that life, though sometimes difficult, is, after all, the best thing there is.

my summer was the best summer of my life. If you've known me long enough, you know that I say that every year, but only because it's true. Every year, when the sun begins to burn in our hearts the smells of chlorine and fresh-cut grass, my sister and I take deep breaths and promise each other that the next three months will be filled with everything wonderful. And of course they were. For if you set out to do something, even something so simple as living with joy, it can be done.

What did I do this summer?

 I learned how to enjoy condiments on sandwiches.

 I was confirmed by God in what I will do for the rest of my life.

 I ate peaches.

 I enjoyed church camp, due largely in part to Marilyn Huelskamp. And I DID enjoy it, though I wasn't looking forward to it at first. It was a great time, with its wierd moments but definitely good times all around.

 I took a road trip to Poplar Bluff with a group of some of my best friends. We broke minor laws (like swimming in other people's pools and traipsing through cow pastures), made music, went to sleep as the sun was rising, and almost jumped off a bridge into a river. (Just a bit too shallow, you know?) We spent a week together, after which we bid my sister Christina an all-night tearful farewell before she went to "the place where the sunsets never give way to despairing nights."

 I got in trouble. And there was no one I would have rather been in trouble with.

 I was a persecuted Christian in the early Roman underground church, and it changed the way I look at my faith. It's a long story; I'd be glad to tell you in person.

 I spent a week in Denver, and I learned a lot from that trip. A lot.
Shannon Rankin was my sick buddy; we had to go to the emergency room because we threw up so much. Ewww... But thanks, Sha.

 I worshiped God more than I ever have.

 My true weakness is mahi-mahi with lemon seasoning.

 My other weakness is strawberries.

 Come to the weekly Pessimist's Club meeting on Tuesday. But it probably won't be worth attending. And the weather will be bad.

 I sang in public, a song that I wrote for the God who gave me a gift for music (not so much a gift for singing).

My summer was....perfect.

--nathan--