This was not a typical Saturday!

So to start things off I got out of bed at 6:50 this morning to mentally prepare for the 5K that I have been in training for for the last 8 weeks. Let me tell you 6:50 on Saturday is harder to wake up for then 5:30 on MWF hands down. I went and ran (run/walk) and completed the 5K. I did it in 46:20. That might not seem that impressive but when I think about how I did my first mile in 12 min that makes me very happy.

Then after the 5K I helped the Dukes cut the grass. Which on a riding mower I really do not mind. After a successful cutting of the grass I then proceeded to jump in the pool for a couple of hours. This was very helpful for my ability to relax and get ready for the fun and adventurous part of my day. Next I met up with some of my youth for one of the funniest things I have done in a long time.

We went and crashed prom pictures. Not only did we just show up (we were invited), but we ordered powder blue tuxedo t-shirts online to wear and they had a little message on the back of "Purity Security". The prom kids loved it and I am pumped that they loved it!

Then to cap the night off I was able to hangout with some of the other kids that did not go to prom and we had a blast! That was my Saturday and it was not a typical one for me, but I would not have changed it for anything.

I am sitting in bed having a hard time falling asleep because of the excitement of celebrating the single greatest moment in history! Tomorrow we remember that Christ was raised from the grave and sin and death no long have power over me and my brothers and sisters in Christ! I know that many time in life I get caught up in the day to day things of life and live as if it is still Friday but that is not good. I now that Sunday has come and we serve a risen and living Savior! If that is true then I need to not let the things of this world hold me down but let the power of strength of Christ abide in me and guide my life. For if I have trusted him then according to Paul in Galatians 2:20 it is no long I that live but Christ who lives in me. With that thought I will say good night! HE IS RISEN! HE IS RISEN INDEED!

So here we are on week 9 of my weight loss and week 6 of my 5k training program! I have now gone from 321 lbs to 300 lbs.! I have dropped down to a smaller size pants and I am wearing shirts that I have not worn in a while! Not only that but I feel better and want to do more activity, which is great because I have a youth group that wants to do nothing but run run run! I am thankful for those who have kept encouraging me in this and who are checking up on me!

So I am about 3 days late on putting this post up but here we go! I am in week 5 of the couch potato to 5k and I am going to say that I never thought that I would be able to say that I intentionally got up at 5:30 to go run and run on a schedule without the incentive of having a coach busting my tail about running. I have now lost a total of 19 lbs. since Feb. 1st and keeping it up and pushing through. I would like to give props to Brent Phillips for keeping after me to post on my blog at least once a week!

Week 4

I am now on week four of my get healthier plan! So far I have lost 17 lbs and and have kept up with the Couch Potato to 5K program that my church is doing! It sucks that I have to get up at 5:30 MWF of each week but it really makes my days go by much easier with more energy. Along with the exercise that I have added I have also started watching the stuff that I am eating. For one I have cut down the amount of carbs that I intake during the day! Also I have cut down on the amount of food that I eat. This is my attempt to blog my progress! I still suck at this but eventually I will get better.

I hate running!

I was reminded this morning at 5:10 why I hate running so much! Most people want to go do it before the sun wakes up! That is not cool, I go to bed after the sun and then choose to get up before it rises, not cool at all! But on the plus side I increased my distance by 1/2 mile from day one to day two of the program. Also I have had more energy these past few days. It really is funny how you work you body out and some how or another you have more energy during the day. Only God could come up with a concept like that! Now I am off to impact team with my youth.

Couch Potato to 5k!

Last three weeks I have been in the Biggest Loser at FBC Tifton! So far I have lost 13 lbs. and I have had to get smaller pants! I am super excited! But tomorrow I will be starting something that I have never tried before. I will start training for a 5k. That is right Jacob McGhee Russell will be running in a 5k not walking but running the whole thing! There is a program called "From Couch Potato to 5k" that will help me progress at slow intervals to where I am able to run the 5k. I really am not to for sure about all this because it starts a 5:30 am (for those of you like me that is in the morning and I am not a morning person). Just thought I would let you know about that stuff!

Humble Pie!

Tonight I had the privilege of serving some very special kids in Tifton! They were our Backpack Blessings kids. If you do not know what backpack blessings is let give you a short run down. The schools in Tift Co. have identified students in their schools who are not getting enough food and so on the weekends our church partners with other churches in the community and we pack food in small backpack for them to take home and bring back after the weekends. Tonight we FBC Tifton's annual Backpack Blessings Christmas Party!

