I have never been one to try many new things..until the past few years of my life. I would normally make up my mind before trying something at all. This was most evident in food. Fruits and vegetables and anything else that didn't look aesthetically pleasing wasn't going to enter my stomach. Through a relationship that I had a year or so ago, I was challenged to try to new things. We made a list of all of the foods that I hadn't tried yet (the list was really long) which was pretty bad considering I was 21 years old already. The list included pineapple, kiwi, peaches, strawberry's, grapes, apples, sushi, and others. I was very picky, haha. Anyways, recently I have realized how much having that person challenge me to try new things is effecting some of the decisions that I am making now in my life. I am at the point where I don't put a ton of thought into things and just try them instead. There's nothing wrong with trying and failing.
Last weekend, I saw a recipe for a cake that I thought looked delicious. It was a chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting! It looked amazing in the magazine, so I took a picture of the recipe with my phone. Over the weekend when I was home, I spent 4 hours making the cake. Grant it, it was my first ever time baking something from scratch, but 4 hours!??! (1.5 hours was placing the peanuts on the side one-by-one because I couldn't find a better way) But it turned out perfectly! I think I could enter it into a cake making contest and not get laughed at and people would eat it! I enjoyed the process of making something from scratch and watching people enjoy eating it! It makes me want to bake more often now!
Also last Sunday, at church I was flipping through the bulletin and there was an announcement about yoga. I have never attempted yoga before and to be honest always thought it was a joke. I'm used to contact sports and sweating a lot when I work out, and this doesn't fall anywhere close. Curtis, Erik, and I decided to try it out on Monday nights. It was amazing!!! It was Christian yoga, where they teach you to breath while you are doing the positions and to focus your attention on God and pray while you are relaxing and stretching. It was a great workout! I was sweating and stretched out very well afterward. My favorite thing about it was the calmness that I felt during and after. My mind was completely cleared and I felt no stress after we were done. I also felt that I had had some intimate time with Christ during it. I love yoga! And am going to continue going and learning more!
All this is to say that I am thankful that someone saw the need for me to try things and encouraged me to do so. I have experienced many new things and am loving it! If you are like I was and are pretty picky and set in your ways, I encourage you to try something that you never would before. I only wish I had done this earlier on!
Monday, February 16, 2009
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Uganda
I finally finished my support letter for my trip to Uganda this summer!!! I have felt God calling me to serve in the mission field for the past year and finally took the step of faith. I am going to be going with an organization called Loving One By One. I was searching the internet over Christmas break for different trips that were available in the summer. Both my home church and Northview have medical mission trips going to Uganda, which was what I wanted to do, but they were both during the school year. After praying about whether or not this was what God wanted me to do, I came across this organization. I loved their passion and vision for the people of Uganda. There is such a need for people to just be cared for a loved on. They have been establishing a school and orphanage for the orphans of AIDS victims, which is a large majority of the younger adults. Their generation has been almost completely wiped out by the AIDS epidemic. The children were being taken care of by their grandparents, but they are at an age where they can no longer care for them and the children are forced onto the streets. This breaks my heart.
I had been procrastinating and had been nervous about my support letter because I don't like asking people for money or support at all. It's one of my least favorite things to do. However, I know this is a step in the journey of faith that God has me on. I realized that tonight after college group when chatting with my main man, FT. We had a great conversation and it led me to think about how much I really trust God for EVERYTHING in my life. Not just the big life decisions, but the little, seemingly insignificant things. I know that it's easy to over analyze things and try to interpret God's will for our lives. I am and have been guilty of this many times. However, I am beginning to become more of a "doer" than a thinker and sayer. I realize there is wisdom and value in seeking counsel in decisions, but I think there is also value in just leaping in with both feet knowing that there's a chance that you could and probably will fail. However, the comfort that God is there watching and waiting to pick us up off the ground and hold us in His arms is a good enough reason for me. These are the times when we grow closest to Him and learn how to trust.
I know that was pretty scattered, but that's how my brain works...
I had been procrastinating and had been nervous about my support letter because I don't like asking people for money or support at all. It's one of my least favorite things to do. However, I know this is a step in the journey of faith that God has me on. I realized that tonight after college group when chatting with my main man, FT. We had a great conversation and it led me to think about how much I really trust God for EVERYTHING in my life. Not just the big life decisions, but the little, seemingly insignificant things. I know that it's easy to over analyze things and try to interpret God's will for our lives. I am and have been guilty of this many times. However, I am beginning to become more of a "doer" than a thinker and sayer. I realize there is wisdom and value in seeking counsel in decisions, but I think there is also value in just leaping in with both feet knowing that there's a chance that you could and probably will fail. However, the comfort that God is there watching and waiting to pick us up off the ground and hold us in His arms is a good enough reason for me. These are the times when we grow closest to Him and learn how to trust.
I know that was pretty scattered, but that's how my brain works...
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Politics are not my style, but...
