I Love God!

It's crazy what God does to lift your spirits. Sunday morning was one of those mornings that Satan tries to use and get ahold of your Spirit. I had four kids in class to start out with and then two more came in 30 minutes late. so I had 6 out of our normal 20. It wouldn't have bothered me too much except that this week we have our first annual teen mission week. We have all these jobs that we are planning on doing for members of our congregation and all the teens know about them. Satan seemed to kind of suggest to me that maybe nobody wanted to do them and that's why they weren't here. Plus, I was just made aware of a concession stand that we could run Friday and Saturday for the Cordell Class Reunion to put some money in the youth fund but we needed good numbers to run it. Then, on top of that, I really had a hard time leading singing, because our normal number of 100 people on Sunday was depleted to about 60 and everybody was just really down and didn't feel like singing. And even more on top of that, I had to prepare a sermon for the evening because our preacher, who has MS, was having complications with his optic nerve and was having lots of trouble preparing for sermons.
Yesterday afternoon I should have cried out to God for strength. I should have handed it over to him, but I didn't. Yet, God took control of the situation despite my lack of faith. Last night, we had more at church than we did in the morning (around 70). The singing was spectacular, and there were about 15 of our 20 teens there (the other 5 are out of town). They expressed the desire to work this week and do the concession stand. Wow...I just cannot express more thanks to God for answering my unprayed prayer.
And on top of that, I prepared for my sermon for about an hour and a half and of course I am never comfortable with that but God spoke through me using the book of 1 Thessalonians. Paul commends the Thessalonians over and over again in this letter. So I used those things he commends them for as a blueprint for us.
1. Be imitators of the Lord and of Holy People (1:6) which will make you well known. (1:7, 8)
2. Stand firm in the Lord (3:7, 8)
- Special note: The same town where Paul had to escape and a mob dragged Jason out into the streets (Acts 17:5-9)
3. Love one another and all Christians (4:9, 10)
- Why? to earn the respect of outsiders (4:12)
4. Be ready for the day of the Lord (5:1-8)
It was powerful.

I love God.

Josh

It's Monday Again

Every Monday the men of my church have a men's breakfast where we get together and discuss prayer requests and eat some good homecooked food (though all is cooked by men so you can imagine it doesn't look very pretty but it tastes good). I am the official bacon cooker. Anyway, it starts at 6:30 a.m. in the morning (and I usually get here around 6:00 to start cooking) so it's always pretty rough on Monday mornings after a long day of ministry on Sunday (and I was up til about 11:30 last night counseling kids, and talking to parents), but it is always such and uplift. God has blessed me greatly this morning. I was really needing some encouragement this morning and he provided it through this bunch of men.

For camp, I have received over three hundred dollars now in donations to give kids scholarships so that nobody is turned away on account of cost. It is so awesome. God is really working through these people here in Cordell. Of course, I could choose to look at the bad and say that God isn't working but I prefer to look at the good and give the bad over to Him.

Right now, I am dealing with two families in particular that have a lot of problems. They are both blended families, and in both instances, the oldest child is rebelling against the wishes of the parents/guardians. It just seems like every step they take forward they take two steps back. I hope and pray that God will work on my teens' hearts.

Thank you for your prayers for our camp. We are getting more last minute sign-ups so I am very thankful.

Josh

Memorial Day Weekend

I had a great Memorial Day Weekend. I went fishing three days in a row and caught quite a bit of fish. With Jen and I combined we caught 6 Sand Bass and 4 large mouth bass. Now we've got some fish in the freezer.

Then we went up to Alabaster Caverns near Woodward, Oklahoma with Jen's parents. A guide takes you through the cave and it's all lit up and really pretty. The tour lasts for about an hour, but it is really cool. We enjoyed it. Then we went to Mazzios Pizza for the lunch buffet. Needless to say, I had a very relaxing weekend.

Now, I've got to get back on the ball and work hard. I have a few loose ends to tie up before camps starts in a couple weeks. Everybody who is reading this, please pray for our camp that we get plenty signed up.

Josh

Finally!

I have been trying to post something for about a week and my post page would never load up. I don't know what's going on but I hope that these blogger people fixed it.

Things have been going fair since my last post. Our Cordell Christian Camp will be here soon. It's less than three weeks away. The only thing I am worried about is the fact that we don't have very many signed up. I got my signs up all over town and an advertisement in the paper 2 and a half weeks ago (5 weeks before camp starts) and we just haven't had very many kids sign up. Maybe I should have gotten it out a little earlier than that. I'm not sure. Next year I may try to get it out about 8 weeks before camp starts.

I preached last Sunday because my senior minister was gone. It went really well. My sermon was entitled, "The Perks of Kingdom People." It was a sermon geared towards uplifting people to strive to be kingdom people because of all the Perks we have! The perks were: 1) Our names are written in the book of life (Luke 10:17-20) 2) We are powerful even though we seem insignificant at times (Mark 4:30-32) 3) We are sowers not growers (Mark 4:26-29) and 4) We are rich (Luke 6:20). I think it turned out to be a really good lesson.

