Bekah

I made this video to show Bekah's Gigi and Gramps the outfit they got her while we were in Sicily.

This video thing's pretty cool.. I think I'll be uploading more!

Hire me!

Some of you may not know this, but God has called us to the Atlanta area to be a part of Freedom Church. Problem is, I need a solid job with good benefits. I have over two years of sales experience, I type about 65-80wpm, I am experienced with all basic computer applications including Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and FrontPage. My main passion is impacting the Acworth area with the gospel of Jesus Christ, but close behind that is a desire to provide for my wife and daughter the best I can.

God has made clear the "what" and the "where", but not the "how." Maybe someone reading this will feel God leading them to contact me. I am trusting that God will make a way. If you know of someone who may need someone like me, have them contact me. I'm willing to do whatever it takes to get to where God wants me to be, so here I am, putting myself out there in the blogging community. I covet your prayers.

Abraham had incredible faith. God said, "get up and go" without even telling him where. Abraham went. I thank God that He knows I need more than a kick in the rear and a clear word.

So if you know of a way, let me know! I can't wait to be a part of what God's doing in Acworth!

Thursday.

In no particular order:
2. I couldn't take the trash out at work. Why? Because there's 6 kabillion bees out there, one of which dive-bombed my face, causing me to fall on my butt. Too bad I didn't get it on tape..
5. Jon did a great vision video for Freedom Church. Check it out!
4. I've decided to grow my hair out. I am currently in the "70's explosion" stage, which will probably last another six months. No, I will not post a picture.
135. When I say in no particular order, I mean it!
63. I really miss playing live worship music! Hopefully it won't be long before I have another opportunity to do it again...
912. If you're only as young as you feel, than I am 465 years old today. My back is jacked.
11. I've started reading the book of Nehemiah. Looking forward to studying it more.

Could I possibly be any more random?

Been a while.

Wow, been a while since the last post. As usual, life is incredibly busy, or at least seems so. I'm so terrible about posting on a blog, because many days I feel like I have nothing worthwhile/entertaining to say. But then again, I didn't intend to entertain people when I started this blog, so maybe that's not so bad after all. My hope would be that through these posts people are able to get a real-life glimpse of who I am and how incredible God is to save someone like me.

We've been going through the book of Acts in sunday school, and I taught out of Acts 20 because that's what I thought the next video would be on but it turns out I was wrong, because Fuel curriculum can be super weird at times. But now I'm off track. Stupid ADHD. *smacks himself*

So yeah, the great thing about this chapter is that Paul knew he was going to face persecution and imprisonment in Jerusalem because the Holy Spirit repeatedly told him, but he went anyway, because his sole purpose was finishing what God had called him to do. He also told the Ephesian elders that their eternity was not on him, because he had declared to them the whole purpose of God.

This is my desire as well, as I'm moving to another part of my life soon, to be able to say, "if they don't give their life to Jesus, it's not because I didn't share the gospel with them." You know, like what it says in Ezekiel 33 about the watchman who sounds the alarm when the invading army is coming in the middle of the night. Loving people and caring about their safety doesn't mean we let them sleep in false security, knowing they're not promised tomorrow, but waking them up to what's really going on. Fear, pride, self-doubt, and other stupid stuff gets in the way, but the bottom line is, we have to go and tell.

This really encouraged me..

God's been teaching me a lot lately. I am so excited.

I can't speak for anyone else, but sometimes I just feel plain unworthy. I feel weak and useless. I feel like God would lower His standards to use me.

Now I know that these feelings are just Satan trying to discourage me. Many times I have fallen for it. I came across these verses when I was reading the Bible this morning in 1 Corinthians:

26Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29so that no one may boast before him. 30It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord."

Wow. You mean that God uses people like me ON PURPOSE?

YES!

Why? So that no one can say that God used them because they are somehow a better person, or they obey the entire Bible, etc. So that no one can boast. So that God gets the credit when something incredible happens.

I am so encouraged to know that my weakness allows God to show His strength in my life. That my foolishness allows God to show His wisdom. That me being the frail human being I am provides circumstances that when incredible things happen, there's no way anyone can give me the credit!

I hope that these verses encourage you, too.

Wow...

Working as a salesperson (as a cellphone salesman) definitely brings a lot of interesting people into your daily life. Take today for example: a guy came in and was insisting that the King James version of the Bible is the only "un-corrupted" version.

Okay, now let me throw a disclaimer out there before my response: I am in no way personally attacking anyone who believes this, but no punches will be pulled here.

Picture heaven in an uproar because a "corrupted"[read:non-KJV] version of the Bible is printed.... or because people are preaching out of "corrupted" Bibles....

What kind of crack are these people smoking???!? I mean, seriously! Is anyone who makes these statements studying Greek and Hebrew? Not to mention, the language in the KJV makes me feel like I should be walking around in chain mail swinging a giant mace. Maybe that's just me, though...

Isn't God big enough to be sovereign over EVERY translation of the Bible? Doesn't the HOLY SPIRIT lead us to all truth??

Don't limit God, people. Maybe the reason your KJV only church never sees God move in your services is because of the man-made box you've put Him in. If you're offended, stop and ask yourself whether you believe that the King James is the only correct version because you've been taught that way, or because of your study of other translations?

Anyone (as in a believer that has the Holy Spirit) with half a brain, a Bible, and a Strong's concordance can get an accurate understanding of what Scripture says.

I mean this as an encouragement. Seriously think about why you believe what you believe. The gospel is already an offense to lost people. Legalism only makes it worse. If you read the New Testament, you'll see that Paul was furious at people that put unneccessary burdens on believers. Like you need Jesus AND circumcision to be saved, or Jesus AND the Old Testament dietary laws, or Jesus AND going to church on Saturday... you get my point.

I don't claim to be a Bible scholar. I don't think I will ever call myself that. But I am a student of the Bible. God in His grace and mercy has given me the knowledge I have. I do know one thing, that complicating the Gospel message is rediculous.

All Jacked Up

It's been an interesting few days. Bekah threw a temper tantrum a few days ago and threw her head back, smashing me in the cheekbone, and it's turned into a bit of a shiner. Tough kid!

It's been great to be able to talk to my Dad and Theresa every week over the webcam. Pretty soon we will have it set up so that my Dad and I can talk while we're gaming online! Considering we do it every Sunday afternoon, it will be great to catch up.

Feeling terrible today. Might be a virus. But it's all good.

We're trusting God to do HUGE things in the near future... more about that soon.

July already?

Wow, time is flying! I can't believe it's already July! Time to make some sparkler bombs!!! ..er.. just kidding... I don't want to blow my hand off. If you know how to make those, there's a high probability that you are a redneck.

I'm excited that Crosspointe's prospective pastor will be preaching July 8th. I am very interested in what God's going to be doing there.

