San Diego, Sea World, Wild Animal Park, Tijuana

I hate that you missed a weekend here! My boy J Grier and I flew into San Diego on Thursday for a few days of fun. He works a lot like me and we both needed to take a few days to chill out and have fun. No work, no shoes, no nothing (double negative).

We were on the same flight and got into SD the same time, imagine that. We left the airport, jumped into my new place, and tried to plan out the day. Through a blessing, we came out with 3 tickets to Sea World. These tickets are so expensive, so this was a nice treat. Jason's step-mom, myself, and Greezy went off to see Shamu. This place was amazing. To see animals doing the things they do there, just even more tells me that God beautifully created this world and the things in it, crazy the things we saw. I will be posting pictures once they are all assembled and edited :)

We spent Thursday night going out to a really nice place right on the water, I had some nice spicy scallops and lobster bisque. I ended it with this really nice healthy pastry.

Friday was another day full of wonderful things and probably on the top 5 of best days of this year. We spent the day at Wild Animal Park. These animals were so wild. We literally spent a large part of the day doing the walk around thing and safari, also getting a nice sun tan, I mean burn.

Friday night was quite the highlight. We scored some tickets to the Padres baseball game. I'm not talking about just any tickets, I'm talking about seats with Hall of Famer Dave Winfield. I should have known we were in for a treat when the ticket price was $325. As soon as we walk into the park, we get to meet Dave Winfield, had a really nice, FREE DINNER, and then litearlly were escorted into homeplate seats by Dave Winfield. This was unreal, Jason and I just looked at each other like what in the world, this is nutz. These seats are mostly for players families, rich people, and former players. Not only were we sitting with Dave Winfield, but we also were sitting with David Wells. One of the few pitchers to ever pitch a perfect game. This was an unreal experience. The section were sitting has its own waiter, you can eat or drink whatever you want, you name it. I was such a fatty. We were so close to Randy Johnson who happened to be pitching for the Diamond Backs. We could hear the players and the nice things they would say when striking out :)

In short, it was awesome and some friends came down from LA to join us on Friday night. We spent Saturday kayaking on the bay, chillin on the beach, and watching a Roller thing. Basically, hundreds of people come out and these people do choreographed dances on roller skates, it was unreal and hilarious.

Saturday we went to a multicultural parade Jason's dad was the Grand Marshall of. So interesting, I so enjoy culture. Saturday night we went to Tijuana for quite an experience. We had a nice dinner, then hit the mexican dance club. At first, I didn't feel good, because we had a long day and I had so much sun, plus it was so hot in the club. I sucked it up and hit the dance floor. I will have to admit, this place had hundreds of people in it. At one moment, Jason and I had the whole dance floor peering over our way, it was so funny. They started playing american music so we had to do our thing. We dropped it like it was hot and had a blast. We made our way out of Mexico and were not greeted nicely by US border agents, one was really nice, and this other woman was so rude. Either way, she couldn't ruin such a good night.

I will be posting pictures soon, they are quite fun.

On a God note, the best place to leave our choices and decisions is with Him. They are safe there. Well maybe not how we define "safe", but how He does.

Risks

I found this image on some website.

You know, risks are something I have always struggled with. It seems that my or our human nature is to want to know all the facts before risking anything. Maybe it is just common sense. It seems there are two main types of risks:

Calculated and Un-calculated.

You could probably argue that there are mis-calculated ones as well. Either way, risks are tough, but sometimes it seems that the thought of what you might lose compared to what you might gain gives you the balls to just do it and risk it.

The great thing about following Jesus is that if we are really following close, His spirit does help us at just the right times.

Mary Addison :)

Ed used to push me just like this, oh I miss those days.

Some Comfort

So my new apartment I've been talking about, the bed is out in the open.

I have to find a new comforter and for some reason, I like shopping for comforters.

I want a comforter that looks majestic, something that looks like a lion should sleep in it.

Rarrrrrr.

Moving in Monday

Just flew into GSP from San Diego and I always wonder who it's going to be in First Class :) Well, today, I missed Donny Osmond by one flight. The flight attendant said that he was in the seat across from me just one flight before, oh well :)

So I went and did a walk-through of my new place before I actually move in on Monday. It is straight up pimp. It's going to be tough to go from 2300 square feet to about 800 but I won't be there that much anyway. Plus it is right downtown near some of the best places to eat. Thus, the reason I started working out again. The apartment has a cool intercom system that when you ring my condo, it calls my cell phone number, then I push a button, and it lets you in. I'm probably the only person that thinks that's cool, so whatever. Plus if you notice in the pictures, there is a nice hammock sitting out, overlooking downtown and where I can listen to the roar of Petco park as Khalil Greene slams a homerun :)

Jgreezy is flying into hang out on Thursday and I fly back on Monday. A few more friends, Sam Hoit, Brandi Roe, and possibly Diva Ashlyn Bishop are visiting too. Our tentative plans are as follows:

Thursday: Greezy flies in and we go to dinner and maybe Tijuana on Thursday night.
Friday: Possibly Kayak in the morning and zoo in the later morning early afternoon, possibly Wild Animal Park as well. (Friday night we are going to a Padres game)
Saturday: Sea World, Legoland, or Wild Animal Park if we do not go on Friday.
Sunday: Greezy flies out early and I'll be chilling out for most of the day after he leaves.

I'm excited. I absolutely love entertaining people and having fun. I met a girl on the plane today that was so quiet. I saw her reading her Bible, I said, "are you a believer?" and she said, "yes." I said, "me too, it's encouraging to see you reading your Bible." She said, "I really try." We talked for a few minutes, but she seemed very down. Something in me said that something really bad or mildly bad had just happened to her, but I never came out and asked her. I regret not doing so. When I meet other Christians, I get really excited, many times I feel like the feeling is not mutual :)

Goodness

You know, Biggie was right, 'mo money 'mo problems. I tell ya, to be honest, I have been straight up beat to death the last few weeks of work. I've never worked this hard and intense in my entire life. This job is a huge blessing but it also comes with a lot of stuff, for the lack of a better or more appropriate word. I know I am willing to make sacrifices for a little while, but man it is tough.

