Smeagol is Free!
A hermitudinal view of...stuff...


6.30.2008  

Gah

This whole moving thing...hmmm...

posted by Bolo | 9:14 PM
0 speakage


6.29.2008  

Reticular Rewind

Random stuff from the past month or so...ish.







posted by Bolo | 11:22 PM
0 speakage


6.28.2008  

Moving Moving Moving

*Whew*...almost done.

posted by Bolo | 8:22 PM
2 speakage


6.27.2008  

Observatory

The level of irritation an alarm clock's sound causes is directly proportional to its effectiveness.

posted by Bolo | 8:33 AM
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Linkage

It's LUFA, not loofah, and you can find us here and here.

Do you mean to tell me that it's not normal to dream about the Ethiopians?

Mikams said I was rockin' it harder than he ever could. That's high praise, coming from such a hard-rockin' stud. In any event, he gets mad props for hooking me up with the goods.

posted by Bolo | 1:58 AM
2 speakage


6.26.2008  

Undeserving

If I know one thing in this life of mine, it's that I do not, in any way, shape, or form, deserve the friends the LORD has blessed me with. That's not to say I'm giving them up...or, I dare say, that they're giving me up, either.

posted by Bolo | 5:38 PM
0 speakage


6.25.2008  

Thoughts

Two-plus hours of ultimate in roughly ninety degree weather equals one stinky John Letoto. Moving is a pain in the rear, especially when moving involves my wardrobe. Of the four different green coffees I just got in this week, this blurb from the description of one of them gets me the most excited: "What we have is an extraordinary, bright coffee, with soaring floral and citrus high notes. From the dry grounds through the aromatics as the coffee brews, from the tasting to the finish, this coffee has a constantly ascending pitch. There are jasmine and honeysuckle floral aromatics, vivid citrus notes of lime and kumquat in the cup, dashes of cardamom and nutmeg spice, and a remarkable clarity and resolution of these flavors in the aftertaste." The following things have been placed by Mr. Hedrick and Mr. Letoto onto and/or into the other individual's respective cups and mugs this week: soap, chicken nugget sauce, paper, salt, and who knows what else. Since the LUFA Summer League doesn't officially have team colors, we usually go whites vs. darks...which means that when we're dark, I get to go Nature Boy. Moon, I don't like the fact that you're moving five hours away. There, I said it.

posted by Bolo | 9:43 PM
1 speakage


6.24.2008  

Whoa

That was almost...

...a month ago...





posted by Bolo | 11:52 PM
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6.23.2008  

Take a Hike

Maybe I didn't wake up in time for the hike this past Saturday morning, but I was certainly up early enough the week before that. *Yawn*.





posted by Bolo | 11:05 PM
0 speakage


6.22.2008  

Peaked

The view from a peak looks great, but it's very rare that peaks are achieved without first trudging uphill through the drudgery of the valleys.

posted by Bolo | 5:18 PM
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Thoughts: Godward

God seems to take my desires to live a holy life and crush them, over and over and over again, for those desires could never please Him. I think He does this to show me that the only thing that ever could please Him was to take His holy Son and crush Him. He only crushed Him once, but still, I have to be shown this over and over and over again.

posted by Bolo | 12:30 AM
1 speakage


6.21.2008  

MegaDoLishUs: Boring

LUFA's Summer League has been doing its thing with the plastic discs now for about a month. Everyone's favorite team, Team 12 -- known to its members as MegaDoLishUs -- has been rockin' the competition. See us here doing what we do best...beating teams down in a nice, boring fashion:

posted by Bolo | 11:29 PM
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Hammy

This man had just gotten off of his shift at work, fixed a coworker's flat tire, helped an elderly neighbor cross the street, read Hebrews (from his Greek New Testament), snatched a toddler up and out of the way of a semi-truck screaming down I-64, picked up flowers for his wife, and still managed to look this good.

Ok, maybe not all of that.

But he still looked like that, I swear he did.

posted by Bolo | 3:43 PM
0 speakage


6.20.2008  

Thoughts: Godward

The Christian is one whose mouth has been stopped once for all at the cross of Christ, only to be opened again to boast forevermore in the cross of Christ.

posted by Bolo | 7:11 PM
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6.19.2008  

Thoughts: Godward

God is far more passionate about His love for me than I am about my love for Him. Discouraging? It shouldn't be; it's grace.

posted by Bolo | 8:05 PM
0 speakage
 

Morning Mishmash

From a conversation earlier this morning.

