For some reason, remembrance type holidays have hit me a lot harder this past year or so. Veterans Day last fall, and now Memorial Day. I have never served in the armed forces, but I have the utmost respect for the men and women that lay their lives on the line for our country everyday. My wife's surrogate father - and the man that gave her away at our wedding - is a retired Colonel in the United States Marine Corp, and his son is currently an officer in the USMC serving in the Middle East. When I first met her, my interest in the military and armed forces was pretty shallow, but it has grown in this time. She was a member of the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corp. for her entire high school career. She had intended to join the Marines upon her graduate, but alas, a boy kept her from it. She decided she would rather spend the rest of her life with me than with Uncle Sam...I am forever grateful for that decision - not to mention the sacrifice Uncle Sam made in losing such an awesome soldier.
At any rate, my level of respect and adoration for our service men and women has grow substantially in the past several months. Maybe my kids have prompted me to realize the sacrifice that they make in leaving their families, possibly for the last time. The wives, sons, daughter, and parents that they walk away from so that people they have never met can be free.
So, this weekend, my hats off to all those who have given their lives in service of our country, and in service to the other countries that we have helped over the course of our existence. They truly do represent all that is right with our country. And to all the service men and women that have lived through conflicts and wars, I thank you. You are no less deserving of honor and memorial than those who gave their lives.
Thank you!!
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Monday, April 21, 2008
Holy Conviction Batman!!
WOW, as you may have guessed from the title, my last day or so has not gone real well. A few weeks ago my sister moved out of her husbands house, and took their 9 month old son with her. In the time since then, I had come to accept that they were going to get a divorce.
However, yesterday, God smacked me right in the face about it. He reminded me that even when divorce is the right decision, He still hates it. He convicted me, in as much as, if I wasn't praying against a divorce, then I was rooting for one...there is no middle ground with God. I had just accepted that Beck was going to grow up without his dad, and that my sister would be a single mom. Neither of those is God's plan, but like I said, it isn't necessarily the wrong decision either.
How could I be so blind to not only think that divorce was eminent, but to think that it was what God preferred in this situation...what an idiot I was being. It is true that I am the chief of sinners, and have no room to judge anyone else for anything they do.
However, yesterday, God smacked me right in the face about it. He reminded me that even when divorce is the right decision, He still hates it. He convicted me, in as much as, if I wasn't praying against a divorce, then I was rooting for one...there is no middle ground with God. I had just accepted that Beck was going to grow up without his dad, and that my sister would be a single mom. Neither of those is God's plan, but like I said, it isn't necessarily the wrong decision either.
How could I be so blind to not only think that divorce was eminent, but to think that it was what God preferred in this situation...what an idiot I was being. It is true that I am the chief of sinners, and have no room to judge anyone else for anything they do.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
The next step...
Well, after a year of stepping back an evaluating what God has called me to do, I am entering back into more in depth ministry. Of course, I could never take a year off without doing ANYTHING, but I didn't play music, I didn't preach, I didn't teach a class of any kind, and I am not on the leadership team. These things will, once again, begin to incorporate back into my life slowly. I feel like God has called me in a direction that I may never have gone without this time away. I got so focused on music that I just figured that was what God had called me to for the rest of my life. However, after this year, I have decided that someday, I want to be a senior pastor. Of course, my ideal situation would be to go on staff somewhere as an associate just so I can get used to the everyday aspects of full-time ministry. I have SOOO much to learn. I spent the better part of 15 years learning music ministry, and being a worship leader...so I have a lot of ground to make up in the administrative and pastoring side of things. I am fortunate, however, to have, in my opinion, the best pastor in the country to learn from - my dad. He may not be the prolific speaker that some pastors are, but he is twice the shepherd of any pastor I have ever seen. I am praying, daily, for God to give me the same kind of love for people that he has...it is something that can only genuinely happen supernaturally.
I can see times where I feel more that way, but it certainly has not become a way of life for me yet. I do like people, and I a pretty social person, but I am still learning, and developing, a genuine love for all people...going beyond my circle of friends. I think part of that is going to mean me coming out of my shell, and putting myself out there a little more. I have decided that I will not set any dates for my ministry...when the doors open, I will look, and pray, and eventually decide if it is God opening the door for me, or if it's just an open door. I am lucky enough to have a job that I love, so I am in no hurry to quit to jump at any open door. I am trying to get into my reading and preparation that way, but right now, text books are consuming all of my reading time. I hope that I will have more chance - and desire - to read this summer, and be able to crank out a few books during that time.
So, until next time...
