"I'm Yours"

On the Ukelele. Just click on the box below the "Wii Freakout. Cutest perfomance ever. He must be like seven years old. Check it out!

All Things are Possible

She plays super impressively at the end. It's powerful. I like it.

It's been a while.

It's been a long, long while since I've written poetry. I used to be really into it, especially because I had more time. The reason I like poetry is because of the sweet relief it gives you. You could be going through battles and trials and feel like there's a cloud of problems hovering above you that you can't explain or sometimes even talk to anyone about. But then you pick up your paper and pen and just write down whatever comes to you in relation to your emotions or whatnot, and in the end you feel like you've released your pent-up frustrations. Here's something I recently wrote:

Biggest Animal That Ever Lived

Sorry I barely ever post. Things have been really busy and only recently have I been getting on more and learning about the outside world; friends getting married, having kids, moving countries, pioneering new homes... it's a lot to take in at once. Anyways, back on subject The biggest animal that ever lived... ME! Ha... joke. Alright, not funny.
So this is something I found today. It's pretty interesting. There are some very common animals that we just don't know that much about. Odd, no? The other day I was looking at a giraffe and it dawned on me what a weird creature it is. It's just so funny looking and doesn't have anything to do with any other creature. Odd thoughts. I'm full of them. Well, enjoy your school time!

Blue Planet, Blue Whale.

Just a little humor for past's sake.

The Card Says,
"Legendary Creature -- Human Cowboy
When Chuck Norris enters a game, he wins the game (you lose, your allies lose, your opponents lose and anyone in the enclosure loses)."

WHEN GOD SAID, "LET THERE BE LIGHT" Chuck Norris replied "SAY, PLEASE!".

There is no 'ctrl' button on Chuck Norris's computer. Chuck Norris is always in control.

Apple pays Chuck Norris 99 cents every time he listens to a song.

Chuck Norris can sneeze with his eyes open.

Chuck Norris is sueing Myspace for taking the name of what he calls everything around you.

Chuck Norris destroyed the periodic table, because he only recognizes the element of surprise.

Chuck Norris can kill two stones with one bird.

When the Boogeyman goes to sleep every night, he checks his closet for Chuck Norris.

Chuck Norris doesn't read books. He stares them down until he gets the information he wants.

There is no theory of evolution. Just a list of creatures Chuck Norris has allowed to live.

Chuck Norris does not sleep. He waits.

Chuck Norris is the reason why Waldo is hiding.

Chuck Norris counted to infinity - twice.

When Chuck Norris does a pushup, he isn’t lifting himself up, he’s pushing the Earth down.

Chuck Norris is so fast, he can run around the world and punch himself in the back of the head.

Chuck Norris’ hand is the only hand that can beat a Royal Flush.

Chuck Norris doesn’t wear a watch, HE decides what time it is.

Chuck Norris can slam a revolving door.

Chuck Norris does not get frostbite. Chuck Norris bites frost

There are no races, only countries of people Chuck Norris has beaten to different shades of black and blue.

Chuck Norris can divide by zero

Chuck Norris invented his own type of karate. It's called Chuck-Will-Kill.

Chuck Norris always knows the EXACT location of Carmen SanDiego.

Chuck Norris ordered a Big Mac at Burger King, and got one.

It takes Chuck Norris 20 minutes to watch 60 Minutes.

Chuck Norris can touch MC Hammer.

Chuck Norris played Russian Roulette with a fully loaded gun and won.

If, by some incredible space-time paradox, Chuck Norris would ever fight himself, he'd win.
Period.

There is no such thing as global warming. Chuck Norris was cold, so he turned the sun up.

Chuck Norris can delete the Recycling Bin.

Once a cobra bit Chuck Norris' leg. After five days of excruciating pain, the cobra died.

Ghosts are actually caused by Chuck Norris killing people faster than Death can process them.

