Am I Still Alive?!?!

Well it seems I have neglected this blog..tisk tisk. But it's been a crazy summer. I was doing summer school, working, shooting camp stuff, shooting other stuff, living here and in Elaine's basement, on and on and on. But it's coming to an end. Fall semster is about to start, I will be at IvyTech again, Elaine in evansville, we are taking ben to Harding next week. Still Crazy.

But in the morning I am going down to Evansville. I will get to be with Elaine, and will get to meet the people she has been living with. Well, I've met them, but only got about as far as names. But also I am going to go look at an apartment, and then start the job search.

I plan on moving to Evansville after the fall semester. I will have one semester and one summer left at IvyTech, and then I will be done. Then at the end of next summer, I will be having quite an event going on....a WEDDING! We already have a photographer, officiant, location, Elaine's dress, and rings. We're doing pretty good!

But the point of this post is that I'm finnally getting kinda worried. I need to get a decent paying job that will allow me to still be in school. And the job market is bad. And I have to get that job while still living 2 hours away. So I'm worried. It would be easier to not go to school next spring and jsut get a job, but it would be really hard to go back right away after we get married, and I dont want to quit with a freaking semester left.

So really, if anyone looks at this anymore since I negleced it for so long... please pray for me. Pray that I will get a job that I can stand, and will allow me to afford living while going to school. I know God will provide, I just don;t yet know how it's going to work.


I wish I could just live here....

I've Been Very Busy

Once again, it's been a while since I've posted anything. And once again I have better things to be doing than blogging, but what can you do? So here I am blogging. But I've been ridiculously busy here lately. Between work, and church, and school, and photo stuff....I don't know what to do with myself. But I have had a lot of photo stuff lately, so I'm gonna post a bunch of pictures!

I did a shoot for my aunt a while back. She just got married about a year or 2 ago, when I first started photography. But her husband's grandkids were in town for like a week, so she wanted me to take some pictures of them with her kids.


This was definetely my favorite shot of the day. This is my cousin Kasey, who I shot using natural light and a diffuser held over her head.

This one was much harder. The two youngest kids were never looking at the camera together in one shot. Plus it was very ugly overhead sun. I ended up compositing two images to get this one...which to me turned out well. But I don't want to do that again...I learned my lesson. Stay Away From The Hard Light of Daytime Overhead Sun!!!

Then I had a senior shoot with Ruth. I'm friends with her older brother and will be taking his wedding portraits in a couple weeks. Would probably be shooting the whole thing if I wasn't in it. But my sister helped out on this shoot, and did a great job. I may be bringing her along more often!

I shot this while standing on a picnic table! Lighting was a Nikon SB-26 triggered with my PovertyWizards and a Lumiquest Softbox 2 used as diffusion. I like it a lot.

This one was difficult. I had to expose for the sky and still light the front of Ruth. I ended up doing a sort of primitive HDR to get the exposure I wanted, but it finally worked.

And last but not least...I shot my first wedding! It was HOT!!! The wedding was an old friend from church at the 4-H camp she goes to in Kentucky. I rented a 70-200 2.8 and had a blast. Went pretty well I would say. The dreaded sun made it difficult, but I would say I survived. Here are a couple of shots from the portraits. I wanted to use the Lumiquest I used in Ruth's shoot, but my good ole PovertyWizards were giving me problems. So diffused sunlight it is!


So there you have it. This is part of what I've been up to lately. You can see the whole set from all of these shoots (well part of the wedding. still working!) on my website, which has been updated! I actuall have stuff on it now! www.davidarthurphotography.com

So now I have to go actually do work. Adios!

Van Down By the River

I saw this little boogger in the road on the way home from work the other day. He was just walkin cross the road as I slammed my brakes, frantically digging for my camera then having to changed lenses as fast as I could. There was just enough light for me to get this shot...

I have lived out in the middle of no where since the 8th grade, when we moved out next to my grandparents. So seeing a deer has kinda not become so exciting. It was fun to see one in the day-time, close to the road, when I had my camera. But anyway, it's gotten to where I almost take for granted living where I do.

