A Good Find

There are certain times in life when you know you've found something special. They could be huge (like meeting and marrying my lovely wife or being blessed with each of our four kids), or they could be small and relatively insignificant...the common theme is that they contribute value to your life in some way. Today's find was...a restaurant.

I visited, for the first time, a place in Kent well-known to locals, called Mike's Place. You can't miss it on the way into Kent, because sitting outside the place is a full-sized X-Wing fighter, just like you'd expect to see flying out of the movies. The fantastic doesn't stop when you walk in the door; there are various themed rooms to eat in, many of which are not rooms at all...there is a full-sized 50's era bus with tables and large booths in it, a boat to eat in, a tequila bar, and memorabilia of all sorts plastered throughout. I had been curious to try this place out because any restaurant with an X-Wing starfighter MUST be awesome.

Thinking that taking a field trip with some of my nursing cohort friends would be a good way to foster camaraderie I suggested we breakfast there. Of the 8 of us that went, probably half had been there before. Being part of the unseasoned 50% I was excited to experience the amazing atmosphere, aptly described by my brother-in-law who said "it's a freak show, I like it". The most freakish? The prices! And no, they were not fiendishly high, but freakishly low. My meal of choice was the "Bestest Breakfast", replete with 2 sausage links, two eggs, two strips of bacon (but I got the equivalent of 4-5 crispy strips), well-seasoned hash browns, and your choice of toast, french toast, or pancakes. And yes, I did choose the pancakes. This mountainous breakfast was sold for a plainish price of...wait for it...$2.99! Too good to be true? Well, they market it as a way to "beat the economy blues" and I'd say that's a very apt way to put it. This could be worth a weekly trip...

Some changes have occurred

Yes, friends, some changes have occurred since my last post. Many of you are up to date on the happenings of the last year of our little family's life; for the rest of you, I'll give a brief synopsis and piece together more detail in future posts. (Feel free to go back to my previous posts to read about how I decided to pursue nursing as a new career.)

First off, I have been in school for the past year. Until this January I was taking classes in preparation for my application to nursing school. I was accepted to Kent State's accelerated bachelor of science in nursing program and started classes earlier this month. I'm loving all that I'm learning and have realized over the past year that my previous phobia of the sciences was greatly unfounded. I love human physiology and am excited to apply the information I've learned already to nursing school and practice.

Those of you that remember my blog will probably notice that some changes have been made to the structure and title. The previous moniker of "The Man Cave" was cool in its time, but seeing that I no longer own a home and as a result no longer have a man cave (which was very cool, by the way), I figured it was time to reinvent my blog. After all, I've been reinventing myself for the past year. Thus, my new title. With changing geography, professional status, and family size (we did welcome our 4th child into the world since my last post) has come a lot of introspection. I have learned an awful lot about myself, the meaning of family and friends, and society itself in the past year. I will undoubtedly continue to gain more glimpses of life as I continue down this path, most likely following a "the more I see the less I know" pattern so aptly described by the fantastic U2. My humble hope is to share some of my experiences of marriage, fatherhood, and nursing school in a humorous and enjoyable way, with an occasional morsel of valuable insight, should I ever run into one. For now, it's back to the books. My reinvented life calls!

My Mission

Dear Friends,

As most of you know I have been out of work for almost two months now, since I was cut loose from my Customer Service Manager position at L.E. Smith. Since that time God has blessed Monica and I with immense peace and increased faith in His providence as we seek His will for our lives. I have been reaffirmed that I am not defined by the job I hold, but by the life I live as a man of Christ and my willingness to follow Him.

With this time away from work I have really focused on finding the things that I'm passionate about and pursuing them.

I was blessed with the opportunity to spend a weekend in Steubenville with fellow graduated members of the Lion of Judah household (Christian fraternity), along with the many guys currently there (see profile pic for most of the attendees). I was able to have coffee with a fellow LOJ graduate who had previously pursued other career paths before deciding to go back to school and get a degree in something that he really loves and is passionate about. His story and passion really inspired me to consider giving up my pursuit of a traditional office job and find what my calling really is. Around the time of the reunion I received a call asking whether I was interested in doing home health care for an elderly gentleman who needs overnight care and assistance. I was initially skeptical to leave my family three or four nights per week, but agreed to take the work.

