Goodbye Walley World...

So this is no longer the location of my blog!  Yes, the Walley World blog is no more. I have moved on to a bigger and easier blog location...and I have a fancy new domain name.

So check out my new site at MichealWalley.com for all of the old Walley World fun!

Changes are coming!

Hello blog-readers!
If you've noticed, I haven't been very active on my blog lately.  Part of that reason is that my life has been absolutely crazy since I've gotten back to school.  Another is that there is some major changes coming!  I've been doing some research, playing, and even some thinking about my blogging presence online, and October 1, I will reveal what I have been working on.
Okay...it may not be that big of a deal, but I'm excited about it!
Be sure to check back here on or on my Facebook on October 1!
-Micheal

Walley Photobooth: Round One

So I guess I can consider myself an amateur photographer.  I'm not really sure when that happened.  It went from just playing with a camera, to being asking to take pictures of things, to actually being paid for my pictures. I love it and am very grateful to be in a place where I get to take lots of photos of really  fun people.
A kind of a fad in the events and the photo world now is the photobooth.  I had never done one before and always had wanted a try at it.  I was both surprised and excited when my friend Taylor asked me to shoot a photobooth for Swannanoa's rush party on Friday night.  I had no equipment besides my camera (normally photoboothers have a huge backdrop and fancy lights) and was super nervous because I had never shot anything like this.  Luckily, Taylor and Grace (the ladies in charge of the event) were super helpful and provided a really cool grey sheet and some fun props.
So I had a blast shooting my first photobooth. I don't know if it will ever become a "thing" that I do, but it was pretty fun for that night!

Here are a few of my favorites from the night:

Praise...His...Name

My camera is basically my baby.  I use it every single day for my two jobs and just for fun. Someone recently told me that part of my look is to always have my camera in my hand.  I'm okay with this.
Well today, I went in my room to grab my camera.  It wasn't there. Major freak out time. I started racking my brain to try to remember the last time I had it. Yesterday. On the Quad.  What did I do right after that?   I went to the library, to my music practice room, and then to class. I remember not having it across my shoulder for my meeting right after class, so I knew I left it in one of those places.
I went to my piano practice room. No luck.  No one in the music department had seen it.
I went to the communication office.  It hadn't been left in my class.
I then went upstairs where I was in the library.  They said they hadn't seen it but sent me down to the main desk.  After I explained my situation, the sweet girl behind the counter said she would go check and see if it was turned in.
While she was gone for what seemed like forever, all these negatives raced through my mind, "I'm going to have to resign my jobs.  I'm supposed to do a photobooth tomorrow, I'll have to quit. Can I afford to buy another camera right now?"
Then, I heard the girl coming back.  My camera bag was in her hands! I audibly yelled.  One of the librarians followed her and said, "You were very lucky. Praise the Lord."
Praise the Lord.  It's a phrase we use in petty ways sometimes, but this lady meant it. I can tell you that I'm definitely praising God for bringing my camera back, but it has also made me think about everything that God deserves praise for.  Even just waking up today is a sign of God's grace. Think about everything that God has done for you today and praise him for it.

Praise the LORD!

Praise God in his sanctuary;

praise him in his mighty heavens!

Praise him for his mighty deeds;

praise him according to his excellent greatness!

Praise him with trumpet sound;

praise him with lute and harp!

Praise him with tambourine and dance;

praise him with strings and pipe!

Praise him with sounding cymbals;

praise him with loud clashing cymbals!

Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!

Praise the LORD!

(Psalm 150)

Compared to the Hulk...I've got work to do.

I have committed to regularly working out for the first time in my whole life. For those who know how much I absolutely hate working out this is a big deal.  Regardless, every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, I can be found in the Baptist Healthplex on campus shaking and crying trying to lift weights.

I really enjoy all of the work out machines.  I can set them on the weight that I'm comfortable with, and nobody knows how much or how little I'm lifting.  It's a pretty good situation for a skinny guy who still wants to impress people in the gym.  

