As I mentioned a few days ago, today I am launching a new blog to document my adventure down under. The new blog address is www.dustinjamespetersen.com. So go there and subscribe and read the posts there to keep up with what’s going on with me.

That’s my new blog. This one will stay up, but it will be very silent and no new content will be posted here.

So go check it out!
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While I’ve been rather silent in the blogosphere as of late, I have been getting ready to head to Sydney in less than two weeks. Among some of the things I’ve been doing to get ready, one of them has been creating a new blog from scratch to share my journey.

The new blog will launch officially on January 1st and I’ll post a link here on that day to point you in the right direction. I’m excited as this new blog will be sort of an unofficial start of my adventure.

Twelve days until I leave.

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It’s cold today. I checked the weather and then decided to check what it’s like where I’m going to be soon.

24 days…

This song gives me chills every time when it goes to the minor on the words “Fall on your knees”.

What is your favorite Christmas song/carol?

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Another awesome part of the trip was getting to go to the football game at Bronco Stadium on Saturday.

I can’t remember the last bronco game I was at before this one. But being there on Saturday was so much fun. I love bronco football and to be there in that atmosphere with the tailgaters, all of the blue and orange, the band, and almost 34,000 people screaming and cheering was so much fun. I actually teared up at one point.

As good as going to the football game was, Saturday got even better with meeting up with friends I had in junior high at Chili’s after the game to catch up and hang out. And then heading to my brother and sister-in-law’s house and visiting with them.

My time in Idaho wore me out. Eating out as much as we did wreaked havoc on my digestive system, but it was such a good trip.

I’m thankful that my mom and I had the chance to go down when we did.

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Early Wednesday, we slept in a little bit before going to breakfast and then hitting the road to Pocatello about 210 miles east of Boise.

I had forgotten how flat the drive between Boise and Pocatello is. I guess when you live in Alaska, you actually forget that not all places are mountainous. It’s all agricultural and livestock area.

Now the primary reason for this trip was to visit my grandpa before heading to Australia. He’s ninety-two and I haven’t seen him in two or three years. It was great getting to see and visit with him while we were in Pocatello.

We’re back in Boise now. Spent most of today driving with stops between Pocatello and Boise to visit some people we haven’t seen in years.

Tomorrow is breakfast with my brother and sister in law, a little bit of shopping, and then the Boise State game. This trip has already been so good for me that I can’t really even put into words yet what it all has meant for me.

I love mi familia.

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This was the last song of Unite 2009, Marvelous Light by Charlie Hall. It was such a great night all around. Also, it was my birthday, so Jeff had everyone sing me happy birthday.

Marvelous Light, Unite 2009 from Dustin Petersen on Vimeo.

It was such a cool night to be a part of. I’ll talk more about it in the next day or so.

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Today is my twenty-first birthday. As I was thinking about it and how this is a “milestone” birthday, I remembered how, for me, each “milestone” birthday has a had a distinct feel to it either before, on, or after.

I never thought I’d actually turn ten and make it to double digits.

Thirteen seemed like a myth, “Me? A teenager”.

Sixteen was intimidating, I could now drive by myself and, in a sense, take my own life into my hands.

The first two months after turning eighteen were the hardest months I’ve gone through.

And today I turn twenty-one. I’m officially “an adult”.

And this is probably, no, definitely the most ready I’ve ever been for a “milestone” birthday. That’s because I am a completely different person than I was three years ago. Over the last three years, I have been stretched, pulled, pushed, and loved by God and those he has placed around me into the person I am today.

Thanks to everyone who has had a role in shaping me into who I am.

I love you all.

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Two weeks ago, I started a Bible reading plan right now that takes you through the entire Bible, Genesis to Revelation, in 90 days. It’s ambitious to say the least. Anyway, I was in Numbers and came across a cool thing I wanted to share.

In the story of Balaam, which most people familiar with the story know it because of his talking donkey, there was a really cool verse that I came upon during his blessings over Israel. Numbers 23:21 says:

“No misfortune is seen in Jacob,
no misery observed in Israel.
The LORD their God is with them;
the shout of the King is among them.

The shout of the King is among them. That’s an awesome line to put into a song (dibs!). But it’s also more than that. What is the “shout of the King”? My guess, and feel to correct me if I’m way off base here, is that the shout of the King is the worship of the people. Through songs, feasts, celebrations, and offerings, the people worshiped God, and they worshiped him LOUD. It was the shout of the King, not the whisper, not the hum, but the shout of the King that was among Israel.

When we join together and unite our voices in praise, the shout of the King is among us. When a people are united, their enemies scatter. When the Body of Christ is united in praise, our enemies scatter.

Let hope rise,
And darkness tremble
In Your holy light,
And every eye will see
Jesus, our God,
Great and mighty to be praised. – With Everything, Hillsong

Amen.

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I’ll probably be tweaking this a little bit more over the next few days and weeks until I get everything just right. Things actually look a lot like they did when I first started this blog a year ago, so it’s kind of neat for me to have a “throwback” theme of sorts.

What do you think of the new look? Like it? Hate it? Anything it needs?

Let me know so I can make it better.

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