The Office

Say hello to my new friends at my desk. I don't have to worry about getting up to get things from the printer now.

My Backyard

It's Day 4 of Project 365 and I'm really enjoying taking different pictures and looking at things in a different way. I'm sure I look ridiculous when I'm taking random pictures all over the place, but it's still a fun project! Today's picture features the view from our patio here at the condo in Jupiter. Another amazing sunset by the water and another reminder of God's amazing creation. We are extremely blessed to be in such a fortunate situation and have an opportunity to live in a place where this is the view out our window.

A Vast Canvas

As I was driving home tonight, I had to pull over and take some pictures of the beautiful sunset. I was reminded that I serve a God who is infinitely creative. All of his creation is reflecting his glory and sometimes we get too caught up in life to appreciate it. I was thinking about how no sunset is ever the same as a previous one and God paints the sky in a different way every night. Every time, it's a reflection of his beauty and his creativity. It's humbling to know that same God is the one who created and loves me.

Fill Up

In my second day of project 365, I seemed to be taking random pictures all over the place. I had a few worthy candidates for being the shot of the day, but I decided to go with this one. It was taken at the Mobile station here in Jupiter when I filled up Nicole's car after driving it around all day. It's a random picture, but it actually sums up where I'm at right now with my job and coming back from the holidays. I've been away from working at Christ Fellowship for the past couple weeks and it's been great to take some time off and enjoy the holidays with my family and get ready for the new year. I feel like this break has given me time to refuel and get recharged for what God is going to do in 2010!

A Project Board

Nicole told me about a cool idea called Project 365 and I figured I'd give it a shot. She's also going to be going through the project on her blog, which you can check out here (and hers is definitely going to be better than mine). The project focuses on taking a picture every day for a year and then documenting the pictures on a blog or in a journal and giving a description about what it is. I'm looking forward to trying this out as a way to improve my photography skills, and as a way to keep track of some of the things I do in the next year. So I present, Day One:

My family has been in town this week and we went to The Cheesecake Factory for dinner tonight to celebrate Nicole's birthday, a rather belated birthday. I didn't get any pictures of the food but I did manage to snap a shot of the napkin before we left.

A Primal Adventure...

I was recently given a copy of a new book by Mark Batterson that has just come out and I really enjoyed reading it and wanted to share my thoughts. On the cover, the phrase, "A quest for the lost soul of Christianity" is used and I think that captures the heart and the essence of what Batterson is trying to get at. While it seems to be easy to find books that are constantly trying to promote new ideas and truths related to the gospel, it's refreshing to read a book that focuses on pointing us back towards the core truths of the gospel that have never changed and never will change.

If you're unfamiliar with Mark Batterson, I'd encourage you to check out his website and his church's website. He is the pastor of National Community Church in Washington D.C., which is considered to be one of the most innovative and influential churches in the nation. They are reaching thousands of people in our nation's capital and their ideas and methods are being used by other churches around the world. They even have their own coffee house! Mark is also the author of the well known "In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day" and "Wild Goose Chase."

I won't reveal a great deal about what the book has to say because I encourage you to read it for yourself, but I will say that this book brought a subject to life for me in a way that I'd never seen it before. I'm not interested in Science. I hated it in elementary school, middle school, high school, and DEFINITELY in college. For some reason, I've just never been interested in biology or chemistry or anatomy and I've never had any desire to learn about it. Yet, as I was reading through Primal, he kept bringing up different aspects of science and physics and illustrated the beauty of God's incredible creativity and intelligence in all types of science. I usually have no interest in reading about formulas of physics and different types of cell structure, but I loved the way Batterson was able to explain these details and relate it to the incredible power of God and his heart for us to explore his creation. It reminded me a lot of the "Indescribable" series by Louie Giglio, which focuses on astronomy and God's creation and how we are loved and made by a God who's created millions of galaxies that are still expanding and declaring his greatness.

Honestly, I could go on and on about this book and the stories I took from it, but I just wanted to give a brief mention of it and encourage you to check it out on your own. If you're looking for some great books to read as we head into 2010, I'd recommend putting Primal at the top of the list. It's challenging and it's convicting, but it's definitely part of a life of adventure.

A tiger doesn't change his stripes...

Over the past few weeks, it's been nearly impossible to turn on the radio or TV without getting an update on Tiger Woods. Most recently, I've heard all about how Tiger is taking an "indefinite leave" from the PGA tour and how he's being dropped and re-evaluated by many of his sponsors. It's fascinating to me how quickly the most dominant athlete in the world has fallen from grace and is now dealing with a public image that is spiraling downward. Yet, as I learn more and more about this situation, I continue to ask myself, "Why is anyone surprised at Tiger's lack of character?"

I'll be honest and admit that I've never been a huge Tiger fan. I wouldn't argue with anyone about whether or not he's the best golfer in the world, because there's really no one even close to his ability and consistency. But, I've never been able to pull for him, because there are times when I think he hurts the game of golf as much as he promotes it. He's brought more attention to the game than anyone ever has and he's also introduced the game to people who never would have taken an interest in golf, but he's never seemed to understand the responsibility that comes with the attention that's placed on him.

With Tiger, there's always been an aspect of how he carries himself on the golf course that he's above the rules. Golf is a game where professionalism and sportsmanship are of the utmost importance. It's a gentleman's game and playing with class is not encouraged, it's required. Unfortunately, Tiger acts like he's above all that because he has the most talent and ability. And, even more unfortunately, the media has always seemed to grant him a free pass because they don't want to call out one the most popular and successful athletes we've ever seen. However, it doesn't change the fact that Tiger has left us with plenty of moments where his character is less than desirable over his career.

Is there anyone who throws their club more frequently? Or mutters more profanity after a bad shot? Or slams the club down into the ground after the wind takes a shot in a different direction? Or gets more angry at a gallery when anything distracts him in the slightest? When it would be called childish or unprofessional with most golfers, we use words like "competitive" and "intense" for Tiger. He talks about how he's not perfect and he's trying to improve with his behavior but it's seemed to deteriorate over the past few years. I think Tiger has had a mindset where the rules don't really apply to him because he's so dominant, and that carried over into his personal life. The expectations of being faithful in marriage might seem perfectly reasonable to most of us, but Tiger Woods appears to handle his relationships the same way he handles himself on the course, by his own rules. So while the news and media will continue to scrutinize every step Tiger takes in the next few months, maybe he'll finally be held to a higher standard in how he carries himself on the course as well as off the course.