My exercise was inspired by Gary Barkalow from "The Noble Heart". Gary's exercise was to look at the movies that you watch, look for themes and this will lead you closer to the passion or calling for your life. My exercise involved looking at collection of books that I read throughout the year. Yeah, very interesting indeed. 

One book in particular really touched my heart…."Beautiful Outlaw" by John Eldredge. Now, I have been a big fan of John's writings for quite sometime and I am looking forward to attending one of his Boot Camps, but this book made me look at Jesus in a new light!

Growing up I new "church" Jesus, the serene pictures of Him with kids all around looking like a that big, loveable uncle that most of us seem to know. But what of his personality? What was He thinking when, at a wedding celebration late one evening, He turns water into a lot of wine? So many people feel that through duty and obligation you come to receive grace, so how does making the party even wilder fit with the "behaving" theory.

So, what was Jesus thinking when He feed the 5,000? After they were fed, Jesus went away alone and prayed. Wow, in our society when our favorite player scores a touchdown, the stadium erupts and the player celebrates like it's the first TD he ever scored. What humility for Jesus to work such a miracle and then leave before the adulation.

John's book really delves into the personality of Jesus. My relationship with Jesus deepened to a level that I have never experienced. Then, to add to the experience, John has a 1 1/2 hour "OutlawCAST" in which he expands on Jesus's personality even more.  

If there is one book that you read this year, make John Eldredge's book:

"Beautiful Outlaw"

My favorite show of all time was watching the Sherlock Holmes movies on Sunday afternoon. Especially the movies with Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce. I still have some of them on tape somewhere in the basement.

I guess the question then arises, if I love mystery so much why do I have such a tough time with the mystery of God? I can tell he loves surprises, they happen everyday. The Bible talks to the mystery that God holds:

"There are secrets the Lord God has not revealed to us"
 Deuteronomy 29:29

Maybe it's my fear or my impatience that keeps me from embracing His mystery. Is it a control thing, I don't think so. I think it might be a product of the arrows of my life.

What I need to realize is that faith should embrace uncertainty. There are things that only God knows, such as the broad scope and depth of His plan. I only know just a little bit. Someday I will understand the full plan, but for now I need to look for that uncertainty.

So my question is, are you looking for God's complete plan or looking for the uncertainty?

It really got me thinking about what was at the top of that ladder. Is it like rainbow that has a pot of gold? My daughter always tells me that we should see what's at the end of the rainbow, but we can never quite find that pot of gold.

So, you work for 30 years, retire with a bunch of money – not as much now I guess, and hopefully your health is okay from the vertical assent that you can enjoy some time and money. But what if it isn't? Good question.

I find it outstanding to see people starting to realize that there is a better way. There are so many people embracing the "free world" of self employment. Gone are the days of security in a "corporate job." Security is what you make of it. There are a group of men and women that have embraced this change. Check out Kevin Miller's free agent underground ( http://kevinmiller.typepad.com/ ) to get some awesome ideas and tap into some people who are taking control of their lives and their future.

Recently Kevin interviewed Gary Barkalow regarding calling and passion in our lives. Gary is working with people who are looking to discover their calling or passion, to live the life God has intended them to live. More evidence that there really is a better, freer way.

Is the work easy, no way. But the rewards can be awesome. Imagine having the freedom to decide how to spend your time. Time is one thing we all have, but we all lose it at the same rate…it's just what we decide to do with it.

So my challenge to everyone is to think about how they want to live their life and how they want to spend the time they have.

I have my vision, my passion, and I place my trust in God to open the doors and direct the path.

This past year or two Jesus has taken me up to the attic again. In the corner, tucked away he discovered a box, that upon dusting it off and opening, contains much of my lost heart.

I realized that over the past 20 years I have been following someone else's dreams. Society, marketing, tells us that we must follow a certain path. We should go to school, then get a "safe" job and hopefully survive at a company for 30 years. Retire with a bag of money and then enjoy life. We should live in the right area, drive the right car, have the right lawn, and do the all of the right things. Now, I am saying all of that is bad, but does it really make us come alive, to really live?

The pivotal point for me was the words that John Eldredge spoke in his book "Wild at Heart" -

"Everyman dies, but few men ever really live. Find out what makes you come alive and go do that, because the world needs more men that are alive."

