A Rolling Series of New Beginnings

Life is a rolling series of new beginnings that we often fail to acknowledge. It seems that life can be viewed one of two ways, as a series of conclusions, or of beginnings. With the deluge and overlapping story lines of our lives, every day we are rolling through these points. Points that can be viewed either way.

Over the last many weeks I have been watching my own life, and those lives intertwined with my own, to see how we view these moments. There have been many big changes in my life this year that fall into this category: my dad’s passing away, changing churches, and bringing on staff to help Fresh Vine grow (amongst smaller stories). The same goes for my friends, but I won’t write of them here.

I try to look at each of these being the beginning of a new story. My dad’s passing starts the story of my life continued without his council and smile. Starting to attend Mill City has been the beginning of many new friendships and opportunities. Fresh Vine is a different organization than it was a year ago (two new employees, many new clients, amazing opportunities, new branding, and more exposure).

Looking at scripture this plays out as well. When Adam/Eve fell in the garden it was the beginning of the story, not the end. When Christ died on the cross it was not a conclusion, but another beginning. There is life after the fall, there is life after Christ, and there is life after death. This is not mystical hogwash, but reality. Yet many want to look at Christ as the end of faith, yet I believe Jesus saw himself as the beginning and means to a new life. The life that God intended from the beginning and was never possible before Christ. Even death is a new beginning, eternity is not an end but another beginning. There are no last pages in life, only starting points to what is to come.

Starting points call us to live each moment with excitement for where the story goes next.
I can promise you it will be good, bad, and ugly – and I can’t wait.

I miss my first love – skiing

Press at a National Event (USFO)

It’s a bit bizarre, but every now and then I find myself in one of those moods. Wondering what life would be like had I not walked away. After years of hard work I had achieved an incredibly unique situation, having access into a very closed off industry and getting offered several jobs every year to do whatever I wanted (magazines, event production, filming, etc). This was a deep honor, and amazing considering I wasn’t even 18 years old. Continue reading

Excited for Life

Over the last two weeks quite a bit of time has been spent thinking about life, where I am at right now, what I am doing with my time and relationships, and so on. Initially there was a bit of despair as I journeyed through thoughts about this all being in vain. I believe that we honor Christ most in the excellence that we bring to the execution of the passions that God has placed in our being. Yet when balancing so many things I am passionate about it is easy to feel as though the time I have to put towards excellence leaves my results less than excellent.

At this point the title, Excited for Life, probably isn’t making all that much sense. It isn’t that I’ve been disingenuous above, only that those feelings only express half of the reality I have the privilege I had forgotten I get to experience on a day to day basis.

The reality is that these last two weeks have pushed me into prayer about where I am at and to spend time reflecting on those things I am juggling in life (work, family, church, and seminary). I do often feel the tension and weight of my responsibilities yet it is in the midst of this tension that I’ve felt God’s pleasure through the works of my hands. It isn’t that this sense of God’s pleasure has been missing in my life, but rather I’ve just stopped appreciating it. A short next step would lead me to start ignoring it. In some ways I think I was beginning to ignore God’s pleasure in my work in little ways.

It shouldn’t be a surprise, but taking that extra time to pray and lay everything down before God again has brought the reality of His pleasure back into focus. This is so exciting to me. To experience God’s pleasure in the little things I do day by day fuels my motivation for excellence. Knowing that, as one of His sons, I represent Him in some small way it is an honor to give all I was, am and will be to him.

So I find myself here – now – Excited for Life.

Where’s my Future…

What’s going on right now? For the first time in my life I think I know what it feels like to be spread to thin. I honestly am not sure what to do. I have this drawing homework sitting on the futon right now that needs to get done yet tonight. It’s just a reminder that almost all of my priorities are shifting. I used to devote my life to skiing and to be honest I don’t know if I will do that this year. I will always have this passion and love for that sport and the people involved but it’s just so hard for me to leave.

Try to think about the weight on my shoulders right now from the skiing industry. So many people look up to me and are envious of where I’m at; they think that you couldn’t want anything more then the connections and other shit that goes along with this. They are so wrong. I want more for life, I want more from myself, I want to meet new people and challenge them so much more mentally then the people I know now want to be pushed. Continue reading