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i’m leavin’ on a jet plane

Saturday, September 23rd, 2006

Everyone, my flight leaves in less than 2 hours, so I must make this short. I’m going to Guatemala as most of you know. I’ll be back on 10/1/06, Lord willing. Please pray for me that I have a safe trip and that the Lord guides me in all that I do while I’m there. You can try to contact me by e-mail, or you can leave posts on this blog, or on myspace. I love you all, and may the Lord be with you and guide your steps. In Him,

-Lloyd

Ephesians 3:20-21 “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”

Tags:friends, Guatemala, travel
Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

une histoire pour mes amis

Sunday, September 10th, 2006

Lloyd has been notified by a few people that he needs to update more often. So, gather ’round, it’s story time. By the way, for those of you who actually read this thing, Lloyd wants you to know that it’s very flattering that you’d care to know what goes on in his life, and he thanks you all for sharing the love : )

The weekend after his 25th birthday, Lloyd traveled with his parents up to Henderson, Tennessee to visit his brother, Leslie. Leslie is engaged to marry a fantastic girl named Sara(-h), and that girl’s fantastic family also happened to be there. By this visit, it was determined that the families would get along just fine, and also that 8 people can unpack a minivan in approximately 15 minutes with all the belongings of 2 college girls. Sarah(-h)’s sister, Christianna is plotting with Lloyd for fun things during the wedding. Oh yes, there are plans. They often rub their hands together and laugh maniacally thinking about them. (Secretly, Lloyd thinks his new sister-in-law might be just as crazy as Leslie):
[ACT]http://www.floydius.com/video/blog/20060820howtokillsmall.divx,360,240[/ACT]

On the last Saturday of August, when the heat lingers on and children lament the return of school, Lloyd found himself in Nashville visiting old friends. Early Saturday morning, he accompanied his very good friend, Melanie Harkabus to a concert by a group named Plumb. Strangely, they did not sing about fruit at all, but they played well, as did the other bands there. Afterwards, they made a long and perilous journey to acquire a treasure for which Lloyd had waited many years. They wandered through obstacles, even to the dangerous trainyards and factories in the deep of the city. Fortunately, Melanie finds a way to laugh in even the scariest of situations, and this was no exception:
[ACT]http://www.floydius.com/video/blog/20060826purinasmall.divx,360,240[/ACT]

In the end, it was worth it, for the treasure sounded of warm, deep tones, and smelled of thick rosewood inside. Lloyd was sure it would bring him happiness for years to come:

That evening, Lloyd went with his friends, Nick (known in some kingdoms as Jabroni or the King of Pimps) and Hope (you will likely be hearing her on an album someday; she has a fantastic voice and is learning to play violin) to a concert played by Dave Barnes. It was the most fun Lloyd had enjoyed in a long while. The music was incredible, Dave was hilarious, and spirits were high. The End.

Actually that’s not the end, I’m just done with the third person deal for now. So last week Christopher got married. I’m very proud of him, Amy was a great find. The wedding was one of the most fun I’ve attended. I don’t know why I love dressing up in a tux so much when I hate dressing up for work or anything else. During the night me and Daniel might have stolen Chris’ keys and copied them and then let Jessica do her thing. The result was pretty fantastic, although they will be cleaning out the car for awhile. Jessica says that’s her love language. I imagine involuntary decoration covers a lot of her languages in terms of expression.

I have also met my twin, Amy’s cousin, Sara. She likes dead baby jokes and eats sushi. We totally owned everyone else walking during the wedding. I doubt if anyone else had synchronized steps. Here’s the interview:
[ACT]http://www.floydius.com/video/blog/20060913barefeetsmall.divx,360,240[/ACT]

The next week I drove the Church van (I’m allowed now that I’ve reached the ripe old age of 25…) to Crestview for a youth rally. It was so encouraging that the kids actually wanted to go and made an effort to set it up. That made me really happy, and of course the drive was hilarious. If I find an internet-worthy clip of that, I’ll put it up later.

