clear-az-day

morning

2009-06-02T07:45:00.001-07:00

i love God in the morning. i love coffee in the morning. i love seeing the sun rise in the morning. i love waking up to the most beautiful woman ever in the morning. i love driving in the morning. i love camp fires in the morning... i love mornings!

starbucks

2009-03-28T05:15:00.000-07:00

today is my last day of starbucks. i am both happy and sad. over the last 5 months i have become good friends with my co-workers and i will be sad not to be working with them anymore. starbucks was also one of the first and only places that were hiring when angela and i moved out here to spokane last august. we were able to get a lot of hours and very good benefits (medical, dental and even vision).

things i am not sad about:

1) waking up at 4:30am to open the store. 2) handling outraged customers over a bad latte. 3)wearing a headset. 5) etc...

I am very thankful for the Lord providing for angela and i with our jobs at starbucks, and i am also very thankful for my new job at pmc mortgage. God truely cares about us and He will always provide for us. sometimes we need to quiet our hearts in order to hear His leading.

dad

2009-02-12T13:12:00.000-08:00

so i miss my father. a lot! a lot, a lot! often times i wonder what it would be like if he hadn't passed away of cancer. in between those times i am honored to carry on his legacy. like a man with one arm my family has done well to compensate for the lack of our "dad limb", but the pains of rehabilitating are still very present. today i am focused on it like a splinter in the bottom of a marathoner's foot. not just on the pain but on the process of curing this pain. i have put all my energy into trusting God even when there are times that i can only offer him half of a mustard seed. so instead of moving a mountain i am still able to move a hill, which is better than nothing.

God has placed a lot of good men in my life to pick up where my father left off. however, there are times when i want to refuse their mentoring. i think that its not as valid or that they really don't know me, but whose fault is that (mine)... i valued so much the words of my father every time I went back to college, "i'm proud of you." (he used to say this while he was hugging me good bye. lol, this usually brought mom to tears of joy. but as dad and i turned to leave we both knew there was a tear in our eyes as well.) spending time with the men God has placed in my life is vital to my survival as a man. i need it just like i need even more time with my heavenly Father.

i don't deserve the grace and mercy God gives me. He has been so good to my family. i wish i was better at thanking Him, or at living for Him every second of my life. but i am human. i am still in a world of sin and that weighs down on me. i long to be in heaven worshiping God, but how dare i not value the life God gave me on this earth. He has implored me and all of us to spread His love to the ends of the earth.

i know my father is in heaven, and with that feeling and peace in my heart i can run this race for God. the splinter in my foot is nothing compared to what sacrifice Jesus made for me. thank you Lord for loving me, and caring about me.

thoughts

2009-02-12T12:56:00.000-08:00

so yesterday i was thinking about my blog... or lack there of. i leaned over to ang and said, "i think i'm going to put an end to this blog thing." as i sit and read other blogs of my family and friends i realize, i like other their blogs. i like that i get to read their thoughts and or catch up on the latest of whats going on in their life.

from the start i never knew what to do with my blog. i don't even journal that much. but the more i thought about blogging and journaling, the more i realized i need it. it is through journaling that my thought are realigned with God's. i've noticed in the last few months that the more i keep stuff in my own head the more distorted my htoughts get. mark cryderman gave a sermon and said it best, "no more stinkin thinkin."

plus, journaling is a discipline. and since ang and i are not in karate anymore, because of finances, i am needing some more discipline. all this to hopefully say, im back.

the list

2008-09-08T12:10:00.000-07:00

here are a few of the important guys in my life. no particular order. just wanted to say thanks.

dad

glenn teal

mark cryderman

jesse hunter

steve gerali

alex teal

dan chance

tom chance

ivan weatherby

etc....

the list could go on but i wanted to highlight a few. thanks again for all you have invested in me. i hope and pray that i have and will continue to invest all i can back.

to all the other guys reading this, what does your list look like? could there be a few more or a few less? we all need someone cheering us on in life. please share your list and give credit where it is due.

break through

2008-08-30T12:06:00.000-07:00

so i did it... i broke the streak of not running. i realize that the marathon from two years ago still had its power on me but i defeated it today. i went for a run, and to my surprise it felt good. it was only 2.5 miles but i did it in good time and i didn't hurt anything. i'll be back up to 26.2 miles in no time.

water cube

2008-08-09T20:39:00.000-07:00

i found my new favorite work of art. they call it the water cube. this new aquatic center for the 2008 olympics is a masterpiece. the honeycomb building covers 17 acres without the need for a central support beam. amazing! the middle of each honeycomb is a thin plastic pillow filled with air that ways 1% less than glass, insulates better than glass... and the list goes on.

who, what, when, where, and why????

