4. People willing to work together
5. Elly’s eager willingness to forgive me when I mess up
6. The way play-doh feels when you squish it in your hand
1 Penny
1. Quiet early mornings
2. All the rubber band bracelets laying around the house
3. Sunsets on sandy beaches.
Where I’m At Now
God
God and I have a great relationship. Although I wish it was manifested more in a physical sense, I have come to appreciate that the spirit is a large part of His design. Perhaps we, as a culture and people, have been so conditioned to think that the only things that matter happen in our physical lives. Much of what Jesus talked about was how to be healthy spiritually. His conversations with people spoke of the life that was inside of them and then used physical miracles to validate his claims about the spiritual realm. In any case, God is the center of my life. He’s the first one I talk to every morning and the last one I talk to at night. There really isn’t another reason for living. I am so grateful for the life he has given me in Christ.
Family
I have a beautiful wife of 14 years. 3 kids who are amazing: Julie (10), Elly (7) and Wesley (4) … as of now. Since I work from home and my wife homeschools, we all “have” to get along. Most days are pretty smooth and the rough ones usually work themselves out within a couple hours. My wife is absolutely incredible. I pity the man that doesn’t have the love of such a woman. She is the manager of the house and our family schedule. She’s a great cook and helper. Julie has her own business that she started 2 years ago called Toffee on the Run. You can read about her story here in the Missourian. Julie has a heart for serving other people and enjoys road trips and new adventures. Elly is my cuddle on the couch kid. She enjoys the small group of friends that she currently has, but just likes being paid attention to, so we read books on the couch and play games together. Wesley is a bundle of energy (just like I was at that age). Loves Star Wars and super heroes. He is also my book reading companion if I can get him to stay still that long. He doesn’t like going down for naps but is difficult to wake up from them. =)
Church
My wife and I attend the Emmanuel Evangelical Free Church here in Hermann MO. We both work with the young kids in a group called Seedling. She sings on the worship team and I run the sound booth on select Sundays. We both work in the nursery when needed. I absolutely love the family that we’ve become. Our pastor has an amazing heart for the Lord and seeks to grow closer to Him as well as disciple others to a deeper relationship. The associate pastor and I meet for coffee every week and discuss topics ranging from theology and politics to family life and raising kids. Definitely one of my best friends here in Hermann. Our church family gathers for potlucks, prayers, and Bible studies. Whenever we get together there is definitely a focus on God, which makes our relationships that much sweeter.
Work
There are many different work areas in my life. Here’s a quick background why. Before we moved to Hermann, I was a production manager at a small home builder on the Western Slope of Colorado. It was my job to coordinate with the different teams in the office (accounting, development, finance, real estate / sales, and construction) and make sure that the goals the company wanted to reach were being met. I also learned how to draft, which ultimately led me to being a subcontractor and then I was able to work for an architectural millwork firm as well. About a year after being on my own, my wife and I decided to move to Hermann to be close to my father who’s health seemed to be steadily declining. Luckily, our family was able to be with him for his last 3 years and then be here for my mom after that as well. When we moved to Hermann, the economy quickly fell. Meaning that no one was building, nor needed any kind of drafting services. Thus, I was unemployed in a new town with little connections. I took on some small jobs with a lady that we met when we arrived. I began learning tile and grout work, drywalling, painting, etc.
It was at this time that I realized that I needed to start a new career in an area that wouldn’t fall out so quickly, thus the internet, websites and web design seemed lucrative. At this time I had also got a job as a cook at a local restaurant. As a side note: I am very thankful for the mind that God has given me. I definitely feel like he has given me the 5 talents to work with in my life. My wife “complains” many times that I’m good at everything and as humbly as possible, I agree with her. He has certainly blessed me with a mind that can assimilate information quickly and use that for others. He has blessed me with an incredible body that, despite my best efforts to ruin with an unhealthy diet and little to no exercise (which I am aware of and have plans to change in the near future) I can still play tennis at an intermediate level, play basketball and keep up with high school boys, and am extremely handy around the house with electrical, plumbing, and construction issues that arise.
Anyway, I am completely self-taught when it comes to what I know about websites. I received a Bachelors of Business Administration with a concentration in Management and Marketing in 2001 and a Bachelor’s of Science in Mathematics in 2002. Because I am constantly on the computer learning about the newest marketing ideas and platforms, I tend to want to use everything I know. This is one of my downfalls that God is steadily teaching me; Just because I can, doesn’t mean I should.
Some of the projects I am currently involved with include:
Witness Web Design
After closing the marketing firm in Colorado, I asked God specifically what he wanted me to be involved in and He led me to Acts 1:8. He told me to be a witness wherever I went, thus the namesake of my company.
Experience Hermann
When I re-established myself in Hermann, I quickly realized that the town needed a decent web presence. I was ignored by the chamber of commerce and told there was no money in the budget for such an undertaking in the City budget, so I decided to move forward after an apparent approval from God. Thus, I took everything I know from website design (the logo was actually designed by Ian Serff), website development, social media, SEO, etc. and poured it all into this site and program. My work paid off since I now rank on the first page and usually in the top 3 for most searches that include “hermann mo” or “hermann missouri” in the keywords.
Toffee on the Run
My oldest daughter definitely has her father’s entrepreneurial spirit. While we were in Colorado for a 3 1/2 month visit, I was invited back to Senegal for a mission using my architectural skills and knowledge. My daughter talked to several family members and decided to take a recipe I had taught her and make, package and sell toffee door to door. After 5 weeks of knocking, she had made over $1,000 profit. When we returned to Hermann, she asked to continue her venture. Luckily for her, I knew someone who could help market her business.
