The Motorcycle

For anyone who hasn't seen it yet, here's my KLR. I've had it for about two months now, and have just over 3300 miles on it. I love it so far... should be a great bike if I can get stationed in Guam

Home again

I just got back from a great Thanksgiving weekend with my family. My friend Curt from school here went up with me, too. We both rode our motorcycles up, which was a nice ride up there on Thursday morning, but pretty cold and a bit wet coming back today. We had fun, though. Thanksgiving dinner was excellent. Much better than last years... galley food at boot camp.

Curt got a few good pictures on his camera of our time up there. Mostly of the fishing we did with Trevor and Travis. I'll post them as soon as he gets back to his room and I can borrow his camera.

Update:

Soon to be house hunting

It's about the time for me to start looking for a place to live during Prototype. I've been tossing around a couple of ideas. Either rent an apartment with a few guys from school, or try to find a family around here who has a spare room and wants a boarder for six months. Anybody know anybody in the North Charleston area that has space for a 21 year old Christian guy to live?

Home for the weekend

I just got back from a wonderful weekend with my family. We had a long weekend from school, so I headed up to Waxhaw Friday morning. It was a nice relaxing weekend, and it was good to see everyone. I took advantage of all Dad's tools and got some work done on my bike, too. I've got 2600 miles on it now, and it was in need of some tune-up stuff. A great weekend... now for another week and a half of school before Thanksgiving and another trip home.



Lord, thank you for my family, for the great home I was raised in. Thank you for my parents who taught me about You, who read Your word to me, and who are always an encougagement to me no matter where I am. Thank you for my brothers and sisters, Lord. I am blessed with a wonderful family, and I praise You for them. I love You, Lord.

School, school, school

An exam this morning, and one on Wednesday. And one last Thursday. Crazy, crazy stuff. I'm still enjoying it, though. This weekend is a long one though, for Veteran's Day. My plan at the moment is to grab a tent, sleeping bag, and my Bible and head off for a couple of days alone with the Lord. It's hard to focus sometimes with all the pressures of school, leadership responsibilities, and general Navy 'stuff-to-do' that always seems to crop up. I'd like to head up to Short Stay, a lake-side campground that the Navy runs about 30 miles from here. Hopefully I can fit everything on my bike.


Lord, let me be sensitive to Your voice and to Your leading. Give me Your insight when I read Your word, and speak to me through it. I praise You, Father, for the blessings in my life. You are awesome, my Lord. I love You.

Living in a swamp

This picture is from the walkway going out to the parking lots here at NNPTC. It looks nice and green and beautiful, but what you can't see is the swamp underneath that makes a raised walkway necessary. NWS Charleston is pretty much all built on a swamp. Which means that there are mosquitos. Lots of them. I got bit up this afternoon playing football... right when the sun starts to go down, they get really bad. Hopefully soon when it starts to get colder they'll go away. Hopefully.

Praise and worship... and doing laundry

My original plans for tonight were to finish up with my schoolwork and studying, and then head over to church. The college and career group there was having a praise and worship night, and I really wanted to go. But long story short, God changed my plans for the evening and I felt lead to help out a friend who is really struggling in school prepare for a big exam tomorrow. Since he wasn't going to be ready to study until around 6:30, I headed back to my room to do some laundry. I was pretty disappointed about not going to church, even though I felt that I was making the right decision in not going.

But God taught me something tonight. We don't need a church or a worship band or a group of fellow believers to praise God. It can be anywhere, and at any time. For me, it ended up being in my room while ironing my uniforms. It was an awesome time. Just me, God, and some good Christian music. In the past few weeks, I have found a lot of comfort, strength, and peace in listening to the music of Keith Green, Third Day, Delirious?, and Hillsongs, just to name a few. It helps me to focus on God, and to quiet my heart and listen to Him speak to me. Anywhere, any time, in any situation. Even while ironing my summer whites.

"It is good to praise the Lord
and to make music to your name, O Most High,
to proclaim your love in the morning
and your faithfulness at night,"
-(Psalm 92:1, 2)

Thank you Lord for listening to us anytime, anywhere we are. I praise you with all my heart, Lord. You are worthy of all my praise. Lord, please use me to show your hope and life to the people around me every day. Father, please let Your light shine through me. I want to be a living testimony for You. Convict me of the sin in my life, Lord. Never let me become comfortable. Change me, mold me, shape me to be more and more like You every day, Lord. I will praise You forever, for You alone are worthy of my praise. I love you, Lord.

Parked on the side of the road...

This is not an uncommon sight where I live. Drive down any of the roads over near the docks, and you're likely to see tanks, camoflaged bulldozers, humvees, crates of ammunition... all waiting to be loaded up on one of the MSC (Military Sealift Command) ships and hauled over to the middle east. I thought this pair of M109A6 Paladin howitzers made a neat picture just sitting in the parking lot off the side of the road. Click on the picture to see a larger version...

These thousand hills

These thousand hills roll ever on
Footprints of a mighty God
They bring me to my knees in praise
Amazing love, amazing grace

Was on a hill my Savior died
A broken heart, a bleeding side
Hill of the skull, mount Calvary
The blood He shed, He shed for me

When heaven's hills at last I roam
Forever settled in my home
I'll join the saints around Your throne
Your kingdom, Lord, rolls ever on

These thousand hills roll ever on
Ripples of a coming storm
The morning star precedes the dawn
These thousand hills roll ever on

-These Thousand Hills (Third Day)

Thank you, Lord for good Christian musicians and the gifts and talents you have given them.