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Its 4am ::

Can’t sleep, can’t work, can’t focus. I’m pretty sure i am going to go get in my car and drive to Wal-Mart. Just because i can. Life is strange

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FOCCUS

So in preparation for our loverly  church wedding Stephen and I have been meeting with Fr. at St. EAS here in Carmel.

When you do marriage prep in the Catholic church you take a FOCCUS test.  (Facilitating Open Couple Communication, Understanding, and Study).  I was not looking forward to this.  Nope, no way.  But I am so glad they do this.  It really gave both of us a lot to think about, and we realized we weren’t on the same page on some pretty important things.  But we both thought we were on the same page!  Better to find out about it now.

I am really glad that everything has worked out this way.  Fr. is great at his job.  He is very insightful, he knows what questions to ask, and has really revealed a lot of holes in our relationship that I didn’t even know existed.  I am so thankful for that.  They aren’t major things, we weren’t on the verge of collapse or anything.  But things like

Question 126:  I am concerned my future spouse will become too involved in career/work.  Stephen Agreed with this statement, I disagreed.

- I had NO IDEA Stephen was afraid I would, as he put it, “abandon my family if it meant I could get ahead in my career”. Needless to say we have since talked about it, and are both on the same page.  Stephen was actually referring to my desire to have a nanny for my children.  I don’t want a nanny to RAISE my children, just to provide the support I need as a working mother.  Stephen was under the impression I wanted a nanny to raise my children, and I didn’t want to be a mom.  Not the case, problem solved, thank you #126!

Question 84:  My future spouse Always has to win.  Stephen Disagreed I Agreed.

- I THANK GOD for this question.  It bugs the shit out of me, Stephen thinks arguing is about WINNING, and he will say what ever he has to to win.  He didn’t even realize he was doing it.  Because I could never describe it before, but when I read this statement I said to him “That’s what you do, you argue to Win!”  and he said “Yea, don’t you?”  wow… can you see the problem there?  So we had a long conversation about how arguing isn’t about winning its about working together to solve the problem/issue.  We haven’t really argued since that conversation.  Normally we argue every freaking day about something.  But Stephen has been really good this last week or so about problem solving, NOT arguing.

There were many others, some about sex, and some to personal to share, but you get the idea.  Email me if you want a copy of the questions to go over with your significant other, its really an amazing tool, and I applaud the Church’s use of it.

Fr. has also been able to get Stephen to open up about his family.  I know (as do most) that there is a lot of tension between Stephen and his Family over me… and I feel horrible about that, but at the same time these people act crazy about everything, so I more feel sorry for them than anything else.

But I never realized how much Stephens home life, growing up, affected him.  I thought all the problems and tension were recent… like in the last 8 years.  He doesn’t talk about his childhood much, and now I know why.  And now that I know how hard things were for him sometimes, I truly understand why he reacts the way he does in certain situations.  Its not because he is an Ass, its because he is afraid, and its a defense mechanism for him.  I wish i had known all these years, I really could have saved myself a lot of grief and heartache if I had known about it, I would have handled some hurdles we came to in our relationship differently.  But that’s ok, we are moving on from here.

I know this is cliche, but God works in mysterious ways.  Stephen and I have been trying to get married for 2 years now, and something ALWAYS came up.  I never would have imagined I would be getting married in June at SEAS with 20 people. But by doing so we have started these meetings with Fr., and I really feel like we were meant to end up here.  I don’t often meet someone I feel a connection with, someone I feel was meant to be in my life.  Stephen is meant to be in my life, John and Cryssy are meant to be in our lives, my family, ect…  and I really feel like Fr. was meant to be the one to help us through this phase of transition, from two single adults to one married couple. I really do thank God for him.

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Ah… young love.

So today was the best Valentines day ever… for Me anyway.

Sorry Cryssy   I should preface this post with a disclaimer that the boys planned the whole day, and John was in the dog house for not wanting to spend his and Cryssy’s FIRST Valentines day together doing something romantic ALONE.

Overall I had a blast. It was a great day.

