His Power is Made Perfect in My Weakness

Saturday, May 2, 2009

A Weekend With Family

Last weekend I traveled down to the Charlotte area with my sisters to visit our family. It was nice to be able to have my sisters join me. It was the first time they had been down there in two years! My Aunt and Uncle live in Waxhaw, a town south of Charlotte. My cousin Christy lives close by with her husband Scott and their three kids, Eli, Lilly, and Zach. My cousin Jen came down to visit with her husband Shawn and their three children, Caleb, Josh, and Lauren. It was a great opportunity to have so many family members together. I wish the rest of the family could have joined us. God blessed us with beautiful weather throughout the weekend and we took full advantage! My uncle coaches the Charlotte Eagles soccer team and we went to go see their first game on Saturday. My buddy Justin came to the game as well. It was great to catch up with him and discuss his wedding plans for September. Everyone is getting married!

After the game we all had pizza together at Christy's house and played some soccer. I then had the chance to catch up with my friend Amanda while my sisters took the time to catch up with Christy about wedding plans. On Sunday we went to my cousin's church, The Gathering. Pastor Derwin brought a great message from James 1. Afterward we had lunch and on our way back to Radford we were able to stop by to see the Appleton's. Mark and Leah Appleton were the associate directors at the Virginia Tech BCM for three years and were a big influence on me. It is always great to see them.Their daughter Abigail is getting so big and is talking up a storm! I had a wonderful weekend and cannot wait to get back down there to see everyone again!

Caleb and Josh

Me and my sisters

My friend Justin

Aunt Diane and Zach

Rebecca and Rachel pushing Lilly and Lauren

Lauren having fun on the swing

Eli being silly

Eli, Josh, and Caleb

Me and Lilly

Rachel and Lilly

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

A weekend with the T and David "Freebird" Freeman!

This past weekend I had the pleasure of traveling up to DC with David to see my college roommate of four years, Tim Lester, or more affectionately known as "T." He really showed us a good time around the area. It was really nice to get away from school for a little bit and appreciate true friendship in Christ! The weather was beautiful the entire weekend and we took full advantage.

When David and I arrived on Friday night, we immediately headed out to downtown Arlington to a restaurant called Uncle Julio's. The food and atmosphere were great, as we caught up on old times and enjoyed some chicken enchiladas. On Saturday, we traveled up to Baltimore for most of the day. We ate lunch at a nice restaurant in Little Italy and then headed over to Johns Hopkins for a lacrosse game. I had never been to JHU before and I must say it was a beautiful campus. After the game we walked around for a bit and even got to walk through the US Lacrosse Hall of Fame! The campus was bustling because it was homecoming weekend and there was some live music playing on the main quad. After that we headed back over to the Inner Harbor and walked around, enjoying the beautiful evening. The day was topped off with dinner at Witlow's in Arlington and enjoyed some more live music.

On Sunday, we went to the early service at Tim's church. It was youth Sunday and the youth pastor gave a good message on the Resurrection from 1 Corinthians 15. During the offering, a young girl sang a beautiful song. She had one of the nicest voices I have heard in a long time! After church we headed to Tim's for a quick lunch and then took the Metro over to Nationals Stadium for the baseball game. Tickets were only $5! Our seats were way up in the upper deck. The view was fine, but it was really windy! We were also blessed to be sitting next to a group of girls who were interns at a local non-profit organization. They were all recent graduates and were almost done with their intern program. After talking with them for a bit, we found out they were strong Christians! One of them, Emily, may even try out Tim's church sometime. It is neat how you can start with small talk and end up making friends in just a matter of hours, especially when you are among believers. The Nationals ended up blowing a lead in the ninth, but we still had a great time.

I am so blessed to have such great friends like Tim and David. We had such a wonderful weekend together. Of course when I got back in to Blacksburg, reality hit, and I had to work on my presentation for my foundations class. Six hours later and I was in bed at 5am! Things worked out in the end as the presentation went well and I was able to catch up on sleep afterward. One other note from this morning: I had an interview with William Fleming High School and I think it went really well! I have a good feeling about this job and will continue to seek God to see if that is where he wants me. I appreciate your prayers!! The rest of the week should not be too bad and then it will be time to hit the road again this weekend. My twin sisters and I are heading down to Charlotte to see our family. It should be a fun weekend! We can't wait to see you all!

Johns Hopkins destroyed Navy

This was David's first lacrosse game!

The T and Freebird Freeman!

This is a scupture in the US Lacrosse Hall of Fame
portraying Gary Gait's famous goal from 1988.

The Inner Harbor in Baltimore

My first visit to Nationals Park

Best buds at a baseball game

With our two new friends, Kristina and Emily!

