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Clarity

Jacks Fork River Trip

Went Canoeing this weekend with some friends...
Eminence, MO...Population of about 500...In the middle of nowhere Missouri. I am starting to get used to the new camera...but please bear with me as I am still a n00b.
Here are two of my favorite pics that kinda sum up the weekend:
Simply beautiful:



A flash from a simpler time:

Warp Speed Captain!

Everything

Continued...
Doing nothing is a choice, and when used in moderation it can be a good thing.
We all need to unplug at one time or another (not just from the 'net). It is good for the soul and besides that, God tells us to do it so 'nuff said.

But then there is doing something. What are you doing? Are you doing enough? Too little? Working to the bone? Making lots of $$$? Building a house? Going to school? Laying around?

I think that there is truth in that HOW+WHY > WHAT+WHEN. Huh?
As a Christian, I have found that How I go about a task and Why I go about doing it is much more important (to me) than the What or When.
The What and When I speak about is in terms of business. It is, when one breaks it down, one of the essential business principles: Right place, right time (I leave out "right product" because I have been known to be lazy and it doesn't fit in to today's montage).
When I started in business, I wanted that perfect placement...right place, right time...I was willing to do just about anything to get it...chasing the dream, right? Provide for my family, put your head down and go...it doesn't matter what the cost...as long as you are moving ahead...

Long story short, I chased it for a bit, almost lost a marriage, weirded out my heart and realized that yes, God does answer prayers....and brings you close to Him, whether you are ready for it or not.
(Ask me about praying for responsibility and being a bull later)

Anyways, suffice it to say I have learned a lot about myself and God in the past few years..still learning, but at least I know my thumbs from my pinkies, most of the time.

Back to the How and Why..I have learned over the years, that I don't really put half a heart into anything. When I choose to do something, I go full tilt (I know a lot of people like this). I usually forget about the brakes and just hit the gas.
But I have found that I can go full bore for the right reasons, and work toward the right purposes to make a difference. I have found that by going about my tasks with God in my heart helps to guide my path...that I can put my head down and go full bore and not be knocked off the correct course.
Choosing the "Hows" and "Whys" of the tasks take care of the "Whats" and the "Whens". These are things that I do not have to worry about. God takes care of them and puts me exactly where I need to be, when I need to be there.
He may not place me there when I want, but he is never late.

More later, I have bored you enough...

Nothing

For the past 2.5 years, I have rarely taken a moment to breathe. Between school, work, spending time with KT and working with the youth my time has been taken...even before I could schedule something...This weekend has been the first time that I have forced myself to do, well, nothing. It is hard. I take after my father in that respect...always moving.

I am actually appreciative of doing nothing for a day or two. I feel that it has given me perspective on two things (a lot more really, but two things come to mind right now).
First, it gives me perspective on perspective. Funny huh. People tend to get busy. As we get busier, it becomes normal. We tend to just pile more stuff on and accept it as our normal pace. In terms of motion, it actually has a name.

Velocitation:
A verb meaning to become "speed blind". After traveling at what initially feels like high speed for a while (typically in a car), your brain become accustomed to how fast everything rushes past, so that it no longer looks fast. This leads you to subconsciously underestimate your speed. When you slow down to "normal" speed, it feels like you're barely moving.

How fast are you moving?

Who knows what Exodus 20:8-11 says? It's the 4th commandment. Care to take a stab? It comes before Thou shall not murder, adultery, steal...
It is To remember the Sabbath. To take a rest, to recharge...to do no work.
(I think that there is a provision for those in ministry that they can substitute another day, unspoken of course :-D ).
We forget about this one, but God found it to be so important, He put it right after Himself, before He talked about how to deal with other people. Mind you, the 10 Commandments are more for our good than His, if this commandment is second only to God, He must see it as an important thing.
Take a day off. Enjoy it. In today's world, unplugging is tough, near impossible, but ENTIRELY NEEDED.
Smell the roses...Ferris Bueller had some pretty good wisdom, granted God came up with it first.

