Holy Rowing!!!

This past weekend, I went rafting on the Ganges River up north in the foothills of the Himalayas. For Hindus, the Mother Ganga is a holy river. They believe a lot of things about it, but one thing is that it will wash away your sins. When the guide made a joke about getting our sins washing away, no one laughed. It was hilarious b/c we were all believers. The water was the coldest water I've ever been in. It was like 100 degrees outside, but the water felt like ice. Also, a lot of my pictures look hazy because there were small wildfires on some of the mountains. I don't have any pictures of the fires, but it was odd to see fire on the side of a mountain.

Views from the bus:

Parents, meet your future son-in-law. One look at those arms and I couldn't resist.

This is taken from our campsite. You can see cows walking across the bridge.


A couple of our tents.

This is just a pic. of some of my friends




You can check my facebook page for more pics.

Hey Jealousy!!!

How do you overcome jealousy? It's all over the Bible, but I don't think I've ever heard a sermon on it. It's ranked up there in the major "Do Nots." Galatians 5:19-21 says, "The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexually immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

That's refreshing, one of the sins I'm struggling with is listed along w/ orgies and witchcraft. Great!!! If you read that verse in context it's talking about living life by the Spirit. As in, if you're living by the Spirit these acts shouldn't be present.

I've read that jealousy is the fruit of a deeper problem. For me, I feel like jealousy is the driving force behind other problems. I think my jealousy is a result of me comparing myself to others. I could write down your name and beside it put several reasons why I'm jealous of you. I wish I were joking. The wise Jen, once said, "Facebook for girls is equivalent to porn for guys." I think its true. I know I easily can get caught up on it by looking at other people's pictures and comparing myself to them. People post pictures of their new homes, children, husbands, vacations, etc. and it does make me happy for them, but I walk away comparing myself. I wonder why I don't look like them or why do I have the things they do.

So what is the Biblical solution? Get rid of my Facebook account? Honestly I just used it as an example. My facebook account really isn't the problem. I just don't know what is.

I started writing this and half way through I decided I wasn't going to post it. I thought I would copy and paste it in an email and send it to one or two friends. However, I cannot figure out how to copy it and I'm way too lazy to retype all of this in an email. So, everyone is getting it.

Anyone is welcome to email me his or her suggestions or verses that have helped them in the past. Also, listening to the Gin Blossom's "Hey Jealousy" song doesn't help. I really don't understand its point.

Cheers to Jen!!!!

Jen's graduating in a few weeks!!!!

I just want to give her a little shout out to remind her how awesome she is and how much she means to me, so I wrote her a poem:

It must have been cold there in my shadow, to never have sunlight on your face.

You were content to let me shine, that's your way, you always walked a step behind. So I was the one with all the glory, while you were the one with all the strength. A beautiful face without a name -- for so long, a beautiful smile to hide the pain.

Did you ever know that you're my hero, and ev'rything I would like to be? I can fly higher than an eagle, 'cause you are the wind beneath my wings. It might have appeared to go unnoticed, but I've got it all here in my heart.I want you to know I know the truth, of course I know it,I would be nothing with out you.

Did you ever know that you're my hero, and ev'rything I would like to be? I can fly higher than an eagle, 'cause you are the wind beneath my wings. Fly, fly, fly away, you let me fly so high.

Oh, fly, fly, so high against the sky, so high I almost touch the sky. Thank you, thank you, thank God for you, the wind beneath my wings.

Man...I'm cracking myself up. Seriously Jen, you're great and Winthrop and FCA have definitely changed for the better b/c of you. You deserve way more than a sappy Bette Midler song.

Abby's B-Day

Don't you love the cake I made for Abby's B-day???....Just Kidding. I actually didn't get her a cake. I'm pretty much the worst friend ever. However, I did download, 50 Cent's "In the Club" and played it over and over to her while I danced. You know it's the little things that matter.

P.S. Did you know iTunes has increased the cost of some of their songs to $1.29? What's going on? I don't like it.

Bad Grammar

If I'm paranoid about anything on this blog, it's my incorrect grammar. In the previous sentence, I probably just put the comma in the wrong place and maybe in this one too. Anyways, I just looked over some of my previous posts and noticed many grammatical errors. I get comma happy and also I misuse "Abby and I" and "Abby and me" quite often, but then I think about where I grew up. We seriously have a festival called, the "Puddin Swamp Festival." Nope, I didn't forget a "g" on the end of "puddin." I guess there are bigger things to worry about than proper grammar and spelling.

Thanks for the pic. Whito. I'm glad to see you guys are using my ride for some good instead of just letting it sit under the carport.

The Biggest Change

The biggest change so far has been the food that I eat. For lunch I just ate stuffed jalapenos. I would have never eaten them back home. I never liked any type of onions or peppers. Now I eat them all the time. Tomorrow, I'm planning to make a tomato and onion pie. What is happening? I'm eating what old people eat. I eat broccoli now too. The pic. is of some beans I cooked one day. We have to soak all of our fruits and veggies in the purple stuff before we can eat them.

6 Months

I've been here for 6 months; I cannot believe it. I received a new shipment from home the other day. The pic. is above...I was cheesing!!!! Mainly because I had so many boxes I had to get an auto home b/c I couldn't carry all of them. I'm spoiled rotten. I don't know why I haven't come overseas before for my b-day...I got the hook-up. I have a feeling this won't happen next year.

I've been busy this week, but it's been great. Yesterday went well. They called Abby, "Abu" and I could not stop laughing b/c it reminded me of the monkey on Aladdin. They never could get my name right either, so they would call me Alicia....I didn't like that.

Oh yeah, the mini-iguana things are out in full force again. The papa is in my bathroom. People keep on saying they are good b/c they kill the mosquitoes, but I still wake up w/ new bites. Thanks for the people who have sent anti-itch creme. Next time send lizard traps. Just kidding!!!

Anyways, I hope everyone is having a great week.