I can see times where I feel more that way, but it certainly has not become a way of life for me yet. I do like people, and I a pretty social person, but I am still learning, and developing, a genuine love for all people...going beyond my circle of friends. I think part of that is going to mean me coming out of my shell, and putting myself out there a little more. I have decided that I will not set any dates for my ministry...when the doors open, I will look, and pray, and eventually decide if it is God opening the door for me, or if it's just an open door. I am lucky enough to have a job that I love, so I am in no hurry to quit to jump at any open door. I am trying to get into my reading and preparation that way, but right now, text books are consuming all of my reading time. I hope that I will have more chance - and desire - to read this summer, and be able to crank out a few books during that time.
So, until next time...
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Stuff and Things
Well, everything has been going pretty well in my life. There are certainly some things that absolutely suck, but in order to protect those that I love, I can't really go into that right now. Crystal is just under 6 weeks away from having our baby girl - Tatum. We are so excited, and so very unprepared. I have considerable work to do on the nursery. We have really tossed around the idea of moving again, but every time we look around, we find that we are in a truly blessed situation. If we try to find cheaper, the house is trashed, and no yard. If we decided to look for a 4-bedroom, everything jumps about $400 more than we pay now. So, we are probably here until we decide to buy something.
We are starting to ramp up toward summer too...of course, that gets harder when we get 2 inches of snow on April 8th!!! Alright already, we get the point, just give us summer.
School is going well...though it is only the beginning of the second week of this term. I am a little nervous about my architectural class this term, but my other class should go pretty well I think. On the upside, I didn't have to buy any books this term - so that helps financially.
Oh, speaking of school, I found out that I am getting $6000 next year in grant money. Of course, because I am only a 1/2 time student, I will only see 1/2 of that, but $3000 should still cover all my costs - including texts and fees. I think my average term this time around came to about $700 or $800 after all my costs. So, I may even get a refund. Next year we will have another baby, so my adjusted gross income should be less, which will get us more in federal aid. I'm not exactly sure how my classes are going to work starting next year. They have talked a lot about changing some of the classes around. Adding a class, and removing another maybe. Fortunately, the only they are talking about removing, I haven't taken yet, and the one they would most likely add is a lot better for me.
Church is going well. I think I am going to start playing on the worship team again next month. I can't believe it's already been over a year since I played for worship. I am excited and nervous all at the same time. I won't be leading worship for a while - if i ever get back into it that deep. I really want to start focusing more on people, and assimilation into ministry. It's weird, because my heart and mind want to do that, but my skill set is nowhere close to be able to do it. i have focused so much of my life toward music that the other things have suffered. Not to mention, I am not really a 'people person', but I am praying that God will change that.
We are starting to ramp up toward summer too...of course, that gets harder when we get 2 inches of snow on April 8th!!! Alright already, we get the point, just give us summer.
School is going well...though it is only the beginning of the second week of this term. I am a little nervous about my architectural class this term, but my other class should go pretty well I think. On the upside, I didn't have to buy any books this term - so that helps financially.
Oh, speaking of school, I found out that I am getting $6000 next year in grant money. Of course, because I am only a 1/2 time student, I will only see 1/2 of that, but $3000 should still cover all my costs - including texts and fees. I think my average term this time around came to about $700 or $800 after all my costs. So, I may even get a refund. Next year we will have another baby, so my adjusted gross income should be less, which will get us more in federal aid. I'm not exactly sure how my classes are going to work starting next year. They have talked a lot about changing some of the classes around. Adding a class, and removing another maybe. Fortunately, the only they are talking about removing, I haven't taken yet, and the one they would most likely add is a lot better for me.
Church is going well. I think I am going to start playing on the worship team again next month. I can't believe it's already been over a year since I played for worship. I am excited and nervous all at the same time. I won't be leading worship for a while - if i ever get back into it that deep. I really want to start focusing more on people, and assimilation into ministry. It's weird, because my heart and mind want to do that, but my skill set is nowhere close to be able to do it. i have focused so much of my life toward music that the other things have suffered. Not to mention, I am not really a 'people person', but I am praying that God will change that.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Almost April...
Spring break has finally come. This last term was probably the most demanding, so far, of my time. I was in class three nights a week, plus all the time with homework, and on top of all of it, I got to work late , or through lunches, several times to meet a deadline. As far as I know, my address hasn't changed, and I am still married - though my time spent with the fam wouldn't really prove that out right now. One more term before summer - and man am I looking forward to a few months off. The term went well, however. I didn't get outstanding grades, but I got good grades - especially in my drafting class, which is my major.
Easter went grat a the church. We set a new attendance record, and saw several people make a renewed commitment to Christ. I think some new slavations too, but I don't personally keep track of those stats. All I know is that we were able to present the gospel to more people than we ever have before, and all in comfort of our new building.
I have also been asked to write an article for another blog - focused on REplanting. I'll be posting a link to that blog real soon. Things are going great with my family. Crystal and I have never been more in love, and I don't think Crystal has ever been more ready to get this little girl out of her as she is now. Tatum is being far mroe active than Levi was.
