The Morning

I am a morning person from the second I wake up in the morning right until I fall asleep at night. All personal preferences aside, my body is programmed naturally to be a morning person. I have always naturally woken up earlier, and got tired earlier than any of my friends. Because of this natural attraction to the morning I have learned how amazing and lovely the morning really is. For me, the night time is associated with partying, or drinking, or college students who are hung-over the next morning and don’t wake up until 2 P.M. I love the morning so much for so many reasons. I love waking up when it’s still dark, and I love watching the progression of the light coming up and conquering the darkness. I experienced this at it’s fullest point when I was in Nicaragua. I was able to wake up at 3 or 4 A.M. because of the time difference, and watch this beautiful, beautiful sunrise that led me to worship each time I saw it. I also love the quietness of the morning. I feel like everyone is always so loud at night and the only way they actually get to sleep is because they are so physically exhausted that they can’t go on anymore. I love waking up and listening to the sounds of the environment. I love being able to spend a real “quite” time with God. I love starting every day with God, and I believe that everyone should start and end their day with God. The morning is such a wonderful time that represents renewal, and freshness in life.

Influence

Influence. Influence is a very powerful thing and everyone can be influenced or pulled in every different direction by almost anyone. Influence can go both ways, positive or negative, and the morality of the influence comes from the influential person. I have definitely been inspired to greatness by many different people, both through their actions and their words.

Abraham Lincoln has influenced me through his actions. When he was elected president he took all of his top competition from the presidential race from both parties, and made them his cabinet. This is in opposition to modern presidents who surround themselves with people who think in the same way that they do. This has challenged me to use the strengths of my enemies to work together and overcome problems.

David was another person that influenced me through his actions. When he was in hiding and in constant fear of death he was faced with a problem. David was hiding in a cave with his men when Saul came in to relieve himself. David had the perfect opportunity to kill Saul and become king right then and there, but as he was about to plunge his dagger, he realized that this was not God’s timing. David’s experience influenced me to remember not to ruin God’s plan for my life by using my timeline instead of His.

Francis Chan has also had a huge influence on my life through his words. He has opened up the Word of God for me in ways that I never even dreamed about. The insights that God shares through his messages have helped my walk with God so much.

Negative influences on my life have mostly come from the voices and actions of my peers. In public school I don’t think any of my friends were a good influence on my yet I listened to every one of them. Here in SCS I have also had negative influence through the voices of my friends.

If someone were to talk about my influence on others I would definitely say I have gone both ways. I know that in my past I have influenced people younger than me to do some incredibly stupid things, but I also know that for the last couple of years I have been able to have a positive influence on a lot of people both young and old, that I have met. I say this not because I’m prideful enough just to assume that, but because they have told me about my influence on them, and it is such an encouragement to hear people say that.

The Epic Tale of the Three Little Pigs

Once upon a time there were three brothers that happened to have the anatomy of pigs (but they all wore pants because apparently Disney’s pigs don’t wear any pants). The first two brothers Mundrew Aller and Loey Jeuci were very care free, or lackadaisical, or immature(magic 3), but the third and oldest of the three brothers Joug Danson paid very careful attention to every detail he observed . So one day, the three oddly pig-shaped brothers decided to settle into a welcoming forest smelling of honeysuckles and fresh flowers. On the way to the sweet-smelling forest, Joug made sure to warn his two younger brothers about the dangers that lay hidden in the forest, and how to protect themselves from such danger. But of course, Mundrew and Loey simple discarded Joug’s words like three-week-old-anchovies (2 smiley face tricks in one!!!!! Simile+hypehation).

Soon after they arrived at the forest’s edge Mundrew found a small clearing surrounded by fruit trees and honeysuckles and decided that he would make his house there. After a long (yet manly) hug from Loey and Joug, they continued on into the forest. Not long after that, Loey found a nice little clearing surrounded by sweet smelling herbs and flowers and decided to build his house there. After another session of manly hugging, Joug continued on by himself until he found the perfect place for his abode.

Now at this time Mundrew was almost finished with the construction of his house which he decided to make out of wet noodles. Since Mundrew loved to eat, he figured that it would just be easy to make a house that could also be his dinner. Mundrew finished in such good time that he decided to visit his brother Loey at his house which was just down the road. By the time Mundrew reached his brother’s house, Loey was almost finished as well. He decided that he was going to make his house out of books. Since he loved reading fairytales so much, Loey figured that he might as well make his house a rousing story as well. After Loey finished his house the two brothers decided to visit Joug at his house, but after hours of searching for it they gave up and retired back to their separate homes. The truth is that Joug was still building his house well into the night. Not for the reason that he was the last one to get started, but because of his methodical and cautious personality. Joug was glad that his brother’s did not find him because he would be too tired and busy to entertain them until the house was finished. Joug’s house had many secrets to it that only he would ever know, and if there ever was a threat, Joug would be safe from it. So the next day after a long nap, Joug decided to send a letter to his two brothers, which contained a map of how to reach his house. He warned his brothers to study carefully in case of an emergency, but they did not pay to much attention to it.

