God, man, and a coming of age

Being 47 years old has its advantages. First is that you get giddy when you are ID'd at bars. "My ID? Sure I'll show you my ID!, no really its ok I'll show ya right now! O boy O boy, man my wife is gonna get PISSED when she finds out. And I'm older than she is!! Hey can I have your name?, cause no one at works gonna believe me!!!!" The other advantage is faith. Faith in yourself, faith in you family and friends. But mostly faith in God. I'm not new to feeling close to God, but lately, over the past several years my faith and more importantly, my belief in God has gotten much stronger. I have, in the past been ambivalent in God, "Oh yea I believe in God, sure anything you say, whatever". But now I would say I'm firmly in the Almighty's camp. I will confess that I now fully believe in an Adam and Eve, Noah's Ark, Moses parting the Red Sea, the Exodus and the whole ball of wax. This wasn't an overnight journey. It's taken a few twist and turns. From coming close to death from a heart attack at the age of 41, to watching my 3 kids grow. There is something that happens to you when your 8 year old son does something that he thinks is so special and looks you right dead in the eyes with a big smile on his face...complete joy. No tarnishment from bills to pay, work to do or go to, how to pay for that leaky roof or if you can afford to fill up your gas tank. The eyes of a child can pull your soul kicking and screaming to the realization of the existence of Almighty God. I have seen the sun rise from a deer stand in a cold Iowa fall, I have seen the depths of the Grand Canyon and the Heights of the Rocky Mountains. From Driving Through Death Valley and traveling 500 ft under the Pacific Ocean, to watching my daughter form words from a Dr. Susses book. God is all the wonders of the world and more. I have read sections of the Bible, not the whole thing, yet. And besides my growing beliefs and convictions, I am far and away from any kind of saint. I like drinking beer, I swear like I still was in the navy, and I have more skeletons in my closet than the Adams Family. I love, I hate, I envy. You name it I do it. Not without regrets, but I do believe God made me like he made us all. As flawed humans, we have choices to make. And for good or ill I have made mine. The reason I started writing this Blog (is Blog capitalised?) was at first to try something new and to see if I can convert my thoughts to paper (or in this place electronic media). Its much harder than I thought. I am no George Will or William F. Buckley Jr. but I am a conservative who loves his country. And perhaps I can make a little difference. God set this country aside for a reason. So that a people with the wisdom and the courage could transform 13 oppressed colonies in to a free and independent republic. Each journey begins with a single step, and with the help of God, and His blessing, I pray that we all embark on a journey that opens our eyes, fills our senses and our imagination with wonder. God bless us all and this wonderful country.