Fearfully Exhilerating!!!

Mark it down, or at least I will. July 11, 2009. On this Saturday afternoon, I experienced my first real rock climbing experience!!! Before the details, let me just say that I am HOOKED!

I have always thought that climbing seemed like fun, but never really sought it out. I had all of these doubts in my head. I am to big. I am out of shape. Blah, blah, blah. Well I finally set up a day to go climb. My friend, Bobby, was gracious enough to take my brother Adam, my friend Eddy, and myself to the limestone rocks just north on 299 outside of Redding. I have never really climbed before so I was excited, but didn't know what to really expect. Here is where it gets good!!!

We hiked up a short little jaunt to the rocks we were going to climb. But, oh no. We were not just going to get to jump right into climbing. Well what did you do then, you might be wondering. Oh, just a 150 rappel down a shear rock face. To be honest, I was terrified. I love sports, and I love adrenaline, but this takes the cake over anything I had done to this point. The shear terror running through my mind of something going wrong, and no more Ryan Reuther on this earth was in full force, but I am still here and better for it. To be able to look down 150 feet with nothing below you but air...awesome. I slowly lowered myself down and made it. Bobby will attest that my legs were shaking a bit when I hit the midway point that him and Eddy were chilling at. When I was done I looked up and could not help but think that from down below it did not seem that high. At the top however, is a different story. Okay, so with a rappelling session done, onto the rock climbing.

We got to the limestone we were going to climb and Bobby set everything up so we could get right to it. My brother Adam went first. He did a great job and made it to the top on the first wall we climbed. We started on the easy wall. Thank God. Eddy went next and flew right to the top. It was cool to see Eddy and Adam both take so well to climbing. I was a little worried going in. I consider my brother Adam to be a better climber than myself and did not want to be shown up to much out there. I started the climb and instantly was hooked. The feeling of grasping the rock edges with your fingers, sometimes only one or two finger is crazy. Putting one toe onto a hold and lifting your entire body up to another level is hard at first, but really works!!! I made it to the top and man did it feel good. This less then in stellar shape body of mine made it to the top. Then I rappelled down. This wall was only about 50-60 feet high, so it was a cinch with the 150 rappel under my belt. We then moved onto a lot harder climb.. This was was an incline...not easy. My brother made it farther than us all. Eddy and I made it to about the same spot and I was good with where I got. It gave me something to shoot for. There may be a lot of shooting before I reach the top of that climb.

To top it all off we drove up the road about 2 miles and went to some falls out in the middle of nowhere and jumped of into some amazingly refreshing spring water. A perfect end to our climbing adventure.

So again, I am hooked. I want more and cannot wait to push myself farther and farther each time I climb. I felt so alive and adrenaline crazed on the rock. Thank you Bobby for being such a great climbing host and showing us the ropes. I had so much fun and realized that climbing is something that I can and will continue to do. So look out all you boulders, cliffs, and any other rock formations out there. Ryan Reuther is on the hunt for you!!!

Eureka!!! 6 years!!!

Rachael and I celebrated our six year wedding anniversary this year (6/28/09). We decided to get away to the coast and went to Eureka. It was a blast.

We drove to Eureka Friday after I got off work. We arrived at 9:00 and drove through the town to scout everything out and see where our hotel was at. We had a hotel reserved for Saturday night. For Friday night we decided to camp out in the back of our van on the beach. So we drove to the beach in Samoa. It was great except for the cop who showed up at 11:30 to see what we were doing. He was actually a really nice guy. We told him it was our anniversary and we just wanted to camp on the beach for one night. He said that wasn't technically allowed int he spot we were at, but he saw that we were no trouble makers and said he would radio his co workers so we would be left alone and we could stay there for the night. Sweet!!! we woke up and went for a walk on the beach. It was so nice. Just Rachael and I walking the ocean. After that we went and ate breakfast at the Samoa cookhouse!!! French Toast as big as my head. SOOOO GOOD!!!

