More looking at right now

Never tried video before. Hope it works. It's a picture perfect day. Just one thing missing...my Valentine.

(The video upload from mobile didn't work, but here it is)

What I'm looking at right now.

Trestles beach

(with either a giant ufo looming overhead or my finger in the picture...not sure which)

Our ways are not God's ways

A friend wrote this in a blog post today:

Sometimes when something really bad happens, it's God making way for something good to come into our lives.

True that. As a matter of fact, I might be wiling to go so far as to call that statement true even without the qualifier "Sometimes".

I've found it to be true many times in life that "it's darkest before the dawn". According to J.M. Farro,

It's no coincidence that right before deliverance comes, the temptation to lose faith in God became unbearable. These are the kinds of tactics that Satan uses to try to convince believers to abandon their faith and hope in God so that their victory will be delayed or even thwarted entirely. That's why the Bible says: "Do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord, no matter what happens. Remember the great reward it brings you! Patient endurance is what you need now, so you will continue to do God's will. Then you will receive all that He has promised." (Hebrews 10:35-36 NLT) The devil knows that if he can send enough discouragement and despair your way, you'll be more likely to quit and give up on trusting in God and His plans for you.

Yeah, that's what I wanted to say, but Farro said it already so I've just quoted him.

When we are walking through the difficult times of life, it is easy to forget that God is with us through it all. It is easy to turn from him if we're feeling that he's abandoned us. We must remember that he's not only there during those times, but those are the times that he's closest to us. He knows our troubles and feels our pain. Sometimes he won't take those pains away from us because we have more to learn by enduring them than we do by escaping them.

Sometimes he lets us hit bottom just so we'll look up. That happened to me. Those of you that know the story of my conversion have heard it before. If you haven't, and you're interested, ask me.

This whole post feels disjointed and unfocused, so I'm going to quit here. If enlightenment comes, I'll be back.

Yemen al-Qaeda leader threatens US

From the "If you're not concerned, you're not paying attention" department:

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/02/201028133549227780.html

Of VERY special interest is this part:

"Elshari was released in 2007 from the US Navy's detention centre in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to his native Saudi Arabia.

There he graduated from a "rehabilitation" programme before fleeing the country to join anti-government fighters in Yemen.

He quickly rose to become al-Qaeda's second-in-command in the Arabian Peninsula."

We had him. We let him go. I have no further comment for polite company.

Where's Steve / What I'm looking at right now

Those of you playing along at home should recognize this place and know that I come here to listen for the voice of God.

I'm waiting...

Radical Transparency

Are you radically transparent? I'm not...generally. Until recently, I can't think of a single person in the world who knew everything about me. Ok, honestly, everything is a bit of a stretch, I suppose. Not too long ago I met someone with whom I've been able to be completely open. This person knows more about the many facets of Steve than, I dare to say, anyone else in the world. With this person, I am radically transparent. And you know what? It's freeing, not confining. It's nice to be completely open and honest about everything...no secrets, nothing hidden. I've learned some lessons from that which I intend to put to use in my daily life.

I have integrity with this person. My whole being is integrated. I don't have the work Steve, the home Steve, the church Steve, and the all-alone Steve with her. Yes, it's a her. Why? I don't know. She makes it easy. She gets me and it's easy to be honest and open. I don't think she's going to run away screaming. No, we're not romantic. Would I like to be? Maybe. I don't know for sure. Why? Because I'm not sure she's as open with me. Not true, I'm sure she's not. And that's ok. Just because I'm an open book doesn't mean the rest of the world has to be.

But it's a liberating feeling. Not having anything to hide. Will she break my heart? Probably. But that's ok too. I'm learning things in the meantime.

What I'm looking at right now

Trace Bundy on stage