Piano

I was lucky enough to be able to attend my sisters piano recital last night, (which she rocked) and I was struck with an analogy that I wanted to share. 

My wife and I arrived a little late, and the first student we heard playing piano was a small little girl, maybe 4 or 5, and she played 'old McDonald', and she played it very well. The piano is a beautiful baby grand. And from where we were sitting we couldn't even see this little girl play, she was hidden behind the piano, and her legs were too short to be seen on the bench. If you know pianos, you know baby grands are pretty spendy. A quick google search told me they were between $8,000-$20,000. That's a mighty nice piano to be playing something as simple as Old McDonald. And I bet if you asked the little girl how much the piano is worth she would have no idea. At that age she might not even comprehend how much money $15,000 is. She would probably be stunned and wide eyed. As I was listening to Old McDonald I was thinking of the great composers like Motzart and Beethoven and the complex pieces they wrote. I was struck with the thought that this is how some of us use our lives. Instead of putting in the work, and the effort to play complex pieces we settle for the mundane, easy Old McDonalds. Just like that piano was made to play great music, we wee created to do great things. True, we can get by just doing things that are easy, but if we put in the discipline of learning, and failing, and trying we can achieve far better than Old McDonald. 

Homosexuality, sin, and God's grace

By God's law I am a lot of things. A liar, an adulterer, a glutton, a thief, and I'm sure the list could go on. I've don't many things that make me worthy of eternal damnation. But, by no doing of my own, Christ came to earth as a child and lived the life I could not live, so that I would have the opportunity to spend eternity with Him. Now, by God's grace I am none of those things. I am a child of the most high God. The one and only God.

It seems that a lot of Christian theology has focused on homosexuality, and that if homosexuals are to be saved they must be heterosexuals. I would not take that position. That would be like saying a glutton can no longer eat or a liar no longer talk. It would be a very quiet world as we all starved to death. No, I think the only thing a homosexual ( or heterosexual for that matter) has to do to be saved is accept God's gift of grace and forgiveness. And they, just like me, will become a child of the most high God. Then they begin their walk with Christ. They(we) work out our salvation with fear and trembling. The Holy Spirit guides us, leads us, and comforts us. The Holy Spirit convicts us of sin and leads us to repentance. I do believe the Bible lays out that homosexual sex is a sin. As is any sex outside of marriage. Or lying. Stealing. Gluttony. Etc... The Holy Spirit leads us each in our lives, and that's why there are some differing beliefs within the evangelical Church, but the basics are agreed upon. Our sin. Our repentance. God's forgiveness. Just as I am no longer an adulterer, liar, glutton, or thief, a homosexual is no longer to be thought of as a homosexual, but as a child of God. Though they may identify with the LGBT community, that is not who they are. Much like a Christian attending AA meetings. If they have repented they are God's child. We all like to be around people we can relate to. I have nothing in common with bull riders who listen to country music. Except we are both alive and breathing. Our conversation would be pretty short. But a football fan? A runner? We could talk for hours. 

I feel like I am getting wordy and sidetracked. Everyone is able to be brought into the family of God. And when we are our behaviors and desires change. This is not to say a homosexual becomes a heterosexual. But I believe the Holy Spirit will be their strength to see them through the trying times of life, just as He does for all believers. 

God wants us to deliver his message of love, life, and hope. Not to send messages of hate. We are to follow Jesus' example. And I don't think Jesus ever shouted to people how much he hated them. He was maybe close with the religious leaders who were defiling the temple, but I would say that wasn't even a message of hate, but anger at belittling something holy. 

Let's share God's message of forgiveness. Especially this time of year when we celebrate the birth of our savior. It's a great time to be thankful and share that thankfulness with others.

Merry Christmas! Christ was born for you.

Grounded

You remember when you were little and the only thing you wanted to do was watch cartoons, read a book, ride your bike, or whatever your favorite activity was? I was a teenager around the time the internet was getting popular, and one of my favorite things to do was login to Yahoo! games and play cribbage or pool. I could play those games for hours on end. Looking back, it was a great waste of time since it did not improve my skill at either game. If I wasn't doing that, I would play some other game, football, racing, etc...but I mostly spent my at home time playing games on the computer. Then, whenever I would get into trouble (which wasn't much) and I would get grounded. Ugh. That was the worst. "No computer for two weeks!" It was almost certainly a death sentence. How would all those other online cribbage players make it if I wasn't there to play with them? Oddly enough, at this point in my life I would love to be able to turn off all the electronic gadgets in my life for two weeks and take a break. 

