Missions Work in South Africa

•July 11, 2010 • Leave a Comment

This Photo Was Taken By: Steve Evans aka babasteve

hi Everyone! Yes it has been a long time. I seem to be starting off my blogs like this a lot now! lol Anyways I just wanted to update you on a close friend of mine. My good friend Elizabeth is actually in South Africa right now doing missions work. When she told me about this several months ago I was extremely excited for her. My friend Elizabeth is actually feeling lead possibly to this part of the world for long term missions. She is currently working with children and working around homes with maintenance. I am not sure what the name of the organization is that she went through, but I do know they are based out of Texas. But the details are not really necessary, I was just letting you all know in order for you all to pray for her! South Africa I think is a little crazy right now especially because of the World Cup. So lets all pray for her safety, that she can hear God’s voice clearly, and that she works in His footsteps. Also we were talking about what was the one thing that had her nervous the most about the trip. Her response was that she would be out of unfamiliar territory and the fact that she was going to be so far away from home. So in addition to praying for the things listed above, lets also pray that God will comfort Lizzie and that she will feel as if she is right at home. 🙂

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Film?! Do They Still Even Make Film?

•July 4, 2010 • 1 Comment


Originally uploaded by brandonnc

I have been recently interested in film! And YES! I do have a digital camera, but the concept of film is pretty interesting to me. I hope that this may be an interesting new hobby for me. Sometime in the future I would even hope to learn how to develop the film. Anyways so I managed to find a really nice lady on Craigslist that sold me three lens and an old Pentax K1000 along with another Pentax camera (that does not interest me :P). One positive thing about getting into film now is that I managed to buy these for $40. Now the only problem is that I heard some people telling me that Kodak is going to start fading production of film in the near future. Hopefully this will be a long lasting hobby and not just a temporary one! But once I get the film developed I will try and post them! Anyways let me know what you all think about my new found hobby! FILM! lol

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Shattered Pots

•June 21, 2010 • Leave a Comment

Your Word says, “We are the clay and You are the Potter”. You shaped us perfectly with Your Soverign hands. Yet the moment we were placed in this realm, the world begins to chip at us. During our youth, the process is slow, but as the seasons progress, the world begins to penetrate our once wonderfully crafted clay-based shells. Given our broken, sometimes shattered state, You continue to use us with Your love. How can we compare Your love to anything finite? Once anything finite is broken, we begin to toss it aside, yet Father, You use us even if we cannot hold water. You bless us with Your Spirit and the holes and cracks are steadily repaired. Praise You Father for Your consistant love.

Please God, continue to heal my cracks and pieces. I am weak, but You are strong. Help me to remember that all things are possible through You who strengthens me. That I am free in Your name and my old life is exactly that. My old life.

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What Happened To The Preacher?

•May 28, 2010 • Leave a Comment

I actually read this either yesterday or the day before. My Google Reader feed has been getting pretty jammed packed lately… But anyways I thought this was an interesting story, especially since it has to do with what I believe to be a God-ordained calling on a serious couples life, marriage. Anyways the story article shows a couple that is being married by a robot!  So as I was reading USA Today I noticed that this of course happened in Japan! The world’s mecca for robotics lol.

Now I understand that the Japanese population has been slowly declining in the last decade and that the Japanese are hoping that robots will be a temporary answer to helping the aging population, well at least thats the reason major newspapers are saying anyways. But I just think it is because they think robots are cool! lol jk jk

Anyways back on the serious note. Being a Christian, I think of marriage is a sacred act that God has blessed us with. Now I am just throwing out ideas, so I would love to hear your feedback. But does it not seem as though marriage is becoming something other than what God intended it? The title of this blog entry is “What Happened To The Preacher?”, now does this act show that marriage is changing to a brand new thing? I mean why cannot we have the preacher wed people, does it make the marriage less because an inanimate object is marrying the couple?

Quoting from Mark 10:6-9 NIV 6“But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’[a] 7‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife,[b] 8and the two will become one flesh.’[c] So they are no longer two, but one. 9Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”.

Now I think this is just to show the little amount of Christian influence in Japan. Japan with current statistics show that 2% of the Japanese population are Christian.

