Jenny and Snickerdoodles

This post is a bit late, so forgive me.
This is Jenny:

She is a lovely housemate of mine and the reason that my house looks and smells delightful. When I asked what type of cookies I should make not too long ago, she quickly quipped "Snickerdoodles." I like Jenny. She's fun, easy to talk with, has my back, and will eat what I make, so I could think of no better person to inaugurate this new era of blogging with then Jenny. She is still in school, but working a lot this summer. Jenny has a subtle selflessness about her that I do not think she gets enough credit for, and a livelihood to boot. I have already had many god conversations with her.
Unfortunately, we did not have any cinnamon, but a trip to Costco for the huge cinnamon fixed that, and I got to work. I checked my archives and dusted off my old snickerdoodle recipe. I did not have cream of tartar so I substituted that and the BS for baking powder. I also did not have nutmeg (and still do not), so I painfully omitted it. I also used all butter instead of shortening, and brown sugar instead of white. I have a brown sugar obsession. I combined the dry stuff and the wet stuff, and mixed it together:

. Of course, part of the fun of making Snickerdoodles is rolling them in the cinnamon sugar mixture

, so I got Jenny and my friend Troy to help me with that part. We rolled them and set them on a buttered cookie sheet:

. Pop into the oven, 400 for ten minutes, and they slide right out. Now, we made a couple batches of these because they are simply heavenly, and even then they went super quick.

. Not only did Jenny have several, but our other housemates and guests had several as well, and everyone loved them. I tell you, these things went fast.
I am telling you, these cookies are delicious, and I have tried them unaltered, and they are very good as well. Also, I am very excited to be living with Jenny this year. She recently drove a friend and me back from the bay over July fourth weekend.

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Anyways, good Luck and good Eats.

Revamp

I'm revamping my blog. As any of my loyal readers (all two of you) can probably tell, it has grown rather stale. Because of this I have decided to start doing things a little bit differently. It's going to become, I think, a people-story-baking blog. By that I mean this: each week I will feature something that I have made, with pictures, and a story of a person that goes along with it. My reasoning is several-fold: to ensure that I bake every week, to make sure that I am with people frequently, and again, because of stagnation. I think that it will also help me improve my writing and my story-telling. I will regulate facts and updates about my life to the state of the blogger address, which I will try to do more of because of the change, just not too many because that is not the point of it all. So, I intend to do the first post in a couple of days, and Snickerdoodles will be involved, so stay tuned!

Not Enough Time or Too Many People

I have been blessed with an abundance of relationships, and I know it. I have great relationships, and even my casual friends I would do anything for. But make no mistake about it, I put the effort in to make these possible, at least the vast majority of them. True, some of these other people put good work into our relationship as well and those are the ones who have ended up the most beautiful at all (and indeed the ones that I am perhaps the most thankful for), but besides for those exceptions, the vast majority or my relationships I have been the one putting the vast majority of work into. Most of the time I do not mind as I make a point in my life to invest in relationships-to be constantly forming new ones, to spend time with my good friends, to talk with those who I am incredibly close with. But over the past maybe eight months there is a realization that I have come to: I do not have the time anymore. I work about 30 hours a week and I do not have the time to invest in relationships as I would like to. Additionally, I have realized how much it takes for the relationships that I do have and so I have invested further into those.
To exemplify this point, I liken it to music-as my music taste has grown, I have expanded the amount of songs that I love, and there are always more songs coming out. Sadly, I do not have time to listen to all of these songs anymore; I have to sacrifice certain songs for a long period and not listen to them. It is not that I have lost my love for these songs, there are just a lot of songs I want to invest in. And people take up far more time than people, and I value people far more than music.
That is how ti goes in relationships. There are some I just have to put on the backburner for a time But the reality is that there does not have to be. I started off saying that I put in most of the work, and that is not to brag or to somehow exemplify myself above people. Frankly, I still do not think that I do that great of a job at investing in relationships and loving those around me. But, there are people who put very little effort into their relationship with me. If they changed that, then our relationship would never go on the back burner because I am so appreciative of when people put time into me, I inevitably put forth effort as well. So, I guess the point of all of this is to say two things:
One, that I am so very thankful for the rich relationships that I have. I am glad that being only 23, I will only get better at understanding how to pursue people more, how to purusepeople better, more efficiently, and how to love people well. But everytime someone tells me that they love me or are thankful for me I am so glad about it, not because I have insecurities such that I need to be told, but because I know that my efforts are paying off. I am so thankful for relationships.
Secondly, its to say that I am sorry. If you are reading this and feel that I have neglected our relationship, then I apologize. Just as with music, it is not that I love you any less, it is simply that I have to spend my time wisely. Pursue me, and you will be pursued in return, that much I can guarantee you. I try to show my love in other ways, weather it be an encouraging text message or a video I make for you, but understand that I love you and this is just the reality. But it does not have to be.

