Getting caught up.

It's been a bit crazy around here lately, we've had a visit by my little brother and his family! It takes some getting used to having a two year old running around! A little ball of energy and mischief, tearing around, needing to be looked after and what not, but I wouldn't have given it up for anything in the world!
It was FANTASTIC having Nathan, Jean and Eli come to us this year! Unfortunately it was during one of the worst heat waves we've seen around these parts in a while! We had a good time tho, celebrated the birthday of our great nation by watching colorful explosions and blew a little stuff up ourselves!
Next up we have a trip to Joplin Missouri planned for next week. A relief trip is our youth groups idea of a good time, and that is JUST FINE BY ME!!! I am so blessed by these young people!
Well, there isn't a whole lot to say right now, so I am gonna go on an get outta here. I'll not make any promises of blogging more.... but I'll try.
Your consolation prize, Jon.

A letter to my father.

To the Strongest Man In The World

My own personal Hero,

           

            When people say the word “Father”, it evokes certain personal, immediate and strong imagery. One of the first of many of my own father happened when I was very young. I can remember him taking control of a situation in which I found myself with an injury of life threatening danger. I had discovered a way to put patio furniture into my neck. My mother found me and, a few months pregnant with my brother, hauled me inside to dad. Busy working on one project or another, he came over at once and did the most effective thing first. He prayed. I recall looking at him through tear blurred vision, he was calling out to God on behalf of his wounded son and frightened wife. His powerful presence and control of the issue at hand has always been a sculpting force in my own life, always trying to maintain calm, strength and control when others may not be able to. For this I thank you. Thank You, dad.

            There were many times when I lay sick or hurt either physically or otherwise that I recall looking up and seeing him praying. The man taught me by example the unteachable- Faith. Faith in the God who has come through for me time and time again. Belief in the God who has never let me down just as He never let my father down. For this, I thank you. Thank You, dad.

At the word “Father”, I remember, with startling clarity, playing catch with him in the front yard of our old trailer. I remember the very specific feelings of awe and wonder as this Super Human threw the ball so high in the sky that I thought for sure it would never come down, tho it did, every time. Even at this young age I loved to put on a show, and I grabbed the football, eager to impress this awesome man, and threw myself into a three-point stance. In my haste I didn’t look where I put my hand and fell prey to my first bee sting. I cried out in pain and startlement and there he was, by my side before I really knew what had happened, reacting only to the fire in my hand. He looked at my hand and found the stinger and removed it. I can still remember my tiny hands in his. He calmed me. Then he did something very curious, he looked down into the grass where I had placed my hand. (Further proof to me that he was indeed Super Human- He was so far away! How could he possibly see where that mean old bee was?) He called me over to him. I eased over that way, sniffling and distraught, peering down into the grass. I remember, even then, trying to stand like him, to emulate him. He pointed down, there lay the bee, dying. He explained to me that the bee was now sure to die now that it had lost its stinger. I marveled at his knowledge of all things. I don’t remember what we did after, but I remember him saving the day that day. And oh, so many others. For that, I thank you. Thank You, dad. To bring this reminiscence to a close and let you get on with your day, I will leave you with this-

            For every prayer you prayed, for every encouraging word, for every saved day.

I thank you.

For every time that you told me that I “could” instead of the other, I thank you.

Thank you for all the “nevers”. You never said “You can’t”. You never said “You won’t”. You never quit on me. You never walked away. You never stopped believing in me, even to this day. Thank you. Thank you so much. I love you. Happy Father’s Day.

Your Proud Son.

Jon

A boy saying good bye to one of his dogs.

Didn't know you too long Peanut. I remember when we first met. You were pathetic looking. A sorry excuse for a wiener dog if I ever saw one! I asked your then current owner about you, and suddenly I was your current owner! I picked you up and brought you to introduce you to your younger bigger brother, Kaiser! You were both pretty wary of each other, and the first thing you did was EAT! You WERE a skinny bugger, but you fattened up really quick! You learned your way around the house and pretty soon we weren't surprised to see a pile of clothes wriggling around and your long nose poke out of it. Of course, because you smelled so bad (EVEN AFTER BATHS!), we had to wash the clothes AGAIN, but it didn't matter, you seemed happier than when we first got you, and that's all that mattered to me. I hope that your last few months here were comfortable, and that you were happy. As happy as a dog can be. I know the night that you came out of the bedroom, walked right up to me with that look in your eyes, my heart broke. I knew there was something that I was going to have to do that was going to break my heart, and in the end, I gave the go ahead to have you put down. I'm sorry. You made my life better, you gave Kaiser someone to play with and Jessica someone to love behind my back. LOL. You were a good dog. I hope that you're time with us was as full of love as a dog can feel. I think you guys don't get the credit you deserve. Your tail wags no matter what, you're ornery personality is particularly all your own, and you love. Unconditionally you love. You taught me alot about myself, through your life and through your passing. I hope that in return, you were content in my care. I have made a vow to protect those in my keep, and I am truly sorry I couldn't comfortably prolong your life. You were a good dog Peanut. I hope I was a good boy to you. You deserved a good boy.
I love you, pup.
So good-bye then. I wish you the best.

