Blog Overhaul

I moved my blog!

The new URL is nateshoemaker.wordpress.com

What this means is all new blog posts after today will be at the new URL above.

If you've browsed around the archive on here you'll notice this blog has served 2 purposes.  The original purpose was a kind of journal while I was deployed in Afghanistan with the US Army.  And after I returned home and began a new journey into building a culture of discipleship the blog took on an entirely new function.  So, what I'll be doing is putting up a placeholder post as the front page for this blog and leaving all the Afghanistan posts here.  I will be moving all post-Afghanistan posts to the new URL and all future posts will happen at the new site.

If you subscribe to this blog via RSS, you'll want/need to update it to the new URL.

Look for all of this to happen over the course of this week; and thanks for hanging on for the ride!

"Snick, Crunch..."

hear that sound?  that's the sound of a really rough gear change...

i was going pretty well with this blogging business for a bit there, but it fell off as things around me changed.  now i've had yet another change.  i'm home from afghanistan.  i will no longer be in the army (soon).  we're having another baby.  we're moving to a new state.  we're starting a new job... whew!  this is a lot!

anyway, with all these new shifts i figured what better time to press in the clutch pedal on this blog and try for gear number 2.  lets hope that this time around as my life shifts gears i'll be able to shift as fast on the blog!

here's to new experiences and learning to drive your life via "manual".

----EDIT----

Yet another gear change means this blog is only used as 1st Gear!  2nd Gear included the post you see above... but has since given way to 3rd Gear over at nateshoemaker.wordpress.com.

Won't Back Down...

I love the song Won't Back Down.  The Tom Petty arrangement is good, but my favorite one is Johnny Cash's.  There's just something righteous about it and it always gets my attention and makes me want to listen intently to it when it plays.  


Here are the lyrics:


[Verse 1]
Well I won't back down, no I won't back down
You can stand me up at the gates of hell
But I won't back down

[Verse 2]
Gonna stand my ground, won't be turned around
And I'll keep this world from draggin' me down
Gonna stand my ground and I won't back down

[Chorus]
Hey baby, there ain't no easy way out
Hey I will stand my ground and I won't back down

[Verse 3]
Well I know what's right, I got just one life
In a world that keeps on pushin' me around
But I stand my ground and I won't back down

[Chorus]
Hey baby, there ain't no easy way out
Hey I will stand my ground and I won't back down
No I won't back down.


[written by Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne]
copyright EMI APRIL MUSIC INC.

Christmas cheer? You tell me... (possibly NSFW)

Well... this Christmas is one that will be remembered forever, no doubt.  This is my good friend (and our squad's medic) SGT Larmer.  He's nuts, as I'm sure you can see at this point... and apparently has no problem risking his own ... well you get the idea.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Christmas Decorations!

Well, it's Christmas Eve and I finally put up some my decorations... I moved my roommate's tree because he's on leave and then set up my own in its place.  And then I strung lights all around my bed and shelving (as you can see in the pictures).  I don't have a whole lot to say about all this, I just thought I'd share the pictures, really...