?

Wedding!

2007-09-23T11:58:00.000-04:00

Yesterday my dad got married. It was a small wedding with just family and a few close friends. It was a good time to see family and celebrate with them. Here are a few pics. Yes, I know to see me in a suit is the last thing expected, but it is fun and does happen at times!!!

Dad and Theresa

Back Row: Uncle Randy, Dad
Middle Row: Aunt Brenda, Grandpa, Great Uncle Bob
Front Row: Great Aunt Mary Lou, Grandma, Theresa

Back Row: Grandpa, Me, Great Uncle Bob
Front Row: Grandma, 2nd Cousin Marsha, Great Aunt Mary Lou

Uncle Randy, Me, Aunt Brenda

Micah, Dad, Jonathan, Grandpa, Me, Theresa

Another set of parents!
Bill Baldwin, Me, Joy Baldwin
Jonathan's inlaws

Dad and I

The brothers!!!
Micah, Me, Jonathan

Micah, Me, Jonathan!

Volleyball

2007-09-11T23:00:00.000-04:00

This evening I went to a volleyball game between Center Grove and Warren Central. Samantha Wathen plays on Warren Central's JV team and my cousin, Bethany Irwin, plays on Center Grove's Varsity team. They were good games. Both of them did well and have improved since I have last seen them play!

Samantha Wathen #35

Sam blocking

Bethany Irwin #4

Bethany getting some air!

Talking with the team

More air

Cousins! What else can you say!!!

Not quite sure what happened in this picture, its just not normal??!

Anyway, fun times!!!

Family

2007-08-21T21:35:00.001-04:00

So, while I was thinking about Chicago with my family last weekend I remembered something I had heard on the radio recently. A poll was done by MTV, and some other group, of kids between the ages of 13 and 24 to see what made them happy in life. The answer turned out to be surprising to a lot of people. The majority response was spending time with family. Even in todays culture where the big push and advertisement for that age group goes into stuff; they still feel that simply spending time with family makes them happiest. It isn't more money, a car, new video games, a bigger tv, or any of the other thousands of options available out there today. I find that quite fascinating. Though society as a whole has pushed the family into a dark corner and tried to bring the individual to the front kids are still finding this the most important part of being happy. Many of the kids polled said that they considered their relationship with their parents very important and when asked who their hero's were they were much more likely to respond with a family member then an actor/actress, sports figure, or any other generic reply. It was found that kids with their parents together were happier than those with divorced or separated parents. What a surprise! This makes me think about what I have learned through studying the Scripture. How we were created for each other to be together and how throughout Scripture the family was very important. I found this encouraging to see a small corner of the mindset of today's youth. Here is a link to the AP story: What Makes Kids Happy?

Chicago

2007-08-21T20:52:00.000-04:00

This past weekend I went up to Chicago with family. It was a good time just spending time together and hanging out.

It was rainy but still fun.

Walking downtown.

Jonathan and I, not quite sure what we're doing?!!

Uh, Micah and I, again I don't remember this shot!

Micah, me, Jonathan; all normal, I think.

There was some cool fog obscuring some of the buildings.

It was actually really busy even with the rain.

Dinner at Rainforest Cafe!
L to R: Theresa, Dad, Micah, Me, Jonathan, Anne

Ahh, the Hershey's store. A wonderful place!

Miscellaneous Canadian Pics

2007-08-18T00:13:00.000-04:00

Here is my last post of Canadian pictures. Just wanted to share a few of the many that were taken!

White Water-lily

Pickerelweed

Orange Hawkweed

A Birch forest that we hiked through.

Cool water scenes.

Hanging at the cabin.

A game of Khet between Joy and Chris.

Horn Lake

2007-08-17T23:03:00.000-04:00

We went to Horn Lake quite a few times and did a lot of swimming and kayaking. I love the Canadian glacial lakes. They are so clear and clean. We would swim down twenty feet or so and see schools of small bass swimming by. We would also see a couple of bigger ones from time to time. Fun times trying to chase them!

The first plunge was always the worst, but the water was pretty warm so it wasn't bad!

Ben and I swimming.

There was a rock that was about 20 feet up that we jumped off of into the lake. No worries about hitting bottom as we swam down 20 to 25 feet and still couldn't see the bottom. This is Ben jumping off.

Me jumping!! We got Joy to jump later in the week but we couldn't ever talk Rich into. He said it was something about not breaking under peer pressure!!!

Ahhh, kayaking! One of our favorite activities. We only missed swimming and kayaking one day.

Ben, Rich, and I.

Me again, the reflection is cool!

Me, Rich, and Ben.

Cool Creatures!

2007-08-16T23:37:00.001-04:00

We saw several cool animals while on vacation. I always enjoy seeing them in their natural habitats rather than in zoos or preserves. Here are a few that we were able to get pictures of.

Baby Toad!

Toad

Frog

Pretty Butterfly

Moose!

