17 days

in 17 days i will see my fiance for the first time since march 7th. that's 4 and a half months, or 18 weeks (for those of you who know david puffer, he would respond quickly with 126 days or 3,024 hours). the even crazier part about it, is that i will not see her again until our wedding! if you are like everyone out here who asks about her, you're probably thinking "i would never do that" and your right, i wouldn't either. but i did, and she did. and it's been one of those blessings in disguise. it really has been. it's hard to communicate sometimes when you are in different time zones but it helps you appreciate the time you do get to talk. i've spent the past year waking up (almost every day) at 4am so i could talk to her because she gets up at 7am. but she's been the real trooper staying up to countless hours since i generally don't get in from work until about midnight out here. (thanks bekah!!) she really is the best.

the weather is beautiful out here, today the high was 78 with a cool "delta" breeze. i meant to google "delta breeze" to find out what the exact definition was, because on the news the meteorologist must have mentioned it at least a dozen times in a 5 minute span. i guess it's one of those california things like "the 5" or "the 101" or "in and out" or maybe even "wanna come to a barbecue?" (in california they call a cookout a barbecue, even when there is no "barbecue" involved). but about the delta breeze, i know it's not coming from memphis or the land of the delta blues, so i'd like some insight.
i just finished fishing with a good friend of mine, caleb, and his dog cooper. they are my roommates out here (that is, until bekah and i get hitched). caleb is a great fisherman and also a really great conversationist (not in a bad way). he never hesitates to ask me what i'm thinking about or what i think about a certain topic. the Lord has really blessed me with a friend like caleb as well as his healthy lifestyle that is kinda wearing off on me.
we caught some pretty nice fish. i should have taken some pictures (sorry). we have two lakes on our property and they are stocked with large mouth and there's some small blue gill. there's legend of some monster catfish but i haven't wasted any time testing it. i feel like i'm spending more time fishing than ever before (i know it's hard to believe). i'm sensing that it's becoming more of a medication than a hobby/lifestyle. it seems like daily all i can think about is how bad i want to go fishing and i can't quite settle down at night unless i've spent some time out there. either i'm getting old or i've watched a river runs through it too many times.

by the way, my plan was to post a little something up here daily, but being that i've already missed that opportunity the 2nd day since i started this thing, it's unlikely. but hey, other than my mom (thanks!) and matt falk (thanks also!) it seems like none of you are investing in this relationship as much as i am. so i'm going to take it in stride and try to post whenever i get a chance. :)

i was also thinking that i should include a little bit about what's been on my heart/mind recently. the other night i was talking with another friend out here about faith and it sparked some questions in me. i've been wondering why God would allow someone like me to do the work i'm doing. i know that i'm out here for a reason, but it's so hard to understand why He would choose us to deliver His message. and it's not just some spam or an advertisement, it's an important message. choosing us to do this work is like having a heroine addict for a mailman. i know if someone is sending me a million dollar check, i don't want a heroine addict responsible for getting that thing to me. and the most mind-boggling part is that he has me- the most imperfect person i know, working for Him.

i know it sounds silly but i know that if i was the God of the universe, i would just write it across the sky in flames or just appear to everyone and say "hey, i'm God, you should listen to what i'm going to say... and read your bible too". but He doesn't do that.
He does the exact opposite.
He trusts us.
He trusts us who complain and fall short a million times a day, who boast and are proud. He trusts us who suck and sin.
He trusts us to tell the world about Him.
it doesn't make any sense, and it's so hard to understand. i suppose that's why they call it faith.

hopefully i didn't ruin your day by making you think too hard about the stuff i've been carrying around this week.

oh yeah, the previous background was just a random one i choose to get this thing started. i've upgraded. i got those sweet grapes back there now to remind everyone i'm less than 2 hours from napa valley. if you read my last post you'll realize that 2 hours is really close! pretty sweeeeettt.

mk

why the hurry, kane?

so, for all my east coasters out there, i've come to realize that i'm doing a terrible job keeping in touch with you. after receiving a plethora of voice mails, messages, e-mails, texts, smoke signals, etc. i've finally decided that i'm going to hold all of you responsible for this lack of communication issue. the solution is simple; i'll just try to inform everyone on what i'm doing/learning on this blog thing, and then you are responsible for reading it and not complaining that "i never told you about that"; another genius solution i have to blame others for my issues. done. but yeah, hopefully i can keep it short and sweet (hence the title "hurrykane" so you can hurry up and catch up with my life). ps. for those of you who are thinking "hurry? what's the hurry, it only took you a year to come up with this?" well, you are probably the same people who know i'm not the sharpest crayon in the tool shed.

in case it's been way too long since we've spoken, here's my current situation...

i moved to california in July 2010. crazy, i know. i was blessed with a sweet job opportunity to work for a non-profit ministry called young life. i live in a town with a population of about 20 (much less if you don't count children under the age of 18). it's a town called challenge and the best way to describe it is that i basically live on a mountain in the middle of nowhere california (the name speaks for itself). it truly can be a challenge living out here. it doesn't rain (not even a could in the sky) from june until october, and then it only rains/snows from november until may. for instance, this past winter we received over 300" of snow. so yes, if you haven't seen me since i left, i have extremely large biceps now. i've also gotten over my undiscovered disease of severe car sickness (overcoming came in handy since the nearest wal-mart is at least an hour drive away.)
i got engaged around thanksgiving to the most beautiful (and sweet) gal i know, ms. bekah deel. sorry fellas she is off the market and yes, she is way out of my league. we'll be getting married on september 10th and after that we'll be roommates forever, and at least for the next 2 years that'll take place in cali. but don't worry, as long as the Lord okays it, we are going to do our best to make it back to the east coast eventually.
did i mention i sold my car? if that helps you understand at all, i've totally become a mountain man. i don't get off the hill much but i do my best to get down at least once a month. but in becoming a true mountain man, i've replaced some of my everyday items with things that are more handy up here (this is the part when i explain why i haven't been great at keeping in touch). there really isn't any cell service up here, so the cell has been replaced with a pretty sweet multitool (i still have a cell phone, but out here it really only serves one purpose; flashlight). my computer has been replaced with a bunch of books (the internet way out here is terrible, which is why i'm doing this from my office computer) and it seems like in the winter, we only have electricity 50% of the time, which makes it handy to read my books. (with the help from my flashlight on my cell phone). so there you go, no cell and no computer. i really do enjoy life this way and it's proving to be a better lifestyle for me in general. my relationship with the Lord has grown tremendously even though it's hard to find time to make it to church on sundays. i thought it would be much more of a challenge (no pun intended) being outside of baltimore and away from the various ministries i was involved in. but at the same time, i'm learning to take my walk into my own hands and be responsible for it, rather than expect my needs to be filled by the awesome ministries i was connected with back in baltimore. it is tough, and i miss the old life a lot, but i know this is where i'm supposed to be and i'm learning a lot about how to connect with God apart from what i've always known.

but don't you guys worry about me, i'm doing just fine out here. i'm more worried about you guys and what could possibly be going wrong in your lives without having me around :)

i'll do my best to keep in touch (as long as you are reading this).

so until i have some more free time, that'll be it for tonight.

mk