ECUADOR 09!

Tonight I'm leaving to go on a short term missions trip to Ecuador with the high school group from Calvary Church. Please pray for us as we have a few days of travel ahead of us to get down the Oncelet River and through the jungle to our final destination of Borbon. A few other prayer requests:

Safety
Health
Team Unity

And most importantly that our team can show everyone we come into contact the love of Christ Jesus!!!! Thanks, and I'll see you when I get back!

Summer Time

I can smell summer...can't you?

Huntington Pier

Today my friend Alex and I drove all around Orange County taking pictures of major O.C. landmarks to show his friends back in England. We ran into some of the most interesting people. But it's hard to complain, considering it was one of the most beautiful days we've had in awhile (this is why I love where I live). I'll post more pics later.

Our entertainment today @ the Huntington Pier...what song do you think he's listening to? Alex votes Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" while I think it has to be the HSM Soundtrack. What do you think???

Yess.

Almighty God.

Thank you for allowing an awesome 5th/6th Pastor to speak directly to the hearts of High School students.
Thank you for those students whose lives change drastically because Chris called them out.
Thank you for breaking their hearts, and encouraging them to step out in their faith.
Thank you for being a forgiving Lord who never forgets us.

Amen.

Redemption

So after all my problems with my computer, Apple sent in my computer and discovered that it was completely broken. Yesterday I got a completely new computer in the mail. What a humbling experience. After all my complaining Apple went above and beyond to fix the problem, and therefore are redeemed in my eyes. Thank you Apple Inc!

Apple Store

My computer is broken and therefore I have been spending a lot of time at the Apple Store. This frustrates me in many ways...

1. When I have a problem with my computer, and go to the Apple store, I am, for some reason, turned away every one of my first visits. This has happened THREE times. Gosh, just help me already!

2. When you go to the Genius Bar no one tells you that the "geniuses" technically cannot help you with certain things due to possible lawsuits. Genius bar, do you really think I'll sue you for putting in a different hard drive than the one that was in my computer, when I was the one who asked you to help me in the first place???? Which leads me to...

3. Why doesn't Apple provide internal hard drives with larger storage space? And...

4. If the "geniuses" at the Genius Bar were the ones who told me to "oh, just buy a new internal hard drive" for $100 dollars, then how did they FORGET to tell me that if I put in a different internal hard drive than the one that my computer comes with that the Apple store could not help me?! Ever. Thanks genius.

(The person helping me at the Genius Bar also told me where to buy the new internal hard drive online, and I trusted him enough to buy it online from one of the computers in the store with him standing next to me. ASSHOLE.)

5. FACT. The "genuises" at the Genius Bar are awkward and sometimes too harsh when explaining "simple" technology to idiots. Would the idiot they were referring to be me?

6. Am I the only person who didn't know you could go to the Apple store and be given a free lesson on how to use your computer?

7. The "geniuses" at the Genius Bar need to communicate more with each other and really start actually helping people.

I have an appointment tomorrow @ the South Coast Apple store. Let's hope I get lucky tomorrow and find a true Genuis.

What would you do....

IF YOU WON $165,000????

Last night I went to the Lakers game and saw the most amazing thing. At half time the Mirage in Las Vegas sponsors a half court shoot out for money. Every time I've gone to the game the person who is chosen misses the basket BY FAR. When a person misses the basket the Mirage adds $5,000 to the overall pot.

WELLL....last night this young male student from USC who was chosen MADE THE HALF COURT SHOT!!! His one shot made him $165,000 in 30 seconds! I've never seen the Staples Center more crazy! Everyone was on their feet clapping and cheering in disbelief, including the Lakers, and the guy couldn't do anything. He just stood there, expressionless, motionless. He was definitely in shock, I mean, I would be too if I won $165,000!

So it got me thinking, what would I do with $165,000???

GIVE IT ALL AWAY of course! (My Dad would never let this happen but let me dream!)

Giving is always on my heart. I wish I was a millionairess so I could just give away all my money and just help everyone. It's something I definitely struggle with all the time, even more so right now because I dont even have a job. Witholding what I know the Lord has blessed me with is something that is so hard for me, even if I dont have anything. I feel guilty either way. If I could teach and not get paid for it, but just help students reach their academic potential, I would. If I could babysit for families and not get paid, I would. If I could coach volleyball and invest in the lives of these girls and have them appreciate my coaching, I would. If I could tutor all students and make them feel more comfortable about school and actually for once feel good about themselves, I totally would. If I could just live my life and not need one more thing just so that my friends and families could get what they want or need, I would.

So how would I allocate my winnings if I made that half court shot?? Let's see, after taxes you could probable get about $100,000 from the whole deal. I would give back to all the places that made me who I am today:

$10,000 --> Calvary Church general fund
$10,000 --> Calvary Church emergency needs fund
$10,000 --> Voyagers Bible Church general fund
$10,000 --> Voyagers Bible Church building fund
$10,000 --> Hume Lake Christian Camps
$10,000 --> School of Education at LMU
$5,000 --> CCS
$5,000 --> Foothill HS
$15,000 --> To my Mom (ALL will go to Acres of Love)
$15,000 --> To my Dad (Mom might convince him to give to ACRES too)

What would you do with all that money????