After breakfast we headed to Ferndale and walked the tiny town streets, poking our head into the small shops that were open. Then we went back to Eureka for some shopping at the mall. Once shopping was done we drove to Trinidad and had an amazing lunch of fish and chips, clam chowder, and for desert, some salt water taffy. We were both stuffed to utter satisfaction. We then walked down to the beach and then headed to Patrick's point. We went to Agate beach. That was so much fun. Rachael and scowered the shore for agates. I found a pretty good one for Rachael. Agate beach was one of our favorite parts of the trip. From there we headed back into town to relax and have dinner.

So for dinner we went to The Lost Coast Brewery!!!!!!! I was so excited to go here. I warmed up with a pint of their Tangerine Wheat. So ice cold and straight from the source. I then tackled the sampler platter of all their different beers. It was amazing. I would drive to Eureka just to go here!!! I had a roast beef sandwich, which was made from roast beef marinated in Downtown Brown!!! Awesome. After dinner we went to the movies and saw Night at the Museum 2. It was a great date movie and Rachael and I both enjoyed it.

So on our alst day we slept in a bit and then went to the mall for a little more shopping. We then went to clam beach on our way back to Redding. I was determined to find Rachael a whole sand dollar and lo and behold, after a lot of searching I was able to find one!!! It was a great way to end our trip!!! Then back home we came.

The trip was amazing, but it was only so great because I was able to spend it with my wonderful wife. Hon, I cannot tell you how awesome the last six years have been. We have been through so much (in a good way) and I cannot believe how far we have come. We are blessed with two beautiful and amazing daughters. They are so great and you are such a great mom to them. I cannot thank you enough for the way you treat them and take care of them. You have been by my side, not matter waht I was doing or going through. I am overjoyed with the closeness I have seen us both grow towards the Lord. It has been an amazing thing to look back at and see. I know that we are just now entering into what God is truly wanting to use us for!!! You love me more then I deserve. I love you so much and am truly blessed to get to have you as my wife. You are an amazing wife, mom, woman of God and friend. You are my best friend and can't tell you enough that I LOVE YOU!!!

Thank you for six wonderful years of marriage and here is to the rest of our lives together!!!

My house smells good!

My house is full of some amazing aromas at the moment.

The hazelnut candle and the sweetly intoxicating maple doughnut smell that it sends through the house smells amazing.

The twice bakes garlic potatoes that are in the oven that my amazing wife is preparing have my taste buds salivating for just one bite of their greatness.

The meatloaf, oh the meatloaf! Yum!!!

To top it all off, I am in the company of three wonderful and beautiful girls to share my evening with!

I am loving life right now!

Birthday Thanks!

So another year has come and gone and I am now one year older. All in all it was a pretty good birthday. There were only a few minor hiccups, but I/we overcame and had a great day. This year for my birthday we had some friends over to my parents house. We had Rock Band going in one room and the Nintendo Wii in another. It was a blast. We got my brother Adam's big speakers out of his room and hooked them up the the Rock Band setup. It was awesome and LOUD! I love rock band and we had a blast. A lot of you friends actually took the mic and sang! That was so much fun for me. I am normally the only one that wants to sing, so it was nice to be able to kick back and watch for a bit.

First off I would like to thank my lovely wife Rachael for putting this all together. You are such an amazing wife and you do so much for me! Thank you for putting on such a great party. You make me a better person!!!

Thank you to all of you friends who showed up and made my birthday a great one. Sorry to those of you who could not make it, you were missed!!!

I would like to give a special thanks to my friends Bobby and Candace. Thank you guys for hanging with me all day. I had a blast disc golfing with you Bobby and it was great to get do a margarita movie night! You guys truly bless(ed) me and I am so thankful for your friendship. Bobby, your encouragement means a lot to me and I am thankful to have you speak into my life and your listening ear.

Again, thank you to all my friends! I am a very blessed man and you all are a huge part of that!!!

My thoughts...seeking better spiritual understadning and faith!

