Sarah and I were told to watch this sermon on the Sanctuary, and it blew our minds. We never realized how practical and meaningful the sanctuary that God gave the people of Israel was. The foundation of everything we, as Adventists, believe is all hidden within.
Friday, December 7, 2012
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Chicago
I've put it off for long enough, but now I have 45 minutes, so I thought I'd tell you all about my trip to Chicago, and the events that unfolded that I alluded to in a different, earlier post.
It all started in early August. I had been working as a CFI for almost 2 months, and I was starting to get an itch for something adventurous and out of the ordinary. I prayed about it, asking if God would send me something that would maybe help me feel a little more job satisfaction. I had no idea what kind of story He would unravel for me.
A Masters student from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) named Dan came in to my work looking to get checked out in our 172 RG (retractable gear) so that he could fly some while he was working in Dayton over the summer. So he and I were scheduled, and rather than just doing local work like most checkouts, he asked if we could go down to Cincinnati and do some landings at the hub airport there, which I was more than willing to do. I suggested further that we head a little further south so that we could get the 50 mile requirement for cross-country flights, which he heartily agreed to.
As we flew, I saw that he knew his stuff very well, so I really just had to sit back and enjoy the ride. We chatted quite a bit about what he was doing, why he was flying, etc. and he mentioned that, since he was just trying to build time and experience, he was interested in taking the plane on a longer cross-country, and said he wanted to fly in to Chicago's O'Hare airport, if possible. Because he didn't have a lot of retractable-gear time, he would still need to be flying with an instructor for the flight, so he asked me if I would be willing to go with him. "Why not?" I heartily agreed.
After clearing up schedules and finding a nice day, we finally decided that we would fly in to Chicago on August 21. It worked out nicely for my schedule because my wife was back at Andrews going through orientation for her dietetics internship, so I was going to be home alone for a couple days anyways. Dan had done all the work we needed. He found us a site that would allow us to apply for an arrival slot in to O'Hare (it's one of three airports in the US where you have to have a slot to land, or else you're not allowed in). He found all the preferred ATC routes between Dayton and Chicago. He had all the frequencies, diagrams, etc. all lined up. We were ready to go.
It was a beautiful day. Light winds, unlimited visibility. The sun was shining as if God wanted to encourage us on our venture. En route to Chicago, we got a new routing from ATC that would help them fit us into their approach flow better. Better yet, the route had us fly over the Gipper VOR, a navigation aid that is in between South Bend and Andrews. "I got to fly over my old stomping grounds!" I thought. Then I realized, "Wait, if we're flying from Dayton to Chicago, and we fly all the way up to Michigan, something's not entirely right." We checked it out, and my instinct was right on; they were going to fly us over Lake Michigan. Since we don't have survival equipment for water, we had to ask them again for a new routing. They ended up giving us a direct shot to Chicago from there. As we flew along, we noticed a strange smell, like something lightly burning. But we didn't pay any attention to it, it was pretty normal for the plane.
Then we got our first excitement for the day. ATC asked us to turn 90 degrees left to make room for other traffic. When we turned, we looked for the other traffic, and a Southwest 737 was barreling past us. We then turned back on course. Over Gary, there was the first cloud we had seen all day. It puffed up big like it was trying to block our way, but it was not going to stop us. I had filed IFR, so we were allowed to fly through clouds.
As we flew over Gary, I looked down at the airport and thought to myself, "If we had an engine failure right here, we would be able to circle down and land at Gary's airport without any problems at all." Cruising at 8,000 feet, Chicago told us to expect to land on runway 28, which runs 13,001 feet (2.5 miles) along the south side of the main terminal. (http://155.178.201.160/d-tpp/1212/00166AD.PDF)We joked that we'd be able to land 3 times on the runway before we ran out of room. As we were flying right through the cloud, we were told by ATC to descent to 7,000 for approach to the airport. We were going in!
When Dan replied back to ATC that we were headed down, his radio started having problems, and he couldn't report the step down, so he looked over at me quizzically. I tried it on my radio too, and had the same problem. Right then, our GPS unit turned off, and turned back on. Something was wrong. We were clearly having an electrical problem. We quickly turned off all our electrical equipment to conserve the battery, put in a code to tell ATC we were having a communications failure, and attempted to recycle the electrical master switch, to no avail. We were in the airspace of the second busiest airport in the world without any electrical power!
Although legally we could have continued on and landed at O'Hare, we decided not to be "those guys", so we turned off south of Chicago and headed towards a small general aviation airport in Lansing, IL (incidentally turning into the approach path for jets coming in to Midway, though no issues came from that). Because our electrical supply had failed, we had to manually pump our landing gear down into position as we approached the airport, and make a no-flaps approach (for the non-aviation savvy, this isn't a HUGE deal, it just means a faster approach and longer required landing distance). Once we were on the ground, I got on the phone immediately to try to get a hold of someone in Chicago to tell them what had happened and that we were going to be down for a while. While I was on hold, one of the airport's employees came out to us and said they got a call saying they knew we were down safely and they considered our flight plan closed, so that was worked out.
On the ground and safe, we figured we could talk to one of the maintenance guys at the airport, to see if they could fix it. He opened up the cowling, looked in, and said, "Oh, here's what may be your problem. The alternator ground wire is out of its crimp." I nodded, pretending that I understood what he meant. He put it back in, then fired it back up for a couple minutes, then shut it down again. "Well, that wasn't the root of your problem." he told us. We needed a new alternator.
I called my boss back in Ohio, and we talked about a couple of options. We could either fly back to Dayton without any electrical power, we could call Andrews University and see if their flight shop had an alternator on hand and fly there without electrical, or have them overnight an alternator to the maintenance guy and have him put it in. I called Andrews, and they said they didn't have any on hand, so we decided to ask them to overnight the alternator. That meant we were going to be stuck there for the night...
Since we were there, and we had pretty much the whole day on our hands, we figured we could try to rent a plane at the flight school there at the airport in Lansing, and fly to O'Hare that same day. An instructor would be in that evening to check us out. We waited around the airport for him to come. When he finally got there, Dan flew with him for about half an hour, came back and parked, then all the staff headed out to go home. Dan mentioned the plane was kind of sketchy, but it should work okay for the 32 mile trip to O'Hare. We got some paperwork taken care of, applied for a new slot into O'Hare, then jumped in the plane ready to go. We turned the key...and it didn't start. Turns out the starter had gone bad sometime between when Dan flew with the other instructor and now. So we did indeed have to wait till the next day.
It was another beautiful day. No clouds in the sky at all. As we got airborne, we called up Chicago Approach. "Approach, Cessna 9873B 30 miles south, inbound for landing." "Landing at O'Hare!?" they asked incredulously. "Affirmative." "Alright, 73B, follow the lake shore outside of Class B airspace for now, and we'll try to get you in." YES!!! God has blessed. Flying along the lake shore, we see all these big jets coming out from the airport, including a 777-300ER from Japan Airways. I was way excited. We also got to fly along downtown, and see all the fancy sights on the lake.
It all started in early August. I had been working as a CFI for almost 2 months, and I was starting to get an itch for something adventurous and out of the ordinary. I prayed about it, asking if God would send me something that would maybe help me feel a little more job satisfaction. I had no idea what kind of story He would unravel for me.
A Masters student from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) named Dan came in to my work looking to get checked out in our 172 RG (retractable gear) so that he could fly some while he was working in Dayton over the summer. So he and I were scheduled, and rather than just doing local work like most checkouts, he asked if we could go down to Cincinnati and do some landings at the hub airport there, which I was more than willing to do. I suggested further that we head a little further south so that we could get the 50 mile requirement for cross-country flights, which he heartily agreed to.
As we flew, I saw that he knew his stuff very well, so I really just had to sit back and enjoy the ride. We chatted quite a bit about what he was doing, why he was flying, etc. and he mentioned that, since he was just trying to build time and experience, he was interested in taking the plane on a longer cross-country, and said he wanted to fly in to Chicago's O'Hare airport, if possible. Because he didn't have a lot of retractable-gear time, he would still need to be flying with an instructor for the flight, so he asked me if I would be willing to go with him. "Why not?" I heartily agreed.
