Another sweet video

Um yeah. Words can't say much, so just do yourself a favor and watch this. Over and over and over and over and over and over.

New Video

It's been awhile since I posted a video I enjoy. There is just something inside of me that gets stirred up every time I see something like this. Enjoy. That is all.

Psalm 112 for 2012!

yesterday our senior pastor unveiled our Generosity Initiative at church called Crescendo. he mentioned something to the effect of Psalm 112 becoming a theme for us for 2012. i've read over this many times in the previous months as I helped to write our small group curriculum for this, as well as devotionals for everyone to go over. this morning, I reread it, and found something verses that really spoke to my heart. thought i'd share the entire chapter with you here.

"hallelujah! blessed man, blessed woman, who fear God, who cherish and relish his commandments, their children robust on the earth, and the homes of the upright--how blessed! their houses brim with wealth and a generosity that never runs dry. sunrise breaks through the darkness for good people--God's grace and mercy and justice! the good person is generous and lends lavishly; no shuffling or stumbling around for this one, but a sterling and solid and lasting reputation. unfazed by rumor and gossip, heart ready, trusting in God, spirit firm, unperturbed, ever blessed, relaxed among enemies, they lavish gifts on the poor--a generosity that goes on, and on, and on. an honored life! a beautiful life! someone wicked takes one look and rages, blusters away but ends up speechless. there's nothing to the dreams of the wicked. nothing."

we read a few different times in the passage about a generosity that never runs dry! what a concept! i found that thought prick something deep in my heart. this is something i want! no doubt, the temptation for many would be to say that this is not possible because eventually resources run out. however, i'm thinking this passage has to do more with attitude than resources. (i have not done an extensive study on this, maybe just what God is speaking to me today) i've found that my attitude greatly enhances or hinders my generosity, not my resources. in fact, one verse here states, "....heart ready, trusting in God, spirit firm, unperturbed...." which leads me to believe that at the very least, attitude is implied here.

if we want to be a generous people, we must first get our hearts in the proper position. i've loved the prayer by the founder of World Vision, Dr. Bob Pierce so much that i got it tattooed on my wrist. "Break my heart for what breaks yours". begin by praying that. but definitely don't wait until you feel generosity flowing from you, just begin to act generous. continually pray that God would break your heart for the things that break His, and watch it happen as you act.

Journal exerpt from 3.1.12

I don't do this very often. Usually I keep my personal journal for thoughts that are all over the place. Some are just random things in the hopes it will get me in a flow to write. Other entries contain some pretty personal items. That being said, I felt like I wanted to post this entry from yesterday. Or at least a portion of it......

"I've been going through the One Year Bible this year, but haven't really read it and paid attention to what I was reading for quite some time. I'm tempted to discontinue this effort because of that, and go back to randomly reading my Bible. Have to give that some more thought. So I cracked open my Bible this morning; it fell to Proverbs 3 where I had one of my many bookmarks in place. Verses 5-12 are giving me much to ponder this morning, especially the beginning verses. '.....don't try to figure out everything on your own.' That's really sticking out to me this morning. What are You saying to me in this Father? Maybe I try to figure out everything because I don't really trust you. Maybe I don't really trust your goodness. Maybe I think I can do a better job. Forgive me for these times. How often do I actually listen for your voice? How quick am I to complain that you aren't speaking loudly or clearly enough. Wow! I've got some nerve. Help me to grow more comfortable with not knowing everything, and help me to develop my faith and trust in You, no matter how difficult that may prove. I love You!"

What is it about life that makes us uncomfortable when we don't know all the details? How boring would that be if we knew how life was laid out for us, every little stinking detail? Part of me thinks that's exactly what I want, but as soon as I got it I know I'd get bored and wish I didn't know. Why not just embrace the adventure life is? No sense fighting it, since we won't ever achieve all the answers before hand anyways. The funny thing is that we don't need to know everything anyways. Proverbs 3 spells it out clearly for us. Don't try to figure it all out, instead learn to listen for God's voice in everything you do. Plain and simple. Now, this does take practice. To stop. And listen. It can take awhile to clear our minds. Sometimes we will get it wrong. But I'm pretty sure God is big enough to overcome that. I've gotta believe he enjoys just watching us try sometimes.

I know that I love watching my daughters try to get something. And I love when they want MY help to get there after trying for themselves. Love it! This also reminds me of what of my all time favorite passages in the Scriptures, found in Isaiah 42.

"But I'll take the hand of those who don't know the way, who can't see where they're going. I'll be a personal guide to them, directing them through unknown country. I'll be right there to show them what roads to take, make sure they don't fall into the ditch. These are the things I'll be doing for them--sticking with them, not leaving them for a minute."

Another favorite quickly follows in Isaiah 43....

"But now, God's Message, the God who made you in the first place, Jacob, the One who got you started, Israel: 'Don't be afraid, I've redeemed you. I've called your name. You're mine. When you're in over your head, I'll be there with you. When you're in rough waters, you will not go down. When you're between a rock and a hard place, it won't be a dead end---Because I am God, your personal God, The Holy of Israel, your Savior. I paid a huge price for you: all of Egypt, with rich Cush and Seba thrown in! That's how much you mean to me! That's how much I love you! I'd sell off the whole world to get you back, trade the creation just for you."

God is surely pursuing us with all He's got. But we must take the time to listen. WE must pay attention.

