You know, I posted that entry this morning and then I had a totally mixed up and crazy day that ranged from talking to a man about his marriage, to doing palates and cooking stuffed mushrooms. So I guess you are probably thinking, How in the world can you do that in one day?
I woke up this morning (at 5:40) with all these great intentions to study and get ready for my test tomorrow in Introduction to New Testament and to work on a paper. So I woke up, came over to the church building and started cooking eggs (we have men's breakfast every Monday morning). We all ate and all the old guys made fun of me of course (at least they think they make fun of me). They say these things to me and all laugh while I am in the dark. I really have no clue what joke they are making. It makes absolutely no sense to me. And I know that if I were to make a remark back, nobody would laugh because they would have no clue what I was saying! Oh the joy of fellowshipping with people three times my age. Anyway, they have a great time picking on me and I don't mind. I am usually too tired to understand what they are saying even if they do make sense. Even though they are three times my age, the are surprisingly chipper at 6:30 a.m.
So we clean up after breakfast and I come to my office and start working on homework and about that time a man from my church walks into my office and sits down and wants to talk. So I give him my attention and come to find out he is going through a major family crisis and his wife is threatening to divorce him. So I talk with him for THREE hours and I recommend a book that might help them and make sure that they are continuing there counseling and then I look at the clock and realize it's lunch time. So I go home and Jen reminds me that I had promised to cook stuffed mushrooms for lunch (something she doesn't do, No I'm not talking about the cooking part, just the stuffed mushrooms).
So I cooked, we ate, and I looked at the clock and realized that I didn't have time to go work out like I planned. Well, Jen suggests that I try Palates (I don't think I am spelling that right) with her (she has never tried it and is borrowing the DVD from mom actually). Now for all you guys who think that Palates is increadibly girly and somewhat pansy-like...it is, I will never do that again (though my abbs are quite sore). The funnest thing about the video was making snide remarks about the comments the chicks made to each other and looking at the toned buuuuu....iceps of the instructor lady (I'm sure I'll get smacked for that one).
So now, here I am, sitting at my computer and writing this instead of studying. In the words of Napolean Dynamite..."IDIOT!"
Josh Out
Monday, November 21, 2005
Tons of Stuff
I wanted to take a little bit of time to apologize to all of you who may be looking for new posts on my blog. I have been super busy with school and ministry and have not had enough time to post regularly. I still have three weeks of school left and until I have taken my finals I don't predict anymore posts.
By the way, the Broncos are doing awesome! I am looking for their Turkey Day clash with the Cowboys.
By the way, the Broncos are doing awesome! I am looking for their Turkey Day clash with the Cowboys.
Monday, October 24, 2005
Poor Broncos
My boys have lost...Eli Manning had to pull some kind of magic and march the Giants up the field in a last minute drive to score with only 5 seconds left on the clock.
I have really been on the up lately. We had a great hayride on Saturday night. We had tons of people there and we had a lot of fun. Here is a picture of all of us before we left. I really don't know how we fit this many people on the trailor. If you know who my parents are, they were here this weekend for a visit and you can see that they rode the hay along with everybody else. We had a wonderful visit and got to play some games, and eat together. My sister and her husband were here also. We had a great time.
God has been working on my heart lately. He has also been speaking to me through His Word and others. He has shown me that it is very good to be humble but being humble does not mean that you always assume others to be right in their criticism. I have always been one to take the criticism of others very seriously. As soon as I am criticized I would often try to change immediately regardless of the source so that the person would have nothing to criticize. I want everybody to like me. However, I have found that people's criticism is often wrong even though it may come from somebody twice my age. I hate to admit that sometimes people that I look up to may be wrong, but it happens. I was taught to respect my elders by my parents. However, while the person is older than me, that does not mean they are more mature than me. There are people who I can trust their criticism to be sound and evidence for a needed change in my life (my parents are a good example for this). There are other people whose criticism holds less weight. They are less in touch with God and their view is somewhat skewed from what God wants it to be. The hard part is judging which type of person is criticizing me.
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
A Silly Song
The following song is a poem who's beginning came from one of my friends in highschool (Anton, for any of you who might know him). After the beginning, me and several other guys at camp this summer turned it into a silly song that our cabin sang for the talent show this summer.
Back in the days of old
When men were bold
and toilets were not yet invented. -Anton
You found a tree,
And paid the fee,
And it was very well vented
Leaves were a penny,
Pine cones weren't any,
But make sure and wash in the stream.
The girls went south,
The boys went north,
And the animals, they went were they wanted.
Once there was a horse named Newman,
All he wanted was to be human,
He found the tree,
And paid the fee,
And put that tree, out of commission
Oh he put that tree out of commission.
The girls went south,
The boys went north,
And the animals, they went were they wanted.
