Life- War Zone

So In no way am I comparing my living situation for this summer to anything that our troops all across the world are dealing with but, on a spiritual level it IS a battlefield.  Living in the “Bible-belt” of the United States, Church plays a large part in one’s upbringing.  Both of my roommates grew up in South Carolina so Church is not a foreign concept to them.  Both, I assume have been to enough events at a Church to know that Jesus is, “the truth, the way, and the light.” Yet, it does not seem to matter to either of them that the way they conduct themselves is dis-respectful to God and everything he stands for.  Making the most of their worldly lives and not making much of Christ.  On many occasions as a Christian I have felt my beliefs being threatened by rude or hurtful comments that poke fun at Christianity.  As a Christian, I obviously take offense but, I often do not know how to respond.  As a Christian I don’t want to appear as weak but I also have to remember to respond in a way that is Christian-like.  So, to me, the contradiction is obvious but to those who don’t see what I’m talking about.  I am having a hard time coming up with effective ways, as a Christian, to stand up for my self without lowering myself to their standard.  All while trying to be a good Christian and trying to make them see that what they say and do is wrong.  Pray for me in this last month of “war.”

Life- Technology and Quiet

So after a long hiatus, I am making a non-photo based post. And today I’d like to talk about how much I use technology and have gotten away from enjoying the common daily simplicity of life. For instance, a typical day (during the summer) includes: waking up, listening to my Zune on the way to and from work, get home from work listen to my Ipod Nano while at the gym lifting weights, come back and surf the Internet and look at the news and daily happenings on my desktop computer, find something to take a pictures of with my Nikon D300, watch a television show that I downloaded on my computer, then decide that I actually would like to watch a movie so I go into the living room and watch a movie on a 42 Inch HDTV with surround sound on a Sony PS3, go to bed and repeat. If you were to add up all the money that has been spent on technology in my daily life it would be well over $5,000 of (what I consider) technology that I come in contact on a daily basis. So now that I’ve defined what technology I come in contact with I’d just like to say that while not all technology is bad, some of it is not good. Every piece of technology aforementioned could argue in favor of or against depending on what you believe technology should be used for. For instance, the computer, someone of an older generation who did not grow up with computers could say that they are not needed and purely used for pleasure and entertainment. One counterpoint to this statement is, since the Internet, computers are a means of keeping up with current events, following live breaking news faster than old formats of information gathering like the newspaper or magazines. Computers can also be used to keep in touch with friends and family through communication programs like skype.  But, no mater how much technology you surround yourself with, you wont be able to appreciate how much you can get out of life by just sitting and taking in the world around you.  I think the times I enjoy most is when I go outside and just sit and read.  I remember enjoying those time much more than when I’m sitting in front of a computer or in front of a computer screen.  Something that I have not tried but, soon will, is driving to work without listening to the radio or my Zune.  I think I would enjoy just being able to think clearly without the distraction of music.  

Life- Dave Matthews Band and More…

So a week from today is July 4^th and I will be in lovely Charleston, SC at the Charleston Riverdogs’ baseball stadium for what will be my second of two Dave Matthews Band concerts.  The first of my two concert stint will be in Charlotte, NC on July 1^st.  I am really looking forward to getting to hear the band this summer because last year I did not get to go to any of there concerts due to bad exam placement.  I had been to at least one Dave Matthews Band concert every year dating back to 2002 up until 2007.  This next week of shows really has the potential to be really amazing.  Ever since the beginning of the tour they have not been, what DMB groupies would call, playing normal shows.  Tim Reynolds has rejoined the band for the summer and the unofficial “6^th band member” Butch Taylor suddenly quit the band 3 days before the tour started for unknown reasons.  (lead to believe that he left because he did not like being away from his family while touring).  Since Tim has joined the band at the start of the summer he has pushed the band into uncomfortable and unusual territory because they have begun to play a far greater number of covers than in any of the previous 15+ years of touring.  The artists range from Pink Floyd to the Rolling Stones.  I am really hoping that the July 4^th show is really something that I will remember for a while because it’s not often that Dave Matthews and crew play baseball stadiums in South Carolina on a National Holiday!!!