Tragedy(?)

It seems like there is no way that I can have a blog about Isla Vista and not talk about the tragic events that took place a couple of weeks ago. However, I have never been one to say what is popular just because everybody else says it, so let me give a disclaimer-most of what I am about to say is not popular opinion. These are the opinions and understandings of one man, and you can feel free to take them for what you will. That being stated, let me start by saying that what happens sucks. It sucks that seven people died, it sucks that however many more got injured, it sucks that people still living got messed up emotionally or scarred, it all sucks. There is nothing good about what happen, no glass half-full. Also, it is great that this community feels a need to come together for each other and feel unified, that is phenomenal. Also, those that lost people close to them, well that sucks too. And I feel for those people even though I myself have never really had that experience, I can imagine it being incredibly hard. For everyone else though, a question comes to my mind-why are you mourning? If you did not lose someone you know, why realistically are you mourning? I think that the answer, so far as I can tell, is that they feel unsafe now or did not think that 'this' could happen to their little IV. So, I think that what they are really mourning is a destruction of their utopian view of this place. The reality is a city that has riots, bank burnings, frequent armed robberies, rapes, etc. can hardly be called safe. These people feel happy going out and partying on the weekends, as they have every right to, but so far as I can tell, that happiness had given them a false sense of security. The reality, as I heard it so poignantly put a few days ago is that "IV is a happy place, but not an honest place." IV is not safe, just as anywhere is not safe. The reality is that people have evil in their hearts that cause them to do all sorts of evil things-cheat on their wives, rape, slaughter, murder, stab, shoot, yell, scream, berate, etc. This evil will always persist and the only way to stop is to come to Jesus, and even that will not totally eradicate it in this lifetime. I am not advocating for a constant sense of feeling unsafe, but I am advocating for an end to living with your head in the sand, and an end to the amount of violence and sex that the media puts forth. Be it television, movies, music, advertisement, video games, we as a culture continuously stream sex and violence at a high rate into our hearts and the hearts of our children. Until we stop that, we are simply treating symptoms of a disease that continues to persist without treating the disease. We are foolish people really that we do not realize this.
Along with that, all of the agendas that have been furthered through this tragedy, be it gun control, women's rights, mental health awareness, anti-news, etc., they all grossly miss the point. We need to make sure people have good hearts. Until we do that, it matters not what protocol, law, or regulation we put into place; people will find a way around it. Do not get me wrong, I am not blaming media for what happened, but let's please get this straight, media and what we allow into our hearts plays a major role into who we are, that is the bottom line.
Which brings me to my next point; the blame entirely rests on Elliot Rodgers and he is exactly where he deserves to be. Actually, he is exactly where we all deserve to be. Like I said, we all have evil in our hearts, and we should all be paying for it, if not for a King who decided to die. I have advocated for much of this year not condemning people and characterizing them for what they do. I would be a hypocrite if I started with Rodgers. Granted, what he did was especially heinous, but had he lived and had I met him, I would treat him like a human. We are all broken, sinful, messed-up people, and it is by God's grace that more of us do not succumb to our evil urges. I was born into a better a situation than Rodgers and with people who love and support me. he did not have that luxury, so I cannot completely demonize him. However, that does not abscond him of the responsibility. It rests solely on his shoulders.
I have something to say about many of the people, current students and alumni, who have been talking about 'solidarity' and 'Isla Vista overcoming together.' I understand the desire to want to partner with those hurting, but honestly, many of these people have spoken to me about just how much they hate Isla Vista. They think that it is a terrible place and are or were sick of it. They have every right to mourn, but they should not do so without feeling hypocritical. These people do not care about IV, and when the remnants of this tragedy have blown over, they will return to not caring. They will not pray more, they will not care to care more until the next time IV makes CNN. Until then, they will continue to turn up their noses at it. I know, they have told me as much, and it is a common sentiment. The people that I feel have the greatest right to speak on solidarity and oneness are those who have invested much into the community. Those are the people that I thank and respect because it is a difficult community to invest a lot in, I know firsthand.
Finally, (lest this reach a length that is unreadable) I will give one urging to the people of Isla Vista and the
community as a whole: move-on. What happens sucked, like I said, but you do not move past by dwelling on what happened. You move forward by making new memories, forging new relationships, creating new bonds, laughing until your gut hurts, experiencing new hugs, kisses, hand-shakes, watching The Office together late at night, getting Freebirds because you are up until 4 studying for your Bio midterm. Basically, continue to live. It is ok to take time to mourn, but once you have mourned, you need to move on.
Again, these are just the opinions of one man, and insignificant opinions at that. Take what you will and trash what you will. I just ask that you read this with an open mind. If you do that and you sincerely disagree me with, great.
~Good Luck and Good Eats