-Cabin B3 at Quartz Mountain Christian Camp session 10
Back in the days of old
When men were bold
and toilets were not yet invented. -Anton
You found a tree,
And paid the fee,
And it was very well vented
Leaves were a penny,
Pine cones weren't any,
But make sure and wash in the stream.
The girls went south,
The boys went north,
And the animals, they went were they wanted.
Once there was a horse named Newman,
All he wanted was to be human,
He found the tree,
And paid the fee,
And put that tree, out of commission
Oh he put that tree out of commission.
The girls went south,
The boys went north,
And the animals, they went were they wanted.
-Cabin B3 at Quartz Mountain Christian Camp session 10
Thursday, October 13, 2005
The Clouds are Clearing
Lately I have been having such a hard time. Though I didn't take the time to sit down and think about why I thought this was a hard time. All I could think about is that I am really upset right now. Yesterday, I finally figured out what was going on (at least I hope so). Whether it was Satan, or just my human nature attacking me, I don't know. The problem was/is things that are completely out of my control. I work hard on my job and I work hard on my school work, but even when I was working hard things seemed to not go according to plan. I have been known to not be a very hard worker in the past and I paid for it. I guess that the problem here was that I was working hard, but I seemed to be paying the price for not working hard. Kids were leaving the youth group, I was not getting all of my homework done, and it seemed very rare indeed that I could formulate a plan in my mind and stick to it. Therefore, everytime things failed to go according to plan, I thought of myself as a failure.
All this came to spilling out yesterday to my preacher, my wife and my God. Once it had all spilled out though, I realized that all of these things are out of my control. If I am doing my best, it is near impossible to improve on that. Sure, other people might be able to do better than me, but I cannot compare myself to them. I must realize my limitations and let God work where I cannot. I am trying to take to heart what Christ said in the Gospel of Matthew, "Don't worry about tomorrow." I am just going to do my best and lot God handle the rest.
I am so thankful to God that he revealed this to me. I just hope that he continues to reveal little jewels of wisdom to me so that I can continue to grow.
All this came to spilling out yesterday to my preacher, my wife and my God. Once it had all spilled out though, I realized that all of these things are out of my control. If I am doing my best, it is near impossible to improve on that. Sure, other people might be able to do better than me, but I cannot compare myself to them. I must realize my limitations and let God work where I cannot. I am trying to take to heart what Christ said in the Gospel of Matthew, "Don't worry about tomorrow." I am just going to do my best and lot God handle the rest.
I am so thankful to God that he revealed this to me. I just hope that he continues to reveal little jewels of wisdom to me so that I can continue to grow.
Thursday, October 06, 2005
A breakthrough
Lately I have been really down on myself for several reasons. Mostly because I just feel so overwhelmed with grad school and working as a youth minister. I love my job and I love these kids here in Cordell. There have just been so many things running through my head when it comes to youth ministry. My original idea was to do a lot of fun things to attract kids and then try to teach them the Bible. But I slowly found out over the past few months that the kids that are attracted by fun stuff are kids that are here for the wrong reason. The most common name for these kids is church-hoppers. They go wherever the most fun is. I admit, I was getting several kids here, but they were not being affected by the Word of God. I tried to set up Bible studies with some of them, but to no avail. They would just come to class once and be a problem and not come back except for the fun stuff.
The problem with fun stuff (like lock-ins, 5th quarters, and anything else fun) they take a lot of time to plan. That time cuts into my teaching preparation. So I was showing the visual Bible on DVD and doing very little preparation because I had events to plan. The kids were bored with class but loved the fun stuff because I prepared diligently for it.
I finally realized that this is kind of backward. I should diligently prepare for teaching God's word and put events second on my planning agenda. This may seem like common sense, but it was not readily apparent to me in the heat of the moment.
So the reason I was overwhelmed is because all of these church-hopping kids brought tons of baggage with them and I felt like I was not getting anywhere with them here. So I started preparing diligently for class and devotionals. I have been doing this for only the past few weeks and I see a difference. Not as many kids are here but the kids that are here want to learn and worship God (for the most part, they still have their moments). The church-hoppers are not here to disrupt the class, and there are actually a couple of them who have continued to come and my hope is that they will be changed by God's Word.
The problem with fun stuff (like lock-ins, 5th quarters, and anything else fun) they take a lot of time to plan. That time cuts into my teaching preparation. So I was showing the visual Bible on DVD and doing very little preparation because I had events to plan. The kids were bored with class but loved the fun stuff because I prepared diligently for it.
I finally realized that this is kind of backward. I should diligently prepare for teaching God's word and put events second on my planning agenda. This may seem like common sense, but it was not readily apparent to me in the heat of the moment.
