an excellent, excellent read. i am blown away at my time wasting mentality and lack of spiritual maturity in the area of time management and stewardship. this book is a must-read and i don't say that a lot. so many of us are wasting away what should be very productive and kingdom advancing lives. this book is one of the few in my life (Life of a God Made Man - Dan Doriani, Savage Inequalities - Jonathan Kozol, Knowledge of the Holy - A.W. Tozer, etc) that will alter the way i live it. my disciples have a lot to look foward to next semester as we will be going through this book.

www.twentyeightnineteen.com

Sometimes I do get to places just when God's ready to have somebody click the shutter. ~Ansel Adams

Jason Reeves

twisted imaginations...love it. (not my stuff)

In our days we will live like our ghosts will live
pitching glass at the cornfield crows and folding clothes
like stubborn boys across the road, we’ll keep everything
Grandma’s gun and the black bear claw that took her dog
And when sister Lowery says “Amen,” we won’t hear anything
The ten-car train will take that word, that fledgling bird
and the fallen house across the way, it’ll keep everything
the baby’s breath, our bravery wasted and our shame
-Sam Beam - Iron and Wine - Resurrection Fern

Not sure what it means, but it sure is beautiful when he sings it.

If my private world is in order, it will be because I have chosen to press sabbath peace into the rush and routine of my daily life in order to find the rest God prescribed for Himself and all of humanity.
-Gordon MacDonald

preview of Black:Atlanta:Poor:Georgia (CSC in January)

At its best our age is an age of searchers and discoverers, and at its worst, an age that has domesticated despair and learned to live with it happily.
Flannery O'Connor

I've been thinking long and hard about the things you said to me
Like a bitter stranger
Now I see the long and short the middle and what's in between
I could spit on a stranger
You're a bitter stranger
-nickel creek

preview of the upcoming CSC exhibit in Jan.

A generation of Christians reared among push buttons and automatic machines is impatient of slower and less direct methods of reaching their goals. We have been trying to apply machine-age methods to our relations with God. We read our chapter, have our short devotions, and rush away, hoping to make up for our deep inward bankruptcy by attending another gospel meeting or listening to another thrilling story told by a religious adventurer lately returned from afar. The tragic results of this spirit are all about us. Shallow lives, hollow religious philosophies, the preponderance of the element of fun in gospel meetings, the glorification of men, trust in religious externalities, quasi-religious fellowships, salesmanship methods, the mistaking of dynamic personality for the power of the Spirit; these and such as these are the symptoms of an evil disease, a deep and serious malady of the soul.
-A.W. Tozer

Song in my head all day - Sun by Daphne Loves Derby

Busy day tomorrow...4 appointments plus bank and post office runs.

Ive been out of running for almost 2 weeks now with lower leg pain. not fun times for chris. i am getting to know the stationary bike pretty well.

Nickel Creek Concert

amazing, amazing, amazing show last night at the florida theater. chris, sarah, and sean continually impress me. i hope this is not the last time i get to see them. but if it is, id say it was a pretty darn good last concert.

three highlights
-sabra girl in the encore. sarah's voice was pretty close to perfect. ive never heard this live.
-a super creative take on the lighthouse's tale. i cant even describe it. you can tell they are gearing up for that to be the last song they ever play together in a week or so and man have they done a number on it.
-sarah and i made eye contact 3 times. one time i smiled at her and it made her smile, blush, and look away. o destiny.

early staff meeting this morning, working on unveiled stuff, and hanging pictures at coffee culture this afternoon...im tired.

a nice little treat for those of you nickel creek fans.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15731658

nothing compared to being there but its a start. ill be at the jax show monday night, engagement ring in tow for sara.

just kidding on the ring...but seriously

If you are a Christian, then this life is as close to hell as you will ever be. If you are not a Christian, then then this life is as close to heaven as you will ever be.
-Mark Driscoll

this is a nice little continuation of the thoughts expressed in my talk at CRU last week.

http://hillsong.com/brianbobbie/default.asp?pid=1296

this is a nice little continuation of the thoughts expressed in my talk at CRU last week.

http://hillsong.com/brianbobbie/default.asp?pid=1296

this is a nice little continuation of the thoughts expressed in my talk at CRU last week.

http://hillsong.com/brianbobbie/default.asp?pid=1296

pretty proud of this picture.

i wish people in my life would start making good decisions. its been a theme in my life since august that people close to me have returned to their own vomit and have and are making absolute fools of themselves. i love people, i just wish sometimes they would grow a backbone, keep their word, not try to make everyone happy, and have some sort of continuity in their lives from day to day. people need to stop letting life run their lives. they need to start making choices, and not ones that are obviously rediculous...sorry rant.

