I actually woke up pretty early today, at around 6...wanted to sleep more, but couldn't, so got off the bed at 7. It gave me time to cook rice, and while waiting for the rice, I took the time for prayer, and it was good. And I find the rest of the day to be not too bad, actually...the power of prayer? But I did end up getting too tired anyway and went back to sleep at 10, hoping to wake up at 11, but ended up waking up at 12. Got to school, completed the solutions leftover from yesterday, had nobody in my office hour, and then Aaron visited me. We were supposed to go to the gym, but I hadn't eaten lunch at that time and I mentioned that I haven't been to his place yet, so we went to his place to eat...heh. It wasn't too bad. A little later on, Sibo came to visit, which is quite a surprise, as I haven't seen him in ages. He's still the tall thin long-haired guy, with perhaps more of a definition on his face, certainly looks older, especially with the suit that he was wearing. Anyway, it was nice to see him again, and then I came home. I was tired, but there was still the brothers prayer meeting to go to, so I could only drag myself there... We had four people this time around, and I thought we had a good time of sharing personal issues and other stuffs...and I wasn't sleepy when we started, so that was nice. I think brothers prayer meeting is a pretty good idea, and I pray that God will continue to bless us through these meetings. Came home in the middle of huge rain and thunderstorm, and that's about it for the day.

Random notes...

• I think what I really want to do is to wake up early each day and try not to fall asleep immediately afterwards. Even if I have to sleep later in the morning, that's ok...at least wake up early to have more of a chance at a time of devotion. Of course now that I realized this, it's going to be harder and harder to wake up...
• I watched the second eppy of The Amazing Race late last night, and boy, it was just such a good eppy... And they went to Mongolia! I wanted the race to go there for such a long time, and they did it right with the very interesting tasks. It must have been very frustrating for the racers, though, as they faced lots of vehicles or animal troubles (and other troubles) along the way, and the standings shuffled all throughout the eppy. That's what I like to see...
• One thing that I'm trying to incorporate into my life is "practice the presence of God." Still a bit of an on and off thing, but I do find that it gives me new perspectives on who God is and how He works in my life.
• We're also thinking of starting a brothers exercise group...(heh, abbreviated as BEG...) It seems that a lot of us brothers are complaining about carrying extra pounds in our bodies, so maybe this could work. But with winter coming, we must find indoor sports, eh? Clarence suggested freestyle fighting...which is not a bad idea...
• With only slightly more than a week until I leave for Bulgaria, I suddenly felt a lot of pressure...like there's so much to be done between now and then... Things like, prepare for supervisor meeting, weekend Bible study, mom's birthday, visit Jackson and Rebecca before their wedding, more TA stuffs... Aaaaahhhhh...blows my mind.

I'm grateful to God for...

• this day filled with peace in my heart;
• a good time of fellowship in Him among the brothers during the prayer meeting;
• the interesting experience of walking in the midst of an awesome thunderstorm while trying to protect my Bible and prayer book from the rain;
• reconnecting with Aaron and Sibo...; and
• keeping me up through the evening schedule so far...