Goodbye Beard

Shaving is a weird thing. It's like instant regret when you take the beard from your face. After a great three month relationship with my beard I shaved it off this morning. I have to get my drivers license renewed and figured I should be clean shaven for the picture. So i took the beard off. My face feels naked. I look weird. I mean, if I leave the beard off I'll get used to it and all will be normal again but having the spent the last couple of months with a hairy face, my clean shaven appearance is weird to me. I look young... Odd.

Here are random pictures of me and the beard. Maybe no shave November will bring a new bearded relationship.

Minor Joys

You know what's better then having a beer with your brother? Having a beer with your sister.

When A Step of Faith Becomes 40 Years In the Desert: A Faith Journey

The Bible doesn't always paint a complete picture for the stories it tells and so we read them with a disconnected spirit. Frustration and disappointment don't always find themselves as emotions or thoughts of the people whose lives are being told. Even when it is, the conversation is just being read and their tones and inflections are lost. And I think that causes us to misread the bible or skip over things that would give more perspective into our own lives when we read the Bible.

I know Moses had to be just completely heartbroken when he heard he wouldn't get to see the Promise Land. Because it takes 5 minutes to read we don't take into account that it took Joseph many, many years to get where God had promised him. The Bible is full of stories where faith is a journey and getting to where you're going takes a while. Taking a step in faith is often preached but they never mention that taking one step is going to lead to more steps.

So here I am. In December I decided that it was time to move on from my job and when we came back after the holiday break I put in my resignation and at the end of January I was out of work. I had felt a handful of times before God calling me to step out and leave but I hadn't. But through a lot of praying and confirming words that I heard I decided to trust in God and quit my job with nothing on the horizon. And 9 months later I'm still out of work.

God has blessed me and taken care of me. My bills have been paid every month and I know I have tons of people praying for me and praying that God will open the right door. The problem is I'm not always praying those prayers. I would love to be singing songs of praise in the jail cell but too often I'm complaining in the desert. And I know I'm complaining in the desert because I complain to God about my complaining. Praise is lacking, complaining is at a premium.

The other issue is the Job problem. When Job was hit with affliction, his friends came in with all sorts of opinions and advice for him. In times of struggle and famine people will always come to you with advice and their words on how to fix your situation. The problem is it's not always advice worth listening to. I've heard everything from God hasn't blessed with a job because of sin in my life and if I would just stop sinning then things would open up for me. I've been told quitting wasn't God's will for me and that's why he hasn't provided a job. I've been told flat out that I'm just a big idiot for quitting my job without anything else lined up. And not entertaining that advice is hard. When nothing is happening in your favor, you get discouraged and sometimes you believe bad advice.

I don't regret leaving my job. I feel that even if that wasn't God's plan, he's awesome enough to come through and provide and he has provided and I need to spend more time praising and being thankful for what God has done as opposed to complaining about what hasn't happened.

My brother took a leap of faith and moved from Maryland to Wisconsin to start a youth group/young adult ministry for a church campus out there. And while he's been working on that, the church has been slow going in getting him on the payroll. But my brother's connected with a lot of people and has an opportunity to work with Campus Life out there. His leap of faith hasn't landed him right where he thought it would but God has been good to my brother's faithfulness and opened a door for him. I know it took a long time for Bobby to find work and I know there was a lot of disappointment along the way, but I also know my brother spent a lot of time praising instead of complaining.

So here I am in the desert waiting to see the Promise Land, with full knowledge that I need to turn my complaining into praise. I didn't expect that my step of faith would turn into 40 years in the wilderness but that happens. Many of the stories in the bible are journeys, we just don't always read them as such.

2010-2011 Washington Capitals Preview

We are one week away from the start of the NHL season. Next Friday (10.8) the Caps kick off their quest for the Cup.

The Caps 09-10 run ended in extreme disappointment as they blew a 3-1 lead to the Montreal Canadians and failed to get out of the first round of the playoffs. It was still a tremendous season for the Caps, the best regular season in team history, but their playoff performance brought a lot of questions to mind. Can Bruce Boudreau get this team to the finals and win a cup? How come Semin and Green completely disappear when the playoffs start? Do the Caps need defensive help? Is their goaltending good enough?