Since I have grown up a bit in the past ten years, however marginally that may be, I have grown to have other interests besides playing games on the computer. (candy crush doesn't count, does it?) in the last two years I have really grown to enjoy running. I only started as a way to lose weight and get into the USAF. I ran pretty consistently for 5-6 months, shed 25lbs with the help of food control and weight lifting, and I even ran some 5k and 10k races. That was a huge accomplishment for me, considering when I started to run I couldn't make one lap around the indoor track and the local YMCA, which I think is 1/14 of a mile. As life had it, joining the military, moving a bunch, and being very busy I didn't prioritize running and didn't do much for 10 months. Then I saw an advertisement for a half marathon on the base I work on and thought that was the perfect inspiration to get going again. I halfheartedly trained and managed to get through the race. After finishing I told Allyson there is no way I would ever want to run farther than 13.1 miles. 

It so happened that Allyson met a nice lady who was cheering on her husband at the half marathon, and the two found they had lots in common. And, also that her husband wanted a running buddy to do some longer runs with. I said I would give it a try, not knowing what 'longer runs' meant exactly. We started with a 7 miler. Not too bad. It was a couple weeks post race and I hadn't run much, but if made it. Come to find out my new found running buddy had a few marathons under his belt. Eight actually. He said would like to do another as well. I knew I was in trouble. We continued running together and made it back to 13 mile runs when talk of the Paris marathon came up. Long story short, we both signed up, along with another friend of mine. 

Race day came, and I was feeling excited. Like I had just opened that new computer game to play. "What would it be like?" "Will I make my goal time?" "Will I get hurt?" "Cramp?" And off we go. I felt great the first 16 miles. And then I stopped feeling good. The last 8 miles were terrible. Way over my projected time. So much so that my running buddy was getting worried about me. But I finished, got my medal and told myself that was all I needed. A little less than a week later, after I had promised not to do another marathon, a curious thing happened...I felt a twinge. "I could do better." And me and my other running pal decided to sign up for another marathon. After some more bad race prep I finished even slower than the last time. And to make matters worse, it was a night marathon and I didn't finish until midnight. I was beat. Sworn off marathons. In fact I even took a couple months off running. 

But I couldn't shake it. "I can do better." And I started training again. Miraculously, up to this point I had not been injured at all. I started some intense training. And I was "gettin' it" in training. I was running faster, more miles, and loving it. I did a 15 mile run and had one of my best paces. Then I came home and hobbled around the house for a day. I haven't run since. That was two months ago come Sunday. And Sunday was supposed to be marathon #3. Not happening. All I want to do is go for a run. A nice 10 miler. I don't know what it is about 10 miles, but it's a magical distance. It's empowering. 

Instead of running I have signed up for races. In hopes that one day I will run again. I feel like I am once again grounded from my favorite activity. "How will I survive without a run today?" Somehow I've made it. But my mood is a little more dim. You see, running started as a way to get in shape. And I do still use it for that. But it's also become more. It's become my way to de-stress. It's how I slow my mind down. Running the trails is when I plan my future. When I pray. When I connect with God. It's become my definition. It's who I am. I am a runner. And sometime soon, I will be back at it, running with a vengeance. 

The magic of Christmas

There is a jolly ol' Saint Nick who has no greater pleasure in the world than to deliver toys and gifts to children all over the world. And his little elf helpers are giddy with delight at the opportunity to help him in any way that they can. 

At least this is what some people think is the magic of Christmas. Or perhaps they take the mythical people put of the equation and boil it down to giving. That is somewhat closer. 

My wife and I have decided that we are not going to present Saint Nick to our child as part of Christmas. Not because it's a bad story. But we feel it takes away from the importance of the day. This time of the year is not about the things that we want, or even the things we want to give. To minimize it in that way is a prominent tragedy in our society. 

So then what is the magic of Christmas if not any of the above? In order to understand the magnitude of this holiday we need to understand a couple of things about God first. First is that God is all powerful. He is not one of many, or one of a few. He is THE ONE and only one. He has created everything that is seen and unseen to his glory. Secondly, God is a holy God. There is no blemish in who He is or what He does. Thirdly, (this is actually about humans and not God) we are a sinful people. No one deserves Gods grace. We have all offended a Holy God. 

Now, back to the magic part. (I use that term loosely here) The all powerful and Holy God loves mankind with such a deep compassionate love that he sent His child, Jesus Christ, to the earth, as a man, to fulfill the perfect law of God and take upon himself all of our sin. This is not something that had to be done, nor something we deserved. It is only by Gods love and mercy that He has decided to share this gift with us. 