OK, let's face it. Religious beliefs can be a divisive subject. They can break apart churches, tear down marriages, hurt friendships, and torment an individual. As a Christian I find myself looking at my religious beliefs constantly and checking them against God's Word (The Bible) and with what I am being taught at my home church. I want to have a strong faith and know what I believe and why. If I cannot explain my beliefs, how can I expect anyone to take them seriously? For those of you Christians out there, you know that we are not going to fully understand all of God's ways. Nor do we have to. Some of the greatness of God is clouded in mystery. It is in this mystery that I long to know more of God!!!

A religious subject that I have come to seek more understanding of and have extreme interest in is spiritual gifts. Prophecy, Tongues, and so forth. I have never spoke in tongues. Believe you me, I desire to so much! I do feel that I have been blessed with the gift of prophecy. It is in what I would call its infant stage. I can look at certain instances that God is slowly preparing me to take on more and more of a prophetic role. This is so exciting to me and I am on the edge of my seat waiting for more and more of the Holy Spirit to fill me.

The spiritual gifts are amazing, exciting, explainable and unexplainable all at the same time. Here's where my thoughts have been lately on the subject. This comes from some curiosities that my wife has had lately. (Insert note here-My wife is an amazing woman of God. I respect her so much for her constant seeking for a better relationship with God and and very discerning spirit!!! She helps balance me and I am so glad we get to take this journey together) I have also had a lot of the same curiosities as she has at some point in my life. Some past and some present. As a Christian, do I question the word of God with my curiosities. I find it important to point out that it is not a questioning of God Himself (to do so can lead down a dangerous path), but a questioning of unclear subjects to gain a better understanding of His ways. Does this devalue my faith in God? Is it okay to question things of God? In devaluing my faith, No! Can I question the things of God, I say Yes!

1 Thessalonians 5:18-22 states-

"in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test all things, hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil."

A few points I draw from this passage. We are not to quench the spirit. We should not put a stranglehold on what God is trying to do in our lives. We need to be obedient and even when we may not have a full idea of what God is doing, allow Him to blow us away with His perfect plans. The Holy Spirit will not lead us astray. With that known, take that trail with the Spirit.

We also are to test all things. I feel we need to question! Questions are a valid and valuable tool/weapon for us. We need to look at our beliefs and see how they line up. You know what, you may find your beliefs challenged. Good! If my beliefs are challenged with the word of God, I need to take a better look at my beliefs. Put down our pride and see truth! We need to bring forth our questions and seek a better understanding into this Life that God has called us to live. I want to live an on fire, in-tune walk with my Almighty God. I feel that we need to question, seek, better understanding, guard ourselves, or whatever else you want to call it. I believe it will help to strengthen us as believers! We are to hold fast what is good. We need to filter the good from the bad. We need to grasp at the good and sift out the lies and falseness of what Satan would have us to believe. There are a lot of false things in our word. We live in a world that has false prophets, liars, self-serving and downright evil people/spirits. We need to be on our guard so not to fall prey to the lies that they bring. I want to make sure my faith is authentic and I am experiencing the real thing, not some cheap imitation!!! Abstain from every form of evil (this includes evil disguised in good clothing.) We are the sheep and Satan loves to wear his sheep costume!!!


All and all I believe we need to be open to the spirit, but also be wary of things untrue. Do not be afraid to question for the sake of better understanding and for the longing to know more of God. Also know that God will reveal himself to you when you may not even be looking! I feel this issue is great for discussion and can bring us into a better understanding of who we are and who God is shaping us to be. It should not divide or hurt. Talk about it, learn about each others beliefs, and be merciful and compassionate with one another. God did not give us His word to have us quarrel over it. He gave us His word to live by.

I would love to hear your thoughts/opinions on this!!!

We serve an amazing God!!!
Ryan

Costco Hotdogs and Hot Pastrami...

Any of you who have had a Costco hot dog know the absolutely juicy, flavorful goodness that resides inside the bun and dog combination. I love them. It is really good food and it is ridiculously cheap. The tartness of the mustard, the tomato flavor so conveniently provided by the ketchup, and the bittersweet taste of the sour kraut packed on the hot dog. I love the Costco hot dog.

I also love a good hot pastrami sandwich. I do not even need to describe how good it is if you are a fan of the sandwich. I will just say GLORIOUS!!! So good.