Right now, I am struggling so much with number 3. I tend to think that the harder I work that more people will grow. But the only thing I accomplish is to wear myself out. Though I know that I cannot be lazy or allow my testimony to fail (which will sow seeds of discord), I have to realize that I cannot grow people. That is God's job and I need to leave it at that. God, give me strength to let you do the work that I cannot do.

I hope you are all having a blessed week!

Josh

hello

I didn't post anything last week because I had a week long class that lasted from 8-4 every day and then I had to go home and do homework. The class was over Managing conflict and Transitional change. It was a very thought provoking class. I am very thankful that I got to take it. In the future, I may reveal some little jewels of wisdom that I recieved from the class, but not now. Now I have to get back to my house to do some yard work before I have to go to Cordell High School Graduation.

Josh

It's hard to let go

As a minister, sometimes I get really down. It seems that for a while, everything is just going awesome. The kids seem to be getting somewhere and they start taking steps in the right direction. Then you find out that some kid is not who they say they are. They are doing things behind my back like smoking, or they are hanging out with kids that are a very bad influence. They know what's right, but they just don't do it. I guess it's just hard to let go and let God. It's hard to let go of my pride, and do my work, not expecting rewards and just let God make my work meaningful.

Yestereday, Wednesday, I decided to do a class on music. I looked up MTV's Bilboard top 20. I recognized and had heard many of them from some of our teens and my own radio and MTV and VH1 experiences. Then I decided to look up the lyrics on lyrics.com. It was eyeopening and very sad. Those top 20 songs were about such unholy things that it made me sick. And it made me sicker to know that I had listened to some of them and enjoyed it. God put a great burden on my heart yesterday and I really let our kids and myself have it for listening to that crud. I saw the sour looks on their faces which said, "I'm not giving up my music!" It broke my heart. Sometimes I really don't know how to get across the idea of giving up everything for Christ. I got really hard on myself, questioning whether I am doing a good job or not. Am I showing them a good example? I started examining the way I live my life. There are many inconsistencies. I looked at my music and movies and my TV shows. Are they what a Christ himself would be listening to and watching? I think not. Do I take every chance I have to spread Christ? I think not. I need to let go. Lord God, Father, make me let go.

The other question I have about being a youth minister is something I heard in one of my graduate classes. If adolescence is all about finding out who you are and Christianity is about denying self, how can I ask these kids to deny the self that they haven't even found? I think that is why I disagree with baptizing kids early. I believe that my job is to equip them for the time when they realize what they want and they have to choose between that and Christ. Lord God help them to make the right choice when the time comes.

Josh

I'm back!

Well, I finally have my computer back online. It was a long and painful process and it's still not over yet. I've still got to get my antivirus program back up and running. I also need to get an anti spyware program put on my computer.

It is a wonderful, rainy day here in Cordell. I had an amazing trip to Oklahoma City last week for my anniversary and my sister's wedding. For our anniversary, Jen and I stayed at a bed and Breakfast called the Arcadian Inn in Edmond. Jen and I very much needed the break. We did a little shopping, saw a movie, and slept a whole lot! It was great! We also took a little spin into OC (Oklahoma Christian University) to watch some of my friends graduate on Friday.

My sister's wedding was beautiful. They are now in Mexico for the honeymoon. I hope that they are having a great time. I would put pics of the wedding on my website, but during the whole process, I dropped my camera and broke it. Now, I can't even unload pics off of it. I'll just have to take my memory card to Wal-Mart and get them off that way.

This week, I am mainly working on Cordell Christian Camp (CCC). Every summer, my church does a camp where 3-6 grades stay the night and 1-2 grades are daycampers. It's a mad house with those ages, but it is very rewarding and if you have the right attitude, very fun. Everybody out there please pray for our camp.

Next week, I will be taking a week-long summer course about managing conflict. I have already started reading for it and I think it promises to be very interesting. Well, I've got to get back to work.

Josh

I hate viruses!

I'm sorry for all of you who have been waiting on the edge of your seat to see my next entry (ha ha ha, yeah right). I have been experiencing problems with my computer. It had spyware and a virus. Well, the virus was imbedded so deep that I could not get rid of it even with my anti-virus software. And the spyware was causing pornography sites to be put on My Favorites list. So I called my local computer guy and he told me I needed to wipe my system clean and restart from scratch. Well, it has been a long and painful process, but my computer is almost up to par now. The final thing that I am lacking is getting it back on the router (what our internet comes through) and I'll be back in business. I am actually writing this on my preacher's computer. I love you all, and hope that you will have a blessed end to the month of April. And everyone come out and see my little sis get married!