While at the party the kids and their families fed a full Christmas dinner of Turkey, stuffing, rolls, sweet potato yummyness, and a table full of cookies and other really "healthy" stuff that only comes at Christmas. Then there were games for the kids to play while the church hooked the parents up with some awesome things for these kids. First they got a full turkey dinner boxed up for them to cook on Christmas day. Along with the dinner each child received three weeks worth of backpack food since the kids were out on break! Then each child had a bag pack specifically for them with new clothes and shoes and PJ's and a jacket and a toy

for their parent to give them on Christmas Day! In addition to those thing SANTA and Mrs. Clause came to visit and they gave each child a stocking full of goodies and a toy for each of them!

Then after all of these things had been passed out our Sr. Pastor Bro. Wayne gathered all the children around and read them the story of the very first Christmas! While he was reading the story some of the kids had the opportunity to dress up as some of the characters and act it out! Now there were 125 children who were served tonight along with many more who were parents or aunts and uncles or grandparents. It was a very special night because the smiles on the kids faces were of pure joy and it was over some of the simplest things. It really cause me to stop and think about all that I have and how I take all of it for granted.

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." He said to him, "Feed my lambs."

John 21:15

Happy Birthday Jesus!

So tonight was our church's "Happy Birthday Jesus" party for the children's ministry. It was a pretty rockin' time. I was asked to play the part of Joseph , aka I was Jesus' daddy for a couple of hours. It was a really cool time to get an opportunity to just really interact with people from church that I don't normally get to. But while we were getting the last second stuff set up I had the mom of one my 8th grade boys come up to me and tell me how much she appreciated me be his Sunday school teacher. Because one Sunday on their way home she asked him what he had talked about in class and he really grasped the concept we had covered that day and took it to heart. When I heard this I was really taken aback, because in SS we have a group of boys who are really rambunctious and I did not know how much they were paying attention. That just made me more thankful to God that I was able to be apart of their lives and invest in them.

Tonight we had our community wide Thanksgiving service; and let me tell you Pastor Chris brought a message that rocked me to the core! Pastor was from one of the other churches in the community and he opened up God's Word and brought it to life. Pastor made one statement that caused me to stop and think. He said, "Are you serving the blessing or the one who does the blessing? Cause if you are serving the blessing you will run the other direction when the blessing is gone." That is so true cause there are many people in our church who serve until their feeling get hurt or have someone call them out on something or do not get the appreciation they think they deserve. If you serve God then he will abide in you and there will be no need for someone to give you accolades cause we are working for the one who has our best interest in mind. So I am going to ask myself every day who am I serving the blessing or the one who is doing the blessing?

So to the few people who still check this blog I am sorry that I have not been more faithful to post on it!

Here is an update:

September was a month where there was nothing big that happened but it was super busy with the little everyday things! Then came October! This is my favorite month of the fall season. First because it is the month of my birth, and for my birthday this year I was able to go home and spend it with my family and friends! That weekend was a time of refreshing myself. Then when I came back to Tifton I hit the ground running. I started to prepare for a big milestone in my career in student ministry. I was given the opportunity to bring the message on Wednesday night at youth on the 27th. This was huge growth experience for me because I was able to bring the word and share part of testimony with the youth at FBC for the first time. To be honest I was so nervous that I almost peed on myself, but I put all my trust in God and let him use me and guide me through the service. Then on Saturday October 30 came one of the coolest things I have seen since I have been in Tifton. It was the night of THE GREAT PUMPKIN HUNT! This is a big scavenger hunt across Tift Co. where my boss has placed 12 clues all around town to lead the youth teams to an undisclosed location where we had hidden THE GREAT PUMPKIN. This was a blast to watch and be apart of while watching the youth try and start to think like my boss, because all the clues are a little warped like my boss's mind. The Sophomores pulled out the win which is unusual because the Sr. are the ones who typically win.

Well that is the highlight of the Oct.

My Heart Hurts!

I saw a quote the other day that stopped me in my track:

"More than 80 percent of the churches on this continent are plateaued or declining. Despite having more than 350,000 churches, the United States is now one of the top four lost nations in the world" - Dr. Chuck Lawless

This quote has really made me stop and think: Am I living my life in a way that is outreaching to those around me that are not followers of Christ so that they are having the opportunity to have a radical life altering experience of knowing him as their Lord and Savior?