I am also excited that Brooke may be able to be a stay-at-home mom soon. She was created to be one, and Bekah's health would be so much better. The doctor said she's only allergic to cats, but I don't think they tested to see if she was allergic to oxygen :P Needless to say, she's sick a lot and would benefit greatly from staying home.

I'm excited that I may be able to be a part of Freedom Church sooner than I expected. God is doing things that will ultimately point to Him when all is said and done.

I'll try and post more in the future.

I'm alive... I promise!

Haven't posted in a while. Let's just say that had I posted before now, I would have said things that weren't said in love and would have had to write an apology post. Now I am beginning to deal with that situation (and by that I mean my feelings towards it) and am therefore able to blog again.

so......

What's up with those Yankees? Can they turn their season around??

Oh nevermind. I haven't ever talked about sports in my blog and I don't intend to start. Sorry about that. Oh yes, I am as ADHD as ever.

So here's a few things in no particular order:
1. It really makes me sad that some people have no vision.
2. I'm beginning to see what a waste of time it is to spend energy on things that distract us from our real purpose: bringing the Gospel to a lost and dying world. Yes, I have a hobby. No, I will not respond to every single doctrinal controversy.
3. I can't wait to be a part of Freedom Church! As soon as God makes a way, we'll be there!
4. Having my computer back is awesome. Even though I have to use my living room TV as a monitor.
5. I believe music is one of the most incredible things that God created. Music moves me in so many different ways. It is a part of my life that will always be there.

Well, I was shooting for 10, but I fell short. There's more to come, though.

Read This...

Great post from Perry Noble.

I would reccommend it to anyone.

Feels like a monday..

Man, I'm tired. Stayed up late last night. There's an interesting story behind that, though...

I decided to go to bed, but to check to make sure my truck was locked first. So I stepped out onto the balcony outside my apartment so my remote would work, and made sure it was locked. Then I turned around to go in and realized that I had locked the door behind me and I didn't have a key. So here I was, 12:30 or so at night in my boxers and a t-shirt locked out of my apartment and Brooke and Bekah are sound asleep inside. I knocked for a few minutes and then sat in the truck (it was the only place I could open!) and contemplated sleeping in there, but it was WAY too uncomfortable. So I went back upstairs and knocked/banged on the door until my wife let me in. This experience definitely makes the "dumbest stuff I ever did" list.

..On a separate note, what's up with this whole global warming thing? I mean, people on both sides of the issue claim that scientists concur with THEIR point of view. I understand that the scientific community is divided on this issue, but both sides seem to insinuate that the entire scientific community is behind them! Also with the exception of one politician, it seems like all Democrats believe in global warming and all Republicans don't.. Weird stuff. As for me, I don't know what to believe without actually looking into it.

mi declaración oficial

A quien pueda interesar:

No puedo hablar para cualquier persona , sino que no soy un idiota. Toma a persona realmente elegante para hacer para arriba una historia sobre raccoons y lanzadores propulsados cohete del burrito.

¡Haha, usted ganso tonto! ¡Usted puede ningún uso más largo el lenguaje español como arma contra mí!

Su error probará costoso cuando los raccoons asumen el control el mundo.

..To my non-Spanish-speaking friends, please disregard. :D

Effort and Faith..

According to the Bible, we are saved by faith and not of works, and yet according to the book of James, our works prove our faith. Jesus said in John 15 that apart from Him we can do nothing. Paul said in Philippians that he could do "all things through Christ who strengthens me."

It seems to me there is a fine line somewhere between effort and faith in the life of a Christian.

Am I crazy? Don't answer that question. But seriously, where is the middle ground? I know that anything done in our strength does not please God, because we cannot please Him without faith and our works before God are as filthy rags. But to trust God to provide all of our needs (which He said He will) without taking any action whatsoever is to be lazy.

I'm trying to find this balance, and I strongly believe that God is actively teaching me this at this point in my life. I have been at both ends of the spectrum. From what I understand, when we live a life totally surrendered to God and obedient to the prompting of the Holy Spirit, we will find that balance. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I grasp this concept with my mind, but it still has not fully come into the realm of personal experience.

I know this- at the end of my life, I want to be able to rest confidently in the fact that I did what God called me to do no matter what, and that peoples' lives were changed because of it.

*To those of you who have posted responses to my previous posts, I just want to let you know I've read them, and I could respond, but this dialogue will never reach an end. I am choosing to move on with a new focus on what it means to live a life that pleases God and brings Him glory. That dialogue might continue on others' pages, but not on mine.*

Why can't the Bible mean what it says?

Acts 17
30"Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent,
31because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead."

Why would God command everyone everywhere to repent if some were not able to repent?

I'm sure the 16 comments I'm going to get on this one are going to be very interesting.

More Evidence

1 John 2 (New American Standard Bible)
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
1 John 2
Christ Is Our Advocate
1My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;
2and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.

Is this out of context?

"Sound Doctrine"

Seems to me like the more I try to learn about God and the Bible, the more questions I end up with. Truly God's ways are higher than ours. But that's not an excuse to neglect Bible study. Just a statement that we will never fully understand God. Never. We can study the Bible our whole life and many things about God will still be a mystery to us.

God cannot be summarized by five points. God cannot fit in the mental boxes we try to place around Him.

I read a post, and I can't remember whose it was, but I believe it was Mark Batterson talking about sideways energy. Energy spent discussing/arguing over doctrine instead of using it to further God's kingdom. Titus 3:9-11 says it all.

I want to be careful that what is going on in discussions is good in some way and not just a pointless argument. There's going to be a point very soon where Jeff and I have said all we have to say to each other. After that it would be easy to argue. But I won't.

Jeff and I are going to debate his point of view in a couple of weeks in JC's sunday school class. After that, 95% of the discussion will be over. The discussion has been enjoyable because we have both grown because of it.

So my focus should be God's kingdom. Not fighting over doctrine. Why? God has commanded it in the Bible.

THAT is sound doctrine.

6 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

This is Romans 5:6.

My question is this: Wouldn't this be a good opportunity to interject something about Jesus not dying for all people if that were true? If Christ died for the ungodly, which according to Romans 3:9-18 is everyone, that proves Jesus died for everyone.

Maybe I haven't heard the best explanation of the Calvinist view, but so far it seems as though logic is left out. For example, when someone explains the Calvinist view of irresistable grace to me, it is explained sort of like this: "When God reveals His goodness and all He is to you, you will chose him." Further questioning on my part reveals that there is no free will involved. So here you go-

If people can't say no, is it a choice? NO!

It baffles me, to say the least. I am still continuing to dialogue in the hope of better understanding this point of view.

If Jesus died for everyone (Romans 3) and everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved (Romans 10) then a view of Romans 9 that does not fit the chapters surrounding it is incorrect.

