Author: Clint Eastman

Today marks the last day of my sabbatical and it has been amazing. I have learned so much and have been rejuvenated. I would like to thank all of the people at Funeral Director’s Life for being a part of my family and for blessing me with this opportunity. I have challenged many men and women over the past few years to write love letters to each other that center around their faith and spiritual journey. I like to remind them that the Bible is the greatest love story ever told and encourage them to reciprocate that love in this sensitive way. One goal for my sabbatical was to write my own love letter to God and here it is:

Dear God,

Thank you for showing me unconditional love. My life has been so great since we started our relationship. I had no idea that love could feel this good and I am so thankful that you have shown me. I can’t wait to see our relationship grow through the years. Each day I feel closer to you and I am forever grateful. You have loved me when I was at my worst and you have lifted me up. Thank you for always standing by my side and offering me your intelligent guidance. It’s still so hard to believe that story you told me, how you have been waiting for me for all of those years. I really regret not taking a chance on our relationship earlier in life. I mean I knew you existed but just thought I could make it on my own. Thank you for being patient with me. I seriously think about you all the time now and I just want to share all of my life with you. Oh and thank you for all the wonderful gifts you have showered me with, I sometimes feel like I am not even worthy of them all. I mean the way you placed each of those stars in the sky and made them shine so bright or how about that time when I was able to watch the beautiful sunset while listening to the ocean waves crash. Wow!! The list goes on and so does my love for you. I hope you always know how much I care about you and need you in my life. I love you dearly and I am so thankful you are a major part of my life.

With love,
Clint

PS – I am so sorry to hear about your Son’s passing. He sounds like an amazing man. I want to be just like Him!

I have had the amazing opportunity to work alongside a very inspirational man during my service project at our church property called Base Camp. Every day I was greeted with a smile and some warm coffee then handed some tools and an ATV and off I went, it was a sense of freedom and trust. Most of our work detail included manual labor like cutting and stacking firewood, repairing firewood shelters, and some general maintenance of the land. Last year when I decided to pick March as my sabbatical month, I made the decision based solely on the fact that March was always was my lowest sales volume. I had no idea that our church was planning three major camp retreats starting March 31st. We are hoping to have approximately 7000 people on this land over the next couple months. It was very apparent that God did not care about which month was my lowest, He hand-picked this month for me long before I even knew. Some days were cold and others were warm but one thing was consistent, I was surrounded by people that wanted to build His kingdom in major ways. We shared stories and we prayed, we told jokes and we laughed, we did some brainstorming and some strategizing, all of these things to help encourage each other and learn from one another. I have realized lately that The Lord has blessed us all with such amazing qualities. We are able to use our bodies in amazing ways to build and carry heavy objects and our brains to figure out the best way to handle situations. I felt a need to honor Him as I worked and poured everything I could into my task that day. When I returned from a hard day working on the land, I found myself eager to go back out at the next opportunity. My eagerness was a result of the company I was surrounded by while out there and the idea of building God’s kingdom. A few weeks ago I received my yearly social security statement and was struck by the amount of time that I have worked throughout my life. My first job was when I was 12 years old working at a party center washing dishes and preparing food. I wanted to work to earn money to buy CD’s and stereo equipment. This desire to work continued through high school, college, and beyond….. 26 years of my life I have spent working! Many life lessons I have learned through those opportunities but none of those lessons are as great as the one that I learned while helping out at Base Camp. We are all God’s vessels and designed for a purpose. No matter what work detail you encounter on a daily basis it is all for the greater good of His kingdom. I am confident in saying that through my service project work, lives will be changed. Many stories will be told around those campfires using the wood that I prepared. If just ONE person comes into a relationship with God as a result of those campfires then I have glorified God by building His kingdom. The even greater beauty in that statement is that I serve a loving and powerful God and I KNOW He will soften the hearts of many more people around the fires. A special thanks to Crossroads Church for this opportunity and an even bigger thanks to Mike Crossley who is truly the hands and feet of Christ!

