Thursday, October 31, 2019

WHO ARE OUR 7 PILLARS THIS YEAR?? ... WHO ARE OUR TOP 7 DONORS THIS YEAR?

Did you know that our Top 7 Donors make up approximately 50% of our total contributions EVERY YEAR! We average about 100 awesome Donors each year, and it takes about 93 of those Donors to match the amount given each year by our Top 7 Donors. We think that is pretty astounding and worthy of recognition so we created a "7 PILLARS AWARD" to honor this significant group of Donors.

I actually discovered this stat after one of my devotions. I was reading Proverbs 9 and the first verse says, "Wisdom has built her house; she has hewn her seven pillars." I think of GTD as a house that we are building to glorify God as we share the Good News of Jesus. We are a nonprofit organization so our awesome Donors are our pillars that support the weight of the whole house. After reading that verse I started doing the math on our Top 7 Donors and was amazed to find out that regardless of the total amount of donations received, year-after-year-after-year the Top 7 Donors constantly made up approximately 50% of our annual donations, even though several of those 7 people varied from year-to-year.

Pretty cool!

Join us at our Annual Banquet on Nov 19th as we honor this special group of Donors (some like to stay anonymous).

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Click here for details or to donate or to register
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(19 DAYS TILL THE BANQUET!!!)

Going The Distance Adventure Ministry
God-awesome adventures since 1996!


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WOW!!!! ...PHP SPONSORS 2 TABLES (AGAIN!)!!


This is the 16TH YEAR PEOPLE HELPING PEOPLE of Pinellas Park has sponsored tables for the GTD Annual Fundraiser Banquet!

We are blown away by your continued support, kindness and generosity! From the bottom of our hearts, thank you very much! Thank you also for the work you do to serve the community.

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People Helping People is a non-profit organization with goals aimed at helping low income, elderly, or disabled Pinellas Park homeowners improve their property when in need.

People Helping People
"Ordinary People Working Together To Accomplish Extraordinary Things!"
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If you'd like to sponsor a table at GTD's Annual Fundraiser Banquet or register for this event click here


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Wednesday, October 30, 2019

WATER BOTTLE REMODEL!! ... GTD'S FAN FAVORITE WATER BOTTLE GETS REFRESHED LOOK!

We've updated one of our most popular water bottles! You may already have the original orange one with the oval logo, and now you can get the blue one with the updated GTD HEX logo!! This is another donor gift and new piece of GTD merchandise that will be debuted at our upcoming Annual Banquet.

Join us at our Annual Banquet on Nov 19th to see all of our new GTD items!!

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Click here for details
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(20 DAYS TILL THE BANQUET!!!)

Going The Distance Adventure Ministry
God-awesome adventures since 1996!


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Tuesday, October 29, 2019

BREAKING NEWS!!! ... GTD TO RECEIVE $3141.59 FROM A CORPORATE DONOR MATCH!

We received GREAT NEWS today! One of our top donors works for a corporation that matches dollar-for-dollar any donation made to a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization up to $3141.59. GTD is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, and we were approved to receive the matching funds!! "The check is in the mail"!! Thank You Jesus!

We will add that to our end-of-the-year fundraising tally on our quest to raise $100,000 as we prepare for our 24th year of ministry.

We also have another Ministry Partner who works for a company that matches donations to 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations and they are preparing to apply for that Corporate Donor Match for GTD. We will keep you posted on any updates about that.

DO YOU WORK FOR A BUSINESS THAT MATCHES YOUR DONATION TO NON-PROFITS? THIS IS A GREAT WAY TO DOUBLE YOUR CONTRIBUTION IMPACT TO GTD AND HELP US EXCEED OUR FUNDRAISING GOAL!!

A special thanks to our generous donor and his generous company for blessing GTD! We pray God's continual blessing upon you!!

Join us for our Annual Banquet, Nov 19th, at the Central Park Performing Arts Center in Largo, Florida, from 6:30pm to 9:00pm for a special night of celebration!!