2008-08-04T20:17:00.000-07:00

what do you think is going on here?

illusions

2008-07-28T10:40:00.000-07:00

(don't look too close to the screen) stare at the little dot and eventually the haze disappears.

i stumbled across these weird illusions the other day and that i’d share them with you. when i look at these i feel like my eyes are playing tricks on me. no wonder we all have problems seeing things from another point of view.

where's jrod?

2008-07-28T10:25:00.000-07:00

so you all have probably stop checking this blog since i have been absent for so long. i have no excuse. i am just not a natural blogger. recently i have come to the conclusion that this blog may be the way that i stay in touch with some family and friends. so i will do my best to keep it up and have fun while doing it.

"cheers my friend"

ice, ice and more ice!

2008-03-06T09:31:00.000-08:00

so the past few days we have had a pretty good ice/snow storm. the news had advised to people to stay indoors at one point during the night because of all the ice and lack of visibility on the roads.

lucky for me i got to experience this ice first hand. or should i say my tail bone experienced the ice. i was on my way out the door coffee in one hand and keys in the other. as i was making my way to the stairs i usually remember that our steps get very slippery but for some reason i wasn't thinking of slippery steps. and sure enough that last step got the best of me. my right foot and whole leg came out from underneath me and the only thing that hit the step as i fell was my tail bone on the very edge of the concrete step. i had immediately lost my breath and was convinced that i had broken my tail bone. i hadn't experienced this much pain in a while, not even with my many bruised and cracked ribs from our karate tournaments. lucky for me my adrenaline was pumping so i could quickly compose myself in front of a van stopped at the stop sign next to our house who was either laughing at me or concerned if i was going to get up.

my tail bone is bruised and sore but it's not broken. thanks Lord.

2008-02-29T07:46:00.000-08:00

the time is coming for spring to grace us with warm breezes and beautiful sunrises. if you know me very well you understand that i love winter. i love snow, snowboarding and all the other fun things you can do with snow. but every year as the winter starts to thaw out into spring i can't wait to go camping.

i love to connect with God in the midst of His creation. to be reminded of His beauty and love for us. basically every man loves the outdoors and we men should make it a point to connect with God in the most primitive of environments every now and then. guys need to start fires, catch a squirrel or two, carve something out of wood, skip rocks in a river, or if you're the daring type wrestle a bear.

guys...be that adventurous man that God intended you to be. there are a lot of life lessons to be learned in the wilderness and God is waiting for us to take a break and revive our souls with Him.

2008-02-22T08:18:00.001-08:00

i have taken a book off my bookshelf that i've read twice before and decided it was time to read it again. it's titled "the traveler's gift" by andy andrews. i find this book very entertaining and a good pick-me-up. the main character, david ponder, finds himself and his family in financial despair and the daughter's health is slowly depreciating. at his last ounce of strength he presses the pedal to the metal and just before crashing his beat up junker into a tree he is immediately warped to another period in time. he has just began a journey to talk to seven different people who have made an impact in history and each one of these characters have a message to give mr. ponder. this message was given to them by God.

while this book is strictly fiction i still resonates truth for most situations in life. this book makes me laugh and remember to think of the bigger picture that God has in store for me and the people around me. i would have loved for the author to throw in some scripture but remember this is a pick-me-up fictional story of a man's chance to regain his composure in life.

i recommend this book and give a warning, don't over spiritualize what is written. only the Bible and Christ can give us real insight to "right living". just let yourself be entertained by this book.

statistics...

2008-02-20T13:15:00.000-08:00

i admit i am blogging in the middle of my statisics class but i just wanted to say, "i am so bored and this i too easy!"

that is all.

strength

2008-02-19T08:05:00.001-08:00

as you all have figured out by now Angela and i have been taking karate for some time. more specifically, we are taking Tang Soo Do. this is a traditional style of korean open-hand fighting. our instructor Paul, or Master Cuthbert, is a good friend of ours and, with his fourth degree black belt, knows how to kick our butts during class. our workout last saturday was one of the most intense workouts i have had in a while. needless to say, thanks to that workout last saturday i am back in the swing of things and am making my way to the gym on a more regular basis.

