Rest

I will be hitting you guys and gals up with a post tomorrow. I have been crazy busy and such. But check put my sweet summer home.

Much love

ø Connor ø
Connor

James 1:22

"Do not merely listen to the Word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says."

Straight from the Word. There it is.

Hypocrisy is probably one of the biggest things I see in America among Christians, myself included sometimes. It bugs me how often I see it around. It's at that moment where I catch myself judging others when it's not my place to judge.

I'm sorry I haven't been writing lately. I just have not been feeling it. I'm going to get in the Word a lot more and I'll get back to you on what I've been learning.

Again, apologies. Keep it real.
-sam
Song of the Day: My Generation by Starfield

Departure (students)

This is definitely a post from my phone at camp. I love it here. This place. If I haven't told you already. Its wonderful. The staff is amazing. I cannot express my excitement for man time in the guys village. I'm absolutely thrilled to be here. I already have stories that I will update you with tomorrow on a computer.

This post is for my classmates, peers, and friends. I'm sorry. I hate goodbyes. I didn't sign a single yearbook. I didn't have anybody sign mine. I would gladly sign one but that means closure. I hate closure. High school friends shouldn't be a story with an end. The worst part is.

I have so much to write. It would kill me to gradually sign away my friends as if to say see ya. Each word another inch apart we would grow over time. All I want to do is make them smile. My friends and classmates that is. Even if its a fake one. I want them to escape the bleak reality that is graduation. It means promise and hopes of a good future no doubt. Even more. It means a book being finished. Epilogue is done with and its off to be printed and sit in a library. Begging to be read.

I want to live this story for longer. I want to be with those people for longer than a day. I'm sorry to all of you. I'm so selfish with goodbyes because I hate them so much.

I know I'm in a better place and the only way I would change it would be for the chance to bring everyone here. To see this island I have come to love so much. This island represents a story that never has to end. Chapters just keep getting added.

One last apology. Because I am truly sorry. You all deserved better. I want to tell you all how amazing you are and how I have come to know and appreciate you all for everything.

I cannot wait to see you Tuesday and tell you of my tales at this island.

Have a great last day class of 2010. I miss you and hope you trust that I love where I am at.

Much love

ø Connor ø
Connor

To My Brother in Christ

This one is for my brother in Christ that I have just recently been getting close to over the past year.

You are a stud. It's unbelievable how you have changed my walk with God. For real. You've caused me to look at things from a complete different view. It's crazy how many views there are to God but for Him to still be the same, solid Being forever. He has never changed. So you have completely rocked that part of me.

I also wanted to apologize.

I'm sorry for the misunderstanding. I know it may have seemed that I was crossing you on every quote you read to me but you gotta understand I've been raised pretty conservative. Some of that stuff is a total new way of thinking for me. When I said that they "threw flags" in my mind, I didn't mean for you to think that I hated the author. I just wanted to either check it out for myself or I didn't understand it and I needed further explaination. I didn't mean for you to think I hated all of those books.

Dude, I'm not gonna lie though. It's tough not having been able to talk to you lately. I feel like you're trying to distance me. So I hope this helps. I don't want some books to come in between us. We should at least be sharing the living Book that matters the most over all.

I love ya buddy. I'm ready to talk with you when you are.

-your brother in Christ

Song of the Day: Until My Heart Caves In by Audio Adrenaline

Departure (Staff)

My room is a mess.

I haven't studied enough. (but I will start soon) =D

I have no clue what to and not to pack for this summer and fall.

Everything is a good mess.

Now is where I should begin the real content of this post.

You see this one is going to be difficult, I'm shooting at a "yearbook" entry for everyone I can handle because I won't be in school Friday. I love LIC too much and District 206 has kept me from my commitment to Camp and my fellow staff. I miss them too.

Ok, first is first. Teachers

I don't think I could name names throughout this whole process, hopefully I can be vaguely accurate to where they forward it to each other. I had the privilege in my past three years to have absolutely wonderful educators in charge of my future. All the way from a math teacher that saw me struggle with Algebra II and helped as well as made it a point I establish good study habits. Thank you. I had a ridiculously amazing Spanish teacher, I still know much of that knowledge, still call her senora (sorry no tilde), even had prob and stats with her the next year. I mean really, Que quieres que haga? Even my english teachers, I was blessed to have such amazing teachers that showed me that the rules are great, but so is good writing and sometimes you need to break the rules. I had the most supportive Public Speaking teacher I could have asked for, she helped me develop my speech that I'm going to be giving on the 13th, and I will admit I'm feeling butterflies, but we both know I can do it. I had a science teacher that saw and knew my potential and spent a good portion of the year dragging it out of me. I had a crazy Pre-Calc teacher that taught a little more than just math, he taught about class, and being classy. Not to mention we have a ridiculous amazing guidance counselor/ high jump coach.

Oh dear, to the reader from a different school district I'm sorry. I just have amazing staff at my school.

My advisor gets a section all her own. She's phenomenal. I can't believe it's already graduation and I can't believe I'm speaking. Thank you for all the proof readings, and organizing SLAM!'s big hoorah at the end of the year. It was a pleasure to be a part of that, and helping so many preteens.