The offseason saw minor changes to the Caps lineup. Theodore was not resigned. Belanger was also not brought back. Backstrom signed a mega deal that will keep him a Cap for the next 10 years. Semin, Fehr, and Fleischmann were all resigned. They brought in DJ King as an enforcer. A handful of small signings but the Caps are really looking to keep their core group of players in tact and bring up players who helped Hershey win the Calder Cup last year. So where do they stand?

Offensively you can't argue that the Caps are pound for pound, the best offensive team in the NHL. Ovie, Backstrom, and Knuble on the front line is probably the second best first line in all of hockey (only the Blackhawks with Kane, Sharp, and Toews is better). The Caps are a solid 4 lines deep and I agree with Andrew Gordon (Caps Forward) that they could probably send out 2 teams and both be pretty good. The Caps probably won't storm through the NHL like they did last year but they could. 2 years ago they jumped out to a huge lead in the East early in the season but stepped off the pedal and gave up a lot of ground late in the year. Last year they never took their foot off the pedal and crushed everyone in the East. They won't dominate in the same way this year but they will clearly win their division and be in the top 3 , if not the top seed in the East.

Defensively the Caps still didn't go get that big bruising defensemen that all fans would've liked to see them get. They are better on the defensive front though. Having Karl Alzner and John Carlson in DC for the entire season makes their defensive lines better. Green and Shultz line 1, Alzner and Carlson line 2. Line 3 is iffy. They kept John Erskine, who made fans cringe every time he hit the ice. Tyler Sloan is their weakest defender. Defense isn't his natural position and it shows. Tom Poti is still strong on line 3 but if he ever gets hurt an Erskine/Sloan line is bad. They did bring in Fahey and McNeil but it's yet to be seen how they play out.

Goaltending might be more of an issue this year. Although I have faith that Varly and Neuvirth can get it done, Varly already has a minor injury. Holtby is supposed to carry the load in Hershey and although they brought in another netminder on a twoway contract, I'm starting to question whether or not Varly can go a whole season. Yes, Neuvirth is good enough if the Caps score like madmen and the more experience the better he'll be. Antti Niemi was available for most of the summer and I wish the Caps had picked him up. Varly is solid come playoff time but if he gets hurt early in the season goaltending is going to be a huge issue for the Caps.

So where do they go? On the offensive front the Caps will be crazy good this year. We know if they have to score 5 or 6 goals a game to win they can. I wouldn't be surprised if the Caps traded Semin or Flash at the deadline. Both of those players signed 1 year deals and if you have to go out and get a defensemen or veteran goalie for the playoffs Semin is great trade bate.

The defense will be better. They have to be. Carlson and Alzner is a line that will help improve the defense from the get go. It's a solid line you didn't have last year and having that frees Poti for the third line, which makes that third line better. Like I said, I can still see them seeing a need for a big bruising defender to help them in the playoffs. The defense might be really solid this year and McPhee might not make that trade. But if the Caps have a ton of 5-4, 4-3 games this year, they'll need another blue liner.

Goaltending is up in the air for me. I like Varly a lot and Neuvy proved himself in Hershey last year. Neuvirth is a better prospect then Varlamov which made me think Neuvirth could be traded this year (because Holtby is a better prospect then both of him and after a year in Hershey, he'll be a full time Cap next year). But they just gave Neuvy an extension... So I don't know if that means Varly could be traded, or they're set with what they have. I could see the Caps trading for a goaltender with experience for the playoffs but it's not essential that they do so. If you look at the goaltenders last season, only Nabkov and Brodeur were proven vets and Brodeur got bounced in the first round. Niemi was a young goalie, Boston went with Rask and did well. Experience is good for the bench and the Caps had experience last year. It's time for the young guys to prove themselves.

The Caps will win their division this year and make the playoffs again. Games will be more spread out because there's no 2 week break mid-season this year and that will give players more rest and help for minor injuries. Ovie will get back to playing like Ovie did before the second (or third, I can't remember) suspension. The Caps need to make a serious playoff push this year. Anything less then the Eastern Conference finals is unacceptable. I don't think Gabby can last as coach if they get bounced in the first round again. Even if the Caps don't completely destroy and dominate the regular season like they did last year, I think the team will be more focused and concerned about their playoff performance when that times comes then they were last year. The Caps got cold at the end of the regular season last year and couldn't beat Halak when it mattered. I don't think that will happen this year.

