My 25

I've recently seen this phenomenon blazing through facebook and decided to try my hand at it... so here it goes:

25. I love sunrises... the summer I lived in the Dominican, I sat on the beach and watched the sun come up nearly every morning. There is such a calm about the early morning that I love. It is by far the most peaceful time of the day and is one of the best ways to start each day; A great reminder of the new blessings and opportunities the Lord gives us each day.

24. I don't own a T.V. and I love it. If it wasn't for sports, I would be okay with never watching t.v. again

23. I like to read a lot. Reading gives me new and fresh ideas about so many things and often stretches me to think outside myself and my ignorant and limited bubble of knowledge.

22. I never want to be called ignorant about anything, but I know that's not really possible. I think that's why I like #23 so much.

21. I wish I was much more articulate. I get jealous of people who can express themselves so easily through speaking or writing*.

20. I graduated with a B.S. in Chemistry and now don't really want anything to do with it.

19. I enjoy networking. For some reason, the places I've been and the things I've done have included and involved people from all over and have lent to my strength of building relationships. Because of this I have friends, all over the country and world, who teach me so much and allow me to travel some as well.

18. I love to travel. If I could, I would quit grad school and travel the world for the rest of my life. Come to think of it, I don't know why I couldn't. Fear of the unknown maybe.

17. I love missions. I'm learning what it means to have a missions mindset daily, no matter where you are, but nevertheless I'm finding that I love overseas missions very much and want it to be a part of my life as long as I'm on this earth.

16. I would give a decent amount to be able to play the piano well.

15. Ravi Zacharias is my hero... I want to be his disciple for a year (look him up on youtube)

14. I grew up on a farm and think it's the best place for a kid to grow up. Makes me want to raise my kids on a farm.

13. I like kids and want to have a moderately large family

12. I aspire to be a great husband and father. My dad is one of the best examples of this I know... I admire him a lot

11. I am a helpless romantic... and that's all you need to know about that.

10. I have an unhealthy affinity for the University of Notre Dame... I love the place and I love rooting for it's athletics. In the fall, I live and breath Notre Dame football**

9. I love people. I like investing in them and being intentional with them. I also just like watching and observing them. We are a really weird and quirky species. My dad and siblings used to sit in parking lots and watch people. We would make up what was going through their heads or if someone was with them, what they were talking about based on their mood, facial expression, etc. It's hilarious to see someone do something embarrassing (i.e. trip, pick their nose, bump into another car) and then look around to see if anyone saw them look like a dork. Try it sometime. It's fun.

8. One of the most enjoyable things for me is to be in the company of great friends. I have been so blessed with loyal, fun-loving, and honest friendships.

7. Being on the water in the summer is the best. There aren't many things better than an intense day of tubing.

6. Sitting around a campfire is one of my favorite things to do***

5. I want to someday live in Colorado. I love the mountains and I love the active lifestyle they demand from you

4. Kanakuk is the greatest place on the face of the planet. No debate, no question, end of discussion.

3. I love the game of basketball. I love to watch it, study it, dissect it, teach it, and play it. I have a passion for the game and want to be around it, in some capacity, the rest of my life.

2. I wouldn't be the person I am today, without being raised in the family the Lord gave me. I love them very much.

1. I strive to make Jesus Christ the center of my life.


I feel like there is much more to be said and I omitted a lot of things, but now you potentially know 25 more things about me than before you started reading this.


*yes Steve Conn, this is mostly directed at you
**this is a sad statement and one day may cause me to be introspective and realize it doesn't/shouldn't matter all that much and I will then stop caring about it all together
***campfires are nature's T.V.

Spring Break... A Thing of the Past

I've recently come to grips with the reality that spring break no longer exists for me. It is a thing of the past. The whole reason I decide to enter into the arena of education is so I would have Christmas, Spring, and Summer Breaks for the rest of my life*. But NO, reality had to hit me square in the teeth the past couple weeks and deny me any hope of ever getting another spring break. Why do I say this, you might ask? Well let me tell you.
Today marks the end of the second (yes I said second) consecutive week of spring break for me. Here is what my 2 week spring break consisted of: homework. Not rest, not fun, just homework, period. I have a bit of a quarrel with Webster when he defines thesis as "a position or proposition which a person advances and offers to maintain, or which is actually maintained by argument." I think it just means an obnoxious way for graduate faculty to make my life miserable through tireless study on a specific subject**. Needless to say, I have done a lot of work the past couple weeks and I WILL OVERCOME.

*and maybe to impact the lives of students, who are searching for Truth
**It also may or may not involve me becoming an expert in my area of study and landing a job outside of grad school.

My next great life adventure...

I want to do this!


wingsuit base jumping from Ali on Vimeo.

Thesis is off the ground

If you would have told me a little over a year ago that by Feb. 2009 I would be smack in the middle of graduate work and starting a thesis, I may have laughed in your face. I'm finding that I am not an academic and have little desire to become one, but when I am fully engaged in something, I get really excited about the little things.

Friday was a great day for me to get excited. I officially settled on a research topic with my thesis supervisor* Skip Trudeau. He was very encouraging and got me all amped up to begin my thesis. I think we will work very well together for several reasons, but mainly b/c our personalities are very similar and we have many similar interests, one being my topic.

I'm going to be studying the effect that being a college athlete has on a person's spirituality and spiritual development. It's a topic that hasn't been researched much, but one that Christian college presidents and athletic directors are becoming increasingly interested in. It's going to be a long, sometimes frustrating, but very rewarding road. It's exciting though to get this part of my masters started. I'll keep you updated periodically on my progress and findings.

*Skip has a much more official sounding title for himself, but I like to keep it simple/I forgot what it is

Someone Pinch Me...

I think I'm getting old. Maybe it's a dream, maybe I just don't want to face reality, but Saturdays are becoming like Sundays for me.

I sat around all day today and was content in watching a couple basketball games and talking on the phone to a mentor of mine. I then realized that I needed to get some homework done, but wasn't upset about it and actually felt like doing it. It's almost like I was looking forward to learning.

Somewhere in all that, I snuck in about an hour nap. Then after doing a bit of leisurely reading, I crawled into bed at 9:30ish* to get some much needed beauty sleep. Now, you might look at the time of this post and ask a pretty valid question. There is a reason why I am awake 3 1/2 hours later and that is because I couldn't go to sleep because I was laying there completely caught up in thought.**

I couldn't stop thinking about how I could better invest in the people around me. There are so many hurts, needs, potentials, good intentions, people searching for Truth, people trying to engage in Truth and better serve others, and the list goes on. I want to reach out and touch people where they are and make an indelible impact on their lives.

One of the ways I will hopefully do this is by taking a few young men with me to Atlanta over spring break to work with Desire Street Ministries and expose them to urban ministry and to the issues the needy are dealing with. I was getting all excited thinking about it and had to get back out of bed and look up DSM's website and reacquaint myself with their cause.

I'm coming down off of my high, so I think I might go to bed for real now. I'll keep everyone informed on any news about the DSM opportunity.

*This is definitely an old person's bed time
**To me this constitutes an adult activity/getting old, so if you disagree with me too bad