Backseat driver...

Heeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeee's Joshie.


Well I'm back, at least for now. It has been a while since I last felt convicted enough to spill my guts to ya'll. I don't think it is because I haven't had anything to say, but more I didn't want to be fake and force something. When that happens, people know, readers can hear inflection in the tone of a piece. You are opening your heart and soul to them, and if your not genuine you come across as a poser or a hypocrite. That is something I will never be accused of being. If anything, I am GENUINE.


So when you do get a topic that really moves you, its not just your right to put it out there, but its your responsibility to do so. Lots has happened in my life since the last time I posted, but if you have read all of my previous blogs, you will know that they are not about what is going on in my personal life. They are ideas, beliefs, convictions, and dreams. So if your looking for what I had for dinner last night, or what problems/blessings that have been happening, this is not where you will find it.


I started this blog as a sports themed way of looking at life. It has kind of evolved into something that I can step back and look at my life and changes that need to be made. Life in the Cheap Seats, for the non sports fans, are in the nose bleed section. So high that you can see everything happening at once, take note, and decide what needs to be fixed. There is a reason that teams have coaches or coordinators in the skybox. That gives them a better prospective, then right there on the sideline.

I had one of those inspired moments on my way into work this morning. I am sure that we have all been in this situation before. You're driving along listening to the radio, when a song you have never really heard before comes on. As you listen to the song, you are not sure what to think about it. Then BAM, a line hits you like a ton of bricks. I have heard things like this said before, but I don't know if I have ever heard this put this way before.

Don't tell your big problems to your God, tell your problems about your Big God.


Take minute and let that sink in.

God already knows what we going though, he doesn't need us to tell him about them. He is bigger than any problems that we are going through at any given point of your life. All you have to do is let him take care of them. This is a on going problem. I haven't figured out how to do this. We all have some major life altering problems that we go through. I know when we are in the middle of these problems, problems so dark that you cant see the light, its hard to release them and let the big guy take of them. He is ready and willing to handle anything we give him, but we have to fully give it away. We can't hold on to part of it and worry about the situation.

Like is said, this is a work in progress. I am not good at letting go. I need to be in control. If I give up control, I have no say in what happens. I like to control my life. I feel like I need to have a say in what happens. That has to change. Once we get in the passenger seat and let him do the driving, we have no control, so happens, happens.

I Hope this all makes sense, its not every day that something kicks your butt, and makes you rethink the way you handle everything in your life.

See ya next time on Life in the Cheap Seats.

Here's to a brighter future...

OK so here is a little update on what has been happening in our life the last few months. I know it has been a long time since I last posted an update, so I thought  I would catch you all up. It was February when I last let all of you look thought the window of my life, to see a glimpse of whats happening in the chaos that I call my life.

Almost five moths ago, we brought home our newest edition to our family. Josie Suh was born March 26th and life hasn't been the same since. Trying to get use to a new baby after five years took some adjustment, and patience on everyone's behalf. She is one of the best babies that I have ever seen. She is such a happy baby, when she is not cutting her teeth, which she already has two and i think she is working on a few more.

Now that we baby number three, that makes is a family of five. I know I'm surprised I could figure that out too. That is a big part of the next decision that we made. Amanda and I have decided to sell our house. There were other factors involved in making the decision, but ultimately we decided it was the best move for our family.

My mom and dad have a much bigger house than we do, by almost 400 sq feet. Also a full basement that needs to be finished. They have decided to finish the basement, and turn it into a separate apartment. When that apartment is finished we will be moving into the upstairs part of the house. Now those of you who are freaking out about me moving back in with my parents, that is not happening. Everything is separate, separate kitchen, bathroom, entrances, everything. We will be buying the upstairs apartment/condo on a land contract type of deal so the house will be ours. We wont be renting it, we will be buying it.

When we bought our house in 2005 both of us were working full time, now with only one regular income, it has made it almost impossible to keep up with all of our bills. We are making it, but it feels like we are drowning. There are a few options that we have; sell the house and move,  foreclose and move, or stay and drown. We choose to be proactive in this and sell before foreclosure.We want to live life, not worrying if that pizza that we bought yesterday will cause us to not be able to pay the electric bill.  

This move will ultimately help both family's. We will be saving almost 500 dollars a month on mortgage and bills. This will allow us the freedom we want in life to actually live life and not be financially strapped every month, wondering how we are going to pay bills this month. I cant wait to take that cruise we have wanted to go on,. We can finally take that vacation i have wanted to take the kids on. We will finally be able to start saving for three Wedding that I previously had no idea how they would get paid for.

This move will give us much more room for our girls to grow up and play, not having to worry that someone will come up and snatch them up, or run them over for getting to close to the streets. They have room to be kids. Plus the pool.

