believe the hype...

I'm sure all of you already know about Glaceau's Vitaminwater... There have been numerous ads on TV (especially the Super Bowl) for this new drink. Yes, there has been much hype about the drink; but I like it b/c it's all true. This stuff is amazing. I first sipped some of it when I was working last summer - since then Vitaminwater has been my prime beverage of choice. No longer do I reach for Gatorade or dare I say Ale-8-One when I stop at a gas station. Nope, others can't even phase the greatness of this new drink (not even Starbucks). Star...who ? Vitaminwater is truly something special. The makers claim that "one sip may result in a boycott of other beverages." Try it. Decide for yourself.

The website for Vitaminwater is excellent: Check it...

Power-c (dragonfruit)
Vitamin C + Taurine
More strength

Defense (raspberry-apple)
Vitamin C + Zinc
More immunity

Focus (kiwi-strawberry)
Vitamin A + Lutine
More clarity

Balance (cran-grapefruit)
Vitamin C + glucosamine
More flexibility

Endurance (peach-mango)
Vitamin E + ribose
More sustained energy

Essential (orange-orange)
Vitamin C + calcium
More morning nutrition

Vial-t (lemon tea)
Vitamin C + E
More vitality

Energy (tropical citrus)
Vitamin B + guarana
More immediate energy

B-relaxed (guava-jackfruit)
B vitamins + theanine
More relaxation

Rescue (green tea)
Vitamin C + egcg
More metabolism

Charge (lemon-lime)
B vitamins + electrolytes
More electrolytes

Multi-V (lemonade)
Vitamin A to Zinc
More key nutrients

Formula 50 (grape)
50% daily dose of vitamins
More fuel

Revive (fruit punch)
B vitamins + potassium
More recovery

XXX (acai-blueberry-pomegranate)
Triple antioxidants
More antioxidants

Passion D.C. (in photo)

The trip to D.C. for PASSION was awesome. Rather than ramble on and talk about the trip, hopefully these photos will be suffice. Enjoy...

go get a "Rag Rug"...

You may be wondering what these pictures are all about.... (Above), Your eyes are feasting on "rag rugs" as they are called. These little rugs are cheap, soft, and only cost $2.57 at Wal-Mart. All of these pictures are separate shots taken from the two rag rugs that lay on my dorm room floor. There's nothing magical about them, nothing holy, but I would suggest that you go out and get one!

Why?

Well, since we all know that reminders are a good thing - these lil' rugs can be an amazing reminder to get down on your knees and pray to the Father (Ephesians 6:18). No, these rugs will not suddenly make you a mighty prayer warrior - but with a daily reminder to pray, it could soon happen...
Moreover, I love these lil' rugs because the name RAG RUG is a reminder of Isaiah 64:6 "All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away."

And to take the symbolism a bit further: the many colors of the rug can be a reminder to pray for all the colors & people groups in the world. Or to even sound more spiritual - you could look at these colors and see them as representing the flags of every Nation in the world, ultimately created to display His glory & renown.

- All in all, If it can encourage your walk w/ Christ,

while only costing $2.57 - why not try it?

February at a glance...

This is the calendar sitting on my desk in the dorm room. (Click on it to zoom in) Nice right. (?) Some would even say it's downright 'girlish' or cute. Buy hey, at least I'm organized. Ok, so what's the point of this post ? it's simple : : : one HUGE event still lingers for the month! Get hype for the 22nd - 24th .... Most of you already know what this is - if not check the calendar!

PASSION!

random side note:
I've had a test every week in February!
(there is one right after Passion, but the Ignite post card is covering it up...)

2nd random side note:
What other solid event is missing from this calendar?

15 hearts...

Thanks & much love to these two girls - arranging a wonderful Valentine's Day dinner for the fellowship of 15 hearts (15 people)... Kristin & Stacey planned an excellent evening: Dinner at Friday's. Even better = it was dinner at Friday's on a Thursday! Strong, very strong ladies...

Some other quick pics:

a word on Posting Percentage %...

3 posts in 3 days: brilliant...

Well, not quite - Quantity is good, but it cannot replace Quality.

