I can never speak too much of my brilliant wife. Here’s one post I’ve shared of her and another. Not only is she a stunner and a super mom, but there is no other person I would ever want to live this incredible adventure of life with.

During one of our long car rides we begin playing this game where we take turns sharing our dreams.

I share with her about becoming a person who helps unleash people’s passions

She says uh huh.

I share about writing books that impact multitudes

She says okay what else.

I then share about building a city within a city. Where there is an underground city of faith, hope, and love that serves the greater city that it’s in.

She says dream bigger.

I selfishly share about how I’ve always had a little fantasy of having a gigantic etching my name on the moon for all to see at night

She says dream bigger.

I give up and say well how about ending world hunger and poverty!

She says dream bigger, Dream bigger!

How do you dream bigger than that? But that’s just the type of woman I’ve married, absolutely astonishing.

It’s been four years since I graduated and began working at IBM and it’s been 4 years since I’ve known that this is the summer I’ll be leaving it all behind. Much praying and planning has went into this journey. I recently extended my thirty year plan into a sixty year plan… just in case I live that long.

I’ve never had a doubt that this is what God wanted me to do, though I’ve got to say, that a twinge of nervousness has crept up on my recently. With this next step I’ll be leaving the common and familiar for the seldom and unfamiliar. I’ll be trading a steady and solid income for unknown periods of debt. Most of all, I’ll be giving up a job I love and daring to live a life of love.

One of my managers was relieved it wasn’t due to any type of job dissatisfaction. “Well, I can’t compete with God”, he exclaimed. It turned out my other manager was on staff with Willow Creek earlier in his career. We ended up talking for a couple hours about life, discipline, and vision. It’s interesting how as I’ve talked to others about this, what I’m hearing is that I’m “one of those people” who actually try to do something different; something they love in this life.

I’ve got a lot that I want to do in my life, but the truth is, after looking at my life from a sixty year perspective, I was starting to draw blanks on what else I might want to do. Most of us over estimate what we can do in a year, and drastically underestimate what we can do in ten or twenty years. The way I see it, with the pace of life as it is these days, we have the opportunity to live multiple life times, having different and worthwhile careers and passions during our time on earth. I know plenty of people who have things they want to do in life, but the reality is, they’re just wish lists. Real dreams must be attempted.

I’m leaving this career, and taking the next step towards my dream of unleashing hope in others because I must. My heart demands it. And anything less would be a violation of who I’m called to be.

Quotes from Superman Returns

Jor-El to Kal-El (Superman’s father to his son):

“Even though you’ve been raised as a human being you’re not one of them. They can be a great people, Kal-El. They wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way. For this reason above all - their capacity for good - I have sent them you… my only son.”

Superman to Lois Lane:

“You wrote that the world doesn’t need a savior… but every day I hear people crying for one”

Many articles and articles have already been written about the comparisons of Christ with Superman, but what about the followers of Christ and Superman?

In the Scriptures they mistook John the Baptist for Christ, anyone ever mistaken you for Superman?

What would it look like if followers of Christ, though different from those around them, were the leading examples of what it meant to be fully human? to be the very best of humanity?

How might we impact and influence others if we saw the greatness, and the beauty, the hope, and the good within them?

Where would you be today if you were living as a person sent to bring light into the darkest crevices of humanity?

What would happen if you heard the inaudible cries for a savior from the people around you?

When people saw the extraordinary life John the baptist was living and calling others to, he was able to point them to One even greater than himself.

What would happen if we became heroes in our towns and cities, and before people began calling us super men and women, we could point them towards the greatest Hero to ever walk the earth?

For the latest comments and entries see One Life.

Is anyone else part of this cult?

I just joined recently. I’ve been wanting to go for years, but the constant clapping and procedures always scared me off. I finally mustered the courage to become a part of this odd little community that we have on site at work, and delivered my first speech there yesterday.

