it's been an exciting morning. last night helen and i went to starbucks to talk for awhile. i drove us over to streets of woodfield from church, and upon exiting my car, i hear a rather loud hissing noise. sure enough, it's my front driver's side tire, expelling massive amounts of air from a nice gash in the side as we stared at it. in a race against time, i reparked my car in a better lit section of the parking lot. helen and decided we would go in, enjoy our coffee, and then proceed to change my tire ourselves. which is exactly what we did. it was an adventure. so i drive home, intending to drop my car off at goodyear this morning to get the rest of the tires replaced. as i'm pulling out of the parking lot, i feel my car sort of pitching forward a little bit, and upon exiting my car this time i find that my donut is flat. grrreeeeeeat. so jeanna comes and picks me up and we take my poo tire to goodyear to buy a new tire. this way i wouldn't have to worry about towing my car. we take the new tire back to my car and i change it while jeanna stands there taking pictures of me because it's funny to watch me jumping on the tire iron to tighten the nuts. so i get done, take my car back to goodyear. they put on the rest of the tires. the world is a happier place to be. i'd like to take this opportunity to tell my dad thanks for teaching me how to change a tire. i felt empowered today.

"love God and do what you will." st. augustine said this awhile back. more or less meaning make God your first priority and then just make the life decisions that you need to make. my theology professor mentioned it to our class about six months ago, and ever since we discussed it, i don't think a day has gone by that it hasn't entered my mind, because it opens up a can of worms for me. how specific is God's plan? is there an ordered set of steps He wishes me to take, or just a general mission that i am supposed to accomplish through means primarily of my choosing? for so long i thought the former. i mean that's what i was taught for five years. but wayne brought up the subject and got me thinking what if. what if God's will has little to do with what i actually do and everything to do with what i become? because what i become in word, deed, and character will ultimately determine what i do. this is just the tip of the iceberg of what i've been thinking on for so long, and i bring it up now because last night i sort of had an epiphany. but i don't have time to expound right now, so i'll have to wait.