In many ways, I am a city boy. I love the big city. I love being there, in the hustle and bustle, watching people, running around like I belong there...I just enjoy it. I would love to live in the city when I get done with school. Not just town, a big city.

I think, though, that I would eventually miss living in the country. Being able to burn a campfire in my backyard without getting the Police and the Fire Department called is pretty nice. And since I'm so used to living out in the boondocks has kind of second nature anymore, and I often miss out on the hustle and bustle out there. Last thursday was one of the days I actually saw it.

After class, I had to run to Bedford to pick up some stuff I left on Wednesday. According to Google Maps following the route I drove... is a total of 63.6 miles and about 2 hours and 11 minutes, almost all in the country. In all that driving time I saw...
Dogs
Cats
big horses
little horses
squirrels
a very large turkey
buzzards
big deer
little deer
little cows
big cows
stampeding cows
sheep with bushy wool and big horns
and some llama/alpaca things.

I guess I am a hick at heart.....thank God I'm a country boy.
(this is a shot I took of Ben a while back. Strobist: vivitar 285hv with a blue gel as bkgd light, nikon sb-24 in a shoot through camera right. forget setttings)

I have found that I enjoy writing blogs in obscure places. Ahhh the glory of a laptop. This time I am sitting at steak and shake. I was going to be here with a friend, but it ended up she had to work and I still; wanted steak and shake. So here I am.

I don't know about you, but it's been kind of cool to experience this week. Only kinda because I had to watch the inauguration on YouTube because I was in class when it was live. But I think it is amazing that there is a black president. We have gone from such a strong prejudice against African Americans that we couldn’t even eat in the same building or drink from the same water fountain...to Barack Hussein Obama being the president of the United States. That in itself is quite a change. It’s something that even the most prominent leaders in the black community didn’t expect to see it. But it happened. By a long shot too! Sorry John McCain, but you got stomped. It was a good effort, but you really did get creamed. It was quite a landslide.

How do I really feel about this? I really have mixed emotions about it. On the one hand above, it is pretty amazing. I think it’s a step forward in America. And Barack Obama is all about change, which is also good for the country. In my opinion, we desperately need someone who can lead confidently, and present information to the citizens with power. Now don’t get me wrong, I am not a George Bush hater. I think he did a lot of things very well (read a lot: not all but a significant amount). But the country was no longer confident or supportive of him. He did get blamed for everything that went wrong in this country for the last 8 years, whether it was his fault or not. A big thing that may have pushed that is that George w. is a terrible public speaker. Probably the worst I have ever seen. Well, expect for that time I saw a kid pee down his leg in front of the school. But still, he's terrible. And I think the fact that Obama is an amazing public speaker is something we need. That will make the country more confident in the president and the status of the country.

On the other hand......I can say that I didn't even vote for Obama. It had nothing to do with his race, but I found that on many issues I disagreed with him. Not that I agreed with john McCain on everything either, but I found myself taking McCain’s side more than Obama’s. I do still hear about a lot of things that Obama wants to do that I do not agree with at all. I won’t get into them here, though. That’s for another time.

But the biggest problem I have with Obama isn’t really about Obama at all. It’s with the supporters and opponents of Obama. Everyone seems to think the guy is either the savior of the country or the downfall. Half of the people I hear say he is going to turn the country and bury it in the ground, taking away all our civil liberties ruining everything we stand for. The other half has the attitude that Barack Obama will fix every problem we have in our country. no more poverty, no more economic fallout, no more terrorism, no more war, no more this no more that, everything will be perfect. I do not in any way think that either one of those things will happen. There is no way he can fix everything in this country, and there is no way he can ruin what we stand for. It’s just not possible. But people still freak out about it.