After clearing up schedules and finding a nice day, we finally decided that we would fly in to Chicago on August 21. It worked out nicely for my schedule because my wife was back at Andrews going through orientation for her dietetics internship, so I was going to be home alone for a couple days anyways. Dan had done all the work we needed. He found us a site that would allow us to apply for an arrival slot in to O'Hare (it's one of three airports in the US where you have to have a slot to land, or else you're not allowed in). He found all the preferred ATC routes between Dayton and Chicago. He had all the frequencies, diagrams, etc. all lined up. We were ready to go.
It was a beautiful day. Light winds, unlimited visibility. The sun was shining as if God wanted to encourage us on our venture. En route to Chicago, we got a new routing from ATC that would help them fit us into their approach flow better. Better yet, the route had us fly over the Gipper VOR, a navigation aid that is in between South Bend and Andrews. "I got to fly over my old stomping grounds!" I thought. Then I realized, "Wait, if we're flying from Dayton to Chicago, and we fly all the way up to Michigan, something's not entirely right." We checked it out, and my instinct was right on; they were going to fly us over Lake Michigan. Since we don't have survival equipment for water, we had to ask them again for a new routing. They ended up giving us a direct shot to Chicago from there. As we flew along, we noticed a strange smell, like something lightly burning. But we didn't pay any attention to it, it was pretty normal for the plane.
Then we got our first excitement for the day. ATC asked us to turn 90 degrees left to make room for other traffic. When we turned, we looked for the other traffic, and a Southwest 737 was barreling past us. We then turned back on course. Over Gary, there was the first cloud we had seen all day. It puffed up big like it was trying to block our way, but it was not going to stop us. I had filed IFR, so we were allowed to fly through clouds.
Yay for clouds!
As we flew over Gary, I looked down at the airport and thought to myself, "If we had an engine failure right here, we would be able to circle down and land at Gary's airport without any problems at all." Cruising at 8,000 feet, Chicago told us to expect to land on runway 28, which runs 13,001 feet (2.5 miles) along the south side of the main terminal. (http://155.178.201.160/d-tpp/1212/00166AD.PDF)We joked that we'd be able to land 3 times on the runway before we ran out of room. As we were flying right through the cloud, we were told by ATC to descent to 7,000 for approach to the airport. We were going in!
When Dan replied back to ATC that we were headed down, his radio started having problems, and he couldn't report the step down, so he looked over at me quizzically. I tried it on my radio too, and had the same problem. Right then, our GPS unit turned off, and turned back on. Something was wrong. We were clearly having an electrical problem. We quickly turned off all our electrical equipment to conserve the battery, put in a code to tell ATC we were having a communications failure, and attempted to recycle the electrical master switch, to no avail. We were in the airspace of the second busiest airport in the world without any electrical power!
Although legally we could have continued on and landed at O'Hare, we decided not to be "those guys", so we turned off south of Chicago and headed towards a small general aviation airport in Lansing, IL (incidentally turning into the approach path for jets coming in to Midway, though no issues came from that). Because our electrical supply had failed, we had to manually pump our landing gear down into position as we approached the airport, and make a no-flaps approach (for the non-aviation savvy, this isn't a HUGE deal, it just means a faster approach and longer required landing distance). Once we were on the ground, I got on the phone immediately to try to get a hold of someone in Chicago to tell them what had happened and that we were going to be down for a while. While I was on hold, one of the airport's employees came out to us and said they got a call saying they knew we were down safely and they considered our flight plan closed, so that was worked out.
On the ground and safe, we figured we could talk to one of the maintenance guys at the airport, to see if they could fix it. He opened up the cowling, looked in, and said, "Oh, here's what may be your problem. The alternator ground wire is out of its crimp." I nodded, pretending that I understood what he meant. He put it back in, then fired it back up for a couple minutes, then shut it down again. "Well, that wasn't the root of your problem." he told us. We needed a new alternator.
The plane in the shop.
Since we were there, and we had pretty much the whole day on our hands, we figured we could try to rent a plane at the flight school there at the airport in Lansing, and fly to O'Hare that same day. An instructor would be in that evening to check us out. We waited around the airport for him to come. When he finally got there, Dan flew with him for about half an hour, came back and parked, then all the staff headed out to go home. Dan mentioned the plane was kind of sketchy, but it should work okay for the 32 mile trip to O'Hare. We got some paperwork taken care of, applied for a new slot into O'Hare, then jumped in the plane ready to go. We turned the key...and it didn't start. Turns out the starter had gone bad sometime between when Dan flew with the other instructor and now. So we did indeed have to wait till the next day.
Our "replacement plane" that didn't work.
Thankfully, Dan's mom was willing to put us up in a hotel, otherwise we would have been sleeping at the airport. The next morning, I got a call from our maintenance friend, "Hey David, I just got a shipment from UPS, but there was no alternator. Give me a call so we can figure out what to do." I freaked. Another day in Chicago, doing nothing. Another day of cancelling my other students. I prayed, though, and that gave me peace. Shortly afterward, I got another call saying the alternator came in on a different shipment, and they were starting work on putting it in. By the time we got to the airport, it was in and ready to go.
It was another beautiful day. No clouds in the sky at all. As we got airborne, we called up Chicago Approach. "Approach, Cessna 9873B 30 miles south, inbound for landing." "Landing at O'Hare!?" they asked incredulously. "Affirmative." "Alright, 73B, follow the lake shore outside of Class B airspace for now, and we'll try to get you in." YES!!! God has blessed. Flying along the lake shore, we see all these big jets coming out from the airport, including a 777-300ER from Japan Airways. I was way excited. We also got to fly along downtown, and see all the fancy sights on the lake.
 |
| O'Hare in the background |
We finally got cleared to enter the airspace and come in for a landing. Once again, we got vectored to the side to get out of a jet's way, then we landed on runway 22R, on the northeast corner of the airport. They asked us if we could possibly get off the runway by taxiway U, but we were able to get off way sooner at KK, then took V to the General Aviation Ramp. We parked next to a big line of corporate jets. The line guy came out, and when we asked how often he saw planes like ours, he said it was a lot more often than you'd expect. That bummed us out a little, we wished we were one of the few to brave the airspace in a 172.
http://155.178.201.160/d-tpp/1212/00166AD.PDF (Diagram of O'Hare. Our directions are in reference to the diagram.)
 |
| At least 4 other jets, and us. |
After we sat on the ground for a little while, it was time to get back out. Thanks to some advice from my former flight instructor Matt Kent (who used to work for American Eagle), we made it out to the taxiway without a problem. They took us out to WT, holding short of runway 14L, and we had to wait a while as the other planes in line got to take off first. There were several American Eagle and United Express planes that took off, and a United 757, and the big one, a 747 with Kalitta Air, rotating not 50 feet from us! As we waited, we were asked at least 3 times if the 3,500 feet of runway remaining would be enough for us to take off. We assured them it'd be okay (we can take off with about 1,000 feet total).
 |
| American Eagle RJ taking off |
 |
| Kalitta climbing out |
 |
| United 757 |
Finally, it was our turn. We took off on the remaining runway, and promptly turned South to get out of the way of another plane taking off behind us. That took us over the international arrivals terminal, so we saw all sorts of Heavies on the stand. On climbout, we then were told to turn back North to get clear so a United 747 could take off on runway 10. It was pretty exciting.
 |
| Top to bottom: Air France A330 (to Paris), Air India 777-300ER (to Delhi), Cathay Pacific 777-300ER (to Hong Kong), Lufthansa 747-400 (to Frankfurt), Virgin Atlantic A340-600 (to London), SAS A330 (to Copenhagen) |
On the way back, we flew past downtown again, then I got the idea, "Hey, we're here anyways, why don't we stop by Midway and do a touch and go?" I ran it by Dan, and he liked the idea, so we asked for permission to come in and land. He let me do the landing, which was pretty cool of him, since he was paying for the time. Then we cleared the airspace, flew to Andrews to say a quick hi, and we ended up picking up my amazing wife Sarah, who had just finished her internship orientation and was going to leave to drive back to Dayton with a friend. So her friend drove back down, Sarah jumped in the back, and we flew back to Dayton.
