I decided to stay up WAY later than normal tonight so that I could watch Michigan State play in the NCAA championship game against North Carolina. So what if it's past my bedtime. How often does my favorite team in my favorite sport get to play in the championship game a few short miles from my house? Unfortunately, there are still nine minutes to go in the first half, and State's already down by 20 points. Oops.

The seminary just emailed me their decision about scholarships for next year. Unfortunately, it turned out much like I feared and not much like I'd hoped: they offered me $2,500 for next year. I'm not at all afraid that we won't have enough money or be taken care of financially, but I'm very saddened that, once again, my hard work has been invalidated. I'm not sure how much more of this I can take before I start yelling at someone.

I read a news story yesterday about a 14-year-old girl who posted naked pictures of herself on MySpace because she hoped her boyfriend would see them. She was subsequently arrested and charged with possession and distribution of child pornography. If convicted, she faces up to 31 years in prison, and it's possible she'll have to register as a sex offender for the rest of her life.

I'm all for promoting the safety of children, but it seems odd to me that the authorities are using the laws designed to protect children to prosecute one as an adult for a crime against herself. It seems a little like arresting someone for stealing their own car. Hey! You moved your own car from it's normal parking place in the garage to a spot on the street--enjoy the next 5-15 years in person, dirtbag!

Instead of being so concerned about the new teen fad of 'sexting' (sex via text), maybe we should be more concerned about the stupid people those kids will grow up to be if we don't get our act together. Instead of punishing immodesty with prison, let's reward the behaviors we actually want to see more of. Spank a dog for peeing in the house, and you've got a confused dog who doesn't know where it's ok to pee. Reward a dog for peeing outside, and you've got a dog who stops peeing on your carpet.

It's really not that complicated.

I just received word that the scholarship committee (at the seminary I plan to attend next year) is going to be meeting next week to award all the aid for next year. It's obvious that I dream of one of the few full-ride scholarships they hand out, but I think it's even more important for me to be content with what I do (or do not) get. I would really appreciate your prayers about both of these things over the coming week or so. Also, if anyone wants to give me about $40,000, that would be great. I'm just throwing it out there.

Recently, there has been a lot of buzz about Twitter, a social networking site that allows people to quickly share "tweets" (short statements about what you're currently doing) with the online world. Regular people "twitter," but so do celebrities, governments, politicians, professional basketball players, musicians, and as of 2500 years ago, biblical prophets.

Isaiah 38: 13-15

I composed my soul until morning.
Like a lion--so He breaks all my bones,
From day until night You make an end of me.
"Like a swallow, like a crane, so I twitter;

Who knew. In other news, this is post number 800 for this blog. That's a lot.