So now we come to the point of bringing up the above mentioned items. The hot dog and sandwich are so good. This I do not deny. They are also guilty of one very real truth. They both are the meal that keeps on giving. For one day and in severe cases, two days you will notice that you will be constantly burping. Everybody burps, so no big deal right? Wrong. It is a big deal. For the day or two you experience this burping, you will come across a real surprise. You will continue to burp and unlike a soda burp, these burps will bring about the sensation that you just ate the hot dog or sandwich all over again. In some cases you may feel the urge to chew! I may have eaten you oh hot dog or hot pastrami sandwich three hours ago, but I now am enjoying you again and again.

Thank you for this amazing gift you continually give me when I eat you!!!

Forsaken, so that we may live!

Once a year comes Good Friday and with that Easter. I find that the true nature of what Christ went through for us is most felt during the few days that we live around Easter. Rachael and I watched The Passion of the Christ. Those of you who have seen it, know it is a profoundly powerful and deep movie. I feel ill and shaky after watching the movie. Christ death was not just a death, but an all out gruesome and grievous single body massacre. Here are my ramblings of all that the movie and the true meaning of Easter bring out of my mind.

Christ was a perfect son.
He had a mother and an Almighty Father!!! Christ is King!!! Christ was THE perfect sacrifice!!! Christ died for you and I!!! Christ gave himself to save others who cursed him!!!

CHRIST WAS INNOCENT!!!!!!!!

Lord,
How feeble and fain we are. You gave your very life and what do we give you??? How is it that I have a hard time sharing my faith in you and often times hide my true feelings about who I am because of you??? It is because of you that I do not get what I truly deserve. I deserve to be condemned to hell. Oh, how I have sinned against you. For this I am ashamed and ask for your forgiveness. Throughout all my transgressions, you still love me Lord!!! What an amazing King you are. Thank you for your unconditional love! Thank you for walking with me! Thank you for my family! Thank you for my friends! Thank you for my church! Thank you for YOU! I do not deserve anything you offer me, but I freely accept!!! I pray for the strength and boldness to share you mighty word. I want your righteous conviction to guide my life. I want to share the good news of what your death truly meant for mankind. You are the one true God and may many know you because of your workings in my life. I am weak and cannot do anything without you!!! May your will be done through my life and all that I do. I love you Lord!!! May your death not be for naught in my heart!!! You bring salvation and I bring my service to you. Use this simple, sinful man to spread your word.

AMEN.

Lord, you arose. After what man did to you, you came back to life to walk among the living. You fulfilled the prophecy. You are our good news. You are our salvation.

YOU ARE RISEN!!!

Christ was persecuted because he challenged the norm. He looked to new doctrine instead of sticking with the old. He saw beyond the laws of man and the simple thoughts of our brains.
Let us go beyond the norm. May we move beyond what man knows and show the world that they need the perfect savior in their lives. Let us be bold and empowered to move people beyond their comfort zone and into the Father's Arms. May this world wake up and know the one true God!!!

Peasant Princess...

I have heard from our good friends Marty and Becky Moseley that the "Peasant Princess" series by pastor Mark Driscoll from Mars Hill Church is life altering. Once you are done reading this blog (provided that you are married) and you are somebody who has not heard this series, go to itunes and podcast it or google it and you will find it on the web. LISTEN TO IT!!! It is amazing and I have only listened to one and a half sermons.

It is based on the book Song of Solomon. It is an amazingly passionate book and one that all of us married ones need to pay special attention to. As I listen to the message I can't help but wonder who would be crazy enough to listen and then not implement the directions for our married lives that this series goes through. It speaks to so many areas and if you struggle in any of the areas, and we all will somewhere, listen and follow wise counsel and bring your marriage to a place it has never been. It is literally blowing my mind!!!

We as men need to be doting almost to the point of nausea over our wives. We need to uphold our wife as a precious child of God that He has entrusted us as her husband to take care of!!!

How can we as men or women withhold ourselves sexually, spiritually, emotionally, or anything else from our spouse? We need to be all in and live our marriages the way that God intended them to be! A marriage is a gift from God. It is not always easy and sometimes we go through some pretty harsh things, but God will bring you through.

