My Sweet Abigail...

I had finally settled into a somewhat normal life in SC, bought a house, finally had a church, solid group of friends, and was close to my family. I think I had about everything I wanted and was content with my place in life. This was the end of 2007 and life was good. I received an opportunity to start traveling to San Diego to support a project that was starting up there and I would be doing some consulting. At first it was temporary with only a flight here and maybe a flight there. Eventually I would get a call from a friend at my company about an offer in San Diego. He told me that it was a nice 72 degrees out and everything was perfect. He said I could go out there and work for a few years. When I heard this news, I was actually working out in the field (as a field engineer) and it was a Saturday. I was extremely flattered by the offer and a little surprised. My career wasn't something I had ever planned for, I actually planned to be an engineer for a year at Clemson then hated calculus, felt the call into ministry, so thought I would finish Clemson and continue itinerant speaking (which I had done for a few years in college.) So this career thing was kinda of something that just happened. I think I happened to be in the right place at the right time and had motivation to do something crazy. Long story short, I'm at a place where I have to decide on leaving my home of SC and moving to San Diego. I'm not going to be a tough guy, I remember crying on the steps of my church talking to my pastor. I didn't want to sell my life short for a job when I was supposed to be preaching. I had tried to go the seminary route and just didn't work out, so here I was trying to see if this was God's will for my life to move my comfortable life in SC for a life of unknowns. The offer was too good to turn down and after much prayer, I moved to San Diego.

 The first 4 months in San Diego were in a really nice hotel on Mission Bay and here. Eventually the travel schedule was crazy and I got an actual condo downtown San Diego, which was amazing. My good friend Gill actually moved to San Diego the same time and we started visiting churches. We went to 1 church, didn't really feel it, so we decided to visit another church after a mutual friend, Catherine, recommended it. We visited Kaleo Church when it was meeting in a movie theater in Mission Valley. I remember one of the first times I went, my eyes were focused in on the hottie playing the piano. I remember telling my friend, "I gotta meet keyboard girl." I did get a chance to see and meet her but I don't think I really hit anywhere on the radar of her interest. Life went on. One of the first Sundays that I went to this church, I knew all of 2 people in San Diego. I decided that the two people that I knew and I, would throw a cookout. We invited a few people from church and said to meet at my place at 7 that night. Next thing I know, there were about 20 people in my 700 sq. foot condo and he had a blast. These people wanted to hang out all the time and it reminded me of life back in SC right before I left. On July 18th, 2008 we all went to a Filipino talent show at a Filipino church just outside the city. A friend of ours was performing and I also found out that "keyboard girl" would also be singing. She was awesome and sang a song about a boy that she used to like and how they would be "just friends." I got to talk to her for a few minutes after the show and actually introduce myself. I still don't think I hit her radar at all. It took me a long time to show up on her radar. I had to work harder to get this girl than anything else in my entire life. I would visit her salon in which she was a student at the time. I would tape good tips under her chair and then call her later to tell her about them. It was easier to tip because the haircuts were only $7 and you were taking a risk on a stylist in training. A risk that would eventually pay off. I was invited one night to go out to a lil get-together with a bunch of friends and it was hosted by "keyboard girl" which at this point, I called Abby. It worked out that night that a ton of folks came over and not long after I got there, it was just Abby and I, sitting on the floor playing "Connect Four." She opened up a little and told me about her life and her history of growing up in San Diego, moving to Charlotte, then moving back to San Diego a year earlier. I felt like we had a good time talking and that I was finally showing up on her radar, matter of fact, that night I said to her, "I'm a straight shooter and I would really like to ask you out." She immediately said, "Yes". I was a little shocked at her quick answer that I didn't even ask her out. Since I had a 90 hour workweek schedule, we only had time to go to lunch. Well her favorite place was this lil fast food joint called "Hot Dog on a Stick." Yes, California is crazy. Well we went to this place and it was the most awkward ever. I tried to force conversation and it felt so unnatural. I actually told her that I would bring her lunch the next day at her school. I stopped at a sandwich shop on Miramar Drive and decided that we would have a tailgate in her school's parking lot. It was even MORE awkward. I've always felt like I have the gift of gab, but I could get nowhere with this girl. The next day I actually called to schedule an actual date which she had agreed to on the previous Sunday. I left her a voicemail. She eventually called me back and told me that she didn't see it going anywhere other than friends. OUCH! Was I really just turned down? Yep, my F-18 was shot from the sky by "keyboard girl" Abby. I asked myself, "How could I go from a RESOUNDING 'YES' to a 'Let's just be friends.' I have plenty of friends, I really didn't need another. I just let it go.

We had the same circle of friends so we stayed in touch with each other and I saw her all the time. She would actually text me a lot and often call for directions when she was lost. This went on for weeks, I eventually had to put the smack down on that. I couldn't do the back and forth and really wasn't looking for a convenient "girl" friend, even if she was hot, smart, and a good singer. :) It took her some time, but eventually I noticed that something changed. She started being a little more friendly with me. She even told me before this happened that she felt "neutral about 'us' and that if that changed, she would let me know." Well she didn't let me know but something did change. Being the over communicator, I called her on it and we had a long talk. Things were beginning to change, we started going on normal dates and the weirdness was starting to wear off. Even her hugs were becoming less awkward. Have you ever had an awkward hug? She was the queen of them. We had fun together and we had a common thing, we loved the Lord and we loved food. We went to so many restaurants in San Diego. During this time Planet Earth was HUGE. She came over one Sunday and we watched a marathon of it. At some point we decided to get food and below is what transpired according to my journal:

 Abby came over for a lil planet earth marathon. Somehow or another I ended up playing with her hair by the 3rd dvd. Girls hair should not smell so dang good. that's not even right. We ended up leaving, renting a movie, and walking downtown to find food. Somehow or another, I was crossing the street with her and our arms ran into each other and next thing I know, we're holding hands. I'm like, "what in the crap just happened?" Well, at this point, it wasn't like I could just let go, so I held on for a nice street crossing. The mexican place was not happening so we walked to Albertson's. No hand holding. Got some stuff for sandwiches and some stoufers, nasty deviled eggs, etc. Came back home and watched Pride and Prejudice. Somehow or another, I touched her arm, her hand fell down, and we're holding hands again. This was just a hilarious night. The ride home, we listened to some Augustana, Norah Jones, and then I intentionally held her hand. I am so not smooth. I dropped her off, she very quickly opened the door. I hope she didn't think I was going to kiss her, I'm a slow mover. I like that she doesn't really know me and I don't really know her. This is fun. I gave her a big hug and told her goodnight.