ZZZZZOOOMBIES!!!

I have recently fallen back in love with my favorite sub-genre in horror movies. The zombie movie. The zombie movie is in a class all it's own. It's absurdly frightening to some people just due to the fact that on the face of the genre, it is about a virus that is HIGHLY contagious. Beneath all the "undead" and "brain eating" it comes back to something that should frighten us all... Contagion can happen. Happens all the time! And for the most part, our governments are HIGHLY incapable of either containing or controlling outbreaks of any kind! Another reason that these movies are scary or that they hit home with a majority of viewers is that spot in the movie (and let's face it, it's really a go to scene for all zombie movies) where the hero looks over at a loved one and wonders if they are in fact infected. This is something that I as a man would hate to face. To look at my wife and wonder if she was sick, and was sick enough to get me and a whole lot of other people sick....could I pull the trigger? Would I have what it takes to ensure survival? Would I even want to survive without her? Cheesy B-Movies? Yes. Absolutely. But I think we would be foolish not to plan. For a Zombie Apocolypse? Maybe not, but for a viral outbreak? Absolutely. Just a thought! Gonna go polish my guns now!

Ode to Agent Orange.

You were a Neon. Not a great car, but definitely not the worst. You were perfect for me when we first met. I saw you and you had my heart. You were sitting there in all your Neon glory and splendor, the friends that I brought with me just KNEW you were the one for me. We have had our ups and our downs, but through it all, you forgot all of the times that I was rough on you, or the time that I made you blow a rod, or the time that I ran you into a fire hydrant. You forgot all of the times that I punched the steering wheel in frustration or heartbreak. All you remembered was that I took my solace in you. All you remembered was that You protected me when I collided with an immovable object. You took the damage and protected my big fat head. All you remembered was that you did everything in your power to get me from where I was to where I needed to go. You never gave up on me, even tho I didn't take the best care of you. And despite what others might have said or may still say, you made sure that I got to where I was going looking quite good! You didn't care that I got your interior all dirty by hauling everything from dirty stinky painters to a lawn mower around inside ya. When it all comes down to it, I know you are just a machine, but I remember making my first 12 hour drive to the woman who would be my wife. And I remember making it in air conditioned goodness. A smooth ride. You literally drove me to what was to be my destiny. You did it all without complaint, and I loved you. You were literally my first adult car and I had a great 8 years with you. You provided the perfect "office" for countless rides with young people just needing to talk. You were the best concert car EVER. And you bore it all with a smooth ride and a happy face. Thanks for it all Agent Orange. You will be missed. Every boy needs a great first car. While there were others before you, none really captured me the way you did.

Farewell,AGENT ORANGE,

and we thank you.



Jon.

99 Things

Everything I've done is in bold. Found this on another blog and had to repost.


What a creative idea. Reminds me of Bucket List. =)





1. started your own blog

2. slept under the stars

3. played in a band

4. visited hawaii

5. watched a meteor shower

6. given more to charity than you could afford to

7. been to disney

8. climbed a mountain

9. held a praying mantis

10. sung a solo

11. bungee jumped

12. visited Paris

13. watched a thunder and lightning storm

14. taught yourself an art from scratch

15. adopted a child

16. had food poisoning

17. walked to the top of the statue of liberty

18. grown your own vegetables

19. seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. slept on an overnight train

21. had a pillow fight

22. hitch hiked

23. taken a sick day when you’re not ill

24. built a snow fort

25. held a lamb

26. gone skinny dipping

27. run a marathon

28. ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. seen a total eclipse

30. watched a sunrise or sunset

31. hit a home run

32. been on a cruise

33. seen niagara falls in person

34. visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. seen an amish community

36. taught yourself a new language

37. had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. seen the leaning tower of pisa in person

39. gone rock climbing

40. seen Michelangelo’s David in person

41. sung karaoke

42. seen old faithful erupt

43. bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. visited africa

45. walked on a beach by moonlight

46. been transported in an ambulance

47. had your portrait painted

48. gone deep sea fishing

49. seen the sistine chapel in person

50. been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. kissed in the rain