Found One :)

So I finally commited. No, I'm not getting married, but I did find an apartment. I ended up going with my first choice. In San Diego, you either get location or space, I actually found a combo. This is a studio apartment, so not huge, but also not 300 square feet, which some are. I mainly liked this one because the bed is really neat. It's on a stainless steel platform lofted up high. It is also a block from the Padres Petco Park and just a few blocks from downtown where I can avoid getting fat.

I will actually move in on Monday and will be my home away from home for Sunday - Thursdays :)

I will be glad to not have to carry a huge suitcase every week. This place also has a rooftop terrace that has a huge gas grills, sinks, dining tables, and a good view. :) Also comes equipped with its own wine storage and refrigeration.

Found One

Musings of a day

Apparently, after flying almost every week for going on two years it seems, I made a mistake and booked the 6:43AM flight instead of the 6:30PM flight on Sunday.

This changes a brothas weekend, just slightly. They wanted $800 to change it and I just went with it, stayed at Ed and Julie's and woke up at the butt crack of dawn and started the work week early.

The day...

flight delayed from 6:43 to 7:45ish.

flew into Houston, small layover, went from literally the worst seat on the plane to first class. (there is a Jesus story in there somewhere)

...met an interesting older woman from New Orleans on the plane. I could tell she was full of class.

Turns out, she is one Brad and Angelina's realtors, and also Nicholas Cage. We were watching National Treasure - Book of Secrets and I hear stories from her. I also found out that she talks with Eli Manning's mother on the telephone and knows the salary of about every person in the world. She was quite nice to talk with.

Flew into San Diego, jumped into the car, wow, today was the best day I've seen here, everyone was out and the pool was packed. Layed out above the pool for some sun, prayed and read Romans 1 while I look at the crazy ocean beating up the shore, then headed out to look at another apartment, still haven't decided. This week is the week, I can feel it.

Came back, discovered a CHICK-FIL-A near my hotel, also discovered a Target.

I walked in Target to buy some energy drinks, and I walked out having spent $67. How does this happen?

Fixed Ashley and Josh's internet over the phone, worked out, and now about to eat a Shrimp Caesar Salad and watch "The Guardian."

I'm not really sure while I typed all that, but it's done now.

You know what else, I just enjoy people. I really like them, even when they say stupid stuff and act crazy, all in all, I just enjoy 'em.

Those blue lights

Everyone knows that feeling, you're driving down the road, you see the police car, you see that you are speeding, then you see the blue lights. Man that feeling is so unique, your stomach drops, you kick yourself for being so stupid and speeding. You realize that you really didn't have anywhere to be, now the cops are behind you, blue lights blazing, and you already see the $150 ticket in your head. Pursuit!

I spend a considerable amount of time going places in my life. I fly on a plane every Sunday and Thursday, I see people weekly doing the same thing. They are in pursuit of something, maybe it's a better job, maybe it's more money, maybe a new location, or maybe just the next vacation spot. They are in pursuit of something. They are moving fast.

Look at the formation of the world, the creation of man/woman, our sin, then God the Father's pursuit of us in sending Jesus to die for our sins and be crucified for us. That is pursuit in the most positive sense. Not that we loved God first, but that He loved us, and sent Jesus to us. The Bible makes it clear that a man is supposed to treat and love his wife as Christ loved the church. This is a huge goal and not something we can easily reach, but something we can always pursue, assuming you are married of course :)

I think at least one time a week, I have a talk with someone about dating and this and that. I think sometimes, these are the most amusing conversations, and sometimes they are interesting. Men should pursue. Pursue by the very definition is to follow something eagerly or with haste. I have talked to a lot of girls who have guys that just kinda hang around and never really come out and say it. I'm sorry, but one day I will have a daughter(s) and I am going to be very clear with her that if a man doesn't really pursue her and step it up, he is not worth her. I am not the relationship expert by any means but at least I know this much. Pursuit means to do crazy things w/o any real sense. To almost be an idiot at times, which for some guys, mainly myself, is easy to do.

Apartment Search

I need help.

I have to get an apartment very soon in San Diego.  Here are some options I've found, please help.  The first one is my favorite so far because it comes fully furnished, big screen tv, and the bed is lofted up in the air like a king :)  But the others offer more room. 

http://s261.photobucket.com/albums/ii45/scottwidmann/?action=view&current=1.jpg

http://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/apa/636683703.html

http://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/apa/636619161.html

Used

This is a typical view from Gvegas on Sundays. I often see the same people on the plane, I know the guys with iphones, and where some of them work.

I had an awesome weekend full of so many different things. I feel like every few months, I need to be put on the right track again. Somewhere between a crazy life, a plane ride, and a few coasts, I lose focus so easily. I can go back and read blogs and see that sometimes my life is like a roller coaster and I stive to find this point of consistency. It's so dang tough to stay consistent, especially in this Christian life. This world tugs at me in so many ways. I think what I've been challenged with lately is to just be raw. I think somewhere in the last few years I've given off this false something to people or maybe I even fooled myself into believing that I've got things figured out. I know that sounds crazy and probably doesn't make sense. It is not easy to be challenged by people, but in grace, I've learned that I really dig it. The process of someone challenging you is not always fun, but worth it.

Lately through solid christian friendships, I've just been challenged to dig deeper and seek Jesus more. It's amazing that the Holy Spirit gives us life and enables us to love God. I sell myself so short when I settle for this mediocre life when in reality, I know God has so much more for me. The past week, I consistently read the Word everyday. I'm not saying that to brag, but to confess in the many many months before, I have not. I settle for a half-baked Christianity full of podcasts and good Christian conversations. Man, those things are awesome, but they are not the vitamin replacement for time in the Word and in prayer to Jesus. It's amazing that I can feel a difference in my life after really just one solid week of spending time with God, man I've been missing out. I notice that I look at people differently, I react differently, I actually care more.