Choice

The last two posts on Jeff's blog are about the theological topic of election. The point of view expressed in these two posts is one similar to Calvinism or Reformed Theology. Here are the cliff notes, so to speak:

-God chose who would go to heaven and hell before time began.
-People cannot resist choosing God when He draws them.
-If you are not one of the elect (chosen) you cannot choose God, ever.
-Jesus only died for the elect.

I have a few problems with this line of thinking. I believe it is an attack on God's character and is fatalistic, to say the least. If these statements were truth, then no one is responsible for their own destiny.

Here's some of the evidence to the contrary:

First Timothy Chapter 2 (emphasis mine):
1 Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. 3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time, 7 for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle—I am speaking the truth in Christ[a]and not lying—a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

Deuteronomy 30 19-20 (emphasis mine)
19 I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; 20 that you may love the LORD your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”

Proverbs 1:29
29 Because they hated knowledge
And did not choose the fear of the LORD,
[trust me, this is not out of context; read it for yourself.]

Throughout the Bible the relationship between God and His people has been illustrated as a marriage, a binding relationship where both parties involved make a conscious choice. God is seen as the jealous husband of Israel in the Old Testament and as the Bridegroom in the New Testament.

2 Peter
Read this whole book, especially chapter 3. The book speaks of living a life that brings glory to God because God's judgment is coming on this world and all people.

3:9 shows God's patience and His desire:
The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

God is longsuffering (patient) with us because He desires everyone to repent and give their lives to Him.

But here's my main point. Romans chapter 9 is used by some to support Calvinism, but I would like to hear the explanation of chapter 10: (emphasis mine again)
that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. 13 For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”

Confession is a choice. A view of Romans 9 that supports Calvinist theology conflicts with a Biblical view of Romans 10.

God is awesome.

Random Monday Thoughts.

In no particular order, here goes:

-My wife and I have seen at least five movies in the last four nights. That's more than we've seen in the last four months. Most were really good. Click with Adam Sandler was really good- it makes you really think hard about what you're doing with your life. Coulda done without some of the other stuff in it though. Laughed so hard I cried at one part.

-I have GOT to get a Nintendo Wii. Andrew came over Saturday night and it was probably the coolest thing I've seen in a long time. Not to mention the exercise you get doing it. My muscles are still sore from some of the games we played!

-It's really strange that our interim pastor's leaving without us having a full time pastor. The next few weeks should be really interesting.

-This wednesday is going to be my last wednesday playing at H20. Sad times, but I need to focus on the road ahead since I may not be here much longer. The next place I will play at isn't opening until next year. Plenty of time to practice and bring my A game.

-Every day is a spiritual battle. Unfortunately, I've spent too long pretending it doesn't exist. God is really opening my eyes on this. There are plans in place to try to take me out. Spiritually speaking. Gotta be on the offensive always.

-Todd and JR are no longer pastors at Crosspointe. Weird. Seems like they've been there forever. Can't wait to see what Freedom Church looks like.

Hopefully I'll post another excerpt from Velvet Elvis tomorrow.

Trampoline

Here's one of the concepts presented in Velvet Elvis.

The first chapter explains two perspectives on living the Christian life using two everyday objects- springs and bricks. These objects are specifically used to symbolize doctrine. Springs (doctrine) are not the point. They help us understand the point. "They can be examined. They can be probed. They flex and stretch."

Bricks are what they are, take them or leave them. Bricks are "fixed in size. They can't flex or change size or they can't fit into the wall." If you remove one brick, the wall is weaker and may crumble. You have to accept the whole wall or none of it. Sometimes this leads to situations where "Often it appears as though you have to agree with all of the bricks excactly as they are or you can't join."

Making doctrine number one instead of focusing on building God's kingdom is rediculous. Jesus didn't isolate Himself in the temple with His followers, condemning the outside world and making no real effort to make a lasting impact, but that's what you see in many churches.

The Bible can be trusted. The Bible stands up to critical examination.

Instead of condemning this world, we should be all engaging in an ongoing dialogue about God and the Bible. It should be open to everyone, regardless of personality or beliefs.

Doctrine is important. But if it's number one, then chances are there's pride involved and you believe you're earning God's favor (which is impossible by the way!)

The Christian life is like a trampoline. It's fun. It's scary. It's dangerous at times. But it's fun.

Invite people to jump with you, and watch God do awesome things.

Sunday Night...

Yesterdat was a great day. Sunday school was like Royal Rumble 63, but we had some pretty good conversation about God giving us power through the Holy Spirit to live a life we could not live in our own strength.

We (the H20 band) played at the sunday night worship service. It went really well, except for ten seconds of awkward silence that was due to a video that was on the order of worship that got mysteriously left out. But overall, it was awesome. To God be the glory

Bekah got her ears pierced. I fought it as long as I could, but when I got home from church, there she was, and I couldn't be mad because they looked so beautiful on her. That's okay, because I'm going to get my adams apple pierced with a silver bullet.

If you just believed that statement, then look up "gullible" in the dictionary.

Re-reading Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell. Great book. I'll probably post a quote tomorrow.

Taking risks

So here I am, knowing what God has called me to do but not the how. But to be passive would be laziness and a twisted view of God as this slot machine in the sky that just hands stuff to us. So I'm going to take advantage of an opportunity that has come up and pursue the dream/vision/calling God has given me. I have a few weeks to plan this little trip, and then the rubber hits the road. But God's in control. It seems like every once in a while God allows life to get crazy enough that it feels like it's spinning out of control just so He can remind us that He's in control.

Looking back, I get a lot of comfort from that.

Amazing

This guy makes me sick. I should be able to play like that.

This further reinforces my desire to get actual lessons.

Hope you enjoyed the randomness of this post.

My Dad

After what happened to my computer over the weekend, I sent an email to my Dad yesterday and expected wrath to follow, because he and Theresa gave us that computer. What I did not expect was an incredible amount of grace.

I'm going to take this opportunity to tell you about my Dad and where God has taken him over the years, in the hopes that someone reading this will be inspired and encouraged.

My Mom and Dad divorced when I was about a year and a half. Shortly thereafter, my Dad enlisted in the Army. I didn't see him very much growing up- a week or two here and there, every month or so usually unless he was stationed out of the area. But when he was in town, we had a blast, he would spoil me rotten :D and let me stay up late, play video games, etc. I always cried the night he left. What great times we had. During those times, he was more my buddy-Dad than discipline-Dad. I mean, if you had only a short time to spend with your kid, would you be a disciplinarian?

Then at the age of 15 or 16 (1998 or 1999 I think) I left home and went to live with my Dad in Virginia. Things had been going crazy between my Mom and I and it was definitely the best for everyone's sanity. So my Dad and Theresa (his girlfriend at the time) take in this wild and crazy teenager suffering from depression/anxiety and ADHD all at the same time. I drove them crazy! But more often than not, we got along. They were huge supporters of the band I was in at the time (a hardcore metal band, btw :D) and went to 2 out of our 4 shows (gotta love high school bands).