In all, it was a really fun trip, and even though I had to cancel several students because I was gone a lot longer than I had initially planned, it was still an answer to prayer from God. He heard my yearnings for adventure, and graciously gave me a trip that would satisfy that desire, just because it would make me happy (and it did). After spending almost 3 hours working on this post, I still have a lot more that I would have liked to add, little details here and there, but in the interest of time I'm going to leave them unsaid. If you want to see the video of me landing at Midway, let me know, and I'll see what I can work out. It's too complicated for me to understand how to put it up on here.
More to come about what God's been doing in my life (with a little more current stories) are hopefully soon to come. God has really been playing a big role in my life, and I'm giving up all sorts of worthless stuff so that I can focus on Him more and more.
I pray that God bless you too.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Halloween
Halloween always creeps me out.
It should. It is a night of witches and devil worship. Everything is either death, blood, and decay, or in the older age bracket, eating, drinking, and fornication. There is no God in that. The only blood I embrace is the sacrificial blood of the Lamb Jesus Christ, slain for the salvation of mankind. The only death I rejoice in is His death on the cross; yet He rose again on the third day. The only decay I love is the decay of my former self as I grow more and more attached to Him.
When I eat His body and drink His blood, it is not "real", it's spiritual, symbolic, remembering Christ's broken body and his blood poured out to forgive the sins of many. When I think of sex, I think of the beautiful gift that God has given me and my wife to enjoy, not something that the scantily-clad people are doing all over the country right now.
Ghosts and goblins are real. Devils and demons are too. But so are angels of light. God is a God of light, of compassion, of mercy. Therefore everything dark, indifferent, tricky, is not of God. Why do we have a night of embracing tricking others, demons, pretending to be someone that we aren't, and asking others for sweets? Don't we see that it's a night that's destroying the moral fiber of our nation?
And isn't it weird how a night that's so full of demons, death, decay, and devils is celebrated by giving sugar to children, so much sugar that they'll go for weeks or months, if they even have any sort of moderation. And society expects it. Society demands it. You're not allowed to give away healthy stuff, because if it's unwrapped, it could easily be poisoned (just like Snow White ['cause that's the only problem with that movie...]...).
When does God ever tell us to act frivolously? When does sugar, especially in such mass amounts, become okay for the God who said, "When you sit down to eat with a ruler, consider carefully what is before you; and put a knife to your throat if you are a man given to appetite. Do not desire his delicacies, for they are deceptive food." With all the mayhem in the world, I know who fancies himself the ruler of it. He has tried to take that title from God from the very beginning of his revolution. And if these are the delicacies that this "ruler" is giving the world to eat on a night that is clearly in worship of him, shouldn't we as Christians, who claim a Higher King, above all others, avoid these sweets?
Where is our self control? Where is our resolve to follow Christ, who did not indulge in appetite to satisfy His hunger ever on record. Nowhere does God's Word say, "And Jesus didst eat too much, and his belly acheth." Satan didn't waste his time tempting Jesus with to make sweets or anything "tasty." Why? Because he knew Jesus wouldn't go for that! He had to tempt Jesus with the basic biological needs of humanity. Anything more than that would have been even easier for our self-denying Savior to resist. Why do we think that eating is a right and a privilege? When will we see that our bodies are temples of the Most High God?
I am chief of offenders. I snack incessantly, eating what I want when I want it. I already had like 7 pieces of candy today, and kids haven't even started beating on my door. What if they don't come, and we're stuck with all this sugary mess? I want to throw it away. I don't want it in my house, because I know I'll eat it. And I know I'll like it. But I am learning to set aside the pleasures of this world, in order to embrace the pleasures of the world that is to come. I'm learning very slowly.
Have you noticed that when you eat a lot of garbage, it tastes really good to you? Then, after a while, even that garbage gets old and we look for something even more enticing, even more "fulfilling". Healthy food is a burden to eat, it tastes gross and gives us headaches. But if we deny ourselves and begin to eat healthy, we become accustomed to it and start to enjoy it more. Then as soon as we have a moment of weakness, of demonic trickery, we have a taste of our old favorite and go all crazy on our food choices again.
The Kingdom of God is only going to be pleasurable to those who find joy in the principles of His government: Self-control, self-sacrifice, love, mercy, justice. Have you seen those shirts that say, "If there's no chocolate in heaven, I'm not going"? People who truly believe that won't want to enter God's kingdom, because they have put a higher priority on chocolate than God. They wouldn't be happy in Heaven, there are health standards there.
Temples of the Holy God. I'm learning to become one. What about you? I challenge you to step up and do whatever God is convicting you to do. You and I both know He's speaking to our hearts. And just as I will throw away all this candy (without eating another bite of it) tonight, I challenge you to step up and rid yourselves of anything that is standing in the way between you and God. Do it for yourselves. Do it for Him.
It should. It is a night of witches and devil worship. Everything is either death, blood, and decay, or in the older age bracket, eating, drinking, and fornication. There is no God in that. The only blood I embrace is the sacrificial blood of the Lamb Jesus Christ, slain for the salvation of mankind. The only death I rejoice in is His death on the cross; yet He rose again on the third day. The only decay I love is the decay of my former self as I grow more and more attached to Him.
When I eat His body and drink His blood, it is not "real", it's spiritual, symbolic, remembering Christ's broken body and his blood poured out to forgive the sins of many. When I think of sex, I think of the beautiful gift that God has given me and my wife to enjoy, not something that the scantily-clad people are doing all over the country right now.
Ghosts and goblins are real. Devils and demons are too. But so are angels of light. God is a God of light, of compassion, of mercy. Therefore everything dark, indifferent, tricky, is not of God. Why do we have a night of embracing tricking others, demons, pretending to be someone that we aren't, and asking others for sweets? Don't we see that it's a night that's destroying the moral fiber of our nation?
And isn't it weird how a night that's so full of demons, death, decay, and devils is celebrated by giving sugar to children, so much sugar that they'll go for weeks or months, if they even have any sort of moderation. And society expects it. Society demands it. You're not allowed to give away healthy stuff, because if it's unwrapped, it could easily be poisoned (just like Snow White ['cause that's the only problem with that movie...]...).
When does God ever tell us to act frivolously? When does sugar, especially in such mass amounts, become okay for the God who said, "When you sit down to eat with a ruler, consider carefully what is before you; and put a knife to your throat if you are a man given to appetite. Do not desire his delicacies, for they are deceptive food." With all the mayhem in the world, I know who fancies himself the ruler of it. He has tried to take that title from God from the very beginning of his revolution. And if these are the delicacies that this "ruler" is giving the world to eat on a night that is clearly in worship of him, shouldn't we as Christians, who claim a Higher King, above all others, avoid these sweets?
Where is our self control? Where is our resolve to follow Christ, who did not indulge in appetite to satisfy His hunger ever on record. Nowhere does God's Word say, "And Jesus didst eat too much, and his belly acheth." Satan didn't waste his time tempting Jesus with to make sweets or anything "tasty." Why? Because he knew Jesus wouldn't go for that! He had to tempt Jesus with the basic biological needs of humanity. Anything more than that would have been even easier for our self-denying Savior to resist. Why do we think that eating is a right and a privilege? When will we see that our bodies are temples of the Most High God?
I am chief of offenders. I snack incessantly, eating what I want when I want it. I already had like 7 pieces of candy today, and kids haven't even started beating on my door. What if they don't come, and we're stuck with all this sugary mess? I want to throw it away. I don't want it in my house, because I know I'll eat it. And I know I'll like it. But I am learning to set aside the pleasures of this world, in order to embrace the pleasures of the world that is to come. I'm learning very slowly.
Have you noticed that when you eat a lot of garbage, it tastes really good to you? Then, after a while, even that garbage gets old and we look for something even more enticing, even more "fulfilling". Healthy food is a burden to eat, it tastes gross and gives us headaches. But if we deny ourselves and begin to eat healthy, we become accustomed to it and start to enjoy it more. Then as soon as we have a moment of weakness, of demonic trickery, we have a taste of our old favorite and go all crazy on our food choices again.
The Kingdom of God is only going to be pleasurable to those who find joy in the principles of His government: Self-control, self-sacrifice, love, mercy, justice. Have you seen those shirts that say, "If there's no chocolate in heaven, I'm not going"? People who truly believe that won't want to enter God's kingdom, because they have put a higher priority on chocolate than God. They wouldn't be happy in Heaven, there are health standards there.
