Weird Sleep.

So my sleep was very very un-Ryan like last night.  I fell asleep and about a half hour later I woke up and looked at Scott working on the computer and said, "runaway rickshaw."  Then after him being like "what?" I realized I didn't have a clue what was going on. So I laughed and went back to sleep.  The rest of the night I had trouble sleeping. It was a very stupid problem to have.

posted by shark_maul @ 2/25/2006 11:16:00 AM 2 comments

Would Jesus play Halo?

Living in today's world I think we lose track of what Jesus would do in his free time.  I think on Monday's he'd go chill and hang out with people and maybe heal some people all day. And during class he might argue with overpompous teachers. (only one specifically....durn worldview) Tuesday he might go to engage then explain in detail the reality of the talk while we hang out at Starbucks.  Wednesday he might go downtown and heal people and tell about himself.  Then he might spend the late night painting school rooms for free and doing janitorial work.  Thursday he'd go to a homesexual part of town and talk to people and get to know them.  He would help them with life problems and the things they deal with.  Then Thursday he might spend with the homeless, he'd talk to them give them food and help them get a job.  Friday, he would come play Halo with the guys and proceed to tar and feather us. I think the Jesus I worship is different than the Jesus so many think they know.  Maybe tomorrow or better yet...today find out what Jesus would do and how he would do it then emulate.

posted by shark_maul @ 2/24/2006 03:46:00 PM 0 comments

Laugh.

I think since I've been back at college laughing has been my goal for life.  I can be serious but it's so much more fun to laugh and cut up and do stupid things.

Life has been hectic but the 2 of the best months of my life.  I have so many friends now and some of the social issues seem to be fading and ultimately I'm real happy where I am.  I'm learning about life and love and just whatever seems to happen. I'm working hard on my photography thinking of new design ideas constantly and striving to make the best impact in media wherever I am.

One of the few things I've learned in the past few weeks is that laughing is a universal thing.  That if I like a girl making her laugh seems to be (I could be wrong...I am a guy) the best thing.  I could give flowers or something tangible but a year from now she might remember something stupid I said.  So in the end the flowers will smell great and wilt and just leave some faded memory but if I can make someone laugh it's great in the moment and retellable for laughs down the road.  So I guess thats some of what I've been learning recently. (I sound like a retarded 8th grade sap, I know...spare me the grief.)

Sunrise, Sunrise. Looks like morning in your eyes.

posted by shark_maul @ 2/24/2006 10:35:00 AM 0 comments

The Pressure is on.

Last night I talked some about finding a relationship that exists without pressure the only problem is there will be pressure to not have pressure. Let's say I want to date someone and I'm like I want a pressureless relationship, well ultimately there will be tons of pressure to create a pressureless relationship. So back to square one. Better blog later hopefully.

posted by shark_maul @ 2/23/2006 06:32:00 PM 1 comments

Birth Control.

You might find this somewhat crude but it's completely true. It was the first thing taught to me as a keeper:

Being a keeper is a lot like birth control the best way to keep someone from scoring is keep your legs together.

I don't have anything spiritual to say tonight. We won our soccer game and are going to playoffs.

posted by shark_maul @ 2/23/2006 12:47:00 AM 0 comments

Dating.

There are a few forms of dating that do the trick. But none of them work. Each one suffers from more problems than good things. Let's cover a few.

Official Dating: It does the trick for stability and romance, but it creates a relationship w/ restrictions on time and things. A couple thinks that they must spend all time w/ each other and they become an island to themselves. It will die. Courting: This is most likely the best form but it is rather overwhelming. If I tell a girl I want to court you it basically makes a relationship with tons of pressure. You both think you will marry each other. If you were friends then all of a sudden there is tons of pressure for this whole thing to work. The unofficial we're dating but we don't want to date or kiss or make people think we are dating but in truth we're actually dating but we don't want to admit it: This is where I am right now. Like I want to date someone but I can't deal with where I stand on dating. Like right now I'm really interested in someone but for one it's way early but two I don't want to ruin stuff. The other 2 ways just make life hectic. I want an answer that is I like her she likes me and that is cool with us and we spend time together but there isn't all this pressure. Arranged marriages: Probably the best answer in my opinion. I may have said otherwise a minute ago but I forgot about arranged marriages. I think if BOTH SETS OF PARENTS are in TUNES WITH GOD and have the interest of their kids in mind then it would be ideal. All the pressure is gone. But people would abuse it and then the whole thing would die.