TIME WAITS FOR NO MAN, UNLESS THAT MAN IS CHUCK NORRIS.

My Nephew

Everyone's having babies!!! Is there a push going on that I don't know about? (No punt intended.) Here's the newest added baby to my family. Pearl has an amazing camera and is also, of course, an amazing photographer, as well as my brother, Sam.

I think his eyes are blue.
Golly... look at those eyes the little guy has! 
Him and his beautiful mother, Pearl.

There's something beautiful about having a new member added to your family. This one is absolutely adorable and looks just like his daddy, when he was a baby. I really miss you guys and love you so much!! I hope I'll get to meet Kael Alexandre Renaud one day, Lord willing! xoxox

Don't Loose Yourself

To those of you who are loyal and drop friendly visits, first of all, I love you very much! Thanks for checking out my blog! I sometimes forget about it and need someone at my heels to remind me to blog. Thank you, I have you on a pedestal.
Here's something cool that's probably on a couple hundred other blogs:

DON'T LOOSE YOURSELF
This was engraved on the wall of Mother Teresa Home for Children in Calcutta.


People are often unreasonable, illogical and self-centered.
FORGIVE THEM ANYWAY!

If you are kind people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
BE KIND ANYWAY!

If you are successful you will win some false friends and true enemies.
SUCCEED ANYWAY!

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you.
BE HONEST AND FRANK ANYWAY!

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight.
BUILD ANYWAY!

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow.
DO GOOD ANYWAY!

Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough.
GIVE THE WORLD THE BEST YOU HAVE ANYWAY!

You see, in the final analysis it is between you and God,
NOT BETWEEN YOU AND THEM ANYWAY!

Be good.

First time on the Beach!

Cheers!
This was my first time on the beach. When I came here and my mom was still visiting I got the opportunity to stay in an apartment with a beautiful view of the beach in Copacabana, but I never got to go to the actual... sand, much less water. So one of our friends invited us to go at night time and have a beer or two. It was so beautiful! There's a mountain right next to it and the ocean looked so refreshing! God's such a genius!

The first two are the view of the apartment in Copacabana.





Here's Marie and I with Rafa, our awesome friend, a true gentleman. Night at the beach.









For more information, check out Marie's Blog.

Knowledge shall be increased...

Man's knowledge has also increased in these last two years, as it has in other recent years, but it now heads in more dangerous directions than in the past. The Evil One has led many scientists to experiment with life itself--attempting to clone human beings, attempting to grow body parts and organs, attempting to fuse man and beast in the embryo, attempting to genetically modify man, either directly or through the foods he eats, which work on him from the inside. They walk a perilous path, one that they do not understand, for the Devil is not the creator of life, but the destroyer. The things that they create will not unlock the doors to more and abundant life, but will instead unleash unprecedented plagues and pestilences that they do not foresee.
As men seek to unravel the secrets of life in their carnal, scientific way, they also seek to combine it with machine. They seek new and improved robots to serve man, giving them artificial intelligence and mobility such as they've not had before. They seek to make man himself more of a machine, implanting chips, sensors, and electrodes to enhance man's powers and intelligence.
( Excerpt from Endtime Series, Part 1. )

And now for some AI intelligence...:

For some reason I can’t look at MIT’s Leonardo robot without an involuntary shudder - I think it’s the lifelike fur and the evil, calculating eyes. Even scarier is to see it in motion (and there are videos after the cut), when complex facial mapping techniques have taken human expressions and reworked them for the robot’s face (which has 32 degrees of freedom).

He's analyizing you!

Of course the clever people at MIT aren’t just making a particularly impressive toy; their intent is to research new ways of human/machine interaction, where robots are used to give a computer a naturalistic interface that users are comfortable working with.

“Once a task is learned, the robot should then be competent in its ability to provide assistance; understanding how to perform the task as well as how to perform it in partnership with a human”

Capable of being instructed by tutelage, where a user guides Leonardo to complete a task, by imitation, where Leonardo copies a demonstration, and social referencing, where Leonardo responds to a users reaction to a task, their goal is to end up with a machine that can learn from humans in their own terms, rather than them needing to be experts in programming.