Moose again

Ben fed a goat a reed and thought it looked like the goat had a cigar so we fed it another reed to get this picture!

These little guys were trying to get out to see if we had any food!

Chippy! These guys were everywhere.

It was posing for the camera.

Deer

We saw bear at the dump. These two younger ones were being playful.

This was a 400 lb. bear that was quite close!

Ben spotted this garter snake while he, Rich, and I were hiking. Bigger than those I usually find around here!

A closer look!

Hiking

2007-08-16T22:27:00.000-04:00

While in Canada we did a lot of hiking. We all spent a day at Algonquin Provincial Park. Ben, Rich, and I also did quite a bit of hiking on Rich's property and the Crown land that it backs up to. The hiking on Crown land was pretty demanding as there were no trails and a lot of rugged terrain. My kind of hiking!

Left to Right: Rich Wathen, Devin, Corrin, Samantha Wathen

Back Row L to R: Corrin, Joy Hess, Rich Wathen
Front Row L to R: Chris Wathen, Devin

Chris and Devin found something interesting!

Joy/Ben Hess, and I.

Rich and I getting ready to start a serious hike on his property!

A brief pause in a pretty bog area.

Enjoying a short rest and a great view!

Rich Wathen, Me, Ben Hess.

We had a few precarious areas to traverse!

Ben Hess balancing on a rock.

Ben and Rich hiking along a lake.

A rock face that Rich, Ben, and I had to climb on one of our hikes! Fun!!!

Rich finally to the top of the rock face!

Ben pointing out a beaver pond in the distance.

Rich, Ben, and I having lunch on top of the cliff we climbed.

Ben hiking along the side of Horn Lake.

Ben and Rich.

Ben and Rich spotting a bird.

Amazing views!

Ben pointing out where we are headed next.

Rich and Ben looking out over a beaver pond. It was really cool!

Canada!

2007-08-16T21:51:00.000-04:00

Last week I went to Canada on vacation with some friends. It was an awesome time. Just being able to get out and enjoy God's amazing creation, spend time with friends, go hiking, kayaking, running, swimming..... Here are a few pictures of the Wathen's cabin and Horn Lake that is near the cabin.

The Cabin!

Back side.

There is an island straight out in this picture.

The sun sparkling on a glacial lake!

Birch Crest Resort

Sunset on Horn Lake.

A Quote For Thought...

2007-07-29T21:07:00.000-04:00

I heard this quote on a commercial the other day and it has just kind of stuck with me so I thought I would share it with you all to ponder!!!

"The more you know, the less you don't know." -Anonymous

Quite profound ehhh!!!??

Mom's/Aunt's Birthday Celebration

2007-07-29T20:42:00.001-04:00

Today we celebrated our mom's and aunt's birthday. It was a good time and rare opportunity to get together with most of the cousins and such. Makes me remember some great times with all of them!

Uncle Darrell and Aunt Judy

The birthday gals!

Cousins: Joanna, Mary, Kate

Kaitlyn and Noah

Kara and Kaitlyn

Dale and Jonathan uncomfortably full!

Canoeing!!!

2007-07-26T00:01:00.000-04:00

A couple of weekends ago I went on a canoeing trip with some friends. It was a great time. We went down on the Driftwood River near Edinburgh, IN. The weather was perfect. Sunny but not too humid. The river wasn't too busy and there were several great spots for swimming and generally just enjoying the trip! Thanks to Ben Hess for the pictures below.

Back Row L to R: David, Me, Rich, Jonathan, Micah
Middle Row L to R: Matt, Tina, Sarah, Regan, Ben, Joy, Samantha, Kaylie
Front Row L to R: Barbara, Bob, June, Susan, Chris

Goofy shot!

The Zoo...

2007-07-25T23:33:00.000-04:00

Shortly after Regan got in for his summer he and I took Dylan, a kid from the Dominican Republic that was coming to visit friends in Ohio, to the Indianapolis Zoo. Dylan was only with Regan for about a week so he was trying to keep him entertained and from thinking about missing home!

A cool Parrot!

The Shark touching area. This was Dylan's favorite place.

Sticking its tongue out at us!

Regan and Dylan.

Playing with the seasonal stone in the sand.

Regan and Dylan. Background Downtown Indy.

Regan's Arrival

2007-07-25T23:01:00.000-04:00

Earlier this summer I had a friend, Regan, who got home from the Dominican Republic. He is a third grade teacher at Jarabacoa Christian School in the DR. He is home for the summer, which unfortunately is coming to an end for him shortly. Here are some pictures of a few of us going to greet him when he came in.

Waiting...
L to R: Bob Hess (Regan's dad), Kaylie, Sarah, Rachel, Me.

Regan arrives!!!

