Come Alive!

The impact of a person doing what God created them specifically to do is a powerful thing. I got to be on the receiving end of that recently, so I thought I would share it with you. This past weekend I had a great little road trip/getaway with 2 good friends, Alison and Blackwell. One of Blackwell’s old roommates is a chef who now owns 2 restaurants in the mountains of Georgia, and he invited Blackwell to bring a couple of friends up to visit. So Saturday we took him up on the offer and made the 3 1/2 hour drive to Clarkesville. We arrived at lunchtime and met Jeremy at the first of the restaurants, Hawg Wild BBQ. Jeremy welcomed us, sat us down, and proceeded to have us brought out what must have been almost every item on the menu! Ribs, pulled pork, catfish, slaw, beans, sweet potato casserole, hushpuppies, and more. He was like a kid showing off a new toy… telling us about each item and how they make it, including the 5 sauces they make from scratch. We ate till we were more than full, and it was all great! And to top it all off when it was time to go, Jeremy wouldn’t accept a dime from us for any of it. Too generous.

After lunch we rode up to Lake Burton where the 2nd restaurant, a fine dining establishment called Water’s Edge is located. Jeremy went in to prep for dinner and we got a pontoon tour of the lake from Shanna his wife. The lake and the houses on it are beautiful, and we even had the laugh of getting caught in a little rain. After taking our stuff up to the cabin we were sleeping in, showering and changing into nice clothes, we headed down to Water’s Edge for another amazing meal.

To get an idea of what it was like, imagine the best tasting food that you have ever put into your mouth and imagine that every single item at the table tasted that good. Shrimp and grits, fried green tomatoes, spinach and chicken flatbread, gumbo, salads, filet mignon, grilled trout, shrimp fettucini, butterfinger cheesecake, crepes, and key lime pie. Everything was literally perfect. Alison became the plate envy of everyone at the table with the Filet, which was the best I have ever tasted. Jeremy was busy in the kitchen, but Shanna and the servers took awesome care of us the whole time. I could hardly even imagine a better meal. After the restaurant slowed down, Jeremy got to come out and sit down with us while we drowned him in compliments. And again… he wouldnt let us pay for a thing.

I know this has been a long story and it might even be starting to sound like a commercial for Jeremy’s restaurants. But its not. The point of all this is, this weekend I got to experience the results of someone who is passionate about what they do. Jeremy has been to culinary school, and is obviously a great chef. But what takes the experience to a whole new level is the passion and gusto that he puts into it. You can see in his eyes the enjoyment he gets from wowing people with his amazing food creations. John Eldridge says in “Wild at Heart” to find the thing that makes you come alive and go do that, because what the world needs is people who are alive. People like Jeremy inspire me, and I look forward to the day when I discover what makes me “come alive” like that.

What Should I Do With My Life?

I just finished reading a very cool book this week. I randomly picked it up off the sale rack in a bookstore in Victoria a few weeks ago for the 2 1/2 hour ferry ride back to Seattle, and loved it. The title makes it sound like a cheesy self-help book, but its not. The author was intrigued by the question of how people find and settle into their “callings” and began asking people about just that. After interviewing over 900 people, (crazy, huh?) he of course was able to notice some trends. This book is a collection of over 50 people’s stories, grouped into several categories. 

As a person who has struggled with this question seemingly more than most people do, the book really resonated with me. Not that it provided any earth-shattering insight or answers, but just seeing the wide variety of paths that people’s lives take and how long some of them take to develop was encouraging to me. There were people who fell into their callings almost accidentally, some who took huge leaps of faith (or risks) to get there, and others who bounced around for long periods of time before settling into a groove. 

Through it all, one thing is clear to me. Our career paths are as unique as we are. As much as we think we would like for them to fit into neat little checkboxes, categories, and timelines, they don’t. As cliche as it sounds, it really is much more about the journey than the destination. And for me, I think I would be much happier if I could learn to enjoy the scenery along the way instead of always being preoccupied by where the path is headed.

iPhone App Store

After browsing around the new iTunes app store a few times earlier this week, I finally decided to upgrade my phone’s software and try out a few applications. I had previously jailbroken my phone and installed several different applications that way, but decided that there were none of them I couldn’t do without.

After about 3 days of the upgrade and using the app store, I have noticed a few fundamental differences between the “hacked” apps and the official ones. On the positive side, the official apps seem to have more depth and quality, especially the ones that cost a few bucks. Many of the old hacked apps appear in the new app store, but most of them have been upgraded a bit. Evidently getting approved by Apple and charging money for an application raises the bar a bit. On the negative side, the new app store has very few system customization or utility applications. I guess Apple doesn’t like people messing with the nuts and bolts of its software.

