Shawn Stutz

If you are keen enough to realize the date on this post and that of the last, you’ll see that it’s been a while.  And if you were one of the four people who stopped in for an occasional read, you might be interested as to why that it is.  Much has happened.  Much!

After my ride, I spent time a few days in Twain Harte (a stomping ground for the late great Mark Twain) to attempt my hand (hands literally… ’cause I typed) at a little bit of writing.  It was a blast.  I made that journey with four other guys and got about 7000 words into my first stab at a novel.  It’s not near finished and will probably classify as quite less than a full-fledged novel, but I like the product so far.  With hope, it will be done by Easter!

After that I took my crack at writing and taping a video production for our church Christmas weekend.  It was a challenge, but something I’m proud to say I did.  Not at my stellar performance of course, but because of the fact that I conquered quite a fear of being filmed on video.  The team of Joel, Scott, Matt, Chad and Daniel made the whole experience quite fun!  (‘I can hear an airplane!’ ~ Matt)

November proved to be busy with teaching and life stuff.  Thanksgiving was fun as my brother, Austin and my sister-in-law, Mel, stopped in to share in the bird (well, not my vegetarian family member Mel, lol!).  But December brought the rain… no literally.  I think the rain and the fog set in just in time for me to be depressed before the bottom fell out.  What I’m trying to say is that I hit an incredible stroke of bad luck!

Of course, you super spiritual people are saying, “There’s no such thing as luck; good or bad!”  Well, spend a week with me and we’ll see how you feel.  Here is the list that describes my final weeks of ’08.

• I spilled coffee on my laptop on 12.14
• I got a new laptop on 12.17
• My car was stolen on 12.21… with the new laptop in it! {which I can add to the video camera that was also stolen in ’08}.
• Had to replace locks, garage door openers, etc… thanks to a special thief.
• My Christmas flight to TN delay on 12.22 and I nearly missed a connection in Chicago!
• My only bag, a carry-on, was taken from me and placed in the wrong bin — didn’t receive ’til 10pm 12.25!
• Battled a sweet case of depression (that was a new and weird feeling for me)
• I spent New Year’s week in bed sick and had a horrid cough for weeks!
• Bought a new car 1 day before they found my old one!
• My insurance settlement check was deposit, thought to be fraud, and un-deposited by the bank with a phone call— so I bounced quite a few checks (even my tithe check… lol!).
• … and I’m out of town for the premiere of ‘LOST’  (okay, that’s petty I know, but I needed a finale).

There is a line in a humorously sly song that says:

“It’s raining so hard, I can’t see the sky. That’s not the truth, but I know it’s not a lie.  The raven went out, the dove went behind.  We’ve been floating in this boat for some time.  I don’t know, but I need a rainbow…”

I tell you, I could relate to this verse for sure.  Needless to say, I just want one week without trauma, drama, or something being STOLEN from me!  I say all that to say, I have been a bit distracted, tired, or without a computer to keep up the blog!  But, ’09 will prove to be better… I can feel it.

God has been slowly teaching me that stuff is just stuff.  It comes and goes (with or without permission).  The important thing was how I handled these losses.  God kept telling me that my character was being tested– and boy was it!  I think this season of pruning will continue for a bit longer, but I know the fruit from it will be much more than I’ve ever expected.

Besides, I have a loving wife, two wonderful kiddos, a great job, and an amazing community of believers (and by community I mean a true godly community… shout out to Catalyst!) that love Jesus and desire to follow Him with me– what more could I want!  I have so much to be grateful for!

Now, I’m once again at the Journey (which I’ll post about tomorrow) and enjoying it immensely.  Hopefully, this place will once again contain the news of my joys and journey with Jesus.  I hope you’ll stay tuned.

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