Peter: "Do you know when Michael Butterworth is getting back from wherever he is?"
Me: "Two thousand eight."
Peter: "I thought he was getting back this year."

posted by Bolo | 9:56 AM
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6.18.2008  

Bean Stalking

posted by Bolo | 11:05 PM
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6.17.2008  

Green Light

posted by Bolo | 10:30 PM
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6.16.2008  

Stuff About Me

Those things I wear are called three-quarter pants. Supposedly, I make a pretty mean fruit basket. I'm a somewhat obsessive blogger, but I often forget to call my mother. Perfect strangers have been known to give me their food. I sometimes roast coffee just to practice roasting, not necessarily because I need the beans. My palms and the bottoms of my feet get sweaty just thinking about heights. People whose impressions of me are formed strictly by what they've seen me wear need to see my car and/or my room. I sometimes practice speaking elvish in my room. The last time I "had hair" was in the seventh grade. I threaten my nieces and nephews by telling them I'm going to lick their eyeballs. Speaking of the seventh grade, I didn't really like it...so I didn't go. I have a soft spot for ice cream...I call it Mouth. I know, I know, I'm late again. An obsession with my tan is perfectly acceptable, but it's when others become obsessed with it that I become worried. Two years of Japanese in high school, and all I really remember is hearing Uyehara Sensei yelling, "Letoto! You are so rude!" I used to be afraid of going into the water.

posted by Bolo | 11:58 PM
5 speakage
 

Trailing

posted by Bolo | 7:46 PM
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6.15.2008  

Creamy Ice

The description on my Ben & Jerry's container reads as follows:

Banana & Strawberry Ice Creams with Walnuts, Fudge Chunks & a Fudge Swirl

Heck. Yes.

posted by Bolo | 11:52 PM
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6.14.2008  

Da What?

posted by Bolo | 11:22 PM
0 speakage


6.13.2008  

Fronting the River

One more...

posted by Bolo | 5:49 PM
1 speakage


6.12.2008  

@Waterfront

Aaaahhh, the Ohio River! It's quite...wet.

posted by Bolo | 9:38 PM
2 speakage


6.11.2008  

Post-Ultimate

You can't see it from the shot, but I was standing near the Ohio River while the sun was about to go down. Kind of reminds me of days when the Crew would surf until sunset, then, the craving for surf sated, head over to Gina's to satisfy the craving for some grinds.

Good times.

posted by Bolo | 10:43 PM
0 speakage


6.10.2008  

Quotable

"No, that wasn't a great white shark in Jaws, that was an orca!"

-Maple Needler

Seriously...he was serious. Yeah.

posted by Bolo | 2:13 PM
0 speakage


6.09.2008  

More Out & About





posted by Bolo | 10:44 PM
3 speakage


6.08.2008  

What in the World...

Oh goodness. It's past 1:30 in the morning. Gah.

posted by Bolo | 1:43 AM
0 speakage


6.07.2008  

Out & About





posted by Bolo | 6:21 PM
1 speakage


6.06.2008  

Flyin' Nyar Notrelluf

So this really isn't of much interest to any except a growing church congregation in Louisville, but for those of us who've seen him preach, we can all attest to the notion that he makes more movement behind the pulpit than he does while hanging tight to a rope.

posted by Bolo | 11:56 PM
0 speakage
 

Pastoral Pity

Ben just put my head into an armpit lock...a sweaty armpit lock, that is.

Gross!

posted by Bolo | 2:55 PM
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6.05.2008  

Sights



posted by Bolo | 11:57 PM
0 speakage
 

Hunngry Pastor

"Living and active, sharper than any two-edged glass of milk."

-Ben Hedrick, slurping up his morning container of yogurt

posted by Bolo | 8:48 AM
0 speakage


6.04.2008  

God as Father

“That justification-by which we mean God’s forgiveness of the past together with his acceptance for the future-is the primary and fundamental blessing of the gospel is not in question. Justification is the primary blessing, because it meets our primary spiritual need. We all stand by nature under God’s judgment; his law condemns us; guilt gnaws at us, making us restless, miserable and in our lucid moments afraid; we have no peace in ourselves because we have no peace with our Maker. So we need the forgiveness of our sins, and assurance of a restored relationship with God, more than we need anything else in the world; and this the gospel offers before it offers us anything else…But contrast this, now, with adoption. Adoption is a family idea, conceived in terms of love, and viewing God as father. In adoption, God takes us into his family and fellowship-he establishes us as his children and heirs. Closeness, affection and generosity are at the heart of the relationship. To be right with God the judge is a great thing, but to be loved and cared for by God the Father is greater.”
-J.I. Packer

“I once knew a good woman who was the subject of many doubts, and when I got to the bottom of her doubt, it was this: she knew she loved Christ, but she was afraid he did not love her. ‘Oh!’ I said, ‘that is a doubt that will never trouble me; never, by any possibility, because I am sure of this, that the heart is so corrupt, naturally, that love to God never did get there without God putting it there.’ You may rest quite certain, that if you love God, it is a fruit, and not a root. It is the fruit of God’s love to you, and did not get there by any the force of any goodness in you. You may conclude, with absolute certainty, that God loves you if you love God.”
-Charles Spurgeon

