Values

"Right now there is the biggest pandemic in the history of civilization happening in the world now with AIDS. It's bigger than the Black Death, which took a third of Europe in the Middle Ages. Sixty-five hundred Africans are dying every day of a preventable, treatable disease. And it's not a priority to the West: two 9/11s a day, eighteen jumbo jets of fathers, mothers, families falling out of the sky. No tears, no letters of condolence, no fifty-one gun salutes. Why? Because we don't put the same value on African life as we put on European or American life... We say we can't get these antiretroviral drugs to the farthest reaches of Africa, but we can get them our cold fizzy drinks. The tiniest village, you can find a bottle of Coke. Look, if we really thought that an African life was equal in value to an English, French, or Irish life, we wouldn't let two and a half million Africans die for the stupdiest of reasons: money." - Bono in conversation with Michka Assayas

When I read this it made me think of James 4:17, "Remember, it's a sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it."

I love my bride

I just have to say that I love my bride. I learned about 2 years ago that when it comes to fashion, her taste is far superior to mine. Every time I wear something she picks out which I would have never picked for myself I receive more compliments about what I'm wearing. Case in point, today I was wearing an orange shirt with a striped tie. When she originally showed me the tie, I hated it. She insisted it looked great. She was right. Even one of the teenagers commented on the tie.

So, I've come to the conclusion that it makes absolutely no difference what I think about what I wear. What matters in this case is her opinion.

A little trouble

Since school has started, I haven't had much time to blog lately, but I just have to share this story with all of you.

The other day Julia got in trouble at school. This rarely happens, but it's a huge deal in our family and not because Deana and I make it a big deal. Julia almost always breaks into tears whenever her clip is moved from orange to green (It's the lowest level of discipline. It's reserved for the least of offenses.) The funny thing about this time is that Julia got herself in trouble. She and a friend were running in the hall at school trying to catch up with the rest of their class. Her teacher caught the friend running, but Julia had already caught up and quit running. Julia felt bad her friend got caught and she didn't, so she went to her teacher and told her she was running, too. Julia came home and told Deana and me this, and said "I'll work on being a better person."

Asteroids

I used to love video games. I don't mean these virtual video games that are played today like Halo-2 or Grand Theft Auto. I'm talkin' about the classics. The one game I remember playing first was Atari Asteroids. I have a computer CD of Atari arcade hits which includes Asteroids. I still play the game from time to time.

I'm thinking of people in my life. There's George and Sharon. They are the parents of my best friend growing up. Sharon took care of me for a few weeks and I got the chicken pox when I was 8 years old. In the middle of the summer no less. I remember them taking me subsistence fishing. George once made me a toy rifle when I was about 5 years old. I got to spend one Tuesday this summer with George helping do some work on my old church building. It reminded me of when we would all get together to shovel snow off the church building roof to prevent it from collapsing under the weight of the snow and ice.

There's Tod, my best friend (who is their son). Growing up we spent more days together than apart. We went to church together, stayed in one another's homes, played a lot of basketball and learned to snow ski together. We still maintain contact although he's moving to Searcy and I'm in Texas. I miss my friend.

There's Jerry who has always been like a big brother. He took me on my first overnight backpacking trip the summer between my 6th-7th grade years. A group of about 12 of us hiked the Russian River trail, a 12 mile trip. We did it in three days. Tod lost his glasses as he was swiping at mosquitos. He was sitting on a 30 ft overlook of some waterfalls watching salmon jump upstream. He also had honey that spilled in his backpack. Jerry strun his pack up in a tree about 50 ft from camp that night.

There's Chris and Joan. Chris taught me how to hunt taking me on my first moose hunt when I was 17 years old. We got turned around a little so I had to climb a tree and look for the lake we were supposed to camp at for our 4 day hunt. We never found the lake. He used to take me golfing a lot as well as fishing in his boat on the Kenai River. Their son Matt really made my transition to ACU much easier my freshman year. Matt was a junior that year. He and his girlfriend at the time (who he's now married to) took me to church 3 out of 4 Sundays.

I thought of these faces last night as I met Ashley, Kasie, Sabra, and Nate. I thought of these faces as I spent a few moments talking with Matt, Michael and Juan.

Forming new friendships is much like learning a new video game. It takes time to adjust and get used to the nuances. It takes effort to learn the tendencies of one another, to get past the surface. Sometimes that makes us uncomfortable. Sometimes we wonder if it's gonna be worth it. It doesn't happen simply by sitting across the room from others. Like a video game, we must plug in and keep at it time and time again. I wonder who will form unlikely frindships that will be remembered 20 years later. I wonder who will take those initial steps to build bridges.

