I'm Sorry

To all three of my faithful readers, I have to apologize. I know it has been a long time since I have posted anything, and for that I beg for your forgiveness. I have been a little busy with all that is going on around campus. BGSU is crazy right now, but I love it. Our church has had a great week! A lot of new people are really interested in what we are doing, our first big service is tonight so we will see what happens. I am speaking for a little bit, should be fun. I should probably go figure out what I am going to say. I'll right again soon, I promise.

Go Team Go!!!

What a Team! Our staff team had a retreat this weekend and it reminded me how lucky I am to work with such cool people. We talked business, prayed, laughed, played sports, sung, and much more. It is so cool to work with some of your best friends, not many people can say that. We now have 12 full time staff members at our church! Sounds like a lot but we will need averyone when 6,000 new students come to campus on Thursday. Thinking about the team leaves me with just one question? Do the chickens have large talons? ~Napoleon Dynamite

Reporter

So I was watching T.V. tonight and there was a tribute to Peter Jennings on. It was a really cool show and I really respect him a lot. But, some thing stood out to me. It was the title, which the viewer was reminded of every 15 minutes by the guy with a cool voice. The title was short, simple, and telling- Peter Jennings-Reporter. That was it, and it occurred to me they had one word and one word only to describe this man’s 67 years here on earth, and the word that they came up with was reporter. Now there are certainly many worse words to describe ones life, but at the same time it is really sad to think that his whole life was wrapped up in that title, wrapped up in his work. So that got me thinking what is the one word that describes my life. When it is all said and done what will be my one word description: husband, son, leader, follower, Christian, jerk, liar, or worse? I’m not sure what the word would be right now, and even if I had one it wouldn’t be fair for me to pick it. But, I know some things I don’t want it to be. I don’t want it to be about my job, I love my job, but my life is so much more than work. I don’t want it to be about my wealth, money is temporary. I don’t want it to be about my looks, looks fade like my hair line. I don’t want it to be about my hobbies, they are kinda boring anyway. So what do I want that one word to be? I guess I will spend the rest of my life figuring that out. Because the word comes from how we live not what we say. It comes from putting our faith into action, its that simple.

Break Time

So I like to break stuff. It is true there is nothing that makes me feel more like a man then when I have a crow bar or a sledge hammer in my hand swinging away at a wall. I don�t know what it is about destruction that makes me so content, but getting the chance to take out my aggression on a house, it is priceless. So when my friend and pastor Matt needed help �fixing up� his new house this week I agreed under one condition�anything that needed broken or torn down was my job. So it has been a lot of fun the past few days helping out a friend. I just hope when I get finished the place looks better not worse!

Influence

As I sat in Conklin Hall last night I listened to story after story that Tom had to share. Some of them were funny and others almost made me cry. I just thought to myself, "here is a guy that has given his life to something that matters; something that he really believes in." His words and his faith somehow made mine stronger. He wasn't the most eloquent speaker, although he spoke well; he wasn't the funniest guy I ever met, although I laughed; and he wasn't always that relevant. He is a 50 year old man that has kids my age, so he can't be that cool. But what he said made my wife and I want to change the way we live our lives. Not out of guilt or sympathy, but out of conviction of how life should be lived. He had dedicated his life to helping people find truth, and after 30 years he is going stronger than ever, what an example. He influenced us in a major way, not so much by his words but by his actions.

Then I read Eric's blog this morning. (http://amsterdamasp.blogspot.com/) He posted about his daughter, Olivia, and the health problems she has had since she was born. In her short few years here on earth she has been plagued with hemangioma, a physical deformity. And unfortunately, over the past year instead of disappearing like the doctors have hoped, the large red lump on her forehead has just grown bigger and bigger. Now, you are probably wondering why am I telling you this fact? “I don't even know Eric and his family,” you may be thinking. But what amazes me most about his post on Olivia is not his openness and honesty, not his amazing love for his daughter, but the responses he got.

People from all over the world posted comments about their feelings, and people from all over the world got to read about Eric and Marci's amazing attitude and love for their daughter. From what I hear, because of Eric’s one post about Olivia, hundreds of people are now reading Eric's blog. Why?

It is the power of influence. It is amazing to think of the impact that we have in life without even knowing it. It is even a little scary. That has made me think how do I influence others? Do I make them happier, more reflective, angrier, sadder, do I push them towards God, or do I push them away from God? All this talk about influence has made me think a little harder about the decisions I make, about the words I speak, and the way I use my time. I guess I just want to influence people like Tom and Eric have. That is the ultimate example of influence…. imitation.

Perspective

Hallets is the mountain in the middle. It is the same mountain as in the picture below, but it looks a lot different in this picture. Funny, how where we are in life can change the way things look. When we were up on top of that mountain we had a totally different view of the world, and from down in the city of Estes Park we had another perspective. They were both amazing in their own way, just different. Kinda like life, it makes me think of how differently I have viewed the world at different points in my life. Much of how I view things is based on where I am, not where I am physically, rather where I am spiritually and emotionally. When I am walking closely with God things seem much clear, even more beautiful, and at the risk of sounding clich�, even easier. When I am farther from him everything is just heavier, and a touch more... i guess boring. That makes me realize what Jesus meant when he said, "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." ~John 10:10

Vacation Hike

To be in the mountains again! This is a picture of a recent hike that Sarah and I did when we were in Colorado. It was such a relaxing vacation and such a beautiful hike. This is an up close and personal picture of Hallets peak. Almost 13,000 feet high!