i'm NOT sure what is up with eternal but i know God is in charge.

more to come...

the death of eternal

As I am writing my Blog I noticed the journal I had written this message in was on the opposite page of my previous Blog: The Birth of Eternal.... just a random thing. lol.

From the closing of Eternal to now the un-wrapping of the Eternal H2. Today was yet another humbling day as my buddy and I pealed the wrap of the H2 (just a heads up for those who don't know, our company vehicle was a Hummer H2 wrapped with lightning - clothing company logos - radio - and scripture (2 Cor 4:18)). Listening to God my wife and I are liquidating our company preparing for God's vision.

Thinking about everything going on are we now leading to Resurrection? BIRTH - DEATH - RESURRECTION. I really believe resurrection is near as God takes my wife and I to a whole new level of faith. God will re-build Eternal in a greater capacity than it was before. I thought Eternal was just a store, but its much greater in the eyes of God. "When the worst happens seek the Lord and pray out our pain and trouble, we know you will listen and give victory to us." 2 Cor 20:8-9 (The Message). Again, un-wrapping the H2 was as humbling as shutting down and dismantling the store. Its funny how quickly both were taken down yet building them took the past 4 years of our life's investment.

As I was preparing to un-wrap the H2 I had a vision of the new Eternal mobil God is building.... and it didn't include the H2. Praying as everything has been changing around us I see that the H2 was limited and impractical as to the vision God is creating. I was even speaking with a friend who is the architect designing the mobile and he agreed that the H2 is limited as far as touring across North America.... and it was limited as far as God sees it. God has a bigger vision than I ever imagined and we must allow Him to take us on this journey. I pray - God we have our ears to the ground as we listen to your Spirit, we are trusting you to the vision and plans you have for our life. We give everything we have to you - our possessions - our time - our efforts - and our lives.

I wonder whats next...

the journey

My wife Andrea and I have been in Arizona for almost five years, we absolutely love it here. The decision to move from Calgary to Arizona was due to health reasons my wife faces but even more important it was a huge step of faith. God called and we listened. My wife was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis fourteen years ago as she seems to feel better in the warmer client. I/we moved to Arizona with the intent of getting a job in the IT field which was the career I held in Calgary. Not knowing we would start our own business we soon engaged in the birth of Eternal.

Eternal is a store (www.eternalbooksmusic.com, www.eternalmobil.com (planning stage)) and a ministry (www.eternalxtreme.com (planning stage)). Eternal Books Music & Eternal Mobil are Christian retail venues to spread God's word. You're probably thinking a boring Christian store.... NOT we are much more extreme than that, you can actually see a few pics off of our website. We are a teen/college aged focused store with a stage and coffee bar. People loved the store and the versatility of it. Along the way we had a few bumps and bruises with the growth of our new company. As a new entrepreneur I saw the industry turn and had wished we were able to weather the storm and being the sole owners of Eternal we had to make the tough decision of closing our doors and restructuring our company. This brought up a few large WHY question to God. My wife and I continue to stay faithful to God as He prunes our lives and cleans out the house. We really believe He is preparing us to take us to a whole new level as we mature in our faith. God is moving us into a position where we can accept and enjoy the complete, whole life of purpose and success that He has designed for us. God has given me VISION which He will follow up by PROVISION! I really feel we are under attack as the enemy trys to deter us from continuing to follow God's Will, especially with my wifes attack on her health, the closing of our store, legal issues and the changing of our finances. Remember the enemy comes to attack, steal and destroy.

My wife's health has regressed over the past couple years leaving her house ridden thus causing hardship in running the business as I spend time taking care of her and her needs. With help from my friends and Church, I am able to run the business and spend more time with my wife. With our personal costs increasing due to health bills we needed to make changes so we could be more profitable and since the overhead is low and the margins are high the mobile seems like a best case scenario for us and a smart business move. Eternal Mobil was an idea that I have been working on for over a year and now I see an opportunity to help spread the gospel. Eternal Mobil will mostly be selling apparel, jewelry, car accessories, Christian Rock/HipHop music and select books (Blue Like Jazz/Velvet Elvis type) and cool Bibles and we also plan to launch our own Christian clothing line. We will be attending both Christian and non-Christian shows, festivals, NASCAR and shows of this nature.

Eternal Xtreme is a wake boarding, wake skiing, extreme water sports ministry. That will have summer camps for kids with teaching both in the sport and curriculum. We will put on weekend events with live music our mobile and the water events. We may even put on a Christian rock festival along the water. This is something God has been showing me glimpses of what's to come.

Over the past year I have built a relationship with Stephen Baldwin and his new ministry, The Breakthrough Ministry. I will be helping them put on a Skateboarding/Freestyle Motocross/ BMX + Christian Rock tour across America and perhaps Internationally, the AsSalt Tour. One thing I can say about Baldwin..... HE IS ON FIRE FOR GOD!

I have also made another connection with a friend to plan a tour similar to the Vans Warped Tour and bring bands like Flyleaf, Skillet and perhaps Brian Head (from Korn, who has accepted Christ). God has us working on a few things to this point.

As I go through the journey I have felt like Jonah (when God led us to Phoenix) - Job (enduring the hardship and perserverance) - Abraham (the closing of Eternal Books Music) - Habakkuk (the new vision God has given me for Eternal) - Samson (spiritual attacks) - Ruth (being in a foreign land.... waiting on our Boaz) and Moses (allowing God to guide me). I know God has big plans for Andrea and I as we continue to believe in His healing and following His will. He got us this far and its been an interesting journey, I actually think we stepped out of the boat......lol