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.

It is official! I will be the Youth Intern for First Baptist Church Tifton, GA starting Sunday August 1st! I am really excited about all opportunities that God has placed in front of me over the past several years that has led me to this point. It was not an easy journey but one with a great reward in the end. If you have been reading my past blogs you know some of what I am talking about. The best part is that my family is really excited for me which makes this whole transition a lot easier! It just goes to show that HE has everything under control and it will happen in His timing which is sometimes hard to wait on, but that is why you have to have faith.

New Stage of Life!

So the last three months have been really hard for me. I have been walking closer to God then I have ever been but God chose to keep me out of the loop on what was exactly going to happen when I graduate in May. I went from planning on going to Seminary to putting seminary on hold and start working. This was a tough decision for me to let the Lord take control of but I knew I had to. I applied to several jobs but only interviewed with one. It was with the church in GA for their youth internship. I got a call today to come down and meet with the youth committee. I am really excited about where this opportunity could lead. Over the last few days God has brought me back to the same passage of scripture and it funny how he has done this. The scripture is Isaiah 40: 27-31. It really has a strong message.

Why do you say, O Jacob,
and speak, O Israel,
"My way is hidden from the LORD,
and my right is disregarded by my God"?
Have you not known? Have you not heard?The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.

My Hope!

Ok so I have not written hardly anything about the fact that I am interviewing for an intern youth ministry position in Georgia. Well that is on Thursday and I am really excited. This would be my first full-time job ever. But it is funny how God used this situation to stop me dead in my tracks. I was seeking the advice of several ministers for some pointers on the interviewing process. My aunt asked if I wanted to talk to her pastor. I said I would love the opportunity. He could not meet up with me because he just found out that he has cancer. Now that in of itself would have stopped me in my tracks but that is not what did. Her pastor in the midst of his own storm took the time to send me words of encouragement and advice.

I hope that one day I am as strong as he is in his storm when God send them my way, that I am not sitting there in my own self-pity and miss a golden opportunity to make an impact on someone's life.

After thinking about this situation for several days I am finally able to write something to how it has affected me but I do it with reservation because it is a gut check for me from God. But then I found the verse James 1:2-4 and it gave me confidence that it will all work out for HIS glory in the end.

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

James 1:2-4

Shut up or put UP!

So I have had an internal struggle over the past few months. I keep hearing and talking about change. I am tired of talking and now need to be bold to step up and take action. This finally smacked me in the face during my week in Fargo, ND. I have decided to shut up until I have something positive or productive to say and can back it up with some action.

Yesterday I was so tired that I did not write a post SORRY! Today was different because we switched up our schedule. In the morning we went and filled sand bags and then went to hangout on campuses in the evening. You would not think that this would really be a big change but it was. We got to really hangout with the Fargo Fire Department guys that have been pulled from their regular duties of fighting fires and have been filling sand bags. Today I hung out with Paul. This guy was a huge dude. He said that he could lift like 330 lbs. Holy crap that is more then I weigh. But Paul is an awesome guy he has two little girls who are under the age of 3 and he has a boy on the way. I found out that he is not only a very strong man but also a strong Christian. I had the opportunity to encourage him in what he was doing. This really meant a lot to me. Today made such an impact on me that a I am going to go back tomorrow and spend all day with the FFD boys. Yea there are 4 of us going to spend from 10:30 am to 5:30 pm filling sand bags. Some would say we are crazy and I say yea I am cause who in there right mind would go to Fargo in the first place for SPRING BREAK! But here is a verse that we looked at tonight in our nightly devotion that really stuck with me.

Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
1John 3:18

This verse just spoke to me because how can I show Paul that love that God has placed on and in me then by standing shoulder to shoulder with him to help him protect his family and city by filling sand bags. Just think about that and how you can do something for someone in your life because my life has to change when I get back or I am denying God and that is not what I want to do.