2 Weeks Synopsis

Ok, so I am definately NOT a steady blogger like some of you. But lately has been more hectic than I could imagine....

Since I have posted, I have had MANY things happen to me, to Rachel, to my family, to my relationship. How can 2 weeks do something like that? Well, they get very busy and full. Granted, it is my fault (and joy!) that I have been going to bed between 10:30-11pm every night and getting up between 4:45-5am for work and 7am on the weekends.

On Saturday the 14th, we had a birthday party for my uncle who is battling cancer right now. He is not doing good and my mom and I wanted him to meet Rachel before it was too late. To start the afternoon off, my mom introduced her as my "future fiance"!!??!! I was like WOW! and Rachel was in shock, mouth open. That was totally unexpected. Took a few minutes (ok, HOURS!) to get over that shock. After having some time to spend with Rachel, we got to talking about my Grandpa as he lived on a lake and was losing the pier. Rachel called her Dad to see if she could go with us on Sunday, Fathers Day. That did not turn out well. And it so happened that Sunday night, she had a bad argument with her Mom over some other guys calling her. The heat of the battle makes the end sweet. Some issues got resolved and I thank God it came out now, instead of later.

That week was full of ups and downs. But nothing compared to Friday. As I was at work, I was moving some stuff around and pulled a couple of muscles in my back. Um yea, improper lifting. So off to OccMed (Occupational Medical Help~something or other.) I go and get checked out, get some medication, and get electric therapy which was OH SO GOOD!!! Anyhoo, that night I was able to go to Rachels' house to watch a movie with a bunch of friends. It is a night where they host a movie on a Friday and we have a Bible study afterwards, using themes from the movie. Really interesting. So after the movie and study, we all went outside and talked. I spent the night there in there conference/movie/guest house. I got to bed at 1am and was up at 7am to go have some breakfast with her Dad. I enjoyed that time with him. We got back to the house and watched this movie on how to relate to teens. We did this for 2 reasons. 1 is cause I am wanting to be a youth pastor, and 2 because they wanted to know if the speaker was talking right.... You know, if what he said was really right on with how older adults need to communicate to the younger generation. The one we saw was the one on how a strong dad helped teens through tough times. So now I have some knowledge (not hands on experience though) on how to relate to my kids and how it would turn out. That afternoon I went home and helped with the addition, by bailing the hay. I was not in a position to help with the framing as I was on restriction per doctor orders. Bailing the hay consisted of sitting on the tractor. Thats it. I sat for about 3-4 hours doing this.

Sunday I went with a good friend of my Dad to go to Caterpillars' 50th Anniversary at Aurora. Really nice to see that technology. Me, being the mechanical guru that I am, was just soaking all this up! 

Tuesday, well, did not end up too well but better than before. I wont go there.

Thursday, yesterday, was our 2 month anniversary. WOOHOO! I finally got to date Rachel since that first date, alone! Before it was a lot of double dating, or doing things with a couple of friends. Wow! A lot has happened in the last 2 months. But that will be my next post.

Monday is going to be a bittersweet day as Rachel is leaving for her missions trip to Peru, for 2 weeks. I am going to miss her but I know God will work in her while she is down yonder... :D

I cannot wait until she gets back!

Thats all for today. Maybe tomorrow, or Sunday I will post again on how Rachel and I have grown closer than even I thought might happen by now.

Jon

Exhaustion

So I have not had the greatest week at all so far. Sunday was nice getting to spend time with Rachel, watching fireworks, driving through the storms right after and getting home at 10:30pm to crawl into bed.

Monday I get a text from Rachel saying she got into a argument and had her phone calling capabilities taken away. Well, I get a text after work saying she might have broken her foot.... so after 10+ texts, I finally texted her dad to let me call her really quick. He said yes and I called her to hear her in pain and trying to keep up a good front. She did break down a couple of times. At the moment when I got her text of her hurting her foot, I knew immediately what went wrong, spiritually speaking. I had not prayed with her at all on Sunday! God was giving me a gentle reminder on what a PRIVILEGE it was to pray with her and for her. So mentally and spiritually I kicked myself. Well, that night I went to bed restless. I had a hard time falling asleep and my mind was going 100's of different directions at once. It was hard to pray and try as I might, I could not but help feeling that her fall was my fault. She really wanted to go to Peru and was looking like God was saying No while also reprimanding me. 

