A weekend of packing...

Yet another wonderful weekend with Jes this past weekend.

I was able to leave Richmond on Thursday afternoon, despite such a crazy week last week. It was wonderful to start the weekend early. Last week was the end of the Virginia General Assembly, so my class reporting on the legislature was in overdrive!

This weekend we started working on the house that we will be living in when we get married and that I will be in as soon as I move to NC.

The house was Jes' grandma's house, and so to start off, we have to clean out all of her old stuff. It was fun to look at the belongings of Jes' grandparents, who I will never know, and feel as if I can get to know them as we clean out the house.

It is a daunting task, but we are really looking forward to the many hours that we will put in getting the house ready for us!

On Saturday, we helped Jes' church, Central Community move out of their old building. We packed up the entire church and took a bunch of stuff to a storage unit, and started loading the moving truck.

It was a lot of hard work, and on Sunday morning, our muscles were quite sore, but it was really a lot of fun!

It's so exciting for me to already feel as if I am a part of the church and that I can provide some service to them even though I am not attending there yet.

Ok...so now I want to talk about Grey's Anatomy. Yes, I admit, I am a shameless addict!

So...I think they were really stupid in the way they handled the past few weeks' episodes. First of all, it is almost unheard of that someone could be brought back to life after the amount of time that Meredith was down...especially without severe brain damage.

I think they could've done the same thing, but just in a way so that when she was brought back only a matter of minutes had passed. I think this would've allowed them to bring in all of the same plot elements without ruining their medical credibility.

Clearly, I am still going to watch the show, but I hope in the future they stick more to the medical drama and try not to come across like a glorified soap opera.

Any thoughts?

New York, New York!

You Belong in Soho

Although you may not be a professional artist, you do dabble in one form of art or another.And you indie culture of all kinds - from little botiques to art house films.

Where should your inner New Yorker live?


I thought this was fun...I snagged it from my friend Stephanie's myspace page. I used to dream of living in NYC, but now I just can't wait to live in Greensboro with my future wife!....194 days to go!

A Valentine's Video: Moulin Rouge Love Medley

When thinking about Valentine's Day, I thought of this song....enjoy!

Happy Valentine's Day!

vintage love
Originally uploaded by NádiaRD.

A day to celebrate love.

I am blessed to have known such great love in my life.

The love of my family. The love of friends. The love of my future wife!

But most importantly, I have known the love of a savior.

This Valentine's Day is so special to me because in 200 days I will be married to the love of my life.

What's funny is that Jes and I were each other's "Valentines" last year before we were even dating! Who knew?

Check out this link to learn about the history of Valentine's Day:

http://www.history.com/minisites/valentine/?page=history

Weekend update...

I had another incredible weekend with my beautiful fiancee.

On Friday, Jes took me to a vineyard and winery. We shared yet another new experience and participated in a wine tasting. It was a fun experience and we even bought a bottle as a keepsake. Neither of us are huge wine fans, but we both preferred the same kind. Red and not too bitter.

On Saturday, Jes took me to the circus. We met her friend Jennifer and her boyfriend Zac. It was another great experience to share together. I had only been to the circus twice before, so I felt like a little kid full of excitement and anticipation.

Sadly, I had to come back home on Sunday and it was back to real life. A harsh and dreaded reality, but one that must be met for the coming months.

We were able to go to church together on Sunday afternoon at Jes' church, which will be where we will attend after we're married. It's always such a pleasure to worship together and just take in the experience of a Christian community together.

Another road trip to NC!

Tomorrow I will take a drive down 85 to spend the weekend with my beautiful fiancee.

I am so thrilled to be able to be together for a few days. We are planning to do so much in the short time that I will be down in NC. I'll update about the weekend when I get back.

I made a purchase this week in preparation for my trip that I have held out on up to this point.....I got the Justin Timberlake album. I have to say, this white boy sure can make a pretty fine beat. I can't help but 'bust a move' as I'm driving down the road listening to his stuff.

I've enjoyed all of the singles on the radio, especially "What goes around" that has been playing for a few weeks now. I decided that if the singles were a good representation of the album in whole, I needed to check out the whole thing.

So with the help of my BOSE sound system and some good music, my drive should be rather painless tomorrow.

Oh yeah...Don't miss the Grammy's this weekend!

New Pictures on Flickr!

I have added a bunch of new pictures on my Flickr page.

Some are from a while ago, so I appologize for not getting them up earlier.

New pictures include:

Canoeing at my house

Jes' graduation

Making our gingerbread house Christmas

My B-day

The night we got engaged

Check 'em out!

Cell-phone press conference

I had a press conference this morning at the Virginia State Capital dealing with teenage cell-phone use while driving.