Here's an example of teaching the creepy thing:



And just for fun:


Heheh... notice how he twitches?

Ree Ree's Birthday!!... in the Buff.

I'm not the most creative person in the world, but I sure hope this suits your fancy. I'm not feeling very mushy right now, but I love you very much. I wrote you a poem for your birthday. HAVE A GOOD YEAR, BABY!!!!!!!

Swimming in the Buff

I was awoken to the thought of you

Your twenty-second birthday lingering in my mind

I rushed to make you something special

Nicole and I... boy, aren't we kind?

I'm so glad you're with me here

I know that without you things would be tough

But together we can lose ourselves

When we go swimming in the buff.

Life is so full of surprises

And many will come to you this year

The Lord made you so freakin' special

And to remind you of that, I got you beer.

It's amazing what the Lord does

And how wonderful is His love

Just lose yourself in Him

When we go swimming in the buff.

Yes, people may laugh and say

"What wierdos, no one does that here"

But are we going to care?

We're celebrating a wonderful year!

We'll be bare before the Lord

With no clothes and no handcuff(s)

It's just Jesus, you and I

When we go swimming in the buff.

So let's get drunk, get drunk on Jesus

Let's get drunk on Him

To be naked before Him and others

Is no aweful sin.

So let's put on our birthday suits

Our flaws can make it tough

So just stay humble, drink Him in

When we go swimming in the buff.

The End.

I love you tons!!!!!! Let's go swimming in the buff! (By the way, that's what we're about to do.)

There's Change in the Air

I'll be buying my ticket in a few days, if not tonight. In approximately thirty days I'll be in the air... changing a country, changing a lifestyle, changing to a different language, meeting completely new people.
There's nothing like following the Lord even though you can only see two steps in front of you. All you're doing is holding His hand and trusting Him entirely like a child trusting a father will do his best to take care of them. There's nothing like it... it's peace. It's excitement. It's knowing.
I can think of somebody who's a perfect example of forsaking all like this, to an even greater extent than I am. He went somewhere where he had never been to in his life (I was born in Brazil and lived until I was five. I just haven't been there in thirteen years), where he knew nobody, and he left EVERYBODY he considered dear to him just so he could devote himself entirely to the Lord and go where the Lord wanted him to.
I'm so proud of him. It's amazing to see the change that can come over somebody in only a few years time. I thought I was the one helping him at first, but... the tables pulled a three-sixty on me and now I can truly say that he has helped me through so much. He has been eager to help me, always standing by me, holding me in his prayers, getting me prophecies, giving me sound advice from the Word and leading me to it. The amazing thing is that this isn't at all how it started. I felt like I was the one trying to stuff the Word down his throat (metaphorically speaking, of course), but I found myself being the one being spoon-fed and all I can say is... thank you. Thank you for being part of my life. Thank you for encouraging me. Thank you for listening. Thank you for being so understanding. But most of all, thank you for being you. O.O
Now he's in Romania, happy I hope (and I pray) and experiencing things he never dreamed he would. Dre, I'm sooooo proud of you! I'm praying for you and I know the Lord has so much in store for you. What you're experiencing now is only a drop in the bucket compared to what He has planned. He'll use you so much, simply because you're yielded, humble, and willing to go where He will take you--willing to be used. I love you so much and even the silly words on this page can't adequately describe how much.

What an Invaluable Experience!

I'll put up some pictures later. I don't have my picture CD with me right now, but I have this picture. We would walk up and down this road at least 20 times a day. It led to our dorm. Of course, it wasn't always this misty, but this is a beautiful picture nevertheless.