But there is one thing I do know, we have nothing to worry about. There is still something influencing what goes on in our lives. There is still a way the country can be rid of all our problems. We still have hope...regardless of president Obama. And that hope lies in our lord Jesus Christ. If we can put our trust in him, he can lead us out of this war, this economic disaster, and everything else the devil may throw at us. I still have faith that god is leading our government as much as he is leading me. I am reminded of that every time I hold a piece of American currency in my hand. In god we trust. It is still emblazoned on every dollar bill and every coin we have. If we can just remember that we have someone more powerful than George Bush, more powerful than john McCain, Hillary Clinton, Sarah Palin, Joe Biden, Barack Obama, and every US senator alive. We have god. And I will never trust anyone more. I will never be more confident than I am in god. And as long as we let god lead our lives everyday...nothing can bring us down. So bring it on bad economy, bring it on high gas prices, bring it on racists, and bring it on terrorists! I am not afraid of you or anything else. I have God on my side.

Master Engineer

so it's 6 in the morning and i'm still awake. there are about 7 kids asleep and i just got roped into playing truth or dare. how ridiculous. i am waiting for him to ask a question. he is slow. but otherwise this whole lock-in hasnt gone too bad. only one kid got hurt and they have been on pretty good behavior. although i am hearing yelling. oh well, i hear an adult. and now a vacuum. but on with the point of my blog...

so for elaine's christmas, i took her to get a massage, go out to eat at old spaghetti factory, and to the Bodies Exhibition in Indianapolis. But the Bodies exhibit is really what i want to talk about. It was pretty cool. it's a show about the human body. there were cadavers and body parts and all kinds of things i thought i would be creeped out by. most of the body parts were in glass cases with each part marked. but then the full bodies were just out in the open. you could have touched them (but you werent suppose to!). It was really amazing. organs, bodies parts, legs, arms, muscles, veins. it was crazy. but then we got to an area that had a sign telling you that you didnt have to go, because some people thought it was gross, bad, or just odd.

i didnt know if i wanted to go or not, but elaine looked at me with puppy dog eyes so we went. (shut up guys) but it was the gallery of fetal development. what does that mean? it showed how babies were formed. it was the kind of thing mrs vandeventer would passed out at the sight of. they had an example of about every two weeks. i thought i would have hated it, but it was probably one of the most amazing things there. that little speck, small enough to fit on my fingernail, shaped sorta like a moon. slowly getting bigger, then you see a head, then arms, then fingers. to imagine that i was once one of those things. i was once a speck that could fit on my fingernail. and all i could think of is how god is amazing. to build such a thing that looks like a blob to form a life. to make all the muscles of the body do precise actions to do just what they need to do. to take every human being and build them from a blob to be an individual human being.

God really ia s the master engineer. the master builder. the ultimate artist. he is better than the builders of the tallest structures, the painters of the mot beautiful masterpieces, smarter than the smartest scholars. How is he greater than all of these? Because he created each of them. HE created the builders of the biggest structures, HE creates the the best artists, HE created the smartest. He is the best of the best. And I left that place in awe. Isnt God amazing?



ps: i had to take a break in writing this blog to go watch the VOLUNTARY swirlies in the bathroom!

It's Been A While

It's been a while since I actually wrote a blog, so it's about time I actually got one done. And now I think I'm gonna write 2. It's new years eve and I'm at church for the lock-in. It's only 11:30 and I can already tell I'm in for it. There are the about 40 kids here. From 1st grade to high schoolers and for some reason someone, I won't mention who because I want to strangle them, opened the all-nighter to ALL OF THEM! Who in their right mind would do that?! Well, we got her. So I am currently in the other building with some adults who are still around while she deals with the kids for a while. Don't worry, I'll head over there after I finish this one.

So on with it. It really has been a long time since I've written anything. I think then I hadn't even sold my Jeep yet. Well I did, then I drove Elaine's car for a few weeks. And I was glad to get out of it cause it's tiny. And then I got my new car. It's a 2001 Volkswagen Passat, and I love it. It's got a 1.8 turbo engine, heated seats and mirrors, a 6 disc changer, and it's big enough I can sit in the front and Ben can sit in the back. It's great.