Thursday, April 16, 2009

April 16th

Today marks the two year anniversary of the deadly shooting at Virginia Tech which cost 32 students and professors their lives. I will never forget that day; where I was and who I was with. I will never forget Dr. Librescu and his kind personality. I had known him for only a few months, but it felt like longer. I will never forget the smile that was always on Brian Bluhm's face. He truly exemplified the love of Christ to all he met! Though I will never forget the pain that we all felt that day, I will always remember that through it all, God was there. Our campus will certainly never be the same after the events of the 16th. Thankfully, when people think of that dreadful day, the pain will only be a small part of what they remember. They will remember the 32 stories of the beautiful lives that the victims lived. They will remember the way that the Virginia Tech community chose to come together instead of crumble. They will remember the way the students responded bravely in the face of media scrutiny. Over the last six years I have grown to love this place called Virginia Tech and pray that God will continue to work in amazing ways on this campus. Never take for granted the gift of life. God has blessed us with so much and we need to be thankful to Him for what He has done. Jesus came down to die so that we may live. Life is so short, so let's live for Him! I am praying for all of you on this day, Hokie or not. For today, we are all Hokies.

We miss you Brian!

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

God continues to show up!

No specific events or pictures to share today, just a bunch of random tidbits from the past week. Over the weekend I was able to head up to Lynchburg and see my sister and Craig. We were also able to hang out with our friend Christie from home who was in Lynchburg for a ballet performance. It is really exciting to me to be able to spend time with the future Mr. and Mrs. Cooper! Rachel and Craig are growing so much as a couple and also in their relationship with Christ. I am so happy that both of my sisters how found great men of God to spend the rest of their lives with.

Saturday was a day of sports. I went to the basketball game, lacrosse game, and baseball game at Tech. The weather was really nice and made for an enjoyable time with friends. I also enjoyed all the great NCAA tournament games that were on throughout the weekend. On Sunday I led the songs at church and it went better than it had the previous two times. I am starting to get a hang of conducting. Overall a very nice weekend!

This week has been good so far. It is definitely getting harder and harder to continue the same routine as the semester goes on. On most days, I am inside, either working or at class, from 11-9. This is getting more difficult as the weather gets nicer! Sometimes I feel like I am trapped in prison, but am always encouraged by God. He gives me the peace and joy that allows me to be content, even during the most mundane activities. God has also continued to give me great opportunities to share His love with others. One of my supervisors at work started a conversation with me yesterday that she is going to start reading a book that was given to her by her church when she graduated high school. I am not sure exactly what the book is about, but I believe it is about following Christ. I hope to use this opportunity to ask her soon how she is liking the book and what she is learning. Another neat thing happened last night. A girl who graduated high school with me commented on my Facebook status last night. I would say that we were just acquaintances in school and I hadn't spoken to her in years. My status had some lyrics from a Hillsong United song and she commented that my updates were always an encouragement to her. I then come to find out that she is a believer! It is cool to know that God is using even a simple thing like a Facebook status to encourage others. I hope to ask this girl more about her salvation story sometime.

These are just a few things that God is doing in my life right now. I have never seen so many people around me begin to seek out the Lord. It is especially neat that many of them are from back in NY, where the Christian atmosphere is almost nonexistent. I just need to keep praying that the seeds that I have planted will be grown by God.

Tonight I start a new Bible study at the BCM. Leadership changes at BCM after spring break each year. I am really excited to see how God works through these new leaders. I am also pumped for a new episode of LOST tonight! Have a great day everyone!

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Spring Break

I had a fantastic spring break in Florida! When I first left, I wasn't sure how much I would enjoy taking a road trip on my own. I started to wonder if I should have gone on one of the BCM missions trips or gone home. I am so thankful I didn't! I was able to have a great time with Grandma in Florida while visiting a bunch of friends and family on my way there and way back. The weather was beautiful and the week was relaxing.

My first stop was in Charlotte where I was able to go to church with my family and enjoy a tasty lunch at Red Robin. I then traveled to Charleston, SC to visit my friend Brian. He is on a ten month stint with a theater company there. I had never been to Charleston before and the little that I saw of it was gorgeous. I then drove to Sun City Center, FL and had a wonderful three days with Grandma. She was a great host, making me some great meals and allowing me to have the freedom to do what I wanted. We watched some basketball together and also went to the beach. I had not seen her since January of 2008! Thanks Grandma for having me!

On Friday I went to the Mets spring training game in Lakeland, FL. Before the game I went over to the campus of Florida Southern College because I heard it was a sight to see. The campus was amazing and is filled with Frank Lloyd Wright architecture. After the Mets game I headed up to Atlanta, hoping to see my beloved Hokies play in the ACC tournament semi-finals. Unfortunately, the Tar Heels pulled off a close one against us again. I still went to Atlanta and caught up with my friend David who worked with me at Camp Ridgecrest. I stayed at his place on Friday night and then headed back to Blacksburg on Saturday.

It was really nice to be able to enjoy some warm weather for once on spring break after heading north for the last few years. It was just the right amount of time to relax before heading back to my crazy college student schedule. Now I am back and ready to finish off the semester strong!

One last thing before I go. My last post talked about the greatest basketball game I have ever seen. Well tonight was the best game I have ever seen in person. I went to the Virginia Tech/Duquesne game at Cassell Coliseum and watched as the Hokies triumphed in double overtime to advance to the second round of the NIT. Five Tech players scored 15 points or more and Duquesne's best player, Aaron Jackson, scored 46!!! Incredible game and another great moment in my six years as a Hokie fan.

Have a great rest of the week everyone and Go Highlanders! Can they shock the world and knock off UNC? Probably not, but I will keep my fingers crossed.