Most notable game: January 1st. Winter Classic vs the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Spend $5, Help a Good Cause

Wrench In the Works broke up the other day. They have some merch left over and have put it on sale with all proceeds going to Project: AK-47.

Project: AK-47 is a team of people who are always ready to invade the next hopeless situation for children in armed conflict. Our staff members on the ground are nationals who are committed to rescuing and restoring the lives of children who otherwise would only know lives of violence and exploitation. We also do a fair share of raising awareness and advocacy for these children, but we don't stop there. We can't stop there. And we hope that you won't either.

If you're interested you can see Wrench in The Works merch here http://wrenchintheworks.bigcartel.com/ or you can learn more about Project: AK-47 here http://www.projectak47.com/

We Dreamed In Heist

So I was out of the country last week. My trip produced a bunch of thoughts that I will share in a completely random post full of utter nonsense. So... let's have fun.


Interstate 95 has more cars traveling on it from Canada then one would think. This isn't the first time I've noticed this but my last two trips on 95 I've noticed a high volume of cars from Ontario and Quebec on the interstate.

The state of Florida has more license plate variations then I thoughts were possible. I counted close to 24 different plates but there might have been more. It's nuts. I didn't know there were that many custom plates available for one state... but good job Florida. Giving the people options

My passport photo is terrible. It's really bad. I'm reminded of Schemer from Shining Time Station anytime I look at it. (Does anyone even remember that show?)

War Inc is an incredible movie and I'm ashamed I don't own it on dvd. Caught the movie at a hotel in Florida and I loved it. Reminded me of Gross Point blank. This will be a dvd purchase. Movie was great!

I finally saw The Blindside. The movie was good. Not as great as people said it was. I missed the first 15-30 minutes though... I later caught the start of the movie but it was in Spanish. I got the gist of what was happening but I feel like the language barrier messed with the emotional weight of what was happening.

7 days with no communication with my girlfriend is too much. That can't happen again.

I also watched The Invention of Lying. I heard that movie wasn't so great but I thought it was funny.

It is hot in Mexico and I think I should stop sending my resume to places that are so hot. I dislike the weather in the summer and why would I want to live somewhere where it was hot all the time? That sounds like a terrible idea.

My Spanish is no good.

There are more billboards for South of the Border in North Carolina heading south on 95 then there are in South Carolina heading north.

I watched cricket for a week. It took pretty much the entire week but I now think I understand the sport of cricket. That's right, a week out of the country and even though it was cricket, I still watched ESPN every day.

I could eat a steak and baked potato everyday.

Having a beard is enough to have the customs agent ask if you were born in the USA.

I sail very poorly

My musical selection for the week.

Anberlin - Blueprints For the Black Market
Anberlin - Never Take Friendship Personal
The Glorious Unseen - Tonight The Stars Speak
Hammock - CHasing After Shadows... Living With the Ghost
Haste the Day - Attack of the Wolf King
Haste the Day - Dreamer
A Hope For Home - Realis
House of Heroes - Suburba
Living Sacrifice - The Infinite Order
N.I.V. - Flesh and Blood
N.I.V. - Tipping The Scales
Norma Jean - Meridional
Project 86 - Songs to Burn Your Bridges By
Thrice - Beggars
Wrench in the Works - Decrease/Increase
Wrench in the Works - Lost Art of Heaping Coal

That's it. I'm glad to be back home.

Blame It On the Holy Rollers

So I had a great time Friday night seeing Advent and Sleeping Giant. Both bands were amazing and both have a great heart for what they're doing. Both bands were very honest as to their faith and why they play music and what they want to see. Sleeping Giant was very open about the hardcore scene being a place to come and worship God in a different way from conventional church that, a place where some might be more comfortable worshipping, and being able to worship in their own way. Sleeping Giant even played two "worship" songs, ending their set with Oh Praise Him (their version of course).



Honesty is nice and both Advent and Sleeping Giant are two of the most honest bands I've seen in the scene for many years. While I will always respect bands that don't preach and let their music and actions speak for themselves, the scene needs bands who want nothing more then to see people come to Jesus and have true, real relationship with him.



Here's a video fo Sleeping Giant. You can see me enjoying myself. (I'm the guy with the beard in the NIV shirt).