And I got some more equipment for my photography stuff. I've got a wireless flash with an umbrella and I'm about to get get another flash i have wireless. It's cool. With it I can do stuff like this.


and then I'm still just out taking pictures when I can. It's hard since I'm runnin around everywhere. Between work at the gas station, school at Ivy Tech (ugh), church stuff at Southland, and trying to take pictures. But it all gets packed in there. Somehow. I got a facebook page for my photography, and with two days of having it I've already had a couple people show some interest in my taking pictures for them. And I'm still trying to get a website up soon, so we'll see. Heres a shot I took in Salem, Indiana on christmas day.

Lost

It's very difficult to watch someone struggle, knowing you should do something, yet do nothing because you are at a lose as to what to do. So you just sit back and watch......waiting to see how far away rock bottom really is. You try and guess, assuming it's close, but it just doesn't seem to come. It just gets worse. And I still don't know what to do, except regret not doing anything.

I am absolutely and entirely at this point in my life. I am watching someone plummet, and I have no idea how to stop it. Someone I know (no name mentioned because anyone who reads this blog most likely knows this person, too) is headed for rock bottom. She is in college, with a room mate who is a terrible influence, and giving in to pretty much every temptation you stereotypically face in college. Partying, drinking, possibly drugs, possibly sex.... and I don't know what to do. I saw it coming, it began in high school, and I tried to do something this summer....but to no avail. I guess I could have tried harder, but I just don't know what to do.

I have never seen the thrill in alcohol. I do not understand why people feel it is necessarry to drink so much that you lose control of what you are doing, just for kicks. So many things are at risk when you drink. Let's make a list...
1. Accidents while drunk due to bad decisions. These range from...probably shouldnt have stood on that chair, to probably shouldn't have tried to drive home. This is itself can be deadly, both to you and others. And just because you think you are sober enough....probably means that you aren't. I don't care if you think you're a heavyweight. Alcohol effects decision making.
2. Addiction. It's easier than you think to become a drunk. Even easier to look like a drunk to other people. It's not a good look, or a good attitude towards you. All you're good for is alcohol and what you will do when you consume it. That can range so those accidents listed above...to freaking rape. You lose control when you are drunk. You can be taken advantage of when you lose control. It happens.... a lot.
3. IT'S ILLEGAL if you are under 21. and this person is COMPLETELY under 21. jail, permanent record, license taken away. it pretty much sucks.


I don;t know what to do for her. I feel like rock bottom is going to hurt, and I don't want any of those things i talked about to happen, but if it continues I would put money on something happening. injury, alcohol poisoning, drunk driving, rape, arrests.... and i dont know how she can pass classes when she parties as much as i have heard. not to mention dressing up like a whore for halloween. not doing a good job for the whole image here. she looked like she was heading out the the strip club for work. i was disgusted. i hoped she would hit rock bottom sooner, which means heading back up sooner. but no. its bad, really bad. and i have no idea what to do about it. and i know others feel the same way. i get messages from another friend all the time asking about it. im worried sick.

so please guys, anyone who actually reads this. just pray for me. and pray for the others who have to deal with this. pray for the people who are experiencing this. cause it sucks. and i have no idea what to do. and i really dont want to see her hit the bottom.

Foe-toe-graphs

here are more pictures from the senior picture shoot i did a while back. observe, enjoy, comment!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2083004&l=c1dde&id=71006128

-Late-

Yup, that's right. I'm awake. Why you ask? Well Elaine couldn't sleep, so she called. But it's ok, cause I have told her to. Downside is that I lost signal on my phone. She had gotten quiet, and calmed down, so I was thinking she was asleep. So I asked....quietly. Got nothing. Picked the phone up (it was on speaker) and whispered again. Nothing. But this time it was that nothing noise when you don't have signal. So my dilemma is that I think she finally dozed off, but I am not sure. So now I'm blogging...how does that make sense?? Nonetheless, I just prayed for her, and I hope you will, too. Thanks.

