| Current mood: |  bored |
| Current music: | stupid people cursing around me at their online golf games |
I'm at the school library. w00t.
So I haven't written in over a week, partly because I've been so busy, and partly because I was at Impact. Impact was so fun. But first, minor things I remember from last week:
I met Adam, a friend of Brian's and DJ's. I thought he hated me, but he's actually pretty nice. Yeah, he's a cool kid. Or, as Claire would say, he's chill.
Okay, to be honest, I remember nothing about last week except that. Kind of sad, isn't it? My memory, especially my short term memory, has become so poor in the past few weeks. Ah, well.
Well, at least now that means I can write about Impact... if I still remember anything about Impact.
Friday morning, around 7 am, after taking a shower, Mom handed me the phone. It was Parisa, and she told me school was closed because of a water main break. w00t!! So not only was I going on the retreat, I had NO MAKEUP WORK!! Ohhh yeeeeahhh!!
I grabbed my bag and then we drove to Central, where we saw some of my Storm friends and the bus, waiting to drive to Ocean City.
On the bus ride, I sat in the back with the motley crew of Melle, Ben (Guiles), John Russell, Katie (Vaselkiv), Steve (Bilezikian), and Andrew (Slavik). John, Ben, and Steve played their guitars, and John and Ben played some Brand New (w00t!!) to annoy Melle. Heheh. Man, we were evil. >XD
When we stopped for lunch, John, Steve, and Ben brought their guitars into the fast food restaurant (I think it was a McDonald's) and played them for money (Melle needs money for the Romanian missions trip and her parents are making her raise it by herself, so give her money). I'm not sure if they ever received any money, but they got a lot of funny looks from old ladies.
At Ocean City, we stayed at the Carousel hotel. I was in a condo suite with Ms. Patti ("Mom"), Dani, Melle, Katie, Sarah (Wolf[e?]), Rebecca, and Becky.
After unpacking our stuff and claiming our rooms and beds (I claimed the couch), we went to the Food Lion to buy breakfasty foodstuffs. I bought some amusing things (along with the required breakfasty shiznit), including Tab soda (I hate soda but I was amused that I was able to find 80s soda in the store), a Weekly World News tabloid, a MAD magazine (a XL version), and six fruity chapsticks. There was this one guy who looked like a motorcycle biker from the 80s, and he practically freaked out with joy when he heard me yelling, "TAAAAB!!" Heheh, good times in the Food Lion.
I mooned someone from the ninth floor of our hotel, and John Russell pissed off of the twenty-second floor balcony (where his penthouse was).
Then we went back to the hotel (it was across the street), and watched TV before going to Pizza Hut for dinner.
At the Pizza Hut, I sat at a table with Vickie, Duncan, Theresa, Alan, Kristin, Lori, Ben, Kim, and Amy. We played Telephone and Word Association games.
After dinner, we went to the convention center (finally!!). I sung some karaoke, once by myself to Rebecca St. James' "Reborn", and once with Becky to "Awesome God". Then we (all of Storm) went to the main hall. There was worship with Lincoln Brewster and his little band, then Curt Cloninger (whom I had seen at Alive three years ago) talked and so did this guy named Preston. It was all right, but not as good as Saturday and Sunday.
After we got back, Becky and I had a deep talk and brought out some skeletons from our closets. Of course we stopped when Rebecca came out of the bathroom and into the room she shared with Becky. Rebecca's nice... but I wouldn't trust her with too many of my secrets.
We watched a bit of MTV, and when Britney Spears' "Toxic" video played, Dani said the funniest thing. When Britney gestures to her boobs by cupping them, Dani said, "She's tuning her breasts!!" Ahahahahhaaha!!!!
I laughed so hard and so many times that weekend, but I laughed the hardest right then. I almost died from laughing.
On Saturday, we went back to the convention center. First, we attended two "workshops", or classes. I decided to go to the "No Sex in the City" one taught by Jeff Dean, then to "Girls Only", taught by some lady named Anita. They were all right (and "No Sex in the City" was funny), but not as good as the one I went to Sunday.
