And death i think is no parenthesis

Do you see them? Of course not. I got contact lenses today! Hooray! I can wear sunglasses while driving now. I don't have to worry about glasses sliding down my nose during marching band! No more adjusting and readjusting! I'm happy about them. can you tell? No seriously, I really am excited about them, despite the vibes you might be receiving from that top picture. And now Daniel can make his "You have contacts?" joke towards me! Wow, the exclamation point police are going to be all over my case after this post. Oh well.

Just so everbody knows, here at Deric's Play Place, "debate" is our middle name. Or, perhaps "Play" is. In any case, don't be afraid to disagree and be vocal about your disagreements! The reason I am saying this is because I just recieved my first substantial *coughYokanchicough* comment from "The Dissenter!" on my Thinking About Marriage post. Good good! Just know that I will defend myself, sometimes violently. I mean that figuratively (I don't even know who "The Dissenter!" is, although I have a good idea *coughTMCcough*). Anyway, if you haven't already done so, check out his (and my) comments!

I gave my sister a book about marriage for Christmas. I would have hesitated giving this book to her three months ago. However, my views on marriage have changed substantially since entering college last August. Many people assume that their main calling in life is a vocation, and their spouse should be compatible with that calling. Therefore, people look for a spouse on the premise that if an eligible person cannot or is even uncertain about his or her ability to exist with a partner who does "X" for a living, that eligible person is not "the one." However, I believe this logic is twisted. What is more important to God? I think if we look honestly at the Bible, it is very clear that God places the institution of marriage over the institution of work. Family comes first, right? If you think you have found "the one," there is no need to try to add likely employment position as a qualifier to his or her eligibility. Am I making sense? What I am simply tryi...

Look at my sister. She is beautiful! I love my sister dearly. She is going to New York for her Winter class at Sterling College to see some Broadway plays. I am very jealous of her. But I am happy for her too!

For Christmas, my mom decided to be tricky and taped a $100 bill on the lid of an empty box. Unfortunately, that is the first place I looked when I opened it. Woops. So, I decided that I'd recreate the ideal series of events for the camera. I went back and opened it again, only to be bamboozled. Then, I retrieved the lid of the box, which I had previously thrown with great angst over my shoulder and, hence, behind the couch. Jumbly Jehosaphat! Money!

It is our new band! How do you like it? For Christmas, I decided to make a CD for my step-grandfather featuring his son Andy on the Congas, my sister Whitney on Vocals, and me on the Sax.

I've been thinking a bit about a comment I heard from a fellow student at college. While describing both the chapel services and Grace Community Church services, he said, "It felt too much like an event ." He's absolutely right. Church is not an event like a pep rally, improvement seminar, or rock concert. Church is where heaven and earth meet. It is a sacred time, set apart from the outside world.