I would like to say yes but I know that daily I stumble and fall. The only reason that I can get up and keep going is because of the all sufficient GRACE that God gives us through his son Jesus Christ. I hope this quote makes you stop and think about your life like it did mine!

"The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, GRACE increased all the more."
Romans 5: 20

MY FIRST WEEK PLUS SOME!

In the first few days of working here at the church I have learned a lot of things. Like how to take a driving class in 3 hours that should take 20 min. That class we one of my favorite things that I have done so far because I am not certified to drive the church's center aisle vans. To some who know me this could be a very scary thing because I want to follow in the footsteps of my youth pastor in some of the antics that he pulled but for right now I will stick to following the rules until I am a little more adjusted to how things work around here. Also I have found myself being somewhat organized, this is really scary to me because I have never been organized. I have even started making a to-do list for myself everyday!

So the other day I had one of my first bad days where I thought I did nothing right! I came home and was on a woe is me trip! I called one of my many church moms back home and she set my head and my heart back on track where it really needed to be and that I was not placed here for man's purpose but for HIS purpose. So I sat at home and hung out with my Georgia family (they really have taken me in and made me one of the family). It started with my little buddy Adam who is five. He came and crawled up in my lap and we played with the family's new iPad. Then my two other brothers and I played some PlayStation3, let just say I suck at the newer gaming systems since the last one that I owned was an N64. Then I had the coolest thing happened. Mr. Mike and I sat down just the two of us and started watching the Braves play. He and I really got to share life with each other and it was reaffirmed that I was a true member of his family and that he was proud to have me around.

Today was a really big success! Our boss has been out of the office for the past two and a half days and we had everything finished on our list of things to-do. Plus we had done some other things that were not! But late this evening I had one of the college students text me and told me how much he appreciated the job I was doing and how well I had been doing as well. That meant so much to me because I really feel like I was not doing such a hot job.

I had come upon this verse the other day that said I should not be worried when people put me down because they are not who I have to worry about!

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Matthew 10:28

Georgia Is On My Mind!

So it has finally happened! I have successfully transitioned to S. Georgia. It is amazing at how warm a reception I received upon arriving. I have not stopped going since I got here. I see how God worked his ways to get me here and it just makes me stop and really just stand in awe of HIS greatness and glory.

REDEFINE

I have embarked on a journey that is unfamiliar for me. I have decided to pick up a book and read for fun! Now what I have chosen is not a book most people would think is for fun, but for me to read for fun is reading anything that I am not forced to read for class. It was recommended that I read Radical by David Platt. Now I just finished the first chapter and I have so many question running through my head. He is dealing with examining the words of Christ against our modern Middle American Christianity. He starts off by telling a story of when he was serving overseas meeting with leaders of underground churches in Asia that struck me to the core. How these leaders had members of their churches being openly persecuted for faith in Christ Jesus and I have take my own faith for granted on numerous occasions.

Now I am hoping for the sake of the Gospel this book will allow me to take the harsh statements of Christ and mold me life around them instead of molding the statements to fit my life. Platt in taking a harsh look at the American Church points out that Jesus' message is basically "Give up everything you have, carry a cross (an instrument of torture), and hate your family. All of this he backs up using the words of Christ in the Gospels. I don't know about you, but that is tough for me to swallow.

One of the toughest images that Platt pulls out in the first chapter is found in Luke 9:59-60 where he tells a man to follow me and he responds let me go bury my father for he just died. Jesus responded with, "let the dead bury the dead and you proclaim the Kingdom of God." Now this is tough for me because I am all that my dad really has left as far as family goes. Then to have Jesus tell me to let someone else take care of his funeral arrangement is hard to hear but one that I know I have to come to terms with.

I will leave you now with these thoughts and will reflect after I have read more of the book.

SO I WAS CALLED A YANKEE THE OTHER DAY!

This past week I had the opportunity to go and hangout with the youth group that I will be working with come August. I was welcomed in right away as one of their own. It was one of the best feelings in the world to know that you were doing exactly what God wanted you to be doing. I not only got to know the youth but aslo some of their parents. That was a trip. I met one mom who is the lost Sugarbaker sister(reference to an old tv sitcom), along with another mom who could pass a Paula Dean.

One of the middle school youth called me one of the most hurtful things I have heard in a while. They said I was a yankee. I am know to them I am because I live farther north then them but I live below the Mason-Dixon Line and that make me a southerner. Then they said I had a cool accent and I said well it is Kentucky Redneck. They thought that was funny.