I ended my journal that night saying:  She is flippin amazing and it's neat getting to know her.  I feel like she should have had at least 200 guys after her.  Something like the parable of the treasure in a field, I feel like there is something special about her.  I am being patient and I want to let things happen if they are going to happen.  I'm so picky and with her I'm just letting myself go.  I am even writing journal entries, this is kinda crazy.

To sum up a book, we started seriously dating soon after that and had our ups and downs.  I really don't know how it worked other than the Lord because I was working sometimes 100 hour weeks and don't know how I ever had time to invest into a relationship.  

The crazy thing is that two weeks into dating, I knew I would marry her.  I always picked on those guys who said those type of things.  I remember walking out of her place and walking back to my car in Point Loma, saying, "Yep, I'll marry that girl."  

I came to San Diego with literally a stack of clothes, a guitar, and a computer.  Today, 5 years later I now have a wife and a son.  Crazy to think that somehow in my prayers to move to San Diego, God was whispering to me that He had big things for me here, even if it meant I would leave the comforts of my life in SC.  It was one of the best choices I've ever made.  

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JT and Abigail talkin Marriage

In case you missed the video, here is the work of Shane Augon and Jason Reimer.

JT & Abby Wedding Intro Video from Shane Aguon on Vimeo.

ShutterBooth San Diego is born

Very proud to announce that ShutterBooth San Diego has been launched.  Also the CEO of this fine company made the cover of the San Diego Reader!  

Microsoft Kinect is awesome, but not as good as being married :)

Go Comment on our Engagement Pictures so we can get free stuff :)

So our engagement pictures are in, and if we get 100 comments, we get a huge canvas of our favorite picture.  So go comment!!!!!

Candice and Daniel Lanning rock! 

http://thebeautifulmess.com/2010/10/engaged-justin-abby/

Engaged!

Yep, a long time since I updated.  The price you pay for working lots and moving to a different part of the world! 

I've found my darlin that I want to spend the rest of my days with.  She can be found below :)

30th Birthday and my girl is awesome

So after 30 years of living, my birthday summed up pretty well.

1. Got to sleep in until about 11AM :)

2. Picked my girlfriend Abby up from work at 12 because she had a day planned out for me.

3. Went to the airport where there is a Mexican restaurant. Had a margarita.

4. During the time there, she handed me a pamphlet of a plane and said it was a clue.

5. We rode in a bi-plane 20 minutes later! It was amazing. The video below sums up how the day went down.

P.S. It also include a manicure and pedicure, don't hate :)

Music - Abigail Reimer

Abby's site will be up soon!

www.abigailreimer.com

I cannot wait for my IMAC to get here!

Gospel

Have you ever been reading something online and right before you are done reading, browsing, shopping, etc, the internet connection dies and you can't get to anything? Do you know that feeling that you have? You just want it to connect right back so you can finish what you are doing. Finish your purchase on gap.com, finish your CNN fix for the day...

I realized tonight that I didn't feel that way about reading the Bible. I was reading Ephesians 6 on my iphone and the application died, I couldn't bring it back. I realized that the feelings I have for something as trivial as internet suffering were nothing in comparison for the longing I should have for the Word and the Gospel.

This may sound stupid, but I think in our culture today, my prayer is that I will want Jesus more than google.

And here is what I would have missed out on:

Ephesians 6:

¹⁰Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. ¹²For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.¹³Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. ¹⁸And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

¹⁹Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

Final Greetings

²¹Tychicus, the dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you everything, so that you also may know how I am and what I am doing. ²²I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage you.

²³Peace to the brothers, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.

Don't be greedy

It's interesting that Jesus spends a lot of time in the New Testament talking about money. He talks about money more than Hell. I found this news story today and it hurts to even see. This pastor in the video has been associated with a church that I went to years ago, and it makes me wonder when that church too will go down this path, or possibly may already be down it. The Church should be above reproach, if there is something the outside world sees as wrong, we should be the first to make it right. The video is from www.alittleleaven.com and the link is here.

http://www.alittleleaven.com/2010/02/ed-young-luxury-cover-up.html

Sad.

Song for Food and Abigail Reimer

So you must run out and support local food banks and my girl by purchasing this album. I don't promote many things but this album is super amazing and worth the money.

https://www.shopsongforfood.com/abigail/

Diego got a little more expensive

So it's been a while 'ol blog, I'm sorry for leaving you.  Just trying to stay afloat in San Diego in the busiest season of my entire life.  My job has really become a lifestyle and not so much a set number of hours everyday.  I'm on call almost 24/7 and I feel like I should be on a reality show.  Somehow over the past year and a half here in San Diego, I've managed to meet an enormous amount of people and the loveliest girl ever.  We have officially been dating 1 year as of October 8th!  It's funny how God works out timing in our lives and I would even manage to be in San Diego working 70-90 hours a week and still meet a beautiful woman.

So about that beautiful woman, I decided to do a few sweet things for the special day and one of them happened to be a nice restaurant called Nobu.  Abby and I have eaten so many places around San Diego so I wanted to take her somewhere she or I had never been.  Well, this place was not amercianized sushi, it was the real deal.  You name it, we ate it.  It was a course after course kinda meal, that ended with the sushi, then some desert. :)  Well, let me back up to our ordering process.  Many of the things on the menu, we weren't sure what to choose.  So I saw they had the "chef special" which included the signature dishes across the menu.  I saw it as a way to eat everything, at least get a sample of everything.  The waiter said it was a must.  So we went with that.  Abby was not a big fan of all the food, but it was still an awesome time of trying lots of different things. 