Temples of the Holy God. I'm learning to become one. What about you? I challenge you to step up and do whatever God is convicting you to do. You and I both know He's speaking to our hearts. And just as I will throw away all this candy (without eating another bite of it) tonight, I challenge you to step up and rid yourselves of anything that is standing in the way between you and God. Do it for yourselves. Do it for Him.
Monday, October 22, 2012
Inspiration
I'm looking for inspiration...
It's a beautiful day outside, perfect flying weather! But none of my students are available to fly because they're all working, in school, etc. I'm looking for inspiration of what to do. My soul is crying out for something worthwhile, something meaningful. I have long had a dream of starting my own airline, but I don't want it to be capitalistic, to earn money. I want to help people that I come in contact with.
This morning during devotions I had the idea to start working on creating a volunteer flying organization that flew those in need, time-sensitive supplies (transplant parts and so forth), and other necessities for people who can't afford doing it through normal means. I was excited about it, but then when I looked it up I saw that there are already tons of organizations out there in the US that do almost exactly that. So I looked for an organization to join, but there aren't any within 2.5 hours drive of Dayton. I suppose I could start doing something around here, but I don't know what/how.
The biggest issue/area I have is a need. There needs to be a need out there for someone flying around. I literally couldn't do anything to help people if there wasn't somehow to help them. But I don't know how to find that need. Do I set up advertisements saying I'm willing to fly people to a hospital if they need it? We're in an area with three cities within an hour drive (Dayton, Cincinnati, Columbus). Do I say I'll bring supplies to smaller towns? A shipping company could do it just as quick, and cheaper, than I could afford to do it. The only "market" I can think of is volunteering to fly people who can't afford commercial flights to see loved ones that are on the verge of death, major operations, etc.
The second issue for me is the airplane. I can fly almost anything that's not a jet, but that doesn't do any good when I don't have a plane to fly. I could rent some from where I work, I suppose, though that'd cost more in the short-term.
I'm not worried about what it will cost me, because I don't have any money. If I'm working for God, then He'll be the one responsible for paying the bills. But I don't know if I am called to do this type of work yet. I will for sure be doing this in Africa next year, where there is a real need for this type of stuff. Granted, the need exists in the States too, but not like over there. I want to help people live happier and better lives, and this year is not accomplishing that desire with its stagnant days of no work, and marginal contact with students outside of flight lessons.
I have been looking for a hobby, but flying is my gift; doing things is my gift. If I'm needed to help people move, I'll be there. If someone needs help passing a class, I'll jump at the chance. But I don't know how I can put myself out there in a way that says I'm dying for the chance to help, just ASK! Get my attention somehow. I don't need payment, I just need satisfaction of doing a good work. God will always provide a means by which I can earn money to support my family, I am not worried about money.
Sarah and I already gave everything we have to God anyways, so we don't have anything to worry about. Sure, we may not have any money or stuff anymore, but that means we don't have anything either! No more student loans. No more car problems. Now they're His loans and His problems, and we just are responsible for taking those resources He has put in our charge and putting them to use the way that He would put them to use. Faithfulness isn't an action, it's a lifestyle.
I just thought of a task I need to accomplish. I still haven't cleaned up my car since the wedding, when our friends put all manner of confetti and other miscellaneous tiny items all over the car. So I'm going to do that. If you read this and have any other ideas, regardless how small, that you may see a need for, PLEASE leave a comment or contact me and tell me.
I love you all, whoever you may be.
It's a beautiful day outside, perfect flying weather! But none of my students are available to fly because they're all working, in school, etc. I'm looking for inspiration of what to do. My soul is crying out for something worthwhile, something meaningful. I have long had a dream of starting my own airline, but I don't want it to be capitalistic, to earn money. I want to help people that I come in contact with.
This morning during devotions I had the idea to start working on creating a volunteer flying organization that flew those in need, time-sensitive supplies (transplant parts and so forth), and other necessities for people who can't afford doing it through normal means. I was excited about it, but then when I looked it up I saw that there are already tons of organizations out there in the US that do almost exactly that. So I looked for an organization to join, but there aren't any within 2.5 hours drive of Dayton. I suppose I could start doing something around here, but I don't know what/how.
The biggest issue/area I have is a need. There needs to be a need out there for someone flying around. I literally couldn't do anything to help people if there wasn't somehow to help them. But I don't know how to find that need. Do I set up advertisements saying I'm willing to fly people to a hospital if they need it? We're in an area with three cities within an hour drive (Dayton, Cincinnati, Columbus). Do I say I'll bring supplies to smaller towns? A shipping company could do it just as quick, and cheaper, than I could afford to do it. The only "market" I can think of is volunteering to fly people who can't afford commercial flights to see loved ones that are on the verge of death, major operations, etc.
The second issue for me is the airplane. I can fly almost anything that's not a jet, but that doesn't do any good when I don't have a plane to fly. I could rent some from where I work, I suppose, though that'd cost more in the short-term.
I'm not worried about what it will cost me, because I don't have any money. If I'm working for God, then He'll be the one responsible for paying the bills. But I don't know if I am called to do this type of work yet. I will for sure be doing this in Africa next year, where there is a real need for this type of stuff. Granted, the need exists in the States too, but not like over there. I want to help people live happier and better lives, and this year is not accomplishing that desire with its stagnant days of no work, and marginal contact with students outside of flight lessons.
I have been looking for a hobby, but flying is my gift; doing things is my gift. If I'm needed to help people move, I'll be there. If someone needs help passing a class, I'll jump at the chance. But I don't know how I can put myself out there in a way that says I'm dying for the chance to help, just ASK! Get my attention somehow. I don't need payment, I just need satisfaction of doing a good work. God will always provide a means by which I can earn money to support my family, I am not worried about money.
Sarah and I already gave everything we have to God anyways, so we don't have anything to worry about. Sure, we may not have any money or stuff anymore, but that means we don't have anything either! No more student loans. No more car problems. Now they're His loans and His problems, and we just are responsible for taking those resources He has put in our charge and putting them to use the way that He would put them to use. Faithfulness isn't an action, it's a lifestyle.
I just thought of a task I need to accomplish. I still haven't cleaned up my car since the wedding, when our friends put all manner of confetti and other miscellaneous tiny items all over the car. So I'm going to do that. If you read this and have any other ideas, regardless how small, that you may see a need for, PLEASE leave a comment or contact me and tell me.
I love you all, whoever you may be.
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
The Stench of Adventism: The Murder of God
I found this blog entry from my good friend Tyler Pender, ent lst year serving as a student missionary in Ethiopia last year. I agree with it so much I didn't want to change anything, so I am putting his blog up on mine.
Introduction: Selections from Nietzsche’s “Parable of the Madman”:
Introduction: Selections from Nietzsche’s “Parable of the Madman”:
Have you not heard of that madman who lit a lantern in the bright morning hours, ran to the market place, and cried incessantly: “I seek God! I seek God!”—-As many of those who did not believe in God were standing around just then, he provoked much laughter. Has he got lost? asked one. Did he lose his way like a child? asked another. Or is he hiding? Is he afraid of us? Has he gone on a voyage? emigrated?—-Thus they yelled and laughed
The madman jumped into their midst and pierced them with his eyes. “Whither is God?” he cried; “I will tell you. We have killed him—-you and I. All of us are his murderers. But how did we do this? How could we drink up the sea? Who gave us the sponge to wipe away the entire horizon? What were we doing when we unchained this earth from its sun? Whither is it moving now? Whither are we moving? Away from all suns? Are we not plunging continually? Backward, sideward, forward, in all directions? Is there still any up or down? Are we not straying, as through an infinite nothing? Do we not feel the breath of empty space? Has it not become colder? Is not night continually closing in on us? Do we not need to light lanterns in the morning? Do we hear nothing as yet of the noise of the gravediggers who are burying God? Do we smell nothing as yet of the divine decomposition? Gods, too, decompose. God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him…
It has been related further that on the same day the madman forced his way into several churches and there struck up his requiem aeternam deo. Led out and called to account, he is said always to have replied nothing but: “What after all are these churches now if they are not the tombs and sepulchers of God?”
Do you smell something decaying in Adventism, or in the general modern Christian paradigm? Is there something rotten in the core of our churches, something permeating the air? Have we lost something? Could the general feeling that something is not right be explained by the death of the All-mighty we claim to serve? I would like to propose that we have killed God. Perhaps the deed was done years ago, perhaps recently, but I believe we can detect the stench of, to quote the Madman, “divine decomposition.” What other explanation can there be?
