I am officially a lame-ass suburbanite.

It's around 1:00am and I'm sitting outside on my new (self-installed I might add) patio. I've got the full white-boy set up out here. Patio furniture, gigantic umbrella, and even a gas fire pit. Yes...a gas one. We have now sissy-fied everything...including fire. I no longer have to use any of my hunter-gatherer skills for building an actual fire. I can simply turn a knob and hit the ignite switch and wouldja lookit that...I've got a fire. It's huge! I'm not trying to brag or anything, but flames in excess of 14 inches are not uncommon. It's also not uncommon for it to take 18-20 minutes to roast a marshmallow.



It's great for nights like tonight though. I was getting ready to slide into bed when I just had the feeling like I needed to get outside and look at the stars. I've been thanking God a lot lately.

How could a poor kid like me end up with a sweet life like this? I know I don't deserve the stuff I have. Stuff is just stuff, but I've even got great stuff all around me that's not monetary. My wife, my little girl, my friends, my family, my dogs, my complete lack of worry. What gives?

The thing that is creeping into the back, front, and sides of my mind, however, is the feeling that there's a lot more out there to see. There is still the other 99% that I need to experience. I think that far too many of us stop with the 1% we have and we think that's it.

It's contentment vs. complacency. Jesus loves me just the way I am...and yet he loves me so much that He isn't willing to let me stay that way. Something is coming...I can feel it.