celebrate the day

"And with this Christmas wish is missed
The point I could convey
If only I could find the words to say to let You know how much You've touched my life
Because here is where You're finding me, in the exact same place as New Year's eve
And from a lack of my persistency
We're less than half as close as I want to be

And the first time
That You opened Your eyes did You realize that You would be my Savior
And the first breath that left Your lips
Did You know that it would change this world forever

And so this Christmas I'll compare the things I felt in prior years
To what this midnight made so clear
That You have come to meet me here

To look back and think that
This baby would one day save me
In the hope that what You did
That you were born so I might live
To look back and think that
This baby would one day save me

And I, I celebrate the day
That You were born to die
So I could one day pray for You to save my life"

_____

think about these words this christmas

he didn't have to come

yet he did

and changed the world forever, change MY world forever

did he know then?

either way, he did it and ITS DONE

peace

truth

a man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word "darkness" on the walls of his cell.

   -C. S. Lewis

we're the hateful ones?

i've watched the news today, as the entire day has been spent on why obama has made a terrible decision choosing rick warren as a speaker at his inauguration.  i've actually yet to see any journalist today be unbiased on this.  everyone is outraged, and this troubles me.

i've watched everyone speak on the fact that rick warren's beliefs on gay marriage are hate mongering and anti civil right.  this is simply rubbish.  because someone believes that homosexuality is wrong, they are labeled as filled with hate.

here's what i think:

God's view is ultimately what matters, no matter what governments, individuals, the masses, or popular opinion says.  in the end, i'd rather be looked upon as a hateful person for outlining what is a black and white (no pun intended) issue, rather than giving in for the sake of political correctness. 

when our time here is over and we stand before the thrown, i don't think "well, we went again what you said, but we made people feel good" is gonna cut it.

the whole issue is based on people wanting to seem "fair", yet there is no room for grey with God.  He never says if you are good enough, or if you almost do something it counts, instead He outlines what His standard is, and leaves it at that.

i'm not saying that this gives us ammunition to use against agendas that don't line up with God's black and white scale (if that were the case, we'd have too much to do-the human agenda is against God's) what i am saying, is that we should realize what God's standard is (not people's) and follow it-no matter what. and above all-DO SO IN LOVE

peace

in and out

its funny how some people pop in and out of your life.  they move on with whatever separates you, but then somehow make their way back around.

there is a guy i grew up with, we'll call him "mc".  we parted ways after high school, but he found his way back to me. the first time via a random visit to my church, the next on the news "crime stoppers", and then again as a bus boy at a restaurant i had lunch.

there is a girl, we'll call her "doc", that i met, had a thing for, gave up on, and moved on.  she has since had an uncanny ability to come back in my life in some capacity, often just a few weeks or months after her last visit/conversation.

sometimes you just can't escape. lol

___

thus far, the adventure that has been my xmas break has been interesting.  its been boring and cold, but nice to not have anything to get done.  i'm pretty much over worrying about the fact that i'm living in the living room and thus don't have a room of my own (except for the several times a night i wake up bc of a lack of comfort).

hopefully, since people are getting finished with this semester, i'll have some people to hang out with soon.

peace.

for the dogs

one thing i've enjoyed while at home has been playing with my dogs (especially since one of my roommates is a dog nazi and petitions for no dog in our apartment)

Sam (the little one) is a newby and we're still getting used to each other, quickly

Duke is a veteran, so we're good to go

its cold

it's been in the 30's during the day here

i'm used to the high 70's

sheesh

it was good to be back at my home church tonight

to see everyone again, see ppl's reactions when i walked in (if they had forgotten i was arriving)

playing with Corban again was a delight as well

we rehearsed for sunday's morning service as well as our sunday night "christmas with corban" program [feel free to come-HDBC 6 pm this sunday]

i've been sitting around since i got home resting and relaxing, but now i'm looking forward to getting together with friends and hanging out

i've got at least one time planned, but home to get more

peace

home

i'm home

first, the arrival:

i arrived at the miami airport in plenty of time to check in, go through security, and make it to my gate, or so i thought.