I DO NOT like to waste anything. I usually eat every bite of food, drink every drop of a drink, and after using my juicer, I eat the pulp out of it. I want to use everything. I want to use all the things and gifts that God has given me, I don't want to sell this life short or miss anything that God has for me. I believe there is freedom in Jesus and as a believer, you have so many options that are good. But, is there something that is the best, is it possible that God has a life for you that is bigger than what we settle for?

I was encouraged through a sermon at Grace Church today. How many people do I really dig into and speak truth into? I think about people that God has placed in my path that have challenged me. I think about the man who first asked me to preach randomly. I said yes to his question before I really understood it. But, because of that man being sensitive to God's leading, God used him to lead me into ministry and to confirm His call on my life. How am I cheating other people by not speaking truth into their lives and being that person to them. Everyone has that person in their life that was pivotal in their walk. What an amazing thing to be apart of someone's testimony, not that we should glory in our fine words, but in the fact that the God of the Universe cares to use us.

Check-In Time

Thursday.

Thursday means fly day in the life of a consultant :) This is the day where I can use Wednesday to check-in for my flight and get excited about going home for the weekend. Until I actually get a place out here, this isn't really where I live. I started searching for apartments this week and found so many straight up pimp places. This one looks like the apartment that Hitch had in the movie. It's one of my favorites so far.

Tonight, my door is open, breeze is going, about to start "No Country for Old Men" and I can hear seals barking down below. Giving them bones don't shut them up, maybe if I shoot one. C'mon, take a joke. I mean. No really.

Confession Tuesday

Okay, take my man card if you will. I checked into the Hyatt tonight, walked up to the corner suite a bit later with two movies in my hand. I visited the local San Diego blockbuster and found, "No Country for Old Men" and "Pride and Prejudice." This is where the man card taking happens. I watched "Pride and Prejudice." Opened up the balcony, let the Pacific breeze blow in...

"And how are you doing tonight Mrs. Darcy?"

I have to be totally honest and admit, I liked the movie. I've heard for a long time that is very much a chick flick and not really something a man should go near. I enjoyed it. Keira Knightley is quite splendid I must say :)

The movie seemed to touch on so many things. One, we never really know people and we shouldn't be quick to judge one's character. Two, girls are so much different than guys. Guys want to be redeemers and women want to be rescued. I think it's pretty neat that innately we are programmed that way by our maker. I don't know of a single man that doesn't want to give a woman a story to tell and something to make her proud. Men spend thousands of dollars on diamonds to do such a thing every day and often do very crazy things to prove themselves to women.

I must now wait until tomorrow to redeem my own self and watch "No Country for Old Men."

Herbert's Friend

One of his testicles never dropped and caused him to gain lots of weight.

This dog is going to make me youtube.com famous. It might make Sandy famous as well. Right now, it's averaging 1000-1500 hits a week with over 54,000 right now. It's hilarious. We just filmed this outside the house one day and for some reason, people are sending it all over the internet :) Too bad the dog passed away.

I laugh every week

I just flew in to San Diego, and man my arms are tired.  Okay, bad joke.  It is so funny this life and how crazy it is.  God has blessed me so much with a crazy good job and such a funny life right now.  I flew in first class, picked up my Grand Marquis from Avis, and headed to the Hyatt to check-in.  They upgraded me to the corner suite which is pretty stinkin pimp.  Well, it would be a lot more pimp with a wife in it, but that's another story.  I never could have imagined that I would fly on a plane every week to go to work.  I have door open now and the Pacific breeze is just rolling in, man this is so cool.  

Life is so much about sharing with people.  "Things" are so much more fun when you share them.  Not many people actually enjoy going on vacation by themselves.  You want someone to see the sites with you and eat good food with, we were so programmed this way by our maker.  WE were made for fellowship.

Have you ever been in a place where you had a decision to make, you knew the safe thing to do, but something in you just wanted to do the very unsafe thing?  No, I haven't been reading "Wild at Heart" and personally didn't like the book.  But I think there is a big part in me that doesn't really always want to make predictable and safe choices.  Hmmm. 

I needed that

So I came home for the weekend, I actually got a 1:00PM flight from San Diego that connects in Houston and I'm back home at 11ishPM on Thursday night. Lately, Continental has been hooking up the first class upgrades, and it makes me feel special. It is a little guilty to eat your good food while 1 row back is the couple eating a piece of cracker with a cheese on it :) Just don't turn around, it makes you feel better, awful. :)

I went into the office on Friday because I really needed to get a few things done. It was so good to see my coworkers that I haven't seen in a long time, I really do work with some cool people. I do miss SC and it is so much home for me.

Friday night, some friends came over, got dressed up, and went to my friend Mary Onks' wedding. It was quite an interesting wedding, with bag pipes, and a few things against the norm. Mary has always against the norm and this wedding totally fit her. She was very pretty and white.

We came back home, ordered a papa j's pizza and hung out. It's so good to have friends that know you. It is cheesy but it makes me feel very at home to see my friends and not have to prove or explain myself to them. They know you. I had some really good conversations this weekend with a friend of mine. I've been struggling lately in my own walk with Jesus to be perfectly honest. I've settled with Mark Driscoll sermon videos on an airplane for my quiet times. Mark is awesome, but I should not substitute him for my own time with Jesus. I've blamed my own struggles with being busy and just out of sync. It really took a friend encouraging me this weekend to get me back to Jesus. There are people, that by their very nature, drive you to be more like Jesus. It's not like they have a magic formula or some special words, but it's just something about them that pushes you to dig a little deeper into your faith. These type of people aren't always the most comfortable people to be around, and it means that sometimes you will have awkward conversations that make you feel the pride inside you bubble up and seek to justify your own sin. I think about times in my life where someone has had the perfect word for me, that they could have only known what to say if God were guiding their conversation. Unless you have experienced this, this probably seems very foreign and almost strange, but it's true. I enjoy people that can speak into my life and encourage me, even when it doesn't really feel good. The person that comes out on the end is better because of it.