That brings us almost current. On Saturday I headed up to Montgomery to hang out with Amy’s cousin for the day. We watched a decent football game (the refs were blind, but the bad calls and lack of calls were evenly distributed… Huntington won) and ate some Japanese food. Also, I saw Amélie, which is a very cool french movie minus a couple of unnecessary scenes.

So, this week, some very, very exciting news… I’m going to Guatemala!! I’m so excited its like Christmas when I was little. I’m going to visit my close friend Mafer, back from my Harding days. We’ve kept in touch by e-mail over the last few years, and I thank God for her friendship. I’m still trying to convince her to come to Italy with me, but no luck yet. We’ve been talking about this for years, and now it’s finally happening. I’m going to see if she’ll go with me to Tikal to see the Mayan ruins, and I’m very much looking forward to her showing me around Guatemala City. I will definitely have my video camera (and I’m planning on purchasing a new digital still camera just for the trip), so I will share when I return, Lord willing. Also, if anyone would like a postcard, send me your address and I’ll be sure to send you one. Please pray for me that it will be a safe trip, and that I will be a light for God while I’m traveling.
Last order of business… SEE ~~THIS~~ THIS (looks like stage6 is gone for good) VIDEO. Honestly, it may have changed my life. I love this guy, and I so wish I could take credit for his project here. I already had this Guatemala trip planned, a Quebec trip in January after my brother gets married, and in the works a very long trip I’ll talk about later, but this video just reminded me how wonderful God’s creation is, and what a blessing it is to celebrate it. I can almost guarantee I will plan to do more traveling as a direct result of seeing this. I love you all, give yourselves hugs.

Tags:friends, Guatemala, Music, travel, videos
Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments »

a spirit of fear

Wednesday, August 30th, 2006

Friends and family, it is time for another message from your old pal, Lloyd. I have many fun things to tell you about my weekend in Nashville, but tonight, I have some more important things I want to talk to you about. Those of you who are brothers and sisters in Christ, and followers of the Way, children of God, these thoughts are directed specifically at you.

You obviously have access to the internet if you are reading this. In our country, we have television, magazines, and all types of media able to tell us what is going on in the world. Reading the news, especially on the internet can be scary these days. So many bad things over which we have little or no control happen every day. The more we see these and the more we take them to heart, the easier it is for Satan to come in and steal our joy. It is ever easier for him to make us doubt… ever easier for him to try and bind us with fear.

At times I notice myself worrying about all of the ills in this world. I worry how God will take care of it. I worry whether my descendants will live in as great a nation as I do now. I know I am not the only one. Yes, there is much going on in the world right now, and it is directly in our faces 24/7 more than has ever been possible in the past. There are some crazy things happening, but keep in mind, it has always been so.

I say this to encourage you. Paul said to Timothy, “for God gave us not a spirit of fearfulness; but of power and love and discipline.” (1 Timothy 2:7) Do not cave into the fear Satan desires to ensnare you with. Put on the “full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.” (Ephesians 6:13) Paul told us about this protection and weaponry for a good reason. Stay in the Word, keep on praying daily, and do not fall prey to the spirit of fear under which Satan wishes to place you. Our God is already the victor, the battle was won when Jesus was raised from death.

May the Lord continue to be with you, and please pray for me as well. I am struggling to keep that armor on and to leave fear buried with my old sinful self. “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” (1 John 1:18).

Tags:culture, friends, spirituality
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Closed

the way things were (since last time)

Thursday, August 17th, 2006

It’s been more than a little while since I last posted. I’ve been busy — here’s the short version:

7/21 – 7/23: Nashville
7/28 – 7/29: Navarre
8/4 – 8/5: Conquerors
8/7 – 8/15: Leslie visited P’cola

Now for the long version… settle in. A few weeks back I took a trip up to Nashville to see my good friend Melanie “is there a Doctor in the house? why, yes there is!” Harkabus. I was considering being lazy and not going, but she kept telling me I was coming, and eventually I believed her. It was good times, I must say. Nashville is a really cool town, if you ever get the chance to go. Me and Harkabus assembled a computer desk in *well* under the 90 min suggested serving time. I also rid her computer of spyware and junk. I love fixing computers.