53. played in the mud

54. gone to a drive-in theater

55. been in a movie

56. visited the great wall of china

57. started a business

58. taken a martial arts class

59. visited russia

60. served at a soup kitchen

61. sold girl scout cookies

62. gone whale watching

63. gotten flowers for no reason

64. donated blood, platelets or plasma

65. been sky diving

66. visited a concentration camp

67. bounced a check

68. flown in a helicopter

69. saved a favorite childhood toy

70. visited the lincoln memorial

71. eaten caviar

72. pieced a quilt

73. stood in times square

74. toured the everglades

75. been fired from a job

76. seen the changing of the guard in London

77. broken a bone

78. been a passenger on a motorcycle

79. seen the grand canyon in person

80. published a book

81. visited the Vatican

82. bought a brand new car

83. walked in jerusalem

84. had your picture in the newspaper

85. kissed a stranger at midnight on new year’s eve

86. visited the white house

87. killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. had chickenpox

89. saved someone’s life

90. sat on a jury

91. met someone famous

92. joined a book club

93. gotten a tattoo

94. had a baby

95. seen the Alamo in person

96. swam in the great salt lake

97. been involved in a law suit

98. owned a cell phone

99. been stung by a bee

These are my weakest hours.

The best I could do
Was to put me and you
Miles away from what happened tonight
Away from the words that came like blows
In a fight

He didn't think when he spoke
But the words simply broke
Your beautiful heart
It tore you apart
It's killing me to see you
This way

There's are no words that I can say
That would take away
The pain inside
I'm sorry I couldn't defend
I couldn't put the pain to an end

I'll be here to hold you
It's the least that I can do
For you
Tonight
I'm sorry I didn't put up a fight

Please know I'll defend you to the grave

Nothing worth having ever comes easy.

And if it does, then you may not take care of it as much. (this is of course a generalization so if you have had a personal experience that differs with this particular adage, then awesome for you!)

Hey howdy hey everyone! How have your last couple of weeks been? Mine have been fantastic! Project: Revolution is doing great and we are getting ready to turn that room upside down! Redemption is starting off GREAT and the Lord has been doing a work there as well as in my personal life!

I started working out with Pastor Nathan and Daniel Hearne. Daniel is a transplant to our church from out of state who decided to move on back to his wife's hometown. He has been an excellent addition to the leadership there at the church. He is going through the required schooling to do so. He's been going and pushing us there. It's kind of an odd thing that got us into the gym. One night, not too long ago, Nathan began feeling some chest pains that were unexplainable and had been growing at a steady pace for a couple of weeks. This put him in the emergency room over night and had his attention turned to his lifestyle. He was made aware that night that he needed to seek healthier alternatives to the things he was eating, and the lack of physical activity, despite his constant activity! We decided to all start going to the gym together, and it has been great!

I ran my first 5k on Sunday afternoon. The feeling of accomplishment when I ran across the finish line was AWESOME! I have decided to undertake the undertaking that will be the undertaking of a triathalon. LOL. I know, right?! We'll see how this works out, but I am sure that it will feel DOUBLE better when I pass that finish line. My first 5k was a hurdle just due to the fact that I was unsure if I would even finish. I'm running this race to finish. Not win. So keep me in prayer and I will keep you updated with things as the occur!
Good night!

It's a gamble either way...

"So we're just supposed to believe God loves us even when we can't feel it? Even when it feels like nobody in the world even cares you exist and people that say they love you don't act like it and never have, you're just sposed to believe it like a good little kid?"

I got this text from a young friend going through a hard time. I sent her a response, but this will kind of further my thinking so that maybe someone out there in cyber land might come across it.

First of all, God loves us in a manner we seldom realize here on earth. He loves us without strings attached, no conditions, no expectations. It's a sad statement that this type of love is almost as rare as I like my steaks. Which is very rare, by the way. In a way, her statement here is one that is more accurate than any I have read. Matthew 18:3-4 tells us in plain english "Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."

