Resolved, That I will do whatsoever I think to be most to the glory of God, and my own good, profit, and pleasure, in the whole of my duration; without any consideration of the time, whether now, or never so many myriads of ages hence. Resolved, to do whatever I think to be my duty, and most for the good and advantage of mankind in general. Resolved, so to do, whatever difficulties I meet with, how many soever, and how great soever.

praying your new year’s eve was blessed and that many blessings come your way in 2012.

I’m not sure how much posting i’ll get to do…i hope daily to journal our exploits, but a couple things you can be praying for beyond the Present:Hope Tour itself…as we got in last night, Jim got a phone call from his bride Jeannie saying that his brother had been admitted to the hospital for chest pains.  Jim left early this morning for the 12.5 hr return trip and is concerned.  I talk to my bride (of 32 years!) melinda and she and our emmah are home sick this morning.

had a short conversation with a mother and her son, here at the hotel from the UK after breakfast, the son is considering attending a local university…but in the conversation she mentioned…”life is really about the journey,  is it not?” yep…heard that before.

i’m headed off here in about an hour to connect with the rest of the team.  several are en route via airplanes and will be on the ground after lunch…then we start training.  grateful for your following and investing more later.

it reminded me of this quote from a smart dude, robert george on marriage. it was part of an interview on national review online a few months ago. the whole interview entiled “sex and the empire state” is worth printing out and reflecting on along with the larger project from an article in the harvard journal of law that spurred the interview.

 Marriage is a profound human and social good; its weakening and loss is a tragedy from which affluent people can be distracted (and protected) by their affluence for only so long. The institution of marriage has already been deeply wounded by divorce at nearly plague levels, widespread non-marital sexual cohabitation, and other damaging factors. To redefine it out of existence in law is to make it much more difficult to restore a sound understanding of marriage on which a healthy marriage culture can be rebuilt for the good of all. It is to sacrifice the needs of the poor, who are hurt the most when a sound public understanding of marriage and sexual morality collapses. It is to give up on the truth that children need both a father and mother, and benefit from the security of their love for each other.

—Interview with Robert George by Kathryn Jean Lopez, editor-at-large of National Review Online.

1. I hate Halloween.
2. We love Halloween!
3. Christian hybrid Halloween.

I’m not quite sure where i land but i always enjoy watching the “little beggars” come by for the treats.  this year melinda and emmah joined up with our neighbors to help make the 1 hour pass by.  here’s some video…

adam mclane had some interesting thots too… 3 Reasons to Embrace Halloween .  this much i know, halloween has taken an established place in our culture.  like it or not its here to stay.  i’m guessing  the Church needs to figure out  a better way to respond.  i know some have…and i’m already thinking about what our outpost should do next year.

not sure exactly what to do with it…but there’s something here.  i’ve not thought enough about it yet.  many stranded thoughts and ponderings.  darrin patrick’s challenge that we need better men and that what follows from that is better pastors is a really interesting statement.

it was  a great conversation.  marko spent the time as a our facilitator and offered some keen insights.  all that to say the nyt magazine this weekend had another really interesting article on a similar topic.  it seems that a week doesn’t go by where i’m not engaged in several conversations with parents concerning their 20-something children.  something is afoot, not sure what, but this article is worth the read…here’s clip to prime the pump…

We’re in the thick of what one sociologist calls “the changing timetable for adulthood.” Sociologists traditionally define the “transition to adulthood” as marked by five milestones: completing school, leaving home, becoming financially independent, marrying and having a child. In 1960, 77 percent of women and 65 percent of men had, by the time they reached 30, passed all five milestones. Among 30-year-olds in 2000, according to data from the United States Census Bureau, fewer than half of the women and one-third of the men had done so. A Canadian study reported that a typical 30-year-old in 2001 had completed the same number of milestones as a 25-year-old in the early ’70s.

you can read the whole article here.

ht to joel daniel

Young Michael stands 2nd from L with hat.

Word came early yesterday that 1st. Lt. Michael Runyan, a young soldier had fallen while in Iraq.   My mind began to wander back to my first mission trip.    I took it with our oldest Sarah and a group of incredible students that had welcomed Sarah into their fellowship at another church in our community…1st Presbyterian.  Young Michael was only in 8th grade when we sent off on a really crazy adventure in southwestern Chicago via CSM.  that week was a major turning point in my own journey…that would eventually bring me to vocational ministry as a pastor to students.  To be honest, I’ve lost track of  most of

1st Lt. Michael Runyan

those incredible students.  They’ve grown up and moved on.  But again in honesty I actually thought about that trip and even talked about just a few weeks back when I led my own group of students on our Dare2Serve home mission to Mansfield, Ohio. I had heard Michael and his older brother, Alex both had joined ROTC while in college. I’m not surprised to find that Michael had beome First Lt. Runyan.  I’m saddened at the loss of his young life, by such a tragic turn.  But such is war.

War creates no absolutely new situation: it simply aggravates the permanent human situation so that we can no longer ignore it. Human life has always been lived on the edge of a precipice. ~C.S. Lewis

what i remember about Michael and the good work he and the other students accomplished on this trip was they truly did live on the edge of precipice…but it this case it was for Kingdom…they lived large and their living life well invited those of us who were adults to lean in and risk more. We take life for granted and its on days like today, when the news officially arrives that we see life is indeed short and brief.

My life was changed by Michael and those students who risked on that trip 10 years ago.  I pray that Michael’s full measure of devotion and his ultimate sacrifice will be one step in bringing about peace.  Please pray for his family.  Please pray for those that are still serving.

Here’s the news from today’s Ashland Times Gazette:

First Lt. Michael L. Runyan, a 2004 graduate of Ashland High School died Wednesday while serving in Iraq as a member of the Army. Runyan, 24, whose latest address was in Newark, died in Balad, Iraq of injuries sustained when insurgents attacked his convoy vehicle with an improvised explosive device in Muqdadiyah, Iraq, according to information from the U.S. Department of Defense.

Runyan is the son of former Ashland County Common Pleas Court Judge Jeffrey Runyan and long-time AHS teacher Renee Runyan. He was assigned to the 52nd Infantry, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division out of Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. According to information from the 25th Infantry Division public affairs office, Runyan was deployed for his first tour of duty in late June and was in the middle of his transition period.