I'm not usually one to talk about or even think about politics and what the government is doing. I guess that makes me neive, but I'm alright with that. I would consider myself as leaning towards the republican side of things and never wanted to see Obama in the White House. However, I gave him the benefit of the doubt when he was elected because I believe that we should respect and follow our leaders until they absoltely give us a reason not to...
And that is happening already. It's only been a month or so since the innaguration and he's already broken promise after promise. He promised that everything that governement was going to spend our money on was going to be made known to the public...anyone who was watching the news at all yesterday saw that they approved the Bailout without even reading the dang thing! This just really ticks me off, and I don't get mad easily at all.
Obama is a deceiver, it's plain and simple. I was reading this weekend and saw that he offered one of the republican senators a place in his cabinet as what was seemingly a good gesture to reach out to the other side and make it more bi-partisan. That's the part that the media shows us. But what no one realized was that by putting that senator in that position, the democratic governor of that state was then able to appoint the next senator to replace him, and that was going to a democrat, which would even further swing the senate to the left. It's just deception over and over again.
The other thing that really set me off was when he said he wants to change the way that the census is done. Throughout our countries history, the census has traditionally been done by the Chamber of Commerce, which is indepent and doesn't have any party affiliation. He is trying to make it to where the Government or the White House controls the census. Which at first doesn't seem like that big of deal. Well, it is a big deal! By controlling the census, he has control over how the electoral votes are distributed and by how the districs of the states are alligned. This basically means he can allign things to favor voting for the democratic party. Deception.
My feeling is that our country is heading towards depression, separation, racism, and then ultimately another revolution. When I get frustrated and think about this, I can only rejoice in the fact that my hope is not in this world. My hope is in the future that is promised by my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He knows what's going on and knows how it's going to end. I'm thankful that I can trust in Him and that He loves me.
I realize that this post went from frustration and anger to my hope, but those were my thoughts, haha. Back to school tomorrow...
And that is happening already. It's only been a month or so since the innaguration and he's already broken promise after promise. He promised that everything that governement was going to spend our money on was going to be made known to the public...anyone who was watching the news at all yesterday saw that they approved the Bailout without even reading the dang thing! This just really ticks me off, and I don't get mad easily at all.
Obama is a deceiver, it's plain and simple. I was reading this weekend and saw that he offered one of the republican senators a place in his cabinet as what was seemingly a good gesture to reach out to the other side and make it more bi-partisan. That's the part that the media shows us. But what no one realized was that by putting that senator in that position, the democratic governor of that state was then able to appoint the next senator to replace him, and that was going to a democrat, which would even further swing the senate to the left. It's just deception over and over again.
The other thing that really set me off was when he said he wants to change the way that the census is done. Throughout our countries history, the census has traditionally been done by the Chamber of Commerce, which is indepent and doesn't have any party affiliation. He is trying to make it to where the Government or the White House controls the census. Which at first doesn't seem like that big of deal. Well, it is a big deal! By controlling the census, he has control over how the electoral votes are distributed and by how the districs of the states are alligned. This basically means he can allign things to favor voting for the democratic party. Deception.
My feeling is that our country is heading towards depression, separation, racism, and then ultimately another revolution. When I get frustrated and think about this, I can only rejoice in the fact that my hope is not in this world. My hope is in the future that is promised by my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He knows what's going on and knows how it's going to end. I'm thankful that I can trust in Him and that He loves me.
I realize that this post went from frustration and anger to my hope, but those were my thoughts, haha. Back to school tomorrow...
Friday, February 13, 2009
The Story Behind the Name
As time has gone on, I have become known as the Boob Man. I don't really agree with that at all (I don't have a preference on them), but I have taken the stance to embrace it, in hopes that people will see that it doesn't bother me and then stop referring to me as that...it's not working, lol.
Curtis, Robbie, and I were meeting at the church one morning in December for prayer and those two had been coming up with names that still had the same connotation, but were different. It got quiet for a little while and then Curtis said, "I got it...McCanish." My real last name is McCaMish, but he put an interesting twist on it. It was hillarious!! Robbie and I lost it when Curtis said that and I have been called that for a while. Recently it has evolved to "Chichi cabre", which is the spanish name for Boob Man. It makes me laugh everytime I get called either of those names. I got a text from one of them saying that I need those eye things that horses wear on their eyes to keep them looking straight ahead, so that I don't look at "them." Haha, I laughed so hard, because it's not true in the least bit! I mean, as a guy, it's something that is hard for all of us, but I haven't struggled with that for years now and I'm proud of that. The women that I spend a lot of my time with dress like ladies and don't make that a problem for us men. (Thanks ladies!!)
Anyway, that wasn't as long or detailed as I was planning, but I'm in a hurry to leave for home for the weekend...
