Go West Young Man

"...Go West, young man, go West and grow up with the country." - popularized by Horace Greeley


I am not so young anymore, but I feel it and my sons are young!

As you can probably tell from earlier posts Shannon and I have long had a dream of moving to Colorado, and I don't mean to Denver or other areas in the front range, but to a place where the mountains touch the sky, the elk and bear still run wild and the snow falls deep! We have spent the last three years praying about moving to Colorado, at first it was simply because we loved the scenery and the weather; however over those three years the Lord revealed to us exactly what was truly in our hearts.

God's favor was upon me when I had three sons, each of my sons has their own personality and tastes but they are all boy. They love to run, wrestle, explore, and be dangerous. As I have grown older and watched my boys get bigger I began to realize that all my dreams, anything that I wanted to accomplish was trumped by what legacy I would leave in my sons. Whatever in life I would do, whether be someone famous, make a lot of money, or just be the ordinary person that somehow makes their way through life succumbing to the culture all of those things would eventually be forgotten. The one thing that would not be forgotten is the legacy that I leave with my sons. That starts out with loving my wife. (That could be a whole other post in and of itself) It also starts with being actively involved in my sons' lives. Now I can do those things regardless of where I live. So much of what we pass to our children though is through how we live, there is the saying that "much more is caught than taught" and that is the truth.

What the Lord has so carefully revealed to us about ourselves is that we must go west so that we can learn to live again, out of the safety of the familiar, out on our own if you will. We are blazing a new trail that will have repercussions for many generations on my family, on my sons, on their, children, and on their children's children. You get my point. Living out there where we can all explore together, live in the unfamiliar together, my boys will get a chance to "catch" how to live amongst the challenges, amongst those mountains that call a young man to reach the top, the white water rivers that dare us to ride them if you can and after all that to sit quietly in the solitude of it all and pray together. Well one might say that those challenges exist wherever you live, they do; however it is a call to my heart that only the Lord truly understands. Some people are awe inspired by the majesty of a thunderstorm, some by the intricacies of a flower, I am awe inspired by the mountains. Watch that scene at the beginning of A River Runs Through It where the two young brothers are running in the mountains, some folks will through their cynicism and own hurting heart will trash it, but those that admit their brokenness and seek the awesomeness of God will be stirred. I was.

I don't expect anyone to truly understand the fullness of our move, read Wild At Heart by John Eldredge to catch a glimpse. We are truly heading on another great adventure, it won't be an easy one by any means. This moving journey so far has been filled with ups and downs, but the Lord constantly reminds me, Matt, "Don't miss the Journey". I am trying not to.

Exactly two weeks from today our house will be packed up and we will be on our way out west to settle in Leadville, CO. It is about 100 miles west of Denver nestled between the Sawatch Range and the Mosquito Range. On average it receives about 150 inches of snow each winter, has an average summer high of 71 degrees and averages 310 days of sunshine a year. Leadville sits at 10,200 feet above sea level.

We are very excited, albeit right now it is very surreal, we are also nervous and scared. It is very different from everything that we are familiar with. The Lord will see us through it. Don't miss the journey.

A promise

This morning as I prayed to the Lord He spoke to me a promise. I was specifically praying about Colorado, my new job that is to be made available in July and my family. I knelt on the floor of our living room. The blinds in the kitchen were open. The cloudy sky was breaking apart and then the golden sun shone on me. As I prayed the Lord stopped me, spoke to me. Matt as sure as the sun rises each day I will fulfill your dream. I will move you to Colorado. Matt you have to honor me, honor me with your life, your thoughts, your body, sin no more, be a changed man. Rid yourself of the anger and the selfishness. Honor me and I will honor you. Use Colorado and what I give you there for my glory, open your home, lead your family. - December 1, 2010

A time for everything

It's pretty ironic that I read the book of Ecclesiates while coming home from my trip to Denver this week. I am not sure if you have ever read Ecclesiates but it basically starts out with that everything is meaningless, or as the NKJV would put it, it's all vain. King Solomon with all his riches, experiences, fame, etc. came to the conclusion that it's all meaningless. As he continued on he realized that without God everything is truly meaningless, a chasing after the wind, for: "Concerning the condition of the sons of men, God tests them, that they may see that they themselves are like animals. For what happens to the sons of men also happens to animals; one thing befalls them: as one dies, so dies the other." (Eccl 3:18-19) You see today we had to put Kody our cat down, very, very hard.