After dinner, Abby got up to use the restroom while I asked for the check.  The waiter brought it over, I opened it up, and found that the "chef special" for $120 was actually per person.  So on October 9th, I officially paid for the most expensive meal of my life, $347.  All I could do was smile and laugh, you can't really get mad.  It was a memorable story.  Abby just looked at my face when she got back, I waited til we were outside to actually share with her the amount of money we had just consumed.  All and all, it was a $347 experience that we will never forget.  I would have been happy sitting on the back of a truck eating Zaxby's with her. 

So I'll spend the rest of the month eating noodles.  :)

Something bigger than yourself

So as usual, life took over and I haven't updated this since I was writing about prostitutes in Costa Rica, which my girlfriend didn't like for me to write about :)

So tonight, I helped a friend with something really special. He reached the point in dating where you spend a few extra thousand dollars and commit your life to that person, engagement. He wanted some help setting up something romantic, so his roommate and myself jumped into the plan. It was a fun night, I gave him my ebay special Land Rover, and off they went on their night, which included one of my favorite places, George's at the Cove. While he was away at dinner, we setup an enormous amount of candles right along with rocks near La Jolla. We made this awesome pathway with candles, and had a bottle of bubbly along with a camera setup in the background. They showed up, the whole thing went down beautifully. We met up with them afterward and she was ecstatic. It was so neat to see her glowing.

It really made me think, this was awesome to be apart of this story. Even doing the simplest things. It was neat to be apart of a story they will share with people the rest of their lives. I got to be a piece of the story and helped push them along down their road.

What made me think even more was how much more I want to be apart of a faith story for so many people. It's cool to be a piece of a story for something that lasts during this lifetime, but how much bigger to be apart of something that lasts for eternity. I was humbled tonight that God wants to use us in the stories of so many people. Of all his power and creation, He has chosen to use sinful and broken down people like us to call people to Himself. How cool would it be to meet hundreds or thousands of people in heaven that remembered you telling them about Jesus. Not that it's about us, but how much more it's about the fact that we pointed people to the King of the Universe. That's a story to talk about.

Costa Rica Night 1

• 5:30 Am wake up
• Hottie Girlfriend Abby takes me to airport - what a sweetie
  
• Leave at 7:30AM from Diego City, connect in Atlanta.
• Talk to a nice woman my mom's age from Coronado about all the fine foods of San Diego for four hours!
• Connection in Atlanta, eat some marinated chicken and rice, then leave for Costa Rica
• Fly into Liberia airport at 7:00PM and no problems getting through
• Take a $75 cab 1 hour away to Tamarindo.  Had a nice conversation with the cab driver Marcos who didn't speak English.  We had fun learning each other's language and finally settled that we both liked Michael Jackson's music and ended our cab ride jamming out to it. 
  
• Met up with J Greezy at a nice lil restaurant Nougi's.  Had some chips and guac. and a margarita.
• Hit a dance club up, got hit on by a prostitute, sorry, I'm taken.
  
• Hit up a place down from the club that was grilling marinated chicken on the street, SO GOOD.
• Hit up another dance club.  Didn't dance.
• Ended the night eating a really huge hot dog with bacon on it! 
  

Tomorrow the plan is to surf and eat nachos :)

Costa Rica Bound

Anyone been to Costa Rica?  I'm going on Friday and would be interested in hearing about fun things you did there.  I plan on doing a zipline and chilaxing. 

Sharin' struggles

It seems that when we share our struggles, we see that we aren't that different than everybody else. At least that's how I feel. In the past few weeks, I've heard and seen so many things that remind me of how broken this world is. I've been reminded of how uncertain so many things are. I hear of friends being really hurt and I am feeling their pain. The only thing that is certain is Him. He is constant, He will never leave you, He will never forsake you. No matter the pain or success we experience in this life, I want to know and look forward to the day I get to meet Him in person. Somewhere in Christianity, we just forget the future and what it holds for believers. It's pushing me to grab old of every good thing I know and have and be thankful for it and look forward to the day He comes to get us.

I'm guilty of pride and sharing that I need prayer, I so do. He's shown me lately the fruit of prayer and I wish it would encourage me to pray more, but I still struggle. I want to feel the Lord leading every step and morsel of my life so bad. Please pray for me if you read this, He listens. I'm rambling. It's scary the things that have happened over the past week, it's proven to me that we don't serve a God of coincidence, He is very much in control and has let me know it. I'll stop rambling and just hit publish post.

San Diegans Like To Grill

So after two back to back "BBq's", I've realized that San Diegans like to be out and about. We have a least 1 grill out per week. I really like it and people are always willing to come out. This is what we will do in heaven, so I believe in practicing now.

God has also taught me a lot lately about His control. It is impossible to fool Him or surprise Him, He orchestrates everything and nothing is outside His reach. I've been blown away lately with how much He is showing it to me. It's neat to know that the God of the universe wants to interact with you. If you don't believe it, you should.

Dear Tony Horton

Dear Tony Horton,

Thanks for your contribution of P90X, but I am writing this to confess to you that your dvds haven't moved in 3 weeks. I would like to say that I have done about 75% healthy eating. I hope to do better soon.

your facebook friend,
JT

Yeah I'm on the road

I realized today that I blog a lot more when I am traveling. I have learned in the past 5 years that we are designed for people. In the last year, I've realized even more how much I need community and how everyone needs community. I enjoy traveling and I really don't mind eating by myself, but there are a lot of times, you really just want to talk about something. You eat something really really good, like a spinach and Gorgonzola salad that is the best you've ever had, and the first thing I want to do is talk about it. You see someone picking their nose in the car, you want to talk about it. It's been amazing in the last few days how much the Lord has humbled my heart. Anytime He deals with me, He really deals with me and it can be so good and so tough sometimes. It's neat that the God of the universe has a personal relationship with punks like us. He knows the amount of hair on a yachts back in Egypt and He knows each one of our hearts, the good and the bad. Have you ever had something happen that you really know that you need to journal it down because one day, you will need to read it again. Sometimes I feel like God does things in my life and I just forget, it seems to be a common theme in the Bible. I'll part the sea for you, I'll set you free, and the next thing you know, people are complaining to the one who saved them.

