Cling to you

Here's an old post I just realized I had saved as a draft and never posted. But I think it's a good one so I'll put it up.



I have always been a rap/hip hop fan but as I get further in my walk with Jesus I find it hard to find good rap music that's not dangerous for my soul... I have, however, found a few and one of them is the artist above, Trip Lee. (Lecrae and the 116 clique are a couple others.) But I was listening to my iPod this morning on the way to drop the boys off at day care and then on my way into work and this song came on. I have heard it before numerous times and even would say it is one of my favorites. But this morning it's like God tuned me in to every word and the message came through loud and clear. The message is one worth listening to and paying attention to. To sum it up what he's saying is that he's going to trust in God whether the rough times in his life go away or not.

"...Lord it may get better but it may not. So when I pray God I pray I would trust you whether or not the pain stops. So when the pain falls, coming down like rain drops, I just gotta cling to you..."

I cannot tell you how many times in my life I fall into the rut of only talking to God when I want something, or when I want something to go away. I find myself now spending a lot of time praising God for all the wonderful things that he has done in my life. Asking God for help, asking God to make "the pain" go away and praising God through the good times are all part of being in a relationship with him. What this song is saying is that, even if I ask you for help and you don't provide it, if the hard times don't go away, I am going to still praise you. I will still love you and I will still sing your name.

"...Lord you know I'm hoping that my situation will switch. That you'll show me your amazin' by erasin' it quick. But I've noticed that my hope is in you changin' it quick. Instead of knowing you're enough I was chasing your gifts..."

Loud and clear this morning God told me to love him all the time, whether he answers me immediately or in his timing or not at all. Whether it's good times or if I'm struggling, I need to always remember that his love is enough. "In this life full of strife if my days get grayer I'm content with the fact that you'll stay my Savior."

The Top 10

As you may or may not know my family and I recently moved to St. Louis Missouri. One of the nice things about living here is professional sports, most importantly the St. Louis Cardinals are here! I have been here exactly two weeks today and already had the chance to go to two Cardinals games. The first was against the Cleveland Indians (my team) and then Tuesday Anna surprised me with the incredible seats (pictured above) as an early Father's Day present! If you know anything about me you know that I love the game of baseball. I love everything about it (with the exception of instant replay) and I really love going to game live! So I thought I would make a top ten list of my favorite things about going to a baseball game live!

10. The chance to catch a foul ball.
9. Pretzels with cheese!
8. Heckling opposing team's fans.
7. The smell of fresh cut grass.
6. It's outdoors!
5. Take Me Out to the Ballgame.
4. The sound of a fastball snapping a catchers glove.
3. A diving catch is way more majestic live.
2. Memories.
1. Ballpark hot dogs with ketchup and mustard!

Wild at Heart 1 (for me)

This picture was taken at a Wild at Heart men's retreat in Western Maryland in 2009. A good friend texted it to me last night with a message that said something along the lines of "this is where it all began." In that picture with me, directly to my left, is someone who at the time I didn't know all that well. We rode in the same pick up truck (his) from Goshen Indiana to Maryland for the retreat. In this picture we were having a competition, a race across that nasty green pond with about 9 other men. Look close, that pond is nasty and covered with green scum that we agitate up once a year when we are there for our retreat and one competition or another takes us to that nasty water. It's fun for me to look at that picture now becuase at the time I didn't know that man very well, but now he is one of my best friends and one of my two accountability partners. My other accountability partner also went on that trip with us and also rode in the same truck with us there and back. During those long truck rides we had great time to converse, get to know one another and, little beknownst to us then, start the begining of a great friendship! That weekend is the weekend that I planted my flag in the ground and made a commitment that I was going to live my life the way that God intended for me to. At that time Anna was about 5 or 6 months pregnant with Leyton, I was drinking more than I needed to be, I had a foul mouth as well as a bag full of other vices that were holding me back from being the man that God had intended. My relationship with God was the most important tool I had in making this life change. Starting to seek him in my decision making, spending time in his word and prayer put back together a relationship that I had fractured a long time ago. My relationship with my new accountability partners was a vital part of helping me stay the course during the times I wasnt seeking God first. They would be very quick to swoop in and kick me in the butt when I needed it, and trust me I needed it often. They were also there to help guide me through the tough times with prayer and wisdom from their own experiences. Perhaps the best part of our relationship is the celebrating of breakthroughs and victories that each of us had along the way these last few years. It has been an incredible journey with these two guys and I really look forward to what God has in store for us in the future! So to Jim and Jeff I love you guys like you were my own brothers and no matter how many miles seperate us I am always a phone call or text message away from being there for you!