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.