God reminded me today of how quick this life is and how we can't take ourselves too serious. He has the most amazing ways of humbling His people.

Excited to get on a plane tomorrow and head back to Diego City. I wish there was a big motorcycle waiting on me, I would drive drive drive drive.

If you haven't listened, you should

http://cdn.marshillchurch.org/media/2009/03/22/20090322_marriage-and-men_hd_video.mp4

On a jet plane

For the first time since New Year's, I got on a plane today. It was a little strange driving to the airport after I haven't been in so long. I remember way back in the day, flying over San Diego and thinking about all the things that were going on down there that I didn't know about. Mostly I was flying in and flying out and didn't settle in for any type of community. It was strange to fly out today and kinda miss it. There is something about traveling that always revives me in areas. One thing it does it refreshes my need to read. I usually read more when I travel, today I chose to read about everything from bank robbers, biblical dating, song of solomon, and listened to some Ravi Zacharias. Traveling alone makes me way more intentional with my conversations, party because you can get lonely traveling and it helps to talk with people. I am often visited by a clothes gnome that steals my clothes. He usually sticks to stealing my socks one by one, and moves to my boxer briefs, and occasionally steals shoes and jeans. This time it was jeans. I never really buy big ticket items and you won't find me on a $500 shopping spree. I try to buy things as I go. Well I've bought all sorts of jeans and they just disappear. I am down to I think 2 pair that I actually like to wear.

I flew into Washington early today, but too late to go into the office, so I didn't want to just sit in the hotel room, so I went to the mall. I did something today where I actually changed the way I think. In the past, I DO NOT LIKE to try things on. I'd like to just pick up a pair of something and take it home. I usually stay about the same size so it works. Well today, I changed. I went into The Buckle. Now, I've been in there before, but never to buy jeans for myself. It was actually a good experience, I humbled myself and let the sales people help me. I actually tried on multiple pairs of jeans. I am glad I did, because some of their stuff can be really baggy and REALLY tight. It was a good experience and I had a good conversation with the nice people at The Buckle.

I am about to start the Bible in a year plan over again. I struggle to stay focused. It feels good knowing that the God of the universe knows our heart and wants good things for us. I'm glad to know I can trust Him and He never fails.

Does anyone ever have really crazy dreams? I've had some really crazy ones lately and friends of mine too. It's neat to know the Lord can use dreams.

Prayer

Ashamedly so, I haven't fasted in a long time. There were some things I wanted to really pray through. I decided to fast, I don't say this to brag that I fasted but to say that I enjoy food more than God. That is a sad statement to make. I could see people eating, commercials talking about it, and listen to people talk about it, all I could think about was food. I realized that I'm supposed to see creation, think about Him, see people and their gifts, and think about Him. I'm so far from that. At least it pointed me to where I lack. So many places.

Ever feel like your heart might just implode? I like knowing that no matter what ,we serve a God who is in control, and by following Him, we know we are in His will and we can discern all things. It doesn't mean that the process is always easy. I trust Him. I want to believe I do.

I want to get on a motorcycle.

Abby singing at Lestat's

Abby singing at a local venue here in San Diego. I'm famous as well as both of her songs are about me, what what. Well, they are about our relationship. It can be scary when you date someone who writes songs, you never know what will come out. I guess it can be the same when you are with someone who speaks to big crowds, even trade. She can flippin sing. Starting the process of making an album and meeting with a producer this week, so we'll see. Sad to say how crazy the industry is. Her website will be up soon! www.abigailreimer.com

Dang

Seriously, all I can really say about the last couple of weeks is DANG. If I was a cussin man, I might even drop a little profanity. :) I never really liked cussing. I do say "pissed" sometimes but only when something really bothers me. Anyway.

I just volunteered at an Acts 29 conference here in San Diego. I got to meet Mark Driscoll and just listen to some really neat guys who are following Jesus in crazy cool ways. The last few weeks, to be honest, God has broken my heart down. I'm just going to be a straight shooter and say that my heart has been straight mush for the past few weeks. I feel like He never lets me get too far away. He is a jealous God and wants the biggest sacfrice of all, our life and heart. I know it is so cliche, but dang it is the truth. Lately, there are opportunities opening for me to preach again and they are coming out of nowhere. It seems that anytime God really wants me to do something, he makes it so dang obvious. I've just got to this point in my life where I'm just taking off anything that isn't neccesary and dropping it at His feet, asking for Him to give me what He wants.

I'm realizing that I'm 29 and that I am a grownup. I know there are a lot of 20 somethings that are just waiting for that thing to happen down the road. I've waited for too long for that next big thing, today is that thing. Today is the day where God has planted you and wants to use you. Stop thinking about what or who is around the corner and focus on now. I'm a dreamer, so it's tough for me to stop and use what is now. I am supposed to speak at a homeless ministry of a few hundred people on Saturday, so you can pray for that. It's been that fire in my bones and I absolutely love speaking, very few things compare to that.

All that to say, man He is so good. Also to say that my girlfriend Abby is amazingly hot and will be hitting the charts soon. I just bought the domain this week and the website should be up in a month or so. This girl can can sing like would not believe and will record an album very soon. I can't wait til it drops. We sat out by the beach tonight and had dinner as the sun was setting just amazing that God has allowed us to live in a crazy cool city.

Yep

After a long week, well not so long, I lived on Sunset Cliffs. 

Either way, just a quick note to say, He's good.

Sunset Cliffs

View Larger Map



So this week I am house sitting for a friend of mine at Sunset Cliffs. If you have ever been to San Diego, you know the place. The place I am staying is literally a block off of the main cliffs and you can see the water from the house. See the pictures above. The more and more the days go by, the more I realized how much of a blessing it is to live in San Diego. I'm just blown away by how amazingly gorgeous it is here. It is sad to say that I haven't enjoyed it as much as I could over the past year. I got home tonight just after sunset and realized that I haven't spent hardly any nights hanging out and watching sunsets as girly as that sounds. When I first moved here, I had lots of plans for all the things I wanted to do, it's amazing how quickly life can crowd out the good stuff. Seeing beautiful things just isn't the same when you aren't with someone to enjoy it. It's the same way when I ride motorcycles, I'm good for the first 30 minutes, then I'm bored. Life is meant to be shared. Dang gina.