But anyway, I'm still working in photography, while doing a million other things. I think people are getting use to me always having my camera. I was taking a few pictures at a family hot dog roast the other day. Came out with one of the campfire I really liked.

Also, I'm starting to work on my website. I hope I can still remember some stuff from that class I took. Will post updates here. Also, I went ahead and made an email address for my photography related stuff. davidarthurphotography@gmail.com I got tired of the horrible format that ivytech had, so make to gmail it is. I really started to like it after Harding switched over. But it's 7 AM, I was going to wake up at 9:30. I should crash now. Adios.

New Stuff

So if you haven't noticed (if anyone actually looks at this) I changed the format and name of my blog. I really like the new name. It came from my psychology class. We were talking about the mechanics of the brain, synapses specifically, when Lee looked at me with big, excited eyes and said, "Oh Synapse!" I thought it was great. Turned out the definition in our notes of synapse was pretty cool. So it got put up as my blog name. Format change was just for the heck of it.

So I've been really bust lately. Probably should find something more productive to do than blog, but I don't feel like it. Ive been working at the store, doing stuff with church, school, and a couple weeks ago I took some senior pictures.
If you are wondering, he was born in Italy when his parents were missionaries. Now his dad preaches at my grandparents church. Came out with several I really like. This is one of them. When his basketball team gets their new jerseys we are gonna do some more. Plus I have a flash now, and will soon be able to get it off the camera (hopefully soon)

But It's been an enjoyable busy. Just a bit crazy. Only thing I'm not likin is the store job. I want to take more pictures, especially of seniors, but I work from 2-10, right when they are out of school. But I'll figure it out.

I also want to do some video again. I miss it, and I was just watching some documentary style stuff. I really like that style video and photography. So i think I might add a project on to add to my insanity. I don't yet know what on, but I'm gonna try and do something that I can add in to me schedule. Like something I already experience. Combine some stuff, I dunno. I just asked Lee if i could borrow his video camera, so I will probably add video and photography together to get it done. I'm excited. Especially since i just decided on this about a minute ago. Better start brainstorming.

Afterthought....I sold my jeep! So if anyone is selling a car (preferably 4-door, low mileage, good gas mileage, and i love 5-speed) let me know!! lol shameless plug.

Saturday In the Park

So I got a new CD this weekend when I was in Evansville with Elaine. I don't remember the last time I bought a CD, but I have been wanting to listen to Chicago for a while now. So when I saw this one, I got it. Find it here.



I have listened to it a million times since I got it. I love it. It's got a lot of fun songs and they have a really cool sound.

When I was a kid dad used to play a lot of these songs in the old red truck. I loved that thing. It was a 1987 Ford Ranger. It was a manual, often times no muffler, and you had to rapidly beat on the horn to get the radio to work. We had to get dad to bang on the horn so we could drive down the road and listen to "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?" (track 2 on the cd)]
So it brings back the memories. We kept that truck for years. I drove it for a little while afer i got my license. Then when the snow came Dad wouldn't let me drive it and over winter something happened and it didnt run so well. I wanted to fix it, but they traded it for some labor on the stupid yellow car. I'm obviously still dissapointed. But in the meantime I'll just enjoy the CD, while driving my jeep, while looking for a new car.

Movies | Humor | Groom

So I have a bunch of randomness today. Tuesday after class I went to walmart with Rachel and Lee. I had no reason to go, just wanted to go. So as we were walking through the clearance isle I see a rack of dvds. And I bought 2 of them. Total price after tax..... $.21!
That's right, a whopping 21 cents! I didn't know I could buy anything at walmart for 21 cents, let alone TWO dvd's. By the way, has anyone ever heard of these?
Moving on to next thing....Ben just told me a funny story. He said he woke up this morning and his arm was laying above his head, similar to how my arm is in the picture below. He doesn't know how long it was up there, but long enough to be totally asleep. So totally asleep that it was absolutely as numb as it could be. So he rolled his head over and saw a blank space where his arm goes, and since he also couldn't feel it thought, "AAAHHH WHERE'S MY ARM!!" He ended up quickly using his other arm to find his numb one and bang it against the wall until it had feeling again. I laughed at him for this, he's ridiculous.
And last but far from least... most of you know I am engaged, which means that one day in the near future I will be a groom. I like the word groom. I don't know why, but it just sounds like a cool word. But now I know when I will be......announcing! The Wedding of David Arthur and Elaine Holsapple is officially set for August 14, 2010. Location: unkown Time: TBA
but still I KNOW WHEN I'M GETTIN MARRIED!!!




