Newbie.

In case you didn't notice, I'm kinda new in these parts. I figured, "What the hey! Everyone seems to have one o' these. Why not give it a whirl?!" So, friends, countrymen, ladies, and gentlemen, I now present my very first blog post...

This, my dear friends, is Gabriel Quay Shanahan. We call him Gabe. He's pretty much the coolest nephew ever. Now you may be looking at his fingers thinking to yourself, "What ARE those things?"

My answer: I have absolutely no idea. But an educated guess would suggest they are puppets made out of erasers. He's quite ingenius, if I do say so myself.

"But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise" (1 Corinthians 1: 27).

Wake-Up Call

Today I visited the great LCHS. I've been kind of discouraged as of late. I just feel like I am NOT a super social person and I feel preeetty awkward walking into my old high school into a sea of faces. Well, this is how I was viewing it anyway. I was just kind of like, "What am I doing here, God? These girls won't listen to me! They probably think I'm really weird or ugly or annoying..." All of the above. But then I decided I wanted today to be different. So, I prayed. I took a deep breath. I wiped the sweat from my brows. I walked in. I graciously took my badge from Mrs. Krass. I walked to the commons. I decided I would sit on one of the benches in the middle. The bell rung and in poured hungry teenagers. A jolt in my stomach. Great. Nervous again. But soon enough girls that looked familiar walked in and I struck up conversation with them. And it was like a complete blanket of total peace washed over me. In fact, it was as if God himself whispered, "I'm here. Now stop freaking out...look at these girls. They aren't just another face in the crowd. They are each individually mine and uniquely made. Love them. Love them with all you've got. Love them like I love you." And in response to this voice, I decided internally, "This is where I'm supposed to be. This is where I lay my own life down--my own thoughts, interests, fears, desires--so that I may truly seek out and love girls like they've never been loved before." Thank you, Jesus. What a revelation!

As I was walking to leave, I saw a girl I met a few weeks ago. I yelled her name and she slowed down and let me walk with her. She told me she was really nervous about an upcoming presentation. We talked a little more and I told her I would pray that everything would go well. Her face brightened up and she said, "Thank you!" and out of no where gave me a big hug. Wow. And to think I contemplated not going today because I didn't want to go alone...

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go" (Joshua 1: 9).

Praise Him.

-Carls Barkley