It seems like my roommate Luke and I have our best theological discussions on car rides. A couple weekends back, we had a good one while driving up to Mifflinburg to celebrate Emily's birthday party. Angela, who was sitting in the back, posed a question about why there is sin in the world or why bad things happen (something like that). Luke and I went at it for a while and, in a nutshell, this is what we came up with. For many Christians, this is nothing new, but I wanted to write it anyways.

For someone to truly love another, they must also choose to love that person. I believe without choice, true love cannot exist. God wants us to love him and love others, but he does not force us to becuase if he did it would no longer be love anymore. I think most Christians would agree with this statement.

In the beginning, God created Adam and Eve and gave them the ability to love. In order for God to give them the ability to love, he also had to give them the ability to choose whether to love or not. Unfortuately, with the ability to choose to love also came the ability to choose to sin. Basically, I believe God could not have given humans the ability to love without also giving us the ability to sin as well.

Why did God in his infinite wisdom bother to give us the ability to choose to sin along with the ability to love in the first place knowing full well that doing this could and eventually would allow sin to enter the world? I believe he did this because he knew even if sin entered the world it would still be worth it. As horrible as sin is, love is so much greater that it is worth the cost.

In a weird way, sin being in the world enables a greater love to exist. Some denominations call this higher form of love "grace". If there was no sin in the world, God could not show us the full extent of his love. God loves us even though we are sinners, undeserving of this love.

In addition, sin only makes love stand out more. In the same way, a candle shines brighter in a dark room, love shines brighter when contrasted with sin.

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I recently discovered a great way to save money on textbooks.

Early in my college career, I learned that campus bookstores are a rip off so I started buying textbooks online through www.allbookstores.com. I would buy the text online, use it over the semester, and then resell it on half.com. This method worked ok and I estimated that I saved around $150 each semester by using this approach over the campus bookstore. However, this approach is stressful (what if the book doesn’t come?!?), it still loses money, and reselling texts can be a pain.

Recently I discovered Pennsylvania Academic Library Consortium (PALCI). Through PALCI, you can search over 60 academic libraries for a textbook. If you find the text you need, all you have to do is hit “request” and they will ship it to the Ganser library within a week. PALCI is reliable, easy, and free. I ordered seven books off PALCI without any trouble.

Here is the website for Millersville Students. Note: If you have too many Ganser library fees they will not let you use PALCI until you pay them off. 

Finishing up my week in Seattle, gotta be at the airport in 8 hours!

It is nice here. Interesting city, amazing nature type stuff, etc. I still don't think I'd be a fan of city-living, but if I did move closer to a city, I've liked Seattle more than other cities I've visited (except maybe Nairobi, but that's just cause that's in AFRICA and that makes in automatically much sweeter).

I have plenty of other thoughts, but I don't like posting much on Xanga anymore so I won't write them here.

I took some free time today to do some gardening. That puts me up by three flower planters and some re-potted houseplants.

In some ways this is a "keeping up with the Jones'" scenario. One of my neighbors did work on her landscaping, adding some new flowers. That inspired me to do some work for my own home. I don't normally do much beyond taking care of the lawn. I'm lagging behind all of my neighbors.

Even with what I did today, I'm still behind the curve, but at least I put forth some minimal effort to be socially acceptable.

I don't want them all to think I'm a unabomber in training.

 

status as of february 24th...

 

...engaged

 

 

 

This song is stuck in my head...

 

sad episode though...

 

http://youtube.com/watch?v=77VBBU1RNWo&mode=related&search=

 

By Colin Hay Band I think.... he's on Scrubs a few times... maybe I'll have to check that out more

so it seems my dad has a blog and i didn't know about it...

http://thundersounds.blogspot.com/

saturday night/sunday early early morning (however you look at it)

i wrote that my favorite band changes a lot...

it was queen for a few weeks

and today it changed to Kansas

i really like a lot of their lyrics (and music of course)














more africa today

invisible children DVDs tonight...
on top of the speaker at church last night...
on top of thoughts
dreams
rememberings
desires

where does it all lead?















this world is so horrible
sometimes i wish it would all just end

but the end is not yet here
some are yet to be saved














"Gold and diamonds cast a spell, it's not for me
I know it well
The treasures that I seek are waiting on the other side
There's more that I can measure in the treasure of the love that I can find"
-Kansas from "The Wall"

tonight, from about midnight until 2:15am i walked around (with 2 sit-down-for-a-bit-breaks) on campus... in the park ave/northhalls/library/nittany parking deck/music building/forum area.... prayed... thought... walked... saw ppl walk by... saw many cops drive by... prayed.... thought about what has happened in the last 4 years, thought about a few people and interactions with them... thought about the missions trips and a little about other trips i went on... at first i was hesitant and didnt want to go out this late, but then i knew i should... last time i did this that i can remember was many of the nights i spent in africa... although i got even less sleep cause i'd stay out walking even later, and end up talking to hotel staff when i got back (or david adewumi)...

i gotta be up in 4 hrs... fun...


so i was thinking about music...

