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.