I think I have a couple more in me. One shout out has to go to a middle school teacher who I was privileged enough to visit her room and talk about PSI and have fun with the kids. Just so you know, PSI was one of the major reasons I joined SLAM! I also have to throw one out there to my weightroom teacher/coach. I think we both know that I didn't come around until this year, if you didn't know already. You are a ridiculous guy. It was a blast in track and in weights. (If I had motivation for football, that might have been sweet too). There was also a guy in my school, his room was like a whole in the wall, he ignited my passion for photography and photoshop. That was crazy. As well as just today, I have never sang in choir, but the choir teacher knows me, is nice to me, and lets me play piano. Also I had a crazy Econ teacher who I still believe knows how to say "coke" the right way....I heard you on the track bus.

If I remember any more teachers I will be sure to update this.

Thank you so much for your time, commitment, and dedication. I think we all know the job has it's perks and downsides, but you all stick it through day in and day out. I want a special shout out to all the office staff, guidance, athletics, main office. I have yet to be scared to go into an office. Actually, sometimes I just go there to talk.

I know this may seem like horrid grammar and phrasing, but it's hard to find the right words for thank you's.

Much Love

ø Connor ø

Pops

This is going to be odd timing for this post indeed.

I have a lot on my mind no doubt but this is something that started as a whisper in my mind.

Until it started screaming.

This is a post straight up to my Pops. (that's how I have him in my phone)

I got to be blessed to be around camp this past weekend and will be up there recurrently until I start working there this summer after our late graduation (I have to shout to you guys to remind you I miss you and cannot wait to meet all of you fully, especially my fellow guys counselors)

But back to the point. I was talking to a fellow male counselor during "one-on-one" time and our dads both came up and he and his dad had disagreements about this and that. I could agree with him fully. The thing is...

I didn't want to. Everyone dreams of that "dad" where something goes wrong and you head to the driving range, or the back yard to play catch and talk about it. The dad who drops everything and says "lets go kick it, you feel like shootin stuff?" (not people of course, targets or deer, mmm, deer)

I could take the time to think about how I didn't have all of that. Just some guy that I didn't agree with and came into my life when I was about 8 years old.

That would be teaching myself how to paint lies as truth, continually taking this beautiful truth paint I've been given, and trying to use a foul brush of lies and my selfishness to illustrate my feelings.

I'm sure now that I've carried you this deep into the post (assuming you read it all), we should start seeing the shift. What the real truth is.

My Pops is a rockstar. I miss him so much right now. Being gone for two weeks is ridiculous. We don't even talk that much around the house. It's just his presence. Just knowing if the bad guys come, someone is going to jail that night and when they arrive in the cell the other prisoners will exchange looks thinking "what happened to him?"

This stud of a Pops fresh out of college took on my mom and three kids, myself included in that. How many people can handle that fresh out of college and succeed? Not many.

I picked up a book by Donald Miller called To Own A Dragon about growing up without a father, which Miller did. Yes I realize in the midst of a post about my Pops it's odd to bring up a book about growing up without a father. I picked it up moreso because it discusses the importance of good realtions with your father and this and that. It's next on my list.

I want my college years to be more about getting along, it seems to be a fitting time seeing as finances are going to be...questionable, with Concordia St. Paul and such in the future.

I hope he reads it after me as well, from the stories I've heard it sounds like he got jipped out of a childhood.

I am not saying this to judge any fathers of any sort. Being a dad is one of the most honorable things any man can do. If they do it well.

This is more of a note to my Pops, that I love you. I want to be able to talk and hang when I come back from school, if and when that happens. I'm still in the air about that.

Come back home, you are missed.

Much Love

ø Connor ø

Too Techinical

Luke 14:1-6 NLT

"One Sabbath day Jesus went to eat dinner in the home of a leader of the Pharisees, and the people were watching him closely. There was a man there whose arms and legs were swollen. Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in religious law, 'Is it permitted in the law to heal people on the Sabbath day, or not?' When they refused to answer, Jesus touched the sick man and healed him and sent him away. Then he turned to them and said, 'Which of you doesn't work on the Sabbath? If your son or your cow falls into a pit, don't you rush to get him out?' Again they could not answer."

Jesus was so ridiculous to the Pharisees. I love reading about everytime He came in contact with them. The Pharisees thought that they had everything right and they were so much more "holy" than everybody else. So much so that when Jesus came, their vision was blind to seeing who he really was because they were so blinded by trying to keep the law and pointing out faults in everybody else. But when Jesus came, He set a whole new standard. The adultery bar was set even higher to the point of lusting after a woman was adultery. The murder bar was pushed up to even looking at your brother in hate was just as bad as killing him.

But in this particular passage, He makes the point that we're not supposed to be complete bums with the Sabbath day. Yes, it is good to have a day of rest, but that shouldn't keep you from continuing your witness and testimony to Christ. We're not supposed to be 6-days-a-week Christians. We should always be ready to give an answer for our faith. (1 Peter 3:15-16)

So don't run yourself into the ground by being so busy. Take a rest, in that sense. But never stop living the way we ought to. This life that we have now been called to.

Galatians 2:20 "My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."

Live by the Word,

-sam

Song of the Day: Beautiful King by Danyew