If God is still alive, how do we explain the apathy seeping through the church? Starting in August 2011, I was a Student Missionary to Ethiopia. Upon return to the USA in May 2012, I worked in the Rocky Mountain Conference Student Literature Program. Thus, I was able to observe a wide range of Adventists and see a fascinating picture of different continents. The things I have seen and heard do not make sense if God is alive. We have become a church so far removed from the principles of Biblical holiness, we shy from making waves for the God of the universe.
After hearing the sermon at PMC on September 1, 2012, I was so filled with emotion I left right after the closing song and went and thought. The sentiments from the student missionary in Bangkok echoed in my soul. Here is one line from his blog: “Here in the middle of the world there is so much darkness, and the candles that could be out there or any other dark place shining in the darkness are wrapped up in other lighted rooms…” We see presented in this blog a reflection of the frustrations those in the mission field see in the general church. Nobody is going out, nobody cares. That is why I propose we have killed God.
Ironic, that on the Sabbath where Dwight Nelson poured his heart into a sermon designed to wake those asleep to the true darkness of the night enshrouding this planet, the services for the campus churches pushed back their starting times later in the morning and made the services shorter to try to persuade a few more people to get out of their beds and come to church. Try going overseas where people walk for miles just to come to church. Ironic, that the primary reason driving the different worship locations on campus are that we cannot get past our differences in worship or race. I know the arguments on both sides of these issues. However, the fact that we have arguments on these issues at all probably points to a divine murder. Interesting, that the peak amount of mission activity we can persuade our youth to do is at most a year of student missionary work. Anything more than that and they might actually become full-time missionaries! Tragic, that our church has decided to join in the collective joking regarding the Mormons and Jehovah’s witnesses for living their faith out in distinctive ways while we do our best to fit in with the rest of the mainstream heading over the waterfall (do not even try to argue with me on this one, I have heard the jokes and so have you). Have we ever considered that we should be that aggressive in our outreach too?
Our church is spending its collective energies doing its best to work on in-reach of every way. Shorter services? You got it! More technology in the worship service? Sure! MMaybe eventually we can reach the point where everyone on campus can tune in at exactly noon on their Ipads from their dorm room for a 30 second worship service. We have made our worship services cooler, shorter, more hip, more entertaining, less condemning, and more “accepting.” We know this must be working, because these strategies were designed by 14 different committees at every level of the church’s massive bureaucracy. We spend energy on a range of “hot topics,” from Women’s Ordination to sexual orientation. Others engage in debates on which political candidate this fall can transform our troubled nation. Meanwhile, the churches gradually turn into morgues, silent places for reflection on what our church could be. While we bicker over the details of how to get the youth into the church, the last angels slip away unnoticed to a place where God is still viewed as alive.
My conversations with members of our generation have been sobering, at best. I talked to a young man this summer who explained to me how he was not interested in being involved with God because his parents had divorced. Somehow the actions of two other moral, mortal beings other than himself had been enough for him to write off the entire existence of the creator of the universe. Oh, you say, maybe he still believed in the existence of God? Really? So let me get this straight: you are able to believe that God is real, that by default His words are true, which by extension means you have a crystal clear outline of how to live your life, and you can ignore all of that while saying he exists? No, there we have a dead God. If you believe God is alive and live differently you are committing spiritual and physical suicide.
In my own circle of conversation with other pre-professional students, I have seen the growing casualty list stating that they have killed God as well. I have seen students change their tune from impassioned statements a few years back pledging mission service to now a maximum time overseas of a week here or there on trips that primarily benefit those who go from the USA. “Vacationaries” instead of missionaries. Excuses for not being a missionary include:
- “What about my kids and future family?” Interesting to note that in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) Jesus did not say anything about exceptions. Recall that the God of the universe loves little children, do you think He would take care of them if you served overseas? Try explaining that you feel your children might be “socially off” if you went overseas to the Father who sent His son to certain death on a miserable planet for you. Besides, what is “socially on” anyway? Having your children raised in the cesspool that is popular culture, likely by the television while you frantically work to preserve your way of life?
- “I would serve overseas, but I have to set up my retirement.” Definitely a good trade-off, you making sure you can play golf when you are 60 while people die of things you could prevent by serving overseas and without the hope of Jesus. Give me a break! Quit lying to yourself, does this indicate that God is alive? God’s “retirement plan” is out of this world and He has pledged to take care of His own. Mansions in heaven are completely unaffected by fluctuations in the stock market.
- “You know, we are just not all called overseas.” True, very true. However, I highly doubt that such a vast majority of Seventh Day Adventists are called to work in the United States, working comfortable jobs, and giving minimally to missions. Besides, only you know if God is calling you overseas. I would venture to guess that many people say this as a reflex when they feel God calling them. If God has called you to a mission field by your home, by all means go forward. But be careful whether the call is true and of your motives. God knows.
- “I’ll support missions with my money!” My personal least favorite line. Response: Missions are about people. Relationships matter. We need to reach people for Jesus! We have the greatest message in the world and we need every last member involved. There are people that only you can reach. Besides, I only will accept this excuse if you give such a large percentage of your money that you live in the USA at the same level you would live if you were overseas. Uh oh, that messes up your pretty little model of the American Dream, does it not? Let me assure you, this level of giving is not occurring. Regardless, even if every member gave at that level, we would have tremendous funding for a tiny group of people. We would still need missionaries in every field! The largest challenge I faced as part of the management team of Gimbie Adventist Hospital was finding personnel. Right now, they still have empty positions for the next year. Truly, the harvest is great but the laborers few.
God is not a game. If we are to take seriously the message of Jesus, if we believe He is alive, we have to live our lives in a way that honors that belief. Otherwise, we cannot continue to pretend we believe God is alive. A divine entity that exists and died for you requires greater obedience and passion than passively acknowledging His existence while continuing your present course. Consider it this way: You are gently floating down a small creek in a canoe, head back, sun on your face, watching the clouds shuffle against the brilliant blue sky, only to have a man’s passionate voice break into your reverie… “THERE IS A WATERFALL AHEAD!” If you believe him, will you not sit up and immediately ground your boat against the bank? At the least, you will stop and walk ahead to check. What lunatic would wave at the man and say, “Yes, I believe you. However, I am going to continue floating.” Further remonstrations are met with the same reassurance that you “believe” the message but wish to continue onward. At some point, the normal force opposing the attraction between your mass and the mass of the earth would be removed and as you hurdled to your doom over the waterfall, at THAT moment, you would truly believe.
It is not necessary for us to lose the battle. It is not necessary for a world to continue on in the pitch darkness, only to realize they have lost the last opportunity to repent. However, it will require a shift in thinking. We must realize that every component of our lives is secondary to the greater purpose – to live for God. We have to stop thinking of our service to God as optional activities after we have ensured our own personal security.
Morning is coming. God has foretold it and it will come to pass. Each one of us has a choice to make. Right now, there are but a few candles piercing the gloom. There are a few areas of great light, but the interesting feature about these lighted areas is that without sending out candles into the darkness the lights are gradually going out. They flicker uselessly and finally fade away, relying on the lights of others. The isolated candles valiantly press on against the forces of darkness but without support and possibility of back-up, they too begin to flicker. The danger is that if we do not choose now to take our candles to the darkness, when the morning finally breaks we will have allowed the tendrils of evil to so ensnare our hearts that we will be destroyed by the glory of the Son. Now is the time to act. At first, the movement may be slow. You may take your candle to a wild location and never seem to make progress. Your friends and relatives will think you are crazy. They will ask you when you are going “to get a ‘real’ job.” However, your candle will be visible. That is meaningful. When will we realize that the morning cannot come if the first wave of candles does not move out to inspire the rest? WHO IS IT GOING TO BE?? I am talking to you. Do you think it is someone else’s job description? Do you think God is dead? If God is alive, do you think you could handle living your life for Him even if everyone else opposed you? The end will not come unless we change. I have heard people say we cannot condemn those in the church or push missions because it “hurts people’s feelings.” It is not about feelings, it is about truth. Every moment we waste, the trends cited by Dwight Nelson continue… a person starving to death every 3.6 seconds… one million suicides a year worldwide…somebody being sexually assaulted every 2 minutes in the US alone. While we delay, content to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, people suffer and die in the dark. A soul is the most precious thing on earth and yet we appear unconcerned about the souls slipping away.
