lost a lot of money today, but i'm okay with it.

unbelievably heavy

i went to new york last week and on my first day there i was with a few friends and we were touring the city trying not to get lost.  we got into a cab and headed on our way to explore this great city.  all i had with me was a spring my step, a smile on my face, and my sling bag with my computer in it.

after we got out of the cab we started walking around through brooklyn, then we went down near coney island, then i think we were in lower manhattan, washington square, the campus of NYU and then finally ended our day by returning to our rooms that were actually in new jersey.

here's the thing....  i didn't realize how much my sling bag weighed with that laptop in it.  it wasn't bad at first, but we ended up walking, and walking, and walking, and walking, and WALKING more than i ever imagined.  at the end of the day we walked around 12-14 miles that afternoon/evening and that bag got heavier, and heavier, and heavier, you get the idea.  my back was killing me, my feet were about to break off, my shoulders were tormented with stinging pain from this bag.  at first the bag didn't seem like much weight at all, but in the end it was HORRIBLE.

at one point i looked across the hudson river and i saw were the twin towers used to be.  my mind went back to 10 years ago on that devastating day were more than 3,000 people died.   what especially lingered in my mind was the story of the Fire Department of New York.  Those fire fighters carried close to 100lbs of gear when entering those buildings.  those men must have looked up at the towers and realized how painful it was going to be on their bodies to go up nearly 100 flights of stairs.  here's the thing.... there was no hesitation.  THEY WENT UP THOSE BUILDINGS WITH DETERMINATION.  maybe in their mind they knew it was going to be the end of their lives, maybe they didn't.  it doesn't matter....they did it.   it must have taken a toll on their bodies as they progressed up each level.  i can't imagine that kind of pain in their bodies, the pain in their minds, the fear of that whole day.

in the end... the towers collapsed and those men died.  they are HEROES!  their story has completely changed my view on so many things.  their sacrifice brings goose bumps to my arms, and tears to my eyes.

after contemplating that for some time i was about to head back to my room and head to bed....and then it hit me.....

there was another person who entered a "burning building" and knew the pain it would cause his body, he carried a ridiculous amount of weight on his back, and he also died to save people.

goose bumps on my arms, tears in my eyes, my life is changed forever..... He's my Lord Jesus Christ, and my allegiance is to Him and His kingdom.

me??? blogging??

so a couple of years ago i began to write down a few of my thought thinking that someone would be interested in reading whatever i wrote down.  i was strong for a few entries, but then life just "took over".  

i'm horrible about putting pen to my thoughts....but my wife isn't.  she graduated as a journalism major from college and is pretty good about writing on her own blog. in some ways she is a inspiration for me to also share my 2 cents with the world.

so this blog will be about nothing and everything.....hopefully!!

let's start off with something light....

i just turned 32 years old earlier this week (maybe i'm growing through a mid life crisis, which would explain my urge to blog)  .... anyways, it got me thinking about who am i really??  i wish i had a concrete answer to that questions.  perhaps i'll spend the rest of my life contemplating the potential answers.
 
the one that seems to predominate in my mind, as of right now, is that i'm a collection of experiences that are mingled with hard trials and joyful victories.   i look back and see different people that have entered and exited my life with deep, long lasting impact.  Some of those people left strong positive impressions and some people not so much.  some of those hard battles were tough at the time, but have produced so much fruit since.

anyways, i think one of my goals this year is too reflect back on those positive impression that people made, and contact them to let them know how important they were to me, and how my experience with them has changed my character and who i am at the age of 32.

maybe you can as well.

i know by now you have noticed that i did not capitalize at the beginning of sentences, nor did i capitalize the letter "i"...... sorry, that's just who i am.  :)  

so a question for you.... will you keep reading if i write?

jtom