Click here for details or to RSVP or to sponsor a table or to make a donation

(21 DAYS TILL THE BANQUET!)


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Monday, October 28, 2019

DONOR MATCH UPDATE!! ... $470 PER MONTH ($5640) ALREADY MATCHED!

1 week ago GTD's fantastic Board of Directors (B.O.D.) pooled their/our personal funds together to create our FIRST-EVER B.O.D. $18,000 Donor Match Challenge to kick off this year's fundraising quest. Our goal is to raise $100,000 as we prepare for our 24th year of outdoor ministry & beyond.

THE $18,000 DONOR MATCH CHALLENGE IS COMPRISED OF:

- $1000/month x 12 months = $12,000. Our Board will meet every monthly dollar pledged for the next 12 months up to $1000 per month!!!
- $3000 by NEW donors! Our Board will meet every one-time donation by NEW donors up to $3000!!!
- $3000 by RETURNING donors! Our Board will meet every one-time donation by RETURNING donors up to $3000!!!

TOTAL = $18,000 that our Board will match of your pledges & donations dollar-for-dollar to GTD!!!

I'M HAPPY TO REPORT OUR 1 WEEK UPDATE... WE HAVE BEEN BLESSED WITH $470 PER MONTH IN PLEDGES!! THANK YOU GENEROUS DONORS!!!

OUR BOARD WILL MEET THAT $470 PER MONTH TO DOUBLE YOUR IMPACT WHICH BRINGS THE TOTAL MONTHLY PLEDGES TO $940 PER MONTH... WHICH TOTALS $11,280 OVER THE COURSE OF 12 MONTHS!!! THAT'S HUGE!

When we combine that with our $7500 Grant (from a new donor that likes to stay anonymous) and our first recognized Table Sponsor it brings our total funds raised to >>> $19,080!!!!

We are almost to the 20% mark of our overall goal! That's significant, but we still have a looooong way to gooooooo.

Thank you awesome donors & supporters!!

We still have $530 PER MONTH remaining in our B.O.D. Donor Match Challenge as well as the $3000 remaining in the NEW donors challenge and $2850 remaining in the RETURNING donors challenge!!

Help us hit & exceed our $100,000 goal!!!

Sponsor a table, make a one-time donation, and/or become a monthly donor for the next 12 months and help launch GTD into our 24th year of ministry & beyond!!

Click on this link to sponsor a table, make a donation, or to sign-up to be a Monthly Partner

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! GOD BLESS YOU!!!!!!

(22 DAYS TILL THE BANQUET!!!)

Going The Distance Adventure Ministry
God-awesome adventures since 1996!

FIRST TABLE SPONSOR!! THE SCHMIDT HOME TEAM!!!!


A BIG SHOUTOUT to our very FIRST Table Sponsor for GTD's Annual Fundraiser Banquet.... Debbie Schmidt and The Schmidt Home Team! Woohoo!!!! Thank you Debbie for kicking off our yearly event!

This is the second year in the row The Schmidt Home Team has sponsored a table for the GTD banquet! Debbie was Doug's amazing realtor who helped him find and close on his very first house last year! From start to finish Debbie did an incredible job and comes highly recommended!

Thank you so much Debbie Garfield Schmidt and to your team for your support!

For more information about Debbie and her team go to: www.schmidthometeam.com

If you'd like to sponsor a table at GTD's Annual Fundraiser Banquet or register for this event please click here


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Sunday, October 27, 2019

HIS KINGDOM, HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS, HIS GLORY!! ... PRAYING FOR A BANQUET THAT HONORS GOD!


Today was a day off & a day of rest, but I was still able to bathe our upcoming Annual Banquet in prayer.

Our premier commitment is to seek first God's Kingdom & His Righteousness and to manage a ministry for His Glory. It's all about Jesus =)

Join us at our Annual Banquet on Nov 19th and let's celebrate God and all He is doing!

