I'm in denial.

I love oranges. I was eating one today, y'know, doing the usual. Peeling it, separating it, and eating it. I thought to myself, "Pirates probably ate them like apples, those savages."
Then I began to think, are there any other animals who spend so much time to peel an orange? Why is the orange separated like this? I really began to see God's craftsmanship as I was eating an orange!

Background:
I was watching t.v. the other day (Are you smarter than a 5th grader) and I saw the commercial to the new show "Moment of Truth." The controversial question came up: Would you cheat on your wife if you knew you wouldn't get caught?

I think God designed everything to show a glimpse of His existence, God is in everything. 'Wouldn't get caught,' isn't accurate at all. In the future I would probably fail this lie detector test in front of my wife as well. Sorry, honey, but the sinful nature within me would scream the truth that I'm not 'good.' I do things everyday as if I wouldn't get caught, but God you're there in it all. I'm sorry.

Love is beautiful.

I'm sitting here preparing myself to write an academic essay about conflict in Kenya... just sitting and thinking and I came, I guess, to a awesome revelation.

Love is beautiful
It is indeed. It's designed by God, and His work is always beautiful. Love is complete, yet seeks more. It gives us purpose and passion. I think the best part about love... Right now for me, is that I keeps a smile on my face as I go to sleep every night.

I've been feeling extremely lonely lately... frantically searching within my soul and asking God, "What do I need to do to get into a relationship again?"
... All the while rejecting the time I'm blessed with. As a single guy, I have the opportunity to hang out with Jesus freely... to learn to love Him more and more. I wanted to get in a relationship because I know relationships reflect my love for Jesus, but looking at the flaws I have, I realize I have a long way to go. A co-worker of mine, Jodi Pena, said, "Joe, I can't wait to see who you grow up to be." Coming from her, it was a bit of a shock. I'm still a bit shaken up by it, but it fills me with an awesome hope. I want to continue to pursue the things God has right in front of me, and I'm excited to take up the things God has for me down the road. I need to stop making things happen for myself, forget about getting into a relationship and take the time to improve the one I'm already in.

The revelation I came to was this:
Love is a choice. (DUH, right?) I was thinking back on all my relationships and was blown away. How could those corny lines and my spazzy personality get/keep any girl interested in me? I'm not sure, but it's awesome. Preparing myself and looking around, I find my parent's relationship extremely beautiful. They choose to love each other daily. I want that. Jesus, I want to wake up every morning and choose to love You. Once I truly get that I will start to ask You about ladies again, alright? :)

All Hail... New York Giants!!!

Madagascar... that movie changes lives... But let me tell you, it's all
about the New York Giants right now!!

• Came into the playoffs the lowest seed, every game they'd play would be an
  away game in the post season.
• As I was filling out playoff brackets they were the first team I weeded out
  saying, "They're going down to the Bucs... Jeff Garcia is an awesome
  quarterback." Boy, was I wrong!
• Beat Dallas, the #1 seed, in Dallas' stadium.
• Beat Greenbay, the #2 seed, in the snow in Greenbay's stadium.
• Came into Superbowl the obvious underdog.. and SACKED TOM BRADY OVER
  5 TIMES! and WON!

I really didn't know how to feel until the forth quarter but there was a lot
of screaming and excitement... It was awesome to see the Patriots lose!

2 Samuel 24:10-17
10 David was conscience-stricken after he had counted the fighting men, and he said to the LORD, "I have sinned greatly in what I have done. Now, O LORD, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing."
11 Before David got up the next morning, the word of the LORD had come to Gad the prophet, David's seer: 12 "Go and tell David, 'This is what the LORD says: I am giving you three options. Choose one of them for me to carry out against you.' "
13 So Gad went to David and said to him, "Shall there come upon you three [a] years of famine in your land? Or three months of fleeing from your enemies while they pursue you? Or three days of plague in your land? Now then, think it over and decide how I should answer the one who sent me."
14 David said to Gad, "I am in deep distress. Let us fall into the hands of the LORD, for his mercy is great; but do not let me fall into the hands of men."
15 So the LORD sent a plague on Israel from that morning until the end of the time designated, and seventy thousand of the people from Dan to Beersheba died. 16 When the angel stretched out his hand to destroy Jerusalem, the LORD was grieved because of the calamity and said to the angel who was afflicting the people, "Enough! Withdraw your hand." The angel of the LORD was then at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
17 When David saw the angel who was striking down the people, he said to the LORD, "I am the one who has sinned and done wrong. These are but sheep. What have they done? Let your hand fall upon me and my family."

2 Samuel 24:21-25
21 Araunah said, "Why has my lord the king come to his servant?"
"To buy your threshing floor," David answered, "so I can build an altar to the LORD, that the plague on the people may be stopped." 22 Araunah said to David, "Let my lord the king take whatever pleases him and offer it up. Here are oxen for the burnt offering, and here are threshing sledges and ox yokes for the wood. 23 O king, Araunah gives all this to the king." Araunah also said to him, "May the LORD your God accept you."
24 But the king replied to Araunah, "No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing." So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen and paid fifty shekels of silver for them. 25 David built an altar to the LORD there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then the LORD answered prayer in behalf of the land, and the plague on Israel was stopped.

These two chunks of scripture are awesome displays of love in which God and David show to Israel (that's us!) I need to study this a bit more... It's a huge chunk. Lord, make some sense of this to me, I want to know what You're trying to teach me!