Prayer Request

Please be in prayer for my niece, Chloe. She is two months now, but is not gaining any weight. She has been in the hospital for the last week. They think/thought that she was allergic to the milk, but have changed milk twice now. She keeps throwing it all back up. Hopefully we will hear more of what is going on later today.

Thanks.

Tax Time!

I can finally say I completed my taxes before the deadline. As some know that is a HUGE deal. I spent all day Wednesday working on it. And TurboTax online sure helped. Getting a pretty big refund certainly didn’t hurt as motivation either. A few things learned…

Having stuff organized definitely would help.

(Result: Bought and installed Quicken)

Our tax system is way complicated.

I have a lot more to learn.

That to say… I am glad I finally did it. And I should have done it earlier. Could be that much closer to getting out of debt.

Another Update

It has been awhile since my last update. I have been slacking.

Here is a picture of our spring break Bible Camp group.

And another of me discussing things with Landon.

The week went very well. Three of the kids accepted Jesus. And I think they understood. It was quite fascinating to me to be talking to these kids, and to hear some of the misconceptions they have. They are smart kids, they know what is going on, and know a lot of things, but they can also get so many things mixed up. It was so good to see towards the end of the week, the light come on. That a few of them really started to understand who Jesus was, and what He did for us. That was so cool.

So I pray that God would continue to work in these kids lives, and use the time we had with them, in spite of our inadequacies. I know I was not ready like I should have been.

And quite honestly I have been fighting with God since that week. I did not put the energy, time, or prayer into that week like I should have. I knew it, and still did not do it. And I have been struggling with the same stuff the last couple of weeks at work.

God has called Christians and me in particular to live all out for Him. He specifically said to love Him with all we have, heart, soul, mind, and strength. And to love our neighbors as ourselves. I have such a hard time with that. I am so selfish. I want to sleep. I want to eat sweets. I want to NOT exercise. I want to avoid uncomfortable situations.

But He has called me to a higher standard. The highest standard, Jesus. And I must quit comparing myself to others, and live up to the standard He has set for me. I got a reminder of that this week. A gentle reminder once again. He is too good to me.

I was able to have a couple of days off this week, so I made a quick trip to Bryan, then to Coolidge and Corsicana to visit family. God has blessed me with a tremendous family. I head back to Arkansas Thursday and get off Saturday.

Well, that is all for now. More later. I am sure.

Full Days Off - A Brief Update

I got off Friday, two weeks ago, and have been quite busy. Mostly I have been hanging with great friends and family. I am scheduled to go back to work this Sunday.

Last week I got to meet probably 20 to 30 people in church I did not know through a variety of activities. It was great! I am not the most outgoing person, but I am slowly learning how to talk to people. This is a good thing.

This week I am involved in Bible Camp here in Bryan. It has been very good. There are six of us in our group, and have been having a good time. It is certainly challenging working with "inner-city" kids. (They actually only live like 10 blocks from me. I live very close to the inner-city.) I have been pretty nervous actually, but once it gets going, I am so blessed to be able to know these kids. I will give a more complete update once we finish. For now, I value your prayer. For each of our team, and for all of the kids. We all need Jesus so much.

Paid in Full !!!! :)

PAID IN FULL

What a phrase. No. I am not totally out of debt yet. But I just got through paying a round of bills, and I got to pay off one of my credit cards. I still have three more with balances to go, but this one is special. I have been a card member since 1996, my freshman year in college. I do not even want to go back and see how long I have had a balance on this card. To think of the hundreds of hours worked and thousands of dollars wasted in interest paid on this card... it is insane!

If I can give any advice at all to everyone, it is to stay out of credit card debt. It is a trap. A very profitable trap made by our culture to anyone and everyone. It is just way too easy to fall into it.

It is so much more rewarding to just do what the Bible says. Stay out of debt. Do not be a servant to the lender. We have that choice. Funny how servants aren't usually thought of having choices. But we do. We can serve the lender, or we can serve God.

Thoughts

I am up late at my office… waiting.


Lots of computers, but nothing to watch at the moment. Something broke down on the rig, so we have some down time. We are still on call, but we really do not have any idea on how long this could take. We will see.

Current thoughts… time, money, the Bible.

Time: So much and so little at the same time. There are so many ideas running through my head. So many things I want to do, to read, to study. And yet, I find myself watching TV, sleeping, daydreaming. What is that all about?

Money: I just saw a documentary on the top 1% of American families financially, and the inequality found in our country. It is kind of frustrating that despite the fact of the inequality found in America, America is the richest country in the world, and compared to the rest of the world, there is even more inequality. Incredible inequality. Even minimum wage is far more and easier to make per hour, than MANY places in the world making less than that per DAY!

The Bible: If the Bible truly is our guidebook as Christians, why is it so hard to put into everyday practice? Why is it so hard for me to put into practice? I know what it says, and I know what God has told me to do, but why is it so easy to get distracted and frustrated?

If you cannot tell there is a little bit of frustration coming through. But that is OK. It helps to get all this out of my head.

On another note: Here is what I saw in Clinton yesterday.

A tornado hit here last week. We are working about 20 miles south of Clinton. A sober reminder to pray for safety, regardless of where one lives or works. God is still very good. Much more than I will ever deserve.

Blessed Beyond Measure

It's a girl! Yes, my brother just had his first child. Chloe Beth entered this world yesterday at 4:44 PM. I unfortunately was at the time in Arkansas. But I was extremely blessed to be able to see her today. She is beautiful.

Chloe was unexpectedly early, but just as my mom called to tell me the news, my coordinator called and asked me to take some equipment to the shop in Houston, 15 minutes from the hospital! Absolutely incredible. I get paid to come and see my newest niece!

And adding blessing to blessing, as I drove through a rainstorm to pick up the equipment from a rig in Oklahoma, it didn't rain for the 15 minutes we were breaking it down out in the cold night. Then, 10 minutes down the road it starts to pour again. Something so simple, but a blessing nonetheless.

It just amazes me how good God is. I really do not understand it. I don't deserve it. In fact, deserve the opposite. But His grace really is amazing.

Here is something I have gained through this. And really something that I have been struggling with for a little while. I really can trust God with everything. Something I know in my head, but have yet to put it fully into practice. I can take Him at His word when he says "Take my yoke upon you, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light." "Those who love me keep my commandments." "All things work together for good to those who love God and and are called according to His purpose."

Something just clicked as I got back on the road, in the rain. I should have gotten it by now as I have seen over and over and over in my life how good He is. But seeing something so huge as a perfectly working out this road trip, contrasted with something small as a window of no rain, got my attention. I can trust Him with not just my finances, or my weekends, or my friends, but with everything. From something as small as my diet, to an issue as important as my future spouse. He is so good to me.