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Click here for details
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(23 DAYS TILL THE BANQUET!!!)

Going The Distance Adventure Ministry
God-awesome adventures since 1996!

Saturday, October 26, 2019

AAAAAAND ACTON!! ... 2019 HIGHLIGHT VIDEOS IN THE WORKS!

Carson doesn't just leap off mountains, bowl 275 games, and hit mammoth homeruns. He also studies, and is being mentored in, video & film production! He's like human duct tape... he does everything!

Today we are working on the GTD highlight videos for our upcoming Annual Banquet. There is so much great drone footage. I can't wait to see how this turns out!!

Join us at our Annual Banquet on Nov 19th to watch the video premiere of our 2019 highlights!

It's! Going! To! Be! Epic!

(24 DAYS TILL THE BANQUET!!!)

Going The Distance Adventure Ministry
God-awesome adventures since 1996!


Friday, October 25, 2019

HYDRATION ELATION!! ...GTD 34oz NALGENE WATER BOTTLES!

Here's a glimpse of another donor gift and new piece of GTD merchandise that we're very excited about. It's our NEW GTD 34oz (BPA FREE) NALGENE WATER BOTTLES! This item can help keep you hydrated while exercising, working, or on a GTD adventure ;).

Join us at our Annual Banquet on Nov 19th to see all of our new GTD items!!

(25 DAYS TILL THE BANQUET!!!)


Thursday, October 24, 2019

OUR 2nd T-SHIRT IS.... A FIRST-EVER SPECIAL EDITION!! ...OF CARSON VESCOVI'S BOLD LEAPING RAPPEL!!!

OUR 2nd T-SHIRT IS.... A FIRST-EVER SPECIAL EDITION!!
...OF CARSON VESCOVI'S BOLD LEAPING RAPPEL!!!

Since the instant that I witnessed the leap and then saw the picture that captured the boldness I thought to myself, this would be an amazing poster or T-Shirt!

I'm thrilled to show you the final proof of our upcoming special edition GTD T-Shirt that immortalizes Carson 's courageous leap off Currahee Mtn. It's an encouragement to us all to BE BOLD in our faith, in our lives, and in our pursuits.

This T-Shirt will be debuted at our upcoming Annual Banquet and be available as a special gift to our special donors. Just another reason to attend this year's GTD Banquet!

Our Annual Banquet is Nov 19th, at the Central Park Performing Arts Center in Largo, Florida, from 6:30pm to 9:00pm.

Click here for more details or to donate online or to register for the event

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Special thanks to Stacy for capturing this moment on film along with Austin, Hailey, & Nick!
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Special thanks to Jason Lazzaro for his graphic design skills that transformed a picture into amazing T-Shirt artwork! ( www.jasonlaz.com )
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Special thanks to Chuck Stewart of AxCelMark Corporation for turning graphic design artwork into T-Shirts!
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Going The Distance Adventure Ministry
God-awesome adventures since 1996!

(26 DAYS TILL THE BANQUET)



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Wednesday, October 23, 2019

HOT OFF THE PRESS! ... CHECK OUT OUR NEW GOD-AWESOME GTD T-SHIRTS!! ... THIS IS THE FIRST OF 2 NEW GTD T-SHIRTS!!!

HOT OFF THE PRESS!
... CHECK OUT OUR NEW GOD-AWESOME GTD T-SHIRTS!!
....... THIS IS THE FIRST OF 2 NEW GTD T-SHIRTS!!!

We have 2 NEW GTD T-SHIRTS that will be debuting at this year's Annual Banquet. This is the release of the first shirt and we love it!

These shirts are not for sale... They are our gift to our Ministry Partners! Anyone & everyone who donates $100 or more (or signs up to be a Monthly Donor at $10/month or more) receives this T-shirt as a small token of our appreciation for your support.

Join us at our Annual Banquet, make a donation of $100 or more (or sign-up to be a Monthly Donor at $10 or more per month), and walk away with a GOD-AWESOME GTD T-SHIRT!

