the Best decision I've made since 1996

The best decision I've made since 1996 was my decision to marry my best friend in 2000. Wendy and I were acquainted through church, and circumstances transpired that pushed us into a dating relationship in the summer of 1999. It didn't take more than a couple of dates for me to realize that I needed to hang on to her. The last 10 years have been interesting to say the least. We have our ups and downs, but overall I can't imagine trying to live my life without her. Today is her 33rd birthday, and I haven't gotten her a gift. I told her to go get this big picture of our kids framed as her gift, but that sure seems crappy, so we'll see. Tonight we'll go out to eat (monsters and all) to celebrate her birthday, but I still feel like I need to get her something. Maybe I will think of something in the next 3 hours. I highly recommend marrying someone who you would consider one of your best friends. It just makes it easier. And if your already married, do whatever it takes to make sure that your spouse is your best friend.

Don't pray for rain without an umbrella

As I type this, I've just found out that our company will be wiring a new tornado shelter at a local Jr. High. This comes with mixed feelings, first I'm glad that we got the job, but second(and more disturbingly), I'm trying to figure out what I left out of the bid. Whether you realize it or not, our economy is at the bottom of the toilet right now. Non- residential spending is at a historic low. Take away money coming from government projects (like this one) and the commercial construction industry is virtually nonexistent. So every job that comes along has an abnormally large number of electricians, plumbers, etc... bidding. We all need the work, and more often than not, whoever gets the job, is who left the most out of their bid. So back to my question. What did I forget. Oh well, it normally works out, God seems to have found a way to keep us in business this long, there's no sense in losing faith now. It's an odd position to be in, praying that we get this job for the last 2 weeks, and now that it's happenned, I get scared that we won't be able to make any money on it. Have you ever wanted and prayed for something to happen, only to be secretly terrified of what you would do if it actually did happen? I've had a desire to "step up" my walk with God over the last couple of years. Once I really started praying about it, and making an effort to get to know who God is through studying, the feeling of urgency I felt about it really started growing. Then several weeks ago I sat through a study of discipling (is that how you spell that?) for 6 weeks with our pastor. Simultaneously I was reading the book "Radical".

Side Note: Radical...... I highly recommend this for any Christian who is serious about growth. READER BEWARE, it will change your entire mode of thinking, and possibly how you want to live your life.

Anyway, all of this has made me realize that I was praying for rain, but I was doing it without an umbrella for a long time. I wanted to be a more mature Christian who was closer to God. But I didn't want to have to invest my time, money, effort, or abilities into any of it. I really just wanted it to happen. So now I'm trying to gather my umbrellas together and prepare for the rain.