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Pray for us.

Any and all novelty has worn off this week.

I think between people talking about food, watching people eat food, and the commercials for Taco Bell and Domino’s, we were about ready to punch someone. But we didn’t. All kidding aside this week has actually been pretty tough for us.

Life kind of caught up with us. Things got busy and when we might usually go and grab a hot-n-ready pizza from Little Caesar’s that was no longer an option, and it hurt. I kinda feel silly admitting that but the ‘quick fix’ we used to run to(all to often) wasn’t there this week. The odd thing is that I’m pretty sure if the situation were reversed, if I couldn’t eat most fruits and vegetables, and my diet was made of meat bread and dairy, I think things wouldn’t be so painful.  Maybe that’s something to try for February.

Moving on, I heard a verse on the radio the other day that has given me some reassurance this week. Hebrews 12:11 Being that discipline was one of my prayer goals for this fast, it was nice to run across this passage. It’s no cheeseburger, but its still pretty good. So 2 weeks down 1 to go. We are starting to plan our transition back toward the foods we’ve been without, while still remaining on the healthy side of things. Even with the pain of this week I’m still happy with how things have gone. See ya in a week.

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Yep, you read that right. A skunk.

Some nights I sleep really well. You know the nights when you aren’t too hot or too cold, you don’t wake up during the night, and you feel refreshed in the morning? Well this wasn’t one of those nights.

At around 4am I had slightly awoken. Not full awake just enough to readjust before going back to sleep. As I turned over, I saw it. Across the room by the dresser. The familiar black and white pattern that belongs to only one animal. A skunk.

Now I’m glad I  was able to keep my emotions in check and not jump up and go running and screaming out of the room. I reacted calmly and slowly pulling the covers over my head to give me a second to think about what I should do. My mind started racing through all the possible scenarios for how to get this animal out of our bedroom without it spraying anything/anyone, and all without waking my wife sleeping next to me.

Then she turned over. Too late for that last bit now. “What are you doing?” she asked as I was holding the covers 6 to 8 inches over our heads. “Shhhh, its nothing. Just be very quiet and don’t move.” I replied. I was trying to keep her from worrying and reacting in anyway that might aggrivate our guest.

About this time I remember that this is maybe a foot away from our dog Lucky’s bed. Is he just sleeping through all of this? How could he let this thing into our bedroom? He is way too protective for that. So I just go for it. What happens – happens. I sit up, pull the covers down, and confront the basket of clothes on the floor. Wait….what?

That’s right, it was just a basket of clothes. A dark pair of pants and a white shirt were the culprit. Once I had calmed the lady down and assured her that there wasn’t a murderer in our bedroom and that had there been any person in the room I wouldn’t have used the covers as a defense. She did admit the clothes looked slightly like a skunk in that (hey that cloud looks like a unicorn) kind of way.

So all of that to say – I’m just crazy.

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We made it through the first week! And it wasn’t as bad as I thought. On January 3/4 Erin and I started a 21 day Daniel Fast. It’s a corporate fast that our church is taking part in along with 3 other churches in Peoria. What a way to kick of the year! It was a dramatic departure from our usual diet but we were both excited to see how it would go.

I’ve done fasts in many different forms and lengths before, partial fasts for an extended period of time(from soda or sweets), and full fasts for a few days at a time(nothing to eat), and the Daniel fast seemed like it could be a fun challenge! The Daniel Fast is a partial fast based on the book of Daniel. In Daniel 10:2 Daniel fasts for 3 weeks and only eats only fruits and vegetables and drank only water. Its from this that we draw our restrictions.

Its has been a great week. Erin has been cooking up some fantastic new recipes to keep us on track, and while we still wish some of the dishes had meat or cheese in them overall its been very satisfying. So far the paella and the taco soup have been my favorites.

The best part by far is the real reason for the fasting. To draw closer to God. I have been on a new bible reading plan and as we started this fast I have read along as the Israelites were wandering through the wilderness. God was providing them with mana, yet they still complained. I couldn’t help but feel a connection on my first morning eating muesli for breakfast and thinking “This just doesn’t taste good, I’m only eating to get food into my system.” I’m not doing this because it will taste good, it’s so I can focus on God. I was not aware of how much enjoyment I got from food or how big a part of our life it was. Eating was at times even just a form of entertainment.

