God has a sense of humor...

I've been compiling a list of the different restaurants in the area that I plan to visit once I secure a more stable income and am again able to afford "going out." Temecula is a cesspool of fine eateries which is a luxury I've really never been afforded. Try not to laugh, but recently I've had a craving for the Olive Garden. I've always been a fan and have been looking for an excuse to go back, but because I'm watching finances VERY carefully I've held off.

This morning upon arriving at the church office I hada peice of mail waiting for me from a dear friend from college. Inside was a check and a gift card to the Olive Garden. Her attached note said "Olive Garden lunch menu-Soup, Sald, Breadsticks...All you can eat $6.99....Enjoy :)"

I am so blessed by her gift and equally amazed at Gods sense of humor. I continue to be made more and more aware of Gods attention to detail. The countless childhood dreams I've had fulfilled since coming here, Gods provision through the support of friends and family and countless other opportunities the Lord has blessed me with.

A lot has been going on as of late so here is a breif summation: I'm now riding a new quad as the team is sponsored by Polaris. I'm officially a member of the Bomb Squad Freestyle Motocross team which is something I've dreamed about since I saw my first ATV film in probably the 5th grade, but never once thought would actually happen. I'm beggining to book shows for the coming months which is exciting and a bit nerve wracking at the same time. I continue to practice almost daily and work to get more and more comfortable on the quad.

An encouraging piece of info is that I've been spending some time riding with one of our other team riders from Costa Rica. He's been very encouraging about my riding and is confident that I'm ready to do shows. That has been a huge boost coming from someone who has been a member of this team for over a year.

Lastly, I've met a group of young adults from the local bible college here in Temecula and they have welcomed me with open arms. Some great relationships are being formed and I"m SO blessed to have people my own age and in the same place in life as me to spend time with.

At last

At last, an update. I’ve been on the go none stop since arriving back in sunny southern California and things don’t look to be slowing down any time soon. The first few days back were spent fixing the driveline in my truck, again big thanks to my buddy Adrian for all his help, working on quads and learning my new task as a web administrator of sorts for H Bomb Films.

I’m currently interacting with fans, posting blog updates and have even created a press release or two for. Additionally I maintain the company’s Face Book page. I’m having a blast and slowly getting the opportunity to answer fan questions and essentially act as a liaison between the fans and the company.

Riding has been going well. I’ve only ridden twice since I returned but both sessions went exceptionally well. I managed to learn a few new tricks but have no photos yet to include. Basically two of them involve coming completely disconnected from the quad in mid air and then pulling yourself back on just in time to land. It’s a CRAZY exciting feeling to land one of those for the first time. I have a few exciting things in the works in terms of riding but I’m going to keep that under wraps for a little while longer.

I continue to serve with the youth at Life Church and have begun leading worship on Sunday mornings. Additionally I had the opportunity to teach last weekend and shared a message about how events in life can leave us scarred, but how we choose to heal from those injuries determines how bad the scar will be. We can choose to wear those scars as reminders of injuries we’ve sustained from the past that we’d much rather forget, OR as examples of Gods grace and forgiveness in our lives.

That's it for now...I'm working on a more thought provoking update but its not quite coming out right.

Reflections

I love coffee shops. The atmosphere, the people, the sounds, it makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. I found a cool new one in Gresham Oregon called Café Delirium. It’s the perfect setting and brings in quite the diverse crowd. There are students working on homework, girlfriends chatting away about life, friends back for the holidays catching up, and more than one “couple” out on a coffee date. I love the diversity and atmosphere that it creates. I think what I love most is that nearly everyone has a smile on their face because most everyone that comes here wants to be here. Like me, they simply enjoy the atmosphere or they have an opportunity to catch up with special people in their lives.