yay.

old times

So the other day I wrote about 9/11. Thinking about that got me thinking about me as an 8th grade. I just had to laugh. Whether you think I'm a dork now or not...I KNOW I was in the 8th grade. But when I was in the 8th grade, I never would have thought i would be where I am today. Sitting at home during my third year of college.

But no really, there are plenty of other things I hadn't even thought of in 8th grade that i have been through. At that time, college was just an afterthought. I knew I wanted to go, but where and what for were just things to decide later. Now I've had two years at Harding studying communications and now I'm at Ivy Tech for business to do photography. That's something else I hadn't given so much as a blink, and now I produce better and better images everyday. Girls were a mess in the 8th grade. Now I'm engaged to the girl that my little brother was dating when I was in the 8th grade. Weird. In fact as I typed that, she was on the phone complaining that I mentioned that little fact. (lol ha ha elaine, i still love you). In the 8th grade I was starting to get involved in Youth Group stuff at church, and now I'm about to be in charge of one. High School, graduation, Honduras, driving, relationships, moving to college, moving home, getting engaged, jobs, fun jobs, bad jobs, making money, spending money, countless weeks of camp.... It's been a busy 7 years!

But my point is.....God is amazing. He has blessed me enough to enable me to experience all of that. Nothing would have been possible if God hadn't been behind it. He has given me all the experiences to be the person I am now, and I regret none of it. I've done good things and bad things, but I wouldn't change a thing. And I thank God everyday for all of it. Now as I go on, I just hope that he will continue to bless me in my failing attempt to imitate his Son. Knowing that if I keep that effort as my focus, He will provide for me whatever I need. Thanks, God. Love you.

Remember 9/11

So today is September 11th. Well actually it will be the 12th by the time I get this posted, but whatever. But on the anniversary of the tragedy in NY, everyone always talks about where they were and what they were doing when it happened, so I will start with that.

On 9/11/01 I was in the 8th grade taking those wonderfully standardized tests....the ISTEP. I don't remember whose room I was in, but I know they didn't tell us anything about them. After we got done I went to gym and to lunch hearing nothing out of the ordinary.

Then after lunch it was time for english, a class I never really liked. Mostly because of good ole Mr. Atkinson. Not my favorite teacher, but he had enough good judgement to fill us in on what had been going on. And help to explain the significance of the event. But when I walked in, he didn't say anything. We just sat down and started watching what was on the TV. At first I thought it was something he was going to use for class. I knew that there had been an attack on the World Trade Center in NY a few years ago, but this looked a bit bigger.

Once I realized that this was not new footage, but in fact live, I was a little more concerned. Maybe not quite concerned, but more confused. What exactly had happened, and why? I will never forget seeing someone jumping out a window from the building....falling down past all the floors....then have the camera cut away before they had come to the ground. I think by then the towers had both fallen, but there was still plenty of footage to be shown. It was disturbing, and confusing. What would cause anyone to do this? Who did this? And how in the world?

Alot of those questions have been answered, but still not all of them. And I'm just some dude from Greene County, Indiana. I feel bad for all the people who were closely hit by this tragedy. I cannot relate to how you feel, but I am praying for you, praying that God is there to comfort you. Because I know he will be there when you need him.

