Hey there Internet user...

I don't know where you've come from to get to this point, I don't know if I know you or not, but I want you to know what has been given to me.

I have some great friends. To say great friends is actually kind of an understatement. I have had the best friends that a person could ask for. People who would keep me on a path of goodness, people who always challenge me to succeed and to see what truly takes place in my life. I don't know who else to thank but God. No matter what position I am in, these people minister to me with their lives and with what is most important to people in our culture.

Not to be vague, but I am most thankful for those who have really ministered to me with their life stories, their theology, and their philosophy. Even if none of the people who have given to me read this post, hopefully they will know that I keep them in my deepest prayers. All those who have ministered to me give me the greatest hope. They keep me on the path to knowing that there is a higher power than me, and that this power is all encompassing love. Even though we may need faith and hope in this mortal life, the love that others has shown me has led me to this point.

I want to express my sincerest gratitude to all those who have kept me in their hopes and prayers. Although I am a sinner, I am graced to have such powerful intercession. I know that I don't deserve the caliber of friends that God has given to me.

I love all of you so much and would give what little I have learned in this life back to you as best as I can. I pray that my life from here foreword will glorify the God that has given me these people to strengthen me and assuage my doubts. I will be always in debt because of the great things He has done in my life.

Thank you to the Sorrowful Mother's ministry who took me in like family without even a moment's hesitation. I don't deserve the graces that visiting your beautiful home has bestowed on me. I feel that the deep conviction that I felt on your blessed grounds resonates deep within me. I don't know if I can ever repay your kindness. The little time I spent with you strengthened me deeply.

To my parents: you are awesome! From your everyday encouragement, I realize what it truly is to love. You have selflessly promoted me throughout your lives. You not only fulfill my daily needs, but encourage me to be a better person. You always challenge me to live the life I should be living, and I love you so much!

To Mel: You have been with me through thick and thin. Even when I am a terrible brother, or when I forget who I am, I can always remember who I want to be when I am with you. You have been a great sister, and I pray that our relationship will only strengthen through the coming years. I guess sometimes I takes a great distance to know how much of a great thing you are missing. I miss you smile and enthusiasm for sharing your love of God in all aspects of life. Your tenacity of doing God's will when it is hard is such a beacon of hope to me. You are very selfless and I know that you are doing God's will with your children in PSR, your workers at Target, and with everyone you meet. People don't easily forget you because everyone who truly knows you knows how much you love your faith. Thank you! I don't know how much you have shaped my life and personal faith experience, but I can safely say that without you my life would be pretty darn boring!

To the friends at home: You encourage me with your acts of faith. Some have been with me through some very tough times. I have always been able to count on you to pull me through and tell me that everything will be all right. God has blessed me in his infinite wisdom to place reminders of who I am and what I want to be throughout my life. Without you I would still be very lost. Thank you.

This whole thing might seem rather abrupt, but it is only in certain times that I relize how blessed I am. I will pray for all of you thoughout my semester and I hope that you will keep me in your prayers too. May God always show His plans through the little things in life!

The Home Times

So I successfully made it home to St. Louis. This last semester was pretty amazing, and I really had a blast with all of my friends, but there's always something nice about coming home. I called up Bob's and they told me to come on in, so I started working on Friday. It looks more and more like I'm not gonna get another job this summer, but I'm gonna keep applying to other places.

I still haven't been feeling that great. I had some Flu or something two Fridays ago and my body hasn't been the same since. I hope that I make it through work today, I'm not looking forward to having to deal with all the old people today, but hey, it's a Monday, so it should at least be slow.

Peace

So things at school have been good- getting good grades and balancing my social life and friends. My household is moving to a new dorm next semester, St. Louis hall. We're all pretty excited, the new dorm is much nicer as far as living conditions go (air conditioning!!!) and we all want a change of scene at this point.

I'm kinda hungry right now- we had early Mass this morning because my household has a Ultimate Frisbee game tonight. It was really rough waking up early on the only day that I usually get to sleep in on.

There's a woot-off going on at woot.com , which is always really exciting. Still nothing that I would want yet, but there's always hope!

I'm off to play some music, peace up!~

The Updates

So I added a little bar in the right upper corner where I can post what I'm doing without formally posting a blog entry. Sometimes its just quicker to fire off a short message, and I can include links, files, and pictures in it too, which is pretty cool.


I'm back at Franciscan now, but I'm doing Computer Science instead of Theology. It's quite a change for me, but I know it's for the best. It has been a little overwhelming going back to math after the past couple of years.

More to come on the morrow, or really later today, whichever you prefer.