We had Kody for 12 years, Shannon surprised me with him about 5 months after we were married. So while on the one hand we realize that he is just a pet, on the other we are faced with the realization that we live after the fall and that this is the path we all must travel both men and animals. Earlier in Eccl. chapter 3 King Solomon goes into the Time for Everything, a time to be born and a time to die... a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance. So while we mourn, mourn the passing of a family pet, mourn the passing of time, mourn the fact that we all must pass away; we must remember that it is only for a time. Solomon also writes in Eccl. 7:1 "A good name is bettern than precious ointment and the day of death than the day of one's birth...". Better is the day of death than that of birth, that was written for the believer in Christ, the day of death will have us standing before the Lord of all creation. So while now is our time to weep and mourn, our weeping will turn to lauging and our mourning to dancing.

So long Kodiak Bear

My Position

Ok, so it has been awhile since I have blogged. I am sitting here in an airport in Omaha 6 months into my new job. Wow! What a change in life, I went from driving to and from work everyday to flying around the country and in different places from one week to another, meeting lots of different people and I am really getting a different perspective on life. I really do like the change, I don't like being away from my beautiful wife and my crazy boys. The new job is a different pace than what I am used to, I used to be focused on projects that would take weeks and even months to complete now there is something different almost everyday, based upon what customer meetings I have. With all the craziness it can be easy to lose one's self because in this fast-paced position and this side of the IT industry there is so much focus on money and things. I admit there are times where I felt very overwhelmed and conflicted because in order to get ahead you have to "make a name for yourself". Well according to the scriptures we are to "decrease so that the Lord may increase" and we are to "die to ourselves" so this message conflicts with the very being of who I am. My bride and I were talking a couple of days ago about these struggles and while I was on my way up here to Omaha she sent me this scripture:

"Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself." Phillippians 2:3

So I was very clearly reminded of my position which is that I am a child of the living God and that I am a sinner just like everyone else and that the Lord, the Lord alone will be my champion (Psalm 11). So I will do all that I know to do and do it as if I am doing it unto the Lord and not be of a carnal mind (Colossians 3). Easier said than done, but I will keep the hands to the plow. Now I am ready to get home! Can't wait to see you honey!

All My Heart

These last few weeks have really been a challenge for me. Most people would say that I am probably pretty laid back, those who know me well would probably say otherwise, especially my beautiful wife. Lord knows that I can be one of the most impatient people. Along with that impatience comes a control freak. I have to be in control of the situation. Over the past few years I have really hit a ceiling in my current job. The politics and overall climate at my current place of employment has really degraded and has become much more of a source of stress and irritation than anything else. When faced with the fact that I cannot go anywhere else except into management (which is NOT my desire) the realization has struck me that if I want to get any more experience I will have to search for another job. So the search has begun. I interviewed with a company approximately one month ago. I have had two interviews total and am currently awaiting the results. Since then two other opportunities have come along. My problem is that I want something to happen and that I want to be in command. Good right? Well yes, except I want things to happen right now. The Lord is so good, He has been long suffering with me and during this process I have been constantly reminded of Proverbs 3:1-10. I have tried to make things happen, but I keep hearing the Lord say wait for me. Shannon keeps telling me to be thankful that I have time to pray for the Lord's direction with these opportunities. As much as I hate to hear it, I know that is right. The other day at work I was stressing about work and worrying about why things aren't moving along with these other opportunities so I decided to take a walk around the building. There are certain things in nature that simply remind me of the Lord and His awesomeness. As I walked along I noticed in a tree a single ladybug. Now this was nearing the end of the period where the ladybugs swarm. As I sat and watched how this little bug ate the aphids from this tree and seemed to eat to its little heart's content it was a simple reminder of Jesus' words:

"Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his staturs?" -Matthew 6:25-27

The Lord clearly spoke to me and said that He is in control and to not fret about what will happen. Well that is easier said than done. So I write this to say that I need to pray, to repent, and to seek the Lord out with ALL my heart. What does that mean, all my heart as Proverbs 3:5 says. Trust with all my heart. I often pray Psalm 139:23, 24. I know that the Lord is teaching me to trust with ALL my heart. I hope that I am not too foolish to take the long way to learn this.