(If you live outside of the Tampa Bay area or can't wake it to our Annual Banquet simply donate online and we will mail you your new GOD-AWESOME GTD T-SHIRT!)

Our Annual Banquet is Nov 19th, at the Central Park Performing Arts Center in Largo, Florida, from 6:30pm to 9:00pm.

Click here for more details or to donate online or to register for the event.

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Special thanks to our dear friend & graphic designer Jason Lazzaro for designing this year's T-shirts! He is talented beyond measure and amazing to work with! You can check out all of his work at www.jasonlaz.com
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And special thanks to Chuck Stewart of AxCelMark Corporation for printing our shirts each year! He is such a Godly guy and pours his heart into everything he does! You can check out his website at www.companycasuals.com/AxcelmarkPrimary/start.jsp
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GTD is dedicated to sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ which transforms the God-awful into the GOD-AWESOME!

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Going The Distance Adventure Ministry
God-awesome adventures since 1996!

(27 DAYS TILL THE BANQUET)


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Tuesday, October 22, 2019

CARRABBA'S IS BACK!!

¡AY, CARAMBA!
.... OR BETTER YET ¡AY, CARRABBA!

GREAT NEWS! IT'S GOING TO BE ANOTHER DELICIOUS BANQUET BECUZ.... CARRABBA'S IS BACK!!

CHICKEN MARSALA!!! NEED I SAY MORE =)

Join us for our Annual Banquet, Nov 19th, at the Central Park Performing Arts Center in Largo, Florida, from 6:30pm to 9:00pm for a savory night of celebration!!

Click here for details or to register.

(28 DAYS TILL THE BANQUET!)


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Monday, October 21, 2019

((( GTD RED ALERT ))) $18,000 DONOR MATCH CHALLENGE!!!!


((( GTD RED ALERT )))

$18,000 DONOR MATCH CHALLENGE!!!!

GTD BOARD OF DIRECTORS COMBINE PERSONAL FUNDS TO ISSUE MAJOR DONOR CHALLENGE AS WE KICK OFF OUR 2019 FUNDRAISING QUEST TO RAISE $100,000 FOR THIS YEAR'S BANQUET!!

DOUBLE YOUR DONATION! TURN $18,000 INTO $36,000!!

FOR EVERY DOLLAR YOU DONATE OUR BOARD IS DIGGING DOWN INTO OUR POCKETS TO MATCH YOUR DONATION UP TO $18,000!!! (see details below)

OUR BOARD IS MADE UP OF 11 FANTASTIC PEOPLE WHO BELIEVE IN THIS MINISTRY AND WANT TO BE THE FIRST TO DONATE TO THE CAUSE IN SUCH A WAY THAT INVITES OTHERS TO PARTICIPATE. I LOVE THESE GUYS!

A large part of our last Board Meeting was dedicated to preparing for this year's Annual Banquet and hitting our goal of raising $100,000 as we get ready for our 24th year of ministry. We raised $82,000 last year which left us $18,000 short of our goal. As a Board we are all in this year to breakthrough that last $18,000 hurdle.

WE ARE ASKING YOU TO JOIN OUR QUEST OF RAISING $100,000 FOR OUR 24TH YEAR OF MINISTRY!

DOUBLE YOUR DONATION!!

HERE'S THE DETAILS OF HOW THE $18,000 CHALLENGE IS COMPRISED:

 - $1000/month x 12 months = $12,000. Our Board will meet every monthly dollar pledged for the next 12 months up to $1000 per month!!!
 - $3000 by NEW donors! Our Board will meet every one-time donation by NEW donors up to $3000!!!
 - $3000 by RETURNING donors! Our Board will meet every one-time donation by RETURNING donors up to $3000!!!

TOTAL = $18,000 that our Board will match of your pledges & donations to GTD!!!

THAT'S HUGE!!! HELP US GET THOSE MATCHED FUNDS BY MAKING A ONE-TIME DONATION OR SIGNING-UP TO BE A MONTHLY PARTNER FOR THE NEXT 12 MONTHS.