I can’t imagine all the things that haunt your head when you lay in bed
And you try to find a reason to stay here
Ever since the start of this I never knew the right thing to say to you
The right way to help you through
-Daphne Loves Derby

i can't believe i am missing this at home right now...landlocked in gainesville

ryan shay died today during the olympic marathon trials...just 5 miles in. sad stuff. 28 years old. was married in July. unbelievable shock to the running world.















made the front page of the Gainesville Sun today...what.what. check those white legs. thats what you get for training at night.

CRU tonight

I'm speaking tonight. 8:30. HPNP Auditorium. Come one, come all.

Running

ive been running for years, but its recently struck me why it is such a passion of mine. i am fairly obsessive about doing things no one else does and doing them well. call it pride, whatever. running is one of those things. i can groom it, perfect it, and analyze it. and, do it all while no one is watching. my favorite runs are at midnight. when no one else is watching. when everyone else is sleeping. when all i see is a random headlight every once in a while from a car with someone coming home from a night out. when the crickets make a symphony of sound that everyone else cannot hear because they love the sound of their televisions too much. nobody sees how fast, how far, how tough i run. nobody sees the hills. nobody sees the guts i leave on the sidewalk. nobody sees the private expressions of numbness to the world. only me. nobody understands why 10 miles excites me. people call me crazy for anticipating hill repeats. but for me its my sanctuary. its my quiet. its my place where nobody can call me. nobody can upset me. the world can't dissappoint me. i can deal with things. i say all this on the eve of completing my first 30 mile week since coming back from destroying my ankle; which really isnt even close to being fully healed if im honest with myself.

bought my dream camera today...nikon d40 w18-200 lens...cant wait to take it out.

if anyone wants my old camera ill let it go for $250 with software, usb cord, bag, rechargeable batteries, and a charger. its a $400 value brand new and its in excellent condition.


e-mail me at christopherammen@yahoo.com if you want a shirt. $12. boys are green, girls style shirt in blue.

I continually fall in love...

Boy with a coin he found in the weeds
with bullets and pages of trade magazines
close to a car the flipped on the turn
when God left the ground to circle the world

Girl with a bird she found in the snow
that flew up her gown, and that's how she knows
that God made her eyes for crying at birth
then left the ground to circle the earth

Boy with a coin he crammed in his jeans
then making a wish, and tossed in the sea
then walked to a town that all of us burned
when God left the ground to circle the world
-Sam Beam "Iron and Wine"

dark, mysterious, unbelievably genious song

i'd marry a dupree. just throwing that out there.

28:19

Twenty-eight Nineteen Photography has been launched. The dream has become a reality. Join the facebook group.

Buy a T-shirt for $12. They are sweet. Design is by Wes Radcliffe. e-mail me at christopherammen@yahoo.com to reserve yours. I need 20 people to buy to make it profitable before I will order them. Even if you have told me in person that you want one, remind me in e-mail form. I've had so much going on that I have probably forgotten.

We are proud to introduce the photography of Eric Macam in the coming week. His stuff is amazing and I am thrilled to have him on our crew. Get excited!

less than a month, sara

when my face is not the face you want to see everyday
when hand is not the hand you want to hold when you're afraid
when my thoughts no longer comfort you
when my heart no longer moves you
when my voice no longer soothes you
where will you be?

when the world that we made is nothing but a drone
and your head on my breast doesn't feel like home
when my thoughts no longer comfort you
when my heart no longer moves you
when my voice no longer soothes you
where will you be?

when you think that your love is not enough
when you think that my love isn't enough
when my thoughts no longer comfort you
when my heart no longer moves you
when my voice no longer soothes you
where will you be?
-sara watkins

im staying with jutty and abby valiquette right now...very nice

ill be speaking at Campus Crusade on November 15th at 8:30 pm in the HPNP auditorium at UF. Ill be speaking on four reasons why Martha stayed in the kitchen.

opening shop this weekend...the photography of ashley vaniska, marianne grieg, and chris ammen...look out. the colors on the logo are off, click on it to see the real image.

new editing on old stuff

picnik

the most amazing free photo editing site i have ever seen: http://www.picnik.com

my vision for my beard. i would imagine ill be there by november 1st or so. its getting pretty bigish.