I actually wish now I had joined this years ago. People tell me i’m a natural (i think raw and unrefined is more like it), but the practice really does help.

Here’s the toastmaster’s interational link - it’s a fairly huge global organzation.

While i’m at it, here’s a few other hot links.

Audio’s from the consumption of faith and faith in consumption conference

Google Video of a crazy face plant

Audio’s from the latest Acts29 church planting regional sessions

Dynamic Church planting international

Allelon - Center for missional leadership

givemeaning.com dedicated to fundraising and philanthropy

Article comparing Rob Bell as the next Billy Graham

Article on how ‘God’ is the new drug of choice for rebellious youth

yelō awakening the human spirit

lulu.com enabling you to self-publish

From the reform and resurge conference - audio message on how jacked up punks will change the world.

update: Google Picasa web albums is out.  My album’s here, with more to come!

For the latest comments and entries see One Life.

We still don’t know if it’s a boy or girl yet, but here are few preliminary names. And yes, i’m serious about them, but I can’t say Yvonne’s approved of all of them… yet.

For a boy…

Optimus Prime. Hear me out on this one. Leader of the Autobots. Brought hope to humanity, even though he was not like them. Defender of good. Always at the frontline of battles. Empowered others. Rallied the troops.Experienced pain, death, and resurrection.
Maximus - from Gladiator
Freeman - I love Morgan, and it’s a great word combo
Luther - for both Lex, and the Martin’s out there.
Crash - Great film, forward moving, and unafraid.

For a girl…

Hunter - Imagine guys saying, dude, stay away from her, her names hunter!
Stellar - as in stars and spectacular
Sashimi - I was thinking of some type of sushi theme because it’s both raw and refined.
Liv(e) - short, sweet, and a constant reminder of what to do when she wakes up.
Ashling/Asher - I was thinking of something that starts with A, since she’ll likely be a december baby, and might be at the end of the line for a lot of things, this might even things out. I like something starting with Ash, but Yvonne thinks it sounds too much like ‘ass’.

For middle names, I’m really leaning towards these two…

Ruach - Hebrew meaning spirit, breath, wind, courage… for a boy.
Ecclesia - Greek for sent out, or called out, as in called out from darkness to light… for a girl.

What do you think?

For the latest entries and comments see One Life.

Well, i’m not, but my wife sure is pregnant. At first we were hesitant on telling anyone, since all the books and friends seemed to advise to wait at least three months. But we thought about it some more, and felt that keeping it to ourselves would have been more motivated by fear, and all the “what if’s”, rather than faith, hope, and love.

If anything did happen we’d want our community’s prayers and support throughout the process. I can not explain how excited I am!

Here’s our little one at 5cm’s (The black is liquid, the round circle on the right is his/her big head, and the body’s laying across to left). The process of life is so freaking phenomenal.

For the latest comments and entries see One Life.

She has the most incredible smile.
She makes me melt inside.
She fills her prayers with my name.
She’s a creative force, reflecting beauty she can’t explain.

She’s tasted life she can’t get enough of.
She’s experienced things she can’t help but share.
She’s unable to separate what she does and what she believes.
She presses in to bring out the person I was created to be.

She can squeal and squirm at the slightest of discomfort.
She can do battle with darkness and not even flinch.
She can be fragile and broken and easily hurt.
She can make beauty from ashes and life from dirt.

She loves to run, run away, run free, run back to me.
She loves to laugh, at herself, at me, at the simplest things.
She makes me smile and laugh like no one else does.
She warms my soul and makes me more than whole.

She’s secretly shy, summoning strength each day to give herself to others.
She defends me and celebrates me when I’m not looking.
She takes on my struggles as if they were her own.
She takes on my passions as if they were her own.

and what I can’t get over, is that, she gives herself to me, as if she were always mine.

Update: I think there’s a chance she might even start occasionally blogging, check out her crazy pic and vox here.

Latest comments and entries at One Life.