Then my Dad got a job transfer to Tennessee as a Navy contractor. So the day after I graduated highschool we moved out here to the Memphis area. My Dad helped me get a job on base as a data entry person, and my boss invited me to church where I encountered a loving God who wanted a personal relationship with me and forgave all my sins, changing my life forever.

So I came home and told them about what had happened and they were supportive, but not wholeheartedly. They thought I was crazy for giving my money to a church. My Dad in particular supported me but the new faith I had found he said was just not for him. I invited them to church over and over and over again, and my Dad came sometimes and I was so excited because I wanted him to know this God that I know, but time after time he rejected what God wanted to do in his life. He just wasn't ready.

But one day (march 03 I think) he and Theresa both got saved and they literally became a new creation. They couldn't get enough of the Bible and prayer and living for God. They encouraged and inspired me and still do to this day.

My Dad, obeying God's will, moved to Sicily, Italy to a job God wanted him to do. It was an incredibly tough, stretching time (and still is), but amazing benefits are already being made known- when they get back, Theresa will be able to homeschool Bekah, they will be able to get out of debt, and wherever we are, they can move to the nearest Navy base.

My Dad and I have become super close. He is like a best friend to me. He's an incredible example of what it means to follow God with everything you have and everything you are. He shows me what God's grace looks like when he quickly forgives me for doing something stupid (ex: computer!). He shows me so much about God as our Father.

Dads, you make such an impact on your kids. Never forget that. God used me to draw my Dad to Himself. God uses my Dad to draw me closer to Him. Only eternity will show what an impact he has made.

Zeus broke my computer!

Sorry, just wanted to put that in a title. What actually happened was, my computer experienced a power surge during the storm over the weekend. So yesterday I came in and pushed the power button on my computer tower and nothing. Naturally I freaked out. My life is on that pc! Pictures, resumes, games, etc.

I think things are starting to get better, though. Today, Andrew took some readings with his multimeter ( I think those come with one of these) and it looks like it might only have a bad power supply. Basically, I might only have to replace one part instead of hundreds of dollars' worth of parts!

I have a feeling that God's using this time to purify me for serving Him. Not the computer time really, it's more than that. There's a lot of crazy stuff going on that can only be accomplished/resolved by God. Please pray that I would be obedient to His instruction.

Update on Life in General

Had a great time at the Grizzlies game. JR and Todd got to race each other in giant blow-up hamster balls on the court in front of thousands of people. See, I told you I would have something interesting to blog about!

Something God has been dealing with me about is doing things with excellence. So many things around us suffer because of a lack of this. Churches, for example. I see many churches that do a lot of ministries well, but none with excellence. Stuff like that calls for a laser approach rather than a shotgun one. There's a great book about this subject called Simple Church. It's great. It will change the way you look at church, in a good way.

So, back to me. I feel overwhelmed a lot with the responsibilities that I have, and I believe I'm not alone in this. For example, here's my week:

Monday- work, church meeting
Tuesday- work, informal band practice
Wednesday -off (thank God!), band practice, H2O
Thursday- work
Friday - work
Saturday - work
Sunday - church, sunday school

*Keep in mind, I have a wife and a soon-to-be 2 year old daughter at home, so anything can happen! Sleep is a precious commodity! We get a lot more now that Bekah's older, but the poop still hits the fan sometimes.

Should I feel overwhelmed? Probably not. Some might say that my perspective's messed up, and they're right. I mean, we're supposed to look at things from God's point of view, not through our circumstances, right? What about prioritizing time with family? What about prioritizing Bible study?

As a man of 24 I haven't figured all of this out yet. But this I do know- in a rush to "do things for God," I feel like my life has been hijacked. Work feels like such a waste of time to me, and God's showing me how to work for Him in the meantime, while I'm waiting on Him to make a way for the dreams He's given me. The Bible overwhelms me at times, just for the sheer amount of God-given information contained in it and my impatience to learn it all ASAP doesn't help very much.

In the midst of this chaos (my perspective again), God is shaping me into who He wants me to be. I'm a stubborn idiot more than I'd like to admit, but changes are inevitable. I thought the other night, what if this was the moment I made a decision that changed the rest of my life, a huge decision?

I've got more questions than answers. I don't think I've ever needed God to come through so much as right here, right now.

There's a Skillet song that says, "How can I tell you just all that you are?" answer: EVERYTHING. That fact stands, independent of my intellectual assent or my feelings.

I take comfort that in the midst of my struggle, God is right here with me.

The Grizz

Tonight JR, Todd, Andrew and I are going to a Grizzlies game. I'm not a huge sports fan, but I love watching sports/going to games in group settings. Yeah, I'm weird like that. So get ready for an interesting post tomorrow. I can guarantee it.

Just another holiday?

Holidays are interesting. They fill our hardwired desire to celebrate/commemmorate important events. And like anything else, these good desires can be twisted into some messed up stuff. Like St. Patrick's day- who REALLY knows who he was? To many people the holiday's just an excuse to get drunk on green beer. Or here's a big one- Valentine's day. It's a great idea- encourage men to consolidate all of their affection on their wife/girlfriend into one day, and create an expectation for women to receive something expensive. Anyone else see the problems with that one? Every day should be a "valentine's day" in marriage. And that is something that I am one of the biggest idiots about sometimes, but that's for another post.

But what about Easter? People are divided about it. Some choose to give gifts to their kids and say that they were from the Easter bunny and make it a fun holiday for their kids. Some choose not to celebrate Easter at all because of its pagan origins, choosing to split hairs. The third group of people choose to celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus and the hope it brings for the world. I could be cliche and say that the best gift to give your kids is the resurrection message. Just did, as a matter of fact.

But seriously, what are we really celebrating? Do we take the resurrection lightly? Are we living each day in light of this? In a world where emotional circumstances are validated above absolute truth and so many things competing for our attention crowd out God's still small voice, it's so important to never get over what Jesus has done for us. His scars PROVE his love for us!

Celebrate Easter tomorrow, but be REAL about it! God forgive those of us who have become complacent, myself included.

I'm so excited about teaching this tomorrow- the message of the Resurrection is one of those things that if it becomes personal, than someone's eternity will be affected for the glory of God!

Vision

I learned a sobering lesson in vision yesterday. Something that I've been praying about for weeks has hit a brick wall. The proverbial door has been slammed in my face. So I had (and have) to step back and see things from God's perspective. I was depressed when I received the bad news in an email yesterday morning, but by the end of the day, God had shown me that He was testing me to see whether I was committed to the vision God has given me or to a job.

Now I'm encouraged. But here's the tough part- I have to totally surrender this whole situation to God and agree to go wherever He wants me. Even if there's no going involved. Because if God's not with me, then it's pointless to go. But this vision consumes me and it's all I can think about sometimes. And really, if we didn't experience any roadblocks or hardships during this time of transition, what would it be other than a handout from God?