How would your family react if you told them God has requested for you to build an ark? Not a small little raft but a vessel that is 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet tall. How would you respond? This is what it means to have faith like Noah. Last week my wife and I had the opportunity to visit Ark Encounter, a life-size replica of the ark that Noah built. It was magnificent to say the least. As you make your way through the exhibit there are displays everywhere to help you understand how this boat operated and survived. Displays that included many of the animals on board, the living quarters, and also some recreations of the working gardens and kitchens used to prepare food.
The part that struck me the most was the door. One of God’s specific instructions for Noah was to build a door in the side of the Ark. This door is where everyone would enter the boat and be saved from the flood. Everyone outside of the Ark perished. This door represents a lot of things in my life that I have passed through. By God’s grace and mercy He has rescued me and allowed me to walk through that door many times. I believe that each day we have an opportunity to open that door and receive His blessing, some days are easier than others but I know I want to be on the “right side” of the door if the flood ever comes again. In order to do that we must have Faith like Noah.

One goal of my sabbatical was to sit down with a few men in my life that have mentored me and challenged me and show them gratitude for how they have helped me. I truly only have one hero in my life and that is my father, but I have several men who have blessed me beyond belief.  Our church talks a lot about a “discipleship culture”. We believe in being obsessive includers and helping other people experience the light of Christ. This is what ultimately brought me into a relationship with God. Five years ago this month I took a chance on a men’s group at a local church to get into community with other men who were trying to be better fathers, husbands, sons, etc. The leader of that group is a man who I will never be able to repay. He showed me what walking in faith looked like and that faith was not a weakness but rather a strength. He encouraged me, built into me, and stood by me when times were tough. This was a glimpse of what it meant to be in community and bring God’s light into someone’s life. He always said, “I may be the only Bible someone ever reads.” This thought rang so true to me because although I never sat down and read the Bible, I could see him acting on his faith and leading other people.  At some point in that journey, I took it as my duty to be an example to other men on how to live a life filled with God and all of His blessings.  Several years later, I was fortunate enough to be led by this man again in a group at one of our church’s Man Camp retreats. It was during this time when I met another spiritual mentor and friend. This friend challenged me and brought out strengths inside myself that I was not aware of. He decided to nominate me to lead a group of men at our third Man Camp. This was one of the most flattering and humbling gestures I have ever received. I am grateful to both of these men and ALL of the men who I have encountered through these camping experiences. They continue to be a blessing to me and those around me. Although these two guys live approximately 45 minutes away from me, I was able to sit down with each of them in the past two weeks and say thanks! This was another gift as a result of this sacred time. I am gracious for a company with a hierarchy that has many good people such as these two men. The Bible says in Matthew 19:26; Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” I am so thankful that God makes this possible for each of us.

In 2016, our church purchased 435 acres of land in order to hold camp retreats. My “service project” during sabbatical is to help groom this land for all of the future camps. I have been a Trip Captain for many of the previous Man Camp weekends held in 2015 and 2016 and I have seen first-hand how lives can be changed. We always start Man Camp weekends out with one hour of solitude, so I thought I would mirror that experience on a deeper level by camping for 48 hours by myself on this magnificent land. Packed and ready to go, I headed out on my quest. My friend Mike loaded my gear into his ATV and dropped me off at the camping spot. After I set up my tent and got situated, the sun began to set.  I was suddenly overcome with an extreme feeling of loneliness. I realized all of the things in life that I took for granted including the companionship of my wife and the hustle and bustle of our house with three kids and three pets. People today are so wired to be connected. Smart phones, internet, social media, and Bluetooth headphones are just a few examples of how we stay connected. We hardly ever take time to just be quiet. This was certainly a challenge for me. As I sat and watched the fire burn, I came to a realization that it’s really only considered solitude if you don’t believe in God. As long as my faith was in Him, it was as if He and I were spending time one on one. This was such a relief for me.  It’s not often that you get to go camping with your Heavenly Father. I spent the next four hours talking to Him and telling Him everything I was grateful for. The beautiful stars, the warm burning fire, the sound of the wind………………all of the things He created. I spent time praying for people and things in my life and asking for His help with my struggles. I put my pen to paper and took notes about what was around me and wrote love letters to people I care about. This was quickly changing from what I thought was solitude and alone time, to time with God and it was so beneficial. I felt His presence and knew He was listening. What a night!!

The next day took a different turn for me. I woke up to some pretty heavy rain and the forecast was not looking good. It called for “destructive winds, damaging hail, and a few tornadoes”.  Needless to say, it did not seem responsible to camp in that weather. As I mentioned in my previous blog, God sometimes has different plans for us. It seemed as though His plan for me tonight was for me to be with my family and let them each know how special they are to me. I am just fine with that plan too!