As Gary Barkalow states, "If we live only out a sense of duty, our heart will eventually die." Such profound words.

God has blessed me this chance to look deep into my heart, look back into my life and reveal those passions. I have taken this time to invite my Wife and Daughter into this journey and let them see what makes me come alive, what God has placed upon my heart. To be able to give them a Husband and Father that is alive is so special. There is a lot of work ahead, but that will be part of the adventure.

I challenge everyone to take a look and see if what they are doing is making them come alive. If the answer is "no". maybe it's time to make the trip to the attic.

Yesterday days walk give me a really interesting thought. Usually on my walk I will listen to some great podcasts. Today I was listening to a really interesting podcast by Jim Robbins. Jim has some great podcasts as well as blog posts. Check out -

http://www.robbinswritings.com/

for some really great words on why your heart is a good heart.

Made me think about going to the doctor. When you go to the doctor one of the first things they do is to check your your heart rate, your blood pressure and listen to your arteries. The doctor knows how important your heart is. Shouldn't we do this at church too? I think many of us tend to go to church, hear a message, find out what we are doing wrong and find what we should be doing better, but miss the point that the "heart" needs attention. So many of us go to church to just get that checkmark (thanks Pastor James). We invest one hour a week at church, but forty hours, or more, at our job. One hour a week for the eternity investment seems a bit low.

Now I am not suggesting that we spend ever waking moment studying God's word, on our knees in prayer, but I think that our hearts need attention as well.

Maybe we should think about our hearts and where we are at in our journey and story when attend church. Maybe we will find God speaking to us in a very different way.

There is so much that we carry into our marriages that we have to look at, understand, and learn from. Those things that we carry can create problems if we don’t deal with them. John and Stasi share their life experiences from their unique journey together that really shows that we all face somewhat similar issues.

I believe that we need to look at the issues we face as couples together to really understand the deeper meaning that God has for our marriages. One of the aspects of the book that I really enjoyed was how both John and Stasi took turns writing of their experiences. They shared how they went through the struggles, and how the journey made their marriage stronger and deeper.

As with all of John’s books (and now with Stasi) I always find myself reading them multiple times, learning more each and every time. I have read “Wild at Heart” no less than 6 times. I have no doubt that “Love and War” will be read multiple times.

If you get the chance and you are serious about finding the marriage that God desires for you and your spouse, I highly recommend reading “Love and War’.

Father, let the world just fade away
Let me feel your presence in this place
Lord, I’ve never been so weary
How I need to know you’re near me
Father, let the world just fade away

Till I’m on my knees
Till my heart can sing

He is
He was
He always will be

Even when it feels like there is no one holding me
Be still, my soul
He is

Father, let your Holy Spirit sing
Let it calm the storm inside of me
As I stand amazed
Lift my hands and say

He is
He was
He always will be

He lives
He loves
He’s always with me

Even when it feels like there is no one holding me
Be still, my soul
Through every fear
And every doubt
And every tear I shed
Down every road
I’m not alone
No matter where I am

He is
He was
And He always will be

He lives
He loves
He’s always with me
Even when it feels like there is no one holding me
Be still, my soul
Be still, and know
Be still, my soul
He is…

Mark Schultz…CD-Come Alive

Now, I know that since Jesus died on the cross he saved me from the wrath of God for my sins…pretty cool. That thought gives my soul comfort and peace. I know that I am covered, so to speak.

But it got me thinking about what our world would be like if we did get what we deserved. What would happen to us if we got the punishment for our decisions and actions? Would we act differently? Would we talk differently? Would we interact differently? Would we think differently? Made me think about what a “normal” day might be like.

There might not be any arguing about lunches or who is sitting in the front seat on the way to school. I wouldn’t have to worry about someone speeding up on the freeway as I try to merge into traffic. People would be overly courteous and polite. Work, well there would be an elimination of office politics and people would get promoted based on ability, not who they know. Teachers would be respected and paid what their worth. I would feel comfortable watching TV with my 9 year old again. Not having to worry about the TV shows, or even the latest commercials.

What about politics? Politicians would make decisions based on what’s best for their constituents and the overall country, not on the grab of power and control or voting against the other part just because they are the other party. They would work together, not focus on their agenda. Yeah, this part seems crazy.

Would there be world peace? Would all of the leaders of world get along and not look to gain power?

