Wow!!! That is all I can say. It has been an amazing three weeks, or the month of May for that matter. This has the most life changing month of my life.
About a week after my last post, we took our first real vacation as a family. This may not seem that important to some, but for us it was huge. This past weekend my wife and I celebrated our seventh anniversary, and while on vacation our daughter turned six. Now think about that for a second. We have a six year old and a four year old that have never been on a vacation. Tell me that is not big and try to make me believe it...lol.
First, we went to Orlando, Fl and did all the usual things. Disney, relax, Cocoa beach, relax, Disney; well you get the point. On my munchkins birthday, we took her to Disney to be transformed into a princess. She was amazingly beautiful and happier than I've ever seen her. Which is saying a lot because she is a very happy girl. That was a tie for the highlight of our trip for me. On the day we went to Cocoa beach there was a space shuttle launch. This has been a dream for me since I was 3 or 4 years old. We were about 20 miles away, but that didn't make a difference. It was amazing and life changing.
Second, while on vacation I received a call from Chad, my good friend and pastor, offering me a paid position at our church. Now, I have been volunteering there for around a year now taking care of this and that being the jack-of-all-trades for the staff. This is an amazing blessing for my family financially and the timing is perfect. Chad has told me since I started volunteering that if I was faithful over the small things while volunteering, that God would make a way for me to be over larger things while being paid. That call made my vacation ten times better.
Third, this past week I tested for Captain at the Fire Dept. I barely passed, but I passed. I scored the highest and will be promoted to Captain in the next two weeks. I'm now in charge of an entire shift at one of the stations. There are three reasons why this is huge. My grandfather retired from full-time service as a Captain, and I have always wanted to reach this pinnacle of my career. My grandfather is going to get to pin my new badge on me at our promotion ceremony, and as great as those two are the last one blew me away. In order to pass the test I had to score 157 points, I scored 157 points. Now to many this may not be good, but to me it is a reminder of the major lesson I learned last year. God will give me enough for the day. Not too much or too little, just enough.
I know this is long, but this has been the most amazing month of my life. Lessons learned, lessons remembered and memories that I have always dreamed of having now come true. Remember, if you are faithful over the little things, God will make you ruler over bigger things, and he will give you enough for the day!!! He is God over the pop tarts (inside joke)!!! Thanks for stopping by and God Bless!!!
Monday, May 31, 2010
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Trudging through the mud...
I know it has been a very long time since I have posted anything, and I know almost no one will read this. However, something is stirring inside that must get out, that must be released and this is the start of that release.
Over the past several months, God has been revealing some amazing things in my life. About where I am, where I've been, but most importantly where I'm going. I used to describe my calling and future as a tunnel. In this tunnel I could see my future (my calling if you will), but it was fuzzy and just out of reach. This was very frustrating because I knew, and still know, that God has some amazing things for me to be a part of. Now, God has been taking the fuzz out of what is at the end of the tunnel. My calling is becoming clear and things have been set in motion to reach my full potential, but I'm trudging through mud. Not your everyday, drive your car through the puddle mud, but up to your chest, thick as peanut butter mud.
I have to say right now that as my calling began to burn in my heart, I naively thought that it becoming reality might be easy. On the contrary, I have found that the emotional and spiritual attacks are coming harder and more often. There are days that I know what I need to be doing, but I cant get up off the couch. I feel I am barely moving toward my dream and every step is a fight that takes everything out of me. Thank God that I have an amazing friend and pastor.
Last week several of our leadership at DWO went to the All Access conference and had a time of growth and refreshing. After they returned we all had an evening of connection and reality. We all sat in a circle and expressed our deepest hurts and biggest fights that we are facing right now. Amazingly we are all going through the same kind of struggles, and all that tells us is that we are doing something right and someone is trying to stop us.
So, now with my friends and fellow Christians at DWO, we continue our marches toward our callings and we live our dreams. Every step I take is a step toward getting out of the mud. I trudge on with these wonderful people by my side, and I will get there.
I may stumble or need a hand, but I will get there.
I hope that I will stay motivated to continue writing weekly. Take 5 minutes out of your day to be quiet with God. No TV, Phone, computer or anything. Just sit in a room by yourself and be quiet with him. Thanks for reading my ramblings and God Bless.
Over the past several months, God has been revealing some amazing things in my life. About where I am, where I've been, but most importantly where I'm going. I used to describe my calling and future as a tunnel. In this tunnel I could see my future (my calling if you will), but it was fuzzy and just out of reach. This was very frustrating because I knew, and still know, that God has some amazing things for me to be a part of. Now, God has been taking the fuzz out of what is at the end of the tunnel. My calling is becoming clear and things have been set in motion to reach my full potential, but I'm trudging through mud. Not your everyday, drive your car through the puddle mud, but up to your chest, thick as peanut butter mud.
I have to say right now that as my calling began to burn in my heart, I naively thought that it becoming reality might be easy. On the contrary, I have found that the emotional and spiritual attacks are coming harder and more often. There are days that I know what I need to be doing, but I cant get up off the couch. I feel I am barely moving toward my dream and every step is a fight that takes everything out of me. Thank God that I have an amazing friend and pastor.
Last week several of our leadership at DWO went to the All Access conference and had a time of growth and refreshing. After they returned we all had an evening of connection and reality. We all sat in a circle and expressed our deepest hurts and biggest fights that we are facing right now. Amazingly we are all going through the same kind of struggles, and all that tells us is that we are doing something right and someone is trying to stop us.
So, now with my friends and fellow Christians at DWO, we continue our marches toward our callings and we live our dreams. Every step I take is a step toward getting out of the mud. I trudge on with these wonderful people by my side, and I will get there.
I may stumble or need a hand, but I will get there.
I hope that I will stay motivated to continue writing weekly. Take 5 minutes out of your day to be quiet with God. No TV, Phone, computer or anything. Just sit in a room by yourself and be quiet with him. Thanks for reading my ramblings and God Bless.
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