We went to the main hall for a bit, and I saw Chris from my lunch shift. I was surprised, but happy, because he's a cool kid (that's becoming one of my new phrases).
After leaving the convention center, we had free time in the afternoon. Most of us went to the Boardwalk for the first half of our free afternoon. I played DDR (DDR Extreme) most of the time. Ben, John, and Steve brought their guitars with them, hoping to get some money.
At 2 pm, we went back to the hotel. Rebecca, Becky, and I ice skated on the rink there, then Becky and I went swimming for a while.
The afternoon went by very quickly, and soon it was time for dinner.
We ate at La Hacienda for dinner. I learned what a toothpick was. >XD I sat with Theresa, Dani, Amy, Ms. Patti, Sarah, and maybe some other girl, but I can't remember.
They were handing out toothpicks for cleaning teeth, and I stupidly opened my mouth.
"Hey, they hand them out at the Szechuan House, this Chinese restaurant I eat at a lot, and people use them for cleaning their teeth too!!"
Everyone stared at me.
"Well, they're used for testing if a cake is ready or not, but why are people picking at their teeth with them?"
More silence.
"Tooth... pick... Oh!!"
Duh.
"Toothpick!!"
My table laughed at me. #>.<# Well, it's my fault for not thinking about what I say.
After dinner, we went back to the convention center. I did a karaoke song with Becky, "We Want To See Jesus Lifted High", before going to the main hall.
In the main hall, this woman named Heather Mercer talked to us. I can't remember much about it, unfortunately. We worshipped with Lincoln Brewster, then Tait performed. It was pretty awesome, and Ben and I skanked a lot. This one cool guy with a black mohawk named Matt talked to us and skanked with us, and we did a bit of "brush the dirt off your shoulder" dancing. Haha, we are so white.
Then we went back to the hotel late, and I fell asleep on the couch while everyone else watched "Trading Spaces" next to me.
Sunday morning, we woke up early and packed our bags. Then we drove the bus to the convention center for the last time that weekend.
We went to one more workshop. That one was my favorite. It was "Culture Shock", taught by Loyal Thurman. He was this punk rock guy from our area in Baltimore, and he talked about a lot of good stuff and brought up lots of interesting points and ideas, and even told us about his punk rock church. After his workshop was over, Ben, John, Steve, Becky, and I talked to him and got his business card. He's really nice, and we're (or at least, I am) definitely visiting his church.
Then we went to the main hall (for the last time). They had this extreme sports video, Livin' It playing on the big screen, and I bought it in the lobby (it comes out later this year, but they had exclusive copies for sale in the lobby).
Jeff Dean and Curt Cloninger talked to us again. Curt told us a story about how we are mutts and God is our loving owner and how we should be drooling for God. Or something like that. It was cool, and deep. I thought about everything, especially the things of recent with Charlie and the like, and I felt really bad. I apologized to God (thank goodness He forgives) and... well, I just felt really touched. Other high schoolers also shared their experiences here, and that was really cool. Then we worshipped with Lincoln (he was hot, haha) and his guitar again before boarding the bus.
On the bus, I sat in the back with the usual gang of idiots (MAD magazine reference, haha), and we had some interesting conversations, some funny, some deep. We stopped for fast food on the way home. In the KFC (where I only ordered a biscuit, no meat for me!!), some girls and a guy who went to Impact pointed out my "Stein Auf" shirt and we had a good talk about Alive, Impact, and Lost and Found. The guy originally thought I was a guy at first. That was pretty funny, and I laughed at him. Heheheh.
Soon, we had to get back on the bus, so we ate most of our lunches there. Good fun on that bus, and good times. So much craziness. Ben and Melle were the "pity partners" (haha) and Ben talked about his "boob" (his practically nonexistent one). Good times.
When we drove by the Commons and were almost at church, I looked out the window and saw Zack sitting on one of the stair railings. He's also one of the many cool kids out there.
