New Trend

Its been a while....a long while...lol

Since my last post I got a new job and moved to a different state plus tons more stuff! haha

One of those other things that happened is that for reasons unbeknownst to me, I decided to start training for...an Obstacle Course Race!!! (OCR) I made the decision in about 10 min after seeing a add for a Spartan race online one night back in the spring. It was around Aprilish I believe. In case you haven't heard of OCR's and have no idea what they are, here is a preview.

I know right!?!? Its awesome and terrifying at the same time! I consider myself a little big of an athlete, or maybe an ex-athlete is more the proper term. I played 4 sports in high school and played football in college but after that my workout habits nearly vanished. Even when I was playing, the thing I hated about every sport was the running. It was awful and crazy and I couldn't understand why someone would create a sport like cross country...based on running. So, in case you missed it, I hate running and now I am wanting to enter an event in which running is a huge portion of the skill level needed. -_-

Nonetheless, I began training. I put one 260lb foot in front of the other. lol

I began running and lifting again making small improvements. There were obstacles of work and weather and time constraints....aka...EXCUSES!!! But the key is to PERSEVERE!!! A key factor to this for me Is my buddy ole pal ole buddy James. Although we do not live near each other anymore, the prods and one ups have run rampit on facebook and via text! Its been great and I am looking forward to the end goal.

And what is the end goal you ask? Well, I did not set the typical weight, goal. Nor did I set a mile or 5k time goal. I merely want to compete at a high level at this "midlife crisis" like event to prove my manhood and in the process achieve greater fitness. Curse of a redneck, I could not merely say I need to get fit, I needed a platform! The grandest arena for a redneck to scream "hey y/all, watch this!" Mounds of mud and lots of things you could get hurt on while trying to be impressive!

Anyway, along the way there was a new clothing company that I was fond of....HYLETE
Long story short, I signed up to be part of the Compete team for them and I was accepted which is kinda like being sponsored. So here is my little add lol

This is my HYLETE gear in a race I ran on Nov. 2nd in Hammond called the Crucible for the Disposable Heroes Project!!! Its really cool, yet crazy that I did something like this and not only did I love it, I can't stop thinking about the next race!

The next two weekends I will once again have the chance to better myself and run through some mud!

while i was away

It has been about a month since the last time I posted. In that time the most significant events have been that I moved into a new apartment, got a job, and went to youth camp. I love my new apartment its way nicer than my last and the job is a job and i'm excited but the big event in my life was youth camp.




My home church has gone to Go Tell for years and years and I have gone all but twice since I was in seventh grade. This year we went back to Taccoa GA.

The first speaker was Shannon O'Dell and he spoke about how we can fit in anywhere and fake almost anything around the appropriate people but when life squeezes us and we are in a bind the real us comes out. He challenged us with the question "what comes out of you when you are squeezed?" He then had an illustration with oranges, one of which he squeezed and juice came out like it should, but the other he squeezed and a green slimey sludge came out. So again, "what comes out of you when you are squeezed?"

Night two was Tony Nolan. He told a story about the "Great Blondinie" who walke across niagra falls on a tight rope. He went there and back. He then walked out and made an omlete in the middle and came back then asked for a wheel barrow and took it across and back. There were hundreds if not thousands in attendance who had began chanting his name and encouraging words like "we believe in you" "you can do it" "your the best" and after a few minutes of the crowds uproar Blondinie asked if they thought he could do it again with a person inside the wheel barrow. Of course they began chanting again and he quieted the crowd again and retold all that he had just accomplished before their eyes going across so many times then he said "since you all believe, who is getting in the wheel barrow?"......dead silence swept across the crowd....Even after what they had seen nobody was willing to put their life on the line when just moments before they knew that he could do it. Thats how we are with God, we know he can do it and we give lip service to the fact that we believe but all God wants is for us to trust and believe and get in the wheel barrow!



Wenesday Night Clayton King was our speaker and told amazing stories of some of his missionary adventures but the big thing for me was a descision that I made that night. If you have followed this blog you know that missions have been on my heart and thats kind of why I started this blog, anyway after he shared these mission stories I was starting to feel God pull at my heart and Clayton got ready for the alter call and called for new believers so I said "good i'm off the chain"...well....afterwards Clayton said that the two things he has seen God do at Go Tell is save sinners and call people to ministry and I was like "oh crap" so I did what any good baptist would do...I held on to the pew! lol I knew God was calling me but I faught it and held on to the pew. When he was done with that alter call I felt like I was home free. Then we began to sing again and one of the songs went something like this "take my life and let it be all for you and for your glory".....really?!....so right there I gave up, I was tired of feeling God breathe down my neck on the Issue so I surrendred to ministry. I admitedly don't like it and i'm now sure what all God wants from me whether it be missions preaching or what but I am open to whatever it is that He asks of me!