This first week has seemed very powerful. And I look forward to the weeks ahead. I think God has great things planned for this fast as well as the rest of the year.

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It seems that I’m not the only one caught up in the new year. Looking over the years past and onto those to come seems to have some more meaning that usual this year. So here’s looking back over the last year.

2009 started off on an uneasy foot. My mom spent several days in the ICU due to diabetic ketoacidosis. It was definitely one of those events that brings you face to face with how fragile life can be. In the end the doctors were able to turn things around and bring my mom back to 100%. You wouldn’t be able to tell anything had even happened.

During Febuary and March most of my time went into being the lay leader on The Weekend #88. I’ve been involved in the weekend community 9 years now and it was such an honor to be chosen to lead a weekend. Because of how instrumental the weekend was in my spiritual development, I love any opportunity to be a positive influence for anyone else.

In April the spring church IT roundtable took place in Colorado Springs, Co. I love that I am able to be part of a group like this. It was special to be able to spend time with great people in a beautiful environment. Every roundtable I attend I leave with fresh ideas, more in depth knowledge, and a renewed drive to fulfill the mission God has laid before me.

May 2009 was a quiet month yet still a pretty pivotal part of the year. It was in May that I made the decision about my August event. I also turned 25 this month.

In July Erin and I went to Florida for vacation, as well as to celebrate our first anniversary. The vacation was a fantastic time. We are beach people love to spend hours just laying on the beach reading in the sun and playing in the water. And what better place to look back on a great first year in marriage. Somehow I haven’t driven her off yet, and I know this next year is going to be even better. Love you Lady!

August was the end of the 12 week journey I started in May. I finished my first triathlon! This was always one of those sort of ‘bucket list’ items for me. And it was time to stop putting things off. I trained hard and while I didn’t do really great, I accomplished my two goals for my first tri. I finished the event, and I wasn’t last. It was a great time and I look forward to doing one again.

October November and December brought great times with friends and  family for the holidays(I count Halloween as a holiday). I think its great that the end of the year is a time where our families get together and share a meal and break out the trivial pursuit board and start up a game.(maybe the last part is just my family)

As I said 2009 was a great year, and I’m looking fondly toward what 2010 holds.

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I must say I am really excited for this year. There are several events that I think will make this year a great one, in addition to some personal goals that I am going to be working on.

1. Fasting: Erin and I are pretty stoked about the 21 day corporate fast to start off the year. We are going to be replicating the daniel fast(Daniel 10:2). We are looking forward to the way that God is going to be working in us during this time. We also hope that we can use this fast as a jump start into a healthier lifestyle. We(like everyone else) have always talked about wanting to eat/live better and I think this is a great way to start.
2. Triathlon: Erin and some of our friends have decided that they will be in their first triathlon this year. I’m looking forward to being part of this journey with them as we gear up for the Chicago Triathlon. I was part of this last year and had a blast, and I know its going to be more fun with my friends involved.
3. I’ve set a few personal-work-bucket list type goals for 2010 and I am excited to see how they shape up this year. I think I’ll elaborate more on those in a separate post.

Bold, steady, and firm determination; – Thats the definition of Resolute and those are words I hope will be the banner for 2010.

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For Christmas this year the gift exchange on my wife’s side of the family twisted into a new tradition hopefully. Usually we would do the ‘names in the hat with a preset spending limit’ type exchange for each other. This year we switched our focus from ourselves to others and ‘gifted’ charitable donations.

This is how it went down 1. Choose a charitable organization and make a donation. 2. Think of several clues to get others to guess what the organization does. 3. Present your clues so the everyone can guess who your donation went to. I think we all had a good time and the money went to people who need it, rather than to ugly sweaters.

Erin and I supported a clean water initiative called Living Water. The others donated to a range of things from colon research to wildlife. The creative clues were also a highlight of the evening. Erin’s cousin outshined us all with her innovative clues. I’m already thinking about what we can do for next year.

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I hope everyone is having a fantastic new year!  2009 was a great year and I look forward to better things in 2010.

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