S.U. Party

Well, tonight was the night of the much anticipated "Fresher's Ball". This year was a Godfather theme. So, obviuosly, I didn't dress anything like a gangster. But I did wear some brown pants. I wasn't that out of place though. Many of the chaps that went apparently thought "gangster" means "cool hat plus a silver tie" and many of the ladies confused "Godfather theme" with "Sunset Strip theme". There's a difference.

Anyways, a bunch from our group of Americans went over to check things out. It was awesome. Very reminiscent of a high school/college homecoming, only with alcohol and lots of people sweating on the dance floor. The music was not as bad as I feared also. They booked a DJ from a club called Blush, and his playlist consisted of mostly dance-rock and Killers-type bands. A second room got put aside as a more lowkey area, with a guitarist playing covers of songs that for the most part were better than the actual songs (but how hard is it to be better sounding than GNR?).

Lots of fun. Good good times. I'll prolly sleep in a bit a download a sermon from good ol' History church, cause I miss those guys like I miss my family (that's a lot).

I'll put up some pics soon, and I have some good ones.

Much love,

Brandon


"For a minute there, I lost myself."

Some thinkin'.

So, upon returning from a crazy fun night of celebrating Kristie's 22nd birthday, I was reading a devotional from rbc.org and came across these verses:

Galatians 6:2-10

"Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, for each one should carry his own load.
Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor.
Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers."

So much in these verses resonated in my mind. There's mention of helping people cope with their struggles, of evaluating one's own actions and making sure that you aren't comparing yourself with others so much as dealing with your own things.

Also, there is the notion of reaping what you sow, and sowing to please the Spirit. Am I sowing actions that please the Spirit? Always? I can't answer "Yes" to that. I don't always sow to the Spirit.

But why not? I mean, in the next verse, there is a clear promise that we will reap a harvest of benefits if we continue in sowing good things. So why would I not sow good things all the time?

I don't have answers. These thoughts were just on my mind and I thought I'd share.

--Brandon

Photobucket

So this is a bit of an experiment.

In an attempt not to clog my hard drive with large photos from my adventures here in England, I have put them in Photobucket albums so that they are hosted online. So I will probably include links to large groups of pictures on top of uploading some here.

http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b395/DrumGuy4Life/Stonehenge/


This is the first batch. Enjoy.

About Berkeley Castle

By far, the best day has been today.

This is for one reason only: Berkeley Castle. Granted, the tour was a little dry and boring--I'd much rather give myself a tour than be lectured on whom inherited the castle from whom. But then, I went to see the flower gardens.


I still don't think I have found accurate words to describe them. The smells, the sights, the arrangement just seemed straight out of some painting, perfectly drawn and illustrated. There was even a path to a reflecting pool filled with lily pads and purple flowers and everywhere there were perfectly shaded benches.

It's been a long time since I was breathtaken by anything to that extent. And all through it, I couldn't help but be overcome by knowing that the beauty of these gardens pales in comparison to the beauty of God and His love and majesty. It's such a refreshing contrast to the nightly news and morning headlines. Today, I know I saw my Maker in every flower, tree, and field I passed.

I don't really think I can say anything more.

Finally, the pictures.

Alright, folks. Here's those pictures I promised.

First there was Woodhenge, then Strawhenge...

Ah, today was loooong.

I was up at 8:15 for Stonehenge, which is much closer to UG than I thought. What a sight. It is actually just a bunch of stacked rocks on the side of a highway, but there's so much that's unknown about it. It could have been a total joke for all we know. Maybe the Druids started stacking rocks and then scrapped the project for budget reasons (their cheap labor formed a union--haha).

Next was a trip to the town of Bath. This town has so much personality! There were large squares with street performers in them--my favorite was the xylophone act--and plenty of small shops to eat and browse. Also, we saw the Roman baths, which were pretty neat.

To finish off the night, about 15 of us strolled down High Street to a pub called the Irish Oak and spent the night playing pool with the Brits and playing who knows how many cheesy jukebox tunes. A good, good day.


Also, I'm gonna put all of my pictures in photobucket albums, so I will be including links here and in emails.

Good friends + an Early Morn

A brilliant night.

This night started out as just pure rubbish, with Siah and I lounging on a bed half asleep. But not 5 minutes later, Siah, Dan, Steph, Rosemarie, Deidra, Patrick, Doug and I are all hanging out in Dan's room watching old, old Homestarrunner toons.

This brilliant night was made even more so by being the night of Dan's 20th birthday and to celebrate we all dressed up and spent an hour waiting in line for some of the clubs here in Cheltenham (which happens to have quite a healthy club scene). We ended up getting into a place called Blush at about 11:45 and had a BLAST! Britain clubs have American clubs beat! Rehashed techno rhythms are replaced with actual mainstream pop songs from all different genres. Not that i'm a fan of many of the songs; most are quite innappropriate, to tell the truth. I am a fan, though, of just being wacky and having a great time, all the while making sure your mate is safe.

But it is 2:19 and my alarm rings in six hours.

Nite.


---Brandon

My first post.

Hopefully this will go well, considering the cliche title.

So I finally set up my blog and I decided to add some postage so that people might actually want to read it.

England is pretty much the greatest country ever! I can't remember when I last breathed air so fresh, saw grass so green, and had so much fun. We've visited old-style towns and toured 600 year old parish churches and taken bus rides past green moors and pastures and sheep. It is so beautiful! It brings to mind the passages in Genesis 1, where God declares His creation to be "good". Truly, the beauty I see here in England is His handiwork.

I'm pretty much all set up. Fortunately, my adapters have worked and I have my computer up and running (I'm writing this after all). Funny story, though; my alarm clocks LED display died and I have been having to make do with different ways of waking on time. I may just cave and pay the 6 pounds for an alarm clock. I probably should, to prevent myself from waking up 5 minutes before my mates leave (another funny story). I also had my first beer.

That is all that has happened now. But this week we go to Stonehenge and all kinds of brilliant places. I'll upload pictures as I go.

To History Church peeps: Hopefully Sunday went well. You all are the coolest and I am so blessed to know each of you.

To friends: I miss all of you like all get out. Hope your well.

To family: I miss you all too. And ignore the beer part.


--Brandon

"This world is broken but beautifully made"