And let's all say hello to my friend Jared, the new roommate.

Behold the power of grilling.

The billowing smoke looked cool, so I took a picture.

Caleb places chicken onto the grill.

First Assembly has something called Summer Sunday Nights that they have on the last Sunday of each month during the summer. They cancel the evening service and get together to fellowship. I was drafted to help out with some of the barbecue preparation this morning. It wasn't that bad. We arrived at the park to grill the chicken, and this shot was during the setup.

I really don't know what this post is going to be about. I have a general idea but I think I'm just going to write and see what comes out.

I feel like right now I'm in a very restful place. Yes, I have a new job. Yes, I have financial stresses. Overall, though, I feel like I'm on vacation. A vacation where you have to go to work, but a vacation nonetheless.

I'm not stressed. Not upset. Not worried.

I really don't have any responsibilities other than work right now.

I like this.

Of course this isn't going to last forever, but I'm going to enjoy it while it does. The past year has been so rough emotionally, but it seems like things are finally turning around. I may whine and complain about the stresses I have, but things are much better than they have been as of late.

I'm quite grateful.

I just paid my web site fee, which was late, to get my web site back online. Now my next payment is due, and I can't pay it, which means my site may be going down again. Why does getting back on your feet financially have to be so difficult???

I think that faith is more than a belief. A belief is nothing more than an opinion, really. There are all kinds of opinions about anything and everything, but faith is something different.

Faith is more than what you believe. Faith is something that you hold on to so tightly and for so long that you could no sooner let go than you could stop breathing. It's holding on to that belief when you feel like believing it and when you feel like giving up. It is something that causes you to change your life because you believe it so much.

It's being sure. It's being certain. But...and here's the thing...without proof.

If you have proof, then it's not faith. It's a fact.

There seems to be evidence in the Bible that faith can cause things to become fact. It's weird. It doesn't make sense. It isn't logical.

Yet faith, true faith, transcends logic. Quite a paradox, isn't it?

Faith is a hell of a thing.

Getting paid is a wonderful thing.

I was at work yesterday and a dad was renting some videos. His son was looking at the ice cream display case longingly while his dad was checking out. The dad looked over and told his son to get an ice cream out for him.

"And while you're at it, get one for yourself, too."

The son couldn't believe it.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

The son was torn. He REALLY wanted some ice cream, but he had some vital information his dad needed to know.

"Even though I had some ice cream already?"

The dad looked sort of exasperated, like he couldn't believe his son was being so hardheaded.

"Yeah, even though you had some ice cream already."

So the son got what he wanted, even though he couldn't believe his dad was okay with letting him have what he wanted to have.

There's a lot to be said for how fathers give good things to their children. And also about how this post is really not about ice cream at all.

I'm not much for cars, but this is a nice PT Cruiser.

Why, oh why, can't Christians be original?

Never thought I'd find a bright side to this unrelenting heat, but I did. And I feel so ghetto...

Over the past few days, I've been reflecting on life lately.

It's safe to say I'm a different person now than I was a few months ago. Even though I've made some serious missteps here and there, I think that overall the change has been positive.

I have more self confidence, which has resulted in less second-guessing.

My faith has increased as I have seen God do the impossible. As I continue to see him do the impossible. As I believe him to continue what he has begun in many areas.

Due to the public nature of this blog I can't be all that specific. But I do want to note that my life is improving for the better, and I'm beginning to see that.

That is all. You may go on with your lives.

I've been making some postcards for my friend Rafe to hand out while he's at the X Games with his nonprofit organization that raises money for AIDS and cancer research.

Those postcards are below.

And I can't believe it's August already.