Washington University, Planned Parenthood and Abortion

It is no secret that Planned Parenthood and Family Planning Services really have nothing to do with family. They have everything to do with preventing one through abortions. Last week a friend of mine, who is in church with me, wrote a letter to the Dean of Washington University School of Medicine. What he found out was that WU has began working with, and is funded by Planned Parenthood and Family Planning Services to train physicians on how to perform abortions.

Jim works at WU and after not receiving a response from Dr. Larry Shapiro, he forwarded the message out to the whole WU email distribution list, approximately 3000+ people, including many, many physicians. Well he did get reprimanded; however people started coming out of the woodworks in support of him. That same week, another organization took out a full page add in the St. Louis Post Dispatch on the fact that WU was working with the abortion clinics. Just yesterday a director of one of these abortion clinics announced yesterday she has "converted" to prolife because of what she saw. Coincidence? No way, the Lord is at work. Jim Ide has been a champion and took a major step of faith because he is now under persecution at his job, he may even lose his job. With Jim's permission I have attached the contents of his letter that was sent to all of WU:

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Dear Dr. Shapiro,

Thank you for taking the time to read my letter as I know you are a busy man. I wanted to express to you my concern about an issue that is very near and dear to my heart—the sanctity of human life. As a Christian, I am called to be “salt and light”

I was stirred to communicate to you how disturbed I am to have recently learned that Washington University and Barnes-Jewish Hospital have entered into a partnership with Planned Parenthood of St. Louis to train Fellows in the practice of performing the abortion of innocent pre-born children. I am referring to the Family Planning Fellowship Program which provides training to Fellows to become expert in all methods of first and second trimester abortions.
http://www.lifenews.com/state4423.html
http://www.familyplanningfellowship.org/whatis.html
http://www.familyplanningfellowship.org/locations.html
http://www.familyplanningfellowship.org/whatopps.html

My position starts with how I define “conception”. Fertilization, scientifically speaking, is conception; the initial event along the road of human development. When 23 chromosomes from the mother and 23 chromosomes from the father combine to determine everything from the physical features to the personality of the new human being, a unique person’s life begins. This human being is distinctly not the same genetic makeup of the mother or the father, but is a complete and fully new human being from the earliest stage of life. The DNA is different than either parent and is not part of the mother’s body. It just happens to reside there during the early stages of growth.

Not too long ago, somewhere between 1995 and 2000, the scientific community began a redefinition of when life begins. What frightens me is the question, “just how much farther will this redefining go before reaching the definition that accommodates their research goals?”

Here’s my point. Until recently, conception was synonymous with fertilization. In fact, in the 26th edition of Stedman’s Medical Dictionary, conception was defined as the “act of conceiving, or becoming pregnant; fertilization of the oocyte (ovum) by spermatozoon to form a viable zygote.” Conception was defined as the time of fertilization. However, something interesting happened in the next five years. In the 27th edition of Stedman’s Medical Dictionary, conception is defined as follows: “Act of conceiving; the implantation of the blastocyte in the endometrium.” Note here that implantation is now the defining point in conception. The scientific community arbitrarily, without any scientific justification, redefined the starting point of life.

According to the redefined view, a zygote less than nine or so days old, having not yet completed implantation, would not be considered alive. If it is not alive, it certainly cannot be human. This change was completely arbitrary, for there was no basic change in the understanding of the developmental process that would make this redefinition necessary.
The new definition has great implications in the political, ethical and moral arenas. Personal and governmental decision-making on such issues as embryonic stem cell research, cloning, and the so-called “morning after pill” directly depends on the validity of this definition. If preimplantation blastocysts were not alive, they could be guiltlessly harvested or destroyed prior to the six-to-nine day mark because “conception” had not yet occurred.