I feel like going on for so much more, so all I can say is check it out!!! Please!!! It is amazing!!!

Rachael, I love you and pray that I can live as your husband the way that God has set me to be. You are such a precious gift and more precious then I can express in words. You are an amazing wife, mother, and you are my best friend. I am so blessed by you everyday of our life!!! I LOVE YOU!!!

More to follow as I get further into the series!!!

Newsboys...Michael Tait and more!!!

Oh world of blogging, I have been away for so long. I wanted to write, I just didn't. So here I am. I will write again!!!

Rachael and I had the opportunity to go see the Newsboys in concert at the convention center here good ol' Redding, CA. Our friends Burney and Holly Hetzel from church blessed us with tickets for the show. They had three tickets and said we could do whatever we wanted with the third ticket. We took our friend Krista with us, which was cool because she is a big Newsboys fan. The tickets were great. We were in the front row of the balcony section. We had a perfect view of the bands and no heads to look though or over during the show. Perfect!!!

Three bands opened up before the Newsboys performed. The three bands were Bread of Stone, VOTA, and Decemberadio. All three bands were great. Sometimes opening acts can be disappointing and you wish the main show would start. Not this concert. Bread of Stone is a new band and they were great. They rocked hard, but also had some great slower tracks. VOTA and Decemberadio are both played on Air 1 all the time. VOTA was awesome. They put on an enery packed performance. They are from Nebraska (I thought Jess would like that!) and they play great music. Finally, Decemberadio. If you like rock, Decemberadio is the band for you. They sang a song called Gasoline (YouTube it) that was one of the better Christian rock songs I have heard. Let me say again that all these bands were great and I would see any one of them in concert again if I have the chance. After they were done playing, the big show started!

For those of you who have not heard, the Newsboys lead singer Peter Furler stepped out of the band a few weeks ago. They replaced him with Michael Tait who was previously part of a little known group called DC Talk!!! At first I did not know what to think of Michael Tait fronting the band. How would it sound, how would the energy of the show be, and many other thoughts raced through my head. Let me be the first to tell you that the show was awesome. Michael Tait rocked the Newsboys. Michael Tait is a Newsboy!!! He has amazing vocals and all the Newsboys songs were awesome. He made them his own for sure. The energy of the show was amazing too. They all rocked the house. Duncan, their drummer, rocked the drums and played an awesome solo. He also played part of one of the songs on his in air, sideways, rotating drum set. They even rocked out tow DC Talk songs. They were "In the Light" and "Jesus Freak"!!! They were both great and Jesus Freak gave me goosebumps. It took me back to when I was a Jr Higher!!! They played in the Hands of God, Something Beautiful, Wherever we go, and many more Newsboys hits throughout the show. I walked away from the show very glad that I was able to be there. The Newsboys had a lot of really cool stage props. Bright lights, Big Screens, Catwalk, and more. All made for a great live show. I would definitely pay to see them and see Michael Tait fronting. Way to go Newsboys!!!

The show was fun. I had a great time spending time with my wife and Krista. They had a lot of fun and it will be something for us to reminisce about years on down the road!!!

Crushing some hearts...in this case I am okay with it!!!

I know that I am about to crush some of your hearts with my sentiments in this blog. For that I am kind of sorry. Not very sorry, because of my feelings, but kind of sorry! I want to dive into the realm of the ridiculous cult of "The Bachelor". My first thought on the show is, "what junk!!!" We are a reality show driven culture when it comes to watching the television. I am okay with some and not fond of others, but for me "The Bachelor" takes the cake.

I wish I had the late Don Lafontaine(movie trailer announcer guy) do a spot for me. "One man, fifty women, one desire, TRUE LOVE!!! He must fall in love with one, even though he will love many. The girls are sweet, driven, and all in love!!! That's right, this season, fifty women will all love one man. This is no fairy tale...it's The Bachelor!!!" Blaaaaah!!!!!!!!!