I’m here because this is my office. I love to come to a coffee shop and sit and get work done. Thankfully for once in my life I’m self employed (if you can call it that), and praying that I can continue on this path. I’m also meeting a friend to catch up on life. This entire break has been nothing but visiting and catching up with people that have, in some way shape or form, impacted my life. It started the night I flew home with dinner with the fam and then vising with my small group from my church. What a blessed time of hugs, fellowship and crazy stories about this new life of mine. It was such a joy and one of my highlights was Janet Clark, one of our leaders, telling me “This is what I love about Seth, he knows how to eat.” How does one respond to that except to smile and dig in. Their family and so many others in my church came into my life at a time when I was hurting and needing fellowship the most. It was such a joy to go back and visit with them.

I had an opportunity to visit Jake, my best friend and partner in crime from the glory days of highschool. Its always a joy to hang out with him and it’s a blessing to see the continued progress he is making at his goal of walking again someday.

I got to visit my co-workers from the bank. What a FANTASTIC time that was. It took me at least two hours to make my rounds between the various offices and buildings to catch up with everyone that has been such a support of me over the last months and years.

On to Portland I visited with friends and family’s that have graciously taken me in and fed me, invited me on family outings and seemingly consider me one of their own. Its been such a blessing to see familiar faces catch up on life. The best, most humbling part of it all is to receive the love and support of people that are truly excited about what I’m doing with my life. Everyone is excited for me and I continue to be so blessed by the support of friends and family that want to see me succeed in this calling that God has placed on my heart.

As I finish up here and prepare to fly back home to California I’m excited but somewhat scared at the same time. Things are happening. I’m beginning to get asked to do ATV shows, things are in the works for me to begin speaking at various events and seemingly all the things I’ve ever dreamed of are beginning to come true. Its nerve wracking but awesome and I continue to cry out to God daily asking him for peace, perseverance and strength to continue on this road that he has laid before me. While its sure to be an exciting ride, I’m trying to live and trust Him one day at a time…I don’t have enough in me to look any further than that!

Merry Christmas!

As I write this I’m on a plane bound for Portland. I’m on my way home. When I left on this crazy adventure two months ago, I was curious what I’d be feeling at this very moment. Would I have made it? Would I have entered the next chapter of my life and be doing what I love or would I have failed miserably and already be home? Praise God its not the later. While I am going home, it’s only for a short break to visit friends and family and then its back to continue working and serving in this new life God has brought before me.

Christmas is different this year. It’s going to be small. My brother and his wife are unable to make it back to Dufur and my mom is going to come visit. Christmas for us will be myself, my mom, my dad and his wife Linda. I’m excited for the time with my family. Because of the situations we all seem to find ourselves in, Christmas revolves around thankfulness and time together this year. I guess it’s a good reminder since that’s what it should be about anyways. I’m kinda glad for it. Because of my current job status, buying gifts for people is pretty much out of the question. Though I’ve managed to pull a couple things off…A gift card for mom, a T-shirt for my dad autographed by the winning team of this years Baja 1000 and an autographed picture for my step mom. Its not much but its all I can do this year and in some way I feel it will remind them of the crazy adventure I’m on, and in some ways, they are on with me. So on the note of thankfulness, here’s a few new things since I last wrote that I’m thankful for…

1.Continued support and God’s provision from wonderful friends who want to see me continue to serve here. Without your giving I would not be where I am and I’m so thankful for your partnership in this ministry.
2. My family at Life Church. I had coffee with Pastor John again recently and he continues to be excited about my eagerness and enthusiasm for this ministry. We are scheming ways to put on events that will allow me to share my faith and my passion for motorsports with young people. I even had the director of our AWANA’s program ask me when I’m going to put on a show for the kids…I can’t wait for that!
3. I continue to work with the youth at life church and am now helping out, on some level, with both Jr and Sr high. Its truly amazing! The kids are fun and I get the chance to make fun of myself twice a week. We had a Christmas party last week that was off the hook. I’ll try to get some video of a skit that I put together…
4. New relationships that continue to grow. I’ve been spending some time with a couple of younger married couples within our church and having a blast. I help Derek, when I can, on construction of his “man cave” (garage lounge area) and Alex and I continue to hang out and enjoy this place in life we find ourselves. Lesley and Lindsay, their gracious wives, have opened up their homes and fed me on multiple occasions and been more than kind to the stranger sleeping on their living room couch. It’s a funny place I find myself in life right now, but I wouldn’t have it any other way!

