Photography

I opened a Christmas present early this year. It was from my parents, and I did it with permission. I got one of Dad's older cameras. I am super excited to venture into the world of Photography. Well I just found a new website to make everything a little more simple. The website is LensHero.com. Its a pretty awesome website. It compares a bunch of lenses for you and gives you the details on each. It can also be set to organize everything based upon price. You don't have to know much about the lenses either. Pretty much have to choose what style of photography you are wanting to do. You can also choose what level of zoom you want. It bases it upon the factors that you put in there, and finds some lenses that will match your criteria. Its a pretty awesome set-up for those who are new to the Photography world. Be sure to check them out at LensHero.

Hardest season of my life...

Ughh..... You ever feel like life punches you right in the gut sometime? Thats about what it has felt like the last 73 days (but who's counting). Wendi and I moved to Texas on June 1st. We moved here on faith. I felt God calling me to DTS to continue with school. So Wendi and I prayed about it, and both felt like this is where we needed to go. We started looking for jobs, and places to live. We found a nice apartment complex, and moved in June 1st.

Soon after I found a position at LearningRX. This was going to work out with my school schedule, and was a job that I would enjoy. This was a part-time position and it only paid once a month. Wendi worked her butt off both in Kansas City, and here in Frisco searching for jobs. She had a couple of interviews, but no real job offers. We were beginning to get low on cash. We had our savings account still full, but would have to empty it to pay for the next months bills. I was severely depressed. Had I missed God's call? Did I just want to move down here, and so I put my emotions and wants before God's? Did I just make one of the stupidest decisions for both me and my wife?

I felt like I had let so many people down. I moved down here, and was now at the point of setting a date to move everything back to Missouri to move into my in-laws basement. Don't get me wrong, I love my in-laws, but to have to tuck my tail between my legs, admit that I had failed, and move back home would have been super sucktacular! Wendi and I decided that we had 2 weeks. If we didn't have some serious job prospects then we had no other choice. It was at this time that things started to change.

Wendi went from having no jobs, to four in a week. God's timing was absolutely perfect! He waited until that point where Wendi and I both realized that there was nothing else to stand upon, but Him. We had done everything that WE could. It was like God said, "Ok, lesson over. Now watch me work." And work he has! Wendi has a great job working for Baylor Hospital in Grapevine, TX. She is going to be working nights, which will stink, but she will work 3 days on, and 6 days off. We can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel, and are both excited for what is on the other side. God has definitely humbled me through this whole experience, and shown me how great He is. Looking back on it I would never want to go through it again, but am glad I had the chance to.

1 month down

Today marks the official 1 month in Texas. It has been a very long month! It already seems like I have lived here for quite a while. I am starting to even get used to this heat. Wendi and I were driving yesterday and she complained that it was hot in the Jeep. I told her to roll down her window because it felt nice outside. The Jeep's temperature read 89 degrees. Since when has 89 degrees been nice???

I am starting to get VERY excited to begin school. It seems like I haven't been in school for so long. This might possibly be one of the longest summers I have ever had. We found one of Frisco, TX's wonders: THE SNOW-CONE LADY! This is her official title. She apparently makes her own snow-cone syrups. I thought that every snow-cone would be the same as all others. I was wrong! It is wonderful! There is always a line as well. Our first time going we stood in line for about 30 minutes just to savor the "Rockn'Roll" frozen treat. Mmm... If anyone wants to come visit we will treat you to this wonderful deliciousness.

Hello World

Man it has been a really long time since I have updated my blog! So much has changed since the last update. I am now officially a graduate! I never really thought that I would get a Bachelors degree. I always thought of myself more of an Associates degree at best kind of a person. Here I am now with my BS completed, and am about to begin work on my Masters. Whoa!

Wendi and I have made the move down to the great state of Texas. We moved into our apartment on June 1st. It is just now starting to actually feel like home. I have a great lead on a job, but I won't really know much more about it until July or so. Wendi is still actively looking for a job. It is so frustrating at times. We are starting to become acclimated to Texas though. The heat doesn't seem nearly as bad now as it did when we first arrived. We are starting to also find our way around town. The milk here is extremely cheap! We paid $1.98 for a full gallon last night. If only my car would run on milk! It hasn't been bad being separated from family yet. Skype helps out a lot. I am sure that it will start to become an issue later on. We are planning on coming home for Thanksgiving, but it all kind of depends on what the job situations are, and if we will have some time off or not.

