Premature

I don't think I'm going to vent, maybe just complain. Several months ago I explained my iTunes ritual of surveying the free, weekly music. This week brought an unexpected treasure. Well, I guess you could call it that. Aside from a 15 year old (albeit he looks 9) singing about love and "spending every last dime" (I remember those regrettable days) for some equally young woman, it does have a catchy tune. If you do choose to follow the link, maybe listen to the song without watching the video first. Should you choose to watch the video, you will be immediately transported back to the melodrama of a high school party and most likely recall some situation in which you thought the world turned around you and if you didn't get this one girl of your dreams, life would be over. It also ticks me off, just a little bit, that they've disabled the embed feature on youtube. Whatever. If you want to watch it, go HERE!

I'm a Doubting Thomas

My wife blogged about this song the other day, but I can't help but mention it myself! I first heard this song when cHOOSe performed it two years ago, but I had no idea that Nickel Creek wrote it, and that the original was soo incredible! I've been trying to get the guitar down ever since I got back from Germany and I think I finally have it, albeit a bit slower than the recording. Anyways, I've been playing Doubting Thomas by Nickel Creek, repeatedly, for 4 days. OK, maybe not 24 hours a day, but I wouldn't doubt if it is in my top-10 of all time on my iPOD now :)

I think I love the song so much because it addresses the conflict within my own heart. Trust. Which has a powerful neighbor known as Faith. Who kind of has a stick-in-the-mud neighbor who goes by OBEDIENCE. I want physical sustenance and security to ensure my plans won't be thwarted. Before I get a little risky, I want to know, and I mean KNOW, that there is some type of pre-nup or plan B that can serve as my emergency eject button to salvage some value. In science, we like to know the result and have the data before we even do the experiment (aka, grant writing). But I think we both know that when Abraham was walking up that mountain with Isaac, they were alone. Moses went to Pharoah with nothing but his bumbling-tongue. Such faith is easy to stare at and watch, maybe even stir our own hearts, but hard to shoulder.
The chorus is on FIRE. I took a promise, I get to be friends with my maker, and Christ saved me so that I can have as much or as little relationship with God as I want. Yet my actions show my desires to be south of heaven. I choose to play games with 'what-ifs' rather than give Him my heart and hands. The song goes on to ask for forgiveness for wasted timed mulling around. I hate to think I've wasted what little time God has granted me. All this being said, check out the song. The video is random, but the song is...

"I'm a doubting thomas,
I took a promise,
But I do not feel safe,
Oh me of little faith..."

I've missed you...

It's been a while, no?
From getting ready for the Ribosome Synthesis conference, to the beach, to the conference, I've been really busy over the last several weeks. But the fall semester has officially started and I'm here to stay (for at least a while). That means finding time to write here might be a easier, or at least not as hard!

So last week I had the privilege of attending the 8th conference of Ribosome Biosynthesis in Regensburg, Germany. Now some of you may thinking, SWEET...Germany, what the heck is a Ribosome? But I think most anyone would agree, a trip to Europe is a trip to Europe, who cares what it is for!? The plane ride was incredibly long but once we got over there, plenty of great food, science, and beer made it all worthwhile!

I haven't decided how much to blog about the trip, but I have to share a little. Regensburg is probably one of the coolest cities I've ever been to. For it's relatively modest size (150k), it has a butt-ton of history! The Romans founded it in like, 139, and it managed to survive WWII bombing raids (of which there weren't many due to Regensburg declining economy ever since the Reformation and founding of the Americas). I mean, the stone bridge in the heart of the city carried foot soldiers of the 2nd and 3rd Crusades over the Danube. I stood where Crusaders stood!! I posed in front of a wall that Roman soldiers leaned against while they consumed their rationed one liter of wine and cup of olive oil! How cool is that?! As I walked through the city and visit the buildings, I started to feel like everything was really antiquated and things are just falling apart. But they aren't- it is really cool how they've built around the history and preserved so much of it's history right into its present. It just hit me, my Dad would probably LOVE Regensburg. He is the kind who likes to read every (yes, EVERY) sign at a museum. Of course, these are in German- but I bet he would love it!



It is good to be back in the states though, I hate I had to miss a bunch of the kids at church going back to school and trying to make sure everyone was as happy as possible :) I also missed my wife after about an hour on the plane and then I really, REALLY missed being at work. Oh wait, NO I DIDN'T.


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Now playing: Nickel Creek - Doubting Thomas
via FoxyTunes