J Dilla

Awesome tribute to J Dilla, filmed in Brazil on May 3, 2006.

A Few Tips for the Gentleman

While chivalry may be dying, do what you can to keep it alive.
-Be courteous to women! Hold doors open, say hello, walk them to their car, pay for their coffee/food (if you are able to do so). It's okay to be a gentleman and it doesn't always mean you're interested.

It's always better to be over dressed than under dressed.
-Don't be afraid to wear a nice outfit while going out. It's better to go to a casual dinner wearing a shirt and tie only to realize everyone else is in a t-shirt rather than showing up to a semi-formal or formal event in flip-flops and jeans.

Mind your hygiene!
-When leaving the house, make sure you have bathed recently, are wearing deodorant, your teeth are brushed, your clothes are clean, your nails trimmed, and your hair is cleaned up. Cologne is optional, but a little bit of a nice scent is always nice. Don't leave your house looking/smelling like you you're taking a stance against the societal norm for what it means to be presentable, you'll always be on the losing end of this protest.

Learn to speak proper English.
-Try to cut down on the amount of "likes," "dudes," "ums," and anything else that makes you sound like a middle school child with a minor speech impediment when speaking with others. Speak with eloquence, confidence, and in a way that shows you actually have something to say.

Don't be afraid to get your hands dirty.
-While being clean and smelling good is important, being a man who isn't afraid to do some hard work is much more so. Don't shy away from work that will put some sweat on your brow, on the contrary, seek it out! But do make sure to clean yourself up afterwards.

ALWAYS respect your elders.
-Never speak to an older person disrespectfully. While you may not agree with everything they say, being rude or crass makes you appear like a mild-mannered fool. Be courteous, respectful, and polite. You can learn a lot from people who have lived longer than you, and you should always seize the opportunity to spend time with your grandparents if this opportunity is available to you.

More to come in the near future!

Just a thought...

How often is my faith and trust in God tested? How often do I come out feeling somewhat beaten up and more than just a little bit humbled? It is unfortunately all too often that my faith is more vocal than actual and I had a chance to be reminded of that in a very real way recently. As some of you may know, I had somewhat of a fiasco with my car and the whole thing didn't quite pan out like I would have preferred. But... something good did happen. God showed me how faithful He is when times are tough and He also showed me just how little I really trust Him.

Thank you all for your prayers in the past couple of weeks, they mean a lot and had it not been for them, I may have still been wallowing in my puddle of self pity and discontentment.

I urge all of you to not get hung up on financial difficulties and every day trials. Learn from them and become stronger as a result of the experience. Spend more time worshiping the Lord for His never ceasing goodness as opposed to questioning His actions and the directions He takes us in. Spend more time with those you love and cherish as opposed to time on your own during times of hardship, dwelling on the things that are out of your control. And most importantly, wholeheartedly praise God for the trials in your life; without them you would be weak, confused, and utterly helpless.

The Future

It seems like everyone I talk to lately is very focused on five, 10, or even 20 years from today. People seem to be planning out their careers, their family life, and most of the big decisions they will inevitably have to make at some point in the future. There's a big focus on having all the parts of your education and future professional life all plotted out and every step along the path carved out for you to gently and readily step in to. This seems to be the case with people even as young as 15 or 16 years old, which blows my mind. I definitely have a lot of respect for people who think ahead and plan as opposed to just living a day to day lifestyle. I certainly wish I planned a little more when I was younger, I wish I looked ahead to more than just the given day's evening, and I definitely wish I took school more seriously.

Having said that, I must remind people that we live in an amazing, beautiful, and incredibly interesting world! We aren't drones that are meant to work, work, work and forget about everything else. I am definitely not saying we need to make having fun the primary focus of our lives and forget about getting an education and a career, but people... I'm meeting WAY too many people who are 20 years old going on 40. It's okay to slow down and go out into the forest to read and enjoy creation. It's not a sin to go take a walk through the city and do some people watching, or maybe even strike up a conversation with an intriguing stranger. It becomes more and more difficult (if not nearly impossible) to do these things when you have a family and children to take care of, so enjoy these years. There is a fine balance that needs to be found in order to be productive in accomplishing your goals while still being able to enjoy your life, but I implore all of you; FIND THAT BALANCE. Go visit your grandparents, have an evening with them. Go for a bike ride, feel the wind in your face (or for the NW people, the rain). Go on an adventure with a friend, explore a new place and have some deep, meaningful conversation. Enjoy your life, and carpe diem!

Now go find this place!

The End of the World?

So May 21st was supposed to be the end of the world (or the beginning of the end of the world)? As far as I know, not too much happened. From what I've read, Harold Camping's prediction was for the rapture to occur two days ago. Are the believers still here? Did I get left behind? The complete end of the world, however, is supposed to happen on October 21st of this year. This is all quite humorous but the fact is, many people are being seriously misled by this man and his false teachings, and that is no laughing matter. I was driving back from California yesterday and I saw one of these signs:

As I understand it, the only thing the Bible guarantees is this: "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of the heaven, nor the son, but the Father alone." - Matthew 24:36.

It's very sad that the picture a lot of people have of Christianity is paranoia, worry, "conspiracy theory," and all of that other junk. At times like this we need to grow in our knowledge of God and His word because although the end of the world may not happen on October 21st, it will happen soon and there are still many people who are unsaved in the world. We should also be finding comfort in the fact that we'll be meeting our Lord very soon. It's important that we are able to answer people's questions about why these earthquakes, tornadoes, floods, wars, etc. are all piling up. I'm getting very excited though! The end of the world means I get to meet my God soon, and that's a fantastic truth that gives me peace.

Whenever I hear about all of this, I can't help but sing "it's the end of the world as we know, and I feel fine..." in my head.

Siblings

Not too many of you know that I have two beautiful sisters, but I do. I am very blessed to have these awesome women in my life. They have always been there for me and have shown me unconditional love despite the fact that I was far from deserving it. Their names are Liliya and Inna and it's wonderful to see what God does in their lives and in the lives of their families (they are both mothers to two beautiful children, and are married to two very lucky gentlemen). These people are VERY important to me and we've quite recently resolved to spend more time with one another. This last Saturday we got to hang out at our house, spend some time talking, then go do some grocery shopping (and had a little dance party in the car on the drive). I love my sisters very much and I hope if you have siblings you jump on every opportunity to spend time with them and be as close to them as possible. It's a beautiful thing to have a friendship with your siblings.

Bowties & Ties

I wonder, how many of you gentlemen can tie a tie? Or, how about a bowtie? Although knowing how to tie a bowtie isn't a necessity; I think a bowtie provides a great classic look, especially with the right bowtie. But, knowing how to tie a tie is a must for a man (your mom or dad can only do it for you up until a certain point). A proper gentleman should be able to tie a tie and help a comrade out who doesn't know how to do it. Below I've attached instructions on how to tie a half windsor knot (my personal favorite tie knot), as well as how to tie a bowtie. Put this information to good use!