Click on this link to make a donation or to sign-up to be a Monthly Partner: https://gtdbullhorn.blogspot.com/p/annual-banquet.html

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! GOD BLESS YOU!!!!!!


(29 DAYS TILL THE BANQUET)


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Sunday, October 20, 2019

4 JAG Awards going out this year!


But who are the recipients????

Join us at our Annual Banquet on Nov 19th to find out!!

30 DAYS TILL THE GTD BANQUET!!!


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Saturday, October 19, 2019

HERE WE GOOOOOOOO!!! $7500 GRANT!!!!!!!!!


HERE WE GOOOOOOOO!!!

31 DAYS till our Annual Banquet and we are kicking off our quest to raise $100,000 as we go into our 24th year of ministry!!

I'm beyond thrilled to announce that GTD has received a $7500 GRANT from a new anonymous source to kick off our fundraising quest!

WOW!!!! We are floored! We have a huge distance to travel, but what a way to dash out of the starting blocks!!

Our profound, deep, and heartfelt thanks to our grant source (you know who you are!)... you just blessed our socks off!

This is our 3rd year of trying to raise $100k for our programs. We keep getting closer. In 2017 we raised $75k... In 2018 we raised $82,000... Will 2019 be our year of hitting $100k?!?!

Follow all the daily BREAKING NEWS on our Blogsite & Facebook Page... and track our progress on our Fundraising Tracking link.

And help us hit our goal by sponsoring a banquet table or making a one-time donation or becoming a monthly partner... it all adds up!!

Thank you to everyone who invests in this ministry!! It's impacting more lives than you know!

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Facebook Page
Fundraising Tracking
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Going The Distance Adventure Ministry
God-awesome adventures since 1996!


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Thursday, October 17, 2019

2020 SPRING, SUMMER, & FALL GTD EVENTS ARE OPEN FOR PRIVATE GROUP REGISTRATION!!!


- Mission Trips 
- Adventure Trips 
- Retreats 
- Camps 
- DestiNATION Excursions 
- Backpacking Trips 
- Day Trips 
- Team Building 
- Athletic Events 
- & More

Let GTD custom build a God-awesome adventure for your group!

We are already getting a lot of interest in our 2020 private event calendar. To learn more about WHAT WE OFFER or to register your group for one of our events click on this link.


TAKE A LEAP OF FAITH YOU WILL NEVER REGRET!


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Saturday, October 5, 2019

Have a dog gone great day people!


The GTD Dogz annual vaccinations done!

Friday, October 4, 2019

IT'S BAAAAAAACK!! .....SAVE THE DATE!


Our most important event of the year is back! Come celebrate 23 years of God-awesome memories with us and help launch us on into number 24 & beyond at this year's Annual Banquet!

NOV 19th (Tuesday night)
6:30pm - 9pm
Central Park Performing Arts Center
CATERED BY CARRABBA'S!!!

It's going to be another fun-filled, inspirational, and delicious night!

Click here for more details, to register, donate, or sponsor a table.

We look forward to seeing you there!!

Wednesday, October 2, 2019

DAUNTING 2 MONTHS ....TURNING CIRCUMSTANCES INTO SPIRITUAL ADVANCES =)

Two months ago I was finishing up a great summer of adventure camps. I was looking forward to the next couple of months of working on several GTD priorities and home renovations projects (that I haven't been able to work on for the past year).

But then the wheels fell off (almost literally):

- TRUCK REPAIRS. The front end of the truck had to be replaced. That kept me stuck up in TN for nearly a week.

- DRYING GEAR. When I returned home I had to start drying out all of our tents, tarps, & camping equipment (this rarely happens, but we had to pack up everything while it was still wet)... Setting out 16 large tents, tarps, etc to dry during rainy season by myself is a very laborious and time consuming chore. It's two months later and I'm still drying out gear.