I also got to stay with Mr. Pimptastic himself, Nick Howell. He has been kind enough to open his couch, shower, and fridge every time I’ve come to Nashvegas. Saturday night we went to Dave & Buster’s. If you’ve never been, it’s basically like a grown-up version of Showbiz Pizza. (If you’re old school you’ll know that is now Chuck E. Cheese’s.) Anyway, it was a whole lot of fun. I got to see some friends I haven’t seen in a very long time. Hope Huckeba from HUG was there, Toasty from King’s Men, Jaime (Wanda) Boone from OLC, and my very good friend Nivia Snowden (well now she’s not Snowden anymore, she’s married to a really cool guy named Marlan who I finally got to meet.) It was really good to see Niv again. We used to be like peas and carrots, as Forrest would say, but it’s been awhile. It was great to reestablish that friendship.

One other cool thing that happened that night was playing a game called “In the Groove” (basically a Dance Dance Revolution knockoff). I will admit, i beat both Harkabus and Nivia, though the fact that they were wearing some sort of heels probably had a lot to do with it. Anyway, I liked the game so much that I went home and ordered my own pad off the internet for my computer. This is what it looks like:

I play it on an open source (source code is available and legally free) program called stepmania. (This program works on Linux and Mac, too. W007!10101) One of the cool things about it is that you can import your own songs in mp3 or ogg format and make your own steps. I have almost completed a step routine for Shakira’s “Hips Don’t Lie”. (yes, i bought the album) A video of me doing this nonsense is going to be appearing here very soon. Those who don’t think they can take the gayness should probably not watch.

Back to the story, on Sunday I went to church at a large congregation (I don’t remember the name) in Nashville. During one of the songs (they have powerpoint lyrics), a message popped up for the parents of child # 168 to please come to the classroom area, as they were needed. Either that congregation is so large that they have begun to number their students, or some poor mother has birthed more than 167 children and is now numbering them rather than naming them. Either way, I’ve decided I will also number my children, using either Fibonacci sequence or prime numbers.

The last weekend in July, I am sad to say my friend Sarah Todd left Gulf Breeze for greener pastures. Actually she is moving to be closer to her grandparents and to start nursing school. Head over to the images section to see some photo goodness. Also that weekend, Jarrett at Church helped me and some other guys at Church trim trees for one of our members who can no longer be climbing around to do it. (p.s. I can climb trees in sandals, no problem.) I was really thankful to have Jarrett’s help and also to spend some one-on-one time with him. He managed to down one of those quadruple burgers at Burger King in a pretty short amount of time. It was a sight to behold.

The weekend before last was Conquerors. It’s a youth rally here in Pensacola that Scenic Hills Church of Christ holds annually. If you read my post about Focus, you’ll remember the name Wiley Lowe. Well, he spoke at this and did a great job. I was so suprised and happy to hear that he was speaking. He mostly talked about getting rid of the old man, because the old dead earthly body is not something we want around us. Once again, see the images link above for pics.

Last week, my brother came to town for a visit. It was really great spending time with him. He is a very spiritually mature guy, and I’m proud of him for all he’s doing, and very excited that he’s getting married. To my surpise and delight, he actually tried the DDR thing with the dance pad. We both did a lot of that over the course of the week, as it’s super addictive. He left on Tuesday, but I’m going up with the family to see him this weekend and to meet his fiancÃ©’s parents. That should be lots of fun. Oh yes, the pad is coming with me.

In other news, today is was my birthday. I am officially a quarter of a century old. 30 looms like an ugly beast on the horizon. I’m going to walk backwards til I get there so I don’t have to look at it. Other than having to work, it was a fun day. My parents took me and my family to Zea’s tonight. It was fun, and it is great to spend time with family. I wish my brother had been here though. I’ve saved up some money, and combined with the birthday loot I’m planning on buying a really sweet guitar when I go up to Nashville in a couple of weeks for a concert (Dave Barnes is playing, going with Hope and some other folks… it should be a blast). There will be photos and probably some video of that guitar once I get it.