So the reason I was overwhelmed is because all of these church-hopping kids brought tons of baggage with them and I felt like I was not getting anywhere with them here. So I started preparing diligently for class and devotionals. I have been doing this for only the past few weeks and I see a difference. Not as many kids are here but the kids that are here want to learn and worship God (for the most part, they still have their moments). The church-hoppers are not here to disrupt the class, and there are actually a couple of them who have continued to come and my hope is that they will be changed by God's Word.
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
There's always something
Well, I thought I would have it easy this week. I only had about 210 pages of reading to do and a test to study for. Well, yesterday, I came down with a cold and amidst popping vitamins C and B and drinking liquid echinecea (not sure if that's how you spell it), I was blowing my nose and had a splitting headache and could not read all that well. I feel better this morning thanks to the vitamins and echinecea but that does not make me able to study any faster. Oh well...once again, I'll just do my best.
Thursday, September 29, 2005
From one point to another
I seem to be jumping from here to there. I was all set and ready to drop my class at one point and then I thought well maybe I can stick it out. Then I started working on stuff again for class and realized that I was so far behind that I could in no way catch up. Well, I called my advisor to drop my class and by being sent to several different people, I realized that if I drop my class, I would end up having to pay over $400 dollars. First there are no refunds if you drop a class 3 weeks after the beginning of classes. Second, they would drop my scholarship because I would not be enrolled in 6 hours (my scholarship is $50 per credit hour), so that is $300, and $150 of it would be money for a class that I am not even taking. Last, I would have felt obligated to pay the $120 that my church paid for the class that I was going to drop. All that equals, $420. Wow! Who would have known that I would end up paying that much just to drop a class!
The long and short of it is, I am going to stick it out. I am just going to work as hard as I can to make it through this semester, and then, I am going to take only one class a semester from now on.
The news on my test that I had to take on Tuesday is that it was not too bad. I didn't do great, but I don't think I failed. I'll just have to do better on future tests. I also finished my paper on time and I think it actually was a pretty good paper.
Well, time to start on my school work!
The long and short of it is, I am going to stick it out. I am just going to work as hard as I can to make it through this semester, and then, I am going to take only one class a semester from now on.
The news on my test that I had to take on Tuesday is that it was not too bad. I didn't do great, but I don't think I failed. I'll just have to do better on future tests. I also finished my paper on time and I think it actually was a pretty good paper.
Well, time to start on my school work!
Sunday, September 25, 2005
Great Intentions
I have great intentions but sometimes they don't work out. There are so many things that I have planned on and still plan on doing. I planned on learning guitar and becoming good enough to bring it to a camp out and play camp songs and get people to sing along by the fire. I plan on staying in shape so that whenever I do get a chance to climb a mountain or go snowboarding I can enjoy it. I planned on finishing undergraduate school. I planned/plan on being a minister of the Gospel of Christ. Most of those things I have done and still plan on doing. But one thing lately that has not gone as planned is my graduate school experience.
You saw my frustration last week in my previous post. Well, I worked so hard on trying to get all of that stuff done. I was in my office close to 9 hours a day, (starting at 7 and ending around 6 with a two hour break for lunch and some exercise) studying for my test, reading, putting youth classes together and working on an essay. I have spent nearly 15 hours working on graduate work this week and my work is barely half-way done. I thought maybe I could just do it if I made a plan and stuck to it. But it just didn't work. Great intentions. Maybe I am just a slow reader, or maybe I don't understand as quickly as others. Maybe I need more sleep than others. Or maybe I am not cut out for graduate work. I don't know. All I do know is that I am not going to quit. I may have to drop one of my two classes this semester and go at a slower pace, but I will not quit. I have quit in the past but I no longer want that to be part of my personality.
You saw my frustration last week in my previous post. Well, I worked so hard on trying to get all of that stuff done. I was in my office close to 9 hours a day, (starting at 7 and ending around 6 with a two hour break for lunch and some exercise) studying for my test, reading, putting youth classes together and working on an essay. I have spent nearly 15 hours working on graduate work this week and my work is barely half-way done. I thought maybe I could just do it if I made a plan and stuck to it. But it just didn't work. Great intentions. Maybe I am just a slow reader, or maybe I don't understand as quickly as others. Maybe I need more sleep than others. Or maybe I am not cut out for graduate work. I don't know. All I do know is that I am not going to quit. I may have to drop one of my two classes this semester and go at a slower pace, but I will not quit. I have quit in the past but I no longer want that to be part of my personality.
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Misery
There are very few times in my life that I have been miserable. The first time was my first few days at OC. My parents dropped me off and I had no friends and my roommate was a jerk.
Another time was when I had food poisoning. I could not eat normal meals for four days and I lost about 10 lbs. I could not stand up without feeling slightly dizzy and nauseated.