So there it is dating in a nutshell and probably not that well covered. There are many new iterations of dating styles but most I don't feel are even worth mentioning.

posted by shark_maul @ 2/22/2006 03:37:00 PM 1 comments

Finding Faith.

For those of you who have been around me recently you'd understand that I absolutely love Mutemath. It's just one of those things that has happened and there is nothing I can do about it. There is one song though that I can't seem to get enough of. No matter the situation I can listen to it and just fall in love all over again. And the main reason I like it so much is 2 lines.

Don't worry, the best we've known is yet to come. Don't worry, the worst won't get the best of us.

Can you see it? The power of those words? The song OK by them on their last CD was the same way. So go listen: mutemath.com. Peace out.

posted by shark_maul @ 2/21/2006 09:32:00 AM 0 comments

Roots.

Sin has roots. No matter what sin we talk about it has deep roots. All of those roots head back to the same place. When we sin the main cause is selfishness. When we think about ourselves before others we are negating our duty of service and love to the world as Christ commanded. Sin is caused almost exclusively by our own selfish desires. Murder, hate, greed, pride, porn, alcoholism, abusiveness, all of it traces directly back to someone thinking about them-self before others. Adam and Eve were victims to it. Jonah. Judas. Ananias and Saphira. David. All of them were God's people but they exemplified that sin is rooted deeply in our own selfishness. When we work past that simple fact it will help us to see the world in a new way. If we understand that selfishness is the driving motivation for sin we can learn how to appeal to the sin nature with the reality of grace.

posted by shark_maul @ 2/20/2006 09:44:00 AM 0 comments

Living Guilty.

I am guilty. I am guilty of not being guilty. I stand before God blameless and utterly forgiven by his grace. There is nothing I can do. I kicked a habit about 6 months ago and I've been free of it for a while. When I sit in church and the preacher is talking about "that sin," the one we know we need to repent of I'm like, "na, dude, I'm clean." For 6 years I dealt with it and now I am so free in Christ's love and grace that I feel blameless (I still sin, but grace surpasses that). I guess for so long I've felt that to be a Christian I have to feel guilty all the time for some sin. I'm moving beyond that. I'm not claiming perfection or any sort of "answer," I'm just saying why can't we live a life that is free in Christ. A life that is truly free from the burden of past sins. Why do we have to hold on to that baggage? Why do we need to never feel free.

posted by shark_maul @ 2/20/2006 12:28:00 AM 0 comments

Jacobsroot.com

Check it out. The new Jacobsroot.com is up and running. It for now is a site for some graphic design, but will most likely mold into a new home for my blog, photo gallery, and some graphic design. I was hoping for Ryanstone.com but it's taken up already so no go there. Check it out. I'd love to have some helping photoshoppers to join in the project. Enjoy!

posted by shark_maul @ 2/17/2006 01:18:00 PM 0 comments

Tongue.

