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Thursday, February 23, 2012

UT vs. Mississippi---TNJN

http://tnjn.com/2012/feb/22/vols-overcome-slow-start-handl/
http://tnjn.com/2012/feb/22/vols-vs-rebels-in-game-blog/

Hello! Check out my articles on the men's basketball win against Mississippi Wednesday night. It's also on Facebook for your viewing pleasure.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Something to think about....

http://vimeo.com/31795904

A sobering, convicting video for the men (and women) out there. The Hess community group watched this today and it is a great (relatively speaking) video to ponder over.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Para-para-paradise (Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh)

"A vacation is having nothing to do and all day to do it in."--Robert Orben

Whoever came up with the idea of having breaks in one's daily routine is a genius. The art of doing nothing relevant to what a person was previously doing takes poise, control and relaxation. A lot of relaxation. Waking up for class at eight in the morning and then the next day waking up at noon or later takes some kind of skill and is also possibly one of the greatest feelings for a student.

The calmness and peacefulness brought by the awareness of needing to do very, very little is reminiscent of sitting on a cruise ship in the Caribbean, relaxing in the warm 85 degree weather of December. No issues, no worries, no problems, just a tropical strawberry drink in one hand and a camera in the other, snapping pictures of the Jamaican mountains rocket up from the beaches below.

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Destinations in the Caribbean have such a unique culture to them, especially when disembarking off of a massive vessel anchored in a port that's the size of two mansions. Instantly, one sees the natives trying to make a living in an economy that pales in comparison to the bigger economic powers like the USA, China or Western European nations. Colors flood the place and the true tourist does everything possible to not get stopped by an old man selling jewelry or a t-shirt with a price reserved for more brand-name apparel.

Once one gets away from the port, the real destination comes alive and the identity of the place shows itself. There is still, however, the fact that one is travelling with a pack of other tourists that may or may not have as much of a clue as the next person in many terms. After silently complaining, the seemingly major problems in life go away.

Mayan ruins that sit on a cliff peering onto a public beach on the Caribbean sea. A Caymanian 'castle' nestled in the middle of the non-touristy residential areas near the construction site of a university that will enhance the island's education. The exuberantly-colored shacks on the side of the road in Jamaica, where orange fills the air after a political victory the day before. The passion and life in the Caribbean encourages the traveler that has the opportunity to get away and take a step out of the everyday life. Places that many dream about are realities that fulfill every sense of the body.

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Once upon a time, there was an evil dragon...

"Fairy tales do not tell children that dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children that dragons can be killed." --G.K. Chesterton

There are a lot of things that I could say on a blog like this. There are things I want to say, but can't. There are things that probably should be said, but would be demeaning. There are such a shopping list of things I want to say out of sheer frustration, but my conscious always seems to catch me at the last moment and pulls me from creating more dragons and instead creates more happy times and "happily ever afters." It's not too bad to have Him as a narrator.

It's just really frustrating to keep it in. I could tell someone, but who is really to trust? William Shakespeare once said:

"Love all. Trust a few. Do wrong to none."

And while I can't say I or anyone else has really followed Shakespeare's advice fully, something gnaws at me. Why must humanity be like this? I have watched way too much Criminal Minds for my own good. I love that show, but, in a fictional sense, it depicts how much potential evil there is in our world. For as much good as there is, there is always some form of evil to counteract it. A place like college is infested with both. We as people are both. The things that people do to each other are awful and we are all guilty of it.

This is not meant to be a sermon, a preaching, a deep word that the whole world should hear. I am in no position to speak about this. I can't preach about this and this is simple truth that everyone knows, but few want to admit it as true.

I had a dream a couple night ago about middle school. It's kinda funny when I think about because middle school was home to so many (and some of the most awkward and painful) memories. It's weird that I would even think about this. One would think that I'd want to try to suppress this as much as I could, but I have failed to do such a task for five or six years now. As awkward as I felt, I can't help but think about all the memories that I had there and how all these moments (the good and the bad) have help transform an awkward, gullible seventh grader into the person I am now.

