My friend

I have a long-distance friend called Brandon the Orthodox. I call him this, not because he does not have other interesting features, but because I know many Brandons, and he is the only Orthodox Christian among them, and we have a habit of discussing Orthodox Christianity almost every night over facebook chat.
These conversations often last for hours each night, and occasionally dive into other topics, but eventually wind up with him explaining some Orthodox tradition or practice to me, such as icons or liturgical prayer, and then my challenging it, and him refuting my challenge, and my eventual mental exhaustion and need for sleep terminating the conversation. Which leaves me to ponder the discussion as I drift off into oblivion.
As a result of these conversations, I have NOT gone Orthodox (yet), but I have reconsidered and re-evaluated many practices generally accepted in my church community. For example, I have realized that liturgical prayer is not useless, and is, in fact, beautiful and beneficial. I have also been led to ponder the nature of the word "image," and of symbolic acts such as Communion and baptism. And in these discussions, I discover how much I do not know, how much I do not understand. And often, I realize it is not for me to understand. For if I were to understand and know everything, there would be no mystery in God, no awe in worship. And I am satisfied in not knowing in full, and knowing only in part, so that God may further be glorified.

Things I love...and things I hate continued

21. Understanding.
22. People who consistently write blog posts that no one except two specific people seem to understand. If you want to be exclusive, write an email. Don't make me read it.
23. Clarity
24. Unnecessary subtlety
25. People
26. People
27. Missionaries
28. Missionary stories
29. Trans-Siberian Orchestra
30. Siberia
31. Running, biking, and walking
32. Exercise
33. Eating
34. Thinking about how many calories I just consumed.
35. Comparative politics
36. Politicians
37. Belief
38. Believing blindly
39. Finishing a list
40. Finishing THIS list

Things I love...and things I hate

So all the odd numbers will be things I love, and all the even ones, the things I hate. They switch back 'n' forth, y'see.

1. Friends that I can chat with online for hours about deep topics.
2. Friends that attempt to chat with me about nothing - like seriously, guys? You say hi...and then proceed to talk about...absolutely nothing important? awwwwkward.
3. Friends that will talk to me in real life and on chat.
4. Friends that will talk to me on chat...but seem to dislike talking on the phone, or in real life.
5. Fiction/fantasy
6. People who live in a fantasy.
7. Music
8. A "song" in rap. Which is not music.
9. Most books on Christianity.
10. Most Christian books.
11. Cannons
12. Pachelbel's Cannon.
13. Making videos.
14. Watching videos that other normal people made.
15. Smiling
16. Looking at pictures of myself smiling.
17. My college friends
18. Watching my friends leave for college.
19. Complaining in a witty fashion
20. Listening to other people complain in non-witty fashion.