I guess I could go on and on as to what things might be like. But one look at Foxnews and CNN makes me realize that things don’t work that way.

So on this Easter Sunday I will thank Jesus for what he did for me. He gave me a present, a gift of grace that I certainly didn’t deserve.

It really made me think about a decision that has been in the frontal lobes of my brain for quite some time. It is something that has been sitting there, playing on my mind and emotions for a long time. It bubbles up ever so often, I think about it, and then slip back into the routine of my life.

Then, I started wondering what has made this decision, this possible change of course so hard? Is it that it is change? Is it hard to let go of something that has been so comfortable for so long? Maybe it’s not knowing exactly what God’s will is? I think that is it…what is God’s will in this decision? But the really cool thing, is that he has given us the play book, it’s called the Bible. Now, he doesn’t layout every little decision, but I feel that he gives us the ways to make those decisions.

Yeah, change can be tough for sure. Look at Jonah, he wasn’t sure he wanted to follow God’s will until he was swallowed up by the “Great Fish” (yes, I am a Veggie Tales fan), and then thrown back to where God wanted him to be. Once Jonah believed, he was able to do God’s work. Moses is another success story. God certainly got a hold of him and used him even though he went through some doubting times.

So now what do I do?

I have really started to spend my prayer time looking to where God is, where he is working and trying to partner with him there. I don’t want God to give my plans the stamp of approval, I want to be apart of his plans. I know that in His time he will open the doors and that will be confirmation enough.

Well, eventually those feelings wear off. You realize that you have 30 years of paying how much? I waited all these years to buy a house and then we buy one near the top of the real estate bubble.

As I was on my daily walk yesterday morning I was looking at all of the houses in this little piece of the world and I thought to myself. Are these people happy? What brings them happiness? And if they are happy, how long does that happiness last? What about joy? Do they have joy in their life?

It got me thinking about the difference between joy and happiness. What is the difference? What should we work towards? What should we want in our lives?

I believe that happiness is really an emotion or state of mind. Happiness is something that leaves our minds fast as it enters or mind or thoughts. Materialism or the pursuit of things brings that temporary happiness. My new golf clubs, my new purse, my new this of that. So maybe happiness is something that always needs to be fed (like a teenage boy who is hungry before and after dinner). There is never enough, I need just one more of this or that.

Joy, I believe, is something that fuels our soul. It is something that we give out and receive. Joy stands the test of time. Whether it’s volunteering or helping people in need, joy last so much longer than happiness. Joy is that sunset filled with colors that sticks in your mind and never leaves.

At this point in my life I feel that I have discovered the path of joy that God wants for me. I know that he will open the doors and open my mind and heart to see the steps and the road.

My challenge for everyone is to look and see where God is working. What is the path of joy he wants for you?

I think that we have to really look and see where God is working. What is he doing and how I should follow his ways? Many times we tend to look at see what we want to see, where we think we should go or be. Well, maybe that’s different from the path that God wants us to take.

As a “young” believer, I struggled with the belief that there is one path that we have to be on…I don’t think there is. I feel that God has given us the ability to make choices and that he will use those choices to ultimately glorify him. He is concerned how we live our life, how we treat each other, how we care for each other, and the relationship we have with Jesus.

I am going to take those blinders off and really start to look and try as best I can to understand where God is working. How can my life glorify him? What can I do to make “His” world a better place? What can I add to the world?

How can I adapt myself to God and not adapt God to my life?

I think about all of the men that get in their cars, spend an hour driving, or sitting in traffic to get to the office to deal with whatever they have to deal with. I know of one such person that spent over 20 years in business and really just found himself so lost. The cubicle can be such a cell that slowly attacks the spirit of a man.

What is happening to this generation of men? Now, I don’t have the answers (yet) but it got me thinking. I really think that our society has taken the “adventure” out of men. We now find it watching a hours of football, or skiing for a week every winter, or enjoying the hunt or fishing. Now those things are good, but they only exist periodically. The majority of our time is spent chasing the things, the things that society tells us that we should pursue. What do these things get us…just temporary joy, nothing permanent. My wife has started something so awesome, making your “someday” a reality…and I truly think as men we need to get back to getting that adventure in our life, not that someday I will do this or that.

