January 1st, 2007 Happy New Year! January 9th, 2007 Well today I am back at school and no longer at home on christmas break. It is good to be back, but I already am dreading (in some ways) this semester. But who knows what God has in store for me. I have a few old entries from over the break in December that I have to upload, so be expecting those soon. I don't have classes till Wednesday so I should have time to do some updating and new entires about my break. In other news, I added a section on the main page of this site that is dedicated to my camaro. I know it is kind of materialistic, but it is a big hobby of mine that I never really put onto this site. I also added a small mini-pic of me at the top. Anyways, good luck everyone in school this semester! January 18th, 2007 Uploaded a new album and updated old ones in my photography page under the designs section of my website. Be sure and check them out! January 20th, 2007 Well today my printer decided it doesn't want to work and my computer decided not to boot, but it looks like everything is up and running again with my computer so here I am. I hate being sick. (read tomorrow's entry for more). January 22nd, 2007 Well obviously I haven't had time to upload some old journals over break like I thought I was going to be able to. I guess you can blame it on me being sick. I have coxackie vius and it sucks. I've got a high fever and headache accompanied with sore throat and hives. I can't do every day things without being uncomfortable. There is no treatment so I just have to suck it up until it goes away. Supposedly according to my doctor, I was supposed to be better as of sunday, yesterday, but that obviously hasn't happened. So it has put me behind in my school work as well as piano and guitar practicig. My hives/rash is even on the bottoms and soles of my feet so it even hurts to walk :( Blah. Oh well, I hope I will be better soon. January 26th, 2007 It would be awesome if this world could revolve around something other than money. Too bad it will never happen. UGH! January 29th, 2007 Here are some cool videos to check out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8oxlPoZNbU&mode=related&search http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZTziYivOLA&mode=related&search http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XYApregsFI http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2bcPIXl8kc Haha some of these are funny, some of them are incrediblely cool, anyways, if you are bored.. have a field day. February 5th, 2007 So I don't know how much I have talked about this in previous journal entries, I actually dont think that I have. Anyways, I am thinking about transferring from Campbell next semester to UNC-Pembroke. Don't get me wrong, I love Campbell, but it is just too expensive being 23k a year without getting any financial aid. UNC-P is only 6-7k a year, without any scholarships that I might be able to get. My major would change from church music to a regular bachelors degree in music (concentration in classical guitar) and a minor in sacred music. So pretty much I would be getting the same education just for a lot cheaper. It will still take me about 2 more years from where I am now to graduate. So we will see. February 9th, 2007 Well I have applied to UNC-P and I have an audition for guitar on Saturday the 17th so wish me luck. February 11th, 2007 If you are curious to check out UNC-P's website, check it out here: www.uncp.edu. There music program seems to be very similar to Campbells and even the school in general does as well. Another cool connection is that the guitar teacher here at Campbell and the guitar instructor at UNCP both graduated from the same college, just a few years apart: Texas Tech. Also, Derek Day (the guitar teacher at UNCP) teaches at South Eastern Baptist Seminary as well, which is cool because I have thought about going there after I get my four year degree. Neato! February 13th, 2007 I just bought a new classical guitar! It's an Antonio Aparicio AA50 classical. I can't wait to get it! Today is also one year exactly after my wreck. It has been crazy. February 14th, 2007 So for valentines day today what I did for Lauren was buy a bag of the toy balls (like the ones at Mcdonalds) and write on the red ones the things i love about her, and on the green ones the things i am thankful for, the yellow were memories and places we have been, and the blue were inside jokes. I bought a bag of 100 of them and only did 80 (it was hard to think of all of those!!) and the other 20 we can fill out later when we make more memories together. Now whenever she is thinking about me or missing me she can just reach in and remember or read something nice. It is a corny idea I know, but it worked and she loved it. Happy Valentines Day everyone!! February 19th, 2007 Well I went to UNC-P this past saturday and had my audition. It went fairly well, minus messing up the last few lines of an etude because I lost track of where I was in the music. The school is nicer than I expected, and it would be very nice going there especially if Lauren is goig there too. They have less practice rooms, but I like the way they are set up better. The concert hall is NOTHING at all like Campbells, so that was a letdown. But everyone I met was nice and I liked the campus and there is tons more to do there. I will probably know this month or early March where I am going to be next semester for sure. Which reminds me, my b-day is coming up March 19th, one month from today..which also means that this site is rounding its one year anniversary! February 23rd, 2007 Ok so this is really old, but better late than never. It's notes from January 7 2007 from David Horner's sermon on "Coming Down from the Mountain". "When you come into the prescence of Christ"... 