I mean come on. A show where all the girls fall in love with one man. What a joke. When I think of the show I wonder what kind of message we are sending to our the younger generation. It's easy to fall in love. Go on a television show and find what you are looking for. Please!!!! My lovely wife, which I am still madly in love with despite the fact that she loves the show, is hooked. It drives me crazy, but she is. I know there is lots of drama and people love to pick their favorites, but I just don't see it. Then we have the fact that most of the time the person getting dumped is the next seasons star. They were madly in love and will do it all over again and fall even more in love. Excuse me while I gag!!!

Now this is in all true fun, but I cannot stand the show. So to those of you who watch the show that I know, I am sorry for hating with a passion your Bachelor(ette) shows! It is a piece of me that will never die. You will still watch the show even after reading this, and I am okay with that. I will pray for you!!! LOL.

Peace, Love, and Happiness!

A Shout Out for Hope!

This is a shout out to my sister Hope. Today was her 21st birthday. I know, the big 21. This is a bit different in that my sister has down-syndrome. This means that she was born with an extra chromosome and lives with mental retardation. So needless to say it was not a take out and have a drink sort of 21st birthday. I wanted to take the time out to write about the sister that I love, respect, adore, and am inspired by everyday of my life.

Hope is so innocent and does not know a stranger. She really will talk to anybody!!! Her life has been rich with blessings from our Heavenly Father. From day one she was a miracle. She was born with a whole in her heart. She had to have open heart surgery and was in the hospital for quite some time. She made it. She has had to endure ridicule and the downright worst that human nature in others can offer. She made it. Hope has a way of being able to bring a smile to your face, no matter the circumstance. Hope is a constant reminder to me that God is good.

In response to a blog that my friend Bobby wrote on favorite music, I will throw Disney movie songs out there as one of mine. That's right Disney movie songs!!! I still feel totally comfortable with my manhood after that statement too. You see Hope loves Disney movies. She has her whole life. She can quote and sing through all the animated Disney movies. When we were growing up I would sing her all the Disney songs from the movies she loved. For those of you who are reading this and are thinking, "Man I gotta here this", Rachael will validate that all you have to do is ask!!! Ask and I will sing them. Hope loves when I sing her the songs. I still to this day sing them to her. In fact a sang a few today. Hope cannot count money or write you a letter, but something about the Disney movies triggers her brain and she is able to memorize and fully know the movies. Thank you Walt Disney!

Hope is a daily reminder of God's goodness and love. Hope is an amazing inspiration and a wonderfully beautiful sister. I would not be the person I am today without her. I often get asked how I am a nice guy through pretty much anything. The answer besides the wonderful love of God is Hope. She has taught me so much and my spirit is gentle in large part because of her. Hope is amazing and her name suites her so well. I thank you Lord for my sister Hope. She is one of the most incredibly amazing people I know.

Hope, I love you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Land of the cell phone...

Today I returned back to the land of the living and got a cell phone! Yes, I did it. I gave in and got one more thing to suck time and thought away from all my other daily activities. How extraordinary!!! I have not had one for so long, but I like having it. My wife is watching the bachelor at the moment and I wish I could text my physical self somewhere/anywhere else right now!!!!!! Please help me!!!!!!! Anyway, I can now be tracked down wherever I am at. No hiding. No excuses. No nothing. I see this as a good and bad thing, depending on who is trying to track me down. Oh yes Mr. Marty Moseley, you can now find me anywhere...hahahaha!!! It's okay Marty, I welcome it. So I will call or text you all later.

Peace.

Sustained

God's love sustains
God's love sustains when work is awful
God's love sustains when we are hurt
God's love sustains when we are weary
God's love sustains those who do not deserve
God's love sustains all who call on Him
God's love sustains in the darkness
God's love sustains when time is not enough
God's love sustains when we have all but given up
God's love sustains when we fall short
God's love sustains no matter what
God's love sustains

A greater relationship!?!?!???