- FLEA INFESTATION. When I returned home I was greeted by a few hundred fleas!! I had a flea infestation throughout the house!! My summer was packed and a few things fell through the cracks... including that I failed to give the dogs their flea treatments for 2 months. By the time I got home there were hundreds (maybe thousands) of fleas. Don't feel bad for me... this was the 3rd time I've made this dumb mistake in the past 10 years. I know better! Feel bad for the poor dogs! They were the ones suffering =(. One flea can lay up to 50 eggs per day so it only takes a missed treatment and a few days for an infestation to happen. Fighting a flea infestation while trying to avoid toxic chemicals is a relentless DAILY war of vacuuming the carpets, mopping the floors, washing & spraying the dogs with natural flea killer, sanitizing (in a washing machine) every piece of material (bedding, clothing, throw carpets, etc) exposed to the dogs, and trimming their hair to near baldness. In addition to all that, I had to treat the source of the fleas - the lawn - with insecticide. Just treating the lawn took 3 days. Fighting fleas is like a part-time job! It literally takes 4-5 hours per day (over several weeks) to win each day's flea battle and ultimately win the infestation war. I've been working on it for 6 weeks with a few days off here & there, and thankfully it's almost under control. Almost.

- PARENTS' HEALTH. My parents have been going through some tough times. Traci & I have been preparing for years to one day transition into the primary caregivers for our parents. We are honored to honor our parents and be there for them just like they've always been there for us. This has been a rough year for them. Dad has had a variety of challenges, but finally got his much needed (bionic) knee replacement surgery in August. Mom has had her share of challenges in recent months. But they both keep bouncing back (praise the Lord). Sometimes Traci & I feel like we live at the hospital & doctors' offices. That's not a complaint; it's just a new level of assistance they are needing and we are blessed to be there for them. Laurie, Traci & I have become a good solid team focused on helping them. Over the past 2 months we've installed monitoring video cameras, organized their medicine and doctor appointments, organized & taken care of all their bill payments, made modifications at their house to help with new challenges of daily activities. We are in a constant state of readiness... Often, almost daily, dropping everything to rush over and help when an incident happens (just like they did for us growing up and throughout our lives). They are amazing people! We have officially transitioned to standby caregivers ready to move into action everyday, but trying not to infringe on their remaining independence.

- SOILED SOCKS. This is embarrassing. This year, during the summer I used my old tennis shoes as my water shoes. When we went bridge jumping, cliff jumping, and sliding over waterfalls I wore my tennis shoes with low-cut ankle socks. At the end of the activity I would change into some dry socks & shoes and set my wet socks and shoes in the back of the truck to air out & dry. Well, over the course of a few weeks I compiled quite a collection of wet socks in the front corner of the bed of the truck. Evidently those socks would bake during the sunny days and get saturated during the rainy days... and get real stinky. I never noticed. I simply planned to wash them when I got back home. As I was preparing to drive back to Florida my friend Stacy went to put something in the back of the truck when he smelled something very foul! He winced in nasal agony like he had just happened upon something dead. It wasn't something dead, it was my pile of wet socks. I went to confirm it and nearly hurled when I smelled the nasty pile of malodorous footwear. I've never piled up wet smelly socks before so I never imagined it would become a problem... or to what extent it would become a problem. I just thought that all I needed to do was put them in the washing machine when I got home. And I did just that. I put them in the washing machine, but here was my big mistake... I also put my T-shirts and towels in the wash with them. Nooooooo! Do you know what happened next?! Instead of the socks getting clean, the T-shirts and towels became putrid! They were all now rank! The soiled socks were like the beast rotting everything they touched. I didn't realize at first that my shirts were contaminated so I put them through the dryer. And that was my next mistake! The dryer seems to have permanently baked in the odor. But it doesn't end there. I still didn't notice that my shirts were now putrefied so I folded them and placed them in the drawers WITH MY CLEAN UNCONTAMINATED SHIRTS. Bad decision! Because the reeking beast passed on its rancid smell to my other clean shirts!! I've washed everything numerous times with different detergents with very little improvements to show for it... or smell for it. I've spent so much time trying to fix this problem that was easily avoidable! As the old saying goes, "An ounce of prevention saves a pound of cure". True that!

