KC, vacation, flag boy, garden rest, the Lie & the Light, down undah

KC, vacation, flag boy, garden rest, the Lie & the Light, down undah
Current mood: quixotic
Category: Fashion, Style, Shopping

Hello everyone,

Where were we?....Oh yeah, singing at urinals and pringles from the sky....

First of all, how are you? How's your mother? That's good to hear (unless either you or your mother is not doing well, in which case I'm very sorry).

Lots to catch up on.

(looking out, across the nightime.....the city winks a sleepless eye)--your song quiz

I'm getting ready to get on another plane and head to one of my favorite places on earth--Kansas City. Ahhhhh, Fiorella's Jack Stack, Oklahoma Joes, Sheridan's Frozen Custard, IHOP, Gates, Southwest Blvd., Union Station, Bluebird Cafe, Arthur Bryant's (that's 6 food references, if you're counting because IHOP is not a restaurant, so there!) That and some of the most wonderful people on the face of the earth (what part is the face of the earth anyway?...I wonder what the armpit of the earth would be...or the back of the knee of the earth......it's something to think about....feel free to give your opinions in the comments)

(hear her voice shake my window...sweet seducing sighs)

I took a real, live vacation last month!!! I've been on vacations with family before, but they were never ones that I would plan myself. Most of them were beach vacations and, if you've ever met me personally, it takes your eyes a second to adjust to the bright whiteness of my skin, so the beach isn't the happiest place on earth for me. Don't get me wrong...I love being in the ocean and riding the waves and such. I just don't like the after effects of pain and itching and lobster-esque complexion that peels off to become white, giving me a candy-cane appearance in the transition.

(Get me out Into the night-time...Four walls wont hold me tonight)

So here was the vacation. I flew to Chicago for a day, got on a train that night (I know what you're thinking, but it was not the midnight train to Georgia), went through Illinoise, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota (lots of sunflowers there), and Montana, where the train stopped at Glacier National Park, Montana. Spent a week there with friends and saw some of the most beautiful country I've seen outside of Chile. We hiked around 60 miles in all and saw Grizzly Bears, Big-horn sheep, Mountain Goats, a Moose and her calf, etc....all pretty close too. It was awesome!!!!

(If this town, Is just an apple...Then let me take a bite)

If you're wondering at what part of this trip did I end up looking like a fool, I'll tell you.

It became a tradition for at least us guys to jump in whatever glacial lake we hiked to. The first one was exhilerating. It was very cold, but the sun was out strong, so it felt great to dry off in the warmth. The first two lakes were in Canada (my first time in Canada, eh?) and they were cold, but the last long hike we took was to a place called Iceberg Lake.

"Why do they call it Iceberg Lake?" you ask (should the question mark go after the ask or after the Lake?...I'm putting it after Lake because that's the actual question....tell me if I'm wrong).

Because there's actual icebergs in it, silly.

I continued the tradition and jumped in a lake that isn't warm enough to melt ice and swam out to touch the nearest iceberg. This was dumb. The first two lakes were invigorating. This lake was absolutely painful from start to finish (I think there was a 20 minute period there where I may have temporarily switched genders). And as soon as I get out of the water, absolutely freeeeeeeezing and ready to dry off in the hot sun, a dark, ominous bank of clouds comes billowing over the cliffs above. With the clouds come the cold and...you guessed it....cold rain!!!

Smart guy Charlie (that's how I refer to myself at all times) decided that rain gear was too heavy to bring on this trip, so I put on every long sleeved piece of clothing I have with me and we ended up running a good portion of the 5 miles down the mountain in a downpour.

When we reached the camp, I changed into any piece of dry clothing that I had that looked like it might be warm. This included a pair of warmer running pants that I got like 9 years ago that were way too big that are supposed to fit tight on your legs but are really loose on me and look like those stirrup pants girls wore in the 80's. Over these was a pair of green shorts. I had a blue tank top covered by a white shirt, covered by a photographers vest that I traded someone for in Katmandu when I was there, and sunglasses with one lens out of them. (There's a picture on my blog page from my website). I actually ended up trying to dry off the rain protector of the tent and ended up looking like Napolean Dynamite doing a flag routine in high school band (there's actual video of this). So....there you go.

(If they say - Why, why, tell em that is human nature
Why, why, does he do me that way)

Thinking about the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve eating that fruit to gain the knowledge of Good and Evil....what if they were doing it to give themselves the ability to please God? I don't know, I'm just saying. We were discussing it at church last night and I would tend to think that it is a good possibility. They knew God was the best thing ever, so why would they want to rebel against Him and break fellowship with Him. Surely those "cool of the day walks" were the best part of their day, right? I bet they thought the knowledge of Good and Evil would allow them to make their own decisions that would make God proud of them and so become more pleasing to Him.

I know that's how my brain works.

The problem was...and is...that this is totally unnecessary and it doesn't work. We stink at it! We call what is good evil and vice-versa. But the bigger problem is that they were pleasing already!!! And so am I!!! And so are you if you are in Christ!!!! Why is that so hard for me to grasp in reality? Even though I sing about it and write about it, I still think I need to be doing something to make Him happy or to make Him smile when He looks at me. That's so jacked up!!! There is nothing I could ever do to impress Him or gain favor from Him, but there's no reason to do so because He's smiling already as He looks at me in His Son. His Son makes Him smile and there I am in Him!!! There's nothing I can do to add to Jesus Christ! I just need to rest.

I'm beginning to think that rest is maybe the most mature form of worship and the most selfless way to honor Him.....to rest in what He has done and quit trying to do my own thing to somehow acquire something that I'm continually given without the slightest hint of measure.

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Book Recommendation
You guys, I read a book that is AWESOME!!! I love finding books that when I'm done I say, "Every Christian should read this book as soon as they meet Jesus." This is one of those books. You won't find it at your local bookstore, so you'll have to order it, but it's worth ordering (plus it's pretty cheap and it's not real long). It's called "The Lie and the Light" by Jason Henderson. Get it. Read it. Tell me what you think. It will take you one or two days to read, but it is soooooooo good. Get it at https://www.createspace.com/3345469

I'd better let you get back to whatever it is that you are doing. Thanks for hanging out for a second.

By the way, some of my music is getting radio play in Australia these days. If you want to listen or request songs, you can listen over the net at http://www.rhemafm.com.au/newcastle/. Pretty fun. They say my name "chaaaaalie Daaaaahdrill." I love it!