I realized today when I was at my own place a few additions I want in my house if I ever build one.

• Urinal - I am a man and why waste all the water when you just gotta pee.
  
• Bidet - I am just being honest. It would make me so happy.
  
• hide away pooper (some call this a "water closet") This is perfect for when you get married, you can both be "in the bathroom" but not really. My goal is to never see my wife do that. Okay I said it. I'm sure there are many more that feel that way. I feel that is a private matter and I just don't want to be part of it.
  
• Two switches for the bathroom, one for the light, one for the fan. I don't like when the fan comes on automatically when you turn on the switch.
  
• A very large granite counter in the bathroom with two sinks. You know, because I like to use at the same time :)

I just realized that all of these items are in the bathroom, I will just stop there and continue more later. I check out the bathroom first in almost every hotel I go into.

Okay, I'm going to play with the dog I am dog sitting this week, Bailey, a boxer that brings me red toys to play with.

money aint a thing

I like that Jesus talked a WHOLE lot about money.  I like that the Bible emphasized Godly men who struggled with women and had really rough times.  This should all point us to a place that makes us totally focus on the Lord and doing things in His strength.  Sometimes it's easy to focus on the things that are wrong in our lives, and it is really during those times that we should try to love Him more. 

He has blessed me more in the past year than any other year in my life, but I find myself just wanting to know that the things I do on a daily basis are in His steps and the choices I make are guided by Him.  He is teaching me that it is okay to rely on people and I don't have to try and do everything myself. 

I can't help but to think about how Christians make decisions and compare it to how the world makes decisions.  I can't imagine just going into a big question mark without guidance from above.  He's good. 

Friday Thoughts

After a really crazy past few weeks, I've come to conclude that God's hands hold our lives a lot better than ours.  I am at that point where I'm realizing more and more how much I want to know that my steps are in His. 

I was driving home yesterday and I saw this guy pull up beside me.  He had a business look and probably had a job just like mine.  He was rubbing his eyes and I could just tell that he was beat down from the week and had probably been working his butt off.  I wanted to just roll down my window and tell him how familiar I was with being beat down by a job and wanting to just veg on the couch!  It made me think of how Jesus is that to us.  He came as God in the flesh, lived just like you and me, and was literally beat down with this life and the people in it.  The Bible says that "He was a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering".  It was written about Him in Isaiah like 800 years before crucifixion was even invented.  I love how He is our advocate and that He knows everything we can or could go through because He ultimately went through it all.  After a crazy week, it's been assuring to know that I can rest in Him knowing that the chastisement that brought Him pain, brings us peace. 

I went with Abby to a little music venue the other night called Lestats.  It is quite the interesting place.  It's right beside a coffee house and has shows to promote local music artists and she sings there sometimes.  We've been praying through where we are in our relationship and where we are headed.  We took some time apart to just pray and seek the Lord and during that time, she wrote me a song.  She has actually written me two songs that are quite amazing.  Well, she ended up surprising me and singing both of them at the show.  She was the last person to go on and closed out the night.  The first song was written for my Christmas present and just described our relationship and how much we both just want to grow in Jesus.  The craziest thing happen afterwards.  This guy with a really shaved head and lip ring walks up just in awe of what he heard.  He couldn't even really describe what he was feeling.  He just looked at her and knew that something was happening in his heart through the words he heard.  The background was this guy showed up to what he thought was an AA meeting.  He happened to sit in and listen to her songs.  He probably was about 21 or 22 years old it looked and just began sharing his struggle with alcohol, lying, and stealing.  He knew he didn't want to continue walking down this path.  God used her words to strike a chord literally in his heart.  I was able to share a verse 1 Cor. 10:13 with him that goes through temptation and how we can overcome it.  We said bye to him and met a few other people and had some really neat conversations.  It's neat that neat things can happen when Christians are just out in the world doing their thing.  Crazy cool.

One Day at a Time
by Abigail Reimer

Just the other day
I was tellin' a good friend
That I did not want the Lord
To send a man cuz I was content
And I was serious, oh so serious

But it was not long before
We were playing Connect Four
Had a long talk and you said
That you were quite interested
And you were serious, oh so serious
(Let's take it)

One day at a time
One day at a time
I think we'll be fine
if we just take it
One day at a time
One day at a time

For the first time in my life
Sharing my heart feels so right
And I do look forward to
How my future might unfold with you
And I am serious, oh so serious

If this isn't for forever
I want you to know
That more than anything
I want you to grow
in Jesus

Baby, forgive me if this feels too slow
I'm just scared of where this could go
One day at a time

If you read this, please just pray that I would follow Him closely and He would guide me in major and minor decisions.  I want to know that everything I do, He is all up in my business. 

I'm 29 and still don't like organizing

Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.  Dang gina. 

I'm sorry blog, I have missed you too

Some of the stress of my job has subsided and it feels good to have a little more breathing room.  We started installing the entire city of San Diego a few weeks ago.  We will have 30,000 devices in the ground in a few months and my job will get crazy again.  It seems vague what I do and people ask a lot, so I will sum it up. 

The company I work for makes electricity measurement systems.  They start from big computer systems in an office and spread all the way down to the electric meter that will soon be installed on your house.  All of the electric meters talk to each other like a big family.  So in a city like San Diego, we will install over 2 million devices and they all talk to each other like a big 2 million person family.  I am responsible for running the system and making sure the family talks well and consistently.  We are providing a green technology and the environment I work in is very fast paced and can be stressful.  The first few months we will install 30,000 to ease everyone into the system, then we will ramp up and install the remaining few million over the next two years.  These devices can remotely disconnect someone from the electric grid, provide real-time measurement of power for the utility, and soon provide you the homeowner real time access to the energy you are using through a home thermostat.  Doesn't all this sound fun?