God doesn't give handouts!

Every circumstance that takes place is designed to bring us closer to Him, whether it's giving your life to Him for the first time or anywhere else along the journey. Suffering purifies us and makes us more aware of our dependence on God. Like it says in John 15 "Apart from me, you can do nothing."

I thank God for this time of hardship. As I always say, change is better than business as usual.

As a sidenote, I'm so glad God gives us a choice. Insert your own personal application here.

By the way..

Steven Furtick had an awesome post today. It's especially sobering for parents. Read it!

Too Random for a Title

H20 went great last night. My wife had an allergic reaction to the grass seeds (JR was talking about the parable of the sower) but she's allergic to everything. Including Alaskan camels. Even though they don't even exist.

So much stuff going on in my life right now. I'm going to have some news on a huge opportunity in the next couple of days. News that could change everything. Exciting, to say the least.

My tailbone is strangely not really hurting me at the moment. It's like a ninja that strikes at the most opportune time and then goes into hiding. Terrible analogy. Wow.

Hmm... what other random thoughts to post? Oh yeah. I love when people argue (discuss) about theological topics in the Bible. It's great because it challenges me to study on my own and grow. And by the way, anyone who is pointing out all kinds of problems in the church today better darn well be part of the solution. Nuff said.

More random blogs to follow. Count on it.

The tail bone's connected to the..

Having an interesting day because my tailbone feels like someone hit it with a sledgehammer. Somebody get me a donut! Oooh...Doonutss... * sorry. I was daydreaming. :D So yeah I have to get xrays sometime next week. Should be great. I can picture it now:

"Mr. Currie, your tailbone is in ten thousand pieces all over your spinal column. Sucks to be you." (no, my doctor would never say that!)

or
"Mr. Currie, looks like we have to take out your spleen. Why? Oh, no reason. Just because."

It's a pretty good bet that none of those situations will happen. If the second one does, I'm changing my name to Spleenless Joe Jackson.

I can't sit down. I can't stand up. I can't walk. [cries like a sissy].

Oh well. I'll just look like Mr. Roboto tomorrow night. Shouldn't be much of a difference since I am the whitest white guitar player when it comes to stage presence. I need lessons or something.

I might have something very interesting to post Thursday. We'll see.

I have had enough.

There comes a point where the line has been crossed and action must be taken . I am there. Last year I went on Nutrisystem for three months and dropped 40+ pounds. It was great. Then I slipped back into my normal (read: terrible) diet routine and gained some of it back. I ignored it mostly for a while but here's the kicker:

I went into Buckle yesterday, where the salesman politely pointed me to the back of the store where the "relaxed fit section" was.

HE CALLED ME FAT!!!

There's no doubt about it! It didn't sting until later when I actually thought about it.

So now begins my new lifestyle, because going on a diet doesn't do anything except waste time and money. This leads me to my next topic:

NEWSFLASH: AMERICA WANTS YOU TO BE FAT!

It's true! You can buy a 500 calorie burrito at Wal-Mart for a DOLLAR but if you buy a Lean Cuisine or Healthy Choice dinner its at LEAST twice as much! You can buy a box of Ho-Ho's for less than two bucks and that's like 2000 calories! What is wrong with this picture? Apparently it's cheaper to be fat than to be in shape. No wonder obesity is so rampant in America. Not to mention, churches would NEVER mention that gluttony is a sin! Then most pastors would have to man up and get on the treadmill!

So here goes- those of you who read this blog get to come with me on my journey to graduate out of the relaxed fit section. More interesting posts to follow.

Must have been that chili banana smoothie...

Man, I was sick as a dog this weekend. So sick you could have shot a zombie flick at my house. I rarely get sick, but when I do, it's not pretty. I am glad to be well again, and appreciate the weight I've lost by methods I do not wish to reveal due to their graphic content.

I'm having one of those days. You know, those days where you see past the circumstances and gaze pensively at the big picture. I bought the new Relient K album (really good stuff) and there was a song that basically said that no one told him what giving too much(to God) looked like so he was going to give until there was nothing left.

Naturally, this caused certain thoughts to pop into my mind: "What does giving everything look like?" "Have I ever done this?" Let's be real- I don't think I'm the only one asking this. So now comes the part where I search the Bible for what it means to live that kind of life.

We live in a world where so many things pull for your attention. Especially if you have a spouse and kid(s) at home! So many times I surround myself with things that bring temporary entertainment but eventually I end up staring at the brick wall of discontent and the realization that nothing can really bring me fulfillment like living each day in the presence of God and carving out special time for us.

I guess that's one part of the answer I'm looking for.

One day to live

Yesterday's lesson in Fuel (sunday school) was about the last teachings of Jesus. You know, the ones He taught after the Last Supper until He was betrayed by Judas. Intentional teachings meant to prepare His disciples for life without His physical presence and illustrate some incredible truths about the Christian faith. He also prays for them and for future followers. This is all in John 14-17.

I was trying to get the students in a last day mindset where they had one day to live and so I asked them what they would do. About 95% of the guys said stuff to get a reaction or to get attention, but at least one really thought about it and gave an honest answer. One guy whose name I will not mention said that he would get high, repent, and praise the Lord the rest of the day. See what I mean about trying to get a reaction? Of course, we talked afterwards and he assured me he wasn't serious.

Can I use a class of about 20 guys to draw conclusions about the teenage mind? Well if I can, then the average teenager isn't thinking about death or eternity. I know I wasn't at their age. This is why it's so important to effectively communicate the Gospel to teenagers because if you don't get their attention and make them think and take a hard look at themselves, they might not think about eternity until tragedy strikes or until they get older. And no one knows exactly how long we are going to live. What an incredible responsibility. Pray for your leaders.


I think it's time I started releasing my own line of recommended Sonic drinks.

Banana smoothie with Chili and Jalepeno peppers.
Great for a morning shake right before your morning hurl.

I Shall Be Sore Tommorrow

At least that's what the King James version of my blog would say.

I have some heavy lifting to do tonight- Andrew, Mike Stewart, and maybe some other people are going to meet me at my Dad & Theresa's soon-to-be-former house and pick up their tv and their washer and dryer. So I'm 99% sure that I'm going to herniate something.

I'm in a situation right now that the only way things are going to move forward is if God orchestrates it. Which is good, because I'm only just learning how to wait on God's timing.

Crap.

Interestingly enough, the hardware didn't work with my computer. Neither one. Sometimes life gets really frustrating.

We're getting a refund and ordering new hardware.

World=1 Nerd=0

Can't win 'em all.

I am a nerd.

Yes, it's true. I know some of you are absolutely shocked. I'm really excited because some new hardware for my computer is coming in today. Now I'll be able to play video games in hi-res (I'm pretty sure this is a nerd word).

