me too

Well I don't want to be the only one involved in this listing of lists.....

(in no particular order of doing or importance)

1. Own a Harley Dyna Low Rider, Fat Bob, or Fat Boy; or an Indian Chief.
2. Travel and experience the Bourbon Trail here in KY.
3. Backpack across Scotland and/or Ireland.
4. Drink a Guiness straight out of the brewer.
5. Visit the Grand Canyon and camp along its riverbed.
6. Travel (at least) the Wyoming part of the Oregon Trail.
7. Become a youth pastor.
8. Share Jesus with students.
9. Start a youth center something like Last Wave was, but better.
10. Get Gentry knocked up (more than once).
11. Adopt.
12. Write a book and have it published.
13. Become Andrew Peterson's friend.
14. Become proficient at the harmonica and/or trumpet.
15. Live like Hebrews 11.
16. Compete and finish a marathon.
17. Win a marathon.
18. Go back to Costa Rica.
19. Be a loving and faithful husband until death do us part.
20. Skydive.
21. Get another tattoo.
22. Kill a bear with my own hands.

ok fine

I don't know how good I'm going to be at this. I've actually done a lot of stuff recently that I had previously wanted to do. Can I add those? I jsut add a little note if they are done already

1. be awesome- done
2. Start a church that reaches people like me
3. Live somewhere I don't need a car- kinda done, but I want more
4. Study the relation between color and music and make enough progress that my findings would be worthy of a patent
5. Write "Boys are from Mars, Girls are from Venus, and Babies are from Uranus- and other myths about where babies come from"
6. Write a serious book. and have it published
7. Start a business- done
8. Operate a business that provides jobs
9. Have a business that is known as the best in its field.
10. Beat Dan in everything we have ever done- done!
11. Learn to play the violin
12. Go somewhere with my wife (and family) every year.
13. Make enough money that I could give away more than I keep.
14. Go back to Barcelona
15. Have some kiddies
16. Buy a house (no picket fences necessary)
17. Be able to do a running backflip
18. Spend more time with my kids than their teachers do
19. Pay for my children's education
20. Get married- done
21. Design something for a client in every country.
22. Own a multi-disciplinary creative company
23. Make a difference

things 1-27...

so after reading kt's brilliant listing of life goals, i have now compiled a portion of my own list...here we go

1. do ministry with my closest friends at some point
2. marry the love of my life
3. get that chick pregnant several times
4. adopt a child
5. travel to the world cup (USA doesnt count)
6. run with the bulls
7. get my parachuting liscense
8. catch a shark from the beach
9. get much better at surfing
10. learn an instrument
11. complete the ironman
12. study counseling at a seminary
13. build my own fixed gear bike
14. go back to fiji
15. see 6 of the 7 continents (antartica blows)
16. learn to spearfish
17. coach a state champion team
18. surf j-bay in south africa
19. be a builder of community wherever i am in life
20. own a house
21. fix that house
22. tell lots of people about jesus
23. be part of a church plant
24. see a city change like ninevah bc of the gospel
25. become a proficient decision maker
26. attempt my vision for intentional living
27. train incredibly hard and try out for a professional or semi pro soccer team


more to come...but maybe not soon, but eventually...

Buechner, on decisions

"Most of the major decisions of my life I find very hard to remember, largely, I think, because they either more or less made themselves or were made by me at a level so subterranean that I can take neither blame nor credit for them, but I can still remeber anguishing my way through this one. I went to Dr. Muilenburg for advice. I consulted my friends. I knew that Christians were supposed to pray for guidance, and I tried my hand at that too, in the dark of night, in my bed at 929 Madison Avenue. The anguish was real enough, but I remember that, even at the time, the prayers seemed self-conscious and stagey. I was less a man praying than a man being a man praying, and no clear answer came, none that I could hear anyway, and maybe that in itself was the answer: that there was no clear right, no clear wrong, but that whichever way I chose, I would have to make it right, both for me and for the one I prayed to. It was for me to decide, and what I ended up deciding was, characteristically, to have my cake and eat it, too. I would take the year off and write a book. Then I would go back to Union and become a minister. Whatever becoming a minister was to mean." Now and Then

50 things.

At dan's request, I'm posting my list of 50 things I would like to accomplish in life. This is by no means comprehensive, and some of them are things that at this stage the game I feel are close to impossible...but nonetheless, here is the list in its present state...even if less than 50% complete.

1. marry a fantastic girl
2. raise a family together
3. finish my masters degree at a Seminary
4. complete raising support
5. write/record my own album
6. play on a nationally distributed album
7. become a published author
8. write a book
9. travel to all 7 continents
10. earn a Ph.D.
11. read the collective works of Lewis and Buechner
12. spend a year in foreign missions
13. bench press 315 lbs
14. run a 5k
15. run a marathon
16. complete a triathlon (one day ironman?)
17. travel to all 50 states
18. spend one season farming
19. live in a city where i don't need to own a car.

Your turn.

SOS...same old story.

Jesus, here I am. Again. After a day of fretting and worries, concern and control. Amazed yet again how I find it my responsibility to micromanage my own life--to figure things out for myself--to make things happen. After all--isn't that free will? Don't we chart our own course? Still here I sit, completely aware (in retrospect) of my need to relinquish my control of my own life and trust you. Trust is so hard these days. When did it become so hard to believe that what you want for/from me is best? so here I am. Again. One year later and the same story. A clean slate. No career. No direction. No ambition. no desire. No girl. No heart. No passion. No balls. A lot has changed but the story remains the same. Are you moving me somewhere? Is there reason to trust? I wish it was hard to trust because fundamentally I didn't think you could be trusted. Unfortunately that is not so. I just suck at trusting. I do believe you know what is best. I believe you have a plan. I just hold so tightly to my own--what I want and the way I want things to be. And so again, if only for this moment, I release my illusion of control and give my life back to you. I place my trust in Your will, in Your Word, in You. Give me strength of mind and discipline not to worry about Her. Grant me courage and resolve to follow to completion the task at hand that you have called me to. Let peace transcend. Renew my heart. Restore my desire. I trust. Give me patience to wait for your timing.

'08

First post of '08.

Eat it suckas.