And so it is at this time of the year we recognize the miracle of Christ being born in order to save us from our sin. That is what we want to impart to our children. That we are sinners that need to be saved by Gods grace. Yes, we give gifts to one another and to family and friends, but this is not at all the main focus of Christmas. The focus is on Gods extraordinary grace that he has shared with us, which is a very real story.

Addiction vs Disease

I was listening to a radio broadcast today on the Canadian Forces Network about weather Drs in Canada should be allowed to prescribe heroin to severe addicts who cannot kick the habit through other treatment options. It is currently illegal in Canada for Drs to do this. 

One side of the argument said this is good, as heroin is a poison and any heroin addict would like to get free, clean heroin. The other side said that it should be legal because this very select few of heroin addicts cannot get clean any other way. The word disease was thrown in there somewhere too, but I don't remember exactly how.

The question that I had is: Since when is addiction considered a disease? Should it be? Why or why not? 

It seems like this is a very slippery slope. If we consider a heroin addiction (or alcohol or any addiction) a disease so we can provide clean heroin to addicts, where does the line get drawn? Tobacco is also addictive, or at least the nicotine is. Should we then hand out cigarettes to those who are severely addicted to smoking to help them stop? Or what about caffeine? Or sugar? Where does the line get drawn, and who decides? 

I've always thought a disease was a genetic disorder that in some way harms the body. I am thinking of MS, cancer, etc... And if we decide that heroin, ( or alcohol or any addiction) is genetic, then addiction is obsolete and anyone can claim that they are pre disposed to these addictions. 

Love

In 1 Corinthians 12 Paul talks about spiritual gifts. We all have gifts and we are all a part of the same body. It is important that we realize none of these gifts are more important than another. They all have importance and they all have their place. They are all still relevant until we find ourselves in heaven with Jesus Christ. Paul places great importance on these spiritual gifts, but he places even more importance on love in the next chapter. All those things are great, Paul says, but without love it is all meaningless. If we as Christians don't interact with people in love, they will have no interest in what we have to say. 

I have seen no where in scripture where anyone went up to non believers and told them God hates them. That's probably because that is completely opposite of the Truth. God loves everyone exactly as they are right now. He only wants them to come to know His saving grace. God will lead them from there. Each of us have a different function in the body. We all come from different backgrounds, with a different purpose in life. When we go to people in judgement we are stripping them of their God given purpose. God never ordered us to go and judge the world, He said to go and make disciples. 

Paris Marathon

The first thing to say about France: their food is much better than German food. I'm not much of a pork person, however, bread, cheese, and chicken? Sign me up.

We left for Paris early Saturday morning. Our plan was to check into our hotel near Disney Paris and then take the train into the expo and do some touring. Unfortunately our room wasn't ready at 11:30am when we showed up to the hotel, so we didn't get to check in first. So off to the train station we went. But before that we stopped at a little mall where we had to buy some baby wipes, since we forgot to pack some. (how?) And we had a little lunch. It was delicious.

 Me & Marty

We bought our two day train tickets and hopped aboard. It was about a forty-five minute, or hour ride to the expo. Thankfully when we showed up the line was very, very short. Like no waiting short. Rarely happens in a race with 40,000+ participants.

Marty, Brian, Me & Madi

This was us arriving at the expo. It was very big. The biggest expo I have ever been to by far. However, also the biggest race I have ever been in as well.

Packet pick up next to our goal times. Brian just about nailed it, running a 4:16. Marty(5:32) and I(4:44) on the other hand didn't quite make it. But for our first marathon we were happy that we finished. This was Brian's 10th marathon. He is much more experienced in this than we are. 

This is how the expo looked. Crowded explains the weekend well. A lot of cool booths at the expo. Cliff Bar was there, however they cannot sell any bars in France, so all we could get was a little sample. It really made me miss the White Chocolate Macadamia bar. We hung out at the expo for an hour or so and gathered lots of brochures for upcoming marathons. 

Future proof that Madi was in Paris. We didn't go up in the tower due to time constraints. I don't think Madi would have liked waiting around that much. She did do a very good job on her first trip though. She mostly slept, and cried only when she was ready to eat. 

Nailed it.

Marty & Emily

Marty and his wife bought locks for us to put on the bridge of locks. I'm not sure the real name for it. Now our love is forever locked in Paris....I guess. :-)

I was mildly jealous.

Race morning. I do not think I had a good enough breakfast. I intended to have my usual eggs and toast, however we forgot to bring eggs. I had a banana instead. I think that was part of my problem. We were pretty excited at this point. We left the hotel around 6:45am and race start was at 8:45 am. Or so we thought.