Anyways I am linking the article at the end of this entry. I hope it stired some things up in you to think about. Thanks for reading

http://www.usatoday.com/news/offbeat/2010-05-16-robot-wedding-japan_N.htm?csp=34news&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+usatoday-NewsTopStories+(News+-+Top+Stories)

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My Pet Goldfish!

•May 23, 2010 • Leave a Comment

Hi everyone! I would like to share with you all a short little funny movie about my goldfish. 🙂 I have had them for about two months now and I love them. 😛 Haha So the black Morehead is named Hiei, which is Japanese for Flying Shadow. Now the calico Ryukin is Dan Tat, which is Cantonese for Egg Tart! 😛 They are doing really well and I have been feeding them goldfish flakes and veggies! Goldfish are mostly herbivores, so choosing live plants was somewhat difficult. I had to choose from a mixture of some that my goldfish could eat and a lot of them that they do not eat. I read somewhere that goldfish actually get really big, 6-7 inches long. Too be honest I really want to buy one more, either a Ranchu or a Lionhead. So I have been hunting around my town for one of these two fish. But I have not seen any Ranchu but I have seen a couple of Lionheads. It would seem that Lionheads and Ranchus are difficult to find in Fayetteville. Anyways enjoy the short little video! 😛

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What Kind of Logic is H-Logic?

•May 5, 2010 • Leave a Comment

Provided by http://wiki.d-addicts.com

I don’t remember talking about H-Logic in Philosophy class?! lol Naww H-Logic is the new album by Korea’s most beautiful singer, Lee Hyori (이효리). I have been anticipating this CD since October of 2009 and she just released it this month (04/13/10). This is the first CD she has released since her last CD entitled It’s Hyorish that came out around 2008. Before I go into a lot of detrails here I first would like to say that I am glad Hyori decided to keep this album pretty clean. With her last album I felt as though she was trying to sell herself in order to push record sells. Even though she is a gorgeous young woman, she has a lot more going for her than just her looks. So I am very happy she is beginning to forcus more on her music instead of other things. She first got my attention from a song she released on her third album called Hey Mr. Big. Now I do not want to hear any smack because even though the title of the song is lame, it is a very catchy song.

Well the question you all are probably wondering, should I purchase this CD? Well I am very skeptical about purchasing CDs, because I often only like a couple of the tracks. But this CD is actually well done and I am glad that she took longer to release H-Logic because she really has done a great job. The album is pretty similar to her last album, but I think this album should be considered more of a techno/pop/dance flavor, instead of just pop. Actually there are several of her tracks that include rap lyrics, which is kind of a nice change.

Just a few last comments I would like to make: first is about the crazy clown and secondly it is about the record company she switched to. I am so puzzled at this clown that seems to be following Hyori everywhere now! There has to be some kind of symbolism here, but I cannot figure it out. If anyone has any ideas please leave a comment! 😛 This clown is actually a little creepy and for some reason I feel as though Lee Hyori is trying to copy Lady Gaga with some of these new music videos. I CANNOT STAND LADY GAGA! lol

The last comment I have is about the new record company. Mnet Media I think was a good move for her. The CD was nicely developed and the packaging (album art) is very impressive. This company seems to have done a much better job than her last record company. Well guys, I am off to the salt mines! Until next time…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Hyori

http://www.yesasia.com/us/lee-hyo-ri-vol-4-h-logic/1022456727-0-0-0-en/info.html

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India Festival 2010

•April 17, 2010 • Leave a Comment

Today (April 17) was the 6th annual India Festival here in Fayetteville, North Carolina. I have been wanting to attend this event for the last three years and today I barely was able to get there today. I do not want to go into details why I have not been able to go to this event for the last three years, but I did have an excellent time today. This festival took place at the Crown Coliseum and had Indians from all over North Carolina traveling here to participate. Every since I watched “Bend It Like Beckham” when I was younger I have been interested in the (Indian) Hindi culture. Plus another factor of it being the third most spoken language in the world also has some appealing characteristics for learning more about it.

Well at the India Festival 2010 there was a lot of performances. I have long been a fan of the Bollywood pop music and the way the women sing is somewhat alluring. There were several women dancing today that in particular caught my attention. One of the girls is actually in the picture above. But here clothing was extremely interesting and she was a beautiful young lady. Her style of dance was really impressive as well. I have seen Hindi Pop dances, but this was a traditional dance. I am not sure what part of India she was representing but I am guessing the western side?