Yesterday I had a hard time getting up, more so than Monday morning even though I went to bed at 9pm the night before. Work was going ok until I got put in charge of a different line and had a guy on there that I really did NOT respect or liked. My boss was checking up on me the last 2 hours because we were VERY close to making rate for the day. Well, about 15 minutes before the shift ended it looked like we were going to make rate. Good, right? Well it would have been if he did not open his mouth. He said "Geez, Farmer. [I will tell you one of these days on how I got that nickname] You see more of Dan than you do of your girlfriend. Are you looking for a brownie?" I just about lost my cool with that comment! So now made afternoon took a turn for the worse at that point. We made rate but I stayed much longer to clean up than what I was getting paid for. So I get home to the excavator starting the crawl space part of the new addition. Dad asked me to go to Do It Best lumber in Dixon to get some boards for the escape windows for the new basement. So I did and get back only to see the backhoe not moving and 3 men (1 of them my dad, a friend of dad, and the operator) looking at something in the corner of the house. I KNEW right then that they had hit the septic tile. And they did. Dad thought it went straight north out of the house. Nope. You can see clearly that it went out west in the basement. Well, he asked me if it was Schedule 40 or 80 pipe. I said it must be 80 as it was pretty thin. So he goes to the hardware store and gets Schedule 40 piping only to find out it is too big.  So I run to Ace to get the right stuff. They dont have it. So I tried calling Dads' cell, Moms' Blackberry and finally get ahold of someone with Moms' other phone. I tell them whats up and they said to go to Menards. on the way there, I find a piece of particle board plywood broken in 2 pieces along the highway. I do a U-turn and go back to get it. As I pulled up and out of the way, I find the 3rd piece. So now I have 1 4'x8'x1/2" plywood in 3 pieces. And I get 3 wonderful slivers out of it. Get to Menards. Now they have the right stuff but they are out of it. Call Dads' phone, Moms' 2 phones, home phone, my bro's 2 cellphones (one is for work), remember bro is at softball practice, call everyone in the same sequence again. 15 mins of trying to get ahold of someone and I was livid when I finally got ahold of my dad through my sis' cell. He tells me to go to Farm and Fleet across the street. I tell him that Farm and Fleet would not have it as it is NOT a normally stocked item at some places. Well I get there and sure enough, nothing. Now I drive back to Dixon to get Taco Bell, and head on my way home. I get home and stay there while everyone else is either at a friends house or with Dad and Mom. Now I get a text from my darling Rachel and she asked me how I was doing. I replied back that the day sucked. Well after a few more texts she called me. She said she had 10mins and to make the most of them. She told me her dad had given her permission to. Well I started to vent a little when her sister was begging to ask me something. She asked how my little sis had broken her leg? BROKEN HER LEG??!! I knew NOTHING about it and it just fueled my anger a little. So in 10 mins time I had about exhausted myself while telling Rachel everything that went wrong that day. And to top it off now my sis has just a bad gash in her leg, but they thought it was broken and what hurt me the most was nobody in my immediate family told me this. Well after I get done venting Rachel said she will pray for me. Ok, everyone says that. Nope, she started praying right there. I just sat there and wept. It was then that she showed me how much she really cared for me. 

You see, before when we prayed, we prayed for each other. But nothing that we wouldn't tell pretty much someone else. This was something that I would not tell anyone and have them pray specifically for what happened and for what I really needed. As she prayed for what I needed, it was then that I saw what I needed. She read me like a open book. Something that I can do for her but she had a little harder time with me it seemed like. 

I have notice I have this little gift that can be annoying at times. I can read other people feelings. Whether they are good or bad. And I know when they are not being totally honest. But I cannot seem to read my own.....That drives me and other people nuts.

I need to go. I hope to have more soon.

Jon

Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow

So I forgot to say why I had the acronym of CHESS in my last post. Well, when I stayed the night at my GF's house, I saw this glass chess game on their counter. I challenged her to a game of chess, as I loved playing it. She warned me she was good at it. Yea yea. Well after 4 games, she found out I was very good at it.

While playing chess I notice how she thought. Her thinking strategy is plan, plan, plan. And if something goes wrong, watch out. She doesn't like anything to get messed up. 

I, on the other hand, set a goal and make little step to accomplish that goal. If something happen, shrug it off and seek out new ways to get there.

There is good things and bad things with both types of thinking. Mine is that I will not (or cannot) plan beyond 2-3 steps. It gets too complicated to do that for me. Hers is long reaching and does nothing if some little thing happens along the way.