Waiting around at the start. Marty and I got in line for the bathroom while Brian dropped off our bags at the finish. We didn't think we would see him again until the end at our meet up point, but a little while later while we were walking to the starting line Marty and Brian almost ran into each other. It was kinda funny considering how many people were there. 

Walking to the start line.

Excited for a little longer. 

Brian and I started in the 4:15 goal area, and Marty started behind us in the 4:30 goal area. The starting areas were fenced off with only one little opening. We were pretty sure that we were going to miss the start, however we ended up waiting for about an hour and a half to start after the first group started. The winner finished in just over 2hrs, or, about the time we hit the 5km mark. The amount of clothes left at the start was crazy. It was pretty chilly in the morning, and then by the time the race started people had begun to shed layers. The first 6-8mi had lots of jackets, shirts, gloves, and hats laying next to the road. 

This was the view I had of Brian most of the race. We ran together the first 15mi and then I started to slow down and I waved Brian off and he left me in the dust. I was right on pace through the first half(2:04) but after mile 20 I began to wonder why I signed up for this.

Entertainment along the route. About every few miles there was some sort of band playing music.

It was this crowded the entire time. 

This was somewhere around mile 22. I think because of my lack of breakfast, or lack of training I couldn't push on past mile 20. I ran/walked the last 6.2. And the gels I was taking were starting to make my stomach hurt. I also probably didn't drink enough water. I learned a lot about how to prepare for a race and how to actually race. 

The proof that I did actually make it! Oh yeah, the spectators. The first half of the race was great. It was right through town and there were a ton of people cheering. After about mile 16 it was very sporadic. We ran through a couple parks and on some roads where it must have been inconvenient to get to. I think that made it a little more difficult as well. One cool thing about the bibs is that our first name was printed on them. Occasionally I would hear people actually say my name and shout encouragement. That was pretty neat I thought. Maybe its normal for names to be on bibs in larger races. 

Madi and I at the pool afterwards. The lady folk met us not long after we Marty finished and we jumped on the train and headed back. They also brought us Chipotle. It was probably the best part of the day. I could have eaten two more burritos, but I sufficed with one. The hot tub was a great way to relax. Marty and I really needed it. 

A different Notre Dame. It is smaller than the popular one. It was pretty neat to tour. We did this on Monday on our way home. 

Ally and I got a candle to light and said a prayer of thanks. It was a neat experience. I believe that this specific church was built sometime around 1220. 

The smiling angel. 

After touring the church we went across town (Reims) to tour Taittinger Champagne. In the cellar we toured they store 3 million bottles of Champagne. It ages anywhere from 3-10years before being sold. They have another cellar downtown that stores 18 million bottles of Champagne. 

 I don't think it was this part of the cellar, but in one of the storage areas they had 72,000 bottles. They are all stacked by hand and it took 2 weeks to do that one area. It seems a little daunting to me.

When Madi turns 21 we are going to get her a bottle to celebrate. Hopefully we will not forget. It was actually pretty good Champagne. And I don't usually like Champagne. 

We thought we should have at least one group photo from the weekend. All in all it was a great weekend. I told Marty that we have two more Paris Marathons we can run before we both move. It seems like a pretty good annual tradition. 

He lives

"Our Redeemer lives..." I was singing the chorus in church this morning, like every other Sunday. I was a little distracted this week, so I was mostly just singing, not really worshipping. I realized this, and then I started thinking about the huge impact this line has. Our Redeemer lives.... The Muslims worship a god, and fight for and kill for a god that is dead. He can't do anything. He doesn't hear their prayers, or send angels to care for them. He doesn't even know their name. The Hindus go to their temple in the morning before they do anything, even shower, in order to offer a sacrifice to their god so that he won't be angry with them. Their god is made out of wood. Or snakes. Or any concoction of crazy images. Their god is not alive. He doesn't care about them. Hindus think their gods will destroy them if they don't appease them. They serve their god out of fear for their life. Buddhists are much the same. They think the more impoverished they live in this life, the greater their next life will be. But their god is not alive. He can't care for them. My God can. He is alive! He's ALIVE! He does know my name. In fact He knew everything about me before I existed. His thoughts towards me are more numerous than the sand on the seashore. He cares about me. He loves me. He is living & active. He encompasses the whole world. He sees all & hears all. I am important to Him. He wants good things for me. I don't have to appease Him. He is not just a statue. He is real. And He loves us! If I was a little more charismatic, or a little less laid back I would have started dancing around the church. How exciting is that news! Our Redeemer lives! That's one thing Christianity has that no other religion has. A living, breathing God. How incredible. Take time today to worship Him.

