Hedging Our Bets

I've gotten into Vikings lately, I know it sounds weird, but I love history, and the hairy guys of the north don't get alot of attention, plus my heritage is swedish, so I've got a great x300 or so grandad who did some sweet pillaging and I want to know about it. Anyways, I was reading about the spread of Christianity to the norse people, and as they accepted Jesus, they would not give up their Odin, Thor and pagan God's, so if Christ didn't repsond to their needs in the time or manner they wanted, they'd put the cross away and get out the hammer. We replace the cross with some weird stuff also when Jesus doesn't do what we want. Kayleigh and I just got engaged and I couldn't be more excited We are planning a wedding and looking for jobs. I have some very clear ideas about what I want that to look like, and I'm struggling to keep from putting away the cross for something else if I don't get the response I want

Bad Directions

I've lived in Dallas for about 13 years now. I don't get lost anymore. I don't get lost because I know where I'm going, and I know how to get there. If I had examine my life and pinpoint one thing that takes me away from God, and what he has for me, it's that sometimes I forget where I'm going. God hasn't shown me a vision where I see the next ten years like a sitcom or something, but what he has done is told me what my life is supposed to be like, or the direction it should go. I should be making a difference in people's lives. and not like the salvation army makes a difference. I'm supposed to be pointing people towards the gospel. How many people have been baptized because of how God used me in their lives? How many people have come to know Christ? And i've worked in churches since I was 18. The focus of my life isn't on what God wants me to do, it's on what I want to do.

I was honest..and I got burned

I have to admit, I get discouraged when things don't go the way I want them. I am a planner, so when something doesn't go the way I plan it, I get pissed. I want things to go the way I think is best. This can be a problem because God knows what's best, and I'm wrong alot. So, I found an apartment because my lease is up in May (and a major life change will be taking place very soon, I'm not giving it away) and I will need a bigger place that is well liked by parties other than myself. And I found the perfect place. Here's the thing about Dallas; if you want a place in the city that doesn't look like they film the shield directly on the proprety, you should be prepared to pay about 9 dollars a square foot. I lucked out, and found a place in the industrial district, a loft, 1300 sq ft built in the 1920's, with hardwood floors, big windows, and less than 2 dollars a sq foot. How great is that? I will have a full time job from the day the lease starts on. The problem was/is, I don't now, and have no paperwork that documents my immenent raise. So I didn't get it. This was the first vacancy this place had in 2 years. If I would have lied on my application about my salary, I would've been home free. But I didn't. And I'm glad I didn't. The minor tests of character we face aren't minor at all. If you can't handle the details right, then you've got no shot at handling the things that really matter correctly. So, I don't have my dream place, but I do have my integrity. Thank God for his Grace imparted to me through the atoning work of Christ, without it, I am without integrity.

5 things I Couldn't live without

1. coffee
2. laptop
3. cell phone
4. levis
5. bible (more idealistic than realistic, but i'm working on it)

Blessed Life

I am a horrible person, and I've long neglected my blog-i think that's ok, because kayleigh is the only one who reads it, and she gets enough of my drivel on a person to person basis. My friends from school have started a co-op blog @ poultryfight.blogspot.com, so check it out, they are smarter than me, although I occasionally contribute (my posts are characterized by profanity laced tirades and nudity) Anyways, I'll be making more of an effort to keep this up and running this year. I spent Christmas in South Dakota with Kay's family and it was possibly the best Christmas I've ever had. I hear alot of people bemoan their signifigant others' family, and I feel blessed to have no idea where they are coming from. Aside from Kay's three wonderful sisters who are great to be around, her parents are two of the best people I've ever been around. I really respect the kind of father and husband her dad is, and I'll be lucky if I'm half of the guy he is. Her mother is one of the kindest people in the world, and makes it obvious as to where Kay gets her sweet disposition from. Her sisters are equally great. Lauren is exteremly talented, funny and smart, and has a really bright future in front of her, not matter what she decides to do. Madison is a great sister to Kayleigh, and one of the funniest people I've ever met. Hannah has more energy than one person probably should, but is still alot of fun. I feel very blessed to have these people in my life.

Jim Carey Pastors

I'm recovering from a busy first half semester, and thought i'd get back to writing. (to kayleigh) hi sweetie. I'm a little tired. Now going on six years of formal biblical education and about as long interning and what not in various church positions--i'm tired. Specifically i'm tired of the masks. I'm really tired of self-righteous delusional power/attention hungry misfits who continually pimp out their God given calling to feel like the celebrity they'll never be. After continually seeing guys playing the role of super christian ultra leader while ignoring the evident crap going on in their own life, it's like the 5 year old who thinks he can fly because he's wearing a 15$ halloween costume. It's cheap, fake and easy to recognize. The scary thing about it is, these guys actually think they're super heroes, then they get shot at and the bullets don't bounce off. And the entire kingom of God suffers. Let's all stop, take off our masks and knock off the act. It's repulsive and embarassing.

things fall apart

its been an interesting week. aside from my girlfriend leaving me (to go to south daktoa for 10 days to see her awesome family-but i had you going there didn't i?) all this stuff in my life has started to break. At the beginning of the week my laptop stopped working. I took it in to best buy where they did whatever it is that they do to figure out what's wrong with it-and it turns out it has a bad hard drive. They sent it off to be fixed and i'll have it back in two weeks. I had no idea how much i used that thing until it was gone. i think life works that way with alot of things. Then monday night i found my drivers' side tire was jacked up. Not a hard fix, but still, inconvienience in waves. I wish my life worked the way it was supposed to all the time, but that rarely seems to happen .