If you have come in search of Noel please note that he no longer is at this blog. To view the current blog, please visit www.xanga.com/noelthe3rd . Thank you, and may God develop a burning passion for His Son in you that cannot be quenched.

I had such a great time with Nikki and friends tonight. First off, open dorms and Nikki made me this most excellent dinner. Then she rented MASTER AND COMMANDER and we watched it. Lastly we hung out with some friends which consisted of going to Walmart for $1.00 ice creme, walking down town, seeing the scary train guy, and having a really good talk with Nikki to end the night off right. Man I really love that girl.

This really erks me off! I am a server at Hacienda and I really work hard to give good service to my guests. 15% is the minimum amount of tip you leave! All these people who live 10% or lower need to go to taco bell where they don't have to tip. Don't come and eat my burritos at Hacienda if you arn't going to pay me my wage. I don't think that people realize that I make $2 an hour. Paying my bills depends on the tip. After claiming all my tips I don't even get to see the $2 per hour because it is taken away in taxes. If you don't have enough money to give the server a deserved tip then you don't have enough money to go out to eat PERIOD.

I start school in just a few weeks and I have no idea how I got to be a senior in college. I am supposed to be a real person in the real world in just one short year. I am excited but I am also freaked out because then I have to pay for everything and pay for school. While doing that I have to work full time and find time to do things that I want to do. Welcome to adulthood Noel...

I finally got my ipod. It is the coolest thing ever. It was totally worth theh money I spent. Yea so it was expensive, but its so cool and I can do so much with it. Its like my brand new baby. I take it everywhere and show it off to others and make them jelous of my new baby/ipod. I know that when I go home, my brother Cole is going to want one. I can jsut see it now, "Dude that is so cool! How much did you get that for, where can I get one?" Ohh well he's my brother, I have to tell him! =)

My girlfriend is great. I think she is so pretty and she likes me for me. What more could I ask for?

Wow God works in really cool ways. So I might have a new job. Yes this all happened within a couple hours. I might be able to get a job at the pharmacy for maybe 50 cents more. And the hours are really flexable around school. I need to understand perscriptions and knos this stuff as a social worker. ***I can't imagine that this might be God in all this preparing me for future things (hint hint).*** What a wonderful God I serve.

Well I have bad news. I got laid off from my job. Yea never thought I would ever be laid off, but it happened. Guess JB's Furniture isn't where I need to be. You know what though? I am really not worried about it. I was making really good money at JB's and now I am making nothing, but God has a plan and this is part of it. Im not afraid, or worried, or mad. Something will happen and it will glorify Him.

OK so Nikki called my work. It was so cool! I felt so important.... so that is deffinately a good thing. Work it sister!

So I was working back in the back of JB Furniture like usual and my bosses son was backing there working also, when all of the sudden, he got a call. It wasn't just any call either, it was his girlfriend who called him. Ohh I wish my girlfriend would call me sometime. If only she knew the number to the store was 267-6800. hmmmmmmmmmm.

It is so tough to lose a friend. Especially when they are your closest one and they are moving far away. I have had that happen a couple of times through out my life, and it kind of stinks. But you keep living, you keep moving on, you find other friends to be close with, and God ultimately has things under control. Nikki I know you will be ok and so will the close one moving away from you, God has this one.

Looking back on the stuff in here, I often wonder what Nikki's parents would think if they read all of this stuff. Maybe they should.

I am so sorry guys. I have the most beautiful girlfriend out there, and now that we are together, you are going to have to come to terms with settling with seconded best.

Suppose you were walking through an alley street and all the sudden a guy comes up to you an says, "I am going to kill you if you don't chose one of these options." The man then says, "would you rather be a fish head man and get paid $70,000 a year, or not have any arms or legs and recieve no money at all?" What would you chose?

A mentor, a friend, all gone?

My buddy Tj, that guys is great! Let me tell ya, we have been friends for about 4 or 5 years now and i can remember when I first met him. HE WAS SO ANNOYING! But we have become great friends and a spiritual tag team for God. It is so great because when I am down or have questions, Tj comes through for me. On the other hand the same thing is true when he has questions or is down. We have it worked out very well, and I am proud (in a humble way) to be his friend. Thanks God for friends.

Why is it that there is that one thing that brings all your good things down. You get a handle on life to the best of your knowledge and things are going great but then that thing you can't control rips it up and makes things foggy again. This I will never understand.