Forgot to mention

In my haste to write a new blog post I forgot to mention the most exciting news of the year yet. Shortly after we moved to Germany we found out we will be having a baby! We are quite excited to become parents. Allyson has been busy finding out what types of things we need and what brands are best, according to other peoples opinions. I listen and smile and say, "sounds good babe." I hope we don't end up with too much stuff. But, that's usually the case. It still hasn't quite hit me that we will have a little one soon. I am probably going to get a reality check one day. But Allyson isn't really showing very much, and aside from the few things we have gotten already, not much has changed. Except ally's frequent use of the bathroom. If I thought she used the bathroom a lot before, she's in there all the time now. Ok...not ALL the time, just a lot. :-) February 20th is supposed to be the big day. No valentines day in Paris this year!

We are spending Labor Day weekend in Brussels. We have made friends with another couple, and they are coming with us.  Jake is a Crew Chief, which means he walks around kicks tires to make sure everything is ok with the aircraft. Not really, but that's the joke. Crew Chiefs kind of do a little bit of everything. I believe their say is, "a jack of all trades but a master of none." We all get along well. His wife, Elyse, and Allyson have really hit it off. It's nice to have a good 'couples' friend. It looks to be a very good weekend!

A new way of life

In the last thirteen months we have definitely started a new way of living life. Air Force boot camp from September-November started it all off. Being away from Allyson for those 8.5 weeks was terrible.  Hasty 30min phone calls every Sunday didn't quite do us justice. It was just enough time to ensure that we were both still alive and well. Upon BMT graduation we moved to Biloxi, MS where I started classes on electronics. That was a whole new world to me. I didnt know anything about current and voltage and resistance. The learning curve was steep. (it still is) we enjoyed Mississippi quite a bit. Allyson had an apartment right across the street from the beach, unfortunately I had to live on base I the dorms. But I was only there as much as they made me. Those 10 weeks were filled with early morning PT sessions(4:45am) and early nights going to bed. However, we managed to find time to go to New Orleans and Hattiesburg. From Mississippi we went on to Wichita Falls, Texas, which I came to call the sphincter of America. We didn't really enjoy the few months we were there. But we made the best of it. The Dallas and Oaklahoma City zoo were our favorite attractions there. We then got the word that Germany was where we would be stationed. We were very excited about that. We only had heard how hard it was to get stationed overseas, so we didn't really think it would happen. We have been here for a couple months now. I think we have found a groove, finally. But it's a tough transition. Nothing is convenient over here. And it always seems like we need something. We are planning our first out-of-Germany trip this weekend. We will be spending a couple nights in Brussels with some friends of ours. It'll be a nice little getaway. 
This is just a short, short summary of what life has been like. Maybe I'll get more into it another time, but if not,too bad. Just my re-intro back to blogging. 

Priority: God

Sometimes I hear events happening in other peoples lives and wonder how they can be so ridiculous as to let these things happen. I wonder how they can be so naive and wasteful. Or so incompetent. I heard about some people the other night that made me say that to myself. Now I sit here and wonder, what is it that I do that makes people say that? Honestly, I feel I have a well balanced life. Maybe a little on the busy side at times. I get out enough, and I rest enough. I eat well most of the time, and exercise. I spend time with my wife, and I spend time with friends, and sometimes I spend time alone. I read my Bible and pray. I am involved in some things, but not over committed. There is always things that can be tweaked, but mostly, I think I am doing well.

Matthew 6:33 "Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need."

Maybe you aren't feeling balanced. Maybe life is out of whack. Spend more time in the Word. Seek God. Seek the things that God seeks. Prioritize God. Turn of the TV. Turn off the cell phone. Turn off the video games. Tell your husband/wife/family that you will talk to them after you spend time with God. You see, we can worry all we want. But when we fix our eyes on Christ, the things of this world grow dim. It might seem like a big task to sell your house, pay your bills, have peace in the family, love your spouse, etc... but not when you put God where he belongs. He goes first, family is second. He goes first, hobbies are second. He goes first, exercise goes second. Put God first and you won't have to worry about your 401k, your monthly bills, food, etc...because Christ will give you what you need.

Yes you need to pay bills, you need to spend time with your family/spouse/friends, you need a hobby, you need to exercise. Those are not bad things. But when God is your first priority the rest fall into place.

Who, or what is your priority? Video games? Exercise? Cell phone? TV? Make God your priority and your life will have peace.