Now, alot of people would ask why God chose children. Were they the first item just lying around so that he could make a quick object lesson, or was there a reason they were around Jesus? I am certain that there was a perfect reason they were around. They were around because they loved Jesus and the recognized something in him that most adults lose. Innocence. The only thing we know as children from the earliest of ages is that we are in need. How these needs are met and whether or not we are in want as children determines our earthly understanding of love. If we have good parents that are capable, we are in want of  nothing. And what are our wants? As children of a young age, we need just a few things. Love, home, food, and to be cleaned and changed regularly. We know nothing of possesion or desire. We know nothing of jealousy or hatred, bitterness or envy. Selfishness is foriegn to us. We are fully capable of these things, being in the full spectrum of human emotion, but we don't KNOW it yet. We experience true love to the utmost extent that we can experience it here at this age. Our parents fret at our every move and tiny cough. They make sure we have the best that we possibly can so that we can be comfortable and healthy. We are doted on by parents and family and friends of family. We are the center of the universe for a little while. (Is this true love? In one of it's forms yes, but the doting and constant attention is not one of the attributes, just one of the perks of being 8 lbs 7 oz and being adorable)

As we grow we unfortunately expect that our growing wants deserve to be catered to, not fully understanding that what we understood as "wants" when we were babies our parents understood as "needs". As we grow and begin to discover that there are things out there that we want, (or in our minds, need) that we can't have. We got so used to having all of our wants satisfied as children that when we grow up and someone first says no to us.. It's almost a shock to the system. Good parents say no to their kids. It's hard. i've been told, but it's necessary.
Imagine a mother loving her child so much that she let him do what ever he wanted to do. Anyone see the problem with that? Is this rational behavior? No! Because if she truly loved her child, he wouldn't be eating all that candy, he wouldn't be playing in traffic, he wouldn't be doing those drugs, he would have a curfew that is ENFORCED, he wouldn't be putting his life in danger because that is what true love is: Us telling someone that we love them too much to see them hurt themselves. Somewhere along the way we picked up that true love was supposedly the fulfilling of our every desire. It's not. It's the fulfilling of our needs. Am I saying not to lavish your children with toys and gifts? No! That's a great way to show you care for them and want them to be happy, but be sure to keep in mind that these things do not equal true happyness, nor do they equate true love. True love is much deeper than the fulfilling of my selfish wants and desires.
 
God chose to use children here due to the fact that when we are young, the only thing we know is true love. And the less cluttered our lives are with STUFF, the more we can maybe remember that true love. When God says no to us, it isn't to punish us or to make us feel bad, it's that at that point in our lives, we don't NEED whatever it is that He is saving us from at that particular moment. If we don't understand that, we may always miss out on the blessings that he has stored up for us. Sometimes it takes patience, wisdom, understanding, and good old fashioned faith. I have been short on ALL of those things at one time or another as I am sure any person has been. The thing tho, is that we persevere, because God loves us with a true love deeper than any we can fathom here on earth. We can miss out on so much if we try to apply our feeble understanding of God and Love to what we expect from Him. Be like a child. Love with that spirit. Try it for a couple of days. See if your outlook doesn't brighten up just a little bit. Again, sorry for the sporadic all over the place feel of this entry, it's taken me all morning to write, i'm at work, so I tried to keep the continuity as good as possible!

The Shadow Proves the Sunshine.

Yes, that is the second Switchfoot reference that I have made in one day. What? You wanna fight about it? LOL.  I am waiting for my phone to restore right now. It's taking its sweet time. Oh well. Thought I would offer an explanation as to why I have been gone for a little bit.


The truth of the matter is that I was cleaning the house. My little brother was bringing his wife and son down to visit us for a little bit and we were preparing the house for their visit! We were so excited to have them come down and had a wonderful time! They stayed from Wednesday to tuesday and left early that morning, introducing jessica and myself into a novel concept....leaving at the time you say you're leaving... hmm, gotta try that sometime.

I am growing more and more comfortable with the idea of staying on the dispatch desk at work. I feel a need inside to give myself completely back over to the youth group. I have started doing this and have already noticed some incredible benefits and blessings.

I chose the title here because a recurring theme has been taking its place in my life. That theme is best phrased by brother buddy (The founding pastor of Christian Challenge) who said it this way (mostly) "The great thing about being in a desert is that when you finally make it to that water, you appreciate it that much more." and this is becoming more and more true in my life. I had been in a spiritual and mental and emotional desert. Each one fed off of the other and really put me in a bad place and kept me there. We recently got a young man at the church by the name of Daniel who has brought a tangible excitement for ministry. I needed a shot in the arm and have steadily been receiving them from this guy and in the process have been reconnecting with brother Nathan as well. It has been MUCH needed and the Lord is preparing some great things there in all of us. He has birthed a new vision in me and I can't wait to see it to fruition....

I apologize for the EXTREME randomness and brevity or lack of detail in this blog, but I gotta get to sleep! Day Eight awaits us at 7 am at the Louisiana College Athletic Center. Daniel, Nathan, and myself have been hitting it pretty hard the past few days in order to capitalize on the feeling of renewal that is coursing through our veins at this time... God has been extremely good to me. Hopefully I can collect my thoughts a bit more tomorrow and not leave everything so fragmented. I appreciate your patience. Good night!