Directions

So a few weeks ago I updated my facebook status to something along the lines of, "David is looking for direction for the semester" or something like that. But it was weird. Since I'm not at Harding things are kinda weird. Like, I had a lot going on. I was doing a lot that really seemed to be helping me in my future. Most of it was tv and photo stuff. But now I had not so much stuff. So I felt stuck, and didn't know what to do. So I posted that facebook status and prayed about it. No biggie. But now, like 2 weeks later, I found me some direction. Hand written, on a napkin, in God's chicken scratch.

I was talking to Rachel Fields about Southland, and mentioned working with them. Then I get a phone call from Bud, the minister there, I went to a meeting today, and I am now working with Southland's youth group. The pay is not much, but it's something. It looks like I have some direction now. I'm still working at the circle k (blech) but I got my raise, so working both jobs should even it all out and hopefully I can save some for that big party thing I'm having soon. I think it's called a wedding ( :) ) but I'm excited, they're excited, and God is awesome.

Long story short. I have a Youth Group I am working with. Pray for me?!?!?!

Politics: America's Modern Day Battlefield

So I've written about 3 blogs on politics...but they all get trashed before they get posted. But my friend Rachel Dardner is at the democratic national convention, and i thought that was pretty cool. so here I'm actually going to get a blog posted. Some of the old blogs on politics i wrote were kinda long, but it's already 3 in the morning and I start classes tomorrow. Ridiculous, I know, but I'm blogging anyway. Bed time after.

Overall, I really hate politics. I think the political system today severely hurts our country. Don't get me wrong, I love the fact that we can have politics, and they we elect our officials. I do think it is in our best interest to put the people in power that we want in power. I just think the system of how we do that is flawed. Is my blog going to change that? I'm gonna go with no, but it makes me feel better anyway.

Politics has divided our country. We are currently split into Democrats, Republicans, and a few crazies. We are too often labeling ourselves and each other into political realms. And the grudges held between the parties drives them further apart. And it's all about how MY party is right and the OTHER party is full of idiotic fools. There's no give and all take in the whole system. In a relationship between two people, you have to try and see both sides and reach a compromise to find the best solution for both people. Yet the Democrats don't want to do that, and Republicans don't want to hear of it either. It's my way or the highway, and that has never ended well.

Doesn't it say in our pledge that we are "one nation, under God"? I'm not even going into the "under God" part, because that could be a whole other blog. But that first part says "ONE nation" that a nation divided by political parties. ONE nation. one, singular, individual nation. We all want what is best for the nation, or at least we should. We need to stop being one sided and try to see everyone's point of view. Instead of lumping each other together and holding grudges. If we can just work together as a single nation, we can accomplish so much more. Instead of having 2 energy plans, 2 plans for war, 2 economic plans... why can't Democrats and Republicans alike work as one body, as one nation to try and solve the problems we have. Instead of pushing each other away and causing more problems and more conflicts. We have enough conflicts outside of our country, we don't need to continue with more inside. "One nation, under God. With Liberty and Justice for ALL"


on a side note...my prediction for the next president....Barack Obama. Does that mean I'm voting for him? No. But that doesn't mean I'm voting for McCain. I really have no idea at this point. Not wildly impressed with either one, yet.

the long and winding road

well it seems that i am about to start a new part of life. school. wait, what? ive been in school for years, whats new? one week from tuesday i am starting at a new school. i know, sad day right? im not going back to harding. its gotten real expensive, and i wasnt going to finish in four years. and i want to be done asap. so this fall im going to tiny little ivy tech community college here at home. im living at home again, going to school here. its got its up and downs, but either way, im here.

but anyway, im studying business marketing at ivy tech. its just for an associates degree, finishing in two years, while only a few of my classes actually transfer, but it's still finish in two years. so it works for me. i'm going to study business while i work on photography otherwise, as i want to eventually be a full-time photog. i've got two senior's who want me to take their pictures already. but thats mostly cause im cheap.