My Mom is staying with us for a week starting today, which I enjoy because she lives in the far-away state of Connecticut. She's going to try to get Bekah fully potty trained, so pray for her! That would be super cool, because one of my least favorite things to do is to change diapers ten million times a day. She's growing so fast, and she's starting to be able to ask for things, which takes the guesswork out of the equation. For all of you non-parents, when cute cuddly baby turns into non-stop crying baby you have to go down the list of things they might want. Fun, fun, fun. Take it from me.

Perry Noble wrote a great blog today. Read it.

Wow, I figured out how to put links in my blog! Cool!

Really looking forward to playing at H20 tomorrow. Going to be a good set as long as no one makes any last minute changes :D

Tonight's going to be great- Bekah and I get to spend some Daddy-daughter time because Brooke is going out to eat with some friends of hers. I never thought I would be 24 with a nearly two-year-old. But Bekah is the most beautiful kid on the face of the planet, and she brings us so much joy on a daily basis. Plus she's a Currie- she acts crazy until she gets a reaction (usually a laugh) and then repeats it as many times as she can until she gets bored. It's hilarious, because she still does stuff that made us laugh 3 months ago, and it still works.

I also want to celebrate the fact that our store has gone one month without a break-in. We have had two in the past four months, both on the day we scan in inventory. Go figure.

I'm looking forward to teaching this week. I'm interested to see whether the talk I had with everyone last week will make a difference in their behavior. I'm also bringing my night stick. :D

I'm excited about what God's doing in my life. Like I read in Perry Noble's blog today, "The tomb is empty, so nothing's impossible."

Sunday school, UFC style

I had the incredible privelege of teaching Todd's discipleship class yesterday morning. Besides the fact that I was fighting sleep when I got to church, it went really well. One thing I'm discovering more and more about myself is I LOVE to teach. In an environment where kids want to listen. Sometimes my class gets pretty crazy- wait, who am I kidding? It's every week! It's been a frustrating experience because I want to encourage them and show them kindness and compassion they might not receive at home or at school. So up until this week I have kept my cool and just taught as much as I could get in, even if it was only five minutes.

This week was a little different.

I went in there and of course it was chaos- there were soda bottles flying through the air and someone was turning the light on and off, among other things. The first thing I did was clearly state that we had to keep it really orderly in there because there were probably 25+ guys in there, and most of them enjoy farting just so that everyone has to smell it, for example. So after I said that, things stayed the same, and I just knew that I had to let them have it so we could get some order and we could talk about things that would encourage/challenge them spiritually.

There are five or six kids in particular(all from my class) that are the worst of the worst and I wish I had a picture of their faces, because they were pretty surprised. Well after I said my piece about the same kids disrupting every week and how parents were going to be contacted if it didn't stop, 50-75% of the kids became perfect little angels. Of course, the bad group of kids kept at it, and I had to kick one of them out (I HATE doing that because they miss out on the lesson and I don't want them to feel rejected). It was rough going the rest of the way, but we got to have a great conversation about being a Christian and how you need to know what the Bible says about living God's way to be successful. I know that kids their age don't memorize a lot of Scripture, but no one could give me a single verse that gave a practical way to live the Christian life. That says something.

I think that it has something to do with American culture. You need to be 18 to be an adult and responsible for your actions, and not too much is expected of you before then except for going to school and staying out of trouble. I don't think that parents are challenging their kids to dust off their copy of the Bible (if they have one) and really find out what/who God calls us to be as Christ-followers. Maybe some parents are trying and their kids are just stubborn- I don't know. But it's really apparent that regardless of the circumstances, the Bible has yet to become personal to many of these kids. I take some responsibility for that. God just had to wake me up to get me to realize this.

After all was said and done and class was over, there was a kid that came up to me and talked to me for the first time. I had earned his respect for standing up for myself in class.

IT WAS ALL WORTH IT.

I hate missing H20. I had to work yesterday which made me unable to play. It frustrates me to no end. But you know, hearing that 8 people got saved last night encouages me, not only that God is still doing great things in H20 but that everything runs smoothly without me. Jeff Hill is the man when it comes to last minute organization. Well almost.

I have the awesome privelege of teaching Todd's discipleship class Sunday morning. I love that environment because for the most part everyone is excited about learning or at least they let me talk. Sometimes I want to take a nightstick to the head of every one of my guys in my normal class. But I guess you can't blame them when our motto is "Here- have 400 donuts. Now sit still and shut up even though you have ADHD!" I love them anyway. Besides, God uses frustrating situations to grow us.

I'm very tired today. I tend to be a night owl sometimes, and last night was one of those. I've been busy leveling up my Everquest 2 character so that when my Dad gets set up in Italy, we can play internationally. We have played video games together since I was 7 years old. Good ol' 1989. So it's sort of a sentimental thing, you could say.

Control

We live in a society obsessed with control. Remote control, video game controller, climate control, birth control, crowd control, volume control- we control EVERYTHING! It truly takes effort to release control and allow God to do things His way. For many of us, all of our basic needs are provided, and we can easily choose every day to be self-reliant and do things our own way.

What if we gave up?

What if guys let their wives use the remote? (No, the world would not explode!)

What if we spent more time allowing God to change us through prayer and Bible study?


The unknown is terrifying at times. But allowing fear or lack of control to paralyze us is unacceptable. God is a big God- everything exists in His presence. He has BIG plans for each of us. But we accept mediocrity. We accept average. We accept less than God's best.

Personally, I would rather live a life striving to follow Jesus with countless failures than to accept the safe, numbing control that we use to put ourselves in God's place. I don't want to get to the end of my life with the overwhelming regret and questions of "What if?"

The problem sometimes with releasing control is that we instantly move into the realm of faith. We cannot weigh or measure faith with instruments. We cannot put it in a jar or a magic prosperity prayer cloth. We have to actually believe the Bible and live like it's true. Well it is, right?

My narrow escape from death

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I could have taped a particular five-minute segment of my morning routine today and either won money or proved that God has plans for me because I didn't die.

Okay, here's what happened. Today was kind of a "Murphy's Law" sort of day. I woke up late. Then I had to iron my clothes for work, so that put me even further behind schedule. I had to iron while Bekah's waffle was toasting. Then the chaos hit. I had just finished ironing my clothes, and like a typical ADHD moment, got distracted by a bottle of what I thought was cologne or aftershave. It turned out to be shower gel, and I spilled some of it on my newly-ironed shirt! So then I ran to the bathroom and tried to get it off of my shirt before it stained (it was red-tinted). So I turned on the faucet and tried to use a damp washcloth to get the gel off my shirt. It worked okay, and I grabbed my wife's hair dryer to finish the job.

Now what happened next I can't 100% remember because it happened so suddenly. I believe I knocked a ceramic mug off of the bathroom counter and it shattered on the tile floor. Apparently my reaction was to drop the hair dryer into the sink with RUNNING WATER!! So then I realized what I had done and yanked that sucker out of the sink as fast as I could and pulled the plug out of the wall so I wouldn't die a fiery electrical death.

