New Camera

Celebrations are in order, I have finally purchased the dslr that I have wanted to invest in since I moved to Houston. Following are some of it's captures from my Thanksgiving trip to Albuquerque.

This is Tucker my dog. I miss him a lot.

The Thanksgiving meal that we fixed for the four of us. Just what we all wanted.

Was able to catch the sunset amidst one of Albuquerque's few yearly storms.


It will never cease to amaze me the power that He has to control this massive world that we live in. Each day I see something like these clouds or this sunset that He's painted and I am reminded how small we truly are. And yet He has reached down to us.

not being sovereign

So the last few weeks have been interesting to say the least, though not entirely exciting:

-Sarah has gone home (sad times, though hopefully she will be back soon)
-I have become the Men's coordinator for my class at HFBC
-God is showing me that no matter how much I want to be in control, I'm not.
-I have realized I haven't been healthy so far in Texas and that is now being remedied.
-Remembered that when I focus on other things but God, my life doesn't go too well.

So Sarah went home last Monday to FL to stay with her rents for a bit while she looks for a job to come back here to. That process is not as quick of course as I would hope but I am still excited that she will be able to return soon. Realizing that He is in control of all things as far as timing goes, it's comforting to know that she is there right now for a reason.

The director of the class that I attend at HFBC asked me to be the Men's coordinator two weeks ago, and I told him that I would. I am quite excited about the opportunity to encourage brothers in Christ and develop relationships with them. There is nothing like walking with brothers and being able to encourage them throughout our daily lives and be encouraged by them at the same time. Hm, wonder if that was intended to be that way by someone...

Yet again I have remembered that though I want to be in control of my life, I'm not. It is not my own and nothing that I do will ever change that. I find that awesome btw. With that, I also have had a heavy heart for the fact that I am not putting God first in things that I do, and that the things I am focusing on here in Houston are for the better of myself. These would include all the things I say that I am doing for the Lord but more closely examined have selfish motives behind them. Praise Him for breaking us so often and filling us up with His grace and mercy. So if I do things for myself, and nothing that I can do will let me control anything or help my cause, why do I do these things? Workin on remembering that when I put Him first and become sold out to Him that He will give me the desires of my heart. And how exciting will that be? When my desires are in line with His. Keep on keepin on...

And yea, exercise is starting... horay. more updates on that later.

Grand Canyon

Went to visit the parents a few weekends ago and the Tuesday before I went they called and asked that if instead of staying at their house in Scottsdale, if we wanted to go to the Grand Canyon. So, yea, i chose Grand Canyon. Never been before and it was pretty much amazing. Sarah was nice enough to let me borrow her Nikon D40 for the trip, so here are a few snapshots of our fam and His beautiful, breathtaking creation.

This is the fam walking down to the bottom. maybe 6:30am?

I asked Jacque to wait and take a picture of me. the result.

I told her I'd take a picture of her in return. Pretty amazing backdrop.

Despite what the warnings and park rangers say, we walked up and down the trail in a day. After the fact, sure we were glad we did it, but it was quite a long way. 13.5 hours, 17.2 miles, and something like 8600 feet later, I was about ready to fall over. Need to be in shape before I try to do something like that again. Had a good time seeing that fam though nonetheless, and would def recommend the canyon to anyone who hasn't been. Vast view of His creativity and sovereignty.

Hurricane Ike

So yea, we had this hurricane come through last weekend, and we thought the perfect activity as the hurricane was rolling in would be to take Remi's power kite for a spin in the park. We were right.

We had a blast as the wind gusts would pick us up off the ground and create some awesome fun as we enjoyed our Friday off of work. Two reporters even stopped by to photograph us and we made the local news website that day. Twas good times.

But all in all the hurricane was kind to us, nothing damage or lost in our apt, though many people lost a lot of belongings etc. Please keep them in your prayers as well as opportunities to share with them as we get to help them rebuild their lives over the next months. The Red Cross is being staged out of our church so I am sure volunteer opportunities shall be plentiful these next months.

Sorry for the lapse in updates as of late. I have gotten settled in Houston and am enjoying it immensely. The picture shown here is the skyline of downtown where I live. It was taken from the roof of the garage one evening with a friend's camera.

I want to thank everyone back home and in Raleigh for all of your prayers for me as I get settled here, as well as through this hurricane this past weekend. My roommate and I faired quite well through the hurricane, but many people were not so fortunate. Please keep them in your prayers.

I have found a church here that reminds me a lot of Providence in Raleigh: Houston's First. Rooted in the Word, and excited about the Gospel, they seem like they are headed in the right direction and I am excited to be looking to become a part of this local body soon. There are a lot of believers in Houston but many many more still to hear the good news. What an opportunity we have been blessed with.

The job is going well, though not exciting quite yet, I hope that it will become so in the near future. I am learning a lot, and still have a lot to learn about the plant where I work, but hopefully I can put my nose to the grindstone and figure out what is going on. Yet another opportunity at work though with all the people I get to share with there. Be lifting that up too please.

I look forward to seeing family around the holidays and hopefully making a trip to Raleigh sometime in the near future. I miss Raleigh a lot, twas quite an amazing place. Hopefully this city has some of the same greatness I found there.

Ready for Houston

I think I am finally ready for Houston. I will be departing on the 28th from Tampa to head North. Stopping in Brookhaven on the hill for a bit and then onto Houston the 30th. Moving in and getting my stuffs delivered on the 31st.

The movers came this past Thursday to pack all of my stuff and have moved it all out of the house now. So I have no more bed, dresser, etc at home and am living out of suitcases for the next week and a half or so. It will be nice to not have anything to worry about doing the next bit and just be able to relax. If you are still in Tampa and want to come hang out at the lake feel free to drop by.

