Pet Shopping

I decided (and by that I mean Nikki and I) that I should take Hannah and Isaac to a pet store and pick out a pet. We looked at birds, and fish, and cats, and hermit crabs, and hamsters, and mice, and rats. I was really hoping for a hamster, but Hannah and Isaac were not as thrilled about that prospect. They both decided that they wanted a beta fish (which they both decided should be named Nemo)and so our family now has a new pet fish named Nemo. I have decided that I want a pet rat. I have never wanted a pet rat, but looking at them today I really wanted one. Did you know that you can teach them to come when called by their name and to sit on your shoulder? I didn't. Pixar would be proud!

Christmas

Sometimes I think that Christmas is a silly holiday. I mean, I celebrate Jesus every day of the year so getting into hyper-uber Christian mode during the holidays seems stupid. I think that the chance of spending time with family is the most important part of Christmas. Of course, I am not spending time with my immediate family, but I view my in-laws as family so it's all good. I love the fact that Hannah is now getting to the age where she understands what Christmas is about. Yeah, we get presents and all that, but Christmas for the most part has lost it's magic. As a kid I loved Christmas, why, because I got a whole bunch of stuff. I don't remember the stuff, but I do remember spending time with family and laughing a whole lot. For me that is Christmas and not this silly idea of getting stuff (I still like getting stuff, don't get me wrong. But that is not how the birth of Christ is to be celebrated). I just wish that Christmas was not just a brief moment out of the year in which people remember Jesus. The whole point of Christianity is to live Christ 365. Christmas is silly in it's present form. If you want to give me gifts you can go ahead and give them to me any day of the year, I don't need to get them just because Jesus was born. So Merry Christmas and I take checks:)

JD

It has been about a month since JD had to go back to his birth family. I have to say that the pain has gotten much worse since he has left. I thought it would get better, but it is still there. I spend a lot of time praying for him because I feel so helpless to do anything else. I really wish I could feel good about him leaving, but I just think that this whole situation is wrong. I could still use a lot of prayer because I am really struggling with this....

Is It Really September?

Oh man, is it really September? I realized today that I have not blogged since July. Holy Smokes! So what has happened from July till now? I didn't get the job in Montana, or in any other ministry thus far. I have spent most of my time watching the kids and looking for a church to minister in. Our family also welcomed a new member (temporarily for now). Hannah and Isaac's little baby brother came to live with us for the time being. We have no idea whether he will stay with us, but no matter what this baby is loved. I am going back into the glass business on Thursday, which is great because we need the money, but I was hoping to get a job in the ministry. Oh well, I guess this is where I need to be right now. Our lives are always changing and we are loving every moment of it!

Going back to Montana

My family is driving to Montana tomorrow. Back to Big Sky, back to MSU Bobcats, back to where I lived, back home. It's funny that I still think of myself as a Montanian (as well as a Minnesotian), even after five years. Montana is where I grew up (physically not emotionally. I am still working on the emotion part) and I am excited to go back and see if this is where God wants to take my family. If it's not then I have peace that God will continue to direct us. If it is I will be excited to return to Bozeman and be near my family again. This would also be an opportunity to develop as a Pastor and to start building relationships in the community of the church. Whatever happens, I am excited to be going back to Montana. Hopefully my family will agree with me after a fifteen hour car ride.

Graduation

I graduated today, and I was surprised that the graduation ceremony was as fun as it was. All the speakers were funny and quick, the music and worship was amazing, and I hugged the School President. I was blessed that my Dad, Mom, Sister, Nephews, Wife, Mother-in-Law, Father-in-Law, Grandmother-in-Law, and my Kids, could all come to the ceremony. I wish my brother could have been there, but he was unable to. I have made it through my Bacholars Degree and I hope to get my Masters sometime in the next five years. We will see where we are in the next few years.

Easter

I don't know what it is about Easter, but I can't stay asleep past 6:30 am. Every Easter I wake up and that is the end of that. This morning was no different. I woke up and I was ready for the day (if you ask my wife you know this is not normal). There are a few things that bug me about Easter (like wearing a tie), but this day just seems different to me.

Jesus brought us back into relationship with the Father today. Sometimes it is hard to imagine the pain that Jesus went through on the cross, but that pain just seems trivial when I think of the glory of God that is possible to know because of His resurrection. This is THE event that makes us Christians, that we are crazy enough to believe that Jesus rose from the dead (which, by the way, He did). Maybe we are not crazy, but instead we have the revelation of the events that happened two thousand years ago. I don't believe that makes me crazy, certifiable maybe, but I KNOW that Jesus has taken away the blemish of sin through His resurrection.

What an amazing day this is!

All at once

These are the things that are happening in my life all at once: My Senior Project is due at the end of the month, I have a class that I need to finish at NCU, I graduate in May, my internship is over at the end of April, I am trying to find a job in the ministry so I am job hunting and resume writing, Isaac may finally have a TPR this month, and our lease is up in July.

This is my life and I love my life. No matter how busy or stressed out I become I know that my God and my family are there through it all. When the bad things in life creep up on me I remember that God is faithful. Bad things happen, that is the way it is, but my attitude during these times shows the condition of my heart. I don't ask God, "Why is my life hard and why do I struggle?", simply because I know that this is life, this is what life is about. I think this is called "Manning Up" to my situation. Struggling and hardship happens to the best of us, but I know that the Holy Spirit is the comforter.

There are those who say that God is causing the pain in their lives, but I say that God is there to help me through that pain. My life right now is jam packed with things that need to happen, and I am starting to get stressed about it, but I will live through this experience and praise God through it all. I need to deal with my situation in life and not try and delegate blame for all my problems. How is your life going and are you trusting God to help you through it?

Pictures

As a parent, I would say that having pictures taken of your kids can go one of two ways, Smoothly or roughly. Today my kids (Hannah and Isaac) had their pictures taken at daycare. Hannah (who is three) became a model. She was voguing and posing and eating up the film. Isaac (who is two) sat there with the biggest frown on his face and that pose was the one that he decided to stick with for all his pictures. Now, you do need to realize that Isaac is a boy and as such he may not feel like voguing for the camera (unless there is a football that he can play with, and then he is mister John Elway). I felt bad for him because he was obviously not happy about the whole experience.

Spiritually speaking, this happens to me a lot. I am not happy about the pictures of my life so I am going to sit there and just be upset and cranky. I think our heavenly Father feels bad for us when we go through those times in life when we are just unhappy (I think it's called compassion). And just like with Isaac and me, he is waiting to comfort us when the experience is over. Isaac was not happy and all I wanted to do was to comfort him, but I also knew that he needed to learn that through all bad situations that his Dad is going to be there. No matter what! I think that we as Christians need to see this same thing, that God is not going to take us out of every bad situation, but that his heart is wanting to grab us and tell us that it's going to be alright. God has not left us, but He is there waiting for us to reach out to Him for comfort. There is no greater feeling as a Dad then to grab hold of your child and let them know that it is going to be okay.