I never had a real dad in my life. In fact when I had a step dad at one time, he was so uncool and he basically was a waste of space in my mom's house. Thank the Lord that Godly men were brought around me and showed me the ropes. I want to be there for my kids, and I don't want to give them the shaft like my dad did.
Lord, if I ever become this, break my heart and show me back to the path.

Is it fair to say I love my kids already? Well I do...I have no idea what there names are (hopefully the first boy will be Noel), and I don't know what they look like, or their personalities. All I know is that it makes me want to be a real man, and it makes me want to do what is right and what will show them how to live for God.

I love you kids, whoever you are.

Am I focused on you God? Am I walking on the right road, let alone on the right side? Can you tell me God if this is my calling? Should I continue this, or should I stop and do something completely different? You know my anxious thoughts and desires God, lead me on like a child following his father.

Then Jesus replied, "YOU SHALL LOVE THE lORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND."

I love those Goshen kids! There so gosh darn cool. By the way, if you have no idea what i am talking about, they are the kids at the youth group I intern at. This is my second year teaching them, but this year I make up the lessons too. I also get to play in the praise band again this year. Last night was really good. The band jsut sounded really good and I personally felt really close to God when I played. You know what else is so cool? Nikki (you know, the amazing Godly women in my life) is coming now with me. She is going to have her own group and be a small gorup leader like I was last year. I am so happy to be doing ministry with her. Something no one else did with me. A totally new experiance.

My roommate can be a real jerk sometimes. I honestly don't have a clue as to what to say to him sometimes. He has some real problems (don't we all) and he just doesnt deal with them. Don't know where this learned behavior came from exactly, but something needs to happen jurastic in his life for him to start doing something about it. Prayer is cool! I love ya roomy, but dang it you need to deal with stuff!

Ok back to the Frank Sanatra stuff. Man I tell ya, this stuff is so relaxing and calming. I totally feel at peace. This is quite strange to me, but if this helps with the stresses of college or life then I am totally game! COUNT ME IN FRANKY!

School is going really well, I totally thought I would be swamped but the core classes are not so. I am learning a lot, but I have come to a sad realization............I have to learn how to write. Or else the world says that I can't function pretty much. That really stinks that the people who can talk and be in front of people dont do as well in school as those who can pound out a paper with no errors. I suck at writting papers, but you know what i can stand in front of a group and talk about whatever. Ohh well the world is full of disappointments sometimes. I wont let my disability get me down!

Strange sensations from the past.......I am listening to Frank Sanatra and I am actually enjoying it. Its pretty good stuff I recommend it.

(say like strong bad) So there is this like crazy stupid website that says these really stupid slogans if you put a word in. For example I put in the word foot and it comes up with, "The more foot you have the more happier you are." Pretty stupid cool huh? check it out.

My girlfriend is the best! I don't have a specific reason to tell you why except for the fact that she makes my heart skip a beat when I see her.

I have an awful lot of collateral reading to do this semester, and I think it best that maybe I crawl under a rock with all the reading so that no one can bother me as I read a crap load of stuff. So if you find any good rocks let me know!

So about the muffler thing, yea I didnt use the thing I got in the mail, I cherry bombed it and tiped it. Its pretty cool. Even Nikki likes the sound and look. Which is pretty cool!

Wow its been awhile since I have done this so here is a post, there will be more.

ive got an excellen new muffler coming in the mail...it is goign to make my car louder, faster, and more efficient(better gas mileage)...isnt that great!

The nice weather is coming, that is so exciting......my car no longer looks funny sliding around in the stupid snow....yes i said it, the snow is stupid with no brains.

shoes, fat clothes, eye lash curlers, and estrogen....honestly I don"t understand it....I mean if you put your jeans in the dryer, they shrink and you cant wear them............THATS WACK!

Kegal exercise.......im not suppossed to talk about it so I wont......

your eyes are like shimmering rivers, and your hair........ok so im not in the mood to write romantic stuff.....im sorry for all you Die Hard Noel fans out there!

I still want my sexy hugs!!!!!

Holy wow! My girlfriend looks so good today. Ok so she is this beautiful angel, right? well when she started working at alpha they gave her.... "The alpha shirt" which looks bad on almost everyone cause they are extra huge for extra not huge people. and at first i didnt like the shirt on her, i dont think she liked it either. But teh miricle of a washer and dryer can do wonders for those huge cotton shirts. Nikki looked so wonderful. ok im done =)

I really dont think God had sleep in His plan for me this week. Im not complaining though, its ok, because he is doing miraculous things in my life. But I don't seem myself then you will know why.