My grandmother had knee replacement surgery this week on Tuesday and is doing quite well so far. She moved out of the hospital yesterday and is in the rehab center on Gandy. Please be praying for her speedy recovery. That's all for now and I will again be writing more when I live somewhere that has internet.

Back Home

I have arrived back in the US from Turkiye this summer, and it was amazing. I apologize for not being able to post about the trip while I was over there but it wasn't possible to do so from there. We did have quite an amazing and life changing experience though and I look forward to the changes it is still making in me.

We were there for five weeks and learned so much about their culture in such a short time. It was quite the experience that I would def recommend to anyone. We had a class there on Islamic religion and their culture for the first week that we were there, then after that toured the city and visited universities. Shown here is a picture of the Blue Mosque, the biggest cami in the city. The city as a whole was beautiful and a great place to spend some time.

The people in Turkiye are more amazing even than the city's beauty. they are so hospitable all the time to anyone, even if you don't know them. you would be as likely to be invited into someone's house for tea if you stopped to ask them directions on the side of the street as you would be to see a hummer here in the states. which of we saw none there btw. sad times.

It's not everyday you get to eat iskender, see the blue mosque, go swimming in the black sea, see where Paul walked in Ephesus, take a ferry to get to the mall, drink chai tea 5 times a day, or teach someone to play ultimate who has no concept of what a frisbee is. <-- That list goes on way too long to list here, but if you would like to here more about the trip, feel free to ask. I hope to head back to Istanbul or other parts of Turkiye someday, so we shall see when that happens; as for now I'll be hanging out in FL waiting for the Albemarle job to start August 4th.

resting, resting...

Florida is where mah home is

Packed up my stuff in Raleigh with the tremendous help of the madre yesterday and left for Florida around 3pm. With that UHaul trailer in tow that meant arriving about 2:30am at the lake. Boo long trips but yay for sleeping in then waking up to glorious mornings.

This week looks fairly relaxing but possibly going to be working on redoing the dock. We shall see what the lumber/wood products cost tonight to see if it is feasible to do. Turkey planning is coming along well, we are getting more and more frequent emails from the team leaders about what to be preparing for and things to mentally be ready for. They say we can't wear our shoes inside anywhere and that families will provide slippers to walk around in their houses. Awesome.

Please be praying for the trip, the safety of the team, and the hearts of the people we will meet over there. And if you are in Tampa this week, you should come to the lake, it's beautiful.

SR Design Day is over

We got to stand in front of lots of parents today and try to describe our projects to them. Quite fun lol. I think it went well though, and hoping def to come out of the class with an A. We shall see I guess.

Tried to begin packing today as well, that didn't go as well as I had hoped, but I got a little bit of stuff done. Got some clothes out to go to Goodwill and packed some others. Need to try and be packed by Thursday evening so I can hang with the family when they get here. Hope between now and then amidst the packing I can see people before the summer begins, and I move away to not see many folks again. Let me know if you are still in Raleigh and have a few minutes.

Florida

Yea... Florida is amazing. I like being home :-D

The breeze was blowing, the sun was out, a nice 75 degrees. mmm. Back to Raleigh soon :/

btw...

Just wanted to thank Ashley and Kate for driving all the way over here to Raleigh to see Bri, Shay, and I couple weeks ago. I had a great time getting to see yall again and meets your roommates Ash; they are awesome :-D.

We got to hang around Raleigh on Saturday morning, eat pancakes, go see Bri at her Gym meet, ate dinner with Graham, and then onto Shay's concert for a Bayshore reunion. Def a weekend to remember. See you all soon.

Fin

So yea, school is over. I have design day next Monday from 9-12 but thats all that might be considered things to do at this point.

Headed home to Florida this weekend (today through Sunday) so if you are there give me a call.

I hope that everyone is enjoying the end of school and is studying well for finals. I have been quite fortunate these past few weeks to keep a calm air and not get too worried about what is going on. I think I did well in my classes and am satisfied with how I finished it up :-D. It is indeed comforting and quite calming to know that we are not in control of what is going on and that we can rest in that.

I am going to miss the SONIC that they just put in near are house as I move away soon. Their slushes and breakfast burritos are def unmatched. Maybe they will have one in Houston close by... I can only hope. Along with SONIC I'm going to miss a lot of different things about Raleigh that I have come to love in the past few years as well as the people I have met. To yall, thank you so much for investing time in my life and allowing me to be part of yours. Be sure to keep in touch. And just a reminder I will be in FL June 24th on, so if you want a free place to stay/vacation, come and visit :-D

More later, onto the plane for now.

Almost done

There are currently 3 days of school left.
Two Controls quizzes
Two Exams (Finance and ISE311)
One Senior Design Report
One Senior Design Day
Salsa Test

That is all that is left. Feels pretty good :-D

I hope that as I come to the end of this year I can look forward to what is ahead and not think about missing what I will be leaving here. I have had such a great time in Raleigh and made a lot of friends here; I'll be sad to leave. Houston looks like a great place though and I hope that I can start the next chapter of my life there off quickly.

I'll be moving at the end of July likely to an apartment near downtown Houston with a friend of mine from NCSU named Remi, who works for Exxonmobil. We were great friends here and I am looking forward to having a great time there with him. I'll post whenever I know where exactly I am moving to.

Plans for the summer (tentative)

These are my current plans for the summer. They are subject to change.

May 10: Graduate
May 11: Move to Florida
May 12: Relax in Florida
May 21: Leave for Turkey
June 23: Come back from Turkey
July 28: Move to Houston
Aug 4: Start Work

First Day

Since it has been a long time since I wrote in my LJ, I figured I should get up with the times and make a blog. So here it is. I hope that this can keep inquiring minds up to date with my life... if I can remember to update it. We shall see I guess.