The devil has been quite successful as of late. Missionary numbers have shrunk to 1/3 their numbers from the 1970s. That was not that long ago! What have we lost? Whom have we killed? Is it possible that we have murdered the source of life itself? Again from the Madman: “Are we not straying, as through an infinite nothing? Do we not feel the breath of empty space? Has it not become colder? Is not night continually closing in on us? Do we not need to LIGHT lanterns in the morning?” Even in our own existence, we have to realize how terrible this earth is. Have we not felt sad, broken, and depressed? When we will wrap our minds around the idea that we have the option of going to a place where there will never be a tear? The end will come only when you recognize your responsibility and move out. The first moves will be the hardest. The first valiant ones to forsake the materialistic secure approach will be met with questioning and disapproval, ESPECIALLY from within the dead church. However, as more and more people realize that God is not dead and that He is alive, they will move out. Gradually the force will grow. “Here am I Lord, send me!” Candles will be mobilized and spread across the globe, “Jesus is coming again, He loves you, and wants you to live with Him for eternity!” Concerns about financial security will melt away as we see the security found in Christ. People’s differences will not be as important because we will be focused on Jesus and His purity, to which none of us can attain without His grace. The lonely missionaries in the field now will be bolstered by a wave of reinforcements and assistance. Resistance will come to this push of course. Satan, at long last forced to reveal himself after decades of convincing everyone that God was dead and satan did not exist, will marshal the forces of evil and the Great Controversy will rush to its glorious finish… and we serve the winning side. Jesus will return and the Morning Star will defeat the dark knight’s night once and for all.
Are you with God? Only you and God know your true motives behind your actions. If you have read this, maybe you feel challenged. I urge you to pray as never before for God to reveal to you how He wants to use you. Be honest… is He calling you to do something outside of your comfort zone? Will it mean changing your plans? It will not be easy. It is in satan’s interests for you to stay immobilized as your candle dies. You will be opposed. But you will have the greatest force in the universe on your side. Satan will attempt to convince you that you act alone, but you do not. Contact me, contact others, there are many under conviction, but collectively we are not moving. Be the first! We are promised that the final events will be rapid ones. Realize that all that is necessary for the sudden explosion of light could be your candle!
Is God alive? You are showing the answer in your life right now.
Friday, September 14, 2012
Wedding Pictures
Sarah and I finally have gotten our official wedding pictures from the photographers. They're very artistic-minded people; this was actually their first wedding, so the pictures are more artsy than formal, which I love. For anyone who wants to check them out, here's the link. The rest of this post won't make sense if you're not looking at the pictures. :)
http://chrishanson.me/sdwedding/
As you're looking through the pictures, you'll see all sorts of fun things. The gallery starts with the pics of Sarah and I (obviously), then it's me and my groomsmen. The two other blonds are my two brothers. The older one (Jonathan) has dreads, and looks a little chunkier than Stephen (the younger brother) in the pictures. The man in the black vest is my best man, Andrew. We grew up together and are about as tight as David and Jonathan in the Bible. Josh Goines, or "Maestro" is the black guy, and Josh Cusack is the white guy with black (or dark brown, I don't know...) hair. They are both good friends from Andrews (NOT to be confused with friends OF Andrew, which they weren't until they hung out that weekend. :) ) The little man in black and black is Elijah, Sarah's cousin's son. He was my junior groomsman.
The other little two guys are Sarah's other cousin's two sons, McLane and Kellen. Claney, as we call him, was our red-headed bible boy, and Kellen announced Sarah's coming. Kellen also has Down's Syndrome, and is extremely cute, so we loved having him be a part of the wedding!
The parents are pretty easy to pick out. Sarah's dad doesn't have much hair, and her mom is in the darker purple dress, while my dad is a little tubbier and my mom is in the lavender dress.
On the ladies' side, (I'm using picture 50 from left to right), there's Heidi, Sarah's best friend from Southern when she went there, then my sister Christina. The little lady in the black dress is Kadance, McLane and Kellen's older sister. The flower girl in the white dress is Leah Sarah, named after my Sarah. She is the daughter of Bob and Jamie Loveless, who mentored Sarah when she was younger. Next to Sarah in the black dress is Sarah's sister Erin. Christine Coy (previously Reynolds) roomed with Sarah junior year, and Courtney, on the end, is Sarah's cousin that lives right next door to Sarah.
To recap the important information, here's the wedding party starting outside working toward the "Bests"
(this is the actual wedding order, the pictures people got twisted up somehow...):
Joshua Cusack (Single) Courtney Riley (Single)
Joshua Goines (Single) Christina Kaiser (Macomber) (Married)
Stephen Macomber (Single) Christine Coy (Reynolds) (Married)
Jonathan Macomber (Single) Heidi Davenport (Engaged)
Andrew Crane (Single-technically) Erin Van Gelder (Taken)
Go get them, ladies!!! Sorry guys, you missed out...
Anyways, just wanted to share the excitement with you. I know my readers aren't all sophomore college guys anymore like this started out as.
If you want more pictures, here are more candid pictures and a lot more of the weekend as a whole, my sister's gallery has them all:
http://images.cmkaiser.com/Weddings/Sarah-and-David
I still plan on giving everyone the full story about my fun Chicago trip when I get a chance, but I have to get the time first of all.
http://chrishanson.me/sdwedding/
As you're looking through the pictures, you'll see all sorts of fun things. The gallery starts with the pics of Sarah and I (obviously), then it's me and my groomsmen. The two other blonds are my two brothers. The older one (Jonathan) has dreads, and looks a little chunkier than Stephen (the younger brother) in the pictures. The man in the black vest is my best man, Andrew. We grew up together and are about as tight as David and Jonathan in the Bible. Josh Goines, or "Maestro" is the black guy, and Josh Cusack is the white guy with black (or dark brown, I don't know...) hair. They are both good friends from Andrews (NOT to be confused with friends OF Andrew, which they weren't until they hung out that weekend. :) ) The little man in black and black is Elijah, Sarah's cousin's son. He was my junior groomsman.
The other little two guys are Sarah's other cousin's two sons, McLane and Kellen. Claney, as we call him, was our red-headed bible boy, and Kellen announced Sarah's coming. Kellen also has Down's Syndrome, and is extremely cute, so we loved having him be a part of the wedding!
The parents are pretty easy to pick out. Sarah's dad doesn't have much hair, and her mom is in the darker purple dress, while my dad is a little tubbier and my mom is in the lavender dress.
On the ladies' side, (I'm using picture 50 from left to right), there's Heidi, Sarah's best friend from Southern when she went there, then my sister Christina. The little lady in the black dress is Kadance, McLane and Kellen's older sister. The flower girl in the white dress is Leah Sarah, named after my Sarah. She is the daughter of Bob and Jamie Loveless, who mentored Sarah when she was younger. Next to Sarah in the black dress is Sarah's sister Erin. Christine Coy (previously Reynolds) roomed with Sarah junior year, and Courtney, on the end, is Sarah's cousin that lives right next door to Sarah.
To recap the important information, here's the wedding party starting outside working toward the "Bests"
(this is the actual wedding order, the pictures people got twisted up somehow...):
Joshua Cusack (Single) Courtney Riley (Single)
Joshua Goines (Single) Christina Kaiser (Macomber) (Married)
Stephen Macomber (Single) Christine Coy (Reynolds) (Married)
Jonathan Macomber (Single) Heidi Davenport (Engaged)
Andrew Crane (Single-technically) Erin Van Gelder (Taken)
Go get them, ladies!!! Sorry guys, you missed out...
Anyways, just wanted to share the excitement with you. I know my readers aren't all sophomore college guys anymore like this started out as.
If you want more pictures, here are more candid pictures and a lot more of the weekend as a whole, my sister's gallery has them all:
http://images.cmkaiser.com/Weddings/Sarah-and-David
I still plan on giving everyone the full story about my fun Chicago trip when I get a chance, but I have to get the time first of all.
