Book of Questions Journal

So a while ago I purchased some material for the students here and one of them caught my eye. It was a questions journal. It has a new question every day, and you take some time to answer it and I thought that I would take a few minutes and answer today's on here.

Q: What is God's will for your life today?

A: God's will for my life today is to be obedient! I need to trust God in all I do! I need to obey him fully. Wednesdays are teh busiest day of my week and I need to get several things done today esspecially with the Poland Trip Sunday Morning Service this coming Sunday. But God's will for my life today is not a to-do list. I don't have to perform for God in that way. God's will for my life it to obey him! How can I obey him more today than I did yesterday?

Sex God

I just finished reading Rob Bell's new book - Sex God, and it was absolutely fantastic. I had a chance to sit down with Nate Dawson, yes Mom it is who you're thinking it is, and he first told me about the new book. Nate is one of Rob Bell's Disciples as well as a community Pastor at Mars Hill. He told me that this book was about how we live in a society that is under sexed. Meaning that sex is around us all the time (advertising, magazines, tv, the internet, etc.), but we don't see anything about true sex in our society. We are under sexed because the true meaning of sex is not being shown.

I honestly felt as though that was a little bit of a stretch. I welcome your opinion, but I think that it could have been better stated that we misunderstand the definition of intimacy. Rob told the stories of several people he has come into contact with that are deeply connected to a program, people group, ministry, or way of life and came to the conclusion that these people are sexually connected to their particular program, peapole group, ministry, or way of life. I guess I would say that they are intimately connected, or deeply connected. Much in the same way that a husband should be connected to his wife intimate.

Right out of the gate we get to here that if we talk about "this (sex)" we have to talk about "That (God)." Which is so true. It really isn't possible to discuss sex without talking about God. They are so deeply connected. Sex is such a spiritual act because God designed it!

All in all I liked it better that Velvet Elvis. It was well thought out and deeply moving. It brought things concerning my spirituality that I had not considered. It challenged me to be more and more connected to my wife.

Rob again challenged me to rethink my Christianity. Which is something that we will never completely figure out, so we should be constantly rethinking Christianity.

Thank you Rob for developing resourses that thouroughly challenge us to deeper faith, and deeper relationships.

Well, I'm Back - Hopefully

So this blog has been full of holes for as long as its been around. I believe that we have hit year number 3 of the blog and I'll bet that I have taken at least 4 more than one month hiatus' from posting. But I know that there are those out there who still check. And I know that there is a brother of mine who has the rss set-up to check. Anyway. Here we go - I'm back. You can probably look for a site change to come soon.

11 - Do Not Call

So of course we move to Goshen and we have to get a new phone number. So we finally found a plan and deal that we liked so we got it and had it installed. And for whatever reason we didn't get on the do not call list. We never did in Grand Rapids why would would think about it now. Well, apparently everyone is on the Do Not Call list because they only had one person to call. I swear the Goshen News called everyday! And we get the paper! Its enough to drive you nuts.

Praise God for the Do Not Call registry.

10 - A Day At The Lake (House)

We really didn't have much planned for today. We are having a few people over on Monday for a BBQ, so we decided that it would be a good day to clean. Well, around 11:30 am we got a call from a family inviting us to spend the afternoon with them at their lake house. It didn't take too much convincing, (clean or lake house...hmmm).

Needless to say we spent the day playing games, and having good conversations on the lake. It was a wonderful time. We took Scooter with us, we didn't want to leave him at home and it was probably too much for the little guy. I don't think he knew what to do with the 6 year old who wanted his attention all day. Shari and I had a great day, but I don't think that Scooter did.

I was a good day!

9 - Six years ago today

So, 6 years ago today I asked Shari out and she said yes. She didn't say no like she did two weeks before, but she said yes!!!

I love you baby!

8 - No JRT

So, we didn't get a JRT, but we did get Scooter.

Check out Shari's Site.

