Back to the Grind

Well, my summer is almost over. In about 9 hours I have to be back at work to start a new school year. I don't suppose I can argue too much considering that most people have to work year round. I am excited about going back being that this summer has been so crazy. The new school year will put me back on a much needed routine and hopefully I can start getting my life back under control.

This has been a good summer for me healthwise. It is still hard for me to believe that I have come so far from this time last year. I was still having trouble walking any distance this time last year. I had trouble walking from my truck to my classroom. On a better note, I have walked a few miles in the past couple of days and I still have energy! It is exciting when I look back on where I was and exciting to see where I will be this time next year.

There have been some people in my life this past year who have helped me more than they will ever know. I can only hope that those people will continue to stay in my life and be there for me physically, emotionally, and spiritually. To those few, thank you!

Good News

Things finally seem to be settling down in my life. The drama seems to be fading and normality taking over. I still don't know where the chips will fall in my life but I am confident that they will fall in line with God's plan for my life. Only one thing is certain in my life right now, I need God and He doesn't need me. I am created for His glory not the other way around. I seem to forget this way to often!

I know the blog has taken a turn lately, but as the title suggests, I am constantly adjusting not only to my new liver but to life itself. I am 26 and trying to get things figured out in my life and am realizing that is a much tougher job than I set out to handle. I am learning to trust God more and more each day. I know things will always be a series of highs and lows in life but I am now realizing that with God.....I can make it through them all.

Thanks for everyones prayers and I love each and everyone of you.

Messy Life

Isn't it funny how just when you think you have everything figured out, everything seems to go nuts! I mean anything. There have been times that I thought my liver numbers were good and everything was going to be settling down......then BOOM, they are out the roof and I am in the hospital even though I feel great. There have been times that I thought that I had teaching figured out......everything is going great, then BOOM everything turns on its head. Lately, I thought that I had some personal issues worked out.....issues about life.....then BOOM, everything blows up in my face. Now I stand at a crossroad and don't know where to turn. I have decided to sit. I think I will just try to hitchhike and get on with the next person that comes by! I am so tired of things going wrong, so tired of things blowing up in my face, so tired of being tired. I have reached a plopping point and here is where I plop. Things aren't awful, things aren't good, but I'm just gonna sit right here and nap until things get figured out. I know this is a crazy post and makes no sense....but it is my blog and I will type what I want! :-)

To all of my friends, know that I love you.
To all of my family, know that I love you.
To everyone who has been there for me in any form or fashion, thank you so much!

To those who know where I am at in my life right now and even those who don't, I need your prayers. I am trying to be a better man, both for myself and for the people who are around me. Pray for me as much as you can.

Thanks for listening, I feel a little better already!

My King

I put this video up on my myspace page but I figured I would post it over here as well. This is the "Man" who saved my life. This "Man" has done more for me than I could ever have asked for and without a doubt more than I could ever repay. This is the one who told me that I would be okay through my sickness and my transplant. I seem to have forgotten about this "Man" for a while, but I am trying to reconcile with him. The funny thing is he has already forgiven me for leaving him, I just need to forgive myself first. Hope you enjoy!

Hiking and God

I went hiking again on Tuesday up Blood Mountain. It was an overcast day which kept the temperature down as well as the visibility. The overcast skies made for some pretty decent landscape photos. The trail was pretty tough being that I have been lazy lately and the trail is steep for a couple of miles. I was struggling to make it a few hundred feet without resting. I would like to still blame this on the transplant recovery but I think that now this is pretty much due to my own laziness.

I kept on thinking about how peaceful it was up there. We only saw one man on the way up and a family coming in just as we were leaving. It seemed that we were the only two people in the world. It was a very relaxing hike and very fulfilling. I wonder why I am so hesitant to go when every time it is more than worth it. It is amazing to stand on top of a mountain and look over God's creation and see it as His canvas. We were in a wildlife management area so it had mostly been untouched by civilization.

God's creativity is awe-inspiring. If this is what he gave us to enjoy here, I can't even imagine what things will be like in that new Heaven and Earth. It is times like this hike that make you long for a closer relationship with God. I get so far away from Him that I forget how he has touched my life. He is responsible for my saving me spiritually and physically. I want to do the work that he has left me here to do. Some of that work involves raising awareness for organ donation, but within that I am raising awareness about a Savior who loves me and was willing to die for me when I don't deserve it. I feel that this blog should become a mouthpiece for both causes. This may cause a hit in the amount of readers that I have but I am making a shift to focusing my life less on Josh and more on my Savior and my King.

I am back

Sorry for the hiatus. There were some personal issues I was going through. I am currently still dealing with some of those issues though they have only become more personal and involving less people. I have realized some things lately that I have been ignoring or hiding about myself for a long time. I am in the process of looking into finding ways to help myself process and deal with some of these issues.

Update on me.....I went to the doctor yesterday for the first time in 5 weeks and my bloodwork was better than it has been in a while. The doctors were excited and I was ecstatic! In just the past few months I have gone from going to the clinic one time a week to once every 2 weeks to once a month.......and now I do not have to go back for two months!! Whoooo!! I know most people are probably thinking that that still sounds excessive but not having to return to the doctor for a full 8 weeks is awesome! I have to go see another doctor next Monday but after that no more appointments until September 5!