i wanted to pay special attention to the fact that i have more energy now than before starting the daniel fast. eating healthy can do so much for your physical, mental and emotional self.

just the other day when i was craving a latte or just some good strong black coffee my lovely wife said, "i like you better when you don't have caffeine." you could imagine the look of confusion on my face but she was completely right. i even like myself better when i'm off caffeine. without it i don't have those lows in the afternoon, my stomach aches are not as often, and i don't have the oh-so-lovely coffee breath that would drive even a skunk away.

i still would like to have a cup of coffee here and there but i am no longer dependent on it to wake me up or energize me when feeling lazy. just like in my walk with Christ, i don't want any substitutes to alter my relationship with Him. we should be dependent on Christ and Christ alone. so thanks Daniel for your example through fasting.

daniel fast...daniel fast...daniel fast!

2008-02-12T11:04:00.000-08:00

this has been a very busy 2008 so far and lent came very fast. faster than anticipated. angela and i remembered partaking in the daniel fast last year and decided to do it again this year. i wasn't sure if i was ready but "ready or not, here we go".

its been about a week now and i am just starting to get that healthy energized feely. thursday through saturday of last week was the worst. i have developed an addiction to coffee over the years and if you know me at all i was usually never without it. i'm not going to lie i was grumpy, cranky, tired, lazy, useless,...... and the list goes on. but this made me realize that coffee was just a temporary fix to my start in the morning. i don't need coffee to help wake me up and i don't need sugar rushes to get me through the tiresome afternoons that endlessly drag on.

today i feel great. i have my energy back and i am starting to feel the positive effects of eating healthier than i was. just like this fast i want my spiritual life to reflect a healthy growing body. never eating what it shouldn't and never settling to eat unhealthy foods because it seems like the only option at the time. i want to hold out for what God has for me and give into those quick-fixes. my spiritual life should only feed on what is good and right in the Lord's eyes.

and with His strength, i know this is possible.

eureka!

2007-10-23T11:08:00.000-07:00

i’ve done it. or i should say, God spoke to me. with all the numbers on my brain, months of soul searching and patients and obedience to God the light finally turned on.

i’m going to become a math teacher.

not just any math teacher. not one of those “i’m going to make everyone love math” teachers. no. i am going to become a teacher of good students of life, math will be the byproduct.
it’s not really about loving math so much that drives me to teach it or to even be surrounded by it every day of my life, but the desire to see young and old students alike come to an understanding that widening their range of knowledge can be rewarding. i am going to use math as a catalyst for this underlying agenda. the deeper issue here is how can we become a good student of life and most importantly a good student of God? the desire to learn in general seems to be the best place to start. i hope to inspire students of all ages to learn no matter what the subject is and how difficult it may seem. weather talking about quantum physics or about the alphabet there is always something to be learned and until the passion is turned towards learning nothing will ever be learned.

taking matters into your own hands

2007-09-25T13:25:00.000-07:00

i've always wanted some gps equipment but it's always so expensive. i guess there is no real demanding reason for me to get it, but the desire for expensive toys. that wasn't the case for Chris Rowland owner of a woodworking tool shop that's been broken into five different times.

Rowland had placed GPS devices in some of the packaging... "The police obviously don't have resources to do this for me, so I decided I was going to catch the guy," Rowland said. Burton (the man who stole the tools), 46, also is wanted on burglary charges in Tennessee.

http://www.theindychannel.com/news/14195732/detail.html#

this is either a wake-up call to the indianapolis police or just a "way-to-go Rowland". my take on this, i want some gps toys.

wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2007-09-20T08:57:00.000-07:00

has it really been five months since my last blog...? that's a long time. well, i can't say that i'm back for good but i think that taking a summer break was good for me. blogging is like journaling and journaling isn't my favorite thing to do, but blogging online makes it more fun. anyways, i'm back now. i just need to get people back to my site to read it, lol.

hocking hills

2007-04-17T10:12:00.000-07:00

here is a link to hocking hills: (http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/Parks/parks/hocking.htm).
again i encourage those who don't get outside much to take a day trip or to even brave the great outdoors and go camping. if you don't like to camp they have plenty of cabins available to rent.

the great out doors

2007-04-17T07:17:00.000-07:00

crossroads community church is doing a very cool series right now. "iLife" is the name of it and its all about finding God in your ipod. a very cool and new way to think about God in the world today. pastor glenn (my father-in-law, or better yet 'dad') is doing an amazing job connecting with each and every person who comes to visit our church.

for those of you who read my blog and don't attend crossroads please try and join us this coming sunday or the next or the next!!! it doesn't matter when just join us.

this last sunday was "iRest". it was all about how God designed us to rest so that we may be revived and strengthened to start another week proclaiming His name. all through the message i kept thinking of the camping trip angela and i took last friday. though it was very cold and wet i seem to find peace in the great outdoors.

i encourage those who want to find rest and peace with God to go outside. put down the remote, put down the video game controller, put down whatever you are doing and go outside.

lazy?