In other late breaking news, some pigeons made love on my balcony and have produced a few eggs.  I am happy to report that the baby daddy brought in some aide and helped build out the nest.  The baby mama sat on the eggs and the babies are finally here. 

Lately I realized that despite an unreal amount of hours I spend in a job, I have to do something in ministry.  The first year here I really wasn't able to get involved like I wanted to, I barely made it keeping up with a job.  Being on the outside of some type of ministry has made me stale.  I was made to create disciples and honor Him.  I miss speaking at random places.  I haven't spoken anywhere in almost a year.  Some opportunities in San Diego might open in the future and I pray that they do. 

In other news, I moved into a new place.  It is an unbelievable blessing.  God has blessed me more in the past year than any other time in my life.  I confess that I have struggled to give back to Him and have not been giving my first fruits to Him.  It's neat how He works, I wanted to change this and start giving, literally the day I started, my friends surprised me with a surprise party.  My birthday was a few weeks ago but we didn't do anything special as a group, well I came home and there were a ton of people!  We had a nice cookout and it was pretty stinkin cool.  Not only that, but my girlfriend asked me to hold up while everyone walked downstairs to my condo (we were grilling up on a deck upstairs).  Well when I got down and we walked into my place, there was a PLAYSTATION 3 sitting on my entertainment center.  They pulled all their money together and wanted to get my a blu ray player, well a PS3 is that, so they got it!  How awesome is that and how neat is God to show me Himself through people that love Him. 

Life Cereal

For some reason, I started thinking about Life Cereal. Did yall ever eat that? I liked it, but only with a lot of sugar on it because it didn't have much taste without it.

I took the last few days of the week off, 3 in total. It was absolutely amazing. It took me a whole day just to get out of the working mode, I found myself actually wanting to read my work email and respond to emails. This is so strange. After about a day of not, it got lots easier and I finally relaxed for the first time in a long time. It's crazy how quickly life took advantage of me. I should say, how quickly I let life take advantage of me. The day was made for man, we are to rule, and I have been ruled! It was good to do nothing for a few days, and I mean nothing. I haven't played XBOX 360 (Call of Duty) in months and months, and I think I played for at least 4 hours straight one day. I didn't wake up til about 11AM. It was just marvelous.

• I found an RC airport - spent a few hours there, met some cool guys
• I listened to Mark Driscoll's debate with some atheists on "Does Satan Exist", watch it here. Quite amazing.
• Hung out with one of my boyz from back home and his wife, they flew out and surprised me.
• Was tempted to buy a new RC airplane, electric so I can fly with the new friends I met.
  
• Realized that my time on P90X was abruptly ended and I am starting back this week as it is 90 days til summer and I'm a fatty.
  
• Move into a new place on April 1 and it is PIMP. 50" plasma, pimped out couch, hardwoods, and I have almost a month overlap on my place I'm in now, so my bro might come out to stay with me a few days.
  
• The biggest thing I learned on my days off is that I need more time with God and the Word. I so struggle in this San Diego culture to fight for that time. There are no excuses, it is a struggle here. My girlfriend is a good lil challenger and she is always so disciplined in her reading, even when she is really tired. I admire that.
  

I don't know why I got all happy with the nice lil bullets, but anywho. If I buy the airplane, I will be posting a video of it before it gets crashed!

Work is good for ya

Please watch this video from Mike Rowe of my favorite tv show, Dirty Jobs. It is pretty neat the perspective he has on working and I found myself thinking a lot about that over the last few weeks. It's easy to get wrapped up in your job and to see everything through one lens and go with the status quo.

I realize that I am probably in the craziest job in the world right now, our company is about to start a deployment of 1.4 million devices and I will be responsible for technically managing the problems that arise with them. What? The thought of that is absolutely crazy but I really do like challenges.

Back to Mike Rowe, he spends a lot of time in the talk speaking on how normal everyday joe's really like their jobs. How they are some of the happiest people in the world. He talks about how the guy who picks up "road kill" actually whistles while he does it. I am not trying to be over dramatic, but it reminded me of Foxes Book of Martyrs and the number of Christians that it documents. People that are literally being persecuted by hot coals or burned, but yet sing praise songs until they are killed. That was totally a tangent.

On another note, I start P90x this week. My boy Jgreezy already got ripped up and lost 10 lbs in a month. This is going to be rough!

Some things I want to do

• Run on a dirt bike in a race like the Baja 500 or one of the 250s
• Try doing some stand-up comedy and see how it goes
• Finish developing my voice for a voice over future somewhere in there
• Have a few babies here and there
• Do a cross-country trip on a motorcycle

Just Tired and my girlfriend is hot

You know it is a crazy world when I don't even blog. I just finished my first year in San Diego and it has been awesome. It has definitely kicked my butt in no other way I have ever been kicked. The workload is more than I could have ever imagined, but I am also willing to sacrifice a lot for a few years to make the rest after this job a little easier. We'll see. I should be more of a blogger soon :)

On another note, my Christmas present from my little girlfriend was a song she wrote for me. You shall see her on American Idol soon.

Driscoll. :)

Psalm 51:17

Years ago, a good friend of mine wrote me a card and included Psalm 51:17. I have never been a fan of the "sinners" prayer but when you need a prayer of repentance. Psalm 51 is it. All the things David did, all his mistakes and sin. It helps you understand his writing when you see the path his life took just before forgiveness.

Celebrate "Fat Dog Eating Something Interesting"

Today my famous youtube video has hit 100,000 views! Who knew my neighbors dog would become so famous!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P110rNn0Vsc

Taxes

I understand paying Caesas what is Caesars.  But, does it make sense that when you make up to a certain amount of money you can deduct student loan interest, but when you make over a certain amount of money, you can't.  What is the difference?  You are penalized for bettering yourself and making more money so you can pay off student loans quicker?  Is this really the way our IRS system is set-up?  This type of stuff I find very frustrating.  I work really hard and actually had to pay for college myself by taking out loans.  Other people lied and report income lower than what their parents made, received TAX PAYER money from the government in the form of GRANTS that they would NEVER have to pay for.  I am actually working hard, paid for my own education, and being penalized for making more money now and can't even deduct the interest.  This is the law and I respect it, but it doesn't mean that someone shouldn't speak up and say this is not cool.  :)

Woot.com

If you have never been to www.woot.com.  Well, please take the time to go there.  If you are a techy, you will really enjoy it.  Unfortunately, I have bought a few things on there :)

I did get an HD camera for 129 bucks!  Woot woot.

