Don't Worry, Be Happy!

Okay, so it's been a while since I've been able to post anything.  To be honest I was a little disappointed when Adsense took away the links to their ads and discontinued my account.  I believe somebody at work was clicking a lot on the ads thinking they were helping me. I do appreciate the thought, but it ended up costing us the tiny revenue it would have created to help out with foster care.  I know God has bigger plans so I'm not really that bummed about it.  He will always provide whatever we need anyway.  Whether or not this generates revenue I think I'll still keep it up, maybe just not posting as often.  It's kind of fun putting my opinion out there for anyone to read if they happen to stumble upon it when googling about current news or just some of the random topics I've blogged about.  If you're interested I thought you should know that I do plan on trying to put music to Stooped Peeple and posting something on Youtube.  Be on the lookout for it!  Until next blog, hope you have a great day, week, month, or if you're really not that into reading,  a great year!

Why be stressed when you know you're blessed?

Today I let stress get the better of me.  I could literally feel my blood pressure rising, my heart rate increasing, my face getting hot, and a surge of anger rising up from deep down.  I try not to let it show, but it always slips out and hurts the wrong people.  Well anybody it hurts would be the wrong person, but I think you know what I mean.  I think we all need ways to relieve the pressure and stress of day to day life.  One of my favorite songs is "Under Pressure" by Queen because there are times in my life I feel like "hey that's me!".  I think probably one of the best ways for me is listening to some of my favorite musicians like Third Day, Casting Crowns, and maybe even a little classic rock.  But if you want a really good way to relieve stress I've found that talking about it with your spouse or a close friend is going to help a lot.  Sometimes that's all you need is just someone to listen.  Most importantly God will always listen anytime we want to talk to Him and that's always going to help!

Why be stressed anyway?  What is worth the rise in blood pressure?  I used to be a very laid back kind of person and not so easily stressed.  I am blessed beyond belief with a wonderful wife, a great roof over our heads, reliable cars, a very good church, and the start of several new friendships, and of course most importantly with eternal salvation through the blood of Jesus Christ!  Why should the things of this world cause stress when heaven awaits when my time on earth is done?  I think if any of us ever get stressed out beyond belief that is something we should all keep in mind. 

Once Upon A Time

Once upon a time he dreamed of being a fireman, then a policeman, then a teacher, then a rockstar, then a lawyer, and then a family man.  None of those dreams were bad, but none of them happened.  It's been said that life is what happens while we're making plans, but I think it's really different.  What it should say is "God is what happens while we're making plans!"  He (okay, he is me) did once dream of being all of those things at one time or another, and who knows maybe rock star is still attainable, but God has had me where He wanted me to be the whole time.  I often think about how often we've moved and how much I have hated being uprooted and having to pack and unpack all of the time, and that was before I joined the army!  Now we've been blessed with a home, have started to grow roots and find friends here as well as a really good church, and seem to be living the American dream.  Soon we will become foster parents and have a full house.  You never know what God has in store for you!  All I can really say about all of this is that sometimes life seems overwhelming, but if you just let go and let God, He will always give you enough strength to get through.  I never thought we would end up where we are now, but God knew, and He knew before I did that I was going to love living in the Pacific Northwest.  Maybe one day we will move again, I really don't know.  I hope it's really time that we settle down and stay but if God has other plans I will keep an open mind and heart.

Bad husband

Don't be like me!  Today I was a bad husband.  My poor wife was in pain and I didn't even ask her how it happened until hours after I got home.  I didn't even ask to look at where she was in pain until she showed me where she was hurting.  I hope she will find it in her heart to forgive me for being such a rude husband.  I was wrong to ignore her pain and not try to do something to help her.  I will be  a better husband in the future so she will know how much I love her!

Finding a job would be great!

Okay, I'm almost out of the army and I admit I'm a little nervous about the job market out there!  I recently went to a job fair on Fort Lewis and was relieved to find I still have enough common sense to outshine other potential job seekers.  Please keep in mind that the idea of this job fair was to help soldiers transitioning from the military to find civilian employment.  They were informed that they should dress as they would for an interview and put their best foot forward, and bring plenty of copies of their resumes.  When I walked in there were about 200 people going from booth to booth checking out opportunities.  Out of those two hundred about half were in uniform, which I can understand, maybe they only could get away for a little bit from their section and that's totally understandable.  Out of the other one hundred maybe about 50 were dressed for an interview, and out of those 50 only about 10 were holding anything that looked like it might hold a resume.  Out of the ones in uniform only a handful of those had resumes as well. Several of them had brought their spouses and children. When I walked into the room with my leather attache, and dressed for success people started coming to me from the booths and asking for my resume.  I think they were just looking for someone who was serious about finding a job.   I am really looking forward to rejoining the civilian workforce and I am feeling more and more confident about the opportunities that are out there.  If the competition is anything like the job fair then I know it won't take long to get employed!

You have got to see "Courageous"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was supposed to go watch this movie on Friday night with my church, but it was a long day yesterday and I thought I would have had trouble staying awake for the whole thing so my wife and I went and caught a matinee showing today.  After seeing this movie I don't think there is any way I could have fallen asleep if I had watched it last night instead!  This movie has got a very good message, a lot of action, and it seems to me that with each movie Sherwood Pictures makes the quality just seems to get better and better!  I think it should show Hollywood that you can make a great movie with a wonderful message and no swearing and people will come and watch!  I promise if you watch this movie you will laugh, cry, and be sitting on the edge of your seat for a good portion of it!  Immediately after this movie was over I informed my wife we were buying the DVD when it comes out!  She replied with "I thought that was a given!"  If I could afford it I would go see it again, buy tickets for anybody else that would go with me to see it, and rent out the entire theatre and just start bringing people in from the streets to see it!  It is that good!  There are parts in this movie that are so moving that when you're not falling off your seat because your laughing so hard or trying to dab the tears from your eyes you will get chills! Above all people I would recommend this movie to fathers everywhere.  It's a great family film, period, but the message is really aimed at fathers and their responsibilities.  I don't want to give anything away so I'll stop writing about this for now, but trust me, if you only go to the theatres once this year, this would be the time to do it!