2007-04-17T07:08:00.000-07:00

wow!!! has it really been almost a month since my last blog entry. i guess i'm not as gung-ho about blogging as i thought. or i'm just being lazy. no matter. journaling and blogging has never been that important to me but none-the-less i will continue with this blog site and simply have fun with it.

fearless

2007-03-30T10:22:00.000-07:00

i'm not sure how many of you would pick this up but i am a martial arts film fanatic. whether it’s a classic bruce lee film dubbed in english or a brand new jet li or jackie chan film… i love them.

my favorite martial arts actor: jet li

just recently I found that jet li is not going to do any more films!
what’s up with that jet?!

the beard

2007-03-16T08:01:00.000-07:00

the beard will soon be off! this has, in the past, been a very sad time for me. almost like i'm finding a new identity all over again. but non-the-less i can't stand having a beard when it's warm outside. it's purely a winter thing to keep my face warm.

so we lift our hats to beards all over the world and say, "thanks beards for keeping our faces warm."

critical condition

2007-03-09T12:51:00.000-08:00

(true story)
i overheard a story this morning at one of my two jobs and i immediately saw its hidden truth for believers and non-believers alike. i may have miss heard the reason of accident but none-the-less the truth is still the same.

joe had been experiencing a few severe neck pains all week. the only conclusion he was able to reach is that it must have been that nasty fall he took while attempting to fix some household plumbing. still not sure of why his neck was in such pain he decided to visit his family doctor. joe searched for the right words to describe what the pain was like and the only thing he could jokingly come up with is it felt like it was broken. the doctor gave a light chuckle and sat joe down at the x-ray table to take a closer look for maybe a severe sprain.

as joe sat quietly and calmly on the patients table a nurse ran into the his room instructing him to be as still as possible. she explained that the doctor would be in to give him more details but for now to remain motionless. only moments later the doctor came in and explained that joe’s neck was fractured very badly and to not risk further damage an ambulance would be here shortly to take him to the emergency room.

to give joe a better understanding of how bad the fracture was the doctor told him that anything so much as a sneeze could paralyze him. joe, after that remark, then understood the severity of his condition.

i find this story true in my own life, not with a broken neck, but with the mindset of, “if it’s not broke don’t fix it.” so often i examine myself to come to the conclusion “i’m alright, i don’t need any help.” but really, if i let the Ultimate Examiner, Christ, take a close look into my heart i realize i’m in critical condition like joe.

don’t find yourself in critical condition like joe. let Christ examine your heart as often as possible.

psalm 139

p.s.- my neck has been twitching all day.

willow creek conference

2007-03-02T06:44:00.000-08:00

i am such a people watcher by nature. so you could imagine what a conference this size is doing for me. the willow creek conference has been such an inspiraitonal time for myself. i can't believe this many people would come together, under one roof, and praise the Lord like they are and discuss how to make there youth group even better than it already is.

i wish the students of each of these youth groups could see their leaders at this conference. to see them in action. i wish they could see the desire and the passion of their leaders to go back and provide for them like never before. but serving the Lord is never about that right. so many times i myself want to get it across to the students how much effort i'm putting into them or that angela is putting into them. but i dont and i will need God's strength to never do that. i love what i do for each and every student and i often feel that i'm not doing enough.

so my prayer is this: Lord make me selfless. may i find my encouragement and validation in the way you see fit. and what ever i do for You and for the youth help me to give my best and nothing less.

so i'm here...

2007-03-01T16:15:00.000-08:00

so i'm here in blogspot.com with my very own page. i sucumbed to the pressure of joining the blogger's community. i'm not sure why but who knows, i may learn to like the feed back. the title of my blog is clear-az-day. the reason or this... nothing seems to be clear anymore. we spend our life time trying to learn more, grow more, and serve more just to find out some things are not 'clear-az-day'. most of this blog will add to the "unclearness" of this world, i appologize, but i intend to have fun with this.special thanks goes out to my wife and my father in-law for influencing me to blog.