30 by 30

Two weeks ago I turned 29 years old. On July 3 next year I will step into the three decade club.
Wow. I now have been married for 10 years. I also have three kids under the age of 5.
Life has been interesting. It's been fun. It's been difficult...but I'm looking to take it a step further.

In the next year I plan on accomplishing some amazing goals. These goals are outside of my comfort zone, but can definitely be accomplished.
So without further or due...
I hope to accomplish these 30 goals by the time I'm thirty:

1. Climb a 14er--a mountain that is at least 14,000 feet in altitude
2. Hunt in Colorado
3. Ride 30 mile bike ride-- road or mountain bike
4. write 30 songs
5. Learn 30 guitar riffs
6. Lose 80lbs--- at least 1.6lbs per week
7. Cook 30 new dishes
8. Camp with the whole family in CO
9. Read 30 books-- any books but an emphasis on personal development
10. Finish my sleeve
11. Make $7k in one month
12. own a newer vehicle
13. buy a home
14. Plant a garden
15. Run a tri
16. Make a design for our outdoor space
17. Start drawing again--a few times a week
18. Go on 30 dates with Bri
19. rebuild my home studio
20. listen to 30 new artists
21. Fast 30 times
22. go on a real family vacation
23. go on a solitude retreat
24. get a mountain bike
25. Call my mom more
26. rebuild my emergency fund
27. watch an entire tv series start to finish
28. clean the house everyday
29. start saving for my kids college
30. stay at a cabin in CO

Hold your Head High

As Christians we all fall short of the glory of God. We all have sin in our lives. We will continue to struggle until our Savior comes to this earth and takes us with Him to glory.

BUT... Just because you struggle does not mean that God can't use You.
King David, the only man in the bible that was called a man after God's own heart, committed adultery with Bathsheeba and then had her husband killed to cover up the affair. Adultery and murder...the man after God's own heart still struggled. He was not perfect. But even in this sin, David emerged from the pit of sin with a powerful psalm that he wrote.

Psalm 51:10-12
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me away from Your presence And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation And sustain me with a willing spirit.

He wrote this after his sinning with Bathsheeba. David struggled with sin and yet he wrote a majority of the psalms. The same scripture that has transcended 2000 years to minister to us even today. In his sin he did not allow Satan to hold him down. David wrote a beautiful confession of sin with repentence and conviction in his heart. He was used even after this sin. Had he not picked himself up, who knows what God would have been able to do in and through him?

David picked up his head after his sin and God used him in a mighty way.

Another man who picked Himself up was Peter. He denied Christ three times. He was with Jesus during His ministry. He had seen what Jesus could do. He believed in Jesus. Yet when interrogated about his association with Jesus, Peter denied it three times. Not once, not twice, but three times. It says in the bible, shortly after the third denial he heard the cry of the rooster that Jesus had said he would hear. At that point Peter realized the magnitude of his mistake. Its says in scripture that Peter wept bitterly.
When Jesus was raised from the dead, he asked Peter "Do you love me?" Peter responded "Yes." Jesus said " Then feed my sheep." This dialogue was repeated three times. And each time the same answer. Peter dedicated himself to "feeding the sheep." He picked his head up after denying Christ and he went on to preach one the greatest salvation messages in the Book of Acts in the New Testament and 3000 people came to know Christ as their Savior that day. What if Peter had not picked his head up after his denial of Christ? What if he had accepted the defeat of his sin and had not moved on? Who knows?

Peter picked his head up after his sin and God used him in such a mighty way.

I resolve to always pick up my head after I have sinned against God. If I hang my head in shame, I will not be able to see how God wants to use me. What mighty way could I be used?.....but I'm not because I living in the defeat and condemnation that Satan brings.

Pick your head up. Walk with confidence that your God has forgiven you and allow Him to use you mightily!

"Am I hearing from God?"

Confusion and chaos are not of God. Our God is a God of order. He set the world into motion with very specific direction and detail. He has had a plan from the beginning and continues to bring that plan to pass. He is never caught off guard, surprised, confused or overwhelmed. He cannot be led astray or misguided. He is all-knowing, all-powerful, and ever-present. There is nowhere He cannot be found, and consequently He reigns in every way. There is no place that He has lost control over.