Stalled

As I was reading in the book "Plan B" yesterday, I figured I had gotten the jist of the book, and not much more would surprise me. After all, I was in the 2nd to last chapter, what could be left? As it turns out there was more for me to learn. Pete Wilson mention a book called, "The Critical Journey: Stages in the Life of Faith" Now, understand I am not really a fan of, "follow these steps and God will do..." because that is not the way life works, no matter how much we want it to. But this book seems to be more about assessing your spiritual walk to see what needs to be worked on. And books can be a valuable tool in doing so.

 As Wilson started going through the stages I was trying to guess about which one I would fall into. I guessed there wouldn't be too many, after all we like to break things down into 3's or 4's, so when I read that stage four was "The Journey Inward" I said AHA! this must be the stage I am at! And I felt pretty good about that. After you have recognized that you are in need of a Savior, have been discipled, and done outreaches or other 'good' things, then you begin to look deeper into your life. So I was quite sure this was my spot. To my dismay the next sentence was something like this, "And this is where many Christian stall." Crap. Alas, there were more than 4 stages. I read on and tried to convince myself I was at stage 5 or 6, because there is no way I was a "stalled" Christian. But as I continued to think about it, and no matter how much I wanted to be on a later stage, I settled that stage 4 was a good assessment of where I was.

Stage 5 and 6 are "The Journey Outward" and "The Life of Love". But something is supposed to happen in-between stages 4 and 5 that perhaps isn't happening, and that's where many Christians get stalled. Don't worry about which stage you may or may not be on, that is not really what is of importance. Pete goes on to say(and maybe int he book too, I haven't read it yet.) that in-between stage 4 and 5 there is a transformation that takes place. I would guess that most of you, like me, are comfortable with how you live your life. You don't want to change anything. Or maybe you just don't know what to change. I see this part of the journey as being where 'the rubber meets the road'. Will our everyday life reflect how important Christ really is? Will the way we do business, our actions,  & our words leave a pleasant aroma? What will our spending habits say about us? What will our planner say about us? Are we actually going to give God the place he deserves in our life?

I think its all too easy to get stuck in this spot. God ends up getting the back burner. We get embarrassed to say that we aren't going somewhere, or aren't doing something because we believe God has called us to a higher standard. We don't want people to think we are crazy, or weird. Or, heaven forbid, actually letting our beliefs dictate how we live!

I plan on reading this book when I can get my hands on it. Not so I can work through the stages, because that is not what life is about. Its not a spiritual ladder we have to climb. Its just a tool to use to assess our lives and have the Lord look into our heart and see what needs fixin'.

What about you? Are you stalled? Are you shying away from God because of unexpected events? Pain? Have you even acknowledged you need a savior? Have you started down the discipleship path? Where are you & where are you headed?

1 Thessalonians

I was reading this book last night and not really getting much out of it. And then after chapter 3 I kinda felt like I was reading someones mail. Those first chapters were all about how thankful Paul, Timothy, and Silas were for the church in Thessalonika(?) And why were they thankful for them? Well they were living life and doing everything they could to obey Christs' teachings. They were working hard and being honest. They weren't giving in to sin. They were resisting. They were doing well. They didn't all turn into evangelists, prophets, teachers, etc...they were just doing their work. And they were giving God praise. And Paul was urging them to do so more and more. Continue to grow. Continue to love God. Continue to resist sin. And look forward to when Christ will return from heaven to take us to be with Him. At first I wasn't getting much out of Thessalonians, but as it sank in I began to realize that this is what life is all about. We build our lives on the principles set forth by God, and then continue in them. Live life, love God, love His principles, work to adhere to them, and look forward to eternity with God. Life will happen. We will have our share of "Plan B's", but continue to be faithful to God. Be faithful to his decrees. He will comfort you and He will guide you. It's not our job to make things happen. It's our job to be faithful and follow Christ. Just like the church in Thessalonika.

Connecting

I love connecting with friends I haven't talked to in a while. Its so nice to chat and catch up. I got to have lunch with Jamie today. It was great. I hadn't seen him since our wedding. That is a friendship I will cherish the rest of my life.

