Long Overdue

First off: Take a moment to remember those who lost their lives on this day, 8 years ago. Those who worked in the Towers, and those who rushed in with no regard for themselves to save others. Such an act of selflessness should not be overlooked, nor ever forgotten. Yet we can still be thankful for the amazing country that we live in, and how incredible our God is to have provided everything we have here in America.

Now, it's been over a month since I have sat down with any amateur critique of a local restaurant or coffee shop to entertain you, so no restaurant comments this time... but life has been busy. And by busy, I mean great and busy, and God is doing great things.

God is moving here in Tempe. Praxis is growing. Lives are changing. Community is being built. It's purely amazing. I pray that we can be focused on living out the Gospel and being authentic with each other to strengthen the community and encourage one another. Along with that encouragement can come admonishment; in fact, it should come with admonishment. We should be able to hold each other accountable, and call each other out (in love). As men in the church we are to hold, and be held, to strong and Godly standards. We are the leaders of the church, we are meant to be strong in our community, we are meant to lead our families, and we are meant to work hard. I feel there are times where we lack in those areas, and it's saddening. I know for myself I do a pretty bad job at being strong and engaging in my community. It's so much easier to just go about doing my own thing, from day to day without involving the people I interact with. As we know, we are called to be the head of our family as Christ is the head of the church. Living with two guys in Tempe I am separated from my immediate family, and I do not have a girlfriend or wife to lead either. However, I think that that does not exclude me from leading my "family" in a Godly manner. Us 3 guys should be striving to lead each other in a manner that glorifies God. Not only is this going to strengthen our personal relationships, but it will better prepare us for our future families. This should stem from us stepping up and being leaders and engaging in our church. It's not enough for us to sit in the pews (gotta love the old school style that Praxis provides) and worship, and listen to sermons and chat with friends and go home... We need to be serving in our church; utilizing our gifts to glorify Him in the church.

Likewise, we are called to be workers. We are men. We need to be working hard, every single day, and doing everything with excellence. It is important for us to "man-up" and pursue a worthwhile job, and pursue a career. Granted I worked at In-N-Out for 4 1/2 years, and it was an amazing job, and I learned a lot, and I can't say anything like "you can't sit around and flip burgers for the rest of your life." However, that job taught me a lot, and prepared me to take a step forward. That step has come to me in the form of Liberty Market. Over the summer I have made a decision, along with Chris Cottrell and my dad, that we want to open a restaurant in a few years. Ambitious? Yes. Crazy? Maybe a little... Excited to see what God has in store? Definitely. So throughout the summer, as you've seen from previous blogs, I've been on the hunt to find great local restaurants, and these have been food for thought towards our future establishment. These trips led me to Liberty Market. After stalking, I mean talking, to the people that work there and getting to know Joe Johnston (owner, and fellow Praxis member) I decided to apply. I am currently working in the back kitchen with Chef David Traina preparing great dinner entrees and learning the operations of an independent restaurant. Joe and David are great Godly men who I am excited to learn from. Needless to say, I am excited where God is taking me, and enjoying where He has me right now. I just need to make sure I am focused on glorifying Him in the new community that I am working in and relationships that I am doing.