tell me, baby, tell me
are you still on the stoop
watching the windows close?
i've not seen you lately
on the street by the beach
or places we used to go

i've a picture of you
on our favorite day
by the seaside
there's a bird stealing bread
that i brought
out from under my nose

tell me, baby, tell me
does his company make
light of a rainy day?
how i've missed you lately
and the way we would speak
and all that we wouldn't say

do his hands in your hair
feel a lot like a thing
you believe in
or a bit like a bird
stealing bread out from under your nose?

tell me, baby, tell me
do you carry the words
around like a key or change?
i've been thinking lately
of a night on the stoop
and all that we wouldn't say

if i see you again
on the street by the beach
in the evening
will you fly like a bird
stealing bread out from under my nose?
-sam beam "iron and wine"

accelerade. not bad at all.

http://www.accelerade.com/products/
i'm an addict. try it. you will like it. unless you dont participate in any type of athletic arena. then you shouldn't waste your money on it at $2 a bottle. i have yet to feel fatigued at the beginning of a workout the past 3 weeks i have been using it. i am skeptical as anyone on this stuff. but im a believer. i was slightly fatigued yesterday but only because i did 3x400, 3x300, 3x200 @ dream 5K pace for the first time in 2 months. so i will forgive the product and just know i worked hard.

just discovered a bunch of new camera tricks today randomly. look out world again.

thanks mississippi light

this should be in the dictionary next to the term "good coach"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoMmbUmKN0E

ben=genius

every scream went bleeding through these paper walls
and all the makeup in the world couldnt hide the scars i leave today
im packing light
a suitcase and toiletries
the rolling hills and willow trees of carolina wait for me

you never learned the rules have changed since we were nine
this isnt school
boys dont assault the girls they like
the taste of blood, the claim of love
these two will hereon cease to be
sprouting from your fists and tongue
as carolina waits for me

fields of grain go whipping by from the window seat
im drifting in, im drifting out catching up on sleep
i couldnt get indentured since the very crest of seventeen
i left my keys and broken dreams
cause carolina waits for me

i will never forgive a single day
mile markers seem to call my name and say
your safer now
through every town will light your way in reflective green
all the way, the state of carolina waits for me
-carolina - ben gibbard

i started running again yesterday. still in a good deal of discomfort and wearing a brace and living in ice when im not running, but the past two days have been beautiful for running...it feels like fall.

my camera is back from repair...watch out world

and yes, thank you all for the comments on my beard. it is beautiful and soon will blow in the wind.

Ohio State

wow, amazingly crazy stuff

http://www.flocasts.org/flotrack/speakers.php?sid=428&vid=4771

buy the new eisley album...one of the most gorgeous things you will ever experience

destin has very clear water

i feel like a father who has to let people experience pain sometimes.

"A lot of people run a race to see who is fastest. I run to see who has the most guts, who can punish himself into exhausting pace, and then at the end, punish himself even more. Nobody is going to win a 5,000 meter race after running an easy 2 miles. Not with me. If I lose forcing the pace all the way, well, at least I can live with myself."
- pre

A man drinks at last after being extremely thirsty, and, feeling refreshment permeating his body, thinks and says: What a glorious thing is fresh water! Such a man, whether he knows it or not, has already taken a step toward that "seeing of the beloved object" which is contemplation. How splendid is water, a rose, a tree, an apple, a human face...Who among us has not suddenly looked into his child's face, in the midst of the toils and troubles of everyday life, and at that moment "seen" that everything which is good, is loved and lovable, loved by God! Such certainties all mean, at bottom, one and the same thing: that the world is plumb and sound; that everything comes to its appointed goal; that in spite of all appearances, underlying all things is - peace, salvation, gloria; that nothing and no one is lost; that "God holds in his hand the beginning, the middle, and the end of all that is".
-Josef Pieper (Twentieth-century Catholic philosopher)

heysátan
höfðum þau hallí ró
en ég sló
ég sló tún
ég hef slegið fjandans nóg
en ég sló
heysátan
þá fer að fjúka út
út í mó.. (ég dró)
heyvagn á massey ferguson
því hann gaf undan
og mér fótur rann... andskotann
ég varð undan
og nú hvíli hér
með beyglað der
og sáttur halla nú höfði hér
-sigur ros

A poet never takes notes. You never take notes in a love affair.
Robert Frost

And all the gold dust in her eyes won't reform into a ring
You had and lost the one thing
You kept in a safe place
Remember the face
Of the girl who had made you her own
And how you left her alone

Life goes to those that are true
The regular news
Over playing the blues
With the light on

And if you burn the road
That’ll lead you back to her in time
I watch you turn to stone
You can’t find the sunlight

She’s moving on without you
The tide breaks
You watch the stars fade
They gather you back to their home
I guess it’s better than being alone
-joshua radin