So, we start trying to “find” ourselves. We start looking inward to find what we need, find our desires, find what makes us happy. Well I have done that and determined that it really can be almost a self serving type attitude. What I have found, at least personally, that I have to look up, look to God, to Jesus. When I am looking at myself I am not seeing the hand of God. He will show me the life he wants for me, he will open the doors, he will bring the people into my life that will provide glimpses of what God has promised. He has given me talents, skills and characteristics that I can use to glorify him. I can search out that adventure that God wants me to have.

I truly feel in my heart that there is a ministry, like the Ransomed Heart ministry, that I can be apart of, that I can use those talents to make a difference in the lives of the men of this generation. The suburban life can be so draining, draining the adventure and the spirit…at least for me.

My challenge, my adventure if you will, is to chart that course and take the steps that I need to get there.

I find it fascinating how so many questions can come from any one situation. Sometimes it seems as though I keep knocking on doors, reaching for the handles only to have them either be locked, or a door that someone else has walked through already. It makes me really start to create those questions…Am I looking the right places? Do I need to expand my search? Where should I look? Why hasn’t God answered my prayers? Maybe I am only looking at some of the doors. In these times maybe I need to take a more global viewpoint. Maybe I need to start looking at more and more doors.

I trust that God has a plan and that he will use my decisions to glorify him. That’s what faith and grace have taught me, that’s what I feel and believe. There are certainly those decisions that God wants us to go to him with, but whatever we decide he will use for his glory. That should be enough.

See, I think that we as humans tend to look for the answers that we want. We see the course of action that we want to take, things we want to do, but we ignore God’s desire for our lives. We see what we want to see.

Looking back I can see the Christian people that God has used in my life to help me make decisions. When I have made big decisions without those wise people, many times those decisions haven’t been the best. I can see how God has brought people into my life at this moment to help me make those faith-based decisions. (I find it fascinating and confusing that they are one geographical area)

So, I guess I need to keep looking for God’s doors, not just the ones I want!

I am really looking at this next decade with excitement. I know that the past year has been a tremendous struggle. But it’s in and through those struggles that we truly grow. It’s where God reveals himself and where we draw closer to him. One of the things that has happened for me is to really assess my goals, dreams, and yes…my somedays. My awesome wife really believes that if you don’t define your somedays, put a date to them, you will keep them out there, somewhere, with that inherent excuse that “I will do it someday.” Case in point, by November I am going to buy my Jeep. It’s always been a dream to own a rag top Jeep. That someday is November.

The other thing I am going to pursue is to using one of the major talents that God has given me. I know that it’s going to take some time and effort, but everything worth doing does. I have the goal and have much of the process determined. I have embarked on the information and research stage. The fantastic part is that God is bringing those people into my life that can give me guidance, give me wisdom, and really help me make the wise choices. The scripture talks to making decisions with the advice of wise counsel. It’s amazing how God makes that work, but then again, he is the almighty.

I am really looking forward to seeing how this will play out into the next decade. My someday of 1/1/2020, will really be, “far out”, as John Eldredge would say.

I was very fortunate to connect via twitter with a gentleman from Colorado Springs. For whatever reason I was looking at his blog on Monday. His blog post was about as people we tend to keep score in our lives based on other people or factors…truly awesome words. Go to http://1010living.com/blog/?p=291 to read the entire post. It really made me start thinking deeply about what was important.

Then, as God sometimes will do, he brought some game changing words or thoughts to me. I was listening to Pastor MacDonald this morning on my walk and he was talking about wisdom and our pursuit of wisdom. See, I have been to church a lot through the first 46 years of my life, which is good. It has taught me a lot about God and Jesus, but it failed to really teach me how to live as a Christian. Ding! That’s what I have been searching for these past 6 months or more. Not a history lesson. I can read the bible, but I am really seeking God’s wisdom. I need to feel and understand God’s desire. Wow, what a shift. How can I make my life honor him? It’s about the impact we have in other’s lives. How we make a difference in the daily interactions we have. How can I be apart of God’s life and plan, not mold him into my plan. Seriously, for me this is awesome.

Life is really about what you give back. Our society teaches us the me first attitude. Patty has really started to put this into action in her business. As she states, “I want to help people with their dreams, I want them to live their somedays now”.

So, Curly was right. He told Billy Crystal in City Slickers that he had to figure out the “one thing”. That one thing is different for everyone…really part of God’s awesome plan. It’s up to everyone to figure that out.