I heard a great radio broadcast the other day. I believe it was Chip Ingram. He was talking about how we as Christians put our salvation on ourselves. We wouldn't actually come out and say it, but with our actions and how we think, that is what we believe. We get caught up in having to read our Bible, or having to pray, or having to go to church; that we forget that our salvation is in Christ's grace & mercy. You don't have to read the Bible, you don't have to pray, and you don't have to go to church. Those are things we ought to do, but we don't have to do them. Doing those things does not make you a better Christian. Doing those things doesn't mean that God owes you anything. Its funny, sometimes we'll (sorry for switching tenses so much) feel like God HAS to bless us, or give us this promotion, or sell our house, or etc... because we pray and read our Bible and go to church. But truth is, He doesn't. God owes us nothing and we owe Him everything. We ought to read our Bibles because that is one of the ways God has chosen to reveal Himself to us. And as a created being who loves his Creator, it makes sense to want to get to know Him better. We ought to pray because God loves to listen to us. Whether we are happy, sad, depressed, joyful, or anything else, He loves listening to us and talking to us. We ought to go to church because its beneficial for our spiritual walk to be around like minded individuals and to to listen to Godly sermons. The Bible also tells us in Hebrews "not to forsake the gathering of the saints". But none of those things will save us and get us to heaven. That can only be done through Jesus Christ.

I'm in.

Well, after a long wait lots of paperwork and more waiting I am finally a part of the US Air Force. Allyson and I are very excited for the adventures that lie ahead. Next ahead for us is more waiting. (suprise suprise) I will be lined up with a job sometime and then I will be given a departure date. I'm guessing sometime around September-October, however it could always be sooner or later. I would imagine that October would be a nice time to be in San Antonio. The current forecast looks a little to warm to be doing drills.

I have already been scoping out military discounts. Some of which I am pretty excited about. Like free pizza at papa murphys. Wherever we end up, I hope there is one close by.

Next thing on the list that would be nice to have out of the way is the house. It would be good to not have to think about it anymore. I believe that the Lord has called us into the Air Force, and so I believe he will work things out for us. Which is sort of what I have been studying about.

Abraham is the only person in the Bible referenced as a 'friend of God'. King David was a man after Gods heart, but that doesn't mean they were friends. If I met someone who loved football, and golfing, and grilling brats I would consider that a person after my own heart. However, we could have conflicting personalities. And I think Davids personality kept him from being a friend of God. Abraham was obedient to Gods call on his life. He left his family, friends, and wealth and started the adventure God called him on. He believed God when he was told he would have a child in his old age. When I read Abraham's story it seems to me that his every response is 'yes Lord'. He doesn't get in to asking about all the details(not every time anyway). He is just faithful and believes that the Lord will take care of him as he is obedient to what the Lord tells him to do. And I think that is what makes him a friend of God. And that's what I want to be as well. I want to follow the Lords plan for my life and believe He will take care of me no matter what I am doing and where I am going. Even if the road seems tough.

Idle Talk

I was listening to the local Christian radio station the other day, and someone on one of the shows made a brief comment about how people these days are making light of everything with sarcastic comments and jokes and not taking life more seriously. It didn't take me but a moment to agree with her. Things that should be taken seriously seem to be blown off with a "that sucks" or "too bad for them" or something along those lines. We ( I ) tend to be far to flippent over things that should be taken more serious. Not that I actually mean it, I just like to make jokes and keep the mood light. However, there are topics that ought not to be made light of. There are happenings in the world that grieve the heart of God. Injustice, famine, poverty, slavery, etc... these are not things that should be passed over so flippently. All of this is prefaced with what the mens group at church is doing their current study on; The Fear of the Lord. It has been such a great study about how we need to keep the Fear of the Lord alive and healthy in our lives. I've been thinking about that such thing and how I can/need to better implament the Fear of the Lord in my life. *insert radio comment* Then, on Sunday I decided to flip open my Bible and read a little before service began. Not out of any habit or anything, its just that none of my friends were in church Sunday and Ally was talking to someone so I thought I'd pass a few minutes reading. I happened to read John chapter 7. Now, remember I'm having these thoughts about not being so sarcastic and trying to be more serious about serious things. And growing the Fear of the Lord in my life. Nothing was really sticking out too much, and then I happened to make it all the way to verses 25-27.

Some of the people who lived in Jerusalem started to ask each other, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill? ²⁶ But here he is, speaking in public, and they say nothing to him. Could our leaders possibly believe that he is the Messiah? ²⁷ But how could he be? For we know where this man comes from. When the Messiah comes, he will simply appear; no one will know where he comes from.”

I was stunned. I got this picture of a few friends hanging out together, just taking it easy, having 'fun' when this conversation begins. They are so flippent about the situation without any fear of the Lord in their lives. They reduce Jesus to a common man simply because 'they know where he comes from'.

I don't want to be like these guys.

