trend lines

It is times like these in my life that i appreciate the fact that trend lines exist. I have made some very poor choices recently...and i see myself backsliding emotionally, mentally and spiritually. However, i know that even now I am more aware of myself and closer to God than i was at other times in my life...and so my "trend line" is still positive. It is only by the grace of god that i can see my life from this perspective and i am so grateful for it. i know that better days are to come and that he will bring me out of this funk and make me a more christ-like creature than i was before. praise be to him.
bikes blues and bbq is here in fayetteville this weekend. last night i went and it was a lot of fun. i was walking toward dickson and this guy on a bike just stopped and asked if i wanted a ride. i know many people would say i am an idiot for jumping on a bike with a guy i don't even know, but i run by instinct sometimes and so i did...his bike was hot pink! and he took me up and down dickson once (my first time to do that on a bike and first time to ever ride on a crotchrocket) his name was travis and he nicely dropped me off when i saw some friends...great experience =)
i'm thankful for new friendships and people who will be honest and real, which pushes me to do the same, no matter how hard it comes to me.
this is the first time i have posted on here in a while...and i did it on a whim. it is interesting to see your thoughts form concretely on a computer screen. i won't say that i 'needed' to do that, because i was already, thanks to a friend, able to look at myself objectively last night and dig through all the mess to disentangle myself from it. putting it out here on this blog, though, is an expression of openness that i need to do more often, even if no one ever actually reads it.
so... "I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord" philippians 3:8