I'm Still Alive and Still Kickin.

Well this past week has been very hmmm eventful. That seems like the best word to describe it. Where to begin...

On Tuesday, I woke up and went to work just like I had done on Monday. Granted, Monday night the Canes won the Stanley Cup so I was out with my boys celebrating. Will got a little crazy and thought it would be a good idea to run in the middle of the street throwing his shirt around. It was worth a good laugh.

Anyways, was going to work and my left side felt sore. It felt like your legs feel after running for the first time in 3 months. I didn't think anything of it and put it off as just waking up wrong. As the day went on the pain got more and more noticeable that I decided to call my mother.

Good ole momma...On the way back to work from my lunch break and talking to her, I passed out walking into the house while trying to get Jared's attention. As the good coworker he is, he sped me off to Rex and listened to me tell him faintly what was going on.

Got to the ER, my blood pressure was 77/43 and they rushed me back to stick needles in me. I hate needles....Let me repeat that. HATE NEEDLES. So they think I have Kidney stones but don't really know. Pain meds and antibiotics for now.

The rest of the week was interesting and the weekend was just crazy. I'm just trying to keep things real and have a good summer before 1L in August. They don't even have a McDonalds around the corner....

WHAT PLACE DOESN'T HAVE A McD'S?!?!

Phew...Sometimes You Gotta Just Trust the Big Man Upstairs.

So with all the stuff up in the air about my future, this is how I felt about stuff. But Tuesday, I came back to one of the things that always has been there and worked for me. Yup that's the Big Man upstairs.

I decided to revisit a passage that has always influenced my whole life.

Matthew 6:25-34

The Cure for Anxiety

25"^(A)For this reason I say to you, do not be ^(B)worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

26"^(C)Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?

27"And who of you by being ^(D)worried can ^(E)add a single hour to his life?

28"And why are you ^(F)worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin,

29yet I say to you that not even ^(G)Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.

30"But if God so clothes the ^(H)grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? ^(I)You of little faith!

31"Do not ^(J)worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?'

32"For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for ^(K)your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.

33"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and ^(L)all these things will be added to you.

34"So do not ^(M)worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

So I took these verses and applied Matthew 6:7-12 to it. I don't know what tomorrow brings but I know Wednesday night I heard back from my contact at Campbell and she gave me great news. Pat gives this news a big thumbs up.

He'd give two but one hand is occupied at the moment.

So now that I know that I'm going to be a 1L at Campbell starting this August, I can finally start realistically imagining myself as a lawyer. I guess it was all dreaming before.

But I also realized that the Lord is in ultimate control over these situations and knows exactly when you need to be picked up or when you need to struggle to learn stuff. I was surprised by how big of a relief this was off of my chest.

But the Lord is good and I'm just working on trusting him with not only this but other stuff. I think a Socrates quote is applicable here.

"The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing."

I'm letting these situations and feelings go and letting the Lord take them on for me.

Again, millions of thoughts...

That's going to be a Campbell J.D. in 3 years.

Thoughts and Family

"I have always thought the actions of men the best interpreters of their thoughts."
- John Locke

Everyone has heard of this quote and consider it very true. There are other ones, "Actions speak louder than words." and plenty more. However, I think people still do not learn the lesson of the quote.

I at least have not. It seems with any relationship a person is in that they seek to believe and trust what the individual is saying to them. Even if the actions of the individual are telling them something completely different. Examples of this, in my opinion, can be found throughout various types of relationships whether with family, significant others, friends, or co-workers.

I've heard other quotes on a similar line of logic. They go something like...

- One's thoughts control one's mind. One's mind control one's actions.
- How and what you think about control your perceived reality.

hmm...

Random thought, but also something that has been getting at my mind.

This weekend, I went to Hickory for my Mamaw's 75th birthday and my cousin Jake's high school graduation. Overall, the weekend was amazing! I spent time with my cousins joking, teasing, and catching up on each other's lives. Also, got to go out to a nice golf course and try to act like I knew what I was doing.

Going out on Saturday to the course was probably the best round of golf that I have ever played. Somehow my cousin Pat Rhyne convinced them to let all of us go on together as a 6-some which was pretty sweet. Between talking junk to each other and playing practicle jokes we actually got some decent golf shots off. One of the funniest shots was when my brother was teeing off and the ball went 75 yards out, hit a rock and came back and hit the tee box marker and went 5 feet in front of him. Absolutely Hilarious!

Of course, I got my fair share of joking from my oldest cousin Chad who liked to unstrap my bag, watch me take off in the cart and watch my bag fall flat on the ground. Between that and the "Jono baby, give me some kooosies." haha

But this weekend did teach me how important family is to me. As Pat would say, "You can have everything but my wife and daughter, you're blood." Granted, there was drama just like any other family but overall just sitting there picking on each other will be some good memories.

Back from the NCGOP Convention

I just recently got back from the NCGOP convention and overall I'd say I had a very good time. You'd be surprised how many nice people can show up for an event like that. Granted, I was in the minority in terms of age but there were a few youngsters.

Looking back on the weekend, I realized how valuable networking is. Not only did I become friends with a few great people; I also had the opportunity to meet some pretty influential people. I don't want you to think that I am the "opportunist" type though. I enjoyed meeting these people just to really get a face to face impression of them. In my line of work, rumors float around and people get bad mouthed all the time. So it's nice to have a chance to form my own opinion outside of the rumor mill.

Another thing I realized was just how awkward some people are. It doesn't matter if you're a nobody or someone running to become a U.S. Congressman. Communication skills can make the difference from a person turning you off or staying engaged. I've come to realize the blessing I have in being able to communicate to people. I do think it's a matter of being comfortable with people and I guess I've always been a social butterfly. Ehhh I can't help it.

Overall though, the wonderful weekend was wonderful. Got paid to work, expenses paid, food paid, and got to talk with some good people. Now if only Campbell law school would call me.