1.Worship Him v.17 -He appeared in ressurected splendor -He spoke with absolute authority v.18 -He commanded with clear intent 2.Make disciples for him v.19 -The target group: all the nations v.19,Acts 8 -The intended work: Baptizing v.19/Teaching v.20 3.Walk with Him -An abiding prescence v.20 -An empathetic prescence -A prayerful prescence : From Matthew 28:16-20 : February 26th, 2007 Well I had my test number two in New Testament today and didn't study as much as I should have but I think I did alright. My spring break is coming up next week, I can't wait. I actually can't wait for school in general to get out. Most of my classes are done around the end of April, like April 24th and such. As for this summer, I dont know if I have said it in a previous post or not, but I might have the oppurtunity to take a missions trip to Africa (Botswana). That would be lots of fun and more so, I believe, obedient to God's word. Lauren's older sister Crystal lives there and has for a year and a half or so now so I would be going with my church, Providence Baptist and we would be meeting up and teaming with Crystal when we are there. More info. to come! My car is getting the meth injection kit put on next week hopefuly before spring break is over but we will see. My new guitar has been having some issues with buzzing on certain frets which is kind of unexpected since its a 1,400 dollar instrument. Hopefully I will get it all worked out. Thats all for now! March 12th, 2007 Back at school. Ugh. I am loving Ruckus.com. I can download all the music I want, it's great. I have to download as much as possible before next semester. By the way, I got into UNC-Pembroke, so that is more than likely where I will be next semester! Can't wait. March 13th, 2007 "If I weren't a Christian, and I kept seeing Christian leaders on television concerned with money, fame, and power than with grace, love, and social justice, I wouldn't want to believe in God at all. I really wouldn't. The whole thing would make me want to walk away from religion altogether because, like I was saying about Santa Claus, their god must be an idiot to see the world in such a one-sided way. The god who cares so much about getting rich much not have treasures stored up in heaven, and the god so concerned about getting even must not have any patience, and who cares so much about the West must really hate the rest of the world, and that doesn't sound like a very good god to me. The televangelist can have him for all I care." "If you ask me, the way to tell if a person knows God for real, I mean knows the real God, is that they will fear Him. They wouldn't go around making absurd political assertions and drop God's name like an ace card, and they wouldn't be making absurd statements about how God wants you to be rich and how if you send in some money to the ministry God will bless you. . . It seems like, if you really knew the God who understands the PHYSICS of our exsistence, you would operate a little more cautiously, a little more compassionately, a little less like you are the center of the universe." Good 'ol Donald Miller.. March 19th, 2007 Today is my 21st birthday and the 1 year anniversary for this website! So much has changed and its hard to think its only been 12 months. Who knows what the Lord has in store for the next year. March 26th, 2007 This is actualy a journal I wrote on 12-6-06 but I never got a chance to post it. So here I am 3 months later posting is.. ayways... It was hand written. Anyways, it has been a while since I have written a longer more hertfelt "make you think" type of entry so here goes nothing. I dont know if commandments in the Bible are allowed to be broken or not. I mean my first answer obviously is no, but aren't there exceptions in which they are allowed to be broken or times where you should? For instance, if you are told by your parents (regardless of age) to steal something.. what do you do? We are commanded to honor and love our parents, but in doing so, you would be breaking another commandment (do not steal). Or what about the story of Anne Frank? Or people who hid christians to save them from death or presecution? If those people were asked if they were hiding people.. by saying "no" they are lying, but by being honest they are incriminating a fellow brother or sister in Christ. So what I take from all of this is.. sometimes it IS ok to brreak a commandement? What about war? What about abortion? Is killing someone