I don't want to waste this life and want to surround myself with a balance of people from all sorts of places and backgrounds. I also desire to be a person that speaks truth into peoples' lives at just the God appointed time and not so that I might be cool in their eyes, but that Jesus might steer them a little closer to what He is up to in them.

I just got a nice email from Continental that I can now check-in for my flight, it feels good to know that the Lord has prepared me for this week. I'm ready.

A better day

So after a crazy and not so fun yesterday, today was so much better. I take so many things for granted, including the fact that I'm 100% joyed and 99% happy all the time. God never promised us happiness, but a fruit of the spirit is joy. Today was a little less stressful and looking up. Avis did upgrade me to a mustang convertible :) My co-workers and I went to Japanese tonight and we had fun.

I have really good friends

Thank-you Lord for giving me some awesome friends, well, for the most part, jk. I believe between voicemails, texts, and emails, facebooks, banner in the sky, and messages, well there had to be about 50zillion of them. This made me feel so good and cared for. Thank-you.

I got out of the office about 8 o'clock and very frustrated. It seems that all of the years of not being stressed have now added up and are trying compound into a few weeks. This job is going to kill me. I know it will get better, but for now, I just work all the time, and it's still hard to stay on top of my game. I ended the day with a bad attitude and wanted to throw a printer out the building :)

It's 9 o'clock and I'm going to order a papa johns pizza, eat, and go to bed. Tomorrow is a new day.

What a blessing

I never really thank God for allowing me to be born into this country. What a blessing we have, to live in a country like the United States that is free and open.

Today is Good Friday, thank-you Jesus for dying on a jagged and rugged cross to pave a way for our sins to be forgiven. Thank-you for forgiving us.

Lately, I have learned that when you get away from your day-to-day, you do start to see things differently. I see my friends differently. I miss them. I miss my family, I think about my lil sister and all the games I've missed because I live on the other side of the state. People are a blessing to us, we should treat them as so.

I want my life to be counted as a blessing to people. I want to give more than just money away, I want to give my time and attention as well.

A man that was sitting beside me on the plane today was a blessing to me, I hope I was to him. We slept for the first 30 minutes, then woke up, and had an interesting conversation that spanned from Obama, Clinton, and spun back around to Jesus. It was a blessing to spend my time on a plane talking to a man that was 75 years old. I initially wanted to sleep, but I'm glad I woke up and spent the time. God has many blessings for us, they aren't always in the form of a $check$.

Tandem bike, sushi, zoo, San Diego

San Diego Weekend

So my friend Sam drove down from LA for the weekend. This was the first time I have really got a chance to enjoy the beautiful city I am about to be living. I had a fun plan for Saturday but had a few hiccups. The original plan was for a few hours of kayaking on the bay, then hit up the zoo, the finishes off with some sushi, pool, chillin out. Sam's alternator died on her drive down so we spent some time getting a new one purchased and replaced, and all was well. We ended up spending the day renting a tandem bike, which was ABSOLUTELY hilarious. If you have never done this, you must do it. You totally have to trust the person in front because they are steering, you are only doing the leg work in the back. What a great way to relate to our relationship with God. We are basically on the same team, He is ultimately steering our lives in His sovereignty, but we are still doing legwork in the process by following the commands He has given us through the Bible. Well back to the tandem bike, I chose to be the driver because we all know girls can't drive :) It was so fun, we peddled for about 1.5 hours and then Sam wanted to steer. So we went back to the shop, adjusted the seat to shawty status and off we went. It was SO tough to try and remain calm and not steer. She ended up getting the hang and was a decent driver. Okay, an okay driver. We turned the bikes in, thanked JP for his help, and hit up a restaurant on the ocean and had a fruity drink.

We finished off the day with a relaxing time at the pool to relax and then hit up some Sushi at RA in downtown San Diego's Gas Lamp District.

Today, we set-off for the San Diego Zoo, and it was SO SO SO SO awesome. The pictures can confirm.

I will finish off by saying that friends are so important and my friend Lee wrote a post about being lonely and the value of friends. He was so right. We need people to be around and converse with, laugh with, okay occasionally make fun of :)

Friends are a blessing.

Random 08 Pictures

The office

So instead of flying back this weekend to SC, I decided to stay and get a lot of work done. The flight is VERY long back to SC and by the time I get back, it's time to leave again. Either way, this is the view outside my hotel room and below. Pretty awesome.

You realize how important friends are when you move out your "zone," that's for sure. A friend is coming in tomorrow to visit and I'm taking a break from work and going to the zoo! I have heard for YEARS about the San Diego Zoo but have never actually gone. These animals better be doing some crazy tricks for the prices they charge :)

I'm Sorry Ed

So working in San Diego has been...intense. I have been working 10-12 hour days and it has been non-stop. One thing I can say is, it is NOT boring. I will confess that I'm a little stretched and it's not the easy life, that's for sure. I think it will be worth it and I'm up for a challenge. :)

The reason for the nice at&t image is that well, let me tell you a story about my friend Ed Edwards. He gives me crap every time we talk on the phone because I burn up his minutes. He is on the other network, and I am on at&t. I recently got another network, verizon, phone from my company, but sent it back. I am going to keep my at&t phone and they just released an unlimited plan, yes, I signed up :) Forgive me Ed.

My Friends

So my friends threw Rhett and I a going away party tonight.  Rhett is moving to Charlotte and I am headed out to San Diego.  Pretty much, my friends are awesome.  It's pretty neat that at least one time per day, at least one of my friends pushes me to be a closer follower of Jesus.  I have learned that I often take this for granted, and wonder what I would do if I did not always have encouraging words into my life.  Friends are so important in this life, what are your friends pushing you to do? 