Unfortunately for them, it turns out that that same day a giant white wolf decided to go hunting in the forest and before long he came to the first house. Once he saw the noodles with a little pig inside he decided immediately that God has blessed him with a giant pork dumpling. So he began to eat his way through the noodles. When Mundrew realized that a huge wolf jaw was protruding from his wall he decided that it would be wise to run. So he proceeded to run to Loey’s house, which was not far away. As Mundrew was relaying his tale to Loey the two little pigs heard a knock on the door. It was the wolf! The two little pigs hid behind the couch and hoped that the wolf would go away. After a few minutes of quiet they cam out from behind the couch to realize that the house was a little brighter than it was before. It turned out that this particular wolf was also a champion speed-reader, and he was (metaphorically) devouring the books that made up the roof. The two little pigs then decided that it would be a good idea to run to their big brother who always knew what to do. As they grabbed the Joug’s map and ran out the door, they suddenly regretted not studying it more closely.

Unfortunately for the pigs, the wolf noticed their escape and ran after them. He caught up quickly and took a bite out of Mundrew’s arm, and Loey’s ear. The two little pigs used the time while the wolf was devouring (now literally) his snack, to escape. And escape they did, but they got totally lost as well. Luckily for them, Joug was out side splitting logs and he recognized their piggy anatomy. He took them into his house right away and bandaged up their wounds. Joug fed his brothers and then sent him into a secure area under his steal plated, and heavily armored house. He climbed up to his lookout tower to locate the wolf. Even though the wolf had a great nose for tracking, he was still a good hundred yards away.

So Joug used this to his advantage as he armed all of his spiky pine-cone-field-mines, and razor sharp rose-bush-Constantine-wire. The defensive measures were more than enough to disable the wolf and send him away with his tail between his legs. But the two little pigs learned a valuable lesson that day, and they still suffer from their injuries. Mundrew will never be able to eat with two hands (or hooves) again, and Loey can only hear out of his left (and only) ear. But they are lucky that they survived the attack with out further injury, and it is because of the sole fact that their older brother Joug was a Ninja!!!!!!!!!!

My recent life

The rain was pouring down on the goal box as my feet splashed up and down in inches of water and mud. My whole body was soaked and my clothes and face were lined with mud and blood. Seconds passed like hours as I stood on the goal line waiting for the call. I locked eyes with the desperate, and hungry Northville senior standing on the 18-yard line as we growled at each other with intensity. I licked my lips and shook the rainwater out of my hair and my eyes. This is the moment of glory that he had been waiting for all year, yet it was also a moment for me. A moment where I could stand in shock and give up, or try to predict the direction of his shot, or stay focused on the ball and steal his glory right out from his feet. As the official signaled the kicker, I sent up prayer after prayer to God’s help. I watched intently as the kicker approached the ball and made contact, and the next thing I know is that I’m splashing through the mud as the ball deflects off of my hands. As I realize what just happened, another shot is taken at the far corner, and I quickly throw my hands up to catapult the ball out of bounds. The moment is over. I have survived for now, and the loss is not on my hands, but there will always be another shot.

I choose to use this picture to describe how I have been feeling recently because soccer has been a big part of my life, and therefore has had a large influence on how I live my life. I feel like recently I have been overwhelmed with stress because of soccer, and each day as I pray to God for strength, He grants my enough to block the next shot that is coming my way.

My Three Core Values (One College Essay of Many)

There are three Goals that God has recently put on my heart that could very well turn out to be the creed that I will live by for the rest of my life. They are: 1) suffering 2) Heaven and 3) Worship. Each of these has a really powerful meaning and together I believe that they are the philosophy of living a live sold out to Christ.

The first of the three is suffering, or it can be thought of as the lack of safety and comfort. I never want to be safe in any area of my life. I want to always depend on God for my next step and trust that His plan (doing His work) is better than any safety or comfort that I could have. Living like this will develop extreme joy in God (not His gifts) and trusting God above all else. Revelation 2:10 “Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.”

The second principle on my heart is Heaven. I do not want to be focused on anything on this earth. I want to hate my mother, father, wife, and children compared to my love for God. The most important thing is that this is not our home. I always want to be looking towards heaven and not be ensnared by ANYTHING in this world, whether it is relationships, material things, or ministry positions. Revelation 3:15-16 “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other!⁶So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.”

The final principle is Worship. This is so important to me because I feel like my generation does not understand the full meaning of worship. They believe that it is just a time of praising God through music. “You enter into worship when the music starts, and exit out of worship when the music ends.” Worship is not something to pop in and out of like a convenient store. Because God is the Creator of all things, He makes every new moment of worship a new creation. We as Christians are meant to live out our whole life to the Glory of God. Psalms 96:9 “Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth.”