"So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!" And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit." John 19:30-31

In the recent months God has been giving me what I like to describe as word or sentence revelations. I will be going about my everyday life and all the sudden, I am hit with what Dane Cook would describe as a "tic-tac" size comment. It may be one word or a sentence that is uttered on the radio. That "tic-tac" sized comment then sits in my brain and will not dislodge itself. These experiences and thoughts I have been having have been great, and yet a major struggle in my life. Sitting around and wrestling with these thoughts has brought about some realizations of the person that I am. Again I say some good and some bad! Here is "tic-tac" that has really consumed me and been a great wrestling match for the person I am now and the person I long to become.

In the posted scripture verse, Christ had finally fulfilled what he had come to accomplish. He was the perfect sacrifice for all of mankind. He had a very real and literal experience in dying. The bible calls us to die to our self. This is no easy matter for most if not all people. What I have been wrestling with is the thought of myself being a Christian who is not fully proud to be just that, a Christian! Does my life reflect what those around me in the world believe I should be, or am I wholeheartedly seeking after my God? Christ was brutally killed for me!!! When He died, my sins were forgiven. Am I really so self-centered. Can I not try to at least display 1/1,000,000 of what Christ did for me?

I feel as though I have been unable, only because of my own sinful nature, to say "Hi, my name is Ryan, and my God is great and I want you to know Him!!!" I feel that this is due to many things. I believe that we as a nation we have been brought up to be self-absorbed, self-centered, hypocritical, and material individuals. Even as a Christian, I have fallen hook line and sinker for these ideals in my own life. I also feel as if I have not up to this point really, really had the aspiration to be something more for Christ! I have always wanted a relationship with God, but it has been on my terms and not His. I want my life to reflect my God and not the world. I want to be in a deep, personal, ever-loving relationship with my God. Here is where the good news comes in. My God has always wanted that relationship with me, even when I have turned away or been to busy to seek after Him.

I am at a point in my life that I desperately want to have this relationship with my Father. I want to seek him wholeheartedly and without hindrance. I want God to use me as a vessel for His works. I want my life to pour out what he is pouring into me. I want people to ask me what makes me who I am and for me to respond by sharing my beliefs and what God is to me!!! The crazy-scary part of this is that it is completely up to me to do this. God is eager and ready, I just have to take the steps to meet Him. He will not let me down, why should I not do the same for Him?

Blah...

So as most of you know, I am a huge sports fan. Football possibly being my favorite sport, I always really look forward to the Superbowl. I was excited this year, until I watched the game. The first three quarters were horrible. I was not interested in what little action their was and neither team looked like a league winning powerhouse. The fourth quarter is the only redeeming factor for the game. It was entertaining, especially the last five minutes, but this does not make up for the lackluster performance provided for the first three quarters. Is it just me or do the commercials seem to be getting worse to. There were a few that made me laugh, but on the whole I thought this year was weak(and could somebody get Go Daddy to quit putting that trash on television?). The halftime show was another area that I thought was awful. Thank you Janet Jackson for making it so we have to sit through 20 minutes of boring old acts trying to revive themselves. Wow, I sure have complained about a lot!!! Last years Superbowl was amazing and next years won't have to do much to top this years!!! OK, I am done complaining will try to write something more positive and uplifting in my next blog. Peace!!!

The day I caught POOP!!!

OK, so as a father life every now and then throws you a moment that you just can't ever forget. What I am about to tell you is very much one of those moments! Now by the title most of you probably are thinking "gross"!!! Well you are right, but at the same time it has made me feel like I have fully stepped into the role of a true, loving, and fully caring father who would do anything (when I say anything, I mean it!) for his daughters. So without further ado, here is my story...