Let my life light up like the city lights
Let it burn for you in the darkest night
My light will shine on earth
And my Father will be praised
-Life Light Up (Christie Nockes)
I've been thinking a lot lately about my life and the impact that it's making here on this earth, or just here at Purdue for that matter. Our world bases success on results that we can see. Whether we work hard and money is the result, or praise is the result or approval, that's what we see as success. God has shown me that it's not about the result, in fact, there's something that He's more interested in. He's more interested in how we get to that result than what that result is. On the journey, our character is revealed and developed, and that's what He's interested in. So with that, I am concentrating on the moment and allowing God to develop me as a man of God and not worrying about what difference I will make in the world. I'm not concerned with the idea of "when I'm no longer here, what will I leave behind?"
Peace y'all
Curtis, Robbie, and I were meeting at the church one morning in December for prayer and those two had been coming up with names that still had the same connotation, but were different. It got quiet for a little while and then Curtis said, "I got it...McCanish." My real last name is McCaMish, but he put an interesting twist on it. It was hillarious!! Robbie and I lost it when Curtis said that and I have been called that for a while. Recently it has evolved to "Chichi cabre", which is the spanish name for Boob Man. It makes me laugh everytime I get called either of those names. I got a text from one of them saying that I need those eye things that horses wear on their eyes to keep them looking straight ahead, so that I don't look at "them." Haha, I laughed so hard, because it's not true in the least bit! I mean, as a guy, it's something that is hard for all of us, but I haven't struggled with that for years now and I'm proud of that. The women that I spend a lot of my time with dress like ladies and don't make that a problem for us men. (Thanks ladies!!)
Anyway, that wasn't as long or detailed as I was planning, but I'm in a hurry to leave for home for the weekend...
Let my life light up like the city lights
Let it burn for you in the darkest night
My light will shine on earth
And my Father will be praised
-Life Light Up (Christie Nockes)
I've been thinking a lot lately about my life and the impact that it's making here on this earth, or just here at Purdue for that matter. Our world bases success on results that we can see. Whether we work hard and money is the result, or praise is the result or approval, that's what we see as success. God has shown me that it's not about the result, in fact, there's something that He's more interested in. He's more interested in how we get to that result than what that result is. On the journey, our character is revealed and developed, and that's what He's interested in. So with that, I am concentrating on the moment and allowing God to develop me as a man of God and not worrying about what difference I will make in the world. I'm not concerned with the idea of "when I'm no longer here, what will I leave behind?"
Peace y'all
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Dealing with being overwhelmed
Gosh...it's been a while since I have posted anything and so much has happened. Sadly, I'm not going to have time to update you all on that...I'm in between my 2nd and 3rd exams in the past 24 hours and it's not even finals week yet! Crazy! Anyways, I'm excited to go home this weekend. I don't really know why, but I think it may be that I'm just in need of a break. It's only the weekend, but it'll give me a chance to get away from studying and relax. I have also gotten a little homesick lately too, which I haven't experienced since my sophomore year. I was looking through some pictures that a friend of mine posted on Facebook from my senior year of high school and they were prom pictures that were taken at my house. It was April at that time and our garden was in full bloom, which is my favorite time of the year and probably favorite place to be. Seeing those pictures made me miss that and made me dislike winter weather even more. I also have been feeling lonely recently. This is another thing that I cannot explain. I have been more social recently, or at least have tried, than any time in recent memory. But this has all contributed to me being really excited about spending time at home this weekend.
Anyway...other happenings in my life...I am going to bake a cake! I know that sounds weird, or maybe a little feminine, but it's a challenge for me. I was at lunch on Sunday at Panara and there was a magazine that had desert recipies in it. I started looking through it and found a Peanut Butter Chocolate 4 layer cake. I saw it and had to have it! I got all of the ingredients that night at Walmart and was fully intending on spending the night making it, but couldn't find two of the cake pans at Walmart, so I'm going to make it at home this weekend. I have always been scared to bake things because I'm not very good at judging when to take them out of the oven (which is why I microwave EVERYTHING). This should be interesting...
Welp, time to get to lab (boring)...I'll be back for my next post soon (hopefully not 2 months later like this one) where I will reveal (most of you already know) why my name is Mr. McCanish....
Peace
Anyway...other happenings in my life...I am going to bake a cake! I know that sounds weird, or maybe a little feminine, but it's a challenge for me. I was at lunch on Sunday at Panara and there was a magazine that had desert recipies in it. I started looking through it and found a Peanut Butter Chocolate 4 layer cake. I saw it and had to have it! I got all of the ingredients that night at Walmart and was fully intending on spending the night making it, but couldn't find two of the cake pans at Walmart, so I'm going to make it at home this weekend. I have always been scared to bake things because I'm not very good at judging when to take them out of the oven (which is why I microwave EVERYTHING). This should be interesting...
Welp, time to get to lab (boring)...I'll be back for my next post soon (hopefully not 2 months later like this one) where I will reveal (most of you already know) why my name is Mr. McCanish....
Peace
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