Introductory Post

I already have a twitter, a facebook, and a more-formal blog focused on building up the family, but I want to have a blog that will really be more of a type of journal.

In high school, I found that keeping a journal helped me to focus and solidify what I learned by putting words to my life.  I am hoping that by starting out a blog where I can just talk about what's going on in my life that I can regain focus as I transcribe the things that are important in my life.

So, I'm not going to attempt to tell you all about my past to give you a background all in one sitting-you'll probably get glimpses into my past in future posts because I like to use lessons from my past to help me to understand what it is I should do with my future.  Therefore, I'll just start off with where I'm at right now.

Right now, Amanda and I are up at Victor, Montana-where she is from.  We came up this time primarily to visit our friends Matt and Meredith Hoffman because they just had their first baby-Olivia.  Meredith had been Amanda's Maid of Honor and they were close since childhood.  We also get to visit her family over her birthday.  I am glad that she gets to see her family so often.

Speaking of family, my brother in law-Andrew-is about to marry Kaci (you can see some of their engagement photos on Amanda's facebook)  We are coming back up to Montana in less than a month for their wedding.  Amanda and I are happy for them-it seems as though God has been showing them a lot of favor-from Drew having a pretty successful fencing business (Skyline Fencing-if you need a fence and you live in Montana, give him a call for a quote-406-381-3764), and they should be able to move into a house of their own right after they marry.

I mentioned pictures in the above paragraph.  This is actually one of Amanda's main passions and hobbies.  She is becoming quite the photographer and is building up a portfolio of engagement, baby, graduation, landscape, and event photos.  I am glad that she loves it-it's a neat hobby for her to have.  If she stays interested in it, I'm going to encourage her to do it part time as a business once she's done with law school at Pepperdine's School of Law.  She is entering her third and final year and has been pretty successful at it.

Amanda and I got married shortly after graduating from undergrad at Pepperdine, so since I knew we would be together and that she'd be going to law school, I looked for work where she wanted to go to law school.  After she got into Pepperdine's law school, I had a friend, Lillia Chang, recommend working as the Admin Assistant and Records Analyst in Pepperdine's Convocation Office.  I applied for the job and got it the same day that I quit my paid internship and signed a year long rental agreement.  God's faithfulness and provision have been constant themes in my life ever since Amanda and I have been together.

I have been working for the Convocation Office for just over two years now and have been blessed to have a job that I have been appreciated, enjoyed, and-thank God-kept.  I got my job just before the economy weakened and "the housing bubble" burst.  God took care of me and my new bride by placing me in a department that had open positions that it could lose without having to fire people in order to cut back.  I have also been blessed to have found favor in the eyes of my colleagues and superiors and have been promoted 3 times now.

I am working on my Masters of Public Administration (MPA) at an online school-the University of North Dakota and have been blessed there in that I have been getting nothing but straight A's.  I have loved playing city simulation games (especially the SimCity game series) since I was a boy and loved building Lego cities when I was even younger, I believe that this could be something that I could be successful at.  Recently, I have been thinking about the possibility of being a city manager after receiving my MPA in May 2011.  However, I know that that would have to fit into my larger passion of building up the family in America and striving to live a life that draws others to Christ.  I am anxious to see what happens.

Amanda and I are going to intern at Focus on the Family this summer to see if living and working in Colorado could be a direction where God may want to lead us.

Well, we are a young could trying to figure out exactly what we should do with our lives...I am sure that we are not alone and that there have been many couples in our position in the past.  We are praying a lot about this (I've been praying about it daily), seeking counsel, and sitting down and trying to discern what the most logical path is.  There are some things that seem sure, but there is little definitive direction from God.  I'm not really that worried about not having explicit direction from God because I know that He usually waits until the last minute to show us where he wants us to go in order to build up our faith and trust in him.  We know that God is good and that he will provide for us.  We are not worried, but every once in a while, I get anxious and want to know what the next step will be.  As the man, I feel it is my responsibility to come up with a plan and direction.  My understanding is that you don't just sit back and address life reactively, but that you make a plan, place it in God's hands, follow it, and then expect for God to "throw you a lateral" and guide you in the direction he wants you to go.  Right now, though, I feel that my plan isn't very solid and God is making Amanda and me put even more trust and faith in Him.  We will see what happens-I will keep you posted.

Sola Scriptura
Sola Fide
Sola Gratia
Solo Christo
Soli Deo Gloria