I really think I just figured out mine…now comes the action!

My awesome wife and I have really learned a lot about what it means to be a network marketing professional . The old mindset of working for the same company for your entire life and then retiring have really changed.

I guess what I have realized is that network marketing is very similar to what a lot of businesses do already. I think of insurance agents that make money off of the residual monies or premiums. Or investment folks that make money off of their asset base. But the one thing I find really amazing that with network marketing you can use leverage to really create an amazing income stream. You can earn residuals off of what folks in your organization are doing, why wouldn’t you want to do that. Unfortunately there are companies out there that have really soiled the reputation of some truly wonderful companies. There are also people that have used the “sign em up” mentality to further dirty that reputation. Not all companies are like this.

The internet has also brought all of the snake oil salesmen as well. If you really think that you can make 10 grand a month by working 30 minutes a week then I say good luck. It’s the hustle, the passion, the drive that makes the dough.

The company that my awesome wife works with is different. They live and breathe that “make a difference”, or “pay it forward” philosophy. She doesn’t want to sign up a ton of people, she just desires to work with people who want to take control of their life…that is something totally different.

So at the end of the day, we make decisions that focus our life on, as my wife states, “Your Someday Starts Now”.

Why wait?

PS – if you want to read more check out her story, “Your Someday Starts Now” on her site – www.pattygale.com

As men, we rarely take the time to truly appreciate what we have in our lives. Society and the Madison Avenue marketing machine tells us what we should have and what we deserve. Society doesn’t teach us to be happy with what we have…ah yes, contentment. You deserve it, you work hard. Get what you want now, don’t wait.

My awesome wife and I have had the chance this past week to talk about our future..from a financial and geographical perspective. We agree on so many levels that it is truly inspiring and exciting. We know that we have work ahead of us, but then nothing is gained without hard work. Or as Gary V. says, you have to “Crush It!”.

But what I found really awesome was that my awesome wife and I talked through all of this…we used God’s wisdom to look at everything and chart a course. I feel so blessed that we have the relationship that allows us to talk calmly about all of this. Which, when you have a German and Italian together really is cool.

I was walking this morning with my big, floppy golden retriever named Copper and I realized that there is something that we as humans can learn from our furry friends. They take life just as it comes. They don’t worry about all of the little things that might happen in life. Besides, many of the things that we fear are going to happen just don’t seem to ever materialize. If they did there would be a ton of people that would never fly or drive. Copper lives entirely in the present.

He also just loves for the sake of loving. He doesn’t love expecting something in return. Wow, I thought to myself, what if I could live that way, or at least try to live that way? What would my day be like then? I bet I would sleep a whole lot better.

As I watched him run around the trails like my daughter at Disney world I realized that Copper, for the most part, just loves each and every experience. He enjoys his life because he doesn’t know any better. He lives without any thought of the negativity going on outside of his world. Now, I know that I can’t live that way but it sure made me think.

I realize that God has given us many choices in life. He desires for us to have that relationship with him, to know him and love him deeply. I firmly believe that when we strive to have that relationship we will start to feel that joy, that peace that he desires for us.

Example, Patty and I are staring at some deep financial choices in our life right now and we can choose to attack or to hide. Case in point. Car repair reared it’s ugly head this past week. They always know the worst time. We got the cost and just looked each other and said, “It’s a hurdle, we will get past it.” Then, the wash machine started making a sound, a sound that it doesn’t normally make. Patty and I just looked at each other and laughed.

So, I am going to take life as it comes and try not to think about what might happen. It works so well for Copper that I am going to try it. My trust and faith is deepening and I know that it is where it should be and I believe that God will be there for us and guide us.

Today I was out walking like I normally do, listening to my “Walk in the Word” message and thinking about what I really want to do with my life. No secret that I would love to be in Colorado watching the winter storm roll in, but I am here and it must be where God wants me to be, so I have to be content with that. Then I started to hear the voices. Ha you say, but it’s true. The voices were telling me that I really loved being outside, that I really enjoyed being apart of nature and the world that God has created. The voices were telling me that my future was somehow tied to the outdoor world. God would not have given me this passion unless he meant for me to do something with it. Right? Now I need to figure out what’s next.

