All kinds of craziness:)

So, even though it's January I still have a lot in the mix. I have two J-Term classes in the next three weeks. Both are one hour long ethics courses: Creation and Evolution and Death and Dying. I got my books yesterday and am ready to get em' done. I've also been working on my commissioning paperwork that is all due in two weeks. I just finished putting together the 4 DVD's I have to turn in for preaching and leading worship- that took a while! I also finished all the tedious "fill in the blank" pages of information collecting and about half of my theology questions. So, I can almost taste sweet victory:) I'm also in the midst of planning a packing trip to the Smoky Mountains. Once again, anytime I need to work hard it always helps to have a "play hard" goal at the end to keep me focused. Brandon (fishing buddy) and I are going to attempt to climb a mountain, hike and camp out for two nights and three days in JANUARY!! It sounds risky, so I like it:) It'll give me a chance to utilize the new 0 degree bag I got in light of a broken zipper on the last bag. The new one is a Kelty, Cosmic 0 degree mummy bag. I look forward to posting an update after the trip. The last thing I've been working on is an independent study. I decided I wanted to be more efficient in my IBS (Inductive Bible Study) skills. Professor David Thompson (author of Bible Study that Works) has agree to tutor me through my Isaiah Exegesis Course (Sandy Richter), especially in the areas where I would utilize IBS. I'm very excited about this opportunity and look forward to hopefully becoming a lean, mean IBS maching:) So, now I'm going to open a bag of expensive coffee (Starbucks employee perk) and have breakfast!

Filling your cup

I'm looking back on the last three or four months and feeling pretty blessed to have taken as many 1-2 day camping/fishing trips as I did. This is something I haven't had the opportunity to do for a while. Heck, having two days off in a row was something foreign to me for four years until I moved to Kentucky. I learned that these trips fill my cup! They give me energy, joy- they give me something to look forward to outside of the everyday plan (I want to use the word rut- but life has been pretty good lately so I don't think rut applies). I've learned that I love adventure, nature, silence and simple living. It's not what I want all the time, but its what I need from time to time. I now realize it's a part of who I am and something I need to function well. When I knew a trip was coming I focused on getting homework done so I wouldn't have to worry about it while I was out. When I don't have something on the calendar I get bored and waste my time with video games and facebook applications that really distract me more than they pour into me. So, do you know what fills your cup? What excites you, helps you focus, gives you something to look forward to? I'm glad I know (for this season of life anyway) and I hope you can know too!

Camping at Cumberland Falls, Kentucky

Alexis and I took a trip to Cumberland Falls, Kentucky last week. We went three days and two nights to a beautiful area. The camp site was decent, but for being a major state park it could have been a little nicer. It makes me appreciate Missouri camping areas all the more. There were a ton of great hikes in the area. We did one to Eagle Falls and it was the best. A lot of rock climbing, hills and scenic opportunities. We attempted to get to Dog Slaughter Falls but we got on the path too early. We jumped on the 4.4 mile path which ended at the 1.5 mile path. Alexis and I turned around at about mile 3 and headed back to the car. We saw several snakes and Alexis even spotted the first one right off of the trail. She thought they were pretty cool! We found an awesome cove on Lake Laurel that we hung floated on for a few hours and that was the extent of the trip. If you want to check out our pictures on Facebook follow this link: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=120976&l=0a4c6&id=527555092
I went on a fly fishing float trip last week as well and caught a ton of fish. You can see some of those pictures at:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=119952&l=d1637&id=527555092
There will definitely be more trips in the future!