Just Call Me Ray
Raylene Hollrah is a two-time cancer survivor and the last one she should have never had. After being diagnosed with breast cancer and beating it, she opted for bilateral reconstruction. Unfortunately, because of her implants, she was diagnosed with ALCL (Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma). Long story short, her mission through this organization is to encourage women to take steps for early breast cancer detection, to warn about the dangers of breast implants, and to encourage women to rise up when bad things happen. I have been working with Raylene for almost a year now with her marketing campaign from website development to some graphic design
So …
That’s me in a 1400 word nutshell. =) Again, I am thankful for the talents I have been blessed with and look forward to seeing what God has in store for the future. My hope is always that He will guide me to making wise decisions and trusting in his unfailing love every single day.
Rate Google Search Results
Lots of different websites and applications let you rank results of searches. (Netflix, Pandora, etc.)
I think it would be a cool idea if Google did the same thing. When you get the top ten results, maybe you don’t like a certain website that they rank and you don’t want to see results from them anymore, you could give it a “thumbs down”. Once Google starts gathering data from people choosing their rankings, then they can personalize the results.
Easy to Praise – Hard to Surrender
While raising children, I often think about my own childhood and how my reactions to God, Jesus, church, etc. were different than they are now. I certainly have a renewed vision of my own in regards to Christianity and I often wonder how my kids view these kinds of experiences.
I can distinctly remember singing songs in church as a young teenager and even in my own college days. Songs that praised God were very easy to sing. God is certainly worthy of praise. Perhaps it comes so easily because of all he’s done for us. This universe and world he has created is mind-blowing. When I think about all the other galaxies and solar systems it is impossible for me to envision the fullness of God. Praising Him because of his power comes naturally.
Then I think about the life that he has created for us on this earth. From relationships with other people to enjoying nature, God can easily be praised for this life. Not only did he create me with different gifts and abilities, but he has also surrounded me with other people with different gifts and abilities. I thank God all the time for my wife, kids, and family. He is worthy to be praised because of the people and places he has put in my life.
Lastly, I actually still get giddy when I think of God giving all he has for my salvation. He came to this earth as a man (flesh and bone) and lived a perfect life. He loved others perfectly in such a way that crowds flocked to him. Some because of his miracles and others because of the hope he offered them. He didn’t just teach people how to live, he walked the walk. What amazes me even more is his desire to give his own life away.
I recently watched a video where a group of women shaved their heads to support their friend who was going through chemotherapy treatments for cancer. It was a very touching video and made me realize what good friends do; they sacrifice their own comfort for the comfort of others. This next train of thought is not to downplay what these friends did, but to magnify what Jesus did for us. The sacrifice that was made by this group of women was temporary. Their hair will grow back and their lives will move on. Would a friend be so willing to remove a part of their body for a friend? Would you give up an arm or an eye for a friend; something that doesn’t grow back? The ultimate sacrifice would be to give up your own life. It is for this reason that God can be praised. Because he came to this earth and sacrificed himself for our benefit.
Greater love hath no man, that he lay down his life for his friends. – John 15:13
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. – Romans 5:8
For all these things God can be praised … and should be praised. He has certainly proved himself worthy of it. By displaying his amazing power in creating the universe, by showing great care in creating people and our surroundings for us to enjoy and, ultimately, by proving his love for us by coming to earth for us and dying for us. By all this, we should have no trouble bending the knee, lifting our hands, and singing to him songs of praise and thanks.
But what happens when we sing songs or read verses that actually require something of us? I know personally that it made me uncomfortable. I didn’t like singing those kinds of songs because I didn’t really want to say those kinds of words; “Take my life and let it be, consecrated Lord to thee”, “Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to the Lord”
These were not joyful words for me to speak. The other problem I had was that I knew I should. It wasn’t a question of the right thing to do. It was my own selfish behavior that made, not only saying the words, but actually believing them so hard. I liked my life just the way it was. I enjoyed being in control. I liked that church and God was something that I could pull out when I needed to impress other people and then put it away when it was inconvenient.
There was one song that has made a lasting impression on my life. I loved the tune because it was so simple and easy to sing. The words were convicting but not angry. After my life made a significant change to actually give everything to God, and hold nothing back, I began to love this song and all it spoke to my soul.
If you took the time to listen to this song and have felt the same things I have been saying then I have some questions I want you to consider.
- Why do you hold things back?
- If God is worthy to be praised, why would you not give him everything?
- What is the one thing God is impressing on you right now to give up?
This last question is an important one. It was, for me, the faith step I needed to cross over into a life that is completely surrendered to God. When I took something small and simple and actually gave it up to God and asked Him to take it from me, he opened a door that I never knew existed. It was the door of blamelessness.
We read about Biblical characters that were blameless in God’s sight. They still messed up and were selfish at times, but they never kept that from God. He knew all about them because they humbled themselves in such a way that he was free to forgive them and move the relationship forward.
Do you desire to walk blameless before God? Do you feel guilty when you think about God and the ways that you have broken his laws and how he asks us to live with him and with other people? I can assure you that guilt you feel is not coming from him. He waits anxiously like the prodigal son’s father at the top of the road, and actively searches for you to walk up the driveway so he can run to you. But it’s up to you first.
Take that first step and trust that God will forgive you and leave behind the behaviors that you know you should. Begin each day knowing for a fact that you are loved by a God who forgives and welcomes you into his arms. Trust that God knows how to walk with you everyday and show you a better life. It will not be sunshine and roses all the time. In fact, we are promised trouble in this world. But we will be in eternity much longer and the short and fleeting troubles that this world offers is nothing compared to what’s in store for us.
Give.
And hold nothing back.
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- …
- 27
- Next Page »