- WASHING MACHINE DIES. The washing machine bit the dust! One of the most important tools for the war on fleas & the fight against soiled socks - the washing machine - stopped working. After weighing my options for about 2 weeks (repair or buy used) I found a good deal on Offer Up for a quality washer & dryer matching set. They were about an hour away in Riverview. I had been bagging everything to be washed and setting it in the garage. After 2 weeks the piles were mounting. Moving the old washer & dryer, picking up the new set, and setting everything up took some time, but I'm fully operational again. And, I love the new set!

- BURIED ALIVE. The garage is maxed out! All of GTD's gear is now at my house (which saved GTD nearly $3000 in annual private mini-storage rental fees). But it takes up a large footprint in the garage (as well as throughout the rest of the house). In addition to the GTD gear, over the past year I've been collecting several items & materials to go towards the home renovation. Most of it is pre-owned that I find on Offer Up at a GREAT PRICE (sometimes free) and purchase way ahead of time (even if I'm not ready to start on that particular project). The trade-off is that every inch of the garage is packed full of projects waiting to be done & GTD gear needing to be organized. If I had it to do over again, I would have waited to get some of these items (such as vinyl fencing, farm table bench & chairs, kitchen cabinets, etc, etc). But I'm not guaranteed that those items will even be available on Offer Up (or at the same great price) when I do start the projects... so the trade-off is that I'm living like a project hoarder. I'm buried alive under lots of stuff. The major downside to all of this is that all of my exercise equipment was also buried and I haven't been able to get my workouts in since I've been back from the summer trips. That is, until a few days ago. I found a few hours here & there to work in the garage. It took about a week, but I was finally able to organize 1/4th of the garage where my gym equipment is and now I'm back to working out. The next 1/4th of the garage is going to be the workshop area with all my tools so that I can start cranking out the home renovation projects. And the remaining half of the garage is mostly storage of GTD gear & personal items which still need to be sorted, consolidated, & stored (or sold, donated, or thrown away depending on its usability).

- MY ACTUAL JOB. I've had several deadlines and urgent requirements with my full-time job at GTD. That's normal, but with everything else going on it has been a daunting task to stay on task.

- MORE??? I know I'm forgetting a few other things, but the gist is that the past 2 months have been daunting... many times exhausting & frustrating... and sometimes a big blur as one day bleeds into the next day.