One great thing that ever young boy longs for is a chance to feel love from his dad....i dont know who all knows me that well but my dad was not around cause there was a divorce and he didnt do much. he never came to any of my stuff and sometimes i only saw him at Chrsitmas time. but recently, well the past year i have gotten really close with my dad, and when we talk it turns to spiritual things, and i jsut had this great talk with him this evening. he is asking me the questions and The holy spirit is talking through me. its so wonderful, and feels so good to disciple with my dad. Thanks GOD

Life is goign really great, I might be an RA next year in Kent....thats cool. my RA came to me and told me that they were hurting for them and said i would be a good candidate, so i am going for it. thanks for the support.

I waited until i thought it was right and i asked Janice Nicole Downs out in a heart shape on the lake on her birthday (january 28, yep you missed it!) right after i had her go on a scavenger hunt to all the important places of our lives.....wow that sounds a little weird, you know like the first place we met and things like that.......great stuff....ill never forget her shining face when she said yes.....a complete overwelming look, i knew that she had been waiting for me on this for awhile...its great to hear everyone tell me that its about time....but i know i did it in the righ timing

Wow it has been so long since i did this. so here i go, im going to type a bunch of life lessons and comments about my beautiful girlfriend.

its been awhile since i put anythign in here. so i am now. I got my own room in Gamma now and i am loving it. I miss jimmy but the extra room is fabulous. OK so i am going to go now. i will write later.

allright allright we have reached a verdict......shampoo is better! "objection!" conditioner is better, it makes the hair silky and smooth!

She fills it up to the top and then pushes it down with the force of a sea otter...........thought it would be something cool didnt ya? well you thought wrong. its gonna be a sea otter and thats that.

Curiousity killed me, not sayin im a cat or anything.

You know what I want the most right now? I want sexy hugs! Ohh yes you heard me right...I want sexy hugs!

Nikki is the best ever....finally I have found someone who can encourage me to the same degree that i do. She is so wonderful! dont say anythig but I am on to her, I know that she is secretly an angel.

I know that i am suppossed to be a man nd walk things off. at least that is what my step dad always stressed. but i talked to serena for the first time in about 2.5 months. she is still the same well and worse. she still gets really angry quickly if we have a misunderstanding and she placed blame on my right form the beggining. I tried to explain how i didnt resent anymore and i forgot about things and was moving on, i told her that i was happier being single than with her. she said some things that were hurtful and wrong. i never want to talk to her again. she aske dif we could be friends and i couldnt tell her. but i dont want to be, after talking to her i was reassured of my decisions with her. i am so happy that i am away from her..... she is exactly what the doctor DIDN'T call for.
.

I've made a huge mistake. Well it was not a mistake until now. Im sorry, I wont talk about her anymore. I cant bring the old in with the new. Its not healthy at all. She has nothing of value for me and I have owe her nothing. it is finished and I must now forget..............

I think that I am ready for things that I would have never thought of jsut a few months ago. These things were foreign to me at the time, yet now I see them as what may be right.

Great news! Ok here is a little recap....last tuesday in chapel the guy that spoke like totally spiritually raped me. His message was so terrible, I felt so lukewarm when I got out of there. On Wednesday I went to church and I learned that me trusting in the my father was all I needed and I felt so much better. I feel so much closer to God! I have been saying that Ineed to get "exclusive" with God before I can become "exclusive" with anyone else. I learned that I already am exclusive with God and just had to see it. he already set me free from my bondage and now I can just live in his love. Isnt that all great...hope that all makes sense, it does for me.

Well I just got my wisdom teeth pulled Thursday and i am feeling fine. I have not had any pain so I think I am going to be fine. I am really glad that I got this done because they were getting really annoying. You know where you have too many teeth and everytime you bite down you bite your checks! I hate that, and it gives you canquer sores a lot easier. But none the less they are gone so in a little while I should be back in business again.

Man I just had the greatest weekend at home. My mom got to meet Nikki and Cage (my new car) for the first time together. What a deal huh? My mom really likes my car, but what she is really impressed with is this Nikki girl. She is just too cool! She likes her a lot and whatelse is really cool is that my sister and Nikki clicked right away which rarely every happens. So there has to be somethign special about that wonderful girl. Ohh well I guess time (GOD) will tell and that will be that.

"Love is like setting yourself on fire and hope you dont get burned." quoted by cant remember.

