Happy Monday, All! There are lots of updates to get to.... but life's been good, I really enjoy life most when I'm busy! This weekend I had an incredible opportunity to join the leadership of the church to scope out the Tri-Cities. We are hoping to plant another church there sometime in the next year or so, so we had a leader's retreat there to check out the people and the area. Having grown up in Central Washington (don't call that Eastern Washington anymore because now I really DO live in EASTERN Washington), it was very exciting to get to know the people and the area of the Tri-Cities. First of all, I have to thank God for making it possible for me to make the trip at all. I was able to get a free room at the Red Lion Hotel as a result of some work I've been doing at my new job. As of early last week, I was officially a "Gold" member of the hotel's reward program and I even got free breakfast. It was really a great buffet! I digress... I was also able to drive with three other single/campus brothers who were able to share the cost of gas. I was able to do this trip with very little expense, so thank you, God for being able to afford to go!! We did a scavenger hunt, looking for people and seeing some of the favorite places of Tri-Citians (?). It was fun and inspiring filming and photographing places and people all over the area. We went to donut shops and a university campus and had our church service Sunday morning on top of a hill with INCREDIBLE views of the river and the whole area. It was amazing to take some time to pray with Ryan G before the service, see jackrabbits (and NO snakes!) and be able to hear Jermaine preach overlooking the cities. I won't soon forget that service or the whole weekend. Had some great talks with brothers and sisters and lots of fun! I have also decided that for now it might be good to live alone.
My roommate situation is challenging at the moment and feel strongly that the situation needs to change. I have prayed a lot about it and got advice on it as well and think this is the best for all involved. As a result of this, I am resolved to getting my non-house-related debt paid off. This excites me a great deal, however it means a huge sacrifice. I currently have about $15k in debt I have been trying to pay down, but unfortunately without roommates, I would not be able to survive without taking the money off my 401k. I have gotten advice from someone I respect a great deal and he had to do the same thing. I believe that I have been irresponsible with debt which has become very obvious now that I can't afford to make the payments on those loans. I am grateful that I have not been significantly late on my payments to date. That WILL change unless I take care of this right away. I know this is very controversial and I would guess nearly all financial counselors would advise against this route. I agree that this is not an ideal situation, but I can't see any other alternative at this point and God has blessed me with having something with which to remedy the situation and the ability to repent from my irresponsibility. I believe that is more important to God than me having "comfort" in my later years. I hope that if I can eventually find a good or great paying job, or if my business takes off, that I can make up for this withdrawal. See Mark 10:29-30. Again, it is not my first choice, but challenging times often require sacrifice and I believe that God blesses sacrifice and repentance. Now, if you are reading this and you don't know me as a result of church, please bear with me as I rant a bit on a subject of a spiritual nature. The past two years have been very challenging for me. I don't mean that in a bad way, because I think I am actually becoming a better person as a result of a lot of life stuff. I say this because I am grateful that God has helped me to stay strong through this time and I know at any time, I could fall, so my hope is that by staying close to God, that I will weather these storms and be a stronger man of God.
With that being said, I have to admit that I am feeling pretty discouraged about something I see around me a lot these days. I am saddened and disappointed in people's lack of love and faith. There have been too many of the people that I love leaving their relationships with God and going back to the world. I hate it when people that call themselves my friend and I find out they have not been honest with me. I begin to wonder if our entire friendship was based on such deceit. It is frustrating and extremely sad. Unfortunately they have allowed the challenges of this life to harden their hearts and it breaks my heart. More importantly, I remind myself that it also breaks God's. Why can't people see how AMAZING God is and how much he's done for them? Why don't they make the effort to get to know him, even after studying the Bible? The other thing is seeing people that call themselves Christians grumbling about little things. God was upset with the Israelites grumbling in the desert, to the point that he vowed that not one of the people that he led out of Egypt was able to see the "promised land" (Numbers 14:20-25). If you aren't fighting to help people get to know God, then you can't understand how amazing this life is. I heard someone complain recently at church that the Starbuck's they went to didn't have a microwave to heat their pastry! Really? Is that what makes you unhappy? Then you've already lost the battle! Be grateful that God has given us a rich life here in America. People all over the world go to bed hungry, fight to earn $1/day to put food in their family's stomachs. People die every day for lack of having food and clean water and a roof over their heads! This kind of selfishness does not make God happy. Find ways to love people and not seek your own comfort. Then write down things that you are grateful for. I'll step down off my soapbox now...
I've been trying to simplify my life lately by selling a bunch of stuff that I don't need and that have some value so that I can pay bills. It feels so good to get rid of stuff! Having too much stuff weighs me down and I have a hard time feeling joyful because my temptation is to take on another project. I am getting rid of projects and working hard to make my life a little easier. I still have a lot to do. I don't know how those guys on the show "Hoarders" do it. I don't have anywhere near that amount of stuff, and it is still hard! I have also been having a fair amount of health issues. Mostly they have been related to the cold that I had for two months, and back problems which I have no idea how I injured it, but at least it's getting better now. It was a challenge there for a few weeks! I started going back to the gym today, did about 20 minutes of fast walking on the treadmill (which I did much better than I thought I would) and then did some core stuff, chest and legs. It was a great workout and I already feel a little better. So I definitely need to keep that up. To date I have lost a total of 13 pounds. I am also very excited about my new work schedule. The last few months my job has been GREAT with working around my schedule... unfortunately, it meant that I worked late two nights a week and early the next days. By Thursdays I would be just completely wrung out and had a hard time focusing and being giving at Bible Talk. So, I changed my "availability" at work and they started scheduling me for early morning shifts! Now, I have to be honest, there will likely be a short period of transition because I am a night owl, but I am so excited to have some evenings free to spend with people... Woo hoo! Well speaking of which, I do need to start getting ready for work... I am happy that it's only been about a week since my last update and hope to continue to update every week or two at the most. So thanks for checking in and stay tuned for more updates...
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