26.2

Well I'm doing it. Call me crazy, but I'm going to run the full marathon this coming April in Nashville. Alex Perry and I are going to take the challenge. It is 26.2 miles. I'm a fairly consistent runner and don't really have much problem running distances, but I have never ran that kind of distance. I'm going to begin an "Army style" training regiment early in the mornings to start getting prepared for it.

My biggest reason for running the marathon is that it is one of my life goal's. I have a list of about 100 life goals that I want to accomplish before I die. Others include: learning to speak Spanish fluently, become a skilled guitar player, be baptized in the Jordan River, write a book, etc. I hope in 2009 I can mark several off the list, but this one I will do for sure. Wish me luck, and if you're brave enough, join me.

End of Year

I can't believe 2008 is days from being over. This year has been unbelievable in my personal life and in the church. I think it is fun to look back over the year and point out the highlights and the lessons learned. I had the leadership team at church do this as we opened our meeting. I asked: what is your favorite moment in 2008 in the church, and what is the biggest lesson you have learned in 2008? The stories and lessons shared were insightful, and they reminded me again of how good God has been to us this year.

Me personally, this has been a year of learning to please God more than I want to please others. God has challenged me to love others, but live to please Him alone. This means I have to be willing to make decisions that are not popular, if God is leading it. It means I have to be willing to preach messages that could step on toes, if that is what God wants me to say. It means I have to quit living to make others happy, and live to solely please my Father in heaven. Have I mastered this? No. However, I feel I have made strides in this direction.

What has been some of your favorite moments from 2008? What has been the biggest lesson you have learned?

I look forward to an incredible 2009 with God, my family, and The Journey!

First Semester in the Books

Well, I finished my last exam this morning. It was a three hour, mack-daddy size exam. It was tough semester but I think when the final grades come in I'll be happy. I worried at first if Vanderbilt didn't make a huge mistake in admitting me to the school, but once school started, I quickly felt that I would be able to do it. It has been a good semester. I met some great people and have even recruited a guy to the church. I look forward to next semester, but I'm excited to have a month to breathe.

Spiritual Formation...In the Marriage

Most Christians have a focus and desire to grow spiritually. Everyone will grow at a different pace, but to some degree, most Christians want to be closer to God and grow as believers. One of the major things I see developing in Christianity is a very individualistic approach to faith. We have our eyes set on our own spiritual development. We have "my" relationship with Jesus. In the ancient days, being a Christian was a very communal thing. Your faith was lived out openly with others. Your growth as a believer was spawned on and shared by others. The major problem that has developed from individualistic faith is that we don't know how to have a relationship with God with our spouse.

When the Scriptures talk about the two people becoming one in the marriage relationship, I believe this includes our relationships with Jesus. We are to be growing as a couple in our relationship with God. How do we do this? Why are we so uncomfortable with this? I have listed five questions that serve as a litmus test to your relationship with God as a couple. See how you do:

1. Do you pray together daily?
2. Do you pray and ask God for guidance and then wait for an answer in regards to major decisions as a family/couple?
3. Do you read the Bible together regularly?
4. Do you share regular conversations about the things that God is teaching you in your walk with Him?
5. Do you confess sin to one another and pray for each other through those things?

We can think we are mature Christians, but we may be baby Christians in our walk with God as a couple. See how you shape up on these questions. Commit to begin the process of spiritual formation and growth as a couple. I believe it holds the key to a more vibrant marriage and a more fruitful walk with Christ.

Sunday Evening Reflections

It has been a great today! We had an incredible service today at church. It was amazing to see all the people in one service...wow! There was a ton of energy in the room. We wrapped up the Love Sick series today. I personally believe it has been one of the best series we have ever done at The Journey. We finished it off with a bang today. It was awesome to take communion together as an entire church. It was an even more amazing sight to see all the people signing the cross as couples. I'm excited about what is coming for us a church in the weeks ahead.

On a personal note, I went to the Titans game today. A very generous person in the church gave me tickets as a Christmas gift. I usually don't have a chance to go to Titans games because of preaching on Sunday's and the because we have had two services on Sunday's. Having one service today allowed for me to that. It was cold, but a ton of fun. Titans won and clinched their division.

Pray for me this week. I have my finals at school and then I get to have about a month long break. It has been a challenging first semester of graduate school, but I'm learning some neat stuff and meeting some cool people.

Journeying forward!