Easter went grat a the church. We set a new attendance record, and saw several people make a renewed commitment to Christ. I think some new slavations too, but I don't personally keep track of those stats. All I know is that we were able to present the gospel to more people than we ever have before, and all in comfort of our new building.
I have also been asked to write an article for another blog - focused on REplanting. I'll be posting a link to that blog real soon. Things are going great with my family. Crystal and I have never been more in love, and I don't think Crystal has ever been more ready to get this little girl out of her as she is now. Tatum is being far mroe active than Levi was.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Can you say...HIATUS!!
Man, it's been a long time since I wrote here. My life has been going crazy since the beginning of the year, and what were once common posts have become sporadic at best. I actually have another motivation for writing now, though. I have an aunt who is doing a 1 year mission to Maputo, Mozambique (I hope I didn't butcher that spelling too bad). We obviously can't talk on the phone often, so I figured this would be a great way to let her know how me and my family are doing. So Sharon, this is for you, we love you.
things are going well - a little hectic maybe, but pretty well. I recently signed-up (and paid money) to run my first organized half-marathon. I have run the distance in the past, but I have never done it as an event. It will be new ground, but I had to do something to whip myself back into shape. In fact, the guy that got me to run this with him is even talking about continuing our training after the half and running a full marathon sometime relatively soon.
Crystal is almost into her 8th month of pregnancy...yes, the baby girl is rapidly approaching. I can't believe we are going to have two. I post pictures as soon as she arrives...well, maybe give me a day or two.
The church is doing well. We are growing really well now that we are in the building full-time. We are exploring ways to cover the floors, and we got the nursery covered last weekend. So now we have the new nursery to use as well as the old one.
Let's see, what else. Oh, I have winter term finals next week - so pray for me. Not only that, but next week and the week after I am picking up 40 hours of work from Jay. I figured I can do 60 hour weeks for two weeks - it won't kill me. I will probably pick up more this summer. God is really opening some doors for me there, and who knows, maybe I will have walked through it before you get back here.
things are going well - a little hectic maybe, but pretty well. I recently signed-up (and paid money) to run my first organized half-marathon. I have run the distance in the past, but I have never done it as an event. It will be new ground, but I had to do something to whip myself back into shape. In fact, the guy that got me to run this with him is even talking about continuing our training after the half and running a full marathon sometime relatively soon.
Crystal is almost into her 8th month of pregnancy...yes, the baby girl is rapidly approaching. I can't believe we are going to have two. I post pictures as soon as she arrives...well, maybe give me a day or two.
The church is doing well. We are growing really well now that we are in the building full-time. We are exploring ways to cover the floors, and we got the nursery covered last weekend. So now we have the new nursery to use as well as the old one.
Let's see, what else. Oh, I have winter term finals next week - so pray for me. Not only that, but next week and the week after I am picking up 40 hours of work from Jay. I figured I can do 60 hour weeks for two weeks - it won't kill me. I will probably pick up more this summer. God is really opening some doors for me there, and who knows, maybe I will have walked through it before you get back here.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
It's been over a week...
And I gotta say, not much has happened. Sorry that there is such a delay. I was sick most of last week. I missed work Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday - my poor wife had to have an Eggo waffle for dinner on Valentine's Day because she wasn't feeling too great either - so neither of us felt up to cooking. We did, however, celebrate the next night. My aunt took Levi for the night, and I took Crystal out to Deep - a modern Japanese/sushi restaurant in town. We had a great night. She got me a couple shirts and a pair of boots for Valentine's Day, and I got her a pearl set (necklace, bracelet, earrings) and a new outfit for work. She has to wear black every day to work, so I was trying to get her something she could wear to work, but still have fun in also - it worked out alright. Saturday we stayed in most of the day...we still weren't 100% healthy, and we had a party that night. That evening we went to LaPine to see my grandparents. My 84 year old grandpa finished his doctorate degree this year, and we all got together to celebrate it. I've been fairly skeptical about him spending so much time and money on this degree at his age, but I feel differently about it after this weekend. It wasn't hurting anyone, and if that's what makes him happy, then I guess I can't be upset about it. We also took the opportunity to say goodbye to my aunt, who is heading to Africa in just over a week now. We all got her stuff that is fairly easy to pack. My mom got her a locket with each of their pictures in it. My uncle - her brother - got her a journal, and my sister made her a bracelet with symbols to represent her, her husband, and their son. So, here I was Friday, not having anything for her, and not really knowing what I could give her that would pack easily, and be a reminder of me and my family. So, I wrote her a song. It was pretty simple - just one, four chord progression all the way through, with a slight variance every third time - but I think I got the point across. My wife types up the lyrics, and we printed them on a sheet of fancy paper, and sealed it with sealing wax, and a stamp with our last initial on it. It turned out great. She'll be able to pack it easily, and read it whenever she feels home sick, or questions her calling.
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