Studying on a Friday Night

This week, I've been a horrible student. I don't even want to tell you how I finished my two papers for today, how long I had until the deadlines when I turned them in or what time I woke up to get this all done.

Actually, I will tell you what time I woke up. 4AM. That's a little on the ridiculous scale, but I got everything done and then some. So why am I studying so late at night? Shouldn't I be snuggled into my bed with a mug of hot cocoa and a good read instead of laboring away at my kitchen table while overlooking a game of Quelf.

This answer is simple. I am enjoying studying. I'm not studying for my classes, but rather for photography. Tomorrow I'll be out in the world with a lovely model, Calli, as I attempt to practice my photography skills. In preparation for this, my camera is lying by my side as I pour through the quick start guide that came with the camera as well as websites such as Ken Rockwell's that make photography a bit easier for those of us who don't really know what they're doing. I've taken notes. There might be more notes on this notecard over things like ISO, aperture and exposure than I have taken during some of my classes this semester.

One of the things I came across makes me want to rethink the photography side of my life. This is the typical day of a professional photographer:

• Before dark - wake up and get to location
• Dawn: shoot
• 8 AM: breakfast, shower, nap
• Day: scout out new locations
• Afternoon: lunch and/or dinner
• Sunset: shoot
• After dark: later dinner
• After dinner: shower and bed early to shoot at dawn

The beginning before dark is the part that gets to me. I woke up at 4AM this morning for school. I can't imagine getting up this early always for photography, granted I'd probably love it. I'd grab a cup of joe and drive in the wee hours of the morning with no one on the wide open road with me as I get to a location to watch the sun peep around the world as it causes the sky to wake up in an explosion of color. Maybe that's a good idea after all, it could be the love of my life.

Call+Response

Screen the whole thing tomorrow night at A&M UMC, 7pm.
Hope to see you there!

Sneak

Sometimes, the days just get by you. They all mesh together and it's hard to figure out exactly what happened when. That's how I'm feeling this morning. Did y'all realize Ash Wednesday is tomorrow? It just snuck up on me!

I would have completely forgotten sans this interesting video:
I kind of spaced out while watching as I began to think of what the next forty days would hold for a sacrifice.

After some thinking, I still have no idea what I'll be doing for the next forty. I'm hoping through enjoying my day with a class out early and another cancelled, I'll have some extra time for something to come to mind...

Understanding.

Haiti, I won't forget you.

Collision

The youth minister I work with, Clay, and my roommate Zara had the great idea of our youth group starting their own blog called Collision. I was asked to help out with it since I'm a little attached to the blogging.

I wrote a posting on their last night that y'all might want to check out. A million thank yous to Curtis Honeycutt of Just Wallpaper for letting God be glorified in his amazing skills.

Hope everyone's having a fabulous day!

Cries Among the Trash

I read a lot of social justice stuff in a given day. I don't always focus on it though. A lot of days I like to read, meditate for a second on whatever issue I'm reading about and then click over to a "happier" blog or to facebook or to whatever else will distract my mind from the hurts of so many in this world.

While reading Pete Wilson's blog today about a girl named Puja Ghosh, a sentence struck out at me and made me take notice of it.

"She lives with a family here in the Khalpar slum who found her in a pile of trash. Her mom literally tossed her out like you would a loaf of moldy bread."

Soak the reality of that sentence up.
That could have been me. That could have been you.
God has crazy plans that are for each of us. I don't know why I was allowed a loving, generous family while Puja, a sweet daughter of the King, is growing up with a different family than her own. I don't know why I don't have to deal with the pain of that situation and Puja does. I don't know why, but I am thankful that I got to hear her story. You should go read the rest and pray for Puja.

Pray for love. Pray for her future. Pray for her relationships. Pray for God to shine through her. Pray for her new family. Pray for her parents that tossed her into the trash. Pray.

I like funny things.