Another thing that has always attracted me to the Hindi culture is the style of dress. The picture above is some traditional dresses that were being sold at the festival. Both the men and women have very interesting style in dress. In fact I am going to try and order a Hindi men’s shirt. I wonder if my sister remembered the website that these vendors had!

Finally the last thing that attracts me to the Hindi culture is of course the language, history and religion. As most cultures the first thing that attracts me is the language. My college FSU is actually allowing students to learn Hindi via Rosetta Stone in the language lab. I have only played around with the software and all I remember is Namaste! 😛 The second aspect that interests me is the history. I think it is amazing is India is the largest Republic in the world. Plus with India being a former British colony I think that is pretty fascinating as well. Finally the last thing that I am interested in the Indian culture is it’s religion. I am a Christian but I still find other religions interesting because religion plays a major part in my life.

Well guys I really had a great time today. I will definitely go back next year and I may even take up learning some more Hindi. But now that I went to the festival I am craving some more Indian food! lol So please leave some comments and I hope you enjoy the pictures!

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Awakening

•March 27, 2010 • 1 Comment



Spring’s First Flowers

Originally uploaded by brandonnc

Every year we see the wonders of God’s creation. We witness some of the most fascinating and miraculous events visible by the human eye. We see the old begins to fade away (fall) and several months later when spring arrives, we see the old becomes new. These flowers that were once becoming of age are now reborn as beautiful new creations. As I walk around my university’s campus I am amazed to see the gorgeous flowers blooming and smelling their fragrance in the air. There is nothing that man can create with our finite hands that can ever equal the beauty we find in nature. No matter what achievements we eventually obtain, they all fall short compared to the wonders of nature. The clay will never surpass the maker and we can only exemplify the glory of our Creator.

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Junior Entrance Exam?!

•March 26, 2010 • 1 Comment

Hi everyone! Well tomorrow I guess I will be taking a Junior Entrance exam. I really do not understand the rational behind this exam. It is a test that covers English, writing, and math. This to me sounds just like the SAT that we had to take in order for a college to even look at our application form. But now that I am in college and I am making a GPA of 3.5+ why am I required to take this ridiculous test? Should not the grades I am making be enough proof that I am doing well in school? I was told that if I mess up on this test then I cannot enter my 3rd year in college.

Now the other thing I do not understand is I am an Education major. Which means that this summer I am required to take the Praxis exam. This test must be taken in order for my department to accept me. So if I already have to take this Praxis exam which gets me into my major, then why do we have to take this Rising Junior Exam?

Maybe someone here can tell me the answer to this. lol

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My Grandma, Effie Powers *RIP*

•March 17, 2010 • 2 Comments



Effie Powers *RIP*

Originally uploaded by brandonnc

My grandma, Effie Powers was one of the most influential people in my life. She was there for my family and I even more than our father was. While my sister and I were little she would pick us up from school. Sometimes we would even go to Wendy’s or Wiener Works to get an afternoon snack after school.

Some of my most memorable moments with my grandma was when she would take me to church with her on Sundays. My mom has been working hard to help support us, so she often would not be able to take us. I can remember driving to church with her in her big blue car and once we got to church we would enjoy the service. Almost always about half way through I can remember falling asleep and I would rest my head on her lap. My grandmother meant a lot to me. God has blessed her with a great life. She definitely was a woman of God and I am very proud of her. She has definitely help drawn myself closer to God and I am very thankful for all she has done.

These last few months have been particularly hard. In fact I was a little angry about the current state my grandmother had fallen into. “How could such things happen to a mighty woman of God”. I asked God this question and as I was leaving her room one day, He told me the answer. This is part of the consequences that our ancestors Adam and Eve brought upon us by breaking the covenant with God. We all live in a sinful world that is being Redeemed by God but until He comes back we still have to deal with the consequences of living in a sinful world.

But it still amazed me at how she continued to love God even through the hard times. Even though she lost the ability to speak in her last months with us she would still light up when we read God’s Word to her. Sometimes when we prayed for her, her eyes would get a little teared up.

But my grandma was an amazing person and I think we all should look at her as a model to living a Christian life.

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