my mom's cancer update

So just the other day I bought plane tickets to go see my mom. Why am I telling you this? Well, for those of you who do not know, my mom has been fighting breast cancer for the last 5 years. And lately things have not been so good for her. She has started to go downhill since I last saw her back in early June. The cancer spread to her liver and that is what is giving her the greatest problems. She has a significant amount of pain from her liver but thankfully is able to control and stay one step ahead of the pain through some pretty strong pain meds. She is also losing her appetite and losing weight and energy as a result of this.
Basically she doesn't have much time left. You never really know exactly how long but she feels she only has a couple months left. This is so hard to hear because I love my mom so much and don't want to lose her. My sisters and my mom's partner, Jacki are also having a pretty tough time dealing with this. So prayers for my mom and our family are much appreciated. The thing that I do find comfort in during this time is that fact that mom loves and knows Jesus Christ. And she is looking forward to the day that she can forever be in the loving presence of God. Amen.
If you want to hear a first person account of dealing with cancer, check out my mom's blog. Its listed on the right side of my page.

The future of our nation?

Romney, Giuliani, McCain

Edwards, Clinton, Obama

So who is it going to be? I know it is a little early to be talking about who our next president is going to be and I know some of you don't give a crap about politics but I thought I would say a few words.
The biggest thing that I want to say is that I am completely undecided and right in the middle. Well maybe not exactly in the middle, some of you might say that I am conservative, but I would call myself a right leaning moderate. But when it comes to the six pictured above, none of them excite me that much. So my question is who should I vote for? You tell me. There are +'s and -'s about all these candidates and I don't want to get into that here. That is for you to tell me. Here is some info for you...I have voted Republican since being of age to vote BUT if the election were today I am leaning left towards Barack or Edwards. But who knows, I can be swayed one way or another. So open the dialogue and talk to me. If you don't like politics then ignore this. But if you do have an opinion, I want to here it.
I love God and love Jesus Christ but that doesn't mean that the White House is the place for a Christian. Don't get me wrong, I would hope that our President loves Christ as I do but I believe that as f0llowers of Christ we can do far more beneficial things outside of politics (more on this in a future post). I also love the environment and nature but that doesn't mean I am a tree hugging liberal. And so on...there are both liberal and conservative issues that I support. Also I am so sick of the partisan bull sh*! in our nation's capital. I would like to see a president who could bridge that divide.
So thanks for letting me rant...I won't talk politics all the time but sometimes, its whats on my and now let it be on your mind.

The Call

I thought I would say a little something about my thought pattern lately. I have been constantly wondering what am I supposed to do in life? I don't think raising two kids as a stay at home dad is my calling in life. For this present moment that is probably what is best for my family. But I think a lot about my future, my passions, my possible career choices, my love for God, how to support my family financially and other various important issue that deal with everyday life. The question I have is, what is God calling me to do? That is the question, the BIG question.
I have thought through several options. Maybe it is enrolling at a seminary. For what? Maybe a masters degree in Christian counseling. I have always loved talking, interacting and meeting new people. Maybe that is the avenue for me but another part me is longing for something else.
That something else is sharing Christ's love and the truth of his saving message. I have always loved and supported missions and missionaries. In fact that is where I met Abby, on the missions field in a foreign country where people had no clear idea who Jesus is or how they can know him and love him. I feel that I am willing to serve God in any way. If he wants me over seas on the mission field, then I welcome that with open arms. But I wonder, what country, with what organization, when? I guess if that is my calling God will provide the answers and the leading. So I going to pray and try to be proactive about all this. I am going to open my self up to all possibilities, even ones not mentioned in this rambling blog entry. I will leave you with a thought that Katie S. , a staff member at our church, wrote on her bio on our church's website. "In ministry, if you have a passionate heart, God will equip you in His timing with what He deems is necessary for Him to be give glory through you! 'God does not call the equipped, but He equips the called!' "

Minneapolis bridge collapse

So I am sure ya'll have heard about the bridge collapse in Minneapolis. If not flip on any cable news channel or go to a news website. When I first saw the news this morning it took my breath away. I couldn't believe a bridge like that could just collapse into the Mississippi river. I can only pray that everyone is ok. What scared me the most is that Abby and I have driven over that bridge hundreds of times while I was in college. That bridge is only a half mile from the University of Minnesota which was my home for six years. In fact a couple of places that I lived at in college are with in spitting distance of the bridge. I can't imagine what everyone up there is going through right now. I have numerous friends in the Twin cities and heard from several of them that they are ok. So simply please pray.