This move will also be beneficial for my mom and dad. They have wanted to downsize for a long time and house is just to big for just the two of them. So making a smaller apartment seems

There is a  lot of work to do, to both apartments, lots of finishing work upstairs, and full on construction downstairs. so hopefully within two months we can be in there. To all the naysayers out there, this is our decision to make, I don't care what you would have or already have done.This is the bests choice for MY family. I am very anxious to see what the future holds for my family.

People think Im strange

Every morning on my way into work, I listen to a certain radio station... I have very happy when a few weeks ago this radio station started playing a new song by a band I loved when I was in High school. The song started and I immediately knew something was different.  I had the same feeling a few years ago when I learned that another of my favorite bands changed lead singers. It so happens that both of those bands chose lead singers from probably my favorite band growing up. DC TALK.

I was surprised when I heard Michael Taite took over as lead singer of the Newsboys. I was floored when I heard Kevin Max signed on to lead Audio Adrenaline. With Toby Mac doing well on his own. With all the members back on the radio, I decided to do a DC TALK day on Pandora.

With all this being said it leads me to my point. There are three songs that cut me to the quick, when I listen to them. WHAT AM I DOING? I don't know. I look at my life and see all my mistakes and downfalls and it kills me inside to know that I cant stop this human/sin nature that is at the very core of my being. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and it looks like a far away star that I look at in the night sky. Glory just seems so far away.

Kamikaze, my death is gain
I've been marked by my Maker
A peculiar display
The high and lofty, they see me as weak
Cause I won't live and die for the power they seek

People think I'm strange but does that make me a stranger, that my best friend was born in a manger...

What if I stumble, what if I fall? What if I lose my step and I make fools of us all?
Will the love continue when my walk becomes a crawl?
Think about that. I mean really think about it. Chew on those words.

Is my life a display of my so called best friend? Am I content do take a lesser place in life if it means put more important things ahead of worldly power.

Do I really treat Jesus like my best friend. I am a terrible friend in that case. I find myself looking to glory and looking forward to seeing people that I have lost. WHAT AM I THINKING... I will finally get to meet my best friend face to face. Lost loved ones will have to wait their turn.

Then what happens when I do fail. Why does he still love me when I continuously treat him this way. Why did he save me when I continuously slap his hand away when he reaches down to pull me out of the water. Because that is what a best friend does. He sees you falling into the fire and grabs your shirt tale and pulls you to safety. So you can bet that I am going to do my best in this life to show him through me. SO PEOPLE MAY THINK I'M STRANGE AND THAT CAN MAKE ME A STRANGER, BECAUSE MY BEST FRIEND WAS BORN IN A MANGER.

Thanks for joining me on this edition of LIFE IN THE CHEAP SEATS half way to glory...

Please don't hold it agianst me.

Da da da... back by popular demand, after a much needed hiatus I have something on my heart for the last few weeks. Most of you know that my wife, Amanda is seven months pregnant, wow seven months already. Time flies. In less than two months I will be welcoming our final baby into the world. Yes it will be our final child. We are going to make sure of that.

But in preparing for this new child, I have been working some crazy hours at work. Partly because of the baby, partly because of the new responsibilities that I have at work. I realize that life is only the first part of our journey though existence and our children are only small for a short time.

This is the hard part for me. Financially we need the money that God has provided with the extra hours at work, but to what extent is to much. How do I separate work and home. There is the old saying "Leave work at the office" but seriously how does one do that. On the flip side how does one put past the side of leaving his family at home to work all these hours?

I don't want my children to feel like they are growing up without a dad. Also on the other hand I want to be able to provide for my family, so that my wife will be able to work part time and be the mom that my children need.

I cant get the thought out of my head that I am abandoning my child to life the life of a single parent. With working ten to eleven hours a day, six days a week, I come home from a long day of dealing with grumpy technicians, and idiot costumers to two girls excited to see their dad and all I can do is flop on the couch and give them a hug. I cant get up and chase them and play with them the way that they deserve. The last thing I want to do is loose my temper with them or the wife, but it seems like that eventually happens anyway.

I know that my children love me...

I know that my wife loves me...

I know that God loves me...

All for the person that I am.

For the person I am trying to be...

And for the person that I will be,,,

I just hope they realize that everything I do is for them and they wont hold it against me.

Thanks for reading this edition of Life in the Cheap Seats. Until next time, save me a seat.

Im sure im going to make a few people mad with this post...

OK Ive had it.. I think its time to explore the real first Christmas. You all know what I believe. I think its time to really dig into what it was like that first Christmas. There are a few things that I really want to talk about that i feel need to be brought up. I'm not against celebrating Christmas on Dec 25 but lets be honest how did they come up with that date anyway? I have done some research on that subject and found out that Christmas is actually a combination of two separate catholic holidays. One being Saint Nicholas Day and the Second being Christ Mass. The church started celebrating both of these events on December 25, the date of a traditional Christ Mass.

So if December 25 is the day that they celebrate Christ Mass, what day was Jesus born on? Was he too born on December 25? The the answer to that is no. Absolutely not. The Christmas story that we all read every year gives us an approximate date but nothing absolute. Luke 1 says that in the sixth month the angle of the lord came to Mary and told her that she would conceive. Last time I check there were only six months between the sixth month and the twelfth month. So using this logic, it puts Jesus birth right around March.