We finally got to go home and go to bed!!!
L to R: Back: Me, Micah Front: Dylan, Regan, Sarah, Kaylie, June, Rachel

Point/Pointlessness of Life

2007-06-12T14:36:00.000-04:00

The other day I went out to dinner with a friend, that I hadn't seen in awhile, and we got talking about life. He was telling me how God was working in his life and how he was really beginning to have a closer walk with God. This was really cool to hear as I have been praying for him and encouraging him. Once we got to talking about life we got to discussing the point or meaning of our lives. What do we want to be known for? Where do we see our lives going in the future? This discussion caused me to really ponder the meaning of life. I have people that come in the store all the time that make comments like "another day another dollar", "I can't complain because nobody would listen", "I'm just living", etc... I realize that these are just pat responses but many times it seems that they truly believe them. In my mind "life" should be so much more than that. As Christians we are to live for Christ as it says in 2 Corinthians 5:15. We are to strive to follow Christ and to become more like Him everyday out of the joy that we have for what He did for us. I see many people in life striving for the next raise/promotion, the bigger house, better car, and not looking to what truly matters in life. In America we are working more and more hours for that elusive dream that we never quite reach. I think that many people are just trying to fill the void that is created when not living for Christ. As my friend and I were discussing this we were thinking about what was important in our lives. We both have decent "careers" but to us that isn't that important. I find that I am more concerned about living my life as an example of what Christ has done in me. We as Christians have all heard the Great Comission and to me I believe that it applies to all of us no matter where we are. We might not be out on some faraway mission field working with natives but we are in our homes, jobs, churches, neighborhoods, schools... If we don't reach out in those areas who will. The guy who lives next door? That other student who seems more put together? The coworker who is always working? I want my life to be remembered for how I cared for others and how I allowed Christ to work through me for His purposes. I don't want to be known as oh he was good at business had a nice house and drove a nice car. I want what I do to have eternal signifigance rather than fleeting enjoyment. How do you want your life to be remembered???

Mother's Day

2007-05-19T22:22:00.000-04:00

Last Sunday was Mother's Day. Micah and I took mom out for the day down to Nashville, IN and Brown County. It was a great day. Perfect weather and just a good time to spend with her. I was thinking as I spent the day with her how sometimes I take her and many others that are close to me for granted at times. Not that I try to, but it just happens at times. These days are good for me to be able to really think about what I appreciate others for.

A really great view off an overlook.

Mom, free as a bird!!!

Micah, Mom, and I.

Good Times, Good Friends!!!

2007-05-08T11:05:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I was down in Madison, IN on business. A beautiful day for a drive. Sun shining, birds singing, perfect temperature and all that great stuff! On my way home I stopped by a friend's family's house. I hadn't seen them for a couple of years and it was really great to just see them and get reconnected and caught up on life. It reminded me of some of the great memories we all had together in the past. Always nice to remember times like that!!! Here are a few pictures from the visit.

This is Avery!

This is Flora.

Flora again. So cute!!!

Back Row (L to R): Bethany, Dalcie, Corinnah, Me, Cindy, Ken, Esther
Front Row (L to R): Avery, Flora

Mini Marathon

2007-05-06T13:20:00.000-04:00

Saturday was the mini marathon. It was good weather for it and I had quite a few people running it that I knew. I didn't do a real great time this year due to a few problems but I made the whole race and had fun doing it!

Back Row: Ben Hess, Rich Wathen, Me
Front Row: David Blackford, Joy Hess, Pamela, Shane

Hiking, Rain, Poison Ivy, Ticks...

2007-05-03T10:34:00.001-04:00

This past weekend was the BRCC Spring Hike. We went over to Illinois to an area called Garden of the Gods and did some hiking. It was a beautiful area. As always is the case on things like this we had a few interesting times but overall everything went well. On the night we got there it took us an hour to find the campsite and then it was pouring down rain so we slept in the vehicles. On Saturday we hiked five miles to an area with high rocks and cliffs and then spent time hiking around on them. It was a lot of fun. There was a bumper crop of ticks this year though because they were everywhere. Poison Ivy was also rampant along the trail but these just made it all the more interesting!

This is where we did a lot of climbing!

Ben at one of our rest stops.

Another rest stop.

One of the many critters we saw. We also saw a skink and a few lizzards.

Lunch time.

A few of us on top of one of the rocks.

Climbing.

Climbing.

This was a cool wind tunnel through the rocks.

An interesting arch worthy of exploring!

Atlanta, GA and OM

2007-04-18T22:09:00.000-04:00

I spent much of last week down in Atlanta, GA visiting Operation Mobilization. It was a great time! I had the opportunity to catch up with friends there and make a few new ones. It is always an encouragement to me when I visit down there. Just spending time with those that are serving Christ as missionaries. It reminds me that wherever I am is my mission field. Here are a few pics of my trip.

Ruben, me, Heidi (sounds like Haiti)

Ruben

Operation Mobilization US base in Atlanta, GA

Ruben and I

Jill and I

Hanging out at Starbucks gig

Ruben

Jill and Ruben playing/singing at Starbucks