I’m reminded that God is sovereign and puts everything together according to His plan and His timing. I don’t realize His handiwork at the time, but when I look back on 2010 I can see His goodness shine through each life event. In particular, I’m reminded of the word “favor” that shows up throughout the Scriptures. For no good reason, God shows me favor; He grants goodness in my life.

Most notably this year, God has poured out his favor on me through Ngoc. Ngoc is everything I desire in a partner. Most importantly, everything about her compels me even more toward my savior, Jesus Christ. She is wonderfully trusting; she covers the many areas where I am lacking; she models love so beautifully; she is playful and doesn’t get upset when I make messes and break things; she loves God first; she’s pretty; she has noble and admirable character; and most of all she is with me.

Her and I spent the weekend before Christmas in Williamsburg where I proposed. Ngoc and I are ENGAGED! We’re excited about a lifetime together filled with many more stories of God’s goodness. We both know that God has divinely built us for each other and has now brought us together in His perfect timing. I’m happy to share the first story with you, A Sweet Beginning, with a collage of our engagement.

I look forward to sharing many more stories of dreams and visions fulfilled.

A great idea, but how exactly do we do this?

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner — Do we cringe at the thought of sappy declarations of love, pink teddy bears and over-priced flowers? Or do we consider that this may be a prime opportunity to bring truth, love, forgiveness and joy into the relationships we have with those around us, particularly our immediate family? Sometimes we may find it is easier to reach out to strangers rather than to those who share our very own DNA. But, consider this…

• What if we loved out loud?
• What if we took a leap of faith and put ourselves out there?
• What if we reached out… first?

You are invited to do exactly that — love a family member out-loud this Valentine’s Day. Set a goal to connect– or re-connect — with a parent or immediate family member on a day that is ripe for meaningful expressions of love. Be intentional and take the time to convey a sincere, concise heartfelt message to a parent, parents, or other immediate family member. Humble yourself, give or ask for forgiveness, share how they have impacted you. By making a simple, deliberate and direct effort, you have the potential to impact the future trajectory of your relationship. Don’t underestimate the power of your words — for better or for worse — and make a commitment to share your love openly.

Of course, loving boldly can be scary – examples, stories, motivation and resources are attached.

• Valentines 2010 Details: The specific details, an approach, a framework, tangible ideas and resources to further facilitate your move to live and love boldly your immediate family. Intrigued? This is where to start.
• I Wish I Knew You Better by Stephanie: Transformed her relationship with her mom after asking herself, “Do I wish I knew my mom better?”
• Integrity – The Journey by Jason: Communicated to his father the message which had never been clearly told, “You ARE an amazing, loving, sacrificing, compassionate, and noble father’ to his father.”
• Daring to Love by Andrea: Persevered through heartache with tangible direction to begin the journey to a revitalized relationship with her farther.

Those who accept the challenge, let’s celebrate your admirable act of love on Feb. 19, 2010.
RSVP and details: http://www.pingg.com/rsvp/3g8wny38zx37w6jwc

Everything is more fun with friends – pass this on to your friends so that they are reminded to convey a sincere, concise heartfelt message to a parent, parents or other immediate family member.

For me, ultimately, this motivation comes only because of Christ’s outpouring of love for me. I am compelled to express, only in a small way, what Jesus has given me and offers to you – a life of fullness and joy.

I’m always available and my door is always open, if you ever need anything. Many blessings!

I’ve talked about this idea of “Love in Action” before (see http://www.jason1365.com/2007/03/11/love-in-action/), but recently I have been on the receiving end of the love.  It is completely mind-blowing to receive love through these friends; I am humbled because I do not deserve it, nor can I repay them for their expressed love through service and companionship.

Two passages from Scripture come to mind as I reflect on the blessings of relationship.  These passages have continued to resurface over the past couple of years.  I am compelled to let these permeate my lifestyle and being; however inept I am now.

John 13:34-35 – “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

1 John 3:16-18 – This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.

So, to you, friends, you do not know how your service releases the worry from the mind of my parents (in particular my dad).  Thank you, the following is for you.

You have demonstrated friendship in its fullness – your selfless acts are wonderfully humbling and fill hearts with hope and joy.  You are a true blessing.  To provide a little perspective on how your sacrifice reduce stress and bring joy, please read through a sample of how you have impacted the life of my dad.