School begins

As school begins this year there is a sense of familiarity that I haven't had before. In years past I was teaching new classes or moving into a new building. However, for the first time in 5 years I don't have any significant new responsibilities or changes. I think this is a good thing. After 7 years of teaching, I'm finally beginning to feel like I know what I'm doing. I've learned some lessons during these years.

One of those lessons is that students are more important than the subject. Although we have a job to do, there are times when the lives of the students come before the topic or assignment at hand. The goal is not information, but transformation. This year, I pray for more opportunities to reach into the lives of the students. As St. Paul would say, I hope to share my life as well.

Pray for me and my family as we juggle the schedule of teaching a few hours each day with our work in our church family. Pray I bring glory to God in all that I do, that students know how much I love them. At times the task seems so overwhelming, but I love those kids and want to see them grow in their love for Christ.

The Path

How can something that seems so right be so wrong? Sounds like a question out of a love song. We are often faced with moments when we must choose between what sounds good and obedience to God. From the outset of his ministry Jesus faced the same dilemma.

"Again the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kigdoms of the world and their splendor. ' All this I will give you if you will bow down and worship me,' he said." (Matthew 4:8-9)

In this moment, the road Jesus knew he was called to take could have become much smoother. In this moment, Jesus knew he could escape the cross. For the enemy of God would simply walk away if only Jesus would do one simple thing. One tiny act is al the enemy asked of Jesus and the kingdom of this world would have been his. What an offer that must have been! But what a price it would have cost. Jesus knew the cost was too much to pay for it would have cost him his obedience to God. So Jesus, choosing instead to take the more difficult road, replies

"Away from me Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord you God and serve him only.'"

Disobedience to God, no matter how small it seems, is slavery to sin. Jesus knew that. Even though he knew God's path would lead to his execution, he chose the way of obedience over the easy way out.

Which way will you choose?

"There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death." Proverbs 14:12

Chad and Deana's Greatest Hits

As I think about my 12 year anniversary I think of all the love songs that have come and gone over the years. Here is my list of all-time worst ones:

1. I Just Died in Your Arms Tonight
2. Breakfast at Tiffany's
3. I Can't Fight this Feelin' Anymore
4. Anything by Chicago
5. The Pina Colada Song
6. Total Eclipse of the Heart
7. I Don't Know Much, but I Know I Love You
8. I'll be There for You
9. I'm Never Gonna Change My Love for You
10. She's Like the Wind

Throughout our relationship there have been songs that have had significant meaning to us as well. Here are three that have come to mean a lot to us:

1. The One
2. Save the Best for Last
3. The Other Side of Me

We nearly used The One in our wedding, but the line about "Drunken nights in dark hotels where sex and love no longer gel" didn't seem too appropriate for the moment.

Vows

"From the bean until now
For Chad dodging to tragedy
We have been through a lot.

Seeing you come down that aisle
I know that I want you
as my wife with all my heart.

I will always stand by your side
and always support you.
I will share your dreams, sorrows and joys.
I will share my God and together we will serve him.
And let him be seen in our marriage.

I love you with all my heart and thank God for you each day."

Chad Nall, August 14, 1993

Night and day

Deana and I are as opposite as two people can be:

• She grew up in the city; I in an Alaskan rural community
• Her idea of a perfect vacation is a week on the beach; mine is a fishing trip in the mountains
• She loves music and the arts; I love baseball, basketball, and football
• She has always said that if you see her running; you had better stop to ask her if she needs help, I love to jog
• She is a voracious reader; I'd prefer a good movie
• She squeezes the toothpaste tube in the middle; I squeeze it at the end
• She likes the toilet paper to roll from the top; I from the bottom
• She's the baby sister of the family; I'm the oldest son of the family
• She's not a big meat eater; I'm not a big vegetable eater
• She loves a good romantic comedy; I love a great action film
• She tends to be too funny and light-hearted; I tend to be too serious
• Her tongue ends in a cute point; mine is indented
• She has beautiful thick hair; mine, well it's thinning just a little
• She has to have the radio on; I prefer silence
• She's the creative thinker; I'm the analytical one

I'm thankful we aren't exactly alike. In fact, we celebrate our differences. It's exactly because of these differences that our relationship is so strong. These are just 15 of the many reasons I love my bride.

Worthy of her love

When Deana and I first met at lunch after marching band practice one day in the fall of 1990 my freshman year in college I had this desire to prove to her I was worthy of her attention. I had noticed her time and time again during practice. She was a hot xylophone player and I couldn't help but look at her every chance I got. From the beginning I felt she was out of my league. I didn't think I had a chance. Well, we met and talked that day at lunch while sitting with a group of friends and I asked her to go to a movie on campus with me. We did. We hit it off and "went out" again, but on campus because neither of us had a car. We kissed that time. But I still felt I had something to prove.