Now my youth are great! There is a group of guys that I feel like I am going to be able to connect really easy with cause they love sports. Also this is a small world cause I move to southern GA and the church I am working with has a family in it from Kentucky. Now I know I will not have to watch the UK games alone this next year.

So that is my two cents worth of what is going on in my life!

Washington DC

I am visiting some friends in the DC area this week, but today they both had to work so I had the opportunity to go and explore. I rode the metro and started doing some people watching and discovered that no matter where you are people have needs that are not that different where ever you happen to be standing. They all have baggage and some know how to deal with it and other people need someone to help with figuring out what to do with their baggage. But back to the real reason that I decided to write this post. I was walking the National Mall seeing all the memorials and monuments. Every time I see them it takes my breath away. Today I went and sat at the World War II memorial today and just watched all the school age children running around having a good ole time and filling out their packets of information (because it is a school trip you have to learn something). It was nice to see that our country despite all the stupid thing that our Government has done over the past few years we are still a united people from many different backgrounds.

Also, word of advice: DO NOT TRIP AND FALL BY THE REFLECTING POOL. I did this and there were some awesome people who stopped and helped me mend up my bloody knee, but there was one lady that I thought was going to have a nervous break down. She was pacing back and forth and almost crying over a little blood. I look back (about 2 hours ago) and find this kind of funny now.

If someone was that upset and worried over me having a little blood on my knee it makes me think how serious should we take the act of obedience that Christ did for us when he poured out his blood for all of the world's sins. That means he took care of all my sins that I have committed and will commit.

OK so I have been processing through some tough issues over the past 4 days and I have come up with an answer that to some people it will not shock them others it may. Men are sinful and prideful. That is the great re-revelation from the past few days. I saw a close friend burned by people who claim to be Godly men but have allowed their pride to step in and cloud their decision making abilities. I have run through the gamut of emotions and now I am drained. The hardest one for me to deal with was anger. I was angry that there was nothing that I could not say because I was asked not to say anything. Then after I dealt with my anger I had the overwhelming feeling of courage and compassion. I do not understand how God works but he does and I love him for it. The next step is for me to try my best to support those who are in the thick of the mess and encourage them to stay strong. I still have love for those who have wronged my friend because God commands that we are to love our brothers and sisters in Christ.

If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar.
For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen,
cannot love God, whom he has not seen.
1 John 4:20

After reading this and really letting this scripture set in I was ashamed that my first thought was not to love those who have done wrong but to turn on them and make them my enemy.


Love is our proof of identity that we live in Christ and I must keep my checking my heart and mind.

We As a Generation are in Big Trouble!

So over the past few months I have noticed a trend among people my age! That is to say those of the college ranks. This trend makes me become really sad and extremely angry. I have noticed that we are really excited and willing to commit to something, that is the easy part. The part that makes me mad is that when it comes time to actually follow through on our promise we seem to flake out. I do not know what our deal is but we as a generation are starting to develop and identity that is not very flattering. I wish we would live up to a higher standard like we are called. I know that some people are reading this and are calling me a hypocrite but I am including myself in this. If you go back and read I used the words "we" and "us". So this is a plea from me to my generation to step up and let our "yes" be "yes" and our "no" be "no". That means if you know that you are not going to be able to complete a task that someone asks you to do then tell them no so they can find someone else. Now I understand that things come up but I feel that we are double booking ourselves and when that happens people get short changed and hurt. Especially in ministry this is true. I know more people who have had ministry events fail because they do not have people that have bought into their overall vision and allow God to work is way in the situation.

A short reflection!

Talk about an up and down time in my! I am about to depart from a chapter in my life where I have had more personal growth then I could ever have imagined. I walked on to the campus of WKU in the fall of 2005 and had an idea of where I was going and who I was. Well that all changed and I ended with a better understanding of who I am in Christ and where my calling in life leads. The process that I went through was not always an easy one and I am not proud of the way I handled some of the situations but I learned one thing that will carry me throughout the rest of my life and is God will work everything out no matter what has happened for his glory. I have people who I know God placed in my life to be beacons of light to help me along the way and to them I cannot tell you how much that means. You all were there for me in the good and specially through the bad. You saw me at my low and picked me up and told me it will be ok and to not give up.

This thought process came about from sitting and reflecting back on the past 5 years and realizing all who have invested and encouraged me through some of the toughest times of my life so far.