My Identity Crisis

2 residency interviews down… 5 to go! Liz is going to the Medical University of South Carolina tomorrow. So far, so good!
Well guys, I have a confession. I have been having an identity crisis over the past couple weeks. Please don’t worry; it’s not like a midlife crisis or multi-personality disorder or anything like that. I have just been messed up over the past few months and it has been climaxing this week and today is the first time I have been able to verbalize it. Let me explain…
Not too long ago, Liz and I made the decision to adopt a child or children in the future. This was not on our radar until the past 6 months. It has been an amazing journey in which my heart has been burdened for children without proper families. Also I have been forced to face the reality that children are being taken advantage of, in many different ways, every day around the world. Both of these realities seem to be placed in front of me daily… most of my thoughts have been consumed by them. This is screwing my life up, in a good way, but nonetheless causing me to have an identity crisis.
Jesus said that when you do anything good for the “least of these”, talking about those who are not able to help themselves, you do it to Christ. If you give shoes to someone who cannot afford shoes, you give Jesus a pair of shoes. If you give someone medical treatment, you give Jesus medical treatment. Food… clothes… shelter… etc. you do it for Jesus Himself. On the other hand if you have the ability, yet withhold from someone in true need, you withhold from Jesus Himself.

Now, in this world we live in, you cannot find anyone more helpless than children. They are the example of purity, of beauty, of innocence, being unshaped by the world. I desperately want to show these children who have no home, no family, no hope, no love, that they are important and that someone loves them. I so want to show them that I choose them, and they have enormous worth. James, the brother of Jesus, said "Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God is this, to visit orphans and widows in their affliction." This is becoming my passion… But how does this passion mesh together with my calling to pastor and preach?
Herein lies my predicament… my identity crisis. I hope I will never be the same again.

Hanging in Lexington, KY

Hey guys,

How are all you guys doing? I hope you are all doing well, cause we are.

Currently, Liz and I are in Lexington, KY and she is interviewing for a position at the University of Kentucky hospital. I am sitting in the room hanging witih the Discovery channel, a computer, and a book.

This is what I see right now as I look out the window and write.


They said we would get a flurry or two... But it's still going.

I will tell you how everything went when we get back.

Exciting Adventures

This is the time in Liz’s life where she is about to graduate from the USC College of Pharmacy. The month of May will be one of the happiest times in our lives. She will be graduating top of her class, either salutatorian or valedictorian, and will be going on into a residency program.
What is a residency? A residency is a program which gives further education and training at a higher level. But it is also a job.
In the next month we will be traveling to Wake Forest University, University of Kentucky, The Medical University of South Carolina, University of Tennessee, University of NC Chapel Hill, and Vanderbilt University (in this order). We are still waiting to hear from one other school for an interview (University of O, that should keep you guessing).
Liz will spend the majority of her day in interviews; I will spend my time getting to know the city a bit better and being the best dang moral support you have ever seen. Liz will either be accepted or denied by each program, and Liz will choose the one she desires to attend. This is an exciting time in our lives and we will keep you informed and up to date on what is happening.
For now, we are trusting that God would guide Liz to the place where He has plans for both of us. Please pray with us.

A mix of hurt, anger, and sickness

Earlier this week I was reading a friends blog, he lives in China and has a two-part job. He teaches English as a second language and travels all over Asia filming video for a company. It is a tough job but someone has to do it.
This friend, Biscuet, yes that is his name and no I am not just hungry, as I write this is in Changmai Thailand on vacation. He wrote on his blog about something that made him "want to vomit". In his own words, "As i walked through the market tonight i saw several older white men hand-in-hand or arm-in-arm with little Thai girls. And by little, i mean young… very young."
These young girls are not their relatives. They are children who are being forced daily into child sex slavery. These young girls are being violated by disgusting and perverted men.
As I read, my heart began to hurt and I felt a mixture of sadness, anger, and sickness. I wanted so badly to rescue these girls form this situation... to show them that they are worthy of love, True Love.
I am deeply moved by the injustice going on in this part of the world... and desperately want to know how I can help. I wish I could say as Biscuet did, that I will pray for the men... but I am not there yet. I hope that one day soon I can pray for these men who desperatley need a Savior named Jesus just as I need Him.
for more information, and to see how you can help abolish child sex slavery check out these sites.
http://love146.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=21460
http://www.rahabministriesthailand.org

Friends

Hey guys, sorry about being out of touch for the past week. I have been out of town, in the boonies of Kentucky, duck hunting with some friends. These guys (especially the dog) made my week a great one. We left with the intentions of messing some ducks up and having a great time hunting. Needless to say the hunting was incredibly subpar, but the people made the 15 hours in a car and the single digit temps worth it.

