29

March 23, 2007
12:10 p.m.

I turned 29 yesterday. Mandy and Chris took me to lunch at Sol Azteca. I got a million Facebook wall posts. Mom, Bec, Jaime, her parents, and Justin all went to Kobe for dinner. We had a good time. I wish Dad, Katy, and Heath could have come. It was a good day. I am going to hold on to this last year of my 20s for as long as possible.

28 was good to me. I started my vocation of Christian ministry with my jobs at Hunter Street and at Dawson. The Lord really blessed me.

I woke up this morning to the view of my yard that had been rolled overnight. Jeremy and a bunch of 10th grade guys rolled it for my Birthday.

A verse that has come up for the past 2 days in my reading is the verse in Matthew about humbling yourself like a child before Jesus. Humility is something that I struggle with. I’m glad Jesus used the illustration of a child to help paint this picture of humility for me.

All-nighter

3/19/07
6:22 p.m.

I’m working off 3 hours of sleep. I had all intentions to start my studying early yesterday but that didn’t happen. After church, I took a long nap and I probably didn’t get to the church until about 7:00 p.m to work on the 3 papers that I had due today. For some reason, I could not get focused for nothing. Jaime brought me a pizza and we sat in the FRC and watched Deal or No Deal. I hate my procrastination. I shot basketball, surfed the web, pretty much anything that I could do to keep from doing my paper. I finished 2 out of the 3 papers at 4:30 a.m. I went home and slept until 8:00 a.m and then woke up to study for my midterm in Church Admin. class. It was pretty easy. I didn’t go to my Spiritual Formation class. I skipped to read for History. We went to Dairy Queen and I had a burger and fries. I ate tuna for the first time today at lunch. It wasn’t bad at all. I’m ready to get home and crash!

Hot Wings

3/16/07
3:37 p.m.

I just cheated on my diet by falling into the temptation of Hot Wings and french fries at Loco’s. How can you not eat wings and watch March Madness at a Sports Bar. I’ll try to work it off tonight.

Matthew 14 & 15

What sticks out in these chapters is when Jesus walks on water. I compare myself to Peter so many times. I put my trust in God then I start to doubt. Peter started to doubt and almost drowned. It is when I start to drown when I again, like Peter, call on the Lord for help. “Truly he is the Son of God!

It’s hard to get work done during March Madness. The internet is a big distraction. The Encounter Kids have Spring Break fever today. It’ll be good to have them gone next week.

Holla!

Where did the warmth go?

3.16.07
10:25 a.m. “It’s cold outside again”

Genesis 15 and 16

Genesis 15 is about God’s covenant with Abram. In verse 1, I like how God told Abram to “Fear not, I am your shield”. Abram was a man of great faith.
Chapter 16 plays out like a great soap opera. Sarai is not able to give Abram a wife, so she tells Abram to sleep with her servant, Hagar. So they sleep together and Hagar gets pregnant. So just like a typical woman (haha), Sarai gets mad at Abram and places blame on him. Sarai takes her rage out on Hagar and Hagar flees. An angel of the Lord comes to Hagar and tells her son shall be called Ishmael. Hagar calls God a “God of seeing”.

I’m out the door to lunch with Jeremy Sandefur.

Not a Runner!

3/15/07
10:47 p.m

I’m currently listening to the “Amazing Grace ” movie soundtrack. 

I woke up this morning and met Chris to run at 6:00 a.m. I haven’t ran for the sake of running in years. Needless to say, I was in no shape to run the length of a 5K. I had to walk on 3 different occasions. I finished the route in 33 minutes. Not very good. It felt good afterwards though.

I spent most of the day at work making calls to potential sponsors of the golf tournament. Chris, Casey, Chad, Russ, and myself ate lunch at Dave’s pizza and watched some of the first round of the NCAA tourney.

After work, I took a power nap and then Jaime and I went to eat mexican at Sabor Latino. We then went to Academy where I bought a Ping Pong paddle. We swung over to Wal-Mart to pick up some dog food but ended up spending way more than we planned. We are concluding our evening watching the NCAA tournament. Gonzaga and Duke have messed up my bracket but I’m still in good shape.

I haven’t read my daily scripture yet. I took the book home with me but I need to make a point to read when I arrive to work.

My messy house is getting on my nerves. I get in a bad mood when I look around this place. I should stop talking about it and do something about it. But, as soon as I clean it, it will get messy again. This is one of my biggest frustrations right now.

Prayers:

Beach Breakaway
Cody Ballard
Uncle Bob
My family as they go on vacation

Two-A-Day

3/14/07
10:16 p.m.

I feel better after a good hot shower. I’m currently listening to “Glory Revealed” on CD. I purchased it today at Lifeway.

I’m preparing for my morning run with Chris Hunsberger. I don’t think I’ve ever run more than a mile. I will be running the 5K route in the morning. I played basketball tonight after church and my feet are already hurting. I’m actually more worried about getting up at 5:45 than the actual run.

Jaime is making fun of my shallow “blog”. She is also doubting my ability to finish the 3 miles tomorrow. She is worried that I am going to hurt myself.

I’m off to bed!

Freezing

March 14th
11:25 a.m.

I’m freezing in my office. It is so cold in here.

I just read, Genesis 13 and 14, Matthew 14 and 15, Nehemiah 4 and 5, and Acts 14 and 15. I am trying to catch up on my daily Bible reading by reading 2 selected readings per day. I also am trying to catch up on my journal by trying to publish about 2 per day as well. I never can do things the easy way.

In our Rec staff devotion, we just read from John Piper’s book, “What Jesus Demands from the World”. We focused on “How to Pray and not lose heart” and “How to not be anxious”. Piper pretty much tells it like it is. We also prayed specifically for Beach Breakaway.

I’m about to go to lunch and I have a lot of work to do in preparation for the golf tournament.

Let’s Try Again

3/13/0711:55 PM
I am so far behind in my school work. I’m behind on my reading, I’m behind on my papers, I’m behind on my studying. My work load between school and my church work is so heavy this semester. My prayer is that I start to focus and not be anxious about tomorrow. Take it one day at a time.
I watched A.I. tonight with Jaime. We walked down the street and grabbed dinner. The weather is beautiful. I’m so glad that the days are longer. I went to shoot basketball at about 9:00 p.m. and grabbed a quick shoulder workout. I’m proud of myself for working out 3 days in a row. I’m wanting to start running pretty soon. I may start to trainfor the Shades Crest 5K.
I pray that I haven’t waited too late to start preparing for the Golf Tournament. There’s always something going on at the FRC. Everybody has been really kind about my role in the 5K. I’ve had a lot of compliments and encouragement. My prayer is that God was glorified and that seeds were planted. My prayers are with the family of the runnerthat died in the Seaside race.
Uncle Bob has moved in to his assisted living place. I pray for his healing, health, and adjustment.
I pray that I become a better husband and spiritual leader. I’m failing in this area right now. I need to step-up.
This house is a mess. I pray that I not become lazy with household chores.
Chris told me of my neighbors that complained to him about the dog poop in “MY” yard. It apparently offends them when they walk to church. That really got under my skin. It is not bad at all and even if it was bad…so what! It’s my stinking yard and quit talking behind my back. If someone has a problem with me, come tell me to my face.
Alabama just got beat in the first round of the N.I.T. in overtime. They are terrible and are lost on the court. I’m ready for football!
JG