T brock

I just want to say that Tavaras is hilarious and awesome. Once he
decides on one girl, she will be very happy.

Christian Dating

I know people laugh when I write blogs about dating, mainly because I'm single. :) But c'mon, Jesus was single, Paul was single, well some say he might have been married at some point, but he was single when he wrote most of the New Testament.

So I was listening to Mark Driscoll's sermon on Christian Dating. He made a point that I find myself talking about a lot with people lately. Mainly to girls, listen, if a guy asks you on a date, it's a date, it is not marriage, it is not engagement, it is a DATE. It is only good for one night. If you go out, and hate it, don't go back out, and be honest and tell the guy no. Don't try an appease him, or don't try and feel like you have to go out a few times and think it will be like people describe beer to me, "keep drinking, you will end up liking it." No, I did not like the first one I had and I probably will not if I keep drinking it. We Christians takes dating WAY too serious. IT IS A DATE. If you are a girl, look at the bright side, this is a FREE MEAL! If the guys sucks, hey, you still get a free meal and you can check one guy off the list as NOT for you, you only have 48394839u548753 more :)

Girls, wait on a guy who will ask you out to your face or at least on the phone. Don't settle for a guy who asks you out on facebook, that's cheap. I probably offended a few people, sorry. Wait for a guy who has enough balls to take a chance and ask you out. A friend of mine recently got asked out by a guy at a bar. I watched it happen. I met the guy, he was clearly drunk. She walked away so excited about being asked out. I was like, WHAT! The guy was drunk. I told her that she was worth way more than that. She said that no guy had ever asked her out point blank. That is sad! Step up dudes and put it down. If you think the girl is worth it, sacrifice your pride, ask her out, if she says no, you can rest and know that, hey, you tried. Move on.

I think the main reason someone might be happy that a drunk guy ask them out is they really don't know their worth. If you are a believer, meaning you love Jesus, you should know that you are not just some girl, you are a child of the King of Kings, you are daughter of the ruler of the universe, and He thought enough of you to die for you. He knows you are worth something. You should too. Prove it to Him by waiting on a guy who loves Jesus, show you the love of Jesus by the way he treats and pursues you.

Dating in itself can be tough, that's why it is dating. :)

One thing I will say about San Diego, on a side note. There are so many things to do, Tavaras and I discussed that if you cannot come up with a cool date in San Diego, you have issues.

San Diego Pictures

San Diego and LA with T Brock

Tavaras is awesome, Stereotypes are not

A Personal God

So as I have stated, it is official, I am moving to San Diego. This is still a little surreal to me and nothing that I ever would have really planned. The neat thing is, God has always dealt with me in this really cool way. Any huge decision I have had to make, He always encourages me into it and just makes it so clear for me to know which way to go. You still 2nd guess a little because we lack so much faith, but then He always gives me this huge confirmation after the decisions are made, YES Justin, this is what I want for you, and I'll keep sending you things over and over to make sure you know. I really trust that when the time comes for me to spend some money on a rock and commit to one girl, it's going to be much the same way. Sure, Mary Addison will be in college, but you can still hope.

I started working my butt off this week, and put a lot of hours in. There is no such thing as a free lunch. I am going to be working so much out here, and I know that going into it. I have already had so many things just confirm that this is where God wants me to be. This is one of the biggest blessings I have ever gotten. It is definitely on the top 5. I sat down at dinner the other night with Tavaras and we prayed and for once in a LONG time, I think my prayer actually meant something to me. I thanked God for food, and for having good friends, and just His blessings. I think when God interacts with you and you know He is a personal God, it humbles you and you understand what a blessing we really have in Jesus, and our freedom etc. Everyday this week, I would find out just one more thing that would confirm the reason I am going so far across the country, completely on the other side of the US from my family and friends. God has something for me here, and He did a lot to get me here. I seriously could never have guessed in a million years that I would be in this place right now.

I am staying over this weekend to try and scope out some places to live. I never thought I would be thinking, "where should I live? ...on the beach....downtown....or maybe a little ways out..."...it's so crazy to drive around San Diego and really realize that I am moving. Tavaras and I took off from San Diego on Friday night to head up to LA to meet some of my college friends, Samantha Hoit, Ashlyn Bishop, Brandi Roe, and hopefully Brian Fellers if I can find him. We spent the day hiking Runyon Canyon. Talk about awesome! I did also confirm that brother do hike, T-Brock was seen there. We then set off to eat some good sushi down in Santa Monica with Samantha and Liz Lewis, another friend from college. Very good. Now T-Brock and I just checked into the hotel just north of LA and are going to meet the crew for some Tapas tonight in LA. We will head back down to San Diego tomorrow to scope out some more places to live.

I think I am only slightly beginning to understand what a blessing is and that we have it made as followers of Jesus, we have the God of the Universe who individually cares about us. Universe (One Spoken Sentence) Uni=one. Verse=spoken sentence. Pretty sweet.

Interestin' Day

Well, I woke up this morning and made my way with Tbrock to Columbia. We went to Chris and Kristie's shower, had fun, then headed from Columbia to Atlanta, well almost.

My tire blew out on the Rover and I found a surprise. I have no jack. So we waited a long time for some people to show up with a jack, needless to say we missed our flight and Tavaras' first voyage was canceled. We are booked for first thing tomorrow!

Diego Bound w/ T Bock

So I am heading out to San Diego for the week for work. I just found out yesterday that I was going and Tavaras got wind of it. He has the week off so he will join me for the week. Tavaras has never flown before and did confirm in his words that "brothers do fly." In many cases, Tavaras has made the point that there are "a lot of things that brothers don't do, like sky-dive, hike, swim with sea creatures etc." It was good confirmation from Tavaras that he will be okay with flying. This will be a good chance for me to visit the area and get a feel for it a little more and also to hang out with T-brock.

