Oh...bye, O. I'm in the airport right now getting ready to head back to NY. This weekend was such a blur, it was insane!

Let's see. I don't have time for details, so here's a summary. On Saturday, we all went to John Bryan State Park and had a cookout and went hiking. Aside from me losing ANOTHER pair of sunglasses (my newest, really cool ones), it was really really fun. After that, Rave and I drove to Cleveland. When we got there, we were really hungry, so we went and got some Mexican ('cause my grandparents weren't there when we first got there). It was so good to see them. They are amazing, and I hope it's not too long before we see them again. We did church, meals, games, "tours" of Chagrin Falls, and just hung out. It was great, even though it was WAY to short. On Sunday night (last night), we drove back to Cedarville, got Chipotle take-out, rented RENT, annnd.........

dyed my hair! ahhh!!

It was something Rachelle and I had been joking about for a long time, so I just told her to do it, 'cause it'd be fun. Sooo, my hair's been officially dyed, but don't worry, it's a non-permanent dye, so it'll be gone after 30 washes or something. It looks really cool. I went to bed at 3:15AM this morning, woke up at 6:00AM, and we left. I'm undoubtedly extremely tired, but that's okay, 'cause the weekend was amazing. I still can't believe we did so much just within three short days.

Best part? That we didn't really have to say goodbye goodbye, because Rachelle's coming home after graduation (aka, a week from today) for a week-long visit.

I think we're boarding now. A few minutes late, so hopefully my connection's okay. Ta.

-Jeff  ¶ 8:40:00 AM 1 Comments

  Oh...Hi, O! (day 1b) Well, it's actually morning of day 2 right now, but I figured I'd give a little update on last night.

We all hopped in cars and drove an hour to Mason, OH where there is a really nice estate called Manor House or something. It's classy and sophisticated, the grounds were lovely, and there were some gorgeous gardens behind the Manor. After lots of classic oOos/aAahs that always go along with prom-like things, we took lots of pictures and then went inside for the event to begin.

The meal was great, containing a Balsamic Vinaigrette Salad (+ fantastic bread), an amazing Alfredo Pasta w/ Chicken + Broccoli, and water/iced tea and stuff. Fantastic. There were a few speech like things that went on during the meal that were nice. After the meal, we transferred ballrooms to be serenaded by a jazz band from Dayton as we visited over desert. There were many a times that members of our table, including myself, wanted to get up and dance, but I guess Cedarville has rules about that, sooo.... that sucked, but oh well. haha.

Anyways, the company was great. Rachelle has some amazing, amazing friends, and I enjoyed myself a lot, even if some of the jokes WERE directed at my age and... well, yea, that was pretty much it. Oh well, though. I don't care. Rachelle said that if they make fun of you, it means they like you, so I guess I'm fine. haha.

After the formal, we all went back to Cedarville. I was alseep pretty much the whole time in the car, as you can imagine someone who had THAT full of a day on only 2 hours of sleep might. Rachelle had lots of people over for a movie, but I quietly bowed out beforehand, choosing sleep over fun. Decisions like that stink, but I'm thinking more long-term like... I don't want to get sick this week (before FLM's children's musical).

And now I'm awake in the neighbors guest room, ever so comfy. I had an awesome talk with my brother Dave, did some devos, uploaded some pictures to facebook, and am now just... soaking it all up. Last night's festivities were very provocative of contemplation for me. I was in a room filled with hundreds of young adults just finishing the thing that I'm just getting ready to start. "I'm so ready to be done." "I can't believe it's over." and a ton of other statements similar. I'm sitting there like... wow, I'm just getting ready to start this incredible journey/time of college. I know I'm young. This sounds so incredibly horrible, and I don't mean it this way, but sometimes I forget how young I am. I don't want that to come across as me thinking I'm SOO mature or whatever, but I guess it's just that circumstances in my life have forced me to grow in so many ways. A ton of my friends are already in college. Two of my friends are graduating this year. Everyone's starting their lives, and here I am not even a full year into college yet. HOWEVER, that is not to say that I wish I could be done, because I don't. I am soooo looking forward to these next few years. I'm excited to learn. I'm excited to meet. I'm excited to experience. I'm excited for it all. After telling my mom how much I am loving having so much independence right with my life (living completely alone, doing all the chores/cleaning/lawncare/etc..., working full time, meeting new people, traveling, etc.), she pointed out to me that college (at first) is probably going to be a step backwards almost in the way of independence. Most likely, I'm a tad bit ahead of the game. It'll be weird seeing those freshmen that are crying, not wanting to be away from home. For me, I'm like... BRING IT ON!

This has been just one more thought of NEW. FRESH. BEGINNINGS. PERSPECTIVE. I love it. Things are finally starting to happen. I'm growing. I'm learning. I'm moving forward. I'm so excited. So... here's to the future.  ¶ 10:23:00 AM 1 Comments

  Oh...Hi, O! (day 1) Well, I'm in Ohio for the weekend. It's already been so much fun and has started with nothing but amazingness. Greg spent the night last night at my house, we stayed up late, and then he drove me to the airport at 4:30 in the morning. I only got about 2.5 hours of sleep last night. My flights went well, and I slept the ENTIRE second flight, which was wonderful.

Rachelle picked me up right on time, we ate a great breakfast at Panera's, did some shopping (which is always an adventure with the two of us together), then hung out around Cedarville for awhile. Then, we decided to go on a little excursion before the festivities tonight. We hopped in her car, she showed me a few things, then we decided to just.... GO.