The third time was when I twisted my ankle so badly that I could not play sports for 2 months. (I had to take up bike riding instead! Yuck!)
Another time was when I could not poop for 5 days! Yikes. I felt like I was going to explode!
I have officially run into another time like those. This week, I have about 200 pages to read. This is not just any reading either. This is reading in huge books in which it takes me an hour to read between 10 and 15 pages. I also have a test to study that covers over 600 pages of reading (of which I have only read about half). Plus, I have another 100 pages of reading for my other class and a 2000-2200 word essay to write. My life is in the pit of despair! (not really) But man, I am going to have no time at all this week.
The only consolation I have is that next week at this time, it will all be over. Whether it results in failure of test and a late paper is yet to be seen. You probably won't be hearing from me in the next week...
Josh out
Another time was when I had food poisoning. I could not eat normal meals for four days and I lost about 10 lbs. I could not stand up without feeling slightly dizzy and nauseated.
The third time was when I twisted my ankle so badly that I could not play sports for 2 months. (I had to take up bike riding instead! Yuck!)
Another time was when I could not poop for 5 days! Yikes. I felt like I was going to explode!
I have officially run into another time like those. This week, I have about 200 pages to read. This is not just any reading either. This is reading in huge books in which it takes me an hour to read between 10 and 15 pages. I also have a test to study that covers over 600 pages of reading (of which I have only read about half). Plus, I have another 100 pages of reading for my other class and a 2000-2200 word essay to write. My life is in the pit of despair! (not really) But man, I am going to have no time at all this week.
The only consolation I have is that next week at this time, it will all be over. Whether it results in failure of test and a late paper is yet to be seen. You probably won't be hearing from me in the next week...
Josh out
Sunday, September 18, 2005
Why are things important to us?
This is a question that has haunted my mind for some time. Why do some guys prefer blond, burnett, or in my case strawberry blond? Why do some people play golf and others go fishing? Why do some people spend so much time and money working out, putting on make-up, getting the right clothes, etc., while others are perfectly content with just looking normal? Why do some people love sports so much that they watch ESPN sportscenter non-stop, and when they are not watching that, they are watching a game of some sort while others really do not care for sports or sportscenter for that matter. Why do some people keep their houses clean while others live in a pig pen? Why do some people love God, but others hate him?
This is a very tough question that I have raised, and I don't even know if I can answer it, but I am going to try and maybe with the input of you people out there, we can come to a conclusion. There is a huge amount of factors that go into the importance of things in our lives. The first factor is our culture. Culture seems to have a certain set of norms that it tries to place on everybody. It seems to tell us quite often that the tanned and toned, skinny body in which you can see every rippling muscle is better than the the regular every day body. Most of us do not have a regular membership to a tanning spa, nor can we spend 2 hours a day working out in a gym.
The second factor is our background and how we are taught. There are certain things that brought us joy all through our younger years. Maybe it was sitting down and watching sports with your dad, then watching sports brings back those times just beneath your subconscious. Or maybe for you ladies it was primping with your mom. Maybe you would sit down with her sometimes and she would put make-up on you and you would "fix" her hair. Maybe in your past you had a memorable experience, whether good or bad, with an adult after which you vowed to either pass the tradition on or never to act that way to another human being as long as you live. Maybe your parents sat down with you every night and read the Bible to you and prayed with you. They showed you what true Christianity could do for a family. Or maybe you grew up in a home in which religion had no part and your parents taught you that you don't take no crap from anybody, period. All these experiences in our backgrounds contribute to what we see as important.
The third factor is payoffs. You may wonder what I mean by 'payoffs.' I will try to explain. Anything that caused good things to happen to you, or at least things that you viewed as good, is obviously something worth repeating. And anything you did or tried to do that caused pain or hurt is not something you want to repeat. In other words, if you went out on the football field during your freshmen year of high school and you got pummeled, you may decide to never lace up your cleats again. On the other hand, if you got out there and you ended up being a cotributing factor on the team, you might just play all four years of high school.
I am sure that there are many other factors that contribute to the amount of importance that we assign different things in our lives. However, I believe that these are probably the main ones (please feel free to comment on this idea). But while looking at these factors, I come to one conclusion. There are no absolutes in any of them. Our culture, our background, and what brings us a payoff could all be wrong (I feel that no further comment needs to be made considering this statement, however, if I need to expound let me know). I am reminded of the first graduate class that I took at Oklahoma Christian University. While in under grad, I could usually wait until the last minute to start working on assignments because I was a hard worker, a fast reader, and I could accomplish rather large things in small amounts of time. I entered graduate school and I found this not to be true. I tried to read seven books in 3 weeks and it just didn't work! All this brings us to one question: How do we find out what the true importance is of all things if these three factors that all of us experience are imperfect? I believe that this question inevitably leads us to a higher power. In my case, I believe that through a combination of prayer, reading the word of God, and fellowshipping with the People of God I will always be learning more about the most important things in this life.