We fly out tomorrow evening so we can hit the zoo up this weekend :) Maybe Sea-world, I hope brothers go to the zoo or to see big animals.

This picture was taken at work, and for those of you who have seen the video, "it's business time."

San Diego Bound

It is official. I signed the offer letter today and I'm officially moving to San Diego, California for a few years. Thank-you to my friends out there that prayed for me while I made this decision. It's tough to leave everything you know, but after I went through everything, I realized it was good for me to jump out my zone for a few years and experience something new. I'll be moving as soon as an apartment gets set-up for me to move into. I am keeping my house in Tiger town, so don't worry, I'll be back!

Since the summer, I have wanted an Iphone. So to celebrate my new job, I reward myself with an iphone. I am going to try my best not to make this a tech idol, so far, I am trying not to love it. :)

I'll be back and forth to San Diego for the next few weeks, and then eventually move in a month or so. Keep in mind friends that San Diego has the the world's best zoo, Sea World, and lots of good beaches and places to eat. Tickets are cheap to fly out there, so I expect to see you all soon :)

Also, tomorrow is SAD day. Single Awareness Day, so if anyone wants to celebrate with me, do share. Otherwise, I'll probably hang out with Tavaras, not a girl, Rhett, not a girl, Eddie, not a girl, or some other person that is not a girl.

Mark Driscoll

Mark Driscoll has become one of my mentors and I don't really know the man. I don't know the man. He's a very good teacher. When your brain is primed, go watch this series on predestination. Watch all of them for that matter.

Mars Hill Church

Deal

I have now been in the bed for the 3rd day. It's amazing how much you learn to appreciate and be thankful for good health when you get sick. Some people are chronically ill and never get better, I cannot imagine.

I watched "Facing the Giants" tonight. The movie was quite amazing. It was funded by the church and everyone donated their time, talents, etc to make it happen. The movie does not have professional actors, as you will see, but it is such a good movie, you will quickly overlook. I had a few tears, I confess.

It's been a crazy past few weeks. How many books have been written on making decisions. It seems like everywhere you look, there is something written about it. I'm glad I have Jesus and although it is not always cookie cutter easy, He helps make things clearer. See, one thing I like about how God deals with me, is that, He knows I need things really really clear, because I'm really not that smart. Ray Comfort says that, in the Garden of Eden, God put Adam into deep sleep, the scripture never records waking him up. So it is possible that we men are still in some sort of weird sleep, this could help explain a lot.

Anyway, God knows that I need very clear paths, and even after clear paths, I need a little push. He has done all of that for me in the past few weeks and time will tell how this works out. I think we as Christians take ourselves too serious. I think God is so big that He could have us do 100 jobs and still be in His will.

He's not as concerned about our vocation as He is about our heart while we do it.

I thought today was Wednesday

It turns out it was Thursday all day. For some reason, I spent the day thinking it was Wednesday. I should have known because my favorite day is Jeans Friday. This is the special day at corporate America that you can wear jeans and be cool.

I wish I didn't struggle with this balance of my decisions and God's sovereignty. I guess if I really believed His Sovereign control, I would try to make wise decisions and ultimately believe that He would work all those things to good. Some people can just sit back and believe that God is going to make things happen. I believe that, to the point that I think He can put things in my life to make me get up and make things happen. Like, there is something out there that is mine, I have to go get it. Not in a selfish way, serving myself, but there is something He has out there for me to experience, I have to make moves to get there. It's really neat how we humans are, we tend to want to cling to people close to us when we go through seasons of decision. We listen a lot better during these times, we enjoy time spent with friends a little more, we eat a little slower.

Past Few Days

wow.

Holland Girl

How cute is Miss Mary Addison. I bought her a t-shirt in Holland and we thought it would be too small,but look at this lil princess.

Good Game

Writing makes me feel good. Writing in a journal does not make me feel good. It only reminds me of 2nd grade and how Ms. Coates gave me a "C" in handwriting. I want to go back to 2nd grade and plea my case. I want to explain to Ms. Coates, "see, Ms. Coates, I'm only a 2nd grader and I write with my left hand. Have you ever tried to write with your left hand? I bet not because you are right handed." I liked Ms. Coates, she was a cute woman, and one time I'm pretty sure she passed gas in class and I've remembered that ever since. I also remember Mark throwing up everyday.

There is something in each of us that desires encouragement. Before you make a big purchase, you want to read all the reviews of the product, you want to hear your friends say it is a good buy. We want our parents to really approve out mates. We want our friends to say our girlfriend is hot. I feel like lately I've had to make and are making decisions that I don't really get a big encouragement from. I'm not saying that I don't have good friends. I'm just saying that the answers really aren't as simple as buying a good car or a nice computer. I guess we want God to guide us in our decisions, we make the choices through His guidance, and then we want some encouragement from heaven that says, "good choice." Maybe during these times, God wants us to cling a little tighter and worry a little less.

Sometimes the choices we make aren't the most exciting, they aren't the most applauded. I feel like being the President of the United States would be always feeling this way. Constantly making decisions that affect/effect the WORLD and you aren't always going to have a team of people telling you, "Good job, you did the right thing."

I get older, the older I get, the more an idiot I feel. Tomorrow I will lay out my 3 year plan for my life, goals, finances, Courtney Blakely would be very proud of me.

Growing closer to the Lord only reveals to me that I am lost by myself.