It was a normal Saturday. Started out as most Saturdays do. The girls woke up earlier than my sleeping self would have liked, but oh well. The only difference with this Saturday is that it was the first time that I would be watching both the girls on my own for an extended period of time. Morgan was only about three months old and Rachael was going to a Bible study. I love my girls and love watching them so this was going to be a fun day with daddy and his girls. Rachael leaves and I am on my own. The day starts innocent enough. I fed Madison breakfast and dressed the girls. Morgan was being very good. I couldn't help but think, "Man, I have this dad thing down!" Here is a word of caution, do not ever think anything like that. I am serious, because as soon as you think it something bad is about to happen!!! Here is where my day took the turn. Madison was still in diapers, but would let us know when she needed changed. So she is in the living room and is yelling at me down the hall while I am in the other room cleaning. She says, "Daddy, I pooped!" This is fine, I have changed many poopy diapers before and I was going to change this one. The only problem was that when I went into the living room Madison was taking off her diaper!!! Oh, no. So I grab the diaper that contains you guessed it, poop. I proceed to take the diaper to the garbage and returned to help Madison clean up and get a fresh diaper. As I return she says "Daddy I poop!" Now at this point I see the scene that is about to take place flash through my head before it happens. Not good. As I look over at Madison, I see that she is not done going to the bathroom. So here is my daughter standing in the middle of the living room floor with no diaper on and she is still going POOP. I can see that the floor is in immediate stain danger and I am going to have a literal mess to clean up. So what did I do you might ask. Well I did what any good husband and father would do, I jumped across the room with arms outstretched and caught the poop. Oh yes, it was like a wide receiver making a great diving catch in the end zone for the game winning touch down. I made the grab. I had saved that carpet and saved my self a bigger mess. By this time my heart is racing and I am on the floor with poop in my hands. CRAZY and yes GROSS!!! Do not worry, I immediately discarded the goods and washed my hands about ten times over. I also used hand sanitizer for good measure. So there it is, in all its glory. The day I caught POOP!!!

"Who's line is it anyway?"

For Christmas this year, my parents bought us tickets to see the "Who's line is it anyway?" show with Brad Sherwood and Colin Mochrie. So we went to the show. I though it would be funny, but it was gut-busting hilarious. They have truly mastered the art of improv comedy and from start to finish, the show never lacked a dull moment. There quick wit and off the wall ideas were amazing and they were never stumped by any suggestions from the audience. They did some great skits from what you would see on the T.V. show. At the end they did a skit in which they set up 100 mousetraps and blindfolded themselves, all while barefoot. They acted out a skit about scrap booking, an audience suggestion, and it was hilarious!!! I have not laughed so hard in a long time. The show was great and we were so glad just to be able to go, but there was more. My mom works at the theater and Rachael and I, along with a few others, got to stay after the show and meet them. They were very nice guys, and signed autographs and took pictures with all of us who were there. Again I must stress that they were just very nice, funny, cool guys. If I ever get the chance I will definitely see them again. It is well worth the price of admission and you would not be disappointed. Two thumbs way up for the show!!!

The Moseley Fam!

Rachael and I had Marty, Becky, and Lil Marty Moseley over for dinner tonight. It was so much fun. We feel truly blessed to have them as friends. We had such a blast. There was a great dinner, some serious game playing (dutch blitz), and non stop laughs at some Dane Cook!!! Who can beat that? I hope Marty did not stop and buy some cashews!!!!!!!! Lil Marty is a blast and Madison really enjoyed having a friend over to play. God is great and He provides so much. We feel so lucky to have the friends we do and can't wait for this coming year of fun and excitement!!!

Wow... My very first blog, Ever! Glorious!!!

OK, so this is my very first blog ever. I hope that it meets or exceeds your expectations of what you are expecting as you read this... if not, Sorry!

So I was driving home from work the other day and the David Crowder Band song "Glorious" came on. If you do not know the song, the chorus states

"You make everything glorious.
You make everything glorious.
You make make everything glorious.
And I am yours,
What does that make me?"

I have heard this song many, many times. For some reason, as I was listening to the song this time, the chorus really hit a chord. I know that God really does make everything glorious. I know that He made me, but that last line sunk in like a barbed hook and would not let go. "What does that make me?" I really am wrestling with what that makes me!!! Do I live a life that makes me glorious in the eye of the beholder? Am I a walking reflection of glorious? I sure don't think so! However, I cannot help but stand in awe that God really does see me as glorious, regardless of where I am in my life. He feels the same way about you, whether you believe it or not. I still wrestle with these thoughts, but it is a good wrestle. If you happen to hear the song, really listen!!! It is really Glorious!!!