I hope that through these three things, God's Word, His people, and prayer, that we can constantly evaluate and examine the things that we assign importance to. Make sure that you are not a slave of your culture, your background, or your payoffs, but instead be a servant to Christ. Paul writes this about himself and other great preachers of the faith, " So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God."
-1 Corinthians 4:1
This is a very tough question that I have raised, and I don't even know if I can answer it, but I am going to try and maybe with the input of you people out there, we can come to a conclusion. There is a huge amount of factors that go into the importance of things in our lives. The first factor is our culture. Culture seems to have a certain set of norms that it tries to place on everybody. It seems to tell us quite often that the tanned and toned, skinny body in which you can see every rippling muscle is better than the the regular every day body. Most of us do not have a regular membership to a tanning spa, nor can we spend 2 hours a day working out in a gym.
The second factor is our background and how we are taught. There are certain things that brought us joy all through our younger years. Maybe it was sitting down and watching sports with your dad, then watching sports brings back those times just beneath your subconscious. Or maybe for you ladies it was primping with your mom. Maybe you would sit down with her sometimes and she would put make-up on you and you would "fix" her hair. Maybe in your past you had a memorable experience, whether good or bad, with an adult after which you vowed to either pass the tradition on or never to act that way to another human being as long as you live. Maybe your parents sat down with you every night and read the Bible to you and prayed with you. They showed you what true Christianity could do for a family. Or maybe you grew up in a home in which religion had no part and your parents taught you that you don't take no crap from anybody, period. All these experiences in our backgrounds contribute to what we see as important.
The third factor is payoffs. You may wonder what I mean by 'payoffs.' I will try to explain. Anything that caused good things to happen to you, or at least things that you viewed as good, is obviously something worth repeating. And anything you did or tried to do that caused pain or hurt is not something you want to repeat. In other words, if you went out on the football field during your freshmen year of high school and you got pummeled, you may decide to never lace up your cleats again. On the other hand, if you got out there and you ended up being a cotributing factor on the team, you might just play all four years of high school.
I am sure that there are many other factors that contribute to the amount of importance that we assign different things in our lives. However, I believe that these are probably the main ones (please feel free to comment on this idea). But while looking at these factors, I come to one conclusion. There are no absolutes in any of them. Our culture, our background, and what brings us a payoff could all be wrong (I feel that no further comment needs to be made considering this statement, however, if I need to expound let me know). I am reminded of the first graduate class that I took at Oklahoma Christian University. While in under grad, I could usually wait until the last minute to start working on assignments because I was a hard worker, a fast reader, and I could accomplish rather large things in small amounts of time. I entered graduate school and I found this not to be true. I tried to read seven books in 3 weeks and it just didn't work! All this brings us to one question: How do we find out what the true importance is of all things if these three factors that all of us experience are imperfect? I believe that this question inevitably leads us to a higher power. In my case, I believe that through a combination of prayer, reading the word of God, and fellowshipping with the People of God I will always be learning more about the most important things in this life.
I hope that through these three things, God's Word, His people, and prayer, that we can constantly evaluate and examine the things that we assign importance to. Make sure that you are not a slave of your culture, your background, or your payoffs, but instead be a servant to Christ. Paul writes this about himself and other great preachers of the faith, " So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God."
-1 Corinthians 4:1
Monday, September 12, 2005
Random thoughts...
My wife and I just returned from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico on Saturday night (actually 2:30 a.m. Sunday morning). We had a wonderful time. After returning I felt well-rested and re-energized. I was ready to get back to work and I was actually excited. I haven't been excited about work for a couple of months now. I was sick of the teenagers and their problems and complaints all of the time. I was emotionally drained. I didn't really realize how tired I actually was until I was driving home on Saturday night. I felt aware and awake. I was ready for anything and I had lots of energy. I felt like I could drive all night. It was at that point that I realized I hadn't felt that energy in myself for some time. Vacations are a needed part of a minister's life for recuperation and restoration. I hadn't had regular times with God for about 2 months because I was just so exhausted all of the time. I can't believe how worn out I was. I have decided from this point on that I am going to be careful about how much strength I dole out. I used to believe that I had an endless supply but I now realize that I do not. But on the other side of that issue, I know that I need to trust in God when I don't have the strength. Sometimes I don't have a choice.