5. Continued connections. I mentioned that I had an opportunity to go riding in the desert with one of the founding fathers of freestyle motocross and it was quite honestly one of the coolest rides of my life. A group of about 15 of us took off like a wild fire across the desert and somehow fell into line as we snaked through the mud hills of Ocotillo Wells. I was the only quad in this group of dirtbike riders so I was a little nervous about being able to keep up. After a few miles and actually passing a couple guys, they all seemed to welcome me to the group with open arms, many expressing their amazement at my ability to keep up. It was a good day! ☺ We stopped multiple times for photos and I was able to lend my services to the group by shooting pictures of anything and everything. I’m hoping for more opportunities to work with Metz as there is a lot in store for his team in the coming year and I’d love to be apart of it in any way I can.

Lastly, I’m thankful for this opportunity to be going home. To visit with friends and family and share about the exciting adventure I’ve been on. To tell stories and catch up on life. It’s only been two months, but I feel like I’ve experienced more in that time than I had ever dreamed I would in a lifetime. God continues to pour out blessing and I’m overwhelmed daily by the opportunities I have before me!

Sorry for the delay!

God has been pouring out His favor like never before. It would seem as each day brings something new and most often that “newness” is something I never dreamed I would experience. Hanging out back stage at the Vegas show, the whole Baja 1000 experience and now, an opportunity to film an event with yet ANOTHER one of my heroes from growing up Mike Metzger. I continue to be amazed at seeing how God has pulled so much together. “All the days ordained to me were written in your book before any of them came to pass.” Psalm 139:16 God has gone before me and is continuing to do so.

I met Metz through a couple of mutual acquaintances and the all powerful facebook. We have yet to meet in person but we’ve spoken on the phone and are working to pull together a few details for me to film this even that he is hosting at world renown free ride spot Ocotillo Wells. I’m pumped for the opportunity and looking forward to what comes of it.

In other news I’ve begun doing some marketing for the company I’m working with H-Bomb Films. I created a face book page and have begun adding and interacting with fans. If you’re on face book you had better add us!!! BombSquadBattalion.com Additionally I’m working on some plans that I hope will help bridge the gap between the “superstars” of the industry and other up and comers or weekend warriors like me. I’m excited to see where that goes.

In terms of working, I’ve been spending much more time with the youth at Life Church and am absolutely loving it. I help out in various ways but my main task is to emcee games for both the jr and sr high groups and make a fool of myself as I do. It's been a ton of fun working with the students. The pastor is looking to submit a plan to the church board that would pay me a small salary (just enough to cover the few bills that I have) and possibly provide me with a cell phone. This will be SO helpful however it won’t happen until mid to late January as the board does not meet until then.

In the mean time, I sent out another support letter, further explaining the ministry I am involved with here and my plans for the future. The response I’ve gotten thus far has been amazing. Friends and acquaintances from various periods in my life have expressed a desire to support me and I am so blessed by that. On that note, things continue to move forward at lightening speed and I’m now working with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes towards possibly starting an FCA motocross group here in southern California. I’m excited to see how that would come together.

Thank you all for your continued prayer and support! More to come.

Psalm 37:23

“The steps of the Godly are directed by the Lord. He delights in every detail of their lives.” I continue to be amazed at Gods attention to detail. I spoke at GC the spring of my senior year on the evidence of Gods might and power that we can see in creation. I feel that I’m experiencing that same evidence now in the details that God continues to unfold. Tonight my thoughts are in a million different places but these are a few of the things mulling around in my mind right now…

I continue to be impressed with and excited about Walker, my new friend from Montana. He’s got a fire and excitement inside of him that is contagious, he just needs some guidance and a little time to channel that in the right direction. I met a couple high school students yesterday and was able to share with them about my journey thus far and my plans for the future. They were intrigued and both shared with me some of their own passions. I had a great opportunity to offer some incite and I opened the door to help them out by shooting photos and video for them in the future as they pursue their goals.