Just Rest a little easier

I don't think I've ever really struggled through a big decision. The big things in my life, it seems as though the Lord has really just made those choices really clear and the path was layed out almost like an idiot would know which path to choose, maybe God knows me really well. I want to say I completely trust Him in everything, but I know that would be a stretch. In the process of making big decisions sometimes, it seems like I struggle, like most people, with this idea that ..."can I really mess up what God wants to do with me in this life?" ...it's just part of the way I think. I just don't want to get in the way of what He has for me and don't want to take any big decision lightly. I have this book, "A Year with C.S. Lewis" that I sometime read right before bed. This guy was a genius and most of his stuff is too hard for me to read. But, he's been in the grave for a long time and men/women still learn so much through his life and writings. His life really counted for something eternal and the fruit of his life is still going.

I think back on decisions I've made in the past year and can get in this crazy mode of thinking that I really screwed things up or maybe didn't do things right. I want to believe that God is supreme and His grace can cover any stupid decision I make and He can always make good on what I've made bad. I read tonight in the book that reality is never really what we thought it would be. He talked about the planets and how they all have different atmospheres, almost all have different number of moons etc. He loves Christianity because there is no way anyone could just come up with a story this good. An eternal God would create people, people would sin, an Eternal God would send an only Son into a crappy world to die a brutal death, and we selfish and self-serving lost people could find God again. I love this idea of we get to give God all of our sinful things and He gives us His son and eternity when we die. We can live in hope knowing that one day this world will pass away and we don't have to live for the day to day things of this world. It seems that when I start to think about eternity, these "big decisions" in life start to shrink a tad and don't matter as much. The day to day really only matters if it effects the day to day in eternity.

I didn't go to church much as a kid, but when we did go, they would alway do prayer request publicly in church. People would speak out things they needed prayer for. Some people would raise their hands for "unspoken" prayer requests. I'm going to write a book one day, I think I shall call it "Spare Prayers" and if you happen to have any of those, please share them for me. I need to make some big choices soon and want to know I'm walking in the right direction.

Was I sleeping?

I woke up and had the saddest thought yesterday. I got in from Connecticut about 3:30AM on Thursday morning after my plane from Detroit was canceled. I have never seen SC road that bad. Anyway. I slept in until about 11:00AM and the first thing I thought as I sprang up from my sleep, "crap, what time is check-out." This is how you know, you have been on the road traveling quite a lot. Sad.

We went out tonight for T-brock's Birthday. After our fun outting, I decided to drive up and stay at Ed and Julie's. Ed and I are going skiing tomorrow so this would be easier, and I like to hear Julie tell me about the girls I should be and should not be dating, it's gotten so fun over the years. I can always count on her to provide me good honest solid truth. As I rounded in front of Ed's house, I just looked at it, and thought, this is a really nice house. It made me think of pulling up to his parents house in high school. Not that the houses looked similar, but that it was just going to Ed's house. It dawned on me that we are straight up adults. Let me think of the things that I did today that are extremely adult.

1. Typed in a security code to get into my house
2. Talked stocks with a guy I work with.
3. Logged into my 401k and saw that it has lost about 2gs in the past month.
4. Got excited about the dropping interest rates and how good it would be to refinance.
5. Looked at the boxes of baby stuff in Ed's spare bedroom and can actually look forward to having kids. Well, I need a wife first. Well, I guess I need a girlfriend before that. I'll work on these things.

Anyway, I just get hammered every year in my mind that this life is going to quickly and I feel like I'm not capturing everything I need to capture. There are so many opportunities all over the place lately and I just don't know which ones to say 'yes' to and which ones to say 'no.'

I cannot waste anything. I am the guy that will beat the ketchup against the wall to make sure every single bit comes out. I eat all of the food on my plate, which is starting to show.

This life is full of things to do, I just want to make sure that I do the most fruitful things. I guess everyone wants that. I'd like to make a few kids too. Okay, so maybe I have mentioned that twice now in my writings, one thing at a time, one thing at a time.

Dear Nice Samsung Employee

Well I must be the first to admit. Something, could possibly be wrong with me. Let me explain. I have been working in the Northeast for going on two weeks. I was originally scheduled for a few days, but ended up staying to make sure everything was completed. Well about day 2 or 3, my Samsung A727 decided to restart, then, well, it never started back up. I am a cell phone guy. I use my cell phone sometimes more than you could possibly imagine. For work, I talk on it all day. For personal, I talk on it a lot. When you travel, it's really the only way to stay in touch with friends and feel like you are home. The bad thing about my cell phone dying was that 1/2 my numbers are now gone. Only 1/2 because Att&t uses SIM CARDS, praise Jesus. Verizon does not do this, so if you drop your cell phone in the toilet, for the most part, you are done. With Att&t, you can pull the SIM out and use it in another phone. Well my good news is, I have so many friends in the phone that the SIM would not hold all of them, so 1/2 were on the phone. I also had all my pictures from Europe,texts, and videos from so many places. So here is what I did.

I called Samsung and they tell me the phone is still under warranty. They send me a shipping label and ask for me to send the phone in for repair. This is the part I am somewhat amused and ashamed at myself. Well, I REALLY REALLY want the data out of that phone, well. So, um, I bought a card, and wrote the Samsung repair person in Plano, TX a nice note. The card had a nice array of wildflowers on it. This is what it sounded like.

Dear Nice Samsung Employee,

I really really hope you can get the phone number and files out of my phone. It contains a lot of special things and I am hoping you can do it. Thanks so much for doing it or at least trying.

John 1:1.
thanks,
Justin Tanner

I also inserted some $$$$$ into it. I hear that helps move things along in this world. I will let you know how this works for me in 7-14 days.

On another note, I did take some spare time during the weekend to visit my movie star friend Jonathan Dickson in New York City. I hit the train from Stamford, CT to New York, then the subway straight to Times Square. We toured around, saw the Statue of Liberty, Ground Zero, China Town, Little Italy, and random other sites. We hit up the movies, "The Orphanage", then went to eat some bbq and sing-a-long at Brother Jimmy's. I was quite surprised how good it was.