Yesterday I registered a domain name to start a site that would cater to a certain aspect of the outdoors life….no, I can’t give away the secret just yet, but I am excited to go down this trail. I guess maybe this is the affirmation of the voices.

Even as a kid I always loved the family vacations because they usually involved one of the National Parks. Bryce, Zion, Rocky Mountain National Park…I seen many of them and for that I am truly blessed. (thank you Mom and Dad!)

So, as my walk continued, I kept listening and trying to see if the voices had anything else to say. It was just then that I realized that the voices were indeed one voice and it was me all along. I never wanted to work in a padded cell called a cubicle. That’s where a man’s spirit dies! I always wanted to work outside, I always wanted to be outside, now it’s time to take my voice and my God given passion and blaze a new trail.

There is a book that made me realize the true power and the true potential of social media. Yeah, I have a facebook and a twitter profile, but I have been more of a observer…to this point. The book pointed out the fact that now the 6 degrees of separation have been reduced down, and at some points are now one on one. This is awesome. What may have taken weeks, or months in the past now can be accomplished in minutes, or even seconds. This is gold Jerry, gold!

Oh yeah, I have a real world example.

This past Friday I spent the morning with my awesome wife running errands. She wanted to stop by Barnes and Noble to pick up a book. The book was “Crush It” by Gary Vay Ner Chuk. I started reading the book and by the end of the day I was done. I was ready to put on my Carhartts and get to work. The impact of social media, twitter or facebook or any of the up and coming media, is changing everything. We can now get our product in front of people in seconds. The old ways of advertising are now gone.   And I now realize how awesome this is. So, embracing social media I sent Gary a message telling him how much I loved the book and that I appreciated it. 11 minutes later Gary responded to my tweet thanking me. 11 minutes, wow I thought this is amazing. Gary wants to own the Jets someday…I hope he does. Myself, I want to own a home in Breckenridge. I want to live in the mountains and wake up and drink coffee with my awesome wife and watch the trees flutter in the breeze.

Gary – thank you so much for lighting my way.

It seems as though everyone has a system that will hit home runs every time. Spend a little time on twitter and they are all out there. I guess if I had a “system” that was so great I would just work the system and watch the $$ flow. But I don’t…but maybe I do.

It made me think about Bill Porter. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Bill Porter, he was a salesman for the Watkins company. Bill sold his products door to door and eventually became the companies top salesman. He valued the relationship and the customer. He provided superior service to his prospects and customers.

Oh yeah, did I mention that he has Cerebral Palsy. He didn’t let it stop him or define him. He refused disability because he believed that he had ability. In this day of entitlements and ballooning government handout programs it makes me think about how truly special Bill was.

That’s when I realized that there was a tried and true system. Treat the customers with the respect they deserve, go above and beyond their wildest expectations and they will be a customer for life. Yeah, it seems simple but go into many retail stores these days and it is something that is lost, and that’s a shame.

If you ever get the chance, watch the movie – “Door to Door” with William H Macy. It is an awesome movie about Bill Porter.

I have been extremely blessed in so many ways by my awesome wife. One of the very special things she taught me was that the time you have with our kids is so quick. One minute they are playing little league, and the next they are in Iraq and Afghanistan protecting the freedoms we enjoy. It has given me the knowledge and foresight to really look at the time I have with my daughter and make the most of it.

I had one of those special moments this week. My daughter was washing her hands in the bathroom when her ring accidentally came off and went down the drain. She was devastated to the point of tears. I looked at her facial expression and I knew that I had to put on my Dad cape and fly in to the rescue. What did that mean? It meant taking apart some of the pipes under the sink, mainly the trap…at least I think that’s what it is called. Now, to really set the stage, my idea of plumbing is calling Uncle Dale, our dear family friend, and begging for help. With him being in Chicago that wasn’t quite the solution she needed. So for me to attempt this could have meant a future call to the plumber. Fortunately our house is only three years old so all of the piping is PVC. So it meant unscrewing by hand a couple of pipes. By the grace of God the ring was at the bottom of the trap. It was a bit stinky, but a quick washing solved that problem. My daughter was overjoyed and the look on her face was the highlight of my day.

I guess one of the lessons I did learn is that as  Dad it is so important to really value the small things, for in the child’s eyes these things are huge. I could have easily said we will get a new one, but to her I was literally rescuing her ring, and her! Hw cool is that?