Evil is all over the place. Middle school, high school, college. It's a battle to stay composed through all of it and control is constantly lost and the evil wins. The dragons are always there. Dragons are everywhere, like it or not, and they take the shape of friends, co-workers and others.

"Nothing is easier than to denounce the evil doer; Nothing more difficult than understanding (the evil doer)."
---Fyodor Dostoevsky

The holidays could not have come at a better time...

Monday, November 7, 2011

But You Loved Me Anyways.....

No one ever said life in college was easy. No one said it would be glamorous or a breeze. College is tough. Sure, the homework is challenging, but throw on any jobs, family life, financial trials, relationships and/or spiritual warfare and it makes college some of the best, yet most trying times of life.

Friendships in college are some of the tightest bonds that a person will ever have in their lifetime, outside of marriage. These are people that you live with, eat with, do everything with and tell your whole life (and the problems that go with it) to. These friends are some of the best friends one will ever have, which makes conflicts within them more challenging and more painful.

Stress and pain are unfortunately commonalities that we as humans feel. As humans, we are not capable of having perfectly glorious and healthy relationships. Grief and suffering are common emotions every now and again and tears and anger are likely results of these. You can never understand why we must go through these, but God does.

Christians are sinners, pure and simple. No matter how perfect we attempt to be, there is always failure. We always fall short, no ifs or buts about it. (Romans 3:23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.) It is impossible for us to be perfect. We will sin and others will sin on us. Yes, it stinks. Yes, no one likes it. Yes, you can't complain about it. We each have a nice plank in our possession (see Matthew).

Someone like myself or Casey Anthony or Conrad Murray are all seen the same by God. We all have been convicted of sin. What we must remember, however, are the feelings of love, compassion and forgiveness that MUST be present. If we wrong someone and they graciously forgive us, it makes sense to forgive them with the same compassion, no? Or, think about it this way: Christians sinned and turned their backs to God so many times, yet He always forgave them and loved them just as He had before. If we don't love and forgive each other for the sin we have placed on someone, then we are straight-up denying Luke 17:3-4 (So watch yourselves! “If another believer sins, rebuke that person; then if there is repentance, forgive. Even if that person wrongs you seven times a day and each time turns again and asks forgiveness, you must forgive.”)

Saying this, I know and completely understand how hard it is to quickly bounce back. I'm not saying to automatically forgive. The phrase 'forgive and forget' is a kind of contradiction. It's very hard to forgive something so dreadful and hurtful. However, when we forgive our friends for our misdoings, we glorify God that much more.

And that's the ultimate goal, no?

Monday, October 24, 2011

Robby's Rant: Sin

Oh Devil, why do you tempt me so? Why do you put these sinful, paranoid thoughts into my mind? Why must you put me through this mental agony and strain over the most stupid of reasons? You know that this is one of the big issues I struggle with on a daily basis, so how dare you use this issue against me. It's such a low blow, you conniving pest. Your powers are making me so paranoid that it frustrates me to be around the friends I love the most, to be around anything that annoys me in the least bit and almost anything period. You rat, you fiend, you devil. How could you? Why are you doing this to me?????

Be as it may, I am okay. Devil, you can never defeat me and I will come up on top. I will survive this moment of struggle because I have Strength. Because I have Power. Because I have Will and Grace and Mercy. This battle going inside of me will not last forever, not if He has something to say about, Devil. I know I have a higher power watching over me, guiding me and helping me get through this. Nothing that you can do or say or tempt me with can stop me, hold me down, or get me more mad than I already am at you.

"And when the waves are taking you under, hold on just a little bit longer. He knows that this is going to make you stronger, stronger. The pain ain't gonna last forever and things are gonna get better. Believe me, this is gonna make you stronger. 'Cause if He started this work in your life, He'll be faithful to complete it if only you believe it. He knows how much it hurt and I'm sure He's gonna help you get through this."

How dare you try to ruin something that has been made great for me, you fiend? How dare you?