First, I got my birthday gift.  Stephen bought me (legally I bought me) a handgun for my birthday.  He got me the Beretta U22 Neos.  I love it.  See the review below.  So after that we went to Don’s Guns in Indianapolis to shoot.  We took John and Cryssy.  Cryssy wasn’t interested but John was like a kid in a candy store.  He shot his way through an entire box of ammo before Stephen and I realized what was going on.  He switched back and forth between my new .22 and Stephen’s 9mm.  BIG DIFFERENCE, but it was fun.  I hope Stephen knows how lucky he is to have a girlfriend who thinks its awesome to spend Valentines day at the range.

Second, we went back to my house where we witnessed Jophen vrs the Cricut, round one. I have know idea if there will be a round two, but in an effort to earn brownie points John and Stephen (you do the math = Jophen) made, from scrap, V-Day cards.  Here you can see Jophen embracing the gayness that is using a Cricut when you are a man @_@

Third we went back to John and Cryssy’s, and then “Spaghetti-o’s” was born.  I can’t even go into it… you had to be there, but the boys made dinner, and that was nice of them.  Thanks guys!

So anyway that about recaps… oh one down side, that I am sure everyone will find funny.

- At the shooting range, one of the metal casings ejected from the gun (like it should) and flew through the air, hurled itself down my shirt, and burnt my boob.  I have a dime sized welt on my boob from that wonderful moment…. OWWWWWWWWWW.  But honest to God, what are the chances?  I was wearing a sweatshirt! Its not like I was out shooting in a bikini.  Now that its over, it was hysterical.

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Review :: Beretta U22 Neos

Who Makes It: Beretta
What: 4.5 or 6 inch .22 LR semi-automatic handgun

This was my birthday gift.

Wow, is all I can say. It has all the integrity and performance you expect from a Beretta. In a light, fun, target range gun. I am in love

Pros:
- inexpensive. I bought mine at Gander Mountain for $329
- .22 caliber In this rush for ammo, thanks to President Obama, 9mm and .38 bullets are hard to come by and especially at a good price.
- Relatively heavy for a .22 handgun. This thing is spot on accurate.
- Great gun for the money
- Breaks down in less than 30 seconds. SOOOOOO easy.
- 10 round clip is a breeze to load, and the operation of the gun is smooth.

Cons:
- If you are a mans man who needs a manly gun because you have a small penis, this is not the gun for you. My fiancees 9mm makes this gun feel like a toy, and his 9mm isn’t a great gun.
- 4.5 is too big to carry, its not designed for that anyway. if you got the 6 it would definitely be impossible
- The draw on the slider is very stiff, and I don’t like how the site rail sits on top and doesn’t move when you draw it back.

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Lee Strobel :: The Case For Christ

“The Case for Christ :: A Journalist’s Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus”