7 - Heroes

So, I haven't been an NBC fan since the NBA left for ABC, but for some unknown reason I happened to see a teaser for the new drama called Heroes. It seems to be an X-Men, wanna be, with people discoving that they are the next step in the evolutionary process of man. Well, even though I don't like the premise (like the X-Men) I can't wait for the show to start.

I've been wanting a drama that I could get into for such a long time...I never cought the Lost bug, not a CSI fan, or Law and Order. Nothing really catches me. I just want something more than reality TV, hopefully this is it.

The other night we had a bunch of Senior Highers over and asked them if they had a super power what would it be, most of them said something about flying.

I'm not so sure, my favoriate X-Men is Gambit (who never made the movies), his power was to be able to give things energy when he touched something it would explode, but he could control it - unlike Rogue.

What would your super power be?

6 - My Tigers

So, I've finally decided to post about my Detroit Tigers. When we were in Europe the Tigers surged into first place. You know they haven't lost that position yet, and most of that time have held onto the best record in baseball. If your not a baseball fan let me tell you why this is so amazing...

Three years ago they had the worst record in American League history (well, they tied). They lost 119 games!

They were the laughing stock of baseball. But they've turned it around and are playing like they've always should have been here.

I love my Tigers. I really hope this isn't just a one year deal, but that its something that lasts for a long time.

5 - Rant on Comments

So living up to the name of this little space on the net I want to rant about some people who check the site, but do not leave comments on anything... I can tell where people are in the world when they get on my site...

Let's see...if I list your city or state you're going to have to comment...

Burnsville, Minnisota - Mom, I know that you are checking up on me and not leaving comments...

Linden, Michigan

Mitchell, South Dakota

Rockford, Michigan

Belmont, Michigan

So, if you'll just own up that you check the place out every once in a while then the world will be a better place...

4 - Three Movie Night

So Shari and I were feeling like we needed a break and some time together, so Saturday night we spent the day at the movie theatre. There is a cheap theatre that shows movies that have already made it out of other theatres. So we saw Click, then we saw Devil Wears Prada, and then The Break Up.

All of which were only $2 per ticket. It was a really nice way to see some movies that we've wanted to see and not have to pay for them.

3 - Secret Generations

Last night Shari and I were in Target - in a hurry - and she asks me to go and find her some deorderant. Of course I found the Secret Generations line on clearence so I went right for that. I started smelling each and everyone one of them and noticed something very interesting each smelt like women in my life whose teenage years were of that decade.

50's - Grandma Wolfgang
60's - Aunt Rhonda Smith
70's - Mom
80's - Vanessa
90's - Shari
Now - Girls in the youth group

I never knew that I had such a great sense of smell.

2 - JRT

So, Shari and I have wanted a pet for a very long time. We both love dogs. We've wanted a dog for a very long time but the problem is we don't agree on what kind of dog to get. There is a pet store at the mall near by and we went yesterday and looked at dogs.

Ever since we visited Shari's aunt Dee and played with her Jack Russell Terrier, Brooster, I fell in love with the breed. I think that I would love them. They are very energetic and crazy, but I think with as many people who are in and out of our house that wont be a problem. I also thought that Eddie (Frazier) was awesome!

What do you think?

1 - So I Feel....

Vanessa ccnvenently asked if there was peace in Goshen, IN. I don't know. I don't think so. Is the world of Goshen, IN the way its supposed to be? No. Most of you have no idea what I'm talking about, so...

It was Saturday and one of the families of the church invited us to go boating with them on a lake in Michigan, so we went. We were out all afternoon, and had a great time. We got off of the lake at 7:30pm and I noticed that I had missed 9 phone calls. I know that I'm not that popular, when I finally got in range for my voice mail it was 7:45. I wont elaborate on all of the phone calls, but I will say that the majority of them were saying that something tragic happened and that there was an emergency Elder Board meeting at 8:00 pm. So I went right to the church, and I was met my our Assimilation Pastor who told me that our Senior Pastor had resigned, effective immediately. My first thought was that I didn't have all of my boxes unpacked yet.