I begin school towards the end of August. I am a bunch of emotions when it comes to DTS. I am excited to begin, anxious, and also slightly worried. School usually comes very easy to me, and takes little effort for me to succeed. I have a feeling DTS will change the little effort part. I have most of my syllabus's for my upcoming classes. So far it doesn't look to be to terribly hard. I am taking 16 hours though. A couple of my classes end around November though which will be nice. This December will be very tough with finals, and then very rewarding when it is all complete. DTS is located directly downtown. I was originally planning on carpooling down to DTS each day. I have started to look into the DART however. This is Dallas's rail system. It would go from Plano, TX all the way near DTS. I could hop on a bus for a quick ride to DTS then. The total commute with rail and bus combined is about an hour. It is only like $4 for a whole day as well. This is a viable option. I wouldn't have to worry about traffic, and could study/sleep on the way to class each morning. I think later this week we are going to get up early and take a test run just to see how well it will work.

Well that is just a little quick update. I am still alive.

Faith of a Child

This past weekend I was able to experience something wonderful. I saw my oldest niece Gracie get baptized. Not only did she get baptized, but it was her grandfather who got the honor to do it. Wendi recorded it with her camera. Here is the link. It is crappy quality, both audio and video, but it gets the point across. Seeing this wonderful occasion made me contemplate my own salvation. Gracie and I have quite a bit in common with our testimonies. We both grew up in the Church, and we were both saved at the age of 5.

How in the world can a 5 year old possibly understand the complete gospel message? To be honest, they can't. Looking back on my own salvation I have questioned it myself before. How in the world did I understand the complexity of the decision that I was making? I don't think it is required to fully understand the complete gospel. As a child I understood that God loved me, and I was separated from Him. I knew that I needed to ask Jesus into my heart.

It is only now that I fully understand what the decision I made 19 years ago really means. It is only now that I am confident that I am HIS.

A big breakthrough in my life came in a little town up north. In fact, WAY UP NORTH!! Langdon, North Dakota This city has a special importance in my life for a few reasons. The first reason is because of a lady named Mary Carr. Mary had a similar testimony as myself. Quite often I would be ashamed of my testimony. It wasn't nearly as interesting as other people's. I wasn't a terrible kid at the age of 5. There wasn't a radical salvation. I didn't have enough opportunities to show my depraved condition. I looked really boring on Sunday nights when it was time for people to share their testimonies. I would always seem to follow the kid in youth group who had smoked pot since they were 2, cussed like a sailor, and was sitting in a prison cell when the Holy Spirit descended on their life, and radically they became a Christian. I would follow that up with a simple:

Hi.... I'm Craig.
I was born, went to Church the next Sunday.
Went to VBS one summer because my parents made me.
Met Jesus when I was 5......

Not nearly as interesting. Mary Carr however said some words that completely flipped my testimony on its head. I kept looking at it as a negative thing that I was saved at such a young age. Mary very clearly proclaimed to me that day that God obviously had very special plans for me, and wanted me in His flock as soon as I understood. This took my boring and dry testimony and gave it a whole new life for me. God chose me at the age of 5 because He loved me so much. He didn't want me to go down that road. He wanted my testimony to be the way that it is. My testimony is in face radical!! Christ took a depraved sinner, and gave him new life. Thank you LORD for your merciful grace!

The second reason why Langdon, ND is a special place to me is because this is where I felt Christ calling me to the ministry. Sitting in a pew that was older then me, Christ knocked on my heart and showed me the path ahead. I ignored this calling for as long as I could. Finally, I answered His calling upon my life.

These are the two reasons I do what I do.

Gracie, I hope one day when you are struggling with the thought of, "How in the world can a 5 year old understand the Gospel?" that someone will share with you the awesome news that Mary Carr shared with me. Way to go kiddo! Uncle Stick is so proud!!

I'm branded

Jeep, Taylor, Apple, Blackberry.

These are my brandings. Just as a rancher would place a hot iron into the hide of a cow as an identifier, our modern society's marketing strategy is the same. The best advertisement is one that walks among the target audience everyday. In my mind I now associate the top products with these companies. If I had unlimited funds, and was looking to buy a new guitar; Taylor here I come. If a new vehicle is in order; Jeep Wrangler is where it's at for me. I am tied to these companies and these products, and it is evident in the clothes I wear, and the tools I use.