Finally, it’s been a long time coming, but as promised, here are a few videos from Focus 2006. You can grab all my videos (including high definition 720×480 videos) here. You will need the Divx web player to play these. This is also available for Linux and Mac. Alternately, you can use VLC and VLC mozilla plugin to play it (you can use VLC with Linux, Mac, and almost everything else).

[ACT]http://www.floydius.com/video/blog/20060625thrillersmall.divx,360,240[/ACT]
Colton dancing to Thriller… priceless.

[ACT]http://www.floydius.com/video/blog/20060627flavorsaversmall.divx,360,240[/ACT]
Macaroni & Cheese Pizza.

[ACT]http://www.floydius.com/video/blog/20060627beepssmall.divx,360,240[/ACT]
Musical Genius.

~~~~

Enjoy, and keep an eye out. it won’t be long before I update again.

Tags:friends, Music, travel, videos
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

focused

Tuesday, July 4th, 2006

Sunday afternoon I got back from Focus, and it was really great. For those of you who don’t know, the best way to describe focus is probably Church camp, but it’s much different in many ways. About 200 – 300 teens (middle to high school) come to Faulkner University for a week. Every day, you do a service project, a few worship times, devotionals, or classes, some sports, and some activities just for fun.

This year, one of the main projects was the rolling closet, the backyard Bible school, and general cleanup and help with the Montgomery Inner City Ministry. I ended up being the chaperon who went to that every day, and it was a huge blessing. I got to spend some time every day with Jonathan Moseby, who was an evangelist working with that ministry. I also met some really great teenagers who worked very hard to help out, including my guys, but I already knew they were awesome.

Some of the other projects included visiting with the elderly at a retirement home close to Faulkner’s campus, writing cards to soldiers stationed overseas in Iraq and other combat areas, and cleaning and repairing houses for Montgomery residents.

The keynote speaker this year was a gentleman named Wiley Lowe, who is the youth minister for a congregation in Daytona Beach, FL called Holly Hill Church of Christ. (apparently they used to have a website, but not anymore.) In any case, God has blessed that man with a gift for preaching the good news. The theme this year was “super powers,” and all the speakers touched on that subject. Wiley talked a lot about Satan, and his desire to tear us away from God. Specifically he stressed our ability to choose to stay away from his traps, because God warns us how Satan will attack. In any case, my guys were impressed with his lessons, and so was I. Honestly, he reminds me of Dr. Fortner from Harding University in many ways. I have an immense respect for Fortner, though he may be a bit over the edge at times. If you ever get the chance to hear Wiley speak, I recommend taking it.

Focus also has a lot of fun activities, some of which are not that exciting, but some are great. This year we went to a baseball game, the Montgomery Biscuits vs the Mobile Bay Bears. That’s right folks, they’re called the biscuits. Don’t ask me. There was also a karaoke night, and one night we had the mall to ourselves playing broom hockey (arguably more dangerous than regular hockey… it does not involve skates or pads, but does involve large sticks with plastic on the ends… usually there are minor injuries) and video games. By the way, my new favorite game (i intend to get a pad for home) is Dance Dance Revolution. There was a guy there named Adam who was insanely good. I wanted to tape him, but we ran out of time. In any case, it is mad fun, and I need one to get in shape.

I have some video (and maybe pics, not sure) from Focus. Once I get it captured and edited, I’ll throw it up so you can see some Focus goodness.

God totally took care of me (He always does) with my car this week, too. Three minutes from the Church on the way back (so thankful it wasn’t back in Montgomery), my speedometer stopped working, and then my car stopped shifting out of second. Of course, I was convinced my transmission was shot. But, thanks to God, it was only my “speed sensors”. Short story is, it was an $80 repair vs an $800 repair. Sweet.

Personally, Focus helped me tons this year. It reminded me that I need to be back doing ministry. It also gave me a spiritual boost that I’ve been needing for awhile. And, I got to spend time with the guys in the youth group, and that’s always a great (albeit strange/disturbing) time.

Comment it up, kids.

Tags:friends, Harding, spirituality
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

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