A 16-year-old girl was there to share about a tragic experience. In 2005, this young woman was riding in a car with her best friend who was driving and talking to her boyfriend on her cell-phone. Because she was distracted by the call, she pulled out in front of a dump truck. The driver was killed in the accident and the girl who spoke today spent a whole year in the hospital recovering.

The purpose of the press conference was to gain support for a bill that is before the state legislature that would outlaw the use of cell phones by teenagers while driving.

I'm not sure what my opinion is on the bill, but I think that issues like this really make you think about the effects of your actions on other people. Sometimes things that we do so routinely and seem like such a part of our everyday lives can have very major impacts (negative and positive) on the people around us.

What seemingly insignificant decisions do we make everyday that have eternal implications?

Maymont Park

So Cute!, originally uploaded by random thoughts photography.

Jes and I went to Maymont Park in Richmond a few weeks ago, and I just added the pics to my flickr site.

Check 'em out!

If you're ever in Richmond, Maymont is a great place to spend a few hours. It was an old estate that has been donated to the city and turned into a park. They have lots of neat gardens and a nature center. Very fun and educational. A great place to spend the day with someone you love!

A pretty sad looking gingerbread house....

These pictures are from over Christmas break when Jes and I made a gingerbread house togehter.

I love making new memories together!

This one's for you, Jana...

So, over the weekend, I talked to my brother Patrick, and his wife Jana, and she commented that I hadn't posted in a long time and wanted to see some pictures. Well, unfortunately I haven't taken any in quite a while, but here is a pic of my family the night that Jes and I got engaged.

Also, here is a link to our page on "The Knot". Check us out!

http://weddings.theknot.com/pwp/view/co_main.aspx?coupleid=7029044818375315&MsdVisit=1

It's been a while...

Right now, I am sitting in my Communications Law class listening to a debate about 1st Amendment rights.

This is not as exciting as the rest of my life.

It's been a little while...okay, a long while....since I've written on here, so I just want to give an update on all of the amazing things that are going on in my life...all of the extravagant blessings that the Lord is pouring out on me.

As of today, Jes and I have been engaged for 1 month. Time has flown by! I guess to sum up the past month of my life, I will quote Charles Dickens.

"It was the best of times; it was the worst of times!"

The past month has been the best time of my life. I have felt such love, direction, security, acceptance, excitment and numerous other emotions. Jes and I have had such fun planning the wedding, the reception and the honeymoon. But mostly we have enjoyed planning our life together after we get married. (By the way...214 days and counting!)

On the other hand, the past month has been so hard for us. Each time we have to leave each other gets harder and harder. It makes living day to day life so hard knowing that so many great things are awaiting us. But I have to keep reminding myself that God's timing is perfect and that He still has a plan and a purpose for this season of my life.

So...in other areas of my life...

School is in full swing, and is taking up a lot of time. I am doing a lot of writing, but it's not as bad as I was expecting.

Worship team is going great! Our guitar player has taken over some of the administrative duties that I was handling, which has been a great help with so much school this semester. The past few weeks, we have really felt the Holy Spirit's presence during our worship service, and I have been so humbled that God is using me as a part of this amazing group of musicians and worshipppers.

Well, that's it for now.

I'll try to update soon.

We're Engaged!

On Saturday, December 30 my beautiful girlfriend Jes agreed to marry me.

We got engaged in Richmond overlooking the downtown buildings and then met our parents for dinner at Maggiano's.

This picture was taken when we walked up the stairs at the restaurant. I surprised Jes by asking her parents to drive up from North Carolina and meet us after I proposed. Jes was so surprised. It was such a special time to share with one another and our families.

Less than a week into our engagement we already have quite a few plans made, I am very excited as we move forward and progress into a new stage of life together.

We are planning a September wedding, which seems like a lifetime away, but will allow us time to get things ready, and for me to finish school and move down to NC.

I just wanted to share my exciting news!

Zoolander face!

This picture is from this past weekend. It is our best attempt at Zoolander's pose, "Magnum" (not to be confused with "Blue Steel")!

My friend Megan's 1 month old baby does a much better version!...it's adorable and quite hilarious!

Jes came up to Richmond this weekend. It was a wonderful time! We did a lot of things in the short time that she was here. We went out to eat several times, she came to my band practice with me, and she got to meet some more of my friends.

On Saturday, we went canoeing on the lake beihind my house. It was really cold, so we got all bundled up and went down to the lake. After we got out on the lake, we realized that part of the water had ice on top, so we tested fate and went through the ice. It was really fun.

We also decorated my family's Christmas tree, a lot of good memories were made.

The best part of the weekend was knowing that I get to see her again in only 3 days!!!