but what about the last two years at harding? what about all those classes that i dont need now? well they're done and paid for. well not paid for, but they're done. but i learned alot while i was at harding, and i had a lot of fun. i learned a lot in the classroom, and outside the classroom. and i will miss it. i made a lot of friends, and a lot of people who taught me a lot. students and faculty both. you all are very important to me, and i will miss you. my two years at harding were not and never will be considered a waste. i will miss you guys, all the guys in my hall, all the people over in the reynolds, everybody. but life goes on, and god sends us in directions we never expected, so lets go with it, and accomplish what gods wants us to accomplish.

adios!!

i am off to camp in an hour!! i will be there all week!

with this short blog i ask that everyone who reads it prays for us. pray for our safety, our sanity, and our souls. both the staff and the campers. adios!

david

The Ants

So, I got to spend a few days at camp last week. I usually stay that whole week, but I had that crazy work thing to do. I mean seriously, who does that? But anyway, I went down there with Elaine on thursday, then went back on Friday and stayed until Saturday morning and took Ben home. Camp is a really cool place, and I love it very much. It's a very important place for me. It was at camp where I have made some of my closest friends. I know a ridiculous amount of people through being at camp. But most importantly it's a place where I've always grown in my faith. It's not often you get to spend a whole week where you feel like the only reason you are there is to have fun and worship God. And I get to do that every time I go to Spring Mill Bible Camp. Even just spending a couple days there last week, I got that. I had a blast hanging out with people I only get to see at camp, and we had an awesome devo and singing in the basement on Friday night. I got to see 2 baptisms, I just love it. And of course being there I had a mini-epiphany of my own. (sweet. mini-epiphany. big word. I love using big words)

When I first got to camp on Friday, I went out to the ball field to watch the end of the annual campers vs staff kickball game. I wasn't the only one just watching, so it was fun to catch up with some people in the cheering section. Then someone off to the side, sitting on the ground, blurts out, "Aren't ants amazing. So small, in their own little world?" It was random, but caught my attention.

So I thought about that, and I agree. Ants are amazing. They are so small, yet so strong for their size. And they work together better than humans do. They all have their own jobs, with each one essential for the colony to survive. Living in their own tiny world on the ball field at camp. And just imagine how many other groups of little ants there are. Just at camp alone, I'm sure there are hundreds of groups of ants. All working in their colony to support each other. That truly is amazing.

These ants had just like dumbfounded me, but it was more because I had seen the power of God in that little that colony of ants. God created each one of those ants, and know each one of them. There are more ants probably within a hundred yards of me than I have hairs on my head....and God knows how many to the exact number of EACH OH THOSE THINGS! Both how many ants are around, and how many hairs are on my head.

Now that you have been amazed by ants, imagine all the other things he made. Trees, Mammals, Grass, Rocks, Bugs, Reptiles, the mosquito that just bite me, the air i breath, the water i drink, the clothes on my back, the hairs on my head, the nails on my fingers, my fingers. the computer i an typing on, the light that allows me to see the keys, the keys, the color of the keys the wavelengths that go to my eyes, the retinas in my eyes that recognize the wavelengths, the rods and cones that convert it to an image in my brain...the brain itself. I could go on forever. God created all of that, and how it all works together. And what have we done? What have we created that can even nearly compare? Computers? Cars? The power to harness electricity? Sure those are great, but guess where all that came from? All the tools we needed to do that, the physics that make it all work? I know where it came from...God. And anyone who disagrees with me in the fact that God is Amazing, needs to open their eyes. well, actually no they don't cause he made those eyelids, too.



on a side note - my reflector i got on ebay came in today! sweet!

Biker Granny

hey look everyone, my grandma is the coolest. she lives in the other side of Bloomington than we do, so every Sunday for church my aunt and uncle pick her up. well uncle rick has a Harley, and sometimes he will ride it to church and let one of the kids pick up Memaw. and every time he does that, they will joke about picking Memaw up on the Harley. it usually pretty funny. but a couple weeks ago while we were at the church's yearly picnic at the park it finally happened. my 80 some odd year old grandma got on the back f a Harley and rode around. best part is, she had a blast. lol enjoy



more are here. (hotlinked this time for jeff montgomery, lol)