Hello World

I've been on the road again and left my poor lil blog in the cold.  I sorry blog.  Anywho, I'm about to pass out but I wanted to say that 2009 is gonna be a good year.  I also want to say if you want a disciplined track to read the Bible, my friend Lee Stunningman has a nice facebook group.  Please join.  I struggle to figure out balance in this life and I seem to battle with trying to figure out how to balance life, friends, work, and most important, time with God. 

President Bush

Regardless of how you feel about George Bush, he is still our President. There has been such disrespect of his position by so many people.

See the video below. wow.

Video from Fox

Oregon and Beyond

So after a few weeks of negative blogs from me, or the lack of blogs, here is a small one. I've come to conclude that by the time I learn to balance time and life in San Diego, it will be time for me to move to another city. Either way, it's fun. I spent the week in Oregon with my lil shawty's family and one of our friends from San Diego. It was quite an experience. They have a huge family with lots of lil kids running around. I got sick the last day there and it was a quite nice experience. There is nothing like throwing up from both ends when you are at your girlfriend's family house. Either way, it was a good way to lose 10 pounds from Thanksgiving. I should market the stomach virus. Nevermind. Gross. We also went out and cut our own tree down in the woods, legally. It cost $5 and you can pick one 12 feet or smaller, not a bad deal.

Thinkin about having a New Year's Eve party, I wonder if anyone would come!

Also, my lil fat dog video that I recorded a few years ago is about to hit 100k on youtube! Will you be the 100k hit? :)

From Drop Box

Time

I am sitting in my condo in San Diego and realizing how much I need time to myself. I think for the past year I have been surrounded by wonderful things, people, places, beaches, and a few seals here and there. It has been a supreme blessing to be in this environment and meet a lot of new people and do things I've never done before, but...I think somewhere in the middle of all this I've lost time for myself. If there is going to be a lil shin dig, I want to be the first person on the signup list. I love being around people and lots of them. But I need time to myself. It has become a struggle for me to find time away from everything. In SC, I would just retreat to my room and could usually spend a few hours listening to podcasts, reading, and just being quiet. I haven't done that in San Diego really since I've been here and I can definitely see that my faith has struggled in that process. Jesus knew we needed that, He was God with skin on and He still took those early moornings to be with His Father. I struggle to be with Him and make time for Him. If there has ever been anytime in my life that I should thank Him and want to spend time with Him, it is now. The past year has been more blessed than probably any year of my entire life. I want to be more like Jesus and follow after Him when times are good, I know that ultimately God will humble us and bring us back to a place where we desire that. I don't want to get to that point. Anywho...

The past month has been interesting. I flew back to SC for the first time since May, because of work, but managed to sneak in some time with my family for two days and to make it to a Clemson game. My lil shawty also went with me and visited Clemson for the first time. It was good to be back in Clemson and hit up some MACs after not having it for a long time. I went three days straight I do believe. Some More Random Pics..

Pimp Pictures

So my friend Whitley and her hubby Daniel visited last week.  We had an awesome time and it was cool getting to know Daniel.  See below for their pimp pictures they took in LA.  WOW.

http://www.jasminestarblog.com/

He is still in control.

I think I have been blown away lately by exactly how sovereign the
Lord is. He is so good.

Diego is Crazy

This life out here is completely nutz. I never really thought I would love Cali. It's been so much fun and a flippin crazy amount of work. I have not flown on a plane since May, I do miss my family though, and my Tavaras in SC. He's holding down my fort all by himself now, someone needs to move in with him. That someone needs to be a dude, or multiple dudes, no chicks allowed. They are allowed to visit only. Okay, enough about Tavaras. Back to Diego...

I work in a crazy business environment. There are very professional people there, I happen to be one of them. This job is unlike any thing I could explain, and for a guy who has lived a stress free life for most of it, this job is crazy stress, but still challenging enough for me to NOT let it beat me.

Somewhere in the process of this crazy life, that consists of 90-100 hour weeks, I met a girl. I'm not usually the type that types a whole bunch of sappy stuff on my blog, but I will say that I have a girlfriend. What was that? I just heard some *gasps* from SC. Some of you might be saying that Jesus must be coming back real soon if even I have a girlfriend.

Okay, that's enough for now. I will just say that her name is Abby and I am extremely out of my league. I'm not even at the stadium, I'm not even parking the cars in the lot...THAT guy.

Coach Bowden Fired

Big news from Clemson, well, in Clemson. Coach Tommy Bowden has been fired. It's sad, I know a lot of people wanted to see him go, but it's still sad when someone gets fired. I pray he finds a job at another school soon.

http://www.thetigernet.com/view/story.do?id=7493

Starting to slow down, I hope

So the work weeks I hope will slow down very soon and I'll start to have more time to do more fun stuff. This is the first city I've been to that I don't mind getting lost. You discover new parts and every part is flippin crazy pimp. Wait, there are some ghettos, but still.

Have you ever just really had one of those days where...you really think about what God has done for you, where He has brought you from, where you think He is leading you, and the fact that we gave Him our sin and He gave us Jesus. Well on those days, sad thing is, I don't realize this enough, but the only real response is "Thank-you." We couldn't do jack to save ourselves, we couldn't do jack to secure our spot in heaven, He made our way. I was driving through San Diego tonight and just was going to start thanking God for what He has done, and I really didn't know what to say, I think I realized that He knows my heart already, I just said thank-you. What a flippin crazy awesome God we serve. I have been sayin flippin a lot lately.

community is contagious

how many books have been written on community? I once flew in on a plane every week to San Diego and never really thought I could find people like I have. It's original that God never wanted community to be Wednesday or just Sunday nights. I am glad he chose people to be community instead of days. People are much more spontaneous than days. Days are predictable. I have never really enjoyed predictable.