In the morning we had a guy by the name of Christian Newsome speaking for those services and he did an outstanding job! I thoroughly enjoyed him but especially his Wednesday morning service which was entitled: Get Strong and Stay Strong Spiritually. I will just leave you with the notes he gave us

Get Strong and Stay Strong Spiritually
1. Consistently read, understand and be impacted by God's word
   a. Plan
   b. Place
   c. personal goal
   d. always use the pen
   e. have a proper bible, a study bible
2. Have to have close Christian friends
   a. change your friends (either whitness to them or change them all together if that doesn't work)
3. Date only strong Christians
4. Develope a Prayer Life
5. Find a Mentor
6. Develope a Spirit of Worship
7. Begin Serving in Ministry
8. Find a Leadership position in a Strong Ministry
9. Be Willing to Sacrifice
10. Resiliency

Its great Stuff!!!!

The last night, on Thursday was Ergun Canner who spoke about family and how we can be let down and how blood should be thicker than water but isn't always because we are all human and sin and let each other down but there is one who will never let us down and who has a much stronger connection with us than just blood, God! He is our father above all others and in whom we need nobody else!



So, on our way back on the buss a few of us felt convicted about how much we have read our bibles, in large part to Chrisitan Newsome and we decided we would start one of those read the bible in a year plans and then someone said they would feel like a failure if he didn't do it by Christmas....so, we got a chronological reading of the bible in a year and started doubling up the days to finish and we have even gotten ahead of that and have read all of job and about half of Genisus in about a week! It is great to have them for accountability and to bounce our thoughts off of each other!

Anyway that is most of what has happened since my last post. Also the worship was amazing, it wa so good that I feel like I actually worshiped God for the first time! Thanks to Exodus for leading us into the throne room of God every service! In short it could be sumarized like this....GOD IS GREAT!!!

who are you?

Well, its been a while since my last post but I have graduated college and have been looking for a job, not to mention I will be moving in a few days. In the midst of all of that these last few weeks, something has stuck out in my mind. Our guest speaker at graduation spoke about something really awesome. He said as we go out into life, many people will notice us. They will see us and what we are doing, what we have accomplished, and see our success and wonder "who is he?" or "who is she?"



And being Christians we know that we have nothing without the assistance of God and that it is all by his grace and its all blessings from him. So, when they see the great things we are doing they shouldn't be asking "who are you?" they should be asking "who is with you?"

So even when we are having great things happen to us, we should use it for our fundamental purpose in life, to spread the gospel.

God loves us and God is with us every minute of every day!

Footprints

One night I had a dream-- I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord and across the sky flashed scenes from my life. For each scene I noticed two sets of footprints, one belonged to me and the other to the Lord. When the last scene of my life flashed before me, I looked back at the footprints in the sand. I noticed that many times along the path of my life, there was only one set of footprints. I also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times in my life. This really bothered me and I questioned the Lord about it. "Lord, you said that once I decided to follow you, you would walk with me all the way, but I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life there is only one set of footprints. "I don't understand why in times when I needed you most, you should leave me." The Lord replied, "My precious, precious child, I love you and I would never, never leave you during your times of trial and suffering. "When you saw only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you."

I was instantly reminded of this poem

Its a Hard life, so what do we do?

"Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place and it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't how hard you hit; it's about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward. How much you can take, and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done. Now, if you know what you're worth, then go out and get what you're worth. But you gotta be willing to take the hit, and not pointing fingers saying you ain't where you are because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that and that ain't you. You're better than that!"-Rocky



Life is tough. Its no secrete. Sometimes it is not fair to us and others timeangrys it is not fair to those we love. Either way, we must learn to cope with it because it is part of life and we can't escape it. It is a natural thing to feel angry and bitter and to ask why sucha thing could happen. We try to make logical sense and say "Well I am a good person, why are bad things happening?" "They don't do anything right, yet all the good stuff happens to them." It just doesn't work that way. I believe it is meant for a few reasons. Firstly, to remember that we can't handle it alone. We need God to get through those things. Second, to give God the glory for handling the situation and his wonder and grace being shown in the miraculous act of fixing the problem or situation.



When it happens to other people and we see it, I feel like we must need to help them remember these things. If the person is not a true believer it becomes an excelent way to share the gospel with them. If nothing else, you get to have that conversation with them about having faith and possibly planting the "mustartd seed" so that God can work on their heart since they have been introduced to it at this point.

