The Journey of SpiritWind

Deeper Life

spiritwind — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 11:08:02 +0000

Yesterday, Patty and I started attending a new Sunday School class at our church titled “Fireproofing your Marriage.” The curriculum is based on the movie “Fireproof” that came out last year. The class looks like it will be a good study in how to become a better husband to my wife. One thing that I have determined in myself is that I will always work harder to make my marriage the best it can be. Over our first 10 months, my wife and I have built a strong foundation and have a great life together, but I want it to be stronger still next year, and even stronger 10 years from now! The effort, time and devotion I put in to our marriage each day is an investment towards an amazing life. Patty, I love you and will pursue your heart every day for the rest of my days!

New Year. New Challenges?

spiritwind — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 21:40:14 +0000

As 2009 starts, I look to the future and what this year holds. 2008 saw a move to Florida, a marriage to an amazing wife, honeymoon in Italy, travel all over the US, and work that was good, but not as personally fulfilling as in the past. In 2009, one of my biggest hopes is to be able to move jobs into something that will not require any more travel, and something that can be challenging and fulfilling in what I do. Beyond that, Patty and I would like to really plug into a local church and get involved in our community again. We feel that our time in Ocala has afforded us a great start to our marriage, but this is not a permanent location for us…

Hopefully with a new job, a new city and new opportunities will await.

Showing Off

spiritwind — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 05:00:46 +0000

How does this sound … For an amazing wife, who has put up with constant travel, disruption to her schedule and a busy life, to celebrate 6 months of marriage by going to the hills of West Virginia for a family reunion? Not the most romantic of celebrations, which is why we celebrated a couple of weeks earlier in Colorado!

Yesterday was a celebration of family, as my Dad’s extended family all got together in Coonskin park in Charleston, West Virginia. It was great to see so many of my relatives, and introduce Patty to the ones who couldn’t make it to the wedding, including Grandma. She will be 90 in December, and looks healthier now than when I last saw her nearly 2 years ago!

Over the weekend, my family stayed at a farm on the top of a mountain, complete with cows and ostriches! It was good to unwind, relax and truly take some time off from the hustle of life. My current project at work is wrapping up – with a December 29, 2008 deployment. Unfortunately, the closer to the end we get, the busier times are…

I really should take a couple of weeks of downtime in early January before starting up any new contracts. Anyway, onwards and upwards!

Oh, and if you see her, let Patty know that I love her very much!

The Next Step – Revisited

spiritwind — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 05:00:39 +0000

This past week, my wife and I have been exploring all over Colorado. From the top of Pikes Peak to the bottom of the Royal Gorge, we have been a busy pair. We came out at this time specifically to celebrate 1 year from our engagement day, and 6 months of the most amazing marriage.

On Saturday, we hiked to the outcropping on Waldo Canyon where I proposed, and celebrated our love! Later on, we had a romantic dinner at a quaint inn in Manitou Springs where we feasted on all sorts of wild game. While we are not quite to the 6 month mark, we are celebrating a little early due to our upcoming travel schedule. Back to the grind today, where will go next? Depends on where the plane lands

And Away To Rome They Go!

spiritwind — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 05:00:51 +0000

Today, my journey ends. I have had an amazing life – 28 years and 2 months of great experience, learning, heartache and joy – but this is it. At 3:00pm today I am no longer me, but will now be part of us. I am excited, nervous, scared and happy all at the same time. As we say our vows, exchange rings and lay down our lives, my wife Patty and I will begin Our Journey!

And away to Rome we go … a Honeymoon in the Eternal City!

Going Back

spiritwind — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 05:00:01 +0000

As I sit on a plane, just like every Thursday for the past 2 years, I find myself torn between where I am currently going and where I would like to be. Tonight, I go to Colorado for a “Bachelor Weekend” with my friends. As much as I like hanging out with them, and as much as I love the Colorado scenery, I long to be with my fiancée this weekend…

Just 17 days left until I get married to the love of my life!

Revisiting Home

spiritwind — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 05:00:51 +0000

This past weekend was a homecoming. I took my fiancée to NC to spend a couple of days with my parents, and showing her around where I grew up. The time was a blur, as we were all over Winston-Salem. On Friday night, my parents hosted a party for us, to introduce Patty to lots of people from the church and neighborhood. Thanks for making her feel so welcome!

As we left to head back home to Florida, I couldn’t help but think this this would be the last time I would see my parents before the wedding. It is coming up soon, only 2 months away now – April 12, 2008.

The Next Step

spiritwind — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 17:00:12 +0000

One of the blessings of traveling for work is that I can choose where I go “home” on the weekend. So, over the last few months, I have been flying to Florida to visit with my girlfriend Patty about once every month. Our relationship has blossomed, and I have really fallen in love with this young woman.

Today marks a new day for a new step. Today, September 29, 2007, my future has changed into our future. Today she said yes! We hiked up to one of my favorite mountain spots in Colorado and I asked her to be my wife, and gave her a beautiful ring. I can’t wait to begin the next phase of this journey, where it is no longer my journey, but our journey!

Relationship Begins

spiritwind — Sat, 17 Mar 2007 17:00:55 +0000

Today is the first day of what will hopefully become a life-long relationship. For the last year or so, I have been writing e-mails back and forth with Patty Hudson, building a friendship. Today, I took a first step that I have never taken before. I asked a girl out! That is a big step for me, even at the age of 27. Patty seems to share an interest back in me, so now it is on to building a real relationship out of our friendship.

Meaningless, yet Hope abounds!

spiritwind — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 05:00:11 +0000

It was a warm evening in the desert, the sun beginning to set on another glorious day. A slight breeze carried through the air, and in the distance the mountains looked majestic under the darkening sky. Not far from where I was standing, the crowds were beginning to build in preparation for another endless night of partying, drinking and gambling. Yes, here I was in the midst of endless debauchery, the capitol of sin, Las Vegas.

This evening found me alone here in this city, with plenty of time to observe the human condition in this place. People were carrying on, laughing, celebrating, and throwing money around everywhere. “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” is the mentality that seems so prevalent here. Beyond the surface of the exterior emotions, people seemed to largely be walking in a hollow, empty shell of life. Throwing money after money, chasing pleasure after pleasure just to stave off the feeling of utter destruction just a while longer. These are my thoughts as I wandered the city, to observe what the human condition is like.

2:1 I said to myself, “Come on, let’s try pleasure. Let’s look for the ‘good things’ in life.” But I found that this, too, was meaningless. 2 So I said, “Laughter is silly. What good does it do to seek pleasure?” 3 After much thought, I decided to cheer myself with wine. And while still seeking wisdom, I clutched at foolishness. In this way, I tried to experience the only happiness most people find during their brief life in this world. – Ecclesiastes 2:1-3

Trying to find meaning, it seems that we as humans will search every corner we can find. But, what if, after all that searching, we never find meaning? If everything we try is meaningless, do we then just fritter all our time away on pursuing ‘Pleasure’? In contemplating this state of the human condition and contrasting the words of Ecclesiastes, it seems that a logical conclusion is to become depressed with what this world holds. Yet, the book ends with what I consider to be a great message of hope…

12:8 “Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless.” … 12:13 Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is your complete duty. – Ecclesiastes 12:8-13

Since anything we can hope to accomplish effectively boils down to meaningless, our only duty, the only thing that we have to do is to fear God and obey his commands. By following His commands, we find that the two most important things we can do are to love God, and to love others. So, in studying the human condition, I have come to the conclusion that the highest goal, my highest calling is to simply show love – to every person I possibly can.