Lead Me

I heard this song on the radio today and it really hit me. I love the words to this song by Sanctus Real. Listen to the song below.

I'm not married and I don't have kids yet...but wow, this song is really gripping. As a husband and father, when that time comes, I want to be able to lead with strong hands, stand up when they can't, show them that I am willing to fight, and that they will always be the loves of my life. What is so very true about this song is there is no way you can ever be this man with out first being lead by God. He is there to give you the strength and the confidence to be everything He has called you to be. The last three stanzas I want to make my prayer:

"So Father, give me the strength

To be everything I am called to be

Oh, Father, show me the way

To lead them

Won't you lead me?

To lead them with strong hands

To stand up when they can't

Don't want to leave them hungry for love

Chasing dreams that I could give up

I'll show I'm willing to fight

And give them the best of my life

So we can call this a home

Lead me, 'cause I can't do this alone"

Even as God prepares me now I pray I will take this to heart and keep trusting in God in everything I do. He is almighty, all powerful, glorious, and abounding in love. He has a plan for my life and I have to keep trusting Him, keep in His word, keep glorifying Him, and He will lead me in the path He has set for me. 

Moving to Seattle

As the title says...I am MOVING to Seattle! Not visiting, not flying through but actually living there and working there till October...at least. It's kind of crazy how it all happened and awesome to see God's hand in it. So, I'll try to keep the story short but there are no guarantees that it will be.

It all started after I got back from Seattle after my spring break. After I found out that the Air Force was delaying my EAD till at least October 1st, I had to start looking for jobs. Started looking in North Carolina where my parents live but then someone suggested that I look in Seattle. I didn't really take them seriously at first but the more I thought about it, the more I liked the sound of it. The big issue about the whole Seattle thing was finding a job and a place to live (Seattle is kind of expensive). If I worked in North Carolina I could live with my parents for free and work. I'd make more money in Seattle but have to spend more so was this just a pipe dream or something more. Ever since I started thinking about this idea I started praying to God that he would show me what He wanted me to do this summer. I didn't want to just do my own thing and not be in His will so I trusted in Him that He would show me where to go. I started applying for jobs in both Seattle and Fayetteville mostly bike shops, but Starbucks, Best Buy and others as well.

So this is where the crazy part starts. 6 hours after I fax my resume and application in to this bike shop in Seattle I get a call from them, my first phone interview. They really liked me and told me their service manager would be calling me within the next couple of days to interview me on my technical bike repair skills. I go a week without hearing from them and I start to worry. All this while I am not hearing anything from any other jobs in both places. I call my first interviewer for this bike shop up and ask if they are still interested in me and if the manager was going to call me. She says they are still really interested in me but the manager has just been really busy. This same week I started looking for place to rent in Seattle just in case I got a job there. Sarah pointed me to the message board on her church's website. I put a post there saying I am looking for a room to rent and hope that I get a response. I began praying that if it was God's will for me to move to Seattle that I could find a place around $300 a month because that is all I could afford. Near the end of the week I get another call from the bike shop...this one is the big one! Short little interview about my skills and then they tell me they want me to come out, build a bike for them (easy) and I have the job! Only 30 minutes later I decide to sign on to the message board where I posted about renting a room. I had just gotten a response saying the person had a room available...for...you guessed it...$300 a month!!! If that is not God opening a door for me and saying this is where you should go then I don't know what is. I find out that I have a job and a place to stay all within an hour of each other plus the exact amount for rent that I had been praying for...WOW!

I'm just excited now to see what God has for me in Seattle. I move out there the third week of May...it should take me about 4-5 days for driving, just depends on how many hours I drive a day. If Sarah had her way I'd be taking 6-7 days to get out there (she is just looking out for me) but I just want to go ahead and get out there and get the drive over with. So yea, call me to keep me awake, it will be greatly appreciated :)

Sunirse

After watching the sunset and the end of my long day at the beach yesterday I thought it appropriate to watch the sunrise this morning and have my quiet time out there. WOW...God knows how to make a beautiful sunrise! I live here...this is awesome!

I'm almost to the beach and its still dark outside :)

Its starting to light up but no sun yet

Getting set up on the beach...bible, poptarts and the beach, I'm ready to go

It was only 50 degrees outside

Here is the Sunrise! I like how I caught the birds in the last picture :)

God's work in my life

Ok, so this is my first blog post ever! Life is going really good right now. God has been teaching me so much these past couple of months, to trust Him with everything, to listen to the Holy Spirit, to pray without ceasing...it is awesome! I've been reading this book called Crazy Love, by Francis Chan, and it has been very convicting. Basically, he just talks about how the church has become more of religious practice than a relationship, how people go to church, don't curse, give to the needy and think that this is all God made them to be. Read James 2:14-26 and Ephesians 3:14-21. First, from James, faith without works is dead...period. You can't just talk the talk and act like a Christian, you have to actually bear fruit and have faith. Second Paul in Ephesians basically says that Christ is waiting to dwell in your hearts to give you strength and knowledge to understand "how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ." Do you really just want to sit on the sidelines going through the motions and miss out on the vastness of Christ's love and His power that is at work within us? I sure don't.