When we got back to the church, Mom surprised me by bringing Missy with her. That was nice. I was fairly tired, and didn't do any homework that night.
I'm still wearing my bright neon green hospital bracelet from Impact, the one I had to wear to be allowed in the main hall. I'm going to wear it for as long as possible.
I'll write about the rest of my week (Monday through now-ish) later, but I'm going to stop now. After all, I'm on one of the school library computers, and I feel like wasting time playing games or something now.
Man, I'm a lazy bum. But a mostly happy lazy bum at that.
I don't really know why I'm happy, because I haven't felt this good since going out with DJ, but I'm feeling fairly content now.
Thank you God.
(Post a new comment)
 |
(Anonymous)
2004-04-03 21:33
(link) |
gods not real
religions retarded
its just something people made up so they have something to belive in but its all fake
its all false hope
jesus couldnt have been THAT wonderful if they killed him.
its stupid
gods not fucking real .. hes not the reason things happen theres no person or thing "up there" looking down on us
theres no heaven or hell
its all bull shit people make up
how can you belive in something when there is absolutly no proof.
its incredibly stupid and i cant understand why some people are so obsessed with it when its all fake.
god bless you
maria.(Reply to this) (Thread) |
| 
 angstypenguin
2004-04-03 21:47
(link) |
Actually, there's a book written by a former atheist addressing all of what you wrote. He was an atheist and he considered himself too intelligent to believe in any gods, and was certain that everything happened for scientific reasons. Then he decided to do research on Christianity and get evidence to prove that it was fake... during the process, he gave his life to Christ.
I haven't read the book yet but my friend Jessie (a.k.a. "Grizzy", "the Grizz", etc.) has read it (she has her own copy) and suggested it to me. I'm definitely going to read it soon. Also, she suggested it to a few non-Christian friends of mine.
It's called The Case for Christ: A Journalist's Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus (Student Edition) and it's by Lee Strobel.
Here's the book description crap from amazon.com:
"Editorial Reviews
From the Back Cover
There's little question that he actually lived. But miracles? Rising from the dead? Some of the stories you hear about him sound like just that--stories. A reasonable person would never believe them, let alone the claim that he's the only way to God!
But a reasonable person would also make sure that he or she understood the facts before jumping to conclusions. That's why Lee Strobel--an award-winning legal journalist with a knack for asking tough questions--decided to investigate Jesus for himself. An atheist, Strobel felt certain his findings would bring Christianity's claims about Jesus tumbling down like a house of cards.
He was in for the surprise of his life. Join him as he retraces his journey from skepticism to faith. You'll consult expert testimony as you sift through the truths that history, science, psychiatry, literature, and religion reveal. Like Strobel, you'll be amazed at the evidence--how much there is, how strong it is, and what it says.
The facts are in. What will your verdict be in The Case for Christ?
About the Author
Lee Strobel, a former atheist, holds a Master of Studies in Law degree from Yale Law School and was an award-winning legal editor of the Chicago Tribune. Currently he is a teaching pastor at Saddleback Valley Community Church in Orange County, CA, where he and his wife live, and a board member of the Willow Creek Association. He is the author of numerous books, including the Gold Medallion winners The Case for Christ and The Case for Faith.;Jane Vogel is a writer who has been involved in youth... read more
Book Description
A new presentation of the material in Lee Strobel's best-selling The Case for Christ, specifically for teens and older."
You probably don't care, but I just thought you might be interested, perhaps.
<3
~Beth(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread) |
|
(Anonymous)
2004-04-04 00:14
(link) | |
its one thing to think those things, its another to blurt them out on a friends journal, insulting everything she believes in and the core of her faith, if u dont understand, read the book, just dont criticize her for her belief in God, its not like u go up and tell a friends u hate her new haircut, do u? and this is much more personal...right on Beth, rightly named "Jesus Freak" even though freak has a weird-ish bad connotation and Chrisitianty is the most popular religion and definately not a bad thing.... (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread) |
(Post a new comment)
|
