notables

This update is to let you all in on a few great blogs that I keep up with.

-The first one is called "Donde Esta Timoteo" (Where is Tim?), by a young man named Tim Dyk, a local Ellensburg boy. Tim is enrolled in a program called photogenx through an organization called YWAM. The cool part of photogenx is that you travel all around the world learning about photography and also, studying the bible, along with mission work. Tim has a lot of talent and great insight for being so young. Keep an eye on him.

-Next up is a newly hatched blog called "Bolivia Bound Backpackers", by Jen and Andrew Lyons, or "the hippies" as Rae and I affectionately call them. Jen and Andrew left this past Tuesday for Lima, Peru and they will travel from Lima over the Pan American Highway to Cochabamba, Bolivia. In Cochabamba, a fun town to say nonetheless, they'll volunteer in two orphanages for about 6 months before wandering back through Peru to fly home again in August of 2008. The Lyons have been talking about traveling/volunteering in South America longer than I've know them so it was a bittersweet goodbye this past Monday. The really cool thing is that Jen and Andrew have financed the entire trip themselves; they saved up and are going, on their own dime, to volunteer and talk about God to the people of Cochabamba. A pretty respectable endeavor, to say the least.

-Lastly, a blog called "Once Again", by David Lyons, Andrew's brother. David is a Army helicopter pilot about 50% of the way through a 16 month deployment in Iraq (at the time of this post). I've never met David, so all my David knowledge is via Andrew. It's interesting to read about the war through the eyes of a regular Christian guy, who is away from his wife, and just trying to get through this chapter in his life. This is David's second deployment, hence the tittle of his blog, and hopefully God will keep him safe and he'll be home soon.

I hope you enjoy these blogs as much as I do. All the blogs that I regularly keep up on have links over on the right hand of my blog under the title, "Notables". Have a good week.

change

A quick note on the name change. Over the past 4-6 months I've realized how naive it was to title my blog, "with my own two hands"; a sweet Ben Harper song nonetheless, but not how I as a Christian should be focusing. My two hands, human hands, only really mess things up and have yet make any true change in this world that I'm aware of.
In fact, if I can be attributed for any worldly change I doubt I knowingly caused the change, or I stumbled through it and can only attribute the final outcome to God.
I will continue to strive to become a better Christian, Husband, Father, Man (in that order) and this will serve as a part of my record. I have a large change in my life on the horizon, which I hope to use as well, to continue that struggle in the opposition of the world.
I'll also be saying goodbye to many good friends and my first Church home which is a cause for reflection and sadness. I pray that God will quickly find my family a new Church home in Pennsylvania and connect us with new Christian brothers and sisters. More to come.