So there you have it; just some random thoughts today. I went to see Act of Valor last night. GREAT flick! The type where you walk out, not necessarily saying you loved it, but the kind where you walk out sobered. Sobered at the heroic acts performed every day by our military, whether you agree with our policies or not. They serve and give of themselves faithfully. No matter what. One scene particularly moved me, and prompted me to lean next to my friend and whisper, "If only Christians (myself included) had each other's back like this....". Friends, we are family. When one of us hurts, we are all to hurt. When one of us rejoices, we are to join in the celebration! Hm.......yeah. We are family. I love you my family!

Act of Valor

I've been looking forward to this movie for a really long time now. I am really looking forward to the day when I get to view it for the first time. A good friend of mine wrote a post a day or two ago, and mentioned something in the movie that has really grabbed ahold of me. As I understand it, this was a quote from a letter once of the men in the movie wrote to his son.

"When it comes your time to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with the fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song and die like a hero going home."

WOW! Powerful words. This got me thinking simply about how I live my own life. When I die, will I sit there on my death bed, wishing I could go back in time and risk a little bit more, love a little bit more, give a little bit more?

I refuse to live this life with regret. I wish that were true. There are so many things I already regret, but this thought process is one that's gripped my heart. I don't want to live my life looking back over my shoulder, wishing I could have acted differently. Life should be lived by taking advantage of EVERY moment, going full speed ahead to advance God's Kingdom. That seems so far from where I'm currently at. Philippians 3:13-14 states "Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, ¹⁴ I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us." I want to look forward to what lies ahead.

Arizona

South Mountain, Phoenix, sunrise

South Mountain, Phoenix

South Mountain, Phoenix, & Michigan Awesome

Jeff Hunt atop Camelback Mountain, Phoenix

Me on the Hermit Trail, Grand Canyon National Park

It's kind of difficult to not have a very good time in Arizona, especially when visiting friends. This was a much needed getaway at a much needed time. My friend Jeff moved out to Phoenix a year ago, and we haven't seen each other since. We've had a unique tight knit friendship for many years now. We've had some years where we would see each other almost daily (his office was located in the same building I worked), and then other years where we might see each other once a month or so. But, none of that mattered. We have very similar views on most topics, and when we did talk or get together it was just like old times. We've got lots of great memories, including 1 trip to the Grand Canyon, working together, countless mornings at coffee shops, countless late night manly movies, UFC pay per views, you get the point.

So, in many ways, this was a dream come true to visit him and his family. I flew out on a Wednesday night, and we stayed up late eating pizza and catching up. Thursday morning we got up early to begin hiking South Mountain in the dark, so that we could catch the sun coming up over the mountains. One of the most beautiful sights I've seen in nature in a long time. This was a great way to start the day! Afterwards, we headed to a local coffee shop, and got McDonald's breakfast before tackling Camelback Mountain.

Camelback was a much different climb, with much steeper sections, and many larger rocks to climb up over. There were even a few steep sections where handrails were installed. This was incredibly challenging, but the view from atop was breathtaking! A 360 degree view of the city. After lunch at Samurai Sam's we headed back to relax for the rest of the day. We contemplated hiking one more mountain, but didn't have quite enough time, or energy.

Friday we got up early again and began the 3+ hour drive to the Grand Canyon. As I mentioned before, we hiked there a few years ago, but in a different section of the Canyon. On this day we were going to hike part of a trail neither one of us had been on before, Hermit Trail. Driving through Flagstaff was amazing, and created a huge desire in me to want to live there one day. Maybe I'll have to settle for another visit in the future. It was really cool to see some dramatic storm clouds descend on Snowbowl, the local mountain in Flagstaff.

We finally got to the GC, and after catching some of the touristy scenic overlooks, we were able to spot some elk on the side of the road. This was my first time seeing them, and they are MASSIVE! I'm hoping to add some pictures from my digital camera as soon as I can get new batteries put in it (the pictures above are from my cell phone).

Hermit Trail was a lot of fun, with about 1/3 of it covered in snow and a little ice. It was pretty narrow at times, which made it all the more fun and exciting. We definitely had some good conversations while hiking that trail. Afterwards we stopped in the General Store so I could get a few things, and then headed back to Flagstaff for Bun Hugger, a local hamburger joint.

In the meantime, Denver was getting hammered with a snowstorm, and I was supposed to have a connection there on Saturday. Rumor was that they had shut down the airport, so I didn't really enjoy my food all that much while on hold to check on my flight status. We finally got ahold of the airline and found that everything was still on schedule.

Interestingly enough, on the way back to Phoenix we got stuck in what must have been a 6 mile traffic backup. More good time to chat. We finally got back to Jeff's place, had some more food, and hit the hay. Saturday morning, I got packed up, and we said our goodbyes as he dropped me off to meet up with another friend.

Roomie picked me up and we were able to spend about 4 hours together before he dropped me off at the airport. "Roomie" is Russ Funk, my roommate the entire time I was in South Africa with Team World Vision back in 2010. It was so great to see him and catch up on life! We had breakfast at a local joint, walked around ASU campus for awhile, went to his house to meet his family (I had already met his son Rusty on a few occasions, and also went to South Africa with him) and then we went to a local brewery for lunch.

Even though I've used a lot of words in the post, it's truly difficult to describe just how much this trip meant to me. I couldn't have pulled it off without my wife Emily and money I got for Christmas from my parents. I don't know when the next time is that I will see my friends. I'm so thankful in situations like this for social media, cell phones, and email because it makes it so much easier to keep in touch. To Jeff, Shannon, Cassidy, Cade, and Roomie, thank you so much for taking the time to hang with me.

Idiots Running Club: Rocky Raccoon IRC Style

Idiots Running Club: Rocky Raccoon IRC Style

Good stuff by a few idiots. Check the blog at idiotsrunningclub.blogspot.com