Now I’m off my DMB kick and I’m excited that tonight my oldest and best friend Kirby is coming down to Clemson for the weekend.  He and I have been friends for 16+ years, we went to Pre-school together and really became friends when we both attended Providence Baptist Church.  Fortunately, after my family switched churches we ended up going to the same high school and maintained a really good friendship.  He, like me graduated Providence High School in 2006 and went on to college.  He attends Catawba College where he plays soccer.  If you haven’t noticed I have a pretty busy week and weekend ahead of me!  I may not get to post on the blog until some time after I get back from Charleston, until then…..

Life- Peaceful time

So since posting my last life-oriented post, I realized something while I was driving to work last Monday listening to my mp3 player. The lyrics to one of the songs I was listening to pretty much said that God is with you through the rough times and the peaceful times and that he is always with you. After getting back into the word, I feel like this time that I’m in is one of those peaceful times. And, that I don’t necessarily need to be focused on what I can be doing for others as much as just getting to know him better personally. I think he’s trying to tell me to strengthen our (God and me) relationship before you go and try and further my kingdom. Since getting back into the Bible I have found myself being lead to read Philippians. I look forward to seeing what I will get out of it and what it will teach me.

On a less-spiritual note; today is June 17^th and that means that Coldplay’s new studio album has been released. I am planning of going to pick my copy of it up sometime after work today. I have heard that it is radically different than the stuff they have put out before. Some people have been critical of this change but, as someone who is a Dave Matthews Band fan, I am the first one to say that radical change is not always bad. It allows growth to take place and I assume that this is the best way not to become board or stagnant with your passion; which, is my guess for why the bands felt they needed a change.

Life- as it is now: Disappointed

As I was sitting in my apartment last night I couldn’t help but to be a little mad and disappointed in how little I accomplished (outside of work) in recent weeks.  Generally, I get off about 4:30 and am back at my apartment by 5.  Then I go to the gym, take a shower and eat dinner.  By the time all that is done with it’s usually around 8pm.  From then on I have the rest of the night to accomplish or do anything I wish.  As of late I haven’t really been putting forth an effort to help further God’s kingdom, instead I’ve played video games, watched fuzzy television (no cable), listened to a lot of music and been lazy.  I would really like to put that time towards something that can be seen as productive and glorifying to His name.  One way I think that might be a step in the right direction is getting back into the word.  Ever since I stopped getting in the word at bedtime, I’ve lacked motivation.  In fact, I’ve missed it! Getting back into God’s word is something I hope by this time next week is no longer an issue.

Ever since I left Charlotte for college freshman year, I’ve felt like I haven’t had the type of fellowship I had when I was in high school.  Sure I regularly attend Downtown Christian Fellowship (DCF) and I’ve been apart of FCA small group for two years but, there just doesn’t seem like there has been that connection with a group like there was when I was in high school.  This is not really something I think I can change over the course of this week but it’s definatly something I’ve been thinking a lot about.

On a more positive note I am planning on going down to Atlanta on Sunday to watch the Braves take on the Phillies!  It should be a lot of fun!!

In the Beginning….

So this is my first attempt at blogging.  And this probably won’t be the first post you read.  From what I’ve read about blogs, it takes a little time for people to get accustomed to adding bloggers to the already long lists of people and activities they follow.  Never-the-less I‘m going to make this post count for something!!  First off I’d like to say that I hope to start out making two posts a week.  One related to my life and the other relating to the way photography is involved in my life.  The idea of me starting blog seems quite foreign for several reasons.  One being I hate to write and two being I’m not one who generally opens up his thoughts to others.  Both of these things are areas of my life which I feel I need to improve upon.  As I’ve been taught in many of my engineering classes, an engineer must be able to convey his thoughts and ideas in a way that is understandable and can be easily interpreted.  One way to improve on that would be to write.  Secondly, I feel that I sometimes lack emotion.  And I could not think of a better way to further my emotional capabilities than through expressing how I feel in a forum setting.  I got the idea to start a blog while reading a photographic composition book on my lunch-break.  I figured that a blog would be the best way for anyone who wanted to keep up with my happenings to do so.  So without further a-do, my life and photography in the blog-o-sphere!!