Imagine you get up early in the morning to take care of the farm.  As you get up, your feet hit the dirty floor as you get dressed.  You get some milk from the fridge, but remember that you wanted to clean out the dust for months now.  You step outside and see the overgrown grass and heinously huge forsythia bush.  You dread another discussion about it and, even more, the work it will take to push it back.  You go to open the garage and see the uncut and un-split logs that have been sitting for many months – more work that needs to be done prepare for winter.  You glace at the untilled garden knowing that seeds need to go in the ground ASAP.  As you walk towards the main barn, you pass one barn full of monitors, old cattle feed, and lots of bags and think to yourself, “I need to clean that out before the time to spread fertilizer.”  As you reach the barn you look to your right and see the pile of rock that you need to use to fill in the holes in the driveway while remembering the old bags and other debris in the barn. Again, the burdens push down on your shoulders, “So many things to do, but I need to check on the cows right now.”  As you walk through the fields to tend to the cows you see a tree on the fence and many other trees down in the bull lot and think, “This is such a mess and will take forever to clean up, especially with my back problems – I’ll have to be careful and go even slower.  I can’t use this field for cows until this is fixed.”  You walk through some of the other pastures and see the more downed trees – what a mess, creating hassle for you and the cows(all the while knowing that good firewood is going to waste), “What a pity I can’t get all of these cleaned up.”  As you round your way back toward the house, you see that old barn in a pile knowing that it should get cleaned up so that the cows don’t get hurt or eat rusty nails.  You see a woodchuck run toward another building and remember seeing holes throughout the foundation of the building, “That building is going to collapse because of their darn holes.”  You walk past two dead trees that need to be cleaned up – in your own yard – “There is too much hard work to do everywhere.”  You look around and see the remnants of an old swimming pool and high grass – such an eye sore (not that the myriad of other things weren’t). You walk back toward the house door and see seven (count them, seven) squirrels in the tiny tree you were supposed to plant five months ago. Finally, you walk inside and remember you need to make special food for your wife and then make breakfast for yourself.

Pretend like this is just the first hour of your day, how motivated are you to do the actual pressing tasks of the day when you know that when you get those done, these other stresses are waiting patiently, however unrelenting, for you once you accomplish any other task.

Thank you for enduring the burdens of my parents.  You fulfill (see Galatians 6:2).

So, with these encouragements and a renewed energy and passion for life, I am excited to take the quarter-life crisis head-on. I will be traveling to Ethiopia to diagnose and treat as many people as I can (for free) (I also get to learn and practice basic nursing techniques). I will then head over to Thailand for a couple weeks with a friend to experience part of the continent that I’ve tried to get to for 5 years. I may have an opportunity to work in Korea (long-shot) for 6-12 months as well. I have starting taking public transportation so that I can reduce daily stress, but also focus myself on bigger, more fun, dangerous, and noble things. I realize that the constant daily activity is keeping me from writing a thrilling story with my life.

With that, I conclude with something like the roasting that was given to me by a great friend on my birthday.

Why Jason Lund is Astonishing

Historical Accounts: Chosen

Born on June 3, 1982 to Dick and Mary Lund, God chose Jason to be born into a family with loving, fun, problem solving parents.

Jason was also chosen to have amazing problem solving skills he uses to repair cars, build pig roasters, fix beds, construct computers and help friends deal with trauma.

Jason was chosen to be BFSS (Big, Fast, Sexy, Strong). Big enough to ride a motorcycle, fast enough to be a state track champion, sexy enough for a girl to put a garter belt around his thigh and strong enough to survive a cinder block assault.

Jason was chosen not to sit still. He is always active, always helping, always improving, always giving joy, always on consulting.

Historical Accounts: Fearless

Jason is not afraid to inspire his parents to love Jesus more.

Jason is not afraid to love.

Jason is not afraid of committing to a 30 year mortgage.

Jason is not afraid of hazing.

Jason is not afraid of being pushed in the fire by Jim.

Jason is not afraid to challenge people.

Jason is not afraid to give a girl her own cookies back as a Christmas gift.

Jason is not afraid to tell girls he doesn’t like them, won’t sleep with them.

Jason is not afraid to go on 3 dates in 1 night.

Jason is not afraid to meet a ton of new people.

Jason is not afraid of the unknown future.

Jason is not afraid of Africa.

Jason is not afraid to lead a small group on dating though he had never been in a Christian relationship.

Historical Examples: Strong Friend

Jason bought and maintained a house to create a place for real men to experience real discipleship.

Jason mentored college students from American University and inspired Chi Alpha at UVA on his return speaking tour.

Jason refuses to speak poorly of Kristi Lauren, Catherine, Jennifer or Janna (ex-girls).

Jason forgave Phil, when Phil offered to set up Jason with Christine and then changed his mind and dated Christine.

Jason actually maintains platonic friendships with girls after they have the “we’re just friends conversation.”

Jason continues to seek out the opportunity to spend time with old friends who live far away by dedicating vacation time.

Jason will hunt down anything for any friend from anywhere on Craigslist.

Jason lends his skills, possessions and time to all his friends.