14 Hopes for 2014




  1. GET TO 300:  Last year I loss and kept off around 45 pounds.  I have another 35 pounds to go and I’ll be down to 300.  This is where I entered college at.  It has been a constant struggle for me, but God is teaching me to view it in light of his Gospel.  Less stress eating and more trusting that he is in total control.  More eating for God’s glory, not mine.
  2. DATE MORE OFTEN:  I’ve been blessed with 4 amazing women in my life.  My beautiful wife and three super cute and adorable daughters.  I want to find more time to spend with them.  More date nights with my wife and more daughter/daddy dates.  They are the precious gifts God has given me and I want to slow down and enjoy them. 
  3. READ MORE FICTION:  I read quite a lot.  But it is mainly Christian authors talking about theology or missionology or ideology or any other ology you can think of.  At my heart I am a dreamer and I love reading fiction.  It stretches my mind and makes me think outside the box.  I need more of that this year.
  4. WRITE MORE SHORT STORIES:  One thing I have discovered while living in Eugene is that I love to write short stories.  The problem is that I get life so busy around me with projects and ideas that I never set aside time to just write.  I miss it.  My wife got me an amazing table in the basement to escape to and just create from my mind.  With no deadlines or people to manage.  Just me, pencil, and paper. 
  5. PRACICE OLD SCHOOL SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINE:  I want to grow deeper in love with God this year.  I want to practice prayer, fasting, and solitude more often.  These are the things that will continue to shape me into who God desires for me to be. 
  6. BE A MINORITY:  I want to put myself around people who are different than me.  Different ethnicity, age, ideals, and culture.  I’m fascinated with people and it is amazing how different we all are.  Sometimes I find myself just being around people who validate all my own ideas.  This gets me stuck.
  7. QUIT EATING FAST FOOD AND DRINKING SODAS:  Let’s face it, there is no redeeming quality in fast food or in sodas.  They are the common mans drug and I need to get into recovery.  Really I need to quit being lazy.  Cook some meals and brew some tea.  These are slower gratifications, but so much richer in flavor and nutrition. 
  8. TRUST GOD AND BELIEVE IN MIRACLES:  I want to worry less while at the same time stepping into some big dreams and ideas.  I want to take on things that I have no chance of succeeding in and just waiting for God to make it happen.  I want to lean on His power and His Spirit.  I want to run full steam ahead in life without having all the answers, but trusting I know the one who wrote the questions and He loves me.
  9. INVEST IN COMMUNITY:  I want to worry about figure out how to “run” a church and just invest in community as someone who is part of the church.  I want to be involved in my daughter’s school.  I want them to know that there are parents who love the fact that people are pouring into their children’s education.  I want my community’s problems to be my problems.  I want the love of God to be seen by how I love the community.
  10. VALUE FAMILY: I’m horrible at this.  I don’t call my family enough.  I have an amazing mom and dad and I don’t take advantage of their wisdom near enough.  I want to check in more, skype more, and ask them questions more.  I also have the best brother in existence.  I want to spend a couple of days with just him this year.  He is such an inspiration to me and other than my wife, my closest friend.  We are both on mission, but I got to find time for this.
  11. ENJOY NATURE:  I love nature.  It is God’s art.  It is beautiful.  I want to enjoy it more.  My family loves spending time outdoors and with our youngest getting a bit older we need to find ourselves on trails and mountain sides more often.
  12. RUN A 5K. My wife and I are signing up for one of these in February.  Gasp.  What am I getting myself into.  But I just got to do this.  At least once.
  13. PLAY MORE BOARD GAMES. I love board games and I am really upset that I don’t play these more often.  I was introduced to Settlers of Catan when I moved to Oregon and it has been amazing.  This game is so much fun.  But really all board games are fun because it puts friends and family around a table and causes them to laugh together.  I’m betting there are board games in heaven.  Just saying.
  14. GIVE MORE AWAY. I want to hold onto stuff loosely and really be led by the Spirit to help those in need.  He has provided us with a house, car, food, and plenty of comforts.  He has sent so many friends that help us when we need help that I want to be a help to those who don’t have as many friends.  Love does and gives and doesn’t regret either one.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Giving sight to the blind

Image
Luke 4:18-19 has many times been referred to as Jesus' manifesto.  In it he says that he has came to Proclaim good news to the poor (check) Proclaim liberty to the captives (people come to the  Mission on parole...so...check) Set at liberty those who are oppressed (recovery, check) Recovering of sight to the blind (che...wait a minute, hmm, not so sure I can check that one) Now by no means am I claiming to be doing these all like Jesus does everyday.  In fact, I struggle often to keep the main thing the main thing.  But the recovering the sight to the blind has always felt like that was one kept exclusively for Jesus.  Until today.  Enter my friend Richard. Richard is someone I've grown really close to.  He is struggling with issues in life, but has tons of potential.  He has shown himself a natural leader here at the Eugene Mission and is spending time at recovery meetings and in Bible studies everyday.  He moved off the streets and into the Missio
Read more

Why we put December in a low income school.

Image
I want to start by saying, in no way is what we have chosen the best or only way out there.   We just feel it's our way this season. But here is why we chose this path:  When we moved to Oregon we knew our oldest would be going into school.  The great thing is that there are many options for school here.  Private Christian Schools, homeschooling, and the county even let's you enter lotteries for any of the many public elementary schools around.  So when the day came, Audrey and I had much to talk about. We really felt that God had led our family to try our best to make big decisions as missionaries walking in faith.  This led us to believe that the school that was literally just around the corner from our house was a prime mission field.  The coolest part is that Decmeber got to be the lead missionary here.  She would dictate relationships and she would be at the center of decisions of our family involvement.  This has been so beautiful to watch. It was amazing to see my
Read more

17 Challenge Update

So here is where we are at.  In less than 24 hours around 70 people joined in together and raised over $1700 to help bring sight to the blind.  The blind in this case is my friend at the Eugene Mission, Richard.  This afternoon I broke the news to him about how many of you had joined in to help him see again.  He broke down crying in disbelief.  Then we prayed and gave God glory for providing when it was thought impossible. A couple of months ago Richard had began seeing doctors to see what had happened with his eyes.  He found out that he had cataracts growing over his eyes, but it was fixable.  The problem is that any charity funded agencies were only going to help with medical, not optical issues.  The surgical assistant told Richard he would need $1700 to get the procedure.  We talked to the lions club, but depleted funds left them with no way to help.  We gave up.  Then the scripture convicted me and led to the 17 challenge that happened yesterday.  God did amazing things.   Che
Read more