I drug my feet to come out here and now He has blessed me in more ways than I can type.

Mark Driscoll's boo

It's amazing that I don't even know Mark Driscoll, but he has influenced my life so much. He wrote the coolest thing on his blog and talks about his relationship with his wife of 20 years.

http://theresurgence.com/20_years_of_grace

On another note, what another fun and crazy weekend in Diego City. Meredith Orten and Brittaine Hinkson flew into town, along with Jamie Cheung for one night. I am just blown away by how much community is out here in San Diego. Of all places in the US, I never thought I'd have a community of people like I have here. It's only been a few months and I feel like I know many of these people pretty well. The city is contagious and everyday is something new. It was good to take a few days off and really just have fun and chill out with the peeps. The Lord has been good to me.

Goodness

Last night, I decided to take the long way home. Instead of taking "THE 5" as the crazy Californians call it, I took Harbor drive and drove the Avis special Trail Blazer down by the airport and through the harbor. It's the perfect spot to look at the city. Every week I am just blown away by how cool and how much of a blessing it is to live here. I have learned so much since coming here and met some really crazy and neat people. Kaleo, the church I go to is quite amazing and has challenged me to look the Bible a lot differently and to think in ways I've never really thought.

I am going to be so spoiled wherever the Lord takes me next. This city has straight up blown me away with how cool it is. I really haven't explored the complete city, well except that I've eaten at almost every restaurant there is, well close.

All and all, I'm freakin working my butt off but learning a lot. Well not quite working it completely off, man it is still there. Jeans fit everywhere, well except for that part, maybe I should not eat at so many cool restaurants. Whatever.

Looking back on decisions and the process to come here, it is almost daily confirmed in the small things that happen here. The Lord is so good and faithful to me, when most of the time I am jacked up, He's so good.

A few days off

I have developed 5 new gray hairs this week in one side of my head. Is this normal for 28? Proverbs at least says that is found by a righteous life :)

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs%2016;%20Rev%2021:10;&version=47;

Either way, it is coming in fast and I think this job is lending me a full head of it. I am crunk up about taking a few days off in almost two weeks and DOING NOTHING. I REPEAT, NO WORK. I haven't had a real, real, real, day off in a LONG time and I am so burned out.

More Peeps

So after a frenzy of people coming into town over the last few weeks, there are more! Meredith and Brittaine are next on the journey to San Diego to visit me!

It shall be another crunktacious time with no baby's mama drama.

Tough to Slow Down

Lately I'm finding a hard time with balance. I have learned a lot about myself since coming out to San Diego. The job that I have consumes so much of my time and I literally have to plan out almost every minute of the day to make sure I get what I need accomplished. I leave work, usually very late and it's tough to adjust. I think everyone needs this "simma down" time. I had to apologize to at least one person this week and asked they forgive my "jerkness." I take pride in being nice to people and being patient, I have not been that lately. There is a pattern, it's mostly at work :) When I leave work, everything seems fine and I can be me again.

Anyway. San Diego has been interesting and it's been fun to continue rambling through the city and meeting peeps. This whole experience has definitely matured me in more ways that I care to share. This has been a nice weekend and we are having a nice "BBQ" on the beach on Monday. BBQ in San Diego just means, "grill out."

San Diegans have some jacked up terms.

What would you ask?

After playing volleyball on the beach for about 3-4 hours today, I'm tired for some reason. I really don't like sand but I like to beat people. I should have taken off my shirt but the thought of sunscreen and sand makes my skin crawl.

Anyway, for some reason I thought about Solomon right before I'm about to crawl in my bed. In 1 Kings 3:5-12...it raps like this...

1 Kings 3:5-12 (English Standard Version)
English Standard Version (ESV)

5(A) At Gibeon(B) the LORD appeared to Solomon(C) in a dream by night, and God said, "Ask what I shall give you." 6And Solomon said, "You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant David my father, because(D) he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you. And you have kept for him this great and steadfast love and(E) have given him a son to sit on his throne this day. 7And now, O LORD my God,(F) you have made your servant king in place of David my father,(G) although I am but a little child. I do not know(H) how to go out or come in. 8(I) And your servant is in the midst of your people whom you have chosen, a great people,(J) too many to be numbered or counted for multitude. 9(K) Give your servant therefore an understanding mind(L) to govern your people, that I may(M) discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?"

10It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. 11And God said to him, "Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, 12behold,(N) I now do according to your word. Behold,(O) I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you.

God gave him something that I don't think many people would have even thought to ask. In our culture today, most people would ask for money, fame, popularity, beauty or a boat load of other things. I wonder what I would have asked? I think about all the things we have to make decisions about and lead others into. It would be nice to always know that the God of the universe said that you will always be wise and discerning. Side note...Universe comes from two words, UNI=one Verse=spoken sentence. We live in a spoken sentence. God is cool. Anyway, I think everyone wants to always know they are making the right choices and acting and leading in the direction they should go.

All and all, I guess if we always knew we were doing the right thing, life wouldn't be near as exciting and faith would be too easy.

On a blah note, I have to go back to work tomorrow.

A week in a few words

This has been quite an interesting week to say the least. It was been pretty interesting in many aspects and it is 2:56 in the morning and I just got finished doing some work, and I can't go to bed thinking about work, so I must come write a lil blog to change my thought process.

All the peeps have been here this week and it has been pretty crunk. I have learned that I am apparently either not a good coordinator of social things or the group of friends I coordinate with has major issues. Maybe it's a combo of the two. Either way, I think I might retire from being the social coordinator. I don't deal well with drama and I prefer to keep a "drama-free" type lifestyle. I think I am too simple minded and think logically on too many different fronts. It is also hard to please everyone. I know in speaking, you are almost always going to say something that will offend someone, it is inevitable. Okay, enough about drama.

I did have time to edit a quick video of my friend Tabronkias and how he caught a crab in Point Loma.