Q Crashing

So we added two interns to our staff for the summer.  I can't tell you how excited I am about that.  I love teams and when people join a team they automatically make it better.  That person brings all new perspective, talents, passions, and energy to the group.  Now granted, sometimes people can have a negative impact, but I'm going to be honest.  We have two amazing new teammates. Anna and Jake are who has joined us and I'm so excited to see what these young adults do for us at LifePoint, but also what they accomplish in their lives.  Anna is an amazing young woman with a heart for families and it is staggering to hear some of the ideas she is coming up with at a young age.  She has a fighters heart that loves deeply.  A powerful tool.  Jake is energy personified.  There is such hunger for God's word and love for the mission of the Gospel within him. I wonder how many times we miss out on the gifts that people are in our lives.........

If I had to say what I missed most about Oregon, it's an easy answer. Community!!!! My wife Audrey and I are having to rebuild it in our lives.  And that's so much fun, but also a little sad at times.  Only because as your building community, you think about all the people who use to be part of it.  During our four years in Oregon there became a group of people who knew they were absolutely cleared to drop by anytime and when they did we were happy and our family was better for it.  The cool neighbors that we built friendships with.  There was duck fans, parents of three daughters just like ours, a guy who wore a kilt, and a family that ran a restaurant in the back of their house.  These people were all amazing in their own way and enriched the lives of the Williams clan so much.  We miss them.  We miss the people who had became so close that we could not wait for the next excuse to just sit and talk together.  It really was something spe...

The other day a friend of mine called and made mention that she was stressed out because the students in the College she works at were worried that they weren't going to get their annual Puppies and Chocolate Day.  Yeah, you heard me right:  Puppies and Chocolate Day.  In fact, one person who was running for the next years student government realized  how upset the student body was so she used it for political gain.  Immediately her campaign became, "elect me and I'll bring back Puppies and Chocolate Day". Wow. Puppies and Chocolate Day ended up happening.  There was free Chocolate to eat and Dogs hanging around to pet and all was well in the universe again. Here is some insights. We are all really worried about our own Puppies and Chocolate Day.  It may not be candy and chocolate, but maybe it's the next promotion or the next relationship.  We so desire comfort.  We don't really desire contentment, but comfort.  Puppies and Choc...

So what am I back at... Trying to serve God? Trying to be like Jesus? Trying to show my wife as much love as my heart feels? Trying to be a good dad? Trying to impact a community? Trying to live. Trying to live in a way that is good and right and full. Trying to live in a way that makes others smile and makes God smile and makes me smile. Trying to live free from the constraints of this world. I miss and enjoy at the same time. Miss so many great friends in Oregon and enjoy the old relationships rekindled after four years of smoking. Miss comrades at Izakaya Meji. Enjoying times on the porch. Miss big mountains and enjoy warm water. Miss community and enjoy family. This is just one more step to the end. The end of this life leads to the one that last forever. There try and miss will disappear. I will strive to lead others to that forever. It is better than this. It is everything. It is our hope.

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 t...

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. 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.  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....

So I learned today, very clearly, that things are real that I don't understand. Now many of you are saying "No Duh".  But for me it is a bit of a revelation.  For instance, my wife and I have argued forever about migraines.  She would tell me they were super bad headaches that make light hurt your eyes and make you nauseous and can cause you to throw up and want to crawl into a cave and enter hibernation for the next five days.  My response?  All headaches are the same, some folks just have lower pain tolerance. I didn't win the greatest husband award for that comment and I know they are real, but it gives some insight into how I handle situations.  I have a southern highschool football mentality when it comes to life.. "suck it up son" "walk it off" "you hurt or are you injured" "just put some tobacco juice on it" These four comments in my (stupid)opinion have solved the majority of my problems...but not really. To...