Open your mouth, stick out your tongue. Not anything amazing is it. There is nothing special about the slab of meat in between your jaws. But sometimes it does so much. The other night I was at Starbucks just chillin' and I was hanging out doing my thing, and someone asked me a computer question. Someone I didn't know hadn't met before and it rubbed me the wrong way. I was rude to her, not meaning to be so but I honestly didn't care. It was after 5 o'clock and people on campus not taking care of their computers is not my problem. I've had people I know want me to come fix something for them during class, during my free time, and late at night. I can't escape the clutches of work sometimes. I want to be Ryan, not Ryan the guy that works at computer services. Either way, my tongue got me into a little more doo-doo than I was planning on. Now I got 2 girls mad at me (not the first time for this situation) and it has been bugging me since it happened. Last night when I was playing keeper (again), I couldn't really pay attention to the game without thinking about the whole ordeal. I was having trouble admitting I was rude but on the same token I wish people would just respect the fact that I'm not at work. How can our tongue affect someone? A few words can change the entire course of someone's life. "I don't love you" "We are not meant for each other" "This life is not worth living" All these are phrases that will alter lives. So as I learn today more than ever what it's like to catch hold of the piece of meat between my jaws learn the same. Take inventory of the reactions of those around you. I will probably blog again on Monday, after my long weekend.

posted by shark_maul @ 2/16/2006 10:21:00 AM 1 comments

Weird.

So the past few days have been a little weird. Nothing bad just weird. Brittney Fogg (who I didn't know), died last night in a car accident and today was a memorial in chapel. So that was an emotional time. It never fails to make you think about your own mortality at someone else's death. Yesterday was great. Engage was amazingly fun, Starbucks afterwards was quite enjoyable. We just had a good time. Then when I got home I got ragged by a friend because I'd told their roommate I didn't want to talk about her computer having a virus on my free time. When I'm not working I don't want to talk about computer problems. I deal with that all day. So I got chewed out because I wouldn't fix their problem. Then I got 4 texts messages from them at 3 in the morning with random nonsense. I was woken up 5 times last night with phone calls and text messages. Ug. Sometimes I just wish for a quiet life, where I can just have some alone time. This weekend should be good for me, I've got to go have an interview in Newbery and I'll have 2 days of alone time. It will be great for my psyche and spirit. Catch ya'll later.

posted by shark_maul @ 2/15/2006 11:26:00 AM 0 comments

I know we can't elope but won't you be my valentine. That's what Sheila said as she gave me a cantelope. (pun can't elop, cantelope) I'll catch ya'll later.

posted by shark_maul @ 2/13/2006 10:29:00 PM 2 comments

Gone

My roommate got the boot. It's official. I hate it for him, but there's nothing I can do. Plus I feel that this was a just boot on the college's end. I think that he may not have done it this time, but I know from past times he has. So he just didn't get caught the other times. Pray for him.

posted by shark_maul @ 2/10/2006 07:04:00 PM 0 comments

My Roomie.

So it looks like my roommate might be getting kicked out. He was caught with some photos of beer in the background and a few friends who ratted him out. He claims he was the Designated driver for the evening and I actually believe him. He owned up to smoking but I don't think that means he's been drinking. I just ask that if you read this you pray for him. As much as we have our problems I don't want to lose the guy. He's actually fun to have around sometimes. So please do that.

posted by shark_maul @ 2/09/2006 10:14:00 PM 0 comments

I Hate Playing Goalie.

It's one of the worst positions in all of sports. When you're doing good your doing great, people love you. You might even get a little bit of chatter at the water cooler. But when you lose, all you get is the obligatory good game or sometimes the "it's just a game." I disagree with that statement, just a game is when I go play tennis and forget to keep score or play something and just let the score not matter. It's a competition, when points are kept it become a competition. So often God is our goalie. When he's blockin' the shots and takin' names we're like yeah, go God. But the moment he let's something slide (in his case he can't miss a shot so we'll bend the analogy a little) we just have to say the obligatory "God's in control." It sounds so fake and puny, that life is like that. Stand up and defend someone, stand up and truly believe God is in control. Oh...we lost our game 7-1.

posted by shark_maul @ 2/08/2006 11:14:00 PM 0 comments

I Want to Marry Someone.