So about a week ago now, my senior pastor resigned...That's right...I've been here for 7 weeks and he resigns. I was angry. I was hurt. I put on a good face, and struggled on the inside.

This past weekend Shari and a bunch of ladies went to the Women of Faith Conference, our former Senior Pastor's Wife went too. Friday morning before she left Shari came to the office with me to help me with somethings. And our former Senior Pastor came into the office. I didn't get a chance to talk to him, but Shari did. And even though I adamantly told her no, she talked to him about coming over while she and his wife were gone that he and I could spend some time together. She told him that I was going to call later and that he should expect it.

I was mad. But what was I going to do...I called. As soon as I called I wasn't angry anymore.

Some have said that I was justifiably angry. Some consoled me by saying that they would be angry in that situation. Some...

I was wrong in my anger. Something that God has been teaching me for sometime now.

I apologized to him about the anger I had. It felt really good to let him know that. We ended up having a really great conversation and watching a good movie together.

My wonderful wife forced me to do what I didn't want to do, she knew what would happen if I did, and she made me do it. She forced me. Thank you so much baby. I love you.

Is there peace...No...But we're closer...

14 days...

So, I haven't posted in a month. I'm not sure why I haven't posted in a month maybe because there is so much going on, but that's not true. Yes, my world has been turned upside down but I have still had time in which I could write. So here it is 14 days. I covenant with my readers, few and far between, who have all probably left, that I will post 14 times in the next 14 days.

Mid East Peace?

I realize that I haven't been around as long as some, but I thought that I would write something of my thoughts about my feeling of what is happening in the middle east.

One of the first comments I made concerning Israel at war was that it was nice to see God at work. I enjoyed seeing God's people victorious. That thought almost makes me sick now. Not the fact that God is at work, but that death is a part of what is happening and that I was excited about it.

Death and destruction are not part of God's ultimate plan. Unfortunately death is used to get to that ultimate end. I have heard Christians in the past couple of days say things like, "wow it looks like we might be witnessing the fullfillment of prophesy!" Have you ever read Revelation - do you really want to see those things happen? Of course we want to see Jesus return and set up his kingdom, but do we really want to egg on the death and destruction.

I guess what I am trying to say is that I don't want to get caught up in an "is this the end times" discussion when we should be focused on living according to the way.

What!?!? Everything that Happened and then some.

So it's been a while since I wrote on here, let me give you a little run down on what has been happening in our lives since the last time I blogged.

6/11/06
We canidated at Sugar Grove Church in Goshen, IN for a Youth Pastor Position. It was great! We had such a wonderful time, the people were friendly! We loved it. It was also our 1 year anniversary. I love you Baby! What a place to celebrate your 1st anniversary, Goshen, IN!

6/18/06
We received word that the church voted in favor of us, and Shari and I couldn't wait to get started.

6/25/06
This was our first Sunday at SGC and it was pretty cool. The church held its VBS closing program in which 600 people. Showed up to. That' about 250 visitors! That is crazy!

7/1/06
Went back to Ithaca Baptist for my brother Jacob's wedding reception. It was really nice to see people again. I wish though that my other brother Justin could have made it.

7/8/06
Shari and I tagged along on a youth missions trip to New Orleans. This was an excellent time to serve and to get to know some of the teens in the youth group. We had a good time helping the people down there. Please don't forget to pray for those who are still suffering down there (some haven't touched there houses since last August when Katrina hit).

7/19/06
Shari and I moved into a temporary place across the street from the place we will move into in two weeks.

Wow! A lot has happened in the past two months. Sorry for not blogging in a while. I'll be sure to write on here more often.

We Made it Back!

After an 18 1/2 hours of travel...We are now back in the States!

Germany
The entire reason we went to Europe was for my brother Jacob's wedding. There are a ton of pics to look at. It was a beautiful wedding and a beautiful day for a wedding (It rained for 10 minutes - but it rained everyday while we were in Europe for at least a half-hour, except for our last day). Here are some links to pictures (Shari's are on there, but not my mom's - yet).