The second thing that I realized, is that I don't like sitting around. I am happiest when I am moving...just maybe not that fast. I think that in their heart of hearts, everyone wants to be productive...positive...to leave an impression.
People talk of legacies, about leaving behind an imprint...a foot print, a hand print, a way for the world to remember them by. I don't know if I am content with that.
People talk of what they can leave their family, what stuff they can impart to their loved ones...problem is that whether they know it or not, it's not their stuff to begin with...It's His. Don't agree? Deal with it. You will figure it out sooner or later...but I digress..
I think that more important treasures are what we can impart to others...our knowledge, skills and findings from this life...
Give your time. Give your support. Give. Just give.
I have found through my time serving that I tend to learn just as much, if not more than those that I teach....

Anyways, this is long winded and I am leaving it half finished. I will write more to finish the second half of what I have in this balding bobble-head...

My First Official Weekend

I am kinda excited for this weekend, even though we are not doing anything out of the ordinary. This is the first official weekend of my new schedule. I am thinking that we might catch a movie, but I am actually having a hard time coping with the fact that I have a lot of extra time on my hands. Part of me wants to just sit and do nothing (staring at the wall is always an option), but another part of me is itching to start some projects (Honey-dos, if you will) that are long over do.
The problem is that it is still cold out...
So my HUGE idea is to see if I can convince the better half that it would be a GREAT weekend for a Lord of the Rings or Star Wars marathon...
I will update on my success/failure later.

Be Bold

Ephesians 6:19-20:

Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

Some may understand what this truly means. There are many people in my life that do not understand, do not comprehend and there are many that know, but deny it.

I cannot control anything in my life except for my actions, words and influence.
My prayer tonight is that I can perform my tasks with Christ always forefront in my mind and heart.

Home Stretch

So it is official. One last class. As of yesterday, I am officially Cisco CCENT, CCNA, and CCNA + IINS Sercurity certified...for 3 years, and then I get to take the tests again.
After passing the last test yesterday, I officially began my home stretch (in my own mind) for being done with school.
This is my last week that I will be pressed to have homework done on time, but after that I will only have 1 assignment per week for 10 more weeks. CAKE! (hope that I'm not jinxing myself).

Problem that I noted yesterday though: my body is breaking. I think that my subconscious can sniff the finish line and is starting to offload some of the stress...I woke up this morning having no idea what day it was or what I was doing out of bed at 5am (my normal wake up time). Anyways...weird.

I look forward to subjecting my faithful 1.5 readers (cumulative, round up to 2) to LOTS of rambling.

I haven't even gotten into what my plans are for working with the youth...that is a different post.

To tie all of this craziness together, suffice it to say that I am so very happy to see the light at the end.
BTW had an awesome day yesterday! Not ONLY did I pass the ccna stuff, BUT the Schwann man stopped by! FTW! Dilly bars? oh yeah! But one of my favorites is the bagle dogs...about as close to Portillo's as I will be getting for awhile..truly not even in the sam ball park, but I will take it.

Can't wait.

Officially, 9 more days till I am done with school and Cisco training. Well..not done with school, but down to one single class. It has been a tough 2 years. Not only for me, but for Katie as well.
I am looking forward to a bit of free time to use as I choose. Most likely I will look into some web dev projects (Kustom Kate) and other stuff. Most of all, I think that I need to let my mind rest a bit.

I also have a few ecommerce ideas to figure out for myself...but anyways...
9 more days.

Temporary Setup

Please bear with the changes...I am looking to upgrade/change my blog but I have been unable to decide on a format.

Getting Started.

Today I was reminded of how imperfect we are. I mean that in a good way. I had some really great conversations with the young men in my group about how to deal with conflict amongst friends. We were talking about how to deal with a friend who had let you down or even had done worse.

We talked about how Jesus dealt with denial and betrayal, specifically the example of Peter denying Jesus 3 times prior to the rooster making his call.
First off, Jesus knew it was going to happen beforehand and was still calm about it. How many of us could even think of staying calm at that point...let alone going through with what you have to do without AT LEAST getting slightly irritated about it?

