Journal

I wasn't born a pastor.  As a kid, church was weekly punishment.  My parents would dress us boys in matching suits and parade the family up the steps of Saint Somebody church.  After an hour of "ssshhhh" and "hold still" and the occassional ear pinch we would parade back down the stairs and be released for a week.  I assume they talked about the Lord, I just don't remember it.

You can only drag an anchor so long before it just lets loose.  We stopped going to church when I was 10.  Without a grip on anything in particular, our family drifted...a long ways!  I did attend Young Life in High School because I liked a girl who went.  The singing wasn't to bad, but you could keep the rest. Know what I mean?

 My years as a Marine, mostly overseas as an embassy guard weren't condusive to any type of spiritual growth.  That time was more about seeing how much partying you could actually survive.  Crabbing and Longlining out of Dutch Harbor, Alaska was pretty much the same thing.  Heavy on self-sufficiency and self-destruction, light on anything meaningful.

It wasn't until years later, married with a three year old son, that the a desire for "meaningful" began to grow.  I was a charter boat captain and fished for a living.  I had an artery collapse in an arm and ended up in the hospital for a month.  The doctors said, "We don't know what is going on, this is going to kill you."  Now, don't laugh.  Until that moment, I actually believed I was immortal.  I said don't laugh.  A quick glance at my lifestyle would confirm that I didn't believe I could die.  I had not met anything that I couldn't outwit, out smart, out last.  Ever.  And then, "this could kill you." Not someone else...me.

At that moment I began to remember some of that Young Life teaching I wasn't really listening to.  I remembered hearing that Jesus had defeated death.  We call it Easter.  He rose from the dead and was seen by more than 515 people.  Wished I had payed more attention.

No, I wasn't born a pastor.  But shortly after my confrontation with the reality of my mortality, after an intense study of the Bible, I was born again.  Me, a thirty year old, uneducated fisherman with a very speckled past.  I made the decision to accept the Lord as my savior, to place my faith in Him and to simply stop telling Him, "no."  You know what it was?  It was my own personal Easter.

Do you know what He did with me?  He made it possible for me teach at a private Jr. High School.  He trusted me with the starting Men's ministries in different churches.  He humbled me by allowing me to proclaim His word in church.  Most of amazing of all, He led a church in Seabrook, TX to call my family and I to pastor.  We have been here nine years! Unbelievable!

I know this is a Hepatitis site.  I am on TX and I do have side effects.  But that is not what is important to me right now.  Right now I am just praising God for Easter.  I am praising the Lord that death has been defeated and that I need not fear.  The tomb was empty, death could not hold Him, and it can't hold me.  I wasn't born a pastor but I will live as one!

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

God bless and Happy Easter!

Rob

I am always a little uncomfortable with people asking how I feel.  I appreciate thier concern and covet thier prayers but I don't know how to answer them.  I guess the best response is ,"I am better knowing  that you care."

The other question often asked is "Are you suffering from the side-effects?"  Honestly, I was.  Today, I am no longer suffering from side-effects.  Today, I am growing because of the side-effects.  What's the difference?  Glad you asked!

The change in my appetite has done wonders for my diet.  I now am very conscience of what I put into my body.  I even ordered a sandwich with...you won't believe this...sprouts!  Yep, my life has definetly improved.  What a great side-effect!

I have been spending more time with my wife lately.  I had forgotten how nice it is to just "hang out" at home while doing nothing  else.  I always had "other" things going on while at home.  Treatment has given me the gift of uninterrupted time with my wife.  What a great side-effect!

There are so many gifted and talented people at my work.  For years, I have been doing way to much and not allowing them to serve to their greatest capacity.  Recently, I have had to let go of many things and have been blessed by watching others pick up the ball and run.  It has been a very good thing to let loose of some of the reins.  What a great side-effect!

I do things to fast.  I write very fast.  Lately, I have had to slow way down.  I thank the brain fog.  It has been a very good discipline to slow down and really read through what I write.  I have also realized that I don't need to post or publish everything I write.  Sometimes, It's OK to just write it down and let it be.  What a great side-effect!

I few hours of sleep has never meant so much to me!  I smiled this morning when I woke-up and looked at my watch, expecting to see 3am, and instead it was 6:30am!  Now, there is some joy where before there wasn't!  What a great side-effect!

Suffering?  Not me.  I love more and pray more.  I am growing!

So...how are your side-effects?

God bless,

Rob

And the winner is….

In my last journal entry I talked about our annual chili cook-off.  Hours of preparation and some not so subtle lobbying of the judges proved to be not enough for victory.  Once again I was left with lots of compliments, an empty chili pot and no trophy.  I will admit that Steven’s chili was very good!

Despite the empty spot on my trophy shelf, I don’t feel like I lost.  The weeks of build up, the constant teasing of the other contestants, the time spent cooking, the great fellowship at the contest and the opportunity to try a bunch of different chili entries all made for a pretty good time.  Just being part of it…

I know several other people who have recently been diagnosed with Hep C.  One of them commented to me that they “Feel like such a loser.”  Faced with the gloomy prospect of an iffy treatment, that particular person was understandably distraught.  But that is person is far from being a loser!  And neither are you!

Life is so precious.  Every day is a gift.  Every friend is a blessing.  Every sunrise is a promise.  Life…just being part of it…

Despite the immediate circumstances we might find ourselves in, the truth is, the real deep truth is, we are anything but losers.  In fact, I might put it this way:

And the winner is…YOU!

God bless,

Rob