Who is Adam Sleeper ... ?

I wanted this to be my first blog for two reasons ... one is very obvious, (1) to provide the single soul who may decide to read this with a decent explanation of who I am and hope to be, and also (2) to challenge myself in answering the question I used as the title.

So, who am I?

I am first and foremost, a child of the Most High God, the Alpha & Omega, the Almighty, and the Everlasting. I am a coheir with Jesus Christ, based on his promises provided in the Holy Script of God. The only way either of the previous two points are true is simply because Christ humbled himself from his divine and heavenly prerogatives, and came to live as a man on earth, in the lowly form of human flesh. ie - skin and bones! He humbled himself to the point of being a servant and a ransom for the souls of men, by submitting to God the Father's plan of salvation via his death on a cross of wood. As he suffered and died, by the power and mystery of God, every hint and indication of my sin & disobedience toward God was poured upon Christ on the cross. As this happened, for those who believe and entrust all they are and have and hope to be in the person of Christ, his righteousness replaces our own wickedness and dark sinful hearts, that the holy God of heaven would be pleased to call us children and heirs with Christ! This is what does and must define me! And if I fail, it is by the grace and mercy of God that I may be raised up to walk and strive to look like Christ Jesus once more.

Secondly, I am the second of three sons in my family. There is my mom, Lynn, and my dad, Ron; along with my two brothers, Ben (Bub) who is married to an awesome (now sister of mine) Brooke, and there is Mark, the baby of the family. But Mark is 18 so its not really as if he is a baby. God has blessed me in different ways with all of them and I would not change a single thing about any of us, cause we make such a great family. My parents seem to serve more as friends now than as parents, which is great! I have been blessed with the parents that my friends say they wish their parents would be like, that's a pretty cool thing.

We moved frequently during my childhood and youth, which is a blessing too. It was hard, every time we left a city and friends we loved, but we were always provided with on going relationships from the old city and new and wonderful friendships in the new city. So, now at 22 years old, I have a network of friends all over the southeast US (especially), but that area is expanding as friends are now moving out of the southeast to begin there own new families. I have many amazing friends that I will never quit loving or staying in contact with, even if it be vague contact (cause those who know me, know I am not good at staying in touch).

Another aspect of who I am is summed up in two words: LUNG TRANSPLANT. I have a genetically inherited chronic disease called Cystic Fibrosis (CF). Basically over time it kills the lungs via abnormally thick mucus secretions in the lungs, and it affects the digestive system due to not producing the enzymes needed for food breakdown and nutrient absorption. And as the CF patient ages, CF progresses, becoming more and more difficult to fight, eventually leading to that person's death. That is why it is called chronic!

But with me, I was in dire need of a lung transplant when I was 18, because the CF in my lungs had ravaged them, making breathing impossible to the point that I literally had one, or maybe both feet in the grave! But God, being gracious and good, provided me with lungs on the very day I was told I would have died without the transplant. It was Christmas Day 2003, nearly five years ago! The only effect this has on my life now is that I take medicine in the morning and 12 hours later in the evening everyday! Now I am able to do the things I love - road and mountain biking, rock climbing, and to go on hiking trips!

People ask me frequently if I live wondering how long my (new) lungs will last, and I tell them I don't ever think that way. Its not that I choose to not think that way, but rather that I just dint think that way. The way I see it, my time by medical standards was spent up 4 & 1/2 years ago, so that everyday now is simply a gift from my great God above. And if my lungs are to give out after this sentence than great, I live 4 & 1/2 years longer than we all thought I would, and on the other hand, if I live on these lungs to be 108 then that is just as great (although I dint actually want to live to be 108). Being asked if I think about how long these lungs will survive is like me asking you if you thought about how long it will be until you are in a car wreck, or struck by lightening, or you trip over a toy of your dogs and land hurting your foot only to stand up, feel the pain, fall over in agony and in thus doing so break your neck ... Hopefully you see my point, NO ONE thinks that way and neither do I! I simply seek to live life to the fullest and to pursue God as best I know how, trusting Him in faith that my life will turn out to be all that He has already planned it to be.