We went, we stopped ,we drove, we laughed, we cried (haha ok not really) wherever our hearts took us, and it was so fun. We tried to investigate haunted/shut down universities, navigate through farm lands, and ooo/ahh over amazing houses and hidden bed-n-breakfasts. It was so fun. Then we got lost, which only made it all the better. Personal favorite moment of mine was...

****absolute silence as Rave and I search for some sort of significant sign of global position***
****More silence***
****More silence***
Rachelle: "ooOOoo!!!... a road!"
Jeff: "oh gosh"
***silence***
Rachelle: "I should never be allowed to make decisions."

So it was great. Eventually, we made it back to her apartment in Cedarville. Now, she's getting ready for tonight while I'm updating this. We'll get all fancified and go to JS in Mason, which is like an hour away I think. It sounds like it's going to be a lot of fun. I'm stoked.

Anyways, there's the update for now.

-Jef  ¶ 4:43:00 PM 0 Comments

  Oh...Hi, O! (day 1) Well, I'm in Ohio for the weekend. It's already been so much fun and has started with nothing but amazingness. Greg spent the night last night, we stayed up late, and then he drove me to the airport at 4:30 in the morning. I only got about 2.5 hours of sleep last night. My flights went well, and I slept the ENTIRE second flight, which was wonderful.

Rachelle picked me up right on time, ate some great breakfast at Panera's, did some shopping (which is always an adventure with the two of us together), then hung out around Cedarville for awhile. Then, we decided to go on a little excursion before the festivities tonight. We hopped in her car, she showed me a few things, then we decided to just.... GO.

We went, we stopped ,we drove, we laughed, we cried (haha ok not really) wherever our hearts took us, and it was so fun. We tried to investigate haunted/shut down universities, navigage through farm lands, and oo/ahh over amazing houses and hidden bed-n-breakfasts. It was so fun. Then we got lost, which only made it all the better. Personal favorite moment of mine was...

****absolute silence as Rave and I search for some sort of significant sign of global position***
****More silence***
****More silence***
Rachelle: "ooOOoo!!!... a road!"
Jeff: "oh gosh"
***silence***
Rachelle: "I should never be allowed to make decisions."

So it was great. Eventually, we made it back to her apartment in Cedarville. Now, she's getting ready for tonight while I'm updating this. We'll get all fancified and go to JS in Mason, which is like an hour away I think. It sounds like it's going to be a lot of fun. I'm stoked.

Anyways, there's the update for now. Come back for more lata.

-Jef  ¶ 4:43:00 PM 0 Comments

  Another on Perspective. Man, I will tell you what. Life is so crazy. It baffles me how much things can get thrown so far out of whack at times. By that, I don’t necessarily mean BAD, but I specifically mean the area of perspective. This has been a huge concept for me lately as a number of you probably already know. Perspective. You know, it’s just a word that gets thrown around a lot, but lately it’s been so real to me. The crazy thing is that I know there’ll probably be times in my life when even more of that concept of perspective is revealed to me.

To specify, here’s the deal. I’m Jeff Carl. I love music. I love writing. I love learning. I could keep describing myself but that’s dumb, so my point is that up until this point, Jeff Carl has been defined... not only in the minds of others but in my mind as well. Sometimes, I get so caught up in the present and what the world predicts me to be, and I get lost. I so often lose sight of what really matters in this world. Sometimes it’s not even that I lose sight of it, but I forget what life means altogether. That’s such a crazy concept. It’s like, I wonder sometimes why I feel so confused inside, so aimless, so directionless and empty. The answer is so incredibly simple. It’s because I’ve lost my perspective.

As a Christian, we all have one true goal in life: to glorify God in all that we say, think, and do. I know that sounds basic and simple, but that’s a very on-the-surface sentence. It’s simple, yet isn’t it crazy how, at times, we lose that? For example, when it comes to music, which is my (by far) most intense outlet of all for my inner emotions, I lose sight of the beyond-the-music factor which only leads to the following occurrence: blank stares at the piano keys, empty/no lyrics, incongruence, sloppiness, frustration, confusion, etc.... Yet, once I gain the right perspective on the song, all the sudden it comes alive. I can FEEL the song. That’s what it’s all about, because perspective effects EVERY single aspect of our life.

Today was day 1 of Sharathon. Already, there have been some incredible stories from listeners who have been immensely touched in some way, shape, or form by the “spiritual fingers” of Family Life Ministries. I listened in on some of the moments, and there are some POWERFUL situations out there. It was kind of a slap in the face for me, because I know that it’s been awhile since I’ve had one of those powerful stories. I just needed to be reminded of what the focus of this all is. Life is SO worth living, but not alone and not for the glory of Self.

Once again, it’s not that I’m learning this and am automatically going to be 100% strong in my faith or anything. Of course, I’ll stumble. I’ve learned to deal with the fact that I’m a rogue, dumb, hopeless human being who is far from perfection. YET, I will ever strive to live a better day, be a better Christian, and hold on to the right perspective. I have to, otherwise, my every day will be left at a dead end of confusion, emptiness, and disappointment, and I can’t do that.

Evan and I were talking today about how ability alone is worthless. Likewise, passion alone is worthless. However, when ability and passion are combined, that’s when things start happening. Now, with all these thoughts mentioned above, I will proceed ONE step further. Passion and ability mixed with a right perspective... now THAT’S unstoppable. The world needs that. It’s up to us.  ¶ 12:48:00 AM 2 Comments

  Circumstances happen...Attitudes are chosen. "We don't always get to choose our stage. The question is what we are going to with the opportunities given to us. What will we do with our stage?" -Rev. Gary Dehass

Church was really good today. I love our new pastor. :)  ¶ 11:53:00 PM 1 Comments