Oh My Goff

The weekend has been wonderful thus far. Yesterday I left work a bit early to attend a gathering in Lakeside with my grandma Marie,  her husband Bob, Aunts Andrea and Leslie, sister Bonnie and her friend Jen at a friend’s house on Flathead lake (click on the picture to see more).

After commencing a burger/hot dog barbecue and devouring said food, a boat ride was in order. Our host and driver, Dan, sped us north almost to Somers (eliciting whoops from his passengers in a few impromptu hairpin turns) before heading back to the dock at his Lakeside palace. Soon after, it was time to drive home. Bonnie and Jen stayed over at Dan’s and left to fly back to L.A. this morning.
Today was a lazy day. This morning saw me in bed ’til 8:45, a brief foray into the kitchen for an ad-hoc breakfast of corn chips, and a return to bed before noon. After awaking to the realization that I was running roughly 2 quarts low on water, I headed upstairs to hydrate and back down to ready myself for the evening. I picked up my visiting Grandmother and her husband at 4:45 and we departed to Invite, a quaint new dinner spot in downtown Bigfork. The service was impeccable, the dishes we ordered were delectable, and dessert was perfect.
I’m back home now, thinking about the rest of the weekend which will have me moving out of my Aunt’s downstairs into a townhome in Columbia Falls. I’m excited to be back on my own again, this time in my favorite place in the world.

Yesterday I typed a basic outline of my whereabouts for the past year. Tonight I’m at a much different place psychologically. Reflecting on the past few years I’m realizing more and more that I am completely hopeless without Christ. Every so often I’ll notice that I’ve fallen back into the illusion of self-reliance and a par-for-the-course secular lifestyle (with the inclusion of church events, of course).
It hit me pretty hard tonight: once again, I’ve let myself be tricked into believing that choosing the Lord above all will somehow cheat me out of happiness, fun, pleasure, and fulfillment. It’s a lie I’m well aware of and yet I continue to succumb to its insidious purpose. At VERITAS this evening (the young adults church group I attend weekly), I sensed that it was time to be dealt with once more. In silent prayer I tried to lay it all at His feet, hoping to return my focus to the One who created me…with no solace. The incredible resistance to choosing God and giving up worldly pursuits was stronger than I’ve ever felt. I couldn’t do it. I wanted to, and I wanted to want God more than anything else, but it wasn’t happening. Disheartened but resolute, I asked for pertinent prayer from the college pastor afterward and received some encouragement and a couple recommended verses to memorize. On the way home I blasted a Jeremy Camp album and sang as loud as I could. Take THAT, satan.

Psalm 84:11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD gives grace and glory; No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.

Nearly a year since I’ve written anything…shame on me. The last time I wrote about what was going in my life in June of 2007, I was on the cusp of finding a new job and looking for a new place to live. Now I reside in Montana! But I’m getting ahead of myself.

I interviewed, was hired, and started work on July 3rd, 2007 at Del Amo Motorsports in Redondo Beach, CA to be their (sole) “IT Guy”, but more specifically a Systems Administrator. I commuted faithfully for a couple of months before landing a fabulous but tiny 1 bedroom apartment in North Redondo Beach, about two miles from my employer. Del Amo was less than an ideal place to work for, unfortunately, however I don’t regret the valuable lessons and character building opportunities I was afforded. But enough about that. By January ‘08 I decided I didn’t want to work there anymore and began looking at/applying to other jobs in L.A. again. After a disheartening few weeks of no replies or callbacks, a lofty thought popped into my head: I wonder if there are any good jobs available in Montana? In the meantime I continued my faithful work at Del Amo.

Fast forward to April 19th: I’m boarding a Canadair Regional Jet headed for Kalispell, MT to interview at two large corporations in the Flathead Valley. Only days before, I’d attended the beautiful wedding of two of my best friends, Sean and Sheena. It was truly a blessing and unique experience, albeit bittersweet, that I will always cherish.
As I sat, praying, at 30,000 feet on my way to Glacier International Airport, I remained at peace yet hopeful and expectant that God would make it abundantly clear whether Montana lay in my near future. After a whirlwind of more phone interviews, emails back and forth, and huge amounts of prayer (family included! Thanks, mom and dad), I received an offer I couldn’t refuse from my current employer, Semitool. As the saying goes, timing is everything, and my last day of work ended up being May 15th, just a couple days before my birthday. After packing like a madman and seeing friends and family one last time in two (somewhat emotional) birthday gatherings the following weekend, I hit the road. On the way there, I took a few photos and you can take a gander at them here if you’re interested.

More to come later…