Josh

Awesome

I never did talk about our ski trip that we went on a couple of weeks ago because I didn't have any good pictures on my computer yet. Well, our ski trip went awesome. A group of about 30 of us went up to Loveland Ski Area near Loveland Pass in Colorado. We stayed at the Summit County Church of Christ where Stan Johnson is the minister. We skied for three days and every minute of it was amazing. They had great snow and the mountain was 100% open. We got a little bit of snow every day we were there which kept the runs nice and powdery. Also, the mountain was very uncrowded and there were no lines (which was hard to believe because it was Spring Break!).

The spiritual side was awesome also! Stan gave some outstanding lessons which challenged us. We had a devotional every day before we went to the ski area and then every night before we went to sleep and some of our young men stepped up and gave the talks. They did great and they are now desiring to do more! It's really wonderful. God is blessing us beyond measure. I hope that all of you will keep us in your prayers that God will continue to touch people's hearts.

God also blessed us with safety. We had 12 brand new skiers and not one of them got hurt. We had great traveling weather there and back which was amazing because all through the week we had snow, but it cleared up for our driving. God is great.

I just went up the highest lift in the whole world. It's at 12,700 feet.  

Jen in Action 

Our whole group 

Jen and I in the bus 

Feeling Better!

Well, I am feeling better now. I actually got a good night of sleep. I got up at 6:45 did my Bible reading (in Ezekiel) and now it is almost 8 and I am ready to get busy. Thanks for your prayers.

Josh

Sick...

Yesterday and today really stink (of course my nose is so stopped up I can't smell any of it). I got sick yesterday so I stayed home from work. Today I am not much better but I have so much to do that I went in anyways. Not fun. I hate being sick.

I have got to do so much stuff. I've got to start getting ready for Cordell Christian Camp, get our Newsletter put together, and write a puppet skit for our upcoming Super Saturday. I hope I get done.

All you people out there who read this, pray for me that I get everything done.


Josh

Sick...

well that was annoying...I published a post and then it said there were errors or something.

Anyway, I was just saying how my last two days have stunk because I have been sick. I stayed home from work and today I don't feel any better but I have to go in anyways, because youth ministry doesn't wait for you if you don't work. Things just keep happening (Pause...to blow my nose) and if I don't guide them along, nobody will and it will turn into a disaster.

This week I need to get several things ready for Cordell Christian Camp (in June), plus finish the Newsletter, write a puppet skit, and get ready for class on Sunday. Oh boy. Lots to do.

All you people out there who read this, make sure and pray that I get to feeling better so that I can get all this stuff done in record time.

Josh

Sometimes...

Sometimes being a youth minister is awesome, but sometimes it's really lonely. Sometimes, I really get tired of being the strong one. Sometimes, I really just want to depend on someone else to get things done. And it's at those "sometimes" that I try to remember that God is the one that I need to depend on.
Sometimes, it's so hard to depend on God when I cannot see him or touch him. I really wish that he would come down and talk to me like he did to people in the Old Testament. It would be so much easier. But when I have these "sometimes", I have to remember how He has touched my life and blessed me far beyond what I deserve.
When I get these "sometimes" I can feel God's comforting hand on me, whether it's through my personal study time with him or whether it's through somebody at His church. God, I thank you for you peace and love and hope that you give me. May I never lose it.
The other thing that's hard about ministry is the lack of real friends. You have all these people that put on their church faces around you because you are a "minister". I want so badly for people to know that I am just a regular person like them who messes up just as much and sometimes worse. I want them to know that I am made holy and righteous not by my own life but by Christ and his life and death, the same way they are made holy and righteous. And I want them to know that I do not judge them for their shortcomings. I love and care for them, not because it's my job but because they are God's creation and he sent His Son to die for them.

Father God, I ask for real friends in my ministry.

Josh

Another Answer to Prayer

The youth group I have been working in is mostly made of junior high kids and freshmen in highschool. The reason being I am new in town and when I got here there were only about three people 10th grade or older in the youth group and highschoolers just don't seem to be interested in new things. They are pretty much set in their ways and do not want to try new things. Well, as you can probably imagine our singing has been quite off since I have been here for several reasons. One, they just don't know any of the songs. And two, the junior high girls' voices have just not matured enough to sing out and sing loud. So anyways, I prayed to God to improve our singing though I'll admit I did it with somewhat of a doubting spirit. Well, last night my prayer was answered. There is a girl, an 11th grader, who goes to the other church of Christ in town where they have even less in their youth group than us and they don't have a youth minister. Well, she decided to start coming with one of her friends last Sunday. And now she tells me that she has decided to come to our church permanently. Now to the best part of the story. Last night in youth group we sang a couple of songs and I almost started crying. This girl has got an awesome set of lungs on her! She was belting it out! And with her singing, the other girls were encouraged to sing out and the girls were almost outsinging the boys! It was so awesome! These type of things seem so small. But the main lesson I have learned is the fact that God works when you ask him and give him the chance. I can hardly wait to see what he does when I ask for something big.

Josh

Travis being Travis... 

Chris and Jen at the going away party for Gavin and Lindsey and Travis