Moving

I'm gonna go on record saying that I HATE moving with a passion! I just moved halfway across the state to Ephrata, Pa. What a chore! What an expense! I can't believe how much it costs to move. Heck with the cost though. I miss my friends. Ya know, the sad thing is that I have a hard time utilizing my friends and support network. I feel selfish in that I use them when I need them. I don't put much effort into building those relationships due to my own issues of trust and such. They remain at arms reach and it really alienates me from them. I desire closeness but do everything I can to push them away in subtle ways. Most of the time I don't even realize I'm doing it.

One of the things I have realized is that without community, I would be dead. I recently learned that the Californian Redwood tree, as large as they are, have very shallow rooting systems. They rely on the other Redwoods around them to keep them up, intertwining their rooting systems for strength. What an awesome analogy! Think about it... Would you be able to survive without the companionship of others? Some may argue that yes they could. I retort with the thought that they would be miserable. For a joyful life we need others to intertwine with, to draw strength from. I am so grateful that God has already started to give me new friends. I spent all day yesterday with a new friend. GG and I accompanied her down to Annapolis, MD to kayak on the Chesapeake Bay. We had a blast getting to know Anne and her adorable dog, Sampson. He was so cute as he stood erect at the bow of the kayak.

Ya know, moving does bite with the hassle of getting everything moved and getting settled into your new house but what doesn't bite is new friends, especially when it is God who ordains these friendships. I am excited about the possibility of making new friends. Pray that I would not push them away but draw them near.

Much Luv,
Rando

K.P. n Chocolate Cheesecake

There is no other way to say this than, one of my best friends is struggling for her life. Kristin Price, KP (as I call her), has Cystic Fibrosis. In the time I have known KP she has battled off and on with this disease. Personally, I think it sucks. I love my friend. She was one of the first people I got to know as I returned home to Calvary 3 years ago. She was also one of the only people I felt that I could be my self with. I felt I didn't have to put up a stained glass masquerade with her as I felt I needed to with most everyone else. She was so "real" and made me feel as I could be the same. I can remember first meeting her at Leadership Advance in January of '06. If I had one word to describe KP, it would be spitfire. We ended up being in the same group and became extremely close from the start. I can remember God saying to me that I need to get to know this girl. So began our friendship.

KP n I always talked about everything. We didn't hold things back. We talked about our failures and successes in every walk of life knowing that God loved us and we loved each other. It was okay if we messed up. It was okay if we succeeded. One of our biggest talks was always about relationships. We sat in The Waffle Shop talking about our current "loves". It was then that our inside joke was born. In pure KP style n humor she said, "Randy, he's like chocolate cake (motioning to one hand) n he's like cheesecake (motioning to the other hand) but I want chocolate cheesecake!" We shared a laugh and for months we joked about different guys potentially being chocolate cheesecake. Then along came Jason...

I wasn't too impressed with Jason the first time I met him. Of course, I am extremely protective of KP so I wouldn't have been impressed with anyone but as time went on I began to realize that Jason WAS chocolate cheesecake. Not only was he just any run of the mill chocolate cheesecake but he was chocolate cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory!

I look back at the past year how they have grown together and it makes me smile. I thank God for Jason. KP deserves a man as good as Jason and he deserves a woman as good as her. As she struggles for her life, I thank God that Jason can be there for her and her parents but feel sad that he has to witness the love of his life experiencing the trouble she is. I know this though, Jason will never regret the time he had with her no matter how much he hurts. You see, a moment with KP and you will be forever changed. I was. Despite the garbage she endures, she is so full of life and it infects you and makes you realize just how precious life really is. I chose the picture above because I felt it captured her life, happy and full of life. I pray that God would give me more time with my friend. But mostly, I pray that others may spend time more time with her because she will point anyone to our loving God by the joy evidenced in her life in the midst of great trials. Thank you, Papa, for my friend.

-Rando

EnergyWall, Humility and Prayer...

Hey ya'll! Things have been kinda crazy lately but I wanted to share my thoughts with you on a few things. I am moving in about a 2 weeks to work for a company called EnergyWall. EnergyWall is a startup company owned by my roommate Dustin Eplee. The kid is a genius! The technology we are working with is amazing. I won't go into the details other than to say that what we are doing to get this going is extremely tough. It's actually more than tough. Most of the machines we are working with are not made for the concepts that we are utilizing them for. The experts (whoever they are) have repeatedly said that what we are doing is impossible. Had I known this ahead of time, I probably would not have taken this job. It is really risky but then again, that's what faith in God is all about and I do feel that this is a God thing.

I have a machine that I call the green monster. I call it that because of its massive size and putrid green color. It is truly an ugly machine. Plus, it's ancient! We use it to cut our paper and plastic. These two things we were told we would not accomplish.

I have had good days and bad days with my machines. Oh, and by the way, I proved the experts wrong! We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. It has been a very humbling process, both in the face of failure and victory. The days of my greatest success have been the days that were shrouded in prayer. I have prayed more in the past two months than have in the past two years. I knew what I was doing was way beyond my ability and I needed help. I have had to depend on Jesus every step of the way.

Pride is a huge issue of mine and it has been neat to see that in the face of great victory and success that I have not allowed pride to rear its ugly head. I feel this is a major growth point for me. My growth and the humility that I feel has come at the knowledge of knowing that all I am doing has been blessed by God. It has been Him and not me. I cannot take credit for his work. I am glad that God is building EnergyWall and not me.

Much Luv,
Rando