There has been an issue on my heart lately that I have been wanting to express. The issue is sin. How do we in our individualistic American culture deal with sin? The answer is obvious. We deal with it individually! We sin and then we think, I need to deal with this. So we pray, read God's word and ask for forgiveness. This is incredibly Biblical, yet, it is also incredibly unbiblical. God's Word clearly states we are to use His Word, and His Spirit to overcome sin. But that is not all we are to use! We are also to use each other! We must confess our sins to each other. Only then is God's plan of overcoming sin fulfilled. We cannot overcome sin unless we confess to each other and God, pray for forgiveness and use his word as our spiritual sword. This plan is so simple, yet the application of the plan is near impossible for prideful, individualized Americans! If churches would follow this Biblical model the church would be revolutionized. We would be more unified, less hypocritical, and more empathetic of sinners. There would be a common theme of a church full of sinners saved by God's grace and mercy! I think this vision is something that more people would want to be part of and participate in.
Well, there, I got it off of my chest. Time to do homework! Yeah buddy.
There has been an issue on my heart lately that I have been wanting to express. The issue is sin. How do we in our individualistic American culture deal with sin? The answer is obvious. We deal with it individually! We sin and then we think, I need to deal with this. So we pray, read God's word and ask for forgiveness. This is incredibly Biblical, yet, it is also incredibly unbiblical. God's Word clearly states we are to use His Word, and His Spirit to overcome sin. But that is not all we are to use! We are also to use each other! We must confess our sins to each other. Only then is God's plan of overcoming sin fulfilled. We cannot overcome sin unless we confess to each other and God, pray for forgiveness and use his word as our spiritual sword. This plan is so simple, yet the application of the plan is near impossible for prideful, individualized Americans! If churches would follow this Biblical model the church would be revolutionized. We would be more unified, less hypocritical, and more empathetic of sinners. There would be a common theme of a church full of sinners saved by God's grace and mercy! I think this vision is something that more people would want to be part of and participate in.
Well, there, I got it off of my chest. Time to do homework! Yeah buddy.
Saturday, August 27, 2005
Sadness...what do we do with it?
One of my friends from college, Blake, has been involved in a very traumatic few months. His mother, Marcia, was diagnosed with cancer in June, and passed away on Thursday. I ache for him. At the same time I am thankful for his confidence that his mother will be in heaven. I hope that he can always look forward to that day when he rejoins her there. If you want to check out his blog it is at blakewell.blogspot.com
During times of sadness and joy, it seems that poetry is always a good way to express how you feel. This may not be good but it is how I am going to try to express myself in this situation.
Good things come,
Good things pass away,
Bad things come,
Bad things pass away,
But one thing remains the same,
That our God loves us forever.
We have heard of the miraculous signs he performed.
He performed great feats in order to protect his people.
He healed the lame, cast out demons, and freed people from sickness.
Therefore, I ask this question.
Why not this time?
Why are innocent peoples lives cut short?
God, they had many years of service to you in them yet!
Lord, I know that this world is imperfect.
That is why people live and die,
And suffer pain and hurt,
So please help me to remember,
Good things come,
Good things pass away,
Bad things come,
Bad things pass away,
But one thing remains the same,
That our God loves is forever.
Josh
During times of sadness and joy, it seems that poetry is always a good way to express how you feel. This may not be good but it is how I am going to try to express myself in this situation.
Good things come,
Good things pass away,
Bad things come,
Bad things pass away,
But one thing remains the same,
That our God loves us forever.
We have heard of the miraculous signs he performed.
He performed great feats in order to protect his people.
He healed the lame, cast out demons, and freed people from sickness.
Therefore, I ask this question.
Why not this time?
Why are innocent peoples lives cut short?
God, they had many years of service to you in them yet!
Lord, I know that this world is imperfect.
That is why people live and die,
And suffer pain and hurt,
So please help me to remember,
Good things come,
Good things pass away,
Bad things come,
Bad things pass away,
But one thing remains the same,
That our God loves is forever.
Josh
Thursday, August 25, 2005
Singing...
Here I am sitting by myself, getting ready to read a book for grad school and I just have this urge to tell about an inspirational story. I told you that Satan, was on the attack in our youth group. He is also attacking me personally. He has caused an old temptation to rear it's ugly head and try to bring me down! But between me and God, we won't allow it to bother me (God doing most of the work obviously). Anyway, back to the story.
So last night, I had to drive the church van to go pick up kids and we had so many that I had to drop one load off and go get some more, but that is not the amazing part. Anyways, I told one of the older guys in the youth group that I would be late because I had to go get some more people and to just start singing. Well, I walked into the youth room and wow! They were singing! It was so awesome. Now I have to let you know, that I grew up in music, I played the piano and the clarinet and I also play the guitar, I also took voice lessons and was in choir in junior high and high school for a combined total of 5 years and I also was in choral at Oklahoma Christian University for one year. I know what good singing is and what it isn't. And this was not it! At least not the physical part of it. It sounded horrible to my trained physical ear, but it was the most beautiful thing to my spiritual ear. They were singing out, smiles on their faces...wow...I just can't say how awesome God is. He has been working on their hearts. It's nothing I did.