I will be going down to NC for her graduation on Wednesday...I can't wait!

It's better to give than to recieve...

I wrapped my first Christmas presents tonight. I always like to be the first one in my family to put presents under the tree.

Jes is coming up tomorrow, so instead of trying to find somewhere to hide the presents that I have already gotten for her, I just decided to wrap them and put them under the tree. I think I did a very good job, they look really nice. I used a gift bag that I bought at Target that has a black and white snow scene on it, and then some red and gold wrapping paper.

Wrapping presents has always been such a favorite part of the Christmas season for me. Well really, every aspect of giving gifts really makes me excited. My family has always focused on the "giving" aspect of gifts rather than the "getting". And I can honestly say that when Christmas rolls around, I will get more joy out of watching my family un-wrap the presents that I have for them than any of my own.

Don't be fooled. I am not this amazingly unselfish person. I need to implement this giving, selfless attitude into my everyday life more...I think God wants us to be like this more than just at Christmas.

Why? Because that is how Christ was. He gave constantly to those around Him. He was always focused and attentive to the needs of all people, their spiritual and practical needs.

I am challenged to do more than give gifts to my famliy, but to give of my time, my money, and my energy to help meet the spiritual and practical needs of those around me.

Take a look around you today. Is there more you could do?

4 dinners to celebrate 5 months...

4 dinners are sitting on the kitchen counter right now.

I have my choice between vegetable soup, roast beef, chicken pot pie, or some sort of caserole.

My mom had knee surgery today, and so came an influx of food. It's a very nice thing, but I guess people don't realize that the Crisp men are very capable in the kitchen!

So I wanted to blog to say how incredibly proud I am of Jes. She finished college this week. She won't actually graduate for a few weeks, but she is done with undergrad classes. I am so proud of what she has accomplished. She finished in 3 1/2 years! and she even transferred! AMAZING! She is so smart, it just blows my mind.

As of today, we have been together for 5 months. We were talking about it last night, and It's funny how things can seem like such a long time and yet not at the same time. On one hand, it feels as if we have been together for such a long time (in fact, it's hard to remember my life before we were together), but on the other hand, these 5 months have flown by!

I am so excited to enter this Holiday season with her. I am so blessed that God has brought us together and given us such a strong bond. I have learned so much over the past months, and I feel like I am beginning to understand how to love and be loved.

So here's to our 5 months, and Jes' graduation!!

Words of comfort and encouragement...

Matthew 11:28-30

"Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Psalm 71:14-21

"But as for me, I will always have hope; I will praise You more and more. My mouth will tell of Your righteousness, of your salvation all day long, though I know not its measure. I will come and proclaim Your righteousness, Yours alone. Since my youth, O God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare Your marvelous deeds. Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, till I declare Your power to the next generation, Your might to all who are to come. Your righteousness reaches to the skies, O God, You who have done great things. Who, O God, is like You? Though You have made me see troubles, many and bitter, You will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth You will again bring me up. You will increase my honor and comfort me once again."

Waiting for the winds to converge...

Jes and I have been reading, Jesus, the One and Only by Beth Moore in preparation for the Christmas season.

Earlier this week, I was struck by a comment she made.

"When the winds of heaven converge with the winds of earth, lightning is bound to strike."

Wow.

May we constantly seek for our winds, the activities of our lives, to converge with those of the Kingdom of God.

Thanksgiving Family Pictures

I have added my pictures from Thanks-

giving to my Flickr site.

Check them out.

Random Thoughts
Photography on Flickr.

This picture is on of my brother Patrick and his wife Jana. I thought it turned out nicely, after some Photoshop tweaking.

Kansas Thanksgiving

I spent Thanksgiving weekend with my family in Kansas. It was very bittersweet. It was the first holiday without my Grandpa, which was hard for all of us, but it was especially hard watching my Grandma as she continues to grieve and deal with the loss.

It was sweet, because my brother Patrick and his wife, Jana, announced to the family that they are pregnant. YAY!

Times like these really make you aware of the gift of life. It is so sweet and so short.

It's kind of strange to think about being an uncle. This little baby will be the first in the next generation of my family. A whole new dynamic is yet to be discovered.

Sadly, Jes and I weren't able to spend Thanksgiving together, but we're really excited because we are going to be able to spend a lot of time together during the next month. It's gonna be great!

I did get to spend time with Jes' family a few weekends ago. Her sister hosted a pre-Thanksgiving dinner so it was great spending that time with her parents, grandparents, sister, and brother-in-law.

I am so incredibly thankful for the acceptance and support that Jes and I have recieved from both of our families.

I want to send a "shout out" to my grandparents who finally got a computer that will allow them to check out my blog periodically.