I know that there are no set "rules" in blogging, but sometimes I get a sick feeling deep down inside when I abuse the 'quality status' of my own blog posts. What I mean by this is that when a blogger posts each consecutive day - regardless of how "good" the post is - the overall quality of the post diminishes because it is lost amongst the shuffle of numerous posts...(at least specifically for my blog) I deduce this fact from the notion that a solid post should (in theory) linger on a blog. {I realize that 'linger' is relative to the individual and could be a point of argument for some...) However, all I'm trying to say is that I have done YOU a disservice by posting so frequently (3 posts in 3 days). Moreover, since quality is a relative term, usually it is defined by YOU (the readers) and this often manifests itself in the from of comments. Comments, like posts, have a quantity & quality aspect to them; yet the playing field is slightly different.

Some of us post frequently: Justin Tapp. This man's posting percentage % goes is incredible and something I will probably never be able to do. While others have a more relaxed, consistent posting % style: men like John Wiley, Jeremy Hobbs, Dave Blake, Myself and even Justin Sok all post at fairly consistent pace. Then there are others like Adam Baird and Brandon Sok, who leave significant time between posts - but what they lack in timing - they make up for in quality. Then others like Smitty, Braswell, Wes and Jonathon have a unique postin' % that I'm not quite sure how to define yet. Nevertheless, we all have our tendencies....

In all these words, I simply want to say that 'Most Things Break' will inevitably one day break (pun intended) if this break-neck speed of posting is continued. I will try to refrain from posting consecutive days unless by the merit of special occasions - which I reserve the right to determine. Thank you for your patience in putting up with 3 posts in 3 days and having to wonder about the recent influx in my posting percentage. (it is only a phase, it won't last long). I hope to return to around a 4 - 5 day posting pace (my norm) in the next week or so...

*If this post made absolutely no sense at all to you - don't sweat it. I barely even know myself what I'm exactly trying to say....

Hoooraaay for blogs!

solid logic...

So, what's a more concrete (non-sarcastic) response to atheism?

answer:

Romans 1:18-22

"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools..."

yearn to learn...

It feels good to learn! It feels extra good to learn truth! {Just as the kid pictured above.} Imagine for a moment that you could switch the math problem in his hands and replace it with a copy of God's Word. If you can imagine that - then you are getting a small glimpse of how I've been feeling over these last 3 weeks... I can't help but empathize with this lil' guy in the picture - I feel just like him when I learn truth from Scripture!

A major reason for my new level of joy and/or "hypeness" over the Word is due to our Old Testament 'Fuel Group' class for Ignite. Formerly in my life, I used to just look at the Old Testament as a collection of sweet sounding stories. I knew they were all true, but I didn't really make a personal connection to how they could apply to my own life. Moreover, I never even realized the magnificence of God's displayed character in the O.T. - - - Our Ignite bible study has been fresh and has given me new acuity in understanding God's sovereignty - we have been looking at Redemptive History in the O.T. - looking at the major themes within each book - then seeing how it all points to Christ.

here's a quick peek into some of the class content. (*major themes)

Genesis
1. God Reveals His Character:
-Eternal
-Creative
-Holy/Just
-Merciful/Gracious
-Sovereign
2. God Chooses a Particular People for His Glory.

Exodus
1. God Sovereignly Words to Save His Particular People for His Glory
study 3 parts: (sovereignly works - saves/redeems - all for His Glory)

Leviticus
1. Holy Worship
2. Holy Living

* with these major themes - the focus on Christ has been paramount.

I realize that this post does no proper justice in summing up the beauty & depth of these first three books in the Old Testament. Nevertheless, may you be encouraged to dive deep into scripture and increase your love for God with an understanding of Redemptive History. Don't go another day making the mistake that I once did - seeing the O.T. as just a nice collection of true stories - rather, see it as having power (like the New Testament) to change your life!

more than words...