I had a blessed day at church today. I’m continuing to work with the youth at Life Church and today my task was to emcee the game we played. It was basically random useless trivia but we all had a great time and I’m excited for the opportunity to do things like that again. The kids seem to enjoy me making fun of myself. Things like this just seem to affirm my desire to speak, share and invest in young people.

Tonight at Starbucks I was sitting here with my Bible open working on this entry and a gentleman walked by and mentioned that it was good to see me reading my Bible. He asked where I was reading from and I mentioned Job. He gave me one of his cards and mentioned that he’s a Christian author and speaker. I laughed, amazed at the people God continues to bring into my life, and told him I’m an aspiring author and speaker. I visited with he and his family for a few minutes, we exchanged contact info and I look forward to seeing what might come of it. You just never know when or how God will bring people across your path or for what purpose.

That brings me to now…I don’t know what tomorrow or the next week will bring. I know I’m going home on Dec 24, that’s my next solidified plan. I have about 3 weeks until then and it’ll be interesting to see what happens in that time. I’m still looking for a job and praying for opportunities to remain within the industry to continue serving where I’m at. Thank you SO much to those who have supported me prayerfully and financially. Your giving has enabled me to keep my focus on the goal at hand, to serve at church and hopefully impact lives like Walkers and the other young guys I’ve been talking to. The photo that I attached to this blog is one I showed when I spoke at college. Its a picture of MT hood and I feel like it is a prime picture of Gods might and Power. I shared that if God can mold and sculpt that magnificent mountain in all of its glory, what could he do with my life if I live completely surrendered to him? What could he do with yours?

What its all about

So I’ve got a new mission. What Kess did with football, I want to do with the motorsports industry. For those of you who don’t know, Scotty Kessler (Kess) was my college football coach my freshman year and the sole reason I attended Greenville College. From the beginning Kess told me that football was merely a tool to teach young men about life. “If after playing under me, these guys don’t grow up to be good husbands, fathers, and can’t keep a job, then I didn’t do my job.” That statement is what got me and now I hope to pass on Kess’s fire to the motorsports community.

Yesterday this new guy Walker, whom I now address as “Texas Ranger” or Chuck ☺ showed up in a beat up pickup with more atv parts hanging out of it than Tucker Rocky on clearance day. His story is almost identical to mine. He loaded his truck and came here from Montana in hopes of getting involved in the industry. Walker’s end goal is not necessarily to do freestyle, he simply wants to immerse himself in the industry and partake in all of the goings on here at H-Bomb Films.

I’m stoked to have him around because I see so much myself in him. He doesn’t even know what he wants to do, he just knows he wants to be here. I’ve been able to coach him to some extent however and explain the things that I’ve learned since I got here almost two months ago. I spent much of yesterday and almost all of today with him and I really think he has what it takes. His passion is there, he just needs direction. As I’ve learned very quickly, people just don’t move to California and become ATV super stars. You kinda have to have a niche. Thankfully I’m working towards freestyle as a goal, but I also have my media connections so that I’m being productive in the mean time.

Walker is young and energetic but just not sure how to focus his energies to make the most good. He’s had a string of bad luck with some life stuff but I’m convinced he has the heart and desire to succeed. It would take me a long time to explain our entire conversation, but basically I told him that I would sponsor him through my website and various media outlets if he would agree to going back home and taking care of those life issues he’s working on. He seems content to do that. I’ve stressed to him that making a wise decision now, will only set him up for greater success in the future whereas taking a gamble right now could end his chances forever.

I think he’s getting it. He’s stoked about the idea and I’m excited to see what this kid could do in the next six months to a year. Maybe some day my little www.LocalHeroesNW.com site will actually be something worthwhile. I’d love to use it as a networking site to help the “little guys” like me get a shot at doing what they love.

In other news I had my “tryout” here with the bomb squad and it went amazing. Our team manager BC was pleased with my skill level and the progress that I’ve made. The next step will be to make the switch over to the team bikes and begin getting up to speed on those. My goal is to be riding and doing shows come January. Perhaps a lofty goal but as each and every day I’m here proves, with God all things are possible!