Having said all of that, so far for me the positives definitely outweigh the negatives. I have found a few free applications that I like and a few paid ones as well. Here are my favorites:

1. Crash Bandicoot Kart ($9.99) – A true 3d cart racing game that uses the iPhone’s tilt sensors to steer. (the effect is similar to driving games on a Wii)

2. Enigmo ($9.99) – A difficult to describe but very cool arcade/strategy game that requires you to get a stream of water from point A to point B using various pieces of equipment. Definitely my favorite game so far.

3. Pandora (FREE) – If you haven’t tried this music streaming website on your computer, you should. That I can now enjoy it on my iPhone with headphones or even plugged into my car stereo is simply awesome.

4. Bible (FREE) – over 10 different translations including the Message, searchable, with Matthew Henry’s commentary. All for free on your phone.

5. Brain Challenge ($9.99) – More than just another puzzle game, Brain Challenge seeks to improve your logic, math, memory, visual recognition, and focus. It gives you simple “flashcard” type problems, and measures your speed and accuracy in answering them. It keeps track of your results over time so you can see how much you improve.

The Weakest Link…

…of the entire Apple product line is the crappy little earphones that come with all of their iPod and iPhone products. I am not really sure why Apple goes to all the trouble to come up with the best personal entertainment devices in the world then packages them with earphones that have the sound quality of AM radio, but they do.

For a while now I have been searching for a decent sounding set of earbuds that are not outrageously expensive, and I finally found them. The pic (and link) is the ones for the iPhone that have the hands-free mic and a button to answer calls, pause music, or skip to the next track. Best $40 I have spent in a LONG time. They also have ones for regular iPods for $10 less, so get yourself a pair and enjoy some of that great sound that has been locked up inside your iPod with no way out since you bought it!

My Friend Sean….

….got one of his articles posted on Relevant, which is no surprise to me since he is a very good writer. You should check out the article here and bookmark Sean’s blog (or click the link in my “Friends” section to the right) regularly.

Soundtrack

I love walking while listening to my ipod. It’s like being in that “musical montage” scene in a movie. I don’t really walk for exercise or anything, but occasionally I will have to walk somewhere downtown and it is always better with my “soundtrack” playing. I personally like the random mix the best… it is funny how much the music colors the things you see as you are walking, depending on the song. So pick a nice spring day sometime soon and go walking with your ipod, mp3 player, whatever. Especially if you have never done it before.

You Should Read This Book

I have always wrestled with the emotional part of my relationship with God. I have always had a hard time “feeling” his love for me or “feeling” any sort of emotion for him. For reasons unknown to me, my faith has always fleshed itself out as one mostly of intellect and will. I have always longed for a more heartfelt relationship with God, but those times have been few and far between. But recently I read a book that God used to touch my heart in a way that I had almost given up on.

The book is called The Shack, by William P. Young, and it is a story about a man who is dealing with an almost unthinkable pain and sorrow in his life. In the middle of his misery, he has an unexpected encounter with God (in physical form) that of course changes his life. Now before you write me off, hear me out. I honestly wouldn’t give a second look to the entire Christian fiction section at the bookstore – its just not my thing. However, this book deserves a category all its own. I have never read anything like it. The author personifies and captures the heart and nature of God better than anything I have ever read. (except of course the Bible) There were times while I was reading that I felt God speaking to me; not my head for once, but my heart. It sounds almost ridiculous to say, (and I even hesitate to write it) but I actually felt his love for the first time in a long time.

So…. all that to say, you should get a copy and read it. And please don’t miss the point and nitpick the theology like some of the reviewers on Amazon and other places. It’s just a story. And God used it to speak to my heart. Maybe he will use it to speak to yours, too.

(sound of crickets)

Ok… so I guess nobody really wants to talk about the issues that singles deal with. Guess I will just have a conversation with myself. I will post some of my thoughts later, but for now I wanted to share this song that I ran across today. I’ve been under a lot of stress recently and this did my heart good. Its pretty long, but make sure you watch at least the first 5 mins or so. I love the words (and the reaction of the girl) in the verse at about 4:00.

Invisible Children

Friday night I watched the movie Blood Diamond, and my heart is still heavy. If you havent seen it, you need to. But do not expect light entertainment. It is an excellent movie that portrays many of the horrible things that are going on in Africa today; war, mass murder, exploitation of children, etc. It is hard to comprehend that such things exist in the same world where I live, work, and play with not only every possible physical convenience and entertainment a person can want, but also the freedom to enjoy those things without daily fear for my and my family’s life. It makes all of the things I think and worry about on a daily basis seem rediculous and insignificant.

I know that most of you are familiar with Invisible Children by now, but if you are not, stop reading this and check it out. Seriously. It is a great organization that is dedicated to raising awareness and help for the people, especially the children, affected by many of the same issues portrayed in Blood Diamond.

Mutemath Does It Again…

Ok – I know I have raved about Mutemath before, but now in addition to the best live show around they have one of the coolest videos I have ever seen. It is pretty amazing, although Im not sure how they actually did it….