I believe that it’s the same way with God. He knows what we are facing, what emotions or fears we are experiencing. He is there for us and he will always be there for us. How cool is that!

As I progress through the day I usually check in with the social media platforms, twitter, facebook, and check email. I don’t usually post a ton to twitter, but today I decided to put a “what would be my ideal day for today” type post. What was it you ask, “Dream of the day…sitting at the Breckenridge Brew pub with the laptop conducting business.” (Patty, of course you will be there!!).

Well, this got me thinking about how things in my spiritual walk have been going. I know that God is always there for us. He is always at the door waiting for us to come in. My rear view mirror view (thanks Bruce) shows that I have straddled the threshold for a long time . I feel that at this point in my life I have really started to walk through the door. I really starting to understand and deepen my faith and started to understand what the impact will be  now that I am progressing deeper and deeper into trusting God.  Afterall, Faith is not part of be a Christian, it is everything – thanks Pastor MacDonald!

As Patty and I face the economic struggle going forward of me leaving corporate America, the start up of the business, and the impact from moving to Colorado last year, I really feel that God will own this struggle. I have given it up to him. I know that there is no way I can do this alone. I continue to pray for the wisdom and direction for me and for my family.

God has promised that he will be there for us through our struggles. God doesn’t lie, right, so he will be there. I know it and feel it. I just have to make sure that my personality gets out of the way and stays out of the way.

Patty and I will be back in Colorado some day, sitting at the Breckenridge Brew pub enjoing a cup of coffee, a 14,000 foot view, and clicking away. I just have to be patient and let God work his miracles.

Afterall, God’s timing and our timing really are never the same!

During our 12 week “visit” to Colorado last fall I had the honor of attending a Military Appreciation breakfast put on by the great people at Northwestern Mutual. Colorado Springs has a strong military presence with Fort Carson (the Army),  Peterson Air Base, and the US Air Force Academy. Side note, I loved watching the Air Force jets scream across the front range, but that’s another post for another time. The quest speaker at the breakfast was Steve Forbes, former Presidential candidate and Executive at  Forbes magazine. After his talk on the economy I made my way up to the front of the room to introduce myself and get an autograph for my awesome wife. I thought to myself, Wow!, I have never met someone as wealthy as him. It was very impressive.

But, God has a way of realigning you when you least expect it. Yesterday I had the honor of meeting one of our neighbors dear friends. His name is Father Jeremy. Father Jeremy has spent the last 25 years of his life in Madagascar helping build churches and working with poor people. Our neighbors’ son Jude collected small toys, seemingly worthless to us, from the folks in the neighborhood so that Father Jeremy could take these items back with him. These small items that all of us have sitting around the house are “treasures” to these poor people. Hearing what a joy it is for the children to get a pencil really makes you think about what is and isn’t important.

What an awesome gift to have your vision cleared. I thank God that he continues to work in my life. All glory to him!

It has been a spiritual struggle to try and understand God’s course of action and path. You ask, “What does this have to do with my daughter?” Well, sometimes I wonder if she hears what I am saying, what I am telling her to do. But then, she will surprise me and do something that I told her to do weeks, if not months ago. I know that she understands me, her test scores at school tell me that its certainly not a matter of mental capacity. I have spent a lot of time in prayer, searching, and asking for God’s answers to what is happening and why things have happened the way that they did. I have even wondered if God has heard my prayers. Why is he silent? Well, maybe he has heard me, but he wants me to align myself more with him. It’s not what I can get from him, but what can I do for him. It’s much like my relationship with my awesome wife. What can I do to build her up? Help her achieve her dreams and make her days better and better.

The one thing I learned today in my walk is that I need to continue to seek him. As Pastor MacDonald stated, “Our walk as a Christian isn’t always smooth, sometimes we walk a very bumpy path. We need to pray to God for shoes that will allow us to walk the those bumpy paths.”

One of my favorite songs, by Third Day, talks of going down that road that is so uncertain. That’s where we are at. I don’t know what God has planned for us. I know that Colorado is in our future. Next year, in 5 years, or maybe 8 years, I don’t know. But what I do know for certain is that I have an awesome life partner in Patty and that through this crisis I, we, are becoming closer and closer to God and that he will never leaves us.  How cool is that!