New Bed

I picked up a new bed yesterday on the side of the road. I think it is a kid's bed. It is in pretty good shape and looks pretty nice. It took a little bit of work getting it into the van and it barely fit.

I have been listening to a book on CD recently. A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. It's quite interesting. I think I am glad I am listening to it rather than reading it, not only because it would be hard to drive and read at the same time, but because it is read by the author who has a sweet British accent.

Next week is Thanksgiving! I have a lot to be thankful for, of course. I am thankful for my wife. Right now she is sitting with a blanket that has a big picture of a cat on each side. It is actually kind of strange, especially when folded so that the cat face is all that you see.

This blog post was inspired by my wife telling me about the Waterbrook Multnomah blogging for books program being back in action. For some reason, she got an email about it and I did not.

Kelsey did it...

Well, I was inspired by Kelsey's most recent post to write something in my own blog.
But then I realized I don't really have anything that I feel like writing about

Truth

I am currently reading a book called The Veritas Conflict by Shaunti Feldhahn. I think she is my favorite fiction writer. She also writes non-fiction, some of which is somewhat boring, but in her fiction she is able to include things from her non-fiction and make it interesting and applicable in a pretty cool way.

For example, I read a book non-fiction book by her about women in the workplace, and she does a lot of gender-based research and writing. I also read Lights on Tenth Street, another one of her fiction books, and it showed some of the gender-based stuff, how men differ from women and applied those to marital relationships, and other real life situations (well, they were made up but were still very real) in the book.

Both books also have great imagery of the spiritual warfare and the angels and demons around us all the time along with the power of prayer to empower the angels and allow them to fight off the demons giving God control in our lives.

Anyway, this isn't a review or anything. I am just writing because I really like this book and the other fiction one of I have read by the author. Sometimes I try to stay away from fiction because I tend to get sucked in and it tends to be meaningless or not have much affect on my life. I enjoy these books because they are fiction and they suck me in, but they also give me great reminders and new perspectives on prayer and other issues.

So, life is going well. going to Cedar Point this weekend. Lots of people from Cass City and Kingston going.
Baby is healthy. we couldn't find out the sex today but will eventually. Kassie's doing pretty well. We're both still adjusting to our new life in Kingston. God is good. life is good with God.

New Start

Hi everybody,
Kassie and I are now in Kingston! It's a small town in the thumb about 45 min-1 hr East of Saginaw.

I got an interesting job. it is a double job, kind of. A partnership. I am working "part time" for Youth For Christ and "part time" as a youth pastor at Kingston Wesleyan Church.

We are both really excited about it.

The church seems great and so does YFC. Actually, I am working with Jason Gaffke who is like an older brother to me.

The church provided a house for us. It is their Youth Pastor Parsonage. It is a nice little three bedroom house. Especially nice coming from apartments. You should come visit us soon.

We just moved in today. Well, we brought most of our stuff over yesterday with the help of my mother and Jeff Kettle and with the use of Bickle's trailer. We brought more stuff today, and this will be our first night here.

I found internet in one little spot in the house. It is not a great connection but at least it's something. It's right in the doorway to our spare room. I looked for it in most of the house and only found it here.

Well, if you want more details or anything, just ask.

God is good. Praise God!

Vanishing Act Review

An author I know once wrote a book called Vanishing Act; I once read it and now will review it.
Nora James is separated from her father and her true identity due to one horrible night. Now she must face the same bad guys again.
This time, though, she has help, and not just any help. Investigating the case is the handsome and capable FBI agent Nate Andersen. Can Nate figure out who he is trying to help before the enemy gets to her? Can they keep their emotions from putting them both in danger? You'll have to buy it for yourself to find out. You will also have to read it once you buy it. But first you might wonder, "What did Josh Hill think about this book?" How convenient that you can find out right here and now.

This book is great for those who enjoy this suspenseful romance. I tend to prefer more suspense with less romance, but for those who enjoy the romance more than the mystery this is the book for you. I like the books that are suspenseful because you don't know what's going on until it all comes together. This one is more suspenseful because you are wondering when the people will finally wise up to what's going on around them.
Like I said, though, for those of you who are reading for the romance, this will probably give you what you're looking for with a good story to go along with it.