Along similar lines, I don't avoid risky situations and I try with all that is in me to never back down from a challenge. I looked CF square in the eyes and never quit fighting by the strength of God's power in me through Jesus Christ, and albeit physical, it was conquered. I hold to the same mindset on any challenge, face head on and by God's grace I shall prevail being conformed more and more to the man God wants me to be. As for risks, I just think risks are fun. I am not going to go on about this topic cause I could talk for a while, but I enjoy the adrenaline rush and the feeling of accomplishment that comes from taking a risk and coming out on top. Having said that, I am not stupid in my risk taking and I calculate the risk before I actually take it. I have jumped out of a plane!


Then there remains the dreams and hopes for my life ... it occurs to me that when I start talking this way, what I dream of is often times different and contrary to the norm of someone my age. My dreams may even be considered a bit unrealistic too ... but I serve a God who says, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible" ... so I consider my dreams a complete reality, assuming that my dreams line up with the plans the Lord has for my life.

First, I want a wife and a family. I want to sweep some girl off her feet, and love her like there is no tomorrow, to love her as Christ has loved me and the church. God has put in me a very romantic mindset ... not necessarily like rose petals and candle lights, although I like that kind of romantic stuff too ... but more so that when I find this girl who will be my wife, that no question stands in her mind that she is beautiful and make my world complete. Romantic in the way of being a gentleman and maybe for lack of a better word chivalric. OK so maybe this one is not out of the norm at all, but some are coming that are. Also, along these same lines, I want to adopt a child. This has been a burning passion in my heart for some time now.

Secondly, I want to live opposite of the American society that exists today. The idea of pursuing "The American Dream" actually makes me sick, literally I hate this concept of purpose in life. If all life is, is to be married, have 2.69 kids, a mortgage, a boat and 3 cars, and retire to play golf ... then NO THANK YOU! I don't think God calls us to comfort and certainly not to a life of excess and ease ... look at Christ's life on earth, He didn't even have a place to rest his head! I do think God blesses some people with a lot, and those people are then responsible to use their means for the glory of God. But I don't think God blesses people with excess so that it may be spent for the sake of their own comfort and pleasure. And retiring to play golf and walk a beach and collect shells is certainly not my dreams for my old age in life ... that picture of retirement is courtesy of John Piper making fun of a lot of people's perfect retirement plan! I would rather, if I do live here in the States for most of my life, learn to live way under my means and have an excess to give away and use for the purposes of loving the forgotten, the down trodden, and the unlovable of the world! I don't want to come across as self righteous about this, its just that I feel strongly about it. So know that I am not condemning anyone, I am just against the idea of comfort and ease in life as a purpose and goal!

Thirdly, and one of the greatest desires of my soul is to spend a significant portion of my remaining years living abroad, outside the US helping the poor and "least of these" around the world, that by some small means I may improve their living conditions and share the love of Christ with them. I used to think I know where I wanted to spend my life doing this, but that has changed in the last year or so. Thus, my dream concerning this remains vague, but I know that the Lord has provided me with several traits that confirm this in my heart ... a severe case of wanderlust (which is both good and bad), a grand sense of adventure (thus the willingness to take risks), a bold interest and love for different cultures along with an open mind toward trying things offered by other cultures, and finally an affinity toward international peoples with which Auburn is very blessed.

Finally, and what I pray drives my every decision and thought is my desire to glorify God above all else, to be a sold of lunatic for the God who loves me unconditionally, to be passionate about salvation in Christ alone because Christ has been passionate for the salvation of my own soul. I want to be a mirror for Christ, so that others see his love, grace, peace, and forgiveness in me ... in fact, it would be best if they saw not me but rather the very person of Jesus in me. This is my ultimate end. Not peace with men, not comfort, not adventure or travel, not a wife, and not a family, but a life dedicated to God, who loves me more than I may ever know!

That, I deem to be a fair explanation of who I am. Welcome to my world.