Germany Wedding

This is the photographers Website he is supposed to do more that just the front page soon, but it is a very cool shot!

The Hopeful

We spent a couple of extra days in the Frankfurt area, and besides taken a wonderful 3 hour walk through some beautiful vineyards up to a monastery that produces wine translated means "The Wine of Heaven" and visiting a children's Bible museum (which had a 1535 copy of the Luther Bible Translation - Way Cool!), we really didn't do much. We had a great time getting to know Jacob's new in-laws better, and as well as our host (we stayed with a family in the area).

Paris
After 4 days in Germany we spent 5 days in Paris. Now many of you know that Shari and I were planning to go to Paris for our honeymoon, but it didn't work out and we went on a Caribbean Cruise and to Disney World instead. So, needless to say we were a little excited to go on this trip. We saw all the sites...

Eiffel Tower
Arc de Triumphe
Champs l'Elyese
The Lourve
d'Orsay
Notre Dame
Sacre Coure
The Palace of Versailles

You know all the basics, there were others, but you might get jealous if I right them all out. I'm sure that Shari will post some pictures soon. We had a blast, but I think that Shari and I wore out my parents and possibly my fast paced brother.

Disneyland Paris
Since I started dating Shari she has continually told me of her desire to go to Disneyland Paris before she died. Well, it was on this trip that I told her that I to have had this dream. I in recent years have become a huge fan of the Disney parks. We went to Disney World last March and last July and now Disneyland Paris. It was a blast. We got a great deal on a hotel inside the park. We got free tickets from our families for Shari's graduation. And we just had fun enjoying the parks. Now I can't speak for Shari, but what I like about the parks is the large vision of Walt Disney, and the close attention to detail that is put into everything. That just doesn't happen. Usually vision doesn't accompany detail.

Trip Home
The trip home started about at 3:30 am EST and didn't finish until about 9:00 pm. It was ok and seemed to got faster than the trip there. But it was definitely good to see home again. So about an hour ago I started to write this post it is now 6:30 am (12:30 pm in Paris) and I am still trying to get over my jet lag. Who knows how long that will take.

I will have some pictures up in the near future.

All Nighters after college and before Babies

Since Shari and I are traveling to Europe for Jacob's wedding today Monday and Tuesday I worked 11 hour days at work so that I wouldn't have to take too many days off of work. So I got home at 10:00 pm last night and Shari and I started packing and cleaning (if you haven't been reading - Shari's been sick lately) and Shari complains of an ear ache. Which isn't that far out of the ordinary, but since we have to be on an airplane for about 10 hours in less than 24 hours we thought that we better see a doctor, well, the only place open at midnight is the ER - downtown Grand Rapids. Well, we got there at 12:18 am. We didn't expect to get in very soon because an ear ache is really low on their priority list. We saw a doctor at 2:45 am and were out the door with two prescriptions (an antibiotic and Vicodin for the excruciating pain that will occur upon landing or so we are told).

We get home and realize how much there is to do so we went at it for about 40 minutes and got atleast half-way packed. It's about 4:00 am and Shari collapses on the bed and falls asleep (can you blame the poor sick woman who spent 3 hours in the ER). Then I went on to:

Finalize the hotel details for our trip
Printed off all of our information and organized it
Called Paris (which we can do for free)
Counted and recounted all of the money that we have the trip
Tried to lie down at 5:30 am and couldn't sleep...

Now:
Watching SportCenter and typing this post.

So, do you think staying up all night will effect my jet lag?

Of Speeding Tickets and Last Days

So Sunday, Mother's Day, was our last day at our church. On our way to church I got a speeding ticket. It was like rubbing salt in a open wound, and I knew that it was my fault. People who haven't been nice in a long time were nice (if that somehow makes everything better). People who I wanted to say good-bye to weren't there (some were on purspose).

Leaving the teens was the hardest part. People in the church didn't seem to care. There is no plan for continuing the youth group, and for some of these teens that's all they have. We worry about the teens and we worry about the church, but we have to give it to God. I honestly couldn't tell you if it was a good day or not.