Ambition... Stupidity... or Love?

Well.
Starting Thursday, a friend and I are going to start training for a half marathon. We originally wanted to go for the full thing; but realized that was probably a bit too ambitious at this point - since neither of us are runners.

Anywho... we're trying to get some people to sponsor us. By "us" I mean a charity (which is yet to be determined). More on that later. If you're interested... let me know. If not... awesome (can you pray for us though?).

This is gonna kick my butt.
It'll be worth it.

-Matt

Off.

Saturday morning, I decided to do something I don't do enough. I turned everything off. Music. Cell Phone. Computer. "Stuff." In fact, I didn't turn my phone on again until this morning (with the exception of sending one text message). In regards to the TV - I did watch part of the Chargers game. It's my duty as a man to watch football.

And you know what?
It was awesome.
Seriously.

I read C.S. Lewis' The Great Divorce, Rob Bell's Sex God, and started a book called Starving Jesus. All of which are awesome. I guess I like reading or something. Weird.

I spent time thinking. Meditating. Slowing. Stopping. Shutting my "life" off. Just leaving myself... and God. Making room, and time, for Him to speak.

Plus, the Chargers won.

Rock.

"Just follow your heart, and don't run away..."

I take it all back (the last blog).

My goals for '08:

Transparency.

Consistency.

The end.

Resolutions (or stuff I should already be doing).

A new year is coming up... I guess that means resolutions are in order.  Theoretically, you could say this is a bit preemptive, since it's still 2007; but who really cares?

My goal for 2008: Action.

- How many times do I say "I should..." instead of "I will?"

- How often do I contemplate God's will for my life... sitting stagnant, instead of taking action?

- When was the last time I cancelled all of my plans just to pray?

- When was the last time I cashed my paycheck and eagerly gave God 10%?

- What about the last time that I decided to actively make a difference?

- Who was the last person I truly ministered to?

- When was the last time my heart was heavy for those who could not fight?

- When was the last time I didn't compromise?

- When was the last time I made a resolution and stuck with it?

If I spent as much time taking action as I did thinking about it... man, that'd be a sight to see.

Here's to 2008.

Here's to action.

Here's to a life worth living.

"Do not pray for easy lives.

Pray to be stronger men.

Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. 

Pray for powers equal to your tasks.

Then the doing of your work shall be no miracle; but you shall be the miracle."

-Phillips Brooks.

3:30 A.M.

Hi.
It's been a while. I'll blog something more meaningful one of these days, I swear. For now though, a simple, mediocre update is going to suffice.


Some things I've noticed/realized lately (NOTE: They are very random, as it is 3:30 AM):
- Music sucks. It's hard and time-consuming; BUT... I like it, so that's alright.
- I'm starting to become relatively responsible. It's wierd.
- I've gained 20 lbs in the last year. What the crap? Time to start lifting/running again.
- I've been studying bass at a college level for a year and I still suck. Lame.
- I <3> Jesus. I may stray... I may fall; but I will ALWAYS rise, dust off my feet and keep running.
- My dad is the most amazing person to ever walk the face of the Earth. Well... apart from Jesus.
- The screen on my cellphone decided to stop working. This means that I can't tell when I've missed calls, or read text messages. I'm actually OK with that.
- I'm blessed in countless ways. No, really.
- I'm not in a band. Surprisingly, I like that.
- I take a lot of things for granted. I'm trying not to as much as possible.
- I'm technically an "adult," but I have yet to actually feel like one. Lame.
- There's a possibility of me going on tour in Spain next year. Awesome.
- I've developed a love for gospel music. Blame Soulful Prayze.
- I'm going to start studying ASL in the fall. Words can't explain how excited I am about this.
- Fred Hammond's song "You Are The Living Word" is changing my life right now.
- I miss the ocean. Not because it's currently winter; but because it's smell makes me feel at home. Just thinking about it makes me smile.
- I don't talk to the people I love often enough. That saddens me.
- I'm learning a Bach piece on bass. It's crazy hard (and crazy awesome).
- People are starving. I'm looking for a new car. That's not right.
- People are going to hell... ugh... people are going to hell... Lord, how my soul aches for them...
- People are going to HELL... I can't get that out of my head...