She was patient with me for about 1 week as I called her, harrassed her, and even lied to her about things in my past in a ridiculous effort to impress her. She saw right through it, wasn't impressed. In fact she was rather annoyed, so she gave me the classic line "All I need right now is a friend." The rest of that year we went our separate ways. Later that year, the seeds of a friendship were planted. We would run into each other in The Bean at breakfast. We would occasionally talk and even eat breakfast together, but we never went out the rest of that year. Of that I'm thankful for there was much I needed to work on during that time. We both had much growing up to do. When I look back on that year, I see how God really used that time in my life to prepare me to eventually become Deana's husband.

I still struggle at times with a need to prove myself, but Deana has helped me see myself more clearly. Because of her unconditional love for me, I better understand God's love for me. I have nothing to prove to anyone. I can't earn God's love, I can't do anything about the way He loves me, I can't change that because he chose to love me even while I was dead in my own sinful, wretched life. I'm convinced that there's not much I could do to change Deana's mind about her love for me or else that would have occurred by now. In 15 years of knowing her, I've messed up plenty of times. She has seen me at my absolute worst, yet loves me. For that, I love her even more. I think that has helped me to better understand "We love because he first loved us." In just a few days, we will celebrate the vows we exchanged 12 years ago. I'm a blessed man.

12 years is approaching

Deana and I met at lunch in the bean one day after marching band practice the fall of 1990. I was a little too geeky then, so we did our own thing and just remained friends. However, in the fall of 1991 I caught her checking me out in chapel during pledging and something just clicked. We began dating "officially" on October 8, 1991.

So, on October 8, 1992 we sat in Outpost (which no longer exists) having dinner together. After dinner, I blindfolded her, drove her around town, took her to a place where we had spent many nights sitting and talking (I'll leave it at that for my younger readers). It was a place on the portico of the Mabee Business Building where we hung out when neither of us had cars. I got down on one knee and had her remove her blindfold. Before her was a diamond ring. We were married 10 months later on Aug 14, 1993. This Sunday will mark 12 years of marriage.

So, this week, you will have the joy of reading entry after entry of how amazing my wife is and how much more I am in love with her now, nearly 13 years after that proposal. I thought I loved her then, and did, but that only scratched the surface. Since then, I have learned how to love her. For today, it's enough for me to say that I have the most amazing, godly woman who inspires me to be more like Christ every day when I wake up. I thank God for her.

I have a maker

I have a Maker
He formed my heart
Even before time began
my life was in His hand

He knows my name
He knows my every thought
He sees each tear that falls
And he hears me when I call
He hears me when I call

I have a Father
He calls me his own
He'll never leave me
No matter where I go
(words and music by Tommy Walker)

This song seems to express a central longing in our lives - a desire to be truly known and loved. It's in all of us. Yet we seem unwilling to do what it takes be be truly known and loved. It seems that we spend our lives playing for different audiences. We put on one face for one group, another face for another, and so on. In each case we are fearful of letting others see us for who we really are. However, we tire of playing these games. Why do we play these games? Just something I've been thinking about the past few days.

Ronald McDonald House

Today, a group of us are going to the Ronald McDonald House to serve ice cream and play with children. It's one of my favorite places to go for several reasons. The biggest reason I like to go is because talking with children and adults provides such a reality check for me. It puts my life and struggles into perspective. Last year, I met Allison, an 18 year-old girl who missed the last semester of her senior year in Amarillo due to a bone marrow transplant. Listening to her talk about her life, faith and illness really hit me hard. Not to belittle the things I struggle with, it's just that they seem to pale in comparison when sitting across an 18-year-old facing an uncertain future but yet so hopeful. Hers was not the only story that day. There will be more today I'm sure.

I've been praying a lot the past several days for teenagers I know and love. I pray that they will discover who they are in Christ and that they see how a relevant Christ is to their lives.

Happy Birthday!

Today is Deana's birthday so I'm taking the day off. We've celebrated every one of her birthdays together since she was 21. What did I do for her? I gave her the ultimate present for a mom, a gift certificate to a spa. The work I do is nothing compared to hers as she does about 100 baby lifts with a 16 lb baby (20 lbs if you include the car seat), runs along side a bike teaching our oldest to ride, pushes a stroller through the grocery store while putting everything back on the shefl Julia puts in the basket, and folding laundry while holding Jenna on her hip.

I have an amazing bride who has shown me how to laugh, let go and be me. More importantly, she inspires me to be more like Christ. Happy birthday! I love you!

We just returned from our junior high mission trip to the McAllen area where we painted 4 homes, roofed another, and began framing another home. Each afternoon we conducted a VBS for nearly 100 students. All this accomplished by students entering grades 7-9. What a great week! Although we see how the families in those areas benefit, we are the ones that left changed. The more we minister and serve, the more joy we experience in our lives. I look forward to returning next year.