Graduating...Ed Gonzales

I know several people who are set to graduate in about a month. I would be remiss if I did not take some time to talk about what they mean to me. I have been so impacted by these kids, and I feel that it is high time to tell them. This post is about Ed Gonzales.
Ed, you are a light. Your laugh brings so much joy to me and I enjoy making you laugh so much. I also enjoy that I enjoy it and am good at it, if that makes sense. I have always enjoyed your willingness to be and to hang out, and it would not be an incorrect description to say that you have gifted me with your presence. I do not mean to seem dramatic, but I have always felt like you have such a stabilizing presence in my life. I have been able to be present with you, and that is a gift that you have given to me. It is has been a joy to see you in bible study every week and to see your faithfulness and growth that has come from it. God is turning you into a great man, and I have seen that already from you. I encourage you to continue to press into God and let Him transform you; do not let others, but let Him. I think that you are also a really trustworthy person, Ed. People feel safe with you and I think that that will increasingly come in handy in your life. One of the coolest things this year is literally getting to see you seniors grow up and that has been so true in you as well. You have brought me so much Joy Ed, and are a no-nonsense type of friend. I think that I do not even fully value you, but I do appreciate you.
Ed, thank you for what you have done in my life. Thank you for always being available for me and pursing me in the ways that I needed it. Thank you for being faithful in bible study this year, and thankful for your faithfulness in your commitment to Christ. It will only get harder, but your reward will be great, my friend.

Graduating...Freddy Hicks

I know several people who are set to graduate in about a month. I would be remiss if I did not take some time to talk about what they mean to me. I have been so impacted by these kids, and I feel that it is high time to tell them. I am cheating for this post because it is about a senior who is not actually graduating yet.
Freddy, you are one of the good ones. Your time in college has not been one of the easiest, and you have grown accordingly. In all honesty, I am so proud of the man that you are and are becoming. I still remember your first bible study with Hiney and me, and how hard it was to get you to commit since then. Now, you are such a skeptic in the best way, and you understand well the importance of getting time with Jesus first and making sure to let Him sanctify you. You want to do right by God first and I appreciate that. I am proud of your persistence that, despite not being handed things right off, you have had to work to see things accomplished. That work has produced a mighty character within you. One of the ways that you have blessed me the most is that you have pursued me this year. It has been a year and you have frequently texted me just saying that you want to hang out and people do not really do that much with me. You have always been available and this year most notably you have been intentional. God has grown our hearts together and I am thankful that He has and that there are parts of me I see in you that I am really thankful about. You are a man of integrity and a man who seeks to bring others together and helps people feel like they are accepted and loved. Freddy, you are someone that I can trust others with and I would not hesitate to have you lead any number of things. I encourage you to continue despite things often getting difficult, because your reward is unseen.
I love you, Freddy.

Graduating...Paul Miyake

I know several people who are set to graduate in about a month. I would be remiss if I did not take some time to talk about what they mean to me. I have been so impacted by these kids, and I feel that it is high time to tell them. This post is a man that I have become close with this year-Paul Miyake.
Paul, your growth throughout college has been stark and the only explanation is that there is a true, real God who loves you and is sanctifying you towards righteousness. I remember on a walk last year that you made a comment about how it was difficult for you to open up to people, and I could have attested to that. However, this year you have grown to the point that you are very transparent with others and it has increased your ability to lead others 100-fold. You have been such a leader to so many people this year, and not just younger people, but your peers and even to me as well. I cannot tell you how much you have grown, but it is so much. I have leaned on you more than you know this year and I appreciate your willingness to oblige me and even stick with me and allow me to be open with you about my weaknesses without fear. You have encouraged me so much without words in being in my bible study just in the way I have seen that lightbulb go off in your head as the evidence of you pondering things for the first time is displayed on your face. Additionally, I have been so thankful for the number of times that we have broken bread together over the last couple of years, and this year especially, you have taken time out of your schedule to sit with me and listen to me, and that has had such a profound impact on me this year at times when I have needed it most. You have given me a much-needed outlet for thinking through the good stimuli in my life. It is not just about in-taking good stimuli for me, but also having someone there to think through that with me, and you have obliged me in that. I have readily said that this year, though my heart has not always been in a good place, if someone needed someone to pour into them, you were someone that I would quickly point them to. I say that because I have seen Christ in you this year, in the way that you have poured into relationships, in the way that God has broken your heart for parts of the world that do not have as much access to him, the way that you have become more passionate about the Kingdom of God. I am upfront about my oft-apathetic heart, but your friendship has diminished that apathy in the slightest and I am thankful for that.
Paul, when I think of you, I think of the word Rock. You have become a consistent Rock, one of the most fundamental people around. People will for the rest of your life come to with struggles, weaknesses, because they need an ear, and just because you are available, and I am sure that it is a compliment of the highest order when I tell you that I think that that is an evidence of Jesus within you. Continue to pursue Him, my friend, because your doing so has kept me afloat this year. I love you, Paul.