What's new with me (a good bathroom read)

It's been a long time since I posted anything new, so I thought I would share a good memory to past the time.........

So I don't remember when this was, but it was on a trip back to school from home. Maybe from Thanksgiving, or whatever. I always stopped in Terre Haute, IN since it was about half way to Purdue from Evansville, IN. This time on my way out of Evansville, I picked up Dan in Vincennes. On our way back we passed this coop sign that said we could order 25 free chicks! (What more could 2 single college guys want right?!?!) I missed it. Dan saw it and convinced me that we needed to turn around and take a picture. Dan likes to take pictures in front of funny signs, and so we turned around after passing this one and went back to snap the picture of Dan on the phone ordering his 25 free chicks.

Why is this important you ask? I've been thinking a lot lately about my spiritual walk, and I have noticed a few things. When I had a group of guys to stay accountable too, things seemed much easier. There was always someone around. Someone with a better perspective and a different outlook when things got tough. Well since moving to Florida, some things have not turned out the way I pictured. I pictured big success, and using that to show everyone what happens when you follow God where He wants you to go. Instead, we've had some rough financial times, health issues, housing issues, and that perfect job never came along. Our church is great, however it's been tough trying to find a place to fit in. We have some friends that we consider family now, and after few years of disappointment, we were blessed with our first daughter. She's amazing! Even before she came, just reading all the stages of development was awesome to me, a wanna-be engineer, how things like heart beats, brain activity, and limbs all came to be. I knew it was an awesome design and that there was no one going to tell me it all just happens. Still, the struggles were there and they started affecting my thoughts, my patience, anger, jealousy, and a bunch of other things that just crept in slowly. I knew things had to change.

About the same time, my buddy Rob and I have been talking about this trip we're are taking with Dan to see Purdue football this fall. He also tried to convince me that I need to take a job at Adtran and in the process get my MSEE paid for. Which would be great if I knew that's where God wanted us. However, I don't feel that right now, and after explaining all these thoughts to Rob he pointed me toward a guy name Mark Driscoll. I started listening to his sermons on 1st Corinthians and after only 2 sermons, I'm blown away. The guy explains what Corinth was like when Paul wrote these letters. It's not much different from our world today, minus the chariots and Romans and robes. The way they lived and their stage in life was very similar to ours. He's going verse by verse which is something I've been missing since the days of TNT. If anyone wants to join in let me know and we'll start some fun dialog er something. I started on Monday, today is Wednesday, and I'm already anxiously awaiting time to read on and learn some more. I've only listened to the first 2 sermons so I'm not that far ahead. I've missed opportunities to do more with my faith because of one reason or another, and it has been disappointing. I want to have that excitement I had when I first started this journey. When I sent the email out to Rob explaining what state my heart was in I didn't know what to expect. Maybe a "hang in there," or a "it will get better," or something to that extent. Not that I thought he would blow me off, but I was just venting more than anything and my heart came out of it. If I was any good at writing music I think a cool song would come out of it. Anyway, I wasn't sure how deep the message was that I just sent. So instead of just letting me keep going, Rob was in the right place to tell me turn around and stop for second. I was missing something good. I was wanting things to fast. Things I felt that should have happened when we moved here. I'm starting to learn that even though you don't like the place you're in (Terre Haute really stinks to drive through), sometimes it's good to stop and hang out for a bit just in case. I'm hoping to learn some more why God brought us here, and I think for once, I'm looking in the right places.

Did all of this come to me from a picture of Dan ordering 25 free chicks? Not really, but after I started typing and thinking about the story behind the picture......it made sense to me.