Praise be to God!
Josh
So last night, I had to drive the church van to go pick up kids and we had so many that I had to drop one load off and go get some more, but that is not the amazing part. Anyways, I told one of the older guys in the youth group that I would be late because I had to go get some more people and to just start singing. Well, I walked into the youth room and wow! They were singing! It was so awesome. Now I have to let you know, that I grew up in music, I played the piano and the clarinet and I also play the guitar, I also took voice lessons and was in choir in junior high and high school for a combined total of 5 years and I also was in choral at Oklahoma Christian University for one year. I know what good singing is and what it isn't. And this was not it! At least not the physical part of it. It sounded horrible to my trained physical ear, but it was the most beautiful thing to my spiritual ear. They were singing out, smiles on their faces...wow...I just can't say how awesome God is. He has been working on their hearts. It's nothing I did.
Praise be to God!
Josh
Monday, August 22, 2005
Satan is on the attack
A lot has happened since my last post. My youth group had a wonderful, relationship building, spirit-strengthening summer. I saw this group go from about 10 to around 20 members. I saw them go from surface friends to Christian brothers and sisters. It is after all of this success that Satan tries to take us down. Rumors and bitter words have been flying around like leaves in a whirlwind. Satan's demons are stirring up trouble. He does not want us to have success in this community. I fervently ask that all of you out there who read this; please pray for this youth group. Pray for God's protection and Satan's defeat.
I became fully aware of the situation yesterday though I had seen little warning signs before then. Two sources came to me confirming my suspicions. Then last night, I addressed the youth group directly after church. I read them 1 Peter 5:8, 9 about Satan being like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. Then I read to them from Ephesians 4 about unity and what all we have in common even though we have conflicting personalities, and different points of view. Then I read to them from John 17 and Jesus' prayer for future disciples and showed them that they are going against Jesus' wishes and prayer for us. Then I told them to cut it out and work it out. I hope that I did the right thing.
When evening services started yesterday, I was undecided as to what I needed to do. Yesterday, we as a congregation had time to just spend singing praises to God. I got up to take requests and lead some songs. Somebody requested God's Family by Lanny Wolfe. The refrain got to me, "And sometimes we laugh together, sometimes we cry; sometimes we share together, heartaches and sighs; sometimes we dream together of how it will be. When we all get to heaven, God's family." I was standing up there trying to mask the tears. I don't know if anybody noticed, but I truly felt the Spirit talk to me through that song. I felt the itch and knew I must scratch. I knew what I had to do and I know that God will bless it.
Josh
I became fully aware of the situation yesterday though I had seen little warning signs before then. Two sources came to me confirming my suspicions. Then last night, I addressed the youth group directly after church. I read them 1 Peter 5:8, 9 about Satan being like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. Then I read to them from Ephesians 4 about unity and what all we have in common even though we have conflicting personalities, and different points of view. Then I read to them from John 17 and Jesus' prayer for future disciples and showed them that they are going against Jesus' wishes and prayer for us. Then I told them to cut it out and work it out. I hope that I did the right thing.
When evening services started yesterday, I was undecided as to what I needed to do. Yesterday, we as a congregation had time to just spend singing praises to God. I got up to take requests and lead some songs. Somebody requested God's Family by Lanny Wolfe. The refrain got to me, "And sometimes we laugh together, sometimes we cry; sometimes we share together, heartaches and sighs; sometimes we dream together of how it will be. When we all get to heaven, God's family." I was standing up there trying to mask the tears. I don't know if anybody noticed, but I truly felt the Spirit talk to me through that song. I felt the itch and knew I must scratch. I knew what I had to do and I know that God will bless it.
Josh
Sunday, August 07, 2005
My last three weeks
Well, it has been quite a while since I have written on this and the reason is because I went to two different camps and Six Flags in Arlington. Black Mesa Bible Camp was the first one I went to. I have to say that it was probably one of the most exceptional church camps I have ever participated in. I could feel God moving in everything there. I even felt him move in me when I gave a talk in chapel. I made many friends that I can hardly wait to see again next year and I had time to just spend with God. The only down side was that I had to be reading books for my grad class that is due on Wednesday but there is no way I am going to make the deadline.
The second camp I went to was Quartz Mountain Christian camp. It was very good also. We had good times singing, hiking and just getting to know people. Seven people made the decision to follow Christ and were baptized. One was a girl from my youth group. I have several pictures from QMCC also (I forgot to bring my camera to Black Mesa).