Some highlights included the house being broken into, possessions stolen, a cold house, launching a boat about 30 ft before we reached the water, frozen pipes, no showers, poker, steaks, and lots of picking on one another.

Good people have a way of making bad situations worth it.

Death...It's not always bad.

Death is interesting... and makes people do funny things. It makes some sad, gives some relief, makes others cry, and brings some fear. There are days that death does each of these to me... but more-so it does something much greater.

Death is the only thing that brings me to life. In the face of death, I am free to live my life to the fullest. In the face of death I realize that I do not want to have regrets at the end of my days. I look at death as not a hindrance but as the greatest motivation for everything I do. Death is the only sure event each of us will experience on this earth, so why worry, why fear? Let death motivate you to live to the fullest, love to the greatest extent, give the totality of your life to a Greater Purpose.

New Years Resolutions

Happy Belated 2009 everybody!
I know that the tradition for the new year is to come up with well thought plans of quitting some habit, starting another habit(hopefully a good one), doing something healthy, eating better, or some other thing that is supposedly good for you.
This process drives me crazy, because I always start out gung ho (I guess that is how you spell that), and in a month I can't even remember what those well intentioned resolutions were.
So this year I am going to try something different... something meaningful... but achievable, so as not to fall into the same trap as always. By meaningful I mean something that will change a small part of my life in a big way. Here they are:

1. Spend More Quality time with Liz
2. Read More good books (not more books in general)
3. Wake Up a Half Hour earlier 3 days a week to Spend quality time with God

See, they might not be the biggest dreams, but if I can achieve them they will radically change my life for the good.
What are your resolutions in 2009?
Maybe we can help each other to keep them for the first time ever.

What Moves You?

What makes your heart race? What drives you? What makes your blood pump? What makes you feel alive?
For every person there is something that makes you feel alive more than anything else. For most everyone, that something that moves you, is different. For some it is a hobby, for others it is a person, it can be a place, or an event. For me, there is a moment when I am walking onto the platform, Bible in hand, my mind and heart racing at what will be coming out of my mouth for the next half hour.
As many of you know, I am a preacher, not as a profession but because of something ingrained in my DNA. At that very moment when I stand to walk on the platform, I realize that I have been entrusted with the greatest message ever given, the message of Hope and Love. At that moment, as I begin to share my life with the crowd in front of me, my blood is flowing and I am never more alive. I have kayaked class V rapids, dove with enormous stingrays at night, hooked 100lb fish on fly rods, and snowboarded some of the greatest mountains in North America and nothing holds a candle to the feeling I get when I stand to preach the Word of God. I am the luckiest man in the world.
What makes you feel alive? Share your thoughts with me…
PS… You can listen to my sermon at this link (http://beulahbaptist.com/sermons.html).

So What Exactly Am I Doing?

In September 2008 I resigned from a church where I had pastored for 2 years due to numerous reasons to long to blog about, and waited for what my next step would be. Liz and I knew we would be leaving the area in the summer of 09 and could not pastor another church with a good conscious. A close friend and mentor, the pastor of Beulah Baptist Church in our area offered me the opportunity to serve on their pastoral team short term (look at the link and check us out). Liz and I knew that we needed to grow, heal, and be ministered to... so we graciously accepted.
We are not paid staff, but are raising our own support. This started as an incredibly scary undertaking, but we have seen God work in our lives through many of you and we are truly blessed beyond what we deserve. Now, I am glad we are raising our own support rather than being a line item on the budget.
So, thank you! And if you would like to be a part of our ministry, you can. First and foremost we need your prayers. Second we need your love and support. And third, we need your money.
You can email me if you would like to be a part of what God is doing.