Anyways, it struck true to me. I tend to be overly direct with people to put it politely. In doing so, I tend to come off as a bit brusque with people that do not hold to their end of a bargain or agreement.

I realized that I really need to work on how I handle disappointment and more pointedly, how I can relate my experiences and the lessons that I have learned to other people, in hopes that they might grow without having to experiencing some of the hardships that I have gone through.

Sorry for the semi rambling thoughts...I have more than a few really big points to make, but my brain has not finished processing them yet.

Dusting Off the Cobwebs.

Yeah, blah blah...it's been a LONG time.
Long story, very shortly:
Although it has been a good year, it has been quite trying.
Katie and I are finally plugged into a church home, although not the one that we had chosen or thought that we would end up at. (Once again, I should learn to listen, Lord)

My work has been great and Katie has been working really hard to build up her business!

Quick story about my parents: Remember a year ago, when my dad fell 2 stories and broke his back? Yeah, well he fell again. Almost a year to the day. He broke his hip in three pieces...back on bed rest...3 weeks later my mom was admitted to the hospital with 20% functionality in her heart...not blockage...yikes. She seems to be recovering, but will need to attend her diet and lifestyle in order to stay strong.

Please pray for them as they will need healing.

I have started working with the youth again! Yay! It truly pulled at my heart that I haven't had a place to serve this past year...But I am working with Pastor John and a whole gaggle of others at TCABC. Seems like a great group...it seems like a lifetime since I sat in Pastor Erik's office talking with him. (Miss you guys @ CREW)

School is going well, although at times I think my head is going to esplode! 5 more sessions to go.

Anyways, I gotta call it a night but I have been getting the itch to write...even if no one else reads it anymore!

Upcoming and forthcoming.

Just wanted to warn all like what, -1 followers that I will be blogging again. This is a goal that I have set and I have not been very good about it. Aside from it, I have some things that I have to get off of my heart/chest about what has transpired the last few weeks.
I wil try not to burden all -1 of you with too much, but sometimes I find it easier to write down things rather than explain them in spoken words.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Who are you going to believe?

Who are you going to believe: Me? Or your own eyes?
--Groucho Marx--
Something that you should ask yourself if you are going to follow politics.
Before you believe what you hear from the news or a politician, take a step back and think about what you just heard.

God takes care of the things we don't think about.

Even when we think that we have all the details figured out....God makes takes care of the things that we miss.

Rushing

I am so excited that two of our best friends are coming to visit us here in Broken Arrow...I pray that the weather holds out!

Amazing. Simply Stunning.

Susan Boyle. If you haven't heard her story yet, Google it. This brings tears to my eyes. This woman has an amazing voice!

Susan Boyle on Britain's Got Talent
Uploaded by dwarthy

Local Tulsan Creates Internet Boom - Twitpic

I Live in a Suburb of Coweta

Hehe. Anyone who lives near Tulsa will get a chuckle outta that. Someone laid that line on me this morning at AGCoweta. We had a great time this morning at the get-together breakfast for small groups. The message was about using our gifts that God gave us.

I love the fact the Coweta is growing. I think that the church has a great mission and a great base of people.

I really keep praying for God to show me what I need to be doing down here. Sometimes I feel like I am just floating...I get listless and frustrated with myself because there is only so much motivation that I can put towards school after crazy weeks at work.
After spending the weekend with the Crew up north, I reaffirmed my feelings that I need to be working with the youth. I don't care where or how. I just know that I need to be helping to guide what will be the future of our country, church and nation.
Sometimes God whispers in our ear when He wants us to do something...He has begun to yell it at me. It was the same when I called Pastor Warner at Stone telling him that I needed to help somehow. That's when I met Pastor Erik and the Crew.

I guess I will have to be patient a bit more, but it is getting hard to ignore what I know that I should be doing.