All these things have culminated in my life to reveal how God wants me to live the life He has given me on His earth. He has given me so much talent, so much desire, so much passion, and I am so thankful for these gifts. I pray so fervently that God will use me in ways that no one else has been used before, that I will reach people that have never been reached before, and that I will come to know Him, The Creator of the Universe, more and more everyday. I truly believe that if I continue to focus of God, and these things that He has place in my heart, that He will use me in powerful ways!

SURVIVAL

I love the wilderness. I love the smells, the sounds, the bugs, the poison ivy, and especially the challenges and adventures. I’m no royal ranger, but I have been camping every single year of my life, so I consider my self pretty out-door savvy.

The top five things I would want on a desert island are a steel knife, flint, the Bible, a hatchet, and some sort of container. These 5 things would be able to cover all of my basic needs on a remote island. First the steel knife can be used to make weapons, skin and clean animals, and for personal protection. The flint combines with the steel knife for fire. The bible is important for my spiritual health and mental sanity. A Hatchet is important for the larger scale cutting that a knife cannot due such as wood for a fire, housing, and transportation. Finally the container (could be anything from a steel pot to a turtle shell) is important for distilling and holding water, or for cooking any meat that I am able to kill.

The condition that would make it the easiest for me to survive would be solitude. Even though I cannot think of everything that is important, I am able to learn quickly from my mistakes and I am confident in my current survival knowledge. Although I wouldn’t have a difficult time if I were able to select the other people that I was stranded with, the condition that would make it hardest for me to survive without hurting anyone else would be being stuck with annoying people. I’m not being sexist here but I am saying that I would not enjoy the company of most of the girls I know if we were stranded together. Some of these girls (Nicki) have realized during our class decision that if they let me make the decisions and laid back, we would all get along and be able to survive, but others just never stop complaining when we are in civilization, so I wouldn’t want to have to listen to them when we are not in civilization. I’m also not saying that all of the girls I know would be annoying. I would love being stranded with women like Ms. Mauro, or Emily and Brittany, because they know what they’re talking about when they speak, and they don’t complain about insignificant things. What I can’t stand is the kind of girl (or guy) whose life is so centered on technology or material comforts that they become a hindrance to survival. These are the kind of people that when asked what three things they would bring if they were stranded would say “my ipod, hairbrush, and makeup.” Hopefully, the experience of being stranded would change these people and bring them to the realization that there are more important things than music and comfort.

My Life's Symbol

One of the things that is most symbolic of my life is a soccer ball. A soccer ball has many different sections sewn together by stitching. For me, each section of the soccer ball is a gift or passion God has given me. In some cases, two sections are on the completely opposite side of the ball, but sometimes, they contribute to each other.

One of the sections in my life is my God given talent for music. My music talents branch out into different specialties: Percussion, Vocal, Bass, Piano, Guitar, Recording and Editing. Each of these is a talent that is directed by my passion to worship. God has given me all of these things in order to Glorify Him. I was practically forced to practice my first instrument (Drums), and then to take on a new one (guitar) a couple of years later. Then God gave me the drive to pick up and develop my talents with other musical instruments.

One the other side of the spectrum is something like my ability to cook and the joy i get from it. Unlike my music talents, i decided to start cooking after watching the Food Network for a while. I learned quickly that my ability to follow directions, and my sense of time for cooking paid of in this area and i have been cooking on and off ever since. I believe that God is developing this skill in my so that He will be able to use it to bring His Gospel to people in need.

Another seemingly unrelated area that God is growing me in is public speaking. I have always been petrified of speaking in public, and even in worship i am used to being behind a drum set. God has put a passion in my heart, and put me in situations where i have an opportunity to speak publicly to spread God's Word. God has given me a passion for youth ministry, and i believe He is going to continue to give me public speaking opportunities in order to prepare me for that ministry.

Probably the most ironic talent i have is being able to play soccer. I have always been a runner. I ran cross country, i ran track, and playing football, i was always a wide receiver. During pick-up games of football, i always knew i could catch well but i didn't realize what God had in store for me at SCS. My first year at SCS i tried out and did not make the soccer team. Luckily i stayed on and practiced with the team (although my feet skills are still not great). The next year the starting keeper position was open and i figured i would give it a shot. It turns out that i picked it up really well because of my reaction time and my catching ability. I was even able to beat out all of my competition for the position. God has definitely given this position to show everyone, my self included, how amazing He is.

That is why a soccer ball made up of a couple dozen different patches sewn together by Christ is something that symbolizes me. But as i was writing this, and as you were reading, it became apparent that there is a symbol that might symbolize my even more. It is something that i have been striving towards for a while. That is to be an object that points only to God. Not taking any attention from Him, and praising Him with my life. For me, the true symbol of my life, and for the life of all Christians is and should always be this:

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