Count your blessings

I work in the security business, so I'm rarely in 'the office'. I spend my time in some really nice places, and some really not-so-nice ones. I got to go to a battery manufacturing plant today. I didn't even go into the factory, just into the office for the plant. It was one of the dirtiest place I've ever been, and it definitely makes me appreciate the other 99% of my job. I don't know that I could even last an hour working at that place.

There are definitely things that make you appreciate the things you have in life. That's just one more way God provides for me.

Our God is an awesome God

For my third blog, I'll try to make this short and to the point.

My wife has decided that she would like to be a nurse, and has started taking classes to get her degree. She was told that if she plans on working full time while doing clinicals, she may as well not start them. At the moment, we are barely keeping our heads above water, so this is very difficult.

I am working full time along with school, and cannot work another job (nor do I have any desire), so that puts us between a rock and a hard place. I have been a member of the A/V team at church for quite a while now, and had told Dennis that I can't keep this up any more...its too much time. So he asked me to do one more Saturday night, and I agreed.

The next Saturday, I got talking to another A/V guy, and was sharing my situation with him (he's working in the field I want to be in), and he shared some things with me that may well help our financial situation. I'm really hoping that this works out.

Fast forward to 3/30/08 service at church. When the pastor spoke today, I could feel a real tug at my heart. God was speaking through the pastor directly to me. I felt the need to go to the altar to pray. When I got there, Pastor Marggy got down next to me and prayed for me aloud. I had not told her what I was struggling with...but she sure knew exactly what my struggles were. Yes, there is some remote possibility that she talked to someone who knew my struggles and they told her, but I know better. The spirit of God Himself was speaking through her and to me.

I've never heard God's voice like that before, but it sure put a lot of things into perspective! God does care about me, he does care about EVERYTHING I do, and He can do so much through my weakness. I was absolutely floored to see the power of God working like this. Looking back, I feel similar to the Grinch when he learned what love was. My heart grew 3 sizes today!

You could've had a V8!

Have you seen the commercials lately for V8? The wife bops her husband on the head for doing bone-headed things?

Well, lately God has been doing that for me. Since I was little, music has played a big part in my life. In middle school, I bought my first rap CD, and consequently had it taken away from me. I didn't know what 'Parental Advisory' meant. I just knew I liked the song "Gangsta's Paradise". My mom didn't like the language, but there wasn't any content in the CD I had never heard before (or said). After that, I started buying lots of CD's, and 99% of them were rap. If there was a version of the CD's that was parental advisory, that was the version I bought.

The youth group I was a part of in high school had a great youth pastor who told us that we needed to be pure, and that included the words coming out of our mouths and the music/movies that we took in. I had no interest in letting God decide what music I could or could not listen to, and continued living my life how I wanted.

I mean yeah, I listened to music that wasn't appropriate, but surely music wouldn't keep me out of heaven.

Fast forward to my 26th birthday. I still have all those CD's but listen to mainly country music now. Some may see this as worse, but I digress. This is where God comes in. About 2 weeks ago, I was listening to some of my rap music, and I finally realized how depressing the music is and how offensive the music really is.

The only words that used to bother me were the ones where people take The Lord's Name in vain. GD, and J 'F' C really bothered me (and still do), but even the 'F' bomb hasn't for a long time. Well after I got the 'bop' treatment, I have decided that those CD's have to go. No more BAD rap for me. There is some out there that isn't offensive, and I will continue to listen to...one of them being MA$E's new CD. If you don't know who Mase is, his name is Mason Betha--or more appropriately now, Pastor Mason Betha. He was into the secular life, hanging out with P. Diddy and Notorious BIG, and has turned his life over to Lord God Almighty and is working to undo the bad things of his former life.

Anyhow, I'll tell more later.

My first blog...and a bit about me

You'll have to forgive me if this is a bit weak. I've never blogged before. This blog was started as a way of keeping track of my growth as a Christian, a husband, and a man.

I've been a Christ-follower (Thanks PK!) for most of my life...or at least a professed Christ-follower. I grew up in the church, and got baptized when I was 10. I had several close friends who were members of another local church, and ended up joining the youth group with them in middle school. I stayed in that group until I graduated in 2000. It was great, I felt God's presence many times, and I learned a lot about life and Christianity during those years.

When I got to college, I occasionally attended Bible studies and went to Campus Crusade. I never got overly involved in CC when I was at BSU, but didn't stay there long anyway. I was at BSU for 3 semesters, and didn't do very well when I was there. I decided to join the Indiana Army National Guard to pay for my own schooling (my parents didn't need to pay for my lack of worth ethic, so I joined the Guard). I dropped out of school for the next semester so I could attend basic training--or so I thought. I ended up not going to basic that semester, and got a job. I changed jobs a few times over the next 3 years, and FINALLY made it to basic training 33 months after joining the Guard. It was a big mess, and I ended up getting hurt during training and opted to get out of the military in 2005. From 2000 through 2005, I didn't really have much in the way of direction or drive to do anything.

In 2005, I decided to go back to school and do something with my life. I started at Ivy Tech and was working on a degree in electronics. I found a full time job (which I still have), and started taking classes. I made the dean's list the first time ever, and did well in school.

I was attending church but not being fed spiritually, but I figured that going to church was better than sleeping in.

In September 2006, my wife and I started dating. We had known each other for the better part of a decade, but had never been close. Soon after started attending a new church together in Farmland, IN. I started to grow in my faith, though it was difficult. After dating for three months, I asked Casey to marry me on Christmas eve 2006 with the blessing of her father. We got married at Farmland Friends Church in July 2007. The last 9 months have been difficult with school, work, and a new marriage, but I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

If you want to know any more, you'll have to check my other blogs!