Ok thanks Nikki! I have decided to make the outside of my car look good first and then work on the inside. so tinted windows, spoiler, rims, low profile tires, big loud muffler, ect. yea stuff like that. yea i talked to a few people about that also and got some good feed back on all that.

i cant think of anything to put tonight. I did get to work things out with a dear friend of mine. I said thing that sounded kind of bad but i didnt mean them to sound that way. i picked her up for the y and worked out. Man she is going to be hurting in the morning but its will help. after that we sat in my car and talked through it all. I feel so much better.

In many ways I want to run. I want to find a place to hide. This world is scary and full of things that I know nothing about yet. She said she was fine and it all came crashing down on her. She was hurt but would not lead on to the feeling that ate at her very exsistence. For now I can only walk more cautiously.

I think I said somethign that I shouldnt have. I opened my mouth for only wrong things to come out. I feel like trash now because of it. Im sorry....im sorry....im sorry. Assurance is such an ugly word to me now!

Man my car is so sweet! I named him Cage. What a great name for a great car. If you dont know, he is a 93 Saturn SC1.

So I am not sure on the earring thing anymore, cant decide.

Life is going so well...I feel like a million bucks! I havnt had a shower in a few days, but i still feel great! things are so great with me God and people and yea everything.

DTR!!!!!!!!! Had that last night and it went great. I feel so relieved, a billion bricks were lifted off of my shoulders. I wont mention a name, but if you know it went well. NO RUMORS!!!! We are only friends still and that is the way it is goingt to be for a little while. but we got everything out in the open and defined our intentions and things like that. I feel so good i knowing where i stand and what she thinks. She is totally still the coolest. well thats all folks.

I got my ear peirced! Ok so its a fake earring, but i think it looks ok. the ring itslef needs to be a little thicker but other than that i like it. Mostly everyone likes it, unless of course you grew up in a house that disapproved....cough cough...........but I like it!

she is a stubborn person, but she might surprise me and come running back only for me to put my hand in her face!

Satan only tempts us when he knows the glory at the end is worth fighting for. This was given to me by Nikki from a friends profile.

With my roommates feet and breath combined..I think he could kill a man.

The truth hurts...........It hurts bad!

Emotionally numb...

Why must I toil with these things that I know not? I think I am ready to walk, when in reality I am only learning to crawl.

Hey guess what? I am working right now, I am in the computer lab right now looking up wrong numbers. Then we get to call them and ask for their money! isn't that exciting? Well I am not excited about it, but this is my last night of calling, it's great, the next few weeks we just call our donors and thank them. Thats it folks.

You think you know her. You tell her exactly what she wants to hear. Then you use her like a dirty rag. Your pathetic in your ways you go about treating her. She deserves so much better than you. You walk around with her wrapped around your finger, you look at other girls and do things witht them that she would not approve of. You think you have everything worked out and everything is fine. She knows and cares to much to say anything. Your a freakin jerk and I dispise you. You go around and break others hearts and keep going along to get your fix. One day it will come back on you.

I think about you every day. Love dont go away. Ive got to move.

I have been through it and I dont like it. There hands ripping at me like sharp blades of terror. I try to run but only get scarred deeply by there fear. Who is to say that meaning cannot be found through this, everyone looks at it and laughs or turns away. They choose not to deal with it, only for it to eat them alive later. So I will look forward and not sideways or backwards. Im gonna fight my enemy head on and have the courage to keep persuing the prize.

Im not here to listen to your sympathy. I have no disease, but I do have a heart.

Man I over analyze some things sometimes. Isn't that supposed to be the girl's problem and all. I am just messed up or something. I think that when you have gone through a tough situation in life, it can be hard to be cool with everything. That is where the analyzing part comes in. So i am working on it. You don't hurt me, I hurt myself.

I just bleached the tips of my Mohawk. Wow I think it is hot but I need your opinions so let me know when you see it. It's not like you are going to change what I do with my hair, but none the less i am curious as to what you have to say. well see ya later.

There are things that I would rather not say. You look me right in my eyes and tell me everything is fine and wonderful, but you do things to confuse me. It frusterates me, cant you see? I want to know you and feel the warmth of your embrace..... but I can't. I know that I am not not on time with you, your running ahead of me and I cant seem to catch up. You look back everyonce in awhile to look at me as if to see if I am ready and then you keep running. Im tired and exhausted, my strength dwindles. But you persist and I must follow because I can't look back. The past is far to dark and unstable, but the road ahead is new and shows much more promise. For now I wait and watch until I am capable of doing..................

So me and Nikki are playing "perdiddle" tonight and it's a heated game. We both said it relitively at the same time. So I said, " There is no way, I per'ed like a cat before you p'ed." so I got the point. It was quite funny. Just thought you would all want to know!