Almost there

Well, everything in Fargo went well! I scored an 87 on the ASVAB which is better than I was thinking I would do. I was relieved when that was done. Trying to remember highschool math was a bit harder than I thought it would be, but I guess I did good. Everything was normal on my physical too. Though I found out I have flat feet. I still have about a month before I can swear in because of a tube I had in my ear back in December. I think I'll be headed back up to Fargo around June 6th. Can't wait!

Survived

Well, another tax season is over and done with. Its nice to slow down a little. Working a million miles an hour was getting old.

I don't remember where I was with weight last time I posted, but I made weight last week! I weighed in with my recruiter at 202lbs. That was a really nice feeling! I've been able to eat a little more than before now, but still have to be careful. Tomorrow I head to Fargo to take the ASVAB and my physical on Thursday. I am actually pretty excited! It feels like its been a long time in the making. Then I have to wait 45 days or less for the Surgeon General to approve my paperwork (because of the plates in my jaw) and then I can go in and take my oath, hopefully sometime around the end or middle of May. Then its just a waiting game. They will line me up with a job and send me off. I could be gone as early as June or as late at October. Depends on how picky I want to be.

On a side note I made an 8 mile run on Sunday. Thats the longest run I've done yet. It felt really good! Had my knee not bothered me so much I might have tried to go a little farther.

Things that have been on my mind.

I followed the Egypt protests fairly faithfully. I thought it was great to see the people win and get waht they wanted. It made me think that if people in America REALLY didn't want something to happen, that we could do the same thing. But we're probably either too lazy or too apathetic do protest for 18 days. If we have to say we want something to change more than once, we probably won't do it. Kudos to the Egyption people who cared enough about their country to make something happen.

Kind of on the same note; Mexico. I heard a story a few weeks back about two police officers who had been captured and be-headed, and then the entire department just quit. It disturbed me and made me quite angry. What would we think if something like that happened in Alexandria? Would we just let the police officers quit? I don't understand why Mexico, or some other nation (the U.S.) isn't more direct in eliminating the drug cartel. Instead of hiding and quitting and being afraid, go after them. I'm sure they know who the big boys are...take care of them. And by that I mean kill them. I'm probably oversimplafying things some, but come on. Over 10,000 people were killed in Mexico last year because of drug related violence. Be a little more aggressive.

Losing weight can be difficult. Proper eating goes a long way in helping that. I was doing very well, I was down to 206, a mere 3lbs from my goal. Then I went on a 5 day mission trip and I gained some weight ( I won't tell you how much) but I am now back to 209lbs. I should be able to go weigh in with my recruiter sometime this month, and maybe(hopefully) get to MEPS to take my physical. As the days pass it starts to feel more real.

Selling a house is probably hard. Ours has only been on the market for a week, but no lookers. It only takes one buyer. I am fully confident that we are in God's will and therefore He will take care of us. Whether its the house selling or somehow having it ready for renters.

I am almost halway through my half marathon training. It has been great. It's nice to see the progress from when I first started running in November. I could hardly run around the track twice(13.5 times makes a mile), this week my long run will be 6 miles, or 81 laps. I feel much better through out the day when I run in the morning. Which makes rest days difficult, though neccesary. On the same note I am planning on doing a half marathon on May 1st in Grand Marais. And another May 14th in Alexandria. Not long after I will (hopefully) be off to BMT.

Plan of action

I've decided to eat carrots and pea pods with the occasional power bar until I reach my goal. I've been having too many 'little treats' here and there, or a meal here and there that I shouldn't. I need to be a little more strict with myself, at least for a while. A week or two should get me pretty close. Maybe I'll through in some spinach leafs too.

It's kind of nice and re-assuring to know that God is bigger than me and his plan is greater than I am. It's nice to know that HE knows where and what I'll be doing, and when. At times I've felt like I have 'missed' God. Not gone where I should have, not listened when I should have, or something along those lines. And maybe some of that is true. But God knows. If we miss something He has for us, He doesn't give up on our future. I feel that God has prepared me for this time. The military is not known to be a place where Christians dominate the discussion, but rather the place where Christians fail to step up to the plate. I don't want that to happen. For the past two and a half months I have been preparing myself physically, and will continue to do so up until the day I leave for training. But, I got to thinking last week that I need to start preparing my soul as well. If I had done nothing to physically prepare myself, I would most certainly fail. The same goes spiritually. If I don't prepare myself, I will fail. I need to be in the word, praying, fasting, etc..preparing myself to stand up for Christianity. What that means, time will only tell. Maybe it's listening to someone, not doing what other people do...etc..who knows. But I do know that God has prepared me for what is next. Through all the good and bad times in my life, through the people who have mentored me and the leadership practice I have had, I am ready.