People today could care less about the level of their vocabulary. We are a people who care more about the smooth beats in our ears (iPod) and the flashing lights in front of our eyes (TV) than we care about actually using our brains. Therefore, it is no surprise that after a period of time -most of us grow up and find that we have let our minds go to waste. Hey, pull that iPod out of your ear, turn of the TV, take a second to stop, recognize the gift that you have! = Do you realize that your brain is a gift from the Lord... (?)
Our minds were created for development & growth, to learn new words, to build a vocabulary, to create sentences, to feast on God's Word, to be creative and to use it all as a means of praise. And Yes, I realize that our brains do much more than merely combine words - we react to things, we decide, we interpret, we evaluate, we learn, we navigate, to sum it up: we do amazing things with our mind as we go through life...
OK, I'm sure none of that information is new to you. My purpose in saying all that was simply to set up a lil' backdrop for the main focus of this post. Enough of the chatter, here is the spotlight of this post: The Visual Thesaurus (or VT for short).

At this point your probably wondering what the hec this thing is/ or does. Well, aside from being pretty self-explanatory - The Visual Thesaurus is about the most solid/useful computer program I've ever seen. I love it. The VT has been helping me replace my over-use of the word solid by showing me some other hearty adjectives that are similar. (Although I will never truly give up saying the word solid, it is a staple of my vocabulary and rightfully so...) But who care's about what I think, check out what others are saying...

Some quick reviews:

New York Times:
"Inventive. Imaginative. Ingenious. Fanciful."

Education World:
"A+"

Yahoo:
"A near-perfect combination of content and design."

HOW IT WORKS

Say you have a meaning in mind, like "happy." The VT helps you find related words, from "cheerful" to "euphoric." The best part is the VT works like your brain, not a paper-bound book. You'll want to explore just to see what might happen. You'll discover -- and learn -- naturally and intuitively. You'll find the right word, write more descriptively, free associate -- and gain a more precise understanding of the English language.

OK - I've hyped it up enough. Just go to The Visual Thesaurus website - see it for yourself. (the online version is only a trial, so you'll have to re-open the website to keep using it...)

almost here...

It only comes once a year. Nope , I'm not talking about the Super Bowl, not Valentines Day, and certainly not Halloween...
I'm talking about the Give Me An Answer conference! Held at Southern Seminary each year in Louisville, KY this collegiate conference can be summed up with just one word: solid. This year's topic is Sprititual Warfare. The conference will be Feb 8th - 9th. No doubt - things will surely be intense. Get hype & get ready for battle - this ain't a game...

If you only had one word - how would you describe the Conference?

just a regular day.... (not anymore)

When you sum up life here on Earth usually you include 4 basic things: sleeping, working, eating & playing. Although these topics sound overly simplistic to define the contents of a life - God created them for a reason. Specifically, in these 4 areas we have the ability to glorify our Creator in some amazing ways.

A few days ago I was surfin' tha net trying to find a solid mp3 podcast to quench my insatiable hunger for online sermons. Mission Accomplished. But, this time what I found was a lil' different type of sermon topic than what I was typically used to::: No, it wasn't another Francis Chan or John Piper (or even Ben Stuart) podcast - this time I went to the Sovereign Grace website and feasted on what at first seemed like 'ordinary stuff'. However, after listening these few (4) sermons on the so-called mundane & routine parts of life - I now go about my day with a fresh mindset on how I can best glorify God. Everything in life matters, I'm convinced that absolutely everything we do as humans can be used to give Him more glory. I really had my mind stretched by the sermon titled "A Biblical Understanding of Sleep". I never knew that God could actually be glorified in the way I go to sleep each night... Did you?
Here is where you can go to get the mp3 message (for free!).

I know that some of you probably think I'm crazy about glorifying God w/ a proper mindset towards sleep - but at least go check it out, you won't regret it.

all the Great One's have a blog...

Let's just say that randomly your all-time favorite pastor/speaker decided to start a new blog. (if you don't have a favorite, then just pretend with me). Well, If that was true > then wouldn't you want to tell everyone you knew about it? ~yes.

But then again, I could just be joking... or, not.

ok, so, I guess whether I'm kidding or not - that's what this link (below) is for:
FRANCISCHANSBLOG.BLOGSPOT.COM

enjoy.