Almost immediately after beginning I realized that God was using my work in home health care to give me a much deeper appreciation for the need for compassionate care. It wasn't until this time that I have really felt a deep sense of union with Christ through helping another person, as I literally help this old gentleman struggle into bed, hold his hand as he cried for his deceased wife, and helped him with basic needs needs like getting into and out of the tub that his elderly body are struggling with. He has used this experience along with my job loss, conversations with friends, etc to give me a clear realization that I am fulfilled and joyful helping others. I spent almost six years in customer service, desiring to help others but constantly baffled by those who take advantage of the typical "customer-supplier" relationship. I now see that my skills are better suited to caring for individuals with needs different than those in the business world...and have decided to pursue my degree in nursing.

Throughout my life I have struggled to trust Christ implicitly. Even those times when I felt like He was leading me in one direction or another I still felt like I had to question His direction, give it my feelings before trusting Him. I mean, a 28 year old married guy with a fourth baby on the way would naturally seem like he lost his good sense for deciding to go back to school for two years. However, since I've begun to see the signs that Christ has put in my life lately I have not been afraid. I'm excited to follow Him wherever He leads me. I am excited to experience the new paths that He is laying out before me. It's no coincidence that everything is coming together to let me pursue this track into nursing. God is opening doors and I will pass through them without second-guessing His desires.

Fortunately for people like me who already have a bachelor's degree in a different field, schools like Kent State offer Accelerated BSN programs to allow "second degree" students obtain their nursing bachelor's degree in four consecutive semesters, or approximately 15 months. I have a few prerequisite courses to take over the spring and summer, but will apply for acceptance into the program at Kent State for next fall. If all goes well I'll have my nursing degree by December of 2012.

We just listed our home with the realtor who has helped us purchase both our homes. However, if our house does not sell before January I may end up having to commute to and from Canton to work on my pre-req's. If you know of anyone with an older or high-miles car they've been looking to sell cheap or donate to my cause please let me know!! Please continue to join us in prayer to St. Joseph, asking his intercession to our Lord with the intention of the sale of our home. As plans become more clear we are realizing how much easier life will be with our house sold and being close to school. We are also praying that the Lord will provide affordable housing for us once we make the move to the Kent area while I pursue the nursing coursework.

Please pray for me, Monica, and the four little ones as we begin this next phase of our journey. God willing we will have only minimal bumps in the road and a happier, more peaceful life with a career change that serves God thru His intended plan for me. Know that I will be praying for all of you!

Funny Video.WMV

Human Justice vs. Christian Mercy

I watched an interesting, pretty violent movie last night, "Law Abiding Citizen". It was centered on a man whose wife and child were violently killed in front of him, and after the legal system failed to exact real justice on the two killers, went on a vengeance spree that claimed the lives of many individuals who were related to the case in some way.

It was an interesting look at two relevent topics: 1) our imperfect legal system, and 2) the idea of taking justice into your own hands when "the system" has failed.

I agree with the movie that our legal system has failed true justice in many respects. With plea bargains, criminal informants, probation, etc our system in many ways enables criminals to commit more violent or felonious crimes because they know that the punishment, if they're caught, comes in now way close to a justice for their crimes.

I find it interesting that in today's legal system the first person to reach the courthouse get's off with the lightest sentence. For instance, if three men are involved with aggravated robbery and assault and they're all caught, it's the first one of the three to plead guilty and agree to testify that gets 3-5 years, rather than the 6-8 that the other guys are given. Rather than let them all plead guilty, the other two are used as trophies for the prosecuting attorneys and their teams.

The alternative of course is a system where you're guilty until proven innocent, but those systems don't seem to go so well and usually end up with more innocent people behind bars. It is unsettling, though, to think about the number of guilty people that are walking the streets because of legal loopholes, short sentences, probation, etc when they should be breaking rocks in the hot sun.