My favorite song is STILL...
"When I Hear the Praises Start" by Keith Green

My favorite album is...
Abbey Road by the Beatles

My favorite band is... (at the moment... this changes pretty often)
Queen

My favorite musician name is... (and probably always will be)
Bob Dylan (that's the coolest name ever... followed by Bob Dole)

If I could meet anyone from any band it would be...
Alice Cooper



Part of me still wants to move to Africa...

I want to get better at piano... I think I will try to get one if I ever have money... and room...















I'm glad winter is over.















The rest I'll keep to myself.

I.C.U.
Dr. Cox enters the area crowded with staff.

Dr. Cox: [Whistles.] All right, everybody! Gather around here, circle it up, will ya? Bring it in nice and tight. Look, I know I'm pretty quick to point out other people's mistakes but...I have a son now, and I also realize that it's important to recognize when someone does something right. Mr. Blake down in Bed 3 came in here with what seemed like a basic heart block. But someone took the time to find out that recently he'd been camping and correctly diagnosed him with Lyme Carditis. Now, I'm sure some of your are gonna think this is a silly exercise, but I'd like that someone to step forward and stick your hand up in the air so that the group can recognize your great good work. This--this is no time to be modest. Come now.

He looks around at them expectantly while raising his own hand.

Dr. Cox: Oh! My God! It was me! I did it, I'm a genius, I'm a huge brain in a ripped up body, I am Jesus H. Cox...M.D.
Still, I probably couldn't have done it by myself, so I'd like to go ahead and recognize some of the other players who were involved. There was the intern who originally misdiagnosed the patient...

Lonnie: That's me, daddy.

J.D.: Put your hand down, Lonnie.

Dr. Cox: And then there was the resident who confirmed that misdiagnosis.

J.D.: In my defense, I was up late watching a 'Designing Women' marathon.

Dr. Cox: And, last but not least, there was the surgeon who wanted to crack open Mr. Blake's chest like a walnut and put in a pacemaker that he didn't even need. Now, he's too modest to introduce himself to the group, so I'll do the honors. [Approaching Turk] He is so black, so bald, and he can't eat cupcakes because he's got diabetes. Ladies and gentlemen, Chris Turk!

Turk: Can you just get out of here so we can get back to work?

Dr. Cox: Not until people start chanting my name so that I can exit the room with my hands held high above my head in a victorious gesture. Capisce? You see, this diagnosing machine, this fabulous thing? Well, it runs on props, so I'm going to need to hear it. Come now.

Group: [Unenthusiastically] Cox...Cox...Cox...Cox...Cox...Cox....

Dr. Cox: [Making his victorious exit] Me. Me. Me. Oh, so me!

three weeks in Hawaii.
what a wonderful way to avoid a frigid Pennsylvania winter. 
that much time yields lots of photos. 
follows is a small assortment.

white tiger.  in zoo.  not in the wild.
same tiger
lava and ocean
lava and ocean
peacock.  roaming in zoo.
creepy guys
sea turtle
underwater sea turtle.  snorkeling is fun.
Volcano National Park.  big crater.  long, hot hike around rim and across lava.
waterfall
waterfall.  long drop.
whale
snorkeler pretending to be a whale?
whale
cave (lava tube) entrance
gecko.  rampant everywhere. completely let down after watching the Geico commercials.
awesome golf courses
more awesome golf courses
Hilo bay.  open ocean on left.  protected bay on right.
more lava
magma meeting ocean
top of Mauna Kea, about 14000'.
big mirror at Gemini
ocean sunset
mountain sunset
very windy and below freezing at the top of the mountain.  note blowing hair.
sunset.

didn't avoid PA winter entirely
ended up stranded in Atlanta overnight due to snow/ice storm in PA
required four guys to push my car out of parking space, after digging for half an hour and liberal salt application
got home to find a frozen sewer line
brrr

1 Kings 7:23 And he made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the other: it was round all about, and his height was five cubits: and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about.

circumference = pi * diameter

The diameter is given as 10 cubits, and the circumference is 30 cubits.

If the diameter is 10 cubits, then the circumference would be 31.4 cubits, an error or 1.4 cubits.
If the circumference is actually 30 cubits, then the diameter would be 9.5 cubits.

Rounding doesn't really work for the first case, but one could argue that the diameter could have been rounded up from 9.5 to 10 cubits.

Unfortunately, it's clear that measuring in fractional cubits was practiced, so that excuse isn't valid.

1 Kings 7:31 And the mouth of it within the chapiter and above was a cubit: but the mouth thereof was round after the work of the base, a cubit and an half: and also upon the mouth of it were gravings with their borders, foursquare, not round.
32 And under the borders were four wheels; and the axletrees of the wheels were joined to the base: and the height of a wheel was a cubit and half a cubit.

31Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field:
32Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.

Acually, the mustard seed is not the smallest seed. The orchid, poppy, and wolffia (duckweed family) are smaller.

What would I even type to explain or describe...