"The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple."  Psalm 119:130

Keep Hoping, Saint Francis by Kristene Mueller

There is a love hidden inside your borders 
Just waiting to be free, just waiting to be free 
There is a hope hidden inside your borders 
Just waiting to be realized, just waiting to be realized

So keep hoping Saint Francis 
You'll be a free man yet 
You'll see the sun shine again over your city streets 
Keep hoping Saint Francis 
You'll be a free man yet 
Though darkness covers your sleeping love, it won't last

Those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength 
Those who wait upon the Lord will not be put to shame

So we wait 
So we wait for the Son to shine 
So we wait 
So we wait for You to come

dying star...

I say: God, I wanna part of your army.

I wanna fight for you, God!

God says:

You've got your best man on the front side
You always show your best side
And evil's always on the other side
You say this is your strategy
But son, I hope you take it from me
You look just like your enemy
You're full of pride

We better trash our idols if we want to be
In the army of the Lord
And the greatest idol is you and me,
We better get on the threshing floor
When will we learn that God's strategy
Is giving glory to the Lord?
We better trash our idols if we want to be
In the army of the Lord

Star how beautiful you shine
You shine more beautiful than mine
You shine from sea to shining sea 
World-wide is your strategy
But shinning star I hope you see
If the whole wide world is staring straight at you
They can't see me... 

what happened in 2009??

• Finished EMT training in Pennsylvania.  Passed the National EMT test...
• Drove down to Texas.  Made a bunch of new friends.  Learned a lot about living in Texas and Waco.
• Started graduate school for engineering at Baylor.  Did a lot of research on coconuts.  Somehow got a 4.0 through two semesters of school.  Made a lot of new friends.  Learned about life at Baylor.
• Spent a lot of time with homeless people in Waco - the Feast and just hanging out with people.
• Toured Texas. got to see lots of Texas.  Took 3 tours of Texas with my sisters and my mom.  spent time in Galveston, Enchanted Rock, South Padre, Austin, San Antonio, and Dallas/Ft Worth.  
• Bought a kayak this summer.  Spent a lot of time paddling across lakes and rivers in texas, especially at night, which is really peaceful.  have some amazing memories from that.
• Spent a lot of time at the youth prison near Waco, talking to the kids about Jesus.  heard some crazy stories from the kids and some Jesus powerfully transform some kids.  wow
• went to Uganda for three weeks.  Some Jesus heal and blind guy and a deaf guy.  learned how to dance in worship. saw real, genuine joy there.  unforgettable.
• got to see London along the way.  place is quirky but spiritually scary.  people are so hard.
• went to Sudan.  loved every second of it.  would move over there.... saw experienced workers and learned of their struggles...  could relate to the Muslims there just as well as anywhere else...what a fantastic trip
• went to Georgia and jumped out of an airplane for my friend's bachelor party.  12000 ft.  falling into this sea of white clouds.  oh. my. goodness.  every human being should get to experience that once per lifetime, and never again.  
• bagged two deer in my backyard for Christmas. got about 100lbs of meat.  awesome...!
• pursued a girl for a few months... and it didn't work out.  but it was worth it... no regrets.
• got back into climbing.  got pretty good again... was somehow able to flash a 5.11 right before i went home... bunches of fun... here we go spending a bunch of money on gear again.
• moved into a really nice house with my roommates. near the lake, really peaceful, new house, nice deck, praise God for cleanness..
• had an unforgettable series of encounters with God in May....  spend hours in the prayer room crying.  encountered the raw love of God for me in a crazy way.
• played the piano for my friend Charles' wedding.  unforgettable wedding..  the worship and the vows.