chyeah

random picture..

today's post is going to be short. tonight i'll be at church for the district lock-in. i'm pretty pumped. but the fact that i can't participate is a little upsetting. anyway tomorrow is a triple-header. and yeah. i think that's all for today. enjoy the weather and the beginning of spring. much love and peace, dmaloney

right now.

in history we've been studying the holocaust. as supplements for the class discussion we've been reading selections from elie wiesel's 'night'. if you haven't heard of or read 'night' it is based on elie wiesel's experience in the auschwitz-birkenau concentration camp in 1944-1945.

i read the whole book as a freshman in english and when i read it then it hit me. i recognized the horror of the holocaust. but this time i looked at it in a new perspective. certain parts really stood out. in particular the part where elie wiesel tells of the death of his father. i spare you the graphic details. but this made me think about a bunch of different things and some of them are unimportant. but one thing was the regret he had for his father's death. he felt like he had done something wrong by not responding to his father's last words. the words. 'eliezer.' it made me think about holding on to our earthly bodies. our grief. i'm not saying that dealing with grief is easy. it is hard to do. but if you can it's so much better. our bodies are nothing after our life on earth. they mean nothing. we shouldn't be afraid of death because it's only the start of your real life. the life that is unimaginable. and unfathomable. so life well. but don't be afraid or the end. live in the moment. right now. right now.

much love and peace, dmaloney

the blessing within misfortune.

over the past four days a bunch of people have come up to me and said things like " wow, that sucks." or "oh, that must be horrible." (i thank all of you who have comforted me or said anything at all.) but truth be told. i'm not upset. don't get me wrong i'm not happy this happened but i think it's given me the opportunity to evaluate a lot of things. a much anticipated time. a time to really evaluate what my future is. sunday night i was sitting at youth group semi-enjoying the activity because i couldn't participate. and i thought what about the people who hate sports is this any fun for them. they are bored out of their minds like me, but they're bored all the time. this time has allowed me to see things from a different perspective. a new angle. if i become a youth pastor i vow to attempt to find a balance between physical and mental activities. so i believe that this time will allow me to evaluate a lot of things about myself. so bear with me as i try to barrel through some thoughts.

for those of you who are interested i'd like to share my progress through pictures. this is just up to monday afternoon (pre-braces)

before saturday:

monday afternoon:

disclaimer: i don't actually look like this!

that was your joke of the day!

happy st. patty's day, much love and peace, dmaloney

quality not quantity.

to grow or not to grow. that is the question. i'm not talking about height. i'm talking about churches. the pressure to grow churches and groups within the church is always present. but why?

numbers don't show commitment. they don't tell anyone anything. maybe that's a harsh statement but that's not the point. this is one of doug fields biggest points and i'm a big believer in it.

here's a question for you:

would you rather have one hundred sporadic members or fifteen totally dedicated people willing to grow in a relationship with others and God?

i would want the dedicated group.

but maybe this question doesn't apply to you. here's another one:

when it comes to friends would you rather have..

fifty friends that speak to you only when they need you and when you need them they completely blow you off...or have...

two or three friends that are always there for you. when they need you you and you need them they're there for you.

again, i'd want the two or three friends.

quantity isn't quality. and that's what we need to think about. that's what we need to focus on. this is what we need. so that's it. focus on the things that have quality not quantity.

much love and peace, dmaloney

my teeth: update number 2

today i visit the dentist who sent me to the orthodontist who sent me to the endodontist who sent me back to the orthodontist. after all this running around and x-rays at all the specialists the orthodontist decided to put braces on. along with an appliance so i can bite down comfortably. so i'm back to brace face. and absolutely no physical activity for one month. i'm also not allowed to play any instruments until the orthodontist clears me. it was a pretty crazy afternoon and evening, but i'm on my way to a long recovery.

dentist report: x-rays, the one tooth may have some nerve damage.

orthodontist: x-rays, pictures, mold for the appliance, visit the endodontist to check for viability on the two teeth.

endodontist: x-rays, cold temperature test, teeth are viable!!

orthodontist: put braces on, fit appliance, took more pictures.

so that was my monday. much love and peace, dmaloney

my teeth: update number 1

i'll give a solid post tomorrow hopefully after i visit the dentist. if you haven't seen or heard what's going on i'll fill you in.

saturday i took the sat's after i headed over to softball practice. we started warming up the pitchers and a couple minutes later i took a wrist flick to the mouth. fortunately my teeth didn't fall out and there not loose, but they did shift back. so tomorrow i'll visit the dentist so they can assess what can be made of this situation. i'll let you all know more as soon as i know.

prayers for a speedy and relatively pain-free recovery would be greatly appreciated. thank you to all! much love and peace, dmaloney