To make matters worse, I got to work 10 minutes late, among other consequences.

My life is proof that God has a sense of humor.

3 years

As of yesterday, Brooke and I have been married 3 years. I feel like an old geezer. I can't believe she's put up with me for so long! I can be one of the most hard-headed boneheads on the face of the planet sometimes, and I know that absolutely shocks you if you know me. :D

I am truly blessed to have such a great wife. God's sovereignty allows no room for coincidence, and He has given me just what I need in a wife. I am excited to do ministry together for the rest of our lives. Many times, she is a reminder to me of God's mercy and grace.

In other news- studying the Bible can be fun! Jeff Hill let me borrow John MacArthur's commentary and I am learning so much already. The past few days I have studied the first chapter of Romans. I think Jeff might have to fight me to get this thing back. :D

On a sidenote- I did not watch the Super Bowl. However, I did see the highlights later on a sports show, and let me just say, if the Bears played as good as they did in the first quarter, the Colts would have been toast. That kickoff return was insane!!

40th post!!!

Yeah!! Cue the confetti!! ....I guess no one's as excited as I am. Oh well.

Last night was great. Jeff and Carmen came over to hang out last night and we all stayed up talking to like 1:30. One of the reasons Jeff and I get along so well is because we can talk about the Bible for 4 hours and still have more to say. It's interesting because he and I disagree on a lot of things, at least initially, so it fosters a lot of healthy conversation. It was a great situation that God used to increase my desire to study the Bible.

So tonight's going to be good.. My wife is going to be hanging out with a friend of hers, and I'm going to get some quality time with Bekah and some quality time studying. I can't wait until I get to the point where I get paid to study the Bible for hours every day.

Truthfully, I had better fellowship and learned more last night than I usually get/do in church. Just proof it's not about a building or a scheduled program.

God.

Today was truly an amazing day.. I went to church and was able to worship more than I had been able to in a long time.

To kind of rewind back, Theresa and I sat up last night discussing God's will and how to determine it for your life. Before I laid in bed, I knelt by the window and pretty much submitted myself to God in the midst of these confusing circumstances. You know, one of those times where you and God just "do business." It was great. Matter of fact, the feeling I had was so very similar to the situation that got me writing this blog in the first place.

..So back to sunday morning. After service, I went upstairs to teach sunday school/Fuel, and I knew that I was unprepared because we had spent the night at Theresa's house and I forgot my lesson cd. "*Gasp!*" Yeah, God definitely uses me inspite of myself.

So anyway, I found out that Dan was sick or something and it turned out that there were about 26 guys total that were going to be in my class. But for some strange reason, when Todd relayed this info, I was not fazed about this. I just knew I was supposed to teach them. So Todd and I went into the room where Dan normally teaches and we packed it out. What happened next gets classified under "Holy Spirit moments." God gave me such a passion for teaching these guys the incredible life-changing truths about the death of Jesus. Why He had to die. What it means to us right here, right now.

Todd was a huge help keeping these guys in line. I almost want to consider bringing a nightstick next week, because 6-8th grade guys can get wild. :D But it went incredible, and God gave me the boldness that I needed to demand their attention and He spoke through me.

It was one of those moments that don't come very often, but they blow me away, and I always think, "I know this is what I want to be doing for the rest of my life." God once again confirms that He has called me to ministry.

Now the side effects are getting dangerous- I can't get enough of the Bible. Prayer is beating out other things for the top priority.

This whole thing about following Jesus can really wreck your life. In a good way.

I had to stay home with Bekah yesterday. She has been battling this whole fever/pinkeye thing for about a week now. It was great to spend a day with her. I really don't get many full days to do that. Another highlight of the day was her dropping a glass salad dressing bottle on my big toe- I wanted to scream bad things at a high volume! But overall it was a good day.

Back at the good 'ol cell phone store today, and lets just say that people are very interesting. I believe that some people are either looking for a reason to cancel their cell phone service and switch carriers or are mad about some situation we can't control and want to hurt us the only way they know how. I am all about giving people the benefit of the doubt- even to the point that people criticize me sometimes. But that's what God does with us ALL the time- He is patient with us and sees us not as we are but as we will be.

More and more I'm seeing my heart's not here at this job. Yes, helping people is very satisfying but I want more. You see, helping people decide on a cell phone is not the most important thing. Helping people to know God in a personal, life-changing way is what I want to be doing. And some will say "You can do that at work." But my job is different. I can love people like Jesus does, but I am not able to share my faith on the job with customers unless they bring it up. Work consumes so much of my life and I feel like I'm wasting time I could be spending with my family and my friends and more importantly making a difference in this messed up world.

God has been dealing with me this week about ministry, mainly what I need to work on I guess. Looking in the book of Titus there are qualificiations for ministry, and I think I need to post those on my mirror and look at them everyday and beg God to change me. I know that no one can perfectly exemplify these characteristics. I guess I can say that without God changing me, ministry is not an option. But dependence on God is not a bad thing.

back in the saddle again

Wow, great title. Coincidentally, there's an Aerosmith song with the same title that's probably referring to drug use. The reason I use it is that I'm finally back playing in H2O. YEAH!! ..that being said, last night went okay. I realized something that should have been obvious: not playing guitar (except for Guitar Hero) for a month is not good for your hands. My fingers felt like they were going to fall off during practice! Next week we're going to introduce some new songs, which is great because in my opinion we have been using the same material for at LEAST six months. It is great to be back.

Last night, when we were playing "Marvelous Light" I realized something about the song that I hadn't thought about before. Running into marvelous light takes a while for your eyes to adust because you're used to a much darker environment. Maybe that's why everything isn't so clear to us. Maybe that's why we can't see our way sometimes. We're hanging on to the past and our old selves.

This article is called "How Jesus Messed up My Life." Great article.
http://www.relevantmagazine.com/god_article.php?id=7107

Ouch

I'm kinda stiff and sore today from Saturday. Mike Stewart and I leveled out my Dad's driveway. It was 7 hours of labor. Well, not all 7 hours, but I know the part where I had to rake rocks kicked my butt. I know you're saying, "But you're in such good shape!" ...okay, maybe you're NOT saying that. It was pretty good fun, and we got the entire driveway done (it is huge).

I learned many things that day, including how a diesel engine works, how to pull a car with a tractor, what a "third arm" is, and many other interesting tidbits that will one day catapult me to Jeopardy stardom. But I also learned something about vision and about perseverence.

When Mike made the first pass with the boxblade, my reaction was, "this looks worse than when we started!". It began to rain/sleet, and I was wanting to call it a day. But little by little, everything came together, and at the end, I was amazed at the results.

Vision produces action. Vision produces perseverence.

