floydius

dating well

I’m interested in knowing from some of my married friends the answer to the following question:

What did you do when you were dating that has made your marriage better as a result? Conversely, you could tell me: what do you wish you had done when you were dating that might have helped make your marriage easier?

I’m wanting to hear from couples that have been married just recently, couples who have been married longer than I’ve been alive, and anyone in between.

Of course, if you’re not married (whether you have been in the past or not), and want to throw in on this conversation, feel free.

good times

Today, I was looking through my old Middle School yearbook and remembering how thankful I am that I never have to go back to 13. Here are my favorite quotes from those who signed my book:

“U Better not be squirtin brain Juice all-over! Don’t let your Brain overload with smartness! My speech was better than yours Remember This quote!” – Ebony

“Have a nice summer and don’t bother me!” – Tanya

“Hey Lloyd (Nerd) How life? Stay Smart Nerd, (Sike) [indistinguishable signoff] – BabyFace (I do remember that this was a guy)

“Don’t show anyone my pic. k? Have a nice life” – Tina

And… the photos.

7th grade honor roll

Lady's Man

Running and Relaxing

It’s been a long time since I’ve blogged, so I’m going to catch everyone up on my life colloquially.

In mid October, Josiah and I decided we needed to find a race to run so that we’d get in shape. We settled on the Mountain Home race on 11/15/08 and chose the half marathon. We had a grand plan to run every day and train; I think we ran together maybe twice. In the mean time, my aunt Jan died and I had to go home for a funeral, so I didn’t really keep up with my running well. Before the race, I’d managed to work myself up to a grand total of 4.5 miles, which obviously prepared me for the 13.1 required for the half. Come race day, it was freezing (with wind chill in the 20s) and at one point during the run it started sleeting on us.

Let’s have a little before and after, shall we?

Before

After

I’d say Josiah fared better than I did. His girlfriend, Katelyn, was kind enough to trek up to Mountain Home with us, brave my driving, and take these pictures. At this point I’m planning to run either the half or the full for the Little Rock Marathon in March. I’m going to try and work myself up to at least 30 miles per week, starting with a minimum of 10 miles per week.

For Thanksgiving, I went up to my brother’s house in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. He and Sara just had their first child, a lovely daughter named Cambria with whom I’m totally enamored. I had a great time getting to know her and can’t wait to see them again during Christmas. As a bonus, Sara’s sister Christianna and her husband Wes were there, as well as Sara’s parents. It really was fantastic to see them all. I felt a little like the 7th wheel though, since I was the only single person in the group. That is to be expected, however, when you’re 27 and everyone you know is getting married and having babies. All in all, it was a memorable trip and I hope to head up that direction again soon. Thanksgiving is a great time to catch up and renew old friendships. It’s also nice to spend time with the family and share in the joy of that relationship. I’m so blessed to have longstanding friends and a loving family for sharing all these times. The shot below is a little grainy because it was dark and I took it on the isight, but it’s one of my favorites.

Teaching Cambria the Hebrew alphabet.

On the way back to Searcy, I stopped by Nashville and stayed the night with Nick. Nashville has an REI store, and I’ve been looking for some camping/hiking gear. Two hours later (Melanie even stopped by to say hi!) I emerged with a new tent, a REI membership, and the urge to go camping at least once in this cold weather before Christmas. Anyone game?

For the time being, I have about two weeks to finish up all the assignments and work I haven’t done over the semester. For those who don’t know (I haven’t really announced this to many people yet), I don’t think I’m going to continue with this Masters of Ministry program at Harding next semester. It’s not a bad program, but (a) all my classes are online, and that’s not working out to be a great scenario for me. I feel like my time and money would be better spent doing face to face classes if I’m really wanting more school. (b) the classes seem more oriented towards current preachers who have no bible background, and I’m re-hashing a lot of stuff I did in undergrad. Doesn’t make the program bad, but it’s just not what I am looking for right now. I’d rather cut my losses and pursue other avenues at this point. I’m not sure what exactly that will entail, but one option that’s been on my mind a lot is teaching English in Japan and maybe planting some house churches while I’m there. Another option would be to move up to N.C. to be near my brother and his wife, or I could also just stay here in Searcy. Either way, I’m bound here until June when my lease ends, so I’ll probably find a job here until that time comes.

So, we’re all caught up and I solicit your prayers as I re-group and plan my next steps. Merry Christmas, all!

rock the vote!

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from this election cycle, it’s this: people really like to talk about voting, vote, and then talk some more about voting.

Now that November 4th has come and gone, I’m offering you the opportunity to vote, once again. Unlike the presidential race, this is universal suffrage, baby! You can be under 18, you can be a convicted felon, you can be a subject of a monarchy in some other country that doesn’t have elections — you all get to vote here.

If you’d like to participate, please select image below that depicts your preference regarding my facial hair, and leave your choice in the comments. (Yes, I realize I can’t grow an awesome beard like Phil, Jacob, Josiah, or Tim, but I’m doing my best here!)

The beard.

couple days' growth

baby face

you're so vain; you probably think this blog is about you

calling all grammarians…

My good friend Philip has promised me a battle to the death regarding whether “funny’s” is an allowable morphology when used as a plural for a newspaper comic. I, on the other hand, argue that such usage is nothing more than a grammatical abortion of the proper term (funnies).

I’m not so arrogant as to assume that I’m correct (that’s a lie), and I enlist your help. So, go to Philip’s post and leave him your thoughts. If you agree with him, then keep your thoughts to yourself. ; )