BUT THE REALLY COOL THING IS how much God has been teaching me through all of this. In many ways these are old lessons God has already taught me, but is now teaching me again at a different level. At first, I was trying to fight past all of these "obstacles"... trying to overcome them and not be overcome by them. I failed many days. I was treating most of these workloads (except my parents) like they were an unwelcome intrusion to my daily priorities. They were sucking up all of my time and energy. I was letting that affect me. I was letting that infect me. I was letting the lack of progress frustrate me. I was letting my perspective and my perception of these circumstances bother me... agitate me. But then God gave me the insight & understanding that I was lacking. These things weren't obstacles to be avoided. They were (and are) part of His ordained testing grounds to be embraced. They aren't meant for my destruction. On the contrary, they are designed for my construction. They are my latest basic training for my calling. Like in the original Karate Kid movie, painting the fence - waxing the cars - sanding the deck weren't actually about painting, waxing, or sanding. They were the mechanism of training martial arts. But more important than the skills of karate was the mindset of maturity. The misperception of painting, waxing, and sanding as a waste of time builds an environment of frustration for the immature. But when the Karate Kid found out that all of his slave labor wasn't actually slave labor, but was rather martial arts training he was enlightened. That truth transformed him. That truth gave a new value to all of his "wasted time & energy". And so it is with me (and all of God's servants). The culmination of all of my "circumstances" are causing me to be stuck. I'm forced to wait for the progress I so desperately want NOW. And that's the point. Waiting (and loss) are God's ultimate tools used to test His servants. Ask Noah. Ask Abraham. Ask Joseph. Ask Moses. Ask David. Ask all of God's greatest servants and you will see the common thread that I so easily overlooked. Time isn't as important to God as I think it is. Waiting is God's method of choice to develop our character. He gives us each a great calling. We get fixated on the destination. But God gets fixated on the journey. We think it's immediate. He knows it's a process. 10 years, 20 years, 50 years... God really isn't concerned about the amount of time. But we are. And that creates a "situation of frustration". And that's the training & testing ground. That frustration is like the oil light on your car. Except it doesn't indicate low oil pressure, it indicates a lack of maturity (AKA: underdeveloped character). Soon after we receive our calling everything goes "wrong". We get stuck. Bogged down. Paralyzed. It doesn't make sense in our destination mindset. God gave me this promise, but all I'm experiencing is problems. And that's the point. Those problems prepare me for the promise. Those set-backs prepare me for the set-ups. Those beat-downs prepare me for the build-ups. Those wilderness journeys prepare me for the promise land destinations. I'm not naturally ready for the Promise Land. I'm impatient. I'm aggressive. I'm ambitious. I'm self absorbed. I'm in a hurry. I'm prone to worry. I lack wisdom. I lack meekness. I lack humility. At the moment I'm called I'm everything I shouldn't be, and at the same time I'm very little of what I should be. That's why there is a long wilderness that stands between where I received my calling and where my Promise Land resides. The wilderness is the classroom. The silence is the Teacher. The lack of resources is the point. It's designed to develop my character. It's designed to teach me special skills. It's designed to get me living fully in the moment instead of missing the here & now because of an unhealthy preoccupation with the destination. If you are like me, you immaturely think this is a big waste of time. Why waste 40 years, 25 years, 15 years in the wilderness?!?! Wouldn't that time be better served living out our great calling. And with that thought we miss the point. We display an immature underdeveloped faith. What is time to God? He invented time. What is treasure to God? He invented value. What is talent to God? He invented giftedness. All these misperspectives cause hurriedness and worriedness which are the essence of a lack of faith. Immaturity gives birth to frustration which eventually culminates into quitting. When we quit we live in tents in the wilderness, instead of enduring until we reach the Promise Land flowing with milk and honey. We stop painting the fence, waxing the cars, and sanding the deck because we incorrectly define them as pointless. We never experience the Karate Kid ending victory because we get frustrated with our sensei's mundane tasks. We quit because we hate to wait. We quit because we hate the silence. We quit because we don't understand that all the mundaneness isn't actually mundane at all. It's the actual process that prepares for the promise. So for me, I'm no longer seeing truck repairs, flea wars, wet tents, soiled socks, broken washing machines, unending projects, unaccomplished goals, and countless deadlines as inconvenient interruptions to my destination. I'm seeing them the way God intends them - as my testing & training ground gift wrapped to look like mundane purpose blocking circumstances when they are actually designed to develop spiritual advances. Somehow instantly (and hopefully permanently), I no longer care about the amount of time it takes. My God invented time. He can dole out more hours, days, weeks, months and years at the blink of an eye. I'm no longer fixated on the destination. I'm caught up in the journey. I'm walking with Jesus through the wilderness, and somehow I'm caught up in the present tense. I'm fully alive in the moment. My cup overflows with joy whether I'm fighting fleas or setting out tarps to dry or beating back the habit of frustration when I can't make "progress"... I've relearned that the source of my joy isn't about progress, it's about a person. As long as I'm with Jesus I'm full of joy regardless of my circumstances. I don't need anything else in life. I'm fully content in Jesus =)

AND ON A SIDE NOTE... I now own a lawn spreader, dog grooming clippers, dog washing tub, a new vacuum, and a "new" Kenmore Elite washer/dryer set... so there you go ;)