The other point is vengeance. This is pretty simple to me: I know that if my wife and kids were killed by some ruthless criminals (or any criminal for that matter) my gut instinct would be to rob them of their life in a slow and painful way. But what good would that do me? It wouldn't do me any good, of course...only get me in a much deeper hole than the one I would be trying to fill. The call is to render forgiveness, allowing Christ to fill our hearts and those of others when our fallen humanity simply wants to create havoc and hurt for those that did the same to us.

Herein is the quandary: as Christians we're called to love our enemies and forgive those who do us injustice. Christ dying on the cross was an injustice, and we're called to follow Him, are we not? And yet, we know that the justice system that has been crafted for our earthly society allows the guilty to walk without full restitution for their crimes and we complain. Where should Christian mercy and human justice truly meet and complement each other? How can we mesh the idea of "turning the other cheek" with a system that protects the innocent from those who would repeatedly take advantage of them? I don't have the answers...Do you? Post your thoughts, readers!

Trust

I've come to realize more and more how much I need to trust God to reveal His plan for my family's life in His time. I'm too prone to worry and concern myself with knowing the future, but only He knows. I understand that it's up to me to drive success in my life, but I can't do it without Him. And when I feel like I don't have control, I need to trust that He does.

Evening walks...and ethics talks?

I took a walk tonight, went the usual 4-mile route after the kids were in bed and I could walk stroller-free and headphones blasting. It is a very balmy, humid night out there with a dense haze and a heavy blanket of cricket and locust chirping. Just the kind of night I need to clear my mind. Along one of the town's border roads I saw 5-6 deer standing in the field across from me. Very beautiful moment as I stood watching them watching me. No one else around. It made me realize how much we all need to take a moment to be separated from the world, to take a step away and unwind. Especially in today's go fast, have now, can't wait culture it's important to slow down and be thankful for the simple things in life.

I have been thinking a lot lately about the Church's teaching on homosexuality (nothing like taking a 90degree turn in topics, eh?) vs. that of the contemporary world. We hear all about the agendas of the homosexual lobby...equal rights, "same-sex marriage", homophobia, special status for the LGTB community, etc. I believe that people are getting so hammered with the radical gay lobby that people are beginning to lose sight of the underlying issue, or maybe they've never given this topic a second thought.

The Church, of course, teaches that same-sex relations are inherently wrong, due to the disordered nature of these acts. Our sexuality is given to us to use with dignity and towards the intended aim of sex: unity and procreation. You can't have one without the other for a chaste union. But, this is common argument material. What has really been on my mind lately is the nature of the arguments that gay/lesbian/transgendered/bisexual promoters use. Rather than approach these acts from a point of human well-being and personhood, as does the traditional understanding of man and woman, they approach these "lifestyles" from a purely sexual perspective.

For the first time in history, men and women are being defined by their sexual preference. Not their accomplishments, rank, status, or most importantly their existence as individuals made in God's image...but by the ways in which they choose to act out their sexual appetites. Using this same logic of classifying a person by their drives would be like asking for special status for vegetarian lasagna lovers. In the lasagna eaters world vegetarian lasagna lovers are a minority and should be given special treatment, right? Or, to hit closer to home...why not statutory rapists? That 25 year old guy really loved the 15 year old girl he was dating...people may look down on his actions but he can't help the way he feels, right? Shouldn't he be given the right to act the way he pleases?

Now, I'm not promoting the incarceration of people who, for whatever reason, feel attracted to persons of the same sex. Nor am I trying to put them on the level of a criminal. Every person, without exception, should be shown the same love that Christ shows us every day and be allowed free will. What I am promoting, however, is a logical and reasonable critique of the arguments that GLBT lobbyists use. People should not be classified by their sexual preference. Men and women have been created thus...man and woman, a binary species like every other, but with a reasoning soul and the ability to see beyond simple drives. God created them male and female, right? Last time I checked he didn't create them gay, bisexual, vegetarisagnan, or statudaterapist, right? Isn't it time we started seeing beyond sex and into the will of God?