The Six Flags trip was nuts. We left on Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. and our plan was to go to a Texas Rangers game that night at 7:05 p.m. Normally, to get to Arlington from here would be less than a five hour trip but with the youth group along and potty breaks and all, I figured it would take us about 6 hours which would still put is into our hotel around 4:00. Plenty of time to get settled in our hotel and then go to the baseball game. Well, things did not go as planned. First, the air conditioner in our 18 passenger bus went out. So we stopped and tried to get that fixed in a couple places only to find out that first, somebody didn't know how to work on it and then at a chevy dealer we found out they had 25 cars ahead of us and could in no way get us in in time. So, we went to Walmart and bought a fan and told the kids to tough it out. Second, about 2 miles outside of Decatur, Texas I was driving along in the church van (we had a bus and a van) and all of a sudden, thunk thunk, boom!!! Jen thought we had run over one of those tire treads laying on the road because she saw one flying up behind us. Well, we stopped and looked and low and behold it was our tire tread. The tread had ripped right off of the inside of our tire and somehow it didn't blow. So what should have been about a six hour trip, took about 8 hours and then by the time we got to the Fort Worth/Dallas area, we got stuck in traffic. Needless to say, I learned a lot of patience this week. I could also see God's hand working in it despite all of the annoyances. The tire accident happened about 2 miles from a tire shop and if it had happened about 40 miles down the road we would have been smack dab in the middle of Fort Worth. Plus, the simple fact that the tire ripping off didn't cause it to blow is a miracle to me, especially since I was going 70 miles an hour. God was looking out for us and holding us in his hand. I am very grateful.
Well, I hope you enjoyed getting caught up on the last three weeks of my life.
Josh
The second camp I went to was Quartz Mountain Christian camp. It was very good also. We had good times singing, hiking and just getting to know people. Seven people made the decision to follow Christ and were baptized. One was a girl from my youth group. I have several pictures from QMCC also (I forgot to bring my camera to Black Mesa).
The Six Flags trip was nuts. We left on Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. and our plan was to go to a Texas Rangers game that night at 7:05 p.m. Normally, to get to Arlington from here would be less than a five hour trip but with the youth group along and potty breaks and all, I figured it would take us about 6 hours which would still put is into our hotel around 4:00. Plenty of time to get settled in our hotel and then go to the baseball game. Well, things did not go as planned. First, the air conditioner in our 18 passenger bus went out. So we stopped and tried to get that fixed in a couple places only to find out that first, somebody didn't know how to work on it and then at a chevy dealer we found out they had 25 cars ahead of us and could in no way get us in in time. So, we went to Walmart and bought a fan and told the kids to tough it out. Second, about 2 miles outside of Decatur, Texas I was driving along in the church van (we had a bus and a van) and all of a sudden, thunk thunk, boom!!! Jen thought we had run over one of those tire treads laying on the road because she saw one flying up behind us. Well, we stopped and looked and low and behold it was our tire tread. The tread had ripped right off of the inside of our tire and somehow it didn't blow. So what should have been about a six hour trip, took about 8 hours and then by the time we got to the Fort Worth/Dallas area, we got stuck in traffic. Needless to say, I learned a lot of patience this week. I could also see God's hand working in it despite all of the annoyances. The tire accident happened about 2 miles from a tire shop and if it had happened about 40 miles down the road we would have been smack dab in the middle of Fort Worth. Plus, the simple fact that the tire ripping off didn't cause it to blow is a miracle to me, especially since I was going 70 miles an hour. God was looking out for us and holding us in his hand. I am very grateful.
Well, I hope you enjoyed getting caught up on the last three weeks of my life.
Josh
Monday, July 11, 2005
Wheew!
Summers sure are tiring for a youth minister. That's why I haven't posted in a while. It seems like there has just been no end to activities this summer (which I planned of course). Plus I am working on my graduate class (in which I am way behind). Tonight I have a Bible study and a men's business meeting. Of course I had to prepare for both of those today plus we had men's breakfast this morning at 6:30 a.m. Rediculously early especially after a long night of playing basketball and winding down from my biggest work day of the week (Sunday).
There is also an added stress to the whole summer. One of the kids in my youth group decided to make some really bad decisions at home and probably will not be back for the rest of the summer if at all. DHS is involved and it's just a huge mess. I don't want to put any names out there, but if you read this, please pray for this family I have mentioned (God knows who they are). This kid's life is a string of bad choices that are now going to have to be paid for.
On a lighter note, our Cordell Christian Camp went well and I have just sent out letters to all of the campers' parents informing them of our dates for next year and encouraging them to come and visit our church. The picture in this post is a picture of us playing a game outside.
Also, some great news, a week and a half ago, we had a teen service week (we did all kinds of odd jobs around town from yard work to running a concession stand). We got about $1200 in donations from it and the kids no longer have to pay for our Six Flags trip coming up in August.
Well that's about all I have time for.
Josh
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