But then, there's the free weight section. I save this section for the last part of my workout. It takes me a long time to work up the nerve to even walk over there.  This is where all the massive beasts of the gym live. I swear it's the same people over there every time I go.  By the size and cut of their muscles, I'm pretty sure they spend every part of their day in that section.

This morning, I finally psyched myself up enough to go over there and grab some weights beside a guy who had biceps the size of my head. We'll call him Hulk. I snuck over and picked up my weights (I'm not even going to tell you how much they weighed...you would judge me.).  I looked over and Hulk had just picked up two weights...each weighing 75 pounds each. Okay. This guy was lifting more than I even weighed.  What in the world was I doing even daring to be in the same gym with this guy?   I'm pretty sure Hulk was starting on his 1000 rep when my arms started to shake after maybe 10.  Every part of me wanted to put the weights up, call it a day, and hit the smoothie shop.  

But then I stopped to think.  Why was I comparing myself to Hulk?  He had probably been lifting weights since he could crawl. I only started a few weeks ago.   Besides, I had improved.  I was already lifting heavier weights than when I started in August.   Sure, I wouldn't win any spontaneous wrestling matches or be the attention-catcher of any girl in the area, but I was doing what I needed to improve and get to the level of Hulk. (Okay...that may never happen, but a man can dream!)

As ridiculous as this all sounds, we have all done a similar thing in our spiritual life. I know that I have looked at other men of God, and compared my faith and relationship with Christ with the amount of wisdom they seemed to have.  That is not okay. A relationship with Christ is a journey. If we are doing what we are supposed to, we should always be growing in that relationship.  We are all at different parts of our maturity level with God.  

1 Peter 2:2 says, "Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up in salvation."

Babies crave milk and that milk helps them grow.  That spiritual milk that we should crave is our time spent with God and intentionally spending time and growing our relationship with him. 

Be careful not to compare yourself with someone who may seem more mature in their relationship with Christ.  Stand firm. Work on yourself and spend time with God to improve and eventually you will get to that level. 

And if you can lift 75 pounds, don't come to the gym when I'm there. Hulk is enough competition. 

CentriKid LIVE!

Would you like to see what my average night is like at CentriKid Camps? How about seeing a video about what CentriKid camps is all about?  Then tune into CENTRIKID LIVE!  It will be a live web stream of our worship service with Jon Merryman and Jeff Slaughter beginning with a promo of camp. My team is pumped about being able to be filmed for this big event!

This is taken from the CentriKid Blog:

"That's right...for the second year in a row, we are pleased to announce we are bringing backCentriKid LIVE! Over 1000 of you joined us last year for our first ever broadcast of CentriKid Camps. We had so much fun, we decided to do it again! This is a perfect opportunity for your friends that have never experienced CentriKid Camps to find out, for themselves, all the fun that happens at camp! And the best part is, no one has to even leave the living room.  Even better,  several churches last year logged on from their church and turned their Wednesday service into a CentriKid Camp party! The broadcast this year is set to include details on what a typical day of camp looks like, the exclusive reveal of the 2013 camp theme, the live broadcast of that night's worship service, and a few other surprises. This is an event you don't want to miss!We look forward to seeing you on Wednesday, June 27th at 6:45PM EST.....Game On!"

So go to CentrikidBlog.com tomorrow and be sure to tune in!  

CentriKid Camps Update 1

Phew!  These past two and a half weeks of being at Ridgecrest have been a blur. Overall, my team has made it through training, two full cycles of camp, and seen God do a lot of ridiculously crazy things.
I am constantly reminded that God is unbelievable.  I am so blessed.  I feel like God has created me and has given me specific passions and abilities to be used here at camp.  My job is to get to teach kids about Jesus. I get the privilege to teach drama and act like a crazy person onstage for the Glory of God. How mind-blowing is that?!
Our camp schedule is a little hectic.  Our Cycle 2 kids left this morning, and our Cycle 3 kiddos will show up tomorrow after lunch, so I don't have much time to blog, call my peeps, or do things that I would like to do to catch up with everyone. So unfortunately, a longer blog post giving specifics about what is going on here. But, here's some pictures of what's happened in my life in the past few weeks.