Those two quotes were cited by C.J. Mahaney in his last message given at this year's New Attitude conference. The conference had focused on one of the most basic and fundamental needs of the Christian faith, God's Word. Time and time again, we were given reasons and motivations to go to God and read His revelation to us in the bible. In pondering those reasons and motivations, I found something I'm none too proud of: reluctance. Why? A simple thought lurking at the back of my mind was what it came down to. Time and time again, I found myself thinking, “Yes, I know I'm forgiven, but still...”

Sound familiar?

If it doesn't sound familiar to you, it most certainly does to me, and not just because I heard that echoing through my head last week; I still hear it now. It's louder, in fact. The need to hear and know the truth of God's Word becomes greater with every moment, not least because the fight of faith seems to get harder as time goes by, not easier.

The question I have to ask myself is this: Do I seek the LORD at His throne of mercy just because He grants it in Christ, or because He delights to grant it in Christ? I'll be honest, I wrestle with the answer to that, I really do. I know what the right answer is, but giving the right answer doesn't mean I live the right answer, does it?

I will never tire of seeing a grown man, dignified and strong, stoop down and pick up his young child. Dignity and tenderness become the marks of that man in one fell swoop, his very countenance one of love and selfless joy. By the same token, one of the ugliest and most horrific sights is a begrudging father, spiteful and angry, resentment and duty the obvious shackles that bind him to his offspring.

Relating to the LORD as if He is a duty-bound, angry God could not be more grievous to His joyful Spirit. Satan loves to twist the truth of God's fatherhood and make me think God forgives because He has to, not because He loves to and has already forsaken His Son once that He might never forsake all those whom He makes His children through His firstborn Son, Christ. Oh, how I long to be overcome by this truth! Pray with me that I would be, and that you would be, too. But don't just pray; here's a little help.

posted by Bolo | 10:27 PM
3 speakage


6.03.2008  

They're All Irish

Who knew the tape industry was so ethnically inclusive?

posted by Bolo | 10:52 PM
0 speakage
 

Swing Thing

I'm blatantly using David's photograph since it's yours truly in the photograph. I dig it.

posted by Bolo | 11:15 AM
3 speakage


6.02.2008  

Word

John 17:25, 26
"O righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent me; and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them."

A month ago, I wrote a short post about those same two verses. I have them here once again because I, just like many believers throughout history and across the world, find the love of God the Father so incredibly hard to grasp, still harder to be gripped by. I, just like you probably do, often need constant and desperate reminders that God the Father will never turn away from His beloved children, those whom He has adopted and made heirs together with Christ, precisely because He has already turned away from Christ when Christ became sin on our behalf.

posted by Bolo | 7:02 PM
0 speakage
 

IBC Men's Retreat, Day 2







































posted by Bolo | 7:50 AM
2 speakage
 

Feeling Truth

Allow me to be honest: my life, circumstantially, is easy. My iPod sits on my desk, awaiting the latest update of sermons I'll be able to listen to at work while I check inventory and setup shipments. Just a few feet away, a Sumatra origin coffee bean whirs and cracks and roasts, becoming what I'm almost certain will be a complex and compelling roast, complete with hints of lemon, maple syrup, brown sugar, and maybe cloves. Even as I type this, I'm uploading pictures from the IBC Men's Retreat that took place at Red River Gorge, a well-known locale spoken of with fondness and yearning by outdoor junkies throughout the state and beyond.

Unfortunately, life's truest joys and deepest sorrows aren't about mere circumstances.

Ryan once said in a sermon that the sun can be shining, the birds can be singing, and all around us is glorious and delightful, but if Jesus isn't beautiful in our eyes, then nothing is beautiful, nothing is enjoyable.

My, how my soul feels the truth of that.

I think the root of the issue is both how I view God and how He views me. In a sense, I think of God as righteous and holy; that, I have no problem believing. The problem is that I still want to earn His affection. I know this to be true because I judge whether or not I'm having a good day by how I'm doing, not by what Christ has already done.

My, how my soul needs to feel the truth of that. Praise the LORD that life's truest joys and sorrows aren't about mere circumstances.

posted by Bolo | 1:06 AM
2 speakage


6.01.2008  

IBC Men's Retreat, Day 1

About forty of us headed out to poop and snoop around in the Red River Gorge. Of note are the facts that Szrama did get hurt, but not while attempting anything manly, and Ricky didn't get lost on the trail after dark, even though it was a loop trail.

















posted by Bolo | 11:04 PM
0 speakage
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