Its my prayer that we all have strength and wisdom at these times to find the right words and not fall into anger and bitterness so that we can be that light for those in the dark so that they may not perish but have eternal life!

Uncertainty

"Naturally, we are inclined to be so mathematical and calculating that we look upon uncertainty as a bad thing. We imagine that we have to reach some end, but that is not the nature of spiritual life. The nature of spiritual life is that we are certain in our uncertainty....Certainty is the mark of the common-sense life; gracious uncertainty is the mark of the spiritual life. To be certain of God means that we are uncertain in all our ways, we do not know what a day may bring forth....We are not uncertain of God, but of what He is going to do next. If we are only certain in our beliefs, we get dignified and severe and have the ban of finality about our views; but when we are rightly related to God, life is full of spontaneous, joyful uncertainty and expectancy"-Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for his Highest



Word!!! This was amazing! For me at least. I have never thought that uncertainty would be a good thing. It is hard for me because I am extremely mathematical, calculating, and logical in all that I do; and I have always thought that faith in God was being certain of Him and all the qualities that you learn about Him from sunday school. While I have known the uncertainty of God, it has been from my perspective thinking that God was uncertain because He wouldn't answer me or because I would misread something and think He had changed his mind on me.

It does make lagical sense though that our all knowing God, that can do anything, although we never know what or when, that it would be a sign of spiritual life. To know that you don't know it all and that the only way that you can come close is to admit defeat and just have faith in Jesus!

I am learning alot and I'm trying to be open to new things and just soak up all that I can. I usually know that I have learned something by feeling certain about it, by knowing all that there isto know about it. I may not know alot and but I know what I know and I'm certian of it even when I'm uncertain!

Aggressive listening and Abandonment

Today class we will learn about two new essential ideas. Abandonment and aggressive listening.

Abandonment-to give up control of



In one of my devotions today, Oswald Chambers said that the "true test of abandonment is in refusing to say-'what about this?'" Talk about stepping on toes. I am a Math major for crying out loud! All I do is analize things and look at them logically, granted it is a major fault and hinderance spiritually that I've always had issues with, so I wasn't exactly excited when I read this.

On top of that I like being in control of things because I like them to go perfectly and smoothly and that can't happen unless it goes my way.....(cricket cricket)....Yeah i know thats all bologna but thats how I operate. I know thats neither true nor what I should try to accomplish but thats real talk.



Essentially, this means that God slapped me in the face today and said "Chill out, I got this!!!" And I am trying to be still and know that He is God

Aggressive Listening-actively blocking out distraction so that one my easily and deliberately hear

This was from my second devotion. I alwasy thought of listening as just sitting and hearing what someone had to say and I thought I could do that with God. I can, but there are so man distractions in life and in my life specifically that I must do more. I must turn off the TV, get off the computer, leave the video games alone, and yes, even silence the cell phone and give God some time to talk to me with no distractions so that I may hear it.



Simple enough, right? Yes and no. I find that I know a good deal, but I tend to not really know it until I have discovered it in teh pit of disaster in my life. And for me, I am discovering some of these things for the first time under pressure and it makes it real to me. Applicable. Tangible. Doable. Effective.

I hope this doesn't bore you but there is bound to be someone out there like me that is hard headed and learns the hard way. Even if there isn't, I still like logging my discoveries this way, writing it helps me review and oddly enough I view this as a form of accountability lol :)

planing to obey

If any of you know me, then you know that I like to talk. I can talk to a perfect stranger almost as if I were running for some sort of political office, but I also can be quiet and be a people watcher. I actually enjoy that most, people watching. I like to see how people interact with each other and how they respond in different situations. God can be like that too. He can watch and likes to watch how we handle things or he can speak to us.

I have been doing a study on discerning the voice of God, and today's topic was planning to obey God's word. They put it like this, have you ever asked for someone's opinion on something with your mind already made up?...if you have, what was that person's response when you did what you wanted from the beginning?(assuming that they chose something other than your original choice)...They usually end up made and wondering why you even ask in the first place.



I think it is safe to say we could expect God to react similarly. Now hear me out, i'm no trying to be blasphemous. If we ask God what we should do but we already have the plan in our mind of what we will do, then it is not too outlandish to think that God would not answer since he knows everying and know that we don't want to do what He wants us to do anyway. Make sense?

So, it was really about being planning to take the advice of God, no matter how different it is from what we want, because (lets be honest) He knows best anyway.