So at this point on December 25 we are actualling celebrating the combination of two different days, and not the real birth of Jesus. So I implore to you that this year lets not celebrate the day of December 25. Lets celebrate the events of what happen so long ago. The day that Grace came into the world. The day that true Mercy showed its face for the first time. The day that Satan lost,

The next thing I really want to look at, is the Nativity. Have any of you ever really been in a barn, not like a barn at the petting zoo. An actual working barn, with cattle and horses, sheep and goats. I'm sure that was not the most pleasant smelling place if you know what I mean. So just imagine your savior, being born in a place like this. At night after the livestock had been fed, I'm sure the stalls haven't been mucked out in a while. Christ left his throne to be place in a feeding trough with a bunch of livestock. He humbly gave up is glory to provide mediation between man and God.

I really hope this gives you a clearer picture of what it was like so long ago. The birth of the savior, was not the picture that we have been sold for the last 2000 years, it was an event that took place in a meesy barn, to give us a mansion in glory.

so this year, lets try to celebrate the event, and not a day. thanks for listening to me rant...
see you next time on LIFE IN THE CHEAP SEATs.

Breaking NEWS... Shhh dont tell anyone.

Well it is almost Christmas time, the year has flown by and i cant believe how fast time goes by. With it being a special time of year and a special season, i thought that i would do a Christmas post. I'm sure this is going to shock a few people who have me pegged for a Mr Scrooge, or the Grinch. If that shocked them then this next statement is gonna knock them on the floor. I LOVE CHRISTMAS.

OK ladies getup off the floor, and take a few deep breaths. Let me explain before you go all "12 drummers drumming" on me. I have a deep love and understanding of what Christmas is. What I do not like is the over sensationalizing of what Christmas has become. BUY BUY BUY. You better watch out... Granny got run over by a rain deer. Enough already.  The true meaning family and faith. that is what is important this time of year. Spending time with my girls and wife is what is truly special to me. Taking time to explain to the that there was a baby born and what that baby ended up doing, is what Christmas means to me. So keep your garland and sappy Christmas movies, and give me the baby.

Speaking of the baby, I had the opportunity to listen to a very dear friend preach last Sunday about what the star of Bethlehem actually was, there has be a great debate over this topic through out the ages. Theory's range from astrological events to planetary convergences. I think the most logical possibility is one that I have not heard talked about. So Chris thanks for getting this topic stuck in my head for the past week.

I personally think that the star was a window to heaven. God was watching his son do what he was sent to do. He kept this window open so that he had a line to his son JESUS. Just imagine sending you child away from your presence, God was watching, and was pleased with what he did. This image of God watching over Jesus gives me the picture of a loving father letting go of his child. Kind of like as your son drives away to college for the first time, or as you watch your daughter get on the bus all by herself to go to her first day of school.

God was letting his son go, and he stood there watching till the bus was beyond the horizon.

I know this is just my personal theory, but I think it kind of makes sense. We were made in the image of God, and with that comes his personality and his love for our children. He knew what his son was going to do and he wanted to watch him save mankind.

So yes I do love CHRISTmas, its all the other stuff that I could do without.

Thanks for joining me this time on LIFE IN THE CHEAP SEATS.

Facing the Giants

I know its been a while since my last post, I almost ran out of things to say... Just kidding. I have been thinking the last few weeks about what my next post would be. I purposely by passed the election. I hate getting involved in political discussion, I understand that it is what makes our country so great; that we can have a political opinion. So the one thing that i have to say is that no matter who won or lost, Jesus is still KING. King takes President any day of the week. The person that He wanted in the office is, and he is there for a reason. We just may not know what that reason is.

So on to my next point. I was browsing through Facebook the other day, and a post from one of my favorite movies popped up. Facing the Giants... If you have never seen this movie it is a definite must see. It asked what was my favorite scene of the movie... that got me thinking. There are so many that affected me in a deep way but there is on that truly sticks out in my head as a punch to the gut.

The movie is about a high school football team that has had a loosing record for the past few years. The coach was having problems at home and was in risk of loosing his job, when he turned to God. At that point the team starts to do better. In a pep talk before one of the games he told his players that they where going to praise God if they won or lost...

Why cant we do that? Why is it that we either talk to him if things are good, or if things are bad? Why is it that when thing go bad, I pray to him to change things? Lets step back and take a good look at the situation. When we are praying for him to change things it shows that you are putting your faith that he will change them. When your praising him when things look their darkest, that is when you show your fortitude. You looked darkness in the eye and punched it in the mouth, saying give me your best shot... no matter what happens you will beat me. Its at that point when you can take what the world has givin you and say "I stood strong when the Giants were bearing down, and I will praise him win or loose."

Thanks for reading and I hope to see you next time in Life in the Cheap Seats