By the way, the author's name is Liz Johnson, and she's a great person.

It's Good to Be Selfish

I was in a melancholy mood today after getting in an argument with Kassie and started thinking about God and selfishness and life and stuff.

I will not even pretend to begin to understand my thought processes or expect you to understand them, but I will try to explain what I can.

I was thinking about how the humans and everything else that God created was made to worship him, to give God glory. That's selfish, but I'm sure God has the right to be selfish since he is completely. I don't really understand all that stuff about God's glory and how it is a priviledge to give him glory and everything.

So, I was thinking I would rather not exist. I realized I am stuck. Either I follow God and have eternal happiness or don't follow God and have eternal bad. Since I didn't feel like following God and because I was thinking about what true free will means, I was thinking God should have given us an option just to stop existing. It would be like eternal suicide, not that we would be constantly dying but that we would be completely gone when we died.

I also thought about how Hinduism is kind of right about the cycle of rebirth (reincarnation). However, it isn't complete reincarnation, instead, I believe in physical reincarnation. Since matter can be neither created nor desroyed, the body breaks down into substances that fertilize the ground and maybe become part of a plant, and maybe that plant gets eaten and parts of it become part of the animal that eats it. So, maybe we are all kind of cannibals. I don't know the exact science of it, but it seems like humans must become something else or at least a bunch of little parts of other things.

As far as selfishness, going back to the idea that we either follow God and things end up good or we don't and things end up bad, I was thinking that we are supposed to be selfish. Except it is more of an ultimate selfishness rather than a temporal selfishness. A temporal selfishness says, "I want everything to myself," or "I want to do whatever feels good for me at the time." An ultimate selfishness, though, is more like, "I want to do whatever will make me the happiest in the end, which is to do whatever God wants me to do." Therefore, the discussion about whether one can do something completely altruistically maybe can take a different form. We may be serving somebody for the selfish reason that it makes us feel good, but it makes us feel good because it is what God wants us to do.

Like I said, I don't necessarily completely understand any of it, nor do I expect you to. I also realize these are probably thoughts that have been had by others. Let me know what you think.

Back in Painesville

I realized I haven't posted for quite a while. I was just reminded of my blog recently when talking to somebody about blogging for books.
Many people have joined our facebook group Josh and Kassie's adventures in Painesville or something like that and receive updates on our life that way.
There's a lot going on in our lives lately, but I want to focus this post on what God has been doing in my life. I have been to several different churches in the past few weeks since leaving Crossway and it has been refreshing. I have also been reading some books that have been making me think and giving me new perspective.
When I read fiction books, even Christian ones, I don't necessarily expect them to make me think or change my views or anything but that is just what has been happening with the Christian fiction book I am currently reading. No this isn't a review of a book for a book blog. It is just a book I am reading that has given me some good reminders.
I think the book is called Lights on Tenth Street by Shaunti Feldhahn. I am not sure if I spelled that name correctly. She is also the author of a book I did read for Blogging for Books. It was a non-fiction book about women in the work place. Shaunti has done a large amount of research about gender differences and it definitely shows in her fiction writing as well as her non-fiction writing.
Aside from interesting insight into the way men and women think and react differently, though, one of the characters in the book is kind of a mentor to another lady and she suggests an hour with God each day. It seems simple enough. It is something I have done in the past, but I must admit spending time with God has not been a priority in my life lately.
Instead, it has become something I do quickly to get onto the next thing if I do it at all.
So, today I decided to make sure I spent an hour with God, and it was really good. It didn't completely change my life or make me a better person, but it was good, and I am sure if I continue to do it on a regular basis, it will affect my life in large ways.
Prayer is emphasized in the book and I could also tell it was very important to the church Kassie and I went to yesterday. Spiritual warfare was brought up in both the church and I have been reminded again of the power of prayer.
I really need to get better at remembering that and believing it, living my life based upon the truth that God listens and that prayer is powerful.