If Jesus really existed, and if Jesus is who the gospels say he is, and if his resurrection from the dead really happened, then Jesus plays in important role all of our lives. Strobel began a journey to find if these things were plausible after his wife joined a church and began her journey to salvation. In his book, Strobel attempts to recreate his journey from sceptic to believer by asking scholars the same hard questions he asked of the evidence.
In an attempt to discern the validity of eyewitness accounts Strobel interviews Craig L. Bloomberg. Bloomberg explains that the gospels were written by men who knew Jesus in the first or second person. The gospels are biographies, but differ from modern biographies. Many argue the gospels were zealous attempts to sway opinions because the are biographies that leave out Jesus’ early life, hence they are not complete. However Bloomberg explains this was just the way biographies were written. In that time you only wrote down information and events that my provide lessons to future generations. Bloomberg points out that both Luke and John make statements that they are writing to preserve historical fact. The fact is the biographies were written at such an early point, that rumor, conjecture, and legend had not yet had a chance to take root. Therefore it could not taint the validity of the Gospels. Strobel’s experts dismiss the Gnostic Gospels as a source of rebuttal evidence given they were written so many years after Jesus and do not pass the same litmus test of reliability.
If the bible is accurate eyewitness testimony, the next step is to explain the contradictions. Strobel’s experts argue that the inherent contradiction in bible stories actually strengthens the bibles authenticity. The expert agrees with Strobel’s realization that “if the gospels had been identical to each other… this would have raised charges that the authors had conspired among themselves to coordinate their stories in advance… and would have cast doubt on them.” (45)
Satisfied with the Authenticity of the Bible, Strobel wants to provide cooborating evidence, in other words, other writings that support the assertions of the Gospel. Since there is no doubt that Jesus was somewhat of a celebrity in his time, many supporting accounts of his life can be found, especially in the works of Josephus, a
Jew, and Tacitus, a Roman.
Next Strobel tackles the question of “who is Jesus”. There is no doubt that Jesus is complex. Jesus spoke with his own authority which often overruled the existing teaching that you must speak in the name of another person in order to cooborating your story. People wondered who Jesus was to make such claims. When the rabbis ask Jesus, “Are you the son of god?” he replies “yes”.
Despite Jesus’ affirmations of his identity, the phrase actions speak louder than words, would be appropriate for determining who Jesus was. Everyone acknowledged his extraordinary acts, but his identity as the Son of God comes from his affirmation that he does these works to fulfill the coming of God’s kingdom.
Jesus also fulfills the coming of God’s Kingdom by fulfilling the prophecies of the old testament. Thinking like an investigative writer, Strobel argues that Jesus fulfilling so many of the prophecies of the old testament, is similar to fingerprint evidence presented in court. That particular combination of swirls, ovals, or, in this case, prophecies can only belong to one person. The likelihood of some other person being able to fulfill all those prophecies is slimmer than the likely hood of two people having the same finger print. So this is clear evidentiary support that Jesus was the Messiah predicted by David, Isaiah, and others in the old testament.
Satisfied that the historical and divine evidence for Jesus, as presented in the Bible, was complete and accurate, Strobel had only to to tackle the resurrection. The death of Jesus is historical fact, free from skepticism of the divine. Jesus died and was buried in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, a historical jewish figure. The skepticism is in the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Strobel’s experts point out reasons why it is unlikely this story was fabricated.
First off in understanding the role of women at the time, they were second class citizens. If someone wanted to fabricate a story, they wouldn’t base it on the testimony of women. That testimony would not be seen, in that day, as credible. Second, the location of the tomb was known to all. Had a body been in the tomb, it certainly would have been discovered and used to dispel the myth of the resurrection. After that Jesus was seen by many people following his death.
Paul claims 500 people saw Jesus alive after his death. Paul is in close proximity to most of these people, and he wrote 1 Corinthians 15 (231) shortly following the resurrection. This account by Paul passes the eyewitness litmus test used at the beginning of the book.
No fact can diminish the numerous people who died as a result of persecution for their beliefs. Despite the extreme persecution there was an explosion of Christianity. The power of God is apparent in the hardship Christians endured and eventually triumphed over.
Strobel’s approach is admirable. He wanted scientific proof that Jesus actually lived, performed miracles, was mentally competent to declare Himself the Son of God, and was resurrected. He also tackles the reliability of what we now know to be the New Testament. The book was quite thorough. Some may accuse those Christians who read it of being of little faith for needing reinforcement in the form of hard facts in the first place, but it drives home that Jesus really was both man and God.
I have been a Christian my entire life, but I have still, at times, struggled with the very questions in this book. In a world of science, realism, instant gratification, and decreased spiritual belief, many Christians find them selves having to defend their beliefs. I know I have, and having to do so often raises new questions of my own. I think “The Case for Christ” addresses many non-Christian concerns about christianity, and does so in a precise and scientific way. However, Christians tend to get sucked into this world also. This book starts to lead down a dangerous path. To explain away and justify every mystery of the Bible goes against Christianity. Thats not to say Christians shouldn’t be thoughtful or insightful, but Christianity is a faith. Faith in itself requires no explanation, no justification, no reason. All faith requires is that you believe.

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HIST 118 Exam #1 Review.

EXAM REVIEW HERE

Hey guys, hope this helps some of you!  If you could send me an email (trpdnabx@me.com) or put in the comments section any of the “past is allways present” from the board that you may have, I would appriciate it!

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