you would have thought it was the day before christmas, it was so busy

after 20 minutes in the check-in line, i ran to security only to stand for another 45 minutes. several times during my wait they would open another line to keep the flow of traffic going, only to close it as i got there.

my flight was to take off at 11:05.  i arrived at my gate at 11:05

i rebooked, going on stand-by for one flight, then cleared for another.

as i waited for my first standby a guy a couple of gates down started yelling and going off. security eventually had to chase him down (to my gate) and arrest him approx 15 feet away from me.

i didn't get on that flight, but made the next one (at 4:20)

i landed in dallas and decided to eat at the popeye's chicken, where i could immerse myself in the south (i had fried chicken, mash potatoes w/gravy, a biscuit, and some red drink) complete with a restaurant full of black ladies, mexicans, and white people (instead of cubans)-i'm back

mom and my friend elizabeth picked me up in memphis around 9:30

i got home to discover that i essentially don't have a room anymore (its been girlyfied as a guestroom).  all that remains that i ever lived there are my posters.

i guess it doesn't matter, since i'll be living in the living room during the break since we're housing some girl that someone knows somewhere(?)

its nice to be back to and endless supply of food/milk, a clean bathroom, a roomy shower, and somewhere the weather points to it being close to christmas.

1 semester down...

i come to the end of the first semester of my semester missionary appointment

so far it has been such a great experience and i know that the spring semester will be a great one too

i love my job here and feel like it is exactly where i need to be

i've already gained so much experience that i'll be able to use in the future that it has been worth it, and to think i still have 3-4 more semester to go!

i spent the day at the beach with friends after church

not a bad way to spend an early december afternoon if you ask me- football on the beach, swimming, throwing people in the water, lying around

i fly out tomorrow morning to return to the arctic conditions of jonesboro

i can already tell my blood is thinning-it feels cool here when its 65

it should be a good break though

really think about it!

every man dies

not every man really lives

we made maggie watch braveheart for the first time.  her eyes were opened to the awesomeness/manliness/better than any sissy vampire that sparkles could be-ness that is william wallace.

i want to be the guy that people sit around and tell tall tales of.  "matt wofford killed 50 men.  50, as if they were one."

war in the apt

the game "axis and allies" has taken over life in the apartment

it is a world war II game that can be thought of as risk on steroids

we've been playing the same game for two days and are not close to being done

i have found it hard to get into a normal christmas spirit because it has yet to feel like christmas

i had a lunch meeting today and wore shorts and a t-shirt to it

i'm going to complain though

____

i look forward to being home for a few weeks and seeing everyone (especially since i won't get a chance to visit at all in the spring)

my shopping is all but done (the only things left are those which i wouldn't be able to fit in my suitcase for the flight) which means i'll be able to focus on hanging out with friends and family over the break

peace

little sleep, meeting, and basketball

a group of us went to see the dark knight last night at the theater on campus.  the show didn't start until 11, and we didn't get out until just before 1, but it was well worth it.  

i got to bed at 3, woke up at 5:30 to serve breakfast to the Miami Dade softball girls.  it was a great time to hang out with them and tell them about what we are doing as a bcm and invite them.

we then proceeded to go to the muti-faith council meeting at fiu-boring.

i came home and took a much needed nap (two and a half hours of sleep are not enough to make it through the day on).

tonight, we're going to the um-ohio state basketball game on campus.  should be fun.

___

i saw pictures of an old friend on facebook partying pretty hard.  it was disappointing.  not because those things are "bad" and jesus doesn't like people having a good time, but because i know the activity takes their focus off living out their faith because they fall into the cycle of feeling inadequate and covering that inadequacy with more sin.

we are called to a higher standard (we are new creations).  i pray that they will work to better protect their witness and live for HIM 

let peace abound

Busy Week

Busy week ahead.

Staff meeting, preparation for tomorrow's breakfast,, "How I Met Your Mother" watching with everyone, Monday Night Football, emails, Christmas giving/buying online today,

breakfast with Miami Dade Softball tomorrow morning at 7am, UM basketball game tomorrow night, Chaplains' Association meeting Wed, lunch with Mosaic Thurs, Christmas party Fri, SEC championship game Sat, "Axis and Allies" Sun, then home on Mon

sheesh

how them HOGS sat!?

happy adventing