fa LA LA LA LA

a briefing on a recent trip to LA, to be followed by details... eventually.

november happenings

november of 2008 = a presidential election

orange is for pumpkins

another month, another HALLiday...
the hall family has begun preparations for HALLoween, which means an annual trip to the DeMoss Pumpkin farm. This ended with a selection of pumpkins with such deformities as warts, super green not yet ripe pumpkin, and a pumpkin that looks like a rope was tied around it while it was growing.
In addition to the HALLoween preparations, as a family (minus the brothers) we did a bike ride for breast cancer last weekend along with a 5k for arthritis. It was some great family bonding time as we got to encourage and challenge on another physically. Enjoy the pictures!






in additional news....
TA DA! My brother Hiland got engaged to his lovely lady friend Lauren... CONGRATS! This all went down in the Blissful DisneyWorld... where magic really happens.

THAAAA DREAM... THA BULLS....

just some random thoughts from some random day...

what is the american dream?
the futility of such a thought and such a life only leads to emptiness.
who will care what you wore as you lie on your deathbed?
...what you owned...what you ate...what you lived for...
who will care what you're dying for if you are only dying to live?
if this is all there is, it isn't worth another breath.

if this isn't all there is; it's worth every last breath we have.

Ecclesiastes says that God has put eternity on the hearts of his people, that they might seek God.... (Ecclesiastes 3:11) (He also has planted eternity in our hearts and minds [a divinely implanted sense of a purpose working through the ages which nothing under the sun but God alone can satisfy], yet so that men cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.) - amplified Bible

we long to live for a reason.
we long for forever for a reason.

super duper.

here is a variety of photos from being a tourist at the missions and with mr. robinson himself... that is a self-taken photo... a challenge with such a tall man.

pasta roni.

Texas is like a fiesta everyday.
Unfortunately for me, it hasn't been.
Some of you know I have had the joy of experiencing tonsillitis twice in the past 3 weeks. This has had me down and out enjoying the wide varieties of applesauce and pudding (yes yes, some ice cream and soup too).
The past several days have been great as I have been able to be a tourist on the riverwalk, see giant cowboy boots, the alamo and the missions of this great land. oh, and i suppose i've enjoyed a couple basketball games as well. it's been great hanging out with some close friends and family since i've been well.
Other than this, I have been working a lot on school and am very excited to finish up one of my first courses next month.

bibbity bobbity boo

I suppose it's about time for a REAL update, some of you may be saying, 'enough of these quotes' so here's what's up...

Since I've last written I have had the joy of seeing my first Tractor pull, attending the Washington County Fair, going to the Nebraska State Fair and seeing the Band Third Day(no, not as wonderful as the Iowa State Fair if you were wondering), visiting Lisa and Andy in Iowa City, attempting to continue to train for a half-marathon at the end of the month, seeing some good pals around Ames, continuing my course work at Liberty University, and hanging out with my family. This, my friends, is clearly a summary... and let my photos summarize even more...

The reasonable man adapts himself to the world. The unreasonable man adapts the world to himself. All progress depends upon the unreasonable man.
- George Bernard Shaw

You really can change the world if you care enough.
- Marion Wright Edelman

wise man makes his own decisions; an ignorant man follows the public opinion.
-Chinese Proverb

Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls.
- Mother Teresa

The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one.
- Elbert Hubbard

recently ...

i like animals.
goats and zebras included...

yellow.

I am careful not to confuse excellence with perfection. Excellence, I can reach for; perfection is God's business.
Michael J. Fox

Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb.
Sir Winston Churchill

The man who has no imagination has no wings.
Muhammad Ali

school is back in session

School has officially begun again, as I start the pursuit of my masters degree in marriage and family therapy (counseling). I am looking forward to all the reading as it pertains to something I enjoy and hope to work in the rest of my life. However, the amount of reading is slightly overwhelming (yet, exactly what I anticipated).

Here is my official 'first day of school' picture as taken by my mother in the traditional location (in front of our garage). I am fully equipped with a book, backpack and my mothers reading glasses.

good news...confession

08/03/08

i wrote this in church one day because i was bored and frustrated... mostly with myself....

spaces of empty seats everywhere surround and interrupt community.
everyone in their finest clothes- where are the homeless, the blind, the broken, the poor, the lame, the adulterous, the thieves... here are the lonely rich.
the lovely rich christians of America. where and how are needs being met in this so-called community of Christ? where is the outreach to the lost neighbors, the lost nations? did my outfit cost me more than feeding a child for months or building a well in Africa? why do we stare at a person on stage? why can't i see the battles of sin? where's the imagination of losing myself in Christ and worshiping Christ? why did the children have to leave? Did Jesus have the children leave? Have I shown love to these people amongst empty spaces and chairs? how much did those fancy lights cost for the stage? or that illuminated cross behind that man on stage?

how good is the good news if i sit with you in this room with closed doors?
i drive myself crazy in this seat because i am one of the ones sitting here. i am one of the ones who spent more money on my outfit than my neighbors need for food or water. i am one of the ones who is entertained by the lighting, music, projectors, stage, microphones, illuminated cross. Have I become a follower of the american church and not of Christ? am i a result of being a convert in America? have i begun to follow those who appear to know what they're doing and not God's very word? have we all become followers of the americanized church and not of Jesus Christ and the Word of God? If the good news is SO GOOD- why am i sitting in a room of proclaimed believers (myself included) with the doors shut...?

Thank God for this...

My Dad and I at the state fair...