Recently I went to a one month intense discipleship training camp for seventeen year olds. It was like living in a combo home with eighty people. I saw so many possibilities in having a home like that and only wished it could have lasted longer, haha. I heard of this one camp that was supposed to last for one month, but because it had gone so good they decided to extend it for another two weeks. Ours was going just great! Why couldn't we extend it, too? Well, the Lord knows.
So it all started with David taking Sara and I to San Antonio where all the attendees in the states would meet up and take a bus to the border. Jamie was his co-pilot, and we took Dawn and JP with us to make it easier on the other homes. Well, the Devil really hated the fact that we were going... so the Winnebago (our choice of a vehicle) broke down. After praying and trying to get some help for about forty minutes, we decided to give pushing the Winnie (our nickname for Winnebago) a try. So PUSH!.... AND KEEP PUSHING!! Woo! The Engine started! What a miracle! We all praised the Lord.
Back on the road and we're all happy. Guess what? It broke down again about ten minutes later. So push, push push... And what do you know? After a strenuous push the engine started again!!-- our legs ached. We broke down two more times and eventually when we were about five minutes away we called for help. Everything worked out great and we got there that night. From what I heard the public bus that about thirty staff and attendees were on broke down, not to mention they had like a twenty-eight hour trip. Even the trip there for a lot of people was a battle. The Jerk of a Devil was trying to stop us. Isn't that great? We must have been doing the right thing, ha!
That night we were united with all the other teens and it was great. The next day we all got on the home's bus and made our journey to a border town... I don't remember what it's called, but it was near El Paso. The bus trip was quite fun, actually. At the campground we met some church members and got to witness to them and they were amazed at how we had been to other countries, we were young and serving the Lord, etc... We all slept in tents and some of us were a bit loud... but praise the Lord for His forgiveness!
The next day we crossed the border by walking across with all of our luggage in the mobile trailer we also took. Half of us would go by public transportation and the other half to go to Creel in the mobile home. Hahahah, well, there were about fourteen of us going in public buses with like 28-30 suitcases so there would be room in the mobile home for the rest of the teens. At every switch of buses we would horde around these giant things and load them up on the next bus.
I've fallen in love with Mexico and one day I will live there... somewhere there. I don't even know exactly why I like it, but I do. Who knows? We got some Mexican candy, a big bottle of water, coffee, all this after switching our desired amounts of dollars into pesos.
At CREEL I got to meet a lot of new people. It was different for me because I was used to going to camps where I knew practically everybody and if there was someone new, I wouldn't be afraid to get to know them and introduce myself, but here in Mexico... everybody knew each other and I, along with a few other people I knew from the states, were new. But it was good! Had to break out of the box and have some fun in a totally different environment with different people. Everybody was so great. It was a pleasure getting to know them and their different personalities. Eighty people and only thirty days... so much to know and so little time. I was also reunited with some people I had known from way back or from camps, but hadn't seen in years. It's interesting to see how people turn out, how they grow and change, and how friends you know get together with other friends you know, and how they change in their interactions with people over time. Well, it was a training camp and my training had already begun, probably ever since I started pushing the Winnebago and had to claim the keys and expect a miracle--which did happen, thank the Lord.
We got settled in and found our team shepherds and dorms and we were told that we could have the day off, sort of, and just relax and get to know people and whatnot. We ended up having an inspiration in the front of our dorms and did some dancing. It was kind of cool and spontaneous, and probably a good sample to the security guards who were always our constant neighbors. Oh... and we had an inspiration inside... with lots of friendly faces at the window... what a nice surprise. ^_^; Love you, and to be continued...

The Weapon.

But I beseech you, that I may not be bold when I am present with that confidence, wherewith I think to be bold against some, which think of us as if we walked according to the flesh.
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;
Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.
Do ye look on things after the outward appearance? If any man trust to himself that he is Christ's, let him of himself think this again, that, as he is Christ's, even so are we Christ's.

(2 Corinthians 10:2-7)

For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

(Hebrews 12:4)