I would like to make a correction, well to tell you more about Nikki and her score. I made a new quiz, which is also on my profile ans she scored a 70 on this one. Slightly better but there is still room for improvement. I think what hurt was that she got the color of my eyes wrong. Its blue not green. Ohh well she doesnt work well under pressure i guess. haha funny....

Ok here is the deal. Me and four other people are trying to go to church tonight in Goshen and we have no money or gas. So we are trying to take up an offering of change and stuff so that we can get gas for my car. I think we are roughly up to $4 right now. That is a really good start so I am excited. If you woul dlike to donate then call me and tell me. You will be donating to the prestigious Noel Joseph Burke III fund. Thanks!

Hey take my quiz, its in my profile at the end. And to just let you know Nikki got a 60, so if it says she got a 100 then just ignore it cause its not true.

I am having fun with me Ford Pimpo, its full of surprises. Tonight i was driving around with Nikki and I pop it into nuetral to brake at a stop sign and then throw it into drive and it stalls on me. We were in the middle of nowhere and there were no lights anywhere around. Wow that was a little nerve racking. But it started right up! Nikki just looked at me in utter nervousness and surprise. She was on the edge of her seat for a minute, it was really funny.

Ok I realized that life is great! I dont know why but I am really having a good time with friends and a jacked up car and school and stuff.

Friends are great! thanks Nikki.

Erin Swim you are a schemer...you know it. Ok so she asks me last night if I was going to be with someone soon or if i was already with some one. I told her no and she just smiled at me. She wont admit it totally but something is up she knows something that I don't. To be honest it is probably my good friend Janice Nikki Downs. Yea since we hang out, by Grace standards, we must be going out. Well to alieviate any worries about that I am happily single and trying to get tight with God before I risk anything else.

WHAT?................huh.............What!

Man my mom is so great! It's funny how she has this vast source of intellegence that is open for to learn new things. She already knows all these things and I think I have it figured out. WRONG!

Yea the sweetest thing a human being could ever do for me happened last night. I had a terrible class and deciced to go on a run without her because she was doing something she needed to attend to. She wanted to come run with me that night and so she found a bike and rode all over looking for me to give comfort and support to me when I really needed it. It was at like 11:00 at night and cold. Nikki you are the sweetest girl I know. She was like Christ to me that night, when I am weak and susceptable to the flesh He comes and looks for me and comforts me.

njburke3: so technically its not your fault, you told him you didnt like him that way, love hurts sometimes, its the setting your self on fire thing
njburke3: I know that sucks horriblly, I have had to go through it but i think in time he will realize it was stupid to get upset over spilled milk

It takes a minute to find a special person
An hour to appreciate them
A day to love them
But then an entire life to forget them.

___________________________
She walked on a pillow of clouds, she noticed things that seemed out of place, but she smiled with a fake sense of security, she loved him and opened her heart, why did he stray so far away, was he mental? She couldnt put her finger on it, was it her, surely she did what was right, she finally came to the conclusion....he wasnt worth it, she knew she was better and deserved higher, she saw him in a dream...standing there opening his arms to her as if to comfort her, she looked into the sky as if to make peace with God and walked on....

Everyone longs to be loved thoroughly and exclusively, but to the Christian, God says, "no, not until you're satisfied, fulfilled, and content by being loved by me alone. I love you my child, and until you discover that only in me is your satisfaction to be found, you will not be united w/ one another until you're united w/ me exclusively. I want you to stop wishing and planning, and allow me to give you the most thrilling plan existing...one that you can't imagine. I want you to have the best. You just keep watching me, expecting the greatest things, but when you're ready, I'll surprise you w/ a love more wonderful than you'd ever dream of. Until you're satisfied exclusively w/ me and the life I prepared for you, you won't be able to experience the love that exemplifies your relationship w/ me; and this is perfect love."
(Thelittleparker)

Once I was in a relationship that I thought was going to go all the way. It was a terrible mistake. God finally got inside my head and showed me that a making out and fighting are not what a marriage is all about. Thank you God so much that you made me realize it finally. Now I wait for that one who will bring me hope.

One day I will consider myself lucky to have a wife who loves me for who I am and not what I look like, dress like, talk like, or the money and material posessions I have. She will be the 2nd greatest thing to ever happen to me..............

I saw her there, she was standing ten feet away with a smile, she looked happy, was she crazy for trusting me? Would she still feel this way if she really knew me, am I the Godly man I am supposed to be? For now, I will walk carefully and quitely into the the night, because I am unsure of events that could take place and things that should or should not be.........