Feeling unfulfilled? A discussion I recently had...

Recently, I had an opportunity to spend time with a good friend over a cup of coffee. We talked about normal things such as jobs, family, his kid, hiking, camping... He began expressing that he has had some feelings not being fulfilled in his life. Mind you that in the last two years his salary has increased a ton and he welcomed a child and he has a great wife. We talked about how he felt for a while and tried rather unsuccessfully to hit the nail on the head in terms of a reason. He goes to work daily, he provides for his family, his wife is able to stay at home with their child, and he attends a thriving, growing church. What is the problem?? A few days later I was still thinking about my friend and looking at my own life and seeing similar experiences and feelings like he described... then it dawned on... I believe that even if we have a great job, healthy family, and great friends, we are still going to have feelings of not being fulfilled if those are the only things we put our time into. We were created to serve God and when we stop seeking opportunities to serve there is a void that cannot be filled with anything but serving God. Sure I have aspirations of greatness but I have come to realize greatness is relative. I previously felt like whatever God was going to use me for was going to be something full-time, as in a job, kind of like killing two birds with one stone. Consider the Apostle Paul in Acts 18:3, "Paul lived and worked with them, for they were tentmakers just as he was." I doubt very much that Paul found all of his fulfillment in making tents... he found fulfillment in serving God. I believe Paul had such an impact because he had his issues in context. He knew he had to work to live and he was thankful for his trade and the money he earned allowed him to find real fulfillment in serving God.

Turning 29.

So, in a few hours I will be twenty-nine years old. I don't have an issue with aging. I guess I do get a bit introspective. I look back at the life I have lived thus far and look for the things that I have done in my life to make an impact on others. Frankly, I don't see much. I see someone that experimented with substances, drank a lot of alcohol, and had a couple run-ins with the white and blue. Life is difficult sometimes... it is really amazing the things that bring joy. It's not loads of money and it not a bunch of stuff. For me, it is spending time with Carrie, Madi, and Rummy.



I also have a lot of fun hanging out with my best buddy Paul. Paul and I can relate on a lot of things. Has has more insight in some areas... like kids!


Hopefully, Carrie and I will get some experience with kids in the near future. I like birthdays.

Finished up the back and prepping for our vegetable garden...

So today I was able to nearly complete the back of the yard. I still need to add about 6 bags of mulch. I've put 16 bags on so far... however, there are still some spots that you can see the soil. I am really pleased with the way it turned out.



After I finished with the back I turned my attention to the vegetable garden. There is a spot on the side of our deck that is a great place to install a garden. This will be our first attempt at growing our own food so we wanted to start small and work our way up. We plan on planting cucumbers, squash, zucchini, spinach, and tomatoes. All but the tomatoes will go in the ground. In an attempt to plant more variety we opted to plant the tomatoes in 5 gallon buckets. The plan is to plant everything on Sunday after church. Our friends Paul and Heika are going to share in the garden. Heika wants Zion to experience planting and working the land so she can see what comes out of the ground. I think it is a great thing to get young children into gardening and generally doing things outside. In fact, I can remember when my Papaw had a garden and he would always be out in the backyard work the soil. The memory has stuck with me ever since I was a child and when we purchased our house a vegetable garden was on the top of my list. The idea of eating food that I have grown makes me happy. It is the way things are supposed to be.




Also, today Carrie planted some flowers. She is beautiful!



Here are some miscellaneous photos. One is my dog Rummy - He is dangerous and will attack you if you say something bad about Carrie, Madi, or I.
I got poison oak or something and it sucks!!!