In the past couple of days I've joked around on my away message that I'm off to find a woman to marry. Part of it's true, if she drops on my front step than I wouldn't mind marrying someone, but I do want to meet someone. My time will come and I'm cool with that. But one main reason for this entire post is the candy hearts. I love Valentine's day for one reason take or single...Candy hearts. I love all of them except the yellow. I'd play XBOX at Brandon's and by the end of the day only yellow would be left. So if you the woman of my dreams is out there the one way to steal my heart is simple, no ring, no love, no kisses, just candy hearts. There it is women, the key to my heart. So first one with the hearts gets the ring!

posted by shark_maul @ 2/08/2006 08:49:00 PM 4 comments

Seeing the World.

My first foray into the world of documentaries will be next month. A friend and I are going to go live and be homeless for an entire weekend. I want to see a different world and expose my world to it. The past couple of weeks God has been hammering me hard, saying photography...get ready because what you will see will change you. I still want to do missions photography but it comes back to what I think will be a life phrase for me:

Affecting change through media.

I want you to watch this preview for this documentary and see the world outside of the box and find out what it would be like to have your world exposed to the world of someone else. http://www.invisiblechildren.com/theMovie/trailers/index.php?video=large

posted by shark_maul @ 2/06/2006 11:14:00 PM 0 comments

I've got a ton of work to do this weekend, so I can't blog long. But here is a link for those dorks who love have high quality album art on their iPod. Enjoy. http://www.thejosher.net/iTunes/

posted by shark_maul @ 2/04/2006 10:38:00 PM 0 comments

Smudges.

You know when we were at small group the other night there was an interesting idea. He basically conjectured that we in a way put our fingerprints all over God's world. In our nature we smudge the world around us. Let's take that a step farther. The world is like an iPod and it's perfect in form and reflection. When God looks into the world he sees the reflection of him in his creation, just like we see the reflection of ourselves in the iPod. But with time the fingerprints and smudges build up and the reflection is lost and we can't see anymore. The same happens with God, we've taken and put our fingerprints all over this world that we have trouble seeing God in creation. We've put buildings and stuff everywhere and we have introduced sin. In both cases we are supposed to be able to look at the world, nature, and people and see God; but we've put ourselves all over it to the point to where it is no longer noticeable. I think that following Christ in a manner to where we are his hands and feet, that will allow us to slowly wipe off the fingerprints and have them replaced with the clear reflection of Christ.

posted by shark_maul @ 2/03/2006 08:33:00 AM 0 comments

Making History.

I want to get famous. My innermost being wants cameras going off and getting my name everywhere but that won't ever happen. It's not because God couldn't empower me to do it or because I could get there myself; it's because I want to be famous in a whole different way. The past couple of weeks God has been pushing heavy on my heart to see change effected through media. Not video but specifically images. Constantly I'm having to look at photos by famous photographers and see how they have effected change. I'm not changing my major but I'm bummed because I'm not learning a lot in my photography class. I'm having to sit through loads of crap photos of bad flash, poor composition, posed shots, boring shots, etc... This is fine for just chillin' with the friends but not for a class. I want to almost fail this class. I want someone who teaches me so much about photography that I can only respect them for their depth of knowledge. There have been pictures over time that have impacted me deeply and one is of a monk that burnt himself to death. He dowsed himself with gasoline and lit himself on fire. I was so moved by the conviction of the man that I could not deny the power of his message. A man who believed so much in the wrong God that he would die just to send a message. If you want to help me I have to photograph an "issue" and I can't seem to find one, so what is affecting you? How can I tell your story? (I only have until Tuesday so decide quick.)

posted by shark_maul @ 2/03/2006 08:31:00 AM 0 comments

Sociality.

First, let me gloat momentarily, I scored free tickets to see Mutemath for Charlotte and Greenville. YES!!!! So I'm anti-social. It's not a I want to be that way I just am. I have lots of trouble dealing with crowds and meeting new people, I guess that's why it's easier to just talk to people on the internet and stuff. I'm not a big group kind of guy, I like small groups and stuff. Tonight I was chillin' sort of, with a friend and she was going on and talking to everyone and I realized how little I interact socially. It's like this plague thing that just haunts me. Well enough moaning for the night. O check out this Vid.

posted by shark_maul @ 2/01/2006 11:32:00 PM 1 comments