This got me thinking. Where is my Jesus Christ brand? Is it evidenced in my actions just as these other brands are? When you look at me do you see an Apple guy because I have the think rimmed glasses? Do you also see my Christ branding? Is it obvious? Is it branded upon my flesh? Would the ultimate rancher know I was His?

My thoughts

Below is a series of tweets from Ergun Caner. Mr. Caner is the President of Liberty. He has posted 3 Church Danger signs.

Church Danger Sign 03: When all our time & effort goes into BUREAUCRACY than into MINISTRY. Greased wheels not Great Commission.

Church Danger Sign 02: When the majority of work goes to service the organization instead of serving people.

Church Danger Sign 01: When the memories of the PAST are greater than our Vision for the FUTURE.

This first one is the one that got my attention the most. The simple reason is because of something one of my professors mentioned, that he received from a C.S. Lewis book. In the book, The Screwtape Letters, apparently the Devil is speaking to one of his demons, and the Devil tells his demon that the best way to distract a Christian is to focus them on the past or the future. Focus them on all the mistakes they have made in the past, and then focus on all of the things they are going to do for God in the future. As Christians we need to remember our mistakes from the past in order that we don't do the same mistakes again. We also need to look to the future and set goals. However, we MUST live for today. Each day is a gift from God's grace.

Now something that my Hebrew professor said. I am still trying to wrap my mind around this statement, but don't fully understand it yet. If you can help me, please do! He said that we have defined Grace wrong. The typical definition of grace is "unmerited favor". My professor suggests that it should instead be defined as "favor in the face of demerit". He suggested that his definition is more correct because it is grace when we deserve the total opposite because of our actions. The first definition doesn't show this. The first definition is not the opposite of what we deserve, but just something that we don't deserve. I am trying to wrap my head around this statement.

Deepening my Theology

I am about to begin a book on Dispensationalism. Huh?? Exactly! This is a word that is thrown around quite a bit up here at school. I am relevantly uneducated about it, and therefore don't have a stance on dispensationalism vs. covenant theology. Thanks to Justin, I am borrowing one of his books to further myself in my theology. I usually avoid these topics because I don't really see a point in them. Take the calvinism vs. arminianism debate. I don't really care if you are a 5-pointer or a 1-pointer. As long as the Great Commission is being practiced, and lives are being changed by His power, then we are all good. It too often is used as a tool to show how holy we are on our swinging pendulum. I also don't like the way people debate these topics. We all serve the same God. We are unified.

The reason I have decided to read this book and become more informed is because of DTS. I am about to go to a school that used to be pretty big in the debate. I figure I better become educated before I get there. This way I can have my mind wrapped around the topic already. I am excited to actually understand the debate for myself though. There won't be anyone standing over my shoulder pointing out the "correct" point of view. So here we go.....

On a side note. My Dad posted some of his pictures from our cruise. You can find the link to the pictures here.




This guy was a performing artist right across the street from Cafe du Monde in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Change makes him move and cash makes him groove.

Almost done

Tomorrow begins my final semester of my Undergraduate degree. Finally! It only took me 6 years to finish a 4 year degree. Not to bad considering my first year or so was spent without a direction in mind. My purpose is now clear, and Praise GOD! It is so much nicer to have a direction behind the hours spent in a classroom. Not to mention the cost. I have 15 weeks of classes to go. This means I have about 17 weeks or so of classes before I move to Texas. WooHoo! I am very excited to close one chapter in my life and begin another. It is scary and exciting at the same time. I really have no idea what is in store for the next few years ahead.

Just Cruisin'

We're back! Wendi and I took a break from the everyday life and went on a cruise last week. We went with my Parents, and Grandparents. It was a blast. It was also really nice to get away from this cold weather for a week. This picture is one of many that we took on this cruise. Wendi and I are all set up to go swinging on a zip line in Isla Roatan, Honduras. It was so much fun! It was probably one of those once in a lifetime kind of things. We visited Belize and Cozumel as well. We came back with many souvenirs. Even better then the gifts we brought home were the relationships that were strengthened. It was great for me to get to go with my Grandpa. I don't get to see him very often at all. I was really surprised to see how much we actually are alike. He isn't the Grandpa that I remember from my childhood. It was also nice to spend some time with my parents as well. Wendi and I are trying to take advantage of the time we have with family now. We only have 4 months left until DTS. It was also great to spend some great quality time with my Bride. It is nice to get away from the world and spend time with the one I love.



P.S.- Sorry for such a long time between posts. Life caught up with me and I totally forgot I even had a blog. Hopefully I can keep this updated a little bit more often.