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I got ragged pretty hard today by someone who used to be my friend about Clemson's bowl destination. But you know what? There was nothing I can say! We were 7-1 and now we're 8-4. We COULD've and SHOULD've won the ACC. We wore all purple uniforms this year. We're going to the GAYLORD Hotels Music City Bowl. Thanks a lot Tommy, Jad, and Will, the three stooges of Clemson football. As you can tell, I'm still not over this football season.

But besides the continued mediocrity of Clemson football, everything else is going great. This past Saturday, Dec. 2nd, 2006, was my seventh birthday. On a Thursday afternoon, Dec. 2nd, 1999, at about 6:20 in the PM, I was driving down I-77 in my 1984 Chevy K-5 Blazer (THE Blazer), and just as I approached the Percival Rd. exit, I gave my life to Christ. It was, still is, and always will be, the greatest day in my life. It was not the happiest. I came to the Lord very stubbornly, and in desperation. I was convinced that Christ was God because of the lives I saw that He had changed around me, among my friends. But I had also seen people taking his name in vain, claiming to be Christians, and yet living however they pleased, with no joy or happiness to speak of. I wanted to avoid that same hypocrisy. I tried for months to make my life into a "good Christian life" before I finally gave up on that Dec. afternoon. I was stubborn to do it, but found that I couldn't, and that desperation, of knowing that I could never be good enough, was what made me give my life over to Christ, hoping that he would have mercy on me, and make my life something worth living.

Well, as always, he did. Looking back over the last seven years, I realize how much God has done for me, how far I have come, and how much further I have to go. I have grown in my obedience to Christ since then. I am not controlled by some of the same desires I had then. I have been given a peace of mind and a joy in my heart, that though I wish they were greater, were not even there before that day. I have grown in my knowledge of the truth. Then I had just guessed at and deduced what I thought was a good set of morals. Now I have the truth in my hands to read, and have committed some, though embarassingly little, to memory. It has become something I love to ponder and discuss. I have been given a ton of brothers and sisters that I would not have known otherwise, and the relationships are deeper and more meaningful than any I had before, even within my own biological family. The spiritual fathers I have had in Mike Hurd, Casey Ross, the B-Axe, and Schube have helped shape my life, and lead me through tough places and times. The spiritual brothers I have had in Dougy Doug, Gouge, Paul, Jamie, Big Al, Big Al, Robert Wood, Dinger, Mr. Anderson, Jacob, TL, Jeff, Ross, Denton and Cliver, Big Country, Mark Win, Trey, Goldberg, Bidwell, Hunter, Putney, Von Reitz, Toddles, Chris Tenny, David Brown, Doug Jett, Brannon, Johnny Moore, Adam, Steven, Jimmy Shaw, Special K, the Shark, the White Guy, Rodbey, and all the boys, have kept me sane, kept challenging me, and have stood shoulder to shoulder with me through the years. And the spiritual sisters, Cynthia (my spiritual mom really), Emily Ann, Megan, Becca, Holy Hennessey, Mandy, Haley, Mollie, Ingrid, Nichole, Kathleen, Allegra, Lane, Terri, Jessica, Mandi, Whitney, Guneş, and Layle, have shown tons of grace towards me and taught me to love people in ways that I would not have learned on my own. I apologize to anyone I forgot to mention, but the point is that God has given me so many dear friends that I can't count them all anymore! I have been blessed to travel this whole world preaching his name and seeing him at work in some of the darkest corners of this earth. At times it's been great, at times it has really stunk, but through it all, it's always been worth it. I could never repay God for the gift of salvation, and I don't think I've even covered all these other gifts that he has lavished on me. I thank my God for it all, and ask for seven more years that are as joy filled, challenging, and rewarding as the last seven. Show yourself to me, and to us all, Father God, as loving and as powerful today as you were seven years ago, and as you have been since before time began. Amen.