A long time…

It has been a long time since I have blogged. Mostly due to the fact that I had forgotten totally about my blog. I think I would like to reinvent the wheel with this one, and begin again. Perhaps this time with more focus…I hope you will join me!

What’s in a name…

I say EVERYTHING!!! As most of you should know by now. We have the blessing of bringing a new person into this world on April 27th, 2009. We have finally, after not very much thinking, decided on a name.

Elijah (The Lord Is My God) Jun (boils down to submission) Sowma (a sweet Lebanese name)

There you go. Enjoy!

The Art of Marriage, the Art of Love

I am quite certain at this stage in the game, there is most definitely the ART OF MARRIAGE, and the ART OF LOVE.

As I awaken everyday, I find myself more and more aware of that art. Not that I am certain I understand it yet, or that I am actually employing it’s use properly, but I am certain that I am learning it everyday. It was said once by someone I know that they were sure that God had made marriage to be a daily deconstruction of our selfish nature. Or something like that. He said it much simpler though. In my marriage I am pushed, I am shoved, and I am destroyed all the time. The funny thing though, as when in previous relationships I thought that it was the other person doing it to me, I find that I have quite well achieved these results on my own, without any help. I AM selfish, I don’t quite know how to REALLY love someone day in and day out with grace and mercy. I am offensive, and I am vile at times.

My wife though. She pretends to not notice most of the time. She cleans me up, and dust me off. She kisses me softly, and begins to let me start again. There is an ART to marriage, and an ART to love. It is grace, mercy, kindness, forgiveness, faith, hope, and selflessness. Although I don’t quite embody all those things all the time. God has brought someone quite perfect in those area’s to teach me day by day. And someday… I will write a blog about how she does it!

Thanks.

Along with everyone else… The New Year

I decided that I too, along with everyone else would write my New Years blog, post haste.

Where to start. A year. roughly 365 days.

As I take a step back and evaluate the year past, I look to all the amazing things that I have to return to. Almsot one year ago I rang in my 27th birthday with a wonderful set of co-workers, and an amazing set of friends. Although on the opposite side of the world from one half of my family and friends, I some how managed to be happy and keep moving forward. To those of you who believe that this was an easy task, maybe you have never lived on the opposite side of the earth from your friends and family. And to those of you who know how hard it is, it gets  much better than you ever could have imagined if you choose to let it do that for you.

After my birthday I proceeded onto the next part of the year. In February a relationship blossomed that I could have never imagined blossoming. Really in the middle of craziness, and a life that was a bit confusing and confused, God totally turned my life around and allowed for a lot of healing to happen, and a new chapter to begin.

As the days turned into weeks and the weeks into months a wedding was planned and achieved. Hearts united and tied together. Families came together to form a bond not to be broken for anything but time. We continued to fight and fly through each day as we spun into fall.

We moved in and moved onto a new beginning. There together set into our new house, sitting snug and nestled in for the winter learned of a new edition to be added to already new and blossoming relationship. To be expected around April 27th of 2009.

As we proceeded to work and be blessed the church blossomed and people moved in and others moved on. As this takes it’s toll, you move on and begin to thank God again for everything he has in store, because we are reminded again that the plans of this world and these people cannot stand the test of our father. So we pray and move forward again to smell the sweet sweet nectar of the new year and all it has to bring. Through our grief and pain, we move on.

A procession of grace has overcome that of direct tyranny. It has abundantly provided for our lives and our health. A wealth being provided. Thank you again for that. It has been the only thing at times. You are gracious, and graceful.

“I am captivated. Captivated by you!”

Buck – Naked Faith

I am starting a new book in which to push myself, and to continue my growth and faith in Jesus Christ by pushing myself further and further. In these coming posts concerning this book “Buck-Naked Faith” by Eric Sandras I encourage you to question yourself as well with me. Please feel free to comment on the questions or my thoughts on those questions. I am always open for healthy conversation.

Chapter 1: Brutally Honest

Growth Points:

1. List three specific things in your life that would change if you were cultivating your friendship with God.

a. It says to be brutally honest. I don’t know what conditions are considered brutal to our friend Eric here, but as usual I will try and be honest about what I see. If I was cultivating my friendship with God, I would be more open about the issues I have with other people, how I respond to them.  I would  not WITH HOLD INFORMATION from God. (This means not only how I treat them in person but also when I am reflecting on our interactions and mentally. Not only is God present in both those area’s, but really so is my subconscious, and even if I am just working through something with them, it still effects my negative response to them in further issues.) If I was cultivating my relationship with God I would not be so afraid to share both my failures and victories with HIM. ( Currently I am more apt to share my victories with HIM, and not come to HIM in my times of need. I reflect and find that funny, because there was  a time in which I would only make contact when things were wrong. The goal is to find an abundant mix of both. Also with a mix of pure praise and worship with a dash or two of repentance for good measure And further still, if I was cultivating that relationship, I would be much more trust of things I have no control of in the first place. Whether it be health, money, relationships, church, work. There is responsibility to be taken on my part. But it is ultimately Gods will for things that causes course. Learning Learning Learning.

2. Write down four things that you tend to binge or purge on. Are they “God” things, or “sin” things? How are they related? When do they occur?

a. Binge. Food, laziness, family, pain. Purge. Productivity, family, things, time.

Binging subsequently comes mostly from sinful things. I am too self, therefor I hold onto pain, in hope that others will notice. I let the pain effect me so I begin to “purge” that pain with “comforts” such as eating and laziness. I hope that I can soemtimes say that I binge on my family. My relatively new wife is a joy and a blessing in my life. And I try, when not being lazy, to assist her in her daily life such as a husband should do.

Purging comes relatively from similar places. I replace productivity with laziness when I can’t pick myself back up from the fallen places. I am at times very selfish with time, and am not always good with giving my family everything they deserve. My complete attention, my love, and my time. I both satisfy that selfishness with things, and in turn spend much time trying to figure out how to rid myself of those things, and concentrate on the things that matter. I purge myself of time by both giving it away to things of laziness, and useless productivity. I say purge as opposed to binge because most of those pursuits are not of value, therefore I am purging myself of important things instead of taking time for those important things.

I link most of those things to the fact that I am selfish, and in many ways can not yet see how to come out of the darkness that is myself, and visit the light that is Jesus. Giving of myself and those things I consider mine for love and others. If I was really engaging in that relationship with God, that friendship, I would be more astute in providing for others in my life those blessings placed upon me.