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