Thursday, August 23, 2012
The Adventure Begins
It's been a while since my last post. 39 days in fact. In that time I have really started to get excited for the rest of my life. God has been blessing so much in my life. He has been helping teach me to pray more powerfully and more consistently. He has taught me to rely on Him and be patient for His working. He has invigorated me when I was exhausted. Life has been a flurry of activity these past 39 days, but things are starting to slow down now, which I greatly appreciate.
After the wedding, Sarah and I drove down to Washington DC to stay with my parents' friend, Ron. We spend a week there, really doing more relaxing than anything else because we had both had stressful weeks the week before, what with the wedding (and me working) and all. We got a behind-the-scenes tour of the Capital building from our generous host, and wandered around the Smithsonians a little bit, which was fun.
The Sunday after we were married, we spent the entire day travelling from DC to St. Martin in the Caribbean. We flew to Miami, then had a 6-hour layover, then on to the little island. During the layover, we decided that we wanted to use an Olive Garden gift card we had, and we caught a taxi to the closest one, which was less than 2 miles away. We figured it would probably be about $10, maybe $15 MAX for the fare, so we got nervous as the ticker clicked past $20, and we only had limited cash. Ultimately we paid about $22, and we didn't tip because we didn't have anything more. I felt kinda bad about that. The next taxi we were able to pay with a card, so we had them take us to the closest hotel that had a shuttle to the airport, and that kept it cheaper for us getting back.
St. Martin was incredible! The beaches were pristine and well-kept, the water was slightly warm for my taste, but probably perfect for most people. Weather was partly cloudy and about 88 every day. Truly fantastic. One day we hiked about 3 miles to the airport to check out the world-famous Maho Beach (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCIJ0F62og4), hung out there for a couple hours, then hiked back. It was pretty exciting. We also rented a car for a couple of days and took a day to drive around the island, jump over to the French side of the island (our hotel was on the Dutch half). We found a gallery of a French painter-Alexandre Minguet- who had set up shop on the island and painted a lot of the beaches. Shortly afterward we found a beach to have lunch at, and as we were eating, we realized that the beach was the exact same beach as was on the postcard we bought at the Minguet gallery. That was cool. We also went to the "world-famous" Waikiki Beach, and played in the waves for several hours, then we drove back to the hotel.
We took another full Sunday to get back to DC, where our car was, then drove to New York to pick up some more stuff to move Sarah in, and drove to Ohio the next day, and I started working. That next weekend, we went to Christine (Reynolds) and Ryan Coy's wedding in Grand Rapids, where Sarah was a bridesmaid, then drove back Sunday and I started working again Monday. That following Friday, we were supposed to fly to Denver for a wedding reception for friends and family there. We were boarded on AirTran's 717 (I booked the flight specifically so we could fly it, nerdily), and had a little bit of a delay so I popped up and talked to the captain for about 20 minutes. They then had to cancel the flight because of some maintenance problems, so we got lined up to fly in Sabbath morning. After church in Denver, we had a quick lunch then went to the zoo to see the new elephant exhibit they have there, then went and took a photo-shoot, and then went back to my parents' place and crashed. The next morning we had a birthday brunch for my sister and brother-in-law, then rushed around getting ready for the reception, had the reception, then very quickly packed and rushed to the airport for our flight back to Dayton.
I thought that would be the end of the excitement. Little did I know that a short half-day trip to Chicago would turn into a 2-day ordeal...But more about that in my next post. For now, I'm just excited to sit and relax and enjoy life.
After the wedding, Sarah and I drove down to Washington DC to stay with my parents' friend, Ron. We spend a week there, really doing more relaxing than anything else because we had both had stressful weeks the week before, what with the wedding (and me working) and all. We got a behind-the-scenes tour of the Capital building from our generous host, and wandered around the Smithsonians a little bit, which was fun.
The Sunday after we were married, we spent the entire day travelling from DC to St. Martin in the Caribbean. We flew to Miami, then had a 6-hour layover, then on to the little island. During the layover, we decided that we wanted to use an Olive Garden gift card we had, and we caught a taxi to the closest one, which was less than 2 miles away. We figured it would probably be about $10, maybe $15 MAX for the fare, so we got nervous as the ticker clicked past $20, and we only had limited cash. Ultimately we paid about $22, and we didn't tip because we didn't have anything more. I felt kinda bad about that. The next taxi we were able to pay with a card, so we had them take us to the closest hotel that had a shuttle to the airport, and that kept it cheaper for us getting back.
St. Martin was incredible! The beaches were pristine and well-kept, the water was slightly warm for my taste, but probably perfect for most people. Weather was partly cloudy and about 88 every day. Truly fantastic. One day we hiked about 3 miles to the airport to check out the world-famous Maho Beach (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCIJ0F62og4), hung out there for a couple hours, then hiked back. It was pretty exciting. We also rented a car for a couple of days and took a day to drive around the island, jump over to the French side of the island (our hotel was on the Dutch half). We found a gallery of a French painter-Alexandre Minguet- who had set up shop on the island and painted a lot of the beaches. Shortly afterward we found a beach to have lunch at, and as we were eating, we realized that the beach was the exact same beach as was on the postcard we bought at the Minguet gallery. That was cool. We also went to the "world-famous" Waikiki Beach, and played in the waves for several hours, then we drove back to the hotel.
We took another full Sunday to get back to DC, where our car was, then drove to New York to pick up some more stuff to move Sarah in, and drove to Ohio the next day, and I started working. That next weekend, we went to Christine (Reynolds) and Ryan Coy's wedding in Grand Rapids, where Sarah was a bridesmaid, then drove back Sunday and I started working again Monday. That following Friday, we were supposed to fly to Denver for a wedding reception for friends and family there. We were boarded on AirTran's 717 (I booked the flight specifically so we could fly it, nerdily), and had a little bit of a delay so I popped up and talked to the captain for about 20 minutes. They then had to cancel the flight because of some maintenance problems, so we got lined up to fly in Sabbath morning. After church in Denver, we had a quick lunch then went to the zoo to see the new elephant exhibit they have there, then went and took a photo-shoot, and then went back to my parents' place and crashed. The next morning we had a birthday brunch for my sister and brother-in-law, then rushed around getting ready for the reception, had the reception, then very quickly packed and rushed to the airport for our flight back to Dayton.
I thought that would be the end of the excitement. Little did I know that a short half-day trip to Chicago would turn into a 2-day ordeal...But more about that in my next post. For now, I'm just excited to sit and relax and enjoy life.
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Wedding Day!
I have just about two hours until I start taking pictures of me and my groomsmen for my wedding. It's really exciting, but I don't know if it has hit me yet. This is going to be a great next couple of weeks; a chance to relax and enjoy some much-needed vacation after my crazy schedule at work. I'm really looking forward to starting off the rest of my life with the most beautiful, and most perfect woman in the world! She is so valuable and precious to me! God has really blessed me so much by putting her in my life, and allowing her and I to grow and be so close. I'm looking forward to the added blessings that He will give us!
Nothing too long today, just wanted you all to know how much I adore my soon-to-be wife!
Nothing too long today, just wanted you all to know how much I adore my soon-to-be wife!
Sunday, June 17, 2012
A Week In...
I am now a week into my job here at Aviation Sales, Inc. I have 17 hours of flight training given, and did some ground instruction too. Things are so different here. I'm used to an environment where everybody knows everybody, and the students are expected to come in on a consistent schedule, the same thing every week. This school has a bunch of students who are older, or are working full-time, or have other things going on. So scheduling is going to take a little bit more work to get everything worked out. I'm thinking I'll still try to get students on a consistent schedule as much as I can, so I pray that that will work out.
Things are somewhat scary but also very exciting. I've gone from student to instructor in almost no time flat, and so it's going to take some deliberate planning on my part to make sure I am giving these students of mine the most for their money. But I also need to figure out what they need to know, how I can teach them, and make sure that it sticks. That's what I'll be working on fine-tuning over the next several weeks.
I'm realizing just how much I need to be relying on God in this environment as well. It's not necessarily a "rough" atmosphere, but it's quite unlike the Adventist culture that I've been so used to throughout my life. I just have to pray that God will use me to be a positive, calming influence when things get crazy, and live my life in a way that will give Him glory.