Hartford to Jersey to New York to Stamford

So the path has been fun this week.  I flew up to Connecticut and have been working.  My mom finally flew in from Amsterdam and I surprised her last night in Newark, as her plane was canceled and had to get a hotel for the night.  Too bad that when I got there, she was already coming back from dinner.  She was happy to be home and didn't hurl on the plane, so she was in good shape.  I saw her off this morning from Jersey at the butt crack of dawn and then drove up to Stamford for the day.  I am on call with work, meaning that if something bad happens, I work, so far so good. 

I am now in the 4th hotel of the week, this one is pretty cool.  I had no idea Stamford was such a pretty city.  I have sea gulls and all sorts of other animals flying outside my window.  The room has a nice balcony overlooking a small river.  The violent man in me is watching the birds play just above a waterfall as they try to pluck fish about to go over the falls.  I am so hoping one of them slips and goes into the water.  Ahh c'mon, they have wings, they can fly. 

Today I will meet Billy Rogers, Nicole Cariri, and Billy's boo Meg for some ice-skating I hope.  I did notice a PF Changs and Kona Grill right near my hotel, this very much excites me. 

I was driving today and paying a crazily high amount of money to drive on the fine roads of NY and NJ and just started to think of how good God is.  It is so cliche to say, but I realized just now that I should always think of God's goodness in a new way.  I have never needed anything that He hasn't provided.  No matter what was supposed to happen and didn't, well God always made those paths straight.  I am healthy, happy, and He's given me a cool job to see a lot of the world, friends that are for the most part, cool.  A family that is very strange like myself :)  But they are great and I love them.

Today is Ed Edwards birthday and his little girl is getting dedicated today at church :)  Say a little prayer for them :) 

Connecticut

So, I've been working in Connecticut this week.  Every now and then, I like to confess something on my blog.  The thing I must confess this week is...well I forgot to pack socks.  I have worn the same pair of socks since Monday, it is now Thursday night.  I think this is the most disgusting thing I have done in 2008, possibly 2007, or maybe ever.  No, not ever.  

I did go buy some socks tonight, so I'm going to be fresh and clean tomorrow. 

The good news is, I did pack enough boxers. 

Bad news is...my phone broke tonight and will not turn on. 

Good news is, I might go visit New York City tomorrow.  :)  With Clean Socks.  I'm going to name my next dog that, "CleanSocks". 

State-Side in 2008

Well I am officially back in the US. I got back just in time to go to Rachel and Brandon Loftus' wedding! It was a small and fun wedding to be at. She is one of the coolest girls I know and she hooked up with a pretty smooth fella, always good to see.


My mom and I successfully made it through Paris for one day and I recovered from some of the frustration the night before being lost for 2 hours. We ended up paying a taxi to lead us to the Hilton, well worth the 8 Euros. We woke up, went to the Eiffel tower, took a few pictures, walked around, and said we were done with France for possibly, forever :)

I got back to Amsterdam, packed up, and left my mom who still has not come back. She has had me change her plane ticket two times now, I think she likes it over there :)

It was fun hanging out with my mom and just relaxing. She is very easy going and anywhere we went, she was happy. I like that quality in people. We had a good time everywhere we went, well minus Paris :) Although, the Paris Hilton was very nice :)

Our trip was very fun, it has definitely opened my eyes to travel even more. I travel domestically every week, but now I want to travel a little more internationally. The whole work thing kinda cramps that style a little bit. The Europeans we met, were some of the nicest people, and very open to meeting new people.

We also had our annual New Year's Eve party. The numbers were down this year, mainly because of the Peach Bowl, but we still had about 40 people and had the most successful dance party yet, which consists of about 5 people consistently dancing, and as many as 10 at one time, sad.

2008, I am hoping is going to be a year of being a little more on the ball. I am going to try to put a little more structure about my own hectic life. This mainly means, tracking every penny I spend, becoming a cheapskate, developing new friendships outside my usual group, and building up some recording equipment to continue to pursue voice-overs. I might even buy a mac once I save the pennies.

Happy New Year!

Paris, France

So I'm a little frustrated. It takes a LOT for me to get frustrated, I am fairly easy going. But, if you put me in a car, crazy traffic, no map, in a strange city, this could be a bad recipe. My mom and I decided on a whim to leave Antwerp, Belgium today and head for Paris, France. It was SUPPOSED to be a 3 hour drive and pretty easy. The problem started when we realized our gps didn't have the France map loaded. This was a small problem, I thought, at the time. Once we got into Paris, I realized how bad I needed that GPS. There are no really good road signs, they are mostly on the sides of buildings and NOT easily seen. Man I have never been so frustrated in my life. After two hours of being lost and speaking to people who knew NO english and I of course, know, NO FRENCH, we flagged down a taxi and paid him to guide us the Hilton.

We finally made it to the Hilton, super nice, but of course I booked the wrong one. I booked the wrong one because I was booking it while parked on the side of the road on a slow internet connection with my blinkers on. This was right before I took a wrong turn and went on the tram line, which is basically like driving on the wrong side of the road in England.

All and all, I'll stop complaining and be glad I am blessed with some travel time. I am staying at the Paris Hilton, no pun intended :)

The King of Hilton,

 



This is everyone woman's Christmas present. Okay, maybe not, but the robe felt good :) Paris would have been here, but she couldn't make it.

Antwerp, Belgium

 

 

 

 

So my mom and I left Amsterdam today for Antwerp, Belgium. It was a short 1.5 hour drive south. We arrived and immediately parked the car and headed for the hotel. Since I stay in Hilton family hotels with my job, I had plenty of points to stay here in Antwerp. During the check-in process, the kind man, Steven, at the desk informed me that I had been upgraded to the Business Executive Suite. Sweet! This has a view of the church you see in the pictures, Cathedral of Our Lady. It is gorgeous. We had dinner at a nice place just in the square below our hotel.

Tomorrow we will tour around Antwerp (the world capital of diamonds.) Well, then we will head back to Amsterdam for Christmas with friends there.