So here's me and few others at a gas station outside Hermosillo. Thought you might like that picture.

I'm doing a few things right. The bible study I'm in is going well. We're doing the ten most important chapters of the bible. Its pretty cool. Jason Barbieri and Ryan Malarkey are the leaders and they're both really wise guys. This week we did the second half Psalm 139.

Work's going really well. Next friday I'm covering a shift at Grant and Swan becoming the third Crawford to work there. Any suggestions?

I'm having fun in a fantasy football league with Steven. He beat pretty good last week though.

I'm also trying to figure out how to move back to Nogales. We'll see how it goes, pray for me all right?
More coming more often, I promise.

Socram

sorry

I really do plan on writing more. I've just been really busy getting so many things organized. School, work, housing, and church...

This past weekend I went to Guaymas with the youth group from Manantial de Vida. We had a lot of fun. There were 27 people including the pastor and his family and Jose. Also Anavi's boyfriend Joel went and Albano. We spent all day saturday at a beach near Guaymas called Cochorit. Then later that night we went into downtown Guaymas and met a youth group from there. It was really nice downtown but the water wasn't that great. After we got back to the house we had a time together out on the beach. I played a few songs on my guitar and then Albano gave his testimony. He's going to be starting at the Bible Institute and Jose wanted to focus on the call. It was pretty cool. I got sick though afterward and had a pretty rough night. On sunday we went to a beach near San Carlos. It was nicer especially in terms of water. There we heard the testimonies of Joel and Graciela. Then we had a time to say goodbye to Flavio since he leaves on Saturday to school in Hermosillo. It was a good time. I got back late Sunday. Here's a couple pictures:

A moment

I walk out to my car and realize I've forgotten my ipod, but instead of returning to get it I turn on the radio instead. The christian station is playing a song that fits perfectly with the gently falling raindrops. As I pull away from the house the combination of the music and the rain make me feel happier about driving to work on a day that I'd rather enjoy from home. I come to the first stop sign at the edge of my neighborhood and sit just to survey the wonder before me. The rain clouds stretch from the far east on my right, to just above the skyline to the west. The has just dropped below the cloud cover and the effect is beautiful. The sky to my left is a pale gold fading gradually to a steel gray and finally to the dark blue of the rain cloudsin the east. Stretching before me is a beaten road whose end I can just see. The rain is falling gently and as I begin my drive down that road I notice a rainbow on my right and I feel as though God is saying, "The road may end but there is hope for those who trust in Me."

James

So I'm finishing up my study of James. It really is a great book. There's a lot of great stuff in it. I love chapter 3. He talks about the tongue and how it controls the whole person. Just like the rudder on a ship. Controlling what we say is so hard to do and only comes with God's help. Then he goes right on to talk about wisdom. This is my favorite part of James: "Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such 'wisdom' does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition there you find disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom that comes down from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness." I love this because it flows straight from everything that he was saying about the tongue. I mean if we have the "wisdom that comes down from heaven" then we'll know how to control the tongue. I also like the word submissive. It means we have to be humble to be truly wise. We need to be servants of not only God but of everyone; willing to help even our most dispised enemies. Then in chapter 4 he talks about submitting to God. "You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives...Instead, you ought to say, 'If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that.'" We need to give everything to God, our plans, requests, pains, needs, and even the things we think are of no consequence, like watching a movie or eating ice cream. Everything we are, were, and hope to be needs to be given over into His care before we can truly do His will. "The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective."

Next I'm going to study Romans with Manuel. I think it'll be great. I think we can learn a lot from each other. Please pray for me in that.

Starbucks

So for anyone who didn't know for whatever reason, I got a job at starbucks. I went in for the first time today and had to sign stuff and read stuff, and then read some more. I had fun though. The people I'm going to be working with are cool and I think once I get the hang of where everything is and how to make it all it'll be great working there. Mom is going to cringe when she reads this but its 1:45 and all I've had today is two grande mochas and some coffee at the end of my shift when we taste-tested Verona coffee (which was good by the way). Overall I think I am going to like it there.

I had a good weekend. I had lunch at the pastor's house on saturday and got to talk to him and Marina for awhile. Then after the quinciñera saturday night I went over to Stephen Stoller's house with Adriel where we watched amovie and caught up on everything going on (it was Stoller's birthday). Then on Sunday we had a good Sunday school class and afterward we ate at the mall. Then we went to the Tech and played fútbol rápido and basketball. Then I drove back up to Tucson with Leonardo David. Overall a great weekend.

Random thoughts: Ocean's Thirteen is definitely a good movie, I'm pretty hungry right now, its nice to be earning money again, James is a sweet book (I've been studying it for about three weeks now and I've learned so much), I don't have anything in the Mullet House that I can make myself for lunch, and will mom ever use her blog?

Have a great day. I'll be posting more often now I think.

Jobs

So right now I'm sitting in the Mullet House in Tucson waiting for dinner and for the first Tuesday night bible study to start. I am currently unemployed and with not much hope of working this week. Still I am optimistic. I'm looking at a few jobs as a medical records clerk here in Tucson. Also if a position opens and Rain Gutters of Southern Arizona then they'll give me a call. I'm still looking for other stuff too. We're starting a bible study tonight that'll go through the summer on Hebrews. I'm looking forward to that. All in all this summer is shaping up to be a good one. Be back soon. Hopefully sooner than three weeks.

Side notes

Thanks for your great comments. Just because songs today aren't as deep as you want them to be doesn't mean they're not from the heart. Sure our society is becoming shallow but its still sincere worship right?

Also greatest president: Abraham Lincoln. Greatest president of the last 140 years: Reagan.

I can't really comment on the greatest writer thing because I'm not really that well read. For example on Steven's list I've read never read Foote, Wolfe, or Wilder, and the only one from Jane's list that I've read is Faulkner. But just so that you can all see, here are some of my favorite books (once again in no particular order):

1. Band of Brothers (Stephen Ambrose)
2. Jurassic Park (Michael Crichton)
3. Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
4. The Return of the King (J.R.R. Tolkien)
5. The Screwtape Letters (C.S. Lewis)
6. The Empyrion Books (Stephen Lawhead)

I would put Lawhead's new book "Hood" but its still incomplete as the first book in a trilogy so I'm not puting it in yet. Also I know that Empyrion is two books but I read it as one book.

And there you have it. Also, three sweeps by Eastern Conference teams is pretty predictable. And why oh why do the Red Wings struggle so much in the playoffs? I went to Tigers Baseball games two Fridays in a row and both times Gary Sheffield choked in the ninth. I also wonder at the Lion's draft picks.

You have been reading Mark's random thoughts. Tune in next time for...something else.