I have notice that this also applies to real life. I like having dreams and try to work towards them. But nothing really gets off the ground because I cannot seem to plan them. She has these big plans and yet when something happens (Like me coming into the picture) her plan seem to go down the drain. I see how we would compliment each other. Thank God for not creating us to be the same.

Fast forward to today.....

So now I bet you are wondering what is going on. Well, I have had a dream that never got off the ground and now God seems to be saying, "GO!" I have gone down to New Orleans 2 times already. I didn't go long term because I was just starting a job, needed money, etc..... And God is looking down asking me if His grace is sufficient for me.... This also started about the time my pastor started discipling me with John Pipers "Don't Waste Your Life".  So I am restless, wanting to do something for God, for ME to provide everything, AND..... the smell of mold just about broke me at work. Ok, so I now have people praying for me. I went to Wednesday evening service and pastor taught on prayer. One thing that stuck out to me is Mark 11:24 "Therefore I say to you, all thing for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted to you." Hmmm. So I emailed the director down in Covington and has replied back saying they could use someone like me. So I just keep praying.

So I missed some fun yesterday while I was double dating with me Rachel and her parents. My family is adding on to the house, about doubling the size. So a add-on room on the back of the house had to come down. Go here to see what has been done.

I was making brownies yesterday at Rachel's house because her dad challenged me to a brownie bake-off. The "judges" are the unsuspecting Sunday School attenders, LOL. As we were talking, I asked him what was the most exciting thing about the relationship. He said it was how I PRAYED with his daughter. Not just to impress him (ie doing it openly in front of him) but when ever we talk for extended periods of time, or see each other, we make it a point to pray with each other, for each other. That is something that we decided to make it a point to pray with each other and it seems to be making waves. All her friends who have seen us pray together seem to be gushing over it. That, to me, says that us young men do NOT take the initative to do just that! Folks, that is a PROBLEM!!! Our young men, me included, need to be taught what it is like to be LEADERS! One of these days I will be posting on just that subject....

I think I am done....

Jon 

(EDIT) I thought I was done BUT I guess I am not.

I found a song I really like by Josh Turner called Soulmate. I would like that to be my wedding song. Goes something like this.

Soulmate
Until the end of time
You're my soulmate
I'll love you till I get to heaven's gate
And if I go first sweetheart
I'll wait
'Cause I know I'll never find another
Soulmate

Chess

I thought I would post some more as I have time until I go out with a good friend of mine. These past few months have been going by VERY fast. I feel like my truck. Once the turbo spooled, it went off like a rocket. And now I feel like I have hit top end and I am slowly winding down....

This past month with Rachel has been....awsome! I have seen her in a very different light than before. She is very articulate but random. Funny but also very emotional. Energetic but also sometimes very tired. All she seems (read it again) to do is run, run, run. Me, I take breaths in between runs. I like being a little laid back. Now how do I reach a happy medium? Something to work out with her.

Now to do a acronym.....

One thing I notice I lack in is COMMUNICATION. I have found out certain word phrases do not agree with her, as in, she freaks out. Is he going to dump me? What did I do wrong this time? He must not like me anymore... Oh dear.....I also notice that what I see and what I meant to say are 2 different things. She can see through most of it but not always. I pray God will give me a better tongue to speak more clearly.

I have also notice that I am trying to be HUMBLED by God. Why do I deserve such a wonderful young lady? Or my friends? Or my Pastor and spiritual leaders? I also try to hit what I think are problems head on only to find out, I goofed.  I pray I will be a will lump of clay to be molded by Him who has a Plan for me. Now, to find out what that plan is....

I am finding I am being ENCOURAGED by friends and family. They are encouraging me to find out God's plan for me and, some day, my wife. What is His plan? Well their prayers seem to be being answered one day and revelation at a time. A new came to me today, a old ambition. Brought on by a sense of smell at work....!!!! God work in VERY mysterious ways.

SUPPLICATION..... A very big word but one that I am doing constantly to God. What is His plan for me? Why am I restless to just drop my job and go into full time ministry? Why can I not seem to build up savings but am being led to go to Moody Bible?

I am being led into a life of SERVITUDE. I love serving but I feel like I could never be in a position of much leadership. I can lead but only if there is a higher authority to report to. Making final decisions is not my best thing but yet, when I am married, I know I  will have BIG decisions to make. And yet, I am perfectly happy to do what someone else asks me as long as it does not convict me of my moral and ethics.

So what is His plan? I don't know but I waiting to for Him to reveal it to me.

Signing out,

Jon