Wherever I go, there I am....

First, let me say congratulations to my sister Brianne, and Terek, who just had a baby boy!! We can't wait to meet Malek. Also, happy birthday Pappa John! You are so appreciated and loved by all your family.

 

Today the gears have shifted slightly. Sarah has differed the next blog to me. Since it has been so long, she figured people may like to hear from me. So I thought i would oblige. Since I last wrote (the first blog entry), life has happened very rapidly. I wrote this title as a bit of a twinkle in my eye, but also with hopes to get the cranks in your head turning early. So a little about the title..

I saw a trailer for a particular movie that showed a couple striving/working really hard to come to a particular place in life, one everyone else around them was looking for as well: Secure a nice suburban home, attain to a steady well-paying job, have children, and work your best to maintain it. They achieved all of this..Exactly what they were aiming for. The irony, however, was it was not like they thought it would be. The wife started to question the whole way of life, as far as the people around them were living and practicing it. She said things like, "who made these rules?" "Who said we have to do this." "This was not like I thought it would be." She was in fact questioning, in a way, not unlike Jesus, the way one lives life. A thought, indirectly related to the trailer, blazed across my mind...... Wherever you are in life, your heart will follow you. I for one, do not despise vacations or new locations, I mean, where we are now fits that bill pretty well. However, restlessness, irritability, anger, if existing in the heart, will follow one on that "vacation" as well. Jesus was telling the Jews of His day, that true kingdom people must deal with their motivations and intentions (hearts). Sooner or later, people will help you see it in yourself. They are always faithful to do so!  So this led me back to the biggie question again. What is the point in life? Just...why?

Maybe big question is not at all "how can I best be satisfied or fulfilled?" It's not that I do not believe the Scriptures address this issue, in fact, they do. But they come at it from a different angle. Jesus' sole concern was "pleasing" the Father. He wanted Him to get the love and respect he deserved from "His people." This obviously meant even at the expense of His own life. In that kind of loyalty and committment, no one experienced more of a blessed and purposeful life. The gift is open to all, a gift of grace. "Whoever drinks of me will NEVER be thirsty!" So why are so many thirsty today? Could it be because we go to everything else before Jesus to quench our thirst? Can Jesus, really, today, 2000 years later, quench our thirst? Is your cup overflowing? Are you quenching your thirst on Jesus,or are you quenching on things that appear to have life, but, as the scripture says,  in the end lead to death? I personally believe this is why Jesus says in Matt 7 that the way is wide that leads to destruction, and many (most) take it, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few find it. This is not focused on going to heaven and hell, but about who enters into the true LIFE right now. Again, the gift is free, for all who would come, but to experience the narrow way, the only thing Jesus wants in return is your full love, attention, and loyalty. The relationship is always on HIS terms, it is a covenant (marriage). Afer all, would you expect anything less from your spouse. :)

Speaking of spouses,I am so glad Sarah is back. We have now worked 3 weeks together. It is quite fun. Sometimes, I get to go to her office and tell her to change or correct something on a form. But to watch my girl in action has been a blessing. She is GOOD at her work. Of course, I know many of you who know me are inside laughing at the thought of me doing admin work, let alone in a clinic/health-care setting. I have observed, in my short life, the conspicuous absence of males in admin work, esp. in hospital/clinic settings. Not sure if this is partly due to the minimal locations I've purviewed, or something else. I suspect guys were not created for this type of work. :) I can't express how many times I've said "whoops," "my bad," or "sorry" in just 2 short months. I am surrounded by very capable women on all fronts. A little of what I do: I book travel for village to village flights, village to Anchorage, file charts, register patients, make appointments for audiology, dental, physical therapy, mammograms, optometry, even drive people sometimes. In saying all this, I may soon be transitioning to a position in behavioral health. This is what I originally applied for, but it was filled. I will talk more about this if it happens.

Here are some pics as we went out snow-machining with some friends today. Wow, the scenery on the hills was outstanding. Unfortunately, I was focused on just maintaining balance on our machine, and so I could not look as often as I would have liked. Nonetheless, when we stopped it was breathtaking, really. I even made a hobbit-sized hole in the side of the hill. 

Ian's Igloo




God is working here. Sarah was able to pray with a person with deep anxiety issues. This person felt a major relief after this prayer. He maintains Jesus kept him from further self-destruction. I have been meeting with a group of Chrisitian men every Thursday night. One guy flies his plane in every Thurs for the meeting. (haha). Thinking about flying lessons myself. These guys have me interested. We may be planning a retreat in the summer soon. Men desiring to do business with God alone and together! We all would end up flying to the location. Everyone flies!

View on top of small mountain

Finally, communication is still difficult, as Sarah and I are without internet and phone. We do our business at the clinic. Hopefully, that will change as April comes. We are open to having any of you come out and spend some time with us. We have room!