Motivation

The past year of my life has been the my favorite by far, but whom shall i give credit to at the end of the day. I can't begin to list the events in the past years that have been shaping who i am, but I do know where it is taking me, closer to God.

When I realized all the times I have been blessed to experience in the last year and especially few months, it becomes easier for me to step up proudly and say "All those things that I have done, that is who I am and they define where im going." But there has got to be more than that. From World Mission Workshop, to Graduating from College, trip to East Africa, Tulsa Workshop, Acceptance into Grad school, and now a wonderful missions minded fiance; those all have helped shape the vision that has been put on my mind. However, I believe the more significant thought should be, "what is my motivation?"

To stand on the events that have guided me thus far, and claim that they are the reason im pursuing the life that i am, is pretty weak. Those may be what we would call "defining moments" but they do not make a "firm foundation" for us to build a life on.

Let us all be open to have God define us through the daily events of our lives, but let us most of all be confident in who God is First. It is in those times of intimate connectedness to God that you will discover true motivation.

Live by it.

Love

Big News...

Following a scenic drive in the beautiful foothills of the Ozarks I proposed to Sara Beth Matheny in a cow pasture of the Bush Family's Ranch in Romance, AR. As evidence to God's amazing grace, she said Yes!!! She and I are more than excited to began a life together and hope that you all will share in this excitement with us.

Every day, the Lord has increased our confidence in this union He has inspired and led. Both our families have voiced wonderful words of support and encouragement in this happening, which has blown us away. We also want to recognize all those who have been praying for this to happen, we feel like the prayers we have prayed weren't all that ushered this amazing relationship.

The big Wedding is planned for September 2nd, 2006 in Searcy, AR. A more exact location will be announced in the coming weeks and months. Until then, there's lots to do!!!

For better or for worse..

Prayer Time

Thanks to those who have already volunteered to pray for me and this venture. I'll hold off on listing the names of those who have responded for the sake of all those praying without my knowledge. It is incredible to see that God is alive and working out all the details. I'm anticipating Him revealing things to me at the right time.

Lots to say

Well I have great news from the home front, I am now officially employed by Harding University. I was recommended the job by Jon Roberts, Financial Aid Director for Harding and Son-in-law of Sam and Nancy Shewmaker. I owe Jon a lot for getting me the hook-up. Its also nice that my father went to school with my boss, but what ever it was, I count as a blessing. This job will certianly help pave the way for a lot of my up coming ventures. Such as Grad school.

Small steps are still being taken to be enrolled in the Masters of Science in Education program at Harding. Getting this new job nailed down took a lot of precidence as I try to take care of my needs here and now. I've had to look deeper into arranging my school schedule for the next year and a half as not to conflict too much with work. This has been a difficult task. I'm sure the two parts of my life will come into conflict more in the future, but I have great faith that the good Lord will take care of it if its His will.

Sara Beth and I have just wrapped up a weekend trip through Nashville and then to Kentucky.The purpose of our trip was to attend a wedding and then visit close family of Sara. Thoughts of a future together are continually being fed into our minds, but its nothing that scares us, its acctually really exciting. Before the weekend was over, I believe Sara's grandmother, Betty Lou Matheny, was ready to call me one of her own. Sara's family has really taken me in and expects great things to come of our relationship. So do I.

My Rwanda mission plan is still coming together. Given the events of last week, not a whole lot of progress was made. The way life unfolds between Sara Beth and I has brought up a lot of questions between us, again about the future. We've both participated in a week of silence on the subject of Rwanda to be sure that country is not our motivation for the relationship. Its not. So we've proceeded on with a life together and a pursuit for the Way God would want us to go. For More information call me or wait for the next post.

Speak now or forever hold your peace.

Welcome All

Hello Friends and Family,

For those of you reading this for the first time, Thank you for your interest in my story. This blog is meant to be a place for me to write about the road God is taking me down, not neccessarily a slate for me to post pertinant information regarding my trip. As exciting news is revealed to me, I will be sure to post it, but there will also be more formal means by which i will notfiy everyone of milestones in my journey. Hold on and enjoy the ride!

Moving Along

A curriculum has been estbalished for me to have a Masters of Science in Education with an emphasis in Behavioral Sciences. According to the plan I will have it completed by next Summer. There are still a few things to be accomplished before i can begin classes, such as letters of recommendation and MAT testing, but thats all just ground work. Pray that God will provide me the strength to accomplish great things during this adventure.

Meanwhile i would also like to introduce Sara Beth Matheny into the blog. Sara Beth decided last Fall that she would be committing atleast three years of her life to the small country of Rwanda. I've always looked up to her level trust in the Lord to make that decision as a single female, but there was also a hint that felt like she was just stubborn to let a guy into her plans.

It all began with an innocent and adventurous bike ride. Now we both have seen that God has much much much bigger plans for the both of us. Its a time that can be best described with words such as: Exciting, Truthfulness, Peacful, Honesty, and Overwhelming Joy. Those are merely a few of the words that should be used to describe the bond being constructed between Sara Beth and I.

We both have come to know the Lord on our own in such a confident way, that we recognize his dominion over this relationship that is being built. As this exciting time of relationship building is going on, we both recognize His ability to open and close doors and opportunities. I will say however, that in the past couple weeks, he has not just opened doors between us, he has put us on the Fast train(like the one from London to Paris for those European Travellers) and sat us in First Class. We expect there to be twists and turns along the way, but so far its been straight. The future is in God's hands, we are merely here to obey.

So pray for this crazy time in our lives and what this may mean for our future plans in the country we desire to become a part of.