I went out into the "wilderness" (a local park where I got away from people and sat in the forest on my own) on Sabbath to rest and recharge. It's amazing how peaceful just sitting and thinking about next-to-nothing can be. It really had been a daunting week (Thursday I worked non-stop from 9-9), and I needed that time to unwind. It's also been close to a week since I saw Sarah, and that's been tough for me. At least I have been too busy to think about it during the day, and I talk to her every evening, so I've been holding up.
Oh yeah, by the way, we're now officially 4 weeks away from our wedding! I just can't wait to start living my new life with my soon-to-be bride! Life has been changing a lot recently, but I'm looking forward to her moving in and we can get a little bit of a routine going. She visited last weekend, and it was the best weekend so far this entire year. She brought me some cooking supplies so I don't have to live off microwave food, she prettified the apartment so it feels more like home rather than a dorm room now, we went to a wedding in Michigan, and she left me a ton of food so I don't have to cook much while I'm working my busy schedule (I'm trying to get in as many hours as I can now so that I can afford to pay rent for July and August when I'm going to be missing out on the 2+ weeks of work time).
More than anything else, though, I'm really working on improving my relationship with God, and continually asking Him to be the foundation and cornerstone of our home. I know through experience that everything is perfect when He is in control, and when I forget Him, things start to go downhill fast. I get moody and irritable, and I really know that I'm here at ASI for more than just to make myself some money. How can I effectively witness to others if I'm not in a good position emotionally myself?
Pray for me, that I have strength and continue in God's way. And pray for Sarah. We're in the final countdown of pre-wedding planning, and I just know Satan and his minions are going to start doing all they can to damage, batter, and bruise us. For those of you coming to the wedding, I can't wait to see you there! For those who can't make it, I wish you could, but I guess I'll see you again at some point. If you really, really, REALLY want to, you can send us a gift. :P
David and Sarah Macomber (it will be soon enough, just let me have it, okay!!)
6114 Fireside Dr. Unit D
Centerville, OH 45459
Things are somewhat scary but also very exciting. I've gone from student to instructor in almost no time flat, and so it's going to take some deliberate planning on my part to make sure I am giving these students of mine the most for their money. But I also need to figure out what they need to know, how I can teach them, and make sure that it sticks. That's what I'll be working on fine-tuning over the next several weeks.
I'm realizing just how much I need to be relying on God in this environment as well. It's not necessarily a "rough" atmosphere, but it's quite unlike the Adventist culture that I've been so used to throughout my life. I just have to pray that God will use me to be a positive, calming influence when things get crazy, and live my life in a way that will give Him glory.
I went out into the "wilderness" (a local park where I got away from people and sat in the forest on my own) on Sabbath to rest and recharge. It's amazing how peaceful just sitting and thinking about next-to-nothing can be. It really had been a daunting week (Thursday I worked non-stop from 9-9), and I needed that time to unwind. It's also been close to a week since I saw Sarah, and that's been tough for me. At least I have been too busy to think about it during the day, and I talk to her every evening, so I've been holding up.
Oh yeah, by the way, we're now officially 4 weeks away from our wedding! I just can't wait to start living my new life with my soon-to-be bride! Life has been changing a lot recently, but I'm looking forward to her moving in and we can get a little bit of a routine going. She visited last weekend, and it was the best weekend so far this entire year. She brought me some cooking supplies so I don't have to live off microwave food, she prettified the apartment so it feels more like home rather than a dorm room now, we went to a wedding in Michigan, and she left me a ton of food so I don't have to cook much while I'm working my busy schedule (I'm trying to get in as many hours as I can now so that I can afford to pay rent for July and August when I'm going to be missing out on the 2+ weeks of work time).
More than anything else, though, I'm really working on improving my relationship with God, and continually asking Him to be the foundation and cornerstone of our home. I know through experience that everything is perfect when He is in control, and when I forget Him, things start to go downhill fast. I get moody and irritable, and I really know that I'm here at ASI for more than just to make myself some money. How can I effectively witness to others if I'm not in a good position emotionally myself?
Pray for me, that I have strength and continue in God's way. And pray for Sarah. We're in the final countdown of pre-wedding planning, and I just know Satan and his minions are going to start doing all they can to damage, batter, and bruise us. For those of you coming to the wedding, I can't wait to see you there! For those who can't make it, I wish you could, but I guess I'll see you again at some point. If you really, really, REALLY want to, you can send us a gift. :P
David and Sarah Macomber (it will be soon enough, just let me have it, okay!!)
6114 Fireside Dr. Unit D
Centerville, OH 45459
Sunday, June 3, 2012
New Life
Today, I was hired as a flight instructor at Aviation Sales, Inc. in Centerville, Ohio. It marks the final step in the determination process of what will be happening next year, and pending a drug test that I am sure to pass, I know the basic framework of how my life will look next year.
It's hard to believe that 12 days ago, I flew to Ohio, without any flight instructor certification, apartment, etc. Now, four tests and two interviews later, I am certified to instruct both single and multi-engine airplanes, I have a job, I have moved in to an apartment in Centerville, Ohio, and am engaged to be married July 15 (just saying that hasn't changed). I am truly and fully blessed. There is no other explanation for it. God has just been moving in mighty ways. It is very clear to me that this is exactly where He wants me and Sarah next year, and that He will continue to provide for us.
God has truly and completely been blowing my mind recently, and I just want to share it! He inspired my boss back in Berrien Springs to let me take time off from work so that I could focus on flying and getting my certification taken care of. He gave me perfect weather for two checkrides, and a day of cloudiness for another, which helped me to be patient, and made my checkride be as smooth as possible once it got going. He provided me a cheap place to stay while I was still in Michigan, and showed me a nice apartment with a central location between my and Sarah's work.
Things have just lined up perfectly. My flight test with the FAA was set to be in the Cincinnati area, in the southern Dayton-area, actually. Then I was going to have an interview with ASI that same day, after taking the short 2-minute flight between the two airports. Then the first FAA examiner couldn't test me on the day we had set up, so he asked another one to do it, and the airport was changed to the same as my interview. He was able to give me a good recommendation to the school immediately after the test was done. They interviewed me just to get to know me a little bit too. While I was in the area, I also went to visit the apartment, and reserved it before I flew back to Andrews that evening. It was busy day.
After that, the apartment needed some info before I could move in, including an offer letter from my work, which I didn't have, because I was still, at the time, not certified to teach in the airplanes they wanted me to fly in. So I had to wait. Then, the day I got certified for work, the apartment called me and said they needed the information by Thursday so I could move in on time. I prayed about it, then told them that I wouldn't have any word back from the school until I had a second interview with them, and that it was not lined up yet because of certification issues. They said not to worry about it, and worked it out so I could move in anyways.
So I packed everything up and left. I've been in Ohio for 3 nights now, sleeping on a stack of blankets and body pillows until I can get a bed. I've been able to talk with Sarah a lot, and kept my mom from getting too bored while my dad and brother are out of town. I went to church on Sabbath, and God put me in a situation to meet Arielle and Alissa McMurry (I think that's how it's spelled...), who invited me to their house for lunch. It brightened my Sabbath immensely.
Finally, this morning I went flying with my now-boss Chris, and we had a good quick flight. God had been urging me to stand up and be firm in my Sabbath convictions, and so I made sure that they understood I would never work on a Saturday. He said that wouldn't be an issue. I don't know why God's choosing to bless me so much, especially when there are so many people out there, but I just take hold of the promise He gives in Psalms 37, "Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart's desires. Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust Him, and He will help you." (v. 4, 5) It is oh-so clear to me that this is true. Everything that I am is truly His, because He has given it to me.
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Wedding Invitations
Hey guys,
If you happen to see this, send me your email addresses. I need them to send you wedding invitations. Or I may just put one up on here. I'll try to figure out how to do that. But send me your email addresses either way. That way you can say you were actually invited to your RA's wedding this summer. ;)
If you happen to see this, send me your email addresses. I need them to send you wedding invitations. Or I may just put one up on here. I'll try to figure out how to do that. But send me your email addresses either way. That way you can say you were actually invited to your RA's wedding this summer. ;)
Monday, April 30, 2012
Hey
Hey guys. I'm starting a blog. Check it out. If you have questions or want to read it, ask me. I'm just quickly throwing stuff down now so that I can have it, but I will have stuff updated when I have the time and don't have to worry about finals and certification tests and stuff like that.
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