my week

Monday night I grabbed a midnight dinner with Emily, Mandy, and Susie at “The Anchor Grill” in Covington. Much laughs were shared; it was a wonderful escape. On Tuesday I had an emergency doctor’s appointment in my hometown, then I took a nap with Doogie for a few hours before coming back to campus just in time to go to Trista’s birthday party at Arnie’s Bar & Grill in Newport. I went to Isaac’s apartment Wednesday night, and we drank German coffee and played a German board-game. Very good times. I spent much of today in the coffee shop, just hanging out with people, and it was good. Katie and I went to Michael’s, and they had several cheap and anatomically-correct dinosaur figurines. On Friday Sarah and I went and saw "3:10 to Yuma," and Dad and I saw "The Kingdom" on Saturday. I taught class today at Southwest; I'll put up the lesson tomorrow.

Speaking of dinosaurs, I’ve been really getting back into them lately. I don’t know why I stopped in the first place. I guess I thought that if I were going to go into the ministry I would have to squelch my dinosaur passion. But it’s always been there, always whispering to me in my quietest moments. I dream about them often, and as I drive down the road, I look out the window and imagine herds of dinosaurs grazing alongside the road. When I am sad, I go to my “happy place” (a term Jessie coined): in my happy place, I am in a meadow and riding on the back of a Triceratops. My room right now is flowered with dinosaur figurines (good ones, too, museum-quality), dinosaur books, and I have some dinosaur posters waiting for me at home. I have been piecing together a paper entitled The Periods of the Mesozoic, as well as a research paper on marine reptiles of the Mesozoic, and just finished a small paper on theoretical hunting methods of the theropods. Studying these beautiful, majestic creatures is mesmerizing, breathtaking, and brings me peace. Definitely something to hold onto.

Trista and I had a conversation on Wednesday, I think. She told me, “You want God to make you happy, but you’re expecting the happiness just to plop into your lap. You expect to wake up one morning and be radiant and all-smiles. But that not how God does things. I think God gives you opportunities to be happy, and you have to decide to grasp the opportunities and make the most of them.” I think she’s right. She adds, “How do you think God feels when you’re just lying in your bed moping and groaning for Him to make you happy? He’s probably frustrated because He’s giving you all these opportunities, but you’re disregarding them.” I’ve been seizing the opportunities lately, and I’ve been making the most out of them. Life is getting better.