biblical? But, for what sake? What about capital punishment? If God allows us to break some of his commandments, how are we supposed to know which ones are ok to break? And to what degree and to what measure? Who decides what commandments we are allowed to disobey and for what reasons? This is a shortened and shallow version of my question.. But you get the idea. Have any thoughts? March 28th, 2007 I found a H20 bulletin scrunched in my closet and I dont know the date of it, but its probably from late last year or early 07. Anyways, here are the notes from it: Pslam 119:97-104, 120-124 -As a ministry that desires to be christ-centered, we encourage you to 1. Read your bible (v. 97-102), and 2. Revere what you read (v. 103-104) -Micah 7:8: "Do not rejoice over me, O my enemy. Though I fall I will rise; Though I dwell in darkness, the LORD is a light for me." April 5th, 2007 "Those who have known God without knowing their wretchedness have not glorified Him, but have glorified themselves." - Blaise Pascal April 8th, 2007 Happy Easter April 9th, 2007 Today is April the 9th. I have less than one month of school left. Hopefully I won't get sick again. I just got over having strep throat and that was no fun. Anyways, I am glad this semester has went by so quickly. I hope I don't jinx it. April 11th, 2007 The band "explosions in the sky" is amazing. The end. April 15th, 2007 Today's sermon that David Horner gave was really good. Ill be sure to post the notes up on it later, but you can listen to it here: http://www.providence-sermons.com/sermons.php It is titled "The Surpassing Greatness of His Power". April 17th, 2007 Yesterday was a horrible tradgedy for Virginia Tech as there was a school shooting in which numerous amount of people (I think the number is around 31) that have died and many other injured. You are all in my thoughts and in my prayers. It is a harsh realization that this could have easily been any college school and that it is a wake up call to some of us to have our lives in order and live each day like it is our last because we never know when ours is going to come. I feel sorry for those of my friends that lost other friends. I don't know what that would even begin to feel like. You are all in my prayers. April 21st, 2007 This is really old, from some chorus concert from last semester.. but I liked it and I saved the lyrics for one of the Five Hebrew Love Songs they did by Eric Whitacre. The text is by Hila Pitmann. The song is called Temuna. " A picture is engraved in my heart; Moving between light and darkness A sort of silence envelopes your body And your hair falls upon your face just so." April 24th, 2007 Did some recording the last week and finished up with the songs today and uploaded them to an all new purevolume page! Go check them out, they are praise and worship songs. I hopefully will have a full CD eventually this summer if I can find the time.. www.purevolume.com/dmw Tell me what you think! May 4th, 2007 School's out! May 24th, 2007 Wow. I really haven't posted at all since I have been home for the summer. I need to try and make this thing easier to mangage as far as the calendar because you can really tell when I don't post because of the empty space haha. Anyways, I have been playing tennis a lot recently with my good long time friend Ryan Knight and also working on cars a lot with my newly made friend at Campbell, Eric Sherrer. He is a pretty cool kid. He has sa 74 Stingray vette and a 68 mustang. Update on my car... hm.. well the intercooler has gone on and I need to take new pictures. That reminds me, I got a new camera.. a Canon S3 IS. Its pretty cool. I am staring working up again at good ol Applebees. I am still really excited about going to Africa. So much has happened and its funny how during the school year all you do is want summer to be there so you wont have much to do.. but then summer comes and you always always find stuff to fill up your time and youre not as bored as you'd think you'd be. Hence, thats why i don't write as much on here as i thought i would. Alright well time to get back to whatever i was doing! June 7th, 2007 Well I've earned about half of my Africa trip money so far. Blah. I hate how the world revolves around money. It always has and always will, but I dont like it. Haha. Anyway, Sara James is coming to visit soon from Arizona, I started this journal write around the time that I came back from visitng her. That should be fun. Thats all for now. June 11th, 2007 Well this journal has definately seen better days. I used to write in it all the time but that was when I had more free time. I guess I need to find a different way to do the calendar so it doesnt look so empty. So that might be coming soon. Anyways, Lauren left for Africa a few days ago and her little brother got sick on the plane, it was his first time. That stinks. But anyways, all Ive really been up to is working all the time and going to church and tuning my car. Its a long painstaking process but oh well. Im excited about the end of the summer. I cant wait to go to camp again and then go to Pembroke. I like new things, I like change. It should be fun.