So...When we are seeking God for an answer, for wisdom, for direction...if we encounter any of these situations or aspects of life, we can know that they are not of God. Satan brings confusion, God brings order.

"How can I know if I am hearing from God?" Understand who He really is...and you will KNOW.

Men or Grown-up boys?

So I have ventured out to read as much as I can about "becoming a man." Internet articles, magazines, books, and blogs have all provided an interesting look into this subject. I have intentionally only read secular articles in order to get an idea of what the world thinks a man should be. Oddly enough I have discovered some incredible wisdom from secular writers on this particular subject.

I actually have thoroughly enjoyed the realness, bluntness, and even the great detailed explanations on what a man "should be" or "shouldn't be." It made me wonder about how well the Christian world is doing in explaining what it means to be a man of God. I'm not knocking the Christian world, but there is a myriad of secular sources that provide great advice on how to teach a boy to be a man.

My question for myself and other Godly men is " What are you doing to raise up Godly men and not just grown-up boys?"

There will be more on this later...

habits vs. character

Bad character can cause bad habits, but bad habits do not always mean bad character. You can have a mature developed character and still have bad habits. It happens to the best of us. But understand that bad habits don't define you, your character defines you. So address the bad habits head on.

Understand this though...being aware of your bad habits, addressing them, and then forming good habits will ultimately affect your character. Being self-aware and doing personal inventory of your habits is a part of your character development.

So bad habits don't spawn from bad character, but forming new habits can help shape your character.

Now, press on friends.

Take Inventory...

So I think for me the best way to get on track and stay on track with discipline is to take a personal inventory: priorities, projects, weaknesses, strengths...where I would like to see myself in 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, and in one year. I will do my best to be short and sweet and to the point.

Three Areas of Discipline:
1.Spiritual
2.Physical
3.Mental
I understand that for me all of these areas of discipline fall under the large umbrella of spiritual disciplines. If I am pledging to live my faith in a holistic way then all of these areas will be considered spiritual.

1. Spiritual-

• I will dedicate 30 mins each day to commune with the Lord. These are intentional,set aside, specific times that I will shut off all outside stimuli and truly focus on God, His word, and His voice. It may not seem much, but it is easily forgotten that we need to simply "be still, and know that He is God."
• I will study each day for a minimum of 15 min on a topic, word, chapter, person, or event in the word. Using an academic approach I will push myself to LEARN something new about the word of God each day.
• I will read outside reading each day. Some of the most incredible spiritual growth can occur when you read what God speaks through others. I am taking Eli Gautreaux's advice and doing my best to read dead authors, because as he says " You know how they finished their life." Modern writers are great ,but sadly some who have written some powerful truth end up in scandal or did not finish their walk of faith strongly. I am picky with who I will read.
• 15 min minimum in prayer-As I have experienced, when I choose to pray I always end up enjoying it so much that I will spend more than 15 min.

2. Physical

• I would like to spend a minimum of an hour of exercise--An hour because for me the first 30 min is for decompression and the second 30 min is for exercise.
• I will make better choices food wise. As little processed foods and sodas as possible. Water,water,water...at least a gallon a day.
• Rest--no less than 6 hours and no more than 9 hours. I can operate well outside of these boundaries.

3. Mental

• Simply put I want to feed my brain so that It doesn't turn to mush. I always want to be learning something. History,Philosophy, science, or Spanish.
• each day learn something

With all of that being said here are the projections of where I want to see myself.
In 3 months I would like to be completing all of these goals and resetting goals so as not to ever become complacent.

There will be more of these updates soon. There is a lot to write about.

My Camel's Back is broken...

Blogging has now begun. When I saw that my father had started his own blog, it was a realization that I needed to stop talking about it and start one of my own. I now understand that for me blogging/writing has been a way for me not only to put my "stuff"out there on the internet ,but it has also been a way to decompress. I will try not to have cathartic ramblings, but I cannot promise anything. I am excited to document my journey of discipline and allow others to keep me accountable on it. With all of this being said, Thanks dad for the final straw.