The reason I was getting impatient and discouraged was that I was losing sight of what the end result was going to be and was focusing on the present, namely that my arms felt like they were going to fall off. I didn't ask, but I could almost guarantee that Mike was focusing on the end result.

Let's go deeper- how many times as Christians, as followers of Jesus, we lose sight of the big picture because we're caught up in the present? We whine and complain about our circumstances instead of trusting that God has our spiritual maturity in mind. We slow down and disengage as a church because we're "waiting for the new pastor" and forget that we are not excused from doing what God has already said to do in the Bible- teach, reach, disciple, etc. God has really dealt with me on this. This is here in my blog because I see it happening. But I also believe that there is a small bit of truth in why things have slowed down. Sometimes pastors help us to catch the vision of what God is doing. Look at Proverbs 29:18:

18 If people can't see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves;But when they attend to what he reveals, they are most blessed.

So let's take a hard look at ourselves. Let's take action.

Strange

I'm feeling kind of strange. Not sick to my stomach, but a little anxious. It's almost like all of the circumstances in my life are about to come together for an incredible thing, but I can't be 100% sure. Hindsight's 20/20 but I can't see my hand in front of my face. I feel like my whole life's a conspiracy, like God has intentionally shaped me from the beginning, and I am still being affected by things He has been bringing my way. It's like the smell of rain and the sounds of distant thunder before a storm. I'm having to continually remind myself that God is in control and I am not. I have a genuine passion for seeing lives changed by the Gospel, and it seems to be growing. And at the same time, I am nearly overwhelmed by feelings of inadequacy and that I know so little compared to how much there is to know about living a life that pleases God. The "don't's" are mostly obvious, but the "do's" are not so clearly marked. Bottom line: I am in a position where I have no other choice but to trust God and wait on Him.

Good place to be, I guess.

I'm proud to report that my Dad made it safely to Sicily, but his bags are another story. They're on their way from Fort Lauderdale FL. Gotta love the transportation industry.

It's amazing how God has provided for me this week, scheduling my Dad's departure the same week my Mom was here from out of town. It's no accident. God is awesome. We're going to eat a thanksgiving-style dinner tonight, which makes me happy. It's a good ol' fashioned Yankee thanksgiving too- not any of that inferior cornbread dressing. Bekah has cheered me up many times this week too. I know I'm repeating myself, but I am amazed as I am typing this how God worked all of this out.

I've been there before, and I have come to it again- what is God's will for my life, and how do I determine it? Certainly, passively moving through life and accepting my circumstances is laziness, but on the flipside, I don't want to be doing things in my own strength without trusting God and waiting on Him. Plus, this question has got to be hard for anyone to answer exactly, because God doesn't work in everyone's life the same way He works in mine.

..so for now, I'll pray and read the Bible. 'Nuff said.

Well, as of 9:10 this morning, my Dad has been on his way to Sicily for three years. Still seems unreal. I know I'm going to be emotional about it, but I really haven't yet. I have this weird mechanism that kicks in when I face situations like this where I just go emotionally numb instead of experiencing the pain that I know is there. I wasn't always aware of this, so I guess it's at least a good thing that I notice it. Life has gone back to "normal" but I can't help but wonder what these three years are for, and what God has brought him over there to do, and what He will do in our lives here because my Dad's not here. A while ago my Dad and I were talking about how this would be a perfect time for God to call me to ministry somewhere, since it would be one less thing holding me to this area. The possibilities are exciting and limitless, but the question I have to ask myself is, "What am I going to do now while I wait?" I don't really know the full answer to that yet, besides the obvious. I will say one thing- this whole situation has driven me to God's Word with new questions and great expectations. Anything less would be presenting a small picture of our awesome God. So pray for me, because this is a trying time. But also be excited, because I can't wait for what God has in store.

This week is going to be a growing experience. My Dad is going to be leaving Thursday morning for Italy for 3 years. Him and I have been super close ever since he got saved. I am going to miss him so much, and I know that this whole situation is a tremendous blessing because of all of the long-term benefits, but still I find myself moving back and forth from sadness to emotional numbness, one of the ways I cope with tough situations. It almost feels unreal but I know it is. The cool things that will come out of this situation that I know right now are:

1. My Dad's going into the GS (government service) system, where he can buy back the 13 1/2 years he spent in the army and retire earlier.
2. By the time they get back (Theresa is leaving in a month or so i guess) they will be completely out of debt.
3. Theresa doesn't have to work. This will allow her to serve in the local youth ministry on base there.
4. When they get back, Bekah will be just about ready for school and Theresa will be able to homeschool her (she is our #1 choice for a great Christ-centered education)!
5. Possible vacation in Italy this year!

I'm sure there's other stuff that will surface that God will do over this time. We will all probably grow a lot closer. My Dad and I will be meeting online via Everquest 2 at least once a week.

I'm having a hard time with my Dad leaving, but I am excited about what God has in store for all of us these next few years.

My new year's weekend was comical to say the least. My wife and I drove to her parents' house for the weekend on Friday night. We do our Christmas with them every year on new year's weekend. Last year I was disappointed with the fireworks I purchased so I determined that this year I would do better. I spent about 16 bucks, which can buy you a whole lot of stuff if you do it right. Well let's just say this year was worst than last year, because at least 85% of the stuff I bought emitted smoke. I wanted to buy those little balls that spark different colors when you light them, but I bought smoke balls by mistake. I bought smoke grenades (on purpose). When I was about to leave they gave me some free smoke rockets. So I was thinking, "Oh cool, you light it and it shoots up into the air and shoots smoke everywhere. WRONG. The stupid thing just sticks in the ground and pours out smoke. The smoke was so bad that my wife's asthma threatened to act up so she had to vacate the area. It gets better. I bought this 10 pack of roman candles for 5 bucks, and I guess I got what I paid for, because my hair almost caught on fire one time and had to dodge the projectiles numerous times because the wind was blowing against us. On the upside, my father-in-law and my brother and sister in law were cracking up watching this whole episode, so it was cool that God used a frustrating situation to create so much laughter and bring us all closer together.

I also finished reading Velvet Elvis while I was there. I don't believe I will ever be the same. It's a wonderful, thought-provoking book. Now some people I know have opinions about this book, but I am not done yet. I am going to re-read the book with a Bible and a Bible commentary and study for myself the references that Rob Bell presents as evidence for his worldview. I don't agree with 100% of the book but I am committed to studying and praying about the content. Even if this book turned out to be 100% crap then at least it served the purpose of creating a hunger in me to study the Bible and also to take a hard look at myself for the ways I act sometimes and look at the underlying issues. Anyone who has read this book I more than welcome discussion, because one point I do agree with in this book is that the Bible is meant to be read in a group environment.

Its weird that 07 is already here. I want to read at least 40 books this year. I also want to become an active part of making this world a better place. More than that, I want to know God better and grow.