Life begins at conception. Even though the names change throughout this life process and certain milestones in development are evident, the process set in motion at the moment of conception is a continuous chain of events. In this sequence, groups of cells multiply and develop into specific body parts with amazing precision and a remarkably low rate of error. However, at no time in this process is there a scientific point at which the developing individual clearly “becomes a person,” any more than a baby becomes more human when it walks, talks, or when it is weaned. These milestones in zygote, blastocyst, embryonic, and fetal development are simply descriptions of anatomy, not hurdles met in the test of humanness. From a scientific point of view, the words are arbitrary and purely descriptive. Each stage flows seamlessly into the next with a great number of detailed embryological changes followed by organ growth and finely tuned development all orchestrated with precision. We are “fearfully and wonderfully made”.

Although science has shown us the wonderful continuity of the development of life throughout all its stages, science has not been able to define the onset of humanness. However, there is more than enough information in Scripture for us to determine the answer to this. The Bible contains many references to the unborn. Each time the Bible speaks of the unborn, there is a reference to an actual person, a living human being already in existence. These scriptures, taken in context, all indicate that God considers the unborn to be people. The language of the text continually describes them in personal terms. Since the Bible treats those persons yet unborn as real persons, and since the development of a person is a continuum with a definite beginning at the moment of fertilization, the logical point at which a person begins to be human is at the beginning. The answer is that life begins at conception (using the now older definition of the term, here to be synonymous with fertilization). No other conclusion is possible from Scripture or science.

So, why do I think this is important? Simply, the status of the zygote/embryo/fetus is central to many issues facing our society. Here are four of the main issues. (1) The most obvious in this regard is abortion. If the zygote is a human life, then abortion is murder. (2) The same can be said of the issues surrounding the embryonic stem cell debate. If the embryo is human, then destroying it is murder, no matter what supposedly altruistic reason is given as justification. (3) The ethics of cloning require consideration of the concept of humanness and the timing of its onset. (4) A person’s acceptance or rejection of the controversial morning after pill is based upon the determination of when human life begins.

Dr. Shapiro, Life is a precious gift from God. Washington University has a long history of being at the top in medical research and development of life-saving medicines and procedures. The university has always used its resources to save and extend life. I’m asking that Washington University take a stand against the taking of innocent life. I’m asking that we remain a leader and not a follower in a society that seems to have less and less regard for human life. I’m asking that you make every effort possible to end this partnership with Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Planned Parenthood of St. Louis.

Thank you for your time and consideration of this very important issue. I pray that this letter contains the sting of salt and enough light to help you see clearly. I will be praying for the leadership of Washington University and Barnes-Jewish Hospital.


For Jesus the Creator,

James R. Ide IV


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Jim is an example to me and should be to all of us, Christians need to be salt and light, we are the ambassadors of the Gospel. We need to do it in love and with gentleness and respect. We need to stand up, like Jim did, and be willing to lay it all on the line. Abortion is one of many sins that are defining this nation and if there is one thing I know out of the scriptures, when a nation turns its heart against the Lord Almighty there is judgment. The Lord is long suffering, look at how many prophets He sent to Israel before judgment came.

Jim, thank you for being a bold man of God!

Little Boys, Armor and Halloween

Yesterday Shannon took the boys to pick up a costume for Benjamin. He wanted a specific costume so she ended up having to go to one of those costume shops. She successfully found the costume. Last night Eli told me how Sam was scared of some of those costumes. You know the ones I am talking about, those that scare even some of the adults. I could tell that Sam wasn't the only one scared, I could tell that he was scared to. So that led to the conversation about monsters and demons and angels. I sat the boys down and told them what real power the demons have. They cannot physically attack us like the pop culture and even some churches teach and believe. Instead I explained how they can tempt us to do evil things, things that are in disobedience to the Lord. We worked through Ephesians 6:10-18 and explained how to do real spiritual battle, how to use the Armor of God. Well once we were done Elijah looked at me in the eyes and simply broke down. He started to tell me of some of the bad things he had done, his heart was broken that he had disobeyed the Lord. That so struck me because that is exactly what the Lord desires is a tender, broken heart before the Lord. I held Eli close and said you have been forgiven my son, the Lord has also forgiven you. So as we come upon Halloween where all the world celebrates the darkness, remember to keep the belt of truth buckled around your waste (along with the rest of the armor) and stand strong in the Lord. There is nothing to fear except the Lord alone.