Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Proof the world is about to end

Don't be scared. The world isn't actually going to end. But 2 pieces of evidence point that way. 1) I'm posting twice in 1 week and 2) I finished reading a book. More on that in a moment. First, I survived the hurricane with nothing more than a limb through my trash can. A 1" limb fell on the trash can, puncturing a hole. Hannah's house escaped unscathed. Cleanup took about 2 hours followed by enjoying a beautiful Sunday with not a cloud in the sky. I have begun moving my stuff to Hannah's house which might be the easiest move ever. 5 blocks away and spread out over 4 days? Yes please. I am so pumped for this weekend. I can't believe I'm getting married in 3 days. Whoa.


So I know you're jonesin' for the details on this book. Wild Goose Chase by Mark Batterson. Hannah's dad got it for me for Christmas. Mark is a pastor up in DC. A tough job, I'm sure. I'm not strong enough to do that, but I really liked this book. A great book for Christian men, encouraging them that God didn't design us to be comfortable or to live a life of ease. Rather, to be vulnerable, put yourself out there and to pursue dreams, and all the while have the faith that God will direct you. This is true both in the physical and relational aspects. This is not to say that whatever you pursue, God will grant success in that. But the idea is that the Holy Spirit is a Wild Goose that is worthy of pursuit. Elusive, mysterious, and unpredictable, the Holy Spirit has an element of danger and God wants us to have an adventure. Batterson encourages us to leave the cage of assumptions, routine, fear, guilt and failure and follow the Goose. I understand that the term wild goose chase may seem cheesy, and perhaps it is. But Batterson cites the old Celtic Christians for coming up with the term, and it certainly has some merit. I don't know what God has for me today, tomorrow, or a year from now. But what I do know is this: pursuing God is not about playing defense and trying to avoid losing what you have (relationships, money, career, etc.) but going on the offensive and worrying more about missed oppurtunities than making mistakes. In America, it is so easy and tempting to be a sideline Christian where the mantra goes something like, "I go to church, I do this and that. That makes me a Christian." But the early church didn't operate like that. It was dangerous to be a Christian. In many areas of the world that is still true. What God wants is your heart, not your usefullness. God doesn't need you and that mental model undermines God's sovereignty. Ok I've written too much about a book. Go read it.

Friday, August 26, 2011

Every day's an adventure

2 natural disasters in one week? It looks that way. Ironically, I listened to CCR's "Bad Moon Risin" on Tuesday on the way to work. It got to the part about earthquakes and I laughed because earthquakes don't happen here. Whoops. I am happy to report that both reactors at North Anna power station were not damaged and shutdown appropriately. Backup diesel generators performed normally and it looks as if the reactors will be shutdown until all components are evaluated properly for earthquake damage.

There must be a bad moon risin because tomorrow night Ms. Irene is supposed to visit Norfolk. Fortunately, I am not afraid. I have a parking garage for my car (RIP Guinevere), I don't live in a category 1 storm surge area (10 ft higher in a category 2), all outdoor plants and things will be or have been moved inside to prevent them from taking flight, all wedding paraphanalia are safe, and batteries/water/nonperishable food have been purchased. I am hurricane ready. So don't worry about me. I leave you with this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxdmw4tJJ1Y&ob=av2e

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Back at it


Silence. That's what you've been hearing from me via this blog for over 2 months. You had probably given up on me. Unless you have blog updates sent to your email, you may not even read this. I hope you haven't given up on me. I will post on facebook when I update this blog so you have a better chance of knowing about it.




As I predicted at the beginning of June, this has definitely been the busiest summer of my life. There was a 5 week stint of not even being in Norfolk on the weekends. Wedding, vacation, a beer festival, meeting new family members, etc. Now don't get me wrong, I loved doing all of these things dearly, but after they were over and I actually got to go to my church on a Sunday I felt great. Not just great, but rested.




My two big ticket items this summer were my oral board and helping Hannah to plan for our wedding. The good news is that I passed my oral board this past Tuesday! I'm pretty excited about that. I no longer have to put in extra hours studying for this thing. The oral board is the final step in becoming a qualified Shift Test Engineer. I went in front of some big wigs here at the shipyard and they grill me with questions for a little over an hour to ascertain whether I'm competent enough to keep their submarine engine room safe and productive.




As for the wedding, Hannah and I are 23 days away. To say that I'm excited is an understatement. Our engagement has been short compared to most and I'm not sure how people do long engagements. I'm so glad we've had a short one. I can't wait to see friends I now see only on rare occasions and celebrate what God is doing in both Hannah and I's lives. I used to picture wedding planning as something that the man tries to stay away from. And while there are things I'm not concerned with such as flowers, colors, table stuff, etc., I have enjoyed picking out other things such as food, beer, suits, music, scripture, etc. with Hannah.



I haven't put any pictures up in awhile, so here are a few from the summer:


Two old mustangs convoying together. Awesome.



Memorial Day Whoppa Reunion skeet shoot.



Hannah participated, and even bagged a clay pigeon!



I even visited my metropolitan nemisis: DC.






Floyd County Beer and Wine Festival. Man I love mountains.